The scene at the PWTC today is obvious - the loud, boisterous campaigners have disappeared, parking is much easier, the crowd has become thinner, the stall holders have lowered the prices of their goods, at the press centre the number of reporters has dropped and certainly the attention has shifted elsewhere. The excitement is over now that the polls have been concluded.
The analysts are busy compiling the statistics to digest which winners garnered the best support. Muhyiddin and Shahrizat with over 60 per cent of the votes certainly proved themselves convincingly. The losers, especially the defeated Mentris Besar, must be licking their wounds and wondering where they had gone wrong, even if it was obvious in some cases. A few overstayed in their positions, a few over-rated themselves, a few were regarded as corrupt and some were just seen as incompetent.
But the good news in Umno is that Muhyiddin is regarded as the choice of Najib Tun Razak, even if the latter said nothing. They make a good pair with their strong background in economics. The victory of Mr Clean - Mustaph Mohamad, and getting the highest votes for the supreme council seat augurs well for Umno. Although he keeps a low profile, he gets his work done and is well regarded for being a fair person. As Higher Education Minister, he initiated the move to apppoint many non-Malays to senior positions in universiites.
Najib's next move would be to name a new Cabinet. It is likely he would only do so after the three by-elections. Several big names including those appointed by his predecessor would be dropped, particularly those who lost in the party polls. There is talk that he may break new ground - there is nothing to stop him from excluding a few of the winners. Some of the supreme council winners have tainted reputation even if they were voted in. Obvously, Najib cannot detach himself from the public sentiments in his assessment. Accomodating them, or worse, rewarding them may cause bigger damage to Umno and the Barisan Nasional.
The question is whether he may want to appoint professionals and technocrats, who are not in politics, to some portfolios that need expertise that politicians do not have. There will be plenty of lobbying over the coming days and many would have done so, even before the polls, but Najib realises that his new line up would be crucial for the survival of the party. Failure is not an option, that's for sure.
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Najib's new line up would be crucial for the survival of the party.
If you let some winners into the Cabinet, then the hope of survival is dimmed.
Better still let them lead some by-elections. There are 3 by-elections for an experiment.
Sorry, can't help but feeling cynical over this Cabinet issue. Seriously, do not think there will be any improvement from previous Cabinets.Everyone is worried about the poor economy, rising crime rate and the worsening condition of our roads which used to be the envy of other countries but nothing is been done. Seems like the whole country is now run by people who seems to have lost the sense of excellence in what they do.
When a new PM takes over, he should not have to inherit his predecessor's Cabinet. By tradition, the Cabinet in a parliamentary democracy resigns with the PM. But it has never happened here. It would be intersting to watch how Najib will function with any new team he picks. I wish him all the best for the sake of our country.
Yes, I am puzzled how come people like "Dung" Mokhtar and Tajuddin (of "You Bastard" fame) could be elected while a good guy like Shahrir is out? Looks like UMNO is still lacking in quality members. Even their Permanent Chairman made sexist remarks when he was MP and he paid the price when he was booted out in last year's GE.
UMNO politic has just started. From now on we will see different game. Muhyiddin is next on the line but older than Najib so he doesn't have time over Najib. The earlier Najib gets into trouble the better for Muhyiddin.
Back stabbing will continue.
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