Umno and DAP, the conjoined twins

By Tay Tian Yan

To me, Umno and Dap are inseparable. This is particularly true as the general election approaches, and Umno finds itself increasingly needing DAP, and vice versa.

Disagree? Just look at the just concluded Umno general assembly and everything will become self-explanatory.

For the first time a DAP leader’s picture gets into the PWTC hall. Lim Kit Siang’s face was right up there on the wall, with a parade of Pakatan Harapan’s Malay leaders, from Dr Mahathir Mohamad to Muhyiddin Yassin, Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Mohamad “Mat” Sabu.

The intent is straightforward: Lim is controlling the Malays in the opposition camp.

Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil even referred to him as “Emperor Lim”, and said DAP was the “country’s most dangerous enemy”.

In the words of Umno president Najib Razak, once the DAP-controlled opposition took control of the country, it would be the start of the country’s nightmare: the self esteem of Malays will be trampled, civil servants sacked, Islam disgraced, bumi institutions marginalised, status of Malay Rulers compromised.

But, is DAP that horrifying? Is the party really that powerful and influential?

Such accusations will be dismissed as a joke by 99.99% of Chinese Malaysians. Whether you are a DAP sympathiser or hater, these could never be used as excuses for Umno to attack DAP.

But, Umno’s propaganda is never meant for the Chinese, but has been painstakingly designed to please the Malays.

Even if many Malays are unhappy with Umno, they will never deny their own ethnicity, their religion or community rights.

So long as Umno is successful in authoring a conspiracy theory against DAP, it will have a way to rally the Malays behind it. The Malays can only choose between Umno and another DAP enemy, PAS.

As for PKR, Amanah and PPBM, as they have some kind of relationship with DAP, they will not get the support of the majority of Malays.

To be honest, Umno’s archrival is not DAP. Among the so many seats it has contested, it hardly had any direct clash with DAP.

Umno only exploits DAP to crush the other Malay parties, which is extremely unhealthy and potentially divisive.

This, nevertheless, is exactly what DAP is also doing right away.

For decades DAP has been instilling in its audience, the Chinese Malaysians, the belief that Umno is the embodiment of oppression, corruption and racism.

Anything with the slightest relationship with Umno, from individuals to institutions to all government policies, are rotten and corrupt and must be brought down at once.

So, MCA is labeled Umno’s dog (just because it is an ally of Umno), BR1M a sheer waste of the country’s resources (even though many Chinese Malaysians are BR1M beneficiaries), GST a heinous monster (despite the fact it is fair taxation practiced in many other countries as well).

Mahathir used to be their Number One enemy because he was Umno president, but takes on the image of the nation’s saviour as he is now fighting Umno.

The RM2.6 billion 1MDB scandal is the king of all scandals that must be crushed at all costs. As for the RM31.5 billion Bank Negara Malaysia foreign exchange trading losses, did they actually happen in the first place?

DAP’s strategy has been etched in the core of Chinese society in the country and penetrates deep into the DNA of Chinese Malaysians, most of whom see themselves as subjects of persecution, including many who have benefited from government policies.

Not all Chinese Malaysians support DAP, but as long as they hate Umno, they will vote for the federal opposition.

The party never clashes with Umno head-on in elections, but it can easily win a score of parliamentary seats and take hold of Penang and half of Selangor simply by slamming Umno alone.

Yes, I said it. Umno and DAP are inseparable. They need each other to survive, like conjoined twins.

They cannot survive without the other, but hate being tied down by the other such that they have lost the ability to dictate their own fates.

Umno cannot free itself from its obsession with DAP while DAP continues to cook up issues to cater to the needs of the Chinese community. Either party lacks a clear direction to run this country nor a grand vision for its future.

But, as long as these two parties continue to exploit each other, their individual markets are assured.

I’m really curious what will become of Umno one day if there is no more DAP, and vice versa.

In the case of Chang and Eng Bunker, the world’s most celebrated conjoined twins from Siam (hence the term Siamese twins), when Chang fell sick at the age of 63, Eng was overwhelmed by fear, worrying that he would not live if Chang were to die.

Several days later, Chang died of cerebral blood clot and Eng three hours after him of unidentified causes.

Tay Tian Yan writes for Sin Chew Daily. -FMT