Year of the Snake - more 'betrayals' from Anwar regime seen, with Najib's release & Sabah polls topping the list

Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia 

KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - The Chinese New Year of the Snake promises to be another year of stunning betrayal for Malaysian voters.

The much-expected release of jailed, corrupt ex-premier Najib Razak is likely to top the 2025 list of political controversies, say watchers of Malaysia's political scene. 

Their mostly negative expectations also include major fallout events - economic and social - resulting from embattled Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's perceived failure to keep election promises to govern well. Or at least not up to the standards of diligence, honesty and transparency that voters had hoped from him and his Pakatan Harapan coalition that includes his own PKR party and cornerstone ally DAP.

"He is not even hard working," a veteran political watcher critical of his government told PoliticsNow Malaysia, predicting that Anwar will continue to roam the world on expensive overseas working trips, while leaving the country and government on 'auto-pilot', without the decisive hand of a captain steering the wheel.

WIND OF CHANGE BUT FOR HOW LONG WILL IT BLOW?

However, other Pakatan supporters believe a wind of change might finally blow in this year, pointing to the Sabah and Sarawak state elections which are set to be held before the end of 2025. Some even predict Anwar might dissolve the federal Parliament in 2026 to pave for general elections - even more reason to expect a slew of populist measures to come as his administration strives to offset the bitter taste of disappointment felt throughout most of the country.

Already, the Home Ministry has reduced eligibility period for foreign spouses to apply for permanent residency to three years from five years previously. More importantly, it is also eliminating a dreaded Points System, which many have accused corrupt immigration officers of hiding behind to arbitrarily reject applications, even if these meet the stated criteria. Finally, new applications will have a processing period of six months compared to the previous murky practice where applications could hang for months or even years before any outcome was given.

"This is the rare ray of sunshine but let's see if team Anwar has the will and courage to really carry it out because the racism-tinged politics of the opposition parties like Bersatu and Pas will put pressure on them to delay or even chicken out," an analyst told PoliticsNow Malaysia.

"Yet this is an issue of basic transparency. For too long, immigration authorities have held too much discretion and in the name of corruption although they will use national security as their excuse. Cleaning up will benefit not only Non-Malays but also Malays so long as they have foreign spouses. Hopefully, the revamp will also extend foreign-born step-children or adopted children who are still minors and need to be with their parents. They have suffered for generations at the hands of the  unscrupulous and twisted policies of the previous corrupt governments."

HARDCORE POLITICIANS OR REAL REFORMERS?

All eyes are also the much-feared reduction of the petrol subsidy, slated to be finalized by the middle of this year. Will it be deferred, given the hardship it will surely bring to ordinary Malaysians who are already struggling to make ends meet as rising prices and inflation take a toll on their wallets?

What about education quotas and employment opportunities for non-Malays - the long-standing sore points many experts and economists have blamed as being at the root of the country's dismal economy, now lagging far behind the pace of neighbors in Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand. Will these be eased and evened out as the Anwar administration seeks their votes?

"These should be phased out not for votes but simply because they are what is needed for long-term structural reform of the country's economy," said the economist. 

"But I wouldn't hold my breath because Anwar and Pakatan have shown themselves to be hardcore politicians and not reformists as they promised. So they will try to give only the very minimum they think they can get away with, rather than reform the real rot. Just like with (ex-premier) Mahathir Mohamad, team Anwar will close an eye to things like brain drain. They will continue to inflate the civil service rather than trim the fat. We can only hope they will be better than this."     

As for politics, Anwar and his inner circle are expected to continue to rely on backroom deals to consolidate their hold on power - despite the enormous backlash from voters who have railed at their "bankrupt of capital" politics. 

Indeed, rather than staying the course with the people who voted them in or sweating it out side by side with their countrymen to effect the tough but reforms needed to stop the country's rot, Anwar and his Little Napoleons appear to have opted for a 'quick-fix'.

NAJIB & HAJIJI

In 2025, the most watched-out-for political event will be Najib's much-anticipated release from prison  - whether in the form of a full royal pardon or home arrest. It is seen as inextricable part of a speculated deal Anwar struck in secret with Najib and Umno president Zahid Hamidi allegedly in exchange for their support to become PM in the aftermath of the 2022 general election that failed to yield a clear winner.

The despicable tactic of using anti-graft agency MACC to poke out political rivals is set to continue, if not intensify, say insiders. In 2024, the shady strategy of getting the MACC to announce in the media corruption probes against political rivals and then hyping up the news for weeks before letting it drop from the radar and doing nothing more was frequently used.

As such, leaders from the PN opposition bloc especially from the Bersatu and Pas parties, can expect to face attacks. Yet despite Anwar and the MACC's 'holier-than-thou' attitude, Sabah's GRS coalition can expect to escape scrutiny despite video footage of a group of chief minister Hajiji Noor's assemblymen discussing the distribution of bribes.

Sarawak's GPS coalition led by its premier Abang Jo is also expected to breeze through - with almost all its demands agreed to by the Anwar administration.

"Sarawak is the kingmaker. Anwar won't dare say no to Abang Jo. He also needs GRS to be strong and win the Sabah election because Pakatan is a de-facto member of GRS. But whether Hajiji can do it with the bribery scandal hanging over his head is another matter," the analyst explained.

THE PEOPLE WON'T BE SILENCED ANYMORE?

Protests in the form of public demonstrations and rallies against Anwar's perceived misrule are expected to increase. The threats and ham-fisted actions of Anwar's communications minister Fahmi Fadzil, which initially succeeded in cowing and scaring the people into silence, no longer seem to work. Instead, the ill-advised strategy has backfired. 

From 'the people against corruption' street protest to the farmers march to Putrajaya, the federal government's seat of power, to demand better prices for their rice harvests, the dissatisfaction level seems to burst past a key tolerance point. 

"It is a real wake-up call for Anwar and Fahmi. The people are not happy with Anwar government's performance and they are angry with Pakatan," said the analyst.  

"So when things that go against the grain of natural justice like the sudden withdrawal of corruption charges against Zahid and the big hoo-ha over Najib's home arrest, the people see red. To the people, it's like what the heck are you guys doing. We elected you to govern the country in the way you had promised. But one is busy playing political dramas and the other acts like he's a God-wannabe with our freedom of speech. A government be matured enough to understand that people complain and speak out the most when they are suffering the most. If Anwar and Pakatan ignores, it's at their own peril."

Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia

https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/