“They will go into the party elections knowing who they elect as leaders will decide Umno’s relevance in years to come,” Sivamurugan Pandian, political analyst with Universiti Sains Malaysia, told Malay Mail.
“They have this one chance to show whether they are genuinely trying to change and if they elect the wrong guy then they will struggle to regain trust.”
As the party that governed for over sixty years, Umno’s youth wing had become a training ground to groom the nation’s future leaders. Three of Umno’s seven presidents and prime ministers had led the wing at one point.
So contenders for the post know well that their candidacy will be gauged as the harbinger of the party’s future direction.
Some party leaders like outgoing Khairy Jamaluddin had said to regain support, Umno must undertake holistic reform, one inclined towards inclusivity and openness.
In a nutshell, the party, which has banked on communal sentiment and nativist politics to stay in power for the past three decades, must move more towards the centre.
The candidates
Some party grassroots saw the increase in the number of candidates already indicated the underlying changes in mindset taking place within Umno and underscored the sort of reform pushed by Khairy.
There are nine leaders vying for the post in this election, an unprecedented number some members felt showed how democratic the party had become.
“Before this only a selected powerful — meaning rich — leaders had the means to contest, and they usually have endorsements from top leadership,” said one Youth member who wanted to remain anonymous.
“Now we are no longer in power, who top leaders endorse no longer matter because these leaders may not necessarily have the connection to government contracts or money to pass around...for the first time they will have to vote based on party interests and survival,” the Umno member said.
But still, another Umno Youth leader noted that half of the nine candidates vying for the post carry baggages from the scandal-ridden leadership of past president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the man blamed for the party’s defeat in the 14th general election.
Candidates like current vice chief and senator Khairul Azwan Harun, Sungai Besar division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos, the subject of multiple criminal investigations on the run from the authorities, and former deputy minister Datuk Asyraf Wajidi Dusuki were all ardent backers of Najib.
“If any of these leaders are elected, voters outside Umno may get the impression that nothing much has changed, and that can’t be good for our already-tainted image,” the leader, who did not want to be named, told Malay Mail recently.
The same Umno Youth leader believed this factor may prompt Umno grassroots to think beyond tradition and lend support to some of the more obscure contenders, with the hope that their status as outsiders will give the wing a chance to start clean and push novel ideas.
Names like Wan Md Hazlin Agyl, the Youth chief for the party’s Seputeh chapter, and Mohd Shahar Abdullah, the Paya Besar division Umno Youth chief who has been vocal against corruption within the party, have been touted as potential challengers.
Old habits die hard
But yet, there are those within the party that held views that Umno cannot shed a habit shaped for decades in just days, and those that will vote will continue to base their decision on a tradition that regards popularity more than substance.
On social media, a number of Umno supporters have already lamented that the outcome will likely favour candidates of the “old guards” like Asyraf or Khairul, even as both leaders are young, capable and are known to have pushed for progressive politics in the past.
The latter, which has promised to undertake structural reform that includes capping the age limit for the Umno Youth chief post to 40 and to simplify membership for younger cadres to join, is touted as the favourite to replace Khairy.
The party is scheduled to announce the polls results for the the three respective wings by evening.
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