My choice for the Malaysian of 2018

You will probably disagree; but my nomination, for the "Malaysian of 2018" is the disgraced former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

My reason is simple; ironically, Najib and his "1Malaysia" sound-bite united us.

I am not promoting Najib's so-called achievements, but he brought out the best in Malaysians - from their individual acts of kindness during the Bersih rallies, to the spontaneous helping spirit shown on the May 9 polling day.

He united old foes, like Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Lim Kit Siang. The family of Anwar Ibrahim endorsed Mahathir as the leader of Pakatan Harapan (PH). All faced the common enemy, Najib.

Najib's 1MDB scandal may have put Malaysia on the map for the wrong reasons, but the heavyweight presence of the US Department of Justice, was to our advantage.

The messy banking practices of 1MDB have also forced banks to review their practices.

We also saw that businesses were at Najib's mercy. Those who had sided with Mahathir, were visited by the Income Tax Department. Under Najib, we cringed as Supermax's Stanley Thai apologised for supporting Harapan, while AirAsia's Tony Fernandes praised Najib profusely.

In the world of publishing, the spendthrift ways of his spouse Rosmah Mansor prompted some financial magazines to advise their subscribers, to start saving from their teenage years.

Some children's publications are toying with the idea of a modern version of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, whilst others are working on a new chapter for Tales of the Arabian Nights - about a RM2.6 billion donation from an Arab prince.

Najib's tentacles had an international reach. Foreign leaders were prepared to close one eye to the injustices being perpetrated in Malaysia, because trade and economic ties take precedence over human rights abuses and cries of racism.

Najib was also the undoing of his father's legacy. The Felda scheme, which was once internationally hailed as a successful example of rural poverty eradication in a third-world country, gained a reputation for shady land deals, bad business decisions and leadership tussles.

Felda strayed from its purpose and diversified into activities which were far removed from agricultural. Isa Samad was hand-picked by Najib to helm Felda. It lost millions of ringgits and squandered the money of the settlers and their families.

Under Najib's watch, planes and pastors disappeared. There were also many unexplained deaths. All of which could have been better managed, as he was the boss then.

When MH370 disappeared, the world saw how we reacted. The erstwhile then-inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar dismissed claims that he rejected help.

With their broken English, some heads of departments were ill-equipped to handle questions from foreign reporters. The role of the radar operator and his sleeping supervisor was exposed, only after an international investigation.

The families of the victims were often the last to be informed and Raja Bomoh's antics added to our shame.

In 2009, the year Najib became prime minister, baby Prasana Diksa was kidnapped by her convert father Ridhuan Abdullah. Prasana was snatched from Ridhuan's Hindu wife, Indira Gandhi.

Over two years ago, Pastor Raymond Koh, Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his Indonesian wife Ruth, and Perlis social activist Amri Che Mat were abducted. None of these people have been found. The religious link to these abductions is compelling. Remember that Najib's power base is with the Muslim/Malays.

During the Bersih 4 rally, people camped overnight on the streets in a show of defiance against Najib. It was reported that some police officers were giving the protestors the "thumbs-up".

Just before GE14, strangers who flew to Malaysia to vote volunteered to carry the postal ballots of Malaysians who were unable to return home.

In some communities, people ferried their neighbours to their polling stations to vote. Some families claimed that older members, who have never before voted, changed their minds, and decided to vote.

The navy chief, in a Facebook post, openly said that those who voted could rest assured that their votes were secret. Who would have thought this possible in previous decades?

Like most others, Malaysians were fearful of change, but they were also fed-up with the leaders of government departments, who swore their allegiance to Najib as well as institutions like the judiciary, the MACC and the police. Najib made us do the impossible. We voted him out of office.

The Malays finally saw through Najib's sham of "defending the Malays and protecting Islam". They knew about Felda and Mara but Rafizi Ramli's allegations about Tabung Haji (TH), finally energised them. Many poor Malays placed their hard-earned cash in the TH pilgrimage fund.

In the end, it was not the DAP, the Chinese, the Christians, or even George Soros, who deceived the Malays. It was a Bugis-Malay, Najib, and his side-kick; a man called Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who betrayed the Malays.

When Najib was in power, silence was his forte. When confronted with bad news, his supporters, like Salleh Syed Keruak, would spring to his defence.

Today, many of his henchmen have left, or have to worry about their own futures, and so Najib is forced to make his own presence felt on the social and political scene.

He is still a formidable force who refuses to sit in the dock and does not wear the MACC orange lock-up outfit when he appears in court. This double standards can only mean that Najib still holds some people in his evil grasp. 

Najib is certainly the Malaysian of 2018 - for his ability to unite us.

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter. -Mkini