Getting Umno to bounce back
Najib told the assembly that if the situation was not addressed, Umno, which had maintained a monopoly on power for more than 50 years, would become weak and impotent.
Honeymah Dylyani, Malaysian Mirror
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak inherited a myriad of challenges when he became the country’s sixth prime minister in April, including a flagging economy, a racially divided society and a moribund ruling party.
He told Umno members that unless the party roots out rampant corruption from within itself and rebrand itself as the ‘people’s champion’ it will not be able to help much in resolving the ills affecting the nation.
“The perception of Umno as a party to make a living from must be thrown far far away… must be discarded,” he said in his maiden speech as the Umno president at the party’s 60th annual general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here Thursday.
Najib’s 75-minute speech, in essence, was a call to arms, directed at a party which now must be rescued from a cancer spreading through it ranks – money politics.
Exploited opportunities of patronage
Over long decades, many Umno members were deemed to have exploited the opportunities of patronage and commercial enrichment through the party’s virtually unchallenged grip on power.
Najib’s remarks underlined the dilemma shaking a once all-powerful organisation that now faces a crisis of confidence.
In the March 2008 general election, the opposition alliance headed by Anwar Ibrahim managed to hack the two-third majority of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, of which Umno is the dominant partner.
Since then, besides seeing its parliamentary number reduced and five states slipping into the hands of the Pakatan Rakyat alliance, Umno and the ruling Barisan coalition has suffered one humiliating by-election defeat after another.
No longer leaning on one group
Had it not been for the Batang Ai seat in Sarawak and the recently-won Bagan Pinang state seat in Negri Sembilan it would have been a damaging streak of losses for the Barisan.
Najib told the assembly that if the situation was not addressed, Umno, which had maintained a monopoly on power for more than 50 years, would become weak and impotent.
The 55-year-old British-educated prime minister said the party could no longer be seen as leaning to only one group and it could not also afford to be regarded as focusing solely on big business initiatives or mega projects.
“Instead, it should be the champion of the people,” he stressed.
He told the more than 2,500 delegates attending the gathering that it was vital for Umno to be a party which upholds the wasatan philosophy, that is, moderation, or what is described in political science as a centrist party.
“Umno cannot be an ultra-left or ultra-right party,” he said, adding that since its establishment, Umno had not leaned towards a liberal or a conservative ideology.
Umno not racist
On another matter, Najib warned political parties critical of Umno not to simply accuse it of being racist.
He said they should first look at themselves and check if their party truly reflects the openness they have been espousing.
“If the Malays are truly racist as alleged, we would not have accepted the cultures of other ethnic groups which are being practised here.
“We would also not have allowed vernacular schools to be established and it would have been impossible to cooperate closely with other component parties within the Barisan Nasional over the decades,” he said.
Reflecting on the May 13, 1969 tragedy, Najib said Umno leaders would have chosen not to continue with democracy which had been suspended and would have instead set up a single-party government or supported a military coup d’état.
“However, that never took place,” he said.
He said the fact that Umno had worked hard to restore democracy within 18 months from that incident clearly showed that it was not power crazy and was far from being a racist party.
The Umno president also reminded party members and leaders to reflect on themselves, identify their weaknesses and correct mistakes, adding their actions should mirror good morals and noble values.
Leaders who are humble
“I believe the kind of leaders that the rakyat (people) favour are those who are humble.
Do remember that in a democratic country like ours, it is the rakyat who choose the leaders.
”They want leaders who are always ready to serve. Do not be shy to go to the ground and get close to the grassroots, no matter how high a post we hold.
”The rakyat will hate leaders who isolate themseves, who are unapproachable and those who are arrogant,” he said.
He said leaders who showed sincerity in serving the rakyat would be were respected by the people, adding that negative perception on Umno leaders’ integrity would result in the rakyat shying away from supporting the party.
Najib said Umno would also change the criteria for picking candidates for elections because the key performance indicator (KPI) for a political party was to win elections and form a strong and stable government.
The candidate must be a person who was acceptable to the local community besides having the quality to serve at three important levels, namely the people, party and country.
