Inevitable split has begun

Last Friday Najib told members of the Cabinet that they are free to resign and they were given the chance to distance themselves from 1MDB if they are not aligned with the 1MDB issue. This simply means that 1MDB was a collective responsibility of the Cabinet and it is always natural that those who are not with the PM on the issue should resign from the post appointed by the PM.

However none of them resigned and that means everyone in the Cabinet is taking accountability on the 1MDB issue.  Many on the ground here expected Shafie Apdal to resign but he didn’t do it. Shafie had to swallow his strong words that came out of his mouth and he is not courageous enough to resign.  

Najib is arm twisting everyone under him in the Cabinet and it’s always natural for a desperate PM to do as he wants all those who took collective decisions on the 1MDB to be severally accountable with him. He knows he cannot take it alone and he needs everyone who sat in the weekly Cabinet meetings over the 1MDB issues to take responsibilities and that is the way it should be done.

Hence the mark of the divide is drawn clearer. The scoundrels as they may be perceived stand on side while the revolting rakyat on the other side of the divide. The fight is now between the Cabinet (the government) and the ordinary people. It is not unusual to see some leaders are trying to play hero and take advantage of the acrimonious feelings among the Cabinet members over the 1MDB issue. A few has come with pungent and overpowering statements in order to be seen as men of the moment.

Mohamad, the Negeri Sembilan MB is one of them. He was seen to be coming out with strong worded statements over the current political commotions within the leaders of UMNO. In referring to the alleged ultimatum by Najib to his Cabinet colleagues last Friday, Mohamad called on anyone who distrusts the boss to leave and not to ask for the boss to quit. The MB is seen to be fishing in troubled water and what he’s looking for is predictable. He was very quick doing some covering for him after being identified as Muhyiddin's henchman of late.

In any war Mohamad is well recognized by friends who understand him, as the person who will be the first to hoist the red flag for the victor and if the reversed happens he will also be the first to raise the white flag loftily. Until last week he was still recognized to be the foremost person behind Muhyiddin armed with tall ambitions to be the right hand man of whom he believes to be the person substituting the politically ailing Prime Minister.

It is interesting to witness the situation of the day. Najib is at the lowest ebb politically and it’s easier to disbelieve him than to trust him. Hence the break may happen at any moment and it may happen today as there are move to receive Muhyiddin from his oversees trip tonight at the KLIA. Invitations from DPM’s office through tweeters, short message services (sms) and whatsapp groups were evidently massive yesterday informing everyone that Muhyiddin will be touching down at 9pm.

If the response to the invitation is big then the split in UMNO will officially starts today. From then on everyone can predict the sequences of events following the move from the office of DPM. However many feels that the split has begun. It’s a split between and among the undependable lots of UMNO leaders.

The rouges and the villain will disintegrate ultimately. UMNO can never be the same again as long as the current groups of leaders substitute each other. It’s not an easy enterprise for Muhyiddn’s group to topple Najib’s. They are from the same clone.

It will be calmer for Najib dan Muhyiddin’s group to find a leader from outside their clusters to ensure viable and legitimate changes to transpire. Think about the country ahead of personal agenda. Stop thinking about personal wealth and glamor. There is no end to social climbing.