D-Day arrives for Anwar - 'redefine your stand' calls grow as Pakatan urged to name a successor but can it attract people like Nazir Razak

Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia 

KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Embattled Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim seems to be on the brink of losing it all. And the only way - if there's still a way - for him to escape inevitable political death is to immediately shift gears and redefine what he stands for. Unfortunately for him, even such a construct as primary as this, may be beyond him given his current weakness.

"This is karma pure and simple and no one deserves it more than him," an insider in his Pakatan Harapan coalition told PoliticsNow Malaysia.

"When they were on top, he and his inner circle especially his communications minister Fahmi Fadzil rampaged with arrogance, simply banning this blog, arresting that critic, killing off their means of livelihood while promoting those who for years worked to bring him and Pakatan down for Najib and Umno-BN. If not for the brave group of writers, activists and NGOs who fought the Najib regime, Anwar would still be in jail for sodomy and Pakatan still singing 'rasa sayang' on the streets and in Dataran Merdeka. Yet till now, they have not shown one iota of remorse for their ingratitude as though breaking promises and double-crossing their supporters is their God-given right."

DEATH PENALTY & JUDGEMENT DAY ARRIVES FOR ANWAR & CO

Agree or not, what's undeniably clear is that Judgement Day has arrived for Anwar. And it's not a good one. In fact, it's a pretty damning one. 

Those who used to hate him still hate him, perhaps even more now that they have sniffed out of how little use he really is to the country and its political landscape despite the great powers he holds through  his office. Those who were once neutral about him hate him too, with familiarity fueling their contempt after two of the most insipid, unscrupulous and dishonest years of leadership the country has ever encountered. 

While those who loved him and fought courageously for him side by side and alongside his wife and daughters during his darkest years, it's now also hate and 'can't stand him anymore' time. If initially they felt a bit embarrassed at how they had misgauged his character or lack thereof, many have reached the tipping point where it's now 'just one more stupid stunt from that guy and we'll go out and vote in GE16 and we'll vote to kick him and Pakatan out once and for all!'. As they say, hell hath no fury than a voter scorned!

The latest straw on the camel's back - unfortunately 'last' seems unlikely under the shenanigan-filled Anwar administration - is obviously the massive 'underground' but concerted bid to free the corrupt ex-premier Najib Razak, who despite having a 12-year jail sentence cut by half and a RM210 million fine reduced to  RM50 million, is still dissatisfied and scheming for a full-fledged royal pardon that can well pave the way for his return as the the next PM after Anwar and his Umno-BN coalition to return to the topmost rung of power instead of being the junior partner they now are in the government.

“This case is still in its early stages, and the judicial process should take its course. I am speaking out to clarify the matter as the discourse has veered off track," Shamsul Iskandar, who is Anwar's political secretary, was reported by the national Bernama news agency as saying.

"It is no longer about whether the additional document exists but has instead escalated to calls for the Prime Minister to resign, be suspended, or even face the death penalty. Such discussions lack decorum and respect," Shamsul ventured to add.

NOT AN IOTA OF REMORSE

Indeed, instead of remorse, as already furious supporters have angrily pointed out, camp Anwar is mad at the "lack of decorum and respect" shown to him. Bad advice, bad mentality, lack of mentality or no mentality, whatever it is Anwar and his inner circle are thinking of, their reckless thoughts or thoughtlessness have left supporters asking where on earth did they err? How could they have voted for a man, a party and a coalition as narcissistic, hollow and apparently as unprincipled as this?

"Anwar tried to be clever and straddle two boats at one time and now he's fallen into the deep blue sea and the Devil is waiting just nearby," the insider told PoliticsNow Malaysia.

"Anwar used the urban Malays and the non-Malays to get into the PM's chair and then he and his core ministers backstabbed them. Cruelly and ruthlessly and so now these guys and their families get the karma they deserve. Once you destroy your own name, your party's brand name, you'll also end up destroying your own surname as well. For example if in the future their kids stand for office, people will remember and ask themselves why should they vote for the children of a backstabber or a turncoat as the case may be. But these sort of leaders and their Little Napoleons are so vain, so foolish and shortsighted, they will just carry on out of ego without realizing that at the end of the day, they have become evil and no longer afraid of God - exactly as they used to rebuke Najib Razak, (his wife) Rosmah Mansor and (ex-premier) Mahathir Mohamad," the insider continued. 

STATE YOUR STAND, ANWAR OR LOSE IT ALL FOREVER

Too little, too late or not, the time has come for Malaysia's chameleon to stop changing colors. His countrymen now know all the hues and shades he is capable to commanding - and unfortunately for him, they like nothing of what they have seen.

Not only must Anwar now state his stand - will he use the two-years-plus remaining in his five-year tenure as PM to reform the country as he had promised his supporters? Or will he forsake and backstab them again, opting for what he may believe is the easiest and path of least effort needed to stay on in power by currying favor with the likes of Umno's Najib and Zahid Hamidi.

Anwar's bid to court the Malays has already bombed and yet he still doesn't seem to realize that their contempt for him and his Little Napoleon lieutenants including the likes of Fahmi has grown even more exponentially instead of subsiding. For decades, Malays saw with their own eyes how Anwar and his PKR party wooed the non-Malays and if once after sweeping into power, these guys could just turn around and backstab those who selflessly helped their cause for decades, it only proves they were right all these years - reptilian creatures who change color at will can never ever be trusted. As they say, no one likes a backstabber, a turncoat or a double-crosser.

NO MORE BACKSTABBERS, ONLY THE MOST CAPABLE CAN HELP PAKATAN NOW

Former banker Nazir Razak, only the most capable can save Pakatan and Malaysia

However, returning to his Pakatan roots may require more moral and intellectual strength than Anwar possesses. But in the unlikely event that he manages to dig deep enough and dredge up sufficient vestiges of credibility to piece together a decent facade for Pakatan to wear in the 16th general election, due latest by 2027, it still won't be enough.

Anwar and Pakatan will also need to announce his successor - someone to be the next PM in the remote event they are able to win enough seats to form the government again. 

"This is a must. Anwar must go and the big fight in Pakatan will be who will replace him? Rafizi Ramli, as the PKR deputy president, is next in line but sorry to say, Raf is still trapped in boy-minister mode," the insider told PoliticsNow Malaysia.

"Even so, Raf is still better than to say no viable alternative other than Anwar. That would really be to seal your own coffin. One way or other, someone even from outside the party or from another party must be found. Someone very capable, like Najib's banker brother Nazir Razak. Pakatan must strike alliances, go on a serious recruiting exercise and stop playing stupid, jealous, backfiring games," said the insider.

PAKATAN MUST NAME ANWAR'S SUCCESSOR, MALAYSIA MUST COME FIRST  

All very tall orders that Anwar is more likely to fail at than to succeed in. But the alternative for him and Pakatan is the political death penalty, albeit not the physical one alluded to by Shamsul. 

So will Anwar rein himself in or will Pakatan rein him in? Which is most important to them - the color of power, the color of self-glory, the color of Najib and Umno's illicit attractions or the color of the Malaysian people in all their diversity? 

If it's the last and toughest by far choice, then only serious leaders and not those playacting as leaders will suffice and survive. Will Anwar and Pakatan step up to the plate as they should have from day one instead of pretending to and then fleeing in the exact opposite direction due to reasons observers can only guess at - such as political cowardice, prioritizing self-interests and game plans that benefit and prosper only themselves and not the whole nation as they had promised?

Diverse is Malaysia and leading a nation as badly split as this out from a life-sucking swamp created by its own politicians is not for the faint-hearted or those with insufficient capability. Diversity is and always will be the name of the game here - from the various skin colors and cultures of its inhabitants down to their differing religious beliefs, education and economic levels. Do Anwar and Pakatan really have the tenacity and will to build an eco-system robust and spacious enough to house and sustain the dreams and hopes of all the Malaysian people? If they do, then it's time to speak up because even their staunchest supporters have forgotten what they are supposed to stand for.

Nonetheless, sometimes all it takes to move mountains are just some shreds of plain, old-fashioned human sincerity. It is sad, even crippling, that after all the decades of struggling for a better Malaysia, all that Malaysians can now pin their hopes on is still this elusive quality - trundled on and smashed into smithereens by power-crazed freight trains driven by combos including the Anwar-Fahmi-Anthony Loke runaway train to nowhere but their own fulfillment. 

Perhaps they forgot the cardinal rule that all parties before them also forgot - that it should be Malaysia first - and not Malaysia last.

Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow Malaysia

https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/