Najib to lose his PM post by year-end?

Following Barisan Nasional's worst ever performance, prime minister and BN chairman Najib Razak may be forced to relinquish the post he inherited from Abdullah Badawi in 2009 by the end of this year, according to a Reuters report quoting UMNO sources.

The report states that despite a series of 'reforms' and cash handouts totalling some US$2.6 billion, Najib could not improve the coalition's electoral performance in 2008 when it was denied its two-third majority.

To make matters worse, it says, the coalition not only lost another 7 seats in parliament but also the popular vote.

The total votes for BN nationwide stood at 5.220 million against Pakatan Rakyat’s 5.489 million.

"We could see Najib step down by the end of this year," a senior UMNO official is quoted as saying.

"He may put up a fight, we don't know, but he has definitely performed worse. He does not have so much bargaining power.

"In the next round of elections within UMNO, you will see some dissidents emerging and asking for Najib to resign," the unnamed official added.

Prior to this, UMNO's veteran strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who successfully campaigned for Abdullah's resignation, had warned that Najib could lose his post if he failed to improve BN's performance.

Late last night as results trickled in, Najib controversially attributed BN's losses to what he called a "Chinese tsunami". But the Reuters report notes that the voting public who opposed UMNO were not only Chinese.

"Alarmingly for Najib, support from ethnic Malays also weakened, particularly in urban areas, a sign that middle-class Malays are agitating for change," it says.