Johor Umno’s Hasni reminds party members of his unending sacrifice in forging ahead

JOHOR BARU, March 16 — Umno vice president hopeful Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad said today it was important for party members to be not only loyal, but brave for the party to rise above its worst performance in history.

Despite facing many political challenges and disappointments, he said his strong spirit in wanting to serve Umno has not diminished.

"Back when I was the Johor mentri besar, I led the party to more than two-thirds majority in the state elections last year.

"Despite the super-majority victory, I was not appointed as the mentri besar as planned. However, this did not dampen my spirit one bit to contribute towards Umno,” said Hasni in a Facebook video today that took a lesson from his uphill political journey.

The one-minute and 54 second video was his campaign effort and reminder of his sacrifices to be a candidate for the Umno vice president’s post in the run up to this Saturday’s party elections.

Hasni, who is the Simpang Renggam MP, added that his arduous moments did not end as during the recent 15th general election (GE15), he was forced to campaign in a unfamiliar territory.

"Even with being the then Johor Umno liaison committee chairman and the party’s Pontian division chief, I could not contest in my own area of choice.

"In fact, the Simpang Renggam parliamentary constituency was not a safe seat for Barisan Nasional (BN) and it was under the control of the Oppostion party then.

"Alhamdullilah, with the support of Umno and Simpang Renggam voters we succeeded in securing a victory during GE15,” said the 64-year-old seasoned Johor politician.

Hasni said that whatever hurdles that he managed to overcome was in the past and the current challenge is for Umno to rise ahead.

He said being loyal was not enough for Umno to forge ahead, as one needs to be brave in whatever challenges that lie ahead.

"In politics, I hold to the concept of my devotion to a life of service,” said Hasni.

The ongoing Umno polls will culminate this Saturday, with elections for top posts, including the Supreme Council and divisional committees.