KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno deputy liaison chief Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak yesterday hailed the Umno Supreme Council’s decision to activate its disciplinary committee to monitor the activities of its members from now onwards to ensure they toe the party line until the general election.
Describing the move as appropriate and timely, he said it will deter Umno leaders or members from sabotaging the party.
“The next general election is crucial for Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN). We’d better nip it (sabotage) in the bud before it gets out of control. It’s a wake-up call for Umno members to be always loyal to the party,” he said when opening a Puteri Umno IT programme as part of the preparations for the next general election at the 1Borneo Mall, here. Also present was Puteri Umno head Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin.
In announcing the decision on Friday night, Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said it is better to start monitoring the election machinery early and take action to deal with any disciplinary matter now rather than after the general election.
Salleh, who is the state legislative assembly speaker, urged Puteri Umno members to make optimum use of IT in disseminating political information to the electorate.
He said the rise of the Internet, YouTube and Twitter had brought a new dimension to the election campaign in the country.
“Gone are the days where people are fully dependent on television and the print media for information, and use this information in their opinion-forming and decision-making processes.
“Social networking technologies have seemingly transformed politics and can influence government as well. That is why Puteri Umno members should be knowledgeable about IT and, if possible, be Internet savvy,” he said.
Salleh said prevailing in the Internet war is vital for Umno and the BN to win the hearts and minds of the people in the next general election.
“We don’t want to underestimate the strength of the opposition in the Internet war before or during the election. But, we will not be caught off-guard this time around. We will certainly be going all-out to reverse this fate,” he said.
He referred to a quote of then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi following the 2008 general election: “We certainly lost the Internet war, the cyber-war. It was a serious misjudgment. We made the biggest mistake in thinking that it was not important.” — Bernama