PENANG - Another day, another explosive allegation in politically polarized
Malaysia. Opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim dropped a bombshell on Thursday when he
alleged in a conference that Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Najib
Razak knew personally a Mongolian woman who was mysteriously murdered in 2006.
Najib's confidant, Abdul Razak Baginda, along with two special forces
personnel, stand as the accused in the highly watched murder trial, which some
believe could have major political implications for the country. Anwar's press
statement drew on a sworn statement made by former police
officer-turned-private eye
P Balasubramaniam who was hired by Abdul Razak.
The private investigator alleged in his statement that it was Najib who
introduced the Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shariibuu to Abdul Razak and
further charged that the Mongolian national was promised a commission of
US$500,000 for assisting in an apparently dodgy submarine deal in Paris,
France.
Popular blogger Raja Petra claimed earlier in a statement that Najib's wife
Rosmah and two others were at the murder scene the night the woman was blown up
and killed through the use of explosives. Several days after that allegation
was made public, Najib vehemently denied that he knew the woman while his wife
said she was not involved in the crime. Analysts however have noted that
neither of the deputy premier or his spouse have launched defamation charges in
their own defense.
The politically-charged allegations come hot on the heels of the sodomy charges
lodged against Anwar over the weekend, in what initially looked like a rerun of
the former deputy premier's political ordeal in 1998 when he was ousted from
power and later imprisoned for six years on what he has maintained were trumped
up charges. Over the weekend Anwar took refuge at the Turkish Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur, claiming the government had plans to assassinate him.
He has since fought back with a vengeance, lodging a police report on Tuesday
against the attorney general and the police chief for their alleged role in
suppressing a police investigation that showed the then chief of police had in
1998 assaulted a blindfolded Anwar, causing him serious spinal injuries.
With Thursday's press statement, Anwar is firmly on the political offensive,
lobbing the accusatory ball back into the government's court. One political
commentator at the big-bang conference told Asia Times Online that if Anwar's
latest allegations against the deputy premier and presumed successor to
embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi are true, "Najib is gone and the
government could crumble."
While that prediction may for now be overly dire, Malaysian politics has
entered a volatile new era of political brinkmanship. And there is much more at
stake in the struggle than just Anwar's or Najib's political reputations. The
growing tensions symbolize a larger political struggle between old and new
political forces, with a popular movement for change aggressively challenging
half a century of United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO)-led rule.
The popular movement and Anwar worked together to deliver the biggest political
setback to UMNO and its ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in nearly four
decades at general elections held in March earlier this year. Opposition
parties stormed ahead and captured close to half of the popular vote, gained
control of five of the federation's 13 states, swept parliamentary seats in the
capital Kuala Lumpur and denied the BN its coveted two-thirds parliamentary
majority.
Old face, new era
Anwar has been the most visible face of that movement, though it is broad-based
and most significantly transcends ethnic divisions. The old UMNO-led order,
steeped as it is in the ruling coalition's tired race-based model of
politicking, has been slow to respond and until now seemed powerless to stop
the Anwar-led opposition from picking up the 30 defections it needs from BN
parliamentarians to seize power by September 16 - deadline the opposition
alliance has set for itself.
Powerless, except for perhaps halting Anwar dead in his tracks through new
criminal charges. The widely presumed to be trumped up charges harken back to
the UMNO's bad old tactics, if indeed the ruling party is behind the sodomy
allegations, which were lodged by a 23-year-old aide against Anwar.
Reform-minded Malaysians, on the other hand, were well ahead of opposition
politicians in articulating their demands for democratic change. They have
boldly crossed the UMNO-promoted racial divide and are challenging the BN
coalition on a wide range of issues, including a fast-rising cost of living, a
growing divide between rich and poor, endemic corruption, a spiraling crime
rate and a widespread lack of confidence in democratic institutions.
When opposition politicians first hesitated to bridge ideological barriers and
cooperate ahead of the general election, popular sentiment on the ground
pressured them to come together. For his part, Anwar played an instrumental
role in cobbling together the so-called People's Alliance that includes his own
People's Justice Party (PKR), the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Islamic
Party (Pas), with even candidates of the yet-to-be-registered Socialist Party
of Malaysia.
A former deputy premier and finance minister while an UMNO stalwart, Anwar is
in the process of redefining his political legacy as an agent of democratic
change. He has played a steadying role in stitching together various state
government coalitions, ironing out competing interests and setting up a
high-level policy steering council among the alliance's component opposition
parties.
Under Malaysia's highly centralized political system, the federal government
holds enormous powers and huge federal funds, which make the various state
governments financial resources appear puny by comparison. Oppressive laws in
place aren't likely to be repealed any time soon given the ruling coalition's
majority in parliament.
Meanwhile, politicians in resource-rich states like Sabah, including those from
the ruling coalition, have reasserted local demands, including a call to
increase in their current oil royalty from 5% to 20% to address badly needed
poverty alleviation and development needs. Their newfound confidence and voice
reflects a questioning of the current state of federal-state relations and
could herald a move towards greater decentralization and local democratization,
some contend.
At the same time, a 41% oil price hike has fueled considerable disenchantment
with the UMNO-led government in the politically significant capital city. A
major oil price protest is planned for July 6 which some fear could provide
pretext for the government to clamp down. Many expect an economic slowdown in
the second half of this year to coincide with ratcheted up political tensions.
Political analysts believe the sodomy charges against Anwar, and his
retaliatory response on Thursday against Najib, are likely only the tip of the
iceberg of the politicized accusations and counter-accusations to come in the
weeks and months ahead. What is clear to see is that Malaysian politics has
entered a volatile and possibly destabilizing new era.
Anil Netto is a Penang-based writer.
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