The idea of turning Umno into a multiracial party has tantalised quite a few of its own members since it was raised just after the general election by its youth chief, Khairy Jamaluddin.

The party’s defeat in the election certainly calls for soul-searching and perhaps major reforms, but is it wise to overhaul it to the point of abandoning its primary mission of championing Malay rights? Does doing so make for a good political strategy?

Preliminary analyses of the GE14 results suggest that the Malay majority had voted for Umno and PAS. Some political analysts have estimated that as many as 70% of the Malays did not vote for Pakatan Harapan.

Also, as has been pointed out by Amanah vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa and PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, while the liberal-minded would like to see quick reforms in terms of prioritising meritocracy over race, conservative Malays would not take so kindly to such changes. This would perhaps also establish PPBM’s need to maintain its dual-membership system, for the time being, at least.

William Case, a professor who heads the School of Politics, History and International Relations at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, has also cast doubt on the readiness of Malays to embrace a Malaysia fully dedicated to multiculturalism. At a recent forum, he spoke of the possibility of a reduction in Malay votes for Pakatan Harapan in GE15.

It would seem, then, that the political outcome for Umno, if it were to become multiracial, would depend largely on the reactions of the conservative Malays and the liberals who voted for Pakatan Harapan.

While it was perceived that Umno adopted a more racial and religiously rigid form of politics in the period between GE13 and GE14, it is likely that the liberals who supported Pakatan Harapan had forsaken BN long before that. This would make it unlikely that they will root for Umno just because it has become multiracial. BN itself was a multiracial coalition, and that did not save it in GE14.

Meanwhile, conservative Malays are likely to run towards either PAS or PPBM with its dual membership.

This will leave Umno with a void once occupied by conservative Malays and it won’t be filled by the liberal minded.

Becoming a multiracial party, it would seem, is not the answer Umno should be looking at in its search for political relevance. At least not yet. It may actually be political suicide.

If Umno indeed wants to beat Pakatan Harapan at its own game, then the real answer could lie in becoming moderate and progressive to attract the more liberal of the Malays and to balance that with a stance that is pleasing to the more conservative.

Sheith Khidhir Bin Abu Bakar works at FMT.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.