NS crisis reopens old wounds Umno inflicted in the past

 

The party may be the lesser of two evils, but can the people ever trust them again?

As a Malay-Muslim, my relationship with Umno has always been complicated—part admiration, part disillusionment—a classic love-hate relationship.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the party embodied the promise of the New Economic Policy it had introduced, and for me, it was the natural choice. Onn Jaafar, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Anwar Ibrahim were my heroes, while Razak Hussein was my father’s.

When Mahathir and Anwar clashed with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Musa Hitam, I stood firmly with the former pairing.

But in 1998, everything changed. Mahathir’s decision to sack and humiliate Anwar left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Malays, myself included.

From that moment on, my admiration turned to resentment. For the next 28 years, I despised Mahathir. The very word “Umno” became synonymous with betrayal.

Then, in 2022, Umno suffered its worst electoral defeat in history.

The party, however, avoided descending into complete irrelevance when no coalition secured a simple majority, allowing it to join forces with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form the unity government.

It was a new political reality—one that Malaysians had to accept, willingly or otherwise.

For PH supporters like myself, “forgiveness” came not from forgetting Umno’s many transgressions, but from recognising the bigger picture.

By aligning with PH, Umno helped prevent Malaysia from falling under the rule of Perikatan Nasional, a coalition intent on advancing divisive race and religious narratives.

On that basis, Umno has my support—until Parliament dissolves.

My rationale is simple — it is the lesser of two evils. The choice at the time was between a party that had robbed taxpayers of millions and a coalition bent on pushing extremist views.

My decision was driven by pragmatism. In the early days of 2022, I wrote extensively to persuade Malaysians that Umno deserved a second chance.

Part of me also hoped—naively, in hindsight—that the party might change. Perhaps the humbling loss would force it to rethink its ways, or maybe the influence of Pakatan Harapan would inspire reform.

But Umno did not change—and likely never will.

Even when it was suggested that Khairy Jamaluddin, who recently returned to Umno’s fold, stand in Kedah, I publicly backed him even though I had my reservations. Once again, it was a matter of pragmatism.

Then, the Negeri Sembilan crisis happened. The decision by the 14 Umno assemblymen to retract support for a menteri besar from PKR made me wonder if they acted on their own or were part of a bigger scheme.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has since come out to back the unity government in Negeri Sembilan, and I find myself giving the party one final chance.

But the 14 Umno assemblymen have definitely reopened an old wound.

Whatever people choose to believe—whether the crisis was triggered by rogue assemblymen or part of a complicated Umno plot—one thing is certain, it calls the party’s integrity into question once more.

Will Umno be trustworthy allies in the next general election or opportunists waiting in the wings, with knives ready to stab PH in the back?

Many may have forgiven Umno its past sins, but following the Negeri Sembilan crisis, we are unlikely to forget them. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.