Here’s Why Najib Dares To Debate Only
After Becomes “Prisoner-in-Waiting”...
July 18, 2017 was the day Mahathir Mohamad urged, even persuaded, then-PM Najib Razak to attend a forum so that both leaders could have a debate. Scheduled to be held on August 13 that same year in Shah Alam, Mr. Mahathir said – “It is a good chance for him to explain things and clear his name.” The forum, called “Nothing to Hide 2.0”, was a replacement to a cancelled similar dialogue.
Comically, before Mahathir organized the version 2.0 of “Nothing to Hide”, the version 1.0 was actually engineered by none other than Najib himself. Yes, the “Nothing to Hide 1.0” was supposed to be a marketing gimmick to gather some 1,500 pro-Najib supporters so that a well scripted question-and-answer drama could be held to boost the image of the scandal-plagued prime minister.
According to the organiser, all questions regarding the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the controversial investment arm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) will be answered by Mr. Najib. We know what happened on June 5, 2015, the day the Malaysian leader was supposed to tell all and sundry that he didn’t steal RM42 billion of peoples’ money.
Najib, who had actually self-proclaimed as “Bugis Warrior” less than 24 hours before the forum started, shamelessly chickened out of the “Nothing to Hide 1.0”, the very forum he had gotten his boys organized. The sight of 89-year-old Mahathir, who walked fearlessly like a celebrity into the PWTC (Putra World Trade Centre) building by 9am, had sent shivers down Najib’s spine.
The prime minister cowardly went into hiding, and told the IGP (Inspector-General of Police) – Khalid Abu Bakar – to cancel the dialogue at the very last minute. The disgraced police chief claimed it had to be cancelled due to safety and security reasons. Of course, like any Bollywood film, Najib pretended that he was absolutely upset with the police’s decision.
Not only the trembling Najib refused to face Mahathir at the “Nothing to Hide 1.0” forum on June 2015, the fake Bugis Warrior was so terrified when he learned that Mahathir was using the dialogue to talk about 1MDB that the police was instructed to stop the old man from continue with his speech. So, Mahathir only managed to give a short talk before the police intervened.
It had gotten so bad that the Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, laughed and ridiculed PM Najib for not attending the “Nothing to Hide” dialogue. He said – “How can you have a dialogue called ‘Nothing2Hide’ featuring a person who has everything to hide? Obviously he won’t show up.” He also insulted Najib like “a drowning man who will try to reach and hold on to anything -including ‘faeces’”.
Two years after the June 2015 dialogue, Najib similarly chickened out of the “Nothing to Hide 2.0” debate on August 2017. In fact, Mahathir was having so much fun seeing Najib squirms so much so the old man had again asked the Bugis Warrior on November 2017 for another debate – “Nothing to Hide 3.0”. In total, Najib had cowardly gone into hiding 3 times in relation to “Nothing to Hide” forum alone.
Angered and humiliated by Mahathir for hijacking his “Nothing to Hide 1.0”, the despicable Najib had quietly sent some mobsters to create trouble at the former’s organized “Nothing to Hide 2.0”. Two projectiles were launched to attack Mahathir, followed by smoke bombs and punches. But Mahathir, the master strategist, was well prepared with Najib’s amateurish dirty tricks.
Najib’s hired-thugs were easily cornered and captured, thrown inside a locked room and were happily beaten by Mahathir’s boys instead. Only after Mahathir’s boys had enough of the troublemakers were they handed over to the police. Journalists reported that by then, Najib’s gangsters were so badly whacked that they were totally unresponsive.
But the three versions of “Nothing to Hide” dialogue or forum were not the only time where Najib had chickened out. As early as 2012, he had rubbished a series of debates between his ruling Barisan Nasional coalition government and now-defunct opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition – claiming debates were not part of the country’s political culture.
In fact, during his premiership from 2009 to 2018, Najib Razak had never once dared to debate with anyone. Even after his downfall, he continues running away when he “smells defeat” as can be seen during an hour-grilling with Al-Jazeera’s reporter Mary Ann Jolley on Oct 26 last year. And that was not even a debate but just an interview with a woman journalist.
1MDB Scandal - Dialogue PM Najib Razak with NGO
So when Najib suddenly challenged DAP supremo – Lim Kit Siang – to a debate, it raises eyebrows. More importantly, what had changed since the last time Najib cowardly rejected any debate challenge and preferred playing hide-and-seek instead? First, Najib has lost his power. Second, Najib has become “prisoner-in-waiting”. Third, the Malay-vs-Chinese conflict is at record high.
From the beginning when Mr. Lim accepted the challenge, he had fallen into “Najib’s trap”. The DAP adviser, despite his courage and clean record as a politician in the last 53 years, probably had forgotten that there was no need to dance to the tune of Najib. Unlike Kit Siang, who is now part of the government, Najib, on the other hand, is facing the prospect of 20 years in prison.
In essence, Najib has nothing to lose but everything to gain with the debate. While it’s true that Kit Siang has nothing to lose as an individual since he had humbly rejected any government post after the victory last May general election, the same cannot be said about the 1-year-old Pakatan Harapan coalition government.
Although Najib has in principle agreed to Lim’s suggestion that the debate should focus on “How Malaysia became a global kleptocracy and how we can become a leading nation of integrity”, it was just a red herring. The crook was not interested to debate about corruption or money laundering, but to use the platform to play racial and religious cards to the hilt.
When an extreme Islamic group like ISMA could make a mountain out of a molehill that a postage stamp bearing the image of a church was an indication that Muslims were increasingly being sidelined in Malaysia, despite the fact that the stamp series was first issued in 2016 when Najib regime was still the government of the day, imagine what Najib could manipulate with a Chinese like Kit Siang.
As an example, Najib Razak would ask during the debate why there has been no justice after the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim. If Lim Kit Siang explains that it was actually 50-250 Malay thugs who started the riot at the Hindu temple that led to the death of Adib, his answer will be twisted as anti-Malay. No matter how Lim explains, it would be spun as anti-Malay and anti-Muslim.
Najib Razak and Lim Kit Siang
Najib would also accuse the government, of which DAP is part of, of mismanaging the Tabung Haji despite the fact that the Muslim pilgrimage fund had been transformed into a Ponzi “Get-Rich-Quick” scheme under the previous Barisan Nasional government. No matter how Lim explains, Najib will declare in the debate that Chinese DAP has stolen money from Tabung Haji that it required a bailout of RM17.8 billion.
Of course, Najib would most likely accuse DAP of using ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) as a tool to attack Islam, despite the fact it was PM Mahathir, who promised to ratify the core UN instruments related to the protection of human rights in his address at the UN General Assembly on Sept 28 last year.
Yes, the desperate Najib will use the “live debate” as a platform to stir up racial and religion sentiments among the Malays that the Muslims and Malay Rulers have lost power to the “Chinese, Christians and Communists”. The crook will definitely manipulate the debate into a racial conflict, playing up issues such as the Rome Statute, PTPTN, Felda, matriculation quota and whatnot.
Sure, Kit Siang has lost some face for cancelling the debate which he had agreed initially. But he also deserves the credit for listening to advice from concerned parties, ranging from government leaders to average people on the streets. Already, pro-Najib cybertroopers, propagandists and bloggers are mocking the DAP supremo as a coward.
But Lim Kit Siang has already won the war after struggling for 53 years fighting corruption, abuses of power and criminal activities like money-laundering. The collapse of the corrupted Barisan Nasional coalition and the 42 charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), money laundering and abuse of power currently faced by Najib were sweet victories.
Najib, facing a loss in his SRC International trial, desperately needs a diversion to draw public attention away from his corruption and money laundering cases. We’re talking about a man who has no shame as can be seen with his “Malu Apa Bossku (Why The Shame, Boss)” marketing campaign. It will hurt Najib Razak even more if Lim Kit Siang ignores his debate challenge.
The simple fact that Najib continues to provoke Lim, despite the cancellation of the debate, goes to show how frustrated the former premier is that the DAP adviser refused to swallow the hook, line and sinker. Calling the senior Lim as a “serial liar”, Najib said – “This is a debate, not a wrestling match. Why run?”
Najib Razak - A Coward
In reality, Najib should be the last person on the planet to call anyone a liar or a coward. He would probably claim that he can debate today, and not when he walked the corridors of power, because he is free now. In case he had forgotten, his cowardice was a well known fact and has become a joke in at least 130 countries since September 2015.
Nope, we’re not talking about the “Nothing to Hide 1.0” forum, dialogue or debate. We’re talking about the self-proclaimed Bugis warrior chickening out from the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Putrajaya, the same federal administrative centre of Malaysia where the office of the then-PM Najib Razak was located.
Held from 2-4 Sept, 2015 the conference theme “Ending Impunity: People, Integrity, Action” had successfully attracted over 1,000 delegates from 130 countries. Najib was supposed to deliver his scheduled keynote address, meaning his schedule was pre-booked beforehand and he had the free time to attend the conference held in his backyard.
Yet, the coward quietly went into hiding (again) and sent two low ranking Ministers – Paul Low and Abdul Wahid – to shield him from potential humiliation by the international delegates. Perhaps Najib should explain why he did not use the opportunity to explain to the delegates from 130 countries that the US$681 million (RM2.6 billion) discovered in his account was a donation.
On the first day of the conference, the Transparency International chief Jose Ugaz wasted no time by grilling PM Najib over the US$700 million scandal, openly asking him to explain who paid the money, why, and what happened to it. Too bad Najib, the biggest coward, wasn’t as courageous back then as he is today. His strategy had been from “Cash is King” to “Hide is King”.
It’s hilarious that Najib Razak celebrates after only one debate rejection from Lim Kit Siang, when the same Najib had rejected dozens of debate challenges from Lim previously. There’s no honour in debating with a prisoner-in-waiting, especially one who is also a serial liar. Kit Siang did the right thing by refusing to argue with a crook. The crook will drag him down to his level. - FT
