‘BOOMERANG’ HITS MUHYIDDIN ON THE HEAD – BUT DO BERSATU & PAS REALISE WHAT THE METAPHOR MEANS? – IT MEANS WHEN RIVALS & POLITICAL FOES STEAL, YOU RUSH TO HANDCUFF THEM – BUT WHEN YOUR BOSS & OWN PN PARTIES PILLAGE & PLUNDER, YOU CALL IT ‘POLITICAL PERSECUTION’
The natives of Australia are fully aware that when they throw their traditional weapon boomerang at a prey or an enemy, they make sure the weapon will not hit them when it comes back to them.
The “boomerang” metaphor fits the predicament faced by the top leadership of Bersatu.
Of late, three Bersatu leaders have been arrested for corruption, money laundering, abuse of power and others.
Of course, the latest to be arrested and charged is none other than Muhyiddin Yassin, the president of Bersatu.
The MACC has cast its net wide, others in Perikatan Nasional might be charged and arrested, including the “never do wrong”, and “sanctimonious” PAS leaders.
The “green wave” propelled by the PN coalition in the last general election was predicated on the use of the corruption weapon against the Umno leadership.
This “boomerang” was the principal reason that Umno lost Malay support, especially in the north and east of the country.
As the state elections are fast approaching, the PN leadership are so sure that such a weapon could be used in these elections to make further inroads in the Malay heartland.
But the unexpected happened. History is full of turns and twists – something that the PN coalition did not anticipate.
Even if there were allegations floated about PN leaders, there was no concrete proof that they had indeed indulged in the nefarious acts of corruption.
They just thought that the unity government was just going for a big bluff without evidence.
But then, the government of Anwar Ibrahim, despite its oscillations on some matters, was dead serious about stopping corruption in its tracks.
It was just a matter of time before the MACC was emboldened to swing into action to make their arrests.
Muhyiddin’s arrest
The third arrest was the biggest, it was none other than the netting of Muhyiddin who was charged and let out on RM2 million bail.
Muhyiddin and his ardent supporters can claim that they are being punished by Anwar’s government for political reasons.
Evidence might be there.
In the name of assisting bumiputera businesspersons to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, millions if not billions were channelled to bumiputera companies.
Whether or not they were the actual beneficiaries remains to be seen.
But however, millions if not billions of taxpayers’ money was siphoned off through the middle persons to politicians in Bersatu.
These illicit funds were heavily used in the last general election to gain political support for Bersatu and PAS.
Despite the use of corruption money to buy political support by PN, the leaders had the temerity to accuse Umno leaders of corruption.
It was on the matter of corruption and the bad publicity provided by the PN that robbed Umno of its crucial Malay support.
What was thrown at Umno, the “boomerang”, has now come in a full circle to hit and haunt the PN leaders.
Muhyiddin, after being charged, said the recent arrests will only further embolden the PN leaders to go for the political kill, meaning that whatever Malay support the present government has will vanish in thin air.
I think that the “green wave” has been checkmated to some extent by the arrests of Bersatu leaders.
It is still there.
Anwar might be described as a populist prime minister without an effective political strategy, but in the nabbing of some of the Bersatu leaders, he has demonstrated effectiveness to show that he means business.
Anwar might have demonstrated that only when the top leadership is clean, then only it is possible to move effectively against the scourge of corruption. WRITER – P RAMASAMY – MKINI
Muhyiddin’s shrill moralism unbecoming
Muhyiddin had rushed to the PAS centre after being arrested by MACC and was released on police bail following nine hours of questioning.
By framing his battle against corruption charges levied at him as a fight against evil, Muhyiddin is conjuring up a shrill moralism inappropriate to his straits.
True, he is the third official of his party in three weeks to be charged with corruption, but there has been a national campaign against graft since Nov 24 when Anwar Ibrahim became prime minister.
What’s more, the push against corruption is not a new newfangled development; on the hustings before he took office, Anwar was breathing fire and brimstone against the malady.
So, Muhyiddin cannot say that the Anwar government has targeted Bersatu for special attention, though it is true that it is only now that the party is in the MACC’s crosshairs.
But the attempt by Muhyiddin and his cohort to conflate a general campaign against corruption into a specific targeting of Bersatu as the locus of a national malaise won’t hold water.
Assertion is not proof
Corruption has long been a virus that has been eating into the innards of this society. It has to be rooted out, considering that the country is RM1.2 trillion in debt and annual interest payments alone total RM45 billion.
No leader of the country can be indifferent to the implications of these figures and no leader needs to fear the people’s disapproval if the MACC is seen to be taking action against leaders and individuals who were complicit in defrauding our finances.
Hence, the attempt to wield a moral sceptre by leaders who are indicted for corruption and who cloak themselves in the garb of victims of persecution is tawdry.
Muhyiddin said he expects to be exonerated in a court of law, which is where he should leave things.
He cannot claim that the forces in the MACC, judiciary, and police that stand arrayed before him were appointees of the government and have an interest in doing him in.
As such, his attempt to conjure an aura of persecution about his travails is a play for public sympathy.
Adding a public veneer of religion to that aura makes that play suspect. He may think Bersatu’s association with PAS in the Perikatan Nasional coalition confers ready access to a domain where profession is performance, assertion is proof.
In a court of civil law, things are the other way round: assertion is not proof, and profession has to be validated by witness testimony.
Muhyiddin’s attempt to dress in moral raiment in advance of his appearance in court can be attributed to the political company he keeps.
PAS uses religion to further its political objectives and justifies it by holding that Islam does not recognise a division between the religious and political spheres.
Is it so difficult to recognise that a consequence of this non-recognition is the shrill moralism that characterises the pronouncements of PAS leaders like Abdul Hadi Awang?
He holds himself above reason and doesn’t feel obliged to corroborate his arguments. It’s a short step from this stance to non-attendance at parliamentary proceedings.
Muhyiddin should be mindful of the company he keeps and its deleterious effects on him. MKINI
MKINI
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