MACC calls it ‘money-politics’, Mahathir calls it ‘bribery’
More important would be when you consider the RM5 billion that Mahathir has set aside to oust Najib — RM2 billion for the ANC (Anti-Najib Campaign) and the balance to fund the next general election — a RM1 billion to bribe Kit Siang sounds very small in comparison.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raaja Petra Kamarudin
“The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has no authority to investigate or take action against individuals involved in money politics because Malaysia currently has no laws to control political financing,” said Azam Baki, the Commission’s Deputy Chief Commissioner (READ MORE HERE).
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad once said that another name for ‘money politics’ is ‘bribery’, and bribery comes under the category of corruption. ‘Money politics’, the term that Azam Baki used, is merely a ‘sanitised’ version of bribery and corruption.
Nevertheless, we are not trying to play a game of semantics here, the game that Mahathir is so fond of playing. For example, Mahathir said his salary as Prime Minister for 22 years did not come to RM1 billion — hence how could he afford to pay Lim Kit Siang RM1 billion?
READ HERE: Mahathir Tok Kok, Yet Again
Even President Donald Trump’s salary is just US$400,000 a year or roughly RM1.7 million. By the time he retires he would have earned only RM8.5 million, unless he wins a second term then it would be RM17 million. In theory, if Trump stays in office for 22 years he would have earned only RM37.4 million.
But that does not mean Trump is not a billionaire and he cannot say he does not have RM1 billion or about US$235 million just because his salary as the US President does not come to US$235 million even if he serves two terms. So Mahathir’s argument is for small-minded people who are incapable of rationalising things.
Mahathir is a billionaire 100 times over and he jet-sets around the world
In Japan, Mahathir was known as ‘Mister 10%’. In Europe, all the huge multinationals knew that to do business in Malaysia you needed to provide at least 20% or 30% as contingencies for ‘political donations’. The fact that you cannot do business in Malaysia unless you paid was no secret and every man and his dog knew this. Barry Wain has mentioned this in his book in great detail, as have Edmund Terence Gomez and Jomo Kwame Sundaram. This matter was also raised by the Malay Chamber of Commerce during a seminar in 1985 and the reply they got was corruption exists in every country.
And all this started in the 1980s, soon after Mahathir became Prime Minister. The new political culture of ‘money politics’ was started by Mahathir and fine-tuned by Anwar, according to Mahathir himself. So the issue of whether Mahathir does or does not have RM1 billion since his 22 years salary as Prime Minister does not come to RM1 billion is a non-issue. If Mahathir and clan depended on just his salary then how could his children be worth tens of billions?
Daim and his team of media strategists tasked with the job of bringing down Najib with a budget of RM5 billion
The issue here is not Mahathir’s wealth but Umno’s wealth, which was acquired allegedly in the name of Umno but parked under proxies, nominees and cronies. Mahathir was supposed to hold about RM100 billion under his proxies, nominees and cronies with another RM60 billion under Tun Daim Zainuddin.
Where is all that money?
When MACC said the law does not allow them to take action against political donations or ‘money politics’ we need to define the difference between ‘political donations’, ‘money politics’, ‘bribery’, ‘blackmail’ and so on. Political donations are normally above-board and would be done with transparency. Money politics would basically be vote- or influence-buying. Bribery comes in when it is an inducement to do something or with strings attached, and most times it would be something against the law. Blackmail is when you are forced to pay or else suffer certain consequences for not paying.
There was one case in Terengganu where a bribe was paid but the person receiving the bribe did not deliver what the bribe was for. So he argued that it is not corruption since he took the money but reneged on the deal. The judge still convicted that person and sent him to jail. The judge ruled that it is still bribery if you received the money but did not do what you were supposed to do. Hence it becomes a bribe when you agree to the deal even if the deal did not go through.
Kit Siang used to regard Mahathir as Malaysia’s ‘Public Enemy Number One’ and now regards Mahathir as Malaysia’s saviour
In Mahathir’s and Kit Siang’s case they entered into a secret pact and did not inform their parties about it. No one in Pakatan Harapan were aware that Mahathir and Kit Siang were now co-conspirators. Many noticed the change in both Mahathir and Kit Siang but no one could figure out why. Mahathir and Kit Siang becoming buddies was as impossible as Israel appointing Osama Bin Laden as their new Prime Minister.
READ HERE: Mahathir Bribed Kit Siang RM1 Billion To Become Pakatan’s Chairman
To earn that RM1 billion, first Kit Siang has to agree to PPBM joining Pakatan Harapan as the fourth coalition member. Then Kit Siang has to agree for Mahathir to become the coalition Chairman. Third, Kit Siang has to not reveal what he knows regarding the RM31.5 billion forex scandal during the RCI hearing. Finally, Mukhriz must be given a safe parliament seat to contest in the coming general election, if possible a seat which DAP can ‘control’ and can tell the voters who to vote for.
Kit Siang will receive the final tranche of RM250 million once Mukhriz is given a safe seat to contest the next general election
These are the four strings attached for that RM1 billion bribe. Kit Siang has delivered three and has received RM750 million so far and the final tranche of RM250 million will be paid once they confirm which seat Mukhriz will be given to contest.
RM250 million per favour may sound a lot but when you compare it to the RM90 million bribe that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was alleged to have paid PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, the RM20 million that Mahathir paid Khairuddin Abu Hassan, the US$5 million that Mahathir paid for three US DoJ press conferences, and so on, it is not really a lot of money.
More important would be when you consider the RM5 billion that Mahathir has set aside to oust Najib — RM2 billion for the ANC (Anti-Najib Campaign) and the balance to fund the next general election — a RM1 billion to bribe Kit Siang sounds very small in comparison.
