If I am asked who should be the prime minister today, my answer will still be Musa Hitam. However, in reality, I am aware that this can only be a dream which is not likely to come true. But should I not be allowed to dream, imagine or fantasise?

Dreaming, imagining or fantasising - just like laughing - is still not an activity which has been legislated as against the interest of national security. It means that I cannot be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for dreaming of Musa being made prime minister.

What had made me laugh all though the past month did not involve Musa, but Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. I am not laughing at Tengku Razaleigh. I do not want to be considered uncouth especially in front of the prince, even though I am a socialist. Do not misunderstand me, a follower of the socialist philosophy of life should be cultured and well-mannered.

What tickled me were the views of various political observers and commentators which I read in the mainstream media. The funniest point was that Umno practises democracy. But should there be a contest for the presidency, there will be division in the party. So an order was issued that

the president's post was not to be contested.

This point is clearly a harsh oxymoron.

Firstly, challenges form the basis of democracy by allowing for the best to be selected. Secondly, challenges for other posts have been allowed. Wouldn't these challenges divide the party? I cannot understand such thinking.

The second matter which tickled me was the unending stream of writings which attacked Tengku Razaleigh, tried to make him look small and which attempted to halt his political ambitions. These writings started when the prince voiced his wish to offer himself as a candidate to contest for the post of Umno president.

The writings came from many sources, and in many forms. Some sources were disguised as political observers. There was one who hawked his commentaries on the strength of his political degree from the University of Buffalo.

Some spoke as veteran politicians, while others claimed to be offering advice. Another reminded us about Tengku Razaleigh's 'biology' and one told sad stories about past events.

Still relevant

Only the views of the Mak Nyah and Mat Rempit of Batu Road were unwavering. In whatever form, the views were all basically intended to endure that the Kelantan prince was not supported and would fail to get nominations from party members.

As a socialist, I would like to offer the thoughts of Chairman Mao. According to Mao, should an enemy attack us, it is not a bad thing. It is actually good because the dividing line between us and the enemy is now clear. If the enemy had not attacked, the situation would have been dangerous because we all look alike (and the enemy is hard to spot).

So, if I were Tengku Razaleigh, all the attacks only prove to me that I am still relevant. If I am already old and have no support in the party, there would have been no need for the media to try for days to bring a halt to my political moves till they were foaming at the mouth.

This is a truth which we must think about together. The thoughts of Mao are a most accurate guide towards understanding what happened to this member of the Kelantanese feudal family.

It is true that when we look back at Tengku Razaleigh's offer to contest, it does seem like he had wanted to commit suicide. Every seat in the party had been, or was being, surrounded by a 'Great Wall of China' equipped with Scud missiles.

The higher the post, the higher the 'wall. We do not need a PPE degree from the University of Oxford to know that it would be strange for Tengku Razaleigh to be able to break through the wall.

So, this Wall was the sole matter which the Kelantan prince wanted to bring before the rakyat. The prince may have been defeated by 'Scud missiles', but overcoming the Wall was not his basic agenda.

Tengku Razaleigh offered himself as a 'school of politics' (political lesson) to make the rakyat aware of the existence of the 'Great Wall' whisch threatened the nation's democratic process.

This narrowing of the democratic space was what deprived Malaysians of the leadership of Musa, Tengku Razaleigh and former deputy Umno president Anwar Ibrahim.

The despotic system of government practised by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad for 22 years has brought great harm to the culture and thinking of Malaysian society.

What Tengku Razaleigh has done is to make the rakyat, especially the Malays in Umno, aware that, without democracy, they would be digging their party's own grave.

Political influence

By offering himself, Tengku Razaleigh was testing to see if there was a change in the democratic process in Umno after Mahathir stepped down. Was there a chance that with the change in the party leadership, albeit within the same structure, there was change for the better?

The answer clearly proved that within the existing structure and system in Umno, there is no chance of any revival of democracy in the party.

The second matter which Tengku Razaleigh wanted to bring before the rakyat was that he was prime minister material. This intention is obvious because he did not aim for the post of divisional head, vice-president or deputy president. He offered to challenge the party presidency, which beings with it the post of prime minister of Malaysia.

Many people will agree that Tengku Razaleigh is prime minister material. The public is also aware that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was made the prime minister of Malaysia due to a political fluke. His rise was unintentional. Abdullah became prime minister because prime minister material like Musa and Anwar had been sidelined by Mahathir.

Tengku Razaleigh's political influence is a truth known to a large portion of the rakyat. His Malay culture and values have been tried and tested. He does not have any identity crisis problem. He will not be asked if he is Malay or not, unlike Mahathir. There is no likelihood of anak mamak tongkang (Indian Muslim immigrant) stories in Razaleigh's biography.

He also has no need to marry royalty or be conferred some 'Datok Tan Sri Tun Tan Teng Tong' title in order to add value to himself. His bloodline is enough.

To me, what Tengku Razaleigh has done is only the start. From observing his politics, I feel that a great accounting has occurred in the democratic agenda of this nation. I would not be brave enough to put a full stop to his political career. No way.

Today, Umno is trapped in the KKN political culture - korupsi (corruption), kronisma (cronyism), nepotisma (nepotism) - which had been conceived and hatched by Mahathir for 22 years. The clearest manifestation that the KKN culture is sprouting is when we read/hear of sons and siblings being nominated for party leadership.

New battle

It is clear that the Umno warlords are making preparations for new dynasties. The birth of each new dynasty brings with it a new political battle.

If Umno fails to change, then today's Malay politics will need a new vessel which is fresher and healthier to enable the democratic space to expand. Malays are lagging behind more and more in all fields. The Malay thinking is being stunted by the culture in Umno.

Tengku Razaleigh has much experience in being in the leadership of the party. He has experience in administration of the nation. He has been that head of the opposition coalition in Parliament. It is more important that the Malays see that Tengku Razaleigh has never been involved in the conspiracy to jail Anwar and that his hands are not stained by the dirt of the conspiracy

Here lies the big role for Tengku Razaleigh - the role to bring the Lorong Ketiga Poros Tengah (third option with a porous centre) into Malaysian politics. With his wealth of experience both within and outside government, the chances of him leading the 'third option' is assured.

When Tengku Razaleigh was outside the government, Anwar was inside. Now Anwar is outside, and Tengku Razaleigh is inside, but is still bringing about changes. If these two streams of Malay politics merge, then what is called the Lorong Ketiga Poros Tengah will emerge to bring political changes to Malaysia.

The view of most people, including the fearful ones in Umno, is that if the 'Great Wall' does not exist in the party polls, there will surely be a chance for a the best choices to be made. It does not mean that Abdullah will not be chosen. What is important is that the members are given a choice.

Political currents are ever changing. It may favour Abdullah or Tengku Razaleigh. Anything is possible. But what is certain is that Anwar will be freed from the Sungai Buloh prison in 2008.

It is not too long until then. So, the one nomination from Gua Musang can be seen as the opening shot of a bigger battle. While waiting for the new open political path, I will continue to laugh as I dream and fantasise.

This is a translation of a Bahasa Malaysia article which was published on Friday.