FEAR – that’s the four-letter word coursing through the veins of the Bank Negara governor, top judges, top civil servants, senior police officers, media executives, corporate figures, and the spouses of all the above.

These individuals know that the tandem of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Daim Zainuddin is ruthless. They understand that the prime minister and his sidekick are not only familiar with the workings of government institutions, they practically designed and built the system. They know which files to call for and how to cut through the subterfuge and nail the culprits.  

“Put it this way: Mahathir and Daim don’t need to ask for directions in Putrajaya. They can navigate themselves expertly around the government machinery,” said a banker close to Daim.

The swiftness at which Dr Mahathir sidelined Najib Razak’s collaborators, such as Treasury Secretary-General Irwan Serigar Abdullah, Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali, and MACC head Dzulkifli Ahmad has made everyone else from Chief Justice Raus Sharif to Bank Negara head Muhammad Ibrahim jittery.

There was no missing Dr Mahathir’s anger towards Raus at the swearing-in ceremony at 9.30pm on May 10,as he gave the top judge one of his famous thousand-yard stares.

In November, Dr Mahathir was unsuccessful in his bid to annul the appointments of Raus and Zulkifli Makinuddin as chief justice and president of the court of appeal respectively.

Najib controversially extended Raus’ tenure as chief justice past the mandatory retirement age of 66, and in doing so, ‎ran roughshod over the constitution.

Dr Mahathir and civil society groups slammed Najib’s move as a blatant attempt to keep a loyalist in a position of power in an institution that would play a critical role in presiding over election matters, including the redelineation of seats.

As expected, the extreme gerrymandering by the Election Commission sailed through the court system.

There are rafts of procedures that have to be followed before a chief justice can be removed, but Dr Mahathir has a phalanx of top lawyers advising him, including former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram.

They will be working to isolate him in the Palace of Justice and create an air of inevitability about his removal.

Also staring at the exit door is Bank Negara governor Muhammad Ibrahim.

Dr Mahathir slammed the central bank after it acquired a piece of land for RM2 billion, saying then: “I was prime minister for 22 years but I have never known Bank Negara to spend so much money to buy land. What is the reason?”

He alleged that the central bank did the deal to boost government coffers and allow the Najib government to settle outstanding 1MDB debts.

Sources told Malaysia Decides that several influential individuals had asked businessmen close to Dr Mahathir and Daim to mediate on their behalf.

But Dr Mahathir and Daim understand the mood on the ground. They know that Malaysians are enjoying seeing the once-haughty squirm, and that they have the full support of the ordinary man to clean up the system.

At a prayer meeting in the middle-class suburb of Petaling Jaya, there was genuine support for Dr Mahathir’s ruthlessness in dealing with Najib’s collaborators. – May 15, 2018.