Who will stop the PM? The Anwar tempest blows in - from 3R to AG to 5G, from Najib reforms to Dr M cronies
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - The level of dissatisfaction against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is once again hitting the roof, with his administration now disparaged as being "the one-arm government".
Behind the rising public unhappiness is a series of questionable decisions and deals that hark back to the days when Anwar was leading the opposition and had on an almost daily basis offered reform against the power abuses and excesses of his number one nemesis Mahathir Mohamad. He also offered transparency and accountability against the massive graft and misrule that typified the Umno-BN regime, the country's ruling coalition for nearly 60 years.
'OUT-CROOKING' NAJIB?
Yet here we are today, with the foot on the other shoe, say analysts and other stakeholders in Malaysia's often rough and tumble political landscape.
Mahathir at 99 is now almost redundant, his rambling thoughts still trapped within the racial jail cell of his mind's own making.
But Anwar at 77 is still 'at large' so to speak and finally holding the position of immense power that he had always coveted. To many political watchers, he is thus seen as dangerous due to the high amount of damage he can inflict on his country and countrymen as he seeks to stay in power, especially if he uses whatever ways and means he can.
Many worry that Anwar may end up 'out-crooking' even Najib Razak, the most corrupt Malaysian prime minister so far and the first ever to be jailed for graft.
"Let's be fair. We talk about reforms but the one who carried out the reforms was someone else (i.e. Najib and not Anwar)," Latheefa Koya, a prominent human rights lawyer and briefly the chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, was reported as telling Malay daily Mingguan Malaysia.
"During Najib's tenure, he did not shout 'reformasi' (like Anwar did) but we know what he did for the country, that he repealed the Internal Security Act 1960 or ISA. I cannot imagine what will happen if ISA is still around today."
The ISA is a draconian law abused by many past premiers, especially under Mahathir's first tenure as prime minister, to detain and jail without trial so-called enemies of the state. Yet most of the time, these 'enemies' were in reality political rivals or dissenters who were perceived as having the potential to upset the regime of the day.
3R ABUSE?
Najib, notwithstanding his corruption crimes against the national coffers, oversaw the country's quickest and most expansive economic growth. He also had guts to put into effect some of the most impactful reforms that have since resulted in greater social justice by implementing new laws such as the Peaceful Assembly Act, which allows protesters to hold public demonstrations without the need to apply for police permits.
Najib even considered repealing the Sedition Act but in the end decided to heed the protests from his own Umno party, especially from the Mahathir faction. Even so, he still went ahead to amend the Sedition Act so that criticizing the government was no longer a crime.
"Today, not only people can no longer criticise or ridicule the government, they are summoned to the police station, and now the government even comes up with a law that does not exist in the legal context, making it a crime to talk about the 3R (race, royalty and religion)," said Latheefa.
"In which law is this mentioned? There is no such thing, but the government so conveniently categorizes someone's criticism as 3R."
Indeed, when Anwar's government first introduced the 3R, many in the country cheered it on in the belief it was meant to curb the excessively hate-filled speech of the many extremist groups seeking to keep Malaysia's multiracial society divided and the races distrustful of each other. Many of these groups were linked and funded by the big Malay-centric political parties and their purpose - via calculated verbal outbursts or through the internet and social media platforms - was to entrench the notion of racial supremacy among the Malays, keeping the community fearful of the other races, so that their own political relevance could be maintained and deepened.
However, to their horror, Malaysians soon found that the Little Napoleons in Anwar's Cabinet had other things in mind. The government was soon accused of using the 3R to ban blogs and social media that spoke unfavorably of his policies and even to intimidate opposition politicians as well as civil society. In short, anyone who dared to criticize Anwar came under risk of action from the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, a watchdog body under the charge of Fahmi Fadzil, Anwar's handpicked communications minister.
Anwar and Fahmi's volte-face have jolted and shocked voters. In the coffee shops that dot the country, many shake their heads in disbelief and disappointment. Increasingly, the typical conversation when it starts to revolve around politics is a comparison of Anwar versus Najib or Mahathir and the usual flow invariably along the lines of: "Even Najib was better. He was corrupt as hell but he did do some real things for the country. If only we had better checks and balances to limit a prime minister's power so he won't be able let power go to his head and do whatever he likes and the rest of the country ends up suffering again."
Unfortunately, there are still none. In Malaysia, the PM's hand is still largely unfettered. And so despite having more political parties to choose from these days, despite achieving greater public awareness and higher voter interest, it can be expected that the country's progress will continue to sputter, get derailed or even shatter as one type of dictator takes over from another.
AG FIASCO
Another case that highlights how vulnerable Malaysia is to the excesses of its leaders is the surprise and rather sudden retirement of its Attorney General, with Anwar perceived to be intervening behind the scenes in the affairs of the judiciary. According to news leaked by pro-government media, Ahmad Terrirudin, the current AG appointed by Anwar himself, is set to be promoted to become a judge in the apex Federal Court. The unconfirmed news has triggered an outpouring of protests from the legal fraternity as well as confusion amongst the public.
"Anwar needs to move Terrirudin out of Attorney-General's Chambers. Terrirudin's suitability as AG is being questioned and so Anwar is shifting him to the FC instead. Cynical or not, the presumption is so that the corridors of power get to have a friendly voice in the top court," a pundit told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
"Of course, the Bar Council and the lawyers are hopping mad. Firstly, we fought so long and hard as a nation to keep the judiciary and the institutions impartial, especially after the dark days of Mahathir and Najib and yet Anwar is now seen doing the same. What type of reform is this? Why did Anwar and his people choose Terrirudin in the first place? Why not someone else? And if he is not suitable as AG, why is he suitable as an FC judge?"
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim was also sarcastic on the Terrirudin news - pointing out that a recommendation for such promotions needed to be made first by the Judicial Appointments Commission.
"I don't understand how the JAC could have made this recommendation when there was no quorum to meet. Maybe I am out of date, but I thought the reason why we could not appoint the Chief Judge of Malaya was there was no meeting of the JAC," wrote Zaid in a post on X.
"Anyway, I think what is important is that the PM strongly supports Terriruddin's appointment. In our country, when the usual process is bypassed, or some appointments or awards are made unexpectedly, then it is usually because the PM wants it that way."
"The other day, a legal academic told me that we have three arms of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. I told her that maybe that was true in 1957. Today, we have only one arm: the strong arm of Putrajaya."
5G STORM BLOWS IN
Now on a working visit to China, Anwar has not said anything about the AG yet. But already another storm has blown in.
A member of his own PKR party, Hassan Karim, has blasted him for allegedly repeating the same shady mistakes of past corrupt regimes. Hassan was referring to news of the government's controversial decision to appoint a firm linked to the current King as the second operator of Malaysia’s 5G network.
According to Hassan, who is also the Member of Parliament for Pasir Gudang, Anwar's way of governance was no different to Mahathir's first term as PM from 1981 to 2003. Then Mahathir had surrounded himself with individuals and corporate entities out to get lucrative contracts and Anwar, who was Mahathir's deputy prime minister from 1993 to 1998, was still pandering to his former boss' coterie of cronies from that era.
"This group is relatively immune and cannot be easily touched because they are shielded by this scourge of a law called 3R," said Hassan, referring to the excuse often given by Anwar's government whenever enforcement agencies are used to silence critics via the Sedition Act.
Hassan said the existence of this "elite group" was proven when the government awarded the 5G contract to a relative "newcomer" in the telecoms industry, where "22.31% of the company's shares are held by institutions prohibited by Article 34(3) of the Federal Constitution".
He was referring to U Mobile Sdn Bhd, where Malaysia's King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, holds the second largest stake, alongside a list of several other companies and individual businessmen that included Vincent Tan, a tycoon who had risen to the big time during Mahathir's first tenure as PM.
The choice of U Mobile came as a nasty shock to industry players, especially as much more experienced and leading telcos such as Celcom and Maxis were omitted - while under Article 34(3) of the Federal Constitution, it is stated that the King "shall not actively engage in any commercial enterprise". Hence, Hassan's outrage and the public consternation at the deal.
According to Hassan, such deals that favored the "maha-kaya" (which is Malay for the super rich) struck at the very heart of Anwar's "Madani government" - a slogan that Anwar chose to emphasize that his administration would be civil and against corruption compared to the previous regimes.
WHO WILL STOP THE PM?
Mahathir has yet to comment on the U Mobile deal but he has been tough on the royals, who dislike him for removing many of their privileges. Billionaire Vincent Tan is well known to be a loyal friend to him, as was Maxis founder Ananda Krishnan, while retired Celcom founder Tajudin Ramli a former beneficiary.
But in September, before being admitted to hospital for yet another lung infection, the feisty grand old man of Malaysian politics had slammed Anwar and mocked his unity government as a "house of cards" that could collapse at any time.
Indeed, Anwar's grip on power is still not as absolute as Mahathir's during the latter's heyday. But for sure, Anwar is working on it and closing the gap fast. As pundits point out, clamping down on freedom of speech and the use of hypocrisy rather than transparency are always the first signs of a budding and awful dictatorship.
Mahathir's first premiership had lasted for 22 years, Najib's for 9 years while Anwar has barely completed 2 years as PM - yet the iron fist has already emerged alongside the public complaints.
"Ok but what about the people? What about the voters? What about us? What do we get?" wrote commentator Syed Akbar Ali as he vented his frustration at the country's never-ending political drama.
"Local rice is still a problem. Car prices are still too expensive. Banking services are expensive - it is an oligopoly. Education is a huge problem. The ringgit is going down. The list is much longer. What is being done to help the people? All the people."
So for how long will Anwar's rule last?
Or more pertinently and much more importantly, for how long more will the Malaysian people have to put up with the idiosyncrasies of their leaders before they insist on power muzzles being placed on the topmost leader, lest they and their country fall victims yet again to the saying absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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