Umno media draws battle lines over Saiful's dad: Row erupts over who is making fools of the Malays

A small but noisy altercation broke out between the pro-Umno media and a pro-Pakatan Rakyat blogger over Azlan Mohd Lazim's shock revelation his son was used in an "evil conspiracy" concocted by Prime Minister Najib Razak's office to smear Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Clearly divided in their views, the blogger and a reporter from Agenda Daily engaged in a shouting match outside the press room at the PKR headquarters in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya.

Upset at the line of questioning taken by the pro-Umno media during the press conference, which he alleged continued even after the session was over, Abdul Rahman, who blogs at Tulang Besi, and an Agenda Daily reporter accused each other of making fools of the Malays.

"I was upset because they keep talking about 'sumpah laknat'. It is not part of our Muslim beliefs in the first place. This is why I accused those people of 'memperbodohkan orang Melayu' (making fools of the Malays). What type of reporting is that," Abdul Rahman told Malaysia Chronicle after cooling down along the verandah of the PKR office.

Who is making fools of the Malays

The impassioned spat over who is making fools of the Malays is an indication of how worried Umno is by Azlan's revelations. With the 13th general election expected to be called shortly, any news that confirm Najib's hand in the Sodomy II debacle will add to the pressure on the ruling party's chances.

The 59-year-old Najib is already suffering from a sharp fall in popularity based on the latest independent survey conducted by the Merdeka Centre, which showed approval rating of just 61%, a two percentage point plunge due mainly to loss of favor amongst the Malay voters.

The blow-up is also a sharp reflection of how deeply the scars still run in the Malay community. It was split down the line by the 1998 machinations of former premier Mahathir Mohamad, after he controversially sacked and jailed Anwar on trumped-up sodomy charges.

Anwar was then the deputy Umno president and Deputy Prime Minister. He was hugely popular and regarded as the community's hero. Not only did Sodomy I, as the incident has come to be called, ruin his career, it triggered mass street protests.

And as voters, the Malays are now split into pro-PKR, pro-PAS or pro-Umno groups whereas before they leaned heavily towards Umno which has ruled the country since 1957. But it is clear times have changed with the better-educated and young professionals, in particular, quick to question the Umno top brass for a string of corruption and abuse of power scandals, showing greater inclination to support the Opposition.

"The line of questioning should be on how much money has been wasted, how much time, how much public money and how much public time by the trial (Sodomy II)," said Abdul Rahman.

All out to tear Azlan's testimony to shreds

Earlier at the press conference, the pro-Umno media had gone all out to tear Azlan's testimony to shreds.

They grilled him on the timing for his revelation and why he did not stop Saiful from taking the "sumpah laknat" in a mosque that he had indeed been sodomized by Anwar. Saiful's disaster-strike-me-if-I-am-lying oath was made just days before the Permatang Pauh by-election in 2008

The Umno press also challenged Azlan to take a "sumpah laknat" now to prove he was serious about his latest allegations that his son had lied and Anwar was innocent.

However, Azlan refused to take the bait and asked the press to refer to his statement issued on Friday, where he had detailed his reasons for deciding to blow open the case.

It must be mentioned that the courts have found Anwar innocent and acquitted him of the sodomy charges raised by both the Mahathir administration in 1998 and the Najib administration in 2008.

Malay trust in Umno irreversibly broken: First by Dr M, sealed by Najib?

It was in mid-2008, shortly after Anwar announced his decision to make a political comeback and contest the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, that Saiful - a former PKR staffer - had lodged a police report claiming he had been sodomized by the frail Opposition Leader.

In Sodomy II, as the second batch of sodomy allegations against him has been tagged by the press, Anwar was finally acquitted after a long drawn-out trial that has embarrassed the Najib administration more than it hurt Anwar.

Even in 2008, photos had circulated accompanying the red-hot speculation that Najib's political aide Khairil Annas Jusoh was involved in the conspiracy to falsely accuse Anwar. Najib and his wife Rosmah were also implicated. Last year, the first couple was even subpoenaed by Anwar's lawyers to testify in Sodomy II trial but both had refused to do so.

There are now expectations that Azlan will unveil further details about the roles played by Najib, Rosmah and their aides in due course. But whatever the sordid details, what is clear that in his haste to go one up Anwar, Najib may have irreversibly broken Umno's once cast-iron hold on the Malay electorate.

The majority of the Malays are still conservative in their outlook and do not take kindly to being made fools of by any quarter. A good example is Mahathir, who used to ride high in the esteem of the nation. But the year 1998 marked the start of his downfall.

Sad to say, Mahathir is now shunned by many in the country, relying on extremist fringe groups like Perkasa to take up his causes which uses race-championing to claw back lost voter support.

Malaysia Chronicle