I refer to Malaysiakini report PM's anti-graft agenda won Ezam over .
Strange things do happen in politics. Just when the public is watching with bathed breath on when BN MPs, especially those from East Malaysia, will jump ship to the opposition front, Ezam Mohd Noor, a former stalwart of PKR, had to steal the thunder by rejoining the party that he left more than a decade ago.
Whatever reasons Ezam can give to rejoin his former political party, his credibility is shattered as people won’t trust a person who jumps ship just because he cannot get along well with his former comrade Azmin Ali of PKR. Ezam Mohd Noor is a man without principles.
As the dictum goes, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in politics. Ezam, ever since resigning from his former party PKR, had been in a political limbo. The former blue-eyed boy of Anwar Ibrahim had to find another political platform to continue his political struggle and ambitions.
His rejoining Umno - which he had openly criticised for corruption and a lack of transparency - can be likened to an old Malay proverb ‘ dah ludah dijilat balik’ . The former strongman of PKR had to eat his own words in order to be admitted back to his old party, Umno.
Nobody likes a turncoat in politics. By burning his bridges with PKR, he will lose whatever support he has from his loyal supporters while those in Umno - especially the youth wing - will be suspicious of his real intention in rejoining their party. Their exalted positions might be affected if Ezam decides to fight for the top political post in the Umno youth wing.
Whether Ezam is an asset for Umno is yet to be seen. But judging from incidents in the past where several stalwarts of PKR rejoined Umno but are now in the political wilderness, only time will tell whether Ezam can go far in Umno.
A small coup of sorts can be claimed by the embattled premier and Umno president Abdullah Ahamad Badawi in snaring Ezam. Ezam is supposed to help recapture Selangor back from Pakatan Rakyat and being privy to all the strengths and weaknesses of PKR, one cannot discount the possibility that he just might be an asset to Umno towards reclaiming their past glory.
Ezam can claim that he rejoined Umno because our premier had taken several steps towards implementing reforms and in trying to stop corruption and abuse of power by having anti-graft measures in place. But after fighting Umno from the outside, one wonders if he is strong enough to fight the party’s bigwigs who are well-entrenched in their high positions for personal gain.
Ezam will have to step on several big toes if he insists on reforming Umno from the inside. While our politicians from both side of the aisle are fighting like cats and dogs to win over power by any means, one tends to wonder who is minding the ship at the present. The weak premier - with grassroots supporters asking him to resign and political enemies trying to lure party members to jump ship - really does not instill confidence in the public or that all is well in this country.
Snap polls might be held if rumours are to be believed. BN MPs will have to think twice about switching camps if Pak Lah uses his last gambit to stay in power by having another general election to stop the exodus of BN MPs.
Really, this is an interesting time to watch our politicians who will do and say anything to stay in power. Let’s hope the dust will soon settle and hopefully our country can be on the right track towards being a better nation than before.
