Dr M warns: Najib too busy to "fix" Umno, while the Chinese are taking over

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who still wields a significant influence in Umno, is the latest leader to offer his views on the health of the party ahead of its much-watched annual assembly slated for early December.

While the 85-year-old Mahathir was careful to sheath his claws, it was clear he managed to say what he wanted to about Prime Minister Najib Razak's leadership of the party, for the edification of all members.

Najib is not the man to transform Umno. He doesn't even have enough time to do so, though no one knows what he is spending his time on. This appeared to be the gist of Mahathir's remarks in an interview with the Umno-owned Utusan newspaper.

“Umno became badly damaged when Tun Abdullah Badawi took over. Because he prioritised his family and there were so many corruption allegations. And everyone knew about his son-in-law’s involvement,” Utusan reported Mahathir as saying on Sunday.

“This damaged Umno has been inherited by Datuk Seri Najib Razak for him to fix. Umno needs time before it can become stronger. But Najib is busy and does not have enough time."

All over the world except his own country and party

Indeed, Najib has come under heavy fire for going off on one expensive overseas trip after another instead of tending to the fast-fading economy, government matters and least of all Umno matters.

Party watchers have said it was 'understandable' given that Najib has failed to make headway with the numerous warlords and chieftains who dot Umno's feudal system. Corruption and scandal-tainted, Najib has not been able to command their respect or get them to move in the direction he planned. The latest signals are that he has given up and already accepted a deal to cede power to his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, when party polls are held next year.

A large part of the Umno warlords' disdain and disrespect for Najib stems from his perceived cowardice in calling for snap general elections earlier. He is the first Malaysian PM to not have his own mandate, having been appointed Prime Minister in April 2009 after taking over the Umno presidency from Badawi, who was ousted by an internal coup that was engineered by Najib himself and Muhyiddin.

Ironically, Najib now faces being pushed out by Muhyiddin, who is believed to have won Mahathir's support for the party's top job. By convention, the Umno president is also the head of the ruling BN coalition and prime minister of the country.

In Mahathir's comments to Utusan, he had alluded to Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of Badawi, two men whom he detests for having dismantled many of his mega programs and for nearly losing the federal government in the 2008 general elections.

"We won narrowly in the 2008 GE, that makes Umno weak. When someone is weak is it easy for other people to attack. If we can respond it is fine but it becomes a problem when we cannot respond," said Mahathir, who ruled with a fist of iron from 1981 to 2003.

Losing credibility

Mahathir also warned that a lack of credibility at the Umno top leadership and divisional levels could prove to be the party's undoing. Not only has Umno's image been badly tarnished but infighting has begun for seats to contest in snap general polls widely expected to be held soon.

Mahathir did not specify what was diluting Umno's credibility but a clear-cut and current example is the alleged corruption involving the family of Wanita chief Shahrizat Jalil over the RM250 million NFC financial debacle.

Mahathir also said that some Umno leaders were only interested in holding on to a particular post within the party, or wanted to contest in the next general election and did not care about strengthening the party. He doubted that party leaders would use the annual assembly as a platform to resolve outstanding issues.

“Each person is only looking after his own. What’s important should not be the individual but the party. If this goes on Umno will lose, Umno will not rule and all of us will not gain anything,” said Mahathir.

Umno now dependent on the Chinese, insists Dr M

Long accused of being a racist, Mahathir also did not fail to repeat his frequent warning against the encroaching power of the Chinese in the country.

He has been using this as a bogey-man to scare the Malays into supporting Umno, a cancerous form psychology that only Umno could suppress and stop the non-Malays from overtaking the Malays.

"I had said 10 years ago we will be losing power but we are now losing power. For almost anything we have to ask the Chinese to support or else we are finished. So in actuality we are the minority, anything we want to do, we will be asked, what will the Chinese get? If it is like this it will be difficult,” he said.

Malaysia Chronicle