Umno support or not, 1MDB time-bomb an EXPLOSION Najib cannot save himself & family from

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has finally hit back at former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has been calling for his resignation, saying he would not bow to any pressure. That said, the pressure is building up within Umno and it will depend very much on whether Najib could diffuse the crisis stemming from the tacky 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issue in order to stay safe.

Najib has been enjoying relatively stable support within his party until recently. During the March meeting with divisional heads nationwide, 160 divisions or 84% voiced their support. Majority of Supreme Council members were not affected by Dr Mahathir's criticism.

But, the 1MDB is a veritable time bomb waiting to go off, Lembaga Tabung Haji's purchase of land from 1MDB being a detonator. TH boasts some eight million Muslim depositors, and the "use of TH money to salvage 1MDB" message has been wildly circulating in rural areas, dealing a severe blow on the government's image while rocking the fundamental support base of Umno. The rural folks who used to know nothing about 1MDB begin to learn more about the scandal now.

Due to the severity of the issue, Umno leaders began to voice out, including deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, all questioning 1MDB's sale of 1.56-acre plot of land at Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) to TH.

To save the day, Najib instructed TH to sell the said land, and it has been said that TH could get a RM5 million profit from this sale.

But who asked TH to buy 1MDB land?

The sale of land by TH fails to tame the controversies. In its stead, more questions begin to surface, including why the government sold the 70-acre plot of land on Jalan Tun Razak to 1MDB at only RM4.5 million (RM64 per square foot) in 2010, and why TH bought the land at a 4,200% premium of RM188.5 million (RM2,773 per square foot).

With three of TH's directors also taking up key positions in 1MDB, isn't it a conflict of interests? If TH could gain almost RM5 million selling the land, why didn't 1MDB deal directly with the buyer in the first place?

The key question is: who has instructed TH to purchase the land? If it were the finance ministry, has the Cabinet been consulted and why everyone is still kept in the dark?

At the beginning, IGP Khalid Abu Bakar said the police would investigate the leak of information from TH and that the authorities would protect the whistleblower.

Given the fact that all these things were carried out in a highly opaque manner, few would believe TH's land purchase was not for the salvage of 1MDB.

Even Shafie Apdal keeps his distance despite Sabah rally

Perlis Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the state Umno would suggest Najib to replace the leaders at several government-linked companies, but then rumours have it that the KWAP retirement fund has also agreed to purchase the land and buildings at TRX.

Although Sabah state authorities have shown their firm support for Najib during Sunday's mammoth rally, Umno vice-president from Sabah and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal were absent alongside other key party members, showing that a crack has indeed taken form.

If Najib were to stay solidly in power, he will need to clear the doubts surrounding the 1MDB stigma and promptly address its massive RM42 billion debt. If he fails to do that, the negative sentiment is poised to spread within the party.

Malay votes shrinking

In addition, the Rompin by-election results show that some of the Malay votes have been drained from Umno, rising goods prices stemming from GST being a predisposing factor.

Given the thrashed image of 1MDB now, it will become all the more difficult to dispose of 1MDB's assets, thus complicating further the problem of its enormous debt issue.

More problems will follow as a result of drastic fall in oil revenue the government's fiscal crunch. –  mysinchew.com,