KUALA LUMPUR: The Umno-Perkasa spat is the latest to erupt in the political playground. The former abruptly severed whatever questionable ties it had with the latter which in turn dismissed the fallout as no great loss.
While most Malaysians have chalked this down to yet another political theatrics, observers believe the fracas is real and warn that Umno is playing a dangerous game.
“Umno can't afford to pick a fight with Perkasa when its own position among the Malays is rocky,” said Professor Aziz Bari of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa. “If it quarrels with Perkasa, it is finished.”
He agreed that certain leaders within Umno are genuinely opposed to Perkasa but pointed out they did not necessarily represent Umno as a whole.
“Take Tengku Adnan (Tengku Mansor), for instance,” he said. “ His constituency of Putrajaya is very small and not at all representative of the true Malay community. For that matter, even (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department) Nazri Aziz isn't a representative of Umno or the real Malay either.”
Tengku Adnan, who is Umno secretary-general, started the dispute last week when he publicly declared that Umno did not support Perkasa or its chief Ibrahim Ali.
According to Aziz, it is those from the Malay heartland, like Pontian MP and Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan, who are grassroots leaders and more accommodating to Perkasa.
“Umno needs Perkasa,” he said. “It is uprooted from the ground which makes it difficult to dismiss the fact that Perkasa is filling the void it has left. From this point of view, Ibrahim is absolutely spot on.”
Professor Dr Azmi Sharom of Universiti Malaya pointed out the obvious silence from the peak of the Umno hierarchy.
“We have only heard from the middle management in Umno so the condemnation of Perkasa is incomplete,” he said. “To me, this is purely a political show since Umno has no ideology of its own.”
“Besides, what is so different between what Perkasa is shouting about now and what Umno shouted about before 2008? Can we really believe that Umno has drastically changed its spots?”
Azmi also touched on Dr Mahathir Mohamad's support for the Malay right-wing group. The former prime minister yesterday told Umno that it risked losing support if it snubbed Perkasa and this statement was backed by Umno's own media, Utusan Melayu.
“Mahathir legitimises Perkasa,” Azmi said. “Whether we like it or not, he is still an influential character. It's completely hypocritical on his part because he once said Malays should be independent and now he is saying the exact opposite. But he is a powerful hypocrite.”
It's just a show
One observer, however, maintains that both Umno and Perkasa are putting on an act. Calling them two “first cousins”, Professor James Chin of Monash University asserted that despite Umno's attacks, Perkasa would have no choice but to back it (Umno) during the next general election.
“It's an open secret that the majority of Perkasa's members are from Umno,” he said. “There is no other place for them in PAS or PKR so they will revert to Umno during crunch time. Perkasa needs Umno more than Umno needs it.”
“Perkasa was initially set up by Ibrahim and his right-wingers as an NGO. But it has now taken on a life of its own and is part of the political debate as Umno's radical wing. For this reason alone, we need to take Perkasa seriously.”
To Azmi, neither party can survive without the other simply because their voter base is identical.
“If Perkasa ever registers itself as a political party, the only winner will be Pakatan Rakyat,” he laughed. “Because as a political party, Perkasa will wipe out Umno in a single move.”
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