Najib is now Prime Minister and the R.A.H.M.A.N. prophecy fulfilled. God help us.
His much-hyped new cabinet was supposed to be "lean and mean" and it turned out to be neither. The most talked-about decision is the omission of Khairy, the new UMNO Youth president. Najib is at once kow-towing to Mahathir (Mukhriz was elected deputy minister) while attempting to send Khairy into political oblivion along with his father-in-law Tun Abdullah Badawi. Whatever else he is, Khairy appears to be very smart and wily, and a fighter, so no way is he going quietly.
Days after Najib was sworn in, the tri-elections of Bukit Gantang (Kedah), Bukit Selambau (Perak) and Batang Ai (Sarawak) took place. The lead-up to the by-elections on the mainland had been very tense, with water bottles the new weapon of choice to be hurled to express one's displeasure. Election day was just as tense with the FRU notoriously resorting to their water cannons in one instance. The final result: Pakatan Rakyat won the two Bukits and BN retained the rural Sarawakian constituency. Not unexpected, but nevertheless a blow to the newly-annointed PM.
Tengku Razaleigh had this to say about the loss:
“It is a disgrace actually. Unlike before, we named a candidate, and as sure as a daylight they would win.
"But now we have to pray, we have to work hard, go back and forth, and throw a lot of money and still we do not win. So something is wrong,” he said.
(Malaysiakini, April 11 2009)
Money? Really? Hah. Mengaku pun.
Bridget Welsh put it succinctly: Voters take the money and vote independently.
Another dark cloud in Najib's horizon just refuses to go away. His former underlings, the two policemen who murdered Altantuya, were sentenced to death without their defence being called. I know nothing of the law, but this seems like a gross injustice to me. The hue and cry of course, is the fact that the Attorney-General's office considers the case closed while everybody and their grandmother knows it's not. Razak Baginda uprooted his family and relocated to England. PI Bala is still in location unknown. Najib is in his fancy new digs along with his lovely wife Rosmah, talking about One Malaysia, reform, and being humbled with his new post.
These days, when I start my day by checking the Malaysian news portals, I half-expect to see headlines about some politician or other getting shot at or assasinated.
Things are really that f'd up.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
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