Speaking at the Kelana Jaya Umno Youth and Puteri wings’ division delegates meeting today, Khairy said that it was equally important that the ruling party found a way to win the hearts of those in urban areas.
“The votes that we get from rural areas are indirectly linked to the people’s perception of us in the urban areas,” he said.
He explained changes were taking place because many younger voters were moving out of the rural areas and into cities to look for job opportunities, and because of the Federal Government’s own efforts in developing these rural areas.
“When this happens then the thought process of those in rural areas will eventually be the same as those in currently more developed areas, and when those from the city go back to their kampungs during festive seasons they also influence the minds of their families in these rural areas.”
He advised Umno members in towns and cities in and around Selangor to act the way the opposition did in rural areas dominated by the ruling party, where they raised issues affecting the locals.
“Remember that here (in Selangor) we are the opposition. We mustn’t wait for them to solve the issues, we have to act the way they do in our constituencies by bringing up these issues and pressuring the state governments to act.”
He reminded those in attendance that the general election might be brought forward earlier than mid-2018, in which case the party would not have the time to debate among themselves or to bring up internal conflicts in the party.
“In the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections we won because there was internal conflict among the opposition parties. Internal conflicts guarantee losses.”
Many have speculated that the reason Barisan Nasional retained seats in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar in June was that three-cornered fights took place, splitting votes among the opposition parties.
In Sungai Besar, Barisan Nasional’s candidate, with 16,800 votes, won with 9,191-vote majority against PAS (6,902) and Amanah (7,609).
In Kuala Kangsar BN had 12,653 votes, winning by a majority of 6,969 votes over PAS (5,684), Amanah (4,883) and an independent candidate (53).
Umno has had a strong foothold in states like Johor, Malacca and Kedah among others. Selangor was won by the Pakatan Rakyat alliance in the 2008 general election, with PKR at the helm of the state government.