COMMENT Last Friday, the nation witnessed the true power of the 1Malaysia clarion call.

Crafted to blur racial lines, it had surpassed that objective, and even brought together sworn adversaries, who had no qualms being seated at the same table.

Unfortunately for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the chief architect of the slogan (or rather the work of some PR firm), these individuals who saw it fit to entomb their hatchets, did so with the intention of wanting to witness his head roll.

The inking of the Citizens’ Declaration was an episode in the protracted political soap opera which none could have predicted nor dared imagine.

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Lim Kit Siang found a common ground, endorsed by Anwar Ibrahim.

To make things a tad more bizarre, Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali was also spotted in the hall, sweltering in the heat due to the poor air conditioning together with DAP leaders.

Prior to this, Ibrahim had on numerous occasions indicated that the 1Malaysia sky is not big enough for both Lim and him.

The opposition and NGO leaders who lent their support for the initiative also appear hard-pressed in convincing their supporters.

One such leader, during a chat, put forth a World War Two analogy, where some alliances were forged for the greater good.

According to this person, it is similar to the Allies working with Stalin to defeat Hitler, who was regarded as the greater evil.

But to many, it is Mahathir who best fits the comparison with Hitler, not to mention his infamous anti-Semitic remarks.

There are also those who believe the current prime minister is a juvenile compared to his former mentor now turned arch opponent, who continues to remain unrepentant.

Despite the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case looming over his head then, Najib took over the leadership reins with the intention of making significant changes, albeit driven by a genuine desire to institute reforms or to beat the opposition at its own game.

He freed the five Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act, a law which he later abolished.

He even apologised to Malaysians for the ruling coalition’s mistakes in the past, which cost BN its two-thirds majority in the 2008 general election.

He also strove to mend racial and religious ties.

Change of direction

During this period, Mahathir lamented how Najib was pandering to the Chinese and Indians, and argued that it had forced groups like Perkasa to take up Umno’s struggle for the Malays.

The former premier also said he saw no harm in the call to torch copies of the Malay-language Bible during the peak of the legal conflict over the usage of the term Allah.

Mahathir had also equated the granting of citizenship to foreigners in Sabah to Tunku Abdul Rahman doing the same for the Chinese and Indians after independence.

“One should also look back and remember that Tunku was worse than me, he gave one million citizenships to people who are not qualified and were not even tested.

“Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong?” he was reported as saying.

Back then, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, who was seated next to Mahathir during the signing of the declaration, lambasted the former premier for being “despicable and cowardly”.

So what made Najib change direction?

The first was the 13th general election result, where he had fared worse than his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

This left him bitter with disappointment that all his efforts had failed to entice the voters, especially the Chinese ballots.

Then The Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report dropped a bombshell, forcing him to retreat further into the corner and take a page out of Mahathir’s handbook.

But it is difficult to digest when Mahathir accuses another of causing destruction to the nation, abusing his powers and indulging in corruption.

For decades, it had been alleged that one would require a degree in the field of Mathematics to add up the zeroes if granted access to the former premier’s bank accounts.

As for the damage done to key institutions during his tenure, there is an abundance of literature on this.

At present, the situation in Malaysia is as ironic as the words of the American comedian Steven Wright, who remarked: “I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.”