BERSATU must not turn into another Umno, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the party’s first emergency general meeting (EGM) in Serdang today.

“Umno as a party started on the right track fighting for race, religion and country,” the 94-year-old party chairman told delegates.

“It thought it had the right to administer the country, because it was one of the parties that led the independence movement.

“However, instead of continuing with its original struggle, leaders began fighting for themselves, their wives and family members,” said Dr Mahathir, who once led Umno for 22 years.

He said that Umno grew weaker with every generation of leaders because they prioritised their own well-being instead of the party and its ideology.

“A branch chief would block more capable people than himself from joining his branch. He would choose those less intelligent than himself so that he remained in power.

“So, when he retired or died, a less capable person would assume the leadership. This would go on and on until they now have stupid people leading their branches,” said Dr Mahathir.

The phenomenon of self-interest instead of party ideology became evident to voters who then decided to reject them, he said.

“How can a person be popular if he or she only prioritised themselves? Who would want to back such leaders?” he asked.

“People will only support the leaders who fight for others and not themselves.”

He said that Bersatu, which is a splinter party of Umno, must not become like its predecessor.

Dr Mahathir was speaking to 1,215 delegates ahead of the party’s first ever EGM to amend its party constitution.

The party had initially adapted its constitution from that of Umno when the party was founded in September 2016.

As Bersatu is scheduled to have its first ever elections this year, the party has decided to make major amendments to its constitution to spell out the procedures and criteria for candidates vying for party posts.

Some of the major amendments include postponement of party elections and doing away with the one-man-one-vote system for an electoral college system for national positions.

Meanwhile, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said the constitutional amendments proposed were to ensure that the party continued to strengthen.

“These amendments are vital to ensure Bersatu keeps to its ideology, which is to defend Malay and Islamic rights,” said the 72-year-old, adding the amendments were not final and that the party would adjust them, according to the times.

“The transformation on which we are about to embark is to ensure that it is acceptable to us and the public. I hope that you will support those amendments as we have carefully studied them before tabling them to you,” said Muhyiddin. – July 20, 2019.