By Niza Shimi
Who was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim posturing to appease when he took a swipe at Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary about rice monopoly?
It so happens, Syed Mokhtar is an institution to the Malays for his philanthropy. Syed Mokhtar is the only Malay listed in the Forbes list of Malaysia’s 50 richest and is placed at number 15. So why did Anwar choose Syed Moktar to target?
Considering that 10 years ago Anwar and Tony Pua, while on campaign trail for the 2013 general elections (GE12), chose to focus on Syed Mokhtar, it showed that they have an axe to grind. Barisan Nasional won GE12 and Datuk Seri Najib Razak became PM.
In his speech during the Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat in Sungai Besi in 2012, Anwar said he had challenged then Finance Minister Najib about why he (Najib) was “afraid” of the man named Syed Mokhtar that whatever he asked for, he got?
In his speech at Bandar Tun Razak, Pua went all out to list all the companies that allegedly belonged to Syed Mokhtar. This was before the campaign for GE13 and GE14 when the campaigning began to focus on 1MDB and Najib himself.
Was this why PM10 decided that his opening salvo as Finance Minister would be aimed at Syed Mokhtar? Was it mere posturing to appease his voters? Surely it wasn’t meant to please the Malay voters.
Posturing seems to be a thing with Anwar since he became PM, so far it is more about appearance than substance. It seems to have worked as a populist approach to please the masses in the excitement of achieving his long-held dream of becoming PM.
Rejecting the official Mercedes S600, no salary, not wearing ties, wearing the capal (sandal) with his traditional Baju Melayu and even using Louis Vuitton shoes gifted by the Sultan of Johor, all made headlines and noisy chatter.
But when the PM clocked in at the Finance Ministry, as he also assumes the role of minister, he seems to have selective memory loss about a 2018 campaign pledge, that the PM would not hold another ministerial portfolio simultaneously.
FMT cheekily said "Anwar must have hoped against hope that nobody would remember this pledge as he anointed himself as the finance minister last Friday when unveiling the Cabinet of his unity government."
Syed Mokhtar himself, always low profile and shying away from the spotlight, has never responded to these campaign speeches that dragged his name into the mud. He is a businessman. He has never been a politician. But it seems that makes him fair game.
As expected, the backlash from the Malay community forced the PM to explain that he was not out to “destroy” the business empire of billionaire Syed Mokhtar who controls Malaysia’s sole rice importer.
Malay Mail reported that Anwar had said he knew Syed Mokhtar personally and the latter had expressed a willingness to allocate RM10 million funds this year and RM50 million next year for cash-strapped paddy farmers.
The report also said Anwar was bewildered by the portrayal that he was shaking down Syed Mokhtar and targeting other Malay-owned conglomerates.
Perhaps the PM wanted to take a swipe at his predecessors, PM4 Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PM6 Najib of whom, Anwar alleged, Syed Mokhtar was a crony.
It is puzzling why the PM chose to make such an announcement when he said the matter had been settled in a private conversation. It would have been issued as a media statement. At this stage in the game when he has been made PM10, does he still need to score brownie points?
Casting aspersions about an individual and using trial by media to damage a person's reputation is beneath the office of the Prime Minister.
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