Umno members should elect MCA, MIC leaders, says delegate

Umno members should have a say on who leads other Barisan Nasional component parties, says an Umno delegate from Johor today. – The Malaysian Insider pic, November 27, 2014. The leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties should be directly elected by Umno members to ensure that only individuals who respected Malay and Muslim rights could represent the coalition at the top level, an Umno delegate from Johor said today.

“Umno must ensure that the leaders of BN component parties have to be voted into the BN supreme council by Umno members,” said Khairul Anwar Rahmat when debating the policy speech at the Umno general assembly.

“This is to ensure that the leaders are not ‘jaguh kampung’ (champions of their own communities).”

He said some current component party leaders had dared to question Malay and Muslim issues, such as religious schools, covering of women’s aurat (modesty) and the Shariah Court.

Khairul Anwar said he believed they did this to gain popularity in their own communities.

“So let them become the presidents of MCA, MIC, Gerakan and the rest, but when they want to sit in BN’s highest council, they should be voted in by the Malays of Umno.

“We do not want them to be cheering for their own communities and questioning our race.”

He said y allowing Umno members to vote on the BN component parties’ leaders would finally give the BN Supreme Council some legitimacy.

“(By doing this) we are giving the council the ultimate honour, the ultimate acknowledgement,” said Khairul Anwar.

He added that he was saddened when Umno’s own allies called them racist, saying it was an attempt to look good within their own community. – November 27, 2014.