Generasi Muda Sokong Umno Tapi Hadapi Halangan Sertai Parti - Dr Mahathir

KOTA KINABALU: Bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad berkata adalah tidak benar bahawa generasi muda sekarang tidak menyokong Umno, tetapi mereka sebenarnya menghadapi halangan untuk menyertai parti.

Beliau berkata ini berikutan ada sesetengah pimpinan peringkat cawangan parti enggan menerima kemasukan generasi muda yang kebanyakannya terdiri daripada mereka yang berkelulusan tinggi kerana bimbang kedudukan mereka tergugat.

"Sekarang ini ramai orang Melayu memiliki ijazah dan inilah cabaran kepada ketua-ketua cawangan, mereka takut disingkir dan diganti dengan mereka yang punyai pelajaran lebih tinggi.

>> So true. Attempted to register several young professionals into UMNO Bahagian Putrajaya without success. The reason stated was that the online form was incorrectly filled. With the recent constitutional amendment, more office bearers will be able to register members, that's a good sign for aspiring individuals to join the cause.

Of UMNO Delegates

The public wants it, but does UMNO want it? (taken from Utusan)

Khaled: Umno cannot afford to be race-centric

Finally, one of the candidates for UMNO VP says it: "Umno’s internal problems arose from the attitude that “we have been in power for too long, and we are comfortable with what we have achieved,” when asked about the internal problems of UMNO.

"Many became “passengers,” enjoying the strength of the party without contributing to strengthen the party".

Our New Deal

4 days to go to UMNO general assembly. Blogs are brewing with juicy speculations, particularly on the return of one former prime minister and several former ministers back to government pay roll.


Not a bad move, considering Obama himself activated several senior aides during the Clinton administration while attempting to duplicate FDR's New Deal to revive the severely battered economy. FDR was touted to be the American Savior from the Great Depression, using methods such as buying up mortgages using government funds and reducing the monthly payments for consumers, allowing them to return to their homes.



More watchful eyes are on Dato' Seri Najib and his choice for cabinet ministers. Tan Sri Sanusi is rumored to become National Security Advisor, with Tun Dr Mahathir and Tun Daim in advisory roles.

Meanwhile, TDM was commenting on froggy Zaid Ibrahim's plea to the King to choose a better premier.

Of Money Politics

1. After the announcement by UMNO disciplinary board, the post for UMNO Deputy President will be a straight fight between Tan Sri Muhyiddin and Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib.

2. I really can't imagine a former Menteri Besar caught in Australia with a large stash of cash and no ability to defend himself in the courts because he could not speak any English would win.

3. We hope the delegates would make the right decision. However, my boss used to tell us that "hope" is not a plan.

4. Since Dato' Seri Ali has been barred from contesting due to money politics, it is unclear whether he would retain the seat as Menteri Besar when Dato' Seri Najib takes over. His membership remains intact.

5. His political secretary, Saadun Basirun faced a different tune. Found guilty of money politics, his membership has been suspended for 3 years. If Saadun acted on behalf of Dato' Seri, why is the punishment meted out more severe than of his boss? Perhaps there was no proof of a link, if any.

6. KJ although found guilty of money politics escaped unscathed because of difference in situation than Dato' Seri Ali, according to Tengku Rithaudeen. According to Tengku also, the amount of money and the action of the agents differ between that of KJ's and Dato' Seri Ali's.

7. Who are the agents and will they also face penalty for aiding and abetting? How are the situations different? What is the amount involved here? Tengku was also quoted to have said that it's between "rasuah wang" and "rasuah makan-makan".

8. 12 other members were found guilty, but only 9 had their memberships suspended. Maybe it is also between "rasuah wang" and "rasuah makan-makan".

9. On the other hand, Norza was hauled up by MACC for his alleged involvement in money politics. He could face a fine up to 5 times the amount involved or 20 years of imprisonment. Bail was set at RM10,000.

Dr M on Umno and the power transition

By: Maria J.Dass (Mar 13, 2009)

KUALA LUMPUR (March 13, 2009): Former Umno supremo and premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad(pic) said today it did not necessarily follow that the president of Umno should become the prime minister of the country, as this is not provided in the Federal Constitution.

"It has merely been a practice for us in Umno," he said, in answer to a question from the press on whether it was possible that the planned power transition from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak may not take place.

He said this at a press conference at the Al-Bukhary Foundation on the Sultan Abdul Hamid Old Collegians' Association new building launch next week. He fielded questions from reporters after talking about the launch and about his alma mater.

"So if he (Abdullah) wants to remain as prime minister and Datuk Seri Najib as president…It was the same situation during my time when I became Umno president. Tun Hussein Onn did not relinquish his prime minister’s post for about two weeks," he said.

"In this case, I don’t know, we should wait and see, but it does not matter if it is two weeks or ten weeks, the rakyat is watching and when it is time for elections, they will express their opinion. Like in 2008 they will speak through the ballot boxes to show that this is our feeling…you can control Umno and all the members in the party, but you cannot control the people," Mahathir added.

Umno's general assembly will be held from March 24-28 and will feature elections for party positions. Najib is the sole nominee for the presidency while the other tops posts are being hotly contested. The date for the power transition has yet to be fixed, although it was earlier reported to be in April.

Mahathir said the future of Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) rests on the delegates to the Umno AGM and it would be a "disaster" for this country and "certainly disaster for Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) if the representatives were to elect people who everybody knows use money (to buy votes)".

He said: "You can bribe Umno by giving posts, places, money, contracts…you can bribe Umno but the Rakyat has one vote and they will know what to do with it."

Asked when he planned to return to Umno, he said: "My condition to return to the party was that I will do so when Pak Lah (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) steps down as president."

"He has done things damaging to the country," was Mahathir’s response when asked what his main grouse with Abdullah was. "Alternatively you can also ask ‘what has he done in six years?’ What has he done? You have think very hard, there are corridors, we will have verandahs after that."

On the Perak crisis, Mahathir said both parties fighting over rights to administer the state are guilty of not adhering to the law.

"There is too much emotion involved; when all they need to do is study the law to see what to do and what not to do," he said.

On the economic stimulus package Mahathir said RM60 billion was the right amount of allocation for Malaysia to weather the global economic downturn.

However, there is a need to ensure the money is used to produce the best results, he said. "There are times money needs to be used to help businesses and there are times you have to help individuals."

On the protest over the teaching of Maths and Science in English, Mahathir said many of the protestors themselves had studied in English medium schools. "Now they don’t want others to get what they have and this is not good."

"Despite studying totally in English from primary school until I graduated from University, I am still able to speak Malay and consider myself a Malay nationalist, I did not become an English nationalist because I could speak English."

UMNO boleh lenyap

General Assembly to Be Called Off

As if the current economic mayhem and political instability in Perak are not sufficient to make our days gloomier, tomorrow Datuk Kadar Shah will file an injunction to postpone the UMNO general assembly until all allegations of money politics have been thoroughly investigated and suspects are cleared of any wrongdoings. We all thought UMNO has reached a historical rock bottom, this is probably going to take us further down.

More at MalaysianInsider.

Jumping Ship the Malaysian Way

There is no word to describe how silly Malaysian politics has turned out since March 8th. It all started with Pakatan being greedy with their gains. Since winning 5 states is not sufficient to quell their thirst for power, Dato' Seri Anwar vowed to magically turn 30 Barisan Nasional MPs to Pakatan.

On hearing this threat of losing control of Parliament and subsequently the Federal Government, the Barisan Nasional government sent some 49 Members of Parliament to Taiwan to study agriculture and hordes of other life skills from the Taiwanese. Pursuing them were several Pakatan MPs, who boarded the next plane to Taiwan with a mission in hand of securing jumps from the agriculture enthusiasts.

Then the President of PKR pulled a stunt to make way for her husband. Her husband was reported to have contemplated several seats, including Bandar Tun Razak and Kulim. Both were deemed to be too hot to handle. Fearing that his ambitious return would backfire, he returned to Penang to win comfortably, crushing BN's candidate to dust with a bigger majority.

Not perturbed with changing the so-called take over dates numerous times to the point of idiocy and ridicule creating a national political conundrum, the new MP of Permatang Pauh scouted from state to state to seek potential disgruntled BN reps who are willing to jump ship for a range of reasons. The most talked about states were Sabah, Sarawak, and now Perak. The first to break the ice was Nasarudin Hashim, Bota state assemblyman. He said "Kalau dulu UMNO banyak pemimpin penuh dengan idealisma, kini semakin terhakis dengan politik wang dan juga soal-soal lain, dan semua ini turut menghakis kepercayaan saya kepada UMNO", during a PC with DSAI and his lieutenants.

The primary concern that should be addressed is not tightening regulations to prohibit party jumps, however, it is to probe why people are not satisfied with the leadership and why they were selected to contest. As soon as Nasarudin made the jump official, Dato' Tajol called for a meeting with all Perak UMNO State Assemblymen. 5 were MIA. This is not a good signal for UMNO leadership. Dato' Seri Najib has taken over the post of BN State Chairman of Perak.

2 more state assemblymen have resigned to make way for 2 more by-elections. Pretty soon, the Malaysia Book of Records would include the biggest number of by-elections held in a term. Huge amount of resources have to be spent to conduct these events, especially when we are in the midst of an economic turmoil. Not to mention the amount of time and commitment needed to run campaigns. Irresponsible, shameless, reckless, self-centered. These words suit well for these fine Wakil Rakyat.

UMNO Registration is now online

Finally, another feature of modernity and IT-savvy image of UMNO. It's never too late to have the registration process online. Just some pointers for keen applicants who are not giving up just yet in times of turmoil and despair, don't use Mozilla because it doesn't support it. Use IE and the latest or recent version. There was a bug though. When I selected "Wilayah Persekutuan" as mailing address for a colleague, it prints "Perlis" in the print preview.

Despite the 'archaic' look, it serves its purpose for now. Let's observe how fast and efficient approval comes along.

Click here for registration.
Click here to visit the Kelab Penyokong UMNO group on fb.
UMNO President launching the website.

UMNO Going Down The Path of The Republicans

The Economists reported in November that the Republican Party's defeat on November 4th was due to primarily losing the battle of the brains. Allow me to elaborate. President-Elect Obama won more college graduates than McCain. Obama also won more voters with post-graduate degrees and voters with household income of more than $200,000. The Republican's Energy Policy was 'Just drill, baby, drill. That was enough to send a message to the educated Americans. It was clear that the Republican Party has separated themselves from the Intellegintsia of America. The separation was clearly enhanced during George Bush's 2 terms as the President, a President now made famous from the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq. Iraq War was ran by an incompetent Commander-In-Chief with no clear national vision. Katrina was handled disastrously. New Orleans still looks like a war-torn country. Notice the state of economy of which Bush will hand over to Obama.

The election in the US had more educated Americans this time around. More than a quarter of Americans graduated with degrees, that's approximately 60,000,000 people, while 20% of households earn more than $100,000 a year, an increase of 16% since 1996, according to the Economist. Almost 69% of those 20% people are professionals. The Republican's "red neck" strategy had blown up in their faces. Their ads tried to portray Palin as the Hockey mom who was just concerned about fuel price and day-to-day affairs. November 4th told them it was quite the contrary.

Does this sound familiar in Malaysia? Leaders must realize that the voters' sophistication has changed. If they fail to acknowledge this, then prepared to be changed out.

Evaluating our future Deputy Prime Minister (and potentially Malaysia's 7th Prime Minister) Part 2

Chief Minister Dato' Seri Ali Rustam is the next contender to qualify to contest the seat of UMNO Deputy President, subsequently elevating him to the Deputy Prime Minister seat.

He should be given the lime light for putting world-class Malacca on the top spot for tourist attraction in Malaysia and making the state one of the biggest revenue generators for the Federal Government.

A fellow blogger himself, he had urged all Wakil Rakyat to setup blogs to disseminate information more efficiently. Nothing of significant interest in his blog to take note of, besides the normal rhetorics of 'don't question the fatwa' and 'thank you for nominating me for the post of deputy president of UMNO'.

Ali Rustam had urged the People's Progressive Party (PPP), a Barisan Nasional component, to leave the coalition if they were unsatisfied with seat allocation during the election fever this year.

He drew fiery criticisms for suggesting that Shah Rukh Khan deserved a dato'ship for exalting tourism in Malacca. Quoting from one blog, "Nampaknya Majlis Raya-Raja Melayu perlu membuat ketetapan bersama dan peyelarasan dalam kriteria penganugerahan darjah dan bintang kebesaran supaya kualiti, kredebiliti dan reputasi penerima anugerah dapat dipertahankan wibawanya".

"Empat tahun yang lalu, Melaka membuat kontroversi yang sama dengan lambakkan penganugerahan darjah dan bintang kebesaran terbanyak kepada 84 orang penerima walaupun Melaka adalah negeri terkecil selepas Perlis".

2 years ago, DS Ali proposed the extension of ERL to include both Seremban and Malacca on the basis of increased tourist arrivals to the tourist state. He has also requested LRT to be installed in the state. This is to be financed by the savings from the oil subsidies. Not so smart there, considering that KL is in dire need of the funds in the hierarchy of priorities due to its dense and increasing population. Although stats suggest that tourists have increased to 4.6 million in 2006 compared to 4 million in 2004, it doesn't render a strong proposition to build a system just yet. The density of Kuala Lumpur is close to 7,400 residents/km2 compared to Malacca's 430 (not including tourists of course). I don't think not having an LRT system would deter the tourists from visiting a world heritage site.

I do give him credit for setting up Malaysia's first solar panel manufacturing facility. This would augur well for our bid to become more energy sustainable and efficient. The company running the show, Sun Power Manufacturing Malaysia, is a subsidiary of Sun Power Corporation, USA. It will commence operations in August 2009. This will also create close to 4000 jobs.

Credit is also extended for the well-oiled economic prosperity in Malacca resulting from tourism, rubber (RM320M), palm oil (RM300M) & manufacturing. I was not able to verify these numbers and had obtained them from his blog. I'm assuming he writes his own stuff and not getting feedback from aides.

On UMNO reforms, according to him, UMNO will commence online registration in the near future. This is a positive step towards drawing potentials into the party and a clear sign that the party is ready to move on in accordance to technological advancements.

He is not a big fan of debates, which is a downside, in my opinion. Leaders must be able to take up the challenge for healthy debates in order to articulate their views, convictions and opinions. Debating is a fundamental skill that numerous leaders are still struggling with. The idea that debating is a mere political game is unacceptable. US Presidential and Vice presidential candidates take months to prepare for this and the debate between Biden and Palin clearly showed Americans who they were going to vote for (between one who was fluent in foreign policy and one whose vocabulary was limited to 'you betcha'). Of course, the sensitivities here are different, therefore requiring different format, structure or audience if necessary.

Finally, it was not such a good move for Dato' Seri to criticize the Selangor state government over its RM100m pig farm project. He's got one pig farm problem in his back yard, unresolved for scores of years in Pengkalan Balak.

I have yet to hear his stance on a myriad of national education or economic policies, two of the most important workloads for the next deputy prime minister. Managing national policies compared to state administration is analogous to comparing the NBA to coaching collegiate basketball.

The fundamental question is this: desire and democracy put aside, does he make the cut to be the second in command? Unfortunately, the fate of the nation is controlled by a band of no more than 2,500 UMNO delegates. That is scary stuff.

Siapa paling layak?

Tahniah Dato' Seri Najib! Now.... the hard part (Part 3)

DSNR also has to crack the whip as Chairman of Barisan Nasional. Component parties should act like partners and cease making statements contradicting the philosophies and agreed stand of the coalition. Every component leader should respect and safeguard each race's rights in the constitution. Stern actions should be taken for those who disobey. Is disciplinary action in order for SAPP and MCA (some UMNO leaders are at fault too)? We'll see. DSNR should also make his stand crystal clear (and he has made a clear position about the NEP). If he's for it, there shouldn't be any more discussion about it, especially from coalition partners. End of story. Crack the whip Dato' Seri, please.

Reforming UMNO and Barisan Nasional is no easy task. It doesn't even come close in the vicinity of a difficult task. It is extremely challenging but not impossible. This is a coalition in need of serious revamping and rebranding after the huge reduction in parliamentary and state seats that BN used to dominate.

On money politics, we all know what all politicians think of it. Now ACA and the UMNO disciplinary board are working together to nip this problem in the bud. However, the systemic problem remains. The number of delegates for any national or division are too small and easily influenced with promises of cash and positions. It's a 'manageable' number of delegates for contenders with serious cash and moolah. Increasing this number by 3-4 folds would help alleviate the problem for now.

This pandemic problem within UMNO is commonplace. The lack of quality members within the party is also obvious. It is widely known that the 'other side' boasts memberships of professionals, business leaders (should not include cronies who get projects easily from their political friends and end up selling them off to the chinese. It's especially true for those with zero knowledge of the business) and corporate figures with definitely better background. No disrespect intended for members who might be offended with this statement, but it's pretty obvious ("ukurlah baju di badan sendiri" (aspiration should match capability)). Clearly, a sudden injection of bodies would create a shock in the system. It has to be done in stages, which has to be guided and monitored by the party President himself.

We need to be realistic as these individuals won't be swayed with a mere RM500 to vote for joe black, for example. We might scorn the amount, but to some people, that's easy money so to speak. Unfortunately, because of the membership process, it takes months to get a form processed (assuming you're not considered a threat to incumbents within the division). A clear turn off for aspiring candidates and potential asset for the party.

Scrapping the quota system and opening up the race for any position could help curb the problem (if TS Muhyiddin wins uncontested this weekend, it should be his first agenda come March 09). Having a debate between contenders is also healthy to discuss issues and create awareness of the candidate's agenda and aim. The settings and audience can be catered for members first before we are ready to open it up publicly.

There is no doubt money is required for campaigning especially for national-level posts, travel expenses, staff salary, 'duit rokok', etcetera, etcetera. Here's what's funny. In the US, candidates conduct fund raising and the money is channelled for campaigning. It's the opposite here. Candidates normally end up forking out his own money most of the time. Perhaps it is time to make fund raising legal within certain threshold and stop making election a 'business' in the party.

Can we also scrap all the singing in meetings (except for the national anthem)?

Part 2

Tahniah Dato' Seri Najib! Now.... the hard part.

First of all, congratulations are in order for Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak for getting enough nominations to win the post of UMNO president without contest. Now that it's over, Dato' Seri Najib (DSNR) has probably begun planting strategies and getting prepared mentally for the post of UMNO president and Malaysia's 6th Prime Minister.

The first thing on the list would be of no surprise, which is to spur the economy due to the massive global financial system meltdown. Capital injections are making headlines in the US and Europe, including rescue packages from IMF for those in need of some moolah. I reckon more money should be channeled to small and medium enterprises to reinvigorate the retail business in the country. I disagree with the proposal to reduce the EPF monthly reduction so that people would have more money in their pocket. Reducing your bird's nest for retirement is not the answer, especially when that money is not even enough! For the poor and the needy, I wonder where we could get data of zakat money distribution in KL and Selangor. Selangor earlier reported of a collection close to a couple of hundred million ringgit. I wonder if zakat collection centers have some sort of an audited report of their yearly distribution. These funds should be able to help out (there is a distinct difference between the poor and the needy, both of which are entitled for zakat).

Urban folks in KL and Penang have not forgotten about the plans to expand the LRT network, increase the number of coaches and feeder buses. This should be implemented immediately and covered in main stream media extensively. Otherwise, this would be the silver bullet in the next general election. The savings from reduced subsidies were planned to be channeled here. The funds utilized in this area should be transparent so that it won't create a ruckus in Parliament and in public forums.

The next agenda should be energy. Malaysia is set to become a net-importer of oil in a couple of years and a clear blue print and implementation of strategies should be set in stone. Whether it's nuclear, biodiesel, electric cars or wind farms, the public should be kept informed (this is a more substantial cover story, rather than covering stories of MPs swearing and calling each other monkeys, who would want to read about that???). Subsidies are not the way to go and it would deprive the Government from channeling that money for better usage. Subsidies blatantly create complacency and lack of competition (isn't that what MCA wants!).

To be continued...

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER by Bakri Musa

"UMNO’s biggest structural impediment to adopting reforms is its inability to attract new talent. This is due to three major factors. First is the concentration of power within the party, made worse by the coupling of party with governmental positions. State party leaders are also division heads, Supreme Council members, and heads of the party’s many wings. In addition they may be in the cabinet or holding senior government positions. Such a concentration of power not only breeds corruption in the party as well as in the government but it also inhibits the nurturing of fresh leadership talents".

"If the American Democratic Party had UMNO’s nomination system, it would not have discovered Barack Obama to be its presidential nominee".

>> UMNO is dire need of reform. After the severe whiplash from Malaysians on March 8th, which by the way was Samy Vellu's birthday, the party has yet to take dramatic steps to ensure that the next general election would not have the coalition Barisan Nasional put to bed. I may not agree with Bakri Musa's opinion most of the time but this article was right on the money. Although boasting with 3 million members, UMNO is in danger of losing more ground in the next election because it has failed to to prepare the next gen to take over the party helm. This is ostensible by virtue of the average age of the leaders in the party. Though I dare not undermine wisdom and experience in politics, we do have to acknowledge that UMNO's struggle would fail in the long run if it continues to cling on to power and fails to prepare the next generation of leaders to take over.

The party structure also frustrates aspiring candidates, whom normally face blockades if the they do not abide to the sordid culture of patronage and money politics. The election process must be reformed to ensure that delegates do not use their positions as bargaining chips to impose influence and demands. This is the only to elevate talent in the party, lest UMNO will be jinxed for decades with leaders with absolute ineptness to operate as such and who are plagued with scandals and corruption.

It has to reminded again that the next general election will feature 2,000,000 new voters from the internet, facebook and you tube generation. UMNO must ensure that the party is in touch with these individuals and the other millions of voters. Changes must come, lest UMNO will be swept away.

Latest Nomination Figures

Click here for the latest numbers.

Mukhriz - 61; KJ - 38; KT - 28

Zaki sedia hadapi cabaran

Petikan dari Harian Metro

PUTRAJAYA: Persidangan perwakilan Pergerakan Pemuda Umno Bahagian Putrajaya, di Pusat Persidangan Antarabangsa Putrajaya (PICC), Sabtu ini, bakal menyaksikan pertembungan antara penyandang jawatan Ketua Pemuda yang juga Pegawai Khas kepada Perdana Menteri, Datuk Ahmad Zaki Zahid, dengan Pegawai Khas kepada Menteri Pelajaran, Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz.

Kesediaan Tun Faisal Ismail menentang Ahmad Zaki memang sesuatu yang mengejutkan berikutan beliau baru dilantik sebagai ahli jawatankuasa pergerakan itu April lalu.

Biarpun begitu, Ahmad Zaki berkata, beliau sedia menghadapi cabaran itu kerana apa yang penting baginya ialah ahli Pemuda Umno Putrajaya boleh menilai sendiri kemampuannya sebagai pemimpin mereka sejak empat tahun lalu.

“Selepas dipilih sebagai Ketua Pemuda Umno Putrajaya pada 2004 lalu, saya bertekad untuk menjadikan Pemuda Umno Putrajaya dihormati dan disegani Pemuda Umno bahagian lain,” katanya.

Winds of change in Umno Youth

Analysis
By JOCELINE TAN


The Umno Youth contest has become the race to watch as the underdog candidate has clinched the coveted nomination count to contest while the once mighty are struggling to catch up.

DATUK Mukhriz Mahathir was probably as surprised as many others in Umno to have zoomed ahead of the assumed strongman candidate Khairy Jamaluddin.

By the end of the first weekend round of Umno Youth divisions meetings on Sunday, he had 40 nominations, more than the minimum 38 he needed to contest the Umno Youth leadership.

Getting the requisite nominations is a key psychological milestone and that he got there before Khairy and Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo has been pretty stunning.

Just a week or so ago, he was placed in second or even third place after Khairy and Dr Khir. But it has been a long and dramatic week in politics for Umno and as the new Subang Umno Youth head Harrison Hassan pointed out it, “everything has changed.”

It is clear even at this early stage that the winds of change are blowing through the Youth wing.

Otherwise, how does one explain the way the underdog is now leading the nomination count while the once mighty are struggling to catch up.

Khairy, who is the incumbent deputy Youth chief, has secured 20 nominations so far, Dr Khir 12 and the fourth aspirant Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin only one.

Mukhriz’s leading trend is likely to continue this weekend and Khairy should be able to secure the requisite nominations by then.

But the picture is a bit gloomier for Dr Khir although his aides insist he will get there.

He thought he had steady support from the Youth wing in Selangor but he has had to struggle against Mukhriz and Khairy in the state where he had been a two-term Mentri Besar.

The cool reception to Khir in Selangor is also sign of how Umno feels about his role in the loss of this premier state in the general election.

He reckoned he had put the defeat behind him by taking responsibility and resigning as the Selangor Umno chief but it looks like all has not been forgiven.

But the question everyone is asking now is what has gone wrong with the Khairy’s political juggernaut?

Is it simply because his father-in-law is on his last leg as Prime Minister or is it something more complex?

He has campaigned extensively the last few months, he has tremendous access in his capacity as the incumbent deputy Youth leader and he has the funds.

He even has a “war team” comprising of some seasoned faces including a former journalist and a couple of bright, young individuals.

“The change is coming from the bottom. The grassroots are reasserting their voice. They are telling us who they want rather than we telling them who to choose. It’s been the trend after what happened in the general election,” said Harrison.

A total of 72 of the 191 Umno Youth divisions have met so far and the rest will hold their meetings this weekend.

Khairy, who has a stronger standing in the rural divisions, has had a tough time in the urban division meetings where members are more informed and critical.

In Setiawangsa, there were jeers from the floor when Khairy’s name was proposed and few were surprised when Mukhriz won with 53 votes against 29 for Dr Khir and 7 for Khairy.

“The wind for Mukhriz is very powerful this time,” said Zulflida Tahmali, an Umno Youth politician from Setiawangsa.

Khairy had an even tougher time in Johor although he secured three nominations there.

In Tenggara, delegates shouted tak mahu! when his name was proposed.

In Batu Pahat, he got only three votes compared to 95 for Khir and 186 for Mukhriz.

That is the kind of scenario he is facing in some places.

Johor has been outspoken about the party leadership and Khairy’s alleged influence in the present administration.

It is possible he is now feeling the full impact of the party’s discontent.

The last time the Umno Youth leadership was contested was in 1996 and the fight is turning out to be a top ticket match.

Some view it as a proxy fight between Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Others claim it is a mini referendum on the Abdullah administration.

Such metaphorical analogies do not cut much ice with the average Umno Youth member.

But they do realise that Umno is in dire straits and that the Youth wing has lost support among young Malays.

They are looking for a sincere and capable leader who will lead them out of the mess.

But the battle for nominations is just the first stage or a race up the hill. After that comes the race up the mountain and that is the tough one.

Extensive Work Ahead

1. Come March 2009, there will be a long list of to-do items for all newly elected UMNO leaders. The newly elected President of UMNO has a mammoth task to commence reparation of the party and the coalition if it has not begun.

2. The deadline will be the next general election, set to have more than 60% of voters below the age of 40. The young professionals in Wilayah Persekutuan have unanimously rejected Barisan Nasional. Barisan Nasional also lost the wealthiest state in Malaysia, Selangor. Pakatan's biggest advantage was figuring out how to krazy glue a loose coalition and make it work. DSAI played a crucial role to marry both PAS and DAP. This will be their Achilles' Heel, hands down.

3. It might not be half-bad to consider courting PAS. Not only it strengthens the coalition by increasing the number of Malay votes, but it solidifies BN's position in Kedah and Terengganu. Not only that, Kelantan will be under BN's belt for the first time in 23 years come 2013. In the spirit of coalition, a few federal portfolios should be given to PAS.

4. In ensuring strong racial tolerance and integration, the idea of streamlining our education system must be forwarded. The National Service for our kids at age 17 might be an acceptable module for motivational purposes, but would fail miserably if our kids have been exposed to systematic segregation in their early age. The idea of a one-race party system is acceptable but not at this moment when the house is not in order.

5. UMNO must continue to champion the Malay rights as enshrined in the Constitution and guard the tradition of the Malays. Concurrently, UMNO must ensure that the rights of Malaysians are not in jeopardy and not taken for granted.

6. Membership process must be revamped to attract talent into the party. The idea by Gerakan is not quite practical. Online registration of individual parties should be studied and implemented in the best manner possible.

7. Scores of post-mortems were conducted post-election to dissect the cause of the losses in several states. The findings must be executed to ensure a stronger win in the next general election. The Youth Chief and the young ones must play a bigger role to attract the young voters and understand their wants and needs.

8. UMNO and Barisan Nasional must also be prepared for an all-out PR exercise to counter blogs, internet media and video streaming sites. They fumbled for taking this lightly in the last election.

ps: on a different note, I respect Cheras Division Chief's initiative for creating the funds for Azan and in defence of Utusan Melayu. Clearly Pakatan's push for freedom of speech has been negated by this act by one MP.

No. 2 In The Country

The US Vice Presidential Debate kicked off featuring a veteran democrat politician against a one-term Governor whose winks and choice of words ranging from 'you betcha' and 'darn right' might have further disconnected her from middle-class American women. Senator Biden consistently attacked Bush's financial policy and supported the withdrawal of US troops in Iraq, which is costing US tax payers USD 20B a month (btw Halliburton established a Private Military Contractor company and was awarded security contracts in Iraq). Governor Palin lacked substance in her debate and made some false accusations about Obama. She didn't score much but people expected her to be worse. Unexpectedly, she performed well for someone who lacks the 36 years of experience in the form of Biden. Gov Palin's biggest blunder was her shallow understanding of US foreign policy and failed miserably in answering touch US policy questions.

The big question US voters must answer is whether they see Gov Palin fit to be the Commander-In-Chief in case McCain's health declines due to his age? 8 Presidents in the past died in office, 4 of whom due to assasinations (Lincoln, Garfield, Kinley, Kennedy), 4 of whom died due to health (Harrison, Taylor, Harding, FDR).

Back in our beloved Country, Datuk Zahid recently announced his intention to contest for the hot UMNO Deputy President seat. If DS Najib takes over as President, others may follow suit to join Datuk Zahid including Tan Sri Muhammad Md Taib and DS Ali Rustam. TS Muhyiddin has yet to officially announce which seat he is contesting for.

Datuk Zahid might have scored points when he lambasted BAR council about their open forum on Islamic issues. Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib's past history that took place at an Australian airport may discredit his race for the title despite the fact that he has a seat in the current Cabinet. Eventually, each candidate's resources would be a huge factor in affecting voters decision.

We may not have a Vice Presidential debate here but I sure bet it'd be one hell of a debate with topics such as Ketuanan Melayu, race-based politics, oil revenue, UMNO reform, education and many more. Then we can confidently judge the best candidate (assuming we're all delegates).

Meanwhile, Penang Chief Minister requested RM59M for personnel, CCTV installation and other security features. Wow, imagine how many CCTVs he's trying to install on that relatively small island. What's his rational to mobilize 10 GOF platoons (General Operations Force is a subset of the Royal Police trained and tasked for border patrols, maritime security, anti-smuggling operations, guerilla warfare and other general security details during peace time)? Doesn't Johor have the worst crime rate in Malaysia? Is this another way to channel funds from the cancelled Penang City center project?

UMNO Cemas?

Bendera UMNO diterbalikkan?