In Came Tun Musa

A kadir Jasin

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NOT all economic, financial, monetary and fiscal measures proposed by the Pakatan Rakyat pact are sound or practical. Some could have undesirable effects on the well being of the country if implemented.

But these are promises and, like all election promises, they are not cast in stone. Even the Barisan Nasional had, over its long rule, amended and abolished some of its cherished policies and programmes.

That the BN leaders and supporters quickly lampooned and berated the PR economic agenda as set out in its 2013 General Election Manifesto is only to be expected.

Both the Prime Minister cum Finance Minister, Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, and (Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad, were reported as saying that the PR economic agenda was impractical and could bankrupt the country.

In his blog posting entitled ‘Change’, Dr Mahathir, among other things, wrote: “Five years for the (PKR de facto leader) Anwar (Ibrahim) or (PAS president Abdul) Hadi (Awang) -led opposition to govern is dangerous. Many things can be destroyed in five years. We have some experience in this.
"Already we see this person who claims to fight for free speech suing and resorting to the courts to shut the mouths of his critics. Other powers of the government will be similarly abused.
"Nepotism and cronyism will be employed as indeed they are in the party he now heads."

Musa Came to PR Defence

 

What is not expected is for the former Deputy Prime Minister, (Tun) Musa Hitam, to join the fray and contradict Mohd Najib’s and Dr Mahathir’s assertion.

In a March 13 report headlined ‘Pakatan regime won’t bankrupt nation, says Musa Hitam’, the Malaysian Insider news portal quoted him as saying, Malaysia would not become bankrupt if PR trumps the BN in the race for Putrajaya in the GE.

Knowing Musa-Anwar relationship, I believe the statement is less about endorsing Anwar and his People’s Pact than about resurrecting his long-drawn rivalry with Dr Mahathir. Although Musa was for five years – from 1981 to 1986 - Dr Mahathir’s deputy, there is little genuine respect between them.

So, with Dr Mahathir positioning himself as Mohd Najib’s ‘panglima’ (warrior) in the battle against Anwar in the GE, Musa is set to resume his diatribe against his former boss.

After resigning as Sime Darby’s chairman, Musa is free of all links with the government and, therefore, free to speak as he likes. Furthermore, Musa was appointed to the board of Sime Darby not by Mohd Najib but by (Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Rekindling Mahathir-Musa Rivalry

Ironically, Musa has little respect for Anwar. He saw Anwar’s rise as nothing more than his ability to butter up Dr Mahthir and hang on to the latter’s his coat tail. Musa’s luckless “Team B” considered Anwar as the wedge between them and Dr Mahathir.

Musa and his followers were highly critical of Anwar’s so-called ‘Abimnization” of Umno and the government, and they did not subscribe to Anwar-inspired inculcation of Ismalic values in the administration.

Musa attributed his ouster from the government to manipulation by Dr Mahathir’s inner circle, which included Anwar. When he eventually resigned as DPM and Home Affairs Minister in 1986, he cited irreconcilable differences with Dr Mahathir as the reason.

Musa had famously argued that the commissioning of the National Automobile Project (Proton) was a foolish move that ‘would bankrupt the country’.

(On a personal level, I must acknowledge that I owe Tun Musa a debt of gratitude for being a friend and a mentor on economic, political and social issues when he was Minister of Primary Industries and later as DPM.)

So Musa’s defence of PR is less about him believing in or supporting Anwar but more for his animosity towards Dr Mahathir and his reticence about Mohd Najib.

As for Dr Mahathir, his decision to be a BN campaigner in the coming GE, in particular for Umno, will heighten attacks on him by the PR and his former detractors in Umno. He could end up being the BN’s lighting rod.

And should the rekindling of old animosity between Musa and Dr Mahathir continues to gain momentum, the effects on Mohd Najib and the BN could be unfavourable as the case of the proverbial ‘gajah dengan gajah berperang, pelanduk mati terpijak’ could become a reality.