KERTIH, 2 Dec 2008: Umno is open to ideas and suggestions that can help strengthen the party and tackle problems especially money politics, Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today.
He said the suggestions could come from party members as well as others.
“If there are ideas, we accept them. Even before this, we have been receiving ideas which we can implement but of course, they must be first decided by the party,” he told reporters after launching the Kertih Plastics Cluster Industry today.
The prime minister was commenting on the suggestion by Gua Musang member of parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that Umno implement general election-style party polls by allowing all members to elect party leaders.
Commenting further, Abdullah said, Umno was willing to listen to views from those who wanted to see the betterment of the party.
Abdullah acknowledged that money politics was a problem in Umno especially with campaign for party elections currently taking place nationwide.
The huge number of candidates also contributed to the problem, he said, adding that there was a need to come up with strategies to deal with the issue.
On whether Barisan Nasional would take action against MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek for questioning the concept of Malay supremacy, Abdullah said, he would leave the matter to the MCA. — Bernama
