The meeting between the Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri, with the three leaders of Pakatan Harapan recently may signal that Umno has finally, after a long 60 years, shown signs of adulthood.

Its puberty stage was almost five decades long. Its clarion call of no Anwar and no DAP since Mahathir helmed the leadership seems now to fade in the distance.

Furthermore, there are nice things happening with the Perak state political scene. The DAP-Umno combo seems to be working well and maturing to the pleasure of the Sultan who has encouraged such working relationships in order to save the state and the country.

Are these happenings resembling good signs that Umno is finally maturing up and can potentially change the political landscape of Malaysia?

In my heart and soul, I wish and wish that it were so, but in my rational mind and academic analysis, it may not be so.

Our future politics so much depends on Umno growing up from using race and religion to garner votes from the Malay electorate while working with MCA and MIC to present a multiracial image for Malaysians.

This is of course followed by the icing of ‘ang pows’ or developmental projects badly needed by the communities.

This has always been Umno’s SOP since the Mahathir era.

My rational mind has decided that Umno may have not grown up yet. It is still stuck in the puberty stage for another six decades at least because the game plan of emphasizing race and religion has worked so well that it shows no sign of failure.

As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

But why is Umno acting so grown up recently? The simple answer is political desperation and a strategic battle campaign.

Firstly, who is Umno’s greatest enemy presently? Is it the DAP? Is it Anwar? No, it is PPBM or Bersatu. Why is this so? Because 15 Umno MPs engineered the fall of Bersatu’s president as the PM.

At first, everyone thought that Umno has struck a deal with PH for power sharing but in the end, Umno staged a coup by using the opposition and the parliamentary system to bring down one person and not the whole government.

Now, the same failed government which lost the majority is now firmly back in power but with a new chief. So now Umno can call the shots as it has a reigning prime minister.

Tak boleh! Bersatu can now play the ‘pulling out’ game like Umno has done for many months.

Bersatu is now in the driver’s seat. PAS which was the staunchest supporter of Umno has shown its true colors of God, religion and the Almighty Ringgit.

PAS is nothing more than a grubby opportunist and not an ideological based party of principle and moral values.

PPBM and PAS are now holding the prime minister to ransom. It will be them, not PH, who will cast the votes of no confidence.

With the meeting between Ismail Sabri and the PH leaders, and a possible Confidence and Supply secret agreement, PPBM and PAS can both jump in the lake. They will no longer be entrusted with the important and lucrative posts as long as PH stays true to the CSA.

A similar situation has also occurred in Perak where both Umno and DAP seem to have struck a power sharing agreement.

Are we then close to a new era of politics beyond race and religion?

No-lah! Race and religion were always there and have gotten worse with the so-called ‘educated Malays’ who have been fed the narrative of special Malay rights and the siege mindset of Islam from 40 years of indoctrination by NGOs, religious sermons and lectures, university academics and general cultural ignorance of others.

Umno can switch back to its no DAP and no Anwar mantras anytime and then we will all be back to square one.

Political power sharing may be the tool of the future to bring about change in Malaysia, but I have very little faith in it.

Unless our historical, political and religious narratives are changed consciously by a group of enlightened citizens with adequate political, educational and social media powers, this country will never change.

Change must come from the electorates themselves and must be reflected in the everyday life of work, recreation, communal worship, social welfare and basic education.

Until the houses of worship of each community celebrate all the religious festivals together, eating from the same plates, sleeping under one roof and playing in the same playground, political power sharing means absolutely nothing in the long run.

Thus, sad to say, my fellow citizens, my conclusion is that Umno will NEVER grow up.

(Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at a local university and his writing reflects his own personal opinion entirely.)