THE Umno divisional meetings are now taking place, which means the party is on the first phase of its path towards reformation. To be discussed at these meetings are proposals from the Umno leadership to amend the constitution to allow more members to choose party leaders instead of leaving it to only an estimated 2,500 people.
One division -- Bukit Mertajam -- has rejected the plan but only because it claims members were not sure of what's in store. Because of this it wants the leadership to organise more briefings to help members undestand the proposals better. But beyond Bukit Merajam everyone else seems not to have any strong objections.
I am optimistic that the Umno grassroots will support the proposals and have them approved at the annual general assembly later in the year. What choice does Umno have after a poor outing at the 12the general election last year? None.
Will delegates oppose the proposals? Highly unlikely -- and not just because the proposals have come from the top and not the other way around. I think there is a genuine realisation amongst most members that the party needs to change it it doesn't to be rejected by more voters in the years to come.
Furthermore the Umno grassroots are not known to object to initiatives from the top. As far as I can remember since covering most of the party's general assembly from the late 70s there has been only one occasion when the floor voted against a proposal from the supreme council. That was in the early 80s on the proposed amendment to allow a new member to be put up as an election candidate. I thought it was not carried through because the whole rationale was not fully explained to the delegates.
But as in many issues concerning Umno these days there are calls for bets against Umno agreeing to the amendments. One simply said that there is no way the 2,500 will want their annual "bonus" (read: money politics) to be taken away.
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