Is Dr Mahathir a ‘Kera Sumbang’?

Umar Mukhtar

A ‘Kera Sumbang‘ in proverbial Malay is a macaque monkey who has such a crappy behaviour that even his own kind avoids him. So it seems Mahathir is, if Prime Minister Najib Razak’s spinners have their wish.

Literally, nobody who is a somebody has come around to support Mahathir in his tirade against Najib. The latter on the other hand, according to mainstream media, is inundated with enthusiastic defenders who are now beginning to take potshots against Mahathir.

This is not surprising considering that Mahathir could not even muster enough votes to earn a divisional delegate’s position in his own division for the UMNO AGM during the early days of his battle against Abdullah Badawi the last time around.

Is Mahathir a Hindustani movie hero? Lose the battles first but win the war in the end, like what he did with Abdullah? There will be plenty of songs and dances in between to keep us duly entertained. Like, UMNO leaders going to be put into jail if defeated at PRU14? Do I hear a confession there somewhere? Or just a warning of vengeful victors?

But in the context of losing PRU14, as what Mahathir said he is trying to avoid, UMNO cannot afford a dragging feud. What happened to Mahathir’s surgical skills? No doubt his former lieutenants have aged and Malay financial habits have changed considerably. Mahathir is operating in alien territory by himself? Surely not.

Never fear. The old man is full of surprises. He loves to lull his adversaries into letting their guard down. To the extent of his detractors now alleging the ‘crooked bridge’ is a factor in his tirade. Funny that Mahathir is pictured not to be above that! The spinners making of Mahathir a ‘Kera Sumbang‘?

Admittedly, Mahathir’s fraternising with Sirul’s people is a bit worrying. Surely a trigger-man is not one of Mahathir’s trump card as to be at his level. A cold blooded killer is simply that, no matter what his motivation was. Mahathir’s making Sirul a cause célèbre? His taste in company has changed! The ‘hello-hello’ intellect of Mahfuz Omar is his cerebellar guide?

Najib, on the other hand, seemed quietly surprised at the show of overwhelming support especially from the normally belligerent UMNO Youth. That is a credit to Khairy Jamaluddin. He had successfully tamed UMNO youth from a feared critic that is to be reckoned with into a pep-rally cheering squad pussies of his political ambitions.

Mahathir may not have nothing more than what meet the eye. But it is a measure of the man that the whole country is in suspense thinking that he does have a smoking gun. Maybe let’s wait a little while longer when the battle-lines are drawn. The suspense is killing us.

That will start in Kedah, which had saved UMNO in PRU13, with the much anticipated reaction of the Mentri Besar, Mukriz Mahathir, to the purposeful prodding by Najib’s mercenaries. Mahathir’s would-be supporters are watching on how to behave next.

Maybe the Kera Sumbang will be no more.