Malott Drops a Bombshell: A Secret Anwar-Najib Pact


August 23, 2011

Malott Drops a Bombshell: A Secret Anwar-Najib Pact

Written by  John Malott, Malaysia Chronicle

Today I read Anwar Ibrahim’s statement from the docket. Anwar said that it all is a political conspiracy against him. And I agree.

After all, I was the American Ambassador to Malaysia when all of these things happened the first time around. As people know, the American Embassy has many sources of information.

Just ask Wikileaks.

Malaysians love to talk….

As so many of my friends in Malaysia know, I have been very outspoken in support of Anwar’s freedom for over one decade. And that is because I know the truth. I was there when it happened the first time.

In 1998 – the first time around for Anwar – my Embassy heard and reported lots of things. We knew the truth. Because Malaysians – at the highest levels — told us.

When I was in KL, Najib’s personal think tank was called the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, or MSRC. MSRC basically was two people, Rohanna Mahmood and Razak Baginda.

Neither Rohanna nor Razak are government officials, so I am not violating any US laws by revealing what they told me and my Embassy in those days.

A secret pact

In 1998 Rohana joined me for a private one-on-one luncheon at the Ambassador ‘s residence. It was during the time when Anwar was starting to challenge Mahathir, subtly but still obviously.

Rohana told me that Najib and Anwar had reached a secret agreement. When Mahathir was gone, Anwar would be PM and Najib would be Deputy PM. That was the deal.That never happened, of course. When the going got tough, Najib stood by, and let Anwar go to jail.

What about Razak Baginda?He told a senior Embassy officer, “The decision has been made. They are going to “nuke” Anwar politically for all time to come. “Until he can never stand up again politically.”

100 years

Meaning, it was all a political decision – to destroy Anwar. That is what Razak – now in self-imposed exile in London — said. After that, a senior officer in the Special Branch told an Embassy officer, “We are going to keep filing charge after charge after Anwar so he will be in jail for the next hundred years.”

Can there be any doubt about what was going on then – and what is going on now?

Malaysia Chronicle

– John Malott was the US Ambassador to Malaysia from 1995 to 1998 and is now the president of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC

37 thoughts on “Malott Drops a Bombshell: A Secret Anwar-Najib Pact

  1. Friends and potential partners before and now political foes. Both have a common interest: they want the top job and power associated with it. One has it in his hands and the other is the pretender who is caught a legal tangle with odds stacked against him.This rivalry makes a good story for historians.–Din Merican

  2. History is littered with pacts like this . Some worked , some did not get started. So who is Rohanna Mahmood? The fact that her information was not verified by the ambassador nor his staff, reflects rather poorly on the Ambassador and the embassy itself. Must be the reason why the wikileaks cables are not selling well.
    __________
    My friend, read my comments below. Do you understand how an Embassy operates?–Din Merican

  3. Is this another yarn spun to discredit najib and divide and weaken UMNO further so that Pakatan can gain in GE 13? the timing of release of this “news” suggests that there is reason to question motives. who knows what can be believed anymore!
    _________
    Use your own common sense and think. UMNO is its own worst enemy and does not need Pakatan Rakyat.–Din Merican

  4. H.E. Mallott, you mean to say you believe what is told to you by a third party. And politicians made all kinds of pacts and promises. They can change tack within a second. Today’s friend can become tomorrow’s enemy. I am sure you know better. If there is such a pact, it’s just a verbal one. Not binding. That was then, this is now. The promise was made when Anwar was flying high. Must Najib still stand by him when he went to jail.

    Najib is smart enough to use the opportunity for himself with the leadership vacuum. So he is where he is now. It was Rohana who told you. If you were to ask her or Razak now, they will deny ever telling that. If you ask Najib, he will say “I have never heard of such pact”.

  5. Arokiasamy

    Rohana is one powerful woman. She sits on several boards of companies including the company I work for. Is in Najib’s circle and very well-connected since she is our former IGP’s daughter. Knows Najib when they studied in England. Later she joined the Strategic Centre which Mr Malott mentioned together with Razak.

    She once worked in Wisma Putra. She and Omar Mustapha Ong (Najib’s ex-special assitant) are co-founders of Ethos and Co. She’s also Charman and partner of Ethos Capital.This is told to me by my boss. As a junior officer, of course, I will not get to meet her.

  6. “And this is because I know the truth.” JM

    The truth?? Now where have we heard that before? Yet another wayang in this affair.
    So far the best verdict on Anwar has been given by the folks in Permatang Pauh… The rest is just hearsay.
    _________
    In this case, Isa, it is history.–Din Merican

  7. With due respect to Ambassador Malott, he was just writing what he knew and what he was told at that time. And he is relating in the context of Anwar’s downfall within UMNO since then.

    In UMNO, you cannot trust anybody. I wonder how come the Malays in the broader community can still trust UMNO to look after their interest.

    If you are a smart and clever Malay, you would have abandon UMNO long ago as a party that you think will look after you.

    But then, when they throw money at you, buy your allegiance with scholarships for you and for your children, give you contracts without tender, and gives you or your children a job over other more qualified NON Malays, you would give UMNO the vote election after election, wouldn’t you?

    Race politics over ride national and public interest… and that is what UMNO is for. Play the race card and you WILL ALWAYS GET THE MALAY VOTE.

  8. Jeff , Rohana’s father was not an IGP. Only DIGP. So, your boss is wrong. I wonder what else is wrong about you? Don’t provide false info. Or keep them to yourself.

  9. Being a foreign service officer a long time ago, I can confirm that all reports or despatches from Ambassadors are reliable. These despatches contain facts which are checked, verified and analysed before they are collated and sent to the Foreign Office, State Department, or Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the case of Malaysia. This is because Ambassadors cannot afford to mislead their governments at home. To be doubly safe, desk officers check other sources which are then put together with the views from the ground (the despatches) and the Ministry’s own views for the Prime Minister and his colleagues. They are also discussed at Foreign Ministry officials’ weekly or special meetings.

    Get that straight before you cast aspersions on John Malott’s competence. You can disagree with him of course but you have no right to question his competence because you do not know and have not met him. Neither have you talked to the man.

    Ambassador Malott is one of the best of the US Ambassadors to Malaysia. He was here when Mahathir was Prime Minister of Malaysia. Those were not easy times, especially when you were dealing with someone with an inflated ego and a poor understanding of international relations, who shoots from his hips, so to speak. Mahathir and Bill Clinton never got along. Remember, Mahathir boycotted the first APEC meeting in Seattle. You may also remember the Doi Moi Al Gore incident in Malaysia when Mahathir hosted the APEC Meeting in Kuala Lumpur that got Nordin Sophiee (of ISIS Malaysia) to take an advertisement in the New Straits Times to protest. Clinton did not attend the meeting.

    I remember US Ambassador James D Bell (1964-1969), a career diplomat, who was here during my time at Wisma Putra in 1960s. He was a competent and astute diplomat. I saw him handle the ebullient and suave Ghazalie Shafie with patience and charm.

    You do not get to be a career Ambassador in the US unless you are good. Malott had to face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before his nomination can be approved. I do not have to tell you how tough this Senate Committee can be with all nominees.

    We send idiots abroad and because most of them are politicians, they do not understand diplomacy and intelligence gathering when they are on an overseas posting. As a result, they are dangerous when they are left abroad on their own. Some of them like our Ambassador in the Philippines cannot even control his wife from keeping her mouth shut.–Din Merican

  10. Anwar life in politic fill with foes rather than trusted ones…Najib did went to see him at DSAI;s home when he is having conflicts with TUN…and all his closer umno friends and allies began m.i.a when TUN going to nude him down completely out from political game….in the end this scumbag najis got his dream come true by selling out this defacto….. pity for him….no true friend in this arena politics…..pengorbanan besar betul bagi DSAI….

  11. Semper fi,

    Where are you ?? I got hit by an earthquate 5.8 on the Richter Scale. I will have to come sleep with you. Call me. It’s helter skelter for a minute over here. The after shock could be a lot worse and nobody knows when.

  12. Mongkut Bean

    Got a call from my son in NJ and saw the news about the 5.8 shaker in Virginia. Hope you stay safe. Guess the high rise in NYC were swaying. Was this a roller type or vertical movement?

    Did call my friends in Virginia and NY but didn’t have your number. Sorry. Just stay alert for the next few days for aftershocks and probably another one within 24 hours.

    Also good time to get some sunshine and fresh air. Guess when it struck you thought the Puerto Rican lass was doing some heavy entertainment huh? You’re welcome to stay with us but you know California is also due for the BIG one.
    ______________
    Semper Fi, Bean is unidentifiable at this time. How to help him if things worsen.–Din Merican

  13. The building swayed a lot for just under a minute but serious enough for me to flee the building. My experiences in Tokyo and Jakarta were not as bad as this one. Didn’t know what to make of it for the first few minutes. It came over the radio that it is a rare earthquake affecting the Eastern seaboard of the United States. The airports in Newark, JFK and LaGuardia were closed for some twenty minutes. Now got to deal with the after shocks.

    My Puerto Rican lass is back in Orlando, Florida and about to take off to Madrid, Spain. I will have to postpone the spanking.

    Sorry for the interruption guys. This is serious business.

  14. Ambassador Malott finally drops the bomb. Rather late. But better late than never.

    Over the years conspiracy theories have run the gamut. But nothing like this which comes from a top US diplomat with impeccable integrity. Now let’s hear from Rohana and Razak Baginda.

  15. Najib renegade on Tengku Razaleigh for the position of President of UMNO, so why wouldn’t he renegade on his agreement with DSAI.

    Rohana and Razak Baginda won’t dare say a thing. Their very existence and success is due to Najib. One made piles of money while the other is in self exile abandoning a lucrative consulting business.

  16. Nature does NOT discriminate what religion you believe in or whether you come from the strongest military power in the world or from the poorest of nations. Nature acts, and God has to pick up the pieces.

    Christians and Muslims in Malaysia should come to realise that you can fight about who is more Muslim or more Christian, Nature does not give a damn.On this planet, you live and die on the same boat.

    So, screw all the muftis and pastors for dividing society.

  17. This is revelating !!! The fight for power is serious, vicious and cunning. To prevent such dagger & glove tactics and back stabbing, we must have a civil society and a true democracy where the Police, A-G and Judges, Election Commission, Anti Corruption Agency must be independent.

    In addition there must be limitation to the tenure of the Prime Minister to 2 terms of 5 years. After completion of his tenure, the ex-PM must be assessed by an Independent Panel of Wisemen to see if he/she is corrupt, abuses his power, commits capital crimes, and commit crimes against humanity and treason.

    Look at Chen Shui Bien former Taiwan’s President who is jailed for 20 years for corruption.Look at Gadhafi now. May God Bless Malaysia.

  18. ” Rohanna is one powerful woman.” – Jeff

    Is she Jeff ? So does this mean that in your mind , someone who uses her fathers name , worked together with razak baginda and hence was associated with Najib, and is now an associate of Omar Mustapha Ong ( is this the same guy who made use of a Petronas scholarship to finish his studies but absconded without serving his ” time ” with Petronas and also the guy who could not get a seat on Petronas’s Board without Rosmah’s and Najib’s help ) is ” one powerful woman ” ?

  19. Of course, Malott knew all. Ambassadors and CIA intelligences are well connected and informed from the activities. They would gather and manipulate facts for American interests, not ours.

    It is sad that Malaysian mental and politicians are still slavery to foreign stains of cultural and intellectual imperialism that do not end with the attainment of political freedom.

    Freedom is a state of the mind and, regrettably, the enslavement of our mind still continues long after the colonizers had gone back home.

  20. It is sad that Malaysian mental and politicians are still slavery to foreign stains of cultural and intellectual imperialism that do not end with the attainment of political freedom.=

    huh? what you saying? No Uncle Tom’s cabin here.

  21. the world probably heads for yet another financial tail spin whilst we probe private sexual slant…

    ~ I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people under the pretence of taking care of them. ~Thomas Jefferson

    ~ substitute USA with Msia…1SOKONG!

  22. In this country, people of no substance seem to talk the most. Imagine, two ‘think-tank’ morons dropping their guard (if not pants) and showing their innards, er.. spilling the beans without batting an eyelid to the highest diplomat of Big Brother – just because they wanted to feel important.. There must be something terribly wrong with the psyche of such intellectually challenged snitches. The phrase “syiok sendiri” comes to mind.

    Espionage would be terribly easy here until even jet engines can fly off to Argentina by themselves. No need for ‘mata-haris’ or boudoir rumors. Just treat them to a java/cuppa in Star Bucks, and they sing like canaries. They’d probably order that insipid Earl’s Grey and try to look appropriately ‘important’ and in the groove. Worse still, there are some idiots in this blog who take these ‘influential’ and ‘powerful’ low brows, as inspiration!

    Well done Amb. Malott – this must have been one of your easiest postings. I’m sure you have much more of such tender morsels to aid our digestion soon. Doubt it’ll do much damage to idiots though ‘cuz they have thick skin with layers of Reactive Armor.

  23. The rest is just hearsay – Isa Manteqi

    “Rohana told me that Najib and Anwar had reached a secret agreement. When Mahathir was gone, Anwar would be PM and Najib would be Deputy PM. That was the deal.” Ambassador Malott

    If Ambassador Malott were to repeat what was said to him by Rohana, that would NOT be hearsay. He heard it directly using his own senses from the speaker.

    It’s admissibility as a statement depends, however, on its relevance to issues raised in court. But as to proof that there was this secret pact or agreement, proof of a conspiracy etc, you are not allowed to go into the truth of the contents of the statement. Because that would be hearsay – and is inadmissible in a court of law.

    It is just a rule of evidence. Hearsay could be true and accurate but they are not admissible as evidence in a court of law because the person who said it was not in court to testify and be cross examined for its veracity and its truth. The adversarial system requires that he or she (not Ambassador Malott) be in court to testify and be cross examined by counsel.

    Kapish so far? If you cannot, don’t be too harsh on yourself. First year law students find it hard to grasp and final year law students oftentimes make mistakes.

  24. “We send idiots abroad and because most of them are politicians, they do not understand diplomacy and intelligence gathering when they are on an overseas posting. As a result, they are dangerous when they are left abroad on their own. Some of them like our Ambassador in the Philippines cannot even control his wife from keeping her mouth shut.–Din Merican”

    This is the best part…hahahahaha! so long sucker? well it beyond my comprehension on why the so called politician need be appointed as ambassador??? mau makan angin ka?

  25. First it was a season of statutory declarations… now it seems we are graduating to hearsay.

    Am not in the legal profession myself but I do know both are frivolous and often with mischievous intent. Often used for stirring purposes.

  26. He told a senior Embassy officer, “The decision has been made. They are going to “nuke” Anwar politically for all time to come. “Until he can never stand up again politically.” — Ambassador Malott

    Now this is hearsay and Ambassador Malott, if called to testify in court, cannot say it. He did not hear the statement being made and is quoting somebody else not in court to testify, defend himself, and the only purpose why a witness in this position would say it is to prove the truth of its contents i.e. proof of a conspiracy to destroy Anwar.

    No can do. Hearsay. Inadmissible.

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