Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned... especially if it is the 'Iron Lady'.
And Wanita Umno chief Rafidah Aziz's wrath was evident in her 10-page handwritten statement, punctuated with capital letters and underlined words.
Stopping short of calling it an act of betrayal, the 65-year-old politician expressed disappointment with her deputy of eight years Shahrizat Abdul Jalil for deciding to contest for the top post in the wing.
Rafidah who has vowed to meet her challenger in the ring penned her displeasure that the latter made a U-Turn after agreeing to a transition plan earlier.
"Since then (the announcement), none within the exco or outside it had questioned the plan," read the statement written in Bahasa Malaysia which was faxed to the media this afternoon.
"Shahrizat herself had stated in private meetings, in the exco, to the press, that she would not contest the Wanita chief post even if she was nominated.
"And that she would abide by the transition plan, that she would heed the advice of the top leaders and would fulfill her promises (by making public) statements such as 'my word is my honour'."
Shahrizat: Be bold to usher in change
Rafidah, who earned the nickname 'Iron Lady' while serving as trade minister for two decades before being dumped from the cabinet earlier this year, had hoped to remain as Wanita chief until next June.
According to the transition plan which drew flak from various quarters in the wing, Rafidah wanted to be reaffirmed as chief in the March party polls before handing over the reins to Shahrizat.
Initially, Shahrizat had vowed not to challenge her boss. But this changed when the 55-year-old politician received 77 nominations from the Umno divisions.
Yesterday, Shahrizat, in a two-paragraph statement, revealed that she would vie for the top post
In the second paragraph of the typed statement, she stressed on the importance of unity and called upon party members to be bold in bringing about change and renewal.
Now with the transition plan out of the window, Rafidah said she would defend her post and in the event of victory, would remain at the helm until the expiry of her new term in 2011.
'If they were responsible leaders ...'
Meanwhile, the vexed Wanita chief said she had no reason to expect any turmoil after the nominations process ended.
She said if those who were against the transition plan had been responsible leaders, they would have raised their objections earlier and the Wanita exco would have cancelled the plan.
"Undoubtedly, I would have allowed the divisions to nominate whomever they wanted for the posts of chief and deputy chief," she said.
"However, objections only emerged after certain figures received sufficient nominations to contest and used baseless arguments to justify their calls (to cancel the transition plan)," she said.
On the calls for her to bring forward the transition plan to before March, Rafidah said this would only ensure that Shahrizat became Wanita chief uncontested.
"This would deny me of my right and the desire of 117 divisions who nominated me to hold the post until June 2009," she added.
'80 percent for Shahrizat'
Rafidah also called for a clean and orderly contest for all the posts in the wing.
"Do not create and spread slander and lies and do not seek to divide (the movement). Allah would determine the end of all things. No one is more powerful than Allah," she said.
In a related development, Bernama quoted several Wanita Umno leaders supporting Shahrizat's decision to stage the first contest for the job since 2000.
"Believe me, on the surface, many Wanita Umno division leaders may seem to be supporting Rafidah. But inside, more than 80 percent of them are for (Shahrizat)," said senator Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain.
Others said they were still hopeful that Rafidah would agree to bow out in March and avoid yet another battle for a top post in Umno, which has been in disarray since unprecedented losses in the March 8 general elections - malaysiakini
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