LETTER | I am a Malay. Born in Johor and I am now 23. I am eligible to vote in the upcoming 14th general election.

Umno has always been sentimentally significant to my family. When my father’s late brother was suffering from cancer, it was the Umno MP of that constituency, who tirelessly from time to time, visited his kampung house to check on his condition, give him some money and other forms of assistance.

He lost his life to cancer, but my family, especially my father, remembered the good deeds of that Umno MP. When he visited the state of Johor for ‘Perjumpaan Anak Rantau Kelantan’ (yes, the Umno MP is from Kelantan), my father insisted on going to the gathering, assuming that he will be able to meet the MP in person, shake his hand, hug him and express, out of sincerity and pure appreciation, gratitude for his help to his late brother.

But he was working, and could not attend the gathering.

These are the kind of stories we often hear. Stories of a dedicated Umno man helping a fellow constituent in times of hardship. This party had done a lot for the people, especially the poor, underprivileged Malays at the kampung, as well as the urban Malays working at the city and living in low-cost housing areas.

This party too has created millions of jobs, propelled the Malaysian economy and constructed a stable socio-political environment in a multiracial context.

It is unfair to punish a party, however badly implicated it is with 1MDB and other alleged corruption scandals, without experiencing the political culture that Umno has built over the last 70 years on the ground.

1MDB is not the epitome of carnage inflicted by Umno's feudal masters onto the rest of the country. Instead, it is the inability of Umno leaders to identify the problems in Umno and their lack of interest in solving it.

The maths is simple. As the lord, Umno will protect you and Umno provides. Umno will champion your cause, and no one else's. In return, we need to support and pledge our loyalty to Umno for whatever the party will do for us, its dependents.

This maths has to a certain degree made the Malay society to be so dependent on the government and weak in spirit. With the advent of digital democracy and online political participation, Umno must offer a better 'deal' to the Malays.

A 'deal' that appeals to the middle-income Malays who are more independent, inquisitive and intelligent. Their demands are not only monetary, physical and material aid but for some sort of ‘intellectual mind map’ or a ‘renaissance-like’ movement to redefine what is meant to be a Malay and a Muslim living in a precarious, post-modern climate.

Yes, Umno Johor is trying to champion the discourse. But more needs to be done. It is easy for us to tell the Malays that we have changed and we need to change but the party is otherwise when it comes to doing change.

Umno needs a new maths. A new formula. Not a formula that only exists in speeches. How? Bring back intellectualism and knowledge to the party. Bring back reason instead of fear. Bring back honesty and the ‘greater cause’ which was felt by the founding fathers of the party.

Umno still has these kinds of people who are young and believe in the struggle. These young people in Umno, like myself, need to be aware and well literate in what holds the Malay mind in captivity.

If feudalism were to be the matter that affects the Malay values and conduct, then let us mend our ways with justice and wisdom. Umno can survive and champion the cause of the Malays who are independent, inquisitive and intelligent.

We don’t need to keep the Malays under claws or restrict their spirit to survive and prosper. We need to instil in the Malays a new spirit to their existence.

The problems with the Malays, therefore, is not just the material but in spirit. Some say, in order for this ‘parti keramat’ to fix itself, political will is needed. That, I leave to Allah S.W.T to decide.

If to lose in the next general election is the best way for this party to be born anew, then so be it. Such a waste for Umno when the ‘Malay peasants’ have given their utmost trust to the institution but to be let down or unfairly treated by the party.

I do think that Umno Johor’s song encapsulates the true spirit of Umno:

Membina negara jaya,
mempertahan maruah bangsa,
itulah sumpah sepenuh rela,
darah dan nyawa

To build a successful nation, to defend the rights of the Malays, with sincerity, blood, and soul. But it is feared that this party will continue to misinterpret ‘negara jaya’ and ‘maruah bangsa’ as in the absence of knowledge, misinterpretations are deemed to happen.

Hence, it will, in the end, sacrifice the ‘darah dan nyawa’ of the Malays for the wrong cause and reasons.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.