Full text of Najib's speech at 2013 Umno General Assembly
KUALA LUMPUR: Below is the full text of Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak at wrapping up the debate at the 2013 Umno General Assembly at Putra World Trade Centre.
BismillahiRahmanirRahim … Alhamdulillahi rabbil-‘alamin wassaltu wassalmu ‘ala ashrifil anbiya wal-mursalin. wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in.
Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Salam sejahtera and Salam 1Malaysia.
My friend, YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, deputy president who is also the Umno management committee chairman, and Puan Sri Norainee
YAB Tun Abdullah Badawi and Tun Jean Abdullah. Thank you Pak Lah for attending our assembly.
YB Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Umno vice president.
YB Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal
Yang berbahagia, Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat
YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno Youth chief
YB Mas Ermiyati Samsudin, Puteri Umno chief
Umno Supreme Council members, delegates
Our children and future party successors, university students
Not forgetting our supporters outside this hall
Ladies and gentlemen,
Firstly, on behalf of the Supreme Council, I would like to thank all the delegates for the well-conducted and highly-spirited 67th Umno General Assembly.
This year’s assembly was a lively affair with delegates delivering compelling and exciting speeches, which captured the attention of others.
I think this reflects the level of maturity party members, when we congregate to discuss about our fate and future, because without Umno, the future of Malays in their own land is dim.
I also sympathise with our friends in the East Coast including my constituency Pekan, in Kuantan, Rompin, Kemaman and other areas.
The deputy president who is also the deputy prime minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) acted as the National Disaster Management Committee chairman to visit the affected areas and issued strict instructions to all government departments and agencies to assist flood victims.
I also welcome a suggestion to defer debt repayments by the flood victims temporarily . Malayan Banking Bhd has made the first move to do so. I also accept the Youth chief’s proposition, and I as finance minister call on all banks to follow suit.
Being a member of Parliament whose constituency is always affected by floods, I understand the plight of the victims. To show the government’s care and concern, we will distribute RM500 aid to each family affected by the flood.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I had also paid a visit to the flood victims after delivering the policy speech on the first day of the assembly, and I had missed parts of the debate that took place in this hall. I missed the Gua Musang representative’s speech, which I heard was very interesting.
I was attracted to the speech made by the Titiwangsa representative, who brought up the story of “I am sorry, too” that became “I am sorry seven”. This is what happens when one does not have a good command of English.
I recall a story of one of us, whose name I shall not mention, when greeted by an Englishman at an airport in London and was asked, “How do you like to be addressed?” as we have long names. He answered, “Bentong, Pahang.”
This is what happens when we are not fluent in the English language. But I believe, under the Malaysian Education Blueprint, Tan Sri Muhyiddin will put more effort to raise the level of English language proficiency.
I would also like to mention of the role played by my wife to help the people.
We all know of the Permata programmes, and I thank the delegates who had suggested more activities to be included in the project.
There are two deeds that my wife had done which I had not mentioned before. Firstly, two years ago, a Malaysian student was wrongly accused of being a spy by the Egyptian government and was subsequently imprisoned.
I asked my wife to seek help from the wife of Hosni Mubarak, who was in power at the time and within two hours, our student was released.
Secondly, during the recent Ops Pyramid to bring back our students from Egypt, we had asked the Saudi government to allow our students to board the military aircraft from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur without visas. This was a difficult request.
However, this was possible because of my wife’s good relations with the royal family there. Not just that, the Saudi government also gave us two Jumbo jets and brought back our students for free.
I had never told this, but my wife had also contributed to the Malaysians.
Chairman, before I continue, in my policy speech I thanked the rakyat for supporting Umno and Barisan Nasional, but there are two states in which we recorded significant success.
BN had wrested Kedah, and I would like to say thank you to the people of Kedah who had given their support to Datuk Mukhriz (Mahathir) and Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.
Secondly, I know that many people felt that it was difficult for us to win in Perak, but I know Datuk Seri Zambry (Kadir) and the people of Perak worked hard.
Chairman,
How do we measure the success of this assembly? To me, it should be measured by what messages we can take home from it.
What can we take as memories and as guidance to continue our struggle from this 67th general assembly? I conclude three things.
First, the 67th assembly clearly shows the support of the government’s effort in upholding the syiar and syariat of Islam in the country, as well as defending the sanctity and dignity of the religion. This is the message that was echoed in the assembly.
In this matter, if there are people who do not accept that fact – I agree when a delegate said for those who are blinded, whatever good deeds we do, they just will not accept. But believe me, we will not lose hope because Umno is on the right and true path.
In this assembly, we welcomed a few prominent figures to be with us here. I would like to share with all of you what the three Muslim leaders had said to me in private.
First, from Fatah, Dr Abdullah who said Malaysia, under the leadership of Umno was an inspiration to the Muslim world.
Khaled Mesha’al, a most-wanted man. A few years ago, they tried to kill him by spraying biochemical poison in his ear and he later fell into a coma.
By the power of Allah, he was saved. King Hussein of Jordan had told the Israeli Prime Minister that if Khaled died, the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel ends. He (King Hussein) asked for an antidote and Khaled was saved.
This is the man who came here to be with us. He had admitted and said that before, they were closer to Pas but today, they see that Umno’s struggle is on the right path. He also said that Malaysia should be proud because Malaysia is a role model to the Muslim world.
Two Muslim leaders who do not agree with one another, both have respect for us. Both leaders had also asked Umno to lead reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah.
Masjidil Haram imam Syeikh Dr Khalid Ali Al-Gamidhi who was here to lead Friday prayers in his sermon had acknowledged the concept of wasatiyyah, a principle of struggle in line with Islam. He was proud that Malaysia was one of the countries that stressed the ta’rif of Sunnah Wal Jamaah, and in defending the sanctity and dignity of Islam.
That is why, through this assembly and through discussions with the deputy president and Datuk Seri Jamil Khir, we will amend Clause 33 in the party constitution to state that the Islam is the federal religion and that it upholds Sunnah Wal Jamaah.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The second message that can be brought back from this assembly is that we, as Umno members, Malays and Bumiputeras, want to see that the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda is fully implemented. Umno accepts this message. I would like to say that all of us are committed to realising this.
We had discussions with chief executive officers (CEOs) of all government-linked companies and told them that this agenda is a part of the national agenda, and with that all CEOs the management must implement this agenda well.
To show our seriousness in this, a KPI will be imposed on all GLCs, and we will monitor this. At the end of the year, I will look at the report card.
This is the way we should do it and we must implement it. We do not have to be apologetic. When I was interviewed by CNN’s Christianne Amanpour in London, I said that if we consider in the terms of social justice, 67 per cent of the country are Malays or Bumiputeras.
In some countries, they do not want the minority to be sidelined. However, in our country, if the majority is sidelined, conditions would become severe. That is why I say, for the sake of social justice and long term stability, the position of the Malays and Bumiputeras must be enhanced.
Don’t be apologetic, this is our right and we must implement it. We do not deny the rights of other races. Was their development stunted in our nation? When we implemented the New Economic Policy, were they forgotten? Was their livelihood disturbed?
This is proof that the government under Umno’s leadership is fair to all races. Do not point fingers at us and say that we are racists. We are not racists. Umno has never been racist, Umno has always been fair to all.
We want all of them, the Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans and the rest to move forward together with us, but the leadership of the country must be led by Umno.
Under Umno, everyone will be treated fairly. Under others, the fate of the Malays and Bumiputera is uncertain.
That is why we must go on with this. We are fair and considerate, we are Malays. We have to implement what we think will develop our country, to strengthen national unity, and to uphold our vision and the principles of national justice.
We have to carry out what we think will develop the country, will strengthen national unity, will uphold national principles... and our vision.
What is our vision? Our vision is to transform the country to become an advanced nation in the near future. We do not want to compete with certain countries, we want to be leading at the front.
A developed country that can stand proud. Under Umno's stewardship, we can reach the status of a developed nation, an advanced nation, a Muslim Islamic nation but a very progressive nation... This is our model.
This is our model for the future and that is why we are gathered here. When we talk about strengthening Umno, it is for no other reason but to ensure a clear direction for our vision. We will bring our country to the peak of success under Umno.
This is it... why this process depends on us. It is a monumental task, with many challenges. Sometimes, we are forced to suffer short-term pain for long-term gain.
Why? Because we still have many economic structural issues. We have these issues partly because we depend too heavily on subsidies.
For this year alone, RM46.64 billion has been allocated for subsidies. We have allocated RM49 billion on development, with RM46 billion go to subsidies. "Is that true?" we ask.
As the experts say, this is simply not sustainable, it can't be done. We do not have to economists, all of you should understand. If we allocated RM49 billion for development, and RM46 billion on subsidies, how long can we last?
The (international) rating agencies have given us a signal. Fitch has given a signal to us... that when we swallow the bitter pill, when we raise the price of petrol as we did on Sept 20, when we abolish sugar subsidies, when we raise the electricity tariffs slightly... what does this mean?
Now, Moody's has given us a positive outlook for the future. This means, that if we continue our efforts on fiscal consolidation, we may receive a rating of A3 or A2. If our grading falls, interest rates will rise.
If the prices of houses rise, if we want to take out loans for businesses, cars, if the interest rates rise... this is why these ratings are important to us, for the health of our economy.
When the economy has stabilised, we can increase the allocations for rural development, because rural folk, I know are the core strength of Umno and Barisan Nasional. I do not forget. Datuk Seri Shafie (Apdal) mentioned it earlier... yes, the rural folk are always in my heart.
This is why I want the economy to be strengthened, to reduce our deficit. When our economy is strong, that is when we can increase allocations for housing, roads, especially rural roads.
Our people are spoiled... we want roads in our kampungs reaching to our doorsteps... not just roads to our villages, but right to our house. How spoiled. If we want to compare Malaysia with some other countries... let's not mention that country. They might complain, hand us a diplomatic note.
We want a bonus every year. In the annual budget, the one announcement everyone waits for is the bonus. Isn't that right? So many civil servants... yes, they don't think of anything else. If there is no bonus, then it's a bad budget... that's their calculation.
Simple. But for a month's bonus, we set aside RM5.6 billion... so we have to explain, a month's bonus of RM5.6 billion... these are all taken out of our revenue. So if we do not strengthen (the economy), we might not be able to do this.
And that is why we do it. For the FPTP system, I used the analogy that it's like playing badminton. Some people disputed it but I said, look, it's like playing badminton.
This is simpler, it's more like if we are sick, we have to take antibiotics, right? If we take antibiotics, then we have to finish the entire course of antibiotics.
And we have to complete it, if it takes a week, it takes a week. What's the antibiotics in the kampung? "Pantang, jangan langgar pantang." (Do not violate superstitions).
That's what I'm trying to say... if we want to be healthy, we need to strengthen our economy. We can give much more aid to the people in the future, but short-term aid, just a little bit.
This is the health of our economy. And Insyaallah, when the dawn of 2020 arrives, we will achieve success. This is what we hope for in our struggle.
As for our transformation, there are three messages. The first is on upholding Islam, the second is the Bumiputera agenda, and the third, as explained by Tan Sri Muhyiddin (Yassin) earlier, is that we must make amendments to our methods.
The people of Umno are spirited... sometimes... their spirit is strong in this very hall. I love seeing it, how enthusiastic we seem in this hall. But then they return to their branches and divisions, and we need to know what they do once they're there.
This is why it can't be business as usual. Because we have changed the country's political landscape. The world's political landscape has changed.
That is why, if we do not understand the new environment and the new politics, we will collapse. We are not infallible. If the LDP wasn't infallible, the Golkar wasn't infallible, that means Umno isn't infallible either.
We are not infallible. Only a party that is willing to change, to adapt with the times, can remain relevant, and only that party will continue to lead the country's administration. Am I not right, ladies and gentlemen?
We know this. We need to change our ways. The KPI system is actually already part of the party, we just did not realise it. I say this because when I looked through the party constitution, it already states what the KPIs are.
The branches must hold meetings twice a month, that's in our constitution. The division committee must (also do so) twice a month, that's in our constitution. How many divisions hold meetings twice a month? All of them? Yes? No!
How about state liaison committees? At least once every two months. I know my Supreme Council meets almost every month. But at the 21,000 branches... If we talk about strengthening Umno then we must strengthen the divisions. Why? That is where the might of our army, the core of our strength.
When we do not have meetings, then how are we going to deal with the rakyat's problems? Who will visit the mosques and suraus? Whose suraus will have to fork out funds? Umno has funds... but who controls the mosques and suraus now? Pas does. For free.
We made it seem difficult, so they took our place. Because we did not care. Celebrating the mosques and suraus, that is part of our responsibility at the grassroots. So, now we have put in place the KPI system.
The divisions monitor the branches, the state liaison committees monitor the divisions, and the central leadership monitors everyone. We will monitor it all. We will fix this before it's too late.
We cannot wait until we're nearing elections before we start fixing the situation. How many Umno members have not registered as voters? When we're caught out of breath, only then do we look to Wanita to do the work, when we should have done the work in an organised way. This is a modern party. This is a 21st century party.
Umno must be seen as the party of the future, not a party of the past. Not a party which is past its peak but a party with a glorious future.
This is what we have to do. On the question of party elections, I feel that the regulations for contesting were too lax. We do not want the rules to be too tight or too relaxed, we want them to be just right.
So we have discussed this issue and made a decision... I do not want to make the decision alone, we need to hear feedback from the divisions. I feel that even (the eligibility) for the top post is too relaxed. It's too easy.
Pardon me, but if even loose cannons (orang putus wire) can become party presidents then, we're in trouble. Big trouble. There are some who think that way.
Don't go up against the president if you just want "glamour". The president has to go down and meet the delegates... it troubles the soul (jiwa kacau.)
That's what happens when we have 3 or 4 million (members)... there are so many kinds of people. Not the ones in this hall but outside. So gentlemen, we changed the electoral process.
Another thing, we need to have more intellects, religious ulama and so on, in this party. That is why I appointed to the supreme council, experts and professionals. That is why our leadership can flourish with diversity.
This has to happen at the branches as well. When I checked on them, it was too late, they were all already elected. They were all elected according to their own cliques.
They used the cliques who were already there. I know. You have to be loyal to your clique... as they say, it's payback time, so they had to be chosen.
So from the 8 additional seats we added 2 or 3 more so we could appoint professionals or religious leaders so that our leadership at all levels will be stronger and more effective.
I would also like us to send a message to the African National Congress (ANC), expressing our appreciation for Nelson Mandela, a man of peace and freedom fighter. This is Umno, we fight for the same cause.
I want to tell you a true story. When I was Defence Minister, I had a colleague named Lechote (pls check spelling)... he had been in prison with Mandela on Robben Island.
He said in winter, when it gets too cold, they create a circle where the older folks are in the outer circle, and the younger folk, are in the inner circle.
I asked why they did that, keep the older folk outside? He said it was to protect the young, so that the fight can continue. These were people who were fighting against apartheid. They did not care about status or wealth, they cared about freedom.
They knew the fight would take a long time, so they sacrificed themselves for the young, so that the young can continue their struggle. This is why we must prepare our future generation of leaders. Our responsibility lies with our leaders, this is why we want to implement cadreship within the party.
Layers and layers of future leaders, so that when the time comes, they can go forward to ensure the fight continues. I hope this spirit can be instilled in our party at all levels. Insyallah, things will be better for our party.
As for other amendments, I will leave those to Muhyiddin as the chairman of the Umno management committee. I appreciate all the changes that he's made and hope that you will all continue supporting the party's leadership.
As the party's president, I would like to leave you with this advice:
Walau sutera cantik di pakai,
pelacu juga tahan diuji
sudah lumrah dalam perjuangan
ada yang luka ada yang parah
ada yang pergi membawa hati
ada yang hilang entah kemana
apa guna merajuk hati sampai membakar perjuangan sendiri
kalau UMNO dah tertewas dan mati
kalau UMNO sudah tidak bersenandung lagi
akhirnya tersungkur menyembah bumi,
segalanya sudah tidak bermakna,
semuanya sudah tidak bererti,
Saudara dan saudari,
benar jika ada pun khidmat yang telah dicurah
jika ada pun bakti yang telah disemai
usahlah sedikitpun berasa kesal
sekalipun ia tidak terpandang di dunia sementara ini
pesan orang cerdik zaman bahari
tulislah jasa-jasa kita itu di atas pasir pantai
supaya hilang tersapu ombak
kerana budi kita yang baik pastinya dikenang kelak,
dalam gembelengan dan ikhtiar transformasi Melayu dan tanahair yang belum sudah ini
jadikanlah luka dan parut itu sebagai tanda azimat
bahawa kitalah pahlawan-pahlawan UMNO yang sedang berjuang
Saudara saudari
ya memang UMNO tidak sempurna,
ya memang UMNO tidak lengkap
kendati itu tabahkanlah nurani dan berlapang-lapanglah dada
bahawa perjuangan UMNO secara manusiawinya
adalah amat teguh dan sempurna
pokoknya janganlah Melayu berdengki-dengki sesama kita
janganlah Melayu memfitnah sesama bangsa,
jangan Melayu memusnah sesama sendiri
bersabarlah dalam menerima cubaan
teguhkanlah iman di dada
perjuangan ini adalah untuk kita terus hidup
pengorbanan yang dibuat adalah untuk melihat
UMNO terus mekar mengharum demi anak cucu
makanya
saudara dan saudari sekalian
janganlah ditangguh-tangguh
usahkan berbasai basi, janganlah berdolak dalik lagi
menggalas perjuangan mulia ini
sesungguhnya Allah Tuhan yang mentadbirkan
siapa yang dikehendaki untuk naik
dan siapa yang dikehendaki untuk turun
kita merancang Allah juga merancang
dan Dialah sebaik-baik perancang
ketahuilah Allah itu tidak tidur
Allah itu Tuhan yang nampak segala
UMNO sudah berbuat sehabis baiknya
redalah atas perjuangan ini
berserahlah segala kepada-Nya
semoga negara ini menjadi
baldatun toyyibatun wa rabbun ghafur
Saudara saudari
makanya walau pembangkang terus-terusan bermain api
beraja di mata, beraja di hati tetapi UMNO dengan penuh bermaruah
akan tetap bersultan di mata bersultan di hati
namun siapa kata UMNO tidak berani
siapa kata UMNO berdiam diri
UMNOlah yang akan membenteng betis
dan menahan dengan perabung-perabung dada
semua tusukan jahat itu
demi membela dan mempertahankan Islam
untung nasib Melayu Bumiputera dan Malaysia tercinta kita ini
oleh sebab itu lah selama ini biar kita dicerca
biar kita diasak sebegitu rupa
UMNO tidak sesekali akan putus asa
UMNO tidak sesekali akan merelakan bumi Malaysia ini
diganggu gugat atau dibinasakan walau sezarahpun kepentingannya
wahai ahli UMNO semuanya
wahai pejuang parti sekalian
bingkas dan bangkitlah
UMNO parti menunjung watan
UMNOlah parti anak jantan
jauh ketengah si Pulau Pandan, Gunung Daik bercabang tiga
berpisah hayat dari badan,
UMNO dan pertiwi diperbenteng jua
hidup Melayu, hidup Melayu, hidup Melayu
hidup UMNO, hidup UMNO, hidup UMNO
hidup Malaysia, hidup Malaysia, hidup Malaysia
Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak leaving the PWTC after closing the 2013 Umno General Assembly. NSTP / Khairull Azry Bidin
Read more: Full text of Najib's speech at 2013 Umno General Assembly - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/full-te...#ixzz2n4FPER5U