Already beating the war drums

WHEN Ramadan began, the political noise in the country became relatively subdued, in honour of the holy month of reflection and abstinence.

However, by the third week of the month, the unspoken truce had been broken.

The first to fire the salvo was a dubious news portal called “Malaysia-hot” on April 18. It leaked documents believed to be minutes of a meeting held by the PAS central committee, where a plot was allegedly hatched to bring down Umno leaders, including by interference in court cases.

PAS leaders have rubbished the allegations, dubbed “PASleaks”, but the damage has been done, as it triggered several serious questions from Umno’s senior leaders.

A few days later, fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin dropped a second bombshell, a more lethal one. He published an article claiming that Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali was being investigated for an unexplained RM1mil in his bank account.

Mohd Nazlan is the judge who found former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak guilty in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.

The judge lodged a police report. Shortly after, Najib filed an appeal to the Federal Court regarding his conviction and sentencing in the case.

He wants his conviction overturned, and victory in court could see him back in the Dewan Rakyat and even in the seat of power.

The two bombshells – “PASleaks” and article on Mohd Nazlan – have certainly grabbed public interest, as they give Malaysians a glimpse into the deep political undercurrents that are at work.

Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said the political mudslinging had started because Putrajaya’s memorandum of understanding with the Opposition was unlikely to be extended beyond July 31.

“The general election is imminent. The mudslinging has started to soil opponents. ‘PASleaks’ is probably the last nail on the coffin of PAS-Umno collaboration,” he said, adding that relations between the two parties had already gone sour when they clashed in the Melaka and Johor state elections.

The alleged intelligence report by PAS central committee had contained the findings made by secretary general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan and Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar in five separate meetings with top leaders.

The leaked documents contained the names of political operators, top leaders, the conclusion achieved and even the dates and venue of meetings.

Ahmad Samsuri has since rubbished the document’s authenticity, but it wasn’t enough.

Police reports were lodged by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s legal team and the office of the chief registrar of the Federal Court.

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s constitutional and administrative law lecturer Prof Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood agreed that “PASleaks” had left a huge dent in Umno-PAS relations.

“’PASleaks’ is an effort to distance Umno from Perikatan Nasional’s PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia,” said Nik Ahmad.

The three are part of a rather uncomfortable partnership in government.

Nik Ahmad said the two bombshells were signs that the national political climate was heating up and continuation of efforts to raise doubts over Najib’s 12-year jail sentence and RM210mil fine in the SRC case.

“Najib’s conviction will be presented as a political conspiracy that was meant to undermine Umno and Barisan Nasional.

“The objective will be to bolster Umno and Barisan’s reputation and bring back fence-sitters to support and vote for Barisan in GE15,” said Nik Ahmad.

Mohd Nazlan is currently being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has stressed that the probe was launched due to a lodged report, not the allegations on portals or social media.

In Raja Petra’s blog, it was alleged that the money was transferred into Mohd Nazlan’s account when he was the group general counsel and company secretary of Maybank.

Although Mohd Nazlan has lodged a police report, several Umno veterans continued to attack his credibility as a judge, including former Johor Baru MP Tan Sri Shahrir Samad.

Shahrir, who is very outspoken on Facebook, said an explanation was necessary and questioned the state of affairs in the nation’s judiciary.

“If this is true, then our justice system has reached its lowest and most ludicrous level ever,” he declared in a blog posting on April 20.

Shahrir’s views were echoed by many Umno supporters on social media, but the judiciary does not share the same sentiments.

Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in her speech at a swearing-in ceremony of newly-appointed High Court judges on Thursday, said the recent public display of disapproval against high profile cases had “gone overboard”.

Although Tengku Maimun did not zero into any particular case, she made clear that the public, including politicians, were free to criticise the judiciary but to a certain extent.

It did not mean that they could level unfounded and scurrilous attacks against the judiciary or a particular judge to further their own ends.

The judiciary has also dismissed Raja Petra’s article as “false, baseless and malicious allegations” aimed at tarnishing Mohd Nazlan’s credibility and to interfere with the judicial system and institution.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said on Tuesday that the MACC should stop any plans to investigate Mohd Nazlan as it could lead to a rash of frivolous claims against the judiciary.

It said there were other ways to probe allegations of wrongdoings by judges.

Political analyst and lawyer Ivanpal S Grewal said the allegations against Mohd Nazlan must be probed in accordance with the law.

“On the political side, though, this may bolster Najib’s case that the charges against him are designed to end his political career,” he said.

If the Federal Court sets aside Najib’s conviction, Ivanpal said, Najib would be allowed to contest in GE15.

However, Ivanpal said that would depend on when the Federal Court hears Najib’s appeal

“There is no indication yet on when the hearing would be but the courts are moving at a brisk pace. So, I think by the third quarter of 2022, we should see matters conclude,” said Ivanpal.

With Ramadan coming to an end and the Hari Raya celebrations just days aways, Nik Ahmad said most Malaysians just want to enjoy their freedom after two years of Covid-19 restrictions but noted that the political temperature would remain high.

“Lobbying is widespread in the run-up to the general election which many predict will be held this year,” he said.

The two bombshells and the choppy waters in Malaysian politics could be a prelude to larger moves, like forcing the hand of the Prime Minister to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament.

“Piling pressure on the Prime Minister is a tactical move to get him to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament," said Nik Ahmad.

“It’s never a boring day in Malaysian politics. There is an intense power struggle going on,” added Ivanpal.

He said “PASleaks” and Raja Petra’s allegations were separate issues, but they carry the same political impact.

“They are separate, but they both may have the same impact.

“On one hand, it may strengthen Zahid’s hand that Barisan has to go on it alone and on the other hand, it may remind Perikatan that it needs to work with the Opposition Pakatan Harapan,” he said.

While the authenticity of “PASleaks” is questionable, what is certain is that any glimmer of hope that Umno-PAS relations could be salvaged have now been torpedoed.

Oh, and one more thing – you can never write Najib off.