Umno 66th anniversary demoralized by Bersih: Time to reflect on its survivability

UMNO birthday celebrations have never been celebrated on such a grand scale as its 66th anniversary.True, no one including many UMNO members themselves seem to be aware that it is ongoing now or have shown much enthusiasm although it was an event that had been keenly anticipated, with the highlight being a gathering of 1 million Malays providing the thrust for Prime Minister Najib Razak to fire up his party ahead of the coming 13th general elections.

There are many reasons for the sudden drop in interest and enthusiasm. Obviously, the main factor was Najib's mishandling of the April 28 Bersih 3.0 rally for free and fair elections. Attended by hundreds of thousands Malaysians, that mammoth gathering organized by civil-society and supported by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Rakyat completely knocked the oomph out of the UMNO 66th celebration.

That Najib has still been unable to bluster his way through and gloss over the devastating impact of the Bersih rally underscores how badly mutilated his personal credibility has been by the way he tried to suppress the April 28 protest. Not only are ordinary Malaysians up in arms against him for ordering the most violent police crackdown in recent history, many UMNO members are unhappy with the crude tactics deployed and Najib's own poor show of leadership.

The repercussions of the April 28 violence are still filtering in, including from overseas. Not only has Malaysia's national and international image been battered, it has become something of a shame for someone to say that he or she is from UMNO. Like it or not, thanks to Najib's ham-fisted crackdown, the party is more than ever seen as a villain hungry to cling to power, even to the extent of hurting other countrymen who disagree.

No big bang, a whimper more likely

In the past, UMNO celebrations have always been some sort of a members-only private affair, with simple ceremonies, speeches, singing, oath-taking and raising the party flag at the headquarters in the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Never before has any UMNO president had such grandiose - and expensive - plans of hosting a 13-day celebration such as the current one which began on May 1 and will end on May 13.

But sad to say, despite spending another huge sum of money - most of which will probably come from ordinary taxpayers' pockets - the UMNO 66th looks like another tremendous fiasco for Najib.

He has long been criticized for showiness, of being all form but no substance. The UMNO 66th may be the worst indictment of his under-performance to-date. What should be a joyous celebration culminating in a roaring morale-booster for GE-13 looks like ending up with a whimper - without even the flash and dash, the glamorous razzmatazz that both Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor adore and think nothing of paying sky-high for.

The events that had been slated includes the reading of “tahlil”(praises to God) and Quranic verses “Yassin”, holding the “Melayu Terbilang” award, the “Melayu UMNO” run, “Hari UMNO” carnival, futsal competition, motorcycle convoy and forums. The eve of the celebration on 11th May will be held at Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil and Najib had planned to make it a standing-room only event -  with the stadium filled to the brim with 1 million UMNO members.

However, the talk around town now is that Najib has sent his aides scrambling and telephoning division chiefs all over the country, beseeching them not to be demoralized by Bersih 3.0, but to come as scheduled.

Too busy infighting for party celebrations

While it makes sense for the various UMNO warlords to appear in a final show of force against Anwar and the Pakatan, the UMNO grapevine is heavy with tales of dastardly infighting.

Many warlords see little future with Najib at the helm, yet it is difficult for them to oust him with former president Mahathir Mohamad still backing him. Certainly, whatever 'show' is put on at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, Najib's days are numbered. What remains to be seen is how, when and by what manner will the UMNO warlords push him out!

Morale is indeed running low in UMNO. This is clear from the near absence of enthusiasm in which the 66th celebrations were kicked off. These were completely overshadowed by the Labor Day or May Day celebrations. On 2nd May, UMNO Kedah valiantly tried to hold a flag relay but it ended up with Merbok Youth chief Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin leading a group of just 5 motorcycles and 5 runners on a 20km run to Sungai Petani. It was embarrassing to say the least.

July GE-13 a red herring to appease the 'warlords'

Najib has tried to pin the blame for Bersih 3.0 on Anwar and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali. He even accused Bersih of trying to topple the BN government - echoing Mahathir, who warned Malaysia would go to the dogs if the Pakatan came to power.

The latest news leaks in the UMNO media are that GE-13 will now be held in early July, whereas Najib had been expected to declare a mid-June polling date during the gathering of 1 million Malays at the Bukit Jalil stadium.

UMNO watchers believe the July time line is another red herring to appease UMNO warlords, who may turn ugly at the latest polls deferment. Chances are much higher that the GE-13 will be held later this year or even in 2013, they said.

The faltered start of the UMNO 66th celebration reflects the current mood in the party. Silenced by the Bersih show of force, no one is quite sure of what to say or do. The silent majority that Najib and Mahathir have always claimed and bragged about finally broke its silence on April 28 and its message does not bode well for either UMNO or BN.

Writing is on the wall

It is now even tougher for UMNO to recover as the weakened Najib may be the worst leader to helm both party and the nation at such a tumultuous crossroad in its history. That he has run out of answers and ideas is clear. Police brutality has backfired. Mahathir's sniping at Anwar no longer works. In fact, Mahathir is now arguably the most hated man in the nation and Najib a close second.

Sex scandals galore, sodomy accusations and doctored sex tapes no longer attract interest - instead, they irritate. The latest example is the sex video against PKR's Azmin Ali, which was 'released' in the immediate aftermath of the Bersih 3.0 rally. Azmin has denied all involvement, insisting it was a bid to take the heat off Najib. Whether the man in the sex tape was really Azmin, no one really seems bothered about. Instead, the initial public reaction was to agree with Azmin's assessment - that it was cooked up to deflect the Bersih fallout from Najib.

Yet, despite the lukewarm public interest in the alleged Azmin sex-tape, the whole of Malaysia is clamoring for more details about how Najib allegedly swiped US$1 billion in illegal commissions from the purchase of the RM7.3bil Scorpene submarines. They want justice for the embezzlement in the RM250mil NFC corruption debacle involving the family of UMNO Women's chief Shahrizat Jalil.

Malaysians also want to see Mohd Nedim, the wayward son of UMNO minister Nazri Aziz, punished; they want the police to act fairly without preferential treatment for the UMNO elite. They are not impressed by the dismantling of the AirAsia-MAS swap as they intuitively know the latest deal will benefit some party or other related to Najib.

Crushed bones and lost lives

Above all, it appears the majority of Malaysians want clean and fair elections because they know this is the only way for them to finally reclaim their rights over the government. It is the people who chose who they want to lead them and not for UMNO to insist that it remains the government of the nation for as long as it likes. Now, this is a premise that UMNO members would do well to spend their thoughts on during their 66th anniversary.

If they still insist on 'trying their luck' and allowing Najib to continue with the bid to retain power at 'all costs', even to the extent of "crushed bones" and "lost lives", then it is for certain UMNO won't get to celebrate another 66 years of existence.

Malaysia Chronicle