All sorts were there...! That has been the scenerio in Umno ever since the election season started. There are some who passionately wanted to challenge for a position. Others were afraid they would lose their posts, while yet others were "unconscious", vying for posts even when they had been sidelined by the grassroot members.

And the most common were the "fan experts", taking advantage of Umno's conditional democracy carnival. Campaign experts, apple polishers, ardent supporters or whatever they may be called, this was the time to capitalise on the rewards and opportunities made available by the candidates they supported.

They labour night and day for their respective candidate's victory, whether it be at branch level, divisional level or at the general assembly. Their support is undivided as long as their candidate has not lost. Even so, there are gaps in their loyalty and passion, and there are not a few who undermine their candidates.

Such is the attraction of Umno polls, full of colours, pain and joy, behind-the-scene stories and under-the-table incidents. By the end of the first week of divisional elections, we have witnessed all sorts of drama and happenings. A variety of whims, opinions and decisions have been displayed. There have been shocks and there have also been the expected.

Among the most memorable incidents is Khairy Jamaluddin's success at securing hugh support to contest for the post of Umno Youth deputy head. In the end, the prime minister's son-in-law bowed to the wishes of the grassroots to contest even though he had been reluctant to do so early on.

It is most likely that he will win without contest because other Umno Youth leaders have made way for him. The contest for Umno Youth deputy head will be more interesting if Mukhriz Mahathir can get enough nominations to contest.

Khairy against Mukhriz

However, the possible contest between the prime minister's son-in-law against the son of the former prime minister is not likely to materialise. Khairy has secured 121 nominations from 130 Youth movements which have already met, while Mukhriz has only got 6 nominations. There are only 60 youth divisions which have not held their meetings yet..

The number of nominations obtained by Mukhriz truly shocked many parties because he had not been listed as one of those interested in the post. This was all the more so after he lost in his attempt to become the head of Kubang Pasu Umno Youth.

In this scenerio, some Umno observers feel that there were Umno Youth members who were protesting the attitude of those Umno Youth leaders who had stepped aside for Khairy. They nominated Mukhriz in the hope that the son of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad can garner enough nominations, and will agree to contest against Khairy.

Another interesting development which shocked the entire Umno membership was the announcement that the main sponsor of the Umno Gua Musang division, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Ku Li) wanted to contest the post of Umno president. Prior to that, everyone had expected that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah) would not be contested.

However, at this stage, Ku Li's wish looks like just a castle-in-the-air because there have yet to be any division which is willing and brave enough to nominate him for that post.

Dr Siti Zaharah's shock

Aside from Ku Li's shock, it also appears that the former Wanita Umno head, Dr Siti Zaharah Sulaiman, still has an appetite to lead that movement. She has voiced her willingness to challenge Rafidah Aziz (Mak Dah) again.

At this stage, she has obtained 5 nominations. Is Dr Siti Zaharah able to meet the quota required to qualify to contest?

Based on current developments, it looks likely that she will be gravely disappointed because Wanita Umno in the whole nation, aside from Pahang, had voiced support for Mak Dah. Mak Dah can sleep easy!

Several shocks also occurred in the nominations for vice-presidents. An incumbent, Muhyiddin Yassin, has emerged as a "favourite", as had been expected. He leads with 57 nominations. Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam shocked with his 39 nominations, which placed him behind Muhyiddin. Mohd Ali is ahead of another incumbent, Muhammmad Mohd Taib, who only has 35 nominations.

The status of the Umno Kelantan communications head, Mustapa Mohamed, is surprising as he has only succeeded in garnering 21 nominations.

The failure of Syed Hamid Albar (8 nominations) to emerge as one of the popular candidates is also surprising because he is currently one of the high profile Umno ministers..

Mustapa is certain to qualify to contest when divisional meetings continue at this weekend.

The status of Umno supreme council member, Shahrir Samad, is also surprising. The reluctance of Umno divisions to nominate him is disappointing as Shahrir had been expected to replace "Mike Tyson" as the "independent candidate" in the line-up of vice-presidents.

However, at this stage, he has only obtained 4 nominations, and needs another 16 in order to qualify to contest.

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The name of Johore Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman surfaced suddenly when Johore divisions nominated him. He is not seen as a serious candidate as he had not voiced his desire to contest openly.

Candidates like Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, Isa Samad and Umno Kota Bharu head Zaid Ibrahim have been considered as just candidates to make the contest more merry. They should be aware of their personal limitations.

Contest in Kota Tinggi

Umno members know that the real battle for the number three post in Umno is now between Muhyiddin, Mohd Ali, Mustapa and Mike Tyson. Shahrir may still be able to spring a surprise if he is able to secure enough nominations to qualify.

The potential of Muhyidin and Mohd Ali to win is high. Mustapa is felt to have an edge over "Mike Tyson" even though the total number of nominations he has received at this stage is small.

Another interesting matter over the last week of nominations was the tough fight for the post of the Kota Tinggi divisional head. The incumbent, Syed Hamid faced a tough fight with his challenger, Roseli Johari. The foreign affairs minister only won narrowly by 31 votes, a win which is embarrassing for a cabinet minister.

On the whole, in this election season, the one component which really displayed true maturity is Puteri Umno. Even though this is the first time they have carried out the democratic process, the movement which had been viewed as "greenhorns" by Wanita Umno proved that they were more matured, brave and democratic than their "aunties, uncles and big brothers" from Wanita, Youth and Umno itself.

Close contests took place openly at all levels - branch, divisional and the main party. Puteri members embodied the spirit of forthrightness, togetherness and courage of their first leader, Azalina Othman Said.

Always a Gurkha

Wanita, Pemuda and Umno itself, which had practised conditional democracy, must surely be embarrassed by the Puteri newcomers. Those Umno leaders who had been shocked by Ku Li's wish to fill the empty party president's seat should in fact learn the meaning of democracy from Puteri members.

Members and leaders of Umno who had been infected with the "give way" syndrome should weigh whether the contests in Puteri had divided that movement or not.

That is the beauty of the current Umno assembly. Even though shackled by various rules and conditions, it was still full of shocks and surprises. And to those who have high ambitions, there are still two weeks more - till 22 July - to appeal and campaign for nominations to met the quota. As such, work hard without resorting to money politics!

One thing is sure - the path of Ku Li towards fulfilling his wish to become Umno president is a difficult one. As had been in the past, and is now, and forever more will be, Ku Li only qualifies to be a "gurkha".

This is a translation of the original article by Aman Rais.