Political rebranding needs guts, ideas

MULTIRACIAL PARTY: The need to refresh the BN brand is seen to be more vital after the recent polls

Ahmad A. Talib, NST 

 A PIECE of news from Phuket, Thailand, has started a fresh round of debate. It started when Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin responded to an idea that Barisan Nasional be developed into a single party.

By this, it means that all 13 component parties in BN should be merged into one national party. Of course, this is not automatic. The components in the national ruling coalition will need to think through this carefully, weighing the pros and cons.

Earlier, Datuk Chang Ko Yuon, the acting president of Gerakan, a BN component which did badly in the May 5 general election, had initiated the idea of a single party union. If adopted, Chang said, BN would become the single biggest multiracial party in the country.

The idea of merging the components is not without merit. Component party leaders had, at some point and privately, broached the idea among themselves. The idea is not totally new in that suggestions for a multiracial party had once been suggested by an Umno leader.

Its founder president, Datuk Onn Jaafar, had suggested that Umno open its doors to non-Malay members, an idea that was strongly objected at that time. This was in the late 1940s, soon after Umno was founded. His idea was seen by Umno members as to be too ahead of the time then.

While the idea didn't gain support, the three major political parties then -- Umno, the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) -- instead formed a coalition representing the three major ethnic groups. Hence, the Alliance.

Today, the need to refresh the brand is seen to be more vital after the recent polls. Even though BN was returned at the federal level, and wrested back Kedah from the opposition, many in the coalition want BN to be given a fresh, new look.

Not just in look and feel, but in substance as well. BN, which replaced the Alliance as more components were added, is a strong brand, having been at the helm of national administration since Merdeka. A rebranding exercise may appear to be the answer, but this has to be holistic, deep and meaningful.

The idea will not get automatic support. As Muhyiddin rightly said, many would agree and many would disagree.

"This is something big, but I think it's important because I don't know if we can sustain our position for a period of say, five years... looking back at the recent elections, support at certain levels was not encouraging despite BN winning and forming the government.

"Many in the BN leadership believe it may be time to review the coalition from the current coalition make-up," said Muhyiddin, the Umno deputy president.

Having a lab to study and debate various aspects of BN is an excellent idea. There really is no harm in having some frank debates on the matter. Various reforms have already been undertaken in the BN components. To continue to be relevant and appealing, more needs to be done though.

There are talents in BN. Fresh ideas can come from younger voices, and there are many. The coalition has tradition but that needs tampering to go with the times.

A rebranding exercise will not be complete without tearing the brand apart and building it up with renewed passion, boldness and clear vision.

Let's see what happens next.