All is not well in Umno. In a bid to purge the party of those loyal to outgoing president Abdullah Badawi and to forestall any attempt to block him from ascending the premiership of the country, incoming president Najib Razak is playing hard ball but the putsch well may drive the final nail into beleaguered party’s coffin.
Deputy president aspirants Mohd Ali Rustam and Muhammad Muhamad Taib, Umno Youth chief aspirants Khairy Jamaluddin and Mohd Khir Toyo, supreme council members Azalina Othman and Norza Zakaria are said to be on a blacklist due to be unveiled by the party’s disciplinary board later this afternoon.
The group - all of whom are known Abdullah loyalists - have reportedly received show-cause letters in relation to allegations of money politics.
If found guilty, they face being barred from holding office for up to three years, which means that they will automatically be disqualified from the party election due to begin on Mar 25.
The direct consequence would be that Najib’s men would win without contesting. Deputy president aspirant Muhyiddin Yassin would straightway become the party No. 2, while Mukhriz Mahathir - the son of his mentor and ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad - would become Youth chief.
Speculation of a purge has been rife since a University of Malaya poll found that Abdullah’s men were back on top in the party, outrunning their counterparts in the Najib camp, who had started on a high following party nominations in October last year.
Najib himself swept the party presidency uncontested, but he has been steadily losing popularity ever since mainly because of the perception that he is a puppet of Mahathir and former economic adviser Daim Zainuddin.
“This has been building up for a few weeks now. We are looking at the probability of a major earthquake in Umno. But the final countdown is inevitable because Najib and those behind him want total control,” said opposition lawmaker and KeADILan information chief Tian Chua.
Abdullah will be forced into action
The well-liked Ali Rustam, favoured to beat Muhyiddin hands down, was cautious when pressed for comments by the media.
“You have to ask the disciplinary board,” said Ali, the Malacca chief minister. “Wait for the disciplinary committee to issue a statement, we can’t say anything.”
“Name the guilty person, if there is one - soon,” said Muhammad Taib, who is also Umno information chief.
The Umno disciplinary board, which has received about 1,000 complaints on money politics, is due to hold a special press conference at 4 pm today.
Political watchers say a pattern has begun to emerge clearly showing the strong-arm tactics deployed by Najib and his advisers. Because of his scandal-plagued past and alleged involvement in the high-profile commission and murder case of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu, there has been a growing movement within Umno itself to curb his powers.
There have also been calls from the Pakatan Rakyat to Abdullah to form a unity government, with Abdullah staying on as prime minister to keep an eye on his deputy. An internal rebellion hatched by Najib, Muhyiddin and Mahathir last year had forced Abdullah to agree to early retirement later this month.
Can Malaysians accept Najib after this?
However, few had confidence that the 68-year old Abdullah could summon the fighting spirit needed to contain his ambitious No. 2. Of course, now that the blitzkrieg against his men has begun, he may have no option but to show all his cards.
Given the series of increasingly oppressive and heavy-handed moves, Najib can be expected to continue in the same manner. Hardline measures including emergency rule is a possibility.
He began tightening his grip with last month’s power grab in Perak, ignoring public censure for the circus that ensued as he forced the judiciary and the police to carry out his political will - regardless that the action they took was itself against the law - right up to yesterday’s suspension of Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo for daring to question him in Parliament about Altantuya,
However, one wonders if Najib has given any thought on how he could ever regain the trust of Malaysians, and the Malays in particular, or how he could possibly reunite the nation, or why the nation would even want him to be their leader after employing such awful means to cling to power.
Against this negativity, Abdullah’s chances are actually brighter than they may appear. For despite his dismal record of administrative inefficacy, most Malaysians - not just Umno members - will willingly say that he has got a ‘good heart’.
And if cynics say, good heartedness won’t win wars, then it is time they woke up to the fact that this is the 21st century - the era of civil society and civil behaviour. Similarly, Mahathir, Daim and Najib would do well to snap out of their own particular time warp, although it may be too late to ever recover the affection of the nation.
Universal values, such as truth, honour and justice, will carry the day - so long as Malaysians do not fear to insist on it.
Deputy president aspirants Mohd Ali Rustam and Muhammad Muhamad Taib, Umno Youth chief aspirants Khairy Jamaluddin and Mohd Khir Toyo, supreme council members Azalina Othman and Norza Zakaria are said to be on a blacklist due to be unveiled by the party’s disciplinary board later this afternoon.
The group - all of whom are known Abdullah loyalists - have reportedly received show-cause letters in relation to allegations of money politics.
If found guilty, they face being barred from holding office for up to three years, which means that they will automatically be disqualified from the party election due to begin on Mar 25.
The direct consequence would be that Najib’s men would win without contesting. Deputy president aspirant Muhyiddin Yassin would straightway become the party No. 2, while Mukhriz Mahathir - the son of his mentor and ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad - would become Youth chief.
Speculation of a purge has been rife since a University of Malaya poll found that Abdullah’s men were back on top in the party, outrunning their counterparts in the Najib camp, who had started on a high following party nominations in October last year.
Najib himself swept the party presidency uncontested, but he has been steadily losing popularity ever since mainly because of the perception that he is a puppet of Mahathir and former economic adviser Daim Zainuddin.
“This has been building up for a few weeks now. We are looking at the probability of a major earthquake in Umno. But the final countdown is inevitable because Najib and those behind him want total control,” said opposition lawmaker and KeADILan information chief Tian Chua.
Abdullah will be forced into action
The well-liked Ali Rustam, favoured to beat Muhyiddin hands down, was cautious when pressed for comments by the media.
“You have to ask the disciplinary board,” said Ali, the Malacca chief minister. “Wait for the disciplinary committee to issue a statement, we can’t say anything.”
“Name the guilty person, if there is one - soon,” said Muhammad Taib, who is also Umno information chief.
The Umno disciplinary board, which has received about 1,000 complaints on money politics, is due to hold a special press conference at 4 pm today.
Political watchers say a pattern has begun to emerge clearly showing the strong-arm tactics deployed by Najib and his advisers. Because of his scandal-plagued past and alleged involvement in the high-profile commission and murder case of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu, there has been a growing movement within Umno itself to curb his powers.
There have also been calls from the Pakatan Rakyat to Abdullah to form a unity government, with Abdullah staying on as prime minister to keep an eye on his deputy. An internal rebellion hatched by Najib, Muhyiddin and Mahathir last year had forced Abdullah to agree to early retirement later this month.
Can Malaysians accept Najib after this?
However, few had confidence that the 68-year old Abdullah could summon the fighting spirit needed to contain his ambitious No. 2. Of course, now that the blitzkrieg against his men has begun, he may have no option but to show all his cards.
Given the series of increasingly oppressive and heavy-handed moves, Najib can be expected to continue in the same manner. Hardline measures including emergency rule is a possibility.
He began tightening his grip with last month’s power grab in Perak, ignoring public censure for the circus that ensued as he forced the judiciary and the police to carry out his political will - regardless that the action they took was itself against the law - right up to yesterday’s suspension of Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo for daring to question him in Parliament about Altantuya,
However, one wonders if Najib has given any thought on how he could ever regain the trust of Malaysians, and the Malays in particular, or how he could possibly reunite the nation, or why the nation would even want him to be their leader after employing such awful means to cling to power.
Against this negativity, Abdullah’s chances are actually brighter than they may appear. For despite his dismal record of administrative inefficacy, most Malaysians - not just Umno members - will willingly say that he has got a ‘good heart’.
And if cynics say, good heartedness won’t win wars, then it is time they woke up to the fact that this is the 21st century - the era of civil society and civil behaviour. Similarly, Mahathir, Daim and Najib would do well to snap out of their own particular time warp, although it may be too late to ever recover the affection of the nation.
Universal values, such as truth, honour and justice, will carry the day - so long as Malaysians do not fear to insist on it.
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