Countless messages and notes have been flooding Malaysian cyberspace after the release of the damning US Department of Justice (DOJ) report alleging a litany of crimes committed by individuals led by the not-so-mysterious Malaysian Official 1.

One such WhatsApp message that I (and probably many of you) recently received claims that an infamous emissary is being despatched to the US of A.

His task?

To offer an insane amount of money for the campaign of one of the US presidential candidates. In exchange, that is, for the non-prosecution of Malaysian Official 1 and possibly his cronies.

On reflection, this may sound rather far-fetched and insanely desperate, even for this regime. Indeed, one pro-Umno portal, MyKMU.net, has rubbished this allegation.

But given how shameless this regime has become, who is to say, really?

The WhatsApp message ends with a plea that it be circulated so that more people would be alerted, possibly leading to the thwarting of such a dastardly act.

But, as others have pointed out, an act of such a nature carries untold risks, especially for the US presidential candidate.

They say that, unlike the pathetic Malaysian mainstream media and our other tainted institutions, there is still some semblance of freedom and autonomy within American society and its institutions.

Any suggestion, for example, that the US attorney-general (AG), Loretta Lynch, is anywhere similar to our own AG, has been laughed at by many.

AG Lynch, nominated by President Barack Obama, was confirmed by the US Senate.

No such confirmation is needed in Malaysia, where the AG is appointed by the Agong based on the advice of the PM.

There are, of course, more substantial differences between Lynch and her Malaysian counterpart, but, by now, I am sure about everyone who can read critically and understand, is aware of that.

Be that as it may, the point is that many agree that the American justice system - which the Department of Justice is part of - is a tad more independent and autonomous than most others, including ours.

Hence, the idea of someone, a non-American at that, trying to interfere with such a justice system, trying to buy judgments, seems so atrocious, especially in a case with a series of suits that have by now gained so much international prominence and notoriety.

Were the media - American and international - to get even a whiff of something like this happening, gone would be the presidential hopes of the candidate.

US$500 million - the amount that this emissary is alleged to be offering the American presidential candidate - may be a lot, but surely not enough to risk life-long shame and possible incarceration for interfering with justice?

And there are also the risks for the people alleged to be involved on this side, especially Malaysian Official 1, if implicated.

However, as we have seen, these people may be terribly sly, but certainly, given the ongoing excuses and counter-arguments that they offer, could just be dumb and desperate enough to attempt such a caper.

More delusional that we suspected

If so, then they really are more delusional than we have so far suspected.

It is one thing to voice a moronic idea in Malaysia and in our servile mainstream media in support of your keeper; it’s quite another to try to sell that idea to a different, non-Malaysian crowd, particularly an American crowd and media that comparatively are politically freer, more varied and critical.

After all, it’s the American newspaper, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that’s been publishing one expose after another surrounding 1MDB and money-laundering allegedly sanctioned by Malaysian Official 1.

Hence, we can imagine their journalists being on their toes, waiting to pounce on the very same people who for months (or is it years?) have been telling the folks in Malaysian kampungs that they will sue this foreign newspaper, yet have done nothing.

And we can imagine the FBI as well, particularly the many who have been on this money laundering case, itching to lay their hands on the perpetrators of these crimes and actually doing so if this emissary (and possibly others) were to attempt to `buy up’ the US justice system.

This is not to say that the American system is flawless, which it is not.

It is simply to say that with the limelight being on Malaysian Official 1 and his lackeys, it would be best for any emissary, no matter how slimy, to sit this one out.

Indeed, perhaps it would be best to leave it to new friends in PAS to sembahyang hajat for Malaysian Official 1 just as earnestly as they plan to sembahyang hajat to save us from the alleged sexiness of Selena Gomez.

ROM NAIN is a media analyst and academic who is weary of incompetent, unethical leaders and their apologists and spin doctors in the media who try to get away with murder while professing to rub shoulders with God’s angels.