Bersatu’s inexorable move to becoming Umno 3.0

QUESTION TIME | If anything, Bersatu’s recent annual general assembly starkly shows one thing - that it is merely an extension of the old Umno (Baru) and will use the model of Malay superiority and put back in place corruption via patronage politics.

The only way to check that unfortunate retrograde policy is for the other Pakatan Harapan partners, especially those who have three to four times the number of MPs Bersatu has, to exert their combined muscle to rightfully regain more influence in the coalition and restore the original reform agenda pre-GE14.

At the AGM, Bersatu vice-president Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, also a former Election Commission (EC) chairperson, termed pushbacks against delegates' demands to be given government resources to help the party retain power as "stupid".

Bad enough that you have the former EC chairperson advocating breaking laws but this same person was shockingly appointed in August last year to head a Putrajaya committee that will make recommendations on electoral law reform in two years time.

This same Abdul Rashid had been heavily criticised by both PKR and DAP, the dominant parties in Harapan, over his tenure from 2000 to 2008 as the EC chairperson. This continues a tendency for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to appoint controversial and/or discredited people to important positions.

This includes Daim Zainuddin to head the Council of Eminent Persons; former inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Noor (who brutally assaulted Anwar Ibrahim and gave him a black eye while in police detention) to negotiate security arrangements with Thailand and former discredited attorneys-general to important positions.

Abdul Rashid’s comments at the Bersatu assembly are particularly galling and provocative and advocate extrajudicial measures to keep and extend Bersatu’s hold on power. These are clearly against the law but Abdul Rashid (photo) received a misplaced standing ovation from Bersatu delegates.

"Looking at the situation now, we cannot defend our position as the governing party because the division chiefs are being left out. It is lucky that the prime minister gave me a job with a big salary so that I can support my division," said Abdul Rashid, apparently referring to his appointment to the government's election reform committee.

"But the others, we don't need to be arrogant by saying we shouldn't give them jobs, that we would be taking away the jobs of others, that we should not take this or that. That opinion, to me, is stupid. In the election, we must win by hook or by crook," he said.

He added that although he did not like the idea of using government resources, it had to be done.

"All division chiefs should be given activities so that they can have the opportunity to defend their divisions," he said.

Abdul Rashid also urged the government to restore the parallel village chief system practised by the previous BN government. "And our people must occupy these positions," he said.

Village chiefs are traditionally appointed by the state government but the previous BN government appointed parallel village chiefs in states not under its control. The Harapan administration has abolished this parallel system.

"All development projects should be channelled to these (parallel) committees and the division chiefs must benefit," he said as the crowd cheered him on.

Blown to smithereens

It is unthinkable that this man, who clearly advocates moves against current elections laws, heads Putrajaya’s committee on electoral reform. If anything, he will probably advocate changes in the law to allow these offences to take place.

Harapan leaders should forthwith put their foot down and demand that Abdul Rashid be removed as the head of the electoral reform committee as he has clearly shown, by his words at a public gathering, that he is not a fit person to come up with electoral reforms which are up to international standards.

That he had so much support from Bersatu delegates for his views is worrying, with other leaders echoing his sentiments. While Bersatu head Mahathir has said that what Abdul Rashid says is his personal opinion, he should immediately review Abdul Rashid’s position as head of the electoral reform committee.

The original Umno was founded in 1946 to champion Malay rights in the lead up to independence. Its founder Onn bin Jaffar left Umno after the party refused to open membership to non-Malays. Tunku Abdul Rahman took over the helm and became Malaysia’s first prime minister.

That Umno was deregistered in 1987 after the courts declared it illegal. Then prime minister Mahathir formed Umno Baru or Umno 2.0 and organised members of Umno, who supported him to join this Umno Baru, excluding others who did not. There was a breakaway group called Semangat 46 formed, headed by Mahathir’s opponent then, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Mahathir altered the constitution of the original Umno considerably by making it next to impossible to remove a sitting Umno Baru president. This resulted in a progressive erosion of government accountability and transparency, eventually leading to 1MDB and its excesses. And Umno/BN’s first loss in the general election last year.

As droves of MPs start to desert Umno Baru, Bersatu may well become Umno 3.0 if it accepts these Umno MPs as members. That will irrevocably change the complexion of the coalition and alter the balance of power within Harapan.

Other coalition partners, in particular, PKR and DAP, should clearly resist this and state their irreversible opposition to such moves, simply because all Umno and BN MPs are tainted because they knew full well of the corruption and theft within 1MDB when they decided to stand for elections.

If all of the Umno MPs are accepted within the Bersatu fold and become Harapan members effectively and those within Bersatu who call for extrajudicial measures to remain in power are not checked, it is inevitable that Bersatu will become Umno 3.0 and the strongest party within the Harapan coalition.

With that, the hopes of the majority of Malaysians for a fairer, more equitable country, where everybody is considered Malaysian and where corruption is a thing of the past and accountability and good governance will be practised, will be blown to smithereens.

---

P GUNASEGARAM says we have to guard our newfound freedom zealously instead of surrendering it back to Umno goons and gangsters who want a return to the past. E-mail: t.p.guna@gmail.com - Mkini