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The son-in-law also rises

THE BOOK HAS A TITLE guaranteed to inflame: "Khairy Jamaludin Bakal Perdana Mentri?" (Khairy Jamaludin a prime minister-to-be?). His father-in-law and prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was so shocked and incensed that he summoned the author to express his displeasure. Every effort is made to have the book off the shelves. The New StraitsTimes has warned its news vendors they would be dropped if they had the book for sale. So intent is this that the book has disappeared from the market, but the book sells well since they are being bought off the market. This is not unusual. About a decade-and-a-half ago, an unflattering book about the present deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, disappeared off the shelves when those aligned to him bought out the unsold books, the printing plates, and the few thousand unbound copies of the book. The contents of that book, at the time, was as explosive as this book which is all but banned. Besides Mr Khairy, it warns of the unhealthy influence of the young crowd arond him who prevent Pak Lah from meeting whomsoever he wants. One prominent Malaysian whom Pak Lah wanted to meet, at the latter's request, was prevented by this praetorian guard.

The author of this book, Mr Yahya Ismail, is a journalist and political writer, whose books on Malaysian politics infuriate those he portrays. Many denounce him, and others like him, as pens for hire, available to the highest bidder, but are quick to praise him when he, and they, laud them. The reality is more prosaic. Instant political books are a feature of the Malay publishing industry. The Malay takes his politics seriously, and the instant books are a reflection of how intensive Malay politics can be. Instant books on a wide range of political views, especially of UMNO personalities and politics, are sold out during the UMNO general assembly every year. The Malay political world sees a need for books like these. Various personalities often engage them to write books about them in the hope it would put them firmly in the party leadership. Few make the headlines, usually when personalities sue or demand the books be destroyed. An instant book asking the same searching questions about Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim's chances of being prime minister led him, in a political conspiracy, to jail and humiliation. The corrosive damage of these books cannot be overstated.

Mr Yahya Ismail told Pak Lah that he had tried, but was prevented by his private office, to see him. He had wanted to mention the dangers posed by his son-in-law to his continuing as prime minister. The only way he could get his attention was to write the book. He stood by what he wrote, which contains four broad areas Mr Khairy is involved but should not: He denigrates his father-in-law even as he flits in and out of his private office positioning himself as an indispensable aide whilst carving a business and political career in the outside world; that Dato' Seri Anwar and he plot the downfall of the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak and with it a secret pact of him as deputy prime minister should Dato' Seri Anwar ever become prime minister; that he may be working for 'other people'; that his political, business and private actions builds up an UMNO animus against Pak Lah, that if this is not stopped, UMNO may not be disposed towards him in 2007, when the next party election is due.

What set the cat amongst the pigeons was Mr Yahya sending copies of the book to all UMNO cabinet ministers, members of parliament, state executive councillors and state assemblymen. One cabinet minister even asked for an autographed copy, a dangerous act before the expected cabinet reshuffle next month. The attempt to stop distributing the book cannot, therefore, succeed. There would, no doubt, soon be an online version of the book, with or without Mr Yahya's permission. Pak Lah's administration flounders beyond his control, his attempts to firm his hold still as distant now as it was when he became prime minister in November 2004. This would not improve if his son-in-law is not brought under control. There is as yet no belief he would be.

Mr Khairy, however, has but added fuel to the fire. He has acted, in his personal life, in ways that arouse the wrath of his father-in-law. Recently, Pak Lah had to call his daughter and son-in-law to confront him on his alleged involvement with a young part-Burmese lady. Friends of his daughter provided her the documentary evidence, and though she had not intended to inform her father, an UMNO cabinet minister who knew of it did. He was furious, but little he could do. Worse was to come. He has all but taken over UMNO Youth from its leader, Dato' Hishamuddin Hussein, and is to all intents and purposes, the leader. He has ruffled the normally sedate UMNO Youth so much that a challenger emerges to challenge him in 2007: Dato' Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of the former prime minister, who has begun his campaign. He has weekly meetings with ANSARA, whose members studied in one of 30 Mara colleges nationwide, through which UMNO worked to bring them into the party.

He cuts a broad swathe in business too. His nominees hold the highest posts in Tenaga Nasional Berhad, and he appears to decide who gets the TNB contracts. The Selangor mentri besar, Dato' Seri Mohamed Khir Toyo, found this out when he wanted a crony get one TNB contract. The 50-year-old TNB wiring contractor was asked to see a Mr S. who demanded RM100,000 for an hour's meeting with Mr Khairy. Dato' Seri Khir is furious. He should have known the rules by now. But items like these inevitably divides UMNO, even the supporters of Pak Lah, into two camps. And with this comes the scandal in TNB, where a group of young Turks, appointed at Mr Khairy's behest and who takes orders from him, has divided that once much vaunted utility turned into a pitched confrontation between the technical branch and the outside executives brought in for political reasons to all but destroy it. The recent spate of blackouts is one indication of it.

The high profile Mr Khairy exudes in UMNO, the paranoid belief that the Pak Lah camp wants to exclude Dato' Seri Najib from the succession, the quiet rebellion and flexing of muscles as UMNO leaders are caught in their often petty infighting, and the consequent shifting of power from the centre to the states, and more important, Pak Lah's elusive attempts to put his mark on UMNO, and his tendency to react to every issue with a homily that is tall on hope and little on substance put both UMNO and its top leaders in a quandry. Meanwhile, the Malays in UMNO are split in a territorial battle. The superficial opponents are Pak Lah and Dato' Seri Najib, but this confrontation will depend on who backs whom. Pak Lah presumes the support of Dato' Seri Anwar and the Oxbridge cabal led by his son-in-law on one corner; Dato' Seri Najib backed by the forces of the former prime minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamed. It does not matter if this line-up is as believed; that it is is all that matters.

This conflict, in its broader view, has always existed in UMNO. It is only the personalities that change. There was the clash between the forces of modernity led by Dato' Sir Onn Jaffar and the forces of Malay chauvinism which forced him out and brought in a playboy prince, Tengku Abdul Rahman, to lead them. Then there was the clash between Tun Razak and the Tengku on the same theme; between Tun Hussein and Tun Mahathir; between Tun Mahathir and Dato' Seri Anwar; and now between Pak Lah and Dato' Seri Najib. The high ideals of the past is forgotten, as UMNO re-engineers itself as a Muslim party to stalk the theocratically inclined Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS). This is ignored or misunderstood as politics over the six decades shifted from principle to personalities. Try as UMNO might, it cannot reverse the trend or hang on to its support if principle is thrown overboard for personalities. This emphasis on personalities is containable only so long as the centre holds. But when the centre is itself in dissarray, the rise of local political overlords, such as Mr Khairy Jamaludin, puts added pressure on whoever is the UMNO president. This can only continue.

[This is my Sang Kancil column today, 18 February 2005, in Malaysia Today (www.malaysia-today.net).]

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@streamyx.com