No-contest decision will affect youths' confidence in Umno, says Ismail Sabri

KUALA LUMPUR: The decision to not have a contest for the top two Umno positions will reduce the confidence of youths towards Umno, says party vice president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He expressed concern that the decision would further distance the youth from Umno as it shows that the party is not open and democratic.

"The youth outside have high ideals – they talk about democratic rights and they want a party that is open and free.

"I am worried they will lose trust in Umno and distance themselves from the party," he told a press conference at the party's headquarters here on Saturday (Jan 14).

Earlier, the Umno general assembly gave the nod to a motion for the posts of president and deputy president not to be contested at the coming party polls.

This means that Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Mohamad Hasan will remain as Umno president and deputy president respectively for another term.

Asked if a contest for the two posts could have led to party disunity, Ismail said it existed even before the 15th General Election.

"If you want to avoid disunity, why don't you stop contests at all levels?

"If you want to strengthen the party, we cannot just look inwards, we must also be able to attract people from outside the party," he said.

Ismail Sabri also raised concerns over the legality of the motion which was approved by the general assembly.

He said there were differing legal viewpoints on this and if it was in line with the party constitution.

"We need to refer the matter to the Registrar of Societies," he said.