Ku Li: Umno chiefs get RM50,000 a month plus projects
Umno veteran says money politics is why Mahathir will find it tough trying to bring down Najib
(Free Malaysia Today) – Mahathir Mohamad will have a tough time trying to bring down Najib Razak because Umno politics is all about money and is a source of income to divisional leaders and MPs, says veteran Umno politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
“These days Umno divisional leaders as well as parliamentary members earn up to RM50 000 a month, some even earn hundreds of thousands,” he was quoted as saying by political analyst and blogger Mohd Sayuti Omar.
Tengku Razaleigh, once a rival of Mahathir, said the former Umno president could not do it alone if he wanted to topple Najib as prime minister and Umno president.
He did not believe that 1Malaysia Development Bhd, the troubled government-owned investment company about which Mahathir has been a fierce critic, would be the catalyst for Najib’s downfall.
“What Mahathir cannot stand and is angry over is the attitude of (Najib’s wife) Rosmah Mansor,” Sayuti quoted Tengku Razaleigh as saying.
The only way to bring down Najib was through a confidence vote in Parliament, he said, but Umno was filled with people whose allegiance lay with Najib, who could award them projects worth millions.
Tengku Razaleigh, a former associate of Najib’s father Tun Abdul Razak, and a former finance minister, said that “When they are in that situation, it is difficult for them to turn their backs to Najib as Umno politics is their source of income.”
