‘DON’T FORGET YOU’RE THE ONE WHO BACK-STABBED PAK LAH’: EX MINISTER ZAM BRINGS ‘DISLOYAL’ NAJIB BACK TO REALITY

Former minister Zainuddin Maidin wasted little time in delivering a blow to caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak over the latter’s poem, which took a swipe at Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In his poem dedicated to former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib also praised his predecessor, who is affectionately known as Pak Lah, for remaining loyal.

Taking to Twitter, Zainuddin, who is better known as Zam, reminded Najib of what transpired following the 2008 general election.

“PM Najib reads a poem praising ex-PM Pak Lah for being loyal to the party (Umno) while mocking Mahathir who ran to Langkawi.

“But Najib forgets that he managed to become PM because he was not loyal to Pak Lah,” he said.

In his poem, Najib did not name Mahathir, but the reference was obvious, when he said, “Let that leader go to Langkawi.”

Mahathir, who is Pakatan Harapan chairperson, is slated to contest the Langkawi parliament seat in the coming general election.

Since Mahathir had turned against him, Najib has often roped in Abdullah to take potshots at his former mentor-turned-nemesis.

Apart from describing him as a “true statesman”, Najib had also lauded Abdullah for showing how a former premier should behave.

In the run-up to the 2008 general election, Mahathir had launched a series of attacks against Abdullah, who was his handpicked successor, and the latter’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin.

Mahathir had accused Khairy, who is now the caretaker youth and sports minister, of heading the band of “fourth-floor boys” who ill-advised Abdullah and influenced his decisions.

The “fourth-floor boys” referred to Abdullah’s advisers, who occupied the fourth floor of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Abdullah, on the other hand, claimed that Mahathir was upset that he had cancelled his projects.

Najib’s supporters have also used a similar argument, claiming that Mahathir embarked on the warpath against the current caretaker prime minister because he did not heed the former premier’s demands, chief of which, concerned his son Mukhriz’s political future.

After BN suffered an unprecedented electoral setback in 2008, Mahathir plunged the dagger into Abdullah and played an instrumental role in forcing the latter out.

Mahathir had pushed for Najib to succeed Abdullah, arguing that he was a better leader, but now claims that he made a mistake.

Najib takes a poetic swipe at Dr M, lauds Pak Lah’s loyalty

In a poem dedicated to his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Abdul Razak took a poetic swipe at his nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the caretaker Selangor government.

“Sungguhpun di negeri Selangor terjumpa baldi,

(Even though you find buckets in Selangor)

Kes denggi tertinggi di Darul Ehsan tetap kita perangi,

(We will still fight the biggest outbreak of dengue there)

Biarla pemimpin itu bawa hati ke Pulau Langkawi,

(Let that leader go to Langkawi)

Namun yang paling penting Pak Lah tetap setia kekal di sisi

(What’s most important is that Pak Lah (Abdullah) remains loyal by our side),” the caretaker prime minister recited the poem at the official launch of the National Cancer Institute in Putrajaya this morning.

Abdullah, who was not present at the event, was prime minister when construction of the centre first began. The centre has been operational since 2013.

The former prime minister, who is popularly known as Pak Lah, was Mahathir’s handpicked successor. Mahathir played a key role in forcing Abdullah to resign and for Najib to replace him in 2009.

The reference to the ‘bucket’ in Najib’s poem was aimed at the week-long water cuts in the Klang Valley last month, triggered by maintenance works at a Selangor water treatment facility.

Prior to Najib’s speech, caretaker health minister Dr S Subramaniam said that the National Cancer Institute provides affordable healthcare for cancer patients.

He said treatment that costs RM40,000 in a private institute, costs as low as RM12 at the National Cancer Institute.

Subramaniam also wished that Najib would stay in power after the general election, to ensure a continuation of the BN caretaker government’s healthcare plans.

– M’kini