COMMENT Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may be getting "punches" from all corners, but the fact remains. He is still undefeated, in politics at least.

Some may disagree but you need to prove me wrong on this.

Just like American Floyd Mayweather who at the age 38 is still going strong as a boxer, Najib has shown no signs of defeat even surviving some of the dangerous "upper-cuts".

Last Saturday in Las Vegas, the people's favourite fighter Manny Pacquiao was beaten by Mayweather with an unanimous points decision. It was a much-anticipated duel watched here on Sunday morning.

So far Najib has been able to take all the punches that came his way. In the Malay language, we call it "tumbukan bertubi-tubi" (continuous punches). They came in the form of GST, 1MDB, his daughter's wedding, etc.  

Punches came from various directions. Some from the opposition and other detractors. But the big ones were thrown by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Don't even think I am equating Mahathir to the Pac Man. I am not. Pacquiao got defeated for the sixth time, but Mahathir himself was an undefeated "heavyweight" for 22 years as PM. It's a record unlikely to be broken, certainly not in my lifetime.

All I am saying is that Mahathir managed to trouble Najib, like Manny did Floyd. But the former PM has so far failed to "floor" the present premier.

Rosmah at his ringside

When attacked, Najib is not always in a defensive mode. His offensive is pretty good too, depending on which part of the divide you are standing.

Well, he certainly has a formidable "assistant" on his "ringside" - his wife Rosmah Mansor.

 

Some say Najib can't handle the big punches. That he may fall soon.

Or are we underestimating Najib? If you have not forgotten, he is after all, a seasoned politician. An established "boxer", if you like.

Najib became a member of Parliament at the very young age of 23. He ran for the Pekan seat left vacant by his late father Abdul Razak Hussein, the country's second prime minister.

He was young in almost every post he first held. Aged 25 when he became the youngest deputy minister in 1978 and aged 29 when he was sworn in as menteri besar of Pahang in 1982.

Since then held several ministerial portfolios until he became numero uno.

In Umno, he always managed to hold on to his party posts, whether contested or not.

Only blip happened in 1999

As I can recall, the only blip came in 1999 general elections when Najib retained his Pekan parliamentary constituency by only 241 votes. He got 13,148 votes while Ramli Mohamed from PAS garnered 12,907. Ramli almost became a giant-killer.

It was shocking because in the 1995 polls, Najib's majority was 10,793. It could have been the Anwar Ibrahim-factor. Anwar, the former deputy premier, was sacked by Mahathir the year before.

That is all history. What matters now is the present and the future. Is Najib ready for more fights?

He looks ready. He may not make the best of moves but all his manoeuvres are calculated. Some "jabs" land and others off-target.

So it makes us all wonder. Will Najib one day finally get his knock-out (KO) blow? Perhaps at the next Umno polls by a challenger or at the general elections by Pakatan Rakyat?

Or will he keep winning until he "hangs up his gloves" and retires on his own accord?

As we wait for Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch which may not happen, we can certainly anticipate Najib getting into the ring again and facing his many opponents, still "UNDEFEATED".

G JEGATHESAN is a member of Team Malaysiakini .