The Chinese Crutches
By Mak Khuin Weng
GE14 is looming and Datuk Seri Najib Razak has dictated the next course for Umno to take at their General Assembly.
Of the many policies that were discussed, two items stand out. The first are the calls for Malays to learn the Chinese language in preparation for closer economic ties with China. The other is the unequivocal government support for Hadi’s Bill (also known as RUU 355).
Malay Supremacy
Umno’s agenda has always been about Malay supremacy. It has never deviated from this aim. This agenda was what brought Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to power in Umno in the first place.
In fact, it was Mahathir who helped refine the agenda with his book The Malay Dilemma.
If we accept that Umno is all about Malay supremacy, then it should be no surprise that whatever Umno proposes to do, it is to further this objective.
A large segment of the Malay voter base will vote for the political parties that backs Hadi’s Bill and Umno wants those votes, so it isn’t hard to understand why Umno is all for it.
Beyond the obvious, the cooperation between Umno and PAS could extend to the upcoming elections as well. While this move is outside the boundaries of BN, it is to ensure Malay supremacy and thus not an impossible option for Umno to adopt.
The second policy to get Malays to learn the Chinese language is also about establishing Malay dominance, specifically in business. You can phase out the Malaysian Chinese as the middlemen in talks with China if you can speak their language.
Do note that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has probably envisioned this a long time ago given the fact that his son, Nor Ashman Najib, speaks Chinese. Whether Nor Ashman enter politics or business in the future, he will certainly be seen as the next generation Malay leader.
Moving Forward: With or Without the Chinese
Both policies are a direct response to the dwindling Chinese voter support for Barisan Nasional.
MCA appears at a loss on how to get back the Chinese support and can only blame Umno for making insensitive remarks. This is also an indirect admission that MCA is very weak as a political party, unlike the DAP that confidently responds with scathing remarks.
In fact, BN component parties are so weak that Umno is considering getting rid of component parties’ seat allocation quotas in the next general election. While the message is that BN only wants to field ‘winnable’ candidates, the fact that ‘winnable’ and ‘Umno’ appear to be interchangeable would suggest that the move is more about letting Umno run in more seats at the other BN component parties’ expense.
Reinforcing the notion that Umno is prepared to disregard the Chinese vote altogether is the ultimatum by Umno Treasurer Salleh Said Keruak to Chinese voters.
The Chinese Crutches
No doubt these moves will make the Chinese electorate angrier, but Umno needs to survive politically and is past caring about such sentiments.
The Chinese gave life to BN in the 1999 GE out of fear of PAS. This time around, the Chinese will have a choice of propping up a timidly weak MCA and Gerakan or voting for the Opposition.
With Pakatan Harapan still in disarray over seat allocations and newcomer PPBM further complicating the negotiations, DAP and PKR will be hard pressed to achieve better results even with Chinese support.
Thus, Umno has seen the truth about what the Chinese voters are, and they are little more than metaphorical crutches for ailing political parties. And Umno is anything but weak at this moment.
