Ex-member 0000001 still wields clout

Umno Member No. 0000001 may have given up that honour, but there is no doubt that former premier Mahathir Mohamad remains an unseen ghost at the party’s assembly that began yesterday.

Tun Dr Mahathir had resigned from the party last year in a final gamble to force out his handpicked successor Abdullah Badawi.

Very few followed him out of the party, but it was one of those iconic moments that piled so much pressure on Datuk Seri Abdullah that he eventually agreed to hand over power to Deputy Premier Najib Razak, who will become party president tomorrow.

But do not think for a moment that Datuk Seri Najib, who is Dr Mahathir’s choice, will escape the former premier’s acerbic attention. Dr Mahathir has already expressed an opinion on Mr Najib’s past performance (“didn’t shine”) and his future Cabinet (“has to be clean’).

Dr Mahathir was Umno’s most powerful president – a post he held from 1981 to 2003 – and he still wields enough influence that the party felt compelled to invite him to the opening of the assembly tomorrow.

“I haven’t decided. I have been invited, but I’m not an Umno member, you know. Besides, the opening is only the president’s speech,” he was quoted as saying in The Star on Sunday.

That deft stab at his nemesis was vintage Mahathir.

His aide told The Straits Times yesterday that the former premier has still not decided. The last time he attended an assembly was in 2004, before he started his bitter attacks on Abdullah. He has not turned up since, but in 2006 sent a letter to the delegates with his apologies.

He signed off as Member No. 0000001, a membership number obtained after Umno re-registered as a party following a bitter episode of party infighting in 1988. It now has 3.2 million members.

His wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamed Ali, was Member No. 0000002. She, too, resigned from the party, along with their son Mokhzani Mahathir.

Dr Mahathir has said he will not rejoin Umno until Abdullah is no longer president. But in the meantime, his shadow looms large.

Political analyst Rita Sim, who is also with the Malaysian Chinese Association’s think-tank, said Dr Mahathir still has indirect influence within Umno, although he no longer controls the levers of power.

For instance, many believe that it was his prodding that prompted Minister of International Trade and Industry Muhyiddin Yassin to openly call for Mr Abdullah’s early retirement, setting the ball rolling.

And it was Dr Mahathir’s constant carping at former Minister of International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz that eroded the Iron Lady’s standing so much that she was dropped from the Cabinet. She now faces an unexpected challenge from former women and family development minister Shahrizat Jalil for the presidency of the women’s wing.

“Dr Mahathir still does have impact, although more in shaping public opinion than directly in Umno,” said Sim.

It is also the perception that he is the silent power behind Najib that is giving his views so much weight.

So far, there has been no suggestion of a formal role for Dr Mahathir despite his suggestion that Umno set up a presidential council to advise the party’s leadership.

Do not be surprised if he rejoins Umno again, very soon. – The Straits Times