“Members are bribed with money, overseas trips and to perform umrah. With that, all Umno members are involved in bribery by selling their votes for money,” he said.
However, the former Umno president said the party still has much to offer to Malays compared to opposition parties.
Dr Mahathir argued that Umno has had a good track record in improving the lives of the Malays by providing basic necessities and opportunities to thrive in society.
“We can look at the states that are not under Umno where the Malays are living in poorer conditions. Any benefits to them are from the federal government, headed by Umno.
Abdullah’s Ahmad Zahid checkmates DATUK MUKHRIZ MAHATHIR should not vie for VP postsIn any other political system, a man who could not answer how he amassed so much wealth when challenged by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 would have become a footnote. But this happened in Umno, where having a couple of question marks next to your name is a badge of honour.
CHECKMATE Wily Zahid says DATUK MUKHRIZ MAHATHIR should not vie for VP posts
Mahathir, no respecter of cultural norms, wasted little time in going public with his quickly acquired distaste for Abdullah. The latter was not so much the obvious choice of Mahathir to succeed him as a selection that was deemed to be the most acceptable at the time it was made in January 1999.
Incumbent President Mahathir was inclined to wait for UMNO’s triennial elections in 1999 to decide who should be the party’s No. 2 after he had sacked Anwar Ibrahim, the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy President of UMNO, from both party and government in late August-early September of 1998.
The sacking caused a major upheaval in Malaysia politics with consequences that reverberate to this day.
After Anwar’s (right) sacking, humiliation and arraignment on corruption and sodomy charges, the No 2 post in UMNO and in government was left vacant from early September 1998 to the third week of January 1999.
This vacancy had senior members of the party’s Supreme Council worried that if anything should happen to Mahathir, who was 73-years-old then, a mad scramble for the No. 2 post would occur.
Given the political tremors occasioned by the removal of Anwar, the seniors pressed a reluctant Mahathir to choose a No. 2 to forestall a repeat of the instability that followed Anwar’s extirpation from party and government.
Mahathir’s procrastination had the effect of stirring speculation that perhaps he did not think that there was anyone in the upper echelons of the Supreme Council especially fitted to succeed him. It must be remembered than in sacking Anwar, Mahathir had run through three deputies; all three wound up as discards.
Must be ‘fate’
Senior UMNO Supreme Council members were perturbed at speculation that perhaps Mahathir was looking beyond the confines of the council, having wearied of finding a suitable successor from within.
The ever-aspiring Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah just then decided to host a breaking of the fast (it was Ramadan in January 1999) function at his house in a plush district of Kuala Lumpur. Mahathir (left) and anyone who was someone in the Supreme Council were invited.
When there was a no-show by more than half of those invited, it was taken as a clear sign that most of the Supreme Council wanted Mahathir to choose a No 2 from within their set rather than outside of it.
Mahathir kept putting the choice off until an attack of pleurisy he suffered in January made the implorations of the senior UMNO Supreme Council members that a No 2 be announced irresistible.
At the end of a Supreme Council meeting in the third week of January, Mahathir announced quietly – almost anti-climatically – that Abdullah was the choice as Acting Deputy President of the party and Deputy Prime Minister.
“Takdir” (fate), sighed the modest Abdullah when he received the news.But it was a fate that turned out to have its own crown of thorns.
Abdullah who brought Ahmad Zahid back from political oblivion in 2004, appointing him a deputy minister.
Zahid had become a peripheral figure in the party after the sacking of his political godfather, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998. But Abdullah felt that Zahid had been rehabilitated and could provide some warlord cover if things became a bit tough during his term as prime minister. Following the 2008 polls, Ahmad Zahid was made Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Abdullah and Ahmad Zahid still remain close and the minister was a guest at the former prime minister’s Hari Raya open house yesterday. But Abdullah’s selection of Ahmad Zahid as a minister is a constant reminder of his greatest failing as a PM – the blind spot for Umno.
Since the launch of a book titled Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years In Malaysia, there has been some nostalgia for the Abdullah years with some of his more staunch supporters suggesting that he could perhaps play a role of a statesman in our fractured country.
He can’t play that role. He cannot because he is an Umno man, through and through. He put Umno before anything else, even Malaysia – every time. Ahmad Zahid did not become a pompous, obtuse man just yesterday. He has been like this forever but he was rewarded by Abdullah and Najib.
Najib appointed him as Defence Minister in 2009. A year later, Ahmad Zahid was alleged to have beat up his daughter’s boyfriend so badly that the man had to be hospitalised.
The police took no action but the victim filed a civil suit and the matter is pending.
That case did not have any bearing on Najib. He appointed Zahid to the powerful Home Ministry, overseeing the police, immigration and several other important government agencies.
Why? Loyalty.
Just like Abdullah in 2004, Najib also needs someone to protect his flank. He needs a fighter, a shouter, an orator. So what if his man insults large segments of Malaysians everytime he opens his mouth? So what if he makes a mockery of Malaysia’s claim to be a moderate and tolerant country?
Fact is Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak couldn’t give a toss what Malaysians want or deserve. Their only consideration was and remains protecting their flanks from attacks and what Umno wants.
That is why Ahmad Zahid is holding court on all sorts of issues. Who could blame him, though? He is an opportunist.
Blame Abdullah and Najib for foisting their bodyguard on Malaysia
Mahathir might not have the confidence that Muhyiddin would garner enough support from within Umno to win the president’s post, and that is why the Mahathir himself had supported the no-contest motion.”Najib doesn’t have a clear idea of what he wants to do. He is not leading, he is responding. But responding alone does not make you a leader,”
Prime Minister Najib Razak described as “imagination” and “naughty” the recent news reports that he had used intermediaries to propose forming a ‘unity government’ with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
But despite the denial, it is clear he has missed a great opportunity to seal his legacy as an outstanding Malay leader and go down in history as the man who finally managed to unite an Umno torn apart and never fully recovered from Anwar’s shock ouster in 1998.
Bringing Anwar back to the Umno-BN fold
For Anwar and PKR, that may be so. But for Najib, it is likely to be just the beginning.
Umno leaders and grassroots have been unsettled by news of the unity government.
Many of those in Umno who had hoped for Anwar to return to the fold would have been thrilled if it really came true.
Anwar was one of the most popular Umno leaders, holding the post of deputy president and deputy prime minister before he was sacked and jailed in 1998 by the then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Although Mahathir had slapped on manifestly trumped-up sodomy and corruption charges against Anwar, it was clear the older leader was very wary of his deputy’s phenomenal popularity.
Umno watchers now expect Najib to claim full bragging rights over the latest episode, taking credit – especially with the grassroots – for trying to bring Anwar back to their party or at least to the BN fold.
Defining moment In Najib’s first term as president, he had succeeded in getting Mahathir to re-join Umno. Mahathir had resigned in anger at what he alleged was the incompetence of the then president, Abdullah Badawi.
Najib may have hoped that by hooking Anwar, it would help him to win a second term as the Umno president. For sure, it would have. In fact, it would have been much more than than that.
Getting Anwar to return would have been a defining moment for Najib. And a pretty watershed one for Umno as a party.
“The report that quoted Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar as confirming there was an effort by Datuk Seri Mohd Najib to form a unity government is a political statement that is meant to be naughty,” Najib said in a statement issued by his office.
Najib may retain presidency but faces a HUGE DILUTION in power
“There’s a lot of work in Johor. The job of a vice president is for the whole of Malaysia, which is why I want to focus on the administration of Johor,” Umno-controlled daily Utusan reported Khaled as saying..
“It is not fair if I take any positions but am not able to give proper attention. It is not fair to those who supported me.”
Another to issue a similar denial was Perak chief Minister Zambry Kadir.
“I am not contesting to make way for other qualified party members. Furthermore, as Menteri Besar I am automatically an Umno supreme council member,” Zambry had told reporters at the Perak Umno Youth Aidilfitri open house.
Menteris besar and chief ministers should not offer to contest for Umno Supreme Council posts because they still have the opportunity to be appointed to such posts by the party president.
Wily veteran plots and schemes
The Umno watcher was referring to former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who is still very influential in the party.
However, there has also been red-hot talk that Mahathir might back Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to challenge Najib for the Umno presidency.
And lately, supporters of the wily veteran have also leaked rumors that he might let Najib stay on as prime minister but put someone else he trusted more to head Umno. Who that person could be remains an object of much speculation but names tossed out include Mahathir himself and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.
If true, and if Mahathir’s latest gambit works, then it would be the first time in Malaysia’s history where the Umno president is not also the prime minister of the country.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak claimed UMNO was a credible political party that played by the rules and was ready to walk the talk. If so then why was UMNO ordered to be deregistered by the High Court in 1989 after an application by UMNO members for malpractices and not playing by the rules during the 1987 party elections?
Najib is repeating the lies of Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times and a vicious fictitious account by one Father Augustus Chen who does not even exist, that DAP had allegedly failed to notify 753 members of its Central Executive Committee (CEC) election last year.
Even the ROS knows that this is a lie when the ROS refused to state this as the reason or any other reasons for that matter, in ordering DAP to hold re-elections. By only saying that it is dissatisfied without giving any reasons, it is clear that the ROS is unable to do so because it has no valid reasons whatsoever to give.
Fact is Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak couldn’t give a toss what Malaysians want or deserve. Their only consideration was and remains protecting their flanks from attacks and what Umno wants.
That is why Ahmad Zahid is holding court on all sorts of issues. Who could blame him, though? He is an opportunist.
Blame Abdullah and Najib for foisting their bodyguard on Malaysia. -
Isu kerajaan perpaduan antara BN dengan PKR yang telah timbul sejak hampir seminggu lalu sehingga menyebabkan ada yang deman sejuk, demam panas, migrain dan sebagainya, akhirnya mendapat jawapan daripada Pejabat Perdana Menteri yang menafikan wujud sebarang usaha ke arah itu.
Dalam kenyataan yang dikeluarkan hari ini, Pejabat Perdana Menteri menyatakan, usaha ke arah pembentukan kerajaan perpaduan ini tidak mungkin dilakukan ketika ini kerana Anwar dan Pakatan Rakyat masih menolak keputusan pilihanraya umum yang lalu.
Kenyataan itu juga menyebut, andaian bahawa wujudanya usaha ke arah mewujudkan kerajaan perpaduan itu hanyalah rekaan dan imaginasi penulis beberapa portal berita tertentu sahaja.
Sebelum ini, Najib dilaporkan sedang mengusahakan pembentukan kerajaan perpaduan dengan PKR dengan menawarkan kepada Anwar jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan lima jawatan menteri kabinet.
Dilaporkan bahawa bekas Naib Presiden Indonesia, Jusof Kalla menjadi orang tengah kepada usaha itu.
Kemudiannya, Anwar mengesahkannya kepada Asia Sentinel bahawa beliau dihubungi oleh Najib melalui perantara untuk pembentukan kerajaan perpaduan itu tetapi telah menolaknya sebelum sempat ia menjadi kenyataan atas alasan isu-isu perkauman yang berterusan dimainkan oleh Umno menjadi antara penghalangnya.
Terbaru The Edge Review pula mendetailkan lagi mengenai usaha pembentukan itu dengan menyebut nama Naib Presiden Umno, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi dan Setiausaha Agung PKR, Saifuddin Nasution sebagai orang kanan daripada Umno dan PKR yang sedangkan merundingkan beberapa aspek teknikal bagi memungkinkan idea kerajaan perpaduan itu menjadi kenyataan.
Najib dikatakan memilih PKR untuk berbaik-baik dan menguatkan lagi kerajaannya bukan saja kerana PKR sebuah parti berbilang kaum yang boleh menampung kelompongan wakil Cina dan India dalam kerajaan tetapi juga dikatakan sebagai langkah membuka gelanggang baru untuk keluar dari pengaruh dan bayang-bayang Mahathir yang sehingga kini masih mahu menunjukkan pengaruhnya dalam Umno dan kerajaan.
Bagaimanapun isu kerajaan perpaduan ini menimbulkan rasa kurang senang di kedua-dua belah pihak.
Di dalam PKR sendiri ramai yang tidak setuju atas alasan penentangan terhadap Umno selama ini ialah berkaitan isu pokok seperti rasuah, penyelewengan, pembaziran dan sebagainya yang tidak boleh dikompromi sama-sekali.
Dalam masa yang sama, Anwar juga mula dikecam secara diam-diam kerana bersetuju berunding dengan Umno mengenai kerajaan perpaduan itu kerana ia dianggap mengkhianati PAS dan DAP yang selama ini begitu setia dengan Anwar sejak beliau dipecat daripada Umno dan kerajaan.
Di dalam Umno pula, ramai yang turut tidak setuju dengan kerajaan perpaduan ini kerana merasakan Anwar bukanlah musuh politik yang boleh ditukar menjadi kawan.
Ramai yang kecewa dan sakit hati jika Anwar yang dimusuhi dan diserang selama bertahun-tahun ini tiba-tiba bertukar menjadi rakan kepada Najib serta sebahagian daripada anggota kerajaan.
Secara diam-diam, sudah ada kedengaran suara-suara yang mengecam dan memaki-hamun Najib jika benar beliau mahu berbaik-baik dengan Anwar.
Malah, ada yang mencadangkan agar Najib ditentang bagi jawatan Presiden Umno pada pemilihan 19 Oktober depan bagi menghalang usaha ke arah mewujudkan kerajaan perpaduan itu daripada menjadi kenyataan.
Walaupun Pejabat Perdana Menteri mengeluarkan kenyataan menafikan perkara itu hari ini, persoalan yang masih bermain-main di fikiran ramai orang ialah kenapa penafian ini begitu lewat dikeluarkan?
Kenapa setelah hampir seminggu berita megenainya berlegar-legar di ruang atmosfera politik negara, baru ia mahu dinafikan oleh Najib?
Dalam dunia langit terbuka dan semuanya serba pantas sekarang serta mengetahui berita tidak perlu lagi menunggu terbitnya akhbar pada keesokan harinya, tindakan Pejabat Perdana Menteri yang terlalu lewat menafikan perkara ini tetap menyundang persoalan yang sukar dirungkaikan.
Sepatutnya jika benar usaha mewujudkan kerajaan perpaduan ini tidak benar dan laporan Asia Sentinel serta The Edge Review adalah palsu, tidak perlulah Pejabat Najib menunggu sehingga hampir seminggu untuk menjelaskan duduk perkara sebenarnya.
Lagi pula, Najib juga mempunyai laman Facebook dan Twitter, yang kononnya antara paling aktif di kalangan pemimpin dunia, bukankah bila-bila masa beliau boleh menaip sendiri melalui telefon pintar yang dimilikinya?
Atau mungkinkah usaha mewujudkan kerajaan perpaduan ini sebenarnya memang wujud dan ia hanya terhalang kerana respon ahli dan pemimpin Umno yang tidak begitu memberangsangkan terhadap idea itu?
Apakah Najib sebenarnya ingin meninjau-ninjau sambutan ahli dan pemimpin Umno terlebih dahulu, jika sambutannya okey, ia bolehlah diteruskan tetapi jika tidak, barulah dikeluarkan penafian dan menolaknya.
Timbul juga persoalan bila penjelasan Najib menyebut rundingan ke arah kerajaan perpaduan tidak mungkin berlaku sehingga Anwar dan PR menerima keputusan pilihanraya lalu serta tidak lagi mempertikaikannya.
Adakah ini bermakna, ia hanya tidak mungkin berlaku sekarang tetapi boleh berlaku selepas ini jika Anwar sudah akur dengan keputusan pilihanraya lalu?
Hakikatnya, penjelasan Najib turut menimbulkan beberapa persoalan dan keresahan yang berterusan.
Oleh kerana Anwar yang mula-mula membangkitkan mengenai kerajaan perpaduan ini dan Najib pula hanya menafikannya setelah hampir seminggu ia muncul, adalah penting untuk Anwar sekali lagi menjelaskan kedudukan sebenarnya.
Beliau perlu menyatakan sama ada ia pernah dibincangkan atau tidak, secara langsung atau melalui wakil atau turut menafikan sebagaimana yang dilakukan oleh Pejabat Perdana Menteri itu.
Zahid Hamidi dan Saifuddin Nasution yang disebut sebagai dua pemimpin kanan Umno dan PKR yang sedang menjayakan usaha itu juga perlu tampil menjelaskannya kepada umum.
Hanya setelah semua itu diterangkan dengan seterang-terangnya, barulah kita tahu siapa yang berbohong dan siapa yang bercakap benar dalam isu ini.
