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Beware those who would stand in Anwar's way

COMMENT | Judging by the slew of Facebook postings from former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, each with the aim of defending his past actions though without any apparent sign of remorse, it is clear that the verdict of May 9 has finally caught up with him. 

And, one might add his nefarious lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who allegedly received RM 9.5 million from Najid in becoming special prosecutor against Anwar Ibrahim. 

Now, things have gone from bad to worse. It is not just the police that have collected reams of evidence on hundreds of Najib's banking transactions, but the MACC as well.

The long arm of the law seems to be catching up on Najib, the management of 1MDB, and soon Low Taek Jhow and gang.

The book Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World  by award-winning investigative reporters Bradley Hope and Tom Wright of the Wall Street Journal just confirmed what the US Department of Justice had been saying since July 2015 – when Najib and BN's facade began to melt down.

Now we know why Najib threatened to counter sue WSJ within two weeks of their first damning article but failed. The evidence and sources collected by the two reporters would have proved insurmountable. 

On May 9, the proverbial slipper dropped, and Najib was known to have called Anwar to save his skin.

To Anwar's credit, he reminded Najib that he was "technically still in prison," then, and the right person to refer the matter of redemption was Dr Mahathir Mohammad. 

The latter must have been deeply grateful, too, as on May 10, Mahathir swiftly became the seventh prime minister of Malaysia, and had promised the world that Anwar will succeed him.

In turn, statements coming from Anwar reassured Mahathir and Malaysians that his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the current deputy prime minister, will vacate her position as well when Anwar is the prime minister.

From trickle to torrent

Be that as it may, what was a trickle has become a torrent.

Former US Ambassador John Mallot's review of Billion Dollar Whale showcases Malaysians' fascination 1MDB.

More than 4,600 readers in Malaysiakini have shared it; a first for a book review. More importantly, John R Mallot is a friend of Malaysia, and an indefatigable supporter of Reformasi.

In light of the massive debt that Najib and co have bequeathed on all Malaysians – to the tune of RM34,000 each – it goes without saying that Najib, Riza Aziz, his mother Rosmah Mansor, Low Taek Jho, a motley group of princely pretenders from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates as well as Goldman Sachs, have betrayed Malaysia to the hilt. 

What was supposed to be a second sovereign fund was transformed into their own piggy bank to support a debauched life in the fast lane.

Not too late to change course

"When the winds change, adjust the sails." That has always been the first principle of navigation. 

It is not not too late for those who did not trust the opposition's account of 1MDB between 2009-2018 to look fairly and squarely at the undeniable trails of corruption that span the whole world. 

If one cares to read the works of Clare Rewcastle-Brown of Sarawak Report, P Gunasegaram in KiniBiz and now Malaysiakini, Teh Yik Koon's From BMF to 1MDB, or even my own articles, all of which have indicted Najib and co in 1MDB, it was Anwar who was one of the first lawmakers to raise the red flag on 1MDB in 2009. 

Tony Pua, Rafizi Ramli, Lim Kit Siang and even auditor-general Ambrin Buang deserve due credit too. 

But one thing is certain. The collective exposure of 1MDB has strengthened the belief of Mahathir that Anwar can lead a strong team to challenge the seedy elements spawned by Najib within Malaysia and without. There are now 1MDB investigations across six jurisdictions at least.

He affirmed this by saying that he would endorse the candidacy of Anwar in the upcoming Port Dickson by-election, although Mahathir is certain that Anwar can hold his own.

More importantly, Mahathir has explained, time and again, that Anwar will be his future successor to both domestic and international audiences.

He just doesn't know the time frame yet given the gravity of the problem caused by Najib. Low and his band of criminals are still on the run, for instance. 

And Anwar has replied that Mahathir need not bind himself to any time frame, as that would make him a "lame duck" prime minister anyway.

Avoiding the trap

Anwar is right. When any country plans to pull out of any delicate political solution or conflict, the insurgents will bide their time, for example.

They will attack the new regime just when the transition is about to take place, playing the role of spolier, invariably to weaken the whole process further, as witnessed in Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Malaysia must not walk into this trap. Anwar has wisely counselled Mahathir not to be entrapped by what he once promised too. Both are showing signs of prudent, magnanimous statesmanship. 

As things are, Malaysia has not experienced a parallel or deep state yet. But with billions in untraceable money from 1MDB and 'mini-1MDBs' this must be a top national security threat to an incipient or new wave of democracy like in Malaysia.

All the perpetrators involved in 1MDB and 'mini-1MDBs' have the personal incentive to hit back, now that they are out of power. 

Nazri Abdul Aziz, the former tourism minister, has even gone so far as to claim that he will campaign for Anwar in Port Dickson. The reason? 

He wants Umno to return to the fold of government. Imagine the gall and shamelessness of Umno. To them, the will of the people can be manipulated as frivolously as they want.

The speed and fluidity of such U-turns also suggests the impatience to enjoy the perks of the office, and potentially, the immunity that comes with it – after more than a decade of looking the other way when 1MDB kept imploding in the open, even when Umno was repeatedly warned about 1MDB since 2009.

Pathway to succession

While Anwar was not directly involved in the May 9 election, he was the force of inspiration, with Mahathir at the fore. 

If Mahathir has agreed to honour his promise to make Anwar his future successor, the 800,000 members in PKR should select leaders that can work best with both without further delay.

To those who said that Anwar is building a "dynasty" in the Parliament, one should pause to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

Wan Azizah and Nurul Izzah Anwar have all faced the scorn of the Umno press before. If they emerged unscathed, and stronger, it is the testament to their own resilience, especially when Anwar was in prison. 

Now that Anwar is out, with a full royal pardon that goes back to 1998, it means the family at least is a unit that has tried to stay true to Reformasi without betraying the figurehead's ideals.

This is a form of 'legacy politics', or what the late Shahnon Ahmad called Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan – a journey filled with thickets of thorns, with bruises and cuts and pains. 

Those who accuse Anwar of nepotism must also remember that it was he who prevented his own daughter Nurul Izzah from being a cabinet minister. 

Facts must not be distorted by adversarial elements in PKR to tar the future prime minister of Malaysia. One who has sacrificed much and magnanimously placed the greater interest of the nation above self.

I, for one, just like Mahathir, will endorse Anwar for Port Dickson, and will be there to support him in his campaign as this is indeed a pathway to the transition fulfilment that all coalition members in Pakatan Harapan have endorsed.

Both Mahathir and Anwar have shown great magnanimity in putting the greater interest of the nation before their respective selves.

This is indeed a living testimony of great statesmanship by the two. It is time for the rakyat to reciprocate.

The Port Dickson people are indeed lucky to get a prime minister-in-waiting to be their MP as this will ensure it gets the attention it deserves with regards to its holistic development.

A new dawn for Port Dickson, and a new dawn for Malaysia, as this will pave the path for the smooth transition that has been agreed by all in the coalition towards reinventing and rebuilding Malaysia for all. 


RAIS HUSSIN is a supreme council member of Bersatu and heads its policy and strategy bureau.

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

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