5-Point Check For Umno's Efficiency And Relevance.
Umno has been ruling this nation almost uninterrupted since independence 49 years ago. Any political party, no matter how good or competent, must be evaluated from time to time for its efficiency and relevance. More so a party like Umno where day in and day out there are hundreds of complaints of corruption and unending tales of 'servants' of the people living it up.
Do we still need Umno in its present form or has it outlived its usefulness and instead become or is fast becoming a liability? A simple five-point check comparing the rakyat (read Malays) of say three decades ago and now will give a rough idea of where Umno really stands.
1) The political power of the Malays: Still preserved. But the politicians have practiced and encouraged massive corruption.
2) Economy: The NEP has given an artificial boost which may or may not be sustained by the Malays on their own and while it gives a false sense of security, this in the long run is one of their great weaknesses.
3) Education: This is linked to politics and the economy. The downgrading of English over the past few decades and the lip-service paid recently to improve its competency and the disregard of meritocracy will be another component of the Malay Achilles' heel. Umno totally to blame.
4) Religious practice and tolerance: Definite decline when compared to three decades ago. The rise of fanaticism, extremism and extreme intolerance is partly Umno's active doing and partly as a reaction to PAS.
5) Socio-cultural: Umno has presided over the slow metamorphosis of segments of Malays (denying their rich and diverse ancestry) into neo-Arabs. The relations between the various ethnic groups remain stagnant on the outside, while below the surface it has been at boiling point for a while.
**** Note that I have merely highlighted five points and there are I'm sure others. Also I have not delved into each, leaving that to you, to comment, discuss and come up with an answer to the question - Has Umno outlived its usefulness and become irrelevant?
Do we still need Umno in its present form or has it outlived its usefulness and instead become or is fast becoming a liability? A simple five-point check comparing the rakyat (read Malays) of say three decades ago and now will give a rough idea of where Umno really stands.
1) The political power of the Malays: Still preserved. But the politicians have practiced and encouraged massive corruption.
2) Economy: The NEP has given an artificial boost which may or may not be sustained by the Malays on their own and while it gives a false sense of security, this in the long run is one of their great weaknesses.
3) Education: This is linked to politics and the economy. The downgrading of English over the past few decades and the lip-service paid recently to improve its competency and the disregard of meritocracy will be another component of the Malay Achilles' heel. Umno totally to blame.
4) Religious practice and tolerance: Definite decline when compared to three decades ago. The rise of fanaticism, extremism and extreme intolerance is partly Umno's active doing and partly as a reaction to PAS.
5) Socio-cultural: Umno has presided over the slow metamorphosis of segments of Malays (denying their rich and diverse ancestry) into neo-Arabs. The relations between the various ethnic groups remain stagnant on the outside, while below the surface it has been at boiling point for a while.
**** Note that I have merely highlighted five points and there are I'm sure others. Also I have not delved into each, leaving that to you, to comment, discuss and come up with an answer to the question - Has Umno outlived its usefulness and become irrelevant?
posted by The Malaysian. at 11/06/2006 08:42:00 PM
4 Comments:
Dear the Malaysian
They the one who made the laws, break the laws.
There could be dozens nore points how UMNO has messed up the country with, but many a time they would deem it is ok long as the detriment is not done on them. They have got so use to free rides at the expense of others, the weaker commuity.
The recent 'ok'are the cases of law-breaking YBs; the seditious remarks by the big guns of UMNO; ... oh, I don't want to go on mentioning them one by one,....
Good questions. Which, incidentally, leads to another bigger, perhaps more macro question: Are race-based politics, policies and thought-processes themselves relevant? And will they take our beloved nation to the next level?
Take the Datuk Ghani article in the NST today, for example. He legitimizes UMNO's continued existence, as is, by perpetuating fear amonng the Malays, and in the process reinforcing their inadequacies.
His pitch is that the Malays need UMNO because without them championing the Malay cause, the Malays are bound for certain doom. Of course, that's not what he said verbatim, but that's the subtext I got from reading the article.
But is the perpetual reinforcement that the Malays are indeed inadequate going to make them any better? It may very well benefit the elite UMNOputeras, but for the Malays as a whole, the answer in my mind is NO.
Going back to my questions at the beginning: Is race-based politics in itself relevant? To UMNO, yes, because it is the only way they know how to survive.
IMHO - for UMNO, it's not about realizing a new paradigm to bring the Malays, and Malaysia, into the future. UMNO probably sees it as being about survival - of UMNO.
Now I don't know if Datuk Ghani's views reflect UMNO sentiment as a whole, but coming from the party's Bastion State, it does lead me to believe that it is exactly the mindset which drives UMNO - maintain the status quo as they see fit, if for no other reason, for the party's own survival.
Right you are my dear Walski. as for Abdul Ghani please see my latest post for a different perspective on the subject.
smallvoice, I think if you start mentioning the misdeeds you may take up the better part of a whole day to complete!
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