Delegates set to make their choice

By Adib Zalkapli, The Malaysian Insider

The Umno annual general assembly begins today where some 2,600 delegates would be voting for 25 supreme council members, three vice-presidents and a deputy president for the last time before the party’s constitution is amended to increase the number of electors.

The question now is whether the delegates’ choice later today would reflect the wishes of the incoming party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who asked for an able and strong team when he opened the Wanita, Youth and Puteri assembly on Tuesday.

In the race for deputy presidency, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is the favourite and said to have been endorsed by Najib but the possibility of Datuk Seri Ali Rustam’s supporters backing Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib would hurt the Pagoh MP’s chance of becoming the next deputy prime minister.

Ali was barred from contesting the deputy presidency last week for breaching the party’s code of ethics, and was widely believed to be the leading contender, and his supporters may well decide the outcome of the race.

But the Malacca Chief Minister has yet to endorse any candidate and did not order his supporters to back anyone.

“He told his campaign machinery and the supporters to follow their heart,” said a Malacca delegate.

But Muhyiddin is also backed by another influential figure, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has repeatedly made attempts to influence party elections by publicly telling Umno members to reject corrupt leaders and bring up Muhammad’s case in 1997 where he was arrested by the Australian authorities for currency irregularities.

“I've let it rest in the past. I've forgotten about it. They (Umno) have accepted me. Dr Mahathir has put me as the director of by-elections. All the by-elections since 1999. He gave me the responsibility to make sure we win all the other by-elections,” Muhammad told reporters in an attempt to remind the delegates that he had been cleared.

For the vice-president posts, eight candidates are vying for the three slots, with Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said to be the favourites and followed closely by former Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

Also in the race are Tan Sri Isa Samad, who won the post with the highest vote in 2004 but was subsequently suspended from the party for vote buying, and former Umno Youth chief Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik.

Interestingly, the supporters of Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, 64, and Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, 66, are now hoping that Umno delegates would at least reserve a place for veteran leaders.

“Syed Hamid is competing with Rais Yatim for a slot,” said a campaigner who was confident that at least one veteran leader would be elected.

While Najib’s preferred choice for the vice-presidents remains unclear, the election of leaders seen not to fulfil the criteria set by the deputy president would see a repeat of the 2004 election when the then newly installed party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had to publicly declare that all the winners were his men.

“Somebody asked me: Pak Lah, who is your man there? I said: Everyone here is my men,” said Abdullah when winding up the 2004 assembly.