There was a time when there were Team A and Team B in UMNO, or UMNO-A and UMNO-B.
Now it is time for UMNO-C : United Malays say NO to Corruption.
There has been much talk about rebranding umno, renaming UMNO and what not. To be progressive, to be modern and to be relevant. In my view, the best re branding for UMNO is to go back to history and take from one of Tun Mahathir's original ideas: Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah.
Clean, Competent and Trustworthy.
Of the three characteristics above, the last one is the most important one. UMNO must be trustworthy and be seen trustworthy. And the way to get there is to be clean and competent.
UMNO members must start to realise that being clean, within itself and with others, is not only the key to success, but the key to survival. Islam abhors corruption and whoever that spreads corruption on this face of the earth. It is the religion of the vast majority of UMNO members, we all know that. But now we all have to embrace this abhorrence to corruption wholeheartedly.
The (awkward) truth is, us (non political, normal, middle class) Malays have heard of this supposedly (coz we don't have the evidence) corruption, wastage and incompetence. One cannot be deaf to the fact that cost overruns into hundreds of millions screams corruption and/or incompetence. One cannot deny that there has been talks of this is a particular ministers' project or this belongs to this political party.
But to a large extent, another awkward truth is that some of us Malays (myself included) indirectly condoned this despicable act by keeping silent. Why? Because we believe that UMNO is the real power base that could actually protect and develop Malays and Muslims.The last bastion for the Malays. We do not have the same trust with PAS and PKR, let alone DAP.
We all hate the corruptions with all our might, it kills us inside, it brings us shame, it makes me so frustrated that i can feel it in every one of my veins. Yet we bite the bullet and kept our mouth shut, thinking that the 'greater good of UMNO remaining in power' would outweigh this misdemeanor, that UMNO will keep the Malays educated, will promote the ability of the Malays to generate wealth and to provide a peaceful place for all to live in.
But we cannot keep silent anymore. Firstly it never justified the 'greater good' and secondly, UMNO seemed to have lost so much focus that there is no more 'greater good' for the Malays. Making our children more educated (by putting an obstacle of learning math and science) in English was abandoned on the fear of political fallout. Why are we so afraid to put (managed) obstacles for our children so that they would know how to overcome them, a skill that would prove invaluable in the long run, when they grow up and face the world on their own. There have been many more examples of 'greater bad' like this.
We, as Malays in UMNO, as Muslims must stand UNITED to fight corruption. Within ourselves and within others. We must not be afraid to voice of disgust and contempt of corruption. We must be able to say that we love you, but we are not going to let you get away with this - for our greater good. I will fight to keep this racial if it means that Malay will be known as a race that has a culture that abhors corruption.
