A few days ago, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned that any minister who attacked fellow colleagues in the unity government would be asked to leave the government.
That same evening, Tok Mat responded by saying that although he had not attacked any of his colleagues, if Anwar asked him to resign, he would do so.
What Tok Mat did reminded me of a scene in *The Godfather*, where the heads of the Five Families gather for a sit-down. During that meeting, Barzini speaks, and by speaking, he makes Don Corleone realise that it was Barzini—not Philip Tattaglia—who was really behind the attack on the Corleone family.
So why did Tok Mat have to throw down the gauntlet against Anwar like that?
The answer is that there was no strategic requirement for him to do so. No one—or at least not many people—had linked Anwar's warning to Tok Mat.
Tok Mat likely spoke out even though he didn't have to, for the same reason Barzini spoke even though he didn't have to.
Barzini spoke because he got carried away. After months, perhaps years, of plotting to bring down the Corleone family, seeing how weak Don Corleone had become, Barzini could no longer contain his ambition to become the head of the Five Families. He counted his chickens before they hatched and began acting like the boss before he had actually become the boss.
Tok Mat may have done something similar by revealing his hand.
If that is the case, then both Tok Mat and—if my reading is correct—Khairy Jamaluddin, whom I believe to be his right-hand man, will soon find themselves in the firing line, not only from Anwar and Pakatan Harapan, but also from Zahid Hamidi and his faction within Umno.
Anwar and PH have already begun their attack by deploying Perak DAP vice-chairman Aziz Bari, who criticised Tok Mat for being too "brazen" and suggested that he learn how to behave from Umno president Zahid Hamidi.
Aziz Bari is the ideal person to launch the first strike. He is prominent enough that Tok Mat cannot simply ignore him, yet not so senior that responding directly would elevate Aziz while diminishing Tok Mat's own stature.
If Tok Mat chooses to respond, he will likely have to send someone from his own camp to do it. But anyone who steps forward will immediately identify themselves as belonging to Tok Mat's faction, making them targets for counterattacks from both Zahid's camp and Anwar's allies.
On the other hand, if nobody comes to Tok Mat's defence, he risks appearing isolated, with no one willing to publicly stand by him.
Did Tok Mat make a mistake by throwing down the gauntlet against Anwar too soon?
I don't think so.
Even if it was a mistake, it was not a major one. I believe that whatever Tok Mat—and, I suspect, Khairy—have been cooking up would have become apparent after the Negeri Sembilan election anyway.
The fact that Tok Mat revealed himself a week and a half before polling day probably does not change the bigger picture very much.
Anyway, let's see what Tok Mat is really made of.
We already know he can plan, plot and scheme.
But can he fight?
As Mike Tyson famously said, **"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face."**
Well, Tok Mat is about to get punched in the face.
When that happens, all his plans will count for very little.
The only things that will matter then are his backbone and his cojones.
Let's see whether he has them.
Let's see how the cookie crumbles.
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