'Take radical action, not change the president' - Noraini Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR - Umno must do something extra ordinary and radical to repair its image amongst the public, and the suggestion to change the party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is not appropriate for the time being.

Umno Wanita chief Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said pointing fingers to any party due to the current image of Umno and its disappointing show in the elections would not bring any good.

“The party must rebrand its image, empower its values and the negative perceptions must be stopped.

“We realise the enemies do not want to see Umno rise, so they are taking the opportunity to topple the president and the institution.

“At the same time, the failure to overcome the negative perceptions has caused the lowest level of support ,” she said.

Noraini was speaking at the Umno Wanita Solidarity Assembly with the President - Defending the Institution at the Tun Hussein Onn Hall, World Trade Centre (WTC) on Thursday.

The 2023 State Elections on Aug 12 witnessed Umno and BN’s defeat with 19 seats won out of the 108 seats contested which were 14 in Negeri Sembilan, two in Selangor and Penang and one in Kelantan.

The disappointing results for Umno at the state elections has caused the party to receive criticisms and many have urged for Zahid to step down as president.

Noraini added the attempts to ruin the party was not a new issue and it had begun ever since the establishment of the party.

“It’s not weird when our president is condemned greatly now.

“We must remember that he (Zahid) represented the first Umno president that was not in charge of the government administration when he was appointed,” she said.