As “MO1”, Prime Minister Najib should recuse himself from being the final authority in approval of the 1MDB-IPIC “arbitration settlement”, and a special Parliament convened to decide on the issue

Although Finance Minister II Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani was appointed with the specific task to complete the rationalization and resolution of the 1MDB scandal, he is on public record that he was not involved in the arbitration settlement negotiations and had not been briefed before the “settlement” was concluded.

He said that although he was involved in the decision to take the case to London arbitration as   he was confident that 1MDB would win the case because of its strong legal position, the Prime Minister made the decision for the country looking at the “bigger picture”, in terms of relationship between Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.

This is not only completely unacceptable but   downright unethical and most unfair to Abu Dhabi,   suggesting that the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) is so dishonest and unIslamic as to demand double payments for its US$3.5 billion bond guarantee!

It is most improper for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as the “M01” cited in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic litigation (as admitted by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan) to be in a conflict-of-interest position to be involved in the 1MDB-IPIC settlement, especially as it involved the Ministry of Finance (Incorporated) Malaysia (MoF Inc) as  a party of the IMDB-IPIC “arbitration settlement” guaranteeing that 1MDB would make the payments under the “arbitration settlement” – which is as good as undertaking that the Malaysian taxpayers will finally foot the bill for the 1MDB-IPIC “arbitration settlement”.

In this connection, it must be asked why the 1MDB statement on the 1MDB-IPIC “arbitration settlement” on 24th April  made no mention that the Minister of Finance (Incorporated) Malaysia (MoF Inc.) is a party together with IPIC, Aabar Investments PJS (Aabar) and 1MDB to the arbitration settlement?

This important fact was also totally omitted by the statement by the Prime Minister’s press secretary, Datuk Seri Tengku Sariffuddin of the same date  expressing  the government was pleased that IPIC and IMDB “have resolved their differences in an amicable manner” – ignoring the fact that such a resolution would not have come about without the government guarantee of 1MDB’s performance!

As “MO1”, Prime Minister Najib should recuse himself from being the final authority approving the 1MDB-IPIC “arbitration settlement”, which also involves government guarantee of 1MDB payments to IPIC.

United States President Trump’s government has provided two example of such recusals – Attorney-General Jeff Sessions who has recused himself from any investigation into Trump’s campaign in view of his earlier contact with the Russian Ambassador in 2016 and the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who recused himself from decisions related to the Keystone XL oil pipeline because he was former CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp, which had a vested interest in the pipeline project.

Surely, Malaysia’s commitment to ethics and good governance principles are not inferior to Trump’s administration in the United States?

According to the IPIC’s filing with the London Stock Exchange on 25th April 2017, the 1MDB/IPIC “arbitration settlement” is conditional on the London Court of International Arbitration making a consent award by 31 May 2017.

Parliament should be convened in a special session to decide whether or not to ratify the IMDB-IPIC “settlement”.

(Media Conference Statement at the “Jelajah Desa Bersama Kit Siang” at Datok Keramat, Penang on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8.30 am)

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I will appear next week before the special task force investigating the Bank Negara forex losses in 1990s

I will appear next week before the special task force investigating the Bank Negara forex losses between 1991 and 1993.

The seven-member task force, headed by Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, who is former chief secretary to the government, also comprise Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy chief commissioner Datuk Azam Baki, Police Commercial Crimes Department director Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, Securities Commission Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Ranjit Ajit Singh, Retirement Fund Inc chief executive officer Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad, Pemudah co-chairman Tan Sri Saw Choo Boon, and lawyer Datuk Seri Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos.

The task force, which  was set up by the Cabinet in mid-February, is living proof of the  negligence and irresponsibility of the first degree of the Cabinet Ministers  when they could set up a special task force (STF) to conduct a probe into Bank Negara forex losses more than two decades ago but dare not breathe a word on the monstrous 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal.

For instance, was the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is directly implicated in the 1MDB kleptocratic  scandal, the final authority in approving the 1MDB-IPIC “arbitration settlement” and  who  overruled the Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani who was convinced and confident that 1MDB would win the arbitration case in the London International Arbitration Court  based on documentary and legal grounds?

Did any of the Cabinet Minister suggest that the Prime Minister should recuse and should not be involved in any further decision-making making process about the 1MDB scandal, as the Prime Minister is directly implicated  in the 1MDB scandal?

United States President Trump’s government has provided two example of such recusals – Attorney-General Jeff Sessions who has recused himself from any investigation into Trump’s campaign in view of his earlier contact with the Russian Ambassador in 2016 and the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who recused himself from decisions related to the Keystone XL oil pipeline because he was former CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp, which had a vested interest in the pipeline project.

Surely, Malaysia’s commitment to ethics and good governance principles are not inferior to Trump’s administration in the United States?

Was the Cabinet’s approval sought for the IMDB –IPIC “arbitration settlement”, and if so, did any of the Cabinet sought answers to the teeming questions swirling around the “arbitration settlement”, including:

·       Why Malaysians have now to pay IPIC more than double what was actually borrowed by 1MDB?

·       Where did the money paid by 1MDB go?

·       Will taxpayers foot 1MDB’s US$1.2b settlement with IPIC?

·       Who is buying the 1MDB ‘units’?

·       Is Malaysia fast becoming a rogue state in today’s international society?

After the Cabinet decision to set up the Special Task Force into Bank Negara forex losses in the 1990s, Umno information chief Datuk Seri Annuar Musa announced that Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties will be going on a nationwide roadshow to inform the public about the special task force.

I volunteered to speak at the UMNO/BN nation-wide roadshow on the Cabinet’s decision to set up special task force to probe Bank Negara’s forex losses more than two decades ago, but I have heard nothing about my offer or about the roadshow. What has happened to them?

I am prepared to  assist the special task force set up to probe the foreign exchange losses incurred by Bank Negara more than two decades ago but what accountability and good governance principles are we talking about when we are blind to the elephant in the room  – the 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had brought infamy and ignominy to Malaysia as a “global kleptocrarcy”?

In fact, if the Najib administration is sincere about accountability and good governance principles and not set on a vendetta frolic, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop should resign or be sacked or suspended as Khazanah Nasional Bhd Deputy Chairman.

This is because Nor Mohamed Yakcop was the chief operator of Bank Negara’s forex speculation which resulted in colossal losses which could total some RM30 billion.

Former Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that Nor Mohamaed Yakcop was complicit in the Bank Negara forex losses in early 1990s when the latter was then a senior Bank Negara official.

He said that as Finance Minister at the time, he had asked for Nor’s resignation but this was not allowed.

In fact, I had referred to Nor’s role in the Bank Negara forex losses in my speeches in Parliament on the issue in 1993 and 1994, referring to the massive forex speculation by Bank Negara in the forward foreign exchange market where at its height, Bank Negara’s maximum exposure could be in the region of RM270 billion – three times the country’s GDP and more than five times the country’s foreign reserve at the time!

More than 20 years have elapsed, but Nor Mohd Yakcop, who was the chief operator in the Bank Negara forex speculation in the early 1990s and the person responsible for the Bank Negara’s colossal losses, owes it to the nation and Malaysians to make a clean breast of what he did more than two decades ago – and not just to the Cabinet special task force.

I stand by my speech in Parliament in April 1994 calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the colossal Bank Negara forex losses, with the following tasks:

• to ascertain whether Bank Negara’s forex losses since 1992 could exceed RM30 billion;

• to ascertain whether there had been any financial malpractices and abuses in view of the inconsistencies and conflicting explanations about the colossal forex losses; and

• to establish as to how the Bank Negara could incur such colossal losses.

But what is more urgent and imperative now is a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI)  into the 1MDB scandal.

Is such a RCI into the 1MDB scandal  only possible if there is a change of  Federal Government in the 14th General Election?

(Media Conference Statement at the “Jelajah Desa Bersama Kit Siang” at Batu Kawan,  Penang on Sunday, April 30,, 2017 at 11 am)

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60th National Day Celebrations should cause  all Malaysians to “reset” nation-building direction and policies for Malaysia to compete with the rest of the world and not to fight among ourselves to be more divided and lose out in the international race

Malaysia will be celebrating our 60th National Day anniversary in four months’ time.

It is an occasion for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics, to re-set nation-building directions and policies for Malaysians to compete with the rest of the world and not to fight among ourselves to be more divided and lose out in the international race of nations for development and progress .

Malaysia has performed poorly in the international race in the past sixty years.

The case of South Korea should be a salutary reminder of how far we as a nation have fallen short of our expectations when we achieved Merdeka on August 31, 1957.

Sixty years ago, South Korea was very poor and backward, with a per capita GNP which is only one-third in this country. Today, South Korea is one of the richest, most developed and prosperous nations in the world.

Sixty years ago, any notion of democracy and human rights in South Korea was non-existent as it was ruled by a dictatorship. But today, the South Korean Parliament could impeach the South Korean President and eight judges of the South Korean Constitutional Court could unanimously uphold the impeachment of the South Korean President by the South Korean Parliament on charges of corruption and cronyism.

This is something which is unthinkable under the present the political and justice system in Malaysia, despite the unprecedented international 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had turned Malaysia into a “global kleptocracy” overnight – unless there is a major change in the system of governance in Malaysia in the 14th General Election.

I have with me a chart of the 22-year annual Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 1995-2006, which  shows how other countries have moved forward to become mature developed nations practising the principles of  integrity and good governance, while we Malaysia had stagnated  and worse, gone backwards over the decades.

In the first year of TI CPI in 1995, which listed only 41 countries, Malaysia was ranked in the middling position of No. 23 with a score above the midpoint – i.e. 5.28 in a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean).

China and Indonesia came in at the bottom end, with China ranked as No. 40 with a score of 2.16 out of 10 while Indonesia came in last ranking  No. 41 out of 41 with a score of 1.94.

If Malaysia had made a decimal improvement in the TI CPI score of 0.1 point each year the past 22 years, Malaysia’s present score would have been 7.48, or roughly translated into 74.8 out of a scale increased from 10 to 100,  which would have placed Malaysia in the rank around No. 18 out of 176 countries.

Unfortunately, despite all “thunder and lightning” about anti-corruption in Malaysia, Malaysia’s TI CPI worsened with the TI CPI ranking falling to No. 55 out of 176 countries while the TI CPI score fell below the midpoint to 49 in  the new scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

In contrast, both China and Indonesia have made significant improvements in the TI CPI in the past 22 years, with China improving its score from 2.16/10 in 1995 to 40/100 with its TI CPI Ranking from No. 40/41 in 1995  to 79/176 in 2016 and Indonesia improving its score from 1.94/10 in 1995 to 37/100 with TI CPI ranking from 41/41 in 1995 to 90/176.

Both China and Indonesia are closing the gap with Malaysia in both TI CPI ranking and score in the past two decades – which is a sad commentary of Malaysia’s failure to compete with the rest of the world since our achievement of Merdeka sixty years ago in 1957.

It must be matter of grave concern to all patriotic Malaysians  that instead of addressing  these political, economic, educational and social issues which show that Malaysia is losing out in the international race of nations in progress and development, there is instead an escalation in the politics of lies, hate and fear exploiting the primodial issues of race and religion.

I call on all political parties to focus on how to save Malaysia from becoming a kleptocratic state and getting into the trajectory of a failed and rogue state by restoring  our capability to compete with the rest  of the world – and to renounce the politics of lies, curses, hate and fear, whether racial or religious.

(Media Conference Statement in Padang Besar, Perlis on Sunday, April 30, 2017 at 6 pm)

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Federal Court bans investment fund managers for 10 years

BEN BUTLER, Melbourne and AMANDA HODGE South East Asia correspondent

The Australian

April 27, 2017

Two Gold Coast men involved in a funds management business linked to Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal are to be banned from corporate life for a decade over their mismanagement of Australian investors’ money.

Federal Court judge Jonathan Beach yesterday said he would make orders banning Paul Rowles and Clayton Dempsey from running companies or offering financial services when he hands down a full judgment at a later date.

Mr Rowles is listed in court documents as a director of a mysterious Cayman Islands entity at the centre of the 1MDB scandal, Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund.

1MDB, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, previously claimed $US2.3 billion of promissory notes connected to its investment in an oil joint venture, PetroSaudi, were stashed with BGARF.

However, as part of an investigation into the alleged looting of 1MDB by associates of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the US Department of Justice claims the $US1bn 1MDB invested in the PetroSaudi JV was instead diverted to bank accounts controlled by scam mastermind Jho Low.

The fate of the BGARF money is crucial because 1MDB appears to be relying on the funds to repay Abu Dhabi over a separate alleged fraud.

This week, 1MDB settled a stoush with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company over a guarantee IPIC gave of $US3.5bn in 1MDB bonds, the proceeds of which were allegedly also looted.

IPIC said 1MDB would pay it $US1.2bn by the end of the year and assume all responsibility for the bonds.

1MDB said the money would come “primarily via monetisation of 1MDB-owned investment fund units” — believed to be a reference to BGARF.

Mr Razak’s ruling UMNO party is desperate to spin the IPIC agreement as a win in the lead-up to expected early general elections later this year, with its supreme council insisting the agreement “weakened the US Department of Justice civil claims that 1MDB’s funds were stolen”.

Yet the deal has sparked awkward questions over why Malaysia should repay Abu Dhabi if it has already been paid, as the government has consistently claimed even as it refuses to provide documentary evidence.

The country’s largest Islamic Party, PAS, has called for the declassification of the auditor-general’s report on 1MDB, currently sealed under the Official Secrets Act, with the party’s deputy chief also questioning how the settlement could benefit Malaysia.

At stake in the Australian court case was the far smaller sum of about $18.5 million, punted by Australian investors with Mr Rowles and Mr Dempsey through local and Cayman Islands funds run by the pair’s Gold Coast-based company Avestra Asset Management.

While BGARF and another figure in the 1MDB investigation, Singaporean insurance broker Samuel Goh Sze Wei, are mentioned in ASIC’s filings with the court, the fate of 1MDB’s supposed investment has not figured in the proceedings. Both Mr Rowles and Mr Dempsey agreed to the 10-year bans.

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Mauritius next in line in DOJ 1MDB probe?

Independent

Singapore

April 30, 2017

With reports that the US Department of Justice (DOJ)- which is looking into the role of Goldman Sachs Group’s in raising almost US$6 billion (S$8.3 billion) for Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund – is asking questions about money flowing through accounts linked to Tim Leissner, a surprise might be in store.

That is to say, the DOJ is seriously looking into the money trail that moved in between accounts held by Tim Leissner, the husband of Kimora Lee Leissner, also known as Kimora Lee Simmons.

The money trail, said a source, may lead to an incognito banking institution in the most unsuspecting offshore financial services centre in Africa.

Kimora Lee Leissner is an American fashion model and fashion designer, and her name was mired in the 1MDB scandal.

Her husband, the American investment bank Leissner played dealmaker for three 1MDB bond offerings between 2012-13, raking in $6.5b for 1MDB and $593m for the bank in fees.

‘Leissner and his glamorous wife were guests in San Francisco back in September 2013 when Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansour travelled to San Francisco to open a new office of Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund,” said ibtimes.co.uk.

Now how could a Mauritius bank be involved in the money trail?

Rumours have it that a group linked to Leissner made an attempt to dangle a large sum of money – purportedly in billions of US dollars – into a local bank account in Port Louis city.

The question is whether the DOJ officials and those from the Federal Bureau of Investigation – who have been interviewing bankers familiar with 1Malaysia Development Berhad about Leissner’s network of relationships with politically connected Malaysians – are also looking into other jurisdictions.

In interviews as recent as last month, US officials asked whether money was sent from a Leissner-linked account to an entity controlled by someone tied to the Malaysian government, Bloomberg reported.

More info to come soon.

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Malaysia’s $1.7 billion property deal to cut 1MDB debt falls through

Wed May 3, 2017

Reuters

A $1.7 billion property deal that was expected to ease the debt burden of Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fell through on Wednesday, complicating Prime Minister Najib Razak’s efforts to move on from a financial scandal surrounding the fund.

TRX City Sdn Berhad, a former 1MDB division now owned by the Malaysian finance ministry, said the deal had lapsed to sell 60 percent of Bandar Malaysia, a major property development project on the site of the former Sungai Besi air force base in Kuala Lumpur, because the buyers “failed to meet the payment obligations”.

In December 2015 Iskandar Waterfront Holdings, owned by Malaysian tycoon Lim Kang Hoo, and China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) had said they would buy a 60 percent stake in Bandar Malaysia from 1MDB for 7.41 billion ringgit ($1.7 billion).

The joint venture Iskandar Waterfront and CREC group, IWH CREC Sdn Bhd, said in a statement that TRX City’s termination notice and press statement “does not fully and accurately reflect the circumstances and conduct of the parties in this matter.”

It said the group was reviewing the contents of the notice and statement with its advisors and legal counsel.

Prime Minister Najib had said at the time that the sale, plus other deals, would mean 1MDB’s major challenges were now behind it.

1MDB had racked up more than $11 billion in debt before beginning a restructuring program in 2015. The fund is also the subject of money-laundering investigations in at least six countries.

1MDB has denied any wrongdoing.

“TRX City will immediately be inviting expressions of interest for the role of master developer of Bandar Malaysia, with full ownership being preserved by the Ministry of Finance,” the company said in a statement.

TRX City, which the finance ministry took control of last year in the wake of the scandal, said the ministry would remain its sole shareholder.

When the Bandar Malaysia deal was first announced 1MDB said Iskandar Waterfront would hold 60 percent of the venture, buying the 1MDB stake, while China Railway Engineering would hold the rest.

The Bandar Malaysia development will include a hub for a digital free trade zone and a terminal for the high speed rail connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Last week, 1MDB agreed to pay $1.2 billion to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) to resolve a debt dispute, a move giving a boost to Najib ahead of elections that could be called later this year.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon and Liz Lee; Editing by Jane Merriman, Greg Mahlich)

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Spinning 1MDB’s lopsided settlement

P Gunasegaram

Malaysiakini

2 May 2017

A QUESTION OF BUSINESS
 Desperation causes stupidity to rise to the fore.

Take 1MDB and the way it spins its so-called settlement with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), the parent company of Aabar Investments PJS. There was a dispute and it was settled, but there was no renegotiation. 1MDB capitulated to all IPIC demands.

But this has been spun to give the false impression that all matters have been settled between the two. Ministers rushed to make statements about how the eventual settlement will be in favour of 1MDB and how it indicates that no money went into Najib Abdul Razak’s accounts.

Singapore’s The Straits Times, which broke the news on the settlement, even preposterously reported that the settlement will make it more difficult for the US Department of Justice or DOJ to continue with its actions relating to 1MDB. It is difficult to see how because it caused no change in money flows.

The Straits Times reported that the “successful implementation of the proposed settlement could impact legal action being considered against 1MDB by foreign governments, including the DOJ.

“Bankers and legal executives (unnamed) familiar with the situation believe the deal could significantly dilute the international legal challenges confronting Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration over the fallout from the 1MDB saga.”

The report continues: “…Here is why. The disputed monies in the Malaysia-Abu Dhabi row are central to legal suits brought by the US Department of Justice over the alleged misappropriation of funds from 1MDB. The Department of Justice claims that the funds siphoned from 1MDB went to fund purchases of real estate and other assets by associates of PM Najib.

“The settlement agreement between Malaysia and Abu Dhabi would achieve what is known in legal parlance as ‘no predicate offence’, the financial executives said.

“A predicate offence is a crime that is a component of a more serious crime and it is frequently applied in the US to actions involving the provision of funds for money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.

“Proponents of the settlement between Malaysia and Abu Dhabi argue that a successful completion of the deal would weaken the impact of any legal action taken by foreign governments over alleged money-laundering at 1MDB because of the lack of evidence,” The Straits Times said.

However, as it stands, US$3.5 billion is still missing and in dispute and IPIC says it never received the money. In this case, clearly the main offence is allegedly stealing money from 1MDB and the predicate offence is the laundering of part of this money in the US.

Everything that the DOJ has reported remains unaltered despite the settlement. Its case remains as strong as ever. The DOJ report says that US$3.657 billion was stolen from 1MDB (the main offence) and part of it was laundered in the US (the predicate offence).

Paying twice for same bonds

Under the settlement, despite outstanding issues, 1MDB agreed to pay RM1.2 billion to IPIC and the US$3.5 billion in two bonds are now guaranteed by 1MDB and Malaysia’s Minister of Finance Inc, instead of jointly with IPIC/Aabar before.

That’s a cost of at least US$1.75 billion (half of the value of the bonds) to 1MDB and leaves 1MDB with no more bargaining power at all. And the US$3.5 billion that 1MDB paid to the wrong Aabar – the one suspiciously incorporated in the British Virgin Islands – is still a matter of dispute.

This will be part of ongoing negotiations. “The parties have also agreed to enter into good faith discussions in relation to payments made by 1MDB Group to certain entities,” IPIC’s filing to the London Stock Exchange states.

Clearly this has not been settled, and as MP Tony Pua, one of the most knowledgeable people about 1MDB, had correctly pointed out, by taking over the guarantee that was previously jointly provided with IPIC, 1MDB is effectively paying twice for the same bonds – some US$7 billion in all! That US$3.5 billion, or over RM15 billion, at current exchange rates still remain missing.

This is where Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani comes in to disclose the existence of a letter confirming that Aabar Investments PJS Ltd (BVI) – the one incorporated in British Virgin Islands, is a subsidiary of IPIC even though the Abu Dhabi firm denies this.

“As far as I am concerned, based on records provided by 1MDB to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) prior to the settlement agreement, Aabar Investments PJS Ltd (BVI) is a subsidiary of IPIC.

“A fact which was confirmed by the Registrar of Corporate Affairs of the British Virgin Islands by its letter dated Aug 11, 2016,” Johari told Malaysiakini.

But as far as IPIC is concerned, it’s not and that’s what matters. If 1MDB and Malaysia thought otherwise, why would they let IPIC off the hook by assuming the guarantee in full? And there’s no chance IPIC is going to say different in future. The question to ask is, why did 1MDB make a payment to a so-called subsidiary instead of directly to Aabar or IPIC? Was it to deliberately siphon funds out of 1MDB?

And then Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan said that the settlement shows no money went into the prime minister’s account. He is saying that the money is in the form of unit trusts, presumably because 1MDB, in its own scant statement, said that the US$1.2 billion will be monetised from the unit trusts.

But really, that’s not true at all. The DOJ report clearly shows that during different phases of money moving out of 1MDB and into various accounts, a total of US$731 million came into Najib’s accounts between 2009 and 2013. Subsequently, US$620 million moved back into accounts controlled by Jho Low, leaving a net of US$111 million in Najib’s accounts still (see chart).

In the face of desperation, reason has been flung out the window and the increasing ridiculousness of 1MDB’s assertions, those of some ministers and even foreign news reports which appear to have been taken up by 1MDB’s propaganda machine, is a sign – if that was needed – that 1MDB is still very much in dire straits. And that much is being done deliberately to hide the extent of the problems.

Still, it will continue to haunt Najib and his administration for a long time more.

P GUNASEGARAM says that truth eventually resurfaces despite all attempts to hold it underwater. Email:
[email protected]

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1MDB-linked Bandar Malaysia property deal falls through

Reme Ahmad

South-east Asia Editor

Straits Times

4th May 2017

Bandar Malaysia, the country’s biggest real estate project, is looking for a new master developer after the government made a surprise announcement last night to cancel a deal with a Malaysia-China consortium, saying the buyers failed to meet payment obligations.

In late 2015, Malaysia’s Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) jointly secured rights as the master developer with a RM7.41 billion (S$2.4 billion) winning bid to buy a 60 per cent stake in the project.

The Malaysian government, through a unit of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), was to hold the remaining 40 per cent stake, which has a projected sales value of RM150 billion.

Bandar Malaysia sits on prime real estate in Sungai Besi at the edge of downtown Kuala Lumpur. Its size of 196.7ha is nearly five times the area of the iconic Kuala Lumpur City Centre project that includes its large park.

The Malaysian government had touted the IWH-CREC agreement as a major deal to help 1MDB reduce its heavy debt burden. But the development is important to the government for another reason: It will house the Kuala Lumpur terminus for the high-speed rail (HSR) link from Singapore.

The HSR project is not likely to be affected as development has now been taken over by TRX City, which is fully owned by the Ministry of Finance.

TRX City said its share sale agreement (SSA) with IWH-CREC had lapsed.

“This is because despite repeated extensions being granted, IWH- CREC failed to meet the payment obligations outlined in the conditions precedent under the SSA. As a result, the agreement between the parties stands null and void with immediate effect,” said TRX City. Iskandar Waterfront and CREC have not responded to queries.

“TRX City will immediately be inviting expressions of interest for the role of master developer of Bandar Malaysia, with full ownership being preserved by the Ministry of Finance,” the company added.

The project’s finances and its future have a direct bearing on the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Razak. It was Datuk Seri Najib, who is also Finance Minister, who backed the setting up of 1MDB in 2009.

He was chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board when the state fund borrowed billions of dollars to buy local and foreign power plants, landing the state fund with as much as US$11 billion (S$15.3 billion) in debts at one point.

It was also Mr Najib who announced that the Malaysian terminus station for the 350km HSR link will be in Bandar Malaysia.

To be built in phases over 25 years, Bandar Malaysia will be the country’s biggest transport hub, with MRT lines, KTM Komuter intercity trains and the airport’s Express Rail Link line converging there.

China’s Alibaba group in March said it will be involved in a so-called Digital Free Trade Zone in Kuala Lumpur, with its Kuala Lumpur Internet City hub to be located in Bandar Malaysia.

1MDB’s debts are being cleared, with its power plants sold off to a China company in 2015 for US$2.3 billion. Two weeks ago, 1MDB agreed to pay US$1.2 billion to an Abu Dhabi wealth fund as part of a resolution over a debt dispute.

The cancellation of the IWH-CREC deal has now brought to the forefront again the question of 1MDB’s debts.

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Key lesson of Bank Negara forex losses quarter of a century ago – failure  of Ministers, top civil servants,  MPs  and the press to play their role to uphold the principles accountability and good governance

I am here in response to an invitation by the 1992/3 Bank Negara forex losses special task force for an interview “dengan pihak yang pernah terlibat atau mempunyai sebarang maklumat mengenai urus niaga mata wang asing yang dilakukan oleh BNM sekitar tahun 1990-an”.

I was never terlibat in the Bank Negara forward forex trading and what I knew about the Bank Negara forward forex trading in the early 1990s are public information in my speeches in Parliament on the subject in 1993 and 1994.

Let me state that I stand by my speech in Parliament in April 1994 calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the colossal Bank Negara forex losses, with the following tasks:

• to ascertain Bank Negara’s forex losses since 1992, and whether they could exceed RM30 billion;

• to ascertain whether there had been any financial malpractices and abuses; and

• to establish as to how the Bank Negara could incur such colossal losses.

The Cabinet set up the special task force set up to probe the foreign exchange losses incurred by Bank Negara more than two decades ago but is it really concerned about  accountability and good governance principles?

What is the real lesson for the 1992/1993 Bank Negara forex losses scandal?

Apart from the three terms of reference for a Royal Commission of Inquiry which I set out in Parliament in April 1994 – as we have still to get a full picture of the entire  Bank Negara forex losses in the early nineties – I think the key  lesson of Bank Negara forex losses quarter of a century ago is the  failure  of Ministers,  top civil servants,  MPs  and the press to play their respective role to uphold the principles of accountability and good governance.

The special task force has been described as “exhuming an elephant’s carcass from Dr. M’s era”.

Why are we missing the “elephant” in the room – the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal which has earned for Malaysia the ignominy and infamy of a global kleptocracy?

Or are we to wait for a quarter of a century before we have a special task force to  “exhume” the “elephant carcass” of the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal – some time in 2040?

Have all Cabinet Ministers played their role to uphold the principles of accountability and good governance with regard to the Bank Negara forward forex losses in the early 1990s?

The Prime Minister today, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was a senior Minister at the time, Defence Minister. Another Minister today, the Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Mustapha Mohamad, was Parliamentary Secretary to the Finance Ministry.  And a current Member of Parliament, Othman Abdul was Parliamentary Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Did Najib, Mustapha and Othman carry out their national duties to uphold accountability and good governance principles or  were they responsible for any cover-up of the Bank Negara forex losses scandal?

The top civil servants of the day, who helmed the various important government agencies and departments – did they perform their duties to be loyal to the nation rather than to the government-of-the-day?

What about Members of Parliament. It will be interesting to know who were the other MPs at the time, apart from the 20 MPs from DAP.

Did they play their role to uphold the principles of accountability and good governance?

Did the Public Accounts Committee investigate the Bank Negara forex losses?

I find myself in a most anomalous position today, as if I am in the dock for  my speeches on the Bank Negara forex losses in Parliament in 1993 and 1994, when it should be a vindication of what I said on the subject a quarter of a century ago.

Finally, press freedom.  If there had been media responsibility a quarter of a century ago, giving  fair reporting of what I said in Parliament, followed by fair and responsible investigative journalism on the subject, we need not be exhuming an “elephant’s carcass” a quarter of century later!

Are we making the same mistake of missing the 1MDB “elephant” in the room, with key stakeholders, the Ministers, top civil servants, MPs and the press failing or abdicating their responsibility to uphold the principles of accountability and good governance, preoccupied only with “exhuming” the “elephant carcass” of the 1992/1993 Bank Negara forex losses scandal?

(Statement at the Finance Ministry, Putrajaya on the  1992/3 Bank Negara forex losses special task force on Thursday, 4th May 2017)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 May 2017, 3:16 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia and Abu Dhabi strike a deal over 1MDB

Economist

Apr 27th 2017

A mammoth financial scandal is being brushed under the carpet

FOR the past year 1MDB — a Malaysian state investment firm at the heart of one of the world’s biggest financial scandals — has been locked in dispute with IPIC, a sovereign-wealth fund from the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi, with which it was once chummy.

Terse statements released on April 24th suggest the pair are finally making up.

1MDB has agreed to pay IPIC $1.2bn, reportedly to settle a complaint that it reneged on the terms of a bail-out IPIC provided in 2015. The two companies have also agreed to enter into “good-faith discussions” about other disputed payments, which may total as much as $3.5bn.

Past dealings between 1MDB and IPIC are a focus for investigators hunting huge sums that have gone missing from the Malaysian state-owned company since its founding in 2009. In 2012 IPIC offered to guarantee loans that 1MDB needed to acquire two power firms. But IPIC said last year that it had never received collateral and other monies supposedly due to it under this deal. Instead 1MDB appears to have wired payments to an account held by an unrelated shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands, which had adopted a name similar to that of one of IPIC’s subsidiaries.

Last July investigators at America’s Justice Department said they thought that this ruse had allowed conspirators to liberate more than $1.3bn from 1MDB’s coffers (opposition politicians in Malaysia maintain that the sum lost is in fact far greater). America alleges that former officials from both IPIC and 1MDB benefited from the swindle. They also claim that more than $200m of the missing money went to an account controlled by Riza Aziz — the stepson of Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister — and that $30m went to Mr Najib himself. (Both deny wrongdoing.)

That 1MDB and IPIC are beginning to bury the hatchet is probably a relief for bigwigs implicated in the affair, even if many humbler Malaysians are wondering how the billion-or-so dollars immediately due to IPIC will be found. Although investigations are continuing in America, Switzerland and Singapore, the authorities in Malaysia itself have charged no one in connection with any of 1MDB’s dubious dealings. Mr Najib fired an attorney-general looking into the scandal; the successor Mr Najib appointed concluded that $681m paid to Mr Najib in 2013 was a donation from foreign royalty, not in any way related to 1MDB.

Many voters in rural seats either do not understand the affair or do not care about it. It is rumoured that the prime minister will call a general election later this year, in the hope of benefiting from the opposition’s interminable squabbling. As things stand, he will probably clean up.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 May 2017, 5:21 pm and is filed under
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Broken Bandar Malaysia deal raises questions anew over 1MDB debt’s

Trinna Leong

Straits Times

5th May 2017

The financial troubles surrounding debt-laden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) were supposed to fade away quietly before Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak called a general election, due by the middle of next year.

But the aborted plan involving the sale of a 60 per cent stake in the country’s largest property project, Bandar Malaysia, has put Malaysia’s public money woes in the news cycle again.

The upcoming 197ha township at the edge of downtown Kuala Lumpur has an estimated sales value of RM150 billion (S$48.5 billion) and will house the last station for the high-speed rail (HSR) line from Singapore.

But critics question if 1MDB, in its haste to settle its US$11 billion (S$15.4 billion) in borrowings, failed to select the right partners to sell the stake to. The RM7.41 billion deal would have retired some 15 per cent of 1MDB’s debts.

Sceptics asked whether the consortium – comprising Malaysia’s Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) – had delayed paying the full amount until it could get assurances of being awarded the HSR project.

The speculation followed media reports that the Chinese government had stopped CREC from going ahead with the deal.

Officials at Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance, IWH and CREC did not respond to queries yesterday.

TRX City, a unit of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) that was formerly named 1MDB Real Estate, said on Wednesday that it dropped IWH-CREC as the buyer of the 60 per cent stake because the consortium had failed to fulfil its payment obligations despite being given repeated extension periods.

Opposition lawmaker Tony Pua blamed 1MDB president Arul Kanda for the state fund’s decision in 2015 to sell the stake to IWH-CREC. “His severe error of judgment, choosing the IWH consortium for the purported ‘certainty of transaction execution’, has now caused massive losses for the MOF,” said Mr Pua yesterday. TRX City, which was to hold a 40 per cent stake after the sale, will now hold 100 per cent of Bandar Malaysia as it seeks a new master developer, instead of another joint partner.

1MDB has inevitably been dragged into this deal since the sale was a major move to reduce the state fund’s debts.

The formation of the fund in 2009 was backed by Prime Minister Najib as part of his plan to grow Malaysia’s wealth. But it faced critical scrutiny from the beginning. There was concern when it raised funds from the bond market – at high cost – to buy 13 power plants in six countries.

For many Malaysians, the fundamental problem was neatly summarised by former premier Mahathir Mohamad: “It is not a national wealth fund. How can you be rich if you borrow money?”

He said in February 2015: “If you borrow some money from a chettiar (moneylender), would you count yourself rich?”

The controversies turned into multinational probes over alleged fraud when some US$3.5 billion went missing. Today, 1MDB is in talks with Abu Dhabi’s wealth fund to resolve the dispute over those missing funds.

And reports emerged that US$680 million in 1MDB money allegedly went into the personal account of Datuk Seri Najib, who is also Finance Minister. He denied any wrongdoing.

The Malaysian government has since sold the power plants for US$2.3 billion to a China company.

But the township and the government can expect fresh scrutiny over their next moves. The decision by Malaysia to retain 100 per cent ownership of Bandar Malaysia is described by opposition lawmaker Rafizi Ramli as “not good risk management”.

“Politically, it’s more acceptable in this country that the development is in the hands of Malaysian corporations. Naturally, it’ll be the government-linked companies (GLCs),” Mr Rafizi said. But he said “there aren’t any GLCs that can carry that kind of leverage, with a capacity for capital”.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 5 May 2017, 8:14 am and is filed under
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On 60th National Day Celebrations in 2017, Malaysians should  ask why  in the past few years, they feel shy  when overseas to admit they are Malaysians, when they had   never felt  ashamed to do so for 52 years  under the first five Prime Ministers?

Malaysia will be celebrating our 60th National Day anniversary in four months’ time.

On the  60th National Day Celebrations in 2017, Malaysians should  ask why  in the past few years, they feel shy  when overseas to admit they are Malaysians, when they had   never felt ashamed to do so  for 52 years  under the first five Prime Ministers?

World-wide, Malaysia is suffering the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy because of the 1MDB international money-laundering scandal, which is the subject of criminal investigations and prosecutions in over half-a-dozen  countries except in Malaysia.

In Malaysia, there is a great pretence involving the Prime Minister onwards, affecting the key financial and criminal government departments and agencies, even involving Parliament, that the 1MDB international money-laundering scandal which is making international news  headlines almost  very other day, does not exist.

This was why yesterday I asked the Special Task Force set up by the Cabinet to investigate the  Bank Negara forex losses more than a quarter of century ago whether we have to wait for more than two decades before there will be an inquiry into the international 1MDB kleptocratic scandal.

It is indeed another  international scandal that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Cabinet can set up a special task force to investigate Bank Negara forex losses in early nineties, but is unprepared to establish an inquiry into the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal, which is the subject of the largest kleptocracy lawsuits by the United States Department of Justice against a foreign government.

This is the reason why Malaysians are ashamed of admitting that they are Malaysians overseas, for they know they will be asked further questions about the 1MDB scandal, which they are themselves ashamed  and which they could not provide any decent answers.

Najib should end his grand pretence that the 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal does not exist, and  set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1MDB scandal – which would be greatest news to restore the pride of Malaysians as Malaysians.

The 60th National Day anniversary should be  an occasion for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics, to re-set nation-building directions and policies for Malaysians to compete with the rest of the world and not to fight among ourselves to be more divided and lose out in the international race of nations for development and progress .

Malaysia has performed poorly in the international race in the past sixty years.

The case of South Korea should be a salutary reminder of how far we as a nation have fallen short of our expectations when we achieved Merdeka on August 31, 1957.

Sixty years ago, South Korea was very poor and backward, with a per capita GNP which is only one-third in this country. Today, South Korea is one of the richest, most developed and prosperous nations in the world.

Sixty years ago, any notion of democracy and human rights in South Korea was non-existent as it was ruled by a dictatorship. But today, the South Korean Parliament could impeach the South Korean President and eight judges of the South Korean Constitutional Court could unanimously uphold the impeachment of the South Korean President by the South Korean Parliament on charges of corruption and cronyism.

This is something which is unthinkable under the present  political and justice system in Malaysia, despite the unprecedented international 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had turned Malaysia into a “global kleptocracy” overnight – unless there is a major change in the system of governance in Malaysia in the 14th General Election.

It must be matter of grave concern to all patriotic Malaysians  that instead of addressing these political, economic, educational and social issues which show that Malaysia is losing out in the international race of nations in progress and development, there is instead an escalation in the politics of lies, hate and fear exploiting the primordial issues of race and religion.

 All Malaysians should unite to  “reset” nation-building direction and policies for Malaysia o compete with the rest of the world and not to fight among ourselves to be more divided and lose out in the international race.

I call on all political parties to focus on how to save Malaysia from becoming a kleptocratic state and getting into the trajectory of a failed and rogue state by restoring our capability to compete with the rest of the world – and to renounce the politics of lies, curses, hate and fear, whether racial or religious.

(Speech at the DAP Gelang Patah anniversary dinner in Skudai on Friday, 5th May 2017 at 10.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 6 May 2017, 1:14 am and is filed under
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Call on  Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and region, to be united as Malaysians in the 14GE to save Malaysia from becoming a kleptocratic and failed state

It was always an inspiring occasion to attend a DAP function in Petaling Jaya, which had for decades been the DAP fort in the  political struggle for an united, just, democratic and progressive Malaysia.

What made tonight’s DAP dinner even more significant are two events.

Firstly, the presentation by two of the country’s most patriotic Malaysians on their contribution towards building a better Malaysia at great personal costs  – DAP PJ Utara MP Tony Pua who continues to cause  the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to have sleepless nights because of his relentless pursuit of Malaysia’s greatest financial scandal, the multi-billion dollar 1MDB international money-laundering scandal which had turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy and the PKR MP for Pandan Rafizi Ramli who  had similarly pursued and exposed relentlessly the SRC International dimension of the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal, naming names – individuals, companies and political parties.

But what has made tonight’s event most unique is the presentation of five young Malaysians, of  various races from  both gender, representing  the new cohort of  Malaysians who are equally committed to continue the struggle of a united, just, democratic and progressive Malaysia.

I announced in Gelang Patah yesterday that the 14th General Election will be my last electoral battle, as I had taken part in eleven general elections since 1969.

I have been in Malaysian politics for 51 years because of  the Malaysian Dream to  build a nation where all Malaysians, regardless of  their different racial, religious or regional backgrounds, are united and feel as one  because they are Malaysians and proud to  be a Malaysian, and where Malaysia can leverage on the best of the diverse races, cultures, religions and civilizations which meet in confluence in Malaysia, to be a top world nation in different fields of human endeavour.

But this is not the case. In the past sixty years, instead of heading towards global  excellence, we have become a global kleptocracy.

There are  recent attempts to cause the worst racial and religious polarization in the nation’s history because of the political agenda of certain elements who want to protect their political power positions through the politics of lies, hate and fear by generating racial and religious distrust and animosities in our plural society.

DAP has always  been a party for all Malaysians and we had never a party for any one race. DAP leaders, who come from diverse ethnic and religious groups, never aspire to be leaders of only one ethnic or religious  group, as we  always see ourselves as representing all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region.

We must never give up hope, however difficult the odds, to strive for an united, just, democratic and progressive Malaysia and I call on all Malaysians, regardless of age, race, religion or region, to step forward to join hands as Malaysians to save Malaysia.

This is our greatest challenge in the forthcoming 14th General Election –  to  motivate and mobilise Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and region, to unite as Malaysians to save Malaysia from becoming a kleptocratic and failed state.

(Speech at the DAP PJ Election Fund-Raising Dinner at SS2, Petaling Jaya on Saturday, May 6, 2017 at 11 pm)

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End to 1MDB saga still elusive after Bandar Malaysia setback

Shannon Teoh

Straits Times

8th May 2017

The chief of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Mr Arul Kanda, was last Tuesday personally overseeing the dry run for Prime Minister Najib Razak’s site visit the next day to the Bandar Malaysia development.

Over a year ago, Mr Arul brokered the deal to sell 60 per cent of the upcoming township by 1MDB for RM7.4 billion (S$2.4 billion), one of the main planks of the plan to retire the state firm’s whopping US$11 billion (S$15.5 billion) debt.

But the lavish party to be attended by Datuk Seri Najib and the top brass of the Malaysia-China consortium that bought the stake didn’t happen, as the deal was aborted last Wednesday.

More worryingly for the Malaysian government, another key plank to bury 1MDB’s controversial dealings – a settlement with an Abu Dhabi sovereign fund over a US$6.5 billion claim – still needs a great deal of work.

The past fortnight was supposed to help draw a line under 1MDB’s controversial dealings. It turned out to be two weeks of unfulfilled hopes.

Today, even lawmakers from Mr Najib’s ruling coalition are questioning the accord involving 1MDB and Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), with claims that taxpayers would eventually have to pay billions of dollars for any shortfall.

While most analysts feel that the protracted 1MDB saga would not be a key issue for voters during the polls – expected to be called this year – it may yet undermine Mr Najib’s leadership even if Umno returns to power.

“After the polls, when (Umno is) firmly back in office, 1MDB may become a major factor influencing whether party warlords will move against Najib or not,” ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s visiting senior fellow Wan Saiful Wan Jan told The Straits Times.

This is because, until the 1MDB debts are fully dealt with, the scandal is an albatross around Mr Najib’s neck. There is also the matter of continuing investigations and court action in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, which have hurt Malaysia’s reputation.

On its part, the Malaysian government is trying to paint the setback caused by the cancellation of the Bandar Malaysia deal as a minor bump on the road. Putrajaya is also saying that the 1MDB-IPIC deal is a success as the parties are making progress.

Immediately after 1MDB and IPIC confirmed The Straits Times’ report of their interim settlement on April 24 of a US$1.2 billion loan, the government began talking up the apparent success in erasing some of the liabilities.

“These significant events represent the continued positive progress made by 1MDB, which is nearing the completion of its rationalisation programme,” said Mr Najib’s press secretary Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad in a statement last week.

But opposition MP Tony Pua – one of the sharpest critics of 1MDB – noted that IPIC’s disclosure revealed “that they got exactly what they wanted, the return of US$1.205 billion worth of cash advances to 1MDB… and to discharge itself entirely as guarantor for 1MDB’s US$3.5 billion worth of bonds”.

The dispute stems from a 2015 debt-asset swop which involved 1MDB handing over responsibility for the bonds along with US$3.51 billion it had transferred to Aabar BVI, a British Virgin Islands firm that IPIC denies is its subsidiary.

The Malaysian Parliament’s bipartisan Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reported that the transfers could not be verified.

“Are 1MDB and Arul Kanda telling us that despite having paid US$3.51 billion to IPIC, we still owe the US$3.5 billion we borrowed?” asked Mr Pua. “The only explanation for the incredible situation is that the US$3.51 billion was never paid to IPIC as claimed.”

Malaysia’s Finance Ministry responded by insisting a letter from the BVI authorities confirms that Aabar BVI belonged to IPIC.

But soon, government lawmakers on the PAC began asking questions too. Barisan Nasional MP Marcus Mojigoh from Sabah demanded that the letter be made public. Kedah Umno MP Aziz Sheikh Fadzir called on the Finance Ministry to explain where the payments that 1MDB made to Aabar had gone towards.

Then came news of the Bandar Malaysia deal being cancelled.

Even though there are more than enough suitors to step in, questions remain as to whether taxpayers will again be asked to pick up the tab for 1MDB. The government took back Bandar Malaysia, encumbered by an RM2.4 billion bond and RM2 billion owed for relocation services last year, having sold it to 1MDB in 2011 for just RM1.6 billion.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 8 May 2017, 12:14 pm and is filed under
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How many Malaysians will believe that I want to be Prime Minister of Malaysia so as to  appoint Guan Eng as Deputy Prime Minister?

In the last 24 hours, I came across three items on the social media  in the vicious demonization campaign launched by UMNO/BN propagandists and cyberbroopers in the run-up to the 14th General Election to paint me as a devil, a puaka, even jembalang;  that I am anti-Malay, anti-Islam; cause of May 13, 1969 riots; a communist; a stooge of foreign powers; that I dominate Pakatan Harapan and made other leaders like Tun Mahathir, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Mohamad Sabu into  my stooges and puppets, etc.

The first one was a WhatsApp visual, with the words: “The crystal ball shows that Lim Kit Siang will be Prime Minister after GE14”.

The second was a two-and-a-quarter minute youtube visual “Apa Untong Rakyat Dengan DAP” which demonised me garbed in a communist uniform, accused me of causing the May 13 riots in 1969 and the “power” behind the “DAP-led” Pakatan Harapan.

The third is the accusation that I want to be Prime Minister after the 14th General Election so that I can name Guan Eng as the Deputy Prime Minister.

How many Malaysians  will  believe that my political ambition is to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia so as to   appoint Guan Eng as Deputy Prime Minister?

I have been in Malaysian politics for 51 years and the thought of becoming Prime Minister of Malaysia has never entered my mind.

I am in politics because of the Malaysian Dream, which I believed is shared by many Malaysians down the decades who have undivided love and loyalty to Malaysia – to  build a nation where all Malaysians, regardless of  their different racial, religious or regional backgrounds, are united and feel as one  because they are Malaysians and proud to  be a Malaysian, and where Malaysia can leverage on the best of the diverse races, cultures, religions and civilizations which meet in confluence in Malaysia, to be a top world nation in different fields of human endeavour.

DAP has always  been a party for all Malaysians and we had never a party for any one race.

DAP leaders, who come from diverse ethnic and religious groups, never aspire to be leaders of only one ethnic or religious  group, as we  always see ourselves as representing all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region.

No person can be a Malaysian leader if he or she is against  any one race or concerned only  about the rights and interests of only one community – as Malaysian leaders must set an example of rising above the racial, religious and regional differences in the country to serve the common national weal.

Malaysians who had supported DAP loyally and consistently in the past half a century did so not because they want a Chinese Malaysia or an Indian Malaysia,  as they know that DAP never advocated a Chinese Malaysia, Indian Malaysia or Malay Malaysia, but because of the Malaysian Dream to build a Malaysia where  all citizens, regardless of race, religion or region, have a rightful place under the Malaysian sun.

On the occasion of the nation’s 60th National Day anniversary this year, Malaysians must ponder deep and hard why Malaysia in the past six decades had failed to live up to the promise when we achieved Merdeka on August 31, 1957 to be “a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.

It is an occasion for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics, to re-set nation-building directions and policies for Malaysians to compete with the rest of the world and not to fight among ourselves to be more divided and lose out in the international race of nations for development and progress.

Malaysia has performed poorly in the international race in the past sixty years.

The case of South Korea should be a salutary reminder of how far we as a nation have fallen short of our expectations when we achieved Merdeka on August 31, 1957.

Sixty years ago, South Korea was very poor and backward, with a per capita GNP which is only one-third in this country. Today, South Korea is one of the richest, most developed and prosperous nations in the world.

Sixty years ago, any notion of democracy and human rights in South Korea was non-existent as it was ruled by a dictatorship. But today, the South Korean Parliament could impeach the South Korean President and eight judges of the South Korean Constitutional Court could unanimously uphold the impeachment of the South Korean President by the South Korean Parliament on charges of corruption and cronyism.

This is something which is unthinkable under the present the political and justice system in Malaysia, despite the unprecedented international 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had turned Malaysia into a “global kleptocracy” overnight – unless there is a major change in the system of governance in Malaysian the 14thGeneral Election.

I have with me a chart of the 22-year annual Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 1995-2006, which  shows how other countries have moved forward to become mature developed nations practising the principles of  integrity and good governance, while we Malaysia had stagnated  and worse, gone backwards over the decades.

In the first year of TI CPI in 1995, which listed only 41 countries, Malaysia was ranked in the middling position of No. 23 with a score above the midpoint – i.e. 5.28 in a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean).

China and Indonesia came in at the bottom end, with China ranked as No. 40 with a score of 2.16 out of 10 while Indonesia came in last ranking  No. 41 out of 41 with a score of 1.94.

If Malaysia had made a decimal improvement in the TI CPI score of 0.1 point each year the past 22 years, Malaysia’s present score would have been 7.48, or roughly translated into 74.8 out of a scale increased from 10 to 100,  which would have placed Malaysia in the rank around No. 18 out of 176 countries.

Unfortunately, despite all “thunder and lightning” about anti-corruption in Malaysia, Malaysia’s TI CPI worsened with the TI CPI ranking falling to No. 55 out of 176 countries while the TI CPI score fell below the midpoint to 49 in  the new scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

In contrast, both China and Indonesia have made significant improvements in the TI CPI in the past 22 years, with China improving its score from 2.16/10 in 1995 to 40/100 with its TI CPI Ranking from No. 40/41 in 1995  to 79/176 in 2016 and Indonesia improving its score from 1.94/10 in 1995 to 37/100 with TI CPI ranking from 41/41 in 1995 to 90/176.

If for the next two decades, China and Indonesia improve in their TI CPI ranking and score at their pace in the past 22 years, both countries would have overtaken Malaysia in both the TI CPI ranking and score well before 2040, a decade before TN 2050 – Najib’s chimerical time-line for  another  “National Transformation” of Malaysia, from “bad, to worse, and then worst”!

It must be matter of grave concern to all patriotic Malaysians  that instead of addressing  these political, economic, educational and social issues which show that Malaysia is losing out in the international race of nations in progress and development, there is instead an escalation in the politics of lies, hate and fear exploiting the primodial issues of race and religion.

The  escalation of the UMNO/BN demonization campaign of lies, hate and fear against me is not because I have suddenly, after 51 years in politics, become the No. 1 threat to UMNO/BN government, but an indication of the fear and even panic of some UMNO/BN leaders and strategists that UMNO/BN could lose the 14GE.

I call on all political parties to focus on how to save Malaysia from becoming a kleptocratic state and getting into the trajectory of a failed and rogue state by restoring  our capability to compete with the rest  of the world – and to renounce the politics of lies, curses, hate and fear, whether racial or religious.

(Speech at the Subang DAP Branch  anniversary dinner at Subang new village, Selangor on Sunday, 7th May  2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 8 May 2017, 9:02 am and is filed under
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Najib’s upbeat take on 1MDB called into question

Jeevan Vasagar in Singapore

Financial Times

7th May 2017

Property failure and Abu Dhabi deal leave taxpayer on the hook, says MP

In an ebullient New Year’s message, Najib Razak declared that 1MDB’s “major challenges” were behind it. But critics of the Malaysian prime minister have seized on two apparent reversals as evidence that efforts to clear the scandal-hit Malaysian state investment fund’s debts are in disarray.

A crucial part of Mr Najib’s claim was a $1.7bn deal to sell a stake in a Kuala Lumpur property project to a China-backed consortium. That deal has now collapsed, with questions raised about China’s role in vetoing the agreement.

Meanwhile, 1MDB made an agreement earlier this month to pay Ipic, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, $1.2bn to settle an embarrassing dispute in which Ipic was claiming about $6.5bn.

The Malaysian fund is at the centre of multiple global investigations into alleged grand corruption. Swiss investigators allege that up to $4.8bn was diverted from companies linked to 1MDB,which was set up by the Malaysian premier.

“With the latest collapse of the proposed [property project] sale, the entire ‘rationalisation’ exercise . . . hailed by the prime minister and cabinet has been completely unravelled,” said Tony Pua, an MP with the Democratic Action party, Malaysia’s main opposition group.

The setback for 1MDB’s debt restructuring came when a deal for a Chinese state-owned company to take a stake in the Bandar Malaysia property project fell apart.

The project, which involves transforming a former military airport near the capital into high-end housing and offices, was a centrepiece of 1MDB’s official aim of making strategic investments for long-term economic development.

TRX City, a former 1MDB division now owned by the finance ministry, said last week that the China-backed deal — agreed at the end of 2015 — had lapsed because the buyers “failed to meet the payment obligations”.

China Railway Engineering Corp, which was due to invest through a joint venture with a Malaysian partner, had not received the necessary high-level approval from the Chinese government, according to a person familiar with the matter.

But a crucial factor was the difficulty Iskandar Waterfront Holdings, the Malaysian partner, had in securing financing, according to two people with knowledge of the process. Mr Najib had lost patience and personally ordered the termination of the deal, one said.

IWH, controlled by Lim Kang Hoo, a Malaysian property tycoon, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, however, it said that the company disputed TRX City’s statement, which “does not fully and accurately reflect the circumstances and conduct of the parties in this matter”.

Defenders of the Malaysian prime minister insist a buyer can still be found for the land, describing it as one of the last significant pieces of prime real estate in the vicinity of the Malaysian capital.

“It became clear that a new deal could lead to a far higher price being obtained for the taxpayer — as the value of the land has significantly increased — and 100 per cent government ownership preserved,” an adviser to the Malaysian premier said. “There is no question . . . that Bandar Malaysia will continue. Indeed, the steps taken, and a new developer, will lead to a hugely better deal for the government and taxpayer.”

But Mr Najib’s opponents fear the collapse of the deal, and the agreement with Ipic, mean Malaysian taxpayers face mounting obligations.

Earlier this month, 1MDB agreed to pay Ipic $1.2bn by the end of this year in an effort to resolve a dispute in which the Gulf fund was claiming about $6.5bn. The dispute arises from a 2015 deal in which Ipic bailed out 1MDB. The Malaysian fund was to transfer assets in exchange.

A Malaysian parliament inquiry last year identified billions of dollars in questionable transactions by 1MDB, including funds transferred to a British Virgin Islands company whose name resembles that of an Ipic unit.

“Because 1MDB simply does not have any more substantial tangible assets or cash in its books, the Malaysian taxpayer will have to pay for most of 1MDB’s still outstanding debts,” Mr Pua said.

The collapse of the Bandar Malaysia deal has also raised broader concern about the health of Malaysia’s relationship with China. The Star, a Malaysian newspaper, claimed China had lobbied for “maximum returns” for its role in the project, including securing other deals such as the contract to build a high-speed rail line from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

But Mr Najib’s supporters insist the relationship between the two countries remains strong, with ties at a “historic high”, according to the prime minister’s adviser. “This will be seen again during Mr Najib’s long-scheduled trip to Beijing next week, following President Xi’s personal invitation to his One Belt One Road summit,” the adviser added.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 8 May 2017, 12:28 pm and is filed under
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10 Male Muslim Scholars Who Resist Islamic Punishments

Junaid Jahangir

Assistant Professor – MacEwan University

Posted: 05/08/2017 12:47 pm EDT Updated: 05/08/2017 3:51 pm EDT

Huffington Post

The Pan Malaysian Islamic Party clerics recently declared liberal Muslims as a threat to Islam as they reject the hudud (punishments under Islamic law). They vowed to wipe them out. Such rhetoric is not unique to Malaysia.

Identity politics allows Muslim scholars and their followers in the West to uphold draconian punishments under an ideal Islamic state. Dr. Mohammad Fadel notes that rejecting hudud as “cruel and unusual punishments … would have no purchase among believing Muslims.”

Catering to their religious constituents, popular Muslim academics engage in apologetics to make the classical Islamic position on homosexuality, apostasy, slavery and hudud palatable to modern sensibilities.

They downplay the application of the hudud by arguing that such punishments are impossible to apply and that the primary purpose is to remind people of the enormity of their sins. They apologetically claim that such punishments are rarely inflicted and are often politically motivated.

However, a single death in the name of such laws is way too many. Fortunately, there are many Muslim scholars who resist the hudud without apologetics. Here are 10 such voices.

Hosein Haj Faraj Dabbagh, best known by his pen name, Abdolkarim Soroush, an Iranian scholar and religious and political philosopher, at his temporary office in Tehran, March 1, 1999. (Photo: Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

1) Abdolkarim Soroush

Iranian Islamic thinker Soroush asserts that nothing unreasonable can be God’s will, that human rights do not contradict Islam, that it is not necessary to follow Islamic law to the letter and therefore “a whole series of punishments recognized by Islamic law need no longer be applied.”

In an interview, he expressed:

“Some parts of religion are historically and culturally determined and no longer relevant today. That is the case, for instance, with the corporal punishments prescribed in the Koran. If the Prophet had lived in another cultural environment, those punishments would probably not have been part of his message.”

2) Abdullahi An-Naim

Sudanese Islamic scholar An-Naim is a strong proponent of the idea that we need a secular state to be a Muslim by conviction. Commenting in the Malaysian context, he has stated that any obligation to support the hudud rests on personal speculation. He argues that since the Islamic criminal code is not mentioned in the Qur’an, Muslims have no obligation to support the hudud.

3) Khaled Abou El-Fadl

Islamic jurist and scholar El-Fadl states that the “ethical precepts” of Islam do not lie in “specific punishments.” He emphasizes that the values the punishments seek to safeguard are deemed eternal but not the punishments themselves. Commenting on the past jurists, he writes:

“… they erroneously rendered some of the punitive measures mentioned in the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions sacrosanct and eternal. … But there is no plausible reason to believe that …”

4) Asghar Ali Engineer

The late Dawoodi Bohra Islamic thinker argued that the hudud laws are a product of human interpretation and reasoning and should not be treated as immutable. He wrote of acknowledging the new social context that justifies a revision of hudud laws based on human dignity and human rights.

5) Farhad Shafti

U.K. based Dr. Shafti argues that the penal law of Islam was “never intended to be permanent and universally applicable.” He writes that the laws suited the norms of time and location 1400 years ago but also emphasizes that, “we have to adapt and evolve it as appropriate for the time and the location.”

6) Hashim Kamali

Malaysia based Dr. Kamali, a leading Islamic scholar, has proposed that the Hadith text that calls for suspending the hudud under doubtful situations is not restricted to the evidential procedures in courts. He argues that circumstances of modern society as a whole allow for shubha (doubtful situation) and render the application of the hudud as obsolete. In doing so, the hudud, usually defended as God’s right, would be automatically reduced to ta’zir (discretionary punishment) and subject to revisions based on the contemporary context of Muslim societies.

7) Shabir Ally

Muslim academic and public speaker, Dr. Ally goes against the classical grain and asserts that, “there are other ways” of calling people “to what is good.” Commenting on cutting off hands in a YouTube video, he says:

“… many people would think … That’s the law of God written in the Quran. It must apply for all time. But it’s not so simple. … it would seem that in modern times, when there is so much concern with preserving the human body… it would be out of place to apply such a ruling.”

8) Mohammad Fadel

Professor of Islamic law, Dr. Fadel adopts a nuanced approach. He argues that the since the purpose of hudud was atonement, they could not be applied to non-Muslims or Muslims who do not accept such punishments based on the argument that the “salvific benefits” would not be achieved.

He asserts that prominent Muslim jurists rejected the punishment for drinking alcohol for Muslims who believed that this penalty was limited to drinking grape wine.

9) Allama Iqbal

Like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, 20th century Islamic thinker, Iqbal upheld that the hudud were not essential components of Islam. He wrote:

“… (e.g. rules relating to penalties for crimes) are in a sense specific to that people; and since their observance is not an end in itself they cannot be strictly enforced in the case of future generations.”

10) Nasr Abu Zayd

The late Dr. Abu Zayd argued that the body of sharia literature is not divine but a product of human thought. He asserted that calls for a theocratic state would merely lead to a “devilish dictatorial regime at the expense of the spiritual and ethical dimension of Islam.” On hudud, he wrote:

“In our modern times of human rights and respect for the integrity of the human body, the amputation of body parts or execution cannot be considered divinely sanctioned religious punishments.”

In essence, Muslims should not clamour for the hudud just to fuel identity politics. Likewise, Muslim spokesmen should stop feeding the political passions of their religious constituents.

Islam needs people of vision, not apologists.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 9 May 2017, 10:41 am and is filed under
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Bandar Malaysia fallout: Two relieved of duties, say reports

Trinna Leong

Straits Times

10th May 2017

Minister and 1MDB president are said to be no longer in charge of key projects linked to state fund

The fallout continues over the aborted Bandar Malaysia property development deal, as reports emerged yesterday that key personnel tasked with negotiating the multibillion-dollar project have been relieved of their duties.

Malaysia’s Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani and troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) president Arul Kanda Kandasamy were part of the so-called Budiman committee, a government unit set up to manage restructuring and divestment of 1MDB assets. The Malaysian Insight (TMI) reported that both men and the committee are no longer spearheading 1MDB-linked prime developments in Kuala Lumpur, namely Tun Razak Exchange and Bandar Malaysia.

The news comes after the government’s sudden decision last Wednesday to abort a RM7.41 billion (S$2.4 billion) deal inked in 2015 to jointly develop Bandar Malaysia, the country’s biggest property project on the fringes of Kuala Lumpur, with private conglomerate Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC).

TMI said on Monday that Mr Arul had been removed from his board positions in Bandar Malaysia and TRX City. The latter owns the Bandar Malaysia land. TMI said, quoting sources, that his dismissal was due to “potential conflicts of interest”.

MalaysiaKini news site cited an unnamed government source as saying that Mr Arul was removed because he objected to terminating the Bandar Malaysia deal with IWH-CREC.

Mr Arul told The Star newspaper: “I have not received any official notification on this matter and I am, accordingly, unable to comment on it.”

He noted that the government, which now owns the real estate assets of Bandar Malaysia and Tun Razak Exchange through the Ministry of Finance (MOF), has the right to appoint new directors to the firm.

Opposition lawmaker Tony Pua yesterday called for the government to “come clean” over any conflicts of interest that led to Mr Arul’s dismissal. “Now that Arul Kanda has lost the confidence of the Ministry of Finance, will his role as the president and CEO of 1MDB remain tenable, and for how long?” he asked.

TMI said MOF secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah will manage both development projects.

Tun Razak Exchange in the city centre is part of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s plan to create a financial hub and is under construction.

Meanwhile, Bandar Malaysia will house the terminus for the high- speed rail link with Singapore, expected to proceed as planned. The Star reported yesterday that a consortium led by government-linked firm Malaysia Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) continues to negotiate with Bandar Malaysia, which is wholly owned by MOF, on building the integrated transport hub.

“The agreement to build the terminal is directly between the MRCB- led consortium and MOF and not affected by the developments with regard to the rest of Bandar Malaysia,” an unnamed source told The Star.

Bandar Malaysia was part of a government plan to rationalise 1MDB’s US$11 billion (S$15.5 billion) debt, by taking over its real estate assets and developing them commercially. In the deal brokered by 1MDB, which owned TRX City before it was taken over by MOF, IWH-CREC was to take up 60 per cent ownership and jointly develop Bandar Malaysia. But TRX City terminated the deal due to the consortium’s failure to meet its payment obligations. IWH-CREC is challenging the decision.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 10 May 2017, 9:30 am and is filed under
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Isn’t Malaysia’s new-found infamy as “global kleptocracy” and MACC’s drive  for  corruption to be declared as country’s number one enemy a blatant contradiction in terms?

The Chief Commissioner  of  Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad, who launched the “Anti-Corruption Revolution Movement” (GERAH) two days ago, has said in an exclusive interview  that the MACC had set a three-year deadline for Malaysia to move high up the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

The question that immediately comes to mind is whether the MACC does not expect any improvement in the TI CPI until three years later in the 2020 TI CPI?

The history of  the 22-year annual TI CPI from 1995-2016 shows that Malaysia had stagnated and even regressed in integrity and principles of accountability and good governance in the past two decades as compared to some countries, like China and Indonesia, which had made significant improvements with steady strides.

In the first year of TI CPI in 1995, which listed only 41 countries, Malaysia was ranked in the middling position of No. 23 with a score above the midpoint – i.e. 5.28 in a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean).

China and Indonesia came in at the bottom end, with China ranked as No. 40 with a score of 2.16 out of 10 while Indonesia came in last ranking  No. 41 out of 41 with a score of 1.94.

If Malaysia had made a decimal improvement in the TI CPI score of 0.1 point each year the past 22 years, Malaysia’s present score would have been 7.48, or roughly translated into 74.8 out of a scale increased from 10 to 100,  which would have placed Malaysia in the rank around No. 18 out of 176 countries.

Unfortunately, Malaysia’s TI CPI worsened with the TI CPI ranking falling to No. 55 out of 176 countries while the TI CPI score fell below the midpoint to 49 in  the new scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

In contrast, both China and Indonesia have made significant improvements in the TI CPI in the past 22 years, with China improving its score from 2.16/10 in 1995 to 40/100 with its TI CPI Ranking improving from No. 40/41 in 1995  to 79/176 in 2016 and Indonesia improving its score from 1.94/10 in 1995 to 37/100 with TI CPI ranking from 41/41 in 1995 to 90/176.

If for the next two decades, China and Indonesia improve in their TI CPI ranking and score at their pace in the past 22 years, while Malaysia stagnates, both countries would have overtaken Malaysia in both the TI CPI ranking and score well before 2040.

Let  Dzulkifli  answer whether the MACC expects Malaysia’s TI CPI to stagnate or regress  in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 TI CPI listings, with  the MACC  only confident of an improvement for Malaysia  in TI CPI 2020.

Two  other questions are in order:

Firstly, whether  the MACC  pledge of “at least one corruption case a week” excludes political leaders as indicated by Dzulkifli last Thursday;  and

Secondly, whether Malaysia’s new-found infamy as “global kleptocracy” and MACC’s drive  for  corruption to be declared as country’s number one enemy is  a blatant contradiction in terms, and how the MACC proposes to resolve this contradiction –  whether and when  MACC is going to take a pro-active position on the international  multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 10 May 2017, 3:29 pm and is filed under
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UMNO’s 71st Anniversary “Superlative Achievement” – Turning  Malaysia into  a global kleptocracy!

Double felicitations are in order today.

Firstly, to UMNO for its 71st anniversary and its “superlative achievement” in its 71-year history –  turning Malaysia into a “global kleptocracy” which no UMNO member or leader, past or present, including the previous six UMNO Presidents, Datuk Onn Jaafar, Tengku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir or Tun Abdullah would have imagined possible in their wildest dreams or would have given their endorsement or approval.

In fact, I believe that  the overwhelming majority of the current  3.5 million UMNO members would not have  approved or tolerated Malaysia being known world-wide as a “global kleptocracy” if they fully understand the meaning of the term.

Secondly, to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for an unprecedented congratulatory message by the country’s anti-corruption agency to a political party, asking UMNO leaders to serve as role models to the public in the fight against corruption.

But the MACC  message is noteworthy, not for what it said but what it did not mention  – the elephant in the room, viz. the 1MDB scandal which has given Malaysia the epithet of a “global kleptocracy”!

In his 2016 New Year message 17 months ago  on 31st December 2015, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Malaysians that his RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion donation twin mega scandals had been resolved and were no more issues.

Najib could not be more wrong as the Malaysian government and people continue to be haunted and hounded by the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal.

In the past 17 months, Malaysia went from the third “worst corruption scandal of 2015” by international website foreignpolicy.com to second worst example of global corruption by Time magazine in March last year, second place in the index of crony capitalism by the Economist’s ranking in May, and full-blown “global kleptocracy” when in July, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the largest kleptocratic lawsuits to forfeit US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from US$3.5 billion international 1MDB kleptocratic embezzlement and money-laundering scandal.

There has been no let-up of the incessant international battery and assault of Malaysia’s credibility and reputation in 2017, the two latest 1MDB-related blockbusters being the  co-called  IPIC-1MDB debt “settlement” agreement and the sudden termination by TRX City Sdn Bhd of the sale of  60% interest in Bandar Malaysia to Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) consortium.

It is to the eternal shame of Parliament and the  UMNO/MCA/Gerakan/MIC General Assemblies they had failed to defend the country’s honour and reputation in failing to rebut and refute the ignominy and infamy of being regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy” or to purge and cleanse Malaysia of such international infamy and ignominy.

I do not believe that the first five Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein,  Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah would have stood idly by and done nothing if Malaysia had been regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy during their premiership.

The time is well past for UMNO or MACC to tip-toe around the humongous  1MDB scandal and to end the charade that Malaysia is not regarded as a “global kleptocracy”.

Would both UMNO and MACC act patriotically and courageously to jointly take the bull by the horns to rebut and refute the infamy and ignominy of Malaysia as a “global kleptocracy”  or to purge and cleanse the country of such ignominy and infamy?

Such an action by UMNO would make its 71st anniversary one of the most glorious chapters in UMNO history.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 11 May 2017, 2:30 pm and is filed under
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Call for appointment of an Independent Prosecutor to investigate into egregious abuses of power by Attorney-General and Inspector-General of Police as in the baseless charges against Khairuddin and Chang since July 2015

The prosecution of Khairuddin Abu Hassan and lawyer Matthias Chang under Section 124L of the Penal Code for allegedly attempting to sabotage Malaysia’s banking and financial institutions is among the worst examples of malicious prosecution by the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Apandi Ali to protect the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak at all costs from charges of global kleptocracy and the 1MDB scandal.

In countries which observe the rule of law and uphold the principles of  good governance, both the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police would have tendered a detailed public apology, if not tendered their resignation, for their gross abuses of power.

The charges preferred against Khairuddin and Chang were not only serious, but most heinous – allegedly subverting the sovereignty of the nation apart from sabotaging the banking and financial institutions of the country, which carry a heavy  maximum sentence of 15 year’s jail on conviction.

How can the Attorney-General and Inspector-General of Police prefer such charges without an iota of evidence adduced in court, and what is worse, seeking to use the  anti-terrorism law in earlier  charging both under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA), which would have allowed a person to be detained without trial for 29 days!

The egregious abuses of power by the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police in preferring  capital charges against Khairuddin and Chang, proven by the dropping of the charges by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the granting of a full acquittal to both Khairuddin and Chang  by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today raise a larger question – whether there had been other egregious abuses of power by the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police to protect Najib’s premiership since the sudden change of Attorney-General in July 2015?

An Independent Prosecutor should be appointed to investigate into all egregrious abuses of power by the Attorney-General and Inspector-General of Police, going back to July 2015 when the incumbent Tan Sri Gani Patail was suddenly sacked as Attorney-General and replaced by Federal Court judge Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 May 2017, 4:17 pm and is filed under
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In playing the race and religious cards at 71st UMNO anniversary, Najib has wiped out the credibility of his Vesak Day speech that extremism should be “very few on the fringe”

In playing the race and religious cards at the  71st UMNO anniversary last night, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razaak has wiped out the credibility of his Vesak Day speech that extremism should be “very few on the fringe”.

This is because Najib had given extremism the centre stage when he said last night: “For PAS, DAP is the enemy of Islam, while for Umno, DAP is the enemy of the Malays.”

This is part of the UMNO/BN demonization campaign of lies, hate and fear which Najib had directed UMNO cybertroopers to launch against the DAP in  the middle of last month.

Over the decades, DAP had worked for a Malaysian cause with Malay and Muslim leaders, whether from PAS, UMNO or other parties, including Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Hussein Onn,  Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Tan Sri Rais Yatim, Datuk Fadzil Noor, Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Mohamad Sabu, among many others.

Is it seriously suggested that the three former Prime Ministers, Tengku Abdul Rahman, Tun Hussein and Tun Mahathir, one-time UMNO stalwarts like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzan, Tan Sri Rais Yatim, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, former PAS President Fadzil Nor  and former  PAS Mursyidul Am Nik Aziz had been puppets and stooges of DAP to serve DAP’s  anti-Malay and anti-Islam objectives?

Is it seriously suggested that Malay and Muslim leaders in the DAP  – National laureate Pak Samad;  MPs Zairil Khir Johari, Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri and Dr. Ariffin Omar; Pahang State Assembly Opposition Leader, Tengku Zulpuri Shah; Municipal Councillors Syerleena Abdul Rashid, Mohamad Shaipol bin Ismail, Edry Faizal Yusuf, Young Syefura Othman, Ahmad Irfan, Iza Suraiya Aya Zainudin, Shakir Ameer Mohidin, Jamaliah Jamaluddin, Mohamad bin Samat, Ahzaman Mat Noor, Noor Sulisiah Ampira Wani bt Miswan Alwi; or Malay intellectuals like former law professor Abdul Aziz Bari or former Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim are all anti-Malay and anti-Islam?

Najib wants all Malays to hate DAP and PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang wants all Muslims to reject DAP.

The future of successful Malaysian nation-building will  be determined by whether Malays and Muslims will see through the fallacies and lies of such falsehoods for in our five decades of political struggle, DAP had never been anti-Malay or anti-Islam –  as DAP had always been a party for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region.

The 1.73 million voters or 15.71 per cent of the electorate who voted for DAP candidates in the 13thGeneral Election on May 5, 2013 was not an anti-Malay and anti-Islam vote, but a vote by Malaysians regardless of race or religion in pursuit of the Malaysian Dream for a Malaysia where  all citizens, regardless of race, religion or region, have a rightful place under the Malaysian sun.

DAP leaders, who come from diverse ethnic and religious groups – including Malays and Muslims –  never aspire to be leaders of only one ethnic or religious  group, as we  always see ourselves as representing all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region.

No person can be a Malaysian leader if he or she is against  any one race or concerned only  about the rights and interests of only one community – as Malaysian leaders must set an example of rising above the racial, religious and regional differences in the country to serve the common national weal.

It need not be gainsaid that it had been  frustrating and exasperating  down to decades to be accused of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam when the DAP had never been so, when a DAP MP had crossed racial and religious barriers and  gone to jail and lost his position as Member of Parliament for defending the honour of an underaged Malay girl.

But DAP leaders and members – Malays and non-Malays, Muslims and non-Muslims  – will not bow down  to such extremism whether of race or religion because we are Malaysian patriots and want to see multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia succeed as a top world-class nation.

We are  comforted by the fact that the escalation of UMNO demonization campaign of lies, hate and fear against the DAP is not because after 51 years, DAP had suddenly become a national threat, but because of the realization and fear by UMNO  leaders that UMNO is fast losing the support and confidence of the majority of  Malay voters  because the top UMNO leaders of today have deviated from the principles and objectives of the UMNO forefathers.

DAP leaders, whether Malays or non-Malays, will not knuckle to  the demonization politics of lies, hate and fear but we shall soldier on, for the fulfilment of the  Malaysian Dream  for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

I call on all political parties to focus on how to save Malaysia from becoming a kleptocratic state and getting into the trajectory of a failed and rogue state by restoring  our capability to compete with the rest  of the world – and to renounce the politics of lies, curses, hate and fear, whether racial or religious, to create suspicion, distrust, hatred, animosities and fear among ourselves.

In my message of felicitation to UMNO yesterday, I had said that the time was well past for UMNO to  tip-toe around the humongous international 1MDB scandal and  end the charade that Malaysia is not regarded as a “global kleptocracy”, but to  take the bull by the horns to rebut and refute the infamy and ignominy of Malaysia as a “global kleptocracy”  or to purge and cleanse the country of such ignominy and infamy.

Sadly,  such a commitment was singularly missing in the 71st UMNO bash – which will be unforgettable for the unprecedented splash of  freebees worth over a million ringgit yesterday.

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, May 12, 2017)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 May 2017, 11:00 am and is filed under
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