Happy birthday Umno

When Najib Tun Razak took over in 2009, the year after the first warning in 2008, he should have done what his late father did in 1973. But he did not and the people gave him a second chance in 2013. When that second warning was ignored as well, the people acted. And that was what happened two days ago on 9th May 2018.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Today is Umno’s 72nd or 30th Anniversary, depending on how you look at it. And until two days ago Umno had been in power for 59, 61 or 63 years, depending on how you look at it.

Many news commentaries say Barisan Nasional had been removed from office after 61 years in power. Actually, Barisan Nasional had been in power for only 45 years and not 61 because before that it was the Alliance Party that was in power.

Anyway, many believe that political parties can survive at the most around 50 years or so and after that they get ousted. And they quote Japan and Taiwan as examples to support this theory. But then the Communist Party of China has been in power for almost 70 years so that theory does not always apply. In Cuba it is now almost 60 years while in Vietnam (or what used to be North Vietnam) it is 73 years.

So, the 50-year rule may not always apply.

The reason why Barisan Nasional survived 61 years (if we want to follow what the news commentaries say, which is 61 years) is because, after 16 years, in 1973, the Alliance Party reinvented itself and rebranded into Barisan Nasional. If not, the Alliance Party would have been wiped out in the 1974 general election. But because the Alliance Party reinvented itself and rebranded into Barisan Nasional, it survived another 44 years to make it 61 years in total.

So, I disagree with the commentaries that Barisan Nasional ruled for 61 years. It ruled for only 44 years because after 17 years (or 19 years it you consider that the first election was in 1955, two years before Merdeka) the Alliance Party reinvented itself and rebranded into Barisan Nasional to continue where the Alliance Party left off.

The time when Barisan Nasional should have reinvented itself and rebranded was ten years ago in 2008 when the tsunami first started. That would mean after 34 years in power. The Alliance Party rebranded after 17 (or 19) years and Barisan Nasional should have done the same after 34 years. But it did not and three elections later, or in another ten years, the people kicked out Barisan Nasional.

Barisan Nasional was given ten years to do this. The rallying call ten years ago was ABU, which means ‘Anything but Umno’. And ABU means Umno all those associated with Umno — meaning, also, the coalition members of Barisan Nasional. The 2008 general election was the first warning. The 2013 general election was the second warning. There is no third warning and in the 2018 general election Barisan Nasional got the boot for not heeding two warnings.

The Alliance Party was formed for a reason. And that reason was to unite Umno, MCA and MIC into one coalition to fight for Merdeka, although there was no fighting but just negotiations with the British.

By 1969, the Alliance Party had outlived its purpose and was no longer relevant. The first warning the people gave the Alliance Party was in 1969 and by 1974 the Alliance Party would have been given its red card. One year before that, Tun Razak Hussein scrapped the Alliance Party and formed Barisan Nasional. That saved the coalition and by extension Umno as well.

And that was the sole reason why Barisan Nasional was formed — to save Umno from extinction.

When Najib Tun Razak took over in 2009, the year after the first warning in 2008, he should have done what his late father did in 1973. But he did not and the people gave him a second chance in 2013. When that second warning was ignored as well, the people acted. And that was what happened two days ago on 9th May 2018.

Today is Umno’s birthday, 72nd or 30th, whichever pleases you. There will be no use for ‘Happy Birthday’ wishes because without a doubt happy is not the mood Umno is currently in. Instead of singing birthday songs, candle-blowing and cake-cutting, Umno will need to reflect on whether to prove Ibrahim Ali right (see what he said below), or do what Tun Razak, Najib’s father, did in 1973. If not, then Ibrahim Ali would be proven correct.

Not reinventing and rebranding Umno is not an option. Umno’s coalition members in Sabah and Sarawak also need to reflect on their future because they, too, have received their first warning two days ago. In the next general election, they are going to get their red card.

Maybe the parties in Sabah and Sarawak need to form their own (independent) East Malaysian coalition and no longer be part of the Semenanjung pact called Barisan Nasional. That may ensure their continued survival.

MCA, MIC, Gerakan and myPPP no longer have any need for Barisan Nasional, and neither does Umno have any need for MCA, MIC, Gerakan and myPPP. If the old ways no longer work then change or ubah. Do not stay the same course merely for sentimental or emotional reasons.

That is what today, 11th May 2018, Umno’s birthday, is all about — reflecting on life after GE14. Necessity is the mother of invention. And it is necessary to reinvent Umno and Barisan Nasional. It is either that or listen to Ibrahim Ali (see below).

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Saya tidak nampak umno-bn dapat bangkit semula. Ia nya berkubur buat selama lamanya. Ini kerana umno tidak ada perkaderan yg serious hanya sekadar kursus sehari dua yg gagal membina jati diri ahli ahli.

Selama ini umno-bn bergantong kpd kuasa kerajaan semata mata dan ahli2 tiada jati diri dan sibuk mengejar projek dan habuan semata mata. Manakala terdapat pemimpin2 umno yg akan naik turun mahkamah kerana di dakwah rasuah. Proses dakwaan dan pembicaraan sudah pasti akan mengambil masa 2-3-4 tahun. Imej umno-bn rasuah tidak dapat di pulihkan lagi.

Lebih baik umno di bubar atau (penjenamaan semula parti umno) lebih praktikal kerana anak2 muda sudah begitu jijik dgn umno. UMNO sudah wafat sebagai sebuah parti yg mempunyai banyak penyakit yg tidak bolih di ubati lagi hingga ke akar umbi. Ibrahim Ali