ALOR STAR: It is unfair for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to accuse the Umno leadership as 'penyangak' (thugs) just because Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not follow the former premier's style of leadership.
Umno Information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa said as the current Prime Minister, Najib is leading the nation based on the current and future challenges it faces.
He said, each leader had his own style of leadership which is suitable with their era and it is unfair for Dr Mahathir to accuse Najib's current leadership in Umno in such manner.
"Dr Mahathir’s era is different from the late Tunku Abdul Rahman’s era, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s era is different from Dr Mahathir’s.
"The same goes with Najib, his leadership style is different from Tun Abdullah era because each leader is faced with different challenges during their respective time, so it is not fair to compare leaders from different eras," he said after attending a “4 All” dialogue with Kuala Kedah Umno divison members here last night.
Present was deputy minister at the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
He said Najib had made many improvements and enhancement’s in Umno, including introducing more transparency in the party election process by extending the voting power to grassroots leaders.
Annuar was responding to Dr Mahathir's statement to a news portal that Umno, now is no longer the same party it was, when it was fighting for the country’s independence and had become a party for thugs.
Meanwhile, Annuar said the Budget 2018 which will be tabled on Oct 27, will further enhance existing government initiatives which aimed to benefit the people.
He said so far Najib had introduced many incentives for the people including providing various housing schemes, including for newly-wed couples and low-income earners.
"If the opposition parties are saying this is a general election budget, so be it. After all we will face the 14th General Election (GE14) anyway," he said.
On another note, Annuar said Umno will preserve its longstanding relationship with various ethnic communities in the country, including the Chinese community, through its cooperation with MCA and Gerakan.
The Ketereh member of Parliament said the Chinese community had played an important role in building the nation since Merdeka in 1957.
"DAP accused MCA and Gerakan not doing enough for the Chinese, whereas the two parties had helped to build the nation by being part of the government," he said.
He stressed that the Chinese community is never an enemy to Umno but it is the DAP.
At the dialogue, Annuar said Umno must stand united to ensure victory for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the GE14.
He said a split will not only weaken the party but it would also erode the confidence placed by BN component party’s on Umno.
"If we show that we are united, our friends in BN will stay to fight alongside us towards building a strong and peaceful nation,” he said.