Although Azalina Othman Said (photo) has garnered a comfortable number of nominations for the Puteri Umno chief post, it appears that controversial author Khalid Jafri is still keen on making life difficult for her.

Close aides of the writer told malaysiakini that Khalid is in the midst of penning a book which is believed to contain evidence of corruption and sexual misconduct involving Azalina.

"I am not sure what the subject is but he is definitely writing a book," said a senior journalist with the fledging Malay tabloid, Perdana Sari .

The tabloid, published by Khalid, ran a series of articles claiming that Azalina was homosexual and that she had used the wing's funds to purchase a luxury car for her lover.

The 'culprit'

In its fourth issue dated April 21, Perdana Sari carried a photograph of her lover on its front-page.

It accused the woman, who is the wife of a prominent businessman, of being the 'culprit' behind the resignations of several Puteri Umno exco members, including two popular artistes Erra Fazira and Erma Fatima.

In May, the tabloid's licence was suspended for three months by the Home Ministry for publishing explicit photographs relating to a story about sex on campus.

Following this, Khalid (photo) said he will write a book exposing the wrongdoings of the pro tem Puteri Umno chief.

The author is also said to be making arrangements to republish Perdana Sari .

Khalid earned notoriety in 1997 when he wrote a book that listed 50 reasons why jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim cannot become prime minister. Among the reasons listed, was sexual misconduct.

A year later, Anwar was sacked and charged for sodomy and abuse of power. He was found guilty on both charges and is currently serving a 15-year jail term.

The ex-deputy premier, who claims to be a victim of a political conspiracy, has taken legal action against Khalid and the case is pending at the High Court.

Last year, Khalid penned a book on Daim Zainuddin after he resigned, titled ' Tun Daim penyangak wang negara ' (Daim, squanderer of the nation's money).

Internal crisis

Puteri Umno will hold its inaugural election on Nov 1 and the two-year-old wing is being rocked by an internal crisis.

Last month, Elly Zalilah Yusof (photo), a former close aide of Azalina, lodged a report with the Umno management committee accusing the latter of corruption.

A police report was also lodged against the lawyer-cum-politician, who was handpicked by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to lead the wing.

Azalina has received more than 100 nominations from the wing's nationwide divisions while five other potential candidates have yet to receive any.

The Puteri Umno constitution states that in order to be eligible to contest the top post, a candidate must receive a minimum of two nominations.

The crisis ridden wing was set up in order to attract younger Malay women into the Umno fold.