We were told that the recent UMNO Supreme Council meeting was hot. The PM was told that he should step down. I don’t think there has been anything like it. No sitting PM has ever been told to go. Perhaps the last was during Tunku’s reign. But the Tunku’s reign ended after the 13th May incident in 1969. Before that, he had been a successful PM. For Pak Lah, it was just not working from the word “go”.
Whilst in China, their Gang of Four was summarily dismissed, UMNO’s Gang of Four that demanded Pak Lah’s resignation are seen as “saviours”. They included Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Wanita chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and supreme council member Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal. Honestly, the last name who hails from Sabah was a surprise. He is soft spoken and I never thought of him of being able to be brutally honest. But I suppose in times such as this, someone needs to be upfront and tell it as it is. Furthermore, perhaps Sabahans MPs entrusted him to voice their concerns and demands.
Now what will Pak Lah do? Rumors say that it is his son Kamaluddin and son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin has a “say” in what Pak Lah does. Will his son and son-in-law talk him out of it? I honestly do not know if the “sons” is aware that a large number of Malaysians are just tired of the family and want them out. If this was Thailand or the Philippines, you’d see mass demonstrations and wave of cabinet Ministers quitting the party. Pak Lah needs to go and he needs to go quickly.
The SIL also would do us all a favor by resigning from all UMNO posts. A large number of people are just put off by him. In fact, if he goes or even forced out, you may see UMNO actually gain mileage that they had lost when the PM was seemingly ruling Malaysia through a unholy trinity.
By leaving, Pak Lah and UMNO may also neutralize the threat looming over the BN government. The last thing that opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim wants is a resurgent UMNO with fresh ideas and leaders. But to foil Anwar and his merry men and women, UMNO cannot do the work alone. Its partners in BN, especially MCA, MIC and Gerakan need to step up. MIC the most. Knowadays, the party seem to non existent. Samy Vellu’s relevancy has reached expiration date and he should’ve stepped down as soon after the Sg Siput results were known on March 8.
As Tun Mahathir has said it over again, BN’s “lost” was not because the opposition was strong but there has been a “wave of protest” against the PM and his family. Coupled that with the inability of Pak Lah to govern. Simply, one cannot look upon to Pak Lah for leadership. Especially leading a country.
The next question would be, does this mean that Najib will be installed as Malaysia’s 6th PM anytime soon? Thus achieving the much fabled notion that when you take all of the six PM’s of Malaysia names, they would spell…RAHMAN (Rahman (Tunku Abdul), Abdul (Razak), Hussein Onn, Mahathir, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Tun Razak). On the flip side, is Najib Tun Razak the last PM from UMNO?
The next few days will be interesting. While UMNO is looking towards getting its house in order, the opposition is also planning its next move towards forming the new government in Malaysia. Will it happen? Anwar knows that his credibility is on the line. He must deliver but if he fails, vintage Anwar will know what to do. He will just blame it on the government. The fact remains, he has not informed us all the list of MPs that allegedly agreed to “jump”. By not releasing the list the upperhand is with him. There may be a list, there may be not but a good number of people thinks he has and that itself is positive for Anwar. Sometimes, you do not have to have something but if you manage to get people to believe that you have, then half of your battle is won.
Even if the opposition do form the next government, if their performance in Perak and Selangor is any indication, it will be a chaotic regime. Their reign in Penang, Kedah and Kelantan has been “good” so far. This is because in Penang, the strongest party is the DAP while in Kedah and Kelantan, PAS is strong especially so in Kelantan. However, in Perak and Selangor, each of the opposition party are strong and that makes it difficult for any one party to call the shots. Translate that into the Federal Government and you will find 3 parties with varying ideologies trying to find a common ground to rule over 20 million plus Malaysians. In fact unlike BN, PR or Pakatan Rakyat is not even a registered body. Malaysians seem to forget that we have seen an inter-racial political party as early as 1955. So what PR wants to do has been done and for the last 51 years, minus some hiccups, have been quite successful.
If the BN wish to continue its services, then certain difficult (but popular) decisions may have to be made. First, Pak Lah needs to go. Secondly, Khairy Jamaluddin needs to be defeated in the UMNO Youth Chief election. Lastly, it needs to focus on the economy and reach out and listen to the calls of the common people.
