Analyst: Najib's popularity lower than Mahathir's, but...

Both Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his arch-critic Dr Mahathir Mohamad have had to face a Save Malaysia campaign challenging their leadership.

The campaign against Mahathir in 1990 proved to be unsuccessful, and whether this new Save Malaysia campaign against Najib can work is still questionable.

"Najib's popularity is much lower than Mahathir in 1990. But Najib has a stronger hold on the party.

"Unless this Mahathir-led alliance can overcome public scepticism to quickly gain a groundswell, Umno warlords won't be pressured to abandon Najib, either individually or collectively," Penang Institute fellow Wong Chin Huat told Malaysiakini.

He said this when asked whether the second Save Malaysia campaign had a better chance of success than the original one.

The first Save Malaysia campaign was an election manifesto penned by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in a bid to oust Mahathir from power.

Razaleigh was then the chief of Semangat 46, a splinter party formed after Umno was deregistered in 1987.

Both documents share many similarities, but Wong says there is one significant difference.

"The biggest difference is that there is no concrete action plan in the (second campaign) on what the signatories will do and what members of public can do," he said.

Wong emphasised that the pact must move quickly and lay out an action plan to convince the people that they are truly committed to institutional reforms.

"If they (the signatories) think that vague promises in the declaration can win the confidence of the public, they would be fooling themselves.

"In that case, a declaration will remain just as a piece of paper," Wong added.

The second Save Malaysia campaign was signed by Mahathir, and leaders from the opposition and civil societies last Friday.

The campaign includes a citizens' declaration, vowing to oust Najib through legal means, and to follow that up with institutional reforms. -Mkini