Some time back, i had a discussion with Rustam Sani. It was just another chit chat among the many i had with him and Rohani, his wife. They are very intelligent people, with vast experiences in many aspects of life.
I was told by Rustam not to underestimate the power of incumbency. He explained that the way UMNO works, whoever is in power, whoever has the ability to give out projects and money will have the upper hand. Furthermore the same people will have the state machineries at his disposal.
Therefore, Anwar faced an uphill battle in 1998, no matter how popular he was in UMNO back then.
The same goes with Mahathir nowadays. He is very powerful, well connected and has got funds for his war chest unrivalled by any. But he is facing a seating President of UMNO. He is clearly trying to unseat Abdullah.
Though Abdullah may not have the brain or ability such as Mahathir, still he is the sitting president. No matter if he is a sitting lame duck.
This may explain why Mahathir lost in his bid to be a delegate to the UMNO General Assembly. (Provided it is his intention to become one in the first place. I really can't figure out his moves). Harakahdaily tries to show that if not for money politics, Mahathir would have won.
What? You think Mahathir never use money one aaa? He has got money also.
p/s Rustam: If you read this, can you explain 'the power of incumbency' in detail?
1 comment:
This is Rustam. Sorry Zaki but I am quite busy right now -- so I cannot "layan" your blog. But if you like we could always arrange a chit chat session that you so much enjoy. Perhaps Rohani would like to join us too. Wassalam. By the way, it's a good piece you wrote. Congratulations.
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