Khairy hints at Najib’s bleak future ‘if we lose Kuala Besut’

(Harakah) – “If we lose and if there is a Terengganu state election, a wave – not blue – but a movement, a jolt, would reach Parliament”

The UMNO general assembly may be three months away but its president Najib Razak is already feeling the heat following the unexpected by-election in Terengganu, where BN had been hanging to power by a one-seat majority.

In the clearest yet warning to Najib, UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin (pic), whose father-in-law lasted in power only several months after Barisan Nasional’s disastrous performance in the 2008 general election, hinted that the Kuala Besut poll may now well decide Najib’s future.

“If we lose and if there is a Terengganu state election, a wave – not blue – but a movement, a jolt, would reach Parliament,” Khairy was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini.

“And we don’t want to see BN’s position (and) Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s position – the BN chairperson, UMNO president – threatened because of what happens (here)”.

The Kuala Besut state seat became vacant after the death of BN’s Dr Abdul Rahman Mokhtar last week. Since then, the coalition has been left with 16 seats while PR has 15. A PAS victory in Kuala Besut – which did happen in 1959, 1969, 1974 and 1999 – would result in a hung state assembly and likely to resurrect the debate on the role and power of the Sultan in the country’s governance.

BN’s weaker performance in the May election has led to speculations of an internal coup in UMNO to replace Najib and his deputy Muhyiddin Yasin, prompting many leaders to call for a no-contest rule for top posts.