The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — Barisan Nasional (BN) is looking to solve three pressing issues — the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) case, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy trial and Teoh Beng Hock’s mysterious death — before considering a call for snap elections.

The Malaysian Insider understands that BN leaders have privately agreed that these issues, together with the soft economy, need to be addressed before the ruling federal coalition is confident of dissolving Parliament for the country’s 13th general election, which is not due until March 2013.

“The three issues need to be solved. There is no two ways about it,” a BN leader told The Malaysian Insider over the weekend.

Talk is rife that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak might call for snap polls to coincide with the Sarawak state election, which is due by July 2011, but the consensus is that the country’s largest state will proceed with its own election first. Pakatan Rakyat-ruled (PR) states have said they might not follow BN’s schedule as they want to fulfil promises made in Election 2008.

The Economist Intelligence Report on Malaysia August 2010 said it does not believe that Najib is preparing to go the polls before 2012.

“Although a strong election performance would bolster his mandate, the results of recent by-elections suggest that the electorate has become much more volatile, especially non-Malay voters, and there is no guarantee that the government’s plans to reform policies that favour Bumiputera has increased its appeal among ethnic minorities,” the report said.

BN leaders say these issues in conjunction with recent concerns over price hikes due to subsidy cuts and protests related to religion, gambling and preventive security laws could delay the federal elections further.

However, it is understood that Najib has given the go-ahead for the authorities to resolve some of the outstanding issues that have proven to be excess baggage for the ruling coalition.

Among them is throwing the book at the culprits of the PKFZ scandal, which may balloon from an ambitious RM2 billion transhipment hub to one potentially costing of RM12.5 billion if repayments are not kept to schedule.

Former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik being is the first high-profile person to be charged for cheating the Federal Cabinet over the land valuations in 2002. He is the fifth to face charges but it is understood several other people, including an ex-Cabinet minister and a lawmaker, might also be charged in relation to the scandal.

The Najib administration is also under fire for directing PKFZ owners Port Klang Authority (PKA) to pay outstanding amounts for bonds taken out by the land vendor and main contractor, Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) despite ongoing litigation between both parties.

The second pressing issue of Anwar’s sodomy trial is being played out today when the PKR de facto leader’s lawyers cross-examine witnesses related to the complaint by former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The trial has taken a salacious turn during the last recess with gossip that a member of the prosecution team, deputy public prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif, is romantically-involved with Saiful. The prosecution has dropped her from the case, dismissing her as just someone who took notes and not crucial to the team.

Anwar has complained that the charges are made-up and meant to send him back to jail due to his popularity and leadership that brought Pakatan Rakyat (PR) four more states and 82 federal seats in Election 2008.

The former deputy prime minister, who lost his job in 1998 after a similar case, had said the complainant was just a “coffee boy” although Saiful followed him on trips abroad.

But the case has stretched on due frequent postponements, with the most recent due to illness by Anwar’s lead counsel Karpal Singh.

Another important issue for BN to have closure for is Teoh Beng Hock’s death after overnight questioning by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on July 16, 2009. The DAP political aide was found dead on the morning he was to marry his pregnant fiancée.

An on-going inquest had prompted a second post-mortem after Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand — engaged by Teoh’s employers, the Selangor government — said his death was “80 per cent homicide” and not suicide as was listed in the first autopsy.

Dr Pornthip observed the second autopsy but refused to testify due to security concerns. She has since changed her mind and is due to give her testimony later this month, 13 months after the 30-year-old died.

Political observers say that Najib is now focusing on these issues that can affect the BN’s popularity, apart from socio-economic issues that have taken the bulk of his time since assuming office in April 2009.

“He has been focusing on the economy especially to get the New Economic Model (NEM) off the ground,” a Najib aide told The Malaysian Insider.

But critics say Najib has not been able to defend the NEM proposals, especially with protests from Malay rights groups such as Perkasa that want the government to keep quotas created under the New Economic Policy (NEP).

Najib, who is also finance minister, has vowed to open up the economy to competition in his bid to make Malaysia a high-income nation by 2020.

He has also cut subsidies in a bid to reduce a budget deficit equivalent to seven per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009 owing in part to his administration’s economic stimulus measures.

But trimming subsidies for fuel and sugar to save RM750 million this year met with a barrage of criticism especially after the Prime Minister’s Department revealed it had a RM4 billion operational budget and a staff strength of nearly 44,000 for 2010.

The Najib administration is also wary of widening the tax base to overcome its deficit and have encountered strong resistance from businesses as well as consumers.

The government has already announced changes to a new property tax, which will reduce the amount collected from this particular source. However, it remains non-committal on the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a crucial part of tax reform. Under its original plan, the government had sought to introduce the tax in the third quarter of 2011 but it is now on indefinite hold.

The BN will also have to counter protests related to the Internal Security Act (ISA), where more than 10,000 people have been arrested in its 50-year history. The government has promised to amend the law that allows for detention without trial but the opposition and human rights activists are adamant it should be abolished.

A series of vigils last night to observe the security law’s 50th anniversary was marked by police action that saw 30 being arrested in Petaling Jaya, four in Penang and one in Ipoh.

The government has also to solve the festering issue of inter-faith harmony after a High Court ruling allowing a Catholic Church publication to use the word “Allah” met with opposition from the country’s dominant Malay Muslims. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein yesterday said he lamented the ban on the word, saying it had woken up a sleeping dog.

The Court of Appeal has yet to fix a date to hear the government’s argument against the decision, while allowing a stay of execution of the ruling.