We hope Dr M will return to Umno...one day

The Umno Supreme Council (MT) which held a special meeting Wednesday night expressed the hope that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir would return to the party one day.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak said the meeting took note that Dr Mahathir had written an official letter to leave the party.

Howeve he said that he was prepared to meet the former Prime Minister anytime.

"But we know his stand and his position. So we leave it at that for the time being," he told reporters after the three-hour meeting that was chaired by Party President Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi.

Dr Mahathir had announced on Monday that he was quitting Umno because he had lost confidence in the leadership of Abdullah as Prime Minister, Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairman.

Here's the Bernama story:

Najib, who is also Umno deputy president, said the meeting also discussed the framework of a plan to move the party forward and regain the confidence of its members and Malaysians.

Apart from these, Najib said the MT also decided to continue supporting Abdullah to lead the party to ensure it received continued support from members.

Asked whether other members had followed Dr Mahathir in quitting Umno,Najib said so far no other letters to the effect had been received. Asked whether the leadership transition plan between Abdullah and him was discussed, Najib said," it was not discussed, that's between me and the Prime Minister."

He said the meeting also did not discuss the stand of the Member of Parliament for Jerlun, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir on the same issue (his father Dr Mahathir's uitting), which was said to have been disrespectful of the Prime Minister, and that it would left to Umno Youth to decide.

"The matter was not discussed today. We will be guided by Exco Pemuda (Umno Youth's executive committee)," said Najib.

He added that the MT believed Umno members would remain loyal to the party and should any problem arise, it would be resolved within Umno.-- BERNAMA

Malaysia needs a strong Opposition - Dr M

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave an inteview to Malaysiakini. In the first of a two-part interview with journalist Li Tsin Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysia needs a strong Opposition "that can hold up a mirror to the government." He also gives his assessement on how Pas, DAP and PKR would do in Kelantan, Penang and elsewhere, criticises Pak Lah and slams the son-in-law.

Here's excerpt of the interview:

“I believe in an opposition. I have always maintained that this country needs an opposition and they should be critical of the government without which we don’t have a mirror to look at our faces. We think that we are very beautiful but it is the opposition that keeps telling us (that may not be true).

“You know the government member (of parliament), sometimes they are ‘ahli bodek’ (apple polishers). They are always saying ‘you’re right’, and you have no means of assessing whether you are going in the right direction or not.”

He told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview today that it would be a “disaster” if the country “loses its opposition” as in Singapore.

Looking a little frail in his trademark bush jacket since his second heart bypass in September last year, Mahathir gave his prognosis on this Saturday’s general elections.He said the government would be able to retain its two-thirds majority but could lost a few seats in Terengganu and Kedah.Mahathir also predicted that the government would win between 70 to 75 percent of Parliament seats on March 8.

In the 2004 general elections, BN won 90 percent of the seats. If Mahathir is correct, then the opposition could win between 55 to 65 seats, which will be a sizable increase from its current tally of 21.Mahathir also did not think the Barisan Nasional coalition would be able to wrest Kelantan state government from Islamic party PAS.

“Kelantan would be a very difficult because although the margin is very small, Kelantanese have got a mind of their own, so to speak. If they are living in KL, they are very supportive of the government but if they are living in Kelantan, the peer pressure is very strong.”

Mahathir also believed that the opposition would do well in Penang, but not enough to win government, or deny BN its two-thirds majority.

Two clarifications

Mahathir also took the opportunity at the interview held at his Perdana Leadership Foundation office in Putrajaya to clarify that there was no prior agreement in which his handpicked successor would serve only one term as prime minister.

“I want to say this, there was no gentleman’s agreement on this but my thinking was that he (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) should serve for one term and give Najib (Razak) who by then would be much older to succeed him,” he said.

The former BN leader who spearheaded BN’s victory in five consecutive elections also ticked off the opposition for seeking to capitalise on something which he had said in jest.

Full interview here

Dr M: Najib understands problems better

FORMER Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has a reputation of being a feisty statesman. Today got the rare chance to meet him at his office in Putrajaya — the city that he personally designed — yesterday. He was all smiles and subtlety as he talked about the general election and his nation's political future, but his views are razor-sharp as ever, as Nazry Bahrawi (nazry@mediacorp.com.sg) found out. - TODAY online

On THE RULING COALITION

The Barisan Nasional has just released its report card. What are your opinions on its achievements since 2004, when Mr Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's first term as Prime Minister began?

DR M: There are of course a lot of negative things that are not in the report card. For example, lots of money is being lost, the prestige of the nation has gone down and the fact is a lot of people cannot find work or business in the country. They have to go elsewhere.

Which achievements would you take issue with?

Islam Hadhari has caused a lot of confusion. There is only one Islam and now they are told that they are followers of Islam Hadhari or modern Islam as if it is a new religion. With regards to the new development corridors, they are just announcements. Nothing has happened on the ground. The amount of money involved is fantastic. It goes into trillions of ringgit and it will happen over a period of maybe 10 to 20 years. So, these are promises. Anybody can make a promise.

What do you think of the Barisan Nasional (BN) election strategy?

I think it is a good strategy and they will gain a lot of support from the people.

On SUCCESSION IN UMNO

How do you see leadership succession panning out in Umno (the United Malays National Organisation) and Malaysia as a whole?

We have certain traditions. Unfortunately, some traditions have partly been broken. For example, no one is allowed to contest leadership position. The Prime Minister determines who the leader will be and any challenge towards the leadership is not permitted. However, some people are actually called up and told not to stand. This is not Umno tradition at all.

In an earlier interview, you suggested that Mr Abdullah should make way for Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Why did you say that?

I said that I thought he should be PM for one term and that he should be succeeded by Datuk Seri Najib because Datuk Seri Najib is senior to him. From the speeches that he (Najib) makes, he understands problems much better. He does not seem to be concerned about making sure that any support for the previous government was wrong.

But you had personally chosen Mr Abdullah over Mr Najib ...

Well, at that time, he (Abdullah) was a good choice because he was known as Mr Clean. And he was also older. So, I thought he should get a chance to become Prime Minister at least for one term.

What do you think of the possibility of Mr Hishamuddin Hussein or Mr Khairy Jamaluddin playing a bigger role in Umno after the elections?

I think if you follow them, it will be disastrous for the party.

On THE OPPOSITION

What do you think of the opposition, including former DPM Anwar Ibrahim?

The opposition, as usual, has no very strong platform and they cannot work together. So, Anwar Ibrahim is no longer the great hero that he was thought to be ... Even if he were to win a by-election, he would just be a Member of Parliament and nothing more than that.

Do you believe he has successfully united the opposition?

He has not played a bridging role between the DAP (Democratic Action Party) and PAS (Parti Islam SeMalaysia). It is not easy to get DAP and PAS together — they have very different philosophies.

What is your prediction of the outcome of this general election?

I think the National Front will still win but maybe with a reduced majority ... I'm quite sure the unrest on the streets since last November will have some impact on the number of votes cast for the government. There will be a reduced number of votes.

The opposition believes it can deny the government a two-thirds parliamentary majority. Do you think this will happen?

I am not so sure they can deny the BN that. Of course, anything can happen in an election. My guess is that the BN will still get two-thirds of the majority — but not the kind of majority it had in 2004.

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