UMNO presidents usually inspire but Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s lengthy welcome and ending address at the party assembly over the weekend left them none the better after the historic May 9 polls defeat sent the party to the opposition bench.

After his two-hour opening speech, the some 5,000 delegates in the cavernous Dewan Merdeka or those following proceedings on the internet were still in the dark as to where the newly minted party president was taking the grand old party of Malay politics.

Former Johor executive councillor Md Jais Sarday summed up the speech fittingly on Twitter by stating: “The engine has started, but (he) doesn’t know where he wants to drive to.”

“The speech was long but lacked any clear direction (for the party),” added Md Jais.

Instead, Zahid’s maiden policy speech about rebranding Barisan Nasional (BN), returning to power and maintaining Umno’s core ideology of defending Malay interests, lacked focus and details.

He did not explain what a new BN entailed. He said the rebranding would only happen after consultation with its main component parties – MCA, MIC, MyPPP and PBRS. As such, delegates and observers alike were left clueless on what the rump coalition would entail.

Interestingly, Umno’s oldest political ally MCA stayed away from the general assembly for first time since the two worked together in the country’s first elections in 1955, claiming it wanted to concentrate on its imminent party election. More telling though was PAS had taken over MCA’s seat in the front row of Dewan Merdeka.

The 65-year-old president also did not explain how he planned to take Umno back to power. In the run-up to this year’s assembly, Zahid busied himself by meeting PKR, Bersatu and PAS leaders.

Where working with PAS was concerned, Zahid again did not spell out what the cooperation would entail and how it would affect BN’s other non-Malay Muslim component parties.

The clearest direction Zahid set was that Umno would remain a Malay party. It made sense too as BN had received the highest share of Malay votes in GE14 at 46.3% (PAS: 28% and Pakatan Harapan: 25.5%). In 2013, BN was estimated to have had a share of 60%.

Yet, at the same time he did not address how to improve BN’s share of Chinese and Indian votes that fell to 2.4% and 26% respectively. More so, when he has plans to work with PAS.

His proposal to limit the party president’s term to two is also at odds with the party’s three-year election cycle when the national poll is five. Would a two-term Umno president be the prime minister for six years only? Or is this an indication that party polls will be conveniently postponed 18 months again?

Mat Hasan

In contrast to Zahid, his deputy Mohamad Hasan’s speech a day earlier was more befitting a party that has suffered its first major blow in 72 years.

In his first speech as the deputy president, Mohamad called for soul-searching and offered encouragement to the delegates to carve a new path for the party.

Although, Mohamad did not propose any new policies, as it is the president’s prerogative, his honest take on patronage politics and Umno’s decline among Malays was refreshing.

Unlike Zahid, Mohamad didn’t indulge in PH-bashing but was more concerned about Umno’s internal workings itself.

Also worthy of mention is newly elected deputy Youth chief Shahril Hamdan’s winding-up speech that urged its delegates to avoid the easy path back to power.

Delegates

Unlike previous years, this year’s debates were a closed door affair, where only selected speeches were telecast after an hour.

Maybe, the party wanted to maintain a united front but it does little to impress the outsiders that it needs to attract.

As such, most debates that were heard were timid and lacked bite. None of the delegates questioned the leadership on what they did to stop the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal or how to prevent future wrongdoings.

In short, there was none of the soul-searching one would expect from a party that wants to mount a comeback.

Although, not as many as before, hardcore supporters still gathered daily outside the debate halls to listen to the speeches when they were shown.

Traders still plied their goods while delegates freely mingled. And deep into the night, cafes around Putra World Trade Centre were still packed with Umno members decked in bright red.

But for the party to rise again, it will need more than fiery speeches trained at its opponents.

Yet months after GE14, it’s still business as usual for Umno – firing away at political foes rather than fixing the party for the future. – October 1, 2018.