While current plans to gather enough BN and opposition MPs in a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak appear unlikely, this may change after the Bersih 4 rally this weekend, according to The Economist .
The internationally reputable magazine noted that while all avenues to oust Najib appear to have been blocked, the only path left is a no-confidence vote where a bi-partisan technocratic government will then replace Najib's adminisration.
"One possible candidate for prime minister is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah ( photo ), an elder statesman popular among business leaders.
"This scheme remains unlikely, but it could get a boost if many tens of thousands of Malaysians take to the streets on Aug 29," it said.
However, the magazine warned that if the Bersih 4 rally this weekend is dominated by ethnic Chinese, it may back fire.
"Recent rifts in the multi-ethnic opposition have led to worries that many ethnic-Malay supporters of the opposition and of previous Bersih rallies may not turn out this time.
"The risk is that a big rally dominated by ethnic Chinese and Indians would inflame the pernicious sore, scratched on Umno’s fringes, that the country’s Islamic heritage is under threat from non-Malays," it said.
While noting that this would be a "fiendish trap", it will nonetheless work in Najib's benefit.
New ruthlessness in Najib
The magazine also weighed into Najib's manoeuvres to block investigations into 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion deposited into his personal bank accounts.
"The crackdown has underscored the weakness of Malaysia’s institutions and displayed a new ruthlessness in Najib.
"An urbane, British-educated scion of a political family, he seems to have abandoned earlier efforts to paint himself as a reformer. But he is digging in," it said.
It noted that that as Najib tightens his grip on power, the economy appears to be faltering.
"Meanwhile the state of the economy, which Najib had claimed to be carefully tending, grows more parlous.
"The country is running down foreign-currency reserves to prop up the ringgit, down by more than 16 percent this year.
"A slowing China and falling prices for commodities triggered the currency slide, but the political drama has accelerated it," it said.
It further noted that while many Umno MPs were less than enthuasiastic about Najib, they dare not challenge him and risk their own careers.
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