Anwar wants PAS to think that the DAP is no longer with him.
Not many are aware, that there are one or two very senior UMNO leaders who’re quietly dealing with Anwar and are telling support groups to brace for his premiership.
That has split UMNO in a very big way as the party now comprises team Anwar and team Mahathir. Team Anwar hopes to convince Hadi in due time that it would be worthwhile to work with the PKR president as the DAP is no longer with him.
Anwar, on the other hand, has told his ‘UMNO men’ to “be prepared” and claims to command the support of no less than 40 PKR MPs and the majority in Amanah, Warisan and PPBM.
Of course, that is a lie. As a matter of fact, not only is team Muhyiddin with Azmin, Muhyiddin himself realises that Anwar is as good as gone unless Mahathir kicks the bucket tomorrow.
SUBANG JAYA: Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim has, for the second time around, called for a review of the East-Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in light of new developments in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case.
The first time he made the call was on the 5thof September 2019 following a testimony delivered by Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak’s ex-special officer, Dato’ Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
According to Amhari, the Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP) and the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP), both of which had been terminated, were proposed to save 1MDB.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke rubbished Anwar’s “review” call by pointing out that the Government of Malaysia (GoM) had already taken a re-look at the project.
That was as good as Loke saying, “it doesn’t matter what Amhari did or did not say, as a review has already been conducted. If something was wrong, we would have detected it.”
True.
But not according to former Council of Eminent Persons’ Jomo Kwame Sundram, who threw a bolt from the blue when he suddenly decided to weigh in and agreed that the project needed review on account of Amhari’s testimony.
Mahathir responded by saying that the project would continue as planned unless the company involved in the project could negotiate the project’s suspension.
That, in a nutshell, is the back and forth that Amhari unwittingly triggered when telling the court that the project was part of a scheme to bail 1MDB out.
So, what does all of this tell you?
Well, for one thing, it tells you that Anwar and Jomo are up to no good.
Anyone with common sense will be able to tell you that the 1MDB trial is ongoing and that a witness’ testimony isn’t tantamount to it being the truth even if it were delivered under oath.
Anwar may lack common sense, but Jomo?
I find it difficult to believe that Jomo isn’t able to conceive the idea that the ECRL review Loke and his team conducted took into consideration the possibility that the project was part of a scheme to bail 1MDB out.
Everyone knows how the DAP accused Najib of working out a lopsided arrangement with the Chinese with Jho Low’s help so that the ECRL and gas pipeline projects could be ballooned in terms of cost to save 1MDB.
Even Mahathir advanced the idea and got Tun Daim Zainuddin to go all the way to China to make sure that the deal could be renegotiated in such a way that Najib and (or) his cronies would stand a cat in hell’s chance of making money out of it.
As a matter of fact, Daim was there to make sure that the renegotiated terms would benefit his and Mahathir’s cronies, which explains why he went to China first before anyone from the DAP was allowed to go.
Regardless, when reviewing the project, the GoM would surely have discovered how, when, where and why the Chinese government ballooned costs and would definitely have renegotiated the difference to benefit Mahathir, Daim, their cronies and the DAP.
See the problem?
Anwar hasn’t gotten his cut, and neither has Jomo. Assuming the general election is held next year, the extra funds team Mahathir and the DAP may be able to rake in from the ECRL project could go a long way towards killing Anwar off.
And if you don’t already know, a significant number of DAP Members of Parliament (MPs) have quietly come to terms with the fact that Anwar is no longer in control of PKR and does not command majority support in Parliament.
But the DAP is keeping its options open.
Dato’ Seri Azmin Ali, on the other hand, is confident of pulling out at least 30 MPs from PKR and enjoys the support of GPS, Warisan, the majority in PPBM and a reasonable number of Amanah MPs.
It is also an open secret that if given a choice, PAS would favour Azmin over Anwar anytime as the latter played Dato’ Seri Abdul Hadi Awang out more than once during Langkah Kajang by taking sides with the DAP.
In any event, it would have made more sense for Anwar to insist that the ECRL project “be stalled,” not “reviewed.”
That way, he would not have looked stupid and would still have deprived both team Mahathir and the DAP of ‘additional’ funds. However, he decided to call for a “review” anyway.
The reason?
He wants PAS to think that the DAP is no longer with him. When Anthony Loke ‘attacked’ him, it helped drive the idea home.
Not many are aware, that there are one or two very senior UMNO leaders who’re quietly dealing with Anwar and are telling support groups to brace for his premiership.
That has split UMNO in a very big way as the party now comprises team Anwar and team Mahathir.
Team Anwar hopes to convince Hadi in due time that it would be worthwhile to work with the PKR president as the DAP is no longer with him.
Anwar, on the other hand, has told his ‘UMNO men’ to “be prepared” and claims to command the support of no less than 40 PKR MPs and the majority in Amanah, Warisan and PPBM.
Of course, that is a lie.
As a matter of fact, not only is team Muhyiddin with Azmin, Muhyiddin himself realises that Anwar is as good as gone unless Mahathir kicks the bucket tomorrow.
But from the way things are going, it is unlikely that the old man will kick the bucket anytime soon unless it is Allah’s will that he should go.
RJ RITHAUDEEN
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