When I look at the comment section of my posts, I often find one term - UMDAP - which is mostly used by Umno supporters who advocate for Umno to leave the unity government.
The portmanteau, which is created by combining the term Umno and Dap, is almost always used without an explanation, but despite that, it is universally understood to mean that the cooperation between Umno and Dap, is something that cannot be tolerated by any members of Umno that has any sense of dignity or self respect.
Just a couple of months ago, Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh, would even exclaim that he is willing to resign from all of his government and party post, to "fight dap to the end."
What is the cause of the immense resentment that Umno has for Dap?
It is not chiefly racial, because Umno has had good relationships with Chinese parties like MCA and Gerakan. Even today, under very difficult conditions, the relationship of MCA and Umno is still enduring.
The resentment that Umno has for Dap is not one way either, in the sense that when Dap was not a part of the unity government, it held an immense amount of resentment for Umno as well.
If you ask me, I think the only thing that can explain why Umno holds Dap in such contempt today, as how Dap held Umno in contempt previously, is because it might be impossible to work WITH a Malaysian.
You can work FOR a Malaysian, or you can have a Malaysian work FOR you, but you cannot work WITH a Malaysian.
The concept of equality, that is the prerequisite of working WITH someone, might be absent in the Malaysian context.
That is why Umno can't accept that it is now working with Dap - it can't , because when it finds itself in a position where it has to work WITH Dap, Umno will inevitably interpret it to mean that it is working FOR Dap, which it will then take as an affront to it's dignity and self respect.
The only relationship that Umno can accept with Dap, is likely where it is Dap that is working for it, and for that to happen, Umno needs to win more seats than dap in an election .
However, if Umno wins more seats that Dap in an election, cooperation with Dap might still be difficult, because then it will be DAP's turn to view the cooperation as case of it working for Umno, and reject it for the same reason that Umno is rejecting it's cooperation with Dap today.
I truly believe that as a rule, Malaysians can only accept working for someone without despising themselves, if they either work for a non-Malaysian or work with their own race.
That is why the working space in Malaysia tends to be race sensitive. Whether it is in the public sector or the private sector, there will always be one race that will dominate in any sector or company.
If you work for multinational corporations controlled by foreigners, you can do so without despising yourself.
If you work for a Malaysian company that is dominated by your own race, you will still be more or less able to do so without despising yourself.
But if you work for a Malaysian company that is dominated by a different Malaysian race, then you better have an exit plan, or you are going to despise yourself, the longer you stay in the company.
In the same way, the longer Umno works in the unity government, the more it is going to despise itself.
The only way that Umno can tolerate working with Dap in the unity government today, is by formulating an exit plan behind the scene.
I reckon that one of the reasons why our racial relationship is perennially problematic, is because Malaysians simply don't have a concept of working WITH anyone, especially with someone from another race.
Whenever you work together with a fellow Malaysian, the question of am I the boss or are they the boss will inevitably arise, which in turn will cause a desire to dominate to arise in tandem.
Once the desire to dominate arises, the expectation that the other party lowers themselves to you will also arise.
To be dominated by someone of your own race is still tolerable, but if you find yourself dominated by someone of another race, then the question of dignity or self respect will arise.
You can only expect someone of another race to accept being dominated by you if they are desperate enough to need you more than you need them.
But if you fail to keep them continuously dependent on you, then they will inevitably try to make you need them more than they need you, so that it will be you that will be the one to work under them.
If you do to them what they desire to do to you, then the entire relationship will breakdown or turn adversarial.
For this reason, the relationship between Umno and Dap is bound to be either short lived or adversarial .
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