KUALA LUMPUR: In a hard-hitting opening speech during the Umno wings gathering, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic) has told "warlord" party leaders to step down gracefully from their positions, in a bid believed to attract youth to the party.
"Do or be dead!" exclaimed the Umno deputy president to resounding approval from Umno wings delegates present at the Putra World Trade Centre, here.
"Put the party before ourselves. I would like to remind myself and all Umno leaders from all divisions, if you feel you are becoming a stumbling block in our effort to rejuvenate the party, step down gracefully!" said Muhyiddin, who is also Deputy Prime Minister.
"We need to remain relevant so that the Malays will continue to be protected. We are not important. What is more important is Malays and Umno," he said.
In his fiery speech, Muhyiddin also said that the "warlord" mentality had become a threat to Umno, which he said was alienating the younger generation from the party.
"We have to prove that this warlord mentality is not part of Umno. We reject any kind of attitude of some who try to remain in power by lavishly showing wealth to their followers," he said, adding that the "warlord" culture had inevitably raised political costs.
"Those without money can't enter politics. Although they are talented, have qualifications and ability, they still can't move actively in the party without the presence of money," said Muhyiddin.
Muhyiddin said he was concerned that those who climbed up the ladder in the party were those with money, not capability.
"People say money is everything in politics. No money, no talk. Money is power, money is everything," he said.
"We have to remember that the people hate money politics. They become suspicious when politicians show off their wealth. They will accuse of all sorts of things.
"This is the main reason of the trust deficit against Umno. What is the use of climbing the party hierarchy, but the people reject us because they do not like our image and our attitude?" he asked.
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