What UMNO must do to stay relevant

Thre are many ways to pronounce the accronym UMNO. It you listen to the CNBC channel that  is based in Singapore the word  is pronounced as /oomno/, but the usual way to say it is /amno/. What ever way you pronounce the word UMNO the fact is that it is the strongest political party in Malaysia. It has been with us for quite a while maybe since 1946. But the party now is at a crossroad. Its invicibility is now being challenged from all sides-from Keadilan, DAP, PAS and even within its own members. Its praying and hoping  that it would not suffer the same fate as the LDP in Japan. This is because voters in general and the young voters specifically  are now more aware of what is going on politically in Malaysia. They get in info from the Internet. The old way of feeding information using the taditional way is no longer working for UMNO.It would have to decide whether it wants to stay relevant in the coming decades which is much more challegimg. To stay relevant these are the things that it should strive for:

1. It must stop all forms of corruption. The top echelon of the party must show that it despises corruption to the core. It must be seen to combat the evil of corruption. Combating corruption should not be done on a seasonal basis especially prior to election just to gain some votes. It must be done continually and consistently through out the year. The best thing is that the top leaders in UMNO would have to declare their assets to the UMNO members. Umno members must get rid of corrupt members like KJ.

2. It must stay true to its objective of protecting Islam, the Malays and the King. Please don't try to become too moderate in its political orientation and shift to the  center to please the non-bumiputeras especially the Chinese. The Chinese would not support the party or the Barisan Nasional even if it dismantles the Constitution. They have actually decided who they want to vote for. Trying to gain the support from the Chinese will result in loosing the support that it gets from the Malays.

3. It should not be in control of the Malay newspapers in Malaysia. Malay based  newspapers like Utusan Malaysia must to be free from the clutches of UMNO. The Malay newpapers must be independent and fair. They must appoint editors who are independent of UMNO and have credibility and integrity.The Malay newspapers should do a check and balance and expose corruptions and misdoings in UMNO and the nation as a whole. There must be  a strong sense of conviction to seek fairness and justice. The newspaper must be the mouthpiece of the grassroots members

4. It must revise the way it elects the President of UMNO. The present way of electing UMNO is not very democratic.UMNO members should be given the the freedom to chose their leaders. It must be seen to be very democratic.

5. It must get rid of money politics. It must not be seen to condone money politics. UMNO must identify the culprits  and get rid of them politically.


These five pillars are just the small part that UMNO should adhere to. There are others that it should take notice and follow. If they refuse to change from within its demise in inevitable. UMNO is not perfect but it is less evil from the others.