WILL UMNO SURVIVE?

The fear among many people of UMNO ever breaking-up is being allayed by their trust in Dr Mahathir. There is nothing that he cannot fix. In fact, he, and the party may even come out more triumphant in any crisis. So goes the thought. Will it work this time around? To get an idea, let's look at some aspects of UMNO's less bright side. To begin with the party lacks renewed idealism. Its membership is elicited among social climbers with corporate ambitions, rather than among those with a commitment to a cause. As some would see it, in UMNO, the only cause worth dying for (or lying for) is money.

The party is undeniably encountering an identity crisis. What used to constitute the Malay ethos, UMNO-style, was unproblematically couched in the attainment of economic parity, political one-upmanship and the religious high ground. Democracy, human rights, and the rule-of-law were shunted aside as unnecessary inconveniences obstructing the process of Malay advancement.

Today, without doubt, what was touted as the Malay ethos is undergoing a shakedown. For one thing, economic parity per se cannot be upheld under conditions of the shrinking pie. For another, the religious high ground is being forced to take on a more pragmatic dimension. The ideas of judicial independence, due process of law, and human rights have almost vanished in UMNO’s diary. .

UMNO's lack of powerful agenda is related to its disdain for counter-pointing youthful voices. Since the early 1970s, UMNO has not been able to tap into the energies of youth. This was the result of the backlash of policies put into place to tame the restlessness of students and young dissidents

One other indicator of UMNO's hold on power is its membership profile. From the mid-1980s onwards, the factor of UMNO's financial omnipotence appears to be more successful in rallying followers than its earlier more noble ideology of uplifting the Malays. Cynics equate UMNO's monolithic image as the undisputed champion of Malay supremacy with the party's ability to shore up lucrative business deals. On the other hand, this is intentional. The NEP was also specifically aimed at creating a sizeable Malay business class.

Most of the high-profile members of UMNO would make no bones about using the party as a springboard for some vested ambitions, primarily corporate aggrandisement. Other professionals, academics and civil servants join UMNO because their ultimate self-actualisation is sought in some high-level political office. UMNO is the only Malay party that blazes a sure trail for upward mobility.

Nevertheless, the number of these political hopefuls has escalated to such an extent that the playing field has become overcrowded. Due to the limited number of positions at branch, division, state, the supreme council and, finally, the cabinet level, the competition has become acute, degenerating into a "no-holds-barred" kind of endgame, with the playing-field no longer level and any semblance of rules or ethics thrown to the dogs.

The only things that count in this game (of jockeying for party positions) are plenty of money, sinister poison-pen letters, character-assassination plots, in some cases the help of mystics (resulting in severe fatalities), and the use (and hence abuse) of the instruments of the state.

With the NEP in place, the government embarked on an obsessive agenda to hurriedly create a moneyed and powerful Malay business elite. The UMNO machinery was used to the utmost to create overnight tycoons. Even if only a handful succeeded in becoming business titans and captains of industry, the rest were quite content to be relegated to the status of minions propping up the mystique of a united game plan.

Having built itself up as a financially formidable party, helped by the spoils of the booming economy and privatisation deals, UMNO became increasingly dependent for its protection and enrichment upon a class of wealthy corporate Malays. Perhaps that is where the singular role of the party in upholding Malay identity and concerns ended and where its role as the defender of a specific class interest began. UMNO's survival now appears to be linked to the survival of big corporate conglomerates.

While it may be true that the battle-call of "Ketuanan Melayu" may not be reaching its demise yet, the phrase needs to be re-contextualised; it must be justified in credible and rational ways.

UMNO's dominance is tied to the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP). Looking at the achievements of the NEP, we see its numerous contradictions. While a few personalities have benefited from it by amassing enormous wealth, there are many more who are only living off the crumbs of the newly rich.

In the wake of the present political crisis, the UMNO that used to writ large over the Malay sense of survival is losing its appeal as the unequivocal saviour. Is the party addressing or responding to this groundswell of indignant voices? Will the present UMNO make way for a newer UMNO?

UMNO can only remain in power if it does more of the same, i.e. employ its usual tricks of the trade: continue to use money politics in a massive way to buy votes, manipulate the opinions of voters through unabashed control of the media, back big businesses in quid pro quo deals, uphold the semblance of a multiracial image by cultivating the other partners in the Barisan Nasional coalition and simply countering the opposition by unscrupulously raising the spectre of political instability, unrest and extremism, besides denying other civil rights such as freedom of speech and assembly for potential contenders. It seems like an easy formula to continue using, that is, if voters want more of the same in the future.

mi1