UMNO Juara Rakyat-2

Last week I spoke with a former deputy chief minister. I asked him, did he go to the big do in Hulu Selangor, where the PM launched the UMNO Juara Rakyat? He said he did. So I asked him, how large was the fleet of vehicles used to transport the faithful? He let out a guffaw and I laughed together.

I saw the faces of the various MBs on TV at the bash and I deduced they have asked divisional heads to send in contingents. They provided transport and maybe some travel allowance. Makan sikit. Minum sikit. But please- no dangdut. Itu sendirian berhad.

You see, when we see a large crowd at UMNO gatherings, we are not so confident their presence is voluntary or paid for. The normal thing to do is to ask the various state heads who will ask the various division heads to arrange for transport. I am not saying this is a wrong thing to do, some of the venues are far away and party supporters need to be transported. Where we have problem is to ascertain, the spirit of voluntariness.

Let us put forth an argument. See whether this makes sense or not. Let's use an argument a fortiori. Let me illustrate.

Several years ago, the political scientist Robert Putnam wrote a now-famous essay called "Bowling Alone." In the essay, he pointed out that, in general, Americans today seem to participate in far fewer civic associations—bowling leagues, Rotary Clubs, PTA, and other voluntary groups—than they did decades ago.

He supported this observation with statistics on membership in such groups over time. That fact on its own was not terribly interesting, of course, but the broader point Putnam was trying to make was essentially an a fortiori argument. He held that if Americans did not participate in community-based associations (groups which clearly affected their daily lives and could potentially make their local communities better places to live), then they were certainly not likely to participate at the national level where events did not affect them directly—such as voting in national elections or having strong views on national politics or foreign policy. That is an argument a fortiori.

Now, apply these observations on UMNO members. If UMNO members did not participate in UMNO activities voluntarily, then it would be very safe for us to infer they will not likely to participate in events that do not affect them directly such as voting for UMNO in national elections. How many times have we heard UMNO people say, whether we vote or don't vote, we remain like this too.

Have the UMNO leadership apply their thinking on this fundamental issue? The erosion of the spirit of voluntarism?