Tengku Razaleigh returns to the UMNO fold

Tengku Razaleigh returns to the UMNO fold

T.N. Harper ruminates on the implications for Malaysia's politics
of the return of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to the UMNO fold.

"This is real, not acting", a leading player assured
reporters. In recent weeks, Malaysia witnessed some absorbing
political theater. The scene was set with nominations for the
triennial elections later this year of the ruling UMNO party. On
May 11, an elaborately staged extravaganza marked the party's 50
years of struggle. Two Chief Ministers were unseated, but the
crowning scene was the announcement of the return to UMNO of its
prodigal son, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, and his breakaway party,
Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (the Spirit of 46).

It was, at first glance, a melange of entrances and exits. Yet
the underlying plot was clear. It can be read at several levels.
First, it resolved the political succession, at least for the
next three years. Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir and his Deputy
Anwar Ibrahim, will be returned uncontested as President and
Deputy President of UMNO. Dr. Mahathir will remain Prime Minister
until 1999, if he elects to do so, and he has not ruled out the
possibility of continuing beyond the year 2000. Although there
will be no climactic contest between the two men at the top,
there will be lively tussles for the three vice-presidencies and
within the youth and the women's wings.

The subplot is one of new generation leaders jockeying for
position. This is often read as a series of proxy encounters
between Dr. Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim, as was the fate of the
Chief Ministers of Kedah and Sabah. Dr. Mahathir had long been
angered by the rough treatment accorded to his allies in his home
state, Kedah. In Sabah, an election promise to rotate the top job
had to be honored. However, when told by the prime minister to
stand aside, the chief ministers demurred, and there were murmurs
of opposition. Observers saw hidden hands at work. Dr. Mahathir
laid down the law, and although the new appointments are slow to
be confirmed, Anwar Ibrahim, it seems, can, or will, do little to
save the incumbents.

Against this, we can read the repercussions of the return of
Tengku Razaleigh. It is an old principle of the statecraft of the
Malay world to find ways to absorb erstwhile challengers within
the realm. The present instance chimes with the call for Malay
unity at UMNO's half century. Whatever Tengku Razaleigh's motives
there is inevitable speculation as to the effect his return might
have on the leadership conundrum.

Tengku Razaleigh's road back to UMNO began in his home state
of Kelantan where, since 1990, Semangat 46 has been sharing power
with the Islamic Party (PAS). Semangat 46 members are the
Sultan's men; Tengku Razaleigh, the Sultan's kin. The coalition
of ulema and secular power was brokered by the palace. However,
there have been disputes with the palace over expenditure,
control of civil servants, and implementation of Islamic laws.
PAS moved to introduce curbs to the Sultan's power similar to
those that UMNO had imposed elsewhere after its showdown with the
rulers in 1993.

In the colorful language of the protagonists: piqued that it
was not consulted on this, Semangat 46 began to court her old
flame, UMNO. Like a jealous old man with a young wife, PAS
disowned her.

Yet, Dr. Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh's earlier divorce was a
bitter one. The struggle between them in 1987, for primacy in
UMNO was one of the greatest political crises in Malaysia's
recent history. Viewed at the time as a struggle for position and
patronage, it was also a showdown between the new corporate
culture that was rolling into place in the 1980s and the spirit
of the old organic Malay community that UMNO had originally
represented. The question is whether Tengku Razaleigh will
resurrect the old agenda as a counterpoint to Anwar Ibrahim and
the new generation.

PAS has exposed the paradox that Semangat 46's tactic in
opposing PAS' implementation of UMNO's legislation has been to
return to UMNO. It argues that Semangat 46 is irrelevant: a parti
tumbangan (collapsed party); that Tengku Razaleigh is a
disappointed man and the palace a spent political force.

Semangat 46 and the Sultan accuse PAS of laggardness in
implementing its Islamic reforms. Meanwhile, it is business as
usual. Semangat 46 remains a separate party within the Kelantan
coalition until its 400,000-odd members can be absorbed in UMNO.
This may generate tensions.

Tengku Razaleigh is a notable of the old order with a powerful
hold over his followers. Yet there is already hostility from some
UMNO divisions over the return of Semangat 46 members and reports
of others joining PAS. However, UMNO needs only to win over three
PAS state assemblymen to recapture the State.

Moreover, Tengku Razaleigh has raised the specter of 1978: the
year in which a state of Emergency was declared in Kelantan which
allowed Umno to recapture it from PAS control. Whichever way
these local difficulties are resolved, as a national force the
"Spirit of '46" looks set to melt into air. The spirit of '96 has
triumphed.

And that, it seems, is that. Dr. Mahathir has demonstrated his
ability to co-opt old opponents while emphasizing the futility of
seeking power outside the established line of command. Supporters
of Anwar Ibrahim are left with lost ground to recapture, rather
than new ground to conquer. With the return of Tengku Razaleigh,
the Ghost of UMNO Past hovers in the wings: A portent to Anwar's
new men.

Dr. Mahathir drew a moral. At UMNO's 50th anniversary
convention, he gave two cheers for democracy. Yet he also warned
that, as a human creation, it is imperfect. History should teach
Malaysians to view democracy with discernment. While they may
celebrate their right to select a government at the polls, they
must recognize that the government must give primacy to the
national interest, as it defines it. It was a classic statement
of his mandate to rule: Of the lessons of unity and the duties of
loyalty.

Dr. Mahathir appeared a man at ease with his past and with his
place in history. He has demonstrated that he is as comfortable
as ever with power, and willing to use it to outmaneuver any
potential opposition. He continues to command the stage.

Dr. T.N. Harper is a Research Fellow at the Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.