The last words of a Tan Sri very close to Tun Dr Mahathir, meaning really close, after that morning breakfast in KLCC two years ago to correct the wrongful RM42 billion lesap figure of 1MDB is still fresh in the mind.
"You watch out Azmin."It was not long before that someone close to Mahathir, or it could be even Mahathir himself said, "Mukhriz is a weak leader".
So, as we see it, the current claim Mahathir is trying to place Mukhriz is just a political game.
"Boboi" is only doing a face saving after losing the Kedah MB post. And off course, fillial son helping and defending the father.
His indifference to the Kedah MB post is indicative he is only interested to remain politely aloof and maintain his lifestyle to ensure his Ericson fiber optic supply monopoly remain.
Unless the 92 year old person one see as Mahathir is not Mahathir, then it is unlikely he could be Prime Minister again.
It is all a red herring.
Red herring are herring, which turned red when smoked.
It is a figure of speech to mean "something intended to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand; a misleading clue".
For that matter, Anwar too was doing a red herring with his statement from inside through his lawyers.
How could Anwar response from prison, if he had not given a set of statements for his lawyers to release at their discretion as it suits the situation.
So it is all Wayang Tinggi Production Sdn Bhd to divert attention from the intended person.
The real Mahathir said already he is not running and not interested for the position:
This is to show he really said so. And he did say:
Why suddenly the discussion on next PM?
Partly they are under pressure to name a PM since removing Dato Najib is their only their crying call.
It all started from Mahathir's reaction to the Reformasi pressure:
Its just him telling, "You can't push me to do something I do not want".
But he did sign the Bebas Anwar petition which is meaningless. The demand for Anwar's pardon is a long way to go and has yet to start.
The only way feasible for pardon is for Mahathir to return as PM and abuse his powers as he did before to force on Agong to pardon Anwar.
Not today he can.
He can ask the pardon board to consider but they will decide on their own reasons. Will the pious Agong pardon a sodomite to enable him to be PM?
Nah ... unlikely to happen.
It sparked a debate and exchanges between PKR and PPBM supporters on whether Anwar can get a pardon
Suddenly Rafizi forced the issue with another of his long string of questionable allegations and findings:
And Mahathir played along or he wants to save face from losing the Proton debate.
He was just made PH Chairman and announced there will be a unified logo for PH. He wanted to show who's the boss:
As he repented for his past:
... he said:
It serves to reinvigorate the PPBM supporters suffering a setback with 1,000 PPBM Perak members quitting the party. More could be leaving.
Reporters being nosy made him say below:
It is only natural for Anwar's response albeit a bit of over acting.
So do PAN:
It is only politics.
Such political statement will only invite expected political responses towards Mahathir:
A good one from PM:
And some should just butt out:
Off course, some could not resist pokimg at Anwar and Muhyiddin.
Naturally, the opposition need be colored in a certain manner:
It is unthinkable that a 92 year old can still stand on a podium to speak for 45 minute to 1 hour day in, day out.
Impossible he could be riding a bicycle or riding a horse as even 80 year old have trouble walking.
Sometimes it is suspicious why he could not pray inside Masjid Negara on Friday as he use to as PM, but only outside the Masjid and along the corridor.
Refraining from claiming it is a hantu praying. It is disrespectful.
The reality is no 92 year old can withstand the pressure of the position. So it begs the question:
Naturally, this is politics. I use you and you use me. Still ...
Thus far, Wan Azizah has been tossed as the interim PM by Anwar and Reformasi diehards in PKR with the wishful thinking it will eventually be Anwar.
That will not be an acceptable solution.
More so after she failed miserably to articulate intelligently and evading all the questions posed in the interview with BBC Hardtalk:
Neither an MB Selangor material nor remotely a PM. One cannot take such chances.
There is also DAP candidate for PM.
But Mahathir have been knocking into Lim Kit Siang head and he uttered it out that this is a Malay majority country.
So he accepted the fact that the PM must be Malay.
Smart move and one up over MCA who seem to want to get the acknwoledgement that a Chinese can be PM one day.
Maybe one day but it is dumb politics to say so.
Kit Siang could be seeing as it is not PM or President post that matters as Singapore use to have and currently having a Malay President.
The power is with who has the most kerusi!
For all likelihood, DAP will win the highest number of seats among opposition.
To some ex-UMNO now reciting DAP is good as a PPBM member or pentaksub (which we know inside they do not meant so), they are only in-denial that DAP will not control PH government.
Through all this, did anyone notice Azmin is not in the fray?
He seemed insulated by all the various happenings and evaded controversies. He will not comment on anything that will put him in a spotlight, a negative spotlight.
When Rafizi and Zuraidah was exchanged barbs on car import AP, Azmin just kept quiet. He has been importing cars with AP.
In the midst of the exchanges between Adam Rusly, the charged for AMLA AMK leader for Ampang and popularly believed is Zuraidah Kamaruddin's proxy and runner, Nurul Izzah told to ignore Adam.
One possible reason it is Azmin is simply because he has the political ability Mahathir look for. The Pak Ali family is an extended family to the Mahathirs:
Anwar courted the ambitous Azwin when he was studying at the University of Wisconsin.
When he returned and Anwar was ready to DPM, Azmin joined Mahathir's office and then moved to Anwar's office. The rest is history:
But people tend to forget about old ties:
The source is not just Ummi Hafilda but also extended members of Pak Ali, Hulu Klang family.
In politics, there is no permanent enemy and permanent friends. Personal relations carry a long way. Of all the person, Mahathir need someone that is willing to listen to him and protect his legacy, interest and wealth. He has no one but Azmin.
That is why he is willing to kneel to Anwar, the man he imprisonned. He needs Azmin and to do so, he need to get Anwar blessing. Without the blessing, it is tough battle for Azmin to dislodge Wan Azizah.
He believed Azmin can handle DAP as he handled them in Selangor and balance it with PAS and istana. But Azmin has skeletons and enemies.
It is not so simple.