What do the supporters of Umno deputy president Najib Abdul Razak have to say about Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin's purported dream of contesting the vice-presidency?

Some say it would be the opportune time to kill the career of this ambitious young man, an Oxford University graduate and son-in-law of party president and prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah).

"Let him run and we will make sure he loses. If he loses, he will lose his whole political platform except for his position as Rembau Youth division chief," said a strong Najib supporter and division chief from Perak.

He said KJ "has a lot of enemies who are biding their time to 'kill' him off".

"We have to understand the ways of Malays and Umno. People who are impatient and go against the current in reaching their objectives make a lot of enemies," he argued.

"In KJ's case, whenever he makes a new friend, he makes an enemy at the same time. He will be stepping over and on many people if he wants to contest the vice-presidency."

Citing an example, he said that when KJ appointed a good friend from Penang to be the Perlis Umno Youth head, many had felt slighted.

He also noted that KJ cannot continue to rely solely on Pak Lah whose own popularity and influence is not all that extensive in the party or government.

"Even now, we see every weakness in Pak Lah's administration being exploited by various quarters. Many issues have not been handled firmly and effectively. His wishes are often contravened.

"Everywhere, people are making comparisons between (former premier and Umno president) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) and Pak Lah or between Najib and Pak Lah as to who is better. Therefore, if KJ does contest the vice-presidency, it would be like digging his own grave," he said.

Khir 'under control'

Those in KJ's camp disagree. They are confident that he can win if he goes for vice-president, so long as Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein is willing to compromise by stepping out of the contest.

Umno Youth is said to be firmly behind KJ. All state Youth chiefs and most Youth division chiefs are of the younger generation and admire KJ, whereas many Umno division leaders are Pak Lah's supporters.

"We do not deny that there are many Najib supporters in the divisions but recently, many were marginalised and filtered out. KJ does not have any serious contenders among the leaders except for the possible challenge from Mukhriz Mahathir and Dr Khir Toyo," he said.

According to him, Khir's influence is widespread in Umno because of his activities in the Youth movement. The Selangor Menteri Besar, who is the Malaysian Youth Council president, gathered the most votes in the 2004 Umno elections to the supreme council.

"We are not overly concerned with Khir because he can be easily managed. He is indebted to Pak Lah and to remain as Selangor MB, he cannot be seen as going against the boss," said an aide to KJ.

Khir's moves are always being monitored and pressure is brought to bear whenever relevant, as was seen in the clearing of the Bukit Cerakah Agricultural Park to the recent floods in Shah Alam.

"Dr Khir is in KJ's hands," the aide asserted firmly.

Support for Mukhriz

That cannot be said about Mukhriz - Mahathir's son can count on his own abilities, leadership skills and supporters.

Although riding on the remnants of his father's influence in the party and government, he also won the most votes in Umno Youth's 2004 exco elections.

At the same time, Mukhriz has strong financial resources and enjoys a high standing, as well as the backing of Ansara - the Mara Junior Science Colleges alumni.

"The Ansara network is large and influential especially among students, professionals and corporate sector," said KJ's aide.

Muhkriz also works actively with Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein in the non-governmental organisation Peace Malaysia, which has generated much publicity for him.

"We know Muhkriz cannot be overlooked. Other than his popularity among Youth members, he also enjoys support from Dr Mahathir's people, who are numerous in the party and government," said the aide.

"We are aware that if Hishammuddin takes on KJ for vice-president, Mukhriz will not just support Hishammuddin but will take the opportunity to seize the vacated Youth chief'a position."

Far from secure

Independent political observers are of the opinion that KJ's influence in Umno is still brittle and that he has been allowed to grow 'fangs' only on account of members' respect for Pak Lah.

But such respect is confined to his status as a veteran leader, which means that the strength of his political influence as Umno president is consistently being doubted.

The observers said KJ is aware of this and knows that he cannot be overly dependent on Pak Lah's influence - which is why he has been on good terms with former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

KJ knows there are a lot of Anwar supporters in Umno and is aware that the Anwar factor can help him to achieve his political ambitions.

This is why he felt he had nothing to lose by helping Anwar as soon as the latter won his appeal against his conviction and sentence for sodomy in 2004. Some within Umno, particularly supporters of Najib and Mahathir, were obviously not comfortable with his actions at the time.

An observer said KJ seemed to be in a hurry to spread his influence in the Youth movement when he gave his blessings to Umno Youth exco member Reezal Merican Naina Merican to contest the Peninsular Malaysia Students Association presidency.

Pak Lah's cabinet reshuffle in February has also been adjudged by political observers as KJ's efforts to firm up his 2007 agenda.

They wonder about KJ's purpose in "influencing the promotion" of such ministers as Mustapa Mohamed, Zul Hasnan Rafiq and Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, and the retention of Rafidah Aziz and Noh Omar.

The question now is, what is KJ's position of choice in Umno? He is in a dilemma and up against great odds. Miscalculating the 2007 elections will signify the final year of his political career.

Yesterday: Khairy for Umno vice-president? (Part 1)

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