Video and hand signal speak volumes

THE ladies in Wanita Umno always start their assembly looking demure and ladylike in their red and white outfits plus the usual bling-bling and fashionable handbags.

But these ladies have become rather unpredictable in recent years and Wanita Umno gatherings have emerged as the liveliest and most assertive among the three wings of Umno.

Part of it has to do with the fact that they feel the power when in a big group but a great deal of it is also thanks to their chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. She has empowered them to recognise that they have the numbers and they are central to the party.

Their battle cry this year has been “Salam 30”, said with the last three fingers held high in the air.

They are asking that women make up 30% of candidates in the general election, in decision-making positions in GLCs and even in the Umno supreme council.

The catchy slogan originated a night earlier after Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi promised that he would whisper into the Umno president’s ear what the women want.

When Dr Ahmad Zahid popped in during his rounds of the three wings, he was greeted with calls of “Salam 30”. He is under pressure and he may have to do more than just whisper into his president’s ear.

Shahrizat also wants her ladies who move around doing party work to be covered by insurance.

The third and silent quest concerns the ladies’ pursuit for a fourth vice-president post to be contested solely by women.

There has never been a woman among the three Umno vice-presidents and the ladies think that having a quota for women is the only way for one of them to make it up there. It is no secret the women have Shahrizat in mind for the post.

As expected, Shahrizat did not get to finish reading her policy speech and midway through her prepared text, she launched into what the ladies love – telling the men not to take the women’s wing for granted and that without their help, elections would not be won and there would not even be a quorum for meetings.

That was the point when the ladies become less than ladylike, punching the air, jumping to their feet, shouting and laughing at the top of their voices.

The three male supreme council observers seated on stage had a taste of women power.

The lady who many thought would be riding off into the sunset after the NFC or National Feedlot Corporation debacle looks like she is here to stay for a while more.

She survived the crisis, went on to retain her Wanita leadership with a sweeping victory and is now stronger than before.

Her wing has programmes to fit the needs of the women and she has the women in the palm of her hand.

This assembly has shown that while there are potential successors, none of them come close to her prowess, that steel magnolia personality and the ability to engage with people from those on the ground to those at the top.

The Wanita Umno machinery and organisation is unparalleled in any other party.

The wing is also in transition, moving from a body that used to comprise mainly mothers and grandmothers to include young professional women holding top jobs.

The debate standard is a far cry from yesteryears when many speakers rambled on at the rostrum, telling grandmother stories.

It says a lot that the wing is able to attract such a broad spectrum of women and the Wanita voice is set to grow bigger and more varied.

While Shahrizat shows little sign of moving on, the mood at the Youth assembly was the reverse.

Khairy Jamaluddin has begun his swan song in the Youth wing after two terms as the Youth chief.

He has also brought a new level of professionalism to the Youth wing, taking it beyond its previous reputation as a pressure group or rebel with or without a cause.

He used a prepared video to illustrate the wing’s achievements, especially the way proposals in the wing have been accepted as government policy and reflected in the national budget.

A video showing what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad used to say about the Opposition and what he is now doing with the Opposition played in the background when Khairy spoke about the contradictory behaviour of the former premier.

He said that Dr Mahathir who coined the phrase, “Melayu mudah lupa”, in reference to Malays forgetting history, was now a victim of his own saying.

Some of the delegates said that nothing about Dr Mahathir shocks them anymore. Others said the video made them feel sad to see what this great man is doing to their party.

People like Khairy happen only once in a blue moon but that does not necessarily guarantee a business class ticket to his next destination. He will have to go on working for it and he will need support not only from the bottom but from the top.

But first, the leaders of the wings have to ensure their party and Barisan Nasional do well in the general election.

If that happens, then anything is possible for them.