Dato Najib and his pot of gold

DROWNING IN THE OUR OWN DROOL- DATO NAJIB’S POT OF GOLD.

The country has not stop celebrating. Dato Najib’s people are still drooling. They are salivating at the prospects of Najib becoming the PM in 2 years’ time. People are flocking to MINDEF and the DPM’s office in Putrajaya.

Meanwhile, Dato JJ is an extremely happy man indeed. He sees light at the end of the tunnel. He has been sulking ever since he was booted out from the cabinet. His die hard supporters were angry at Pak Lah. How can Pak Lah dismissed JJ they asked incredulously. He has worked very hard- from the ground to the moon. What more can Pak Lah want?

He looks forward to being reinstated. As a minister. So that he can ask waiters and waitresses menacingly, Do you know who I am?

The Pekan folks are waiting for history to repeat itself. From 1970 to 1976, they had a prime minister who hailed from Pekan. Perhaps in 2010, they will have another from Pekan. This time it will the son of Tun Razak who came from Pekan. He has a a good track record, he boasts.

Just thinking about this, Pekan people are awashed in their copious drool. I sincerely hope the excessive drooling is not the result of Bell’s palsy or Parkinson’s disease. God forbid. But I am equally afraid that at the end of the day, they will drown in their own sputum.

The fat lady has not sung. It is not the whole 9 yards yet. So hold on to your Moet Chandons and Dom Perignons. Keep your Habana and Davidoff cigars first. 2 years is a long time in politics. Unexpected things have the uncanny ability to surface.

In the mythical story about the rainbow, it is said that whosoever manages to reach the source of the rainbow, will find his pot of gold. The pot of gold of course symbolises untold wealth and power. Well, Dato Najib’s pot of gold is the prime minister’s post. As far as I know, no one has yet found the mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I have already written that the declaration on the 10^th of July was an entrapment of Dato Najib. He was so besotted with Pak Lah’s magnanimity that Dato Najib sounded like a kitten who just got a glass of milk. Like Tun Mahathir said, all Dato Najib does is say I support, I support and I am very pleased. I have said it many times, Dato Najib has prostituted the term and meaning of tradition.

What UMNO tradition is he talking about? UMNO has not got any tradition. If UMNO had followed tradition Pak Lah would not have been PM. He did not secure first place in the UMNO vice presidential race at that time. I have also written on this but it now seems to me I need it to repeat it often. Because Dato Najib repeats himself too. To him tradition means to obey blindly and to give to him the PMship on a silver platter.

I have been on record of saying that Dato Najib has been the single most biggest recipient of political subsides. He has been what he is today because of the convergence of fortuitous events. The death of Tun Razak, the rise of Tun Hussein, the exit of Mokhtar Hashim, his allegiance with the UMNO nemesis Anwar Ibrahim and the long term patronage of Tun Mahathir. Mark my words, even Tun will be ignored by Najib and Rosmah.

On the 12^th of July I wrote in my blog( see In Celebration Of Dato Najib) as follows:- The person who stands to lose most is Tan Sri Muhyidin. Word has it that he has been talking with Dato Seri Najib. The latter will go for the president’s post while Tan Sri Muhyidin will go for the number two post. With the announcement on the 10^th of July whatever understanding that has been reached between the deputy president and vice president is now breached. What will Muhyidin do?

He will have no options but to fight on. He can either offer himself for the top post bypassing Dato Najib. Or he can now form an alliance with the stalking grey eminence, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to challenge the team of Pak Lah and Dato Najib.

Muhyidin appears to send signals that he endorses Tengku Razaleigh of the latter squares off with Pak Lah. In order to do that, Muhyidin has to make a firm stand. He must align himself with Tengku Razaleigh. He must strike at Najib now while Najib is bogged down with a host of problems. Muhyidin must go for the number two in UMNO.

Why did the procalamation on the 10^th of July take place? In my opinion it was just an elaborate PR exercise to assure the public that all’s well will end well. This pact between the number 1 and 2 were made to strengthen UMNO. A few days before the 10^th of July, Dato Seri Najib has surreptitiously made known that he has not made up his mind to offer himself for what post. The implications of Najib’s posturing were not lost on Pak Lah nor his political minders.

Once that proclamation took place, Dato Najib will not have the opportunity to reverse his stand to challenge Pak Lah instead. Pak Lah has contained Najib. He now has to sit it out until the promised handover takes place.

But will Pak Lah’s PR measures relegate themselves to the proverbial case of the one eyed man leading the blind? The opacity by which Pak Lah shielded himself with, has not endeared himself with the rakyat. People perceived him as a weak leader in the sense of not having control over the situation around him and mishandling the economy. People I talked with do not care two hoots if our ministers want to gallivant with privates jets or indulge in life’s many pleasures. All they want is to have the price of rice and petrol brought down. Then whatever you want to do with Petronas’s money or anything, please go ahead. We will be watching.

The problem with UMNO is again the leadership. And Dato Najib by refusing to appreciate the aspirations of the UMNO members has cast himself forever into the Blackhole of political oblivion. Meanwhile, Dato Najib must remember;

Nil actum repute si quid superset agendum- don’t consider that anything has been done if anything is left to be done.