Najib must wield the huge power he holds as the sitting PM or become Dr M's SITTING DUCK

It’s high time that Umno President and Barisan Nasional chairman Najib Razak demonstrate that he’s indeed the Prime Minister of Malaysia even if an unelected one.

No one wants to see a Prime Minister being openly insulted and humiliated by two hired goons of a former Prime Minister who lives in a glass house and doesn’t know when to shut up.

No one wants to see a Prime Minister hiding behind his wife’s sarung(long skirt) or being led by the nose by a former Prime Minister who insists on pulling the strings like a Grand Puppet Master from behind the scenes.

No one can tell Najib, or any other husband, on what to do with the wife. All wives are protective, nay over-protective, even to the extent of deciding who the husband should hire as his secretary and the like.

Najib’s weakness, even follies, is that he’s not secretive enough with his wife. Too many pillow talks, which in turn spark speculation there's not enough action between the sheets, have seen Najib seriously compromised by his wife. If the wife is holding him by his “you know what”, he has to get out of the situation as best as he can or suffer the consequences sooner rather than later.

It would be easier for Najib to turn to other pressing issues as he gears up for the 13^th General Election.

Najib must first regain his credibility within Umno

There’s talk the Prime Minister may call for GE13 in February right after the Chinese New Year. But chances are Najib will dawdle as he is wont to do and GE13 will be held within two months of Parliament expiring on April 28 next year. He has no choice under the circumstances but to allow Parliament to expire undissolved and delay for as long as possible.

Internal surveys are turning up scary forecasts and this is a major factor for the fractious Umno division heads to plot and scheme his ouster. Many want him replaced by his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin before GE13 is held. Umno warlords simply cannot allow their party to fall together with Najib, who despite offering the greatest election goodies, much more than any of his predecessors, could only raise his popularity by 1 percentage point in the latest survey conducted by the Merdeka Center.

The Budget 2013 was passed this year and there may be enough money for the Najib Administration to last next year without resorting to Supplementary Budgets for which parliamentary approval would be needed. How well Najib utilizes this Budget would be one key factor in his ability to weather the political storms ahead and hobble together at least a Federal Government with a simple majority.

Clinging on to power is still a possibility provided Najib can summon the courage to spring clean Umno, where disenchantment with certain personalities including former president Mahathir Mohamad is fast rising and may kick off the most vicious ever cycle of sabotage in UMNO, making it easier for the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to score an upset victory.

Show UMNO that reform is on the way: Start with sacking Shahrizat

So after he has eaten his last piece of Christmas cake for this year and downed the last glass of wine, Najib has to get down to tackling the more pressing issues which are threatening to undermine his authority and endanger his grip on power.

The first, but by no means the most difficult, is removing Wanita Umno Chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil from the public limelight. It’s an understatement of sorts to say that this woman is more than an embarrassment to his administration.

After being party to her family making off with RM 250 million of the people’s money, and which she stubbornly refuses to return, Shahrizat had the nerve to turn up at the recent Umno Assembly and warn of another May 13, presumably if her party is not returned to power yet again.

Apparently, Umno plundering the nation for 55 years hasn’t been enough for gluttons like her.

Also, if Najib wants his latest Christmas promises to the Christians to be taken seriously, he must make an example Shahrizat. She should be removed as Wanita Umno Chief for her May 13 remark. Her continued presence will decimate Wanita Umno at the GE. Even without the May 13 remark, the RM 250 million issue is enough to do Wanita Umno in whether or not she is fielded again.

Najib should not take the position that she has been elected by the Wanita members and only they can remove her from her party post. No one will buy such lame excuses. If push comes to shove, Shahrizat should be expelled as an Umno member. This will regain Najib some measure of public credibility on the issue.

Then, remove Muhyiddin & Mukhriz via a Cabinet reshuffle

Next, Najib has to do something about Muhyiddin Yassin, his so-called Deputy Prime Minister. This man, in cahoots with former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Mukhriz Mahathir, the lackluster son, continues to undermine and humiliate Najib at every opportunity. They have shown themselves to be unrepentant racists, prejudiced and opportunistic, and are just waiting for the right moment to plunge the knife into Najib and pretend that they had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

The Federal Constitution makes no provision for a Deputy Prime Minister and therefore Muhyiddin can be removed from this administrative post through a Cabinet reshuffle. Muhyiddin should also be removed as Education Minister since he continues to politicize and abuse this portfolio even as education in the country goes to the dogs.

Mukhriz should be sacked and Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin brought in as a full Cabinet Minister. There’s no reason for an Umno deputy youth chief to be in government and the Youth Chief out in the political cold, if not the wilderness. It’s so obvious that Mahathir is behind this atrocity.

These moves, putting Muhyiddin and Mukhriz in their place, will show the country that Najib can stand up to Mahathir and put him in his place.

As the sitting PM, Najib is more powerful than Dr M in retirement

The more difficult job, but by no means impossible, will be dealing with Mahathir. The more Mahathir open his mouth in public, the worse it will be for Umno in the 13^th GE.

The fact that Mahathir has a big black book on all those in the Umno Supreme Council and that he has them eating out of his hands, if not in his pocket, means nothing.

Najib is Prime Minister, Umno President and BN chairman. He has more power in his little finger than Mahathir could ever possibly have in retirement.

Najib can flex his muscles by not calling the Umno Supreme Council into session until GE13 is over; he can remove Mahathir from all Government positions, and direct the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate reports of the former Prime Minister having amassed a stupendous US$ 44 billion in assets and the flight of US$ 200 billion in dirty money last year alone from Malaysia. It wouldn’t be surprising if Mahathir features prominently in transactions in the flight of dirty money.

Najib should get back Mahathir’s US$ 44 billion in assets

Mahathir should also be “persuaded” to go into exile in Kobe, Japan where he has a daughter overseeing his considerable assets in that country. The 87-year-old has famously declared he will migrate if the Opposition wins GE13. But seriously, it will be better for his own Umno Baru party and the whole of Malaysia if he departed even if BN won.

It will be poetic justice indeed if Najib can start the ball rolling in bringing back Mahathir’s alleged assets back to the country. The definition of ill-gotten assets and money laundering, under international law, is having assets in excess of what one could possibly accumulate legitimately in a lifetime.

Mahathir’s exit will also terminate Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa, both acute embarrassments to Umno, and in no small way inspired and perhaps even financed by the former prime minister to keep the pot boiling in Malaysia through the politics of race and religion.

Malaysia Chronicle