That is not the whole story
So the deal was simple. Get 20 other MPs to cross over first and then the 10 from Sabah will also cross over. But they are not going to be the first to cross over in case Anwar fails to get another 20.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Free Malaysia Today carried a story about Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, brother to Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, telling the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday how he was offered the post of Deputy Prime Minister and RM100 million if he were to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat together with at least ten other Barisan Nasional Sabah Members of Parliament. (READ THE NEWS ITEM HERE)
Sabah has 25 MPs, 13 of them from Umno, hence ten would not be that difficult to achieve.
However, what Anifah did not reveal is that there was a catch. And that catch is the Sabah MPs knew that Anwar Ibrahim needed 30 MPs to cross over, not just ten. Pakatan Rakyat had 82 seats in Parliament and 30 more would give them 112. And half of 222 would be 111. So 112 gives Pakatan Rakyat just a two-seat majority in Parliament.
In fact, this was what Anwar initially announced, that 30 Barisan Nasional MPs were going to cross over on 16th September 2008. So that means Anwar would need another 20 non-Sabah MPs on top of the ten from Sabah, maybe some from Sarawak and the rest from West Malaysia.
The ten Sabah MPs said they would consider the offer. However, Anwar needed to get the 20 non-Sabah MPs to cross over first. Once the 20 have crossed over then the ten from Sabah will follow suit.
The ten Sabah MPs knew that it was pointless for them to cross over if only they crossed over and the other 20 did not. With just ten MPs from Sabah, Anwar would not be able to take over Putrajaya. And if the ten crossed over and the other 20 did not — meaning Anwar would not be able to take over — then they would now be in the opposition and no longer in government.
Even RM100 million shared by 10 people is not enough to convince them to join the opposition, unless it was to join the new government. RM10 million per person is pittance to Sabah politicians who have been known to lose millions in one night at the gambling tables and casinos.
So the deal was simple. Get 20 other MPs to cross over first and then the 10 from Sabah will also cross over. But they are not going to be the first to cross over in case Anwar fails to get another 20.
The other thing that Anifah did not reveal in court, or was not aware of, is that he was not going to be the Deputy Prime Minister. There was going to be three Deputy Prime Ministers — one Malay, one Chinese, and another from East Malaysia, rotated between Sabah and Sarawak. Hence Anifah would be DPM3.
Malaysia’s Constitution stipulates that the country must have a Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The Constitution is silent regarding the DPM. Hence Malaysia does not need a DPM or it can have five DPMs. It is up to the PM. And the plan was if Anwar becomes the PM then DPM1 would be Malay, DPM2 Chinese, and DPM3 from East Malaysia, rotated between Sabah and Sarawak.
