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The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — Got to feel sorry for Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Of all the Umno leaders post Election 2008, he seems to have a game plan to revitalise the ruling party and make it more attractive to all Malaysians. Of all the critics of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he is the one who talks about unseating the president through the electoral process. Of all the politicians here, he is the one who talks about the primacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.
Yet, he is having trouble connecting with the power brokers in the party. His message of change is lost on many division chiefs, supreme council members and others who command the levers of power in this party. Everywhere he speaks, there is a healthy turnout. This is the case whether the venue in his stronghold in Kelantan or the middle-class belt of Subang Jaya, where he spoke on Saturday. But conspicuous by their absence are the more influential members at branch and division level. This is hardly surprising because the value system that Razaleigh is preaching about no longer has much resonance in Umno. Maybe it once did in the 70s and early 80s but not anymore. The power brokers in Umno have been shaped by the culture of easy money, patronage, Malay supremacy and also have an allergy to electoral contests, after being told repeatedly over the last two decades that contests leads to division and infighting. Everywhere he speaks, he is swamped with questions about the succession plan and the transfer of power from Abdullah to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. In response, Razaleigh says that the party constitution does not provide for any succession plan or transfer of power. “Umno is a democratic party and changes in the leadership should take place at the polls. If we want the other people to respect Umno again, democracy must be returned to the party, starting with picking electoral candidates to the party president," he said. But only a clutch of divisions appear to be pushing for a removal of the system that requires any person wanting to contest the party presidency to obtain 58 nominations. Most of the divisions that have had their post election meeting have passed resolutions asking for clarity in the succession plan. Their views appears to be that continuity is more important than democratic contests and that’s why many division leaders will be pleased so long as Abdullah charts his departure in an orderly fashion and hands over the power to Najib. For the moment, not many of them are interested in strategies to make Umno relevant to all Malaysians. In fact, the predominant position appears to be that Umno should focus on keeping its Malay base intact before seeking to win over Chinese and Indians. Some party officials are taking a more strident approach towards non-Malays. That could explain why Cheras division chief Syed Ali al-Habshee today ticked off Umno Youth chief Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein for apologising for holding up the keris as part of an opening gambit at the party’s assembly, saying that it was part of the Malay culture. In contrast, Razaleigh slammed the keris waving act, saying that it had spooked the non-Malays and smacked of arrogance. The Kelantan prince knows that he is facing an uphill battle in his bid to garner nominations to go for the number one position in the party. He does not have the power of incumbency which Abdullah possesses, or the powerful network at Najib’s disposal. And he may not be able to count on the unstinting support of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad now that he has made clear that while good friends, they are not on the same political page. Still, Razaleigh has said that he will soldier on with his goal of broadening Umno’s appeal to all Malaysians. Speaking to party rank-and-file in Subang Jaya, he said that Umno had to project an image as a national party, a party which had to look beyond just articulating Malay interests. "This is a country for all Malaysians, and thus it is not just the Malays or Umno who will defend this country," he said. He noted that some Malays were concerned that the other races were constantly harping on Islam and the special privileges but noted that Malay rights and the position of Islam were enshrined in the Constitution. In the next few weeks, he will travel to other states in Malaysia to persuade Umno members that he has got the ideas and the charisma to take the party forward. It will be a lonely journey for a leader whose value system is out of sync with many in his party.
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Hello DAP and PAS! If I have objections to you fellas taking over power via frog jumps, it would be this.
The manner in which you fellas 'select and elect' your leadership is a joke! One is like the Politburo of PRC and the other is likethe Shura Council! If not for the fact I hate UMNO-ism more, I wouldn't bother supporting you fellas lah!
DAP and PAS is well advised to instill a true democracy within their ranks in order to compete with UMNO-ists. They won't be punch drunk for long, and if the Rakyat see you fellas less 'democratic' and those UMNO-ists for brains reform themselves just palatable enough, you fellas are screwed!