WILL NAJIB STILL BE IN POWER NEXT YEAR? MORE SCANDAL-TAINTED & UNPOPULAR THAN LAST YEAR, CAN NAJIB SURVIVE TILL HIS 10TH ANNIVERSARY?

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak celebrates his ninth anniversary in office today after taking over the reins from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009.

On his previous anniversary, Najib had dissolved Parliament to pave the way for the 13th general election.

The nation is now on the brink of another election, which has been described as the mother of all polls as it pits Najib against his former mentor Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir, who now leads the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, is hell-bent that the prime minister must not be allowed to celebrate his 10th anniversary next year.

The former prime minister is also seeking to dislodge BN-Umno, which he had led for more than two decades, from the throne, where it has sat for six decades.

Najib had become prime minister in the wake of a scandal in the form of a Mongolian national who was brutally murdered in a secondary jungle near Puncak Alam in Shah Alam, Selangor

Although he denied knowing Altantuya Shaariibuu and despite the police clearing him of the case, there are still unanswered questions – chief of which is that the courts did not establish a motive when sentencing two former police special forces personnel to death for the murder of Altantuya.

In 2009, Najib, who then was Perak Umno liaison chief as well, had also engineered the takeover of the state government from Pakatan Rakyat through defections.

After being sworn in, the son of the nation’s second prime minister, Abdul Razak Hussein positioned himself as a liberal, pragmatic and inclusive leader.

A day later, Mahathir and his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Ali rejoined Umno after exiting the party in protest of Abdullah and urged others who left to return home as well.

Mahathir and ISA

Najib’s clarion call of 1Malaysia did not sit well with the right-wing faction within Umno and the likes of Mahathir accused him of pandering to the non-Malays.

Mahathir had once remarked that hardline groups like Perkasa were becoming popular because the Malays felt that Umno could no longer protect their rights.

Mahathir also became also livid when Najib repealed the Internal Security Act (ISA), which earned the prime minister praise from human rights groups worldwide.

Perhaps Najib regrets doing so now, as the draconian legislation has been an effective tool to silence dissent and critics.

During the controversy surrounding the use of the term ‘Allah’ in Malay language copies of the Bible, Mahathir had suggested that the ISA be resurrected to deal with extremist minorities who threatened the nation.

Hence, when Najib failed to rope in the Chinese votes in the 2013 general election, observers noted that the right-wing faction in Umno and like-minded groups bayed for his blood. He had to yield to survive.

The 1Malaysia slogan was laid to rest.

The prime minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, and her reputed penchant for branded handbags, also played a key role in ensuring that her husband remained in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

Then, in 2015, a newspaper headquartered in New York City and an editor based in London dropped a bombshell on Malaysian soil – the 1MDB scandal.

Three years later, Najib and his supporters are still firefighting this explosion, the shockwaves of which have reached several other nations.

According to the crystal ball, Najib is expected to survive the coming general election.

But then again…

– M’kini