The raving and ranting at the recent Umno general assembly showed us that the party is a cornered animal.
These wise words were spoken by Zhuge Liang (181-234 AD), an accomplished military strategist, scholar and statesman who became chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.
Anger, fear and ignorance were greatly evident at Umno’s recent annual general assembly. There was little else but the sound and the fury. By the end of the meeting, we were left only with the impression that here was a dying 65-year-old political organisation desperately trying to cling on to life by baring its fangs and claws, like a cornered beast.
“How hurt we are that Umno, which has given so much service, is today being incessantly condemned and criticised to the extent of erasing from history all our past contributions.” That was the party president himself addressing the assembly.
Does Najib Tun Razak seriously think that today’s Umno is even a shadow of the kind of party that Onn Jaafar envisioned? Do today’s big shots in the party have the same leadership qualities that the early leaders had? Do they have the same integrity, honesty and sense of fair play?
Many pundits trace the rot back through only two Umno presidents. They say it was during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s long tenure that money politics and corruption were worked into the system to consolidate the power of the Umnoputra.
Today’s Umno is in fact the same as it was in 2000, when Mahathir spoke at the party’s 54th anniversary. “Money can buy anything,” he said. “Money can buy influence and popularity. Money means power. And money for the urban Malays, thanks to the New Economic Policy, is easily available.”
Yet there are some who would give Najib the benefit of the doubt and credit him with sincerity in trying to root out nepotism, cronyism and money politics from Umno and, by extension, from government. If so, we should perhaps blame dissensions and dissatisfaction among hardliners within the party for his apparent flip-flopping and inability to convince us that his transformation plan is working.
Some pundits think that Najib is hanging on to power merely by the skin of his teeth. Umno’s performance at the next general election will be crucial to his political survival. Apparently he, along with his deputy and the delegates to the assembly, believe that Umno can perform well if it emphasises its jingoistic character.
Missed opportunity
The race card was played to the hilt. The past glory of Umno was replayed and amplified. Blind loyalty and unconditional love for the party were expressed in melodramatic moments that would have made Bollywood blush.
In the process, Umno missed the opportunity to use the assembly as a major platform to win the hearts and minds of the Malaysian public for the coming electoral battle.
We are reminded of Theodore Roosevelt’s characterisation of ageing political parties: “The old parties are husks, with no real soul within either, divided on artificial lines, boss-ridden and privilege-controlled, each a jumble of incongruous elements, and neither daring to speak out wisely and fearlessly on what should be said on the vital issues of the day.”
The assembly confirmed to us that Umno has become a political dinosaur. The event itself was an image of the party’s brand of leadership, which the non-Malay heartland has labelled as The Thee Rs: Repulsive, Repugnant and Racist.
Ironically, the party president’s message was also on three Rs: Race, Religion and Royalty.
Some pundits would add a fourth R: the rural Malay-majority heartland, where Umno is desperately trying to maintain its stranglehold in the face of inroads made by its political rivals.
What is the point of recalling Umno’s past glory when many current leaders would probably fail the litmus test offered by Mahathir’s predecessor, that statesman Hussein Onn? His simple advice was for leaders to be guided by honesty and integrity and to stop abusing political power against their opponents.
Of course, we must not forget that Mahathir scored many firsts during his tenure. He made the rich much richer. He strengthened the executive arm of government and weakened its legislative and judicial arms. He was the common man’s hero against the royal families, reducing their constitutional powers and thereby giving more to his administration. And he was just as competent when it came to directing the Election Commission to gerrymander electoral constituencies.
And it is to Mahathir that we, as voters, should turn for inspiration as we prepare for the coming election. He once said that Barisan Nasional’s winning strategy was simple; it was “commonsensical” and included “lateral thinking”.
So we had better sharpen our common sense and start thinking laterally. We must vote with our heads. We must not be influenced by handouts of a few hundred ringgit, knowing that we will be squeezed dry for another five years after the election by rising costs, new taxes and higher utility bills.
Stanley Koh is a former head of MCA’s research unit. He is a FMT columnist.
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