Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has suggested the possibility of a twist to the power transition plan slated for next month between Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy, Najib Abdul Razak.

mahathir umno kubang pasu forum perdana 040906 stumped And the 82-year-old statesman attributed this to the 'restless' Fourth Floor - Abdullah's influential advisers, led by his son-in-law and Umno Youth chief aspirant Khairy Jamaluddin.

"For five years, the Fourth Floor has sometimes been more powerful than the cabinet or the Umno supreme council. Ministers sought their help and high-ranking civil servants consulted them before making a decision.

"Contractors lobbied to them for contracts and investors used their service to obtain approvals. In all this, there was plenty of opportunities to enrich oneself," he said in his latest blog posting.

'This is a catastrophe'

Unfortunately for them, Mahathir said, all of this power would be lost once Abdullah resigns next month.

"This is a catastrophe for the Fourth Floor. What would their fate be after March? Would they quit and allow this happen? Is there anything that they could do to prevent this?" he added.

As usual, Mahathir said, rumours were aplenty about the Fourth Floor hatching plots to keep their grip on power and if possible, prevent the transition from taking place.

abdullah ahmad badawi najib razak pc change portfolio 170908 03 "According to the rumours, they are advising Abdullah not to resign when Najib becomes Umno president. They say it is not necessary that the president of the party becomes prime minister.

"This is not written in the constitution but just a convention. It is the prime minister’s right not to resign," he added.

"And would Najib revolt?" asked Mahathir. "No! And if there are signs of rebellion there are ways to counter this."

"If riots and chaos can be sparked off, this would be used as an excuse by Abdullah not to step down. Many Umno members and supreme council members would support him. They owe him more than just gratitude," he said.

'Vote of no confidence'

However, he said that there might be some Umno members who would strongly oppose this plan and suggest a no-confidence vote to be taken against Abdullah in Parliament.

"But Umno would deal with this in the usual manner. It does not matter even if millions are lost because the Fourth Floor already has the resources. What good is money if the power to acquire it is lost?" he added.

Furthermore, he said a no-confidence vote might not be successful as a portion of Barisan Nasional MPs might not support the move.

"Opposition MPs want Abdullah to remain as prime minister. They have already voiced their support. (PAS president Abdul) Hadi Awang, (DAP supremo) Karpal Singh and (Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim have expressed this openly.

"With the opposition's support for Abdullah, it would be difficult for BN to get the required numbers for the no-confidence vote," he added.

And if the no-confidence vote failed to unseat him, Mahathir said, Abdullah would become an even weaker prime minister because he would need the opposition's support to pass any law in Parliament.

abdullah ahmad badawi govt announce new petrol price increase 040608 04 "We have already witnessed how Abdullah's weak governance had emboldened certain quarters to raise all sorts of controversies which threaten the stability of the country," he said, adding that an even weaker administration would also be unable to handle the looming financial and economic crisis.

"The people would suffer, there would be greater retrenchments and bankruptcies. Crime would escalate and the security of the nation would be under threat," he warned.

"But chaos in the country is of no concern to the Fourth Floor as long as they could remain as the force behind the prime minister," he said.

However, Mahathir conceded that these stories about the Fourth Floor wanting to retain Abdullah as premier could just be the 'creation of certain people'.

But, he also added: "Only God knows...".