Dato’ Seri Najib Razak nowadays has his hands full, unless he is golfing with the POTUS (President of the United States) or is overseas like meeting the King of Saudi Arabia. His schedule is tight and his problems are aplenty. But one thing he has not is a brilliant idea on how to silence Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. That is the least he should do knowing that he could not answer the questions stirred up by Dr. Mahathir.
Najib’s problem is further aggravated because nowadays none of his supporters could be trusted. Even his own cousin Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin Hussein the person who Najib expected that he could rely on and even had contemplated of elevating him to be his deputy one day soon has in public sung a different tune.
The complot by those meeting in Milan is still ongoing despite everyone’s denial as just being a coincidence. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin has again been urged to give clear support to Dr. Mahathir and the signs and indications are all over the place that Najib is not popular anymore with only Datuk Seri Mohd Salleh Said Keruak trying his utmost best to prop up the beleaguered Najib, while the rest are just giving lip services and Datuk Ahmad Maslan being the dumb one to keep on saying things that eventually backfire badly on Najib!
Najib vs Muhyiddin: Factions drawn battlelines
Observations have been made by the keen political observers that the support has swung towards Dr. Mahathir and he has made it clear that he would not embark on the attacks if he was unsure of winning.
Dr. Mahathir could not accept Umno/BN winning the GE-14 with Najib at the helm because this would be a huge blow to Dr. Mahathir who would be scorned forever for creating trouble within Umno, instead of making it stable and stronger under Najib.
The pic of Muhyiddin with Cabinet colleagues Nazri Aziz and Mustapa Mohamad in Milan triggered talk of a Milan coup against Najib
Najib must be very edgy nowadays and to make sure the situation is in his favour, he has threatened to sack those who do not support him or those who failed to ensure they are in Najib's good books. Yes, Najib is indeed the 'Emperor' insistent on yes-men to help him plug the massive financial holes in his administration.
Thus it is highly possible that Najib will make a cabinet re-shuffle as reported by the NST. Already in the internet, those who most probably would be sacked have been named, like Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz and perhaps the bungling Datuk Ahmad Maslan despite his often-boasted CGPA 3.85.
Also, Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should not feel safe yet. After all, he was also present when Muhyiddin lambasted Najib in the video pertaining to the 1MDB! Najib's cousin Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin Hussein has also been touted as a possible casualty due to his recent outburst on Najib's ultimatum to the Cabinet to support him on 1MDB or quit.
Whether blood is thicker than water or not, it looks like Najib may have recanted and agreed togive Hisham the prominent role he desires. The photo taken during Najib's Saudi trip showing him with Zahid and Hussein very likely portray the new lineup - with Zahid as DPM and Hisham as the next senior-most minister.
Najib must be the first to go - Dr M's signal to Muhyiddin's supporters
Of course, Najib's arch fore Dr Mahathir Mohamad has just last night said a Cabinet reshuffle was fine but Najib must be the first to go. Dr M was offering his comment when approached by reporters but make no mistake. The 90-year-old founder of Umno Baru has given the signal to Muhyiddin and camp - fight to death before allowing yourselves to be dropped from Cabinet.
So come Ramadan, which will start next week, one can expect massive under-the-scenes politicking among Umno circles. Who wins will determine the new lineup Najib announces. Of course, Najib won't sack himself. He may retain Muhyiddin and his supporters if he succeeds in his negotiations with them. If Muhyiddin refuses to budge, then Najib will drop him and unveil a new lineup with Zahid and Hisham as 'PM successors'.
Such a drastic move will then set the stage for a major fight in the coming Umno elections and bode ill for the BN coalition in the 14th general election which must be held by 2018. These are factors that Umno and BN must consider carefully before throwing support to Najib because the economic troubles can only get worse, while Mahathir and camp will grow larger and stronger.
A major realignment in political power is indeed taking place - still within Umno for now but which if unresolved will flood over to the rest of the league. A new grand alliance as touted by ex Umno minister Zaid Ibrahim is indeed in the works but under wraps and if it materializes, this is will a historic event as political power finally shifts from Umno-BN after 57 years of dominance.
Should this happen, Malaysia and her investors can expect many major structural changes - perhaps even the critically-needed separation of powers between the politically powerful and the institutions. The PM's powers will likely be cut too, after the massive RM42 billion debacle. For sure, Umno and BN can never be the same again even if Najib and his camp manage to fend off Mahathir and Muhyiddin. It will only be a matter of time before they themselves are overthrown.
Malaysia will of course be the victim, suffering more years of economic down-spiral as her leaders neglect her needs to sustain their own power and greed. Such concern is already manifesting itself in the form of the ringgit's steep decline. Many fear that no matter what Najib and the central bank have to say or offer to investors, the decline will not be reversed. Too many lies have been told by the government and no one is willing to bet on Malaysia until they see real changes.
Afraid even of students
Yes, Najib’s hands are full and recently he was intimidated by a student NGO calling themselves Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (GAMIS). It appeared GAMIS had the intention to meet Najib at his official residence.
Coincidence or retaliation? Najib's supporters later released a pic of him with Zahid Hamidi and Hishammuddin during their recent trip to Saudi Arabia - triggering rumors of a Cabinet reshuffle
But instead of welcoming the young, Najib closed the door. This is not good attitude. Some see it as overly proud and blame his wife Romsh Mansor for their pretentious and snobbish behaviour. But by and large, the verdict among netizens is that Najib was afraid he would be grilled on 1MDB and be unable to stand up to tough questions. Yes, they may be a group of students but they are not dumb and everyone in the country already knows enough of 1MDB's missing billions to ask the damning questions that Najib is still unable to answer
Dato’ Seri Najib Razak is fully aware that the younger generation is not only the ones who would be the future leaders of the country, but they are also the voters who would replace the older generation. Their votes in the previous GE-13 proved that they should not be taken for granted to support Barisan Nasional. They know what has happened and is happening in the country and many of them have their own minds.
Najib has appointed Khairy Jamaludin as the Youth and Sports Minister to ensure that the younger generation is pro-government. In achieving the objective, the Umno/BN government also brought in and paid for the K-pop group to entertain the youths in the ‘Himpunan Sejuta Belia” held in Putrajaya.
But so far how effective have these events are in gaining the support of the younger generation these days? Most probably not much because there are many issues that have swayed their support and may be confused their minds. Therefore there should be a continuous effort and a new approach be made and not making assumptions that such events would be effective. Think out of the box Najib, maybe you should sack Khairy too!
Young voters a major bloc Umno needs to win over in GE-14
Najib should know what the younger generation really expects from the government and from the people they voted for. The younger generation must have their own views and aspirations and Najib should jump on the opportunity to fulfill their wishes more so their questions; their desire to know what is going on in the country under his leadership.
Najib should take every opportunity to clarify these national issues in person to the youth’s representatives so that they would be able to explain these issues to their peers. In explaining to the youth Najib could also use this platform to address the entire nation.
However, the PMO announced that there is no such event and the purported organization is a fake. But if Najib had a big heart as a true statesman, he should go just one step further to tell everyone that if indeed, there was some truth in the intention of some undergraduates wishing to meet him to discuss the pertinent issues, Najib should offer an open invitation to them or to any student NGOs for that matter!
Najib should state the time, date, venue and set whatever conditions to ensure that he would not hide this time around. Make sure that they too will feel save and not be marked by the special branch.
After all the points the GAMIS poster wished to discuss about are simple enough for Najib to handle since he is the Bugis warrior with all the highly paid and impeccable advisors. Najib also claimed that the 1MDB has enough money to pay its debts and the Transformation Programs are very successful and the Umno/BN government has the extra money to give to the people BR1M and buying a new jet.
See, GAMIS only wish to know about the 1MDB, Tabung Haji, FGV, TPPA, Kg. Bonggol Donas, Rohingya and Kg. Chubadak. It should be a piece of cake for Najib in explaining them to the youth.
Then convince them to attack Dr. Mahathir by telling them all the bad things that Dr. Mahathir had done when they were just kids. Maybe this way they could help silent Dr. Mahathir for him.
No, no, Najib should not send Datuk Ahmad Maslan, he could not handle the UiTM students, he would create another blunder because he is ‘not clever enough’, Najib has to handle this event personally this time as a real Bugis warrior. - MAILBAG
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