WHY I LOOK FORWARD TO CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR THIS TIME

Umar Mukhtar

No, I’m not a Christian and I just celebrated Awal Muharram recently. But it will be the end of the calendar year and there are so many things to look forward to till then. The time to be joyous as Malaysians. Let me count the ways.

By then, as promised by my prime minister, 1MDB would have completed its rationalisation plan led by the brilliant Arul Kanda, erasing the havoc created by that kampung ex-CEO Shahrul. He almost brought down a government, what with accusations of missing corporate funds. All that will be refuted by the dependable Auditor General after scrutinising the books without fear or favour.

All will be accounted for, beyond the created evidence of IOUs written on ‘kertas bungkus belacan’, or fantasy investments units beyond ‘tahi bawah topi’. How the accusations started is a mystery, and were recklessly exploited by anti-Najib Razak forces. Why it will take so long till the end of the year to refute them with evidenced truth is a bigger mystery. But all’s well that ends well!

So it will then be most likely that the RM2.6 billion couldn’t have been sourced from 1MDB. It was probably truly a donation, and as to where the balance of the unutilised sum is, that really is none of our business. It’s between Najib, the donor, and the proposed beneficiaries. Najib’s defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal would have commenced by then even though Najib will not receive any compensatory sum when he wins because of stupid technicalities. After all, the object to sue is for Najib to clear himself, not to make money.

What about the suit against Tun Ling Liong Sik? Oh, that too will be resolved by then without having to open another can of worms. After all, so much time and chances have been given for Tun Ling to apologise but he will come around at year’s end when he sees all the evidence against his accusations. Meanwhile, the suit will be on, unless delay after delay can conveniently make people forget.

As for the naughty boys, Matthias and his client, Khairuddin, charged as terrorists, most probably with the clearing up of the mess by December, the charges will be mercifully switched to normal mischief, and the only miscarriage of justice, if any, will be their deprivation of bail for being seen as dangerous terrorists that will commit death-causing acts if released on bail.

As for the two high-flying directors of SRC, also before year-end, they will come back from their extended holiday in Indonesia, and they will produce share certificates, not on ‘kertas bungkus belacan’, but of a real multi-million mining company which is in the middle of mining valuable stuff in the deserts of Mongolia. Majallah 3 may make a documentary to put SRC’s detractors to shame. Or Santa Claus might just pay-off the RM4 billion loan SRC had taken from the pensioners.

By the end December, too, the UMNO General Assembly would have been held without much controversy. The party leaders, after listening to the truth, would maintain their support to their President. The much feared Deputy President’s controversial launching of the party wings AGM would have been neutralised in whatever way. Another joyful Assembly indeed.

This would have been the annus horribilis that was for Najib. Such cruel accusations will be appropriately stopped and Dr Mahathir will still remain as the foremost whatever of them all in the history of this country. I am looking forward to the end of the year and I am keeping my fingers crossed. Thinking of holding my breath, too, should I?