Anwar on TV3, Utusan signals trouble in Umno

 Kim Quek: Shrewd observation by Malaysiakini’sjournalists. The sudden escalation of feud between the two camps is perhaps the explanation for the surprising and unexpected moves by Sirul Azhar Umar’s lawyer Kamarul Hisham and sodomy-famed Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Kamarul, for his sudden U-turn in wanting to know the motives of Altantuya Shaariibuu’s murder and the real murderer(s), in contrast to his past disinterest; and Saiful, for his debut into the open political arena when he sided with Daim Zainuddin to attack the Umno media, which is apparently controlled by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Such sudden switches of allegiance once again demonstrate the important role that money has always played in Malaysian politics. And money is certainly no constraint to the Mahathir-Daim axis which is famed for its inexhaustible resources.

For this reason, the prowess of this axis must never be underestimated, in spite of the PM’s superiority in the media. Be very prepared for more of such money-induced dramatics.

Proarte: Umno has always had a vested interest in keeping Malays down and insecure and by doing so, Umno has been able to rob the nation blind and destroy institutions of good governance under the utterly bogus pretext of ‘defending’ the Malays.

Pakatan Rakyat must take the blame for coming together in an unprincipled marriage of convenience which has allowed Umno to take advantage of this unstable marriage.

Collaboration between PAS and Umno over the introduction of hudud law is now a possible reality thanks to PAS’ treachery.

Pakatan, however, carries on in an ostrich-in-the-sand mode for purely selfish reasons and are happy to remain in their enclaves of Penang and Selangor, having given up the fight for Putrajaya.

This is where Anwar may have a role to play by aligning himself to the anti-Mahathir faction of Umno in the first steps to the eventual destruction of Umno.

DAP and PKR should consider forming a coalition with reasonable forces in BN coming together in a new paradigm of equality, freedom of religion and human rights.

I think it would be a good thing if Anwar uses whatever power or influence he still has to undermine the Mahathir-Daim axis and their proxies who have bled Malaysia dry and mangled institutions of governance for far too long.

I do not believe Pakatan is capable of taking on the Umno juggernaut, mainly due to its inherent instability as it tries to straddle the worlds where the twain shall never meet – i.e. secular governance and an Islamic state.

Now, there is open warfare between the powerful ulama in PAS and the rest of Pakatan’s component members.

Mushiro: Najib is at a loss to use the correct weapons to fight Daim and Mahathir. Using Anwar in this fight is one of the better options for Najib. Again, this will distract the country from the actual problems that Najib has created and cannot handle.

Anwar should manoeuvre this to his advantage. If handled well, Daim and Mahathir can be put on the defensive and Najib can enjoy another shopping spree with his wife.

Mosquitobrain: Anwar, be more pragmatic. This is just like throwing stone at a glass house. It will be much better to engage the BN government on nation building, religious and racial harmony and so on.

If the allegations against Daim are true, what’s next? Put all of them in jail?

Do not waste time. There are too many issues and problems in the country that require immediate attention. What is important now is not the past. Now and the future are more critical.

Headhunter: Many of us had speculated before that Umno will implode from within, it is just a matter of time. Perhaps this is a sign that the fuse has been ignited.

The opposition should not be sitting quietly watching the show, but they should be pouring fuel into fire to their advantage.

Hearty Malaysian: Let them destroy each other, since none of them has any beneficial value to the country; my only regret is the collateral damage to our country.

Our politicians have lost the plot, they are fighting like dogs while the people suffer. How much can we really expect out of this bunch of Umno warlords?

Abasir: If there is one thing (other than serially innovating corruption) that Umno has perfected, it is gutter politics involving a medieval mix of money, sex, religion and race – all of which sit comfortably with one another.

And it is a mixture that is ravenously consumed by its mindless supporters whose love for sleaze is only matched by their obsession with baubles and titles.

Anonymous_3f4b: The age-old adage rings true: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, only permanent interests.

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