Umno Youth Chief – a vote for reform or a vote for the good old days

In many ways, Mr Mukhriz represents a moderate Malay leader to the general public, while Mr Khairy is still viewed with suspicion and Dr Mohd Khir is seen as a Malay extremist.

Leslie Lau, Today Online

UMNO is a party which has come to a crossroads, and its leaders and members will now have to make a decision.

That decision is reflected in part by the three candidates for the post of Umno Youth chief – Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, Mr Mukhriz Mahathir and Dr Mohd Khir Toyo.

Mr Khairy, 33, has tried, often in vain, to portray himself as the man who will reform Umno from its image as a giant corrupt behemoth to a progressive, modern party which can continue to lead the country.

But his status as the son-in-law of outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has resulted in much sniping and accusations of nepotism. And the often cynical and calculated approach of his campaign has aroused suspicion from among the public and within the party. "We have a good product here which we need to market properly," an aide told Weekend Xtra.

It is precisely such a positioning which has made it difficult for Malaysians to understand what Mr Khairy represents.

Of late, he has been at the fore front of protests against Pakatan Rakyat, the opposition coalition, and have expressed support for the Malaysian royalty in the ongoing power tussle in Perak. He has also consistently championed affirmative action, in what appears to be a calculated move to appeal to the conservative spine in Umno.

But among the three candidates, the ultimate champion of that conservative spine in the party would have to be Dr MohdKhir, 43. He was swept out of power in Selangor in last year’s general elections, losing his Mentri Besar job after bragging that he would lead Umno and Barisan Nasional to a 100-per-cent sweep.

Trained as a dentist, the former Selangor MB can barely speak English and is perceived as the embodiment of Umno’s philosophy of ketuanan Melayu, or Malay supremacy, which has not gone down well with moderates and non-Malays.

Earlier this week, Dr Mohd Khir was cleared of wrongdoing after a charge of vote-buying was levelled at him to the party’s disciplinary committee. His rival Khairy was found guilty but was let off with just a warning.

So negative is the perception of Dr MohdKhir’s character that most neutral observers reacted with incredulity at the decision to clear the former Selangor MB.

The third candidate for the Umno Youth chief’s post, Mr Mukhriz, 44, is looked upon as a reluctant politician who represents the aspirations of his father, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

During a nationally-televised debate between the three candidates a few weeks ago, Mr Mukhriz’s body language suggested his heart is not really in the contest.

He looked on with little interest as his two rivals tripped over each other to highlight their "Malay" credentials before a fawning crowd of party members.

When Mr Mukhriz took his turn to address the crowd and the whole country, he repeated his oft-stated line that he felt the country should abolish its vernacular schools and have only national schools. His rationale was that a single school system would help foster national unity.

The remarks are consistent with the views of his father, who had been a proponent of using schools to foster unity and improve race relations.

Asked how he felt about the perception that a win for him represented a vote for his father’s leadership, Mr Mukhriz said: "I would be very proud of representing my father’s legacy."

Soon after last year’s general elections which saw Mr Abdullah Badawi lead Umno and Barisan Nasional to its worst-ever electoral performance, Mr Mukhriz even dusted off his father’s playbook from 1969.

Mr Mukhriz wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, which was widely circulated, and asked Mr Abdullah to take responsibility for the ruling coalition’s poor performance and resign.

It was almost a carbon copy move of something his father did almost four decades ago.

Soon after elections that year which saw the ruling coalition take a hammering at the polls which led to Malaysia’ worst race riots, Dr Mahathir also wrote a letter to Tunku Abdul Rahman and urged the Prime Minister to resign. The Tunku ceded power soon after that to Mr Abdul Razak Hussein, who is the father of Mr Najib.

While history appears to be repeating itself, Mr Mukhriz still he lacks the confidence and leadership qualities of his father.

But he remains a dark horse in the race and could sneak in at the last turn. In a recent survey by the independent Merdeka Centre, the public expressed a clear preference for him to become Umno Youth chief.

In many ways, Mr Mukhriz represents a moderate Malay leader to the general public, while Mr Khairy is still viewed with suspicion and Dr Mohd Khir is seen as a Malay extremist.

Still, Dr Mohd Khir holds the edge in the last days of campaigning.

But in recent days Dr Mahathir has been railing against the corruption which has afflicted Malaysia’s grand old party and appears to have been targeting candidates such as Dr Mohd Khir and Mr Khairy, with remarks which seemed to be in lock-step with public perception.

It remains to be seen if Umno Youth delegates agree with his views.