Sarawak,Malaysia: Monday.
Just how binding is an unwritten agreement between two persons? This is one of the hottest issue in Malaysian Politics at the moment.
With the next General Election just around the corner it is no wonder that every Tom,Dick and George is joining in the debate.
Dr Mahathir Mohammad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, repeated that that there is ‘a Gentleman’s agreement’ between him and the present Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi. In that agreement it was agreed that Abdullah should be the Prime Minister of Malaysia for only a term since he is already quite old. After serving a full term Abdullah should hand over the leadership to Najib Razak who is now his deputy.
However, this report is denied by Abdullah. He maintained that there is no such agreement. This report is also denied by Najib, or so it seems.
Yet many analysts of Malaysian Politics questioned the denial by Najib. Is it real, they asked. Many Malaysians however,pointed to the habit of Malaysian leaders of veiling their intention with flowery terms of the Malay language. This is known as ‘bersopan and beradab.’
The Malaysian public acknowledged that Dr Mahathir did not really favour Abdullah. As far as characters are concerned the two men are poles apart.
Abdullah Badawi is soft-spoken, diplomatic and openly religious. Everyone knew Dr Mahathir as sharp-tongued, sarcastic, occasionally quick-witted and blunt at the same time.
According to the man-in-the-street, by all account Dr Mahathir should not bother to influence the course of Malaysian politics, now that he is already retired. He should refrain from attacking Abdullah’s personality and policies. Dr Mahathir still commanded great respect amongst fellow Malaysian and should at least enjoyed it.
Of course Najib Razak knew that Abdullah is still very,very strong. Now is not the right time for Najib to act. The time will come.
So, is there ‘a gentleman’s agreement’ between them? This writer would favour a negative answer. Even if Abdullah said yes at that time, it is only to adapt to the fast-changing moments. Is it slick? yes sir, it is one slick move!
It is only about grabbing the moment and that is politics.
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