Published October 10, 2008

No easy path ahead for M'sian PM-in-waiting

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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia's deputy premier Najib Razak looks to have an easy path to the top job in ruling party elections in March, but an unseemly scramble for power around him could damage his efforts to rebuild the government.

Mr Najib was effectively handed the premiership of Malaysia when Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Badawi said on Wednesday that he would stand down in March as the leader of the main ruling coalition party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno).

Despite one declared challenger, the party presidency looks to be settled but the battle for deputy and other posts will be messier. Horse trading and 'money politics' as officials lobby to get closer to power could further taint the image of the party that has ruled Malaysia for 51 years.

'The realignment of backers and allies, and the race for power and positions, has begun,' said Zainal Aznam Yusof, a respected Malaysian economist and a member of a government council set up recently to deal with economic problems. 'One dreads to hear the sound of money greasing the wheels of Umno,' Mr Zainal wrote in an editorial in the New Straits Times. That could damage Malaysia's chances of attracting new investment and fending off the fallout from the global financial crisis, which is set to cut demand for its exports.

After decades in power, corruption and nepotism have grown to plague Umno and the entire Barisan Nasional governing coalition, alienating core Malay voters who feel they have gained little while party leaders and the elite have prospered. It was a pledge to stamp out corruption that won Mr Abdullah a landslide victory in elections in 2004, and the failure to do so saw the government slump to its worst ever election result in March 2008 and eventually forced him out of office. Malaysia's ranking in the Transparency International corruption index fell to 43rd from 37th during his tenure.

Mr Najib's possible challenger, former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, said corruption was on the rise in Umno. 'I have received numerous complaints of money politics, and I hope the Anti-Corruption Agency will take action against the culprits,' Mr Razaleigh was quoted as saying in the Star paper.

While Mr Najib is viewed as a stronger leader than Mr Abdullah, he is still vulnerable to attack by the opposition, which is riding a wave of popularity under new leader Anwar Ibrahim. Mr Anwar, himself a former deputy prime minister, used arms procurement contracts undertaken while Mr Najib was defence minister to attack the government in the election campaign. When he formed his new government after the March elections, Mr Abdullah was forced to defend Mr Najib, saying there was no proof he was involved in any corrupt activities. -- Reuters