Strange bedfellows: Mahfuz and Dr Mahathir are on the same page in trying to help Sirul (second from right) explain his part in the murder of Altantuya. An elated Mahfuz is seen showing reporters a picture of him and Sirul’s mother’s after their meeting with Dr Mahathir in Putrajaya.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been unrelenting in his demands for answers on the 1MDB issue but
the majority of the Umno rank and file think he has gone too far in trying to oust the Prime Minister.
the majority of the Umno rank and file think he has gone too far in trying to oust the Prime Minister.
POKOK Sena MP Datuk Mahfuz Omar was on cloud nine this week.
The PAS politician has been championing the cause of convicted murderer Sirul Azhar and on Wednesday, he brought Sirul’s mother and uncle to meet Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya.
It was quite a coup for Mahfuz. The next day he held a press conference during which he showed reporters pictures from the meeting that he had taken with his mobile phone. He is a big football fan and it was like he had scored a goal.
Mahfuz, who is also PAS information chief, was elated that Dr Mahathir and him are on the same page in wanting to help Sirul clear his name and escape the death penalty for murdering the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu 14 years ago.
The PAS leader was as surprised as everyone else by Dr Mahathir’s sudden interest in the case. He had been made to look rather foolish after a promised tell-all telephone session with Sirul turned out to be a tell-nothing.
He felt vindicated that Dr Mahathir was now on his side. He told reporters he was planning another teleconferencing session – this time, between Dr Mahathir and Sirul who had run off to Australia where he is seeking asylum.
Dr Mahathir, as everyone knows, is on the warpath with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his interest in Sirul’s cause was very much connected to his bigger cause against Najib.
The idea of a telephone conversation between the big man and the murder convict was bizarre but it was something that everyone would be talking about.
But Mahfuz has tripped again. Barely hours after Sirul’s mother and uncle met Dr Mahathir, Sirul telephoned his lawyer to protest the way certain people were exploiting his case for their own interest.
He also did not want his mother being dragged into the picture and he stressed that his priority was to win his legal appeal to remain in Australia. He called his lawyer twice to drum home his message.
Suffice to say that Mahfuz has since fallen from cloud nine and is back to square one.
Whatever secrets Sirul may be keeping, he was not about to be a pawn in the grand political games going on back home – not even if it involves the man whom he used to be the bodyguard of.
Mahfuz will have to find ways other than cheap publicity to win a post in the PAS election in June.
As for Dr Mahathir, well, no one can tell him what to do. He is a man with a sense of destiny, the last of the big idea leaders of his era and, as many in Umno often say, there will never be another Dr Mahathir.
However, he has also made up his mind that Najib has to go, the 1MDB debacle being the chief reason for his disenchantment.
Those in Umno who love Dr Mahathir but support Najib were still hopeful of a reconciliation until the day the elder man joined the Altantuya bandwagon.
They were stunned that Dr Mahathir would rally to the side of a convicted murderer and fugitive. Najib had, after all, twice invoked the name of Allah to declare he did not know and was never connected to the dead Mongolian woman. One of these occasions took place inside a mosque.
They knew then that the former premier had burned his bridges with Najib and that he was prepared to do what it takes to achieve his objective.
“He always goes for broke,” said a Mahathir insider.
The situation, said the insider, is as serious as when Dr Mahathir went for Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after Barisan Nasional lost its 2/3 majority in Parliament in the 2008 general election.
“He has no problems with the party, only with the leader and it is up to Umno to decide. People come to him to complain and he feels it is his duty to voice out,” said the insider.
There is also a sense of history repeating itself. Dr Mahathir is unapologetic about having gone through four deputies and for trying to bring down yet another sitting prime minister.
But the Umno ground does not seem to be moving in concert with him this time around. Even those who are concerned about the lack of disclosure on 1MDB are not comfortable with the idea of toppling another prime minister mid-term just because Dr Mahathir says so.
Many Malaysians gave Dr Mahathir the benefit of the doubt when he declared war on Abdullah. They were appreciative of how he brought Malaysia into the modern era and they wanted to believe he was doing the right thing.
But there has been some kind of political fatigue and cynicism surrounding his attempt to pull off the same thing again.
People are asking: Haven’t we seen this before? How many times is it going to happen? Will he ever accept anyone but himself as prime minister?
The general concern is that if Dr Mahathir gets his way and installs someone else he approves of, history will be repeated if the new man does not meet his expectations. The thinking out there is that if a prime minister has to make way, it is for the people to decide.
Najib senses the sentiments and during his TV interview on Thursday night, he repeated several times that he is answerable to his party and the people and not to an individual. He is basically saying that his political survival is for Umno and the voters to decide.
He did not once criticise his attacker. The closest he came to criticism was when he said that no one is perfect and that includes him as well as Dr Mahathir. He described what was happening as “asam garam politik” or the bitter sweet side of politics.
Najib is indebted to Dr Mahathir. The elder man played a pivotal role in ensuring that Abdullah picked Najib as his deputy back in 2003. Dr Mahathir had put both Abdullah and Najib in their respective jobs, hence, he felt he had the locus standi to remove them.
This rather feudalistic practice has to end because that is not how a modern democracy works.
Najib touched on a wide range of issues in his TV interview but he did not adequately clear all the question marks surrounding the 1MDB issue and that can only mean a continuation of attacks from Dr Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir has been going at Najib since last year. The question being asked is how far he is prepared to go? And if he fails to push out Najib, will bitterness set in and make him act in ways that will be detrimental to Umno?
That is what many in Umno are most worried of. In hindsight, a number of them now claim that Dr Mahathir’s attacks against Abdullah also chipped away at Umno’s image and contributed to the 2008 political tsunami.
Their fear is that his action now will cause a second tsunami in the next general election. Najib alluded to this in his interview, saying that a political party falls not from external threats but because of internal strife.
There has been some kind of restraining order from the top against any sort of retaliation against Dr Mahathir. But some Umno leaders, especially those who had been close to Abdullah and who resented what Dr Mahathir did to Abdullah, have been unable to hold back and have started taking pot shots.
Cheras Umno warlord Datuk Seri Syed Ali Alhabshee, a fierce supporter of both Najib and Dr Mahathir, is angry that some Umno-owned media bodies have been used to do that. He slammed a TV station for only soliciting views from people who are critical of Dr Mahathir.
“They should help unite the two leaders instead of adding oil to fire. Defend Najib by all means but please show respect for Tun Mahathir who has done so much for the country,” he said.
Najib has not crumbled in the face of the attacks because of his hold over the party. Unlike Abdullah, Najib’s tentacles in the party extends throughout the country. He started building his political network when he was Umno Youth chief and it is quite formidable by now.
Anyone in Umno is free to take him on in the next party election but he will be unbeatable.
Besides, he has the support of Umno’s backbone. On Thursday, Wanita Umno leader Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil took the lead when she convened a special exco meeting followed by what she called a “heart-to-heart session” between the division Wanita heads and Najib.
“Wanita Umno is always loyal to the leadership – whether during the time of Tun Mahathir or Tun Abdullah and now in Najib’s time. We will not abandon Najib and we want him to continue explaining to the rakyat,” said Shahrizat.
Abdullah broke his silence on Friday to clear Najib’s name. He said the police investigation reports on the Altantuya murder came to him when he was Prime Minister and he could confirm that Najib was not involved at all.
All eyes will be on Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in the months ahead. Dr Mahathir has hinted that Muhyiddin has his support to take over but does the Deputy Prime Minister have the support in Umno to take on Najib?
Muhyiddin has played it cool, saying little and smiling a lot. However, he has said that Najib should be given the chance to do his work. But he also said that issues raised in Dr Mahathir’s blog should not be taken lightly.
It is going to be a difficult balancing act for Umno leaders who have to stay loyal to their president while showing respect to the former prime minister.
>The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
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