Was Muhyiddin conspiring against Najib?

Just unleashed my reply to commentator drMpower for making sweeping childish statement here.

One critical posting on MACC does not change years, if not decades, of support and defense of them. It is shallow to think and assume that any time a critical piece is published the past opinion has no more relevance.

It is critical but not an attack, merely pleading Tan Sri Abu Kassim to stop playing games and be honest. He said he would lodge a police report against Dato Bahari but he did not. An internal memo leaked him saying he will defend the wayward officials.

The concern is it would make him look like those Little Napolean bureaucrats swaying with the wind to keep their position and stay powerful. After all, MACC should be above everyone because they only answer to God and not concern with the worldly trappings of wealth, position and power.

drMpower is a protun and have been commenting in this blog for years. Since taking a diammetrically opposite position to Tun M, he has resort to nitpicking, name calling, and labeling. His comment have turned to personal "attack" in nature and not discussive.

Quite typical of proTun these days particularly when dumbfounded without a decent argument to counter. When not in a "maki-maki" mode, they become rhetorical.

Since not being appointed by Najib as Deputy PM, Tan Sri Muhyiddin's statements have been rhetorical. It is fine for someone without position as it represent their aspiration, but the expectation on Muhyiddin is for more practical and specific treatment of issues raised.

Seasoned politicians turned rhetorical when they are on a dream selling campaign trail. Not about to buy into it yet, but talk is Muhyiddin have been working on ground with the "rest" to topple Najib.

The current mode of the guerilla fight is similar to the days of toppling Pak Lah which is to topple UMNO too. It is their right to do so in a democratic system. However, it is not right from the perspective of any political party discipline; be it PAS or DAP or PKR or any.

This blogger have been Muhyiddin friendly for decades since the year he got knocked out of the UMNO Vice Presidency by Dato Najib, Tun Abdullah and Tan Sri Muhammad Muhamamd Taib from the previous position as first VP. It is bind by our Johorean tie.

However, the reality is Muhyiddin does not have the influence and followers like Anwar Ibrahim to mount an attack. Since not appointed as Deputy PM, Muhyiddin should have taken leave from Deputy President UMNO post. But instead he asked Najib to be on leave.

That is exactly what Tun M wants. He wanted Muhyiddin to join him to fight Najib. It does not come at much cost to Tun M but lifelong career cost to Muhyiddin.

Tun M wants Najib to be charged so that he could place Muhyiddin temporarily as acting PM. In the meanwhile, proTun and pro-Hishamuddin are picking on Dato Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Muhyiddin fell for it and pick up a fight with Najib.

It seemed he didn't get what is happening. Should Muhyiddin listen to the "Council of Elders", it should be a permanent arrangement as PM. If not, he will join the long list of political victims from Musa Hitam to Pak Lah.

He got himself trapped. There goes a potential PM from a true Johorean. Hishamuddin is treated as Johorean by virtue of family ties but he was born in Kuala Lumpur

Muhyiddin spoke at several ceramah but it did not made much impact. There is hardly much crowd and he was recycling the same points made many months before his sacking. Certain points are made to be a bit more provocative but still not a major issue for his Deputy President suspension last Friday.

The guess is the event in Seoul on February 12th that may have got him suspended.

UMNO Supreme Council may have other consideration but it is believed that he said in Seoul that he will sign a Statutory Declaration similar in procedure that led to Dato Mukhriz's removal if opposition had requested his signatory.

On February 14, Lim Kit Siang went to town boasting Muhyiddin as his latest recruit. Obviously, Kit Siang revealed it to create chaos within UMNO.

For whatever reason, Muhyiddin seemed to lost it on the 1MDB issue.

In July 2015, he said he was not briefed but had to rely on The Edge for information on 1MDB.The Edge and The Malaysian Insider were playing complimentary role to the spin and slander of Sarawak Report to influence the corporate community. 

In February 2016, he went on a political argument to insist Najib should sue Wall Street Journal to prove his innocence. It did not go well since Dato Hafarizam explained that the Speech Act of the US will not give the suit much leeway in any lawsuit abroad.

Hafarizam has not been a successful lawyer at defending UMNO and it's leaders or suing opposition for UMNO. He should have sued WSJ in Malaysia!

That comment may have not gone down well to the leadership.

For someone in government, Muhyiddin was taking cheap potshot. And he did it again when he issued a statement to refute Attorney General, Tan Sri Apandi Ali's exoneration of Najib in his latest statement.

In the latest statement, he said:

Mengenai wang yang dikatakan masuk ke akaun peribadi Najib dari SRC International, saya diberitahu mengenainya oleh mantan Peguam Negara sendiri beserta dengan buktinya sekali yang sah merupakan suatu perbuatan jenayah! Saya beristighfar!
Yang terbabit dalam skandal 1MDB dan derma RM2.6 bilion bukan saya, tetapi Najib. Yang menerima RM42 juta duit SRC International bukan saya, tetapi Najib. Yang disiasat oleh Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) dan berhadapan dengan risiko pendakwaan jenayah bukan saya, tetapi Najib. Yang ditolak oleh sebahagian besar rakyat bukan saya, tetapi Najib. Yang menjadi punca segala masalah UMNO hari ini bukan saya, tetapi Najib. Peliknya, yang digantung adalah saya, manakala Najib terus bersenang-lenang menikmati kuasa jawatan dan wang yang ada padanya.

His knives on Najib are all out and he seemed to refute statements emanating from MACC, BNM and AG. The most revealing part of his statement lies in the statement by Dato Azalina Mohd Said: 

Statement by Dato' Sri Azalina Othman Said‎

27 February 2016‎

‎

1. Former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin said today that he was briefed by the former Attorney General, when both were in office, about alleged criminal "proof" against the Prime Minister. ‎

2. This is an admission that there was a high-level conspiracy to topple the Prime Minister, in what would have been a coup against democratic process and the decision of the people at the last General Election.

3. Firstly, the fact that a sitting Attorney General was privately briefing and sharing classified legal information with Tan Sri Muhyiddin, a member of Cabinet and UMNO member who clearly had vested interests, is not only unethical but also a breach of the Official Secrets Act. 

4. Secondly, how could the Attorney General have had sufficient "proof" to charge the Prime Minister then, when an investigation had not even been launched. 

5. Thirdly, is this the same "proof" that the Wall Street Journal referenced when it claimed to have seen confidential documents and used these as the basis to make all sorts of sensational allegations against the Prime Minister.

6. In any judicial system, anywhere in the world, there is a standard process that is followed. If there are allegations against someone, the lawful authorities conduct an investigation, and then - if they still have reason to believe a crime was committed - a charge sheet is drawn up. 

7. But, in this case, a charge sheet was said to be drawn up in May 2015 - before the so-called Special Task Force was formed, before the investigation was started in June 2015, and certainly before the Prime Minister was interviewed in December 2015 by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. This proves that there was a conspiracy.

8. Based on his statement, Tan Sri Muhyiddin is also indirectly questioning the credibility of the current Attorney General and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. 

9. For the record, the sitting AG, Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, on 26th January 2016 cleared the Prime Minister of any wrongdoing regarding the donations. Under Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution, it is the AG’s prerogative to start, undertake or stop any proceedings involving offences. The discretionary power given to the Attorney-General under Article 145(3) is absolute and cannot be challenged or replaced by any powers, including the judiciary. So if any quarters are not in agreement with the AG's action in handling a prosecution, they do not have any basis to challenge it. It is important to note that the AG’s decision was made after a detailed investigation from all angles on the report submitted by MACC.

9. So it seems that Tan Sri Muhyiddin was not only in breach of the Official Secrets Act, but was also complicit in a politically-motivated conspiracy to manipulate and abuse our legal system in order to overthrow a democratically elected Prime Minister. 

10. Why only now is Tan Sri Muhyiddin making such a confession, just after he was suspended as the Deputy President? What is his hidden motive and agenda? Can his act be seen as abetting since he claims to have information on an alleged criminal act, but did not report to the authorities until today?‎

‎

Dato' Sri Azalina Othman Said

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department‎

By right, her statement should be in her capacity as UMNO member or UMNO Supreme Council member. Nevertheless, it viral overnight.

There have been reports saying that Muhyiddin have received briefing from MACC, BNM and also certain "Minister". As member of the government, that was exactly what Muhyiddin did.

There was an argument against him that he should have seek information from official sources when he said in his speech in Kamping Baru, Kuala Lumpur and Pagoh that he relied on The Edge for information.

Now that he had seek official channel of information, did he bought into their explanation in consideration that investigation was still on-going?

If he had formed an opinion that Najib was guilty at that premature stage, he had made a major mistake.

By insisting Najib is still guilty after BNM failed to pin down to any wrongdoing and provided any evidence to charge 1MDB or Najib, and MACC is still not forthcoming on their position, it would give an impression to the likes of Azalina, Nazri and others that he was part of a coup attempt.

In the latest statement by Dato Hafarizam, Najib did not admit taking RM42 million from SRC. 

UMNO Pagoh have rejected the decision of UMNO Spreme Council. They claimed the procedure to suspend Muhyiddin of his position is improper procedure. Usually any suspension of position or membership will involve the Disciplinary Committee and show cause letter.

Secretary General Tengku Dato Adnan Mansor refuted such claim. The argument is the Supreme Council is the highest decision making body in UMNO. 

For the time being, that should provide a glimpse of reason behind the incident that saw the removal of Muhyiddin and Dato Shafie Apdal, the replacement of Gani with Apandi Ali, and other related incidents.

The full picture is still unfolding so it makes an ass of u and me to assume and make premature conclusion. Even Gani was reported refusing to comment on what Muhyiddin said. Only a pentaksub will be in denial to the reality that there is more to it than their simplistic conclusion based on commutative arithmetic logic, not even mathematics yet.  
 
Be it Najib or Muhyiddin or Tun M, MACC or BNM, the taste is in the pudding. The allegation is in the fact and evidence. The devil is in the details.

Ignore the story telling and propaganda. Wait out for the facts to unfold itself. It was spinning by Tun M and wayward media that made the likes of this blogger not believe in the allegations against 1MDB though critical in the early days of TIA / 1MDB. 

As Betty Davis famous line in the movie All About Eve, "We are in for a bumpy ride!" So enjoy it.