Puteri Umno daintily sets sail on Titanic voyage
Susan LoonePublished: Apr 16, 2001 6:50 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
Umno's latest propaganda blitz Puteri Umno is set to take the nation by storm. It is said to be a breath of fresh air, contrary to the fuddy-duddy and tardy 'old' Wanita wing.
Pro-establishment analysts say by endorsing Puteri Umno, the party is serious in coaching the young, especially women, in political issues affecting the country. The young, after all, are poised to be the future leaders of this land.
However, to many modern Malay women, Puteri Umno fails on many accounts. Many say that the word 'Puteri' itself speaks blatantly of Umno's feudalistic mentality.
Women affiliating themselves to the party would face dire consequences of being termed as regressive and politically incorrect.
Puteri means princess and throughout history princesses are known to have made their fame only when a prince comes along. They are expected to behave graciously and gracefully, to toe the line and set the trend in the fashion world.
Malay princesses were not very different from their western counterparts. None of them so far have been known for their political shrewdness. If they had ever existed (as surely there must be) they have hardly been spoken of or written about or glorified as an icon of heroism.
Copycat
Calling itself Puteri, this Umno wing has once again done a copycat act, say opposition supporters, as Nurul Izzah, jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's eldest daughter was popularly known as Puteri Reformasi at the beginnings of the movement's popularity.
Everywhere she went, Nurul attracted many young women (and men) who sympathised with her plight. She spoke out bravely against her father's imprisonment and human rights abuses locally as well as internationally.
It is not surprising then that many progressive women cannot find anything in themselves to relate to the new political set-up, Puteri Umno. In fact, they see it as Umno's desperate ploy to garner support from women as 51 percent of Malaysian women are voters.
Having failed in their attempt to attract the younger population, a failure largely attributed to constant power struggles in the women's wing headed by International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz, and a weak Youth leader, Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Onn who is also the Youth and Sports Minister, Puteri Umno was set to sail as a rescue mission to bring home prodigal sons and daughters.
But the seas are stormy, say political analysts, and Umno's attempt to entice the young may prove to be disastrous.
Regressive model
Led by lawyer Azalina Othman Said and a group of young, talented, enterprising and professional women, Puteri Umno hopes to attract about 1.5 million women in the next year or so.
Its mission is to upgrade the political consciousness of young women, said Azalina. Another, is to unite the Malays, said popular singer and actress Erra Fazira who is one of its executive members.
But what kind of political consciousness, many women ask.
Umno, much less like Puteri Umno has no political basis or ideology to define its existence. Observers say, even if there is an ideology, it is a very racist one as its membership is only open to Malays.
Some women activists argue that Puteri Umno's organisational structure very much follows a regressive model because these days, the entire world is moving progressively promoting equal participation of men and women, regardless of gender, race and social standing in any given field.
Bending backwards
Another criticism leveled at Puteri Umno is that the party's leadership has once again bended over backwards to serve an individual's political ambitions.
At first, the age limit to enter the party was set at 35 after much deliberation. But then, nobody came forward to head the team, so Umno President Dr Mahathir Mohamad appointed Azalina, aged 37, as the president of its pro-tem committee.
This is Azalina's second appointment by Mahathir. Her first appointment was as Umno's supreme council member last year, the party's highest decision making body.
Already losing much support and being blamed solely for causing Malay disunity, it would be unwise for Umno to choose anyone handpicked by Mahathir to head a brand new wing - but they did.
Unless, Azalina's appointment was solely Mahathir's wish. "And Mahathir's wish is everyone's command," said a critical Umno member who declined to be named.
Not having any women come forward to lead the new wing says many things all at once, that probably no one has much confidence in the organisation itself, nor do they want to invest their time and reputation doing the 'dirty job' of recruiting more members.
Based on this single argument, observers say Puteri Umno will fail miserably. Although Azalina seems very capable at what she is doing - she is known to be brilliant, charismatic and dynamic - it is a different matter altogether in the political arena.
In politics, if one desires to capture the hearts and minds of the people, one has to be chosen by the people, a popular figure with the masses and not one who is popular with the 'right person'.
Much as we hate to generalise, Asian women are still very much dependent on their elders, especially their husbands, fathers, brothers or uncles for guidance, though these people may not necessarily influence their (women's) decisions in life.
Going by facts alone, if 45 percent of Malays swayed towards the opposition in the last general elections, we can't very well expect these Malays to encourage their wives, daughters or sisters to join Puteri Umno now, could we?
Gender sensitise
And what about unity of the Malays?
Many women say with Puteri, women are further marginalised into race, gender and age groups. As there is already a women's wing in existence, it would be more progressive for women to join their male counterparts in the youth wing, if they are not comfortable with the former, like Parti Rakyat Malaysia's (PRM) youth wing, which is a pleasant combination of both men and women.
Alternatively, wouldn't it be better to encourage more participation of women in the party's top echelon, such as PAS' plan to increase more women in their central working committee come this June, instead of limiting women to either an older outfit such as Wanita Umno or younger one such as Puteri Umno?
Ideally, it would be progressive to have a balance of power between men and women at all levels, such as having both genders elected for each leadership role, right from the presidency down to grass-roots leaders.
Women should be drawn into mainstream political issues and men drawn into mainstream women issues. It is time for both men and women to act collectively and strive to enhance women's position in society, instead of leaving such issues to women alone. How else do you educate or gender-sensitise men?
Puteri Umno's performance will very much depend on what kind of issues it can raise to attract young Malay women. What would its struggle be? To fight for women's rights? There is already a minister for women's affairs and a host of other pro-government women's organisations such as Hawa (a women's affairs council).
Behind every successful man, there is a woman, they say. And thus Puteri Umno has its work cut out for it - save Umno's top leadership.
SUSAN LOONE is a malaysiakini journalist.
Pro-establishment analysts say by endorsing Puteri Umno, the party is serious in coaching the young, especially women, in political issues affecting the country. The young, after all, are poised to be the future leaders of this land.
However, to many modern Malay women, Puteri Umno fails on many accounts. Many say that the word 'Puteri' itself speaks blatantly of Umno's feudalistic mentality.
Women affiliating themselves to the party would face dire consequences of being termed as regressive and politically incorrect.
Puteri means princess and throughout history princesses are known to have made their fame only when a prince comes along. They are expected to behave graciously and gracefully, to toe the line and set the trend in the fashion world.
Malay princesses were not very different from their western counterparts. None of them so far have been known for their political shrewdness. If they had ever existed (as surely there must be) they have hardly been spoken of or written about or glorified as an icon of heroism.
Copycat
Calling itself Puteri, this Umno wing has once again done a copycat act, say opposition supporters, as Nurul Izzah, jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's eldest daughter was popularly known as Puteri Reformasi at the beginnings of the movement's popularity.
Everywhere she went, Nurul attracted many young women (and men) who sympathised with her plight. She spoke out bravely against her father's imprisonment and human rights abuses locally as well as internationally.
It is not surprising then that many progressive women cannot find anything in themselves to relate to the new political set-up, Puteri Umno. In fact, they see it as Umno's desperate ploy to garner support from women as 51 percent of Malaysian women are voters.
Having failed in their attempt to attract the younger population, a failure largely attributed to constant power struggles in the women's wing headed by International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz, and a weak Youth leader, Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Onn who is also the Youth and Sports Minister, Puteri Umno was set to sail as a rescue mission to bring home prodigal sons and daughters.
But the seas are stormy, say political analysts, and Umno's attempt to entice the young may prove to be disastrous.
Regressive model
Led by lawyer Azalina Othman Said and a group of young, talented, enterprising and professional women, Puteri Umno hopes to attract about 1.5 million women in the next year or so.
Its mission is to upgrade the political consciousness of young women, said Azalina. Another, is to unite the Malays, said popular singer and actress Erra Fazira who is one of its executive members.
But what kind of political consciousness, many women ask.
Umno, much less like Puteri Umno has no political basis or ideology to define its existence. Observers say, even if there is an ideology, it is a very racist one as its membership is only open to Malays.
Some women activists argue that Puteri Umno's organisational structure very much follows a regressive model because these days, the entire world is moving progressively promoting equal participation of men and women, regardless of gender, race and social standing in any given field.
Bending backwards
Another criticism leveled at Puteri Umno is that the party's leadership has once again bended over backwards to serve an individual's political ambitions.
At first, the age limit to enter the party was set at 35 after much deliberation. But then, nobody came forward to head the team, so Umno President Dr Mahathir Mohamad appointed Azalina, aged 37, as the president of its pro-tem committee.
This is Azalina's second appointment by Mahathir. Her first appointment was as Umno's supreme council member last year, the party's highest decision making body.
Already losing much support and being blamed solely for causing Malay disunity, it would be unwise for Umno to choose anyone handpicked by Mahathir to head a brand new wing - but they did.
Unless, Azalina's appointment was solely Mahathir's wish. "And Mahathir's wish is everyone's command," said a critical Umno member who declined to be named.
Not having any women come forward to lead the new wing says many things all at once, that probably no one has much confidence in the organisation itself, nor do they want to invest their time and reputation doing the 'dirty job' of recruiting more members.
Based on this single argument, observers say Puteri Umno will fail miserably. Although Azalina seems very capable at what she is doing - she is known to be brilliant, charismatic and dynamic - it is a different matter altogether in the political arena.
In politics, if one desires to capture the hearts and minds of the people, one has to be chosen by the people, a popular figure with the masses and not one who is popular with the 'right person'.
Much as we hate to generalise, Asian women are still very much dependent on their elders, especially their husbands, fathers, brothers or uncles for guidance, though these people may not necessarily influence their (women's) decisions in life.
Going by facts alone, if 45 percent of Malays swayed towards the opposition in the last general elections, we can't very well expect these Malays to encourage their wives, daughters or sisters to join Puteri Umno now, could we?
Gender sensitise
And what about unity of the Malays?
Many women say with Puteri, women are further marginalised into race, gender and age groups. As there is already a women's wing in existence, it would be more progressive for women to join their male counterparts in the youth wing, if they are not comfortable with the former, like Parti Rakyat Malaysia's (PRM) youth wing, which is a pleasant combination of both men and women.
Alternatively, wouldn't it be better to encourage more participation of women in the party's top echelon, such as PAS' plan to increase more women in their central working committee come this June, instead of limiting women to either an older outfit such as Wanita Umno or younger one such as Puteri Umno?
Ideally, it would be progressive to have a balance of power between men and women at all levels, such as having both genders elected for each leadership role, right from the presidency down to grass-roots leaders.
Women should be drawn into mainstream political issues and men drawn into mainstream women issues. It is time for both men and women to act collectively and strive to enhance women's position in society, instead of leaving such issues to women alone. How else do you educate or gender-sensitise men?
Puteri Umno's performance will very much depend on what kind of issues it can raise to attract young Malay women. What would its struggle be? To fight for women's rights? There is already a minister for women's affairs and a host of other pro-government women's organisations such as Hawa (a women's affairs council).
Behind every successful man, there is a woman, they say. And thus Puteri Umno has its work cut out for it - save Umno's top leadership.
SUSAN LOONE is a malaysiakini journalist.
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