Malaysia's ruling UMNO party holds annual assembly

Malaysia's ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) kicked off its annual assembly Thursday as its president and Prime Minister Najib Razak urged the party to reform in order to remain as the ruling party in the country. Strengthening the economy of the Malay and other indigenous groups, which make up the majority of the total population of 28 million, was listed as priority in Najib's transformation plans for UMNO. "Considering the fact that 67.9 percent of the nation's population is made up of them, enhancing their economy should be the primary agenda of the nation as it is pointless to have a developed nation where the majority are neglected," he said in the opening address. Najib also urged the party to come up with young leaders, develop party machinery and introduce performance-based system. Najib's multi-racial ruling coalition, dominated by the Malay based UMNO, extended its uninterrupted rule in the country since independence in the May general election despite the worst showing ever. But UMNO increased the number of seats in the parliament thanks to the strong support from the rural Malay voters. Since assuming office in 2009, Najib has embarked on a national transformation agenda, rolling back policies that favour the ethnic Malays over the more well-off ethnic Chinese, who make up a quarter of the population. Najib retained his post as UMNO president and the leadership lineup in the earlier party polls, but some analysts said the Prime Minister is facing pressure from the party conservatives to strengthen the Malay rights.