If Pakatan Harapan wants to gain any new ground they will need a new and bigger issue to replace the DoJ-1MDB issue. They cannot hope to carry this issue for another year into the next general election. And what happens if by the next general election that “new and bigger issue to replace the DoJ-1MDB issue” is the RCI report on Bank Negara’s US$10 billion forex losses? Something to think about, is it not?
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Next month Pakatan Harapan is going to embark upon a three-month roadshow to ‘explain’ to Malaysians the US Department of Justice (DoJ) announcement of 15th June 2017 plus the earlier one of 20th July 2016. It is going to be a ‘high-powered delegation’ of party leaders who will be shooting with both guns blazing.
Basically, Pakatan Harapan is worried that over the recent Hari Raya weekend no one talked about DoJ, 1MDB or Rosmah Mansor’s jewellery. They did, however, talk about the fuel price, cost of living, etc. The ‘upper crust’ talked about the latest Chanel and about how nice Santorini is this time of the year.
Pakatan hopes the three-month roadshow can distract Malaysians from the US$10 billion Bank Negara robbery
The latest DoJ announcement was supposed to have sent shockwaves throughout the country and convince Malaysians that what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said is true: which is RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money had disappeared into thin air. (Mahathir later changed his statement and said that the figure could even be more than RM50 billion). But then the DoJ did not mention this figure of RM42 billion.
What Mahathir should do is to use this three-month roadshow to explain to Malaysians why he said RM42 billion (or more than RM50 billion) was stolen from 1MDB when it was not. Was Mahathir lying to the nation or did someone lie to Mahathir? If Mahathir did lie did he think he could get away with it?
When Mahathir first launched his attack on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in December 2014 — using the 1MDB issue as the weapon of attack — he thought that Najib would be out within six months or so. People would be outraged that Najib stole RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money and they would kick him out. By the time they discover that Mahathir had lied, and RM42 billion was not stolen from 1MDB after all, it would be too late to do anything. By then Najib would be ousted and Muhyiddin Yassin would be the new Prime Minister with Mukhriz Mahathir as his Deputy.
Pakatan is going to tell the Malays that they want to bring down Najib to ‘Save Malaysia’ without telling them that once Najib falls then Umno-BN are also finished and the DAP-led Pakatan will take over
It is like the Iraq-WMD matter. By the time people discover that Saddam Hussein was not building and hiding WMDs it no longer matters. Iraq would be hancur and Saddam would be dead and the US would be in control of Iraq. So the US lied, so what? Iraq is still finished and there is nothing you can do about it.
If Najib had been ousted within six months, as planned, then it really does not matter whether people find out later the allegation that Najib stole RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money is a lie. Even if you find out later that it is a lie so what? Najib is out and you cannot bring him back as Prime Minister. Tough luck for Najib, just like tough luck for Saddam.
But then it did not happen within six months like what was planned. More than 30 months later and Najib is still in power. The July 2015 coup failed. The October 2015 coup failed. The December 2015 coup failed. The July 2016 coup failed. And now the June 2017 coup appears to be failing as well. Five scud missiles and Najib survived them all. Najib appears to have more lives than a cat.
The trouble with coups is they must be swift and final. Coups cannot go on and on with no ending in sight. The July 2015 coup was supposed to be over in a matter of days. However, before they could strike, Najib struck first and beheaded the main players. Then Najib very cleverly neutralised the October and December coups as well by destroying the aircraft as it was still taxiing on the runway and before it could take off.
Mahathir thought the 1MDB issue was going to be for just six months after which Najib would be out of office
Mahathir then spent many months and a lot of money on the fourth coup, the July 2016 DoJ announcement. That was supposed to be the final nail in Najib’s coffin. But then not only did it not turn out to be the final nail in Najib’s coffin but Mahathir could not even get Najib to get into the coffin. How to nail the coffin if the victim refuses to lie down in the coffin?
Basically it was a blunder that Tun Daim Zainuddin and Kadir Jasin made. As soon as the DoJ announcement is made they were supposed to go to town with the matter and make it a grand media event. But the media event was supposed to be a surprise bash and a sneak attack on Najib. Kadir, however, stupidly let the cat out of the bag and Najib’s Boffin Boys found out. So, yet again, Najib’s Boffin Boys destroyed the aircraft as it was still taxiing on the runway and before it could take off.
Mahathir was furious. That is why he did not allow Daim and Kadir to handle the second DoJ matter this month. This time he asked Cynthia Gabriel, Matthias Chang, Sivarasa Rasiah and Clare Rewcastle Brown to handle the post-DoJ announcement publicity. And that is the reason the airwaves are now crackling with the story about the DoJ announcement of two weeks ago.
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They are hoping that a short-term issue can be extended to a shelf-life of four years
The trouble is issues have shelf-lives, very short shelf-lives (the Russians said only 100 days). The 22nd May Manchester Arena bombing is now forgotten. It was replaced by the 8th June UK general election. Does anyone remember the name of the bomber or how many people died and were injured? In fact, for awhile there was the London Bridge attack that happened on 6th June and which now no one talks about as well.
The UK general election was replaced by the Grenfell Tower fire of 14th June. People are still talking about that, of course, until something new comes along. And that new thing that will replace the Grenfell Tower fire is regarding British Prime Minister Theresa May having to pay £1 billion to get the support of ten opposition Members of Parliament from Ireland to help her form a minority government.
Yes, the British PM is paying RM5.5 billion or RM550 million per person for ten opposition MPs while Anwar Ibrahim wanted to pay just RM600 million for 30 Barisan Nasional MPs to help him form the government in September 2008. Now you know why ‘14th September’ did not happen as Anwar had promised. Malaysian MPs do not makan dedak. You think a mere RM20 million per person is enough?
Anyway, the point is, 30 months is just too long to keep an issue alive. The 1MDB issue is a 2015 issue that is already basi. They tried to keep it alive by giving it a ‘transfusion’ with the July 2016 DoJ announcement. That was supposed to be a short-term, one-month issue, culminating in Najib’s ouster. But Daim and Kadir blundered and the whole event went dead.
By the next general election the RCI report on the US$10 billion forex scandal will replace thecerita basi of the DoJ announcement
The July 2016 DoJ matter is already dead and buried so they needed to bring it back to life. And that was the reason for the 15th June second DoJ announcement. But that, too, was meant to be short term, good for only the Hari Raya holidays when people balik kampung. However, since yesterday, people are returning and the hot issue during the Hari Raya weekend was not the DoJ announcement or Rosmah Mansor’s jewellery.
For all intents and purposes the second DoJ announcement of 15th June is also already a dead issue. So they need to keep it alive by putting it on life-support. And that is what the three-month roadshow is all about: keeping a dead issue alive. They cannot talk about the 2015 1MDB issue. They also cannot talk about the 2016 DoJ announcement. They need to talk about something very current. And that so-called current issue is the 15th June 2017 DoJ announcement.
They thought that Najib would dissolve Parliament soon after Hari Raya and call for the general election around August or September. That was why they timed the second DoJ announcement for June (just before Hari Raya) and the three-month roadshow for July to September. Now, however, it looks like Parliament is not going to be dissolved after all and the general election is not going to be held in August or September.
By September, at the end of the three-month roadshow, the second DoJ announcement of 15th June will no longer be current. It will be cerita basi. If the general election is going to be held next year then the DoJ story can no longer be used. They will need a third DoJ announcement, maybe around March or April next year.
Pakatan Harapan is placing all its money on one horse named DoJ and if this horse does not win then they are finished for good
The fact that Pakatan Harapan’s entire election strategy is based on 1MDB, the DoJ announcement, Rosmah’s jewellery, etc., does not bode well for them. It will take more than that to convince the voters to vote for you. The people who ‘buy’ this 1MDB, DoJ, Rosmah’s jewellery, etc., story are already your supporters. They will vote for you never mind what you say or do not say.
The people who voted Pakatan in 2008 and 2013 will continue voting Pakatan in 2018 even if there was no 1MDB or DoJ. Talking to them about these issues during your roadshow is preaching to the already converted. These are people who will vote DAP, PKR, PAN and PPBM anyway. What you need to do is to sway people who would normally vote Umno, Barisan Nasional and PAS. Can your three-month roadshow do that?
If Pakatan Harapan works its ‘traditional ground’, at best they can win 70 seats. But they need at least 115 parliament seats to form the government (or 125 seats to be safe). Can this three-month roadshow and the 1MDB-DoJ issue help Pakatan Harapan win an additional 45-55 seats? More importantly, if the general election is held in June or July next year, which is a year from now, can this year’s July-September roadshow stay current enough or will voters have forgotten the whole matter and have other matters in their thoughts?
If Pakatan Harapan wants to gain any new ground they will need a new and bigger issue to replace the DoJ-1MDB issue. They cannot hope to carry this issue for another year into the next general election. And what happens if by the next general election that “new and bigger issue to replace the DoJ-1MDB issue” is the RCI report on Bank Negara’s US$10 billion forex losses? Something to think about, is it not?
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