COMMENT Pakatan Rakyat co-ordinator raised more than a few eye-brows when he themed his campaign for the PKR deputy presidency as “beyond Anwar”.
Quite a few felt that he was being kurang ajar (ill-mannered) towards the de facto party chief “and more than a little ungrateful”. It’s not so if one really thinks about it.
The truth is always unpleasant. Many among the party faithful believe that someone has to say it.
Zaid did and now everyone in Pakatan has to live with the bald fact that Anwar Ibrahim will be counting the bars again sooner rather than later, and then what? This is the question uppermost in the minds of PKR members.
Again, they ask, must Pakatan Rakyat revolve around Anwar with everyone doing a song-and-dance act as he commands and die with him? The agenda for change and reform, it is universally felt, must be much more than the fate of one mortal individual. No one is indispensable.
If Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is thinking right, he will surely cart Anwar off to jail after the next general election while screaming himself hoarse on the independence and integrity of the judiciary. An Anwar in jail before the general election will be even more dangerous for Umno than an Anwar outside.
But how sure is Najib that he will win the next general election? If he calls for snap polls and loses, a strong possibility, it’s more than likely that he will be counting the bars himself instead of Anwar. He has more than a few skeletons in his cupboard as well. But jail is a risk that Najib would have to take if he wants to gamble on the odds.
Between Umno and Pakatan, it’s more likely that the former would still win the general election, albeit with a simple majority. The political tsunami factor of 2008 is missing thanks to Hindraf Makkal Sakthi parting company with the opposition alliance over Anwar’s constant taunts about the human rights movement being “racist”. Hindraf distancing itself from Pakatan has had Najib leaping with joy and doing cartwheels.
Simple majority
In a nutshell, there will be snap polls soon, probably at the same time as the Sarawak state election, certainly no later than late next year. Najib needs his own mandate and soon. He cannot afford to continue with the mandate of his predecessor or risk being labelled “utterly unscrupulous and shameless”.
Pakatan will not be able to seize control of the Sarawak state government. The 70% literate Ibans will stand solidly behind Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud who doesn’t hesitate to play the Dayak card with them. Taib is a Melanau Dayak who claims he’s Malay whenever he’s in the Malay kampungs in Sarawak.
Umno will win the snap national polls with a simple majority to form the federal government once again. Anwar will be carted off to jail by Najib, shortly after that, as per the script laid out for him by his mentor Dr Mahathir Mohamad. That will be the end of Anwar. He will be history this time.
Mahathir wants to save his son Mukhriz’s political future and his family’s vantage position in the gravy train. He cannot afford to have Anwar around.
Hence, Zaid’s concern that Pakatan should not be history with Anwar out of the picture.
There are also other reasons why Anwar should be taken out of the Pakatan and PKR equation. This is something that PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, the Lembah Pantai MP, would understand and accept.
Anwar was done in during Sodomy I by a brother and sister pair. Azmin Ali is the brother of the notorious duo. Now, Anwar faces Sodomy II but he continues to root strangely for Azmin as if he’s “God’s gift to Malaysia” in politics.
New heroes
It’s obvious that Anwar hasn’t learnt anything from Sodomy I and is a poor judge of human character. For this reason alone, he should be taken out of the equation as Zaid has reasoned well. Logic dictates that Anwar should not have anything to do with the likes of Azmin and this is something that both his wife and daughter will agree.
Anwar’s exit will no doubt make it easier for PKR to deal with Azmin. He’s guilty by association as far as the party faithful is concerned. They want to boot him out at the earliest opportunity before he does further and perhaps irreparable damage. He will perhaps return to Umno where he will be more than welcome in a party desperate for new heroes.
In the unlikely event that Pakatan seizes the reins of power in Putrajaya at the forthcoming general election, Anwar would still have to be removed from the equation. Sodomy I and II have tainted him beyond redemption and the best that he can do is retire from politics and seek a new occupation as a visiting academic at any university that would have him. He can muse there at leisure on the what may have beens.
Sodomy aside, the Sabahans and Sarawakians are not too impressed either with Anwar’s integrity and sense of fair play. Pakatan needs to woo the other half of Malaysia across the South China Sea and this can only happen if Anwar is taken out of the equation.
Sept 16, 2008 would have happened had not Anwar instructed Sabah strongman Jeffrey Kitingan to hand over the nearly accomplished task to Azmin. The Sarawakians in particular got cold feet at the sight of Anwar and Azmin renewing the Sept 16 promises.
Like the Sabahans, they were also annoyed that someone like Jeffrey whom they trusted had been taken out of the Sept 16 equation. Anwar and Azmin wrested defeat out of the jaws of victory.
The general feeling in Sabah and Sarawak is that it will be a sad day for PKR should Zaid fail to win the deputy presidency and Azmin instead comes in. Things will never be the same again.
Between Anwar and Azmin, both control freaks, PKR will be even less welcome in Sabah and Sarawak. The prognosis may not be that good for Zaid since the PKR elections are being conducted in the same manner the Judiciary is conducting Sodomy 2.
Zaid may not be the best In PKR in the tussle for the deputy presidency after Nurul and Jeffrey stayed out but he’s certainly the best of the worst. Beggars can’t be choosers! Zaid still has several more weekends to make his campaign felt.
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