Anwar had already decided he will become Malaysia’s Prime Minister back in 1981
If Anwar had ‘done the right thing’, Ku Li would have become Malaysia’s new Prime Minister or PM5 in 1987 and Mahathir would have ruled for just six years and not 22 years. Anwar’s silly move actually hurt Umno and Malaysia and much of what ails the country is because of Anwar backing Mahathir instead of Ku Li.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
It is now 648 days since GE14 and another 83 days until Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s fourth and seventh Prime Minister, is supposed to retire and hand power to Anwar Ibrahim, the longest Prime Minister-in-waiting in history.
Different people have different views regarding since what date Anwar has been Prime Minister-in-waiting. Some say since he ousted Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba in October 1993. Others say since he tried to undermine Mahathir during the Asian Financial Crisis in July 1997. Then there are those who say Anwar had already decided he was going to succeed Mahathir as the Fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia as early as 1981, which was why he joined Umno instead of PAS in 1982.
So, was it 1981, 1993, 1997, or 1999 — when he formed Parti Keadilan Nasional (now PKR) and the Barisan Alternatif coalition (now Pakatan Harapan)?
I believe Anwar had already decided he was going to succeed Mahathir as Malaysia’s fifth Prime Minister as far back as 1981 when Mahathir took over as Prime Minister from Tun Hussein Onn. And that was why as soon as Mahathir became Prime Minister Anwar tried to join Umno but at first failed. Mahathir did not want Anwar in Umno.
It was Ku Li who convinced Mahathir to allow Anwar to join Umno in 1982
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah then worked on Mahathir and managed to convince Mahathir that if Umno did not take Anwar then he would go to PAS. And if Anwar joined PAS that would create huge problems for Umno. So better to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.
Ku Li finally managed to convince Mahathir to allow Anwar into Umno merely to prevent him from going to PAS even if he was of no use to Umno or Mahathir personally.
Mahathir admitted this in an interview in Japan in 2004. He said he did not want Anwar but to prevent him from going to PAS he agreed to allow Anwar to join Umno. Mahathir said he thought once Anwar joined Umno he could control him. But he found that Anwar was conspiring behind his back to topple him so he had no choice but to sack Anwar in September 1998.
Mahathir never mentioned sodomy as the reason he got rid of Anwar in his 2004 interview. Mahathir mentioned that Anwar was conspiring behind his back to topple him as the reason he kicked Anwar out of Umno in September 1998.
Mahathir allowed Anwar to join Umno in 1982 to prevent him from going to PAS
Tun Daim Zainuddin advised Anwar to go quietly, maybe even go overseas for a couple of years and then return to Malaysia ‘rehabilitated’. Anwar, however, told Daim he was going to fight back. Daim told Anwar if he does then there was going to be consequences and Mahathir will for sure throw Anwar into jail.
Anwar ignored Daim’s advice and fought back and Anwar paid the price for it.
Mahathir said he was going to retire and hand power to Anwar anyway. In fact, if not because of the Asian Finance Crisis, that would have happened before the 1999 general election or GE10. But Anwar was impatient, said Mahathir, so he needed to be kicked out and jailed.
Yes, that came from Mahathir’s own mouth. And Ku Li has confirmed these events as all true.
So, Anwar’s entry into Umno was because of Ku Li. Mahathir did not want Anwar in Umno. However, in 1987, Anwar decided to back Mahathir instead of Ku Li and this changed the entire course of history for both Umno and Malaysia.
If Anwar had ‘done the right thing’, Ku Li would have become Malaysia’s new Prime Minister or PM5 in 1987 and Mahathir would have ruled for just six years and not 22 years. Anwar’s silly move actually hurt Umno and Malaysia and much of what ails the country is because of Anwar backing Mahathir instead of Ku Li.
But it was not just Anwar who is to blame. Najib Tun Razak, Anwar’s Deputy Umno Youth Leader at that time, is also to blame. At first Najib was backing Ku Li. Then Anwar ‘blackmailed’ Najib into changing sides and back Mahathir instead. So Najib changed sides.
And what was the ‘blackmail’? Hah…I bet you wish I would tell you that part of the story. But, no…not today. I will leave that story for another time (kenalah simpan sikit cerita).
Mahathir got the Special Branch to monitor Anwar since 1982 but only acted in 1998 as a preemptive strike against Anwar’s coup
So, because of Anwar and Najib, Malaysia was denied Ku Li and the country had to suffer an additional 16 years of Mahathir as PM4, and now another two years so far as PM7 — and maybe even five years if Mahathir serves his full term till GE15 in 2023.
Why did Anwar decide to back Mahathir instead of Ku Li (we know why Najib backed Mahathir — he was ‘blackmailed’)? Simple. If Anwar backed Mahathir then Tun Ghafar Baba would be number two. And Ghafar is easier to topple. If Ku Li took over, then Tun Musa Hitam would be number two. And Anwar would not have been able to topple Musa.
So, Anwar chose Mahathir over Ku Li because it would have been easier for him to topple Ghafar compared to Musa. And he did that in 1993, his final move to becoming Malaysia’s fifth Prime Minister on or before 1999 — he toppled Ghafar and took over as Deputy Prime Minister.
This is how Mahathir controls his ‘friends’ in Pakatan Harapan
However, Anwar made one major miscalculation. He underestimated Mahathir. He thought since Mahathir allowed him join Umno in 1982, gave him a Parliament seat to contest in GE6 in 1982 (Permatang Pauh), made him a Cabinet Member in 1983, made him the Minister of Finance in 1991, made him the Deputy Prime Minister in 1993, etc., that means Mahathir loves him like a son.
No, Mahathir just likes to keep his friends close and his enemies even closer. Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, DAP, Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS, PKR, etc., are all enemies, as is Anwar. But he keeps them close not out of love but to keep them on a tight leash. And this tight leash must be really tight around the neck so that Mahathir can choke them whenever they try to gigit tuan. So, If they want Mahathir out over the next 83 days or so, they had better be very clever lest Mahathir strangles them with this tight leash.
