WAKE UP, Najib: PR is sure of winning 98 to 115 seats & PEKAN could be one of them!

In his speech at the recent MCA annual meeting, Prime Minister Najib Razak said that the Malays were fed up with the DAP, citing the example of Tunku Aziz who had left DAP on acrimonious terms earlier this year.

But is Najib really, really sure of his words or was he just 'gassing' again? After all, when Tunku Aziz left DAP two ex-UMNO personalities Aspan Alias and Mohd Ariff Sabri joined DAP. So what was Najib trying to get at or was he just twisting the facts to suit his own convenience? Furthermore, to many insiders, Tunku Aziz’s resignation was more to do with the DAP top leadership wanting to 'rotate' his Senator's post to younger candidates with greater political flair and energy. Hence, the bitter fallout.

Nonetheless, Najib did hit bulls-eye on one score. Malays and even the non-Malays for that matter are fed up! They are sick and tired of him, former premier Mahathir Mohamad, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, MCA president Chua Soi Lek, Gerakan chief Koh Tsu Koon, former MIC bigwig Samy Vellu, Sarawak Chief MinisterTaib Mahmud and Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

Yes, the people of Malaysia are up to the necks with the never-ending corruption of the UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan plus all the lies and antics they instigate to cover up their posteriors. In shorts, Malaysia is ready to trade in the BN in the coming 13th general election. In 2008, voters gave 82 seats in the federal Parliament to the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. In GE13, this number is guaranteed to increase sharply!

"We are looking at a combined haul of 98 to 115 seats," PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

The PKR vice president declined to offer more details amid rising speculation that Pakatan would be gunning for Najib's long-held Pekan parliamentary seat. If Najib, who nearly lost Pekan in the 1999 election, is unseated in GE13 it would be a first for an incumbent Umno president and prime minister. The political implications would reverberate, shaking the very foundations of the UMNO-BN coalition.

Distasteful tactics BACKFIRE

Najib should really be more sensitive. He must realize that he was not elected by the people as prime minister but came into the office following the ouster of his predecessor Abdullah Badawi in the aftermath of an Umno internal power struggle. Therefore he should not try to claim that the majority of the people are with him.

On the other hand, the DAP - as well as PKR and PAS - won their seats in 2008 due to the strength of their pool of talented young politicians. DAP is also experiencing growing acceptance by the Malays.

Despite extreme 'hate' attempts by the UMNO-owned Utusan newspaper and other BN media, the fact is DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, adviser Lim Kit Siang, young leaders like Teresa Kok and Tony Pua to name a few have been welcomed by many in the close-knit conservative Malay community. These leaders are perceived as being genuine in their efforts to achieve a better Malaysia and they are appreciated for not resorting to the UMNO-BN's style of race and religious championing to win electoral support.

If Najib wants to stem the BN's slide into political oblivion, he has to confront the fact that his strategists and advisers have plotted all the wrong schemes. To undo all the wrongs, Najib and his entire UMNO-BN coalition would have to return to the middle ground and abandon their traditional scare-mongering tactics. However, so entrenched are these divide-and-rule habits, the chances of Najib being able to convince the power brokers in his coalition to recant is just about zero!

Exposed as a BIG BLUFFER & is VULNERABLE

As the clock ticks down on GE13, and Najib still struggling for inspiration to swing public sentiment back to his UMNO party and BN coalition, the words of Rafidah Aziz come to mind. The still influential former Wanita Umno chief had previously cautioned that GE13 cannot be won on Najib's “likeable” personality alone. “We don’t go to elections based on one man’s popularity. If it’s possible to carry his name in all the ‘kawasan’, then we would win big," she warned.

Indeed, the most recent survey conducted by Universiti Malaya in September showed that Najib’s popularity had plunged 58%. So shaky is his hold on power that his political rivals are lining up to take him on in Pekan, his parliamentary seat and so-called'stronghold' that he inherited from his dad. Not only has PAS president Hadi Awang thrown down the gauntlet but even former Umno minister Zaid Ibrahim has done so becaue Najib is the PM that "represents all that is wrong with Malaysia today. Our country is divided, our poor are getting poorer and there is no sign that endemic corruption and abuse of power will abate any time soon".

Well spoken words indeed. But will Najib really fufill the famous R.A.H.M.A.N prophecy and be the last UUMNO prime minister of Malaysia. As DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang has put, Najib has already created two 'history' and looks poised to complete a 'triple'.

"Najib has already created two 'history' –  firstly, being the longest Prime Minister without an elected mandate of his own, compared to any of his predecessors which would include his father, Tun Razak, as well as the ensuing three Prime Ministers Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah," said Kit Siang.

"His second 'history' is to be Prime Minister of the longest Parliament to be dissolved, now entering into the last six months of its tenure. The question is whether Najib will achieve a 'triple' in making Malaysian history – of being the last UMNO Prime Minister in Malaysia."

Unstoppable DEFEAT

It can no longer be denied and no amount of spin can hide the facts. Najib has painted himself into a corner with his own self-deception and vanity. He is not that popular at all and cannot win GE13 for the BN. If he could, national news agency Bernama would not have to 'doctor' photos to show huge crowds attending his Hari Raya open house.

UMNO-BN is in an irreversible tailspin. The DAP and its Pakatan compatriots PKR and PAS are gaining ground. Najib and UMNO have no credibility left. They have have let their traditional electoral base - the Malays - down and also alienated all other segments of the country's multi-racial population with their racist politicking.

Irrespective of what Najib does or says, the Chinese voters have already made up their minds. They will not be intimidated by threats or cajoled by sweet talk or bribed by freebies. The Malays are also leaving UMNO. It is telling that Najib is worried enough about his seat in Pekan that he had resorted to padding up the voters list there by at least 18,000 heads - most of whom are UMNO-friendly security personnel.

Former UMNO president Mahathir too has got it wrong. Najib did not inherit a weak government from Abdullah. Instead, Najib inherited a ruthless, corrupt and inefficient government born and bred during Mahathir's own tenure and worsened by Badawi's free-for-all style.

Najib, being only too happy to grab at 'goodies' for himself and his family rather than wage a tough fight for reforms, has in the process destroyed the fabric of the country's once fine institutions and exploited the Malay race to the hilt. One could say Najib signed the death warrant for an already terminally diseased UMNO that became poisoned because of Mahathir's toxic policies.

As Anwar Ibrahim has aptly challenged Najib, CONTEST in Marang - the seat and stronghold of PAS chief Hadi Awang - if you dare rather than make grandiose utterances and claims. But sad to say, that would be the most unlikely turn. Based on the dithering and procrastination so far, it is clear Najib would rather not hold any general election at all rather than face Hadi in Marang!