Anwar’s plan was to start a riot
The irony of this whole episode is the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic took 123 Malaysian lives but it saved the lives of far more people who would have died in the riots and chaos just to make Anwar the prime minister had Mahathir not resigned and Muhyiddin not locked down Kuala Lumpur. God sure does move in mysterious ways.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The plan was simple. In February 2020, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would be told he must leave immediately and hand power to Anwar Ibrahim. The reason is because Mahathir was supposed to retire in May 2020, but he now says he will not do that and will instead stay on until the end of the year or longer.
So, since Mahathir refuses to comply with the May 2020 timetable, he has to go in February instead as punishment for reneging on what Anwar says is a written agreement (but which Mahathir denies and says no such agreement, written or verbal, exists).
Anwar was going to topple Mahathir the same way they brought down Yingluck
The two options were: go in February or face street demonstrations and riots. And the so-called “Reformists” or Otai Rerformis have already warned Mahathir a number of times: go as scheduled or face the consequences and repercussions of chaos.
The warnings were clear and the writing was on the wall. Whether Mahathir likes it or not, he was going and Anwar was taking over. Resistance is futile and the punishment for resistance was going to be devastating.
Mahathir knew this time it was going to be bad. This was not the 1998-1999 Reformasi street demonstrations. Kids’ games. This time it was going to be a total lockdown of Kuala Lumpur and a disruption of the social and economic life of those who live in the city. Kuala Lumpur was going to come to a standstill and Mahathir will be left with no choice but to resign and hand power to Anwar.
The Otai Reformis was going to “occupy” Kuala Lumpur and bring the city to a standstill
Since the 1998-1999 Reformasi street demonstrations, many countries have seen their governments toppled by “occupying” the cities to bring the country to a halt. Yingluck Shinawatra of Thailand was brought down in May 2014 the same way and Saifuddin Nasution had met up with the mastermind of that coup to discuss how to do it and how much it would cost.
The price tag was RM100 million and Anwar had the funds ready. RM100 million to bring down the government and become the prime minister or PM8 was cheap by any standards. So now all they needed to do was to wait for Mahathir to say he will not resign for the coup to be launched and Kuala Lumpur would be jammed and brought to a standstill.
In that February meeting, Mahathir did not say no, he would not resign. He said he will go home and think about it. Mahathir knew a no answer would result in an “explosion” that same night. Kuala Lumpur was going to erupt in a 1998-1999 style Reformasi chaos, except this time it was going to be for real and ten times more serious.
Mahathir knew Anwar was going to kick him out by force if he did not go in February 2020
Mahathir played for time and gave Anwar hope that the answer the next day was going to be yes. Then Mahathir resigned and caught Anwar and DAP with their pants down. Before Anwar and DAP could react, or think how to react, Muhyiddin Yassin brought Parti Pribumi Bersatu (PPBM) out of Pakatan Harapan and brought down the government.
Did Muhyiddin act independently or was he in cahoots with Mahathir to stop the riots on the streets? Some say Mahathir and Muhyiddin acted in concert but probably in time we will know whether that is true or not.
Then DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong stepped in to stop a civil war and prevent the deaths of most likely thousands of Malaysians had Anwar’s riot taken place.
The Agong saved many lives by preventing the planned street riots when His Majesty swore Muhyiddin in as PM8
The Agong swore Muhyiddin in as PM8 and Muhyiddin almost straight away imposed a lockdown because of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The normal “Reformasi” hotspots were cordoned with barbed wire and no one could get in or out, let alone assemble to organise riots. And anyone on the street, even to go buy roti canai, was arrested.
Yes, Mahathir’s act of resigning and Muhyiddin’s act of bringing PPBM out of Pakatan Harapan an hour later torpedoed Anwar’s street riots and “occupy Kuala Lumpur” plan. Muhyiddin had locked down Kuala Lumpur before Anwar could do it and the Otai Reformis rioters were locked out of Kuala Lumpur.
The irony of this whole episode is the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic took 123 Malaysian lives but it saved the lives of far more people who would have died in the riots and chaos just to make Anwar the prime minister had Mahathir not resigned and Muhyiddin not locked down Kuala Lumpur. God sure does move in mysterious ways.
The Covid-19 lockdown torpedoed Anwar’s planned riots and saved many lives
