Umno, in its 58th year, is a veritable house of waxworks: toothless, impotent, malleable. It has long lost its place in national politics except as a vehicle for its president. It elects a supreme council to run its affairs, but it defers to the president. Because of its importance in Malaysia, his rule is absolute. He heads the Barisan Nasional (BN), which has, with its previous incarnation, governed Malaysia since 1955, two years before independence. His word is law. He holds on to office as long as he can, and gives way only reluctantly and, as often as not, gently eased out. He is, in short, Umno, BN, the government, the law.

Umno in 2004 is in crisis. It would not admit it, but its general assembly, and its election, last week, did not lie, even if its leaders did. It was to annoint a new president, but it ended with him worse off than ever. The three days of election and debate were overshadowed by two issues and its leaders insisted were irrelevant: its former deputy president, Anwar Ibrahim, and vote-buying. Yet both were never far from the lips of delegates and leaders, within and without the assembly.

It discussed nothing of importance. There were tall claims of what would be, but enthusiasm was kept high by a return to that old standby: Malay rights and the pre-eminent role of bumiputera. Pak Lah was circumspect about it, but not the others. In between decrying Anwar Ibrahim and money politics, several leaders, notably the Youth chief, Hishammuddin Hussein, revealed their bankruptcy of ideas to return to this emotive theme. It would once have received a standing ovation.