MAHATHIR'S POLITICAL GAME, which led to new political scenario in Malaysia

what is happening in Malaysia’s political scenario? Bloggers went on all the way to lend a hand to oppositions to win the General Election and Permatang pauh by-election.

Malaysia is being forced to reappraise aspects of the pro-indigenous policy it has made a key part of the national agenda since anti-Chinese riots in 1969.

Disappointment at what has taken place in Malaysia, especially the political scenario, racial tensions and minority oppressions which led to political tsunami of March 8, 2008.

Everything that happens must have a reason and it also has to have a beginning.

If we look through Malaysian history since independence, anything that UMNO dislikes it has the habit of turning even a mundane event into a crisis. Any internal conflict in UMNO will affect the national political scene. This is especially so after the ‘assassination’ and demise of the original UMNO in 1988. The political party that emerged from that was not UMNO because it lacked the spirit and dedication of the original when it was formed in 1946. Leaders of UMNO then were dedicated individuals who served the rakyat and sacrificed a lot for the nation.

The pseudo UMNO of Mahathir Mohamad did away with democracy in the party. No wonder, past UMNO presidents like Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra and Tun Hussein Onn did not become members of this new political entity. The new party was hatched according to the needs of (Tun) Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

In 1987, his presidency in the original UMNO was challenged by Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah. Tengku Razaleigh lost in that fight by a very small margin, a largely due to the help of the “invisible hand” which manipulated the ballot box. His running mate was Tun Musa Hitam who was Mahathir’s first Deputy Prime Minister. The two challenged Mahathir whose running mate in 19897 was (Tun) Ghaffar Baba.

A court case ensued and the presiding Judge, Harun Hashim, declared UMNO illegal. Razaleigh also tried to form a new party, also to be called UMNO but failed. He then set up Semangat 46 (The Spirt of 46). Musa who was his running mate did not join him in this new political undertaking.

Musa is essentially a survivalist. Musa is Musa (period). That is why he can survive. He survived under Tunku Abdul Rahman. He survived under Tun Razak. He also survived under Hussein Onn. He even survived under Mahathir although he challenged Mahathir in cohort with Tengku Razaleigh. Their association was for the mere purpose of challenging Mahathir. A deal of convenience, if you like. That was all.

Both aspired to be Prime Ministers and if Razaleigh and Musa had won and led the government and UMNO, both the government and the party would be unstable. There was nothing common between the two. I know both men and had worked directly and indirectly with each of them. They are poles apart in every way; status wise, one is a member of the Kelantan royalty, and the other a commoner from Johor who learned his politics from the late Tun Sardon Jubir.

In forming UMNO Baru, Mahathir put an end to democracy so that the 1987 incident would not recur. Under his scheme, it would be all but impossibe to challenge him. Thus democracy was never part of it. He could, therefore, lead the new party unchallenged for the next 15 years. His deputies might come and go but not him for he was the party and he was the goverment. ‘UMNO’ was Mahathir and Mahathir was ‘UMNO’. But Malaysia was not yet Mahathir. Thus the murk would soon start flowing. That would be Phase 2 of the Mahathir project which would involve institutions of government.

The civil service since independence was seen by him as being too powerful. It was not subservient to any political master. It had to be put in its ‘proper’ place so that it would become a ready and willing tool,serving the President and UMNO. It was no longer to question whether rules and regulations were complied with. It had become a brain dead institution. It enjoyed generous perks but without the authority as before. The civil service was at the back and call of the Prime Minister who was a political blackguard by nature. If he was instructed by the Prime Minister to “jump in the lake”, the Chief Secretary to the Government would do so with relish!

The judiciary, reputed to be one of the best in the British Commonwealth, was too independent and would not submit to the whims and fancies of the political overlord. Many cases were decided against the government. Mahathir was enraged. Thus Mahathir felt his vision would not materialise if the situation was not changed. He fixed the judiciary by amending the relevant clauses in the constitution to enable him to have absolute power in the administration of justice.

Tun Salleh Abas, the Lord President, belonged to the old school. He believed that the judiciary had the function and role to safeguard the constitution and provide the checks and balances needed in order to maintain democracy in the country. This went against the grain of the Prime Minister.

Tun Salleh therefore had to be removed from his post and replaced by a more amenable and pliable judge like Justice Hamid Omar. So the Prime Minister sought to act against Tun Salleh, precipitating the judicial crisis of 1988. As a result, basic institutions were subservient to the executive branch under an all powerful Prime Minister.

The Royalty too was cowed so that Malaysia too would be Mahathir’s. Every aspect of development would have to embody the Mahathir vision. The twin towers came into being. A new administrative capital Putrajaya (Mahathirjaya?) was constructed costing billions of Malaysian Ringgit. A new ultra-modern but not passenger-friendly airport was also built.

Things were moving ‘peacefully’ and happily until in 1998, with the Asian financial crisis, the Mahathir edifice was challenged by his Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar, however, found to his tragic dismay, that Mahathir acted swiftly by charging and trying him for sodomy and abuse of power. Anwar was sentenced by a kangaroo court presided over by a judge, Augustine Paul to ‘rest’ in Sungai Buloh for about seven years.

A trusted and obedient Abdullah Badawi took over from Anwar. He was a yes man to the letter. He could relied upon, so Mahathir believed, to continue with his legacy. Malaysia would still be Mahathir’s. Governing a country without much challenge could be quite boring and it was high time to hand over the reins of power to a puppet.

But Badawi turned out to be his own man with the help of Khairy Jamaluddin, Kamal Abdullah, Kalimullah Hassan and the boys on the 4th Floor, Prime Minister’s Department, and soon enough and bitterly disappointed that things did not materialise the way he wanted, Mahathir launched vicious attacks against him. Mahathir believed only Najib Tun Razak, the current Deputy Prime Minister could save the situation.

Mahathir had relentlessly supported urged Najib to challenge Abdullah but the latter was quite reluctant. He had other fights to attend to before he could take on Abdullah. To Mahathir, only Najib would be able to keep the Mahathir flag flying again. Anyone trying to disrupt Najib from succeeding Abdullah would not be tolerated by Mahathir. He had gone all out to shield Najib from any attack by Anwar and his Pakatan Rakyat colleagues. But he will fail again because Najib, who has bags of political liabilities, is controlled by Badawi and his supporters.

There will be those who will disagree with me on this and the diehard Mahathirites will definitely dispute this thesis.