Umno assembly - expect the expected?

Needless to say, the “Malay agenda” will surely come into play prominently at the assembly. Umno will remind all and sundry that the party “must be strong” (hence must be supported) to ensure the Malays are not “slaves in their own country”. Also on the need for Malays to be united.

Mohsin Abdullah, fz.com

WILL the Umno general assembly be “mundane” and “boring”? Now that the general election and party polls are over. Yes to some. No to others. So if “no” is the answer then what will the assembly’s agenda be? Just what is the focus?

Top Umno vice-president (according to the number of votes obtained at the Umno polls last month) Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi somehow did not respond when asked via SMS about the assembly agenda. So too secretary-general Datuk Tengku Adnan Mansor. Even regular contacts at the Umno HQ are keeping mum this time.

Perhaps they were (and are still) busy preparing for the assembly scheduled to kick off tomorrow with the opening of Youth, Wanita and Puteri wings by the deputy president. The assembly proper will take place Thursday.

With no Umno official version forthcoming, it is left to political pundits, observers and commentators (including yours truly) to say what they expect the assembly to focus on.

With no crystal ball at hand (who needs one anyway), many see lots of back-slapping and self-congratulatory for the party’s achievement in GE13.

Expect also lots of Pakatan Rakyat bashing - the DAP for being “anti-Islam, anti-Malay,” PKR for “abetting the DAP agenda” and PAS for “being led by the nose by the DAP and PKR”.

Already former party president Tun Mahathir Mohamad is seen as showing delegates the way by saying in Mingguan Malaysia that “PAS will never lead Malaysia even if Pakatan captures Putrajaya as it will be a junior partner and a puppet of the DAP.”

And the “best attack” at the assembly will be reserved surely for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In between, delegates can be “counted on” to give the “ungrateful” Chinese an earful, to put it mildly. But even Umno-linked newspaper Berita Harian has deemed it fit to advise party leaders not “to demonise the Chinese” or risk losing Chinese support forever.

The newspaper’s former group editor Datuk Mior Kamarul Shahid, still given the responsibility of writing its editorial, expects delegates to push the leadership to come up with a stern stand “whether to continue working with the Chinese or to abandon them for supporting the opposition in GE13”.

Needless to say, the “Malay agenda” will surely come into play prominently at the assembly. Umno will remind all and sundry that the party “must be strong” (hence must be supported) to ensure the Malays are not “slaves in their own country”. Also on the need for Malays to be united.

Speaking of which, the onslaught on PAS can be expected to be toned down. Effort for an Umno-PAS muzakarah will be highlighted for the “sake of Islam and its ummah”. So too the recent meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yaakob.

Incidentally, former Kelantan MB Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat was said to have described the meeting as “unexpected,” going on to say (as quoted by Malay daily Sinar Harian) that throughout the 20 years he was MB, an official meeting such as that was never organised.

And a point to note also – Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng being “baffled” that his requests since June to meet Najib in his capacity as CM has fallen on deaf ears.

With Najib meeting Ahmad “easily,” Lim can’t help but ask if the PM “is playing the racial card?”

Meanwhile, sources quoting several Umno division leaders said religious issue will take centre stage.

“Yes, the proposed muzakarah will be brought up by the delegates as they want to know more. Also, things viewed as threats against Islam, the Syiah issue and cult culture,” said the source, adding that “the Umno transformation, especially the successful new election, will be aired. Also GST perhaps”.

By the way, fz.com’s application for media passes to cover the assembly has been rejected by Umno HQ. Meaning, our journalists are not allowed access to the convention halls, the media centre or attend the official press conferences by the party president and his deputy.

But rest assured, we will cover the assembly. As the idiom goes, “there are many ways to skin a cat”.

As to why we are not given media passes, only Allah knows. Now before anybody gets excited, I am a Muslim and I am allowed to use the word “Allah”.