His Majesty’s loyal opposition

COMMENT | Change is certainly gathering momentum with each passing day, as the stunning elections victory seeps like dye into the entire fabric of our nation. Change brings with it its own challenges; those that don’t adapt will quickly become irrelevant.

Nowhere is the need to adapt to change more evident than in Umno itself.

Umno is a broken party now – morally bankrupt, politically exhausted, without credibility, purpose or direction, and utterly bereft of the kind of leadership it will need to reinvent itself.

The whole premise of its existence has been challenged and found wanting. Cut off from sources of easy money, the system of money politics that has long sustained the party will collapse. Without the prospect of immediate position, power and profit, how many will even remain in Umno?

Two things must happen if Umno is to successfully reinvent itself – it must find a new raison d'être and it must attract a new breed of leaders.

The manner in which race and religion once dominated our politics is changing. In time, it will hopefully be less of a determinant. Issues like good governance, justice, economic development and respect for the rights of citizens, on the other hand, will be more important. We are not there yet, of course, but we are heading in that direction.

Umno can fall back on its failed racist agenda, or it can take the high road and become a party that serves the interests of all Malaysians. Already, there is talk within Umno of moving from a Malay to a Malaysian political party. It is left to be seen if the diehard racists within Umno will allow this to happen.

However, if it does succeed in overcoming its race-based DNA, it would be an inspiring moment, something that would significantly alter the...