I refer to the malaysiakini report Najib: No rift with Pak Lah . It has been quite some time since our deputy premier said out loud that he has no problem working with the present premier. But one tends to wonder how come Pak Lah has not reciprocates in kind? The latter's wall of silence on his relationship with his deputy speak volumes.

This episode is reminiscent of the former premier's relationships with his deputies which strained after some time and one by one, his deputies had to leave office due to differences in opinion. The president and deputy president of any BN party will have a strained relationship but normally, the incumbent has upper hand as they hold ultimate power in the party.

Even in other Western countries like Great Britain and Australia, the premier and his deputy have testy relationships especially if the incumbent refuse to retire from office and make way for their deputies.

Therefore, one cannot believe that the Internet is being blamed for creating a rift between Najib Razak and Pak Lah. Time will tell whether the allegations of a strain relationship between the deputy and the premier is true. People normally read 'between the lines' in this country and more often than not rumours making their rounds in this small nation of ours tend to be true.

Records has shown that there were deputy prime ministers who did not make it to the top and if our present deputy does not make it to the top, it won't be a surprise as he was not the first choice to be Pak Lah's deputy.

He only made it after the former premier had lobbied hard for him to get the coveted post. Being No 2 is a dead-end job as the No1 won't trust you because you might try to topple him. Meanwhile, those below you are always trying to dislodge you from your second-in-command post in order to reach the top.

Anyway, let us hope that this alleged rumour of a strained relationships between the premier and his deputy is just that - a rumour. If our political situation is not stable, foreign investments will be affected and our country will suffer in the end.