It’s not just pitiful but outright spitiful the way Malaysians are being taken for yet another ride with this so-called Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota).

The Umno/BN regime has propped-up its criminal misrule of Malaysia for decades with state-sponsored terror, historically by means of the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Sedition Act and of course alleged suspicious killings of ‘suspects’ by its law enforcers and the so-called anti-corruption commission.

And now this gang of crooks has replaced the ISA with the equally pernicious and unconstitutional Pota on the pretence of protecting Malaysians against ‘threats’ by the Islamic State.

But some of us haven’t forgotten that as recently as last year Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was said to have urged Umno members to “emulate the bravery of Isil if the party is to survive.”

And this was on top of his notorious declaration to the 2010 Umno general assembly that “even if our bodies are crushed and our lives lost, brothers and sisters, whatever happens we must defend Putrajaya”.

Yet this spitiful apology for a prime minister was just this week not only presiding over the passing of Pota and a more severe Sedition Act, but also spouting such hyper-hypocritical nonsense as “Malaysian graduates must be taught good moral values so they do not become villains who will destroy the nation.”

“If they are clever but don’t possess morals,” Malaysiakini quoted him as continuing, they can use their intelligence to destroy this country.”

“The most extreme example is someone highly educated using their knowledge to build bombs ,” he raved on, clearly overlooking in his love of the sound of his own lies that the word “bombs” would remind most of us of his own reign of error and terror.

For example, the C4 bombing of Altantuya Shaariibuu and her unborn baby by her two murderers, members of Najib’s own bodyguard; the “debt bomb” to which Malaysia is exposed by Najib’s financial baby 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB); and the fact that he has cost the nation an absolute bomb in special VIP aircraft and jet-set living, not to mention billions more in Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) handouts and other electoral bribes.

Precisely the same explosive issues, in fact, that former Malaysian premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been employing in his latest attempt to blow Najib out of office.

But Najib apparently believes he can survive Mahathir’s blasts, having broken his initial days-long deathly hush to declare that the ‘silent majority’ will continue to support the country’s leadership “despite some extremists’ attempt to split the unity among Malaysians.”

“Only some quarters like the extremists tried to sensationalise small issues and divide us apart,” he added, though where he thinks he gets off describing such crimes as murder and the blatant misuse and bare-faced theft of billions of ringgit in public money as ‘small issues’ I can’t imagine.

Avoiding mention of criticisms

Nor can I imagine that his even more recent appearance in an allegedly “live” but clearly pre-recorded television “interview” has done much to convince his precious “silent majority” that he should survive as prime minister.

In a carefully if far from cleverly-scripted question-and-answer session on one of his tame TV channels, Najib ( left in photo ) was at pains to avoid any mention of most of Mahathir’s criticisms, but did take the opportunity to repeat his claim that he is entirely innocent of any involvement in the murder of Altantuya, as evidenced by the fact that he long ago swore on the Quran that he had never met the woman.

This oath may well have been absolutely true, of course, but if so cynical Najib-watchers like myself could be forgiven for observing that this would be the only case of his not lying through his teeth that has ever been publicly recorded.

In fact Najib has shown himself to be such a habitual, indeed pathological liar that his credibility among all but total morons and those who rely on him for a steady supply of corrupt money is pretty close to absolute zero.

Especially in light of the goods and services tax (GST) he has instituted to rob the rakyat even more blind than ever for the purpose of replenishing Malaysia’s pathetically waste- and theft-depleted public wealth so he and his accomplices will have ample funds for more robbery and bribery in the future.

As anybody with a grain of good sense could have foretold, the GST is not only an absolute shambles organisationally, but is being shamelessly misused by every opportunist from the smallest stall-holders and shopkeepers to the largest telecommunications companies to royally rip their customers off.

Which is great by me, as lots of the dummies who are customarily content to betray their principles by keeping quiet and thus composing Najib’s allegedly supportive silent majority might be moved to cry out against direct impacts on their pockets.

But let’s not hold our breaths for any meaningful public outrage or uprising against Najib and his gang of crooks. And let’s not get our hopes up to high that the elected federal opposition parties will do much better.

Pakatan’s turnout was an absolute disgrace

The turnout by the Pakatan Rakyat parties for the admittedly very late vote on the Pota legislation was an absolute disgrace, as has been their refusal, at least so far, to name their members who were absent.

Many observers have hinted that most of the absentees might have been from PAS, and thus far more concerned with their accursed mission to implement hudud than with issues in the national interest.

If so, and in any case, it’s high time that PKR, the DAP and PSM performed a hudud-style punishment of their own, and amputated PAS from Pakatan Rakyat once and for all.

Then those PAS members and supporters who have been helping the regime survive will be forced to choose between openly joining Umno/BN or throwing their support behind one of the saner, more sensible and above all less sectarian opposition parties.

Meanwhile, let’s hope that Mahathir is madder than ever to be rid of Najib for the purpose of moving the mediocre Mukhriz higher up the sordid Umno organisation, and that more formerly silent Malaysians than ever are spitting chips about the GST, the VIP jets, the 1MDB scam, the Altantuya Shaariibuu, Teoh Beng Hock and countless other killings, if not about people-terrorising legislation like the new Sedition Act and Pota.

DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he coaches and mentors writers and authors and practises as a writing therapist. Published books of his columns for Malaysiakini include ‘Mad about Malaysia', ‘Even Madder about Malaysia', ‘Missing Malaysia', ‘1Malaysia.con’ and ‘Malaysia Mania’.