Umno and non-Malays: who needs who more?
The unexpected return of Chinese votes to BN in Sarawak, and two recent by-elections has opened up the eyes of Umno politicians.
Tay Tian Yan, Free Malaysia Today
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Umno needed to take heed of the needs of non-Malays. The thing is: he was not saying that in a MCA or Gerakan assembly but at an Umno Sungai Besar divisional meeting.
Ideologically, Umno has an obligation to the Malays, but not to the non-Malays.
Umno’s motto is even more forthright, that the party is struggling for the interests of the race, religion and nation (demi bangsa, agama dan negara).
On the realistic front, Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) were dumped by almost all the Chinese voters during the 2008 and 2013 general elections.
The election results have since steered many Umno politicians away from the Chinese, some giving up hope on them while others leaning decisively towards the racist and religious path.
Such a right turn by Umno has triggered an even bigger backlash in the country’s Chinese community. The interest of Chinese Malaysians are sidelined in many developments, and allocations and infrastructure projects for the community have been withheld.
Similarly, some policy changes have been observed in the federal administration. Hadi’s private bill has been given a chance and JPA scholarships have been suspended. The recognition of the UEC certificate, meanwhile, is still nowhere in sight.
The hawks in Umno are putting more pressure, calling for collaboration with PAS in order to rule by securing the support of the majority of Malays alone.
Once this strategy is put into practice, the existence of MCA and Gerakan will no longer be of any significance to Umno, and rendering them less potent in checking Umno while BN is inching towards a total collapse.
By that time the country may be implementing a Malay-only agenda, advancing steadily towards a more accentuated racist and religious path.
The Sarawak election in May has somehow held back such a shift. Sarawak’s ethnic structure does not allow the state to go the racist or religious way, and its Chief Minister Adenan Satem’s political style has an apparent hint of moderation and tolerance.
As the Federal Government cannot afford to part with Sarawak, it will have to adapt to the needs of the people there. After BN won by a landslide in Sarawak, managing to recapture some of the Chinese-majority seats, Umno leaders came to realise that they could no longer set their sights on the Malays only and risk abandoning non-Malay votes.
The unexpected return of Chinese votes to BN in the subsequent by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar, allowing BN to win big in the two constituencies, has opened up the eyes of Umno politicians to the reality that no matter how close they go with PAS, at the end of the day they still have to face off in the election wars.
Umno is a pragmatic party, and whichever way that will help it retain the administration will be the ultimate option.
