SHAH ALAM, 17 Oct: The incumbent of the Umno Vice-President post, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, is expected to be left out in the contest for the Vice-President seat in the Umno Elections 2013.
Among the contributing factors to Hishamuddin’s defeat is his failure to achieve good performance hoped for by Umno as both, the Vice President of Umno and as a Cabinet Minister.
Political analyst, Prof Datuk Mohamad Abu Bakar said Hishammuddin’s victory in the previous Umno election was assisted by the Umno President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is his cousin.
Apart from Hishammuddin, also expected to lose in the six corner contest are Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad.
“I cannot predict the exact outcome but I can say that some of the old members in Umno are being disliked by more and more parties from Umno and outside Umno, such as Hishammuddin, Isa Samad and Ali Rustam.
“Ali Rustam did not win in Malacca, Isa Samad was previously subjected to disciplinary action while Hishammuddin was said to be unpopular in the last Umno election but was saved by Najib,” said the lecturer of International and Strategic Studies from the University of Malaya (UM).
Elaborating, Mohamad said the three other candidates, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, are expected to win by a small difference in votes.
“For those who win, they will no longer be ranked like Umno leaders before this. Previous leaders, when they win, they are considered as leaders that not only shape Umno but those who shape BN internally and also the country.
“In the past, a victory in Umno, other BN component parties such as MCA and MIC would bow to it (their victory) and for the opposition; their voices are not taken into account because they do not have the majority support at the time.
But now, Pakatan Rakyat has obtained over 50 percent of support from the people, making them stronger than Umno,” added Mohamad.
