[Malaysia] UMNO Need to Worry About Itself

Saturday, June 25, 2005
Umno need only worry about itself, not PAS' regeneration: Analyst

(Bernama) The recent installation of new leaders in PAS, described as the de facto takeover of the party by the professional class, will see the Malaysian opposition party "elbowing into Umno turf" but the "Abdullah factor" should see Umno and the ruling coalition withstanding the challenges, an analyst here said.

Ooi Kee Beng, a fellow at the Institute of South-East Asian Studies (ISEAS), said that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's popularity still carried weight and if anything, what Umno needed most was to keep an eye on itself.

PAS certainly had become more moderate and would launch initiatives to "modernise" its brand of Islam to make the party more acceptable to more Muslims and to convince non-Muslims that it is a moderate alternative political force, Ooi said in a commentary published in the Straits Times Saturday.

"Without this, no viable Barisan Alternatif, or alternative coalition, with or without Mr Anwar (Ibrahim), will appear," he wrote in the piece titled "Umno should look within - not at PAS".

He said that PAS' present position on Islam "lies far beyond what is normally termed as moderate, and is in stark contrast to the image presented by Abdullah through Islam Hadhari".

Islam Hadhari, he said, had shown enough promise for Umno to keep promoting it to profile its Malayness and the country's adherence for moderate Islam.

Umno could also take comfort that one of its major partners in the coalition, the MCA, also appeared to be undergoing its own renewal that saw the election of more than 80 new division heads recently.

"Such a change -- rare for the MCA -- reflects strong sentiments on the ground. The MCA is one of Umno's major partners in the ruling coalition and this generational change should make Umno feel more confident that the coalition is well positioned to withstand opposition challenges," he said.

Umno was under more internal than external pressure to clean up its act, given the accusations of corruption and impropriety, said Ooi.

"So in the end, it matters little whether PAS reforms or not, and if Umno's partners are reliable.

"What Umno needs most is to keep an eye on itself. If its house is in order, it won't much matter how others are re-arranging theirs. But if it isn't, then it has cause to worry, no matter what PAS or any other party does," he wrote.