The latest goings-on in Malaysia, where a judge is under siege, could well be the subject of a Netflix series. Allow me to write a short brief for one which should be a blockbuster success rivalling that of, if not, ‘The Crown’, then ‘The Anatomy of a Scandal’.
Series synopsis
A judge, elevated to the second-highest court of the land after a brilliant career at the High Court where he sentenced a former prime minister to a heavy jail sentence and massive fines, faces allegations of financial malfeasance. He is unwittingly pulled into a plot to return the former PM - the biggest kleptocrat the world has ever known with billions coming into his accounts - and his party to power in the forthcoming general elections. A tale of unthinkable deceit, filled with twists and turns to rival the most intriguing of political sagas. Will the judge succeed in clearing his name? Will the people be taken in? Will the ex-PM’s party win the elections? What happens to the country and its people if it does?
Key cast
The Judge
The kleptocrat ex-PM
His co-conspirator, a podgy, Chinese whizz-kid
The two-time, two-timing PM
The aspiring prime ministerial candidate
The new finance minister
The new attorney-general
The new, new PM 1
The new, new PM 2
The current leader of the ex-PM’s party
The anti-corruption agency head
Season 1: Synopsis
Even as the nation celebrates an unprecedented election victory when the most kleptocratic government in the world is overthrown after 60 years, dark clouds are already looming on the horizon. A two-time PM now heading the coalition government, betrays its manifesto and the government collapses. Meantime, much progress has been made in charging the ex-PM but the court cases are slow. Things change dramatically after the new government is overthrown as traitors jump to the new ruling party. Amazingly, the return of kleptocrats seems to have the people’s support. Or does it?
Episode 1
The Malay ex-PM, then in power, together with his young Chinese whizz-kid co-conspirator engineers the largest theft on record in history, stealing billions from US$6.5 billion in proceeds from a bond issue for a “national strategic company” arranged by the not-so-venerable US financier Goldman Sachs. Journalists, both local and foreign, unearth bits and pieces of the scandal which blows wide open with the US Department of Justice investigation, leaving little doubt as to guilt and who was responsible.
Episode 2
Against nearly all expectations, the 2018 elections results in a win for the opposition as the people are sickened by the scale of the theft and the ensuing lavish spending. The ex-PM’s move to flee the country via a plane sent from Indonesia is foiled by a spontaneous crowd. The two-timing PM is installed after some palace drama, making him a two-time PM after his earlier 22-year reign speckled with abuses and dictatorial practices.
Episode 2
The two-timing PM, who hails from a party which won a few seats for the coalition, installs a lopsided cabinet which under-represents the main coalition partners. The aspiring PM candidate, who has been promised the post according to an agreement, is stalemated. The coalition totters as the two-timing PM carefully orchestrates divisions within the grouping by key appointments, relying on his “prime ministerial prerogative”. Meanwhile, while promised reforms stall, the criminal corruption cases against the ex-PM and the current leader of the ex-PM’s party proceed under the direction of the new AG, albeit slowly.
Episode 3
The new finance minister’s policies and posturing begin to offend the majority Malays of the country and his minority Chinese-based party comes under increasing charges of racism and discrimination. The two-timing PM tries to go it on his own with a unity government but is trumped by his fellow traitors when they conspire with the previous kleptocratic party to engineer enough defections to form a new government. Meanwhile, the ex-PM’s trials proceed, the most fast-moving of which is the one in The Judge’s court.
Episode 4
The two-timing PM resigns but is named interim PM, giving him almost dictatorial powers - for a while. The new government collapses via the infamous Sheraton Move and one of the traitors, a former deputy prime minister in the ex-PM’s cabinet, is installed as PM. His majority is challenged and in response new PM1 imposes an emergency, indefinitely suspending Parliament and parliamentary processes. The ex-PM’s trial proceeds and eventually, in a comprehensive, epic 800-page judgment, The Judge finds him guilty, sentences him to 12 years in jail and fines him RM210 million. Ex-PM remains on bail pending appeal.
Episode 5
New PM 2, the deputy PM then, comes into power as PM after new PM 1 loses his majority in Parliament. This marks the return of the kleptocrats to power as the new PM 2 is from the same party as the ex-PM which was ousted from power in the last elections. Ex-PM’s other trials proceed as well as those of the current leader of the ex-PM’s party.
Episode 6
By-elections held in one of the states – Malacca - gives a thumping victory for the party of kleptocrats, at the expense of the previous coalition government. The Court of Appeal upholds The Judge’s decision. The Judge has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal. The ex-PM’s last legal avenue is the Federal Court.
Episode 7
The kleptocrats return is firmly established when they score another victory in the state of Johor but the promised chief minister was changed at the last minute at the insistence of the Johor palace. The ex-PM is hailed as a hero of the elections due to his high-profile campaigning for his party despite his status as a convicted criminal out on bail pending final appeal to the Federal Court. Others think he was merely riding on a shift against the previous coalition. Allegations against The Judge begin to surface in an effort to paint him as a tainted judge, at least in the eyes of the public.
Episode 8
The Judge strikes back, lodging police reports against the allegations. The silence from the police is deafening but the head of the anti-corruption agency said the allegations against The Judge will be investigated as reports have been filed against him. This same head had earlier been revealed to have financial malfeasances which were insufficiently investigated. Will The Judge survive the assault against him?
Season 2 synopsis
The fate of the country hangs in balance as the investigation of The Judge takes place. If he has illegal money in his account, a quick one will settle matters once and for all. Or will the investigation drag out for political mileage and perpetuate the lie that the ex-PM was fixed and allow it to influence the course of the next elections? Will the public be convinced? Will the kleptocrats gain power yet again with a firm mandate and will their hold be strengthened? What will happen to the country and its people? Will the Federal Court finally convict the ex-PM? Will the ex-PM go to jail? Will the charges remaining be withdrawn? Will he get a royal pardon for his conviction?
Season 2 episodes
This will depend on the outcomes which are likely to be known in a few months.
Note: Any resemblance to people, places and events is fully intended.
Copyright: P Gunasegaram, April 2022
-Mkini
P GUNASEGARAM, a former editor at online and print news publications, and head of equity research, is an independent writer and analyst.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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