Umno's nearly man

HE may have been the first to throw his hat into the ring.

But Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is still no closer to becoming the Umno president then when he openly declared in March that he aimed to take over the post from the incumbent, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.
So far, the Kelantan prince has yet to receive a single nomination from party members to contest the party's top post.

In contrast, his rival for the job, deputy Prime Minister and heir apparent Najib Tun Razak, has already secured at least 63 party division nominations, five more than the minimum of 58 required out of a total of 191.
On Saturday, Tengku Razaleigh almost got his first nomination after his name was proposed during the Bachok Umno division meeting .
However, less than 10 out of the 517 division delegates voted for him, while more than half the delegates voted for Mr Najib, the Malaysian media reported.
At 71, Tengku Razaleigh may be a generation older than his 55-year-old rival, but the veteran Umno member sees his age as an advantage.
'Age is based on our ability to think,' he told The Star, in an extensive interview published yesterday.

He told the newspaper that despite getting along in years, he had no choice but to offer himself as a candidate for Umno president.

'This time, I am forced to come forward because no one else has the courage to stand, especially for the Malays who have no choice,' he said.

'Next general election, Umno might be rejected. And the Malays will not have a platform.'
He also has a point to make.

He wants to remind Umno delegates that democracy is very much a party tradition and the quota system - where candidates were required to get a certain number of nominations to qualify to run, plus entitling them to bonus points to boot - was alien to the party spirit.
The quota system was introduced after Tengku Razaleigh's previous try for the party's top post in 1987, when he lost to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad by just 43 votes.

Democratise party

He has repeatedly tried to get this system abolished, but has yet to succeed.
'I want to democratise the party. The leadership should not have too much power,' he said.
'Members are now afraid of leaders, whereas it should be the other way round.'
If he were to emerge as Umno president, he proposed giving members, rather than delegates, the right to vote in the party leadership.

He would also propose that the president hold office for not more than three terms, while state liaison chiefs be limited to two terms.
Kelantan state opposition leader from Kok Lanas, Mr Mohd Alwi Che Ahmad, told The Star that Tengku Razaleigh play for the party's top post is not about winning or power.
'(He) wants to tell the public Umno is a democratic party where you can challenge anybody if you have the credibility,' he said.

'So he wants to give that option. It is not a question of him winning, getting nominations.'
Based on the way things are going, the prospects of Tengku Razaleigh even being eligible to run for, let alone winning Umno president is remote.
Mr Alwi said he is not surprised, considering the generational gap between the prince and his peers.

'Of course, he's out of place. Out of time, out of place. But you can use his talent, his stature to strengthen Umno. Razaleigh is such a personality. He must be respected,' said Mr Alwi.
Even if he doesn't win, Mr Alwi hopes that party members will look to Tengku Razaleigh for guidance.

'He has the stature of Dr Mahathir and (former deputy premier) Musa Hitam. He is of that generation, not ours. We cannot reach his level of thinking. That's why we must think of him as a statesman and don't fight him, (but) listen to his advice,' Mr Alwi said.

'As Pak Lah said: Umno doesn't understand Pak Lah; Umno doesn't understand Razaleigh. They come from that first generation. And Umno now is not that generation.'