Najib tries moving UMNO back to the middle gound
The move back to the centre represents a realisation that UMNO cannot do it alone–that the party cannot govern the country without non-Malay support. Alhamdullilah! Welcome to the real world.
Ceritalah by KARIM RASLAN/MySinchew
Earlier this month I was interviewed by a leading Malay-language daily. In an attempt to explain what I meant by being ‘middle-of-the-road’ and the term ‘middle Malaysian’, I found myself showing the journalist my Ceritalah books in English, Malay and Chinese.
I wanted him to understand that I write for all three sets of readers–essentially for all Malaysians. As such whatever I say must work across our nation’s racial, religious and linguistic divisions.
Indeed, this fact also imposes a certain discipline because I have a responsibility to be fair and even-handed on a broad spectrum of issues for my readers.
As a ‘centrist’ Malaysian and Malay then, with long-standing ties to UMNO, the recent General Assembly has come as something of a pleasant surprise. It was also an enormous relief.
After listening to months of extremist and foolhardy rhetoric, the party finally appears to be moving back to where it belongs–in the middle of the political spectrum, just as PAS under the leadership of the conservative Terengganu clique is tearing apart that party’s bold attempt at claiming the centre.
Two leaders stand out. Both Najib Tun Razak and Khairy Jamaluddin gave fine speeches. Moreover, it was heartening to hear Najib turn his back on the shrill, ethnocentric rhetoric that has been emanating from his fellow party-members since March 2008.
Frankly, it was also great to hear him reiterate UMNO’s long-standing tradition of service, when he stated that:
The crux of it is that UMNO must continue to uphold its tradition of fighting for the people. It is because of this that UMNO will continue to champion for the welfare and livelihood of all Malaysians….UMNO can no longer be seen as a party that leans towards only one group… UMNO cannot afford to be regarded as focusing solely on big business initiatives or mega projects but instead should be the champion of the people.
The move back to the centre represents a realisation that UMNO cannot do it alone–that the party cannot govern the country without non-Malay support. Alhamdullilah! Welcome to the real world.
At the same time, the constitutional amendments were a major step in freeing the party’s grassroots and curbing the influence of the party’s all-too powerful division chiefs. Of course, having said that, UMNO leaders are going to have to learn how to adapt to the vastly enlarged internal constituency. This in turn may result in even more populist grand-standing.
Khairy Jamaluddin’s speech was particularly interesting. I applaud his call for the Malay community to abandon its “siege mentality.”
However, far more importantly, he called on the delegates to reject the idea ketuanan Melayu (Malay dominance) and adopt kepimpinan Melayu (Malay leadership).
His formulation was both subtle and hard-hitting. In doing so he also appropriated much of Anwar Ibrahim’s political platform.
The idea of Malay leadership resonates across the country. There are many Malaysians who acknowledge that UMNO–at its best–can provide fair and principled leadership. Of course when it’s bad, the party is unbearable.
This General Assembly could well be the turning point for UMNO as it comes to terms with political realities. However, the party’s leaders must adhere to the bold plans laid out by its President. If the party can remain in the centre of the political debate and if the opposition Pakatan Rakyat’s troubles worsen, UMNO and Barisan Nasional could well return to their previous form.
But the challenges to this “new, new UMNO” embodied by Najib and Khairy are formidable. As it stands, they only have their speeches to show for this vision and as Barrack Obama is learning, inspiring language can’t head-off entrenched interests. Besides that, much of the rest of party is still talking complete and utter nonsense.
The world outside the UMNO will not tolerate the party’s excesses any longer. Bagan Pinang is not Malaysia. There is a lot more work to be done to win back non-Malay support.
Furthermore, the continuing turmoil in the non-Malay Barisan partners, particularly the MCA needs serious attention, perhaps even intervention by Najib. Yes, UMNO can find or create new partners to replace its traditional allies. However, this could well backfire. Many non-Malays feel they are being duped and manipulated.
But more daunting still is the cynicism towards politics and politicians that many Malaysians now feel. We have been fed catchy slogans and stirring rhetoric before- only to have our hearts broken. We need more than just promises for change.
UMNO’s leaders must walk the talk. Tengku Razaleigh, spoke the truth when he said that the reforms in UMNO were not far-reaching enough.
The empowerment of the grassroots must continue and be expanded. Human capital also needs to be a priority: the corrupt and incompetent must be rooted out regardless of how much support they may have. Also, the racist and authoritarian modes of the past have to be abandoned for pluralism and collegial leadership.
Doing so will dramatically reverse the declining fortunes of UMNO. Failure will mean that the General Assembly of 2009 was merely a flash in the pan.
So, it’s with relief that I welcome UMNO back to the middle-ground–my preferred hang-out. Welcome home ladies and gentlemen! Still, what took so long? We nearly lost hope…
