Although Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has clinched the presidency of Umno by warding off an unexpected challenge posed by a veteran politician, analysts revealed the contender was isolated from the start by undemocratic practices.

The threat posed by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a scion of the Kelantan royal house, fizzled out when he failed to obtain the required number of nominations to contest against Abdullah in the Umno polls scheduled for September.

But the nomination process for elections to all leadership positions in the party has been stained by allegations of money politics. There have also been murmurings that party electoral

requirements have made it almost impossible for any challenger to dislodge an incumbent leader.

Abdullah has been the acting party president, taking over from Dr Mahathir Mohamad stepped down last October from all posts after 22 years as prime minister.

Mahathir had appointed Abdullah as Umno deputy president after the sacking of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, now serving the second of his jail terms.

'Fear factor'

Analysts say Abdullah wanted to sweep the nominations for the presidency to dispel any lingering doubts over his status as Mahathir's successor. In doing so, he would also ensure that he

won the presidency uncontested.

"(Abdullah) as prime minister had to control Umno in whatever way he could," said veteran political commentator MGG Pillai.

He said Razaleigh was isolated in a sustained campaign that appeared far from democratic.

Political analyst Maznah Mohamad suggested that "fear factor" was at work.

"It seems that the tradition has been set by Mahathir ( photo ) and has become entrenched in the party. No branch of division would now dare to nominate anybody else for fear of victimisation if they did not go with the tide," she said.

"'This essentially means that, even though people might still support Abdullah, there is no room whatsoever for any show of difference."

Razaleigh, a former Umno strongman, said he had no desire to be prime minister and that he did not want a cabinet post. He pointed out his candidacy was aimed at sending a strong message to the grassroots that every party member has a right to contest any post, at any level.

"We do not have to be led by the nose," he told a meeting last Saturday in his home base of Gua Musang in Kelantan.

The voting system is stacked against any contender brave enough to challenge the top leadership. The supreme council had earlier "advised" divisions not to nominate any challengers apart from Abdullah and acting deputy president Najib Abdul Razak for the two top posts.

For Abdullah, who is on a high-powered trip to the US, Britain and France, winning the post has been important to legitimise his position as premier. The president of Umno, by virtue of its position as the largest party in the ruling coalition, goes on to become the prime minister.

Analysts noted that it was only last Sunday that Razaleigh received widespread coverage in the media. By then, the damage had been done, but it gave the impression to the public that there was space for other views.

To be eligible to contest for the UMNO presidency, Razaleigh needed to bag nominations from 30 percent of Umno's 191 divisions, or 58 nominations - a requirement under tightened electoral rules.

In the past, it had been a common practice for some party divisions to make nominations that supported the top leadership in public, but which did not translate into actual votes cast in secret during the election at the annual general assembly.

In the event, by Sunday, when more than 90 percent of the nominations were in, Razaleigh had bagged just one - from Gua Musang. That result confirmed a prediction by Mahathir that Razaleigh might end up with only that nomination.

'Re-examine system'

Critics point out that Mahathir knows the system all too well, having almost been toppled by Razaleigh in a dramatic party election in 1987.

A court dispute after the election resulted in the party being declared illegal. Mahathir registered a new Umno and tightened electoral rules to make it harder for an incumbent president to be challenged.

More weight has been given to the nominations from the divisions rather than the elections, on the basis that it would reflect grassroots sentiment.

Given the constraints to a challenge for the two top posts, the real scramble now is for the posts of vice-presidents, with more than half a dozen candidates in the running for the three posts up for grabs.

For Razaleigh, it was always going to be an uphill task after 17 years in the political wilderness, given the advantage of patronage, incumbency and electoral procedures that Abdullah enjoyed.

Already, there have been allegations of money politics. Umno secretary general Radzi Sheikh Ahmad ( photo ) said the disciplinary committee is scheduled to meet this week to hear 74 cases of vote-buying, most of these being allegations made during branch elections last month.

Although Razaleigh knew that he was going to be steamrolled, he succeeded in putting Umno's electoral procedures - in particular the requirement for nominations from 30 percent of the divisions - under intense public scrutiny.

He has said that procedures relating to nomination, campaigning, appointment of delegates and voting of all political parties have to be re-examined.

"Are these processes and procedures democratic in nature?"' he asked at a book launch last December.

"Or have they succumbed to manipulations and machinations as found in our elections laws? All these must be seen in their total perspective because they are relevant."