STOP fighting each other and focus on taking on the enemy at the next general election, Umno vice-president Mahadzir Khalid told party members today.

The Padang Terap MP said all Umno members had to be on the same page if it wanted to recapture Putrajaya in the next national polls.

“Do we want to die fighting one another or die fighting in the election? We have to be solid,” he said while officiating Sembrong Umno’s Women, Putra and Puteri meeting in Kluang today.

He said without unity, the next general election would be an uphill battle for Umno.

“If we are not together, there will be no confidence in the party in the coming elections and we will be weakened.

“We need to be strong and vibrant, from the grassroots to our branches, we must have the intention of leaving the opposition and becoming a government,” Mahdzir added.

Backlash among Umno members had surged last month when the party appointed former president Najib Razak as chairman of the Barisan Nasional (BN) advisory board.

Padang Rengas Umno division chief Nazri Abdul Aziz and former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin publicly opposed the appointment, calling it “regressive”.

Meanwhile, Mahdzir said in his speech that after losing in the last general election, Umno’s course had veered too far from the government.

“On May 9 last year, we realised that Umno was far too detached from the government. Umno was a political party that had nothing to do with the government when we lost.

“We realised that we are a political party that needs members who will fight to ensure that the rakyat accepts the party.

“We had 3.6 million members; we kicked out 600,000. Now, we only have three million members. There are 14.8 million voters in Malaysia. Our members are three million, not even 50% of voters in Malaysia.

“Some of the delegates here are fighters who want to ensure there is still support for the party, to continue the struggle,” said the former education minister.

Mahdzir also added that Umno’s cooperation with PAS was necessary to win at the ballot box.

“In politics, to win elections, you cannot just be charitable and hope for the best. If you want to win elections, you have to have a strategy.

“When we speak and get PAS leaders to work with us, we see their intentions. This is not to marginalise the Chinese, Indian, Sabahan and Sarawakian community,” Mahdzir said. – August 2, 2019.