Ku Li's announcement that he is ready to challenge Pak Lah for the Umno presidency has brought up a question of democracy in Umno.

Ku Li may, or may not, get the necessary nomination he needs.

However, one thing is confirmed. Democracy in Umno is clear as a rainy night without a moon. After Ku Li announced his intent, Najib Razak warned Umno members and reminded them that the supreme council had decided a 'no contest' for the party's top two posts.

Then Muhyiddin Yassin, another one fo the top brass, joined in yesterday when he too expressed shock that Ku Li would try to challenge Pak Lah. It is as if Muhyiddin is saying: "Umno practices democracy. We enjoy democracy. But we also enjoy no elections for the top posts." Isn't this ridiculous?

The reactions of these two are actually self-serving in hope that one day, when they too go to the top, the same rule will apply.

With regards to democracy, Umno has regressed over the past 15 years. During the era before Ku Li had challenged Dr M, at the very least the deputy president post was open to challenge. Now, even deputy president's post is sealed and to be decided by the president. That's sheer regress.

Would it get worse? Yes. In the future, even the post of the Umno Youth chief will be a 'no contest'.

The danger is that the Umno president will become prime minister. And since he will have the most say in setting national policies affecting all Malaysians, the fact that the Umno president is not democratically elected could be dangerous for Malaysians in the long-term.

Why do I say the Umno president is not democratically elected? Simple. Look at how Pak Lah had gotten his acting presidency post. It was because Dr Mahathir Mohamad chose him instead of Najib to be his deputy when he sacked Anwar. This even though Najib was more a popularly elected Umno vice-president than Pak Lah was.

This means, Pak Lah was never elected by the majority of Umno members, but by Mahathir. And this means, a single person, Dr M dictated who became deputy president and later president. So, where is democracy in Umno?

The cycle will continue and the Umno president will handpick his deputy. And his chosen one may not be the most popular vice-president. When the president retires, the deputy will take over to become president unchallenged. He, too, will handpick his deputy from the list of VPs. And this cycle continues.

In short, democracy in Umno is, at worst, dead. At best, brain-dead.