Is UMNO Over?

In a highly critical (free, not fee) article in the March 2009 issue of Far Eastern Economic Review, Barry Wain, former editor of The Wall Street Journal Asia, seems to argue, no, but maybe it should be. He doesn't say this explicitly but that's how it sounds to me in his long article on Najib Razak's impending succession, through UMNO, as Malaysia's next Prime Minister. As I read it, I thought, like father (former PM Abdul Razak) like son. All the same behind-the-scenes power plays and dirty tricks through UMNO political secretaries. All the same fleeting gestures of tolerance to non-Malays while wielding the iron first in practice.

UMNO logo

The difference now is that UMNO in Tun Abdul Razak's time held overwhelming parliamentary control through UMNO, abetted later by the new Barisan Nasional coalition which replaced the original Alliance. But in the 2008 elections, the Barisan nearly lost power. Too, Tun Razak proved not adverse to invoking a state of emergency and widely abusing the ISA (Internal Security Act). The ISA is still with us, but in 1969 many (not including me) believed it necessary and arrests made under it justified. Now, the ISA is widely reviled and most Malaysians understand it is just a tool to repress any democratic opposition posing a threat to UMNO rule. Last, unlike the bad old days in which there was no obvious Malay politician who could hold the country together in an opposition coalition, in Anwar Ibrahim with his PKR, there is. And there is even the unacknowledged possibility, that Lim Kit Siang from DAP could become Deputy Prime Minister. While some may say, dream on, a new Pakatan government led by these two figures is now UMNO's nightmare, all the more so since the Barisan's many non-UMNO political party partners are, for all practical purposes, dead in the water.

Maybe ISA lightning and thunder are in the offing once again.

Background:
Far Eastern Economic Review
Wikipedia entry Politics of Malaysia
Wikipedia entry Malaysia General Election 2008
Anwar Ibrahim's blog
Lim Kit Siang's blog