Najib under attack not from Opposition but Umno

A political analyst says party leaders continue to question Najib Razak despite the Umno Supreme Council’s show of support on Monday

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s claim on Monday that the Umno Supreme Council was solidly behind him holds no water since party leaders continue to question him on various matters related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy.

“His call to the Auditor-General to speed up the audit on 1MDB so that everything can be made known has not convinced party leaders enough to keep their peace for now.”

Political analyst Shahbudin Husin, in his latest blog posting, pointed out that Umno Supreme Council member Reezal Merican Naina Merican has been following up on Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin and other youth leaders.

Another, he noted, was Umno Cheras Youth Secretary Syed Mehdar Syed Abdullah. “Najib’s advice to Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) to sell the land it acquired from 1MDB has not brought closure to the issue. It shows that Najib’s leadership is under suspicion. He’s under attack not from the Opposition but from within Umno.”

“Who else will speak up after this?” he asks. “It’s clear that the support expressed on Monday is slowly evaporating.”

Reezal Merican has questions on the six foreign banks in Singapore on the verge of recalling a RM3.6 billion loan to 1MDB. “He’s in fact pinching Najib’s thighs.”

The issue with 1MDB, continued Shahbudin, was no longer about auditing its accounts, but transparency overall, accompanied by charges being pressed against wrongdoers, sentencing and jailing them. “This applies to whoever has been found suspect.”

Syed Mehdar has called for Najib to advise LTH Chairman Azeez Rahim to step down. He referred to one of the Prime Minister’s repeated slogans: Pencapaian diUtamakan, Rakyat diDahulukan (Performance Now, People First).

He referred to Syed Mehdar’s comments on LTH: “The Prime Minister must be sincere and transparent and prove to the people that he’s not in cahoots with Umno leaders who don’t speak the truth,” said Syed Mehdar. “If it’s proven that Umno leaders have not been speaking the truth, how are the people going to support Najib. This is what Najib must think about.”

Syed Mehdar, pointed out Shahbudin, has picked the contradictions between Azeez’s initial and subsequent reactions to the LTH controversy.

Initially, Shahbudin quoted Syed Mehdar as saying, Azeez denied that LTH had entered into any land purchase from 1MDB but subsequently admitted it. “Najib always talks about transparency, integrity and the interest of the people coming first. So, he has to advise Azeez to step down as LTH Chairman,” said Syed Mehdar.

Although Najib has advised LTH to dispose the 1.56 acres it bought from 1MDB at a whopping RM188.5 million, the analyst predicts the controversy would not end as long as Azeez was not sacked as the Chairman.