PANDIKAR EARTHQUAKE FOR NAJIB: Dr M sounds the clarion call for Parliament - CHARGE!

It is clear that all the shows of support from the first meeting with the Umno Division heads in March this year - the 'qualified' support from Kedah Umno, the staged-managed rent-a-crowd Sabah gathering, the supreme council's backing and the most recent 'we have no choice, what can we do' declaration of support from Johor Umno - have not helped Najib much in protecting and strengthening his position as Umno President, and thereby the Malaysian Prime Minister.

The attacks by Tun Dr. Mahathir towards Datuk Seri Najib Razak are now in high gear; it is ferocious! Now, Najib is defending and responding to the attacks personally, whereas before he would ask his sycophants to respond on his behalf. Obviously they have not been effective.

Thick-skinned guys like Rahman Dahlan and Salleh Syed Keruak, including their boss Musa Aman, have come across as idiotic by saying no other PM has done more for Sabah than Najib when just days later, yet another security breach occurred on their soil. Gunmen just barged into a seafood restaurant and kidnapped 2 persons -  how can Sabah be safe, how can Sabah attract tourists when even its own residents are afraid.

But this is politics as another Sabahan and former Najib blue-eyed-boy Shafie Apdal has recently found out. Shafie's sudden distancing from Najib, asking the PM to be transparent in the 1MDB scandal cannot have escaped notice, especially when political arch-rival Musa Aman has suddenly upped his support for Najib. This is politics - horse-trading and more horse-trading!

When Salleh Said Keruak - the Sabah assembly Speaker and now mocked as being Najib's chief cyber-trooper - recently asked in his blog the PM to reveal where 1MDB's RM42 billion was - guess what! Mr 'Elegant Silence' Najib actually deigned to answer. It was a clear set-up - propaganda Umno's misguided-style. And as expected, it boomeranged - out of sheer foolishness, Najib told the hundreds of Selangor Umno members in Klang that "the RM42 billion was not lost, "there, the 70 acres TRX and 500 acres Bandar Malaysia lands." The Salleh-Najib sandiwara is so obvious that the outcome has been ridiculed and Najib proven a liar.

It did not take long for Tony Pua the DAP MP for Petaling Jaya Utara to expose it. Just hours after Najib's facetious statement, Tony pointed out that based on the latest available 1MDB financial statements as at 31 March 2014, the 2 parcels of land are worth only RM5.83 billion. Even adding ALL its other land bank, the total 'invested' could only come up to RM14 billion. So where is the balance RM28 billion - which coincides with the amount Mahathir has been grilling Najib on.

This shows that Najib is not able to defend himself anymore and all the accusations against him should most probably be true. Without tangible answers and substantial proof in his defence, Najib has no choice but to lie and keep lying.

So you see, Najib's camp is wrong to blame Dr M for the current instability in Umno. It is Najib himself. Why do things and issues explode in his face? Simply because our PM is standing firmly on the wrong side. He has done something wrong and to come clean on 1MDB may incriminate himself and his cronies. So he has to brazen his way out.

But to do so when holding onto the highest office in the land is mighty dangerous for the nation. The harm Najib is wreaking on Malaysia is alarming and many economic experts have warned the damage may be irreversible. Too many billions of ringgit have been lost and we will have to suffer for many years before we can climb out of the ravine Najib has dug for the entire country to satisfy his own self-aggrandizing ways.

Why Pandikar - what key does he hold?

Now let's get back to - why Pandikar? What key does this 59-year-old former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department hold and why did he choose to confide in Mahathir rather than in Najib?

Pandikar Amin

Now, when two powerful and influential leaders fight, the ones in the middle would inevitably be trampled and hurt. They will begin to seek shelter or hide until the feud ends with a winner. Then they can come out and rally behind the victor, while consoling the loser. This way, they don't get caught and get to stay 'nice guy' with both sides.

It is not surprising if it's true Datuk Pandikar Amin had informed Tun Dr. Mahathir of his intention to resign from the post of Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament. The speculation in the Umno blogs is that Pandikar had wished Najib would give him a ministry of his own, which is more lucrative and powerful.

You see, being Speaker is more like being pushed around by others into accommodating the wishes of the Umno-BN Members of Parliaments. And above all, Pandikar must play running dog to the orders given by Najib himself.

Najib is after all the Prime Minister and looking at the long record of dubious decisions against the Opposition MPs that Pandikar has made, it is clear Pandikar has tried to be a 'good' Umno-BN soldier. He has served diligently but in his book, Najib is being very unkind. There is nothing much to show for Pandikar's 'unwavering sacrifices'.

Not surprisingly, when many Umno leaders and those in the Cabinet sensed that Najib was a gone case, they were jittery. How can Najib go on when Dr M is attacking everyday and he has no real answers or defense to give. It wouldn't have taken long for these self-serving 'leaders' to realize it is better they take care of their own interests before they are brought down along with Najib.

Mahathir has sounded the clarion call to MPs

In the weeks ahead, we will probably see more instances like Dr M's Pandikar bombshell as more Umno and BN leaders signal their willingness to go against Najib to Dr M and to Najib himself. Of course, publicly they will insist they support Najib  - until he is finally deposed - but in the meantime, one way or another, they will find a way to show they are willing to blow with the political wind. The willingness to sell to the 'highest bidder' is already a foregone conclusion. It is this show of 'neutrality' that is indeed ominous for Najib because it confirms that his much-touted 'support' is decorative and cannot be counted on.

Now as to the timing. Why did suddenly Pandikar approach Dr. Mahathir to tell him of his intention to resign? And why did Dr Mahathir put his neck on the line to make such a shock announcement that has since been partially denied by Pandikar himself. We can only speculate because both of them did not give details.

But first, the 'bombshell' was probably timed to detonate ahead of the start of the Parliament session on Monday. It is indeed a grave warning to Najib that a no-confidence vote is on the cards. Whether this will materialize in this coming session or the next remains to be seen, but Najib has been served due warning.

More importantly, Mahathir has sounded his clarion call to Umno-BN reps as well as to the Opposition MPs that he is ready - they too better be ready. Make up your minds - are you with me or with Najib? It's either me or Najib - no two ways and no forgiveness if you choose wrongly!

When support for Najib begins to crumble, there are several possibilities how he will eventually be forced to step down. And of course, the motion of ‘no-confidence vote’ against Najib has been in the limelight - proposed by many leaders from both sides of the political divide including Umno itself.

The Speaker is the key person to accept or reject such a proposal and Pandikar may not want to be responsible to allow or reject the motion, as the outcome would determine his fate!

If Pandikar allowed it and the result is positive to Najib, he would lose everything unless Najib is the one who instructed him to allow it. But if the result is not in Najib’s favor, then Pandikar would be unsure of his position unless he has made a deal with those against Najib - for example, the Dr M camp.

By informing Dr. Mahathir of his intention and not telling Najib, Pandikar may be hoping that he could secure his position whatever the outcome is. Maybe this is why Pandikar has 'decided' to stay on as the Speaker and to let the motion be tabled if it is indeed mooted.

Speculation or not, one thing is clear. Unless Pandikar denies meeting Mahathir and openly denounces the veteran leader, it is clear Pandikar has no more hope in Najib. Otherwise, he would not gamble on letting Dr M go public with his resignation bombshell. And of course, it is unthinkable for Dr M to gamble his reputation on such a gambit and open himself to counter-attack from the Najib camp that he is senile.

Indeed, exciting times are ahead for Malaysia.

The fulcrum in Parliament has shifted

Dr M

Some have asked, what if Pandikar decided to resign after the Parliament session begins? Well, he would also be 'safe' as he would not be the person responsible for the downfall of Najib if he allowed the motion to go through.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee would then be in the hot seat and we are sure he too is busy mulling his options and safeguarding himself. Same goes for the horse-trading behind the scenes. Perhaps the Najib camp - having more to lose - may be more busy than Mahathir's in this aspect.

For Pandikar, he can just call it a day and work hard to be nominated in the next GE-14, whether Umno is still under Najib or a different president, such as Muhyiddin or even Tengku Razaleigh. Despite the public scrutiny, Pandikar is actually sitting pretty - he will surely be wooed by the horse-traders Umno is so famous for.

Malaysia's future now hangs in the balance. The fulcrum in Parliament - the Speaker, who is currently Pandikar - has shifted from its position of equilibrium. This has been publicly announced to the Malaysian public.

So, let us pray for our country and instead of waiting for the drama to unfold, let us make it known loud and clear to our reps in Parliament we want our country to be saved. We don't want financial and economic bankruptcy, we don't want mad racist and religious groups to dominate our society. We don't want a Raja Twitter IGP to bully us into submission, we want justice, law and order, and professional service from the government. We don't want a nightmare Election Commission that openly helps Umno to cheat, we don't want low-IQ ministers and crack-pot agencies to run our lives and force onto us their stupidity-riddled notions.

All this means, we want Najib to go. He has had 6 years and instead of strengthening Malaysia, he has sent the country into ICU. It really is time for Najib to make way for a new PM who can lead a badly-depleted Malaysia back to the light, now only barely shinning at the end of a very long tunnel. - MAILBAG