BERSATU: silent Muhyiddin beats noisy Mahathir, again
For now, Muhyiddin seems to be riding high against the grandmaster, Dr Mahathir. Yes, the silent Muhyiddin beats the noisy Mahathir again and again. His Perikatan Nasional alliance seems to be scoring many successes against Pakatan Harapan. However, can Muhyiddin maintain the support of his alliance partners, particularly UMNO, or are we looking at a snap election?
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
In the Art of War, it is no bloody good if you win so many battles but finally end up losing the war. No doubt, wars are made up of so many battles, and some you lose while others you win. However, in the end, you must win the final battle — or the mother of all battles — and win the war.
The Vietnam War is a classic case in point. The Americans won battle after battle but, in the end, they lost the war. And not only did they need to retreat, but they were forced to bring home thousands of American drug addicts and psychos.
America, just like Mahathir, won many battles but finally lost the war when Saigon fell
The Russians suffered the same thing in Afghanistan, another superpower defeated by “backward” natives with archaic weapons. Both America and Russia won battle after battle but finally suffered defeat and went home with their tails between their legs.
Thousands of years of history is full of stories regarding powerful forces winning battles but losing the war. And the latest historical battle today — or the story of the lost war — is regarding Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin or PM8 is the silent type. He is what they would say in America the man who walks silently but carries a big stick. Mahathir, on the other hand, is a man who talks so much. He talks about what he is going to do, long before he does it, and he also talks about what he did even when he did not do it — plus he never talks about all the wrong things he did, as if he is so innocent (like he says he never stole any money when, in fact, he stole RM100-200 billion).
The silent Muhyiddin versus the noisy Mahathir: and the winner is…
There is a saying: a fish that cannot keep its mouth shut soon enough gets hooked. And today, Mahathir, who cannot keep his mouth shut, was hooked good and proper.
Today, Muhyiddin Yassin won the battle (or maybe won the final battle to win the war) against Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when High Court Judge Rohani Ismail ruled that Dr Mahathir was no longer the Chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (a.k.a. PPBM or BERSATU) when he officially resigned on 24th February 2020. The Judge ruled that under Article 16.9 of BERSATU’s Constitution, Muhyiddin became the legal and legitimate party Chairman (front door, not back door, ruled the court).
Judge Rohani found that the actions of Dr Mahathir and five others in writing to the Parliament secretary that they no longer wish to be seated in the government bloc, and in crossing the floor on 18th May 2020, constituted their declaration to abandon the party. Therefore, under Articles. 10.2.2 and 10.2.3, they have ceased to become members of the party.
Mahathir’s resignation is legal, absolute and final, says the court: an act of suicide by any measure
The Court held that the MPT’s meeting on 4th June 2020 was validly held and had affirmed the Plaintiffs’ conduct as violating the party’s constitution and that Muhyiddin is the legitimate Chairman while Hamzah Zainuddin is the legal Secretary-General of the party. The Court also held that the interpretation of the party’s constitution by the MPT is final and that it is not open for the Court to interfere by virtue of Section 18C of the Societies Act — and the case of Datuk Justin Jinggut decided by the Federal Court and Salihudin Haji Ahmad by the Court of Appeal.
The Court also found that it was improper for the Plaintiffs to include BERSATU as the 7th Plaintiff as Section 9(c) of the Societies Act does not allow a society to sue or be sued but must do so under the name of the office bearers.
Consequently, the Court struck out BERSATU as the 7th Plaintiff on grounds that it was an abuse of the process of Court. The Court also struck out the Plaintiffs’ suit on grounds that the action commenced by the Plaintiffs is frivolous, scandalous and vexatious. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the injunction application by the Plaintiffs.
The Plaintiffs were required to pay cost of RM10,000.00 for the three applications.
Dr Mahathir and six Plaintiffs were represented by Haniff Khatri, Nur Izzaida Zamani and Tabian Tahir.
Rosli Dahlan is said to be the legal mastermind behind the Prime Minister, which resulted in many legal victories in court, plus the successful Goldman Sachs out-of-court settlement
Muhyiddin Yassin, Hamzah Zainuddin and Capt. Suhaimi were represented by Datuk DP Naban, Rosli Dahlan and Leonard D’Cruz.
Recently, Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional government won another victory when it secured a USD3.9 billion settlement against Goldman Sachs, which came under severe attack by Dr Mahathir and other Pakatan Harapan leaders. The former Attorney-General Tommy Thomas also weighed in to criticise the settlement.
Yesterday in Parliament, the Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz revealed that it was the Pakatan Harapan government that had offered a USD4 billion settlement to Goldman Sachs. However, it which was rejected. Instead, Goldman Sachs counter-offered only USD1.5 billion and later increased its offer to USD1.75 billion.
The letter that shows Dr Mahathir, Lim Guan Eng and Tommy Thomas are lying
The USD3.9 billion settlement secured by Muhyiddin’s government was 42% more than the offer received by the Pakatan Harapan government. The revelation in Parliament exposed the Pakatan Harapan government’s lies, particularly Dr Mahathir, Lim Guan Eng and the former Attorney-General Tommy Thomas.
Malaysia is abuzz with several legal and political controversies. In another Court in Jalan Duta, Lim Guan Eng was charged for corruption, and his wife, who also faces corruption charges, will follow suit. Also, the dissolution of the Sabah State Assembly is being challenged as unconstitutional. There is every possibility that Shafie Apdal’s advise to the TYT of Sabah to dissolve the State Assembly may be declared as void. If so, there may be no state election and Musa Aman, who claims to command a majority in the State Assembly, may return as Chief Minister.
For now, Muhyiddin seems to be riding high against the grandmaster, Dr Mahathir. Yes, the silent Muhyiddin beats the noisy Mahathir again and again. His Perikatan Nasional alliance seems to be scoring many successes against Pakatan Harapan. However, can Muhyiddin maintain the support of his alliance partners, particularly UMNO, or are we looking at a snap election?
Time will tell.
