The chaos which erupted at the Kulim/Bandar Baru Umno division meeting in Kedah recently illustrates the o­ngoing friction between the younger generation and veterans in the party, said a party leader today.

"It is an issue that we will have to confront at some point, no matter how unpleasant it is," the leader who declined to be named told malaysiakini.

He added that although this is not a new problem, it is extremely difficult to overcome because a majority in the bickering factions refuse to reach a compromise.

The Kulim/Bandar Baru division case involves two national Umno leaders - Arts and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir (division chairperson) and the National Umno Youth Information chief Azimi Daim (left).

"It is an unfortunate thing to happen when PAS influence is increasingly growing in Kedah. This problem had also helped the opposition win the Lunas by-election three years ago," the leader added.

In that by-election, Keadilan candidate Saifuddin Nasution Ismail beat the Barisan Nasional candidate in a constituency which is regarded as a stronghold of the ruling front.

Keadilan is an ally of PAS. Both parties together with PRM form the opposition front called Barisan Alternatif.

Tip of the iceberg

Meanwhile, the source said most younger leaders in Umno divisions are facing a similar problem with party veterans. The leader expressed his fears that this o­n-going tussle may cost the party to lose more seats in the forthcoming general election.

"The problem in the Kulim/Bandar Baru division is just the tip of the iceberg," he added.

The problem sparked off when Azimi - Kadir's former political secretary - was said to be unhappy when he discovered that the applications of young professionals who wanted to join Umno Youth were not processed by the division.

"So word spread around that this was an attempt to limit Azimi's influence in the division," added the source.

The relationship between Azimi and Kadir first became tensed during the 1999 party elections when a candidate aligned to the latter challenged Azimi for the division youth chief post.

Azimi responded by also contesting for the deputy division chief post against another candidate who was closely associated with the minister.

He retained the youth chief post, but was defeated in the other contest.

Things escalated during the recent division meeting o­n April 25, when a vote of no confidence was tabled against Azimi as the youth chief.

Yesterday, four Umno Youth Exco members met several heads of Umno Youth branches in the Kulim/Bandar Baru division over the matter.

The excos - headed by the Umno Youth assistant secretary Zulkifli Mohd Alwi - are expected to submit their findings to the Umno Youth management committee soon.