Kota Kinabalu: Pressuring and demanding Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down as Umno President is not the key to solving problems, said Umno Sabah Deputy State Liaison Secretary Datuk Masidi Manjun.He said it would be better and wise to look beyond the premier's leadership to find out what went wrong with Barisan Nasional's (BN) performance in the March 8 general election.
"There have been calls for him (PM) to step down. But honestly, if you ask me, I do not think stepping down will solve any problem.
"I think we need to look beyond Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to see what is wrong with the coalition's performance in last month's election," he said.
Masidi, who is also Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, said this to reporters after presenting laptop computers to students of the Cosmopoint College, here, Monday.
Also present were the college's Chief Executive Zulkifli Situn and its Principal Grace Chang.
On Abdullah's admission that he is among factors for BN's losses, Masidi commended him for being a courageous leader as not many leaders of his standing would admit to such.
"He did say that he may be the causeÉand I salute him for that. To me, when we feel that we have made a mistake, the first thing to do in order to solve or rectify a mistake is to admit that one has made a mistake.
"So the next step is to find out what really went wrong. Take the bull by the horn. Tackle the problem instead of finding a scapegoat that will not solve the problem," Masidi said.
On some SAPP leaders accusing Umno for bringing a wind of change to the political scenario, Masidi emphasised that Umno is not responsible for the voting trend in Sabah.
"Let's look at the voting trend generally in SabahÉareas that have many Umno members or Bumiputeras especially the Malays by far and large voted for BN candidates regardless of their race and religious background.
For example in Karamunting, Sandakan and Tanjung Aru.
"I do not see how Umno is the main factor for losses by the coalition's candidates," he said when commenting on the issue that was reported in local Chinese newspapers.
Meanwhile, Masidi advised the students to take up foreign languages that have demand upon completing their courses.
"Do not stop learning upon completing your studies and add value to your existing academic achievement.
"Consider learning foreign languages like Korean and Mandarin as these two languages are needed in the market. In Sabah, there are not many locals who can speak Korean for the tourism sector and those who can are paid US$100 to US$150 per dayÉit is a lucrative income," he said.
He said it is also important to master Mandarin, pointing out that China's economic power is growing and in 15 years the country is expected to overtake US economy.
He also advised the students to learn English Literature that can improve their command of the language.
