"The former prime minister had claimed that he had a gentleman’s agreement when he handed over power to Abdullah in 2003, that the latter would stay on for one term only and subsequently pass over the mantle to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak." [The Star]
"No such thing," was the simple response by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to the above claim by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Well, in the end it boils down to the former PM's words against the current PM's words. Someone is lying; the question is who? It's anybody's guess; but does it matter, really?
The former PM was also kind enough to give some advice as reported here. And I must say that those are very sound advice too; in fact, the good doctor could have heeded most of them himself during his reign as the Prime Minister.
This is what I think happened between these two great men: I am convinced that there was that so-called "gentleman's agreement" between them. Of course I have not a shred of evidence to prove the claim. All I can say is that such an "agreement" seems to fit the doctor's character. It is very like him to want to control the nation even if he is no longer the Prime Minister. Some old habits die hard, you see.
But Dr M did justify why he wanted Abdullah to succeed him. He said Abdullah is older than Najib, so he can be the Prime Minister for a term before passing on the baton to Najib.
What does that tell us? Well, it is hard to understand that kind of reasoning, but perhaps one can only guess that he thought Najib wasn't ready, or matured enough for the post. But if that was the explanation, would Najib be matured enough now—politically speaking—after only a few years? Besides, of all those people in BN, why Abdullah? There were many other older guys who would have been pleased to assume the role of Prime Minister.
And to be quite honest, when Abdullah succeeded Dr M, I was very surprised, although not for long. It's in the nature of the doctor that he should be the "king" and no one else should come close to challenging his authority. Throughout his tenure as the Prime Minister, we have seen how Razaleigh and Anwar got kicked out and then expelled into political wilderness, although the former was eventually readmitted into Barisan Nasional many years later. You know the saying, tak boleh lawan taukey!
Maybe the good doctor thought he could control Datuk Seri Abdullah too. But alas, after being the Prime Minister for a term, did the doctor think that Datuk Seri Abdullah would relinquish his position just like that? Gentleman or no gentleman, this is the top post in the Government, for goodness sake! I have said here before that power and fame are addictive; once acquired, very, very few will be able to resist the inclination to cling on to them!
And so there is no such thing as one term only as Prime Minister. Datuk Seri Abdullah will remain in office for who knows how long—perhaps another 20 years to outdo Dr M's record. The only way that that won't happen is if Barisan Nasional loses the general election. And we all know that Barisan Nasional won't lose, don't we? How could it possibly lose? The major papers, radio, TV networks, financial resources are all controlled by Barisan. If they can still lose the election, they must be a bunch of idiots!
2 comments:
yeah agreed, the good Dr. is a control freak. I think it's more of an unsaid understanding. The Dr. thinks that since he put HP6 PM there, he can also ask him leave when the time comes.
agreement or no agreement, the time has come for HP6 PM to leave. One term is too long for him. The nation is running on auto pilot. Going nowhere. I believe as a person he is a nicer and better guy than Dr. but a nation need strong leadership and not just a nice guy.
PM cannot be topple from the outside. Dr knows this better than anyone else so that why he is hoping for the people within UMNO itself.
Najib? I don't know. I think Ku Li would be better.
Yes, delurk, Abdullah is probably a better and nicer guy than the doctor.
BUT! don't forget that he is fast learning the trick! The ISA can be a useful means, isn't it? Whoever is up there can always fall back on the ISA. It is a useful and convenient weapon of any Prime Minister.
Ku Li? Not a chance. If indeed there is anyone who's qualified, perhaps it is Ku Li. But BN's tradition is not easy to break. No one—absolutely no one—is to challenge the Prime Minister! All other posts will be up for grabs, but not the Prime Minister's post. It is a kind of strange "democracy" that has been adopted for such a long time. I don't believe anyone in BN would dare to stir things up. Well, unless if they're done with politics.
Who knows, maybe Abdullah might change the tradition, and allow his comrades to run against him for the Prime Minister's post. But don't hold your breath; it's not gonna happen anytime soon.
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