KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Newly appointed Umno supreme council member Isham Jalil said today that he will focus on bread-and-butter issues.

He said as someone from an Umno grassroots family, he was honoured to be given the opportunity to work at the highest level of the party.

"I see that the most pressing matter is the economic issue because it just doesn’t affect the party, but the people as well.

"Time is of the essence. We need an out-of-the-box solution,” he told reporters after the Umno supreme council meeting today.

Isham, a Harvard graduate, said he intends to work closely with Umno as part of the government.

He was chosen to fill the spot vacated by Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman after the latter was dropped from the supreme council by party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Meanwhile, Umno secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Maslan again said that he hopes the Registrar of Societies (RoS) will approve the party’s amendment to hold internal elections after the next general election.

He said that the RoS had yet to approve the amendments.

"We hope that the RoS will reach a decision soon. We have compiled and sent all the additional documents requested by the RoS.

"We have also written an official letter and hope that the RoS gives its approval because what we are doing is in accordance with the set procedures,” he said.