What has happened to UMNO?

The power that has been entrusted to us all this while is meant to be used justly, with full awareness of our responsibility, and for the interest of the people. If we violate these principles, we will eventually lose our mandate. When we lose our mandate, there will be disorder and chaos and finally we will sink.

Power is indeed perplexing. The more powerful a person gets, the more power he covets. This is especially true in a society which measures success according to material attainments; power is increasingly used as a tool for material attainment and, subsequently, material attainment itself is used to maintain power or gain more power.

As a result of the Malays being motivated by material advancement, the character of their leadership and the style of their politics has changed. Whereas the earlier UMNO leaders were teachers and the issues that lifted them up or brought them down were related to education, increasingly more businessmen and entrepreneurs have taken over the leadership. The issues have also changed to issues of business licences, contracts and so on. Questions of irrigation, drains, agriculture, schools and higher education have been drowned out by issues like Malay business "opportunities".

The Malays have become so well educated, mature and bold, bold in taking a stand on all kinds of issues, whether it is politics, administration, economy, education, etc. This is undoubtedly a result of UMNO's own efforts. We should face this situation with pride and determination, but also adapt our thinking and action to it.

In other words, they are no longer prepared to accept a statement wholesale without thinking critically. We have lost credibility; their trust in us has been eroded.

Anwar Ibrahim is indeed unimportant. The issue that was used very effectively by the opposition parties was how "cruel" the BN government was in the way it dragged Anwar to the lowest pit, and that too when he had just been idolised as a national leader.

To the Malay community, especially those who feel "pity" for Anwar, "cruelty" and "pity" had become the source of anti-government arguments and a whisper campaign which had a great negative impact on us.

No matter what arguments our leaders use to counter accusations of corruption, nepotism and cronyism, the perception of many members of society is that it indeed exists.

In politics, what counts is image or perception. No matter how we try and ask that such cases be brought to justice in the courts, reported to the police or other parties that are responsible, when the people see the extravagant and wasteful lifestyle of those in power and compare it against the actual income these people are supposed to get, they cannot accept our arguments.

In the early 1980s, there were two attractions that resulted in overwhelming acceptance of UMNO, especially among the Malays. These were the concepts of "Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy" and "Leadership by Example", both of which abide by the teachings of Islam.

Don't UMNO members see all this? Aren't UMNO members who come from the grassroots, from among the ordinary citizenry, aware of all these issues? Of course they see it, of course they are aware! I'm sure they see and are aware. Some see so well and are so aware that they have become frustrated, so much so they quietly and secretly refuse to vote for candidates from their own party.

every member who wishes to offer himself for whatever position, whether it is the President, Deputy President, Vice President or Supreme Council, should be accepted and not be obstructed with conditions that are too stringent or be prohibited from contesting any position by a decision of the Supreme Council.

In the process of choosing the top leadership, the widest opportunity should be given to anyone who wishes to offer himself. All members should be given the chance to record their stand through the electoral process.