I refer to the malaysiakini report; Dr M: Pak Lah was to serve only one term. So the secret is out. Pak Lah was suppose to be a one-term prime minister to be replaced by Najib Razak after the next general election as envisioned by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

You can plan, but God decide. How times have changed, Not only is Pak Lah getting stronger support from the Umno supreme council members but Najib - who is embroiled in a private scandal - might be the shortest-serving deputy prime minister if the serious allegations made by our another former deputy premier turn out to be true. Mahathir, for all his political acumen, did not anticipate these events.

The guessing game right now is not when will Najib step down but who is the likely candidate who will succeed him if he does step down due to personal reasons. The issue of the Mongolian beauty and the kickbacks from the submarine deal seem to hang around his neck like an albatross. From Machap to Ijok, the opposition is raising these issues and Anwar Ibrahim is relentless in voicing out on them.

For Najib to say that the IGP, the attorney-general and the PM are all aware of his innocence seems to be like a drowning man clutching at a straw to save himself - none of the individuals that he mentioned have said a word to back his claim of innocence.

One man's misfortune might be another man's fortune. Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the longest serving vice-president in Umno, has a strong chance in succeeding Najib if the latter steps down from office in the near future. Mahathir must have regretted in not choosing Najib as his deputy earlier instead of Pak Lah whom he thought was easy to control. Mahathir's attacks against the present premier also don't seem to get the public attention they once got.

The public just can't wait for the trial of Abdul Razak Baginda, a confidante of the deputy premier, to begin in June to see whether more explosive details will be brought out into the open to implicate the present deputy premier. Stay tuned to this Malaysian soap opera, which has transfixed the nation for the past few months. A lot of dirty linen will be washed in public by the accused to save his neck, one suspects.