Deepak, Musa the guns used in Dr M's 'guerrilla warfare' against Najib & Rosmah?

When you want to get at someone who has influence and power, you have to plan and execute with precision and style in order to create maximum and lasting impact. Otherwise, it could backfire badly and you might end up hurt or even dead! That is life in the Malaysia's take-no-enemies, an-eye-for-an-eye political arena.

However, even the best laid and supported plans cannot guarantee success all the time. For example, Umno leaders Musa Hitam, Tengku Razaleigh and Anwar Ibrahim all went against their former boss Mahathir Mohamad with the backing and blessings of their supporters. Yet they failed to oust the wily and Machiavellian Mahathir, who stayed on to rule Malaysia for 22 years.

Sometimes those in power who wish to get rid of others, also in power, may turn to third parties for help. The most obvious and extreme examples of mercenaries using mercenaries include Umno leaders like Prime Minister Najib Razak and fake sodomy 'victim' Saiful Bukhari 'helping' each other to get at Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim with the help of the top police chiefs. Individuals such as Ummi Hafilda, S Nallakaruppan and Ezam Mohd Noor, who invariably pop up to air Anwar's 'dirty laundry' at strategic times, can also be placed in the same category as Saiful.

There have also been those who have ended up dead! Remember Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani? These two men had to pay with the lives for refusing to sing the tune demanded by certain Umno warlords during corruption investigations by - of all people - the Malaysian Ati-Corruption Commission.

Of course, there are some who have been more fortunate such as Raja Petra Kamaruddin, who 'over-criticized' those in power and had to run off to England, where he is now living in luxury. Rap and movie star Namewee had the balls to make fun of the National Anthem but he was later forced to apologize.

The point of all this is that "small' guys - average Joes and Josephines - invariably have to pay dearly should they ever dare to speak up against Umno-BN leaders, especially the ruthless Umno elite, the warlords who would stop at nothing to stop those who try to expose their illicit dealings and mega business contracts.

So how should we analyze the case of Deepak Jaikishan with his various exposés against Najib, the Prime Minister and Umno president no less! Who is giving him courage? What is his game? Is it blackmail? What will be his punishment? Or will it be a 'reward'?

Not so simple as a case of business blackmail or revenge

Let's start by giving Deepak the benefit of doubt and consider his allegations against Selangor Umno Women's chief Raja Ropiaah as an ordinary business deal that had gone wrong. But then, why not just go to court and keep the scandal under wraps?

Why did Deepak time his allegations during the UMNO general assembly and why did he go out of his way to make sure the country knew Najib's family got paid for helping to land Ropiaah the Ministry of Defense deal? What benefit will Deepak get by dragging Najib into his feud with Ropiaah? Wouldn't it make things more difficult for Deepak to involve someone as powerful as the incumbent Prime Minister of the country?

So many questions spring to mind but there is still no answer that fits. Unless of course, Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor were Deepak's main targets in the first place. Then, all the missing jigsaw puzzle pieces would snap back into place perfectly.

Clearly an internal Umno conspiracy to oust Najib

This takes us back to who is behind Deepak.

He is after all just a carpet trader who was once close friends with Rosmah Mansor. Who indeed is Deepak to ‘blackmail’ Najib in such a concerted no-holds-barred way? Deepak should be wary of the repercussions. Not only are Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani good reminders, there is also the example of Altantuya! Yes, the beautiful Mongolian woman who was shot and blown to smithereens by Najib's ex-bodyguards.

As for Najib, it looks like he was taken by surprise. If Deepak had given prior warning, Najib's supporters might have tried to pay him off to spare the PM embarrassment. It looks like Najib was not expecting the ambush although by now, there are stories that his camp has since offered to get RM160 million of loans re-instated to Deepak to 'keep his mouth shut'.

Why hasn't Najib acted to arrest Deepak? Why didn't other Umno leaders defend their president against Deepak's accusations? Why is Deepak still free and continuing to make his exposures?

Even the DAP has lodged a police report against Deepak for allegedly withholding information that Najib was involved in getting a damning statutory declaration on the Altantuya murder reversed. But only silence - deafening and terrible - from Umno and BN.

It sure looks like Deepak has REALLY strong people backing him up against 'that couple', i.e. Najib and Rosmah. Now, who could these be?

Is Anwar and PR behind Deepak?

We can safely rule out Anwar and the Pakatan Rakyat by the simple fact that Umno blogger Papagomo has posted a video clip that purportedly show Deepak making a deal with someone close to Anwar. Why? Because Papagomo has lost his credibility and is also facing several law suits. Papagoma’s reputation has become simply too shady. Even his party has disowned him except for those who are as disgruntled as him.

Also, Papagomo actually represents the 'opposition' within Umno. These are the warlords and the factions who want to kick Najib out from the Umno top post as quickly as possible. So while pointing the finger at Anwar, what Papagomo has actually done is to tell everybody in Malaysia that it is not Anwar nor the PR who are behind Deepak. Therefore, those behind Deepak must be from Umno itself.

To know who in Umno is behind Deepak we must ask the question - who will benefit the most in Umno if Najib is removed from power? Obviously, that person must be someone eyeing the PM's post for himself - the PM in-waiting, so to speak. The most eligible person right now for that is Muhyiddin Yassin. Yes, he is starchy and plodding with no imagination or flair but Najib is little better. Even so, we must remember that Muhyiddin has always been a 'one-man' outfit. He is a political 'loner' with very small real grass roots support.

Which leads to the next question? Whose idea was it to use Deepak? What is the real aim of this unknown person or persons? Do they really support Muhyiddin or are they just wishful of hiding behind him to attack Najib and then when the job is done, they will also act to 'remove' Muhyiddin?

Musa Hassan's past benefactor also his current backer?

Frankly, Mahathir's name is the first to swirl around as the most likely black hand supporting Deepak. Although, a direct connection cannot be proved, Malaysians can make their own 'logical' deductions.

It doesn't help when Mahathir - who has been volunteering his views for free to all and sundry - opts to remain mysteriously silent on the Deepak revelations. After all, if you respect and support someone - as Mahathir claims to support Najib - you would feel hurt and angry at Deepak's accusations.

If you love and care for UMNO, you would defend UMNO in any way you can. But why is it that when Najib's involvement in the Ropiaah case was blared out in public, no one in UMNO defended him? The same goes for Deepak's accusations involving the Scorpene-Altantuya scandal - nobody except Najib's own inner associates defended him. The rest of the UMNO leaders were strangely silent.

And not only that, even Musa Hassan the ex-IGP seemed to have been roped in to add salt to the Najibs' wound. Musa astounded the nation by declaring that Home Minster Hishamuddin Hussein, who is Najib’s most trusted cousin, had interfered in the work of the police.

Undeniably, there is a concerted effort to hit hard on Najib by his enemies within Umno. And it is only logical to deduce that the ones who would benefit most if Najib is removed from power would be Muhyiddin and the people who are using him to achieve their aims.

Even Shahrizat garnered more sympathy than the Najibs

Let's look at Musa Hassan. Who is he most loyal to if not to Mahathir? After all, Musa was the one who helped Mahathir to get at Anwar and for that, Musa was duly rewarded and appointed to the IGP's post when Mahathir made himself the Home Minister. Isn't it odd that Musa did not once accuse Mahathir of abusing his power when he was attacking Hishamuddin?

With 22 years of rule behind him, is it possible that Mahathir never once interfered with police work? Or is it more likely that for each occasion Hisham abused his power, Mahathir would have done the same at least 3 times more often.

If they had their way, many UMNO leaders say they do not want Najib to continue as their president simply because Najib is carrying too much 'baggage' and scandals.

Too much effort, resources and time have been spent on trying to make Najib look good, but the efforts have all gone down the drain. The latest polls on his popularity have just shown an increase of 1 percent, which is an huge insult to UMNO and a deadly omen of what they can expect come the 13th general election.

Dr M's guerilla warfare with Najib and Rosmah

Unlike Mahathir’s “Look East Policy” and “Vision 2020” which remain popular and well-remembered by UMNO members and leaders, Najib’s Transformation programs and 1Malaysia slogan are only being promoted by his ministers, Idris Jala and Rais Yatim respectively. Even Shahrizat Jalil, the embattled Women's chief who lost her Cabinet post due to the RM250 million NFC scandal, garnered more sympathy from Umno members and leaders than Najib at the height of her crisis.

Indeed, why are Mahathir, Muhyiddin, Ku Li, Nazri Aziz, Isa Samad, Rais Yatim, Ali Rustam, Khairy Jamaluddin looking the other way and not say anything to defend Najib from Deepak's accusations? How can they profess to be the PM's loyal men but close an eye when he is being accused of murder and plundering national wealth.

Perhaps the clue lies in Mahathir oft-repeated 'admissions' that his bad blood with Badawi contributed to a disunited UMNO, and that led to the BN's dismal performance in the 12th general election. For the 13th general election, Mahathir has assured he won't repeat the same mistake. But while the 87-year-old may openly express support for Najib and claim that the latter is doing a fine job, he may be in deep 'guerrilla' war-fare with the first couple.

UMNO OUTCASTS: Alone and hurtling downhill with no brakes 

It is therefore obvious that Najib and Rosmah are alone by themselves as far as UMNO is concerned in the Deepak-Musa revelations . And caught by surprise, it is no wonder that Najib and Rosmah do not know how to react but wring their hands in desperation and try to brazen their way out by keeping their mouths shut instead of coming clean to the public.

Deepak and Musa - two very different men and characters - show once again that Najib and Rosmah are now outcasts in UMNO. The couple are like a cancerous tumor in the party as it tries hard to retain its grip on the federal government. To UMNO, the Najib-Rosmah tumour has already been confirmed to be malignant. It has grown too big and could choke UMNO to death.

The only solution is to remove the tumour soon. That is a given, the real question is HOW SOON?

Malaysia Chronicle