New porn video strategy — James Tan

APRIL 18 — There must some committee or group strategising on how best to use the porn video to implicate Anwar Ibrahim and yet keep some space between the Datuk Trio with Umno.

That explains the strange happenings in the last few days.

First, some senior police officer comes out and says that the probe is completed BUT the identity of the man in the video is not important. Also not key to the probe is the ownership of the Omega watch, presumably owned by the man in the video.

This is a complete turnaround from what Ismail Omar, the Inspector-General of Umno (oh sorry, the police), said last week. Then, he was really gung-ho about the police finding out the man in the video and tracing who owns the Omega.

Here is my take on this change of strategy (I have no evidence but then I am in good company because neither do the police, MACC and other agencies).

Some people in Putrajaya really want to use the video tape, believing that it will end Anwar’s political career but they also realise that because of some missteps (not charging the Datuk Trio for displaying porn material) the potential of backlash from public is there.

So it was necessary to take a few steps back and announce that the identity of the man in the video was not key to the police probe. The only thing important was to find out the people behind the video.

That is why the police changed tack. So we can expect the Datuk Trio to be charged and probably given a slap on the wrist.

If all goes well with this new strategy, the Datuk Trio will insist on their day in court and level all sorts of accusations against Anwar. So in effect, they will do the political killing instead of the authorities.

Then Umno can hold up its hands and say that it had nothing to do with this porn movie.

Umno wants to distance itself from the affair. That is why now Shazryl Eskay Abdullah says he is the only one responsible for the tape.

Think about this. After weeks of this scandal and many press conferences, he now says that he is the only one involved, not Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik or Shuaib Lazim.

Is the fact that Rahim is an Umno supreme council member or Shuaib the father in law of an Umno minister have anything to do with this change?

Again, the puppet masters in Putrajaya must believe that cutting off the Umno membership from the Datuk Trio will cut the party’s involvement from this scandal.

They must believe that Malaysians are as naïve and dumb like them.