Will Mahathir initiate move to appoint Pak Lah as acting president?

comments     Nash Rahman     Published     Updated

analysis

During Umno's annual general meeting (AGM) last year, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told party delegates that he couldn't possibly cling to the president's post forever. Considering his age then, Mahathir said, he could probably continue for just another term.

Since then, Mahathir ( left ) has regularly mentioned that deputy president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, popularly known as Pak Lah, would take over his place as party president in due time.

Delegates to this year's AGM are therefore anxiously looking forward to Mahathir's opening speech on June 20 to see if Pak Lah would finally be promoted to the Number One post come the triennial party elections due next year. Or get an inkling of that at least.

The common feeling among Umno members is that the tradition of 'electing' party top hierarchy should be restored namely that the deputy should be elevated to become president, and that the contest for the number two post should have one of the vice-presidents, preferably the most senior member, as a candidate.

Several quarters within Umno think that Mahathir must put this in place before he retires from active politics. They say he should initiate the move to appoint Pak Lah ( far left ) as acting party president, and Najib Abdul Razak ( left ), as acting deputy president. Their appointments can then be endorsed by the party AGM, and from there they could still be challenged by candidates whose credentials should be at least on par, if not better than both of them.

Anwar-Ghafar fight

Party members believe that the revival of this tradition could prevent unnecessary contests for top party posts. In 1987, the then party vice-president Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah challenged Mahathir for party presidency, and he lost by only 40 votes or two percent, while his running mate, incumbent Musa Hitam, lost the deputy presidency to Ghafar Baba.

And in 1993, Anwar Ibrahim ( left ) won the deputy president post uncontested after almost 90 percent of the divisions nominated him, forcing incumbent Ghafar who received only seven percent, to withdraw from the contest. This took place despite the Supreme Council's advice against any contest for the two top posts.

Technically, Anwar had taken advantage of the bonus system which allocates additional 10 votes for every nomination a candidate received.

The aim of the bonus system was to ensure that the delegates' votes reflect the wishes of their divisions. Tabled by Ghafar, it was unanimously adopted by the Umno AGM as an immediate check to the outcome of the Mahathir-Razaleigh fight in 1987 in which Mahathir almost lost to Razaleigh despite obtaining the largest number of nominations.

All these developments later put the party election system in chaos, as many perceived that the contest for party posts is really open to all, as stated in the party's constitution.

Money politics

Since then, contests for party posts, be they at divisional or national level, have gotten intense.

This was also partly due to the change in the composition of delegates to the AGM. In the earlier days, delegates were mostly highly respected teachers. However, their presence was drastically reduced in the 1990s when the party saw active participation of academicians and business people.

The political manoeuvring by these delegates led to vicious party elections at various levels. It eventually encouraged the use of money to buy votes, notably after the entry of successful Malay corporates figures into Umno politics. Candidates, or their agents, would sponsor big dinners or trips to places like Thailand and Jakarta, to 'coax' delegates into voting for their candidates.

This had prompted the supreme council to set up a special committee, specially assigned to supervise party elections, to ensure that they are free of any element of money politics.

The committee, headed by senior party member, Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen, was also granted with the power to disqualify candidates proven to be involved in money politics.

Judging from the number of cases dealt by the committee after the last party elections in 2000, it is very clear that the party has once again failed to curb the problem to which even the president had admitted and despaired over many a time.

Taking a firm hand on the matter, Mahathir later announced that the divisional leaders and other top Umno leaders were prohibited from participating in government projects, with a view to discourage party members with business interests to contest for party posts.

Still, political observers believe that this prohibition is of no use because members could still get the projects via proxies.

Succession problem

Mahathir must also seriously look into the party's succession problem, after three deputy presidents had failed to make it to the top. Now is probably the appropriate time for Mahathir to put into action his promise of delivering "a united Umno" to his successor who, at this moment, is Pak Lah.

The next question is whether Pak Lah and Najib can forge a formidable team to lead Malaysia after the post-Mahathir era.

This answer: tomorrow (exclusive for malaysiakini subscribers).


This is the first part of a four-part series produced in conjunction with the Umno annual general meeting which will be held at the Putra World Trade Centre for four days beginning tomorrow.



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