Abdullah to hang tough

PM's gamble in defending Umno chief's post could lead to open split

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has decided to defend his position as president of the ruling Umno despite mounting calls for him to hand over power before party elections in mid-December.

Close associates say Datuk Seri Abdullah was convinced by his close supporters during meetings over the weekend that he still enjoyed widespread support in Umno and could easily secure the necessary nominations from the party's delegates to defend the presidency.

'They (his close supporters) have convinced him that he still has the support of the majority,' said a close associate of the Premier, adding that Mr Abdullah could announce his decision before the week's end to see through his plan to hand over power some time in 2010.

Yesterday, Umno divisions in Kelantan and Penang expressed support for the plan to hand over power in 2010. Kelantan Umno chief Annuar Musa said the state Umno liaison body meeting, which was attended by almost all division chiefs, reached a unanimous decision to support the power transition plan.

Gua Musang Umno head Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who had announced his intention to contest the party's presidency, was absent.

Likewise, in George Town, all 13 Penang Umno divisions and Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings gave their full support to the plan. State Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Abdul Rashid Abdullah said: 'We will nominate Mr Abdullah for the top post. We will defend the position of our president.'

Speaking after a closed-door meeting of the Kelantan Umno liaison committee yesterday, Mr Abdullah said Umno members were supportive of the 2010 plan. 'Umno members still care for the party and they want this party to be strong and well,' he said.

This show of support is in contrast to a meeting last Thursday, when several members of Umno's Supreme Council, the party's main policymaking body, told Mr Abdullah there was a groundswell among the party's rank-and-file for him to quickly hand over the reins to his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The requests at the meeting for his early retirement also carried a not-so-subtle warning: If he refused to resign, he risked being humiliated by the party divisions, which would not nominate him to defend the Umno presidency later this year.

Mr Abdullah's gamble to hold on to the Umno presidency, and the premiership that goes with it, is likely to stir unease among the party warlords, who are still reeling from the sharp setbacks in the March general election, which saw an opposition alliance headed by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim emerge as a serious threat.

Mr Anwar has declared that his coalition intends to eject the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in coming weeks through the defections of elected representatives from the government.

While many Umno officials doubt that Mr Anwar has the necessary numbers to topple the government, they consider him a serious threat and they believe that Umno needs a strong leader to deal with the opposition.

Mr Abdullah's decision to postpone his departure could also bring into the open a behind-the-scenes campaign by the supporters of Mr Najib.

While Mr Najib has publicly declared he is committed to the 2010 handover plan, his supporters have been canvassing Umno delegates, who will vote at the party assembly in December, to nominate their boss for the presidency in bid to force Mr Abdullah into early retirement.

'The PM believes that Mr Najib is loyal and will remain so. In any case, he now has a chance to prove it by abiding by the handover plan and refusing any nominations for the presidency,' said a close associate of Mr Abdullah.

But Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Umno delegates will have the final say in choosing the party's top leaders. Speaking to reporters after attending a business forum yesterday, he said the transition plan is merely a convention and is not stated in the party's constitution.

He also warned that BN and Umno may not last past 2013 (when the next general election is due) if reforms do not occur quickly.

Some analysts say Mr Abdullah's move to defend his position will force a rethink in the Deputy Premier's camp because an open fight for the leadership will spilt an already fractured Umno and work to the advantage of Mr Anwar.

Others say Mr Abdullah wants to stay in office to repair his tattered record since becoming Umno president and premier in November 2003.

His government has yet to deliver on a pledge to pursue sweeping economic and political reforms. Government debt has risen to its highest level in decades, and the country's fiscal deficit now hovers at 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product.

Leslie Lopez
The Straits Times
Singapore