Deference prevents split in UMNO

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.