Petro Ringgit and UMNO politics
A few weeks ago, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has spoken about the oil royalty issue for Kelantan. He is saying that Kelantan is entitled to a 5 % royalty on oil and gas revenues off the Kelantan coast. He spoke to a large crowd of some 40,000 people in a stadium in Kota Bharu. The talk ruffled a lot of feathers.
He is seen to have broken ranks with his UMNO brethren. The business-as-usual approach of UMNO people is to keep any fortuitous advantage as a tactical advantage. The fact that it has control over a very important economic asset, oil, is one such fortuitous advantage. Control over the petrol money allows UMNO and the federal government to dictate political outcomes on its terms.
But will this kind of control last long and win adherents to UMNO?
What Tengku Razaleigh has done is to expose a secret weapon that UMNO has. That has earned him the wrath of UMNO people. Some UMNO people are even calling for his expulsion. The UMNO president is more circumspect preferring to study the matter first.
The gulf that divides the thinking of TRH and the majority of UMNO people is much more significant than a difference over giving up of tactical advantage. It involves the correct reading of public sentiments that could yield long term political advantage and determine the longevity of UMNO itself.
What motivates the present generation and what did the previous generation are different. I have touched about this in a previous article. The 1st generation of leaders and followers were motivated primarily by a desire to get rid of colonialism. Leaders emerged naturally because there were external stimuli that moved people. After independence, that kind of stimulus isn’t there anymore. Leaders and conscious followers didn’t emerge naturally.
There are now moved by different urges.
What are these? Chief among these are the universal values of rule of law, efficient government, good governance, animosity against corruption and all these. These are the elements, when articulated and struggled for, win adherents and loyalty and respect.
So, between a Tengku Razaleigh who articulates these elements and the rest who speak about aged old urges, which one will earn adherents? UMNO must choose its issues carefully now.
