Posted on by Kit

Abdullah fights for his political life – will Najib “sink or swim” with him?

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has decided to fight for his political life.

The question is who will be the protagonists in the looming “battle royal” in UMNO – and what are the stakes involved.

Will the protagonists in the Umno Presidential battle be Abdullah vs Najib, or will Najib “sink or swim” with Abdullah in a Abdullah-Najib battle against the rest?

What are the stakes involved? This question would be obtuse or even stupid in the past five decades when whoever is Umno President is automatically the Prime Minister.

But this is no more the case after the two political tsunamis in the past six months – the first in the general election of March 8 and second in the Permatang Pauh by-election on August 26.

As a result, the battle to be the Umno President at the end of the year is no more automatically about who is to be the next Prime Minister but probably the next Parliamentary Opposition Leader.

Although Umno Information Chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib Monday yesterday slammed as “opportunists” those who leaked information on matters discussed in the party’s supreme council meeting (which includes Muhammad himself), the facts remain uncontradicted that at last Thursday’s Umno Supreme Council meeting, Abdullah was pressured to have a quicker exit plan and not wait until mid-2010 according to his earlier power transition plan with Najib.

Rafidah (who joined Muhyiddin Yassin, Hishammuddin Hussein and Shafie Apdal to pressure Abdullah to fast-forward the transition plan to hand power to Najib) even warned that Abdullah might not even be able to secure the minimum 58 nominations (i.e. 30 per cent) required to defend his Umno presidency.

Abdullah was openly pressured to make known his intentions by October 9 when Umno divisions begin nominating candidates for the Umno polls in December.

Two events yesterday marked the Abdullah decision to go for broke in the Umno party polls after a three-day panic of the Abdullah camp over the “palace revolt” at Thursday’s Umno Supreme Council meeting.

The first was the public pledge of support for the beleaguered Abdullah by Penang Umno, calling on all the 193 divisions not to rock the boat and honour the 2010 power transition plan.

This is most ironic as it was the Penang Umno which had done the most damage to the credibility, authority and legitimacy of Abdullah as Umno President and Prime Minister with its open defiance and contempt of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in giving full backing to Datuk Ahmad Ismail in the “Chinese are penumpang” furore – which has now been aggravated by the presence of Ahmad Ismail at the Penang Umno meeting and press conference as “UMNO Bukit Bendera adviser” although suspended for three years as Umno member.

Abdullah’s statement in Kota Baharu yesterday that Umno grassroots members want the strengthening of the spirit of consensus in the party in line with the leadership transition plan in 2010 was the second indication of his decision to go for broke in the Umno party polls.

Hence, the Singapore Business Times report “Abdullah may seek re-election as Umno chief”, viz:

MUCH to the surprise of political pundits here, Malaysia’s embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is likely to seek re-election as president of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) – the position that carries the prime ministership.

Party officials say Mr Abdullah, 67, made the decision at the weekend after huddling with party allies and family members including his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, the deputy chief of Umno’s youth wing.

‘OK, we won’t get that many nominations,’ an Abdullah ally told BT. ‘But I think we should be able to get 70 to 80 with some work.’ A challenger for the presidency needs at least 58 nominations from the party’s 191 divisions nationwide.

But not all Umno officials think that Mr Abdullah can pull off re-election. At a meeting of Umno state liaison chiefs last Thursday, at least two of his loyalists – Johor Chief Minister Ghani Othman and his Pahang counterpart Adnan Yaakub – told him they can no longer control their divisions, which are likely not to nominate him.

And at an Umno Supreme Council meeting later, at least four senior members suggested in strong language that Mr Abdullah not seek re-election lest he be humiliated by a lack of nominations.

The meeting ended abruptly after Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said he would settle the leadership transition in talks with Mr Abdullah.

Malaysianinsider has this report, “Pak Lah set to defend Umno presidency”:

Barring a last-minute turnaround, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will go ahead and defend his position as Umno party president, despite some pressure from the ground for him to short-circuit his transition plan.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that the Prime Minister reached this decision after meeting several Umno supreme council members, state liaison chiefs and political operatives over the weekend at his official residence Sri Perdana.

The consensus among this group, which includes Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor, is that Abdullah should be able to garner the minimum 58 nominations needed to contest the top post. Abdullah’s supporters said that with the green light from him, they will hit the ground and conduct a no-holds-barred campaign for the next few weeks to ensure that he gets the nominations when Umno divisions begin their divisional meetings.

This decision by Abdullah to defend his party president’s position will come as a surprise to many, especially those in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s camp. During the supreme council meeting on Thursday, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein, Datuk Rafidah Aziz and Datuk Shafie Apdal urged Abdullah to hand over the reins to Najib soon, with Rafidah saying that the PM will face difficulty getting the minimum number of nominations.

Hearing this feedback, many party officials and political pundits expected him to announce that he would not contest the party elections.

But instead of demoralising Abdullah and his supporters, the attack by Hishammuddin and others had the opposite effect. Abdullah’s camp felt that despite being magnanimous by handing over the Finance portfolio and even suggesting during a press conference that he would hand over power to Najib much earlier than 2010, he was being pushed to the wall.

A senior party official told The Malaysian Insider: “You can push someone up to a point only. After that it becomes humiliating. So it is rubbish to say that Pak Lah will be humiliated if he contests the party elections. Some people are already trying to do this. He has nothing to lose by keeping to the original transition plan.”

This decision will spook the DPM and his supporters. Najib can ill-afford an all-out battle for the party presidency. With his strong support base on the ground he will be the favourite to get more nominations than Abdullah but it will come at a great cost to him and his desire to lead a united party.

As such, Najib is likely to support Abdullah’s desire to contest the party elections, knowing that a no-holds-barred contest will damage both of them badly.

Where does Najib really stand in the UMNO power stakes.

Clearly the affairs of state and the worsening multiple crisis of confidence which had been neglected for more than six months since the March 8 political tsunami will have to continue to occupy peripheral attention while the Umno leaders slug it out for the next three months – whether for Prime Minister or Opposition Leader.

50 Replies to “Abdullah fights for his political life – will Najib “sink or swim” with him?”

  2. ‘OK, we won’t get that many nominations,’ an Abdullah ally told BT. ‘But I think we should be able to get 70 to 80 with some work.’
    ====================================================

    We have yet to see whether “money politics” is deployed to get that 70 to 80 nominations!

  6. As a result, the battle to be the Umno President at the end of the year is no more automatically about who is to be the next Prime Minister but probably the next Parliamentary Opposition Leader.
    =======
    Thanks YB. There are many people who question whether Pakatan Rakyat has the number. PAS has come out to confirm Anwar’s claims. Although you didn’t specifically admit to having the number, this is as good as it is.

    So, to those still in doubt as to whether PR has the number, be assured!

  7. Sleepy Head is PR’s best friend, so why are we fighting so hard to get him to resign ? Najis will never be able to get the Mongolian linkage off his back, so even if he gets to succeed Sleepy Head, he will also turn out to be a PR asset.

  11. Ahmad Ismail at the Penang Umno meeting and press conference as “UMNO Bukit Bendera adviser” although suspended for three years as Umno member.
    =========
    This is another farce. How is it possible that racist Ahmad can attend the meeting while serving suspension? Malaysiakini reports:

    Abdul Rashid clarified that Ahmad, who has since been appointed Bukit Bendera adviser, was allowed to attend because his suspension had not taken effect since he has yet to receive an official letter on the matter.

  12. It is very obvious that UMNO is badly split – one group wants Abdullah to quit as soon as possible and another group wants him to stay in power as long as he can.

    In view of such chaos in UMNO, there is a risk that non-UMNO components in BN (e.g. MCA, MIC, Gerakan etc) may quit and become independent parties or join PR.

  13. YB Kit asked whether protagonists in the Umno Presidential battle be a case of (1) Abdullah vs Najib, or (2) Najib “sink or swim” with Abdullah in a Abdullah-Najib battle against the rest.

    Probably it is not (1) or (2) but both at same time, ie outwardly (2) with undercurrents (1) – either cases, a divided UMNO with the prospects of the winner being Parliamentary Opposition Leader looming in the horizon!

    As a result of this thread, Umno Information Chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib will again chide you for interfering in UMNO affairs. He made the complaint the last time when he said you had asked Abdullah to step down quickly because that was the wish of many Umno members. See NST report here – http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/2355848/Article/index_html

    [Muhammad Taib is not right. On other occasions, they say UMNO is backbone of the country, and Abdullah himself said that he was PM for all Malaysians, so all Malaysians have a right to comment on pivotal issues of national politics even at UMNO level].

    I would laud and support the PM to fight and go for broke in the Umno party polls. Why should he just resign just because a few vociferous Supreme Council members attacked his power transition plan in 2010? After all the Council had prior sanctioned it.

    Look at it from his viewpoint. Abdullah has nothing to show by way of legacy at this point. After his 92% landslide majority of parliamentary seats in 2003, the record has been one of a successful failure all the way until now, and he deserves an opportunity to make 11th hour redemption of his record by 2010.

    If he were to just give up, Tun Mahathir, Mahathirism and those subscribing to Mahathirism would have won. After what Mahathirism has done to this country, the effects of which are generational, it is a sin not to fight it.

    The ironic bit about Penang UMNO (with Datuk Ahmad Ismail’s role as adviser) still pledging support for the beleaguered PM’s 2010 power transition plan is intriguing and raises speculations that his racist talk and subsequent slap on the wrist is a political manoeuver with highest level complicity for a political purpose.

  16. It’s incredible news and it would also mean that there is a likelihood as well that Anwar Ibrahim will be new PM between 9th October and the Dec UMNO Election.
    Abdullah can then go down in history as the man who has helped to put Malaysia back on to the road to join the group of civilised nations instead of slipping down the slope to join the nations of Banana Republics.

  18. PM’s decision to fight and remain in his post is probably good for Pakatan Rakyat’s cause. For it means UMNO will be divided and factionalism greater. Component parties seeing big brother divided will more likely dissociate from the coalition.

    UMNO is steeped with Mahathirism, TDM’s legacy, political culture, ideology and ways of doing things. Even though increasingly rejected by more and more rakyat, UMNO apears unable to fre itself from this and reinvent/reform.

    Mahathirism is only good – and can be held together – by an authoritarian Machiavellan leader like TDM. Mahathirism (like Communism) contains contradictions, the seeds of its own unravelling in that a strong and authritarian leader like TDM could not have a deputy or successor exactly like him because the latter would compete to unseat the number one. So a person of quite opposite character was chosen as TDM’s deputy and successor, if only contemplated for an interim period. However such a person of opposite character cannot hold Mahathirism (in UMNO) together. Realising this, TDM wants to unseat his own anointed successor and rallies his people within UMNO to do so.

    However TDM is not having his ways because the man fights back which puts the present number 2 in dilemma as to what to do.

    Whether present No. 2 fights no 1. and stays with No. 1 to fight No. 3 and 4, UMNO is in for a fight and a state of disunity at a time when the “Barbarians are already at the gates” ready to take over Puterajaya.

  19. apologies YB … off topic but important ..

    be warned that food products from the tainted milk scandal could be on malaysian shelves. singapore has taken preventive actions by recalling the products but due to non-transparency in malaysia and our health minister probably doing nothing, it would be wise to pay attention to what’s the singapore gomen is doing.

    read more at my blog.
    http://terangbulannegaraku.blogspot.com/2008/09/tainted-milk-scandal-in-malaysia.html

  20. UMNO SUPREME COUNCIL AND CABINET MINISTERS FAILED THE PM

    After almost five years of adulation and hero-worshiping of the Prime Minister and UMNO president, his own Cabinet Ministers and UMNO Supreme Council members are now blaming their boss for all the ills confronting the nation.

    They are completely exonerating themselves of all blame and holding Abdullah solely responsible and accountable for all the failures and broken election promises, which undoubtedly are manifold.

    Isn’t it a universal fact that in a democratic government the chief executive and his cabinet work on collective responsibility?

    If Abdullah failed in managing the economy, aren’t his ministers and UMNO supreme council members equally culpable? Didn’t they cheer him on each time he presented the Budget Speech since 2004? Didn’t they cheer him on each time he presented his presidential address at the party annual congress?

    If all of them had given full support to the PM, wouldn’t he have succeeded in implementing the IPCMC or reforming the judiciary? Couldn’t he have succeeded in containing corruption and even putting some VVIPs behind bars?

    Had his ministers and party leaders backed him with his reform agenda wouldn’t he have fulfilled some or most of his 2004 election promises?

    They failed him and failed him real bad. In some instances, they were the very ones who hampered his work. It was the sheer unbridled arrogance of these UMNO warlords that brought down UMNO and BN on March 8.

    So here they are today, washing their dirty hands, proclaiming innocence and putting all the blame squarely on the PM to the point of humiliating him.

    To tell the party president in his face that he would not be able to secure the required 58 nominations to defend his post is the unkindest cut of all and quite alien to Malay culture.
    http://mrsmith2.blogspot.com/

  21. ok,fine,let the phucklah leads the umno,if this is what the ‘majority’ of umno members’ wishes,and coincidently,also the party rakyat’s wish,so,when they are weak,they will be easily destroyed!!!!

    as what i have said,these umno leaders,no such word as ‘shame’ in their vocabulary,their intension is very clear,aim the post betul-betul and corrupt as a whole(with own cronies)!

    SELAMAT HARIRAYA AIDIL FITRI,the show is getting more and more exciting,hopefully,this time,the umno will tumble before HARIRAYA!

  22. Dear All,

    Who are the worthy combatants against Abdullah / Najib team? As widely speculated by the press and most political observers, Tengku Razaleigh would be the front runner to challenge Abdullah for the Presidency seat. But we must first look at this combatant himself first before even thinking if he could pose any challenge the incumbent. My reading is that barring any unforseen last minute change of mind by Najib, Tengku Razaleigh’s chance of putting up a credible fight against Pak Lah is as good as none. Right up to now, Tengku Razaleigh has yet found himself a partner, sharing the same agenda, putting Abdullah down. None, except Muhyiddin has been quite open with his comment on the transition plan. But then again, he has not openly declare his card of going for the number one or two post in UMNO with Tengku Razaleigh. However, it is quite worthy to note that Rais Yatim may emerge as the dark horse to mount a challenge against Abdullah / Najib by teaming up with Tengku Razaleigh. Rais had gone through the thick and thin with Razaleigh and they are like two peas in a pod.

    However, the same cannot be said for T. Razaleigh and Muhyiddin. As long as Najib declares his full support behind Abdullah and the transistion plan, I am convinced that his supporters will throw their full backings on Abdullah. After all, it is just one and a half year before is time’s up for Abdullah before Najib reins supreme. However, Abdullah might have a few conditions for Najib to fulfill, like ensuring Khairy wins the Youth post and be made a Minister. Mukhriz may have to kiss good-bye to his wish of becoming the Youth head should Najib sticks to the original game-plan.

    Muhyiddin has little choice but to defend his VP post as there is nothing much for him to gain mounting a challenge against Abdullah by teaming up with a feeble team. However, he might even lose his VP post for all the barb comments put up against Abdullah so far.

  23. Najib is not known for standing toe to toe and slug it out with his opponent. He might do a “brutus” to AAB instead.

    AAB looks likely to fight all the way and not bow out like a limpid and why should he anyway? Umno warlord Ahmad Ismail’s involvement with AAB camp exposes the political complicity of playing the racial card to shore up support for AAB but it did not work. Then we had azan and ISA issues backfiring again on AAB and that is why he is pushed to the limits by his non supporting Umno supreme council members to quit now and not in 2010. Perhaps AAB still thinks he can go out in a blaze of glory by instituting some reforms if he can survive this battle.

  24. mendela,
    i have seen your maya movie,it gives the signal that this ‘AN ‘combination is going to s p l i t very soon!

    and like nik aziz and anwar said,if tdm returns to umno,the leaking titanic will sink even faster,deep-deep to the sea!!!

    this ahmad ismail is a smart guy,he chooses this very moment to give sarcastic remarks and he knows very well that phucklah will not dare to touch him,umno election is at the corner!

  25. Before the 8th March tsunami, we were discussing who, from GERAKAN, would be the next CM in Penang as Koh TK had preferred the Federal post. Remember that thread?

    I wrote it was an useless discussion/argument because the next CM would be Lim Guan Eng.

    I would to say the same thing too. Let them fight it out in UMNO, but the next PM would be Dato Anwar Ibrahim. (May YB Lim KS be the future Deputy PM – any seconder to that?)

  26. The former SAPP deputy president raymond tan was scratch his own wound this time. saying he was stop PM to ordering to arrest DAtuk yong , this statement is clearly show if any BN member can do anything which against law. because PM will covered up for them.

  27. NASHIT IS AS WEAK AS as finance minister BO!!

    1) he is already showing his ‘stupidiness’ in this field because :
    a) while USD is weakening, RM should have been more bouncing but when he said there is no changing mechanism to improve RM strength like pegging it, it totally means that he is following bo style to making the RM to become maybe the weakest in asia!!
    b) its well known that fuel should had been reduced now that it has gone down to below USD110.00 . bo before had promised that fuel in malaysia would be reduced but as expected, he’s not a man with his word. he only reduced it once just for the sake of wooing voters in P44 which thank god, they lost!! however, najib also purposely want to postpone reducing fuel. why?? is it because he wanted the world oil to increase so that its an excuse not to reduce and meaning more monies for those ‘cronies’ to pocket-in like day-light robbery??
    by right, those states that have oil fields SHOULD BE paying LESS FUEL COST PER LITRE than those WITHOUT FUEL!!!
    c) bo goes for ISA. what did nashit do?? NOTHING !!

    from my (a) and (b) comment of najib, i think the real culprit to be SACKED is the 2nd finance minister of malaysia because he guides thE rakyat to becoming more poorer and purchasing power lesser and lesser by the seconds!! this minister also blame DSAI for poor ecomomy and lost of faith ininvesting in malaysia!! if tis is true, better let DSAI RULE INSTEAD !!!

    if i’m nashit,
    1) 1st thing i will do to UP my ratings is reducing fuel by another RM.20 and ensuring all goods sold MUST BE REDUCED TOO !! this reduction shouldn’t affect all all his life style but WILL MAKE EVERYBODY HAPPY !!!

    2) the next is sacking 2nd finance minister and look for a new replacement. if can’t, appoint DSAI (but i doubt DSAI will be interested) .

    nashit needs to do both of the above and i’m quite sure if this goes well, everyone will forget about DSAI or PK. i find it very disappointing that no matter how hard PK tries to topple, they failed because they are up against a team that don’t play fair and clean!! if thinking of passing a motion of non-confident in the next parliament, DREAM ON please PK because what happened when datin azizah wanted a debate on that, IT WAS THROWN OUT by the speaker!!!
    the only way is trying to convince the Agung and All Sultans to give consent to OUST bo’s regime OUT WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT!!

  28. Badawi is expiring soon. Like all things stamped with an expiry date, a close expiry date is as good as expiry itself and in the normal course of event, those things would not be picked.

    Is an expiry date sometime in 2010 close? Its politics we are talking about. And going by the political sentiments of umno, the time in badawi’s hands from now till then seems somehow to have been borrowed time which the lender is prematurely demanding its return.

    In short, badawi is a goner. He knew this well. Fighting on will do little to his fate just as neither would his god’s given ability to do a perfect flip everytime after having flopped.

    And najib is actually no better for reasons too obvious to mention. He ought to know this. But for people who are caught in the power game of politics, their personal decisions are usually not relevant. Curiously, their stand would be dictated by their supporters.

    So the ongoing badawi vs najib battle is a clash of their supporters. Najib and gang no doubt would want to stay afloat. At the same time, they would want to keep an eager count of air bubbles let out by their drowning opponents so that they could jubilate after the last of the bubbles pops.

    In this battle, badawi’s supporters are not seeking for badawi’s political survival. They are trying to strike a bargain with badawi’s creditor not to recall the time on loan to him early. And of course, najib’s supporters are pushing for an swift end.

    Badawi will perish in this battle for time is already not on his side. Will najib vanquish? No. Quite apart from the controversies now choking him, the fact that umno is in shamble will effectively remove the sweetness from the fruit of his victory.

  29. Najis crime evidence is in AAB palm. He wont challenge AAB at the moment. Moreover, he no longer control the army power to launch any coup. So rest assured that AAB will still hang on there for a little longer.

  30. Clearly AAB is on the counterattack.

    He was in JB meeting with JB UMNO. Next we heard he was in KB. Then we had Penang UMNO’s declaration of support – all signs that he is working the ground hard to gain re election.

    This is surely obvious to all those observing the developments in UMNO including internal interested parties. It just depends now on how much those who want him out are prepared to work at it.

  31. Najib has a notorious past reputation of a last minute ‘ship jumper’.
    Doubt he will hang on to a sure loser. You can change a man’s clothings but, you cannot change his way. But, whatever the outcome, one will retire from politics and the other the Opposition leader…the wind of change is unstoppable now.
    Perhaps, a change of govt will be better for UMNO and all the component parties, as they are parties of yester years.

  32. Now our country is facing another financial turmoil. Our currency supposed to appreciate against the cheaper US Dollar but instead it is depreciating. All those major banks in US already collapsed. Investor out pulling out from malaysian stock market. Never trust the controlled media that our country is doing well. We are facing inflation for more expensive goods compared with lower income. This must be another great sign of our country going to face a great financial tsunami in coming months. Hopefully those really understand the market will react faster to this. Alhamdullilah.

  33. Pity Pak Lah, the poor guy wants to prove himself, he’s pushed to the wall, he’s got to retaliate, and Najip got to stick with him, no choice maah..! By the way it seems like in umno the word “suspended” is too sophisticated for them to understand. They havent heard of wikipedia, let’s not teach them, they got to learn on their own.

  35. Muhyiddin pressuring AAB to step down before Dec is the most putrid. He is the one who stands to gain the most from AAB’s immediate handover to Najib as he will be DPM and eventually PM. Things will not be so certain in 2010 as Najib will be able to choose from 3 VPs.

    Muhyiddin’s reason is “for the sake of the party”. He forgot to add, “and most importantly, myself”.

  36. Now, this morning, with Raja Petra being detained under Section 8 of the ISA, signed by that Fat Head Ex-Yemenis, this morning which allows for 2 years detention without judicial review, we Malaysians can expect more or less the same type of justice for DSAI this Friday for his sodomy trial.

    God help Malayasia!

  37. ///To tell the party president in his face that he would not be able to secure the required 58 nominations to defend his post is the unkindest cut of all and quite alien to Malay culture.///—Mr Smith

    The person who said it at the meeting was Rafidah Aziz who said that her great grandfather came from Indonesia. So the bit on culture could be correct. There has not been a system or set of criteria established to test whether a person has reached the stage where cultrue has alreadry gone into the blood, to be qualified under article 160 as Malay. That is a serious omision.

    Certainly it was alien to Malay cultrure to demand the PM to quit, and TDM did it both in 1969, and in 2008. The son has not been wrapped up in Malay culture too for demanding publicly for AAB to quit.

  38. The following appearing in another thread is more appropriate here.

    Loh Says:

    Yesterday at 19: 10.28
    According to the Chinese version of Malaysiakini, AAB after discussing with his power agents has decided to defend his position in December as UMNO President. It means that starting from the divisional meeting on 9 October different teams of President and Deputy might be nominated.

    If Najib is the successor to AAB, he should be contented to be nominated as the Deputy. But as Rafidah Aziz said during the UMNO MT last Thursday, AAB might not even get 58 nominations as President. In that case, she would expect Najib to be nominated as President rather than Deputy. As AAB is defending his position as President, he and his supporters would accept nomination of Najib as the Deputy but not as President. If Najib is nominated as President in any Divisional meeting it will be deemed as though Najib has negated on his agreement to the transition plan. In retaliation AAB will accept others as his deputy who would then help him to gain more Divisional support. Since Ku Li has started campaigning for the position of President, and with AAB and Najib both nominated to the position, UMNO might for once have three candidates for the top post. Some Divisions might even nominate TDM when he is admitted as member after 9 October. With four candidates, UMNO might not have anyone attaining the quota to run as president.

    UMNO is entering into an interesting era.

  39. PM AAB should work to declare that the quota rule in the UMNO party election is abolished, and the original requirement of two nominations for any position applies.

    He can at least stand for the President’s post in December. He would also allow Ku Li a chance to try his luck, and stop those who pretended all this while to be his loyal supporters. He would revitalize UMNO in stopping TDM’s manupulation of party election rules.

  40. Dear All,

    Abdullah will soldier on as long as Najib is sticking to the original game-plan. There is nothing much that Tengku Razaleigh, Muhyiddin or Tun Mahathir, for that matter, could do to dislodge Abdullah / Najib. The executive power is with Abdullah and I strongly believe most UMNO divisional leaders would rally behind the one holding the stick when the crunch comes.

    Tough luck for those who wants to grab that stick from Abdullah as none of the divisional leaders will jettison on him. Most will go for a bun which is filled up with goodies and the strong smell of power and fame. Tengku Razaleigh, Muhyiddin, Rais Yatim and Tun are those who has an empty bun. There is no fillings inside and no smell. None of the divisional leaders will be attracted to an empty bun except for those die-hards but they are so few in numbers.

  41. I was told, it is no longer Khairy working behind the scenes, its more of the wife Jeanne & son Kamaluddin who is pushing for him to remain in power. These two have taken on Khairy and wants to lead the fight to the end.

  42. Someone should try to contact the Paris authority to see if they have video footages of Najib & Attayuth interlude. They have camera everywhere. Even if we pay for the information, it is worth it….Maybe, we can buy some eye witnesses too. Najib’s next home is the jail..

  43. From MSN online:

    Malaysia’s opposition says in handover talks with government
    Malaysia’s opposition said Tuesday it has begun negotiations with the ruling coalition over a transition of power, after it claimed to have signed up enough defectors to topple the government.

    Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has refused to meet with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim but officials said contacts are being made through intermediaries.

    “There is initial contact between our middleperson and Abdullah’s middleperson,” said Tian Chia, information chief of Anwar’s Keadilan party.

    “Our intention in holding them is for a transition of power to the opposition but I cannot speak for the other side,” he told AFP. “So far it looks good and we will wait to see what happens.”

    Tian Chua said contact was made initially on the weekend and that more than one meeting had taken place.

    Anwar said earlier this month that he had the support of more than 31 lawmakers from the ruling coalition but refused to release the list of names until Abdullah agreed to a meeting.

    The premier dismissed his claims as bluff and has shown no sign of stepping down even as he faces another challenge from cabinet ministers who have called on him to quit before his scheduled departure in 2010.

    Abdullah has been fighting for his political life since a March general election handed the opposition unprecedented gains and plunged the coalition into disarray.

    Ruling party insiders say he is now under intense pressure to quit by the end of the year.

  44. They both are shifting furnitures on the titanic. Prob najis will tell bodowi, you jump, i stay. But its sinking anyway, both refuse rescue & being arrogant, one will be drown, the other freeze to death!

  45. Will Abdullah become Mikhail Gorbachev, who handed power to Boris Yeltsin? Gorbachev has his good name remained in history. Despite all the bad things happened with Abdullah, this would be the only wise decision, if he ever made it

  49. The only people who want AAB to stay are those who owe their positions to him, or who benefited from contracts and other largesse distributed by him. For some, including civil servants there is just fear of him which keeps them silent but sullen.

    Strangely the true supporters of Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister and UMNO President are members of the opposition. Karpal Singh, Anwar Ibrahim and Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat want him to stay, at least till the next election.

    However it is not for love of him but because they believe that with him leading the Barisan Nasional the opposition stands a better chance of winning the 13th General Election and forming a Government. They feel they are within reach of their objective and did not want to see the renegades of UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP returning to the fold and make defeating the BN probably an impossible task.

    Check out the latest entry from TDM on chedet.

  50. AAB are very strategist politician, BUT Najis are not much lesser as they both remains extraordinarily humble as wolves dressed in sheepskin.

    As sinister as they’re by plotting C4 in every corner or under table u name it… Each steps was plot precisely as they plant. AAB always make last moved in which he is a very good and patient observer. Wait and see your criticism, there is a hole in it.

    On the other hands, Najis are using his allies to push AAB while pretending his being push on spotlight instead. A very coutious strategist player indeed, he supported AAB to brush off TDM earlier interference, and now its time to welcomes TDM coming back to kick AAB off his post.

    “How can u catch tiger cups without interring the tigers liar? Perhaps, paying a hunter is a good strategy.”

    Remember AAB on budget09 announcement “KAWAN(Najis)” eh? lol!

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