A tantalizing story has come alive after subsiding for a year – was there a national conspiracy to topple Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Minister in July last year?

Probably even more relevant questions, why and who was the “higher power” behind the revival of the story of a national conspiracy to topple Najib as Prime Minister after the passage of a year?

Those who thought the revival of the year-old story of a national conspiracy to topple Najib as Prime Minister would be a quick shot-gun affair, which would be disposed in a matter of a week or so, have been proved wrong – as it has proved to have a longer span of life.

It all started when the UMNO Youth vice-chief Khairul Azwan Harun lodged a report on 26th July against three Tan Sris, former Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail, former Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar and the former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed for top-level conspiracy to topple the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The police recorded Khairul’s statement three days later on 29th July and on 2nd August, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar announced that the police will not investigate Khairul’s statement alleging a high-level conspiracy by the three Tan Sris to topple the Prime Minister as Khairul’s report was based on assumptions without any proof to substantiate his allegations and therefore did not warrant further investigations.

All well and good, which bespeak of a highly competent and efficient police force, except that Khairul contemptuously declared that he stood by his police report and insisted that he has “evidence” to back up his police report of a high-level conspiracy against the three Tan Sris to topple the Prime Minister.

Khairul said his report has led to a “Mexican standoff” or a deadlock describing a confrontation between two or more parties in which none of the opponents has the advantage to proceed without being exposed to danger.

It was quite a humiliating experience for the top policeman in the country, made worse by Khairul re-opening the subject on August 19 at the opening of the Teluk Kemang UMNO wings divisional meeting in Port Dickson.

Azwan said when he lodged the police report on July 26, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was gathering a group of international media in Jakarta, Indonesia with the intention of attacking Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

He said he heard that on the same day, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz and former attorney-general Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail were supposed to be present at a special press conference where they were expected to speak about the report made by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

Khairul said: “The press conference was to be recorded and the clip forwarded to Mahathir in Jakarta. He was planning to share it with the rest of the international media who came for the interview session,”

As such, Azwan said his police report thwarted this plan which was aimed at bringing down Najib and his police report served its purpose and was a “success”.
Had the Police investigated into Khairul’s allegations and interviewed Mahathir as well as the three Tan Sris?

Khalid had said that the police will not investigate the matter as Khairul had admitted that it was based on hearsay when questioned by the police.
Why then has Khairul resurrected his story of a conspiracy to topple Najib as Prime Minister?

Although Najib and the UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin had publicly said that the UMNO Youth deputy chief had not acted on behalf of the party when lodging the police report, it is obvious that Khairul would not have lodged such a serious police report, and boasted of a “Mexican standoff” to rub the nose of the Inspector-General of Police, if he had not the patronage of a “higher power” in Malaysian politics.

Who is this “higher power” in Malaysian politics?

Although former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir stressed that there was no truth to the story of a “national conspiracy” to topple Najib, he added to the mystery with his cryptic remark that the three “Tan Sri” top officials accused of conspiring to topple Najib as Prime Minister were “betrayed” by one among them, as “Otherwise, Najib would face action by now”.

Was there a national conspiracy involving the three Tan Sris to topple Najib as Prime Minister in July last year, before Najib launched his high-level government purges, involving the sacking of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Attorney-General?

Or was there a national conspiracy to prevent the top officials from carrying out their duties under the law?

As I said in my speech at a DAP Forum in Petaling Jaya on 13th August last year, on the very same day that Gani Patail was summarily sacked as Attorney-General and Muhyiddin Yassin sacked as Deputy Prime Minister, (July 28, 2015), a website appeared which accused top officers in government, especially key officers in the Special Task Force on 1MDB, of involvement in an international conspiracy to topple the elected government of Malaysia.

The first posting of this new website entitled “Ops Lalang 2015: Special Branch leads investigation into conspirators” named 13 people on a “list of conspirators to be investigated under Section 124 of the penal code which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison”.

I have just checked and found this website is still available on the Internet, indicative that those responsible for putting up this website about a national conspiracy to topple Najib as Prime Minister have, like Khairul, powerful patronage who need not worry about the law or top government officers!

Will Malaysians ever know whether there was a national conspiracy in July last year, and what was the object of the conspiracy – to topple Najib as the Prime Minister of Malaysia or to subvert the legal process and the rule of law – and whether the revival of the story of a national conspiracy to topple Najib as Prime Minister is to distract national and international attention from the question: Who is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” mentioned 36 times in the US Department of Justice filing for US$1 billion forfeiture of assets resulting from embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of US$3.5 billion 1MDB funds?