AS an ordinary citizen, I am utterly baffled by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad’s behaviour of late.

Even though he left Umno of his own volition, he continues to meddle in the affairs of the party.

Then he has the audacity to ask Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi not to interfere with his successor Datuk Seri Najib Razak in running the party and the government after he steps down in March next year.

Of course, Dr Mahathir only advises others; he himself has never practices what he preaches.

Indeed it was during his administration that the most popular cliche cakap tak serupa bikin was cited, and it was freely and cynically used by everyone.

Today, Umno is in a state of flux following the March 8 general election. People within Umno are talking of the need for change, a re-branding of sorts to ensure that Umno continues to be relevant to Malaysian needs.

But what Umno members have failed to ask is, who really was responsible for making and shaping Umno to what it is now?

This is a very pertinent question. The three million-plus Umno members must answer that question because only they know the answer and are the only ones who can bring change to Umno.

Umno just could not have been turned overnight or within a span of a few years to become what it is today, or what it’s perceived to be by the people and voters.

Umno was shaped to its present state over two decades.

Who was responsible for nurturing and developing the “patronage-driven party culture” in Umno that is characterised by corruption, nepotism and cronyism, and has led to its rejection by people in the last general election?

The Umno leadership must come clean on this. If this has been the work of an individual or people in the past, and if they are still around and politically active, then they must be removed from the system.

Or else any form of re-engineering or re-branding will be an exercise in futility because Umno will only change in form but not in substance.

Unless the “patronage-driven culture” is abandoned in a resolute manner, the chances of carrying out the various programmes of reform already initiated by the government will also be stunted or stifled just like the reforms to the judiciary, the fight against corruption and the need for increased transparency and accountability.

Such programmes run counter to the “patronage-driven culture”.

In fact, it has already dawned upon a large segment of the population that the main obstacle in the implementation of these various reforms has been the pressure exerted by those who are direct beneficiaries of the “patronage-driven culture system”.

They believed that their vested interests would be threatened when these reforms uncover the truth or leads to the opening of a Pandora’s Box, especially if there had been abuse of power and corrupt practices.

The time has now come for the Umno leadership to resist such pressures and bring the party back to its original path and mission to regain the support of the people.

Noramtaz Abdullah

Source: NST – October 15, 2008