Is change really coming to Umno?
But, if Najib's rhetoric is any indication, it is unlikely that Umno will abandon race-based politics any time soon.
By Zedeck Siew, The Nut Graph
THE first day of the 59th Umno general assembly on 24 March 2009 was coloured by three major elements. These were the banning of new media outfits from covering the event; the closed-door speech of outgoing party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi; and incoming president Datuk Seri Najib Razak's speech that jointly opened the Umno Wanita, Youth and Puteri wing assemblies.
Abdullah's final private address to Umno delegates dwelt on the event most in people's attentions: the party's elections, which will see Najib acquiring a new line-up of adjutants, from deputy president downwards. Unity was Abdullah's main talking point. He urged delegates to have "the right attitude" when casting their ballots, and to set aside their personal differences.
Such a sentiment was echoed by Najib himself. In commenting on the head-to-head race between Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil for the post of Umno Wanita chief, Najib warned the women's wing to "not forsake all that we have achieved thus far just because of a temporary excitement over contests for party posts. We do not want to see disunity."
