After the nomination for the Umno elections was closed, Najib and Muhyiddin won unchallenged as the party's president and deputy president respectively.
Which is nothing strange.
Although Najib has come under pressure from within his party--the conservatives want him to emphasise the Malay agenda--the pressure on him does not necessarily translate into a force to overthrow him. Indeed, no one has such a capacity to do this.
As for the deputy presidency, Muhyiddin has also not met any obstacle.
The various factions within the party have chosen to keep the status quo to avoid drastic changes to the existing power structure. To Muhyiddin, nothing comes better than such an arrangement.
An Umno leader has said, "This is going to be an appropriate and comfortable seat for him. There are no reasons for anyone to do anything he has no confidence in achieving."
So, the two top men nominate each other to show their faith and support for the other. Prior to this, the launch of the bumiputra economic empowerment policy was like a kind of gesture for the mutual exchange.
This shows that over the next few years, Umno and BN will continue to go down the roadmap of Najib and Muhyiddin, and some say this is a compromised roadmap between the moderate and the conservative within the party.
VP fight draws attention
What draws more attention is the 6-cornered fight for the three seats of vice presidency.
Seeking re-election are the three Umno ministers Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Hishammuddin and Shafie Apdal while the challengers are former Melaka CM Mohd Ali Rustam, former Negeri Sembilan MB Mohd Isa and the incumbent Kedah MB Mukhriz Mahathir.
Only three will eventually be elected. The thing is, these three are going to be the heirs of future Umno leadership.
People start to ask which three will win.
Among the key factors are: image, capability and grassroots support.
Ahmad Zahid is the leader in these three criteria. Many in Umno feel that he is a hardline leader with strong Malay nationalistic hue, and the strong grassroots support scattered across various states should be able to book him a ticket for the vice presidency.
Hishammuddin and Shafie Apdal are by comparison weaker in grassroots support, in particular the latter who depends more on his supporters in Sabah. If Sabah delegates do not go wholeheartedly for him,the challengers may have a chance.
Both Mohd Ali Rustam and Mohd Isa have previously been elected as Umno vice presidents, but they were both disqualified owing to disciplinary issues. They may think they still have the support this time round.
However, politics is something very realistic. When your prime is over and you are beginning to slide, to retain your supporters is not going to be easy at all.
They are both 64 and 63 this year, old enough to join the party's Veterans Club, but to become the heirs to the party's future leadership, it's a different story altogether.
Starting to look good
Entering the race beyond many's expectation, Mukhriz's chances are beginning to look rosy.
He has the advantage of age, being only 49. To many in the party, he belongs to the new generation leaders ready to take over the baton soon.
He did a marvellous job leading Kedah Umno to defeat PAS in the general elections but more importantly, he is also the heir of Mahathir's family politics. The former PM still has a powerful support base in the party which should be enough to put his son in vice presidency.
If Mukhriz were to win the election, he should be the brightest shining new political star in Umno. Of course, there are speculations that the conservatives will also gain ground because of this.
Najib has postponed the Umno elections in hope of giving him more time to form his team after the GE and push ahead Umno's reform. Unfortunately, Najib's performance was not up to the mark and his moderate policies have failed to win the hearts of non-Malay voters, giving the conservatives and hardliners within the party a chance to gain momentum.
A reshuffling of power is expected in the upcoming Umno elections. While no one can tell who will eventually be elected, the overall trend of the party is well within the grips of everyone.
mysinchew
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