For the love of money, is the root of all evil

Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

Malaysian Muslims will be wondering if there is any truth in the allegation made by Opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim which linked Prime Minister Najib Razak to APCO, a public-relations firm retained by the Malaysian government and which Anwar claims has Zionist-links.

Last Friday, the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee’s denied Anwar the opportunity to have a fair hearing. Anwar’s conspiracy theory portrayed Jewish control, Zionist plots, and subversion in Malaysia.

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim nation. Anwar’s team had earlier managed to unearth information that linked APCO’s senior management to the Israeli secret service. This connection goes against Malaysian foreign policy.

Najib’s refusal to sever ties with APCO gives the appearance that Malaysia is sleeping with the enemy.

On the other hand, Malaysia is one of the loudest voices in condemning the Israel treatment of the Palestinian peoples. Deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin led a motion in the Dewan Rakyat last June, to condemn the May 31 attack by the Israeli forces on a humanitarian aid mission flotilla to Gaza.

He even declared that ‘the oppression and inhuman crimes carried out by the Zionist regime on Palestinian Arabs was wholly based on the false Zionist belief of Jewish supremacy’.

These two portrayals of Malaysia - as both an enemy and a friend of Israel - seem at odds with each other. It shows the hypocritical nature of the Malaysian government.

It must be deduced that Anwar is presumed guilty because according to the speaker of the Dewan Rakyat and the committee chairman, Pandikar Amin Mulia, a decision was reached on Friday.

However, the speaker’s decision was condemned by Anwar: “When I was referred to the committee, the speaker had promised a proper hearing where documents will be presented, and I will be able to defend myself.”

“I have all the evidence to rebut all the allegations and denial but I was not given the right to defend myself.

The strength of his guilty verdict was made on a letter from APCO, which has not yet been revealed.

At the height of the revelation of the APCO-Umno link, Muslim groups took to the streets to protest. In addition, APCO dominated parliamentary debates and a memorandum protest was submitted to the Agong. There were even threats to lodge complaints with the Organisation of Islamic Conference.

It is curious that Malay/Muslim extremist groups, which have thus far been vocal and aggressive in promoting Muslim values, have kept silent on this occasion? Why have they not demanded that Anwar present his evidence in parliament, so that Najib’s ties with the pro-Israeli APCO can be proven or disputed?

Even if there was no solid evidence alleging Israeli interference, why is the Malaysian government paying good money, annually, to an American based consultancy to improve Najib’s image?

Surely with ‘ketuanan Melayu’, there are enough Malays to do that for him? Or are these Malays not good enough?

Malaysia goes through this elaborate pretence of non-diplomatic links with Israel and yet Najib has backdoor dealings with them.

APCO, with its alleged Zionist links, is paid millions of ringgit to spruce Najib so he can wield more power and influence. Although the Muslims and Jews are sworn enemies, it appears that the driving force is money.

If Najib wants to champion the Muslim cause and be first among equals in the Muslim world, they why is he befriending the Israelis and allowing other companies with Jewish origins, such as Marks and Spencers, Tesco and Goldman Sachs, to operate in Malaysia?

There is a political factor that most people are unaware of with regard to these companies, which is dominated by Jewish ownership. M&S is rumoured to be giving financial support to the Israeli government. The political implications are that in the Middle-east, countries that have had unpleasant dealings with Israel such as Lebanon, refuse to allow M&S to trade in their countries and they do not allow M&S products to be brought into their countries.

Malaysia may pretend to be a friend of Palestine, but as with APCO, it has backdoor dealings with Israel.

For the love of money is the root of all evil.