BN shows how bankrupt it is of strategies
By Daniel W. Delaware, The Nation
Malaysia, always in the shadow of its sparkling city-state neighbour, now seeks, it seems, to draw the spotlight of world attention upon itself but for entirely the wrong reasons.
The lacklustre Hobson’s choice premier Mohammed Najib Tun Abdul Razak, who has been struggling to be taken seriously and continues to struggle mostly, in vain, to try and restore the dwindling fortunes of his party, is behaving like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a fast approaching vehicle.
Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad’s wish to see Malaysia join the first world seems to become more and more of a pipe dream. The good doctor’s feelings towards Mr Najib’s predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, are well known, and the appetite for interfering with the judiciary is said to have started with the good doctor; so unsurprisingly there has been a tumult of criticism from human rights groups concerning the latest trial, as Anwar Ibrahim’s last conviction was so publicly overturned by Malaysia’s highest court after a lengthy delay.
The question all serious Malaysia watchers are asking is: Why is this happening again? The last bungled attempt to remove Anwar from the political landscape ended in utter ignominy, and the Malaysian state was most certainly the loser. Well, the best guess seems to be the analogy of a drowning man grasping at straws, however hopeless, in order to survive, because as a political strategy another trial is totally bankrupt.
