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Web-only Exclusives
November 30, 2000

From Our Correspondent: Hirohito and the War
A conversation with biographer Herbert Bix

From Our Correspondent: A Rough Road Ahead
Bad news for the Philippines - and some others

From Our Correspondent: Making Enemies
Indonesia needs friends. So why is it picking fights?

Asiaweek Time Asia Now Asiaweek

APRIL 7, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 13


Chan Looi Tat for Asiaweek
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Yes? No? Maybe? Too Late!
Razaleigh is out of the UMNO leadership race
By SANTHA OORJITHAM Kuala Lumpur

He huffed, and he puffed, and he blew himself down. After months of hinting that he may be willing to answer the people's call to take over the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Malaysia's dominant political party, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah now knows that the people aren't calling. With results in from some 135 UMNO divisions, the politician prince from Kelantan state got nominations from only one division to become party president, and from just two to become deputy president. That's nowhere near the 50 and 33 nominations respectively needed to run for the posts. In contrast, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has 134 nominations to retain the UMNO presidency, and his hand-picked heir, deputy PM Abdullah Ahmad Bada-wi, has 133 for the No. 2 slot. With only 30 more divisions meeting ahead of the May 11 party polls, Razaleigh is not only out of the race for the top two positions, he may be fighting for his political life.

Not that the wily prince ever said he was running. "If members have plans [to nominate me], then I'll see," was as close as Razaleigh ever came to saying he was. But behind the scenes it was an-other story. "His aide spent weeks in our division, studying the ground and asking us to nominate him for either No. 1 or No. 2," a Sabah div-isional leader says. The one-time finance minister had reportedly hoped to take ad-vantage of rising discontent within UMNO after its shaky performance in last Novem-ber's general elections. The Malay community, UMNO's power base, had been split by the ouster, arrest and trial of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. While the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition kept its two-thirds majority of Parliament, UMNO saw its seats tumble from 94 to 72. The big gainer was the Islamist opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas), which also kept the state administration of Kelantan and added that of Trengganu to its winnings.

 
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The setbacks caused two opposing reactions within UMNO. On the one hand, the party circled the wagons. UMNO's Su-preme Council urged that Mahathir and Abdullah be nominated for the party leadership unopposed. On the other, many members began soul-searching. Had UMNO lost touch with the Malay masses? Did it need to reform? After 18 years of Mahathir, was it time for a change? All that made a challenge look possible, but looks can be deceiving. "There was a strong undercurrent [against Mahathir]," says a senior UMNO delegate from Trengganu, "but it was not strong enough to break the tide in the PM's favor." Not that Razaleigh really fought the tide, for all his hints and winks. "There were people who wanted to nominate him because they felt there should be a choice," says a supporter of party vice president Najib Tun Razak. "But he did not come out clearly, and that discouraged a lot of people." And so a campaign never coalesced. "There were small groups who would discuss changing the leadership over cups of tea," says a Johor delegate. "These communities were, however, not organized, and could not challenge the structure."

All of which leaves Razaleigh . . . where? Last week, the local press quoted him as saying that he would not contest any UMNO posts in May (a party vice presidency may still be within reach) even if nominated. The next day, he said he had been misquoted, but did not clarify his stand. Ahmad Shabery Chik, a senior Razaleigh aide, says his boss "would not run away from responsibility" but still "has no plans." Says Shabery: "For any post, he leaves it to the UMNO divisions [to decide] what is best for him." Such coyness will not help Razaleigh, who has only six of the 17 nominations needed to run for one of UMNO's three vice presidential spots. He has little to fall back on. He has no cabinet post. He is on UMNO's Supreme Council, but as an appointed member. Even his po-tential trump card, winning Kelantan back from Pas (which he failed to do in Novem-ber), is irrelevant since the next general election does not have to take place until after the next UMNO party polls in 2003. At 62, Razaleigh may not be able to wait that long anyway. "It's the end of his political career," says an UMNO division leader.

With Mahathir and Abdullah having wrapped up UMNO's top two slots, which give them the PM and deputy PM posts, what happened to all the talk about reform? It is still there. "A lot of people wish there had been a contest, a bloodletting," says the Sabah divisional leader. "People are upset about how the Malays are split and there is no forum to talk about it." So look for new faces among the vice presidents. Incumbent Najib has 122 nominations and may be a shoo-in. Anoth-er, Muhammad Muham-mad Taib, will be challenged by a field of state chief ministers and cabinet members. (Abdullah is the third incumbent.) And Razaleigh cannot be written off. After all, this man almost unseated Mahathir in 1987, spent a decade in the wilderness, and made it back nearly to the top table. He sounded like a campaigner last week, warning that UMNO may end up a "dinosaur" unless the party rejuvenates. "If Mahathir stands down before 2003, everyone will be at their weakest," says one political scientist. "If [Razaleigh] desires to be PM, his best bet is a tactical retreat and a strategic offensive in 2003." If he isn't out of breath by then.

With additional reporting by Arjuna Ranawana/Kuala Lumpur

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