Horatio: He waxes desperate with imagination.
Marcellus: Let’s follow. ‘Tis not fit thus to obey him.
Horatio: Have after. To what issue will this come?
Marcellus: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Horatio: Heaven will direct it.
Marcellus: Nay, let’s follow him. [Exeunt.]
– Hamlet Act 1, scene 4, 87–91
Who remembers that minor character Marcellus, and not Hamlet, was the one who uttered the dialogue in Shakespeare’s play, ‘Hamlet’? Yes, all is not well in the state of Denmark. And back home, all is not well in Umno.
Yes, something is rotten in Umno, and the leaders and members want to make sure the smell doesn’t get stuck to them. Or is it really so?
Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos, who used to be a staunch supporter of the current Umno president, is now withdrawing his support. He has also called on Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to bow out or go on leave.
When it was in power Umno gave Jamal wide latitude to do all sorts of stunts. No one dared to touch the notorious Red Shirt leader. Everything seems to be at his whims and fancies.
What is the future of Umno? The answers to its future lies in part on what is in store for the next few months or even weeks. Based on the current development that befalls Umno, its future seems to be almost as good as sealed.
Umno is running like a headless chicken, rudderless and directionless. It’s not difficult to comprehend how Umno – synonymous with corruption and racism – could repair its sinking ship, let alone return to its port of call.
Umno is facing a losing battle to snatch back its lost power in the foreseeable future – not with a stronger PH party – after many of its representatives jumped ship last week.
In New York at the end of last September, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mahathir has predicted that Umno will collapse, saying that there is no future for the party.
Will his prediction come true? Does Dr Mahathir have a crystal ball to read the faith and future of the party he once championed?
“Umno is fragmented now, it is going to collapse. There is no future for Umno anymore because the people detest it. That is why they supported the opposition so strongly (in the recent general elections),” the Pakatan Harapan chairman was quoted as having said.
In fact a book, ‘The End of Umno?’, edited by Bridget Welsh hit the book stores in Malaysia before GE14. The predictions in the book turned out to be true.
Umno remained the largest party in Parliament with 54 MPs despite its loss in 14GE.
Post-GE14, Umno leaders were still hopeful that they can reform, reinvent and rejuvenate the party after Datuk Seri Najib Razak stepped down as party president, but that seems almost impossible now.
Umno’s fate drastically changed overnight when five out of six MPs and nine out of 10 members of Sabah State Legislative Assembly jumped ship last Wednesday. Six more MPs in Malaya followed suit.
Umno is now left with 38 MPs after that exodus, and Zahid is blamed for failing to provide direction to the once backbone party of Barisan Nasional (BN) that was in power for 61 years. There have been calls for the Umno president to step down.
With more defections expected to happen in the coming weeks or months, is there still light at the end of the tunnel for Umno? Or is it going to face a natural death?
Like it or not, Umno is facing real politics and real challenges at the moment. It is now at a defining moment and crossroads.
The most powerful party during its heyday, Umno is now a pale shadow of its former self – a lame duck and in no time will become a mosquito party.
There is a German proverb that expresses the essence of what’s going on in Umno now – rats desert a sinking ship.
And American theorist Buckminster Fuller rightly said it in an axiom: “People never leave a sinking ship until they see the lights of another ship approaching.”
Light is now coming from two new ships – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Bersatu. Whether these are deceiving lights or lights that will guide them to the correct path, has yet to been seen.
Why the sudden surge in the number of resignations from Umno? Is it something to do with a proxy fight between Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the party as claimed by certain quarters?
One faction supports Dr Mahathir to continue as prime minister and the other faction wants Anwar to move up.
Anwar, however, said the exodus was an attempt by certain quarters to drive a wedge between him and Dr Mahathir.
Anwar reiterated in a statement that he would continue to work with the prime minister to pursue the reform agenda agreed to earlier by Pakatan Harapan.
But with the on-going intrigue and conspiracy theories, is Umno going to survive?
Voters and the rakyat in general need credible choices for democracy to work. To be credible, Umno must be led by credible leaders.
Umno must be progressive and dynamic without forgetting its roots and original struggle. Otherwise, Umno can kiss goodbye to Malaysian politics.
• Associate Professor
Dr Jeniri Amir is a lecturer
and political analyst at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
