Open Revolt

Time is fast running out for PM Badawi to make a graceful exit and ease the transition of power for the nation’s sake.

The electorate registered a huge protest vote against his leadership by stripping the BN of their two-thirds majority in March 2008. This is a massive swing from his 2004 landslide win. In addition to Kelantan, the people of Penang, Perak, Kedah and Selangor punished his complacency by putting an Opposition government in power.

Right after the elections, in the states of Perlis and Terengganu, His Majesties delivered a huge blow to his credibility as Prime Minister by rejecting his choice of Menteri Besar. His own UMNO assemblymen gave him a slap in his face by accepting the appointments with the full knowledge that it is a direct challenge to his authority.

In his recent Cabinet announcements, 2 of his appointees declined his nomination.
The Prime Minister’s Office, as an institution, is bigger than any one man. It is clear than the current holder can no longer wield the full power and influence that this office bestows. By postponing the UMNO General Assembly, he is telling Malaysians that even his UMNO Presidency (and hence PM of Malaysia) is under threat. This means right until May 2009, PM Badawi will be embroiled in an internal fight to keep him in office, instead of exercising his Prime Ministerial duties in the face of what has been billed the biggest economic challenge since the Great Depression.

Malaysians from all walks of life has spoken, and for a PM with “big ears”, isn’t the message clear enough?