It
does not appear so and the possibilities look endless though there has
been no complaint as yet. Some party members, in denial as always, would
in fact be angry at the suggestion that money politics and vote-buying
would still reign.
The
sum above is among the numerous estimates put up by many people who are
not convinced that money politics could be fully eradicated even with a
revamped system that has a wider voting base compared with just 2,500
previously.
In fact, the RM13 million figure needed for vice-presidency came from no 
less than Pulai Division Chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed when he wrote in a news portal the other day.
less than Pulai Division Chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed when he wrote in a news portal the other day.
“It
is an estimate. But the UMNO divisions play a crucial role,” he said
last week when I asked him where he was coming from with that
write-up.Yes, it is all about the divisions holding the key as always,
and by extension, the division heads having great influence in the
outcome.
Overall
there are some 20,000 branches in 191 divisions. The 146,000 delegates
will be picked from these but the point to note is that their votes
would not be aggregated in determining the outcomes. Rather their votes
would only be tallied at the respective divisions and in the end only
count as one, representing that division.
Example:
800 delegates in Jelutong division cast their votes for Vice-President
(each is allowed to pick three) — 600 votes for Candidate A, 500 for B,
300 for C, 300 for D, 150 for E and 150 for F. It means Candidate A is
the pick from this division but it will not carry 600 votes — only one
vote, that is representing Jelutong. This is where the maths comes in
since it is all about winning over the respective division, not
individual delegates.
And
Nur jazlan was told of the calculations: “If there are six candidates
contesting for three vice-president’s slots, a candidate only needs to
secure support from just 64 of the 191 divisions (one third) to be
assured of a win.
“If
a candidate goes out to seek assistance from a particular division
leader to get that one vote from his division and forks out an
investment of, say, RM200,000 for one division, the candidate only
needs to invest slightly less than RM13 million to win (RM200,000 x
64).”
If
the same formula is used for Supreme Council, an aspirant needs solid
backing from just seven or eight divisions to secure one of the 25
elected places in the panel. (RM200,000 x 8 = RM1.6 million).
Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who has been returned unopposed as
party president, gave a stern reminder on Saturday when he told party
members not to resort to three things in this election — abuse of power,
personal attacks and money politics. But knowing the stakes, people can
be very resourceful nowadays.
It
must be remembered that a place as UMNO Vice-President puts a person in
a comfortable position for the next level should anything happen to
anyone of the top two.Hence, the assumption that some investment is
needed to secure it.
Records
show that money politics is quite entrenched in Umno. In the last party
election alone we saw prominent candidates being forced to pull out due
to the menace. The deep pockets of some candidates as well as affluent
connections among many have given rise to the deep-rooted patronage
system in the party.
Former
UMNO President Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did everything, including shed
tears on stage, to coax members out of the habit but it never really
died. Nur Jazlan in his posting noted: “I remember my late father Tan
Sri Mohamed Rahmat as party Secretary-General at one time revealed that
in the 1993 UMNO elections, the then rising star Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim invested RM1 million each to 90 division leaders in his bid to
become Depuy President of the party and also to put him in line for No 1
and Prime Minister.”
Yes,
we remember the Wawasan Team and the start of serious money politics.
So, UMNO members who may be upset at suggestions that money politics
could be alive still, don’t be angry at me or this paper. Just deal with
it.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
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