If Zahid Betrays Anwar, it will be Anwar’s fault more than Zahid

If Zahid betrays Anwar, Umno, PN and other opponents of Anwar and PH in Sabah and Sarawak, will likely combine their strength to overthrow Anwar’s reign.

Nehru Sathiamoorthy

All of Anwar and PH’s opponents are in a state of disarray and panic. Muhyiddin’s career is on the brink of oblivion. Pas is contemplating breaking its alliance with Bersatu while Abang Jo and his faction in GPS are likely having sleepless nights, waiting restlessly for Anwar and PH to launch a digvijiya on Sarawak, and relegate Abang Jo and his faction in GPS, who are reigning supreme in Kuching today, to the sidelines.

Considering all this, I certainly have no doubt that like Zahid exclaimed recently, the opponents of Anwar and the unity government, which not only consists of those from the opposition bloc, but are composed of even the members of the unity government, are currently in a desperate enough state to offer Zahid the prime minister post, if only he is willing to betray Anwar.

Getting Zahid to betray Anwar is likely the only last chance that Anwar and PH’s opponents have, to stymie PH’s advance and perhaps even overturn PH’s reign before its term is up. If they wait any longer, not only will Anwar and PH be able to establish themselves in the national political landscape in such a firm manner, that not only will PH be unstoppable until the next general election, it will likely be unstoppable for several elections to come.

Malaysians of all persuasions are generally very favourable towards the leadership of charismatic leaders who are able to both manifest the desire and capability to do whatever it takes to win. Some of us might grumble about their authoritarian streak, but whether it is Taib Mahmud or Mahathir, or perhaps even Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore, people in our part of the world tend to have a tendency to grudgingly support, approve and accept the rule of such charismatic leaders and give them a long reign.

The more that Anwar shows that he is a strong leader in the mould of Taib or Mahathir or Lee Kuan Yew,  the more he can expect Malaysians of all persuasions to toe to line and support his rule for as long as he wishes.

Zahid, as it currently stands, is the only thing that stands between Anwar crushing all of his opponents and  establishing PH as the party that will rule Malaysia for the foreseeable future.

If Zahid betrays Anwar, Umno, PN and other opponents of Anwar and PH in Sabah and Sarawak, will likely combine their strength to overthrow Anwar’s reign.

The fact that the opponents of Anwar and PH are offering Zahid the position of PM, likely indicates that they are aware that Zahid might hesitate to accept their offer on account of his 47 DNAAs.

In the way that Malaysian politics goes, it won’t be surprising that the minute Zahid shows an interest in taking up the opposition’s offer, his 47 cases that received a DNAA might suddenly be reopened.

However, if the opponents of Anwar and PH are able to convince Zahid that he will be the next PM if he colludes with their effort to topple Anwar and PH, then Zahid will have nothing to fear about his 47 DNAAs.

If Zahid ever has any intention of being the next PM, the time to make a move is now or never.

If Zahid hesitates and Anwar succeeds in crushing all of his opponents, then Zahid will likely never be able to become the PM – at least for so long as Anwar is alive.

If that were to happen, Zahid will then have the misfortune of ending up in history as the Umno president that relegated Umno from its status as ruling party to that of a subordinate party.

Umno’s nature and character is that of a  ruling party. It has been a ruling party from the time of Independence, and only recently lost its status as a ruling party. For now, although it has lost its status as a ruling party, it is still made up of Malays who see themselves as leaders and bosses. If it takes too long to wrest back its status as a ruling party however, and if PKR under Anwar continues to strengthen their role as the new ruling party, then Umno might likely lose its identity and status as a Malay ruling party.

The next generations of Malay who have the disposition of leaders, will likely be drawn to PKR rather than Umno to exercise their proclivity to lead while the Malays with a rebel spirit will likely congregate in Pas, to resist being subject to the rule of anyone.

As for Umno, it will likely be relegated in the same rank as Amanah, or as a sidekick party, whose role  is merely to legitimise and celebrate the actions and stand of main Malay parties like PKR and PAS.

Other than being known as the leader of Umno that destroyed the prestige and status of Umno, Zahid will also likely remain in the memories of the Malays as a Pengkhianat Bangsa.

For a variety of reasons, Zahid is currently being seen in the eyes of the Malays as a sort of Pengkhianat Bangsa. As a career politician, the image of a Pengkhianat Bangsa is surely something that must be hurting Zahid gravely.

Bona fide politicians, especially top tier politicians like Zahid, innately possess a heroic self image. They all invariably see themselves as a champion of their cause or people who rose to the occasion to save the day.

Considering that, it is almost certain that Zahid is very much looking forward to an opportunity to rehabilitate his image.

Anwar however, does not seem to be very sensitive to Zahid’s desire. Unless Anwar does more to satisfy Zahid’s wishes to rehabilitate his image, it will be Anwar’s own fault if Zahid becomes inclined to topple Anwar, for it will be Anwar’s own negligence that planted the seed of betrayal in Zahid’s mind.

But saying that, even if Zahid is planning to make a move on Anwar, his desires are not going to be easy to execute, both in practical and psychological terms.

Practically speaking, even if Zahid succeeds in toppling Anwar, his tenure as PM will almost certainly be backed by such parties as Bersatu and Pas, who like Umno, are Malay parties that depend on the support of Malays. To be a prime minister that is dependent on competing Malay parties who will profit more than your own party suffers losses is an unenviable task.

Also, he will have to contend with leaders like Muhyiddin, who sees himself as Prime Minister material, as well as the likes of Abang Jo, who will likely use the fact that Zahid is dependent on his support to be the Prime Minister in Putrajaya, to continue establishing Sarawak as a country within a country within the Federation.

Last but not least, he will also have to contend with Anwar himself, who will likely still be a powerful opposition leader, and who will likely not take too kindly to Zahid’s betrayal.

To remain as the Prime Minister, Zahid will probably have to conduct a harsh purge to remove all the above leaders, which he might not have the strength to do if he is to become a lame duck prime minister that is dependent on his opponents to rule.

Even if he manages somehow to hold on to his position as the PM, the compromises he will have to make and harshness that he will have to evoke, in order to maintain his grip on power, will likely only end up reasserting his image as a pengkhianat bangsa, rather than rehabilitate it.

Psychologically, I also think that for various reasons, if Zahid does entertain the option of toppling Anwar and becoming the PM, he himself might become so disappointed with himself over his betrayal, that like Hang Tuah in later years, he might regret ever being born, and end up wanting to disappear from the world without leaving a trace.

However, if it does come to pass that Zahid does betray Anwar, I think it will be Anwar that is to be blamed more than Zahid.

Zahid has done a lot for Anwar but Anwar has not done enough to reciprocate Zahid’s sacrifice and loyalty.

Considering Zahid’s loyalty and sacrifice, Anwar should do more to see to it that Zahid has the opportunity to rehabilitate his image and allow Zahid to entertain the possibility that he might still be a Prime Minister someday, if it comes to pass that Anwar dies before Zahid.

Anwar is 6 years older than Zahid. Statistically speaking, there is a likelihood that Anwar might die before Zahid. The least that Anwar can do to reward Zahid’s loyalty and sacrifice is allow Zahid to believe that if he were to outlive Anwar, he will have an opportunity to be the next PM of Malaysia.

Prior to becoming the PM of Malaysia, Anwar was in a state of humiliation. One can even argue that part of the reason why Zahid had helped Anwar become the PM is because Zahid was sensitive and concerned about Anwar’s state of humiliation, and desirous to help Anwar redeem himself. In order to enable Anwar to redeem himself from the state of his humiliation, Zahid even had to sacrifice his own image and reputation in the process. Now that Anwar is in a position to redeem himself and Zahid, it is actually incumbent upon Anwar to enable Zahid to redeem his destroyed reputation and image, instead of just focusing on redeeming and restoring his own reputation and image.

If Anwar is negligent of his obligation to Zahid, then he has no one but himself to blame if Zahid does end up betraying him for his negligence.