Published January 30, 2009

Umno wings won't be scrapped, says Najib

Disciplinary board chairman had made suggestion to rid party of corruption

By S JAYASANKARAN

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MALAYSIA'S Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday dismissed a suggestion that his ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) abolish its wings to curb corruption.

Power shift: The stature of Mr Najib (left) is growing as the date nears for him to take over from Mr Abdullah

'We cannot deprive them of the opportunities to show their potential,' said Mr Najib, who is Umno's deputy president. 'If they are not given opportunities to lead, there is no way we can develop new leaders.'

He was responding to a suggestion by Umno disciplinary board chairman Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen that the party abolish its Puteri, Putera, Wanita and Youth wings to get rid of corruption. The elected heads of all the wings except Putera are ex-officio vice-presidents of Umno's Supreme Council, and senior leaders of the wings in question routinely occupy important government positions.

Tengku Rithaudeen proposed on Wednesday that the wings be scrapped because frequent electioneering resulted in vote-buying.

Corruption is a hot topic in Malaysia, with former premier Mahathir Mohamad recently citing it as the biggest obstacle to progress. The country's Anti-Corruption Commission recently arrested numerous party members for alleged vote-buying. And at least one senior politician - named by Utusan Malaysia newspaper as Norza Zakaria, a supreme councillor and former political secretary to Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamad Yakcop - has been questioned but not charged.

Mr Najib's dismissal of the suggestion was echoed by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a few hours later, but it is telling that Mr Najib was the first to be asked. It effectively kills off the proposal but also illustrates his growing stature in the country, despite the fact that he is yet to become prime minister. That will only happen after Mr Abdullah steps down following Umno polls in March.

In fairness to Mr Najib, he has been careful not to be seen usurping power and generally keeps Mr Abdullah informed of his plans. But most people sense the power shift and continue to beat a path to Mr Najib's door - whether he likes it or not.

The shift came last year when Mr Abdullah declined to defend his party presidency. When nominations closed in December, Mr Najib, with all but one of the nominations, became Umno's president-elect. Mr Abdullah is still premier but seems all but invisible as far as major policy decisions are concerned, seemingly content to lead official trips abroad and leave matters in Mr Najib's hands.

There are parallels with the last days of Malaysia's first premier Tunku Abdul Rahman - and not a little irony. The Tunku was largely a lame duck throughout much of 1970, although he officially stepped down only in September that year. His deputy running much of the show then was Abdul Razak Hussein, who went on to become premier after the Tunku retired. Mr Razak was Mr Najib's father.

Although Mr Abdullah, 68, has not indicated just when he will leave, most people assume he will follow the precedent set by the Tunku. In 1970, the Tunku opened the Umno general assembly with his farewell speech and was escorted to his car, then driven off into retirement.

Mr Najib's aides say the deputy premier's daily schedule is hectic, with a steady stream of politicians, corporate bigwigs, ambassadors and businessman all awaiting their turn to touch base with him.

Also, Mr Abdullah isn't as heavily featured in the newspapers as he used to be, with most media outlets turning to Mr Najib, who is also finance minister, as the final arbiter on government policy.

The furore over a proposed new low-cost carrier terminal terminal at Labu, Negeri Sembilan, is an example of Mr Najib reversing government policy.

Three weeks ago, the Cabinet agreed to award the project to a consortium comprising Sime Darby and AirAsia. After public criticism, including from some government agencies, Mr Najib changed tack and said the decision was still up in the air.

Now, government officials say, he is likely to mediate between AirAsia and those opposed to the new terminal to reach a compromise solution.