(Artikel asal dalam bahasa Inggeris diletakkan dibawah terjemahan ini)
{ ORANG MELAYU, AHLI DAN PENYOKONG UMNO WAJIB BACA }
Mahathir, Dalang Disebalik Tsunami Cina (bahagian akhir)
20 February, 2016
Kuasa Ketiga
Sehingga kebulan Mei tahun 2008, bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi, yang telah diberikan gelaran penguasa negeri antah-berantah (the dean of never-never land), mendapati kedudukan dirinya diawang-awangan - diantara diberikan rahmat bersara secara bermaruah, dan disapu keluar pejabat bersekali dengan segala sampah sarap.
Mereka yang berpaut dihujung kedua belah pihak juga berada dalam keadaan yang serupa. Kebanyakannya enggan menunjukkan sokongan atau tidak kepada Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, takut kepada tindak balas sekiranya rancangan untuk menjatuhkan Abdullah tidak berjaya.
Tetapi pendirian sorong-tarik diantara kumpulan-kumpulan ini telah menyenakkan UMNO, sebuah parti yang telah tercalar dengan bebanan kontroversi anak menantu Perdana Menteri, Khairy Jamaluddin. Sikap teragak-agak puak kiri-pusat - golongan yang Perdana Menteri pernah satu ketika dahulu merayu sokongan, tetapi terlalu tergesa-gesa menyokong kepimpinan beliau - hanya berkecenderungan untuk memburukkan lagi keadaan.
"Ahli-ahli teori konspirasi percaya sehingga kehari ini bahawa Khairy adalah penyebab mengapa Mahathir mahu Abdullah dibersarakan. Tetapi apa yang mereka tidak sedar ialah Khairy bukanlah sebab utama, tetapi sebagai badut dalam kumpulannya, telah dijadikan kambing hitam dalam melancarkan serangan hebat besar-besaran terhadap Perdana Menteri."
Komited untuk memecahkan kebuntuan, kedua-dua Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dan anak Mahathir, Dato' Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, mula mengalihkan tumpuan ramai bagi mencari jalan tengah penyelesaian dengan menyeru Abdullah meletak jawatan. Bergema dengan cadangan mereka ini adalah keriangan veteran-veteren kalah-perang dalaman parti, yang merasakan diri mereka terlalu disisihkan apabila melihat menantu Perdana Menteri sentiasa dihadapan dan ditengah setiap sesuatu perkara melebihi daripada mereka.
Tetapi Perdana Menteri mempunyai pengikut-pengikut setianya sendiri, dan mereka juga berada dalam keadaan tertekan. Namun, semakin lama mereka mempertahankan Khairy, semakin besar kemungkinan mereka akan terjerat sama dalam kemusnahan Abdullah. Kedua-dua Mahathir dan pembantu paling setia yang juga orang harapannya, peguam Matthias Chang, telah mula bergerak diketika itu, mempersoalkan kepimpinan Abdullah selain daripada menuduh beliau terlalu mengikut telunjuk menantunya yang sarat terbeban dengan permasalahan konspirasi.
"Dato' Seri Mukhriz Mahathir tidak menonjolkan diri dalam konspirasi menjatuhkan Najib. Tetapi berbalik kepada masa Abdullah sebagai Perdana Menteri, Mukhriz secara terbuka mencabar kepimpinan bekas Perdana Menteri tersebut dalam satu pungutan pendapat umum dan membuktikan dirinya berada di bawah pengaruh bapanya sendiri. Yang anehnya, Mahathir menuduh Abdullah perkara yang sama, tetapi secara terbalik - dia menuduh Abdullah berada di bawah pengaruh menantunya"
Jadi, dari satu sudut pandangan, Khairy lebih kepada bahan percaturan - badut dalam kumpulannya - daripada beliau menjadi penyebab mengapa Mahathir mahu Abdullah bersara. Dan Mahathir telah tahu lebih awal lagi veteran-veteran parti akan mengikut jejak dan mengundi menolak Abdullah atas segala tindak-tanduk Khairy. Dan mereka telah pun lakukan.
Tetapi sesetengah orang yakin, semuanya adalah kerana Khairy
Itu benar. Tetapi ada juga orang-orang yang percaya terdapatnya musang-musang yang menyamar.
Mari kita perjelaskan satu perkara - tidak terdapat sebarang masalah diantara Mahathir dan penggantinya, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak mungkin telah menyampaikan ucapan sulung perlantikannya sebagai Perdana Menteri tiga atau empat tahun kemudianya daripada yang dia lakukan.
Tetapi satu keputusan taktikal yang Abdullah ambil mengubah segalanya - ia menyekat perjalanan kerjayanya hingga kesatu tahap dimana, pada masa dia meninggalkan pejabat, orang ramai ditempat kelahirannya di Pulau Pinang cuba membayangkan bagaimana seseorang yang disuatu ketika dahulu telah berjaya membawa kemenangan besar kepada gabungan pemerintah pada tahun 2004, telah terpaksa mengundurkan diri dari persada politik tanahair.
Tetapi bagi golongan ahli-ahli politik berpengalaman, ia merupakan sebuah set - rencana diblog-blog, kempen-jalanan, serangan keatas dasar-dasar kerajaan - jika Mahathir mahukan anda angkat kaki, dia akan pastikan anda pergi, sekali pun bermakna ia menghancurkan UMNO dan segala apa yang ia wakili, seperti yang dilakukannya pada tahun 1988.
"Suatu ketika lewat tahun 2014, kedua-dua Mahathir dan Tun Daim Zainuddin mempengerusikan satu mesyuarat di London berkonspirasi untuk menggulingkan Najib. Kembali semula kesemasa Abdullah menjadi Perdana Menteri, Mahathir menggunakan cara biasa - menganjurkan pertemuan dengan kelompok penulis blog bagi membincangkan cara-cara untuk memperlihatkan mertua-menantu seumpama pelaku-jenayah"
Ketika itu, bukan sahaja dia memusnahkan UMNO, beliau menghalang ramai daripada orang-orang Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah daripada memasuki UMNO Baru, parti yang terbentuk hasil daripada krisis perlembagaan yang dicetuskan oleh Mahathir sendiri.
Begitu geramnya Mahathir dengan Abdullah sehinggakan seminit pun beliau tidak henti-henti menghentam secara melulu penggantinya, yang dituduhnya gagal dalam kepimpinan dan pentadbiran. Hanyalah, sekurang-kurangnya, sehingga ke 9 Oktober 2008, apabila Abdullah secara sukarela mengetengahkan satu pelan peralihan yang pada mulanya telah dijadualkan untuk tahun 2010.
Melalui pengumuman yang menandakan kejatuhan menjunam akibat kelalaiannya, Abdullah menggariskan pelan enam bulan sebaliknya, dimana lebih dua dekad lalu, mungkin boleh memberikan beliau liputan berita selama tiga hari berturut-turut dalam akhbar tempatan - paling atas.
Tetapi terima kasih kepada kesan ledakan internet dan rangkaian berita satelit - sesuatu yang hampir tidak wujud dizaman pentadbiran Mahathir - ia mendapat liputan meluas seluruh dunia, mengheret bersamanya pakar-pakar dan peminat teori konspirasi media sosial kedalam kilang fitnah yang Mahathir telah bina dan sediakan.
Dan itu meninggalkan kita dengan persoalan - jika bukan Khairy, jadi apa, atau siapa yang memberi ilham kepada Mahathir untuk menghentam penggantinya dengan pukulan maut?
Orang itu adalah Vincent Tan. Teruskan membaca...
Rancangannya amat baik, tetapi matlamatnya, mudah - untuk melindungi parti dari kemungkinan kekalahan pilihanraya. Mahathir bertujuan untuk membiayai dana rezab parti dengan satu talian sumber kewangan melalui kendalian Tun Daim Zainuddin, utusannya kepada Kementerian Kewangan. Daim, seterusnya, ditugaskan untuk memuktamadkan perjanjian bagi pihak Mahathir. Dan ini tidaklah begitu menghairankan.
Sejak memegang kuasa, Mahathir menonjolkan satu jenama golongan elit - kapitalisme korporat - yang secara beransur-ansur merubah radas tradisi parti yang lebih memihak kepada pemilihan calon-calon baharu yang kukuh-tunai. Bekas golongan elit lama - para bangsawan, golongan istana dan para penjawat awam yang berpengalaman - kehilangan hak untuk bersuara semasa pilihan raya atau pencalonan, kerana peranan mereka telah diserahkan kepada para kapitalis yang berkuasa yang membiayai calon pilihan Mahathir.
Setelah berjaya mencabut taring UMNO, Mahathir sedar dia memerlukan satu pintu kecemasan yang boleh memberikannya beberapa bentuk kuasa seandainya keadaan tidak berpihak kepadanya. Dengan perasaan sedemikian yang menghantui pemikiran dan sejak tahun 1985, kedua-dua Mahathir dan Daim telah menghadiri beberapa siri perbincangan yang rumit dan berbelit-berbelit namun tersusun rapi, persetujuan-persetujuan dan pertukaran-pertukaran saham dimana, dalam tempoh satu dekad, 'menyerahkan' seluruh skop perniagaan Sports Toto Berhad - sebuah syarikat yang telah diperbadankan oleh kerajaan pada tahun 1969 - kepada hartawan perniagaan kelahiran Johor Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
"Daim boleh menjadi orang yang paling kaya di Malaysia jika kekayaan sebenarnya diisytiharkan. Begitu berpengaruhnya didalam UMNO, sehinggakan dia mampu menguruskan Kementerian Kewangan dan beberapa syarikat kendaliannya atas termanya sendiri. Walaupun benar Mahathir lah yang menjadikannya seorang bilionar, perjalanan daripada kaya kepada terlalu kaya meninggalkan jejak kotor yang Daim sendiri tahu. Itulah sebabnya, Daim kepada Mahathir sama seperti Rafizi kepada Wan Azizah; satu bayangan pengertian yang buruk yang tidak mampu dipisahkan dari tuannya."
Apa yang bermula sebagai 'pelan rasionalisasi' bertukar dengan cepat menjadi satu tindakan menyelamat (bailout exercise), apabila mendapati syarikat perniagaan Daim disuatu masa dahulu, Raleigh Berhad, dijalankan dalam kedudukan defisit lejar dan sedang berada diambang muflis.
Bahang dari krisis UMNO 1987 dan krisis perlembagaan parti 1988 yang menggoncang keyakinannya dalam radas tradisi pemilihan parti - dimana ianya belum pernah terjadi - Mahathir memutuskan untuk sekali semua dan selamanya bahawa ianya adalah masuk akal sekiranya Raleigh turut dimasukkan kedalam rundingan bagi membuatkan Daim terhutang budi kepadanya dan mengikut kemahuannya.
Anda boleh membaca lebih lanjut mengenai kecelaruan pelan 'rasionalisasi' dalam bahagian 1 dari siri ini (pautan disini), dan dalam artikel oleh Raja Petra Kamarudin yang Malaysia Today siarkan pada 6 Januari 2016 (http://www.malaysia-today.net/about-najib-selling-the -country-to-the-chinese/).
Tetapi ada banyak lagi.
Sedang kedua Tun berpura-pura menutup mata keatas kontroversi bailout, Vincent sudah dapat merasakan nikmat apa yang mereka sama-sama kecapi berbalik ketahun 1986, setahun selepas kepentingan pegangannya, B&B Enterprise, telah diberikan hak untuk memperolehi 70% Sports Toto Berhad.
Dikala itu, Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd, satu lagi kepentingan perjudian Vincent, telah diberikan hak untuk menawarkan pertaruhan jarak-jauh (off-course wagers) lumba kuda Inggeris dan Australia. Diketika ini, eksekutif industri perjudian sudah mula memainkan keajaiban mereka, menganggarkan pendapatan tahunan yang mencecah angka berbilion dalam meramalkan pulangan mudah yang Vincent akan perolehi.
Ini membawa kepada spekulasi hebat dan kemarahan memuncak di kalangan para pembangkang dan sesetengah orang dalaman parti yang tidak dapat dipastikan bagaimana mereka mengetahui tentang kontroversi bailout tersebut. Mereka menuduh kedua-dua Mahathir dan kerajaan pimpinan UMNO memberi Vincent terlalu banyak kelonggaran - untuk mengendalikan kedua-dua Sports Toto dan pertaruhan di luar-tapak - dalam masa yang terlalu singkat.
Jadi ianya melebihi satu kebetulan apabila Ascot mengambil keputusan untuk menutup buku sukan judinya hanya dua tahun selepas bailout Raleigh yang jauh lebih banyak kesamarannya. Sumber sahih merasakan terdapat sesuatu perkara yang telah dicapai antara Mahathir dan Vincent supaya perjanjian sukan pertaruhan tersebut diisytirehatkan (hibernation), sehingga kesatu masa dimana Mahathir bukan lagi sebagai Perdana Menteri.
Meletakkan kepercayaannya kepada Vincent dan beberapa jutawan lain yang beliau telah bantu menjadi bilionar, Mahathir amat positif bahawa dia akan berkuasa menentukan setiap sesuatu selepas-persaraannya melalui satu 'Majlis Presiden' (Council of Elders?), yang akan 'menasihatkan' penggantinya atas perkara-perkara yang perlu dilakukan, cara yang dia mahu mereka lakukan.
Menyokong hipotesis ini adalah hakikat bahawa pada bulan Jun 2003 dan sebelum persaraannya, Mahathir, melalui Kementerian Kewangan yang diketuainya, secara senyap-senyap telah meluluskan hak untuk Ascot membuka semula buku sukan dan menjalankan operasi pertaruhan di seluruh negara dibawah syarat-syarat konsesi selama 20 tahun.
"Vincent berjaya menguasai Sports Toto Berhad di bawah syarat-syarat perjanjian lisan yang dikatakan telah menjadikan hartawan Cina kelahiran Johor itu tertumpu minat kepada skim proksi yang membiayai dana-perang UMNO."
Tetapi selepas menghabiskan RM23 juta untuk mendapatkan hak tersebut pada September tahun yang sama, Vincent telah menerima tamparan yang teramat sangat apabila Abdullah, hanya kurang sebelas hari dia menyambut ulangtahun pertama sebagai Perdana Menteri, mengeluarkan kenyataan ini:
"Kita tidak memberi apa-apa lesen kepada Ascot, dan tiada lesen yang akan dikeluarkan."
Dan itu, bertentangan dengan kepercayaan umum, adalah rentetan terakhir yang membawa kepada satu tindak balas yang amat besar. Menurut seorang sekutu Mahathir yang telah berhubung dengannya pada masa itu, bekas Perdana Menteri itu telah pun kecewa dengan Abdullah mengenai taktik melambat-lambatkan perlantikan timbalannya.
"Seterusnya adalah pembebasan Anwar. Yang lain-lain hanya mengikut," tambahnya. Dengan menafikan Vincent hak untuk meneruskan cita-cita permainan pertaruhan judi beliau, Mahathir mula mengukir diatas batu granit empat perkataan - "Abdullah sesungguhnya kena berundur".
TSUNAMI CINA
Sebelas bulan sebelum pilihan raya umum ke-12, pada 8 April 2007, Dato' Seri Lim Keng Yaik meletakkan jawatan sebagai presiden Gerakan dan menghulurkan baton kepada timbalannya, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon. Peralihan ini menandakan bermulanya satu penerokaan baru oleh Mahathir dan orang-orang setianya, yang ketika itu telah mengambil keputusan untuk mengubah pengundi negeri Pulau Pinang menentang parti pemerintah.
Juga diketika itu, Mahathir menyuruh Matthias berpakat dengan beberapa orang ahli-seumur hidup MCA merancang untuk membuatkan masyarakat Cina menentang Barisan Nasional (BN). Idea - untuk mencetuskan penghijrahan beramai-ramai Cina dari MCA dan Gerakan - melibatkan beberapa nama besar dalam korporat Malaysia yang mula membiayai parti berteras pembangkang khususnya, DAP.
"Beberapa ahli seumur-hidup MCA yang juga ketua-ketua persatuan Cina bersekongkol dengan Mahathir dan Matthias untuk menjadikan pengundi Cina Malaysia menentang BN"
Bagi memudahkan perancangan tersebut, Mahathir dipercayai telah mendapatkan persetujuan perletakan jawatan seorang ahli perniagaan Cina yang bermasalah dari syarikat senaraian-SESDAQ pada awal 2007. Dibiayai oleh sekutu Mahathir - seorang ketua besar dalam arena perjudian - ahli perniagaan ini dikatakan telah ditempatkan dalam parti X, satu kepentingan cauvinis Cina yang amat beroportunis pembangkang, bagi memastikan segala-galanya ditentukan mengikut garis-panduan yang Mahathir sendiri inginkan.
Usaha-usaha ini berkemuncak dengan satu pakatan tidak bermaruah melalui putar-belit berita dan lapuran media yang tidak tepat dan berat sebelah, yang mengawal selia naratif kuno dilema Cina-Melayu yang telah mencengkam negara ini sejak sebelum merdeka. Ini lebih kurang digariskan oleh Richard Teo, yang memulakannya dengan satu artikel yang muncul pada 1 Mei, 2007.
Artikel - Melayu Singapura lebih baik daripada Cina di Malaysia - telah disiarkan oleh blog Lim Kit Siang dan merupakan satu bantahan jelas kepada suatu pendapat oleh seseorang dari Baki Aminuddin. Artikel Baki telah digunakan oleh Malaysiakini dan diterjemahkan sebaliknya - bahawa orang Melayu Singapura adalah lebih teruk daripada Cina di Malaysia.
"Mendiang Lee Kuan Yew sememangnya positif anti-UMNO dan mempunyai dendam terhadap kedua-dua Tunku dan Mahathir. Berikutan perpisahan Singapura dari Malaysia, Kuan Yew mengarahkan Kit Siang yang masih muda untuk kembali ke Malaysia dan merampas penguasaan DAP dari pengasas dan setiausaha agungnya, Devan Nair. DAP segera menjuarai 'Malaysian Malaysia', yang secara kebetulan, adalah satu slogan yang telah dicipta oleh PAP semasa berada didalam Persekutuan."
Kecelaruan mempertahankan kenyataan mendiang Lee Kuan Yew, Teo berhujah bahawa Baki naif untuk menafikan bahawa kerajaan BN "secara sistematik meminggirkan kaum Cina dan bukan-Melayu." Kenyataan-kenyataan berunsur perkauman seperti ini secara beransur-ansur bertukar menjadi klise (tanggapan salah atau kurang matang) kerana ianya mendapat liputan meluas diportal media pembangkang.
Orang Cina telah berjaya dibeli dalam masa kurang daripada setahun dan mula menyerang kerajaan, menuduh UMNO mengamalkan diskriminasi dan kedua-dua MCA dan Gerakan tidak mempunyai taring. Peralihan mendadak sokongan memberikan calon-calon DAP di setiap peringkat pengundian jalan mudah untuk menghancurkan persaingan mereka semasa pilihan raya umum 2008.
Berikutan kejatuhan (sokongan) tersebut, Mahathir menuduh Abdullah memperjudikan sokongan undi dinegeri pulau tersebut dengan tanggapan salah - bahawa dia mempunyai sokongan padu masyarakat Cina. Kira-kira lebih sebulan selepas pilihanraya, Mahathir telah berkata:
"Bagi kebaikan dirinya sendiri, dia harus meletak jawatan sekarang, kerana dengan itu keadaan akan menjadi tenang. Tetapi jika dia menunggu sehingga perhimpunan (UMNO), maka anda tidak tahu apa yang rakyat akan kata."
Dan itulah lebih kurang rumusan kepada konspirasi Tsunami Cina 2008.
Tetapi mengapa Najib?
Sejak Jun 2006, Mahathir telah memperhebatkan tekanan kepada Abdullah supaya meletakkan jawatan Perdana Menteri. Tekanan itu melahirkan rantaian getaran dan telah dirasai oleh Najib, yang Mahathir anggap akan merebut peluang, sebagai timbalan Abdullah, untuk menyapu bosnya keluar pejabat bersama dengan sampah-sarap.
Bila itu tidak berlaku, ia memberi tanda jelas kepada Mahathir bahawa Najib mempunyai satu pendirian prinsip cara tersendiri - reformis, sama seperti almarhum bapanya. Dalam masa yang sama, beberapa orang wartawan telah mendapat petunjuk dari seseorang yang berkedudukan istimewa dalam parti, yang memberitahu kedua-dua Mahathir dan Najib berselisih faham secara serius dan tidak mempunyai hubungan baik. Itu, bagaimana pun, sesuatu yang saya tidak bebas untuk bincangkan disini.
"Mahathir telah mengaku kalah dalam usahanya untuk menjatuhkan Najib. Walaupun seseorang boleh dibuat percaya bahawa serangan berterusan oleh Wall Street Journal adalah ditujukan kepada Najib, serangan-serangan itu sebenarnya adalah lanjutan perang persepsi terhadap kerajaan yang Mahathir telah lancarkan di London. Serangan-serangan ini - ditujukan kepada pengundi menggunakan satu daya tarikan - telah direka untuk menjadikan rakyat Malaysia menentang BN sebelum pilihan raya umum ke-14."
Menolak apa jua kemungkinan, wartawan-wartawan tersebut cuba mendapatkan kepastian sebagai orang yang pertama di tempat kejadian selesai sahaja Abdullah mengumumkan rancangan persaraannya. Terlalu mengharapkan sepatah dua kata daripada Mahathir, mereka mengelilinginya sebaik sahaja mendapat peluang dan bertanyakan soalan satu juta dolar - adakah dia menyokong Najib?
Jawapan Mahathir mengejutkan sama-ada pelabur serantau mahu pun pemimpin dunia yang telah menjangkakan akan berakhirnya krisis politik Malaysia. Apa yang Mahathir maksudkan membawa erti sebegini - Najib tidak mempunyai keberanian untuk melakukan apa yang diperlukan, apabila ianya tersangat diperlukan. Sindiran itu jelas merujuk kepada fakta bahawa Najib enggan membabitkan diri kedalam rancangan sulit untuk menjatuhkan Abdullah dengan cara licik dan memaksa.
Bagaimanapun, menjelang Januari 2009, melihat bahawa masanya sudah terlalu agak terlambat, Mahathir mengambil keputusan untuk mempamerkan senyuman terpaksa dan menyokong Najib sebagai pengganti Abdullah. Tetapi sumber-sumber yang rapat dengannya merasakan bahawa orang tua yang hebat tersebut telah menetapkan fikirannya pada masa itu - untuk memberi tekanan kepada Najib supaya meletakkan jawatan dengan segera selepas pilihan raya umum ke-13.
Apa sahaja peluang tipis yang ada yang mungkin boleh membawa kepada perdamaian telah tertolak dan terbatal dengan sendirinya pada bulan-bulan berikutnya selepas perisytiharan Najib. Bukan sahaja Najib tidak memperdulikan dan mengendahkan Mahathir selama enam bulan, dia juga mempertahankan, tetapi tidak dengan secara jelas, kedudukan yang Abdullah ambil berhubung dengan kontroversi Ascot. Kata ringkasnya, Najib menafikan Vincent lesen pertaruhan judi yang Vincent begitu sangat inginkan.
Dan itulah secara terperincinya sebab mengapa Mahathir dan Matthias berganding bahu dengan seorang lagi Tun tertentu, ahli seumur-hidup MCA, dan mereka melangkah keluar untuk mempastikan pengundi-pengundi Cina tidak akan kembali lagi ke BN.
TAMAT
February 20, 2016
The Third Force
By the month of May in 2008, former premier Tun Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi, then considered the dean of never-never land, found himself in a state of suspense – between being granted the dignity of retiring in grace, and being swept out of office with the rest of the trash.
Subscribers on each end found themselves in a similar predicament. Most were reluctant to openly stand for or against Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, fearing a backlash in the event that the plan to topple Abdullah did not succeed.
But the back and forth between these groups was hurting UMNO, a party that had already been damaged by the Prime Minister’s controversy-saddled son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin. The indecision by the centre-left — a group the Prime Minister once appealed to, but were hazily supportive of his leadership — only tended to make things worse.
“Conspiracy theorists believe to this day that Khairy was the reason why Mahathir wanted Abdullah retired. But what they fail to realise is that Khairy was never the main reason, but the joker in the pack, which made him the scapegoat in launching an all out offensive against the Prime Minister”
Committed to breaking the pause, both Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Mahathir’s son, Dato’ Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, began to shift the opinion poll past the midpoint stasis by calling on Abdullah to resign. Resonating with their call were battle-scarred party veterans, who were a little more than jilted seeing that the Prime Minister’s son-in-law was more to the front and centre of things than they were.
But the Prime Minister had his loyalists, and they were on the defensive. Yet, the more they defended Khairy, the more of a stake they had in Abdullah’s political demise. Both Mahathir and his most trusted aide and henchman, lawyer Matthias Chang, were on a roll by then, picking Abdullah’s leadership apart and accusing him of surrendering to the dictates of his conspiracy-riddled son-in-law.
“Dato’ Seri Mukhriz Mahathir was a relatively silent player in the conspiracy to topple Najib. But back when Abdullah was Prime Minister, Mukhriz openly contested the former’s leadership in the court of public opinion and proved himself to be under the influence of his own father. Ironically, Mahathir had accused Abdullah of the same, but in reverse order – he accused Abdullah of being under the influence of his son in-law”
So, in a sense, Khairy was more the trump card – the joker in the pack – than he was the reason Mahathir wanted Abdullah retired. And Mahathir knew well ahead that party veterans would follow suit and cast the decisive vote against Abdullah on Khairy’s account. And they did.
But some insist it was really all about Khairy
That’s true. But there are also those who insist that werewolves exist.
Let us be clear on one thing – had there been no problems between Mahathir and his successor, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak may have delivered his inaugural speech as Prime Minister three or four years later than he actually did.
But a tactical decision by Abdullah changed all that – it curtailed his career trajectory to such an extent, that by the time he left office, the good ol’ folks in his home base of Penang were trying to figure out how a man who had once led the ruling coalition to a landslide victory in 2004, could have been forced a withdrawal from the national scene.
But for seasoned politicians, it was a set piece – the blog entries, the road-shows, the attack on government policies – if Mahathir wanted you out, he’d get you out, even if it meant destroying UMNO and everything that it represented, like he did in 1988.
“Sometime late in 2014, both Mahathir and Tun Daim Zainuddin chaired a roundtable in London on the conspiracy to oust Najib. Back when Abdullah was Prime Minister, Mahathir did something of a nature – he organised a meeting with the blogging roundtable to discuss ways to turn the in-laws into the outlaws”
Back then, not only did he destroy UMNO, he refused to let many of Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah’s men into UMNO Baru, a party that had precipitated out of a constitutional crisis Mahathir himself had stirred.
So annoyed was Mahathir with Abdullah that he wouldn’t for a minute cease his frantic pounding on his successor, who he accused of leadership and administrative failures. Not, at least, until the 9th of October 2008, when Abdullah involuntarily brought forward a transition plan that had initially been scheduled for 2010.
Through an announcement that signalled his precipitous fall into oblivion, Abdullah outlined a six month plan instead, which just over two decades ago, may have earned him a three-day exposure in local dailies – tops.
But thanks to the explosive effects of the internet and satellite news networks – something that almost did not exist during Mahathir’s years in office – it blasted into worldwide coverage, sucking along social media conspiracy theorists and enthusiasts into the turbines of slander and libel which Mahathir himself had constructed.
And that leaves us with the question – if not Khairy, then what, or who was it that inspired Mahathir to pound on his successor with sledgehammer fists?
It was Vincent Tan. Read on…
The plan was ambitious, but the goal, simple – to hedge the party for possible electoral losses. Mahathir intended to bankroll the party’s war-chest by running its purse strings through the hands of Tun Daim Zainuddin, his emissary to the Ministry of Finance. Daim, in turn, was tasked with cutting the deals on Mahathir’s behalf. And that should be hardly surprising.
Since taking office, Mahathir brought forth a brand of elitism – corporate capitalism – that gradually dismantled the party’s traditional apparatus in favour of a new crop of cash laden candidates. The former elitists – nobles, courtiers and the wiser civil servants – lost their rights to make the calls during elections or nominations, as their roles were farmed out to powerful capitalists who began funding Mahathir’s choice candidates.
After having defanged UMNO, Mahathir realised that he needed an emergency exit that would grant him some form of authority in the event that the tables were turned against him. With that in mind and since 1985, both Mahathir and Daim entered into a convoluted yet elaborate series of negotiations, favours and share-swaps that, within a decade, ‘consigned’ the full scope of Sports Toto Berhad – a company that was incorporated by the government in 1969 – to Johor born business magnate Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
“Daim may well be the richest man in Malaysia if his wealth is properly declared. So powerful was he in UMNO, that he ran the Ministry of Finance and several of its attendant concerns on his own terms. While it is true that Mahathir turned him into a billionaire, the journey from riches to more riches left a dirty trail that Daim knew about. Which is why, Daim is to Mahathir what Rafizi is to Wan Azizah; a shadow of a bad conscience that can never be separated from its master.”
What began as a ‘rationalisation plan’ turned quickly into a bailout exercise, when it was discovered that Daim’s onetime business concern, Raleigh Berhad, was running on a ledger deficit and was on the verge of a bankruptcy.
Reeling from the 1987 UMNO and 1988 constitutional crises that shook his faith in the party’s traditional electoral apparatus – which was as yet present – Mahathir decided once and for all that it would make sense to have Raleigh roped into negotiations and to render Daim beholden to his whims.
You can read more about the ‘rationalisation’ mangle in part 1 of this series (link below), and in an article by Raja Petra Kamarudin that Malaysia Today carried on the 6th of January 2016 (http://www.malaysia-today.net/about-najib-selling-the -country-to-the-chinese/).
But there is more.
While both the Tuns stood tipping their glasses over the controversial bailout, Vincent had already had a taste of what they were drinking back in 1986, a year after his holding concern, B&B Enterprise, was awarded the right to acquire 70% of Sports Toto Berhad.
Back then, Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd, another of Vincent’s gaming interests, was awarded the rights to offer off-course wagers on English and Australian horse races. Around then, gaming industry executives began working their oracle, crunching annual estimates that ran into billions when trying to forecast the kind of bread Vincent would be gobbling.
This led to immense speculation and fury among oppositionists and certain party insiders who somehow got to know of the controversial bailout. They accused both Mahathir and the UMNO-led government of giving Vincent far too much leeway – to operate both Sports Toto and off-site betting – in far too little a time.
So it was a little more than a coincidence that Ascot decided to close its sports book just two years after the more-than-cryptic Raleigh-bailout. Well placed sources seem to think that a deal of sorts was reached between Mahathir and Vincent to put the sports deal into hibernation, until such a time that Mahathir was no longer the Prime Minister.
Vesting his faith in Vincent and several other millionaires who he helped turn into billionaires, Mahathir was positive that he’d be running the show post-retirement by means of a ‘presidential council,’ which would ‘advise’ his successors on things that needed to be done, the way he wanted them done.
Corroborating this hypothesis is the fact that in June 2003 and just before his retirement, Mahathir, through the Ministry of Finance which he then headed, quietly approved the rights for Ascot to re-open its sports book and run a nationwide betting operation under terms of a 20 year concession.
“Vincent gained control of Sports Toto Berhad under terms of a verbal covenant that was said to have committed the Johor born Chinese tycoon to a proxy scheme that bankrolled UMNO’s war-chest”
But after forking out RM23 million for the rights in September the same year, Vincent was dealt an excruciating blow when Abdullah, just eleven days short of the day he celebrated his first anniversary as Prime Minister, came out to say this:
“We haven’t given any license to Ascot, and no license will be given out,”
And that, contrary to popular belief, was the exact straw that broke the camel’s back. According to a Mahathir associate who had been in touch with him at the time, the former premier was already disappointed with Abdullah over his delaying tactics in appointing his deputy.
“Next was the release of Anwar. The rest followed,” he added. By denying Vincent the right to further his gaming ambitions, Mahathir began to carve in granite these four words – “Abdullah needs to go.”
The Chinese Tsunami
Eleven months before the 12th general elections, on the 8th of April 2007, Dato’ Seri Lim Keng Yeik resigned from his post as Gerakan president and passed the baton to his deputy, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon. The transition marked the onset of a new adventure by Mahathir and his henchmen, who had by then decided to turn the Penang state electorate against the ruling coalition.
Somewhere around then, Mahathir got Matthias to deliberate with several MCA life-members plans to turn the Chinese against Barisan Nasional (BN). The idea – to trigger a mass exodus of Chinese from MCA and Gerakan – involved some of the biggest names in corporate Malaysia who began financing opposition based parties and in particular, the DAP.
“Several MCA lifelong members who were also heads of Chinese associations conspired with Mahathir and Matthias to turn the Malaysian Chinese electorate against BN”
To facilitate the plan, Mahathir is believed to have solicited the resignation of a troubled Chinese businessman from his SESDAQ-listed company early in 2007. Financed by a Mahathir associate – a head honcho in the gambling arena – the businessman was said to have been planted in party X, a Chinese chauvinist concern that was oppositionist, to ensure that the lines were drawn according to Mahathir’s whims.
These efforts culminated in an unholy alliance which, through its newspeak and bad press, regulated the narrative on the age-old Chinese-Malay dilemma that had been gripping the country since before independence. This was more or less underlined by Richard Teo, who set the ball rolling with an article that surfaced on the 1st of May, 2007.
The article – Singapore Malays better off than Chinese in Malaysia – was carried by Lim Kit Siang’s blog and was an apparent rebuttal to an opinion piece by a certain Baki Aminuddin. Baki’s article was moved by Malaysiakini and expressed just the opposite – that Singapore Malays were worse off than Chinese in Malaysia.
“The late Lee Kuan Yew was positively anti-UMNO and held a grudge against both the Tunku and Mahathir. Following Singapore’s departure from Malaysia, Kuan Yew instructed a young Kit Siang to return to Malaysia and wrest control of DAP from its founder and secretary general, Devan Nair. DAP immediately went on to champion a ‘Malaysian Malaysia’, which incidentally, was a slogan that had been coined by PAP during its federation days.”
Frantically defending a statement by the late Lee Kuan Yew, Teo argued that Baki was naive to deny that the BN government was “systematically marginalising the Chinese and non-Malays.” Racially charged statements like these gradually degenerated into cliché as they gained widespread coverage in opposition run media portals.
The Chinese were bought over in less than a year and began attacking the government, accusing UMNO of being discriminative and both MCA and Gerakan of being toothless. The sudden swing in support gave DAP candidates at every level of the ballot the momentum to effortlessly crush their competition during the 2008 general elections.
Following the debacle, Mahathir accused Abdullah of wagering the island state ballot on a misconception – that he commanded the support of the Chinese. A little over a month after the poll, Mahathir had this to say:
“For his own good, he should step down now, because then it’ll be very smooth. But if he waits until the (UMNO) assembly, then you don’t know what people are going to say.”
And that more or less sums up the 2008 Chinese Tsunami conspiracy.
But why Najib?
Since June 2006, Mahathir had been mounting pressure on Abdullah to resign as Prime Minister. That pressure bore on the rungs and was felt by Najib, who Mahathir had assumed would seize the opportunity, being Abdullah’s deputy, to sweep his boss right out of office together with the trash.
When that didn’t happen, it became clear to Mahathir that Najib was a brand all by himself – a reformist, much like his late father. Right around then, a few reporters were fed clues by certain privileged party insiders, who told them that both Mahathir and Najib had a serious misunderstanding and weren’t on the best of terms. That is, however, something I am not at liberty to discuss here.
“Mahathir has conceded defeat in his quest to topple Najib. While one may be led to believe that the recent spate of attacks by Wall Street Journal are being directed at Najib, they really are an extension to the war of perception against the government that Mahathir had launched in London. These attacks – directed at the electorate by a slingshot – have been designed to turn Malaysians against BN before the 14th general elections”
Notwithstanding the fallout, these reporters took the cue and were the first on the scene the minute Abdullah announced his retirement plans. Anxious to cadge a sentence or two from Mahathir, they cornered him the first chance they got and asked him the million dollar question – would he endorse Najib?
Mahathir’s response shocked both regional investors and world leaders who had anticipated an end to the Malaysian political crisis. What Mahathir said amounted to this – Najib lacked the courage to do what was needed, when it was most needed. The insinuation was an apparent reference to that fact that Najib refused be drawn into a plot to topple Abdullah by cunning and forced cause.
However, by January 2009, seeing that it was past the eleventh hour, Mahathir decided to wear a smile and endorsed Najib as Abdullah’s replacement. But sources close to him seem to think that the grand old man had his mind made up by then – to pressure Najib into retirement immediately after the 13th general elections.
Whatever little chance there may have been for reconciliation was quashed in the months that followed Najib’s inauguration. Not only did Najib give Mahathir the cold shoulder and ignored him for six months, he went on to defend, but not in explicit terms, the position Abdullah took regarding the Ascot controversy. In short, Najib denied Vincent the betting license the latter so badly desired.
And that is precisely why both Mahathir and Matthias joined hands with a certain other Tun, an MCA lifelong member, and went out of their way to make sure that the Chinese voters never returned to BN.
THE END
(Dari blog Malaysia Today)
