Why Najib Chose The Forex Scandal To Whack Mahathir

Najib has many options to choose from in how to hit back at Mahathir. Najib could have chosen any one of the dozens of scandals that Mahathir left behind. But Najib chose the Bank Negara forex scandal to whack Mahathir. And this was done for a reason.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I can give you scores of clichés to describe Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s latest blog posting titled SURUHANJAYA DIRAJA. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. Don’t do unto others what you would not have done unto you.

Anyway, I am sure you know what I mean. Mahathir is so upset that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak beat him at his own game…and more, in fact.

Mahathir went all out to try to oust Najib in a most vicious and relentless manner with absolutely no mercy whatsoever. However, when he gets whacked back, Mahathir cannot stand it. Mahathir wants to shadowbox. He wants to hit Najib but he does not want Najib to hit back. And now Mahathir is grumbling that Najib is using the RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) that was set up to investigate the RM31.5 billion Bank Negara forex losses to hit him (….penubuhan RCI bertujuan mencari alasan untuk mengaitkan dan menyalahkan kepimpinan parti lawan dengan dakwaan bahawa pegawai-pegawai Bank Negara menipu jumlah kehilangan duit bank semasa mengurus dagangan mata wang 30 tahun dahulu).

Mahathir is sore that Najib beat him at his own game and now the hunter is the hunted

Surely Mahathir knows when you hit someone that person will hit you back — and sometimes hit you back even harder. Even a dog will bite you if you kick it. Did Mahathir not throw Anwar Ibrahim into jail in 1998 when Anwar plotted against him? And did Mahathir show any mercy for Anwar? Until today Mahathir has not shown any remorse regarding what he did to Anwar. So what does Mahathir expect to happen when he plots against Najib and for the last three years tried all sorts of ways and means to oust Najib?

The mistake here is Mahathir thought Najib was going to be a pushover. When Mahathir started attacking Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah) in June 2006, 33 months later Pak Lah resigned from office. But it is now 36 months since Mahathir started the attacks on Najib and he still refuses to resign. In fact, Najib is getting stronger rather than weaker.

And this is what Mahathir is really very upset about. If this state of affairs continues, Najib may still be Prime Minister when they give Mahathir the grand ‘send-off’ to the Hero’s Mausoleum at Masjid Negara (Makam Pahlawan). Najib has plenty of time on his side, something that Mahathir does not have the luxury of.

Najib is not such a pushover after all as Mahathir thought

Mahathir grossly underestimated Najib — or maybe Mahathir overestimated his own prowess. It was Mahathir who appointed Pak Lah as his successor. So when he wanted Pak Lah to go there was very little choice in the matter — although Pak Lah did resist in the beginning until the attacks became too severe that Pak Lah eventually had to throw in the towel and call it a day.

But it was not Mahathir who appointed Najib as Pak Lah’s successor. Pak Lah did. So Najib does not owe Mahathir any favours and does not need to call it quits just because Mahathir wants him out. And this is what Mahathir forgot. He made Pak Lah the Prime Minister. So he can ‘unmake’ him. But Mahathir did not make Najib the Prime Minister. So he cannot ‘unmake’ Najib.

When the attacks first started Mahathir constantly insulted Najib by calling him a coward, no balls, and so on. But Najib kept quiet and this made Mahathir feel that Najib was not a fighter and would never dare hit back. But Najib’s silence is what Malays would call ‘diam-diam ubi berisi’. There was bisa (sting) in Najib’s silence and Mahathir was soon going to feel the full power of this bisa.

Mahathir was so proud of his Look East Policy, which he launched soon after he became Prime Minister in 1981. Mahathir wanted Malaysia to learn from Japan’s success and to emulate this success. Mahathir should also have learned from Japan’s mistakes. And the mistake Japan made was it woke up a sleeping tiger, the United States, by attacking Pearl Harbour.

The day Japan attacked Pearl Harbour was the day the fortunes of WWII changed. America’s entry into the war not only affected the Pacific Theatre but the war in Europe as well. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbour it triggered the end for Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Mahathir should have let sleeping tigers go on sleeping. But Mahathir gatal sangat and just had to poke Najib with a stick. And now Najib has grabbed that stick and has beaten Mahathir back with it. And Mahathir goes crying back to mama.

With so many scandals to choose from Najib chose the Bank Negara forex scandal to hit back at Mahathir and this was done for a reason

Najib has many options to choose from in how to hit back at Mahathir. Najib could have chosen any one of the dozens of scandals that Mahathir left behind. But Najib chose the Bank Negara forex scandal to whack Mahathir. And this was done for a reason.

For 20 years Lim Kit Siang has been demanding an RCI on the Bank Negara forex scandal. This was Kit Siang’s wish. So Najib granted Kit Siang’s wish. But now Mahathir is complaining about the RCI and is whacking Najib. But it was Kit Siang and not Najib that has been demanding the RCI for the last 20 years. So why whack Najib instead of Kit Siang?

Najib killed two birds with one stone. This RCI on the Bank Negara forex scandal is hurting both Mahathir and Kit Siang. Mahathir cannot whack Kit Siang for demanding the RCI. And Kit Siang cannot join Mahathir in condemning the RCI without looking more stupid than he already looks. Kit Siang has no choice but to let Mahathir take the heat all alone.

It was Kit Siang who for more than 20 years has been pushing for the RCI on the Bank Negara forex scandal and now he got his wish

Mahathir now realises he has been outplayed by Najib. In fact, Najib outplayed both Mahathir and Kit Siang at the same time. Mahathir wasted RM1 billion in bribing Kit Siang so that Mukhriz has a fighting chance to become Prime Minister. But now Mahathir’s agenda to make Mukhriz Prime Minister has failed.

Mahathir is trying to deflect things by saying that Abdul Murad Khalid should be equally liable for the Bank Negara forex disaster. Mahathir is sore that Murad testified and revealed that the Bank Negara losses were not RM5.7 billion as declared but RM31.5 billion. All this while Malaysians were led to believe that the losses were just RM5.7 billion. Now the truth has been revealed and it is RM31.5 billion and not RM5.7 billion.

Mahathir was looking at things from just his own position. When you attack someone you do not just look at your own strengths and weaknesses but those of your enemies as well. Things never happen in isolation but in relation to others. And this is the mistake Mahathir made. Mahathir failed to see that while he may have his moves, Najib has his moves as well. And Najib’s moves caught Mahathir with his pants down.