Anwar going loose canon? Zafrul an Umno backdoor entry into Selangor, Musa Aman governor as part of Hajiji deal?

Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - "OMG!!!". Indeed, "oh my god" pretty much sums up what is likely to be the majority response to news that the corruption-tainted Musa Aman may be appointed Sabah's new governor by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's administration.

For the longest time, 15 years from 2003 to 2018 to be more precise, Musa was the archetypal villain in Anwar and his Pakatan Harapan coalition's political playbook, along with Sarawak's late governor Taib Mahmud. 

So much so that Shamsul Iskandar Akin, now Anwar's political secretary and part of his innermost circle, had flown to Hong Kong to discuss with the anti-graft agency there about how to bring Musa to book. Then Anwar and Pakatan were still struggling in the opposition bench while Musa was already the Sabah Umno chief minister. The powerful Musa's litany of alleged corruption misdeeds was unrivalled even by Umno's decadent standards - and outdone perhaps only by the likes of former premier Najib Razak and current Umno president Zahid Hamidi.

If the appointment comes true, the Musa Aman volte-face will neither be the latest nor the last to be effected by Anwar as he scrambles to save his premiership - a real risk with foes and allies alike starting to worry about their own political survival. Indeed the crescendo of alarm bells pealing over a fast-draining public support and irreversible loss of trust in the 77-year-old Anwar can no longer be ignored.

"The political hypocrisy is now so great it cannot be denied no matter how many laws Anwar tries to hammer in to gag the people from criticizing his leadership," a pundit told PoliticsNow Malaysia. 

"When Anwar and Pakatan first supported Hajiji Noor to be Sabah chief minister over Warisan's Shafie Apdal, people were aghast because of Hajiji's links to Musa Aman. Then Bung Moktar, painted as the Sabah Umno clown, was used as the bogeyman but now the moves are clear. The first question Pakatan voters in Sabah as well as in the peninsula will ask is whether Musa is being rewarded in exchange for political support to help Anwar keep the upper hand against Umno in both Sabah and the peninsula," said the pundit.

The analyst was referring to a massive bribery scandal recently exposed by the media and implicating Hajiji and a group of his assemblymen. Caught on video tape, the cynical manner in which the Hajiji group went about allegedly discussing the distribution of bribes in exchange for mining licenses had shaken not only Sabah but also the rest of the nation.

Hajiji and group have denied any wrongdoing while the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency, now perceived to be Anwar's political weapon against his foes and protector for his friends, has been slow to respond despite no lack of tangible and incriminating material. 

This stonewalling has not helped reduce the political temperature in Sabah, which is due to hold state elections by the end of 2025. Calls for Hajiji's resignation have grown and even the DAP, the lynchpin party in Anwar's Pakatan coalition, has announced plans to review its support for Hajiji's state government.

FROM 'LOGGING DEALS KING' MUSA TO 'WORST FINANCE MINISTER' ZAFRUL

Back in West Malaysia, news that International Trade and Industry minister Tengku Zafrul might leave Umno to join Anwar's own PKR party is raising eyebrows. 

“If Tengku Zafrul joins PKR, the announcement will likely be made on Sunday during PKR’s congress,” a Selangor Umno source told Free Malaysia Today, adding that "this is not an inconsequential decision with a lot of factors to be looked into" and members from Tengku Zafrul’s camp were now finalizing negotiations with their PKR counterparts over the matter.

So what is Anwar trying to do? Is the elitist Zafrul, a political novice with hardly any grassroots support trying to save himself as his senator-ship ends next year - but why is Anwar helping him instead of Umno? After all, despite his banking experience, Zafrul was relentlessly mocked and criticized as being Malaysia's worst-ever Finance Minister by Anwar and Pakatan when he controlled the nation's purse-strings. Anwar and Pakatan were then back in the opposition following a brief stint in power from 2018 to 2020. 

"It's no secret Zafrul eyes the big time but he needs a by-election to win a seat. He is now a federal minister by appointment but that has to end when his term in the Senate finishes," a Pakatan insider told PoliticsNow Malaysia.

Zafrul was also the prime mover behind a deal that had Anwar's support to sell a strategic stake in Malaysia Airport Holdings to Blackrock, the U.S. investment giant accused of financing weapons purchases and supplies to Israel in the ongoing conflict with Palestine.

Is the rather narcissistic Anwar trying to go one up on Umno, which has started to throw its political weight around and rapid in its demands for more positions and seats in the next general election due to be held by 2027? But why take the risk of antagonizing an Umno that is already sore with Anwar for not giving Najib the same 'get out of jail free' card that was extended to Zahid Hamidi - unless this is some sort of backdoor way hatched to help Umno regain a toehold in Selangor? 

Or is Zafrul to bolster Selangor PKR and give it a new chief minister candidate? If so, then what happens to Amirudin Shari, the current Selangor chief minister? Will Amirudin be absorbed into Anwar's already bursting federal Cabinet? But is Selangor Pakatan really so short of talent that Anwar must 'induct' someone from Umno to rule Selangor, the country's richest state and Pakatan's unshakeable crown jewel alongside Penang since the 2008 elections.

Is it to appease the Selangor Sultan or some other quarter, including the Najib faction in Umno - given that Tengku Zafrul was formerly the CEO of the CIMB bank controlled by Najib's brother Nazir Razak?

"It will be clearer if Zafrul joins PKR. But I would cross out the royal link because the Selangor Sultan can't influence the politics in the state that much. Royal patronage is very important but if the Pakatan spin is true, then Umno wouldn't have lost the state in 2008 or would have recaptured it long ago. But as it is, Umno is still far away from winning it," said the insider.

"As for Amirudin, Pakatan insiders have pointed out there were moves from the top to oust him and the recent barrage of reports about the MACC investigating corruption in sandmining deals linked to the highest offices in Selangor was seen as a warning to Amirudin to let go of the chief minister's post. It was the same sort of modus operandi used to dislodge the previous PKR chief minister, the late Khalid Ibrahim," the insider added.

BACKDOOR WAY TO HELP UMNO REGAIN A FOOTHOLD IN SELANGOR?

Although still premature, the worst fear harbored by some watchers of Malaysia's drama-filled political arena is that Zafrul's injection into PKR is part of the "backdoor" method favored by Anwar to give Umno a powerful say in the Selangor state government. Despite ruling Selangor since 1957 and losing it only in 2008, the chances of the corruption-riddled and Malay-centric Umno winning back the multi-racial state in the coming election are almost non-existent and these odds might extend even to the election after that.

The 51-year-old Zafrul burst onto the political scene during the leadership of former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who formed a Malay unity government that not only included his Bersatu and Pas parties but also Umno. Muhyiddin had then labeled Zafrul's appointment as an 'out of the box' choice - referring to Zafrul's lack of political experience but solid financial background as CIMB CEO and before that CEO of Maybank Investment Bank. 

News reports have quoted Zafrul as saying he was never a Bersatu member but had always been with Umno. Indeed his mother Raja Datuk Zaharaton was a career top civil servant during the years when Umno's hegemonic rule over the country was indisputable, rising to the post of Director-General of the Economic Planning Unit during the Abdullah Badawi administration.

"Even then, Muhyiddin's move to appoint Zafrul was seen as to appease the Najib and Zahid factions in Umno since he could not appoint either of them to his Cabinet. How could Muhyiddin when Najib was the one who sacked him from Umno and Zahid handpicked by Najib to replace him as DPM," the insider said.

"From hero to zero and back to hero again. Zafrul's rise may not exactly be like that but it looks like Anwar and Pakatan have fallen into the trap, where those with power think that with hype, spin, drama and bullying critics into silence, they can do anything even if what is achieved has zero long-term value, is meaningless because it is unethical and the only benefit is to their own power agenda," opined the insider.

"Anwar has been accused of being a temperamental leader, going for quick fixes but lacking strategy and vision for the future. These days with Zahid's discharge from corruption charges, Najib's proposed house arrest and Hajiji's bribery scandal, Anwar is seen as only interested in his goal of being and staying PM. Musa Aman and Zafrul will just be more nails in the coffin for the rest of Pakatan," the insider added.

Indeed, whatever the rationale behind the Musa Aman and Zafrul fiascoes, the burning question is - what will DAP say to its supporters if the talk becomes reality? Would it work to say that it couldn't stop Anwar? But as many pundits have pointed out, as the strongest party in Pakatan with the most seats, if the DAP couldn't rein in Anwar - how could it expect voters to believe it could help rebuild a better Malaysia? 

That's indeed something DAP needs to ask itself even if it may be too late to distance itself from a fallout inflicted by an apparently gone-loose canon in the form of 'PMX' Anwar, once known throughout the country especially by the ordinary folk as 'Saudara' (or brother) Anwar.

Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia

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