Hadi’s bill: A violation of the shariah

By Nurul Haq Shahrir

Free Malaysia Today

February 25, 2017

It is not whether the shariah should be reintroduced or reinforced as statutory law, but rather how can medieval Islamic jurisprudence be adapted to meet the needs of justice in modern societies.

COMMENT

The two leading Malay-Muslim political parties, PAS and Umno have been competing to be the greater defender of Islam since the early eighties – a necessary stratagem in bolstering the credibility of their Islamic credentials in the eyes of the Malay electorate.

Due to the multi-religious composition of the governing coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), Umno which is the leading party of Barisan Nasional cultivates its image as the promoter of a moderate, pragmatic form of Islam and contrasts itself against the ostensibly backward, conservative brand of Islam as advocated by PAS whose calls to “Islamise” the laws of the country from as early as the 1980s were emboldened by the recent tabling of the motion to amend the Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, or what is commonly referred to as Act 355, by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in November 2016.

The Malaysian government’s earlier move on May 26, 2016 to expedite for parliamentary deliberation the private member’s bill introduced by Hadi too surprised and unsettled many. The move has been construed by many as a step towards the implementation of Islamic penal code (also referred to as hudud).

Others, in particular the prime minister and his cabinet members have dismissed this reading and clarified that the bill would only augment the sentencing power of the shariah court, which only involves Muslims.

Obviously, one cannot deny that this move has also been interpreted as nothing more than a ruse to boost the political credentials of Umno and PAS in the face of the coming general election.

It would eventually come to nothing. It is all part of the ruling coalition’s political gambit to win the next election. That is totally understandable and politically imperative to do so.

However, when given the floor, Hadi merely read out the motion and then requested for its debate to be postponed to the following parliamentary sitting in October/November 2016. This has not only caused consternation but also aroused suspicion as to his intention in doing so.

In that following sitting, the proposed motion surfaced again. On November 24, 2016, rather than debating the proposed bill, Hadi sought to revise the motion but again asked to shelve its debate to the parliamentary session in 2017.

These desperate attempts to “magnify” the bill’s punishment is flimsy at best, switching on and off despite the party unswervingly outlining its intention to enact the contentious hudud laws in Malaysia.

Since murder, robbery, theft, rape, sodomy, false testimony and so on are under the jurisdiction of the Federal List and therefore cannot be gazetted by the State, Hadi was forced again, to change his stance, and only amended 355 to limit the current three years imprisonment, RM5,000 fine and six strokes of the rotan to 30 years jail, RM100,000 and 100 strokes of the rotan or a combination.

This 100 strokes is crucial for PAS to implement the hudud punishment of 100 strokes for illicit intercourse and 40-60 strokes for consuming alcohol. False testimony is 80 lashes.

These are corporal punishments under Hudud. Hence, the proposal to amend 355 is a step to enforce hudud, and the ruling coalition was in fact in denial to say otherwise.

The incongruity on Hadi’s part and the fact the Act 355 has to be revised several times demonstrate that this so-called Islamic penal code is nothing but a political “production”, made-to-order. In fact, it is against Islam and has nothing to do with the shariah.

Thanks to its greed for political mileage, PAS’ abuse of the sacred term “shariah” conjures up images of a ruthless, rigid and inhumane legal system, characterised by amputations of limbs, beheadings, public shaming by flogging and stoning to death. With such a grim picture of shariah in our minds, it is little wonder that the call made by PAS to augment the Islamic penal code was received with such animosity.

Justice, a central Islamic theme

The Malay Muslims have to realise that the Islamic governance isn’t about imposing radical interpretations of the shariah; it’s about taking care of society’s welfare and interests. It cannot be denied that the call to intensify the jurisdiction of the shariah court is mainly built upon popular passions, the understandable thirsts of Muslim masses to be more faithful to Islam, but their reintroduction into state law has been very problematic on many angles.

Instead of applying these laws in a pharisaical and decontextualised manner, we should examine the source texts in light of the objectives of shariah and their historical context before rushing to mete out legal punishments that a large number of people, many Muslims included, deem barbaric and unnecessary.

Any enforcement of the Islamic penal code must above all address the objectives of shariah (or maqasid al-shariah), which are the protection of faith, lives, intellect, lineage and property.

Muslim jurists are unanimous that the Islamic laws are legislated to ensure justice between the people and to safeguard their natural rights to life and property. In this regard, the approach of Imam Al-‘Izzuddin Ibn Abdul-Salam is the most pragmatic.

The erudite Shafi’ie jurist explains that executing the people’s interests necessitates safeguarding those interests and preventing what is contrary to them, even though that may involve stopping people from doing things permitted by religion, such as proscribing polygamous marriages, which in today’s social construct have deviated from its original purpose of providing welfare to women and orphans.

A Muslim ruler may prohibit Muslims from selling alcohol or he may permit it, with the point always being to look after the interests of the community in the best possible way irrespective of religious grounds. He may even permit some lesser harms to prevent greater harms or abandon some lesser interests in order to execute greater interests as the Prophet did and as was manifested in the revelation throughout his ministry.

Ibn al-Qayyim further clarifies, “The truth is that God has made clear in His shariah that its objective is the establishment of justice between His servants as well as dispensing fairness among the people. Hence, any path that leads to justice and fairness, is (necessarily) part of the religion and does not contradict it.”

[Working in a place that sells alcohol or prohibited food carries a different ruling depending upon the circumstances. Generally it is prohibited for a Muslim to work in a place which sells alcohol or serves alcohol in its premises. However, the Hanafi school of thought offers a dynamic view that permits such transaction provided that the other party is a non-Muslim [and/or in a domain of non-Muslims]. The wage would be valid and permissible.]

In other words, any legal system that leads to justice and the protection of people’s rights is necessarily a part of Islam, even if it is not based on an explicit religious text.

The question is not whether the shariah should be reintroduced or reinforced as statutory law, but rather how can medieval Islamic jurisprudence be adapted to meet the needs of justice in modern societies?

Moreover, a literal and decontextualised application of the shariah in some Muslim nations has led to injustice as these specially tailored laws have disproportionately targeted the lower classes, religious minorities and women, and they have been implemented without necessary due process and appropriate legal counsel in defence of the accused.

It cannot be said that an unjust application of an Islamic law is, in reality, a scheme intended by the All-Merciful God.

All about mercy and compassion

That the shariah is mercy-bound has been emphasised by the renowned legist, Ibn Al-Qayyim: “Truly, the shariah is founded upon wisdom and welfare for the servants of God in this life and in the hereafter. Its essence is justice, mercy, benefit and wisdom. Therefore, every matter that abandons justice for injustice, mercy for its opposite, benefit for harm, and wisdom for foolishness is not a part of the shariah even if it was incorporated therein by way of (scholarly) exegesis.”

That is to say, if the execution of the letter of the law does not bring about benefit, justice, mercy, and wisdom, then it cannot properly be considered a shariah-compliant law even if it is based on a scholarly interpretation of the Quran, the Sunnah, scholarly hermeneutics or juristic diktats.

Therefore, taking part in building an Islamic nation is not enforcing, or based upon enforcing the shariah per se but rather it is looking after society’s interests. This means that laws are passed based upon public interest and common values not specific to the Islamic faith because the public interests are are rationally and customarily known to both Muslims and non-Muslims.

This boils down to the primary objective of the shariah, which is dispensing mercy. Exacting punishment on the other hand, is not part of the equation.

The Quran says that the Prophet Muhammad was sent to all the worlds as God’s instrument of mercy (Quran, 21:107). He was mercy made flesh, the walking mercy.

From this, and many other source texts, it can be surmised that mercy is the all-pervasive objective of the shariah. For this reason, Muslim jurists have, to all intents and purposes, used it synonymously with public interests.

Since mercy is the aim of the shariah, it is evident that this cannot be achieved if the Muslims who enforce it are not imbued with this vital quality.

This is in agreement with the statement of Imam Al-‘Izzuddin on this issue: “The public interests and harms of this world and their means are known by necessity, experience, custom and careful assessment. If any of that is ambiguous, its meaning should be extracted from it proper evidences. Anyone seeking to know how to distinguish between public interests and harms and which outweighs the other, must submit it to the test of (sound) reason on the assumption that the shariah has not mentioned it.

“Let him build his judgements on it; he will discover that almost none of them violates the rules of the shariah except the prescriptions and proscriptions that God has imposed on His Servants as merely devotional matters without revealing to them the relevant aspects of the public interests or harms.”

Hence, it is upon the basis of common values and interests that nation building can take place, across different religions and cultures.

This is contrary to Hadi’s private member’s bill that only focuses on the penal code, which is a very small portion of the entire shariah. Much of shariah deals with individual and collective ethics, morality and spirituality.

The second caliph and hudud

While it is understandable that much of the shariah is still very relevant for Muslims in their daily lives, it has to be pointed out that the penal code of Islam cannot be implemented without the pre-requisite of Islam’s just social and economic system.

Umar al-Khattab, the second caliph, understood this wisdom of shariah when he temporarily suspended the punishment for theft at a time of widespread famine in Medina because he concluded that the times were so tough that people might steal food and other stuff to feed their families, and who ordinarily might not steal.

This did not imply that Umar rejected hudud, nor that he annulled the shariah. It is simply an indication that the application of the Islamic penal code comes with conditions and it is neither rigid nor static, because the idea is that we are supposed to worship the Giver of shariah and not the shariah itself.

The action of Umar demonstrates that “augmenting” the punishment was never the aim of the shariah. Islam is not a religion of torment. When the Most Compassionate God pronounced Islam as the perfect way of life, He conjoined it with “the consummation of His Grace” (Quran, 5:3) – which in Quranic parlance denotes “the unmerited favour of God toward humanity that frees the believers from difficulty, predicament and anxiety.”

Surely, the rapacity to inflict punishments and the zeal to heighten them in all haste are not in sync with “the completion of God’s Grace.” Therefore, the amendments to Act 355 seeking to impose greater punishments are against the spirit of the shariah.

Meting out punishments was never the objective of Islam. The Prophet clarified that the chief purpose of corporal penalties was simply to reduce the punishments in the Hereafter: “Whoever commits sins and is penalised for it, then the punishment expiates their sins, but whoever commits sins and God conceals it, then it depends on God to pardon them or punish them”.

However, even better than seeking to be punished via hudud, according to the Prophet, was attempting to resolve amicably and forgive related sins without resorting to such punitive actions.

Although, the early Muslims did often voluntarily approach the Prophet to confess or arbitrate charges involving hudud, the Prophet himself expressed many times that it was far better to forgive and resolve hudud crimes without his intervention.

He said: “You shall avoid executing hudud on Muslims as much as you can. If the defendant has a way out, then leave him to his way. Truly, it is better for the ruler to err in forgiving the errant person than for him to err in punishing the innocent.”

The Prophet’s companion Abu Huraira related another hadith in similar vein, “Avoid applying hudud penalties as long as you find an excuse to avoid them”.

In other words, it was better for members of the community to address actions that might invoke the hudud penalties among themselves, rather than seeking the arbitration of an external adjudicator in the form of a Prophet.

If the crime had not come to his attention, kept hidden or had been voluntarily forgiven, no penalty was necessary – the gravity of the crime was not a question here. This is demonstrated by the authentic Hadith transmitted by Abu Dawud wherein the Prophet said, “Pardon in hudud among yourselves, for the legal penalty for any wrongdoing reported to me will imperatively be applied”, and the saying of Umar, “That I relax the hudud is more beloved to me than applying them in doubtful situations”.

The thrust of these reports is that we ought to be giving leeway not to mete out the harshest punishments (which is PAS’s ultimate goal!), rather than demanding their uncompromising application.

Prophet waived punishments

According to the Prophet’s companion Anas Ibn Malik, in one incident, the Prophet refused to accept the confession of a man who was so persuasive to be punished for his sins. The man made his final attempt by praying with the Prophet.

When the prayer had ended, the man repeated his request. The Prophet asked, “Were you present with us at the time of prayer?” The man answered in the affirmative. The Prophet replied: “Go, for you have been forgiven!”

These reports show the flexibility of the Prophet when it comes to corporal punishments, especially when it involved confession of the criminals.

Hadith literature is replete with accounts indicating confession may be retracted when it comes to crimes that solely involve the violation of divine rights (e.g., adultery and intoxication).

In the hadith compilation called Mustadrak, for example, Imam Al-Hakim recounted an incident when Ma’iz Ibn Malik came to the Prophet confessing to adultery, the Prophet said to him, “Probably you only kissed her or winked at her or ogled her?” but Ma’iz replied in the negative and kept on insisting.

So, the Prophet asked around to inquire if Ma’iz was known to be insane. Nevertheless, it can be inferred from the Prophet’s question that he meant to give Ma’iz a chance of retracting his confession.

This view was forwarded by the leading Shafi’ie jurisconsult, Khatib al-Shirbini in his Mughni Al-Muhtaj, and also espoused by the Hanafis as stated by Al-Kasani in Bada’ie Al-Sana’ie.

The story continued with Ma’iz fleeing the scene, before he was caught and eventually stoned to death. The Prophet who was aghast at the incident said, “Why didn’t you leave him? Perchance he may repent and God will forgive him!”

According to Al-Bahuti, the latter-day Hanbali authority on Islamic jurisprudence, this remark from the Prophet denotes that repentance made after a confession stands as a retraction.

Because confession is an information that involves truth and falsehood, for a person to retract shows the contrary which raises doubt, while the shariah axiom is to avert hudud punishment if doubt exists.

Surprisingly, the Maliki hadith expert, Ibn Abdul-Barr reports that there is consensus among Islamic jurists on the invalidity of a confession or testimony that has been retracted in any hudud punishment.

Unfortunately, these merciful aspects of the shariah were never highlighted by Hadi who is bent upon turning Islamic law into bizarre and gruesome forms of punishment.

Divine mercy and non-Muslims

Then, there is also the question of limiting the amended Act to Muslims. The Bill seeks to allow Islamic courts to impose stricter punishment, except death penalty and it seeks to amend Section 2 of the Act to state that the shariah courts will have jurisdiction over Muslims only.

By this premise, PAS and Hadi seek to victimise the Muslims for nothing but their political gains. They are also being hypocritical about the extent of their beliefs. This is due to the fact that the scope of the shariah, which is based upon “justice”, does not exclude non-Muslims and has never been limited to Muslims.

“Justice” or ‘adl (lit., “placing things in their rightful place”) is an Islamic obligation and the shariah permits no injustice.

The centrality of justice to the Quranic value system is displayed by the passage, “We have sent Our Messengers with evident miracles and through them have brought down scriptures so that people may maintain justice…” (Quran, 57:25)

The expression “Our Messengers” shows that justice has been the goal of all revelation and scriptures sent to humanity. The passage also indicates that justice must be measured and executed by the standards and guidelines set by divine revelation. Islam’s approach to justice is comprehensive and all-embracing.

Therefore, any path that leads to justice is deemed to be in harmony with the shariah. God has demanded justice and, although He has not prescribed a specific route, has provided general guidelines, on how to achieve it.

He has neither prescribed a fixed means by which it can be obtained, nor has He declared invalid any particular system or methods that can lead to justice. Therefore, all means, procedures, and methods that facilitate, refine, and advance the cause of justice, and do not violate the shariah are valid.

The Quranic standards of justice transcend considerations of race, religion, colour, and creed, as Muslims are commanded to be just to their friends and foes alike, and to be just at all levels, as the Quran puts it, “O Believers! Stand out firmly for justice and bear true witness before God, even though it be against yourselves, your parents, or your relatives.” (Quran 4:135).

Another passage states, “O Believers! Be steadfast in your devotion to God and bear true witness. Never let your hard feelings against anyone lead you to deviate from justice. Be just, for it is closer to piety.” (5:8).

Here is the resolution from the Quran of the perennial conflict between self-interest and justice. Be just, even if it is against your narrowly defined self-interest or of those very close to you. Ignorant people think they are protecting their self-interest by being unjust to others. Their decision to be just or unjust may be based on a cold calculation of self-interest.

But true faith in God elevates one beyond that narrow-mindedness. These passages remind us that the real protector of interests of all people is God and He will protect us when we follow His command to be just. The justice demanded by Islam permits no favouritism.

That is why the Prophet was told, “If you judge, you shall judge them with justice” (5:42) and “We have revealed the Scripture to you with the truth so that you can judge between people according to what God has inspired you” (4:105).

Moreover, the Prophet was sent as an impartial judge – “Say (O Prophet): I believe in the Scripture, which God has sent down, and I am commanded to judge justly between you…” (42:15).

The Quran views itself as a scripture devoted mainly to laying down the principles of faith and justice. It demands that justice be met for all, and that it is an inherent right of all human beings under shariah.

For these reasons, experts of fiqh (jurisprudence) have established that the non-Muslim citizens of a Muslim nation cannot be denied justice as enshrined in the Quran; they are to be incorporated into the Islamic rules that pertain to the safety and indemnity of life, reputation and property, though they are permitted to practice their religious rituals.

The scholars of fiqh have concluded that these rulings apply to all nations under Islamic hegemony; and followers of all faiths, as a matter of fact to all humanity (in such domain).

In this regard, the jurists have stipulated that non-Muslim citizens are accountable for the details of the shariah.

This is the agreed-upon position adopted by the vast majority of scholars such as Imam al-Shafi’ie, Malik, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and it is also espoused by a group of principal Hanafi jurists such as Al-Sarakhsi, Al-Karkhi and Al-Jassas.

By incorporating the non-Muslims citizens or residents into the Islamic rules, they are protected under the covenant extended to them since the shariah does not confine itself to giving rights to Muslims only.

One of its salient features is that non-Muslims share many of these rights. As a matter of fact, the general principle is that non-Muslim citizens have the same rights and obligations as Muslims.

The distinguished theologian, Abu Bakr al-Baqillani held that jurists generally agreed that the message of the Creator included non-Muslims as parts of its audience. Like the Muslims, the non-Muslims are commanded to acknowledge God and the veracity of His messengers that ultimately upholds the universalist ethos of the divine message.

The learned professor argued that when God commands people to pray and to avoid things that are prohibited, God addresses all of humanity and not just Muslims. Hence – the Islamic penal code, when implemented in an Islamic country, is not just for Muslims but is applicable to all.

In this sense, God’s message which is mercy-centric must be understood as universally accessible and thereby knowable by all.

Can’t pick and choose

Furthermore, the isolated view which Hadi has chosen in depriving the non-Muslims from enjoying their rights in the shariah is an anomalous one if not weak as it involves the forbidden practice of talfiq which is not only invalid but also frowned-upon. [Talfiq is to join between the positions of more than one school of thought, or mazhab, so that the resulting amalgam would be unacceptable according to all mazhabs].

Renowned jurists such as Al-Hafiz al-Iraqi and Ibn al-Solah have recorded the consensus if the scholars, or ijma, that it is not permissible to judge by other than the strongest position in a mazhab (school of thought) and Imam al-Subki has explicitly stated at length in several places in his Fatawi considering it to be a violation of what God has revealed for the Almighty has made it obligatory for qualified jurists to adopt the position for which the evidence is the strongest and has made it obligatory for laymen (non-jurists) to follow the ijtihad (independent reasoning) of qualified jurists in all works that are personally obligatory.

The corollary to this discourse is that Islamic penal code is one part of a holistic system; the shariah is considered an interdependent whole, and any infraction constituted a breaking of the shariah as a whole because Islam envisions a comprehensive system of values for society.

Not just laws, but in terms of obligations to God, obligations to humanity and obligations to the Islamic nation. In such settings, hudud is just one aspect, the extreme end that provides for punishments for the most egregious of offences.

In such a system, hudud would have the capacity to achieve its goals, which include justice and deterrence of crimes.

Shariah is holistic

But what PAS is proposing instead is to lift one part of the whole and import it in our current, non-autocratic state and claim that it will achieve justice.

To take one aspect of Islamic law and to ram it into the current system would not do justice to hudud and the shariah as a whole. Hudud ought to be actualised only in a state where all the institutions of the state are in accordance with the shariah.

PAS’s version of the shariah is also capricious if not selective by its exclusion of the death penalty.

This one sacrilegious act of PAS dissolves the sacred connection that subsists between all the divine precepts and the obligation which PAS is under to obey, and thus casts off in effect its allegiance to God.

For, if God should be obeyed in any one instance, He should be obeyed in all, as the authority and reason of obedience are the same in every case; he therefore who deliberately breaks one of the shariah precepts is, in effect, if not in fact, guilty of the whole. One portion of the law is as much binding as another, and if a person violates any one plain commandment, he sets at nought the authority of God.

This is a simple dictum which is everywhere recognised.

A person who has stolen a pencil is held to be a lawbreaker, no matter in how many other respects the law is kept by the person. Such an offender is condemned by the law.

He cannot plead his obedience to the law in other things as a reason why he should not be punished for this offence.

But however upright he may have been in general, even though it may have been through a long life, the law holds him to be an offender and censures him. He is as really condemned, and as much thrown from the protection of law, as though he had violated every command. So of murder, arson, treason, or any other crime.

The law judges a person for the crime committed in this specific case, and he cannot plead in justification of it that he has been obedient in other things.

Perhaps, we should be reminded that cherry-picking the sacred texts be they the Quran or Hadith is a blameworthy act; the very traits of treacherous Jews which the Quran has condemned, “You believe in one part of the Scripture and reject the other! Those who behave in this way shall reap disgrace in this world and severe punishment on the Day of Resurrection. God is not unaware of things that you do.”

Therefore, it is not permitted to be selective of what is accepted or rejected from Islam. The divine message must be accepted in its entirety. Any arbitrary and selective division of the general of shariah is bound to harm the spirit and structure of the shariah and would be tantamount to injustice, the opposite aim of what hudud should achieve.

There would be crimes committed jointly by Muslims and non-Muslims but the former would be subjected to heavier penalties compared with the latter. These scenarios pose a great challenge to our existing constitutional jurisprudence. It also involves issues of double jeopardy and issues of compelling non-Muslims to attend the shariah court for trials of Islamic law when the shariah court in Malaysia has absolutely no jurisdiction over non-Muslims.

Instead of achieving justice, PAS’s scheme would instead create inequality and breed injustice. In any case, Muslims have a responsibility to speak out against the mutilation of Islamic law that has resulted in gross abuses of human rights and tarnished the sacral character of Islam.

The shariah has a clear purpose and goal in mind concerning criminal punishment.

The exercise of medieval jurisprudence in a way unintended by the Law-giver is a violation and destruction of the rubrics of the shariah, which none of us should accept.

Nurul Haq Shahrir is a member of a panel on Islamic law transformation under Majlis Dakwah Negara, the government’s top council for the propagation of Islam. The views in this articles are his own and do not represent Majlis Dakwah Negara or the organisations he has been involved in, past or present.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 25 February 2017, 8:21 pm and is filed under
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Three challenging tasks for Reformists in the 14th General Elections

The 18-year-old Reformasi Movement which we commemorate today is an important milestone in the 60-year history of the nation to become a truly developed country in every sense of the world – not only in achieving economic progress and justice, but also in promoting democracy, upholding the rule of law,  practicing the principles of good governance and building an united nation from diverse races, languages, religions and cultures.

It marks an important coming-of-age of the vision and consciousness that Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or class must unite to forge a transcending national unity to pursue the common goals of justice, freedom, integrity and ethics.

There have been important gains in the Reformasi movement in the past 18 years, but there have also been major setbacks and a lot remains to  be done before we reach our goal.

There has on the one hand a greater realization that Malaysians must not  just live in their separate communal and religious worlds, but must interact with different racial,  religious and cultural  groups to forge greater tolerance and understanding with each other, while on the other hand, there has been an intensification of the politics of race, religion, hate and even lies by certain  quarters in their last-ditch effort to perpetuate their  political power.

A titanic struggle for the soul and future of Malaysia is being fought, whether Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, class, gender or age could come together to fight for justice, freedom, clean and honest politics for all, or we allow the worst racial and religious polarization to take place, where  false issues of racial or religious hegemony  hold sway and subordinate the rights of all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region,  class, gender or age  to basic  human needs and common decency whether socio-economic, educational, political or spiritual/moral.

Recently, MCA cybertroopers launched an attack on me for being anti-Chinese, because I attended the burial rites of 14-year-old Sharul Izwan,  one of the eight Malay teenagers who died in horrific tragedy in Johor Baru in the early hours of last Saturday when a car mowed into “mosquito” cyclists with their modified “basikal nyamuk”  including the removal of brakes.

I grieved for the eight teenagers from low-income families  who died, I grieved for the parents and families of the eight casualties and the other eight kids who were injured; and I grieve for the 22-year-old saleswoman who will have to live with a life-long trauma of causing the death of eight teenagers and injuring eight others, although this was never her intention.

Who is to be blamed for the horrific tragedy in Johor Baru? Is this a racial problem because the victims were Malays and the driver a Chinese?

I think we must all bear part of the responsibility for the horrific  tragedy as it is the  failure of everyone –  parents, teachers, community leaders, politicians and   official institutions which, by their indifference, negligence and irresponsibility, have contributed to the making of “mosquito” bike  tragedy and disaster in Johor Baru last Saturday.

Our  paramount concern must be to  ensure that the horrific Johor Baru tragedy would not recur, whether in Johor or elsewhere in  Malaysia, and we must learn the lessons from the Johor Baru tragedy.

Unfortunately, there are political desperadoes, whether from the MCA or Barisan Nasional, who want to turn every issue and  tragedy into a racial one, when the problems of the cycling sub-culture among children from low-income families is a Malaysian socio-economic problem and not a racial one, and certainly not one to launch an attack on me for being “anti-Chinese”!

We cannot be anti-Chinese or anti-Malay, anti-Indian, anti-Kadazan or anti-Iban or anti any religion,  or  we would have betrayed the Malaysian vision which regards every Malaysian, regardless of race, religion, region,  class, gender or age  as one Malaysian people.

There is also  in circulation a pernicious doctrine that it does not matter whether Malaysia is regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy so long as the Prime Minister is a Muslim – as if there is any religion in the world which supports corruption and moral decadence!

This is most abhorrent not only to Islam but to the world’s great religions which meet in confluence in Malaysia as they all condemn corruption.

There is this verse in the
Quran
that depicts the corruption of men:

Surah al-Ruum (The Romans); Chapter 30: Verse 41

“[Since they have become oblivious of God], corruption has appeared on land and in the sea as an outcome of what men’s hands have wrought; and so He will let them taste [the evil of] some of their doings, so that they might return [to the right path].”

There is the Hadith where
Prophet Mohamad
 said:

 “The curse of Allah is upon the one who offers a bribe and the one who takes it.”

The
Bible
said:

“God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.”

 – Genesis 6:12.

In Buddhism, the  Buddha discussed the importance and the prerequisites of a good government. He showed how the country could become corrupt, degenerate and unhappy when the head of the government becomes corrupt and unjust. He spoke against corruption and how a government should act based on humanitarian principles.

The
Buddha
once said,

‘When the ruler of a country is just and good, the ministers become just and good; when the ministers are just and good, the higher officials become just and good; when the higher officials are just and good, the rank and file become just and good; when the rank and file become just and good, the people become just and good.’
(Anguttara Nikaya)

Thirukural 28
9 said:

Knowing nothing but deviousness, Men die each time they contrive their corrupt deeds.

This means that those who are acquainted with nothing but fraud (and corrupt practices) will perish in the very commission of transgression.

The immediate tasks of Reformists are even more difficult and formidable than in the past for they will have to address  these new lies and falsehoods – that corruption and abuses of power are to be condoned if they are committed by their coreligionists.

The Reformists have a “mother of all battles” in their hands – to Save Malaysia as the forthcoming 14th General Election  will be a battle of Democracy versus Kleptocracy.

Our political challenge is to create an united opposition coalition committed to constitutional and democratic reforms in Malaysia where the constitutional rights of the people of Malaysia, as well as the states of Sabah and Sarawak are fully safeguarded.

There have been many pessimistic forecasts by political and economic analysts that they do not expect major changes in Malaysia despite the political and economic woes in the country as the opposition is in disarray and the absence of an alternative to the UMNO/BN coalition.

Let the “Democracy versus Kleptocracy” be the touchstone of the “Save Malaysia” campaign, which is the minimal pre-condition for an Opposition coalition against UMNO/Barisan Nasional to  save Malaysia from ending  up like Zimbabwe as a kleptocracy, Argentina as a failed state and North Korea as an autocratic and  repressive state where the citizens have lost their basic democratic rights.

There are those in the opposition who do not see anything wrong with Malaysia being regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy”, and  who want proof that “MO1” mentioned 36 times in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) kleptocratic lawsuit to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak or want evidence about the multi-billion dollar 1MDB global financial scandal.

These people may physically be in the Opposition, but their heart and soul are with Najib and UMNO and they will never agree to drawing the battle lines in the 14 GE as between “democracy vs kleptocracy.”

We must not be distracted by these “sheep in wolves’ clothing”.

There are three tasks for all Reformists for the 14th GE:

Firstly
, to preserve and sustain the electoral support for reform from the Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan and Dayak voters for DAP and PKR in the 13th General Election;

Secondly
, to reach out and win over the 3.5 million UMNO members and  UMNO voters to support the Save Malaysia Campaign in the battle between “Democracy versus Kleptocracy”;

Thirdly
, to reach out and win over the PAS members and voters to support the Save Malaysia Campaign to ensure the victory of democracy and the defeat of kleptocracy in the 14th General Election.

If we can achieve these three tasks in the 14GE, then Malaysia can be saved and we can look forward to a new dawn in  Malaysia with  institutional and systemic reforms to ensure that Malaysia will never return to the trajectory of a kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state.

I commend these three great tasks to the reformists who launched the mission for national reform  18 years ago in 1998 and who are gathered here today to re-energise, revitalise and renew the great journey for reform in Malaysia .

(Speech at the Konvensyen Reformis Malaysia 2017 at IDCC, Shah Alam, Selangor on Saturday, 25th February 2017)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 25 February 2017, 12:29 pm and is filed under
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Fully support Najib in the fight against spread of fake news – but not just by those who want to topple the government but also to cling on to power although they have lost all credibility and legitimacy

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has urged the people to rise up together to fight against the spread of fake news to topple the government.

Officially opening the “Negara Ku: 1Malaysia Community” programme in Taman Tasik Sultan Abu Bakar in Pekan last night, Najib said:

“When our minds and hearts are attacked by news, propaganda as well as false information and defamation or ‘fake news’ coming out through social media or from certain leaders in order to topple a government, this is the greatest threat, and we will fight all out against it.”

Let me declare that I fully support Najib in the fight against the spread of fake news – but not just by those who want to topple the government but also to cling on to power although they have lost all credibility and legitimacy.

It must be clearly understood that there is nothing criminal or treasonous in wanting to topple the government in a parliamentary democracy – but this must be done through the democratic process, either by way of a no-confidence motion in Parliament or through the ballot box during a general election.

In fact, there is nothing nationalistic or patriotic in wanting to cling on to power by all undemocratic and criminal means – such as perpetuating an undemocratic electoral system or violating the laws of the land resulting in Malaysia regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” and guilty of the politics of money to undermine the popular will.

Let me ask Najib a straightforward question – whether he will equally fight against the spread of fake news whether the purpose is to topple the government in the 14th general election or to cling on to power by whatever means.

I pledge full support to Najib to fight against the spread of fake news by those who want to topple him and UMNO/Barisan Nasional from Putrajaya, but will he pledge full support against those who spread fake news so that UMNO/BN can cling on to power in Putrajaya although the ruling coalition has lost all credibility and legitimacy?

Najib is not unaware of a recent polls survey by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) which indicates that Najib is the most unpopular prime minister in the nation’s history.

According to IDE, only 19 percent of the 2,018 respondents, who are Selangor voters, believe that Najib’s leadership would increase support for BN.

IDE deputy chairperson Mohammad Redzuan Othman pointed out that in a survey last year, 29 percent of the respondents answered in the affirmative when asked if Najib’s leadership would see BN defending Putrajaya.

Based on the decline in the latest figures, Redzuan said: “This shows how Najib is the most unpopular prime minister in Malaysian history.”

He said this in his presentation of IDE’s latest survey, titled “Selangor Rakyat’s Issues and Perception Towards the 14th General Election”, which was conducted between Feb 8 and Feb 13.

Najib is himself the worst offender in the spread of fake news, especially in his UMNO Presidential speech on Nov. 30 last year, where he spread

three “Big Nazi Lies” and fake news:

1. That the 14th General Elections will be a contest between UMNO and DAP;

2. That the DAP is anti-Malay or anti-Islam;

3. The “nightmares” Malay will suffer if UMNO loses power in the next general elections.

I have debunked these three “Big Lies” and “fake news” by Najib and counter-challenged him to list the three “Big Lies” and “fake news” which DAP had disseminated against him and UMNO – but there is only silence from Najib and the army of UMNO cybertroopers although three months have passed.

Yesterday, we witnessed another crude display of the spread of fake news and lies – this time by the present PAS national leadership.

Claiming that it represented the voice of the Selangor PAS grassroots, a memorandum was submitted to the PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to urge PAS to cut off ties with any party which has relations with DAP and Amanah.

There were also banners to attack top Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu leaders – and I had the honour or dishonour of having a special banner bearing my face with the label “Enemy of Malays/Islam (Racist)”.

Although couched as the views of the Selangor PAS grassroots, nobody doubts that the whole farce of the memorandum and banners ceremony was the “masterpiece” of the PAS information chief himself.

But how can Nasaruddin claims to represent a party committed to Islamic values and teachings when he could so blatantly be a party to such lies and fake news?

May be I should not be surprised that present at the official launch of the “Negara Ku: 1Malaysia Community” programme in Pekan yesterday to fight the spread of fake news was a major manufacturer of fake news – the Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Ismail Sabri sets a dubious record of telling more than ten lies in a short five-paragraph statement attacking me two weeks ago.

Ismail Sabri has not been able to rebut my charges or prepared to appear in a joint media conference with me for me to prove that he had told more than 10 lies in a five-paragraph statement attacking me.

But he is not the only culprit. UMNO Information Chief, Datuk Seri Annuar Musa is another – telling eight lies about me in a short statement responding to my offer to speak at the UMNO/BN nation-wide roadshow on the Cabinet’s decision to set up a special task force to probe Bank Negara’s forex losses more than two decades ago.

Like Ismail Sabri, Annuar dared not take up my offer to appear at a joint media conference where I could point out the eight lies which Annuar had made.

If Najib is serious in wanting to fight the spread of fake news, he must get rid from the Cabinet and top echeleons of UMNO leadership the biggest culprits in the making and spreading of fake news against Opposition leaders – Ismail Sabri and Annuar Musa.

(Media Conference Statement in the fourth “Jelajah Desa” in Penang on Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 9 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 February 2017, 9:24 am and is filed under
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Johor Mentri Besar should give comprehensive statement on  what anti-corruption initiatives the Johor State Government has taken following the MACC arrest of six persons, including the son and a special officer of a senior State Exco member, over multi-million ringgit corruption in  land transactions

I welcome the Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin’s visit to the Gelang Patah constituency tomorrow.

I  call on him to address the “political earthquake” in Johor and to give a comprehensive statement on what anti-corruption initiatives the Johor State Government has taken following the MACC arrest of six persons, including the son and a special officer of a senior State Exco Member over multi-billion ringgit corruption in  land transactions in the state.

Last Friday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)  seized 21 luxury cars, five high performance bikes and RM500,000 in cash, as well as frozen 45 accounts with over RM15.5 million in them, in a case involving bribery and abuses linked to real-estate in Johor.

Six individuals, including  Ahmad Fauzan Hatim Abd Latif, the eldest son of Johor Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Abd Latif Bandi and his special officer Muhammad Idzuan Jamalludin, were arrested.

According to Bernama, Khaled’s reaction to the MACC arrests and seizures was that it was premature to decide whether his administration would conduct internal investigations as the State Government was waiting for investigations by the MACC.

Khaled would have been informed well in advance by the MACC of its investigations to massive real-estate corruption in Johor and intention to arrest the six persons involved, involving the son and special officer of a senior Exco member who is  the Housing and Local Government Committee Chairman.

Khaled should know that inaction is no option for a responsible Johore state government committed to integrity,  good governance and the eradication of corruption.

Whether the MACC charges against the six can succeed in securing conviction in court is separate from the issue as to what the State Government is doing to tighten up rules and procedures to ensure that such corrupt malpractices cannot take place.

All Johorians and Malaysians expect Khaled to be pro-active in the fight against corruption and this is why  in his visit to Gelang Patah constituency tomorrow, he should announce a comprehensive  set of anti-corruption initiatives not only to ensure that  corruption in  real-estate transactions could not recur, but even more important, to take a wider scope of ensuring that Johor will become one of the top states in terms of integrity and incorruptibility of the public service.

This the least Khalid can do bearing in mind that the first and fourth UMNO Presidents hailed from Johor and have created a reputation for themselves in standing up  for integrity and battle against corruption  – Datuk Onn Jaafar and his son,  Tun Hussein Onn!

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 February 2017, 8:04 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia’s currency curbs boomerang on bond markets

Reuters/Malay Mail Online

February 27, 2017

SINGAPORE, Feb 27 — When Malaysia forced foreign investors in its markets not to dabble in offshore derivatives in its currency last year, its target was speculative pressure on the ringgit, but it appears to have shot itself in the foot.

The ringgit was the weakest currency in emerging Asia last year after China’s yuan, prompting Malaysia’s central bank to get a written commitment from foreign banks to stop trading ringgit non-deliverable forwards (NDFs), offshore contracts they use to hedge their exposure to the currency.

The upshot has been a flood of money leaving Malaysian bonds as foreigners, who own US$47 billion of them, were unable to hedge their risks in onshore markets because of a lack of liquidity.

“It’s a market that’s kind of been destroyed,” said Gene Frieda, the London-based global strategist at bond giant fund Pimco, who blamed the inability to hedge for making it difficult to make significant bond trades.

Although Frieda said the currency now looked cheap compared with regional peers, he couldn’t see it rallying under the circumstances.

“We don’t find the bond market particularly interesting at these levels,” he said.

Analysts at Nomura say November-to-January capital outflows from Malaysia hit a record for a three-month period, when RM27.9 billion (US$6.3 billion) of foreign cash upped and left. Foreign holding of government bonds fell to 46 per cent of the total outstanding value, from 51.6 per cent in October.

The South-east Asian nation’s US$97.7 billion of currency reserves are looking vulnerable after having fallen by US$3 billion in three months, and the ringgit has fallen 5.7 per cent since the end of October.

Drying up

The central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), insists that the NDF market is volatile, opaque and subject to abuse, and it told Reuters it was committed to its policy.

“BNM will continue to enforce the policy of non-facilitation of NDF trading rules on the onshore banks to protect consumers’ interests,” it said.

It also insisted that the onshore markets were deep and broad enough to facilitate hedging, with spot and forward trade volumes worth more than US$152.4 billion over January and until February 22, of which non-residents accounted for 42.5 per cent.

But foreign investors say that while the BNM has succeeded in drying up the NDF offshore market, there just aren’t enough onshore sources of dollars to take the other side of their trade.

“The NDF market is now extremely illiquid,” said Prashant Singh, lead portfolio manager with Neuberger Berman in Singapore.

“The onshore market is also illiquid, and there is no natural seller of dollars other than BNM themselves for now.”

Traders say the BNM’s own sales are too irregular to be reliable for their purposes.

The capital outflows do not yet represent a crisis for an economy that still runs a trade surplus, but further capital outflows could result in a sharper ringgit fall, tighten financial conditions and thus threaten both growth and market stability.

Investors’ immediate concern is that the foreign money in 10.5 billion ringgit of bonds maturing in mid-March will flee. They already suspect that much of the overseas cash in an 8.75 billion ringgit chunk that matured in mid-February has left the country.

Mohammad Hasif Murad, investment manager at Aberdeen Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd, which holds Malaysian government bonds and has some bonds maturing in February and March, said the firm had repatriated some of the proceeds of matured bonds, but has also “strategically reinvested in specific tenors where we see value”.

Aberdeen Asia has assets of US$3.5 billion, and its allocation to Malaysian local currency assets is approximately US$110 million.

Fixed income managers at Old Mutual Global Investors, which has 29 billion pounds (US$36.4 billion) under management, paint a gloomy picture.

“We are currently underweight Malaysian bonds and underweight duration given the risk of increased outflows from offshore investors and a likely re-steepening of the local curve as domestic demand will struggle to absorb new debt supply,” they said in a note.

There was little incentive to invest in Malaysian bonds without the ability to hedge, given the likelihood that the ringgit will remain undervalued due to increased capital outflows, they said in a note.

Pimco’s Frieda says the currency could at some point be an attractive buy, provided there was enough liquidity to transact freely.

“You still have to be able to get in and get out,” he said. — Reuters

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 February 2017, 6:33 pm and is filed under
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Perbezaan ketara antara PAS versi Nik Aziz, dan PAS versi Hadi Awang

Sepanjang tempoh 48 jam lalu, kita diperlihatkan dengan satu lagi aspek perbezaan ketara antara PAS versi Nik Aziz, dan PAS versi Hadi Awang.

Suatu sandiwara penyebaran berita palsu dan fitnah telah berlangsung dalam penyampaian memorandum kononnya oleh akar umbi PAS kepada Ketua Penerangan PAS, Nasarudin Hassan yang meminta Jawatankuasa Pusat PAS supaya memutuskan hubungan dengan mana-mana pihak yang mempunyai pertalian dengan DAP dan Amanah, diiringi beberapa poster menyerang pimpinan Pakatan Harapan dan Bersatu.

Banner yang mahal dan berwarna-warni, menyerang pemimpin Pakatan Harapan dan Bersatu – termasuk satu yang memaparkan wajah saya dan menyerang saya sebagai ‘Musuh Melayu/Islan (Rasis)’ – dipamerkan di luar Pejabat Agung PAS di Kuala Lumpur bagi menyampaikan rasa tidak suka dan benci yang bersangatan terhadap pimpinan DAP, Amanah dan Bersatu seperti Tun Mahathir, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Mohamad Sabu dan saya sendiri.

Ini adalah sesuatu yang tidak akan terjadi dalam PAS versi Nik Aziz, kerana tidak akan ada Ketua Penerangan PAS yang akan berani mengatur dan menjalankan aksi politik nakal sedemikian, kerana beliau pastinya akan mengundang kemarahan Nik Aziz.

Tetapi Nik Aziz sudah tiada, dan apa yang ada hari ini ialah PAS versi Hadi Awang.

Nik Aziz tidak akan merelakan sebarang muslihat atau pengkhianatan politik, terutamanya oleh pemimpin PAS.

Jika DAP dan pemimpin DAP adalah anti-Melayu dan anti-Islam, kenapa PAS menganggotai Pakatan Rakyat sepanjang 2008 ke 2013 dan mendapat sokongan majoriti undi popular pada Pilihanraya Umum ke-13, dan hampir menghalau UMNO/BN keluar dari Putrajaya sekiranya sistem pilihanraya adalah benar-benar adil dan demokratik; daripada membenarkan Datuk Seri Najib Razak menjadi Perdana Menteri minoriti pertama negara yang hanya memenangi 47% undi popular, tetapi memperolehi 60% kerusi Parlimen.

Kalau DAP dan pemimpin DAP anti-Melayu dan anti-Islam, adakah Nik Aziz akan menziarahi mantan Pengerusi Kebangsaan DAP Karpal Singh, di kediamannya di Pulau Pinang semasa perayaan Thaipusam pada Januari 2013, di mana hari jadi Nik Aziz yang ke 82 turut disambut dengan kek ‘Pakatan Rakyat’?

Kenapa begitu banyak sekali perubahan terhadap PAS setelah kematian Nik Aziz pada Februari 2015?

Sekiranya Nik Aziz masih hidup, saya tidak fikir PAS akan teragak-agak untuk menyertai pergerakan patriotik parti-parti politik dan NGO untuk menyelamatkan Malaysia daripada menjadi sebuah kleptokrasi global dan menuju nasib sebuah negara gagal.

Malah, sekiranya Nik Aziz masih hidup, PAS akan berada di barisan paling hadapan mendesak kebertanggungjawaban dan ketelusan dalam skandal kleptokratik pengubahan wang berbilion dolar 1MDB, berbanding melihat Presiden PAS semakin selesa dengan Presiden UMNO dan berpendirian bahawa tidak jadi soal kalau Malaysia menjadi sebuah kleptokrasi global, asalkan Perdana Menterinya beragama Islam.

Walaupun sandiwara 48 jam lalu didakwa berpunca dari akar umbi PAS Selangor yang menyerahkan memorandum kepada pimpinan PAS bagi memutuskan hubungan dengan mana-mana parti yang mempunyai hubungan dengan DAP dan Amanah, tiada siapa yang akan terperanjat jika sebenarnya memorandum dan poster menyerang pimpinan DAP, Amanah dan Bersatu itu adalah hasil karya agung Ketua Penerangan PAS sendiri.

Serangan terhadap DAP, Amanah dan Bersatu adalah suatu deklarasi perang oleh kepimpinan PAS terhadap DAP, Pakatan Harapan dan Bersatu.

Walaupun sandiwara serangan kepimpinan PAS terhadap DAP, Amanah dan Bersatu itu cuba dialas, kononnya berpunca dari akar umbi PAS Selangor, senario sebenar adalah sangat berbeza.

Hakikatnya, akar umbi PAS Selangor sudah sangat tidak berpuas hati dan bergolak ekoran pendirian garis keras PAS versi Hadi yang selesa bersama UMNO pimpinan Najib, dan mempertahankan Najib dalam skandal pengubahan wang kleptokratik 1MDB.

Ini menjelaskan kenyataan Naib Presiden PAS, Iskandar Abdul Samad, sebelum mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Pusat PAS minggu lalu  bahawa kalau pun Jawatankuasa Pusat PAS dan Majlis Syura memutuskan untuk berpisah dengan PKR, Exco-exco PAS di Selangor, anggota GLC, ahli majlis dan ketua kampung tidak akan meletakkan jawatan sehinggalah keputusan dibuat dalam Muktamar PAS pada bulan April nanti.

PAS Selangor berkemungkinan tewas kesemua 15 kerusi DUN yang dimenanginya dalam PRU ke-13 pada pilihanraya umum yang akan datang, memandangkan para pengundi Islam dan bukan-Islam kecewa dengan halatuju baru PAS pimpinan Hadi yang berbaik-baik dengan Najib dan memperkukuh kedudukannya sebagai Perdana Menteri walaupun wujud skandal kleptokrasi global 1MDB – suatu halatuju yang tidak akan diambil oleh PAS sekiranya Nik Aziz masih hidup.

Saya percaya Nik Aziz tidak akan mempunyai masalah menyokong kenyataan dan aspirasi saya bahawa rakyat Malaysia tidak boleh bersifat anti-Melayu, atau anti-Cina, anti-India, anti-Kadazan atau anti-Iban atau anti mana-mana agama, lantas mengkhianati aspirasi Malaysia yang menyifatkan setiap warga Malaysia, tanpa mengira kaum, agama, wilayah, kelas, gender atau usia sebagai sebuah bangsa Malaysia.

Tetapi Hadi sangat berbeza dan saya akan sangat terkejut sekiranya beliau mampu menyokong kenyataan dan aspirasi tersebut secara terbuka.

Dalam ucapan saya kepada Konvensyen Reformis Malaysia 2017 hujung minggu lalu, saya merujuk kepada tiga cabaran utama yang bukan sahaja ditujukan kepada warga Reformasi, tetapi kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia yang patriotik dan mahu menyelamatkan Malaysia daripada menjadi sebuah negara gagal dengan kleptokrasi global.

Tiga cabaran dalam dalam PRU ke-14 yang bakal berlangsung pada suku kedua atau ketiga tahun ini adalah:

Pertama, mempertahan sokongan terhadap perubahan oleh pengundi Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan dan Dayak untuk DAP dan PKR dalam PRU ke-13 lalu;

Kedua, mendapatkan sokongan 3.5 juta ahli dan pengundi UMNO supaya menyokong kempen Selamatkan Malaysia, dalam pertarungan antara ‘Demokrasi lawan Kleptokrasi’;

Ketiga, mendapatkan sokongan ahli dan pengundi PAS supaya menyokong kempen Selamatkan Malaysia bagi memastikan kemenangan demokrasi dan kekalahan kleptokrasi dalam PRU ke-14, serta memastikan semangat dan kenangan Nik Aziz kekal hidup.

Sekiranya kita boleh mencapai tiga tugasan ini dalam PRU ke-14, maka Malaysia akan dapat diselamatkan dan kita boleh menyambut sebuah Malaysia baru dengan penambahbaikan sistem dan institusi bagi memastikan Malaysia tidak akan lagi kembali menuju jalan kleptokrasi dan menjadi sebuah negara gagal.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2017/02/27/the-great-difference-between-nik-azizs-pas-and-hadi-awangs-pas/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 February 2017, 11:56 am and is filed under
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The great  difference between Nik Aziz’s PAS and Hadi Awang’s PAS

In the last 48 hours, we were shown another aspect of the great difference between Nik Aziz’s PAS and Hadi Awang’s PAS.

There was the charade and crude display of the spread of fake news and lies purportedly over the   Selangor PAS grassroots submitting a memorandum to the PAS Information Chief Nasarudin Hassan urging the PAS Central Committee to cut off ties with any party which has relations with DAP and Amanah, accompanied by several posters attacking Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu leaders.

The multi-coloured  banners attacking Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu leaders – including the one with my face and  attacking me as “Enemy of Malays/Islam – Racist” – were yesterday displayed outside PAS Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur  to communicate the intensity of the dislike and even hatred for the DAP, AMANAH and BERSATU leaders like Tun Mahathir, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Mohd Sabu and myself.

This is something which not would have happened in Nik Aziz’s PAS, as no PAS Information chief would dare to plot and carry out such a political mischief, as he would be at the receiving end of Nik Aziz’s wrath.

But Nik Aziz is no more and what we have is  Hadi Awang’s PAS.

Nik Aziz would not have countenanced any  political trickery and treachery, especially by PAS leaders.

If DAP and DAP leaders are anti-Malay and anti-Islam, why was PAS a member of Pakatan Rakyat from 2008 to 2013 which received the support of  the majority of the popular vote in the 13th General Election and would have ousted the UMNO/BN from Putrajaya if the electoral system had been just and democratic, instead of allowing Datuk Seri Najib Razak to become the nation’s first minority Prime Minister  winning on 47% of the popular votes cast but securing   60 per cent of the parliamentary seats.

If DAP and DAP leaders were anti-Malay and anti-Islam, would Nik Aziz have visited the then DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh in his Penang house on Thaipusam in January 2013, where Nik Aziz’s 82nd birthday was also  celebrated with a “Pakatan Rakyat” birthday cake?

Why did things change so radically in PAS after Nik Aziz’s death in February 2015?

If Nik Aziz is alive, I do not think PAS would have any hesitation in joining the patriotic movement of political parties and NGOs to Save Malaysia from becoming a “global kleptocracy” and hurtling towards the trajectory of a failed and rogue state.

In fact, if Nik Aziz is alive, PAS would be in the forefront to demand full accountability  and transparency of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal, instead of having the PAS President cozying up with the UMNO President with the shocking stance that it does not matter whether Malaysia is a global kleptocracy so long as the Prime Minister is a Muslim.

Although the charade in the last 48 hours is allegedly to be from  Selangor PAS grassroots who  submitted a memorandum to the PAS leadership to cut off ties with any party which has relations with DAP and Amanah, nobody will be surprised if this memorandum and the posters attacking DAP, Amanah and Bersatu leaders, Amanah and Bersatu, were the “masterpieces” of the PAS information chief.

The attacks on the DAP, AMANAH and Bersatu amounted to an open declaration of war by PAS leadership against DAP, APakatan Harapan and Bersatu.

Although the whole charade the PAS leadership attack on the DAP, Amanah and Bersatu, is couched as coming from the Selangor PAS grassroots, the real scenario is very different.

In fact, PAS grass roots in Selangor have been very upset and restive about the Hadi PAS leadership’s hardline stand in cozying up with the Najib leadership of UMNO,  defending Najib from the 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal.

This explains the extraordinary statement by the PAS Vice President, Iskandar Abdul Samad, before the PAS Central Committee meeting last week that even the PAS Central Committee and PAS Syurah Council decided to sever ties with PKR, PAS Selangor state executive councillors, members in GLCS, councillors and village heads will not resign until a PAS Muktarmar decision in April.

PAS Selangor is likely in the next general election  to lose all the 15 State Assembly seats it won  in Selangor  the 13GE, as voters, both Muslim and non-Muslim, are disappointed with the new direction of the Hadi-led PAS leadership of cozying up with Najib and propping him up as Prime Minister up despite the global kleptocracy of the 1MDB scandal – a direction PAS would never have taken if Nik Aziz is still alive.

I believe Nik Aziz would have no problem in endorsing my statement and vision that Malaysians cannot and should not be  anti-Malay or anti-Chinese, anti-Indian, anti-Kadazan or anti-Iban or anti any religion,  or  we would have betrayed the Malaysian vision which regards every Malaysian, regardless of race, religion, region,  class, gender or age  as one Malaysian people.

But Hadi is very different and I will be extremely surprised if he is able to publicly endorse such a statement and vision.

In my message to the  Konvensyen Reformis Malaysia 2017 over the weekend, I referred to three immediate challenges not only to the Reformasi people, but to  all patriotic Malaysians who want to save Malaysia from becoming a global kleptocracy and ending up as a failed and rogue state.

These three national challenges in the 14 GE expected to be held either in the second or third quarter of this year,  are:

Firstly, to preserve and sustain the electoral support for reform from the Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan and Dayak voters  for DAP and PKR in the 13th General Election;

Secondly, to reach out and win over the 3.5 million UMNO members and  UMNO voters to support the Save Malaysia Campaign in the battle between “Democracy versus Kleptocracy”;

Thirdly, to reach out and win over the PAS members and voters to support the Save Malaysia Campaign to ensure the victory of democracy and the defeat of kleptocracy in the 14th General Election and to keep alive the memory and spirt of Nik Aziz.

If we can achieve these three tasks in the 14GE, then Malaysia can be saved and we can look forward to a new dawn in  Malaysia with  institutional and systemic reforms to ensure that Malaysia will never return to the trajectory of a kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2017/02/27/perbezaan-ketara-antara-pas-versi-nik-aziz-dan-pas-versi-hadi-awang/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 February 2017, 10:14 am and is filed under
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MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah/Sarawak BN  Ministers should stop “play footsie” with Hadi’s unconstitutional RUU 355 and make a clear-cut decision at tomorrow Cabinet that BN will neither take over Hadi’s private member’s bill nor give it priority for voting in March/April Parliament

Tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting will be the last one before the resumption of Parliament for a month-long meeting from March 6 to April 6.

MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah/Sarawak BN  Ministers should stop “play footsie” with PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s unconstitutional RUU 355 and make a clear-cut decision at tomorrow Cabinet meeting that the Barisan Nasional will neither take over Hadi’s private member’s bill nor give it priority for voting in March/April Parliament.

The rigmarole and charade of BN government giving priority to Hadi’s private member’s bill motion  even over official government business in Parliament, yet not putting the private member’s bill motion to a vote, has gone on long enough and distracted attention from urgent and important national business – whether it be the unprecedented weakening of the ringgit and the sufferings caused to low-income Malaysians because of all-round price increases; the sense of insecurity despite claims by the authorities of the fall in the crime index; or the rampant corruption in the country climaxing in Malaysia ridiculed world-wide as a “global kleptocracy” because of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal.

There can be reason for the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah/Sarawak BN Ministers to continue with the charade over Hadi’s private member’s motion especially as two UMNO Ministers, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office) and  Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister) have publicly admitted:

1.	That Hadi’s Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) enabled the government to circumvent the due constitutional process, as requiring consensus from all states, the National Islamic Council and the Rulers’ Conference.

This is what Jamil said:  “You can’t bring it to the Rulers Conference if you don’t have consensus from 14 states, but a private member’s bill requires only one state or one person to table it.”

Jamil said that when Hadi’s private member’s bill motion moves to the second reading stage, it would be taken over by the government and read out by him.

2.	BN component parties will not be able to object against amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) once the relevant bill is taken over by the Federal Government as BN component parties are compelled to support the bill as part of the ruling coalition. (Ahmad Maslan)

I want to ask all the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah/Sarawak BN  Ministers when they want to stop playing the role of the traditional three monkeys, “with eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and mouths that speak not”, on an issue which UMNO Ministers and leaders do not try very hard  to  hide – that UMNO’s support for Hadi’s private member’s bill is part of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s gameplan  to win Malay votes in the forthcoming 14th General Elections so that he could continue as Prime Minister and would not have to face the consequences for the largest kleptocratic scandal in the world  – the 1MDB scandal which continues to make world headlines with new developments in some parts of the world, almost every other day?

Surely, the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah/Sarawak BN  Ministers are aware of the stance of the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang that Malaysia’s infamy and ignominy as a global kleptocracy is immaterial so long as the Prime Minister is a Muslim, while UMNO has taken the reciprocal position that it could support Hadi’s private member’s bill although it is unconstitutional and runs counter to the core principles of nation-building as spelt out in the Malaysian Constitution.

As tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting is the last one before Parliament reconvenes on Monday, I would urge the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah/Sarawak Ministers not to abdicate from their national responsibilities and to insist that the Cabinet tomorrow must take a clear-cut position on two matters: that the Barisan National government will not give priority to Hadi private member’s bill in the March/April meeting of Parliament and that the Barisan Nasional government will not take over Hadi’s private member’s bill.

(Media Conference Statement at the pasar walkabout at Sungai Abong, Muar  on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at 5.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 28 February 2017, 5:23 pm and is filed under
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Three questions about the wife of Attorney-General Apandi making false claim that she is director of a developer and abuse of powers by Abdul Rahman as Housing Minister in giving 12-month extension for completion of condominium project

The Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday set aside the order by the then Urban Wellbeing Housing and Local Government Minister to give a 12-month extension to a developer, BHL Construction Sdn. Bhd., to complete its condominium project in Jalan Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur.

Justice Hanipah Farikullah, who allowed the judicial review application by 104 house buyers, said the minister’s decision to rely on a regulation to allow the extension was against the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Act.

BHL Construction Sdn Bhd was involved in the construction of a condominium in Jalan Kuchai Lama in Kuala Lumpur where 104 plaintiffs had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with them.

One of the conditions of the agreement required that the developer hand over vacant possession within 36 months or be liable to pay a penalty for late delivery to the buyers.

The developer failed to complete and hand over the units to the 104 purchasers and wrote to the Controller of Housing under the ministry for an extension of time. The appeal was rejected.

The developer then appealed to the Housing Minister at the time, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who, on November 17, 2015, allowed an extension of 12 months.

That decision would have allowed the developer to hand over vacant possession to the buyers from 36 months to 48 months.

Aggrieved, the purchasers sought legal remedy in the courts last year.

I fully agree with the National House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong, who said the rights and entitlement to compensation could not be taken away by the Controller of Housing or the minister with a stroke of a pen.

Parties are bound by the terms of the contract and any modification or variation of the agreement will require the consent of purchasers.

There are several serious issues in this case.

The person who wrote to the then  Minister of Urban  Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan seeking a 12-month extension, was the wife of the Attorney-General, Faridah Begum binti K.A.Abdul Kader, who misrepresented herself as Director of BHL.

A check with the Registrar of Companies showed she was not a director of BhL Construction Sdn. Bhd.

Three serious conflict-of-interest questions arise here:

Firstly, how is the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Appandi Ali going to give consent to prosecute his wife for making false representation and false claim as a director of BHL Construction Sdn. Bhd in an appeal letter to the then Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government to abuse his power, when she was not a director of BHL Construction Sdn. Bhd.

Secondly, she has written a letter to the then Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government giving a frivolous reason in the application  for the extension. By virtue of the Minister’s approval, housebuyers were not able to get compensation for late delivery of their homes. The total amount runs into millions.

Why did Abdul Rahman succumbed to such frivolous reasons to abuse his Ministerial powers  – or was it just because the letter was written by the wife of the Attorney-General?

Abdul Rahman Dahlan is duty-bound to state how many Ministerial decisions had he made during his short stint as Housing Minister illegally  giving developers extension for completion of their housing projects, in violation of sale-and-purchase agreement concluded with house buyers.

The Minister’s decision has now been quashed by the Kuala Lumpur court. How could the minister give extensions based on such frivolous reasons such as stop-work-orders. Such orders were given because the developer breached the laws and inconvenienced the neighbourhood.

Although Abdul Rahman Dahlan has shifted to another Ministry, he is duty bound to explain and justify his Ministerial decision to give a 12-month extension in November 2015 – and to vindicate in the court of public opinion whether there is any ground for such a decision or whether it was completely arbitrary, namely the applicant was sent by Faridah Begum, the wife of the Attorney-General.

While it is  not legally wrong for the Attorney-General’s wife to be gainfully employed, the last thing she should be engaged in is to make false representation and to make false claims to enable a Minister to arbitrarily abuse his powers.

There is a third question. Hypothetically,  how can Appandi be expected to give consent to prosecute developers when his wife is a “lobbyist” of sorts for developers?

Both Apandi Ali and Abdul Rahman Dahlan should explain themselves.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 28 February 2017, 9:16 am and is filed under
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Call on Khaled Nordin to move a special motion at the forthcoming Johor State Assembly to declare corruption as the No. 1 enemy in the state – to demonstrate Johor is not competing with Sabah to be kleptocratic states in Malaysia

I am disappointed that the Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin had not made use of his visit to Gelang Patah constituency yesterday to address the “political earthquake” in Johor with a comprehensive statement on what anti-corruption initiatives the Johor State Government has taken following the MACC arrest of six persons, including the son and a special officer of a senior State Exco Member over multi-million ringgit corruption in land transactions in the state – and the arrest of a seventh person yesterday.

Last Friday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seized 21 luxury cars, five high performance bikes and RM500,000 in cash, as well as frozen 45 accounts with over RM15.5 million in them, in a case involving bribery and abuses linked to real-estate in Johor.

Six individuals, including Ahmad Fauzan Hatim Abd Latif, the eldest son of Johor Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Abd Latif Bandi and his special officer Muhammad Idzuan Jamalludin, were arrested. A seventh was arrested yesterday.

Of course, this is peanuts when compared to the Sabah Watergate corruption raids last October, where MACC seized more than RM114 million in cash and accounts, 19.3 kg of gold jewellery worth about RM3.64 million, some 97 designer ladies handbags worth RM500,000, nine luxury vehicles and some 127 land titles from the Director and Deputy Director of Sabah Water Department.

Malaysia is ridiculed worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” – and Johore seems to be competing with Sabah to be “kleptocratic states” in Malaysia.

This is why I call on the Johor Mentri Besar, Khaled Nordin to move a special motion at the forthcoming Johor State Assembly to declare corruption as the No. 1 enemy in the state, spell out the anti-corruption initiatives the Johor State Government is taking after the spate of corruption arrests in the state, and most important of all, to demonstrate Johor is not competing with Sabah to be kleptocratic states in Malaysia!

Khaled’s stance so far to the MACC arrests and seizures is to await the outcome of the MACC investigations, on the ground that it was premature to decide whether his administration would conduct internal investigations pending MACC investigations.

Khaled cannot be more wrong. Khaled should know that inaction is no option for a responsible Johore state government committed to integrity, good governance and the eradication of corruption.

Whether the MACC charges against the seven can succeed in securing conviction in court is separate from the issue as to what the State Government is doing to tighten up rules and procedures to ensure that such corrupt malpractices cannot take place.

Khalid should bear in mind that Johor had produced two of the country’s foremost stalwarts against corruption in the nation’s history – the first and third UMNO President, Datuk Onn Jaafar and his son, Tun Hussein Onn!

It is a sad day for Johor if the state, which had produced two of nation’s greatest stalwarts against corruption, end up as a kleptocratic state like Sabah.

(Media Conference Statement in Gelang Patah on Wednesday, 1st March 2017 at 10 am)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 1 March 2017, 11:17 am and is filed under
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Most significant thing about King Salman of Saudi Arabia’s four-day visit is not what was said or done by the Saudis, but what  was not said about the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal bank accounts

King Salman of Saudi Arabia’s four-day visit to Malaysia has ended.

The  most significant thing about King Salman’s visit to Malaysia  is not what was said or done by the Saudis, including the signing of the US$7 billion (RM31 billion) agreement by Saudi Aramco to take a 50 per cent stake in Petronas’ Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Pengerang  but what  was not said about the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal bank accounts.

Three days ago, a “kangkong” professor said that the Saudi King’s visit vindicated the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak  on the RM2.6 billion donation in  his personal bank accounts.

He said: “Previously, there was a leader who said that even a mad Arab would not give such a colossal sum. But the presence of King Salman is sufficient to prove Najib was telling the truth that the RM2.6 billion was a donation from the Saudi royal family.”

It is fortunate that this “kangkong” professor did not end up as a judge, as no sane or rational person could understand his  “perverse illogic”.

The argument that King Salman would not have set foot in Malaysia if Najib had “slandered” the Saudi royal family does not hold water, for how can King Salman omit an OIC country like  Malaysia in a month-long Asian tour, covering six other  countries, viz  Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, China, Maldives and Jordan – four  of which are members of the Organisation of Islamic States (OIC)?

What was most conspicuous in Salman’s visit is the Saudi Arabian silence and refusal to confirm that the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s private banking accounts came from the Saudi royal family.

The Saudi silence is understandable, for Saudi Arabia’s  own credibility would be at stake, unless they could disprove the “money trail” which the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit to seize over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland had elaborately traced in their kleptocracy cases – proving that the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal banking accounts came from the shoal of 1MDB-linked companies and not from any Saudi Arabian “donation”.

In the circumstances, AMANAH MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad’s motion to summon the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali to  Parliament to explain his decision not to pursue charges on the RM2.6 billion donation received by Najib is most apt and timely, and deserves the support of all MPs who stand for integrity, accountability and transparency.

Khalid has rightly pointed out the conflicting information about the donation – while Apandi declared the funds came from the Saudi royal family, investigations and court cases overseas, including in Singapore, Switzerland and the United States,  showed that the money  came from 1MDB.

The Saudi silence during the recent visit of King Salman to Malaysia, refusing to declare that the donation came from Saudi royal family,  is loud and resounding.

But the Saudi silence is most ominous and a grave blow to the integrity of the Prime Minister and good governance in Malaysia.

I agree with Khalid that if Najib had nothing to hide, then there would be no obstacle to Apandi appearing in Parliament.

In fact, Apandi should offer to appear in Parliament for questioning about the 1MDB scandal without the need for a parliamentary motion if the Attorney-General is committed to the principles of good governance and the rule of law.

(Media Conference Statement  after visiting Pengkalan Rinting State Assembly constituency in Johor Bahru with the DAP State Assemblyman Cheo Yee How on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 11.30 am)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 1 March 2017, 5:30 pm and is filed under
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Norway’s model of prudence in oil wealth

The Monitor’s Editorial Board

Christian Science Monitor

As more nations set up funds for the money earned from natural resources or exports, many also adopt principles of transparency and accountability – and a concern for future generations. They should look to Norway, which runs the largest ‘sovereign wealth fund.’

FEBRUARY 28, 2017 —In about 20 countries, revenue from oil drilling accounts for more than 10 percent of the economy. This natural wealth has long been a tempting source of easy cash for a government’s short-term needs or budgetary holes. Yet as oil prices have fallen, more petroleum-producing nations are taking the long view. They are saving or investing the money to benefit future generations – and to prepare for the day the oil wells run dry.

In recent years, the world has seen a rapid rise in the number of government-run kitties, or “sovereign wealth funds.” In all, more than 75 of these funds now hold $7.4 trillion. Most sock away money earned from natural resources. Others are set up by big exporters, such as Singapore, to keep their foreign earnings for future needs.

With so much money, the funds can be easy targets for politicians. Yet even as the funds have multiplied, many have adopted principles, set down nearly a decade ago by the International Monetary Fund, to be transparent and accountable in how the money is invested and spent.

It also helps that the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund is also a model. Norway, which is Western Europe’s largest oil producer and one of the world’s largest natural gas exporters, has put aside more than $900 billion in its fund since the 1990s. To put that in perspective, the fund owns more than 1 percent of the world’s traded equity shares. Its purpose is to shield the country’s economy from price fluctuations in oil and to support government savings.

Norway’s example in the prudent use of its natural wealth is especially important as Saudi Arabia plans to set up its own fund by selling a portion of its state-run oil company, Saudi Aramco. In fact, Saudi officials have consulted Norway for advice. Since the 2011 Arab Spring, the kingdom has realized it must better invest in the future of its young people by wiser investments in jobs and non-oil industries. Its fund may eventually be twice the size of Norway’s.

In recent days, the Norwegian model has become even more inspiring. The government decided that it will draw only 3 percent from the fund each year, not the usual 4 percent, in order to maintain budget discipline. This means the oil wealth may last long after Norway’s oil is gone. History may note this as one of the most generous acts from one generation to the next.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 1 March 2017, 6:00 pm and is filed under
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Call on Prime Minister Najib to honour his pledge by personally intervening and resolving the unethical and cruel 24-hour halt of supplies to 750,000 pensioners of medicines and medical equipment  by private provider OratisRx

When launching the Government Pensioners’ Foundation in April 2015, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak told the pensioners to “come to me if you need help”.

This is the time for the Najib to honour his pledge to the 750,000 pensioners by personally intervening and resolving the unethical and cruel 24-hour halt of supplies of medicines and medical equipment to pensioners by private provider, OratisRx Sdn. Bhd.

As former Aliran President, P. Ramakrishnan has described it, pensioners were hit with a thunder-bolt with the sudden announcement that no more medicine will be supplied for them by Oratis Services Sdn Bhd, the JPA-appointed company. Oratis had been supplying the medicine to all pensioners throughout the country since 2012.

A pensioner’s wife went to the general hospital on 27 February to apply for Suplasyn, (Sterile Sodium Hyaluronate) for treatment for her painful knee problem, and she was told that  the hospital had received instructions not to prescribe this and other medicines as from 28 February. This treatment was available for all pensioners for many years.

Private hospitals, pharmacies and medical equipment suppliers registered with the e-MASS system with Oratis Services Sdn. Bhd were informed by email by OratisRx Sdh. Bhd by email on Feb. 27 that “any claims of repayment for supplies after February 27 2017 are invalid and not the responsibility of OratisRx Sdn Bhd”.

As pointed out by DAP Deputy National Publicity Secretary and MP for Kulai, Teoh Nie Ching:

“Many of the pensioners using the e-MASS facility are on treatment for chronic illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and kidney failure which require a high cost of treatment. A check with a pharmacy listed under Oratis Rx revealed a month’s worth of cardiovascular medications can cost up to RM400! …If this shutdown were due to upgrading purposes, why did it happen in such short notice? Had ample notice been given, the pensioners affected could have stocked up on their medications instead of being in such a cumbersome situation!”

What is the explanation of OratisRx Sdn. Bhd, the Health Ministry and PSD to such sudden  and abrupt halt of medicines and medical equipment to pensioners?

The question posed by Ramakrishnan is most apt:

“Was there a falling out with certain personalities? Or is there a new company in the offing to take over this medical business from Oratis and reap a huge profit?”

As Nie Ching has rightly asked, while the amount paid for medications and medical equipment is claimable, how long would it take before the pensioners are able to get their money back?

Despite placing 60 days as the maximum in the time frame for reimbursement, pharmacies had to wait sometimes as long as  90-120 days for payment after making their claims!

Is this a sign that Malaysia is hurtling towards a failed state, with more and more systems breaking down, and in this case, exposing 750,000 pensioners to financial strain and worries during their retirement years?

Can Najib give both an answer and a solution within 24 hours?

(Media Conference Statement  at Voters’ Registration Campaign at ICC Pudu, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 2nd March 2017 at 1 pm)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 March 2017, 3:19 pm and is filed under
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The 29 days left in March 2017 must be regarded as the most  important 29 days to “Save Democracy” and “Save Malaysia” to get over  four million unregistered eligible voters to register on the electoral roll so that they could vote in the forthcoming 14GE

The 14th General Election is getting nearer as it is  expected to be held this year, whether in July or more likely in September this year.

31st March 2017 is likely to be last date for eligible voters who have not registered on the electoral roll to register as voters, or they will miss the chance to vote in the 14GE if held this year.

The majority of Malaysian voters wanted a change of Federal Government in Putrajaya in the 13th General Elections on May 5, 2013, but they missed the opportunity to bring about the first change of Federal government in Malaysian electoral history because the electoral system was so unfair and undemocratic that with 47% of the popular votes cast, the UMNO/Barisan Nasional coalition was able to win 60 per cent of the parliamentary seats and Datuk Seri Najib Razak could become the first minority Prime Minister (with support only from minority of the popular vote) in the nation’s history.

All Malaysian organisations, not only political parties, should assume the national and patriotic duty to launch a voters’ registration drive in the next 29 days so that everyone can take part in the process to determine the nation’s future, including whether to change the Federal Government in Putrajauya – replacing the UMNO/Barisan coalition with Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu coalition – in the 14GE.

In fact, I will even urge every Malaysian individual to take it upon himself or herself to encourage a voters’ registration campaign in the next 29 days, bring about a change in mindset where the first question we ask  when we meet friends or even strangers is not “Apa Khabar”,”Are you Well” or  “Have you eaten” but “Have you ensured everybody in your family and close to you is registered as a voter?”

It is most shocking that over four million eligible voters have not registered themselves as voters.

This must be regarded as a national emergency, and the 29 days left in March 2017 must be regarded as the most  important 29 days to “Save Democracy” and “Save Malaysia” to get over  four million unregistered eligible voters to register on the electoral roll so that they could vote in the forthcoming 14GE

Our Election Commission seems to have very poor  IT capabilities and  facilities when compared to other developed countries, like Australia, New Zealand, United States and  the United Kingdom which have  facilities where a voter can register today and cast his or her vote the next day, but in Malaysia, the Election  Commission has to take three to six months to finalise the electoral register.

The Election Commission should explain why it is so backward in IT capabilities and facilities.

[Media Conference Statement (2) at Voters’ Registration Campaign at ICC Pudu, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 2nd March 2017 at 1 pm]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 March 2017, 4:42 pm and is filed under
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Will Khaled Nordin go on leave as Mentri Besar like Abdul Latif as Exco member as he cannot be unaware that Abdul Latif’s son was living well beyond his means?

All eyes are now on Johor, not only on the Johor State Assembly which is to meet next Thursday but whether the Johor Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin will go on leave like State Executive Councillor Datuk Abdul Latif Bandi whose son, Ahmad Fauzan and special officer Muhammad Idzuan Jamalluddin had been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for a multi-million ringgit scandal involving kickbacks in the conversion of bumiputra housing lots to non-bumiputra lots.

This is because Johor was the state which produced  the nation’s three foremost champions for public integrity. It will be a sad day if Johor which had produced the nation’s three greatest warriors against corruption should end up as a kleptocratic state like Sabah.

Who are the trio?  They were the first and third UMNO Presidents, Datuk Onn Jaafar and his son, Tun Hussein Onn, who was also the third Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Lesser known is Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman, the “third man” in Malaysian history, after Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Razak.

As recorded in Ooi Kee Beng’s biography of Tun Ismail, “The Reluctant Politician”, Ismail made an important contribution to the nation in the setting up of the Anti-Corruption Agency, the predecessor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

There is in fact a Tun Ismail Hall in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy (MACA) in memory of Tun Ismail’s commitment to combat corruption.

Ismail  led the anti-graft Cabinet Committee, which tabled the motion in Parliament for the setting up of the Anti-Corruption Agency on 12th April 1967. As recounted in Ooi Kee Beng’s biography, this is what Robert Kuok,  “sugar king” and a confidante of Ismail, said: “You would say, in Confucian terms, that he was a man who led a very correct life, a man of the highest integrity.”

Should Khaled Nordin go on leave as Mentri Besar like Abdul Latif as Exco member?

There are two considerations here: firstly, the multi-million kickback scandal involving the conversion of bumiputra housing lots to non-bumiputra lots also relates to land issues, which comes directly under the Mentri Besar.

Secondly, Khaled as Mentri Besar cannot be unaware that Abdul Latif’s son was living well beyond his means, and the question is what actions he had taken to inquire from Abdul Latif whether Abdul Fauzan’s disproportionate wealth was related to any official abuse of power or corrupt means.

Admittedly, the seizure of 21 luxury cars, five high performance bikes and RM500,000 in cash, as well as frozen 45 accounts with over RM15.5 million in them, in the Johor land and  real-estate scandal is peanuts compared to the Sabah Watergate corruption raids last October, where MACC seized more than RM114 million in cash and accounts, 19.3 kg of gold jewellery worth about RM3.64 million, some 97 designer ladies handbags worth RM500,000, nine luxury vehicles and some 127 land titles from the Director and Deputy Director of Sabah Water Department.

But is Johor competing with Sabah as the top kleptocratic state in Malaysia?

Surely, Malaysia’s being ridiculed worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” is sufficient shame and infamy for the country!

This is why apart from the emergency motion which the DAP State Assemblyman for Pekan Nenas Yeo Tung Siong has submitted for Thursday’s Johor State Assembly, calling for the formation of a select committee on corruption in Johor, I had urged  Khaled to move a special motion at Thursday’s  Johor State Assembly to declare corruption as the No. 1 enemy in the state, spell out the anti-corruption initiatives the Johor State Government is taking after the spate of corruption arrests in the state, and most important of all, to demonstrate Johor is not competing with Sabah to be the top kleptocratic state in Malaysia!

Silence and inaction are no options for Khaled as he must speak loud and clear as to what the Johor State Government is doing to fight corruption in the state.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 2 March 2017, 9:53 am and is filed under
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