Inclusiveness gets a rethink as Umno struggles past GE13

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Dec 6, 2013

(TMI) – Despite the billions spent in special allocations from BN Selangor and all the Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia handouts, Selangor voters gave Pakatan 44 state seats, eight more than the 12th general election.

In his speech at the party’s first assembly after the 13th general election, Selangor Umno grass-roots leader Kamaruzzaman Johari summed up the conflicting feelings of his party.

His speech reflected how the party as a whole appears to be clutching at straws as it tries to figure out the way forward as the prime mover of Barisan Nasional (BN) in post-GE13 Malaysia.

“No matter what we did, no matter how much we spent, no matter how many programmes we held, the aid that we gave out, all of that at the end of the day was useless,” said Kamaruzzaman from the Kota Raja Umno division.

Instead of returning the BN and Umno to power in Selangor, Kamaruzzaman said Selangor voters gave the thumbs up to the Pakatan Rakyat to helm the state for one more term.

Despite the billions spent in special allocations from BN Selangor and all the Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia handouts, Selangor voters gave Pakatan 44 state seats, eight more than the 12th general election.

PAS candidates won those eight seats by defeating their Umno opponents.

His frustration was shared by other grassroots delegates from other states who spoke at the assembly.

Despite Umno increasing its share of parliamentary seats in the last election, the party does not seem to be boasting.

Instead, the party’s grassroots appear to be obsessed about the ruling Barisan Nasional’s poor performance in the election.

Unlike Pakatan Rakyat, where the three parties demand an equal standing, Umno has always prided itself as the prime mover of the BN. It sets the tone and narrative of all of the coalition’s parties.

In his speech Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak spent much time talking about how Umno did better than any of three Pakatan parties in terms of parliamentary seats and the popular vote.

He also paid tribute to Sabah and Sarawak Barisan Nasional, which together gave BN 47 seats.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said Najib wanted to stress to grass-roots leaders that the party was still strong and that the country was still on the right track.

“He spent time telling members that Malaysia has received many accolades from international bodies and foreign leaders like (United States President) Barack Obama.

“So the country is not as bad as how the ‘other side’ says it is,” said Abdul Rahman, of Kota Belud Umno, to The Malaysian Insider.

Yet that appeared to be cold comfort for the party’s grassroots who spent a considerable amount of time expressing how they felt the non-Malay community abandoned Umno and BN, despite all the coalition “has done for them”.

More than one delegate used the Malay adage “mencurah air ke daun keladi” (giving aid to those who don’t need it) when describing the BN’s contributions to certain non-Bumiputera communities.