Umno at the crossroads
(Business Times Singapore) MARCH 24 — This will be a momentous week for the dominant partner in Malaysia’s ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organisation, which holds its annual assembly — and triennial elections — beginning today. This week will also witness a change of leadership as Abdullah Badawi steps down as prime minister in favour of Najib Razak. And the party will choose its next set of leaders from the deputy president downwards.
Without a trace of irony, former premier Mahathir Mohamad — who bequeathed most of the present party leadership to Abdullah when he stepped down in 2003 — recently lashed out at Umno as a party for the “corrupt”. He went on to implore Najib not to appoint any “tainted” leader to his Cabinet. “If Najib picks tainted leaders for his Cabinet, I think all hopes for Umno to remain a strong party will be lost,” Dr Mahathir told reporters on Sunday.
Thankfully, Mr Najib seems quite aware of what ordinary Malaysians think. On Sunday, he too talked to the press and hinted at a sweeping Cabinet reshuffle when he takes over because he thinks Malaysians will keep “a critical eye” on his choices. He asked the people to judge him by his national agenda, which he would outline in his maiden speech as prime minister. Najib is expected to be sworn in on April 3. He expressed the view that the people’s faith in the Barisan Nasional would be “renewed” if they accepted both his Cabinet and his agenda. “If they don’t, then the government will face a very difficult road ahead,” he said in a television interview.
Clearly, many Malaysians yearn for a country that is less distracted from important economic matters by incessant politicking. There is a serious economic crisis and few countries are as badly hit as small, export-dependent Malaysia. Indeed, the collapse of the country’s export structure will redefine the pathways of Malaysia’s future economic development.
Najib will have many other weighty matters on his mind after he takes over — chief among them will be the future direction of the New Economic Policy (NEP), the country’s affirmative action programme for its ethnic Malay majority. The policy has contributed greatly to political stability and created a Malay middle class but it has also caused significant economic distortions, engendered considerable waste, entrenched an attitude of entitlement, and imposed a deadening mediocrity in public life. All this can only go on at the country’s peril.
How Najib reworks this policy as well as others will be crucial — for his party, his people and his country.
