Minister of International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz has alluded to the possibility that she could be facing a challenge for the post of Umno Wanita chief because some members in the movement were uncomfortable with her leadership style.

She admitted that at present there were many members who were uneasy with the way she worked, and felt that she was unapproachable and hard to communicate with.

That situation, she said, had contributed in no small way towards a split within the movement "and the best cure for that is to re-unite Wanita". She added that this was what she was trying to accomplish to resolve the problem.

As of yesterday, Rafidah had secured 124 nominations while five Wanita divisions have nominated former Wanita chief, Dr Siti Zaharah Sulaiman, for the women's wing top post in the coming party polls this September.

Siti Zaharah needs 34 more nominations to qualify to contest. Among those divisions which nominated Siti Zaharah are the party divisions in Raub, Pekan and Lipis - all of which are from her home state of Pahang.

Rafidah said that this was not a proper time for Siti Zaharah to recontest the post because it would give rise to new problems.

As such, Rafidah advised the former minister of national unity and community development not to proceed with her aim to contest for the Wanita chief post as that would only divide the movement even further.

"If possible, do not contest. We, as the exco, have said do not contest, but she is not in the exco, so it is her right to contest. But she must still get 30 percent of nominations to qualify," she told Bernama in Hong Kong last night.

Challenge

According to her, even though Siti Zaharah had good intentions, she will only resurrect the problems which had plagued the previous party polls which saw the international trade and industry minister wresting back the Wanita chief post.

In 1996, Siti Zaharah defeated Rafidah - who had been leading the women's wing for 12 years - with a majority of 12 votes. But in the 2000 polls, Rafidah regained the Wanita head post when she defeated Siti Zaharah by a similar majority of 12 votes.

Siti Zaharah was dropped from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's cabinet following the last general elections.

"I do not know what her aim is. But, I think there are many who will believe me if I said that the first time Siti Zaharah and I fought for the post - and she won - proved clearly that problems existed," she said.

Rafidah was leading a trade and investment mission to Hong Kong. Prior to that, she was in Taiwan and Japan, accompanied by representatives from the private sector and state governments.

According to her, from her experience, it is not easy to re-unite the members and establish a common understanding to bring harmony to the party.

"It took me between three to four years to unite Wanita. I went down myself to the grassroots level after winning back the post to make peace because whilst contesting, many lies and falsehoods about certain individuals, including me, were spread," she said.

Rafidah said that if there were no challenges within the party, things can be done better, and members and grassroots leaders no longer needed to divide their attention on party matters.

"There will be no need to split the votes between this person and that person, no need to have team A supporters and team B supporters," she said.

Not proper

Regarding the desire of Gua Musang member of parliament, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, to vie for the post of Umno president, Rafidah said that the desire was not proper because it would only reopen "old wounds" which can cripple Umno.

"Tengku Razaleigh can still serve at the supreme council level and in Kelantan. Not need to contest. (No doubt) it is his right to contest, but to me, the prime minister is not someone who can be unseated," she said.

She said that there is no good reason for Razaleigh to challenge Abdullah because Malaysians have already declared their undivided support for Abdullah given Barisan Nasional's landslide victory in the general elections last March.

"So, his voice as Umno president and prime minister should remain as our strong voice; and not be replaced by the voice of someone whom a portion of Umno members is not comfortable with," she said.

Rafidah said that although the country practised democratic principles, there were some things which should not be done if such actions can give rise to dissent and division in the party.

"Democracy is good, but there is no need to contest just because it is democratic to do so. If that is what we practise in Umno, the party will not remain strong," she said.

Rafidah said that there was nothing which should be considered more important than the good of the race, religion and country.