For now, Shahrizat, family, cows and condos are safe but ...

It looks like a compromise has been struck between Prime Minister Najib Razak and all the bickering parties in the RM250mil NFC financial debacle, with main star Shahrizat Jalil recently declaring she has been 'given the trust' to lead the UMNO Women's wing into the 13th general election and 'not to fail the commander-in-chief'.

Word from the UMNO grapevine is that Najib has come to the conclusion it is not worthwhile to investigate the matter anymore. Yes, there is a concerted effort to deliberately extricate Shahrizat from the NFC debacle and let the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission cover up the scandal. UMNO must not be directly implicated because the impact of the debacle will be too detrimental to the party.

Don't find faults

The MACC has been instructed not to find faults that will enable the Attorney General to prosecute Shahrizat and her family, but to remove any evidence of wrongdoing, or at least to show that something has done but again not leading to prosecution.

Such news is bound to shock Malaysians, who are already becoming weary of the rampant corruption in the country. Indeed, it has already disgusted many UMNO members, who are downright upset at the favoritism shown to Shahrizat, warning that such a bad example could only further destroy UMNO, which has ruled Malaysia for 5 decades.

Meanwhile, UMNO watchers flayed Najib for "another bad decision", warning that by protecting Shahrziat, UMNO and BN stood to lose more votes. "Put it this way, this is not a defensive move but a suicidal one. Within the party, few are fooled including the Wanita members. Everybody knows the big bosses always protect themselves," an UMNO veteran told Malaysia Chronicle.

He was referring to UMNO's ruling elite. Over and above its 20-odd member Supreme Council, UMNO is governed quite strictly by a few political clans. These include the Mahathir Mohamad faction, the Najib faction and the Abdullah Badawi faction.

Feverish negotiations between rival factions

Mahathir Mohamad, the former UMNO president and prime minister, has made it clear UMNO should drop Shahrizat, saying she should step down "before she's chased out". When Shahrizat challenged former Trade minister Rafidah Aziz for the Women's chief in 2008, Mahathir openly supported Rafidah, his long-time lieutenant.

The opposite held true for Abdullah Badawi, who took over from Mahathir as UMNO president and premier in 2003. Abdullah is known to have a soft spot for Shahrizat, a prominent former lawyer known for her tact although not transparency. UMNO legend has it he instructed his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin to 'let' her family win the tender for the National Feedlot Centre project.

The NFC is the country's first livestock breeding project aimed to enable Malaysians to access a cheap supply of beef. It is funded by a government soft loan, while Shahrizat's husband Salleh Ismail and three children have been accused of misusing some RM181 mil of the RM250 mil loan. They have vigorously denied any wrongdoing but have not offered documentary evidence that the allegations made against them were lies as they had claimed.

'Inducted' into Najib's camp

Meanwhile, Najib's camp has been busy telling other UMNO members to go easy on Shahrizat. Apart from the excuse that it would hurt UMNO even more if she were made to quit, Najib is telling party stalwarts that Shahrizat has been 'inducted' to his camp. This would also mean that Najib must have secured some form of support from Badawi, who while not as influential as Mahathir, still commands a hefty 'war chest' or funds that would come in handy during national or party elections.

UMNO insiders said because of Khairy's involvement in the NFC debacle, Badawi may have no choice but to align himself to the Najib faction so as to save his son-in-law's "skin".  The first test of their new 'alliance' will come in the choice of 'winnable' candidates for the coming general election. Badawi is expected to throw his support behind Najib's proposal. Some even speculate that Badawi has agreed not to contest his Kepala Batas seat and pass it onto Khairy, who will have to surrender his existing Rembau seat.

Najib, who has been accused of being one of the dark hands behind the NFC scandal, is believed to have convinced Shahrizat and Raja Nong Chik to bury the hatchet. Nong Chik, the FT minister, is one of Najib's blue-eyed boys. A member of the Lembah Pantai UMNO division, Nong Chik was handpicked to become a Senator and then inducted into the Cabinet as FT Minister.

Kepala Batas for Khairy, Titiwangsa for Nong Chik?

Nong Chik has expressed interest in contesting the Lembah Pantaii parliamentary seat,but this is Shahrizat's stronghold. She has resisted furiously. However, the NFC scandal has whittled away her bargaining power and she may now have no choice to surrender Lembah Pantai to Nong Chik, who is expected to be trounced by PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Nong Chik is said to be disappointed Najib has decided not to axe Shahrizat, but there is nothing he can do. Nong Chik is completely reliant on Najib's goodwll, not having won any seat of this own. His reward for having helped Najib in the blitz against Shahrizat is that he will remain on the 'winnable' list although he may be slotted for the Titiwangsa seat rather than the Lembah Pantai.

No Cabinet post fior Shahrzat?

The deal between Najib and Shahrizat is that she shall lead the Wanita wing, ensure the best for UMNO to win. In return, Shahrizat and her family will not be prosecuted, but no more Cabinet post for he. Najib hopes to pacify Mahathir and UMNO leaders this way.

Thus, with Shahrizat still in his team, Najib feels a bit stronger. Shahrizat has secured more time and safety for her family from prosecution. But make no mistake. Much as she wants to portray to the people that everything is okay, Shahrizat is in fact on her last tour of duty.

But Shahrizat cannot sleep soundly yet because there are still others from various other camps who want her head. Also, she desperately needs a Cabinet post and has not given up negotiating for one with Najib. She has to have some bargaining power for another deal. She still has the window of opportunity now that her family and the NFC debacle have been taken care of; she can now concentrate on making a comeback.

Secretly, she will ensure that her supporters will be in the “winnable” list now in Najib’s hand. She plans to convince Najib to put in as many as of her people in the list by both threatening him and supporting him. Shahrizat will promise Najib that with her people on board, they will give him their undivided support and loyalty. Otherwise, she will lead them into backstabbing him, though of course, she hasn't spoken out these words yet. But Najib knows! It is after all the UMNO way.

In the meantime, Shahrizat will continue to negotiate with other warlords such as deputy president and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is expected to challenge Najib for the top party post in UMNO elections due next year.

Malaysia Chronicle