"DPM"Sued by Anwar?

According to Malaysiakini....Foreign Minister Anifah Aman will not back down in the face of a RM100 Million suit filed against him yesterday by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim over an undiplomatic flap on his first official outing abroad.This is the message that is going out from the man himself to his army of supporters in the kampungs especially among his extended Dusun family along the west coast of Sabah.

They worry about the foreign minister throwing caution to the winds in matters of diplomacy and note that his critics have already questioned his credentials for the job and are mercilessly crucifying him in blogosphere.Many simple folks in the kampung also worry that “Anifah wouldn’t have the RM100 million to pay Anwar if he loses”.

Anwar meanwhile confirmed in a text message to Malaysiakini that he was suing Anifah both in his personal capacity and as the foreign minister.In addition, Anwar is also suing the government in connection with the allegedly libelous statements uttered by Anifah in Washington on May 16 against him.

“Effectively, it is suing two parties, Anifah and Kerajaan Malaysia,” he explained.“Suing (him) in his own name (only) means he has to pay a private lawyer (and fellow Sabahan) Gani (attorney-general Gani Patail) cannot defend him.”

Has he played into Anwar’s hands?

Cynics may be excused if they wonder at this juncture whether it’s ‘payback time’ after Anifah had reportedly given every indication that he would ditch the ruling BN for the opposition alliance but turned tail at the last moment before the Sept 16 deadline last year.

Anifah had allegedly uttered the libelous remarks against Anwar at a joint press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"I was personally offered a very lucrative position, like a deputy prime ministership. These facts are not known to the world at large," Anifah reportedly told the Washington press conference.

To add insult to injury, to quote from Anwar’s briefing to party members, “he has stubbornly refused to apologise for his mistake”.

The thrust of Anwar’s denials is that he never offered something like the post of deputy prime minister in a federal government helmed by him.

Anwar dismisses Anifah’s claim as a poor joke since “the man himself is obviously not qualified”.

Along the political grapevine in Sabah, the story is that Anifah had been expected to lead several MPs to crossover to Pakatan Rakyat and would have been rewarded with a senior position in the federal cabinet when the opposition seizes the reins of power in Putrajaya.

“Many people have taken on Anifah in the past and lost but not in the courts,” says a senior journalist with the New Sabah Times, which is run by the Aman family, whose head is Musa, the state’s chief minister and Anifah’s elder brother.

“This is one guy who kicks up helluva fuss when something or someone gets in his way. At the same time, he has a strong sense of entitlement.”

The senior journalist who is no fan of Anifah points out that when former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi offered him the deputy transport minister’s post, “he really felt insulted and told the PM what he could do with his offer”.

The happy ending came when newly-appointed Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak invited him to be foreign minister.

Political observers are not impressed generally with Anifah’s handling of the press.

Quite a number are not surprised that Anifah was trapped by the American and international press into making the anti-Anwar and pro-Najib statements for which he has now been faulted.

Questions abound in the local press in the wake of Anifah’s anti-Anwar tirade in Washington and his spirited defence of the Najib administration is how much a politician really worth in ringgit and sen?

However, one former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad apologist from Sarawak, a senior journalist who is now in media advisory and consultancy work, has this to say: “Anwar has mastered the art of suing for RM100 million. He also did the same thing to Chandra Muzaffar (former PKR deputy president) and Mahathir to create the public perception that he’s the aggrieved party.”

RM1 million shocker from Anifah

Anifah himself is no stranger to controversy. When he was helming the Sabah Football Association (Safa) some years ago, he shocked reporters at a press conference by disclosing that he made his first million by the time he was 21 years old.

This made the day for the press who had their readers chuckling for years thereafter over the remark whenever Sabah football and politicians were mentioned in the same breath.

The local press, subsequently joined by the national papers, had been very critical of the way Anifah had been handling Safa. Obviously, he thought that his one million ringgit shocker would make them realise that he was made of the right stuff in leadership, management and marketing skills.He did not disclose however how he made his first million.
source:Malaysiakini.

PUTT FOR CHANGE says........
Anifah's high flying days and smoking expensive Cuban cigars maybe be over in a blink of an eye if the suit brought against him by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim ever reaches the court.We've learned that his 3 Cuban cigars a day,can actually feed a poor man's family for a month.

It seems that sensational political outburst to ridicule others just to gain popularity is the norm of the day. Politicians in today's time and age have conveniently lost sight of the fact that Malaysia,makes up of 27 million people and not 222 so called "intellectuals" i.e. the MPs. When a man assumes a public trust,he should consider himself public property.The question is,was Anifah trying to tell the world that he is of Prime Minister quality and was thus felt insulted by the "alleged offer"of Deputy Prime Minister's post from Anwar? Can any MP from Sabah verify Anifah's claim? Perhaps Dato'Seri Najib,should be extra careful with Anifah.

Politics has proven that it's all about making deals.The very fact that Anifah is Foreign Minister,was probably also a 'trade-off'. President Ronald Reegan said it better..."It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession.I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first".Having understood this quote,I won't even trust a rogue politician to babysit my terrier..If the trees,the leaves,the grass and the birds on a golf course could speak and bear witness,half the politicians,their proxies,lobbyist and civil servants would be in jail today.

Anifah,as Foreign Minister, should put priority and seriously once and for all address the illegal immigrants problem in Sabah.If at all and whenever Sabahans see the light of day when the problem is resolved,then Anifah will go down in history as a "true leader and statesman". It's a real shame that his own brother,Musa Aman who is currently the Chief Minister of Sabah, has not even come close to resolving the magnitude of this problem.

The Malaysian people can quantify the difference between shoe polishing for political master's then having the merits and quality of a Deputy Prime Minister. Political deals being political deals,surely if at all such "alleged deal" was offered, Anifah would never by a mile be in the equation.

Another mind boggling question is,why are opposition leaders in Sabah, those from Sabah PKR especially, so silent and are not coming out in Anwar's defense? Have they lost their ability to speak up for a man that put his life on the line for them and effected significant changes in the country?Or is there some truth in a rumor that's spreading like wild fire of a new political party being formed by a senior Sabah PKR leader? In the name of the people,we hope it remains a rumor.