Any takers for Mahathir’s presidential council?

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak should get used to it. Name calling, that is. A few days ago while addressing some 200 students in Manchester, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad labelled him a coward.
He chastised the deputy prime minister for not joining the chorus of attacks against Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, saying that Najib had been silent on the real reasons why Umno performed badly in Election 2008.
“We see that he is a penakut (coward)… He is always saying yes sir, yes sir, saya sokong, saya sokong (I support),” said Dr Mahathir.
The Insider has learnt that Najib was surprised that his former leader was taking personal potshots at him, and indulging in name-calling as well. After all, they have always been close and Dr Mahathir owes the late Tun Abdul Razak a debt of gratitude. It was the country’s second prime minister — Najib’s father — who ended his political wilderness and appointed him a senator in 1972.
The bad news for Najib is that this is war and all decorum and goodwill will take a backseat. The name-calling is going to get worse between now and the party elections in December. The more patient he is with the transition of power from Abdullah and the more loyal he is to the party president, the more vitriol will be flung his way.
That is why some of Najib’s supporters say that he should distance himself from Abdullah now, believing that this would signal the end of attacks on him from Dr Mahathir.
But the DPM is not likely to take this advice for a couple of reasons. One, he is convinced that an orderly hand over of power from Abdullah will benefit Umno greatly and will be a better option for him. Taking over a fractured party in a political environment where there is a resurgent opposition will just compound problems for Najib.
Two, he knows that for Dr Mahathir, forcing Abdullah out of office is only part of the goal. The former PM also wants Najib and other senior leaders to approve the setting up of a presidential council.
This council, whose members will include Dr Mahathir, will set the agenda for whoever leads Umno. In effect, the party president will abdicate much of his decision-making to this council.
It is hard imagining Najib or even Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah agreeing to this idea of a presidential council, knowing that it could result in Dr Mahathir ruling the party and country from behind the scenes.
Dr Mahathir has said that a council will prevent power from being in the hands of one person. He also told party members that it was necessary to stop the Umno president from being influenced by outsiders, making an oblique reference to Abdullah’s alleged reliance on his family for input on policy and personnel decisions.

Some of his supporters such as businessman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary have also passed on the same message to prominent politicians around the country. They have tried to gauge the level of support for Dr Mahathir’s attacks on Abdullah from senior Umno politicians such as Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and also explained the rationale of the presidential council.
Several Umno leaders have been willing to listen to them. Others have been polite hosts, and nothing more.
Over the past few days, several state leaders including Sarawak’s Taib Mahmud have had discussions with Najib about the political situation in the country. They have urged him to stay the course and supported the idea of a smooth transition of power. Their main fear is that any upheaval in Umno could provide more momentum for the Anwar Ibrahim-led Opposition.

tunku : a presidential council does not mean that tun mahathir will be the man in charge of it. it does not mean that the council is the most powerful body in umno, it will not exceed the power of the president.it's just as advisory body in umno.if tun mahathir still wants to rule umno ,why he resigned in the first place.this theory is made by some quarters just to divert the real issue in umno. najib should come out now in order to gain support and respect from umno members.otherwise he will be labelled as a coward and if he is challenged in the party's poll he might lose .he's still hoping that everyone would settle for smooth transition and he will get the president post without much trouble or without a fight.