Najib’s RM2.6 billion versus Mahathir’s RM5 billion

The ANC and the Pakatuns make so much noise about Najib’s RM2.6 billion which they allege is the rakyat’s money when it is not. But they do not say a word about Mahathir’s RM5 billion, which came from tycoons and businessmen. Is this RM5 billion not also the rakyat’s money? How much did they steal from the country to afford that RM5 billion donation?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

It looks like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s new party is attracting a bit of criticism. It was just like when we supported Pakatan Rakyat in the 2008 general election, or Mahathir’s anti-Pak Lah Campaign in 2006, we were considered fantastic. Then, in 2010, when we decided to form a civil liberties movement so that we could keep BOTH SIDES of the political divide straight and honest, we suddenly transformed into traitors to the cause.

Basically, Pakatan Rakyat no longer viewed us as a tool or kuda they could use to further their interest. We were now a competitor and hence were now a potential threat. So while they welcomed us in the 2008 general election and the Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu by-elections following that (both which we won), we were no longer welcome as the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement.

And this is what Mahathir’s new party is now facing. Yes, they welcome Mahathir’s new party. But it is a conditional welcome. There are terms and conditions attached. It is not a carte blanche welcome. And that is the reason why Mahathir’s media expert, Kadir Jasin, had to post their explanation as to why it is a Bumiputera-only party in his Blog today. In short, Kadir was doing damage control.

“It was partly their wish that the former Umno leaders form a political party that takes on Umno but limit the possibility of a conflict with other Malay/Muslim-based parties,” said Kadir Jasin today. “While those who come from multi-racial parities, principally the PKR and DAP, would not like to see another multi-racial party vying for support and, worse still, stealing their members.”

So there you are. ‘Their wish’ is for the new party to not be a multi-racial party to avoid competition with PKR and DAP. No problem if it is a Bumiputera-only party and it competes with Umno, PAS and PAS-splinter-party PAN. Mahathir’s new party is supposed to just take on Umno, defeat Umno, and replace Umno, said Kadir Jasin, ‘but limit the possibility of a conflict with other Malay/Muslim-based parties’.

So it is a party with a single purpose and a very narrow agenda. Its job is just to demolish Umno and bury that party for good. The point is, Umno was actually already destroyed and buried back in 1987 when it was 41 years old. So it died quite young.

Then Mahathir went and formed a new party to replace Umno. However, so as to pretend that the new party is actually still the old Umno, Mahathir called the new party Umno Baru (which is why Umno celebrated its 70th Anniversary this year instead of its 28th Anniversary). Then later they quietly dropped the name ‘Umno Baru’ and just called the new party ‘Umno’, as if it was the same old Umno that was formed in 1946.

Basically Mahathir took the Malays for a ride. He sold his old Morris and bought a new Holden. Then he removed the ‘Morris’ name from his old car and pasted it on his new Holden. And then he told everyone he was still driving a Morris and not a Holden. And the stupid Malays believed this. And this year they celebrated Umno’s 70th Anniversary because Mahathir said the new Umno is still the old Umno and is 70 years old and not 28 years old.

What was it Mahathir said? Ah, yes, Keling kata podah!

However, people like the First Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Third Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn, and many other Umno veterans from the Merdeka era refused to join Mahathir’s new party that he called Umno Baru. They protested and said that Umno Baru is not Umno. Umno is dead. Mahathir has killed Umno. The new party is ‘Parti Mahathir’, they said. And many of these Umno veterans (the Tunku and Tun Hussein included) died outside Umno (Baru) and never became party members till the day they died.

Now, the ironical thing about this whole thing is that Mahathir killed Umno in 1987. But that is still not so bad because at least he can say he did not form Umno or gave birth to Umno in 1946. But then Mahathir gave birth to the new Umno. So this party that he is trying to kill is his party. He created it on the ashes of the old Umno that he destroyed. And now he wants to create a new party and use that to destroy his own party that he created in 1988.

Is this not called filicide? The Malays have a saying for this. The Malays call it ‘angry with the mosquito so you burn the mosquito net’, which will then burn the whole house down. It is strange that Mahathir would destroy the very party that he formed just because he cannot tell this party to do what he wants.

When I was ten years old I lived in a kampung in Kelang. Invariably everyone was poor except me (we lived on an eleven acre plantation on top of a hill in a house built before WWII). So I was the only one who could afford to buy a football. In fact, our family owned the football field. And that meant all the other kampung kids had to listen to me. If not I would take away the football and the game would end.

So there you are. Mahathir is just like me when I was ten years old. I bullied everyone because I was the owner of the football and the football field — hell we owned the whole hill, which was called Bukit Kuda. Mahathir, too, feels that since he created Umno in 1988 that means he calls the shots. And if they do not listen to him he will just close down that party and form another one like he did 28 years ago.

So, Mahathir has put aside a budget of RM5 billion to kill Umno and to finance his new party to take over from Umno. Yes, RM5 billion — RM3 billion for the ANC (Anti-Najib Campaign) and RM2 billion to set up his new party. But why has Tony Pua, Rafizi Ramli and all those other Pakatuns not made any noise about this RM5 billion or asked where the money came from?

They make so much noise about the RM2.6 billion that Najib received. They refuse to believe that the money came from donors from the Middle East. They insist it is the rakyat’s money. They insist the money was stolen from 1MDB.

Okay, so where did Mahathir’s RM5 billion come from? Is this from Mahathir’s savings from his 22 years as Prime Minister? Did it come from business tycoons? Was it donations from foreigners? Was this money kickbacks and bribes from all those contracts, projects, permits and concessions that Mahathir gave out when he was Prime Minister?

Mahathir says why would the Arabs want to donate RM2.6 billion to Najib unless there are strings attached. No one would donate US$700 million unless they want something in return. Actually over the last couple of decades the Arabs have donated US$150 billion to many countries and causes. And that is what the US reported. It seems the unreported donations is double that. So we may even be looking at US$500 billion in total. So what is US$700 million?

So let us say that Mahathir’s RM5 billion is also donations from businessmen and tycoons. Are there also strings attached? What will Mahathir have to give them in return for that RM5 billion? Normally they would not want to donate RM5 billion unless they can profit at least RM10 billion from it. And to make a profit of RM10 billion you must get a project, contract, concession, etc., of at least RM50 billion.

So there you are. Mahathir has to give out RM50 billion worth of businesses to get that RM5 billion donation. And the word is Mahathir does not need to give them anything because he has already done so when he was Prime Minister. So they owe him. And now he is just cashing his chips.

Ultimately, therefore, this means that RM5 billion is the rakyat’s money. And people like Tony Pua and Rafizi Ramli and the Pakatuns make so much noise about Najib’s RM2.6 billion because, according to them, it is the rakyat’s money — when it is not — but do not say a word about Mahathir’s RM5 billion donation from the tycoons and businessmen which is really without a doubt the rakyat’s money.

As Mahathir said: Keling kata podah!