Malaysian Post l Mariam Mokhtar - It takes a liar to know another liar. So good luck to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, if he has secured the services of Alastair Campbell, to help him plot his next moves, in the 13th general election. Campbell is as slippery as an ikan keli, and teeth as sharp as a barracuda. Anything he says should be taken with a pinch of salt.
After the recent furore about Malaya not being colonised, why is Najib taking orders from a “mat-salleh”?
Najib is deluded to think that a non-Malaysian can resolve Malaysia’s problems. It is only the Malaysians who have the power to find the solution to our many problems and we do not need help from outside.
Campbell’s services are not known to be cheap. How could Najib shamelessly use public money in a vain attempt to win votes and improve his international reputation?
Campbell must realise that Apco, CNBC and FBC all failed. In fact, Najib’s image plummeted when it was revealed that Najib had paid them millions of ringgits on futile PR drives to spruce up his image.
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim tried to reveal the direct connection between Najib and Apco but Parliament suspended him before he could do so. CNBC and FBC only stopped because their illegal broadcasting was made public and they were under investigation.
Najib’s latest move is borne of desperation. He will cheat at the polls with his rigged postal votes and with non-citizens given voting rights. But he wants no loose ends and that is where Campbell enters the scene.
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev won a crushing election victory in April, and it was alleged that Campbell had provided “consultancy services”. Kazakhstan is also known for its abuse of human rights.
Exchange of tactics
Perhaps, Najib feels more assured after the exchange of tactics during the marriage of his daughter, Nooryana, to the president’s nephew, Daniyar Nazarbayev.
Nazarbayev has ruled for over 20 years but international election observers said that the elections did not meet international democratic standards.
In addition, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) complained about the lack of transparency, competition and media freedom and said that “reforms necessary for holding genuine democratic elections have yet to materialise”.
Meanwhile, the Kazakhstan opposition claimed that they did not have sufficient time to prepare for the election and one human rights leader, who is also a former Senate member, said: “We have not had fair elections in 20 years.”
All of which sounds very familiar and could easily be a description of Malaysia.
With the 13th general election looming, Dr Mahathir Mohamad is plotting behind the scenes and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin openly maligns Najib’s every move. Najib is a lonely figure and in dire need of someone who can help him secure enough votes for a Barisan Nasional win. But Campbell?
Campbell, who was once former British premier, Tony Blair’s communications chief, has been described as Blair’s right-hand man, the other half of his brain, his trusted friend, ally and protector.
Najib’s obsession with spin and image is his own undoing. He thinks Campbell is the man for the job only because Campbell made sure the message of new Labour was received by the British public.
Dodgy character
Campbell delivered Labour and Blair two landslide victories despite Blair’s administration fabricating so many lies and failing to deliver many of the promised reforms.
But Campbell is as dodgy a character as his “dodgy dossier” in which he was prepared to lie for his master, Blair.
When challenged, he denied that he had sexed up the writing of the September 2002 dossier, to make the case for Britain to go to war with Iraq.
He was also responsible for the February 2003 (“dodgy”) dossier which plagiarised parts of a thesis written by an Iraqi PhD student. He avoided criticism by blaming it on his subordinates.
When the Queen Mother died, there was friction between Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street because Campbell wanted Blair to play a more prominent rolé in her funeral.
Campbell’s critics claim that his methods are questionable, that he is aggressive and uses “strong language”.
His supporters say that Campbell is talented, is loyal and has a slave-like devotion to the Labour cause. They describe his work as being similar to the creative director in advertising, who has been tasked with selling a brand or product.
So will Campbell relish the challenge of selling Najib, whom Malaysians consider a tainted piece of goods, as a marketable brand?
‘Deranged, vindictive’
Naturally, Campbell denied via twitter, that he had anything to do with Najib and that it must have been his double that was spotted in Kuala Lumpur.
But Campbell cannot be trusted and many who exchanged words with him in the past, have alleged that he is both a bully and a liar. Greg Dyke, the sacked BBC director-general, described him as “deranged, vindictive and out-of-control”.
What will the working relationship of Najib and Campbell be like? Campbell did not think twice about contradicting Blair in public and he relished mocking the mannerisms of individual journalists.
More importantly, how will the self-styled “First Lady”, Rosmah Mansor, take to Campbell?
In his book, Adam Boulton described Campbell as the second most powerful man in Britain. Will Campbell be the second most powerful person in Malaysia?
Cherie Blair forsook her friend Carol Caplin who advised her on her hair and clothes. Campbell objected to their friendship and told a tearful Cherie: “Cherie, listen to me, I’m a journalist. I’ve got a nose for these things. That woman is trouble.”
A conman will never allow another person to have any influence over his “mark”.
Would Rosmah take orders from Campbell and be told whom she could befriend?
Perhaps we should look forward to another instalment of Campbell’s diaries, this time detailing the Najib premiership and what happens in Malaysia’s “First household”.
Campbell’s published diaries described the first two years of Blair’s premiership; he wrote about Cherie wearing a pendant to “ward off evil spirits”.
What will Campbell write about Rosmah? Will he mention her alleged visits to bomohs?
Campbell revealed how Blair would consult the Bible before making key decisions and in 1998, prior to ordering the bombing raid on Iraq, read a passage about John the Baptist.
Would Campbell tell us that perhaps, Najib would read chapters from the Quran before ordering the police to attack peaceful demonstrators with water cannons, batons and tear gas?
Malaysians do not need Campbell to tell them what to do. They know what to do if they are displeased with the current administration.
Campbell’s true character and methods of operation have been well documented. Let’s just wait for the exposé of the soiled linen from the Najib household and administration.
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