besides having relative youth against old age.
Yes, I am referring to the present fight between mentor, Tun Dr Mahathir and his protege, Najib Tun Razak.
In our unique political system, it is a tradition that the President of Umno becomes PM of the country. Also unique to our system of choosing successors, ex-PM Tun Dr Mahathir seems to be in the enviable position of having the choice as to who he deems suitable or unsuitable to be PM. Before Anwar Ibrahim, there were DPMs like Musa Hitam and Tengku Razaleigh who did not make it. In 1998, he decided that Anwar was unfit to be his successor and we all know how he was persecuted then (Sodomy I), and even under the watch of Najib (Sodomy II) recently. But to everyone's surprise, in 2003, Tun Dr Mahathir decided to make way for his chosen successor, Abdullah Badawi, after 22 long years at the helm (almost two-thirds of the time since independence in 1957).
When Pak Lah underperformed in GE12, Tun Dr Mahathir was instrumental in forcing him to step down and he had to make way for Najib in 2009. After 6 years as PM, Najib is now out of Tun's favour, and again, Tun has made known his wish for Najib to step down. But unlike Pak Lah, who is more sensitive and a gentleman, Najib is not about to resign, despite Dr Mahathir's hint of his wish turning into open and nasty personal attacks on Najib and his wife.
Dr Lim Teck Ghee in his article, How Mahathir has been check-mated, explains why Najib is not easy to be dislodged from his position of power...
Excerpt:
'Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his supporters in Umno appear to have been check mated in his attempt to get Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to resign voluntarily or to have him replaced by another leader. Why has the veteran political leader, an icon in the party which he led for over 20 years, been defeated in what he and his supporters see as the mother of battles to save the party and ensure its continued supremacy in national politics.
Criticism of Najib has covered the full range of subjects, including national concerns such as the BR1M handout and the 1MDB quagmire to more racially targeted ones, calculated to appeal to the Umno heartland. The latter include Najib's alleged pandering to the non-Malay electorate during the last elections. The attacks have also been fiercely personal and have zeroed in on the prime minister's reputedly spent-thrift wife, and his high-profile son-in-law, and including concerns about his family's personal wealth, and the ticking time bomb of the unresolved murder mystery of Altantuya Shaariibuu.'
'But this is Malaysia where the outward appearance of a healthy democracy conceals an authoritarian system which is buttressed with one of the most pervasive and effective patronage systems to be found anywhere in the world.'
'Unlike his predecessor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, also known as Pak Lah (pic), Najib has skilfully used the clout of incumbency to neutralize Mahathir's attacks. Three key groups of supporters have rushed out in support of the prime minister.
On the Umno side, they include the great majority of Umno division chiefs, Wanita Umno and Umno youth. Right behind are Barisan Nasional party chiefs, representing their respective party organizations and the collective position of the ruling coalition. And bringing up the rear are mass organizations such as Cuepac, the powerful civil servants' association, and Felda organizations and leaders including the settler heads in the 11 regional land development schemes, and numerous other organizations. '
'In contrast to the galaxy of heavy weights in the country's political dynamics that Najib is able to mobilize, Mahathir – now that he is out of power and unable to command or buy up support – can only count on a small group of bloggers, retired politicians and civil servants, and Perkasa. Unfortunately for Ibrahim Ali, Perkasa's boss, his latest gushing description of Mahathir as “Allah's gift to Malaysia” is unlikely to make much impression on Najib's supporters who would prefer to receive their share of the patronage cake in this present life rather than wait for the next one.
It looks like it has to be back to the drawing board for Mahathir if he is not to lose his last power game.'
Rest of the article:
http://theheatonline.asia/POLITICS/How-Mahathir-Has-Been-Check-Mated
Link
Yes, I am referring to the present fight between mentor, Tun Dr Mahathir and his protege, Najib Tun Razak.
In our unique political system, it is a tradition that the President of Umno becomes PM of the country. Also unique to our system of choosing successors, ex-PM Tun Dr Mahathir seems to be in the enviable position of having the choice as to who he deems suitable or unsuitable to be PM. Before Anwar Ibrahim, there were DPMs like Musa Hitam and Tengku Razaleigh who did not make it. In 1998, he decided that Anwar was unfit to be his successor and we all know how he was persecuted then (Sodomy I), and even under the watch of Najib (Sodomy II) recently. But to everyone's surprise, in 2003, Tun Dr Mahathir decided to make way for his chosen successor, Abdullah Badawi, after 22 long years at the helm (almost two-thirds of the time since independence in 1957).
When Pak Lah underperformed in GE12, Tun Dr Mahathir was instrumental in forcing him to step down and he had to make way for Najib in 2009. After 6 years as PM, Najib is now out of Tun's favour, and again, Tun has made known his wish for Najib to step down. But unlike Pak Lah, who is more sensitive and a gentleman, Najib is not about to resign, despite Dr Mahathir's hint of his wish turning into open and nasty personal attacks on Najib and his wife.
Dr Lim Teck Ghee in his article, How Mahathir has been check-mated, explains why Najib is not easy to be dislodged from his position of power...
Excerpt:
'Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his supporters in Umno appear to have been check mated in his attempt to get Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to resign voluntarily or to have him replaced by another leader. Why has the veteran political leader, an icon in the party which he led for over 20 years, been defeated in what he and his supporters see as the mother of battles to save the party and ensure its continued supremacy in national politics.
Criticism of Najib has covered the full range of subjects, including national concerns such as the BR1M handout and the 1MDB quagmire to more racially targeted ones, calculated to appeal to the Umno heartland. The latter include Najib's alleged pandering to the non-Malay electorate during the last elections. The attacks have also been fiercely personal and have zeroed in on the prime minister's reputedly spent-thrift wife, and his high-profile son-in-law, and including concerns about his family's personal wealth, and the ticking time bomb of the unresolved murder mystery of Altantuya Shaariibuu.'
'But this is Malaysia where the outward appearance of a healthy democracy conceals an authoritarian system which is buttressed with one of the most pervasive and effective patronage systems to be found anywhere in the world.'
'Unlike his predecessor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, also known as Pak Lah (pic), Najib has skilfully used the clout of incumbency to neutralize Mahathir's attacks. Three key groups of supporters have rushed out in support of the prime minister.
On the Umno side, they include the great majority of Umno division chiefs, Wanita Umno and Umno youth. Right behind are Barisan Nasional party chiefs, representing their respective party organizations and the collective position of the ruling coalition. And bringing up the rear are mass organizations such as Cuepac, the powerful civil servants' association, and Felda organizations and leaders including the settler heads in the 11 regional land development schemes, and numerous other organizations. '
'In contrast to the galaxy of heavy weights in the country's political dynamics that Najib is able to mobilize, Mahathir – now that he is out of power and unable to command or buy up support – can only count on a small group of bloggers, retired politicians and civil servants, and Perkasa. Unfortunately for Ibrahim Ali, Perkasa's boss, his latest gushing description of Mahathir as “Allah's gift to Malaysia” is unlikely to make much impression on Najib's supporters who would prefer to receive their share of the patronage cake in this present life rather than wait for the next one.
It looks like it has to be back to the drawing board for Mahathir if he is not to lose his last power game.'
Rest of the article:
http://theheatonline.asia/POLITICS/How-Mahathir-Has-Been-Check-Mated
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