Dr Mahathir ups the ante

UMNO secretary-general Radzi Sheikh Ahmad announced that Dr Mahathir will attend the opening of the UMNO General Assembly on Nov 15, but tap-danced away from the question on whether the Grand Ole Man will be allowed to address the assembly.

Did you expect Dr Mahathir not to attend, after the campaign by the AAB’s camp to muzzle, sabotage, gag, embargo, etc the former UMNO president, and made him lose in the Kubang Pasu divisional elections to select representative delegates?

I didn’t, because I reckon Dr Mahathir knows that if he doesn’t, he would fall exactly into the trap laid for him by the AAB people – they would then jump on the accusation (or spin) that Dr Mahathir is contemplating joining Anwar Ibrahim in PKR, or some new opposition. That would just do nicely to kill off whatever support DR Mahathir still enjoys in UMNO.

In a recent posting I stated that post AAB-TDM meeting, Mahathir emerged as the winner but I was told I had been incorrect, that AAB was in fact the winner.

But not long after that, the AAB spinmeisters, such as the mainstream media (government unofficial mouthpieces) deliberately misreported that Anwar Ibrahim had invited Dr Mahathir to join the opposition as its advisor.

That upset an infuriated Anwar Ibrahim whose repudiation of the reported lie was only published in Malaysiakini. The PKR was forced to follow up with a declaration that it won’t admit Dr Mahathir if he were to apply to join the party. Well, they can dream on in anticipation of him ever considering such an improbability.

Mahathir knows that the AAB’s camp is spreading the rumours, and oh, don’t we Malaysians just thrive on rumours, that the Grand Ole Man is deserting or being disloyal to UMNO. Why would they need to do such a thing if AAB had come out of that meeting tops?

Because the reality is Dr Mahathir was the one who came out of that meeting in a far superior position - he had then showed AAB was avoiding answering his questions which were already known, with AAB having no excuse in not answering them straightaway. Not answering them is guilt, as UMNO members would see it!

Now, Dr Mahathir doesn’t have to address the UMNO assembly. All he needs to do is sit at the gue VVIP guest front row position in a dignified manner, and later, during the refreshment breaks, merely 'circulated' and shake a few hands, perhaps asks members about their families, etc. He still has the charisma and the authority bestowed by 20 years of leadership to draw the crowd. That would be enough.

In fact, if anything, by staging his silence in dignity, he can even win more sympathies and support.

Now, over to the AB camp to see what next they can come up with., as we hear shrill cries of “Celaka lah, Dia nak datang …" (with more unsavoury profanities uttered).