KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak remains coy on his willingness to work with opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the future.
Najib was aligned with Anwar in 1993, when both men were rising stars in Umno under Team Wawasan.
Now, the Pekan MP neither confirms nor dismisses the notion that cooperation between the two could be reignited once more.
“Well, you know the dictum in politics, saying there are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies. I think that’s true, and that speaks for the other side as well,” Najib told The Vibes in an exclusive interview recently.
“You are asking me, but who could have imagined (Tun) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) and Anwar being in an alliance. That was something you couldn’t imagine, and Dr Mahathir receiving DAP in the government.
“That would be unimaginable. So, if you talk about shifting alliances, that is the ultimate.
When somebody like Dr Mahathir and Anwar, and Dr Mahathir and DAP, tries to cobble together a particular alliance, that shows the ultimate in terms of shifting alliances. Friends becoming foes, and foes becoming friends. Unfortunately, they don’t last long.”
While politicians in general must seize opportunities, he said, one should not be too opportunistic, as political stability can be achieved only if the relationship is enduring, with trust as its basis.
“You have to trust one another. If you have trust, the relationship will endure.”
Team Wawasan, led by Anwar, also counted Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former Selangor menteri besar Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib and former Melaka chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik among its members.
With the blessing of Dr Mahathir then, the team was successful in its party campaign, with Anwar taking the deputy presidency uncontested following the withdrawal of the late Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba.
Muhyiddin, Najib and Muhammad, better known as Mat Tyson, won the Umno vice-presidents’ posts.
Despite the formidable line-up and “tough to defeat” status, Umno’s 1996 polls were lacklustre, with only Najib and Anwar retaining their posts.
Muhyiddin suffered a crushing defeat, failing to defend his vice-president’s post, while Rahim lost to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, currently the Umno president, in the vote for Youth chief.
Save for Mat Tyson and Rahim, who have remained in the political wilderness since, Najib, Muhyiddin, Anwar and Dr Mahathir continued to shape Malaysia’s politics, facing one another in the battle for the prime ministership.
Pressed on whether he trusts Anwar enough to form a political alliance, Najib said everyone has to look at possibilities and options.
I want somebody who thinks for the nation. I don’t look at individuals. I want to see what your agenda for the nation is, and whether we can work together with anyone for the sake of the country. Everything is about the country and the people, and that we must put ahead of other things.”
Asked about possible tie-ups, the former Umno president said the party has to keep its options open in the new political milieu.
“I always thought that somewhere along the line, sooner or later, a general election would be the best solution for the country. Let the people decide.
“When you have a government that doesn’t seem to have an outright strong majority, a stable government, some countries have elections almost every year to solve their political impasse.
So, I am basically a great believer that the mandate has to be given to the people. If elections are not possible, then we have to get other options. The whole objective is to ensure good governance, and to ensure the country is moving in the right direction.”
Reflecting on his tenure as prime minister, Najib said he had no choice but to sack Muhyiddin as deputy prime minister in July 2015, and then as Umno second-in-command in June 2016.
“At that time, I believed that the duty of the deputy PM is to be supportive of the PM, even during difficult times and (when faced with) complex issues.
You turn to your deputy for support. Anyone would, in any administration. Unfortunately, he conspired with Dr Mahathir, and I had no choice. You’ve got to have a deputy you can rely on, and when he did the things he did, they were quite open about it. I had no choice. He gave me no choice.”
On his current alliance with the Perikatan Nasional government, Najib said following Dr Mahathir’s resignation as prime minister, Muhyiddin deserved to be given a chance as he is older than Najib himself, and to gauge his performance in the top job.
“So I said, look, you know, put the nation first. What has happened, happened. Let bygones be bygones. Let’s move forward. That was my attitude.”
He denied that the alliance is one of convenience and a political play.
“No, it was not self-interest, but a lot of people felt they needed a change, the country needed a change, and being a party man, I am loyal to the party, and that was the party’s decision. So, I went along with the party. That has always been the case. I am a true party man.”
He trained his guns on Pakatan Harapan over its 22 months in Putrajaya.
“I think the rakyat basically rejected the PH government. I think the seven (by-election) victories, with an overwhelming, increasing majority for Barisan Nasional, speak for themselves very clearly.
There is not a single thing, if I were to ask you what is the single biggest thing they have done that the country can be proud of. When I asked this question to a lot of people, I don’t think I got any answer. You get monumental silence. So, what does that say? It says that basically, they failed.
“They failed in terms of honouring their promises to the people. I think this is fundamental and sacred in a democracy, because you say, I promise you I will do this if you vote for me.
“And then, people voted for them. What did they do? They said no, it is not a Bible, so they can renege on their promises. It doesn’t matter. They just dismissed it nonchalantly.
“That, to me, is immoral. To me, that’s not right. You have to apologise to the people that you didn’t do it, and you lied to the people. Basically, they lied to the people. I do not want to mince my words. They lied to the people. And for that reason, history will judge them.” – The Vibes, May 16, 2021
