Changing of the Guards, Party Direction and Future.

Party direction and future.

As soon as Dato Najib got his conclusive nomination which makes nomination for others academic, that elicited some interesting remarks.

The race has already started to see who’s tripping over the other to pay homage to Najib. It will be interesting to see the people lining up to kiss the new “Don’s” hand. That will make Sivaji the boss green with envy.

The fist came from his cousin, the present ketua pemuda and a leading contender for the VP post. Hishamudin said, the party must not be split and UMNO must retain its family spirit. Key words there- ‘split’ and ‘family spirit’. One cant help but notice, that Hishamudin’s timely remarks bore a sense of elation. For his cousin and his own political fortunes. Of course, family spirit for Hishamudin is literal- Najib;s is his first cousin, their mothers being sisters.

But these remarks seemed very hollow, if one follows the acrimonious and vituperative salvos and exchanges taking place in the youth race. We have yet to see the vehemence in the scramble for party positions. They will surely come.

There are a few things to analyse from Hishamudin’s remarks. He says, for those of us who has to contest, it is ‘unfortunate’. Does this term belie the business as usual culture in UMNO? And more important, does the use of the term unfortunate, belie the true nature of Hishamudin and his ilk? Which is, being fortunate is identified with being able to get things free without the attendant work, struggle and use of the mass of matter between the ears?

Extend Hisham’s predilection with this term- we assume it is the expression of his subconscious true feeling. Will it mean, that the recipe for progress of the Malays mean nothing else, but rule by fiat? That includes among others, continued reliance on pieces of legislation and decrees that confer and transfer progress onto us. That being products of legal enforcement require nothing from Malays( work and use of brain) except exhibiting those characteristics that conform to the legal definition of what is a Malay. That the person who talks Bahasa Melayu, lives like a Melayu and professes Islam, is entitled as of right, to all that come to other people as a product of deliberate exertions?.

Then, sakmongkol is afraid, with Najib up there even if he as recognises the need for revolutionary changes in the UMNO mindset, he will likely be sabotaged by people, used to having things handed to them on silver platters or by people whose major portion of credibility rests on the fact they are biologically linked to previous leaders. Hishamudin fits the bill nicely, thank you.

Then my friends, all the talk of changing directions and future is just all that.