Bribery drama - 'Backstabbed' Hajiji wants bribers arrested first even as whistleblower gets death threat
Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - The bribery scandal involving Sabah lawmakers allied to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's fractious unity government looks set to explode - unfortunately into nothingness, as it appears to pundits to be more of a backstabbing drama staged to bring to heel the culprits rather than to collapse the state or federal government or even to bring to justice corrupt leaders.
“I have nothing to hide... we have nothing to hide," declared Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor, accused of being at the centre of the debacle involving a group of his assemblymen.
“The government is in good condition and continues to operate smoothly. The (audio recording) allegations are just accusations. Report it to the MACC," he added.
BRIBERY & BACKSTABBING DRAMA?
Bung, left, is seen as Hajiji's no.1 political enemy in Sabah politics
Hajiji's comments to Malay daily Berita Harian follows hot on the heels of his party mate Yusof Yacob, who claimed that political rivals were making use of Artificial Intelligence or AI to smear them ahead of statewide elections that must be held by next year.
The comments also come as the 'whistleblower', who had leaked eight video recordings implicating Hajiji's men, announced that he had received a death threat.
The histrionics were reported by a pro-Anwar portal and according to the police complaint lodged by the whistleblower, the threat came via a WhatsApp call from an unidentified foreign number.
Hajiji now wants the MACC to investigate those who gave the bribes and arrest them first.
“The bribers had bad intentions to gain something from the government. When they didn’t succeed, this is what comes out (the audio recording). So for fairness, I suggest they be arrested and investigated first,” said the chief minister.
BUNG THE 'LONE WOLF'? OR HAS UMNO BEGUN ITS MOVE ON ANWAR?
Of late there have been a rash of corruption news that have been scorned as being Anwar's attempt to burnish what an angry public has criticized as his fast-fading anti-corruption stance. The MACC, increasingly perceived to be Anwar's 'secret weapon' to pressure political rivals and critics, has led most the news, announcing probes into the huge losses incurred by trading platform Fashion Valet as well as raking up old investigations into sandmining operations in Selangor, a state helmed by Anwar's own PKR party and formerly by Azmin Ali, now a senior opposition politician in the Bersatu party.
However, the latest 'squeeze' on Hajiji, who has been Anwar's biggest ally in Sabah, may be the result of political skullduggery masterminded by Umno-BN, another ally Anwar needs to please to keep his unity government stable.
The Sabah state election is due to be held next year and the fight to control the resource-rich state will be tremendous, say pundits, who predict a mother of all wars to break out between Hajiji's GRS coalition and the Umno-BN.
"Some have pointed the finger at Bung Moktar, the Sabah Umno-BN chief, as the mastermind behind the video bribery scandal but it's unlikely he would pull off such a big stunt without the go-ahead of Umno-BN president Zahid Hamidi. And if Zahid is involved, then Anwar is also likely to be involved. If Anwar isn't, then he is in trouble," a pundit told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
ANWAR IN TROUBLE? WHICH WOULD HE CHOOSE?
Zahid, who reneged on a 2020 promise to Umno members, may U-turn on Anwar & DAP yet again
Zahid, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, was instrumental for Anwar's rise to power, the first to agree to throw Umno's 30 seats in the federal Parliament behind Anwar's Pakatan Harapan, which won 82 seats. Together the combined number of 112 seats was just sufficient for Anwar to eke out a unity government in Malaysia's 222-seat Parliament and grab the PM's post that he had struggled to win for decades. Days later, Sarawak's GPS coalition, which won 23 seats, as well as Hajiji's GRS, which won 6, came on board, helping to expand and stabilize Anwar's majority in the federal Parliament.
Of late, there have been signs of stress in the lineup cobbled by Anwar, with ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad calling it a "house of cards" because it could collapse easily due to its coalitional structure. Umno, which was at its political rock bottom at the time Zahid agreed to align with Anwar, is starting to stabilize, winning two recent by-elections with convincing majorities as its traditional Malay voter base started to return after spurning it in the 2022 general election due to its excesses and massive corruption.
"It's to be expected. As Umno gets stronger, its warlords will pressure Zahid to pressure Anwar for more power and positions. And if Anwar doesn't play ball, then he can expect trouble in Peninsular Malaysia as well. I think the parties all have an unspoken agreement to stay together for as long as possible but when it comes to the state or federal government elections, then it's every man for himself," the pundit elaborated.
"So in the case of Sabah, it's unlikely that Bung or someone else is acting as a lone wolf. It's more likely a case of having Zahid's tacit nod and Anwar's tacit help to push GRS and Hajiji into a corner so that they will concede more space to Umno Sabah. Once they get what they want, the odds are the bribery case will quietly vanish from the radar. If Anwar is not involved at all, which is hard to believe, it's worse for him because it shows Umno has started to make its move against him! Which would he prefer?"
Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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