The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:33 PM PST DEC 18 — I think a party that has been around since 1946 can be considered "grand" and "old". This is the party that has led its multi-racial coalition, without fail, in winning all 12 general elections to date. But things have changed. The party can no longer rely on its coalition partners as much as much as it did in the past. A majority of Chinese and Indian communities are no longer seeing the other coalition partners as being relevant in championing their causes — hence the ruling coalition was punished, and lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament. Perhaps this could explain the rise of "ultra" elements within the grand old party, namely hardliners who are taking the party to the far right of Malay dominance, who refuse to buy into the multi-racial 1 Malaysia concept put forth by the party leader, the prime minister himself. They say when you are up against the wall, your true character will show. A hardliner approach might be the key since Malays represent the majority — roughly 60 per cent of the population and estimated to reach 70 per cent by 2030. The party sought to increase its influence by appealing to the Malay population, given that its other coalition partners can no longer deliver the crucial votes. However, numbers can be misleading. Face it — with the existence of alternative parties for Malays, taking a far-right approach may not guarantee those much-needed votes. As we enter into the era of a two-party system, people are progressively freeing themselves from the traditional race and religious voting lines. Universal issues such as corruption and economic performance are becoming increasingly salient, and these are issues which know no political affiliation. Party identification has also weakened among the youth. They cannot relate to the party's past struggles as much as the older generation. As such, should the alternative appear to be a more viable choice for them they would not be hesitant to vote for a change in the status quo. The new wave of first-time voters coming in the next general election will play a significant role in deciding its outcome. It is more important than ever for the grand old party to change in parallel to this fact so that it remains relevant in the political spectrum. On the bright side, we have witnessed a pragmatic shift in the direction that its youth wing is taking. In the past, the party has been on the right side of the spectrum and its youth wing was on the extreme right. That is no longer the case today. Instead of shouting for racial supremacy and playing the religion card, it is becoming more centrist in its approach and the discussion has been shaped to revolve around policies and issues concerning Malaysians as a whole. Initiatives such as Youth Lab and Job Fair, with an emphasis on young talent and tapping into their potential, signal a move towards more progressive politics in our country. Additionally, though the party is beginning to embrace new media in connecting with people, it has to keep in mind that online presence alone is not enough, because the content is what will sway the middle-ground voters. Deploying cyber troopers who go overboard in attacking opposition without any intellectual content will cause more harm than good to the party. Now, after implementing his socio-economic reforms, the prime minister must lead the efforts in reforming the grand old party. The party must prepare itself to face its toughest election yet. Some of the old guards must make way for new leaders. The party leader has made it clear at the recent general assembly: "If you do not change, you will be changed." As the party is set to embark a new multi-racial approach, it must not lose sight of its struggle to champion the Malay cause. There is nothing wrong with being a Malay party leading a multi-racial coalition. Discussion concerning the fate of Malays can continue, but they should be conducted sensibly with proper decorum. People want to see a display of intellectual leadership, together with commitment to uphold social justice. There were many previous instances where the grand old party was predicted to come to an end. The first was in 1951 when its founding father left the party over a disagreement on party membership and formed a new party. It was also the case when there was a split within the party which led to the formation of an Islamist party. The 1969 racial bloodshed also was said to be the end of the party. The same was also said following the 1987 party elections as well as the notable 1999 general election. Yet the grand old party has made it through and survived all that. Now, it is entirely up to the party to reverse its declining fortunes and avoid a taste of defeat in the next general election. It must stop relying on its glorious past, and instead regenerate and present itself as a party that is able to reach across issues of faith, culture and language, hence bridging these deep divisions in society. They must stay true to the tradition of fighting for the people. Only then it would be relevant again in the eyes of the people. It is now or never, Umno. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:13 PM PST DEC 18 — Who am I kidding? Earlier this season I suggested in this column that Bayern Munich are the best team in Europe. As good as the Germans may be — evidenced by their nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga — there's only one team that can really be considered the continent's best: Barcelona. Perhaps I favoured Bayern because I was trying to avoid accusations of home-town bias... but I'm over that now. The firm realisation that Barca are simply the best struck me on Sunday night, when I had the pleasure of occupying a press box seat at the Nou Camp to witness the Spanish league leader's 4-1 demolition of Atletico Madrid. Despite the misleading scoreline, this was by no means an easy game for Barca. Diego Simeone's Atletico are a very decent team indeed — they are still four points ahead of Real Madrid, don't forget — and they dominated the opening half hour before finally taking a richly deserved lead through Radamel Falcao. It was the first time I'd seen Falcao in the flesh, and his performance in that opening 30 minutes was spectacular, fully justifying the €60 million (RM240 million) price tag that has been put on his head. The Colombian striker, who could be bound for Chelsea or Manchester City in the January transfer window, hit the post with a deft glancing header in the opening minutes, sent another opportunity narrowly wide and then got the goal he deserved when a devastating burst of pace was followed by a beautifully subtle chipped finish over home goalkeeper Victor Valdes. At that stage, Barca had done next to nothing coming forward, seeing their attacks well controlled by Atletico's organised and powerful defending and being reduced to a couple of harmless long-range free kicks by the otherwise peripheral Lionel Messi. But then along came one of the reasons why Barcelona are so magnificent as they conjured an equalising goal through a piece of stunning individual brilliance. And who was the scorer of this "worldy" goal? One of their superstars-in-chief, surely: Messi, Andres Iniesta or Xavi. No. Then how about one of the dangerous wingers, Pedro or Alexis Sanchez? Not them either. In fact it was the right back Adriano — one of the more anonymous members of the Barcelona squad, although he'd be a superstar in any other team. If you've not seen the goal yet, give yourself a treat and check it out now to see the most sweetly struck long-range curler into the top corner that you'll see all season. That equaliser provided Barca with all the encouragement they needed, and they proceeded to lay siege to the Atletico goal for the remaining minutes of the first half. Their reward duly followed in the closing moments of the period when a loose ball from a corner dropped to Sergio Busquets — another largely unheralded performer — who produced a quick change of feet before sweeping a shot high into the net. So there we had it: from 1-0 down and being outplayed — or well contained, at the very least — by an extremely good opposing side, Barca had struck twice in the space of nine minutes to get themselves in front. And they hadn't even needed to call upon the services of Messi: if he doesn't get you, one of the others will. Of course, it's impossible to keep Messi down and he duly played his part in a second half that was completely controlled by Barca's smooth passing game, scoring two excellent goals to give the final scoreline a rather flattering look and take his personal tally for the calendar year to an astonishing 90. All of this leaves Barcelona nine points clear of second-placed Madrid and no less than 13 better off than Real Madrid, whose under-pressure manager Jose Mourinho admitted that it will be "nearly impossible" for his team to win La Liga after watching them struggle to a home draw against lowly Espanyol. Even though it's not yet Christmas and we're less than halfway through the season, it would have to take a spectacular and highly unlikely collapse for Tito Vilanova's side to throw away their position as league leaders, and Barcelona's exceptionally strong domestic position also augurs well for their bid to regain the Champions League title. With such a healthy lead at the top of La Liga, Barca will be able to focus all their efforts on the knockout stages of the European competition when action resumes in the New Year. If Messi or Xavi need a rest ahead of their quarter-final second leg, for example, Vilanova will be able to easily provide it, safe in the knowledge that a dropped point or two in the league would not be a disaster. There are a few other serious contenders for the top European crown: Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Real Madrid and Manchester United are all more than capable of winning it. And as Chelsea showed last season, it's impossible to discount anyone in a knockout competition so perhaps we'll end the season with Galatasaray being crowned kings of Europe. But Barcelona must be considered red-hot favourites because they are such a strong all-round team. Not only do they have Messi — the greatest player on the planet — but they're also blessed with one of the game's best-ever passers, Xavi. And a mesmeric dribbler, Iniesta. And if you manage to keep them quiet, they've always got Adriano to come along and smash one into the top corner, or Busquets to pop up and fire one in, etc, etc. There's simply not a weak link anywhere in the side. One more thing in Barcelona's favour: the venue of Wembley Stadium. The last two Champions League finals to take place at Wembley — in 1992 and 2011 — were won by Barcelona. It would be a very brave move to bet against them completing their London hat-trick at the end of May. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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