- Dark clouds are looming in the home state of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, with talk of strained relations between him and Pahang mentri besar Adnan Yaakob.
It is not something new said sources, who claim to be ‘in the know’, as the seeds of contempt between the two had been sown since the critical days of Umno being without a deputy president, following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.
At that time the favourites to fill the vacant post were Najib and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, both vice-presidents.
Najib was banking on much support from Adnan, a person he is said to have coached right up to the latter's appointment as mentri besar.
- Dark clouds are looming in the home state of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, with talk of strained relations between him and Pahang mentri besar Adnan Yaakob.
It is not something new said sources, who claim to be ‘in the know’, as the seeds of contempt between the two had been sown since the critical
fuck you najib say adnan
The public school of politics has only one subject in its tutorials: Events. The big boys of Delhi have been playing truant, lulled by an imposter's mantra. Two victories in five years convinced them that delay is a solution.
Do not underestimate the siren call of procrastination. Fudge always remains an option when you have to straddle irreconcilables like partition and unity demands. There could still be an effort to delay the process necessary for the creation of Telangana through simulated disputes, like over the status of Hyderabad, which, geographically and historically is the natural capital of Telangana.
If Delhi had been as worried over the climate change in Hyderabad as it was over climate change in Copenhagen, it would have foreseen the tsunami. But Union Home Minister P Chidambaram did not whisper the word 'Telangana' until he was compelled to talk of nothing else. The speed with which the government slipped from stonewall to capitulation was bound to trigger anger in those who felt they had lost out. The government had five years to manage reconciliation; it did nothing. The Congress made a deal with
K Chandrashekhar Rao in 2004 in order to defeat Chandrababu Naidu, and forgot the boatman once it had crossed the river. Complacency is a criminal offence in public life. The verdict may be delayed, but will not be denied.
In 2009, two constituencies tipped Congress into the comfort zone where it was seemingly safe from the threat of foes and nagging of friends - Andhra Pradesh and the Muslim vote. Within six months both have sent a powerful message: Deliver or face the consequences.
Drift has boxed the government into a lose-lose situation. If Congress had accepted Telangana a day before Rao began his fast, Rao would have been history, rather than an historic figure. Delhi has also sent a dangerous signal to half a dozen disparate stakeholders in a new map of India: Mere crying won't help; in order to get milk you need to pick up the kitchen knife and threaten murder or suicide. As also, that milk comes in cartons rather than by the glass. The hills of Darjeeling have ears, as do the sugarcane stalks of western Uttar Pradesh.
Behind all the sound, fury, mistakes and exultation, the promise of Telangana marks a significant but largely unnoticed shift in the dynamics of federalism. Language was the basis on which the States Reorganization Commission, consisting of Sayyid Fazl Ali, H N Kunzru and K M Pannikar re-fashioned India's internal geography. The untidy parts were sorted out under public pressure - Maharashtra in 1960, Punjab in 1966 - but once again on the basis of language. Only hill regions and the North East were offered criteria that were at a slight variance.
The shift came, logically enough, when the nation's priorities changed. Once it was evident that no regional language, or culture, was under threat from unitary pressures, language melted as a focal point of identity. The new federal politics is determined by economics. Telangana and the rest of Andhra speak the same language, but have diametrically conflicting economic interests. Telangana, in fact, accuses coastal Andhra of exploiting its resources. This fundamental change was evident in 2000, when Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh were created. Parent and newborn shared the same language. Indeed, the absence of fuss nine years ago is a template in consensus building, in the difference between negotiation and appeasement. Wounds were treated before gangrene could set in.
The seed of every demand lies in the perception of economic neglect, in the belief of a people that they have been left out of the story of rising India. Small then becomes sensible because big has proved to be bogus.
The ferment in the second decisive Congress constituency, Muslims, also has everything to do with economics. The dialectic is faith-based because Muslims have a nationwide presence rather than any specific space. Dr Manmohan Singh has sought to pre-empt a crisis by promising to table the Ranganath Mishra Commission report before the end of the current session of Parliament, but that will be only the beginning of his problems. The Commission has recommended 15% reservation in all government jobs, educational seats and resources for minorities, 10% of which is to be allotted for Muslims. Muslims will treat this as a benchmark and demand to know what action has been taken. None so far; since any action might fuel an equal and opposite reaction. Inaction has served Congress well, for Muslims did not raise the matter in the last elections since they understood the political fallout. But that alibi has been used and cannot be recycled.
The Congress dilemma is familiar to those who win elections: A promise that restores you, can always return to haunt you.
days of Umno being without a deputy president, following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.
At that time the favourites to fill the vacant post were Najib and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, both vice-presidents.
Najib was banking on much support from Adnan, a person he is said to have coached right up to the latter's appointment as mentri besar.
Adnan, however, rooted for Abdullah – who went on to become the deputy Umno president and deputy prime minister. When Dr Mahathir Mohamad decided to step down as party president and prime minister, his annointed successor was Abdullah.
Pak Lah, the affectionate name for Abdullah, gracioulsy took Najib as his deputy and – later – successor to him as the PM.
Not the timefor vengeance
While one would have thought that Najib would vent out his vengeance and remove Adnan as the mentri besar, this could not happen as Adnan was Abdullah’s candidate in the March 2008 general election and his term as MB would only expire by the next polls, scheduled to be held in 2013.
An alternate course is to do it via a by-election and put Adnan in Parliament. This, however, would be costly and not in tune with Najib’s current mood of focussing on stabilising the country’s economy.
Furthermore, Adnan is said to be close to the halls of power in the Pahang palace and to ruffle any royal feathers would spell the PM’s doom.
Yet, Najib, who is Pekan MP, cannot just ignore the rumours that there is a dispute between him and his former protege.
“At best, the PM can only bear and grin through the problem, while he scouts around for Adnan’s replacement at the next general election,” said one source, claiming to be an ‘Umno insider.’
“You thinik there is nothing to these so-called rumours? Just try to look at some of the blogs and see the comments about Pahang Umno,” he said, adding that there is ‘no smoke without fire.’
Pahang is rich in natural resources and provides some of the major tourism destinations in the country. However, it does not have a thriving industrial sector and the skilled people that it has have largely left for greener pasteurs in nearby Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
For more than 10 years, the state had been operating on a deficit budget and without much investments coming in, the economic situation looks bleak.
Some observers feel that Adnan had ‘overstayed’ as MB and the time has come for Pahang to look for a leader who is better-versed in matters of
trade and commerce to lure big spending industralists to the state.
More important the prospective successor to Adnan’s post must be someone that Najib can trust to carry out his ‘1Malaysia’ plans, which rely on key performance indices in economic strategies and development.
The current crop
A random look at the current crop of Umno leaders in Pahang indicates that the party’s state deputy chief Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin could be among the forerunners in the quest for a new MB.
The Lanchang state assemblyman, who is also a state executive councillor, at least meets the eligibility of being close to Najib.
Others that could be in the running are Shafik Fauzan Sharif (Inderapura assemblyman), Mohd Soffi Abdul Razak (Benta) and Ishak Muhamad (Bebar).
Politics being such, things could drastically change when the people themselves make the decision. And while Pahang is seen to be one of the safest states for the Barisan Nasional in the peninsula, the ruling coalition cannot pretend that ‘everything is okay.’
Don’t forget the political tsunami of March 2008, which left a lot of dirt and debris that the coalition had to clean up.
It’s a ‘wait and see’ situation in Pahang and much depends on whether the the two luminous sons of the state – Najib and Adnan – can clean up their act before the next polls.
Adnan, however, rooted for Abdullah – who went on to become the deputy Umno president and deputy prime minister. When Dr Mahathir Mohamad decided to step down as party president and prime minister, his annointed successor was Abdullah.
Pak Lah, the affectionate name for Abdullah, gracioulsy took Najib as his deputy and – later – successor to him as the PM.
Not the timefor vengeance
While one would have thought that Najib would vent out his vengeance and remove Adnan as the mentri besar, this could not happen as Adnan was Abdullah’s candidate in the March 2008 general election and his term as MB would only expire by the next polls, scheduled to be held in 2013.
An alternate course is to do it via a by-election and put Adnan in Parliament. This, however, would be costly and not in tune with Najib’s current mood of focussing on stabilising the country’s economy.
Furthermore, Adnan is said to be close to the halls of power in the Pahang palace and to ruffle any royal feathers would spell the PM’s doom.
Yet, Najib, who is Pekan MP, cannot just ignore the rumours that there is a dispute between him and his former protege.
“At best, the PM can only bear and grin through the problem, while he scouts around for Adnan’s replacement at the next general election,” said one source, claiming to be an ‘Umno insider.’
“You thinik there is nothing to these so-called rumours? Just try to look at some of the blogs and see the comments about Pahang Umno,” he said, adding that there is ‘no smoke without fire.’
Pahang is rich in natural resources and provides some of the major tourism destinations in the country. However, it does not have a thriving industrial sector and the skilled people that it has have largely left for greener pasteurs in nearby Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
For more than 10 years, the state had been operating on a deficit budget and without much investments coming in, the economic situation looks bleak.
Some observers feel that Adnan had ‘overstayed’ as MB and the time has come for Pahang to look for a leader who is better-versed in matters of trade and commerce to lure big spending industralists to the state.
More important the prospective successor to Adnan’s post must be someone that Najib can trust to carry out his ‘1Malaysia’ plans, which rely on key performance indices in economic strategies and development.
The current crop
A random look at the current crop of Umno leaders in Pahang indicates that the party’s state deputy chief Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin could be among the forerunners in the quest for a new MB.
The Lanchang state assemblyman, who is also a state executive councillor, at least meets the eligibility of being close to Najib.
Others that could be in the running are Shafik Fauzan Sharif (Inderapura assemblyman), Mohd Soffi Abdul Razak (Benta) and Ishak Muhamad (Bebar).
Politics being such, things could drastically change when the people themselves make the decision. And while Pahang is seen to be one of the safest states for the Barisan Nasional in the peninsula, the ruling coalition cannot pretend that ‘everything is okay.’
Don’t forget the political tsunami of March 2008, which left a lot of dirt and debris that the coalition had to clean up.
It’s a ‘wait and see’ situation in Pahang and much depends on whether the the two luminous sons of the state – Najib and Adnan – can clean up their act before the next polls.
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