The sacking of Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (main image) from the Umno Supreme Council and his explosive press conference, where he revealed the behind-the-scenes political manoeuvrings by Umno heavyweights, demonstrate that Umno is still trying to find its footing in the political arena after its shocking defeat in the 2018 general election.
For the record, Tajuddin had spoken about heavyweights in the party throwing their support behind Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister, and an alleged move to oust Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as party president.
Even though Prime Minister and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said that there was only one camp in Umno, the truth of the matter is, factional rivalry is the rule in Umno, not the exception.
A case in point is that after a coup de grace hatched by Umno Members of Parliament aligned to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Ahmad Zahid against Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and the ascendency of Ismail Sabri as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister, there are still calls within the party for Parliament to be dissolved, mainly due to the fact that Umno has to share power with Perikatan Nasional (PN) and is not in total control of the government.
In another way, the installation of Ismail Sabri as prime minister has not brought about the desired outcome, as expected by certain factions within the party.
Prior to 2018, Umno had almost always called all the shots in the government, whether in terms of political appointees, the appointment of senior civil servants in key ministries, the police force, the armed forces, as well as government-linked companies (GLCs).
Over the course of the post-Independence period, with the exception of the 22-month “sabbatical leave” post-GE-14, the creeping in of Umno’s tentacles in governmental, economic, and societal affairs was almost complete. From the village council, all the way to the glittery halls of corporate offices, Umno has had a say in who, and how these organisations should be run.
Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Umno’s domination over the state and society has, in one way or another, contributed to various corporate scandals, as well as the weakening of the civil service.
When the Fleet Group was set up in the early 1970s as Umno’s investment arm, issues related to good governance had been placed in the back burner, partly due to political expediency, and partly due to the absence of functioning regulatory bodies.
The Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) and the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandals are among the many examples of how the incestuous relationship between politics and business had resulted in colossal loss to the government.
Najib and Ahmad Zahid’s ongoing trials should be an eye-opener for thinking Malaysians on how money is constantly needed to quench the insatiable thirst of politicians. While there are talks on the need to regulate political funding, a draft bill on the matter has yet to be tabled in Parliament for the first reading.
What is more, the revelation by both Muhyiddin and Anwar that certain quarters within Umno had wanted the Executive to interfere with the ongoing trials of Umno bigwigs simply shows that Umno does not respect a fundamental principle in a democratic government: the rule of law.
Clearly, a dominant party system does not augur well with democracy. The incestuous relationship among politics, bureaucracy, and business, on the one hand, and the attempt to subdue the Judiciary on the other, are among the symptoms of a government that has been captured by self-serving elites, and therefore, should serve as a wake-call for Malaysians on the need to reform our political system.
As a dominant party in Malaysia, Umno had, without a doubt, attracted the following of self-serving Malay elites, who had used the party to further their economic gain.
This phenomenon became more pronounced in the 1980s when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wanted to create the Bumiputera Commercial and Industrial Community (BCIC). Huge government contracts were given to potential Bumiputera businessmen, especially those who were well connected to Umno, with the hope that a vibrant BCIC would emerge.
The truth of the matter is that many Bumiputera businessmen were either involved in “Ali Baba” business arrangements, or were highly dependent on the government for their survival.
Nevertheless, the perception that Umno is a golden goose continues to colour the social milieu of the country.
While money politics exists in all democracies, mature democratic countries, especially the Scandinavian countries, have strict rules and regulations on political funding.
In order to regulate the behaviour of political parties, Malaysia must legislate, not only an anti-party hopping act, but also acts that regulate political funding and strict rules that disallow the use of government machinery by political parties. This will give some semblance of order in an otherwise chaotic political terrain.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
