A move to unseat Najib, no more, no less

Eddie Hoo, The Heat Online

The battle line was drawn much earlier. Prior to the latest salvo fired, the politicians in power who were either for or against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had taken their positions.

Their alliance was recognised by their stand on the contentious issue at hand — the alleged siphoning of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) money into the personal accounts of the premier.

A concerted effort to shame and corner the prime minister into resigning, orchestrated by no less than former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, started months ago and it offered a sneak peek of how nasty the campaign would become.

Starting with pot shots, the campaign took on a more sinister turn with attacks on his character after questions on his capabilities failed to do the deed. As more dirt got churned up, neutral parties entered the fray, prompted by idealism.

Heck, even those with ulterior motives threw their hats into the ring under the pretence of getting to the truth and removing a supposedly corrupt leader to put the country back on the right path. Never would they say they want Najib out, since it would seem more righteous to claim that they are putting themselves at risk for the good of the country.

Like a thriller novel or a spine-chilling movie with cliffhangers that keep us on the edge of our seats, the whole show is fraught with deceptions and hypocrisies. It is easier to stomach an outright claim that this is a move to unseat Najib, no more, no less.

The political chess game then saw the most crucial gambit offered, which was a move pregnant with possibilities. Former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin stepped up to the plate and offered what could be a game-changing move.

The vital bullet in the arsenal has been fired, and all that remained to be seen is if it has hit the target. The prime minister reacted swiftly by axing his deputy when he reshuffled his Cabinet. This countermove has somehow galvanised Najib’s detractors, drawing together characters who were once at odds.

Even DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang, who seems to have made a political career of opposing Mahathir, has found an ally in him. It can only be political opportunity that the biggest critic of his adversary could propose a government in place with Mahathir in the driving seat.

Surely the man who branded Mahathir as the one who destroyed too many institutions in our society couldn’t be so eager to overlook past transgressions and ask for his help in a joint effort to save Malaysia via a joint government involving the various political parties.

While the nation deals with a political imbroglio involving the dominant party which dictates the direction of the country, a sideshow is playing out with the opposition pact.  Incidentally, all hell broke loose after the incarceration of PKR defacto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

It was after his conviction of sodomy that the Pakatan Rakyat began to unravel, just before the simmering discontent within Umno came to a boil. Call it a coincidence, perfect timing or smart scheduling, but the chronology order of events couldn’t have been better for Umno to work out its differences or purge the enemies from within, if you prefer a harsher tone.

With Anwar out of the way, came an opportune time to crumble the already fragile opposition pact. What easier way to break it up than to incite a split over their different ideologies that they opted to overlook for the sake of political expediency.

That is why suspicions over PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s liaison with Umno have gone disapproved.  The contention over Hudud implementation in Kelantan is sufficient to be the proverbial last straw in the DAP-PAS uneasy working relationship.

In spite of what has happened, we have yet to see all the twists in the current political drama. No scriptwriter could have dreamt up such a sensational plot with manoeuvres that baffle the most imaginative of us and put off the most trusting of Malaysians.