Umno assembly to kick off with forum on 'moderation'

Come Monday, Umno will again begin its general assembly which will be held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

Although some may consider the general assembly this time as lacking the punch following the conclusion of the 13th general election (GE13) as well as the party election, it will certainly draw the attention of various groups who want to know the direction and strategy that Umno will draw up to ensure its position in the local political arena.

The party assembly this time is also significant to look at the solidarity of the new leadership line-up that will helm the party to face the strong challenge expected in the 14th general election.

A total of 5,726 Umno delegates from all over the country are scheduled to attend the assembly that will begin on Dec 2 until 7.

According to party secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, of the total, 2,759 are delegates for the general assembly, while the general assemblies for the Wanita, Youth and Puteri movements will each be attended by 989 delegates.

He said that 101 representatives of 32 political parties from 28 countries had also confirmed their attendance while 80 delegates from 73 Overseas Umno Clubs and seven national liaison bodies would participate in the assembly this time.

Various programmes have been drawn up throughout the assembly beginning with the Overseas Umno Clubs Assembly on Sunday (Dec 1) at the Dewan Tun Ismail, PWTC, followed by an international forum with the theme political moderation and principles of stability that would be held on Monday and Tuesday.

The prime minister is scheduled to deliver his keynote address at the forum while former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to attend the luncheon with participants of the forum before the closing ceremony by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

The two-day forum is also historic with the participation of more famous world political leaders, including Hamas senior leader Khalid Meshaal.

Others who had confirmed their attendance at the forum were Kenya's former vice-president and leader of the Wiper Party of Kenya, Stephen Kalanzo Musyoka, Indonesian presidential candidate from Golkar party, Aburizal Bakri, the new United States Ambassador to Malaysia, Joseph Y Yun and the representative of the PAP from Singapore.

Presidential briefing

On Dec 3, the closed-door Presidential Briefing Session will be held before the simultaneous official opening of the Wanita, Youth and Puteri Umno assemblies at 8pm at the Dewan Merdeka.

The assemblies for the three party wings will be held for two days before the official opening of the Umno General Assembly on Dec 5.

As usual, the focus will certainly be on the policy speech of Umno president Najib Razak with the message that is expected to chart the party's future direction.

On Dec 6, the debates on the various motions will begin encompassing the motion on the president's policy speech, the economy, religion and education where the issues on the party election last October and the preparation for the 14th general election are expected to be hotly debated.

Muhyiddin had earlier said that Umno delegates this time around would be given more freedom to debate the various motions to enable them to analyse the issues concerned in a wider and deeper manner.

He said it also proved that Umno was an open party and frequently took into account the views of the various parties in its serious efforts to empower the party and country.

Besides the delegates, the views of the professional groups, NGOs and the Malay interest groups would also be considered and would have an opportunity to give their inputs into the motions to be tabled at the assembly this time.

Umno vice-president and Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Umno was prepared to provide the space, opportunity and platforms through roundtable discussions and certain other methods in the efforts to make the party more inclusive.

In addition, the annual assembly would also bring together 1,724 media personnel from 118 local and international media agencies, new media including bloggers to converge at the PWTC to cover the whole proceedings of the assembly.

- Bernama