Heat is on:Tengku Adnan Mansor.his scam’sshadow’s creeping up around him

The defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Sri Lankan presidential election does not automatically mean an end to the country’s political and economic problems but it has helped avert the disasters that surely lay ahead had the two-time president succeeded in winning a third term.The opposition he faced was dispirited and divided but smart politics, like guerilla warfare, is all about creating disruptions in the enemy camp. So imperious was Rajapaksa in his behaviour and so centralised was his exercise of power that the deadliest blow came from within and not without.Rajapaksa’s destructive majoritarianism was playing havoc with the country’s fragile national fabric, perverting its political economy, wrecking its civil liberties and distorting its foreign policy. What Sirisena, Chandrika and Ranil have managed to do along with smaller allies like the leftist Janata Vimukti Perumana and the Sinhala Buddhist Jathika Hela Urumaya is to stop any further damage from being done. They managed successfully to get the electorate to press the reset button. In doing so, they have created an opening for Sri Lanka to think anew about its political future.The vote was close — only four percentage points separate Sirisena and Rajapaksa — but the idea that the former won only because of minority support is incorrect. Rajapaksa polled well in Sinhala areas, trouncing his opponent in Hambantota, Matara, Ratnapura, Galle and Monaragala by big margins. However, Sirisena won a large number of Sinhala votes too and would not have hit 51% of the vote share but for that.Sinhala voters may have felt the constrictions of Rajapaksa’s authoritarianism in different ways but they were as affected by his misgovernance as the country’s Tamils and Muslims.
     Najib will use me as a political weapon against Mahathir during the forthcoming elections Such is the fractious nature of our current polity that even on this rather non-contentious issue, a consensus looks difficult.So the question arises whether:Tengku Adnan Mansor is really needed We are struggling and he says we enjoy great success? How to slap most of the Malaysia in the face? I can't begin to imagine what we would all have if not for this BN government and all the crooks associated with them.This is a most pathetic admission. Looks like making money is the ultimate objective. You make,I make so, your scratch my back,I scratch yours. Corruption....so what??all is acceptable. What a sad state of affairs for KL and Malaysia?The country would have done a whole lot better if not for the stable and steady corruption of this stable and corrupt government. Look at our neighbour in the south. Such a small country and squeaky clean but it is a powerhouse in the world. It is IN SPITE of the so-called stable government that people have worked hard and given you our taxes. “to pay special attention to the section of our society that may be at the risk of not benefiting adequately from economic progress”. This is rather a long winded way of saying that it has to take care of the poor and marginalised. 

UMNO general secretary and MP Tengku Adnan Mansor said BN government’s 57 year governance record may not be spotless, Information is Knowledge, Power and Wisdom: Politics and Business are identical twins. The Chinese Business men, contractors, Pharmacies, etc. etc. CANNOT make money if the government servants are NOT corrupted, The Big companies will have to close shop without the government projects. If you stop Corruption, the good citizens of all races will survive and prosper but  cannot deny that UMNO had helped us prosper, said Federal Territories Minister the scam’s shadow’s creeping up around him.“provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded think tanks”! — that are not entirely clear.One of the key functions forNajib  to build the necessary trust and serve as a dynamic bridge between government and the private sector. This is currently missing. This weakness puts Malaysia at a massive disadvantage in fiercely competitive global markets and in global civil society space.

Desperate

In his latest blog, Dr Mahathir had hinted that there should be no dynasties in politics. He had cited the examples of Datuk Onn Jaafar and Tunku Abdul Rahman, who had both stepped aside for the sake of the younger leaders, which apparently had included himself.

Dr Mahathir should not forget it was Transport Minister, Hishamuddin Hussein’s own father, Hussein Onn who gave him the opportunity to rise to the post of Deputy Prime Minister. This was despite the late Tunku’s objection against Mahathir’s return to Umno.

Now, he is urging Umno not to continue with the political dynasties; instead, choose leaders who are young, talented and more dynamic. This is seen as his eleventh hour attempt to set aside both cousins – Najib and Hishamuddin.

Both Najib and Hishamuddin are sons of former prime ministers. Dr Mahathir cannot afford to allow Najib and Hishammuddin to continue to helm Umno, at the expense of his own son, whom he hopes to eventually see rising as the country’s No 1 man, after everyone forgets about his attack on the sons of Razak-Hussein duo.

Three Factions

The popular belief is that Mahathir will raise up someone like Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yasin and Home Minister, Zahid Ahmad Hamidi, to temporarily replace Najib. The same will then prefer Mukhriz Mahathir over Hishammuddin as Deputy Prime Minister.

When the time is ripe, the Mahathir camp will backstab either Muhyiddin or Zahid, to allow Mukhriz to move into the ultimate position as the country’s prime minister. By then, Mahathir would feign having selective dementia regarding his personal attack on the cousins.

In his attack against the political dynasties in Umno, it is interesting to note that Dr Mahathir did not mention about his own political career, how he had clung on to power, until June 22, 2002, when he finally relinquished his post amidst growing pressure for him to vacate the position, which he had kept for over 22 years.

And, he did not even talk about his son, or forbid him from pursuing the premiership post, since it would mean that Mukhriz would continue the Mahathir dynasty.

The mastermind behind the country’s “divide and rule” politics realised that the Malays are not only split into three different parties – Umno, Pas and PKR, similar to both the Chinese and Indian communities. Now, even within Umno, there are three factions.

First, it is the Najib’s Camp. They are strong and untouchable. Since the last Umno General Assembly, this camp has shown that it will continue to cling on to power. They are unlikely to give up power without a fight. This is what Dr Mahathir has realised when he said that he would not ditch Najib during the last General Assembly.

Then, there is the Mahathir Camp. Dr Mahathir realised that it was not that easy to unseat Najib because of the latter’s grassroots support within Camp A.

Therefore, his latest blog was out to win over the grassroots support from Najib’s camp, trying to erode their support for what he suggests is nothing but a political dynasty under Najib. In months ahead, more of such attempts will unfold.

Both factions were formerly the Camp A in Umno, while Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Abdullah Badawi are still in Camp B, which are largely too weak to fight back. They choose to remain “mute” in the thick of things.

It would not be surprising to see more of the internal squabbles ending up like what we have been seeing in the public domain of late.

These may be indications that all is not well within the country’s largest ruling party. In the past week, one man was allegedly bashed up by another, while a Youth leader had lodged a police report against the 1Malaysia Development Fund headed by Najib himself.

We do not know the true reasons behind these two incidents, but it is incidents like this that could hold some gems of truth about the existing squabbles between the warring factions.

Camp A-Najib would not let go of power or allow Camp A-Mahathir to take over. Throughout the entire struggle between these two factions, Camp B Umno members are merely watching. It will be the survival of the fittest once again, as we watch both factions from Camp A fighting each other during the 1987 crisis.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Badawi’s son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, who is now in Najib’s camp will find himself in a dicey situation, because Hishamuddin will be the preferred choice for deputy premiership should Muhyiddin step down.

Khairy will also not be entertained or accepted into the Camp A-Mahathir, because he has been known to be Mahathir’s “biggest” enemy.

How will this end?

It will be as the proverbial saying goes, “Dog eats dog.” Who will be the winner this time is something to watch.

In the middle of the internal struggles, Tengku Razaleigh’s Camp B faction may be trampled upon, because Razaleigh’s loyalists such as Abdullah Badawi chose to remain silent and allow the factions to fight.

However, the Mahathir camp can expect that the equally strong Camp A – Najib will not be easily ousted compared to Badawi’s Camp B.

By being the Prime Minister, Najib would have the upper hand, while Mahathir, already into his twilight years, may not be able to last long enough to see an ultimate succession plan for his son that will continue to preserve his own legacy.

Indeed, what goes around comes around. Mahathir is tasting some of his own medicine. -