KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 (Bernama) -- International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, a candidate for the post of Umno deputy president at the party elections on March 26, was interviewed by Bernama here recently to garner his views on various matters related to Umno politics and the country.
Following is the transcript of Muhyiddin's interview with Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zulkefli Salleh, Assistant Editor Ahmad Fuad Yahya and senior reporter Noor Hayati Muda:
QUESTION: Tan Sri, you had said you were not an ambitious person but now you are contesting the post of Umno deputy president. What are the factors which drove you to contest the post?
ANSWER: Yes, I am not ambitious in many matters. It had not been an ambition of mine to hold senior posts in the party or government. My records are indicative of this over the last 38 years I have served the party and government -- standing up, toddling and then running.
However, in the present context, I decided to contest the post of deputy president because, if we were to follow the chronology of events following the last general election whereby I gave my views through the media and in interviews, of the fear that unless we bring about a drastic change in the immediate future, we may face a major problem in the next general election.
What I am giving importance to is the question of the survival of Umno and the Malays in the country.
As such, I gave my views on the transition of power and now, praise be to God, a compromise has been achieved. In the process of engagement on the party leadership, including Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, it had been said there would be a transition and there would be a vacancy for the post of president and Datuk Seri Najib offered himself for the post and a vacancy arose for the post of deputy president.
Earlier, I did not expect a vacancy because under the initial transition of power the president would have defended his position.
In the new scenario, I thought it would not be wrong to offer myself because it would not be a question of challenging anyone for the seat or position but to offer my services at a time when the political situation was grave. The situation Umno was in had never occurred in its years of history.
It was critical and required us to have fresh boldness and wisdom to resolve the problems, including the question of leadership and others. This was my opinion based on my experience, both in the party and the government since the time of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
I thought the time had come for me to offer myself. I did so on the premise of using the wisdom of my experience to offer assistance.
QUESTION: You have always talked of change and "wow power" which Umno now needs. Can you explain?
ANSWER: Firstly, we have to analyse the position of Umno. In the bigger context is the position of the Barisan Nasional (BN) which has been given the mandate and power for more than 52 years since independence.
In the last general election, I found that there had been a change in the political landscape of our country. We are familiar with the previous results but the last results showed that the Malaysian people, the young, were no longer thinking as in the past.
What we had agreed upon in the past may have been easily acceptable but today it was being questioned. Does this show that the Umno we have known is no longer acceptable to the Malays and the people as the principal partner of the BN? What caused this?
Was there a weakness in our leadership? Was the political pattern and culture we practised out of sync with current developments? We were seen as being aloof in terms of the interests of the people and the Malays. We were seen as proud, arrogant.
We were labelled as corrupt. Negative images and perceptions cropped up. I found that all these together did not portray something good. A party which had championed the struggle since its formation to fight for and gain independence was being questioned.
Secondly, in the bigger context is the BN. We found the non-Malays rejecting the component parties. The Chinese had changed. The Indians were no longer like before. These showed a political situation unlike in the past.
Upon analysis, we found that people have begun to question what we had agreed upon in the past, in terms of the social contract, what had been enshrined in the constitution, and our good policies.
As such, I said that if we want to regain the confidence and support of the people, would it not be appropriate for us to look at the position of our party and its weaknesses? How do we correct them? What should we do?
Not the question of leadership but the question of style and approach which were alright in the past but which were being questioned now.
More so, there is a cohort group of young people, comprising a large portion of the electorate, which is not obliged to the agreements by past leaders. This group represents 50 to 60 per cent of the electorate.
Umno has to relook the question of leadership and policy not only in terms of the packaging but also content, i.e. issues such as the New Economic Policy, distribution of the national economic cake, language and education, religion and religious freedom and social justice, which the people were bringing up now.
We may have to re-establish a fresh understanding. If Umno really wants to survive and the BN wants to continue to be accepted, we must sit down and discuss because there are voices of discord contrary to the BN policies of the past.
I asked why raise these? They should be a part of us. It is unnecessary to raise these. These were raised again because of the need to maintain the support of the Chinese for their party, the Indians for their party and the Malays for Umno. I find that these matters should not be questioned.
They have been enshrined and had been accepted. Now, they have become issues again. As such, perhaps the Umno format has to be studied again, including the question of structure, organisation, work culture, people-friendliness and people-centric programmes.
The BN should be easily accepted because the basis of our struggle is fairness for all communities in the country, the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Seen in terms of unity of the people, that is what we see as the best.
But today, this is beginning to disengage. Can we then sit down again to discuss and achieve a fresh understanding on the principles which we had agreed upon before?
Perhaps to do that, should the give-and-take policy of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman be used in the new scenario or should there be sacrifices on the part of the parties representing the various communities, to converge at a point so that it is not seen as sacrificing the principles of the Malays, with Umno giving up the struggle for the Malays, the MCA not championing the Chinese and the MIC not fighting for the Indians.
As such, I proposed a new BN format. This is part of the wow factor, a draw which was easily discernible previously but no longer attractive now. No longer attractive as before because the mindset of the new generation is no more drawn to the old way of thinking.
They have new expectations. If we have to remain relevant, we have to adjust. That is why there has to be sacrifices. This is a fundamental matter which needs discussion.
That's why I said that the faster we discuss it the better. So far, one year has gone by. But we are not seen to have changed. We are engrossed in our politics, on resolving the question of leadership, transition of power, elections. It doesn't matter, we can resolve these. After this, we have to act fast.
QUESTION: You mean there is a need for firmer leadership and matters already agreed like the social contract, there is no need for a compromise between component parties?
ANSWER: Umno leadership must have a new confidence, a new trust and it should take the party to a position where the people regain confidence in it.
I feel that today we have yet to reach that level. People have yet to regain confidence in us. When we do something, the people dispute it, not to mention the problems caused by the opposition making up various stories. There are still rain clouds in the sky. We have to find ways to get the sunlight through again.
As such, it is not a question of leadership alone but also a new understanding. Maybe new leadership because the younger generation do not have much awareness about the agreements made by the founding fathers and tend to reject us. So what do we do? Follow the old style and get rejected or change so that they accept us.
If we do not change, if we continue to want to defend the old principles of the original Umno without even a little give and take, people might find it unacceptable.
Like what Datuk Seri Najib (Tun Razak) said, we still uphold the New Economic Policy (NEP), but in his last statement, he said we want to ensure it is a good policy, but people had doubts thinking it only favoured some and so he (Najib) reiterated that under the policy all races would benefit from it.
It is a good policy but might have had some implementation drawbacks which we want to correct so that the Chinese in MCA and Gerakan and the Indians in the MIC say "Good Policy DEB".
However, new approaches must be taken. Not that we want to sacrifice anything, but adopt a new approach with renewed commitment so that they say the BN is serious about correcting the old weaknesses.
Like the power sharing concept and consensus building in the BN, if we followed the old ways, there were no problems. But I do not know because of our own weaknesses or a change in the mindset of the younger generation, it's not seen as something attractive anymore.
They want reforms. What reforms, so we need to get feedback from the new generation, what do you expect from BN? When we know, we change, make the reforms and get back to them and ask is this what you want?
The answer should be "Wow this is the one" and be seen that we can change, otherwise they will think we are only making superficial changes.
Sorry it's a bit long, but I don't speak in short cuts. I'm a very serious thinker. To do this Umno needs to sit down first. What are the things where we are ready to give and take. If we follow the old thinking, no, no, you have to be fighting this, this one you have to accept it.
If you say that's the one, you are not willing to compromise, the Chinese would say Umno is not willing to give way, then when the election comes, people do not support us and we lose.
QUESTION: The non-Malays hope the new leadership will compromise on several issues like the implementation of the NEP while the Malays are wondering if it will "over compromise", so how can a balance be reached?
ANSWER: That is what I meant. There are two groups, Malays and non-Malays. Umno is seen as the champion for the Malays. In this we are guided by what is contained in the Constitution, but also the interest of all races in the country which does not seem to be highlighted.
We are only seen as championing the Malays, but being the backbone of the government, we have to do a balancing act whereby everyone's interest is protected.
This has also been addressed in the social contract, and the question that arises now is whether we should still continue to uphold it.
If you ask the Umno leadership now, it is yes, but there needs to be a new understanding as to why the policy should be defended, why it is the basis of the struggle.
But in the process, definitely there will be consultation, not imposition.
At some point there must be sacrifices on both sides. When you say how to balance, that we have to sit down and discuss, not easy, we also cannot be seen as neglecting the interests of the Malays.
Some in Umno are saying we are no longer championing the Malay cause, Umno is neglecting Bahasa Malaysia, Umno is not paying importance to the economy of the Malays.
Meaning we have sold out. On the other hand non-Malays are saying Umno, government policies do not favour them, they are being marginalised. We have to seriously look into this.
QUESTION: Do you think race-based parties will continue to get support with the new trend now?
ANSWER : That is a big challenge for Umno and the BN. I say this because other parties like the PKR are claiming they are the true champions of Malaysians irrespective of race or religion. They claim they are more fair, this is what they are selling and we see the younger generation seem to buy their pitch and favour such parties when it comes to voting.
But actually they have no idea what the opposition alliance stands for, the parties in it do not have a common idealogy or even a symbol to show they are a united force. But the younger generation might not want to think hard and long and look more from the idealogical standpoint, and feel that what the opposition are selling is in tune with their ideas.
So it might seem we have lost our value, what we used to say is good before, now is seen as behind time and therefore this question comes up. For me, a new thinking has not arrived for us to dissolve Umno, MCA to form a new party as suggested by some leaders in the BN itself.
To me, there is still the need (for race-based parties) but we need to show a new understanding. Umno does fight for the Malays but all this while, Umno has also compromised by sharing power with the non-Malays. So if that is the case, what new format must we take? There are some who are demanding that the BN becomes a single party representing all the races, we have not reached that stage yet.
The ingredients are there but not as a single political entity. The opposition is also an alliance of parties but we are definitely better than them. It's only the presentation that we need to make adjustments, taking into consideration the things mentioned earlier.
Following is the transcript of Muhyiddin's interview with Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zulkefli Salleh, Assistant Editor Ahmad Fuad Yahya and senior reporter Noor Hayati Muda:
QUESTION: Tan Sri, you had said you were not an ambitious person but now you are contesting the post of Umno deputy president. What are the factors which drove you to contest the post?
ANSWER: Yes, I am not ambitious in many matters. It had not been an ambition of mine to hold senior posts in the party or government. My records are indicative of this over the last 38 years I have served the party and government -- standing up, toddling and then running.
However, in the present context, I decided to contest the post of deputy president because, if we were to follow the chronology of events following the last general election whereby I gave my views through the media and in interviews, of the fear that unless we bring about a drastic change in the immediate future, we may face a major problem in the next general election.
What I am giving importance to is the question of the survival of Umno and the Malays in the country.
As such, I gave my views on the transition of power and now, praise be to God, a compromise has been achieved. In the process of engagement on the party leadership, including Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, it had been said there would be a transition and there would be a vacancy for the post of president and Datuk Seri Najib offered himself for the post and a vacancy arose for the post of deputy president.
Earlier, I did not expect a vacancy because under the initial transition of power the president would have defended his position.
In the new scenario, I thought it would not be wrong to offer myself because it would not be a question of challenging anyone for the seat or position but to offer my services at a time when the political situation was grave. The situation Umno was in had never occurred in its years of history.
It was critical and required us to have fresh boldness and wisdom to resolve the problems, including the question of leadership and others. This was my opinion based on my experience, both in the party and the government since the time of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
I thought the time had come for me to offer myself. I did so on the premise of using the wisdom of my experience to offer assistance.
QUESTION: You have always talked of change and "wow power" which Umno now needs. Can you explain?
ANSWER: Firstly, we have to analyse the position of Umno. In the bigger context is the position of the Barisan Nasional (BN) which has been given the mandate and power for more than 52 years since independence.
In the last general election, I found that there had been a change in the political landscape of our country. We are familiar with the previous results but the last results showed that the Malaysian people, the young, were no longer thinking as in the past.
What we had agreed upon in the past may have been easily acceptable but today it was being questioned. Does this show that the Umno we have known is no longer acceptable to the Malays and the people as the principal partner of the BN? What caused this?
Was there a weakness in our leadership? Was the political pattern and culture we practised out of sync with current developments? We were seen as being aloof in terms of the interests of the people and the Malays. We were seen as proud, arrogant.
We were labelled as corrupt. Negative images and perceptions cropped up. I found that all these together did not portray something good. A party which had championed the struggle since its formation to fight for and gain independence was being questioned.
Secondly, in the bigger context is the BN. We found the non-Malays rejecting the component parties. The Chinese had changed. The Indians were no longer like before. These showed a political situation unlike in the past.
Upon analysis, we found that people have begun to question what we had agreed upon in the past, in terms of the social contract, what had been enshrined in the constitution, and our good policies.
As such, I said that if we want to regain the confidence and support of the people, would it not be appropriate for us to look at the position of our party and its weaknesses? How do we correct them? What should we do?
Not the question of leadership but the question of style and approach which were alright in the past but which were being questioned now.
More so, there is a cohort group of young people, comprising a large portion of the electorate, which is not obliged to the agreements by past leaders. This group represents 50 to 60 per cent of the electorate.
Umno has to relook the question of leadership and policy not only in terms of the packaging but also content, i.e. issues such as the New Economic Policy, distribution of the national economic cake, language and education, religion and religious freedom and social justice, which the people were bringing up now.
We may have to re-establish a fresh understanding. If Umno really wants to survive and the BN wants to continue to be accepted, we must sit down and discuss because there are voices of discord contrary to the BN policies of the past.
I asked why raise these? They should be a part of us. It is unnecessary to raise these. These were raised again because of the need to maintain the support of the Chinese for their party, the Indians for their party and the Malays for Umno. I find that these matters should not be questioned.
They have been enshrined and had been accepted. Now, they have become issues again. As such, perhaps the Umno format has to be studied again, including the question of structure, organisation, work culture, people-friendliness and people-centric programmes.
The BN should be easily accepted because the basis of our struggle is fairness for all communities in the country, the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Seen in terms of unity of the people, that is what we see as the best.
But today, this is beginning to disengage. Can we then sit down again to discuss and achieve a fresh understanding on the principles which we had agreed upon before?
Perhaps to do that, should the give-and-take policy of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman be used in the new scenario or should there be sacrifices on the part of the parties representing the various communities, to converge at a point so that it is not seen as sacrificing the principles of the Malays, with Umno giving up the struggle for the Malays, the MCA not championing the Chinese and the MIC not fighting for the Indians.
As such, I proposed a new BN format. This is part of the wow factor, a draw which was easily discernible previously but no longer attractive now. No longer attractive as before because the mindset of the new generation is no more drawn to the old way of thinking.
They have new expectations. If we have to remain relevant, we have to adjust. That is why there has to be sacrifices. This is a fundamental matter which needs discussion.
That's why I said that the faster we discuss it the better. So far, one year has gone by. But we are not seen to have changed. We are engrossed in our politics, on resolving the question of leadership, transition of power, elections. It doesn't matter, we can resolve these. After this, we have to act fast.
QUESTION: You mean there is a need for firmer leadership and matters already agreed like the social contract, there is no need for a compromise between component parties?
ANSWER: Umno leadership must have a new confidence, a new trust and it should take the party to a position where the people regain confidence in it.
I feel that today we have yet to reach that level. People have yet to regain confidence in us. When we do something, the people dispute it, not to mention the problems caused by the opposition making up various stories. There are still rain clouds in the sky. We have to find ways to get the sunlight through again.
As such, it is not a question of leadership alone but also a new understanding. Maybe new leadership because the younger generation do not have much awareness about the agreements made by the founding fathers and tend to reject us. So what do we do? Follow the old style and get rejected or change so that they accept us.
If we do not change, if we continue to want to defend the old principles of the original Umno without even a little give and take, people might find it unacceptable.
Like what Datuk Seri Najib (Tun Razak) said, we still uphold the New Economic Policy (NEP), but in his last statement, he said we want to ensure it is a good policy, but people had doubts thinking it only favoured some and so he (Najib) reiterated that under the policy all races would benefit from it.
It is a good policy but might have had some implementation drawbacks which we want to correct so that the Chinese in MCA and Gerakan and the Indians in the MIC say "Good Policy DEB".
However, new approaches must be taken. Not that we want to sacrifice anything, but adopt a new approach with renewed commitment so that they say the BN is serious about correcting the old weaknesses.
Like the power sharing concept and consensus building in the BN, if we followed the old ways, there were no problems. But I do not know because of our own weaknesses or a change in the mindset of the younger generation, it's not seen as something attractive anymore.
They want reforms. What reforms, so we need to get feedback from the new generation, what do you expect from BN? When we know, we change, make the reforms and get back to them and ask is this what you want?
The answer should be "Wow this is the one" and be seen that we can change, otherwise they will think we are only making superficial changes.
Sorry it's a bit long, but I don't speak in short cuts. I'm a very serious thinker. To do this Umno needs to sit down first. What are the things where we are ready to give and take. If we follow the old thinking, no, no, you have to be fighting this, this one you have to accept it.
If you say that's the one, you are not willing to compromise, the Chinese would say Umno is not willing to give way, then when the election comes, people do not support us and we lose.
QUESTION: The non-Malays hope the new leadership will compromise on several issues like the implementation of the NEP while the Malays are wondering if it will "over compromise", so how can a balance be reached?
ANSWER: That is what I meant. There are two groups, Malays and non-Malays. Umno is seen as the champion for the Malays. In this we are guided by what is contained in the Constitution, but also the interest of all races in the country which does not seem to be highlighted.
We are only seen as championing the Malays, but being the backbone of the government, we have to do a balancing act whereby everyone's interest is protected.
This has also been addressed in the social contract, and the question that arises now is whether we should still continue to uphold it.
If you ask the Umno leadership now, it is yes, but there needs to be a new understanding as to why the policy should be defended, why it is the basis of the struggle.
But in the process, definitely there will be consultation, not imposition.
At some point there must be sacrifices on both sides. When you say how to balance, that we have to sit down and discuss, not easy, we also cannot be seen as neglecting the interests of the Malays.
Some in Umno are saying we are no longer championing the Malay cause, Umno is neglecting Bahasa Malaysia, Umno is not paying importance to the economy of the Malays.
Meaning we have sold out. On the other hand non-Malays are saying Umno, government policies do not favour them, they are being marginalised. We have to seriously look into this.
QUESTION: Do you think race-based parties will continue to get support with the new trend now?
ANSWER : That is a big challenge for Umno and the BN. I say this because other parties like the PKR are claiming they are the true champions of Malaysians irrespective of race or religion. They claim they are more fair, this is what they are selling and we see the younger generation seem to buy their pitch and favour such parties when it comes to voting.
But actually they have no idea what the opposition alliance stands for, the parties in it do not have a common idealogy or even a symbol to show they are a united force. But the younger generation might not want to think hard and long and look more from the idealogical standpoint, and feel that what the opposition are selling is in tune with their ideas.
So it might seem we have lost our value, what we used to say is good before, now is seen as behind time and therefore this question comes up. For me, a new thinking has not arrived for us to dissolve Umno, MCA to form a new party as suggested by some leaders in the BN itself.
To me, there is still the need (for race-based parties) but we need to show a new understanding. Umno does fight for the Malays but all this while, Umno has also compromised by sharing power with the non-Malays. So if that is the case, what new format must we take? There are some who are demanding that the BN becomes a single party representing all the races, we have not reached that stage yet.
The ingredients are there but not as a single political entity. The opposition is also an alliance of parties but we are definitely better than them. It's only the presentation that we need to make adjustments, taking into consideration the things mentioned earlier.
No comments:
Post a Comment