Semangat 46
| Spirit of 46 Malay Party Parti Melayu Semangat 46 S46 |
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|---|---|
| Leader | Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah |
| Founded | June 3, 1989 |
| Dissolved | October 8, 1996[1] |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia[2] |
| Youth wing | Pergerakan Pemuda S46[3] |
| Membership | 200,000 (1996) |
| Ideology | Malay nationalism, Islamism, Conservatism |
| National affiliation | Gagasan Rakyat and Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah |
| Malaysia |
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Parti Melayu Semangat 46 or Spirit of 46 Malay Party (S46) is a now defunct Malaysian political party. The party was formed in 1988 under the leadership of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who felt capable of mounting a realistic challenge to the dominance of then UMNO under Mahathir's leadership and its electoral vehicle, the Barisan Nasional. Razaleigh's confidence was also partly attributed to the personal support which he was endorsed from former prime ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman and Hussein Onn, both of whom had also fallen apart with Mahathir.[4]
The idea of Semangat 46 first came about in 1985 or 1986 when Malaysia was experiencing an economic recession. Following Razaleigh's expulsion in 1987, Razaleigh headed to form a political party the following year.[5] This new party brought over many UMNO top leaders who were supportive of Razaleigh, known as "Team B". Other UMNO leaders who were supportive of Mahathir made up "Team A"–divisions which were immediately drawn after the presidential elections in January 1987. By February 1988, such distinctions were clearly cut as Razaleigh decided to name his faction "UMNO 46" to reflect the spirit which the party was founded in 1946, while Mahathir decided to name his faction "UMNO (Baru)", tagging along much of the parties' administrative documents. However, since "UMNO 46" was denied registration on the basis of a duplicate name, Razaleigh decided to settle on the name "Semangat 46".[6] On June 3, 1989, Semangat 46 was officially registered with the electoral college.[7]
In 1990, the party forged a double coalition with other opposition parties to contest in the 1990 Malaysian general election; with the multi-racial parties it forged one coalition, Gagasan Rakyat with the Democratic Action Party and Parti Rakyat Malaysia. With the Muslim parties it forged another alliance, Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah with PAS, BERJASA, HAMIM and the newly formed Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress.[8] It was with the latter Muslim alliance Angkatan won all 39 state seats in Kelantan to form the state government, with 24 going to PAS and 15 for Semangat 46.[9]
However, support for the party gradually eroded as many of Semangat 46 members began to defect to UMNO particularly from 1991 to 1992, among which this included the party's youth chief Ibrahim Ali. Others, while remaining as members of the party chose to withdraw from active participation of politics.[10] The party was renamed as Parti Melayu Semangat 46 in February 1994, when Semangat 46 decided to challenge UMNO on Malay communal issues, and at the same time sacrificing its multi-ethnic stance.[5]
In the mid 1990s, Semangat 46 experienced a deteriorating relationship with DAP and eventually leading to the breakup of the Gagasan Rakyat coalition shortly before the 1995 Malaysian general election. The party, at the same time was also experiencing increasingly strained ties with PAS over the share of control of the state of Kelantan, although they still managed to retain control of Kelantan and were still able to work together in the election. By this time, the party's credibility was also severely compromised by its occasional victories which it has won in its elections coupled with the loss of many key figures. The deputy president, Rais Yatim, lost his parliamentary seat in the 1995 election, although Tengku Razaleigh still managed to retain control of his parliamentary seat. In the end, the party did manage to secure six parliamentary seats, with support coming mainly from Razaleigh's home state in Kelantan.[11]
In May 1996, Semangat 46, by now greatly reduced in size and influence, Razaleigh officially announced to his remaining 200,000 members that he would disband the party, which was done so in October, and rejoined UMNO with most of the party members, while others who were denied re-admission either left politics altogether or joined PAS.[12]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Sokongan orang Melayu terhadap UMNO semakin terserlah - Keadilan sudah tidak relevan lagi
- ^ British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring Service (1996). Summary of World Broadcasts. British Broadcasting Corporation. p. "The vote was taken during an extra ordinary general meeting of the party in Kuala Lumpur. Earlier in his speech, Semangat 46 president Tengku Razaleigh...".
- ^ Persaingan 3 penjuru -- Keputusan di Pengkalan Pasir bakal tentukan masa depan Kelantan
- ^ Michael J. Sullivan (1996). Comparing State Polities: A Framework for Analyzing 100 Governments. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 98. ISBN 0313293953.
- ^ a b Garry Rodan, Asia Research Centre (1996). Political Oppositions in Industrialising Asia. Routledge. p. 138. ISBN 0415148650.
- ^ Tan Seng Giaw (1989). First 60 Days: The 27th October ISA Arrests. Democratic Action Party. pp. 38–40.
- ^ In-Won Hwang (2003). Personalized Politics: The Malaysian State Under Mahathir. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 182. ISBN 9812301852.
- ^ In-Won Hwang (2003). Personalized Politics: The Malaysian State Under Mahathir. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 184. ISBN 9812301852.
- ^ Francis Kok-Wah Loh, Francis Loh Kok Wah, Boo Teik Khoo, Khoo Boo Teik (2002). Democracy in Malaysia: Discourses and Practices. Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 0700711619.
- ^ In-Won Hwang (2003). Personalized Politics: The Malaysian State Under Mahathir. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 224. ISBN 9812301852.
- ^ In-Won Hwang (2003). Personalized Politics: The Malaysian State Under Mahathir. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 260–1. ISBN 9812301852.
- ^ Ian Stewart[disambiguation needed
] (2003). The Mahathir Legacy: A Nation Divided, a Region at Risk. Allen & Unwin. p. 28. ISBN 186508977X.
