Dr Mahathir Mohamad has urged a referendum to ascertain the rakyat’s support for Najib Abdul Razak ( Malaysiakini , March 15, 2016 - ‘Najib or Dr M? Settle it with a referendum, says Mahathir’). Dr Mahathir has said that he would abandon his current mission to oust Najib if the referendum is in favour of the PM.

It is logical for Dr Mahathir to urge this because his other strategies and tactics have so far produced zilch. It has been like water falling on a duck’s back. In contrast, Najib’s position, in the Malaysian context, appears to growing stronger in tandem with and in response to the increasing polemics and pressures emanating from Mahathir and others.

Planning and conducting a national referendum is a long and complex process. It is like a general election. It will take many months if not a year or more to plan and execute. So even if Najib agrees to a referendum, it will be quite some time before it happens.

What will Dr Mahathir do in the meanwhile? Will he back-off and wait for the referendum? Can Dr Mahathir sit quietly and wait for the referendum while it will be business as usual for Najib? In politics, especially Malaysian politics, even one week is a long period. Dr Mahathir knows this very well. The patient wait for the referendum may kill the restless old patient.

Dr Mahathir’s urging for a referendum on Najib is merely another of those things one does to be seen as doing something. Amart man that he is, Dr Mahathir knows fully well that the referendum will never happen.

Najib’s position is unassailable in the context of Malaysian politics. Najib’s support from Umno is as strong, if not stronger, than before. Najib has the support of his cabinet members, BN partners and key players in the government (police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or MACC, etc.). The sultans, too, either support Najib or are ambivalent. With such a strong position, why would Najib agree to a referendum?

If pressed, Najib could argue that the referendum would be unnecessary and a waste of time and money as the general elections is just two years away. It is clear that the referendum demanded by Dr Mahathir will never happen. So what else can he do?

Many people feel that Dr Mahathir’s real agenda in trying to oust Najib is to install his son Mukhriz Mahathir as the future PM. He needs to dispel this perception once and for all. He needs to convince the rakyat that his current mission is in the interest of the country and not himself or his family.

He needs to explicitly name a clean and able person as the alternative to Najib, even if that person is from the opposition, and support him without any hidden agenda or secret agreement. Will he do this?

Dr Mahathir accuses Najib of being corrupt. For his accusation to be viewed credibly, he needs to establish that he himself is clean and untainted. He should therefore openly declare his assets and those of his family members and clarify his sons’ routes to wealth. Dr Mahathir has alluded that his assets and those of his children are via legitimate means. So, this public declaration should not be a problem for him.

Once Dr Mahathir has declared his and his family’s assets, there would be mounting pressure on Najib to do likewise. So instead of calling for a referendum , he should demand that Najib should declare his assets if he had nothing to hide. To prove this point and to establish his clean credentials, Dr Mahathir should declare his and family’s assets unconditionally as soon as possible.

It would be very difficult for Najib to evade this challenge. The issue is whether Dr Mahathir, who claims to be clean in contrast to Najib, is prepared to up the ante and declare his and his family’s assets.