'GE14 Roundup: Is Umno gone for good?', Edge Weekly, 24 May 2018

 

EVEN if BN had managed to somehow cling on to federal power in the recently concluded 14th general election, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have had to go, simply because the Umno he led fell in Johor — the birthplace of the political party.

So, with the federal administration and Johor slipping from its hands, not to mention the other states it lost, it is a no-brainer to say Najib must relinquish his Umno presidency.

Will Umno do a Badawi on him ? Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi saw the BN he led losing its two-thirds majority in parliament following the 2008 general election and losing five states, although it hung on to the federal government. Umno ousted him as party president.

 

Abdullah’s failure is nothing compared with the disaster Najib has led his party into this time. So, will Umno force him out?

Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin is calling for what he calls reforms. At the time of writing, at least one youth leader, from Kedah, had called for Najib’s resignation. Expect the calls to grow louder in the days to come.

The blame game has begun. Umno leader Datuk Puad Zarkashi, who was dropped from the GE14 slate, blamed Najib for the defeat, saying the Umno president was too soft in dealing with the party’s warlords. He also pointed an accusing finger at fellow Johor leaders Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin.

Why Umno lost is no longer the question. What the members and Puad are saying has been said by many long before GE14.

Hence, the big question is, will Najib quit?

Whether he goes voluntarily or is forced out, it means he will no longer be the opposition leader. Is he willing to be humbled, to be just an ordinary MP, after being prime minister for eight years?

Assuming he resigns, on his own accord or otherwise, who will take over? That’s an equally big question.

The logical choice must be Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi , the vice-president who carries out the duties of deputy president. He was, after all, No 2 in the Najib administration.

Will he step in?

But here’s the thing. When Abdullah relinquished the Umno presidency, BN still controlled the federal government .That meant the person taking over as Umno president would become prime minister. That was Najib.

But now, whoever takes over will not be rewarded with the plum job of PM.

So, will Zahid, Hishammuddin, Khairy, or any other leader for that matter, be willing to become Umno president and shoulder the mammoth task of rebuilding the party, and as the opposition? That’s  no easy feat.

Now, another big question is, can Umno recover from the GE14 disaster?

Political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian told The Edge deputy editor Tan Choe Choe that “it can if drastic changes are made, [with] older leaders making way for younger ones”.

We cannot say Umno has no hope — it still won a good number of seats. We have seen how the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party bounced back after a severe loss. So, it’s not impossible for Umno to recover if it can quickly find a remedy.

True. But its members are not the Japanese, who are known for their resilience and endurance.

I am not writing the party off. But I am, if I may, reminding the leaders and members alike that they have to recharge their semangat and rebuild their party without the things they were used to previously — the advantages, resources and perks of being the incumbent government.

And before they embark on their long journey to recovery, there’s another question of the state of confusion within the party’s ranks resulting from the Election Commission’s redelineation exercise.

According to a highly placed Umno insider, the redrawing of constituencies saw Umno divisions and branches being moved. That led to some leaders being shifted to other divisions and not having any position.

The insider said the party leadership was aware of the problem but had told members to first focus on GE14 before tackling the problem.

That included the restructuring of branches and divisions.

Perhaps. The Umno insider said there were already members lobbying to be protem heads at the new restructured divisions. Obviously, then, Umno did not think that it would lose the general election.

To say Umno is dead and buried would not be right, but the party has a mountain to climb. A very high mountain — and that is putting it conservatively.

And there’s another thing — talk that Umno is an illegal party is making the rounds again.

But that’s for another day.

 

Mohsin Abdullah is a contributing editor who has covered politics for more than four decades

 

'Malaysia's Anwar Pardoned, Paving Way for Return to Politics', Bloomberg, 16 May 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

By

Yudith Ho

and

Anuradha Raghu

‎16‎ ‎May‎, ‎2018‎ ‎12‎:‎00‎ ‎AM Updated on ‎16‎ ‎May‎, ‎2018‎ ‎4‎:‎47‎ ‎PM

• Anwar had been jailed for sodomy, spent years in prison
• Mahathir has indicated he won’t step aside soon for Anwar

 

                

Mahathir's Return Adds Pressure to Malaysian Bonds

Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim is a free man just one week after his coalition’s shock election win and after more than three years in jail. Still, while it clears the way for him to return to politics, it’s unlikely he will take over as premier anytime soon.

Anwar walked late morning from a hospital where he’d been receiving treatment, and was pardoned by the king for a sodomy conviction. He met with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad -- his partner in the ruling Pakatan Harapan alliance -- and Anwar’s party plans a public celebration tonight. His release comes just a day before the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan begins.

There were cheers and shouts of jubilation outside the hospital as a smiling Anwar appeared, flanked by large numbers of police and security officials. Wearing a suit, he touched his heart before waving and getting into a car alongside his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is deputy prime minister and also president of their People’s Justice Party, or PKR.

Speaking at a briefing later outside his house in Kuala Lumpur, Anwar said he had thanked Mahathir, his former bitter enemy, for his help getting released. He was presented with a flower garland from his ethnic Indian supporters in the colors of his party along with a basket of eggs, which one of his backers said symbolized renewal.

"When you are incarcerated you realize what is the meaning and significance of freedom,” Anwar said. “There is a new dawn for Malaysia."
Anwar said he backed Mahathir as premier and would not insist on any timeframe for a handover of power. Asked about their past feuds, he said "I have forgiven him," adding "why should I harbor malice against him?"
"My position is to give him all the support necessary to allow him to ensure that the agenda for reform, the changes that need to be done, can be carried out,” he said. “It’s not a one man show. It’s a decision to be made by a team of leaders from Pakatan Harapan, with Dr M who is the chief steward in the entire process.”

Anwar added he planned to rest and carry out some speaking commitments at universities. “I think I need that time, that space.”
His release is a moment to celebrate for a group which labored in opposition for decades and faced constant pressure from those in office -- he’s been jailed twice on sodomy convictions and also for abuse of power. And his initial comments may ease, at least for now, early tensions within the fledgling government.
Read more: Declassified Report on Malaysia’s 1MDB Shows Funding Anomalies
Mahathir, 92, promised during the campaign to stand aside for Anwar once he was pardoned but is now pushing back the potential timeline by a matter of years. That highlights the extent to which the durability of the coalition rests on a continued rapprochement between the two former enemies.
“Anwar realizes that for Pakatan Harapan to stay united and strong, he shouldn’t interfere or meddle in affairs at the moment,” said Ahmad Martadha Mohamed, an associate professor at Universiti Utara Malaysia. “He has to take an outsider role, and give possible advice -- becoming an elder statesperson.”
Mahathir has indicated any power shift will take time.
“In the initial stages, maybe lasting one or two years, I will have to be the prime minister and I will have to run the country,” he said Tuesday via video conference to participants at a Wall Street Journal event in Tokyo.
The relationship between Anwar and Mahathir has been marked by decades of bitterness and public attacks, stemming from Mahathir’s decision during a prior stint in power to sack Anwar as his deputy amid a dispute on how best to respond to the Asian financial crisis.
After he was fired in 1998, Anwar was jailed in the majority Muslim nation for committing sodomy and abusing power, charges he denied. He was convicted in 2014 on a subsequent sodomy charge and jailed in 2015 when his appeal was denied. He needed the royal pardon to bypass a five-year ban on re-entering politics.
There have been signs of tension in the four-party coalition in the election aftermath, including public squabbles over the way cabinet posts are decided. Pakatan Harapan includes a party mostly representing ethnic Malays, and one representing Chinese.
“I expect some resistance,” Mahathir said Tuesday of differences related to cabinet appointments. “So far we have been able to resolve. It is accepted that the final decision will be made by me.”

Najib last month referred to Mahathir’s coalition as a "motley collection of parties" that he said would struggle to remain united. Prior versions of the alliance -- before Mahathir joined -- collapsed in acrimony over ideology, and at times parties competed against each other for votes in the same districts.
Unity between Anwar, 70, and Mahathir is key to the government executing quickly on campaign promises to scrap an unpopular goods and services tax, review big-ticket infrastructure projects and cut spending.
“The reason why the public supported us is they have faith in the leadership of the opposition to resolve some of the problems,” Mahathir said Tuesday.
“He is leader of one of the coalition parties,” he said of Anwar. “I expect him to play the same role as the leaders of the other three parties. There will be no more special powers given, excepting as is given to ministers or deputy ministers or deputy prime ministers.”
— With assistance by Isabel Reynolds, and Anisah Shukry

 

'Disqualification of six candidates due to lack of due diligence: Analyst', The Sun Daily, 2 May 2018

Disqualification of six candidates due to lack of due diligence: Analyst

     

Ian McIntyre
     

                     

GEORGE TOWN: Pakatan Harapan may not have suffered six disqualifications of its candidates on Nomination Day if the Opposition alliance took up the offer to screen their proposed candidates with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) here.
While secrecy may be seen as a strategic move during the selection of candidates, vetting bodies such as MACC could also be subjected to tight disclosure laws so as to maintain the integrity aspects, said Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) political scientist Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian.
Speaking to theSun, Sivamurugan said that MACC had reportedly made an offer to all political parties in the run-up to the general election.
"If I am not mistaken, Barisan Nasional had accepted the offer (for a third party to vet their candidates)," said Sivamurugan in an interview.
Hence, the national coalition had no problems meeting the requirements of the Election Commission to qualify to stand as candidates.
He said that political parties need to up their preparations as public expectations of having trustworthy, capable and academically inclined candidates are high.
"There is no doubt voters are more discerning on their choice of candidates. Although there is still an element of choosing logo above everything else, eventually voters also want quality and transparent candidates."
The six, who were barred from contesting, was headed by two-term Batu Member of Parliament Tian Chua from PKR, who was barred from contesting due to a fine meted out to him by a High Court in Shah Alan.
This is followed by the dismissal of PKR's Dr. S. Streram, who could not gain access to the nomination centre to file his papers.
Streram could not contest in the Rantau state seat in Negri Sembilan, handing over a walkover for the incumbent Datuk Seri Mohamed Hassan, the caretaker Mentri Besar, who is now scheduled to continue his tenure if BN regains the state.
Others who fell by the wayside were Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia's candidates, Pizi Jihat at the Bukit Pasir state seat (Johor) and Yaakob Osman in Penaga state seat (Penang), on technical grounds of bankruptcy.
Mohd Azihan Che Seman was disqualified in the Tawang state seat in Kelantan for an invalid identity card and Mohd Hafidz Rizal Amran was prohibited for a bankruptcy charge in the state seat of Kuala Balah in Kelantan.
In another development, Yaakob has revealed that his bankruptcy notice stemmed from credit card debts which he was not notified by the bank.
"My lawyer found the documentation and the insolvency was due to a credit card debt from 20 years ago and the notices were sent to my old address 20 years ago so I never got the notices," he said.