Khairy's political fortunes have plunged; now he is fighting for votes

After reading this article, 2 things went through my mind; 1) He is finally accepting reality as it is  2) He is willing to go down fighting. It is always a challenge for anybody to gauge power at such frightening heights. No matter how intelligent and articulate one may be but whenever it comes to power, it will always be a struggle to remain centred. That's why it is important that leaders should practice humility as it will help the leader to make insightful decisions. He had his chances and screwed up big time. 

However, after having said all that, Khairy Jamaluddin still has a lot to answer for his actions once upon a time when he was the most powerful man in the country...

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 - It would be an understatement to say Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, has had a rough few weeks.

His political fortunes have plummeted from dizzying heights and the unthinkable has happened. He is struggling to qualify to contest the Umno Youth presidency when, not so long ago, it would have been his for the taking.

More than half the 191 Umno divisions have met to nominate the candidates and Khairy has picked up just 36 nominations. His nemesis Mukhriz Mahathir, son of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has sped ahead with 64 nominations.

Khairy needs another three to qualify to run for the post, and he will get them. But it is startling how fast his star has faded. "Clearly, it appears as though I am the underdog candidate. It seems that Mukhriz is the favourite candidate now. I am going to persevere," he said, without betraying any hint of anxiety.

Indeed, he was surprisingly relaxed, and happy to talk about his year-old son Jibreil Ali Jamaluddin Abu Bakar whose photographs are displayed everywhere in his elegant office in the swanky Damansara Heights
neighbourhood.

He is married to Nori Abdullah, PM Abdullah's only daughter, whom he met seven years ago when they worked at a think-tank in Kuala Lumpur. They are expecting their second son in January.

Even before his marriage, Khairy had entered the innermost circle of PM Abdullah, and tales of his alleged influence, exact and exaggerated, spread far and wide. He became a caricature. Today, he is paying the
price for that reputation.

"If you look at the overall political situation now, that's one of the reasons why I find myself the underdog today," he said.

He is, of course, referring to the tidal wave of anger against his father-in-law, whom Umno blames for its poor performance at the March general election. Abdullah has decided not to contest the Umno presidency, and will retire by March next year.

"As much as I tried to divorce this entire thing from the Prime Minister, obviously that sentiment still remains. I won't say that it's a disadvantage but it's a political reality that I have to live with and overcome," said Khairy.

Saying that he has been made the "most convenient scapegoat" for the election losses, he hopes to salvage his fortunes over the next few months.

Political observers have not written him off. Khairy, 32, is among a rare breed of politicians who have a talent for clear thinking and sharp strategising. The Oxford-educated politician is acknowledged even by his critics as highly intelligent and articulate.

Further, he is young, by any measure, for the role that he aspires to. And it is not the premiership. He smiles when asked about the persistent rumour that he wants to be premier by 40.

"I've never said it, I've never written it down and, actually, I've never even thought it until somebody said it. It's just one of those things that people have ascribed to me. Of course not," he said.

Still, the Umno Youth chief is a senior-enough post, and usually comes with a senior government post. The current Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein is Education Minister.

Khairy is mindful of this and, in fact, stresses many times that the party election has implications not just for Umno, but also for the country.

He points out that while Umno Youth has 700,000 members, there are five million voters under 40. "At some stage, we are going to be a maturing democracy where party membership will be very small. And there are going to be a lot more people out there who are going to be undecided voters, party-less voters. We must change our outlook," he said.

This is why he is taking a bold, some say foolhardy, move to base his campaign on a platform of multiracialism and government reforms.

One of the biggest issues at the moment, he says, is the pro-Malay affirmative action programmes of the New Economic Policy (NEP).

"I've said from the beginning that although the NEP-type policy is still necessary, we have to reform it so that it does not enrich just a very small segment of the Malay population."

He added: "That's why young Malays run away from us today - they think the NEP is being abused. It's not a never-ending story. Some day, we have to go out on our own."

These are not traditional Umno issues. Its grassroots have little interest in national matters, and are resistant to reforms perceived as diluting Malay dominance."I've gone out on a limb to say that I'm contesting this
Umno leadership not as a Malay, but as a Malaysian. I want the Umno Youth to understand that they cannot be in isolation anymore," Khairy said.

"If we continue to be an incestuous organisation, and care only about ourselves, what change are we talking about?" he asked.

It's not typical Umno talk but it makes for astute positioning. It marks him out as more visionary than his two likely contenders for the post - Mukhriz and former Selangor mentri besar Khir Toyo. Both are also
championing change, but stop short of taking a multiracial line.

Khairy runs up against two obstacles: Umno's resistance and his own image as a Malay ultra.

It is an image hard to live down. Last week, a Malaysian Chinese Association Youth member demanded that  Khairy be arrested under the Internal Security Act for allegedly questioning the quota of scholarships
for non-Malays.

- The Straits Times