‘KING’ ZAHID ON CLOUD 9 AFTER STAMPING HIS GRIP ON UMNO – WILL HE USE HIS 2ND LEASE OF POLITICAL LIFE WISELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF A MULTIRACIAL & BETTER MALAYSIA – AFTER WATCHING NAJIB GO TO JAIL, ZAHID SHOULD KNOW MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING & HE ALREADY HAS TONS OF IT – AFTER TOUGH POLLS, MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF NEW SUPREME COUNCIL ALIGNED TO ZAHID – ‘HE DARES TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS EVEN IF THOSE DECISIONS ARE NOT POPULAR & NOW HE HAS A TEAM WHO CAN BACK HIM UP’
Zahid stronger than ever after Umno polls
DATUK Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi must be on cloud nine. More than two-thirds of the new Umno supreme council comprise people aligned to him.
Two of the three new vice-presidents were also from his team.
Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin surged to first and second place over the people’s favourite and corporate personality Datuk Seri Johari Ghani.
What it means, said Datuk Seri Nur Jazlan Mohamed, is that Ahmad Zahid has emerged as a very strong and powerful president, surrounded by people who are loyal to him.
“He dares to make tough decisions even if those decisions are not popular and now he has a team who can back him up,” said Nur Jazlan, who was returned as Pulai chief without a contest.
Ahmad Zahid’s critics are still unhappy over the way he blocked the contests for the two top party posts but his supporters say that he deserves to be up there for holding the party together during its darkest years.
He is not perfect but going by the outcome of the party polls, it seems like the party accepts his leadership, warts and all.
His position is enhanced and he is quite unassailable for now.
Umno is the lynchpin to the unity government and Ahmad Zahid will be able to assure Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that Umno is a stable partner.
Ahmad Zahid, as many have come to realise, has been seriously under-estimated. He is the ultimate political animal who is prepared to do what it takes to bring down his enemies and to stay on top.
“We have a balanced combination of vice-presidents – a mentri besar, a minister and a corporate figure. I’m sure they will be able to work with the president,” said Pahang assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Sharkar Shamsudin who was re-elected to the supreme council.
Johari being up there, said Sharkar, will be good for the image of Umno.
But not all among the 25 supreme council members are going to be good for Umno.
There are several who should have been put to pasture because they have overstayed and do not fit in with the way Malay society has changed.
Moreover, said an aide to a former minister, many in the supreme council are “losers” who had been rejected by voters in the general election.
Several of them have lost in more than one general election which is as good as having the label “loser” printed on their forehead.
There are also a couple in the new line-up who are known to ignite controversy whenever they open their mouths.
Being part of the president’s “cai dan” or list was helpful to candidates who could not even defend their positions at the division level.
For instance, Datuk Puad Zarkashi and Lokman Noor Adam got into the supreme council but lost respectively in the Batu Pahat and Sri Gading divisions.
“The new national leadership will bring stability to the party but it will not inspire Malays outside to give Umno another chance. I don’t see them running back to Umno in the coming state elections.
“It is not sending good signals to the public who will ask: Is this what you are offering us?” said the above aide to a former minister.
It is understood that more than 50 division chiefs aligned to Ahmad Zahid retained their positions at the division elections.
A great deal of the renewal is taking place at the division levels where younger faces have moved up.
For instance, Khairul Azwan Harun, known widely as Wan Bro, is the new Pasir Salak division chief.
It was a David vs Goliath fight because he had to take on a powerful family with a big war chest but Wan Bro managed to defeat Dr Faizal Tajuddin, the eldest son of Tan Sri Tajuddin Rahman.
The most interesting part about the Umno polls has to be the arrival of the children of Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Umno politics.
Nooryana Najwa, his daughter with Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, won a spot in the Puteri Umno exco and she is also the wing’s new Lembah Pantai chief.
His son, Peramu Jaya assemblyman Mohd Nizar from his first marriage, is the new Pekan vice-chief.
But the newsmaker is Nazifuddin, the younger brother of Mohd Nizar, who was elected the new Langkawi division chief.
Nazifuddin’s win is seen as more than just party politics. He is rising up as just the sun set on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s time in Langkawi and it has undertones of the son avenging what his father went through at the hands of the former prime minister.
With the same old faces dominating the new supreme council, it will be many years more before the new breed can move up and refresh the image of Umno.
ANN
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