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Published: Saturday October 25, 2008 MYT 12:54:00 PM
Updated: Saturday October 25, 2008 MYT 9:42:58 PM

Umno Race: Khairy to battle Mukhriz for Youth Chief (Update)

By SHAHANAAZ HABIB and NURBAITI HAMDAN


KUALA LUMPUR: The battle is on. Khairy Jamaluddin can now take on Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir for the Umno Youth Chief post.

After a three-week wait to qualify, Khairy who is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s son-in-law, went past the 39 nominations’ eligibility mark and secured a total of 44 nominations.

On Saturday itself, he received a total of seven nominations. They came from Tawau, Tangga Batu, Gua Musang, Sembrong, Papar, Sabak Bernam and Kuala Kangsar.

The nomination from Sembrong is particularly significant because the present Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein is the MP and division chief. Khairy is Hishammuddin’s deputy in Umno Youth and there was speculation about whom the Sembrong division would back.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s Gua Musang division also sprang a surprise when it threw out the nomination from the Youth meeting on Thursday and reconvened a new meeting on Saturday and picked Khairy as its choice.

Earlier, the division had nominated Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo. Khairy said he was pleased to have qualified “given the level of scrutiny” he had to go through from the time he entered the political arena in 1999.

“I shall subject myself now to an even more intense screening not just by delegates to the Youth Umno general assembly but all Malaysians who have encountered a range of stories, good and bad, about me.

“I accept that the onus is on me to explain my convictions and reasons for offering myself as a prospective leader,” said the Rembau MP.

Meanwhile, Mukhriz, the son of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is still in the lead with 66 nominations, well over the crucial 39 needed.

On Saturday, he picked up nominations from Sri Gading and Tambun.

The third contender, Dr Khir, is not too far behind. He has 36 nominations to date. The 191 divisions have until Nov 9 to hold their meetings and offer their nominations ahead of party polls in March.

The other contest that seems to be shaping up into a possible interesting fight is the race for the Wanita Chief post.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil continued to receive a string of nominations for the movement’s top post. Her tally now stands at 52, having received nominations on Saturday from Kubang Pasu, Parit, Hulu Terengganu, Pendang, Bagan, Jelutong, Lumut, Teluk Intan, Tangga Batu, Kota Marudu and Papar.

She needs only 39 to be eligible to challenge Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz for the post.

Rafidah who had qualified for the Wanita top post two weeks ago continued to receive nominations on Saturday including from Pekan, Sabak Bernam, Jerai, Tenggara, Seputeh and Segamat.

Interestingly, Rafidah’s own Kuala Kangsar division gave its nomination to her as expected but did not pick Shahrizat for the deputy Wanita post. It chose Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim as the movement’s number two post.

Rafidah and her deputy Shahrizat had an understanding that they would not challenge each other for the Wanita Chief post and she (Rafidah) would step down in June next year and hand over the reins of power to the number two.

Shahrizat had said she would not challenge her boss (Rafidah) even if she received enough nominations, but a number of Wanita divisions have chosen to ignore this transition plan by nominating Shahrizat to the top post.

Since qualifying for the post, Shahrizat has been avoiding the media.

For the Puteri wing, Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin and Datuk Shahaniza Shamsudin are neck-and-neck in the nominations.

Both have qualified to contest the post and are still picking up nominations. Both have 55 each.

The other interested candidates Datin Ismalina Ismail (28), Bibi Sharliza Mohd Khalid (16) and Azlina Mehtab (9) and Nurdiana Shafie (1) have yet to qualify.

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