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Call it political hedging |
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Saturday, 05 April 2008 10:27 |
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Umno bigwigs in power game for party polls (The Malaysian Insider) - Wanted: Independent-minded individual; personality and charisma optional, but must seem able to rise above the ashes of Election 2008 and sound like a reformist on one day, and a status-quo-lover on another.
And oh yes, it would help if this person is willing to dump some mud on Mr Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaludin, just to prove his credentials.
Stung by the election results of March 8, troubled by the weight of party opinion shifting against the party president and Prime Minister, and sensitive to what a political tsunami can do to political ambitions, a
growing number of Umno (United Malays National Organisation) leaders have started hedging.
For some of these leaders, such as Mr Muhyiddin Yassin, it is a question of political opportunism. He senses that in this fluid system, neither Mr Abdullah nor his anointed successor, Mr Najib Tun Razak, is safe. He knows that he is being watched and discussed by the party rank-and-file, who expect him to show "leadership''.
So, there are days when he flirts with dismantling the party quota system and lends voice to grassroots grievances, and there are days when he speaks like a statesman.
For others, like former Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khir Toyo, it is a question of political survival. His state was snatched from him by the opposition and he no longer has the choice job of the Umno state liaison chief.
Craving political relevance, he has started a blog and tried to remodel himself as an independent-minded politician. To be fair to him, he made his move 24 hours after March 8, blaming Mr Abdullah and Mr Khairy for the huge defeats suffered by the Barisan Nasional (BN).
Never mind that Mr Mohamed Khir and Mr Khairy were close pals and had formed an informal political pact going into the party election year. Khir discovered early that his good friend was a major political liability, and would in the days ahead cast more aspersions on the son-in-law's influence on decision-making in Umno.
When he was asked at a function earlier this week if Mr Khairy had any influence on BN candidates in the recent general election, he fudged his answer. He said he gave the names for Barisan candidates in Selangor, and this was scrutinised by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the party's secretary-general.
"But I will admit that there were some outside influences," he noted.
Hard to blame Muhyiddin, Khir Toyo, Ali Rustam and other members of the Umno Supreme Council for posturing. They are auditioning for future employment. They understand that the Umno grassroots are in a mood to find a scapegoat for Election 2008. At the moment, it is a short list consisting of Abdullah, Khairy and the PM's circle of advisers.
But the list of scapegoats could include Umno Supreme Council members who do not exhibit enough "independence'' or "strong leadership". With party elections in December, some Supreme Council members are worried about being punished by the ground.
Some are torn between allegiance to the party president and loyalty to themselves. As a compromise, their supporters and aides are speaking to reporters and sending encouraging messages to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
As for Muhyiddin, despite being given a senior Cabinet position, he still carries the wounds of not being consulted enough by Abdullah over the last four years.
There are SMSes floating around about him teaming up with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to challenge the Abdullah-Najib team for the top two positions in the party.
These SMSes are likely to be the work of mischief-makers, but no one should write off the possibility of such a pairing. Not in this season of hedging and political auditioning.
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Bye bye umno1