Ezam keeps his bargain, starts attacking Anwar

malaysianinsider - Finally, it boiled down to one pressing need: Umno wanted someone who could unsettle Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, attack him and put him on the defensive.

Months before Election 2008, Umno officials opened talks with Ezam Mohd Noor on returning to the ruling party. But there was little urgency on both sides until March 8 when Pakatan Rakyat snared Kedah, Selangor, Penang and Perak from Barisan Nasional.

Suddenly, there was panic in Umno circles as they contemplated the possibility of Anwar forcing crossovers of BN MPs and the collapse of the government. In the weeks after the polls, it was also patently clear that the momentum was with the Opposition leader and there was nobody in Umno who had the "ammunition" to fire at the prime minister-in-waiting.

After all, it has been 10 years since he was sacked from the party and government. Also, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and others seemed preoccupied with fighting fires in Umno than the enemy outside.

Again, Ezam’s name cropped up, and this time there was intensive courting by Umno officials including Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Wan Farid Wan Salleh. A Perak Umno leader told The Malaysian Insider:

"We told Ezam that he would need to attack Anwar because he knew his weak points. Of course, we also think that he has the ability and charisma to lead Umno Youth. I think Ezam himself believes that he could go quite high in Umno. But his immediate job is to show up Anwar."... selanjutnya.