Faith in Anwar Ibrahim is slipping, raising the possibility of an Islamist party PM after the next general election
Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak (center) greets supporters during a break in his trial at the federal court in Putrajaya, on Aug. 23, 2022. (Photo: AFP)
The incarcerated Najib Razak, despite his fall from grace and corrupt leader tag, is still a political force. He is seen as someone who could check rising right-wing Muslim conservatism. Something that present progressive government leaders are struggling to do.
A full pardon on his jail term would have been a lifeline for the ruling coalition that leans towards a moderate brand of Islam and should have ruined the hopes of the opposition, but that was not to be.
Instead, Najib received a partial pardon which could work against the Anwar Ibrahim government and strengthen conservatives. The possibility of Malaysia getting an Islamist party prime minister in the next general elections due by 2027 is getting stronger.
On Feb. 2, the government announced that Najib’s jail term had been reduced by the Pardons Board from 12 years to six, and the fine from US$44 million to US$10.5 million. He will be released on Aug 23, 2028.
Najib had served only 17 months, about 12 percent of his sentence, instead of the required one-third for a pardon application. The reasons for this partial pardon were not revealed. This caused a huge outcry, with one group demanding his pardon be rescinded, and another pushing for a full one.
He was the prime minister the nation overthrew in the 2018 general election for his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, one of the largest money-laundering and embezzlement scandals in history. The 1Malaysia Development Berhad is a sovereign wealth fund.
The Pakatan Harapan or Alliance of Hope led by Mahathir Mohamad came to power and ordered investigations against Najib. He was found guilty in a case involving US$8.9 million belonging to SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
His jailing in 2022 was seen as a giant step in bringing the corrupt elite to justice and restoring faith in the enforcement and judiciary systems. The reduction in his sentence is seen by some as a betrayal of all that they had fought for.
Faith in the now Anwar-led Pakatan is slipping, especially since no explanation of the decision was given. Many are belittling his crackdown on high-level corruption.
“If there is anyone who wants an explanation, please submit a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong [the Malay title for the king],” he said.
The Pardons Board of Kuala Lumpur that decided on Najib’s case was chaired by the then king, Al-Sultan Abdullah, whose term ended on Jan. 30, soon after the Pardons Board meeting. Malaysia practices a unique monarchy system where the heads of its nine royal families take turns to be king every five years.
Also on the board were the federal territories minister, the attorney-general, and three members of the civil society whose names were not revealed.
The secrecy as to the three board members’ identity, the rationale for the partial pardon, and the four-day delay in making the announcement are generating a long list of speculations.
One of them is that Anwar had pushed for the partial pardon to be sped up to satisfy the relentless demands by Najib’s supporters within his party, Umno, for his release.
If Anwar had thought this partial pardon could keep Najib at bay and at the same time stop the support hemorrhaging from the Muslim-Malay heartlands and from within Umno, he is wrong.
There is little chance that the opposition bloc Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance) which has the bulk of Muslim-Malay support will lose its hold. This bloc, made up of the Malaysian Islamic Party (known by its Malay acronym PAS) and other Muslim-Malay parties, stands to get more support from disgruntled Umno members and fence-sitters.
Anwar has, during a year in office, been wooing Muslim-Malay support by trying to “out-Islam” the opposition, but his attempts appear to bear little fruit. One of the clearest signs was when Perikatan made more inroads into the Malay heartland in six state elections in August 2023.
A big part of the problem is Umno itself. Many members either voted for Perikatan or abstained as a protest against the party leadership’s decision to join the ruling coalition after the November 2022 general election.
They resent having to work with their traditional nemeses, namely Anwar’s multi-racial party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party) and the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party. They also see Perikatan as a more viable option because of the Malay and Islamic values the bloc upholds.
Key Umno leaders who objected to working with Pakatan were sacked last year by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, party president and deputy prime minister. One of them was Najib’s cousin, Hishamuddin Hussein, the son of the third prime minister and the grandson of Umno’s founder. Najib is the son of the second prime minister. They are the Umno elites who are highly regarded by Umno members.
“There is some consensus that Najib would be able to rekindle spirits within Umno and tackle Perikatan Nasional head-on in the [Malay] heartlands,” said political commentator Murray Hunter.
But Najib still has pending court cases — 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering — all of which are linked to 1MDB.
There is talk that he might get off with a dismissal not amounting to acquittal (DNAA), the same way Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid got his on all 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering in September 2023.
Should this happen and Najib returns to politics, he would know how to use the party’s extensive and well-organized machinery to reach Malay voters, and will have a stronger Muslim-Malay support base than Anwar.
The non-Muslim support for Anwar can further erode. His multi-racial supporters who had backed his reform agenda for more than 20 years are now talking about abstaining from voting in the next general election.
A loss of support for Anwar from Muslims and non-Muslims is a gain for the Muslim conservatives in Perikatan.
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
Dear reader,
November begins with the Feast of All Saints. That month in 2023 marked the beginning of a new UCA News series, Saints of the New Millennium, profiling some of Asia’s saints, “ordinary” people who try to live faithfully amid the demands of life in our time.
Perhaps the closest they will ever come to fame will be in your reading about them in UCA News. But they
are saints for today. Let their example challenge and encourage you to live your own sainthood.
Your contribution will help us present more such features and make a difference in society by being independent and objective.
A small donation of US$5 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goals.
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Latest News
Credit: Source link
