NST columnist Continues Venomous Personal Attacks on Opposition Leader

AZMI ANSHAR Continues Venomous Personal Attacks on Opposition Leader

Commentary by YL CHONG aka Desiderata

I constantly read commentaries in the UMNO-controlled NewStraits Times, not that I am a fan of the English daily whose circulation keeps falling from its heyday two deacdes ago at the number one circulating English daily. I read it in order to balance my vies of the political landscape, and also following a Sun Tzu' Art of War maim, know thy enemy in his terroty so one can plan an effective attack.  I note that one writer lately seems transfixed on taking down Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim "at all costs", throwing out any semblance of observing basic, ethical journalism.

Azmi Anshar seems to have taken on his Master's Voice mission -- more like vendetta -- to stop the former Deputy Prime Minister from leading the pakatan Rakyat in their march to Putrajaya. There is only one politician the whole UMNO machinery is focused on taking down, and the mainstream media (MSM) is not fulfilling its Fourth Estate role of an independent media to check the excesses of the Government; on the contrary, the MSM has got lackeys in the ilk of Asmi to do their bidding (with handsome rewards, nbo doubt).

His weekly column of April 1, 2014 titled "Wan Azizah can beat Anwar"(link: http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/wan-azizah-can-beat-anwar-1.542741  ) contains words like operatically bizarre, unconsionably pitted, dysfunctional nature, Anwar's schzophrenic realpolitik in the opening paragraph itself shows Azmi does not background his essay BUT GO INTO FRONTAL ATTACK, using many medical terms, in his attacks on the Opposition Leader and his wife with reference to their being nominated for the Parti Keadilan Rakyat's presidency in party elections to be held in May 2014.

I shant go on a blow-by-blow rebuttal to the columnist's rantings whose points are just mainly general labels of what Anwar's personality and politics is all about -- minus the rationales to back up his claims. I may just stress that Azmi's usage of bombastic language hides the weaknesses of his treatise -- I think most readers would have to refer to the dictionary by his usage of deep words including Machiavellian-like, zany, self-absorbed existentialism.

Okay, let try try to rebut some key points implied by Azmi's rants -- no dysfunctionality in Awnar's contesting the party presidency against incumbent Wan Azizah, who I believe was preparing to surrender a key role in the 15-year-old party when her husband was prevented by the Court of Appelas in finding Anwat guilty of a sodomy charge -- the public needs to be informed that the court hearing was rushed forward fromApril to March, with verdict handed after just two days of submission on March 7, 2014. Four days away was the nomination day for the Kajang by-election which saw Wan Azizah being "reluctantly" pushed into the contest. This was "deja vu" all over again -- some 13 yewars ago when Anwar was jailed on trumped up charges for corruption and Sodomy, the lady fondly known as "Kak Wan" TOOK ON HER HUSBAND'S ROLE TO CONTEST AND LATER WON the Permatang Pauh parliamentry seat. I would term Kak Wan as an "incidental politician" responding to fast-changing and unsual circumstances engineered mainly by the UMNO regime following the former UMNO deputy president's sacking from UMNO as a result of  his fall-out with then party president and PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Let me digress a bit here: Many in Barisan Nasional, especially MCA, had empahasised that Wan Azizah's victory over Chew Mei Fun by 5,379votes was a "decline" from the last general election's majority of about 6,800 votes by "resigned" PKR assemblyman Lim Chin Cheh. But the by-election on March 23 saw a 16-percent smaller vcoter turnout, from 86% to 72%. If tis 16% were to have voted, iot would have translated into additional 6,000 votes; and assuming half of the votes went to each cndiadte, Wan Azizah's majority would have been about8,300 votes, debunking MCA's vaunted claim the party had performed this time around than in the last genewral election.

Back to Azmi's column, let me reproduce one paragraph, again with medical innuendo with reference to Anwar's frame of mind, viz:"People, including PKR insiders, privcately suspect that Anwar has gone off his rockers, schemming from one gambit to another to maintain his perversion -- to become prime minister, collateral damage be damned."

This writer, who blogs a lot on media, hates people who play "doctor" to attack their enemies. I have had my share of such attackers -- one fellow bloggerZorro masked or unmasked -- who won't debate on the issues at hand but start labelling those who differ thrie views in medicalo ters by insinuatriong that "Desi needs to see a doctor". Dr Quack B. Khoo, art thou reading Desi still?

The fact that the writer in passing has described Anwar being a "breath away from the premiership..." in1998 shows the realpolitik that since Mahathir's regime, the whole UMNO regime is running scared of only one man -- Opposition LEader Anwar Ibrahim -- as he is the onlytested ertswhile UMNO leader who could lead the "Reformasi" movement that his jailing more that a decade ago gave birth to -- with his wife constantly a loyal, faithful partner vcarrying the flag for "change" for a battle Malaysia. Professional,gentle yeet firm, there is no other PR leader who can take on the leadership of Pakatan Rakyat while Anwar is headed for incarceration in a Malaysian jail for a second, long stretch -- the only way UMNO knows, working in cahoots with a debauchered judiciary, to make a Malaysian-Nelson Mendela of the Opposition Leader.

I believe Kak Wan will continue to "Kajang Move" initiative -- rstore peace and stablility within the Selangor Government and helping it to achieve greater heights in the next four yewars. The UMNO bigwigs are running scared, and aided by an overly-ambitionus Deputy President taht is Azmin Ali, and they are trying their level best to destablilise the Selangor government. Winning back the "richest state" in the country was UMNO's grand design, but this remains a pipe dream as long as the Menteri Besar and his state excobs behave themselves, and if Azmin Ali needs to be rid off, so be it, in my humblest iopinion as a member who had regualrly canvassed the ground feelings of the SElangor residents/voters who have been quite happy with Khali Ibrahim's lewadership.

Azmi insults the intelligence of the PKR members when he wrote: "And, yes, it's a blessing when enogh PKR delegates and members are idiotic enough to siupplicate Anwar -- that his Segambut Palace family intrigue and vaiety of offences are so endearing that he can hang on top this unbelievable cult following." Hey, ask your UMNO members to look into the mirror and see how many other "palaces" are dominating their leaders' acreages -- and if there iis a cult motivated by large quantums of money -- it is UMNO,not the Oppoisition parties -- that Azmi should lambast. Maybe Azmi has chosen not to  read about Malaysia achieving the record of being the number one country per capita-wise rasnked worldwide in terms of the illicit outflow of funds nearing 880 BILLION RINGGIT (behind Mexico and China) a year ago?

At least I agree with Azmi's opinions on Azmin's personality and potential fate of losing the deputy presidency contest -- read Azmi's description of Azmin "...even if he is unloved and unpopular with PKR allies who hyperventilale at the thought of Azmin as MB". And also, "No wonder Azmin...went ballistic -- his scheming to get out ofthis second-fiddle construct, from his Selangor MB forays to taking on the PKRpresidency, was nuked to no end. Oh yes, he was also outplayed in the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) fiaisco."

My take is that Anwar's nomination for the party president was his strategy to checkmate Azmin, who was well rumoured to contest against Kak Wan -- an unthinkabke prospect for most PKR members, I add, including this writer! -- had to settle for the alternative best of defending the deputy's post. In a way this is a crossrords and momentous face-off, and also a referendum of the membership-at-large of who they prefer -- Azmin or Khalid? I have a feeling the only other "viable" candidaTE, Batu MP Tian Chua, would withdraw his nomination before April 10, 2014, and he would surely retain of  the five vice-presidency posts , which he had won with the most number of votes in the previous party elections.

To Azmi and his UMNO political masters, let me say this: Anwar is a strategist will continue to plot weven behind the prison walls to lead the downfall of BN-UMNO, who that's why the "Reformasi" movement the second time around, is all about. Deja vu for Anwar and his wife, but the results of a commited and convicted struggle will always be victorious in the longer term, for Gods will smile on the righteious and just, and Parti Keadilan Negara, the precusor, was born under reformers who want to see justice restored in all our systems -- The Executive, The Legislature, The Judiciary -- and the Foouth Estate too, just a reminder tosocalled journalists like Azmi.

Khalid commands enough respect from the component parties -- DAP and PAS -- to continue his good work as Chief Executive Officer  of Selangor, having proven with his record of attaining a "surplus" budget for the most advanced state that had lingered in deficit budgets under UMNO for five decades. Yes, it's not a sin to plan a scheme of things for the Rakyat that Selangor could be the stepping stone to taking over Putrajaya. In this scheme of things, Anwar Ibrahim will continue to play a leading role, out of or within the prison walls, to help achieve the goal of the alternative coalition to take over Putrajaya from UMNO-led Barisan Nasional in the next General Elections (GE14), if only the Coalition for Fair and Clean Elections (Bersih) and other similar minded Non-Government Organisations and a better informed general public get a truly reformed government that all fasir-minded Malaysians deserve. 

DESI: I have written an Essay on usage of BIG words in a liitle Black Book published eight years ago ttiled "Midnight Voices and ....". If I wake up to the beautiful sound of cockerel cocking up, Insyallah, and the sun rays peeping into my room this Sunday, I shall reprise that essay for my readers' benefit.Buy me a capitalist Sundae BF? YL, knottyaAsusual