Opinion: When Would Anwar Zoom In On The 'Untouchables'?
By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright March 2023
Tun Mahathir, Tun Daim and Anwar Ibrahim. Credit: Malaysiakini
Joe Fernandez recently raised a pertinent question, could Anwar be zooming in on the 'untouchables' as part of his 'hit list' next?
Following Muhyiddin's recent charges on corruption and money laundering, Jo Fernandez wonders whether Tun Mahathir and family or Tun Daim Zainuddin might be on a separate list to face civil action. I'll bet my last ringgit that they are already on PMX's radar. The question is when.
Apparently, Anwar has been hinting on this possibility several times since he became PM, says Fernandez.
After all, he did specifically say he was after all those tainted with corruption irrespective of whether they are Tun(s) or Tan Sri(s) several times in recent weeks.
According to Fernandez, "Anwar has blown hot and cold on Dr Mahathir since 1998 when he publicly swore - before the local and international media - that his nemesis and family as well as Daim will be held accountable for allegedly plundering the public treasury."
For Tun Mahathir who will be celebrating his 98th birthday on July 10 any charge against him might be too much for his advance age. That is of course if there was any case worth pursuing for him to be taken to court by Anwar's government.
If indeed there was, imagine the old man being dragged to court to answer to charges of crimes committed in 22 years of his career as PM. The documentation alone would be voluminous. Besides, going by how long it took Najib's or even Zahid's case, by the time Tun M's goes to trial, he would be a centenarian.
On the other hand, Tun Daim who is only 85 next April 29. Going to jail would certainly be as good as a death sentence. I do not think that is part of Daim's life's plan. But I doubt we shall even get that far.
I am quite sure an investigating team tasked with the role of checking on him would find anything amiss in Daim's bookkeeping and accounting details. We are told that Daim is meticulous and thorough in everything that he does. He has a team of lawyers and accountants overseeing his financial empire thus trying to pin blame on Daim for any fault would be a monumental task for investigating agencies.
Anyway, irrespective of the eventualities if Anwar planned to get even with these two old nemesis of his, it would have to be real soon. Otherwise getting the two Tuns to court would just be too tragic.
Another scenario worth exploring is what would these two so called untouchables do to counter Anwar's vindictive move against them, besides just mounting their own defense in a court of law.
They are two old time politicians who are just too smart to allow themselves to die as accused persons or jail birds. It would be too embarrassing for them. The two Tun(s) have no real political power but they still wield tremendous influence in the country.
Jo Fernandez says these two Tuns might plea bargain if a civil suit were mounted against them although it's unheard of in this country. But Najib's stepson did get away from going to jail by giving back some of the money he took from the state.
Again, that speculation would be going too extreme. We doubt it would even be allowed by these two to reach that far.
The influence of these two Tuns are far reaching. For every action Anwar makes we are sure there'll be 'an equal and opposite reaction' from these two.
Let's wait and see how the three most influential people in the nation "fight" it out for one last time.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
Joe Fernandez recently raised a pertinent question, could Anwar be zooming in on the 'untouchables' as part of his 'hit list' next?
Following Muhyiddin's recent charges on corruption and money laundering, Jo Fernandez wonders whether Tun Mahathir and family or Tun Daim Zainuddin might be on a separate list to face civil action. I'll bet my last ringgit that they are already on PMX's radar. The question is when.
Apparently, Anwar has been hinting on this possibility several times since he became PM, says Fernandez.
After all, he did specifically say he was after all those tainted with corruption irrespective of whether they are Tun(s) or Tan Sri(s) several times in recent weeks.
According to Fernandez, "Anwar has blown hot and cold on Dr Mahathir since 1998 when he publicly swore - before the local and international media - that his nemesis and family as well as Daim will be held accountable for allegedly plundering the public treasury."
For Tun Mahathir who will be celebrating his 98th birthday on July 10 any charge against him might be too much for his advance age. That is of course if there was any case worth pursuing for him to be taken to court by Anwar's government.
If indeed there was, imagine the old man being dragged to court to answer to charges of crimes committed in 22 years of his career as PM. The documentation alone would be voluminous. Besides, going by how long it took Najib's or even Zahid's case, by the time Tun M's goes to trial, he would be a centenarian.
On the other hand, Tun Daim who is only 85 next April 29. Going to jail would certainly be as good as a death sentence. I do not think that is part of Daim's life's plan. But I doubt we shall even get that far.
I am quite sure an investigating team tasked with the role of checking on him would find anything amiss in Daim's bookkeeping and accounting details. We are told that Daim is meticulous and thorough in everything that he does. He has a team of lawyers and accountants overseeing his financial empire thus trying to pin blame on Daim for any fault would be a monumental task for investigating agencies.
Anyway, irrespective of the eventualities if Anwar planned to get even with these two old nemesis of his, it would have to be real soon. Otherwise getting the two Tuns to court would just be too tragic.
Another scenario worth exploring is what would these two so called untouchables do to counter Anwar's vindictive move against them, besides just mounting their own defense in a court of law.
They are two old time politicians who are just too smart to allow themselves to die as accused persons or jail birds. It would be too embarrassing for them. The two Tun(s) have no real political power but they still wield tremendous influence in the country.
Jo Fernandez says these two Tuns might plea bargain if a civil suit were mounted against them although it's unheard of in this country. But Najib's stepson did get away from going to jail by giving back some of the money he took from the state.
Again, that speculation would be going too extreme. We doubt it would even be allowed by these two to reach that far.
The influence of these two Tuns are far reaching. For every action Anwar makes we are sure there'll be 'an equal and opposite reaction' from these two.
Let's wait and see how the three most influential people in the nation "fight" it out for one last time.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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