Was Putrajaya linked to the muffled talks that a governor-palace coup d'état was to take place on April 16?
Given the facts of the recently concluded Sarawak election, how can Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak ask Taib Mahmud to go?
Taib’s Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) has done better than Umno.
His people want him. He can always say, it’s not that I don’t want to go, but the people still want him. It’s difficult to overturn his logic.
In 2011, the majority votes were 125,024. In 2006, the majority votes totalled 74,852.
In absolute terms, the majority gained by PBB candidates was bigger than in 2006. That’s a 167% increase in total majority votes.
PBB candidates actually increased their majority in 23 constituencies out of the 35 seats contested. That’s 66% success rate.
So how will Najib enforce his promise to the Sarawak people that Taib is going to leave office?
Taib has every reason not to leave or if he wants to leave, he will do so on his own terms and conditions.
All his candidates won. A number of seats can be said to experience no major changes.
No basis
Taib won’t leave, unless it’s enforced by extra constitutional ways or some extraordinary methods.
Why should Taib leave? His PBB did better than even Umno in the 2008 general election.
Umno couldn’t even get majority Malay support in the 2008 elections.
Out of the over five million Malay votes in 2008, Umno candidates managed to get only slightly over two million votes.
So on what basis can Najib enforce his promise (to ensure Taib goes)? He can only do so by persuasion.
Can he charge Taib for corruption even if he has evidence? He can’t, because to do so, would be admitting that even though he knew about Taib yet allowed him to stand for re-election.
Taib is not an Umno member. Therefore the Umno president can’t use the party to leverage his desire to see Taib out.
Muffled talks
What are we going to see then?
We will see a stubborn Taib who will not leave because he can justifiably say, his people still want him. He has the numbers to back his claim.
Najib has the Taib problem to contend with.
The haste by which Taib got himself sworn into office caused a lot of consternations and suspicions.
Why was he in great hurry? Were there moves to appoint another person other than Taib?
Was Putrajaya linked to the muffled talks that a governor-palace coup d’état was to take place on the night of April 16?
The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and an FMT columnist.
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