KUALA LUMPUR - Despite being suspended by his party, Umno, for money politics in 2009, former Malacca chief minister Ali Rustam rates his chances for winning one of the 3 vice presidencies up for grabs in the coming election as "very bright".
According to national news agency Bernama, Ali said he was confident of winning although there was talk going around of a conspiracy to retain the incumbents.
"All the candidates have good track records, so do I. Now Umno is undergoing a transformation process and practising wider democracy by allowing more delegates to choose the leaders. I see myself as having an equal chance of winning," Bernama reported Ali Rustam as saying.
He was speaking to reporters after receiving his Masters degree in Literature at Universiti Malaya on Wednesday.
Still bitter about his 'sabotage'
Indeed the high-profile former Malacca strongman's plate seems full but he doesn't appear to be contented yet. Part of the reason, say Umno insiders, is that he is still very angry and bitter at how "some people in Umno" were responsible for his defeat during the May 5 general election.
Ali Rustam was ousted by PKR's Shamsul Iskandar Akin, and has blamed internal sabotage for the shock loss.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the Umno president, has tried to soothe ruffled feathers by appointing Ali the head of Malay investment unit PUNB as well as backed his appointment to the Malacca senate.
Some might say Ali is being 'greedy' for wanting more. But the ambitious 64-year-old is not about to fade away so easily.
Stopped by money politics charges in the previous party election, where he had been contesting for the deputy president's post, Ali now wants a VP post at the very least.
"From his view-point, it is like he was back-stabbed twice. He was publicly 'forced' to drop out of the No. 2 race in 2009 to let Muhyiddin Yassin win. Then in the recent general election, some quarters in Umno apparently paid big bucks to get his constituents to vote for the Opposition," an Umno watcher told Malaysia Chronicle.
'Incumbents conspiracy'
It is clear from Ali's comments that he will go all out to challenge incumbents Zahid Hamidi, who is the Home Minister, Shafie Apdal , the Rural affairs minister, and Hishammuddin Hussein, who is the Defense minister as well well as Najib's cousin.
The "conspiracy" about the incumbents has been speculated on for months now and Najib himself has asked members to go for "stability", which has been taken to mean that he supports the incumbents.
Rumors have swirled that in order to ensure that his power base remained intact, especially as regards his cousin Hishammuddin, Najib had offered Ali Rustam the plum PUNB post as well as support his appointment as Senator to the Malacca state assembly.
Umno watchers said there could be no clearer hint to Ali Rustam than the appointment to the Malacca senate that Najib wanted him out of federal politics.
But Ali Rustam doesn't seem to be responding, at least not publicly.
Politics, especially in fractious Umno, is filled with intrigue and treachery. What is actually transpiring behind the scenes, what deals Ali may be negotiating and with whom are still unknown and yet to be seen.
All the President's men may fall like Humpty-Dmpty
Apart from Ali, the other challengers are Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir and Felda chairman Isa Samad.
Mukhriz is backed by his father, the powerful former premier Mahathir Mohamad, while Isa has a similar tainted record as Ali Rustam.
Isa was suspended from Umno for having bought votes to retain his post in a previous Umno election. However, Isa has his own grassroots support and is popular despite the corruption black mark.
Mukhriz is now riding high on a wave of positive media publicity, helped in no small part by his dad Mahathir.
But whether Mukhriz can really wrest one of the VP posts remains to be seen. The same goes for Ali Rustam and Isa Samad.
All 3 challengers seem focused and dead serious in their campaigning and the incumbents - despite being the 'president's men' - may be in for the mother of all battles.
A total rout and a complete change of guard cannot be ruled out at this stage, according to Umno insiders who are getting more excited by the day as the October 19 balloting day nears.
Malaysia Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.