Speed Up Political Reform to Engage Youth, Urges Khairy

 Is it possible that Umno's rising star and likely future leader is getting restless? His speech to the Umno Youth Assembly Wednesday was as inspiring as we would expect from the youth leader but included a call to get a move on which was aimed at the Federal Government.

He focussed on training, youth jobs and financial assistance aimed at helping young people but then he told the Government it needs to pick up the pace of political reform to better engage with youth.

Addressing an audience containing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah he said: "UMNO Youth advocates that the government continue this political transformation so that the younger generation does not have to look elsewhere for political reform."

"When young people think of change, we want them to believe that BN (Barisan Nasional) is the ultimate choice," he said.

This was hardly a call for revolution within Umno but Khairy's sense of urgency should not be ignored. Umno has been in Government for five and a half decades and for most of the time it is fair to say reform has not been the top priority.

The Najib Government, shaped by GE12, has been different. Political reforms such as the scrapping of the ISA have been monumental but it could also be argued, a long time coming. For Khairy that is a perception Umno needs to deal with if it is to attract the next generation of voters.

The Bersih violence was youth impatience in action. By the time the rally arrived it had become such a broad cause that it is impossible to say what any particular individual was protesting. After all most taking part knew the lion's share of the voting reforms had by then been agreed to.

But the restlessness of the young was palpable, hence Khairy's call Wednesday to make his party synonymous with political (and therefore generational) change.

After his address it is unlikely that Najib would have taken Khairy to task for breaking ranks as the Umno President is one of the first to admit BN in Government has been too slow to change. Najib is actually often frustrated that he cannot push reforms even faster.

But with the seismic political transformation we have seen in 2012 and the success of the Economic Transformation Programme that has been praised by the World Bank and the IMF, few people can say that Malaysia at the end of 2012 is the same nation it was at GE12.

Khairy deserved his moment in the spotlight at the Umno General Assembly because this has been his year. When someone from BN was required to take Pakatan to task over its dribble of populist promises throughout 2012 such as its plan to scrap PTPTN, the Government didn't call upon a cabinet minister but Khairy. That way when he told PKR Strategic Director Rafizi Ramli that his promises would cost RM23 billion, the rakyat could see the youth leadership of both parties on show.

And what a contrast it has been. While Khairy has been getting on with making a name for himself in Umno, Rafizi has been a casualty of the PKR Selangor civil war and faces criminal charges for making public confidential financial records over the NFC affair.

Azmin Ali, the man Khairy debated live on television in May, has all but abandoned his national ambitions settling instead for a tilt at the Selangor Menteri Besar's job – even if he has to stage a coup to get it.

The third "bright spark" in PKR, Nurul Izzah Anwar, has dealt her ambitions a self-inflicted blow with her comments about Muslims choosing their religion.

PKR is a party that seems to have given up nurturing the next generation of leadership. The enthusiasm of the Umno Youth event here at the general assembly is a sign that Umno's next generation is energetic and if Khairy is anything to go by, ready for Najib to introduce more change after GE13.