ANWAR AND RAFIZI Hitting three birds with one stone ?

Hitting three birds with one stone

Change is in the air: Khalid will probably have to vacate the Mentri Besar post for Anwar but he has cautioned that there would be no red carpet laid out for the PKR de facto leader.

The public outcry over the forced by-election in Kajang was not what Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the strategic brains behind the move, Rafizi Ramli, had expected.

THIS is going to be a rather good year for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim – according to the Chinese zodiac, that is.

Anwar was born in the Year of the Pig and, according to the Chinese zodiac, those born in the Pig Year will have a favourable time in the Horse Year, namely a career breakthrough that will involve a job change and their income will improve.

Well, if all goes according to plan, Anwar will go from Prime Minister hopeful to Selangor Mentri Besar and his income will soar from RM1 (as state economic advisor) to RM29,000 a month.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was born in the Year of the Dog. It is also a good year for the Dog except there is an unlucky star on the horizon and an enemy in his career path. All is not lost, though, because the Dog will have lots of friends to help him. So good luck, Tan Sri.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali is a Dragon. It is a so-so year for the Dragon, no big ups or downs, meaning that it will be a status quo year and which may explain why he is not anywhere near the Mentri Besar’s office for now.

Rafizi: Mastermind behind controversial by-election.

Chinese horoscope aside, Anwar is on the threshold of something major. He has once again shaken up politics in a way that only he knows how to.

The forced by-election in Kajang has left even people in his own party and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition stunned, confused and scrambling for answers. 

By-elections are not uncommon but making PKR assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh resign so that Anwar could contest the seat and become the next Mentri Besar was something else.

The most relevant question came from a fellow journalist: Pakatan won 44 of the 56 state seats. Surely they can find a competent person among them to be Mentri Besar? 

There has been a firestorm of reaction and the ferocity of the backlash must have taken the man who thought he could walk on water aback.

The deliberate move has been variously described as self-serving, politics of convenience, wasteful, betrayal of trust, putting party interests before that of the people and even “haram”.

Said Penang-born historian Dr Neil Khor: “It goes against everything they’ve been preaching, that they are a different type of coalition that respects the will of the rakyat. I thought we are looking at meaningful change where you don’t need a politician to run the state.”

Dr Azmi Omar, from a Terengganu-based think-tank, put it more bluntly: “The new politics they have been promising is as good as dead and buried.”

Dr Khor: By-election goes against everything Pakatan has preached.

Civil society, said a Chinese lawyer, is critical.

“It will affect his image. People think that because of your own internal problems, you purposely create a vacancy for a by-election,” said the lawyer.

But the move has its share of supporters even among the intelligentsia.

“Making surprise and unconventional moves has been his style all his life. When he left ABIM to join Umno in 1982. Friends expressed shock as most of them thought he would join PAS. Given his charisma and ability to engage with the people, I think he can retain the majority (in the by-election),” said law expert Dr Abdul Aziz Bari.

According to the lawyer, those who want to see a two-party system are not going to be bogged down by the morality of it – they will go along with Anwar.

After all, as they say in politics, moral arguments are only important when they benefit one’s own interest. Otherwise, it is just a nuisance.

Or, according to the cynics, why let morals and ideals get in the way of the road to Putrajaya.

It is classic realpolitik, a case of the end justifying the means.

Some have blamed PKR’s Azmin for what happened but the man behind the forced by-election is said to be none other than PKR strategy chief Rafizi Ramli. The Pandan MP was the one who approached the then Kajang assemblyman to talk him into making way for Anwar.

Rafizi’s clashes with Khalid have been less publicised than the Azmin-Khalid rivalry. Rafizi has had first-hand experience with Khalid’s “Mr Know-it-all” style and was largely snubbed by Khalid when he was CEO of the Economic Advisor Office from 2009 to 2012.

Propelling Anwar into the Selangor government by the side door was Rafizi’s strategy to give the top man a chance to shine and impress in a position that would remind voters of Anwar’s ultimate ambition. Otherwise, Anwar would become better known for court appearances and street protests than a Prime Minister hopeful.

Rafizi’s “Kajang Move”, as he calls the by-election, is likely about hitting three birds with one stone.

First, the party gets Khalid out. Second, it enables Anwar to take over the high-profile job that will presumably reignite interest in him. His strategic advisor sees him as some kind of Joko Widodo, the Jakarta governor who is now making waves as Indonesia’s presidential hopeful.

The third reason probably has to do with Rafizi’s own political interests. If his “Kajang Move” goes well, the PKR rising star may become the economic brains behind Anwar and may even be the new state economic advisor.

He will be the “next Faekah Husin” of Selangor, the lady widely seen as Khalid’s right-hand woman.

PKR’s clever little man is more ambitious than most people had imagined.

Voters have put Pakatan leaders on a pedestal over the last few years. Their shortcomings have been played down and the Chinese especially turn a blind eye to their faults in their obsession to topple Umno.

Rafizi, backed by his coterie of fellow strategists from DAP, took a calculated risk with the “Kajang Move”. They reckoned that voters in Selangor were so enamoured with Anwar that they would swallow everything he says or does, no matter how questionable.

But has Rafizi miscalculated? It is likely he did not expect the reaction.

In an interview with an online news portal, he attempted to quell the firestorm and appeal to people to understand that this was to provide a launch pad for Anwar to arrive in Putrajaya.

Some thought he was trying to take the blame for the uproar, others thought he wanted to take credit for what they think is a brilliant strategy. Time will tell whether it was brilliant or foolhardy.

It is hard to say who has been more disappointed in the whole affair – Khalid or Azmin. Khalid is ready to let go, that much is clear otherwise he would not have executed those clumsy moves against Azmin via the PKNS sacking.

Azmin, on his part, has been by-passed for the third time. Worse, this time, it is his mentor who played him out. All this time, Anwar had led Azmin to believe that the Selangor job would be his one day.

A day after Anwar was confirmed as the Kajang candidate, Azmin was down in the satay town to launch the party’s election machinery. The irony is that, as the deputy president, he will take charge of the election campaign. He now has to ensure victory for the man who played him out.

Azmin was his usual inscrutable self in Kajang. He smiled a lot, he said nice things and even described Anwar as a “great and world-class leader”.

He said later: “I’m not going to dwell on the MB question. I am not a bitter person, I want to be a better person. I have been very loyal to the party and I want Selangor to remain a strong base and a launching pad to Putrajaya.”

But the biggest loser is the ex-Kajang assemblyman, Lee, whose political career is over.

During a PKR event in Kajang a few days ago, he apologised to the voters and became quite emotional. The crowd, comprising mainly party people, gave him a standing ovation. The applause did not come with respect.

He has even been compared to Hee Yit Fong, the former DAP politician who jumped ship in Perak. It is not a fair comparison but that is how some people view him. No one is going to believe him again.

Despite the negative public opinion, no one sees Anwar losing in Kajang. The voter base comprises 48% Malay, 42% Chinese while the rest are made up of Indians and other races. The Chinese vote will carry him even if the Malay vote will be split for him.

“People will grumble and criticise but when the campaign starts, they will be running to listen to him at his ceramah,” said a former MP.

The real challenge will start after he wins. Will the Palace accept him as the next Mentri Besar?

Dr Aziz, who is a PKR man, pointed out that there is nothing in the law to prevent Anwar from taking up the Mentri Besar post. Selangor laws only specify that the nominee has to be a Muslim and a Malay.

The PAS side is very realistic about the role of the Royals in Malay politics because of their experiences in Kelantan and Terengganu, and several top leaders have privately expressed reservations whether Anwar will be acceptable to the Palace.

“There may be problems when the time comes to appoint the MB. What the Sultan says is also important,” said a senior PAS leader.

They recalled that when Pakatan presented Khalid’s name for reappointment as Mentri Besar after the May 5 election, the Palace had reportedly requested for more than one name. Given the precedence, Pakatan leaders in Selangor think that they have to present more than one nominee.

Moreover, PAS is under pressure from their grassroots to make a bid for the top post.

“The issue of who will be the next Mentri Besar needs to be discussed among the parties.

PKR is not running the state alone, it cannot decide on its own,” said PAS vice-president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

PAS leaders were as shocked as everyone over Anwar’s moves. They were not happy that Anwar had acted without consulting the coalition. Besides, the PAS leaders were quite happy with Khalid.

“We told him we were worried, that this is not the time to do something so drastic,” said the above senior PAS leader.

Khalid, in an interview with a news portal, made a veiled warning: He reminded everyone of the Palace’s prerogative in accepting a Mentri Besar and hinted that there would be no red carpet welcome for Anwar.

The argument that Anwar needs the Mentri Besar’s office as the launch pad to Putrajaya also does not hold water for most people.

“He was our former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. I read a report where they said he was the greatest Finance Minister that Malaysia ever had because he never had a deficit budget. He should give others a chance at the post. He is 66, time to retire,” said Dr Khor.

Retirement is the last thing on the mind of Malaysia’s most controversial politician. He is on the threshold of another adventure that may take him to the top – or send him crashing down.

source : thestar