COMMENT By CHANDRA MUZAFFAR
The forces that shape Washington’s attitude towards Malaysian politics and political leaders may have a hidden agenda.
IN
his widely read blog (Feb 13, 2012), the former
Prime Minister of
Malaysia,
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, criticises the politics of regime
change pursued by the
United States of America.
He is concerned
that Malaysia may also be a target for regime change. And the US
candidate to head the new regime which will be in full, complete support
of US policies, he says, is none other than the Leader of the
Opposition, (Datuk Seri)
Anwar Ibrahim.
Why should the US
government seek regime change in Malaysia when the present Prime
Minister,
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, has sought to further strengthen
ties with Washington?
He has even employed a Washington-based
public relations firm, Apco, to boost Malaysia’s image in the US.
Najib’s personal relations with US
President Barack Obama are supposed
to be “excellent”.
And yet it is quite conceivable that the
forces that shape Washington’s attitude towards Malaysian politics and
political leaders may prefer Anwar to Najib for a number of reasons.
One,
while Najib may have some rapport with formal leaders and the formal
state, it is Anwar who has intimate links with the “deep state” in the
US system.
It is the deep state represented by powerful interests
such as the Zionist lobbies, the Christian Right, the bigwigs on Wall
Street, the oil barons, the arms merchants and the media Moghuls which
is in effective control.
To appreciate the distinction between
the two, one has to reflect on Obama’s Cairo speech on June 4, 2009,
which stated explicitly that “The United States does not accept the
legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements” but in reality the formal
leader has had to yield to the Zionists and the Christian Right who are
enthusiastic promoters of Zionist expansion at the expense of the
Palestinians.
Anwar’s entry into the deep state was through his
close friendship with
Paul Wolfowitz, the former US Deputy Secretary of
Defence and one of the staunchest champions of Zionist power.
It
was mainly because of Wolfowitz that Anwar became the first chairman of
the Foundation for the Future in 2005, an organisation established
ostensibly to promote democracy in West Asia and North Africa (WANA),
but whose real purpose is to perpetuate US-Israeli hegemony over the
region.
Even before this, in 1998, in the midst of the Asian
financial crisis, Anwar was espousing an IMF-type solution to the
nation’s economic woes, thus revealing his political orientation.
This
is why during his first two trials for abuse of power and sodomy
between 1998 and 2004 and during his recent trial for sodomy, the
mainstream Western media went out of its way to demand that the
Malaysian authorities acquit Anwar.
Wolfowitz and former US Vice-President, Al Gore even penned a joint opinion piece in the
Wall Street Journal on Aug 4, 2010, urging the US government to persuade the Malaysian Government to “ act with wisdom” in Anwar’s trial.
A day before he was acquitted, on Jan 8, 2012,
The Washington Post
in an editorial warned that “If the verdict fails that test (Malaysia’s
commitment to democracy and the rule of law), there should be
consequences for Mr Najib’s relations with Washington.”
This was
an undisguised, unabashed attempt by one of the media pillars of the
deep state to pressurise a sovereign nation to submit to its will.
Two, if Anwar is the darling of the deep state in the US, it is partly because of his stand on Israel. In an interview with
The Wall Street Journal on Jan 26, 2012, he reiterated his support for “all efforts to protect the security of the state of Israel”.
It
should be emphasised here that support for Israeli security – contrary
to what he is saying now – was not contingent on “Israel respecting the
aspirations of the Palestinians”.
In the interview, Israel’s
security stands by itself. It is diplomatic recognition of Israel that
Anwar links to Palestinian aspirations.
Placing Israel’s security
on a pedestal is the sort of gesture that the deep state and Zionists
the world over laud, especially if the advocate is a Muslim leader. For
Israel’s security has become the justification for all its policies of
occupation, annexation and aggression in the last 63 years.
Israel’s
security is the albatross around the neck of the dispossessed
Palestinians and other Arabs who have lost their land and dignity to the
occupying power.
It is obvious that by acknowledging the primacy
of Israeli security, Anwar was sending a clear message to the deep
state and to Tel Aviv and Washington – that he is someone that they
could trust.
In contrast, the Najib government, in spite of its
attempts to get closer to Washington, remains critical of Israeli
aggression and intransigence.
Najib has described the Israeli government as a “serial killer” and a “gangster”. This has incensed the deep state.
Anwar,
on the other hand, told Zionist friends in Washington two years ago
that he regretted using terms such as “Zionist aggression” (Jackson
Diehl “Flirting with zealotry in Malaysia”
The Washington Post, June 28, 2010).
Three,
Anwar is the choice of the deep state for another reason which in its
own reckoning is becoming almost as important as Israel. This is the
rise of China and what it means for US global hegemony.
Elements
within the deep state appear to have convinced Obama that China is a
threat to its neighbours and to the US’s dominant role in the
Asia-Pacific.
Establishing a military base in Darwin,
resurrecting the US’ military alliance with the Philippines, coaxing
Japan to play a more overt military role in the region, instigating
Vietnam to confront China over the Spratly islands, and encouraging
India to counterbalance Chinese power, are all part and parcel of the
larger US agenda of encircling and containing China.
In pursuing this agenda, the US wants reliable allies – not just friends – in Asia.
In
this regard, Malaysia is important because of its position as a
littoral state with sovereign rights over the Straits of Malacca, which
is one of China’s most critical supply routes that transports much of
the oil and other materials vital for its economic development.
Will
the containment of China lead to a situation where the hegemon
determined to perpetuate its dominant power seek to exercise control
over the Straits in order to curb China’s ascendancy?
Would a trusted ally in Kuala Lumpur facilitate such control?
The
current Malaysian leadership does not fit the bill. It has sustained
and deepened the bond of friendship between Malaysia and China through
increased bilateral trade and investments.
China is Malaysia’s biggest trading partner globally and Malaysia is China’s biggest trading partner within Asean.
China
is most appreciative of the fact that Malaysia under the late Tun Razak
was the first non-communist country in South-East Asia to establish
diplomatic relations with China in 1974.
When his son Najib became Prime Minister in April 2009, China was the first country outside Asean that he visited.
In
a number of regional and international forums, Malaysia has maintained
that China is not a threat to its neighbours and does not seek global
dominance.
These are views that do not accord with the deep
state’s bellicose stance towards China. It explains why the deep state
may be inclined towards regime change in Kuala Lumpur.
> Dr
Chandra Muzaffar is president of the International Movement for a Just
World (JUST) and Professor of Global Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
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