The answer: Rumblings among his exco members about the “lack of direction” and his “leadership” skills grows louder by the day.
Question: What happens to an Umno Youth chief who suffers from the perception that he does not have a direct line to the Prime Minister?
Answer: Exco members aligned to his rivals push the view that he is incapable of furthering the interest of the movement.
Question: What happens to an Umno Youth chief who cannot match the right-wing rhetoric and posturing of more hardline Malay leaders in the party or non-governmental organisations?
Answer: He finds his fitness and ability to lead the wing being questioned by his enemies or their agents.
This is where Khairy Jamaluddin finds himself today. Several blogs and websites have reported that he is in danger of becoming a casualty of a mutiny by Umno exco members or is under seige from exco members unhappy with his leadership.
The Malaysian Insider understands that several exco members asked Khairy some tough questions over the past few days, several linked to his lukewarm ties with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and several about his inability to deliver the goods for wing members.
At this stage, there is little possibility of Khairy being forced out as youth chief. The reasons: he also has his supporters in the exco and the party does not have the appetite for another election.
But there is little doubt that this is an uncomfortable time for the son-in-law of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. His statements condemning attacks on places of worship and his more moderate stance has put him at odds with the hawks in Umno.
Perhaps more disadvantageous for Khairy has been his inability to dish out contracts or largesse to his hungry men. His supporters have always felt that without a position in the administration and the absence of a protector in the shape of Najib, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or other senior Umno officials, Khairy would be hard pressed to satisfy exco members and youth wing members who need cash payments or contracts to oil their operations.
An Umno Youth official told The Malaysian Insider: “A lot of exco members are hurting. They have spent funds on their political careers and need help financially. In such a situation, they expect their leader to be the benefactor.”
In Umno as in other political parties, only those with power are feared and revered. Unfortunately for Khairy, he is suffering from the perception that since he does have the ear of Najib or Muhyiddin, he is a leader without power. This perception has emboldened several of his exco members to take pot-shots at him and discredit his leadership publicly.
The attacks are likely to cease after Najib meets the Umno Youth exco next month. But this will only come as respite for the youth leader who does not have what his members respect: the power and the ability to dish out largesse.
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