It was all praises and accolades for Prime Minister and Umno president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at Day Two of the Umno annual general assembly.

Abdullah was praised for his economic policy and branded an "over-delivered" leader by several delegates who took part to debate on the economic and education resolutions.

This was despite Abdullah receiving wide criticisms for not being able to carry out what he pledged since he came into power four years ago, especially on the fight against corruption.

Most of the speakers today continued to focus on the economic development and political rights of the Malay community but their speeches were very much toned down unlike last year's when they were peppered with racial taunts.

The debate on religion and social policies will continue tomorrow. The Umno assembly will officially end with a winding-up speech by Abdullah late tomorrow evening.

Here are some of the highlights of today's debate:

Hasim Rusdi, Negri Sembilan delegate, on economy

Our economy is getting better thanks to the leadership of Umno. We can see this clearly in the steady increase of the country's national reserves. We also witness the impressive expansion of the country's industrial section, courtesy of our prime minister and party president.

We must love our party president. He is a grassroots leader. The New Economic Policy was introduced by (former premier) Tun Abdul Razak, and now its spirit is continued by Pak Lah. He has raised the standards of the Malays in the rural areas through government initiatives like (government-linked companies) Felda and Felcra. Malays in the rural area are no longer mired in poverty.

Wan Hisham Wan Salleh, Terengganu delegate, on prime minister

Abdullah is actually a man who over-delivered. We won 28 out of 32 (parliamentary) seats in Terengganu during the last elections. The prime minister pledged in the last elections to have one university in Terengganu but now we have four.

The idea to have the Monsoon Cup was mooted by the prime minister when he went fishing with Terengganu Menteri Besar Idris Jusoh on one occasion. It was the monsoon season, that was why he couldn't catch any fish.

He could not get any fish, but he got the inspiration - and that's the birth of the Monsoon Cup. Before this, it will be a low season during the monsoon but now we have many people coming, this is how we can spur the economic growth in the state.

Idris Haron, Melaka Umno delegate, on Malay poverty rate

The poverty rate for Malays are three times worse off than the Chinese of this country. Even though the poverty rate of the Malays had decreased, it is still very high compared to the Chinese which stands at 0.6 percent. The per capita income for a Malay family is still lower to the Chinese which is 82 percent from their monthly RM3,160.

Malay poverty will not be solved by just shouting Hidup Melayu (Long Live Malays). We (Umno) must be committed through our party, to propel the Malays forward so that future generations may enjoy a brighter future.

Aminuddin Abd Nasir, Umno Overseas Club delegate, on opposition influence overseas

I want to bring to the attention of (the prime minister) and delegates that in some countries, there are groups (of Malaysians) who are trying to turn our students overseas into opposition supporters.

It has come to the point where they can influence students not to register with Malaysian embassies (although) it is a responsibility for all Malaysian students to register with the embassy.

We have proof that one group is planning to turn 80 percent of students (to the opposition path) by 2015. We have a lot of evidence to prove our accusation. We want the government to take action against such people.


Day 1: A rather tame affair