Umno now a patronage machine, says son of Tun Dr Ismail

A worker makes the final touches to a signboard welcoming delegates to the Umno general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre. The son of the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman says Umno is no longer a party of ideas, but a patronage machine for businessmen. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, December 7, 2015.Umno is now a vehicle for people to get rich instead of a platform for political ideas, said former MP Tawfik Ismail, adding that this has destroyed its credibility.

Tawfik, the son of the late Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, who served as deputy prime minister under Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, said Umno must dismantle its patronage machine to regain public trust and be seen as principled.

His comments come ahead of the party general assembly this week, at a time its president, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, seeks to shore up flagging support in the wake of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy.

Tawfik said Umno leaders must draw a line between the party and government machinery for it to ensure the bureaucracy's neutrality in serving all Malaysians fairly.

"(Umno has now become) an unparalleled patronage machine that has Malay nationalism as a veneer," he told The Malaysian Insider in a recent interview.

"Umno and the government have become so fused together, it is impossible to see where the party's responsibilities end and the government's function begins."

Tawfik (pic, left) was the MP for Johor's Sungai Benut constituency, now split into Pontian and Simpang Renggam, from 1986 to 1990.

He said Umno's regression into a patronage machine became more obvious under former president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

During Dr Mahathir’s time, teachers and civil servants, who had made up the bulk of Umno’s grassroots members ever since the party was formed in 1946, were slowly displaced and replaced by businessmen.

This was due to a government circular forbidding certain classes of civil servants from taking part in politics, he said.

Teachers also began disappearing as the influence of wealthy businessmen made them unable to compete.

The loss of the teachers and civil servants meant the party also lost an important moderating force that kept it principled, said Tawfik.

"Teachers are very well respected in a community because they are like your stand-in parents. They supplement parents in imparting values to children.

"When you have businessmen, they bring a different set of values and these will change the party," he said.

"It became more obvious (under Dr Mahathir), when you saw teachers being replaced by businessmen. So a minister who has patronage power can direct contracts and projects to their supporters."

Tawfik said Umno was different when he joined in 1981 as a member of the Larkin branch under the Johor Baru division, an urban branch with a diverse composition.

"During my time, the main strength of Umno in Johor Baru was the membership of teachers and civil servants below Grade A, and the squatter community."

When he moved to Sungai Benut, his members were plantation workers, small Malay businessmen, teachers, retired members of the armed forces, police, smallholders, fishermen, petty traders and the Orang Laut indigenous community.

"It was the presence of teachers, a respected component of Malay society, that made the original Umno a moderate force," said Tawfik.

Below is an excerpt of the interview with The Malaysian Insider:

TMI: How was Umno like during your time? What was the membership profile like? Was it still filled with teachers and civil servants?

Tawfik: During my time, the main strength of Umno in Johor Bahru was the membership of teachers and civil servants below Grade A, and the squatter community.

It was, therefore, diversified, as far as an urban division was concerned. When I moved to Sungai Benut (parliamentary seat), the composition was plantation workers in the Simpang Renggam state seat, some small Malay businessmen, teachers, retired members of the armed forces and police.

In the Benut state seat, there were smallholders, fishermen, petty traders, Orang Laut, and a fairly large Bugis population made up of teachers, retired civil servants and small business owners.

It was the presence of teachers, a respected component of Malay society, that made the original Umno a moderate force.

TMI: There were some academics who wrote how sometime during Dr Mahathir's tenure, Umno started being filled with more businessmen and people who seemed to be interested in the party as a means to furthering their business interests.

It was argued that this fuelled the rise of crony politics. Did you see this happening?

Tawfik: Yes I think the first restrictions were made on the civil servants' eligibility for membership, and their numbers were replaced by businessmen. The teachers by and large were not affected, but the power of money rendered them irrelevant and they were pushed out as delegates.

(Former deputy president) Tun Musa Hitam and his faction were uneasy with the retention of (Gua Musang MP) Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in the Cabinet as it would have meant a repeat of the fight for the deputy president's position. It would have meant an accumulation of funds since it would be expensive to campaign, and allocation of projects in return for loyalty.

All these factors, the appointment of Tun Daim Zainuddin as party treasurer and minister of finance, meant Daim had oversight over all ministries, and the big challenge of 1987 between Razaleigh and Dr Mahathir, and the challenge by Tun Ghafar Baba against Musa as incumbent deputy president, created not just confusion in the Umno rank and file, but also made money politics the norm as each team had to expend large sums to sustain their respective campaigns.

The idea of a political party is to gather like-minded people into an organisation to win the popular vote. A government can have policies that are guided by a party, but it should also be responsible to the party that does not win and look after the interests of all Malaysians. – Tawfik Ismail

TMI: What do you think Umno has become now?

Tawfik: An unparalleled patronage machine that has Malay nationalism as a veneer. Umno and the government have become so fused together it is impossible to see where the party's responsibilities end and where government functions begin.

Even at the lowest level: the branch, the branch head will more likely than not, be appointed to the government position of ketua kampung (village head). The head of the Women wing will be appointed the head of Kemas (Community Development under the Ministry of Rural Development), the Youth head will be appointed the head of the Biro Tatanegara (Civics Bureau).

If this system is sustained, Umno becomes impregnable. Umno is weak where the Umno division does not reward the branch heads with government positions.

The idea of a political party is to gather like-minded people into an organisation to win the popular vote. A government can have policies that are guided by a party, but it should also be responsible to the party that does not win and look after the interests of all Malaysians.

The government cannot ignore the rest of the people who did not vote for them because the government is supposed to be neutral and fair.

What Umno has done is that it has made the party and the government part of each other.

For example, an opposition-controlled state like Kelantan won't get much help like Pahang and Terengganu. You have states now that are not part of the same party as the federal government, Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, but they should be recognised because they have legitimate governments. So you have to treat them fairly.

If you want to be a principled, credible party, this is what you have to do. In mature democracies, partisan politics stop after elections are over. Here in Malaysia, it's either you are with us or against us.

The mentality here is that if you don’t support us, then you won’t get anything. – December 7, 2015.