Umno’s reformers step forward

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — The party congress last week of Umno, the fulcrum of the coalition federal government, was notable not for its trademark race rhetoric but a high-minded call for inclusiveness.

Party leader Datuk Seri Najib Razak explained thus: “I want the party to work in tandem with the demands of the times. Umno can no longer be seen as a party leaning towards a certain group.”

Doubly significant was that Khairy Jamaluddin, leader of the powerful youth wing, had in his speech a day earlier seemed to stake out a new middle ground for Umno. To accomplish this, he advocated that the party shed its provincialism — “siege mentality”, in his words — and project itself as a leader and a champion of all Malaysians.

That was bold and counter-culture: Umno Youth has always been dyed-in-the-wool Malay, a buck the senior leadership had to often restrain so as not to upset Umno's partners in the Barisan Nasional alliance.

Some Malaysians will see in this double call to “Malaysianise” Umno's aspirations a welcome sign of real ideological change. Many will say they remain to be convinced. That's the nature of Malaysian wayang kulit politics, where nuances and inferences often convey more meaning than declarations on formal occasions.

But Malaysia's neighbours, who have been alarmed at the lurch towards incendiary racist baiting in political, religious and civil liberties disputes, have one wish: that a national prosperity consensus be built to do justice to Malaysia's potential so that the country can contribute its weight to the Asean region's often disrupted growth.

Najib has been consistent in asking Malays to take the lead in bringing his inclusive “1 Malaysia” idea to fruition. Since he became Prime Minister, he has dismantled some pro-Malay entitlements he regarded as counter-progressive and offensive to other Malaysians, such as in business and education. What is important to determine in the next several years is whether Umno, beyond the core leadership, will accept the wisdom of his approach.

The same goes for Khairy. His transformation (or maybe this has been his game plan) seems real, for he is smart and he has time on his side (he's 33), but Umno Youth is a cauldron of race righteousness. If these two reformist leaders push too hard and too fast to remake Umno, they risk losing so much support among the party faithful, their positions would be untenable. Then all will be lost, until the next wave of brave reformers emerges.

Reformers often fail not because their vision is flawed, but that it is ahead of its time. In Malaysia, having the people pull together and believe in one another has been long overdue. Only Umno can make it happen. — Straits Times