Dr Mahathir quits UMNO

Dr M & Son

It looks like the lull is over and UMNO is back in the storm with the possibility of cargo shift very real. Like a ship, if the shifting is too much the ship will roll over and capsized. If the Captain is not competence to navigate the ship out of the storm, the crew may mutiny and take over the ship, jettison some cargoes and sail to safety.

So what will happen after Dr M resigned from UMNO? Whether you like him or hate him and for the good and bad he has done, the man is no ordinary person and has major influence in the life of Malaysians during his 22 years of Premiership. If he is not a political genius he must be close to it. Under his Premiership Malaysia economically move out of the second rated economy and became globally recognized. Tok Guru Nik Aziz comments on him reflects the unbiased truth about this man in fact Nik Aziz welcomes him into PAS fold anytime and regards him as an assets to the party. He is the happiest man in the world with Dr M quit decision because it will stop majority Malays from joining UMNO and weaken the party further.

From the few encounters that I have with him I believed Dr M thrived on challenging issues and problems. Despite his age he still shows the sharpness and able to deploy fatal moves towards his foes. He is a master strategist that have survived more the 22 years of Premiership with all sorts of challenges from economy, financial, leadership, scandals, cronyism etc. I have seen him standing more then 3 hours taking all sorts of firings from the floors and enjoying every minute of it.

So what is going to happen next? Is Pak Lah going to survive this new on slaught? Is there going to be mass resignation from the grassroots? Is Musa Hitam prediction that Dr M departure is good because finally the “ duri dalam daging” is gone! The ICT war has started, e-mel, blogs, sms and MSM have been deployed in this crisis. In fact at PRU 12 thousands of UMNO members abandoned the party through their action. Are they going to translate this to mass resignation? Let hope whatever the outcome it will not be at the expense of national harmony and prosperity.

Mahathir quits Umno - TheStar
ALOR STAR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and veteran party man Tan Sri Sanusi Junid announced Monday that they are quitting Umno.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced this on Monday at 12.35pm, citing a lack of confidence in the current leadership."I am quitting Umno today," he told about 1,000 people, mostly Kedah Umno members, at a talk here on Monday."I will write a letter to Umno headquarters to inform that I have quit the party," he said.

He has been critical of his appointed successor Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, blaming the current Umno president for the party's disappointing performance in the 12th general election.

The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, of which Umno is the largest component party, won the March 8 election with a simple majority, and saw four more states join Kelantan under Opposition rule.

Dr Mahathir urged other party members to quit too, as a way of pressuring Abdullah into vacating his post.However, he advised those who do quit not to join any opposition party, adding they can all rejoin the party once there is a change in leadership.

Abdullah has so far refused all calls for him to step down, and said he would defend his presidency in the party polls in December.
Sanusi, who is a former Kedah Mentri Besar, also quit the party on Monday.

PM Abdullah: ShockedMeanwhile, Abdullah said he was shocked by the decision and, despite their differences, had not expected him to leave.
However, the beleaguered premier said he would stay on and fight for the party. “Perhaps some other members might leave too, but this won’t entirely affect the party. It all depends on whether the rest want to stay on and continue to fight for the party too,” he said.

Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak expressed his shock and sadness too.Najib, who read a prepared statement to Malaysian reporters at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, said he was prepared to meet Dr Mahathir to discuss his decision."I will also discuss with Datuk Seri Abdullah, whom I had contacted just now, on efforts to strengthen Umno and also the issue of leadership transition in the party."I hope all Umno members will stay calm and give support to our efforts to strengthen the party," he added.