KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Umno is in dire need of drastic change and young blood as its losing popularity among the public, veteran party leader Tun Musa Hitam said yesterday. "I understand that the experience of seniors is needed for top posts like president or vice-president, but other than that, they should choose the younger ones," the former Deputy Prime Minister was quoted as saying by The Star.
Musa said the party had been raising the same issues which were raised 20 or 30 years ago, and bickering about emotional rather than substantial issues, such as the economy.
"Umno is already over 61 years old and is experiencing penyakit tua (old age sickness) which cannot be remedied by senior citizens but rather the younger generation with new ideas," he said after launching the Bridges’ Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace forum here yesterday.
He claimed that Umno was "too introverted" by focusing on its own problems and looking for acceptance among its own members, but not the rakyat, whose perceptions would determine its future.
"It is important for Umno to realise that it has lost its popularity because of public opinion.
"The party has many problems that it cannot rectify, like corruption, accountability issues and abuse of power," said Musa, who was former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's first deputy before he quit in 1986.
"The new generation will not accept wholesale what politicians are saying because they don't accept the politicians.”
Musa believed that certain politicians were fighting for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the larger community.
"What the nation wants is a party that is sensitive to their needs and is one step ahead of citizens' thinking.
"These are hard words, I know, but I will only say it once. When I say it, I mean it and I've been thinking long and hard about it," Musa said -- MI
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