The Prime Minister is expected to announce by Wednesday that he is not seeking re-election as Umno president. It won't be news to most Malaysians by now but he would have to make known his stand at the Cabinet and the Barisan Nasional supreme council meetings. Pak Lah will stay on until March. He will also inform the 191 Umno divisions, which will begin their meetings on Oct 9, that he would decline nominations for the top post. His announcement will mark the beginning of a leadership transition period, which will see the baton being passed on to his deputy, Najib Tun Razak. The task for Najib will be tough. Najib has said that the BN, particularly Umno, must change or be changed. But the question is do Umno leaders realise the need to change?
More than eight months after the general election, the perception is that Umno does not see the urgency to reform itself. The impression is that Umno leaders prefer to blame others - from Pak Lah to Anwar Ibrahim to the press - except themselves. Some seemed to believe that racial posturing is the answer, not realising that they would continue to alienate the young Malays and other races. The idea is to win back the votes of all races, not lose them further. Some have lost the connect with the young, still harping on historical events, which meant little to a country where over 60% of the population are less than 24 years old. Like John McCain, who doesn't know how to use the Internet against Obama, who cannot live without his Blackberry, there are plenty in Umno, and BN, who have no inkling what is happening in cyberspace. Najib has the job of convincing his members that they must change, the party must go through reforms, the party needs rebranding (and it doesn't mean a new set of uniforms and badges) and reinvention. It's simple, nobody can sell a product that's over 50 years old with more of the same. The clients - in this case, the electorate - have changed and surely they cannot be using a product, which they cannot identify with. Unless Umno members recognise these weaknesses, the going would be tough for Najib. He has less than four years to carry out drastic changes to win back the states BN lost to Pakatan Rakyat. It has to be a battle of popularity from now. It is about appealing to the people. It can no longer be business as usual for Umno or it will be out of business.
20 comments:
Yes Datuk,
One of the things that they should consider seriously is my suggestion for Barisan Nasional to have direct members and these direct members must be voters. This exercise should continue for the next three or four years till the next general election and after that a Barisan Nasional party can be formed in place of the coalition if Barisan Nasional retains the government.
Racun Penawar
UMNO fail to realize without their fingers twirling the globe, the world is still spinning.
The juicy pie is too much to fore go, so, to make changes to the party is the least of their priorities.
Abullah should come out swinging and damn his dis-tractors...after all, he is still a PM. If he has the courage, he must remove those rotten apples and stay on top. As a PM for Malaysia, he his is duty bound to see the nation not confronted with more uncertainties...UMNO do not have the birth right, to determine the future, for all Malaysians.
Dear Datuk, all I see are the same tired faces. They have been around for eons. And as for those lesser known faces, what's the big deal? They came from the same mould and cut from the same cloth.
Change?
I am sorry Datuk. Let's be real. At your age now, I am sure you have eaten enough salt to know that it is supremely difficult to change a mind set.
Unless earth shattering upheaval is forced upon BN, nothing will ever change.
Zaid Ibrahim gave up. That's telling enough.
I think a lot of people is hoping that Badawi will stay and defend his post. We want to see how they will kill each other and in the process drag the whole party down. We will cheer them on just like in the colisuem. Come on, we need some real entertainment!!!
Ini bukan masanya untuk ikut kehendak ahli dan cita rasa UMNO sendiri.Sudah sampai masanya pilihan kaum - kaum lain diambil kira ianya boleh membawa banyak manfaat kepada BN.
Jangan kita nak asyik kritik Pak Lah sahaja.Tepuk dada tanya selera.Adakah PM seorang sahaja bertanggungjawab diatas kekalahan BN ? Kita asyik kata team work? Dimana team work ? Sekiranya pealn 2010 dipersetujui oleh Najib dulu , kenapa dia nak tekan PM pula? PM tak perlu takut dgn desakan kerana dia telah pun diberi mandat dan kini tugasnya memimpin negara dan perbetulkan keadaan selepas PRU. Kita tidak mahu politik desakan dan retorik.
Sungguh memalukan apabila kita tengok, sebelum Pak Lah umum ramai sudah berebut nak bertanding.Apa nak jadi dgn UMNO ?
Why is Najib so impatience for the No 1 position ? Isn't he agreed earlier on with 2010 and now he wants it to be next year! It's a betrayal.
Well, i think Abdullah should just go on and defend. 40% of the population still supports him vs 30% for Najib. Of course, the number is skewed the other way in UMNO.
On the one hand, the ruling government of BN, under Abdullah Badawi with its weakest position ever, has been going all out with every opportunity, using the state’s apparatus, to undermine the chances of the PR and its leader Anwar Ibrahim from getting into power. On the other hand, Anwar Ibrahim, with the opposition parties’ strongest parliamentary position ever, has been advocating that the PR would eventually take over the government by mid-September when some of the MPs from the BN jump over into the opposition camp. At present the BN and PR have 140 and 82 MPs respectively and Anwar and Pakatan would only need another 30 MPs to get a simple majority. Nonetheless, who the ultimate winner will be and how long this political drama will go on very much depend on the economic performance of the country and that is very much determined by circumstances in the global economy.
http://asocialistmalaysia.blogspot.com/2008/08/malaysia-growing-political-uncertainty_27.html
"UMNO need to change"??? Coming from Najib, the statement is so hypocritical. Isn't he part of the problem (the need to change)?
Bro Wong, Certainly UMNO must change. For start UMNO must act tough with all troublemakers who have mushroomed lately, taking advantage on weak PM and capatilising on sick BN. In particular UMNO must take all possible measures to curb the proliferation of religious cults like Hindraf. This illegal group is no different to Al-Arqam and shoukd be treated as such. Majority of the rakyat still believe that many UMNO MPs and Ministers are person who're to be reckoned with. Deal with these troublemakers and street demonstrators for once and for all within the boundary of laws. Reforms start when UMNO is brave enough to come out and show 'em who is presently runnning the country.
Lies, conspiracy and deceit - nobody does it better than UMNO. Perhaps there is a code of conduct that escapes me. It is clear that the party president is under siege - the attack is brutal and relentless. It is easy to liken the scenario to that of a pack of hyenas picking away at the wounds of a once mighty lion. And the most pitiful part is that the besieged president still believes his "trusted" detractors that everything is for his own good and that of the party. The way I see it, the master statesman Dr M is still getting his way. Has he not insisted on the resignation of his successor? Has he not protested that the original succession plan was too prolonged? Has he not instigated Najib to renege on his agreement with his boss? Has he not instigated certain agents to force an early retirement from Pak Lah? Has he not got all that he wants? His latest remark saying that he does not trust Pak Lah to stick to his word is the classic Dr M's way of preempting Pak Lah should he have any second thoughts about not contesting in the coming party elections. Poor Pak Lah - like the wounded lion, if you can ignore its mighty roar and take away it powerful fangs and claws, it becomes no more than dead meat. Bravo to DR M, the maestro. Next to his record as the longest serving helmsman of the country, this elimination of his successor would be his greatest triumph. The conclusion is forgeone, but two questions remain - why do those Brutus' in UMNO do what they do, and why does Paklah allow them to?
but i doubt these people will ever change. you see, it is so nice to be wrapped up in the racial cocoon where the world has to revolve around you and not otherwise.
the situation they cannot see - because they are in the cocoon -
is that many malaysians are fed up with the political scenario where
the wealth gap between the haves and have nots is growing wider day by day.
SHAKING HEADS
UMNO cannot change. Not with so much dirt under the carpet. And the people with dirt on them will work to bring down anybody who tries to bring changes to UMNO.
WCW, this is by far one of your best comments and observations of what is lacking in UMNO. For those believers, then let them hope that UMNO will wake up and change. I am a firm believer that this will not happen throught the present leaders. They are rotten to the tilt and no way they can reverse what they have done wrong. Those in power right now will be busy covering up their trails and I don't expect them to do any good for the nation.
UMNO and BN's relevance is questionable if things remain status quo.
Before the March 2008 GE, the Gerakan leaders fought over who will be the next Chief Minister of Penang, which was very presumptious , as if they willwin in Penang. Of course now that is history and Gerakan is almost gone from the face of the earth. Now we have UMNO warlords fighting over who is the next PM. Again it is very presumptious, as if UMNO will rule Malaysia forever. Don't under estimate the Pakatan Rakyat'sability to win more support. And don't under estimate the ground swell of dissatisfaction within BN, and that there could really be a massive pull out of component parties from BN, or the MPs themselves resigning from their respective component parties to fulfill the wishes of their constituencies' rakyat. WCW, even you yourself thought that MCA and Gerakan will previal prior to the March 2008 GE, and did not read the signs on the ground correctly. UMNO still don't understand that a large part of the rakyat is simply sick of the corruption in the present government, and that the situation will persist even if the PM is changed.
"It's simple, nobody can sell a product that's over 50 years old with more of the same. "
You hit the nail right on the head there. MCA, MIC and others should take a close look at themselves too.
Time to wake up.
Dear Datuk
If you are a honest Malaysian, you will answer this.
Why teresa kok was detained under ISA, while the person who created the mess..Khir Toyo and Utusan was not even investigated?
Till today, nothing on Khir Toyo and not even a show cause letter to Utusan.
The sharks in UMNO smells the scent of blood. There is no way they will let go of the opportunity to oust Badawi. The incentive of power and riches fill the air. Except that they forget to look beneath their feet to realise the floor is collapsing under the weight of their wanton greed,and the support for them is no longer there.
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