The grassroots will decide Najib’s fate

Those who have become disillusioned with Najib now have Mahathir as their champion.

COMMENT

There was a lot of fuss around the gathering of 150 Umno division heads in a show of support for Prime Minister Najib Razak some weeks ago. The embattled Prime Minister was desperate for a notch in the win column, and having the division heads on his side was definitely a win. However, now that we’re hearing whispers that there’s an Umno Youth faction opposed to Najib, it may seem as if the sentiment on the ground is an entirely different matter.

We have to occasionally remind ourselves that Umno is the largest political party in Malaysia and to ask ourselves exactly what that means. Umno is not a monolithic, single-minded beast. It is composed of human beings, and where there’s a large number of them, there are bound to be some ideological and philosophical differences. Secondly, we must consider that Umno is composed of Malays rich and poor alike, and different social classes have different priorities and values.

To those who do not feel the benefits of Umno’s culture of patronage, watching the Prime Minister’s lavish lifestyle and mishandling of government finances must be quite infuriating. After all, life has become hard for many Malaysians under Najib’s regime, and the introduction of the GST has only piled more hardship on those already struggling to make ends meet, many of them Malays living below or on the poverty line.

The poor in Umno rarely make it into the news. They are the silent majority who bite their tongue in the hope that things will eventually get better. However, the amount of dissatisfaction a person can stand has a limit. And there’s a rallying point in former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad’s campaign to oust Najib. The elder statesman is a magnetic presence and an authoritative voice, and with him so boldly challenging Najib, those who have become disillusioned now have their champion and have become more vocal.

Mahathir remains a champion of the people in the eyes of many, especially the grassroots of Umno, and they will follow his voice regardless of who is the Prime Minister at the time. Tangible change seems like more than a dream with Mahathir leading the charge, especially with all the efforts of the Federal Opposition falling short.

Umno may well lose the next general election should Najib stubbornly cling on to power. If he does not engage the grassroots to discover the true sentiment of the people, and continues listening to his coterie of hangers-on and sycophants, his defeat is inevitable. And, make no mistake, Mahathir did not have to point it out for people to realise that the PM has no idea what life is like down here in the dirt and grime.

Never mind the next GE, we may see the fruit of Mahathir’s efforts in the upcoming Rompin and Permatang Pauh by-elections.

The grassroots will decide Najib’s fate should he make it to the next general election. With anti-Najib sentiment at an all time high, the PM has only three options left to him: leave before he is forced to resign in disgrace, fight on and possibly be deposed by the strongest political force in Malaysia, or completely change his ways to try to win back the support of Malaysians far and wide.