For 13 long years, Dr M lied to M'sians and the world to keep Anwar at bay

No singular event has defined Malaysia more than the still on-going battle between Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad. Their feud has shaped the country's political landscape since 1998. It has fueled the vilest form of character assassination, total degradation of the judiciary, the compromising of the integrity of the police force and the subjugation of the media to the ruling government. And the effects of this feud will continue to determine the course of the nation for many years to come.
Till now, the seed of the feud is shrouded in mystery. By the mid-1990s, it had become clear that the most serious threat to Mahathir's power was the strong leadership calibre of his then deputy. Perhaps sensing it, Anwar began to distance himself from Mahathir, overtly promoting his superior religious credentials and appearing to suggest he favoured loosening the restrictions on civil liberties that had become a hallmark of Mahathir's premiership.

However, Mahathir continued to back Anwar as his successor until their relationship collapsed dramatically during the Asian financial crisis. At the UMNO General Assembly in 1998, a leading Anwar supporter, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, criticised the government for not doing enough to combat corruption and cronyism. The reaction was subtle but the ripple effects were powerful.
Began taking a greater interest in matters economic
Mahathir began to take more interest in Malaysia's economic policy and Anwar found himself increasingly sidelined. On 2 September, he was dismissed as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, and promptly expelled from UMNO. No immediate reasons were given for the dismissal, although the media speculated that it related to lurid allegations of sexual misconduct circulated in a "poison pen letter" at the '98 general assembly.
As more nasty allegations surfaced, Anwar's supporters countered with massive street rallies that made it clear whom Malaysians preferred to lead them. It was no surprise that on 20 September, Anwar was arrested and placed in detention under the Internal Security Act. Again, no clear reason was given for Anwar’s dismissal, yet we are made to believe that it was due to sexual misconduct claims during the general assembly and this came from the media, a media we all know is controlled by the top UMNO leadership.
This was the time the book 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM ("50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister") was circulated containing graphic allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar. The book was written by Khalid Jafri, an ex-editor of the government-controlled newspaper Utusan Malaysia and former editor-in-chief of a failed magazine,Harian National.
Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book and filed a lawsuit against the author for defamation. Police charged the author of the book with malicious publishing of false news. Among the allegations in the book was that Anwar is homosexual. The police were then instructed by Mahathir to investigate the veracity of the claims of the book.
It is ironic, that though the author was charged with publishing false news, the claims of the book were investigated as if they were true. Yet, investigations were carried out and this led to the most sordid court case known as the Sodomy I of 1998, which spawned a sequel in 2008 - Sodomy II.
None of the above could have happened without Mahathir's knowledge. And indeed, to some extent he is responsible for allowing matters to come to such a head that it split their UMNO party and the Malay community into two, causing unrest in the country.
It is also interesting to note that the initial spark seems to have been the way Anwar - as Finance minister - dealt with the financial crisis overtaking the country.
Control vs liberalization
Anwar had during the 1997 Asian financial crisis supported the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Ban plan for economic recovery. He also instituted an austerity package that cut government spending by 18%, slashed ministerial salaries and deferred major projects. "Mega projects", despite being a cornerstone of Mahathir's development strategy, were greatly curtailed.
Although many Malaysian companies faced bankruptcy, Anwar declared: "There is no question of any bailout. The banks will be allowed to protect themselves and the government will not interfere." Anwar advocated a free-market approach to the crisis, including foreign investment and trade liberalisation.
Mahathir on the other hand blamed currency speculators like George Soros and supported currency controls and tighter regulation of foreign investment. It was obvious that he was none too happy when in 1998, Newsweek magazine named Anwar the "Asian of the Year". It was a slap in the face for Mahathir, who fancied himself an all-seeing, far-sighted and benevolent leader.
Later that year, matters between Anwar and Mahathir came to a head around the time of the quadrennial UMNO General Assembly. The Youth wing of UMNO, headed by Anwar's associate Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, gave notice that it would initiate a debate on "cronyism and nepotism".
Mahathir retaliated, sacked Anwar and proclaimed his deputy an “agent of the west”. He darkly warned that Anwar would bring about the down-fall of Malaysia if the IMF was brought into the picture. The obvious bone of contention between the 2 men was that Mahathir preferred a controlled economy whilst Anwar was in favour of liberalisation.
Living a lie for the past 13 years
Over the years, 13 to be precise, Mahathir has been living under false praise, which he himself has not hesitated to trumpet - that by refusing IMF help, Malaysia had traversed the financial crisis of 1998 better than those that had received the aid.
Sad to say, it is this false notion that is set to burst - pricked by the revelation from PKR that Mahathir did indeed get monetary aid from IMF after sacking Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.
If true, it would show Mahathir up as the ultimate hypocrite while reflecting on the good manners of the IMF board, and even George Soros, in not wishing to publicly embarrass him, although Mahathir himself did not once hesitate to hit out at them.
World Bank documents revealed by PKR earlier this week showed showed that after sacking Anwar, the Mahathir administration took heed of Anwar’s plan. Mahathir did an about-turn and secretly obtained monetary assistance from the very organisation it had earlier demonised.
And this poses the question, who is the liar, or bigger liar in this matter? Have Malaysians been taken for a ride all along by UMNO and Mahathir? Have we all been brain-washed to believe that an UMNO-BN government had our interest at heart when it went around demonizing the opposition?
Until, Mahathir can produce documented evidence to the contrary, we can only rely on information that comes directly from the World Bank website, and this shows that Mahathir did borrow the funds, although he refused to admit it and in fact went around telling the world that he turned Malaysia around without using a sen from "foreign agents".
The latest to come out from Mahathir is that the loan was taken by Anwar when he was Finance minister. Then why sack him and still use the loan. If the loan was useful to Malaysia, Anwar should have rewarded and parised. But no, Anwar demonized and jaiiled.
At 86, it looks like Mahathir has a lot of reconciling to do. Perhaps it may be too late, as he could have long ago, say in 1998, told one lie too many to deserve forgiveness - both divine and from his countrymen to whom he has lied to for 13 long years!

Malaysia Chronicle