All the world’s a stage

Much ado: File photo of Najib being escorted at the Kuala Lumpur High Court complex in October. On Dec 22, the High Court denied his bid to serve his sentence under house arrest, triggering much noise from both sides of the political divide. — AP

IN the clumsy wayang kulit of Umno politics, the party’s “cry wolf” reaction to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s failed house arrest bid is a performance that has lost its power to convince.

The shadows on the stage showed party leaders angry with the High Court’s decision. The leadership threatened to leave the Madani government as the failure had seemingly crossed a definitive red line.