From Sheraton Move to SARA: Malaysia’s Political Crossroads

 

The Malay proverb, “Setitik nila rosakkan sebelanga susu” — “A drop of indigo (dye) spoils a whole pot of milk” — reminds us how a single flaw can overshadow an entire legacy. 

In many ways, this applies to all our leaders: from Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak Hussein, Hussein Onn, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Abdul Razak, Muhyiddin Yasin, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and now the nation’s tenth prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim.

Yet, let’s be honest: which human being is perfect? None of us.

Just this morning, I listened to former Minister of Economy Rafizi Ramli’s explanation about the infamous Albert Tei and the Sabah scandal. It confirmed suspicions I have had, but only now do I fully understand the depth of what was happening.

Role of Economy Minister

Even Rafizi is not without flaws. While I hope that one day he may rise to become a capable prime minister, the reality is that he has stumbled before, stepping away from his reform initiatives on two occasions.

Following Pakatan Harapan’s victory in the 2018 general election, Rafizi announced his withdrawal from politics, claiming that he had been attacked by urban Chinese. 

From my perspective, however, many urban Chinese still supported his return. What I observed was that many of the so-called “urban Chinese” critics were, in fact, individuals whose writing style resembled that of Malays, though they used Chinese handles to post their comments.

Between that time and his eventual announcement to re-enter active politics, I occasionally sent him messages encouraging him to return to the political arena. 

I was genuinely delighted when he finally made the decision to make a come back.

My frustration grew when I saw Rafizi preoccupied with issues such as the digital ID and the cost of living — the latter being the responsibility of then-Minister Salahuddin Ayob and Deputy Minister Fuziah Salleh. 

At that time, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living was actively raiding hoarders of controlled goods. With cartels attempting to exploit every opportunity to raise the prices of chicken and eggs, the government eventually managed to bring inflation under control. Rafizi’s role in this cannot be denied.

However, as the economy minister, I believe he should have engaged more directly with industry players to explore ways of boosting the economy. His limited communication with the public — perhaps due to health challenges — further complicated my assessment of his performance.

From my own interactions, I have found Rafizi’s ego easily pricked. If you say something that contradicts him, he tends to shut you out — or, in today’s digital age, simply “block” you, to borrow from the Social Media vocabulary. 

I hope he has learned from this, and more importantly, that he works on strengthening his emotional quotient (EQ). Intelligence alone does not make a good leader. I have no problem with intelligent Malays — in fact, I enjoy meeting people with intellectual prowess — but a high IQ does not necessarily translate into effective leadership.

What about DrM?

That is why people like me cannot be in politics, where survival often depends on constant maneuvering. In this regard, I would give Dr. Mahathir Mohamad ten out of ten for political survival skills.

Yet he remains, in my view, a “despicable old fox” who broke the trust of those who gave him a second chance. For someone who can lie through his ears and nose about race and religion, and who seeks to tear apart the social fabric of our nation, I have very little respect for him — especially after it became clear that he was behind the Sheraton Move.

Today, even ordinary Malays no longer trust him. They openly call him Mamak — a fact that cannot be denied. A Mamak is an Indian Muslim, and if Malay culture follows patriarchal lineage, then Dr. Mahathir is indeed a Mamak. This is a true identity of the former prime minister, one he should embrace, just as many of us proudly enjoy Mamak roti canai and Mamak teh tarik.

If he still considers himself a pejuang (champion), he should contest again in Langkawi and see whether he can win the seat.

And what about Anwar?

Both Rafizi and Dr. Mahathir have commented on Anwar. These days, it seems that the prime minister is always the focal point of attack, so it is impossible not to bring him into the picture.

What is clear to me is that Anwar has waited nearly 25 years to pursue the causes closest to his heart. He is not perfect, but from the way he unfolds his plans, it is evident that his focus is on the B40, and now increasingly on the M40 as well.

Just as he included the M40 and T20 groups in the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) one-off cash aid, it will not take long for him to distinguish between those who attained wealth through sheer hard work and those who rose as multi-millionaires and billionaires through nepotism and cronyism.

When he reprimanded a certain tycoon, and the tycoon responded by offering RM91 million to assist paddy farmers, I realised that Anwar was not inclined to pursue the matter through the hard approach — one that would involve lengthy investigations by the MACC and a drawn-out court process. 

His soft spot was always the B40, largely because he had grown disillusioned with Mahathir’s cronyism and nepotism, which led to his fallout. The majority of Malays remained in the B40 category. 

As part of his first 100 days initiative, I recall him visiting police quarters to ensure that their living conditions were improved. He also remarked on the filthy, foul-smelling school toilets — a problem many of us grew up all too familiar with. He allocated funds to two northern states and Sabah to address their longstanding water problems.

He also declared war on corruption, and we witnessed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) pursuing both the givers and the recipients of bribes. He had warned that, regardless of their political standing, or their loyalty to him, he would not interfere with any investigation into any form of corruption. 

Of course, it is easy to wage war on corruption when it does not involve those closest to you. It takes time for him to come to terms with the reality that his opponents will use anything to strike at him, even turning their efforts toward undermining the people who worked directly under him, which includes Senior Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

For that reason, Anwar has instructed all ministers to closely monitor their aides and officers following corruption allegations involving his former senior political secretary, Shamsul Iskandar Akin. 

Another aspect of Anwar’s premiership that delighted me is his globetrotting. It reminds me of what Wong Chun Wai — then a young journalist and later the group managing director and chief executive officer of The Star — wrote after a brief interview with Anwar on October 3, 1993:

Anwar is committed to building bridges — not only with his political opponents  but also with different parts of the world. 

Many critics say, at 78, he travels abroad to boost his own popularity, but I believe Malaysia needs someone like him to help restore our reputation, especially after the collapse of 1MDB and the scandal exposed by the US Department of Justice.

At least today, Malaysia stands tall in the eyes of the world. When they asked me what I thought about Anwar, many of my Singaporean friends have remarked that they can see significant changes in our country over the past three years.

Even though US President Donald Trump warmed up to Anwar — in stark contrast to the cold shoulder he gave Najib Razak during his visit to Washington — Anwar’s detractors, including Dr. Mahathir, accused him of being a “pathological liar” and of committing treason.

Protocol required that, as ASEAN chairman, Anwar invite the US president to the ASEAN Summit. Following the Summit, Anwar and his team offered numerous explanations about why Malaysia signed the agreement. Yet despite these clarifications, Dr. Mahathir continues to brand Anwar a “pathological liar.” It is, quite frankly, a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

It is now evident from Rafizi’s insights that Mahathir was behind Albert Tei’s most recent attempt to implicate Anwar. Both Mahathir and his closest ally, the late Daim Zainuddin, together with their families, have come under MACC scrutiny. In the near future, we may well witness one of the largest seizures of illicitly-gained wealth in the nation’s history.