Kadir: Najib must take steps to entrench himself
Cabinet reshuffle will set off a chain of events to thwart Mahathir and help Najib stay on as Prime Minister.
(Free Malaysia Today) – A veteran newsman has taken to his blog to venture that the people are more interested, at this point in time, on former Prime Minister Mahathir’s Mohamad’s poser on whether Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak lied in Parliament.
Former New Straits Times Group Editor in Chief Kadir Jasin was commenting on Najib using his blog, Mahathir-style, to nitpick “after months of tentative and conflicting responses” on criticisms against him. “The question on whether Najib has misled the Parliament on 1MDB’s so-called USD1.03 billion deposits in Singapore has the potential of creating a messy legal issue for the Prime Minister,” said Kadir.
Najib’s attempts to distance himself from 1MDB was effectively thwarted when Malay Mail Online revealed that according to Clause 117 of the Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A) of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), the predecessor to 1MDB, inked on 27 February 2009, absolute powers over the company’s decisions lie in the hands of the Prime Minister.
The M&A states among other things, noted Kadir, that the Prime Minister’s written approval was needed for any financial commitment (including investment), restructuring or any other matter which was likely to affect the guarantee given by the Federal Government of Malaysia for the benefit of the company, national interest, national security or any policy of the Federal Government of Malaysia.
“Mahathir immediately penned a comment in his blog to restate his earlier assertions that Najib was responsible for 1MDB,” said Kadir. “Can the Prime Minister escape?’
What next for Najib since he has already declared that he would not give up because of one man — read Mahathir — and that he has the support of Umno?
The Prime Minister, suggested Kadir, must take certain steps to further entrench himself. “Najib may want to take charge of the Home Ministry. The portfolio is essential just in case he is thinking of declaring an emergency should his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, or Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah launch a vote of no confidence against him in Parliament.”
Elsewhere, urged Kadir, he should immediately reshuffle the Cabinet to exclude Muhyiddin for being a pain in the rear, and possibly, Shafie Apdal from Sabah. “In Muhyiddin’s place he should put in Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,” said the former newsman. “The Prime Minister many want to rid himself of the 1MDB burden by passing the Ministry of Finance (MoF) job to Hishammuddin Hussein.”
“Hishammuddin’s seat at the Defence Ministry can be assumed by Zahid.”
Next, he said, attacks on Mahathir should be made more vicious. “Writers of the calibre of the late Khalid Jafri (who wrote the notorious “50 Dalil”) should be engaged to expose Mahathir and his supporters.”
He expressed confidence that that there are enough Chinese, Indian and even Malay businessmen who are willing to sponsor the project. “To make it even more sensational, jailed de facto PKR Chief Anwar Ibrahim could be tempted to endorse it via a preface,” said Kadir. “I am sure that can be arranged if the latter was given a few days to rest at, say, the HUKM.”
