By hook or by crook, Najib Razak had to meet Donald Trump before calling a snap election, which had to happen on or before 24 August, 2018. So, after paying millions of taxpayers’ money to lobbyists, accommodation at Trump International Hotel, flight expenses, food, laundry and whatnot, Najib finally secured an audience with Trump on Sept 12, 2017.
Mr. Najib desperately needed the meeting with the U.S. president for many reasons. First, he needed a photo op with President Trump to convince the gullible and ignorant village folks some 15,328-km back home that he wasn’t a crook. How could the world’s most powerful man shake his hand and smile in front of photographers if indeed he was a thief, Najib would argue.
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Second, Najib needed a joint press conference with the POTUS to send a message to not only his opponents – especially Mahathir Mohamad – but also other world leaders of his “legitimacy” as Malaysian prime minister, even after his 1MDB scandal rocked the world. He hoped to use the press conference as a tool to cleanse his corruption and thievery.
Third, he also wanted to publicly invite Trump to Malaysia during the press conference, an invitation that the U.S. narcissist leader could not resist, hence will boost Najib’s image domestically and internationally. It would be the same trick Najib used when Barack Obama agreed to visit the country in 2014, where both leaders subsequently took “selfies” together.
Unfortunately for Mr. Najib, none of his wishlist materialised, despite his pledge at the White House to “Make America Great Again (MAGA)” – to splash US$20 billion purchasing Boeing planes and investing in the U.S. infrastructure redevelopment. Under tremendous pressure, the scheduled photo-op was cancelled, let alone any lunch or state dinner or exchange of diplomatic gift.
It was the first time in history that a leader was given such a humiliating and “deplorable” visit status. Even the customary joint press conference was cancelled during Malaysia then-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s historical visit to the U.S. Of course, the crook almost tears his hair out for being treated like a pariah, more toxic than Angela Merkel whom Trump despised very much.
More importantly, the former premier had wanted Trump administration’s assurance of support in the eventuality of a “hung parliament” in the general election that was about to be called. After the disastrous outcome of his visit to the White House, the desperate Najib instructed his spy woman, Intelligence Chief Hasanah Abdul Hamid, to write to the CIA director, Gina Haspel.
The letter soliciting for U.S. support for Mr. Najib, just 5 days before the 14 general election on May 9, 2019, was a desperate attempt to suck up to the Trump administration. The three-page letter from the intelligence unit under the Prime Minister’s Department, among other things, appealed for U.S. to support Najib administration “even if we win the election by a simple majority or just one seat”.
Although he was confident of winning the election, at least that was what the Special Branch told him, Najib wasn’t sure if he could win big enough to stop Mahathir from pulling a rabbit out of the hat. After all, the 93-year-old man posted letters on Facebook (May 2), calling military generals and police to ensure that their personnel would be able to vote freely without any coercion or restrictions.
In another letter dated Apr 25, 2018 addressed to members of the police and armed forces, the same Mahathir warned there should “not be any threats against the armed forces and police to not vote for the opposition”. It was estimated that there were more than 100,000 members of the armed forces and over 150,000 police officers in the country.
Obviously, Najib was worried about the supposedly “undivided loyalty” of Malaysia’s armed forces to him, not the country and certainly not to a potential Mahathir’s new government. He suspected that as a former prime minister for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, Mr. Mahathir probably still commanded certain loyalty among the soldiers.
Najib’s plan to win the 14th general election included buying over a number of opposition MPs in case his Barisan Nasional won by a razor-thin margin. And Najib didn’t expect his mentor-turned-nemesis Mahathir would surrender without a fight, including the possibility of mobilising armed forces disgusted with his extremely corrupt regime.
After all, we’re talking about Mahathir, a master strategist who had appointed his brother-in-law as the new Armed Forces Chief as a pre-emptive strike during the 1988 UMNO crisis, where he threatened to use the military to take over the country if anyone dared to remove him as prime minister after UMNO was declared illegal and de-registered by the Registrar of Societies (RoS).
Even if Mahathir couldn’t mobilise the military, what will happen if hundreds of thousands took to the street because Najib lost, but play dirty to stay in power by kidnapping or arresting the opposition leaders? What would the U.S. do if Najib wins the election by a simple majority of just one seat, because some opposition MPs suddenly disappeared?
Venezuela’s current turmoil provides some idea what may happen to Najib if he played dirty and used military to stay in power like dictator Maduro. The opposition leader Juan Guaidó has declared himself Venezuela’s interim president after mass protests against Nicolás Maduro. Guaidó’s claim has been recognised by the US, Canada, Brazil, Colombia and others, while the EU has said the voice of the people cannot be ignored.
So, what if the similar scenario happened in Malaysia on May 9 last year? What if opposition leader Mahathir Mohamad declared himself Malaysia’s interim prime minister after mass protests against Najib Razak for massive cheating, where the corrupt Election Commission somehow declared Najib as the winner even if the results say otherwise?
This isn’t some fairy tales because it has been proven that on the night of May 9, the Election Commission had indeed delayed – even suspended – the announcement of the general election winners and the refusal of the signing of the Form 14 documents, presumably to facilitate Najib Razak to have an emergency meeting with his warlords and advisers and to perform his dirty tricks.
Now do you understand why Najib had to meet Trump and sucked up to the U.S. president, failing which he then instructed his spy woman to beg for support from the CIA? Only the U.S. can legitimise the government of Malaysia by a simple congratulation note. Najib needed the US recognition in claiming the government. Unfortunately to Najib, his loss was too spectacular to be salvaged.
– Finance Twitter
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