COMMENT | Malaysians must be asking today whether they can accomplish next Wednesday on May 9 what was intended five years ago today on May 5 -  to achieve a “three in one” to change the prime minister, the Malaysian government, and national policies which allowed Malaysia to become and remain a global kleptocracy.

When I was at the Sibu market walkabout this morning, a supporter approached me and asked whether it is true that Najib Abdul Razak had resigned as prime minister so that Pakatan Harapan would not have a target to focus their attacks on.

I told them this will not happen as Najib had studiously prepared the last five years to make sure that whatever happens, he cannot be dislodged as Umno president and prime minister of Malaysia - and this is where the 1MDB scandal played a strategic role in Najib’s re-election plans, for 1MDB was to ensure that he would have an uninterrupted flow of money, what Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad had described as “dedak”, to sweeten his path to re-election as prime minister of Malaysia.

But “Man proposes, God disposes”, and the 1MDB caper did not work out smoothly as planned, as although 1MDB managed to raise RM50 billion through debts, the 1MDB “masterminds”, particular businessperson Jho Low, was unable to prevent the kleptocratic aspects of the 1MDB scandal from becoming public in the world.

This is even though the 1MDB scandal was studiously blacked out inside Malaysia and has now even been equated as “fake news” which is criminally punishable under the Anti-Fake News Act with draconian penalties of RM500,000, six years’ jail or both.

Looking back, it is now obvious that Najib had set up a decoy to ensure that the 1MDB scandal would not be a major issue of the 14th general election (GE14) by getting  the 1MDB chief executive officer, Arul Kanda Kandasamy to embark on a daily nationwide roadshow purportedly to give a full accounting of the world’s “kleptocracy at its worst” and in the process, to remove all the stings from the 1MDB scandal.

But Arul Kanda’s roadshow was a great failure, for the 1MDB CEO had lost all credibility and nobody, except the Umno/BN rent-a-crowd audience, was going to be “Arul Kanda-ied” by his lies and fairy tales about the 1MDB scandal.

With or without Arul Kanda, whether the issue is shouted from the rooftops or questioned by Malaysians in the silence of their consciences, the 1MDB “kleptocracy at its worst” scandal remains one of the leading issues of GE14, even when it had been banished from the official media after the enactment of the Anti-Fake News Act.

Najib has a vested interest to win big in GE14, for he can then tell the world that 31 million Malaysians agree with him that the world is wrong, that there is no 1MDB scandal, that it was the Arab royalty who put RM2.6 billion into his personal bank accounts and that not a single sen of public funds had been lost by 1MDB.

This is despite evidence to contrary, whether it is the RM1 billion Equanimity luxury superyacht seized by the Indonesian authorities in February, or the RM144 million pink diamond necklace which Jho Low bought with 1MDB-related funds to give to the “wife of MO1” as a gift!

If the old rules of the game in Malaysian general elections are followed, Najib and the Umno/BN are assured of a landslide victory on May 9, especially after the Election Commission’s constituency redelineation, which saw the worst gerrymandering in Malaysian history.

However, there had been at least eight “game changers” to alter the rules of the game in competitive electoral politics, which place the outcome of GE14 on May 9 into a zone of uncertainty.

The eight “game changers” are:

1. Mahathir leading the Harapan offensive to change the prime minister, the Malaysian government in Putrajaya and national policies detrimental to the Malaysian nation and people;

1. The decision of the DAP leadership not to use the “rocket” symbol in Peninsular Malaysia but the Harapan common symbol of the PKR blue-eye to send a message to all Malaysians to rise above race, religion and political party affiliation to save Malaysia from becoming a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state;
2. High-profile parliamentary contests in Ayer Hitam, Teluk Intan, Seremban, Langkawi, Pagoh, Semporna, Stampin, Iskandar Puteri, Jerlun, etc.

Since the dissolution of Parliament, there have been more “game-changers” like:

4. The declaration of Bersatu as provisionally dissolved, when it is Umno which is illegal;
5. The wanton tearing out of the pictures of Mahathir and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim from Harapan election billboards while photographs of BN leaders, and even leaders of foreign nations, were left untouched and intact;

6. The police investigation of Mahathir under the Anti-Fake News Act;
7. The candidature of Nik Omar Nik Aziz as an Amanah candidate in Kelantan; and
8. Former Umno heavyweights like former finance minister and Umno treasurer Daim Zainuddin, former Umno Wanita chief and minister for international trade and industry Rafidah Aziz, and former cabinet minister Rais Yatim declaring their support for Harapan and the need for Umno to be replaced.

I do not think Najib could now deny the existence of a Malay tsunami, but only whether the Malay tsunami is strong enough to sweep Najib and Umno/BN out of Putrajaya on May 9, 2018.

LIM KIT SIANG is DAP parliamentary candidate for Iskandar Puteri.

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