Major Financial Scandals That Rocked Malaysia Before 1MDB Was Even A Thing

Major Financial Scandals That Rocked Malaysia Before 1MDB Was Even A Thing

BY SADHO RAM — 24 JUL 2016

Although the 1MDB scandal has progressively become a larger case by far.

Cover image via BBC

Following the civil forfeiture filing by the US DOJ, seeking to seize assets acquired from stolen 1MDB funds, UMNO Supreme Council member Ahmad Shabery Cheek said that the DOJ action is "nothing out of the ordinary" when it comes to the Malaysian government

"What happened is a normal matter in the country's administration. In fact, we have been faced with a situation which is bigger, like the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal," Shabery was quoted as saying by Bernama, the national news agency.

Shabery is also Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister.

Image viacustomstoday

The BMF scandal, which Shabery was referring to, was one of the largest financial scandals to rock the country back in the 80s.
It made headlines around the world for its RM2.5 billion collapse.

Shabery's dismissal of the US DOJ's action against 1MDB as something "normal" shows how the Malaysian political system has been, since the early 80s, in and out of a number of high-level financial scandals where public funds were used by the government for private and corporate gains.

In fact, Malaysians have seen so many financial scandals that one is bound to lose track of them. In view of which, we decided to take a brief look back at some of the major financial scandals that have hit the country.

The Maminco scandal that cost taxpayers about RM1.6 billion

Back in 1981, after Husein Onn retired from active politics and relinquished his prime minister post due to health concerns and was succeeded by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, a company called Maminco Sdn Bhd was set up to spike and control tin prices on the London Stock Exchange with loans from Bank Bumiputra (BBM).

However, it resulted in the collapse of the tin prices, with consequent huge losses to Malaysia's exchequer. Following which, the company went into debts of RM1.5 billion.

The Government then set up another company, a dummy called Makuwasa Sdn Bhd, creating new shares supposedly reserved for ethnic Malays, which were converted to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

The plan was to sell these cheaply acquired shares, supposedly reserved for poor bumis, at market price for a profit to cover Maminco's losses.

In fact, for a whole five years until 18 September 1986, the Malaysian Government denied that it was the mystery tin buyer in the London Metal Exchange.

During a UMNO General Assembly, Dr. Mahathir, for the first time, was forced to admit that the Government was, in fact, involved in the whole Maminco Affair.

In short, Makuwasa was created by the Malaysian Government to recoup the Government's losses from the Maminco debacle and to repay loans to Bank Bumiputra.

The Perwaja Steel scandal that resulted in RM10 billion losses

Image via青蛙 Frog

Perwaja Steel was established in 1982 as a USD465 million joint-venture between then-state-owned Heavy Industries Corporation of Malaysia Bhd., or Hicom, and the Japanese company Nippon Steel Corporation.

It was to be the centerpiece of a state-led industrialisation drive Dr. Mahathir began in the early 1980s. However, it soon became a colossal disaster.

To quote Leslie Lopez from this WSJ piece, Perwaja is Malaysia's most costly industrial failure and the biggest financial fiasco to befall Dr. Mahathir's administration.

According to the Wastage of Taxpayer Funds Report, Perwaja Steel lost RM10 billion.

The Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal that lost RM10 billion

It was the first major financial scandal that rocked Malaysia and the world.

In 1983, it was discovered that Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF), a unit of Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd, had lost as much as USD1 billion which had been siphoned off by prominent public figures into private bank accounts.

The whole scandal involved not just corporate shenanigans and officials at the very top of the Malaysian government, but also the murder of Jalil Ibrahim, an auditor who was sent to Hong Kong by BMF’s parent company BBMB (Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd).

Ultimately, the government had to bail out the floundering BBMB amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. BBMB was eventually absorbed into CIMB.

The Deposit-taking co-operative scandal that lost RM1.5 billion

The deposit-taking cooperative (DTCs) scandal was the first get-rich-quick scheme (also known as a type of pyramid scheme) that involved 24 co-operatives, 522,000 depositors and about RM1.5 billion in deposits.

In 1986, 5 directors of 3 DTCs were charged in court, and in 1987 a further 17 directors of another 5 DTCs were also charged. The government was requested to bail out risk-taking investors, which the Malaysian cabinet eventually approved. However, the co-operative sector of the economy never recovered.

The Pan-Electric Industries scandal that lost SD480 million

Image viaGetty Images

The scandal involved a Singapore-based company, Pan-Electric Industries that collapsed in 1985 due to unsettled forward contracts, forcing the stock exchanges of both Singapore and Malaysia to shut down for three days.

Tan Koon Swan, the former president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), had signed an interim rescue agreement for the troubled company that had triggered a crisis on the Singapore and Kuala Lumpur stock markets.

He was jailed for two years and fined USD232,000 for his part in the financial scandal.

The Bank Negara forex scandal resulted in RM30 billion loss

The scandal took place between 1991 to 1994, when Bank Negara engaged in large-scale speculation activities in the international foreign exchange market, landing it in serious trouble and resulting in a loss estimated to be as high as RM30 billion.

It left Bank Negara splattered with red ink and implicated both Dr. Mahathir and Anwar.

Technically bankrupt, Bank Negara had to be rescued by the Ministry of Finance. However, none of the top executives in the Bank Negara Malaysia were accused of trading activities as the government fully absorbed the losses.

The MAS financial scandal resulting in losses of RM9.4 billion

Image viasinarharian

Tajuddin Ramli took a loan from a government-linked company to buy a controlling stake, as per his own admission by the instruction of Dr. Mahathir, in MAS. He bought the share much higher than the market price - RM8 per share, that were trading at RM3.50 in 1994.

MAS had cash reserves of RM600 million when he had taken over, but it accumulated losses of RM9.4 billion by the time Ramli left it in 2001. However, despite the huge loss, the government bought back the MAS shares from him at twice the market price.

The above are just a few of the major financial scandals where public funds were used or misappropriated to protect corporate allies and its own vested interest by the country's government

As Tom Pepinsky, the Associate Professor of Government at Cornell University, and Dan Slater, the Associate Professor of political science at the University of Chicago, have separately written, meaningful reform in Malaysia's political economy requires a more fundamental change to the logic of rule and stability that the BN has pursued since 1971, either by a new generation of leadership within UMNO, or by Malaysia's repressed but resilient political opposition.

About Najib Selling The Country To The Chinese

By MT Webmaster Last updated Jan 12, 2016

They allege that 1MDB obtained its assets cheap from the government and sold it for a huge profit. Well, Vincent Tan also paid only RM25 million for something worth RM760 million and which would be worth billions had Abdullah and then Najib not jammed the licence.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The opposition is alleging that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is selling Malaysia to the Chinese. What they mean is ‘selling’ to the Chinese from China. It is okay if the government sells the country to Malaysian Chinese, even if it is done ‘under-the-table’ and not openly like what 1MDB is doing.

In September 2003, just one month before Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad retired as Prime Minister, the government secretly awarded the sole sports-betting license to a company owned by Chinese tycoon Vincent Tan. The price was a steal at just RM25 million when it was valued at RM760 million. At about the same time, Vincent Tan’s Bukit Tinggi resort was also awarded 420 slot machine licenses worth hundreds of millions of Ringgit.

(SEE NEWS ITEM BELOW: Gaming License Sparks Contention in Malaysia)

The following year, in 2004, the new Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi froze Vincent Tan’s sports-betting license and this angered Dr Mahathir. When Tun Abdullah refused to relent, Dr Mahathir made his move on him and in 2009 the Prime Minister was forced out of office and Najib took over.

In a ‘signal’ to Najib, Dr Mahathir said, “Kalau saya jadi kerajaan, saya luluskanlah.” Najib, however, did not heed that message and this did not please the old man one bit. Instead, Najib suspended the sports-betting license and refused to allow it to operate — which practically sealed his fate when he refused to kowtow to Dr Mahathir. Until today, Najib has refused to allow the license to proceed.

In that same month, Vincent Tan sold 70% of his gambling license in Ascot Sports to Berjaya, his own public listed company, for just RM525 million — which is considered grossly undervalued considering the estimated legal and illegal gambling industry in Malaysia is RM25 billion a year. And he sold it at RM525 million for 70% when he only paid RM25 million for 100%.

They allege that 1MDB obtained its assets cheap from the government and sold it for a huge profit. Well, Vincent Tan also paid only RM25 million for something worth RM760 million and which would be worth billions had Abdullah and then Najib not jammed the licence.

And as Dr Mahathir said, had he been Prime Minister he would approve the licence and hence help Vincent Tan make billions over 20 years, just like YTL did over 30 years and now wants the IPP concession approved for another 30 years so that he can make even more billions.

And they talk as if 1MDB is such a big deal while not seeing the elephant in the room. And even more interesting is that Muhyiddin Yassin has promised to unfreeze the licence if he takes over from Najib and becomes Malaysia’s new Prime Minister. Now that may explain why they want Najib ousted so badly.

Gaming License Sparks Contention in Malaysia

Fear of Muslim Backlash Leads Officials to Rethink Tycoon’s Concession Permit

Leslie Lopez, The Wall Street Journal

A previously undisclosed license for a potentially lucrative Malaysian gambling concession granted to gaming tycoon Vincent Tan Chee Yioun by former Premier Mahathir Mohamad is stirring controversy within the country’s government.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration is rethinking whether to allow Mr. Tan to proceed with the concession — which permits nationwide “off-site” betting on international and local sports events — for fear of a backlash from Malaysia’s majority Muslim population, according to government officials and business executives familiar with the matter.

Government officials said Ascot Sports Sdn. Bhd., a private concern wholly owned by Mr. Tan, was awarded a license for 20-year gaming concession in June 2003 by Malaysia’s Finance Ministry, then headed by Dr. Mahathir, who retired last Oct. 31.

Mr. Tan declined to comment. One Ascot executive said the company is still negotiating with the government on implementing the new business.

In September 2003, Ascot paid a 25 million ringgit ($6.6 million) fee for the license, which allows the company to run a gaming business along the same lines as U.K.’s Ladbrokes Ltd., the international betting operation owned by the Hilton Group PLC. Malaysian gaming-industry executives estimate that a sports-betting operation, offering wagers on events such as local and foreign soccer matches and horse racing, could generate annual revenue of about $1 billion.

The awarding of Ascot’s concession was never publicly disclosed. Officials in Mr. Abdullah’s government said they only learned about it earlier this year after Mr. Tan informed them of his plans to begin his new betting business.

After mulling Mr. Tan’s plans for several months, Mr. Abdullah, who also serves as finance minister, raised the gaming concession at a cabinet meeting Wednesday. Government officials and others familiar with the cabinet discussion said several ministers warned Mr. Abdullah that the new betting license could prompt sharp criticism from the country’s conservative Muslim community, in particular the opposition Islamic party known as Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, or PAS.

PAS currently rules the north-eastern state of Kelantan and directly competes with Mr. Abdullah’s United Malays National Organization for the support of the country’s ethnic Malay Muslims, who make up about 60% of Malaysia’s population.

The Islamic party has long campaigned to shut down the country’s existing licensed gaming businesses. These include a casino run by listed Genting Bhd., a lottery and six other operations involving betting on combinations of numbers. One of those six operations is controlled by Mr. Tan’s listed Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd.

“The cabinet hasn’t decided either way,” said a Malaysian official familiar with situation. “But there are concerns about giving the approval” for the new gaming concession.

Should Mr. Abdullah’s government decide to withdraw the license from Ascot, it would mark the second time that his administration has reversed a contract or license award made by his predecessor, Dr. Mahathir. Shortly after taking office in November last year, Mr. Abdullah halted a controversial 14.5 billion ringgit railway contract Dr. Mahathir had earlier awarded to businessman Syed Mokhtar Albukhary.

An Ascot executive said the betting license awarded to the company carries several conditions that could allay the concerns of the Muslim community. For one thing, he said, it prohibits Ascot from accepting wagers from Muslims. The license also stipulates that Ascot must use existing gaming outlets run by Malaysia’s number-forecast operators to sell its new products, the executive said.

Gambling is big business in Malaysia. The combined annual revenue from legal gambling operations totals about 10 billion ringgit. Industry executives estimate that illegal gambling, which is controlled largely by syndicates that accept bets on foreign and local sporting events, generates about 15 billion ringgit a year.

Mr. Tan, whose listed Berjaya Group Bhd. has interests in property, manufacturing, publishing and gaming, has long lobbied the government to legalize other forms of betting as a way to curb the illegal trade and as a means of generating additional revenue for the government through taxes. “It’s almost insane not to tap the potential tax revenue from this business,” one group executive said.

This is Mr. Tan’s second bid at introducing sports betting in Malaysia. The businessman was first awarded a license in 1987 by then-Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin. Mr. Tan and his U.K. joint-venture partner at the time, Mecca Bookmakers, began operations in 1988 with three betting outlets in Kuala Lumpur. But the business ran into trouble a year later, after the government banned Mr. Tan from opening new outlets because of political concerns ahead of an impending general election.

Mr. Tan subsequently closed his outlets and surrendered his license to the government, but not before securing the first right to resume his betting operation should the government reconsider its position at a later date.

Government officials and people close to Mr. Tan said that in June 2003, he secured his new license after convincing Dr. Mahathir and senior Finance Ministry officials that Kuala Lumpur was losing hundreds of millions of dollars in potential tax revenue to illegal gambling operations.

The Chinese Needed Malaya; Malaya Did Not Need The Chinese

By MT Webmaster On Dec 24, 2018

Raja Sara Petra

It irritates me like hell to read the comments in the social media that the Malays would still be living in trees and would still be eating tapioca (ubi kayu) if the Chinese had not come to Malaya in the 1800s to help develop the country. Malaysia is what it is today because of the Chinese, they keep telling the Malays.

That is not true. First of all, Malays are a seafaring race who never lived in trees. Secondly, the Chinese may have developed the towns by building bangunan batu. But that was possible only because the Malays gave the Chinese the land to build them on. If not, the Chinese would have had to build their homes and shops on stilts in water like at Pulau Ketam.

More importantly, the Chinese came to Malaya in the 1800s not to do the Malays a favour by helping to develop the country. It is because of the 1810, 1811, 1846, 1849, 1850-1875, 1876-1879, 1896-1897 and 1907-1911 famines that took 115 million lives.

Yes, 115 million Chinese starved to death over 100 years from 1810 to 1911, which was why the Chinese migrated to Malaya where there was plenty of food to eat. So, it is not true that if the Chinese had not come to Malaya the Malays would not have been able to eat. Hence please stop displaying your ignorance by posting nonsense.

Khaled condemns Umno defectors, says they are not fighters

---

• NATION

• Sunday, 23 Dec 2018

  5:13 PM MYT

PETALING JAYA: Those who leave Umno are opportunists, not fighters, says Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

Commenting on the recent resignations by Umno members, Mohamed Khaled said that people should not be confused between a "fighter" and an "opportunist".

"No, they are not fighters. They are those who lost in the fight. There is no value of struggle that we can expect from them.

"Those who are really in the fight are those who take responsibility," Mohamed Khaled said in a statement on Sunday (Dec 23).

"We have nothing to worry about. It is their loss, not ours.

"Desperation? Left with no choice? All these are questions that we cannot answer. It is up to us to judge," he said.

He added that the departure of these Umno leaders pushes them to redefine the meaning of "struggle".

"We need to ask ourselves where the value of struggle really lies, within money, influence, or position?

"What saddens me the most is that within all this, we are forgetting the most important thing - the people and the voters," said Mohamed Khaled.

Earlier this month, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the party should take a positive approach in dealing with it the departure of Umno members.

"We cannot be upset or be overly emotional.

"If that is the decision of Sabah Umno, we in the peninsula should accept it," he said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec 12).

Mohamad, who is carrying out the duties of Umno president following Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s decision on Dec 18 to step aside, said no one can compel another in such matters and that loyalty and togetherness were not something that could be traded.

Since the May 9 general election, 17 MPs have quit Umno, with many calling for Ahmad Zahid to step down due to the lack of leadership in the party. 

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/12/23/khaled-condemns-umno-defectors-says-they-are-not-fighters/#b6ToaxAbdOJkIDif.99

Umno defectors a virus that will infect PPBM, veep says

Syed Jaymal Zahiid

Malay Mail23 December 2018, 8:48 AM GMT

Umno vice president Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin today labelled the party’s defectors who joined PPBM as viruses that would eventually cause PPBM’s downfall. — Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — Umno vice president Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin today labelled the party’s defectors who joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) as viruses that would eventually cause the fledgling Malay party’s downfall.

Khaled said Umno viewed the mass defection positively since the party had cleansed itself of disloyal and opportunistic leaders who only used the former ruling party to enrich themselves.

“Trust me, their departure will not make us lose sleep. In fact it would certainly make you stay awake at night,” Khaled said in a statement.

“Because they are all this while the very virus that had infected and damaged us. And viruses, no matter where they go, will cause sickness and collapse.

“I do not wish to pray for it, but I am confident that just as how the virus had turned cancerous for Umno, so shall it become the blood and flesh of PPBM,” he added.

Over 20 Umno MPs have quit the party, with most either joining PPBM or declaring political fealty to the Pakatan Harapan administration.

PPBM, a party set up by former Umno president and two-time Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is a PH component member.

Khaled’s invective echoed the criticism levelled against PPBM by PH allies, who felt the Mahathir-led outfit had betrayed its supporters by accepting politicians with questionable credentials.

The former Johor chief minister predicted, like some of his PH counterparts, that the “virus” will infect PPBM down to the core.

“I’m confident that it’s just a matter of time before PPBM becomes just another Umno,” he said.

“You can call it Bersatu, but in reality it’s just Umno 2.0 or 3.0.”

PPBM president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently said the party took note of the protest against its decision to accept Umno defectors, but gave assurance that only “clean” leaders will be taken in.

Muhyiddin, who is also a federal minister and a former Umno deputy president, said PPBM will not protect members found guilty of corruption, amid claims that many Umno politicians had defected to PH to avoid punishment.

Khaled predicted that this would result in widespread corruption within PPBM, similar to Umno.

“They will bring with them the culture of money and patronage, and they will find every space or opportunity not to fight, but to profit,” he said.

“And this faction will soon take over the party once regrouped.”

PKR division chiefs blame Nurul Izzah’s resignation on ex-leader’s nepotism remarks

 PKR division chiefs blame Nurul Izzah’s resignation on ex-leader’s nepotism remarks

Published 3 days ago on 20 December 2018

By Jerry Choong

Mohd Farazi (centre, seated) believes Latheefa’s nepotism remarks on December 17 to be the main factor that led to Nurul Izzah’s resignation. ― Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

PETALING JAYA, Dec 20 — Five PKR division leaders today demanded the party discipline its former central leadership member Latheefa Koya whom they blamed for Nurul Izzah Anwar’s sudden resignation from all internal and government posts this week.

Klang PKR information chief Mohd Farazi Mohd Shah believes Latheefa’s nepotism remarks on December 17 to be the main factor that led to Nurul Izzah’s resignation as party vice-president and Penang chief the very same day.

“Myself and Indera Mahkota PKR deputy chief Kamarul Hatta Mohamed Ali have lodged a written report with the party’s disciplinary board, requesting they take action,” he told a news conference at the PKR headquarters here.

Three other Selangor PKR division leaders were also present, signalling their support of disciplinary measures against Latheefa.

“We respect Latheefa’s right to air her views since the party allows its members to voice their grievances and concerns.

“But it should have been done through the proper channels without any media manipulation,” Mohd Farazi said.

He claimed Latheefa’s statements to the media publicly exposed PKR’s weaknesses.

“We are aware the rakyat is sick and tired of hearing about the issues surrounding the party leadership.

“However we will leave it up to the disciplinary board to take the appropriate steps in this matter,” Mohd Farazi added.

Kamarul Hatta said he hopes Nurul Izzah will reconsider her earlier decision and return to the post of vice-president.

“She was the vice-president not because of nepotism or favouritism, but because the party and its members selected her since we believe she is the best candidate,” he said.

In a statement last Monday, Latheefa claimed that party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had ignored the grassroots choice and appointed his own for several state leaders, including Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor.

The lawyer also claimed that Penang and Sabah division chiefs also did not support their appointed state chiefs at first, but later changed their stances after being summoned to meet Anwar.

PKR lawyer accuses Anwar of nepotism, cronyism in changes to state chiefs

 PKR lawyer accuses Anwar of nepotism, cronyism in changes to state chiefs

Published 6 days ago on 17 December 2018

By Azril Annuar

Latheefa warned that after a ‘scandal-ridden’ and ‘disgraceful’ internal polls, these appointments will only damage PKR’s public standing. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — The PKR top leadership, including its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was today accused of practising nepotism, cronyism and favouritism following changes to the appointment of the party’s state chiefs.

Lawyer Latheefa Koya, who has often represented the party and acted for Anwar in his personal cases, accused the latter of ignoring the preferred candidates chosen by division chiefs in at least three states, naming Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor as examples.

“Why did they shift support to the opposite faction after meeting the president? What did he say to them?” she asked in a statement.

According to Latheefa, the division chiefs in Pahang and Sabah also did not support the appointed state chiefs Fuziah Salleh and Christina Liew initially, but changed their minds “after being summoned to meet the president”.

She claimed to have written proof from state division chiefs to show the candidates they backed were not appointed.

Latheefa conceded that the PKR president has the authority to choose the state chiefs, but pointed out that the choice is only after consultation with the division chiefs and the top leader should not brush aside the majority opinion which is contrary to the spirit of the party constitution.

Latheefa also said that barring Sarawak and Selangor, the state chiefs appointed by Anwar were known to be aligned to one of the two main factions in PKR, but did not elaborate further.

Malay Mail was also unable to reach her for comment on this point at the time of writing.

“Except in the case of Sarawak and Selangor, the state chiefs who have been appointed are known to be aligned with one of the two main factions in PKR. Why the heavy imbalance favouring one faction?

“Appointments favouring one particular faction is tantamount to cronyism, which is anathema to any reform party,” said Latheefa.

She also expressed dismay at Nurul Izzah’s appointment as Penang state chief, saying she found it “highly inappropriate” as she is Anwar’s daughter, leaving the party vulnerable to accusations of nepotism.

Latheefa said the practice of appointing close relatives to important positions should have no place in a reformist party.

PKR’s recent internal elections publicly exposed the intense rivalry between deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and his challenger Rafizi Ramli who was said to have been backed by Anwar. The party has since attempted to portray a united front, but the rift appears to be far from bridged.

Latheefa also expressed her shock and consternation that the Kelantan state chief was chosen from a new recruit who had until just three months ago been a member of political nemesis Umno.

“It’s astonishing that PKR saw nothing wrong in appointing this recent Umno crossover. Harapan parties must uphold democracy in their respective party’s internal appointments.

“PKR needs to realise that it is now part of the federal government, charged with no less a task than instituting reforms and properly governing the nation. Hence, it must uphold the highest and best democratic practices,” said Latheefa.

She warned that after a “scandal-ridden” and “disgraceful” internal polls, these appointments will only damage PKR’s public standing.

The state chiefs appointed are as follow: Perak - Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, Negri Sembilan - Aminuddin Harun, Kedah - Datuk Johari Abdul, Sabah - Christina Liew, Kuala Lumpur - Zahir Hassan, Melaka - Halim Bachik, Johor - Hassan Abdul Karim, Terengganu - Azan Ismail, Perlis - Amran Kamarudin, Selanor - Amirudin Shari, Kelantan - Datuk Seri Mohamad Supardi Md Noor, Pahang - Fuziah Salleh, Sarawak - Baru Bian and Penang - Nurul Izzah Anwar.

ANWAR IBRAHIM: RAKSASA PELBAGAI WAJAH

By MT Webmaster On Dec 22, 2018

Anuar Shaari

1. DS Anwar semakin terdesak dan kini mula menonjolkan diri dalam pelbagai wajah.

Nurul Izzah telah meletak jawatan parti dan kerajaan namun tetap mengekalkan kerusi Parlimen Permatang Pauh. Kononnya ‘lelah’ dengan keadaan politik Malaysia mutakhir ini. Jika lelah, kosongkan sahaja kerusi Parlimen Permatang Pauh. Saya kira keadaan ini tidak akan berlaku kerana pencatur di belakang Nurul Izzah iaitu DS Anwar masih memerlukan bilangan yang cukup di Parlimen untuk berhadapan dengan Tun Mahathir.

2. DS Anwar juga muncul di dalam wajah DS Johari Abdul bagi mengingatkan kerajaan PH perlu ‘move on‘ bagi mentadbir negara.

Tidak perlu diungkit-ungkit lagi kesalahan bekas PM DS Najib. Katanya lagi, negara perlu bergerak ke hadapan dan segera berbuat sesuatu bagi menjamin kesejahteraan rakyat. Seperti yang pernah saya nyatakan dahulu, DS Anwar akan mengambil watak baik namun bertentangan dalam hubungannya dengan Tun Mahathir.

3. Wajah DS Anwar juga menjelma dalam DAP melalui Lim Kit Siang.

Ugutan Lim Kit Siang bahawa DAP bersedia meninggalkan kerajaan jika hasrat menjayakan Malaysia Baharu tidak dilaksanakan sepenuhnya, menjadi bahan ketawa banyak pihak. Adakah kenyataan itu dilontarkan sebagai ingatan bahawa beliau (DS Anwar) yang menguasai DAP walaupun beberapa anggota DAP menjadi sebahagian dari ahli kabinet Tun Mahathir?

4. Wajah DS Anwar juga muncul di sebalik kenyataan YB Liew Chin Tong yang bimbang pertembungan Mahathir-Anwar bakal meruntuhkan kerajaan PH.

Adakah ini mesej jika kerajaan PH jatuh, kesalahan bakal diletakkan di bahu Tun Mahathir kerana tidak mahu menurut kehendak Anwar dan DAP? Jelas bahawa pertembungan Mahathir-Anwar kini adalah rahsia terbuka walaupun masing-masing cuba menafikannya.

5. Seperti biasa, DS Anwar mengambil jalan tengah yang selamat apabila berada dalam satu pasukan bersama Tun Mahathir.

Anwar ketika mengulas peletakan jawatan Nurul Izzah, menggambar ianya adalah keluhan hati Izzah yang amat tidak senang dengan senario politik negara terkini. Mengapa Anwar tidak menjadi anak jantan dan mengaku bahawa suara hati Izzah itu adalah suara hati beliau yang mahu menyerang Tun Mahathir?

6. DS Anwar adalah manusia lidah bercabang dan kini muncul sebagai ‘raksasa’ pelbagai wajah.

Beliau bijak menyesuaikan kata-katanya mengikut persekitaran semasa. Beliau boleh menjadi ultra melayu di hadapan orang Melayu, boleh menjadi ‘Justice Bao‘ di hadapan orang Cina dan menari tarian India lebih baik dari orang India sendiri.

Hasrat Anwar semakin terserlah. Ghairah hatinya mahu segera berkuasa tidak boleh dihentikan lagi. Kukunya semakin panjang serta mahu mencengkam. Namun jerat tidak pernah melupakan pelanduk!

Mari kita tengok siapa yang kena…

Moorthy Must Stop The Muslim Freaks, Fanatics And Racists

By MT Webmaster Last updated Dec 23, 2018

Moorthy must not give the Muslim freaks, fanatics and racists an excuse to take to the streets and scream “allahuakhbar” and run amok while tearing at their hair and beating their chests.

Joe Fernandez

It’s not possible for Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy to remain Minister of National Unity and Social Wellbeing.

He has to focus on ratification of ICERD and stopping the variations and distortions of Article 153.

He has to stop Article 153 going beyond reasonable proportion and the four areas into all walks of life. Such deviations and distortions disrupt the entire life of the nation, the non-Malays in particular.

It’s not racist to stand up for one’s place in the sun.

It’s racist to deny anyone his or her place in the sun.

We must not allow variations and distortions of Article 153 which accords a reasonable proportion, by way of a special position, for Orang Asal (Article 161A) and Malays (defined under Article 160) in four areas: intake into the civil service; intake into institutions of higher learning owned by the government and training opportunities; gov’t scholarships; and opportunities from the gov’t to do business.

Waytha has to stop rhetoric and polemics with freaks, fanatics and racists.

He must not give them an excuse to take to the streets and scream “allahuakhbar” and run amok while tearing at their hair and beating their chests.

Mahathir Living On Borrowed Time

By MT Webmaster On Dec 23, 2018

Raja Sara Petra

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is living on borrowed time. And I am not referring to his age but to his term as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia. Mahathir is supposed to hold the office of prime minister for two years, meaning up to May 2020, but I doubt he will even last till May 2019 at the rate things are going, politically speaking, that is.

Anwar Ibrahim is not prepared to wait two years for Mahathir to hand over the job of prime minister to him. Even more worrying for Anwar is the possibility that in two years’ time Mahathir may not honour his promise and may decide to stay on till the end of his term or the end of his life, whichever comes first.

Mahathir knows Anwar is impatient to become prime minister while Anwar knows Mahathir has no plan to hand over the job of prime minister to him, whether in two years or five years. So now it is a contest of the last man standing. Only one is going to walk away from this contest and Mahathir is determined it is not going to be Anwar.

Many in Pakatan Harapan realise that the last seven months since May 2018 have been wasted. No real effort has been put into improving the situation in the country. In fact, the situation has got even worse since GE14, especially as far as race relations is concerned. Never before in Malaysia’s history has the country been brought to the brink of a full-blown race war.

For the last seven months, Malaysia has been engulfed in Pakatan Harapan’s orgy of lies and propaganda. They say Najib Tun Razak stole RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money but thus far nothing has been proven. They say Malaysia’s debts are RM1 trillion but no other financial expert agrees with this figure.

The Cabinet comprises a bunch of jokers who put the country to shame. I would not trust these people to walk my dog let alone to run the country. As Mukhriz Mahathir said, I am ashamed to call myself Malaysian but not for the same reason Mukhriz quoted.

If Mahathir really wants Malaysians to adopt Japanese values then he should ask his entire Cabinet to commit suicide. That would be one sure way for Malaysia’s economy to improve and for the stock market to go up. That would be the most patriotic thing Pakatan Harapan can do for Malaysia.

Flashback: The Third Force interview with Raja Petra Kamarudin

June 21, 2018 6:41 pm Raggie Jessy

“Tengku Razaleigh and his boys, however, washed their hands of me and refused to even meet my wife when she tried to meet them after I got arrested. My wife was so angry she cursed Tengku Razaleigh and said many nasty things to Nik, which are not suitable to be repeated here.” – Raja Petra Kamarudin

THE THIRD FORCE

Following is an interview conducted by TTF with Raja Petra Kamarudin:

Q: I am sure you have been asked this question many times before. Your critics call you a traitor and a turncoat. What is your response?

A: Those who supported the British during the American War of Independence (which the British called a rebellion) were also called traitors and turncoats. If the British had won the war these American traitors and turncoats would instead have been called patriots. But the Americans won, so those on the side of the British remain traitors and turncoats. As far as history is concerned the pro-British Americans were on the wrong side of history.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and his Team B comrades, who later formed and/or joined Semangat 46, were mentioned on the Umno website as traitors who tried to destroy the party and Malay political interest. Later, when Semangat 46 closed down and most of the ex-Semangat 46 people rejoined Umno, that part of Umno’s ‘history’ was deleted from the website.

History is written by the victors and is merely your interpretation of events. Joginder Singh Jessy called the Indian insurrection of 1857 as the Indian Mutiny or the Indian Rebellion. Rebellion and mutiny are negative words. Why did Joginder not call it the Indian War of Independence like what they call the American fight with the British as the American War of Independence?

Well, that is because the British won and the Indians lost so the British decide what to call it. And the Indians who lost were traitors while Gandhi who opposed the British 100 years later is not also called a traitor. Why?

So do not be too concerned about what they call me. After all many Chinese view Chin Peng and his bunch of killers as heroes. So do we really care what these same Chinese think of me? The Chinese love Mat Sabu because he said the Communist Terrorists were freedom fighters. And he even got arrested for saying that. What if Mat Sabu had said he agrees with what Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa says? Will the Chinese still consider him as their hero?

I have long ago stopped worrying about what the Chinese think or say about me. Would you care about what ISIS or the Taliban think or say about you? And if ISIS or the Taliban say you are a great person would you get very excited about that and feel you are the luckiest man alive? These people are so small-minded if they think their opinions mean so much and have great value.

Q: You used to oppose Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and now you support him. Why?

A: Yes, I used to oppose Najib when he was the Deputy Prime Minister. But that is politics. DAP, PAS, and PRM also used to bitterly and ferociously oppose Anwar Ibrahim when he was in government. But when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sacked Anwar from Umno and the government in September 1998, the DAP, PAS, and PRM leaders went running to Anwar’s house in Damansara and fell over each other trying to show they are Anwar’s biggest supporter.

And have we forgotten that Britain’s greatest Prime Minister in history, Winston Churchill, also changed sides and jumped parties? So in politics you may support one side or one person during  a certain time and then reverse your stand later for a specific reason. And is Mahathir not currently the darling of the opposition? How do you explain that?

In 2006 we made a deal with Mahathir that we (‘we’ meaning the bloggers from both sides of the political divide) would work with him to oust Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and replace him with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Not long after the March 2008 general election, Tengku Razaleigh called us for a meeting to inform us that Mahathir had played us out. He was not going to allow Tengku Razaleigh to become the new Prime Minister. Instead Najib was going to become Prime Minister.

Tengku Razaleigh’s boys such as John Pang, Nik Azmi Nik Daud a.k.a. Bul, Aspan Alias, and a few more (who I will not reveal their names at this stage since they have maintained their peace with me and have not attacked me) then sat down to come out with a plan on how to block Najib from becoming Prime Minister so that Tengku Razaleigh can become Prime Minister instead.

And that was when they came out with the plan to link Najib to the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu. Since Razak Baginda was associated with Najib that would not be too difficult. All we needed was a good story to create that link and that ‘good story’ was that Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, was at the scene of the crime the night Altantuya was murdered and her body blown up with C4.

Nik said since I was the only blogger in the group I should be the one to carry the story. But it should not be just a story. It has to be in the form of a Statutory Declaration (SD) to make the story more believable because no one will sign a SD unless it was true since you can get sent to jail if you sign a false SD.

In case I get arrest and charged for signing a false SD, Nik will produce a Military Intelligence report to back me up, which can be used as evidence to support what I say and prove that I am telling the truth. I was not charged for signing a false SD, though, but for Criminal Defamation, and that so-called ‘Military Intelligence report to back me up, which can be used as evidence to support what I say and prove that I am telling the truth’ never came through. Nik’s excuse is that they destroyed the file and the evidence no longer exists.

Of course, Nik was just conning us and taking all of us for a ride, which he is very famous or infamous of doing. I mean, he once told Tengku Razaleigh he has 60 nominations for the Umno Presidency when in the end not even one nomination came in. If out of the promised 60 nominations Tengku Razaleigh got just 20 or 30 that is not too bad. But from 60 to zero is a bit crazy. And Nik spent tens of millions of Tengku Razaleigh’s money campaigning for zero nominations. Did he really spend the money campaigning or did he pocket the money?

Nik actually convinced Tengku Razaleigh he was going to win the Umno Presidency by bringing a fortune teller to Tengku Razaleigh’s office who told Tengku Razaleigh his crystal ball says he is going to be the next Prime Minister. And Tengku Razaleigh was excited with this forecast and told many people about what the fortune teller said. And this is the man who wants to become Malaysia’s next Prime Minister. The scary thing is he still wants to become Prime Minister and thinks he still has a chance to become Prime Minister. What a bunch of idiots.

So, yes, I opposed Najib back in 2008. But I opposed Najib because of Mahathir and not because I had anything personal against Najib. We supported Mahathir to oust Abdullah because Mahathir said Tengku Razaleigh will replace Abdullah as Prime Minister. But when Mahathir played us out and pushed Najib for Prime Minister instead, we then tried to destroy Najib so that he would be disqualified and Tengku Razaleigh could still become Prime Minister.

However, after Tengku Razaleigh and his boys let me take the fall alone and did not back me up as promised for linking Najib to the murder of Altantuya, I no longer wanted anything to do with them. I told them if they send a soldier out to do a job, and if that soldier gets into trouble, it is their duty to try to save that soldier and not allow him to get slaughtered. Tengku Razaleigh and his boys, however, washed their hands of me and refused to even meet my wife when she tried to meet them after I got arrested. My wife was so angry she cursed Tengku Razaleigh and said many nasty things to Nik, which are not suitable to be repeated here.

So now I support Najib because the other side are slime-balls and scum of the earth. Whatever you might say or think about Najib he cannot be as bad or worse than those who are trying to oust him. Let me put it this way. Even the west found Stalin better than Hitler and is it not the Chinese DAP people who say it is better to support the lesser of the two evils. So I am doing precisely what the Chinese DAP people say we should do. So what’s the big deal?

The RM2 Billion ‘Donation’ Mahathir Kept A Secret From You

By MT Webmaster Last updated Nov 19, 2016

The Third Force

‘Prime Minister’ is proving to be a title too horrific to bear for Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak. Ever since Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Daim Zainuddin chaired the roundtable in London on the conspiracy to oust the Prime Minister late last year, sleep has not come easy for Najib, who may have been sharing a bed with bloodthirsty politicians all this while.

The meeting with some of the biggest deals in corporate-Malaysia, was to discuss ways in which Mahathir could finance a long-shot campaign meant to put a fix on Najib. The broad idea was to wage a war of perception against the government on as many fronts as possible, even if it meant the destruction of UMNO and the economy.

“Mahathir and Daim organised a meeting last year, attended by some of the foremost political capitalists known to both the ruling coalition and the opposition”

The attack on the ringgit

The only virtue that emanated from the meeting was that it ended. Right after that, Mahathir began courting scorn over every initiative that had Najib inscribed to it. The modus operandi was simple; “if it was a Najib move, it was a bad move.”

Amongst the initiatives that were flagged for Mahathir’s slings and arrows was the economic reform package the Prime Minister had instituted right after an announcement he made on the 2nd of May 2009.

The reforms, meant to spur growth by stimulating a high-income, all-inclusive and sustainable economy, triggered a positive response from investors and caused the financial system to move closer than ever towards the efficient frontier. Five years after the announcement, Bloomberg outlined Najib’s reforms in very promising flavours.

A report by the New York based news agency on the 13th of August 2014 noted how gross domestic product had, for the first quarter of 2015, seen a 6.2% increase, surpassing as it seems the 6% annual growth the Prime Minister had hoped to register through 2020. According to Bloomberg, per capita gross national income (GNI) had risen to USD 10,060 in 2013, crossing the USD 10,000 threshold for the first time in Malaysian history.

The bottom line showed a growth impressive enough to turn Mahathir red in the face. Najib, whose economic call to action had somehow narrowed the gaps in Purchasing Power Parities (PPP) with regional economies, had done a helluva job, better even than Mahathir or Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah) afforded in their first five years in office.

“From 2010-2014, the Najib administration registered a 19.76% increase in Gross National Income (GNI), more than double the 8.06% increase for a period that began in 1981 and ended in 1985 under the Mahathirian regime. The ‘vote of confidence’ by investors for Najib made Mahathir jittery, which is when he decided that the economy had to fail, whatever the cost. It was the only recourse to retiring Najib from office and even politics, for good”

The positive shift in attitudes among investors towards Malaysia’s economy triggered a chain reaction, making the USD15,000 threshold in Gross National Income seem meagre. Better yet, Najib stood optimistic that the threshold would be crossed two years ahead of target, lodging the country firmly into the World Bank’s ledgers as a high-income economy by 2018.

These figures pointed to an arch that read “Vision 2020; you’re on track.” This, of course, infuriated Mahathir, who had by then architected a plot for Najib to be retired by 2015. But we’ll get to that soon enough in another article.

Suffice to say, the only recourse Mahathir saw was to attack the ringgit by a slingshot, which explains why the target was always 1MDB, the so called RM2.6 billion in donations and everything else that had an economic ring to it. Mahathir wagered on the likelihood that Najib would stoop to his bidding and retire, like Pak Lah did in 2009.

On the 30th of September 2015, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz weighed in on the weakening ringgit and put it down to global market forces. Though she did make perfect sense, she had apparently been struck by a pathological disorder many are now calling ‘Mahathiresia’. It’s a variant of amnesia, except that the afflicted are those who let slip from their memories stuff Mahathir prefers that you do not know.

“Zeti knew that the reports by Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Reportwere criminally subversive and largely inaccurate, but refused to come to Najib’s defence”

And what Zeti knew, as did Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Tan Sri Rashpal Singh, Jessica Gurmeet Kaur, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, was that the February and July media onslaughts by Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report were works of fiction. Nearly all of them were aware that the editorials were powered by Mahathir and Daim for morally corrupt and criminally subversive reasons.

The reports were contrived to bug the eyes of investors over portrayals of massive corruption scandals and economy-crushing complicities. By March 2015, the talk in town was that 1MDB and the mysterious ‘disappearance’ of the RM42 billion was causing the ringgit great harm. These were works of fiction, designed to strike fear in the hearts of investors and trigger a glut in liquidity.

The long and short of it is this; the currency was devaluing at an artificially accelerated rate due to a media fuelled smear campaign. At the same time, legislators were going crazy over talks that the economy was crippling and that the country was going bankrupt. It was around then that several BN pipsqueaks started growing balls and came right out to pour scorn over the state of the Malaysian economy.

The mudslinging and the deluge of media clichés by Mahathir and his henchmen created a snowball effect that was plunging the ringgit closer and closer to the RM4.5 mark. But it was all part of the plan. The ringgit depreciated more than it should have, while Mahathir and Daim tipped their glasses over what they thought was a perfect storm that would do Najib in once and for all.

Funding the mudslinging campaign

The smear campaign Mahathir and Daim had contrived bore a price tag only patrons of the billionaires club could afford to split a cheque on. Both the Tuns were reluctant to ride a coup d’ etat on stash they’d have to fork out from their secret green vaults. If money was needed to destroy Najib, it had to be somebody else’s money, not theirs.

With this in mind, the two Tuns tabled a ballpark figure at the London meet, attended also by some of the foremost capitalists in the political arena, listed below:

1. Berjaya Corporation Berhad CEO Dato’ Seri Robin Tan Yeong Ching

2. Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd CEO Tan Sri T. Ananda Krishnan

3. Genting Group Head of Strategic Investments Dato’ Justin Leong

4. YTL Corporation Berhad Managing Director Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Francis Yeoh

“These corporate bigwigs were complicit with Mahathir and Daim in a plot to topple the Prime Minister by artifice”

The group settled on a R 2 billion figure, RM600 million of which was shelled out in worldwide media coverage by a US based lobbyist and Public Relations Group. It seems that the remainder of the fund was used to grease the palms of some Members of Parliament (MPs), local media portals, bloggers, and several other well connected persons closely linked to both Mahathir and Daim.

Now, the provenance of the funds is one thing. But the manner in which the remaining RM1.4 odd billion was accounted for and subsequently disbursed is a question that begs some urgent answers. It is believed that both Mahathir and Daim cobbled together the idea that a total of 40 legislators from UMNO, MCA, MIC and DAP could be bought over at a price that averaged at RM10 million a person.

It would be interesting to know if any of the projected 40 MPs were remunerated, and if so, how the money was channelled. Specifically, were Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Dato’ Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan among those paid to run the gamut of conspiracy against Najib?

Be that as it may, the funding exerted some downward pressure on the ringgit and gave rise to several subversive groups, some of which were from UMNO and the rest, from DAP and MCA. These groups engaged in mudslinging campaigns together with a complicit media to have Najib thrown out of office together with the trash before the 31st of July 2015.

“Muhyiddin acted as the go-between for Mahathir to solicit support from the blogging community and several other BN and opposition politicians”

Perhaps it would be a good idea for authorities to freeze the accounts of all those implicated herein to put a trace on what may have been the biggest flow of stash in recent political history. It is highly likely that the MACC, all gutsy and egomaniacal over their pursuit of conspiracy, would stumble upon some dubitable balance sheets that would point to accounts of politicians and several well connected persons.

Where did the RM 600 million go?

Prior to the London meet, Mahathir had already solicited the help of Clare Rewcastle-Brown, best known as the patriarch of all that is subversive and controversial. By February 2015, the Sarawak Report’s founding editor had roped in two head honchos from the local media scene and began to work her guile in an article that was titled “The Heist of the Century.” (refer http://www.malaysia-today.net/the-macc-is-playing-pucks-with-the-rakyat-part-2/).

While Clare did work her guile to perfection and got the ball on conspiracy rolling, she wasn’t without resources. Help came in the form of two Tuns who inveigled and at times, blackmailed politicians and officials from several government agencies into a plot to topple the Prime Minister.

But that makes for another story, where I’ll tell you precisely why Mahathir needed so desperately to topple the Prime Minister.

To be continued…

No need for lies, Johor Baru Umno tells departing lawmakers

Debra Chong

Malay Mail16 December 2018, 8:13 AM GMT

Tan Sri Shahrir Samad denounced the slew of lawmakers who recently quit Umno for the ruling Pakatan Harapan as treasonous liars with no qualms on taking the ‘back door’ route to protect their self-interests. ― Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — The Johor Baru Umno division made a strong show of force to defend the leadership of embattled party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today.

Chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Samad denounced the slew of lawmakers who recently quit Umno for the ruling Pakatan Harapan as treasonous liars with no qualms on taking the “back door” route to protect their self-interests.

“We Johor Baru division didn’t vote for Zahid, but he won the majority vote and we respect that decision. We are not Larut that voted for Zahid and then used the excuse that because Zahid is remaining to exit.

“Be truthful, don’t lie to get out, say it straight, ‘I don’t want to be an Opposition MP’,” Shahrir was quoted by Malay daily Sinar Harian as saying in a news conference in Johor Baru.

The former Johor Baru MP was commenting on the series of defections and departures that have left Umno with just 37 MPs now, after 17 quit in the aftermath of the May 9 general election that resulted in the Pakatan Harapan coalition form government.

Shahrir also noted that the departure has fomented a leadership tussle within the central Umo leadership, with remaining elected representatives demanding Ahmad Zahid’s resignation.

“Now there are MPs who want to threaten the party by claiming that if he doesn’t resign, more will leave even though he was chosen by the party,” he was quoted saying, referring to Ahmad Zahid.

“If want to leave, then leave. This is treason, making demands, don’t divert the issue and accuse others to cover our own mistakes,” he was quoted saying further.

Shahrir defended Ahmad Zahid, saying the embattled Umno president had mooted an “amalgamation” in the party administration.

He added that despite the rejection, Ahmad Zahid showed respect for the party’s decision then by not pushing the issue further.

“Those who leapt out of the party are those who entered the government through the back door,” he was quoted saying.

Umno Divided Over Pakatan PM

By MT Webmaster On Dec 16, 2018

Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein are allegedly the hidden hands behind garnering support for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

Joceline Tan, The Star

The spate of resignations that has almost crippled Umno is a result of a proxy “Mahathir-Anwar war” between groups in the party – one in support of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Prime Minister and the other that wants to see Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim move up.

Umno supreme council member Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad said the disagreement between the Umno sides came to a head when the pro-Anwar group began openly canvassing support for him to become the 8th prime minister.

Alwi, who is also Kelantan opposition leader, said the pro-Mahathir group is led by Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin while the pro-Anwar group is headed by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

As such, the Hamzah group is not so much about supporting Dr Mahathir as it is about stopping Anwar in his tracks.

With the help of Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who is also opposed to Anwar, Hamzah managed to persuade 38 Umno MPs to sign statutory declarations in support of Dr Mahathir if anyone brings about a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister in Parliament.

“There was no intention among them to resign from Umno or to join Bersatu. None are interested,” said Alwi.

However, Alwi said that sometime last month, Padang Rengas MP Datuk Nazri Aziz began meeting division leaders in the Klang Valley to persuade them to support Anwar.

Nazri had reportedly said to them that if Anwar were to become the prime minister, there will be no witch hunt against Umno leaders.

He said the MACC would not be used to suppress the opposition as it seems to be happening now.

He also assured his listeners that Anwar would not deregister Umno and there would be equal allocations for government and opposition wakil rakyat.

Many in Umno believe that Nazri’s latest move is linked to whispers and rumours that something big would take place at the March meeting of Parliament to propel Anwar forward.

Nazri met eight Umno divisions. His latest with the Ampang Umno division ended in a fierce commotion.

The Umno Youth leaders criticised him for asking them to support Anwar, which they said were nothing short of cooperating with DAP.

They said even though DAP was prepared to accept ex-Umno leaders, they would never accept that party.

Nazri’s open campaign for Anwar infuriated Hamzah, who then decided to take things to another level.

It is understood that a secret meeting was convened at Hishammuddin’s house in Ampang last weekend. Among the attendees were Hamzah and PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

How and why Azmin is involved in this made-in-Umno drama is unclear but he has emerged as a trusted figure in Mahathir’s circle.

A few days after the meeting, the resignations in Sabah began, followed by more in the peninsular.

“I see it as Hamzah’s way of warning the Umno leadership to stop the alliance with Anwar,” said Alwi.

Hamzah has not only threatened to spark off more resignations from Umno, he is also demanding that Dr Ahmad Zahid steps down as Umno president.

Dr Ahmad Zahid has shown no sign of caving in to the demands. He is, after all, a democratically-elected president.

A supreme council meeting, scheduled for this evening, has also been called off. The cancellation is widely seen as an attempt by Dr Ahmad Zahid to buy time to seek an amicable solution.

But the pressure is not easing. Former Umno Youth chief and Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin is crying out loudly for Dr Ahmad Zahid’s ouster.

Yesterday, Khairy tweeted again: “Step aside sir. It’s time.”

Khairy, once labelled as kambing hitam or black sheep by Dr Mahathir, has also lashed out at Hishammuddin as geng bangsawan (aristocratic gang)

Political commentator Dr Azmi Omar described the debacle that Umno was going through as a “perfect storm”.

“It is ironic that Umno is facing so much trouble because of another round of Anwar versus Mahathir,” said Dr Azmi.

It is obvious that Anwar is closely following the proxy war in Umno. He tweeted yesterday: “Lots of political intrigue discussed in #Twitterjaya this week”.

Alwi said he was also approached by Hishammuddin a few months ago over the same issue.

“I was invited to his Ampang office for lunch. I arrived late. There were already more than 30 Umno leaders there. Then, he met us one at a time – no phones allowed.

“He wanted to know if we were to choose between Anwar and Mahathir, who did we prefer,” said Alwi.

Incidentally, Alwi told Hishammuddin that he trusted Dr Mahathir more than Anwar.

“But that doesn’t mean that we want to join Bersatu. Why should we? Umno is a big party with a long history. We can recover if we are united and focused.”

Umno’s political tug-of-war has left the Youth wing fed-up.

Its deputy Youth chief Shahril Hamdan said the wing was not interested in taking sides between Anwar or Dr Mahathir.

“Right now, it seems the best political minds in Umno are invested in trying to capitalise from any alleged split in the government rather than focus on good old politics – policy, inspiration, sentiment and charisma,” he said.

Shahril warned against falling into the trap of “my opponent’s weakness is my strength”.

“Even if the rakyat is falling out of love with Pakatan, we are not even in their consideration, especially when we seem more interested in convenient mergers and backdoor dealings.”