Johor Umno holding up well with support of a delicate alliance ..HL: ..IN: JI MO.

(From New Straits Times (Malaysia))

THE departure of Tan Sri Musa Hitam from active politics in the early 1990s was probably the turning point for Johor Umno, which since then has been more or less held together by a delicate alliance among its various divisional factions.

The charismatic Musa is arguably the last Johor Umno leader up until now, who had enough clout and influence to unite the fiercely independent divisions.

Though still very strong when facing the enemy in the form of the Opposition, the Johor Umno factions are known to be at odds with each other, especially when confronted with matters such as the choice of party leadership.

Despite his distractors, the current State liaison committee chairman, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, has done well in balancing the various interests of the divisions and avoiding any serious internal flare-up.

Though far from having total control of the divisions, Ghani is by no means less successful in this respect than his more assertive predecessor …