“Power wears out those who don’t have it.”

OPINION | “Power wears out those who don’t have it.”


30 Nov 2025 • 7:00 PM MYT


TheRealNehruism
An award-winning Newswav creator, Bebas News columnist & ex-FMT columnist

Image credit: Sinar Daily

Former Economic Minister and current thorn in the flesh to the Unity government Rafizi Ramli wants Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his aide Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin to sue businessman Datuk Albert Tei Jiann Cheing for making explosive allegations against them.


Rafizi said allegations that Shamsul received money from Tei and a video implying Anwar’s role in a Sabah scandal are unverified and should be tested in court.


He added that the burden of proof lies heavily on Tei.


“In Anwar’s case, it will be very difficult for Tei to prove his allegations beyond the assumptions made in the video unless he has a clear recording of a meeting with the Prime Minister showing such instructions,” said Rafizi.


“Otherwise, the matter can only be resolved in court,” he added.


A hidden camera recording has emerged showing Tei speaking to a woman allegedly acting as Shamsul’s proxy.


In the video, the woman claimed Anwar had given Shamsul his blessing to let Tei secretly record Sabah politicians.


Together with a scandal involving a recommendation letter to a hospital refurbishing contract in Muar, the allegations were severe enough that they have already forced Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin to resign as the prime minister’s senior political secretary.


If you ask me why Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli is pushing for Anwar and Shamssul to sue Albert, my answer will be that other than clarity and transparency, Rafizi in his newfound role as the “gadfly to the Unity government,” is also probably interested in putting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a catch-22 situation, where he will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.


If Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim takes up Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s suggestion and files a civil suit — as proposed in Anwar, Shamsul must sue Tei, says Rafizi — the matter will inevitably go before a court. And when a case enters the courtroom, it stops being political noise and becomes sworn testimony. Every detail that Datuk Albert Tei Jiann Cheing has claimed to possess — WhatsApp conversations, receipts, house renovation payments, cigar purchases, tailored suits, even property-linked expenditures — all of it could be dragged into open scrutiny.


But if Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim refuses to sue, his silence becomes political implication. It suggests that perhaps not everything is as clean as he claims. For a leader who has built his post-2018 identity on anti-corruption, refusing to sue risks suggesting that the allegations have substance, and that the “Madani” integrity narrative cannot withstand pressure.


This is why Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s move is so sharp. Outwardly it looks like advice. In substance, it is a political gambit — one that forces Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to choose between legal transparency and political survival.


So how will Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin react?


If we observe how they have already acted, I think that what happen is that they will avoid taking the bait. Instead of suing Albert, they will likely take the third route — lodging police reports, encouraging investigations, and shifting the centre of action away from the courts and into law enforcement agencies.


This is exactly what happened when Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin lodged a police report in Gum Gum, Sabah, over Datuk Albert Tei Jiann Cheing’s allegation that he was instructed by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to secretly record Sabah politicians. He called it a “malicious conspiracy” designed to topple the government undemocratically during the Sabah election campaign.


Once the police report was filed, the narrative immediately shifted. Suddenly, the focus was not on whether Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin benefited from the alleged RM629,000 that Albert spent on him— but on whether forces were conspiring against the prime minister.


Right on cue, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission stepped in. MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has confirmed that the agency would summon both Datuk Albert Tei Jiann Cheing and Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, along with any other relevant parties, to investigate the matter further.


This allows Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin to adopt the perfect political posture:


“Let MACC investigate. Let the police investigate. We will cooperate fully.”


This framing serves several strategic functions.


First, it allows both men to project openness. Calling for investigations signals confidence. It allows Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to say he is committed to transparency without actually exposing himself to the unpredictability of a courtroom.


Second, it buys time — and in politics, time is power.


With the Sabah election looming, the prime minister needs stability, not legal fireworks. A lawsuit would prolong and intensify the scandal. A police report, on the other hand, cools the temperature of the issue and disperses responsibility across institutions.


Third, it prevents escalation. As long as the matter is “under investigation,” Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can decline to pursue civil action by simply saying that he will determine next steps only after MACC and the police have completed their inquiries. It is a diplomatic refusal wrapped in the language of procedure.


Fourth, it neutralises Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s gambit without confronting him directly.


By outsourcing the matter to enforcement agencies, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim avoids the catch-22 and keeps the storyline under his control.



Because more than anything else, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim needs control over the tempo. He does not need to be correct immediately — he needs to manage perception until the Sabah election concludes. And after that, time dilutes urgency. Public memory softens. Political oxygen shifts elsewhere.


Timing is the invisible architecture of power. Those who control timing control narrative, attention, pressure, and fatigue. Those outside power must react; those inside power can wait.


This is why the quote by former Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti remains so eerily relevant. When warned that “power wears out,” by his critic, Andreotti would famously reply:


“Power wears out those who don’t have it.”


Because when you control the timing, you control the exhaustion. You can wear out your opponents simply by making them wait. You can slowly drain their energy while conserving your own. You can drag issues out until they lose momentum.


You can choose when to fight, when to disappear, and when to reappear with force.


That is exactly what Anwar is doing.


He is not rushing.


He is not committing to Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s trap.


He is not engaging. He is delaying.


He is not clarifying. He is neutralising.


Rafizi may have thrown a clever gambit on the table, but Anwar is meeting it with something even more fundamental: the strategic use of time.

He is choosing the politics of timing — which like Andreotti observed, is the quiet weapon that always favors those already in power.