Much has been said about UMNO's drive to clean itself from selfish power struggle and money politics. Amidst this claim, a pro-BN newspapers - The Star - reported to the contrary. The party should be aptly called 'The Sick Old Man of Malaysian Politics' - rotting by the day with corruption, counter productive politicking and vote rigging.

Interesting battles shaping up

About 18,000 Umno branches must complete their AGMs by the end of March. Although it is a non-election year for them, the branches will be making nominations for the division level elections due in April. SA'ODAH ELIAS examines the personalities who are considering to contest and how this affects the divisions.

Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib or Mat Tyson to many, is feeling the pressure more than any others who are contemplating vying for posts in Umno's 165 divisions. Being one of the party's three vice-presidents, he is expected to lead a division but his exalted position as VP and Selangor Umno liaison committee chairman, instead of giving him an edge, is making it more difficult for him to regain his old post of Hulu Selangor division chief. Muhammad cannot be seen as challenging for the post as should he lose, the consequence may be catastrophic for him politically. His obvious move is to convince the present division head Datuk Idris Abu Bakar, an old ally, to make way for him, but as of now, that does not look to be forthcoming.

Muhammad recently held an informal meeting with supporters from the division supposedly to get a "feel'' of the members' sentiment. A long-time supporter who declined to be named said during the meeting, Muhammad broadly hinted that he would not contest the Hulu Selangor division head post which he held until 1998 but was willing to step in if Idris gave way. Idris and the whole division committee's cold response to that suggestion was quite disappointing, said the supporter, adding that Muhammad might not go for it unless he received a very clear signal from the branches which started their meetings from Thursday.

Secret meetings where power brokers are at their busiest are common among Umno fraternity. It is at such meetings that the more important decisions and trade-offs are made. While the power to decide rests in the hands of the delegates, in reality, theirs is only limited to choosing from the lists of candidates often already decided in those clandestine get-togethers. The party headquarters had already issued the code of ethics for those involved in the division elections. This, in addition to the election committees set up in every state and the disciplinary board, should be adequate to curb unethical practices, especially money politics which has been the bane of Umno for many years. But, in less than a week since the guidelines were issued, there have been allegations that the code has already been breached. One Umno heavyweight in Perak who is planning to challenge his division chief is said to be offering trips to Haadyai to those willing to switch their support to him. Others are using the more traditional method of holding kenduri to woo supporters. There have also been reports that some leaders are attempting to misuse the names of deceased members by continuing to pay their membership fees en bloc in the hope of substituting them with their representatives to vote during meetings. While all these rumours have yet to be verified and investigated by the party, they nonetheless give an indication of what is to come when the campaigning becomes more intense in just a few weeks.

Campaigning are expected to intensify after Hari Raya Haji when the majority of over 18,000 Umno branches nationwide will hold their annual meetings. For many, this year's division election is more significant because those elected to the division are considered the choice candidates in the next general election. Also, division chiefs now have a say in the choosing of candidates for both state and parliamentary seats--a power granted them through the recent amendments to the party constitution.

A party activist in one northern state who was recently courted by some leaders to contest for his division's Youth chief post had to decline the offer. "I am a salaried worker and unless things change in Umno, I am destined to remain a party activist indefinitely as I don't have the kind of money that can give me the advantage my opponent has,'' he said. Although a staunch Umno supporter since his college days, he said there had been times when he and his friends had given up on Umno when the underhanded tactics of some leaders became too much for them to stomach. "Even among us, some feel that maybe we should play the same game to get into the inner circle then try to introduce changes from within. But in the end, we decided not to risk it as we don't want to end up like them,'' he said.

If unsubstantiated reports are to be believed, many division leaders are contravening the code of ethics with impunity, and yet, when contacted for their comments several of them have refused to be interviewed, citing the guidelines' prohibition on using the media to campaign. One Johor division leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, complained that some of the guidelines in the code of ethics were not only unfair to hopeful leaders especially those who were relatively unknown, but were also unclear. "Take for instance the ban on kenduri. It is a Malay custom to hold a kenduri as a gesture of thanksgiving to Allah or for some other reasons. "Banning it even for a short period of time is quite unnecessary because such event does not offer much opportunity for people to campaign. "How much harm can holding a feast or organising a dinner do compared to other tactics some are involved in these days. "The police in Umno are better off focussing their attention on the rich leaders, especially those holding government positions,'' he added.

He was also unhappy with the code of ethics' provision on the use of media to campaign, which he said was totally undemocratic. With such provision, he said, candidates with government posts would always get the upper hand as they would continue to get publicity from the media through their government portfolios while others could end up being penalised for doing the same even if they had strong and valid reasons for it. Local media, he further argued, was responsible enough and should be allowed to independently decide what sort of statement they wanted to use and what should be blanked out. "It is also insulting to the media and media practitioners as it infers that they can be easily used or bribed,'' he added.

Dr Mahathir's home state, Kedah, is expected to see the most number of contests. Speculations are rife that at least seven of 15 divisions in the state would see tussles for the number one post. Kedah leaders said to be feeling the heat now include Sik division head Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Othman, Padang Terap division head Datuk Dr Affifuddin Omar and Pendang division head Datuk Othman Abdul. However, Kuala Kedah division head Datuk Zakaria Said had agreed to vacate his seat to make way for Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Syed Razak Syed Zain. In Kelantan, the local grapevine is full with rumours that two prominent leaders, Pasir Mas division head Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Jeli division head and Umno information chief Datuk Mustapa Mohamad may be challenged this year. Other prominent leaders who may have to work harder to defend their division posts include Umno Youth head Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein who is being challenged by former Panti state assemblyman Asmaon Ismail in Tenggara, Johor. It is also speculated that Umno stalwart and Barisan Nasional secretary-general, Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat who has been Pulai division head since 1969 is also in a similar bind as he may be challenged by his deputy Mohd Sunawan Md Som.

Selangor is also witnessing a flurry of activities following declarations by three division chiefs, Datin Paduka Zaleha Ismail (Gombak), Datuk Saidin Tamby (Selayang) and Datuk Aini Taib (Tanjung Karang) of their intention not to seek re-election while former Menteri Besar and Kuala Selangor division head Datuk Seri Abu Hassan Omar is said to be contemplating retirement from active politics. However, Umno observers in Selangor are more interested in the Hulu Langat division where its deputy head Ahmad Kuresh is said to be finalising his strategy to wrest the number one position from Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad. In Perak, the battle of the giants is expected in Pasir Salak, where former Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Megat Junid Megat Ayub is said to be planning his return by challenging Deputy Transport Minister Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib for the top post.

However, all these talks of contests may fizzle out especially if the branches state their support very obviously or if the secret meetings are able to settle matters.