Although I am not a member of Umno nor a Malay, I believe that as a Malaysian citizen I have a right to comment on how Umno and other parties function. Political parties are too important to be treated like a sports club or private association although that is how it is defined in law.

In the case of Umno, there is even greater public interest in its workings because it is from this party that the government's top posts of prime minister and deputy prime minister have been filled and are likely to be filled in the future.

While in many respects, elections in Umno may be regarded as even more important than the general election, the membership of the party is however confined to only one section of Malaysian society.

It is of paramount importance that the members of Umno understand their responsibilities and participate fully in the choosing of their leaders. Over the years, changes in the Umno constitution have gradually reduced the scope of popular participation in the election of party leaders at all levels of the party.

Invariably, the highly centralised nature of the party was reflected in the government. For example, with the appointment of the state liaison committees to replace the state Umno chiefs which was previously an elected post, the Umno top leadership was able to exert tremendous influence over who should become the chief minister or mentri besar of the state should the Barisan Nasional win the state elections.

In addition, decisions over the allocation of seats among the parties in the coalition and the selection of candidates were often made by the top leadership so that the divisional leadership comprises largely people who are, to a greater or lesser extent, beholden to the top leadership.

At the highest level of the party, the tenure of office for members of the Umno supreme council was extended from one year to three years and certain key positions in the party, notably the post of secretary-general, and treasurer, were made non-elected posts.

More recently, the requirement that a candidate has to obtain a certain minimum number of nominations before his/her name is on the list for elections by delegates at a Umno general assembly meeting, seems to have no other merit except to give the incumbents an added advantage in the elections.

As access to power and the resources it controls becomes concentrated, it is only to be expected that the top posts become hotly contested ones. The first time the top posts in the party were seriously challenged was when Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah challenged Musa Hitam for the post of deputy president in 1981.

It is important to understand the background of the decision by Razaleigh to challenge Musa. When Razak died and Hussein Onn became prime minister, Ghafar Baba and Razaleigh were the most senior vice-presidents in the party.

The decision by Hussein Onn to appoint Mahathir was therefore regarded with some concern by the second-rung leadership because it meant that the line of succession was now uncertain and therefore a 'free for all'.

While Ghafar showed his displeasure at being bypassed by refusing to accept a cabinet post in the government, Razaleigh decided to bide his time. But when he was bypassed a second time, with Mahathir appointing Musa Hitam his deputy, Razaleigh decided to hit back.

Indirectly, he was protesting against the hijacking of the party's democratic right to choose their leaders. By following the parliamentary convention which gave the prime minister powers to appoint his cabinet, the party rank-and-file was presented with a fait accompli. Once the prime minister made his choice, there was little that the party could do short of a revolt.

Nevertheless, the fact that Razaleigh obtained a substantial share of the votes in that 1981 contest showed that there was considerable dissatisfaction within the party.

Factionalism within the party became more pronounced when Musa resigned his post as deputy prime minister and joined forces with Razaleigh to challenge the Mahathir-Ghafar Baba team in the 1987 party elections.

The situation worsened when Mahathir, instead of closing ranks and trying to resolve the problem through negotiation and compromise, took stern measures to effectively remove all Team B leaders from positions within the government.

Team B referred the matter to the courts, thus dragging the judiciary into what was essentially a political matter. Although Mahathir eventually won the war, it was at considerable cost in terms of a diminution of democracy both within the party and in the country as a whole.

It is in this context that we should examine Razaleigh's decision to offer himself as a candidate for the post of president in the coming Umno elections. If the desire to keep democracy alive is the primary reason for contesting, then the least he must do is to enter his name in order to create the environment for competition to take place.

After that, it is left to the members at the divisional level to decide the future of the party. In the Kubang Pasu Umno Youth divisional elections, the members showed that getting more nominations was not a guarantee of winning the elections.

But in order for elections to take place at all, Razaleigh has to first get the necessary minimum number of nominations. Nevertheless, whether he does so or not, the question of 'dignity' which some have implied he is in danger of losing if he fails to obtain a respectable number of nominations, does not arise.

Perhaps Razaleigh's contribution to Umno can be seen in his own reminder to members that intra-party democracy is vital to keeping the party vibrant and relevant and to warn them that Umno is in danger of being destroyed by those who thwart the democratic process for their own

ends.