The Force Awakens: Najib moves in for the kill

By MT Webmaster Last updated Aug 3, 2015

Will Muhyiddin now join Harapan Baru, which will become the new partner in Pakatan Rakyat 2.0, and which is said is going sweep the country in the next general election in 2018 and replace Barisan Nasional as the new federal government?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The fifth sequel of Star Wars was ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. Episode six was ‘Return of the Jedi’. You probably read those two sequels HERE and HERE in this same column a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, episode seven in the Star Wars series is ‘The Force Awakens’. But you won’t be able to see that movie until around Christmas this year. But you can read the Malaysian version of Star Wars episode seven, ‘The Force Awakens’, today.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak knows that Umno is a party of warlords. Well, to be honest, most political parties are, even in the more ‘democratic’ and ‘liberal’ west, especially in the United States, so what more in an Asian country like Malaysia.

For that matter, even the opposition parties such as PKR, PAS and DAP are parties of warlords. And if you think otherwise you are too naïve to be involved in politics. Trust me on this one: politics is a blood sport and if you can’t stand the sight of blood then leave now.

The nature of the beast in parties of warlords, just like in the animal kingdom, is that you get to become the leader of the pack only if you demonstrate strength and ruthlessness. That was how Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad survived as Prime Minister for 22 years.

Once you show weakness you will be challenged. And if do not rise to that challenge or face your challenger head-on, and defeat him, the pack will turn its back on you. Only when you demolish your challenger will the pack rally behind you.

So not taking on your challenger is not an option when leading a pack. It is mandatory. To not do so would mean the pack would destroy you and eat you for lunch. And PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang has demonstrated what one has to do to remain leader of the pack.

Many are going to say that Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, one of the six Tan Sri that I wrote about earlier, was removed and replaced because of what he said over the weekend. Actually that is not really what happened.

Muhyiddin had been planning his move to oust Najib for some time, a couple of years to be precise. But he could not make his move until and unless Dr Mahathir officially and openly anoints him as the successor. Just because he is number two does not mean he will automatically replace Najib as Prime Minister.

So Muhyiddin allowed Dr Mahathir to launch his attacks on Najib. Muhyiddin need not do anything. He need not also attack Najib. All he needs to do is absolutely nothing. Let Dr Mahathir attack Najib while Muhyiddin just remains silent and does not come to his boss’s defence.

Last week, Najib had already decided to make his move. He was going to settle this matter once and for all. They kept sniping at him and all he could do was try to dodge the bullets. It was now time to put the snipers out of action for good.

Muhyiddin knew that the end was near. So over the weekend he launched his attack. Then he could tell the whole world that he was removed because he had attacked Najib. Actually he launched his attack on Najib so that he can offer an excuse as to why he was removed.

So it was the other way around. Muhyiddin was not removed because he attacked Najib. He attacked Najib because he knew he was about to be removed. He needed a story that will make him look like a hero. And this story must be good enough to scream victim so that he can become the new icon of resistance and reformation that was given to Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 and will now belong to Muhyiddin.

The breakaway PAS party, PAS Baru a.k.a. Harapan Baru, is now looking at Muhyiddin as its new leader. Mat Sabu does not have the political weight to carry that new party to great heights with his sex scandal and Shia link baggage that he is carrying. But an ex-Deputy Prime Minister like Muhyiddin would.

Well, let us see how well they do in the Sarawak state election next year first. That will be the yardstick to determine whether Pakatan Rakyat 2.0 is going to replace Barisan Nasional in 2018.

Anyway, the Attorney General has also retired. Gani Patail has already reached retirement age but he wants his services to be extended. The problem, though, is that he is quite sick and needs to go to hospital three times a week for his dialysis treatment. Actually, Gani Patail needs a new kidney more than he needs an extension of service.

But then they are spinning the story that Gani was planning to indict Najib and once indicted the Prime Minister would have to take leave and hand the country over to Muhyiddin until the case is settled.

The problem with this would be that the case may drag on for two years or more, and even if finally there is no case or Najib is acquitted, it would be impossible for him to come back as Prime Minister.

They do not really need to make the case stick. All they need to do is to indict Najib even if there is no case. And with that Najib is dead meat and finished for good.

So this will be the issue that is going to be raised rather than the fact that Gani is too sick to continue working and that unless he can find himself a new kidney he may not have long to live.

But whatever it may be, Najib has finally done what we said he should have done: wake up. And, today, ‘The Force Awakens’.

Be sure to catch that movie in December. Oh, and what was it that they were saying? Ah, yes, Najib is not going to last till December. Hmm…I am really not too sure about that.

Raja Petra Kamarudin RPK