Chedet to rejoin UMNO - Muhyiddin

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who quit Umno in a huff in an attempt to unseat Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is said to return to the party and will back Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for the presidency in the year-end polls.

Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who has said he will fight to remain party vice-president, confirmed that Dr Mahathir had expessed his intention to return to the party at a meeting last Saturday.

Muhyiddin said he has informed Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak yesterday of Dr Mahathir's intentions. The former party president has been a trenchant critic of of his handpicked succesor Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and said he would only return to Umno when there was a change in leadership.

He had previously endorsed Najib for the top post but recently castigated him for not challenging Abdullah. Writing in his weblog which has received more than six million hits, Dr Mahathir has now backed the Kelantan prince and also Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim as suitable candidates for the presidency.

Several blogs by Dr Mahathir's supporters have said he will back Tengku Razaleigh for the post, an ironic twist to relations between both veteran politicians as the former party vice-president had challenged him in 1987 that split the party and led to Umno's deregistration.

Meanwhile, Bernama reports that Dr Mahathir had expressed his interest to return to Umno at a meeting last Saturday due to his concern over developments in the party but did not state when he would send in his application.

"You should ask Tun (Dr Mahathir) when he is ready to hand over the application form," Muhyiddin said today when asked when it would be submitted.

However, Muhyiddin who is also International Trade and Industry Minister, said Dr Mahathir had indicated that he (Dr Mahathir) was unsure whether his application to rejoin the party would be accepted by the supreme council.

"I have met Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the matter, but I have not met with the president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Whatever the decision, it is up to the supreme council," he told reporters after a meeting with the Malaysian Services Development Council (MSDC).

However, Muhyiddin felt that the former premier should not have any problem returning to Umno as the supreme council had said that Dr Mahathir was welcomed to rejoin Umno at any time even though his resignation from the party had been accepted.

Asked why Dr Mahathir agreed to return to Umno, Muhyiddin said he was concerned about what was happening with Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno.

"He is very concerned about the recent developments, not only in Umno but within BN. He is also concerned about the people's feelings and what is happening now. He thinks that by rejoining Umno, he can participate in rebuilding the party's confidence," he said.

Muhyiddin added that several Umno veterans including Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik and Tan Sri Sanusi Junid met with Dr Mahathir in a private meeting in Cyberjaya last Saturday.

Dr Mahathir, however, was not available for comment on the matter.

On Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail's meeting with Abdullah later today, Muhyiddin said: "Let him meet with the prime minister to seek views. We like to see this matter resolved in a manner that will benefit everybody."

Excerpt from http://m.themalaysianinsider.com/articles.php?id=8761


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Agong Breaks Fast With Ministers And Dignitaries

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Tuesday broke fast with more than 200 dignitaries including ministers, high commissioners and ambassadors at the Istana Negara here.

Tuanku Mizan arrived at the Balairong Seri with Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah accompanied by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor at about 7.15pm.

Among the dignitaries in attendance were former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad and former Chief Secretary to the Government Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid.

Other guests included Dr Mahathir's wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, International Trade and Industries Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed and Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed.

-- BERNAMA

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Cloud of despair over BN and Malaysia

This is the season of despair for Malaysia"s once proud Barisan Nasional of uncertainty, indecision, broken promises and a credibility deficit.

Just listen to the once strong and commanding voices of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik. They now have the timbre of beaten men; of politicians who despite their rich experience are at a loss to point the way forward for their supporters and countrymen.

Just listen to Cabinet ministers and senior politicians in their private moments. They are in unfamiliar territory; not knowing how to regain the trust of their constituents; wondering why their announcements are greeted with cynicism; troubled that the arch enemy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is Mr Teflon nothing sticks on him.

Dr Mahathir, Dr Lim, the ministers and politicians know that if the mood of despair does not lift, this could be the last time the BN governs Malaysia, the end of one of the world"s longest ruling regimes.

This is what the former prime minister said on his blog yesterday: -The BN is in a sorry state. I hate to say it but the Permatang Pauh victory by PKR probably sounded the death knell of all the BN parties and the BN.-

To be sure, the despair began long before the night of March 8 when news filtered through that the alliance of DAP-PKR-Pas had not only denied the BN its two-thirds majority in Parliament but also surrendered control of Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Perak.

For non-Malays, it started in 2005, when it became clear that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was reneging on his promise of being the leader of all Malaysians. He stood and watched as his party members flaunted their political muscle and questioned the status of Chinese and Indians. He was a bystander as Hindus and Christians faced challenges in practising their religions. He tolerated the unlawful behaviour of Umno warlords like the late Zakaria Deros in the name of political expediency.

All these omissions and actions only deepened the sense of despair about the country among Chinese and Indians, and hammered home the message that the interests of minorities will not be protected under the Umno-led BN.

For many Malays, the umbilical cord with Umno and the BN was cut 10 years ago, when Dr Mahathir dumped Anwar unceremoniously from government and when for the first time, many in the community wondered whether the New Economic Policy really benefited them. Along the way, they reached the conclusion that the politicians entrusted to look after their interest have grown fat and rich on government largesse. In the back of beyond, Umno is still strong. But in urban centres, many Malays no longer call Umno their party of choice.

Can Umno stop the rot? Can Umno galvanise a listless BN? Can Umno reconnect with the ground? Gerakan"s Dr Lim, a politician who has worked with the likes of Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Dr Ismail, Tun Hussein Onn, Dr Mahathir, did not think so.

He did not believe that any current or future Umno leader has the vision or the will to shake the ruling party out of its stupor and make the necessary reforms which Malaysians want done. In an interview with Off the Edge, he sounded defeated, fed-up with the arrogance and money culture in Umno.

Not once did he blame Abdullah directly but reading in between the lines, it is clear that he assigns much of the BN"s problems to the weak leadership of Umno.' Does he have a silver bullet for the BN? Dr Lim offers a fountain of rhetoric but little else.

It seems even the man with all the answers is giving up. Dr Mahathir noted that some readers on his blog had asked him to do something about the country.

His response was short: he had done everything. He had openly criticised Abdullah; asked him to step down as prime minister and Umno president; accused him of corruption; resigned from Umno; spoken about corruption and the fate awaiting Malays and started a blog.

-Privately many said they support me and they want Abdullah to step down. But they are not prepared to say it openly. That was why I started my blog. About six million had visited my blog site and tens of thousands have commented and supported me.

-But most appear to be worried and would not give their names. They are usually anonymous. So the support is not effective.

-I cannot do everything all by myself. I need support. I cannot just go to Dato Seri Abdullah, catch him by the scruff of his neck and throw him out,-' he said.

Getting rid of Abdullah may not be enough to lift the cloud of despair hanging over the BN and Malaysia. A recent survey commissioned by a government agency showed that many Malaysians seemed dissatisfied in the manner the BN operates.

More than 60 per cent of Chinese and Indians polled wanted the BN to become one single multiracial political party. Surprisingly, 71 per cent of Malays, Indians and Chinese polled said that BN race-based affirmative action policy is obsolete and must be replaced with a merit-based system.

Taken individually, 63 per cent of Malays support this change in policy, 83 per cent Chinese and 85 per cent Indians and 63 per cent non-Muslim Bumiputeras.

These findings make nonsense of some of the assumptions Umno politicians have relied on even after Election 2008.

Excerpt from http://m.themalaysianinsider.com.my/articles.php?id=8484-cloud-of-despair-over-bn-and-malaysia

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Arif Shah has potential to get more votes - Chedet

Though not optimistic on Barisan Nasional (BN) winning the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in the upcoming by-election, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad feels BN candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah has a good chance of getting more votes compared to previous candidates.

The former prime minister also believed the BN candidate had the potential in reducing the vote majority of his opponent, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the by-election on Aug 26.

"Datuk Arif Shah may get a better majority this time compared to the poor results obtained by the other candidates," said the former prime minister to reporters after opening the Galeri Dunia Seni Lukis here, Friday.

Nomination day for the Permatang Pauh by-election is Saturday.

Dr Mahathir also acknowledged the Chinese language proficiency of Arif Shah, saying that the added language would be an advantage for him in getting more votes especially from the Chinese voters.

"I'm still not that convinced that he (Arif Shah) can win but in view of his Chinese education, the Chinese voters may be attracted to him," he said.

On calls made by the PAS Ulama Council pushing for their party president to become the prime minister if Pakatan Rakyat succeeds in forming the new Federal Government on Sept 16, Dr Mahathir said: "BN is more solid. Pakatan Rakyat is not a proper coalition...it's just one party taking advantage of the people... not a proper coalition... just an understanding to contest in the general election."

The Ulama Council head, Datuk Mohamed Daud had during its assembly recently called for Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to be made the prime minister as he was more qualified.

Commenting on the upcoming budget on Aug 29, Dr Mahathir said the budget this year would be a significant one as the world was moving into recession.

"For the first time, everything has gone up in price simultaneously, and (it's a) high percentage... never happened in the history of the world," he said.

-- BERNAMA
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