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Focus Malaysia
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Focus Malaysia
Arrest of Chegubard for flogging PMX effigy during ‘Turun Anwar' demo: Is PMX too thin-skinned?
IT IS often said that the main pre-requisite to a career in politics is an extra, thick hide. Expect all manner of criticism, insults and brickbats the more populist and high profile one gets. In a functioning democracy, such is the perils of the occupation which is par for the course. Apparently not as Bersatu activist and political influencer Badrul Hisham Shaharin a.k.a. Chegubard, found out to his detriment when he was arrested for an action he meted out during the Turun Anwar rally on July 26. His crime? For daring to administer a caning to an effigy that resembled Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. By all accounts, the rally took place without incident apart from contested accounts of littering. And this little piece of political theatre that is common in street protests. Has PMX become a touch too sensitive with such actions leading to a knock on the door from the cops? Quite a number of citizens seem to think so. Chegubard seemed to have found an ally in former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who did not hold back in his criticism in a Facebook post. PMX was reminded that his own supporters had been guilty of similar actions in the past when they burned books by his nemesis Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Moreover, mages of Datuk Seri Najib Razak were also defaced and damaged by the same Reformasi supporters in later rallies and protest movements. The opposition-slant UMNO member further pointed out that NO punitive action was taken back then. Yet, Anwar who is championing democratic principles and a reformist agenda is now behaving like a 'Third World autocrat' who is 'thin-skinned, vindictive and insecure'. President of the Malaysian Advancement Party (MAP) Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy was also extremely critical of Chergubard's arrest which he described as an abuse of power aimed at silencing political dissent. While whipping PMX's effigy may be seemingly offensive, it is not an offence that warrants arrest, it was stressed. The HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force) founder also described the incident as a direct attack on the freedom of speech that PMX often touted. Given the oxygen of publicity that this arrest has generated, Chegubard has remained unrepentant and even told his interrogators the reason for his actions. The Port Dickson Bersatu division chief cheekily claimed that it was because he was unable to administer a whipping on PMX himself that he has to flog his effigy instead. 'If I could, I wouldn't need to whip the effigy,' quipped the 47-year-old agent provocateur. Mengapa Chegubard sebat patung Anwar ? Ini jawapannya…. — MYNEWSHUB (@mynewshub) July 29, 2025 Few things this episode highlights. In a way, Chegubard's arrest goes against the reformist agenda which swept PMX to power. That the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman is using various legislation such as the Sedition Act 1948 to silence detractors makes him look like a hypocrite. The apparent thinness of PMX hide will also be cause of some concern. Having withstood political pressures that included incarceration behind bars, it would have thought that the septuagenarian leader would be made of sterner stuff. Alas, this action against Chegubard proves otherwise. If anything, it has given the Turun Anwar rally added publicity when it was already fading into the background. – Aug 4, 2025
Malaysiakini
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
Can't expect better from this govt, Wan Saiful says on rally arrests
Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan expressed a lack of faith in the government after members of his party were arrested over the recent 'Turun Anwar' rally. 'I don't think we can expect any better from this government. 'This is a government that was cobbled together...
Borneo Post
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Borneo Post
A political move that backfired
The Parliament of Malaysia – the only place where an incumbent Prime Minister may legally be voted out of office. — Bernama photo MANY Malaysian politicians are being innovative for the wrong reason. In Peninsular Malaysia, for instance, within the past 10 years, they have made political moves in order to acquire power and authority fast by devising stratagems such as 'tebuk atap' (by punching a hole in the roof) or 'masuk pintu belakang' (back-door entry). To make their schemes look like being constitutional, they used the Statutory Declaration to influence the legislators. Legislators were made to swear on a piece of paper to support the appointment of the candidate for premiership, cocksure that the King would agree to their proposal without question. Another device On July 26 this year, a new device for toppling an elected government was tried out. Opposition politicians used a gathering of thousands of party supporters at one spot in Kuala Lumpur and regarded the size of the crowd, real or bloated manifolds, as the sole criterion with which to convince the public at large and, in particular the supporters of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, should step down as Prime Minister without delay. However, one glaring flaw of this version of a coup d'état was that the organisers were not able to name a member of Parliament as the PM-designate during the rally, or soon after. It did not look like they had agreed beforehand that one MP from their group would be their nominee for the post. It has been a week now since the 'Turun Anwar' rally was held. At the time of writing this article, there has been no inkling that the incumbent PM has planned to call a press conference during which he would announce his resignation. Then one is tempted to wonder if the rally of 500,000 participants (some estimates say only 18,000 at most), had really achieved what its organisers had planned. To me, it begins to look like that this stratagem of mob rule has been counter-productive or ineffective in terms of forcing the incumbent Prime Minister to throw in the towels. Anwar's opponents have made him a martyr! Political crisis? Seeing in the social media and hearing from friends in Kuala Lumpur about the political fights for hegemony among the Malay politicians, many people in Sarawak I talked to are concerned about the eruption of a political crisis, and consequentially, of the possible side-effects of the political rifts in the peninsula. Those Sarawakians supporting the Unity Government and acknowledging the leadership of PM Anwar as the Chief Executive of the Unity Government, have a stake in that government. Resignation of the Prime Minister may be followed by the resignations of the other members of his Cabinet. The prospects of a full-blown political crisis are real; such crisis at this juncture will do more harm than good to the Federation. The Sarawakians in the Cabinet, in the Senate and in Parliament (as ordinary back–benchers) are from a coalition of parties, which had enabled the formation of the Unity Government a couple of years ago. I don't think they would undo what they had helped build. Instead, I think they would like to continue serving under it until the end of its term. There is law governing the elections of legislators and the appointment of the Prime Minister. Why ignore all these? Should the Federal Government collapse consequent upon the loss of the majority of seats in Parliament, the parliamentarians from the coalition parties, including Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) would be in a real dilemma. Either they join the government formed by the Opposition MPs, or they turn themselves into Opposition. That would be awkward for Sarawakians. Either way, a political vacuum will be created, and that is a perfect recipe for a full-scale political problem, which we can do without. At the risk of repeating myself, I say that any political group aiming to rule this country via the public rallies to unseat the incumbent head of the government and using any scheme other than the process of elections carried out according to the relevant law, would deserve to be censored by all peace-loving people in this country. These Opposition politicians would have deserved some respectability had they done the decent thing: proposing the motion of 'No Confidence' in Anwar's leadership as the Prime Minister at the right venue: the Parliament. There, they can 'tear' him to pieces and pile heaps of the wrongdoings that the PM has allegedly done – or imagined to have done. Instead, they resorted to mass psychology now backfiring. The result: they have made Anwar a martyr! Watching all this from Borneo, it seems to me that the organisers of that rally in Kuala Lumpur did not respect the feelings of the other Malaysians, many in Peninsular Malaysia, and many more in the Borneo states. How or what they think, or how they feel about the possibility of a serious political crisis, does not seem to matter to the rally organisers. To me, such attitude is un-Malaysian! One thing that the July 26 rally organisers should have anticipated was that the supporters of the Prime Minister could also organise rallies of their own, saying: 'What they can do, we can do better!' They have the means with which to reach their supporters and the public for support by exerting influence on the main official mass media and their cyber-troopers are ready to do battle. In terms of psychological warfare, during the Communist insurgency in Malaya, the governing authorities were always in a better position than that of the guerrillas. Our rally organisers ought to learn from history. Smart, the Anwar supporters have not resorted to holding rallies of their own. No need for these. The opponents of your Boss have made him a martyr! Do they not realise that the other Malaysians in the Boneo states are watching the intense politicking there with a growing concern? I note that this political rivalry in the early days of Malaysia and now, after so many years in Malaysia, the rivalry is still as intense as it was 60 years ago. What's happening, and why? The intense competition for political hegemony in Peninsular Malaysia does not bode well for the Malaysians in the Borneo states. Please stop me from elaborating. Before I finish this, I saw something disgusting on social media: the scene of an image that resembled Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, being flogged in public! I think that any group of politicians aspiring to rule the Federation in the future and using this method of punishment, can forget about looking at Sarawak for help to form a federal government. To describe the act as being 'inhuman' is almost generous! * The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist's own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper. malaysia politics Sarawak tebuk atap
Free Malaysia Today
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Turun Anwar rally was not a people's movement, says Maria
Former Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said she did not attend the July 26 protest because it did not appear to represent the wider Malaysian public or any concrete issues. PETALING JAYA : Former Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah has questioned the intent and makeup of the recent Turun Anwar rally, saying it did not reflect the voice of the people and lacked clear demands. While acknowledging the people's right to assemble, Maria said she did not attend the July 26 protest because it did not appear to represent the wider Malaysian public or any concrete issues. 'So my question is: if you want Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to step down, the next step should be to table a vote of no confidence in Parliament but that hasn't been done. 'Anwar just presented the 13th Malaysia Plan but there was no mention of a vote of no confidence. So to be honest, I'm not sure what Turun Anwar was really about,' Maria said at youth-based NGO Mandiri's 10th year celebration of the Tangkap Najib rally. The Tangkap Najib rally, held in Kuala Lumpur, was to urge the resignation of then Prime Minister Najib Razak due to his involvement in the 1MDB scandal. Police presence was heavy, and after about 200 protesters gathered, the police moved in to arrest those refusing to disperse, with around 20 to 29 youths arrested. Maria, a former Petaling Jaya MP, said many of those involved in Turun Anwar were politicians and elected representatives and the rally lacked a unifying cause that should resonate with the majority of Malaysians. 'Of course, they have every right to be on the streets but if we want to build a real movement, it has to come from the rakyat. It has to be based on what they're feeling. What are their issues? 'I didn't go (to the Turun Anwar Rally). And if I were to go, I would want to be clear on what the rally is about. And I would want to see it as a representative of Malaysia. 'I'm not saying we did everything perfectly, but the Bersih movement was reflective not only of Malaysia's diverse, multicultural makeup, it also presented the government at the time with very critical issues,' she added. Mandeep Singh, also a former Bersih chairman, said the effectiveness and messaging of the Turun Anwar rally left much to be desired. 'It's the job of the opposition to bring down your opponent. But what is your demand, actually? What are you asking for? Economic reform?,' he said. 'What are your demands? What are you trying to show? At Tangkap Najib there were activists, students, different civil societies and there were people who had no political interests. It was a people's movement. This one is a political movement, just anti-Anwar,' Mandeep said. Police estimated that around 18,000 people attended the Turun Anwar rally last Saturday, though organisers claimed that more than 200,000 rally-goers were present.
Focus Malaysia
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Focus Malaysia
TunM challenges PMX to hold GE to prove his mandate but instead told to spend his twilight years in peace
THE nation's chief gauntlet thrower is at it again – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has openly challenged his once protégé and current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to dissolve parliament and to hold snap elections. Posting on his Facebook page, the centurion sarcastically applauded PMX for his bravery in challenging the opposition to table a motion of 'no confidence' in the Dewan Rakyat. The twice former premier stated the reason for PMX's boldness was that the latter knew the motion would not succeed. This is simply because many parliamentarians feared reprisals if they did not back Anwar and the Madani government. The longest serving PM in the world also claimed that there were those who would end up behind bars if they withheld support for PMX, clearly referring to UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was controversially granted a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) for his 47 graft-linked charges. The removal of budgetary provisions was also used as a weapon to intimidate MPs, hence the support within the Dewan Rakyat was based on fear. 'Retire for good, TunM' To further illustrate this climate of intimidation, Dr Mahathir also claimed that UMNO members were warned against joining the Turun Anwar rally on July 26. The elderly statesman who lost his deposit in the 2022 national polls went on to argue that PMX needs to seek legitimacy by dissolving parliament and seek a fresh mandate from the electorate. After all, his once-disciple-turned-nemesis is only in Putrajaya because he interfered with the trial of certain political figures to garner their party's support in Parliament. Moreover, it was argued that PMX has nothing to fear as his sycophants had reported a low turnout for the Turun Anwar protest. As expected, there were plenty of reactions to the post with it having already generated 14K likes, 1K shares and 7.3K comments at the time of writing. One commenter pleaded with Dr Mahathir who had administered Malaysia for '22 years and 22 months' to use his influence in nation-building instead by focusing on 'economy, peace and growth'. Others were less diplomatic, pointing out that Tun M would never be happy even if PMX won the 16th General Election (GE16) for a second term. It would then be an endless cycle of demands for national polls followed by calls for a no confidence ad nauseum, claimed one commenter. Another called for patience as polls were just two years away. Dr Mahathir could then set a new record in Langkawi by being the oldest electoral candidate ever. He also chided the former Bersatu and Pejuang founder that he could be the first ex-premier to lose a deposit twice! It was also pointed out that the electorate had already rejected both Dr Mahathir and his progeny in the last election when they both lost their deposits. But the centenarian's ultra-thick hide prevents him from acknowledging this. One commenter advised Dr Mahathir to let PMX carry forward the nation in a fast-changing digital world, believing the country is on good hands. He also contended that the wealth of the latter's offspring will be untouched so long as investigations show they are not ill-gotten. One netizen perhaps offered the best advice to the elder statesman – 'Tun's era has past, be aware that the country needs change'. – Aug 1, 2025
