Maybe Najib should say: it is not that I love my job less but I love Malaysians more so I resign to protect the lives of Malaysians that would be lost if Pakatan Rakyat takes over the federal government.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Yesterday was one more event in a series of events that is being organised to oust Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and replace him with his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin. As Umno Blogger Syed Akbar Ali said in his blog posting today, it is déjà vu of what happened in 2006 when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched a road show to oust Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah).
But it took three years and a disastrous 2008 general election before Pak Lah would agree to resign. Dr Mahathir is not prepared to wait three years and a disastrous 2018 general election to see Najib go. Dr Mahathir wants Najib out now, and, according to his people, within the month or so.
In fact, earlier, the buzz amongst the Umno circle is that Najib would leave within May itself. Today we have exactly 14 days to go for May to end and it does not appear like Najib is packing his bags just yet. In fact, he appears to be digging in for the long haul and to fight it out till the end.
But when will that end be? And who is it going to be the end for, Dr Mahathir or Najib? As history has shown, in long sieges you never know who will end up winning. Sometimes those under siege win. And sometime those conducting the siege do. It all depends on who runs out of food, water and soldiers first. And at times nature also plays a part in deciding the winner.
That was how Jerusalem kept falling from one hand to another through the ages. It was all about siapa boleh tahan lagi lama. And Pak Lah could not tahan so he went. Dr Mahathir before him could tahan so he stayed an extra 16 years and left only after 22 years. Is Najib a Pak Lah or is he a Dr Mahathir?
Najib says he is just like Dr Mahathir who is not going to give up and resign just because someone wants him to. So I suppose this is going to be just like Jerusalem all over again, a long siege until one side gives up and decides to go home.
Yesterday in Ipoh Dr Mahathir made it very clear he no longer supports Najib, in case that is still not clear enough to some of you. Dr Mahathir wants Najib out because if he stays and leads Umno and Barisan Nasional in the next general election then Pakatan Rakyat is going to take over the federal government. There is no way Umno and Barisan Nasional are going to remain in power with Najib still the Prime Minister.
Tun Razak built up Umno but his son, Najib, is destroying what his father built, said Dr Mahathir. Actually Umno was formed as a right-wing Malay supremacist party after a series of congresses that the Malays held in Johor Baru and it was formed in the Sultan of Johor’s palace with Onn Jaafar as its president. When Onn Jaafar resigned Tunku Abdul Rahman took over and travelled the whole of Malaysia to set up Umno branches in every state. Onn Jaffar, Tunku Rahman and Tun Razak Hussein were all orang istana or palace people.
Anyway, the message from Dr Mahathir yesterday was that it is not I love Tun Razak’s son less but I love Umno more. So Najib has to go so that Umno that has ruled Malaysia for 60 years since 1955 can continue to rule Malaysia forever.
Dr Mahathir pointed out that the opposition leaders, such as PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, support Najib because they know that with Najib still the Prime Minister Umno may most likely get kicked out in the next general election. So they want Najib still in power so that Umno will die.
Dr Mahathir did not mention the names of opposition leaders such as Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Azmin Ali, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Mustapha Ali, Mat Sabu, and so on, all who want Najib kicked out. I suppose Dr Mahathir cannot go and say that these opposition leaders, just like him, also want Najib kicked out so that Umno can be saved and Barisan Nasional can continue to rule Malaysia forever.
In fact, Anwar sent Azmin to London to discuss with Dr Mahathir some form of cooperation to kick out Najib. Anwar will rally PKR behind Dr Mahathir and once Najib has been ousted and replaced with Muhyiddin Yassin then the new Prime Minister will arrange a pardon for him. For the Agong to consider a pardon the Pardon’s Board with the support of the Prime Minister must first recommend it.
If Najib is ousted and Muhyiddin replaces him and Anwar gets his pardon that would mean Umno and Barisan Nasional can now be saved and can continue to rule Malaysia for a long time to come. Najib, of course, can make sure this happens by resigning. And Najib, if he wants, can make the same deal that Pak Lah made — resign with the guarantee that he is given immunity from any possible criminal prosecution.
So will Najib do what Pak Lah did — resign with immunity? Or will he do what Dr Mahathir did — if I have committed any crime then prove it? Najib does not feel he has committed any crime. And he is going to prove it by getting the PAC and the external auditors to investigate the affairs of 1MDB and come out with its report.
Almost half the members of the PAC are opposition leaders so there is no way Najib can tell them what to do (basically, opposition leaders cannot be bought). The same goes for the external audit firm, which is an international firm with a reputation to protect. So what are these people going to come out with? Are they going to prove that the RM42 billion or part of it has disappeared or are they going to prove that no crime has been committed?
It really does not matter what they say. Those who are convinced that Najib is guilty will continue to believe so and will say that the reports are fabricated. And even if Najib does resign and hands power to Muhyiddin nothing is really going to change.
Umno is not going to change just because the Prime Minister has been changed. What Dr Mahathir said yesterday was already a hint of what the ‘new’ Umno under the new Prime Minister is going to be like.
Dr Mahathir whacked Najib for ending the New Economic Policy (NEP) — which in fact ended in 1990 but was repackaged under another name. He whacked Najib for giving in to the Chinese — who still did not vote government in spite of it. Dr Mahathir spent a good part of his speech reminding the audience of the history of Umno and why it was formed — to protect the Malays from the enemies of the Malays.
So the new Prime Minister who takes over from Najib has to take note of the perjuangan Ketuanan Melayu of Umno, something that Najib has forgotten, said Dr Mahathir. And that is why organisations such as PEKIDA, PERKASA and ISMA exist today. These organisations need to exist because Umno has failed in its duty to protect Malay interests.
Chinese no longer respect the Malays. Chinese have become too demanding. They even want Bibles to be published in Bahasa Malaysia and to be allowed to use Allah in these Bibles. The Chinese have forgotten that the Malays sacrificed a lot in giving the Chinese and Indians citizenship in 1957 and now question Article 153 and the special privileges of the Malays.
The PAC and the external auditors may come out with a report that clears 1MDB of any wrongdoing. But that is only a small part of the problem. The bigger problem, Dr Mahathir said, is that the Malays no longer support Umno. The Malays feel that Umno has sold them out. So, to get back the support of the Malays, Umno must revert to its original objective.
And this original objective is that the Malays own the land and are the dominant race of Malaysia. And the non-Malays must be reminded of this and be put in their place so that they will never forget that it was the Malays who allowed them citizenship.
What happens if Najib does not resign and Umno and Barisan Nasional lose the next election and Pakatan Rakyat takes over? Well, as Dr Mahathir said, then there is going to be chaos — probably worse than what happened in May 1969.
So, to avoid chaos, maybe Najib should resign to ensure that Umno and Barisan Nasional do not lose the next general election. Only with Umno and Barisan Nasional still in power will everyone be safe and free from threat. Will Najib do the right thing and resign so that Umno and Barisan Nasional can remain in power and Malaysia never sees another tragedy the likes of 1969?
Maybe Najib should say: it is not that I love my job less but I love Malaysians more so I resign to protect the lives of Malaysians that would be lost if Pakatan Rakyat takes over the federal government.
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