Analysts split on the battle for Umno's future

After its unprecedented defeat in the 14th general election, Umno stands at a crossroads in charting its course for the future.

On the one hand, many Umno leaders, such as its youth chiefKhairy Jamaluddin and Pahang Umno chief Adnan Yaakob, have come out to say that it might be time to open up membership of the party to all races in view of the changing political landscape in the country.

Others, however, are pushing for Umno to remain as it is – an exclusively Malay party who continues to champion for Malay rights – such as Federal Territories Umno Youth chief Razlan Rafii.

Analysts, too, seem to fall on both sides of the divide.

While some advocate change as the only means of the party’s survival, others believe it runs the risk of losing its support base if it becomes multiracial.

‘Original spirit’

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Jeniri Amir, for instance, thinks that Umno needs to open itself to other races to survive after GE14 – though not straying too far from the “original spirit” of the party.

“The way forward for Umno is to keep in tandem with the sentiment of the people after GE14. To survive, they need to open to other races.

“They have to take drastic measures, but still they should not forget what is the original spirit of Umno. They need to strike a balance, otherwise they become irrelevant,” he said when contacted by Malaysiakini today.

Jeniri said Umno opening up to other races is not exactly new, pointing to Umno Sabah which has allowed non-Malay bumiputera in the state to join the party.

Regardless, he said, Umno cannot merely have cosmetic changes, but must transform structurally.

“If they really want to win seats in future elections, the entire structure has to change, not just cosmetic changes.

“For a political party to survive, it has to be inclusive. People are now not talking about being Malay-centric and such.

“People are talking about Malaysia as a whole. That is the way forward for Malaysia,” he said.

This is not the first time calls have been made to review Umno’s constitution to allow membership to all races.

Founder Onn Jaafar grew disillusioned with the party just five years after it was created, after his call for it to be opened to all races went unheard.

He formed the multiracial Independence of Malaya Party that same year. But the party was shortlived, being dissolved soon after it won just one seat in the 1952 Kuala Lumpur municipal election.

'Multiracialism already tapped by Harapan'

Although calls to revisit Onn’s initial proposal have reemerged after May 9, political analyst Kamarul Zaman Yusoff believes it is unnecessary for Umno to make such a drastic step.

Umno does not stand to gain much from becoming a multiracial party, he said, because voters who are so inclined are already in Pakatan Harapan’s camp.

Any move towards multiculturalism, he warned, would see Umno lose its core support base – conservative Malay voters.

“It is possible for Umno to become multiracial, but the problem with that is multiracialism has been tapped by Harapan.

“It is not going to be much use for Umno even if it becomes multiracial because those who are attracted to the idea of multiracialism have already gone towards Harapan,” he said.

“At the same time, if Umno becomes multiracial, it risks losing its conservative Malay voters.

“It is like trying to get something which is unsure and leaving another thing which is sure... because as of now, it is the Malay voters who form the core Umno support base,” he said.

For now, the fate of Umno will depend on the outcome of the party elections, which are set to kick off on June 23.

Depending on who ends up leading the party after the close of the polls, the Umno of the near future could be an entirely different entity from what it is now. - Mkini