Umno’s Direction Will Be Decided Today

So, no, Umno is not finished. But what type of Umno is going to rise from the ashes? That will be decided by the Umno members today and that decision will be reflected in the person they choose as their new party president.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Today is the first Umno party election with the party in the opposition since the party was formed 30 years ago (or 71 years ago in case you consider the Umno Baru that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad formed in 1988 the same Umno that was formed in the palace of the Sultan of Johor in 1946).

The Umno members will today decide whether they want Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, or Khairy Jamaluddin to lead the party as its new president-elect. Who of the three they choose will be an indication of which direction the members want Umno to head.

Zahid will give priority to Islam and Malay nationalism

Khairy represents the ‘New Malaysia’ of Pakatan Harapan. With Khairy leading Umno the party will be just like Pakatan Harapan (UiTM will be opened to non-Malays, Umno will admit non-Malays as members, there will be less emphasis on Malay rights and privileges, the NEP will be abolished, Islam will not be so restrictive, etc.).

Tengku Razaleigh and Zahid Hamidi, on the other hand, will represent the opposite end of the Khairy scale. While both more or less appear to be of the same ‘old school’, Tengku Razaleigh will move more in the direction of feudalism and Malay nationalism while Zahid Hamidi will have more Islamic ‘flavour’.

Tengku Razaleigh will maintain feudalism

Both Tengku Razaleigh and Zahid Hamidi will have no problems working with PAS and probably even PPBM to form a ‘Malay front’ in the next general election. With either Tengku Razaleigh or Zahid Hamidi as the new party president, Umno will uphold Bahasa Melayu, Malay rights and privileges, Islam, and the institution of the monarchy.

Let us see in the next few hours who is going to emerge as Umno’s new President. Then we will know in which direction Umno will be heading over the next five years.

Khairy will turn Umno into another copy of Pakatan Harapan

Some say Umno is finished and will never rise again. In 1986, PAS won only ONE seat while DAP won 24 seats. They said at that time PAS is finished. But PAS bounced back under a new leadership and today PAS won 74 out of the 99 Parliament and State seats in Terengganu and Kelantan. Pakatan Harapan, in fact, won zero seats in those two states.

So, no, Umno is not finished. But what type of Umno is going to rise from the ashes? That will be decided by the Umno members today and that decision will be reflected in the person they choose as their new party president.