Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin in his winding-up speech has urged aspiring candidates to stop using gleaming reports from government agencies to lobby for seats.

He said some people who approached him showed various favourable reports to justify their selection.

"They may approach the Special Branch, military intelligence, Kemas, Special Services Department (Jasa) to give them favourable reports.

"Well I have to disappoint you as party president Najib Abdul Razak said he would not allow the reports from the government agencies to influence his decision to justify selection.

"Najib has proposed a true evaluation reflective of support from the people and party members to justify selection," the Umno Youth leader said.

In the morning policy speech, Khairy had advised members to reject the use of their connections, which he refers to as "cables", to lobby for seats.

NONEKhairy (right) said he and his deputy Razali Ibrahim have a shortlist of Umno Youth members who are potential candidates.

Lifting his Ipad, he showed a screen file named ‘list of winnable candidates’.

“I have consulted with my deputy and these are the names that I will propose to the party leadership as candidates to contest in the next general election,” he said.

Expanding on this further in a press conference later, he said his criteria in selecting candidates is that they must have the “tasawwur” or worldview that he had earlier emphasised in his policy speech this morning.

“If they possess the old school of thought then they will be struck out of my list,” he said.

He further added that he and Razali may need more time to fine-tune the list before it is presented.

Khairy said he will assess those after gathering various feedback including from Umno Youth.

shahidan kassimEarlier, Umno supreme council member and former Perlis menteri besar Shahidan Kassim (left), who is an observer at the Umno Youth debates, attacked the use of “cables”.

“I am impressed with Khairy’s speech as he emphasised do not use ‘cables’. I thought Pemuda as having noble idealistic values would not only say don’t but totally prohibit the use of ‘cables’ at all.

“I have to say this as I have been affected by the use of ‘cables’. And it was a ‘cable besak pulak’ (big cable) that affected my post (the meneteri besar’s post) in 2008,” he said.

Khairy, in responding to this in his winding-up address, said when he used the word don’t he meant politely as an Umno Youth leader should also be polite.

“We are considered brave but at the same time we have to be polite,” he said.

He also further said that Umno Youth members need not approach him as he does not hold any post in the government.

Saying that he is not disappointed, he reiterated he will continue to work for the party.
 

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