POLITICAL TURBULENCE BLOWS INTO ANWAR'S ALREADY STRESSED-OUT MALAYSIA - AS ANTI-GRAFT BODY SEIZES BUILDING LINKED TO STILL-POWERFUL EX-FINANCE MINISTER DAIM ZAINUDDIN
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has seized Ilham Tower, a top-tier building in the city centre that has been linked to the still-powerful former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, who reportedly is currently under a probe launched by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's regime.
Daim is known to be a staunch supporter of Anwar's political nemesis - the legendary but controversial ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad. Outwardly, Anwar and Daim do not attack each other, unlike Anwar and Mahathir who have a long-running, noisy and very public feud.
WAS MAHATHIR WRONG TO SACK ANWAR?
However, insiders have long believed Anwar's inner circle sees Daim as one of the masterminds who plotted his downfall during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 with allegedly trumped-up sodomy charges. Not only was Anwar found guilty and jailed - he was stripped of all his posts including the deputy premiership, the finance minister's portfolio and even the Umno deputy presidency.
Daim was the man Mahathir called in to repair the Anwar's alleged excesses and incompetent handling of the economy and the ringgit, which plummeted to one of its lowest levels. Now, 25 years later with Anwar back in power, it appears to be deja-vu with a vengeance as the ringgit breaches its lowest-ever level, touching troughs unseen before in history.
"It's a real reflection of the type of leader Anwar is. Is he going after Daim for revenge? But can anyone blame him if he is - after all Anwar lost everything in 1997, his reputation was torn to shreds, not just his power," a political pundit told Politics Now!
"Then on the other hand, the way the ringgit has lost control also indicates Mahathir was not wrong to blame him or to replace him with Daim. The only argument is, was it necessary to use sodomy charges to disgrace Anwar? Or was it justified? For Malaysia today, all this raking up of old history and corruption cases won't help bring back investors."
"There is a capital flight going on and it has to do with today's Anwar, disappointment with him and his government. The buck stops with him. Going after the top guns of the past is necessary but it will make investors even more worried Anwar will mess up again. He should do it only if he has very concrete evidence and the case can be resolved swiftly. Otherwise, investors will run even more because very obviously, the political instability will be massive."
ANTI-GRAFT STANCE OR POLITICS OF REVENGE OR A BIT OF BOTH?
Ilham Tower is a 274m-tall skyscraper just metres away from the famous and beautiful Petronas Twin Towers. According to news portal Free Malaysia Today, the seizure was made under Section 38(1) of the MACC Act, which deals with the seizure of immovable property.
Quoting an unnamed source, the portal said the seizure was made pending undisclosed investigations.
“So we are freezing this asset. This means that there can be no transactions involving the building,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The report appears to be confirmed, with MACC’s deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib revealing that the director-general of lands and mines was instructed to seize the property in a notice dated Dec 18.
“Any individual who defies this notice or does anything to breach the terms of this notice can be convicted of a crime and issued a fine not exceeding twice the value of the property or RM50,000 or whichever is higher, and sentenced to jail for a term not exceeding two years,” said Ahmad Akram.
At 9am on Friday (Dec 22), the ringgit traded up to 4.6300/6380 against the U.S. dollar from yesterday’s close of 4.6525/6565.
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
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