Mahathir vs Najib: Alternate Endings

By admin-s On Apr 9, 2015

It must be noted that Mahathir’s true concern behind his attacks on Najib, as he himself has said, lies in his fear of Pakatan taking Putrajaya in the next election.

Scott Ng, FMT

As has been expressed time and time again by political pundits, the general sentiment right now is that Mahathir will repeat history and depose Prime Minister Najib Razak in much the same way he did Abdullah Badawi. The doctor’s fearsome reputation and Najib’s tendency to be fairly passive in the face of adversity indeed seems to suggest that Mahathir will be successful, as he usually is, but we must keep in mind that this is politics and anything is possible.

Thus, in all prudence, we must examine the potential outcomes of this conflict. Mahathir winning is not a fact until it happens. Seismic shifts in Umno’s power structure could prevent the machinations of the good doctor, especially if the four Umno vice-presidents decide to throw in their lot with Najib.

The first scenario, of course, begins with Mahathir’s victory. Mahathir brings to bear the full weight of all the controversies Najib has been a part of and convinces Umno’s rank and file that they must remove their current president for the sake of the party. In this scenario alone, there are several variations of how the drama may play out. Right now, the top two names vying for the Prime Minister’s post are Muhyiddin Yassin and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, or Ku Li for short, and they have made their cases for two very different and distinct styles of governance.

Under Muhyiddin, we can expect a return to Mahathirist policies, but with much less subtlety. Muhyiddin has a reputation as something of a strongman and an ultra, having famously declared that he was Malay first and Malaysian second, despite the PM’s push towards racial harmony via a shared national identity. Muhyiddin is no Mahathir, however, and while the policies may be similar, the fear is that he will come down much harder on dissent than Mahathir ever would.

Ku Li has the most economic and financial savvy of all candidates to the throne. The Kelantan prince is expected to rein in government expenditure and focus on helping the Malaysian economy recover. Ku Li, while wilful, is also expected to be a throwback to the days of our founding father Tunku Abdul Rahman, who bore the burden of the people as the duty of royalty. Indeed, Ku Li has long vied for a chance at the position of Prime Minister, and he is making quite a push, even aligning himself with his old adversary, agreeing with the criticisms of the good doctor.

Now, if no true candidate for leader steps forward, the likely outcome will be the establishment of a Presidential Council or a similar body to regulate the decision making powers of the Prime Minister. Presumably, this council will be guided by Mahathir, and what we’ll have will be tantamount to a rule by proxy. In this way, Mahathir gets to control Putrajaya without having to be directly responsible for the decisions of the government.

But what happens if Mahathir loses?