If Clinton’s the ‘comeback kid’, Najib’s the ‘cannot get rid’
Najib could have used the vast powers at his disposal to pursue those responsible for wrongdoings, as promised. Instead, we see inquiries stifled or disrupted by change of personnel. Bureaucrats are shuffled around or sacked and the process is like bombing Malaysia back to the Stone age.
Rais Hussin, Malaysiakini
In December 1998, for the first time in American history, a sitting president, Bill Clinton, was impeached by Congress for the crimes of obstruction of justice and perjury relating to the sexual affair he had with 22-year-old intern, Monica Lewinsky.
The world knows very well the tricks Clinton employed to duck and dive the allegations, including, most famously, his questioning of the definition of what “is” is, when he said that he “did not have sexual relations” with the woman in question – earning him the nickname ‘The Wizard of Is’.
In the end, the semen-stained blue dress saved by the curvy brunette, with Clinton’s DNA splashed all over it, put an end to all his shenanigans.
But even ‘Slick Willie’, as he was popularly known at the time, never once went so far as to claim that the reporters and politicians accusing him were terrorists attacking the parliamentary democracy of the country or sabotaging the nation’s banking and financial institutions.
The democratic institutions, including all or any security agencies like FBI, CIA, NSA or any other administrative institutions, were not used to defend the Slick Willie.
Even his own Democratic Party distanced itself from these investigations, citing a personal issue involving the then sitting president of the USA.
Of course Hillary (photo) stood by her man, as Bill is standing for her now in her attempt to be the first female US President.
Fast forward to 2015 and Malaysia. The sitting Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak, is not accused of having an illicit sexual affair – at least not by us – but he is under increasing scrutiny to explain the alleged payments of almost a billion US dollars into his personal accounts.
Najib is also getting the heat for the billions of ringgit more of debt racked up by the state investment firm of his design, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The allegations involve allegedly questionable business dealings involving eye-watering sums diverted to offshore vehicles held by other offshore vehicles held by trustees and nominees in schematics so complex as to make even hardened cartel-owners green with envy.
With all these bullets flying Najib’s way, his simple line of defence is that anyone questioning any of this is attacking the democratically-elected government of the nation.
This includes the common man, protesters, lawyers, accountants, elected opposition officials, his own party members, his Umno deputy president (and dismissed deputy prime minister), a party vice-president and state bureaucrats as well.
Najib could have used the vast powers at his disposal to pursue those responsible for wrongdoings, as promised.
Instead, we see inquiries stifled or disrupted by change of personnel. Bureaucrats are shuffled around or sacked and the process is like bombing Malaysia back to the Stone age.
