©New
Sunday Times (Used by permission)
UMNO to become "supra–ethnic"?
Sounds far–fetched for a party so dyed in the wool of Malay
nationalism.
But the political parties that are acceptable to and believed in by many
Malaysians are the ones flying high right now.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat entered mainstream politics as a party for all races and
now has 31 members of parliament from the one it had before.
Pas increased the number of its MPs from six to 23, largely due to its moderate
and more multi–racial approach.
The two parties, with their ally DAP, now administer five states under the
Pakatan Rakyat.
The idea that Umno should become a party that is "trusted by the Malays and
non–Malays alike" was thrown in by Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah who on Friday
kick–started his campaign to challenge Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the
Umno presidency in the December party polls.
He had offered this remedy among others to heal Umno, which he claimed had
suffered diminished credibility among the various races as reflected in the
party's poor showing in the March 8 polls.
In redirecting Umno into a new outlook, the 71–year–old Kelantan prince said it
had to be done without compromising the party's original vision for the Malays
and the nation.
"Umno has to project itself as a party for the rakyat, regardless of race. We
want Umno to be a supra–ethnic party, a national party which is fair to the
rakyat," he said in his speech at the opening of the Gua Musang division's
delegates' meeting, which was attended by some 3,000 people, mostly observers
from other Umno divisions.
The meeting passed a resolution calling for the party leadership to hold an
emergency general meeting on May 11 or any other suitable date to discuss Umno's
performance in last month's general election.
Tengku Razaleigh may be seen as a dissident who is out to fulfil his ambition of
becoming Umno president and prime minister, but his idea could set off a train
of much needed thought in an organisation that has lacked imagination for the
past several years.
He is not the first to suggest an all–embracing Umno.
Abdullah, as president of the country's largest party, has repeatedly stressed
that he is prime minister for all Malaysians. Umno Penang, now in opposition,
has set up a unit for non–Malay affairs.
Against the popular rainbow alliance of the PKR, DAP and Pas, Umno has to free
itself from being seen or perceived as a party that only takes care of the
interests of the Malays.
A brainstorm on ways to be more appealing to other races could lead to an
undoing of the antipathy that built up since the televised 2006 general
assembly, whose racial polemics astonished not just the non–Malays but many
Malays as well.
Umno has to accept the fact that despite efforts by its leaders to defend such
misconstrued actions as the wielding of the kris, it has remained a thorn to
this day.
Like it or not, there is also a measure of truth to Tengku Razaleigh's
allegations that some Umno leaders lost votes because of their behaviour.
Arriving in luxury vehicles and dressed in expensive finery at public gatherings
in rural areas put off the poor, who are finding it hard to make ends meet
because of the rising prices of essential items.
Umno's 3.2 million members should delve deeper into their souls and sense of
purpose than they have so far.