TYPICAL UMNO DOUBLESPEAK! Desire for unity or inability to reform?

The greatest suspense for Umno's party election scheduled in the end of this year is, whether there will be contests for the party's top posts? If party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin are challenged, would it lead to a split within the party?

Since the 1987 party crisis, the fear of split has emerged and everyone has been worried that once the party's top posts are challenged, it might lead to a split. Therefore, they have been trying to stop it. There is no exception for the party election this year, although a direct election will be held.

A record of dubious elections

The 1987 Umno party crisis has affected the national democratic progress. At that time, team B formed by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Tun Musa Hitam challenged Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Ghafar Baba from team A. Eventually, Mahathir was reelected as the party president with a narrow majority while Ghafar also defeated Musa.

Razaleigh supporters then brought the election result to the court. On February 4, 1988, the court declared that Umno was illegal. The ruling faction later formed a new Umno while the challenging faction formed the Spirit of 46 Malay Party (S46).

The party crisis brought a great damage to the party while Mahathir was also not so happy that even after so many district representatives had nominated him, he could beat Razaleigh only by 43 majority votes. To prevent "fake nomination", Umno introduced the bonus-vote system in which 10 bonus votes would be automatically added to the candidate contesting for the party president or deputy president post for every nomination the candidate receives.

Bonus votes and quota system

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was a beneficiary of the bonus-vote system. In the 1993 party election, he challenged Ghafar for the deputy president post. Anwar gained 1,470 of bonus vote after receiving 147 nominations, causing Ghafar, who got only seven nominations, to retreat.

The bonus-vote system was not democratic and thus, Umno passed a motion in 1998 to amend its party constitution. The bonus-vote system was abolished and replaced by a quota system, which requires at least 30%, 20%, 15% and 5% of nominations to qualify candidates contesting for the posts of party president, deputy president, vice-president and supreme council member respectively.

Najib benefited from the quota system in the 2009 party election. Razaleigh had failed to gain enough nominations, allowing Najib to win uncontested and he took over as Umno's president and the country's prime minister. However, Najib wished not to hide behind the quota system and to curb money politics, the party convened an extraordinary general meeting in October 2009 and the motion to amend the party constitution and abolish the quota system was passed. Also, the number of central committee members qualified to vote has been increased from 2,500 to 146, 500, all district delegates in other words.

No voting since 1987

That is to say, the top posts of Umno have never been voted since 1987 and it is indeed a strange thing for a political party. Election can stimulate leaders' and members' thinking and it is unhealthy for Umno to have stagnant politics and culture for so many years.

However, there are voices calling for no contest for the party's top posts even before the branch election is started. Negeri Sembilan Umno recently passed a motion demanding for no contest for the party's top posts to avoid split. It was echoed by Umno vice-president Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Sabah Umno women chief Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin. It is interesting that another vice-president, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that he has no final say on the matter.

Since there is no obstacle to contest, it is not so easy to have the top posts uncontested. However, the number of those supporting the idea of no contest has become an indicator for the strength of each faction and whether Umno is able to reform.

Sin Chew