If Anwar Ibrahim’s political travails in the past two decades can be encapsulated in less than five words, it would read "from prison to Putrajaya". Ahmad Zahid Hamidi seemed to be travelling in the opposite direction before making a sudden U-turn.
This comes as no surprise since the nation’s political landscape is now littered with "U-turn" signs after most of the "One Way" and "No Entry" signs erected in the past have been removed.
The Umno president has completed an assignment given to him 24 years ago - make Anwar the prime minister. Sources claim his detractors are painting him as a saboteur who never lost sight of his mission and had plotted his friend’s ascension behind the scenes, even if it meant reducing Umno to ruins.
But some people believe in a more reductionist explanation compared to a romanticised tale of friendship.
To them, it was nothing more than an act of desperation since Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS refused to entertain Zahid’s demands although having no reservations about enlisting him and the infamous “court cluster” in the Sheraton Move and riding on their support to orchestrate a coup.
At the Umno annual meeting in 1998, Zahid drew the first blood to remove Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was Umno president and prime minister (round one).
The then Umno Youth chief delivered a scathing speech on cronyism and nepotism. He also sidestepped a question if Mahathir’s Forbes list son Mokhzani, the wing’s treasurer at the time, supported his stand, stating that the latter should answer that.
But Mahathir had been underestimated. In brief, that was Anwar’s last Umno meeting and Zahid repented.
Since the 2018 polls which dethroned Umno, the political scene, to borrow the words of Lewis Caroll, has become "curiouser and curiouser". But somehow, Zahid, with his trademark Cheshire cat grin, managed to capitalise on the turbulence.
Though insisting that the 15th general election be called during the monsoon season, coming close to drowning himself in Perak and leading BN to its worst electoral setback to date, he dodged daggers, to emerge as one of the biggest winners.
In return, Zahid placed Pakatan Harapan in a difficult position.
The Harapan chairperson, who spearheads a coalition that had rallied voters with the clarion call of eradicating corruption during four consecutive elections, has now appointed a deputy prime minister on trial for 47 corruption charges.
Zahid is also implicated in the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal, which Harapan leaders were up in arms over.
He is the same person who Lim Kit Siang branded as worse than Najib Abdul Razak, Rafizi Ramli stressed PKR would rather be in the opposition than work with and Mohamad Sabu rendered a song, which went “Kalau Zahid Hamidi, kamilah penyamun dalam ini negeri, semua harta, kami curi setiap hari.”
Has Harapan lost moral high ground?
There is also speculation that Zahid would be allowed to walk free for the current government to survive.
Such a scenario would suggest that the executive can alter the outcome of court cases. But numerous political leaders have made similar statements or insinuations.
For example, Anwar cried foul over his court cases in the past, Muhyiddin claimed Zahid wanted him to intervene in his case, Ismail Sabri Yaakob came under fire from some in Umno when Najib landed in prison under his watch and aspersions were cast when Lim Guan Eng was acquitted after Harapan formed the government in 2018.
Has Harapan lost the moral high ground after joining hands with those whose hands it denounced as stained?
For analyst Wong Chin Huat, the first institutional reform that must be executed is the separation of the Public Prosecution Office from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“Otherwise, beyond losing the moral high ground, if for what reasons the cases of court clusters are dropped or won, the public would likely see them as the outcome of political interference.
“While some hardcore Harapan supporters, especially non-Muslims and liberals who fear PAS, may try to defend it using all kinds of excuses, the Malay middle ground would be turned off and further shift to PN,” he said.
Those who support Anwar’s administration use the alternative of PN coming to power as a defence, claiming that moderate forces had combined their strengths to prevent extremist elements from treading the corridors of power.
It seems that the rulers themselves are uncomfortable with PN holding the reins and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s incessant diatribes along racial and religious lines are convincing large swathes of the population that the other option is a more frightening prospect than working with BN.
Corruption when juxtaposed against a Hadi-helmed PAS-led government somehow becomes a tolerable crime.
In the weeks before and after the polls, Hadi's vitriol conjured the image of the Looney Tunes Wile E Coyote, which has dedicated its life to pursuing the roadrunner. So, if for some inexplicable reason DAP was to disappear from the face of the earth tomorrow, Hadi and PAS might suffer an existential crisis because there is nothing else to talk about.
Furthermore, Malaysians are also fatigued with prime ministers competing with one another for the shortest tenure in office award. The nation is in dire need of political stability, especially in an uncertain economic climate. This sentiment is also working in Harapan’s favour.
However, it remains to be seen if another grand prize winner is lurking in the shadows. One, who despite his incarceration, had been instrumental in bringing Harapan and BN together.
Will the "One Way" signpost in Kajang Prison be replaced with another "U-turn" board? - Mkini
RK ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini Team.
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