Johor likes no quotas but not Umno rule changes

Umno’s birthplace, bastion and biggest contingent Johor has agreed to proposals scrapping quotas for nominations in the fight for the party’s top posts but wants a thorough debate on all other rules changes it considers detrimental to the grassroots.

Johor Umno is also asking for a special assembly, beyond next month's 2009 assembly, to discuss the disputed rules such as limiting the fight for posts to supreme council members, designating the supreme council to conduct party elections and the number of branch and wings' delegates eligible to vote.

The fiery debate by Johor Umno, which echoes those in other states, took place on Wednesday with among those against the new rules being division chiefs Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar (Kota Tinggi), Datuk Shahrir Samad (Johor Baru) and Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed (Pulai). The first two have been Umno supreme council members and ministers.

"We can only agree to scrapping the quotas but not the other rules," Nur Jazlan confirmed with The Malaysian Insider.

Party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak had proposed scrapping the nomination quotas and opening the vote to branch delegates at the 2008 assembly held last March when he took over from former president Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who stepped down a year after his Barisan Nasional ruling coalition's disastrous electoral performance.

A technical committee led by vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein proposed the rule changes that is now being presented to all divisions ahead of the party assembly between Oct 13 and 16. Hishammuddin was not present at the Johor briefing.

It is understood that Johor Umno liaison committee chief Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman will present the state's views at a party supreme council meeting.

"It is best that we hold a special assembly, an extraordinary general meeting, to go through the changes line by line," said Nur Jazlan, the outspoken leader who had asked Abdullah to step down after the Election 2008 debacle.

It is learnt the main grouse was limiting the contest for top posts to just supreme council members instead of widening it to all members, as previously done in the nationalist Malay party.

"That is not quite democratic," an Umno division chief told The Malaysian Insider, asking for anonymity.

He added the rules appeared to have been thought up in a rushed manner without consulting the grassroots.

"It is a bit like 1 Malaysia. The top decides this one day and we have to follow the next day. Well, we don't," he said.

Most of the 26 Johor Umno division leaders were also against agreeing to have the party supreme council conduct the elections without putting the election rules in black and white. It is learnt that the new rule requires amending the party charter. Next to Johor, Sabah has the most divisions at 25.

"We can't just surrender all powers to the supreme council. They are powerful already but we need the rules to be clear, especially in conducting party election," said the division leader.

Another Johor division leader said the technical committee also did not consider the composition of the new electoral college voting in the party leadership.

In scrapping the quotas, Umno will widen the voting from the current 2,500 divisional delegates to some 60,000 comprising delegates from all branches in its 191 divisions.

However there is concern that the delegates from the main Umno body will be overwhelmed by the combined representation from the Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings.

"Realistically, only the top four from each branch will get to vote apart from two each from Wanita, Youth and Puteri. You can see that such a scenario means the Umno leadership is voted in by the wings, not the main party," the division leader said.

He said the consensus from Johor was supporting Najib to reform the party election system but it will not be at the expense of the grassroots' rights.

The quota system was put in place when Umno reconstituted in 1988 after it was declared illegal to ensure popular challenge to the party leadership.

The party supreme council is expected to meet soon to discuss, among others, concerns about the rules changes and the candidate for the Bagan Pinang state seat by-election.


comments

"It is a bit like 1 Malaysia. The top decides this one day and we have to follow the next day. Well, we don't," said an Umno division chief. This is a clear indication that Najib's "1Malaysia" will be going the way Pak Lah's "Islam Hadhari" did, i.e. nothing more than just another slogan.

No need to reform UMNO mah! Just deform it! If you reform the party all the goons will be gone lor!!!