Umno Kedah 'unhappy' with Pak Lah

The pressure on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi went up another notch today with Umno Kedah leaders purportedly criticising his stewardship.
The 15 Umno divisions in the state - which is now under opposition control - had attended an election post-mortem meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and other top leaders at a resort in Sungai Petani.
According to a source, some of the division representatives had blamed the premier for Barisan Nasional's (BN) disastrous performance in the March 8 polls.
It is believed that there were also calls for Najib to challenge Abdullah for the Umno presidency in the party polls scheduled for December 16-20.
It is learnt that the three-hour meeting - which started at 11am - witnessed a slew of heated remarks being passed forcing Najib to call for calm.
"Some of the division representatives also noted that (former premier) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) during his 22 years in power did not cause BN and Umno to lose so big.
"They also criticised Abdullah for not listening to ground reports (on the dissatisfaction of the people) but choosing instead to forge ahead with his own plans," he added.
In the elections, the ruling coalition failed to secure a two-third majority in Parliament and lost four additional states - including Kedah - to the opposition.
Since then, Abdullah has come under intense pressure to quit with Umno veterans like Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah leading the charge.
However - Abdullah who took over the reins from Mahathir in 2003 -has dismissed these calls. Najib has also pledged support for the prime minister.
Umno losing power
Meanwhile, the source said some of the division representatives also complained about how Umno was losing its power in relation to royalties rejecting two menteris besar proposed by Abdullah.
These were Shahidan Kassim in Perlis and Idris Jusoh in Terengganu.
After a brief stand off with the respective palaces, Putrajaya conceded and allowed the Sultans to swear in their choices - Dr Md Isa Sabu in Perlis and Ahmad Said in Terengganu.
Also present at the meeting with Najib were Umno vice-presidents Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohd Ali Rustam, Wanita chief Rafidah Aziz, secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, party information chief and Selangor Umno head Muhammad Muhd Taib, Puteri Umno chief Noraini Ahmad and Putera Umno chief Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.
Among the notable local leaders who attended were former Kedah menteri besar Mahdzir Khalid, former information minister Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, his brother and Kulim/Bandar Baru division chief Aziz Sheikh Fadzir and Kubang Pasu division chief Johari Baharom, who is also deputy minister in the prime minister’s department.
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Several division leaders contacted by Malaysiakini later declined to comment saying that it was a closed-door meeting.
However, Abdul Azeez denied that the issue of Najib taking on Abdullah was raised by those present.
It is also learnt that prior to the meeting, a group of Umno grassroots supporters had put up a banner calling on Najib to take over the party.
Each division had sent nine delegates to the meeting.
Discontentment has been brewing on the ground in Kedah against Abdullah even before the elections due to the choice of candidates.
"The state had come up with its list but Putrajaya made amendments to this at the eleventh hour and this angered the local leaders.
"At that point, there was already talk of possible sabotage and seats falling into the hands of the opposition. Abdullah himself has now admitted that sabotage was a factor," said an observer.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that Umno division leaders in Johor had asked Abdullah to go on leave and hand over control to his deputy.
"This (Abdullah going on leave) is the best way to save Umno from becoming a directionless party.
"The more Abdullah talks more confusion arises," said a division leader who attended a meeting with Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman early this week.

Kedah and Penang Umno leaders want changes at the top
PENANG: Umno leaders here and in Kedah have told the party management committee that the leadership needs to be changed in order to save the party.
The 25 division, Wanita, Youth and Puteri leaders in Kedah at a meeting held in Sungai Petani even went as far as to suggest who should take over as the party’s number one and number two.
“Umno is running out of time and a change is needed soon,” said a party member who was at the closed-door meeting yesterday.
The three-hour meeting was conducted by the party’s management committee headed by Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. It is part of a post-mortem exercise undertaken by the party after the poor showing in the March 8 general election.
Another division chief said it was a free-for-all session and the committee told them to speak frankly.
Some leaders also called on party leaders to stop “attacking” Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and for the committee to end the “expose” against the former Prime Minister in the media.
Later at a similar meeting at the Penang Umno building, the management committee was also told of the unhappiness of members there with the current leadership.
The leaders from the 13 divisions told the committee that the Barisan did badly because the people, especially the Malays, had swung to the Opposition as they felt that Umno leaders had lost touch with the grassroots.
“The divisional leaders called for new blood in the leadership and that the party needed someone who could bring back the Malay support.
“Most division leaders wanted the leadership to be transparent and to consult the divisions when choosing candidates in the election. They did not want 'parachute' candidates.
“The management committee only came to meet us when damage had already been done,” said one leader.
A state leader said the local leaders also wanted the leadership to take PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim seriously.
“It is a serious matter when PKR said it could form the government within six months,” he said.
Another leader also questioned why the leadership wanted to take action against members for alleged sabotage because party grassroots had actually worked hard during the elections.
“The people rejected Umno,” he said. “It is better for our leaders to close ranks than go on a witch hunt.”




tunku : if the umno members voice are not heard now, then we can kiss and say goodbye to umno.so the leaders have to really think what they wish for the party.or they are just trying to safe their positions.as for kedah as long as mahdzir khalid is there, forget about recapturing kedah from pas.people like johari baharom,mahdzir khalid and few others should make way to new leaders.the people there have lost trust in them.