Tug-of-war in Umno
Party leaders and delegates split on reform
But it was really a call for more free gifts. Mazlina said that the government must ensure Umno loyalists are given positions in government-linked companies (GLCs). The day before, Penang representative Musa Sheikh Fadzir echoed this, saying that Umno division chiefs should be appointed to GLCs.
By Zedeck Siew, The Nut Graph
IF the Umno general assembly debates of the past two days are any indication, there is a grave disconnect between what the party leadership is publicly indicating change to be, and what the party grassroots themselves feel.
Talking to the press this afternoon, newly-minted Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin continued the talk of reform he espoused before party polls.
"We want to address all the pertinent issues post-2008 general elections to meet the demands of a multiracial society," Muhyiddin said. And, since Muhyiddin will also be deputy prime minister, his talk about Umno's need to reclaim "political and psychological ground" may be extended to encompass the entire Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Since the 12th general election, the BN's stranglehold on Malaysian politics has waned considerably.
Implicit in this admission of renewal is an acknowledgement of the party's need to shift towards a more centrist position in the Malaysian discourse, and ability to practice a more inclusive brand of politics. This would mean a consolidation of the BN coalition, which party leaders such as Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin now admit is in shambles.
