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For one tantalising moment, Malaysians were titillated by the prospect of a contest between the current PM's son-in-law and the ex-PM's son for the vice-chief's post in Umno Youth led by, yes, a son of another PM.

This was not to be. Mukhriz Mahathir, sensing that the wind was not blowing in his direction, smartly declined the invitation to slug it out with new-kid-on-the-block, Khairy Jamaluddin. After all, no one is so foolhardy as to challenge the prime minister's son-in-law. Not even if you're Dr Mahathir Mohamad's son.

Few doubt that Khairy has the ambition - and the gumption - to scale the Umno hierarchy in double-quick time.

A former newspaper editor, who was peeved that he had to take orders from Khairy when the Umno rising maven was Abdullah's aide, said the 28-year-old considered himself future prime minister material.

Indeed, when he was a student in Oxford, Khairy - son of a diplomat who had served under then foreign minister Abdullah - was already talking about 'taking over' Umno on returning home.

He is halfway there .

Khairy, who married Abdullah's daughter Nori two years ago, is poised to take over from Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein Onn - son of Malaysia's third prime minister - in three years, and from then on bide his time for a final ascent to the party's top leadership.

Clandestine deal struck

According to Hishammuddin, he is holding the fort - at least for another term - in order to groom a successor. But when Dr Mohd Khir Toyo - a dentist politician who had cut his teeth as Selangor's menteri besar and according to some, an able successor - declared his interest to take over the post, a deal was clandestinely struck between the two.

In return for pulling out of the Youth chief race, Khir Toyo was to vie for a seat in the Umno supreme council with Hishammuddin's backing.

Clearly, Hishammuddin prefers Khairy as his heir. After all, it would be far better to hitch his political future with the well-connected Khairy rather than the plebeian Khir Toyo.

Khairy's meteoric rise in Umno has without a doubt drawn muted opposition from within. If he were not the PM's son-in-law, he would be just another ordinary - albeit very clever, Oxford-graduated - party member.

True, Umno leaders are selected by the party's three million-odd members. But when the chosen top two party heads are also automatically the country's prime minister and deputy prime minister, then Umno's business becomes every Malaysian's business.

And with the bar for party aspirants being raised so high, coupled with a no-contest ruling for the top two posts, future leaders of Malaysia are increasingly being handpicked by their political bosses instead of being democratically elected by the rank-and-file.

In short, our leaders are chosen for us, not by us.

Should this trend continues, the ruling party may well see a schism between those with family connections and those without. Which is why one wonders why Abdullah fails to scorch his son-in-law's ambitions. Or at least tell him to put his political quests on the back burner, for now.

It is not that Khairy should forget about becoming PM one day. It is about him being seen getting there without daddy-in-law's help.

Malaysia's first family

At a diplomats luncheon soon after Abdullah took over the helm, there was much talk about the virtues of the new leader. In the midst of the discussion, a businessman threw in an unlikely question - where was Abdullah's Achilles' heel?

There was a moment's silence. Obviously, everyone had to think very hard - Abdullah has few weaknesses, if any. Then someone said, 'His family'. He went on to explain.

First, his wife, Endon Mahmood, is recovering from a gruelling battle against breast cancer. Abdullah is known to be very close to Endon, and any deterioration in her condition would adversely affect him personally.

Second, his son, Kamaluddin - one of the richest men in Malaysia - is embroiled in a black market nuclear scandal involving his ex-business partner, BSA Tahir , who is now detained without trial under the Internal Security Act.

Third is his daughter Nori, Khairy's wife. She recently notched up a nomination for Umno Puteri vice-chief. While this is not a serious proposal, the nomination has nevertheless set tongues a-wagging on where Malaysia's first family is heading.

And, of course, there is Khairy - the country's most powerful 28-year-old and a prime-minister-in waiting.

Nepotism in Umno is alive and well. It could well be the ruling party's Achilles' heel too.

Don't forget, Hishammuddin's first cousin is Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, son of Malaysia's second prime minister - their mothers are sisters.

As for Mukhriz, son of Malaysia's fourth prime minister, he may have to wait a little longer. Early this month, he lost his bid to be Youth chief in his father's former division in Kedah's Kubang Pasu.

But just like the other favoured sons and sons-in-law, it is only a matter of time before he, too, inherits a position in Umno Sdn Bhd.

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