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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright December 2022
It was C.S. Lewis who once said "repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years."
But despite what Lewis said, Hishamuddin still wants BN-UMNO members to repent over their massive loss in GE15.
He said "In the 15th general election, BN lost badly. Only won 30 seats. A result that should have made us repent and made all of us aware, especially Umno and BN members. Truly, we need to make improvements and any corrections needed for this beloved party of ours."
However, it is more than just eating a humble pie. It means party members from the top at the HQ all the way down to the ordinary guy at the local UMNO branch in the kampung ought to unlearn all the self-conceit and self-will that they have been training themselves to be all these years.
Could a 65 year old party like UMNO unlearn its old bad habits? If so, how do you achieve that?
The most obvious is for the party leadership to take full responsibility for the biggest loss in its 65 year history. This was recommended by many including Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi who have asked Zahid to take full responsibility for the party’s defeat in GE15.
Had Zahid done that on the day results were announced like his predecessor Najib did by resigning, it would be seen as a real manifestation of repentance. But Zahid is reluctant. Instead he clings on to power, teaming up with the party's old foes. That's not what Lewis meant by being repentant.
Zahid knows "repentence is no fun" as Lewis said. But without working with old enemies, his future is indeed dim. So he soldiers on, casting principles to the wind.
Yet Hishamuddin wants the grassroots to strengthen their will, strengthen the line, and together "[...] we look forward, to the future and continuity of our fight, because in the end, realise and repent, we are all people of persistence."
Does it sound like repentance?
Hishamuddin means well. But well-meaning leaders without much power may not be able to rescue BN-UMNO or any organisation for that matter.
Hopefully he'll be able to develop winning strategies to turnaround this old party that means so much to him. The sooner he does it, the better it will be for the coalition. However in the words of Lewis, repentance also means "killing part of yourself, under-going a kind of death” in order to achieve complete repentance. In case of UMNO-BN, some may just have to be "terminated" for the rest to continue its existence.
Hishamuddin knows "there is too much work that needs to be done if (he) want(s) to restore the rakyat’s confidence".
Hishamuddin concluded his message by saying "We cannot take a misstep anymore. [...] I am not as busy as before. God willing, I will use this available time as best as I can for the continuity and the future of the party."
If he's waiting for the next general election, the party would lose more ground and may not be able to recover at all.
For now repent all you want Hishamuddin, but if UMNO-BN continues without "unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will" and not "killing part of yourself, under-going a kind of death”, it is doubtful that it will be able to even retain the 30 seats that it currently holds in the next general election.
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