Why Mahathir paid homage to Anwar on 5th September

Lim Kit Siang does not want Pribumi in the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan. And for Pribumi to be allowed into Pakatan Harapan you need DAP’s agreement. That was why Mahathir had to go running to Anwar to seek Anwar’s help in speaking to Kit Siang. If not Mahathir’s goose would be cooked for good, politically as well as financially, as his proxies, nominees and trustees would throw him under the bus.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attacks on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak started soon after the May 2013 general election. At first these attacks were merely criticism about Najib giving too much face to the Chinese, Najib neglecting the Malay voters who are the support-base of Umno, Najib being too friendly with Singapore and listening to what Singapore wants (such as to not build the Crooked Bridge), and so on.

It appeared like Mahathir was just ‘testing the market’ to see how these attacks on Najib would be received by the public plus what Najib would do in retaliation. The public did not really care much about what Mahathir said and Najib did nothing. Of course, it was not until much later that Mahathir admitted that he ‘had no choice but to openly attack Najib’ because the Prime Minister had ignored the old man for six months.

But it was more than that. You do not bring down a prime minister just because he does not talk to you for six months. The main grouse that Mahathir had with Najib is that his plan for his son Mukhriz’s career progression was being thwarted and he blames Najib for that. Najib did nothing whereas the Prime Minister could have easily intervened to ensure that his son has a smooth climb to the top. But Najib did not and Mukhriz was now facing a dead end in his career.

That was when Mahathir decided he needed to hit Najib with more than just a feather duster. No one was paying any attention to what Mahathir has been saying so far, not even Najib. And this was because the excuses he was using to attack Najib were the same old and recycled excuses that he used to attack Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. It is a song many have heard before and was, as far as most people were concerned, a song they were already tired of listening to.

If Mahathir wanted the people’s attention, he must start singing new hits. Whatever he has to say about Najib must be earth shattering. There has to be a ‘wow factor’ in what Mahathir has to say. And what better ‘wow factor’ than accusing Najib of stealing RM42 billion or maybe even more than RM50 billion of the taxpayers’ money. That allegation made people sit up and take note. And before anyone asks him to prove the allegation, Mahathir quickly turned the tables by asking Najib to disprove the allegation.

And to make that allegation appear authentic, he asked one of his minions, Khairuddin Abu Hassan, to lodge a police report in December 2014. Who would make a police report if the allegation is not true? Making a false police report is a crime. Hence the allegation must be true if Khairuddin made a police report. And that is how ‘truth’ is proven in Malaysia. You make a police report, just like you swear on the Qur’an if what you say is true. And if I were to swear on the Qur’an that I am a virgin that means without a doubt I am a virgin and no one can say otherwise any longer.

But still Najib remained silent. He did not retaliate or come out to ‘prove his innocence’, as what Mahathir wanted him to do. He just appointed a new President and Chief Executive for 1MDB and allowed the man to do his job, which was to embark upon a debt reduction and rationalisation exercise to clear up the mess left by the previous incompetent management. As what Arul Kanda Kandasamy, this new man, said: 1MDB could have become viable two years earlier back in 2013 had Bank Negara not sabotaged its IPO and blocked the loans that it needed to become viable.

In short, Arul Kanda was revealing that 1MDB was a victim of sabotage by people who wanted it to fail. But why would they want it to fail? Simple, so that they can use this as the albatross around Najib’s neck. 1MDB has failed and Najib is to be blamed. If 1MDB does not fail then what else do they have which can be used to lynch Najib? So 1MDB must fail for Najib to be brought down.

After Arul took over in January 2015, the attacks continued non-stop and yet Najib still remained silent. Mahathir took that silence as a sign of weakness or a sign of defeat. Mahathir even called Najib a coward for not daring to face him. If Najib was really a man then he should face Mahathir on stage and prove his innocence.

Yes, the Mahathirism doctrine: you are guilty until proven innocent and if you keep quiet that is an admission of guilt. Mahathir forgot that Anwar Ibrahim, too, accused him of all sorts of much worse things and Mahathir has thus far never proven his innocence. In fact, Tun Musa Hitam alleged that Mahathir was in the country and not in China during the Memali tragedy and the old man has not replied to that either or proved his innocence.

Anyway, while all this was going on, and while Mahathir went around smirking, thinking he had won the fight, Najib made his counter move in July 2015. It was almost like Indonesia’s ‘Night of the Generals’ 50 years before that in September 1965. In once swoop, Najib purged the government of saboteurs and anarchists and Muhyiddin Yassin lost his job as the number two together with those of his co-conspirators.

Suddenly Mahathir realised that Najib’s silence is a deafening silence after all. Najib may not talk too much but once he draws his blade from the scabbard it will never be replaced until it tastes blood. Now it seems all that taunting about Najib being a fake Bugis warrior was certainly misplaced. Najib does dare act after all and when he does it is always to deliver the deathblow, not merely to wound the enemy.

Mahathir realised he had to up the ante and play hardball if he wants Najib out. Najib was not going to resign, like what Abdullah did, in spite of what Mahathir says. So, if Mahathir wants Najib out, then he has to be removed by force.

After Najib’s July 2015 purge, Mahathir countered with the attempted October 2015 vote of no confidence in Parliament. That failed. Mahathir then tried again during the Umno general assembly in December 2015. That, too, failed. And while Mahathir sat there trying to figure out what to do next, Najib took him by surprise by removing Mukhriz as the Kedah Menteri Besar the following month. That was something that Mahathir never saw coming and he was totally stunned. He never thought Najib would dare do that.

Mahathir was stumped. He had never planned for this and Najib knew that. Najib also knew that if you catch Mahathir with his pants down he would normally do the irrational thing. And in the absence of a countermove, Mahathir would play the sulking or merajuk card by resigning from Umno. And this was what Mahathir did the following month in February 2016.

The most ironical thing was when, to justify his resignation, Mahathir said, “The organisation that is led by Najib today is no longer the Umno which was founded on May 11, 1946.” That was precisely what Tunku Abdul Rahman said when Mahathir formed Umno Baru in 1988 to explain why he refused to join the new party. In fact, the Tunku died outside Umno just like Tun Hussein Onn did.

Mahathir knew that the next move would be the sacking of Muhyiddin and Mukhriz from the party. In fact, it was already being discussed although it did not happen until June 2016. Many expected the sacking to take place in March at the very latest but Najib was in no hurry. Leave the fish dangling on the hook a little longer before you reel it in. That is what fishing is all about anyway, the game you play while you reel it in.

Mahathir hoped that his resignation would panic Najib and that the Prime Minister would come running to make a deal. And that deal would be to reinstate both Muhyiddin and Mukhriz to their former posts. Mahathir was actually more delusional than most people thought. I mean, his statement that while there are many allegations of corruption against him, not a single one has been proven, already makes him appear delusional (no one can prove he is corrupted because he uses proxies, nominees and trustees), the move to pressure Najib to reappoint Muhyiddin and Mukhriz tops it all.

As they say, desperate times require desperate measures. And as drastic as resigning may appear to many, there were not too many cards left for Mahathir to play. The July 2015 purge, Muhyiddin’s and Mukhriz’s removal, the execution of the Tan Sri Trio, followed by the finale, Muhyiddin’s and Mukhriz’s sacking from the party, would give the impression that Najib is in control while Mahathir has lost it. And this will not go down well with Mahathir’s proxies, nominees and trustees.

As explained in earlier articles, the doctrine of Mahathirism is a combination of power and wealth. You need one to get the other and only a combination of both gives you absolute power. One without the other is not good enough because then you would be dependent on someone else.

Malays with no money need the Chinese capitalists and Chinese with no political power need the Malay politicians. But when you have both you do not need anyone and hence cannot be blackmailed or coerced into giving away concessions. You are your own man. And, to be very secure, never put all this wealth in your name lest you leave a paper trail. Always use proxies, nominees and trustees. Then, as Mahathir proudly claimed, many allegations may have been made against him but no one has thus far been able to prove anything.

The problem is, using proxies, nominees and trustees has its downside as well. As long as you still have power your proxies, nominees and trustees will never dare cross you or play you out. They know if they run off with your money you can send a hit man to get them. So proxies, nominees and trustees normally behave if you are still strong and can hurt them if they get out of line.

However, once you are seen as all bark and no bite, then the proxies, nominees and trustees start getting ideas. If they do not return to you what they are holding what can you do about it? You no longer have power and cannot hurt them. And that was why Tun Daim Zainuddin took back his RM60 billion before he left office. He knew once he leaves he would have problems getting back his money.

This reminds me of a certain Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar in the 1990s who used his driver as his proxy to hold almost RM100 million in assets. The driver eventually walked away with everything and married a movie star. Everybody knows that story and this story has been repeated many times whenever crooked deals are done involving the use of proxies, nominees and trustees. I even know of murders involving proxies, nominees and trustees who did what that Menteri Besar’s driver did.

Anyway, initially it appeared like Mahathir had the upper hand. Then the whole thing changed — events from July 2015 to January 2016 now gave the impression that Najib is still very strong and is never going to be ousted. Instead, it appeared like Mahathir was losing the game. So Mahathir had to score some goals of his own. And that was when he launched his Save Malaysia campaign and the Citizens’ Declaration. It was Mahathir’s way of saying, “I am far from finished and am not yet out of the game.”

But Mahathir must not show he is a lone wolf. He needs to show he is running in a pack and that he is the leader of the pack. Wolves run in packs and they always have a leader of the pack. Lone wolves are normally those that are injured and have been ousted from the pack or a wolf that has lost the leadership of the pack. Then it gets reduced to becoming a lone wolf.

So Mahathir needed to show he still has the support of the Umno members plus he also has the support of the opposition coalition, Pakatan Harapan. And this was what the Save Malaysia campaign and the Citizens’ Declaration was all about — a song and dance to demonstrate he still has it. And to achieve that he needed more than one million signatures on his Citizens’ Declaration and all the opposition leaders together with him on stage.

To get DAP’s support, Mahathir promised Lim Kit Siang two things. First, Mahathir would solve Lim Guan Eng’s problem with the MACC and, second, Mahathir would solve DAP’s problem with the Registrar of Societies. Guan Eng had been caught with his pants down in a corrupt deal and because of that he might end up in jail. DAP, on the other hand, committed fraud in their December 2012 party election and because of that the party might get deregistered. And Kit Siang needed both these problems resolved, which Mahathir promised he would resolve.

Unfortunately, Mahathir could not deliver both and with Abu Kassim Mohamed’s early retirement that has become even more difficult to deliver. On top of that Mahathir failed to deliver the Malay votes in the two by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar as Pakatan Harapan thought he would. So Mahathir has been a disappointment all the way and is no longer the force that he used to be.

Mahathir then set aside a budget of RM200 million to help Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali topple Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and take over the leadership of PKR. Azmin, however, got cold feet after Anwar Ibrahim’s letter from prison warning those who collaborate with a serpent. That letter was aimed at Azmin and was about his alliance with Mahathir to take control of PKR. That was yet another blow for Mahathir.

Against this backdrop, Mahathir realised that nothing appeared to be going his way and it looked like the final solution would be to form a new party and use that to threaten Umno and Barisan Nasional. If Mahathir cannot threaten Najib and force him to leave, maybe Umno and Barisan Nasional can do that instead. And once his new party is formed, Umno and Barisan Nasional might panic and take over the job of forcing Najib to go. Once Najib goes then Mahathir can abandon the plan for his new party and return to support Umno and Barisan Nasional.

But for that threat to look real it is not enough he just forms a new party. It must be a new party that is not only a member of Pakatan Harapan but also the leader of Pakatan Harapan. Pakatan Harapan must be turned into a Pribumi-led Pakatan Harapan from the current DAP-led Pakatan Harapan. Then Mahathir found out that PAN was instigating Lim Kit Siang to block Pribumi from joining Pakatan Harapan, and for sure to not become the leader of the opposition coalition. PAN was also upset that Pribumi was trying to poach their members because they cannot get enough members from Umno. Mahathir then started bribing some of the leaders of PAN such as Khalid Samad so that there are no obstacles for Pribumi to be admitted into Pakatan Harapan.

It was crucial that people believe Pribumi was going to join and lead Pakatan Harapan. This would be the only way to frighten Najib, Umno and Barisan Nasional. If Pribumi were going to be a lone wolf then it would be no threat. As a lone wolf Pribumi would need to contest the next general election in three-corner or maybe even four-corner fights. Pribumi would get wiped out and many of its candidates will even lose their deposits.

The other problem Pribumi is facing is how to find the candidates to contest 222 parliament seats and 505 state seats in the next general election. As a lone wolf it would need to contest those number of seats to remain credible. It cannot contest just a few seats, which it can do if it was part of a coalition and they had a seat allocation agreement.

As it goes now, Pribumi cannot even get 222 credible people to become its division heads or the 20,000 people it needs to become its branch heads. And if it does not have these numbers then Pribumi would be seen as a mere fringe party and not a main player.

But why would Mahathir form a new party when he was not ready? He needs division heads, branch heads, candidates to contest the elections, and so on. If you form a party without all those people it would be an empty shell party. Well, Mahathir had no choice. Lim Kit Siang told Mahathir if he wants to work with Pakatan Harapan and lead the opposition coalition he would first need to form his party. Kit Siang did not really want Mahathir. He just wanted to get rid of Mahathir. The Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar disaster showed Kit Siang that Mahathir was a waste of time. If they accepted Mahathir or his new party into Pakatan Harapan the voters were going to punish them in the next general election.

If Pribumi were allowed into Pakatan Harapan, then the opposition coalition is dead. The voters would punish them. On the other hand, if Pribumi were not allowed into Pakatan Harapan, then Mahathir is dead instead. Either way works to Najib’s advantage. And Mahathir already saw the writing on the wall when his birthday this year was celebrated low key and less than 50 people came compared to last year when he was riding high. People were beginning to distance themselves from him.

But now that the new party has been formed, Mahathir could not afford for Pakatan Harapan to block it from joining the coalition. That would be a deathblow and the final nail in Mahathir’s coffin. And that was why Mahathir went to see Anwar in court on 5th September 2016. That may have been the most degrading thing Mahathir has ever had to do in his life, but it would be even worse if Pribumi applied to join Pakatan Harapan and they said no.

Most never thought that the RoS would approve Pribumi’s application or that, even if they did, it would be that fast. Maybe the approval would drag on for half a year or a year. In the meanwhile Mahathir can try to get Najib to ‘talk terms’ while the threat and fear of his new party hangs over Najib’s head, made worse by the fact that this new party is going to lead Pakatan Harapan.

But now the new party has been formed and it cannot take off properly. And this is made worse because Kit Siang does not want it in Pakatan Harapan or as the leader of Pakatan Harapan. Mahathir may have got his gun but he really has no bullets to speak about. Pribumi has proven to be the greatest misstep ever and an epic disaster. Where does Mahathir go from here after running to Anwar in the hope that Anwar would embrace his new party?

Mahathir has paid the final and ultimate price. He has had to lick back his own spit by kowtowing to Anwar. Pribumi was supposed to be the weapon to send Najib, Umno and Barisan Nasional into shock. Instead, Mahathir is the one panicking. The Save Malaysia campaign did not do as well as expected and it is not a crowd puller. The Citizens’ Declaration is a fraud with one million fake signatures, which was the mistake Mahathir made in giving the job to secure those one million signatures to Wan Azizah’s people. And Pribumi is not the earth shattering party after all and even Pakatan Harapan does not want it.

Many thought Najib would block the registration of Pribumi. But Najib is too smart to do that. Instead he accelerated the registration knowing that once it is registered Mahathir would be stumped. Mahathir was just sabre-rattling. It was supposed to make Najib come to the conference table. However, once Pribumi is formed then all doors to negotiations would be closed for good. And that is what has happened here.

Kit Siang asked Mahathir to first form his party if he wanted to work with Pakatan Harapan. Najib knew that Kit Siang was not sincere and that once the party is registered Mahathir will go nowhere. Mahathir is now offering Pakatan Harapan RM200 million if they will accept Pribumi into the opposition coalition. But Pakatan Harapan already has PAN, a party that cannot even get 10,000 members (as opposed to PAS that has more than one million members). Do they need Pribumi that can never even get close to PAS or Umno that has more then three million members?

If he fails to turn Pribumi into a force, will Mahathir go back to Najib to try to make a deal regarding his RM100 billion stuck with his proxies, nominees and trustees? If Mahathir can kiss a nobody like Kit Siang’s hand and a prisoner like Anwar’s hands, why would Mahathir not want to kiss the Prime Minister’s hand as long as he secures his RM100 billion or even a portion of that RM100 billion? Mahathir is playing a game of musical chairs — first to Kit Siang, and when that does not work over to Anwar, and if that still does not work then back to Najib. But the thing is Najib is controlling the game so he decides when the music stops.

So now Mahathir has a party without members and without leaders and which is not part of any coalition. Once that has been established Mahathir’s proxies, nominees and trustees need fear him no longer and can throw him under the bus and walk away to celebrate an early Christmas like that driver of a certain Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar.