By Mushtak Parker*
The New Straits Times
11 Dec 2017
The worst-kept secret in Malaysian politics is that the 14th General Election (GE14) must be held before May, and, judging by the hints from top Umno officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the favoured timing, probably, is after the Chinese New Year.
The combination of the euphoria of “The Year of the Dog” festivities next February and Malaysia’s burgeoning gross domestic product for 2017, from a projected 4.5 per cent at the beginning of this year, to a projected 6.2 per cent, has given Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Barisan Nasional government a boost.
Not surprisingly, the 71st Umno General Assembly from Dec 5 to Dec 9 was as much a showcase of the achievements and pledges of BN and Umno, as it was a call to GE14 preparedness. The assembly rightly focused, among others, on next-generation issues, such as greater female representation in Malaysian politics, greater involvement of youth in politics and educating the electorate, especially the young on the dangers of social media, especially in the spread of fake news.
GE14 will rightly be fought on the economic, political and social issues of the day, pitting the incumbent government’s version of its performance and achievements against that of the opposition. It will also focus on the vision various parties have for the country and the rakyat over the next few decades.
GE14 also has the potential to be the most divisive election since 1993, because of current schisms within the Malay political establishment. As such, the stakes are indeed high for both the Bumiputera (Malays) and the country per se.
While Umno and its BN coalition appear to be in a commanding position, Pakatan Harapan, which brings together three strange bedfellows — DAP, PKR, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia — seems to be in disarray, led by the unlikely troika of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the controversial Lim Kit Siang. Whether they can even begin to live up to its sobriquet as the alternative front must be in serious doubt.
As an observer of Malaysian politics and society for almost four decades, I am aware that Umno general assemblies are essentially Malay unity rallies. Any Umno president would ignore that fact at his peril. When the likes of Dr Mahathir, Anwar and others abandoned the ranks of Malay unity they were confined to the political doldrums.
But, Malays, like their other Malaysian ethnic compatriots, are also democrats. It makes sense for Malays to have more than one party (as is with Pas and PKR) with the important caveat that differences are confined to policies and not the intrinsic interest of Malays, who, despite being the majority, still lag behind in their share of the national cake. Today, for instance, the Bumiputera share of capital ownership is between 29 and 35 per cent per capita.
The history of Malaysia strongly suggests a cauldron of ethnic considerations characterized inter alia by forced migrations, economic exploitation, the geopolitics of imperialism and yes, the naivety of some local rulers, whose midwife was the country’s colonial rulers, erstwhile primarily the British.
The clarion call of Malaysian politics and society must be “Unity in Diversity” to reflect its complex history. This is as true for Malays as it is for Malaysians, albeit the routes are slightly different.
Umno president Najib was spot-on in his policy speech to strongly reject any notion that the party is racist or anti-Chinese, just as it would be wrong to call other main BN components — MCA and MIC — racist or anti-Malay.
“Today, I speak not only in the interest of my duty as Umno president nor as chairman of Barisan. My utmost responsibility is as the leader tasked with looking after the welfare and interests of 32 million Malaysians, irrespective of race, ethnic background, ideology or religion,” he declared.
His sentiments merely echoed those of the founding fathers of post-independence Malaysia, including Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first prime minister, and his successor Tun Abdul Razak, Najib’s father, who stressed that the “future of our country depends on one important thing, the unity of our people of various races”.
Najib’s predecessor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, went a step further, declaring that the “harmony between the various communities and religions in Malaysia is not an optional luxury; it is a necessity”.
But, I have a sense of déjà vu. Malay unity had been tested before in 1987 when former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah unsuccessfully tried to oust Dr Mahathir from the Umno leadership, resulting in his breakaway Parti Melayu Semangat 46. That rift was to undermine Malay unity for almost a decade.
As such, Dr Mahathir should know better.
“Malay unity is only to strengthen the government of Malaysia. Unity does not mean the arrogance of power. There may have been differences in opinions among Malays, but this should not be an excuse for not coming back together,” he had said at Umno’s golden jubilee celebrations and unity rally in 1996.
But, Malay unity is inextricably linked to Malaysian unity, and is the fundamental strength of being Malaysian. In the immortal words of Datuk Onn Jaafar, Umno’s first president who warned delegates at Istana Besar Johor Baru in May 1946 at Umno’s inaugural meeting: “Malays can be safe only when they are strong, and they can be strong only when united.”
Perhaps Dr Mahathir should reflect on this!
*The writer is an independent London-based economist and writer.
mushtakparker@yahoo.co.uk
