COMMENT Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may appear a "victor" in the eyes of the delegates who are currently attending the Umno general assembly over his explanations of the RM2.6 billion and another RM42 billion, which were funnelled into his personal accounts.

But to most people outside of the four walls of Putra World Trade Centre, the burning questions about the so-called "political donations" still remain largely unanswered. Although Najib has won his first battle within Umno’s political fray this weekend, the task of winning over the majority of the ordinary voters will be his biggest challenge.

The battle is far from over, as certain factions within Umno have started pursuing the issue of RM2.6 billion with the Registrar of Societies and the domestic courts in order to recover the "missing" funds after it was allegedly transferred to a bank in Singapore.

If all else fails, complaints have also been lodged with anti-corruption agencies in a number of countries. These agencies, which include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), are currently looking at the money trail.

The issue is now a matter of public perception of Najib’s integrity. Despite currently appearing to be suffering from a trust deficit, Najib will be the one to lead Barisan Nasional right into the 14th general election in less than 30 months.

It is said that a man’s worth is in his words. If a man’s words, especially those coming from someone occupying the office of a prime minister, cannot be trusted, it makes it extremely difficult to convince the voters of whatever promises made by the political party or coalition that he represents.

Scepticism will remain strong, considering that any politician can make wonderful promises but if people will no longer believe in them, BN’s chances of winning in the next general election will further be reduced with Najib still helming the coalition.

Umno delegates attending the general assembly should not forget that they are but a "minority" when it comes to a general election. Ultimately, it is the general public who will determine who wins in the next general election. This is proven from the political tsunami that we saw in 2008 and subsequently in 2013.

Contradicting himself

From the political tsunami in 2008 to the Chinese tsunami in 2013, the BN’s support base has largely eroded due to people’s perception of the Barisan Nasional government.

The complaint was that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lacked direction in his government, but this has since been further compounded by the 1MDB scandal, where people are asking how the borrowed funds will eventually affect them and the future generations of Malaysians.

In many of his answers given, whether directly or indirectly, Najib has courted more controversies than provided satisfactory answers to the many burning questions. In two major occasions, Najib’s absence spoke louder than his many bold speeches.

Prior to the 13th general election, he had told an audience during his ceramah that political funds should never be banked into any individual’s private accounts.

Under normal circumstances, people would agree with him. However, after the Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report exposed that money was being funnelled into Najib’s private accounts, the people’s confidence in Najib was pretty much shaken.

In March this year, according to a survey conducted by Merdeka Center, a total of 47 percent of those polled believed that the country was heading in the wrong direction, compared to 39 percent who said it was on the right track.

This was before the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1, the escalating costs of living, the free-fall of the Malaysian currency and the expose of the 1MDB scandal.

By October, the same poll was conducted which showed that Najib’s popularity had dipped even further, with nearly four out of five Malaysians expressing their unhappiness with his administration and the handling of the economy.

Umno grassroots - the awakened giant?

A group of Umno grassroot leaders appear to be awakened suddenly by what they are now wanting to know about the RM2.6 billion that Najib had claimed to be a political donation from an unknown Middle Eastern person.

The group, known as Gabungan Ketua Cawangan Malaysia, had on Dec 8 lodged a report with the Registrar of Societies to probe the massive funds, which had apparently never been reflected in Umno’s own financial statement up to Dec 31, 2014.

A number of grassroots leaders have also voiced out their concerns, urging Najib to step down for the sake of Umno. Neither Najib nor his men are listening to the grassroots.

On paper, the amount of contributions Umno had received last year amounted to a mere RM82 million, but what was more interesting is that, despite the RM2.6 billion claimed to be a political donation for Umno and BN, surely Umno would not be running into a deficit. However, it is reported that Umno was running a deficit of around RM31 million in 2014.

So, where did the rest of the money go? Umno’s former Langkawi Wanita Umno leader Anina Saadudin had rightly filed a suit against Najib over the donation controversy, while foreign agencies are still investigating the 1MDB scandal.

When more hidden secrets come into broad daylight in the months to come, Najib will have a tougher time to explain himself.

It is likely that Umno grassroots, especially those who support former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, will continue to lead the revolt within the party, until Najib finally steps down and a new set of leadership takes over that will have to do all the damage control.

Umno grassroots realise that they cannot continue the same modus operandi if they want to win back the people’s confidence. Enlightened grassroots leaders like Khairuddin Abu Hassan will be able to inspire more confidence into the people by his recent fair statement about Anwar Ibrahim.

In the present political scenario, Anwar’s jailing continues to remain a strong factor that mobilises the opposition to seek for justice by taking over the seat of power in Putrajaya, the way they had won five states in 2008.

It is because of this that Umno grassroots leaders know that they cannot afford yet another political tsunami - or worse, a political earthquake that I have predicted would happen if Umno’s top leaders continue to carry out their "business as usual".

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.