COUNTDOWN FOR A NEW PM BEGINS: Despite 'winning' GE13, Najib is now at his weakest!

If UMNO-BN had lost in the recent GE-13, Najib would have just a few things to worry about, such as how to step down gracefully as the UMNO president, what will become of his family's business empire and how prepare himself to face the worst possible repercussions from the Altantuya murder and Scorpene corruption cases.

However after winning the 13th general election through dubious means, Najib now faces a myriad of issues that he can no longer resolve by himself. Obviously, the most challenging task is to stay in power because the precedent has been set that if there is poor showing in a general election, the UMNO president has to go. Someone else will be found to replace him, just as he had replaced his predecessor Abdullah Badawi.

Despite 'giving' away 25 seats, Najib has no control over Sarawak BN and the same with Sabah BN. Therefore without having enough supporters amongst the present UMNO members of parliament Najib is practically surrounded by enemies. And all of them have been sharpening their knives for the kill that many believe is soon to come!

It's all your fault, Najib: Poor advise, poor strategy & poor execution

Najib has to move fast and make the right maneuvers. The first thing Najib should do is to fire all his advisers for the slew of blunders. Then like Chua Soi Lek, Najib should announce that he will not stand for re-election in the coming UMNO annual general assembly.

While MCA is of not much help to Najib, the other BN component parties are worse -  either completely hopeless or undependable. They may ostensibly support BN but their loyalty to Najib is not assured. In fact, it is grossly suspect. They all know and for that matter everyone in Malaysia knows that Najib is a liability to UMNO, BN and the nation due to his various scandals, wrong doings, flip-flops, vanity and of course his wife Rosmah Mansor - the self-proclaimed First Lady Of Malaysia or FLOM.

Had UMNO not cheated, PR would have won the GE-13 by a minimum 10 seats and now despite BN winning, Najib is still the loser. He has lost his integrity. Thus his knee-jerk response to put the blame on the Chinese. By giving into panic, he has admitted that his 1Malaysia initiative has failed miserably so much so that the nation is racially divided into a Chinese tsunami on one side and a Malay wall on the opposite side. Such badly thought-out spin and strategy but Najib however still refuses to amend the blunder. It is only because of the clear-mindedness of the Chinese and the wisdom of the Opposition leaders that racial tension has been prevented.

Whether he likes it or not, Najib has to accept it is his fault that BN did so badly. It is not Anwar nor the Chinese to blame. UMNO has to face the fact that not only the Chinese, but the rest of the population including the Malays have several choices. And most of all - we all can live without UMNO-BN.

Difficult choices

A true leader would not be selfish like Najib but should be able to unite and reconcile the various factions in the country. A real leader of any calibre would also offer the Opposition an olive branch and propose forming a unity government to ensure that every group of society is represented. After all that is what democracy is all about - by the people, of the people and for the people. Certainly the vested interests of political parties or individuals are nowhere in the radar, which sad to say is exactly what is now at the forefront of BN culture and the reason why the people want to throw them out.

But the most important thing that Najib must now do is to set up a Cabinet and this is not an easy task because those who are not chosen will definitely look at what the Opposition can offer. Maybe Najib is contemplating forming a bigger Cabinet than the one he had, with a ministry for every possible sector. But that would be ridiculous and it will need extra budget allocations even as our soaring national debt hits the RM470 billion level. Furthermore, as part of his election promises, the amount of cash aid under his BR1M program has to be increased. Najib must realize now that it is easier said than done but the question is - does he care? Or is he just keen to be PM for as long as he can and take as much as he can while the nation hurtles into bankruptcy.

Some say if enough BN MPs are willing to jump ship, there may be no need for a unity government. That is an issue all unto itself. Meanwhile, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang has said only if UMNO is willing to implement PR’s manifesto would a unity government be possible.

So due to his short-sightedness in still trying to hold onto the mandate by himself, Najib now has to face the prospect of unhappy BN MPs being lured by the Opposition to jump ship. Najib’s only possible move is to counter-offer, but this will create a huge opportunity amongst the BN MPs to make as much money as they can and practically blackmail Najib into a corner. Their price will surely be very high. But maybe Najib has already prepared for this event. Remember, he has somehow managed to hide the RM500 million commission he allegedly took for the purchase of the useless Scorpene submarines. Or perhaps, Raja Ropiaah - the corruption-tainted Selangor Wanita chief - can help with the millions she has been accused of having pilfered.

Perhaps, Najib was hoping that PR would be too stunned by the GE-13 results and entrap themselves by squabbling over posts. But unlike UMNO which has not been able to close ranks, PAS' Husam Musa has accepted the decision to drop him from the Kelantan state government and PKR No. 2 Azmin Ali has agreed that Khalid Ibrahim continues as the Selangor chief minister.

Worse of all for Najib, UMNO, BN and Mahathir Mohamad, the people are still behind Anwar Ibrahim. This is evident in the huge numbers that come to any PR gathering, including the gigantic May 8 Kelana Jaya 'Post GE13 Rally' and the May 11 record breaking rally in Penang.

PR is ready for the next stage of their action plan. It is Najib, UMNO and BN who are at loss on what to do next. Ironic is it not?

Business as usual - the business of infighting that is

The business community is also eagerly waiting for Najib to give the green light to a slew of liberalizations and reforms. Those which have been put on hold are waiting for approval to be issued before they start implementing their mega-projects soon. Many of these businessmen and cronies have forked out money for UMNO-BN and it is pay-back time.

But they are in for a rude shock. They will have to wait much longer because Najib's position is still too fragile and it is not safe for him to try to push through any deal that is skewed. The immediate rise in the KL Stock Exchange index was just a transient response. Instead of business as usual, the waiting period has become a prolonged wait and see period.

Thus, the stakes are high and the prospect of PR forming the government instead of BN cannot be ruled out because of the horse-trading and election petitions.

In the runup to GE-13, BN candidates were able to cooperate and keep all their differences behind them. Now the situation has changed - everyone in UMNO-BN will have to think for themselves. This of course translates into greater infighting but well, in UMNO, this is what their leaders are good at.

UMNO would not be UMNO if there is no infighting!

Malaysia Chronicle