Prepare succession plan: Johor Umno tells Pak Lah

The Umno Johor liaison committee has urged party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to prepare a "succession plan" for his post.
According to sources, this was relayed to Abdullah during a meeting between Umno Johor leaders and the prime minister.
The succession plan was mooted as an early preparation for the next general election.
Although no time-frame has been set for the succession plan, those at the meeting were adamant that such a plan be put in place, said the source.
Following this, Bernama reported that Abdullah will discuss with his deputy Najib Abdul Razak on the transition of power to the latter.
This was revealed by Umno vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin, who said that Abdullah had told the closed-door meeting that he would discuss in detail the power transition plan with Najib.
"The period of transition and so on were not mentioned in detail...matters such as when the transition will take place and so on will be discussed between him (Abdullah) and Najib," Muhyiddin told reporters after attending the meeting at a hotel.
According to sources who spoke to Malaysiakini, the plan was raised by Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman, who also heads the state liaison committee.
The sources said Abdul Ghani stressed that the plan was important in order for the "people to be comfortable" with the party leadership.
However, the sources said, Umno Johor's call for Abdullah to step down was not as harsh as Umno Kedah's yesterday.
"The way we voiced our feelings reflected the Johor culture. We love the prime minister but he must also understand the sentiments of our members," they said.
Immediate solution
Sources said during the meeting many of those present called for the succession plan to be crafted immediately.
"Many felt that the succession plan is an immediate solution which has to be made public," said sources.
The sources claimed that Abdullah said he would consider this but added that he "would not reveal anything to anyone" without elaborating what he meant by this.
The more than two-hour-long meeting also saw a post-mortem being conducted on Umno’s performance in the March 8 polls.
It was during this, sources said, Abdullah admitted to being a contributing factor to the poor results obtained by Umno and Barisan Nasional.
Previously, Malaysiakini reported that a majority of Umno Johor’s 26 division leaders want Abdullah to go on leave and hand over control to his deputy, Najib Abdul Razak.
Since the elections, Abdullah has come under intense pressure to vacate his post. Leading the charge are former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other Umno veterans like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.


Abdullah To Discuss Power Transition With Najib

JOHOR BAHARU, April 11 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will discuss with his deputy, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak, the transition of power to the latter, said Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin Friday.
He said Abdullah had told the closed-door meeting with the Johor Umno Liaison Body here that he would discuss in detail the power transition plan with Najib, who is also Umno deputy president.
"The period of transition and so on were not mentioned in detail... matters such as when the transition will take place and so on will be discussed between him (Abdullah) and Datuk Seri Najib," Muhyiddin told reporters after attending the meeting at a hotel, here.
He said Abdullah had previously stated openly that Najib would succeed him as Prime Minister.
Abdullah, who is also the Umno president, had announced at the Briefing by the Umno President for the party's information machinery at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday that Najib would be his successor and he would hand over the post when it was time.
Muhyiddin, who is also the Pagoh Umno division head, said that at the meeting, Abdullah explained issues that were raised concerning the last general election such as the factors for the defeat, support of the non-Malay voters and the young voters.
"He said initiatives are being planned to tackle these problems so that the party will be stronger," he said.
He said Abdullah asked leaders at all levels to assist in this matter.
Meanwhile, Johor Puteri Umno head Nor Aslina Zainal Abidin said the Johor Umno Liaison Body had asked Abdullah whether he had prepared any plan for a power transition.
"We did not ask Pak Lah to step down but there were insinuations for example that during the time of (first prime minister, the late) Tunku Abdul Rahman the transition of power to (the late) Tun Abdul Razak Hussein had gone smoothly, similarly during the time of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the transition of power to Pak Lah also went smoothly."
Johor Umno information head Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, who is also Batu Pahat Umno chief, said that the power transition would answer questions raised by the people and boost support for the government.
Meanwhile, Johor Baharu Umno division head and Supreme Council member Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said Johor Umno did not call for Abdullah to step down as Prime Minister and Umno president.
He said the meeting, which was held very frankly, cordially and openly, only discussed the present and future political scenario of the party and Barisan Nasional.
“He knows. He has said it so many times. No call was made asking him to step down. Because he had already announced his own plans to sort it out together with Datuk (Seri) Najib,” he said.
“Abdullah will sort the matter out with (Datuk Seri) Najib after the Umno General Assembly. We will work together till the general assembly,” said the Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Minister.
Asked about Umno members in Kedah and Penang who had asked Abdullah to step down, Shahrir said reporters should be careful in the situation by not quoting media reports and must distinguish whether it was actually coming out as a consensus or merely views that were expressed by certain quarters only.
On whether the grassroots would accept Abdullah’s decision Shahrir replied: “Well my grassroots have no problem. Which grassroots are you talking about.”
Evidently and obviously, he said, Barisan Nasional candidates had suffered from the swing of the non-Malay votes in the last general election as was evident in the Johor Baharu parliamentary constituency.
His grassroots acknowledged the swing and would take action to overcome it.
On the conclusion of the meeting he said it would be announced by the party and the government from time to time.

tunku : pak lah has to step down asap and handover to najib before the Umno General Assembly.by just saying that najib is his successor no one knows when he will let it happen,it may be next year, it may be next 5 years.he should handover to najib and come december, all the party posts should be contested.by this umno will get the leader that they wants.
about shahrir samad, as always, we can expect what he's going to say.i wonder if he had asked all the grassroot members under his division.i have few friends and relatives under his division who wants pak lah to resign immediately.it is very crucial for pak lah to step down before the umno assembly as we can expect the outcome of the assembly.RM RM RM.