KJ: A PM if he is not hasty

HE was once in the Prime Minister's office, advising then PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on matters relating to politics and government.

When Najib Abdul Razak took over from 'Pak Lah' in April last year, Khairy Jamaluddin also made an exit from his fourth floor office of the PM's Department in Putrajaya.

Since then not everything has been rosy for KJ, as Khairy is popularly called.

He won the Rembau parliamentary seat in the 2008 general election and was elected the Umno Youth chief a year later.

However, the seat he wants most - a Cabinet post - continues to be elusive.

Following a meeting with Najib on Feb 17, after speculations that he was on the verge of being ousted as the movement leader, KJ, has bounced back on a more confident footing.

His courtesy call on Najib, with a delegation of key Youth officials, was said to be a 'wake up call' and it has given him better control of the wing.

During the meeting, Najib had reportedly cautioned him about being too hasty in wanting a Cabinet post.

The Umno president said he wants Khairy to focus on strengthening the Youth wing and Pak Lah's son-in-law appears to be agreeable to the suggestion.

Among the grouses that had been levelled against KJ - which sparked off the speculation that he is no longer wanted as Umno Youth leader - was that he was not toeing the line of Najib's 1Malaysia ambition.

Another sore point was that he had been sulking too much about being excluded from Najib's cabinet that he has lost track about competently leading the movement.

Feedback from grassroots

He has since assured the party president and his members that things would be different from now and, as the Barisan Nasional youth leader, he would also get the members of the other component parties of the coalition to carry out 'labs' for feedback from the grassroots as to how the Government could serve them better.

The Youth members in the Barisan had not been effective in gettting the ground support for the coalition in recent years because of internal politicking and self-sabotage, resulting in many young people giving their votes to the opposition at the last general election in 2008.

One of the reason was that the Barisan Youth leaders were indulging more in rhetoric from within the closed doors of their executive meetings than being on the ground with the youths to understand what they want from national leaders.

During Abdullah's tenure, there was also a large portion of party members who were wary about Khairy's links with the PM as he was considered to be one of the 'fourth floor boys' who were influencing the party and national decisions made by Pak Lah.

Although, at that time, Khairy was only the deputy to Hishammuddin Hussein, his presence in the media was often more attention-grabbing than that of the Youth chief himself, who also happened to be the Education Minister.

Even Abdullah's predecessor, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was not comfortable with the attention that Khairy was getting and saw many failings in Abdullah's administration which he attributed to the 'ill advice' given by KJ and his band of young assistants in the PM's office.

From being a much-publicised Youth leader, Khairy's image took a plunge after Abdullah exited from office and the young man who was once seen as a charismatic upstart and a go-getter was not even considered good enough to be in the cabinet.

Age on KJ's side

More humiliating for Khairy was to see his deputy Razali Ibrahim and his defeated challenger for the Youth's post, Mukhriz Mahathir being appointed deputy ministers.

However, said many political observers and party insiders, age is on Khairy's side and he has only to have patience, work much harder and really try to 'feel the pulse' on the ground to get to the highest possible position.

“Yes! He can even be a prime minister in another 20 to 30 years, but only if he mend his ways,” said Umno Selayang division committee member Hasnal Rezua Merican.

“He is a brilliant young man but he has to work harder to show that he merits the post, and not because he can 'buy' the post, as believed by his opponents, including those in the party," he added.

He said it was only after Abdullah stepped down as PM that Khairy began to realise the importance of mending his 'authoritarian' ways.

"Well, that's only half the battle. The other part of the struggle is to get support from the masses and to show the current leaders - who are sceptical about his stewardship - that he can unify the people.

"He has to start with the factions in Umno Youth," said Hasnal.

He said it could be true that Khairy was not very popular with certain people but he is well-liked by others and he has his own following even among non-Malays.

"The young people like his unconventional ways, his smartness and his moderate views, which are needed to helm a multi-cultural country like Malaysia.

The young likes him

"Even those who are incline to the opposition are comfortable with him."

Indeed, some people think he has the 'package' of being a prime minister and he probably knows it too and that is why he had seemed impatient to get a 'taste of being a minister.'

Naturally, he has his own brigade of 'yes men' who expect to be rewarded if Khairy, who is Rembau MP, moves up the political ladded.

Hasnal, a lawyer, said there are, in Umno, many young and taalentd people who join the party not to gain monetary rewards.

He said he is one of those who comes into Umno to make contributions to the nation.

"I'd rather do my bit by being in Umno than in an opposition party.

"There are many people in Umno who are like me, who want to rebuild Umno.

"We know the grassroots better since we do less ‘politicking’," said Hasnal.

Umno Petaling Jaya Utara division member Sha’azri Abdullah also has this advice for Khairy: "Do not be too eager for a post."

Sha'azri said the urban young may like Khairy but, he asked, does he appeal to the sub-urban and rural youths or the elderly people?

"He tried to align himself with the mat rempit (illegal street racers) but we have not seen much progress.

"We have only seen more snatch thives among these hooligan bikers," he said.

Sha'azri, a cyber entrepreneur, said as a Youth leader, Khairy should 'go to the ground' more often and not just in Rembau but other places in the country as well.

"I believe it is not just me but others as well who feel that Khairy had been too focussed on being a minister.

"He tends to forget he has us (the young people) to assist him in his job, to ensure the voice of Malaysian youths is heard by the national leaders," added Sha'azri.

He conceded, however, that it may be 'a bit tricky' to deal with older crowds but Khairy can make a start by being an 'imam' during congregational prayers at mosques.

Not easy with the elders

"Don't think that is easy. The elders will scrutinise your performance, and be prepared, they will certainly judge you hard."

Sha'azri agrees that Khairy also attracts the attention of those in the opposition, adding that the young are able to assess a person between 'political belief' and 'personal preference.'

"Although they are from the opposition they can still regard him as a friend," he said, adding that the youths see Khairy as struggling to get out of the stereotyped 'ultra-Malay' mould of many older Umno leaders.

"The older politicians in the opposition camp, however, see him as just another 'Umno fellow' and he is, therefore, always a target of the opposition's firing squad. - Malaysian Mirror