I am glad Pak Lah finally retaliates especially against Tun Dr Mahathir. Well first it is time that Pak Lah sheds his lame duck image and show he is capable of sterner stuff; second, it is clear that if Pak Lah does not retaliate, TDM will not have the grace to withhold his punches either. Third, many of us cannot understand why TDM retired on his own and still now wants to interfere in how the country is run. If he were so interested, don’t retire lah! Besides, TDM has no moral standing to be standard flag bearer of dictating what is good for the country having regard to the record of his administration.

In wake of disastrous BN’s performance on 8th March, it should be obvious Pak Lah has to reinvent UMNO for the better or else BN, already imploding, will perish.

Looking strictly from his point of view, it would make sense to go all out to rid BN off corruption, cronyism and extremism and judicial problems (all of which were either started or intensified under TDM’s watch) by first making TDM account for each of these depredations.

In this connection, former UN special rapporteur Datuk Param Cumaraswamy has already called for a probe into alleged interference with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) investigations by TDM He said the then ACA director-general Datuk Shafee Yahya had testified before then High Court Justice Ariffin Jaka in the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial in June 2000 that the former prime minister had ordered him to close a file. “It’s still not too late to investigate. There is one alleged misdeed of Dr Mahathir, which needs investigation”, Param said.

Param’s call is supported by Mohamed Ezam Mohd Nor of the Civil Movement against Corruption (Gerak). He said, “Dr Mahathir Mohamad should be blamed for the crisis which had affected the judiciary, the police and the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), as revealed by Thursday’s media statement by former UN special rapporteur Datuk Param Cumaraswamy. “Being the former Prime Minister does not in any way give Dr Mahathir immunity for his wrong-doings while in office. If ex-Peru president Alberto Fujimori can stand trial for abuse of power and corruption, then so can Dr Mahathir,” Ezam said.

After all Pak Lah himself admitted in today’s NST report that there were problems in the judiciary – there is no need for Lingam Video Commission to prove it – when the premier said that “its troubles did not originate from his administration….Confidence, including from business circles, in our judiciary is low.” The premier further added that “the corporate sector preferred to refer contractual disputes to countries other than Malaysia”. “They do not have confidence (in the Malaysian judiciary). This is bad,” he said. NST reported that “Abdullah said the government had to do something about the negative views of the judiciary”.

Regarding the part on whether there is shifting of power equation in Umno judging from “Najib’s uncharacteristic silence in declining any comment on Abdullah’s assurance when approached by the media”, there are but only two possibilities – shifting more to (1) Pak Lah or to (2) Najib.

Don’t know the “inside story” but it looks more like (1) since for him to come out gun blazing, he must have tied up loose ends and secured the no. 2 backing or at least not swinging over to the Tun’s side (when Tun has dropped support of him).

In such situations of something like “ I assure you there are no problems between us, and he is the one who will be succeeding me” foisted upon him, it would be characteristic rather than uncharacteristic for Najib to maintain silence (to retain his options).

For Pak Lah, time is of the essence, racing towards being done in by either TDM’s instigation of a rebellion within UMNO or the Opposition (Anwar) getting over 30 crossovers, whichever the earlier, so being pushed to the corner he has to fight back. Even a kitten fights back when cornered by a pitbull! :)

Actually Pak Lah’s policies (eg same system of patronage etc) not different from the Tun. The Tun’s repeated attacks – anointing wrong man as successor – are personal. He feels slighted. Other than outward deference by Pak Lah & UMNO powerbrokers (many whom owe their positions to him) there’s no real deference once he gave up power: eg, his pet projects crooked bridge & Proton put in back burner, amidst ‘hidup Mahathir’, he couldn’t even secure a delegate position in Kubang Pasu! Probably he never wanted to give up power voluntarily. At the time immediately preceding resignation, he sensed impatience and groundswell of discontent against his iron fisted rule, so the gambit was to resign, shore up support and reaffirmation for him to stay and then continue. However something went wrong, he was outmaneuvered and UMNO Supreme Council “accepted” his resignation. Which made him angrier because the great Machiavellian leader had been politically outmanoeuvred. He was and is not ready for retirement (get the honours, Tunship and go into sunset with respect and adulation). Man like him with bountiful energy bordering on excess is never ready. Politics courses through his veins. He, used to dominating everything and everyone, is just not used to be no more in the front line of happenings, or front pages of news and having nothing and nobody to combat against to expend his energy and wits. Handpicked successor, comparatively mild, affable with consensual style, is, until two days ago, a poor sparring partner which only infuriates the Tun more. To rub salt to wound, his successor “released” his nemesis Anwar who is making come back, leading opposition and getting the headlines promising to “undo” the UMNO whose very style of governance is stamped by the Tun’s influence and mark. When he tries to galvanise support to rid the object of his frustrations, he becomes even more frustrated when the guys who used to kiss his hands and feet are “lallang” and not (outwardly) kiss the incumbent’s hands and feet instead. Tun is like a scorned and spurned lover, grumbling the lack of gratitude all around by those whose positions are owed to him. The press he controlled blacked him out and he was humbled to have to resort to Malaysiakini (which he attacked while in power) to voice his grievances. In short he is suffering acutely from what Musa Hitam said a “post-prime-ministerial syndrome”, that gnaws at his spirit and soul. To his detractors, that is retributive “karma” for the kind of legacy he bequeathed to his country men from the policies of his leadership style.

Tun Dr Mahathir’s letter referred to in Wag the Dog Blog was published on page 16 of today’s The Sun newspaper, April 8th.

///I do not agree with Karpal Singh’s proposal to inquire into Dr M’s actions in the past. The past is the past. Let bygones be. /// – LimKS.

How does one defend such a position from standpoint of everyone is equal before the law and no one above?

Is only TDM to be given this immunity from accounting or all prime ministers, past present and future? Would not immunity encourage abuse? What about lesser ministerial personages like Kasitah Gaddam, why was he charged with corruption over multi-million dollar share transactions when ministers higher up do not even need to account?

Are some more equal before the law???

Already it is prevalent complaint of rakyat of the ACA that it is practising a different set of rules for big fish and small fish when it comes to corruption investigations and charges.

These people are worried and getting a bit confused as to whose acts and speeches – the present or previous premier – flying to and fro will implode their main patron, UMNO…. :)

I am inclined to think that from limited standpoint of Tun Dr Mahathir (“TDM”)’s interest (as distinct from rakyat’s), he ought to have listened to counsel of his lawyers not to write the letter to The Sun 8th April page 16.

Not much good to him would emanate from publicly responding to former UN special rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy’s refreshment of public memory – that during Anwar’s second trial in June 2000 before Justice Arifin Jaka, then ACA director Shafee Yahya had given sworn testimony that TDM had ordered him to halt an investigation on then Economic Planning Unit (EPU) director-general Ali Abu Hassan Sulaiman (which, if true, constitutes an offence of abuse of power under the Anti Corruption Act which was invoked against Anwar).

Police reports alleging that TDM had interfered with ACA investigations were filed the day after the court testimony – on June 13, 2000. However because then ACA director Shafee Yahya’s sworn testimony was subject of allegation, the ACA passed the probe to the police to avoid conflicts of interest in investigations.

Now with thing blowing up publicly, people will ask what happened to the police investigations alleging that TDM had interfered with ACA investigations???

TDM should not be under an illusion that he is still powerful. In fact he has repeatedly hurled accusations of Abuse Of Power And Malpractices at the administration of the very one holding such levers of power to investigate and charge, thus tempting fate and retaliation….

TDM’s visceral dislike of lawyers – from Param Cumaraswamy to Karpal Singh – and this feeling that he could outwit, out talk, out smart and out testify them and their legal mumbo jumbo (as evinced by the famour “I can’t remember” in the Lingam Video clip commission’s hearing), and that he would confront head-long against any of their challenges and provocations and emerge victorious, is surely pushing him over the edge to skate on the thin ice of self imperilment.

YB, Following up on what lchk posted, the political developments within UMNO (eg the assigning of blame on the Prime Minister, imposition of transition plan on him, and continuous pressure of TDM for his ouster and the imminent prospect of that succeeding in less than 6 months) and Federal’s withholding of state funding starting with tourism projects are all very disconcerting and, in my opinion, signify that the ruling coalition is not coming to terms with its need to reform, and instead work to thwart all reforms initiated by the PM if not a harbinger of a clampdown by his successor to come thereafter….Although in normal circumstances, many would have misgivings as regards party- hopping, however based on the turn of events lately on the other side, there is fast emerging a compelling reason for them to reconsider their stand of supporting Pakatan Rakyat to take the initiative, on the balance of greater good of Rakyat – and the Cause of Reforms –, for the vying for Federal Government immediately after 15th April, by even such an unorthodox and questionable method….