The potential challenge posed by Umno supreme council member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah reveals to party leaders how dangerous he is to their political health. Not just to the acting president and his deputy, but to every division leader.

All stops are pulled so he gets not a single nomination. He needs 58 to be a candidate for the presidency. The supreme council decreed that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak should be returned unopposed to the top two posts.

Ku Li defied the council. Panic set in. A chorus of orchestrated attacks reverberated in the media, including vicious personal attacks. He pushed ahead. Panic set in.

There were talks of defections. The monolithic coalition the Umno leaders had built began to crack. The intelligence agencies had told them the Tengku had garnered at least 68 nominations. That if nothing is done to stop it, he is a candidate.

He has not held office since 1987, when he resigned after he lost the presidential contest to then party head Dr Mahathir Mohamed. He wound up his Semangat 46, formed after the High Court declared Umno to be an illegal body, but disallowed to exist when Mahathir formed Umno Baru.

He joined the new Umno and was kept in limbo, but built an impressive political machine that has its roots at every nook and cranny of the party.