Joined: 06 Dec 2004
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The Straits Times
Publication Date : 2005-02-21
At RM29.90 (S$13) it's not exactly cheap, nor is it particularly authoritative, yet it is the latest must-read in Malaysia's political circles. The allure is the topic - Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, the powerful 29-year-old son-in- law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The book has the suave, Oxford-educated politician becoming prime minister after his father-in-law.
To Mr Khairy, who became Umno Youth's deputy chief last year, the idea is ridiculous and the book 'a good way for people without any decency to make money'.
The Prime Minister was neither in the business of promoting his children nor forming a political dynasty, Mr Khairy told The Straits Times.
'Dynasties are not born out of in-laws but through one's own children,' he said, reacting to passages in the book that say he has ambitions to take over from Abdullah.
Among the more controversial, though improbable, allegations in "Khairy Jamaluddin -Future Prime Minister" is that former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and Abdullah struck a deal to block Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak from becoming premier.
Mr Khairy did not specifically respond to the allegations in the book, although he acknowledged he had read parts of it.
'I read a bit of it. It does not matter what is written. Who is to say who goes up? The Prime Minister is not in the business of promoting his children or anyone,' he said.
Books on politicians with topical, controversial themes are pretty much a staple of the Malaysian political diet. They can sometimes prove potentially damaging. Six years ago, a similar publication alleged homosexual liaisons involving Datuk Seri Anwar and preceded his downfall.
The one on Mr Khairy marks the first open attack on Abdullah's administration.
But its writer, Mr Yahaya Ismail, said he was merely recording what many Umno leaders were saying about Mr Khairy's role in the current administration.
'This is just what people are talking about. I am not against the Prime Minister,' he told The Straits Times.
The author of more than 30 political books since the 1970s, he was Abdullah's contemporary at Penang's Methodist Boys School.
In his latest work, he describes a 'secret' plan to bring Anwar back into Umno before the party's next elections in 2007 so that the former deputy premier can challenge Najib for the deputy Umno presidency.
The move allegedly is calculated to pave the way for Anwar to take over as premier after general elections in 2008 or 2009.
Mr Khairy would also contest those elections and would achieve Cabinet status before eventually becoming deputy prime minister when Anwar takes over, Mr Yahaya claims in his book.
But Mr Khairy would not have to wait long to take over the country's leadership, he says, as an ageing Anwar was not likely to last beyond one term.
Mr Yahaya's claims seem to lack credibility but the idea of Anwar being used to buffer Abdullah from a possible challenge by his deputy, Najib, makes for compelling reading.
Said one senior Umno leader: 'What is in the book may sound a little ridiculous but the point is there are some people in the party who are not happy with Khairy's quick rise. That is politics.'
The book makes the same point, recounting many times the scene at last year's Umno general assembly when Mr Khairy was booed as his name was announced as the new deputy chief of Umno Youth.
Last edited by synthdude on Tue Mar 08, 2005 9:32 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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