Umno’s dance is really a funeral march

When GE14 comes around, the party will rue its blind disregard for the plight of ordinary Malays.

COMMENT

Imagine what would have happened in the epic Song of Ice and Fire series of novels by George R R Martin, better known as the hit TV series Game of Thrones, if Joffrey Baratheon had never beheaded Eddard Stark, or if Stark had decided to immediately inform his close friend, King Robert Baratheon, of his wife’s betrayal and reveal the true lineage of his children?

We may never know, but before us plays out an excellent parallel to the acclaimed series.

The rakyat and the public institutions are represented by King Robert. Muhyiddin Yassin is our Eddard and Najib, of course, is Joffrey. On our stage, Eddard chooses to make his revelation to King Robert only after sustaining a hunting injury. In the confusion, Joffrey seizes power and effectively casts out King Robert, forcing him to join Eddard as a voice in the wilderness.

As we all know, in the series, that horrifically noble notion of Eddard’s to give Cersei Lannister fair warning was the beginning of the end. But here, Muhyiddin is beginning to gain power, despite being cast out by the Umno Supreme Council, and all because he chose to speak the truth. This is where our parallel ends and things begin to get interesting because Umno’s dance of political power will twist and turn in unpredictable ways till the 2018 party elections.

Only those who misread Umno politics would have expected Muhyiddin and Shafie Apdal to lose their positions as Deputy President and Vice -President at last week’s general assembly. For one, if Najib had chosen to sack them, he would have made a volatile situation even more difficult to manage. As it turned out, the volatility was only potential, and this year’s assembly will go down as the most heavily stage managed ever.

The Supreme Council was meticulous in having only loyalists onstage to pontificate on the achievements of the party president and to vilify all critics, and many delegates were less than enthralled by the lack of debate over issues like the rising cost of living, the GST, the TPPA, and a host of others.

There was a virtual media blackout. Only a select few journalists were allowed to cover the assembly.

Najib, perhaps sensing the discontent on the ground, declared himself a magnanimous leader and offered a truce to his estranged deputy. But Muhyiddin’s response was right on the money. What did Najib expect? For Muhyiddin to swallow his words and be a good boy so that he can be given a bone in the form of a ministerial post and Najib can then sail on happily with his crew of loyalists?

Najib’s gesture was a great show of civility, but that was not enough for Muhyiddin and should not be enough for the 2,000-odd delegates either. This is about principles and about the party’s true struggle. If those delegates are so blinded by the bright lights that they cannot see the disappointment and helplessness of the Malays out on the street as they grapple with the rising cost of living, then GE14 will be a reckoning.

If Umno is prepared to march into GE14 believing all is well, then it will learn to regret its blindness come campaign time. Handouts will earn no gratitude from a people forced to scrape and scrimp for the right to exist in their own land. And it doesn’t look like life for the ordinary Malay is going to get any better any time before the general election. Many even believe that next year will be a harsh one indeed.

Politicians in power, consider this: in mamak shops across this beautiful country of ours, there are TV screens playing all day, showing everything from Tamil movies to football matches to news broadcasts, specifically news about you, our leaders. Three years ago, everyone would be paying close attention to the latest political developments. We cared. Now, when any of your faces comes on the news, it’s more likely someone will spit on the ground. And then everyone will return to his meal. We don’t care anymore. We’ve had more than enough of you. If this is how the ordinary Malay now feels about you, imagine what lies in wait when the GE comes around.