The Malaysian Insight

ANWAR Ibrahim is no ordinary Malaysian.

He may not have an official position in the government or an official title in ‎the Pakatan Harapan coalition, but his every word, shrug of the shoulders, or even smile and smirk carries some weight.

Why?

He has been anointed prime minister in waiting by his comrades from Bersatu, Amanah, PKR, and DAP.

He played a pivotal role in transforming the opposition from a nuisance to a potent force in GE12 and GE13.

And we recognise that his unfair and unjust treatment at the hands of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and then Najib Razak woke many of us up from our self-induced comas ‎to the true situation in Malaysia.

So, Anwar Ibrahim is no ordinary Malaysian.  

That’s why he needs to be careful about what he says and where he says it.

There are times when a quiet word in the ear of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng is likely to be much more effective than advice passed through an Astro Awani interview.

More effective for both parties, it would seem.

During the Astro Awani interview, Anwar said that Lim should allow other ministries and government agencies to disclose scandals.

The finance minister should instead focus on instilling confidence and pacifying investors still uncertain about the new government that took office after GE14.

Sensible advice, really.

But why was the advice dished out through Astro Awani? Was the intention to belittle the finance minister? Was it meant to prop up Anwar’s stature in the eyes of the public as someone who still had influence in the administration?

Whatever Anwar’s motivation, Lim hit back immediately, saying that he had been given the task by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to disclose wrongdoings of the Najib administration.

In short, he was not on a frolic of his own.

It is interesting that the finance minister ramped up the disclosures after the cabinet met on Wednesday, talking about how RM3 billion was stolen from funds for the TRX development to pay 1MDB debts.

This would suggest that Dr Mahathir and the ministers endorsed the stand taken by Lim. Or at least, didn’t tell him to stop going public with scandals.

More importantly, it would indicate that the Mahathir administration ‎chose to ignore the advice offered by Anwar to Lim.

This is an ever present danger of choosing the public space to make noise. After a while, the target audience just treats it as ambient noise. – June 22, 2018.