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Some veteran politicians likely to make way for new faces

By Leslie Lopez, South-east Asia Correspondent and Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief, THE STRAITS TIMES

THE future of embattled Works Minister S. Samy Vellu looked secure yesterday, but the fate of several other big guns still hangs in the balance ahead of next month's elections.

Datuk Seri Samy Vellu confirmed his own candidacy as an MP for the ninth term.

His Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a partner in Barisan Nasional (BN), also kept most of its old guard as parliamentary candidates in the March 8 elections, although 13 of its 19 candidates for state seats are new faces.

The full list of BN candidates has yet to be announced and the real test of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's promise of renewal will come when it is unveiled, possibly by tomorrow.

In the meantime, the candidacy of several big names has become the subject of rife speculation.

Those with question marks hanging over their heads include International Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz, Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor, Rural and Regional Development Minister Aziz Shamsuddin, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim and Environment and Natural Resources Minister Azmi Khalid.

Names said to have been dropped in the morning were apparently reinstated later in the day, and the situation is expected to remain fluid until the names are officially placed on the ballot paper on nomination day on Sunday.

In the past, there were instances where names were changed even after they were officially announced.

But BN officials do not expect many changes in the Umno line-up because many veteran politicians are considered party warlords who can hurt BN's chances by simply not coming out to campaign.

In Terengganu and Malacca, there were no real surprises when BN released its lists yesterday.

Malacca kept its Chief Minister Ali Rustam and Human Resource Minister Fong Chan Onn, and Terengganu's Menteri Besar Idris Jusoh is also standing.

Those dropped included Deputy Human Resources Minister Abdul Rahman Bakar and Technology and Innovations Ministry parliamentary secretary Mohd Ruddin Ab Ghani.

Despite intense pressure on PM Abdullah to drop Datuk Seri Samy Vellu, the combative veteran politician yesterday said he will contest the elections.

His leadership of the Indian community has come under much fire since unhappiness erupted into street demonstrations on Nov 25.

But he told reporters yesterday: 'I am confident we can get back the support of the majority of the Indians. The Indian voters now realise they have been misled.'

Analysts say it will be tough to make sweeping changes in Umno because of the potential backlash from voters.

'The PM's hands are tied because intelligence reports say too many changes could upset the mood in Umno constituencies,' conceded a close associate of PM Abdullah, who declined to be named.

But at the same time, he added, 'to create an image that he is injecting new blood into the BN, he may have to sacrifice some big names'.

Big changes in the list of Umno candidates - a move that would be popular with the wider electorate - could also undermine PM Abdullah's own position in the party, which will hold its own elections later this year.

Datuk Seri Rafidah's future is in question as she is at the centre of a nearly two-year tiff between PM Abdullah and his predecessor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir has openly accused her of favouritism in awarding special import licences for foreign manufactured motor vehicles, a business valued at several hundred million dollars a year.

He has also advised Malaysians to vote not according to party lines but rather for candidates who are clean.

Analysts say PM Abdullah might want to placate forces within Umno who are aligned to Dr Mahathir, but Umno sources say Datuk Seri Rafidah is no pushover.

For one thing, as president of the women's wing of Umno, she commands a powerful bloc of party members who play a crucial role in the election campaign.

Umno sources say PM Abdullah may find it easier to drop Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan, MP for the administrative capital of Putrajaya.

Widely considered to be aligned to Dr Mahathir, he was implicated in the recent scandal over alleged brokering of judicial appointments.

As for new Umno faces, BN sources say they will include party treasurer Azim Zabidi and the Prime Minister's influential son-in-law and youth wing deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

But PM Abdullah is said to have spurned efforts from within Umno to replace Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman as he wants him as point- man on his pet economic project, the Iskandar Development Region.

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