Anwar's Budget - Najib the biggest winner? 'Luxurious' house arrest for father, directorship for daughter

 

Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Former minister Zaid Ibrahim was not totally right when he said 'I don’t think anyone will be excited by this year's budget' in a post on X titled 'Anwar is not suitable as Finance Minister'.

In fact Zaid, who unexpectedly emerged from the political sidelines to oppose Najib's 12-year jail sentence during a final appeal at the Federal Court, might be slightly pleased even if he may be in the minority on this issue. Nonetheless, the well-respected Zaid was right on most counts of what was another mediocre spending plan from team Anwar that aimed to changed little in the status quo of a long-suffering people, opting rather to channel and keep more cash in the hands of the government. 

"For the first time in the history of Malaysia since Independence, a prime minister has expressed his concern about the welfare for a crook while presenting an annual budget. Najib Razak, the world’s biggest crook by U.S. standard, must be ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing) watching the Budget 2025 in his Kajang Prison, where he is already enjoying special treatment," wrote political and economic analysis portal Finance Twitter on October 20.

"After months of rumours, it’s now official that the disgraceful PM Anwar Ibrahim, during the tabling of Budget 2025 on Friday (Oct 18), has announced the government’s plan to introduce a new law for elite criminals like Najib to serve imprisonment in the comfort of home instead of prison. Designed specially for Najib, the crook can look forward to a “luxury home arrest” soon."

"Yes, if you think working from home is a privilege for certain workers, wait till you see how the former prime minister serves his remaining jail sentence from home. But you can’t blame Najib in this case. It was the weak, unprincipled and treacherous Anwar, in his desperation and greed to cling to power, that has crossed all the red lines in his fake crusade to fight corruption."

BETRAYAL, HYPOCRISY, U-TURNS & MAHATHIR'S WARNING

Indeed, the portal's rather fiery response at what can surely be described as classic cases of political betrayal, hypocrisy and U-turns by the Anwar administration is very similar to those expressed by many Malaysians.

Even before Anwar swept to power in the 2022 general election, with the help of Umno president Zahid Hamidi and the powerful Najib faction in Umno, speculation had swirled of an alleged secret deal struck with the aim of getting Anwar into the PM's chair and freeing Zahid, Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor from their corruption charges.

Yet Malaysians, especially those who had supported Anwar's Pakatan Harapan coalition for decades, had hoped he would show more spine and rise above naked ambition, lifted by the principles and scruples he had always trumpeted since being booted into political wilderness by legendary ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad over sodomy and corruption offences.     

"The old man used to say Anwar would release Najib and that he would only pass the premiership to Anwar after Najib was jailed," a Pakatan insider told PoliticsNow Malaysia.

"We used to see this as Mahathir's usual excuses and no one could be allowed to be a better PM than him while he was alive but look at what Anwar and even the DAP have become. Was Mahathir wrong? In the instance of Najib and Zahid, the old man was spot on. Those two have always been Anwar's 'kakis' (buddies). 

"For the rest, it may not be fair yet to judge but looking at the economy and the latest Budget, Zaid Ibrahim is right. Anwar is not suitable to be Finance Minister. The Budget 2025 is lacklustre, notable only for more pain to the people with the latest sugar tax and sensational for the sympathy expressed towards Najib. It points to another question - why is Anwar hogging the Finance Minister's post when for decades he criticized and accused Mahathir of corruption and misusing the power of the Finance Ministry for self interest. Will Anwar do the same later on and who will stop him then?"

GAGGED & DISAPPOINTED - BUT NEVER BROKEN

So far the response to Anwar's Budget 2025 has been muted - so much so, his Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli had to come out in the press to remind the country that a "once in generation" removal of petrol subsidy was due next year but that his coalition was ready to face "choppy waters" in the event of public backlash.

Perhaps Rafizi was trying to blow his own trumpet but make no mistake, most Malaysians are already aware of what lies ahead. Already struggling with skyrocketing food and costs of living prices, they are unhappy and the removal of a longstanding government subsidy on the RON95 petrol would be the final straw - the knock-on effects on their lives and livelihood would be dreadful.

However due to the 'clampdown' on speech or comments deemed as unfavorable or critical of the narcissistic team Anwar would only invite a slew of retaliation from the various enforcement agencies including the police, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission or even the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

"Make no mistake. The level of disappointment in the country is very great but fortunately the people haven't reached a state of depression yet. Whatever stunts the Anwar regime pull, it has not been able to break the fighting spirit of Malaysians. My sense is voters are very angry but they know it's pointless to react now. One thing for sure is the next general election GE16 will be most interesting," said the insider.

LESS SPINE THAN MUHYIDDIN AND ISMAIL SABRI?

The Finance Twitter also criticized Anwar as being worse than Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri, the preceding two premiers who despite also facing massive political pressure still managed to show much greater political backbone by refusing to consider any form of 'bailout' for the corruption-tainted Najib and Zahid.  

"Even when the previous backdoor regimes of Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri were so weak with only 114 MPs in the 222-seat Parliament, both leaders were strong enough not to entertain the idea of freeing Najib, let alone cooking up a recipe called “house arrest” to appease the crook or rewarding Najib’s daughter with any directorship in the government agency," wrote Finance Twitter.

"But Anwar-led Unity Government, bragging with supermajority support (148 MPs against Opposition Perikatan Nasional’s 74), behaves worse than Muhyiddin and Sabri combined. It creates an impression that Anwar-led Pakatan Harapan coalition (82 MPs) is a weak puppet, a lapdog subservient to governing partner Barisan Nasional, who despite having only 30 MPs is calling the shot."

"Just when you thought the 10th Prime Minister would not do any more shameful, hypocritical and double-standard things, he continues to spring surprises. On one hand, he keeps reminding government servants not to be corrupt. On the other hand, his Pardon Board silently and happily gave a 50% discount to Najib, reducing his 12-year jail sentence to just six."

"On one hand, the PM whined, moaned and bitched till foaming at the mouth in challenging former leaders who amassed wealth by stealing from the nation’s coffers to return the money. Yet, on the other hand, he granted not only DNAA to UMNO president Zahid Hamidi, but also gave up to 75% discount on Najib’s RM210 million fine for corruption, reducing it to just RM50 million."

"On one hand, Anwar lectures the people not to tolerate corruption and power abuse. On the other hand, however, he is abusing his power to encourage corruption with a brilliant idea of a new law with provision for certain crooks to walk out of jail with a “house arrest” reward. It’s so obvious that he is practising double-standard – targeting Mahathir and Daim, but protecting Zahid and Najib."

"Heck, he selectively cares about Najib, but not a disabled Grab driver, Ong Ing Keong, who was waiting for his passengers outside the St Regis hotel when he was assaulted by bodyguards of a Johor royal. While PM Anwar appears to be incredibly concerned about the welfare of Najib due to his social status, Ong’s welfare is ignored because he’s just a Grab driver."

"To rub salt into the wound, Anwar government has suddenly announced the appointment of Nooryana Najwa Najib, daughter of disgraced Najib Razak, as a director of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade). Congratulations to PM Anwar for promoting not only corruption, but also cronyism. The best part is Nooryana owed RM10.3 million in unpaid income taxes."

Ironic or not, that's the icing on the cake from the Anwar administration. Agee or not, this is what Malaysian voters got when they queued in the hot sun to support Anwar and his Pakatan coalition. Imagine - after designing "luxurious home arrest" for the father, Anwar and Pakatan appointed the daughter to a government agency - someone whom their own government had accused of tax delinquency and may still be owing the people to the tune of millions of ringgit!

Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia

https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/