UMNO Politics: End is Near for Najib?

by Lin KayKay@www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Rats, time to jump the Bugis ship

More and more are distancing themselves from the Prime Minister whose days are numbered.

Speculation is rife, according to blogger Shahbudin Husin, “that something is brewing in Milan, Italy”, as even more and more UMNO leaders distance themselves from embattled Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. “It cannot be ruled out that important national issues are being discussed in the Italian fashion capital.”

The UMNO President and Deputy President

The bottomline, said the blogger, is that Najib’s days are numbered and the issue of defending him as before no longer arises. “It’s obvious that UMNO Youth’s support for him, for one, was not as strong as previously portrayed.”

The indications on Najib becoming isolated, he added, are also there in “who will not attend two important meetings which Najib will attend on Sunday and Monday”. The meetings are clearly a counter-attack against the stepped up barrage from former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who wants Najib to step down as Prime Minister on the grounds that he was not fit to hold the post.

On Sunday, Najib will address 30,000 people expected to turn up at the Sabah People’s Solidarity Gathering in Tawau, a town plagued by illegal immigrants from across the border in Indonesia.On Monday, he will hold a closed-door meeting with UMNO divisional leaders in Putrajaya, the second such meeting since Mahathir went on the offensive.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is in Milan along with several other UMNO leaders, will evidently miss Najib’s Monday meeting. Muhyiddin, who is UMNO Deputy President, also missed Najib’s first such meeting in March at the Putra World Trade Centre, reminded Shahbudin.

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Already, Muhyiddin has fired another shot across the bow from Milan, expressing his unhappiness with Najib on several issues including Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH)’s controversial purchase of 1.56 acres land in Kuala Lumpur for RM188.5 million from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the wholly-owned Ministry of Finance company touted as a strategic investment arm.

Muhyiddin, noted Shahbudin, also blamed Najib for UMNO failing to rise to the occasion in last Thursday by-election in Permatang Pauh and an earlier one in Rompin where it’s majority was slashed by half or nearly 9,000 votes while PAS maintained its previous number of votes. In Permatang Pauh, Muhyiddin had said that he “doesn’t know what to say” when asked by the media on the 1MDB Scandal. “The questions raised on the 1MDB issue and other issues must be answered,” said Muhyiddin in the midst of campaigning. “The people have a right to know, not just Mahathir.”

The Smart UMNO Politician

Also in Milan with the Deputy Prime Minister are Mustapha Mohamad, Nazri Aziz and several MPs under a programme sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. UMNO Vice President Shafie Apdal, who also missed the March meeting, will not be in Putrajaya on Monday or in Tawau on Sunday.

According to Shahbudin, he left for Mecca last Friday with his family. He wonders “why Shafie had to leave at this time to perform the Umrah, the minor haj, which could have been postponed to a later date”. Shafie, he pointed out, was among those who have been demanding that Najib come clean on the 1Malaysia Develop Berhad (1MDB) Scandal which took a turn for the worse on Friday with the LTH-1MDB deal which Najib refused to abort. Instead, he advised LTH to sell the land.

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It’s not known whether Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein will be in Putrajaya on Monday. Shahbudin pointed out that the UMNO Vice President has already called for the audit on 1MDB to be expedited and even suggested that an international auditor be brought in. He wants all issues raised by the people on the scandal to be addressed.

It’s obvious, continued Shahbudin, that Muhyiddin, Shafie and Hishammuddin are on the same wave-length indicating the seriousness of the precarious situation in which Najib finds himself. “They don’t want to wait for the Auditor-General’s report on 1MDB,” said Shahbudin. “They want Najib himself to answer the questions raised on the scandal.”

Will UMNO Youth back Najib?

The blogger also stressed the fact that UMNO Youth, as a body, was no longer on the same page as Najib if the reactions from Youth Leader Khairy Jamaluddin and others are any indication. It was not so long ago that UMNO Youth Leaders hoisted Najib on their shoulders in a show of support after a closed-door meeting. “UMNO Youth leaders, one by one, are coming forward,” said Shahbudin. “They are even more critical than Mahathir.”

“The meetings in Putrajaya and Tawau will not be any indication of support for Najib and is not expected to be as cheery as before.”