adminAYER KEROH: The Justice Youth (AMK) has openly admitted the party’s wing’s failure to produce credible young figures in Johor, paving the way for the landslide victory of Menteri Besar, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
AMK chief Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim said the dominance of the current state government leadership in Johor was a “bitter reality that had to be swallowed” due to the lack of alternative characters who could sit on an equal footing in convincing the people.
He explained that in the nearly four years since the last State Election (PRN), the party has not been successful in positioning a competent young leadership to compete with the existing figures at the state level.
“Onn Hafiz won big in Johor. This is a bitter truth that we have to swallow. He won in style in Johor because we failed to produce a character and figure who could sit on par with Onn Hafiz in Johor!
“So who are we going to blame? We already have the mandate, we already have the space given, we have the leaders we appointed, those who contested, those who were elected… do the work! Carry out the task! Carry out the mandate!” he said.
He said this when delivering his closing speech at the AMK National Congress here recently.
Commenting further, Muhammad Kamil, who is also the Political Secretary to Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, also criticised the attitude of a few party leaders and machinery who were overly confident ahead of the election, but were lax in terms of basic preparations at the grassroots level.
Drawing lessons from the experience of elections in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, he stressed that weaknesses in managing basic structures such as District Voting Centres (PDM) and the absence of voter data ( cula ) were the cause of the party’s failure.
“Before competing, I said ‘Yes! I can win! Even if I compete independently, I will win!’ But when it comes down to it, it’s not as beautiful as what was expressed.
“Two weeks before voting day, when asked where to go, ‘in the middle of making a fuss’. What kind of fuss is it two weeks before voting day?! This is madness! Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results! ” he stressed again.
In this regard, he reminded the AMK leadership at all levels that popularity on social media or position alone no longer guarantees the people’s votes if they fail to offer services at the community level.
On the contrary, the party machinery is urged to master local issues and continuously support the community through basic services, welfare visits, and establishing close relationships with local community institutions.
According to him, voters today are more likely to evaluate a leader’s personality, character, and determination to solve the people’s daily problems rather than simply relying on political narratives at the national level.
-Agency
