the Umno Youth leader. — file pic
ANALYSIS, Jan 5 — In the two years since capturing the prized Umno Youth leadership, Khairy Jamaluddin has travelled through the country to speak, debate, engage and even screw in some light bulbs but finds himself going nowhere in the party.
Unable to shake off the “son-in-law” tag, the scapegoating of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for Barisan Nasional’s (BN) abject performance in the 2008 general election has turned Khairy into a persona non grata in his own party as rivals aligned to the still influential Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed hold sway in Umno.
Years of ambition and success while Abdullah was prime minister came to an abrupt halt the moment Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over and Khairy’s decision not to defend the Rembau federal seat over the weekend is the result of 20 months of running around in circles and ending up in the same spot.
Without a seat in Parliament, he will likely step down as Umno Youth chief as well, after saying he will be “taking a break from politics” after the next general election, widely expected to be held this year.
While political analysts believe it is a well-timed “strategic retreat” given the opposition he faces within his own party, critics say the first-term MP is sulking after being sidelined since his father-in-law stepped down as prime minister in early 2009.
“Stepping down does not mean he’s surrendering but he’s taking time to realign his strategy,” said analyst Professor Agus Yusoff.
Khairy rose meteorically during Abdullah’s administration, becoming the vice chief for Umno Youth and gaining infamy as part of the “Fourth Floor Boys” who were said to have the ear of the then prime minister.
His influence continued to grow as he also became deputy president for the Football Association of Malaysia in 2007.
But personal success in Election 2008 at the age of 32 was bittersweet as BN’s historic failure to retain two-thirds of Dewan Rakyat and loss of five states signalled the beginning of the end for Abdullah.
As Najib’s inevitable takeover in early 2009 drew nearer, Khairy’s dizzying climb through the political hierarchy hit a wall.
After winning a bitter contest with Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir for the leadership of Umno Youth at the same time Abdullah handed over the party’s presidency to Najib, he was immediately accused of money politics by his detractors.
He has since been continuously snubbed in Cabinet reshuffles with Mukhriz and even Umno Youth vice chief Datuk Razali Ibrahim being appointed deputy ministers instead.
Agus observes that given Najib’s reluctance to bring Khairy into fold and the rivalry with Mukhriz, whose father Dr Mahathir continues to loom large in the party, “Khairy knows he can’t go far for now.”
Sunway Monash University lecturer Wong Chin Huat believes Khairy could be testing the waters to see what the reaction would be to his withdrawal from mainstream politics.
He noted that as the next general election held an uncertain future for both BN and PR, Khairy could be sitting it out before making a decision for the long-term.
“He’s still young so he can take time out to further his studies as he says he wants to do and make a clean break from the past,” Wong said.
Khairy’s planned retreat from mainstream politics comes despite his best efforts to defend Najib’s administration in political forums both physical and virtual, taking on Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politicians and supporters on both political and policy matters.
He remains Umno’s most visibly centrist leader and credible purveyor of Najib’s 1 Malaysia slogan of inclusivity.
But it has only isolated him further from a party that has been showing its hawkish tendencies and a Youth wing that traditionally leans even further right.
These include pro-Mahathir bloggers who now criticise Khairy’s move as that of a “sulk” and speculate that he is making a bid for a safer seat by inheriting Abdullah’s Kepala Batas constituency.
Others also believe he is making a tilt for Negri Sembilan mentri besar and gunning for a state seat instead.
But Khairy, who has mentioned before his desire to take a break from politics and further his studies, lashed out at such speculation on his Twitter account.
“You seen someone merajuk (sulk) work as hard as me? Cross 21 parliamentary kawasan (areas), 5 states in 6 days?” he stated yesterday, referring to his hectic schedule in leading BN Youth’s Jelajah 1 Malaysia programme to help fix damaged houses in those areas.
But for all the homes that he repaired across the country, it appears he is currently stuck in Umno’s doghouse.
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