Which one of Najib’s highly-paid consultants was responsible for the most contrived, damaging and tell-tale statement in the Prime Minister’s FAQ  admitting that there is serious public perception that Najib is implicated in the Altantunya murder?

(Scroll down for BM version of this statement / Terjemahan BM di bawah)

I do not think I am the only one mulling over the  statement in the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s FAQ on his blog with regard to “Allegations regarding the Altantuya issue”, as the more one thinks about it, the more one is astounded  by it.

Which one of Najib’s highly-paid consultants was responsible for the most contrived, damaging and tell-tale statement in his FAQ admitting that there is serious public perception that the Prime Minister is implicated in the murder of the Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu nine years ago.

This is the statement I am referring to:

“What is important is that the judgment brings justice to everyone, most importantly to the family of the victim, to the accused and even to me.”

I cannot  believe that Najib could have made such a statement on his own accord, as it  is “too clever by half”, claiming that the Federal Court judgment in January on  the Altantunya murder nine years ago convicting and passing the death sentence on the two accused, former police special commando Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar had in one fell swoop, done justice to Altantunya’s family, the accused and “even to me”!

Najib could not be so naïve as to believe that the Federal Court judgement convicting and sentencing to death the two former police special commandoes have brought closure to the family of the victim.

Otherwise, Altantunya’s father Shaariibuu Setev and three other  family members would not have proceeded with their RM100 million civil suit against the Malaysian Government for Altantuya’s death, as the Mongolian was  shot dead and her body blown up with C-4 military explosives in a forest area in Shah Alam on Nov 7, 2006.

It is even more astounding that Najib could entertain any thought that the Federal Court judgement would be received by the two accused and their families as “just  deserts” for their heinous crimes, or Sirul Azhar would not presently be in Villawood immigration detention centre in Sydney seeking asylum in Australia on the ground that he had been made a “scapegoat” as he had acted under orders when he and Azilah committed the crime in 2006.

Would Najib allow Azilah to inform Parliament and the nation what he thinks of Sirul’s plea that he is a being made a scapegoat as both of them had acted under orders to kill Altantuya.

But what takes the cake is the third assertion, that the Federal Court judgment has done justice, “even to Najib”?

How could this be done, apart from the very tell-tale admission that there is serious public perception that Najib is implicated in the murder of the Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu nine years ago?

Did the Federal Court judgment categorically and conclusively rule out any possibility of Najib or anyone else as in any way implicated in Altantuya’s murder, such as ordering that the Mongolian be killed and her body blown up by C4 military explosives?

Of course not, as this issue was studiously and completely avoided during the nine-year trial of  Azila and Sirul.

This is exactly why the issue of who, if anyone, had ordered Altantuya’s killing remain a very live and real issue, and it will continue to be so, so  long as this Whodunit question in her murder remain unanswered and unresolved.

As Prime Minister, Najib must ensure that the question of who, if any, ordered Altantuya’s murder must be answered, and as Najib has declared that he was not involved in Altantuya’s murder and did not know anything about it, and he had even made Sumpah Laknat, he should have no qualms about instituting a full inquiry to find these answers to the Altantunya’s murder.

Najib should know that making Sumpah Laknat is no replacement for a rigorous process of judicial inquiry or we might do away with the judicial system altogether and just rely on a system of Sumpah Laknats to deal with crimes.

If Najib is really concerned about ensuring justice for himself and the country’s institutions, particularly the rule of law and the credibility and the reputation of the Prime Minister over Altantutya’s murder, he and the Cabinet should not delay any further but should immediately set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry with  two terms of reference: (i) Who ordered Altantuya to be killed; and (II) Whether there was   a nine-year “conspiracy of silence” involving the Police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary as well as others to avoid probing into the motives for the killing of Altantuya?

————————

(Teks Bahasa Malaysia)

Konsultan mahal mana yang bertanggungjawab merangka kenyataan FAQ Perdana Menteri yang nampak begitu dibuat-buat, merosakkan dan memberi tanda-tanda mengakui bahawa wujudnya persepsi awam yang begitu serius bahawa Najib terlibat dalam pembunuhan Altantuya

Rasanya bukan saya seorang yang jenuh berfikir tentang kenyataan FAQ Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak di blognya mengenai dakwaan tentang isu Altantuya. Makin difikirkan, makin terkejut kita dibuatnya.

Konsultan mahal mana yang bertanggungjawab merangka kenyataan FAQ Perdana Menteri yang nampak begitu dibuat-buat, merosakkan dan memberi tanda-tanda mengakui bahawa wujudnya persepsi awam yang begitu serius bahawa Najib terlibat dalam pembunuhan wanita Mongolia Altantuya Shaariibuu sembilan tahun lalu.

Saya maksudkan kenyataan ini:

“What is important is that the judgment brings justice to everyone, most importantly to the family of the victim, to the accused and even to me.”

Saya tidak percaya bahawa Najib boleh membuat kenyataan sedemikian atas kerelaannya sendiri, kerana ia kedengaran terlebih cerdik, dengan mendakwa bahawa Mahkamah Persekutuan pada bulan Januari lalu dalam memutuskan kes pembunuhan Altantuya menjatuhkan hukuman mati ke atas dua tertuduh, bekas komando polis Azilah Hadri dan Sirul Azhar Umar; dengan sekali harung telah memberi keadilan kepada keluarga Altantuya, pihak tertuduh dan “saya sendiri,” kata Najib.

Tak mungkin Najib begitu naif sehingga percaya bahawa penghakiman Mahkamah Persekutuan yang menjatuhkan hukuman mati ke atas dua bekas komando polis itu sudah cukup untuk menjadi penutup kepada keluarga mangsa.

Jika tidak, takkanlah bapa Altantuya, Shaariibuu Setev dan tiga lagi ahli keluarganya akan meneruskan tindakan saman RM100 juta terhadap Kerajaan Malaysia berikutan kematian Altantuya, yang ditembak mati dan mayatnya kemudian diletupkan dengan bahan letupan C4 di kawasan hutan Shah Alam pada 7 November 2006.

Lebih mengejutkan lagi ialah apabila Najib boleh terfikir bahawa penghakiman Mahkamah Persekutuan tersebut akan diterima oleh kedua-dua tertuduh dan keluarga mereka sebagai balasan setimpal atas jenayah yang telah mereka lakukan. Jika tidak, takkanlah Sirul Azhar kini akan berada di pusat tahanan imigresen Villawood di Sydney bagi mendapatkan suaka di Australia atas alasan dijadikan kambing hitam lantaran bertindak mengikut arahan ketika beliau dan Azilah melakukan jenayah itu pada tahun 2006.

Adakah Najib akan membenarkan Azilah memberitahu Parlimen dan negara tentang pendapatnya tentang pengakuan Sirul dijadikan kambing hitam kerana kedua-dua bertindak mengikut arahan untuk membunuh Altantuya.

Namun apa yang paling memeranjatkan ialah penegasan ketiga, bahawa penghakiman Mahkamah Persekutuan telah memberi keadilan kepada Najib sendiri?

Bagaimana ini boleh berlaku, selain daripada menjadi satu isyarat pengakuan wujudnya persepsi awam yang serius bahawa Najib terlibat dalam pembunuhan wanita Mongolia Altantuya Shaariibuu sembilan tahun lalu?

Adakah Mahkamah Persekutuan telah secara konklusif dan tanpa syarat menolak sebarang kemungkinan bahawa Najib atau orang lain dengan apa cara pun terlibat dalam pembunuhan Altantuya, seperti memberi arahan supaya warga Mongolia itu dibunuh dan mayatnya diletupkan dengan peledak C4?

Pastinya tidak, kerana isu ini telah dielak dengan berhati-hati ketika perbicaraan Azilah dan Sirul yang memakan masa sembilan tahun.

Inilah sebabnya kenapa isu siapa, kalau pun ada sesiapa, telah mengarahkan pembunuhan Altantuya kekal menjadi isu yang hidup dan nyata, dan akan terus hidup, selagimana persoalan ini tidak dijawab dan diselesaikan.

Sebagai Perdana Menteri, Najib mesti memastikan bahawa persoalan siapa, kalau pun ada sesiapa, yang telah mengarahkan pembunuhan Altantuya mesti dijawab, dan memandangkan Najib telah mengisytiharkan bahawa beliau tidak terlibat dalam pembunuhan Altantuya dan tidak tahu apa-apa tentangnya, malah telah membuat Sumpah Laknat, beliau patutnya tiada masalah untuk melaksanakan siasatan penuh bagi mendapatkan jawapan tentang persoalan ini.

Najib pastinya tahu bahawa membuat Sumpah Laknat bukanlah gantian bagi proses soal jawab mahkamah, kerana sebaliknya bolehlah kita hapuskan sahaja sistem kehakiman ini dan bergantung penuh kepada sistem Sumpah Laknat bagi menangani jenayah.

Jika Najib benar-benar peduli untuk memastikan keadilan dilaksanakan untuk dirinya dan juga institusi negara, terutamanya kedaulatan undang-undang dan kredibiliti serta reputasi Perdana Menteri dalam kes pembunuhan Altantuya, beliau dan Kabinetnya tidak patut berlengah lagi dan menubuhkan sebuah Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja dengan dua terma rujukan: i) Siapa arahkan pembunuhan Altantuya; dan ii) Sama ada wujud konspirasi senyap selama sembilan tahun yang melibatkan pihak polis, Peguam Negara dan badan kehakiman serta pihak-pihak lain bagi mengelak daripada menyiasat motif pembunuhan Altantuya?

(Kenyataan media di Parlimen pada hari Selasa 19 Mei 2015)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 19 May 2015, 12:44 pm and is filed under
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As Najib has admitted in FAQ to a direct interest in Altantuya case, he should withdraw from all decision-making whether there should be a RCI  into Altantuya’s murder to avoid conflict of interest

(Scroll down for BM version of this statement / Terjemahan BM di bawah)

What has not attracted sufficient notice in the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s FAQ on the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case is that it was a clear admission that he has  a direct interest in the case, although it was couched in the language of denial, denying that he had anything to do with the issue and his Sumpah Laknat.

His direct interest in the nine-year Altantuya case was in Paragraph 3 of the FAQ on Altantuya issue, where he said:

“What is important is that the judgment brings justice to everyone, most importantly to the family of the victim, to the accused and even to me.”

Now the nine-year Altantuya case,  which concluded in the Federal Court in January with the conviction and death sentence passed on the two accused, former police special commandoes, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar is the subject of increasing public controversy both nationally and internationally because it had failed to deliver justice to everyone as well as to  the family of the victim, the two convicted accused and even to Najib himself.

This is because the nine-year-old Altantuya case has left unanswered two important public interest questions, viz:

•       Who ordered Altantuya to be killed; and

•       Whether there had been  a nine-year “conspiracy of silence” involving the Police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary as well as others to avoid probing into the motives for the killing of Altantuya.

In the circumstances, as Najib’s FAQ is nothing but a public admission that he has a direct interest in the case, he should withdraw from all decision-making process whether there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Altantuya’s murder.

Is Najib prepared to announce that he is cognizant of such conflict-of-interest and he would not be involved in any manner with the decision-making process as to whether there should be RCI into Altantuya’s murder to ascertain (i) whether anyone, if so who,  had ordered Altantuya to be killed; and (II) Whether there was   a nine-year “conspiracy of silence” involving the Police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary as well as others on the motives for the killing of Altantuya?

Furthermore, whether the Prime Minister would allow the Cabinet or Parliament a free hand to decide whether a RCI into Altantuya’s murder should be established.

————————-

(Teks Bahasa Malaysia)

Memandangkan Najib telah mengakui mempunyai kepentingan langsung dalam kes Altantuya, beliau patut menarik diri daripada sebarang proses memutuskan sama ada perlu ditubuhkan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja berkenaan pembunuhan Altantuya demi mengelak konflik kepentingan

Apa yang kurang menarik perhatian dalam FAQ Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkenaan kes pembunuhan Altantuya Shaariibuu ialah pengakuan jelas bahawa beliau mempunyai kepentingan langsung dalam kes tersebut, meski menggunakan bahasa penafian yang begitu lunak, dengan menafikan bahawa beliau mempunyai sebarang kaitan dengan isu tersebut dan juga Sumpah Laknatnya.

Kepentingan langsung dalam kes Altantuya yang sudah berusia sembilan tahun itu ditemukan dalam perenggan ketiga FAQ berkenaan isu Altantuya, yang menyebut:

“What is important is that the judgment brings justice to everyone, most importantly to the family of the victim, to the accused and even to me.”

Kes pembunuhan Altantuya yang telah dimuktamadkan di Mahkamah Persekutuan pada bulan Januari dengan hukuman mati ke atas dua tertuduh, bekas komando polis Azilah Hadri dan Sirul Azhar Umar menjadi tajuk yang semakin penuh kontroversi di peringkat dalam dan luar negara kerana ia telah gagal memberikan keadilan kepada semua pihak termasuk keluarga mangsa, dua individu tertuduh dan juga Najib sendiri.

Ini adalah kerana kes sembilan tahun pembunuhan Altantuya tidak menjawab dua persoalan besar yang mempunyai kepentingan awam, iaitu:

∙       Siapa yang mengarahkan supaya Altantuya dibunuh; dan

∙       Sama ada terdapat konspirasi senyap selama sembilan tahun yang melibatkan pihak polis, Peguam Negara dan juga badan kehakiman serta pihak-pihak lain bagi mengelak siasatan terhadap motif pembunuhan Altantuya.

Dalam keadaan ini, memandangkan FAQ Najib adalah tidak lain sekadar pengakuan terbuka bahawa beliau mempunyai kepentingan dalam kes ini, beliau patut menarik diri daripada semua proses membuat keputusan sama ada untuk menubuhkan sebuah Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja ke atas pembunuhan Altantuya.

Adakah Najib bersedia untuk mengumumkan bahawa beliau sedar akan wujudnya konflik kepentingan dan tidak akan terlibat dalam apa jua proses membuat keputusan tentang sama ada perlu ditubuhkan RCI bagi menyiasat pembunuhan Altantuya dan memastikan i) sama ada sesiapa, dan jika ya siapa, yang telah mengarahkan supaya Altantuya dibunuh; dan ii) Sama ada terdapat konspirasi senyap selama sembilan tahun yang melibatkan pihak polis, Peguam Negara dan juga badan kehakiman serta pihak-pihak lain dalam hal motif pembunuhan Altantuya.

Selanjutnya, sama ada Perdana Menteri akan membenarkan Kabinet atau Parlimen untuk memutuskan secara bebas sama ada RCI terhadap pembunuhan Altantuya wajar ditubuhkan.

(Kenyataan media di Parlimen pada hari Rabu 20 Mei 2015)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 20 May 2015, 3:20 pm and is filed under
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Would Muhyiddin propose the  sacking of Najib as Prime Minister if Najib is responsible for all the major decisions taken by the 1MDB board in the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal?

(Scroll down for BM version of this statement / Terjemahan BM di bawah)

The RM42 billion 1MDB scandal and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin stole the thunder from the 11th Malaysia Plan and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak respectively when a video recording of Muhyiddin  calling for heads to roll in 1MDB scandal circulated among MPs when Najib was presenting the 11th Malaysia Plan in Parliament this morning.

After Najib’s presentation of the 11th Malaysia Plan in Parliament, Muhyiddin stood by his speech at an UMNO gathering on Saturday calling for the 1MDB Board to be sacked for the RM42 billion debt scandal or it will bring down the Barisan Nasional government.

In the recording, Muhyiddin said this was his advice to the Prime Minister, adding he was not against Najib’s leadership.

Muhyiddin said in the recording:

“The entire 1MDB board should be sacked and the police should be called in to investigate their involvement in the scandal.

“I told the PM, sack the 1MDB board. If I owned the company, and the CEO racked up so much of debt, that I had to pay interest between RM100 and RM200 million every month, what else to do? Just sack.”

He said sacking the 1MDB Board would send a clear signal that Putrajaya viewed the issue seriously.

In his press conference in Parliament after Najib’s presentation of the 11th Malaysia Plan, Muhyiddin said he had made the same suggestion before in public.

He insisted that the opinion was a personal one and he has yet to receive any response from the Prime Minister on the matter.

This is a most extraordinary situation, where the Deputy Prime Minister insists that he wants the 1MDB Board to be sacked and investigated by the police, as there is no time to wait either for the Auditor-General or the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee in the face of the biggest financial scandal in the nation’s history, but it is his only personal view.

Did Muhyiddin make clear his position on the 1MDB Board in Cabinet that heads must roll, and when will he make a decision to resign from the Cabinet and as Deputy Prime Minister unless the 1MDB Board is sacked and the police called in to investigate the scandal?

Furthermore, would Muhyiddin propose the  sacking of Najib as Prime Minister if Najib is responsible for all the major decisions taken by the 1MDB board in the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal?

What is the position of the majority of the Cabinet Ministers – are they in agreement with Muhyiddin and take the personal position that the 1MDB Board should be sacked but avoid taking an official position in Cabinet?

The whole situation is getting to be very farcical, if not for the brutal reality that it involves RM42 billion of the Malaysian taxpayers’ money.

——————-

(Teks Bahasa Malaysia)

Adakah Muhyiddin akan mencadangkan supaya Najib dipecat sebagai Perdana Menteri, sekiranya Najib lah yang bertanggungjawab penuh di sebalik kesemua keputusan besar lembaga pengarah 1MDB dalam skandal RM42 bilion ini?

Skandal RM42 bilion 1MDB dan Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin telah mencuri tumpuan daripada pembentangan Rancangan Malaysia ke-11 oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak apabila sebuah rakaman video ucapan Muhyiddin menyeru supaya lembaga pengarah 1MDB dipecat beredar di kalangan Ahli Parlimen sewaktu pembentangan RMK-11 oleh Najib di Palrimen pagi ini.

Selepas ucapan pembentangan RMK-11 Najib di Parlimen, Muhyiddin mempertahankan ucapannya dalam satu perjumpaan bersama pemimpin Umno Sabtu lalu, menggesa supaya lembaga pengarah 1MDB dipecat ekoran skandal RM42 bilion, jika tidak kerajaan Barisan Nasional akan rebah.

Rakaman tersebut menunjukkan Muhyiddin berkata seperti berikut, sebagai menasihati Perdana Menteri, sambil menambah bahawa beliau tidak menentang kepimpinan Najib.

Kata Muhyiddin dalam rakaman itu:

“Buanglah. CEO ni buang. Bukan buang sahaja, panggil polis siasat,”

“Saya beritahu perdana menteri, pecat semua ahli lembaga pengarah 1MDB. Dan kalau syarikat itu saya punya dan dilaporkan bahawa ada CEO pinjam sampai sepuluh bilion, lepas tu setiap bulan saya kena bayar interest RM100 dan RM200 juta, apa nak buat? Buanglah.”

Beliau berkata bahawa memecat lembaga pengarah 1MDB dapat memberi isyarat jelas bahawa Putrajaya memandang serius isu terbabit.

Dalam sidang medianya di Parlimen selepas pembentangan RMK-11 oleh Najib, Muhyiddin berkata bahawa beliau telah mengemukakan cadangan yang sama sebelum ini secara terbuka.

Beliau menegaskan bahawa pendapat tersebut adalah pendapat peribadi dan belum mendapat sebarang respon daripada Perdana Menteri mengenai hal tersebut.

Ini satu keadaan yang luarbiasa, di mana seorang Timbalan Perdana Menteri bertegas mahukan Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB dipecat dan disiasat polis, memandangkan tidak ada masa untuk menunggu Ketua Audit Negara ataupun Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Awam apabila didepani skandal kewangan terbesar dalam sejarah negara; tetapi ia sekadar pandangan peribadi.

Adakah Muhyiddin telah menyatakan pendiriannya mengenai memecat Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB dengan jelas dalam Kabinet, dan bila pula beliau akan memutuskan untuk meletakkan jawatan sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri kecuali jika Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB dipecat dan pihak polis menyiasat skandal tersebut?

Selanjutnya, adakah Muhyiddin akan mencadangkan supaya Najib dipecat sebagai Perdana Menteri, sekiranya Najib lah yang bertanggungjawab penuh di sebalik kesemua keputusan besar lembaga pengarah 1MDB dalam skandal RM42 bilion ini?

Apakah pendirian majoriti anggota Menteri Kabinet – adakah mereka bersetuju dengan Muhyiddin dan menyatakan pendirian peribadi bahawa Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB mesti dipecat tetapi mengelak daripada menyatakan pendirian rasmi dalam Kabinet?

Keseluruhan situasi ini menjadi semakin lucu, namun hakikatnya ialah ia melibatkan sejumlah RM42 bilion wang pembayar cukai Malaysia.

(Kenyataan media di Parlimen pada hari Khamis 21 Mei 2015)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 21 May 2015, 4:17 pm and is filed under
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11th Malaysia Plan made dubious history in being the first 5-year plan which could not even enjoy one-hour wonder as it was immediately overwhelmed and overshadowed by Muhyiddin’s call for heads to roll in the 1MDB scandal

The R260 billion 11th Malaysia Plan made dubious history yesterday in being the first five-year plan in the past half-century spanning six Prime Ministers which could not even enjoy one-hour wonder as it was  immediately overwhelmed and overshadowed by the recording of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s call for heads to roll in the 1MDB scandal.

The glossiest five-year plan document in the nation’s history, which would have involved the greatest expenditures in packaging than in its content, was not able to bathe in the unchallenged plaudits of a “seven-day wonder” or even “24-hour  wonder” as was the case with the unveiling of previous five-year plans.

Parliamentary and national attention was affixed not on the 11th Malaysia Plan but on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s reaction to Muhyiddin’s call for heads to roll in the 1MDB scandal – and the implication whether Najib’s head will also have to roll in the process.

In just ten days, all the false camaraderie after the UMNO Supreme Council meeting on May 11 have been torn asunder by the uploading of the recording of  Muhyiddin’s speech at an UMNO meeting on Saturday, where Muhyiddin’s warning that the  1MDB scandal would  cause the downfall of the UMNO/BN government was greeted with loud applause and even “Sack the President” calls.

Muhyiddin’s “the last straw to break the camel’s back” speech has now become the hottest property on You Tube.

It was only some ten days after the UMNO Supreme Council meeting that  Najib said his relationship with Muhyiddin was stronger than ever and that no one could divide them.

Najib said those who had been spreading rumours about a fallout would be disappointed by the outcome of the UMNO Supreme Council meeting.

Even the decision of the UMNO Supreme Council had been jettisoned.

The UMNO Supreme Council had urged the Auditor-General’s probe into the 1MDB to be hastened and advised Malaysians  to await the Auditor-General’s report which should be made available to the public and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report.

Then why the panic reaction with the Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah announcing after the presentation of the 11MP that he would table to Cabinet next week a restructuring of the 1MDB?

This appears to be an immediate reaction, not to Muhyiddin’s speech to UMNO last Saturday for heads to roll in 1MDB, but the uploading of the recording of Muhyiddin’s speech on Wednesday.

I will not be surprised if the so-called “restructuring” of 1MDB to be presented to Cabinet next week would involve the setting up of a new 1MDB Board – but this will be completely unsatisfactory.

The Cabinet must insist that all those responsible for the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal must face the consequences, not just the 1MDB Board, but also Najib – failing which the entire Cabinet should resign collectively on an important principle of good governance and accountability.

Has the war in UMNO between the Najib and Muhyiddin factions broken out in the open, with the Umno Cheras division chief Syed Ali Alhabshee supporting Muhyiddin that the entire 1MDB  board members be given the boot and allow the police to probe the company unhindered, while the former Deputy Education Minister and currently the Special Affairs Department (JASA) director-General, Mohd Puad Zarkashi on the other hand slamming his ex-boss Muhyiddin as shirking his duties as Education Minister and alleging that the Deputy Prime Minister was too “lazy” to check on the deplorable condition of some of the schools in the country?

As UMNO’s propagandist, nobody would believe that Puad would open fire on the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Education Minister without the ‘green light’ from the Prime Minister.

In the deepening “smoke and mirrors” political power play in UMNO, who is really thinking about the 11th Malaysia Plan?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 22 May 2015, 12:01 pm and is filed under
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DAP’s Impian Kelantan project leads in rebuilding lives of flood victims

by Zulkifli Sulong

The Malaysian Insider

May 22, 2015

Despite being attacked by certain quarters in Kelantan over its hudud stance, many are unaware that DAP’s Impian Kelantan project has successfully rebuilt a village in Gua Musang that was destroyed in the floods last December.

Kampung Pasir Tumbuh was redeveloped by Impian Kelantan, a joint effort between PAS and DAP, PAS Youth, Ground Zero and other non-governmental organisations, to which DAP had contributed RM500,000 from its own pocket.

There are also other NGOs, corporate companies and individuals, apart from the Kelantan and federal governments, who have come forward to help the flood victims in this mostly Muslim state where hundreds are still living in tents as the fasting month of Ramadan approaches.

A total of 1,821 families lost their homes in the floods and are concentrated in four main districts – Gua Musang, Kuala Krai, Machang and Tanah Merah.

Impian Kelantan joined forces with a Kelantanese businessman and a state government subsidiary to complete 25 new homes to replace those washed during the floods, and also repaired 35 homes, project manager Mohd Fauzi Mohd Azmi  said.

“Now we are at a critical phase to complete the homes before Ramadan,” said Fauzi, who has been living on site since February 28.

Kampung Pasir Tumbuh had 83 homes and a school, and according to village chief Ahmad Seman, only eight were not destroyed in the floods.

Until today, however, classes for the students in Sekolah Kebangsaan Pasir Tumbuh are being conducted in a hostel building after their classrooms were submerged and still awaiting repairs.

The main supporter of the Pasir Tumbuh project is former PAS candidate for the Kota Baru parliament seat, Datuk Wan Abdul Rahim Abdullah, who managed the project through the Cakna UT NGO, which is part of Impian Kelantan.

Impian Kelantan, which is chaired by PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa, was launched by PAS and DAP leadership on January 31 at the Kelantan Chinese Assembly Hall near Kota Baru.

Also present were DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang and other party leaders as well as national laureate Datuk A. Samad Said and former Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.

They were feted by the state government to a dinner at the official residence of the Kelantan menteri besar.

At the launch, DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke said DAP and the other NGOs as well as volunteers involved in the rebuilding efforts did not have any political agenda.

“Impian Kelantan does not use DAP’s rocket logo because the initiative is by the people of Malaysia beyond party lines.”

Impian Kelantan has its own approach in its efforts to rebuild the villages devastated by the floods.

“Our rebuilding concept is easy. We asked the victims what type of houses they needed.

“We then prepared the building materials and the homeowner builds it, and we helped by paying him RM50 a day for labour costs.

“They, in turn, were helped by their neighbours and volunteers who came every week from every part of Malaysia,” Fauzi told The Malaysian Insider.

According to Fauzi, Impian Kelantan had set aside RM15,000 to RM25,000 for each house in the village. He added that RM1.3 million has been allocated for the rebuilding efforts.

However, DAP and Lim are being attacked by certain quarters in PAS including its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang following a talk organised by the Islamist party’s Kota Baru division.

Lim was said to have attacked hudud in the talk, but that allegation has yet to be proven, after the DAP leader challenged those who accused him to reveal which part of his speech attacked the Islamic law.

Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob reportedly said Lim’s comments on hudud in his speech was not appropriate.

“We know that he is opposed to hudud, but he should not have voiced it openly at our own home.

“He should have respected Kelantan,” he reportedly said.

PAS Kelantan has urged its Kota Baru division to explain the matter – the invitation to Lim and the reason the talk was held. – May 22, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 22 May 2015, 6:14 pm and is filed under
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First Ramadi, then Palmyra: Isis shows it can storm bastions of Syria and Iraq

Martin Chulov

Guardian

22 May 2015

Terror group faced little resistance from local forces, prompting re-evaluations across a region that had sensed it might be in retreat

Islamic State fighters are celebrating their second major conquest in a week in Syria and Iraq as they pick through the ruins of the historic city of Palmyra.

The sudden advance of the militants into the UN heritage site in central Syria resulted in the rout of a national army, the exodus of refugees and a fresh pulse of regional alarm at the resilience of the self-styled caliphate force.

The UN said one-third of Palmyra’s 200,000-strong population had fled. And Isis militants used social media to show themselves posing amid ancient columns in Palmyra on Thursday. Other images displayed a more familiar theme: the summary slaughter of local men whose blood drenched the road.

Isis’s latest advance has prompted a re-evaluation across the region, which had earlier sensed it might be in retreat. From Beirut to Baghdad and as far away as Riyadh, regional actors are coming to terms with an organisation that can win most of its battles and successfully storm Syria and Iraq’s best-defended bastions.

The seizure of Palmyra followed the equally startling conquest of Ramadi in Iraq’s Anbar province last weekend. Both operations, around 600 miles apart, have become emblematic of a terror group that can have its way across two crumbling countries despite embattled state forces being propped up by global powers.

In Syria, forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad had committed to defend gas fields to the north of Palmyra that are essential to the nation’s electricity supply. The ruins themselves, as well as being enduring testaments to the country’s diverse past, are central to the pluralistic image conveyed by the modern state. Both sites are strategic, yet they fell in less than four days – with elite army units unwilling and unable to defend them.

Ramadi in Iraq, meanwhile, had been a holdout in the heart of the country’s most hostile province – a place where local Sunni leaders allied with the Shia-led government and its militia proxies to keep Isis at bay.

That too changed in less than 72 hours of clashes, where top-tier troops and tribes posed little resistance. In both cases, once the battles started going badly, state forces surrendered the cities to their fate, leaving large amounts of ammunition behind.

“They wanted to defend this area,” said a government official who fled Palmyra for Damascus on Thursday. “They even tried to. But if that’s the best that they can do when they try, then the country is lost.”

Officials who had fled Palmyra said jets from the US-led coalition that had bombed Isis targets elsewhere in the country had not joined the fight. US jets were instrumental in expelling the terror group from the two cities it has lost so far, Kobani, in Syria’s north, and Tikrit, in central Iraq.

The fall of Ramadi stirred ghosts of a painful past: jihadis had used the city as a launch pad to spread nationwide chaos from 2004-07. That could never happen again, Iraqi officials claimed. The fact that it has – yielding Isis its most spectacular triumph this year – has shattered already brittle confidence in the ability of Iraq to hold the country together.

In both countries, residents said the Isis victories said perhaps more about the weakness of the states than about the potency of the jihadis. And while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fall of Palmyra meant Isis now controls more than 50% of the country, opposition groups countered by saying that battle lines elsewhere in Syria had not shifted in Isis’s favour since 2013.

Gains against the Syrian regime, they said, had been made by groups who previously fought Isis and included an amalgam of mainstream fighters and jihadis, among them the ascendant al-Nusra front, which like Isis has been prescribed by the US and much of Europe as a terrorist group.

The anti-Assad opposition played no role in the Palmyra clashes. Regime troops had been the area’s primary defenders.

In Ramadi, despair was endemic. “There are no police left,” said the police chief, Colonel Jabbar al-Assif, himself a recent exile. “Everyone left was killed or is injured. Whoever didn’t make it out was killed later on by Isis. They have a list of all the policemen and the soldiers, with addresses, and they were going to their homes to kill them. So all of the police families fled too.

“Most people in Ramadi want to fight but they don’t have weapons. The government hasn’t helped us. The police ask the government for weapons and the government tells them: ‘Go and buy weapons and we will reimburse you.’ When did that ever happen in any country?”

The Isis advances mark a sharp turnaround from events earlier this year when it lost Kobani and Tikrit and was forced to retreat from around 7,700 sq miles (20,000 sqkm) of land in northern Iraq. That had led to claims that it could not hold its gains, and that after a year in which sociopolitics of the Middle East had been overturned, Isis could no longer secure its objectives.

“If the state was strong, then that would be the case,” said an army officer who ordered his men to flee Ramadi. “They are not winning because they are powerful. They are winning because we are weak. I’m not sure about Syria, but I think it’s the same there.”

Thirty miles closer to Baghdad, in the city of Falluja, which is also under Isis control, some residents say they have become used to the jihadis in their midst and have come to prefer them to the vagaries of central government rule.

“We don’t have much electricity and fuel and we have been bombed a lot by the air strikes, but apart from that we are in a better condition than we were under the army,” said a doctor to whom Isis had offered security and a platform that Iraq’s government could not match.

“We in Falluja prefer to stay here in our homes than become refugees begging to enter Baghdad or left to rot in refugee camps which aren’t even suitable for animals. We prefer to live with our dignity in our city. We are all viewed by the government as Isis, this is our identity.”

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 23 May 2015, 10:45 am and is filed under
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Has Najib forgotten that Malaysia was second in Asia after Japan in prosperity and income when we achieved independence in 1957 and that we have been overtaken by Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and even South Korea which became high-income countries 20 – 28 years ago?

When the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak boasted in the Eleven Malaysia Plan that Malaysia had risen from the ranks of a low-income economy in the 1970s to a high middle-income economy with a national per capita income more than 25-fold from US$402 (1970) to US$10,796 (2014), and is well on the track to surpass the US$15,000 threshhold of a high-income economy by 2020, Malaysians are entitled to ask him whether he has forgotten that Malaysia was second in Asia after Japan in prosperity and income when we achieved Independence in 1957?

What were the reasons why other countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore which were poorer than us when we achieved Independence  had not only caught up with us, but gone ahead, with Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and even South Korea becoming high-income countries some 20 – 28 years ago, a target we are seeking to achieve by the end of the 11th Malaysia Plan and Vision 2020?

In 1987, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore joined the ranks of the high-income countries, defined by the World Bank as a country with a gross national income per capita above US$12,746 in 2013.  South Korea  joined the  list in 1995 for two years, dropped out for four years because of the Asian financial crisis and  re-joined the ranks of high-income nations in 2001.

It is worth noting how  these other Asian countries which were behind us economically compare with Malaysia’s 25-fold increase in national per capita income since  1970.

South Korea and Taiwan’s  national per capita income would have increased at the highest rate, a stunning over eighty-fold increase, followed by Singapore and Hong Kong which registered an increase of over 50-fold and 34-fold respectively.

The increase in national per capita income for these countries would have increase manifold, even registering hundred-fold increase for South Korea, if comparison is made with the attainment of Merdeka in 1957.

Why has Malaysia failed to make full use of our  excellent economic advantages and rich resource endowments, both human and natural, since Independence in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963 for the country to continue to be  in the forefront  in the world in economic development?

The answer to this question holds the key to the success or failure of the 11th Malaysia Plan and Vision 2020.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 23 May 2015, 4:01 pm and is filed under
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Isis bombs and al-Qaeda papers make bin Laden seem soft touch

Geoff Dyer in Washington

Financial Times

May 22, 2015

A spate of massive car bombs in an Iraqi city and a slew of new al-Qaeda documents have pulled off the improbable feat of making Osama bin Laden seem like a soft touch.

Just as Islamist militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant were taking control of the Iraqi city of Ramadi this week, the US government released part of a treasure trove of material recovered from the former al-Qaeda leader’s compound in Pakistan.

The two events have cast a light on the fierce competition between the jihadi groups and help explain why Isis has been so much more effective than al-Qaeda at exploiting instability in the Middle East since the so-called Arab Spring.

While bin Laden wanted to play a long game and constantly fretted about alienating fellow Muslims, Isis has been happy to pursue its goals through indiscriminate violence against anyone—including setting off 10 huge bombs in Ramadi on Sunday before its forces made their final push to take the Iraqi city.

“They are two very different views about how to establish an Islamic state,” says Will McCants, a former state department counter-terrorism official now at the Brookings Institution. “The documents show bin Laden focused on hearts and minds, but the Isis approach is all about brutality.”

The dispute over jihadi strategies stretches back to the anti-Soviet struggle in Afghanistan in the 1980s and first came to prominence when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of an Isis forerunner known as al-Qaeda in Iraq, launched a wave of frenzied violence in Sunni areas of Iraq in 2004.

The 103 documents from bin Laden’s compound that were released by the US intelligence community this week provide one of the clearest statements yet of his ideas. The al-Qaeda leader argued the US should be the focus of attacks and that an Islamic state would not be viable until America had been pushed out of the region. He consistently warned colleagues about the premature declaration of a new state and about violence that affected other Sunnis.

“We should stress the importance of timing in establishing the Islamic state,” he said in one letter, warning that the US could “lay siege”. “We have to continue with exhausting and depleting them [the US] till they become so weak that they can’t overthrow a state that we establish,” he said. In another letter to an al-Qaeda affiliate in east Africa, he cautioned:“Please remind the brothers in Somalia to be compassionate with the people.”

He asked an aide in one letter to tell al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in north Africa to stop attacks on local security forces. Their “job is to uproot the obnoxious tree by concentrating on its American trunk”, he wrote. “By fighting the local enemy we don’t get the result that we deployed for, which is to reinstate the wise caliphate.”

In effect, bin Laden was arguing against the very tactics that Isis used this week to gain control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, after more than a year of fighting in the city.

According to a senior US official, Isis was able to weaken the resistance of Iraqi forces by orchestrating about 30 suicide bombs in Ramadi last weekend, including 10 that had the “capacity of an Oklahoma City-type attack”.

Since the city fell on Sunday, there have been reports that anyone left in Ramadi who was connected to the security services has been killed.

During the 2004-06 period in which it operated, Mr. Zarqawi’s al-Qaeda in Iraq was considered a benchmark among jihadi groups for ruthless violence. “Isis is an organisation that is better in every respect than its predecessor AQI,” the US official said.

Given the tactics that Isis has adopted, Cole Bunzel, a Princeton academic who has studied the groups, calls the al-Qaeda approach “Jihadi Salafism Light”. “The Arabic press has started to call al-Qaeda‘moderate’ Salafism,” he said in a talk last month. “I could not

believe my eyes when I saw that.”

Bin Laden argued that an Isis-style strategy would provoke a powerful backlash, from the local population and from the US—a prediction that might still be borne out. But what is striking about recent events is the far greater capacity of Isis to take advantage of the chaos in the region.

The al-Qaeda leader was also optimistic about the implications of the Arab Spring, which broke out shortly before his 2011death. In one letter, he urges senior colleagues to pay less attention to Afghanistan and to “mobilise our literate writers and poets” to help push the revolutionary fervour in al-Qaeda’s direction.

Yet his letters missed the way that Isis’s violent tactics have galvanised support among young jihadis, aided by an aggressive use of social media. The picture revealed in the bin Laden documents is of a long-established leader being eclipsed by a new generation of more ambitious, ruthless and bolder rivals.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 23 May 2015, 11:07 am and is filed under
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Mengapa boleh kerjasama hudud tapi tidak untuk mangsa banjir

oleh Zulkifli Sulong

The Malaysian Insider

23 May 2015

Mangsa banjir di Kelantan mempertikaikan mengapa kerajaan pusat dan kerajaan negeri Kelantan gagal bekerjasama dengan baik membantu mereka, sedangkan kedua-duanya dilihat boleh bekerjasama ke arah melaksanakan hukum hudud di negeri itu.

Mereka merasa tertipu selepas kedua-dua kerajaan negeri dan pusat berjanji membina semula rumah mereka yang musnah akibat banjir besar hujung tahun lepas, tetapi sehingga kini, janji tinggal janji.

Kebanyakan mereka yang ditemui di pusat pemindahan di Bandar Utama, Gua Musang itu menyalahkan kedua-dua kerajaan yang tidak bekerjasama dengan baik sehingga rumah yang sepatutnya mereka duduki masih belum disiapkan.

“Kenapa tidak boleh bersatu dalam kes banjir kalau hudud boleh,” kata Arif Mohd Yusof, 36, salah seorang mangsa banjir yang sehingga kini masih tinggal di dalam khemah, bersama 58 keluarga lagi, selepas 5 bulan banjir mega melanda Kelantan 24 Disember lalu.

Sedih dengan nasib yang dialami, mereka mengungkit kerjasama yang ditunjukkan kedua-dua kerajaan di Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) ketika meluluskan pindaan kepada Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah II 1993 pada Mac lalu.

“Kami tidak kisah pun pasal hudud ini. Ia hanya isu politik… bila dekat dengan pilihan raya, timbullah balik.

“Kalau mereka hendak laksana (hudud), dari dahulu boleh buat,” kata Amran Hamzah, 46, yang ditemui di khemahnya dekat Bandar Utama, Gua Musang.

Pada pandangan mereka, punca rumah mereka tidak dapat disiapkan walaupun persetujuan dicapai antara kedua-dua kerajaan, ialah tiadanya kerjasama antara mereka.

Menurut persetujuan itu, kerajaan pusat akan membina 1,221 dari 1,821 rumah yang musnah sepenuhnya, manakala kerajaan negeri akan membina satu pertiga darinya, iaitu 600 unit.

Namun sehingga kini, kerajaan negeri berjaya menyiapkan 60 buah dari 600 yang dijanjikan itu – hanya 10% – sedangkan kerajaan pusat hanya berjaya membina 7 buah sahaja dari 1,221 yang dijanjikan (kira-kira 0.6%).

Bagi kebanyakan mangsa banjir yang tinggal dalam khemah ini, kerajaan negeri gagal menyediakan tapak untuk membina rumah mereka walaupun kerajaan pusat sudah menyediakan dana untuk pembinaannya.

Amran yang berasal dari Kampung Kerinting, tinggal di khemah itu bersama isteri dan 6 anaknya sejak Januari lalu, dengan harapan boleh memasuki rumah yang dijanjikan kepada mereka menjelang Ramadan pertengahan bulan depan.

“Tidak sangka sampai lama ini duduk (di khemah). Mula-mula masuk dulu suka, ramai yang jaga kami – polis, Rela dan juga Jabatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (JPAM). Makanan pun disediakan.

“Sekarang tidak ada siapa jaga kami dan makanan pun kena masak sendiri,” katanya.

Seorang petugas bantuan mangsa banjir, Mohd Fauzi Mohd Azmi, 40, turut menyalahkan kedua-dua kerajaan negeri dan pusat atas apa yang terjadi.

“Kepada menteri besar, timbalan menteri besar, juga perdana menteri, ini yang saya hendak katakan.

“Kamu bercakap pasal Islam, nak buat hudud, tetapi kamu biar rakyat yang memilih kamu duduk dalam khemah menjelang Ramadan, tidakkah berdosa?” soalnya kepada The Malaysian Insider.

Beliau yang sebelum ini berkampung di Pasir Tumbuh, sebuah kawasan pendalaman yang terjejas teruk akibat banjir mega itu, sangat kesal dengan pemimpin kerajaan yang sibuk berpolitik tetapi seolah-olah membiarkan rakyat menanggung nasib sendiri.

Kerajaan negeri Kelantan akhir tahun lepas menangguhkan perancangannya membentangkan pindaan kepada enakmen jenayah syariah itu Disember lalu.

Ia kemudiannya dibentangkan Mac lalu dan diluluskan dengan sokongan penuh ahli DUN (Adun) termasuk dari pembangkang, iaitu Adun Umno.

Ketua pembangkang DUN Kelantan, Datuk Md Alwi Che Mat ketika itu menangis teresak-esak berucap menyokong rang undang-undang itu.

Isu hudud menyebabkan PAS bergaduh dengan rakannya dalam Pakatan Rakyat, khasnya DAP yang tidak bersetuju dengannya. PKR juga tidak bersetuju hudud dilaksanakan buat waktu ini. – 23 Mei, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 23 May 2015, 4:17 pm and is filed under
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SOS: The 11th Malaysia Plan

Koon Yew Yin

23 May 2015

In a recent Barisan controlled newspaper, the following headline screamed out for attention: “There is continuity in all Malaysia Plans, says Najib”. The Prime Minister further argued that claims that policies in each Malaysia Plan is disconnected from the other are not true, said the Prime Minister.

Yes, we agree – there is continuity. There is continuity in the unwillingness to put a full stop to the NEP policy. There is continuity in the massive corruption that accompanies every Malaysian Plan. This has happened especially since the 1980’s when the practice of giving out large contracts and concessions without competitive open tenders became institutionalized under Dr. Mahathir’s version of “crony capitalism”. There is continuity in the refusal to practice the system of meritocracy – the only sure way to ensure that we can join the league of modern and developed nations of the world.

Lies, Damn Lies and Malaysian Government Statistics

What has the Prime Minister highlighted by way of the country’s achievements in his presentation of the Plan in Parliament according to the print media. The following are some of his claims:

•    Economic growth that is supposed to be among the highest in Asia

•    We enjoy clean water and electricity

•    Almost all Malaysians can read and write

•    More than three quarters of households have their own homes

•    More than one quarter of the labour force has tertiary education

•    There is almost zero percent poverty rate

Reading the so-called accomplishments listed by the Prime Minister will leave most Malaysians in two minds. Whether to laugh or to cry at how desperate Najib in trying to show what a good job he is doing as the Prime Minister.  They will also be wondering what a bad job his team of highly paid consultants must be doing.

Firstly many of the indicators compare our situation in 1970 with the situation today – almost 50 years later. All countries in the world – even the least developed – have enjoyed progress in the selective indicators littering the Plan report. Secondly, the last three of the six indicators above appear unbelievable.

Few people living in the Klang Valley, the most heavily populated part of our country, will believe that only 25 percent of households are not living in their own houses. I suppose what some “ampu bodek”staff from the Department of Statistics has done – whenever he or she has encountered several households occupying one living space – is to count all of them as owning their own homes, thus boosting the incidence of home ownership!

We have seen how adept at fudging and spinning the Government has been with the 1MDB. I will not be surprised if the same manipulation and selectivity, if not outright lying, characterizes most of the statistics put out in the 11th Plan.

Statistics on our True International Standing

But let’s assume that the Prime Minister and his team are really serious about moving Malaysia ahead during the next five years. Let me provide just one suggestion.

I  propose that the 11th Malaysia Plan focuses on critical indicators which show the deep hole that the Barisan Nasional government has dug Malaysia into. This would be more useful to the nation than for Con Sultans to trumpet indicators that permit the rakyat to feel good and think that the BN is doing such a great job.

 And the clearest evidence of the deep hole we are in is how we compare with other nations in independent international rankings of education, competitiveness and other key indicators that are purged from the 11 Plan document.

Although I am not an expert on statistics, let me give some examples of the alternative indicators of development that should appear in the 11th Plan and which can show our true standing in the world

•    OECD Ranking in Science and Mathematics

•    UNDP Human Development Index Ranking

•    Extent of Liberalization of Economy as shown by GLC share of share market

•    Extent of Out Migration of Skilled Malaysians

•    Extent of Influx of Foreign Labour

•    Illegal Capital Flight

There are many similar ones banned from the Plan report which other readers can provide.

I have titled the article with the initials “SOS” of the emergency cry for help. Malaysians will also be aware that the initials also stands for “same old stuff” which is the impression one comes away with after ploughing through the Plan document.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 23 May 2015, 4:18 pm and is filed under
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The 11MP is resting on flawed foundations

— Lee Hwok Aun

The Malay Mail Online

May 23, 2015

MAY 22 — The just released Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) strives to inspire, cajole and rally us toward 2020. I have no problem in general with slogans, catchphrases, cheerleading, even a dash of hyperbole. The document has to contain some of that.

But the mandate to tug at our hearts does not give license to toy with the facts.

This Plan handles some data in a bizarre, anomalous manner. The most prominent of the 11MP’s six multidimensional goals rests on flawed foundations.

And it is difficult to believe that errors and confusions – of a most rudimentary nature – are committed innocently.

I have confidence enough in the capability of our civil service to correctly and carefully present statistical analyses and projections. I suffer a confidence deficit with regard to the independence of this process from political influence.

The first two of the 11MP’s multidimensional goals for 2016-2020 read as follows:

1.  Real GDP to expand at 5-6 per cent per annum

2.  GNI per capita to reach RM54,100 (US$15,690) in 2020

Of course, goals #1 and #2 top the list; they are necessary to achieving high-income status.

By now we may be familiar with the national target of US$15,000 in GNI per capita, the threshold for qualifying as a high-income economy.

Goal #2 is more definitive – GNI per capita summarises the overall level of economic development – while Goal #1 constitutes the means to get there. GDP must maintain a certain growth rate to carry an economy to high-income territory.

But the 11MP goes against conventional practice and basic logic of evaluating income growth in real terms. Instead, the 11MP puts the GNI per capita target in nominal terms. In other words, it does not take inflation into account. This is mindboggling.

It is imperative to monitor and target growth in real values instead of nominal values. If income grows by 5 per cent and inflation raises the price level by 6 per cent, one is actually worse off. Real income has registered a 1-per cent change; it has shrunk.

Let’s go back to where this high-income business started. The New Economic Model (NEM) in 2010 established high-income status as one of three key policy objectives, with the bar set at GNI per capita of US$15,000. Pass that mark and Malaysia qualifies as high income.

The NEM correctly put this threshold in real terms; that report specified that US$15,000 in 2020, in real terms, was the equivalent of US$17,725 in nominal terms (NEM Part 1, page 87). That’s about US$16,500 at today’s exchange rate. The 11MP has lowered that target to US$15,000 in nominal terms, or current prices (11MP, page 2-14).

The fact is, Malaysia’s economic growth has fallen behind the NEM’s schedule. But to get back on track requires substantially higher growth rates – which are obviously a very hard sell. Witness Goal #1:  5-6 per cent real GDP growth per annum, a believable range.

According to the NEM’s projections and aspirations, Malaysia would register real GDP growth rate of 6.5 per cent per annum over 2010-2020. We have only achieved 5.3 per cent in the first half of this decade. By mathematical necessity, we will need to grow faster than 6.5 per cent in the second half, to compensate for the prior shortfall.

Specifically, to remain on track for high-income status by 2020, the Malaysian economy must sustain real growth of 7.7 per cent per year over 2015-2020. Who would want to deliver that message to an informed, discerning, sceptical rakyat living in uncertain times and accustomed to steady but modest growth? I understand the reluctance to tell that story.

But instead of coming clean and saying that, well, it will be nearly impossible to reach the high-income mark by 2020 (but our dignity is not bound up in such status; we’re still worthy as a nation), the government slides the goalpost. Instead of the NEM’s original high-income target of US$17,725 in current prices, the 11MP now guns for US$15,000 in current prices, and pretends they’re the same.

Thus Umno-BN can declare success and extract gratitude.

How might we respond to these empirical discrepancies? Some might say, it’s not a big deal, these are mere technicalities.

Yes, at one level this is a technical skirmish. Even so, there is a big, suspiciously deliberate aberration that must be addressed. Why target US$15,000 in nominal terms, instead of in real terms as almost any almost fully developed country would?

But this is far more than an issue of statistical correctness. This government is staking its legitimacy on driving Malaysia to high-income status, it is claiming credit for ushering us down this last leg to the many splendours of Vision 2020.

Proper reporting and handling of data, at root, testify to the level of honesty, truthfulness and integrity of our policies.

Vision 2020 envisages a society that is progressive, confident, secure, scientific, mature, and virtuous in many other ways.

This government declares interest in leading Malaysia in that direction. Then it effectively commits statistical doping.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 23 May 2015, 10:13 am and is filed under
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An Eight-Year “Save PR”  Roadmap by reaffirming PR Common Policy Framework which had won support of 52% of the electorate

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Pelan tindakan lapan tahun ‘Selamatkan Pakatan Rakyat’ dengan memperkukuh Dasar Bersama yang telah berjaya mendapat sokongan 52% daripada jumlah pengundi

Pakatan Rakyat sudah tidak ada masa. Dalam masa dua minggu lagi, Pakatan Rakyat mungkin sahaja tidak wujud lagi.

Ini suatu perkembangan politik yang sangat lucu.

Umno dan Barisan Nasional (BN) sedang berada pada tahap paling lemah dalam sejarah, berpaut kepada kuasa sebagai kerajaan minoriti pertama dalam sejarah Malaysia.

Perdana Menteri yang juga Presiden Umno, Datuk Seri Najib Razak telah terpaksa menjelajah ke seluruh negara untuk meraih sokongan orang ramai lantaran skandal kewangan dan pecah belah di dalam Umno yang semakin menjadi-jadi, serta demi melengahkan kempen dahagi yang sedang dikepalai oleh mantan Perdana Menteri dan Presiden Umno yang paling lama, untuk mendesak Perdana Menteri meletakkan jawatan. Sementara itu Ahli-ahli Parlimen BN dari Sabah dan Sarawak serta parti-parti komponen mereka (yang bertanggungjawab meletakkan Najib di kerusi Perdana Menteri) sedang memantau dengan sangat teliti sama ada Najib akan mengkhianati kontrak sosial dan Perjanjian Malaysia 1963 hanya demi memastikan survival politiknya sendiri.

Ini merupakan peluang terbesar buat Pakatan Rakyat, yang ditubuhkan tujuh tahun lalu selepas tsunami politik PRU tahun 2008 yang berjaya menafikan majoriti dua-pertiga gabungan Umno/BN di Parlimen, serta menyaksikan tertubuhnya lima kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor dan Kelantan.

Harapan dan jangkaan orang ramai untuk melihat perubahan Kerajaan Persekutuan dan juga seorang Perdana Menteri baru iaitu Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim selepas PRU ke-13 pada 5 Mei 2013 dikecewakan oleh sebuah sistem pilihanraya yang tidak demokratik, yang membolehkan Umno/BN merampas kemenangan daripada Pakatan Rakyat melalui bilangan majoriti kerusi Parlimen, walaupun mendapat undi minoriti dan terus berkuasa di Putrajaya.

Perubahan bersejarah Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia tertangguh daripada PRU13 ke PRU14, yang mesti berlangsung menjelang 2018.

Semua syarat bagi perubahan bersejarah ini sudah pun tersedia, cumanya pada ketika ini, Pakatan Rakyat sendiri berada di jurang kehancuran.

Hanya ada satu cara untuk menyelamatkan Pakatan Rakyat daripada hancur berkecai, lantaran ia merupakan manifestasi harapan terbaik rakyat Malaysia ke arah perubahan dan penambahbaikan kualiti hidup seluruh rakyat Malaysia.

Cara ini ialah dengan menjalankan suatu pelan tindakan lapan tahun bagi Pakatan Rakyat, dengan komitmen semula oleh ketiga-tiga parti DAP, PKR dan PAS untuk memperkukuh dua prinsip asas yang menjadi rahsia kejayaan Pakatan Rakyat sejak ia ditubuhkan – kepatuhan terhadap Dasar Bersama Pakatan Rakyat yang telah menjadi batu asas prinsip-prinsip bersama ketiga-tiga parti gabungan, dan prinsip konsensus dalam Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat, sebagai badan pembuat dasar tertinggi.

Seandainya kita bersetia kepada kedua-dua prinsip asas ini, saya yakin bahawa Pakatan Rakyat akan semakin kuat demi merealisasikan impian rakyat Malaysia ke arah perubahan dan keagungan, dan membawa Pakatan Rakyat ke Putrajaya bagi membentuk sebuah kerajaan Malaysia yang baru pada PRU ke-14 nanti.

Di saat dan ketika ini lah kebijaksanaan dan wawasan Almarhum Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat benar-benar dirindukan.

Tidak ada walau sekelumit sangsi bahawa sekiranya bekas Mursyidul-Am PAS yang juga mantan Menteri Besar Kelantan itu masih hidup, beliau tidak akan membenarkan Pakatan Rakyat berhadapan sebuah krisis antara hidup dan mati. Ini kerana beliau akan memastikan PAS terus yakin dan percaya kepada kedua-dua warga Islam dan bukan-Islam di Malaysia dengan agenda ‘PAS for all’ dan  menolak sebarang usaha baru untuk menubuhkan Kerajaan Perpaduan antara PAS dan Umno.

Bekas pimpinan PAS telah secara terbuka telah menegaskan bahawa idea kerajaan UG ini telah mendapat restu Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Hadi Awang tetapi terhalang akibat tentangan keras Nik Aziz.

Para penyokong konsep UG ini telah mengambil peluang di atas kematian Nik Aziz, yakin bahawa mereka akan berjaya mencapai sesuatu daripada konspirasi politik tujuh tahun mereka, memandangkan komplot ini bermula sebaik sahaja selesai PRU ke-12 pada tahun 2008.

Komplot UG Umno sejak awal lagi telah melibatkan pimpinan Umno peringkat tertinggi – seperti Presiden Umno yang juga Perdana Menteri sekarang – dan mesyuarat peringkat tinggi turut diadakan dalam masa beberapa bulan selepas PRU ke-12 namun mereka nampaknya gagal.

Para konspirator UG mendapati bahwa halangan yang ada agak susah untuk ditembusi, terutamanya pada bantahan tegas dan berprinsip mantan Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

Pimpinan PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat serta para penyokongnya pasti tidak akan melupakan kritikan pedas Nik Aziz pada bulan Jun 2009 apabila Mursyidul-Am itu secara terbuka memberitahu Timbalan Presiden PAS Nasharuddin Mat Isa untuk meninggalkan PAS dan menyertai Umno sekiranya beliau terus berdegil dengan agenda UG.

Ini sebabnya kenapa kita terkejut baru-baru ini apabila Hadi mendakwa bahawa cadangan kerajaan UG, ketika ia mula timbul selepas PRU tahun 2008, telah mendapat persetujuan Nik Aziz dan Anwar Ibrahim, serta dimaklumkan kepada DAP.

DAP tidak pernah dimaklumkan oleh Hadi tentang idea UG tersebut.

Presiden PKR Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail dan juga Setiausaha Agungnya Rafizi Ramli telah menafikan bahawa Anwar ada bersetuju dengan konsep UG.

Nik Aziz tidak mungkin telah bersetuju dengan konsep UG; jika tidak beliau pastinya tidak akan menegur Nasharuddin secara terbuka pada Jun 2009 dan menyuruhnya meletakkan jawatan sebagai Timbalan Presiden PAS dan juga Ahli Parlimen Bachok serta menyuruhnya menyertai Umno sekiranya beliau berdegil juga dengan agenda UG.

Malah sebenarnya amat tidak masuk akal bagi mana-mana parti Pakatan Rakyat untuk bersetuju dengan konsep UG kerana ia didasarkan konsep Kerajaan Perpaduan antara parti-parti politik Melayu, sedangkan Pakatan Rakyat memperjuangkan nasib semua rakyat Malaysia, tanpa mengira kaum, agama atau daerah.

Pakatan Rakyat pastinya sedang amat merindukan Nik Aziz.

Pertama sekali, di atas bantahan tegasnya terhadap idea UG yang menjadi penyebab konsep tersebut gagal ketika beliau masih hidup.

Kedua, Nik Aziz mampu melihat gambaran yang lebih besar terhadap keperluan untuk menyokong pelan tindakan lapan tahun Pakatan Rakyat bagi memastikan survival dan kejayaan Pakatan Rakyat dalam PRU ke-14.

Tiada sesiapa yang sangsi bahawa Nik Aziz sendiri mahu melihat pelaksanaan segera undang-undang hudud, namun beliau cukup realisitik untuk menyedari bahawa hudud bukanlah sebahagian daripada Dasar Bersama Pakatan Rakyat dan sebarang desakan tanpa konsensus untuk melaksanakannya akan mengakibatkan Pakatan Rakyat berpecah.

Nik Aziz pastinya memahami hujah-hujah bahawa pelaksanaan hudud bukanlah isu utama berbanding memastikan survival dan kejayaan Pakatan Rakyat, menewaskan Umno/BN serta menawan Kerajaan Persekutuan Putrajaya dalam PRU ke-14 bagi melaksanakan dasar-dasar yang akan memulihkan kebebasan, keadilan, maruah rakyat dan urustadbir yang baik di Malaysia.

Nik Aziz telah memberi sokongan hebat ke arah pembentukan dan pengukuhan Pakatan Rakyat, walaupun hudud bukanlah sebahagian daripada Dasar Bersama.

Ini sebabnya kenapa saya tidak percaya hujah bahawa tidak melaksanakan hudud adalah bertentangan dengan prinsip Islam, kerana ini bermakna Nik Aziz dan semua pimpinan serta ahli PAS telah mengkhianati prinsip Islam selama enam tahun sejak PRU ke-12 hingga ke-13  apabila isu pelaksanaan hudud tidak dikemukakan sebagai prinsip teras Pakatan Rakyat pada PRU ke-13.

Cadangan pelan tindakan lapan tahun komitmen oleh ketiga-tiga parti komponen Pakatan Rakyat untuk terus menjunjung dua prinsip asas iaitu Dasar Bersama dan mekanisme konsensus ialah supaya Pakatan Rakyat kembali ke asasnya, dan mengenepikan apa sahaja perbezaan sepanjang lapan tahun akan datang, sepertimana yang telah dilakukan sepanjang enam tahun pertama dahulu.

Bilangan lapan tahun ini adalah berasaskan tempoh tiga tahun menuju PRU ke-14 mulai sekarang, dan lima tahun pasca PRU ke-14; memandangkan Pakatan Rakyat mesti menyatakan komitmen kepada rakyat Malaysia berkaitan dasar-dasar yang ingin dilaksanakan sekiranya Pakatan Rakyat mendapatkan kuasa di Putrajaya selepas PRU ke-14.

Amat malang sekali saya tidak berkesempatan berbincang dengan Nik Aziz tentang cadangan pelan tindakan lapan tahun ini demi menyelamatkan Pakatan Rakyat .

Saya bagaimanapun yakin bahawa Nik Aziz, sebagai arkitek Pakatan Rakyat, yang sokongan kuatnya menjadi antara faktor kejayaan besar Pakatan Rakyat pada pilihanraya 2008 dan 2013, akan memberi sokongan penuh kepada pelan tindakan ini, walaupun beliau mungkin mempunyai sedikit keberatan tentang syarat supaya parti-parti komponen mengenepikan perbezaan dasar dan isu yang tidak disepakati dalam Dasar Bersama sehingga selepas 2023.

Soalnya sekarang ialah sama ada parti-parti komponen Pakatan Rakyat boleh bersetuju untuk menyelamatkan Pakatan Rakyat dengan pelan tindakan lapan tahun ini.

(Kenyataan media di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Ahad 24 Mei 2015)

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(English text)

Time is running out for Pakatan Rakyat.

In two weeks’ time, Pakatan Rakyat may cease to exist.

This is a most ludicrous political development.

UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) are at their weakest in history, holding to power in Putrajaya as the first minority government in Malaysian history.

The Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is forced  to  go on a nation-wide roadshow to drum up public support because of unprecedented financial scandals and mounting divisions inside UMNO and to forestall a mutiny campaign led by longest-serving former Prime Minister and UMNO President demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation, while the Sabah and Sarawak BN MPs and  component parties (responsible for Najib being installed as Prime Minister in the first place) are hawkishly vigilant  as to whether Najib would violate the “social contract” and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement just to ensure his own political survival.

This is the greatest opportunity for Pakatan Rakyat, formed seven years ago after the political tsunami of the  2008 general election, which smashed the hitherto unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority  of the  UMNO/BN coalition and saw the establishment of five Pakatan Rakyat state governments of Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan.

The hopes and expectations for change of Federal government and a new Prime Minister in the person of Datuk Seri  Anwar Ibrahim  in the 13th General Elections on May 5, 2013 were frustrated by an undemocratic electoral system which allowed the UMNO/BN coalition to snatch victory from Pakatan Rakyat through a  majority of parliamentary seats despite a minority of the votes and to  continue as the Putrajaya government.

The historic change of Federal Government in Malaysia has been postponed from the 13th General Election to the 14th General Elections, which must be held by 2018.

All the conditions for such a historic change are in place, except that at this moment, Pakatan Rakyat itself on the brink of disintegration.

There is only one way to save PR from disintegration as it  embodies the best hopes of Malaysians for change and improvement of the quality of life of all Malaysians.

This is the adoption of an   eight-year Pakatan Rakyat Roadmap with a re-commitment by all the three component parties of DAP, PKR and PAS to reaffirm the two fundamental principles which had been the secrets of the PR success since its establishment  – strict adherence to the PR Common Policy Framework which had formed the bedrock common principles of the three component parties in the coalition, and the operational principle of consensus regarding the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council as the highest policy-making body for PR.

If we stay loyal to these two fundamental principles, I am confident that PR will be able to grow from strength to strength to fulfill the hopes of generations of Malaysians for change and Malaysia’s rendezvous with greatness, and take PR to Putrajaya to form the new Malaysian government in the 14th General Elections.

This the time when wisdom and vision of the late Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat is sorely missed.

There is no doubt that if the former PAS Mursyidul Am and former Kelantan Mentri Besar is alive today, he would not have allowed Pakatan Rakyat to face a life-and-death crisis, for he would have ensured that PAS continue to keep faith with both the Muslims and  non-Muslims in Malaysia with the party’s “PAS for All” agenda and spurned renewed efforts at forming UG (Unity Government) between PAS and UMNO.

Former PAS leaders have gone on public record to assert that the UG government idea had the blessings of the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang but was blocked  by the obstinate opposition of Nik Aziz.

The promoters of the “UG” concept have taken full advantage of the passing of Nik Aziz confident that they will be able to achieve a breakthrough for their seven-year-old  political conspiracy, as this plot was first hatched immediately after the 12th General Elections in 2008.

The UMNO “UG” plot had right from the beginning involved the highest UMNO levels – like the present and former UMNO Presidents and Prime Ministers – and a very high-level meeting was held in the first few months after the 12th General Elections but the plotters came away empty-handed.

The “UG” plotters found the obstacles quite impregnable, especially in the steely, principled and consistent opposition of the late Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

PAS and Pakatan Rakyat leaders and members will not forget the public castigation by Nik Aziz in June 2009 when the PAS spiritual leader openly told the then PAS deputy president, Nasharuddin Mat Isa, to quit PAS and join UMNO if he persisted with the UG agenda.

This was why it came as a total shock when Hadi recently claimed that the proposal of the  UG Government, when it first surfaced after the 2008 General Election, had the approval of Nik Aziz and Anwar Ibrahim, as well as the knowledge of DAP.

DAP was never informed by Hadi of the UG idea.

PKR President Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and PKR Secretary-General Rafizi Ramli have denied that Anwar had ever agreed to the UG concept.

Nik Aziz could not possibly have agreed to the UG concept or he would not have publicly reprimanded Nasharuddin in June 2009 and told him to quit as PAS Deputy President and Bachok MP and join UMNO if he persisted with the UG agenda.

It is in fact inconceivable for any PR party to agree to UG concept as it is predicated on a UG government of  Malay political parties when PR is dedicated to the cause of all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

PR will miss Nik Aziz greatly.

Firstly, for  his staunch opposition to UG idea and why the  concept failed during his lifetime.

Secondly, Nik Aziz was able the see the Big Picture on the need to endorse the eight-year PR Roadmap to ensure the survival, success and victory of PR in the 14th General Election.

Nobody doubts that Nik Aziz would himself want to see the immediate implementation of hudud, but he is realistic enough to know that it was not part of the PR Common Policy Framework and that any insistence without arriving at a PR consensus to implement it would lead to the disintegration of PR.

Nik Aziz would have understood the arguments that the implementation of hudud is not a top priority issue as compared to ensuring the survival and success of PR, the defeat of Umno/BN and in capturing Putrajaya Federal Government in the 14th GE to immediately implement policies which will restore freedom, justice, human dignity and good governance in Malaysia.

Nik Aziz had given great support to the formation and sustenance of PR, although hudud is not part of the PR Common Policy Framework.

This is why I cannot buy the argument that it will be going against Islamic principles if hudud is not implemented, for it would mean that Nik Aziz and all Pas leaders and members had betrayed Islamic principles for six years from the 12th to 13th General Elections when the issue of the implementation of hudud was not presented as one of the core principles of PR in the 13th General Elections.

My proposal of an eight-year commitment by the three PR component parties to continue to uphold the two fundamental principles of PR common policy framework and the operational consensus mechanism is for PR to “return to basics”, and to put aside whatever differences we have for the next eight years, as we had done in the first six years.

The eight years is derived from three years to the 14GE from now and the five years after the 14GE, as PR must make a commitment to Malaysians as to the policies we are committed to implement if PR achieves power in Putrajaya after the 14GE.

It is most unfortunate that I do not have the opportunity to discuss with Nik Aziz my proposal of an Eight-Year Roadmap for PR to  save PR.

I have no doubt however that Nik Aziz, as an architect of PR and whose unswerving support was one of the major factors for PR’s stunning success in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, would have given his full backing to the Eight-Year PR Roadmap, even if he had some initial reservations about political parties putting aside policy differences and issues not agreed in the PR Common Policy Framework until after 2023.

The question is whether PR component parties could reach an agreement to save PR  with a Eight-Year PR Roadmap.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 24 May 2015, 12:14 pm and is filed under
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View from the Umno grassroots

– Muhammad Azaham Wahab

The Malaysian Insider

24 May 2015

I am a member of Umno who had served the party for a good 40 years and was a Branch Chairman for 23 years.

I also served for a few years at the division level and consider myself a grassroots leader of Umno and am qualified to say that I embody the sentiments of members at the grassroots level.

As a branch leader for more than 20 years, we have always obeyed the higher ups in Umno and slogged at every election to ensure the success of Umno-Barisan.

I was proud of Umno and my MCA and MIC friends because for whatever weakness Barisan had we were brothers in arms to develop the country.

I trusted the leaders and they did not betray my trust because the country was peaceful and development in all sectors was satisfactory although it could be much better.

However things have changed and corruption and misuse of power had reared its ugly head. The Barisan leadership condoned corruption and used their power to cover up their corrupt practises on the economic and business sector. Corruption is now so embedded in society we seem to accept it as a normal practice.

We Malaysians knew what was happening. But, Malaysians as a whole are forgiving and tolerated all the nonsense. But our “tidak apa” attitude will lead our country to the path of a failed state. We must not be complacent and let things go on unchecked.

My worry is Umno-Barisan has taken the public’s patience and complacency for granted and now have no respect for them .We are taken  for a bunch of fools that do not know what is going on and do not know our rights.

The Umno-Barisan leaders have transgressed the limits of our patience blatantly and the public must show our utter disappointment and disgust for all the wrong doings of Barisan.

We cannot trust the top  leaders in Barisan to arrest the malpractices and we need change .When top leaders of the government consistently lie and twist and turn facts to justify their wrong doings and who breed a swarm of cheats under their wings the time has come to say enough is enough.

All of us have been reading the goings on in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). When leaders of Umno lie and MCA and MIC leaders try to mellow down the ugly misdemeanour, they have lost our trust.

When the Finance Ministry can tell a blatant lie about funds in BSI Bank Ltd Singapore, the ministry and all the members of the of 1MDB board are a bunch of liars and must be censored.

How on earth can such “learned” professionals stoop so low as to lie to the people of Malaysia?

The final straw for all of us is when 1MDB put their dirty hands in the coffers of pilgrims’ fund Lembaga Tabung Haji, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP).

The money in Tabung Haji is from the poor Malays who save to perform the Haj. And the money in EPF and KWAP are from the public’s hard work to save for their old age.

Shame on all the 1MDB board members for putting your dirty hands in these funds to finance your dubious dealings. The money of the poor could just vanish.

Can we trust you my dear board members? We know you are all professionals and clever people but can you be trusted. I am afraid to say we cannot trust any of you and the sad truth is that you are powerless to do anything because there are hidden hands pulling the strings and you are forced to take responsibility. – May 24, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 24 May 2015, 8:27 pm and is filed under
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Arul Kanda and Shahrol Halmi skipping PAC  hearing –  the last straw that breaks the camel’s back on 1MDB scandal and Cabinet must sack the whole board or sack itself

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Arul Kanda dan Shahrol Halmi tidak hadir perbicaraan PAC – beban terakhir skandal 1MDB; Kabinet mesti memecat seluruh Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB pada hari Rabu nanti, atau sebaliknya seluruh Kabinet mesti letak jawatan

Tindakan kedua-dua presiden merangkap pengarah eksekutif kumpulan 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Arul Kanda Kandasamy dan bekas CEO 1MDB Shahrol Halmi untuk tidak hadir perbicaraan Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Awam esok adalah apa yang disebut pepatah Inggeris sebagai “last straw that breaks the camel’s back” dalam skandal RM42 bilion 1MDB.

Ia wajar menyedarkan rakyat Malaysia yang masih terlena dan merasakan seolah-olah tiada sebarang masalah dengan skandal 1MDB.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin telah memberitahu dalam sebuah rakaman ucapannya kepada empat Bahagian Umno minggu lalu bahawa skandal 1MDB adalah “last straw that breaks the camel’s back” dan akan menyebabkan kejatuhan kerajaan Umno/BN. Inilah sebabnya kenapa beliau mahu seluruh Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB dipecat, serta disiasat oleh pihak polis.

Rakaman ucapan Muhyiddin itu telah dimuatnaik ke YouTube menggunakan beberapa akaun dan telah ditonton hampir setengah juta kali dalam tempoh empat hari lalu.

Malangnya tiada tanda-tanda bahawa Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB akan dipecat atau disiasat oleh pihak polis.

Tidak dapat difikirkan bahawa Arul Kanda dan Shahrol tidak tahu bahawa ketidakhadiran mereka di perbicaraan PAC yang dijadual esok bagi menyelesaikan sama sekali semua persoalan dan keraguan tentang 1MDB, akan mengakibatkan kesan letupan dan bencana yang mengesahkan kesemua persoalan dan kebimbangan bahawa sememangnya ada sesuatu yang tidak kena dengan 1MDB.

Juga tidak dapat difikirkan bahawa Arul dan Shahrol berani ponteng daripada perbicaraan PAC tanpa lampu hijau daripada pihak berkuasa tertinggi, malah menjangkau kepada Perdana Menteri yang juga Menteri Kewangan, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yang kebetulan mempengerusikan Lembaga Penasihat 1MDB.

Saya bersetuju dengan pemimpin veteran Umno yang juga bekas Menteri Kewangan Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah bahawa seluruh anggota Kabinet mesti bertanggungjawab ke atas skandal 1MDB, memandangkan kesemua menteri mesti bertanggungjawab secara kolektif ke atasnya.

Muhyiddin telah berkata bahawa 1MDB ialah “last straw that breaks the camel’s back” yang akan mengakibatkan kejatuhan kerajaan Umno/BN.

Perbuatan mengelak perbicaraan PAC esok oleh Arul Kanda dan Shahrol Halmi adalah “last straw the breaks the camel’s back” dalam skandal 1MDB.

Pada hari Rabu nanti, Kabinet mesti memecat seluruh Lembaga Pengarah 1MDB, atau sebaliknya seluruh anggota Kabinet mesti meletakkan jawatan.

(Kenyataan media di Parlimen pada hari Isnin 25 Mei 2015)

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(English Text)

The joint action of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)’s president and group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy and former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Halmi  skipping the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) hearing tomorrow is really the “last straw the breaks the camel’s back” in the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal.

It should be a final wake-up call to Malaysians who are still somnolent and think there is nothing wrong about the 1MDB scandal.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said in the leaked recording of his speech to four UMNO divisions last week that the 1MDB scandal is the “last straw to break the camel’s back” and would cause downfall of the UMNO/BN  Government.

This was why he wants the whole board of the 1MDB to be sacked and even investigated by the police.

The recording of Muhyiddin’s speech since it was uploaded on You Tube in various slots has been  visited close to half a million times in the past four days.

Unfortunately, there are no signs that the 1MDB Board would be sacked or investigated by the police.

It is unthinkable Arul Kanda and Shahrol Halmi would not know that their absence from the PAC hearing scheduled tomorrow to lay to rest all queries and doubts that there is anything amiss in 1MDB would let loose a tornado and its   “explosive” effect in confirming all the queries and doubts that there is something seriously and enormously wrong about  1MDB!

It is also unthinkable that Arul and Shahrol would dare to be absent from the PAC hearing without the greenlight from the highest authorities, even reaching up to the  Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also Chairman of the 1MDB Advisory Panel.

I fully agree with UMNO veteran and former Finance Minister Tenku Razaleigh Hamzah that the entire Cabinet should be held responsible for the 1MDB scandal, as all the Ministers must be held responsible collectively for it.

Muhyiddin had said the 1MDB is the “last straw that breaks the camel’s back” which will cause the downfall of the UMNO/BN Government.

The evasion of the PAC hearing tomorrow by Arul Kanda and Shahrol Halmi  should be “last straw that breaks the camel’s back” in the 1MDB scandal!

The  Cabinet on Wednesday must sack the whole 1MDB board or sack itself!

                This entry was posted on Monday, 25 May 2015, 4:32 pm and is filed under
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Excerpt #3:  Imagining A Different Future

M. Bakri Musa

24 May 2015

Much is at stake for Malays. Only those lulled by Hang Tuah’s blustery Takkan Melayu hilang di dunia (Malays will never be lost from this world) would pretend otherwise. History is replete with examples of once great civilizations now reduced to mere footnotes. At best they are but objects of tourists’ curiosities, as with the Mayans.

        It is unlikely for Malay civilization to disappear; there are nearly a quarter billion of us in the greater Nusantara world of Southeast Asia. There is however, a fate far worse, and that is for Malaysia to be developed but with Malays shunted aside, reduced to performing exotic songs and dances for tourists.

        There are about 17 million Malays in Malaysia, comparable to the population of the Netherlands. Their colonial record excluded, the Dutch should be our inspiration of what a population of 17 million could achieve.

        Consider Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest port. One expects that title to go to a port in Britain, Germany, or Russia. Then consider the following famous brands:  Shell (petroleum), Phillips (electronics), Unilever (consumer goods), Heineken (beer), and ING (financial services). Those are all Dutch companies.

        Then consider the hosts of eminent organizations like the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, all centered in the Netherlands. More remarkable is that the country is behind only America and France in agricultural exports, despite a quarter of Holland being below sea level!

        Compare that to Malays and Malaysia. Malays are in political control; non-Malays cannot challenge that; it is a demographic reality. We have a land mass ten times that of the Netherlands, and none of it underwater, except when it rains and our rivers get clogged with pollution. Then it seems the entire country is underwater, paralyzed and gasping for air.

        Imagine if we could achieve even a tenth of what the Dutch have done! That should be our goal and inspiration, not endless recitations of Hang Tuah’s immortal words or the incessant hollering of Ketuanan Melayu.

        We are being hoodwinked by the government’s glossy publications and our leaders’ rosy recounting of our achievements. Take the “Malaysian Quality of Life 2004 Report” produced by the Prime Minister’s Department. At 113 pages it is full of glossy pictures of well-trimmed suburban neighborhoods, neat kampong houses, and of course the iconic Petronas Towers. There is also a picture of earnest executives engaged in videoconferencing, highlighting the latest technology gizmo.

        The cover features the responsible minister, Mustapa Mohamed, beaming against the backdrop of a lush, luxurious golf course. That image reveals more of the truth, perhaps unintended; the golf course is exactly where you are likely to find these ministers.

        Visit the minister’s old kampong in Jeli, Kelantan, and the reality would be far different. I have no data specific on Jeli but a recent study on Pulau Redong and Pulau Perhentian, islands off Trengganu, would shock anyone. A fifth of the villagers have no formal education; half had only primary level. This in 2011! Their average income is less than what Indonesian maids earn. As a needless reminder, those villagers are Malays.

        More shocking and reflective of the malaise, two-thirds of the respondents expect “little” or “no change.” They have given up hope. So much for UMNO’s grandiose promises on “protecting and enhancing” the position of Malays!

        When those high-flying UMNO operatives visit the east coast, they lodge at the exclusive Berjaya Resort, with taxpayers footing the bill. There they could partake in video conferencing. For the islanders however, fewer than 4 percent have Internet access. There is a thriving tourism industry but those jobs are out of reach to the residents for lack of skills and education.

        Those islanders’ world is a universe away from that of their fellow Bumiputras like Women Affairs Minister Sharizat Jalil with her ultra-luxury condos courtesy of hefty Bumiputra discounts and generous “soft” government loans.

        Tun Razak’s New Economic Policy, Mahathir’s Vision 2020, and now Najib’s 1-Malaysia all have the same aspiration of turning Malaysia into a developed nation. For Malaysia to be developed however, we must first develop its biggest demographic group – Malays. So long as Malays remain backward, so will Malaysia. Tun Razak’s NEP recognized this central reality. Vision 2020 and 1-Malaysia are eerily silent on it.

        Despite this glaring omission, Vision 2020 caught on, Mahathir’s domineering personality snuffing out potential criticisms, at least while he was in power. Najib is not so blessed personality-wise; hence his difficulty selling his 1-Malaysia even to his party members.

        Solving Malaysia’s problems would require us to first address those of Malays. That is the focus of my commentaries. The accepted assumption is that by solving Malaysia’s problems, those of the Malays would automatically be resolved, the rising tide lifting all boats. Less appreciated is that a rising tide lifts only those boats that are free to float. Those trapped under low bridges or with short anchor rode would be swamped. For a rising tide to be a benefit and not a threat we must first ensure that all boats are free to float; otherwise they would be doomed.

        Liberating the Malay mind is equivalent to freeing our prahus, of giving them adequate anchor lines or moving them away from underneath bridges and other encumbrances. Today there are just too many Malay boats that are being hampered. We must first free them; otherwise the rising tide would do them no favor. It would only swamp them.

This essay is adapted from the author’s book, Liberating The Malay Mind, ZI Publications Sdn Bhd, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, 2013

Next week:  Excerpt #4:  The Bane of Our Obsession with Politics

                This entry was posted on Monday, 25 May 2015, 9:09 am and is filed under
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Have Arul and Shahrol good reasons for playing truant from the scheduled PAC hearing on 1MDB scandal today? Did Najib, if not who, approve their “ponteng” today?

Questions galore in people’s mind in the past 24 hours since news spread that 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)’s president and group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy and former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Halmi are playing truant from the  Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) hearing scheduled today.

Chief among these questions are:

1.	Have Arul and Shahrol good reasons for playing truant from the scheduled PAC hearing on the 1MDB scandal today, when the duo had been given more than two weeks’ notice of the hearing?

2.	If the PAC hearing scheduled today clashes with their important overseas appointments, why wasn’t the PAC informed immediately after they received the PAC requisition on May 6?  PAC was only informed via a letter from the Finance Ministry on May 22 that the duo could not attend.

3.	Where are Arul and Shahrol now overseas, and what  are these important appointments they are  attending, couldn’t these overseas appointments be rescheduled to give priority to their appearance before the PAC?

4.	Did Najib as Prime Minister or Finance Minister have knowledge that the duo would play truant from the PAC hearing scheduled today, and did he, if not who, gave the ‘green-light” for the duo to play truant from the PAC hearing today?

5.	Did Najib or the relevant Finance Ministry authority (give identity) ask the duo to reschedule their overseas appointment as their appearance before the PAC is more important so as to put to rest all doubts and queries about the 1MDB scandal as the biggest financial scandal in the country, and if not, why?

6.	Did Najib, if not who, approve their “ponteng” today?

One would have thought that Najib, and in particular, the 1MDB Board, would have welcomed the PAC scheduled hearing today to put to rest all doubts and queries about integrity, transparency and good corporate governance which had been haunting the government’s “strategic development company” for the past five years, since the DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua fired the first of now almost-daily  salvoes about the biggest financial scandal in the country since 2009.

This should especially the case as the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has stood his ground that the 1MDB scandal is the “last straw to break the camel’s back” and would cause the downfall of the UMNO/BN attack and the enlistment of the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir in the campaign to demand for answers as to 1MDB’s “missing RM27 billion” and Mahathir’s latest accusation that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had lied in his parliamentary answer and call for police criminal investigation about 1MDB’s US$1 billion deposit from Cayman Islands in a Singapore bank.

With such a background, 1MDB should be chasing the  PAC for an early hearing to prove that it is the very model of corporate good governance instead of playing truant from a scheduled PAC hearing which it had notice of more than a fortnight.

All eyes will be on the Cabinet meeting this Friday, whether Ministers are prepared to accept collective responsibility for the 1MDB scandal and to demand answers for questions like the six above – and whether the 1MDB Board would be sacked and the police called in.

Regardless of whether the Cabinet is prepared to accept collective responsibility for the 1MDB scandal, the Malaysian taxpayers are entitled to an instant answer to these questions.

As the Finance Ministry has written to the PAC giving blessings to the two 1MDB executives playing truant from the PAC scheduled hearing today, the Finance Minister who is the Prime Minister or the second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Muhd Hanadzlah has to answer the above-mentioned questions.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 26 May 2015, 10:17 am and is filed under
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Is Najib prepared to reveal and censure the Finance Ministry official allowing Arul and Shahrol to play truant from today’s scheduled PAC hearing on 1MDB scandal?

It is an indication of the public weariness, skepticism and even disgust with the  endless “smoke and mirrors” spectacles in the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal  in the past four years that the assurance given by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in Japan that the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)’s president and group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy and former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Halmi will testify before the Public Accounts Committee has failed to mollify the public outrage at the 1MDB duo’s impertinence and contempt of Parliament in playing truant from today’s scheduled PAC hearing on the 1MDB scandal.

Najib’s statement that “1MDB officials will appear before PAC, will not run away” is utterly meaningless and weightless, when the 1MDB duo could dodge the scheduled PAC hearing on the 1MDB today with a cock-and-bull story about important assignments  overseas – when none of them nor the Finance Ministry could reveal which country Arul and Shahrol are today and what are these prior commitments which are more important than the PAC hearing!

Did the Finance Ministry lie to the PAC that Arul and Shahrol had  more important overseas assignments which made it impossible for them to attend the PAC hearing today in the same way the Najib had lied in his parliamentary answer about the US$1 billion deposit from Cayman Islands in a Singapore bank?

This appears to be the case, as the reason given by Najib in Japan for the absence of the 1MDB duo from the PAC hearing is not overseas assignments, but that the “1MDB officials have something to sort out first”.

“Have something to sort out first” is clearly very different from the duo  having  overseas assignments  making it physically impossible for them to appear before the PAC.

Furthermore, Arul’s ability to respond immediately through press statements in the past two days to issues raised about their dodging from the PAC hearing raises the question whether Arul is really overseas.

The Prime Minister should ensure that an instant apology should be tendered to the PAC if a lie had been told about the duo’s absence from the PAC hearing today.

Malaysians are entitled to know why 1MDB is  in a position of having “something to sort out first” before the PAC hearing on 1MDB scandal  if all its transactions and operations have been above-board, considering that 1MDB had been the  subject of intense public scrutiny in the past few years?

Can Najib also explain why both Arul and Shahrol had requested a 30-day postponement of their appearance before the PAC, and what is this  “something to sort out first” in 1MDB?

Although Najib is in Japan, he is clearly following 1MDB developments at close quarter.

This being the case, Najib must be prepared to reveal and censure the Finance Ministry official for allowing Arul and Shahrol to play truant from today’s scheduled PAC hearing on 1MDB scandal – although the question is whether the person authorising such contempt of Parliament by the 1MDB duo reaches as high as the second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Muhd Hanadzlah or even he himself!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 26 May 2015, 3:50 pm and is filed under
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