KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — Despite roiling speculation and the agitation of Pakatan Rakyat, the plans to swear in Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Malaysia’s sixth prime minister on April 3 remain unchanged.
Yesterday, tongues were wagging and the rumour mill went into overdrive after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did not bid farewell to the Cabinet.
He also did not announce the handover date during the weekly meeting.
A report by a news website had raised expectations that the transition date would be made public yesterday.
When Abdullah did not thank the ministers for their support and announce formally that he would be stepping down in favour of Najib, it set off a firestorm of speculation.
In recent days, remarks by a number of personalities had ignited speculation that Abdullah may not hand over power as planned.
This week, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who was sacked by Umno and is gaining traction among opposition supporters as a reformist, had made an impassioned plea for the King to consider not swearing in Najib as the new PM.
There has been talk among some opposition leaders about the possibility of forming a unity government.
PR leaders have also stepped up their attacks against Najib by constantly linking him with the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder.
Several ministers, who spoke to reporters after chairing post-Cabinet meetings yesterday, also added fuel to the fire.
Within a short while, the rumour had gained an air of authority but informed sources told The Malaysian Insider that plans for Abdullah to hand over power to Najib on April 3 remain unchanged.
The PM was never scheduled to bid farewell to the Cabinet yesterday — the last meeting before the Umno general assembly.
He is set to chair his final Cabinet meeting on April 1.
By then, his officials would have completed their tour of duty and cleared out their offices.
No comments:
Post a Comment