KUALA LUMPUR: A political observer expects a “confrontation” between Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the second half to this year which will decide whether the prime minister will continue to lead Barisan Nasional in the next general election.

Professor James Chin said he anticipated this because of the current situation where the former prime minister was growing increasingly strident in his attacks against Najib.

Chin, director of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute, said Najib’s fate depended on the outcome of the ongoing attacks and rebuttals. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Malaysia’s 13th general election organised by Universiti Tun Abdul Razak yesterday.

Chin said the “confrontation” might not be a public one, as it would go against Malay culture, like what happened in the case of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009.

“It will not be a public confrontation, it will be in private. This is about internal Umno politics, not a public confrontation, internal Umno confrontation on whether Najib stays on as prime minister.”

He said reasons for the showdown in the second half of the year included Dr Mahathir waiting for the effect of the goods and services tax (GST), completing his meet-the people sessions and gauging how much support he had from those who decide on the leadership.

“GST started on April 1. For the full effect of GST to come in, it would take three months, which is July, so it has to be from July onwards. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 9, 2015.