General Election More Important, Says Najib

SEPANG, July 22 (Bernama) -- Umno has postponed the party elections this year as it is giving priority to preparations for the 12th general election, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
"In terms of the party, our priority is to strengthen Umno as an organisation and preparations to face the coming general election must be given priority (over the election to choose party leaders)," said Najib, who is also Umno deputy-president.
He said although the date for the party elections had yet to be decided, there were leaders who were already "making the rounds".
"It's usual for them to make the rounds, (the lobbying) hasn't started... (it is) still under control," he told reporters after opening the Sepang Umno divisional delegates meeting, here today.
Asked if there were complaints received by the party against the leaders, he said: "Not openly, but there have been whispers...it's normal, nothing surprising," he said.
Earlier in his speech, Najib said that although Umno was the largest political party in the country with a membership of 3.3 million, the party had to ensure that all its members were of quality, committed and what was more important was that they upheld the party's cause.
He said that in the global era, only those with quality would succeed in their struggles and this was not only confined to business but also for a large political party like Umno.
"We must have members of quality to continue the party's cause. They must join Umno to champion this cause and not because they want something from the party. The principles of the party's struggles can only be upheld by members who are committed," he said.
Najib reminded Umno members that if they chose party leaders who practised "money politics", then Umno would disintegrate as these leaders did not have credibility.
"We must have strong spirit and principles in our struggles. The party's founders and past leaders have proven that the Malays can succeed if we are truly committed to our cause. We have beaten the British (in attaining the country's independence) not through armed force but through our strong spirit in championing our cause. The spirit of our struggles will determine our future," he said.

tunku : it's a waste of tax payers money to do election now especially this year as we just had one only 3 years ago. we have another 2 years to go.the government should concentrate on nation building as there's still many of it's promises have not been delivered yet.the economics only looks good on paper but not in reality.the property market, automative industry is at a very slow pace and this does not reflect with the good economy that the government claims.so please concentrate more on the economy rather than putting all the efforts on the election.