and now for something completely different, page-5

Coppertop - I agree that if the election was strung out a slate as possible next year then the TOL would not strongly figure as a political issue. However, any time this year and I think it would be a factor for Najib because it would take at least 4-6 months of operation to appease the LYC fearmongerers and if it takes the best part of 3-4 weeks to get ore there (after the tOL issues) and another 6-8 months to get it processed, we are not really going to be able to demonstrate much operational safety to the satisfaction of anyone.

Najib would see 3 months of protest and insurrection and police crackdowns as not necesarily conducive to his re-election strategy especially if the only upside he could show is a month or so of safe operation.

Where I think we are at at the moment is that Najib has not yet decided whether to go this year or next. It seems to me that until such time as he does make that decision, he will be relunctant to tie his hands by issuing the TOL. That would reduce his flexibility and would only give him the late next year option.

The daily pressure on Najib to make a decision is palpable. It is all over their press. Good old Dr Mahathir bows in every so often. I personally think the pressure will get to a stage where he will just have to call it soon. Certainly, with the goodies he has handed out in the last few weeks, it is an option. I did notice that when the Malaysian press announced his big handouts to public servants in JUne (which were handed out this month), the LYC SP declined quite sharply the next day.