To remain relevant, Umno must…

The consequence of Umno politics affects us all and this will have its nadir at the Umno party elections to be held in November.

COMMENT

In Malaysia the lifeblood of politicians are not voters. It is money. They buy voters with money. Like a dog chasing its own tail, power chases money chases power chases money.

One would never catch up with the other because the faster the dog chases after the tail, the faster the tail goes. And so it is with power and money – the chasing never stops. Greed numbs all other sensibilities!

This becomes a problem when power and wealth increases are not matched by an increase in the sense of responsibility in government. Instead they use that power to reduce their responsibility to anyone but themselves.

Anyone and anything that seeks to oppose them is viewed as obstacles to be overcome in any which way.

We have not been helpless victims of our colonial past. Malaysia was a stable functioning constitutional democracy. Our national finances were in order and basic levels of services have been delivered to even the poorest in the land.

Umno once fought against racial injustice. Umno once tolerated religious diversity. Once Umno leaders were the very embodiment of wisdom, patience and grace.

Not any more. What we are today have been shaped by how Umno choose to govern in order to overcome any perceived or real opposition to their pursuit of wealth and power.

The struggle for power and wealth defines the politics of Malaysia. It is more an internal struggle within Umno. Not a struggle without.

So there is no one to blame for the ills of our nation today but Umno. The consequence of their politics affects us all and this will have its nadir at the Umno party elections to be held in November.

Within Umno today new loyalties are being tested, allies sought even as longtime allies are being discarded and new coalitions are being formed.

The spoils of political office will only be for those who secure electoral success in this party election. This has been the preoccupation of Umno leaders since the era of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In the longer term Umno will not survive their battle against the very people they govern unless the party returns to the business of government:

• That of handling the challenges of a diverse racial and religious population.

• The need to provide gainful employment to its masses and the eradication of poverty.

• The provision for its people to enjoy quality of life, social justice and the fair and equitable sharing of our country wealth with everyone that calls Malaysia their home.

Umno’s risk

What Umno is doing today is against the collective desire and fears of millions of Malaysians.

Fears and desires that will ultimately see Malaysian galvanised into collective actions as already evident in the losing by the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government of the popular mandate to govern in the recent 13th general election.

Umno should start by dismantling a political system in which the executive dominates the legislature.

It must eliminate any insulated economic bureaucracy that oversees and coordinates the formulation of and implementation of economic policies to favour a few and disadvantages the many.

It must put into place a financial system that is independent and one that puts above all else, the proper management of the nation’s financial affairs in a timely and equitable manner.

And we must have a government whose commitment to the education of its young and the sharing of real economic opportunities are done without fear or favour to race, religion or gender.

Do anything else and Umno will risk a descent into irrelevance – a process that many insist has already begun.

CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat’s ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.