Malaysian from all walks of life are still very much under a certain degree of shock resulted from the political tsunami of March 8th General Election. The aftermath is no less astonishing with 2 deputy minister refused to be appointed and 1 resigned, Perlis and Terrenganu Menteri Besar fracas, Tun Mahathir and Ku Li team up to demand for Abdullah Badawi to step down, No action being taken by Hishammudin on Mukriz for demanding Abdullah Badawi to resign, Sabah BN not satisfied with Cabinet positions given to them and the list continue...
Nonetheless, what worried most people is the rumours that Abdullah Badawi will resign from his primiership or face the vote of no confident in the Parliament sitting end of April 2008. This has add another time bomb for the stability of this country. Rumour that Anwar Ibrahim visiting East Malaysia to lure more support in order to wrest the central government is even more alarming. Deputy Chief Minister of Penang had openly said that 2 BN MP has almost decided to join PKR and 30 more will be joining in near future. Everyone, from normal citizen to foreign investors are worry of a change of government in this form.
Call for Pak Lah to step down is indeed a call to end BN rule. Although we know that as Chairman of Barisan Nasional and Prime Minister, Pak Lah has to take up the responsibility of the defeat in 5 major states and failed to gain 2/3 majority in the Parliament. Nevertheles, stepping down now will create another storm for BN and open up the door for enemy to launch another stern attack.
Yes this is a biggest lost of BN in Malaysia history, but so far the transition of power to has been quite smooth without creating choas. Stability after transition of power in 5 states has set a very good example of democratic practice in this country. Now that a month has passed, we should not play the game of finger pointing among BN, especially among UMNO urging Pak Lah to step down now. The federal government, together with the 5 opposition controled states, should start governing the state with good governance and to implement whatever promises they have made during the election, not to draw more political drama like try to wrest the federal power.
We know that it is difficult for Abdullah Badawi to hold the position long, under enormous pressure from different camps within UMNO, especially from Tun Mahathir. Najib and Muhyiddin are the two new figures to take over if Pak Lah was to step down now. However, if this does happen, they will only found themselve taking over a split, weak and problematic UMNO because Pak Lah supporters will not be cooperative because the way their leader has been treated.
It would be best for Abdullah Badawi to hold the position for another year where the political stability has been resumed and no more rumours about BN MPs crossing over to Pakatan Rakyat. If Najib and Muhyiddin can give full support for Abdullah Badawi to restore and reunite the party, then by end of 2009, a more stable UMNO can be pass to them and i think they are more happy to take over a stronger party to start their "revolution" or "reinventing" or whatsoever campaign they wish to run to strengthern the party and the federal government.
It is hard time for Abdullah Badawi now, but i have full faith on him because i know he is a good man that will carry out good governance for the people of Malaysia. So Pak Lah, you must stay on for now, for you left no time, to continue your reform in judiciary, in restoring the institutions, to get our police back to its glory time and most importantly, to get Malaysians from all races and religions to unite as true Malaysian.
