The doctor knows better?

By Selena Tay

The doctor knows that the longer the polls is delayed, the worst it will be for BN.

Three days ago, a reporter friend forwarded a text message to this columnist which says that the doctor has taken over Umno and right now the grassroots reports are being forwarded to him.

But the big news is that the doctor is planning to have the polls held in September. This is because it seems that the doctor has got tired of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s feet-dragging and lack of confidence.

Therefore he now enters the fray in order to have things up and running according to his way.

Whether there is any truth or not in the text message is one thing but looking at it logically, it could be true.

Najib has been dragging on the polls date for far too long after initiating it as a guessing game about two years ago.

Before the submarine scandal surfaces to sink the whole of BN, the doctor has made a firm decision to take control of Umno in order to steer the party to safety at the most crucial point in the party’s history.

One must remember that during his tenure as prime minister, the doctor never had this nonsense about the polls date. He called for the polls when he called for the polls: in a decisive manner.

No guessing games, dragging or pussyfooting around. He just executed it, plain and simple. Unlike Najib who makes a great fanfare only to end up in zilch.

The doctor, according to the text message from this friend, is firm in wanting the polls to be held in September. And Sept 1, which is a Saturday, seems to be the ideal date as it is also after the 55th National Day celebrations on Aug 31 when everyone would be proud of the nation’s achievements.

Sept 1 is also more than 10 days after Aidil Fitri which will be celebrated on the third week of August or so this year.

This makes it an ideal time as the Malays who form the majority of the voters would be in a joyous and festive mood and, without anymore animosity, would be more likely to vote BN for “continued prosperity and progress”, which is BN’s well-known slogan.

Thus Sept 1 is the most ideal for the polls to be held as the national budget will be tabled on Sept 28. The budget can then be tailored accordingly but don’t be too sure of getting the goodies if BN wins big as goodies are only due to Pakatan Rakyat’s pressure on BN.

Sept 1 or Dec 1?

Of course, if Pakatan wins the 13th general election, then Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister will have to table the budget and knowing the state of the nation’s coffers, Pakatan will have a momentous task ahead but then it has many good financial experts in its team.

However, if Sept 1 is bunkered, then the next best option is Dec 1 which is also a Saturday. At this point in time, the Indians who have celebrated Deepavali in November will be in a good mood and the Christians too will be feeling joyful in anticipation of Christmas on Dec 25.

At the time of writing this piece, the 13th general election may only be two months away if the doctor has his way.

Najib is the type who wants to make sure that everything is in his favour before he proceeds and not only the doctor but many of the rakyat, especially those in the business community and the manufacturing sector, are fed up with this.

The doctor knows that the longer the polls is delayed, the worst it will be for BN. So he might as well take the initiative to rescue the situation before it gets worst. He can read the current situation well and he sees and knows that it is already beyond Najib’s control.

Najib is focusing on gift-giving to woo the voters but apart from that, the situation around him seems to be falling apart due to the power struggle between the warlords in his camp.

Unlike the doctor who is a very slick and cunning reader of the game, Najib lacks vision, foresight and courage.

Many of this columnist’s Chinese friends have lost confidence in Najib because the Chinese view him as not capable when he cannot even do such a simple thing as dissolving Parliament.

The Chinese reasoning is that when even such a simple thing is beyond him, he will surely be incapable of much larger things such as administering the country.

Based on this factor alone, he should be rejected. One has also to take note that he rejects political debates by saying it is not the Malaysian culture. Does butt-exercise to show one’s disagreement a part of Malaysian culture then?

Najib may have power and authority but his words cannot change black into white. On June 23, he has boasted that he can thrash the opposition with a score of 14-0 but does not suit action to words by dissolving Parliament that very instant. It is due to his weakness that the doctor’s influence is getting stronger.

The doctor has a game-plan and he will execute it in clinical fashion while Najib’s game-plan has gone “rojak” until he even needs to contemplate a second giving of the RM500 cash aid.

Looks like whether it is Najib or whether it is the doctor who is in control, the situation in Malaysia is full of uncertainty. Coupled with rampant corruption, will the nation go bust?

Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.