THE March 8 general election result has forced Barisan Nasional parties to reinvent themselves, but are they doing enough? CHOK SUAT LING finds out.

THE one word that has resounded following Barisan Nasional's poor showing in the March 8 general election is change.

The assertion is that the coalition needs to change, that is, transform and conform with the needs of the people, or be changed in the next general election.

Optimistically, the component parties in BN recognise this and have made efforts to rejuvenate themselves. They have promised and instituted changes following BN's worst performance in a general election.

In Umno, pressure for reform was so strong that it led to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi not defending his post as president in the March party elections. On Wednesday, Abdullah said he would not contest and would step down as prime minister in five months.
The other component parties have also changed to a certain extent. Their leaders are more vocal, willing to speak up against big brother Umno.

Gerakan is making attempts to go back to its multiracial roots and ideology. There appears a realisation within the party that it has been too Chinese-centric.

A clear illustration was when Deputy Commodities and Plantation Industries Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillay recently became the first non-Chinese to be elected as a Gerakan state chief.

Penang Gerakan state chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan did not seek re-election as vice-president in the party elections to pave the way for non-Chinese leaders.

Dr Teng said: "It is my commitment to promote Gerakan's ideology as a multiracial rather than Chinese-based party. This is what Malaysians want."

In the MCA, too, change has been the buzzword since March.

The manifestos of many candidates in the party's elections this month include calls for transformation and reformation.

Datuk Ong Tee Keat, who is contesting the post of party president, has urged the party to take a multiracial approach, and made a radical proposal that there be direct elections for the president's post.

Other MCA leaders have been as outspoken. MCA education bureau chief Senator Datuk Lee Sing Chooi called for all government contracts to be awarded through open tenders and not just to the influential and powerful.

Another surprising development was when the party went against the government's stand by pushing for a review of the Internal Security Act.

The results at the recent state MCA Youth elections also show that members are moving away, some say even rejecting, relationship-based politics and the "eat, drink and be merry" culture.

The push for reforms in the MIC has been as intense although actual progress is slow. Things came to a head when attempts were made to bring about a leadership change. The move was unsuccessful and several Youth leaders left the party.

Perhaps one of the most conspicuous change is that BN politicians, even those in its highest echelons, have embraced the Internet and acknowledged it as an effective means to disseminate their views. A number have become prolific bloggers, even though some had been critical of the practice.

March 8 has, without a doubt, turned out to be a watershed date. Certainly, some of the issues and statements that have surfaced in the last seven months would have been unthinkable in earlier days.

The question, however, is whether these changes are adequate or mere ripples incapable of withstanding another political tsunami.

While efforts to reform may appear relentless and even extreme in certain cases, it is said that whatever has transpired in the last several months is far from satisfactory.

An MCA insider claims that not enough attention has been paid to how BN can regain support from the community.

"Since it is election year for us, Umno and Gerakan, the grassroots are stuck in the pre-March 8 mode of eyeing for positions.

"Many are concentrating on and scrambling for positions.

"It is crucial that we pick up the pace after our elections and push forward our reform agendas more aggressively. Otherwise, we will be handing over the government to the opposition on a silver platter in the next general election."

Money politics is another scourge that remains difficult to beat.

Just this week, Umno disciplinary board chairman Teng-ku Tan Sri Rithaudeen Ismail said of the 521 complaints on members breaching party ethics during branch meetings, allegations about money politics topped the list.

According to MCA's Lee, all parties must do more to eradicate money politics.

He said if it was allowed to fester, it would lead to further erosion of public confidence in BN.

He said corruption would also result in candidates being elected based not on their credentials but how well they could fatten up the pockets of delegates.

"Ultimately, politics should be about serving the people's interests, not your own. With integrity, the confidence of the people will return.

"Unfortunately, we have a long way to go in wiping out money politics."

One other important message from March 8 that has not been properly addressed is the people's desire for political parties to adopt a more multiracial outlook, or even further, for BN to become a single multiracial party.

BN continues to be mired in a race-centric mindset.

Outgoing Gerakan Youth chief Datuk Mah Siew Keong said: "Post-March 8 surveys and studies have shown that the majority of the people want to see BN become a single multiracial party.

"BN leaders should have the courage to heed the wishes of the people, otherwise, there will be an even bigger (political) tsunami in the next general election."

The changes, if effected, will be beneficial for the parties in question and BN as a whole but it has been argued that they are not the most crucial elements.

The key towards regaining the people's trust and conviction in BN are the leaders who helm the parties within it, and most notably the one that steers Umno, the backbone of the coalition.

That person should be firm but even-handed, and command the attention and regard of all coalition members.

Now that Abdullah has decided to make an early exit, the onus is on his successor, most likely Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to do all that the people say Abdullah should have done.