Opinion: Breaking fast keeps politicians on their toes
New Straits Times (Columns)
08 Oct 2006
ABDUL RAZAK AHMAD 

The fasting month often offers a brief, cool respite in an otherwise heated calendar of Malay politics. But are things really slowing down? ABDUL RAZAK AHMAD finds out what’s keeping Umno politicians busy this Ramadan.

RAMADAN is a month some Umno politicians wish were longer.

Terengganu party information chief Ahmad Shabery Cheek is a case in point. The Kemaman Member of Parliament has so many invites to break fast that it has become a challenge to decide which to attend and which to decline.

Shabery, the Foreign Ministry parliamentary secretary, says he considers all buka puasa invitations important.

"But there are 120 villages in my constituency. I’ve also got ministerial and state-level invites, from groups such as teachers, police and armed forces in my area, as well as from friends and acquaintances."

He needs to "cover" as much ground as he can in the 30 days of the fasting month.

"They all expect me to say yes!" he says with a laugh.

It’s one indication that things never really slow down for Umno during Ramadan, now in its second week.

Everyone who is anyone in the party is busy attending as many functions as they can cram into their diaries.

It’s not true that Umno goes into hibernation because this is the fasting month, says party vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, pointing out that plenty of party activities take place such as buka puasa, prayers, and giving donations.

"We do such deeds in other months as well, but during Ramadan we do it in a more ‘Islamic manner’, while wearing the kopiah (skullcap), for instance," he adds, half in jest.

In any case, getting too many invites is a good problem for a politician, as it could be a reflection of popularity with the grassroots. Some try to make the most of it by saying "no" as little as possible.

Shabery’s party counterpart in neighbouring Kelantan, Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad, also has an endless list of buka puasa functions to attend and help organise. "I’m never at home in the evenings throughout Ramadan," he says.

A typical buka puasa isn’t just about the breaking of fast. There are three separate rounds of congregational prayers afterwards, often interspersed with a short talk called the tazkirah. The whole affair is capped off with moreh, a late supper.

In the Muslim-Malay heartland of Kelantan, which Alwi proudly notes celebrates Ramadan "in a big way", the nights stretch on even later. There’s a special post-supper meal which "is more a feast"; followed by yet another pre-dawn meal or sahur that’s also become an "official function" he often gets invited to.

For Umno, Ramadan events, ranging from breaking of fast in the evening to handing out aid to the needy during the day, are more than spiritual.

Many refuse to openly admit it, but some of these gatherings are where political ties and loyalties are indirectly cultivated and strengthened.

A party division committee member says Umno buka puasa functions are serious business, and explains how they work in his state: Each state constituency has one do organised by its respective party division.

The state liaison committee, in turn, groups several divisions together for joint buka puasa attended by the Menteri Besar.

Movers and shakers from the divisions also get invited to functions hosted by ministers and other party bigwigs. The invitation list for some of these events, says the official, can speak volumes.

"You can basically tell who is really close to whom by just looking at who turns up," adds the official.

From the guest’s perspective, being seen at the right function can also be important, especially for those with dreams of moving up the party ladder.

"This is why some from the outlying states actually take the trouble to fly to Kuala Lumpur and back the first thing the next morning, just to attend these functions," notes an observer who attended a breaking of fast function organised by a top party leader.

The party recently postponed its next Umno elections — earlier scheduled for next year — until after the general election.

This killed the possibility of an internal rift ahead of the general election, had the scramble for party posts gone ahead. But not entirely.

"There is still campaigning, I think, but it’s very low key.

Some, who are being seen as potential supreme council members, are having buka puasa and inviting particular groups to attend," says Kedah’s Pokok Sena division secretary Ramli Mohd Yunus.

The bigger worry is whether unhappiness from former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attacks on the government will spill over to this year’s party general assembly.

The assembly, scheduled for mid-November, will be held just three weeks after the end of the fasting month.

"The mood on the ground is ‘cool’ now, but that’s mainly because it’s the fasting month.

"I’ve not heard any grumbling, or of people speaking ill (mengata) of the leadership. But many things can happen in that three-week window," says Ramli.

He is hoping that allegations of wrongdoing in the election of the Kubang Pasu divisional delegates to the party assembly, which Dr Mahathir lost and is unhappy about, will be heard only after the assembly, if the case is found to have merit.

"It could get overblown if the case is heard before the assembly.

"If the case is rejected, some will accuse the party of double standards. If it leads to action, others will say the action taken will not be good enough.

"Who knows, some of these people may take their unhappiness all the way to the assembly," Ramli adds.

Alwi believes there’s no real reason to worry. Since the assembly will be held three weeks after Hari Raya, "everyone will still be in ‘Raya’ mode, and I think we will all be very forgiving of each other".

Shabery notes that most annual assemblies were held before the fasting month, between June to September.

"But the timing this year is mainly for logistical reasons; to prevent a clash with either Ramadan or the fasting month.

"In any case, if any ‘big’ issue were to break out and dominate the assembly, there’s no guarantee it won’t be heated just because you hold the assembly right after the fasting month," he says.

What can help is the message that the party leaders are sending to the rank and file.

Which is why, of all the buka puasa functions, the ones attended by party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will get the most attention.

"Pak Lah is going to the states to attend buka puasa functions, and his main message is asking members to reflect upon themselves," says Perak’s Lumut division chief Datuk Zambry Abd Kadir, who was present at one such function in Ipoh last Sunday.

"This is, after all, the time for us to stop indulging in unnecessary gossip and listening to all kinds of rumours, hearsay, and back-stabbing, which normally form part of political culture," he says.

Muhyiddin agrees. Ramadan, he says, should instead be used by Umno members to increase respect for each other and to strengthen the resolve to help the ummah, all of which are supposed to be Umno’s struggle.

"The less we ‘talk’ in the fasting month, the better."

But being human, some may not be able to help themselves.