The signs are not looking very good for Datuk Seri Najib Razak, a former Umno supreme council member said today, adding that the support the prime minister has been getting so far is not from grassroots leaders.
Speaking at forum titled “In Search for a New Malaysian Leader”, Datuk Dr Affifuddin Omar said this was evident going by what Umno grassroots leaders had to say during the recently concluded Rompin and Permatang Pauh by-elections.
"The ones voicing their support is mostly division heads, but on the ground, the signs are not looking very good, as seen in Rompin and Permatang Pauh recently."
Najib is currently facing criticism, including calls to resign, over his leadership and administration, with the most strident critic being former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Nonetheless, Affifuddin, who is still an Umno member, felt that Najib should be given a chance to prove his innocence in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
The former deputy finance minister, however, said he was in support of Umno, the party and not any individual.
Affifuddin added that in a democratic system, everything must be allowed to operate freely, including the freedom of information where everyone must have fair access to available information.
But he said in Malaysian system, not everybody has the same access to information.
"If all Malaysians know what is happening now, the story will definitely be different," he said.
Datuk Dr Affifuddin Omar
Meanwhile, former Umno minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said Najib should be slapped with a "red card" and replaced because he had lied in Parliament about 1MDB funds in the Cayman Islands.
He said a leader of a democratic country needed to hold on to the democratic principles of ministers' code of conduct and also take personal responsibility.
As such, he urged the opposition leader to move a no-confidence motion in Parliament against Najib, adding that it was secondary whether it would be successful or otherwise.
Zaid added that in order to change the system, there was a need for a clean leader and hoped that Kelantan prince Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah would step up and take on the challenge to replace Najib.
Another former Umno heavyweight, Tan Sri Muhammad Mohd Taib said the current system of the prime minister having too much power must be changed.
"We cannot allow the leader of our country to get too powerful, the nation will suffer.
"Instead, we should have a system where the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission report directly to Parliament,
"We need a leader who is brave enough to revamp the system this way, otherwise we will continue to rot in everything, from football to education standards."
Muhammad, who is also known as Mat Taib agreed, said in Rompin by-election for instance, people were alternating between TV1 and TV3 and inundated with “I love PM” messages.
"They don't have WiFi and switch between TV1 and TV3, so they get the impression that everyone supports Najib."
Mat Taib also said that Umno has lost its competitive spirit to move the nation forward and had instead turned into a business organisation.
"Dr Mahathir led the people, today we don't have a leader with that quality.
"But I see a reservoir of strong leaders in Pakatan Rakyat who can lead the people to a better place but we need the people' support," he said.
Although there was no consensus on who was the most suitable candidate to take over the prime minister's post, the trio agreed that the new leader must not be power hungry and must respect the separation of powers between the three branches of government, which they agreed was not the case now. – TMI
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