Mahathir-Najib feud: "Storm in a teacup" of UMNO family squabble

On the other hand, if the tea is stirred vigorously, it will spill and attract ants to feast on the spillage.

In the context of the country's leadership now, a crisis has been brewing and it appears the issues have been blown out of proportion, much to the glee of parties out to capitalise on and worsen the situation for their own political interests.

On Wednesday, Puteri UMNO aptly requested all parties, especially those in the party, not to be instigators over issues raised by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad against the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Therefore, it was said that all quarters, especially UMNO leaders and members, should understand the implications and garner support for the leadership of the prime minister.

Malaysian Senators Council president, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman recently said they were confident of Najib's administration being on the right track towards making Malaysia a developed high-income nation by 2020.

Nevertheless, the process to achieve the objective is not easy and needs the support of the people to ensure the success of the transformation programmes as planned.

It is felt by some parties that the issue of Dr Mahathir's criticism should be properly and harmoniously handled so as not to allow opportunistic quarters to deepen the rift.

In fact, Dr Mahathir's criticism against Najib is seen by some as more akin to a storm in a teacup, which is part and parcel of a leadership's journey.

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Universiti Utara Malaysia's Institute of Tun Dr Mahathir's Thoughts deputy director, Dr Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri opined that each policy or decision made by the current government might not be fully agreeable with the past leaders and vice versa.

"I am confident he (Dr Mahathir) has no evil intentions, just concerned about the country's administration, so it is better to sit down and talk like family members in the interest of the nation.

"Take it as a reprimand by a father for his children...however, not all criticisms may be valid, so it is important not to get emotional," he told Bernama.

He said former leaders should give their successors space to implement policies which could impact the country's socio-economic and political structures positively.

If seen from the policies implemented, the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M), for example, has benefited the low-income group.

Similarly, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will bring in additional revenue for the country which will eventually trickle down to the people.