Malaysiakini : Imagine a person like Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the current president of Umno, becoming prime minister. The thought of that is so horrendous that many Umno and BN leaders are pushing the line that Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be the one to be PM.

Even if it is, it will be Zahid who will be calling the shots behind the scenes. Standout example: Ismail Sabri chickened out and called for elections in the middle of the monsoon at Zahid’s insistence when it would have served him (and the rakyat) better to let it go its full term.

Zahid’s inadequacies as a PM are enough for an article but suffice to say here that he is facing numerous corruption charges, maintains he was wrongly charged, has admitted to links with the underworld, lives in a rather lavish style, and wants his former boss Najib Abdul Razak freed from jail, amongst others. Which takes us to number 2.

2. Najib will walk the streets – free 

Forget all the talk about special treatment in jail for 1MDB co-conspirator and most responsible for perhaps over RM40 billion in losses, Najib.

If Zahid takes over power, he will set in motion the process to set Najib free. That will have tremendous implications and will result in an abuse of the process of pardon to free a man who was totally guilty with no extenuating circumstances whatsoever.

3. New, compliant AG will be appointed

Remember, in this country, the attorney-general or AG holds office at the complete discretion of the prime minister. The AG in turn holds complete and sole power over who should be prosecuted - or not. That is the key that will be used by Zahid to unlock his, and Najib’s, freedom.

There will be no lack of candidates for the new AG. It could be Zaid Ibrahim who speaks eloquently now of how Najib did not get a fair trial or even Najib’s legal counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. No, it's not impossible, worse things have happened before.

When the compliant AG is appointed, the other processes will happen in due course.

4. Charges against Zahid will be withdrawn

This will be the first thing to be done and it explains why Zahid is so eager to get into power and why he is strongly backed by Najib and the rest of the Umno court cluster of whom there are many.

Zahid still faces some 47 charges in court in an ongoing trial, while he was freed recently of some 40 charges involving the award of a foreign visa system, known by its Malay acronym VLN. The prosecution has appealed against the decision.

If a compliant AG is appointed, then it is a simple matter to withdraw the existing charges and drop the appeal against his acquittal on the 40 charges.

5. Charges against Najib, court cluster will be withdrawn

That will pave the way for dropping the charges in all of Najib’s other outstanding cases involving, amongst others, corruption and money laundering of more than RM2 billion. The same will happen against the rest of the Umno court cluster.

There has been precedent before. Recall that charges against DAP leader Lim Guan Eng were dropped after Harapan came to power in 2018 even though the trial was already in progress. (Lim currently faces other corruption charges).

The withdrawal of charges against Najib will then pave the way to get a pardon for Najib on his conviction of 12 years in prison and RM210 million in fines. Remember, the High Court verdict was upheld by three judges at the Court of Appeal unanimously and five judges at the Federal Court level, also unanimously, to make a total of nine judges.

6. The kleptocrats will be firmly in control

Once that happens, the kleptocrats will be firmly in control of the reins of government once again, negating all the efforts that you and I and all Malaysians did by voting them out previously.

That can only spell disaster of unmitigated and unprecedented proportions, throwing this country into perpetual turmoil and unrest.

7. Corruption will rise to new levels

Spurred on by the belief that the kleptocrats are beyond the reach of the law, corruption will rise to new levels, government contracts will be given left, right and centre with no thought of benefit for the country but how much money it will get for the givers.

The corrupt, already rich from previous contracts, will become much richer, draining badly needed, scarce resources away from those who require them to those who already have too much of them.

8. Economic problems will multiply

As with all badly managed third-world countries with a corrupt, incompetent leadership, the ringgit will fall, benefiting rich exporters and burdening the poor with rising costs of goods and services and simultaneously drops in real incomes. Jobs will become scarce as investors abandon the country in droves and prices of everything will rise, resulting in widespread hardship.

Economic growth will decline and consequently the creation of wealth as well, making it impossible to attain a better quality of life for most but the privileged few.

9. Education will decline

A country ruled by self-serving kleptocrats will see little invested in improving both the reach and the quality of education.

Vested interest will be more inclined towards, not developing knowledge and skills, but keeping the populace in ignorance, using race and religion to stay in power.

10. The country will be ruined

The net effect will be a country driven to ruin by a corrupt, incompetent government more intent on enriching itself than providing solid avenues for the rakyat to develop materially and spiritually.

There is only one way, and one way alone, that such a catastrophic event can be prevented. Do not vote for BN-PN wherever you encounter them - for a vote for them is a vote for disaster. Not even Khairy Jamaluddin.

We need to ensure again that BN-PN loses, no two ways about it.