'DUBAI MOVE' STEAMS ONTO THE HORIZON - AS GAFFE AFTER GAFFE ANWAR TAKES ON THE POWERFUL TUNs - PERHAPS BEFORE HE CAN EVEN STAND ON HIS OWN?

 

Written by Wong Choon Mei, Politics Now!

KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - It looks like the latest attempt by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to consolidate his grip on power is fast turning into his next and perhaps fatal fiasco - threatening to explode into a fireball of flames that will inevitably char his fragile government to cinders while ousting himself from the post he has coveted for decades but has failed to live up to or do justice to.

A bid to bring to book the country's most powerful including the likes of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin and legendary two-time former PM Mahathir Mohamad - ostensibly for corruption and perhaps also for once making him squirm - has given birth to a monster that not only puts in jeopardy the country's political stability but the very nature and statehood of the country itself.

A 'Dubai Move' is now steaming up the rumor mills - that a serious and complex plot has been hatched to overthrow Anwar's 'Madani' government - and replace it with a new regime led by the main opposition bloc PN-Pas and current allies Umno and GPS. The pretext for the latest power grab is apparently to protect Malay political dominance against a move to redraw electoral boundaries. 

Unsaid but yet on the minds of many political watchers is the possibility that the Dubai Move could also be the revenge strike by those pressed unnecessarily into the corner, such as Daim and Mahathir whose families have everything to lose if Anwar succeeds. 

Indeed, the unbridled and less than professional way in which Anwar's political secretary Shamsul Iskandar Akin savaged and humiliated the 98-year-old Mahathir for mocking Anwar - as good as publicly threatening to investigate the ex-leader's children for unexplained wealth - is viewed by speculators as the last straw that broke the camel's back. 

Similarly, the usually taciturn Daim's move to finally break his silence two days ago at Anwar's alleged "witch hunt" is also seen as a harbinger of the fightback to come.

"Anwar and his inner circle have become like a joke. They have this very huge ego, very grand ambitions and talk very lofty ideals but sadly have the political IQ the size of a pea. Mind you, I am only saying what many in the country are also thinking and that's why there is this side feeling of anger towards him and his Harapan coalition for disappointing everyone - and now he's putting everyone at risk because he doesn't think well and is relying on very poor quality sidekicks and Little Napoleons who think might is right. By all means, go after Mahathir, Daim and their families sons if you have proof but why the need to talk like a fighter cock and publicly insinuate this and that before anyone is even charged. Are we already in an election campaign, I wonder. If not, it really reeks of being drunk with one's own power," a pundit told Politics Now! 

"Let me be clear, nobody is against Anwar going after the corrupt ultra-rich but there is the unspoken expectation that he does so professionally. What has disgusted people is the playbook he is using - suddenly anti-graft bodies like the MACC and the police are echoing and supporting his every statement. So what's the difference between now and the hegemony of the past Umno governments or a future under Pas Islamic radicalism - it's still political instability and political unprofessional day in, day out and blow-with-the-wind polemics and policies - Malaysia continues to drown without real, properly thought-out strategies and reforms."

"So why take sides? Who is to say Anwar won't become like the Mahathir and Daim he's now accusing them of being or his family won't become like their families. So long as you don't follow the rules of professionalism, abuse your own power and abuse the institutions like the MACC and the judiciary to serve your own political purposes, you and your accomplices will straightaway become suspect. The moment you use gutter tactics and then hypocrisy to gloss over or cover your own actions, straightaway the people will not only smell but see you as just another a rat in a world of rats." 

NOT THE GOOD GUYS AFTER ALL

Indeed, while the feelings of racial animosity between Malays and non-Malays have cooled somewhat in the urban areas since the 76-year-old Anwar swept to power last year, the political temperature has risen dramatically - thanks largely to an incompetent inner circle foolish and naive enough to believe that the surest way for Anwar to hold onto power perpetually was to gag and suppress by force critics, social media and blogs that dared to speak unfavorably of his ineffective handling of the government and the economy. 

It immediately set up the backs of civil society as well as a citizenry that has long been deprived of free and fair speech by previous authoritarian regimes. Thus began the current ongoing and deepening round of self-reflection by long-time supporters, with voters questioning themselves 'did we vote out Dr Jekyll only to bring in Saudara (Mr) Hyde?'  

Backpedaling on key election promises was another disappointment. The shocking plunge of the ringgit to its lowest ever in history, breaking even the record troughs touched 25 years ago during the Asian Financial Crisis, was another eye-opener that perhaps Anwar and Harapan (which comprises his PKR, the DAP and Amanah parties) were just as incompetent and clueless as the past administrations - and were using the same old gag-and-silence the critics deflection trick to maintain an aura, a mirage of well-being as they sought to buy time to settle in.

Most surreal and unbelievable was the Attorney General's decision to suddenly free Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi from a string of corruption charges. The malice behind the inclusion of two stroke of caning for Syed Saddiq, the young, very popular and fast-rising MP for Muar was yet another 'milestone' that awakened voters against the Anwar regime - triggering ruminations that perhaps 'these guys are not the good guys after all'.

Some veteran political observers believe the narcissistic Anwar had erred in overestimating his own position by going after Daim when the public outcry against his government in releasing Zahid from his corruption charges had not settled.

"If Anwar is trying to use Daim to beef up his anti-corruption image after getting pie on the face over Zahid's discharge, then he has foolishly picked on the wrong man!" the observer told Politics Now!  

"Guys like Daim and Mahathir, you go after only when you have really rock-solid proof and most important of all, when you have rock-solid political support of your own."

Written by Wong Choon Mei, Politic Now!

Politics Now!