'Umno president's post now more vulnerable'

The position of Umno president has become more vulnerable since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was forced to step down from the post in 2009, says National Professors Council deputy chairperson Shamsul Amri Baharuddin.

However, Shamsul said, current incumbent Najib Abdul Razak's position would be secure for the next four years, until the next general election.

"The argument now, to me, is very easy: I (Najib) have won 88 (parliamentary seats); last time it was 79. Now I have won 244 (state assembly seats); last time it was 90.

"Didn't I improve Umno? Yes. So, vote me." That would be Najib's position, Shamsul told reporters today.

He said this was despite Najib being keenly aware of the precedent Abdullah went through: that it is possible to topple the party's top leader.

In addition, Abdullah's resignation also shifted the balance of power within Umno, from the president to the party's supreme council, he said.

Shamsul was fielding questions from reporters after speaking as a panellist in a forum held in conjunction with the launch of Umno supreme council member Saifuddin Abdullah's book, ‘Memacu Transformasi' (Driving the transformation) today.

Earlier, when officiating the book launch, Finance Minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah (left) said the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Programme was a continuation of the 1971 New Economic Policy (NEP), but in a new form.

"If the NEP has 30 percent (target for bumiputera share of the economy), it is still 30 percent. Sixty-seven percent (of the population) requiring just thirty percent, not 50-50.

"That means, to the bumiputeras who make up 67 percent, one-third will go to two-thirds. That is what we mean by equitable distribution," Husni said.

He added that this could only be achieved if the wealth of the bumiputeras grew faster than the national economy, and that meant productivity, knowledge and skills must be improved.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin (right) in his speech said Najib's transformation agenda was the ideal method to change Malaysia in accordance with today's requirements.

Calling it "dynamic stability", Saifuddin added: "It is dynamic because it takes account the new realities and utilises new approaches.

"At the same time, it is stable because we preserve our roots, such as the Rukun Negara, the social contract, the law, and others." 

Saifuddin's new book is a collection of 50 articles that he wrote under his column in the Malay language daily Sinar Harian, which hosted today's launch as well as the forum.