Only force can remove Najib, says Kadir Jasin

The veteran journalist says those who want to see change could promote Ku Li as an interim PM.

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib can be removed only by force, Kadir Jasin writes in his latest blog posting.

He could be forced to resign by the unravelling of financial scandals connected with 1MDB, Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd and SRC International Sdn Bhd or the legal scandal of Sirul Azhar Umar’s making a getaway to Australia to escape the hangman’s noose for the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu, the veteran journalist says.

Kadir says even Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s hard hitting speech in Parliament yesterday will do nothing to make Najib leave his post or even change his ways.

It’s clear that Najib cannot change or be changed, he writes. “One of the reasons is that the ultimate decision is not his. He is controlled by and beholden to too many people. To borrow the words he himself uttered at the recent Kedah Umno convention, he is surrounded by apple polishers and other undesirables. These people won’t allow him to change or, worse for them, to give up his post.”

Neither can the public expect the Umno Supreme Council to do anything because its members are in Najib’s and his apple polishers’ pockets, he adds.

“Furthermore, there’s too much hypocrisy among the supreme council members and their instinct for self-preservation is too sharp. Everyone of them is terrified of being stripped naked.”

Kadir says the public’s hope for change won’t be realised until the next general election.

“If by then Najib is still in power and the changes that the people are hoping for haven’t happened, they might kick out Barisan Nasional out of anger even though Pakatan Rakyat is in disarray.

“BN and Umno have already been scalded by the heat of hate votes in the 2013 general election. Only their fear and hatred of Pakatan Rakyat, specifically DAP, caused some Malays to turn back and give their votes to Umno.”

Meanwhile, Kadir adds, the apple polishers and other undesirables around Najib will use the propaganda machine under their control to continue to heap praises on him and tell him not to waver.

“They won’t allow him to act rationally because they know that if he were to do so, many of them will be left in the lurch.”

He says Najib’s critics and opponents must accept the reality that he, unlike his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, cannot be easily thrown out.

“Abdullah did not have Najib’s mega-structure. His inner circle was small. Najib has an inner circle made up of hundreds of generously paid operatives.

“To realise their hope for a change in Najib, the critics and opponents must be more open and not depend too much on such members of the old guard as Mahathir Mohamad, Daim Zainuddin and Tengku Razaleigh.

“They should be courageous enough to think of Razaleigh as a possible interim replacement for Najib. Perhaps Muhyiddin Yassin is not 100% interested in being Najib’s replacement, or maybe his hands are tied since he is too close to the leadership of Umno and the government.

“All of those who want change to happen owe a responsibility to the nation. If Malaysia descends to chaos and becomes regressive, everyone becomes a loser, except the capitalists, who know how to exploit political and economic pandemonium.”