Sunday, 22nd May 2011
From PERKASA to UMNO: An Indicator that PERKASA is Indeed A Proxy For UMNO!
Rowdy ultra Malay-rights group Perkasa has been linked to the sabotage of a car used by the wife of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, causing an accident that could have resulted in her death.
A police report has already been lodged on the incident, and pending investigations, PKR leaders have maintained an uneasy silence. But few have hesitated to call the accident a murder attempt - aimed more at Anwar than Wan Azizah, who is also their party president.
Pointing out the link is Anwar himself, who asked how it was that Perkasa had known and lodged a police report that his car - a Mercedes 350 - would be tampered with months before it occured.
“They need to be asked. Now that there is a real accident and a threat on Azizah's life, they have to explain. No, I'm not implying anything (but), how do you expect me to respond to rumours?” Malaysiakini reported Anwar as saying.
In February, Perkasa predicted the accident that would happen in April
The accident to Anwar's car happened on April 19. It was a serious one but Azizah and her travelling companion escaped harm. The mechanic's report showed that a caliper-guide bolt-pin that support the brake disc had been removed.
"I was told that it is impossible for the bolt to come off without someone removing it. Based on what the mechanic told me, there are also elements of sabotage, considering that the vehicle is regularly used by Anwar," his driver of 28 years had said. The 51-year old driver was the one who lodged the police report earlier this month.
But way in advance on February 11, Armand Azha Abu Hanifah, then the Perkasa Youth chief, had lodged his own police report claiming a plot by Anwar and PKR leaders to stage an accident so as to gain public sympathy.
Armand also said the real purpose of the ruse was to spirit Anwar out of the country to a place where he can seek political asylum.
“We feared that he would mobilise and cause chaos in Malaysia from overseas like (ousted Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was said to have a hand in the bloody demonstrations in Bangkok last year),” said Armand.
How credible is Armand's explanation can only be decided by Malaysians themselves. The former Perkasa rabble-rouser is now the PJ Utara Umno youth information chief.
Deathly political game
Indeed, the links to Umno, or more specifically to the Umno elite and in particular Mahathir Mohamad who is also the Perkasa founder, cannot be denied.
There is a clear trend and design to shut out Anwar and his family from the Malaysian political scene. Malaysian politics is both simple and complex at the same time, hinging on the Malay community which forms 60 per cent of the 28 million population.
Whether Anwar is now on a politcal upswing or as the Umno insists on the downcycle, he is still the only Malay leader seen as capable of bridging the divide between the community and the other races.
Thanks to the policies practised since indepndence from colonial rule in 1957, and especially during the Mahathir era, there have been blatant efforts by the government to keep the races apart.
Divide-and-rule was Mahathir's chosen policy, and racial polarization under Prime Minister Najib Razak's watch is now at its worst. Some say that is because the chances are now very real that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition led by Anwar could topple Najib's BN in the coming election.
Anwar's daughter, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah, has also received an SMS threat to kidnap her children if she did not persuade her father to quit politics.
Again, like the car sabotage, police reports have been lodged but little action taken by the authorities.
“If the allegations are anything that involves something criminal then the police must investigate, there should not be a cover-up,” complained Anwar.
“Now there is a semblance of a cover-up, for both cases - the accident and the threat to Izzah's daughter. This can be amplified by the manner the investigation is conducted and the statement by the minister of defence. I don't have any issues with Zahid Hamidi. You want to preserve your position in the party and be prepared to go to that extent, where people's lives are being threatened ...".
He was referring to Defense Minister Zahid Hamidi, who recently accused Izzah of trying to gain public sympathy. Zahid's callous accusations stirred up a storm of public outrage, but like his Umno colleagues, they conveniently see Anwar and his family as 'fair game'.
"This is now what Anwar's enemies are trying to do. To twist the truth and when it can't be twisted anymore, they even try to kill him off. I appeal to the BN or those extremists in BN to stop before we go past the point of no return. Please respect the people's wishes for a government of the people for the people by the people," Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham told Malaysia Chronicle.
This article was originally published by Malaysia Chronicles
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