The ACA achieved its aim – of showing Anwar Ibrahim would surrender the entire 14-minute Lingam videotape when push comes to shove (when the chips are down).
That has been the objective all along!
Malaysiakini reported (my comments follow each paragraph):
Had the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) turned up at PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s office this morning, they would have walked away with a copy of the 14-minute full video clip dubbed the ‘Lingam tape’.
Yawnnnnnnnn – of course, did anyone imagine for one instant that Anwar Ibrahim would be of the same calibre as Steven Gan, Premesh Chandran or Lim Guan Eng?
Anwar had insisted all along - confirmed by his aide as recently as yesterday - that all the officers would get from him was the eight-minute version, in order to protect the identity of the two unnamed sources who recorded the footage in 2002.
And the about-turn? But then, wasn’t this the bloke who said “I would have been removed earlier had I objected earlier” when asked why he didn’t stop the rampant corruption while he was DPM?
ACA officers, who were scheduled to have met Anwar at 11am, called off their plan at the last minute “until further notice”.
Lapur Datuk, objectif tercapai, masalah selesai, morale musuh koyah liao lah.
Today was also the deadline set by the ACA for Anwar to hand in the original version of the 14-minute clip, failing which he could have been prosecuted under the ACA Act. This carries a maximum two-year jail term, fine up to RM10,000, or both, on conviction.
So ...
Malaysiakini tells us that:
Asked to explain if “giving them what they want” meant that the ACA would receive the 14-minute version, he replied: “Yes, that is between me and them because to me, this thumb drive is only meant for them.”
;-)
Waving the thumb drive which was strapped tightly around his right wrist, he then said: “I want to see their reaction before I release it to the public.”
“I want to see their reaction before I release it to the public” - hahahahaha – he isn’t known as the Renaissance Man for nothing!
Anwar sidestepped questions as to whether his intention to hand in the full clip could now be interpreted as giving in to pressure.
;-) Tap dancing ...
“We don’t want to give an impression that we are not giving co-operation (to the authorities),” he said.
No, of course not. But you know somethin' - if it was Tian Chua, it would have been a different story. One is dedicated, one is de facto-defeated - you decide who is which ;-)
“And the about-turn? But then, wasn’t this the bloke who said “I would have been removed earlier had I objected earlier” when asked why he didn’t stop the rampant corruption while he was DPM?”
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young somewhere between Standard Six and Form One or was it between Standard 5 and 6, I was caught by my father with my pants down. I had been told to look after a goat and this stupid goat, not knowing my love for games with my friends, decided to wander away and when my father arrived, there was no goat. I had to be punished. My father did that.
I ran to my mother. This was what I told her. How can look after goats when I have to play. My friends don’t look goats. They play all the time. My father is very bad. Poor old lady, as mothers are, agreed with me. It did not matter anyhow, because, the next day I was still with this goat.
Mr ex DPM was and is great. When got with your pants down, don’t you complain about the belt? He did that. Thank you.
ACA has made it very clear 2 days ago that without the Original, they cannot proceed further even though they have interviewed all the 10 relevant witnesses, including Lingam and Fairuz. So Anwar will get all the blame if he does not give them the 14 minutes tape. They anticipated that Anwar will only give them the 8 minutes tape as Anwar has said many times he will not give them the 14 minutes tape to protect the identity of the 2 whistle blowers. So they must have been caught off guard this morning when Anwar said that he will let them have the 14 min tape and probably didnt know what to do. That is why they didnt turn up at Anwar's house. Right now, they are probably thinking how they are going to tell the public that there is no case. Anwar cannot be blamed now that he has offered them the 14 min tape.
ReplyDeleteSurely Lingam knows who the 2 whistleblowers are. Indeed for the safety of the 2 whistleblowers, it is better to reveal to the authorities who they are though there is no need to reveal to the public at least for now. If something happens, then we would know there is foul play.
KT,
ReplyDeleteWe need to stay focussed on the issue of the debasement of the judicial process by politicians and politically connected individuals.
Please don't let your deep disgust of the messenger to trivialise this issue.
You seem insistent on attacking Anwar Ibrahim below the belt, whichever way you can think of.
Yesterday you lambasted Anwar for his unwillingness to hand over the the missing 6 minutes, and just short of accused him of lying about the "alleged" existence of the balance video.
Today you trash him for handing over the full video clip.
A bit of friendly feedback from a humble commentator - this is not how an "independent" blogger writes.
yeah i was about to say the same as kitty too.
ReplyDeleteto me, looking at this post alone, you sound so disgusted/angry/fed-up at anwar.
kk46 has a misguided understanding of what “independent blogger” means. His idea is of one who only criticizes BN but never the opposition – to quote his words (which he stated without any understanding of its meaning): “this is not how an independent blogger writes.”
ReplyDeletewhat kk46 wants is a blogger who practices “neutrality”. Well, my dear sir, an independent blogger is one who is not affiliated to ANY political party but who has EVERY right to comment on a politics and politicians as he/she sees fit, and even enjoys the absolute right to favour the policies or personalities of any political party, depending on his/her assessment.
Even my blogger friend, Dr Darren Hsu, who is as near “neutral” as anyone could possibly be, is not completely “neutral” and does comment on political policies and personalities, as an "independent" blogger.
Look at Anwar’s handling of this videotape – a tape that could have ripped powerfully into the rotting judiciary if it was handled with clinical and non-grandstanding care, as Lim Kit Siang would have done.
Instead he wanted to grandstand and exploit the shocking revelation for his (Anwar’s own) interest.
Look at his statements (not mine though I simplify and paraphrase them here):
(1) I’ve more to come that will further implicate the CJ.
Comment: if that could implicate the CJ, why not show it all? Otherwise I would say that’s typical man man bull
(2) Oh I can’t, it would imperil the whistleblowers. And I will refuse to surrender the entire 14 minutes.
Comment (1): Then why say there was more to come that would further implicate the CJ? If you have been worried about the whistleblowers ID, then stop at the 8th minute, as I had blogged!
Comment (2): And worst of all, why then was he ready to surrender the entire 14 minutes of tape, which in his own words, contain the identity of the whistleblowers.
Did that mean he was ready to abandon the whistleblowers to the wolves?
Or, there were no whistleblowers’ ID to compromise in the first place, which means he was man man whatever again.
Whatever had been the real story, ie. throwing the whistleblowers to the wolves or there were no whitleblowers' ID to reveal, he has now screwed up the legal impact of the tape. Rightly or wrongly, most people will now say it's another of the PKR's political campaign tactic a la the French dinner photo.
The whole affair, like yes, the claimed photo of the French dinner (regrettably sucking a poor Tian Chua into being the fall guy), were grandstanding stuff – attention has been focused on him for the last few days, a person who has already lost relevance in Malaysian politics for his pathetic “I could have been sacked” (or "arrested") excuse.
I do not deny there are good people in PKR – Dr Syed Husin, Elizabeth Wong, Tian Chua, Nat Tan etc – and I regret (meaning this is kaytee’s opinion – well kk46, am I entitled to this?) that these fine people have to contend with a de facto (is there no shame in the use of this word?) leader who's a former UMNO man whose record as an UMNO minister (in various portfolios) we remember all too well, with dislike, disgust and dread.
De facto defeat? I doubt it. Anwar offered up the evidence for the ACA to come and take, especially after they sent threats his way and everything, but they did not even show up. I think it's not the act of giving up the evidence to the authorities, but an effort by Anwar to show to the Malaysian people just how interested the government really is in combating corruption.
ReplyDeleteAnd in that, Anwar has already won.