Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's move to abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA) has ruffled the feathers of numerous Umno leaders – past and present.

Among them are former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his staunch ally, ex-information minister Zainuddin Maidin.

In a blog posting today, Zainuddin once again raised the issue, but with a historical twist, roping in Najib's late uncle and Malaysia's third prime minister Hussein Onn ( right ).

He wondered if Hussein's "mistake" drove Najib to repeal the security law which provided for detention without trial.

"In abolishing the ISA, Najib is worried that its continuation will lead to abuse of power and injustice. He does not want to bear the sin.

"The police which follow orders cannot be blamed for the abuse of the ISA because the cause is political leadership that lacks wisdom and credibility," he added.

It is ironic that Zainuddin mentioned this because Mahathir too has been accused of flagrant abuse of the ISA, especially with the infamous Operasi Lalang, where scores of opposition politicians and activists were detained.

Hussein influenced by Lee Kuan Yew

As for Hussein, the former minister was referring to the arrest of Abdullah Ahmad, Abdul Samad Ismail and Abdullah Majid, under the ISA over their alleged communist links.

Zainuddin claimed that Hussein, the father of current defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein, was then influenced by Singapore's former premier Lee Kuan Yew ( left ).

Quoting Lee's memoirs, he noted that the Singaporean leader said, "He (Hussein) was open and direct when he dealt with me, coming straight to the point; unlike (Razak), I liked him."

Razak was the nation's second prime minister and Najib's father.

Zainuddin, who is popularly known as Zam and Utusan Malaysia 's former editor-in-chief, said perhaps Najib wanted to wash his "uncle's grave error".

"But abolishing the ISA based on political pressure and ambitions to be seen as democratic and liberal according to the western flavour as well as to garner popularity here and abroad is an insincere and selfish act.

"Worse still when the law is repealed during a time when the nation is unstable from the point of unity and when Najib’s own race is drowning," he added.

Meanwhile, Zainuddin also included another excerpt from Lee's memoirs, where the latter had described Abdul Razak as follows: "The difficulty with Razak, however, was that every now and then, he would change his mind and reopen an item already agreed upon."

Similarly, Najib too has been accused of being a "flip-flop" prime minister, with his latest change in stand concerning his pledge to repeal the Sedition Act.