Now what?

So what you and I -- the rational and intelligent bunch of Malaysians -- think is not important. We have already formed our opinions anyway and we know who to vote for in the next general election. Nothing is going to change our minds. It is what the simple-minded and God-fearing Malays in the Malay heartland think is what matters. And what are they going to think now that it has been ‘proven in court beyond any shadow of doubt’ that Anwar is the man in the video?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

What Othman Wahab and Lim Kit Siang said in the two pieces published in The Malaysian Insider today makes sense (see below). They make sense because Othman and Kit Siang speak rationally and argue intelligently.

But this matter is not about making sense and arguing intelligently. It is about the perception game and psy-war. And in the perception game and psy-war nothing makes sense.

I, in fact, already anticipated what is going to happen today in my earlier piece:Ever heard of the phrase ‘collateral damage’? And was I right or was I right?

Anyway, enough of ‘I told you so’. What is done is done. Let us now explore what is going to be the upside and downside of this whole episode.

The government’s reputation has been damaged by this episode -- in particular that of the Police and the Judiciary. But then, so what? What else is new? Their reputations had already been damaged big-time 13 years ago back in 1998 during the Sodomy 1 episode -- and then ten years later in 2008 when the Sodomy 2 episode erupted.

How can you damage any further what is already damaged beyond repair? So, have they lost anything? Can they lose anything that they don’t have?

The ‘Datuk T’ trio pleaded guilty and ‘paid the price’ for their crime. It was a small price to pay though. (Shazryl Eskay Abdullah was fined RM3,000 or three months' jail, Shuib Lazim was fined RM1,500 or two months' jail, while Rahim Thamby Chik was fined RM1,000 or one month's jail.)

Now these three Datuks have suddenly become ‘Malay heroes’ (not criminals) for ‘standing tall’ and being ‘brave’ and ‘righteous’ enough to ‘reveal the truth’ and expose Anwar Ibrahim’s ‘transgression’ in the true Islamic spirit of amar makruf, nahi munkar. (This is what the perception game and psy-war is all about, in case you did not realise this by now).

If I were in their place I would not have paid the fine but would have chosen the jail sentence instead. Then they would really be heroes. After all, it is only three months, two months and one month respectively. And for the three months and two months jail sentences there is a one-third remission on the sentence (but not for the one month jail, I think). It’s a pity they are not brave enough to refuse to pay the fine and chose to go to jail instead.

Okay, what ‘good’ has come out of all this? As far as the pro-opposition supporters are concerned this just goes to prove that the Police and Judiciary are working for Umno -- as if they did not already know that and are not convinced enough yet?

For the pro-government supporters this proves that what Umno said about Anwar all along is true after all -- that he is an immoral person who talks about Islam until he foams at the mouth but is in reality a Munafiq and Fasiq, a type of person whom Islam considers worse than a Kafir (infidel).

But what is more important -- and this is what this perception game and psy-war is all about -- is that they now have something ‘solid’ and ‘concrete’ to tell the simple-minded and God-fearing kampong people. And this is what is more important to Umno, the simple-minded and God-fearing kampong people.

You see; there are two groups of people who are going to determine who gets to form the next federal government. The first group are the voters from East Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan control 57 of the 222 seats in Parliament). The second group are the voters from the Malay heartland.

And the second group is what Umno is concerned about. The East Malaysian seats are safe because the opposition in East Malaysia is in a mess (as the recent Sarawak state elections and the ongoing political developments in Sabah have proven). Anyway, Umno has only 11 of those 57 East Malaysian seats so it matters not to Umno -- they will leave it to the ‘locals’ to sort out Sabah and Sarawak.

What Umno really wants is the seats in the Malay heartland, which PAS and PKR captured back in March 2008. First, look at the following chart.

Can you see that in the 2008 General Election Umno saw 30 of its seats disappear? It managed only 79 seats or 35.6% (about one-third) of the total number of seats in Parliament.

This means Umno, on its own, can’t form the federal government. It needs Barisan Nasional to be able to form the government. So Umno can’t tell the non-Malays to got to hell -- like it did pre-March 2008.

Umno needs at least 112 seats to be able to be the Boss again -- or at least 112 seats together with MCA, MIC and Gerakan (which have 20 seats combined). Therefore Umno needs roughly another 35 seats or so. And these would be the 35 seats in the Malay heartland of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Mainland Penang.

So what you and I -- the rational and intelligent bunch of Malaysians -- think is not important. We have already formed our opinions anyway and we know who to vote for in the next general election. Nothing is going to change our minds. It is what the simple-minded and God-fearing Malays in the Malay heartland think is what matters. And what are they going to think now that it has been ‘proven in court beyond any shadow of doubt’ that Anwar is the man in the video?

I don’t know how gullible these simple-minded and God-fearing Malays in the kampongs are. Will this perception game and psy-war of Umno work? I don’t know yet but in time we will know. It is a brilliant move nevertheless, whether it works or not. This is what perception games and psy-wars are all about.

As what Najib Tun Razak said last week: this is not about reality. This is about perception. The question now would be: has Umno managed to get the simple-minded and God-fearing Malays in the Malay heartland to perceive what Umno wants them to perceive?

You tell me!

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Hail, the Datuk T trio — Othman Wahab

(The Malaysian Insider) - You mean the powers-that-be took months to play out this video tape sandiwara.

Maybe they were waiting for a suitable lawyer, err say, someone with aspirations for higher office and who is not so picky about the character of the clientele.

But that is lain cerita; this charade of a court case was already sketched in the minds of most Malaysians after the sordid tape was given unusual play by the mainstream media, the three stooges were feted like heroes by the Najib administration and the police spent an unusual amount of time investigating a simple case (the cops seemed more interested in the identity of the actor than the perpetrators of the sex video).

So many of my friends figured that the government would have a sham case, charge the three jokers, give them a slap on the wrist and then introduce the identity of the man as an aside. This came to pass today.

So does this qualify me and my friends as brilliant? Sad to say it just means that we are either as average as the thinkers in government or that we can think ahead of the rascals.

Does it matter if it is proven that Anwar Ibrahim is the actor? Yes it does because he has denied it. But I still say that this is not proven because the so-called “evidence” and “experts’ info” were introduced by the government in court. It was not examined or challenged by anyone.

But this was meant to be this way, get the three to plead guilt, give them a token fine and then slip in some dirt on Anwar, dirt which can’t be examined. The idea here is to persuade fence-sitters that Anwar is soiled goods and cannot be supported.

This is about the coming elections and the three stooges were just that, stooges in a play dictated by Umno leaders.

Anwar is a flawed individual, no question about that. But this is where we must not fall into the trap set by Messrs Najib and Muhyiddin. Anwar is not the opposition nor does he represent a better vision for Malaysia.

Nurul Izzah, Husam Musa, Tony Pua, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Khalid Samad, Haris Ibrahim, Fuziah Saleh, the former Perlis mufti, the people behind the Sarawak Report, you and me. Now we are the hope of the country.

The scoundrels have used all the institutions of the country to damage and destroy one man. They have no respect for the soul of this country, they destroy everything to stay in power and to continue to pillage.

Today’s courtroom sham should be seen in this light. Don’t forget Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, Eskay, Shuib when you vote. Don’t forget Ibrahim Ali when you vote. Don’t forget the IGP or the A-G when you vote.

They only act for Umno.

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Police, A-G major casualties in ‘Datuk T’ charge delay, says Lim

(The Malaysian Insider) - The independence and credibility of the police and the Attorney-General’s chambers have been dented by the delay in charging the ‘Datuk T’ trio, Lim Kit Siang has said.

“The farce this morning in the magistrate’s court where the “Datuk T” trio were charged for the Sri Carcosa sex tape screening has only served to further lower public confidence and esteem in the efficiency, independence and professionalism of the Attorney-General and the Police.

“The way the three criminals preened themselves as if they are national heroes for the crimes they have committed raised many questions — including why the AGC and police have to take more than three months to charge the trio in court,” Lim said in a statement today.

The “Datuk T” trio pleaded guilty and were fined in a magistrate’s court today over their involvement in the screening of a sex video allegedly featuring Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Former Malacca Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik was charged with abetting former Perkasa treasurer-general Datuk Shuib Lazim and businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah in “openly” screening the pornographic material featuring sex acts between a man and a woman at the prestigious Carcosa Seri Negara Hotel here on March 21.

Shazryl was fined RM3,000 or three months’ jail, Shuib was fined RM1,500 or two months’ jail while Abdul Rahim was fined RM1,000 or one month’s jail.

Lim, who is DAP parliamentary leader added that both the police and the AGC have been exercising double standards in other cases, and listed them- inaction over Utusan Malaysia’s Christian Malaysia claims and Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s threatening bloodshed and another May 13 to counter the upcoming May 13 rally by election watchdog Bersih.

“Is it any wonder that never before in the nation’s history has the ruling coalition suffered such massive and sustained erosion of public support and confidence to the extent that uppermost in the minds of Malaysians is the question whether the time for the end of UMNO and Barisan Nasional rule in Malaysia has really come?” Lim asked.