Power Is Not What Corrupts Umno
By G. Krishnan
For many critics of Umno, no matter how much Umno tries to project an image of itself other than one of a big bully, sceptics are far from impressed. In one form or another, most sceptics believe that Umno is the personification of the principle that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Closely related to this is the saying that “unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.”
I sympathise with these critics that for years, we’ve had to endure episode after episode of the unrelenting arrogance and authoritarianism of Umno. And to many of these critics, Umno has become so intoxicated with power – power over its subservient BN co-conspirators, power over its internal critics, power over controlling the judiciary, the police, and the civil service – that it has long been corrupted.
Again, if one simply looks closely as how Umno yields power, it’s not hard to see that the years of monopoly on power it has had has allowed it to practically assume that it is preordained or part of some natural law of the universe for Umno to govern the country. For many, this is simply further evidence of how power has corrupted Umno and the mindset of its cabal.
But the great warrior of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, has it absolutely correct that “it is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”
This is why I think you can expect two trends to become increasing palpable in Malaysia in the months to come. First, Umno will become progressively desperate – especially as it increasingly fears an erosion of its credibility – to hold on to its power. I am by no means suggesting that this desperation is sure to result in a sudden reverting to the use of draconian measures and clamp downs on the opposition that was reminiscent, for example, during Operation Lalang. Of course it will try the gimmicks – such as the so-called liberalisation measures and other ‘sweeteners’ they’ll try to feed us. But despite such petty gimmicks, there have been clear signs of this fear of losing power in Umno political machinery – which, in turn, has led to some obvious abuses of power and political manipulation. It should not come as a least bit of a surprise to anyone that if the pressure on Umno increases further, there will be more fear within the Umno inner circle and the fear that perhaps its days may be numbered.
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