Pakatan Harapan Ministers and Deputy Ministers must be humble, down-to-earth, approachable, hardworking, clean and honest and be role models of service to people and nation and not to self and family

Congratulations to the 26 Ministers and 23 Deputy Ministers in the first Pakatan Harapan Cabinet  as a result of the historic and watershed 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.

Pakatan Harapan Ministers and Deputy Ministers must be humble, down-to-earth, approachable, hardworking, clean and honest and be role models of service to the people and nation and not to self and family.

This is because we want the Pakatan Harapan Government, whether at national or state levels, to succeed  not  in just  50 days (which we have just passed)  or 500 days but for over 5,000 days  in the great, noble and challenging task of building a New Malaysia to fulfill the hopes of Malaysians who, regardless of race, religion, region or even political party, united on May 9, 2018 to Save Malaysia from a future of a failed, rogue, kakistocratic and kleptocratic state.

We want all Malaysians to re-imagine and remake a New Malaysia which is capable of scaling the heights of human excellence and be a world top class nation in various  fields of human endeavour by leveraging on our unique assets that come from the diversity of the races, religions, languages and cultures that constitute Malaysia.

We want to create a New Malaysia that can fulfill Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman’s Malaysian Dream of becoming “a beacon of light in a distracted and disturbed world” – a showcase to the world of a plural nation which is united, harmonios, just, democratic, competitive, progressive and prosperous!

Pakatan Harapan promised to rid political favouritism and victimization if it came to power.

Malaysians have witnessed how the previous Barisan Nasional regime abused its power to the extent that innocent people – many of whom are today in Government – were victimised; many others became collateral damage just because they happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

While the Pakatan Harapan  government must investigate, remove and bring to book those who were directly responsible and complicit in  the financial scandals at 1MDB, FELDA and Tabung Haji, and other crimes against the nation, as promised in the Pakatan Harapan  manifesto, we must also be careful not to be seen as embarking on the path of revenge against all and sundry, many of whom may have been at the periphery of what happened at these institutions.

It has been said that before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves – one for the victim, and one for yourselves. This is a warning not to embark on a path of  revenge as you can kill the other but you will end up also killing yourself

Pakatan Harapan cannot be seen or perceived to be embarking on any  journey of vengeance or vindictiveness embraced and practicsd by the Barisan Nasional government.

Pakatan Harapan must never give anyone any basis to think that it   is finding any and every excuse, even the slightest one, to get rid of the current crop of leadership at government agencies and government linked companies (GLCs) to replace them with people aligned to Pakatan Harapan. Pakatan Harapan  is different and has to show that it is different from BN.

Lines must be drawn clearly  so that the Pakatan Harapan government is not and is incapable of being suspected of  embarking on a journey down the slippery slope of a whole-scale witch-hunt.

While more details have surfaced  of the massive scandals perpetrated by the previous Barisan Nasional Government, it must be acknowledged that there are also many  people associated with the civil service and the Government Linked Companies (GLCs) who had shown dedicated service, integrity and honesty. We cannot tar everyone with the same brush.

Our beloved Malaysia had been plundered; race and religious relations exploited; and yet, on May 9, the people of this country revolted  against these abuses and excesses and threw the BN Government out. The Pakatan Harapan  Government cannot allow these pernicious practices of the past to take hold again. Never again.

As a country, we have to move on. Nelson Mandela, the world’s most renowned prisoner of conscience, set up the truth and reconciliation committee. We, too, have to have reconciliation in Malaysia. We have to uncover the truth not to seek vengeance but to allow us to  better  build a bright future for our children and grandchildren, without regard to race, culture, religion or language.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 2nd July 2018)

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R. Chander, first Malaysian Chief Statistician (1963-1977) praises Guan Eng for early statement on national debt and stresses urgency of coherent plan to manage Malaysia’s public sector debt

I have received an expert opinion on
Malaysia’s public sector debt by Dr. R. Chander
, the first Malaysian to  hold the office of Chief Statistician of Malaysia (1963-1977) and who went on to serve as the Senior Adviser to the World Banks’ Chief Economist/Vice President from 1977 to 1996. Upon retirement from the Bank, he had served as interntional adviser to multiple international agencies and governments.

Dr. Chander said he was encouraged by the speed with which the Pakatan Harapan government had come to grips with the most pressing issues and praised the Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng for making an early statement on Malaysia’s debt situation.

He said: “This was most timely indeed and most astute: it sent a strong signal to markets and had a calming effect; it told the electorate the mess that PH had inherited.

“At the same time it sent a strong message that the debt situation would impede the implementation of several of the electoral promises.

“Concurrently it provided a rationale for the cancellation/suspension of several mega projects that were to be financed by loans – terms of which were rather unfavorable to Malaysia.

“A good side effect was the call to patriotism that was brought out by the launch of the Harapan Fund!”

The question now is: Where do we go from here?

In his opinion piece, which I
attached below
, he stressed the urgency of coming up with a coherent and sound plan to manage Malaysia’s public sector debt.

[
Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 2nd July 2018
]

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Najib should be summoned to appear before the  PAC which should be directed to conduct a full and comprehensive investigation into the 1MDB scandal when 14th Parliament meets later this month

The 14th Parliament, which is to meet on July 16, must have as  one of its priorities the purging of the infamy of the 13th Parliament in failing to defend Malaysia’s international reputation for being regarded as a global kleptocracy by directing the Public Accounts

Committee (PAC) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the 1MDB scandal and to submit its report within 12 months.

I have said that the PAC of the 13th Parliament had committed one of Parliament’s greatest national disservice in six decades in allowing its 1MDB report to be distorted as exonerating the then Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, from any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal – when this was not the case.

Instead of unearthing the criminality  and monstrosity of the 1MDB scandal, the PAC of the 13th Parliament sought to do a cover-up of the 1MDB scandal  and refused to conduct a fuller  and more comprehensive investigation when the US Department of Justice (DoJ) kleptocratic litigation suit in July 2016 to forfeit overt US$1 billion of  1MDB-linked assets made public a mountain of  new information and evidence about the 1MDB scandal, which was not available when the PAC concluded its 1MDB investigations and submitted its report to Parliament in April 2016.

I am on public record as saying before the 14th General Election that although I had been a Member of Parliament for 10 terms from 1969 to 2018, except for the tenth Parliament from 1999 to 2004, spanning 45 years from 1969, I had not felt so ashamed as a MP than in the 13th Parliament.

I was suspended twice, and for six months each, basically because I demanded answers and accountability over the 1MDB scandal and why Malaysia became known as a global kleptocracy during the tenure of the 13th Parliament.

The 13th Parliament Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia owes the country and all Malaysians a public apology  for the 13th Parliament’s failure to do anything to clear or purge Malaysia of the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy – because his aiding and abetting Najib to virtually ban questions or debate on the 1MDB scandal in the 13th Parliament.

The 14th Parliament must make amends for the failure, abdication of responsibility and national disservice of the 13th Parliament, by directing the new Public Accounts Committee (PAC)  to conduct a fuller and comprehensive investigation into the 1MDB scandal and submits its report within 12 months.

Najib, who is the MP for Pekan, should be summoned to appear to testify before the PAC for a “tell all” testimony on the 1MDB scandal.

(Media Statement  in Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang on Tuesday, 3rd July 2018)

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Najib’s pre-recorded message – what was meant to be PR masterstroke turned out to be a PR dud

Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s unprecedented  pre-recorded message in anticipation of his arrest and charges for corruption and money-laundering was meant to be a Public Relations (PR) masterstroke. But it turned out to be a PR dud.

The pre-recorded message  was meant to touch the hearts of millions of Malaysians to feel sorry for Najib, which it dismally failed to do, as all its invoked was the overpowering sense of catharsis among Malaysians  that a sorry chapter in the history of the nation was finally  coming to an end.

Najib’s apology was no apology, for he never apologised for the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal or for turning Malaysia into a global kleptocracy under his stewardship.

Najib is still not prepared to come clean on his worst legacies for the country – the 1MDB scandal and the tarring and staining of  Malaysia’s reputation in  becoming a global kleptocracy.

Najib had many chances to clear himself but he flunked them – whether in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) investigations into the 1MDB scandal or in the US Department of Justice (DoJ)’s largest kleptocratic litigation for forfeiture of  over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets.

With the mountain of information and evidence in the public domain revealed by the US DoJ litigation, Najib should have set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the 1MDB scandal to prove his innocence – but he failed to do so, simply because this was an impossible task.

Instead, the 13th Parliament aided and abetted in his kleptocracy with the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia banning any question or discussion of 1MDB scandal in Parliament!

Now the chickens have come home to roost.

(Media Statement in Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang on Wednesday, 4th July 2018)

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Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council should revisit  the PH manifesto on dissolution of Biro Tata Negara (BTN)

A news portal yesterday  carried an article  “I’m in favour of abolishing BTN – Kit Siang”, explaining that  as “the desperado politics of fear, hate, lies, race and religion of Umno/BN in the 14th general election (GE14) was the culmination of years of indoctrination of racism, bigotry, intolerance and extremism by National Civics Bureau (Biro Tatanegara or BTN)”, the BTN has no place in New Malaysia.

Based on this article, I was quoted in today’s MCA-owned newspaper report “Decision to keep BTN slammed” of “slamming” the Pakatan Harapan government for a report that BTN was among the 26 government departments agencies that would continue to be placed under the Prime Minister’s Departmenmt in a proposal to rationalise government entities.

Yesterday, a MCA leader also issued a statement attacking the Pakatan Harapan on the ground that Putrajaya’s move to retain the BTN is agains the Pakatan Harapan manifesto.

The MCA leader is right, that retaining the BTN is in breach of Promise 28 of the Pakatan Harapan manifesto which states that the BTN will be dissolved as it had over the years become “a cheap political agent for UMNO”.

However, the MCA leaders should not shed crocodile’s tears over the breach of the PH manifesto to dissolve BTN.

Let Malaysians know whether and when MCA Ministers or MCA Deputy Ministers had ever criticised BTN for its abuses and excesses in the past 14 years from 2014-2018, and if they cannot do so, they should not try to be downright opportunsitic.

Actually, I had not issued any media statement on BTN, as the article was a media statement on BTN controversy which I issued more than a month ago on May 30, 2018.

However, in view of the report that that BTN would be retained instead of being dissolved, as promised by the Pakatan Harapan manifesto, the Pakatan Harapan Presidential  Council should revisit the issue.

The only reason for the retention of BTN is if there is  a total changeover of its objective and operations i.e. from inciting hatred and distrust between the races and religions, undertake a total change of its syllabus and objectives to promote national unity and inter-racial and inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony.

In a recent interview, the Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad called on Malaysia’s young citizens to forget racial origins and think of themselves as “pure Malaysians”.

Will BTN, if is retained, abandon the doctrine of “ketuanan Melayu” and replace it with a doctrine of “ketuanan  rakyat Malaysia”?

In a way, the historic and watershed results of the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, marked the astounding failure of over three decades of  BTN “brain-washing” to promote racism, bigotry, intolerance and extremism, involving a budget of over  RM1.1 billion budget, as it is no exaggeration to say that never before in the previous general elections had the country seen such intensity and viciousness in the politics of fear, hate, lies, race and religion as in GE14.

From a bureau which should be dedicated to promote national civic consciousness in a plural society, the BTN degenerated over time into a propaganda outfit to brainwash civil servants and youngsters into mindless defenders of the Umno/BN regime – even to the extent of supporting a kleptocratic regime!

The only reason for the retention of the BTN is that there is total changeover, where the new National Civics Bureau stop the negative,  divisive and anti-national role inciting racism, disunity, bigotry and intolerance of the past and  instead foster patriotism, unity, inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and goodwill.

Will there be a total change-over in the objective and character of BTN?

This is why I suggest that the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council should revisit this issue.

(Media Statement in Gelang Patah on Wednesday, 4th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 4 July 2018, 3:39 pm and is filed under
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I cry not for Najib, I cry for Malaysia

Former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is entitled to a fair and objective hearing in his trial over criminal breach of trust and abuse of power involving $42 million  linked to SRC International Sdn Bhd – although this was denied to many during Najib’s premiership, especially Teoh Beng Hock. Ahmad Sarbarni Mohamad, A. Kugan, S. Balamurugam or Atltantunya Shaariibuu.

Two wrongs do not make a right, and I welcome the public assurance given by the Attorney-General Tommy Thomas that Najib will be given a fair trial and accorded due process in his criminal cases.

I welcome in particular the respect accorded to Najib by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in allowing Najib to wear his own attire in court instead of having to don the orange-coloured MACC lock-up uniform and to be in court without handcuff.

This courtesy and respect should not be limited to  Najib but should be extended to all persons regardless of their station.

In a video posted on his FaceBook  on Tuesday night, Najib “apologized” to the nation while saying not all of the accusations against him were true and that he’d defend himself.

Time is well past for Najib to make a pretence of apology as he must be truly  frank and honest with the people of Malaysia. Let him state what are the accusations which are true and what are accusations which are not true.

Najib had told reporters that his trial would be the best chance for him to clear his name, after being accused so heavily.

Najib cannot be more wrong. He should explain why he and his government went into denial for the past three years and why he failed to avail himself of the opportunity to  clear himself not only to Malaysians but to the world at large by establishing a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1MDB scandal to rebut the mountain of incriminating information and evidence in the 251-page largest kleptocratic litigation  filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to forfeit US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets and where he and his wife were featured prominently, although indirectly  referred to as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 (MO1)” and “wife of MO1”!

Was  Najib so naïve and isolated from the realities on the ground by his circle of highly-paid advisers and strategists that he did not know that his refusal to clear himself only compounded international perceptions of his corruption and culpability especially as at least ten countries are carrying out 1MDB-related investigations, focussed on possible embezzlement or money laundering?

Najib said in a recent interview that he was no thief. Why didn’t he sue Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad when Mahathir publicly called him a “thief” before the 14th General Election campaign?

Najib’s unprecedented pre-recorded message in anticipation of his arrest and charges for corruption and money-laundering was meant to touch the hearts of millions of Malaysians to feel sorry for Najib.

This it dismally failed to do. All it invoked among Malaysians was the overpowering sense of catharsis that a long, sorry and disgraceful  chapter in the history of the nation was finally coming to an end.

There was no sincere apology, no contrition from Najib  – only denial, denial and denial although Malaysia became a global kleptocracy for over three years.

Listening to Najib’s pre-recorded message, I cry not for Najib, I cry for Malaysia!

(Media Statement on Thursday, 5th July 2018)

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The opening session of the 14th Parliament in ten days’ time should confirm that Malaysia has embarked on the re-building of a New Malaysia with various historic parliamentary reforms and decisions

The opening session in ten days’ time  of the 14th Parliament elected on May 9, 2018 should confirm Malaysia has embarked on  the re-building of a New Malaysia  with various historic parliamentary reforms and decisions.

The Malaysian Spring of May 9, 2018 should not end up as  disastrously as the Arab Spring, and that is why the first meetin of the 14th Parliament from July 16 – August 16, 2018 is very important and crucial in laying the foundation stones for a New Malaysia.

Two weeks after the adjournment of Parliament will be the 61st National Day anniversary on August 31, 2018 while a fortnight later on Sept. 16, will be the 55th Malaysia Day anniversary celebration – and both events are historic occasions for the new Pakatan Harapan government to showcase what is in store for Malaysians to  start anew the nation-building process to achieve the Malaysian Dream for the Malaysia to be a world top class nation and not a basket case of a nation hurtling down the trajectory towards a failed, rogue, kakistocratic and kleptocratic state.

Malaysians who want a New Malaysia must learn the lessons as to why the Arab Spring went terribly wrong, – the catastrophic absence and  failure of institutional changes to build on and fulfill the hopes for the people for meaningful change in their societies.

The historic and watershed event on May 9, 2018 will disappear into the mists of history if  there are no institutional reforms to provide and buttress the changes  needed to fulfil the hopes of Malaysians in the  last general election for a New Malaysia.

Let Malaysians on August 31 and Sept 16 celebrate the adven of a New Malaysia, based on the historic parliamentary reforms and decsions at the  first meeting of the 14th Parliament.

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 5th July 2018)

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When will a Malaysian below 40 years become Prime Minister of Malaysia as some 70% of Malaysians belong to this age group?

In the past few days, an interesting question is whether Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is too young to become Minister, as Syed Saddiq was appointed the Minister for Youth and Sports at the age of 25.

I think this is a non-question as over half of the Malaysian population are  below 30 years of age and there is no  strong reason why the Minister for Youth and Sports should not come from this age group.

This may be the first time that we have such a young Minister helming the Youth Ministry, and Yeo Bee Yin, the DAP MP for Bakri and Minister of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment, at 35, is the second youngest in the Pakatan Harapan Cabinet.

But Syed Saddiq is not the youngest Minister in the world, as Shamma Al Mazrui became the world’s youngest government Minister in the world when she was appointed United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister for Youth Affairs at the age of 22 in February 2016.

She was appointed into the Cabinet  by UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum  after he tweeted asking the UAE’s universities to nominate a young person for the role.

A more interesting and relevant question is when will a Malaysian below 40 years become the Prime Minister of Malaysia as some 70 per cent of Malaysians belong to this age group.

At present, the Prime Minister of New Zealand is 37-year-old Jacinda Arden, the Prime Minister of Ireland is 38 year-old Leo Varadkar and the President of

France is 39-year-old Emmnuel Macron.

The age-group breakdown of the first 26-strong Pakatan Harapan Cabinet is as follows:

Over 90 – 1

70 > 1

60 > 9

50 > 9

40 > 4

30 > 1

20 > 1

The estimates for the various  demographics in Malaysia is as follows:

0-14 years: 27.83%;

15-24 years: 16.81%;

25-54 years: 41%;

55-64 years: 8.27%;

65 years and over: 6.1%.

(Media Statement in Gelang Patah on Friday, 6th July 2018)

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Who made use of who in the 1MDB “goldmine” – Najib or Jho Loh; or was the 1MDB “goldmine” a joint operation by both of them?

The international hunt for Penang playboy billionaire Jho Loh continues.

The latest report is that Jho Low may have left Macau or is seeking asylum from the Chinese territory.

The question that is bugging all Malaysians is who made use of who in the 1MDB “goldmine”- former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak or Jho Low, or was the 1MDB “goldmine” a joint operation by both of them.

In a recent interview with Malaysiakini, Najib spoke for the first time at some length on Jho Low, who was 28-years of age when he first teamed up with  Najib, who had just become the sixth Prime Minister in April 2008, to set up  the 1MDB “goldmine”.

Najib said that prior to him becoming the prime minister or 1MDB’s existence, Jho Low had already taken control of three listed companies in Malaysia and had significant investments in the Iskandar Johor project with funding purportedly coming from certain Middle East countries.

Najib said: “He certainly impressed many including me with his strong Middle-East connections.”

Najib’s interview on Jho Low was significant for its several omissions, one of which was Jho Low’s close relationship with Riza Aziz, Najib’s stepson, developed when Jho Low went to the elite Harrow School in London, resulting in  Riza Aziz  becoming an important member of the cast of 1MDB personalities who underwent a  four-day grilling in the 1MDB investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

According to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in July 2016, the 1MDB “goldmine” was set up in September 2009 with a “joint venture” between PetroSaudi and 1MDB – which was discussed in late summer in 2009 between Najib and co-founders of Petro Saudi aboard a yacht off the coast of Monaco.

The US DoJ kleptocratic litigation stated:

“Although LOW had no official position

 with 1MDB, he had significant involvement in setting up the 1MDB-PetroSaudi

 joint venture. On or about September 7, 2009, LOW emailed his parents, brother,

 and sister:  ‘Just closed the deal with

 petrosaudi. Looks like we may have hit a goldmine.”’”

In his interview with Malaysiakini, Najib said he did not ask about the Equanimity yacht at that time as he was not aware of its existence.

Was this possible?

In its expanded  filings of the 1MDB kleptocratic litigation  in June 2017, the US DoJ referred specifically to the Equanimity yacht when the US DoJ expanded its total of 1MDB-linked assets it sought to forfeit in less than a year from US$1 billion to US$1.7 billion with the total money-laundering involved increasing from US$3.5 billion to US$4.5 billion

Furthermore, a new fourth “”principal phase” of the criminal conduct of 1MDB embezzlement, fraud  and money-laundering was added to the three earlier phases of  “Good Star”,  “Aabar-BVI” and  “Tanore”.

This was the  fourth “Options Buy-Back” Phase, (covering 27 pages and 90 paragraphs) where some US$850 million in 1MDB funds was misappropriated under the guise of paying Aabar to relinquish certain options it had been given in consideration of IPIC’s guarantee of the 2012 bonds.

1MDB borrowed US$1.22 billion from a syndicate of banks led by Deutsche Bank in Singapore to fund these payments of Aabar, but US$850 million were diverted to Aabar-BVI and Aabar-Seychelles, that “appeared to be, but were not affiliated with IPIC and Aabar”.

One of these 1MDB-linked assets acquired from stolen 1MDB funds was the billion-ringgit Equanimity yacht.

Isn’t it true that Najib had met Jho Low after the US DoJ expanded filings specifically naming the  Equanimity yacht as one of the 1MDB-linked assets?  Did he ask Jho Low about the Equanimity yacht which had become international news?

What Najib should do, if he still believes in accountability and transparency, is to make public the number of times and the locations when he had met Jho Low after the US DoJ kleptocratic litigation was first filed in July 2016, and state the substance and nature of these meetings with Jho Low.

(Media Statement in Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang on Saturday, 7th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 7 July 2018, 4:24 pm and is filed under
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What was Nazifuddin’s main agenda in his trip to Taiwan after his father Najib was charged in court on four counts of corruption?

Much ink has been spilled over the trip of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s son Mohd Nazifuddin Mohd Najib to Taiwan and his rendezvous with Taiwanese actress Celia Zhang on a day after  Najib was charged in court in Kuala Lumpur on four counts of corruption.

The Malay Mail Online, for instance, carried an article : “Report: Najib’s son seen gallivanting with Taiwan actress after ex-PM freed on bail”, based on Taiwan’s Apple Daily video report spotting Nazifuddin “dining and drinking wine” with an actress in Taiwan at a steak restaurant in the Breeze Xinyi mall near Taiwan capital’s iconic tower Taipei 101 a day after his father was charged for corruption in Kuala Lumpur over RM42 million from a former 1MDB unit.

The portal said the two were seen drinking glass after glass of red wine in a relaxed atmosphere during an allegedly mirthful meal that lasted three hours, claiming that two bottles of red wine were opened.

It also said the duo were subsequently seen taking a taxi to a massage parlour, before having a candlelight dinner and spending two hours at a bar.

Apple Daily claimed that the two then took another taxi ride to the Grand Hyatt hotel at around 1am, and Nazifuddin went up to rest and Celia then left.

According to Apple Daily, Nazifuddin wrote a Facebook post at 9.58pm the same night to back his father who was charged with corruption, noting that this allegedly took place while he was having a candlelight dinner with the actress.

The Apple Daily report came with a
video clip
 showing brief footage and photos of the duo together, also reporting that Nazifuddin was seen together with the actress after he alighted from the plane yesterday in his trip to Taiwan.

Nazifuddin returned to Kuala Lumpur the next morning.

However, despite much ink being spilled over Nazifuddin’s Taiwan visit a day after Najib’s four corruption charges in Kuala Lumpur, the most important question seemed to have been missed, i.e. what was Nazifuddin doing in Taiwan and what was his most important agenda in his quick one-day to Taiwan – as very few would believe that the whole purpose of Nazifuddin’s quick one-day trip to Taiwan as just to have a rendezvour of wine and food with Celia!

Only Nazifuddin can answer this question. Will he do so?

(
Media Statement by DAP MP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 8th July 2018
)

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Is the failure of previous Najib government to make formal request to Hong Kong Government to arrest Jho Low the same reason why it did not stop the 1MDB scandal in all its four phases from 2009 – 2014?

Malaysians woke up to the shock news in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) that 1MDB scandal mastermind, Penang billionaire Jho Low had stayed in an upscale Hong Kong apartment for months because Malaysia did not make a formal request to authorities there to arrest him.

The Hong Kong newspaper reported that Low and his entourage were “hiding in plain sight” by occupying multiple rooms at the upscale Pacific Place Apartments there.

Four days ago, the Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said that Jho Low was in Macau, as the Malaysian police had searched for him in Hong Kong but he had left Hong Kong when the Malaysian police arrived.

Macao does not have extradition treaties with other countries.

SCMP reported that the reason Hong Kong authorities did nothing to stop Low – despite the Interpol Red Notice – was because there was no formal request for his arrest from Malaysia.

“Hong Kong police have no obligation to arrest, even if he is on an Interpol Red Notice,” the source said.

“The only obligation is if there is an accompanying formal request from the originating country, which there wasn’t.”

Is the failure of the previous Najib government to make formal request to Hong Kong Government to arrest Jho Low the same reason why it did not stop the “the criminal conduct” in the 1MDB scandal in all its four phases from 2009 – 2014?

The “criminal conduct” in “four principal phases” from 2009 to 2014 was stated in Paragraphs 9 – 13 of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) kleptocratic litigation to forfeit 1MDBl-linked assets, which went on to give over 250 pages of details where “multiple individuals, including public officials and their associates, conspired to fraudulently divert” US$4.5 billion from 1MDB through various means, including by defrauding foreign banks and by sending them foreign wire communications in furtherance of the scheme, and thereafter, to launder the proceeds of that criminal conduct, including in and through U.S. financial institutions; where the funds diverted from 1MDB were “used for the personal benefit of the co-conspirators and their relatives and associates” including to purchase luxury real estate in the United States and overseas, pay gambling expenses at Las Vegas casinos, acquire more than US$200 million in artwork, purchase of billion-ringgit Equanimity luxury yacht, acquire the RM120 million Bombardier jet, purchase lavish gifts for family members and associates, including the RM120 million pink diamond necklace, and invest in a major New York real estate development project, and fund the production of major Hollywood films.

Despite such detailed expose of the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal, which earned Malaysia the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of a global kleptocracy in the past few years, Najib as Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister directly and personally responsible for 1MDB, did nothing to clear Malaysia’s integrity but instead launched into a national and international charade that all reports on the 1MDB scandal were fake news and an international conspiracy against him and the UMNO/BN Government of Malaysia!

This is one of the many significant omissions in Najib’s recent interview with Malaysiakini on the 1MDB scandal.

Can Najib answer these omissions now?

(
Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Monday, July 9, 2018
)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 July 2018, 10:10 pm and is filed under
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Three events that foiled Najib’s well-planned scheme of immunity and impunity for the world’s 1MDB “worst kleptocracy”

Three events foiled the well-planned scheme of immunity and impunity of the former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who would otherwise get away with the world’s worst kleptocracy in the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal.

The first event was in July 2016 – the kleptocratic litigation of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from over US$3 billion international embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds.

The second was the victory of Donald Trump and defeat of Hilary Clinton in the US Presidential elections in November 2016, for the campaign that was cranked up by Najib’s highly-paid propaganda advisers to paint the US DoJ kleptocratic litigation as part of an international “liberal” conspiracy (with unpatriotic Malaysians) to topple Najib and the UMNO/BN Government in Malaysia collapsed when Trump unexpectedly defeated Hilary and became the US President.

Najib had studiously presented himself as a “golfing buddy” and “favourite Prime Minister” of Trump, with Najib having a signed photograph of Trump on his desk, and after Trump’s presidential victory, there was speculation that Najib would leverage on his special relationship with Trump to quash or withdraw the US DoJ litigation suit on 1MDB.

But this proved to be futile when in June 2017 (under Trump’s US Presidency), the US DoJ expanded its 1MDB kleptocratic litigation to forfeit another US$540 million of assets stolen from 1MDB, i.e. US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets from US$4.5 billion embezzelement of 1MDB funds.

Najib completely misread the system of American democracy and government – that the professionalism of various institutions of government, like the US DoJ, are not affected with the political change of the US President – a necessary check-and-balance mechanism to preserve the independence and professionalism of different national institutions which is sorely lacking in Malaysia.

The third event was the historic and watershed 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, which brought in a new Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya, and enabled Malaysians to learn of the enormity of the criminality and moral turpitude in the 1MDB scandal, which made Malaysia into a global kleptocracry overnight.

In the 14th General Election, Pakatan Harapan secured 48.3% of the popular vote, while Barisan Nasional secured 33.9% and PAS 16.6% of the popular vote.

However, I do not believe that 33.9% of the popular vote which supported Barisan Nasional, in particular UMNO, candidates would have done so if they fully understood that their vote would be regarded as a vote for Malaysia continuing as a global kleptocracy and the slew of abuses and excesses of power under the Najib premiership.

Similarly, I do not believe that there would be 16.6% of popular votes for PAS if these voters had realised that their votes would be used by the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to prop up a kleptocrat, Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Miniser and Malaysia continuing as a global kleptocracy – scorned and humiliated by the world.

The next five year will be challenging ones for it will afford Pakatan Harapan an opportunity to reach out to the 50.5% of popular vote who did not vote for Pakatan Harapan in the 14GE for they had not realised that their votes would be used to support or prop up a kleptocratic Malaysia – resulting in Malaysia to continue as the laughing stock of the world.

(
Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the opening of the DAP Terengganu Service Centre in Kuala Teregganu on Monday, 9th July 2018 at 1 pm
)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 July 2018, 10:17 pm and is filed under
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Happy 93rd Birthday Tun – Many happy returns to build a new political legacy of democracy, justice and unity as well as Malaysia as an international top class nation which is a “beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world”

Tomorrow is the 93rd birthday of the Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

Let me take this opportunity tonight to publicly wish “Tun, Happy 93rd Birthday – Many Happy Returns to build a new political legacy of democracy, justice and unity as well as Malaysia as an international top class nation which is. ‘beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world’”.

Many have kept asking how I could co-operate with Tun Mahathir when in the past, for the best part of my 53 years in politics, we had been at loggerheads – for instance, with me in the Opposition while Mahathir was the fourth Prime Minister for 22 years from 1981 to 2003. I was even detained for 18 months with Guan Eng under the Internal Security Act during Operation Lalang from October 1987 to April 1989.

Malaysia was placed in unparalleled peril under the sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, with Malaysians ashamed to admit that they are Malaysians in the international arena because of the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of becoming a global kleptocracy as a result of Najib’s international 1MDB money-laundering scandal, hurtling in the trajectory towards a failed, rogue, kakistocratic and kleptocratic state.

Could Malaysia be saved from Najib in the 14th General Election?

Nobody could be sure but a supreme effort had to be mounted, for we believe that Malaysians who want a clean, just, free, democratic and united Malaysia are more patriotic than Malaysians who are prepared to see Malaysia go down the drain to become a failed, rogue, kakistocratic and kleptocratic state.

Hence the formation of Pakatan Harapan, with Tun Mahathir Mohamad as the Prime Minister-designate with the pledge as contained in the Pakatan Harapan 14GE Manifesto to save and build a New Malaysia.

On 14GE Polling Day on May 9, Malaysians did what was thought the impossible, and the whole world noticed that in an era when democray worldwide is in decline, Malaysians have returned to the world stage to provide hope and leadership to reclaim democracy as the best form of government for the ordinary people as compared to the elites.

In the process, all political leaders and even Malaysians have a lot to learn from both the successes and mistakes of nation-building in the past six decades – whether Mahathir, Anwar Ibrahim or even myself as we have to be more sensitive and sensible with regard to the legitimate aspirations of all Malaysians.

Pollster Merdeka Centre estimated that 95% of the Chinese voted for Pakatan Harapan while 35-40% of Malays voted Barisan Nasional, another 30-33% supported PAS, and the remaining 25-30% picked Pakatan Harapan. For Indian voters, 70-75% of them supported Pakatan Harapan.

Did the 95% of the Chinese voted for a Chinese Malaysia when they voted for Pakatan Harapan so they could bully or dominate other races in the country?

Of course not. They voted for a Malaysia where all Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans or Orang Aslis, could have a better quality of life, human dignity, freedom, democracy and good governance where there is no corruption and abuses of power and a Malaysia which is admired and respected by the world.

There are Malaysians who sing the Negaraku but want Malaysians to be more polarised according to race and religion. These are the people who suffer a major defeat in the 14GE.

We want Malaysians who not only sing Negaraku but live in the spirit of the National Anthem to ensure “Rakyat hidup Bersama dan Maju”.

We must reject irresponsible political opportunists who thrive only on racial hatred and distrust – inciting the Malays to hate the Chinese or urging the Chinese to distrust the Malays, completely forgetting the National Anthem that “Negaraku, Tanah tumpahnya darahku, Rakyat hidup bersatu dan maju”.

Corruption, abuse of power and the 1MDB scandal were major issues in the 14GE.

I do not believe that the 35-40% of Malays who voted for Barisan Nasional and the 30-33% who supported PAS in the 14GE wanted to vote for kleptocracy, abuses and excesses of power as well as the various forms of injustices and oppression under Najib’s premiership.

If the general election is now held after the truth about t1MDB scandal and other mini-1MDB-like corruption in MARA, FELDA and other public bodies have become widely known, the majority of Malay voters would have supported Pakatan Harapan to fight kleptocracy and to ensure that Malaysia stands for clean and honest government and not a corrupt and decadent government – and UMNO/BN would not have secured 35-40% of the Malay votes or PAS won 30-33% of the Malay votes.

Today is the 60th day of the new Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya. There is no honeymoon for the Pakaran Harapan Ministers and Deputy Ministers for they must work from the very beginning to fulfil the promises of a New Malaysia, as Pakatan Harapan does not intend to be a one-term government in Putrajaya, but to be able to continue the work to build a New Malaysia in the 15th and 16th General Elections.

(
Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the Kelantan DAP Hari Raya Aidilfitri Open House at Kota Bharu on Monday, July 9, 2018 at 8 pm
)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 July 2018, 9:21 am and is filed under
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Anthony Loke is the DAP Parliamentary Leader in 14th Parliament

Let me start by correcting the introduction just now. I was the DAP parliamentary leader when the DAP was in opposition in the 13th Parliament, but not the DAP Parliamentary Leader in the 14th Parliament.

By convention, the Prime Minister is the Leader of the House of Parliament, and in a governing coalition, the respective party parliamentary leaders will come from the senior party leaders.

The DAP Central Executive Committee has decided that the DAP Parliamentary Leader in the 14th Parliament will be the DAP National Organising Secretary Anthony Loke.

I will be a backbencher in Parliament for the first time since I was elected MP for Bandar Melaka in 1969.

My visit to Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang in the last two days is to announce an important political initiative, in declaring Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang Perlis as the DAP’s new and third “Front-Line States” to bring about unity, justice, freedom and democracy in Malaysia.

During our visit to Kampong Anggek in Gua Musang yesterday, some 1,150 Orang Asli members handed in their membership applications forms to set up eight new wholly Orang Asli branches.

During the visit to Terengannu and Kelantan, membership applications for the formation of eight wholly Orang Asli branches, one wholly Malaysian Thai branch and 14 other branches were set up.

The objective of the DAP’s new and third “Front Line States of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perlis” is to ensure that these four states will also be governed by Pakatan Harapan as is presently the case with the Federal Government of Malaysia.

In this objective we will work closely with the other three Pakatan Harapan parties.

(
Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at a meeting with DAP Cameron Highlands members at Tanah Rata on Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at 9 pm
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                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 July 2018, 9:27 pm and is filed under
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Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perlis will be the DAP’s new and third “front-line states” to bring about unity, justice, freedom and democracy in Malaysia

When DAP announced Penang as the “front-line state” in the battle for unity, justice, freedom and democracy in Malaysia, it took us 20 years before we could accomplish the mission in the 2008 General Elections when DAP led and formed the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Penang.

UMNO/Barisan Nasional did their worst in the past decade resorting to the politics of race, religion, fear, hatred and lies in particular to create the impression that the so-called “Chinese DAP” Penang State Government were oppressing and persecuting the Malays and Islam in Penang.

While the UMNO/BN campaign of lies had some effect outside Penang in Malaysia, becaue of ignorance, the people of Penang in particular the Malays in Penang knew better.

This is why Gerakan and MCA continued to be completely wiped out in the 2008, 2013 and 2018 General Elections, unable to win even a single State Assembly seat in Penang.

UMNO in Penang did not do very much better. From 11 State Assembly seats in the 2008 GE, UMNO was reduced to 10 seats in the 2013 GE and further slashed to two seats in the 2018 GE.

In fact, in the 2018GE, UMNO in Penang failed to gain support and lost about 10 per cent of Malay popular vote.

How could UMNO perform so badly in the 2018 GE, losing eight of the 10 State Assembly seats and even losing 10 per cent of Malay popular vote, if UMNO had conducted an honest and sincere campaign based on truth and facts instead of indulging in a campaign of lies about the Malays and Islam in Penang being oppressed and persecuted?

In 2013, when DAP announced Johore as the new “front line state” in the DAP struggle for unity, justice, freedom and democracy in Malaysia, UMNO/BN leaders regarded it as a joke as it seemed a “mission impossible”.

This is because Johore had always been regarded as the strongest UMNO/BN state in Malaysia, acquiring an air of invincibility to the extent that in the 2008GE, UMNO/BN campaigned on the basis of making Johore a zero opposition state.

However, the stars were kind to DAP and Pakatan Harapan, and in the 2018 GE, the impossible happened, and Pakatan Harapan toppled UMNO/BN not only in Malaysia but also in Johore.

Now we are embarked on a third historic mission – as we are declaring Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perlis as the third and new “front-line states” in the further pursuit of the DAP for unity, justice, freedom and democracy for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

DAP has State Assembly members in Pahang but none in Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis.

The third phase of the DAP “front line” campaign in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perlis will be more difficult and more formidable than our two earlier “frontline state” campaigns in Penang and Johore but the DAP is a party for all Malaysians throughout the country, regardless of race, religion or region.

We will co-operate with the other three Pakatan Harapan parties to ensure that we can succeed in ensuring that we not only have a Pakatan Harapan Federal Government, but also Pakatan Harapan state governments in Kelantan, Teregganu, Pahang and Perlis in future.

This is why I am visiting Terengganu and Kelantan, and I am glad to see the surge of support from the people, causing a new political spectacle – with the formation of four new branches in Terengganu and 17 new branches in Kelantan after the 14GE with membership from all racial and religious groups in Malaysia.

(
Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at the meeting of new DAP members in Gua Musang on Tuesday July 10, 2018 at 1 pm
)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 July 2018, 9:22 pm and is filed under
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Orang Aslis awaiting a by-election in Cameron Highlands to demonstrate their political awakening like the Malay, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans in the 14GE to demand for a New Malaysia of justice, integrity, freedom and democracy

Pakatan Harapan candidate for Cameron Highlands, M. Manogaran, has filed an election petition to nullify the outcome of the election result for Cameron Highlands – alleging that eventual victor C Sivaraajh of MIC had bribed and threatened voters.

Manogaran lost Cameron Highlands by just 597 votes in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.

Cameron Highlands is the parliamentary constituency with the largest percentage of Orang Asli voters, constituting over 20 per cent of the electorate – even more than the number of Indian voters, although less than the Malay and Chinese voters.

Orang Aslis in Cameron Highlands are awaiting a by-election to demonstrate their political awakening like the Malay, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans the historic and watershed 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 to demand for a New Malaysia of justice, integrity, freedom and democracy!

I am confident that Manogaran will have an excellent chance of being elected Member of Parliament for Cameron Highlands, as for the past two months, the Pakatan Harapan Government in Putrajaya has highlighted the enormity of deceit and crime by the UMNO/BN Government against the rights and interests of the ordinary Malaysians, not just in the global kleptocracy of the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal, but in mini-1MDB scandals whether affecting Felda, Mara, Tabung Haji, etc.

I received an education on corruption during my dialogue with the Orang Aslis in Pos Sinduret from 14 villages in Sinderut as well as Pos Manson as I first heard of “roti canai” roads, i.e. substandard roads because of poor workmanship and corruption as the new roads rapidly deteriorate as there was only a thin film of cement on top to hide the shoddy work.

I can give an undertaking that there no “roti canai” roads will be constructed in Orang Asli areas in Cameron Highliands, as we will report these forms of fraud and corruption to the Public Works Minister, Baru Bian and the the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for action to be taken against the tricksters, and those guilty would be charged in court and pay the penalties for such corruption.

I am confident that Manogaran will perform better if there is a by-election in Cameron Highlands.

Manogaran secured 68 Orang Ali votes among the 14 Orang Asli villages in Sinderut in the 2013 General Elections, which increased to 268 votes in the 14th GE. Let us work to increase the Orang Asli vote for Manogaran in Sinderut to 668 or 768 votes if there is a by-election, as this would go a long way to turnaround Manogaran’s 597-vote defeat in the 14GE to victory.

(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang at a gathering of Orang Aslis at Pos Sinderut, Cameron Highlands on Wednesday, July 11, 2018 at 4 pm)

After six decades of nation-building, it is time that the Orang Aslis cease to be a forgotten community in Malaysia. What they need are proper roads, water and electricity, schools and easy access to medical care, housing as well as decent jobs and protection of their customary land rights.

It is time that Orang Aslis cease to be “fixed deposits” for UMNO/Barisan Nasional in every general election and for them to stand up like the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans have done in the 14th General Election, to demand a New Malaysia of Justice, Integrity, Freedom and Democracy in any by-election in Cameron Highlands.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 July 2018, 10:51 pm and is filed under
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Richard Malanjum’s belated appointment as Chief Justice – the first from Sabah/Sarawak – an important milestone to restore constitutional integrity and propriety and to promote national unity

The belated appointment of Richard Malunjum as Chief Justice – the first from Sabah/Sarawak – is an important milestone to restore constitutional integrity and propriety as well as to promote national unity.

Exactly a year ago on July 14, 2017, at a DAP Dinner at Eastwood Valley in Miri, I had called for the appointment of Malanjukm as Chief Justice of Malaysia.

I had said that it must be a matter of grave concern to all patriotic Malaysians that the integrity and sanctity of the Malaysian Constitution was receiving less and less respect from the powers-that-be – the latest example being the illegal and unconstitutional extension of the tenures of Tan Sri Raus Sharif and Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin as Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President on August 3 and Sept. 27, 2017 respectively.

I said that the extension of the tenures of Raus and Zulkefli were not only unconstitutional, but would affect the promotional opportunities and prospects of at least eight Federal Court judges, including three women.

The most glaring injustice of the unconstitutional extensions will be the denial of the opportunity of Tan Sri Richard Malanjum as the first Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak to be appointed as Chief Justice of Malaysia.

Malanjum was in fact the most senior Federal Court judge in the country, more senior than both Raus and Zulkefli.

Malanjum is the first Sabah bumiputra to be appointed a High Court judge, and the first Sabahan to be elevated as a Judge of the Court of Appeal and Federal Court , the apex court of the country, in 2005 at the age of 52.

On 26th July 2006, for the first time since the formation of Malaysia, Malanjum became the first Sabahan to be elevated as fourth Chief Judge of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak, as the post was previously held by a British, Peninsular Malaysian and Sarawak judge respectively.

Malanjum is a more senior Federal Court judge than Raus and Zulkefli by six years, as both Raus and Zulkefli were only elevated as Federal Court judges in September 2011.

It is relevant for Malaysians to ask who were evil genius in causing the Najib premiership to commit one of its worst decisions by trifling with the sanctity, legitimacy and propriety with the Malaysian Constitution by coming up with the new-fangled interpretation of the Malaysian Constitution to justify the unconstitutional appointment of Raus and Zulkefli as the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal President respectively.

Will the evil genius who came up with such new-fangled construction and interpretation of the Malaysian Constitution please identity yourselves, as nobody would believe that Najib had thought of them himself?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 12th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 July 2018, 10:53 pm and is filed under
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Its toxic Najibism gone mad – the wild allegation that Pakatan Harapan Government is adopting the DAP’s Christianisation agenda when there is no such DAP agenda in the first place

It is toxic Najibism gone mad – the wild allegation that Pakatan Harapan Government is adopting the DAP’s Christianisation agenda when there is no such DAP agenda in the first place.

Malaysians are reminded of the other toxic Najibisms at recent UMNO General Assemblies and in the run-up to the 14th General Election – 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 and Mohamad Sabu into my stooges and puppets; that I want to be Prime Minister, etc.

I have been in Malaysian politics for 53 years and the thought of becoming Prime Minister of Malaysia has never entered my mind.

Now, the toxic Najibism “gone mad”” has come up with the latest wild allegation, that the Pakatan Harapan Government is adopting the DAP’s Christianisation agenda when for the past 53 years, no such Christian agenda had ever been raised in any DAP meetings, including the DAP National Congress.

Toxic Najibism “gone mad”” is at its most ludicrous when it could use the appointment of Lim Guan Eng as Finance Minister, Gobind Singh Deo as Minister for Communications and Multimedia and Richard Malanjum as Chief Justice as proof of a non-existing DAP’s Christianisation agenda, which is as wild, ludicrous and irresponsible as the claim by a PAS national leader that the appointment of Richard Malanjum as Chief Justice, Liew Vui Keong as de facto Law Minister and Tommy Thomas as Attorney-general have sparked restlessness among Muslims.

Those who spread the lies that DAP has a Christianisation agenda are mischief makers who want Malaysia to fail as a nation. It really beggars belief that DAP and I want to do away with Islam as the official religion and bring about a Christian Malaysia, when I am not even a Christian!

DAP’s position on Islam as the official religion is clear and unequivocal, as we have many a time expressed full support for the basic constitutional provisions in the country.

It has always been my life-long political creed that no responsible political movement in Malaysia can be against any race or religion, that we must not be anti-Malay, anti-Chinese or anti-Indian, anti-Kadazan or anti-Iban, but must be pro-Malaysian and support the basic rights and interests of all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics.

The 14th General Election saw UMNO resorting to a vicious and toxic politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies, utterly reckless of its divisive, provocative and polarizing character to tear asunder a fragile plural society comprising of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures!

But there is hope for the future and the success of the Malaysian nation, as the 14GE saw the political awakening of the Malaysian voters, including Malay voters, resulting in the diminution of UMNO from a party with Malay majority support into one with minority Malay support.

I have no doubt that if toxic Najibism “gone mad” continues to be the dominant force in UMNO, it will see a further dwindling of Malay support in the coming years – as I do not believe Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban, want Malaysia to return to the old politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies just to prop up kleptocracy in Malaysia!

(
Media statement by Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Friday, 13th July 2018
)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 July 2018, 7:26 am and is filed under
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UMNO must learn the right lessons from DAP just as DAP must learn from the lessons of UMNO’s fall from a political party with clear-cut majority support of the Malays into a party securing only  minority Malay support

Those who fancy themselves as the saviours of UMNO after UMNO’s historic defeat in the May 9, 2018 general elections, which reduced UMNO from a party enjoying clear-cut majority support of the Malays for 69 years since its formation into a party securing only minority Malay support, must draw the right lessons from DAP just as DAP must learn the lessons of UMNO’s fall from grace in the Malaysian political arena.

One of these “saviours”” has urged UMNO to emulate DAP although he immediately proceeded to distort the DAP’s objectives to resort to the politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies which had failed so miserably in the 14GE – and  which is the very opposite of what the DAP had been doing for five decades.

UMNO “saviours” must  learn the right lessons from the DAP’s political struggle for Malaysia to become a top world-class nation and not draw the wrong and wildly bizarre lessons which only exist in the fevered imagination of cranks and opportunists!

But even more important, learn the lessons of UMNO’s fall from a political party with clear-cut majority support of the Malay into a party securing only minority Malay support  –  lessons which are also useful and relevant to DAP and Pakatan Harapan leaders to serve as a warning as to the fate that awaits them if they fail to live up to the hopes and expectations of the people in the 14th General Election.

Talking about the lessons of UMNO’s fall from grace, I am reminded of  two images from past UMNO history.

Firstly, when the late Tunku Abdul Rahman took over the UMNO leadership from Onn Jaafar in 1951, the party had no money, and Tunku sold his house in Penang to fund the running of UMNO.

Sixty-seven years later, we do not have an UMNO President who had to sell his house to fund the running of UMNO, but instead, there was the international spectacle of hundreds of boxes of designer handbags and dozens of bags filled with cash and jewellery among the items taken away by police in raids at properties linked to the former Prime Minister’s family – which contained RM114 million in cash in 26 currencies and Birkin handbags each worth up to hundreds of thousands of dollars!

A recent video of the five “First Ladies” in world history who had notoriously squandered the people’s wealth is making the rounds in social media – with Rosmah Mansor, wife of Najib, ranked together with Asma al-Assad, wife of President of Syria; Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe; Marie Antoinette, Queen of France in the 18th century whose opulence and extravagance triggered the French Revolution and Imelda Marcos, wife of President Marcos of Philippines.

At the end of May, the South China Morning Post published an article entitled “”Five leaders’ wives and their obscene shopping habits, from Rosmah Mansor and Grace Mugabe to Marie Antoinette”.

The second example is the ”swimming pool” story oft told by Najib’s brother, Nazir,  as in the following article “Remembering my father, Tun Razak” in the Star on 14th January 2014:

“I recall the time when my brothers and I approached him one evening and asked that a swimming pool be built at Seri Taman, the Prime Minister’s residence where we lived.

“The lawyer that he was, he insisted that we make our case with logical and rational arguments.

“We did so, and thought we had presented the argument pretty well, until we noticed his face had started to darken, and the eyes flashed with annoyance.

“My father made it abundantly clear that while Seri Taman may be our home, the house belonged to the Government and, hence, to the people.

“Anything spent on it would have to come from public funds; and there was no way he was going to allow the state coffers to be depleted on something as frivolous as a swimming pool. “’What will the people think?’” he thundered.”

Ï have no doubt that Tun Razak would have been horrified by the 1MDB money-laundering scandal, and doubly so, that his son has brought the good name and standing of Malaysia to the depths of a “global kleptocracy”!

Can UMNO leaders learn the real reasons for  the fall of UMNO from a great party 60 years ago into such a parlous and pathetic state today, where to be a leader and member of UMNO is no longer a matter of pride and patriotism but a badge of infamy and betrayal to the race and nation?

Will there be anyone in UMNO who dare to bell the cat to end its long-standing  denial by adopting a  categorical and no-nonsense motion to denounce the 1MDB scandal and Malaysia’s dishonour as a global kleptocracy?

Do this first, instead of laying claim to the RM116.7 million in funds from Najib recently seized by the Malaysian police.

Will UMNO make an inventory from all UMNO leaders, individuals, divisions and branches on the amounts of the 1MDB monies they had received from Najib, come clean and donate whatever “dirty money” they had received from Najib from 1MDB to Tabung Harapan Malaysia to help pay the trillion-ringgit national debt?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Saturday, 14th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 July 2018, 12:20 pm and is filed under
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Najib is up to no good at the opening of Parliament

The statement  issued by Datuk Seri Najib Razak addressed to the Minister for Human Resources, M. Kulasegaran not to blame him if Pakatan Harapan can’t decide on the Parliament Speaker is the best tell-tale sign that the former Prime Minister is up to no good at the opening of Parliament.

I thank those who had mistakenly  congratulated me as the new Speaker of Parliament – as I will be a backbencher and not Speaker.

But there is no problem with the Pakatan Harapan deciding on the Parliament Speaker, as the primary challenge of the 14th Parliament is to take the steps to become a world-class Parliament, recognised by Parliaments in the world for its parliamentary reform and innovation, and not an infamous  Parliament of a global kleptocracy.

I have no doubt that with the new Speaker of Parliament, Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof  the 14th Parliament can fulfill its promise and potential to be a world-class Parliament for reform and innovation.

Under Ariff, Malaysians will have a Parliament they can feel proud – a Parliament which understands the Malaysian Dream of all Malaysians and not one which is like the traditional three monkeys with eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouth that speaks not.

Najib probably thought that the opening of Parliament is the first and best time  after the ignominious UMNO/BN defeat in the 14GE for him to demonstrate that although he had been ousted as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, he is still the primary political force to be reckoned with by the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition.

Although he had resigned as UMNO President after the disastrous UMNO/BN electoral debacle in the 14GE, he had asserted his political control and dominance as evident from the following events:

1. The outcome of the UMNO party elections in June, with Najib’s loyalists sweeping the polls.

2. Claim by UMNO for the approximately RM116.7 million in funds recently seized from Najib-linked premises by  the Malaysian police, which the party claims belong to it.

3. No sign of contrition or regret for the monstrous 1MDB scandal resulting in Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy.

4. No sign of contrition or regret for unleashing the most toxic, vicious and divisive politics of race, religion, fear, hate and lies in Malaysian history, as for instance, inciting baseless  fear that Malays and Islam  will perish if UMNO loses; that I will be Prime Minister if Pakatan Harapan wins; that Mahathir, Anwar, Azizah and Mat Sabu were all my stooges and puppets; that non-Malays will dominate Pakatan Harapan Government;  that the Malay Regiment,  MARA and FELDA and other institutions  would abolished.

5. Reviving such toxic, divisive and irresponsible politics of race, religion , fear, hate and lies after the 14GE to distract national attention  from Najib’s 1MDB scandal and kleptocarcy, such as the baseless allegations that the Pakatan Harapan Government  in Putrajaya is carrying out DAP’s Christianisation agenda when there is no such “DAP Christianisation agenda” in the first place.

6. The planne, baseless, provocative and seditious demonstration tomorrow by Najib’s acolytes with hands bound and mouths taped shut to protest alleged loss of the  rights by the Yang di Pertuan Agong to defend Islam and protect the Malays.

7. The appointment of the former Attorney-General, Tan Sri Mohd Apandi as a UMNO Supreme Council member, and his initial acceptance likening it to “a fish returning to its spawning grounds” and subsequent U-turn and decline on the ground of possible negative perceptions that would be linked to his time as Attorney-General and a judge.

What is actually the  most significant  in these two months after the historic and watershed 14GE on MAY 9, 2018 is that neither Najib nor the UMNO leadership is prepared to show contrition or remorse  for the two toxic Najib legacies, firstly, turning Malaysia into a global kleptocracy as a result or the monstrous 1MDB money-laundering scandal and secondly, unleashing the most toxic, vicious and divisive politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies in Malaysian history and now trying to revive such toxic and divisive politics.

Is there any UMNO  MPs who is prepared to break ranks in the 14th Parliament and apologise for these two toxic Najib legacies? Will the MCA Deputy President, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong do it? Will the new  MIC President direct the two MIC MPs to do it?

Malaysians will know soon enough.

(Media Statement byn DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 15th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 July 2018, 11:30 am and is filed under
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Déjà vu – Walk-out by PAS MPs leading BN MPs in the very first business of 14th Parliament

Its déjà vu – the walkout by PAS MPs leading Barisan Nasional MPs during the first business of the 14th Parliament on the election of the Parliament Speaker.

Three matters are worth noting about this walkout, viz:

1. The Opposition walkout was led by PAS, with UMNO, MCA and MIC MPs meekly following suit;

2. Two UMNO MPs refuse to join in the walkout, Khairry Jamaluddin and Anifah Aman.

3. The sole MCA MP and two MIC MP tamely following the PAS-led first walkout of the 14th Parliament.

But the most significant matter is the seating arrangement for the Barisan Nasional MPs – the second placing for the former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak which means that although Najib has resigned as UMNO and BN President for the disastrous electoral results of the 14GE, where BN was booted out of power and UMNO lost its role as the political party with majority support of Malay voters, Najib is still the most powerful force in UMNO/BN although without title or position.

Otherwise, Najib would not have higher precedence in the parliamentary seating arrangement than the newly elected/appointed UMNO leaders like the UMNO Vice President Ismail Sabri,  UMNO Secretary-General Annuar Musa or senior UMNO Supreme Council member Mustapha Mohamad.

This BN seating arrangement is very significant, for it means that none of the UMNO/MCA/MIC MPs are prepared to act in a patriotic manner to break ranks and apologise for the two worst Najib legacies, firstly, turning Malaysia into a global kleptocracy as a result of the monstrous 1MDB money-laundering scandal and secondly, unleashing the most toxic, vicious and divisive politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies in Malaysian history and now trying to revive such toxic and divisive politics.

It is very sad if only Pakatan Harapan and Warisan MPs are the only MPs in the 14th Parliament who are prepared to perform their patriotic duties.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Monday, 16th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 July 2018, 12:39 pm and is filed under
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Why did the PAS/UMNO/MCA/MIC MPs return to the Chambers to be sworn in if they really believe that Ariff was improperly elected as Speaker of Parliament

I have been mystified all  this morning – why did the PAS/UMNO/MCA/MIC Members of Parliament return to the Parliamentary Chambers to be sworn in if they if they really believe that Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof had been improperly elected as Speaker of Parliament?

Led by PAS MPs, the UMNO/MCA/MIC Members of Parliament, except for Khairy Jamaluddin and Anifah Aman, walked out of Parliament in the first few minutes of the 14th Parliament,  which appears to set to tone for a most negative, divisive and destructive performance by the Opposition in the 14th Parliament – unless the various party leaders, including the PAS President, Datuk Seri Awang Hadi and the UMNO President, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi could give a cogent, reasonable and acceptable reason for such double standards.

If PAS and UMNO leaders cannot give a cogent, reasonable and acceptable explanation, I do not expect their MCA and MIC counterparts to be able to do so, and I shall not ask them at all.

Althogh I felt a sense of déjà vu with the former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi  staging a walkout of Parliament in the first few minutes of the 14th Parliament, I would advise them not to emulate the actions of the former Opposition blindly, that they must have cogent, coherent, reasonable and acceptable reasons for their walk-outs, unlike their ridiculous walkout this morning.

There is threat by Najib’s acolytes to mar the second day of the 14th Parliament tomorrow, which is the official opening of the first session of the 14th Parliament  by the Yang di Pertuan Agong, based on fake news and false information in an attempt to revive the toxic but failed politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies spearded by UMNO/BN in the 14th General Elections.

Malaysians will judge whether these actions by Najib’s acolytes are designed to promote national unity or calculcated to incite imaginary fears to poison racial and racial relations which can only result tin greater racial and religious polarisation and national division.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Monday, 16th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 16 July 2018, 5:25 pm and is filed under
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Call on UMNO and PAS leaders to heed the advice of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and not to sow disunity, incite hatred or concoct lies and far-fetched theories solely for anyone’s political interests

I call on all UMNO and PAS leaders, especially Members of Parliament, to heed the advice of the Yang di Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V in his speech opening the 14th Parliament today and not to sow disunity, incite hatred or concoct lies and far-fetched theories just for anyone’s political interests.

The Yang di Pertuan Agong today urged all parties to work together for unity and to find solutions for the nation’s survival instead of being emotional and prejudiced.

He said rightly about the  historic and watershed 14th General Election on Mayh 9, 2018 that “the people have chosen” and “all parties should accept and respect the result of the general election without being emotional, narrow-minded, prejudiced and having slanderous thoughts that are influenced by sensationalist and speculative media”.

The Agong’s call to all parties to “work to find common ground and cooperate for the well-being of the people and the survival of the nation” must be the overarching spirit of the 11-day debate on the royal address in Parliament, which as the Yang di Pertuan Agong has rightly pointed out, is “an enormous responsibility” for the MPs in the 14th Parliament.

I call on all MPs, on both sides of the House, to respond to the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s call for a “healthy, mature, stimulating and dynamic debates to find and uphold the truth, by conveying suggestions as well as criticism with wisdom and civility” and not to abuse parliamentary privileges by retailing lies and false news, so that Malaysians can begin to respect their own Parliament.

What I find most refreshing is the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s powerful rebuttal that the perception that Malaysia’s ethnic, religious and cultural diversity was a “recipe for disaster”.

All Members of Parliament, regardless of party affiliation, must be mindfull of the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s emhasis for unity and harmony among Malaysians to be preserved at all costs, and for “negative elements and actions which threatened this” to be addressed.

The Yang di Pertuan Agong’s call for a stop of the “bickerings on racially sensitive issues” must be strictly adhered to.

I call on Najib Razak, the de facto UMNO/BN leader, to heed the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s words, as his acolytes and followers had wanted to hold a protest march with hands tied mouths taped shut on the occasion of the opening of Parliament this morning to  show their solidarity and support to the monarchical system on accusations. The protest march was not held.

In actual fact, the alleged attacks agaisnt the monarchical system were totally baseless  – an utter nonsese and seditous thought violating the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s advice against sensationalism and “slanderous thoughts” as the system of Malay monarchy was never under any attack or threat.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Tuesday, 17th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 July 2018, 5:52 pm and is filed under
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BN parties like UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP should return a total of RM470 million which they had received from 1MDB to public coffers

Malaysiakini, in its latest microsite, reveals that in total, at least RM470 million went from 1MDB to various political entities through 102 transactions, excluding individuals, between April 2012 and August 2013.

Umno received the lion’s share, at RM417.4 million or 88.8 percent of the funds. The next biggest recipients were MIC at RM20.55 million, and MCA at RM16.5 million.

The money was distributed to various party chapters, wings and even a party-owned library.

The BN parties like UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP should return a total of RM470 million which they had received from 1MDB to public coffers if the revelations are true and correct.

UMNO, MCA, MIC and SUPP have Members of Parliament and their MPs should speak up on the Malaysiakini expose in the current debate in Parliament on the motion of thanks for the royal address.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Wednesday, July 18, 2018)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 July 2018, 4:16 pm and is filed under
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Was the Najib Government so shambolic and even anarchic  not only  that the right hand does not know what the left hand was doing, the Prime Minister did  not know what was happening in the PMO?

The letter of the Research Division in the Prime Minister’s Department to the CIA before the 14th General Elections on May 4 seeking US support against Pakatan Harapan must have given Malaysians the shivers, reinforcing the view that the greatest thing to happen in Malaysia was the change of Federal government in Putrajaya on May 9 or nobody can be assured what would have happened to the future of Malaysia.

The letter by the Research Division’s director-general Hasanah Ab Hamid to the CIA painting the former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak as a progressive leader and a staunch supporter of the US while describing the leader of of the Pakatan Harapan  Tun  Dr Mahathir Mohamad as “anti-West” should never have been sent by any self-respecting government or official.

It is just not good enough for Najib to now claim that he, as the Prime Minister at the time,  did not instruct the Research Division in the Prime Minister’s Department to pen the letter to the CIA seeking US support for the Barisan Nasional against Pakatan Harapan five days before the May 9 general election.

It raised many questions, in particular whether the Najib government was so shambolic and even anarchic that the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing, and the Prime Minister did not know what was happening in the PMO  or his governemnt?

If so, Najib is clearly the worst Prime Minister in Malaysian history.

But there is an even more serious question – how can a caretaker govenrment pen such a disgraceful and even disloyal letter to the intelligence organ of a foreign government asking for foreign interference in the domestic affairs of Malaysia?

Najib’s  claim that  he had no knowledge about the letter is a very lame and completely unacceptable.

Najib said he did not even know of its existence as “Not all letters have to go through me”.

His claim  that agencies, especially those related to intelligence matters, have the autonomy to perform their duties for reasons they think would benefit them must be repudiated in no uncertain terms, and the Pakatan Harapan government must make it clear that no agencies under it have any authority to send such a self-serving and disloyal letter to any foreign governmenmt.

I had asked the MCA Deputy President, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, now sole MCA MP for Ayer Hitam,  to state in Parliament whether he was aware and approved of Hasanah’s letter to CIA as he was at the time the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, but as expected, Wee completely  avoided the subject when he later spoke in Parliament in the debate on the  motion of thanks for the royal speech.

Let Najib turn up in Parliament on Monday and justify the despatch of the shocking letter from the Research Division in the Prime Minister’s Department to the CIA five days before the 14th General Election,  and he should also take the opportunity to  explain when Parliament approved the setting up of an intelligence unit in the Prime Minister’s Office and the details about the budget and operations  the secret intelligence unit under him.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Thursday July 19, 2018)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 19 July 2018, 7:20 pm and is filed under
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UMNO is sinking lower and lower, day after day

New UMNO President and Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said in his speech in Parliament on Wednesday that May 9 was a  tragedy and a nightmare.

Yes, it was a tragedy and nightmare to the UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders, but to the overwhelming majority of patriotic Malaysians both  inside the country and  in the Malaysian Diaspora worldwide, it was a day of liberation, of hope reborn that Malaysia can be saved from becoming a global kleptocracy and be great again, as expressed by Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman during the founding of the nation to be “a beacon of light in a difficult and distured world” instead of being “a zone of darkness in the world of corruption and  money-laundering”.

UMNO, the great political party of Onn Jaffar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein is sinking lower and lower, day after day, as in  the past three days.

On Wednesday, Malaysiakini, in its latest microsite, revealed that in total, at least RM470 million went from 1MDB to various political entities through 102 transactions, excluding individuals, between April 2012 and August 2013.

Umno received the lion’s share, at RM417.4 million or 88.8 percent of the funds. The next biggest recipients were MIC at RM20.55 million, and MCA at RM16.5 million. Up to now, UMNO and the other BN parties have  kept an indiscreet silence.

Yesterday, it was revealed that in the last few days of the14th General Election, the caretaker Najib govenrment sent what the Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan (Patriot) described as a “treacherous and treasonable” letter to the US Government seeking support against Pakatan Harapan in case the election result turned out to be close.

The letter was sent to the CIA on May 4  by the director general of the Research Division in the Prime Minister’s Department, Hasanah Abdul Hamid, who had been described as the head of a powerful intelligence unit as the Research Divission in the Prime Minister’s Department is actually the public name for the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) which had a staffing of some 300 officers.

I have been a Member of Parliament for eleven terms since 1969 and I can say from my long parliamentary experience that Parliament is not aware of the existence of the MEIO  as the country’s main foreign intelligence agency although Hasanah Abdul Hamid ended her letter expressing the hope about continued close ties between MEIO and CIA.

Will Najib enlighten Parliament on Monday about the “treacherous and treasonable” letter to the CIA five days before the 14GE and about the MEIO?

Today, we have the outrageous tweet of an UMNO leader gloating over the shocking death of DAP Selangor State Assemblyman for Balakong, Eddie Ng Tien Chee, a very conscientious and hardworking wakil rakyat,   in a road accident early this morning – reflecting on  how low the public morals of the UMNO leaders have fallen, as if equating UMNO with kleptocracy is not bad enough.

Is this the way UMNO hopes to regain public confidence and credibility – even to win the Sungai Kandis by-election in Selangor?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on  Friday, 20th July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 20 July 2018, 4:02 pm and is filed under
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Secret letter by Najib government seeking help from CIA in 14GE  highlights the question why  it had not protested against  US Attorney-General’s public condemnation of 1MDB corruption scandal as “kleptocracy at its worst” which is as good as international  indictment of Najib as “kleptocrat at its worst”

The secret letter by the Najib government seeking help from the US CIA in the 14th General Election highlights the question why the Najib administration had not protested or taken any action against the US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions’ public condemnation of the 1MDB corruption scandal at an international forum as “kleptocracy at its worst”.

This was as good as an international indictment of the  US government telling the world that Najib, the then Prime Minister, was “kleptocrat at its worst” on the world stage.

Can Najib be in Parliament tomorrow to explain why his government did not defend itself against the “kleptocracy at its worst” charge by the US Government at an international forum last December, but five months later, five days before the 14th General Election, sent a secret letter to the CIA seeking support against Pakatan Harapan in case the election result turned out to be close?

The Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan (Patriot)  has described this secret letter, which was sent to the CIA on May 4  by the director general of the Research Division in the Prime Minister’s Department, Hasanah Abdul Hamid, as “treacherous and treasonable”.

Hasanah has been exposed as head of a powerful intelligence unit under the name of  the Research Division in the Prime Minister’s Department, which is known publicly as the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO), with a  staffing of some 300 intelligence officers.  Hasanah herself referred to MEIO in her letter to the CIA.

It was reported yesterday that South Korea’s ousted President, Park Geun-Hye was given another eight years jail sentence for corruption  to the 24 years’ imprisonment for abuse of power and corruption which was handed down in Ápril.

This implies that the ex-President will now be serving 32 years in jail.

Can the same thing happen in Malaysia?

This will be a crucial test of the rule of law and anti-corruption political will in Malaysia.

It is pertinent that world literature on kleptocracy  makes no reference to Park Geun-Hye although Najib is cited, as in a search of kleptocracy in wikipaedia.

Will the 14th Parliament do justice to Malaysia’s good name and international standing damaged by the  infamy, ignominy and iniquity of Malaysia regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy?

This  is one  the greatest challenges of the 14th Parliament.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on  21st July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 21 July 2018, 4:11 pm and is filed under
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It is time for Najib to make a clean breast of  his involvement in the 1MDB corruption scandal in the Parliament debate tomorrow

Yesterday I asked whether the letter which Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s secret spy chief Hasanah Abdul Hamid wrote as director-general of the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) to the CIA seeking support against Pakatan Harapan on 4th May if the 14th General Election result turned out to be close was  related to the reason why the Najib administration  had not protested or taken any action against the US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions’ public condemnation of the 1MDB corruption scandal at an international forum as “kleptocracy at its worst”.

Jeff Session’s condemnation was a very serious matter, as it  was as good as an international indictment of the  US government that Najib, the then Prime Minister named as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 (MO1)” in the US Department of Justice (DoJ) litigation on 1MDB, was “kleptocrat at the worst” on the world stage.

I had continued to ponder on the question why in the past three years,  the Najib government had not made a hue-and-cry at international forums at  being unfairly  regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy, launching even an all-party  international initiative to the United Nations and countries all over the world to defend and  clear Malaysia’s reputation from the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of a global kleptocracy?

The Najib government not only failed to do all this, it went out of its way to bar national institutions especially Parliament and the media from probing and debating the issue, and on the eve of the 14th General Election, even rushed through an Anti-Fake News Act  in Parliament not to combat fake news but designed to enable the Najib government to penalise anyone from pursuing the 1MDB scandal as guilty of violating the Anti-Fake News Act.

I confess that I was floored and in a daze when the thought struck me that probably all this was because Najib did not mind being described as a kleptocrat provided he could enjoy life-long immunity and impunity by banning any ventilation of the 1MDB scandal within the shores  in Malaysia – for he would be in the exalted company of world kleptocrats like former  Indonesian President Suharto, former Philippines President Marcos, former Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko, former Nigerian head of state Sani Abacha, former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier and  former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori.

Najib was confident that he could continue to enjoy lifelong  immunity and impunity for all the corruption, abuses of power and embezzlement in the 1MDB scandal as he never expected to be evicted from power and to lose  the 14th General Election.

It is imperative for Najib to take the floor in tomorrow’s debate in Parliament on the royal address, and explain why the Najib administration had never protested or sought to clear Malaysia’s epithet as a global kleptocracy, or  whether my damning thoughts were right after all.

Is this the reason why Najib has allowed other UMNO leaders and operatives to give different and even conflicting versions about the infamous RM2.6 billion deposits in his personal bank accounts?

These different and conflicting versions include:

Former Director General of JASA, Mohd Fuad Zarkashi, who told Malaysian students in Canberra in May 2016 that the money was from the Saudi King to combat the Islamic State, and secondly, to help in other places such as in Palestine and others.

On August 11, 2015, the then Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz said the donation was from a “brotherly nation” which wanted to see certain parties win the 13th general election because they were friendly to them.

On August 15, 2015, Umno Kuantan division chief Datuk Seri Wan Adnan Wan Mamat said the RM2.6 billion was from Saudi Arabia as a form of appreciation of Malaysia “championing Islam” and fighting militant group ISIS.

On August 22, 2015, the then Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the donation came from their “Muslim friends in the Middle East” to help UMNO fight DAP in the general election, as the party was funded by Jews.

On the very same day of August 22, 2015, the then Acting UMNO Deputy President Zahid Hamidi said he met the donors’ representatives who informed him that the funds were in appreciation for the government’s efforts in countering terrorism, and to help Barisan Nasional maintain Malaysia’s status as a Sunni county.

These  different and even conflicting versions were most ridiculous, as one  needs only to point out that ISIS only came into existence in mid-2014 while the RM2.6 billion donations were deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts in March 2013!

May be, Najib  could explain in Parliament tomorrow how he could give such high praise for the exploits of Islamic State’s predecessor, ISIL or ISIS, at the 20th anniversary dinner of UMNO Cheras Branch on June 24, 2014, calling on UMNO members to emulate the bravery of the ISIL/ISIS terrorists, when he is supposed to be an exemplar of international warrior against Islamic State, ISIL or ISIS?

Was it also because he did not mind being in the exalted company of global kleptocrats provided he could enjoy life-long immunity and impunity that he was indifferent to the additional filing of the US DoJ kleptocratic litigation for the forfeiture of US$1.7 billion  1MDB-linked assets in June 2016 although there were 10 “killer paragraphs”” which exposed him as a liar for claiming that the RM2.6 billion deposits  in his personal banking accounts were donations for Saudi royalty.

In fact,  I issued a statement on 16th June 2016 to specifically ask the Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali whether he  had read the ten “killer paragraphs” in US DoJ’s additional 1MDB kleptocratic filings to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB assets – i.e.  Paragraphs 339 – 348 under the section “$681 MILLION WAS TRANSFERRED FROM THE TANORE ACCOUNT TO AN ACCOUNT BELONGING TO MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1)” which directly linked Najib’s RM2.6 billion donation to 1MDB, and why no action had been taken by the  Malaysian authorities to defend the country’s honour and integrity.

In fact, Paragraph 346 referred to Part VI.CC of the US DoJ litigation, which traced how a portion of the US$620 million the MO1 alleged to have  returned was passed through various additional accounts controlled by

 1MDB mastermind Jho Low and ultimately used to purchase the US$27.3 million 22-carat  pink diamond pendant and necklace for the wife of “MO1”.

It is time that Najib make a clean breast of his involvement in the 1MDB scandal in Parliament tomorrow.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang on Sunday, 22nd July 2018)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 22 July 2018, 9:38 am and is filed under
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