Et tu, brutus?

Those who have discussed politics with me will be well aware that I am an admirer of Dr Mahathir, as whatever else is said about him, I do believe that he was instrumental in bringing up the nation and he’s a marvellous politician who’d earn a round of applause from Macchiavelli himself. Mind you, a brilliant politician does not necessarily make a good man, in fact the two are usually mutually exclusive.

So, who am I ‘supporting’ in this recent spate of events? I don’t think that that’s a question we should be asking. At the end of each war, there’ll be a victor but perhaps it is also important to note how the battles were fought. Who’s standing? Who’s fallen? Whatever else may happen, look forward to periods of political chaos as the tree is grabbed and upturned, to shake out all those that aren’t strong enough to hang on. And we can hope that the truly nasty weeds are cut off.

I have to admit, the anti-Mahathir camp has done a relatively good job so far, barring the poor spin doctoring. ‘Elegant silence’? There had to be a better defence than that. But at the same time as the eruption of the war of words, Sukma’s (and hence Anwar’s sodomy charge) is due for a retrial (with judges who’re probably less inclined to be intimidated by the old dude) and Anwar has brought charges to court regarding Mahathir, who:

‘capriciously and maliciously utilized the government machinery, including the police, prosecutorial system, the judiciary, its process and the media by intimidation, coercion and patronage with impunity to concoct and fabricate false evidence of allegations including sodomy and sexual misconduct to justify the cause of action he took against the Plaintiff and caused the Plaintiff’s downfall’.

And in the same statement, the following are implicated in questionable practices :

Tan Sri Eric Chia
Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik
Dato Rafidah Aziz
Daim Zainuddin
Tan Sri Halim Saad
Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli
Tan Sri Wan Azmi
Dato Seri Samy Vellu
Tan Sri Ting Peck Khing
Konsortium Perkapalan (under Mirzan Mahathir)

All the above have been tainted before.

Now, if the court is held in session, that will have the domino affect of prosecution of each individual listed above (with Eric Chia already under trial). This will give ample ammunition for Pak Lah to get rid of these political heavyweights – individuals he might not have gotten rid of prior to this due to the political risks. But it would be a different matter if he’s seen as allowing the judiciary to get on with business and he himself cleans up with one swoop. Why did he not get rid of some of these individuals beforehand? Now you know. And so do they. Small wonder various politicians are grovelling at the PM’s feet.

And if the charges against Anwar are dropped (as they are most likely to be), that’ll leave the door open for him to rejoin UMNO with his cohorts with sufficient justification – firstly, he’s clean. And secondly, he’s combining forces with a fellow Penangite who’s agenda is also all about reformasi and setting things straight. I'll be bloody surprised if Anwar does not get back into UMNO if things go according to plan.

Perception, that is the key to the game.

The ball’s in Mahathir’s court. It’d be most exciting to see what comes up next.