Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - It looks like it never rains but it pours for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his embattled administration.
Already under fire for perceived underperformance in his job and not paying enough attention to the slow-healing local economy, the 77-year-old Anwar is now on the ropes again following another controversial decision by his government to free former prime minister Najib Razak from corruption charges in the IPIC misappropriation of public funds case.
"This is the price Anwar has to pay for getting the PM post," a pundit told PoliticsNow Malaysia, referring to the sharp loss in credibility suffered by Anwar and his Pakatan Harapan coalition since sweeping to power in the 2022 general election.
"If elections were tomorrow, would Pakatan supporters still vote for him, PKR, DAP or Amanah," add the pundit, referring to the three parties that made up the core of the ruling Pakatan alliance, which won 82 of the federal Parliament's 222 seats two years ago.
MORE MELODRAMA, PERHAPS A SHENANIGAN A WEEK?
Fortunately for Anwar, the next election need not be held until 2027 and in politics, the only certainty is uncertainty. Even so, few would wager he could win a second term in office although Pakatan, especially DAP the lynchpin party, might still be a part of the next administration.
"But buying time doesn't work always. Voters won't forget Anwar and the Pakatan's broken promises to reform Malaysia and to stand firm against corruption and the corrupt?" said the pundit.
"I believe we can expect more melodrama from Anwar to deflect attention from his administration's shortcomings, maybe even a different shenanigan a week, until the next election is here," the pundit added.
Najib, the Umno president and PM from 2009 to 2018, is now in jail serving a reduced six-year jail term for corruption in another case related to the massive 1MDB debacle, considered to the largest-ever pilfering and graft scandal to roil the world financial markets.
The 71-year-old Najib, who still wields substantial clout in Umno through his children and loyalists, is still lobbying to be freed either through another royal pardon or to at least be released into home detention.
NO-WIN FOR ANWAR BUT WIN-WIN FOR ZAHID & NAJIB
During the 2022 election that swept Anwar and Pakatan to power, it was Najib's faction along with current Umno president Zahid Hamidi who pushed their party to align with Anwar's Pakatan, thereby paving the way for Anwar to become PM.
On its own, Pakatan did not have sufficient seats to form a simple majority government and needed Umno's 30 seats. Speculation had then been rife that Najib and Zahid had struck a secret deal with Anwar, whereby he would ensure they escaped conviction or incarceration in exchange for which he would finally get to be PM, the all-powerful post he has coveted for decades.
Anwar has repeatedly denied any collusion. Yet Zahid was controversially freed from all 47 of the criminal breach of trust, graft and money-laundering charges levelled at him in September 2023. The discharge, which sparked a public hue and cry, was effected using a similar sort of 'modus operandi' - with government prosecutors suddenly withdrawing their own case even though the judge had already called for Zahid's defense and the trial already underway.
"It's like self-eating toxic bacteria. If it's true, then the equation is that if Anwar doesn't give Najib and Zahid what they want, then they dump him," said the pundit.
"As far as they are concerned, Anwar won't even be sitting in the PM's chair now. But if he does play ball with them, then voters and his supporters will desert him. It's a no-win situation for Anwar and a real lesson to not consider such terrible agreements. For Najib and Zahid, the equation is obviously a win, perhaps made possible only by Anwar's perceived hunger to be PM."
FIRST ZAHID, NOW NAJIB - IS THE AGC SO INCOMPETENT?
The SRC case for which Najib was incarcerated in August 2022 is one of the five criminal cases that were levelled against him in 2018.
The former PM is still on trial over four counts of abuse of power and 21 of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
As for the just-discharged case, Najib and his former Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar were charged with six counts of misappropriating public funds intended for payment to IPIC, an Abu Dhabi-owned corporation.
“Does the Attorney General Chambers not have sufficient stature to ensure inter-agency cooperation for prosecutions? If not, is this indicative of a major flaw in the effectiveness of the Malaysian criminal justice system?” anti-corruption activist group C4 blasted the Anwar administration.
Indeed, the prosecution’s failure to deliver 200 sets of documents to the defense raises serious questions about the AGC’s ability to perform its duties.
In its statement issued today (November 28), C4 also urged the AGC to explain the failure to declassify and deliver the documents, which are still under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), when the prosecution had six years to do so. It urged the Anwar administration to amend the OSA to remove the arbitrary power to classify documents as official secrets, which is currently granted to any minister, chief minister, or public officer.
“If the government is serious about an impactful anti-corruption effort, it must immediately address how the OSA can shut down prosecution for public sector corruption,” said C4.
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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