*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* { Sila lawat Laman Hizbi-Net - http://www.hizbi.net } { Hantarkan mesej anda ke: [EMAIL PROTECTED] } { Iklan barangan? Hantarkan ke [EMAIL PROTECTED] } *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This analysis of the UMNO convention appears in the second issue of Harakah for May, due on 26 May 00. --------------------- COLUMN UMNO CONVENTION 2000: A YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY By M.G.G. Pillai The four-day UMNO Convention 2000 forced the Prime Minister, its president for 19 years, into a year of living dangerously. The 2,018 delegates, fed up with his condescending, supercilious talking down to them, his UMNO agenda no more than an opportunity to attack PAS and his nemesis, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his jailed deputy prime minister, his orchestrating the elections, rebelled with such ferocity to reduce him to a lame duck. His arrogant, self-serving presidential speech made way, as the meeting progressed, to craving the members' indulgence to see his Malay and Islamic agenda through. His brave front, when the convention ended on 13 May 00, was bolstered by his spin meisters of a kinder, more concerned UMNO president, intent to renew faith with the UMNO rank and file. His distaste for this is an open secret; indeed, his former (sacked) political secretary ignored him in his Kubang Pasu division to nominate the three vice presidents, none of whom inclined to back him when the chips fall. But if pigs could fly, why not this Prime Minister as a man of the people? Indeed. Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed misjudged the mood. Long out of touch with party affairs, inevitable in a man his worshipful cronies, courtiers, the whole paraphernalia of government praise as, and not let him forget is, the Perfect Leader, he overplayed his hand. He wanted a malleable Supreme Council, rewrote the rules to obviate any challenge as UMNO president, widened it to envelope his deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi while looking for someone more suitable to succeed him. He wove a web of supporters only to find no one believed in his prescriptions any more. His fin de siecle performance revealed what his regime, in UMNO and government, stood for: decadence. His uncalled attacks in his presidential speech on PAS, Dato' Seri Anwar (devoting 20 minutes of his 105-minute oration on both), corruption while extolling the finance minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin, and the minister for international trade and industry, misfired. The delegates decided to elect those whose slates are not, in the Prime Minister's considered opinion, clean: three vice presidents -- Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, the defence minister; Tan Sri Muhammad Taib, unemployed wealthy politician of leisure; Tan Sri Muhiyuddin Yassin, the domestic trade and consumer affairs minister -- all elected in 1993 under Dato' Seri Anwar's Wawasan team; the two who deserted that team -- Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik, the former chief minister of Malacca, and Dato' Seri Megat Junid Megat Ayob -- were defeated. Only one vice president is also his man, but his political flip flops are so pronounced that he is ruled out as prime ministerial material. Corruption and money politics is high on Dr Mahathir's verboten list, but only when it affects his opponents. Praising Tun Daim for his devoted and selfless service raised eyebrows. An unelected official, he was UMNO treasurer when the crown jewels of UMNO investments, after UMNO's illegality in 1988, disappeared into companies in his ultimate control. His name does not appear anywhere but can anyone seriously deny that Tan Sri Halim Saad is not aligned to him, with shares held as proxy. The UMNO anger at his Rasputin-like activities is ill-concealed these days. Yet the finances of the government are used, through the two government agencies throwing good money after bad, Danamodal and Danaharta, to rescue companies linked in the public eye to him. He is not alone. The Prime Minister also has his favourite business men, for whom failure is just an opportunity to sell their assets to government agencies and start afresh. The rest would take their chances in the bankruptcy court. Tun Daim wants to depart, the Prime Minister does not want to, and this shakes up the stock market. But the two men have lost faith in each other, and that is widely known in the business world. So, UMNO delegates rejected the Prime Minister's exhortations, and voted in a strong 12-man team misaligned to him. Dato' Seri Abdullah made his own deals, linking himself to Tan Sri Muhiyuddin and Dato' Seri Shahrir Samad in what looks like a pact: Tan Sri Muhiyuddin as his deputy when he succeeds Dr Mahathir, with Dato' Shahrir as the next mentri besar of Johore. Even more traumatic for the Prime Minister is the emergence of a solid block aligned to Dato' Seri Anwar, not just in the Supreme Council but in the youth and wanita councils as well. This underlines an inescapable conundrum: however much the Prime Minister bleats about UMNO and Malay unity, that evades him until the underlying causes of that is resolved: the VIP prisoner in Sungei Buloh and the manner of his incarceration. The new wanita leader, Datin Rafidah Aziz, dismissed every one aligned to the defeated wanita leader, Datin Siti Zahrah Suleiman, before calling for unity. The Prime Minister ordered Dr Siti Zahrah, after defeating Datin Rafidah in 1996, from sacking every one unaligned to her. This time around, his silence deafens. When statesmanship is called for, as now, he retreats into unabashed parish-pump politicking. It is this double standards that annoys the delegates. Money politics is alive and well. Packages of money passed around before and after the elections to delegates by backers of candidates, especially after their victory. The whole culture seeps in corruption and money. Not as much, superficially, than in previous years, but there all the same. UMNO wanted videoconferencing facilities to spread the word beyond Kuala Lumpur, realising, perhaps accurately, few listened to the three Malaysian television channels, for the Prime Minister's precious and specious words. UMNO then wanted Malay business men to foot the bill. If UMNO at this level indulges in it, are we surprised this culture seeps to the smallest branch? The UMNO president has, since its earliest days, orchestrated UMNO conventions. The Prime Minister refined that further to impose a caste system kept so rigorously apart that he and his Supreme Councillors are cut off from the hoi polloi beneath them. They met them only when they condescended to mix with them, and the obligatory dinners they gave their states' delegates. He does not mix with the delegates except in controlled meetings, preferring the company of diplomats and movers and shakers of politics and business. Accredited ambassadors appear in tow and welcomed effusively, but if their cars, or of their subordinates, are found within a mile of the PAS or DAP headquarters, Wisma Putra is quick to object to their interference in local politics. UMNO's predicament today is this caste system which buffets the leaders from harsh realities on the ground. The Prime Minister begins his year of living dangerously. He should have taken the high ground and charted a course of action for UMNO devoid of vindictive personal attacks. But his conscience is bothered by Malay dissonnance over his treatment of his protege and once deputy prime minister. Everything else, in the UMNO and Malay agenda, takes second place. His preference for the low ground jugular is understandable: he is used to it. Dato' Seri Anwar, on the other hand, fights for his political and physical life, and attacks him as he did Tengku Abdul Rahman in the aftermath of the 13 May 1969 riots. He cannot evade this, or his role in it, while refusing to testify about it in court. The Anwar affair, however he may deny it, is a blot on UMNO, one its delegates now accept. More important, the Malay cultural community is incensed. Dato' Seri Anwar, the unseen and unheard campaign issue in the Malay heartland, now haunts UMNO. And UMNO is rattled so long as he does. The UMNO delegates kicked the ball for Dr Mahathir to dribble, and watch from the sidelines, oblivious and unconcerned at his dilemma. Surprisingly, uncharacteristically, they are glad he is. M.G.G. Pillai [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ( Melanggan ? To : [EMAIL PROTECTED] pada body : SUBSCRIBE HIZB) ( Berhenti ? To : [EMAIL PROTECTED] pada body: UNSUBSCRIBE HIZB) ( Segala pendapat yang dikemukakan tidak menggambarkan ) ( pandangan rasmi & bukan tanggungjawab HIZBI-Net ) ( Bermasalah? Sila hubungi [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pengirim: "Haji Johari Adam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>