Kadir: Najib’s critics have ‘few’ options left
The emerging scenario is one where those against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak are “caught between the devil and the deep blue sea”.
(Free Malaysia Today) – A veteran newsman sees the just concluded Umno General Assembly as all about saving party President and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. “There was no emphasis on finding a way out for the party and the nation on numerous issues.”
“Najib’s position as Umno President has been reinforced and he remains Prime Minister. Umno members have now bestowed ‘demi-God’ status on him. He’s regarded as a pure human being with extraordinary powers.”
It was quite obvious, said former New Straits Times Group Editor-in-Chief Kadir Jasin, that Najib was nothing more than a “demagogue”, someone who seeks support driven by an overwhelming desire and prejudice while ditching all rational arguments. “Najib prefers to whack his critics, for being critical, rather than engage in rational dialogue with them to rebut their allegations against him.”
Najib and those hanging around him couldn’t care less if the party remains split, the government administration was in disarray and the economy continues to head south, warned Kadir. “What they were worried about was continuing to remain in power.”
He noted that the stock market did rally in anticipation of the Umno General Assembly. “However, now that the assembly is over, the market has begun to decline once more, already having shed two per cent.”
Najib may have come out stronger from the Umno assembly, observed Kadir, “but he lives in constant fear, as evident from the fact that those in the branches who called for his resignation had their membership suspended. The bloggers who called for his resignation are being dragged to Court on sedition charges”.
The bottomline, continued Kadir, is that Najib would continue to remain in power if nothing was done to get him out. “The efforts to find the truth on the 1MDB scandal, the RM2.6 billion political ‘donation’ controversy and the SRC International/KWAP case would all be pushed to the side .”
The veteran newsman concedes that the choices that those against Najib have are limited, time is not on their side and, in short, they are caught between “the devil and the deep blue sea”.
