AAB said a few months ago that he would hand over power in June 2010, and UMNO supreme council supported it. A while later, some among the council members wondered whether AAB could be trusted to keep his words, and others were more interested to ensure that when there is a change to party lineup at the top, they will have a position they dreamt about all this while. Having agreed to the first 2010 transition, they soon said that 2010 is 2 years away, and is far too long.

AAB sensed that the two years were quite far away, and if he could change his political wealth soon, it was no harm to make some members happy. He then agreed that he might consider leaving a while earlier. The bottom line was he would choose his departure date.

AAB had accepted responsibility for the 308 election tsunami, and his opponents in the party wanted to insult him with the results of the Permatang Paul election. They accepted the realization that Anwar could not be stopped. But they would gain political advantage in accelerating AAB’s downfall if the government could be ridiculed with a worse result. The Saiful sodomy police report was the surest plan to force Anwar to declare his candidacy for a by-election, and the trump up charge was the insurance against improved performance for BN, since the people would be reminded of what TDM did to Anwar a decade ago. AAB could have stopped police action against Anwar if he was able to stop investigation against Najib when statutory declaration could be ignored. But AAB fell for it.

The Permatang Paul election might not have resulted in Anwar’s increased majority over his wife if not for the hurtful comments against Chinese made by Ahmad Ismail, in the presence of Najib. UMNO campaign leaders are no fool, and the director of the election in Permatang Paul was Najib. They knew very well that the BN policies could not have voters embraced them with enthusiasm, but they too realized that the 308 election results were made possible by the arrogance and fiery utterances of UMNO extremists. So a repeat performance can take the same formula. The election results was a forgone conclusion, and AAB subordinates succeeded to demonstrate to one another that AAB was not fit to be President because he could not win Permatang Paul.

Did TDM orchestrate AAB’s early departure? He has been doing just that for the past four years. He mentioned specifically that AAB was not fit because of the 308 election results and confirmed that with the Permatang Paul results. He defended the comments made by Ahmad Ismail, and God knows whether he was the author of the script to bring down AAB through the Permatang Paul by-election.

Najib, the immediate beneficiary of the AAB transition plan, supported it all along until Muhyiddin, motivated by TDM declared openly that party positions were not private property for private transfer, or something to that effect, and that such transfer should be accepted by the grassroots. Najib said in response or in cue that he too would accept grassroots decision. Najib’s statement was a win-win solution since when AAB is on the losing end, he could only bring forward his departure rather than delay it. That was the agreement made in UMNO style.

Najib’s statement served to test AAB’s resolve whether he was willing to defend the position as President. If AAB had declared that the quota system of the party election should be removed, which the supreme council would have to accept because that frees up all election possibilities, Najib would have retracted on his dependence on grassroots opinion. But AAB panicked, and agreed to leave in June 2009, 12 months earlier. That would mean that AAB would be returned unopposed in December election. How naive AAB has shown himself to be? If he was allowed to return unopposed, there was no need for him to cut short his term from June 2010 to June 2009. The mid-night agreement only told Najib that AAB did not have the courage to hear the nomination result of the on-going, and yet to be held at that tine, party divisional meetings. So AAB was transformed into a beggar from a donor at the most recent supreme council meeting. AAB wanted to stay on a while longer, with the excuse of finishing his job in five months as lame duck PM when he could not do in five years running on healthy limbs. Najib was in generous moods then and he must have led AAB up the garden path to have the meeting of UMNO GA postponed by three months. Now Najib as DPM is enjoying the position of PM without the accountability, and he can afford to wait a while longer to get the right title, like he father did to Tunku. Muhyiddin is a wee bit impatient in that three months maybe in deference to the wishes of the octogenarian who wishes to die officially a member of UMNO. The three months matters a lot.

The story is well known but that shows how UMNO leaders treat contract and agreement they enter or agree among themselves. That is the same way UMNO government honoured the social contract made with leaders of the Alliance component parties. AAB had the opportunity to hold the handle of the keris but he has selected to hold the blade instead. For the non-Malays, only the blade was offered.

MCA can declare what they like. They have now the excellent opportunity to declare themselves independent of BN and the government. If they choose to go along with Najib’s leadership, they will not have as many MPs in the next election. But as a follower in the opposition coalition, the number of its MP does not count either. However, since the membership of MCA held promise for wealth and influence, never mind that it was at the expense of the community they say they represent, the loss of. money opportunity will bleed it to death.