Tun Mahathir, Harakiri & BN’s slow dance
Tun Mahathir Mohamad is helping purge the Barisan National (BN) of unpopular figures in a bid to prepare the government for a resounding victory in the next General Elections. At least this is what is becoming transparent with the bold statements from the old fox of Malaysian politics.
At this stage, the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president Datuk Seri Samy Vellu and Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad are in Tun Mahathir's radar. He want the former Minister Vellu out of the MIC and while he is pressing the United Malays National Organization (Umno) not to nominate Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad as candidate in the upcoming Bagan Pinang by-election in Negeri Sembilan.
If Mahathir is on a cleaning act within the BN, that is great. He should not stop there however. He should single out more heads that has to roll in order for the BN to recapture its glamor in the next G.E. And it appears that the next G.E. may be nearer than thought. Otherwise, Tun Mahathir would not have activated the anti-Samy Vellu campaign says some observers. They believe the elections may be held next year. "This is not directed at Samy Vellu alone because there are others who are like him," said Tun Mahathir.
Who will be next on his 'list' of heads that he is targeting? After being successful in removing the tough head Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister of Malaysia with his incessant banging on the sleeing, slow Malay leader, Mahathir is definitely back in the limelight.
The former PM knows that losing to the Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) in Bagan Pinang, a seat held by the BN will be catastrophic for the Umno and the BN. With Samy Vellu persisting in maintaining his smooth ride as president of the MIC, the BN will surely face the anger of Indian voters again.
With a comfortable win in Bagan Pinang, the BN can consider giving Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak a chance to lead the BN in a snap elections that would take the opposition by surprise. The logic of Tun Mahathir is that without Samy Vellu, the BN will recapture the votes of the Indian community. The Indian community abandoned the BN massively for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties in March 2008. This helped the opposition win more votes and more seats in the 12th General Elections. Winning back the votes of the Indian community will however not ensure a larger victory for the BN in the next elections as they have to get back the votes of the Chinese community altogether.
