AS of last night, Najib Razak was confident that Barisan Nasional would emerge victorious in GE14, winning between 120 and 125 of the 222 parliamentary seats.

But ‎under that layer of confidence was a bubbling concern over what Dr Mahathir Mohamad would say in his address to the nation at 10pm today.

Informed sources said the caretaker prime minister told his aides that he believed that the Pakatan Harapan leader would go for the jugular and do whatever was necessary to snare a bigger share of Malay votes.

Putrajaya is also concerned that the opposition leader would use the address through Facebook Live to unveil the line-up of ministers should PH defeat Barisan Nasional at the polls tomorrow.

Najib’s preoccupation with Dr Mahathir’s last speech is striking because it shows that despite his confidence that the election is in the bag, he still believes that his mentor can still impact on how Malays vote.

The Umno president is also scheduled to speak to the nation at 10pm today.

Najib has told his inner circle that he is confident that 120 to 125 seats are sure bets and that BN will rule Malaysia for another five-year term.

On the flip side, PH is quietly confident that a win is on the cards and believes that Dr Mahathir’s speech will only nudge the segment of undecided voters into its corner. 

The opposition also believes there will be attempts to frustrate Dr Mahathir’s address from reaching the public tonight. – May 8, 2018.