RPK is his own casualty, says political analyst
Analysts say blogger’s tirade has left him no allies
Academicians and political analysts told The Malay Mail the self-exiled blogger’s credibility was irreparable, and his tirade had left him alone in the corner with no allies.
Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, The Malay Mail
Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin was the biggest casualty from his interview with the New Straits Times and Utusan Malaysia, where he condemned Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as morally unfit to become the next premier.
Popularly known by his initials RPK, he reportedly said Anwar was not fit to lead the country because the public would not accept a homosexual as a prime minister.
RPK also reportedly said he was “90 per cent” certain Anwar was the man featured in a sex video that emerged last year and added corruption was still rampant in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) controlled Selangor.
Academicians and political analysts told The Malay Mail the self-exiled blogger’s credibility was irreparable, and his tirade had left him alone in the corner with no allies.
Monash University’s political science professor James Chin said RPK had miscalculated the impact of his interview.
“Yes, there will be an impact but the impact is that people will think he has sold out. The first reaction is that he was well-known for criticising the government and he was now bought over. The biggest casualty was RPK himself.”
He said RPK was growing frustrated over his declining influence in the DAP and PKR as their leaders had been ignoring him.
Prof Mohammad Agus Yusoff of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities agreed RPK had labelled himself as “flip-flop”.
“He will be seen as a flip-flop, especially when his comments were made towards the end of Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) preparation for the general election and when the verdict of Anwar’s trial was set to be announced.
“The fence voters and silent voters are intellectual voters, and they will look at issues, such as corruption and justice, so RPK’s comments will not have a big impact.”
Universiti Utara Malaysia’s political science lecturer Dr Mohd Azizudin Sani also asked RPK to provide evidence for his allegations.
“He must provide evidence of corruption in Selangor and I don’t think it was wise of him to have commented on Anwar’s case before the court’s verdict. I don’t know if he wants to tamper with the outcome, but whatever influence his comments have on the public will be minor.”
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s political scientist Prof Dr Shamsul Adabi Mamat said RPK only managed to maintain the status quo between PR and Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Those who support Anwar will not be easily influenced. Every time RPK criticised BN, PR supporters would back him and BN members would claim he was paid by PR. And every time RPK criticised Anwar, you will have BN supporters supporting him and PR supporters claiming he was bought by BN.
“RPK might have alienated PR supporters, but there are still many fence-sitters who will accept his view with any political bias.”
RPK’s allegations against his former ally on Monday came days before the Kuala Lumpur High Court was due to deliver its verdict in Anwar’s second sodomy trial.
