Umno vs PAS=Feudalism vs Religion, the twain can’t meet
A unity government means Umno sharing power with PAS. Actually Umno is purportedly sharing power with its partners in BN but this power sharing is actually bogus.
By Kenny Gan, Suara Keadilan
It boggles the mind.
A mountain has been made from a molehill. PAS engaging Umno for talks was nothing more than a casual suggestion flung out at the 55th PAS Mukmamar by a couple of leaders vying for election.
No call for concrete action at all, merely a few dangling hints which one suspects to be directed at its Pakatan partners to give PAS more space and importance than at Umno.
But this issue has taken a life of its own, mainly due to Umno’s swift declaration of interest by middle ranking leaders like Khairy.
Other PR leaders have jumped in to give their response, notably PAS own Tok Guru Nik Aziz and DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.
When top Umno leaders such as Najib and Muhyddin echo the call for unity talks the initial non-issue has grown to the level of being taken seriously.
But is Umno really serious about jumping into bed with PAS or is it merely feigning?
It’s hard to say at this stage but on the face of it, Umno has little to lose. Umno is playing the role of a third party trying to entice away a spouse from his or her partner. Even if nothing comes out of it, the suspicion, mistrust and ill-feeling may still break up the marriage between PAS and its partners in PR.
But hold on, isn’t Umno also married?
True but it’s an unequal marriage where the spouse is too weak and subservient to protest. To that we may also add too dependent to break off. Umno’s dalliance with PAS is unlikely to affect its relationship with its coalition partners and the lack of penalty is a powerful statement of how abused and powerless they really are.
What Power Sharing?
Assuming that Umno is serious about having some sort of unity government with PAS how will it pan out?
A unity government means Umno sharing power with PAS. Actually Umno is purportedly sharing power with its partners in BN but this power sharing is actually bogus.
Umno takes the PM and DPM posts and all the important Ministries while less important social and development Ministries are parceled out to the component parties.
Even these positions do not come with real power and non-Malay Ministers and Deputy Ministers are sometimes ignored or overruled by state Director-Generals from Umno.
Leaders of component parties are sometimes reduced to issuing statements and making pleas to the government like opposition leaders. The Umno Supreme Council is the real ruler of Malaysia, not the Cabinet.
It is doubtful that PAS will be contented with such bogus power sharing and it is also uncharacteristic of Umno to concede any real power.
If some leaders in PAS are decrying their supposedly backseat role in PR (which is not true as PAS leads the PR government in 3 states including Perak) what role are they willing to play in an Umno dominated government?
A Umno-PAS government is unworkable unless PAS agrees to play second fiddle to Umno just like the other component parties.
Is Umno Giving up the Non-Malay Vote?
It is apparent that Umno’s version of Malay unity is for Malays to unite under Umno or failing that under Umno-PAS to form a block of Malay votes which is numerically superior enough to ignore how the minorities vote.
This would mean a government made up almost exclusively of Malays which may sideline the minorities and even Islamize the country to their detriment.
Mahathir has spoken out against such an idea and although I have no love lost for Mahathir, I will at least give credit where credit is due.
The temptation for Umno to take this path is clear in the post-2008 political landscape.
The majority of the non-Malays seem to have deserted BN for PR, putting all its non-Malay majority and mixed seats at risk. In the Malay majority seats Umno fights tooth and nail with PAS and it doesn’t always wins.
Umno knows it can no longer rely on MCA, MIC and Gerakan to bring in the non-Malay votes. This is no doubt a consequence of the subservient positions that Umno has relegated them to but repairing this relationship which should be the proper course of action is alien to Umno.
It’s the same old style of looking for cheap tricks and solutions to solve its problems rather than reforming itself. That such a narrow Malay agenda can be considered in multi-racial Malaysia kicks the concept of 1Malaysia straight into the dustbin.
Reality Bites
Although this unified Malay voting block is seductive in theory it is unrealistic in practice.
The Malays have become too diverse, too varied in their thinking, aspirations and ideology to be united under one party.
Beyond their common racial and religious identity of Malay-Muslim, Umno has actually less in common with PAS than PAS with DAP with whom it at least shares some notions of good governance and social justice.
Umno’s core philosophy is based on feudal patronage while PAS’ is based on Islamic principles. Umno’s culture is an overriding tolerance for corruption while PAS upholds religious uprightness.
Umno leaders have no qualms about abusing their positions to satisfy their love for materialism while PAS leaders advocate simple living, fairness and social justice. Many Umno Malays are uncomfortable with PAS’ syariah laws and their restrictive, parochial attitude to women
Umno and PAS appeal to different segments of Malay society. To unite them under a common platform would mean appealing to a subset of their support base who can accept the ideology and culture of both parties but they do not intersect beyond being Malay-Muslim.
So to expect Umno’s vote bank to add to PAS’ vote bank is simplistic and ignores the diversities inherent in Malay society. The political reality is that PAS will split into two if it forges a pact with Umno while Umno will attempt to swallow the faction of PAS which aligns to it whole – ideology, culture and all to protect its support base.
Let’s also not forget that Umno is dependent on East Malaysians to cash its “fixed deposit of parliamentary seats” every general election. Umno-PAS may think it can afford to ignore how the minorities vote in the Peninsula but across the South China Sea, Malay-Muslim is the minority.
Lust and Caution
There is no reason why PAS should even talk to Umno at all as it should be clear that its future lies with Pakatan and in being moderate and racially inclusive to gain more multi-racial support.
The seductive lure of a shortcut to Federal power via Umno may be tempting to some in PAS but is unworkable in practice and there is no way Umno will share real power with PAS.
There is no reason why Umno wants to talk to PAS except that it feels its hold on power is threatened. In the event that PAS’ dalliance with Umno causes PR to break up, any notion of cooperation with PAS may well be discarded like a used condom.
Hence there is a possibility that Umno has no intention of forming any pact with PAS but the courtship signals it gives out are nothing more than an attempt to break up PR.
Having been severely bitten by Umno before in the 1970’s PAS should be wary of Umno instead of being led down the garden path. The venerable Nik Aziz has this to say, “ One does not get bitten by the same snake from the same hole twice”.
