To me, Khairy Jamaluddin is both special, and not special. He is special because as a young man of 28, he already has the ability to win the post of Umno Youth deputy head without contest, with all his challengers hastily withdrawing themselves to make way for him!

And what is even more unique is that the very next day after he confirmed his willingness to stand for the post on July 10, three mainstream papers - Mingguan Malaysia , Berita Minggu and New Sunday Times - all published prominently an interview with Khairy.

That interview was published at the same time by the three leading newspapers for the benefit of a candidate for the post of Umno Youth deputy head who is a newcomer in the political fray. By any measure, that can only be seen as special treatment accorded to the son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi!

That is not praise nor is it condemnation for Khairy, only an indication of what the media is like in Bolehland .

On July 18 (why not July 11?), Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Ku L) who was a prospective candidate for the post of Umno president, also received "special" treatment from the same three leading newspapers. The difference was in his case, his interview was only published at a time when, prior to the Gua Musang division holding its meeting, he had failed to secure any nominations!

It should also be ackowledged that aside from being the prime minister's son-in-law, Khairy's uniqueness is also linked to the role he plays, which involves amongst other things, what he himself had described as "assisting the PM in carrying out studies and research, writing his speeches, formulating strategies and policies, and such".

In short, Khairy's uniqueness cannot be separated from the fact that he is the PM's son-in-law and someone he trusts, and due to that, he has the opportunity to get close to the centre of power in Umno. He may also be able to play a part, be it large or small, in policies drafted and decisions made by the PM/Umno/Barisan Nasional (BN).

Fond of being praised

However, the uniqueness of Khairy has aspects which are not necessarily positive. For example, Adiba Basir of Puteri Umno, in her letter entitled " Pendedahan budaya elitis Khairy Jamaluddin " (Exposing the elitist culture of Khairy Jamaluddin) published in malaysiakini on July 12, 2004, exposed how Khairy had long wanted to be the number one in whatever he is involved in, how he likes being acclaimed and flattered, and how he is fond of having power as well as being clever in wielding the power.

" Khairy Jamaluddin dan demokrasi dalam Umno " (Khairy Jamaluddin and democracy in Umno) by Hamdan Sulaiman, published on the Umno-Reform website, aired issues which should be viewed seriously by Umno Youth, in particular by Khairy himself.

He wrote about "the truth that the once-brave Umno Youth is now suddenly averse to contests for the Youth deputy head post, which surely gives rise to several major issues. The main theme of these issues is why has Umno become a stunted party with a terrible inferiority complex and a thriving feudal culture, and the demise of democracy in the party."

However, after reading the three newspapers' account of the interview with Khairy, what disappointed me was that I could not find anything in them about Khairy which could be described as special, be it fresh visions, intellectual strength or wisdom as a strategist. Instead there were manifestations of political immaturity and pretentious behaviour.

The topic of being the PM's son-in-law and that giving him a special position had been blown up too much, and in a manner which denied the facts of the matter. If he truly wants to put an end to that topic, he should not have entertained the questions involved, not with the tens of times his name was linked to that of his father-in-law, as had been done in the interview.

Denial of the advantages due to his special position [having an advantage is not a crime] as the PM's son-in-law, or to try to give the impression that he has been maltreated because of that position, is not only unwise, but reveals a hypocritical nature.

Just imagine, if Najib Abdul Razak and Hishammuddin Hussein said that their present political positions were due to their personal capacities and abilities, and had nothing to do with their respective family backgrounds. Would those claims be considered as honest?

And if they tried to win sympathy and gain support by repeatedly stating that their family backgrounds were burdens they had to bear, and had resulted in them being maltreated, would that have been clever strategy?

Only after Hishammuddin and Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir had successfully persuaded Khairy's challengers (for the post of Youth deputy head) to make way for him in the "guided democracy" manner of Umno, after Khairy himself knew that he will win the post without contest, did Khairy tell reporters that for the sake of his future credibility and comfort, it would be good to have a contest. (as reported in the Mingguan Malaysia interview)

Play-acting

That stance would have been praiseworthy, if only he had stated it before his challengers had been persuaded to withdraw themselves. Given the timing of his statement, there was the inevitable talk of "play-acting".

Khairy grumbled: "Do not think that being the prime minister's son-in-law has made my political path easy. On the contrary, it has made it more difficult because people's expectations are higher due to that. I have to accept the reality that I have to prove myself three or four times more than other leaders have to."

Those complaints are incongruous with the truth that he "has gone up too fast", "was immature and untested" but has still won the Youth deputy head post uncontested. What was more, even before he has officially taken up that post, Khairy has already been viewed as the future replacement for Hishammuddin (as Youth head).

If a comparison must be made, then all this only proves that his political path has been clearly "three or four times" easier, not more difficult, than that of other leaders, unlike what Khairy had claimed in order to promote himself. It looks like trying to make a giant out of a dwarf not only poisons the attempt, it actually increases his stuntedness!

If it was not something made up, then Khairy's politics was really immature when he declared that he could never discern whether those who supported him did so because of what he himself was, or because he was Pak Lah's son-in-law!

He even felt strange when approached by those with problems, and was asked to tell or whisper something to Pak Lah. What's so strange? Is that not the due reward of those who support Khairy, the son-in-law of Pak Lah?

If he was not the son-in-law of Pak Lah, who would pay any attention to Khairy, the Oxford graduate, when in Umno today, there are already "basketfuls" of those considered as intellectuals or elite?

As such, what is the use of stressing so much that he has not hitched a ride on Pak Lah's platform, but has gone up on his own platform - one which was untested and sometimes pretentious? Every time he uses "Pak Lah" - whether to deny or confirm something - he has, knowingly or unknowingly, jumped from his own platform onto Pak Lah's!

Now, Pak Lah and Najib have been picked as president and deputy president of Umno respectively without contesting, Rafidah Aziz as Wanita head and Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Wanita deputy head, also without contesting, while Hishammuddin and Khairy have been picked to be Youth head and Youth deputy head respectively, again without contesting.

If it was on his own platform, and not on his father-in-law's platform/under his patronage, can it be true that Khairy believes that he can be picked without contest? You must be joking.