I miss the old Umno general assembly

I used to love watching the annual Umno general assembly when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the prime minister, in what seems like donkey’s years ago. Like many other Malaysians, I found Mahathir’s speeches very entertaining and thought provoking.

I remember watching them year after year with my dad. It was sort of our special moment together – we used to laugh at Mahathir’s jokes and discuss his points.

Later on, when it was time for the news at 8pm, mom and my brothers would join us watching the reports on the assembly, and we’d end up having yet another round of discussion and chuckles.

Yes, our former premier had a very strong persona. Even among his critics, he managed to make people sit tight in front of the television, on their couches, with ears perked and eyes glued to the TV screen.

But it was not only Mahathir who was interesting to watch, for the other delegates too came prepared with pretty interesting speeches. My personal favourite were always the delegates from Penang and Kedah.

I suppose when the head has set a certain standard, the members are bound to follow.

Today, I see a very different gathering at the Putra World Trade Centre. Instead of provoking my thoughts and being a delight, the annual Umno general assembly has become a painful event to watch, highly offensive and frustrating.

Almost every delegate who took the stand behind the podium spoke of protecting the special positions of the Malays and defending the religion of Islam from being attacked by others, whose ultimate aim is to destroy the Malays and Islam.

They speak with fired spirits and emotion, as if the Malays and Islam are under attack in Malaysia (got meh?)

I suppose the delegates were merely following the trend set by their premier.

Year in, year out, it is the same siaran ulangan (repeat broadcast) over and over – reminding the members and the Malays in the country that there is no one else who will defend the Malays and Islam like the president and his party; instilling fear that the Malays and Muslims have no future without Umno; and painting a better achievement compared to any other leaders.

And so it comes as no surprise to have the delegates dancing to the tune of the “keramat hidup.”

With every speech sounding like a preparation for the upcoming election, I do wonder if there are no other issues worthy of being discussed by the biggest political party in the country.

It is kinda odd, to tell you the truth, for even annual parent-teacher association and resident association meetings have lots of issues to talk about, what more a party with 191 divisions, 21,000 branches and 3.6 million members.

Sigh. In any case, I will miss the old Umno general assembly.

As much as the new premier tries his very best to paint himself as the saviour of the country, I honestly cannot even make myself watch his entire speech without cringing.

And if Umno does rule Malaysia for another 1,000 years as stated by Najib, I do hope that at least the Almighty would bless us with someone who has at least half of Mahathir’s persona.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot.- Mkini

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