As Khir and Noh fight, Ezam muscles into S'gor Umno?

Regina Lee, Malaysiakini

Amidst the talk of a split between the two Umno Selangor figureheads - state party liaison deputy chief Noh Omar and former menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo - there are fresh speculations that former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Nor is being groomed for bigger things in the state.

After being touted as one of the headliners in the first prong of the 'Save Selangor' campaign by Umno to recapture the state, Ezam's schedule is now booked with chock-full ofceramah engagements with the first one last night in Section 17, Shah Alam.

But the path has already been laid out for the one-time PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's protege to step up in the hustings. Ezam has been going around the state, delivering speeches, mainly to discredit his former boss.

While many Umno leaders have refused to speak on the record when contacted regarding the matter, it is widely speculated that Ezam's meteoric rise in Selangor can only be credited to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

It is no secret that during Ezam's time in PKR, the charismatic and eloquent speaker have carved a name for himself, extending his influence over many parts of the country.

When Ezam left the party back in 2007, it took him nearly a year before rejoining Umno - an extremely calculated move after having mobilised several other key party leaders to join him and almost crippling the PKR Youth wing at the same time.

And while he joined the party at the tail-end of former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's reign in the party - a move also said to be engineered by Abdullah's son-in-law and current Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin - it is now Najib, the Umno Selangor chief, who is making full use of Ezam.

But even now, especially after Ezam was appointed into the Dewan Negara in April, the 43-year-old politician's meteoric rise in the Umno ranks has made some party elders uncomfortable.

Khir Toyo 'systematically sidelined'


Sources have said that party veterans, especially those in Khir's camp have been left in a lurch after they were “systematically sidelined”, giving way for a relatively newcomer like Ezam.

It is said that the more senior senators in Dewan Negara are also wary of associating themselves with Ezam, refusing to socialise with him and leaving him to have meals by himself in the Parliament cafeteria.

His former colleague in PKR Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Seri Setia assemblyperson, also had choice words for Ezam, using the old Malay adage jin cari tuan (genie looking for a master).

“I'm not surprised if Umno wants to take him in for this purpose. But it is still a rocky road for him. The party elders have stayed with the party through thick and thin. I don't see how they would want to accept him,” said Nik Nazmi, who was one of the founding members of an anti-corruption NGO Gerak, which was helmed by Ezam.

A source close to Ezam, having been a PKR member before leaving for Umno together with him, also said that Ezam's thrust into the spotlight is “new”.

According to him, Ezam was given the role to spearhead the 'Selangor Darul Ehsan Secretariat', an initiative by Noh, who is also the agriculture and agro-based minister.

However, even the source scoffed at claims that the Umno bigwigs are grooming Ezam for bigger things in Selangor in a plan to move Khir out of the way.

“Although Khir is not involved in the first phase of the Save Selangor campaign, he may appear in the second phase,” said the source.

In the first phase which ends on Aug 8, there will be 19 ceramah in 18 spots all over the state. Ezam is tipped to speak at nearly all of the functions.

And with Khir who was the state liaison chief for eight years since 2000 to not even appear at the launch of the campaign by Najib back in April, one can only expect a new force to take the reins - whether it is Ezam or Noh himself.