Anwar tried to kill Mahathir but ended up killing Pakatan instead
So, the question “Will Mahathir and Anwar unite again?” does not arise. In 2018, Anwar worked with Mahathir to oust Najib because he thought in two years he could eliminate Mahathir and take over. With Najib as PM, there was no way Anwar could take over. It is like fattening the cow so that you can slaughter the cow later. And Mahathir was supposed to have been slaughtered last month, according to Anwar’s plan.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
“Will Mahathir and Anwar unite again?” asked Dennis Ignatius today. That heading alone gives an impression that ex-diplomat Dennis does not really know Malaysian politics, as the impression he is trying to create. This is almost like Siti Kasim trying to preach Islam to the Mufti of Perlis.
Anyway, no need to dissect and analyse Dennis’s article. You can read that article HERE if you wish and see how his analysis pusing-pusing dan tidak kemana. It is like saying water is wet and ice is cold. Why state the obvious? Tell us what we all DO NOT know.
Does Dennis Ignatius really understand politics?
Will Mahathir and Anwar unite again? Again? What do you mean “again”? You can ask, “Will Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad become Malaysia’s Prime Minister again?” That is because he has already been Prime Minister twice. But you cannot ask “Will Anwar Ibrahim become Prime Minister again” because he has never been Prime Minister.
In short, Mahathir and Anwar were NEVER united. They may have used each other for mutual benefit — just like the United States used Saddam Hussein to fight against Ayatollah Khomeini. But President Ronald Reagan did not love Saddam, just like Mahathir and Anwar never loved each other.
This was what was reported then:
President Ronald Reagan decided that the United States “could not afford to allow Iraq to lose the war to Iran”, and that the United States “would do whatever was necessary to prevent Iraq from losing”. Reagan formalised this policy by issuing a National Security Decision Directive to this effect in June 1982.
In 1982, Reagan removed Iraq from the list of countries “supporting terrorism” and sold weapons such as howitzers to Iraq via Jordan. France sold Iraq millions of US$ worth of weapons, including Gazelle helicopters, Mirage F-1 fighters, and Exocet missiles.
Both the United States and West Germany sold Iraq dual-use pesticides and poisons that would be used to create chemical and other weapons, such as Roland missiles. Saudi Arabia was said to provide Iraq with US$1 billion per month starting in mid-1982.
They used Saddam Hussein and then hanged him, like what Anwar tried to do to Mahathir, but failed
Of course, later, the US hanged Saddam for using these “chemical weapons”, which they gave him to use against Iran. And Dennis, an ex-diplomat, should understand international politics instead of writing nonsense fairy tales. The reality of politics is you use enemies to fight enemies and then you eliminate these enemies later when they are no longer useful to you.
As Tina Turner said, “What’s love got to do with it?” And love for each other is the last thing Mahathir and Anwar had. What they had was a common interest, which was only temporary for that point of time and which would change with time. And that common interest was power. Mahathir and Anwar wanted power and they knew they would have to work with each other to gain and retain power.
Mahathir’s and Anwar’s paths did not cross until 1981 — although Mahathir was already a “Young Turk” in the 1960s and Anwar in the 1970s. And for their dissent, Mahathir was almost detained by Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1969 while Anwar was detained by Tun Razak Hussein in 1974. (Tunku Abdullah ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the MP for Rawang and son of the First Agong, helped Mahathir escape detention).
It was Ku Li, not Mahathir, who brought Anwar into Umno
And the reason Mahathir allowed Anwar to join Umno in 1982 was so that he would not go to PAS — because if Anwar had gone to PAS then Umno would have faced a lot of problems. So, Mahathir brought Anwar into Umno mainly to deny PAS a so-called Islamic leader and not because Mahathir thought Anwar could be an asset to Umno.
This would be called “keep your friends close and your enemies even closer”. But that does not mean this enemy is now your friend. It just means you now have control over your enemy. And that was precisely how Mahathir’s and Anwar’s relationship started in 1982.
So why is Dennis Ignatius asking, “Will Mahathir and Anwar unite again?” Mahathir and Anwar were NEVER united. It was just a case of two wolves getting together to hunt in a pack. But heaven forbid if one wolf gets injured because an injured wolf is dinner for the rest of the pack.
When Team A (Tun Dr Mahathir/Tun Ghafar Baba) fought Team B (Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah/Tun Musa Hitam) five year later in 1987, Anwar took the side of Team A. Why Team A when it was Ku Li who persuaded Mahathir to allow Anwar into Umno? Should Anwar not be with Ku Li’s Team B? Is this not a betrayal?
Yes, Anwar sold out Ku Li. But why? Simple! If Ku Li and Musa won, then Anwar would have little hope of becoming the DPM, let alone the PM. With Team A in power, it would be easier for Anwar to oust Ghafar and take over as DPM (which Anwar did six years later in 1993).
Anwar supported Team A so that he could oust Tun Ghafar later and take over as DPM
In short, Anwar supported Mahathir because he would have a better shot at becoming the Prime Minister than if Ku Li was in power. That means Anwar supported what he thought was the weaker of the two teams so that he could later eliminate the weaker party and take over.
So, the question “Will Mahathir and Anwar unite again?” does not arise. In 2018, Anwar worked with Mahathir to oust Najib Tun Razak because he thought in two years he could eliminate Mahathir and take over. With Najib as PM, there was no way Anwar could take over. It is like fattening the cow so that you can slaughter the cow later. And Mahathir was supposed to have been slaughtered last month, according to Anwar’s plan.
