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.