Najib is showing signs of panic over likely outcome of the 14th GE

I am surprised that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is showing signs of panic over the likely outcome in the 14th General Election on May 9.

I think he is rattled by the unexpected fall-outs over UMNO becoming an illegal political party, as all informed Malaysians cannot accept the contention that the Registrar of Societies have the power to extend for another 12 months until April 19, 2019 for UMNO Supreme Council elections to be held.

As veteran UMNO leader, Tan Sri Rais Yatim, had said, the Registrar of Societies is not the ultimate authority to determine or usurp the power of Umno's constitution.

Rais has rightly asked: "Can the RoS do away with a party's constitution and give rights that are not in the constitution?”

There is no good lawyer in the country who will contend that the RoS has powers to give another 12-month extension after April 2019, as clearly any such extension by the RoS is unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.

Another veteran UMNO leader, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz also contends that the RoS has no power to give such an extension, and likened UMNO to a “headless chicken” with no members and no executive powers.

She said that Najib Razak cannot be sworn in as the Prime Minister should BN win the 14GE as the UMNO that he leads is no longer “legal”.

UMNO’s position as an illegal political party is not the only UMNO/BN strategy which had gone terribly wrong in the 14th general election campaign.

A centerpiece of the UMNO/BN propaganda campaign in the 14GE was to knock Tun Mahathir and myself out in one blow – accusing Mahathir as merely my stooge and lackey to pave the way for me to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia when Pakatan Harapan wins the 14GE.

But this devilish strategy was defanged and neutralized when the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council announced on January 7, 2018 that Tun Mahahtir will be the seventh Prime Minister with Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the Deputy Prime Minister, to be followed by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

For three months, the UMNO leaders, propagandist and quinoa cybertroopers were at a loss as to how to propagate the lies and falsehood that Mahathir is only my stooge and lackey and that DAP will be the “master” in Pakatan Harapan.

It is understandable though still inexcusable that the UMNO leaders, propagandists and quinoa cybertroopers pounced on the announcement by the DAP Secretary-General and Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng that if DAP/PH wins the Ayer Hitam and Teluk Intan parliamentary contests, DAP’s Liew Chin Tong and Nga Kor Ming will become Ministers in the new Pakatan Harapan government.

Guan Eng’s statement was “manna from heaven” to the UMNO leaders, propagandists and quinoa cybertroopers, for they can now distort Guan Eng’s statements as showing that the DAP leaders are “arrogant” and “Big Brother in Pakatan Harapan”.

UMNO Vice President Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hashim for instance jumped in and said that “If Dr. Mahathir is dreaming to be the prime minister again, then it should not be Lim Guan Eng who decide on the Cabinet”.

In actual fact, Guan Eng was not acting in any arrogant manner, but was being defensive, as the Barisan Nasional campaign in both Ayer Hitam and Teluk Intan is based on these constituencies being represented by Ministers.

DAP accepts that the Prime Minister has the prerogative to decide his Cabinet, but in a political coalition, the component parties will be recommending leaders to the Cabinet, and what Guan Eng said was that the DAP would be recommending Chin Tong and Kor Ming to be Ministers to fill the DAP quota.

This is very simple and straightforward – but when the Prime Minister himself jump into the controversy and said that DAP was showing its true colours by announcing Ministers, demonstrating who is really holding power in Pakatan Harapan, it only betrays Najib as getting very panicky about the outcome of the 14th General Election.