Friday, September 04, 2015

The day they shot the Deputy

"17 years ago last night, Umno sacked its Deputy President Anwar Ibrahim. There was some exodus here and there but the party remained almost intact. Before that, the last time Umno saw a boardroom tussle was 11 years earlier, in 1987. Deputy Preisdent Musa Hitam had teamed up with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah against Dr Mahathir and Ghafar Baba. The President and Ghafar won by a very marginal majority. The 1987 tussle ripped the party into two but the Malays remained united. Today?" - a Whatsapp message from a dear friend this morning


Ah, Nurul Hana! Yesterday, same dear friend saw me with a copy of Sayang Buat Papa, a scrapbook-diary by Nurul Hana, Anwar's youngest daughter (106 pages, 2015, Gerakbudaya Express, available at Borders). Hana, now 23, was just six years old in 1998 when her father was arrested by Dr Mahathir Mohamad. I remember the events that led to Anwar's sacking as DPM and Deputy President of Umno, I recall the events that followed his Gestapos-style arrest. I might even have spotted Nurul Hana at a press conference in Anwar's home in Bukit Damansara, before they took her papa away.

Let me be clear about one thing: I'm no fan of Anwar or his wife Azizah, or Nurul Izzah their Lembah Pantai MP daughter. Nurul Hana's book is not going to turn me into one, for sure. But what it does is it makes me reflect on those days, and the eternal political warfares that has marked our shared history and, I believe, also stalled our progress as a nation many many times in the last three decades. 

As I see it, all the Umno politicians involved - Anwar included - have emerged winners. The difference is, some ended up with bigger loot than others. 

The real losers are the Malays.

And they continue to lose till this day. 

For today, Mahathir, who features prominently in Nurul Hana's book, is still starring in the latest political drama, doing everything to unseat the PM and Umno president Najib Razak, who has sacked his deputy PM, just like Mahathir had sacked Anwar Ibrahim 17 years ago. Umno, the party of the Malays, is reeling. The rumours that Muhyiddin Yassin will be sacked as Deputy President by Umno has been quashed by Hishammuddin Hussein.

Alhamdulillah, but ...


... But I remember how both Anwar and Mahathir were dismissing rumours of a rift, right before the cracks gave way to the gaping abyss.

23 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:02 pm


    "As I see it, all the Umno politicians involved - Anwar included - have emerged winners. The difference is, some ended up with bigger loot than others. The real losers are the Malays."

    This is (almost) the only bit of truth I have ever seen you write.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2:08 pm

    Yes, history is repeating itself. There is one huge difference though, there was no 2.6billion in nobody's bank this time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. drMpower3:18 pm

    you may be sued for something if you did not remove the content '....when her father was arrested by Dr Mahathir Mohamad...'

    the court decided on this. i hope that clears you from possible suit or something. but everyone knows mahathir himself does not very font of suing, so perhaps lawsuit isnt from him isnt something is least of your worry.

    your integrity, perhaps?


    and also one more thing, u just proved one good thing - leaders come and go, whether they are deputies or members, and even if they are leaders. UMNO will be here, it was here and is here to stay.

    so how come one person refuses to step down?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous3:28 pm


    Blatant corruption should not be spinned into something else.

    Tangkap Najib dulu. Kalau dah benci sangat Mahathir. Tangkap Mahathir lepas tu.

    Yang salah tetap salah.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous3:37 pm

    Anwar arrested by Dr.Mahathir, wow. Didn't know he was a cop. stop spinning and putting all the blame on the poor old man la bro Bru, duh. You're misleading your readers la. That low you're stooping eh.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous5:27 pm

    rocky you have sold your soul to the sihir queen

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous5:35 pm

    The biggest winner is NAJIB with USD700 MILLION in his personal bank account.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I remember Nurul Hana most on the night Anwar was arrested back in 1998. When Anwar was about to be taken away by police, it was agreed that his entire family was to go with him to Bukit Aman. Their house at jalan Setiamurni Bukit Damansara was surrounded by security personnel who were keeping Anwar's supporters at bay. Anwar and his family members were escorted into a police's Perodua Rusa van and they all got into it.The security personnel then stopped the supporters from following the van. Just less than 500 metres away but out of sight of Anwar's supporters, the police van stopped at a small roundabout. Within seconds, a police Produa Kancil car stopped next to it and Anwar was dragged out of the van and into it by the policemen who were escorting him. Nurul Hana, who was in the arms of her mother struggled free and jumped out of the van before running towards the departing Kancil car carrying her father. She was crying out; Papa! Papa! Papa! before falling down. They carried the crying little girl back to the house. I saw the whole thing that night and cried for that little girl who was calling out for her Papa. It was my most vivid memory of the Reformasi days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:46 pm

      Papa must go, papa screwed another man's behind.

      My memory is even more vivid than yours.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous8:11 pm

    kali ini adalah atas sebab dan situasi berbeza dan kali ini bukan semudahlah dulu.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous8:32 pm

    Bye-bye Rocky.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11:17 pm

    By putting in your post a disrespectful picture of Mahathir and an emotional inducing picture of Anwar Ibrahim and his daughter, we all know where your loyalty lies.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous1:14 am

    Bro kita orang kalau Umno berpecah pun gaji tetap sama. Maybe yg real loser adalah orang yang berkereta besar dan bermotor besar sbb bila kuasa bertukar tangan mungkin ada yang diketepikan.

    Bro, tak payah nak belit soal orang Melayu akan rugi la. the impact is greater ro you .

    ReplyDelete
  13. noryn2:55 am

    Datuk,
    Keadaan 1998 adalah berbeza dengan hari ini. Anwar dipecat kerana salah laku dan dibuktikan di mahkamah (atau Datuk sudah mula meragui akan pemecatan tersebut). Kenapa dibangkitkan peristiwa tersebut?

    TSMY digugurkan kerana tindakannya yang mengkritik PM.Tiada apa2 salah laku atau jenayah.

    Datuk bercakap soal Melayu yang berpecah pada hari ini dan 1998.Tahun 1998, jika Melayu pada hari itu tidak menyokong Kerajaan,bermaksud mereka sudah melakukan kesilapan kerana menyokong Anwar Ibrahim yang terbukti bersalah.Melayu yang berpecah pada hari ini pula adalah disebabkan PM yang tindakannya menyebabkan rakyat sangsi pada pemerintahannya.

    Soalan saya mudah,Adakah Datuk begitu yakin dengan penjelasan PM mengenai 1MDB dan dermanya?Kenapa Tun M dan TSMY bermati-matian menentang PM?

    Jangan gunakan alasan Melayu dan UMNO untuk menjadi perisai kebal PM.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous4:05 am

    hanya melayu yang buta hatinya sahaja yang dapat menerima RM 2.6 Billion sebagai derma. Bagus punya putar Dato Rocky. berpuloh tahun pengalaman kewartawanan pun tidak berguna kalau jiwa dan pemikiran tergadai..

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous4:15 am

    You have become something havent you. Amazing how low you go.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous9:39 am

    Why are you so jealous of our Great Leader who even the Arab people know of his greatliness and one to donate hom so much money. we must thank God for him.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous said...
    Bro kita orang kalau Umno berpecah pun gaji tetap sama. Maybe yg real loser adalah orang yang berkereta besar dan bermotor besar sbb bila kuasa bertukar tangan mungkin ada yang diketepikan.

    Bro, tak payah nak belit soal orang Melayu akan rugi la. the impact is greater ro you .

    1:14 a.m. Delete

    ------------xxxxxxxx------------

    Anon,
    Orang UMNO macam lu memang gitu -- janji masyuk, lu happy. Kalau masyuk tapi kurang, lu mengamuk.
    Nasib baik tak semua orang UMNO macam lu.

    Dan dah berapa kali saya cakap: saya ni bukan ahli UMNO.

    Saya Melayu, saya bersyukur kerana UMNO, tapi bukan ahli UMNO. Jadi jangan risau, saya tak kebas lu punya gaji.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for sharing those vivid pictures from the past, Annie.

    I keep some up here, too.
    Attended the last press conference before he was arrested. The choppers in the sky. The FRU trucks. The people who came from all over the country ...

    But i can't say I remember for sure seeing the 6-year old girl. If I had, like you had, I'd definitely lose more sleep than I did.



    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous12:07 pm

    dont worry rocky ..you'll lose more sleep when your najib's turn comes..just wait alittle bit more

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous1:09 pm

    When money came from Arab, it is quickly classified as dirty money but if the same came from Uncle Sam's proxy in the Arab World it is highly classified as a clean money.

    Dirty money here will not lead to invasion of other state but clean money here will lead to invasion of many nation.

    That is one of the stark difference between dirty money and the clean one. What else?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous7:16 pm


    Bru,

    "Saya Melayu, saya bersyukur kerana UMNO"

    Why?

    Because those pirates have raped 98% of us for decades, while making themselves filthy rich?

    Just because you're on the payroll now, don't lose your perspective, bro.



    - Melayu FedUp



    ReplyDelete
  22. Melayu FedUp wrote:

    "Saya Melayu, saya bersyukur kerana UMNO"

    Why?

    Because those pirates have raped 98% of us for decades, while making themselves filthy rich?

    Just because you're on the payroll now, don't lose your perspective, bro.

    xxxxx-----------xxxxx

    Dear Melayu FU,
    Melayu like you don't need others to rape you lah.
    Just because you are not on someone's payroll, you run them down and accuse them of filth.
    And you think others are on the payroll.
    Melayu like you not just a loser, but a sore loser.

    Remember, mo, you don't have to be on UMNO's payroll to be somebody.


    ReplyDelete