Dr M sees Najib as errand boy

And Mahathir’s declaration that Rosmah has the right to stay 'high profile' is actually a death sentence.

COMMENT

Why was Najib Tun Razak profusely complimenting Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the recent Umno general assembly while blithely ignoring his immediate predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?

The reason is because Najib didn’t have the presence of mind to do what is honorable.

Abdullah who must also have been sitting somewhere in front was cavalierly, not cleverly, brushed aside by Najib.

Didn’t Abdullah achieve anything during his short stint as prime minister?

Truth is Najib never had an iota of appreciation or respect for the colourless Abdullah. Abdullah has been and still is the object of Mahathir’s invectives.

The Sun newspaper reported that in the run-up to the 2008 elections, Mahathir had openly criticised Abdullah’s administration despite the latter being the man Mahathir had handpicked to take over the top job after he decided to step down.

Najib’s enthusiastic outpouring was because he did not want his number two Muhyiddin Yassin to outshine him.

When Muhyidin spoke and mentioned Mahathir, he got thunderous applause on each occasion.

So, Najib added those ritualistic outpouring of love for the “man who can walk on water”.

He knows Mahathir remains a powerful force behind the scenes.

Najib cares less for Umno
Listening to both Muhyiddin and Najib, everyone in the hall and outside knew that Mahathir still called the shots in Umno.

Najib is not PM material and Mahathir knows this. To him Najib is just an errand boy who will soon outlive his usefulness.

So what can Najib do? Well, he will have to ensure his men are chosen to be candidates in the next election.

His winnable candidates criteria means loyalty to him above all else. Umno, as far as Najib is concerned can go to the dogs.

Was Mahathir impressed by Najib’s low class histrionics and dramatisation? Definetly not.

Also notable is that Najib knows that Mahathir can’t stand the sight of his wife, Rosmah Mansor.

Rosmah’s right
Mahathir had reportedly said that Rosmah had “every right” to respond to criticism levied against her.

He said Rosmah had the right to make corrections to all negative issues concerning her made by certain irresponsible quarters.

“There is no standard of (conduct) when you become the wife of a prime minister. I don’t think she is too high profile.

“It is people making accusations and she has every right to answer,” he said when asked to comment on Rosmah’s soon-to-be-released biography.

The book has a section in which Rosmah answers a series of allegations leveled at her. The book will be available in stores next month.

Mahathir’s declaration that Rosmah has the right to stay “high profile” is actually a death sentence.

By now, we should wise up to Mahathir’s subterfuge – he means the opposite of what he says.

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman but has now joined DAP. He is a FMT columnist.