Acquittal explosions point to a violent Najib Plan A if not for 11th hour pullback

As jubilant Malaysians settle down after celebrating the acquittal of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim from clearly trumped-up sodomy charges, dark shadows are starting to show up - painting a very sinister picture of the current Malaysian government led by Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Umno party.

PKR leaders point to 3 explosions, which the police were quick to describe as "home-made" bombs, that rocked the compound of the court complex soon after the "not guilty" verdict was announced.

"The explosions were serious. They could have killed and in fact, they did maim several of our supporters. We see this as part of Najib's Plan A which was to create a riot and use it to intimidate the people into accepting a conviction for Anwar. For sure, I would not be here talking to you now if the court had found Anwar guilty. I would be in jail under the ISA," PKR vice president Tian Chua toldMalaysia Chronicle.

Pre-empting an incident

It is no secret that the police and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is also Najib's cousin, had repeatedly warned the public that should any untoward incident occur, it would be the opposition's fault for insisting on staging a show of support Anwar. The manner in which they went about repeating their dark warnings had stirred up nationwide fear of trouble erupting on 901 or January 9, the day the verdict was to be announced. No one had expected Anwar, widely perceived to be a victim of political persecution, to be acquitted despite the manifestly fabricated charges of sodomizing an aide in 2008.

Whether the police and Hisham were trying to pre-empt a riot or violence, speculation had been rife that Najib would make use of the Pakatan-led 901 Free Anwar Rally to discredit the opposition and then claim the righteous ground for trying to stop 'street culture'.

It is believed that the 901 rally was to be the start of the Najib riots - a series that his Umno party would use to cow Malaysians into accepting the political status quo and into voting the BN at the 13th general election, where Anwar's Pakatan is expected to put up a stiff challenge to Umno's 54-year political hegemony.

Unprecedented nationwide and global support for Anwar

The 64-year-old Anwar has always denied the sodomy charges, pointing to evidence including statements from the police that the aide had met Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor days before lodging the complaint that led to the Sodomy II trial. Sodomy is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail and not only Malaysia, but world leaders, from US to Europe to Australia, had expected the worst outcome for Anwar.

Despite the raft of national and international criticism, Najib had stuck to his guns. Those in the know in Umno circles say that initially he and Rosmah just wanted to suppress Anwar and reduce his popularity so that Najib - who was then the deputy prime minister - could have a chance to grab the main spotlight.

But somehow, insecurity and indecisiveness got the better of them plus pressure from Umno hardliners including former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who want Anwar behind bars so that they can stay in power. Whichever it was, Najib allowed the case to move to trial stage - possibly hoping for the best and that Malaysians would have given up and forgotten about Anwar by the time the case reached its end.

However, it was not to be. In the weeks leading to the January 9 verdict, and on that day itself, the response from everyday Malaysians and foreign governments around the world was clear to see. Anwar cannot be thrown into jail this way and the key left to rot and rust. This was proven by the celebrations that rang loud and clear throughout Malaysia and the world on the shock news of his acquittal. All major newspapers in the first world and developed nations front-paged Anwar's acquittal.

"It is clear Najib and Rosmah decided to cut their losses then. The heat was becoming unbearable and I think they were worried what sort of legacy and history they would leave behind if they had gone along with the Mahathir and his crowd of hardliners. It is no joke to jail Anwar and trigger a riot. That's tantamount to turning Malaysia into a North Korea or Zimbabwe. For Mahathir and gang, it is easy because the man in charge is Najib, so they can push all the evil agenda they wish but the ones getting the blame will be Najib and Rosmah," Nik Nazmi, the PKR director for communications, told Malaysia Chronicle.

Mishaps and bad strategy

Although Najib and his BN colleagues tried to save the situation by claiming it proved the Malaysian judiciary was independent and could be trusted, their claims did not carry the ring of truth or gain traction.

"If that is the case, are Najib and Co admitting to conspiring to frame Anwar for sodomy but were stopped by the country's so-called independent judiciary?" asked Tian.

"I find it so dumb of Umno to play this card. It really is like admitting they were guilt of trying to fix Anwar and then insisting the system is sound because there was the check and balance of the courts to sop them. To cut it short, the first person to resign should be the Attorney General, Gani Patail. How can he pursue a case as flimsy as this and waste the resources of the nation all for the sake of helping Najib and Umno further their careers.?"

In 1998, Mahathir had pulled similar sodomy charges, and it resulted in him being forced to resign as Umno lost 60 per cent of the Malay votes - its core constituency - in the 1999 general elections. It was the Chinese votes that saved Umno and its BN coalition then. These Chinese votes are now with the Pakatan, with most of the other non-Malay votes due to disenchantment with the Umno's racist divide-and-rule policies.

Why would we bomb ourselves to celebrate Anwar's acquittal?

Meanwhile, PKR leaders have slammed the police for sloppy work over the explosions that took place shortly after the Kuala Lumpur High Court acquitted Anwar. They are demanding a full explanation, pointing out that the police claim that the traffic cones under which the bombs were hidden could only have belonged to the police or their agents.

The police have been quick to retaliate, pointing the finger at PKR, accusing the party's supporters and demonstrators who thronged the Jalan Duta court complex, of being the culprits.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. First, we don't celebrate by bombing ourselves. Second, that particular area was under strict police control. The whole areas was under strict police watch for the days before the verdict was announced on Monday. If anyone, the police should question themselves. Did they close one eye. Finally, the explosives were reported to be inside the police's plastic cones. If these are not their cones, then whose? Who could have smuggled such large items into a secured area?" PKR legal affairs director Latheefa Koya told Malaysia Chronicle.

The government press have also reported that the police are scrutinising a video recording to identify the mastermind behind the explosions. There is a clear and concerted effort to tie the explosions to PKR despite such a move being illogical.

Already, the Umno-woned Utusan newspaper has carried a report quoting a source that preliminary investigations show that the bombs were brought in by those who took part in the rally.  “In addition to being thoroughly inspected, the area had been guarded by police personnel since a day before the rally.  A final inspection was carried out before rally participants were allowed to gather and no dangerous object was found,” the source told the daily.

The source is actually echoing what Latheefa and the other Pakatan leaders have been saying. The area had already been cordoned off for days and under the tightest security. It would also have been impossible for demonstrators to lug in or smuggle such bulky items as the traffic cones. It is also suspicious that the Utusan source was quick to 'lament' the absence of CCTV when the police had warned they would video every incident at the 901 rally to prevent 'false' claims of brutality.

3 ambulances from Liow Tiong Lai

Meanwhile, pundits point to the July 9, 2011 Bersih rally, where police were caught on film firing tear gas canisters directly at Pakatan leaders, seriously injuring Anwar's body guard.

The tear gas attack which took place at a narrow underpass could have killed and Pakatan parties have lodged police reports over what they perceive to be 'attempted murder', but to no avail so far. Apart from Anwar, PAS president Hadi Awang and DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang were also at the underpass, sustaining sustained light injuries.

Meanwhile, City police chief Mohmad Salleh said the police would also gather information to determine whether the organisers of the assembly had committed any offence. He said investigators would look at the overall situation and zoom in on the person who placed the home-made explosives, which he also said were detonated by timers.

"The police have collected evidence from the scene and will send them for analysis," he said. The police had found explosion debris like plastic cones, ball bearings, clocks and batteries at the scene of the blasts, he added.

Tian also pointed out that Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai's offer to station 3 ambulances at the court complex was "highly suspicious".

"In the past 13 years, throughout all the protests and rallies - big and small - the BN government including the Health Ministry has never been so kind as to offer medical treatment or even be on standby for emergencies. Why did Tiong Lai suddenly make such an offer? Did he already know what sort of scenario to expect if Najib's hand had not wavered and he had gone through with his Plan A"" asked Tian.

Malaysia Chronicle