Latest news with #UMDAP
Malaysian Reserve
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Malaysian Reserve
Friday Jottings: The importance of being periphery flies
PURSUANT to last week's jottings, despite Umno and Barisan Nasional successfully defending the Ayer Kuning seat, the coalition and party's stalwart Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan seems affected by the opposition's mock of UMDAP – coined for the Umno and DAP collaboration. The UMDAP mock had upset Ahmad because, to him, it conjured the idea that Umno was controlled by the DAP and that the DAP dominated the current Government. Ahmad is yet another Umno leader who had been disturbed by the UMDAP mock for the same reason. The DAP, however, seems unperturbed by it. One of DAP's top leaders, Nga Kor Ming, upped the ante on the mock, making it a battle cry during the Ayer Kuning campaign with several Umno youth members doing the chorus. While Umno interprets the mock as something that hurts their political well-being because it is unacceptable to their members and the bigger body of Malay supporters because it made out that the party is subservient to the DAP and that it is part of a Government dominated by the DAP. On the flip side, going by Nga's enthusiasm, the DAP thrives on the mock. It is doubtful, given DAP's political prowess, that it is unaware of what bothered Umno and the hurt the UMDAP label impacted the Malay-based party. Simply put, it can be deduced that what pained Umno, is DAP's gain. It can then be further deduced that for the DAP, Umno's interpretation of the UMDAP label, suits its political well-being and that its members and supporters are comfortable, if not gleeful, over it. Ahmad is trying to get Umno branches, which are holding their meetings nationwide, to debunk the narrative that the DAP dominates the Government as well as controlling Umno. His logic is that the current Government is formed by a coalition of 18 parties and not merely Umno and the DAP. Ahmad pointed out that the two parties combined would only have a total of 70 parliamentary seats, far from the required 112 simple majority to form the Government. The is logical and yet, politics is not merely about numbers. In most times, perceptions, history and context play a bigger role in forming public opinion. In these aspects, Umno and Ahmad have their work cut out for them. Perceptions that the DAP, given its superior numbers compared with most of the other partners in the coalition, Umno included, is a dominant, if not the dominant, force in the present Government is quite entrenched. Lest Ahmad forgets that the fall of the first Pakatan Harapan Government in 2020 was due to Umno and other Malay parties involved in the Sheraton Move being unable to accept the DAP in the administration. Again, lest Ahmad forget, Umno and BN's campaign in the last general election was premised on 'No DAP, No Anwar (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim)'. In fact, the 'no DAP' was central in Umno and BN's campaign and the ground for such rejection of the DAP is based on the narrative that it is a chauvinist party out to dismantle the special position and privileges accorded to the Malays and Bumiputras. It is a narrative that is accepted by Umno members. It is further accepted by the bigger body of Malay/Bumiputera voters and the 15th general election saw the Malay-dominated Perikatan Nasional securing some 60 percent of the Malay/Bumiputra votes while the PH only managed 11 percent, with the rest going to Umno/BN. In simple maths, almost 90 percent of the Malay/Bumiputra votes rejected the DAP and PH. So today, Umno/BN has taken its 30 per cent Malay/Bumiputra votes to the PH and DAP, but that too, based on several analyses, is eroding hence the discomfort felt by Ahmad and other Umno leaders despite the win in Ayer Kuning. The equation is simple. What Umno/BN has brought to the table is some of the Malay/Bumiputra votes that are still with them. Then, add that with the 11 per cent that PH may still command from the last polls and combined with the still loyal and solid non-Malay votes of the DAP and PH; the collaboration becomes formidable in mixed seats of those with marginal Malay/Bumiputra majority seats. But most Malays realise that Umno/BN are merely an addendum to the PH coalition apart from the fact that they came together as a post-electoral pact, not much different than how they perceive Malay leaders in the DAP as being tokens, brought in simply to win over the Malay votes. These narratives were Umno's before the collaboration with DAP and PH was formed, and it is something that the Malay had taken to heart. Given Umno's scandalous and weak leadership, it is difficult for any Malays to believe that they would be able to stand up to the DAP. Attempts by the likes of its youth chief, Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, to stand up to what is perceived as insults by the non-Malays, including that from the DAP, had been summarily neutered. For that matter, Dr Akmal, who earlier had built quite a reputation among the Malays, even those outside of Umno, to be the defender of Malay interest, is now slowly being dismissed as a pestering pest. Lest Ahmad forgets, he should be reminded of the recent local lore of the fly and the lion, in which Dr Akmal was unceremoniously flattened. Ironically, it was Nga of the DAP, who swiped the swat. Shamsul Akmar is an editor at The Malaysian Reserve.
Focus Malaysia
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Focus Malaysia
Reject PN's divisive UMDAP narrative, says Johari
UMNO vice-president and Titiwangsa MP Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani has urged Malaysians to reject the divisive 'UMDAP' narrative spread by Perikatan Nasional (PN) to maintain racial harmony. 'Their (PN's) talk about UMDAP… just ignore it because Malaysia is a plural society. We have lived together since independence in 1957, with the Malays, Chinese, Indians, and our friends in Sabah and Sarawak. 'This is the DNA of our country. This DNA allows us to share and live together as a society we call Malaysians,' he said. He emphasised that Malaysia's multiracial society, coexisting since independence in 1957, is the nation's strength and a global model for unity. Johari highlighted that Barisan Nasional focuses on constructive campaigning, not conflict, and promotes service-orientated politics over hostility. 'Different races and religions, yet we have managed to build this country into one that is highly respected worldwide. Mention Malaysia abroad, and everyone respects us. 'They know that despite our diverse population, unlike countries with a single race making up 99%, we can coexist as multiple races, maintain harmony, and develop the nation so that everyone benefits from political stability,' he added. He noted that the unity government, formed post-2018, unites parties to prioritise national development and peace, encouraging a political culture of cooperation and mutual respect that could shape future generations. — April 26, 2025 Main photo credit: NST
Malaysian Reserve
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Malaysian Reserve
Friday Jottings: UMDAP or DAPUM, smells the same
THE different fronts presented by Umno and DAP leaders when tagged with the UMDAP (Umno + DAP union) label actually tell a lot of tales. Those who had been following the campaign trail of the competing political parties and coalitions in the Ayer Kuning by-election would have noticed it, as it was quite obvious. Though Umno/Barisan Nasional had been working overtime trying to justify to voters that there was nothing wrong in its collaboration with the DAP vis-à-vis the unity government, their leaders sound almost apologetic and obviously treading it cautiously. They had gone as far as saying that the DAP of today is different from what it was before, though not explaining in detail, but obviously referring to yesteryears when the DAP was boxed as being Chinese chauvinist and opposed to Malay and Islam's primacy, which is philosophised through the Malaysian Malaysia narrative. Despite that, the Umno leaders were not ready to declare that the union was solemnised, so much so that they dismissed the UMDAP label. UMDAP is originally a mocking from their opponents in particular the opposition pact Perikatan Nasional, made up of Bersatu and PAS, to denote that the Umno and DAP collaboration is more than a mere post-electoral pact or a marriage of convenience. UMDAP meant that the marriage is permanent and solemnised. Obviously, Umno is not taking any chances in so far as its future political plans are concerned. However, while Umno leaders are not embracing the UMDAP and distancing themselves from it, the DAP, in particular, Nga Kor Meng had taken the bull by its horn which on one occasion was captured on video, while being surrounded by presumably Umno/BN youths, shouting 'UMDAP Mantap (Solid)' as a battle-cry in the Ayer Kuning by-election campaign. It was not well-received among the broader Malay base nor the narrower Umno body. For one, it came from Nga, the very person who equated the Umno youth chief to a fly while declaring himself a lion. Secondly, while the Umno leaders seemed sheepish whenever UMDAP was mentioned, Nga was full of himself, obviously not caring about the discomfort caused towards Umno and sure of the acceptance of the concept among the DAP majority Chinese voters. The reading on the ground is that the Malays, except for those in Pakatan Harapan and among the diminishing Umno membership, are allergic to the DAP. While Umno and other PH Malay leaders attributed it to what they described as the prolonged indoctrination against the DAP by former Umno leaders, the truth is far from it. Firstly, there is PAS. It once embraced the DAP almost wholeheartedly and when it did, it threw caution to the wind. But PAS is today almost rabidly against the DAP, insisting that their experience with the latter proved what it was accused of was true. Then there is Bersatu, which was also with the DAP when they took on the might of Umno and BN during the 2018 polls under the PH coalition, though forced to use the PKR emblem when the former was de-registered. But it was a full-fledged union only for Bersatu to abandon PH less than two years later simply because they did not want to be associated with the DAP. Again, prior to that, Bersatu went out of their way to convince Malay voters to accept their pre-electoral pact with the DAP and argued that the DAP is not as chauvinistic as Umno's portrayed. But that narrative changed after the two years of marriage, and since then, the original contentions made by Umno at the DAP returned. Some three decades before that, Umno's splinter Semangat 46 also joined the DAP under the Gagasan Rakyat coalition and lasted for a full term from the 1990 polls, but the union ended bitterly. Semangat returned to Umno's fold and re-joined the chorus of DAP's chauvinism. DAP, on its part, had been making efforts to discard the chauvinism stigma and, at one time, had distanced itself from Malaysian Malaysia ideals. It had brought into its midst Malays, some young, some prominent and some both, to further make itself more appealing to the majority Malay voters but it had not been that successful and these Malays are viewed as mere tokens. If it did get the Malay votes, it would be those from their coalition partners, from PKR and Amanah and now probably a handful from Umno. It had not changed as it was in the past – the Malay votes are not organic but rather from their Malay-based party partners such as PAS, Bersatu and Semangat 46. On rare occasions that the DAP gets the Malay votes for their candidates, it would only be when the candidate they field is a Malay. Such is the distrust of numerous Malay voters towards the DAP and the trend had been consistent over the decades despite claims that it had made major inroads into the community. Nga's confidence in UMDAP is also taken by the opposition Malays as a signal of what they had suspected the equation to be that the DAP is the big brother and Umno is merely a convenience to the numbers game. And that the DAP, which had for decades labelled Umno as the epitome of Malay supremacy, is suddenly prepared to embrace it without batting an eyelid nor any worries of rejection from its non-Malay voters further cemented the suspicions. To the Malay mind, the DAP supporters are no longer concerned with Umno's negative racial profile because they know that Umno or rather its leaders needed the DAP more, that Umno will deliver the necessary Malay votes in closely contested seats. But Umno, under its present scandalised leadership, will not be the dominant force in the collaboration or cooperation, prompting PN leader Shahidan Kassim to suggest that instead of UMDAP, it should be DAPUM to reflect the actual equation. That equation, by whichever name, is PN's gain. Shamsul Akmar is an editor at The Malaysian Reserve.
Malay Mail
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
‘UMDAP Mantap' misfires in Ayer Kuning as BN goes quiet and Amanah takes fire on behalf of govt, Ilham Centre highlights
The 'UMDAP' branding of the Umno-DAP alliance may have backfired in Ayer Kuning, with local issues proving more influential among voters than national-level narratives. Bersatu seen as not pulling its weight with PN campaigning, with PASb eing most visible. For BN-PH, PKR was mostly quiet due to its internal party elections. Social media has become the main campaign tool, with candidates favouring online engagement and silent campaigning over rallies, especially to target younger, urban voters. TAPAH, April 25 – Research outfit Ilham Centre has said that the Unity Government's attempt to use the term 'UMDAP' to describe the alliance between Umno and DAP may have backfired in Ayer Kuning, as local issues take centre stage in the campaigning. In its report released today, it also noted that Barisan Nasional (BN) has taken a low-profile media approach this round, leaving Pakatan Harapan (PH) ally Parti Amanah Negara instead to respond to Perikatan Nasional's attacks -- breaking from previous strategies. 'The Umno-DAP alliance remains a divisive topic among Malay voters, with DAP leader Nga Kor Ming's 'UMDAP Mantap' slogan failing to gain traction and instead drawing criticism, suggesting the matter may have been better handled by Barisan Nasional directly,' it said. The report highlighted that PN candidate Abd Muhaimin Malek has faced scrutiny from PH over his religious teaching credentials, while PN has capitalised on local environmental issues, such as pig waste pollution, to appeal to the Malay electorate. In contrast, the Socialist Party of Malaysia's (PSM) candidate Bawani KS has focused her campaign on employment and estate worker welfare, especially within the Indian community, which Ilham Centre notes as a crucial voter segment. National issues have also surfaced, with PN criticising the federal government's performance and calling the by-election a referendum on Umno's decision to ally itself with former rivals in PH. It also noted that the by-election has seen a shift towards 'silent campaigning', with parties opting for direct voter engagement and reducing reliance on large-scale rallies. Among PN's parties, only PAS has maintained active ground presence, while Bersatu's involvement has been limited; within PH, Amanah and DAP have been active, but PKR's performance has lagged, partly due to its internal party elections. It said social media has emerged as the key battleground, with nightly live sessions becoming a common tactic among candidates, especially to reach younger, urban voters. PN has taken a proactive stance online, while BN and PH appear more defensive; PSM continues to focus its digital presence on highlighting workers' rights and social issues. The findings were compiled by Ilham Centre's research panel following interviews with voters of all backgrounds conducted between April 18 and 24. Voters will go to the ballot tomorrow to choose between BN candidate Mohamad Yusri Bakir, Abd Muhaimin Malek (PN), and Bawani KS (PSM).
