Najib infiltrated by spies? Then his Pandora's Box of scandals will soon open...

PKR leaders ridiculed an article published in the Umno-owned Utusan newspaper accusing Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim of establishing a network of spies inside the top rungs of the BN government as part of a plot to topple Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Some of the PKR leaders also saw it as an indirect attempt to coerce the civil service to vote for the BN.

"This another absurd attempt to discredit Pakatan Rakyat. Firstly we don't use sleazy methods like Najib. Secondly, we condemn the indrect implication and the burden Najib is trying to enforce on the civil service - to make sure the heel and obey orders to vote the BN," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

A little bird said ...

According to the Utusan article entitled Musang berbulu ayam dalam badan-badan strategik kerajaan or Wolves in sheep's clothing in strategic government bodies, senior editor Zaini Hassan claimed to have received reliable information on the matter.

"I received information that a body or maybe more than one body which is indeed strategic in the government, has been and is being infiltrated by Anwar Ibrahim's men. The information I received shows that it is a real and evident situation," Zaini said in his column Cuit.

According to his source, "you can observe yourself how the federal government agencies (not named) given the important task to defend government policies and to educate the people so that they will support the leadership of the prime minister, can apply, absorb and even use the opposition's instrument to undermine the prime minister."

If true, go after Najib not the whistle-blower

The source also cited two examples as being the work of Anwar's infiltrators. Firstly, the manner in which the opposition obtained the details of Najib's expenses incurred during his official trips, and secondly, the details of his flight during a private overseas holiday. “There are many other examples. How could they obtain the information so fast if there is no insider who leaked all the confidential information?” asked the source.

However, PKR leaders said Zaini's source only confirmed that recent news reports about Najib bringing dozens of private guests to attend his daughter's engagement party in Kazakhstan on public funds, and using the official government jet to fly himself and his family for a private holiday in Perth were true.

"This shows the shallowness of Utusan. After all, if the reports are true, it should be Najib who must be immediately investigated and punished, not the whistleblower," PKR veteran Eddie Wong told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Or maybe it is deliberate. It lloks like certain people in Umno itself want to highlight Najib's corruption by pointing out that the information is true. Notice, they are saying the information came from a so-called 'body' that was infiltrated. In other words, the information is true. They are just using Anwar as a scapegoat. This makes me wonder, who are actually Najib's friends or enemies right now."

The Gaddafi comparison or is it a warning?

It is telling that the Utusan article also drew comparison between Najib with Muammar Gaddafi, the most recently fallen of Middle-Eastern despots.

The 58-year-old Malaysian leader has been accused of not listening to the people, especially during the July 9 Bersih rally for free and fair elections. His harsh crackdown has left severe repercussions on his personal popularity and also affected the image of Umno, for which he is being blamed.

“For small officers like us, we don't want to see the prime minister facing the ill fate of Gaddafi. No matter how strong Gaddafi was, eventually he was toppled from within with the help of Islamic enemies outside,” Zaini quoted his source as saying.

The Utusan editor also said, "If it is untrue, maybe I can sleep well and be thankful that this did not happen, although I could be blamed for writing something that did not happen. What I write is probably a bit surprising but I will let the relevant authorities investigate its veracity.”

“It is a subtle, cunning and well planned move that could jeopardise the government of the day."

Time bomb Najib

Indeed, it is a cunning move to place spies, moles and Trojan horses at the offices of one's rivals, said PKR leaders.

Pakatan, especially PKR, has suffered no lack of such dirty tricks. Even the office of the Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim was bugged, with hidden cameras installed to spy for information that could be used against the Selangor state government as well as to potentially blackmail him.

"But the mother of all dirty tricks must surely be the Perak crisis, the Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbaini inquests and of course the Bersih rally and the PSM 30. But let's not fall into the Umno trap. If the Utusan report is true, then Najib will be a massive liability. Just imagine the dirt that will hit the fan when the infiltrators reveal more truths about him. He is truly a walking talking time bomb for Umno," said Tian.

Malaysia Chronicle