Would Najib quit if ex-BBC chief returns ?

(* New Edition) How many BN backbencers are there in effective support of former BBC chief Sharir? How many are there to toe the Abdullah-Najib correct line macam biasa? Would Najib resign as BN Party Whip if Sharir is returned as the BBC Chief with a majority support tomorrow because that would be a vote of no-confidence against him as BN Party Whip? Will tomorrow's BBC votes be secret to ensure no fear of threat, duress and/or undue influence?

* A MCA friend just told me over the phone that, if tomorrow's BBC votes are secret, most likely all MCA MPs would vote for the return of Sharir as the BBC chief as a mark to protest against the Abdullah-Najib ban because if the line is strictly enforced, MCA MPs can no longer speak up on some critical issues like education and the economy which some of them may privately agree with the Opposition. As a result, MCA MPs would lose out in terms of public image and credibility as "the voice of the people" to the Opposition.

But, the question still remains: what if tomorrow's BBC votes are NOT secret? Would MCA MPs dare to show their hands to stage an open revolt against the ban? With due respect to my friend, I don't think MCA MPs are that 'heroic' vis-a-vis the PM and DPM but I may be proven not very right by some exceptions like my friend himself. Anyway, dear friend, thank you for briefing me on MCA's unspoken worries and anxieties over the long-term implications and ramifications of the ban.

* Reader Ranjit has just emailed to express his worry that Sharir may back down last minute and not accept re-election as BBC chief as the result of pressure applied by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's latest hardline statement. According to Ranjit, Sharir may not be the angry young rebel in the 1988 Johor Baru by-election anymore and he may have been softened somehow as age catches up. Well, we have to wait and see.

Backbenchers stage a revolt
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/50777

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http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/50735

Time to let MPs decide, say experts
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/50780