Thursday, October 15, 2009

A "New" Umno -- No Easy Journey Ahead

After this, Umno begins its radical transformation to be more transparent, inclusive and democratic.

Great new beginning. A rough journey. Too many warlords.

No looking back.

With the amendments of the party constitution in place, even the president's position is anyone's for the taking. Okay. Not just anyone, but almost anyone who fulfils a minimum requirement.

The new reformed Umno will be dynamic. Relevant.

No longer arrogant, obsolete, tired.

Now. the hard part.

Convincing the rakyat.

26 comments:

Old Fart said...

I wish Najib will prove how serious he is about his 1Malaysia and a new UMNO. He can make me believe if he can do just one thing. Shut down Biro Tata Negara. And tell us why!!

Haji Ghazali Manaf said...

Whoa hold your horses, Nuraina.

You think just some amendments will mean that the entrenched system of rent-seeking and corruption will change overnight?

Do you really think that some amendments will make all the rent-seekers to give up all the gains that they stand to make?

Wake up and get real, Nuraina

Anonymous said...

Dear Umno,To be truly new and acceptable to all races(not just your kakis)do the followings:1)Stop treating non-malays like your sworn nemesis(for heaven's sake they are your brothers/sisters!)just bcos they look different 2)Don't pretend to be good but DO goodness to all esp. the poor regardless of race 3)STOP the stupid rhetoric of always saying the malays are under threat and that Umno will shed to the last blood to protect the malays,rulers,religion etc (again for heaven's sake,non-malays are the minority in everything from government,police,army,rulers,MBs,-so HOW to threaten?!)4)Pls. tell those gangs of warlords who are actually hiding behind the party's face,to shut up or ship out 5)Be the first to condemn corruption/racist whenever arised by whosoever-expel those clowns.6)Learn to come down to earth by having a paradigm shift in mindset,action,words,and dress down at all times.The days of Victorian excesses are over.

wishediwaswrong said...

The spirit is willing enough. The hard part: Can the flagging flesh of obesity be firmed up again? And how soon?

XXX said...

HAHA! True enough, Tengku Razaleigh has said these reforms are like 'cheap talk'!

Read here la...

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/40591-ku-li-says-umno-reforms-not-good-enough

Anonymous said...

New? with kj and ali rustam still at the top? old car, new paint, same old engine. Anyway, just prove us wrong.

SS Ess

Anonymous said...

UMNO should allow ALL party members to vote. I am sure more people will then join the party, just to vote and to make their voices heard. This will ultimately force all political parties in the country to follow suit. All these while only a handful of people control political parties, and they in turn control the rakyat. I like the US system, where common people can vote in presidential primaries.

Windtalker

Anonymous said...

Nuraina,

May I ask you why, after Dato Seri Najib's speech at the UMNO Gen Assembly, NST publish the column questioning the continuation of Malay special rights?

Who is this Zubaidah Abu Bakar any way? Does she actually know the feelings of the vast maority of the Malays, the silent majority? In the kampungs, among the low income Malays in urban areas?

Has she not benefited from the NEP? Does she not want future generations of Malays to also taste the benefit? What guarantee has she that the Malays would have a level playing field? Only 19% is achieved of the 30% target. And 30 years when 30% was supposed to be in 20 years. And only corporate wealth, not counting other forms of wealth.

What about the fact that the Special Rights were in exchange for non-Malay citizenship? If the non-Malay right to citizenship is permanent, why can't the Malay rights also be permanent?

Pseuodo-liberalism? Arrogance? A Malay apologist?

Isa.

Anonymous said...

Nuraina,

What change are these idiots talking about ?

Just 2 weeks ago a highly corrupted candidate was put to hoodwink all.

Then the PM says it in Paris that the offence is just a technical issue.I am sure you too heard it in person and you will hear more of such nonsense in your many more free rides.

Then today he says everything contradictory and has the gall to say that changes in UMNO is happening.

I always ensure during the UMNO assembly,my tv is kept on without any interruptions.
I laugh out loud and always rush to the wash basin to puke after hearing the poetic garbage that comes in many slangs.

BR
RastamanJB

Anonymous said...

To stay competitive in any race, It's worth having switching to other model or a brand new machine unless the competitor is also riding the old machine.

In political context, both rivals are still using the 1957 engines. After slight modification and touching the body up here and there, both of them are now eager to start afresh.

This is not about the car parade but a racing competition. The winner would still very much depends on the status and reliability of the old engines.

APOLITIKAL

prufrock said...

Why do I get this feeling that it will be the same old product in new packaging?

Ronz said...

The UMNO amendment to allow 140,000+ members to vote directly will only work positively IF UMNO is led by 1 strong leader, fully supported & admired by the rest.

Else, just like MCA now (where many feel they should be the leader), it will lead to chaos and disunity. There will be several factions forever fighting each other. And the party will be the ultimate loser !

Imagine if this amendment was passed during ex-PM Badawi's time. What do you think will be the consequences for UMNO now ?

History has proven that when there is no strong leader, members of any party will engage in too much political infighting and they will lose the support of the public.

amoker said...

cheap talk. The real power is the election committee. LIke the 1 Malaysia, the reform is of form and not substance. Somebody should have a poll and see the rakyat's perception.

Anonymous said...

Dont expect much changes with the old guys around.
Old habbit dies hard and Why shud one give up the good life he is enjoying all this while ?

By the way I am not the one to buy their promises.I would prefer to put my money on something Sweet and Innocent.

Anonymous said...

I really hope for UMNO's future, Najib and his party can change swiftly for the better. However, rakyat will only believed if all corrupted leaders are no longer around especially Khir Toyo. He must go! He just has too much baggage. BN will never regain Selangor with him around.

Namza

Anonymous said...

The Malay Nostrildumness has finally laid out the FACT THAT FIGURES: This is the rock bottom, Underlining, Bottomline scenario, UMNO today is facing, unlike ever before. Can Najib overcome this one? There is a new challenge, that tunku, tun razak, tun husin, mahathir, had never come across before. This is the first time, in the history of Malaysia, that UMNO is facing a unique scenario where MALAYS are no longer a MAJORITY!!! Yahoo and hooray for those who have agendas to suit this situation, and gloom and damned indeed, for those who does not wants this to happen. Why is MALAY not majority? This coming PRU13, is the first time, in history, that the 55% Malays are broken into 15% package of Minorities. Malays are broken to Melayu UMNO, Melayu Anwar & PKR, dan Melayu PAS. Can PAS unite with UMNO? Not possible, because, PAS terpecah kepada 4 bahagian. Dalam PAS, ada 4 jenis melayu. PAS yang mati mati PRO UMNO led by Hadi, PAS yang mati mati Pro ANwar led by Nik Ajiz, PAS yang Purist (menolak both umno dan anwar), and last but not least, a new branch of PAS, thanks to Ahmadinejad & Tehran Revolutionary Guard's latest international penetration campaigns and generous sponsorships, is the PAS Syiah. Kalau Non Malays nak takeover the reign, TAKE IT NOW!! this is the golden opportunity!! Grand Sale!!! MIC, PPP,MCA, Gerakan, can maintain membership of BN, continue the Wayang, and when the time comes, safely vote PKR or DAP. While UMNO and Malays are disintegrating, its time for the rest to integrates and consolidates. Wayang can continue. MCA & MIC, the people, will lose nothing, and wins almost everything! everything important like to do-away Islam, and malay "special rights" (set a new playing fields, can be realized NOW. When these two are gone, naturally the sultans will fade away as well. Ada lah satu dua dozen MIC MCA Gerakan yang loyal to BN, tetapi yang lain, just wayang. Until the time comes. This is hardly a prediction. It was the case in the last PRU12, and will be closured by PRU13. However, my dear non malay friends, let me remind you the realities: look at the list of richest men & women in malaysia? siapa? the real contractors, vendors, shopkeepers, and suppliers yang menang dalam systems yang outwardly protecting Bumiputera, siapa? which government in the world subsidize churches, temples and tok kongs, and supports vernacular schools? you guys will be the first to lose, if the current systems and equilibrium breaks.....

tony chew said...

UMNO change ? I am not holding my breadth....not in another two or three decades, at least.

Anonymous said...

Kak can a leopard change its spots.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 11.36 am,

Your mind is as clouded and unclear as your one bloody long paragraph of banging on the keyboard without thinking, analysing and composing your thoughts. You are as rude and disruptive as the incorrigible goons of Pakatan Rakyat as exemplified by the racist DAP and the misled, DAP-exploited PAS. Sad specimen of one who wants to put out so many views, so many points in an unarranged, jumbled up, mumbo jumbo.

Nevertheless you must not be allowed to trample on fields where others carefully tread. You must be told of the nonsense you are trying to put out and warned of the dire consequences that may befall you.

You clearly want to split the Malays. You talked about "This is the first time, in the history of Malaysia, that UMNO is facing a unique scenario where MALAYS are no longer a MAJORITY!" You pull out figures perhaps from your Anwarised arse, saying the Malays are 55% of the population. You imply that the Malays are dwindling in numbers, that the others are increasing year by year. You are not even aware that Chinese leaders in recent years have been complaining of a lower birth rate among them, of increasing migration of the disloyal ones, of widely promoted 3-months-sure-birth conception pills, etc.

You belong to the divisive, anarchistic group of anti-nationals when you say, "when the time comes, safely vote PKR or DAP. While UMNO and Malays are disintegrating". But you become seditious and subversive when you say, "MCA & MIC, the people, will lose nothing, and wins almost everything! everything important like to do-away Islam, and malay "special rights" (set a new playing fields, can be realized NOW. When these two are gone, naturally the sultans will fade away as well."

You are utterly rude, irresponsible, insulting and seditious to the Malays and demeaning to the institution of Malay Rulers. I detest very strongly this behaviour of yours. You are blatantly encroaching Article 153 of the Constitution pertaining to the Special Position of the Malays and the provision regarding the status of the Malay Rulers in this country. I urge the authorities to haul you in under ISA and put you in the Kamunting Detention Centre until you show remorse, repent and prove that you uphold those Articles of the Constitution that are sacred to the Malays.

It may be some time before they trace you and haul you in. But consider yourself warned.

nono.

Anonymous said...

No ones seem to have easy passage nowadays, in fact Pas, PKR and DAP are still struggling to achieve their first goal. At least UMNO had proven that they were able to score not once but many times.

Fence Sitter

Unknown said...

Good..let's do it state by state..let's start with Kelantan..

Anonymous said...

Nuraina,

You said, "Now. the hard part. Convincing the rakyat."

Indeed it's the hard part. And we need the help of the mass media like the NST, headed by you as the Managing Editor.

I like to think you feel strongly for the Malays. We are the trodden race since British colonial times, an aggrieved party despite this being our own country. The British deemed us good only for agriculture, Pak Tani, tanam padi. They didn't bother to teach or encourage us in business, built schools in the kampongs only far in between, more than 10 miles apart, and only at the primary level. Whereas they built ample schools and up to secondary level in the towns.

We were left far behind economically and educationally and have been trying hard, despite an acute lack of experience in business, under the New Economic Policy. You need to help by not printing the pseudo-liberal, Malay apologist or sombong bongkak views of writers like Zubaidah Abu Bakar who questioned the extension of the NEP.

Tun Dr Mahathir has written in Chedet.com about the Social Contract and spoken for the NEP extension. Bernama quoted Dato Seri Najib saying at the UMNO Gen Assmebly, “Aid for the Malays will continue as on the whole they are still seen as being left behind and need help.” The Prime Minister said even if there were chest-thumpers who say they do not need support, the reality was that there were many others who needed government aid."

You allowing writers or columnists expressing adverse NEP views would embolden the opposition to be more flagarant than they already are in questioning the NEP as a whole. No doubt, there’s freedom of expression. But there’s also the matter of helping the Malays catch up economically and educationally. You can play a big role in “convincing the rakyat” to accept policies on “aid for the Malays”. And the average Malay expects you to do so.

This comment is not intended to be anything more than a request for help. I hope you will respond accordingly.

Abu.

Lee said...

Yep, convincing the raayat is indeed the hard part.In 1Malaysia there are three categories of citizens :first class citizens are the UMNO members and cronies; second class citizens are the average Malaysians of all races who are not members of UMNO; third class citizens are the marginalized....the real indigenuous peoples ( Sakais, Jakuns, Kadazans,Dayaks etc ) and the poor and downtroddens.Try convincing the rayaat otherwise!Tought damn tought lah!

prufrock said...

Dear nono,
Some Malays wear their hearts on their sleeves. Others choose to do otherwise. I suspect Anonymous 11.36 am is a Malay of the latter variety. If one cares to read and re-read his/her posting, one cannot help but feel the cynicism and the sarcasm [resulting from sheer frustration at the goings-on of the fractious Malay political groups (?)] being spewed out towards the partners of the political party providing the lynch pin for this country's federal government. Neither could one miss the angst within him/her and the despondency at having to bear the slow but tragic breaking up of his people's political strength into four diluted political sub-groups. No?

Then again, I may be wrong. what do I know about the Anglo-Saxon tongue?

Anonymous said...

Dear prufrock,

I appreciate your comment and it appears sincere.

But why did Anon 11.36 am write the way he did? If he disagrees with the goings-on among the Malays, why can't he come out forthright with it, instead of saying in was-it-philosophical ways? Who was he aiming at - the intellectuals? How many of those UMNO, PAS, PKR people, or Malays in general, are intellectuals?

If he "wears" his heart inside his chest, why not be frank? Then the Malays might learn something from what he says. And why must people have to read and re-read the posting, why the cynicism and the sarcasm when "the others" don't use such methods, instead be as direct and demanding as they can, get listened to and given what they want from citizenship right, easy issue of such certificates, vernacular schools, to 10% places in MRSMs, etc.

I was going to give you/ him some benefit of the doubt but I can't get over the way he brought up the Malay special rights and the Malay rulers. I don't think it's a matter of the Anglo-Saxon tongue but even the idea of writing one full page in one paragraph is repulsive and reflects the man's thinking or lack thereof.

nono.

Anonymous said...

Tapi ye la Anon 11.36am, saya tau apa yang anda nak sampaikan. Kita seperti hampa kan?

Tapi, jangan bimbang. Saya yakin lapisan rakyat Malaysia secara am, sudah matang dan tidak akan memperjudikan peace and harmoni yang kita nikmati sekarang ini.

The challenge for UMNO now is to go to everyone di setiap lapisan masyarakat, and explain, like we did sewaktu hendak merdeka dulu. Semangat berjuang yang ikhlas, sukarelawan, dan being persistent of course.

UMNO must begin this approach now, bukan tunggu apabila sudah dekat pilihanraya nanti.Saya yakin UMNO sekarang, boleh menangani keadaan.

Ramai yang dapat merasakan bahang keadaan seperti yang anda luahkan, dan memang benar kita bimbang sekiranya tiada solusi yang kukuh.

Saya yakin, sekiranya UMNO menggunakan kempen berjumpa rakyat berbilang kaum, kampung ke kampung, house to house, semua lapisan, berbasikal, like in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, we can turn around the situation.

Malaysians are reasonable and level headed lots in general.

Of course, janganlah berkempen di kampung kampung menaiki porche cayenne, atau ferari, atau menunjuk nunjuk jam tangan patek phillipe, frank mueller yang berpuluh ribu.

Orang orang macam ini, janganlah dibenarkan berkempen dikampung kampung.

Towards "Satu Malaysia", "Satu Sekolah", "Dont Fix Whats Not Broken", and, "It is better to deal with the devil you know, than an angel you dont know..".

cheers....