KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 22): With Umno turning into a sinking ship, party information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa and information technology (IT) bureau chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan have their work cut out for them, said Datuk A Kadir Jasin.

The veteran newsman wrote on his blog today that neither were fit for the task ahead of them in the first place, and their recent appointment pointed to Umno's growing desperation.

"Having seen the record of Umno’s information and propaganda campaign in recent years, especially after the 2013 general election, the task ahead for Annuar and Ahmad Maslan would be monumental.

"It is hard to expect the Annuar-Ahmad Maslan partnership to do wonders for Umno and its beleaguered president," wrote the former New Straits Times group editor-in-chief.

Kadir said Ahmad's job of promoting Umno in the cyberspace looked like an attempt to "fit a square peg into a round pole".

Initially, the 49-year-old was meant to be the "fresh face" of Umno and a poster boy for its pro-Bumiputera policies, said Kadir.

"But he proved to be too clever for his own good. His unflinching support for the prime minister and his penchant for lecturing the public have made him a favourite target of lampooning by the online media.

"How he is going to fit into the party’s ongoing plan to acquire and control the independent online media has to be seen."

Kadir said he suspected Annuar was appointed because his dealings as Kelantan Football Association president with businesswoman Hasmiza Othman had attracted Najib's attention.

He added Annuar had an "axe to grind" with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Najib's chief critic in Umno.

"Annuar wasted no time in going full throttle praising his boss. He was reported as saying that Najib’s stewardship of the party had been the most peaceful, adding that there was no shake-up until after six years, unlike during Mahathir’s era."

He said Dr Mahathir made Annuar the Youth and Sports minister in 1990 and the Rural Development minister in 1993.

"In 2002, while no longer a minister, he was investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency, the forerunner to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), in relation to the alleged misappropriation of RM36.5 million fund for the hardcore poor in his home state Kelantan.

"He was not charged. Instead the ministry’s secretary-general, (Datuk) Dr Abdul Aziz Muhammad, was tried, found guilty and jailed for five years but was later acquitted by the Appeals Court.

"Abdul Aziz was widely seen as a scapegoat in the case," wrote Kadir.

He said Annuar and Ahmad's appointments were Umno's latest moves to keep the party afloat and steady.

But under its captain, Najib, the ship was leaking and listing, said Kadir.