Talk of Najib axing ISA panned, Pakatan calls on BN to jointly fix GE-13 date

There is talk that Prime Minister Najib Razak is mulling the idea to dismantle the Internal Security Act as early as this week and his motivation is alleged to be the 13th general election, which may be held this year despite growing objections from his party colleagues.

Although, repealing the ISA would be good news to the public and also a victory for the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who have waged many a mighty battle against the oppressive law, few Malaysians seriously believe that Najib will carry through such a move.

"No way Najib will axe the ISA. That's the BN's last tool to cripple the Pakatan leaders should BN fail in GE-13," PAS MP for Bukit Gantang Nizar Jamaluddin told Malaysia Chronicle.

Flailing Umno

Indeed, even as a trial balloon, it is surprising that the Najib administration would consider such a move as reported by a popular news portal. What then is his motivation? Even as a carrot to capture the hearts and minds of the Malay middle would be hard to swallow.

Pundits questioned how such a lone move without disbanding the sister Emergency Ordinance, the Sedition Act, the Official Secrets Act and the PPPA Act be acceptable unless the PM is again underestimating the intelligence of urban Malay voters.

Even those working within the BN sprawling framework say the coalition would need a much stronger and concerted plan of action to remove the stale and bitter taste left behind by the series of debacles triggered by the Najib administration.

These include the mishandling of the recent Bersih rally for free and fair elections and the latest is the Mat Sabu-Mat Indera debacle where Umno has now retreated into the realm of the farcical. To ensure they win the debate against arch rival PAS and PKR, Umno leaders are trooping out one by one to insist that Malaya was never a British colony, but was either a protectorate or merely a 'de-facto' colony.

However, the greater the Umno denial, the wider is expected to be its loss of support from an increasingly disgusted Malay community.

"This will be the last straw for the Malays, the final deceit. They can now see for themselves now how corrupt Umno is. Even in things as sacred as history, it is willing to change, twist and turn the facts. To me, this is the Armageddon for Umno in GE-13. The Malays will desert it for sure," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Fix a GE-date together

Indeed, the pyschological upperhand has now shifted to the Pakatan after the Mat Indera debacle and following Najib's recent 6% plunge in popularity rating to 59% from 65% in May.

The poor result has even prompted ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad to issue a public hint that Najib's time as the Umno chief was nearing its end and his deouty Muhiddin Yassin was up next to get his turn.

While out of office since 2003, the 85-year-old Mahathir is still a prominent power broker and it is unlikely that Najib, especially in his weakened state would dare to go against his advice.

It is also significant that Mahathir also publicly advised that the 13th general election should not be held too soon."No harm in waiting a little longer. It can also give more time for Najib to decide who should be fielded," Bernamareported Mahathir as saying on Monday.

Pundits now believe that GE-13 may now be in 2012. The last date for Parliament to be dissolved is April 2013. Meanwhile, Pakatan leaders have called on BN to negotiate and fix the date of the next general election together to avoid any dispute over the implementation of electoral reforms promised by Najib in the wake of the Bersih 2.0 debacle.

“It will show their commitment to electoral reforms. It has never happened before but we can make history and avoid any dissatisfaction,” said PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub.

“We have time. Even if we want to amend the constitution to implement reforms, we give our sincere assurance that we will support it. But if there is no assurance from them, then it is just window dressing and Bersih 3.0 will take place. Don’t forget this."

- Malaysia Chronicle