SEVENTY years ago today, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) was formed to counter Malayan Union, which threatened to undermine the Malay nation in Peninsular Malaya, or Semenanjung Tanah Melayu. And thus was clocked up its first success as a united force: abandonment of Malayan Union by the British colonial masters. Instead, Umno pushed for independence and self-determination. As the colonial grip on the peninsula loosened, the first election was held in 1955. Triumphant, Umno with its coalition partners in the Alliance dominated the Federal Legislative Council. Although the Alliance has morphed into Barisan Nasional (BN), Umno remains its dominant party, lending as many as 86 members of parliament to its 130-seat majority. The remaining 44 seats of that majority are divided among 10 parties.
Umno, therefore, has maintained its position as the pillar of the BN government. In fact, the same was true during the Alliance years. As the governing coalition’s largest party in Parliament, Umno has led the country throughout the 59 years since independence. Formed to protect the welfare of Malays, it is then a Malay/Bumiputera party. This principle, fought for in independence negotiations and realised in the Constitution as Malay privileges, remains pivotal. When asked how long things will remain so, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s reply is telling: until the economic insecurity that bedevils the Malay/Bumiputera population is no longer. That, after all, is the raison d’être for Umno’s becoming and being. And yet, as leader of the BN government, Umno is responsible for the welfare of the nation, including the minority voices represented by the opposition. This proverbial two hats that it wears does not, however, present any conflict, as testified to by the nation’s prosperity, which is shared by all Malaysians. Even while it attempts to deliver to its Malay/Bumiputera constituency the promises of economic parity — as the Umno president asserts, the population is 60 per cent Malay/Bumiputera but that proportion commands a mere 30 per cent of Malaysia’s equity — the Umno leadership has consistently followed an inclusive approach to policy-making and decision-taking.
Umno has over the years evolved from an oligarchic structure, where the president is near invincible, to one that is democratising. Under Najib’s presidency, Umno revised its constitution to subject its leadership to greater accountability by expanding the size of the voting delegates from some 2,000 to several hundred thousand at the grassroots level. Unfortunately, success attracts envy and Umno is not immune. Allegations of favouritism towards its natural constituency resonate in some parts of non-Malay communities, leading to the racial polarisation that manifested in the 13th General Election results. Also as unfortunate is internal bickering. Thus far, however, the president is unperturbed and has avoided knee-jerk reactions. This indicates maturity. Umno today is on the verge of participatory democracy. Towards this end, its president urges the membership to embrace social media as the interactive platform, to keep their ears to the ground, so to speak.