Najib, where are you?

January 3, 2013

But the most important question is this: Who stands to gain the most if Najib crumbles under pressure and calls it a day?

By Chua Jui Meng

A silent politician is no politician. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak must tell Malaysians what is happening because they have the right to know what’s going on in the government.

A string of scandalous exposé rocked Najib, his wife Rosmah Mansor and the people prior to the Umno annual general assembly in late November.

Former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan and businessman Deepak Jaikishan had been making headlines in the Internet and they still continue to do so.

Musa focuses his attacks on Najib’s cousin, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s alleged interference with police work and administration, and the influence of the underworld.

The integrity and the confidence of the people on the police force have been gravely shaken.

Deepak meanwhile continues to reveal more and more stories on Rosmah’s greed after linking Najib and his wife to the Altantuya murder and the RM6.7 billion purchase of two second-hand French-made Scorpene submarines.

Other key financial scandals shadowing Najib and Rosmah are:

• The controversial award of the estimated RM23 billion Sungai Buloh-Kajang Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project;

• The RM400 million Mindef-LTAT land scam; and

• The misuse of multi-million ringgits of public funds for personal matters, like tours, daughter’s wedding, birthday, etc to name a few.

The latest allegation is that Deepak bought Rosmah 19 pieces of jewellery worth US$3.9 million (RM13 million) in three months.

Total silence

For more than a month, revelations by the Musa-Deepak duo have jolted Malaysians but the government and Najib-Rosmah have sensationally remained unresponsive, behaving as if nothing had happened.

The exposé and allegations are serious but no response or action had been taken by the law enforcers – the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

The integrity of the police and MACC has been further eroded by the lack of urgency to act, raising suspicions that the allegations are all true.

Also, not a single senior Umno leader has come out to support their president against the damning revelations by the duo.

What is happening in Umno? Who is running the party? Who is really in charge of the country?

But the most important question is this: Who stands to gain the most if Najib crumbles under pressure and calls it a day?

There is no easy or clear answer because Umno politics is most intriguing, greatly influenced by the power of money and its firm practice that there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends in political manoeuvrings.

However, political observers have trained their eyes on several key players in Umno’s internal power struggle.

They are the super rich Dr Mahathir Mohamad-Daim Zainuddin duo, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Umno vice-president Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who is more popularly referred to as Ku Li.

Agenda of the players

Their movements and what they say are being watched under the microscope by politicians and Malaysians.

What is clear is the agenda of the players:

• Mahathir wants to ensure that his son, Mukhriz (currently a Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister), rises to become prime minister in the 14th general election or earlier;

• Muhyiddin is eager to take over from Najib; and

• Ku Li wants his dream to be prime minister come true since he challenged and lost to Mahathir for the Umno presidency in 1987.

Amidst all these, both domestic and foreign investors are keeping a close watch on the political developments in the run-up to the next general election, with the 222-seat Parliament heading for automatic dissolution on April 28.

As more and more dirty linen is being washed in public, the integrity of the country’s administration is heading for rock bottom.

Only the Malaysian voters can determine and chart the next course of the country’s progress or retreat.

Chua Jui Meng is PKR vice-president and Johor state chief. He is also a former MCA vice-president and an ex-Cabinet member.