From P Ramasamy
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh cannot have the best of both worlds.
He cannot claim the Madani government might remain intact and, at the same time, insist the party should leave the ruling coalition to embrace PAS in Muafakat Nasional (MN).
He seems to give the impression that Umno Youth’s position on leaving the government and aligning with PAS is endorsed by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.
However, if Umno Youth can go so far as to suggest that the party leave the government to align with PAS, it cannot be just an independent position of the youth wing.
Surely, even if Zahid is not endorsing the idea of departure, there must be a certain degree of support among some Umno leaders and grassroots members.
As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire.
Umno and DAP might be in the same ruling coalition – they might share a bed but do not touch each other.
The camouflaged differences between Umno and the DAP were brought to the fore over the latter’s rejoicing at the court’s denial of house arrest for former prime minister Najib Razak.
The unkind and inappropriate response of some DAP leaders to Najib’s denial of house arrest could not be taken lightly by Umno.
I am not sure whether this was the matter that finally broke the camel’s back regarding the possible departure of Umno from the ruling coalition.
It is obvious and expected that Umno Youth, and in particular Akmal, has taken the lead in pushing for Umno to leave the coalition.
In any case, the possible departure has been framed as something Umno must do in the larger interest of race and religion.
The thinking is that if Umno can reconcile with PAS in the MN, then there is a possibility that Malay-Muslim unity could be secured.
However, it is still unclear whether PAS views MN the same way as Umno does.
PAS has national aspirations, and with Bersatu relinquishing some positions in the PN opposition coalition, there is speculation in some circles within PAS that Umno could fill this vacuum.
Nothing is certain about Umno and PAS re-establishing ties once again in the MN.
Putting aside the rhetoric of politics, PAS is a political party that wants a taste of federal power.
If Umno joins MN, there is no way it could assert itself as the dominant force. The days of its past glory have virtually disappeared; it is now PAS calling the shots.
Umno’s gradual decline in the country’s political landscape is no different from the decline of other political parties that fought for independence in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Taiwan, and others.
Umno is very much a victim of its own success over the past few decades since independence.
It would be nearly impossible to resurrect Umno under the changed and challenging political and social circumstances.
Umno Youth is merely trying to delay history to some extent.
It is like the proverbial candle that burns brightest before eventually burning out.
P Ramasamy is the chairman of Urimai.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
