Mahathir’s near heart attack in Jakarta

It was exactly one year ago today that Najib was supposed to have been ousted. Over the past few days they tried it again and yet again they failed. How many failures can Mahathir endure and is he going to give up or is he going to continue until it kills him? And this is what his wife and family are concerned about — regarding how much more the old man can take.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

It was exactly one year ago today. Wednesday, 29th July 2015 was supposed to have been the day that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would be given just two choices to make — resign or face detention.

It would have been during the Cabinet meeting when this would happen. Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail would be waiting outside the room with the police and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would inform Najib of his two choices. Najib would then be shown the ‘charge sheet’ that they had prepared and which was supposed to convince the rest of the Cabinet members that there is a case against Najib.

Najib, however, made a third and unexpected choice. Before Muhyiddin and Gani could launch their 29th July 2015 attack, Najib moved first and finished them off instead. And that ended the 29th July 2015 coup that would have seen Muhyiddin as the new Prime Minister and Mukhriz Mahathir as his Deputy. And the action by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in a bid to cover their behind is to issue a press statement saying that the charge sheet was fake after all.

But that did not stop Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his ANC (Anti-Najib Campaign). The 29th July 2015 defeat was merely a temporary setback and not a failure as far as Mahathir was concerned. He may have lost one battle but he believed he had yet to lose the war. So he launched many more battles that included, but were not restricted to, a vote of no confidence in Parliament in October 2015 and a similar move in December 2015 during the Umno general assembly.

However, just like the 29th July 2015 putsch, all the other moves failed as well.

That was what happened exactly one year ago today on 29th July 2015.

The problem with conspiracies is that the best committee is a committee of one. Once more than one person is involved it gets very dicey because people like to boast and show others that they know something that other people do not know. And you must also observe the golden rule: do not count your chickens before they hatch.

Mahathir was so eager, and probably so cock-sure of himself, that five days before that, on 24th July 2015, Mahathir wished Najib ‘happy retirement’ (READ HERE). Mahathir was so sure that Najib was going to be shown the door on 29th July and that nothing was going to save the Prime Minister from the fate that Mahathir had planned for him.

Mahathir’s birthday party at Berjaya Times Square where he wished Najib ‘happy retirement’, which was supposed to have happened on 29th July 2015.

A day earlier, on 23rd July 2015, Khairuddin Abu Hassan was so sure that Najib was finished that he said if the Prime Minister survives the month then he is going to cut off his own head. That was how confident Khairuddin was that Najib would no longer be the Prime Minister by the 30th of July 2015 that he dared promise he would cut off his own head. On 30th July 2015 Najib was still Prime Minister while Khairuddin somehow could not find where he placed his parang.

After that fiasco of 29th July 2015, Mahathir made sure that this time around he would not share any more sensitive secrets with those who are beginning to prove themselves morons and who just love letting the cat out of the bag. So Mahathir kept what he is now doing close to his chest and confided only in those who needed to execute the plan.

And the only four people he confided in were Tun Daim Zainuddin, outgoing Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Abu Kassim Mohamed, former Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, and former Bank Negara Governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz. Only these four knew what was going to happen on the First Anniversary of the failed 29th July 2015 coup.

And what was going to happen was simple. On 20th July 2016, the US Justice Department and the US Attorney General would hold a press conference regarding US$1 billion of 1MDB’s stolen money they would be confiscating and would return to Malaysia.

On 26th July 2016, Abu Kassim would be holding his farewell dinner attended by Gani and Zeti and the three would hold a joint-press conference related to the 20th July announcement by the US and then they would suggest that Najib resign from office.

Today, 29th July 2016, the Malaysian mainstream and alternative/social media would carry the story published by The Guardian titled ‘1MDB: The inside story of the world’s biggest financial scandal’ (READ HERE). This was supposed to reinforce the 20th July announcement by the US and drive the final nail in Najib’s coffin.

And then, to give Najib that final push, a rally called Bersih 5.0 would be held where they hoped no less than 250,000 Malaysians would take to the street and battle it out with the police — whereby the chaos and bloodshed would force the military to step in to declare an emergency and Najib would be shown the door at the point of a gun.

Yes, Mahathir was convinced, as what he said many times over the last year, that Najib will never be able to be ousted using constitutional means or through a vote of no confidence. That has been proven over the last year. The only way to oust Najib would be through, as what Mahathir calls it, Peoples’ Power. So they need a ‘Malaysian Spring’ to do that, although it is currently summer in Malaysia.

And this new plan was known by only five people: Mahathir, Daim, Gani, Abu Kassim and Zeti. This plan was too sensitive to be shared with people such as Kadir Jasin, Zainuddin Maidin, Syed Akbar Ali, Khairuddin and all those others who cannot keep their mouths shut and would spoil everything by letting the cat out of the bag.

But then, against orders, Daim went and told Kadir about the plan, and on the 22nd of July 2016, two days after the US announcement, Kadir went and let the cat out of the bag with the message below.

Kadir Jasin’s revelation of 22nd July 2016 that spoiled the whole plan.

Kadir was so excited he could not hold back and he revealed the plan that there will not be a general election in 2018 because chaos is soon going to be triggered and an emergency would be declared after which the country would be run by a National Operation Council against the backdrop of a suspended parliament.

Basically, they are going to do what they tried to do in Turkey recently. And was not the US also accused of having a hand in that failed Turkish coup?

Yes, Bersih 5.0 is actually supposed to be May 13 version 2.0 whereby Najib would be ousted by force and power would be seized through the barrel of a gun. And with this revelation by Kadir, the alarm bells went off and Najib’s Boffin Boys started digging into this. And this was when they discovered the plan for the First Anniversary of Najib’s failed ouster in July last year that started with the US announcement on 20th July 2016 and is supposed to end with the chaos triggered by Bersih 5.0.

Mahathir in Jakarta, Indonesia

It was 11.30am on Tuesday, 26th July 2016, in Jakarta when Mahathir received that phone call from Malaysia. It was a phone call to inform him that the Umno Youth Deputy Chief, Khairul Azwan Harun, had made a police report against Abu Kassim, Gani and Zeti.

Mahathir suddenly froze and went pale and his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, panicked and thought that maybe Mahathir was suffering his fourth or fifth heart attack. Mahathir had just received a bit of distressing news that he had never planned for.

Mahathir frantically tried to phone Gani, Abu Kassim and Zeti but all three did not pick up their phones. In fact, they had blocked Mahathir’s number because they realised that in the case of an investigation their phone records would be checked and the last thing they wanted is proof that Mahathir had been in contact with them.

The issue was no longer just about attempting to topple the Prime Minister. It was now a crime of espionage and treason. And Malaysia’s Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 does not cover espionage and treason. So they were very much exposed and unprotected and this frightened them.

Mahathir then phoned Daim and he confirmed that the news was true: a police report had been made against Abu Kassim, Gani and Zeti and it appeared like this was going to be very serious involving giving Malaysian government secrets to a foreign power.

Mahathir then asked Daim whether he had told anyone else about the plan, and after hesitating a short while, Daim admitted that he had told Kadir. Hence the reason for Kadir’s posting of 22nd July 2016 regarding the chaos, suspension of parliament, martial law and so on.

Mahathir was now fuming mad but he still hoped that the joint-press conference by Gani, Abu Kassim and Zeti at Abu Kassim’s farewell dinner that same evening would still go on. However, it did not. In fact, Gani did not even dare attend that dinner. And, worst of all, Abu Kassim went to the Prime Minister’s office at 5.00pm that same day to try to meet Najib.

Unknown to Mahathir at that time, by lunchtime the conspiracy had collapsed. There was to be no press conference that evening and there may not even be a Bersih 5.0 rally to trigger chaos, which will result in the suspension of parliament and a government ruled by the National Operation Council.

Abu Kassim was hoping he could speak to Najib to explain his earlier statement where he admitted that he worked with the US government without approval or authorisation. A person in his position (as well as for Gani and Zeti) has to take an oath of secrecy and a pledge of loyalty and working with a foreign power would be considered espionage and hence would be treason.

But Najib’s Chief Secretary told Abu Kassim that the Prime Minister does not wish to see him. So he went home empty-handed and worried like hell that he may face the gallows if arrested and charged for espionage and treason.

And today, 29th July 2016, we see yet another epic collapse of the coup to oust Najib on the First Anniversary of the failed coup of 29th July 2015. The article by The Guardian, which was supposed to strengthen the announcement by the US Justice Department and the US Attorney General on 20th July 2016, has also not achieved the impact it was supposed to achieve because the joint-press conference by Gani, Abu Kassim and Zeti was aborted. And it also looks like Bersih 5.0 or May 13 Version 2.0 may have to be called off as well.

So is Najib really on the way out as his critics said today? I fear he is going to be even stronger because of the latest fiasco that Mahathir and his ANC committed in trying to trigger a Malaysian Spring and oust Najib through street violence and chaos, like what Mahathir’s propaganda ‘expert’ Kadir Jasin revealed.