ANALYSIS Just three days before the Umno election on Saturday, Khairy Jamaluddin looks like he is standing head and shoulders above his competitors and likely to retain the Umno Youth presidency for a second term.
As the youth and sports minister and Rembau MP, Khairy, or KJ as he is more popularly known, already holds the advantage of being a media darling, therefore making it difficult for the others to match up.
"It's KJ all the way and from the start, KJ has always been the clear choice," Youth exco candidate Zaidel Baharuddin told Malaysiakini.
If in 2009, KJ faced stiff competition from heavyweights such as ex-Selangor chief minister Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and current Kedah Chief Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, he should not have to fret over his seemingly weaker line-up of competitors this time around, all of whom are deemed lower-ranked Youth branch heads.
None of the four who are seeking to dethrone him as Umno Youth chief are even central executive committee members.
The recent rise of Khairy's political career only stands to proof that his "solid" support back in 2009 is intact, even if the many candidate choices this time around may see a slight split in votes amongst the 70,000 youth representatives.
His challengers now have two choices - either wow the voters over with their grand visions or undermine Khairy's leadership with some pretty hard criticism of his policies, rule, actions and ideas.
As the youth and sports minister and Rembau MP, Khairy, or KJ as he is more popularly known, already holds the advantage of being a media darling, therefore making it difficult for the others to match up.
"It's KJ all the way and from the start, KJ has always been the clear choice," Youth exco candidate Zaidel Baharuddin told Malaysiakini.
If in 2009, KJ faced stiff competition from heavyweights such as ex-Selangor chief minister Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and current Kedah Chief Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, he should not have to fret over his seemingly weaker line-up of competitors this time around, all of whom are deemed lower-ranked Youth branch heads.None of the four who are seeking to dethrone him as Umno Youth chief are even central executive committee members.
The recent rise of Khairy's political career only stands to proof that his "solid" support back in 2009 is intact, even if the many candidate choices this time around may see a slight split in votes amongst the 70,000 youth representatives.
His challengers now have two choices - either wow the voters over with their grand visions or undermine Khairy's leadership with some pretty hard criticism of his policies, rule, actions and ideas.
Mere 'ant bites'
However, so far, it seems Khairy's challengers have nothing on him. Much like "ant bites", the hardest criticism leveled against Khairy has been his use of his ministry's resources to back his campaign, something that Khairy himself had probably anticipated and it not expected to make much of a dent to his standing.
Earlier, Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi - the newly-appointed Bendang Baru Umno Youth head in Langkawi - was said to pose some threat to Khairy, possibly because he was seen to be a proxy for the party's strongman, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
But the gap in ability and political experience between Khairy and Akhramsyah is huge, akin to "the sky and the earth," said Mohamad Iruan Zulkefli, who himself is competing for the Umno Youth vice-president post.
Another Youth exco member, who declined to be identified, chided Akhramsyah for being too ambitious.
"He tried to win an exco position in 2009 but lost. Now, he wants to jump straight to Umno Youth head? He has to redeem himself first from that failure," the source said.
The second closest competitor to Khairy, Syed Rosli Syed Harman Jamallulail (left), who is the assistant secretary of Taman Chempaka, Selangor Umno Youth division, is often dismissed as just an overtly vocal Khairy critic.
Fulfilling party democracy
Meanwhile, the remaining two candidates - Bukit Setiawangsa Umno Youth division head Irwan Ambak and former Merbok Youth head Karim Ali - are generally seen as unknowns among grassroot members.
Many think they have merely tossed their hats into the ring for the sake of keeping up the appearance of party democracy.
Khairy has another advantage. Umno election rules states that candidates cannot run personal campaigns but only primarily use social and mainstream media only. This weighs heavily in favour of Khairy, the publicity king.
His Twitter account (@KhairyKJ) has around 360,000 followers, way more than the other less Internet-savvy candidates.
Akhramsyah (@AMUBAIDAHS) has 506 followers on Twitter, Irwan Ambak (@IrwanAmbak) has only 53 followers, while Syed Rosli (@SyedRosli1) has nine followers, at the time of writing.
Far at the bottom of the pile, Abdul Karim Ali (@CaremMerbok), sadly, has only a single follower.
Even more reasons why Khairy is a shoo-in? Consider his political experience at the national level, and think about his influence in Perak, Sabah and Kelantan - it is not hard to imagine why he would be a hard man to beat.
Don't hold your breath for Saturday's vote count as on paper, Khairy is already the winner.
However, so far, it seems Khairy's challengers have nothing on him. Much like "ant bites", the hardest criticism leveled against Khairy has been his use of his ministry's resources to back his campaign, something that Khairy himself had probably anticipated and it not expected to make much of a dent to his standing.
Earlier, Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi - the newly-appointed Bendang Baru Umno Youth head in Langkawi - was said to pose some threat to Khairy, possibly because he was seen to be a proxy for the party's strongman, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
But the gap in ability and political experience between Khairy and Akhramsyah is huge, akin to "the sky and the earth," said Mohamad Iruan Zulkefli, who himself is competing for the Umno Youth vice-president post.
Another Youth exco member, who declined to be identified, chided Akhramsyah for being too ambitious."He tried to win an exco position in 2009 but lost. Now, he wants to jump straight to Umno Youth head? He has to redeem himself first from that failure," the source said.
The second closest competitor to Khairy, Syed Rosli Syed Harman Jamallulail (left), who is the assistant secretary of Taman Chempaka, Selangor Umno Youth division, is often dismissed as just an overtly vocal Khairy critic.
Fulfilling party democracy
Meanwhile, the remaining two candidates - Bukit Setiawangsa Umno Youth division head Irwan Ambak and former Merbok Youth head Karim Ali - are generally seen as unknowns among grassroot members.
Many think they have merely tossed their hats into the ring for the sake of keeping up the appearance of party democracy.Khairy has another advantage. Umno election rules states that candidates cannot run personal campaigns but only primarily use social and mainstream media only. This weighs heavily in favour of Khairy, the publicity king.
His Twitter account (@KhairyKJ) has around 360,000 followers, way more than the other less Internet-savvy candidates.
Akhramsyah (@AMUBAIDAHS) has 506 followers on Twitter, Irwan Ambak (@IrwanAmbak) has only 53 followers, while Syed Rosli (@SyedRosli1) has nine followers, at the time of writing.
Far at the bottom of the pile, Abdul Karim Ali (@CaremMerbok), sadly, has only a single follower.
Even more reasons why Khairy is a shoo-in? Consider his political experience at the national level, and think about his influence in Perak, Sabah and Kelantan - it is not hard to imagine why he would be a hard man to beat.
Don't hold your breath for Saturday's vote count as on paper, Khairy is already the winner.
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