UMNO Information Chief, Annuar Musa’s desperate and unabashed appeal to the primordial politics of religion has confirmed my initial suspicion that Putrajaya had been very jittery and most hysterical about the latest United States Department of Justice (DOJ) kleptocratic action on forfeiture of US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets.

Was this why the three Najib loyalists in the Cabinet, the Defence Minister, Datuk Hishamuddin Hussein, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan and the Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak had risked their public reputations with ridiculous salvoes to the DOJ in coming to the defence of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak since the third spate of DOJ kleptocratic suits in California last Thursday?

It is understandable it is not easy to maintain equanimity when two whammies involving two biggest financial scandals of the first magnitude in the nation’s history exploded in the month of Ramadan – the new US DOJ kleptocratic action and the Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) scandal – especially when so much preparation had been made for the Najib administration to take the political offensive in the month of Ramadan in preparation for the 14th General Election.

But while Hishammudin, Salleh and Abdul Rahman were not helpful to Najib at all – Annuar’s intervention is sheer disaster for Najib, for what Annuar had done was tantamount to scoring his own goal.

Annuar proclaimed that the US DOJ pursuit of 1MDB assets was “part of a conspiracy to meddle in Malaysia’s affairs because the country had a Muslim-led government”.

What reaction was Annuar expecting?

Was he expecting all Malaysians, particularly non-Muslims, to pipe down on the 1MDB scandal lest they be accused of being American stooges to destroy a Muslim-led government? I believe Malaysians who stand and fight for public integrity and good governance are made of sterner stuff.

Is Annuar Musa aware that he is causing untold shame to Malaysia and Islam with his statement, as if Malaysia’s attainment of the epithet of a “global kleptocracy” represents the acme of Islamic achievement in the world in the 21st century?

Had Annuar forgotten that it was not too long ago when those in the Putrajaya corridors of power had nursed hopes that the new US President Trump would quash the US DOJ kleptocratic action on 1MDB, as Najib boasted as Trump’s “golfing buddy” and “favourite Prime Minister” with Najib having a signed photograph of Trump on his desk?

Furthermore, do the other 12 parties in Barisan Nasional, like MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP, Sabah Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), PBS, UPKO and PBRS agree with Annuar’s interpretation that the DOJ was engaged in a conspiracy to meddle in Malaysia’s affairs because the country had a Muslim-led government? Let the other BN component parties, particularly those from Sabah and Sarawak, speak up!

The FGV scandal, with Tan Sri Isa Samad resigning as FGV Chairman but immediately becoming SPAD Chairman, is further proof why the Najib administration has forfeited public confidence and credibility.

The appointment of Isa as Chairman of SPAD is not only the most unpopular appointment of a GLC Chairman, but the most opposed by all sectors of society, including the civil service, the civil society and even the UMNO and BN rank-and-file.

The least Isa could do to end the charade of his appointment as SPAD Chairman is for him to decline the appointment as SPAD Chairman, pending inquiry into his stewardship of FELDA and FGV, which resulted in the loss of tens of billions of ringgit for the 100,000 Felda settlers.

(Media Statement after visiting Tanjong Kupang, Gelang Patah on Wednesday, June 21, 2017 at 3 pm)