Another costly Najib bungle: Using 'Datuk Fix-it' as the NFC scapegoat for the Shahrizats

Charging Shamsubahrin Ismail, also known as 'Datuk Fix-it', with cheating Salleh Ismail, the boss of the NFC and who also happens to be the husband of Umno minister Shahrizat Jalil, is an insult to our intelligence.
Especially when the amount of consultation fees Shamsuharin allegedly cheated is RM1.76 million versus the size of the huge RM250 million government soft loan that Salleh and children purportedly misappropriated.
It is in the failed implementation of the NFC cattle livestock project that has angered Malaysians and which they are demanding that the police investigate thoroughly. Not a politically whipped-out and rather dubious personality to deflect attention. Really, Shahrizat should know better but it looks like she is unable to learn her lesson or perhaps, there is simply no way out for her to redeem herself other than by being truthful and honorable and resigning her positions immediately - which obviously, she is loathe to do.

Salleh and his entire family including those who awarded the project to them have been accused of big-time corruption and not the one who has been accused of cheating him. This is a case of action taken against the wrong party.
Therefore it is not surprising that Shamsubahrin was smiling all the way to the police station, then to the court, where Malaysians can expect he will spend a short stint in jail. Eventually, he can be expected to make his way to the bank to collect his reward.

Najib part and parcel of the conspiracy to deflect attention
How can Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the UMNO president, think that the rakyat are so stupid! Has Najib gone senile? Maybe he has, because he is facing too much pressure from within and outside UMNO, but this is still no excuse not to give the right instruction to the MACC and the police.
The most logical reason for this 'sandiwara' or shadow-play is to give Shahrizat a fresh lifeline because the NFC case is complicated and Umno leaders struggling for power are jumping on the bandwagon to use it to their advantage. To the ruthless Umno warlords, it may be a bad thing to happen to Shahrizat, but it sure is something good for the likes of Raja Nong Chik, who allegedly was given the green light by Najib to challenge Shahrizat for the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat, currently held by PKR vice president Nurul Izzah, the daughter of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Another Umno power-broker Mahathir Mohamad can use it to bring down Najib but it could also destroy their party in the process. Najib can also use the NFC episode to teach others not to challenge him. He can indeed wield his power and disprove all his critics that he is being pulled by the nose by his wife Rosmah Mansor by insisting on exposing the NFC scandal. But sad to say, more likely than not, Najib and Umno are now trying to buy some time to execute other strategies so as to put distance between the corruption scandal and themselves before the 13th general election is called.
As for the public, they are already grousing at the ploy by Najib to try to divert their attention away from the real issues at stake; the reckless use of public money by the Shahrizat family to buy luxurious property and assets not related to beef farming at all. No matter what, Pakatan Rayat  will use this as its weapon against Umno and more dark deeds will be revealed as this debacle simmers, like the Scorpene-Altantuya murder and kickbacks scandal, due to Umno's refusal to take responsibility and allowing the perpetrators to get away with it.

Members helpless as the elite go on rampage to grab power
Unfortunately, while it is only the elite leadership who are often guilty of such massive graft and abuse of power, Umno members will just sit back and watch what their leaders will do. They may even forget about the whole thing, and allow it to be swept under the carpet like all other scandals of the past.
Some party watchers however believe that this time around, not all the Umno leaders will agree to stand by and allow the top leadership to hush it up. Most are expected to tap into the issue for their advancement, emulating their top leaders and why not? They have got nothing to lose!
So since so many in Umno are seeing the Shahrizat NFC debacle as a way out for a better prospects, Najib's efforts to use Shamsubahrin as a scapegoat for the Shahrizats to resolve the damning allegations against them will only delay the final consequences. The infighting in Umno cannot be stopped anymore since it began a while ago and has been slowly but steadily building up. Backstabbing and scheming have also become a culture in Umno and distrust already pervades this party, the largest in Malaysia so far.
Indeed, the infighting and power struggle have become more intense as the 13th General Election gets closer. Events continue to stay fluid, while alliances change at the blink of an eye. Thus charging Shamsubahrin is just a silly effort to divert the public’s attention, reflecting the huge pressure and desperation Najib is facing now; Najib does not know what to do with Shahrizat and her scandal has a lot of weight on the GE-13 - from the way voters perceive his leadership and Umno's right down to the list of 'winnable' candidates he wishes to field to bolster his own grip on power.
The repercussions are really scary for those who in the know in Umno. NFC may not be the final tombstone for Umno but it sure will figure as one of the main factors that contributed to the demise of this once flourishing but now decadent and corrupt party.

Malaysia Chronicle