Umno's Nazri ordered home to bark for Anwar - to replace Fahmi, give Zafrul a 'home' in the US until GE16?
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - The swift return home of Umno's Nazri Aziz after completing only two years of a three-year term as Malaysia's envoy to the US and the way that he lost no time to immediately fire out red-hot salvos to announce that he's back has raised eyebrows in the local political scene.
Nazri's return may have also sent shivers down the backs of Fahmi Fadzil, the hugely unpopular and underperforming Communications Minister, as well as Tengku Zafrul, who is aspiring to become the Selangor chief minister when his term as Senator ends in December and he has to give up his current portfolio as International Trade minister.
According to political watchers, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim who heads the PKR party, and Deputy Prime Minister, who is the president of Umno, could have extended Nazri's tenure in the US - but that they didn't signals that they have other plans for him.
"The talk is that Nazri will take over the Senatorship left available when Zafrul's expires in December and be made a minister replacing Fahmi, who has been responsible for the major part of the massive plunge in Anwar's popularity and the irreversible dent in Pakatan's credibility," an observer told PoliticsNow Malaysia, referring to the Pakatan Harapan coalition Anwar leads that comprises his own PKR party, the DAP, Amanah and Upko.
"But Fahmi is the weakest link in the equation, he is totally expendable and nobody wants him hanging around tainting them with his bad record. So what happens to Fahmi will depend on the decisions made by the other players like Amirudin and Zafrul."
ENTERS NAZRI AS ZAFRUL BOWS OUT OF SENATE
Indeed, there has been long-standing anticipation that Amirudin Shari, the Selangor chief minister and a senior leader in Anwar's PKR party, would be asked to do a 'swap' with Zafrul, who has already announced wishes to quit Umno and join PKR.
Such an exchange would necessitate Amirudin's resignation as well as calling for a by-election in his Sungai Tua state constituency so that Zafrul could contest in it and have a shot at succeeding him as the next Selangor chief minister. Amirduin would then take over Zafrul's post in the federal Cabinet.
However, Amirudin has proved to be rather resilient to the pressure Anwar has been accused of piling on him to quit. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking down on Zafrul, who has to quit his federal minister's post when his Senatorship expires. But what is Amirudin refuses to step down?
"That's when Nazri enters the scene. He is a very seasoned player, acceptable to the powerful Zahid and Najib factions in Umno, and this is critical because Zafrul's Senatorship is nominated by Umno. Nazri is also close to Anwar and acceptable to the non-Malays-dominated DAP. That's saying a lot because you have to be a very experienced and skilled player to get on with all sides," an analyst told PoliticsNow Malaysia.
"As for the public in general, they know him well, all his 'angin' (moody) ways, his unbridled outbursts but they can still accept him because there is always some grain of truth in be it in his criticism against the non-Malays or against his own Malay community."
HARD FOR NAZRI TO PLAY AN EFFECTIVE ROLE WITHOUT AN OFFICIAL POST
Whether Nazri will be slotted into the International Trade ministry or replace Fahmi as the new Communications minister will depend on Anwar. But according to analysts, Nazri's talents will be wasted in the International Trade ministry, a cushy and comfortable portfolio but removed from the main political spotlight.
An aggressive politician, the 70-year-old Nazri has been 'Mad Dog' to his face for many of his most extreme opinions and political statements. However, he can connect to both non-Malays and Malays alike. They are familiar with his sledgehammer style and while his outspoken ways often cross the line, they also appreciate that he is no political coward and does not hide behind hypocrisy or the agencies that fall under his ministry to cover himself.
A minister in the federal Cabinet since 2004, Nazri was once labelled as ex-premier Abdullah Badawi's "hatchet man" by defending Badawi against the political onslaughts launched by another ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad, who wanted to replace Badawi with either Najib Razak or Muhyiddin Yassin. When Najib became prime minister, he reappointed Nazri as his legal minister in the PM's Office and few can deny Nazri excelled during that time defending Najib's inclusive 1Malaysia policy against the criticisms from 'Malay first' Muhyiddin as well as from Anwar's Pakatan coalition which had its own multiracial 'Malaysian Malaysia' platform.
Nonetheless, Nazri is by no means free from scandal. He has been accused of corruption, extra-marital affairs, sex scandals and even nepotism when he included his troubled son Nedim in a ministerial assignment when he was Tourism minister. Nazri also famously once lambasted Mahathir as a "bloody racist".
ENDING FAHMI'S 'REIGN OF TERROR'?
There are some who believe Anwar might even appoint Nazri the new Home Minister to take over from Saifuddin Nasution, who is a Senator like Zafrul and whose term also ends in December. But as Saifuddin hails from Anwar's PKR party, such a move to surrender a ministry as powerful as the Home Ministry would only compound the growing perception of Anwar's weak leadership and that his unity government is actually run by Umno, a party that has only 30 seats in Malaysia's 222-seat Parliament compared to his Pakatan coalition's 82 seats.
"Communications is the best place for Nazri to serve Anwar. He has already said it - that he's not out for a seat in the next general election but is willing to serve the reigning PM and do his best to make sure the current administration gets re-elected," said the analyst.
"As a Malay, Nazri can scold Malay radicals within his own Umno party like Akmal Saleh, or from Pas party or Muhyiddin's Bersatu whereas if Anwar and Pakatan did it, they would be accused of being pro-Chinese and anti-Malay. At the moment, the non-Malays who are Anwar and Pakatan's core supporters are feeling marginalised because Anwar has failed to make good on election promises of reforming Malaysia."
"Most of all, Anwar and Pakatan need to undo the damage done by Fahmi because Fahmi crossed the most crucial redline. He actually went after freedom of speech and used hocus-pocus such as the 3Rs (royalty, race and religion) as an excuse to block websites, harass, prosecute and even jail those who criticized or mocked Anwar. He was the stereotypical political pipsqueak who tried to play hardballbut didn't know how to flex his muscles. Now mostly because of him, etched deeply in the minds of Pakatan supporters is the image of a 'traitor party' - one that not only didn't keep election promises but actually went in the very opposite direction."
"It's very clear Fahmi has to go if Anwar and Pakatan is to regain public trust. If he's lucky, Anwar might switch him into Zafrul's International Trade ministry. It'll only be for two years or so as the next general election must be held by February 2028, so he can't do much damage and after that, God only knows if he can win any seat at all. Who will want to vote for him after such a 'reign of terror'?"
ZAFRUL THE NEW US ENVOY UNTIL GE16? TRIGGERING SELANGOR BY-ELECTION TOO RISKY FOR ANWAR NOW?
As for Zafrul, political pundits say he may have no choice but to accept Nazri's envoy position in the US. Why not as the post will allow him to rub shoulders with the most powerful in the world as well as attend high-society dinners and high-profile diplomatic events.
Come the next general election, Zafrul is expected to return and contest in Amirudin's state seat and be given the chief minister's post if he wins. However, the ambitious but politically-fickle Zafrul may change his mind by then and opt for another attempt at a federal seat - with an eye on the DPM or PM post even!
"It makes sense for Zafrul to switch with Amirudin if that can be done now but for Anwar to engineer a by-election might trigger more backlash than is worthwhile for Pakatan. So most likely Anwar will be forced to can that plan and make Zafrul wait," said the analyst.
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
Comments