A coup on the cards - Anwar to be sacked by the King if he fails to secure fresh & full pardon for Najib?
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Calls are ringing out loud and clear for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to be removed - and if the embattled PMX or 10th prime minister of Malaysia is hoping these calls will go away soon, he is likely to be mistaken.
According to seasoned political watchers, the 77-year-old Anwar is 'safe' only so long as he agrees to support Umno's application for a fresh and full pardon for disgraced ex-premier Najib Razak, who already had a 12-year jail sentence for corruption cut by half by the previous King and a RM210 million fine squashed down to a mere RM50 million.
"Najib could not sleep for several days, but Anwar can't sleep now. Maybe for many months. To help him overcome the mess he had created; he needs to get the King to give a full pardon to Najib," wrote former law minister Zaid Ibrahim, an unabashed Najib supporter, on X.
"That's the only way the government can erase the multitude of misfeasance and criminal misconduct of top civil servants and Ministers involved in the lies and cover ups of King Abdullah's addendum. It's the only way Anwar himself can hang on to be PM because its within the powers of the King to dismiss him for the way the addendum issue was handled."
ROYAL SACKING?
To be sacked by the King might be eyebrow-raising to many in Malaysia's political sphere but to those familiar to Anwar's rather messy style of politicking, it is "according to plan". They point to how Anwar had just weeks ago, out of the blue, approached the current King over the surprise emergence of an "addendum" that granted Najib permission to spend the balance of his reduced six-year term at one of his palatial residences instead of in jail.
Current King, Sultan Ibrahim of Johor, had replaced King Abdullah, the Sultan of Pahang, earlier this year as part of Malaysia's rotational constitutional monarchy system.
From the fateful meeting with the current King, two statements had later resulted. The issuance of the statements, which took place last week, laid the framework not only for Najib's freedom but perhaps also paves the way for his comeback to power as the country's 11th PM.
The two statements - one from the Attorney-General's chambers and the other from the Palace - both said the same thing, which was that any new development such as Najib's controversial addendum, even if decreed by the previous King, had to brought to the Pardons Board for the new King's consideration. So too must any 'new application' - which has now taken shape in Umno's application for a fresh and full pardon for Najib. Senior Umno leaders are also demanding that Anwar backs the application and recommend to the new King to approve it.
Otherwise, as Zaid pointed out, Anwar may find himself sacked for mishandling the addendum. An elaborately staged drama or not, Anwar's rather shady conduct over the addendum had bewildered the nation. A day ago, even the appeals court had rebuked him for lack of transparency - comparing him to Najib's super-efficient side, which managed to produced an official letter from the previous King confirming the addendum decree.
DELIBERATE WAFFLING & TIMING CRUCIAL TO 'FREE NAJIB' PLAN?
Yet the deliberate waffling may have been crucial to the plan to free Najib and make Umno great again. Some observers believe it allowed the 'secret' to be burst into the open in court itself, making it seem that Anwar and his Pakatan Harapan coalition were also victims with no choice but to accept the court's ruling as well as comply with the two statements issued by the AGC and the Palace.
"Those are the main giveaways. One must remember Najib is still fabulously wealthy and everybody has been eyeing his stash. But he's only willing to spend all those 1MDB billions stashed overseas when the timing is right. And I would say now is the exact right timing," a political insider told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
LOTS OF GREEDY EYES ON NAJIB'S 1MDB BILLIONS STASHED OVERSEAS
The insider pointed to Malaysia's next general election, which must be held latest 2027. On the rebound after plunging to its lowest electoral performance in 2022, Umno is expected to win between 50 to 70 seats, which if it achieves would make it the party with the most seats in Malaysia's 222-seat Parliament and give it the right to demand the PM's post.
Najib, who was prime minister as well as Umno president for the nine years from 2009 to 2018, is considered as among the party's 'creme de la creme'. Not only was his father revered in Umno as its second president and second prime minister, the 71-year-old Najib had steered Malaysia's economic growth well. Unfortunately, his corruption scandals were also legendary and way too massive to go unpunished, leading to voter rejection of Umno in the 2018 general election.
"It is ridiculous for Umno to keep fighting for his freedom and putting him - a convicted criminal - on a hero's pedestal. But that's Umno for you and a good reflection of the miracles money can buy in Malaysia and especially Umno," said the insider.
"It is wishful thinking to hope that Najib, if he becomes the next PM, will practice self-restraint and put in checks and balances. It's actually quite terrifying to try to envision what sort of Malaysia we will get if he becomes the next PM. But the problem is that Anwar is so disappointing that in the people's mind, anyone is better than him. And no matter what Najib did drive economic growth," the insider added.
COUP ON HOLD BUT FOR HOW LONG?
Buzzing around the country is already talk of a 'coup' to overthrow Anwar on the basis of his incompetence over Najib's addendum.
Many expect a power transition to take place soon - at least by this year - once Najib secures his full pardon. To wait until 2027 would be too late as Najib and Umno would need time to secure maximum support from party grassroots. Placing too much trust in Anwar as PM until the very end could also prove to be politically fatal as the office of the prime minister in Malaysia carries way too much power, allowing an incumbent to declare emergency or even martial law if need be.
So far, Sarawak's powerful GPS has poured water on the speculation with chief minister Abang Jo over the weekend expressing support for Anwar to continue as PM until Parliament is dissolved for the next election. Abang Jo's words were again echoed today by one of his Sarawakian compatriots Tiong King Sing, the tourism minister.
"Both Abang Jo and Tiong are politicians to the core and to expect them to hold fast to their words is ridiculous. You can say they were standing behind Anwar but others see as them reminding the other players of their existence and that without them agreeing to ship out of Anwar's unity government, nothing will work. So it's horse-trading and bargaining for the best deals time for those who have something that either Anwar or Najib wants," said the insider.
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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