1.30 am update ... Second thought?
Always possible. But what's quite certain is the DPM had no hand in drafting the statement; he was given the statement to approve (or amend/reject?).
Others had prepared the statement for Najib to read out. They took pains to go through piles of documents, some classified and some not. A motley crew of cabinet ministers, civil servants, thinkers, editors.
Editors!? What have journalists got to do with drafting a statement for the government to be used against a former prime minister of 22 years whose sin was to ask the man he made Prime Minister of this country a few hard questions and let out the truth about who his First Choice as his successor had been?
10.30pm update ... I've just been told that the statement will be issued only tomorrow. Najib will still have to do it, though, as the PM is expected home only Saturday.
Original posting .. When the PM left the country for a last-minute holiday-cum-sinus operation, his deputy had to cancel his own plans to catch some World Cup football action in Germany.
But that was a small sacrifice compared with the test Mohd Najib Abdul Razak must pass tonight. Tonight, on behalf of the absent PM, the DPM must issue a statement that has been meticulously prepared to counter, once and for all, the "scathing attacks" on his boss by the former prime minister, Dr Mahathir.
It must be tough for Najib. He had been the "first choice" to succeed him, Dr M said recently when he put the Abdullah administration and on a strange defensive with his four questions.
Last I checked, at 9.24pm, Najib was still editing the statement.
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ReplyDeleteDato Najib continue to be in the centre of the ongoing battle between the incumbent PM and his predecessor. The incumbent is adopting US President Bush tactic - you are with us or you are not! Dato Najib is now in a dilemma, a situation many of his Cabinet colleagues are also in.
ReplyDeleteWhile they express support to the PM, they don't like the idea of the present leadership trying to destroy Tun M. The present establishment will now resort to all sorts of tactics to bring down the Tun. We can expect more spins in the media soon. Don't be surprised if editors are made to compromise their remaining principles to help prepetuate the spins based on half truths and lies.
This is also the time when the war-chests will be opened to finance such operations. Don't be surprised too if you find some Pemuda petty officials start moving on the ground throwing their new-found wealth. The battle lines are being drawn more forcefully now Bro Bru.
Bru, really tired of being dragged around the mulberry bush and up the garden path. So be it. If we have to sacrife Najib, let be haste and get over with. Read Kadir's blog. He asked the question if Najib could be the peacemaker. We have been mired in this stupidity long enough.
ReplyDeleteIf it's true that Najib has to be sacrifed to appease the angry and hungy King Kong, so be it. If Najib fails to convince Tun Mahathir and other sceptics, we are a step closer to seeing the final battle. There's nobody else after Najib but the PM himself.
But where is the PM? He could be having a more serious medical problem than sinusitis to seek medical treatment in Australia, and be away for so long. Remember the Old Man? He was up and about, and speaking to TV people only days after his coronary bypass at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital 15 years ago?
In any case, the government is already discredited for taking so long to answer Mahathir and other sceptical Malaysians. Why take so long?
Hamid Albar faced some very difficult questions and a fair amount of jeering from Umno people in Shah Alam. I hope Najib's Mother of all Answers is not like his "change your lifestyle" appearence on TV to defend the fuel price increase some time ago. He was pathetic.
God, where have all the good leaders gone. We may end up with Malacca CM as our future PM!
Wah! Got update already! U never sleep one ah!
ReplyDeleteBro,
Are you suggesting that Dato Najib is asked to announce something of which he has no say in the drafting, much less the content? Are you saying that the top-end of the government machinery is drafting a statement only for the DPM to issue?
And you say that editors are also in the drafting game? Is that why a couple of them were spotted in Putrajaya few days ago? I've heard stories of editors doing Government propaganda job in Singapore but not sure if they do it here. Unless..unless a Singapore- trained editor is doing it! God forbids lah Bro! We can't be that bad! Surely there's enough talent within the Government who can do a decent job!
Nonetheless, I'll wait and see what's coming in the papers the next few days.
kawan, I won't worry about Dr Mahathir. I am not even worried about Pak Lah or Najib. I have seen greater PMs came and went.
ReplyDeleteI AM WORRIED ABOUT THE COUNTRY.
The bengkok bridge, the sale of Proton assets, the firing of Mahaleel and the AP kings are only four of our problems. And they are not even the most pressing problems.
We can live without the crooked jambatan, the MV Agusta, Tengku Mahaleel and with the AP kings becoming emperors.
But can we live with rising unemployment, rising inflation,rising crime rate, rising interest rate and rising capital flight?
Can we live with falling return on investment (ROI), falling share prices on Bursa Malaysia, falling FD interest rates, falling dividends, falling FDI, falling moral standard and falling ratings of our country?
Why Temasih is on a shopping spree is not because ECM-Libra is successful in promiting our asstes abroad. Temasik is on a shopping spree bacause our assets are cheap. They are at bargain prices because Bursa Malaysia is doing badly.
Bursa is doing badly because investors do not see any direction for the economy.
Temasik and ECM-Libra are the least of our problems. Our problem is falling confidence in our economic, fiscal and monetary management. Who in the business world does not know that Bank Negara has no respect whatsover for the Finance Ministry?
Fortunately we have a strong and capable BN Governor. That's about all that we have.
So I do not see our problems being solved with Najib or anybody else pulling the wool over our eyes. Yes, you can fool the average voters. But you can't fool yourself. If you're not a good leader, you can't lead no matter how massive your mandate has been. If democracy works, elections would have been made redundant a long time ago. Democracy does not change things. A capable leader democratically elected does!
Remember, our problems go beyond the bridge, the sacking of Mahaleel, the sale of MV Agusta and the continuation of the unfair allocation of APs.
What is so important about a press statement from Najib even if its directed by some other people? Is the thinking on KJ& Co that Machiavellian politics is the answer to the problem? Yes, they may have the files and all the dirty little secrets but so what?
ReplyDeleteThe battle has moved beyond facts firstly because Malaysian don't believe either side and secondly those who are most active in it really are about mostly money and power. Its now a battle of wills, skills, organization and Dr. M despite disadvantage of not being in office, is gaining momentum.
Dear ex-BT Reporter,
ReplyDeleteI hear you. I hear you loud and clear. Our problem, really, is leadership. The lack of it actually. And that's not difficult to conclude.
I mean how else could one Minister issue comments like allowing night clubs to open till 5am only to be told off by his Cabinet colleagues!
Bru da Man, give us a heads-up when the statement is issued.
hello...what is so new about editors doing government work? This has been a practice for a mightly long time. Are you people so naive. Were you all just born yesterday.
ReplyDeleteSince forever -- from the days of journalist icon Pak Samad Ismail, Dr Noordin, Dr Munir, (Shivadas may not have been too involved), AKJ and of course, DKL ---- they all had a finger in many thigns government.
Didnt Pak Samad write some of Tun Razak's speeches? Wasn't he involved in several covert operations (govt and Umno). (OK so he was detained under the ISA). Was not AKJ close enough with Tun Daim to have helped in similar work. There was no Tun Dr Mahathir to fight... but there were 'other things".
So, with editors being part of the operation against Tun Mahathir... tell me, why the surprise. I would be surprised if they were NOT involved.and especially the NST's role now. Was it ever wrong? Perhaps... but it was very acceptable. As saudara Anwar Ibrahim would say --- it is the NAWAITTU.
Kasihan ya, si Najib tu. Di gunakan untuk di korbankan. Rela ke tidak, beliau tiada pilihan. Apa nak jadi pada negara kita ni, ya. Permainan politik yang amat dahsyat.
ReplyDeleteDosa besar ke Tun Mahathir meminta jawapan kepada 4 soalan?
Budak2 Pak Lah tergamak sungguh membuat sebegini kepada tokoh negara seperti Tun Mahathir.
Adakah ini dengan "blessing" Pak Lah?