The cause of the panic

Posted by: raja petra

The final tally is now in. According to a report by Malaysia’s intelligence agency which was relayed to me late last night (and that is why my phone is switched on 24-7 and placed beside my pillow when I am asleep), 138,000 marchers came out to make their presence felt in front of the Istana Negara on Saturday, 10 November 2007. This, according to what I have been told, is based on the video recording by the two helicopters that hovered in the air the entire duration of the march. In fact, the helicopters were sometimes flying so low we could feel the cool and refreshing wind from the rotors. (I am not sure whether they flew low over my head to photograph me or to help keep me cool).



I don’t know how they came out with this figure of 138,000. I would place the figure at 50,000, plus-minus. But from where I was standing I must admit I could not really see where the crowd started and where it ended. I suspect the 138,000 is not the number of those who assembled in front of the Istana Negara but was the total figure, which would include those who were prevented from reaching the Istana as well.



Again, the actual figure could actually be only 60,000 -- 50,000 in front of the Istana and another 10,000 trapped around the Jalan Tun Perak area -- and the 138,000 is a cooked-up figure. In that case why have they inflated the figure to 138,000? Is it possible we have underestimated the crowd strength or is this cooked-up 138,000 figure meant to frighten the Prime Minister so that he panics and reacts stupidly?



Yes, this is most intriguing indeed. I would place my bet on 60,000 rather than 138,000. And I suspect the 138,000 figure was bandied about to frighten the Prime Minister into doing something stupid.



There can be many reasons for this. One could be that they want to use the Internal Security Act against the organisers of the march and they want the Prime Minister to agree to this. We must remember that it was the Deputy Prime Minister who said that he hopes the government does not need to use the Internal Security Act against the people behind BERSIH. The father (Pak Lah), the son (Kamal), and the Holy Ghost (Khairy Jamaluddin), have all remained silent in spite of the earlier rhetoric -- and even with the recent arrival of Gabriel (Pak Lah’s latest grandchild) to bless this ‘Unholy Trinity’.



Using the Internal Security Act against the BERSIH movers and shakers will be a most unpopular move and may actually backfire. But then Pak Lah is facing a lot of pressure within Umno and the Deputy Prime Minister would love to see the Prime Minister agree to the Internal Security Act as this would accelerate his downfall. As it is, Pak Lah is already balancing himself on a very slippery slope. All it needs is a slight shove to send him down this slope and the use of the Internal Security Act would be that perfect push they need to end his reign.



The 10 November 2007 march actually works to Najib’s favour and if he can engineer Pak Lah to react stupidly in retaliation, then in no time at all Malaysia will see the Sixth Prime Minister take his oath of office.



Najib can’t afford to wait for the ‘natural succession’ before taking over. The Altantuya murder trial has just revealed that his ADC, Musa Safri, was the man who ‘employed’ the two police SWAT officers to do their evil deed. Finally, the Altantuya murder leads to Najib’s door. How long before Musa too will be the fourth defendant in that murder trial in spite of the fact that the Attorney-General made a most unprecedented announcement in court, even before the trial started, that only three people and no others are involved in the murder?



This very unconventional announcement by the Attorney-General only serves to convince us that there are certainly more people than just these three involved. If not, then why the need to ‘convince’ us? And, based on what the murder trial has just dragged up, we no longer need to talk about whether Najib will become the next Prime Minister. The question now would be whether he can even remain as the Deputy Prime Minister.



Yes, that’s right, the clock is ticking and Najib is now living on borrowed time. And the only person who can stop the clock would be the Prime Minister. But the current Prime Minister would certainly not do that. It is not in the interest of his son-in-law to do so. So it makes sense that Najib makes it to the office of Prime Minister as soon as possible. If left too long, Khairy may yet become Prime Minister at the age of 40 as he so desires -- that is if Najib can be cast aside first.



Pak Lah needs to be dragged into a crisis. And one such crisis could be the fallout from the 10 November 2007 march. But Pak Lah must first be made to react in a stupid manner if they want that achieved. And the use of the Internal Security Act would be that perfect stupid move. And that probably explains why the intelligence agency reported the figure of 138,000.



Of course, the second reason why they came out with the figure of 138,000 could be because it is true and that this is the actual figure. But at this point of time I would give that a 50:50. And I don’t think my contacts in the intelligence agency would be trying to serve me a Red Herring. After all, we both share the same objective -- to see the end of Pak Lah’s rule.



Another puzzling move was in getting Datuk Pengelola Bijaya Diraja Istana Negara, Datuk Wan Mohd Safiain Wan Hasan, to call that press conference and issue a statement on behalf of The Agong. If you check Wan Mohd Safiain’s identity card number, 461214035359, you will discover that he is an UMNO member. His membership number is 03728983 and he is a member of Umno Cawangan Taman Desa Minang, Gombak Setia, Gombak.



Now, first of all, Wan Mohd Safiain is not the official spokesman of The Agong. He who speaks on behalf of the Agong is the Keeper of the Royal Seal. Secondly, would not an announcement from an unauthorised source who is an Umno member be viewed as vested interest?



Many, of course, do not understand Palace protocol and structures. The majority of Malaysians are of the opinion that if The Agong has something to say then His Majesty can speak for himself. But that is just it. His Majesty can’t. If His Majesty has anything to say then His Majesty has to say so through the official spokesman, even if it is a simple announcement as to the start of fasting during the month of Ramadhan or the first day of Hari Raya, never mind how innocent and uncontroversial the announcement may be.



Here, again, it appears like there are certain forces that want to court The Agong’s displeasure (murka). Whoever is behind this most unprecedented press conference must realise that The Agong would be offended that His Majesty’s name has been used in such a manner.



Now, we must understand that the Istana Negara comes under the Prime Minister’s Department. The Istana Negara office is staffed by officers from the Prime Minister’s Department. And all statements and announcements are drafted and approved by the Prime Minister’s Department. Surely, then, The Agong’s wrath would fall on the Prime Minister. And if it was not the Prime Minister himself who engineered the press conference then who did? And was the move meant to send the Prime Minister and The Agong into conflict?



The Prime Minister had better wake up from his perpetual nap and see what is going on in his office. That is the problem really. Not only is he constantly sleeping but he has too many ministries under his charge. And 90% of the time it is the Deputy Prime Minister who chairs all the meetings since the Prime Minister makes overseas trips once every fortnight. And all the ministries under his charge are in turmoil. The police are engaged in a turf war and police officers instead of crooks are being sent to jail. The Finance Ministry is in a mess, and his son-in-law, in cahoots with the Finance Minister II, is treating this country like his personal piggy bank. Now, the Prime Minister’s Department is creating a crisis in the Istana Negara.



The Malays say there are two kinds of bodoh (stupid). One is bodoh sombong (those who are actually stupid but think they are clever), and the second is bodoh sepat (those who are actually clever but act stupid). I suspect there are many bodoh sepat within the ranks who are cleverly setting up the Prime Minister for a fall. And what better way than to pit him against The Agong because, when Malays are forced to vote one way or another, it will be The Agong who gets their vote. And you need a Malay mind to understand this, not an Oxford-trained, brown-skinned Englishman.