Opposition needs Shadow Cabinet, says Umno delegate

Umno Perak Bukit Gantang division Jamilah Zakaria speaks during the Umno General Assembly 2019 at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur December 7, 2019. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Umno Perak Bukit Gantang division Jamilah Zakaria speaks during the Umno General Assembly 2019 at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur December 7, 2019. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Umno and the federal opposition must come up with a Shadow Cabinet in order to give the public, especially the youth, a proper alternative and to showcase how they would chart the nation’s future and resolve problems plaguing the country.

Speaking at the last day of the Umno Annual General Assembly today, Perak delegate Jamilah Zakaria called upon her party leadership to create a Shadow Cabinet that can form counter policies against whatever is being implemented by Putrajaya so the people can make a comparison.

“Whatever it is, we must have a Shadow Cabinet. At the same time, our members must not have knee-jerk reactions. Umno is renowned for having knee-jerk reactions and this must stop.

“Why do we need a Shadow Cabinet? It’s so the public and the youth will know our Umno policies. We also need to engage with the youths. We should not just ask our Pemuda and Puteri wings to engage them.

“We must engage them ourselves. What if Syed Saddiq brings in a K-pop group just 10 days before the General Election? We’ll be in trouble,” said Jamilah.

She also pointed out that instead of having knee jerk reactions, Umno members must celebrate differences of opinions as multiple views on an issue can provide better solution.

The fiery and feisty former education officer that not everyone can share the same or singular view but this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Touching on the Tanjung Piai by-election landslide victory, the Trong assemblyman reminded her party that they must look deeper into the supposed Chinese support that they receive and see whether it is genuine or a form of protest against the current administration.

“We must see whether their support of us was genuine. If it was genuine, then it’s okay. We can accept it. But they might use it as a signal to Pakatan Harapan (PH) to get what they want.

“If they have really come back to us, then we will be able to regain what we lost,” said Jamilah.

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