So, Najib, when you have to shoot, shoot; don’t talk. Tell us whether what we heard is true or not. If it is true what do you have to gain by keeping quiet? After all, even if you keep quiet they are still going to shoot you anyway.
One of my favourite movie lines is “when you have to shoot, shoot; don’t talk”. I still remember this line, which at that time had us all in stitches. It was from the ‘spaghetti western’ movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly starring Eli Wallach, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. But then I was only 16 at that time so simple things like that turned me on (as did Rose Chan’s shows at BB Park).
Anyway, that is what I am going to tell Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today: when you have to shoot, shoot; don’t talk.
I am sorry to have to tell the Prime Minister that there is too much talking and not enough shooting. So if you are not careful you are going to end up like that chap in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He talked too much and did not shoot so he ended up dead.
I am afraid to also have to tell the Prime Minister that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is doing a lot of shooting. And he is not alone. He has an army out there that is also shooting. He has the Umno people. He has the Umno Bloggers. He has the opposition Bloggers. He has the opposition media. He has the mainstream media. He has the foreign media. He has the opposition parties.
Hell, every man and his dog is shooting while all those who should be considered Najib’s friends are just keeping quiet and are not coming to his aid except for a handful of people.
Was this not what Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a.k.a. Pak Lah did? And what happened to Pak Lah? Do you think you can escape Pak Lah’s fate when you do things the way Pak Lah did?
Lim Kit Siang has suggested that Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin force Najib to retire or ‘take leave’ and then take over the running of the country with the help of Dr Mahathir and Pak Lah.
That sure sounds like a desperate move. When Muhyiddin was the Johor Menteri Besar, the opposition called him the most corrupt MB in Malaysian history. Dr Mahathir, on the other hand, proudly said at that time that Muhyiddin is his richest minister.
Pak Lah was condemned as one of the worst Prime Ministers Malaysia ever had who went to sleep (literally) and allowed the country to run on autopilot and crewed by the boys on the ‘Fourth Floor’ led by Khairy Jamaluddin — and policies dictated by Singapore (which is why Pak Lah shelved the Crooked Bridge project).
Dr Mahathir is blamed as the man who killed the judiciary and who allowed money politics (another word for bribery and corruption) to seep into Umno and for race and religion politics to shape Malaysia’s political culture, which today has become so bad that it is threatening to turn Malaysia into another Beirut if not contained.
Yes, and these same three men who they used to condemn to kingdom come should now force Najib to ‘take leave’ and these same three men should take over the running of the country.
What was that Dr Mahathir said: Melayu mudah lupa?
“What would you do if you were Najib?” you ask me?
Well, first I would not dilly-dally like what he is doing and would change (not just reshuffle) the cabinet immediately after Hari Raya. More importantly, I would appoint a new Deputy.
Then I would reveal what I have been keeping from the public these last two years: and that information I have been keeping from the public these last two years is the reason why Dr Mahathir wants my head on a silver platter.
Najib should reveal the story of how the taxi drivers want the freedom to choose whatever car to buy and not be forced to just buy Proton like now. I was told that Najib is dilly-dallying and is not making a decision on this.
If Najib agrees to the demands of the taxi drivers and allows them the freedom to buy whatever car they want that is going to affect the sales of Proton. So, of course, Dr Mahathir is not happy about it.
No doubt Najib has not said yes yet but he has not said no either. And Dr Mahathir is pissed that Najib is not announcing that if the taxi drivers want their taxi permits then they must buy Protons and no other type of car.
Next Najib is considering opening up Malaysia’s car market and not continue with the protection policy for Proton. That would be good for the consumer but will be the deathblow for Proton. As it is, Proton is asking for a RM2 billion bailout and Najib is not agreeing to that. That is yet another bone of contention.
Of course, many will say all that is still not going to explain what happened to 1MDB’s RM42 billion that is supposed to have disappeared into thin air. But it will explain why Dr Mahathir has turned 1MDB into his personal Crusade.
The most important and crucial story of all is regarding the story of the proxies. According to the talk in the corridors of power, and only Najib can tell us whether this is true or not, Dr Mahathir is trying to get his proxies to transfer back his assets but they need government approval first and Najib is not giving this approval.
Many of the proxies are playing the wait and see game. If Dr Mahathir cannot get Najib to agree then the proxies need not do anything and can keep all those assets that run into billions.
The only way Dr Mahathir can solve this stalemate is to get Najib replaced so that the new Prime Minister can unblock the freeze. And Dr Mahathir no longer has time on his side so this must be done soon.
So, Najib, when you have to shoot, shoot; don’t talk. Tell us whether what we heard is true or not. If it is true what do you have to gain by keeping quiet? After all, even if you keep quiet they are still going to shoot you anyway.
I just love that movie, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The heroes just shoot. They don’t talk. So stop talking and start shooting. Malaysians always love a good gunfight. Now, where is my popcorn?
Raja Petra Kamarudin
