They say in politics, there are no permanent friends nor enemies, only interests. This is true very much so now following Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's "unholy union" with those in the Opposition to oust Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Razak as Prime Minister at whatever cost.
Dr Mahathir seemed adamant to force Najib out of office, to the extent of chucking out of the window whatever principles he held while he himself was in office for 22 long years.
He should be in the most capital position to know the proper protocol to relieve a democratically elected Prime Minister from office.
I Apologise. It Does Not My Heart Good To Display The Picture of Our "Former" Statesman With The Other "Characters" In this Awkwardly "Dodgy" Drama, So This Space Will Remain Void.
This is no longer about removing Najib but bringing down the government in the next general election.
The situation does not warrant a no confidence vote on the Prime Minister in Parliament nor is there any room for such a move to be initiated against the President in the party. This is because Najib currently enjoys the overwhelming support in the government and from the Barisan Nasional coalition.
This, in a nutshell, deems void the call to remove Najib through "non-violent and legally permissible means".
It must also be reminded that Najib was elected President of Umno through the most democratic process the party has ever seen as he was the one who pushed for the election process to include 100,000 grassroot members compared to divisional delegates numbering just around 2,000 previously.
Similarly, seeking the "removal of all those acting in concert with him" would mean removing all the Cabinet members, the UMNO Supreme Council and the grassroots leaders comprising divisional heads and the chiefs of the wings in their respective divisions.
Failing to go through the legal and proper procedures available, this declaration can only be seen as a desperate measure to rally support among the rakyat, which will prove to be devastating at best if it succeeds considering they do not have common grounds to move the country forward.
The recent laws and agreement mentioned in the declaration went through the lower and upper houses of Parliament and obtained the Royal Assent, which meant that the federal constitution was duly observed in all its glory.
Finally, the irony of seeking the separation of powers among the executive, legislative and the judiciary is that it was tabled by the very man who was allegedly responsible for the removal of a Lord President during his time.
This call therefore fails to bear any credence on that score.
Furthermore, the independence of these three branches of government have proven to be protected best under the current Prime Minister compared to his predecessors.
Some may have said that the co-signing of the so called "citizen's declaration" without "goofing off" and slapping each others' back was better than the warm and "overly" cordial relationship shown by the members of the government with the opposition.
They, however, failed to see the distinction whereby where government policies are concerned, we draw the line hard and clear without compromise.
A strong indication was given by Mahathir earlier of this "Unholy Union" when he attended the Bersih 4 rally but chose not to be present at the National Day celebrations on the very next day.
The goal of Mahathir's "third" exit from UMNO may not achieve its purpose. It has failed to draw the same amount of shock and emotions among the rakyat this time around.
History will not likely repeat itself at this juncture.
At best, he will sadly be remembered in finality as the fourth past President of UMNO to have ended his journey in life outside of the party that he had once served with flying colours.
- The Patriot is the State Assemblyman for Kempas, Johor.
