COMMENT From the time of the Mahathir era the Umno general assembly has become an annual rite of passage aimed at sustaining two myths: one, the myth of the party’s origins; and two, the myth of the party’s mission.

The first myth of Umno as the original protector of the Malay people vanished in a maze of appropriation by special interests; the second myth is being sustained as camouflage for the disappearance of the first.