COMMENT Both former Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan and former New Straits Times group editor-in-chief Kadir Jasin have hit the nail on the head with their strongly-worded statements.

Khairuddin, on one hand, said that the “country’s situation was getting from bad to worse , both politically and economically” while Kadir, on the other hand, said “the majority in Umno now, they have no charisma or killer instinct.”

At least, Khairuddin has some conscience left, compared to his own comrades in Umno; and Kadir is being frank about the current batch of Umno leaders who have created a political and economic mess that we find ourselves in.

The big contrast

Gone are the days when Umno had good leaders who served the people. Even though Dr Mahathir Mohamad was allegedly a tyrant during his 22 years tenure as Malaysian prime minister, at least the ministers he had picked were leaders who served the people.

Of course, there were also a few of the kind like Mohamed Rahmat (former information minister), Tan Chai Ho (a former deputy home affairs minister, who could not speak good English and Bahasa Malaysia) and S Samy Vellu (with his frequent controversial remarks).

I remember, for example, the former tourism minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir asking his director-general of Tourism Malaysia to contact me on a Sunday evening to let me know that his ministry was very interested in a proposal I had written to help Malaysia boost its edu-tourism. I did it on pro bono basis.

Or, whenever I had the opportunity to listen to former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz, she was fun and entertaining, yet she was the kind of person who got things done. You may disagree with her, but you will still be mesmerised by her charisma, being the ‘Iron Lady’ of Miti.

Even MCA had its good leaders as well. Besides Chua Jui Meng (now in PKR), who spoke better English than most other MCA ministers, there was also Lim Ah Lek who worked at improving health and safety at the workplace.

Former human resources minister Fong Chan Onn ( photo ) was also a sporting minister. When I worked at inviting him to a function which I organised, he told me through his staff not to have too much pomp in welcoming him. At my suggestion, the disabled people had volunteered to do a parade on the minister’s arrival, which they did and were proud of it.

Unlike the later MCA leaders like Dr Chua Soi Lek who took offence at being served coffee in polystyrene cups (the fault of the institution that did not invest in nice crockeries), Fong had no qualms drinking from even polystyrene cups.

These days, the people that we have are Zahid Hamidi (with his letter in support of alleged illegal kingpin Paul Phua), Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (with his ‘Go nude at Stadium Negara’ ranting against Bersih 4 participants), Noh Omar, Azalina Othman Said, Rahman Dahlan (Barisan Nasional strategic communications director who has since gone silent) and Salleh Said Keruak (who speaks more than Rahman).

I do not need to list them all - some have even gone back into obsolescence.

They cannot blame the rakyat for not showing them the respect that are usually accorded to them based on protocol.

Sometimes, I wonder if this post-Merdeka generation of leaders, and some who like Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, are there because of their fathers or others currently make it to the cabinet because of their abilities to ‘angkat kaki’ (the bootlickers, to use the mildest of words).

They simply do not have the leadership abilities that we look forward to see in our leaders.

Perhaps, this is the result of the New Economic Policy where they have everything given to them, without having to work hard unlike their predecessors during the meritocracy era under the colonial masters. When given an inch, they always want more than what they can get.

Greed has shown its ugly head every now and then. A good example is the numerous cases of Orang Asli land being taken away from them, but no one higher-up appears interested to step in.

Time for Umno to experience real defeat

If others in Umno and Barisan Nasional feel the same as Khairuddin and Kadir, something which those of us who are not into politics have felt for a long time now, perhaps it is time to realign the forces.

In my opinion, it is time for Umno to experience what real defeat is at the federal level. In Selangor, Umno is in the opposition; they are too weak in ensuring a good check-and-balance for the Selangor state government. They cannot even function properly as the opposition.

Perhaps, it is time for Umno members to realign themselves for the new battle during the next general election. Perhaps, what Dr Mahathir suggested about getting Umno declared as illegal by the Registrar of Societies, it could be the breakthrough for disgruntled Umno members to prevent their party from further falling apart. As it is, the rot has begun a long time ago.

After removing Najib and his cabinet, they have to ensure that the party goes back to the drawing board again, picking only people who are truly qualified and willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the party. People who have stood the test and are willing to uphold justice for the people should be picked as candidates, as they will be respected by all. Currently, these people such as Saifuddin Abdullah are with Pakatan Harapan, and I trust they are there for the good reasons.

From within Umno itself, candidates such as Anina Saadudin (formerly from Langkawi Umno, photo ), Hamidah Osman (former Umno Wanita chief, Gopeng division) and Khairuddin himself should be picked to contest in the next general election. They may stand a better chance to woo the Chinese or Indian votes, compared to Najib’s hollow 1Malaysia slogan.

At least, they appear to be listening to their voice of conscience and willing to stand up and be counted. Based on my observations, it is sad to say that a number of Umno leaders, including Najib himself, have forgotten their voices of conscience. They no longer become accountable to the people. Najib’s absence in parliament during the session on 1MDB, for example, clearly shows that he lacks leadership as the prime minister of this country.

In order to stay in power, they are prepared to use all sorts of means and methods. We are told one blatant lie after another, and there is no longer the fear of punishment even if a major crime is committed. Perhaps, it is time for disgruntled Umno members to vote according to the conscience if they find their political party has lost its direction. Or else blame no one else, they should just continue to expect the country to go to the dogs.

How can we progress as a nation, unless we allow the seed to first die, before a new plant springs up from below the soil surface? To move three steps forward, sometimes it is necessary to move one step backwards.

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