COMMENT In my opinion, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is accelerating the demise of Barisan Nasional by jailing opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

No offence intended, but this is how the analysis goes. There is one very good reason for this, if you follow my analysis, we have to track the political developments in Umno back to the 80s when Malaysia saw the rise of one ‘troublemaker’, whom Tunku Abdul Rahman had literally warned Umno against.

I have to sound like an old record - That man is none other than former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir was the thorn in the flesh during the late Tunku’s era. When Mahathir became prime minister in 1981, he literally changed the socio-political and economic landscape of the country.

He allegedly dismantled the judiciary, banned the Indonesian Bibles used by the Christian community, meddled in the education system which we were once proud of, and removed the privileges from even the royalty. All these facts are already in the public domain. I am merely regurgitating them.

Ironically, Perkasa ,which claims to defend the royalty, has made Dr Mahathir their patron. Perhaps they can explain to the nation why and see how the royal families can now enjoy those privileges once again!

Trigger points, please understand!

While allegedly enriching his own cronies, Dr Mahathir had forgotten the 95 percent of the country’s population. This is why, despite working so hard, many of us are still trapped in the middle income group, while those with fewer or no opportunities continue to live below the poverty line.

We are earning salaries that are perhaps one-third of what our counterparts in Singapore are earning, while having to pay huge mortgages, tolls, and utility bills, no thanks to his privatisation grand plans. I wonder after the assets were disposed off, where has the money gone? Was it invested or merely spent away?

For most of us, after realising that we were getting nowhere in life, there came a time when we finally woke up from our slumber and here we are - in Najib Abdul Razak’s era! Come April 1, with the blessings of the goods and services Tax (GST), more people will be awakened for sure!

Although Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib are merely inheriting the legacy left behind by the Malaysian maverick - literally, reaping what Dr Mahathir had sown in his 22 years of dictatorial rule - Najib is now seen going down the same path, but at an accelerated pace.

In Najib, people are already saying that there are double standards. He claims to be moderate, but he is starting to use the iron fist, once used by Dr Mahathir.

According to the late Barry Wain in his book, ‘The Malaysian Maverick’, Dr Mahathir had allegedly burned billions of public funds in failed projects. Now, we are wondering what is happening to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

We saw in Mahathir the cruelty of a man against a fellow Muslim brother. When Anwar Ibrahim wanted to challenge Mahathir, he was sacked. We still remember what happened the night when Anwar was arrested, and later, when he was in prison, he suffered a blue-black eye. Now, we see Najib’s regime taking seven years to just throw the same man into prison over some allegations that top legal eagles (both local and international) are disputing.

Growing up, we used to see how Mahathir’s sons allegedly became super rich (or maybe they were not), but now, we see the prime minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, allegedly spending lavishly on shopping sprees.

Previously, over the diamond ring controversy, we said “fair enough” Rosmah might have saved her money from young; but, of late, we learn that Najib had received an inheritance from his frugal father. Of course, I am jealous. Don’t blame me, it’s just natural to feel that way. After all, who wouldn’t?

The contrast

On the other hand, we see in Anwar the epitome of every Malaysian’s aspirations for the country and what they have longed to see changed since Mahathir’s era.

Like it or not, Anwar stands for justice that people long to  see being restored to this nation. He strikes a chord on the people’s heart strings for want of a country, where every Malaysian, regardless of race, religion or creed can work together to develop the nation.

Although at one point in time in his political career, Anwar had softened, and said that he was prepared to forgive his nemesis, Dr Mahathir, and offered the olive branch to Najib’s administration after winning the popularity vote in the last general election, Najib failed to reciprocate.

This is what makes many of us feel heart broken, when the opposition leader was sentenced to five years’ jail over the testimony of one young man, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. As Bar Council president, Christopher Leong rightly pointed out , why wasn’t Saiful also charged?

Mahathir spared, But Najib’s headaches grow

One reason why Najib and BN will face more challenges ahead, especially during the coming general election, is because people are perceiving that Najib is going down Mahathir’s path.

The forces which were at work in the 1999 general election against Dr Mahathir are now coming together once again, except that it is much greater than before. This is partly because the Chinese, the Indians and the East Malaysian bumiputra who were once supporting Mahathir during the 1999 Anwar crisis no longer have any affections for the BN coalition, after being used as punching bags.

Come the next general election, there can only be a greater vote swing towards Pakatan, no? If you do not believe me, call a snap poll, right now!

(Pardon me, Datuk Seri, but let’s look at what you have just stepped into, as a result of pursuing the Sodomy II case. It is only my analysis, so, don’t panic! After all, you need people like us to help you with the analysis.)

Instead of one Anwar, Najib will be facing seven younger and tougher Anwars. Like one pundit said, never underestimate the united forces and the power of six wonder women, especially when they are both angry and saddened by the incarceration of their father.

We believe that Anwar’s son will also toughen himself this time when his father is being once again being incarcerated. As in any Chinese movie, when the martial art master is being killed in the hands of a powerful warlord, the son usually returns with even greater skills to defeat the enemy.

Judging from the number of speeches, politicians from both PAS and DAP are now solidly behind Anwar. Dr Hatta Ramli, in his speech to fellow PAS members, said that they must continue to fight injustice and free Anwar. The DAP, which has all this while been the backbone to Pakatan, has also vowed to support Anwar all the way.

A number of prominent people including Ambiga Sreenevasan, Christopher Leong, and even former US ambassador John Malott ( right ) have been willing to stick their neck out to speak out for Anwar.

One thing that Dr Mahathir did not have to face, but Najib now has to duck, is the number of demonstrations that he had had to evade every time he goes overseas.

During Dr Mahathir’s time, not many people knew that the polls were rigged. Now, it’s public knowledge that the Elections Commission failed to implement something as simple as the indelible ink during the last general election. Even Maria Chin, chairperson of the Bersih 2.0 steering committee, had expressed her disappointment with the court judgment.

The churches in both East and Peninsular Malaysia may choose to remain neutral or seen supporting any political person, but everyone knows during that the ‘Allah’ controversy, who was telling them that it is acceptable by international Muslim standards that the name ‘Allah’ can be used by non-Muslims. Who do you think they would sympathise with, now that Anwar is in prison?

Face it, public anger is what Najib would have to grapple with now, which Mahathir never had to. I would not envy Najib’s position, given the situation that we are now finding ourselves in. He has to deal with it with utmost care, and not further aggravate the situation.

More vantage points

Najib’s disadvantage is that the people’s sentiments are with Anwar and his children. Mahathir had to deal with only one man, but Najib has seven younger people to give him more headaches. That one press conference is enough to touch off the whole nation.

Even I could not hold back my tears as I was watching the video clip on KiniTV . I was touched as I listened to the daughters of Anwar, when they spoke during the press conference on March 2 Freedom.

It has always amused me why would any government spend so much of its resources and over seven years trying to prosecute the opposition leader that they know would give him even more vantage points when he is thrown into prison.

With the incarceration of Anwar, the politicians who have been with Anwar are now on overdrive mode. You can jail them one by one, but history should have taught any politician today that an imprisoned Anwar would almost immediately place him on par with other freedom fighters - Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.

And, if Anwar died in prison (hypothetically speaking), Anwar would be perceived as a martyr like Martin Luther King.

In essence, the impact of an incarcerated Anwar is far greater than a free Anwar. What happened to Anwar on Feb 10 will not change the direction that Pakatan is taking, but will merely set it in motion on a higher gear.

Yesterday: It’s elementary, my dear PMO!

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