KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - A glib response from Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil that he agreed with a senior leader from Umno that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's propaganda unit J-Kom should be "overhauled" drew flak and opinions that the underperforming minister was trying to save himself by distancing from the latest fiasco - the so-called and sinister 'Dubai Move'.
"It's like rats abandoning a sinking ship. There's no way Fahmi and Anwar, for that matter, can try to escape responsibility because J-Kom is funded with public money and they have been caught so to speak using it to spread dubious propaganda that appears to be for their own political survival," an analyst told Politics Now!
"Head must roll and Fahmi cannot duck as he doesn't look like he can improve his performance. Even though Anwar regime 'inherited' J-Kom from the previous administration, they put in their own man very early on and look what it produced - the A&W same-sex scandal. Now this is actually much worse because political moves like Dubai Move can scare away investors who are already concerned about the worsening political stability in the country."
SHUT DOWN J-KOM, FAHMI SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
The Dubai Move is allegedly a plot to overthrow the government involving leaders from the main PN opposition bloc and even dragging in very senior and powerful veterans including two-time ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad and two-time former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.
J-Kom deputy director had over the weekend 'confirmed' the swirling speculation in Malaysia's overheated political arena that PN leaders and government backbenchers had met recently in the UAE's capital city to plot Anwar's ouster.
Opposition leaders have denied it as spin and manipulative information deliberately disseminated by J-Kom or the Community Communications Department, to create public sympathy for the ineffective Anwar.
SCARING AWAY INVESTORS
Apart from Umno, the key ally party that Anwar's wobbly government cannot afford to antagonize, PN leaders have also demanded that J-Kom be revamped or even dissolved.
According to Bersatu information chief Razali Idris, J-Kom served no purpose other than being a government propaganda tool. He wants the Dubai Move 'expose' by J-Kom to be investigated for raising 3R angst and sentiments (race, religion, and royalty), warning it could alienate investors, harm the country, and create public unrest.
“If this is how the government’s propaganda unit functions, then I think it would be fine if it doesn’t exist,” Malaysiakini reported Razali as saying.
Another opposition leader, Dominic Lau the president of Gerakan party, said overhauling J-Kom would do no good as the agency had allegedly “strayed from its original goal”.
“If J-Kom’s main function is to help PMX (Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim), it’s better to close it down and save taxpayers’ money,” said Dominic.
LET DAP MANAGE J-KOM
Pas, which is also part of the PN bloc, minced no words about the Anwar regime's incompetency, in particular pointing the finger to appointees from Anwar's PKR party, of which Fahmi is also a member.
According to its Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi, if J-Kom were to be retained then the role of its director-general should be filled by someone from DAP as only they understood the government’s agenda.
“If they want to keep J-Kom, I propose appointing (a member of) DAP as director-general, only then will all the government’s ‘real agenda’ be implemented,” said Afnan.
The PN-Pas opposition including Mahathir and another former premier Ismail Sabri have denied involvement in the Dubai Move.
“Many PN leaders were in the country. Only a few people went on holiday (overseas), so we do not know about this move at all,” said Bersatu's Razali.
RUSHING TO ECHO PUAD
Since the shock 'confirmation' about Dubai Move from J-Kom's deputy director-general Ismail Yusop, Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi has been among the first to call for the department’s overhaul - dismissing Ismail’s analysis of the situation as “shallow”.
Puad is former director of the Special Affairs Department, J-Kom’s predecessor. He was almost immediately echoed by Fahmi.
“Even before this issue came up, I wished to review J-Kom’s functions," Malaysiakini reported Fahmi as saying.
“Because it was too early still for me to make any announcements, but we have certainly seen that there needs to be an alignment of several functions and responsibilities in line with the wishes of the Madani government to be implemented by agencies, including J-Kom.”
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
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