COMMENT Coincidence? The week has been littered with “coincidences” in politics.

Coincidence 1

The attorney-general returned the investigation papers to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), after Sarawak Report reported that the MACC had completed the probe on the scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

It is also a coincidence that the MACC denied Sarawak Report ’s article that investigators had purportedly made 37 recommendations for action on the PM, involving SRC International.

What we’re not sure about now is whether MACC is denying that there were charges proposed against Najib, or that there were a total of 37 charges recommended.

Is the timing of the Sarawak Report article and attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali returning the investigation papers to the MACC also a coincidence, or a confirmation of what happened in the background?

Coincidence 2

Generally speaking, if there are issues heating up in the public sphere, there will be diversion tactics put in place.

Coincidentally, Kedah Umno, in a purportedly unanimous decision, diverted media attention from the AG-MACC poser, and Najib’s silence on the issue, to the future of Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir.

The Kedah leadership crisis is now the main agenda for all media.

Compare and contrast with the Terengganu Menteri Besar transition, with former Terengganu MB Ahmad Said as the architect of the diversion tactic.

It is not really that different from what Kedah Umno is doing, by using the media to make a plea on something that is actually an internal matter.

Is this really a coincidence or a diversion tactic?

Coincidence 3

The Kedah political crisis also comes days before a planned mega rally on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) this Saturday. The rally is the rakyat’s last chance to oppose the TPPA, before BN MPs who control Parliament give the government the go-ahead to sign it.

And this will happen while the PM is under investigation by the MACC and the country’s economy continues to struggle amid the slipping oil price.

This is truly a coincidence. This Kedah political crisis is killing two birds with one stone.

Coincidence 4

After announcing that the goods and services tax (GST) rates will remain , the government now announces that the Automated Enforcement System (AES) for traffic fines will be revived this March.

If the people’s money is not sucked up by the GST, it will be sucked up through AES. If this is not a coincidence, then it must be a sneaky strategy.

Whatever it may be, we hope the attorney-general will not try to play judge when deciding on the MACC’s findings on the cases involving the prime minister.

If the case goes to court, the attorney-general will be representing the government against the prime minister. But in this case, he is representing the people, not the prime minister.

Let the PM clear his name in court.

TUAN IBRAHIM TUAN MAN is deputy president of PAS. The article has been translated from its original Bahasa Malaysia.