I refer to the Malaysiakini report Rafidah: We'll meet in the ring .

When Rafidah first came up with her June 2009 transition plan out of the blue, she did say that if she was challenged, she would not defend her post.

She wanted to be returned unopposed to the Wanita Chief's post. That's democracy a la Umno for you.

Now, she is not only willing to take on contender Shahrizat Abdul Jalil but has pledged to remain until 2011 if she wins. Frankly, I hope she wins and destroys Wanita Umno. That would be a great day for democracy in Malaysia. If she loses, it will be a great day too for democracy.

What happened to Rafidah's earlier vow not to get into a fight? The press should query her about this instead of just swallowing everything she says and reporting it verbatim.

Shahrizat did the right thing by going for Rafidah's head. Damned if she does, and damned if she doesn't.

If Rafidah is allowed to have her way, for reasons best known to her, Wanita Umno will, in fact, have no elected leader for three years unril she steps down as promised in June 2011 as pointed out by Shahrizat. That she cannot allow.

Wanita Umno executive council member Kamilia Ibrahim, who is going for the number two post, has also labelled the transition plan as undemocratic. This is not only stating the obvious, it's probably the understatement of the year.

Rafidah should step aside -- and allow a contest among other women leaders for the top post -- unless she wants to be humiliated and booted out. She has, in fact, been there before and bounced back thanks to her thick skin and the departure of Anwar Ibrahim.

It's pointless for Rafidah to go for the Wanita Umno chief's position just to have it for a few months. Hasn't she done enough damage?

In fact, it can be said that she has done more harm than good in recent years and this is evident in the March 8 general election during which her movement was just a pale shadow of its former self.

Even the kampung women are abandoning Wanita Umno in droves because Rafidah has been around too long and, like Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Samy Vellu, Taib Mahmud and Pairin Kitingan, show no signs of really going away.

To quote Confucius, ‘If a leader is rich and her people are poor, that leader should not only be ashamed of herself but should step down.’