Mahathir-Najib war entering final phase?
Dr M’s talk tomorrow may be the start of a roadshow reminiscent of the prelude to Pak Lah’s ouster.
Free Malaysia Today
Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s much awaited talk tomorrow is expected to spark invitations for more speaking engagements around the country, making it the start of a roadshow in which the former prime minister will discourse on “current affairs”.
The “current affairs” will be nothing other than the controversies surrounding Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his administration, according to Shahbudin Husin in a brief blog article.
Shahbudin says the expected roadshow is reminiscent of the final phase of Mahathir’s campaign to force Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to quit the Prime Minister’s post in 2009.
He notes that the talk, billed as “A Statesman Speaks”, is open to the general public. Hence, he says, it will be the first time that Mahathir is “going down to the ground” to speak directly to the people on the specific subject of Najib’s alleged failures. Before this, he has been making his displeasure known only through media interviews and blog articles.
The organiser of tomorrow’s event, an NGO called Prihatin, has not directly stated that the talk will be about Najib. But observers see a hint in the poster that advertises it. Under a portrait of Mahathir is printed the messsage, “You are not alone,” which is a response to Mahathir’s lament in a recent blog posting that he appeared to be alone in his fight against Najib.
Shahbudin expects “thousands of Malays, including grassroots members of Umno”, to attend the talk, which will be held at K-Klub, Taman Melawati. It begins at 9.30am.
The poster says, “All are invited.” But Raub MP Ariff Sabri has warned would-be attendees that it might be open only to Malays.
In his blog entry today, Ariff says Prihatin is a proxy for Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali.
“Don’t be misled by the tagline ‘All are invited,’” he says. “’All’ means mainly Malays and by ‘Malays’ Ibrahim Ali means only Umno Malays or Malays who believe Umno is a godsend to them.
“If you are fortunate enough to qualify as Ibrahim’s Malay, do go to the forum.”
