Khairy says wants Umno to CHANGE: But does he dare do anything?

To Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, the way forward for Umno is to continue to be an all-inclusive party that looks after all Malaysians.

This, he said, was, in fact, the true traditionalist value of the party, which, he admitted, some have turned away from.

When The Rakyat Post met with him recently, he shared more on Umno as a party, his vision as a youth leader and how politics is also a part of his past time.

Below is the first part of a two-part story on one of Malaysia’s most versatile ministers. Stay tuned for the second part.

TRP: As a rising leader in Umno, what is the Umno that you envision for the future?

KJ: I think Umno should become more like what it was when it was founded, in the sense that Umno needs to continue to represent the interest of the Malay and Bumiputra community.

But they should also be seen as a party that does that role within the context of ensuring and guaranteeing that all Malaysians are looked after properly.

KJ UMNO

It needs to be an Umno that is generous, inclusive and not one that is menacing and threatening to non-Malays. It also needs to be an Umno that is gracious and polite. I feel that’s what people want to see.

We need to be steadfast and firm in our convictions for our own community and not alienate anyone else.

TRP: Would you say that Umno is not so much based on traditionalist values that most party veterans carry today?

KJ: That is actually the true traditionalist value of Umno.

I don’t know what happened along the way, but some, and not all, segments of my party have turned away from a more inclusive Malaysia and have become a little bit more aggressive towards other communities, and Umno is not seen to be as gracious as it was by some people.

That is reflected among some of our members.

But I think a lot of our members also hold on to the true values of Umno, which is a party that is at ease among the Malay community for what we champion and also one that is at ease with all other Malaysians.

TRP: Despite the calls by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on reforms over the years to gather overall Malaysian support for the BN coalition, the emergence of numerous right-wing NGOs continue to drive non-Malay support from BN. What is being done, especially from the party’s Youth Wing, to tackle this issue seriously?

KJ: Pressure groups exist everywhere, not just among the Malay community. If you look at other communities as well, there exits extremist pressure groups. You have Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force) among the Indian community, you had Suqiu at one point of time among the Chinese community and Dong Jiao Zong, which is not classically extremist, but is a pressure group for Chinese education that takes very firm position on education issues.

So pressure groups exist everywhere. Umno Youth will not, under me, take similar positions as right-wing Malay NGOs. That’s not where I’ve brought Umno Youth since I took over from (Datuk Seri) Hishammuddin Hussein and that’s not where I want the party to go.

But at the same time, we have to listen to all the pressure groups, whether it’s Malay, Chinese or Indian. Now we even have East Malaysia pressure groups calling for more autonomy, calling for independence. These pressure groups will exist everywhere.

It’s how you deal with people and how you convince the public that their interest are looked after by political parties and they don’t have to go all the way to support these pressure groups, which in many cases are too extreme.

TRP: So you think there is a need to deter these pressure groups?

KJ: Yes, of course. But, in a democracy you cannot completely shut them down either. We’ve come to terms with the fact that we are a maturing democracy, and pressure groups will exist.

Until and unless they break the law, for instance if they incite for Sabah and Sarawak to become independent. That’s clearly against the amendments being proposed in the Sedition Act, so that will be illegal.

But if they are extreme in their voice, not to the extent of being seditious and perhaps very communalist and racialist in their outlook, then we have to confront them intellectually and make sure what we do is better than them. - http://www.therakyatpost.com/