Deference prevents split in UMNO
By David Chew
SINGAPORE (JP): Deference to authority has always been a tradition in the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). Since it was formed 50 years ago, UMNO has been Malaysia's largest party and leader of the ruling 14-member National Front coalition government of Malaysia.
The practice of subordinates not challenging incumbent superiors in top leadership positions during party elections was a major factor why UMNO did not face serious splits in the past.
However, many UMNO members today pay scant attention to this cherished tradition when they espouse democracy in the party. Going by the results of the recently-concluded divisional elections, when some incumbents endorsed by party president Dr. Mahathir Mohamad were rejected, UMNO has been badly hit by factionalism.
Subordinates have challenged their superiors for divisional posts amidst the backdrop of rival factions, drawing a divide by coalescing round the leadership of either Dr. Mahathir, who is also Malaysian prime minister, or his deputy Anwar Ibrahim.
Dr. Mahathir is concerned that these increasingly divisive tendencies at a divisional level may spread to the national level where UMNO is scheduled to hold its triennial polls to elect the party president, deputy president, three vice presidents and a 25-member supreme council, in 1996.
Should that happen, the party is likely to face a split down the middle -- just like it did in the 1987 UMNO triennial elections, when former Malaysian Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah came close to toppling Dr. Mahathir as incumbent UMNO president.
Dr. Mahathir feels that the UMNO tradition of deference to authority can be used as an effective device to curb these divisive tendencies, whose cause he has blamed on money politics. Vote buying, not only with cash but also with share certificates, paid holidays, pilgrimages and expensive gifts, has become rampant.
But this tradition has to be accepted by the majority of the party's 2.3 million members nationwide. This is why Dr. Mahathir is working very hard to sell it to them -- by highlighting its positive factors which have worked well in the past while at the same time sounding to them the dangers of factionalism caused by money politics.
Observers of Malaysian politics have contended that any split in UMNO must come from infighting at the peak of its power hierarchy. It is on this score that Dr. Mahathir has addressed the problem. He holds the view that the president and his deputy must work closely together. They can only do so if the deputy president does not challenge his superior.
Recently, Dr. Mahathir sounded this message to UMNO members. He and Anwar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur after an UMNO supreme council meeting that there would be no contests for the Number 1 and Number 2 positions in the UMNO triennial elections next year.
This means both leaders will return unopposed as party president and deputy president, respectively, when nominations are called.
The contests for the three vice presidential and 25 supreme council positions will, however, go on in line with the spirit of democracy in the party. Although such contests could bring about divisive tendencies, top UMNO leaders feel that they would not be so serious as to split the party right down the middle, unlike contests for the presidency and deputy presidency.
The 69-year-old Dr. Mahathir, who has been UMNO president and Malaysian premier since 1981, has appealed to rival factions in UMNO to accept his line of reasoning for the no-contest ruling in the case of the presidential and deputy presidential elections next year. He makes it clear that incumbent leaders should be allowed to serve their term of office without being challenged.
On their part, the incumbents should not stay in positions of power for longer than necessary. They should instead graciously make way for new blood when their term of office expires.
This spirit of give and take in bringing about a smooth leadership transition in UMNO will ensure that the party will continue to be united and strong at all times, and all members will benefit, noted Dr. Mahathir.
However, Dr. Mahathir is likely to find his task of persuading UMNO members to follow the tradition of deference to authority a difficult one. This is mainly due to the significant changes UMNO has undergone, especially in the last 15 years.
Where civil servants, teachers and religious leaders used to exert much influence in UMNO's decision-making process, their traditional role is increasingly being taken over by businessmen and professionals now.
But, since 1980, many significant changes have taken place in UMNO, including the Chinese acceptance of Malay political supremacy in Malaysia. With that development, the perceived Chinese political threat was effectively buried, making UMNO leaders pay greater attention to developing the resource-rich economy.
Many Malays have consequently became rich through affirmative action, notably the New Economic Policy (1970-1990), which uplifted the Malays economically. They form the vanguard of an influential growing Malay middle class, mainly English- educated businessmen and professionals who feel less enamored by previous sentiments of language, culture and religion now that the goals of a Malay/Islamic nation have been achieved.
As such, the chants of "Malay unity" and the deference to authority, devices which had been successful in preventing a split in UMNO, now mean very little to them. Some, owing to their new-found wealth, in fact have more in common with Chinese businessmen than Malay farmers.
Many UMNO members who support Anwar feel agitated that they are missing out on the vast patronage given to those who support Dr. Mahathir. They have accordingly vented their frustration by rejecting candidates endorsed by the premier in the divisional elections.
Dr. Mahathir is concerned that factional infighting at the divisional level may spread to the national level next year, going by speculations that Anwar's supporters want him to challenge the premier for the UMNO presidency next year. That is sure to lead to a split in UMNO, reminiscent of 1987.
On their part, Dr. Mahathir's supporters have grounds to doubt Anwar's public declaration that he would not challenge Dr. Mahathir for the UMNO presidency come next year. They point out that Anwar said the same thing in 1993, when, as a vice- president, he declared he would not challenge the former incumbent deputy president Ghafar Baba.
But his supporters had pressured him to take on Ghafar owing to the groundswell of support Anwar received. If he can change his mind in the case of Ghafar, why can't he do so in the case of Dr. Mahathir when the timing is right, his critics ask.
Dr. Mahathir and Anwar are of course aware of the "wayang kulit" (shadow puppet) politics involving their supporters going on in UMNO in the warm-up to the party's triennial elections next year.
They are realistic enough to concede that the tradition of deference to authority may appear out of tune with an UMNO of the 1990s, when many members are attracted to the idea of personal enrichment through business.
On that score, the premier's appeal to give priority to tradition may register only with a small number of UMNO members who place the interests of the party above their individual interests. Still, Dr. Mahathir appears undaunted in calling on UMNO members to heed his appeal on deference to authority.
He has made it clear that if his appeal is rejected next year, when the party presidency is open to contest, everyone will stand to lose in the big split that would befall the party.
A divided UMNO would be weak, destabilizing the National Front. Investors would not like to put their money into a Malaysia with an unstable government. That has been the bottom line of Dr. Mahathir's appeal to UMNO members to heed the call of deference to authority. It has worked well for the party in the past. It should be given the opportunity to bring the party to heel in the present despite the odds.
Window: A divided UMNO would be weak, destabilizing the National Front. Investors would not like to put their money into a Malaysia with an unstable government.