The wheel has turned for Khairy
Khairy Jamaluddin’s ability to take on the tsunami politics of the last few years was a major reason for the sweeping vote of confidence in him to continue as Umno Youth leader.
Joceline Tan, The Star
KHAIRY Jamaluddin showed little emotion even as the feedback from his boys on the ground showed that he was going to win big on Saturday night.
The SMSes were beeping in fast and furious and lots of calls were coming in.
Every single one of the messages and calls conveyed positive news on his bid for a second term as Umno Youth leader.
But he kept his composure.
There were no celebratory gestures or show of elation, even as the numbers edged past the target of 175 divisions that his team had set out to achieve.
His team could hardly contain their excitement when the dozen or so divisions they had considered as less than friendly to Khairy also gave him their votes.
That was when they realised that Khairy was speeding towards what they thought was the impossible – a perfect sweep of all 191 divisions, leaving his four challengers in the zero zone.
It was only when he arrived at the PWTC at about 10pm, wearing the white-and-red Umno Youth baju Melayu, that he had relaxed enough to smile and wave at those calling out to him.
His mother Datuk Rahmah Hamid and wife Nori Abdullah were with him.
Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad, the former political secretary to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was in Mecca when he heard about Khairy’s win.
His immediate reaction was: “Wow! Overwhelming support.”
Alwi had watched how Khairy struggled in his first term as Umno Youth chief because he was regarded as a “minority leader” after securing only slightly more than a third of the votes in the three-way fight in 2009.
But he is now the clear-cut choice of the Youth delegates and the big winner among the three wings.
Wanita Umno’s power woman Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil also crushed her competitors but had to concede five divisions to one of her challengers – Datuk Maznah Mazlan.
But, said Alwi, a big win also comes with high expectations and big responsibilities.
“He has a lot to do, to carry out what is expected of him. But it is very important that he should not become proud or acquire airs. Humility is important when they give you so much support,” said Alwi.
The humility thing aside, the big win will give Khairy the clout to push through the ideas and plans he has for the Youth wing, that is, to groom new leaders in the wing, win over fence-sitters and ensure that young Malay voters remain with Umno.
Moments after acknowledging that he had won, he said it meant that the grassroots were ready to go along with his progressive and liberal agenda.
Khairy will add energy and dynamism to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s team.
He has shown that he is not afraid of challenges and he dares to tackle the Opposition. Najib can rely on him to play that role.
The wheel has turned for Khairy. During an interview with The Star shortly before the campaign started, he described what he had gone through in politics as a wheel – sometimes up, sometimes down.
His first victory as Youth chief was followed by one of the lowest points in his political career.
He said he had spent the last four years trying to rehabilitate his career and admitted that there had been a point when he thought of calling it quits.
His father-in-law and former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who had his share of political ups and downs, advised him to be patient, persevere and stay relevant.
“I’ve learnt that you have to roll with the punches. You need to be patient because when you are down, it’s not easy to be patient. You’ve got nothing – no influence, no friends, no future.
“You have to wait for the wheel to turn again.
“Sometimes, it turns quickly, sometimes it takes years and in politics, a week is a long time,” he said.
There was so much scepticism about Khairy when he took over the wing in 2009.
But he has shown his party that he can survive the tsunami politics of the last five years and the sweeping win is basically about the Youth wing telling him that he has proven himself and deserves their full support.
Besides, Malay politics is such that there is often a reluctance to support a candidate who is sure to lose and that was how the Youth delegates viewed Khairy’s challengers.
After a brief press conference at the media centre, he gathered his team around him to thank them and even exchanged man-hugs with a few of them.
That was when they knew that the pressure of the race had lifted because Khairy is not a touchy-feely person.
In fact, he can be quite aloof and some friends even say that he is actually a rather shy person who is not very good at making small talk.
That may be one area he will have to work on if he is to make further progress in the grassroots politics of Umno.
The Khairy team then went down to the fourth floor of the PWTC where the portrait gallery of Umno leaders is located.
On the way down, they came across Shahrizat’s team and also the new Puteri Umno chief Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.
That was when the celebratory mood kicked in for them and there was a lot of laughter and cheering as they posed for one photo after another.
But the last and most important photo shot for Khairy was him posing against the backdrop of the former prime minister whose advice had helped him to persevere and wait patiently for the wheel to turn.
