ANTI-NAJIB FORCES GAIN GROUND: Support of 107 MPs in hand, 10 more sought for NO CONFIDENCE VOTE

UPDATED KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Najib Razak's announcement of delaying the Umno party elections by 18 months has set in motion a frenzy of activity by his rivals, who aim to topple him 'before the end of this year'.

The anti-Najib faction in Umno drew first blood when Johor youth leader Khairua Anwar Rahmat resigned from all posts, citing personal reasons.

"The entire country knows apart from the charges (of conspiring with former premier Mahathir Mohamad to embarrass Najib), Khairul also recently supported the Johor Crown Prince who had urged leaders to put the interests of the people first and not the ideology of the party," wrote former minister Zainuddin Maidin in a blog posting that warned of greater turmoil with more Johor leaders poised to resign their posts in sympathy with Khairul.

Kalimullah 'eye-opener'

Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat

Khairul's move also drew a response from former NST group editor-in-chief Kalimullah Khairul Hassan - a well-known supporter of another former prime minister, Abdullah Badawi.

"A brave decision. Wish there were more like him in BN," Kalimullah posted on Twitter.

Although Badawi's quiet style is in contrast with the feisty Mahathir's, he is still an influential power-broker in Umno with son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin the national Umno Youth Chief.

While Khairy has made sure to shout out his support for Najib, there are many in Umno who cite the phrase 'still waters run deep' when describing his loyalty to his boss.

Even Home Minister Zahid Hamidi may not stand behind Najib if the furore over the RM42 billion 1MDB financial scandal worsens, they add.

So far within Najib's Cabinet, his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin and Sabah minister Shafie Apdal have openly criticized 1MDB - Najib's brainchild sovereign fund accused of 'losing' RM28 billion of public money.

Will Ku Li rise to the ocassion or FLOP AGAIN - 107 MPs in hand, another 10 to go

Ku Li and Dr M

Meanwhile, within the Umno faction loyal to Kelantan prince Tengku Razaleigh, confidence is rising that he can finally become PM after a near three-decades wait.

Political insiders tel Malaysia Chronicle, the anti-Najib camp now holds the support of 107 Members of Parliament and are working hard to get another 10 - more than the 6 required, so as to ensure a 'rock solid' ouster.

"The pressure is now on Ku Li. He has been too soft and slow. There is already agreement from the anti-Najib factions in Umno and support from the Opposition for him to be caretaker PM once the no-confidence vote is successfully made," the political source said.

"But Ku Li need to do more - he is too low-profile and too cautious. Time is of essence because with the Umno polls postponed by 18 months, Najib will 'kill off' all his opponents by blocking them from contesting in any seat. His detractors must act fast when the upper hand is so near within reach. Or they will lose it all."

There are 222 seats in Malaysia's federal Parliament and only a simple majority is needed to oust Najib.

UMNO had just announced the postponement of its party election from late-2016 to mid-2018 on Friday.

Civil war in Umno to escalate - Sabah & Johor will be rocked

The Johor Crown Prince

According to DAP MP for Kluang Liew Ching Tong, the move means that:

'Firstly, Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak will cling on to the position of Prime Minister as long as he can.

'UMNO leaders will have to go along with the fact that Najib will be Prime Minister well into the next general election or Najib would only be removed in a very drastic and dramatic manner such as a no-confidence vote in Parliament with a significant number of UMNO MPs crossing the floor.'

'Secondly, after delaying the party polls, Najib will likely embark on a cabinet reshuffle as those who would be dropped would not be able to challenge him in the party election, and they would be dropped as candidates for the general election anyway. Their political careers will be ended before they could fight back in the now postponed party polls.'

'Ministers to be excluded from the next cabinet are likely to be Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Sabahan Shafie Apdal.'

Najib will look for quick kill

PM Najib

'Thirdly, elections could be much earlier than 2018. As long as Najib is sure of victory in the general elections he would by now prefer an earlier election to get rid of dissidents in UMNO and to get more loyalists to contest in the general election.'

'It is now clear to many that if Najib continues to lead UMNO into the next general election, UMNO is at risk of losing power altogether as the Najib brand is by now totally discredited in the various scandals. The longer Najib leads UMNO, the more likely it is that he would drag UMNO with him.'

'There is a huge political vacuum in Malaysian politics that Malaysians of all ethnic groups from all parts of the country are looking for new leadership.'

'Further, with UMNO clinging on to power, a split in UMNO is inevitable. The split will be felt keenly in Johor and Sabah with the potential sackings of Muhyiddin and Shafie from the Cabinet.'

'The DAP must present itself as the party of choice for all in the current state of flux and provide leadership for a nation desperate to move on.' - Malaysia Chronicle