So, what we are seeing here, which Tony Pua did not address, is actually a fight to become the next Prime Minister. And for those (other than Anwar) who want to become Prime Minister, they will need to first weaken Najib before they bring him down, like what they did to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

“It will leave Najib in history as the prime minister who failed moderation. Without sincerity and political will from the top leadership, Perkasa has the tacit approval to do its worse in the light of the upcoming general elections to sow fear into the hearts of the Malay-Muslim community in order to protect the vote bank for Umno.”

That was what Tony Pua said today (you can read the full news report below). Pua also said that while the prime minister was pushing for Malaysia to lead a global movement of moderates for peace, he was actually creating a fertile ground in breeding extremist racism and religion.

Actually, what Tony Pua said was not too far off the mark. But Tony Pua was only looking at one side of the coin. A coin has two sides. So let me talk about the other side, which Tony Pua did not address.

Politics is about power. And the objective of power is to try to retain it and not lose it. And power at the top is about becoming the Prime Minister and to try to remain as Prime Minister without getting ousted.

Hence, everything that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak says and does must be with this in mind.

Note that Najib is not the only one who wants to become Prime Minister (or retain his post as Prime Minister). Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also wants to become Prime Minister. So do Anwar Ibrahim, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Khairy Jamaluddin, Mukhriz Mahathir, Ali Rustam, Muhammad bin Mohd Taib, Khir Toyo, Hishammuddin Hussein, Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, Rais Yatim, etc. In fact, I can add at least another ten or so names to that list.

That makes about two dozen or so aspirants. And I am not including those from PAS and only one name from PKR. If not, the list would run into at least 30 names.

But only one can be the Prime Minister. And if anyone else wants to become the Prime Minister then he (or they) will need to topple the incumbent. Of course, if Anwar wants to become the Prime Minister then he will have to ensure that Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the next federal government. For all the others, they will have to embark upon an ‘inside job’.

So, what we are seeing here, which Tony Pua did not address, is actually a fight to become the next Prime Minister. And for those (other than Anwar) who want to become Prime Minister, they will need to first weaken Najib before they bring him down, like what they did to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“It will leave Najib in history as the prime minister who failed moderation,” said Tony Pua. That is true. But what Tony Pua did not state is: will Najib have failed moderation because he is not sincere about moderation or will he fail because he is being blocked from moderation?

Now, when I use the word ‘sincere’, please don’t get me wrong. I am not using the word ‘sincere’ in the context that you and I understand it. I am using that word in the context of how a politician would see it.

To a politician, sincere is doing what can get him votes and allow him to retain power. Hence, Najib’s ‘sincerity’ means doing what the voters want (in particular the non-Malay voters who he needs to win back after losing them in 2008).

Nevertheless, he is ‘sincere’, in the political context, about moderation. And if he can convince the voters about his sincerity, in particular the non-Malays, then Barisan Nasional can be assured of winning back many of the seats it lost in 2008 and Pakatan Rakyat can be reduced to less than 80 parliament seats and maybe just two states or so.

That would mean Najib would have performed superbly, going by the standards of the 2008 general election. And that would also mean there is no reason to oust Najib like they did Abdullah Badawi after the disaster of the 2008 general election.

To justify kicking Najib out, Barisan Nasional must lose more than 90 parliament seats and at least five states, maybe even six. Of course, Barisan Nasional will still form the federal government but Najib would have to go. Then Malaysia will see a new Prime Minister, but still one from Umno.

Does Najib really have control over Perkasa? Who controls Perkasa? Would Najib dare clamp down on Perkasa and incur the wrath of the hidden hand behind Perkasa? Is Najib ready for political suicide and suffer the fate of Abdullah Badawi?

Tony Pua is focusing on the issue of Perkasa. That is being a bit naïve. Tony Pua failed to mention Pekida. Pekida is more dangerous than Perkasa. Perkasa, which is headed by Ibrahim Ali, only screams and shouts, and once in a while holds demonstrations of 100 or so members.

Pekida, however, is more militant. Pekida is the IRA of Umno, not Perkasa. But you do not see them or hear them. There are many members of Pekida in the government, in Umno, in the military, in the police force, etc. This is the real paramilitary force of Umno. In fact, Abdullah Badawi is the leader of Pekida in Penang and Dr Mahathir the leader of Pekida in Kedah. And we have Pekida in Selangor and all over Malaysia, all headed by key Umno leaders.

Tony Pua should not over-simplify the issue. The problem is not Najib. The problem is the hidden hands in Umno and the hidden ‘structure’, such as Pekida, that was set up soon after the race riots of 13th May 1969.

There are things that I sometimes can’t talk about. Sometimes we have to give an impression that we are not aware of what is going on so that we can better prepare our counter-strategy. But when Pakatan Rakyat leaders start going off-tangent and hit the wrong target, then I am forced to say my piece at the risk of revealing what is up our sleeve.

Some of you have been in this game since 2007 when the Bersih and Hindraf marches first exploded onto the scene. So I can quite understand why you look at things from only one perspective. We have been in this game since 1977, 30 years before that. And there are many things that have happened over the last 43 years since 1969 that many of you are not privy to. In fact, many of you were not even born yet then.

Moderate Malaysia in danger from Umno and Perkasa, says DAP

(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s failure to rein in Perkasa is jeopardising Malaysia’s name internationally as a moderate country, DAP’s Tony Pua said today.

“The game that Umno and Perkasa are playing, regardless of the outcome of the next general election, is a highly dangerous one which may forever tarnish Malaysia’s reputation as a moderate country,” the opposition lawmaker said in a statement today.

“It will leave Najib in history as the prime minister who failed moderation,” he added.

The DAP publicity chief was responding to the latest published remarks from Perkasa’s secretary-general who had said that “the faith of Islam, of Muslims is under siege in Selangor”.

He noted that the right-wing movement seemed to imply that Christians were likely to become more aggressive in their proselytisation attempts in Selangor with its Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim now in charge of Islamic affairs.

The religious portfolio was previously handled by conservative Datuk Hasan Ali, until earlier this month when he was sacked from Islamic PAS for repeatedly breaching the party’s official stand.

Pua noted that while the prime minister was pushing for Malaysia to lead a global movement of moderates for peace, he was actually creating a fertile ground in breeding extremist racism and religion.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP pointed to the prime minister’s inaction against right-wing Malay movement’s growing increasing audacity in issuing statements that provoke fear and anger between Muslims and Christians in the country.

He added the fact that such statements were carried in mainstream media owned by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin, Umno, proved “Najib is either hopeless or devious in the fight against extremism”.

Pua raised again the 2010 attacks against houses of worship nationwide by extremists following a court ruling allowing the Catholic Church to publish the word “Allah”, and reminded that such “freedom provided Perkasa and its ilk... will not lead to any peaceful outcome”.

He said, “Without sincerity and political will from the top leadership, Perkasa has the tacit approval to do its worse in the light of the upcoming general elections to sow fear into the hearts of the Malay-Muslim community in order to protect the vote bank for Umno.”

Malaysia’s 28 million population is over 60 per cent Muslim, but more than half its citizens in Sarawak and Sabah, long considered the ruling BN’s vote bank, are predominantly Christian.