KUALA LUMPUR: Umno must strengthen its ability to formulate policies and solutions for the people well before an election if it wants to be ready to govern, says Umno Kuala Nerus division chief Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman.
The former Terengganu mentri besar said preparing for an election should not be limited to machinery, constituencies, candidates and campaign strategies.
The party must also be clear about what it intends to do if given the mandate to govern.
“If we want to become a government, we cannot only have a list of candidates.
“We must have a list of solutions to the problems faced by the people,” he said when debating the presidential policy speech at the 2026 Umno General Assembly on Saturday (Sept 12).
Ahmad Razif said it was not enough for the party to say that the economy needed to be strengthened or that young people needed jobs.
The party must have clear answers on how those goals could be achieved.
“We must know what jobs they need, in which sectors and how investments can be created.
“We must have clear proposals on schools, TVET, higher education, digital skills and the employability of our children,” he said.
He said the same approach should be taken towards agriculture, fisheries and welfare.
The party needs to determine how farmers, fishermen and livestock breeders could earn better incomes.
It must also determine how every ringgit spent by the Government could provide greater value to the people.
“Winning an election is a process. Governing is a trust.
“Winning requires the support of the people. Governing requires capability,” he said.
Ahmad Razif said such capability could not be built within weeks after an election result was announced.
It had to be developed beforehand, he said.
He said Umno needed people capable of discussing and formulating policies in areas including the economy, education, healthcare, artificial intelligence, data centres, agriculture, fisheries, investment, housing, infrastructure, technology and the environment.
“We must have the ability to debate policies that can be tested before they are implemented,” he said.
“If we want to become an organisation that is ready to govern, we need to build a capability that has received less attention so far, which is the ability to produce policies.”
Ahmad Razif said this was in line with the “Malaysia Blue Agenda” outlined by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his policy speech.
The agenda sets out eight key initiatives towards the country’s 100th year of independence.
Earlier, Ahmad Razif also called for five new political dynamics outlined by Ahmad Zahid to be widely disseminated among party members.
These included the changing nature of voters, the distinction between cooperation in government and during elections, the need to regain Malay voter confidence through performance rather than sentiment, the importance of winning the confidence of non-Malay voters and young people, and placing performance politics ahead of perception politics.
