Hisham keeps a close eye on the DPM's seat as Najib's power fades

The eyes and ears of the nation may be trained on the theatrics of Prime Minister Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor at the moment but there is someone, whom they know and who is close to them, quietly waiting in line to assume the post of second in command. But it will not be to Najib but rather to his successor.

Hishammuddin Hussein Onn, cousin to Najib, is a deputy prime minister in waiting. The buzz around town is that in the Umno old-boys-club politics, Hisham is in line to play the No. 2 post to current DPM, Muhyiddin Yassin, who in turn is widely expected to take over the top post from Najib. Whether PM Najib likes it or not, he is seen to have overstayed his welcome and the writing is already on the wall for his departure.

Hisham is not unaware of what is happening to his cousin and he will try to help as much as he can. But both men know that even if they joined forces, there is little that Hisham can do to help Najib. That is the nature of the crocodile-pit politics practiced in Umno.

Pedigree may not be enough

Hisham, whose mum is sisters with Najib's, is regarded as UMNO blue blood. His great grandfather was Dato’ Jaffar, Prime Minister under Sultan Abu Bakar - the great-grandfather of the present ruler of Johor, his grandfather Dato’ Sir Onn Jaafar founded Umno, and his father Tun Hussein Onn was the prime minister before Tun Mahathir Mohamed.

He has been the Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Education, former UMNO Youth Chief and currently a Vice President of UMNO and Minister of Home Affairs.

With such a pedigree, a lot was expected of Hishamuddin when he made the obvious step into Malaysian politics. Yet, pedigree alone does not determine if one is suited for public office. Being street smart and intelligent are some of the criteria that separate mere followers from leaders.

Hishammuddin has made some rather dubious decisions in recent years, leaving some to question if he has the smarts to lead or not.

During the 2005 UMNO General Assembly, it was Hishamuddin who as UMNO Youth Chief who waved the keris and casually explained it away as merely meant to “motivate the Malays” and denying it was a symbol of Malay supremacy.

Muhyiddin Yassin had then said that "Although some sides were a bit extreme [this year], it is quite normal to voice feelings during the assembly." Interesting to note that even then, the two could see eye to eye.

Yes, for Muhyidden, such display of bravado by UMNO underlings is normal, unless one is Mat Sabu, the PAS deputy president who was charged for criminal defamation earlier this week for effectively saying that there were other groups that fought for independence, not just UMNO.

Often lacking logic

The then deputy Youth chief, Khairy Jamaluddin, insisted that "while there is nothing extraordinary about that year’s congress and that similar sentiments have been raised in the past, those feelings have never compromised the ultimate manifestation of governance in this country through BN’s power-sharing formula."

But the Chinese politicians were not convinced. Hishamuddin then called together all concerned Chinese politicians within the Barisan Nasional and managed to “explain” himself to them. MCA promptly remained silent after Hishamuddin “explained” himself.

In 2009, Hishamuddin found himself in the limelight again only this time, he defended the actions of a group of demonstrators who were demonstrating the relocation of a Hindu temple. The protestors, comprising a group of about 50 members, marched whilst carrying the decapitated head of a cow, an animal sacred to Hindus. This video clip of the protest was promptly captured and made its way online, much to the horror of Malaysians. Not surprisingly the protest met with nationwide condemnation from all round.

As Minister of Home Affairs, Hisamuddin then invited the protesters for a meeting and what followed defied logical thinking. He defended the protesters' actions citing several reasons. Although the demonstration was illegal and conducted without a government-issued permit, he said the protesters had limited the size of their demonstration.

Even more bizarrely, Hisham turned around and put the blame on the state government, which he said had made a poor decision in relocating the Hindu temple. The people should be allowed space to voice their opinions and that similar incidents have happened before, such as pig heads being thrown into UMNO grounds, he said.

Hishamuddin further dumbfounded the public, when in 2011, he refused to take action against Utusan for publishing a blogger’s claim that Malaysian Christians and DAP had entered a pact to install a Christian Prime Minister. Hishamuddin's excuse of a reason - that leeway needed to be given to Utusan Malaysia for reporting the news in Malaysia.

Continues to astound

Since then, Hisham has continued to chalk up dumbfounding actions, particularly when he outlawed the Bersih 2.0 coalition and all things yellow that had the Bersih logo on it.

Hishamuddin is smart, but not in politics or polemics. His smarts reflect the view of the current establishment rather than real policies knocked together for the long-term good of the nation and people. He is one who stands in the shadow of another and parrots what is said or held on to by his masters.

And while his cousin, Najib Razak fends off one scandal after another, Hishamuddin is content on remaining quiet on the sidelines - knowing full well that his time as deputy prime minister will come sooner than expected if Muhyidden and Mahathir have their way.

According to UMNO watchers, once Najib is out, Mahathir is bound to complete the circle by backing Hisham to be Muhyiddin's deputy. Indeed, Mahathir still casts a long shadow over the party he once headed for 22 years. When he himself finally stepped down, he chose Abdullah Badawi as his successor. Not only that, it was also Mahathir who chose Badawai's deputy for him. And that was Najib.

When Badawi was found wanting and he was ousted, it was again Mahathir who backed Najib to succeed him and Muhyiddin to be Najib's deputy. Now that it is Najib who is underperforming, Muhyiddin gets to try out the hot seat, while Hisham moves up to the No. 2 spot in the country. Later on, when Muhyiddin retires, no doubt Hisham will get a taste of how it feels like to be PM. By then, the DPM would surely be Mukhriz, the youngest son of Mahathir Mohamad.

- Malaysia Chronicle