KUALA LUMPUR: It was a clarion call of a speech.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak brought the delegates to their feet as he declared at the close of his winding-up speech that the Umno general assembly had shown the party to be “in the best state of readiness for the electoral battle”.

Without mentioning the Opposition Leader by name, he spent a good portion of his speech “roasting” Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Prime Minister and Umno president said the Opposition Leader “told the biggest lie in Malaysian history” with his claim that he would take over the government on Sept 16, 2008, with 30 Barisan Nasional crossovers and the backing of the armed forces.

Najib said he had been slandered in all manner of ways and had sworn his innocence on the Quran four times while his nemesis never once did so.

Obviously moved by the unscheduled oath of loyalty by the delegates led by his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib said Umno could never be vanquished if it worked as a single force.

Urging the people to support Barisan Nasional and reminding them that the next general election would be a defining moment, he said:

“It will decide whether we will continue to see a progressive and developed Malaysia or a tragic path of destruction.”

– THE STAR