COMMENT About a year ago, a man was picked to join Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s cabinet. He was appointed a senator and was immediately sworn in as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of integrity.

Without naming him, this minister has gone on preaching circuits in major churches, hoping to win back the confidence of the embattled Christian community.

Claiming his appointment to be a divine calling, equivalent to that of the builder Nehemiah, a critic even suggested to me over lunch that there was nothing divine about the calling but a mere response to some personal ego.

To me, it is sad. Although I have written quite extensively, and even personally suggest that he should quit from the cabinet, the answer given from the pulpit appears to be nothing but “this is a divine calling”.

My question to him is: “On whose side are you now? And where does God want you to be?” The same questions I have to ask a fellow minister who said that he could throw his resignation letter at any moment, but he has yet to do it despite what is clearly seen as a breach of public trust.

Firstly, the 1MDB probe team was investigating into the case, but Najib Abdul Razak continued to be the sitting prime minister. Now, attorney-general Gani Patail ( photo ) has been suddenly removed, and Nur Jazlan Mohamed and several members of the public accounts committee (PAC) have been appointed as a minister and deputy ministers, crippling the entire investigation into the 1MDB debacle.

Fast-forward a year down the road, this same minister, whom I still consider a friend and a brother, has not been able to help his boss to turn over a new leaf. Instead, Najib’s involvement in the 1MDB debacle has earned him a reputation that even disgraced every Malaysian working or residing overseas.

A former neighbour of mine who returned to Malaysia recently said she has been reading about the 1MDB even in Perth. “What’s happening to Malaysia?” she asked. Friends of hers have also been talking about it. This is how far news has gone.

News of Zahid Hamidi replacing Muhyiddin Yassin as deputy premier has also shocked this friend, because on record, Zahid had written a letter of support to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to state that the Chinese Malaysian alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua was someone who had contributed to national security.

At the time of writing, Time Magazine has cautioned US President Barack Obama from associating himself with Najib and even British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is arriving tomorrow, is facing a domestic backlash for pushing ahead his trip to Malaysia.

Nur Jazlan’s wrong move

Now, PAC head Nur Jazlan has swung from a bipartisan position as chief of the parliamentary committee to the same side as the senator-minister mentioned above.

Nur Jazlan should realise that when he gave up the post, he has literally put on hold the investigation into the 1MDB debacle. It clearly shows how one can turn from a principled stand to seek for a position and all the privileges attached to it.

Earlier, the PAC chairperson had promised that the investigation into 1MDB should take precedence over a cabinet position. The rakyat will judge him by his own words.

Therefore, for Nur Jazlan to now say that he will raise people’s confidence in Najib is nothing but another wishful whisper in the wind. Only Najib can save his own reputation, and despite all the reprimands, advice and exhortations from within and outside of Umno, Najib has hardly listened to the people.

On the contrary, Nur Jazlan has tainted his own reputation by aligning himself to Najib within such a short time. It clearly shows what motivate most of our politicians; few are in there with the people’s interests in mind.

Now, it is only Umno members and leaders aligned to Muhyiddin themselves who can remove Najib and his entire cabinet and form a new cabinet, with the hope that they will be ready by the coming general election.  

Or else, Umno will not have much of a chance to win the coming election, especially in places where the word on the 1MDB and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has spread to.

No amount of whitewashing will do Umno any good as the people are not in the mood of seeing the country going into economic doldrums. On the ground, everyone is tightening their belts.

Even after Najib and Zahid have been ousted through a vote of no confidence in Parliament or within Umno, it will take a few years to rebuild the country’s international reputation.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.

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