Raggie Jessy Rithaudeen
اهلي ڤرليمين ڤقر بوقتيكن محضير سوده منڠ
The call made yesterday by PKR’s William Leong for “Plan B” to ensure that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad hands over power to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was rather peculiar and somewhat misplaced.
This is because Anwar himself has agreed that Mahahir be allowed to remain in office until after the APEC summit, scheduled to be held this coming November.
Truth is, Anwar is trying to impress upon Members of Parliament that he has the numbers and is willing to let Mahathir remain in power up until the end of November, perhaps even December, but not beyond.
To drive home that impression, he got William, who is the Member of Parliament for Selayang, to impress upon other Members of Parliament that he, not Mahathir, is in control of the Dewan Rakyat.
Problem is, Mahathir’s promise to resign after the APEC summit can mean anything from him resigning towards the end of November to him resigning between December to the day the 14th Malaysian Parliament expires.
In other words, Mahathir has promised nothing.
It follows, Anwar’s sudden ‘willingness’ to wait until after the APEC summit to assume leadership of government is another way of him saying “Mahathir can resign any damn day he sees fit.”
Likewise, Anwar’s recent insistence that Mahathir’s post-APEC exit be finalised during a Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council meeting simply means Pakatan will sit down, have coffee and endorse Mahathir’s leadership all over again.
Clownish, isn’t it?
Of course, the impression given is that the Presidential Council is in control and will sit down to deliver an ultimatum to Mahathir.
Anwar hopes that the ‘ultimatum’ would ‘ultimately’ influence Members of Parliament, particularly those from Sabah and Sarawak, into thinking he has numbers and can kick Mahathir out any time he wishes.
But Anwar realises that not all Members of Parliament are stupid, which probably is the reason he gets the likes of Otai Reformasi, Syed Husin Ali and the latest, William Leong, to say all sorts of things which make absolutely no sense.
If Otai and Syed are all about the need to fix a ‘premiership transition date’, William is all about the need for there to be a “Plan B,” which is supposed to be contingency should Mahathir refuse to resign in December this year.
But Anwar is stupid.
By getting William to call for a “Plan B,” he has proven four things:
1. That Pakatan Harapan does not have a “Plan B,”
2. That Mahathir has majority support – if indeed Mahathir does not have the numbers, “Plan B” should have been a vote of no confidence against him.
3. That the Pakatan Presidential Council meeting this coming 21st is nothing more than a coffee session to tell Mahathir “yes, tuan, you can stay as long as you want,” and
4. That Pakatan Harapan leaders other than those aligned with Mahathir have no clue whatsoever as to what to do should Mahathir decide not to resign.
Seriously, aint’t Anwar stupid?
