PM Will Not Resign for One Man

A Kadir Jasin

"PM: I will not quit."

Headlined the Sunday Star today.

The MCA paper went on: Prime Minister Datuk Seri (Pahlawan Gowa) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak says he will not step down because he still has wide support among the people as well as Umno members…He would not quit just because one person wants his to do so. (Read here)

Since the PM would not quit because “just because one person wants him to do so” let me now officially join that one person in declaring that I too want Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak to step down.

The Bugis Warrior in a sea of supporters

Now that there are two Malaysians who want him to quit, he and his newly minted psychological warfare team will have to work extra time to ensure that he does not fall.

All leaders in Mohd Najib’s position said the same thing. When I was covering Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj in the final days of his rule in 1969, he said the same thing, but not arrogantly.

Then, the Tunku was being surreptitiously undermined by his deputy, Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, with the help of  Umno young turks like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tunku Abdullah Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

But Tunku did not waste time and money organizing “love the PM” gatherings. He held “durian parties” where preached goodwill or he played golf with his dwindling loyalists. I covered many of these events because towards the end, editors and seniors reporters no longer followed him.

Again Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the same thing when he was being hounded by Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin in 2008/09. He eventually gave up and Mohd Najib sailed in.

So you see all you need to topple a PM in Malaysia is two antagonists.

By the way, that bit about “Pahlawan Gowa” is totally mine. The Sunday Star has nothing to do with it.

I think it is wholly appropriate refer to the PM’s Bugis warrior ancestry because the time has come for him to summon all his Bugis courage to survive the challenge by this two Malaysians.

[Other Malaysians are welcome to side with us, or the PM. Or you can remain neutral if you don’t care or if your rice pots depend on not going against the establishment.]

A Bugis Warrior Accepts No Defeat

Don’t blame me for referring to the PM as Bugis warrior and this is not something that I picked up the roadside, as the PM’s newly-minted mouthpiece, Encik Rizal Mansor, had previously accused me of.

Mohd Najib himself bragged about his Bugis ancestry and bravery of Bugis warriors. On April 28, when presenting the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) 2014, he said a Bugis would not abandon his ship even though it was battered by giant waves, its rudder broken, its sails torn to shreds and the ship is finally swallowed by the ocean. A Bugis would toil on instead of returning to the harbour.

[Hatta dilanda badai, patah kemudi dan terkoyak layar dan biar seribu kapal ditelan lautan adalah lebih mulia bertahan dan meneruskan perjuangan daripada berpatah balik ke pelabuhan.”]

In his bravado, Mohd Najib has reduced the Malay ship (Umno) and the Malaysian ship (his 1Malaysia) to the two-masted Bugis pinisi.

A partially sunken Bugis ship (pinisi) - Jakarta Post

The PM may still have wide support among the people as well as Umno members. The sea of people waving the Pahang flags is a proof. And don’t forget he has the support of the monarch of Pahang too. [Please note: strictly no seditious statements about the monarchy.]

But still does not last forever. It is a temporary state. Here today gone tomorrow.

The feeling of insecurity and fear of being abandoned are apparent. The appointment of a new psychological warfare team (super advisers) that includes PR/Advertising man, Lim Kok Wing (LKW), suggests that the existing machinery has not been effective and cannot be fully trusted.

Lim Kok Wing: Will he dare attack Dr M?

This includes the press secretaries, the communication advisers, the image-makers, the sponsored bloggers and the communication advisory group comprising editors of mainstream media.

Knowing LKW, he would outtalk and ride rough shot over other members of the team namely Abdullah Md Zin, Johari Baharum, Rais Yatim and Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. We can expect to see more slogans, songs, banners and cartoons if LKW has his way.

LKW owes his rise to prominence and wealth to Dr Mahathir. So is Shahrizat and Rais, who in spite of burning the bridge, was still honoured by Dr Mahathir. Let’s see how they are going to treat the man.

But the team may not be able to rein “independent” operators like Rizal and Farid Ridzuan, the sponsored bloggers and the likes of Puad Zarkashi, Salleh Said Keruak and Paul Stadlen.

So the PM psywar may still be the game of one-upmanship with each player trying to outdo the other in order to enjoy the love and affection of the PM and his wife.

Wallahuaklam.