Mahathir is all alone in his clash with the Raja-Raja Melayu
Today, Mahathir is directly leading the charge against the Raja-Raja Melayu. And, just like in the late 1980s-early 1990s, he is starting with Johor. Anwar, however, instead of supporting Mahathir like in the late 1980s-early 1990s, is quietly supporting the Raja-Raja Melayu. He is trying to prove to the Raja-Raja Melayu that he is pro-Royalty and hence the faster he takes over as Prime Minister the better for the Royalty.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad played a smarter game in his clash with the Raja-Raja Melayu in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Even back then, just like now, he used the Johor Palace to launch his first attack. But he did not do it himself.
He first got the mainstream media and the TV stations to run a series of special reports and ‘exposes’ regarding the nine Royal Households. Of course, not all were true but it had its desired effect.
Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and of course, Johor, were subjected to ridicule and slander. Perak, Perlis and Negeri Sembilan were not whacked too much because Umno saw them as pro-government.
Today Anwar is not with Mahathir in his anti-Raja-Raja Melayu campaign
A partner of the then Pahang Menteri Besar, ‘Tengku’ Wong, was exposed for ripping of huge acreages of timber/logging land in the state. But the so-called expose said he was the business partner of the Pahang Sultan, whereas most Pahang citizens knew that was not true (‘Tengku’ Wong was the Menteri Besar’s business partner).
The person who was given the job of calling for the press conference to ‘expose’ Tengku Wong (and his so-called ‘business partner’, the Pahang Sultan) was the then Gerakan President, Lim Keng Yaik. For his cooperation, the Pahang Menteri Besar was rewarded with the governorship of Melaka.
They did the same in Terengganu. ‘Tengku’ Yong of Terengganu, the Terengganu Menteri Besar’s business partner, suffered the same fate as ‘Tengku’ Wong in Pahang. And the person who was asked to fire the shot was the BBC Chairman, Shahidan Kassim. For his cooperation, the MB was made the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
The media then showed shots of lavish seaside homes in Penang and said they belonged to the Sultan of Selangor and that they were built with taxpayers’ money. Those homes actually belonged to Chinese tycoons and not to the Selangor Sultan.
Anwar is no longer anti-Sultan Kelantan like in the early 1990s
The Sultan of Kedah was not spared either although he never clashed with Mahathir. They showed shots of Kedah House along Northam Road in Penang and said it is the Kedah Sultan’s lavish bungalow built at a cost of millions of ringgit of taxpayers’ money. Actually, it was an old pre-war rundown house belonging to the state government for the use of civil servants.
The Kelantan Sultan was ‘exposed’ as a smuggler and Anwar Ibrahim was given the task of calling for the press conference to relate the story of how the Sultan ‘smuggled’ his Lamborghini into Malaysia.
Actually, the Sultan was allowed seven tax-free cars and this quota comes under the state government, not the federal government (the same for the other states). Anwar, however, said the federal government never approved this although the federal government had no say in the matter.
Yellow is the colour of Royalty
This campaign of lies continued until the rakyat became very angry with the Raja-Raja Melayu. Tun Ghafar Baba and Anwar then went to Istana Negara to confront the Conference of Rulers while Mahathir quietly stayed in the background and pulled all the strings from behind. Mahathir made it appear like Ghafar and Anwar were running the anti-Rulers campaign.
Today, Mahathir is directly leading the charge against the Raja-Raja Melayu. And, just like in the late 1980s-early 1990s, he is starting with Johor. Anwar, however, instead of supporting Mahathir like in the late 1980s-early 1990s, is quietly supporting the Raja-Raja Melayu. He is trying to prove to the Raja-Raja Melayu that he is pro-Royalty and hence the faster he takes over as Prime Minister the better for the Royalty.
