Mahathir’s attempt to save us from ourselves

His articulations cut through the distortions that contaminate the scene of the 1MDB investigation.

COMMENT

It is absurd to gag people before the results of the 1MDB probe have been revealed when it is well known that the task force is broken and the PAC is frozen. This contradiction seems lost on the cabinet members who seem free to spread their own versions of the saga.

Without the full findings from the forensic audit hounds, aren’t the verbal spiels of the pro-Najib camp just as much conjecture as those of the anti-Najib camps?

Nearly a year since 1MDB became gossip, the public is finally catching on to the theatrics. They are incredulous that Jews and Christians, as well as Islam, have to be dragged into the 1MDB narrative and are trying to make sense of what has happened to the PAC, MACC and the AG’s office. This is all too pitiful a ploy to pay much heed to, but it does show just how people at the top will make believe whatever they must to ensure survival, even if it means looking foolish.

The people are convinced that the PAC transfers and the AG’s forced retirement are as unwholesome as they look and smell. Tripping up MACC was just more of the same.

Mahathir’s Chedet blog postings say that it has gone past mere perceptions. The signs are widespread and cannot be ignored. He suggests that there is a real problem to own up to and much bitter medicine to be swallowed if the government is to avoid falling off the precipice. His remark that Najib has stolen the government must be his shrillest yet.

Mahathir’s articulations cut clean through the distortions that contaminate the scene of the investigation. He is still unsurpassed in his ability to put things plainly.

A strong leadership with the trust of the people can forge ahead even when the path is not clearly defined but still volunteers information because it is right to do so. A weak leadership, however, must negotiate everything in detail before getting any compliance but avoids explaining whenever possible so as not to be pinned to any position. The public must decide if the Najib leadership and administration most resemble the former or the latter.

Umno is not used to operating without unanimity of mind and will. If the party faithful who used to give Najib the benefit of the doubt in the past won’t buy his explanations, what hope is there that the rest of Malaysia will? Will the people put up with a lame duck leader for three more years? This cannot be a winning strategy to lead the party and the coalition into GE14.

There was a time when those who disagreed with Najib still needed him. Now those who detest him are seeking a constitutional way to be rid of him so they cannot be accused of attempting an unlawful coup. This effort will be framed as a conspiracy and crime by Najib’s defenders.

There is a sense that Mahathir’s motives are far bigger than his son’s prospects. His need to reset the course seems to indicate dutifulness and perhaps some degree of atonement for the past.

While Najib controls the powerful levers of government, Mahathir has the ear of the people. He needn’t be the first to say anything but his words still pack quite a punch. It might be a chicken or egg quandary. The lack of support to remove Najib may in part be due to the absence of a suitable successor, or maybe a successor will only appear when there is sufficient support to push him out.

Will the MPs be reminded of who they were elected to serve? It is not too far-fetched to say that PM Najib’s popularity, which is already low, is set to slide even further. Could the BN representatives who are beholden to Najib still be responsive to their constituents if their constituents were to express dissatisfaction with the PM?

Mahathir readily admits to the stalemate between the anti and pro-Najib camps and that the majority needed to drive a no-confidence vote is still elusive. Obviously, he is aware that the crisis, if drawn out, would be catastrophic for all. There seems a genuine foreboding and concern in the tone of his musings. It is as if the nation is already at the brink and there is still no will for the change that will save us all.