The Umno exodus and its implications

How does one explain the Umno exodus and what are its implications? Most of the 17 Umno MPs who have quit the party since the 14th general election on May 9, cite the leadership’s lack of direction as the main reason for their decision. 

More than a lack of direction, it is perhaps the multiple charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, among other instances of power abuse facing leaders such as the former Umno president and prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, and his then deputy and now Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, that have eroded the confidence of these legislators and other Umno personalities in the party. 

When the men at the helm of an organisation are so badly tainted and tarnished with allegations of crimes of such magnitude, one should not expect the people around them to remain loyal to their authority.

There is perhaps another reason why Umno is haemorrhaging. Because Umno, the mainstay of the BN government, exercised such overwhelming power for 61 years, its present situation where it has little authority, does not occupy positions of importance in society, and does not enjoy the perks and privileges of high office, is a huge psychological setback to the party, especially its elites. 

This is why some of them are keen on getting back to power and are allegedly engaged in manoeuvres in that direction. It is also said that they and others are also hoping that some deal can be made with individuals in the Pakatan Harapan government that may help to keep Umno bigwigs out of jail or at least lessen their travails.

The larger political ecology may in fact induce machinations of this sort. The Harapan government commands only about a third of the Malay vote. Some Harapan leaders may be tempted to boost the coalition’s electoral strength through defections from Umno engineered through various tactics. More concretely, a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat will allow Harapan to initiate critical constitutional amendments as part of its reform agenda. 

Within the four-party Harapan coalition, Bersatu, chaired by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is the third in terms of its seat tally. It may want to improve its standing through cross-overs and the like. 

Then there are the followers of the two principal actors in Harapan, Mahathir and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, who may harbour adversarial attitudes from the past and are therefore determined to pursue agendas ostensibly on behalf of the two men, which may in fact, jeopardise the agreement that the two and other Harapan leaders have forged in relation to the transition of power in a couple of years.

Deep soul-reaching

In order to check the adverse consequences of power-centred politics of this kind impacting upon state and society as a whole, Mahathir and Anwar should be on the same page when it comes to acting firmly against wrongdoers in the Umno top brass, or in any other organisation. 

Any deal with the corrupt and the greedy would be an unforgivable betrayal of the cause of justice and the commitment to reform. It would make a mockery of the Harapan government’s much-trumpeted dedication to the supremacy of the rule of law.

At the same time, the four parties in Harapan should not worry about their varying strengths. They should instead forge a viable relationship at the grassroots, at the level of branches and divisions. Harapan should emerge as a cohesive entity at the very base of the coalition with an identity of its own that surpasses the individual identities of its components. This is something that the BN did not achieve in its existence.

In continuing with its reform agenda, it would be only logical for Harapan to introduce an anti-defection law which would require that an elected legislator who quits his/her party to join another party or becomes an independent legislator vacates his/her seat. This means that he/she is returning her mandate to the voters in her constituency. It is a principle of democratic governance that we should uphold which in no way infringes upon a legislator’s right of association.

The Umno exodus, from Harapan's perspective, offers an opportunity to introduce changes and reforms which will benefit the society. For Umno, this is the moment for deep soul-reaching which must lead to some bold and brave acts - acts which many in the leadership stratum do not want to undertake for their own selfish ends. 

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CHANDRA MUZAFFAR is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yayasan Perpaduan Malaysia. - Mkini