BRACE FOR EXPLOSIONS AT UMNO ASSEMBLY: DR M CAN WALK OUT, NAJIB MAY EVEN QUIT

There are too many allegations and scandals involving Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak that I think it is hard for him to remain in power.

Although most people that I know have preferred him to remain as prime minister after his mentor turned nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohamad failed to remove him.

They see Najib as a bane to Barisan Nasional and Umno’s support from the middle ground in the next general election. With him around, there is a chance that even Umno members will decide to punish Umno in the coming general election by voting for Pakatan Harapan.

Compared to Malaysia’s fifth prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib feels his position is unshakeable and he is secure in his office, with the support he now gets from Umno’s divisional leaders.

The game plan however has changed in recent weeks, as it is the grassroots who are demanding his removal. Without the support of Umno grassroots, the divisional leaders will be at the losing end. Their own positions may be gone as well if they choose to ignore the voices of the ranks and files within the party.

It began with just a few bolder Umno men and women, including former Batu Kawan Umno division chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan, Langkawi Umno Wanita leader Anina Saadudin, and former Gopeng Umno Wanita chief Hamidah Osman. Along with Hamidah, another five Umno members had also thrown in their resignations.

Former Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) chief executive officer and a former Umno leader himself, Saifuddin Abdullah (photo) was another Umno leader who decided to leave the party to join Pakatan Harapan, where he gets to work with other like-minded people.

Some claim that Saifuddin’s departure from Umno was a slap in the face of Najib who, instead of picking another moderate Umno leader, agreed to the nomination of former PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa as the new CEO.

Dissatisfaction spreads

Then the dissatisfaction spread to 13 Umno branch chiefs from Telok Kemang in Negri Sembilan. They became part of a total of 34 branches from Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Johor, Perak and Sabah who are piling pressure on Najib to step down.

Another 200 rebel Umno branch leaders led by Kampung Railway Umno branch member Mohamad Said Midon urged Najib to face a party election at the general assembly next year, in order to “cleanse the party” and restore the rakyat’s confidence.

Sources say that there could be more, and even up to a thousand branches across the nation, which are already feeling disgruntled with the top two Umno leaders. They are unhappy with the unceremonious removal of Muhyiddin Yasin as deputy prime minister and how Najib had handled the country’s economy.

The Straits Times (Singapore) reported that surveys conducted recently showed that four out of five Malaysians are unhappy with Najib’s administration, which is largely blamed for the mishandling of the 1MDB scandal and the lack of direction in boosting consumer confidence.

Since the Confederation of Malay Rulers have issued a decree for the 1MDB scandal to be investigated expeditiously, this will surely be brought up as a topic for discussion. With the royal decree backing the people who are against Najib, it would be hard for the other faction to debate the issue; or else, they would be labelled as treasonous by fellow party members.

Najib’s political fate may also be decided during the coming Umno general assembly. Najib may not survive beyond his sixth year as Malaysia’s sixth prime minister. According to Astro Awani, Umno veteran and former menteri besar of Malacca Rahim Tamby Chik, Najib “would have to face challenges from various quarters including former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad”.

My prediction is that Dr Mahathir will once again whip up support from his long-term supporters by throwing in the towel as he had done previously. Or, he may walk out the moment Najib takes to the pedestal, and all camera lenses will fix on Dr Mahathir than Najib. After some strong emotions have been whipped up, the leaders will try to pacify the rebels and urge party members to unite to face the next general election.

This may appear as a good way to end the story but Dr Mahathir would have sent a strong message by then to Najib to step down. Dr Mahathir needs the media limelight to carry his message to the rural folk, which explains why there may be restrictions imposed on media coverage.

If Najib chooses to remain as prime minister and Umno president, it is likely that Dr Mahathir’s faction may use other means to force a party election next year. There will be more trouble for Umno.

Therefore, Najib is running out of choices that he can make. The clock is ticking on him. He can stay on and play the fiddle while Umno is on fire, adapting from Hamidah’s quote of the day: “Don’t burn the country; if we get burned, he (Najib) will also burn with us.”

Or Najib can step down and be forever archived as a statesman. Najib, in my opinion, will be forced out of Putrajaya if he continues to hang on power. After all, no one is indispensable. Even Nero did not remain as emperor after part of Rome was burnt to the ground. - M'kini