Will Najib survive after GE13?

The question is if Umno will allow Najib to continue to helm the party and country if BN only wins with a smaller majority or without parliamentary two-thirds.

GEORGE TOWN: Can Najib Tun Razak survive as prime minister after the country’s 13th general election?

This was the biggest political question today as Malaysians await the forthcoming dissolution of the parliament, said DAP’s Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong.

Of course, he said Najib would sure to lose power if Barisan Nasional was defeated.

But, he said the question was whether Umno would allow Najib to continue to helm the party and country if BN won the election with a smaller majority or without parliamentary two-thirds.

“As the nation waits for the next polls, a new question emerges – can Najib survive as prime minister?” asked Liew in his article in the latest edition of DAP mouthpiece, The Rocket.

Najib took over the reins of Putrajaya on April 3, 2009 from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to become the country’s sixth prime minister.

Liew claimed that Umno undercurrents were now troubled by the reality that Najib was no game changer in winning extra Malay supports and securing more non-Malay support with his “1Malaysia” slogan for Umno and BN.

Although Najib appeared not to be a racist in a vulgar way, Liew said the Umno president was unable to stem racist campaign by his own party, Malay supremacist organisation Perkasa and Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia.

Liew fired a broadside against Najib for his failure to work with Pakatan Rakyat state governments, especially after the malicious “coup” in Perak in February 2009.

He said Najib’s attempt to stamp his mark on Umno by fielding winnable candidates had also backfired.

“After vacillating on when to dissolve parliament for the last three years, the immediate question now is will there be a person by the name of Najib leading BN into the next election?” asked Liew.

The Altantuya factor
He also recalled his brief 10-minute conversation with Najib, then deputy premier and defence minister, when they first met during Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore some three months after the last general election on March 8, 2008.

He claimed Najib has promptly told him three things, firstly that he had nothing to do with the murder case of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Secondly, he was not a racist and had many non-Malay friends and lastly, he wanted BN to start thinking about how to cooperate with the “opposition” state governments.

When he shared Najib’s views with certain Umno friends, Liew said one instantly suggested that Najib was highly perturbed by Altantuya case, “so much so that he had to mention it and be defensive about it even when meeting a stranger at the first meeting.”

Liew said the re-emergence of Altantunya case through various accusations made by carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan “is more than what meets the eyes.”

He also noted that Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor has been tight-lipped after nearly two months since the Deepak accusation first surfaced.

“Their elegant silence imitates Abdullah’s style of avoiding real issues,” said the DAP parliamentarian.