Disassociating the Malays from Malay supremacy

Sept 7, 2008 — The recent conclusion of the Permatang Pauh by-election which saw Anwar Ibrahim's convincing win, has been touted as the beginning of the end for Umno.
Anwar defeated Arif Shah Omar Shah of Umno with an increased majority compared with his wife, Wan Azizah's win in March. Prior to the election, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Anwar would win — from Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, to the average man on the street and even the bookies. The question was not if he would win but by "how many votes".
This main strategy of the Barisan Nasional, which was to reduce Anwar's majority at all cost, was their only way of coming close to a win, by claiming a moral victory.
The Umno battalion, with the mainstream media at its disposal, threw everything at Anwar – the swearing on the Quran by his former aide and alleged sodomy victim ; the coterie of former close advisers and friends like Ezam Mohd Nor and Nallakarupan who attacked Anwar from the left, right and centre and not to forget the publicity given to 200 PKR leaders and supporter who defected to Umno.
All of which were thought to be the recipe to stifle Anwar's rise to the premiership.
And not surprisingly, Umno also took a very open communal line of campaigning, accusing Anwar of selling out the Malays through his proposal to abolish the New Economic Plan (NEP) and introducing other liberal policies, alienating further the non-Malay community from Umno and BN .
But what was quite surprising was the rejection of the communal thrust of these camapigns by the Malays themselves.
The outcome was indeed a thumping victory for Anwar and a demoralizing loss for Umno.
Looking back at the March 8 General Election (GE), nothing much has changed. Analysis of the results have shown that 78 per cent of the non-Malays in Permatang Pauh voted for PKR which is similar to the results in the March GE.
But the more worrying trend for Umno is that the Malay support for PKR increased from 59 per cent in March to 62 per cent. So evidently two main facts can be inferred here; firstly, non-Malays support for Pakatan remained and second, Malay support for Pakatan increased since March.
While it was safe to assume that the denial of the two-thirds majority for BN during the GE, which saw five states falling to the hands of the opposition, was more a vote against BN rather than a vote for Pakatan, the same cannot be said with Permatang Pauh.
While it is a fact that Permatang Pauh was only a by-election, minutely small in comparison to the GE, many variables in the political equation indicate that the result is a reflection of the mood and feelings of the nation as a whole.
It is clear that the Malays are slowly but surely disassociating themselves from Umno. The propaganda of a Ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy, diminishing under Anwar and Pakatan rule, did not strike a chord with the Malays.
This doesn't mean that the Malays do not care about Ketuanan Melayu, NEP or Malay rights, because the sense of Malay vulnerability without the two, is too ingrained within the Malay psych to just merely diminish.
Many Malays believe that the diluting of Ketuanan Melayu will ultimately mean being subjugated or even "colonized" by the non-Malays.
So, what made the Malays of Permatang Pauh and the roughly 45 per cent of Malays nationwide vote against the Umno doctrine of Ketuanan Melayu?
A few reasons come to mind.
Umno's current image that it is not being sincere enough in pushing for the Malay agenda as result of the overwhelming corruption, cronyism and nepotism culture practiced by its leaders.
Malay perception towards Umno is that of a party where the political leaders are only enriching themselves while the majority of Malays have to toil day and night working 2 to 3 jobs to barely survive.
Since the March general elections, Umno is slowly creeping back into its cave of 'Ketuanan Melayu', Malay rights and NEP rather than addressing the core problem which is their inability to see a united Malaysian race.
They are slowly becoming a face that only knows and cares for one race – the Malays.
Umno today is being guided by leaders implicated in corruption, abuse funds meant for the poor, embroiled in sex scandals but most of all people see Umno as a vehicle to enrich themselves, not as a platform to serve the community.
Umno and BN have lost its appeal. It is unable to project a leadership that inspires people. Its handling of the economy and social policies has been wobbly, uninspiring but most importantly worrying. It is unable to overcome problems surrounding religion and race convincingly.
In short, the present government, dominated by Umno, has provided zero leadership. Pakatan, in response to this vacuum, has filled this need for leadership.
Malaysians, for the first time, see on the opposite side, a breath of fresh air and greener pastures ahead. They see a three-party loose coalition, called Pakatan Rakyat, led by one charismatic former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, as a solution.
This Pakatan talks about equality whilst preserving the Malay preferential treatment, that espouses meritocracy but at the same time is determined to improve the quality of the Malays, fight corruption and stands for a just and equitable society.
While this Pakatan has yet to convincingly answer fundamental questions on Islamic or a secular state for Malaysia, people are not afraid and are willing to give them a shot.
If this loose coalition succeeds to outperform BN, albeit by a even small margin, it might well be doom for Umno and its partners.

- published in The Malaysian Insider : Sept 7, 2008