My answer is “No” to PAS VP Tuan Ibrahim’s question whether I consider PAS worse than UMNO but Tuan Ibrahim is wrong in thinking I am wooing UMNO

My answer is “No” to PAS Vice President Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s question whether I consider PAS worse than UMNO but Tuan Ibrahim is wrong in thinking that I am wooing UMNO.

DAP would not have formed Pakatan Rakyat with PAS together with PKR if we in the DAP had regarded PAS as worse than UMNO, and I am still hoping that Pakatan Rakyat can remain as a political force to be reckoned with provided all the Pakatan Rakyat component parties remain true, sincere and faithful to the PR Common Policy Framework as well as the PR consensus operational principle that no one political leader or single political party can make or veto any decision arrived collectively by consensus of all three PR parties.

The Pakatan Rakyat stalemate and crisis have arisen because of PAS’ failure to abide by the PR Common Policy Framework and the PR consensus operational principle, and unless both these principles can be restored, it is impossible for PR to continue to be a political alternative to Barisan Nasional and a political force to be reckoned with, as both the credibility and legitimacy of Pakatan Rakyat would have been destroyed by the own doings of PR component parties.

I have just returned from a week-long study tour of Jordan and Egypt with four DAP Members of Parliament, Teresa Kok (Seputeh), Liew Chin Tong (Kluang), Zairil Khir Johari (Bukit Bendera) and Steven Sim (Bukit Mertajam) meeting local intellectuals and activists and  with Malaysian students in Amman, Mafraq, Karak, Alexandria and Cairo where we learned not only about the political developments in these two countries but also the concerns and aspirations of Malaysian students in the Middle East.

As I have told Malaysian students in Alexandria and Cairo, it is a disservice to Islam to lump those who have differences of view with regard to  hudud and its implementation as anti-Islam, as this will not only be lumping the first five Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah, but also UMNO as “anti-Islam”, and even those who had co-operated with UMNO as “anti-Islam” – which would include PAS which had formed a coalition government with UMNO for four years from 1973 to 1977.

Furthermore it would have grouped Islamists and Islamic scholars who have differences of views about immediate implementation of hudud as “anti-Islam”.

Prof Tariq Ramadan has called for a moratorium on hudud implementation while renowned scholar Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi stressed that Sharia cannot be divided up into sections with some accepted and others rejected as  Sharia must be applied in all its aspects, and not just Qisas and Hudud which represent only a small part of Sharia.

Sharia (the literal meaning of Sharia is “the path Allah intends people to follow”) includes religious, civil, moral, cultural and commercial rulings. It governs personal, family, national and international relations. All these are included under the rubric of “Sharia Law”.

I am attracted by an anecdote quoted by Dr. Qaradawi from an eighth century scholar in Basra, Iraq, named Imam Hasan al-Basri. During one of Hasan’s sermons, a clamour arose in the street. When Hasan asked what the noise was about, he was informed that a thief had been arrested. Hasan commented, “So the thief who steals secretly (the government official) has arrested the thief who stole openly.”

Qarawadi  noted that corrupt businessmen  who are close to Arab rulers and who steal millions from the national treasury are not prosecuted, whereas an unemployed labourer who steals to feed his family is punished.

What about Malaysia today?

The following is a criticism of the  “Apply Islamic Law” advocates which  I read in Cairo from Islamic scholars for their “misguided Islamization by demanding that people fulfil their duties before receiving their rights” as “Islamic law is an undivided unity, within which the Hudud form only a small part”:

“This stance is in diametric opposition to the priority of Islamic law, which first gives people their rights before demanding their duties.  The state should first satisfy the rights of its citizens, which include their natural entitlements to food, clothes, education, health, transportation and settlement. If they, for example, steal after the state has fulfilled all these obligations, it may be possible to apply the specified punishments to him, but only under such circumstances, seeing as the Hudud comes at the end, and not at the beginning of the spectrum of duties vis-à-vis rights. Therefore the need to reverse the priorities by promoting the fulfilment of human basic needs in order to show their mercy to people instead of frightening them with threats of harsh punishments.”

We in Malaysia should therefore not make the mistake of lumping those who have differences of view with regard to  hudud and its implementation as anti-Islam, creating the  myth of an enormous number of people in Malaysia who are “anti-Islam” than is really the case.

Among the new myths which have bedeviled race and religious relations in the country in the past few years despite all the publicity of 1Malaysia is that the Malays and Islam are under siege and under threat of being wiped out – which is completely false as it is absolutely inconceivable and unthinkable that the Malays and Islam in Malaysia  are under any danger or threat.

But it is exactly such dangerous and subversive myths that have aggravated the “fevered” imaginations of fringe extremists responsible for the immoderate manifestations like the protest by some residents in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya demanding that a church housed in a shoplot there remove the red cross it displayed outside or a Isma statement that the visit by DAP MPs to Jordan and Egypt was dangerous as “polluting the motherland of Muslim prophets” and “erode the identity of Malay Muslims”.

Returning to Tuan Ibrahim’s question, he is wrong in thinking that I am wooing UMNO with my idea of a Grand Coalition to “Save Malaysia”, which is post-BN and post-PR.

This “Grand Coalition” idea has nothing to do with  the ‘”Unity Government” (UG) concept of UMNO and PAS  as to be a variation like UMNO and DAP “Unity Government”, but  a completely different creature altogether.

It has nothing to do with “Save UMNO” or “Save Najib” but is about “Save Malaysia”.

I have said I am prepared to work with Tun Mahathir to “Save Malaysia”. Whether he is prepared to work with me to “Save Malaysia” is yet to be seen.

The “Grand Coalition” idea is based on the premise that Malaysia will enter a new political landscape when  is not possible to salvage both political coalitions of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat and the Malaysian Federation is faced with  a survival test for the first time since its formation 52 years ago with the 1957 Merdeka Constitution and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement facing their greatest challenge with the latest UMNO-PAS power play over hudud implementation.

If the three pre-conditions for a new political landscape do not exist, then the basis for a Grand Coalition which goes beyond political parties, but based on MPs from both sides of the political divide as well as both sides of the South China Sea, Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, to defend constitutionalism and rule of law with a new Prime Minister and a new Malaysian Government, does not exist.

Tuan Ibrahim had wondered whether my proposed new coalition would work in the absence of a free press, an independent Election Commission and an independent Judiciary, stressing: “We are a stunted democracy. This issue must be addressed first.”

I fully agree with Tuan Ibrahim.

If he refers to my statement about such a new Grand Coalition post-PR post-BN,  I said on March 27 that such a post-BN, post-PR federal government coalition must repair the multitude of wrongs, weaknesses and scandals  that have crept into Malaysian governance in the past decades – in particular the principle that the Prime Minister is primus inter pares,  “first among equals”.

In the present  Cabinet, Najib is not “primus inter pares” but has almost a master-and-servant relationship with his Cabinet Ministers, which is totally against the spirit of parliamentary democracy.

Two important objectives of a post-BN, post-PR coalition must be the  restoration of the important principle of the separation of powers among the executive, legislature and the judiciary  and the restoration of the  independence, credibility, professionalism and integrity of national institutions.

I proposed six important agendas, including:

i.                 Restore the integrity of the judicial system and guarantee transparency and full independence of the Judicial Appointment Commission.

ii.                Restructure the workings in Parliament to make it more transparent, democratic and able to perform its role of “check and balance”.

iii.              Guarantee the direct accountability to Parliament of bodies such as the Election Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission, Human Rights Commission, Petronas, Khazanah and others.

iv.              Ensure that the appointment of positions such as the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General, the Anti-Corruption Commissioner and the Auditor General requires the approval of Parliament.

v.               Create a National Ombudsman Department.

vi.            Free all media, amend the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, enact a Freedom of Information Act and ensure Internet freedom.

I am glad that we are on the same page about the prerequisites of any such successful and meaningful Grand Coalition, post-BN and post-PR.

The idea of a Grand Coalition post-BN, post-PR is not a vehicle for an UMNO-DAP government, but a basis for  “National Reconciliation” to “Save Malaysia” to defend constitutionalism and the rule of law, open to all MPs from all political parties, whether presently in BN or PR, including PAS.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 21 April 2015, 2:48 pm and is filed under
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Disaster in our educational system

By Koon Yew Yin

Malaysiakini

Apr 24, 2015

COMMENT
  Recently, I received an urgent note from a student who is doing matriculation in a government school in Kedah where tuition and accommodation costs are covered by the state. I

 have been helping her with financial assistance for food and miscellaneous expenses since her father is unemployed and she is a deserving student from the poorer class.

 Her letter reads as follows:

“Hi sir it’s me …. sorry for disturbing sir. Sir I want to ask sir something. Sir I really need sir’s help. Sir if can sir can bank in some of the money before I further my studies in matriculation.

“Sir I need to buy something as preparation to further my studies in matriculation sir. so please help me sir. I really don’t know who to ask help. That why I am asking sir’s help. please sir. I hope sir can help me because I don’t know who to ask. sir I hope sir can understand me and give me some support. Thank you sir. I hope sir will reply my letter as soon as possible. Thank you a lot sir.”

I have shared this letter with friends not simply to provide an example of the extent of financial desperation and need that hundreds of thousands of poor students in our country face everyday in their lives.

I am also sharing it to show my concern with the standard of English proficiency of our younger generation who are going to colleges and universities. This is not an isolated example. I am sad to say that the overwhelming majority of the students that I am presently supporting have equally low standards of the English language.

 These students represent the better ones among their classmates in school. I shudder to think of the standard of English proficiency of the average students in our secondary schools.

 How are these students, when they pass through college or university, able to compete in an increasingly globalised employment market? How are they going to function in the private sector or the business world when they cannot express themselves in basic simple English?

 And what is the quality of the service or communication they will provide when they eventually find jobs?

BN the main culprit

 The main culprit for this phenomenon of our present younger generation of poorly educated – unable to communicate in simple English without making grammatical mistakes – is the government.

 Barisan National has been in power for over 50 years and sorry to say, it has put the country’s educational system in the longkang!

The Education Ministry has been the biggest ministry for a long time and receives one of the largest if not largest budgets. But it appears as if donkeys and meter readers are in charge of the Ministry.

 Millions of students pass through our national education system and many receive high grades and the ministry’s stamp of approval. The standard of education, however, is so low that these students are virtually unemployable despite their impressive certificates.

 And this is why I fear for the worse for the present batch of students that I and others have supported! Poor and deserving yes; but they have been screwed up by our rotten education system

 The government is not the only culprit. There are other culprits in our educational tragedy.

Profiteering from education

 I also blame the private sector educationists. There are far too many universities and colleges. Most are owned by businessmen whose main aim is to make profit. When I read a newspaper article commending a educationist businessman for his noble contribution to the country through his educational institution, I cannot resist a big laugh.

Most of our educationists are pure entrepreneurs. Some want to make a fast buck. Others will be prepared to take their time. More than a few are crooked or unscrupulous and are prepared to lower standards to rock bottom so that as many students as possible can enroll in their institutions.

 At the same time, many private sector higher education institutions are charging ridiculously high tuition fees so that the cost of private higher education is getting out of hand and unaffordable to the lower and middle class.

 Unfortunately the Higher Education Report which was released by the government a few days ago is clueless on the concerns raised here.

 KOON YEW YIN, a retired chartered engineer, is a philanthropist.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 April 2015, 3:39 pm and is filed under
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The Malay leadership vacuum

– Liew Chin Tong

The Malaysian Insider

24 April 2015

If both Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang remain as the presidents of Umno and PAS respectively, the sense of being leaderless will continue in the Malay community.

The status quo is therefore not a stable situation, and we are bound to see new contenders coming into the field to fill the painful vacuum. This will open up new possibilities for Malaysian politics.

It would be foolish to assume that Umno will not stay in power for too long. After all, if it, still led by Najib, with help from certain segments of PAS, still led by Hadi, manages to amend the constitution to increase the number of seats in ways that will benefit it, then it would be very difficult to defeat.

We must not underestimate the power of incumbency and the incumbent’s use of government machineries to win elections.

But to win convincingly in Malaysian politics, one has to win across ethnic lines, across the South China Sea to Sabah and Sarawak, and across the sizeable number of centrist Malay voters, especially the young ones.

Najib threw in everything, dare we say, his dignity included, in the 2013 general election and won 47% of the votes to secure 133 parliamentary seats. Shocked by this, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has rightly pointed out that a 2% swing in the right places would see the end of Umno’s rule.

Hence Najib is a damaged brand. While Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recovered from significant loses of votes in the 1990 general election to win the largest vote share in history (65%) in 1995, Najib has done nothing significant since the election two years ago to warrant a resurgent.

The only way for Najib to go seems to be downwards.

Apart from the status quo, the following are some possible outcomes in the next election:

First, if Najib stays on as prime minister, denying his role in a series of scandals and letting the country to continue drifting, the fate of India’s Congress Party finally met in that country’s 2014 general elections will be what probably will awaits Umno. The Congress Party, which ruled from 2004 to 2014, lost legitimacy altogether and won only 44 out of 543 lower house seats, and it is not too far-fetched to imagine Umno losing legitimacy to such an extent. With Najib still at the helm, that seems even probable.

Second, if there is an internal putsch before the next election, and Muhyiddin takes control of Umno and manages to secure its conservative base while being conciliatory towards the middle ground, a convincing win for the party is possible. I call this the LBJ scenario, after American president Lyndon B. Johnson. LBJ was regarded a conservative in most parts of his political career especially as senator but he was able to push through some of the country’s most progressive legislations and policies as president on succeeding the assassinated JFK. A Muhyiddin premiership has to win the middle ground especially the young Malays and the non-Malays to win convincingly.

But if a Muhyiddin premiership should act as lackadaisical as Najib’s and continues to allow the hardliners to be loud and to take charge, then an end to Umno’s hold on power is also probable.

Third, the Sri Lankan election is an interesting reference point. A last minute split in the ruling party, with a minister breaking ranks to contest against the incumbent, manages to provide a viable alternative. And with support from half of the majority Sinhalese support and a landslide among Tamil and Muslim minorities, this rebel managed to defeat the incumbent.

The idea of another split within Umno has to be brought into the equation partly because of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s imprisonment and also because of the inability of Hadi and PAS to capture the centrist imagination and provide a credible alternative.

If Datuk Fadzil Noor were still around, with his centrist posture, there would be no hesitation for the entire opposition to rally around him as the de facto leader of the opposition the moment Anwar was taken out of action. In contrast, Hadi has diminished into being a factional leader within PAS.

PAS as always had trouble convincing the middle ground of its ability to play on the federal stage, and with Hadi remaining the party head, it will simply continue to drift into its diminishing world.

These are the reasons why I say that if the status quo remains, if both Najib and Hadi remain head of their respective parties, we have to expect new personalities to push themselves onto centre-stage and vie for the future leadership of Malaysia.

Who would these people be? At risk of over-simplification, a first group would be what I would call the “Bangsar” establishment figures like those who are members of G25 and the like. A second group would be the “Bangi” Islamists who have yet to involve themselves in electoral politics.

A third source is harder to define, but it will come from within Malay youth at large. After all, they are the ones with little to lose and everything to gain.

It’s still early days. The fact remains though: there is a leadership vacuum in Malaysia, and this vacuum is felt most strongly among the Malays, especially among Malay youths. Such as situation is not one to bet on to continue. – April 24, 2015.

* Speech delivered at the Australian National University on April 8, 2015.

* Liew Chin Tong is DAP MP for Kluang.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 April 2015, 4:37 pm and is filed under
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Five key issues in the Permatang Pauh by-election on May 7

The Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election has five key issues, not only for the voters in the constituency, but for all Malaysians, viz:

1.	As a clear and unmistakable vote, not only behalf of the people of Permatang Pauh, but of 30 million Malaysians, against the continued victimisation and  persecution of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, with his second jail sentence and disqualification as an elected MP, and an  unequivocal and categorical call for Anwar’s immediate release from jail.

2.	Rejection of GST imposed on April 1 as imposing hardships on the people at large, demanding that the 6 per cent tax be abolished.

3.	Lead the country in demanding immediate transparency and accountability for “mother of mother” of all financial scandals in Malaysia, the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal.  When the voters cast their vote in the by-election on May 7, it will be more than two months after the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had ordered the auditor-general to independently verify the accounts of the 1MDB.  The voters of Permatang Puah must vote to demand that the Auditor-General should table his  report on the 1MDB scandal  to Parliament when it reconvenes on May 18 – or at least, an interim report.

4.	Vote to censure the growing repression in the country, not only with the passage of undemocratic laws like the Sedition Amendment Act and  the Prevention of Terrorism Act but also the double standards, the persecution and harassment of Pakatan Rakyat leaders and NGO activists particularly at the instance of the twitter trigger-happy Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

5.	To “Save Malaysia” by issuing a clear and unequivocal vote against the failure of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 1Malaysia Policy, with worst racial and religious polarization under his tenure.

(Media Statement at the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election nomination centre in support of the candidature of PKR President Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on Saturday, 25th April 2015)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 25 April 2015, 1:18 pm and is filed under
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Strengthen the foundational structure of our nation – G40

The Malaysian Insider

19 April 2015

We are a group of Malaysians deeply concerned about the state of our nation. Never before in this country’s history have such stresses and strains been made to bear upon the foundational principles of nationhood which now threaten to subvert the bonds that have held all Malaysians together and kept the nation comprising the territorial components of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak intact.

Constructed when Malaya achieved independence in 1957 under the Merdeka Constitution, the basic structure was re-examined and re-established when the federation of Malaysia came into being in 1963 with the concerns of the Borneo states taken into consideration.

Malaysia’s constitutional history records the fact that this country is a secular nation with Islam as the religion of the federation.

As a rainbow nation of many peoples with diverse religions, we charted our destiny upon a civil and non-religious national legal order resting firmly on the twin principles of the supremacy of the constitution and rule of law.

In 1982, the government introduced a policy to inculcate universal Islamic values that all Malaysians have little difficulty in supporting.

Of these 10 values – trust, responsibility, honesty, dedication, moderation, diligence, discipline, cooperation, honourable behaviour and thanksgiving – what remains of the policy today is the single value of moderation under the concept of Islam Wasatiyyah.

Even that value of moderation is ignored by certain quarters, including political leaders who espouse sectarian views to suit their audiences.

It is unfortunate that the policy of promoting these 10 values has become a platform for “Islamisation” by religious bureaucrats.

There is mounting disquiet on bureaucracy-driven “Islamisation” of Malaysia and the Malaysian way of life by the expanding and increasingly assertive religious bureaucracies both at the federal and constituent state levels and the posturing of extremist individuals and groups capitalising on this trend.

We reiterate that we have a civil national legal order which is religion neutral. We are not a theocratic state with religious law being prescribed as the supreme law of the land. Neither should we be forced to live by the rule of religious diktats where decrees of religious bureaucrats have legal and punitive effect.

Lip service and pious platitudes acknowledge the supremacy of the constitution as the nation’s supreme law. At the same time diktats of the religious bureaucrats are given an overarching significance over the constitution.

This has eroded public confidence in the national legal order and in the administrators and the adjudicators of this order.

Legislation needs only pass the test of constitutionality. But these are now subject to the scrutiny of religious bureaucrats who can impede the implementation of such laws.

A case in point is the Domestic Violence Act 1994 which could not be brought into force for almost two years. A similar fate befell the stillborn law reform initiative to preserve the status quo of the rights of parties arising out of one spouse in a civil marriage converting to Islam upon the dissolution of their marriage.

In a democracy, the separation of powers doctrine is the bedrock of good governance. An independent judiciary is essential to ensure a fair and just adjudication of disputes between parties and more importantly, between individuals and the governing authorities.

The 1988 amendments to the constitution exclude the civil High Courts’ jurisdiction over matters within the jurisdiction of the Shariah courts. This has unfortunately spawned serious jurisdictional issues and worrying decisions where some civil courts decline to adjudicate constitutional issues and even accede jurisdiction to the Shariah court.

At the individual and societal level, there is also grave concern about the attendant negative impact on freedom of religion as well as the religious and civil rights of non-Muslims, for example, the constitutional right of parents to determine the religion and religious upbringing of their children who are minors.

Non-Islamic religions appear to be increasingly marginalised amid growing indications of intolerance of non-Muslims, their beliefs and their practices. This development undermines Malaysia’s claim to be a model moderate nation where Islam co-exists harmoniously with other religions in a multicultural society.

The government’s call for moderation is being challenged by loud voices of intolerance and immoderation which if unchecked will tear apart the unity of citizens bound together by a common nationality.

We reassert the concerns raised and endorse the recommendations set out in the open letter issued on Sunday December 8, 2014 by a group of 25 Malaysians.

We consider ourselves duty-bound to call upon the federal government and state governments to give their undivided attention to this grave peril which our nation faces.

Let there be a recommitment to the genuine pursuit of the 10 universal values which will be fully supported by all Malaysians and which will make Malaysia a good and great nation.

Let our leaders, be they from the legislative, executive or judicial arms of governance with the undivided support of all patriotic Malaysians, uphold their oath of office to preserve, protect and defend our constitution.

We write this letter with deep anguish. Our leaders must, with immediacy, act intentionally, decisively and authoritatively before irretrievable damage is done to our beloved country. – April 19, 2015.

1. Datuk Albert Talalla, former high commissioner to Canada, ambassador to China, Germany and the US and former director-general of the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations

2. Datin Beatrix Vohrah, former Professor of Law, UiTM

3. Bob Teoh, freelance writer and former general-secretary of NUJ and secretary-general of the Confederation of Asean Journalists

4. Datuk Choo Siew Kioh, former ambassador to Sweden and the Republic of Mali and high commissioner to India and former Commissioner of Suhakam

5. Tan Sri Datuk Clifford Francis Herbert, former secretary-general of the Ministry of Finance

6. Dr David KL Quek, past president of the Malaysian Medical Association

7. Datuk Dennis Ignatius, former ambassador to Argentina and Chile and high commissioner to Canada, political affairs columnist

8. Datuk Denison Jayasooria, secretary-general of Proham and former commissioner of Suhakam

9. Dr Faisal Hamdi Hamzah, medical practitioner

10. Hartini Zainudin, child activist

11. Datuk KC Vohrah, former judge of the Court of Appeal and former commissioner of Suhakam, co-editor of Sheridan & Groves The Constitution of Malaysia (5th Edition)

12. Datuk KJ Abraham, former deputy director-general of DID

13. Dr KJ John, founding director of Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute (OHMSI)

14. Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, chairman of Proham and past president of the Malaysian Bar

15. Tan Sri Lal Chand Vohrah, former judge of the High Court, former judge of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and former judge of the Appeals Chamber of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

16. Dr Lee Su See, former head of the Forest Health and Conservation Programme, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) and vice-president of the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO)

17. Datuk Leong Yoke Faie, former chief executive BP Malaysia Sdn Bhd

18. Dr Lee Kam Hing, former professor of History, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur

19. Datuk Lew Sip Hon, former ambassador to the United States

20. Lim Heng Seng, former chairman of the Industrial Court and head of Arbitration and deputy head of Civil Litigation, Attorney-General’s Chambers

21. Datuk Lily Zachariah, former ambassador to the Republic of Italy, Chile and Senegal

22. Dr Lyana Khairuddin, educator and scientist working on HIV and HPV

23. Datuk Mahadev Shanker, former Court of Appeal judge and former commissioner of Suhakam

24. Mano Maniam, actor, teacher and scholar at local and American universities, recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Artiste Award in 2000

25. Dr Mulkit Singh, former professor in Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore and School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame Australia

26. Datuk Patrick Sindu, former president of the Consumer Association of Sabah

27. Philip Koh, co-editor of Sheridan & Groves ‘The Constitution of Malaysia’ (5th Edition)

28. Datuk Ramesh Chander, former chief statistician of Malaysia and senior statistical adviser to the World Bank

29. Rose Ismail, former journalist, coach and trainer

30. Dr Saw Leng Guan, director of the Forest Biodiversity Division of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) and fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM)

31. Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri, artist and social activist

32. Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, former Sabah state secretary and former vice-chairman of Suhakam

33. Datuk Stanley Isaacs, former head of Prosecution, Commissioner of Law Revision and Parliamentary Draftsmen of Attorney-General’s Chambers

34. Datuk Stephen Foo Kiat Shin, former attorney-general of Sabah

35. Tan Siok Choo, lawyer and newspaper columnist

36. Prof Terence Gomez, professor, Faculty of Economics, Universiti Malaya

37. Tan Sri VC George, past president of the Bar Council of Malaya and former Court of Appeal judge

38. Datuk Dr V. Thuraisingham, past president Malaysian of the Medical Association and past master of the Academy of Medicine

39. Datuk Wilfred Lingham, former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Development, Sabah

40. Yip Pit Wong, former director of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency Sarawak and chief senior assistant commissioner, MACC Selangor

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 25 April 2015, 6:32 pm and is filed under
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Best tribute to Karpal Singh is for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or political affiliation to unite to Save Malaysia to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation as our national way of life and model for the world

Five months ago on Dec. 8, 2014, a group of 25 prominent Malays penned an open letter asking for a rational dialogue on the position of Islam in a constitutional democracy.

The 19-paragraph statement was signed by prominent people, including former secretaries-general, directors-general, ambassadors and prominent individuals, as they felt that it was high time moderate Malays and Muslims speak out as extremist, immoderate and intolerant voices do not speak in their name.

They  called on the Prime Minister to exercise his leadership and political will to establish an inclusive consultative committee to find solutions to  issues which have become more “difficult to address” because of  the extreme politicisation of race and religion in this country by bringing together experts in various fields, including Islamic and constitutional laws, and those affected by the application of Islamic laws in adverse ways.

They also urged more moderate Malaysians to speak up and contribute to a better informed and rational public discussion on the place of Islamic laws within a constitutional democracy and the urgency to address the breakdown of federal-state division of powers and finding solutions to the heart-wrenching stories of lives and relationships damaged and put in limbo because of battles over turf and identity.

Although the open letter of G25 which has expanded to G44, drew widespread support from many quarters, including petitions online as well on twitter and FaceBook,  it is most regrettable that after close to five months, the Prime Minister, who had travelled the world with his initiative of a Global Movement of Moderates calling  for a “coalition of moderates” to reclaim their religion from extremists appears to be either indifferent or impotent about rising extremism at home.

Last week, the  initiative of G25/G44 has been followed by another group of 40 prominent Malaysians, including former leading civil servants,  judges, ambassadors, activists, educationists and notable individuals,  in an open letter urging Putrajaya to recommit to 10 universal values which make Malaysia a moderate country.

They said that the values – trust, responsibility, honesty, dedication, moderation, diligence, discipline, cooperation, honourable behaviour and thanksgiving – were introduced in 1982 by the government to inculcate universal Islamic values.

In the letter by the 40, titled
“Strengthen the foundational structure of our nation”
, the group wrote that moderation as a value was being “ignored by certain quarters, including political leaders who espouse sectarian views to suit their audiences”.

The Group said: “Never before in this country’s history have such stresses and strains been made to bear upon the foundational principles of nationhood which now threaten to subvert the bonds that have held all Malaysians together and kept the nation comprising the territorial components of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak intact.”

The Group said: “Malaysia’s constitutional history records the fact that this country is a secular nation with Islam as the religion of the federation.

“As a rainbow nation of many peoples with diverse religions, we charted our destiny upon a civil and non-religious national legal order resting firmly on the twin principles of the supremacy of the constitution and rule of law.

“We are not a theocratic state with religious law being prescribed as the supreme law of the land. Neither should we be forced to live by the rule of religious diktats where decrees of religious bureaucrats have legal and punitive effect.”

The Group stressed: “We reiterate that we have a civil national legal order which is religion neutral. We are not a theocratic state with religious law being prescribed as the supreme law of the land. Neither should we be forced to live by the rule of religious diktats where decrees of religious bureaucrats have legal and punitive effect.”

The Group said  the government’s call for moderation is being challenged by loud voices of intolerance and immoderation which if unchecked will tear apart the unity of citizens bound together by a common nationality.

The Open Letters of these eminent Malaysians, the G25/G44 and G40, as well as the Open Letter by a group of 47 Sabahans early this month to Putrajaya urging an end to extremism in the country raising their concerns about Islamisation, attempts to convert natives of the state, polarisation, growing intolerance and federal government bodies asserting authority beyond their powers as well as the Open Letter by 58 former students of the  Prime Minister’s alma mater, St. John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur from the class of 1975, urging on Najib to take a strong position against racism, religious bigotry and extremism are more than ample signs that moderation in Malaysia had never been under graver threat in  over half a century and that  Malaysia is facing the first crisis of survival intact as a nation in our history.

If Karpal is alive with us, he would be in the very forefront straining every ounce of his sinews and energies to “Save Malaysia” to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation as Malaysia’s way of life and to be an example to the world.

The  most meaningful form of  tribute to Karpal Singh, whom we are remembering and honouring on the first  anniversary  of his tragic passing,  is for all Malaysian patriots regardless of race, religion or political affiliation to unite and dedicate  themselves to the cause of “Save Malaysia” to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation as Malaysia’s way of life and model to the world.

(Speech at the wreath-laying ceremony in honour of Karpal Singh in memory of 1st anniversary of his passing held at Pesiaran Karpal Singh, Penang on Sunday, 26th April 2015 at 8.30 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 April 2015, 7:33 am and is filed under
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Islamic State takes military barracks, dam in Iraq’s Anbar: sources

Reuters

Sat Apr 25, 2015

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Islamic State militants in Iraq took partial control of a water dam and military barracks guarding it in the western Anbar province after fierce fighting through the night that continued on Saturday, security sources and witnesses said.

The Iraqi government announced a new offensive this month to recapture parts of Anbar, Iraq’s Sunni Muslim heartland, from Islamic State, in an attempt to build on an earlier victory against the group in the central city of Tikrit.

But the hardline Sunni militants struck back by attacking Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, prompting thousands of families to flee. They also hit Baiji, Iraq’s largest refinery last week.

Late on Friday, the insurgents attacked the security perimeter at al-Thirthar dam with explosive-laden vehicles and then battled army forces in clashes that continued on Saturday, police and army sources told Reuters.

Dozens of Iraqi troops were killed in the fighting, but poor communications in the area made it difficult to confirm a precise figure, said Athal al-Fahdawi, an Anbar provincial council member. Army sources said two senior officers were among the dead.

Officials from Iraq’s defense and interior ministries could not immediately be reached for comment.

Security forces and Shi’ite paramilitaries have regained some ground in Iraq since Islamic State proclaimed a caliphate straddling the border of Syria and Iraq, but core Sunni territories such as Anbar remain under Islamic State control.

A video posted online on Saturday by Islamic State’s official media organization appeared to show its fighters moving about freely at al-Thirthar dam, which serves as a flood control for Baghdad and other cities.

A black flag commonly used by the militants is seen flying from a radio tower. Two bodies apparently belonging to Iraqi forces also appear in the footage.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 April 2015, 11:50 am and is filed under
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Excerpt #1:  Chicken Coop At Dusk

by Bakri Musa

Malaysia’s Wasted Decade 2004-2014. The Toxic Triad of Abdullah, Najib, and UMNO Leadership #1

April 5th, 2015

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad stunned his followers when he announced his resignation at his UMNO’s General Assembly in June 2002. He had been in office for over 22 years. The unexpected announcement triggered mass hysteria among his followers. Senior ministers and party leaders openly wept, and pandemonium broke out in the hall.

The scene resembled a chicken coop at dusk when the birds were settling down in their comfort zone when suddenly their head rooster flew the coop, or attempted to. The cacophony settled down and calm returned only after senior leaders cajoled Mahathir to delay his retirement until October 31st the following year, and he agreed.

That collective hysteria and mass crying were reflective of how dependent UMNO members were on Mahathir. He was their messiah, and now he was abandoning them.

Mahathir anointed Abdullah Badawi as his successor, and five years later Najib Razak took over from Abdullah. The handover from Mahathir to Abdullah went smoothly, with both formally dressed in their traditional Malay baju and samping sutra as they smiled and shook hands while exchanging the instrument of office in front of the King. The next day Prime Minister Abdullah awarded Mahathir and his wife the nation’s highest honor, the Tunship.

The shift from Abdullah to Najib five years later also went smoothly, at least on the surface, with beaming smiles all around. Prime Minister Najib also awarded Abdullah his Tunship, as well as one to his new wife who had no discernible service to the nation. That seeming cordiality and civility however could not mask the earlier intrigue and shadow plays engaged by both.

Abdullah and Najib may have been consumed with their own shadow play nonetheless there was no mistaking who was the master puppeteer. Mahathir directly picked Abdullah, and then forced Abdullah to choose Najib.

Soon upon assuming office, Abdullah sought a mandate and secured an overwhelming victory in 2004, eclipsing and embarrassing Mahathir’s less-than-stellar performance in 1999. Abdullah’s boys (his advisers were all males) made sure that no one missed the comparison. Being amateurs and new to the game, they treated their victory as the ultimate trophy and failed to capitalize on it.

They or rather their patron Abdullah paid dearly for that neglect. In the following election of 2008, his coalition suffered a humiliating setback. It was returned to power but with a hugely reduced majority at the federal level, while losing five states to the opposition.

Mahathir saw his error with Abdullah soon after the latter took office. Even Abdullah’s 2004 impressive electoral win did not persuade Mahathir otherwise. That victory however, blunted Mahathir’s withering criticisms, reducing him to a grumpy old man. With Abdullah’s subsequent electoral setback, Mahathir was emboldened and his criticisms gained traction, amply aided by Abdullah’s own inept performance. His forced ignominious resignation in October 2009 gave way to Najib, with enthusiastic support from Mahathir, at least initially.

Mahathir is a poor judge of talent and character. His initial enthusiasm for Najib, as with Abdullah, was misplaced and soon soured. When Najib subsequently suffered an even worse electoral humiliation than Abdullah in the May 2013 election, Mahathir ratcheted up his scorn for Najib, labeling him a “weak leader.” He openly expressed his regret for his earlier support for Najib and publicly rebuked him. To date, a much older and less vigorous Mahathir has yet to be successful in undoing his error with Najib. Malaysia remains cursed with Najib’s clueless and rudderless leadership.

Next: The Decay That Was Long in the Making

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 April 2015, 11:17 pm and is filed under
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Excerpt #2 The Decay Long In The Making

by Bakri Musa

Malaysia’s Wasted Decade 2004-2014. The Toxic Triad of Abdullah, Najib, and UMNO Leadership. #2

April 12th, 2015

Abdullah and Najib squandered Malaysia’s precious first decade into the new millennium. It was a wasted if not lost decade. It would be academic to judge who is worse, Abdullah or Najib. When both scored “Fs”, it matters less whether one is F minus and the other simply an F.

There is little prospect for change, at least until the next election due no later than mid 2018. Even if there were to be divine intervention, Najib’s deputy, Muhyiddin, is no better. Malaysia is doomed; it cannot escape its present sorry trajectory.

If nations do not progress, then ipso facto they regress. Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable, noted Martin Luther King.

Corruption in Malaysia is now approaching the “tipping point” where it would be irreversible and permanently cripple the nation a la Nigeria. Meanwhile religious fanaticism continues unabated, abetted by Najib and his deputy. That too may soon reach the point of no return when Malaysia would be another Pakistan. Then Malaysia would be a Nigeria and Pakistan combined, wrecked with crippling corruption and haunted by religious fanaticism.

Those two challenges are crippling enough but there are others, as with the deteriorating institutions. In the judiciary, even senior judges think that their job is to protect their paymaster, the government. Likewise, the Election Commission sees itself as an agency of ruling Barisan coalition.

All these are obvious to ordinary citizens; they do not need reminders from august bodies like the UN. Its Human Development Index showed that Malaysia improved by 1.05 percent in the decade of 1980-90; and 1.12 from 1990-2000. During the decade 2000-13, it grew only half as much (0.58), justifying my calling it the wasted decade.

The UNHDP Index is buried amongst the tons of all-too-frequent glowing reports by foreign consultants and international bodies, all paid for handsomely by the government of Malaysia. It took a catastrophic tragedy as with the disappearance of Malaysian Airline Flight 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 to expose on the world stage the nation’s inattentive military radar operators and bumbling ministers. Malaysian leaders could not answer even simple questions from the families of the victims.

In fairness to Abdullah and Najib, the rot did not develop overnight. The Malaysia of today is still burdened by Mahathir’s legacy, quite apart from his role in anointing Abdullah and Najib.

This is Malaysia, so the race factor is never far from the surface. Already Muhyiddin, Najib’s deputy and presumptive successor, is threatening the nation with another “May 13,” the horrific race riot of 1969. That is Muhyiddin, always looking back, never forward. His is the collective mindset and caliber of UMNO leadership, consumed with fighting the last battle.

The issues they should be confronting are far different. Rampant corruption, deteriorating institutions, vicious religious extremism, and an entrenched rentier economy, among others, are what would doom Malaysia.

Although the racism and ethnic viruses can easily be reactivated (look at Northern Ireland and the Balkans), Malaysia has a low probability for another interracial conflagration of the 1969 variety despite attempts by the likes of Muhyiddin to scare citizens, especially non-Malays.

Next week:  #3:  Intra Racial (Specifically Intra-Malay) Conflict The Greater Threat

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 April 2015, 11:26 pm and is filed under
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Excerpt #3: Intra Racial (Specifically Intra-Malay) Conflict The Greater Threat

by Bakri Musa

Malaysia’s Wasted Decade 2004-2014 Excerpt #3

April 19th, 2015

In an inaugural Millennium Essay for The New Straits Times (November 1999) I wrote, “The greatest threat to Malaysia’s social stability is not inter-racial confrontation rather intra-communal, specifically among Malays.” There are three potential fault lines along which Malays could fracture: religious, cultural, and socioeconomic. Conflict on any one is unlikely to trigger a severe crisis but a confluence of any two or all three could be cataclysmic.

Interracial conflict is bad, and Malaysians already had a taste of it many times. The May 13, 1969 incident was only the most bitter. Bad as it was, the intra-ethnic or intra-racial variety would be far worse. More Arabs had been killed by their fellow Arab brethrens than by the Israelis. The carnage of the 1956 Arab-Israeli War pales in comparison to the current intra-Arab strife in Syria.

Divisions between Malays and non-Malays are over tangible issues, as with scholarship quotas, employment preferences, and economic set-aside programs. Those are what Hirschmann referred to as “divisible conflicts,” potentially solvable through negotiations.

Differences within Malays on the other hand are over cultural values, theological beliefs, and way of life. These are more difficult if not impossible to resolve. If a pious kampong Malay feels that a proper Muslim woman must don her hijab while her urbane secular-minded sister disagrees, you cannot readily resolve that difference. A compromise as with donning half a hijab would not resolve it.

The first half of this wasted decade was helmed by Abdullah Badawi; he has now exited the stage before he could inflict even more damage. Today Malaysia is burdened with his successor, Najib Razak, who is equally intent in destroying the nation through his ineptness and willful neglect.

In my book The Malay Dilemma Revisited (1999) I wrote this of Abdullah. “He would be Malaysia’s Jimmy Carter, an honorable enough man but a totally ineffectual leader.” I was half right, in his being ineffectual. As for Najib, “[It] is difficult to evaluate as he carries the burden of his famous father . . . . [O]bjectively, it is hard to find Najib’s mark.”

Mahathir was still sharp and in power when I made those observations but he was too close to Abdullah and Najib to read them the way I did.

When Mahathir named Abdullah the country’s eighth Deputy Prime Minister in 1998, the reaction was a yawn or two at most. Mahathir had had three previous deputies, and expectations were that his fourth would end up like the rest, being replaced and denied the top slot.

However, when Mahathir announced his sudden resignation, the realization set in that Abdullah Badawi would succeed him. Like sheep, Malaysians accepted that and shifted allegiance to their new shepherd-to-be, and the accolades began pouring in. The man’s apparent lack of gross flaws normally associated with politicians only increased his halo, and quickly blotted out the more pertinent point that he lacked executive or leadership talent. The time too was opportune for Abdullah for by this time the nation had grown weary of Mahathir. They wanted change and overlooked Abdullah’s shortcomings. He also benefited from this cultural trait of Malaysians; they are over generous with a new leader and wanted him to succeed.

Despite the glowing praises, Abdullah Badawi was as hollow as a beetle-infested palm trunk. Many mistook him for a samping sutra (golden cummerbund) when he was but a common cotton sarong pelekat. Abdullah’s leadership was detached, incompetent, and irrelevant. He was unfit to lead the country.

Najib’s early pronouncements upon assuming office in October 2009 made me question my initial skepticism of him. Alas, it did not take long for him to live up (or down) to my low expectations of him. Top-heavy Najib is busy spinning himself just to remain standing, and he confuses that fast circular motion as rapid advancement.

The commentaries in this book, written from January 2008 to December 2013 during the tenure of these two leaders, are grouped in four themes, each dealing with Abdullah, Najib, UMNO (the dominant partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition), and the Labu and Labi (the comedic team in P. Ramlees’ movies) dysfunctional duo of Najib and Muhyiddin.

I conclude on a cautionary note. My worse fear is that Malaysia would end up as a Pakistan and Nigeria combined, wrecked with religious intolerance and extremism while its economy and social structure crumbled under the weight of corruption. Like its flagship Malaysia Airlines, formerly Malaysia Airline System or MAS (Malay word for gold), the country too has lost its lustre. Like the company’s shares, formerly blue chip Malaysia is today a penny stock.

Reflecting the evolution of my thoughts, within each section I have arranged the essays chronologically.

I derive no pleasure in penning these critical commentaries. I would prefer writing complimentary columns extolling the virtues and accomplishments of Malaysian leaders. At least then Malaysians could benefit and I could glow in the reflected glory.

My earlier essays had been compiled in two previous books, Seeing Malaysia My Way (2004) and Moving Malaysia Forward (2008). I thank readers for their comments. Space does not permit me to include some of the more perceptive responses and robust rebuttals as I did in Seeing Malaysia My Way.

Excerpt #4:  From Blue Chip To Penny Stock

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 April 2015, 11:37 pm and is filed under
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Excerpt #4: The Future: From Blue Chip To Penny Stock

by Bakri Musa

Malaysia’s Wasted Decade 2004-2014. The Toxic Triad of Abdullah, Najib and UMNO Leadership.#4

April 26, 2015

Long before the twin tragedies of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 (shot down in eastern Ukraine in March 2014) and MH370 (disappeared literally from thin air over the South China Sea less than four months earlier), the company’s shares were already languishing at the bottom floor of the KLSE at around 22 sen. Yes, that is sen, as in cents, or pennies. Even bottom feeders were shunning MAS shares.

To think that less than two decades earlier the Mahathir Administration paid RM8.00 for those same shares! Factoring in for inflation and devaluation, it should be about RM32.00 in today’s devalued ringgit. If you add in the expected appreciation as per the KLSE Index, the shares should be trading at around RM100 today.

From RM100 to 22 sen! Formerly blue chip MAS now a penny stock! It would be cheaper to use MAS shares to wallpaper your bathroom; they are useless for toilet paper.

MAS shares are an apt metaphor for Malaysia. She too has taken a precipitous drop in value as the result of the toxic leadership of Abdullah Badawi, Najib Razak, and UMNO. I should also add Mahathir; however, he is now long gone though still making some loud but ineffective noises. At any rate, the ugly legacy Mahathir bequeathed upon Malaysia should and would have been ameliorated by now if she had competent and diligent leadership.

Alas Mahathir’s successors Abdullah and Najib are neither competent nor diligent, and UMNO, the instrument of their leadership, is a corrupt and sclerotic organization, unable to respond to changes. All three are Mahathir’s legacy. That is the heaviest burden Malaysia has to bear.

The drop in value of MAS shares is readily apparent and easily quantifiable, with the burden borne exclusively by its unlucky shareholders. In contrast, the devaluation of Malaysia, while also readily apparent to citizens, has yet to register on her leaders. They still delude themselves as leading a blue chip nation. The weight of the nation’s devaluation is borne not by them but by Malaysians least able to bear it, the poor. Again let it be said so those self-proclaimed champions of the Malay cause in UMNO and elsewhere can hear it loud and clear, Malays are over represented in that stratum.

The full magnitude of this devaluation has yet to be appreciated or quantified. Consider my old school The Malay College, dubbed “Eton of the East” by its proud old boys. In the 1960s it prepared its students well for universities. Today it is but an expensive glorified middle school; its students have to go elsewhere to matriculate. This sorry state was reversed only recently with the introduction of its International Baccalaureate program.

On a more general level, in the 1980s there were still many Chinese parents who enrolled their children in national schools. Today even Malays are deserting that stream in ever increasing numbers, with both opting for Mandarin schools instead.

In the 1980s I could still gather a few Malays at Stanford to invite them to my home for Hari Raya celebrations; today there are no Malays there and few at the other elite campuses.

In late 1990s a young Malay doctor who had graduated a decade earlier from the University of Malaya (UM) did sufficiently well in her US Medical Licensing Examination to be accepted at a top American hospital for her specialty training. That reflected her superior undergraduate medical education. Today, the British Medical Council had long ago withdrawn its accreditation of UM’s medical faculty. Yet that did not stop the university’s leaders from deluding themselves that their institution could be among the top global 100 within a few years. Not to be outdone, the vice-chancellor of another public university bragged about his institution aspiring to be the “Harvard of the East,” within a decade!

As is apparent, Malaysia has no shortage of her Walter Mittys, or his local counterpart, the Mat Jenins.

That is only the education sector. For the greater economy, in the 1970s Malaysia was able to finance its ambitious and highly successful rural development schemes like FELDA, as well as expand her schools, without resorting to any borrowing, local or foreign. Today, public and private debts threaten to sink the nation and its citizens.

As for FELDA, while Malaysia brags about floating the biggest global IPO with its Felda Global Holdings(FGH), bigger in valuation than even Facebook, for a reality check, visit its settlements. The roads are still unpaved while the homes lack electricity and potable water. The schools on those settlements are an embarrassment. Oil palm, the foundation cash crop, is still being harvested in the old back-breaking and neck-stretching labor-intensive ways of the 1960s. There is little or no innovation; no hydraulic lifts or mechanical harvesters to relieve the onerous and treacherous human burden.

On the macro level, in the 1970s the Malaysian ringgit was on par with the Singapore dollar. Today the ringgit vies with the rupiah and rupees. Soon Malaysians would be trading in millions just for their daily bread. I suppose that is one way for the nation to brag about having many millionaires.

As for security, Malaysian homes are now fortified fortresses, with armed guards at road entrances. Malaysians are well advised not to don expensive watches or wrist bracelets if they value their hands. Malaysian borders are as porous as fishing nets. At least those nets trap the big fish; Malaysian borders let them in and out, their pathways greased by the devalued ringgit.

I am belaboring a point here. These are all painfully obvious to the average Malaysian. My doing so is merely to illustrate in tangible and graphic terms readily comprehensible by kampong folks the devaluation of Malaysia that is the consequence of the toxic trio of Abdullah Badawi, Najib Razak, and UMNO. They will continue to spew their lethal brew onto Malaysia at least until the next general election, due no later than June 2018. For those now burdened by their poisonous brew, that is a long time away. In nation-building however, that is only a blink of the eye. I am optimistic that positive change will come with that election if the process can be kept honest. Then Malaysians will have a chance for change.

Excerpt #5: Two Black Swans and Many More Dark Crows

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 April 2015, 11:49 pm and is filed under
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Karpal’s 1st Anniversary Memoriam

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 April 2015, 7:04 pm and is filed under
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Your faith may be weak, but mine isn’t

Syerleena Abdul Rashid

The Malaysian Insider

24 April 2015

I am a Muslim and a Malaysian who has no problem with other religions displaying their religious symbols. As a matter of fact, I have no problem sitting down and having a cup of coffee with my non-Muslim friends in a “kedai kopi Cina”, or having them eat in front of me during Ramadhan because my faith will not shatter into pieces, by the temptations of such petty things.

I know I am not the only one, and that there are countless other Malaysian Muslims who were repulsed by the idiocy displayed, in Taman Medan a few days ago. Malaysians aren’t stupid – even if the powers that be are adamant about keeping us dim-witted and daft.

We don’t need to be reminded of how gullible, some of our fellow Malaysians have become because of our inept system, favours the illogic and reward random acts of violence.

Throughout the course of history, numerous acts of violence have been committed in the name of religion – be it Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and other faiths. These acts that contradict the positive values upheld in religion are nothing more than a series of factors, influenced by a combination of political, psychological and theological reasons.

In other words, “fundamentalism isn’t about religion, it’s about power”, these were the words uttered by Salman Rushdie, a man whose controversial book, The Satanic Verses, angered several over-zealous clerics, who obviously did not read the book.

Religious bigotry manifests itself when individuals begin to romanticise the glorification of a bygone era, with the conviction that the modern world has gone bonkers and is neck deep in sin. As a result, these bigots denounce the modern world and the diversity that comes with it.

These bigots are unable to compromise with those who think differently, and feel absolutely uncomfortable with scholarly exchanges.

Extremism sets in when the adoration of radical religious leaders take over logic and tramples intellectualism, by preventing followers from questioning and forcing them into blind obedience. As a result, these bigots will begin to dehumanise other religions and assume the roles of brazen aggressors, as if they were handpicked by the Almighty himself.

It is becoming more frequent that Islam is now often portrayed negatively. The world only sees a religion that represses human beings, and has a disdain over social justice and human rights. People no longer see a religion that encourages discourse and the diversity of opinion. People no longer see a religion that condemns extremism and violence. People no longer see wisdom, value, love and tolerance.

These days, religion has become a sensitive issue, unlike the days of yore. Malaysians often feel uncomfortable about mingling with others, who profess different religions because we are no longer sure of what topics are suitable for conversation, and what are off limits.

We also find it difficult to visit each other’s houses during festive holidays only because we aren’t sure if those pork laden cutleries have been 100% sanitised. We find our society becoming increasingly paranoid and intolerant, because of the level of politicisation religion has gone through in our country.

Religious extremism has no place in democracy and that’s a fact. Malaysians must stop thinking of democracy only in terms of elections, and understand that democracy encompasses a much broader sense. We must familiarise ourselves with the Federal Constitution and understand our constitutional rights – where human rights, equality and tolerance for religious diversity are affirmed.

What we need to do right now is break free from the false narrative preceded by our political puppet masters, who are only interested in sticking with the stale “divide and conquer” rule. Extremism, bigotry and radicalism are the real enemies our country – not the “Pendatang”, Ayah Pin or anything resembling the lowercase letter “t”.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 April 2015, 5:00 pm and is filed under
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Either have snap general election or the present batch of 222 MPs should rise above race, religion and  party affiliation to elect a “Save Malaysia” Prime Minister who is committed to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation

Malaysia is indeed in “No Man’s Land”, never before have the nation been so sick and wracked by so many crises, whether the RM42 billion 1MDB financial scandal; the 6% GST imposed on April 1; the worst racial and religious polarisation in the nation’s history with the unprecedented rise of extremism and intolerance as illustrated by the “cross” incident at Taman Medan in Selangor; the loss of national and international confidence in the  Prime Minister; major crisis in the two major political coalitions – Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat; and above all, the future  and survival of the Merdeka Constitution of 1957  and the Malaysian federation formed in 1963!

For the first time in the nation’s history, there is open speculation as to who should be the new Prime Minister of Malaysia – by-passing not only the incumbent Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak but also the incumbent Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin!

A former deputy prime minister said UMNO is “imploding” with internal wars tearing the party apart.

Another  former UMNO Minister warned of a “Malay tsunami” in the next general election, claiming that Najib’s belief that UMNO warlords are behind him has led him to sign off on unpopular policies which could push the people to turn against him at the polls.

A former law minister has even named UMNO veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the best choice to replace Najib as Prime Minister, by-passing Muhyiddin as “the current number two is unlikely to reform the country and undo what Najib has done in the past few years”.

He believes that if former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir “wants better and more accountable leaders for UMNO in the years to come, and at the same time put an end to systemic corruption and improve the quality of the public institutions”, the choice of successor must be none other than Tengku Razaleigh.

I do not think any one person, and definitely not Mahathir, who must bear the greatest responsibility for many of the woes and troubles the country is facing today, should decide who should be the new Prime Minister after Najib.

When I told  Malaysian students in Alexandria ten days ago during the DAP MPs’ fact-finding visit to Jordan and Egypt, that I am prepared to work with Mahathir, I was referring specifically to a “Save Malaysia” agenda as I have no interest in a “Save UMNO” or “Save Najib” agenda.

In fact, there is nothing for me to work with Mahathir or anyone else as far as “Save Umno” or “Save Najib” is concerned, as UMNO is an incorrigible party set in the ways of money politics and abuses of power, and the greatest contribution UMNO can make to the healthy development of democratic politics and Malaysian nation-building is for UMNO to go into the Opposition benches to allow Malaysia to become a normal democratic country where the transition of power from one political coalition to another is not regarded as a national catastrophe but a necessary rite of passage from a country to graduate to become a normal democracy.

I told  Malaysian students in Alexandria that the focus of the present must be unwaveringly to “Save Malaysia” from the present roller-coaster policies which threaten to plunge Malaysia down the slippery slope, whether in nation-building, politics, economics, education or other aspects of national life to that of a “failed state”.

For  this formidable task, we must be prepared to put our differences in the past to one side and concentrate all our energies on one common agenda, to save Malaysia from all centrifugal forces  threatening to tear the country asunder.

What is the solution to the present impasse and multiple crises facing the country?

Either the country holds a  snap general election or the present batch of 222 MPs  elected in the 13th General Election on May 5, 2013  should rise above party affiliation to elect a “Save Malaysia” Prime Minister who is committed to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation as Malaysia’s way of life and model to the world.

All Malaysians must embrace the “Save Malaysia” agenda, and unless a snap general election is held to elect a new Parliament and a new Government, the present batch of 222 MPs elected in 2013, regardless of race, religion and party affiliation should elect a new Prime Minister and support a new Grand Coalition in Putrajaya in the next 24-30 months  which is post-BN, post-PR to “Save Malaysia” to set the country clearly on the course to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation as Malaysia’s way of life and as a model to the world.

I had said that the Prime Minister of such a “Save Malaysia” Grand Coalition can come from either side of the  present political divide of Barisan Nasional and  Pakatan Rakyat, can be from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak or Sabah and can be a man or a woman – someone who can win the confidence of the current batch of 222 MPs leading a national agenda of “Save Malaysia” to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation as Malaysia’s way of life and as a model to the world.

I had in fact named several names, from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah among the present batch of 222 MPs who could be considered as possibilities as Prime Minister material  of such a “Save Malaysia” Grand Coalition – and Tengku Razaleigh was one of them.

More important than who is to be the Prime Minister after Najib, however, is a national  consensus on  the “Save Malaysia” agenda, which should form the common policy framework for the post-BN, post-PR Grand Coalition Government for the next 24-30 months before the 14th General Election, to defend constitutionalism, the rule of law and moderation, which must usher in reforms in the political, economic, educational and nation-building policies, declare war on corruption and abuses of power, restore democracy, uphold human rights and return to Malaysians the pride of being a Malaysian who can stand tall in the world  not only because of our  vision but also for our national achievements and commitment to excellence in all fields of human endeavour.

Are Malaysians capable of rising to the unprecedented challenges and perils of the country, not only to envisage but to achieve, a new political construct to “Save Malaysia” with a post-BN, post-PR Grand Coalition in the next 24-30 months?

(Speech at a kopitiam ceramah in Pengkalan Rinting, Johor Baru on Monday, April 27, 2015 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 28 April 2015, 7:30 am and is filed under
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Pakatan Rakyat voters in five Johor state assembly constituencies have one  common message – they would not support Pakatan Rakyat in 14GE if PAS reneges on PR Common Policy Framework and unilaterally pushes for hudud implementation

In the past three days, I visited five state assembly constituencies in Johore – Skudai, Nusajaya, Pengkalan Rinting, Johor Jaya and Stulang – and I received one common message from the voters who had voted for Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th General Elections in May 2013: that they would not support Pakatan Rakyat in the 14th General Election if PAS reneges on the PR Common Policy Framework and unilaterally pushes for hudud implementation.

One of the greatest electoral breakthroughs in the 13th General Election in 2013 was the end of Johor as the Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit” state, as Pakatan Rakyat won five Parliamentary and  18 State Assembly seats – which nobody, whether in BN or PR, would have expected before the May 5, 2013 general election.

In fact, Pakatan Rakyat won 45.8% of the total votes cast in Johor in the 13th General Election, an if the redelineation of the electoral constituencies had been fair and democratic, Pakatan Rakyat would have denied the Barisan Nasional two-thirds majority in the Johor State Assembly with at least 25  and not just 18 State Assembly seats.

If Pakatan Rakyat is to have any chance of winning Putrajaya in GE14, we have to continue to strive to break new electoral frontiers. We cannot be satisfied with merely retaining the seats which we have now. We cannot stick to our traditional support base. This is the reason why DAP launched the Impian Malaysia, Impian Sarawak and Impian Sabah programs to reach out to voters in the rural areas.

While many people have cast doubt on the effectiveness of these programs in allowing DAP to win more support and more seats in future elections, starting with the upcoming Sarawak state elections, we have to think the seemingly impossible.

After all, no one thought that the opposition could capture the state governments of Penang, Kedah and Selangor before the 2008 General Elections. No one would have thought that Pakatan could win 5 parliament and 18 state seats in the BN stronghold state of Johor before the 2013 General Elections.

If someone in Johor  had said that DAP could win 4 parliament and 13 state seats before 2008, they would be looked upon as an insane person. But here we are now, today, with 4 MPs and 13 ADUNs in the state of Johor.

However, DAP cannot do this alone. DAP cannot win Putrajaya by itself. We need our fellow PR coalition members to share a similar dream as us which is to break new electoral frontiers. In the state of Johor, PAS has to most to gain from breaking these frontiers.

PAS contested in the most number of seats in Johor among the PR parties. It contested in 8 out of 26 parliament seats and 31 out of 56 state seats. It won four state seats – N13 Sungai Abong, N15 Maharani, N21 Parit Yaani and N41 Puteri Wangsa – a historic number for PAS in Johor.

While it did not win any parliament seats, it came close. PAS won more than 40% of the popular vote in 3 parliament seats – P148 Ayer Hitam, P151 Simpang Renggam and P161 Pulai.

In the parliament seat of Pulai, PAS Vice President won 48% of the popular vote and was 3226 votes away from defeating a seemingly undefeatable incumbent in Nur Jazlan, the son of former Minister of Information, Mohamed Rahmat.

PAS won more than 40% of the popular vote in 14 state seats (other than the 4 which it won). The seats are – N3 Pemanis, N5 Tenang, N8 Jorak, N9 Gambir, N11 Serom, N16 Sungai Balang, N24 Senggarang, N29 Mahkota, N40 Tiram, N43 Permas, N47 Kempas, N49 Nusa Jaya, N50 Bukit Permai and N54 Pulai Sebatang. If PAS can capture just half of these 14 seats, Pakatan can even dream of winning the state government of Johor in the next general elections.

However, that dream is in danger of slipping away. There is no way that Pakatan can dream of gaining more seats in Johor, what more winning the state government, if we go on the current trajectory, with PAS reneging on the PR Common Policy Framework and unilaterally pushing for hudud implementation in the country.

Non-Malay voters in Johor are already feeling betrayed by the insistence of PAS president to push forward the hudud agenda, including proposing his own private member’s bill to legalise hudud. Indeed, by pushing forward this agenda, Hadi is putting in danger the 4 state seats which PAS currently holds, all of which have in excess of 40% of non-Malay voters.

There are many more pressing issues in  the country and in Johor state which need urgent attention rather than the distractions of hudud.

The opportunities to break new electoral frontiers are still there provided all the three component parties in the Pakatan Rakyat reaffirm their commitment to the PR Common Policy Framework and do not break their promises as unilaterally pushing for hudud implementation.

If PAS is not prepared to reaffirm its commitment to the PR Common Policy Framework and stop unilaterally pushing for hudud implementation which is both against the PR Common Policy Framework and the PR principle of consensus in the highest PR decision-making process, then there is no way to regain public confidence and trust in PR, let alone increase further popular support as compared to the 13th General Election so as to form the Federal Government in Putrajaya and the Johore State Government.

(Media Statement in Gelang Patah at the end of six  kopitiam ceramahs in five Johor Baru State Assembly constituencies in three days on Tuesday, April 28, 2015)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 28 April 2015, 4:59 pm and is filed under
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“Cross” episode testimony of failure of over half-century of Malaysian nation-building

This is the sixth of my kopitiam ceramahs in five Johor State Assembly constituencies in the past  three days to take the political pulse in the country by sharing  with the people the latest political events in the country and to learn about  their concerns about what is happening in the country.

Undoubtedly, the top issues of the day jostling for pole position include the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal; the 6% GST tax; the revolt of Dr. Mahathir calling for Najib’s resignation as PM; the two scandals in the administration of justice – the unanswered question as to who was the mastermind of the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu and the second jailing of Anwar Ibrahim; the Permatang Pauh by-election;  the worst racial and religious polarization in the country as highlighted by the protest of a group of Malay residents at a sight of a cross in a Christian church in Taman Medan, Selangor and the future of Pakatan Rakyat.

The protest by a group of Malay residents at the sight of a cross on the ground that  it was a threat to  Malays and Islam is testimony of the failure of over half a century of Malaysian nation-building.

Such a reaction and protest would be quite unheard-of and even unthinkable in the first five decades of our nation-hood from Merdeka in 1957, but it seems to become quite commonplace and the norm in the country in the past five years, which is most ironical as it coincides with the period when the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is going the world as a globe-trotting salesman of his “Global Movement of Moderates”!

The deepening 1MDB scandal, to the extent that Mahathir has even agreed to my proposal for a Royal Commission of Inquiry provided it has Commissioners who are well-known as respected, credible and independent Malaysians; the oppressive 6% GST; and the Mahathir vs Najib ongoing battle are topics which jostle for premier place in every kopitiam discussion, but not to be left out are questions about the future of Pakatan Rakyat, whether the coalition of DAP, PKR and PAS can survive the unilateral demand by the PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to push for hudud implemention in utter contradiction of the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework and the PR consensus principle of the PR Leadership Council.

The people of Johore are particularly concerned about the future of PR for Johor was the cynosure of the country in the 13th General Election, transforming itself  from a political back-water for more than half-century as the UMNO/MCA/MIC “fixed deposit” into the front-line state  for change in Malaysia.

The voters of Johor not only elected 5 Pakatan Rakyat MPs and 18 State Assemblymen, the Barisan Nasional suffered the largest fall  of nearly 10 per cent of the total votes cast in a state, falling from 63.1% in the 2008 General Election to 53.9% in the 2013 General Election.

The percentage of votes for Barisan Nasional  in Johor have been on a downward slide since the 2004 General Election, when BN secured 77.4% of the votes cast in the state.

At the rate of the decline of Barisan Nasional in popular votes in Johor state, BN is heading towards garnering only a minority vote in the State in the 14GE in two or three years’ time and  yielding up the Johore state government.

Such a political scenario is now put at risk by Hadi’s unilateral  decision to push for hudud implementation although I do not see that there are the numbers in Parliament when it reconvenes on May 18 for the passage of Hadi’s private member’s bill on hudud implementation.

During my recent week-long study tour of Jordan and Egypt with four DAP Members of Parliament, Teresa Kok (Seputeh), Liew Chin Tong (Kluang), Zairil Khir Johari (Bukit Bendera) and Steven Sim (Bukit Mertajam) meeting local intellectuals and activists we well as  Malaysian students in Amman, Mafraq, Karak, Alexandria and Cairo,  I told Malaysian students that  it is a disservice to Islam to lump those who have differences of view with regard to  hudud and its implementation as anti-Islam.

This will not only be lumping the first five Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah, but also UMNO as “anti-Islam”, and even those who had co-operated with UMNO as “anti-Islam” – which would include PAS which had formed a coalition government with UMNO for four  years from 1973 to 1977.

Furthermore it would have grouped Islamists and Islamic scholars who have differences of views about immediate implementation of hudud as “anti-Islam”.

Prof Tariq Ramadan has called for a moratorium on hudud implementation while Islamic scholars and theologians in the Middle East  openly disagreed with what they described as “misguided Islamisation” in demanding that people fulfil their duties before they receive their rights as “Islamic law is an undivided unity, within which Hudud form only a small part” – and that the Islamic priority should be to promote fulfilment of human basic needs including entitlements to food, clothes, education, health, transportation and housing instead of threats of harsh punishments.

The proponents for political change in Johor will face an even greater challenge if PAS is  not loyal to the PR Common Policy Framework and PR as originally conceived  is no more a viable vehicle for change – for we will have to find the resources and commitment to build on the political breakthroughs we have achieved in Johor in the 13GE and not to allow whatever setbacks and disappointments we have to face from undermining our political objective for Johor and Malaysia.

(Speech the kopitiam ceramah in Stulang, Johor Baru on Tuesday, 28th April 2015)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 29 April 2015, 4:54 pm and is filed under
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How The Islamic State’s Slick Recruiting Campaign Threatens To Radicalize Americans

USA Today  |  By Kevin Johnson

04/27/2015

WASHINGTON — The arrests of six Minnesota men accused earlier this month of attempting to join the Islamic State group, highlights an unprecedented marketing effort being waged by the militant group in Iraq and Syria, U.S. law enforcement officials and terror analysts said.

It’s a campaign that is finding resonance from urban metros to the American heartland.

“This is not so much a recruitment effort as it is a global marketing campaign, beyond anything that al-Qaida has ever done,” said a senior law enforcement official.

The official, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the Islamic State’s slick multimedia productions, its use of social media and personal “peer-to-peer” communication are proving to be effective parts of a sophisticated program aimed at the West.

“I don’t think there has been one case in which we haven’t found some connection to the videos or other media the group has produced,” the official said.

Federal authorities have identified more than 150 U.S. residents who have sought to join the ranks of the terror organization or rival groups in Syria. There is evidence that about 40 of those have traveled to the region and returned to the U.S. Most have been charged; an undisclosed number are free and subjects of intense surveillance, the senior official said. The smallest subset of the group, an estimated dozen, represents those who have actually joined the fighting ranks.

But the official said that the breadth of the ongoing inquiries suggests that the actual numbers of Islamic State sympathizers, or those contemplating travel to join the group and other rival organizations, are likely much higher.

The threat posed by aspiring foreign fighters has been a blinking red light within the nation’s counterterrorism network for months. But the flurry of new cases suggests a persistent problem for law enforcement officials who fear that some of the recruits could launch attacks against U.S. targets when they return home or will be inspired to lash out on their own.

They are young women and men who are “responding to the call to join violent jihad abroad at an alarming rate,” Assistant Attorney General John Carlin, chief of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, told a homeland security summit last weekend. He said the federal government has brought 35 such cases involving aspiring foreign fighters, many of whom have been arrested before leaving the country.

Varied nature of threat

A series of criminal cases filed in the past month highlight the varied nature of the threat facing the U.S., and ISIL’s aggressive pursuit of U.S.-based and other converts.

In the most recent Minnesota case involving six young suspects, all intercepted by authorities before their planned travel to Syria, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said the militants demonstrated a powerful recruiting tool that it is difficult to counter.

Luger described a so-called “peer-to-peer” or “brother-to-brother” campaign in which the close group of suspects engaged in the radicalization of each other, providing encouragement during each phase of a nearly year-long mission to reach Syria.

At the same time, the group also was getting support directly from the battlefield. Abdi Nur, a former associate of the Minnesota suspects, slipped past authorities last May and is believed to be in Syria with the terror group.

Since Nur reached Syria, Luger asserted that the suspected terror operative has been serving as the chief “foreign fighter recruiter” for his former associates in Minneapolis.

Michael Leiter, former director of the U.S. Counterterrorism Center, said the recruiting strategy, personal outreach efforts, application of slick YouTube productions and other social media, represents an unmatched level of sophistication demonstrated by terror organizations in the aftermath of 9/11.

“Al-Qaida in Pakistan represented Version 1.0, with its static video of (Osama) bin-Laden’s face. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula became Version 2.0, with (American cleric) Anwar al-Awlaki using graphics and the online magazine Inspire to reach potential English-speaking converts. Think of ISIL as Version 3.0.”

While officials believe that the U.S. will never produce the volume of recruits being drawn from Western Europe, where a disaffected Muslim population and a lack of integration has helped contribute thousands of foreign fighters to the Islamic State, Leiter and others said the U.S. nevertheless remains an important focus.

Terror sympathizer back in the U.S.

Among the most striking of the recent foreign fighter cases brought by federal prosecutors involves Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud.

The 23-year-old Columbus, Ohio, man, charged last week, returned from Syria last year. While there, he allegedly joined his brother, Abdifatah Aden, and received some training in a camp operated by the Al-Nusrah Front, an affiliate of al-Qaida and rival of the Islamic State. Following Aden’s death last June, Mohamud returned to the U.S. and began discussing an unspecified attack against the homeland.

Although the outlines of the plot remain under investigation, Mohamud’s alleged interest in such an attack strikes at the heart of a long-held fear by U.S. authorities: a terror sympathizer back in the U.S., searching for a target.

According to court documents, Mohamud “talked about doing something big in the United States.”

In conversations with one government informant who believed the suspect was attempting to recruit him for a U.S.-based attack, Mohamud “wanted to go to a military base in Texas and kill three or four American soldiers execution-style.”

The senior law enforcement official, who is familiar with Mohamud’s case, said such suspects who have demonstrated a greater commitment by traveling to the region and returning are generally “graded higher” as possible threats. The official cautioned that investigators are still gathering information on the extent of Mohamud’s activities.

“We have very little patience for letting subjects plan, mature and develop,” the official said, adding that the suspects’ planning and known travel activities are dictating the timing of recent arrests across the country.

Mohamud has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Sam Shamansky, declined comment.

Hoffman said Mohamud’s alleged designs on a potential U.S. target, as described in court documents, were “too opaque” to assess as a credible threat.

“I want to know a lot more. … The good news is that we’re catching them, but that may be just the tip of larger problem.”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 29 April 2015, 9:30 am and is filed under
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10 things 1MDB should disclose

By P Gunasegaram

Malaysiakini

Apr 29, 2015

QUESTION TIME
  Perhaps, just perhaps, 1Malaysia Development Bhd or 1MDB does not understand what it needs to do to convince the public all is well with it. To help it along, here are 10 things that we feel our national self-styled strategic development company can do to soothe frazzled nerves and convince us Malaysians our money is safe.

CIMB Group chairperson and the prime minister’s brother Nazir Razak is not the only one who has been urging 1MDB towards greater disclosure, but he does make some pertinent points.

“I have no solution to it (IMDB) but I think we probably should know – disclose what needs to be disclosed in order for people to have a full picture and allay their worst fears.

“I just said it’s something that’s there, everyone is concerned about it, so you need to allay concerns. Put concerns to rest, that is all,” he told a press conference recently.

Considering that 1MDB continues to assert that everything is okay it really should not take too much for it to allay public concerns over how it started, raised money, invested, its links to various businessmen, etc.

But in case it is stuck for what to disclose, we give below a checklist of 10 things, which will be good place to start. And like Maria said in ‘The Sound of Music’, “Let’s start from the very beginning, a very good place to start.”

Some background first. Let’s extract 1MDB’s mission and vision statement from its website. Mission: A strategic enabler for new ideas and sources of growth. Vision: To drive sustainable economic growth by forging strategic global partnerships and promoting foreign direct investment. It’s a self-styled strategic development company, as described by its latest CEO, its third.

Now let’s look at its business. Property development at two prime sites acquired cheaply from the government – the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia. And Energy; buying over established Malaysian power companies, Tanjong Energy, Genting Sanyen and Jimah Energy. And, that’s it.

Next a quick look at its financials from its annual reports: assets of some RM51 billion, liabilities of RM48 billion, borrowings of RM42 billion (RM46 billion if we include some forms of payables which look like debt) as at March 31, 2014. If not for revaluation of properties – acquired cheaply from the government – by some RM4 billion over the years, it would not have made profits at all.

Onwards to Jho Low, the whizz-kid (who may no longer be much of a kid any more) billionaire who has so much influence over 1MDB decisions, according to e-mail revelations by Sarawak Report which have not been denied by 1MDB yet and whose companies reportedly received at least US$1 billion from 1MDB.

The other development from Sarawak Report is that some US$1.1 billion in 1MDB’s funds from Cayman Islands, said to be kept in Singapore, may not be there because the records for those are said to be falsified.

That should be enough background. On to what 1MDB should be disclosing

Disclosures

*Explain why there was a need to borrow RM42 billion at least when the energy assets only cost some RM13 billion and TRX and Bandar Malaysia are merely in the development stage.

*Reveal exactly where and at what rates of return are the rest of the money of RM29 billion at least being kept, including the Singapore/Cayman funds. Tell us what is the amount recoverable from this and how you propose to recover them. Also explain why 1MDB was scrambling for cash to repay a loan of RM2 billion recently to local banks. Tell us too what was tycoon T Ananda Krishnan’s role in all of these.

*Explain why such high fees of several hundred million US dollars was paid to Goldman Sachs for bonds floated and what was the nature of their role in such deals. While normal rates for arranging such financing is closer to 1 percent, why the need to pay 10 percent for these?

*Explain how keeping RM29 billion in deposits and for-sale assets overseas is strategic and helps in bringing foreign direct investments or FDI into Malaysia.

*Was there hanky panky in the fundraising process whereby bonds were mispriced, allowing those who got the bonds to cash out in the secondary market to gain billions of ringgit? Was this the reason why the debts were ramped up repeatedly? If not explain why the bonds were mispriced and who were the beneficiaries, in other words who got first bite at the bonds.

*With RM42 billion of borrowings and an average interest rate of 6 percent, annual interest payments before repayments amounts to over RM2.5 billion. Considering that 1MDB has been making cash losses since inception, explain how 1MDB proposes to obtain the interest payments and repayments in future especially since energy assets are now worth below cost.

*Explain the business model for 1MDB. How does it propose to get decent returns when its cost of borrowing may be 6 percent or higher, especially for huge borrowings of at least RM42 billion and as high as RM46 billion.

*Explain how the property developments are “strategic” and why we need foreign partners to develop these when Malaysia has considerable expertise in property development. What about causing a glut of office space in Kuala Lumpur and squeezing out private developers? Explain how that is strategic.

*Explain to us what is the oversight of the board and senior management over all these issues, especially in the light of Sarawak Report disclosures – which have not been firmly denied – that outside parties played crucial roles in decision-making.

*Tell what exactly was Jho Low’s (right) role in 1MDB, when it started, how big was it and at whose behest did he have such a powerful pull over decisions made at 1MDB.

If 1MDB can provide full and satisfactory explanations to all of these, then they should do so immediately to allay the sizeable public concern and speculation, which has affected the value of the ringgit and our sovereign rating. At the same time it will relieve the considerable pressure on the prime minister to step down.

If 1MDB can’t answer satisfactorily even one aspect of these 10 disclosures, then it is incumbent upon the board of 1MDB and the government to immediately commission a forensic audit, put the organisation under a completely new caretaker management comprising people of impeccable character and get to the bottom of the entire issue.

The forensic audit will have a mandate to not only recover fully all assets but to hold to account all those responsible for wrong-doings inside and outside the company and bring them to book. It will also look into taking action against all financial advisers and claim damages from them for anything that they may have done to injure 1MDB.

P GUNASEGARAM is founding editor of business news and views portal KiniBiz.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 April 2015, 4:16 pm and is filed under
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