KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Umno must train its focus on ensuring the new Bumiputera empowerment agenda adequately reaches its target community, Khairy Jamaluddin said today, noting how the Malays had given their “wholehearted” support to the party during Election 2013.

The Umno Youth chief incumbent said this was proof enough that Umno had never strayed from its race struggle, despite recent allegations made by party stalwart and veteran politician Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He told an exclusive interview with Bernama that the criticism was “unfair” as the party never stopped fighting for the Malays, the country’s most dominant ethnic group.

“I’m of the opinion that this is an unfair observation on Umno. Umno is still fighting for the Malays and the party is sincere in empowering the Malays,” he said, according to a transcript of the interview.

The young leader pointed out that only recently, Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had outlined a major agenda to help empower the Bumiputera economy.

The agenda, a revised pro-Bumiputera New Economic Model (NEM), purportedly provides the dominant community access to over RM31 billion in aid and contracts.

Political analysts immediately criticised the agenda, saying it reversed Najib’s promises to roll back race-based policies and was a politically-motivated decision ahead of the upcoming Umno elections.

Others have also labelled the NEM an “exaggeration” of the now-defunct New Economic Policy (NEP), and described the contained measures as violating Article 8 of the Federal Constitution that guarantees equality to all Malaysian citizens.

But Khairy labelled the initiative “solely an Umno agenda”, pointing out that it was undertaken by an “Umno-led government”.

The outspoken politician also rubbished remarks that Umno had grown out of touch with the Malays or that the Bumiputera empowerment plan, would only benefit the upper echelon of Umno’s top leadership.

“Just because a few Umno leaders have made use of their party positions for their own self gain, it is unfair to penalise the whole party. We have to see the party in the bigger picture,” he said.

“If Umno is out of touch with the Malays, definitely Umno would not have won more seats in GE13 and definitely more Malays would have crossed over to the opposition.”

Khairy was referring to Umno’s performance in the just-concluded May 5 general election, where the party gained eight more federal seats than it won in the 2008 polls despite Barisan Nasional (BN) losing an additional seven seats overall.

“The fact that the Malays have given their wholehearted support, it is now time for Umno to implement its plans,” Khairy said.

“When speaking of the Malay agenda, there have been great plans yet their implementation had disappointed the Malays.”

As such, the Rembau MP said Umno’s role now is to monitor the implementation of the Bumiputera agenda and ensure its success.

He stressed, however, the need to ensure only those deserving would be on the receiving end of aid promised under the new empowerment plan and not those dubbed as cronies.

“By this way we will be showing to the people that we are empowering all deserving Bumiputeras and not those who are close to us,” he said.

At the close of nominations here yesterday, the Umno Youth chief race turned into a five-corner struggle between incumbent Khairy and four other aspirants — Pusat Bandar Taman Chempaka Umno Youth assistant secretary Syed Rosli Syed Harman Jamallulail, Bendang Baru Umno Youth chief Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah

Sanusi, former Merbok Umno Youth chief Abd Karim Ali and Bukit Setiawangsa Umno Youth chief Irwan Ambak Khalid Izhar.

Khairy won the coveted Umno Youth chief title after he beat the odds in the 2009 Umno polls and raced ahead of contenders current Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and former Selangor Mentri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo in a three-corner fight.