KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Senator Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has urged Umno to cast off the culture of factionalism, saying the party now faces the reality where it is more scrutinised than ever by the public.

The newly-elected Youth wing chief also urged the party to cast aside its elitism in order to get closer to the grassroots members, stressing that the younger generation wishes for their voices to be heard.

"No more Team A or Team B... we need a party strengthen by each individual and if you ask which team I belonged to, I would say whoever is elected by the party members nationwide is my choice of team member.

"I will make sure there will be no splinter groups within the wing and whoever currently supports the other contesting candidates is my own team member as well because we cannot afford to lose anyone in this struggle,” he said during a press conference shortly after the official results announcement at Menara Dato’ Onn here.

Earlier today, Umno presidential hopeful Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had claimed that all the winners of the wings elections were backed by his camp.

Asyraf has defeated former Youth vice-chief Khairul Azwan Harun, seen as linked to Asyraf’s predecessor Khairy Jamaluddin, who is now gunning for the president’s post against Tengku Razaleigh, and acting president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The 42-year-old former deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs said he will continue to get feedback from the youths.

"During my campaign trail, I have given my commitment that as soon as the wing’s exco are finalised we will go on a tour to the 191 branches nationwide to get feedbacks from the youths.

"No more staying in hotels... we will spend the night at the houses belonging to our youth division leaders and we want to engage with them frequently,” Asyraf said.

Thanking Khairy for laying the wing’s foundation, said the priority now was to strengthen the Youth wing while restoring people’s confidence in Barisan Nasional after he admitted to facing an "uphill” battle during his campaign trail.

"I was considered an outsider to the wing but when I announced my candidacy, everyone volunteered and pledged their support... it was a very organic machinery.

"Now we want to rebuild BN by fostering close bonds between grassroot members as it was them who appointed me to this position,” he said.