Shahbudin: Three Umno ‘rebels’ to be axed

Another four party rebels will not share the same fate that awaits Muhyiddin, Shafie and Mahathir, and they will be let off with a warning for now.

KUALA LUMPUR: A political analyst claims in his posting that there’s 99 per cent certainty that the next Umno Supreme Council meeting will move to axe Deputy President Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno Vice-President Shafie Apdal and former President and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from the party. “The other members of the seven party rebels may receive a warning for now. Umno Secretary-General Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has hinted that more than seven ‘rebels’ may face action.”

Shahbudin Husin, the analyst, lays out the case against the two Umno leaders and one veteran, Mahathir, who have been identified for the chopping block.

Muhyiddin, it’s feared, will use the Wanita, Youth and Puteri annual general meetings next month to touch on the 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion political “donation” controversy. “Those aligned to Najib want to prevent Muhyiddin turning up at the Wanita, Youth and Puteri meets.”

“These are Najib’s advisers and divisional chiefs who have their future and everything invested in the party president.”

Shafie, it’s likewise feared, will use the Umno General Assembly to raise the twin scandals.

In the case of Mahathir, the speculation goes, Najib’s supporters feel that he must be prevented from continuing to meet with the Umno grassroots throughout the nation. “After the party takes action against Mahathir, he will be considered its number one enemy, indeed in the same category as other Opposition leaders.”

The analyst was commenting on news that the Supreme Council meeting scheduled for November 27 has been brought forward to November 24, to be held at Parliament House, and not at the Umno Headquarters at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur. “Generally, such meetings are held on a Friday, but this time it will be on a Tuesday.”

“So, it appears that besides being a day for suing people, Tuesday has also become a day now for beheading leaders.”

Obviously, said the analyst, Najib no longer cares whether Umno continues to lose support, whether the people are keeping a distance from him and that some Umno branches want him to step down. “What’s important to him is that he has the backing of the Umno divisional chiefs and that he remains in power until GE14 . Already, 13 Umno branches in Teluk Kemang, 10 in Sepang and 34 in five other states want the Prime Minister to step down.”

The analyst reckons that Najib has come too far now to turn back. If he didn’t have any intention to continue as Prime Minister, he added, he would not have sacked his Deputy Prime Minister and another senior Federal Minister, derailed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearings on the twin mega scandals and sacked Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail.