Kuala Lumpur, Feb 27 - Here is the Insider report on some major political events of the past week:
Why MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy didn't seek re-election
The Malaysian Insider has learnt that even if Chan had decided to contest General Election 2008, he would have faced the possibility of not being offered a Cabinet position. That would have been too much of a humiliation for probably the best orator in the party.
When Malaysian Chinese Association's Chan said last week that he was not contesting the polls because of health reasons, there were raised eyebrows all around.
In Malaysian political parlance, a leader stepping down due to health reasons usually means
a) he has been told to go politely;
b) he has grown weary of politics;
c) his constituents have grown weary of him or
d) all of the above.
For Chan, the past six months has been a trying time. He has been under siege because of the Port Klang Free Trade Zone fiasco, and has also become tired of constant back-biting and sniping.
In Malaysia, old politicians don’t fade away. They just keep coming back.
This seems especially true for Umno, which did not drop any of its Cabinet members. Datuk Azmi Khalid, Datuk Zainuddin Maidin, Datuk Aziz Shamsuddin, Datuk Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Datuk Rais Yatim all survived the axe because the Prime Minister and his deputy apparently felt that Barisan Nasional could not afford to go into the polls with uncertainty in the Malay ground.
They know that the Chinese ground is leaning towards the Opposition and Indian voters – charged by the Hindraf issue – cannot be counted on for the overwhelming support they showed in the past election.
The only constant is a united Umno. (See related exclusive story: Opinion polls defy gloomy predictions).
The thinking appears to be that if some of the ministers and other senior politicians were dropped, the Umno ground could have become unsettled.
So are members of the old brigade going to be retained as ministers if they win their parliamentary contests? At least two of them – Aziz and Azmi – will not return to the Cabinet.
Why Johor's Ghani is the candidate
Despite all the speculation, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Ghani Othman (picture, right) was never in danger of being shipped out of the southern state.
Without a doubt, there was a strong lobby – a nexus between some members of the royal family and Umno politicians – for Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin to become the Mentri Besar of Johor.
But with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the Johor Sultan in his corner, there was little chance of Ghani being pushed to Kuala Lumpur. Both of them believe that he has taken ownership of the IDR and has emerged in the last few months as a credible and committed salesman of the mega project.
Ironically, IDR is also the reason that some powerful elements in the state wanted him replaced. They view him as a stumbling block to them grabbing a slice of all the action in Iskandar.
http://themalaysianinsider.com/mni/why-chan-kong-choy-stood-down.html
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