The prowling prince is destined to lose out… again

SEPT 30, 2008 — For someone as magnanimous as Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, fondly known as Ku Li, his outburst and display of disgust at the Umno supreme council decision to postpone party elections is almost out of character.
Late last week, in a plan widely believed to be hatched by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the supreme council decided to postpone the party elections from December 2008 to March 2009. The affable Kelantan prince, commonly perceived as being a gentleman and statesman, showed his annoyance by claiming the plan as extra-constitutional.
The supreme council backed the eleventh hour plan to postpone party elections on the pretext that it would ease the transition plan from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Najib.
Obviously, not all of the supreme council members agreed with the decision. Council member and Deputy Health Minister Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad demanded that the transition plan be transparent, insinuating that the current plan is dishonourable. Tourism Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said claimed that this will only cause more problems and affect candidates standing in the party elections.
As for Ku Li, the decision will further narrow his chances of realising his destiny — the presidency. Even though Abdullah has not made any decision, or at least publicly, with regards to the presidency, it is very unlikely that he will run in March 2009 for it will go against the essence of an expedited transition plan.
According to Ku Li, the country is currently a laughing stock in the eyes of the international community due to the flip flopping of the transition plan. His argument that the plan runs contrary to the constitution is legally true but it does not resonate with Umno members.
For the grassroots, Umno is currently headless in its inability to provide a clear direction. Following the landslide win by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Permatang Pauh, according to an Umno state assemblyman from Penang, the momentum demanding that Abdullah hand over the reins to Najib as soon as possible is escalating. On the other hand, there are those such as Ku Li who believe that members should be allowed to choose their leaders and that this transition plan will kill democracy within Umno.
However, as the convention goes, it has been a tradition within the party for such a plan since Datuk Onn Jaafar handed the reins to Tunku Abdul Rahman. But that was more than 50 years ago, when supporters were more likely to accept the decision from the top much more readily. Umno had established itself as the single most powerful party in the nation but was still in its infancy where democracy was concerned. Many decisions were made at the top and accepted by members without much hesitation. This was the case even within the supreme council itself whereby dissent was viewed as something unacceptable.
Back in September 1998, when then Umno president and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dismissed Anwar, there was an almost total absence of dissent within the supreme council. None dared raise the ire of Dr Mahathir except for Datuk Zahid Hamidi, the Youth chief then, resulting in his brief detention under the ISA.
A decade later, when vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin came out strongly in demanding that Abdullah step down sooner than the original date of June 2010, he was severely criticised by his comrades. It does seem odd for a prince to fight for egalitarianism and democracy within Umno. However, it would be wise for Umno leaders to realise that they are no longer living in an era where the president of Umno reins supreme much like the king during the Malacca Sultanate.
Abdullah is expected to announce his decision not to defend his presidency which will then leave the door wide open for Najib as many predict that Ku Li will be unable to even garner enough nominations to stand. The frontrunner for the deputy would be Muhyiddin, but if Najib shows his preference, we might see either Datuk Ali Rustam or even Zahid (Najib's former political secretary) and Datuk Hishamuddin Hussein (Najib's cousin) entering the race for the deputy president's post. The biggest winner, with Abdullah bowing out in March 2009, would be Najib and Muhyiddin.
On the other hand, the biggest loser if this transition goes according to plan is Abdullah's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin and Ku Li himself. Without Abdullah's protection, Khairy will have to battle the Mahathirists led by Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir as well as old-school youth leaders like Datuk Dr Khir Toyo and Zahidi Zainul Abidin in a four-way race.
As for Ku Li, its déjà vu all over again, the battle cry of change and reform within Umno will almost certainly fall on deaf ears with the demise of a punching bag in the form of Abdullah. There are fewer reasons to vote for Ku Li with Najib being touted as a pre-determined choice of the supreme council.
Looking back, Ku Li lost when he took on Tun Musa Hitam for the deputy presidency in the early '80s and again when he took on Dr Mahathir for the presidency, albeit narrowly, in the highly-charged 1987 party elections. After forming Semangat 46 he rejoined Umno and in 2004 he announced his interest in the top post yet again but failed to garner enough nominations to contest the presidency. He may as well consider following the Malay practise of "mandi bunga" to rid him of the constant and endless bad luck or change his game plan, for this one is clearly getting him nowhere.

- published in The Malaysian Insider : Sept 30, 2008