Writer: Zhou Xiu Hui
Guang Ming Daily, Dec 19, 2014

Will Najib follow Abdullah to become a short-lived prime minister? Abdullah, taking advantage of his new premiership, led Barisan in winning 90 percent of the parliamentary seats. However, in the 2008 general election four years later, he lost the two-third majority in parliament and was forced to step down. He was in power for less than five years and was seen as a prime minister with the shortest tenure in Malaysia’s history.

The key person in toppling Abdullah was former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir. With Dr Mahathir’s blessing, Abdullah was appointed as the PM and it was also under his pressure that Abdullah stepped down. Similarly, without Dr Mahathir giving the nod, Najib would not have been able to be the prime minister.

And now Najib is in the same situation as Abdullah. Not only he has lost the support of Dr Mahathir, he is under pressure from the hawkish faction of the party despite the fact that he has bowed to their demand at the Umno general meeting in keeping the much-maligned Sedition Act, breaking the promise he made two years ago.

Compared with Dr Mahathir’s hardline leadership, both Abdullah and Najib are obviously more open-minded. However, because of this, the conservatives in the party have become edgy and worried, especially after the 2013 general election when Umno lost more of the Malay and Chinese votes.

Dr Mahathir openly said he had withdrawn his support for Najib, even complained that Najib’s performance was not even as good as Abdullah’s. He criticized 1MDB and his unhappiness with Najib has reached the limit.

Although Dr Mahathir has not called for Najib’s resignation, Umno Batu Kawan deputy divisional chief Khairuddin who has been regarded as Dr Mahathir’s confidante, made a police report against 1MDB.

The move has apparently emboldened some grass-root leaders so much so that even a publicity chief of a small Umno branch is bold enough to ask Najib to step down before the next general election for the revival of Umno. Khairuddin and the publicity chief’s actions are very rare in Umno where the leaders command absolute support. However, because they are rare, they also reflect the party’s grass-roots are out of control.

However, Najib is not Abdullah and it is not that easy to topple him, especially he has offered his kind gesture to the restless Malay community by keeping the Sedition Act. With the power struggle within the party, not many in Umno’s supreme council may like to see Umno deputy president Muhyiddin taking over even if Najib stepped down.

To the Chinese community, Najib’s stepping down may not be a good thing because it would mean a victory for the hawks. Umno may veer even more towards the right to consolidate Malay support. As PAS is drifting away from Pakatan, it is not impossible that Umno and PAS may join hands.

PAS plans to table a private bill in parliament on January 29 for the implementation of Hudud in Kelantan. It will be an acid test. The pressure on Najib involves not only his personal future but also the future direction of the nation as Umno is the backbone of the Barisan coalition. It is too simplistic to think that just because Umno is in chaos, there is hope of changing the government.

Original Source: 巫統亂變天無望