Mohsin Abdullah: What Tun wants, Tun gets?

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  While Mahathir has made no secret of his wish to see his son Mukhriz elected as VP, Najib has indicated that he wants to see all 3 current VPs – Zahid, Hishammuddin and Shafie – to be retained. Khairy is already a VP by virtue of his position as youth chief.

 

LET'S take a step further following Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir's announcement that he will be contesting the Umno vice-presidency. And that "step" is to say he's going to win. And at who's expense? More of that in a while.

 

Question at hand: Do you agree Mukhriz will be voted in as one of the Umno vice-presidents? Political pundits seem to say "yes". Considering the big influence his father still wields among Umno leaders and members alike.  

 

With a father who happens to be Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the picture, Tun Daim Zainuddin, another powerful and still influential figure in Umno can be counted on to lend support. Not forgetting the many pro-Mahathir bloggers, influential among Umno in their own ways. 

 

And some Umno watchers believe deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his supporters will throw their lot behind Mukhriz as well. With such a support base, how can Mukhriz not win?

 

When I first wrote some weeks ago on a big push for Mukhriz to contest the vice-president's post, there were several posers which he needed to look into before taking the plunge. (See Mukhriz Mahathir: Will he? Won't he?) 

 

Surely he has taken everything into account and is confident of his chances of making it. And of course there's Dad who he can and surely must have consulted.

 

As for Dad, well his recent "no holds barred" interview with Umno paper Utusan Malaysia and his recent blog post said it all. That he wants his son to be elected VP. Well not directly. Still political commentators read Mahathir's comments as that.

 

Comments like "Umno is dying of old age and needs renewal, new blood, new leaders". That Umno will be shunned by the younger generation if they see leaders who are supposed to take over from "old" leaders are themselves "old".

 

And the man who was Umno president for 22 years also said the party must rid itself of corrupt leaders who "do not bat an eyelid to even sell out their own bangsa".

 

Mahathir did not name names of course. But two candidates eyeing the Umno vice-presidency this time – Tan Sri Isa Samad and Datuk Seri Ali Rustam – both had been found guilty previously by the party of "money politics" in Umno elections.

 

Mahathir ended his blog posting by calling on all in Umno to "return to the Umno struggle, cast aside personal interest and choose the young and reject the old". 

 

That, to many an Umno watcher, is crystal clear as to what Mahathir is driving at.  

 

But in the same blog Mahathir said he was aware of "certain quarters" accusing  him of having a particular agenda – that he wanted to continue his legacy thorough his son.

 

Wrote Mahathir: "Perhaps by coincidence this can happen. But if because of this accusation I do not act for the good of Umno, then this will mean I am only concerned of my image and not my responsibility to the party. And if I want to help my son, I should have done that when I was prime minister."

 

But to an Umno insider who was involved in the party GE13 machinery, it's well and good that new blood is "infused" into Umno . "But not necessarily Mukhriz. KJ is new blood. Accept the fact KJ won on merit," said the insider.

 

KJ is of course youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and the victory the Umno insider was referring to was the contest for the Umno youth chief's post in 2009. 

 

Mukhriz came in third – behind Khairy and former Selangor MB Datuk Seri Khir Toyo. But then, that win was achieved when Khairy's father-in-law, Datuk Seri (now Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was PM, although anti-Abdullah sentiment in Umno then (fanned by none other Mahathir himself) was high following BN's dismal performance in the 2008 election. But that's another story.

 

Mahathir's support aside, Mukhriz has got the endorsement and full backing of Kedah Umno to contest the VP's post. To that, the party insider had this to say: "Do not use artificial support from Kedah divisional heads as reason (to contest)."

 

"Artificial support?" I asked. The insider's response was quick. "You ask division heads (should I contest?). Do you think they dare to say Datuk Menteri Besar, don't contest?" Mukhriz, as we know, is Kedah menteri besar.

 

Still the insider "reluctantly" admitted that Muhkriz stands a good chance of winning. Already at least one blogger aligned to Mahathir is talking about a "succession plan" with some political commentators "predicting" Mukhriz could very well be deputy president by 2014.

 

"It's ok to contest but do not link it to a succession plan. This will weaken (Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak)," said the Umno insider – obviously the "succession plan" had riled him in the first place.

 

Now to the poser mentioned earlier. At whose expense will it be should Mukhriz grab one of the VP slots? 

 

Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, one of the three incumbents, is said to be too strong to be dislodged. Hence some political observers had earlier seen Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein as the "casualty." 

 

However said an Umno source, Najib will not "allow" his cousin to lose. That narrows it down to Datuk Seri Shafei Apdal. 

 

But according to reports, Najib wants all three to be returned and had sent feelers for Isa and Ali to pull out. This cannot be independently verified. But if that is indeed true, then Mukhriz's decision to join in the fray has "spoiled" the party president's plans. 

 

And Zahid's remarks that aspiring candidates ought first to seek the views of the party president, has added credence to talk that Najib does not want anybody, Mukhriz Mahathir notwithstanding, to "disturb" the current VP team. 

 

And when Najib was reported to have said he did not agree with Mahathir that "Umno is dying", tongues began to wag. Again. In Umno anyway. 

 

Whatever it is, to an Umno source, "Looks like everything is under the thumb of Tun Mahathir." 

 

And a veteran Umno watcher had this to add: "Mahathir's grip in Umno is unquestionable. His plan to continue his legacy is becoming clearer now. This is Mahathir. As long as he is still around, even his shadow is enough to instil fear in Umno folks."

 

Which brings us to Khairy. 

 

The "rivalry" between Khairy and Mukhriz is quite well known in Umno. And it's no big secret how Mahathir "feels" about Khairy.

 

Should Mukhriz win, he will be a rung above Khairy although technically Khairy is also a VP by virtue of being Ketua Pemuda. 

 

Kairy is defending his Umno youth position and will be challenged by Akhramsyah Sanusi Akhramsyah Muamar Ubaidah from Langkawi. He is the son of former Umno strongman Tan Sri Sanusi Junid – a Mahathir loyalist to say the very least. Already Umno folks are seeing that as a "proxy war". 

 

Zahid meanwhile has dismissed rather angrily the talk that he will go for number two to "create space" for his current counterparts, among other things. 

 

Reality, speculation, hearsay. Enough of all that. For now.

 

There are a thousand and one possibilities involving Zahid, Khairy or who's who in the party for that matter, from now until Umno goes to the polls. Or should that be "endless possibilities"?

 

Mohsin Abdullah is a specialist writer at fz.com. He likes rojak. And nasi campur. And durians. Perhaps that’s why he writes about this, that and everything else. Pretty much rojak and nasi campur. As for his writings, well, they can be like durians. Aromatic and delicious to some people, smelly and off-putting to others. 

-fz.com