The Najib conviction: what next and where to Umno from here on?
Today, Najib has been korban. And maybe tomorrow Zahid as well. But the perjuangan is not about Najib or Zahid but about masa depan orang Melayu dan Islam. Forget that at your own peril. And that was what made Umno great in the Merdeka era and, to quote Donald Trump, what will make Umno great again. So, the question now: what next and where to Umno from here on?
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
No, let’s not talk about Najib Tun Razak’s conviction. That is for the lawyers and judicial system to discuss. Let’s talk about politik orang Melayu dan orang Islam in the context of what today’s court decision will mean. The big picture. Not the small picture.
Weeks ago, political leaders on both sides of the divide had already planned for life after Najib. They knew what today’s outcome was going to be so the focus was on what next and where to from here on. Even Najib’s lawyers were already talking about the appeal process, meaning they were expecting a guilty verdict.
The reason why the political and legal fraternities had expected today’s outcome is not a matter that we need to discuss, as such discussion may attract allegations of contempt of court. Suffice to say it was not a shock or surprise that the verdict was as it was, and most had prepared themselves for such a verdict.
That is all now water under the bridge or a fait accompli. Nasi sudah jadi bubur, as the Malays would say. As a perjuang, the focus must not be on what was lost but how to mitigate that loss for future gains. Najib, in fact, already made the decision to travel the long road to freedom by letting go of Umno so that he can take the fall alone and spare Umno and Barisan Nasional the misery of his personal troubles.
Umno has to prepare itself for a leadership vacuum if Najib and Zahid suffer personal setbacks
When the same thing happened to Anwar 22 years ago, he launched a party, Parti Keadilan Nasional, so that they could fight for his release from jail. Basically, PKN, and later PKR, became “Parti Untuk Bebaskan Anwar Dari Jail”. Najib, on the other hand, took the reverse route. He already had a party, Umno, but Najib “abandoned” that party to spare it the agony of turning it into a “Parti Untuk Bebaskan Najib Dari Jail”.
That is the major difference between Anwar and Najib. For Anwar, it is all about Anwar. For Najib, it is all about Umno. Najib is the true pejuang who was prepared to sacrifice himself to save Umno. And, now, Umno can live on never mind what happens to Najib — unlike PKR, which dies if Anwar dies.
What Najib did (or did not do) in the past is for the legal brains to discuss. What Najib is doing now is what matters, because the perjuangan must never die with the leader. Did Islam die the day Prophet Muhammad died or did it flourish and grow even stronger (not that we are equating Najib to Prophet Muhammad or Umno to Islam).
When the front row falls, the back row moves forward to take over
Most look at half a glass of water as half-empty. And that is how most would look at today’s defeat. The wise would look at the same half a glass of water as half-full. Do not cry about the lost half-glass of water. Try to see how we can benefit from the remaining half-full glass of water.
They say more is to come and Najib is going to be bogged down in court way past the next general election or GE15. They also say Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is going to suffer that same fate as well. In that case, Umno must prepare itself for a leadership vacuum for years to come, or at least until the next general election, if it wants to survive.
And, that, may actually work in Umno’s favour. Currently, people are a bit confused as to who is really in charge of Umno. Some say Najib will be coming back as soon as he settles his court case(s). Some say Zahid is in charge. Others say Mohamad Hasan a.k.a. Tok Mat should take over — or maybe even a fourth calun (let’s leave his name out for the moment).
With today’s court decision, and if it is true that Zahid is also going to suffer the same fate, then, like it or not, Tok Mat or a fourth person will emerge as the leader in Umno. In a way, that clears up the confusion and settles the Umno leadership issue, which can only work in Umno’s favour.
The future of Umno may no longer be in Umno but in Muafakat Nasional or Barisan Nasional if Umno gets deregistered as rumoured
There is also talk that Umno may, yet again, be declared illegal, like what happened 32 years ago back in 1988. If that is true then they will need a new party to carry on the perjuangan. In 1988, Umno Baru and Semangat 46 took Umno’s place. What is going to take Umno’s place this time around?
That would be for the Umno leaders and members to decide. But, whatever it is, they must start thinking not only of life after Najib and Zahid but life after Umno as well. Leaders die. Parties die. But the struggle must go on. Pemimpin bukan keramat. Parti bukan keramat. Yang keramat ialah perjuangan.
Those who believe in God would believe that God moves in mysterious ways. Things always happen for a reason. If you can avoid mourning the half-glass lost, but be grateful for the half-glass remaining instead, you can see the silver lining in that dark cloud. Perjuangan without korban cannot happen.
Today, Najib has been korban. And maybe tomorrow Zahid as well. But the perjuangan is not about Najib or Zahid but about masa depan orang Melayu dan Islam. Forget that at your own peril. And that was what made Umno great in the Merdeka era and, to quote Donald Trump, what will make Umno great again. So, the question now: what next and where to Umno from here on?
