PEKAN: Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has advised the victors in yesterday Umno elections against being overly excited and arrogant but to realise the great responsibility they shoulder in championing the people and religion.
He said they should remain humble and “extend the hand of friendship” to the losers because the Umno struggle demanded a united leadership capable of facing the challenges ahead.
“For the losers, it is not the end of the road. It is a process in the struggle. They should carry on with the struggle and contribute to the party,” he said in an interview over the ‘Selamat Pagi Malaysia’ talk show of Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) before attending the delegates meeting of the Pekan Umno Division at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Convention Hall, yesterday.
Najib, who had won unopposed the post of Pekan Umno Division head, said the elections this time were the outcome of the transformation effected at the 2009 Umno General Assembly in the effort to make the party more transparent and democratic.
An estimated 146,000 grassroots members are eligible to vote in this elections compared to only 2,500 delegates in previous elections.
Najib said he hoped that the elections this time would proceed smoothly and orderly and not spark problems, in the hope that the objectives of the historic decision of amending the Umno constitution in 2009 would be achieved.
The Umno president said it was important for Umno members to discharge their responsibility by considering the eventual objective of the amendment and bring about the desired transformation in the party.
“It is my hope that all the delegates will be able to state their stand in terms of an Umno leadership that fulfills the aspirations of the grassroots,” he said, adding that they should vote with their hearts, rationally and objectively, for a stronger leadership. — Bernama