It cost Khairuddin just RM10 million to throw PPBM under the bus
“The move was meant to trigger infighting by turning factions aligned to Mahathir against Muhyiddin and those aligned to Muhyiddin against Redzuan. For that ‘deed’ alone, Khairuddin was paid RM5 million and assured another five should he succeed in bringing to fruition an EGM. Both he and Kit Siang are aware that Mahathir will not live that much longer, that with Muhyiddin gone, the former premier will neither have the time nor command to structure PPBM in ways that would guarantee his son’s ascend to power”
THE THIRD FORCE
It was a tense 24th of April 1987.
On that day, Dr Mahathir Mohamad was faced with his fiercest competition ever as he led UMNO into its 31st leadership election. Delegates who attended the poll dubbed it “the battle of the elites.” The UMNO president, who was returned to office, told reporters after the official vote count that the election was proof democracy within the party was very much alive.
But not everyone agreed.
Days after conceding defeat, Mahathir’s competitor, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, told newsmen that the party president allowed delegates from unregistered branches to cast ballots. The claim led to a series of interlocutory hearings that threatened to jeapordise Mahathir’s position in the party. Seeing no alternative, the Prime Minister twisted the arms of judiciary and got Justice Harun Hashim to rule that UMNO was an unlawful party.
One thing led to another before Mahathir established UMNO baru, a surrogate party that refused entry to Razaleigh and his men. He then undertook to surround himself with yes men before getting these men to invite their friends and friends of their friends into the party. When he was satisfied he had over two thirds of the old UMNO’s membership, he submitted a name list to the RoS before effecting the transfer of party assets to the accounts of his trustees and proxies.
So you see, Mahathir will do just about anything to consolidate his position of power. Back in the eighties, that position had to do with his grip of UMNO and dictatorship of government. Today, it has to do with his command of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), an UMNO offshoot that houses persons opposed to the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak.
That explains why he put Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in charge of PPBM, a party the RoS legitimised on the 7th of September 2016. Having served as Najib’s deputy for seven years, Muhyiddin knew the Prime Minister’s ways like he did the back of his hand. Mahathir needed to use that knowledge to convince party members that the leadership had what it took to destroy Najib and destabilise UMNO.
But that’s just one reason.
On that day, Dr Mahathir Mohamad was faced with his fiercest competition ever as he led UMNO into its 31st leadership election. Delegates who attended the poll dubbed it “the battle of the elites.” The UMNO president, who was returned to office, told reporters after the official vote count that the election was proof democracy within the party was very much alive.
But not everyone agreed.
Days after conceding defeat, Mahathir’s competitor, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, told newsmen that the party president allowed delegates from unregistered branches to cast ballots. The claim led to a series of interlocutory hearings that threatened to jeapordise Mahathir’s position in the party. Seeing no alternative, the Prime Minister twisted the arms of judiciary and got Justice Harun Hashim to rule that UMNO was an unlawful party.
One thing led to another before Mahathir established UMNO baru, a surrogate party that refused entry to Razaleigh and his men. He then undertook to surround himself with yes men before getting these men to invite their friends and friends of their friends into the party. When he was satisfied he had over two thirds of the old UMNO’s membership, he submitted a name list to the RoS before effecting the transfer of party assets to the accounts of his trustees and proxies.
So you see, Mahathir will do just about anything to consolidate his position of power. Back in the eighties, that position had to do with his grip of UMNO and dictatorship of government. Today, it has to do with his command of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), an UMNO offshoot that houses persons opposed to the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak.
That explains why he put Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in charge of PPBM, a party the RoS legitimised on the 7th of September 2016. Having served as Najib’s deputy for seven years, Muhyiddin knew the Prime Minister’s ways like he did the back of his hand. Mahathir needed to use that knowledge to convince party members that the leadership had what it took to destroy Najib and destabilise UMNO.
But that’s just one reason.
