In the forthcoming 14th General Election, UMNO/BN likely to lose Johor Baru as the sole state capital won by UMNO/BN candidates

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak boasted at the opening of the Johor Baru UMNO division delegates’ conference last Friday that UMNO is a political party that can also flourish in Malaysia’s urban areas.

He  said the party’s success in Johor Baru, for example, proved that the nation’s largest Malay-based political party continues to receive the people’s support even though the city had undergone a rapid urbanisation process.

He said: “I’m very impressed with the success of Johor Baru Umno because in the political history of our country, if there is an urbanisation phenomenon, demographic change and rapid development in any city, sooner or later, the (administration of the) city will be transferred from Umno or BN to the opposition.

“There is no state capital that has remained as Umno-BN constituency, but congratulations to Johor Baru Umno for being able to balance the urbanisation process and retain Umno-BN’s power.

“Based on this fact, if anyone should say that Umno is a ‘village people or rural folks political party’, then Johor Baru Umno has proved them wrong.

“The support for Umno does not necessarily come from rural areas only because the party can indeed flourish in urban areas.”

From recent electoral trends in the last three general elections since 2004, Najib’s boast may be debunked in the forthcoming 14th General Election.

The trends in the  results in the 2004, 2008 and 2013 General Elections indicate that at least two of the  three parliamentary constituencies in Johor Baru, if not all three, are likely to be won by  the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

The three parliamentary constituencies in Johor Baru are  Pasir Gudang, Tebrau and Johor Baharu, and their results in the 2004, 2008 and 2013 GEs are as follows:

 PARLIAMENTARY
 CONSTITUENCY

 YEAR

2013

2008

2004

TEBRAU

BN

39985

BN

30975

BN

32071

PKR

38218

PAS

16124

PAS

6060

1767

14851

26011

MAJORITY

PASIR GUDANG

BN

43834

BN

35849

BN

38123

PKR

42899

PKR

18568

KEADILAN

7002

935

17281

31121

MAJORITY

JOHOR BAHRU

BN

44509

BN

43143

BN

54073

PKR

34014

PRM

17794

PAS

7281

10495

25349

46792

MAJORITY

The  huge Barisan Nasional majority of 26,011 votes in the Tebrau parliamentary constituency in 2004GE  had been slashed to 14,851-vote majority in 2008GE and the wafer-thin majority of 1,767 votes in 2013GE; while in Pasir Gudang parliamentary constituency, the huge 31,121-vote majority in the 2004GE had been slashed to 17,281-vote  majority in 2008GE and the tantalizingly meagre majority of 935 votes in the 2013GE.

The trend in the Johor Bahru parliamentary constituency is the same although not so dramatic as in the Tebrau and Pasir Gudang constituencies, with the Johor Baru Member of Parliament Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad’s majority slashed from the gargantuan 46,791 votes in 2004GE to 25,349 votes in 2008GE and 10,495 in 2013GE.

If this trend continues, then UMNO/BN will lose two if not all three parliamentary constituencies in Johor Baru.

This means that UMNO/BN likely to lose Johor Baru as the sole state capital won by UMNO/BN candidates in the forthcoming 14GE, whether this year or next.

DAP is keen to contest in one of the three Johor Baru parliamentary constituencies – even the most difficult one of Johor Baru parliamentary constituency.

The final decision of whether DAP is to contest in one of the three parliamentary constituencies in Johor Baru will be made by the Pakatan Harapan leadership.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 August 2017, 2:13 pm and is filed under
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Let Malaysians make a common commitment on 60th Merdeka Anniversary to be more patriotic than the Cabinet Ministers and resolve  to save Malaysia from kleptocracy and extremism and to revive the Merdeka Dream for Malaysia to be a world-class nation in every field of human endeavour

On the occasion of the 60th Merdeka Anniversary, I call on all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, to make a common commitment to be more patriotic than the Cabinet Ministers and resolve to save Malaysia from kleptocracy and extremism and to revive the Merdeka Dream for Malaysia to be a word-class nation in every field of human endeavor.

Two days ago on Monday, I issued an Open Letter to all Cabinet Ministers asking them to take a patriotic stand at the Cabinet  meeting today on the eve of the 60th Merdeka Anniversary to veto Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from visiting White House to meet President Trump on Sept. 12 to spare 30 million Malaysians international  shame and humiliation as the US Government  had virtually branded  the Malaysian Prime Minister as kleptocrat by being “MO1” in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ)’s kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-assets in the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

In the last two years, Najib  has not cleared or cleansed  himself after  being branded by  the American Government as a kleptocrat by being  “MO1” in the US DOJ’s largest kleptocratic forfeiture suits.

Najib cannot deny that he is “MO1” as his Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Economic Planning Unit, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, had told the world in a BBC interview last September that only an idiot would not know that the US DOJ reference of  “MO1” was referring to  none other than Najib.

The corruption problem in Malaysia has come to a stage where even Perak Sultan Nazrin has declared publicly that sixty years after Merdeka, corruption has become one of Malaysia’s major ills.

Speaking at the launching of the book
“Fulfilling A Legacy – Tun Razak Foundation”
 by Shahreen Kamaluddin in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Sultan Nazrin said that if Tun were alive today, he would be disappointed by the scale and magnitude of the corruption problem in Malaysia today.

He  said: “Tun Abdul Razak’s heart would be crushed in following the exposure after exposure, arrest after arrest because of widespread corruption involving top officials and educated individuals which have tainted the country’s good name.”

What is noteworthy is that the  Perak ruler had not even  referred to the monstrous 1MDB scandal which had overnight given Malaysia  international infamy and ignominy for being regarded worldwide as  a global kleptocracy.

In the  extraordinary and unprecedented Merdeka video “Citizen” where the MCA President and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai took on a double acting role, corruption was also listed as one of the national  catastrophes which had caused Malaysians to lose hope in Malaysia and in the Malaysian Dream.

Malaysians can lose hope in the Cabinet Ministers or the government-of-the day, but they must never lose hope in Malaysia or the Malaysian Dream to be a world-class nation of achievement and excellence in every field of human endeavour.

The Cabinet failed Malaysians in their big failure on the eve of the 60th Merdeka Anniversary to send out a clear and unmistakable  message to Malaysians and the world that the Malaysian government and people will not tolerate any culture,  politics or government of corruption.

It is now left to ordinary 30 million Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics  to be more patriotic than the Cabinet Ministers and  to save Malaysia from kleptocracy and extremism and to revive the Merdeka Dream for Malaysia to be a world-class nation in every field of human endeavor.

Let us make the 60th Merdeka Anniversary the turning-point for Malaysia, to stop the rot, bigotry and the distrust in the country and to achieve the Malaysian Dream where all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, can hold their heads high as citizens of a great achieving nation in every field of human endeavor.

Happy 60th Merdeka Anniversary to all Malaysians!

(60th Merdeka Anniversary Message in Gelang Patah on August 30, 2017)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 30 August 2017, 9:55 pm and is filed under
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How did we lose our way in our journey started  60 years ago to pursue the Merdeka Dream?

Congratulations to the 844-strong Malaysian contingent for the golden harvest of 145 gold medals, 92 silver and 86 bronze at the 2017 SEA Games which concluded yesterday.

This is the only silver lining and glimmer of hope in the 60th Merdeka Anniverary celebrations today – a far cry from this day sixty years ago when we set out as a young nation, brimming with hope and confidence, dedicated,  in the words of the Merdeka Proclamation 1957 and  reaffirmed in the Malaysia Proclamation six year later, that  the nation “shall be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.

The  remarkable and unprecedented Merdeka video “Citizen” by Pete Teo where the MCA President and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai took on a double acting role, captured the Malaysian malaise sixty years after Merdeka – the sense of hopelessness even despair, felt by patriotic Malaysians at the state of Malaysia today.

The video unerringly stated the problem but tantalisingly left the solution unstated.

I would advise Malaysians who have not watched the video “Citizen” to do so and to think of the best solution to the problem.

How did we lose our way from our journey 60 years ago to pursue the Malaysia Dream?

Have we forgotten the  pledge in the  Merdeka and Malaysia Proclamation to pursue the great Malaysian Dream of a Malaysia of Excellence, Justice, Compassion and Freedom?

The Prime Minister launched the international initiative of the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) at the United Nations in 2000 to unite and mobilise moderates of all religions and all countries in the world to  marginalize extremists, reclaim the centre, and shape the agenda towards peace and pragmatism.

He even persuaded ASEAN leaders to adopt the ASEAN Langkawi Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates in April 2015, committing all ASEAN governments and leaders to recognize and promote moderation as an all-encompassing approach embracing democratic values, good governance, rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms, equitable and inclusive economic growth, tolerance and mutual respect and adherence to social justice.

But today, like Najib’s other landmark 1Malaysia initiative, the GMM is virtually dead, succumbing to the pressures of extremists for the removal of the founding CEO of GMM, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

Even worse, Malaysia has ceased to be regarded as  moderate even by  Islamic scholars and academicians.

Who would have thought that just two years ago,  Malaysia would have delivered the self-inflicted  international “blackeye” of being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy?

The Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad in a Merdeka Day and Hari Raya Aidiladha message urged Malaysians to reject graft and to appreciate the true meaning of independence and to free themselves from the culture of corruption that could destroy the nation.

Conveying his Hari Raya Aidiladha greetings, Dzulkifli  urged the  people to understand the meaning of sacrifice (korban), stating:

“As a form of sacrifice, every person should have the strength and a strong identity to build this beloved country and not become involved in corruption and abuse of power which will destroy one self, one’s family, and the country.”

Would Dzulkifli set the example of his own words by demonstrating that MACC has “the strength and a strong identity” to rid Malaysia of the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy, starting with independent, professional and  fearless action on the 1MDB scandal and “MO1”?

May be  Dzulkifli can start by restoring MACC’s credibility, proving that it would no more brook compromise of  its  integrity for the sake of political expediency.

As aptly described by a critic of MACC: “You can catch all the mackerel or even tuna, but as long as you let the  sharks freely swim the seven seas, your name will remain buried in the mud.”

MACC can make a good start by apologising for the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock at MACC premises in Shah Alam eight years ago. Show contrition and  remorse.  Is Dzulkifli prepared to do this?

The corruption problem in Malaysia has come to a stage where even Perak Sultan Nazrin has declared publicly that sixty years after Merdeka, corruption has become one of Malaysia’s major ills.

Speaking at the launching of the book
“Fulfilling A Legacy – Tun Razak Foundation”
 by Shahreen Kamaluddin in Kuala Lumpur two days ago, Sultan Nazrin said that if Tun were alive today, he would be disappointed by the scale and magnitude of the corruption problem in Malaysia.

Let ordinary Malaysians save the day,  make the 60th Merdeka Anniversary the turning-point for Malaysia to stop the rot, bigotry and extremism in the country and to achieve the Malaysian Dream where all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, can hold their heads high as citizens of a great achieving nation in every field of human endeavor.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 August 2017, 8:39 am and is filed under
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Make Malaysia Tanah Melayu Again? – Reflections on the Sixtieth Anniversary of Merdeka

M. Bakri Musa

31st August 2017

 The deadly white supremacists’ riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, and the much less lethal but no less dangerous fracas at the Nothing-to-Hide 2 Forum in Shah Alam the following day, may have occurred at literally opposite ends of the globe and in a diametrically different cultural milieu, nonetheless the underlying racial and socio-political dynamics share many eerie and frightening similarities.

         Factoring time zone differences, the two events took place at about the same time. There were other similarities but before pursuing them it is worth recalling the differences.

         While mega terabytes were consumed by tapes of and commentaries on that Charlottesville riot, as befit a tragedy that shook and shocked the comfortable core assumptions of America, the Malaysian fracas was remarkable for the silence of the establishment and mainstream media, reflecting their tacit approval. Only with the vigorous alternate media was this shameful and glaring deficit exposed.

         In America, no commentary touched me more than the brief and prescient essay by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. Written last November for
The New Yorker’s
 series
“Mourning For Whiteness”
 following President Trump’s marginal electoral victory, she foresaw early the link between that and the future Charlottesville riot.

         To me, born and raised in Malaysia but now domiciled in America, Morrison’s “Making America White Again” illuminated as much about my adopted country as of my native land.

         “The choices made by white men who are prepared to abandon their humanity out of fear of black men and women,” Morrison wrote, “suggest the true horror of lost status.” The status referred to is white privilege in America.

         This “true horror of lost status,” even the hint or threat of, is also what drives Malays to a frenzy of abandoning their humanity out of fear of their fellow non-Malay Malaysians. It prompts young Malays into slipper- and firebomb-throwing riots while their leaders brandish their
kerises
, threatening to soak them with the blood of non-Malays.

         Substitute “white privilege” for “special privileges,” or
Ketuanan Melayu
 in local lingo, and the underlying dynamics are comparable and no less ugly.

         Inflammatory words are uttered and crude gestures mimed by UMNO and PERKASA leaders invoking
Ketuanan Melayu
, not in the heat of emotional electoral debates or idle coffee shop talks but in the lofty air-conditioned halls of party headquarters and modernish ministerial suites at Putrajaya. Those in our public universities too are afflicted by this virulent virus.

         “Immigrants to America know (and knew) that if they want to become real, authentic Americans,” observed Morrison, “they must reduce their fealty to their native country and regard it as secondary, subordinate, in order to emphasize their whiteness.”

         “… United States holds whiteness as the unifying force,” she continued. “Here, for many people, the definition of ‘Americanness’ is color.”

         The “whiteness” equivalence in Malaysia is not skin color (thank Allah, for Malaysians come in various hues!), rather its equally sinister correlate–race. In Malaysia that is also tied to religion, making for an extra toxic and very volatile brew.

         In America during slavery, color ranking was obvious; there was little need to be explicit. Non-whites “knew their place,” or ought to! Breach that or in any way be seen as being uppity, and you would pay the terrible consequences.

         In today’s post-civil rights America, “white people’s conviction of their natural superiority is being lost. Rapidly lost. There are ‘people of color’ everywhere threatening to erase this long-understood definition of America,” wrote Morrison.

         We already had a black President. What more do blacks want, mocked Morrison. Another black President? A predominantly black Senate? Three black Supreme Court Justices? The threat is frightening.

         What more do blacks want? That recalls Prime Minister Najib’s earlier chilling threat “what more do the Chinese want?” following his party’s near-death experience with the “Chinese tsunami” of the last general elections.

         As in pre-emancipation America, racial identity (and the inevitable ranking) in Malaysia is explicit, enshrined in her constitution and institutions. At least our past leaders rationalized that on the need to ameliorate the socio-economic marginalization of Malays, the country’s largest ethnic entity. Today that provision is being exploited with a vengeance to ape the old colonial “divide and rule” imperative and imperialism.

         With norms of human rights and racial equality becoming universal, Malays’ conviction of our natural superiority is being challenged, and fast being lost, echoing Morrison on white privilege.

         Everywhere, Malaysia and America included, economic power and political realities on the ground trump established legal provisions and pat historical assumptions. Non-Malays, from the peninsula to East Malaysia, threaten to erase this long understood and accepted definition of Malaysia.

         I do not presume to know what non-Malays want. A non-Malay Prime Minister? Appeals Court packed with non-Malay judges? Predominantly non-Malay cabinet ministers? As in America, the threat is both real and frightening.

         Witness the raging controversy, public as well as in the rarified chambers of the Bar, to the extension of the due-to-retire Chief Justice Raus Sharif, an ugly manifestation of the fear that the top judicial post could go to a non-Malay, and from East Malaysia to boot.

         To limit this possibility of untenable change, and restore Malayness to its status as a marker of national unity and defining character of Malaysia, a number of Malays are sacrificing themselves, like white Americans over their privileges. Malays have begun to do things we clearly don’t really want to be doing, as with abandoning our sense of human dignity and risking the appearance of cowardice, all in the pursuit of making Malaysia
Tanah Melayu
 (Land of the Malays) again.

         Much as Malays hate our behavior, and know full well how craven it is, we are willing to let, for example, Malay babies be abandoned rather than be adopted and showered with love by non-Malay families, desecrate the venerated symbols of other faiths, and engage in obscene behaviors in front of homes of non-Malay leaders. As shameful as such demonstrations of weakness are (make no mistake, those are expressions of weakness and desperation, not of courage or wisdom), we continue doing so.

         To keep alive this
Ketuanan Melayu
 illusion, Malays tuck our heads under the banner of Malay sultans and legendary heroes like Hang Tuah, while shunning the necessary hard work needed to prepare for modern realities and current challenges. No surprise then that we are overrepresented among the socially dysfunctional. To them,
Ketuanan Melayu
 remains a titillating tease at best and a cruel hoax at worse.

         What Malays have done, egged on by our leaders, are not acts of courage or deeds of the wise. Quite the contrary. Only the frightened would do that, and the dumb.

         Just as America of the Confederacy was very different than today’s Union (for one, it is considerably larger, with most states joining in after the Civil War; for another, more diverse), likewise today’s Malaysia is far different from the old Tanah Melayu. There is minimal Malayness today or in the past in Sabah and Sarawak, or Penang for that matter.

         The path to genuine, laudable and enviable
Ketuanan Melayu
, in contrast to the mirage of
Tuan
 perpetrated by our leaders or the crippled-on-crutches caricature portrayed by those contemptuous of us, may be difficult but is no secret. Get a good education, pursue something productive, and contribute to society. Then we could become Tuan even in lands other than Tanah Melayu and live Hang Tuah’s immortal words,
Takkan Melayu Hilang Di Dunia!
 (Malays shall not be lost in this world!) Anything less and we are doomed to be
hamba
 (slave) even in
Tanah Melayu
.

         To the sons and daughters of my native Malaysia, on this the sixtieth anniversary of Merdeka, do not be led astray by the false prophets and delusional aspirations of
Ketuanan Melayu
. Unshackle yourselves. Modify the rallying cry of our forefathers from
“Merdeka Tanah Melayu”
 to
“Merdeka Minda Melayu!”

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 August 2017, 12:23 pm and is filed under
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Malay Tsunami in Malaysia: A 10% Malay swing possible

The Independent

Singapore

August 29, 2017

“A Malay swing against the BN of 15% would bring BN’s Malay support to about 50% which would leave BN teetering on a knife’s edge.” said Dr Ong.

How much of a Malay swing against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) is needed for the opposition Pakatan Harapan to win the upcoming General Elections in Malaysia?

This has been the question asked by many, though on the ground, there is a feel that the BN has lost a significant percentage of support among the Malay community.

But as Dr. Ong Kian Ming Member of Parliament (MP) for Serdang explained in a recent media statement issued from his office as MP, a swing in support from Malays, Chinese and Indians (the largest ethnic groups in Malaysia) has happened before and it would not be surprising if it were to repeat in the next GE.

Table 1 below shows the estimated support for the BN by racial group and changes in racial support for the BN from 1995 to 2013. See Table 1.

Table 1: Estimated support for the BN by racial groups in Peninsular Malaysia, 1995 to 2013

       1995	  1999	           2004	           2008	          2013

Malay	81%	54% (-27%)	65% (+11%)	59% (-6%)	64% (+5%)

Chinese	55%	65% (+10%)	75% (+10%)	35% (-40%)	14% (-21%)

Indian	>90%	>90% (NA)	>90% (NA)	48% (-42%)	38% (-10%)

(Change from one election to the next is in brackets) (NA = Not Available)

Source: Estimates by Dr. Ong Kian Ming

According to the MP – who made his own calculations of the Malay-Chinese-Indian swings in the last 5 GE’s in Malaysia (from 1995-2013), the elections in 1999 are to be viewed as central in the next GE.

At that time, the country was still in the shock of the Anwar Ibrahim trial, his sacking from Umno and from the government – in which he lost his post of deputy PM and that of Minister of FInance – and this brought a massive swing of Malay votes to the opposition.

The ‘Anwar Factor’ as we will call it here damaged the BN-Umno to the point that it had to count on the Chinese-Indian votes that did not swing outwardly to remain in power.

The BN and the Umno had then lost a massive number of seats and a large percentage of votes in the so-called Malay belt made of the states of Kedah-Kelantan-Terengganu. The Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) benefited largely from the Malay swing in 1999, becoming the largest opposition party in Parliament.

Hence, Dr. Ong in his media statement said a Malay swing of 10% is not out of the question given the impact of Tun Dr. Mahathir and the formation of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).

He said the creation of Pakatan Harapan which includes Mahathir’s PPBM is a significant milestone for the opposition.

With a historically unpopular Prime Minister Najib Razak, the 1MDB scandal, and the impact of the ‘infamous’ goods and services tax (GST) resulting in a sudden rise in the cost of living, the Malay vote is likely to swing against the BN in GE14, said Dr Ong.

“A Malay swing against the BN of 15% would bring BN’s Malay support to about 50% which would leave BN teetering on a knife’s edge.

“A swing of 15% or more in any voting block doesn’t usually occur but we are living in unusual circumstances. It happened in 1999 among the Malay voters and it happened again in 2008 among the non-Malay voters.

“If I had been told in 2013 that Dr. Mahathir and Tan Sri Muhyiddin would form a new political party to fight UMNO in GE14, I would have said that you were out of your mind. And yet, what was then unthinkable is now reality. As unlikely as a 15% swing may sound, it is not out of the realm of impossibility,” he said.

Of course, if there is a 15% swing in the Malay vote against the BN, the next question we have to ask is how much of this swing would go to PH and how much of this would go to PAS? To answer this question would require another media statement, said Dr Ong.

The PAS has since the jailing of Anwar Ibrahim for the second time in 17 years joined the Umno in a tacit alliance (not yet officially declared) in which the Umno and the PAS hopes they will garner sufficient Malay support to keep the BN in power.

The BN-Umno said they are winning the elections with a massive turnout in their favour as Najib Razak is still popular and the issues of 1MDB and GST are well and buried away from the voters concerns.

However, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has written about a 10 and 5 formula whereby a swing of 10% against the BN by Malay voters and a swing of 5% by non-Malay voters would enable PH to win 113 out of 165 parliament seats.

That would equate to 68% of seats in Peninsular Malaysia, thereby paving the way for PH to get to Putrajaya and form the next Government.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 31 August 2017, 3:05 am and is filed under
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Chinese flood Johor in Malaysia to invest in US$100b ‘eco city’ billed as the ‘next Shenzhen’

BY SYLVAIN OURBIS

South China Morning Post

1 SEP 2017

Lured by its proximity to Singapore, investors from China are making a beeline for southern Malaysia, where an ambitious US$100 billion real-estate development called Forest City is changing the face of the landscape

The moment I set foot in the immigration building, I am approached by two customs officers in army fatigues, buzzing walkie-talkies strapped at the shoulder. Before I start worrying about what’s in my backpack, they address me in a friendly, almost conspiratorial tone. My jaws unclench as I realise the object of their concern – the queue. It’s long. Frighteningly so.

I am at the Tuas checkpoint, on the southern side of the Malaysia-Singapore border, waiting to leave the Lion City for a visit to the state of Johor. It’s Friday afternoon, probably the worst time of the week for such an undertaking, but the queues have been made significantly worse of late by an overwhelming number of tourists from China crossing the Johor Strait.

“We’re not really prepared for such waves of people,” says one of the officers. The immigration building is modern and spacious, with several counters open, but looking at the queues, I understand what he means. “We’ll let you out through this other lane, you’ll just have to swipe your passport at the machine,” he continues, sotto voce, pointing at an empty lane reserved for Singaporean citizens.

I feel like I’m being smuggled out, and I can’t help blushing when I look again at those desperate faces sulking their way through never-ending lines. One swipe, and I’m out of Singapore.

My luck lasts only so long, though. Once at the tiny, disorganised Malaysian checkpoint, there’s no escaping the body-to-body shuffle. This time, no officer comes to my rescue. The only way to cut the queue would be to go to Forest City.

The grandest real-estate development under way in Johor, the “next Shenzhen” is just 10 minutes by car from the Malaysian checkpoint and will one day cover what is now only sea, mangrove wetlands and fishing villages. The 20 sq km city, straddling four man-made islands, will eventually accommodate up to 700,000 residents.

Launched in 2014, the US$100 billion mega-project is administered by Country Garden Pacific View (CGPV), a joint venture between Guangdong-based, Hong Kong-listed Country Garden, China’s third largest homebuilder, and local partner Esplanade Danga 88. It is of such a scale – and of such strategic importance to up-and-coming Johor – that everything is being done to ensure potential investors can easily reach the show gallery. At the Malaysian checkpoint, a “privilege lane” has been set up just for visitors to Forest City, with an accelerated stamping process, and direct shuttle buses wait outside.

But I’m expected elsewhere first, so no privilege lane for me. I shoot envious glances that way, though, and see that most of the people in line are holding a Chinese passport. There are a few Singaporean and Middle Eastern visitors as well; word about Forest City has obviously spread far and near.

To drive around southern Johor is to witness a landscape in the midst of radical transformation. Roads are being widened, hills levelled, wide patches of secondary forest and mangrove chopped down to make way for more transport infrastructure.

Every few kilometres comes a new, nondescript urban area in which seafood restaurants and massage parlours abound, many promoted in neon-bright Chinese characters. Scattered along the coast, long billboards mark the boundaries of ongoing and upcoming developments. On all of them, the same images of luxury, Western-inspired community living, of perfect harmony between man and nature.

In 2006, Johor’s southern coastline and part of the hinterland – in all 2,200 sq km, more than one-tenth of the state – were designated as a special economic region. The rising conurbation, which is modelled after the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone and the success story of Shenzhen, is known as Iskandar, the name Arabs call Alexander the Great, the empire builder from whom many Muslim monarchs in Asia once claimed distant, and wishful, descendancy.

Johor is itself a sultanate, one of the richest of nine in Malaysia. The current sultan, Ibrahim Ismail, is a well respected, charismatic figure whose inherited stance of “Johor first, Malaysia second” ensures his popularity among locals while raising a few eyebrows in Putrajaya, the country’s federal capital. He is also a shrewd businessman who owns a number of companies, in various sectors, one of which is Esplanade Danga 88.

Touted as the “eco-smart city of the future”, Forest City was envisioned by the sultan himself, as part of “a balanced development where the people of Johor will benefit”.

How China’s overseas property dream turned into a nightmare

When I finally get there, like most visitors to its ultra-modern sales complex, I am left speechless by the man-sized scale model on display. A collection of spacecraft-shaped towers – all draped in green plastic: the so-called “vertical greenery” – standing alongside private villas, glitzy shopping malls, international schools and state-of-the-art production facilities. An Avatar-like world of pharaonic proportions, all built from scratch.

Forest City’s show gallery is designed to be both entertaining and educational. While adults are led along to view its various exhibits and mock-up flats by chatty, kebaya-clad sales ladies, their children jump about on trampolines under the stern gaze of Nepali Gurkha guards standing at attention. Forest City also sports a five-star hotel, the Phoenix, and a shopping lane, as well as its own mascot, Mr Forest, a moustachioed grenadier with white bearskin and green coat who is depicted in a number of 10-foot statues and is a hit with selfie takers young and old.

On a giant screen, testimonials by Chinese celebrities and announcements of awards such as the “Oscars for Human Settlements” look unconvincing to this non-resident of the Middle Kingdom. But the verbal sales pitch is well-calibrated, with a strong emphasis on the already sold units and the proximity of Forest City to Chinese-speaking Singapore – the project’s ace card as far as most investors are concerned.

The news from China earlier this year of tighter financial regulations to stem capital outflows – and the prospect of a ghost town in the making – is mentioned by the sales ladies, but is swiftly countered with a well-rehearsed mantra: “The sultan of Johor is a shareholder in this project, and you can rest assured: when the sultan wants something done, he gets it done.”

China’s Country Garden says it’s back on track in Malaysia. Is it?

Nevertheless, Country Garden has had to shut its showrooms in China, and it’s difficult to see where else it will find the large army of investors needed to fill its many apartments.

Up to 800 people a day walk through the glass doors that connect the shopping-mall-style parking area to the sales gallery, according to news reports, more at weekends.

Beyond the sales gallery and across manicured gardens is a landscaped beach, which faces Singapore. When I visit, a number of Malay families, neatly dressed in traditional clothing, are strolling on the sand and chatting on benches. Children are playing among the crab and sea lion statues while their parents take selfies; this is a picture-perfect opportunity, and it seems to hardly matter that all this may soon be off-limits to the general public.

Malay families on a beach near Forest City, the moustachioed mascot of which is visible in the background. Picture: Edward Hursta

Malay families on a beach near Forest City, the moustachioed mascot of which is visible in the background. Picture: Edward Hursta

I’m invited to join Faizal, Idris and their friends for dinner. Faizal’s house is opposite the access road to Forest City’s construction site. At my request, Faizal first takes me for a spin on a dirt road inside the loosely guarded building site.

“It is good for Johor,” Liza, 21 and on the beach, says with excitement and no small amount of pride. She and her family have come from Johor Bahru, the state capital, 35km away. “The project looks so amazing. I hope it brings many jobs and many foreigners here.”

Forest City has been advertised locally as the ultimate environmentally friendly, duty-free escape. Iskandar will, they are promised, become one the world’s most dynamic metropolises. Other strollers look less impressed.

“We just come here to chill and look at people,” says Faizal, 19, who rides his scooter into Forest City a few times a week with his friends from nearby Mukim Tanjung Kupang, one of the fishing villages that skirt what so far exists of the development.

“You see many Malaysians here today, but on weekdays it’s mostly Chinese from China,” says Idris, one of Faizal’s friends, lounging in a beach chair. “They’re the ones with the money.”

Entry prices in Forest City are set at about US$170,000 for a smallish, two-room apartment – cheaper than across the Strait, for sure, but expensive by Malaysian standards.

It’s about 5pm and the day shift is coming to an end. Heavy trucks travel at pace in and out of the site, a thick cloud of dust behind each. From the direction of the 20 cranes in the distance, droves of foreign workers with muddied skin and clothes head back to their quarters, some of them haggard and dragging their boots, but many of them in a jolly mood. Mainland Chinese, Bangladeshis, Indonesians, Burmese – all stick to their own kind.

From the narrow windows of their makeshift dormitories, which are about 100 metres inside the entrance of the construction site, come the sounds of cooking and smells of curry.

“I’d rather stick to my factory job,” says Faizal, dismissively. “Let’s go, you must be hungry.”

The month-long Hari Raya celebrations are coming to an end, and Malay families are holding the last of their open-house gatherings, inviting family, neighbours and even random strangers like me to share home-cooked food and company.

In Faizal’s home, I’m offered mussels freshly harvested by his father, Muhammad, from a nearby kelong, a wooden platform that sticks out into the sea. The mussels are fleshy and juicy: boiled with lemongrass and ginger, they taste wonderful.

“Our house will be pulled down within the next 10 years,” says Muhammad. “When exactly, we don’t know.”

Local authorities have already paid them a visit, to inform them of the development plans for the area. Compensation will be granted by CGPV and social-housing apartment blocks in Gelang Patah, the nearest town, about 15km inland, already await them and other displaced families.

“We’ll be sad to leave this home behind, especially since we have so many memories here. But I hope that it will bring new opportunities to my children,” says Muhammad.

He works as a truck driver and supplements his income with a bit of fishing in his spare time. He says many of his fishing friends have been deeply affected by the Forest City project. The root of their trouble: the causeway built by CGPV to allow the reclamation required for the artificial islands cuts right across the Tanjung Kupang sea grass meadow, the largest of its kind in Malaysia.

China developer Country Garden expects 20 billion yuan in sales from Malaysia project this year

“I used to go there and collect seashells and other molluscs, but there are fewer now than before,” says Muhammad. “Fish are fewer, too, and my friends have to go further out to sea to get their catch, which increases their petrol costs.”

Complaints were filed with the authorities as early as 2014 and an agreement was reached with CGPV for financial compensation for those most affected. The company also pledged to protect the sea grass meadow, which can be seen just 200 metres away from Forest City’s artificial beach. CGPV admitted in stakeholder meetings to having had no knowledge of it when reclamation work started. At the time, it had also not provided the legally required Environmental Impact Assessment, and did so only when Singapore started voicing concerns to the Malaysian government.

Forest City might boasting vertical greenery, but the real forest – the one that has thrived here for millennia and which many villagers depend on for their livelihood – is the mangrove of the Pulai River. Gazetted in 2003 as a Ramsar site, wetland designated of international importance, and spanning 9,126 hectares, the reserve, which is just a few kilometres to the west of Forest City, is now at severe risk.

Cutting through mangroves is a two-way dirt road along which bulldozers and trucks filled with earth trundle back and forth as a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course takes shape in the heart of the reserve, near the village of Simpang Arang. On both sides of the road, swampy plots can already be seen amid the muddy and exuberant mangrove thickets, disconnected from the river basin and being left to fester.

Three golf courses have been promised to Forest City’s investors, and the scene at this one is of devastation. Looking around, all the eco-talk I heard in the show gallery begins to sound hollow.

Faced with unavoidable change, some proactive villagers have started to consider diversifying their sources of income and to work on saving what can still be saved.

Why are Chinese moving to Malaysia by the thousands?

“Simple ecotourism and aquaculture initiatives [mussel and oyster breeding programmes, for instance] are slowly developing into alternative means of livelihood for villagers,” says an author of studies into the situation who declines to be named. “That’s the only way parts of the region’s original ecosystem will be preserved: if it is seen as bringing potential value to the developers.”

Due for completion in 18 years (although, realistically, it’s not expected to house the full 700,000 people until 2050), Forest City will have an irreversible impact on Johor’s southern coastline and its communities. Despite temporary setbacks – such as barriers to Chinese investment, complaints from affected villagers and unwelcome independent media coverage – CGPV seems to be sticking to its ambitious schedule; at least phase 2 got under way in June, as planned, and the developer has not announced any delay in construction.

Ready cash and support from the local royals obviously help, but will they always?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 September 2017, 8:07 pm and is filed under
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We must re-ignite hope among Malaysians to get out of the prevailing sense of hopelessness by stating the truth and not resort to UMNO/BN tactics of lies, fake news and false information

I told a news conference at Taman Mutiara Rini in Gelang Patah on Tuesday two things about  the forthcoming general elections:

Firstly
, that from the general election results in 2004, 2008 and 2013,  UMNO/BN is likely to lose Johor Baru as the sole capital won by UMNO/BN candidates, losing two if not all the three parliamentary constituencies in the Johore capital, namely Tebrau, Pasir Gudang and Johor Baru; and

Secondly
, that DAP is keen to contest in one of the three Johor Baru parliamentary constituencies,  even the most difficult one of Johor Baru parliamentary constituency, but  that the final decision will be made by the Pakatan Harapan leadership.

In the last two days, I had declined  questions  by the media to discuss critical responses to my statement as I do not want to involve in any public polemics on the matter.

However lies, fake news and false information whether from UMNO/BN or any other quarter cannot be left unchallenged.

There is prevailing  hopelessness and despair  in the land about the possibility of democratic change through the ballot box, which was why the MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai starred in the double role in Pete Teo’s Merdeka video “Citizens”.

Unfortunately, although “Citizens” conveyed the prevailing sense of hopelessness and despair in the land about the possibility of political change through the democratic process, the most outstanding message of the Merdeka video is Liow’s inability to inspire hope and confidence in the future.

A typical response to the “Citizens” video posted on the social media is as follows:

“I am very disappointed and disheartened that you as the leader of MCA (and other top leaders in MCA) does not and still cannot understand the real problems we are facing.

“In 1995 election, MCA won 15/52 seats; in 1995, it was 30/192; in 2004, it was 31/219 but at the last election dropped dramatically to 7/222!!! Who does this figure tell us?

“In the video u keep on emphasise that we should not lose hope in Malaysia. WE DID NOT LOSE HOPE IN MALAYSIA, in fact WE LOST HOPE IN MCA.”

The past week had provided some solace and hope to UMNO/BNM leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers that the momentum of awakened new hope, confidence and expectation among Malaysians who want political change to save Malaysia from sliding down the trajectory of a failed and a rogue state, caused by the seismic development on July 14 when Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council announced the Pakatan Harapan structure, logo and leadership line-up could be broken by internal Pakatan Harapan differences and contradictions.

This has resulted in an intensification of UMNO/BN campaign of lies, fake news and false information about Pakatan Harapan and Pakatan Harapan leaders, in particular about DAP leaders being the puppet-masters pulling the leaders of other Pakatan Harapan leaders, like Mohamad Sabu, Rafizi Ramli, Nurul Izzah, Azmin Ali, Wan Azizah, Anwar Ibrahim, Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on the puppet strings, doing the DAP leaders’ every beck and call.

A question has been raised as to whether  DAP should get a Chinese-majority seat by virtue of being a Chinese party?

The answer is  a triple negative – “No” to DAP should get a Chinese-majority seat “by virtue of being a Chinese party”, “No” to DAP being a Chinese party; and “No” to any one of the three parliamentary in Johor Baru  as Chinese-majority seats.

In the last general election, the racial breakdown of the three parliamentary constituencies are as follows:

			Malays 	     Chinese 	     Indians

Tebrau (90,482 voters) 	47%		38%		13%

Pasir Gudang (101,041)	47%		38%		11%

Johor Bahru (96,321)	51%		43%		 5%

None of these three Johor Baru parliamentary constituenhcies could be descrbied as “Chinese-majority” seats.

It is understandable if the allegation that the DAP is a Chinese party comes UMNO and BN, which have been spearheading a campaign of lies, fake news and false information against DAP and Pakatan Harapan leaders but it should not come from any Pakatan Harapan quarter.

However, in the present circumstances,  I am prepared to overlook such lapses.

I had previously said  that a 10% swing in the Malay vote and a 5% swing in the non-Malay vote against the Barisan Nasional  and towards Pakatan Harapan is sufficient for Pakantan Harapan  to win the Federal Governemnt with 113 parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia and  to retain control of the Penang and Selangor state governments as well as  to win control of the Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Perak state governments.

If there is a 10% swing in the Malay vote and a 5% swing in the non-Malay vote against the Barisan Nasional in favour of Pakatan Harapan, Pakatan Harapan will win 36 out of 56 State Assembly seats in Johore, namely:

N01	Buloh Kasap

N02	Jementah

N03	Pemanis

N05	Tenang

N06	Bekok

N08	Jorak

N09	Gambir

N10	Tangkak

N11 	Serom

N12	Bentayan

N13 	Sungai Abong

N14	Bukit Naning

N15	Maharani

N16	Sungai Balang

N19	Yong Peng

N21	Parit Yaani

N23	Penggaram

N24	Senggarang

N26	Machap

N28 	Mengibol

N29	Mahkota

N30	Paloh

N40	Tiram

N41  	Puteri Wangsa

N42	Johor Jaya

N43	Permas

N45	Stulang

N46	Pengkalan Rinting

N47	Kempas

N48	Skudai

N49	Nusa Jaya

N50	Bukit Permai

N51	Bukit Batu

N52	Senai

N54	Pulai Sebatang

N55	Pekan Nenas

We must re-ignite hope, confidence and expectation among Malaysians about the possibility of political change in the next general election  to get out of the prevailing sense of hopelessness by stating the truth and not resort to UMNO/BN tactics of lies, fake news and false information

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 September 2017, 8:29 am and is filed under
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Corruption is a word and subject Najib conspicuously omitted in his many speeches, statements and messages during the 60th Merdeka anniversary celebrations although it has become one of the four apocalypses of Malaysia

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has said many things in his speeches, statements and messages during the 60th Merdeka Anniversary celebrations, but one word and subject which Najib has conspicuously omitted is corruption, especially grand corruption or the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few at the expense of the many and causes serious and widespread harm to individuals and society.

This was a most conspicuous omission as corruption has become one of the four apocalypses of Malaysia, giving the country the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy in the last two years under his premiership and Najib.

Najib was the only head of government  who backed out in the last-minute  from delivering a key-note opening address at the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) Conference in Putrajaya in September 2015 on the theme: “Ending Impunity: People. Integrity. Action.” because Najib was fully aware that Malaysia had become a kleptocracy.

In ten days’ time, Najib would have the dubious honour of being the first government leader in the world  who have been branded as a  “kleptocrat” by the US Government through the US Department of Justice (DOJ) under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to pay homage to the US President Donald Trump.

Should Malaysians regard this Najib-Trump meeting in the White House on Sept. 12  as an honour to Malaysia or a national shame and disgrace to Malaysia, as for the last two years, Najib had done nothing to clear or cleanse himself of the US DOJ charge that he is a “kleptocrat” as “MO1” as well as to get the US government to concede that Malaysia has not become a kleptocracy under Najib?

Two days before the 60th Merdeka anniversary on Monday, I issued an Open Letter to all Cabinet Ministers asking them to take a patriotic stand at the Cabinet meeting to veto  Najib from visiting the White House to meet President Trump on Sept. 12 to spare 30 million Malaysians international  shame and humiliation as the US Government  had virtually branded  the Malaysian Prime Minister as a  kleptocrat, referred to as  “MO1” in the US DOJ kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-assets in the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Najib cannot deny that he is “MO1” as his Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Economic Planning Unit, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, had told the world in a BBC interview last September that only an idiot would not know that the US DOJ reference of  “MO1” was referring to  none other than Najib.

The corruption problem in Malaysia has come to a stage where even Perak Sultan Nazrin has declared it as one of the four “apocalypse” of the country sixty years after Merdeka.

Speaking at the launching of the book “Fulfilling A Legacy – Tun Razak Foundation” by Shahreen Kamaluddin in Kuala Lumpur on the eve of the 60th Merdeka anniversary, Sultan Nazrin said that if Tun were alive today, he would be disappointed by the scale and magnitude of the corruption problem in Malaysia today.

In Pete Teo’s  extraordinary and unprecedented Merdeka video “Citizens” where the MCA President and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai took on a double acting role, corruption was specifically mentioned as one of the national  “apocalypses” which had caused Malaysians to lose hope in Malaysia and in the Malaysian Dream.

I do not believe that the founding fathers of the nation, like Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman and his deputy, Tun Razak, had ever  expected Malaysia to fall so low as to be regarded worldwide as a global kleptocarcy.

Najib seems to have sub-contracted the task of fighting corruption to the new Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Datuk Dzulkifi Ahmad, provided the MACC respects the “no trespass” boundaries in its anti-corruption campaign – the Prime Minister and the top government leaders and the subject of the 1MDB scandal which has resulted in Malaysia getting the international infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy.

Dzulkifli issued an unprecedented Merdeka Day message and  urged Malaysians to reject graft and to appreciate the true meaning of independence and to free themselves from the culture of corruption that could destroy the nation.

Would Dzulkifli set the example of his own words by demonstrating that MACC has “the strength and a strong identity” to rid Malaysia of the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy, starting with independent, professional and  fearless action on the 1MDB scandal and “MO1”?

UMNO and BN leaders have been competing with each other to say the most inane and outrageous things  to justify their pretence and sham that the 1MDB scandal is not a real problem.

A most egregious example was provided by the UMNO Information Chief and former Cabinet Minister, Tan Sri Annuar Musa who  infamously said that Bank Negara’s forex loses a quarter of a century ago were real while 1MDB losses are only on paper.

DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua yesterday  asked if taxpayers were the ones footing the bill for the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) payments of some US$350 million  to International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

Would Annuar like to answer that 1MDB’s payment of some US$350 million to IPIC were just “only on paper” and were another of a series of fake transactions by 1MDB?

Another example of inane and outrageous statements by UMNO/BN leaders to hide the “apocalypse” of corruption in Malaysia is the one by the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak who came out with the bright idea that I am “actually scared that Najib’s vist to the US is going to prove that the DOJ is not after Najib after all”.

Are Salleh and the Cabinet Ministers afraid the Najib might be arrested by FBI in the United Staters? Nobody in his right senses suggests or believes that Najib would be nabbed by the US DOJ for “money-laundering” for the 1MDB scandal, when the US DOJ has not even arrested 1MDB mastermind, Jho Low and other protagonists of the 1MDB scandal.

Why is Najib or Salleh trying to prove something that nobody expects to happen in Najib’s forthcoming visit to  the United States.

The issue is not about Najib’s visit to the US but his visit to the White House to meet with President Trump, whose government has branded him as a “kleptocrat” as “MO1” in the largest klepocratic civil litigation by the DOJ.

The Cabinet failed Malaysians big-time in their  failure on the eve of the 60th Merdeka Anniversary to veto Najib’s visit to the White House and meeting President Trump to send out a clear and unmistakable  message to Malaysians and the world that the Malaysian government and people will not tolerate any culture,  politics or government of corruption.

It is now left to ordinary 30 million Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics  to be more patriotic than the Cabinet Ministers  to save Malaysia from kleptocracy and extremism and to revive the Merdeka Dream for Malaysia to be a world-class nation in every field of human endeavor.

This should be the  common resolve of all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, on the occasion of the 60th Merdeka anniversary of the nation!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 2 September 2017, 9:30 am and is filed under
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Najib is maker of biggest fake news in Malaysia that the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal does not exist and a sheer figment of imagination

Malaysians should not be surprised that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Paul Low yesterday expressed sympathy with US President Donald Trump with regard to the proliferation of “fake news” on the social media in the US, giving another example to the saying “Birds of the same feather flock together”.

This is because the maker of the biggest fake news in Malaysia is none other than the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, himself – in his pretence in the last two years that the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal does not exist and a sheer figment of the imagination.

The former Cabinet Minister and current UMNO Information Chief, Tan Sri Annuar Musa, want Malaysians to believe that the Bank Negara’s forex loses a quarter of a century ago were real while 1MDB losses are only on paper.

I am still waiting for Annuar’s response whether 1MDB’s payment of some US$350 million to IPIC a day before the August 31 deadline was “just only on paper” and another one of the fake transactions by 1MDB.

UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers are continuing their attack on me for my Open Letter to all Cabinet Ministers on August 28 to veto Najib’s scheduled visit to the White House and meeting with US President Trump.

They said that US President Trump’s invitation to Najib to the White House is a recognition of the highest order to the country.

They asked what I was afraid about Najib’s visit to the White House as there is no reason for Najib not to accept the invitation.

“All the more, the prime minister needs to go with the recognition accorded. This is a golden opportunity for Malaysia to attract more US investments to the country”, they claimed.

I do not agree.

When Najib visits the White House and meets Trump, he would have the dubious honour of being the first government leader in the world who have been branded as a “kleptocrat” by the US Government through the US Department of Justice (DOJ) under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to pay homage to the US President.

Should Malaysians regard this Najib-Trump meeting in the White House on Sept. 12 as an honour to Malaysia or an unmitigated national shame and disgrace to Malaysia?

If in the last two years, Najib had taken steps to clear or cleanse himself of the US DOJ charge that he is a “kleptocrat” as “MO1”, his forthcoming visit to the White House and meeting with US President Trump will not only be the greatest honour for him and the country, but a vindication and even a “triump over Trump” in the White House.

But Najib did absolutely nothing to rebut 1MDB allegations, which continue to hog international headlines in the past two years.

As it is, Najib cannot deny that he is “MO1” as his Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Economic Planning Unit, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, had told the world in a BBC interview last September that only an idiot would not know that the US DOJ reference of “MO1” was referring to none other than Najib.

The corruption problem in Malaysia has come to a stage where even Perak Sultan Nazrin has declared it as one of the four “apocalypse” of the country sixty years after Merdeka.

Speaking at the launching of the book “Fulfilling A Legacy – Tun Razak Foundation” by Shahreen Kamaluddin in Kuala Lumpur on the eve of the 60th Merdeka anniversary, Sultan Nazrin said that if Tun were alive today, he would be disappointed by the scale and magnitude of the corruption problem in Malaysia today.

Najib seems to have sub-contracted the task of fighting corruption to the new Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Datuk Dzulkifi Ahmad, provided the MACC respects the “no trespass” boundaries in its anti-corruption campaign – the Prime Minister and the top government leaders and the subject of the 1MDB scandal which has resulted in Malaysia getting the international infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy.

Dzulkifli issued an unprecedented Merdeka Day message and urged Malaysians to reject graft and to appreciate the true meaning of independence and to free themselves from the culture of corruption that could destroy the nation.

Dzulkifli should asks Najib when the Prime Minister is going to come clean on the 1MDB scandal, and state when MACC is going to launch a campaign to prove that Malaysia is not a global kleptocracy?

[
Speech at the DAP Johore election workshop in Batu Pahat on Sunday, 3rd September 2017 at 10 am
]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 3 September 2017, 9:02 pm and is filed under
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Pakatan Harapan parties must be prepared for three-cornered electoral tests in the 14GE, including in Selangor, and start explaining to PAS members why a vote for PAS is a vote for UMNO

Today’s 14th general election preparations meeting for DAP Johor in Batu Pahat may be the last pre-election meeting as we do not know when the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak will dissolve Parliament, followed by the dissolution of the various State Assemblies, leading to the 14th General Elections – whether on his return from his shameful and humiliating visit to the White House and US President Trump on Sept. 12 in his capacity as a “kleptocrat” and “MO1”; or after Najib’s 2018 Budget presentation in Parliament on Oct 27; or the beginning of next year by May when the puasa month for Muslims next year begins.

Be that as it may, the 13th Parliament is already in the final fifth year and three months, and the dilly-dallying about dissolution of Parliament and the calling of the 14th General Election stem from the weakness and not from the strength of Najib and UMNO/BN government.

Pakatan Harapan parties must seize the political initiative and momentum sparked off by the seismic political milestone on July 14 when the four Pakatan Harapan parties of DAP, PKR, Amanah and Pribumi Bersatu decided to put their differences aside and get their act together, announcing the structure, logo and new leadership line-up of Pakatan Harapan.

There is no doubt that the July 14 decision of Pakatan Harapan reignited the hopes and expectations of the people, regardless of race, religion or region, on the possibility, however how difficult, of political changes in the country.

Malaysia has travelled quite a long way since the last two general elections.

Just 10 years ago, those who questioned before the 2008 General Election whether it was possible to change the Federal Government would be regarded as either naive or crazy. The same response would be given to anyone who asked before the 2013 General Election whether it was possible to change the Johor State Government.

Now, as mentioned by the Johor DAP State Chairman and MP for Kluang, Liew Chin Tong this morning, the Pakatan Harapan objective in the 14GE must to be change the Federal Government as well as the Johore State Government.

It will not be an easy job to accomplish, but at least, both these objectives are within the realm of possible achievement in the 14th General Election.

In the past week or two, there had been some setbacks in intensifying and revving up the political momentum for change which was initiated by the July 14 announcement of Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council of its structure, logo and new leadership line-up, but all Pakatan Harapan leaders and parties must be mindful of the imperative that they must not allow the Pakatan Harapan political initiative and momentum launched on July 14 to lose steam, direction and power.

Pakatan Harapan is fighting against time, and if we want to build up the political momentum and pressures for change, there is no turning back to political dilly-dallying and procrastination.

There are those who think that the UMNO/BN coalition stands to gain from a three-cornered electoral contest involving BN, PH and PAS, and if UMNO/BN is to be defeated in the 14GE, there should be no three-cornered contests involving PAS.

This is not necessary the case, with the new political dynamics in the country.

PAS under the leadership of Datuk Seri Hadi Awang is not interested in defeating UMNO, but only helping UMNO to win through split votes.

PAS under Hadi is very different from PAS under Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat or PAS under the two previous Presidents, Fadil Noor and Yusuf Rawa.

Thirty-six years ago, Hadi came out with Amanat Hadi to destroy Umno; but today, Hadi has become the greatest apologist and defender of Najib and his 1MDB scandal, turning Malaysia into a global kleptocracy.

Pakatan Harapan parties and leaders must face the political reality that there will be three-cornered fights involving PAS, even in Selangor, in the 14GE.

This is why the earlier this political reality is faced, the greater the chances that Pakatan Harapan can beat UMNO/BN even in three-cornered fights to bring about a change of a Federal Government in Putrajaya and the Johore State Government in Nusajaya for the first time in the nation’s history.

I have said that if there is a swing of 10% of the Malay voters and 5% of the non-Malay voters from UMNO/BN to Pakatan Harapan in the 14GE as compared to 13GE, then the chances are good that Pakatan Harapan will be able to form both the Federal and Johore State Governments.

In the 2013 general elections, PAS achieved some 22% of voter support in the Johore State, but the overwhelming majority of this support for PAS would have come from DAP and PKR support.

PAS has not been able to win a single state assembly seat in 10 general elections from 1959 to 1999, and won its first state assembly seat in Johore in the 2004 general election. But this was PAS striking a lottery, for it won by default in a walkover as a result of the disqualification of the UMNO candidate in the 2004GE.

PAS won two state assembly seats in the 2008 and four state assembly seats in Johore in the 2013 general election, riding largely on the support for DAP and PKR.

I believe that if there is a three-cornered electoral contest in Johore in the 14GE, PAS will not win a single State Assembly seat in Johore and the percentage of votes polled in the state by PAS candidates will be reduced to between 5% to 8%.

This is because I do not believe that the majority of the PAS voters will agree with Hadi’s political support for Najib, the 1MDB and Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy.

But there is a need for a clarity of the political situation without any delay, and just as it is important that there should be time to reach out to the 3.5 million UMNO members that Najib must be defeated to save Malaysia from global kleptocracy, time is also needed to explain to the million PAS members that Hadi’s support for Najib and his global kleptoclracy is something Nik Aziz, Fadhil Noor or Yusuf Rawa would never have countenanced or supported.

[
Speech at the DAP kopitiam dialogue in Batu Pahat on Sunday, 3rd September 2017 at 3 pm
]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 3 September 2017, 9:10 pm and is filed under
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Restrictive education against spirit of Islam, says ex-Asean chief

Minderjeet Kaur |	September 2, 2017

Free Malaysia Today

Former Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan says until the 80s, Islamisation meant good Islamic values but now it has turned to mean more restrictions, less tolerance.

KUALA LUMPUR: The former secretary-general of Asean, Surin Pitsuwan said a restrictive and limited form of education was generating a shallow mindset among Muslims.

“There is an emphasis on the fundamentalist message that it has to be interpreted in one way and no other way.

“I don’t think that is the spirit of Islam. The spirit of Islam is to allow individuals with his or her own intelligence to be able to make judgements on some of the issues with the spirit of Islam in mind.”

He said when it is interpreted so literally, which is the fundamentalist approach, there is a tendency to limit mindset, and limit space in interaction with the world.

“The world is a diverse space. Everyone is a minority in the globalised world. We are not living on the planet alone. If our way is the only way exclusive of the rest, then that will turn us into an island.

“An island of insecurity and lacking confidence in interacting with the world,” Surin told FMT.

Surin, who is also a former foreign minister of Thailand, is in Kuala Lumpur to speak at a regional conference entitled, State of Democracy in Southeast Asia: Achievements, Challenges, Prospects.

He cautioned that such thinking will lead to mutual distrust to potential instability in Malaysia and other countries.

“And that is not only about Malaysia but everywhere with multi-ethnic communities.

“The only way forward is tolerance, mutual respect and giving each other space to fulfill his or her own mission of having a good society,” Surin said.

He added there has to be respect for rules and regulations by the government and its people to live peacefully.

Economic growth

Furthermore, he said a nation’s economy relies on its political stability.

“But if political space is restricted, if security cannot be assured and guaranteed, then there will be implications on the economy as well.

In the end, the political structure has to be right and with the proper ambiance, the economy will grow further.

“But without this, economic development will be affected.”

He added right up to the 80s, Islamisation used to be a good word where people integrated Islamic values and norms into every aspect of their life including in education, work and economic development.

However, now he said the meaning has taken a turn to becoming more restricted, less tolerant and complicating the efforts in governing a diverse country like Malaysia and other countries in the Islamic world.

“Islamisation has become identical to communal politics, which is not a fundamental message of Islam. Islam has to be a message of goodwill and a blessing for all mankind.

“We (Muslims) are in danger of becoming more inward looking and less tolerant, less respectful. It is not good for anyone.”

Surin added education itself was a reaction to the insecurities of being more inward and less tolerant.

He said after three to four decades of “very quick industrialisation and development, people lose control of their life. People feel insecure of their traditional norms and values and they feel their life has been affected.”

He said there was a need to go back to the basics to teach citizens to be relevant to society by looking at the situation in the context of a development process.

“They need to look at interaction with the rest of the Asean community and the world.”

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 3 September 2017, 6:13 am and is filed under
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A Pakatan Harapan Johore State Government will ensure that Johore will be among the top five states with the highest per capita GDP in the country, and not at present listed as even below Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Pahang

Malaysians are on the threshold of the 14th General Elections.

The four parties in the Pakatan Harapan coalition – DAP, PKR, Amanah and Pribumi Bersatu – must give hope and confidence to the voters that in the forthcoming general elections, which could take place within weeks or months, a seismic political change is possible, which includes the change to a Pakatan Harapan government both in Putrajaya and Nusajaya to form a Pakatan Harapan Federal Government as well as a Pakatan Harapan Johore state government.

There are three things a Pakatan Harapan Johore State Government can do if PH is given the mandate to take over Nusajaya in the 14th General Election.

Firstly, I agree with the Chairman of the PPBM Batu Pahat Division, Drs. Mohd Zaid Md Yusuf that there should be a public inquiry into the Johore GLCs to curb the abuses of power, breaches of trust and deviations in the state institutions to ensure that their foremost and primary task is to promote the welfare of the people and not to enrich a few in the state.

Secondly, a Pakatan Harapan must ensure that Johore can become one of the top five states with the highest per capita GDP, and not as at present, when Johore is listed as No. 9 among the list of state GDPs in Malaysia – even below Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Pahang.

Thirdly, a Pakatan Harapan Johore State Government will prove that it is more capable and successful in promoting the rights and the interests of the people of Johore as compared to the UMNO/BN Johore State Governments.

We must be wary of “blacks ops” propaganda campaign from UMNO/BN to demonise and character-assassinate DAP and Pakatan Harapan leaders in the short time before the 14GE is called.

I have been on the receiving end of such UMNO/BN demonisation campaign for decades, sometimes in very contradictory BN propaganda campaigns.

For instance, I have been accused of being a stooge and puppet of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad by MCA and Gerakan leaders among the non-Malay population, while Mahathir had been accused of being my stooge and puppet by UMNO in Malay areas.

I have spoken my mind without fear or favour during the 22 years when Mahathir was the Prime Minister of Malaysia, going through trials and tribulations, including losing my personal freedom when I was detained under the Internal Security in the mass arrests of Operation Lalang in 1987, while my son, the Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng was not only detained under the ISA during the Operation Lalang mass arrests, but was subsequently imprisoned in Kajang Prison and disqualified as Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka when he defended the honour and rights of an underaged Malay girl.

I was not a stooge or puppet of Mahathir when he was at the height of his powers during the 22 years when he was Prime Minister of Malaysia. Why should I now become a stooge or puppet of Mahathir today, when he is no more Prime Minister of Malaysia?

Similarly, why should Mahathir, who is now 92 years, become my stooge or puppet after being a Prime Minister for 22 years?

I am not Mahathir’s stooge nor is Mahathir my puppet. Whatever our differences or disagreements in the past, we are now in agreement that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal which transformed Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy are the greatest disasters for Malaysia, which must be stopped if Malaysia is not to continue too hurtle along the trajectory towards a failed and a rogue state.

I have been accused of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam but the very fact that the UMNO leaders and propagandists could not produce a single instance from my 51 years of political struggle to show that I am anti-Malay or anti-Islam is the strongest evidence of the lies that form the basis of these allegations.

DAP is a Malaysian party for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

We condemn Chinese chauvinism, Indian chauvinism and Malay chauvinism for we want to promote a Malaysian identity and consciousness which transcend race or religion – as Malaysia is unique plural nation of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures.

[
Speech at a Pakatan Harapan dialogue at Jalan Masjid, Batu Pahat on Sunday, 3rd September 2017 at 10 pm
]

                This entry was posted on Monday, 4 September 2017, 10:19 am and is filed under
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DAP supports Islamisation based on Constitution which promotes a nation-building process based on tolerance and mutual respect in a plural society and not one which engenders bigotry, hatred and extremism

I was attracted to a commentary by the former ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan, a Thai Muslim who is former Thai foreign minister, who was in Kuala Lumpur yesterday for a regional conference entitled
“State of Democracy in Southeast Asia: Achievements, Challenges, Prospects”
.

Surin said right up to the 80s, Islamisation used to be a good word where people integrated Islamic values and norms into every aspect of their life including in education, work and economic development.

However, now he said the meaning has taken a turn to becoming more restricted, less tolerant and complicating the efforts in governing a diverse country like Malaysia and other countries in the Islamic world.

He said: “Islamisation has become identical to communal politics, which is not a fundamental message of Islam. Islam has to be a message of goodwill and a blessing for all mankind.

“We (Muslims) are in danger of becoming more inward looking and less tolerant, less respectful. It is not good for anyone.”

Surin said a restrictive and limited form of education was generating a shallow mindset among Muslims.

He said: “There is an emphasis on the fundamentalist message that it has to be interpreted in one way and no other way.

“I don’t think that is the spirit of Islam. The spirit of Islam is to allow individuals with his or her own intelligence to be able to make judgements on some of the issues with the spirit of Islam in mind.”

He said when it is interpreted so literally, which is the fundamentalist approach, there is a tendency to limit mindset, and limit space in interaction with the world.

Surin said: “The world is a diverse space. Everyone is a minority in the globalised world. We are not living on the planet alone. If our way is the only way exclusive of the rest, then that will turn us into an island.

“An island of insecurity and lacking confidence in interacting with the world.”

He cautioned that such thinking will lead to mutual distrust to potential instability in Malaysia and other countries.

“And that is not only about Malaysia but everywhere with multi-ethnic communities.

“The only way forward is tolerance, mutual respect and giving each other space to fulfill his or her own mission of having a good society.”

I find Surin’s view most relevant for Malaysia, as what he said mirrored DAP’s relationship with PAS – of the changes which had undergone in PAS under the leadership of Datuk Seri Hadi Awang as compared to the more open, tolerant and inclusive policies when PAS was led by more open-minded leaders like Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Datuk Fadzil Noor and Yusuf Rawa.

Under the leadership of Nik Aziz and Fadzil Noor, PAS became a party to the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework and advocated a “PAS for All” welfare state, but under Hadi, PAS turned its back to the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework, broke up Pakatan Rakyat and now has become the greatest apologist and defender of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, 1MDB scandal and Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy where a vote for PAS will become a vote for UMNO.

Under Hadi’s PAS leadership, friends became enemies and enemies became friends!

DAP supports Islamisation based on the Malaysian Constitution which promotes a nation-building process based on tolerance and mutual respect in a plural society and not one which engenders bigotry, hatred and extremism.

We should follow closely the views expressed by the speakers at the conference on
“State of Democracy in Southeast Asia: Achievements, Challenges, Prospects”
.

One of the speakers, Michael Vatikiotis, Asia director for the centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and who was formerly editor of Far Eastern Economic Review, warned that the use of religious fundamentalism by a dominant party in the ruling federal government will divide the country along religious and racial lines.

He said: “I worry that the aspiration for a Malaysian society has been lost because today’s politicians want people to identify with their race and their religion more than before.

“We should be very concerned. This has not happened to the same degree before. We heard today on the panel and in the conference that everyone is expressing concern on this.

“This is the most worrying prospect for the next general election. Yes, there are bread and butter issues, problems that affect livelihoods and the GST (goods and services tax).

“But, the government’s use of divisive issues like race and religion is a concern for everybody.”

This is a trend which all Malaysians must be concerned, for we want everyone in the country, regardless of race, religion or region, to become more Malaysian-minded and to be Malaysians first, and their race, religion, politics or socio-economic position second.

Only then can Malaysia succeed, flourish and prosper!

[
Speech at the Pakatan Harapan kopitiam dialogue in Rengit on Sunday, 3rd September 2017 at 6 pm
]

                This entry was posted on Monday, 4 September 2017, 10:14 am and is filed under
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For first time, Najib’s right-hand man has admitted that UMNO/BN could lose the Federal government in forthcoming 14GE

I thank the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak for his candour in admitting that Malaysians are now  on the cusp of major political changes with the possible defeat of  UMNO/BN and the formation of a Pakatan Harapan Federal Government in the forthcoming 14th general election because of three factors:

• UMNO has lost the  support of the majority of Malays in the country.

• UMNO losing support  of the majority of the 1.6 million civil servants in the country.

• the highest percentage of UMNO members (at present, 3.5 million UMNO members) in UMNO history likely to vote against  UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and UMNO in the 14GE.

What are the reasons and causes for UMNO losing the support of the Malays and facing the prospect of losing  the majority support of  1.6 million civil servants and the highest percentage of UMNO rank-and-file voting against the UMNO President  and UMNO in UMNO history?

As I have been saying, all that it needs for the UMNO/BN Federal Government in Putrajaya to fall and give way to a Pakatan Harapan Malaysian Government in the forthcoming 14th General Election is for at least 10 per cent of the Malay voters and five per cent of the non-Malay votes to swing in support  Pakatan Harapan as compared to the 13th General Election, with the premise that PAS can only win some 10 per cent of the popular vote as it will be engaged in  a three-cornered contest where a vote for PAS will virtually be a vote for Umno as PAS candidates will not have the chance of winning on its own steam except in a handful of parliamentary seats?

Why is this the case?

Is it because of the lies and falsehoods  churned out by the DAP, which UMNO/BN propagandists and cybertroopers,  and increasingly their counterparts in PAS as well,  have been accusing of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam?

The record must be put straight right away – DAP had never been anti-Malay or anti-Islam as former PAS Mursyidul Am Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat and former PAS Presidents Datuk Fadzil Noor and Yusuf Rawa would have testified. All the accusations were downright lies and slander.

Furthermore, DAP leaders do not indulge in lies, fake news and false information, and we have evidence aplenty against UMNO/BN leaders. But UMNO/BN leaders cannot produce any example of such fake news and false information spread by DAP leaders against UMNO/BN leaders.

The sorry straits that UMNO has found itself in, facing the ignominous prospect of  triple rejection by the Malays, the civil service and by its UMNO rank-and-file is entirely its own doing – best illustrated by Najib’s “achievement” as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia in transforming the country into a “global kleptocracy”, something which the first five Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah would have felt thoroughly ashamed.

But instead of coming to grips with this ignominy and carrying out a national and international campaign to patriotically clear or cleanse Malaysia of such shameful and dishonorable appellation, Najib conducted a two-year charade to pretend that the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal does not exist – a  modern-day and Malaysian version of Emperor Without Clothes.

UMNO leaders have been trying to hold the Malays to ransom by warning that Malays will perish if UMNO is defeated in the 14th General Election.

The best rebuttal to UMNO leaders’ warnings that the Malays will perish if UMNO is defeated in the forthcoming general election had come from the Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan in his speech at the opening of the Sembrong Division UMNO delegates’ conference in Kluang last month.

Mohamad said UMNO could no longer think that the Malays needed it but instead it was Umno that needed the Malays in order to survive.

He said Malays now have many political choices and UMNO cannot be complacent saying that the Malays need UMNO.

This is why Salleh’s candour that UMNO can be ousted from Putrajaya in the 14GE is welcome and refreshing, and he seems to be the first UMNO Minister to have got Mohamad Hassan’s message.

But it  is regrettable  that Salleh had not been able to wean himself completely from the divisive UMNO politics of race, as he has crafted a new bogey with a new narrative about the UMNO politics of race to hold the Malays to ransom – that DAP and the Chinese will capture political power from the Malays if UMNO loses political power.

Salleh asked”: “If Malay voters back DAP in the next general election, can DAP control the country by contesting (about) 60 parliamentary seats alone? Yes, if Malays are not united.

“There are many mixed-ethnicity seats, especially in Perak, Johor, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca.

“As what was said by DAP leaders, a 10 to 15 percent swing of Malay votes will allow them (Harapan) to control Putrajaya.”

It is a great lie that the DAP and the Chinese will capture political power from the Malays if UMNO loses political power.

Firstly, DAP is not a Chinese political party but a political party for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region

In the second place, three factors will combine to ensure that there is no way the Malays will lose political power in Malaysia even if UMNO is defeated in the 14GE:

•
Firstly,
 the demographic make-up of the Malaysian population with the trend where Malays will increase in the percentage of the population while Chinese and Indian numbers will continue to decline. In 1970 Malaysia’s population comprised 44.32% Malays, 34.34% Chinese, 8.99% Indians, 11.89% non-Malay Bumiputeras, 0.67% others. In 2010, the percentage of Malays in the Malaysian population increased to 55.07%, Chinese reduced to 24.34%, Indians dropped to 7.35%, non-Malay Bumiputeras maintained at 11.94% and 1.3% others.

•
Secondly,
 the ethnic composition of the electorate: During the 13th general election, 52.63% of the voters were Malays, 29.68% Chinese, 7.31% Indians, 8.96% non-Malay Bumiputeras and 1.43% others.

•
Thirdly,
 the ethnic composition of the parliamentary constituencies: Out of the 165 Parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia, 114 are Malay majority seats representing some 70%, 22 Chinese majority seats (13%) and 29 mixed seats. There is not a single Indian majority seat.

Malaysia is now in a position where ordinary citizens are smarter than Ministers. When is Salleh going to learn the wisdom of ordinary citizens on the social media to his latest fear-mongering, as for instance, the following comment:

“This guy is hallucinating in the day. Even if DAP wins all 60 seats out of 222 seats, how on earth can it form the govt. This is the type of lies used by UMNO to frighten the Malays. Hopeful they will be able to see beyond and into 1MDB.”

I was quite amused when my speech at Rengit, Batu Pahat on Saturday that DAP supported Islamisation based on the Malaysian Constitution to promote a nation-building process based on tolerance and mutual respect in a plural society and not one which engenders bigotry, hatred and extremism elicited attacks from both UMNO and MCA, but from opposite ends of the spectrum.

I thought to myself that I must be saying something right when both UMNO and MCA could attack  me on it, but using very opposite and directly contradictory arguments.

I was referring to the commentary by the former ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan, a Thai Muslim who is former Thai foreign minister, who was in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend for a regional conference entitled “State of Democracy in Southeast Asia: Achievements, Challenges, Prospects”.

Surin said right up to the 80s, Islamisation used to be a good word where people integrated Islamic values and norms into every aspect of their life including in education, work and economic development.

However, now he said the meaning has taken a turn to becoming more restricted, less tolerant and complicating the efforts in governing a diverse country like Malaysia and other countries in the Islamic world.

When even a Muslim like Surin could regard Islamisation had undergone a transformation from a good word to a bad word, Malaysians in a plural society comprising diverse races, religions and cultures make take special note.

As the Malaysian Constitution provides the framework for a secular state with Islam as the official religion, Islamisation should be confined to Muslims to ensure that the Islamic values of  compassion, justice and tolerance should be the living and guiding principles of Muslims, just as Malaysians who are Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Toaists should similarly be guided by these common values which are also the essence of their religions.

But Malaysians should ponder deep and hard as to what has gone wrong down the decades when  Islamisation and the promotion of the religious and  moral values of compassion, justice and tolerance for the other religions for decades can produce  an outcome where Malaysians can tolerate being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 5 September 2017, 9:33 am and is filed under
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Najib’s statement on “Give us two-thirds to end unilateral conversion” is the Prime Minister’s second most irresponsible and morally  reprehensible action after the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal which turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy

I am shocked beyond words by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s most cynical, contemptible and hypocritical urging to women to give Barisan Nasional to rule with two-thirds majority if they would like to see the proposed Section 88A introduced in the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act (LRA).

This is Najib’s second most irresponsible and morally reprehensible action under his premiership after the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal which turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy.

Section 88A, which would have ended unilateral child conversion, was dropped from the amendments to the LRA that was passed in the last Parliament sitting.

Najib said: “There are things I’d like to do, 88A and all that, but we need a two-thirds majority (in Parliament) to change the constitution… but we don’t have that.

“What we want to do is one thing, what we can do is another.

“But if women give us a two-thirds majority (in the next general election), that’s a different story,” Najib said at a Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) dialogue session with about 1,000 women in Kuala Lumpur today, in conjunction with National Women’s Day.

This is utter bunkum and shows up the irrelevance and meaninglessness of TN50 dialogue sessions which are being held in various parts of the country with various sectors of society. It is clear that these TN50 dialogue sessions are just pre-election gimmickry by the BN government.

This is because BN’s 134 Members of Parliament,  together with the committed support of 36 MPs from DAP, Najib had more than two-thirds majority support in Parliament for any such constitutional amendment, although it is the DAP’s contention that a simple legislative enactment will be adequate for the purpose of stopping unilateral conversion with all the sufferings and heart-burns it entailed.  This is without taking into account the support from PKR and Amanah Members of Parliament – although PAS with 14 MPs have declared its opposition.

There is sneaky suspicion however whether the 88 UMNO MPs can be trusted to take a united stand to support any constitutional amendment to end unilateral conversions, and if all the UMNO MPs at present cannot be trusted to take a united common stand to amend the Constitution to end unilateral conversions, what is there to guarantee that in any new Parliament, even if Najib and BN are given two-thirds parliamentary majority, all the UMNO MPs can be depended upon to support such a constitutional amendment?

But what really shocked me is the cavalier manner in which Najib had addressed the tragedy of unilateral conversions for eight long years.

Najib had trifled with the human tragedy of Indira Gandhi and her two children which had suffered immensely for the past eight years, and it bespeaks of an  administration that has lost all feelings of humanity and moral bearings for the weak and down-trodden in Malaysia.

Will there be any Cabinet Minister who dare to speak up with a sense of moral outrage and righteousness to ask the Cabinet at its meeting tomorrow to end such heartless governance forthwith?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 5 September 2017, 1:20 pm and is filed under
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Trump’s hosting of Malaysia’s prime minister marks another setback for the rule of law

By Josh Rogin

Global Opinions

Washington Post

September 3, 2017

When President Trump hosts Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at the White House next week, he may find he has quite a lot in common with the Southeast Asian leader, who is a nationalist with authoritarian tendencies. But that doesn’t mean rolling out the red carpet for him is a good idea.

The similarities between the two leaders are striking. Both Trump and Najib are wrapped up in major investigations that involve the U.S. Justice Department. Both have fired top law enforcement officials in their own governments to try to influence those investigations. Both play politically toward their rural, ethnically homogeneous base and use nationalist rhetoric to stir up anger against their more urban, ethnic opposition. Both men won their last election despite losing the popular vote. Both love golf, and they even played together once.

Of course, Najib’s authoritarian power grab is worse than anything Trump has done. While Trump has only called for his political opposition to be jailed, in Malaysia critics of the government are routinely imprisoned. While Trump uses mere rhetoric to undermine the credibility of the free media, Najib uses criminal law to silence them. While Trump may wish for more compliant judicial and legislative branches, in Malaysia all checks and balances on executive power have been essentially stamped out.

“I suspect Trump wishes he had the tools that Najib has at his disposal,” said Human Rights Watch’s Asia Advocacy Director John Sifton. “President Trump I’m sure would enjoy having the capacity to shut down any newspaper he doesn’t like.”

Najib will have to stand for election sometime in the next few months, which is why this White House visit is so important to him. Engulfed by allegations he pilfered billions from his own country’s sovereign wealth fund, he craves international legitimacy. As the Justice Department works to seize more than $1 billion in stolen funds they allege Najib, his stepson and one of his friends have stashed in the United States, his visit to Washington is meant to show the scandal is not harming his world standing.

Najib has cultivated good relations with the U.S. government for years. President Barack Obama golfed with him, too. Trump’s hospitality, including a White House visit, will send a clear signal to Malaysians that his administration, like its predecessors, won’t push back against the rollback of democracy, rule of law and human rights there.

National security officials in Washington always make the same argument when the uncomfortable subject of Najib’s authoritarianism and alleged criminality is raised: It’s certainly in America’s interest to partner with Malaysia on counterterrorism, build security ties to respond to an increasingly aggressive China, and deepen bilateral trade and investment. But those are arguments for dealing with Malaysia, not for working with Najib himself.

There’s no reason his opposition wouldn’t be interested in fighting terrorism and increasing security cooperation with the United States. For now, that opposition is on the defensive, but it very well could take power in the coming years.

“The message the White House is sending is that it pays to be a kleptocrat and that the largest asset seizure in the history of the Department of Justice doesn’t seem to matter much in the great scheme of things,” said Nurul Izzah Anwar, a member of Parliament and the daughter of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who sits in prison on politically motivated charges.

Nurul’s party has allied with her father’s former political nemesis, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. They have little confidence Najib will face justice at home. Perhaps the only chance for accountability is if the United States and other countries keep up the pressure.

“In Malaysia, Najib is beyond legal reproach, so we are relying on institutions worldwide to ensure that the crimes against the Malaysian people will be punished,” Nurul said. “It’s not just about Najib alone. We need to ensure the culture of impunity doesn’t permeate throughout the world.”

Trump likes strong leaders and has said repeatedly he won’t lecture foreign countries on American values. Therefore it falls to Congress, the human rights community and others to make sure that both Najib and Malaysians know that America still cares about Malaysian democracy.

It’s smart policy to acknowledge the opposition’s grievances now, because after the next turn of the screw it may be too late to convince Malaysians that Washington is an honest broker. The needed balance between security imperatives and standing up for universal rights is currently far out of whack.

In the long term, Malaysia’s value as a reliable and stable ally depends on it being an open society that abides by international law and norms and tolerates dissent. Trump’s hosting of Najib represents a setback for that objective.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 5 September 2017, 11:20 am and is filed under
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