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Malaysia's Ruling Malay Party At Crossroads
additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - More than two thousand delegates of the ruling Malay party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), flocked to Kuala Lumpur to participate in an Annual General Meeting Thursday.
The Putra World Trade Center (PWTC), where the party's headquarters are located, was filled over capacity with visitors and reporters from around the world.
The party itself has suffered serious losses since the 1998 ouster of its former deputy leader and Malysian deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, currently serving a 15-year jail sentence.
Ibrahim was an influential UMNO leader next in line for the country's top leadership post, the prime minister's seat, currently held by Mahathir Mohamad. His revocation as finance minister in 1998, and his subsequent jailing, caused a major split among Malays, weakening the UMNO, which is now at a crossroads.
The party is in need of change, but the old guard is resisting any idea of reform. The top leadership of the party seems to be on different course than that of the public, as Mahathir suggested the country and party were not in need of reform.
His deputy leader, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, however, has said the party needs change in order to survive.
UMNO 's entire political strategy and implementation of party programs require re-engineering in the wake of the current wave of change, Badawi said, adding that the UMNO, which recently marked its 55th anniversary, could not depend on approaches used in the 1950s if it hopes to survive in the 21st century.
The "UMNO's survival depends on what the party can do now and in the future," he said, adding that the "UMNO's struggle will be regarded as devoid of idealism if it is unable to touch the hearts and minds of, and connect with, the current and future generations."
He said the party's struggle needed a fresh impetus so that it could continue to lead the people and fulfill the needs and aspirations of the majority of Malaysians.
The UMNO meeting in Kuala Lumpur was also an occasion for the Malaysian premier to dismiss rumors that he maybe resigning soon. He gave the impression that he will not relinquish his post as long as he is alive, observers told IslamOnline.
"It is not only my decision. If I had it my way, I would have been gone in 1998. But the circumstances did not allow me to do so. I am caught here," Mahathir, told a press conference at the PWTC. He added that he wanted to step down "to please the foreigners" but that it was not easy to do so.
Mahathir, who has headed the nation since 1981, has been the dominant figure in local politics and has influenced several leaders on the international stage, and is currently at the forefront of resistance to globalization.
Badawi has in the meanwhile extended his party's hand of friendship to the Party Islam Se Malaysia (PAS) for the two parties to discuss a "Malay agenda" that would be broader than their respective political aspirations.
He said the agenda of such a meeting would be to develop all Malays "so that we will never be tenants or aliens in our own land."
The "PAS must realize the majority of UMNO members are their brothers and sisters - in race, religion and creed," he said.
He also said the prospect of cooperation between the two parties had not been shut.
"We believe that even if we can agree on the smallest thing, it will be a great step forward for the ummah."
He said that except for a brief period from 1973 to 1977 when both parties were in the Barisan Nasional, the PAS has always opposed the UMNO.
"It is now time to set our differences aside. The Malay agenda has not yet been fulfilled," he commented, adding that in working towards national unity, the UMNO was aware that Malay unity must be strengthened first in order to ensure that Malays become a united community with a common voice in upholding the core tenets of Islam, the sovereign rulers, the Malay language and the special rights and privileges accorded to bumiputras, he said.
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