TITANIC BATTLE FOR PRESIDENCY?
YOUTH chief Khairy Jamaluddin sprang a surprise on the last day of nominations by announcing he is gunning for t he president's post. A record seven individuals registered to contest the presidency; in all likelihood, only three names will matter in the e
UMNO is set to witness its fiercest election to date as it prepares to elect leaders on June 30 to take the party forward. Under the electoral college system, which allows more members to contest top positions, seven members are eyeing the president’s post, vacated by Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
While vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was looking to be the sole contender before Gua Musang member of parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah announced his candidacy a few days ago, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s lastminute decision to throw his hat into the ring is set to make the the race a hotly contested one.
Umno executive secretary Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh, at the end of the deadline for the submission of nominations yesterday, said this would be the first time in the party’s history that seven party members had registered their interest in the post.
He confirmed Razaleigh, Zahid and Khairy’s candidacies, but declined to announce the names of the remaining four aspirants, saying that there were processes, including vetting, that had to be carried out before they could be included in the race.
“We need to screen and vet the aspirants with the Insolvency Department for issues like bankruptcy to ensure they are eligible.
“Umno Secretary-General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor will announce the confirmed list at 5pm tomorrow (today).”
It is learnt that the hopefuls are blogger Rahmat Azim Abdul Aziz, Rosile Saat, a keen volunteer, Mohamed Iqbal Maricair from the Bandar Tun Razak division, as well as Mohd Yusof Musa @ Jamaludin from the Iskandar Puteri division.
But, the race for the top post is looking to be a three-cornered one among Razaleigh, Zahid and Khairy, as it is a prerequisite for those vying for the presidency to have served at least a term in the Supreme Council. The other four had not.
Rauf said the party received 612 nominations for the polls as the election opened for contest of party positions at the federal level, including the 25 spots in the Supreme Council, the top two posts for the three wings, as well as their executive seats.
Rauf said the party’s headquarters received three nominations for the deputy president’s post.
It is understood that among them is former Johor menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Also gunning for the post is Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who is the party’s information chief.
Former Negri Sembilan menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan who, like Annuar, had openly declared his intention to contest the No. 2 post in the run-up to yesterday’s nominations, is the other contender.
Observers are also looking at Mohamad as Khairy’s running mate in the race for the top two post.
Khairy, in his Facebook posting on how he was going for broke, ended it with the hashtag #TeamTokMat.
The election will see an unprecedented number of those contesting the Supreme Council post, where 25 members will be elected from 121 candidates.
The only seat that will not be contested is the permanent chairman’s post for Wanita as there is only a single nomination.
The nomination for all Umno division posts, the three wings and the Supreme Council began on June 1. The papers were sent online through the divisions as well as the party headquarters.
The polls for the three wings will be carried out on June 23, while the election for the Supreme Council and divisional positions will be done simultaneously on June 30.
This is Umno’s second such polls, after the party constitution was amended in 2009 where candidates are not required to secure a specific quota of nominations from divisions to be eligible to contest.
The last party polls was held in October 2013. Additional reporting by Nazura Ngah and Ahmad Suhael Adnan