DISGRACED former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak must be reminiscing of that day in 2013 when Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Malaysia for his first state visit.
He was then the prime minister (PM) who greeted Xi on his maiden trip to Southeast Asia after taking over the presidency early that same year.
Accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, Xi came at the time when Najib was riding quite high on his political horse.
And where was Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when Najib was rubbing shoulder with one of the world’s most powerful men?
Anwar, then the opposition leader, was nursing his wounds after his coalition bloc – the then Pakatan Rakyat (PR) – lost in the 2013 general election to Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN).
Perhaps, it never crossed Najib’s mind that his strong opponent would rise again short years later to lead the country under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) banner.
But in 2013, Najib was the man of the hour and the eyes of the world were focussed on him as he shook hands with Xi.
How times and fortune have changed! Now, it is Anwar who greeted Xi on his second visit to Malaysia while Najib is licking his wounds in jail.
Watching with envy
Perhaps, Najib has been begrudgingly watching the whole Anwar-Xi show on TV (if there is one idiot box in his cell) and all the time shaking his head abjectly.
“How I wish I am still the PM welcoming my good friend.
“Anwar doesn’t deserve to be there! Surely, Xi would prefer to see me again.
“Don’t forget it was my father (second PM Tun Abdul Razak Hussein) who first established diplomatic relations with China (in 1974).”
Such thoughts might have been racing through his mind as he glared at the screen as the Madani man who had “usurped” his throne strutted about the national stage with Xi in tow.
Maybe, Xi had not forgotten him. He must have asked Anwar about me but that jahat (evil) man didn’t pass the message to me.
But then again Xi is surely mindful of what Najib had done that has landed him in dire straits. He cannot be seen to be close to this tainted leader now because China has zero tolerance for corruption. In China, Sir, we execute corrupt people.
Another beleaguered figure
While embittered Najib was biting his fingernails, there is another former leader enviously watching from the sideline who is perhaps equally upset over the perceived cold treatment meted out to him.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who administered the country for 22 years and 22 months years surely should be accorded some respect. But there was no invitation for him to sit at the state banquet held in honour of Xi.
No programme was even arranged for Xi to pay a courtesy call on this old doctor at his home. After all, he too met Xi in China in 2018 (after he toppled Najib in a momentous general election) and the two could have shared some memory of that encounter in Beijing.
Like Najib, the centenarian too might have harboured the sneaking suspicion that Xi had wanted to meet him but Anwar had put up a roadblock. Oppressor!
But does Xi really care about these two politicians who have become largely irrelevant? For all he cares, the duo can stay put in the dustbin of history. – April 18, 2025
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
