'ANWAR IN WONDERLAND' OVERTAKES MAHATHIR'S 'BOLEH-LAND' - 'SECRET WEAPON' MACC RISES TO UNPRECEDENTED HEIGHTS IN 'HARDWORKINGNESS' - NOW TO TARGET STATE GOVT OVER 'QUESTIONABLE LAND TRANSFERS'

 

'ANWAR IN WONDERLAND' OVERTAKES MAHATHIR'S 'BOLEH-LAND' - 'SECRET WEAPON' MACC RISES TO UNPRECEDENTED HEIGHTS IN 'HARDWORKINGNESS' - NOW TO TARGET STATE GOVT OVER 'QUESTIONABLE LAND TRANSFERS' 

Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!

KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - It looks like Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is going after the Opposition again - this time with so-called 'secret weapon' the MACC probing questionable land transfers by a state government.

Deflection tactics or for real? With the ringgit plunging again to new lows despite repeated 'assurances' from Anwar that it would strengthen and improve by the end of 2023, which of course has already passed and made a fool of Anwar's off-tangent predictions, suspicion and its resultant fury is fast rising among Malaysians they are being 'scammed'!

"Suddenly there is so much polemics, you can't help but think Anwar and his team are pulling a fast one," a political analyst told Politics Now!

"From corruption probes involving Daim and his family, Mahathir and his sons, Pas leader Sanusi and Kedah FA, Dubai Move and then out of the blue there's Fixed-Term Parliament Act to stay in power for 5 years, I would say Anwar's communications team is very busy and so is the MACC. Actually I have never seen the MACC working so hard as now. With so many probes going on, and the majority still unfinished like Sanusi's rare earth case, which Anwar's lieutenants played up prior to the state elections but now has gone quiet, I really wonder how MACC is coping and will the cases really see the light of day in the courts."     

The ringgit, which broke 25-year lows under Anwar's watch, crashed to 4.6835/4.6880 versus the U.S. dollar at 9.32 am from Monday’s close of 4.6670/4.6745. It also plummeted against the Singapore dollar to 3.5051/3.5087 from 3.4982/3.5041.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, has been lambasted for failing to stem the ringgit's shock decline - unable to breathe life into the ailing economy, curb inflationary pressures that have pushed up prices of goods and services across almost all sectors. Accused of hogging the finance minister's post despite not possessing sufficient knowledge to bring about meaningful change, the narcissistic Anwar only relented and appointed a Second Finance Minister late last year.

SG4 STATE GOVT THE NEXT TARGET?

According to the Star daily, graft investigators have launched an investigation into an allegedly questionable transfer of land between a state government and a company.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki confirmed that complaints were lodged alleging that proper procedure was not followed in applying and approving for the land transfer.

“We want to see if the law actually permits the state to dispose of the land. If so, we want to check if the standard operating procedure was followed to a tee,” Azam told the daily.

“We are also investigating whether there are elements of corruption involved that enabled the transfer to happen.”

Yet Azam declined to name the state government, although he revealed that statements from 25 individuals, including officials from the state government agencies, have been recorded.

It is learnt that the transfer involved 10 land titles which initially belonged to the state government. Investigators have also yet to determine the value of the land involved.

"It's like another of those from the Sanusi template - a lot of sound and thunder, then all goes quiet again. It's odd Azam doesn't name which state government but I would be shocked if it was a state controlled by Anwar's allies such as Selangor or Penang. It could be an SG4 state," a veteran political observer told Politics Now!, referring to the four states Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu governed by opposition party Pas.

WEAPONIZING THE MACC NOT ENOUGH - FTPA FOR ADDED INSURANCE?

Nevertheless, despite the attempt to portray an image that his government was a hive of anti-corruption activity, Anwar and his unity government have come in for a trashing from both civil society and critics - for "weaponizing" the MACC and for failing to roll out "real reforms".

"Do not weaponize institutions like the MACC. Make them independent," urged former law minister Zaid Ibrahim in a posting on X, advising Anwar to come up instead with fundamental reforms such as repealing the Sedition Act 1948 and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

Zaid also took a swipe at the bizarre proposal from Anwar's government to install a fixed-term Parliament law that would allow them to rule uninterrupted until the end of their elected term in 2027. The move has backfired with Anwar accused of trying to rule by "coercion" or maintain a "dictatorial government". 

Indeed, Anwar, who has repeatedly boasted he has two-thirds support of the 222 MPs that make Malaysia's parliament, should have no fear of being ousted. Why then is he engaging in polemics that are counter-productive, annoying to the people who increasingly perceive his government as being "good for nothing except politicking and creating political instability".  

"Those in power must not be too anxious to rule for long periods by artificial means. When you are good and well-liked by the people, that’s the fixed term you will get. No need to legislate." 

"Here we are trying to strengthen a weak party by a fixed-term method. It’s like a party president who wants to rule by having no election. It’s an artificial stability," Zaid added.

Zaid's views were echoed by a government backbencher - Larry Sng, the MP for Julau.

“With more than a two-thirds majority in Parliament, the government should not be burdened by such rumours (of moves to unseat the government through defections by MPs)," said Larry.

“It should instead focus on passing much needed reforms within the next one to two years when it still has the political muscle, prior to the next general election.”

'ANWAR IN WONDERLAND' - FAKE OR MIRAGE BUT NO REAL REFORMS

Unfortunately, it may be that Anwar and his government do not possess that "political muscle" after all. Like in many other countries, parliamentary majority is like a mirage in a desert - it can disappear at a moment's notice when the timing is deemed right by those who hold the real power. And it looks like unpopular Anwar is not the true PM of choice of the majority of MPs, who are still biding their time to pack him off, slowly but surely.

Compounding Anwar's fate is his failure to convince the country he is on the right track and pressing the right buttons to revive the economy. The focus of his administration seems to be 'attack and kill on sight' the Opposition - with parallel moves to heal the economy and unify the country either non-existent or totally pushed to the back by the MACC's one-sided and perhaps less than neutral anti-corruption brutality. 

Analysts have warned if team Anwar is not able to buck up, their end will come sooner rather than later - perhaps hence the frenzy to ram through the Fixed-Term Parliament Act to cling to power.

"The next mood that follows public disappointment is public anger. You cannot rely on propaganda and public relations to make the people think you're good. You have to be good at your work and right now, Anwar is a fail. But instead of working on it, his Little Napoleons are creating one fire after another," said the political watcher.

"Worse still, the people can see his communications and strategy team is just as busy spinning all sorts of stories to deflect attention from their underperformance as the Opposition bloggers are to take them down. This turns Malaysia into a joke - when the government of the day is spinning 'Dubai Move' type of scenarios to achieve its own political means, then you end up with 'Anwar in Wonderland' like Mahathir's Boleh-land."

Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!

Politics Now!