Dr Mahathir still wants it his way

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — After Datuk Seri Najib Razak met Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week, he was hopeful that the sniping from the sidelines against the party leadership would stop.

The Deputy Prime Minister discussed current political developments and the transition plan and pointed out that it could all become pear-shaped for Umno if animosity between its top names continued to fester.

Najib did not get a commitment that the verbal volleys from Dr Mahathir would cease but he was hopeful. He was wrong.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir lashed out at Abdullah and Najib, sensing that the transition plan could survive the pressure it has come under from party officials since the Permatang Pauh by-election defeat. He also turned on the Umno supreme council, saying that it had become the personal instrument of the party president.

Writing in his blog, he drew attention to the supreme council meeting last Thursday where several members including Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz urged Abdullah to short circuit his transition plan.

“It appears that the words used by some of the members were very strong. Rafidah Aziz even attacked the roles played by Abdullah's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin and the PM's son Kamaluddin.

“So harsh were the words used that Abdullah's face changed and he was reeling from the onslaught when Najib, ever the protector of Abdullah, stopped the proceedings. Najib promised he would speak on the matter with Abdullah.

“It seems that the other supreme council members were not happy as once again controversial council matters were made into private deals between Abdullah and Najib,” he said.

Since the March 8 general election, Dr Mahathir has been championing for Abdullah’s removal, saying that he must take responsibility for the electoral setback suffered by Barisan Nasional.

Initially, he promoted Najib as the successor but this relationship soured when the DPM accepted the transition plan which will see him take control of the party in 2010.

Najib’s commitment to the plan has wavered somewhat after the by-election defeat and he recently said that divisions should be the arbiter on whether Abdullah should contest the party elections in December and then hand over power to him later.

Abdullah’s supporters interpreted this statement as a signal from the DPM that he was willing to accept nominations from the divisions for the top post. The PM has since reiterated that he will contest the top post and his supporters have promised a no-holds-barred fight against any challenger, even Najib.

Dr Mahathir accused Abdullah of turning to his son Kamaluddin, son-in-law Khairy and even his wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah for advice when faced with a tricky situation. It would be the same this time too, he said.

“It is well known that the family is enjoying the power and freedom to shape Abdullah's decisions based on their own personal interest i.e., to accumulate as much wealth as possible and to ensure Khairy's political ambitions, including to become the country's youngest Prime Minister,” said Dr Mahathir, who has attacked Abdullah publicly since 2006 after believing that his legacy in the country was being diminished by his successor.

He noted that by the time Abdullah meets Najib, the former would have been briefed by his family on what to say.

“And Najib being Najib would then accept Abdullah's solution to the problem. In this case he would want to insist on staying until June 2010 or maybe a short while before. Najib would then have the task of selling this solution to the supreme council,” said Dr Mahathir.

The former prime minister’s tirade against the supreme council is surprising because when he was the party president he ruled supreme over the council. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim found this out after he was sacked from government in September 1998.

Anwar has always said that he never received a fair hearing from the council, which presumed him guilty of abuse of power and sodomy even before the court case.

-TMI