HE is lost these days. The swagger is gone.  ‎Friends down to a handful. His army of yes-men not in sight. 

And with his powerful patron living as a virtual prisoner, he knows the pain and anguish he inflicted on others with relish during the Najib years is going to be returned many times over.

It is just a matter of time.

‎At the peak of his powers, Habibul Rahman Kadir Shah could be so destructive.

With Umno ministers, top government officials, senior editors and mercenary bloggers on speed dial, he could inflict pain and wreck reputations with just a phone call – and with wanton disregard of the damage it caused his target and their family members. 

He was the architect of the campaign to thrash billionaire Robert Kuok’s reputation, pulling the strings behind the scenes and getting the likes of former Tourism Minister Nazri Aziz to do his bidding. 

Why Kuok? Because the famous Malaysian-born had laid down some hard truths about Umno personalities and Malay politics in his memoirs and Habibur saw an opportunity to play the race card in the run-up to GE14.

He was a prime mover of the royal commissioner of inquiry on forex losses suffered during ‎the late 1980s. His target was Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had become a problem for his boss, Najib Razak, with his constant attacks on 1MDB.

So the thinking was if ‎the billions lost by reckless speculation at Bank Negara could be laid at Dr Mahathir’s feet, it would undercut his moral authority to go after Najib. The RCI was an absolute sham but Habibul and acolytes thought it was an unqualified success. 

He was the puppet master behind the sustained attacks by bloggers to not only hammer R‎afidah Aziz but to make salacious claims about her private life. The aim of the campaign of bile was to silence one of the most trenchant critics of the Najib administration.

Habibul went after Daim Zainuddin, Lim Guan Eng, Lim Kit Siang‎, corporate figures, news portal operators and anyone who dared to challenge Najib or who supported Pakatan Harapan.

As his sense of importance became inflated, he went after other members of the Najib administration who didn’t dance to his tune.

His targets would face a tax audit by the Inland Revenue Board, harassment by various government agencies including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and character assassination in the mainstream media.

With almost a blank cheque to do as he pleased, Habibur earned a nasty reputation during the Najib years. He enjoyed the notoriety. He especially enjoyed having a cup of coffee in Bangsar and speaking about his exploits.

It was like he craved public recognition as Najib’s top enforcer or chief Black Ops man. 

It certainly was a far cry from his days as a junior Umno official when Najib was the Umno Youth chief. A graduate of Universiti Teknologi Mara, he was the financial and accounting manager for L’Oreal Paris and his resume says that he was involved in financial advisory and restructuring services for ailing companies.

His business profile improved as his importance as Najib’s attack dog grew. He was appointed a director of Malaysia Airlines and Petronas Energy Trading. 

Habibul also opened his own consulting firm, HKS Consultants.

What consultancy he actually provided was never clear, but it was apparent that he was wealthy and enjoyed inordinate power of senior civil servants, ministers and the rich and powerful in Malaysia. 

At least that was his status until May 9.

Like many others in the Najib camp, he never believed that Barisan Nasional could be defeated. The extreme gerrymandering of constituencies and Najib’s cosy relationship with Abdul Hadi Awang of PAS that would result in three-cornered fights were supposed to deliver an easy victory.

That’s why Habibul didn’t run for his life. He also believed that Najib had a Plan B in case of ‎defeat.

At the peak of his powers, Habibul created a cottage industry of enemies. 

But he never defeated them. He may have won many battles but his victims won the war.

Many of them are in power now. And many of them have long memories. 

He knows that he will soon feel the pain and anguish he once caused. He is just not sure whether it will just involve a tax audit, loss of income or something more serious – perhaps even jail time. – May 23, 2018.