Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is confident that Barisan Nasional will still win the next general election amid criticism, sarcasm and prophecies by some parties that the ruling party 'is going down the drain'.
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I think he has all reasons to be confident - all Umno divisions and Supreme Council members are firm behind him, and so are BN component parties.
And why can't he harbor such a confidence?
He has even taken exception to Tun Dr Mahathir's claim that the Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose the next general election, and that he wondered how any one individual could have the right to speak for the entire voting public.
Najib, who is BN chairman and UMNO president, pointed out that the opposition was in chaos and, given the opposition coalition's fundamental ideological splits, there would be national paralysis if they assumed office.
"These public attacks will only harm UMNO, the government and, ultimately, Malaysia. This unbecoming behaviour will be an unfortunate postscript to his legacy," Najib said.
He reckoned that what motivated the former prime minister's attacks on a serving prime minister was that "he wants me to resign ... because I refused to implement his personal demands".
In the case of 1MDB, Najib said, the RM42-billion debt was backed by RM51 billion in assets as at the 2014 financial closing, but Dr Mahathir chose to ignore this.
The prime minister said that if Mahathir genuinely wanted to have answers to the questions he had raised, he only had to wait for the multiple inquiries - by the Auditor General, Bank Negara and the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee - to conclude.
"However, he does not seem to have faith in these institutions and the proper lawful authorities, or have interest in their answers," he said, adding that Dr Mahathir was just using 1MDB as an excuse to try and topple a serving prime minister.
Najib, who is also the finance minister, drove home the point that if anyone was deemed to have engaged in wrongdoing, he would insist that the law was enforced without exception.
Hmmm.... and I believe Dr Mahathir and Najib's other critics will not stop there... right? It gets more interesting by the day.
And why can't he harbor such a confidence?
He has even taken exception to Tun Dr Mahathir's claim that the Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose the next general election, and that he wondered how any one individual could have the right to speak for the entire voting public.
Najib, who is BN chairman and UMNO president, pointed out that the opposition was in chaos and, given the opposition coalition's fundamental ideological splits, there would be national paralysis if they assumed office.
"If we in BN stay united and prove ourselves worthy over the coming years, I have faith that the rakyat (people) will prove Tun wrong at the next election - once it's understood that his allegations are false and motivated by self-interest, not Malaysia's interest," he said on his blog najibrazak.com.Najib said it was a shame that Dr Mahathir had, yet again, turned against the leadership of his own party.
"These public attacks will only harm UMNO, the government and, ultimately, Malaysia. This unbecoming behaviour will be an unfortunate postscript to his legacy," Najib said.
He reckoned that what motivated the former prime minister's attacks on a serving prime minister was that "he wants me to resign ... because I refused to implement his personal demands".
"I refused because it is my duty as Malaysia's democratically-elected prime minister to lead this country and do what I believe is right for the entire nation, not one man.On the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issue, Najib said Dr Mahathir's shifting of numbers and arguments had cast serious doubt on the latter's claims against the company.
"I don't believe the people want a former prime minister to rule by proxy," he said.
In the case of 1MDB, Najib said, the RM42-billion debt was backed by RM51 billion in assets as at the 2014 financial closing, but Dr Mahathir chose to ignore this.
The prime minister said that if Mahathir genuinely wanted to have answers to the questions he had raised, he only had to wait for the multiple inquiries - by the Auditor General, Bank Negara and the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee - to conclude.
"However, he does not seem to have faith in these institutions and the proper lawful authorities, or have interest in their answers," he said, adding that Dr Mahathir was just using 1MDB as an excuse to try and topple a serving prime minister.
Najib, who is also the finance minister, drove home the point that if anyone was deemed to have engaged in wrongdoing, he would insist that the law was enforced without exception.
Hmmm.... and I believe Dr Mahathir and Najib's other critics will not stop there... right? It gets more interesting by the day.