|
Khairy stirs
a hornets� nest Khairy Jamaluddin, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi�s son-in-law, has stirred a hornets� nest. And the head honcho hornet making the stinging attack is Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. As a short digression, when an aide rushed into Najib�s office on 2 September 2004 to tell him that the federal court had freed Anwar, he uttered, �No way!� He then switched on the TV and when it was confirmed Anwar had been freed he almost had a heart attack. Anyway, back to the issue of the day. Khairy, those close to Najib say, control the media. All his people have been slotted in the important facets of the various media agencies. Khairy, argue these people, can tell the press what it can and cannot do. Why, therefore, is Khairy allowing the media to �over-report� the Anwar Ibrahim issue? Anwar is now the flavour of the day, so much so that even reports on the coming Umno General Assembly later this month have been relegated to the inside pages, and that is if there is any mention of it at all. On certain days, there is hardly a mention of the Umno assembly. This has infuriated Najib who has led the charge against Khairy. On Wednesday, the Cabinet decided that the Anwar issue must be downplayed. An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 supporters saw Anwar off at the KLIA last Saturday when he left for his medical treatment in Munich, Germany. Anwar is expected back around the middle of October or thereabouts after he visits Saudi Arabia to perform his Umrah (small Haj). The government is worried that twice this number may greet him on his return to Malaysia. The worry that such a large crowd may get out of control or that the KLIA may grind to a halt is one thing. What is of more concern is Anwar returning to a hero�s welcome like Caesar entering Rome after conquering the world. And Anwar is, in a way, conquering the world. Though the local media has not been saying so, Anwar�s doctors are perturbed that he is not getting much rest. There are never ending streams of visitors lined up outside his door waiting to pay homage to the man now perceived in the same league as Nelson Mandela. It is not that Anwar�s spin doctors are at work. In fact, they have been caught off-guard by Anwar�s unexpected release and are yet to regain their composure. No one in Anwar�s camp has yet decided on what moves to make once Anwar returns to Malaysia. At best, they are still gathering their thoughts. But Anwar is a natural magnet who seems to attract people without anyone even having to engineer it. So news on Anwar must be killed before it gets out of hand, if it is not already out of hand. And what is Khairy doing about it, asks critics of the Prime Minister�s son-in-law. In fact, he made it worse by visiting Anwar the night of his release. Najib is demanding an explanation. Is it true Khairy visited Anwar on the instructions of the Prime Minister himself? And if so, why? The Prime Minister says that he sent his son-in-law to visit Anwar to help him get his passport renewed. But Najib is not buying this story. The Prime Minister can easily phone the Director-General of the Ministry of Home Affairs under whom the Immigration Department comes under to solve the matter. One phone call and Anwar�s passport is renewed. Khairy need not visit Anwar for that. Anyway, what has Khairy got to do with the Immigration Department or the Ministry of Home Affairs? Najib smells a rat and he does not like what he smells. So he is leading a rebellion by stirring up the state Umno chiefs. He feels there may be moves to cast him aside and he is not going to go down without a fight. He knows he is not in the Prime Minister�s good books and that his days are numbered. He just does not know yet what is the catalyst that will be his downfall. Khairy wants to be Prime Minister one day. And there is every indication he would be. But the equation must be right. There is a long queue for the post of top dog and this queue must be shortened. If Mustapa Mohamed, the Kelantan state chief, goes up, then he could drag Khairy along in his wake. The line of succession after Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is simple; Mustapa, the next number two, and Khairy, the next Youth Chief. Hishamuddin Hussein would need to move up to Vice President to make way for Khairy. But this can only happen if Najib and all the other �young� faces are cast aside allowing the older incumbents to retain their seats. Then, by the time Khairy, Hishamuddin and gang, are ready to move up, the older generation would be ready for retirement to make way for them. And how does Anwar fit into all this? And why did Khairy go to meet Anwar? And why is Anwar being given �undue� publicity? This is what rattles Najib. Is Anwar going to play a role in this line of succession? Anwar still has influence in Umno. In fact, many in the pro-Anwar faction have already flown to Germany to meet Anwar or have already booked their flights and are about to fly to Germany. Certainly the pro-Anwar faction is going to play an important role in the succession tussle. And what if Khairy is the key ingredient in the succession formula? Najib is not going to take this lying down. He is gunning for Khairy and he hopes he can get the state chiefs to rally behind him in the confrontation with the Prime Minister. Najib knows he cannot take Abdullah head on. That would be his doom. But he need not take on his party President. All he needs to do is take on the Prime Minister�s son-in-law and ensure that this young man is no longer in the race. That would be enough for him to become the next number one. Najib is also organising a �movement� to table a resolution at the next Umno Supreme Council meeting on Tuesday, 14 September 2004, asking that Anwar be prohibited from rejoining Umno. Anwar never said he wanted to rejoin Umno. In fact, he said the opposite; that his Reformasi agenda is still top on his priority list. But Najib is taking no chances. What if Khairy�s game plan is to bring Anwar and his inner circle back into Umno? What if the deal is, Anwar takes over from Abdullah with Khairy as his anointed number two? There is an almost 30-year age difference between Khairy and Anwar. Anwar would have to retire long before Khairy is ready to take over. Having Anwar as the interim Prime Minister works well for Khairy -- but only if Najib disappears from the scene. Hmm�is it Khairy who has stirred the hornets� nest or is Najib the stirrer. One of these two are going to get stung and my money says that Najib will be the one who suffers the sting. Khairy may be young but he is not wet behind the ears. He already demonstrated his political savvy in the recent general election by engineering the ruling party�s most impressive win ever. In a gunfight, only one walks away. The other gets carried away in a coffin. Any bets anyone? ------------------------------------------------ ADIL-Net will remain a Free Forum until further notice. Disclaimer: The opinions and views posted are not necessarily that of the list owner's or ADIL's -------------------------------------------------- Send a blank e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - to subscribe to the list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - to unsubscribe from the list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - to switch your subscription to normal [EMAIL PROTECTED] - to switch your subscription to digest ADIL Homepage: http://members.easyspace.com/reformasi/
Yahoo! Groups Links
|
- Re: [ADIL-Net] Khairy_stirs_a_hornets'_nest Raja Petra Kamarudin
- Re: [ADIL-Net] Khairy_stirs_a_hornets'_nest aref atari
