He said reports that the Umno veteran had signed the so-called Deklarasi Kelantan were “at once startling and expected.”
“The best that we can hope for is that it is a sly tactic to bring about Najib’s downfall,” he said. “At worst, it is Tengku Razaleigh’s latest act of treachery. Time will tell.”
The Kelantan Declaration expresses undivided support for the Prime Minister, in opposition to the Citizens’ Declaration made by the Save Malaysia movement led by former premier Mahathir Mohamad. Joining Tengku Razaleigh in signing it yesterday were other members of Kelantan Umno, including International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed and Mara Chairman Annuar Musa.
Kadir gave his reaction in notes added to his latest blog posting.
He said it was well known that the embattled Prime Minister had often “poured out his feelings” in meetings with Tengku Razaleigh. “At the same time,” he added, “many members of the Dewan Rakyat and a large portion of the public have placed their confidence in Tengku Razaleigh’s leadership in the effort to force Najib’s resignation.
“Najib knows that if there’s one person who can take him down through the parliamentary process, that person is none other than Tengku Razaleigh.”
Kadir recalled that several months ago there were reports of Tengku Razaleigh receiving statutory declarations from a majority of MPs in which they declared their readiness to oust Najib through a vote of no-confidence.
“It’s hard to fathom the kind of politics being played by the Najib-Razaleigh clique,” he said. “What is clear is that as far as Najib is concerned, if there’s anyone who can save him, that person is Tengku Razaleigh.”