Is Mahathir Mohamad merely pointing out a possible outcome with no card underneath his sleeves, or is he dropping a hint to Abdullah Badawi indicating that the latter still holds the Ace?
Echoing Mahathir Mohamad, is the evergreen Ku Li.
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi does not need to step down as the Prime Minister after Datuk Seri
Najib Razak takes over as party president in March.
“That is his prerogative, he has received the mandate for five years,” said Razaleigh in response to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s contention that Abdullah was still interested to remain in power after the party polls.
“He commands the confidence of the majority of the MPs. And the Prime Minister is appointed by the King and not by the Umno General Assembly”- The Malaysian Insider.
Tengku Razeleigh went as far as even stating that he would support Abdullah Badawi, should the latter choose to remain in power.
The statement made my Mahathir Mohamad, and the immediate response by Tengku Razaleigh seems pre-meditated. After withdrawing his support for Najib Razak, it was quite obvious that Mahathir Mohamad had endorsed Tengku Razaleigh’s bid to challenge for UMNO’s top post. Many political observers back then speculated that they had gotten over their past bitter rivalry. Well, they may have been right.
Have Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh drawn themselves into playing their own version of the 'Mind Game' to set up the spark that would eventually see the destruction of UMNO, before they pick up the bits and pieces to re-launch it again?
Although an unpopular figure in the eye of most Malaysians to lead the nation, Najib Razak has what it takes to consolidate UMNO. Mahathir Mohamad had lost his trust in Najib Razak when Najib chose to stand by Abdullah Badawi, even when Mahathir had openly supported him. He saw Najib as an ally, but Najib stuck with Abdullah Badawi instead. Looking at this, the prospect of Najib coming into power does not appeal to Mahathir Mohamad anymore as it does not necessarily guarantee his well-being amongst those in power. Besides, Mahathir’s ego is too high to allow a personality that turned his back on him to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
It is a known fact that Mahathir Mohamad, is a shrewd politician. The Anwar Ibrahim saga was testimony to the character of this man. Today, those in UMNO who once worshipped him, have turned into his very own assailants. Is Mahathir prepared to allow these UMNO figures sit at the helm and continue to rule, while he continues to be at the sidelines? The answer is no. However, it is likely that this is how the scenario would turn out to be should Najib Razak become Prime Minister. I do not agree with the notion that Najib’s return would mean the return of Mahathir. However, it would surely mean the return of Mahathirism. We are set to see the same autocratic style of politics. And for once, ironically, this would be horrific even for Mahathir Mohamad.
Tengku Razaleigh, on the other, got a thrashing in his bid to require the minimum nominations needed to challenge Najib Razak. Any hope he had of moving up the ranks in UMNO is as good as gone. Yes, Tengku Razaleigh has been buried although he had far less controversies hanging over his head compared to Najib Razak. He had been buried on the day the official nomination counting ended in the same land that he donated to UMNO to house their Head Quarters.
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