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Don’t pin all hopes on Muafakat Nasional to win GE15, Tok Mat tells Umno

Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan delivers his speech during the Umno General Assembly 2019 at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur December 7, 2019 — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan delivers his speech during the Umno General Assembly 2019 at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur December 7, 2019 — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has warned Umno delegates that they should not put all their hopes on Muafakat Nasional to win the next general election.

He said Umno should not assume they will take the government back from Pakatan Harapan (PH) based on a cooperation with PAS but should look at the flaws that still exist in the party and persevere to improve on them.

Mohamad said emotions are running high after Barisan Nasional (BN) won by-elections in Cameron Highlands, Semenyih, Rantau and Tanjung Piai. The last one was a landslide 15,000 majority win which proved that the people were fed up with PH.

Mohamad moved to caution the Umno members that despite these by-election wins, a general election is an entirely different scenario and Umno should be prepared to learn and strive to continue to improve themselves.

“Even with Muafakat Nasional, we must continue to strengthen the party. Muafakat Nasional is no guarantee that we will win come GE15.

“Little by little, we are chipping away at PH and their supporter base but instead of being overconfident, we should look to improving ourselves, our attitude and also our campaign strategies,” said Mohamad in his winding up speech at Putra World Trade Centre on the last day of the Umno General Assembly.

Mohamad said there are many things that Umno can still do better, like being better strategists and correcting existing weaknesses within the party.

Mohamad also said they should not expose all their secrets to the opposition especially the party’s strategies and he said Umno should not always rely on outside help to strengthen the party.

“I’ve always said there are two things the party should do better. First, we must continue to empower the party and two we must be better at strategising.

“Do not expect help from outsiders to empower the party. If we are strong, people will gravitate towards us,” said Mohamad.

“Don’t be lackadaisical as lately, I’ve noticed us relaxing as though we are guaranteed to win GE15. This isn’t guaranteed because by-elections and general elections are two very different entities.”

Mohamad said during GE14, many candidates they placed in various constituencies failed to win over the people’s trust and this is a big lesson they should learn.

In addition to that, Mohamad said the party’s leaders are responsible for being role models and bring up the party.

“We will lose the next general elections if we dispute with each other. Throw away this attitude,” said Mohamad.

“Umno as a party is still relevant and important and with Muafakat Nasional, we will build the next government because I am confident if we can fix ourselves, we will win back the government,” added the Rantau state lawmaker.

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