Umno's set of rules for the election of its party bearers must be one of the most weird, if not ridiculous, by any standards of democracy.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was not against the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi but against the system, which is totally undemocratic.

Umno as the backbone of the ruling government, must at least have the temerity to abide by the slimmest gossamer of democratic tenets, or lose the moral high ground when talking about democracy.

Abdullah wins, but the bigger loss is the demise of democracy.