Rafizi goes for the kill

IT was almost like the good old days when Pakatan Harapan leaders and their supporters shook up the then ruling coalition with their street protests and demonstrations.

The “Tangkap Azam Baki” rally led by former Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli was not massive, but it had such an organic Gen Z feel and energy to it.

Rafizi and several of his fellow PKR colleagues were probably the oldest people there because almost everyone there did not look a day over 25.

The slogans scrawled on homemade placards fashioned out of paper and cardboard reflected their age cohort, such as the one declaring: “Integrity not found 404”.

But the one that hit the hardest read: “When exposing a crime is treated as a crime, we are being ruled by criminals”.

Is Rafizi going for broke by taking on two of the most powerful figures in the government?

The principal targets of the protesters were the chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Tan Sri Azam Baki, and no less than Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

They are demanding that Azam step down from his MACC position and questioning the Prime Minister for his strenuous defence of Azam in the wake of allegations about Azam's shareholdings.

And, of course, there is that explosive Bloomberg expose alleging the existence of a “corporate mafia” involving the MACC.

The Pandan MP and his PKR colleagues did not hold back as they lashed out from atop a truck with the iconic Sogo shopping mall in the background. Politics keeps coming to a full circle because this was where the hardcore supporters of Anwar used to gather to campaign for his release from imprisonment.

Putrajaya has responded by setting up a special committee led by the Attorney-General to look into the allegations of Azam’s stock market investment.

Azam has denied the allegations and declared that he is open to being investigated. He is also suing Bloomberg over the report about him.

A Special Corruption High Court had also been formed to hear corruption cases. It was a timely move given the deluge of corruption charges in the last few years.

Anwar has talked extensively about the government’s war against corruption wherever he goes.

“He spoke about this when he officiated at our Selangor PKR convention two weeks ago. It is a bold push, with so many big names investigated. No other PM has dared to tackle corruption in the armed forces,” said Selangor state executive councillor Najwan Halimi.

However, the government needs to address the “corporate mafia” allegations if it wants to maintain investor confidence.

The Bloomberg expose on the alleged “corporate mafia” has limited traction among ordinary folk, but it is a big thing among the intelligentsia, the business community and even in the region, and it has been trending on social media.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post has picked up the news and dubbed Rafizi the “conscience of Malaysia’s reformasi movement”.

Malaysia's watchdog agency is under scrutiny by the people.

Perhaps the most curious thing was that after Rafizi called for Azam to be suspended from his duties, he found himself implicated in government contracts amounting to billions of ringgit when he was a minister.

Rafizi is far from perfect, but corruption is definitely not one of his weaknesses. He has slammed the allegations as an “overkill,” pointing out that the Economy Ministry’s role is in planning and strategising and that procurement and contracts were handled by other ministries.

As for those in power, old videos of them taking part in protests to call for “Tangkap Azam” (arrest Azam) have flooded social media in an embarrassing reminder of how they are singing a different song after coming to power.

“I don’t think it has dented the PM’s anti-corruption drive but it generates conversation which easily gets out of hand,” said a Cabinet minister who asked not to be named.

No other prime minister has targeted the corrupt like Anwar.

MACC is one of the most powerful and feared agencies in the government. Its use of the Anti-Money Laundering Act or AMLA sends shivers down the spine of businessmen who are paralysed when their business accounts are frozen.

However, it is the way the MACC sidesteps certain big shots that sticks out like a sore thumb. The selective prosecution of Sabah politicians implicated in the mining scandal is a case in point.

The impression is that Rafizi and the MPs who joined him at the protest, namely, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa), Wong Chen (Subang) and Zahir Hassan (Wangsa Maju), know they are unlikely to be fielded as candidates in the next general election.

As such, they might as well go with a bang.

“Anwar can accept criticism from opponents, but it is something else when it is coming from one of your own,” said a PKR politician from Perak.

Azam was a confident, good-looking and ambitious officer when he was picked to head MACC by then Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He turned 60 three years ago, and his contract has been renewed three times.

He has outlasted Rafizi in the Madani government, and there must be something special there to have survived three prime ministers with vastly different styles and temperaments.

It has been quite humiliating for Rafizi, who used to stand on the ceramah stage to declare that Azam would be axed when Pakatan came to power and that he would pursue Azam “sampai lubang cacing” (into the wormhole) or to the ends of the earth.

It will drive Rafizi crazy if Azam’s contract is extended again in May.

Rafizi took exception to being labelled as someone good at “menggigit” (biting). He retorted that if he had not “gigit here and gigit there” in the last 20 years, Anwar would not be prime minister today.

The Prime Minister might want to take note of the saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.

Rafizi may be on the political fringe, but he has regained his elevated spot in the court of public opinion for speaking up and daring to take on the powers-that-be.

And he is not going to stop because he has nothing to lose.