Sept 26 — The opposition criticised Umno's decision to put off its party polls as "just more of the same old Umno politics," while the country's economic woes worsened.
Most opposition leaders also believed it was clear that Datuk Seri Najib Razak would soon take over as party president from Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi.
In fact, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang believes the end for Abdullah could come in a matter of weeks, if not days.
"A coup d'etat was staged at this morning's emergency Umno Supreme Council meeting, where Abdullah's mid-2010 power-transition plan was scuttled for good. 'The decision is mine, you can go on guessing', these are empty brave words as the writing is clearly on the wall," he declared.
PKR strategist Saifuddin Nasution welcomed Abdullah's expected impending departure.
"It's very good for us," he told The Malaysian Insider.
"Najib may be given a chance by the people as a new hope, but he has so many skeletons in his closet and it is only a matter of time – if Umno can do this to Abdullah, why not Najib?"
Lim said today's emergency Supreme Council meeting had cemented what he said was the irrelevance of Umno, where the interest of Umno warlords takes precedence over national challenges in the economy and governance.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders are claiming this is clear evidence of Umno's sense of self-importance that has been going on for decades and this latest showing is giving them more reason to believe that the tide will continue to swing their way.
"Whoever is the leader, it's still the same Umno," Pas secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar said to The Malaysian Insider. "Najib will be influenced by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed and we are going to have another round of weak leadership and policies.
"This is the messiest transition ever. It is ironic how they can blame Anwar for the confusion and economic uncertainty, when it is obvious that Umno can't decide the direction of their own party, let alone the country," he added.
As for PR's continuing attempts to topple the Barisan Nasional government, Kamaruddin says the "pursuit of change goes ahead regardless of who leads Umno."
- The Malaysian Insider
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