Bumi gathering must be more than talking shop

THE pressure is on for the organisers of the Bumiputra Economic Congress.

For a start, it cannot be the same old song of Malay supremacy or of “us against the others”. Umno is no longer the king of the hill.

It is playing second fiddle to a government that is quite different from the one that had hosted previous gatherings of this sort and people are unsure what to expect.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has also taken the uncharted step of opening it to non-Malay participation. It would have been unthinkable, even taboo, once upon a time and the reaction has been quite mixed.

The congress is also taking place against a climate of rising costs of living and a weakening ringgit, all of which makes things so much more urgent.

Then there is the irony that the ruling coalition hosting it won only about 30% Malay support while Perikatan Nasional which commands 70% Malay support is on the outside looking in.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said his party has yet to receive a formal invitation and he seemed ambivalent about whether his party would be interested in participating.

The two ministers in charge of the three-day congress starting on Thursday are Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

Some have claimed that the congress is being held to boost the Malay credentials of the Madani government, to show that the government has a roadmap for them.

Umno would want to ride on the gathering to recover its hold over the Malays.

But Ahmad Zahid, according to an Umno source, is not looking at only short-term gains. He has given instructions that the congress must come up with “resolutions that will stand the test of time”.

The Umno president was probably thinking of the early congresses that gave birth to Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) and Bank Bumiputera Malaysia, two institutions that have indeed withstood the test of time.

Yet, this is the same man who had cancelled Umno’s pre-congress colloquium that was to have taken place a day after news broke about Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s half-pardon.

Supporters of Ahmad Zahid said he did not want the colloquium to turn into a debate about whether Umno had done enough for Najib.

But others said he was afraid that had the gathering proceeded, participants who come from Umno divisions all over the country would take out their disappointment on him.

In cancelling the colloquium, Umno lost a golden opportunity to assume a leading role and to put forward to its grassroots the ideas and proposals that it would be bringing to the congress.

Moreover, the man in charge of the colloquium was Datuk Seri Johari Ghani who is arguably the best economic mind in Umno and is respected inside and outside of Umno. He would have been able to underscore Umno’s input and role in the congress.

But all that is water under the bridge, and it is apparent that the Prime Minister wants to put his own mark on the tone and direction of the Bumiputera agenda.

Anwar probably does not want the gathering to turn into a racially-charged discourse where one race would be complaining about or even bashing the other.

It will certainly not be like the Malay Dignity Congress that took place under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2019 and which was so unabashedly racial.

Anwar had picked the Chinese New Year open house of the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia to announce that the congress would include non-Malay participation.

“It looks to me like a shift in mindset. Anwar is putting his foot down, insisting that it is open to non-Malay participation. It’s important to note he is presenting the Bumiputera agenda as a national agenda.

“That is what Anwar stands for, he is daring to offer a more inclusive approach that has no precedent. It is up to him to chart the course and we have to give him credit for that,” said lawyer Khaw Veon Szu.

Some even urged that this should be the last bumiputra congress and that future ones ought to be Malaysian in outlook and for all races.

These are bold ideas that have to be tested in the coming years. In fact, it will be put to the test by next week.

Academic Dr Azmi Omar said the timing of the congress is off-tangent.

“People - especially the majority of Malays - are struggling with economic problems. They want immediate solutions for their problems. The congress will be mocked as another of the government’s many formulas if it cannot sort out their hardship,” said Dr Azmi.

An aide to a Johor politician is doubtful that the Malay mood will be influenced by whatever comes out of the congress.

“They have tried so many things in the last one year. Do you think one congress can reverse Malay opinion?” he said.

Moreover, the two ministers in charge are not exactly at the top of their game. They are being ridiculed and criticised daily on TikTok. Public opinion about Ahmad Zahid’s DNAA has not softened while things that Rafizi said about the ringgit and the economy when he was in the opposition have come back to bite him

Everything about the congress will be closely watched. The problem is that the different races may view it differently and what works for the bumiputra may not go down well with the non-Bumiputera and vice versa.

The optics and soundbites will be as crucial as the resolutions that emerge from the congress.