By refusing to quit, Shahrizat drags Umno and MACC deeper into the NFC fire

Embattled Umno Women's chief Shahrizat Jalil has refused to step down, stubbornly closing an eye to the growing calls from within her own party including from her own deputy and senior leaders such Mahathir Mohamad and Rafidah Aziz to do so, and pinning the blame on the opposition instead.

"The opposition did not make up the condo purchases, Mercedes Benz, holidays and what-nots. It is time for Shahrizat to own up. Her party is also telling her to step down. So it is no point to keep blaming PKR for doing a good job in exposing the abuse of public funds. Is she implying that Malaysians should punish Pakatan for telling on her and vote for BN because it helped her to cover up?" PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua toldMalaysia Chronicle.

One of the most unpopular women in Malaysia now

Indeed, it is strange that Shahrizat does not see that she has become one of the most unpopular women in the country and has forgotten that one of the reasons why she beat Rafidah so easily for the Wanita presidency in the 2009 internal polls was because Rafidah was seen as guilty of corruption over the motor-vehicle Authorized Permits.

Nonetheless, Shahrizat is determined to go back to work on Monday, telling reporters of her decision on her return from Mecca on Friday. Like many Umno leaders including Prime Minister Najib Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor, whenever faced with scandals, Shahrizat sought refuge in performing the Umrah (smaller pilgrimage) to seek divine advice.

"I would not be worth my salt as a minister and leader of 1.3 million members if I am weak and succumb to this type political theatre orchestrated by the Opposition," Shahrizat told reporters.

"All these attacks and the greed (kerakusan) of the Opposition that I have witnessed have only made me more determined to continue to lead Wanita Umno's charge into the next general election."

Wanita Umno already divided by the NFC debacle

Yet, she had no rebuttal to make when asked to comment on the quit calls from Rafidah or Kamilia Ibrahim, her deputy, opting once again to hide behind the mantle of the Wanita chief's chair for protection.

"I have deep respect for her as the former Wanita Umno chief, but I am the chief now and my job is to make sure Wanita Umno is prepared and ready to face the next polls," Shahrizat said with regards to Rafidah's comments.

"I know where she is coming from," said Shahrizat, referring to her deputy Kamilia. Her words which insinuated Kamilia, who issued a press statement describing her as a burden, was after her job confirmed that the wing was already bitterly divided.

Despite Shahrizat's bold words and fight-back, most Wanita members are unhappy because of the corruption allegations against her family over the RM250mil National Feedlot Centre financial debacle.

They want her to step down pending investigations, especially against the possibility that the 13th general election might be held later this year, and the highly publicized NFC scandal would surely drive voters away from Wanita Umno.

“The point is: damn it, decide, don’t leave it the decision to go to the prime minister. Don’t leave the onus on the prime minister to decide for you,” the Malay Mali reported a no-holds-barred Rafidah as saying earlier this week.

Dragging Umno deeper into the NFC fire

Former Umno president Mahathir too has advised her to quit "before she is chased out".

But it looks Shahrizat is determined to drag Umno deeper into the affair, which some of her supporters believe was prompted by the prime minister himself. The Umno grapevine is buzzing with talk that Najib wanted to replace Shahrizat with Raja Nong Chik in the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat.

But sadly for Umno, the tinderbox turned into a Pandora's box and Najib is now unable to douse the fire of his own making. As Shahrizat's rivals in Umno rail at her to resign, her supporters are telling to last it out and bargain for the best from Najib before she agrees to quit. To them, Najib's camp is to blame for the Raja Nong Chik threat and the PM deserves the ensuing headache for plotting against her.

Indeed, Raja Nong Chik, who is the Umno Lembah Pantai division chief and FT minister, has already busied himself in the constituency and buntings and banners with his picture alongside Najib's can be spotted all over the Kerinchi and Bangsar areas.

MACC in the spotlight for not taking action

The Malaysian public has been exposed to many such scandals, including Najib's own alleged RM570 million commission from the purchase of two Scorpene submarines. Several new corporate deals involving a ridiculously cheap sale of shares in national car company Proton to Umno crony Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, an exorbitantly priced RM7bil West Coast Expressway project and the controversial AirAsia-MAS share swap are also being questioned.

There are growing demands on the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission to take action on the various cases. But the NFC has drawn the greatest attention, with Malaysians angered at the agency's perceived deliberate inaction against Shahrizat's husband Salleh Ismail, who was accused by another Umno personality Shamsubahrin Ismail of paying him to bribe the police to influence the outcome of the investigations.

Salleh has been in prolonged police remand, again prompting talk of infighting raging in Umno as the various factions take sides and negotiate for the best terms in which to draw the curtains on the scandal.

Apart from Shahrizat and Najib, those involved are deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin who has refused to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry, former prime minister Abdullah Badawi, Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Noh Omar, the current Agriculture minister who oversees the project.

Time for Shahrizat's family to stop hiding behind her

In her bid to negotiate better terms of release for her family, Shahrizat has fired a salvo at her enemies, warning that no one in Umno was without "problems" - which some see as a threat to expose her colleagues if they attacked her too hard.

But critics say corruption is corruption and even if her motivations are for her family, it is time she faced up to the woes caused by the mismanagement in NFC. And perhaps, it is time too for her family to come out and own up to their alleged faults in the NFC, rather than to expect her to keep protecting them.

"In the first place, corruption is wrong. So to sympathize is out. If the allegations are true, then she too would have enjoyed the holidays, the condos and perks. Surely, her husband and children wouldn't have left her out of their activities. Does it make sense?" said Tian Chua.

Malaysia Chronicle