PRESENT POINT POWER

Datuk Seri Abdullah at the Subang RMAF base, Datuk Najib was at hand with
other well wuishes to bid him a deserved 2-week break in Australia

The war of words has become calm after the excitement or anger over the last few days. PM Datuk Seri Abdullah has taken a 2-week break to Perth, Australia with his two children and family to avoid the hustle and bustle of the day-day affairs of government. He flew off from the RMAF base in Subang and Datuk Najib was at hand to send him off together with Malacca Chief Minister and many other well wishers.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz speaking to newsmen after the Cabinet Meeting to clarify issues raised

Meanwhile Datuk Nazri is left to pick up the pieces of the continuing criticism. After the cabinet meeting, he told media of the issues discussed in the cabinet that have emerged following Dr Mahathir’s criticism. He acknowledged Tun Dr Mahathir has the right to criticize and so has the Government the right to defend its action and also ministers are responsible to defend Government; not his sole responsibility.

In the case of the cancelled bridge project, he clarified that Tun was right in saying that Datuk Serri Abdullah and Datuk Seri Najib agreed to proceed (with the Bridge project) in the beginning. There was no sentiment that they deliberately did not want to proceed. However, they have to refer the matter to the cabinet and when the cabinet disagreed it did not mean that Datuk Abdullah and Datuk Najib were telling lies. It was the cabinet decision.

Now read on….as reported by the SUN papers

All Ministers to defend government; Pauline Puah Updated: 07:58PM Wed, 28 Jun 2006

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet at its weekly meeting today reaffirmed its stance that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will not personally respond to attacks by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Speaking in a press conference in Parliament lobby today (June 28, 2006), Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said the cabinet decided that other ministers should come out to defend the government.

"Every minister has to defend the decision. It is not my sole responsibility. But we won't allow the prime minister to reply," he said, adding that the Cabinet had discussed the matter at length.

Nazri had on Monday (June 26, 2006) lashed out at Mahathir for his persistent attacks on the current administration. While other ministers have been quite restrained in their response, Nazri did not mince his words. Mahathir on Tuesday(June 27, 2006) labelled him a "hatchet man".

"The Cabinet was of the view that we have the right to defend the government," Nazri said. "It's just like Tun (Mahathir) has the right to continue (criticising) us, we should not be just sitting there quietly."

Asked if the Cabinet had agreed with his criticisms of Mahathir, Nazri said: "No one (in cabinet) criticised me."

When told some people said he went overboard, he said those who criticised him should also adviced Mahathir to stop.

Asked if the spat will affect the country, he said: "Of course we are concerned. But the same question should be asked to Tun. You cannot clap with one hand. While the Cabinet is concerned, the other side should also think the same way."

On the general mood of the Cabinet members, he said: "Most of us don't understand him (Mahathir) anymore. We are concerned for the country and Umno."

Asked about a report in Utusan Malaysia today (which quoted Mahathir as saying that Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had three days before the Cabinet announced it was not going ahead with the bridge project, assured him that the scenic bridge would be built, Nazri said it was the collective decision of the Cabinet not to proceed.

He said the matter was not something that the PM and his deputy can decide by themselves, no matter how much they wanted to build the bridge.

"Najib and Pak Lah had no intention to call off the project as this was Tun (Mahathir)'s project. But this was their view at that point of time. But when the Cabinet met to discuss, the majority of the Cabinet members held the view that we should not carry on with the project," Nazri said.

"Pak Lah listened to the Cabinet. He may have wanted to go ahead with the bridge. But when we discussed in the Cabinet and the facts were given, the majority of the Cabinet ministers felt that we should not go ahead," he said.

"It's not that Pak Lah had broken his promise ... the Cabinet made the decision. It's not Pak Lah or Najib," he added.

And from the STAR, June 29 06; Ministers told to defend government
KUALA LUMPUR: Ministers have been directed to stand up and defend the Government’s position when it is criticised by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the Cabinet felt they had a right to defend the Government, but the ministers would not allow Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to reply to his predecessor.
“Every minister must defend his or her position, especially when Cabinet decisions are being questioned. It is not my sole responsibility. But we will not allow the Prime Minister to reply.
“Tun (Dr Mahathir) said he is not going to stop. Just as he has the right to continue to voice his opinion, we are not going to keep quiet,” Nazri told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
Asked if other ministers criticised his (Nazri’s) recent outburst in the media during the Cabinet meeting, Nazri said: “No one criticised it.”
Nazri added that Abdullah defended him and said he (Nazri) had the right to be angry and to voice his views.
He said the matter was discussed at the Cabinet meeting yesterday.
“Some said I should stop criticising Tun. But if the Cabinet is openly attacked, how can I keep quiet? It is my right to defend my colleagues, the Prime Minister and the Government,” he said, adding that the current saga would not distract the Government from the 9th Malaysia Plan.
Nazri said he was aware that some people were unhappy with his remarks, adding that he could accept the advice to ‘slow down’.
“But the same advice should be given to Dr Mahathir. Don’t just ask what we can do but ask what he can do, too.
“What good is it to be an Umno member even before I was born if you are out to destroy the party? I rather have a one-day-old loyal party member,” he said.
Nazri also touched on the bridge issue and said the Cabinet collectively decided to stop its construction, not Abdullah or his Deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“The Cabinet collectively decided to stop the construction of the bridge. They (Pak Lah and Najib) cannot make a decision unless Cabinet agrees,” he said, adding that it was not stopped because of any resentment towards Tun.

***********************************************
And from: Ku Li: Dr M will air views regardless STAR, June 29; By IAN MCINTYRE

GUA MUSANG: Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah believes Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will continue to air his views on the Government despite being criticised for it.
“It is his nature. Whether in Umno or outside the party, Dr Mahathir will still give his views, even if it hurts people. Whatever people say, it makes no difference as Dr Mahathir will speak his mind; and he does not apologise,” said the former finance minister.
Tengku Razaleigh, however, stressed that he did not want to get involved.
“Firstly, I do not really know why he is unhappy with the Prime Minister. Also, I am no longer in the Government and I feel that I am in no position to advise,” said Tengku Razaleigh, who became a political foe of Dr Mahathir after he challenged the former premier for the Umno president’s post in the late 1980s.
He, however, felt that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Dr Mahathir should meet to seek a way to end the discord.
“If I am put in a position where my predecessor criticises me, I will want to meet him. I will want to seek an explanation and also explain why I am doing certain things,” Razaleigh said.
“After that, I will draw my own conclusion and look at the best approach for the country. We, at times, must be big hearted to accept criticism.”
He said it was normal for a past leader to be critical, citing the late Tunku Abdul Rahman who espoused his views in the As I See It and Looking Back columns.
Asked about the opposition capitalising on the purported rift between the former and present premiers, Tengku Razaleigh, describing PAS as being bankrupt of ideas, said it was trying to gain political mileage.
Meanwhile, the Johor Umno Youth issued a statement saying that Dr Mahathir's recent criticisms did not show his sincerity in wanting to achieve Vision 2020.
“There are better channels for Dr Mahathir to air his views than having roadshows,” said its chief Razali Ibrahim.

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in SUPPORT FOR MAHATHIR
Malaysiakini LETTERS: 'I must obey' Pak Lah - he didn't ;M Sahaja Jun 28, 06 5:19pm

I remember Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said something interesting (especially when it is seen in the present context) when he gave a speech during the dinner held after the first Perdana Global Peace Conference that was held at PWTC over a few days in November last year.

Abdullah remarked that when his secretary told him that he had been invited to the dinner by former prime minister Mahathir Mohammed and had been asked to give a speech, Abdullah said, in his own words, 'This is an order, I must obey'.

This drew loud laughter from all those who were at the dinner, which I also attended, and we thought he was joking. It was a good one, everybody felt. Abdullah went on further to say that after all Mahathir had been his boss for 22 years, so he had to obey. What did not strike everybody at the dinner at that time was the timing of the joke.

It was at a time when some of the issues that are controversial were still not determined yet. The Abdullah administration, for example, had not yet officially concluded that they wanted a halt to the plan to build the bridge whether it was to be a full one or a half one. This, and other, issues were
still under negotiations then.

I am sure Mahathir, when he heard that remark at the dinner, must have been assured that the plan to build the bridge, especially, would go on. He must have enjoyed that dinner a lot more than I did, or for that matter, anybody else in the hall. Then not too many months later, we heard that the bridge plan was unilaterally scrapped by the Abdullah administration for reasons best known to them, and this even startled the Singaporean leaders.

This must have badly shocked Mahathir who thought the 'joke' Abdullah gave during the dinner was a good sign that everything was okay with the Abdullah administration and it represented just an extension of his own which he had passed on to Abdullah. As it later turned out, this is not the case.

Abdullah might have been in wee bit too hasty in conducting himself as prime minister and in less than three years deciding to stamp his mark. This he does at the expense of his predecessor who had taken 22 years to stamp his mark on the history of the country. Abdullah must have also realised that his time as prime minister may not be as long as Mahathir's, so he needed to
so something hasty.

Unfortunately, he is doing it at the expense of someone else. And the someone else is none other than Mahathir. Therefore what Mahathir said about people who are not showing gratitude is true. Anyone who does not show gratitude won't last in the cabinet. And the present cabinet members are willing to hit the gong for Abdullah just so that they can continue to dance to it. In the past they used to do that with Mahathir; now they are doing it with Abdullah.

It's okay for the present Umno members of the Abdullah cabinet to show their gratitude to him. But who does Abdullah show his gratitude to other than to God if not to Mahathir? I may not be a big fan of Mahathir in his later years as prime minister although I still treasure a one-on-one meeting I had with him in his office in Putrajaya once.

But I still believe he has been had by someone whom he had trusted to carry the baton. Unfortunately, even before running around the stadium, so to speak, Abdullah had decided to throw the baton.

I personally would not be happy if something I had given to someone is not looked after and is abandoned. Worse if it is a cabinet that I took 22 years to make myself that is allowed by the new owner to fall on me.

BRICKBAT FOR MAHATHIR

Malaysiakin LETTERS: Mahathir's red dot conspiracy ;Lobsang Rampa Jun 28, 06 5:17pm

No amount of explanation by anyone can ever alter my resentment with the former prime minister over what he did to this nation during his 22 years in power. He wasted our wealth on projects that ended up costing twice as much.
He promoted and encouraged corrupt practices by deciding what the media could report on; who could be prosecuted and who needed protection. Yet, I still turned up to listen to his lecture last Saturday in Taman Melawati.

He suggested that the 'scenic bridge' was cancelled because someone could not sell one billion cubic meters of sand to Singapore. I wondered why he should criticise a business decision that favoured politicians when his successor was only following in his footsteps.

He questioned the rationale for selling MV Augusta for a miserable one euro; I wondered why he did not provide his quantified rationale for buying MV Augusta for 70 million euros in the first place.

He demanded an explanation on why thousands of APs were issued to a select group of people; I wondered why he did not curtail the practice when he was the boss of the lady from whom he now demanded the explanation.
As he spoke, I wondered why he was not in Kamunting or why he had accused his sacked deputy prime minister of selling state secrets to foreign agents one day, and of engaging in sodomy the next day.

Then, it crystallised before my third eye the genuine fear of Mahathir - that someone could well be on the way to eventually becoming the prime minister of this country with the assistance of a foreign country that wants a PM who is friendly to them. After all, for 22 years, they were looked upon by this Mahathir as a mere red dot on the map.

Maybe that particular someone already has in mind his line-up of cabinet ministers and deputy prime minister. And maybe that is why a 51-year-old minister who once called his colleague a 'bloody racist' 28 times in Parliament in June 2005 took offence over Mahathir's insinuations last
Saturday and is now calling upon 81-year-old Dr Mahathir to 'be a jantan' and resign from Umno.