At the end of the general assembly, Najib, while urging his party to re-embrace the spirit of "voluntarism", promised to ensure allocations are given for programmes and activities. This is where the problem lies for the 63-year-old party.
By Chan Kok Leong, The Edge
UNLIKE previous general assemblies, two buzzwords littered the speeches and were on everyone's lips at the Umno 60th general assembly.Replacing Ketuanan Melayu ("Malay Supremacy") were Bagan Pinang and Janda Baik.
The high from retaining the Bagan Pinang state seat had already begun last Tuesday, when delegates gathered to listen to the president's customary Umno general assembly pre-council speech.
Mingling delegates could not help joking and recounting their first Peninsular Malaysia by-election triumph that took place barely 48 hours earlier.
And standing tall amid the applause from the supreme council members awaiting the arrival of Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the diminutive Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad.
"Bagan Pinang" was used to mark the return of Umno, the return of all-round support for the pre-Independence party and marking of a new era under Najib.
The new president, his deputy, the three vice-presidents and wing leaders could not help highlighting the tourist destination spot in their speeches.
"Janda Baik" too earned its place in the many speeches.
Najib said the Umno retreat had helped the party leaders close ranks and marked a new beginning for the party, where top leaders will have to "do their fair share of the work".
"Like everyone else in Janda Baik, I had to wash my own dishes too," he remarked during his winding-up speech last Friday.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin promised that his movement will have a similar "team-building exercise" towards the end of the year.
The timing for Bagan Pinang and Janda Baik could not be any better, as it helped to end the gloom permeating the party after a string of unprecedented losses in by-elections.
"Had we lost in Bagan Pinang, do you think that we would be smiling today or if the constitutional amendments would have been passed so quickly?" Najib asked last Friday, before explaining why he had picked Isa to contest the seat.
Coming into the general assembly, which planned to expand the party electorate thereby removing the opportunity for its delegates to "enrich themselves" during party elections, it was a masterstroke by Najib.
His political ingenuity did not stop there.
After the bitter party election in March, Najib was able to bring in both former presidents — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi — under the same roof once again, albeit at different times.
Dr Mahathir attended the opening while Abdullah was in Dewan Merdeka to listen to his successor's speech in the closing.
Najib also thanked Abdullah for keeping his promise not to criticise him whilst continuing to lend his support to the younger man.
The move, though small, will go a long way towards uniting the different factions in Umno.
Yet, the work has only just begun for Najib and Umno.
Revealing the extent of the task ahead of him, Najib noted that the party had failed to register any new voters since its general election embarrassment in March 2008.
Another piece of cleverness, was the "inclusive" message preached by Najib, deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Khairy.
With Najib's 1Malaysia concept weaved into the general assembly, diners at the prime minister's function last Thursday night witnessed perhaps what will be a norm in many government functions.
Replacing routine performances was a potpourri of acts highlighting the various ethnic cultural dances and songs. There was a fusion song sung in Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia while different races performed a fusion of Bharatanatyam.
Even the emcees consisted of one Malay, one Indian Muslim, an Indian and Chinese lady, clad in their cultural costumes.
Throughout the general assembly too were banners and even programmes carrying the 1Malaysia logo.
Against this backdrop, it is perhaps not unusual that the habitual usage of "racial rhetoric" or "keris" was reduced to the barest minimum.
But then again, the race to be defenders of the Malay race is usually reserved for party election years.
Nevertheless, the shortened debates highlighted a common plea from the delegates — party funding.
At the end of the general assembly, Najib, while urging his party to re-embrace the spirit of "voluntarism", promised to ensure allocations are given for programmes and activities.
This is where the problem lies for the 63-year-old party.
From stories where Wanita members pawned their jewellery to fund Tunku Abdul Rahman's Umno and Merdeka efforts, the party has turned into just another corporate venture.
And with the loss of control in four states, where funding used to be in the form of "constituency allocations from the state governments", the party now has to dig into its reserves to ensure its members "serve" the people.
Amidst the economic recession, Najib will have to ensure adequate finances are secured to fund activities.
Speeches by Najib and Khairy were refreshing and inspiring as both sought to get the party to unite, embrace esprit de corps and re-evaluate their "special privileges" and discard the crutches.
But the message in essence is not new.
During the 2001 general assembly, in the longest-ever presidential speech (one hour and 53 minutes), Dr Mahathir chided his party members for being greedy, urging them to buck up and bring an end to money politics.
Ending his opening address with the poem Melayu Mudah Lupa, Dr Mahathir begged his party not to forget their struggles, to work hard and not be complacent.
That message has returned to haunt Najib and most of all Umno.
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