(From left) Umno vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin, Tun Dr Mahathir, Umno official Rauf Yusoh and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak at a Hari Raya open house hosted by Mr Yusoh. This picture, published in the Utusan Malaysia newspaper and on several websites, raised widespread rumours that those in the picture would work comfortably together once Mr Najib became Malaysia's next Prime Minister. -- MINAQ-JINGGO.FOTOPAGES.COM
SOME Umno leaders are agitating for an earlier exit date for Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, just a week after top leaders agreed that he should retire by the end of March.
The views from the restive ground were reflected by comments from party vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin.
He told reporters on Thursday that the four-month campaign period for the party election was too long and that many members felt likewise, in a none-too-subtle hint for Datuk Seri Abdullah to step down earlier.
'I am saying this because there are many who share the same concern because there can be the issue of money politics and will drain resources like energy and funds.
'The campaign period is the longest in years and has never happened before. All this because we want to accommodate the so-called power transition plan,' he said.
Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is contesting a vice-president's post, yesterday agreed with Tan Sri Muhyiddin.
He said Umno should hold its election by December as originally scheduled but Mr Abdullah could remain as Prime Minister until March.
The Umno internal polls were postponed from December to March, to allow a graceful exit for Mr Abdullah.
But other issues have since come into play to rattle the week-old plan, some party officials say. They want Umno to regroup earlier under the newly anointed leader, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, amid sustained attacks on his integrity, they say.
But supporters of Mr Abdullah are angry, seeing the renewed push as a move backed by former premier Mahathir Mohamad. They claimed that Tun Dr Mahathir, a bitter critic of Mr Abdullah, wanted to oust the Premier earlier so that he could become the de facto prime minister behind Mr Najib.
Dr Mahathir has rejected the claim. 'That is nonsense. He is his own man, not my man.'
A Kedah Umno leader told The Straits Times: 'In all fairness, what can Mr Abdullah do in the next five months? We want to give him a respectful early exit, but his boys have not accepted this fact.'
Under a revised transition plan announced last week, PM Abdullah will not contest the Umno internal elections and will step down by March. He had wanted to retire by June 2010, but was forced to take the March date after realising he has poor support in Umno.
Deputy PM Najib is the popular successor in Umno, having picked up all 29 nominations so far to become the new Umno president in the ongoing annual meetings of the party's divisions.
The other contender, former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh, has so far failed to get a single nomination.
A minimum of 30 per cent of the party's 191 divisions must nominate a leader who wished to contest the president's post. This works out to 58 nominations.
Mr Muhyiddin has been a popular choice to become the new Umno deputy president and deputy prime minister, based on the large number of nominations he has received.
He is also being rewarded by the ground after sticking out his neck last month by saying the June 2010 exit plan was not feasible, party officials say.
But the going has been rough for Mr Najib since he was anointed.
He has come under attack in connection with the case of a murdered Mongolian woman in which one of the prime accused is a friend and former adviser.
An exchange of text messages between Mr Najib and a former lawyer of Razak Baginda was recently posted on a popular website, which led to claims of abuse of power by the deputy prime minister in the case. Mr Najib did not deny the exchange of messages but said there was no abuse of power.
Mid-week, he faced allegations that he had improperly awarded a RM2.3 billion (S$965 million ) contract to buy new helicopters for the Defence Ministry. He maintained that everything was above board.
'What is clear is that the allegations will cast a pall over the future of Mr Najib for a long time,' said a blogger and former MP, Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad. He said many people believed the allegations were being implanted by 'insiders'.
Responding to what appeared to be a sustained attempt to undermine his position, Mr Najib hastily summoned Umno MPs for a breakfast meeting on Thursday during which he stoutly defended himself over the SMS issue and helicopter deal.
The meeting was also a call to arms for the MPs to fight off opposition attacks in Parliament, according to the New Straits Times.
Reme Ahmad
The Straits Times
Singapore
18/10/08
1 comment:
There is a difference between UMNO and Barisan Nasional. I want to make it clear that it is not the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, but the UMNO government. It is not the government, but UMNO. Barisan Nasional is a coalition of unequals, not equals. UMNO is the big brother in BN. Therefore UMNO must be held responsible; and more importantly, UMNO must not be allowed to hide behind the BN banner. UMNO is the enemy, not BN. UMNO is a racist party which has perfected the art of divide and rule. If moderate Malays, the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Chinese and Indians unite, then they can vote UMNO out of office.
For decades UMNO has strengthened her position by destroying the independence of the judiciary. So much so that high officials and the Police can almost act with impunity.
I have come to the conclusion that the easy solution is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections. We have to vote racist UMNO out of office. UMNO is bent on divide and rule, which has affected Malaysia badly. It is for the next generation of Malaysians to undo the damage done to Malaysia by UMNO. There is a dire need for moderate Malays at the political level. There is also a need for the natives of Sabah and Sarawak to form a third force to protect their own interests. Imagine how UMNO had dealt with Sabah; from a rich state, Sabah has been reduced to a poor state subservient to UMNO. There has to be an explanation. The only way is UMNO has to be voted out of office. The younger generation of Malaysians do not like racist politics and UMNO must be taught a lesson by the younger generation by voting UMNO out of office. Please vote for any party but UMNO/BN.
To my Sabah and Sarawak brothers and sisters I tell you that historically UMNO has always avoided a Royal Commission of Inquiry as much as possible many times. Historically, UMNO has misused the Internal Security Act numerous times. Any political party that is an accomplice to UMNO is also the enemy. Any political party that is a co-conspirator to UMNO is also the enemy. To my Sabah and Sarawak brothers and sisters I say that you should form a third force. A third force would require unity among Sabahans and Sarawakians.
We have to get into the habit of putting people in office through votes, and removing people from office through votes. Nobody should be allowed to topple the government. We have to institutionalize the multi-party political system, one person one vote, and an independent judiciary.
In the 2004 elections (11th General Election), the voters gave good support to Mr.Abdullah Badawi. But reforms did not come. Why? Probably because UMNO had done well in the elections. If UMNO had done well in the elections, then the election results tell UMNO that the voters are satisfied with the status quo. If the voters are satisfied with UMNO, then no reforms are necessary. In the 2008 elections (12th General Elections), UMNO did not do well, but she managed to win. UMNO did lose the 2/3 majority in the Parliament, but she did win, nevertheless. Will UMNO undertake reforms now? I would not be surprised if she did not. Why should she? UMNO is still the winner in the elections; and she can plan to rise and may even succeed to rise again. So, as long as she wins, she will never undertake the reforms. So, how do the voters get the reforms that they need? The voters will get the reforms when UMNO is completely defeated in the 13th General Elections. If UMNO wins zero seats in the next elections (13th General Elections), then some other party would have to rule Malaysia. Let us call it Party B. If UMNO is completely defeated in the next elections (13th General Elections), then Party B would rule Malaysia. Would Party B undertake reforms? If Party B does not undertake reforms, then voters would know what to do.
There is no doubt that UMNO has used gerrymandering to strengthen herself. If we removed gerrymandering from UMNO, then there would be a reduced UMNO. So the non-UMNO voters of Malaysia have good reasons to vote against UMNO.
It is possible that UMNO has used the Police Force to strengthen herself. The Police Force is required to be neutral. But is the Police Force neutral? I appeal to the Police Force to be neutral.
UMNO is a race based political party and also the big brother of BN. So, the complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get reforms. The complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get a new beginning.
UMNO is inclined to believe that Malaysians cannot do anything if they are in any way dissatisfied. The voters, however, have to send a strong message to UMNO that the voters can do something: the voters can vote.
So, the next step for Malaysians is to completely defeat UMNO/BN in the next elections.
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