A leaked audio of a purported conversation between Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has gone viral and is the latest hot topic.
Members of the public are sharing reports about the matter and politicians are weighing in, as usual, on the purported conversation and what it means. Some people – especially those against Zahid and Anwar – are excited about this for, if true, it shows the leaders in opposing camps have been playing a game.
I am fine with people discussing such issues and I too would like to know if it is true or not, but I think we may be missing the most substantial point in the current debate.
It has been alleged that Anwar (or the voice purported to be that of Anwar) congratulated Zahid for proposing to members that Umno sever ties with Perikatan Nasional (PN), and on the outcome of the recent Umno general assembly.
Zahid (or the voice purported to be that of the Umno president) is reported to have suggested, among other things, that the public statement about “No Anwar, no PPBM, no DAP” in forming any alliance to face the general election was a “tactical” move.
Zahid is also alleged to have said: “You know who my teacher is right? My teacher is the person I am talking to right now.”
The Umno president, who is facing 47 charges related to graft and abuse of power, has denied that he had spoken to Anwar after the Umno assembly.
“I was utterly disappointed and shocked over the spread of an audio recording, allegedly between me and Anwar,” he said, adding that he had instructed his officer to lodge a police report for an investigation to identify the mastermind behind this.
Among the politicians who have commented on this leaked audio is former Barisan Nasional secretary-general Annuar Musa who said: “I am 100% sure that the voices are genuine.”
He said he had listened to the audio repeatedly and because he was familiar with Zahid and Anwar he was convinced the voices belonged to them. Annuar has called on Zahid to come clean.
Outspoken Umno MP and former minister Nazri Aziz said: “I’m urging the home minister to investigate since a police report has been made. We cannot leave it just like that. We really want to know whether it’s true or fake. Only an investigation by the police will give us the real story.”
Nazri, of course, has been calling on Zahid to relinquish his post as Umno president as he is seen as a liability to the party because of the charges hanging over his head.
Let me state here that I too feel Umno can reform and perform better in the next general election if Zahid were to step down, at least until his court cases are cleared.
I too agree that an investigation should be carried out into the latest leaked audio. If it is fake, it could be considered slanderous. If it is true, it would mean PKR and Umno are cooperating.
However, the investigation should be into how, if the audio clip is genuine, someone was able to tap into the telephone conversation of private citizens.
There is nothing criminal about Anwar and Zahid speaking on the phone even if they are in opposition parties. Malaysians have come to expect politicians to plot against each other and backstab each other to stay in power or to gain power, especially after the “Sheraton Move” of 2020.
We know that before the “Sheraton Move” that toppled the Pakatan Harapan government, PPBM leaders and some PKR leaders had discussed tactics with leaders of PAS and Umno.
But there was nothing criminal about it. It might be unethical, but not criminal.
There was even an audio clip of a PPBM Supreme Council meeting where party president Muhyiddin Yassin purportedly told them to entice Umno leaders with promises of ministerships and posts in GLCs, just a day before the PH government collapsed.
Similarly, the conversation between Anwar and Zahid, if true, might be unethical but not criminal.
What is a criminal offence is that in this latest case someone was listening into, and recording, the telephone conversation of two private citizens.
People would be willing to accept a situation where, say, the police were to tap into the conversation of someone involved in terrorism.
But not this.
It is very dangerous. What if someone in some crime cartel is tapping into the conversations of, say, the inspector-general of police? What if someone is tapping into the conversations of a millionaire and later uses that to blackmail him?
If phone conversations are being tapped, it will surely spook investors. Imagine the damage that would do to our economy.
The police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission must probe this issue to find out who did the tapping – if this is not a fake audio – and level criminal charges against that person or persons.
Older people would remember that Richard Nixon was forced to resign as president of the United States over a tapping incident which became known as the Watergate Scandal.
In 1972, a group of men linked to Nixon’s re-election campaign were caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents after breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic party in Washington DC, leading to Nixon’s resignation.
Coming back to our situation, the police, MCMC and telephony service providers must be constantly vigilant to ensure people’s privacy is not compromised by unscrupulous elements.
Home minister Hamzah Zainudin is one of those who sees the situation from the proper perspective. He said: “The conversation is basically Zahid admitting that Anwar was his teacher. Is it wrong for Anwar to be Zahid’s mentor? Secondly, is it wrong for Umno to work with PKR? It is up to them.”
I would urge him, however, to not stop there but to order an investigation into how anyone could tap into the telephone conversation of private citizens. If true, this is a blatant invasion of privacy. And we cannot allow that.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.