Hard for Umno to avoid using race, religion in politics, say analysts

They say the party will face an uphill battle against PAS and Bersatu without using the two Rs in its political strategy.

(FMT) – Umno cannot avoid using race and religion in its politics as it seeks the backing of Malays, despite a party leader saying it is an outmoded strategy, analysts said.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara and University of Tasmania’s James Chin said Umno would face an uphill battle competing against PAS and Bersatu without using race and religion in its political strategy.

Azmi told FMT the Malay mindset was such that the community would vote for those it could depend on to protect their interests.

“For most Malays, those interests are their religious and racial rights.

“And as I see it, the main reason why Umno is losing support is because the Malays don’t see the party as capable of protecting their rights. PAS, on the other hand, uses race and religion to attract the former supporters of Umno,” he said.

Chin said if Umno gave up using race and religion in politics, the party would have “nothing to fight for”.

Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin had previously said that making use of race and religion for the sake of gaining support among certain demographics was an outdated political strategy.

Khaled told delegates at Umno’s general assembly last Saturday the party should no longer rely on race and religion to gather support.

Instead, he said, the party should focus on elevating the knowledge, skills and competitiveness of the Malay community, and this agenda must be pursued with sincerity.

Chin, however, said race and religion were the driving force of politics in Malaysia, and therefore could never be outdated.

“As long as political parties use race and religion to mobilise their supporters and admission into government agencies is based on these factors, there is no way to get rid of race and religion in Malaysian politics,” he said.

He also said parties such as Gerakan and the People’s Progressive Party, which took a multi-racial approach, had not been successful.

“So, it is not that we haven’t tried, but it seems that the Malaysian population is not ready for that yet,” he said.

Azmi said Umno needed to take a more moderate approach by emulating Barisan Nasional-era ways of using race and religion, where their policies supported not just the Malays but other races as well, thanks to their cooperation with MCA and MIC.

“As part of the government, Umno can implement moderate policies that benefit the Malays, Bumiputeras and Muslims through critical ministries, but not at the expense of other groups,” he said.