The last straw that breaks the camel's back

Why is Mahathir so adamant for Pak Lah to step down as premier? Today he disclosed his plan to achieve his objective by urging Barisan Nasional MPs to quit the coalition, become independents and force the collapse of the Abdullah administration. It seems there is nothing in his mind now, except plotting the downfall of Pak Lah. It is more strange considering Pak Lah is his chosen successor. When he was PM, he has all the government intelligent units, the SB and Military Intelligence at his disposal. Surely he must have done a very stringent check on his successor. But why now the brouhaha?

There is only one reason why he is doing all these.

The former prime minister believes that the man who he sacked and jailed in 1998 will come after him with vengeance if he captures the top political office in the country. Yes, he believe the threat of Anwar becoming PM is real.

With Pak Lah's weak style of leadership and UMNO's political infighting, many believe that Anwar will eventually become PM. The spectre of Anwar becoming PM is like a bad dream coming true for Mahathir. He will try all means to prevent it becoming a reality, even to the extent of toppling Pak Lah and choosing a new PM. If Anwar becomes PM, he will die in jail.

Instead of getting down to serious work after the elections and concentrating on executing far reaching effective and decisive nation-building policies and reforms, Pak Lah and other leaders were more pre-occupied with tackling Mahathir's lunatic tendencies.

Some have summed up, whatever the outcome, with the Malay proverb, "kalah jadi abu, menang jadi arang" (ashes if you lose, charcoal if you win).