Mahiaddin Yassin, Malaysia’s second shortest-serving prime minister, had good mentors in the form of former prime ministers.

These former Malay PMs liked to boast about their Malay credentials, and that their leadership will successfully protect the Malays, and defend Islam.

Ironically, the Malaysian rakyat, in particular the Malays, must be protected against these types of Malay leaders.

They have brought shame to their race and country, besides giving the nation a bad name and saddling us with a huge debt, a loss of trust in politicians and numerous trials concerning their criminal breach of trust (CBT) and alleged corruption.

The convicted felon Najib Abdul Razak is now in jail after he was found guilty of CBT and money laundering involving RM42 million of SRC funds. He is also implicated in stealing around RM2.67 billion from 1MDB.

His crime is like child’s play when we compare the allegations about Mahiaddin’s corruption involving  two money laundering charges of RM232.5 million.

In addition, Najib’s theft of RM2.67 billion seems like loose change compared to Mahiaddin’s alleged misappropriation of RM92.5 billion in government funds meant for the COVID-19 stimulus packages during the Perikatan Nasional-led government.

Take note of this political ploy. For six decades Umno and Umno-Baru (the new Umno which emerged a year after the original party was deregistered in 1987) used fear to control and manipulate the rakyat.

Today, that same fear has gripped Mahiaddin Yassin and Bersatu.

So, what else is new? Nothing. It’s the same man wearing different clothes. It’s the same political tactics, just a different party logo.

Bersatu is just a clone of Umno-Baru. Even Muhyiddin is an Umno-Baru reject.

Ever the opportunist, Muhyiddin could sense the rakyat’s anger  in 2015, and so he spoke up against his boss, then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The evidence against Najib was mounting, especially in the overseas media. Only a fool could not see that Najib would lose in GE14 despite his best efforts to silence his critics.

With defeat on the horizon, Mahiaddin weighed up  his chances and planned his long-term political career. He’d seen Najib manipulating the system. He was aware of the corruption and excesses of Najib’s wife, the self-proclaimed First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM).

Together with his former boss Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, they formed Bersatu and worked fast to prepare themselves for GE14 in two years’ time.

The ambitious and power-hungry Mahiaddin was often overlooked, and for years he lived in the shadow of politicians with more public “appeal” like Najib and Mahathir.

When Mahathir resigned, Abdullah Badawai was named his successor, followed by Najib. Mahiaddin never made the shortlist.

Whilst he was seething at not being considered for PM, he wrongly thought that by saying he was “Malay first, Malaysian second” would get him to the top of the queue. Instead, that foolish move attracted more criticism and must have upset BN’s coalition partners.

The ambitious and power-hungry Mahiaddin was often overlooked, and for years he lived in the shadow of politicians with more public “appeal” like Najib and Mahathir.

After Harapan’s win in GE14, Muhyiddin was probably aware that at some point, Mahathir once again the PM would renege on his pact with Harapan about Anwar taking over.

Mahiaddin saw his golden opportunity, and together with the other opportunist, PAS president Hadi Awang, engineered the Sheraton Move. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ironically, having appointed himself as PM, Mahiaddin decided to play it safe, using the cover of Emergency rule and the coronavirus pandemic to avoid scrutiny of his policies by parliament.

However, the past finally caught up with him. The MACC saw it fit to freeze Bersatu’s accounts pending investigations.

The party is only a few years old and has not proven itself. So how did a newly formed political party end up with RM300 million in its bank accounts?

Utusan Malaysia reported that the MACC’s investigations showed Bersatu’s  political donors were in reality contractors who had allegedly offered bribes in return for projects during Mahiaddin’s previous PN administration. This is corruption.

When Wan Saiful Wan Jan, one of Mahiaddin’s trusted right hand men, was arrested last week, and Mahiaddin himself was charged, the Bersatu publicity department went into overdrive. The party was rattled.

Mahiaddin’s chief lieutenants like Wan Saiful, Azmin Ali and Hamzah Zainuddin, shouted out “political persecution.” They would say that, wouldn’t they?

Bersatu supreme council member Azmin said the MACC probe was to cripple the party. Bersatu information chief Razali Idris said Mahiaddin’s treatment was “inhumane.”

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin issued a veiled threat against the authorities. He claimed to possess files on government party leaders from his time as home minister, hinting he could use them.

Isn’t it illegal to hang on to official files and issue threats?

Sensing the loss of PN’s credibility, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the MACC investigations were an attempt to distract the public away from Umno-Baru’s many issues.

Meanwhile, PAS president Hadi Awang predicted the fall of Anwar Ibrahim and his unity government soon.

The silver lining in all this is that the Malay leaders, Mahiaddin and Hadi, have been exposed as shams. Instead of protecting the Malays, they have lied to and cheated on their fellow Malays. They are not observers of the faith as they went against its teachings.

With six state elections coming up, Malaysians have the best chance for better governance, and should by now know whom to vote for.

Sources:

1. Free Malaysia Today: Muhyiddin explains alleged land scandal during his time as MB
2. Malaysiakini: Bukit Aman’s classified crime investigation unit to handle probe on Hadi

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)