ONE of former prime minister Najib Razak’s most trusted aides has left Malaysia.

Malaysia Decides understands that Paul Stadlen left the country on May 10 when it became clear that last-minute attempts by Najib to entice PKR reps to join the Barisan Nasional-PAS coalition had failed.

He remained at Najib’s side until a few hours before Dr Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as prime minister at 9.30pm on Thursday.

Stadlen headed to the Kuala Lumpur branch of Apco Worldwide‎, a strategic communications firm that Najib’s administration had come under pressure for hiring as it had done consulting work in Israel. 

Apco was dismissed from its advisory role but by then, Stadlen had become indispensable to Najib. He quit Apco and was hired as a full-time consultant, becoming a permanent resident of Malaysia.

Whistle-blower site Sarawak Report had said that Stadlen was paid at least RM3 million a year by the Prime Minister’s Office. 

His services were also used by 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

While Najib engaged several highly-paid consultants during his tenure as PM from mid-2009, it was common knowledge that Stadlen enjoyed the most-favoured status with the Umno president.

Initially, his job designation included handling the international‎ media and crafting and issuing press statements. But later, Najib came to rely on his counsel on a variety of issues, including key appointments to government positions.

In the last 24 months, as it became clear that Stadlen had Najib’s ear, his standing in Umno and corporate circles rose.

His last job before polling day was arranging for Najib to be interviewed by Bloomberg. It is understood that he set the parameters for the interview, which was dismissed by many in Malaysia as a soft one.

There has been no shortage of talk of retribution and settling scores since Dr Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan ended BN’s hold on power in Malaysia. 

Najib and his wife‎ top this list. 

Following closely are Najib’s operatives who wielded the power of the state wantonly against anyone who dared to criticise their boss.

Knives are certainly out for Habibur Rahman. Perhaps until 18 months ago, he was a shadowy figure who headed Najib’s Black Ops team. He seemed to have a carte blanche to instruct government agencies, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Inland Revenue Board, to go after anyone who crossed his path.

Some of his enemies were imagined, and they suffered greatly.

In recent times, Habibur has been keen to let anyone who cared to listen how powerful he was. A permanent feature at a shopping complex in Bangsar, he was happy to take credit for bringing down bosses of government-linked companies, directing the coverage of mainstream media and organsing Malay groups to harass individuals he didn’t like.

Habibur was also a key player in the setting up of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate the huge forex losses during the Dr Mahathir years. Najib and his operatives believed that by blaming Dr Mahathir for the losses, they could undercut his moral authority with the Malaysian public.

This gambit failed miserably. The RCI was seen as a sham.

As a reward for his service, Habibur was made a director of Malaysia Airlines – an appointment that caused tremendous anguish ‎to the professionals given the task of turning around the troubled national carrier. 

Even there, he was keen to let everyone know that he had Najib’s ear and revelled in letting his audience know how he was undermining Dr Mahathir.

In his mind, he had nullified the Dr Mahathir threat, and was dismissive of the huge crowds that turned out to listen to the former prime minister.

Even in the last days of the election campaign, he was issuing threats to those who didn’t support Najib. His famous phrase was: you are either with us or not. There are no fence sitters.

Habibur has gone underground since polling day. It is unclear if he has left Malaysia.

Gone perhaps but definitely not forgotten by a long line of people who are seeking retribution. – May 13, 2018