Umno: Is this the end?

The recent Umno General Assembly has come and gone without much fanfare. The former pomp, grandeur and high-handed posturing that once accompanied the assembly are gone.

In the old days, Umno was invincible, controlling every facet of governance.

The proceedings and opening ceremony were carried live on national television, while a compliant print media lavished coverage on every detail of the General Assembly, from keynote speeches to the kinds and logistics of food served and even the attire of women delegates. Those were the days when Umno was the ruling party and its president was the Prime Minister.

Times have changed, and fortune no longer smiles on Umno, which is now a minority party trying painfully to rejuvenate itself.

Previously, the general assembly was like a great three-ring circus coming to town, generating excitement among the populace. But today, the circus has lost its allure. Its acts are staid, populated by ageing animals and performers without a commanding ringmaster. There are no new acts to attract an audience, only tired routines replayed endlessly.

The reality is that Umno resembles an ageing circus that has seen better days. It recycles old acts and familiar issues that emphasise feudal mentality and entitlement, purveying itself as the custodian of Malay rights, the sanctity of Islam and the sovereignty of the Malay rulers. These are worn-out cliches that Umno has regurgitated for decades.

Umno leaders speak of defending Malay rights and uplifting Malay livelihoods, yet most Malays remain in the B40 group while Umno elites sit comfortably within the T5 category. The elite and privileged classes live like potentates, while ordinary Malays struggle to make ends meet.

Over the years, many Umno leaders have been charged with corruption. Some have been convicted, others face ongoing trials or pending appeals. Yet these same leaders speak loudly about upholding Malay dignity, or maruah, while their own conduct reflects a glaring absence of that very value.

Umno does not need to defend the sovereignty of the Malay rulers. Their position is already protected under the Federal Constitution as constitutional monarchs.

The party now finds itself in a quandary. On one hand, it wants to remain part of the Unity Government to enjoy ministerial posts and political perks. On the other, it adopts the posture and rhetoric of an opposition party.

The recent General Assembly attempted to project an image of the old Umno, when it was the undisputed ruling party. Leaders strutted the stage with swagger, issuing pronouncements as though they were Quranic edicts. Their grand gestures and bravado-laden rhetoric appealed to a sectarian audience, which dutifully applauded the circus-like spectacle before them.

But Umno today resembles an ailing circus, desperately and pathetically trying to reclaim its former glory. The acts are jaded. The trapeze artists have lost their agility. Animal performances have been reduced to little more than aimless parades around the ring. There are no riders balancing on galloping horses, no lion tamers commanding attention. Even the lions no longer roar as they once did.

The ringmaster, too, is no longer the commanding figure who once dictated the pace and rhythm of the circus, and by extension, the broader national spectacle. Instead, it is a pitiful sight to see a once-powerful ringmaster pleading with performers not to abandon the circus that once defined their political family.

It is increasingly unlikely that Umno can regain its former glory of staging performances that awed the audience and lulled the nation into complacency.

In the worst-case scenario, the circus may fold altogether, and its performers fade quietly into oblivion.

The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.