End Game

Parti KeAdilan Rakyat (PKR) would not survive much longer after Opposition Leader Anwar “Mat King Leather” Ibrahim is incarcerated by next week from the decision of the Sodomy II case, as the party was born out the cry to coax and rally the Malaysian public for his own personal reasons.

Pro-Anwarista news  portal story (based on The Economist report).

If Anwar goes back to jail, Azmin and co. can take over, says Economist

Published: 1 November 2014

Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali (right) with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at Anwar’s Sodomy II trial in Putrajaya. Should Anwar’s jail sentence be upheld, Azmin is touted as among those who can take over the PKR leadership. – The Malaysian Insider pic, November 1, 2014.
Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali (right) with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at Anwar’s Sodomy II trial in Putrajaya. Should Anwar’s jail sentence be upheld, Azmin is touted as among those who can take over the PKR leadership. – The Malaysian Insider pic, November 1, 2014.
If Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim goes back to jail after the Sodomy II appeal next week, the sentence will not only turn the 67-year-old into a martyr but also give other younger PKR leaders a chance to shine, The Economist said today.

In an editorial today, the newspaper said the ruling Barisan Nasional had thwarted Anwar’s political ambitions for 16 years – since his fallout with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 – and this week’s trial at the Federal Court “looks like the end of the road” for Anwar.

But the silver lining, said the paper, was the chance for younger leaders in PKR, such as Azmin Ali, Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah Anwar, to take over the leadership reins and prove their mettle.

Of the trio, Selangor Menteri Besar and PKR deputy president Azmin is seen as the most promising.
“He cut his teeth as Anwar’s private secretary during his years in government and has proven a loyal deputy. But the capable 50-year-old can readily move out from his mentor’s shadow,” the paper said.

Azmin not only had greater experience than Nurul Izzah (Anwar’s daughter and PKR vice-president) and Rafizi (PKR strategy director), he was also the winner of the “Kajang move” debacle and ended with the plum post of menteri besar. (Rafizi was the architect of the “Kajang move”.)

If Azmin can prove to the electorate that he can govern Selangor competently, then he might achieve what his mentor could not: taking over the country as prime minister.

The newspaper said even if Anwar’s appeal was successful, he was “no longer quite as crucial to the opposition (Pakatan Rakyat) as he once was”. Anwar, it noted, had twice failed to lead PR to outright victory in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.

But Anwar remains a charismatic figure and can still raise a crowd as he did on Monday at Universiti Malaya. Anwar was invited to the “40 years: from UM to prison” event which the university administration had declared illegal.

Despite that and a campus-wide shutdown, 2,000 people turned up to hear Anwar talk. UM student leader Fahmi Zainol is now facing disciplinary action for going ahead with the rally.

The Sodomy II trial comes at a politically sensitive time in Malaysia.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who has often touted his moderation credentials and is still basking in Malaysia’s win of a United Nations Security Council seat, must now deal with plunging approval ratings.

The dip in Najib’s popularity has been attributed to the reduction in fuel subsidy and negative sentiments among voters over various issues, including increasing cost of living, the general condition of the economy, and racial and religious tensions.

The Najib administration is also accused of using the colonial-era Sedition Act to clamp down on dissent. Opposition politicians, academics and activists are among those charged with sedition or under investigation.

Najib’s party, Umno, holds its general assembly at the end of this month. Najib is facing pressure from conservatives aligned with Dr Mahathir who might engineer his removal as party president.

To ward them off, Najib must show that he is not a weak leader and manage the fallout from the Anwar trial.

Last night, Najib who is also BN chairman, urged BN component parties to strengthen their respective positions, claiming that PR was in more turmoil than BN.

“We need to look internally, strengthen each party and show the commitment to ensure BN’s continued success,” he said.

“We can improve on our cooperation – we look at the opposition and they are more in turmoil than BN.”

The Selangor menteri besar saga which dragged on for months saw the PR parties of PKR, DAP and PAS clashing over the matter and affected ties among the three partners.

The Anwar Sodomy II trial has seen some ties being repaired among the PR parties with PAS’s Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad among those who turned up at the Putrajaya court. – November 1, 2014.

- See more at:http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/if-anwar-goes-back-to-jail-azmin-and-co.-can-take-over-says-economist#sthash.SnFvooDg.dpuf

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The case is now being heard in Federal Court. On Monday, 3 November 2014 Tan Sri Shafiee Abdullah acting as Public Prosecutor shall make his final submission.

PKR was a rebranded Parti KeAdilan Nasional (PKN), which itself is a morph from KeAdilan (Adil).

When Anwar was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister on 2 September 1998 and as UMNO member a day later, he rallied the growing supporters, sympathisers and curious onlookers at his home in Damansara Heights day-by-day and launched ‘Reformasi’ movement. The excuse was “To fight injustice, reflected in him being victimised with preposterous un-natural sexual practices” and “Dr. Mahathir’s attempt to protect his massive cronyism”.

Tens of thousands of supporters and sympathisers bought into his oratory gift of the gap and rallied and broke Police lines, in a series of demonstrations which designed and turned ordinary gullibles  into lawless mobs.

Many of former UMNO leaders, civil and social activists, academicians and law professionals rallied behind him.

Names like Dr Chandra Muzaffar, Abdul Rahman Osman, Mohd. Sidek Baba, Zulkifli Nordin, Zainur Zakaria, Ansari Abdullah, Dr Jomo K Sundram and many more.

Amongst UMNO leaders were not spared, which ranked names like Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Dato’ Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Dato’ Ahmad Hj. Maslan, Dr. Mohd. Khir Toyo, Ezam Md. Noor, Ruslan Kassim and Lokman Noor Adam. Since, all have returned back into the nationalist party and assumed very strategic positions.

Fast forward, the support and confidence on Anwar has waned drastically. Many PKR leaders and grassroots begin to question so many of the proven to be worthless and even deceptive political movements. Immediate examples are “31 BN MPs jumping to Pakatan Rakyat and he shall be Prime Minister” in the wake of Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s Police report and investigation for Sodomy, in August of 2008.

‘Black 505′ rally which was launched days after Pakatan Rakyat failed to grab power on 8 May 2013 13GE as BN won 133 Parliamentary seats against them, 89 seats and getting back Perak and Kedah State Governments. The “40,000 Banglas were flown in to vote BN”, which the excuse to maliciously slander BN, is nothing but a lie.

The more recent is the “Kajang Move” and the unnecessary sacking of MB Selangor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, which caused HRh Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah of Selangor to speak up and lambast the political circus, at the expense of the Selangor State Government and the rakyat.

Anwar is undoubtably the ‘unifying gel’ between DAP and PAS. to rally against BN based on deception and manipulated information. Particularly hyping on the excuse of “Miscarriage of justice, social injustice, oppression against minority, majority supremacy, corruption and abuse of power and improper and imbalanced development”.

Many PAS leaders and grassroots beginning to question the party which struggle is based on ‘Al- Quran and Hadith’ which has since abandoned its ‘Islamist party’, “Struggle for Hudud” and issues like apostasy, for the union of the Unholy-marriage-of-(in)convenience-between-backstabbing-strange-bedfellows.

PAS has proven to be the net loser, amongst the Opposition parties where else PKR which had the least clout and resources gained most for PAS supporters’ votes.

As Anwar digress in the agony valley of politically irrelevance, being incarcerated as a convict by next week, the general public confidence on Pakatan Rakyat shall painfully diminish as the tri-party lose coalition crumbles. DAP shall focus in maintaining its 37 Parliamentary seats and Penang State Government and PAS shall return concentrating on the Malay hinterland.

This is something proven once. The Gagasan Rakyat which Anwar banked on the 10GE in November 1999, capitalising on the public wrath particularly the Malays against Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s for “Victimising his Deputy, to protect his cronyism”, waned when High Court Judge Arifin Jaka found him guilty for sodomising wife’s driver Azizan Abu Bakar.

Many top UMNO leaders are coming to realisation of the complacency of the mainstay of BN and obtuse of its own leaders.

Bernama story:

Umno should be bolder to remain people’s champion, says Muhyiddin

Published: 1 November 2014
Umno must adopt new approaches and move away from operating in “business as usual” mode because the party is the hope of the Malays who want a party which is bolder to face challenges, said Deputy Prime Minister and Umno deputy president, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic).

He said because Umno appeared slow to change, the people were becoming more daring to question Umno’s struggle, especially in championing the race, religion and the country.

“Umno is seen as weak, not brave to move forward. Many quarters are even beginning to question our fundamental rights openly when previously they wouldn’t,” he said when opening Terengganu Umno’s annual convention in Kuala Terengganu today.

Muhyiddin, said he too had been questioned why Umno was not vocal, afraid to move forward and why only non-governmental organisations were fighting for the fate of the Malays.
He said it was for this reason that Umno remained firm in defending the Sedition Act, to curb elements that could destroy unity and the country’s sovereignty.

Muhyiddin said it was time for Umno to act and to prove that the party was still relevant to champion the people’s interests.

“What is important is to strengthen out party. I support the motion to strengthen unity in the country moved by the Terengganu Umno,” he added.

He also said that Umno, as the pillar of the Barisan Nasional (BN), had yet to fully recover from the problems facing the party since the 13th general election .

“Even the prime minister, when chairing the BN supreme council meeting two days ago, said there are still not enough changes because some are still in a state of denial,” he added.

He said in GE13, Umno and BN only won 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats, and lost to the opposition in Kelantan, Penang and Selangor, apart from winning a simple majority in Perak and Terengganu.

Muhyiddin also hoped for changes in Terengganu under the New Terengganu Transformation initiative mooted by Menteri Besar Datuk Razif Abdul Rahman.

“Now we only have 17 state seats, in GE12 we had at least 22 seats. We have lost and also won, time to strengthen back our struggle,” he added.

Terenganu Umno deputy chief Datuk Jailani Johari, who is also Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister, told reporters that the outcome of the convention would be brought up at the Umno general assemmbly to be held in Kuala Lumpur at the end of this month.

“I urged the leadership at all levels, at the division, branches and grassroots to uphold the party spirit so that Terengganu Umno will remain strong,” he said.

He added that the presence of two top party leaders, Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-president Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein had fired up the members to achieved a greater victory in the state for the BN in the next general election.

Meanwhile, Terengganu Umno Information chief Wan Abul Hakim Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar said Terengganu Umno would consolidate various aspects of the party’s struggle so as to enable it to return to its glory days (when it easily won two-thirds majority in any election).

Among these were strengthening the position of Islam, the status of the Malays, upholding the sovereignty of the institution of the Rulers and the supremacy of the constitution. – Bernama, November 1, 2014.

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And Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak, who called for biting the bullet.

Najib: Selangor UMNO needs reforms to recapture the state

Bernama | Updated: November 01, 2014
(First published on: November 01, 2014 15:45 MYT)

He said the Selangor Umno could no longer continue with its old strategy with the hope of getting a different outcome.
KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Umno has to be brave in outlining new strategy and to change its mindset if it wants to recapture the state, party president, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.

The prime minister also outlined three realities which the Selangor Umno should accept.

They are Umno’s position as an opposition party, Selangor’s strategic location as an active socio-economic centre, and the need to work hard to win the support of the urban and semi-urban voters, he said.

He said the Selangor Umno could no longer continue with its old strategy with the hope of getting a different outcome.

“If no change in strategy, direction, approach and mindset, can we hope for the outcome to be different.

“Do we need an extraordinary mentality, a strategy that is different from the norms and out of the box thinking to determine the success that we have been longing for,” he said when opening the Selangor Umno Convention at the Putra World Trade Centre here today.

Najib said the Selangor Umno should also take advantage of the leadership problems among the opposition pact in the state to restore the people’s support for Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN).

Referring to the water crisis in Selangor and the ‘Kajang move’ as examples, he said they only created problems for the Selangor people.

“We have to show the Selangor people that the Umno leadership is better, more meaningful, more honest with the people, emphasises more importance on caring for the people,” he added.

At the same time, Najib also criticised Selangor Umno, saying that it was still slow and wanted the state liaison committee to buck up in its preparations for the coming 14th general election.

“We are still slow. I look at the numbers, I want to say we are still slow. Why is there no increase in the number of voters, Umno members?,” he asked.

BN did badly in Selangor in the 12th and 13th general election.

In the 13th general election, BN only won 12 state seats, from 20 in the previous general election.

Najib said he believed that Selangor Umno could win back the state if it was able to restore its confidence following its dismal performances in the previous two general elections.

“There is nothing that will make me happy than to gain back our pride in the coming general election. Nothing will make me happier than to see Umno back in power in Selangor,” he added.

Also present at the convention were Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and the Selangor Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Noh Omar.

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He was State BN Chairman when the party faired worst in its 54 years history in Selangor.

Now that UMNO leaders are coming hard for the nationalist party to buck up, the confidence and support of the Malay majority which is the backbone of Malaysian politics 

As such, BN managed to win 90% of the Dewan Rakyat in the April 2004 11GE.

Hence, The Economist is attempting to hold water is false analysis, without reflecting what happened in the actual Malaysian political scene once. History do repeat itself, just like Anwar’s conviction for the same crime under the same section (Penal Code 377B). -bigdogdotcom