TALES FROM THE EAST: KING OF FROG

By : RAJA PETRA KAMARUDDIN

LAJIM can’t be made the Chief Minister of Sabah and certainly not one of the three Deputy Prime Ministers. And this is not because those posts have been promised to others, although that is one reason, but because he is carrying too much baggage. And this baggage is going to be revealed immediately after Nomination Day of GE13.

Hence it is better that Malaysia Today reveals it now, before others do. Then I can gloat and tell you ‘I told you so’, like I always do.

Actually, the reason why Lajim resigned from all his posts in Umno (but not as an Umno member) is because of a scandal that was about to explode. Hence he no longer has any future in Umno, especially as a candidate in the coming general election. And this scandal involves someone I will call Mr. W.

Back in 2007, just before the 2008 General Election, Lajim had promised Mr. W a RM50 million contract to build an Islamic college in Beaufort. But he wanted Mr. W. to pay the commission up-front, supposedly as election funds for GE12.

 

Over the last five years since 2007, Mr W. has paid Lajim a total of RM8 million. However, Mr. W. never got the project. What Mr. W. received instead was 55 undated cheques totalling RM3 million. But all these cheques are worthless and Mr. W. is hopping mad and now realises he is not going to get the project, nor his money back.

Chief Minister Musa Aman knows about this scandal and because of that Lajim has to be dropped as a candidate in the coming general election. Realising that his future is no longer bright, Lajim woke up one morning and decided to join the opposition to fight for reforms.

Isn’t it uncanny that Barisan Nasional politicians who no longer have a future in the ruling party suddenly wake up and have visions of joining the opposition to fight for reforms? It makes one wonder why they never had these visions when they were making tons of money in Barisan Nasional.

Now, while Lajim’s financial backer, a Bruneian who migrated to Sabah, is known as Mr. W., Lajim is known as Mr. J. And Mr. J. stands for ‘Mister Jackpot’.  Mr. W. and Mr. J., in fact, go way back, back to the days when Lajim was still in Usno. And Mr. W. has been funding Lajim’s political career all this while. But Lajim suffers from a serious addiction. And this addiction is gambling (so much for Lajim’s Islamic credentials).

Mr. W. has had to bail Lajim out of trouble more than once. There was one occasion when Lajim owed an Ah Long (loan shark) RM800,000 and he had to pawn two solid-gold Rolex watches to cover his debts.

To add insult to injury, the so-called RM50 million Islamic college project does not exist. It is all a scam. And Mr. W. no longer wants to fund Lajim (that is why Lajim is looking for a new financier -- guess who).

In fact, Mr. W. wants his money back and if he does not get it he is going to go public on this. And because of that Umno can no longer retain Lajim in the coming general election. And because of that, also, Lajim has suddenly ‘woken up’ and is joining the opposition to fight for reforms – justice, transparency, accountability, good governance, an end to corruption and abuse of power, and all that shit.

No, I am not going to repeat that since 2008 I have asked Pakatan Rakyat to ensure that they field quality/clean candidates in the next general election. Let them field the likes of Lajim and let’s see Pakatan Rakyat get whacked in East Malaysia. East Malaysia holds the key to Putrajaya and unless you win in Sabah and Sarawak you are not going to march into Putrajaya.

So, having Lajim and those of his ilk as your partners will only ensure that Barisan Nasional will remain in power. Then, the day after Polling Day, I can, with glee, write my ‘I told you so’ article.

Anwar, Anwar…apa ni? I know you want to become Prime Minister. But this type of thing is only going to make your dream become our nightmare. As the Malays would say: why would we want to reject penyamum and vote for lanun? We said we want CHANGE, meaning change for the better, not change for the worse.

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