COMMENT | There is a photo Umno president Ahamd Zahid Hamidi must regret taking.

After Anwar Ibrahim was unceremoniously sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998, he held a press conference at his house.

Behind him stood many of his supporters. As journalists scrambled to capture a few would-be historic images, a young Zahid leaned forward and stuck his head out to ensure his pensive face was captured.

Zahid may not the first person people think of when you say Reformasi, but he was one of the early movers. At that time, Zahid was a political secretary and an Umno aspirant. Records show Zahid was a close ally of Anwar.

His assumption of the Umno Youth chief post was largely made possible by Anwar, who then commanded considerable influence in the party. When Anwar was sacked, Zahid stood by the man he owed his success to.

Without a doubt, Zahid’s heart in 1998 was full of hate. Young and brash, Zahid was willing to do anything to reverse this injustice. But then, he later decided that the struggle was too much to handle.

He quietly left the cold Reformasi movement for the warm embrace of Umno. Slowly but surely, Zahid was rewarded for leaving Anwar: a ministership, and then as the number two in Najib Abdul Razak’s regime of infamy.

Political chameleon

For Zahid, politics consists of revolving doors you can move in and out of, depending on where your interests lie. The goal is to retain power at all costs.

The most useful strategy Zahid seems to have learned is to defend your boss when he is popular, and keep quiet when he isn’t.

He was shrewd. You could hardly find any recordings of Zahid commenting directly about the 1MDB issue during the height of the scandal, let alone publicly criticising it.

When he assumed the post of deputy prime minister, he knew that the only thing he had to do would be not to repeat what Muhyiddin Yassin said or did.

Zahid must have learned this from his Reformasi blunder of defending Anwar on principle. Never again would he lean forward or put his neck out for another leader.

This selective quietness had served him well – he was able to win the Umno presidency after Najib’s resignation with relative ease.

You never really know where Zahid stands on any issue; not 1MDB, not the Umno-PAS partnership. That’s because he seems to be a man who does not make decisions based on principle, but on interest.

The many faces

Another page of the rulebook on power that Zahid appears to have worn out is to wear many faces.

When it’s Chinese New Year, Zahid assumes the guise of a multiracial leader in visiting his Chinese godmother in Hutan Melintang.

He proudly proclaims himself a leader of all Malaysians, including and especially the Chinese. How could I be a racist with my Chinese heritage, he always asks.

Soon after, you will see him making remarks that intentionally and unnecessarily stir up racial strife, with an undertone of violence.

This is amped up closer to elections, such as when he derogatorily referred to Mahathir’s Indian ancestry by calling him “Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty.”

Because it is always about interests, not principle.

Remembering history

I am remembering history because that is what Zahid’s wife, Hamidah Khamis (photo, above), wants us young people – or “kids,” as she puts it – to do.

Speaking at a solidarity rally for her husband, Hamidah urged young people to know history and to remember that it was Umno members who were the true fighters of the land.

His daughter, Nurulhidayah (photo), even equated Zahid’s current legal predicament to Reformasi. To her, both struggles need champions.

Now I am practising what Zahid’s family is preaching. And yet, I cannot escape the conclusion that the Umno chief is little more than a political chameleon who changes colours according to his interests.

He was a chief beneficiary of the most corrupt government in the history of the country, and he never stood on a side of principle if the struggle was too much to bear.

And to a member of a minority like me, Zahid was also never sincere in advocating for a country where everyone belongs. Many Chinese think of him as threatening and dangerous.

Reciting legal procedure

If my recitation of history is flawed, then maybe my narration of legal procedure might be better.

So far, there has been no claim of illegal treatment of Zahid prior to the point of arrest. Neither was there any complaint of coercion, maltreatment or oppression applied against him in the six times he was questioned by the MACC.

In court, Zahid was given ample security befitting his status. He had his 45 charges – covering money-laundering, criminal breach of trust and receiving gratification – explained to him.

Then, he was given the opportunity to claim trial to all these charges and finally, given bail by the court to walk freely, with little restrictions.

Now it is up to the prosecution to prove its case against him beyond reasonable doubt. That means as long as there is an iota of evidence that could likely poke a hole in the prosecution’s case, then Zahid will be found not guilty.

Thus, it cannot be said that Zahid isn’t protected by the highest legal standard of the land. All this sounds very fair to me.

Maybe Nurulhidayah is being cautious in that she worries that her father’s trial could be politically motivated. All of us should appreciate this caution, and we ought to watch this trial closely, like we did in the Anwar’s trials in the past.

But ‘reformasi’ is not just a slogan you shout when you realise the cards of retribution are stacked against you. Reformasi is also not a movement built around an architect of a wrong system, instead of a victim wronged by the system. It certainly isn’t something you shout after you realise you have no place else to go.

If Zahid really wanted fairness and justice, he should’ve joined stuck with Reformasi all those years ago.

JAMES CHAI works at a law firm. His voyage in life is made less lonely with a family of deep love, friends of good humour and teachers of selfless giving. This affirms his conviction in the common good of people: the better angels of our nature. He tweets at @JamesJSChai.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.