Anwar, Razaleigh union could wreck BN

Anwar, Razaleigh union could wreck BN
27 Mar, 2009

Khairy is said to be anti-Malay culture and is not seen as a leader who will inspire Malays to become nationalists Malays. In the opposition grouping, Khairy is seen as a hurdle to their own Malaysian Nationalistic agenda. That makes Khairy the person to watch and the young leader that may become the deciding factor in the future of the Umno.

Ali Cordoba http://wfol.tv/index.php

Malaysia is in a state of transition with a new Prime Minister taking over the helm from the outgoing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The writing on the wall however indicates it will be the toughest transitory period in Malaysia and a familiar name emerges with unprecedented hopes for Malaysia: Tengku Razaleigh Hamza.

It is clear that a union of Anwar Ibrahim with the hostorical baggage that Tungku Razaleigh Hamza, a member of the United Malays National Organization (Umno) carries, could make a difference but the ball is in the camp of the opposition. The opposition union Pakatan Rakyat (PR) must plan a winning strategy that could possibly include the leadership of Tungku Razaleigh in a bid to draw more support among the public.

It is almost certain that a survey on who has more popular support in Malaysia to become Prime Minister will end up with Anwar Ibrahim the winner but rest assured that Tengku Razaleigh still hold sway in local politics. It will not be surprising, as it is showed on this website’s polls on who would be PM of Malaysia, that Tengku Razaleigh comes second with some 26% of votes cast. A realistic poll carried out among the public would surely deliver a similar result, with the BN leaders, including Tun Mahathir far behind.

Najib Tun Razak, despite his superb victory in the Umno General Assembly, does not carry the same weight in the public and the Umno intelligentsia is aware of this element. The Umno is banking on the return of Tun Mahathir as shadow power player within the Umno itself and the BN at large in order to portray Najib Razak as the Malay unifying factor. This may work for sometime for the Umno but the country will find it tough to move on forward from the transition due to the overriding feeling in the public that the Umno is not in the capacity to run the affairs of Malaysia anymore.

With Khairy Jamaluddin as the Umno Youth Chief, the Tun M clicque will have a hard time pushing the Umno into the Malay nationalist arena and any difficulties for the Umno. Khairy is said to be anti-Malay culture and is not seen as a leader who will inspire Malays to become nationalists Malays. In the opposition grouping, Khairy is seen as a hurdle to their own Malaysian Nationalistic agenda. That makes Khairy the person to watch and the young leader that may become the deciding factor in the future of the Umno.

With such a scenario, the division in the Umno today means an easier path for the PR. The PR must set its agenda with a high note. That will be to take good advantage of the slow but inevitable disintegration of several Umno components. The groups that does not want Malay nationalism to win in the Umno and to influence the decision making process of the country will try to disturb the peace within the party. This will bring trouble to the leadership. The groups that are not benefiting from the Malay Bumiputera economic policies, and they are many, will put more pressure on Najib Razak to either review the policies or abandon them completely. The pressure will also be on Tengku Razaleigh Hamza to make a clearer stand within the party. If the stalwart politician remains silent and allows the Umno to go back into the path of repressive methods and the clamp down on freedoms in the media and in the streets, he will become a lost cause.

At his juncture in the political history of Malaysia, it is once again Tengku Razaleigh Hamza who appears to be the person who can change the course of this nation’s future. In the 1990’s he played a major role in the nation’s history when he re-joined the Umno and that helped the Tun Mahathir group in battling Anwar Ibrahim, trouncing him out of the Umno and of the government. The result was the ‘reformasi’ and today it is has evolved into the PR. To progress further, the PR must evolve again and this time with the support of Tengku Razaleigh Hamza.

The PR must show to the elderly Malay leader that his role is salient in bringing down the Barisan National in the next General Elections. Though the elections are far away, it will be of great importance to the Opposition to gain the support of royal politician. The PR has to plan on how to bring Tengku Razaleigh out of the Barisan National (BN), that is out of the Umno. This will be a tremendous task as the Tengku is still in the belief that the Umno will change and that things will be better in Malaysia. The PR must draft a sound political proposal that will be exposed to the Tengku, a plan that will show the dire need for the Tengku to be on the side of the majority of the Malaysian public and to support the opposition agenda.

The situation in theUmno is still not clear after the electioneering process in the party. There are a lot of hard feelings and this will be translated into more divisions within a party that has ruled the country since the independence. The division in the Umno will fissure the BN further and will also put intense pressure on the Malaysian cabinet which will be formed by Najib Razak. These will be fodder on which the opposition must pile in order to bring Tengku Razaleigh to understand the historical role that he can play in the national interest.

A union between Anwar Ibrahim and Tengku Razaleigh will solidify the PKR and the PR altogether. It is imperative for the PKR to open its doors to leaders like Tengku Razaleigh altogether. With his presence among the opposition, the balance of power in the country will tilt and it will do so largely in the favor of the PR.

As for the BN and the Umno, it is massive change in their policies that will help them counter the possibility of a change of regime in Malaysia. By and large, it appears that the BN is not able to press for change, bogged down by theUmno which is consistent in its belief that with 50% Malay support, it will keep running the affairs of the country and will win in any GE. The party has reached the point where only a total defeat in a GE will make it realise it was on the wrong path. With the GE set for another 4 years, the Umno will find it difficult to change to adapt to the needs of change in Malaysia. This is where the PR will find it easier still to press on the fissures within the BN and the Umno.