COMMENT This is not an endorsement of Najib Abdul Razak's leadership. This is a warning of what the future might hold should the current prime minister be ousted from power.

Even if federal power has to be placed in an opposition bloc riddled with flaws and infighting, so be it.

Anything is better than the prospect of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi inching closer to the post of prime minister.

For this reason, and this reason alone, Najib should remain as prime minister until the next general election.

And hopefully, former prime miister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's prediction of defeat for Umno would come true.

As it stands now, should Najib be forced to step down, he would be replaced by current number two Muhyiddin Yassin.

The position of deputy prime minister would then require a candidate and topping the list is Zahid, the current home minister.

Like it or not, Zahid is the most popular of the three Umno vice-presidents, the other two being the more sensible Shafie Apdal and Hishammuddin Hussein, who is Najib's cousin.

Mahathir might not live long enough to see the damage which could be inflicted by a Muhyiddin-Zahid combination.

Then again, it is often said that while a politician thinks of the next election, a statesman thinks of the next generation.

Mahathir is not a statesman and has never given much thought about the next generation, apart from the political future of his son.

All that matters to him is for Umno to survive the next general election, by hook or by crook, for which someone like Zahid fits the bill.

The home minister is someone who has often showed that he would not hesitate to pull all the stops to maintain status quo.

Najib might do the unthinkable

Muhyiddin, on the other hand, has often been criticised as a racist, given his "Malay first, Malaysian second" stand.

He is someone who has shown little interest in becoming prime minister. Previously, there were even rumours that he might retire.

Muhyiddin is perhaps being forced by certain quarters in Umno to take over the baton from Najib, at least on a temporary basis, until after the next general election.

Following which, he could pass the torch to Zahid.

Zahid has little to show for himself in terms of credentials, being someone who rose up the ranks in Umno by fashioning himself as an ultra Malay, nothing more, nothing less.

He was once a close ally of Anwar Ibrahim, but then switched camps when it became obvious that backing the axed deputy prime minister could prove costly to his political ambitions.

History has shown that leaders who lack cerebral substance would resort to might and fear to continue their rule.

Then again, Najib too might do the unthinkable as suggested by A Kadir Jasin, a close associate of Mahathir, which is to replace Muhyiddin with Zahid as deputy prime minister.

Since the FBI letter scandal , Zahid's robust image among Umno members has been riddled with holes and left him at the mercy of the prime minister.

Following that, Zahid has been singing praises of Najib, which does not come as a surprise given his track-record of switching sides.

So, to prevent the possibility of Zahid climbing the ladder either way, Malaysians must stop calling for Najib's head to roll.

This is the predicament of Malaysians - for doing so could be a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire.