For whatever its worth (12)

How bad is the effect and impact of Tun Dr Mahathirs barrage of criticism towards the PM dan Umno President and the government?

Has it managed to inflict severe wound on the oldest Malay party in the country and its leaders. Or were it not even a pinch to them and would like Nazri Azizs opinion simply die away as Tun tires himself in vain.

On the ground as a whole there seem to be conflicting response amongst the Malays at large. Some seem to sympathize and back the 81 year old former PM (who had served the nation for 22 years), while others just write off the old hermit as a disappointed sour grape who should just retire and keep quiet.



If yesterday Nazri seems to belittle and brush off the threat that Tun poses, the Umno Secretary General, Radzi Sheikh Ahmad thinks otherwise. According to Radzi if Tun is allowed to continue his road show, it would most likely undermine the party and pose a serious threat to Umno and the BN especially in the coming general elections.

Radzi foresees that the effect and backlash would be bad possibly at par with the threat that Umno faced in the 1999 elections (during that period Umno lost two states and considerable number of Parliamentary and state seats to PAS and Keadilan).

Already one Umno Youth leader has resigned in protest. According to NST:

He (Ipoh Barat Umno Youth chief Syed Mohamad Noor Azmi) did not indicate the reasons for quitting and declined to meet the Press after the meeting, which was opened by supreme council member Datuk Dr Noraesah Mohamad.But in his speech, he advised delegates to stop following blindly leaders who were uncouth, rude and do not show any gratitude. He said the party was for everyone and should not be manipulated to benefit only a select group.

Syed Mohamad is believed to be aligned to the Tun camp.

Perhaps all these are merely storms in Umnos teacup, but to me it looks greater than that. Banning the former President from officiating the partys divisional AGMs shows that the threat is for real. Providing Khairy Jamaluddin front page coverage and prime time news slots to rebut Tuns criticisms simply shows the magnitude of damage done by Tun towards the party leaders.

If Khairy could be given wide coverage, why cant Tun be given the same, if truth is what we seek? Let the people judge who is the actual traitor. As it is the guessing game would probably go on, and Khairy as well as his father in law would definitely be kept on their toes, to reply and rebut Tuns volleys of unending Katyusha rockets.