PRIME Minister Najib Razak is being increasingly isolated among the ruling elite with no significant Umno bigwigs, apart from his small circle of loyalists, prepared to defend him publicly, a DAP parliamentarian said.

Kluang MP and DAP political education director Liew Chin Tong said from discussions with his friends in Umno, he has learnt that Najib has weakened himself in the course of the first half of this year by being overconfident of his “unsinkability” and thus overplayed his hand against internal rivals within his party.

“Some people were very unhappy with such truths being exposed,” said Liew, adding that this was why the prime minister’s press secretary launched a late-night attack against the DAP and himself in a statement issued at 11pm last night.

“In normal circumstances, there are enough Umno ministers and leaders out there to defend their president who is also the prime minister, without having to trouble the Prime Minister’s Office,” Liew said in a statement today.

‘Strange times’

Liew was responding to a statement issued by Najib’s press secretary Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad last night where the aide warned the DAP to get its party in order instead of spreading lies about the government.

“Tengku Sariffuddin’s statement is the surest sign of the strange times that we are living in.

“My analysis a day earlier had earned the wrath of the prime minister. The reality is this: Najib is increasingly isolated among the ruling elite. No significant Umno bigwigs are prepared to defend him publicly.

“On the same token, if my analysis was merely ‘fake news, smears and outright lies’ as claimed by Tengku Sariffuddin, there is no need for him to come down from his high pedestal to reply at all; not to mention a desperate late-night attack, which is so unusual in our laidback society.  

“Something is clearly brewing in Umno and I have hit a raw nerve. The truth hurts,” Liew responded this morning.

Talk of leadership overhaul

In his previous statement, Liew had said that earlier this year, Najib was so confident that he planned to drop several menteris besar, chief ministers and senior Umno ministers at the next general election.

The Kluang MP said his friends in Umno were of the view that the recent Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) sweeps in Malacca and Johor were related to attempts to remove the top elected officials of both states and replace them with a new set of leaders who would be more loyal to Najib.  

Liew had also said Najib also attempted to sideline Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi, Umno Secretary-General Tengku Adnan Mansor and veteran Umno leader Annuar Musa.

“Tengku Sariffuddin feebly tried to distract attention from these facts by calling DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as ‘Penang Official 1’ in an attempt to equate Najib’s infamous ‘Malaysian Official 1’ tag, as described by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), in a lawsuit involving 1MDB.

“Tengku Sariffuddin also threatened DAP that its registration is at risk of being revoked if Lim Guan Eng is not removed, if Lim Kit Siang does not retire and if Tan Seng Giaw is not installed as a new leader.”

Liew questioned if Tengku Sariffuddin realised that he was confirming that the charges against Lim were politically motivated with the aim of diverting attention away from Najib’s scandals. 

“Did he also realise that he was misusing his position as press secretary to the prime minister to intimidate a legitimate political party?

“Inadvertently, Tengku Sariffuddin’s statement has also confirmed the thinking of Najib’s inner circle that the embattled prime minister’s game plan is indeed to ban DAP just before the next general election.

“The government had tried it once before in 2013, but it didn’t work out as planned.”

Liew said Tengku Sariffuddin’s statement indicated that Najib was jumpy at the slightest suggestion that he was in trouble and confirmed that the prime minister was politically weak.

The US Department of Justice is pursuing three forfeiture suits to seize property, artwork and financial assets allegedly bought with money stolen from Najib’s brainchild, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The latest suit filed on June 15 alleged that US$540 million (RM2.3 billion) was used to buy, among other things, a US$165 million yacht and a US$27.3 million necklace for “the wife of Malaysian Official No 1” (MO1).

Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan had previously confirmed that MO1 is Najib. The prime minister, however, has denied any wrongdoing.

“But, as Tengku Sariffuddin’s statement also indicates, Najib would do anything, including to deregister DAP, to stay in power,”  Liew said. – July 2, 2017.