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“What goes around comes around. Rafidah said that the PM should understand the sentiment on the ground and not stick to the transition plan. Guess what? A considerable number of members in her wing are telling her the same thing," said a staunch Abdullah supporter. The Malaysian Insider
Publicly, neither Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi nor his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak will takes sides in the clash for the top position in Wanita Umno. Party convention, in the name of fairness, blah, blah, blah. Everyone knows the procession of stock answers. But make no mistake, both of them are rooting for Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil to topple Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and replace her as the head of the women’s wing. And for different reasons. Nerves are still raw in the Abdullah camp over Rafidah’s use of strong language and cutting remarks during a Umno Supreme Council meeting in September when a cabal of senior party officials urged the PM to cut
short his transition plan. Of the few who spoke, Rafidah’s tone and choice of words stung the most. She told Abdullah that he was so unpopular on the ground that if he went ahead and sought nominations from the ground, he could be rebuffed in the same, humiliating way like Tun Ghafar Baba was in 1993. A senior Umno official said: “Rafidah said that Abdullah would not be able to get close to 58 nominations and went on and on. We knew that this was part of the plan to force Abdullah out but she went overboard with her comments.’’ Privately, Abdullah was disappointed with Rafidah’s attack, especially since he had defended her from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad incessant attacks during the Approved Permits controversy. When Shahrizat put out feelers that she was considering accepting nominations for the top position in Wanita Umno and challenging Rafidah, there was all around support from Abdullah’s supporters in the party. When she seemed to hesitate at a Wanita exco meeting a few weeks ago, they were disappointed. Now they smell blood and want to exact some form of revenge on Rafidah, even if the PM is publicly not showing his hand. “What goes around comes around. Rafidah said that the PM should understand the sentiment on the ground and not stick to the transition plan. Guess what? A considerable number of members in her wing are telling her the same thing," said a staunch Abdullah supporter. Najib’s supporters say that more than anything else he does not want the fight between Rafidah and Shahrizat to split the party. That’s the official line. But Cabinet ministers in this and the previous administration know that there is no love lost between the DPM and Rafidah. She was easily one of the smartest politicians to ever serve as a minister and was not shy of pointing that out. It was common for her to cut off her Cabinet colleagues in mid-sentence and had little fear of belittling other ministers. The Malaysian Insider has learnt that she attempted to improve her ties with Najib after March 8, when it became obvious that it would only be a matter of time before he succeeded Abdullah as the party president and prime minister. Her supporters in Wanita Umno also broached the subject of appointing her as a minister once Najib was firmly in the saddle of power. Their argument was simple: allow Rafidah to be the minister in the interim and
after she steps down in June 2009, Shahrizat can be given that portfolio. Najib’s replied that it would be unfair to tie his hands just because of a transition plan cobbled together by Rafidah and Wanita Umno. In recent days, Shahrizat has reached out to both Abdullah and Najib, seeking their blessings. She did not manage to obtain the public endorsement which she certainly was seeking. But she made them understand
that she could not accept the humiliation of sitting through five hours of bashing by Rafidah and her supporters at the last Wanita exco meeting. Abdullah and Najib – who have been on the receiving end from Rafidah - may have empathised with her.
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