| 2001-04-27 | UMNO And the Filthy Rich The bigger problem though is that the NEP generation of
businessmen are so disenchanted with UMNO that they want
nothing to do with UMNO, and seek a political umbrella under
PAS or Keadilan. UMNO does not accept this view, but when
PAS formed a branch in Ampang Jaya, Selangor, recently, a
few hundred turned up and willingly contributed to pay its
way. The leading light in that is a former UMNO state
executive councillor. This is not an isolated incident.
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| 2001-03-31 | An Anwarista Skews The UMNO Elections He faces more pressure with Dato' Fauzi's defiance.
UMNO leaders are so isolated from its members, and the
country at large, that they must pay for a full crowd when
its president visits a predominantly Malay area of Kuala
Lumpur. What he says carry no weight unless the deputy
prime minister endorses it. His only backers are those who
expect financial gains, and those who would be fed to the
wolves should he leave. The longer he stays in office, the
more the pressure upon not just him but UMNO and National
Front. The UMNO ground once wanted him and the finance
minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin, out. Not any more. They want
the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
and the information minister, out as well. Should National
Front be returned with a smaller majority or is defeated,
UMNO leaders in Kuala Lumpur would be more out of kilter.
UMNO is weaker in the state since then. PAS influence in
Pahang has grown by leaps and bounds, and could well emerge
the winner. A former Pahang state executive councillor
today forms a PAS branch in Ampang Jaya. He expected a
small gathering, but he expects it now to be in the
hundreds. He campaigned for PAS in the 1999 general
elections. As no doubt in Baserah. To UMNO's discomfiture.
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