Prime Minister and Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad seems to be right in calling on Wanita Umno to allow its members to join Puteri Umno to attract younger Malay women. However, a deeper thought suggests otherwise.

One of the major reasons why the more politically experienced Wanita Umno thinks the activities of Puteri Umno is counterproductive to the interests of the party is that Puteri Umno is too aggressive in outlook, image and posturing.

The aggressiveness — real or perceived — does not fit into the Malay psyche which values softness (lemah-lembut) and politeness (bersopan-santun). Many Malay parents in rural areas are also worried that the personalities and characters of their daughters may be changed negatively by joining Puteri Umno.

Another reason is that they are too many Western-educated urbanites leading Westernised lifestyles becoming leaders of Puteri Umno, especially those in the entertainment industry.

Traditional and religious parents are worried about their influence on the character-formation of their young daughters. Leaders from urban areas also do not go to the rural and semi-rural grounds often enough to mix with the rakyat.

Moreover, having two women's wings under one party confuses voters, and causes lack of discipline and coordination in the field.

Younger members in Puteri Umno who think that they are only responsible and answerable to the Umno president in Putrajaya tend to ignore the orders and commands of elderly leaders in Wanita Umno who are in fact more seasoned and experienced.

The young ones do not know people well enough and they lack social connections, but they think they are smarter than the elders simply because they are more educated.

It is for these reasons that it may be better for all female members of Umno, irrespective of their age, to be integrated into the existing organisational structure of Wanita Umno.

Otherwise, young male Umno members could also argue convincingly that a Putera Umno be set up to cater for those below 25 because they are different from those who are above that age in Pemuda Umno.