Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Umno leaders call PM to quit after defeat (Malaysiakini)


Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi faced calls to quit from within Umno after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim scored a landslide by-election victory.

Anwar won the vote to return to parliament despite an intense campaign mounted by the Barisan Nasional, which he has promised to unseat within a month with the help of defecting lawmakers.

The failure to check Anwar has heaped more pressure on Abdullah, who has fought to hold on to his job since the March general election in which the opposition gained unprecedented ground.

Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah called for a new leadership "to unite our people... and forge a clear national direction."

"(Abdullah) does not have the minimal credibility needed to run the country day by day, let alone to take it in the new directions we need to go in a complex world," he said.

"This dangerous situation cannot continue."

Razaleigh said the coalition's by-election campaign, which was criticised for its racial overtones and focus on sodomy allegations against Anwar, has "embarrassed and divided the nation with its ugliness."

"It is time to face the music: it is we who have been buried," he said.

"Our leadership is rejected by the rakyat and, moreover, is rejected by our own members. BN's vote count was less than the number of Umno members in the constituency.

"Within and among our component parties we ran a poorly coordinated and listless campaign against a motivated opposition.

"What scraps of credibility the prime minister and his deputy had left after March 8 are gone," he added.

Wave cannot be stopped

Razaleigh also called on Umno members and BN component parties to stand by Umno in 'our hour of crisis'.

"The people of Malaysia and along with them, Umno's ordinary members, have found their democratic voice," he said, warning that the wave cannot be stopped.

Razaleigh plans to challenge Abdullah for the party leadership in the Umno polls this December, but is likely to fail after the premier silenced calls for his immediate ouster by agreeing to hand over power to his deputy Najib Abdul Razak in 2010.
Abdullah's main critic, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, has also called for the resignation of his successor after relations between the two soured in 2006.

Mahathir's son Mukhriz, another senior Umno figure, who is vying for the top spot in the party's influential youth wing, also called for Abdullah's immediate resignation.

"I think Abdullah should strongly consider for all our sakes, to step down now," he told AFP.

"This is a second time that the Malaysian people have given a clear message, with the first at the general elections.

It is a rejection of the present leader and he must leave now.

" Anwar won the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat after defeating BN’s Arif Shah Omar Shah with a majority of 15,671 votes.

news courtesy of Malaysiakini

2 comments:

MD said...

Pak Lah should not resign now - Not now.

If he resign now - who will be the acting presiden and PM? Surely from umno and umno line-up.

We have TP, and VPs. The acting will surely Najib. But it won't stop the crisis in umno and leadership.

If Najib is acting Presiden and PM tomorrow. What will happen in Dec umno election?

Candidate for Presiden is only one. Ku LI might not have enought pencalonan. There will be no president by the end of the umno meeting?

Then the DP (Najib) will continue to be the acting presiden and PM? When will then the next AGM to choose or confirm the presiden? After of before PRU-13? Umno could also delay the selection after pru-13. But can umno be sure what will happen after PRU-13?

Let the Dec election as free as it could be. Let all the umno vote directly for their leaders. Pak Lah can announce that he will not stand for the Dis election - BUT NOT TO RESIGN NOW.

NewChief said...

umno should be RESTRUCTURE / OVERHAUL from top to bottom levels as all has been deemed obsolete and managing Malaysia with handam saja, belakang kira!!

A new unknown breed must take over with MODERN IDEALOGY to bring life back to BN and Malaysia. If not, will go extinct with rakyat's help and all efforts done by past comrades of BN will not be appreciated or remembered by future generations.

BN can carry on sleeping now BN if they think this defeat is not a trend or would you like to dare the rakyat for another round of Election for all ??