Khairy can take heart from Anwar, Ku Li, Mahathir...

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 – The epitaphs are being written for Khairy Jamaludin. And the consensus is that the Umno Youth deputy chief’s political shelf-life will end after he has completed his term as a Member of Parliament for Rembau.
After that, he will be a bit player, a subject when reporters do “what-ever-happened’’-genre articles, a reference point when dinner table conversations turn to young politicians who never lived up to their potential. And a piece of radioactive material in the Umno political scene. This downward spiral to anonymity will be confirmed when he does not contest the Umno Youth president’s position in December.
But will it spell the end of Khairy?
Yes, say even his closest friends, arguing that a politician in Umno without a power base is an impotent politician. Also, it will be a gargantuan task to remain the flavour of the month if his father-in-law Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is no longer president of Umno and Prime Minister
Not necessarily, say political pundits who argue that Election 2008 and its aftermath showed that old politicians don’t fade away despite setbacks. They just keep coming back. Here is a sampling of some written-off political players who are making their presence felt.
Anwar Ibrahim – He was dismissed as a tainted package of contradictions even after the Federal Court overturned his conviction for sodomy. Critics said his passage to the top was closed forever because he would not be accepted back into Umno. In any case, during his 6 years in jail, others had moved into the vacuum left by him. At best, he would be a niggling irritant as an opposition member in Parliament. The cynics grew louder when Anwar started talking about dismantling the New Economic Policy. Within the corridors of power in Umno, they welcomed his new pitch, predicting that he would have as much success with attracting Malays as a used car salesman.
The Malaysian voters have proved the cynics wrong. Anwar is back on the covers of international magazines and back on the lips of many Malaysians and foreign investors who predict that he will be the next Prime Minister. His language of democracy and a desire to move beyond race-based policies is the currency of the day.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah This man has been written off more times than Malaysia’s gold medal prospects in the Olympics. He was written off when he lost by 43 votes to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1987. He was written off when he disbanded Semangat 46 and rejoined Umno in 1996. He was written off when he was not named to the Cabinet after the 1999 elections. He was written off again when he managed to obtain only 1 nomination to take on Abdullah for the party presidency in 2004. Even the most charitable observers had to concede that the 2004 rebuff was the final signal that his ambition of leading the party and Malaysia was over.
But he is still around. He retained his Gua Musang parliamentary seat in Kelantan when others were swept away by the green tidal wave of Parti Islam SeMalaysia. And today, the Kelantanese prince is mounting a credible challenge to Abdullah. He is working the ground and offering himself as the man who could reform Umno. Ground reports suggest that division leaders are willing to give him a hearing and may support his move to call a special assembly on May 11 to discuss the election performance of Umno and the future of the Malays.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad It remains unclear whether he is interested in rehabilitating Umno or is solely driven by the need to destroy Abdullah – the man who he believes undermined his legacy – or both. But he is back in the limelight. Quite a development for someone who was laid up in hospital after major heart surgery last year, and dismissed as someone who built up modern Malaysia but did so at a great cost to the integrity of institutions. History has shown that Mahathir should never be treated lightly, even when he seems down and out. He was in the political wilderness from 1969 till 1972 for writing a letter criticising Tun Abdul Rahman after the race riots, but came back strongly after that. His 22 years in power were marked by many difficult periods – economic recession in 1985, a clash with Ku Li in 1987, Operation Lallang in 1987, loss of Kelantan in 1990, constitutional crisis in 1990s, the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, loss of Terengganu in 1999 – but he always managed to bounce back. Today, he smells blood, knowing that Abdullah is blamed for BN’s poor showing in Election 2008. Could he be harboring hopes of leading the party and Malaysia again?
Lim Guan Eng He lost much in 1998 after he was found guilty with falsely and maliciously publishing pamphlets in the following words: "The Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik sex scandal. Whither justice and women's rights? Victim imprisoned, criminal free." The Kota Melaka MP was sentenced to jail for 18 months, most of it spent in solitary confinement. He was disqualified from Parliament, lost his pension, lost his professional status as an accountant. He had to sit out the 1999 and 2004 elections and was viewed as a political lightweight in the run-up to these polls. But his guts in standing up for the small man, his integrity and ability to reach out to Malaysians from all races turned him and the DAP-PKR-PAS alliance into giant killers in Penang. Perhaps the best example of how persistence and staying loyal to principles of a Malaysia for all Malaysians can turn anobody into a political player.
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim After he lost the Ijok by-election last year despite the full firepower of the oppositon arsenal, it looked like the end of the road for the former corporate figure. The view then was that he would remain as the treasurer of the PKR and remain known as the former Guthrie boss who left under a cloud. His critics say that he was offered a 5-per-cent stake in the plantation giant at RM2.50 a share, or RM125 million. On the day of the offer, Guthrie’s stocks closed at RM3.96. This resulted in a windfall for Khalid and opened himself to a barrage of criticism. His days were numbered after his protector – Anwar Ibrahim – was sacked from government. On March 8, he contested a state and a parliament seat and won both, comfortably. Today, he is the chief executive of Selangor, the country’s most industrialised state.
In short, the Malaysian experience shows that it is best never to say never and write off anybody. Politicians can change their messages and appeal to the masses as Anwar Ibrahim has done. Or they can be rewarded when the electorate votes for change like in the case of Lim Guan Eng’s comeback. Or they can resurrect political ambitions when the incumbent suffers serious losses as Ku Li and Dr Mahathir are doing.
In Khairy’s case, nothing short of a political makeover will help him.
MalaysiaInsider


tunku : without pak lah, kj is nothing and he will have no more supporters(umno leaders) like he enjoys now.but i believe kj is not laying low right now, he is doing something behind the scenes to make sure pak lah will survive in umno's election.