Back-stabbing, betraying – Umno’s hallmarks

Umno is not craving for unity with PAS, it just wants it so that it can stay in power.

It’s Umno’s political culture that hinders unity with PAS. Umno operates by way of back-stabbing, reneging on promises and betraying each other.

Though the original sin isn’t inheritable, it seems the devious conduct is.

So Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan is willing to vilify the veteran political players of old, to achieve his aspiration.

When PAS and Umno split, the Umno president then was Hussein Onn.

Everyone seems to agree that Hussein was a straight arrow. Dull and bland, but nevertheless a straight arrow committed to principles and doing things the proper way.

His deputy at that time, who Ahmad says is his sifu, was Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Now Mahathir is a real politician. He is true to the Gaullist description of one who doesn’t have permanent friends but only permanent interest.

His overriding interest has always been to stay in power. Even now in his closing years his interest is to exercise power.

Mahathir has never been known to be magnanimous to PAS.

Vilifying others

PAS was only a convenient tool for achieving a purpose. PAS was convenient as a platform when Mahathir was expelled from Umno.

Mahathir was never desirous of accommodating PAS and was absolutely against sharing power with PAS.

If the route to achieving unity is by way of a willingness to vilify others so as to achieve a strategic advantage, then the basis for unity between PAS and Umno is inherently faulty right from the beginning.

Unity should be built on the basis of merits and mutual respect.

But then Umno does not actually crave for a unity with PAS. Umno aspires to have unity because that will ensure Ahmad and Umno stay on in power.

PAS must be thinking: if this current leadership wants unity by way of intrigue, then it’s a unity not worth pursuing.

Since it’s going to be achieved through intrigue and guiltless willingness to kill off your own kind, that way of operating will always be there.

For that is what Ahmad is doing – killing off your own Umno kind, to achieve a strategic advantage.
Killing each other, betraying each other, is the natural way by which Umno operates. That is a scary basis for teaming up.

This excerpt is from the writer’s sakmongkolak47 blog. The writer is an FMT columnist.