COMMENT The writing is on the wall. Umno does not need MCA and the opinion of its leaders are negligible, or to be more unerring, dismissible.
 
This blunt message was once again laid bare when the Prime Minister’s Office defended Ismail Sabri Yaakob amid vexed calls from MCA for the Umno minister to apologise, with one even suggesting that he was not fit to be in the cabinet.
 
But who in Umno gives a hoot about MCA and their grouses? Its leaders cannot deliver at the polls and have become a burden for Umno, like a millstone around its neck.
 
Conceding to their request at the expense of a top Umno leader will not convince the Chinese to vote for BN again. Remnants of that bridge were torched two years ago.
 
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak would be flirting with danger should he have reprimanded Ismail (right) or instructed him to retract his statement, or worse still, tell him to apologise.
 
As it is, the Umno president is perched in a precarious position with the right-wing in his party twisting his arm, not to mention the still influential former president using him as a dart board.
 
When he rode into power five years ago, Najib had grand plans of reclaiming BN’s glorious past and launched a slew of initiatives under his 1Malaysia slogan to court non-Malay votes.
 
However, this had incurred the right-wing’s wrath premised on the concern that the prime minister’s pandering to the Chinese would infuriate Malay voters.
 
The 2013 general election had dealt Najib a blow that was more devastating than the one suffered by the man he replaced, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
 
But despite further erosion of BN popularity in that nationwide polls, Umno won additional seats and this cemented the belief that the key to its survival is Malay votes. The rest could be ignored.
 
And to ensure that these votes remain with Umno, the formula devised was to up the racial ante and feed Malay voters with a constant dose of an “us versus them” agenda.
 
Hence, the Chinese bogeyman.
 
Steady stream of venom
 
Disgruntled for having misread the ground, Najib decided to be wise vis-a-vis realpolitik.
 
So he discarded his plans to transform the nation and instead transform himself to be more in tune with the demands of his party and those who had their daggers pointed at him.
 
This was most evident during the last Umno annual general assembly, when he rescinded on his promise to repeal the Sedition Act for which he received a thunderous applause from party delegates.
 
Since the last general election, hardline groups have been spewing a steady stream of venom and the lack of action from the authorities indicate that it is being done with the tacit approval of Umno’s top leadership.
 
A siege mentality has been forged, where the Malays are led to believe that their religion, culture, language and special position are under threat.
 
At the same time, the Malays in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat are portrayed as traitors to the race for joining hands with the Chinese, represented by DAP.
 
The Umno juggernaut leaves a trail of destruction, with MCA cracking its head to find excuses to justify the inflammatory words and deeds of their big brother.
 
Indeed, the increasingly weak partners of Umno in the ruling BN are in no position to make demands. To push the envelope would invite trouble.
 
And so in the case of Ismail, with scores of Umno divisions having rallied behind him, Najib is left with no other option but to defend the indefensible, while MCA must hang its head in shame.
 
 
RK ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini team.