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Two traitors at the UMNO general assembly: Anwar Ibrahim and money politics

BOTH WERE ABSENT AT the just concluded UMNO general assembly – one never wanted to, the other dare not – but in the "best" debates heard in years, as the youth chief, Dato' Hishamuddin Hussein would have us believe, only Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim and money politics mattered. They are irrelevant in UMNO, but they had to be excorsised, drawn and quartered for the damage they can and do cause. The UMNO president lead the charge; every sycophantic leader raised it to a war cry. But the twin traitors of UMNO lodge deeply, in fear, loathing or indifference, in the heart of every delegate. In public, they are excoriated; in private welcomed as a long lost sibling. The mainstream media has made it their role to explain to Malaysia that both are a pernicious influence not only on UMNO but on every citizen, Malay and non-Malay, in this blessed land. In the process, much got lost in three days of debate and elections. In a nutshell, UMNO lost its way. But it does not know it yet.

No speaker missed a chance to rail against Dato' Seri Anwar and money politics. One would have thought that both united to bring UMNO to its knees, the leaders blabbering like idiots when either or both are mentioned. How do we know there is no money politics in UMNO? Every winner in the party elections proclaimed loudly and clearly that they did not know what this money politics is, did not indulge in it, and won because the members decided they should. Those who failed should try harder to be the servants of the people the winners are. They lost because they did not serve the people. It did not matter of course that on the eve of the election, many candidates happily doled out money to help the expenses of those who came to vote. That is not corruption or money politics, you undersand, but just what a politician would do so others would not be put to money problems for coming afar to vote. The UMNO president, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said he did not believe this talk of bribery, vote buying and money politics. It is spread, did you not know, by anti-UMNO elements out to destroy UMNO and Malay unity.

How else could one explain why Pak Lah is the major loser in this general assembly. His slate is overshadowed by that of his deputy, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, and others. Pak Lah promised that if indeed there was money politics, he would leave no stone unturned to sack those elected found to have indulged. Just send him the evidence, he would do the rest, he promised. At the same time, he insisted there is no evidence yet. In fact, with an eye to the future, UMNO would define money politics. It is vague now. In future, UMNO members would know how to steer clear of money politics, and save their souls. To define money politics should not be difficult. The other traitor is defined. All UMNO needs is adapt this to money politics. What could be simpler? This would allow UMNO leaders to speak loudly and clearly about the twin traitors ad nauseum, get the members to know who looks after their interests long after the tumult and shouting of the general assembly.

The elections, with its upsets and political realignment, turned the general assembly into an irrelevant sideshow. Those who lost, and their supporters, ignored the proceedings. The high profile losers continued to insist they would continue to serve UMNO. In this realignment, the new winners pledged absolute fealty to Pak Lah, while sharpening their knives for the confrontations to come; Pak Lah made a feeble attempt to mask his petulance, by insisting that those who by deceit would be forced out, though that would mean nothing if he does not carry out his threat. But there is as yet no clear indication how UMNO would reform itself to make it relevant to the Malay community of tomorrow, if it would take the fateful step of reining in the the mentris besar, whose power is at its highest in the councils of UMNO. The centrally ordered unity is under threat, with a quiet demand that the states want a say in the direction of the country. It must worry UMNO that power now seeps from the centre to the states. This became pronounced when Kuala Lumpur denied Trengganu its petroleum royalties. It was to hold a PAS state government to ransom, but its unintended consequence was in the UMNO-controlled states, which wondered if it would happen to them if they had differences with the centre. The rising power of the mentris besar in the UMNO supreme council is one consequence of this.

When two brilliantly elusive traitors spent their waking hours to destroy an institution its its 58th year of existence, how else could it be otherwise? If the traitors are not reined in, God Forbid, they would go and infect the Opposition. UMNO could not have that, could it? The Opposition could well be the stronger because of it, and the election system could descend to that in the Philippines, where every political party has equal chances to cheat to win the elections. So, other important issues got short shrift. Malay unity, Malay rights, bumiputra privileges, how they interact with the non-Malays upset at this continued mollycodding of the Malay and bumiputra communities, and what this means to the Malaysian polity and community were discussed almost as an aside to the main discussion on the twin traitors.

There was no discussion on these issues, only a series of edicts, and the promise that that while the Malay and bumiputra would dominate in every sphere of Malaysian life, it is the non-Malay who would benefit. Islam Hadhari was also discussed: it is not a sect; it receives foreign attention, with several asking about it. But only one man seemed to know what it is: Pak Lah. Somehow it fell flat amongst the delegates. One delegate called it, in private, Islam Terlari (Islam Derailed). But then this happens when an idea is forced upon the public with scant understanding of what it is. Even UMNO members are in the dark about it, but they are told it is for their own good. To put it in a nutshell, the twin traitors derailed this year's UMNO general assembly, with or without Islam Hardhari.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@streamyx.com