Cleaning Up UMNO
The issue of money politics has dishonoured UMNO, and whether Najib's new administration can win back the hearts of voters will very much depend on whether he can put up a squeaky clean, open and capable team after the party elections.
By TAN POH KHENG/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily
The first UMNO elections after the general elections are indeed quite like no others, as the fights intensify to unprecedented levels.
269 candidates vying for an array of posts have resorted to all sorts of tactics and tricks over the past few months to secure their places in the party, as well as the government.
For the sake of power, they turn their allies into foes as they hammer their rivals. But no matter how intense their fights, under the principle of community interests, they almost consistently aim their muzzles outside the party.
Things are a bit different this time. For one, the party has suffered the humiliating setback in the general elections last March; for the other, Najib is taking over the baton soon and the UMNO leadership will have to go through a major reshuffle.
As such, the aggressiveness and explosiveness of party elections have soared, while the power of money politics maximised.
Candidates pay out large sums of cash, as the party's disciplinary board steps in to bog down the violators.
Mohd Ali Rustam has been barred from contesting the deputy presidency while Khairy Jamaluddin served a warning, showing that the disciplinary board is indeed serious about complaints of money politics, reflecting also the fact that money politics is very much a norm in UMNO's elections.
The incoming commander-in-chief not only needs to clean up the house, but also launch a party-wide purge against any form of corruption and greed.
The issue of money politics has dishonoured UMNO, and whether Najib's new administration can win back the hearts of voters will very much depend on whether he can put up a squeaky clean, open and capable team after the party elections.
Failure to wipe out money politics means no changes taking place within UMNO, and the party's prospects will remain bleak in the three by-elections next month as well as the next general elections.
Mahathir has said many things he shouldn't have uttered after his retirement, but his advice for Najib not to bring corrupt leaders into the Cabinet is a wise and sobre one.
To bring corrupt individuals into the Cabinet will only add to the government's already very heavy burden, and the government will eventually have to pay the price of so doing.
The destiny befalling Taiwan's DPP should serve as a lesson for UMNO.
Well, cleaning up the house may create a rift within the party, but in order not to allow corrupt officials to burden UMNO, Najib must have the courage and resolution to draw a distinct line with them.
Money politics is an identical twin of corruption; the earlier they are purged from the household, the earlier will the family regain its past glory.
