Contest for Ketua Pemuda UMNO,will it be a Khairy or Akhramsyah win?

Updated 26.09.2013:

A must read post by blogger Sri Tri Buana on the dangers of UMNO diverting to a liberal party:
excerpts:

'Presiden UMNO sememang sudah kebetulan liberal. Tiga naibnya, adalah orang-orang Presiden. Jawatan Ketua Pemuda perlu dimenangi oleh penyandang, bukan hanya kerana beliau liberal tapi bercita-cita untuk meliberalkan Pemuda. KJ sudah mengeluarkan kenyataan dibawahnya, Pemuda UMNO akan menjadi centrist, bukan right wing lagi.

Ini menghapuskan sama sekali peranan tradisi Pemuda UMNO yang selama ini instument 'check and balance' dan golongan pendesak. Jika dahulu, kerajaan melupakan agenda Melayu, Pemuda akan bangkit mendesak menyedarkan kerajaan. 

KJ sebenarnya minta Pemuda menjadi geek, nerds yang lembik untuk berlawan dengan DAP dan PKR yang lebih jantan dijalanan. Sayap lawan sayap tapi Pemuda UMNO lebih berminat mengira projek dan kereta mewah.

Kemewahan melembikkan mereka. 

Sekadar catatan, bukan liberal per se itu tidak elok cuma, perlu ingat, UMNO adalah parti orang Melayu. Parti Bersatu Sabah pun tahu menjaga kepentingan Kadazan, adakah kita mahu parti yang mendakwa parti Melayu ini menjaga kepentingan 'lain-lain'? 

Justeru UMNO makin hanyut dari perjuangan asal maka cambah NGO Melayu seperti Perkasa. Jangan kerana dek terlalu ghairah ingin mejadi 'liberal' nanti, dalam PRU ke 14, UMNO sendiri sudah tidak diterima oleh orang Melayu. Perlu ingat, sudah dua pilihanraya sejak KJ muncul dalam UMNO, BN tidak mendapat 2/3 lagi.'

Blogger Sri Tri Buana read in full here

Original Post:

I am happy to observe that there will be five candidates for the coveted Ketua Pemuda UMNO post:

1. Khairy Jamaluddin
2. Irwan Ambak,
3. Syed Rosli Syed Harman Jamalullail
4. Karim Ali
5. Akhramsyah Sanusi

Not too long ago, I lamented the situation where there  were no challengers against the incumbent, Khairy Jamaluddin as I do not see Pemuda UMNO under Khairy or before that Hishamuddin  as being the pressure group it once was. Pemuda UMNO has lost its oomph, and the rot started when Hishamuddin was Ketua Pemuda (I remembered the kris incident where Hishamuddin later apologised after the March 2008 election) and unfortunately when Khairy became Ketua Pemuda he was more interested in being a populist, still is I think.

Anyway of the five candidates I think only 2 stands out and worth mentioning namely Khairy the Oxford graduate and Arkamsyah who graduated from the very prestigious Imperial College, London. 

The Incumbent Khairy, the liberalist:

Relative unknown Akhramsyah the conservative:

UMNO is a conservative party, its support base are Conservative Malays who voted in numbers for UMNO and rescued BN from certain defeat by the loose DAP,PKR,PAS coalition in May 2013. I do not think in the long run that people with liberal views in UMNO should be allowed to flourish as UMNO itself is a conservative party, that is UMNO's core strength which will endear it to the  conservative Malays. If UMNO goes liberal, how is it different from PKR then?

With incumbency and a Minister's post on Khairy's side, it will be an uphill task for Akhramsyah to deny Khairy one more term as Ketua Pemuda. But then again man can plan, but ALLAH decides and perhaps this could be the year of the giant slayer.

I hope the election is a clean one unlike the previous three cornered fight and my money is on Akhramsyah to slay Khairy in the UMNO election next month.