NAJIB GOT CARELESS & CARRIED AWAY: He wanted the MONEY in his a/c so he could make Umno beholden to him - Zaid

The other day, someone asked me if I thought Prime Minister Datuk Sri Najib Razak’s days were numbered. Can he weather the latest scandal, which alleges that funds in excess of RM2.6 billion from 1MDB associate companies were channeled into his private AmBank accounts?

I said he would probably be pushed out by his own friends in UMNO, which would be both an irony and a tragedy. After all, all he did was what other UMNO leaders have done in the past, which was to give UMNO members money to pay for elections and to secure their loyalty to him, the party president. He might have taken some of that money for himself but we can be sure that other leaders have done that too, though perhaps on a smaller scale.

Am I condoning what he has allegedly done? Absolutely not. Corruption and abuse of power are unacceptable under any circumstances and using public funds for political use and for securing one’s leadership in a political party are criminal acts that must be punished. But Najib’s UMNO and Cabinet colleagues should not pretend they don’t know about how 1MDB money helped them to win in the last General Election. Why do you think Najib had frequent closed-door briefings with UMNO leaders on 1MDB?

They cannot feign surprise that Najib had so much cash, not when they gleefully accept his largesse from time to time without asking any questions. They have kissed his hands and failed to express any unhappiness with his generosity. There were no cries about wanting to find out where this money came from. But suddenly, they want him removed because he was “caught”— not for any other reason.

Careless

Najib’s fault is that he got carried away and became careless. He wants those who have benefited from his “generosity” to acknowledge his position as a leader who personally handed out money to his troops, which is why he needed the funds funneled to his personal accounts. He wants the UMNO troops to be beholden to him and to remember him now that he’s in trouble. In the next few weeks, we will find out if the money was enough to secure their loyalty and support. Like they say, when the ship sinks the rats run for their own survival. Let’s wait and see how many of his lieutenants remember his generosity.

It’s has been a hard day’s night for Najib and we are waiting with baited breath to see how he will respond to the brewing mutiny. He can continue trying to tell the public that all the allegations are mere lies perpetrated by his enemies, which is a waste of time, or he can start focusing on his mutinous troops. He has two years to placate the public but he may have just weeks to deal with his UMNO colleagues. If he has his priorities right he might survive longer, but if he loses focus the momentum to unseat him will be too strong for him to overcome.

We might then have a new PM, but who’s to say the handouts will cease? Can we be so sure that Najib’s departure will put a stop to the money-making ventures which lets UMNO benefit from government projects? In all probability, nothing much will change.

The best thing is for the whole Cabinet to resign. Ask forgiveness from the people for buying their vote. - zaid,my