I refer to the Malaysiakini report FDI outflow at record high.

The news of Malaysia’s foreign direct investment (FDI) outflow hitting a record high in 2007 comes at the heel of a series of depressing news on several fronts for Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. This was by no means healthy news for the economy, consumer confidence, and certainly the Abdullah regime, especially when you put our scenario within the context of the other nations in the Asean bloc.

With inflation having crept up to a 27 year high mark by hitting 8.5 percent in August, it sure seems like the overall economic picture has put the Abdullah regime even more precariously on its heels.

Of course while it might look like this is tantamount to adding salt to the wound, we cannot overlook the news that Malaysia slipped from 36th place in 2001 to 47th place in the 2008 Corruption Perception Index.

Now, surely you see the pattern emerging from these facts above, right? Yes, it’s not a pretty picture by any means. Not surprisingly, there are all kinds of convenient explanations and rationalisations one will uncover from the official government mouthpieces.

But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that those in the driver’s seat might as well have been asleep.

Anyway, as you well know, there has not been much for Abdullah to blow his horn on the political front either. Aside from the persistent pressure from Pakatan Rakyat to topple his regime, he’s had to repeatedly put out some rapidly spreading wildfires within Umno. Which of course brings us to this most recent ‘emergency meeting’ of the Umno cabal.

No matter how you cut it, one thing about politics is clear: when a supposed leader doesn’t deliver on his promises, he undermine himself. Typically, the eventual outcome is that ‘aspiring successors’ find ways to further consolidate their positions while leaving the wounded ‘leader’ to become even weaker.

The undeniable fact is that Abdullah could never seem to get his supposed reforms off the ground. Rather than breaking from the corroded regime that preceded him, he too became rusty by association. He and his regime became the very heart of what they promised to change. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his competence, is it?

It’s not difficult to see how Abdullah allowed himself to get into such a bind, which eventually undermined his own position. Not only has he had to ‘cut a deal’ with his deputy, but we’ve now seen the timetable for his departure moved forward.

That’s what bad economic news can do; and when you have bad news as cited above flowing steadily on just about all fronts, it becomes next to impossible to expect your troops to stand by you.

Seeing a weakened and discredited leader’s political career collapse does not in any way guarantee that things will change for the better. In fact, I am convinced that as an ideologically bankrupt regime, Barisan Nasional cannot take us any further. It can only hold us back from advancing.

Nevertheless, while the country may not yet be ready to say goodbye to BN, I think we can indeed say goodbye to Abdullah.