It's just a show, Zahid is taking the heat for flip-flop Najib - Rafizi

It’s not really Zahid.

It is the prime minister who is flip-flopping on the Sedition Act and using the home minister as cover, charges PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli.

While the rest of the country is observing what appears to be a rift between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over whether to retain the Sedition Act, Rafizi is convinced it is just a show.

"We can expect the Cabinet to backtrack eventually in the next one to two weeks. But rather than allowing Najib to take the heat, Zahid will be the fall guy so that all attacks are on him (Zahid) and eventually when Najib reverses his decision (he will look like he is giving in to the wishes of the Cabinet,” he said.

Rafizi said that in the eyes of Umno members, Najib will look as if he came to his senses.

He said more and more Umno members felt that they can govern with just the Malay votes.

“This is the right strategy as far as they are concerned. So all our concerns about freedom of speech for instance is secondary and not an issue to Umno," Rafizi added.

Rafizi went a step further to state that the government may also be looking at strengthening the Act, instead of replacing it.

"This is Umno election year and most of them in Umno hate the fact that the ISA was repealed and they view the Sedition Act as an important tool so anyone who is against the Sedition Act does not loom good going into Umno elections," Rafizi told The Malaysian Insider in Parliamentlobby today.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar today called on Najib to table the National Harmony Bill.

The Lembah Pantai MP said if the bill is tabled early both sides would be able to discuss it.

- TMI