Najib is PM ...but does he have the support of the majority of MPs? We will never know...

Well, the people do not matter... and the MPs do not matter - for I do not think that there was even a check with the individual MPs of BN to see if they support the appointment of Mohd Najib Razak as the latest Prime Minister of Malaysia.

It was possibly assumed that all BN MPs want this latest UMNO President to be the new Prime Minister...and that is very wrong. Motions of no confidence with this 'new' Prime Minister which may be tabled later would most likely not see the light of day for one reason or another...and so Malaysia has a new PM today 3/4/2009.

But wait, there are 3 by-elections, in Perak, Kedah and Sarawak - and maybe the results would be the indicator of whether the people of Malaysia (oops...just the voters, I am afraid...) are happy that Mohd Najib Razak is the new PM. [But then, with the amount of 'money politics' going around which even saw 1 of 3 UMNO Deputy Presidential barred from contesting, one wonders about the extend of 'money politics' that will be there in these by-elections...maybe not just 'money politics' but threats, etc...]

The outcome of GE2008 brought fresh life to the hopes of people for change - but alas, the Perak debacle and now the manner of appointment of Mohd Najib Razak may have just 'killed' some of that hope.

The victory of the Pakatan Rakyat in 5 States also opened eyes again with regard to the true nature of Federal-State relationship especially here in the Peninsular. The ability of the Federal Government to control the flow of monies and resources to the individual States is shocking, .....not just the individual States but also the constituencies. But alas, we also saw this in Trengganu when Petronas allegedly withheld full payments to the State government when it was under PAS.

Mohd Najib Razak - he is perceived as being 'above the law'. There may be police reports filed, evidence unearthed, etc - but alas the police and/or the AG do not even want to act on these reports, let alone commence investigations. Altantuya and allegations of corruptions in some arms deals, are just some examples. We recall Bala, who alleged in his 1st SD (that was subsequently revoked by a 2nd SD) that references to Najib were deleted from his statement, and that the prosecution just did not raise any questions that connects Najib to the deceased Mongolian. When someone writes something about Najib and/or his wife, the State commences a criminal action against him/her. Normally, the 'defamed' will take a civil suit based on defamation...The fact that police have clearly 'banned' persons raising the 'Altantuya' matter during election campaigns is also indicative of the problems that we have now in the person of Mohd Najib Razak, new PM of Malaysia.

Mohd Najib Razak is the 1st tainted Prime Minister of Malaysia. The impression propagated is that nobody can do anything against him, even when he was just the Deputy Prime Minister. We are thus heading for some interesting times...and we shall see what happens.

The people who can vote in these 3 by-elections, if they have the courage and principles, can send a message to this new Prime Minister...

Najib Abdul Razak takes the oath as Malaysia's sixth prime minister before the king this morning.

MCPX

Dressed in black baju Melayu, he read his declaration of taking office and oath of secrecy before King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin at 10.10am in Istana Negara.

"I, Najib Razak, who has been chosen to hold the post of prime minister, swear that I will carry out the responsibilities which I have been entrusted with to the best of my ability," the 55-year-old leader said in front of the king.

"I will be true to Malaysia and will defend and uphold the constitution." - Malaysiakini, 3/4/2009, Najib sworn in as PM

It saddens me that even the Pakatan Rakyat are behaving like the BN, in that the 3 leaders signed the petition on behalf of the 81 MPs from their parties. It should have been a petition signed by all 81 MPs personally - the handing over could have been done by the 3 leaders. Now, we are not 100% sure whether all 81 do support the petition....

Likewise, to prove that he has the support of the majority, Mohd Najib Razak should have been required to show that he had the support of the majority - and this should have been done through personal face-to-face meeting with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agung (or even signed letters from the relevant MPs) - but better still or more properly through a vote in the Dewan Rakyat.

Sadly, also the call for the delay of appointment was not to ensure that Najib had the support of the majority. Why was this not raised?

All 81 Pakatan Rakyat members of parliament have submitted a petition to King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin to appeal for the postponement of Najib Abdul Razak's appointment as the prime minister.

The petition, which was submitted to the palace yesterday, was signed by Anwar Ibrahim on behalf of PKR, Abdul Hadi Awang for PAS and Lim Kit Siang for DAP.

The Pakatan MPs said the appointment should be put off until an independent commission cleared Najib of any wrongdoings.

The MPs said that Najib should be investigated on claims linking him to the Altantuya murder case.

"Of late, there have been too many scandals associated with the deputy prime minister. For example, he has been linked to a scandal involving commissions in the purchase of Scorpene submarines.

"Even worse, he has been linked with the murder of a Mongolian woman, and the case has been reported in newspapers and magazines around the world.

"Hence, we urge the king to postpone his appointment as prime minister until all these allegations have been cleared by an independent commission," said the MPs in the petition.

They added that the position of the prime minister was the most important in the country and as such, it must be given to someone with unquestionable integrity.- Malaysiakini, 2/4/2009, 81 MPs ask king to put off Najib's appointment