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HAS M'SIA REACHED ITS UMNO-LED DOOM? DR M VS NAJIB, THE FINAL COUNTDOWN Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is currently using the same system that the former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad used. Thus, the council of elders to advise Najib, as suggested by Mahathir, does not make much sense, says a veteran politician. While Mahathir sees this as “solution” to the current administration that is deemed flawed, DAP Kepong MP and also deputy-chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Dr Tan Seng Giaw disagrees that the council would make any difference. Tan says that the system that is used by Najib to govern the country is the same system that Mahathir used for 22 years and therefore does not see why Mahathir has suggested for a council of elders.“What is Mahathir talking about? Does he actually think that Najib is going to allow people who are working for him to go away? It has never been done, the council of elders and I don’t think Najib will allow his people to leave him,” says Tan. Tan also cited several examples of administrations all over the globe including the United States (George Bush and Barack Obama), the British administration (David Cameron and Gordon Brown), and in Australia (Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull), where each successor have respectively reverse certain decisions. “Do you see any of them suggesting or calling for a council of elders? What makes you think in Malaysia it will work?” adds Tan.He cites another example in Myanmar where opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi in the current elections is positively leading the elections, and similar questions if Suu Kyi will entertain a council of elders? “The only difference in Myanmar is that, 25% of the Cabinet is made of militants and if they want to go against Suu Kyi, the can use their influence in the military. Do you think that Suu Kyi is going to listen to any council of elders?” Tan questions.Tan reminds that disagreements between past and present leaders may continue, but it does not meant that Malaysia will be doomed in the next day. “If you don’t agree with the current leadership, does it mean that Malaysia will be taken over by another country? Will the country be destroyed?“The only way we can change things is to wait for the next general elections. That is the only way we can remove Najib,” he adds.In the meantime, Tan suggests for Malaysians and Opposition leaders to sit back and observe the arguments between the ‘two giants’ politely. According to Universiti Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections’ (UMcedel) Professor Datuk Dr Redzuan Othman, the council of elders will not make any changes as the Malaysian administration is very structured and it is not that easy to remove the prime minister.“The only way to remove Najib is if Umno removes him or if he is tired of becoming prime minister and decides to step down on his own. “As for Mahathir, he has never been able to agree with anyone, even his successor. So whether to have the council or not, it doesn’t make a difference,” says Redzuan.He adds that Mahathir will not be able to make any difference by making such a suggestion as he is no longer as influential as before in the Malaysian political scene.Penang Institute board member Steven Sim also reminds that nobody should think that they are better than Najib. “Even Mahathir, forgetting that he is a chief cause of the state of abnormal democracy we are in today. The problem goes beyond the leaders and what we are lacking of is accountability and transparency. We have none of those,” says Sim.He adds that any prime minister who can make almost unilateral decisions on public money and who knows that he or she cannot be replaced in a rigged election system, he or she can be a Najib anytime. “Will the council of elders deal with reform of the democratic institutions in our country to return democracy to normalcy or become a plutocracy ruling from behind the screen?“What we need now is for a bipartisan grand coalition who will take over from the current regime and launch a drastic reform of our institutions from police to EC and then return power to the people in a free and fair election,” he adds.-TheHeatOnline Full article: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=606653:has-msia-reached-its-umno-led-doom?-dr-m-vs-najib-the-final-countdown&Itemid=2#ixzz3rRVrhF9r Follow us: @MsiaChronicle on Twitter