Friday, October 3, 2008

ZAHID VS MUHYIDDIN - WHO WINS

Minister in Prime Minister's Office, Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is to officially announce his candidacy for the post of Deputy President of UMNO, that is also likely to be contested by Dato Muhyiddin Yasin. Although many may argue that Muhyiddin, who is a much more experienced politician, and having held state and federal positions, is definitely the preferred choice over Zahid. However, for people who have known Zahid, he was once the rising star in UMNO, and who as the UMNO Youth leader than, was notable for his speech at one of the general assembly, alleging the leadership of practicing cronycism etc. etc. That speech he made was a 'curse' to him, and many thought that his political career would have ended. But politicians are noted to have the audacity to rise and fall, and certainly Zahid is one of those who fell and rose.

In wanting to announced such a challenged, Zahid must have made his calculations and considered various winning strategies, knowing that Muhyiddin is himself an exceedingly strong contender. I know for sure that the entire Johore UMNO is supportive of Muhyiddin, and this stems from the fact that Johoreans are by nature parochial. I also believe, that the Perak UMNO will not fail Zahid, and if ever they want to see the first Perakean Deputy Prime Minister, it has to be Zahid.

Muhyiddin and Zahid are definitely top notch politicians in UMNO, and personally I have difficulty in making a choice myself. Both are seen to be people friendly, and they have an appeal for the masses. I also noticed that both have not been exceptionally critical of the opposition leaders during their campaigning, especially of Anwar Ibrahim. This augurs well for bi-partisan politics, and if this is to be their approach towards politics, I believe partisan politics which has dominated Malaysian politics, will be a thing of the past.

I will leave it to UMNO to decide, and surely the best of the two will come top.

3 comments:

maurice said...

I do not know much about Zahid even though we come from the same state.

Should he be elected as the Deputy President and Deputy Prime Minisiter, I doubt he could do much to advance the interest of Perak state.

Perak due to the incompetencies of of its successive state leaders' have been left out in the industrial march compared to other states like Melaka.Most Perakians are bitter about the lack of vision and actions by their former leaders.

Mohd Arshad Raji said...

Dear Maurice,

I some ways. I do agree with you. But I believe, should Zahid succeed in his bid, he would not dare neglect his home state. And remember, he has a mission i.e. to recapture Perak from the opposition.

maurice said...

Now Ali Rastam and Mohd Taib are joining the fray.

I find it amusing the latter offering himself for the post of Deputy President.But I have to admit I admire his perseverance and self-belief.

Whoever is finally elected as the Deputy President by the UMNO delegates in March 2009 , he must be someone able to help reform the party and win back the middle-class Malays to its fold.Otherwise UMNO will fade away slowly like a dying star.