When I read that Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah — the grand old man of Umno politics — said that Malaysia will continue to be rocked by instability unless Umno returns to power, I took it with a pinch of salt.
In the way I see it, Ku Li’s observation is probably one-third objective, one-third biased, and one-third propagandistic.
It is objective because history supports the general truth behind what he is saying.
In all corners of the world, for as long as history remembers, whenever a majority feels that it is being ruled by a minority, instability inevitably arises.
Is there a perception that under the current Unity Government, the Malay-Muslim majority is being covertly ruled by the non-Malay, non-Muslim minority?
Yes.
Will this perception cause instability?
Of course. As long as this perception exists, it will inevitably cause political instability — as it has in all polities facing similar conditions throughout history.
A minority can only rule a majority through manipulation or oppression. This is the lesson of history.
People, as a rule, never willingly submit to be ruled by those they do not identify with.
They can only be forced or tricked to submit — through manipulation or through coercion.
If Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is to bring back reliable political stability, he has only two choices.
He must either:
- Wipe out the perception that non-Malay minorities are the real power behind his rule, or
- Consolidate power so strongly — in the mould of a firm Malay-Muslim leadership — that no one doubts that Anwar himself, a Malay-Muslim, is in control, without depending excessively on minority support.
However, I think Ku Li’s view is also one-third biased.
He assumes too conveniently that only Umno returning to power will restore the perception that the majority is ruling the country. That is not necessarily true.
Umno returning to power is only one possibility — not the only possibility.
Even Bersatu or PAS leading the government would create that perception of majority rule.
Ku Li might feel that only Umno can represent the Malay majority without antagonising the minorities — but that view belongs to a bygone era.
Yes, Umno once carried the moral authority of a “Merdeka party,” the credibility of having founded the nation, and the trust of the people to rule it.
But after 2018, Umno lost that authority, trust, and credibility.
It is now just another Malay-centric party — no longer the moral custodian of the nation’s founding spirit.
If Ku Li still believes that Umno retains that moral high ground, it is likely due to his deep personal attachment to the party rather than to political reality.
Finally, Ku Li’s statement also carries a propagandistic tone.
He is, after all, an Umno politician — what else would one expect him to say?
Of course, he will frame the party as the key to stability and national progress.
In his recent interview, Ku Li stressed that “Umno is the key to stability. If Umno is not back in power with a proper leader, instability will continue.”
He argued that Umno must first purge itself of self-serving leaders, regain moral authority, and rebuild leadership grounded in fairness and responsibility.
He also reminded Malaysians that Umno has always played a central role in mapping out the country’s future since independence — and that despite its decline, it remains Malaysia’s largest political organisation by membership.
But here lies the irony: the very things Ku Li blames for Umno’s decline — infighting, splintering, and self-interest — are precisely the reasons why many Malaysians have lost faith in it.
In other words, Ku Li’s prescription for stability is built on the assumption that Umno can reform itself — an assumption that remains, at best, untested.
My view is slightly different.
I think that lasting political stability will only come from a fixed coalition that binds together PKR, Umno, and DAP — a true synthesis of the country’s Malay, multiracial, and reformist forces.
I even have a name for it: Harapan Nasional — borrowing from both Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional.
For Harapan Nasional to succeed, Umno and DAP must learn to balance their relationship, while Umno must finally cut loose from MIC and MCA — relics of a political model that no longer works.
In fact, Umno might already be moving in that direction.
While many view the constant sparring between Umno and DAP as a sign of irreconcilable hostility, I see it differently.
It may actually be a process of negotiation — a form of political “stress testing” necessary for any long-term partnership.
Conflict and competition are as essential to forging genuine fellowship as goodwill and cooperation.
It is only through conflict that one truly comes to understand an ally — and only through understanding that a lasting alliance can be built.
Rather than viewing Umno-DAP disputes as evidence of instability, perhaps we should see them as the early pains of a maturing partnership — one that could eventually produce a stable, centrist coalition capable of commanding both legitimacy and balance.
And if that happens, Malaysia may finally move beyond the illusion of minority rule and rediscover the equilibrium that has eluded it since 2018.
In short:
Ku Li is right that political instability will persist unless the majority once again feels it is truly in charge.
But he is wrong to think that Umno alone holds the key.
In modern Malaysia, no single party can restore that balance.
Only a Harapan Nasional — a reconfiguration of the old and new, the traditional and the reformist — can.
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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