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JOHOR BAHARU, MALAYSIA - An UMNO divisional chief has said the plan for transition of power from Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should be expedited in an orderly manner to ensure that the people are not left wondering about it.
"At its meeting with Abdullah on Friday, Johor UMNO asked the prime minister to prepare the plan for transition of power. It is something that has to be carried out," Batu Pahat UMNO Division chief, Mohd Puad Zarkashi, told Bernama news agency, adding that a number of divisional chiefs wanted the plan to be carried out quickly.
All the 26 UMNO divisional chiefs in Johor, except Education Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, attended the closed-door meeting with the prime minister. Hishammuddin is in Paris attending the UNESCO meeting.
Gelang Patah UMNO Division chief Abdul Aziz Sapian said the orderly transition of power from Abdullah to Najib as proposed by the Johor UMNO Liaison Committee could enable UMNO and the government to regain the support of the Malays.
He said the execution of the transition of power was the basis of expression of full support by the Johor UMNO Liaison Committee for the leadership of Abdullah last Friday.
"In other words, the support for the prime minister was closely linked to the prime minister's acceptance of the proposal by the Johor UMNO Liaison Committee for a transition plan," he said.
He explained that many political observers and UMNO members might have been confused by Johor UMNO's statement of support for the prime minister, who is also UMNO president.
Abdul Aziz said Johor UMNO's meeting with the prime minister last Friday did not go into the specifics of implementation of the proposed transition of power.
Sri Gading UMNO Division deputy chief Aziz Kaprawi said a plan for an orderly transition of power was particularly important in the context of preparing the party machinery to face the next general election.
"The UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) machinery must be prepared much earlier and not within a short time," he said.
He said the 13th (next) general election was expected to be more intense than the 12th and it was necessary for the United Malays National Organisation ((UMNO) and the BN to make preparations beginning right now.
Aziz also said that the plan for transition of power would also help regain the confidence of the Malays and the people in UMNO and the BN.
PM Abdullah has faced persistent calls to quit after the BN coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament and control of five states in an unprecedented setback in March 8 general elections.
He has claimed a mandate to rule, but confirmed that Najib will succeed him, in line with the tradition of his UMNO which heads the coalition. - Bernama/CNA/ir
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