I am afraid UMNO doesn’t seem to understand the bigger issue beyond what just happened with the issue of Marx Sabu. I have written a short article about how I wished UMNO had handled Mat Sabu. In my mind it would have been a better strategy to isolate Mat Sabu from PAS. Maybe some UMNO strategists should have pointed out the incongruity of having Mat Sabu as PAS’s number two.
Imagine what will happen to the character of PAS should its current president, Haji Hadi were to be incapacitated, infirmed or passes on. Mat Sabu will become the PAS president as allowed by its constitution. UMNO should have played on the misfit of having a Mat Sabu as a top PAS leader.
Instead it takes the ill-advised strategy of widening the war theater by linking Mat Sabu to PAS and Islam. Silly approach I think because then UMNO would have to marshal up its religious troopers sometime in the future. It doesn’t have the soldiers to battle PAS in a territory which is mastered by PAS. UMNO is going to commit its own charge of the Light Brigade.
What is the bigger picture? When ‘Marx’ Sabu gave a different opinion on hitherto accepted version of history, UMNO doesn’t get it. What can be learnt from the clash of the ideas represent by Marx Sabu and UMNO?
It is painfully obvious that the open dispute on UMNO’s version of history is an indication of more troubles for UMNO. UMNO’s own legitimacy founded on a possible skewed and partisan narration of history is now being questioned. Unfortunately, the significance behind the controversy created by the antics of Marx Sabu, is lost.
UMNO must understand that it just cannot rely of the past to stay in power. This is the most important lesson. If people start disputing your version of history which means people also dispute your version of your role in history, that tells you, if you go around telling people of past glories and all that- it doesn’t click any longer.
New loyalties, new allegiance, must be won. That means, UMNO doesn’t have a base. It can’t claim it has a base by relying on past loyalties. The people with old loyalties may have already passed on.
Other political parties cannot assume they have support system too. That support system must be won. It’s out there to be won. So UMNO better learn the lessons from MarxSabu episode.
It can’t rely on past glories. It has to earn new support system. That means a lot of work has to be put in to earn loyalty and allegiance by conviction. The PM may have some idea about earning the new support system. Except he’s doing it the superficial way- bicycling here, hey yo-ying! there, walk about here, there and everywhere- all these he can do.
He has done and will do many things, except he has not won the support system on convictions.
That is the province of ideas and values. It’s a new game plan. UMNO doesn’t have a strategic perception of the new game plan. It can’t win the cyber war by scorn and hysterics. You don’t earn respect and loyalties by invectives and obnoxious words.
Plus, even worse, you are not engaging the thinking crowd. That is the fertile ground from which loyalties arising from convictions and beliefs are spawned.
The PM has some rudimentary ideas. But he’s alone. His nascent ideas will be neutered by the warlordism of UMNO leaders. They live in the past, trying to revive the past. These days, as shown by the Marx Sabu episode, recourse to the disputed past is counterproductive.
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