Najib faces furore over corruption sweep

Malaysia's incoming leader Najib Razak faced a furore Wednesday over corruption charges against members of his party, while a former cabinet minister called for the king to block his appointment.

Fifteen members of the ruling UMNO party were Tuesday reprimanded over vote-buying during intense campaigning ahead of internal leadership elections next week.

The most prominent was Mohamad Ali Rustam, who was running to become deputy prime minister but is now disqualified. Najib, the current deputy, is due to replace Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi this month.

Mohamad Ali said he would appeal against the decision.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the decision to punish the party members was potentially damaging, and that although UMNO needs to stamp out money politics the timing was unfortunate.

"If action is taken before you reach the final hurdle, then things will collapse. When it collapses, it will create a lot of undercurrents," he said, according to The Star daily.

"And these undercurrents for UMNO in its present state are not healthy," he said, referring to the party's crisis of confidence since disastrous results in general elections a year ago.

Najib has rejected suggestions that the move against Mohamad Ali -- seen as close to Abdullah's outgoing administration -- could trigger a split within the party.

James Chin, a political analyst from Monash University's campus in Kuala Lumpur, said vested interests meant Najib would survive the furore despite shouts of outrage from Abdullah's faction.

"The best way to describe UMNO is that it's a giant patronage machine. When people are angry it simply means they've been cut out of patronage. Those who are still on the gravy train will never go against the leader," he said.

Adding to the pressure on Najib, former cabinet minister Zaid Ibrahim on Wednesday appealed to the king to block his appointment as prime minister because of "unanswered allegations" over corruption and a murder.

"The air must be cleared, it is thick with accusations and doubts which can only undermine the office of the prime minister if he were to assume it," Zaid, a maverick who was sacked from the party last year, said in a speech.

Najib has been forced to repeatedly deny any involvement in the 2006 murder of 28-year-old Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, the lover of one of his close aides, whose body was blown up with military-grade explosives. (MSN)


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Malaysian govt faces losing power over graft: Mahathir

Malaysia's coalition government which has ruled for half a century will be dumped at the next elections if it continues to embrace corrupt leaders, former premier Mahathir Mohamad said Sunday.

Mahathir said the Barisan Nasional's crushing defeat in a weekend by-election, which has given the opposition a major boost, was a vote of no confidence in the leadership of outgoing premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He warned that deputy premier Najib Razak, who is due to take the top job in March, must not repeat the mistakes of Abdullah, who voters punished in last year's general elections for failing to introduce promised anti-graft reforms.

"I think Najib is not to be blamed for (the by-election loss) but if he continues to elect or support corrupt leaders then I think he will lose the next general election," Mahathir said.

"Leaders who are discredited, who are involved with corruption, are still being chosen as candidates," he said, without naming names.

"If they want to win, get rid of these people."

Mahathir handed over power to Abdullah in 2003, ending more than two decades as premier, but the two quickly fell out and the veteran leader campaigned relentlessly to undermine his successor.

After the March 2008 general elections that produced the Barisan Nasional's worst ever results, with the loss of one third of parliamentary seats and five states to the opposition, Abdullah was forced to agree to stand down.

The opposition's success in snatching a parliamentary seat from the government in the northeastern city of Kuala Terengganu is seen as an indication the coalition has failed to claw back support.

General elections are due to be held by 2013, but the opposition has said the government could call a snap poll this year because it fears its popularity will have fallen even further in several years' time. (MSNNews)

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Pak Lah hints could step down in March

Malaysian Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi indicated Friday he could step down next March, saying he had not decided whether to stand in ruling party leadership elections to be held then.
Abdullah spoke after an emergency meeting of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), held amid speculation he would be forced to quit ahead of a planned transition to his deputy Najib Razak in mid-2010.

The embattled premier said that UMNO internal polls scheduled for December would now be postponed until March, and that he would make an announcement in the next few weeks over whether he would bid for the top job.

"I have not made any decision as far as this particular point is concerned," he said. "The decision is mine, you can go on guessing. As far as I'm concerned I love the party."

But he indicated that he would depart sooner rather than later, saying the party polls had been brought forward "to help facilitate an early transition".

Abdullah admitted that several members of UMNO's Supreme Council were pushing for a speedy transition of power, but he said the policy-making body agreed with the decision to shift the party elections.

Excerpt from http://news.my.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1696709

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