Umno set to rise from ashes under Najib
Abdar Rahman KoyaPublished: Oct 29, 2009 3:41 AM | Updated: Oct 29, 2009 5:49 AM
For the first time after the political crisis sparked by the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, and since the dismal performance of the ruling coalition last year, Umno, which has ruled for half a century, is showing some semblance of party unity.
COMMENT For the first time after the political crisis sparked by the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, and since the dismal performance of the ruling coalition last year, Umno, which has ruled for half a century, is showing some semblance of party unity.
Since Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak took over the party helm earlier this year, there has been talk that Umno's past glory - in the form of the public's perception of it as the preferred ruling party - will be revived after a decade-long credibility crisis.
Believing this, former strongman Mahathir Mohamad openly threw his support behind Najib, and even joined the chorus of calls for reform - the battle cry that once was taboo and cost Anwar his raison d'etre for joining Umno.
Today, far from being seen as a threat, calling for ‘reforms' and ‘change of mindset' have become a necessity for any leader wanting to be popular.
Since March last year when the opposition coalition came close to forming a government by denying the ruling coalition its customary two-thirds majority, there have been calls for Umno to adopt wide-ranging reforms.
This would make it more acceptable in a political landscape marked by different interest groups and backed by limitless access to information, namely through The Internet.
At one point, the loudest call came from Mahathir, who did nothing to hinder silencing those who echoed the same slogans in the political crisis of 1998-1999. His open criticism of the party he once led and his brief resignation as member paved the way for open squabbling.
A number of senior leaders from the coalition even decided to join the opposition, with at least two former ministers joining Anwar's PKR, which together with the Islamic party PAS and the staunchly secular DAP, rules four important states.
As if that was not enough, a number of by-elections tested the depth of the opposition's popularity and the claim that the Umno-led Barisan Nasional was irrelevant. This was confirmed even in constituencies where the incumbent was Umno.
The Bagan Pinang turning point
That was destined to change on Oct 11, when for the first time a by-election was held in an area where Umno had better than average chance of success.
Even then, no one expected that the PAS candidate seen in every recent by-election as representing the opposition coalition would lose by a bigger margin.
The election also showed that there has been a swing of support among non-Malays, whose role in last year's general election led to Umno's poor performance.
The win could not come at a better time for the ruling coalition, especially for Umno. Najib was able to get some blue marks for his first 100 days, unlike his predecessor Abdullah Badawi who was hounded by Mahathir.
It also came on the heels of important changes in Umno, which will give it some points to manage public perception.
For example, members who can now elect the party's top leaders, including the often contentious posts of president and deputy president, are increased from an elite of about 2,500 delegates to more than 146,000 members around the country, a move unthinkable just a couple of years ago.
While it may be touted as one of the clearest signs of Umno's move from a party led by a few well-connected members of the elite to a more democratic leadership promised by its leaders, such changes may repair its image only among its own members and traditional supporters.
In the arena of inter-party competition that so characterises this small nation's noisy and often murky politics, the move is a point scored, especially when not all opposition parties can claim to follow the same democratic norms when choosing a leader.
Hand shakes don't mean squat
At the electoral level, changes in Umno may to a certain extent make people think that not all is lost, especially when a large number of them had been voting for the Umno-led coalition for decades, and had only recently started their fling with the opposition.
Meanwhile, all is not well with the opposition front either. A major factor is their limited political experience (or as some say, experiment) as coalition state governments the opposition parties have formed, hoping to debunk the favourite clichéd claim by their detractors that they will be unable to rule effectively due to ‘ideological differences'.
Opposition leaders cannot easily counter such allegations by simply emerging in public shaking hands, especially after what recent developments in Selangor, where all three parties were important partners, have shown.
Selangor, the most developed state in the federation, has been the closest experiment for the opposition to demonstrate their ability to rule in a multiracial setting, rife with conflicting demands and the needs of society.
Such a reality demands not only wisdom in ruling, but the real challenge is how to satisfy everyone at the same time especially when decisions are quickly politicised, both by Umno and critics within opposition ranks. Ultimately, the aim is to consolidate the electoral support base till the next general election.
This can be difficult when an Islamic party like PAS gets entangled in electoral politics and electoral pacts only to find their hands tied.
Who says that to reconcile principles, whether Islamic or otherwise, with the need to survive in the ballot box, is easy?
In most cases, PAS has been blamed by many non-Muslim opposition supporters, whose votes played a crucial role in ensuring Umno's defeat in the state, for rocking the boat by demanding Islamic values in governance, something that may push the hard-earned non-Muslim sympathy away from the opposition.
PAS tastes non-Muslim discipline
For example, a recent call by PAS state leaders for the regulation of alcohol created such a storm among non-Muslim leaders that the issue had to require intervention by top leaders.
That even an issue that has more to do with social welfare than ‘religious policing' can be politicised in a predominantly Muslim country shows the allegation that the opposition coalition is a marriage of convenience is not without merit.
Over the past few years, more people have become staunch critics of the government, and for good reason.
That, however, does not mean the same number would like the opposition parties to play a role beyond their current ability to exert political pressure on the ruling Umno to change its ways.
After seeing the worst that Umno could go through, Najib is probably politically savvy enough to realise the importance of such a thought pattern to be maintained till the next general election.
After assuming power, he came up with what is probably the biggest public relations campaign by a prime minister, in the form of his battle cry called "1Malaysia".
The political slogan that it is, it will be futile to explain what it really means. One thing is certain: it is Najib's answer to the failed "Islam Hadhari" (‘progressive' Islam) slogan espoused by ex-PM Abdullah Badawi, which was viewed with suspicion by non-Muslims, questioned for its lack of intellectual credibility by Muslims, but also for the fact that nothing whatsoever was achieved by invoking it.
While Abdullah may have had his own reason for ‘Islam Hadhari', Najib's motivation for ‘1Malaysia' is not too hard to see: to counter the multiracial image that the opposition has built for itself, thanks to Anwar's vast political experience.
Najib's window of opportunity
For all it's worth, it may have some takers, especially given that many people are tired of mudslinging politics that have characterised a big part of Malaysian politicians' modus operandi.
By invoking the "1Malaysia" slogan at every opportunity - whether for giving discounts at the toll plaza, providing free medical service, giving an impression of tough crime prevention measures, or liberalising the economy, Najib hopes to attract every sector of the population with different interests into his fold.
After going through an economic crisis, people are more interested in bread and butter issues and how to raise their families than they are worrying about which politician is jailed for corruption or which candidate wins a by-election.
With the obvious exception of opposition politicians, Najib's ‘1Malaysia' is seen to be gaining traction, even if its success threatens to eclipse the serious allegations of Najib's involvement in the brutal murder of a Mongolian lady who secured a defence contract for Malaysia.
Rarely does the ruling coalition in Malaysia play the role of the underdog, as it does now, even with all the media and the wide array of institutions it controls.
It is highly unlikely that even Najib can reverse this in the near future. On the other hand, it is not impossible to do so provided he comes up with something more than the Mahathirian way of destroying Anwar Ibrahim.
The writer is Editor at Islamic Book Trust, Petaling Jaya. This article appears in the latest issue of Canadian-based Crescent International, a news magazine focusing on current affairs in the Muslim world.
Since Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak took over the party helm earlier this year, there has been talk that Umno's past glory - in the form of the public's perception of it as the preferred ruling party - will be revived after a decade-long credibility crisis.Believing this, former strongman Mahathir Mohamad openly threw his support behind Najib, and even joined the chorus of calls for reform - the battle cry that once was taboo and cost Anwar his raison d'etre for joining Umno.
Today, far from being seen as a threat, calling for ‘reforms' and ‘change of mindset' have become a necessity for any leader wanting to be popular.
Since March last year when the opposition coalition came close to forming a government by denying the ruling coalition its customary two-thirds majority, there have been calls for Umno to adopt wide-ranging reforms.
This would make it more acceptable in a political landscape marked by different interest groups and backed by limitless access to information, namely through The Internet.
At one point, the loudest call came from Mahathir, who did nothing to hinder silencing those who echoed the same slogans in the political crisis of 1998-1999. His open criticism of the party he once led and his brief resignation as member paved the way for open squabbling.A number of senior leaders from the coalition even decided to join the opposition, with at least two former ministers joining Anwar's PKR, which together with the Islamic party PAS and the staunchly secular DAP, rules four important states.
As if that was not enough, a number of by-elections tested the depth of the opposition's popularity and the claim that the Umno-led Barisan Nasional was irrelevant. This was confirmed even in constituencies where the incumbent was Umno.
The Bagan Pinang turning point
That was destined to change on Oct 11, when for the first time a by-election was held in an area where Umno had better than average chance of success.
Even then, no one expected that the PAS candidate seen in every recent by-election as representing the opposition coalition would lose by a bigger margin.
The election also showed that there has been a swing of support among non-Malays, whose role in last year's general election led to Umno's poor performance.
The win could not come at a better time for the ruling coalition, especially for Umno. Najib was able to get some blue marks for his first 100 days, unlike his predecessor Abdullah Badawi who was hounded by Mahathir.It also came on the heels of important changes in Umno, which will give it some points to manage public perception.
For example, members who can now elect the party's top leaders, including the often contentious posts of president and deputy president, are increased from an elite of about 2,500 delegates to more than 146,000 members around the country, a move unthinkable just a couple of years ago.
While it may be touted as one of the clearest signs of Umno's move from a party led by a few well-connected members of the elite to a more democratic leadership promised by its leaders, such changes may repair its image only among its own members and traditional supporters.
In the arena of inter-party competition that so characterises this small nation's noisy and often murky politics, the move is a point scored, especially when not all opposition parties can claim to follow the same democratic norms when choosing a leader.
Hand shakes don't mean squat
At the electoral level, changes in Umno may to a certain extent make people think that not all is lost, especially when a large number of them had been voting for the Umno-led coalition for decades, and had only recently started their fling with the opposition.
Meanwhile, all is not well with the opposition front either. A major factor is their limited political experience (or as some say, experiment) as coalition state governments the opposition parties have formed, hoping to debunk the favourite clichéd claim by their detractors that they will be unable to rule effectively due to ‘ideological differences'.
Opposition leaders cannot easily counter such allegations by simply emerging in public shaking hands, especially after what recent developments in Selangor, where all three parties were important partners, have shown.
Selangor, the most developed state in the federation, has been the closest experiment for the opposition to demonstrate their ability to rule in a multiracial setting, rife with conflicting demands and the needs of society.
Such a reality demands not only wisdom in ruling, but the real challenge is how to satisfy everyone at the same time especially when decisions are quickly politicised, both by Umno and critics within opposition ranks. Ultimately, the aim is to consolidate the electoral support base till the next general election.
This can be difficult when an Islamic party like PAS gets entangled in electoral politics and electoral pacts only to find their hands tied.
Who says that to reconcile principles, whether Islamic or otherwise, with the need to survive in the ballot box, is easy?
In most cases, PAS has been blamed by many non-Muslim opposition supporters, whose votes played a crucial role in ensuring Umno's defeat in the state, for rocking the boat by demanding Islamic values in governance, something that may push the hard-earned non-Muslim sympathy away from the opposition.
PAS tastes non-Muslim discipline
For example, a recent call by PAS state leaders for the regulation of alcohol created such a storm among non-Muslim leaders that the issue had to require intervention by top leaders.
That even an issue that has more to do with social welfare than ‘religious policing' can be politicised in a predominantly Muslim country shows the allegation that the opposition coalition is a marriage of convenience is not without merit.
Over the past few years, more people have become staunch critics of the government, and for good reason.
That, however, does not mean the same number would like the opposition parties to play a role beyond their current ability to exert political pressure on the ruling Umno to change its ways.
After seeing the worst that Umno could go through, Najib is probably politically savvy enough to realise the importance of such a thought pattern to be maintained till the next general election.
After assuming power, he came up with what is probably the biggest public relations campaign by a prime minister, in the form of his battle cry called "1Malaysia".
The political slogan that it is, it will be futile to explain what it really means. One thing is certain: it is Najib's answer to the failed "Islam Hadhari" (‘progressive' Islam) slogan espoused by ex-PM Abdullah Badawi, which was viewed with suspicion by non-Muslims, questioned for its lack of intellectual credibility by Muslims, but also for the fact that nothing whatsoever was achieved by invoking it.
While Abdullah may have had his own reason for ‘Islam Hadhari', Najib's motivation for ‘1Malaysia' is not too hard to see: to counter the multiracial image that the opposition has built for itself, thanks to Anwar's vast political experience.
Najib's window of opportunity
For all it's worth, it may have some takers, especially given that many people are tired of mudslinging politics that have characterised a big part of Malaysian politicians' modus operandi.
By invoking the "1Malaysia" slogan at every opportunity - whether for giving discounts at the toll plaza, providing free medical service, giving an impression of tough crime prevention measures, or liberalising the economy, Najib hopes to attract every sector of the population with different interests into his fold.
After going through an economic crisis, people are more interested in bread and butter issues and how to raise their families than they are worrying about which politician is jailed for corruption or which candidate wins a by-election.
With the obvious exception of opposition politicians, Najib's ‘1Malaysia' is seen to be gaining traction, even if its success threatens to eclipse the serious allegations of Najib's involvement in the brutal murder of a Mongolian lady who secured a defence contract for Malaysia.
Rarely does the ruling coalition in Malaysia play the role of the underdog, as it does now, even with all the media and the wide array of institutions it controls.
It is highly unlikely that even Najib can reverse this in the near future. On the other hand, it is not impossible to do so provided he comes up with something more than the Mahathirian way of destroying Anwar Ibrahim.
The writer is Editor at Islamic Book Trust, Petaling Jaya. This article appears in the latest issue of Canadian-based Crescent International, a news magazine focusing on current affairs in the Muslim world.
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