Najib Needs To Team Up With Anwar To Fight Mahathir

But Anwar will have to make a deal with Najib first. Anwar need not ask the AG to withdraw the charges against Najib. All Anwar needs to do is to not interfere with the courts and allow the judges a free hand to rule based on the law and not based on political considerations. Without any interference from the top, and if based purely on the law, there is no way Najib would be found guilty.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The court has delivered its decision. Najib Tun Razak must enter his defence in the SRC International case. And, according to Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Najib is shocked.

I am shocked that Najib is shocked. Did he really think the court would be allowed its independence and that there would be no interference from the top? Since when do Malaysian judges rule based on the law and not based on political considerations?

Najib is like a pop star wherever he goes

Of course, if you had followed the proceedings of the trial, it would have given you the impression that Najib has no case to answer. Hence you would have expected Najib to have been acquitted without his defence being called.

But then this is not a normal case. This case involves the legitimacy of Pakatan Harapan staying in power. To acquit Najib without his defence being called is as good as telling the entire world that Pakatan Harapan should no longer stay in power.

Pakatan Harapan won the general election in May last year on the basis that Najib stole RM42 billion to maybe even RM50 billion of 1MDB’s money. If Najib had been acquitted today, the voters would have felt cheated. They would feel the story of Najib stealing RM42 billion or RM50 billion of 1MDB’s money was a lie.

Mahathir is now quite isolated and lonely and even the Chinese no longer want him as prime minister

Of course, just because Najib was not acquitted today and his defence has been called does not mean he is guilty of stealing RM42 billion or RM50 billion. But the story that he did steal the money can still be spun. If he had been acquitted that would be the end of the story. No more talk about Najib stealing RM42 billion of RM50 billion.

They need this story that Najib stole 1MDB’s money to continue into the next general election expected around 2022 or 2023 (or maybe even 2021 if Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad decides to call a snap election to prevent Anwar from taking over as PM8). And Najib’s SRC trial would not be over by then. Hence they can continue spinning the story that Najib stole 1MDB’s money right into the next general election or GE15.

That is all that Mahathir wants. He wants to be able to use this 1MDB story right into the next general election. Without the 1MDB story how can Pakatan Harapan convince the voters to vote for them? If based purely on Pakatan Harapan’s performance and delivery of election promises, then Pakatan Harapan is a dead duck.

That is all Pakatan Harapan has. The “Najib stole 1MDB’s money” story, the “Umno is a racist party” story, and the “PAS is a Muslim extremist party” story. Other than that, there is no other story to sell to the voters.

Arifin Jaka, a corrupt judge (died 30th December 2011)

Those who had followed Anwar Ibrahim’s corruption and sodomy trials in 1998 and 1999 would know that the truth does not matter. Based on evidence adduced in court, there is no way Anwar would have been asked to enter his defence, let alone convicted of those crimes he was charged with. But he was convicted and sentenced to a total of 15 years jail for both charges.

Every Malaysian who followed the two trials know that the two judges — Augustine Paul (died 2 January 2010) and Arifin Jaka (died 30 December 2011) — had been directed to send Anwar to jail. The conduct of the two trials were so ridiculous that they gave a new meaning to the term “kangaroo court”.

Augustine Paul, another corrupt judge (died 2nd January 2010)

There were dozens of holes in the two cases but the judges ignored all those holes, and ignored the doctrine that the prosecution must prove guilt, and ruled that since Anwar failed to prove his innocence they find him guilty.

The problem was Anwar refused to take the stand to testify. So he could not prove his innocence. Hence, even though the prosecution failed to prove his guilt, the judges took Anwar’s failure to prove his innocence as evidence he is guilty.

In short, guilty until proven innocent and not innocent until proven guilty.

Najib does not seem to realise he has the power to decide who becomes PM8 and save himself from going to jail

In Najib’s case, however, his lawyer said he will be taking the stand to testify. So that means Najib has a better chance than Anwar did in 1998 and 1999.

The long and the short of it is: Anwar’s 1998 and 1999 corruption and sodomy cases were political in nature. And Najib’s SRC International and 1MDB cases are also political in nature. Mahathir needed to keep Anwar in jail in 1998 to stop him from becoming prime minister. And Mahathir also needs to prevent Najib from coming back as prime minister in the next general election.

Mahathir promised Anwar PM7 but now Anwar may not even become PM8 unless new alliances are made

So Najib’s cases cannot be resolved now. They must be dragged into the next general election. By then it would no longer matter whether Najib gets sent to jail or not.

Najib and Anwar both share the same enemy. And that enemy is Mahathir. So Najib and Anwar may need to combine forces. Mahathir is allied to Azmin Ali, Hishammuddin Hussein and Mohamad Hasan a.k.a. Tok Mat. Anwar is allied to DAP and Amanah. PAS, on the other hand, is with Mahathir.

It’s currently a Mexican Standoff so Anwar may need Najib to shift the balance if he wants to become PM8

So, it is more or less a Mexican Standoff. Neither Mahathir nor Anwar has the numbers. Hence alliances need to change to shift the balance one way or another.

And Najib may need to be the one to shift that balance. If Najib works with Anwar and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and if Anwar can convince PAS that their oil royalty for Terengganu and Kelantan will no longer face any obstacles like now (currently Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng is blocking and delaying the payment of the oil royalty to Terengganu and Kelantan), then Mahathir is out and Anwar is in.

But Anwar will have to make a deal with Najib first. Anwar need not ask the AG to withdraw the charges against Najib. All Anwar needs to do is to not interfere with the courts and allow the judges a free hand to rule based on the law and not based on political considerations. Without any interference from the top, and if based purely on the law, there is no way Najib would be found guilty.