UMNO deputy presidential hopeful Mohamad Hasan says he will draw on his experience in crisis management from his corporate days to bring the defeated party back to its former glory.

The former Negri Sembilan menteri besar, who is better known as Tok Mat, said the party No. 2 played an important management role.

“The second man in any organisation is key in managing the organisation. He is like the chief operating officer.

“This was my forte in the corporate sector where I had proved myself at managing different crises. Umno as a 71-year-old organisation is too big. What it needs is better management and the number two man is very important,” he told The Malaysian Insight, at the Rembau Umno division meeting in Senawang, yesterday.

Mohamad’s career outside politics includes several years in banking, where he rose to become general manager at Bank Bumiputra London. He wasl also chief executive officer at Cold Storage Malaysia and managing director at Cycle and Carriage Bintang Bhd.

Mohamad threw his hat into the ring at the party elections following Umno’s defeat in the 14th general election. The Negri Sembilan liaison chief and Rembau division chief is up against national information chief Annuar Musa for the deputy president’s post.

Mohamad has the backing of his deputy in Rembau, Khairy Jamaluddin, who had at the last minute withdrawn from the vice-president’s contest to go after the president’s post.

Mohamad said he had no problem working under a younger leader, which would be the case if he and Khairy were to both win.

“The deputy president will chair most of the management committees and become the elections director while the president’s role is to unite the party and communicate with the public. The deputy oversees the restructuring and management,” he said.

Mohamad is optimistic Umno can rebuild itself with the right reforms and re-organisation after the party polls on June 30.

“Umno needs to be managed and reformed to rise from defeat.”

Without having struck up a formal partnership heading into next weekend’s party polls, Mohamad said he was open to working with anyone.

“I am a singles player without any camp, although Khairy is from the same division as me. But this doesn’t mean we are in the same boat.

“I’m a professional manager and I can work with anyone.”

Khairy is one of the three main challengers for the president’s post that fell vacant after Umno president Najib Razak quit last month. The two others are interim president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

“Umno can rise again if there are no more issues and problems.

“I’m confident of reforming and reorganising the party if I were to be elected deputy president. I have already drawn up the plans but I am not announcing them now.” – June 25, 2018.