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Sunday August 12, 2007

On the wings of Youth wing

INSIGHT
By JOCELINE TAN


newsdesk@thestar.com.my

This year's circuit of Umno Youth division meetings has established Khairy Jamaluddin as the leading candidate for the wing's leadership. He is as controversial as ever but he is the most happening guy in Umno circles today.

KHAIRY Jamaluddin ought to have suspected what was ahead as his vehicle went past all those banners bearing his face along the route to the Kapar Umno Youth meeting.

The Umno Youth deputy chief was officiating at the event on the invitation of Faisal Abdullah, the Youth head for the Kapar division in Selangor.

Faisal had pulled out all the stops for the meeting. This being the 50th year of Merdeka, there was a 50-man kompang troop making the most deafening noise, a 50-man guard of honour in full uniform down to their white gloves and a gigantic drum in the middle of it all.

Khairy had been to more than 20 of such meetings but this was the most elaborate reception of them all.

But the real surprise came in Faisal's speech.

On a roll: The bad feng shui of last year seems to have passed for Khairy, going by the clamour to propel him to the top of the Umno Youth wing.

Faisal, who is also Selangor Umno Youth deputy chief, said that if Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was ready to move up from his Youth leadership next year, all 22 Umno Youth divisions in Selangor were prepared to nominate and accept Khairy as the next Youth leader. Those present rose to their feet in a long and loud applause.

Khairy was bowled over. He stood up, took a bow and when the applause continued, got to his feet again to acknowledge their support. In fact, he was so flustered that his own speech lasted only 45 minutes as opposed to his standard one-hour-plus speeches at these events.

But he had the presence of mind to reciprocate Faisal's gesture, saying he could not envisage anyone more qualified than Faisal to take over from outgoing Selangor Umno Youth chief Shukor Idrus next year. He even told Faisal that if he were interested, there would be a place for him in the wing's national line-up.

He later confessed to people that he was quite stunned by Faisal's move. Those familiar with Umno politics would know why.

Faisal is a trusted confidante of Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo, and as everyone in Umno knows, Dr Khir and Khairy were seen as rivals in the Youth wing.

As such, the masterstroke on Faisal's part was loaded with political subtext. It was as good as Dr Khir endorsing Khairy to lead Umno Youth.

Khairy is being called all kinds of names on the Internet, from monyet to racist.

The 31-year-old rising star evokes strong and often negative emotions from people outside his party but within Umno, he is the most happening guy.

Almost every one of the Youth meetings he attended has voiced support for him to lead the wing.

Mukhriz: A gentleman inside out but can he put up a strong enough fight for the Umno Youth leadership?

One of the earliest shows of support came at the Bukit Bintang Youth meeting last month.

At that time, Khairy had turned to whisper to division chief Datuk Azim Zabidi: “Whoa, mati man, like this. What am I going to do?”

He was all too aware of how those who make known their intentions too early get shot down.

But when Azim, who is also Umno treasurer, stood up to speak, he added to the pressure, saying he could not see anyone else more suitable on the horizon.

Then he teased the younger man: “There's no need to fear anyone. If people hit out at you, the Bukit Bintang Youth wing will come to your defence.”

Even Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli seems to have joined the fray.

When Khairy attended the Umno Youth Setia Gempur launch in Kuala Kangsar, Tajol said he wanted Perak to be the first to nominate Khairy for the top post.

There was much applause but some thought the statement would have been more appropriate if it had come from a less senior source than Tajol. The Mentri Besar came across as over-eager to please the Prime Minister's son-in-law.

But Khairy was grateful and recalled how Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, then Perak Umno Youth chief and now a state exco member, had been the first to support him for the No. 2 post three years ago.

Khairy spent the better part of last year fending off all kinds of allegations, from his business dealings to his politics and private life.

The bad feng shui seems to be behind him now, and he is on a roll.

This round of division meetings has clearly established his claim to the Umno Youth leadership.

At the same time, he has used the meetings to disassociate himself from Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his latest effort being a potshot that Anwar is a puppet of Jewish and American interests.

Khairy has had to live down the mistake of his late night visit to Anwar after the latter's release in 2004, an episode that led to all sorts of wild conspiracy theories about the two of them.

He has also used the forum to show his allegiance to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The fact that he officiated at the Youth meeting in Pekan, Najib's home turf, was duly noted.

He knows his future does not lie with his Prime Minister father-in-law but with the Deputy Prime Minister.

“You keep hearing people say that he is finished without Pak Lah but that won't happen if he proves himself,” said Faisal.

So is the Umno Youth leadership in his pocket?

“The post is his as of now although I can't deny that there are other aspiring candidates,” said Dr Zambry.

Azim: The normally low-profile Umno treasurer says Khairy has captured the Umno Youth imagination.

Khairy's advantage, said Dr Zambry, is that he now has a track record to show in the party. He articulates issues close to the Malay heart, works hard, has ideas and has proven his leadership in the by-elections.

Said Azim: “If you have a checklist of the prerequisites of an Umno Youth leader, Khairy qualifies on almost every count.”

His most likely rival for the post is Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Mukhriz covered half a dozen Youth meetings this time, and at every one of them he was asked whether he was going for the top Youth post.

He has not denied his interest but, like Khairy, he deflected such queries by citing the need to focus on the general election.

Khairy, said a top political insider, reminds many of the young Mahathir – clever yet abrasive, daring but strategic, and so sure of himself.

“It's frightening but it's true, you can see how different they are from the rest of the pack right from the start. The Mahathir children and the diehard Mahathir admirers are not going to like this, but Khairy is more the political son of Tun Mahathir than Mukhriz,” said the political insider.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is such a gentleman in private but his public and political personas are quite different. Mukhriz on the other hand is a gentleman inside out.

“Mukhriz's appeal in Umno Youth has been largely driven by that part of his personality. He would do well if it's just a personality contest but it's going to be more than that,” said the political insider.

As some pointed out, even Machang Youth head Datuk Sazmi Meah, a close friend of Mukhriz from secondary school, seems to have swayed. Sazmi raised eyebrows when he invited Khairy rather than Mukhriz to officiate at the Machang meeting.

Money matters aside, the Umno Youth race will eventually boil down to who has the most to offer the Malay community and that is why there will always be the tendency to play to the Malay gallery, to wave the keris and defend race-based policies.

But the popular clamour for Khairy does not mean that party folk are completely comfortable with the idea of his father-in-law as Umno president and he as the head of the Youth wing.

There is an undercurrent of concern which is bound to deepen especially when he is picked to contest in the next general election and more so if he is given a government post.

But there is no shortage of people rushing to argue his case.

Azim insisted: “If he is capable, why should he be denied that position? He has captured the imagination of Umno Youth and I think they will accept him for who he is, not who he's married to.”

Going by the spectrum of public opinion about him, Khairy has captured the imagination of a bigger body than just the Youth wing, sometimes in a positive way and often in controversial ways.

And that is what makes him one of the most-watched politicians in the country.

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