2 theSun | TUESDAY JANUARY 20 2009

news without borders

Bring back ‘wow’ factor in Umno: Muhyiddin

MANAMA (Bahrain): In a frank analysis
of what ails Umno in the wake of Barisan
Nasional’s (BN) defeat in the Kuala Tereng-
ganu by-election, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
said the party has lost the “wow” factor that
would pull people to the coalition’s backbone
party.
Muhyiddin, the international trade and
industry minister and Umno vice-president,
said there was a need to bring it back be-
cause having the wow factor would mean
that people would sit up and take notice
of something new and interesting that the
party was conveying.
“Currently, in Umno, what’s the wow
factor? There is no wow factor. We have lost
the wow factor that would make people say
‘I really want to listen to what the leaders
are saying’,” he told Malaysian journalists
when asked to comment on the by-election
on Saturday, in which Mohd Abdul Wahid
Endut of PAS beat BN’s Datuk Wan Ahmad
SAIFUL HIZAM MANSUR/THESUN
Farid Wan Salleh by 2,631 votes. any by-election despite the party machinery “We also cannot discount the possibility
Muhyiddin stressed the necessity for having gone full throttle. But maybe this is a that our citizens now have a better grasp of
Umno and BN to reinvent themselves to signal that must be taken seriously,” he said. things, are more sensitive and are able to
fulfill the people’s aspirations without sacri- “Does it mean that the people still find make assessments from all angles.
ficing Umno’s principles and struggle. it hard to accept the BN after we lost in “Maybe we are seen as not being ready to
“ P a r t y the last gen- accommodate what they think is good.”
president Currently, in Umno, what’s the wow eral election He said Umno and the BN should be will-
Datuk Seri Ab- because they ing to act more radically in implementing
dullah Ahmad factor? There is no wow factor. We have don’t feel that the necessary changes.
Badawi and lost the wow factor that would make people there has been Muhyiddin stressed that certain state-
his designated say ‘I really want to listen to what the leaders any change ments had to be made so that the people
s u c c e s s o r , are saying’.” or reform as would understand the reforms that Umno
Datuk Seri promised?” and the BN intended to bring.
Najib Tun Razak, would need to institute For this reason, the BN, and Umno espe- “Otherwise, they will regard our state-
a radical change, a political surgery, if you cially, should not take too long to implement ments as rhetoric,” he said.
will,” he said. the reforms that they had promised. “I’m more inclined to analyse the by-elec-
It would be well and good to conduct a The important thing was for Umno and tion results from a more holistic perspective
post-mortem to ascertain weaknesses that the BN to tackle certain perceptions in the although we can identify the cause of the
contributed to the electoral defeat in Kuala voters’ minds. defeat the normal way, like ineffective elec-
Terengganu but what was more important “Mention Umno or the BN and that’s tion machinery despite the hard work, the
was to dig deeper into the minds of voters. the perception the people have, and this is choice of candidate and the issues raised by
“There are bound to be weaknesses in twisted by the opposition parties,” he said. the Opposition,” he said. – Bernama

Raja Nazrin: Muslims

Start of a
new Era
DEPUTY Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Abdul
Razak at the launch of the
Chana Era CM8 and Era CV6
at Berjaya Times Square in
Kuala Lumpur yesterday. On
the left is Berjaya chairman
Tan Sri Vincent Tan and
third from left is Wu Xue
Song, chairman of Changan
International Corporation,
China.
The Era CM8, a Multi
Purpose Vehicle (MPV), and
Era CV6, a hatchback, are
distributed in Malaysia by
Changan Berjaya Auto Sdn
Bhd. See also Page 17
must continue to be
voice of understanding
KUALA LUMPUR: Muslims must “The result has been the
continue to engage in the voice uncalled-for hostility between
of understanding, respect and ac- peoples, with many suffering the
ceptance to counter the miscon- effects of prejudice and discrimi-
ceptions the world has of them, nation.”
the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr He said the deep cultural
Nazrin Shah, said yesterday. chasm that existed between Islam
“This voice must be empow- and the West was mostly a result
ered and emboldened,” he said of misunderstanding and mis-
at the launching of “The Art of conceptions about one another,
Integration: Islam In Britain” exacerbated by the strident voice
photo exhibition at the Islamic of a few that resounded above the
Art Museum here. moderate voice of many.
Raja Nazrin said Malaysia The exhibition showcases a
and Britain shared the values of collection of 50 works by British
religious, cultural and racial ac- photographer Peter Sanders,
ceptance. which depict the breadth and
“As we continue to espouse depth of Muslim life in Britain.
these values, we must ardently On the exhibition, Raja Nazrin
strive to dispel all false precon- said that at a time when mistrust
ceptions,” he said. and suspicion prevailed, especial-
Such was the best response, ly between the Islamic world and
especially following the event of the West, any effort at promoting
Sept 11, 2001 and the London respect and understanding was
bombings on July 7, 2005, which extremely praiseworthy.
had undeniably intensified fear He said efforts at integrating
and suspicion towards Muslims Muslim populations with the
in much of the Western world.
“Under such a climate, any
rest of the society and the wider
world were also praiseworthy
resistance to multiculturalism,
whether direct or implied, has
“not just in the interest of pro-
moting cultural diversity, but in
largely tantamount to attacks on the spirit of human rights and
Muslims and Islam,” he said. justice, and with due recognition
“This is hardly unexpected, to the contributions made by
seeing that Islam is not only Muslims around the world, as
more topical at present, but much as any other citizen, to
more visible and most symboli- economic, cultural and political
cally-charged. life”. – Bernama
No action against angkasawan
PUTRAJAYA: Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr
Maximus Ongkili said action will not be taken against angkasawan
Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha over allegations
that he had collected RM1.2 million in fees from talks.
Speaking to reporters after launching the ministry’s logo here
yesterday, he said the ministry had sent a show-cause letter to Sheikh
Muszaphar and was satisfied with his explanation for charging for
the talks.