It is clear the UMNO knives are now out for Prime Minister Najib Razak. Even Perak Mufti Harussan Zakaria, who previously only went after leaders in the opposition, gunned after him on Wednesday.
"I told Najib, 'Datuk Seri, the Malays are split because the government is very weak, betrays trust (tidak amanah) and is corrupt," Harussani said.
Harussani also revealed he had met and advised Najib to look into three important areas that were causing Malay disunity. However, he declined to give details. disunity.
Questionable behaviour
Pakatan Rakyat leaders, who in the past have borne the brunt of his rantings, said they were not surprised at the turn of events.The 58-yrear old Najib is struggling to hang onto his seat, with deputy Muhyiddin Yassin breathing down hard on his neck.
Najib has been torn by scandal, with latest involving an expose' by the former US amnasaador to Malaysia John Malott, who confirmed that Najib had known of a plot to "nuke" Anwar until he could not stand up politically.
Yet, he did nothing when former premier Mahathir Mohamad steamrolled over Anwar with a slew of manifestly trumped-up sodomy charges in 1998. In fact, 10 years later in 2008, Najib and wife Rosmah allegedly rolled out their own sodomy plot to continue keeping Anwar out of the political limelight.
Their lavish lifesytle too has upset the people, making them potential liabilities to the BN, which needs to call for general elections soon or face a steeply declining economy next year when the global conditions toughened even more.
Causing a stir
Harussani, known for his strong UMNO roots, did not have to say much to cause a great stir across the Muslim and Malay community. Traditionally the UMNO elite such as Najib are the patrons of the Muslim clerics, awarding government posts to win over their allegiance.
"Najib has never fought for anything on his own steam. His parliamentary seat was inherited from his dad, the minister portfolios, the chief ministership of Pahang, UMNO Youth leader, VP, Deputy President and now President - all these positins were handed to him on a silver plate. No wonder, he is scared of Muhyiddin," PKR assemblyman for Seri Setia Nik Nazmi told Malaysia Chronicle.
Nik Nazmi declined to guess who Harussani was speaking on behalf of, except to say that it was possible it came from the anti-Najib groups in UMNO including the factions loyal to Muhyiddin and former premier Mahathir Mohamad.
