Umno and Bersatu: two tigers on the same mountain

To me, it does not matter what the solution is in the end. I would rather look at the big picture than the fine print. And the big picture is Malay political power. And who has to die and who is sacrificed to achieve this does not matter one bit. After all, you need to break the shell to fry the egg.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Chinese say there cannot be two tigers on the same mountain. And Umno and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) are two tigers on the same mountain — which means that situation is not conducive to a stable relationship.

It is okay if one is the big brother and the other the small brother. However, when both want to be big brother, that is a recipe for disaster. Umno and PPBM have to decide which one is the big brother and which one is the small brother.

Of course, after having played big brother for almost 75 years, it is extremely difficult to now get “downgraded” to the role of small brother. One can understand and sympathise with this dilemma Umno is faced with, especially when the-new-kid-on-the-block who now wants to play big brother is only four years old.

Umno may have to accept that PPBM is here to stay

But then what is the alternative? Since there cannot be two tigers on the same mountain, then one tiger has to die, or it has to move to another mountain and be king of its own mountain instead of sharing the mountain.

But that is just it. The viability of Umno and PPBM is in its cooperation or unity with each other, and with PAS. In other words, the sum of the three does not equal three. One plus one plus one equals four.

Hence breaking up Perikatan Nasional into three is not an option. The value of Umno, PPBM and PAS would be eroded — as its value is in the three combined as one. The “set” is what gives it value.

PAS is not a problem. PAS can accept either one as big brother because it has different priorities. The problem is between Umno and PPBM. And it is not such a straightforward matter because it involves egos — and Malays have this “biar mati anak, jangan mati adat” ego.

In other words, Malays are capable of “marah nyamuk, bakar kelambu”, even if that is a most suicidal and destructive course of action. Is not the English word “amok” actually a Malay word? Yes, Malays will run amok if you rub their ego the wrong way.

Umno people still cannot discard the big brother mentality

Has not many a city burned to the ground because of ego? Of course, they will call it pendirian, maruah, principles, dignity, values, stand, etc. But at the end of the day, it is all about egos, whatever name they wish to call it by.

An estimated 85 million people died in WWII because of ego. And more than one million have thus far died of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic partly because of ego (they think it is not macho to wear masks and practice social distancing). And many more are going to die of Covid-19 because of Shafie Apdal’s ego in calling for the Sabah state election.

Yes, ego can kill. And it can kill Perikatan Nasional as well if not careful. Hence Umno and PPBM need to find a solution. And the solution may have to be no “big brother and small brother” situation. There may have to be only one tiger on the mountain.

So, what happens now? How would the big-brother-small-brother dilemma be resolved? How would we see only one brother instead of two, one big and one small?

If I have that answer then I should take over as the new Perikatan Nasional Chairman. But the answer could actually be very obvious and could be staring you in the face. The leadership of both Umno and PPBM need to find a way to “merge” the two parties. And in what shape and form this “merger” is to take place and how to see a win-win situation is something that may be painful but has to be explored.

Perikatan Nasional is more valuable as three-in-one and not if broken into three separate parts

This happens every time in the corporate world, and it is not always easy.

When the English company, Shanks, merged with its Scottish competitor, Armitage, in 1969 (and now called Armitage Shanks) there was much internal turmoil. The Armitage people still thought of themselves as Armitage staff while the Shanks people thought of themselves as Shanks staff.

It took a long time before the staff would accept that they were Armitage Shanks staff and not either Armitage or Shanks staff. Even Sabahans and Sarawakians until today still think of themselves as Sabahans or Sarawakians and not as Malaysians. And the Scots, Welsh and Irish still think of themselves as Scots, Welsh and Irish first and British second.

A new Umno-PPBM entity is not going to be easy to achieve. There will be a lot of resistance and squabbling. But there can be no other future for both Umno and PPBM. A divorce would be destructive for both. But a marriage will be turmoil as well.

Even the Scots, just like Sabahans and Sarawakians, resist the “merger”

The Sabah state election was painful for Umno. They had to sacrifice and compromise much. But did Umno have a choice? They could have chosen to boycott PPBM and in that same move commit suicide as well.

Say what you like, Umno and PPBM are like Siamese twins. You cannot kill one without the other also dying. People with fat egos may find this hard to admit. But there are some things in life which you have no choice but to accept because that is the reality of the situation.

To me, it does not matter what the solution is in the end. I would rather look at the big picture than the fine print. And the big picture is Malay political power. And who has to die and who is sacrificed to achieve this does not matter one bit. After all, you need to break the shell to fry the egg.

I have said this before and I shall say it again. Some people change parties for the sake of principles. Some change principles for the sake of the party. Principled people have loyalty. But it has to be loyalty to the idea, not loyalty to the institution.

https://youtu.be/kpVp_gd3uwk