Political assassination in Malaysia - the likely target

I wonder whether Anwar Ibrahim, who told the Australian media that when he was in prison, he was comforted by both the Quran and Shakespeare, would appreciate this quote from Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 2:

For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel. Judge, 0 you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him. That was the most unkindest cut of all

We return to the person of 23-year-old Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the alleged victim of sodomy or Brutus, the alleged UMNO villain of stealth, which I posted yesterday in Saiful Bukhari Azlan - Victim or Villain?

Yesterday, Malaysiakini also published Insider: Anwar was warned where an unnamed PKR source claimed that with regards to Saiful, Anwar Ibrahim had been forewarned and advised to be careful in accepting the young laddie as one of his personal staff.

The source stated to Malaysiakini: "I have also given addresses of several blogs discussing the boy (Saiful). I'm not sure if he (Anwar) read them or not."

This type of hindsight prescience has been making its round since the incident, where another story I heard (from somewhere) that the PKR elders had been fully aware that an UMNO mole or deep cover agent provocateur was already embedded inside PKR, and that they were keeping a beady eye on his intentions.

May I borrow and paraphrase the notoriously immortal words of one lawyer to say: “Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit – CUT!” to all these wise-after-the-event pontificating.

The reality has been that everyone including Anwar Ibrahim had been caught embarrassingly (pardon the pun) 'with their pants down'. Look, if they claimed they knew, then really, they had failed miserably to address the covert threat.

All these bullsh*t fall under the same category as the pathetic attempt to ‘distance’ Anwar Ibrahim from Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Remember that pitiful attempt to classify Saiful as one of those thousands who made coffee and open doors for the PKR leader?

The Malaysiakini report of Anwar Ibrahim filing a bizarre suit against Saiful as seen in Anwar files libel suit against aide has been a regrettable hasty (and self preservation) action by Anwar, even before the facts of the circumstances have even been established, on whether Saiful has been a villain or a victim as I discussed in my earlier post Saiful Bukhari Azlan - Victim or Villain?

I discussed this on gmail chat with my uncle, who had served in the Malaysian military during the Emergency and had seen combat actions. He said that you can tell the character of a leader when the pressure (of combat) is on.

He sneered at Anwar Ibrahim’s kelam kabut-ness (state of chaotic panic) culminating in the PKR de facto leader’s dramatic sandiwara (theatrics) in seeking asylum at the Turkish Embassy.

Unc offered the example where a cooler headed and confident leader in Anwar’s position could have adopted, regardless of whether Saiful was a victim (under duress) or a villain (under nefarious instructions).

He could have said (words to the effect): “The sodomy allegations are absolutely ridiculous and I reject them totally. My main concern now is for the welfare and well-being of my aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan."

"I would like an opportunity for my medical representative to be present during poor Saiful’s medical examination, and to ascertain that he isn’t hurt, and to receive necessary medical attention if he has been.”

“I also want to ascertain that young Saiful had made the report on his own accord and without being under duress. If that has been the case, I’ll then take it from there.”

How statesman-like that would have been. Even if Saiful has been a treacherous culprit, Anwar Ibrahim would have emerged smelling of roses and looking like a demi-god of love, compassion and graciousness.

But alas, he failed his test under fire and has amply shown us that his concerns have been primary and mainly for ‘himself, himself, himself - CUT!’

If Saiful had made the report under duress, then Anwar Ibrahim has been the one who has made the unkindest cut of all.

Uncle told me Anwar Ibrahim is the type of leader or officer you don’t want to be under when the sh*t hits the fan, where he can so easily lose his cool, confidence and (self) collection.

Meanwhile, the Star Online reported in Family shoots down conspiracy theory that Saiful’s uncle said Saiful had initially approached the Bukit Aman police station to lodge his report against Anwar but they turned him away upon learning who he was accusing. He eventually found a police station in Kuala Lumpur which was willing to accept his report.

His uncle also revealed that Saiful had contemplated suicide. I am sure that both Muslims and Catholics know the religious significance of suicide!

Be that as it may, we know that Saiful and his fiancée have both been vilified on the Internet for Saiful’s nerve (under duress or otherwise) in tainting Anwar Ibrahim’s character.

If anyone is targeted for assassination, it’s not Drama King Anwar Ibrahim but Saiful Bukhari Azlan!

The police better bear this in mind.