COMMENT It is hard not to agree with the former ‘Iron Lady’ of Umno, Rafidah Aziz.

When she speaks, she has a ring of authority around her. She hits the bull’s eye whenever she speaks her mind, without fear or favour, and the young batch of Umno leaders would do well listening to the advices from this former international trade and industry minister.

It is sad, however, by comparison that the present Umno Wanita chief is hardly making herself known for talking sense. Name wise, I do not even know who she is, but Rafidah, we all know she was a powerful woman at the heights of Umno.

In recent months, I have heard of the name Anina Saaduddin from Langkawi, but hardly anything good to say about the present Umno Wanita president. Both Rafidah and Anina are therefore in a class of their own. Both are fighters, not using the fists and rolled up sleeves like Rafidah’s successor, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

Yet, for Rafidah to paint a negative scenario about Umno today, it is really something that cannot be ignored. “Things have become very personal... to the point that it all looks like there are personal vendettas in play and individuals are being focused upon for a variety of reasons rather than upon the party and the good and interest of the members at large,” she lamented.

Can only concur with Rafidah

Non-Umno observers looking at Umno it is today can only shake the head and concur with Rafidah. It appears to me that Umno leaders today have become so confused that they can no longer differentiate between ‘maruah’ (dignity) and inflated ego, and between what is right and what is wrong.

When the inflated ego of present day leaders are challenged and poked at, and the inflated balloon bursts, the dignity of the entire Malay race is being dragged in. This is why even the Malays themselves find this incredulous. Some of my Malay friends have told me that they never felt that their dignity was ever being challenged by the non-Malays.

It is such deranged behaviour by some Umno leaders that are alienating the Malays themselves from Umno and causing Umno to lose its support in the urban.

With Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak at the helm, and the controversies involving him, the 1MDB, and the billions and millions of ringgit that have allegedly been funneled into his personal accounts, it makes it harder for Malays and non-Malays alike to trust Umno.

When people start to lose faith in the organisation, this is when it will start to crumble. It will no longer enjoy the mandate to govern the nation.

This happens when you have leaders who take to the stage with fiery speeches and burn effigies, yet no action has been taken against them. It is not just one occurrence. There are too many incidents which point to the fact that Umno has turned itself into a battleground within, and to some extent bringing their war outside the party.

One can recall the Kampung Medan church controversy involving a few Umno leaders, including the elder brother of the present inspector-general of police. They were let off with a simple reprimand, when they should have been charged with criminal intimidation against the church group.

Another good example is the highly seditious speech made by one Mohd Ali Baharom (aka ‘Ali Tinju’) yet he was let off scot-free. Next, we have this Umno division leader Jamal Mohd Yunos who has expressed his personal vendetta against the Chinese traders in Petaling Street rather than making any clear and sensible demand about the current state of the economy.

What baffles me the most is when former Malacca chief minister Mohd Ali Rustam was quoted a saying, in his capacity as chairperson of the National Silat Federation (Pesaka), that the Olympics-sanctioned NGO would go to war if the dignity of the Malays were challenged. This is both a threat national security and a bane to race harmony.

Two months after promising that the Youth and Sports Ministry would be studying the involvement of the Pesaka as the organiser of the red shirt movement, its minister Khairy Jamaluddin remains silent till today. Does the charter of the Olympics Council sanction any of its sports affiliates to speak or suggest war as the means to deal with a problem?

We know that no race relations could be fostered by such words uttered by such Umno leaders. And, what is Ali Rustam’s rationale for going to war? The line has been quoted time and again: “to defend the Malay race, Islam, as well as the dignity of the country’s leaders”.

He went on to say, “In this life, we have to have dignity. Money won’t be important if we no longer have our dignity.”

What dignity?

What dignity is it that Ali Rustam is talking about when a national leader is caught with his pants down, and so many questions left unanswered, after just a few exposes from both Sarawak Report and the Wall Street Journal?

If I were Malay, I would be ashamed of such a leader. In fact, I am ashamed that this young and flamboyant Chinese lad, Jho Low, has been called by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), yet he has no guts to appear before the investigators to tell his side of the story.

What dignity is there when one runs away or hides the truth from the people? Leaders are supposed to be given the mandate and trust by the people to govern the country well, but what dignity are we talking about when a leader fails to live up to his expectations? If they do a good job, they will be well-respected and deserve to be held up in great esteem.

So, what is Ali Rustam’s main issue? What is Jamal’s main problem? The main problem is the wrong mindsets these people have. They have confused between what is ‘maruah’ (or dignity) and the inflated ego of some leaders, who cannot take open criticisms or being asked to explain some controversies.

I cannot help but emphasise again that true dignity is with people who achieve something with their own hands. I like to quote the example of Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, wife of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Why is she well-respected by many Malaysians, while most would poke the ego of the wife of present prime minister every time Botox or Birkin Bags are mentioned?

Perhaps, this is the key to true Malay dignity - you have to just watch these three - video clip 1 , video clip 2 and video clip 3 - and tell me what you see in this elderly stateswoman who was the first Malay woman to qualify as a medical doctor.

Also, ask yourselves why P Ramlee has earned so much respect of fellow Malaysians that his songs are well-loved and sung by all Malaysians even till today? A more present-day Malay leader who has earned a lot of respect both locally and internationally is Group of 25 Eminent Malays (G25) coordinator Noor Farida Ariffin

These are the kind of examples that my fellow Malaysians should emulate, if they want to earn the respect of the non-Malays, not the thud-like behaviours of present Umno leaders who are more like the ‘jaguh kampung’ that are suddenly emerge with their foolishness and willingness to be used to defend people in their positions of power.

If you agree with what I say, please share.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.