14 August 2010

Am I an UMNO member?

Quite a number of my readers are openly asking me whether I am an UMNO member or a member of any party outside BN. They are quite irritated by my opinion that UMNO is the best party to play an opposition role both in the state and Federal Legislatives.

Before going further I wish to impress everyone that I have been a member of the party since 1970 a lot longer than many who talk about UMNO more than even the party stalwarts who have left us decades ago.

I never attempted to rise in the party as I was and still vocal about many issues and I never participate in ‘personal politicking’ for self interest. Some say I am silly, a member who was active but I gained nothing out of my active participation in UMNO since then until the year 2001.

I never regretted being what I am and I don’t have the appetite to amuse leaders and I don’t have any apprehension of saying what I feel should be said. I used to bein the Divisional Committee for more than 2 decades and to some I was among the few casualties and did not have the privilege of securing personal gains. Most leaders didn't feel comfortable with me because of my independent mind which is not acceptable in UMNO culture. Saying right things are forbidden at times.

I could take it as I am leading a simple live, which many can’t do. I don’t crave for big houses and big cars and I don’t have the urge to have 2 or 3 young and beautiful wives as I don’t have the money and the look for those interests to develop in me. Some say that I ‘takut bini’ but that is not true at all. It’s just that my ‘bini selalu menakut-nakutkan aku’.

I chose just to share the feeling of successes of UMNO and live within the border of a civil nation like ours. I enjoyed fully witnessing the successes of UMNO fighting for Malay survival in particular fighting for Malay participation in commerce and industry and putting up unending effort to increase Malay participation in management teams of big corporations and multinationals.

I was joyful witnessing that Malay wealth including that was in custody of government agencies shot up from 2.7 percent in 1970 to 18.4 percent in 1984. That figure was mentioned in almost every Divisional Committee meeting those days by economic bureau and that is already an ancient history. No UMNO leaders talk about Malay equity any longer as they are more concerned about their own gains and greed.

In the early 70s I was among the inconsequential figures moving around at young age to big corporations to importune the companies to employ Malay executives in commerce and industry, and that of course was part of the organic moves by the UMNO youth under the stewardship of Dato Harun Idris.

That was the period when many big public companies owned by the non Malays and foreigners initiated ‘management trainee’ programs to bring in equitable number of Malay professionals and semi professionals to fill in their management teams.

Through the comments that I had gathered through this blog I am too certain that what I am saying now is Greek if not French to them. Many may think that I am speaking different language.

In those days the youth were on the field doing practical exercise in getting as many Malays as possible to be in the middle management level in big public companies and corporations. Youth of those days didn’t deliver high charged speeches and kissed the ‘kris’ but worked practically with organic result. Youths of today are more of sycophants to leaders to trade for personal positions and glory.

As a young member I enjoyed witnessing everybody in the party had strong appetite to ceaselessly fight for the race with too little number among them struggled for personal gain and greed.

I myself spent years and years working with nominal pay packet combing every JKKK in the country to educate the people on the ground on any big government projects that had everything to do with them. The idea was to ensure that every government move was understood by the ordinary public and jotting down their grievances if there was any.

By doing so the people felt that they were part of decision making of the government. So the people were at all cost stood behind the party and government as they felt that they were part of the government decision making and took accountability together with what the party and the government decided to implement.

I am still a member but I missed the past glories. I admit the fact that past is past but my anticipation that the magnificence to follow through is not happening and that make people like me exceedingly disenchanted.

UMNO members of today do not have the spirit of party any longer and bear in mind that a body without spirit is nothing more and nothing less a corpse. A corpse deserves a ceremonious funeral.

BUT can we find a few who can do the restoration job for the party? I don’t know who and where they are but if every member cares to do the search I am sure we can find one or two at least.

With that hope in me, I still stick as a member of this sickly party. I think I shall be the last to desert the party if it’s forsaken by the people. Experience tells that the current individuals who talk big about their love for UMNO will be the first to raise the white flag if UMNO looses all the votes from the people in the coming GE. They will be the ones who would bark at UMNO if that situation arises.

They will also be the first to hoist the PR flags if that coalition wins the general election. When Mahathir felt that he would loose if he were to go for another round of party election as instructed by Harun Hashim's court, he disbanded UMNO and set up another party called UMNO baru. I have been trying to forget this dark incidence but to no avail until to this second.

That's how much my love for UMNO and I despise anyone questioning my loyalty to the spirit of UMNO. Many around us are just having the physics of UMNO but I own the soul and its spirit.

Personally I have gone through this kind of mill ever since joining this party in 1970, and joining a new party without its soul called New UMNO in 1997. With that lengthy experience I understand the UMNO behavioral character of most UMNO members and its leaders.

Allow me to quote a Malay proverb, ‘rasa-rasanya saya sudah boleh menyelam air didalam tunggak’. That’s how much my understanding of UMNO members and their basic behavioral attributes.

23 comments:

Abdillah said...

Good piece bro.

Abdillah

Anonymous said...

UMNO dari sehari ke sehari hidup segan, mati tak mahu.

Rahim

Wan Zamzuri Wan Hasenan said...

UMNO is the continuation of the great Malay Empires such as Sriwijaya, Majapahit,Malaccan Sultanate, Johor Riau Pahang Linggi...3.1 million UMNO members, 1.2 million civil servants, 400,000 teachers, 200,000 lecturers, 40 parliaments seat in Felda settlers, 75% of the total 222 parliaments seat are in rural areas. Do not underestimate UMNO strength. When everybody whatever their ranks in UMNO be it PM, DPM, CM, MB, high, middle and lower ranks think they will lose power HENCE they will fight with quality, all out to prove critics wrong at a decisive battle GE 13! History always tell us...when enemy think UMNO will sinks, UMNO will rises again to occasion. "3.1 million members can't be simply just wipe out...let the Pakatan Rakyat be arrogant.

Anonymous said...

Bravo bro Aspan, you are the real UMNO member. I am just in your position. Thanks for reminding everybody.

Paper lama

Anonymous said...

WZWH, it's soothing to hear your lines of confidence. But in the last election there were more than 1.5 million UMNO members crossing over by voting opposition parties.

sulaiman akhlakan.

zainal hashim said...

WZWH,

Yr simplicity of thinking makes UMNO arrogant. Big numbers is like a man with big body, but with lots of terminal diseases contracting him.

May God bless you bro.

zainal hashim

mahaza said...

Some say that I ‘takut bini’ but that is not true at all. It’s just that my ‘bini selalu menakut-nakutkan aku'

ha ha ha good one.

Saya mula menjauh dari UMNO dan meninggalkan parti apabila semasa mesyuarat cawangan ada AJK bertanya - 'what can we gain?' which contradic to my belief that we shud serve not to gain.
1998 just gave me a better reason not to.

Anonymous said...

Salam WZWH

Probably you do not understand what Aspan is trying to say. Your whole statement reeks of arrogance.
Budaya Melayu 'classical' itu penuh dengan kelembutan, kesenian dan tawadduk rendah diri. Kenapa orang Melayu semakin menjauhkan diri dari UMNO? Jawapannya kerana di dalam UMNO itu tiada lagi jiwa melayu klasik. Yang ada cuma jiwa yang militan, jiwa yang akan melenting bila sedikit dicubit, jiwa yang bernafsu buas untuk menindas dan yang sangat parah jiwa yang tamak haloba.

Farhan said...

Dikampung saya di kedah, JKKK umno mengugut orang-orang susah dan ibu tunggal mereka akan menarik balik bantuan yang diberi dulu jika pergi mengadu hal dengan ketua kampung pas.

Kalau macam nilah cara Umno nak kekalkan sokongan (nota:bukan menambah tapi kekalkan) alamat hancurlah UMNO pada GE akan datang.

Anonymous said...

Even if you are still an UMNO member, I believe your spirit are not.

I hope you can join PKR or PAS as I feel you are a liability to UMNO if you are still an UMNO member.

Good riddance! Please fight for PAS or PKR like the way you fight when you were in the defunct Semangat 46 party.

Anonymous said...

Dear Aspan,

As 'orang lama', I respect your connection with the 'real' UMNO. But, at that time 'UMNO lama' was lead by Tengku Razaleigh - No better than Tun M.

Even if I were in your position, I will still go for the leader than the memories. 'UMNO lama' may have been a good platform before 1987, but if Ku Li was the president, believe me we can't be any better.


And the reason Tun M create new UMNO is because people from 'UMNO lama' who had brought the case to court. It will take some time to resolve things in court and BN can't afford to have that vacancy should the case prolonged.

If I were Tun M, it's easier to create new party and straight away fill the gap.

In this case, do you think that the one who joined new UMNO was less patriotic? If that's the case, then the 'old UMNO' should have gained better momentum by now.

If old UMNO was lead by other than Ku Li, I might say that we share the same sentiment.

-malaymind-

danial said...

Bro Aspan,
I appreciate your stand and I think you have the cut of a leader because you don't respond to commentators without arguments.

Do not entertain commentators with emotional kind as they are respond based on emotion.

They are unable to counter your writing hence they become emotional bro.

You see, that's the problem with UMNO supporters. They don't have the soul of UMNO.

They don't know why they are in UMNO.

Anonymous said...

Aspan,

Aku gelak terbahak-bahak melihat commentator pro UMNO berdebat. Bila mereka terdesak mereka marah-marah dan kalau boleh tengok muka mereka pastinya merah.

Macamlahlah mereka tahu sangat pasal UMNO. Bila argue tak baca fakta pula. Semua orang tahu sengor sekarang mendapat lebih banyak royalti pasir, dia orang kata BN dulu lebih banyak.

Inilah rupanya penyokong UMNO. Kekadang kesian juga bila memerhatikan gelagat mereka...macam beruk dapat belacan.

Org becakap pasal UMNO dia nak cakap. Org betul dia tak betul.

Nampak sangat UMNO tu dah nak bungkus. Senenarnya itulah hakikat.

Saki baki penyokong UMNO ini nampak garang. Otak mereka sama-sama kita tahu..tst.

majid, lenggeng

diham said...

agreed

diham said...

i said...agreed to mr Aspan..and to everyone who support him..weldone..

Anonymous said...

Mr Aspan,
I am one of the members of DAP. My business partner political affiliation is PAS even though he is not the member of the party.

My partner always say that the next Mlay party to rule in place of UMNO is PAS and the partner will be DAP instead of MCA or Gerakkan.

I think it will be an interesting coalition. God willing it will work well.

Ok Mr Aspan, I am waiting for that nice thing to happen.

All my prayers for the right and smart partnership.

Thank you sir.

Lok

Unknown said...

Problems facing Msia is summed up here: "Singapore is not blessed with natural resources but has a God-sent savior in MM Lee Kuan Yew who weaved his magic wand to steer S'pore to great success. Our 1Msia is blessed with abundant resources & beautiful country but has a Devil-sent destroyer in Evil Mahathir who weaved his keris to steer M'sia into a divided nation filled with hatred and infested with corrupted & evil morons who plundered & bled the country to anarchy & bankruptcy. What a sad tale of two close neighbors who started off the voyage at the same time but reach the destination with contrasting results due to the capability of their respective captains"

Anonymous said...

Kepada saudara Hasan_kedah79 yang memuji sangat LKY dan menggeji TDM, saya syorkan kepada beliau banyak sikitlah membaca.

Google lah "Singapore Eugenics" dan saudara akan cuba tercuba dengan kata-kata LKY seperti berikut.

"Free education and subsidised housing lead to a situation where the less economically productive people in the community are reproducing themselves at rates higher than the rest. This will increase the total population of less productive people. Our problem is how to devise a system of disincentives, so that the irresponsible, the social delinquents, do not believe that all they have to do is to produce their children and the government then owes them and their children sufficient food, medicine, housing, education and jobs...We must encourage those who earn less than $200 per month and cannot afford to nurture and educate many children never to have more than two. We will regret the time lost if we do not now take the first tentative steps towards correcting a trend which can leave our society with a large number of the physically, intellectually and culturally anaemic.".

Siapa yang dikatakan physically, intellectually and culturally anaemic" kalau bukan bangsa Melayu.

Sedih sangat saya mempunyai pemikiran seorang Melayu seperti saudara, eloklah saudara berhijrah keselatan kalau LKY adalah idola saudara. Saya tahu sebab saya dibesarkan di sana.

Anonymous said...

aku syok dgn komen bini selalu menakut2kan aku. aku terasa macam masalah aku pulak..aku memang tak takut dengan bini cuma bini aku tak takut dengan aku....

Maryam said...

Salam bro,

Keep on, you write with sense. I hope that this country will be a better place to live for our coming generation.

jiwa said...

So blind, so naive and so unsound minded to believe that during BN administration the government of selangor earned more than the current gov.

AND they got the cheek to bash people who are not listening to him/them.

jiwa

schenker78 said...

It seems your UMNO supreme leader and his brother Nazir CIMB has been blacked out completely in utusan malaysia and only in small column in page 2 of berita Harian regarding their speeches in MCA...

Interesting times to come for Rosmah Najib vs. Mudin/Ibrahim Ali and mahathir ???

Unknown said...

Saya buta kulit kerana mengikut ajaran kitab kita sebagai seorang yg betul2 beriman. Emosi tidak ada tempat di hati saya. Yang betul & jujur saya sanjung tinggi. Yang bersih & beramanah saya sokong dgn jiwa saya- tak kira dia cina, melayu, india, semuanya adalah sama disisi Tuhan kita. Tinjau betul2 keadaan Msia sekarang- meleset kian hari kerana seorang pemimpin yg memerintah selama 22 tahun. Itu zaman kegelapan yang dilalui olih negara kita. Hanya Syaitan saja yang bolih dibanding dgn nya dalam tindak-tanduk & fikiran Si Firuan ini.