Who wants to be DPM Malaysia?
The term ‘poisoned chalice’ means ‘an assignment, award, or honour which is likely to prove a disadvantage or source of problems to the recipient.’
KTemoc Konsiders
It would seem that in Malaysia the post (appointment) of deputy prime minister (DPM) is a poisoned chalice, though not for everyone, wakakaka, but in general for most.
Some have added qualification to the above curse, saying it only started after 1981, wakakaka.
But let us look at the very beginning.
Tun Razak was the first DPM of Malaysia. It has been alleged, and still continues to be alleged, that he wrested power from Tunku Abdul Rahman in a very sinister way, where some say he conducted a coup d-état after May 13, whilst others hinted he conducted May 13 before following up with the coup d’état.
But that’s as far as the allegations go, mere allegations.
But Tun Razak did not live long, passing away from leukaemia after 6 years as PM.
While as PM, Razak’s DPM was Tun Dr Ismail, who never did get to be PM as he died of a heart attack in 1973. To many Malaysians, he has been touted as the ‘Best PM we never had’. It could be said he was Malaysia’s first DPM to fall under the curse of the notorious DPM-poisoned-chalice, considering he died 3 years before Tun Razak.
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| T’was said Mahathir was shit-scared of Tun Dr Ismail who preferred Musa Hitam |
Razak’s brother-in-law Hussein Onn became officially the 3rd DPM of Malaysia. He retired in 1981 because of health concerns. He resigned from UMNO in 1988 due to dissatisfaction with Mahathir and passed away in 1990, never ever to re-join the uber Malay party.
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| one of the ‘very few’ best PMs |
Tengku Razaleigh, UMNO’s brightest star during Hussein Onn’s days made the biggest mistake in his life when he declined becoming DPM to Mahathir’s PM-ship in a handover arrangement made by Hussein Onn. He informed Hussein Onn he would prefer to concentrate on his financial portfolio and would only accept the DPM position after his immediate task.
Tengku Razaleigh or as his is popularly known, Ku Li, has been credited with UMNO’s demolition of PAS in the 1978 GE and Kelantan’s state election that same year. But he never ever became DPM as Mahathir’s preferred deputy was Musa Hitam.
When Mahathir became PM, he had a series of DPM who fell by the wayside, through alleged political suicide or political homicide, wakakaka, namely, Musa Hitam, Ghafar Baba, Anwar Ibrahim.
His last DPM was AAB, though Mahathir would not have agreed with that description as he considered Najib also as his second but rather poor “successor” who “failed to report to him for 6 months” (wakakaka), an indication of the megalomania he was probably suffering from, where he unconsciously imputed heeven as a retiree had the power to appoint another PM-successor rather the resigning PM (AAB) himself. It was a World First for a retired PM to have two successors, wakakaka.
Even though technically UMNO, as the major party in the ruling coalition BN, should decide on who would be the PM, Mahathir has been (and still is) such a big-headed man in the self-esteem and pomposity department that he would never defer such a major decision to UMNO (supreme council). He would have demanded that as his due imperial ‘right’.
