Yesterday's mass arrests

of the so-called "Islamic terrorists" could be a gimmick not only to further instil fear into the people, but also to divert the attention of the people away from the inability or impotence of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and deputy premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to solve the many internal problems of Umno, MCA and other BN component parties.

There is of course the protracted and intense MCA power struggle between Team A and Team B. Then, there is also the power struggle within Umno in Kelantan where Mahathir and Abdullah's blue-eyed boy, Mustapha Mohamad is being challenged by local grassroots leaders.

From the Memali video clip to the condemnation of Anwar Ibrahim's hunger strike as being Hindu, Umno's propaganda has repeatedly backfired all round, indicating a continuous erosion of its public credibility.

Puteri Umno also has seen many of its top leaders left in the last one year. In Sabah, the relationship between Parti Bangsa Dayak Sabah and Parti Bersatu Sabah is tense because of intra-coalition defections.

Mahathir himself is also finding it increasingly difficult to hide the truth about the Perwaja scandal from the world.

Above all, Abdullah's credibility in the Malay community is somewhat suspect, according to the Harakah online poll. The three elected vice-presidents could be equally, if not more, popular than the unelected deputy president.