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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Under Fire

Jed Yoong

07 April 2008

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lashes back at his critics, who grow in number

Almost a month after Malaysia’s national election, the political battleground is getting bloodier inside the Barisan Nasional, the national governing coalition, particularly inside the United Malays National Organisation, the leading ethnic party in the coalition.

After the unexpected loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority and of five state governments, UMNO is actually scrambling to survive, a stunning development after 50 years of nearly unchallenged dominance of Malaysian politics. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been faced with a series of brushfire problems all over the place, including the refusal by two state sultans to seat his choice for menteri besar, or chief minister.

Probably the most important thing keeping Badawi in place is the relative weakness of his challengers, which may well keep him where he is until at least party elections in August or September. The contender getting most of the ink is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, 70, the onetime finance minister and perennial challenger to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The party’s other most prominent possible challenger, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak, has agreed to back Badawi, at least for now.

Nonetheless, sensing Badawi’s vulnerability, his enemies within the party are going after him. Usually subservient party lieutenants are speaking up. Some have begun blogging after a survey showed that the Internet influenced about 80 percent of voters aged 20 to 40. More and more often the phrase “listen to the people/grassroots/voters” is being bandied.

At a meeting with what were described as the “grassroots” of UMNO in Kuala Lumpur Sunday, Badawi lashed out at members of his own party, particularly former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the septuagenarian former prime minister, who has publicly called for his resignation and whose criticism and refusal to take part in the electoral process in February and March are considered to have been factors in the magnitude of the electoral loss.

Badawi pointed out Mahathir’s role in the draconian arrests of political dissidents in 1987 using the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial, and Malaysia’s scandal-ridden judiciary. In 1988, after the Supreme Court outlawed UMNO following a power struggle in the party over the presidency, Salleh Abbas, the then Lord President, was sacked by a tribunal consisting of judges loyal to Mahathir. That act wiped out the independence of Malaysia’s courts and has led to a long deterioration in the quality of the judicial institution.

Badawi also went after Razaleigh, who has called for an emergency general meeting of the party and who is expected to challenge Badawi for the premiership, for his previous alliance with the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), charging that that Razaleigh was “the reason Barisan lost Kelantan to PAS in the first place. The Kelantan leader, who rejoined UMNO, has done nothing to win back the state for Barisan.”

Razaleigh in a speech last Saturday called for a “revival of Malay power,” criticizing the influence of foreigners – read ethnic Chinese and Indians – in the country.

Despite the fact that Razaleigh had been a perennial challenger to Mahathir, the two now appear to be getting ready to make common cause against Badawi. Although he has not openly backed Razaleigh’s challenge, Mahathir seems to be saying that he doesn’t mind that it goes forward. Mahathir’s youngest son, Mukhriz, who was elected to parliament as an UMNO member by a wide margin on March 9, has written a letter demanding that Badawi step down. He wasn’t punished for his disobedience, another indication of Badawi’s loss of power in his own party

In the grassroots meeting, Badawi went on to blame sabotage by UMNO members for the loss of two states. “The act of sabotage has already taken place. If not for it, we would not have lost the two-thirds majority and two state governments. We would not have lost Perak and Kedah if not for the act by our own party members,” he said.

As yet another an indication of Badawi’s relative lack of power, his first major attempt at judicial reform was rejected outright when Zaid Ibrahim, whom Badawi appointed a minister in his cabinet, vainly proposed to apologize to Salleh and other judges sacked along with him. However, the second and third-highest UMNO figures, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, both refused to go along with the proposal and it was shelved.

Allegiances have become more fluid within the party, with concern rising that as many as 30 newly elected members of the Dewan Rakyat, or Parliament, might jump ship and go to the opposition. Although party members have remained relatively static in peninsular Malaysia, they have often changed affiliation in Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia for the promise of cabinet positions or other perks.

Previously seen as a Mahathir man, Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the deputy prime minister and defense minister, has pledged his loyalty to Badawi. Senior political observers say that Najib’s decision not to seek to oust Badawi may be due to his own overflowing closet of skeletons. His closest friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, and two of his bodyguards are being tried for the gruesome murder of a Mongolian translator who shot in the end and then blown up with military-grade explosives. He has also been criticized widely for a series of questionable purchases by the Malaysian military as he is also defense minister.

Perhaps in desperate times, desperate measures are needed. But in Malaysia, desperate politicians resurface. This is at least the third time that Razaleigh has sought to contest the party presidency. In 1987, thwarted by Mahathir, Razaleigh led a faction out of UMNO but eventually he returned. In 2004, he wanted go after Badawi but only received one nomination – from his own division. In line with the “quota system” introduced by Mahathir, Razaleigh needs 30 percent of the total nominations from 193 divisions or roughly 60 nominations. Mahathir now is asking for the system to be abolished in the name of democracy.

Razaleigh was Finance Minister in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was also a former chairman of the scandal-scarred Bank Bumiputra. Among Malaysians, he is remembered for setting up Petronas, the national oil and gas company, and other Malay nationalistic achievements like seizing ownership and control of British companies. Till today, the “dawn raid” of Guthrie, a British plantation giant, in 1971 is still recalled warmly by ethnic Malays. Yet, little mentioned is the heartless implementation of Malay cultural supremacy and hegemony over this period that marginalized many non-Malays.

These are still early days as the party election is in December. At the moment, the anti-Badawi camp is banking on Razaleigh as the viable alternative but they are still looking for a running mate to contest the deputy presidency. Meanwhile, other contenders may pop up when things calm down a bit.

That’s not likely to happen anytime soon as Anwar, who was barred from politics after being convicted on what were widely regarded as trumped-up charges of sexual deviation and corruption, will be eligible to stand in a by-election on April 14. At that point, one of the winning candidates from Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the People’s Justice Party –possibly Anwar’s wife – will stand down from politics to allow Anwar to run. As head of the unlikely three-party coalition of Keadilan, which is dominated by urban Malays, the largely socialist and Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party and PAS, the fundamentalist Islamic Party, Anwar will be in parliament with the renewed power to make trouble for the ruling coalition.

Comments (5)

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An brief analysis of your analysis : Alex Gan

This doesn’t seem like an analysis at all. A weak rehash of the week’s event. I really don’t need to read Asia Sentinel for this. God!!!!! Where have all the good writers gone???

April 8, 2008

Sack PM Badawi! : Pro Mahathir

After 5 years in power, as president of UMNO and Prime Minister of Malaysia - why should he still chooses to live under the rotten legacy of Tun Mahathir? PM Badawi must be very happy with it until the recent GE-12. It makes one wonder, why should he blames Tengku Razaleigh alone for failure to wrestle Kelantan during the just concluded GE? As a chairman of Penang UMNO liasson committee, he failed to retain Penang! That is even worst because he is also the Prime Minister and the Chairman of BN! There is nothing much Tengku Razaleigh as an ordinary UMNO Member can do then! PM Badawi should be sacked by UMNO members themselves come December.

April 8, 2008

… : umnokaput

Just as the Malayan Communist Party had been banned in Malaysia, UMNO ought to be also banned because it practises racial politics and unequal human development based on the color of the skin

April 8, 2008

Sack Dr M : bunga raya

Dr Mahathir had openly called for Malaysians to vote for the opposition to deny BN the 2/3 majority in parliament. This is to facilitate the overthrow of Abdullah. For this alone Dr M should be sacked. His actions are unprecedented in UMNO history. If Malays can believe him then there must be something terribly wrong with the Malay psyche/intellect. Are Malays so incapable of thinking for themselves? Haven’t they been reading their own controlled newspapers? It is obvious that Dr Mahathir is the snake in the grass. All these years of NEP, ketuanan melayu/ketuanan islam have had serious systemic repercussions in the Malay psyche/intellect. Even now, UMNO Johor still talk of taking care of the Malays first. For 50 years, they have been saying that, and their cronies continue to make money while the ordinary Malays have become hooked on the idea of instant success and wealth which will never come their way for 99.9% of them. Perhaps the greatest development of the Malays will come when they will begin to think for themselves and be able to interpret Islam with reason and wisdom.

April 8, 2008

badawi : MOHAMMED RAHMAT

Prime Minister Badawi is carrying the can for the sins of his predecessor Mahathir. The Barisan National has been in power for 50 years but the ubiquitous rot set in during Mahathir administration. Badawi is now being forced to be the fall guy for the misdeeds that Mahathir committed. The UMNO party has no relevance in an era of Internet and globalisation. Whilst the world is moving away from racist political ideology, UMNO’s racist mentality remains so entrenced that it is being sucked in by its own inability to improvise, so it could meet the expectations of Malaysians. The signs of UMNO’s slow demise were evident in the recent elections. The rot has set in so deeply that no one could change it. The irony is the leader who inflicted the party with the deadly virus of corruption and non accountability is now calling for Badawi’s resignation. People who live in glass towers should not throw stones. If there is a necessacity to find the culprit for the state of affairs in Malaysia then the culprit is Mahathir, he deserves to be tried as a war criminal for the damaged he has caused the Malaysia judiciary and other state structures

April 8, 2008

Asia Sentinel - Malaysia’s Prime Minister Under Fire

The 3 Umno Youth members who contributed to the Barisan debacle « omong

THREE have been found. The other 37, Badawi has turned detective. It is a long process - may last until December 2008.

Posted on April 5, 2008.

But, as an Umno strategist pointed out, three people had a part in the perfect storm during the elections.

One was, no doubt, Khairy and his controversial statements. The other was Hishammuddin who wielded the keris. Then there was Dr Khir whose state officers demolished the Hindu temple.

“Together, they created the perfect storm,” said the Umno strategist.

The 3 Umno Youth members who contributed to the Barisan debacle « omong

Fer Fook’s Sake: Maths is sexy?

I have posted earlier on Sufiah and the enthusiasm of the Prime Minister’s department and Higher Education Ministry wanting to be saviours of a girl who has a mind of her own, and who is contended with the popularity and benefits she now gets with tons of money. She is enjoying herself and why must our people short-circuit her fun. There are other deserving cases in our country alone. This is from YouTube.

I have also the post of blogger anfield devotee reproduced below.

Maths is sexy?

Am sure some of you logged in this morning expecting to continue the war of words on the subject of Tun Salleh Abbas & royalty. But then me was sent a link to this video & certainly thought it worthy of yer attention.

This may be old news to some of you but me was quite oblivious having actively boycotted local mainstream media fer some time now. But just in case some of you are also fooking oblivious like moi, the pretty young thing in the vid is a lass of Malaysian descent (her mum’s side). Living in the UK, she was a child prodigy & was the youngest ever Math student accepted in the revered halls of Oxford University at 13.

However, an overbearing father & a broken marriage led to a few screws coming undone & was recently exposed by the News Of The World as a hooker plying her trade in the less than salubrious surroundings of Salford, Manchester.

Tragic tale but most will have to admit, nice pix Cik Sufiah Yusof! Malaysia Boleh?

Am sure the News Of The World paid her handsomely fer troubles & this being the UK, she can now look forward to a career as a minor celebrity doing the chat show & reality TV curcuit. . . Unless of course, she takes up the local offers to “save” Cik Yusof. Wonder what they had in mind - new president fer Puteri UMNO? Well, she’s certainly got the brains! In fact, she’d be the most qualified person in the party next to that other whore KJ!!!

Fer Fook’s Sake: Maths is sexy?

There is evidence of UMNO sabotage in Rembau « * SUSAN LOONE’s blog *

The in thing now is everybody going around telling a tall story how UMNO lost the elections because of internal sabotage by the party’s members. To my mind this is bunkum as I don’t think individuals can cause voters to vote against the party they want to. Some dissenters unhappy they were not nominated may want to go against the party but this number must be small.

It is a wild goose chase, Badawi stating sabotage as a state of fact and Najib demurring of hearsay, clear evidence, and unfounded allegations.

The actual reason or reasons for the defeat goers back 4 years and originates from Badawi not carrying his promises as stated. Secondly, the kitchen cabinet took over the functions of government with Khairi throwing his weight around, Najib doing what he wants to do, his prominence in a court case, adding fuel to the fire. Therefore it is just not one reason for the defeat, but many.

While at this, a MIC candidate in Negri Sembilan, bragged, he did not require the Indian votes, as he was assured of 5000 postal votes. I wonder if these were the votes that went to Khairy, and the MIC candidate lost - this could be another reason votes meant to help one candidate going to another that caused the defeat.

PKR candidate for Rembau in the last general elections, Badrul Hisham Shaharin (aka Chegu Bard) claims that he has evidence of UMNO being sabotaged in the state. This act of sabotage led to the loss of UMNO in the Paroi state seat.

“I support (Prime Minister) Abdullah’s (Ahmad Badawi) statement that there was internal sabotage against UMNO…I am prepared to expose…I contested in the Rembau seat…it is true that there was internal sabotage against UMNO and because of that (UMNO lost) the Paroi seat and P131 would be lost too if there were no trickery,” said Chegu Bard in his blog today.

“Chegu Bard knows who are those people…” challenged the young teacher.

Deputy prime minister Najib Tun Razak says today that:

“We cannot take action hastily but we cannot simply close our eyes to acts of sabotage. We will act based on clear evidence and not hearsay or unfounded allegations”.

So, Chegu Bard, please hand over the evidence to Najib…

Chegu Bard is still sore from the fact that he lost the Rembau seat when an initial count for the Rembau parliament constituency in Negri Sembilan on the night of March 8 showed that PKR had taken the seat by a razor-thin majority of 141 votes. A recount however saw a complete reversal - Khairy won by a staggering difference of 5,000 votes. This stark gap came in as a shock and consequentially became a solid basis for suspicion. Chegu Bard is considering a legal challenge against the result. (Malaysiakini)

There is evidence of UMNO sabotage in Rembau « * SUSAN LOONE’s blog *

Roadshows to push for PM’s resignation

Reverting back to my posting yesterday, Samy Vellu’s Dutch Wife, my curiosity was aroused, reading the article below, why not a road show for Samy Vellu, to gauge his popularity among his members in MIC and the general drift as to how important is he with the Indians in this country. As Saifudin, branch leader of Pusat Bandar Taman chempaka says, ‘ leaders are concerned that being seen at such events will jeopardise their positions and interests. This has prevented them from attending or showing their support openly for Abdullah to step down’. Similarly, Samy’s MIC members are waiting for someone to bell the cat and then the flood gates will be opened with one another out bidding the other to say Samy was and is useless.

As for the non-MIC Indians, Samy has sampled their anger, during the election campaign, and it is a matter of time he will be the target for a foot wear. His popularity is zilch or zero.

Unlike UMNO there are no reliable and action orientated second line of defence or leaders in MIC. Even disgruntled members are unable to articulate their feelings. Thanks to Samy, he has padlocked their mouths and has thrown the key away. I suppose this must be a pre-condition for joining MIC. The Tamil saying வாயில்லா பூச்சி, or dumb insects, aptly describes them. Please don’t mention Subra, he is the dumbest of the lot.

So, where is our Indian Hero in full armor to unseat Samy. We wait.

Umi Hafilda Ali was there in the group to address the crowd. What about Indian ladies.

Roadshows to push for PM’s resignation

Fauwaz Abdul Aziz | Apr 7, 08 4:56pm

Veteran and grassroots Umno leaders are seeking to hold state-by-state roadshows and gatherings to press party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down, said an Umno branch leader today.
Umno Pusat Bandar Taman Cempaka branch chairperson Syed Saifuddin Syed Herman (right) said this idea was mooted and agreed upon after discussions with former Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Junid and several other Umno leaders from Selangor and the Federal Territory.

“I expressed this (idea to) Sanusi and (former Selangor exco member) Fuad Hassan (and) that we need to do something at a bigger level to sustain the momentum (achieved),” he told Malaysiakini when met in Kuala Lumpur.
“We fully agreed that this thing be done at the state-by-state level,” he added.
Saifuddin’s branch organised the forum held yesterday where former Umno president and ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad spoke on the need for Abdullah to step down in order to save Umno.
According to Saifuddin, about 1,100 people bought tickets to the event held at a hotel in Jalan Ampang to hear Mahathir speak as well as to air their own views on the leadership crisis facing the party. However, an estimated crowd of 500 turned up for the forum.

Among the guests was Ummi Hafilda Ali - the woman at the centre former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim’s corruption trial eight years ago.

She called for a 100,000 gathering in Putrajaya to demand Abdullah’s resignation - a suggestion which received some support among the audience.

Saifuddin said those who attended yesterday’s forum blamed the current leadership for BN’s dismal performance at the March 8 general election due to its indifference to views at the grassroots level.
Many more Umno leaders - especially at the division level and above - agree with the need for the leadership to change to save it from dying off, said Saifuddin.
However, these division chiefs and other top leaders are concerned that being seen at such events will jeopordise their positions and interests.

This has prevented them from attending or showing their support openly for Abdullah to step down, lamented Saifuddin.

Therefore, his group will be bringing the ‘PM resign now’ message directly to Umno branches, which are smaller units under the party divisions.

Don’t blame saboteurs

Saifuddin hoped the roadshow would attract even more people to the cause.
“The crowds will be bigger (at these roadshows) to support this appeal (for Abdullah to consider resigning),” he said.
According to him, Umno branch leaders from the Ampang and Gombak divisions in Selangor and Titiwangsa in the Federal Territory approached him after yesterday’s forum to discuss how more of such talks can be organised.
He also said he received many short-messaging-system texts and calls on his mobile phone congratulating him for the good turnout and the outcome of the forum.
The details of the roadshows, such as when and where it will begin, have yet to be discussed, said Saifuddin.
Commenting on Abdullah’s statement yesterday that Barisan Nasional’s poor showing at the March 8 general election was due to saboteurs within Umno, Saifuddin said this demonstrated his inability to admit his own faults.
“He has blamed (former Umno vice-president) Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Mahathir and the opposition and everybody else, but he has not placed any of the blame on himself.
“Abdullah must face the reality that he is the problem, especially his poor leadership. The problem is also shared by his son-in-law (Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin),” he said.

Internal manipulation

Asked why Umno grassroots members do not wait for the party’s annual general meeting (AGM) set to take place in December to vote Abdullah out of power, Saifuddin said they do not trust that the party’s nominations and elections process.

These, he said, could be manipulated to keep Abdullah’s contenders from mounting an effective challenge.
He cited the example of the Kubang Pasu division elections in 2006 which saw Mahathir, who was contesting to represent the division at the year’s AGM, failing to secure one of seven positions.
Several quarters have expressed the suspicion that corruption prevented Mahathir from being securing enough votes.
“Look at what happened in Kubang Pasu. You mean to tell me that a former Umno president, an ex-prime minister, who has done so much for the people of Kubang Pasu and led BN to five victories in Kedah, was not popular enough to be a delegate to the AGM?
“There is no guarantee that the same thing will not happen again in December,” said Saifuddin.
“We are appealing - we are not forcing - Abdullah to resign for the sake of the future of Umno. It is not that we do not love Abdullah. It’s just that we love Umno more,” he added.

Roadshows to push for PM’s resignation