BN lawmakers reject former prime minister’s call to quit the coalition.

TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s obsession with toppling Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration is opening the door of opportunity to the opposition led by his arch-rival Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Dr Mahathir’s naked call for defiance and rebellion against Abdullah has emboldened the opposition, which is now openly wooing the very Barisan Nasional MPs being encouraged by the former premier to quit the coalition.

But the BN lawmakers are rebuffing Dr Mahathir’s call, most of them saying this would only pave the way for the Opposition to gain control.

Ironically, Dr Mahathir seems to be playing into the hands of Anwar, his former deputy whom he sacked, and whom was subsequently jailed, in 1998.

“I do intend to topple the government, we have the numbers,” Anwar said in Singapore yesterday.

“I’m looking forward to early elections, hopefully before September.

“We will move the moment we are sure we can contest and a vote of no-confidence against the PM in Parliament is our best option.” Dr Mahathir yesterday urged BN MPs to quit the coalition, become independents and force the collapse of the government.

“The new government can only be set up if agreed to by all BN MPs who have left the coalition because they have the power to decide whether BN or Pakatan (Rakyat) can be the majority in Parliament.

If BN replaces Datuk Seri Abdullah with someone brave, the group which has left BN can then support the BN and the BN can form the government again,” he argued in a posting on his blog.

But Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said: “Answering Dr Mahathir’s call will only result in the opposition forming the next government. I find it all very strange.

“By becoming independents, MPs would be betraying the people who voted them into Parliament on a BN ticket.

“This is about running the country and respecting the mandate given to BN to govern…”

Article source:

The New Straits Times

NEW YORK, TUES

Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has advised Umno members against making hasty decisions which can damage the party, the position of the Malays and the country.

He said they should act wisely and with courtesy so that the situation would not become worse.

Expressing shock at the resignation of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as an Umno member yesterday, the International Trade and Industry Minister said it was important for Umno members to look after the wellbeing of the party and the position of the Malays because the component parties of the Barisan Nasional (BN) would lose confidence in the coalition if Umno continued to face problems.

“If there is any message from the shocking move, what needs to be done is through the democratic process in the party through discussions and consensus.

“If they are dissatisfied, there are ways of resolving it such as through the party election process where members can make suggestions to resolve the crisis in Umno,” he told reporters after a seminar on “Malaysia-United States Business Opportunities”, here on Monday.
Muhyiddin said this when commenting on Dr Mahathir’s resignation as an Umno member because the former Umno president felt that the party could no longer function as a political party to champion the cause of the Malays which was the original objective in setting up the party.

Describing the situation as critical, Muhyiddin said Dr Mahathir’s resignation would have an impact on several quarters and as such, Umno members must be careful so that Malay solidarity was not affected.

“If everyone were to take similar action, there will be no one left in Umno. Who will then champion the cause of the Malays? What will happen to our leadership in the Barisan Nasional and government?” he said when asked if there were Umno members in Johor who would also resign following Dr Mahathir’s resignation.

He said there must be a mechanism to resolve the problem so that it would not develop into a prolonged crisis.

Commenting on the statement by former deputy prime minister and Umno deputy president Tun Musa Hitam who described the decision as “the removal of the thorn in the flesh”, Muhyiddin said: “It is Tun Musa Hitam’s (personal) opinion. There are still many Umno members who respect Dr Mahathir’s views.” Muhyiddin, who had led a trade and investment mission to the United States which ended on Monday, said Umno needed a strong leadership to end the political crisis.

Meanwhile in KUALA LUMPUR, Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, who expressed suprise over Dr Mahathir’s decision to quit Umno, believed that the party had the strength and experiece to handle the sudden incident.

He believed that the Umno leadership, under the stewardship of Abdullah, would have the wisdom and experience to handle the situation with the support of party members.

“After all, it had happenned before in Umno history…as in the history of other political parties,” he told Bernama on the sideline of World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2008, here today.
Gerakan, however, hoped that the sudden development would not affect the political stability of the country as a whole, he said.

Asked if the development would affect foreign investors’ interest, he said the investors might be “a bit concerned and confused” in the short term.

However, in the long-run, Malaysia’s competitiveness would be determined by its resources and infrastructure, he added.

Article source:

The New Straits Times

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has asked the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government to take the threat made by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim seriously in that Pakatan Rakyat will form the next federal government in the near future as it had convinced more than 30 BN Members of Parliament to cross over to the opposition front or Pakatan Rakyat.N has 140 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat and Pakatan Rakyat 82 out of a total of 222 MPs.

“Well, I think it is a possibility that you can’t dismiss lightly. Now, these politicians are interested in how much they get, they are not interested really in serving the nation.

“People who feel that they did not get what they wanted presently and they are offered positions, the urge to cross over especially when there is no inherent loyalty to the party.

“I feel very strong (about it), it can really happen. I first wanted to dismiss this possiblity but on studying the situation I feel that there is great danger.

“Now, these politicians are interested in how much they get, they are not interested really in serving the nation.

“Of course, if this government loses power, it will not be in a position to dole out all kinds of goodies because at that time the clout is gone,” he told reporters after delivering a keynote address on “National Sovereignty” at the 7th Perdana Discourse Series at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, here.

Asked if this was his greatest fear, he replied that if the cross-over were to take place, then Malaysia would experience “a lot of conflicts”.

“We see the response of the Malays, for example. They have come up with a list of demands for this and that in response to the demands made by the others. They think that the solution is to abandon this concept of democracy, that they should go back to the feudal style of government.

“There is already talk among them…I don’t know how serious it is but the fact that it is being actually voiced (out) is very disturbing,” Dr Mahathir said.

To another question on where the Opposition would obtain the 30 MPs, the former Prime Minister pointed towards Sabah and Sarawak.

“If we take Umno, MCA and MIC, they have their roots here (in the peninsula) but not in Sabah and Sarawak. Although you have Umno in Sabah, it is transplanted from here to there. They are used to smaller parties. So can we be sure that they will remain strongly loyal to Umno? I don’t think so,” he added.

He said even in the peninsula, there could be MPs who could cross over since they knew that they could be in the new opposition-led government.

Dr Mahathir said this crossing over would not a problem if BN had won by a two-thirds majority in Parliament as even if a BN MP were to cross over, he or she would not be able to gain much since the MP would still be with the Opposition.

“But now if they crossed over, they could be joining another government, they will not lose, in fact they can make money,” said the 83-year-old former leader.

He felt that Pakatan Rakyat was a force to be reckoned with not because it was strong or the people loved the Opposition but because “the feeling of disappointment.”

“(Penang Chief Minister Lim) Guan Eng, for example, is quite smart. He is not antagonising the people, instead he is winning their respect.

“You see in the last election, BN voters and supporters voted for Opposition, thinking that this will send a message to the BN. Apparently the message is not properly read and if the governments headed by the Opposition show good governance, (are) concerned about the people, not greedy, not corrupt, then when the next election comes those who voted for them will continue voting the Opposition,” he said.

Article Source:

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Frontpage/20080507140911/Article/index_html

Monday, April 21, 2008

Exit Plan Untuk Kebaikan

Dua catatan terakhir saya mengenai peralihan kuasa mendapat respon yang pelbagai. Apa yang saya cuba tulis ialah satu analisis senario politik semasa mengikut pandangan dan pemerhatian sebagai seorang Ahli Majlis Tertinggi UMNO.

Tujuan saya ialah supaya pimpinan tertinggi UMNO dapat memikirkan secara positif isu pergelutan politik ini dan mengambil langkah-langkah proaktif. Sekurang-kurangnya bagaimana untuk mengelak perkara tersebut dari menjadi kenyataan.

Untuk melaksanakan peralihan kuasa, sama ada sekarang, akan datang atau pun tiada peralihan langsung, itu adalah hak YAB Perdana Menteri. Saya hanya merayu agar satu exit plan dikemukakan segera. Ini juga selari dengan pengakuan YAB Pak Lah sendiri kepada UMNO Johor untuk mengadakan peralihan kuasa.

Selain itu, ahli-ahli UMNO juga mempunyai kuasa dan hak menentukan kedudukan kepimpinan parti. Saya hanya berharap jika ada exit plan dikemukakan awal, maka tiada satu pertandingan yang terlalu sengit sehingga memecah belahkan parti akan berlaku dalam Perhimpunan Agung UMNO akan datang.

Jika ada pihak mengatakan ini merupakan satu desakan daripada saya terpulanglah kepada pemahaman masing-masing. Saya cuma menyampaikan suara akar umbi yang menyatakan pandangan mereka kepada saya. Saya fikir pandangan-pandangan ini amat relevan dan saya bertanggungjawab untuk menyampaikannya kepada kepimpinan parti dan negara.

Selain pandangan ahli UMNO yang lebih 3 juta orang, pandangan orang Melayu seramai 16 juta juga perlu diambil kira bagi memastikan UMNO terus relevan.

Sebab itu dalam catatan pertama saya mengenai peralihan kuasa (ini juga saya sebut dalam forum mykmu.net di Hotel Singgahsana), UMNO, BN dan Kerajaan harus datang dengan satu formula baru bagi memastikan ia terus relevan kepada orang Melayu, Cina dan India serta kaum-kaum lain di Malaysia.

Semua ini, sama ada cakap-cakap mengenai perubahan kepimpinan mahu pun perubahan pendekatan dalam kerajaan dan parti, adalah bertujuan mengukuhkan UMNO sebagai parti yang menjadi tunggak Barisan Nasional dan juga kepimpinan negara.

Posted by Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo at Monday, April 21, 2008