Ibrahim Ali tells Anwar: You are rotten to the core

Seizing the opportunity to stay in the headlines for another day, Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali continued his political vendetta against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, even offerring to swear in God's name that he was not the paid stooge or sycophant extraordinaire of the UMNO elite.

“Your story is long, Anwar. You are rotten to the core and you are the worst But you are good at acting. So go ahead and act. You can cheat your family and your friends who are blind all the time but you cannot cheat me all the time,” Malaysian Insider reported the Perkasa chief as saying.

The chubby 60-year-old was upset with Anwar, his former buddy from decades long gone by, for having said that he was the worst example of a Malaysian politician and a "joker" to boot. Ibrahim's pain at being so scorned spurred him into a long and emotional rebuttal.

“My old friend, I am not as bad or as evil as you. I have never been anyone’s stooge, or what’s worse, your stooge for life,” said the Pasir Mas MP.

Comedian

Ibrahim then accused Anwar of destroying UMNO. He condemned Anwar for party-hopping from ABIM to UMNO and then to PKR - destryoing Malay unity in the process.

“I know now, that after 30 years, it seems I am more powerful than you, Anwar. I pity you, Anwar, but what can be done? Repent and stop destroying the country and its people," said the Pekasa chief.

And just in case, nobody believed him, Ibrahim Ali declared that he was ready to swear on Quran that he was telling the truth.

Should he do so, he would be joining the ranks of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who had to swear that he never knew murdered Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu; Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who had alleged he had been sodomized by Anwar; and Shazryl Eskay, one of the Datuk T trio accused of trying to discredit Anwar with a pornographic video tape.

“You, Anwar, were not brave enough to swear with Saiful and Datuk T trio. Who is the real comedian here, if not yourself?” Ibrahim asked.

After reeling off so many questions, Ibrahim - who last year underwent a triple bypass heart surgery - finally gave it a rest. He admitted to having a "love-hate" relationship with the Opposition Leader.

But to be fair to Anwar, he seldom talks about Ibrahim, considering it to be a waste of time. It was actually another UMNO leader - Nazri Aziz - who has frequently called Ibrahim Ali a "clown". “To me, he is a clown. I do not think people should take seriously what he said."

The original katak

Troublemaker or not, there is no doubt that Ibrahim Ali may be ratcheting up the publicity for himself. In the 12th General Election he won the Kelantan parliamentary seat of Pasir Mas on a PAS ticket, but soon walked over to the Umno side of the fence.

PAS leaders have already vowed to have nothing to do with him come GE-13, which should be sometime this year if not within the next 2 months. However, their rejection is unlikely to faze him. Even the stripping of his Datuk title by the Kelantan Sultan couldn't pierce through his well-armoured skin.

Today, thanks to his Malay-rights vehicle Perkasa, Ibrahim is no longer without bargaining power. Good times have come to him since forming Perkasa to help Umno out of a religious row in 2010 over the usage of the word Allah by non-Muslims.

A grateful Umno is bound to sponsor him on a BN ticket at the very least. And although, he questioned Anwar's political insincerity it is actually Ibrahim whom many consider the original "katak" or frog-politician, derogatory slang for frequent party hoppers. In cyberspace are countless spoofed images of him in a frog-suit (pic).

In 1986, Ibrahim Ali won Pasir Mas on an UMNO ticket with nearly 4,000-majority. In 1990, he retained the seat with nearly 10,000-majority but he had contested under the Semangat 46 party led by Kelantan prince Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

In 1995 and 1999, he contested under UMNO again but lost with margins of 3,000 and 8,000-odd votes. In 2004, he tried his luck as an Independent, and crashed out with a negative majority of some 33,000 votes.

Finally, in 2008, he managed to persuade PAS to sponsor him and this time he won by nearly 9,000 votes. But he soon reneged on his promises and made it very clear that he would support BN. Despite his chequered relationship with Umno, his rapport with former premier Mahathir Mohamad is especially strong.

“Ibrahim Ali represents the worst you can think of in Malaysian politics, and is supported by UMNO. The problem is the system we have right now tolerates and uses people like Ibrahim Ali. Ignore these jokers," Anwar had told a forum on Sunday. - Malaysia Chronicle