Hadi as PM: Is Najib responsible?

Was there a 'deal' between Anwar Ibrahim and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak over Sodomy II; leading to the PAS dilemma over Anwar?

PETALING JAYA: Firebrand blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has suggested that there may have been a ‘deal’ between Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim prior to the latter’s acquittal in the Sodomy II charge in January this year.

In his latest posting “Does ABU equal to Anwar-for-PM?”, Raja Petra said that about a month before Anwar was acquitted, there was already news filtering out from Umno that Anwar would be freed, adding that the information came from ‘high-ups’ in Umno and was told to him by lawyer-activist Haris Ibrahim.

“Sam [Haris] received from his contacts in Umno that Anwar would be acquitted from the ‘Sodomy 2’ charge. The information that Sam received was that Najib had made a deal with Anwar. However, it was not too clear what type of deal it was,” wrote Raja Petra.

He said that Anwar’s acquittal would ‘more or less confirm’ that the latter had turned “Umno Trojan horse”.

Raja Petra also referred to the latest statements by the PAS Ulama and Muslimat wings’ supporting party president Abdul Hadi Awang to be made prime minister, saying that this may have been in response to Anwar’s unexpected acquittal.

“We were not the only ones caught gasping by Anwar’s acquittal. PAS, too, could not accept Anwar as prime minister. But for them to renounce Anwar would have been ‘bad politics’. However, if Anwar were convicted for Sodomy 2, then the problem would solve itself.

“Due to Anwar’s conviction for Sodomy 2, he would be disqualified from becoming prime minister even if Pakatan Rakyat wins enough seats to form the next federal government,” he wrote.

“If Anwar had been convicted for Sodomy 2, it would have been considered ‘good politics’, said Raja Petra.

According to Raja Petra, jailing Anwar would have had a adverse effect on Barisan Nasiona (BN).

“The sympathy factor would be high and Anwar could be ‘marketed’ as a martyr and a victim of injustice. Having Anwar in jail would benefit the opposition a great deal.

“Plus it would solve the additional problem of not having him as the Prime Minister in the event Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the federal government,” he said.

Was acquittal an independent decision?

Raja Petra said PM Najib may have realised that acquitting Anwar worked better for BN than putting him in jail.

“Najib, too, knew that PAS did not want Anwar as prime minister. Hence the prime minister would be doing PAS a favour by putting Anwar in jail.

“But if Anwar were to be acquitted, then PAS would face a dilemma. Do they (PAS) keep quiet and accept Anwar as prime minister or do they openly declare that they cannot accept Anwar as prime minister?”

“Was Anwar’s acquittal an independent decision by the judge or was the judge’s decision to acquit Anwar a brilliant political move by Najib to drive a wedge between PAS and PKR (plus also now between PAS and DAP it seems)?”

Many in PAS are not convinced about Anwar’s innocence in the Sodomy II matter, but did not want to openly say so, said Raja Petra.

“They are convinced that Anwar is guilty. But they do not want to be the ones to say so. They want the court to say so by convicting Anwar.

“But when the court did not do that, PAS either has to accept that as an indication that Anwar is innocent or else they would have to come out and say that they do not want Anwar as prime minister — without explaining why and leaving it unsaid that the reason is because they think Anwar is guilty.”

Speculating further, Raja Petra said that if PAS won 60 seats out of a 120 in Parliament to form the federal government, DAP and PKR combined would only have 60 seats, giving PAS a concrete standing to assert who should be the prime minister.

“Hence it is not impossible for Abdul Hadi to become the prime minister if PAS wins more seats that PKR and DAP — unless DAP wins the most number of seats and they nominate Anwar for prime minister.”