Friday, September 19, 2008
Pressure for PM to leave earlier?
No one wants to talk about it openly but hints have been dropped following last night's Umno supreme council - several Umno members spoke up of wanting to see the transition period to move faster. The politically correct key words are "up to grassroots to decide" which means the divisions would be making their choices for the president and deputy president posts. Some divisions could end up nominating Najib Razak for president. When Umno leaders use words like "the transition period must be reviewed" or "transition plan must move faster" - they simply mean they want Pak Lah to step down faster. Leading the charge has been Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is said to have spoken up at last night's supreme council meeting, as did Rafidah Aziz, it seems. The crucial period would begin on Oct 9 when the divisions meet for a month - and openly make their nominations. The outcome would impact how the transition period would work out. The well-informed Malaysian Insider has gone a step further by suggesting that Pak Lah may not seek re-election.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
25 comments:
It is obvious PM is standing on a shaky ground, further erosion by 'unseen force' Mahathir, using Mhyuddin as his nominee, to weaken PM's position to almost untenable. He will need to step down.
Even if Mahathir's tactic succeed, the damage done to the party and BN, may be too late to fence off Anwar's assault...unless, the new leaders, put push through Sodomy II.
Whatever the outcome, Malaysians and the economy will be the losers.
I wonder what had happened to bullish Dato' Nazri Aziz. He together with Dato' Zaid were Abdullah last bastion. And now Zaid is gone. Probably Nazri needs to go too.
Mr Chun Wai
Too many "spins" out there but at times i feel Malaysian are forgeting that Pak Lah gave this freedom of expression that in the last four years, Malaysians have expressed their feeling openly, be it right or wrong, i guess its one perception.
I for one would like to record and express my sincere Thanks to him for allowing or rather opening the flood gates of FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.
ITS HISTORICAL.
shalom
Yes, sinnersaint, you are right that of all the UMNO PMs, TAR and Badawi are the ones who gave the most space to express our feelings and thoughts. The only problem is that Badawi is not in control of UMNO, which is full of venomous vipers and cobras. And they are the ones running around shouting bigotry insults. Unfortunately also, sometimes Badawi, under pressure from these bigots, felt the need to also say a few bad things. he should have stuck to his 2004 promise and bulldoze these warlords out, rather than giving in to them and losing support from the rakyat.
Badawi should do a few good deeds before he steps down:
1) Abolish ISA.
2) Free all the ISA detainees.
3) Abolish OSA.
4) Make public all the previously OSA classified documents that contain controversial projects and contracts.
5) Let ACA report to the Parliment, and strenghthen the ranks and power of the ACA.
And that Mr PM, will make you go down in Malaysian history as the PM that did the most for the integrity of the nation, and we the rakyat will forgive you for all the other silly things you did before. Of course UMNO won't like you, but why should you care? They are asking for your blood, so Mr PM, you may as well endear yourself to the rakyat. After all you will bump into us everywhere you go after your retirement, and surely you prefer us to say nice things to you in front of your chuchu.
U can't blame Pak Lah solely for the downfall. It is unfortunate that the he has to face the repercussions of his predecessor but he slept too long 2003 > 2006. It is too late, it is not only he has to go but UMNO will have to pay the price together with their loyal partners MIC, MCA, Gerakan, PPP and other too. THEY DESERVE IT.
\NEELAM
Dear Dato'
It's important we resolve this asap.
The economy might not be able to wait until Oct 9. KLCI might be 850 points!
Peace to all!
Pak Lah has no control at all over his BN led govt. It's so obvious he does not have the support from even his own UMNO members.
He should have resigned right after March 8 instead of being forced out in this manner.
Anyway the damage is done. The recent abuse of the ISA by his team has basically nailed his coffin.
It's better he berundur now. He is a liability to the country at the present moment.
PM must realized he is very much the reason for the present turmoil. The general lack of confidence by all has given the public more reasons to revolt.
Yes, he is right to put his ears close to the ground. Likewise, a lot of leaders are doing the same, you know. Everyone wants to survive politically. Semua pun mau hidup and cari makan. So with or without him realising, he can singlehandledly wipe out most of his political supporters' livelihood and career if in insist on staying because the current sentiment is that people want to see a change. A major change. Mar 8 results is not too his favor whatever he wants to say. Confidence have badly eroded. Time to move on. If he cannot introduce anything new, he must for the sake of the country, exit gracefully.
It's easier said than done. But we have to be practical and logically as M'sians have matured a lot over the last 10 years.
We do not want to be further misled by a weak administration. Times have changed.
PM should hand power to PR instead of Umno-led government. Do the right thing. Save this country please asap!
87'student:
When the finance minister was assumed by Mr.Najib it only had two implications, one is to show that the transition is planned and not to push them, but if we take another view, does it mean that the military will be upheld by PM and he is allowed to exercise military force anytime needed?
-Sure looks like 87, smells like 97 , hope we can survive this political turmoil like the financial wreck in US. Wouldn't the mess be transfered to the candidate for the prime minister and finance minister ? i smell a divertion...
maverickspost.blogspot.com
Lets save face. 2010 can actually mean the 20th of October.
Man without face.
Does it make any difference, still the same old currupt and irresponsible people running all over the place? can you imagine they are talking about bringing back those people responsible for all the wrongs that have been committed by the ruling party all these years. my god, my god.
shaking heads
Let us pray together
http://www.kingsmary.blogspot.com/
I think somebody in the government is trying to create trouble. Why do I say that? Look who they have arrested and arresting next:
- Tan the harmless journalist? And the real culprit runs free?
- Teresa Kok, the ADUN for unproven reason? While the accuser is not investigated?
- RPK? He has not insulted any religion or race. He only insulted the BN people. Ok maybe he is a threat to BN, but really not to the people.
- And the few rag tag bloggers? For what terror activities?
-And NOW even worse, they want to arrest Wee the rapper??????
It really looks like somebody wants to provoke something to either bring down AAB, or to get DSAI in the lockup,or both.
It looks like AAB has lost control of his UMNO govt.
Step down gracefully or be forced down in humiliation. The writing has been on the wall for some time now, and there is no point keeping the denial mindset when the odds are stacked against you so glaringly.
Wong,
I spent half a day today just to place classified advert and classified plus online.Your server look slow in response and there was no acknowledment whether our payment on line vide credit card was approved.i had made 2 payment attempt and still not sure whether it done.It also look confusing on the procedures..
PM too slow to respond. Stay firm and act fast before it went out of control.
Koh Tsu Koon and his Gerakan is totally out of touch with the rakyat. Doesn't he know how much the rakyat hate the ISA? Doesn't he know that as long as the ISA exist in whatever form, it will be abused by the government? The current ISA law never provided for the detention of an innocent journalist, but she was detained under the ISA anyway, with some flimsy excuse given.
I would remember Pak Lah as indecisive and 'cakap tak serupa bikin' PM. Whatever happen to open tender and all? corruption is still rampant. Tan Sri Zaki out of the blue appointed No. 2 in judiciary. Anyway,how come only the Star reported on Pak Lah pressured to quit by UMNO MT? Work of spin doctors ka?
The PM is a lame duck. He can't do anything about Khir Toyo, Ahmad Ismail, the whole Penang Umno, TDM, and all the umno gang throwing darts at him. These guys are creating trouble to help bring him down. At least Anwar is competing with him openly and in an honorable way, while his own umno colleagues stab him behind his back! Badawi, why don't you help put Anwar in power and teach those sneaky umno colleagues of yours a lesson!?
Datuk,
I am impressed with your writting today in the Star that I have to give my feedback. I hope that would not get you into trouble. Keep it up.
Just saw the STAR article on the NS this morning. When is the govt going to scrap the NS? It is a big drain on our economy, and it does not even meet its objectives.
Why Najib should stick with Abdullah
The most important political development in town has very little to do with Anwar Ibrahim. Instead, it is about the dynamics of the relationship between the Prime Minister and his deputy and how they approach the UMNO party elections that are set to commence with the divisional meetings on 9 October.
Neither Abdullah Ahmad Badawi nor Najib Tun Razak wants to fight the other. They know that this would be disastrous for the party and even prove to be the final nail in its coffin. Both want to honour the spirit, if no longer the exact letter, of the transition plan which originally intended for Najib to take over the premiership and party presidency in June 2010. It was a deal brokered directly by the two men and endorsed by the party Supreme Council.
But things began to fall apart after the loss at the Permatang Pauh by-election even though this had very little to do with Abdullah's leadership (in fact it was seen more as a battle between Anwar Ibrahim and Najib). There was a resurgence of dissent within party ranks led by vice president, Muhyiddin Yassin, and egged on by Mahathir Mohamed from the outside. This was an opportunity to renew the pressure on Abdullah to go now rather than later. But the spark that lit the fire was Najib's statement a couple of weeks ago that although he was committed to the transition plan, he would also leave it to the divisions to decide whether they want to support it as well. Politics is all about signaling. For many in the party, that statement by Najib was a signal that he would contest the presidency against Abdullah.
Opportunistic dissenters like Muhyiddin latched onto Najib's statement and instigated the grassroots to create a groundswell effect against Abdullah in order to pressure him to bow out in December. For Muhyiddin, this would be a dream scenario with him walking into the deputy presidency of the party probably unchallenged and thereby becoming also the Deputy Prime Minister. Everything came to a head at last week's UMNO Supreme Council meeting where three members – Muhyiddin, Shafie Apdal and Rafidah Aziz - came out to ask Abdullah to hand over power to Najib earlier than the scheduled timetable. Pro-Abdullah forces in the council were told to stand down during the meeting in order to not worsen the situation.
So what does Najib do now? For all intents and purposes, he is still outwardly committed to the transition plan and does not want to fight Abdullah. He knows that if he digs his heels in with Abdullah, the top job will be there for him by mid 2010 at the latest but in all probability much earlier since Abdullah himself has said that he is willing to be flexible about retiring sooner. The only thing that worries Najib is that if he sticks with Abdullah and there is a challenge from a Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah-Muhyiddin team, he might get swept away along with Abdullah. However, these fears are unfounded. Party leaders know that if Najib swings his support totally behind Abdullah and their forces work together on the ground, there is no other alternative combination that can beat them.
For Najib, if he decides not to honour his word to Abdullah, he knows he will be stuck with Muhyiddin as his deputy. This would be a problem for him later because the two men are suspicious of one another having once been rivals for the job of Abdullah's deputy. Muhyiddin has also demonstrated via his dissent towards Abdullah that he is a man who has no qualms stabbing his boss in the back, and may do the same to Najib especially in a time of political crisis. Muhyiddin will also not be beholden to Najib because he will think that his elevation to deputy premier and deputy president of UMNO has little to do with Najib. So for these reasons, Najib will not want Muhyiddin as his deputy.
Najib would be in a much more comfortable position if he goes with the transition deal with Abdullah, and then when the time comes for Abdullah to step down, Najib would have three vice presidents to choose from as his deputy. Not only does this give him the luxury of choice but it will most certainly make the person he selects as his deputy completely beholden to him because it will be entirely Najib's decision unlike the scenario of having Muhyiddin forced on him.
There are also other reasons Najib should stick with Abdullah. As far as UMNO members are concerned, Najib may be popular. This is courtesy of a solid network that he has cultivated for the last three decades. But his image and credibility publicly is something else. For many people Najib is synonymous with the brutal murder of the Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu. Regardless of Najib's repeated religious oaths that he never even met Altantuya, the taint refuses to go away especially since the man accused of abetting the murder, Razak Baginda, was a close advisor and friend to Najib. Apart from the Altantuya case, Najib is also dogged by shady arms purchases notably the procurement of Sukhoi fighter jets and submarines in which Razak is suspected of pocketing hundreds of millions of Ringgit worth of commission direct from the principal. So with the SAS (Sukhoi, Altantuya, Submarine) scandal tarnishing his public image, Najib still needs Abdullah as a shield of sorts. In fact, Anwar is relentless in his attacks on the SAS issues exposing it as Najib's vulnerable Achilles' heel. So long as Abdullah is around, Najib can use the time to rehabilitate his public image especially with his new portfolio at the Treasury where he can enact popular policies to deflect the public's attention from the SAS issues.
Finally, the last thing Najib wants is to go through a bruising fight with Abdullah. Najib may ultimately win the battle with current sentiment against Abdullah and his formidable network in UMNO, but could lose the war because of a damaged and divided party.. Abdullah may be against the ropes but he's not going to be a pushover. His supporters will use every advantage of incumbency to fight any challenge and it will significantly split UMNO. This is something that Najib can ill-afford. Even if he takes on and beats Abdullah, he will be left with a party ruined. The implications of this are serious. If BN component parties see a broken UMNO, they might just take it as a signal to jump ship and join Anwar. That could prove to be the final act on the demise of UMNO and it will be on Najib's watch.
So although Najib may feel insecure about taking his chances with Abdullah for the fear of going down with him, he stands to gain more from sticking to the transition plan and fighting it out by Abdullah's side. It will give him the freedom to choose his deputy, a shield against attacks, time to rehabilitate his battered public image and it will avoid a damaging contest that can destroy UMNO. It must also be remembered that the next few months will be crucial on Anwar front. The sodomy trial will get under way and Najib will not want to be alone when all the sordid details of the case are revealed given his association with Saiful Bukhari Azlan who accuses Anwar of having sodomized him. Without Abdullah, the focus will be entirely on Najib and this could damage further his public image.
Given these arguments, Najib should come out soon to give a categorical statement to support Abdullah's candidacy for party president. It may not only appear to be the wisest choice but also one that will make Najib most secure in the long run.
It's obvious Pak Lah is fighting hard for his OWN political survival. He isn't bothered with the present situation where he is no longer favored even by his own UMNO cronies.
With all the calls & pressure to quit, looks like Pak Lah is standing firm. He will not quit for reasons only known to him.
It's a gamble for him. If he wins sufficient support to stay till 2010, then his image will not be hurt that bad. However, if he is forced out, then he has no one to blame except himself for being so stubborn.
Unless DSAI mounts a serious attack on the premiership, things will not change. Tan Sri Muhiyidin memang ada niat but so far, he is at the niat level without enough support and courage to push for a change. I salute him for his honesty but I guess that's not good enough to change anything.
Kalau Tan Sri is serious, he should make a move now. Otherwise, Pak Lah will cling on lah.
Post a Comment