MARA under Annuar Musa’s chairmanship is the third example of the kleptocratic culture after the international multibillion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal and Felda

Yesterday, at the Pakatan Harapan FELDA Convention in Shah Alam, I spoke of the curse of the “kleptocratic culture” which has resulted in Malaysia becoming the object of world-wide scorn and ridicule as a “global kleptocracy” because of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal.

This “kleptocratic culture”, for which the sixth Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak must bear full responsibility as it was non-existent under the first five Prime Ministers – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Razak, Hussein Onn, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – is not just about the country’s largest global kleptocratic money-laundering scandal, but the cause of FELDA succumbing to the curse of kleptocracy.

When a person removed as a Minister for money politics and corruption could be appointed as FELDA Chairman for five years, it is no surprise that FELDA succumbed to the culture of kleptocracy, resulting in a slew of FELDA problems not only about corruption among FELDA bureaucrats, but increasing woes of 1.5 million FELDA settlers and their dependants, whether concerning Felda Global Ventures (FGV), Perumahan Generasi Kedua, GSA, education, etc.

But the 1MDB scandal and FELDA are not the only examples of the curse of the  culture of kleptocracy which has permeated into all aspects of national life, which is why Malaysia’s 2016 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of  Transparency International (TI), both in ranking and score, are  even worse than 22 years ago, when TI CPI first made its annual appearance in 1995.

Other countries like China, India and Indonesia have been impressive strides in the anti-corruption campaign in the past two decades, but Malaysia’s ranking and score of the annual TI CPI are even worse than two decades ago.

MARA under Annuar Musa’s chairmanship is the third example  of the kleptocratic culture after the international multibillion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal and FELDA.

For two weeks in the middle of 2015, Malaysian national attention was transfixed by the roiling MARA property corruption scandal in Australia which was blown open by the Australian daily, The Age, on June 23, 2015 with its report “Corrupt Malaysia money distorts Melbourne market”, on the outcome of an eight-month Fairfax Media investigation tracing suspicious money flows, court files and corporate records across three continents as part of a global money laundering and bribery scheme turning Australia into an “investment hot spot for the crooked and corrupt”.

The Fairfax Media investigation had zeroed in on MARA Inc’s purchase of the Dudley House property, and found that “greedy local developers and powerful officials overseas” pocketted A$4.75 million (RM13.8 million) in bribes on this single deal.

But this only opened a Pandora’s Box of MARA kleptocracy in Australia, as there was not only the MARA property corruption scandal of Dudley House apartment block in Australia, there were more than RM100 million corruption scandal involving four Melbourne properties with multi-layered and incestuous structure of offshore companies used to buy the Melbourne properties.

Annuar Musa may have been temporarily removed as MARA Chairman but has he or MARA accounted for the kleptocratic wrongs of MARA under his chairmanship?

I had in fact in June 2015 called on Annuar to resign or be sacked as MARA Chairman to take responsibility for MARA’s international corruption scandal and to pioneer a culture of responsibility for government leaders and captains of statutory boards and corporations in Malaysia.

I can understand Annuar’s animus towards me, but this is utterly irrelevant and immaterial in what should be a national campaign for a “reset” of the nation-building directions and national policies 60 years after Merdeka in 1957, in particular the eradication of the culture of kleptocracy and the kleptocratic examples of 1MDB scandal, FELDA and MARA.

The next 14th General Election, which is likely to be held in September this year, will be an opportunity for Malaysians to Save Malaysia by eradicating the culture of kleptocracy in Malaysia and end Malaysia’s ignominy and infamy as a global kleptocracy.

Clearly, the PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has a different agenda.  He is not concerned that Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy, or the curse of the culture of kleptocracy which has caused  government institutions, like FELDA and MARA, to become kleptocratic institutions betraying the founding FELDA and MARA objectives.

From Hadi’s own speeches, all that the PAS President wants is at most five state government to be run by PAS – namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perak and Selangor – and to win 40 parliamentary seats in the 14GE so that PAS can be the “kingmaker” as to who would form the Federal Government after the 14GE.

There are those who think that far from winning five state governments in the 14GE, the issue confronting PAS in the 14GE is whether they could retain the Kelantan State Government, now that the popular PAS Mursidul Am, Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat is no more.

In Malaysian electoral history since the 1959 general election, the most number of  parliamentary seats PAS could win when it fought on its own and not a member of a coalition were 13 seats.

PAS won the most number of parliamentary seats in the 1999, 2008 and 2013 general elections, when PAS was part of Barisan Alternative in 1999, avoided multi-cornered contests with DAP and PKR in 2008 and was a member of Pakatan Rakyat in 2013.

The following is the record of  number of parliamentary seats won by PAS  since the 1959 general election:

1959 – 13/104

1964 – 9/104

1969 – 12/144

1974 – 13/154

1978 – 5/154

1982 – 5/154

1986 – 1/177

1990 – 7/180

1995 – 7/192

1999 – 27/193

2004 – 7/219

2008 – 23/222

2013 – 21/222

Electoral analysts have told me that the best-scenario for PAS fighting on its own  is to win  some 30 seats while  its worst scenario is to be reduced to single-digit representation in Parliament – neither of which would give PAS a “kingmaker” role to determine who is to form the next Federal Government.

There will be different permutations and combinations about the electoral possibilities in the 14GE  if UMNO is prepared to concede a substantial number of parliamentary seats to PAS. But is UMNO prepared to do so, even if Najib is so minded.

What  will be the final electoral shape of things in the 14GE, only time will tell.

(Speech at the DAP “Voters Registration for 14GE” ceramah in Kampar on Monday, 20th March 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 21 March 2017, 11:32 am and is filed under
General
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Tony Pua has won 2-0 in the first round of “Open Letter War” with Johari Abdul Ghani – would  the second Finance Minister dare to try to gain the upper hand in new rounds of “Open Letter War”?

I would adjudge DAP PJ MP for PJ Utara Tony Pua as having won 2-0 in the first round of “Open Letter War” with second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

Would the second Finance Minister dare to try to gain the upper hand in new rounds of “Open Letter War” with Pua?

Johari made three critical mistakes in his opening salvo of the “Open Letter War” with Tony.

No patriotic Malaysian would endorse Johari’s call to Pua to give the 1MDB scandal “a rest”, allegedly on the ground that “the folks of Petaling Jaya Utara elected you (Pua) as their MP to do better things than just being obsessed with 1MDB”.

I believe the voters of PJ Utara, as well as patriotic Malaysians all over the country, want Pua and DAP leaders not to fly the white flag but  to continue to demand accountability and good governance over the  international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal – or Malaysians must be  resigned to the mockery, ridicule and odium of the world in  living in a global kleptocracy.

I am prepared to organize a series of walkabouts in PJ Utara and accompany Johari and Pua to visit the people of PJ Utara to ascertain whether they  want the 1MDB issue to given “a rest” on the ground that their MP should not be “obsessed” with 1MDB.

All that Johari needs to do is to give the signal that he is prepared to take part in such a 1MDB walkabout of PJ Utara, and I will arrange the rest.

My complaint is that Malaysians are not obsessed enough with the 1MDB scandal as without such an obsession, Malaysia will never get out of the trap of a global kleptocracy.

Apart from the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal, we already have FELDA and MARA as examples of the curse of a kleptocratic culture, which have crept into the higher echelons of government in recent years.

In fact, Johari can be cited as the fourth example of the curse of the culture of kleptocracy, which is his second critical mistake.

As Johari has confessed in his inaugural Open Letter, he was “very critical of 1MDB when I was a backbencher” but after being “privy to detailed information on 1MDB”, he became a defender and  apologist of 1MDB scandal.

May be we should congratulate Johari for his adaptability and malleability,  and being a better second Finance Minister to Najib as compared to his predecessor, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, who fell ill trying to “defend the indefensible” over the 1MDB scandal.

As Husni had publicly recounted, he had been under heavy stress for months,  suffering prolonged high blood pressure,  dealing with the 1MDB scandal.

He said he was finally prompted to resign as Second Finance Minister by a senior official of Bank Negara who told him:  “Everyone knows that you are not involved in 1MDB. Why are you feeling stressed over the 1MDB issue?”

When will such a day of reckoning come for Johari?

Johari’s third critical mistake was to answer on behalf of the government on the 1MDB scandal in Parliament during the Ministerial winding-up of the debate on the Royal Address.

Johari has admitted not having the full picture of the 1MDB scandal – but nobody doubts that the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has the full picture of the 1MDB scandal, bearing in mind Article 117 of the 1MDB Memorandum and Articles of Association which provided that Najib’s written consent was required for any major 1MDB decision or transaction!

It is an utter contempt of Parliament for the second Finance Minister to answer debate on the 1MDB when he does not have the “full picture” on the 1MDB, while the Finance Minister who has the “full picture” abdicates from his parliamentary duties and responsibilities.

These are among the reasons I adjudged Johari has having scored his own goal in his inaugural Open Letter War with Pua, and why I gave a winning point to Pua.

I also gave a winning point to Pua for his “Open Letter” reply to Johari for the following reasons:

Firstly, Pua categorically debunked Johari’s ridiculous claim that the government had “nothing to hide and nothing to cover up”. In fact, every government action following public expose of the 1MDB scandal  is prompted by the sole objective of the government to hide and cover-up the 1MDB scandal.

Secondly, Pua also gave a powerful answer to the false question advanced by Johari – “Do we wait for the country to collapse and lose all of its credibility in the eyes of the world through incessant condemnations and criticisms from within and without?”

Malaysian patriots, regardless of race, religion or even politics, do not want the country to collapse and lose all credibility, but this is achieved not by pretending that Malaysia’s appellation of a global kleptocracy does not exist, but by bravely cleansing Malaysia of such infamy and ignominy.

In current times, an acid test of Malaysian patriotism is whether we want to Save Malaysia  from global kleptocracy and eradicating the culture of kleptocracy, or we put up a façade to pretend that such infamy and ignominy do not exist, and that there is no culture of kleptocracy in Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 21 March 2017, 4:19 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


PAS leadership fantasies of winning 40 Parliament Seats and capturing Selangor in 14GE

Recently, a video of clip of PAS President, Hadi Awang viralled.

In this video, he was clearly shown to have made two important points. Firstly, that PAS wanted to win control of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perak and Selangor and that PAS would leave the other states to UMNO.

Secondly, that PAS wanted to win 40 parliament seats in the next general election to have the “king-maker” role to determine the next Federal Government in Malaysia.

I am not sure where Hadi derives his confidence to win 40 parliament seats in the next general election but it seems to be based more on fantasy than facts.

Based on past election history, PAS has had its best performances when it was part of an opposition coalition and when it had an electoral pact with other opposition parties.

It won a historic 27 parliament seats in GE1999 when it was part of the Barisan Alternatif (BA). It won 23 parliament seats in 2008 when there was an  electoral understanding with DAP and PKR to avoid three-cornered fights. It won 21 parliament seats in 2013 when it was part of Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

When it contested on its own, PAS’ best electoral performance was in 1959 when it won 13 parliament seats. Even when PAS was part of the newly created Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 1974 general elections, it only managed to win 13 parliament seats.
(See Table 1 below)

Table 1: Number and % of Parliament Seats Won by PAS (1955 to 2013)

Election

Total seats won / Total Parliament Seats

% Seats Won

1955

1 / 52

1.9%

1959

13 / 104

12.5%

1964

9 / 104

8.7%

1969

12 / 144

8.3%

1974

13 / 154

8.4%

1978

5 / 154

3.2%

1982

5 / 154

3.2%

1986

1 / 177

0.6%

1990

7 / 180

3.9%

1995

7 / 192

3.6%

1999

27 / 193

14.0%

2004

7 / 219

3.2%

2008

23 / 222

10.4%

2013

21 / 222

9.5%

What makes Hadi so confident that PAS will be able to perform better than the 27 parliament seats it won in the 1999 General Election when it was part of Barisan Alternatif (BA)?

For the sake of argument, let’s say that PAS is able to avoid three-cornered fights with Pakatan Harapan (PH) in GE14 and that it contests in the same parliament seats it contested in GE2013 (which is not a given).

In the most optimistic scenario, let’s say PAS manages to win an additional 2% support from the Malay voters compared to GE2013 because of the unpopularity of Najib and also the BN.

In the most optimistic of scenarios, let’s say that PAS only loses 50% of the Chinese support and 30% of the Indian support compared to GE2013 because it is no longer part of any opposition coalition.

In this case,  PAS will be reduced from 21 parliament seats to just 13 parliament seats, a far cry from the 40 which Hadi is fantasizing about.

In the worst case scenario, let’s say that Malay voters punish PAS because it is seen as being too close to UMNO and PAS’ Malay support decreases by 2% compared to GE2013. In addition, PAS’ Chinese support drops by 60% and PAS’ Indian support drops by 40% compared to GE2013. Even if PAS manages to avoid three-cornered fights, under this scenario, PAS will see its number of seats fall to a mere six, all of which are in Kelantan.

Hadi is deluding himself as well as other PAS leaders and supporters if he thinks PAS can perform better in GE14 compared to GE2013 if PAS goes it alone.

His fantasy of 40 parliament seats is a pipe-dream at best, a delusion at worst.

PAS supporters should realize that this is Hadi’s fantasy and that to see real change happen in Malaysia, they should instead vote for Pakatan Harapan which now includes Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia because we are the only political force in Malaysia that can defeat the kleptocratic BN government led by Najib Tun Razak.

In Selangor, there is the PAS fantasy that PAS can on its own win enough seats in the 14GE to form the Selangor State Government.

I for one would be very surprised if PAS could on its own  win more than two seats in Selangor State Assembly in the 14GE.

Election analysts are even more pessimistic than me about PAS prospects in Selangor State Assembly results in the 14GE, and one of them expected PAS to win at most only  one Selangor State Assembly seat, viz:

“In Selangor, even under the most optimistic scenario for PAS, it would lose 14 out of the 15 state seats it won in GE2013. Even in the context of one on one fights, PAS’ projected collapse in its non-Malay support and the limited upside in its Malay support would leave it with just one sole seat in the Selangor state assembly which is not sufficient for it to negotiate with either the BN or with Pakatan Harapan to form the next state government.”

(Speech at the DAP Bentong “Voters Registration” campaign in Karak, Pahang on Tuesday, 21st March 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 11:41 am and is filed under
Elections
,
PAS
,
Selangor
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The U.S. Is Preparing to Charge Financier Jho Low in Malaysian 1MDB Scandal

By BRADLEY HOPE and TOM WRIGHT

Wall Street Journal

March 21, 2017

U.S. authorities intend to file criminal charges against Mr. Low, according to people familiar with the investigation, but haven’t disclosed potential timing

U.S. authorities intend to file criminal charges against a financier in connection with an international scandal rooted in Malaysia that they believe could be one of the largest financial frauds ever, according to people familiar with the matter.

The scandal involves a state fund called 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, and the focus of the criminal investigation is Jho Low, a flamboyant financier the U.S. Justice Department portrayed in civil asset-seizure lawsuits last July as central to an alleged plot to siphon billions of dollars from the fund.

The civil suits, which are proceeding separately from the criminal probe, seek more than $1 billion of assets, including van Gogh and Monet paintings and luxury real estate in New York and Los Angeles, allegedly bought with stolen money. The Justice Department is currently seeking to add recently discovered Low family property to the list of assets it is trying to seize, including a yacht Mr. Low controls, the $165 million, 300-foot, helipad-equipped Equanimity, people familiar with the U.S. investigation said.

In addition, Singapore has been building a potential criminal case against Mr. Low, said a person involved in the city-state’s investigation. A Justice Department team has just finished a visit to Singapore to conduct interviews related to Mr. Low and other aspects of the 1MDB matter, said two people familiar with the trip.

Mr. Low, a Malaysian whose full name is Low Taek Jho, and his lawyers didn’t respond to requests for comment. In the past, Mr. Low has told news organizations he was the victim of political infighting in Malaysia and was only an informal adviser to 1MDB. His family is taking legal action to fight the U.S. asset-seizure lawsuits.

Mr. Low, a 35-year-old known for hanging out with Hollywood celebrities and hosting lavish parties in Las Vegas and elsewhere, struck a confident tone in a New Year’s message to friends this January. “2016 was the Perfect Storm; but the calmness and resolve of our Captain, led his loyal Sailors whom placed their lives with utmost trust in his leadership weathered the storm,” Mr. Low wrote in a WeChat message viewed by The Wall Street Journal. “The men and women that came out of the storm were not the same men that walk in. Through struggle, they established new strengths they never knew they collectively had,” he wrote.

“The very moment they were brought to their knees, and their world was about to fall apart,” Mr. Low added, “their Captain’s exemplary leadership guided them to safety; and through this experience, they achieve a new level of humility, nobility and higher intelligence ready to set sail for greater achievements in 2017 for their people!”

Since the U.S. filed its asset-seizure suits, which are against the assets themselves and don’t name people as defendants, Mr. Low has largely disappeared from public view. He has deleted some email accounts, changed phones regularly and avoided the U.S., said people familiar with his movements.

With his bank accounts frozen by several countries — and Mr. Low warned by officials in Malaysia to stay away, according to people familiar with the matter — the financier has mainly been living in China and Thailand, said those familiar with his comings and goings. At the Peninsula Hotel in Shanghai, a staff member last year described Mr. Low as a long-term resident. Mr. Low’s yacht has been moored in Thai waters since October.

The Equanimity recently was berthed for around 40 nights at the Ao Po Grand Marina on the Thai resort island of Phuket, records show, at a cost of about $20,000, part of it settled from a baht account at Bangkok Bank. The bank and the marina manager declined to comment.

The 1MDB scandal unfolded when the Malaysian fund, which had run up a multibillion-dollar debt to finance development but had little to show for it, began struggling to repay. Later, billions of dollars were found to be missing. Investigations in search of the money sprang up in six countries.

The U.S.’s prosecution plans, which could change or be dropped as its investigation continues, involve filing criminal charges of wire fraud and money laundering against Mr. Low and potentially some of his associates, said people familiar with the probe. They didn’t describe the potential timing. To obtain an indictment, prosecutors would present evidence to a grand jury, which would need to agree the government had probable cause to believe a law had been broken.

Any charges could increase pressure on Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who set up 1MDB and was close to Mr. Low. Mr. Najib received more than $1 billion in his personal bank accounts — including more than $800 million originating with the state fund — via a network of offshore funds and accounts controlled by Mr. Low and his associates, according to Malaysian investigation documents viewed by the Journal and to people familiar with the U.S. investigation.

The U.S. asset-seizure suits refer to a “Malaysian Official 1” that the suits allege received hundreds of millions of dollars siphoned from 1MDB. “Malaysian Official 1” refers to Mr. Najib, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.

Mr. Najib has denied any wrongdoing. Early last year, Malaysia’s attorney general said large deposits in his accounts were a donation from a member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family and most was returned. Attempts to contact Mr. Najib for this article were unsuccessful. The 1MDB fund itself has also denied wrongdoing and pledged cooperation with investigators.

Days before the U.S. filed its asset-seizure suits, Mr. Low tried to sell a Monet painting for €26.9 million, using an account at a bank on the island of Comoros off Africa’s east coast, according to the court filings. They show that compliance staff at another bank involved in the planned transaction, Moroccan Foreign Trade Bank International, rejected it following the U.S. suits. Both banks declined to comment.

Many of the assets sought are owned through trusts, court filings show. After trustees in New Zealand declined to resist the U.S. seizure suits, lawyers for the Low family persuaded courts in New Zealand and the Cayman Islands to transfer some assets to a new trustee, according to the filings. The lawyers have asked another court, in California, to let this new trustee challenge the U.S. civil suits.

Court proceedings in New Zealand revealed additional Low family assets that the Justice Department now is seeking to add to its seizure list. Besides the yacht, they include a luxury apartment in Paris and a London penthouse with views of Buckingham Palace.

Amid the growing pressure, Mr. Low has taken inspiration from “The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich, ” according to people who have discussed the book with him. The late Mr. Rich was a commodities trader indicted in the U.S. on tax evasion and other charges who lived without arrest for decades in Switzerland, then was pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2001. In Mr. Low’s case, Switzerland is among countries pursuing investigations of 1MDB, and it has frozen Mr. Low’s bank accounts.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 11:07 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Why Bentong did not become a model constituency with the best educational, health and socio-economic infrastructures and facilities in the country as it had been held by  Ministers for over four decades?

My one-day visit to the Bentong parliamentary constituency, covering Perting new village and Karak town, to encourage all eligible voters in the constituency to register themselves by this month if they want to be able to cast their vote in the 14GE if held in September, attracted considerable MCA attention, with MCA putting up posters and buntings all over the constituency attacking me.

This did not happen during my previous visits to Bentong, when it was held by the two previous MPs – Tan Sri Chan Siang Sun and Tan Sri Lim Ah Lek.

Does this mean that the incumbent MP for Bentong Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, unlike his two previous predecessors, has reason to be afraid of my visit to Bentong – resulting in the posters and bunters attacking me for visiting Bentong!

Bentong is one of the most fortunate parliamentary constituencies in the country, as it had been a Minister’s constituency for over four decades – when the first MP for Bentong, Tan Sri Chan Siang Sun was MP ifor 1959 to 1989 and Lim Ah Lek became the MP for Bentong from 1989 to  1999. Liow Tiong Lai is the third MP for Bentong since 1999.

As for the past four decades, Bentong had been a Ministerial  parliamentary constituency, everyone would have expected Bentong to be a model parliamentary constituency with the best educational, health and socio-economic infrastructures and facilities in the country, with a very high employment rate while the people of Bentong enjoying the highest percentage of  land ownership in the country.

But is Bentong known throughout the country as a model parliamentary constituency where the electorate get the best educational and socio-economic attention from the government – with land for the landless, jobs for the jobless, the best schools and educational institutions in the country while the people of Bentong given the best health and medical attention by the government anywhere in the country?

But this is not the case. In Bentong, the landless remain landless and the people even have to go to other hospitals in the State to see specialists – although Liow Tiong Lai was at one time the Minister for Health!

As Bentong had been a Ministerial parliamentary constituency for the past four decades, the people and voters of Bentong are entitled to demand Bentong being turned into a model parliamentary constituency with the best educational and socio-economic infrastructures and facilities in  the country.

[Speech (2) at the DAP Bentong “Voters Registration” campaign in Karak, Pahang on Tuesday, 21st March 2017 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 4:29 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
MCA
,
Parliament
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Will Liow, Wee, Ong,  Mah and Subramaniam succeed at the Cabinet meeting on Friday to get Zahid to withdraw his statement that the government will adopt and move Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament and clarify it is UMNO but not BN stand?

Last Friday, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi announced that the government will take over PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill in Parliament to amend the Syariah Courts  (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act 355, but the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Sabah/Sarawak Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders claim that they knew nothing about it and never agreed to it.

At this stage, we need not go into the merits or demerits of such a bill, although there are attempts by irresponsible, divisive and destructive  quarters to brand those who criticize or even oppose Hadi’s private member’s bill as anti-Islam, forgetting that the Sarawak Chief Minister, Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg (a Muslim himself) had upheld the stand of the previous Sarawak Chief Minister, Adenan Satem (another Muslim) and directed all the 25 Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs (which included four Muslim Federal Ministers) to reject Hadi’s private member’s bill motion .

Before we discuss the merits or demerits of Hadi’s private member’s bill, the first question to be dealt with is whether Barisan Nasional has changed its character from a coalition  based on consensus, where everyone of the 13 Barisan Nasional component parties must give consent and agreement before a policy, measure or decision can be regarded as Barisan Nasional policy, measure or decision into one where the Barisan Nasional is only a coalition in name but accepts UMNO hegemony, where what UMNO leaders want and desire become the law in Barisan Nasional!

This will be the case if the Zahid can announce that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government will take over Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament even without have to discuss and get the agreement of the Ministers and leaders of the other 12 BN component parties outside  UMNO.

UMNO’s takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill in the name of Barisan Nasional, without consent or even discussion with the leaders and Ministers of the  other 12 BN component parties, is a critical test case of the character of the BN – whether it has totally changed character from that of Alliance under Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V. T. Sambantah or even in the early period when Barisan Nasional was formed under Tun Razak, Tun Tan Siew Sin, Tun Sambanthan and Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu where consensus and not UMNO hegemony is the basis of the coalition.

If what Zahid announced last Friday binds only  UMNO, but not the other 12 Barisan Nasional non-UMNO parties unless they individually and collectively gave their agreement to UMNO taking over Hadi’s private member’s bill, then Friday’s Cabinet meeting is the occasion to make this situation clear.

Will the three MCA Ministers, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Wee Ka Siong, Ong Kah Chaun, the Gerakan Minister Datuk Seri  Mah Siew Keong and the MIC Minister Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam succeed at the Cabinet meeting on Friday to get Zahid to withdraw his statement that the government will adopt and move Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament and clarify that it is UMNO but not BN stand?

Malaysians are waiting for the outcome of Friday’s Cabinet meeting!

(Speech at the DAP Bentong “Voters Registration” campaign in Perting new village, Bentong on Tuesday, 21st March 2017 at 6 pm)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 8:31 am and is filed under
Gerakan
,
Islam
,
MCA
,
MIC
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Malaysians will know by tomorrow whether Najib has changed the character of consensus-based Barisan Nasional founded by his father Tun Razak 14 years ago into a coalition operating  solely under the dictates of UMNO hegemony

Tomorrow, Friday, 24th March 2017, will be an important day in the political history of Malaysia for Malaysians will know whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, has changed the character of consensus-based Barisan Nasional founded by his father Tun Razak 14 years ago in 1973 into a coalition operating solely under the dictates of UMNO hegemony.

Last Friday, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi announced that the government will take over PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill in Parliament to amend the Syariah Courts  (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act 355, but the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Sabah/Sarawak Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders claim that they knew nothing about it and never agreed to it.

There is no need at this stage to  go into the merits or demerits of the bill, although there are attempts by irresponsible, divisive and destructive  quarters to brand those who criticize or even oppose Hadi’s private member’s bill as anti-Islam, forgetting that the Sarawak Chief Minister, Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg (a Muslim) had upheld the stand of the previous Sarawak Chief Minister, Adenan Satem (another Muslim) and directed all the 25 Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs (which included four Muslim Federal Ministers) to reject Hadi’s private member’s bill motion.

Has Najib changed the  consensus character of Barisan Nasional, where everyone of the 13 Barisan Nasional component parties must give consent and agreement before a policy, measure or decision can be regarded as Barisan Nasional policy, measure or decision into one where the Barisan Nasional is only a coalition in name but accepts UMNO hegemony, where what UMNO leaders want and desire become the law in Barisan Nasional?

Has Barisan Nasional changed its character to an extent where the Deputy Transport Minister can publicly reprimand the political stand of the Transport Minister, just because the Deputy Transport Minister comes from UMNO while the Transport Minister is from MCA, although MCA President?

Barisan Nasional has undergone many changes since its establishment by Tun Razak in 1973.

Firstly, Barisan Nasional has lost two-thirds majority in Parliament in the last two general elections in 2008 and 2013, with the ruling coalition recording its worst ever election result in 2013 where it won only 47% of the popular vote. However, Najib could continue to cling on as Prime Minister, although as the first minority Prime Minister in Malaysian history, because of the unfair and undemocratic gerrymandering of constituencies which allow Barisan Nasional to win 60 per cent of the parliamentary seats with 47% of the popular vote.

Secondly, MCA is now no more the second largest political party with MPs in Parliament. In fact, from the ranking of parliamentary representation of BN parties in Parliament, the Sarawak and Sabah BN parties are more important than the peninsular parties of MCA, MIC and Gerakan. The following is the ranking of BN parties according to the number of MPs elected on May 5, 2013:

1. UMNO – 	88

2. PBB –  	14

3. MCA   –	  7

4. PRS –	  6

5. SPDP –	  4

6. PBS –          4

6. MIC – 	  4

7. UPKO	–         3

8. SUPP –	  1

9. PBRS –         1

10.Gerakan –      1

Total   –         133

Now, UMNO has 86 MPs with the sacking of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the resignation of Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal from UMNO, while Gerakan has two parliamentary seats as a result of the Teluk Intan by-election.

If the other 12 Barisan Nasional component parties have never agreed to the Barisan Nasional government takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill motion in Parliament, in fact never agreed that Hadi’s private member’s bill motion should be given priority ahead of official government business to surface in Parliament to be debated and voted on, will the 15 non-UMNO Ministers at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow get Zahid to announce (i) that his announcement last Friday  was only the stand of UMNO but not the 13-party Barisan Nasional; (ii) that UMNO respects and accepts the stand of the other 12  BN parties which opposed any BN government takeover of Hadi’s private members’ bill or giving priority to Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament for it to be debated and voted ahead of government official business.

UMNO’s takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill in the name of Barisan Nasional, without consent or even discussion with the leaders and Ministers of the  other 12 BN component parties, is a critical test case of the consensus character of the BN – which was the founding characteristic of the BN when formed by Tun Razak in 1973, with Razak, Tan Siew Sin, Sambanthan, Dr. Lim Chong Eu, and the Sabah and Sarawak BN leaders operating on the basis of consensus, just like the days of Alliance under Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V. T. Sambantah where consensus and not UMNO hegemony was the basis of the coalition.

Let us see whether the three MCA Ministers, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Wee Ka Siong, Ong Kah Chaun, the Gerakan Minister Datuk Seri  Mah Siew Keong,  the MIC Minister Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam, the Sabah non-UMNO Ministers, Maximus Ongkili, Wilfred Madius Tangau, Joseph Kurup and the

the Sarawak non-UMNO Ministers, Nancy Shukri, Fadillah Yusof, Wan Junaidi, Rohani Abdul Karim, Richard Riot Anak Jaem and Joseph Entulu Anak Belaun will succeed at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow to get Zahid to withdraw his statement that the government will adopt and move Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament and clarify that it is UMNO but not BN stand!

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 23 March 2017, 9:14 am and is filed under
MCA
,
Sabah
,
Sarawak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Cabinet tomorrow should sponsor a RM100,000 essay  or social media posting contest on  “Is Najib a kleptocrat?” or “Is Malaysia a global kleptocracy?”?

Today, the UMNO Information Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa offererd RM10,000 for the best essay or social media posting which can prove that I am a “racist”.

He said that the  social media posting or essay should be titled “LKS is a racist, anti-Islam and a dictator of 51 years, is it true?”.

He said that the reason for the UMNO Information Office essay or social media posting competititon  was “to encourage people to carry out a research into allegations of Kit Siang being a racist, anti-Islam and a dictator”.

This is disgraceful, cheapskate and gutter politics.

Responsible and respectable politicians only  make serious allegations against others when they have proofs and evidence, but Annuar Musa does the opposite and  belongs to the dishonourable category who hurl allegations at others and then look for evidence to substantiate the allegations.

Annuar’s claim of a RM100,000 essay contest is the strongest proof that Annuar had no evidence whatsoever when he alleged that I am “anti-Malay  and anti-Islam” and he is now trying to look for evidence to substantiate his allegations – and he had thought of a cheapstake way of doing it.

I had countered by calling Annuar  “father of racists” and “a disgrace to Islam” and let’s see whether he would dare to sue me in court.  As to whether I would institute legal proceedings against Annuar, I am seeking legal advice on the matter.

Annuar’s RM100,000 essay is also downright irresponsible.

He hope to poison the minds of Malaysians by organising such an essay/social media posting competition, but will he give a blanket guarantee to all participants to pay all damages for all essays/social media postings  in cases of defamation?

It would be more  useful for the Cabinet meeting tomorrow to sponsor an essay writing or social media posting contest on “Is Najib a kleptocrat?” or “Is Malaysia a global kleptocracy?” – with RM100,000 award to the best essay or posting, RM50,000 to the second-best and RM10,000 to the third-best.

I had in fact asked Barisan Nasional Ministers and Members of Parliament in Parliament last November whether they understood the meaning of “Kleptocracy” especially as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits to confiscate over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland arising from US$3 billion 1MDB international money-laundering scandal was made under the US Kleptocratic Assets Recovery Initiative?

I told Parliament that  kleptoracy is a government of 3Ps – Pencuri, Perompak and Penyamun.

Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said there is a 4P in kleptocracy – Penyangak.

I do not think any patriotic Malaysian, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics, want Malaysia to become a kleptocracy and they become citizens of 3P or 4P kleptocracy.

This is why I had put in a question in the  current meeting of Parliament asking the Prime Minister as to what steps the government has taken to cleanse and restore the good name and reputation on Malaysia from being regarded and ridiculed as a global kleptocracy.

But this question was rejected by the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia perversely claiming that it violated Parliamentary Standing Orders.

If MPs cannot ask this question in Parliament, then Malaysians should ask such a question to Najib and all the Cabinet Ministers, and this is why a Cabinet sponsorship of essay or social media posting competition on “Is Najib a kleptocrat?” or “Is Malaysia a global kleptocracy?” would be a great act allowing Malaysians to show their patriotism and love for Malaysia.

Let us see whether the Cabinet tomorrow dare to sponsor such an essay writing or social media posting competition!

(Speech at the DAP Voters Registration campaign in Kulim on Thursday, 23rd March 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 March 2017, 6:29 am and is filed under
Media
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


I will officially write to Najib to propose that the government sponsor an essay or social media posting competition on “Is Malaysia a global kleptocracy and what we should do about it?”

The UMNO Information Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa has proved that he is a cheapskate, low-class and irresponsible politician when he offered RM10,000 for the best essay or social media posting entitled “LKS is a racist, anti-Islam and a dictator of 51 years, is it true?”.

Responsible and respectable politicians only  make serious allegations against others when they have proofs and evidence, but Annuar Musa does the opposite and  belongs to the dishonourable category who hurl allegations at others and then look for evidence to substantiate the allegations.

Annuar’s proposal of a RM10,000 essay contest is the strongest proof that Annuar had no evidence whatsoever when he alleged that I am “anti-Malay  and anti-Islam” and he is now trying to look for evidence to substantiate his allegations.

Annuar must be condemned by all right thinking Malaysians, whether in government or in Opposition, for it is such people who bring disgrace and dishonour to politics and strengthen the popular belief that politics is dirty, when it is dirty politicians like Annuar who are prepared to go to any lengths to achieve political mileage, regardless of how irresponsible, unscrupulous or immoral the means they employ.

However, I want to thank Annuar for the  idea of an essay or social media posting, which should not be misused or abused as in Annuar’s case, but should be used  to promote a good national cause.

I will officially write  to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to propose that the government should sponsor an essay or social media posting competition on “Is Malaysia a global kleptocracy and what we should do about it?” – offering RM500,000 to the best essay or social media posting, RM300,000 to the second best and RM100,000 to the third best, with RM50,000 consolation prize to the next ten best essays or social media posting.

I believe that the national essay of social media posting contest on ““Is Malaysia a global kleptocracy and what we should do about it?” will have the positive effect to promote patriotic feelings among Malaysians, as I do not believe that there is any patriotic Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, age or political affiliation, who want Malaysia to be regarded or ridiculed by the world as a “global kleptocracy”.

I had asked Barisan Nasional Ministers and Members of Parliament in Parliament last November whether they understood the meaning of “Kleptocracy” especially as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits to confiscate over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland arising from US$3 billion 1MDB international money-laundering scandal was made under the US Kleptocratic Assets Recovery Initiative.

I told Parliament that  kleptoracy is a government of 3Ps – Pencuri, Perompak and Penyamun.

Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said there is a 4P in kleptocracy – Penyangak.

A government sponsorship of a national essay or social media posting competition on “Is Malaysia a global kleptocracy and what we should do about it?” will re-ignite the sense of patriotism among Malaysians, as it will be a test of the extent of patriotism among Malaysians.

In my letter to Najib,  I will outline the arguments why the  Federal Government should take the initiative to sponsor such a national essay or social media posting competition on “Is Malaysia a global kleptocracy and what we should do about it?”

(Speech at the DAP Voters Registration campaign at Simpang Kuala, Alor Setar  on Friday, 24th  March 2017 at 9.30 am)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 March 2017, 7:43 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Has UMNO called the bluff of MCA, Gerakan and MIC and virtually challenged them to leave Barisan Nasional over UMNO’s support for Hadi’s private member’s bill?

Has UMNO called the bluff of MCA, Gerakan and MIC and virtually challenged them to leave Barisan Nasional over UMNO’s support for Hadi’s private member’s bill?

The latest report is that UMNO is calling the bluff of MCA, Gerakan and MIC and virtually challenged them to leave Barisan Nasional over UMNO’s support for PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act 355, and UMNO’s stand that the Barisan Nasional government takeover Hadi’s private member’s bill.

But are MCA, Gerakan and MIC prepared to leave Barisan Nasional over UMNO’s support of Hadi’s private member’s bill and insistence that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government takeover Hadi’s private member’s bill?

The latest report about UMNO’s support for Hadi’s private member’s bill is that UMNO has agreed that Hadi’s private member’s bill would not apply as far as Sabah and Sarawak are concerned, and in the process, secured the non-opposition of the Sabah and Sarawak BN Ministers and MPs.

However, the real issue is not the merits or demerits of Hadi’s private member’s bill but  the crucial and critical one as to whether Barisan Nasional has changed its character from a consensus-based coalition of 13 component parties into a political coalition operating solely under the dictates of UMNO hegemony – at least as far as the Peninsular parties like MCA, Gerakan and MIC are concerned.

The issue was precipitated last  Friday when the  Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi announced that the government will take over Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament, but the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Sabah/Sarawak Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders claim that they knew nothing about it and never agreed to it.

Irresponsible, divisive and destructive  quarters have branded those who criticize or even oppose Hadi’s private member’s bill as anti-Islam, forgetting that the Sarawak Chief Minister, Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg (a Muslim) had upheld the stand of the previous Sarawak Chief Minister, Adenan Satem (another Muslim) and directed all the 25 Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs (which included four Muslim Federal Ministers) to reject Hadi’s private member’s bill motion.

I had asked whether  the 15 non-UMNO Ministers at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow will get Zahid to announce (i) that his announcement last Friday  was only the stand of UMNO but not the 13-party Barisan Nasional; (ii) that UMNO respects and accepts the stand of the other 12  BN parties which opposed any BN government takeover of Hadi’s private members’ bill or giving priority to Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament for it to be debated and voted ahead of government official business.

Even if UMNO leadership has secured the “non-opposition” of the Sabah and Sarawak BN MPs, UMNO’s takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill in the name of Barisan Nasional, without consent or even discussion with the leaders and Ministers of the  other 12 BN component parties, is a critical test case of the consensus character of the BN – which was the founding characteristic of the BN when formed by Tun Razak in 1973, with Razak, Tan Siew Sin, Sambanthan, Dr. Lim Chong Eu, and the Sabah and Sarawak BN leaders operating on the basis of consensus, just like the days of Alliance under Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V. T. Sambantah where consensus and not UMNO hegemony was the basis of the coalition.

Let us see whether the UMNO leadership will succeed in calling the bluff of MCA, Gerakan and MIC at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.

[Speech (2) at the DAP Voters Registration campaign in Kulim on Thursday, 23rd March 2017 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 March 2017, 7:06 am and is filed under
Islam
,
MCA
,
Parliament
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Thanks to Kedah DAP leaders for  suggesting that I contest in Kedah in 14GE – but wait for my response in Gelang Patah tomorrow

I want to thank the Kedah DAP Chairman and DAP State Assembyman for Derga, Sdr. Tan Kok Yew and DAP State Assemblyman for Kota Darul Aman, Sdr. Teoh Boon Bok for suggesting in the ceramahs this morning  that I contest in Kedah in the 14th General Election.

In my parliamentary constituency in Gelang Patah in Johor, MCA and Gerakan have launched an attack on me by putting  up “Missing Person” posters.

I said yesterday that I would address these “Missing Person” posters when I return to Gelang Patah this evening, but I want through the media this morning to announce a slight change of plan.

Although I will be back in Gelang Patah this evening, it would be quite late,   I will instead hold a media conference tomorrow morning to address these “Missing Person” posters.

While I thank the Kedah DAP leaders for their offer to me to contest in Kedah in the next general election, let us wait until my media conference in Gelang Patah tomorrow.

Be that as it may, the next 14GE, which may be held in September, is a crucial and critical milestone for the country’s national and political development.

Malaysians will be offered a choice between Saving Malaysia or  Saving Najib Razak. There can be no in-between.

If Malaysians do not want Malaysia to become a global kleptocracy and  a country mired in a culture of corruption, hurtling towards a trajectory heading towards a failed and a rogue state, then all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or politics (whether members of  DAP, PKR, AMANAH, Bersatu, PAS, UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC or Sarawak/Sabah BN component parties) must unite to Save Malaysia.

This call applies to UMNO and PAS members as well.

PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has his own agenda in wanting to be very pally with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

However, he also would have to confront the choice of deciding whether to Save Malaysia or the Save Najib.

I do not believe that PAS members want to Save Najib instead of Save Malaysia.

Even the ordinary 3.5 million UMNO members would want to Save Malaysia and not to Save Najib if they understand that the country is presented with such as a stark choice in the next general election.

(Speech at the DAP Voters Registration campaign in Alor Setar   on Friday, 24th  March 2017 at 11 am)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 24 March 2017, 8:24 pm and is filed under
DAP
,
Elections
,
PAS
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Call on Gelang Patah voters, regardless of race, religion or even party politics, to lead a national “Save and Reset Malaysia” movement  from kleptocracy and the fate of a failed and rogue state

In the past three  to four months, I had never in my life been so “famous” in the UMNO/BN owned or controlled mainstream media, as almost every day, my picture would appear and there would be a write-up about me, appearing either in New Straits Times, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, STAR or TV3 – all trying to put me  in the worst possible light.

There was for instance a standing instruction for decades in one of the major newspaper groups that my picture was never to appear in their dailies.

Why have I become so “famous” in the past three to four  months when for over 50 years of my political life, I had been mostly blacked out by the UMNO/BN owned or controlled mainstream media, making me into a “non-person” as in Stalinist Soviet Union – with all the concoctions, falsehoods and lies about me?

This is really all not about me, but about the UMNO/BN propagandists, cybertroopers and leadership – their fear that UMNO/BN might be ousted from Putrajaya in the forthcoming 14th General Election expected this year, probably in September.

If UMNO/BN feel strong and invincible, they would not waste time on their political competitors, whom until recently they regard as “lightweights” and unable to threaten their political power base.

It is precisely because UMNO  had a fright of its life  in the 13th General Election, when it was nearly sent to the Opposition benches as UMNO/BN had only won 47% of the popular vote but because of the undemocratic and unjust redelineation of constituencies which gave UMNO/BN control of 60 per cent of the parliamentary seats, that enabled Datuk Seri Najib Razak to continue as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, albeit as the first minority Prime Minister in Malaysian history.

In the 14GE – which is going to the “mother of all general elections in Malaysia” – UMNO/MCA leaders know that despite general public disappointments and disillusionment with the electoral process, there is nonetheless the great possibility that UMNO/BN may be voted out of power. This is why UMNO/BN leaders are pulling out all the stops to carry out unethical, dishonest, unprincipled and unscrupulous tactics and stratagems against the Opposition, such as the politics of lies, hate and fear to defame DAP and myself as anti-Malay,  anti-Islam and even being “communist” and “Singapore stooge” to frighten the Malay electorate.

This was why in the past two days,  I was subjected to attacks by two sides of the political spectrum – on one hand, the MCA-inspired attack on me with “Missing Person” banners in the Gelang Patah constituency, while on the hand, the attack by UMNO Information Chief,  Musa Annuar, offering RM10,000 prize for the best essay or social media posting on the subject: “LKS is a racist, anti-Islam and a dictator for 51 years, is it true?”

Annuar has proved himself to be a cheapskate, low-class and irresponsible politician for a responsible and respectable politicians would  only make serious allegations against others when they have proofs and evidence, but Annuar Musa does the opposite – he made allegations and then desperately look for evidence to substantiate them.

But I did not realise that Annuar is such a “desperate” UMNO politician  evident from his upping his RM10,000 offer to RM50,000 in less than 24 hours. Annuar has made history in Malaysia not only as a cheapskate, low-class and irresponsible politician  but also as  a most desperate one. Congrats Annuar!

But the “Missing Person” gambit and the RM10,000 upped to RM50,000  offer for the best essay or social media posting are just symptoms of a larger UMNO/BN disease – the preparedness of their leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers to stoop to any level to demonise their opponents.

Recently, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s pet subject had been to rail against fake news and false information which he blamed the Opposition of spreading through the social media but the greatest creator of fake news and false information are none other than Najib himself and the UMNO/BN propaganda machinery and cybertroopers.

What is Najib doing to ensure that UMNO/BN do not create and spread fake news and false information against the Opposition?

Will UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers stop their fake news and false information by creating the  baseless spectre and “nightmare” among Malay voters that if UMNO is defeated in the 14GE, the “anti-Malay and anti-Islam” DAP would rule in Malaysia, and that all the other parties, whether PKR, Amanah or Pribumi Bersatu are just stooges of the DAP.

For instance, the UMNO Wanita chief, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil last week raised the spectre  in a recent visit to Felda Mempaga near Bentong that the Malays would be sidelined if the people supported the Opposition in the 14GE as it is akin to picking DAP to become the next government, coupled with the Big Lie that the Malays in Penang were being increasingly marginalised by the DAP leadership.

But when Pakatan Harapan presidential council accepted Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia as a member, UMNO propagandists and cybertroopers went into overdrive to accuse former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir of attempting to hijack Pakatan Harapan – evidence of a double-faced and unprincipled  propaganda offensive which on the one hand accused me of dominating Pakatan while on the othr hand,    Mahathir is accused at the same time of hijacking and dominating Pakatan.

We must not be the playthings of these cynical and unprincipled propagandists.

This year Malaysians will be celebrating our 60th National Day to commemorate the nation’s attainment of Independence on August 31, 1957.

In the past six decades, Malaysia failed to live up to the promises of Merdeka in 1957 for the country to be an example and showcase to the troubled world as to how diverse races, languages, religions, cultures and civilisations could successfully co-exist and integrate to build a united, harmonious, purposive, democratic, just, progressive and prosperous nation.

The 60th National Day anniversary is a fit and proper moment for the nation to undertake a “Malaysia Reset” movement, where we keep policies and measures which had done good to the country but correct or even abandon policies and measures detrimental to the nation or which had damaged the nation building process.

The incumbent UMNO/Barisan Nasional government will not conduct any such “Malaysia Reset” Movement, as a new political coalition in Putrajaya is a precondition for any “Malaysia Reset” movement and transformation in Malaysia.

Here, let me touch on 10 areas which should be the subject of a “Malaysia Reset” operation:

1. The ruling coalition of political parties in Putrajaya must be a coalition of equals, and not a “master-servant” coalition. The Alliance of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Cheng Lock and V.T. Sambanthan started as a consensus coalition of equals, and so was the National Front when it was started in the early seventies by Tun Razak, together with Tan Siew Sin, Sambanthan, Dr. Lim Chong Eu and leaders of Sabah/Sarawak BN parties.

But the National Front today is a very different creature if we go by the announcement of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi  that the government will take over PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (or Act 355).

There is no need here to go into the merits or demerits of Hadi’s private member’s bill motion. What is clear is that there is no consensus whether in the Cabinet or the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council for any Barisan Nasional Government take-over of Hadi’s private member’s bill, and if a Deputy UMNO President can disregard the stand and position of the other 12 non-UMNO Barisan Nasional parties, then the National Front coalition has changed it character from a coalition of equals based on consensus into one where UMNO exercises hegemony in unilaterally deciding what should be the National Front stand on any issue.

2. Malaysia should become a normal democratic country, where the voters can peacefully and democratically change the Federal government through the ballot box, as in countries recognized as normal democracies, whether United Kingdom, European countries, United States, Australia or even Asian countries like India, South Korea and Japan.

The voters should not be threatened with chaos, riots or undemocratic and authoritarian measures to frustrate the democratic will of the people expressed in a general election, as is the case in Malaysia today.

Will  Najib  announce that he will unconditionally accept the democratic verdict of the people in the 14GE, and that he regards Malaysia becoming a normal democratic country where the voters can peacefully and democratically change the Federal government through the ballot box as even more important than his continuing as Prime Minister?

3. Parliament must be restored as the highest legislative and political chamber in the land, in accordance with the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers among the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. At present, Parliament is a mere appendage of the Executive, and there are even important national issues which are banned from questioning or debate in Parliament, like the 1MDB scandal, while there are no ways to stop the questioning or debate of 1MDB outside Parliament, whether inside or outside the country.

4. Restoration of the independence, impartiality and professionalism of the Judiciary. In South Korea, eight judges of the Constitutional Court could unanimously uphold the impeachment of the South Korean President by the South Korean Parliament on charges of corruption and cronyism. Is it thinkable that such a thing could happen in Malaysia? This speaks volume about public confidence in the independence, impartiality and professionalism of the Judiciary in Malaysia.

5. An independent, non-partisan, professional and efficient Election Commission. This is sorely lacking at present. It is an indictment on the competence, efficiency and professionalism of the Election Commission that on the eve of the impending 14GE which may be held in September, over four million eligible voters representing some 25 per cent of some 17.6 million eligible total electorate had not registered on the electoral roll as to qualify them to cast their vote in an election.

6. A new Federal government in Putrajaya will commission a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal which has caused Malaysia to be ridiculed world-wide as a “global kleptocracy”.  We will eradicate the culture of kleptocracy which has permeated into various aspects of public life, creating not only the monster of the 1MDB scandal, but also affected government institutions and government-linked agencies like FELDA and MARA.

7. An important objective of “Malaysia Reset” must involve an all-out war against corruption, cronyism and abuses of power. During Saudi Arabia King Salman’s visit to Jakarta, the Saudi visitors lavished multi-million ringgit worth of gifts on Indonesian officials, ranging from customized Arabian sabres, Rolex watches, gold ballpoint pens and diamonds rings. Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has given all Indonesian officials 30 days to report such presents. Why is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) not doing the same in requiring all Malaysian officials to declare the gifts they received during the Saudi Arabian visit of the Salman delegation to Malaysia?

8. Malaysia should become a country where the talents and expertise of all Malaysians can find fulfilment so that the nation realise the full potential in its development in all spheres of human endeavour. Sixty years ago, South Korea was both politically and economically much more backward than Malaysia, with a per capita GDP in South Korea less than half of our country when we achieved Merdeka in 1957. Today, South Korea is one of the richest and most developed countries in the world, whose human rights and democracy have reached a stage where a South Korean President could be impeached and removed. Where did Malaysia go wrong?

9. The fulfilment of aspirations of the people of Sabah and Sarawak for an equal place under the Malaysian sun, as spelt out in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.

10. Instead of being a show-case to the world of a successful and harmonious plural nation which is the confluence of the greatest religions, cultures and civilisations in the world, Malaysia has never been so polarized and divided than today.

Sixty-six years ago in 1951, the founder of UMNO Datuk Onn Jaafar was told that he was “too ahead of his times” when he left UMNO because his proposal to UMNO to open its doors to non-Malays and end the race-based communalist politics was rejected.

Fifty-one years ago, on 18th March 1966, DAP was told that we are “too ahead of our times” when we formed a political party dedicated towards the goal of a democratic, prosperous and just Malaysia for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

Thirty years ago, in December 1987, a top official visited me somewhere in Batu where I was held in solitary confinement for 60 days during the ISA custodial detention in my second ISA detention under Operation Lalang, and I was told that I would be formally detained and be sent to Kamunting Detention Centre, because the DAP was “too ahead of the times” although DAP principles and polices are right and good for the country – but it might take another generation for them to become generally acceptable.

This is 2017, sixty years after Merdeka in 1957 and 57 years after the formation of Malaysia – after three generation of Malaysians. A “Malaysia Reset” is imperative for all Malaysians to stop thinking of themselves merely as Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans and to start thinking of themselves as Malaysians!

The above ten areas should  be a priority for a   “Malaysia Reset” transformation after sixty years of Merdeka and 57 years of establishment of Malaysia – but such a “Malaysia Reset” is only possible if Najib, UMNO and BN in Putrajaya are ousted by Pakatan Harapan and Pribumi Bersatu in the 14GE.

This is why the stark choice of the voters of Malaysia in the 14GE is whether to Save Malaysia or to Save Najib.

I call on Gelang Patah voters, regardless of race, religion or even party politics, to lead a national “Save  and Reset Malaysia” movement, because we are all Malaysian patriots who do not want Malaysia to degenerate into a  global  kleptocracy and  caught in a trajectory hurtling towards a failed and rogue state.

This was why I had clocked nearly 20,000 kilometres in the past three months, travelling all over Malaysia, covering nearly all the 13 states, to spread the message for a “SAVE and RESET Malaysia” and for it to  be the crucial issue in the 14GE.

Yesterday, when I was in Alor Star as part of the “SAVE and RESET Malaysia” campaign, DAP Kedah leaders suggested that I contest in Kedah in the 14GE.

I thank the Kedah DAP leaders for their confidence and offer.

I have been struggling with the question whether I should call it a day as I have been in Malaysian politics for 51 years, since the formation of DAP in 1966.

If I contest in the 14GE, my first choice will be Gelang Patah. But if there is a strategic reason that I should contest in another constituency, I am prepared to give it serious consideration.

(Media Conference Statement after his walkabout at Kangkar Pulai on Saturday, 15th March 2017 at 9 am)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 25 March 2017, 9:00 am and is filed under
nation building
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Liow’s admission that the Cabinet did not discuss Hadi’s private member’s bill or RUU 355 yesterday is a shocking confession of spineless  misconduct  and abdication of responsibility of the five MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers

The admission by the MCA President and the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai that the Cabinet yesterday did not discuss the Federal Government-led Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act amendments is a most shocking confession of spineless misconduct and abdication of responsibility of the five MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers in Cabinet.

Are we going to repeat the rigmarole of previous  Parliaments where UMNO Ministers gave priority to PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill and  greeted by dutiful  dismay by MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers and MPs who feigned shock claiming that they did not know of such a move beforehand?

Is an UMNO Minister going to propose government takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill in the current meeting of Parliament, and MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers going to  jointly put up a farce that they had never agreed to such a parliamentary move in Cabinet and therefore need not assume any responsibility?

How can Liow claim that “there’s no new development on the RUU 355 Bill” when the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi announced last week that the government will take over Hadi’s private member’s bill at the current meeting of Parliament?

Liow and the other four MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers are really presenting  real-life spectacle of the traditional monkeys with eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouths that speak not!

What is the use of Liow and the other MCA Ministers meeting with representatives from the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, Federation of Hokkien Associations Malaysia and the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia after the Cabinet meeting when they dared not raise the issue in Cabinet  and secure a categorical commitment that there will be no government takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill in the current meeting of Parliament unless there is consensus and agreement in the Cabinet?

Did Liow seek clarification at the Cabinet meeting about news reports that the Prime Minister has secured the  “non-opposition” of the Sabah and Sarawak BN MPs with the provision that Sabah and Sarawak would specifically be excluded from the bill? Were  Liow and the other MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers afraid to seek such a clarification in the Cabinet?

Liow and all the other MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers owe the people a full explanation for their extraordinarily  spineless conduct in Cabinet yesterday.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 25 March 2017, 4:14 pm and is filed under
Islam
,
MCA
,
Najib Razak
,
Parliament
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Rahman Dahlan must be the “mastermind” responsible for Annuar Musa’s cheapskate, low-class and moronic proposal of RM10,000, upped to RM50,000 within 24 hours, for “best” essay or social media posting on whether I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam

I have been wondering why a seasoned politician like UMNO Information Chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa could make such a cheapskate, low-class and moronic proposal of RM10,000, upped to RM50,000 within 24 hours, for the “best” essay or social media posting on whether I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

Now I understand. Annuar was not a free agent, but was directed to make this stupid gambit by a political “superior”.

I believe that Rahman Dahlan must be the “mastermind” responsible for Annuar’s cheapskate, low-class and moronic proposal, which exposes Annuar to nation-wide ridicule and mockery, even inside UMNO, not only for the stupid gambit, but public contempt in first making an allegation and then going around looking for evidence to substantiate the allegation.

Who else would come to Annuar’s defence for such a cheapskate, low-class and moronic proposal except for those responsible for subjecting Annuar to such public contempt and ridicule for such a proposal?

In order to “salvage” the situation, Rahman Dahlan will be thinking of other “dirty tricks” to justify his “ingenuity” in thinking of the cheapskate essay or social media posting offer.

I believe Rahman is not only the “mastermind” putting up Annuar to such a stupid escapade, he has a hand in the recent UMNO propaganda offensive to demonise me as anti-Malay anti-Islam “monster”.

The diabolical campaign to smear and demonise me as anti-Malay and anti-Islam is reaching new heights, as Rahman Dahlan is desperately trying to ensure that his major initiative as BN Strategic Communications Director does not end as an abject failure!

Let me tell Rahman Dahlan, that if I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam, he and Annuar must be the stupidest politicians in the country as they have still look for evidence to back these allegations after I have been active in Malaysia for 51 years!

(Media Conference Statement in Teluk Intan on Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 11 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 March 2017, 6:03 pm and is filed under
DAP
,
Islam
,
Malays
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The issue in the  14th General Election is whether to Save Malaysia or to Save Najib

The next 14th General Election will present Malaysian voters with a  very clear-cut national choice – to Save Malaysia or to Save Najib Razak.

In less than eight years under  the sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has succeeded where the country’s first five Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah had not done in 52 years – subjecting Malaysia to world-wide ridicule and mockery as a global kleptocracy.

I told Parliament in a debate last November that there is nothing to be proud to be regarded as a “global klepotocracy” as a kleptocracy is a government of 3Ps – Pencuri, Perompak and Penyamun.  Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir said there is a fourth P – Penyangak!

Malaysia must be saved from a global kleptocracy, which will hurtle Malaysia towards a failed and rogue state.

I do not believe there are any Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even political affiliation, who wants Malaysia to become and continue to be  a global kleptocracy, and even ordinary UMNO and PAS members, if they understand the real issues involved in the 14th GE, would unite with all patriotic Malaysians to save Malaysia from a global kleptocracy.

This morning, I read the following news from Malaysiakini:

“
PAS sec-gen swept aside by new faces in FAM

“The old guard, including PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, was completely wiped out in the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) election today.

“Several incumbent office-bearers had chosen not to defend their position, while those that did were defeated.

“Takiyuddin was the only incumbent to defend his vice-president position.

“He only managed to garner three out of 38 delegate votes, the second lowest of eight contenders vying for four vice-president positions.”

This reminds me of the news, also from Malaysiakini, last week on March 18, which read:

“
Nik Abduh trounced in PAS divisional election

“PAS Youth chief Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz was trounced in the Pengkalan Chepa PAS division election today.

“Nik Abduh, who was vying for the position of Pengkalan Chepa PAS deputy chief, suffered heavy defeat against sole competitor Dr Izani Husin.

“Izani, who is the incumbent, garnered 207 votes compared to Nik Abduh’s 37 votes, according to a source…

“The division is significant as it was previously led by Nik Abduh’s late father Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, a well-respected religious scholar and spiritual leader for PAS.”

These two news items remind us that a quiet revolution is taking place in our nation  and it is a great error of judgment for anyone  to take the people’s support for granted – for instance for the top PAS  and UMNO national leaders to assume that PAS and UMNO members will definitely vote in accordance with their wishes and directives, regardless of the circumstances.

I have not come across greater restiveness and unease among the Malay voters about the UMNO government and leadership, especially those who understand the magnitude of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal, which is making news headlines almost every other day all over the world, except in Malaysia.

Even among the 1.6 million civil service, I do not think there has  been a time in the history of Malaysia where the civil servants are so restive and agitated over the corruption in the top levels of government and the lack of good governance of  the UMNO leaders.

The next 14th general elections will present Malaysians with a stark choice – whether to Save Malaysia or to Save Najib.

The PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has made clear as to where he stands on the issue – that he wants to Save Najib and not to Save Malaysia.

Is this why Hadi had not said a single word of condemnation or even criticism against Najib over  the 1MDB scandal – although it is the “mother” of all financial scandals in Malaysia, and is even regarded as the largest kleptocratic scandal in the world.

I am reminded of what the first Caliph Abu Bakr said when he was elected:  “If I do well, then help me, and if I act wrongly, then correct me. Truthfulness is synonymous with fulfilling the trust and lying is equivalent to treachery”. (“Jika aku betul, tolonglah aku. Jika aku salah betulkanlah aku. Benar itu adalah amanah, bohong itu adalah khianat.”)

Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region or even political affiliation – whether ordinary members of DAP, PKR, Amanah, Pribumi Bersatu, UMNO, PAS, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, PBB, PBS, SUPP and the other Sabah/Sarawak BN parties – must unite as one people in the 14GE to SAVE Malaysia and not  to SAVE Najib.

(Speech at DAP “Voters Registration” campaign at Changkat Jong, Perak  on Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 10 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 26 March 2017, 7:19 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
,
PAS
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Graft fighting Riau people shocked at 1MDB scandal

The Independent

March 26, 2017

There is no polling in Riau that will tell the extent of the sentiment expressed by the locals over the 1MDB scandal.

But as soon as Prime Minister Najib Razak’s image appears on local television stations, patrons in coffee shops and restaurants would mumble in silence: “RM2.6 billion and he walks free!” they would say.

Though Indonesia is widely known for its corruption – which is at times embedded in the culture of the country’s politics in particular – Riau has seen its fair share of a witch hunt.

From Members of the Parliament to Assemblymen, police officers and governor’s of Riau, the long arm of the law did not sit back to watch the criminals get away with corruption.

And the locals in townships and villages are aghast at the fact that Najib Razak has remained in power despite being hit by a massive scandal of international scale.

Why the interest in Malaysia?

Oil rich Riau has a population of cross-breeds, that speaks Bahasa Melayu and they have a history linking them to Malaysia through the Malaysian states of Malacca and Johor.

In the past, Johor was part of the greater Johor-Riau kingdom and the affinity does not end there.

Thousands of Riau citizens travels to Malaysia either for health care or on business trips, while some own houses in Johor, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan.

Two years ago, Riau governor Annas Maamun was dragged to the Bandung Corruption Court.

Annas was found guilty of accepting bribes in a forest conversion case that caused the state losses of US$375,460.

The court sentenced Annas to six years in prison and fined him Rp 200 million, or face an additional two months’ imprisonment.

The verdict read as follows: ‘An aggravating factor is that the defendant is a regional leader who should have served as a good example for the community.’

He is not the only governor who was sent to jail for bribery and for corruption.

Former Riau Governor Rusli Zainal, the flamboyant and well-liked political figure, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power in connection with two graft cases involving the 2012 National Games (PON) and the illegal issuance of forestry permits.

“The defendant has been proven validly and convincingly guilty of corruption, consciously committing the crime[s], providing a bad example for the public,” read the verdict.

And history turned a new page in Indragiri Hilir when a metal bridge built by Rusli Zainal in 2002 when he was the Bupati, collapsed, erasing his legacy altogether.

And when Najib Razak is mentioned, scores of people would state their disbelief that a serving Prime Minister can just walk away with RM2.6 billion in his private accounts, while an agency he headed is rigged with scandals and billions of dollars lost.

This, they cannot comprehend.

Malaysia is close to their hearts, so much so, that in the early 2000’s a Bupati of Bengkalis demonstrated in the streets carrying a Malaysian flag and calling for Riau to be annexed to Malaysia.

His grievances against Jakarta was that the Javanese led-government did not care about its citizens in Riau, plowing the oil reserves and giving the only pittance to the province.

That was then, and it was at the end of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s era.

Today, no Bupati would demonstrate or urge the people of Riau to even pray to join Malaysia in a federation, as the winds of change hit both territories that are separated by the Malacca straits.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 March 2017, 10:17 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Pieces falling into place – there is a high-powered and well-orchestrated campaign to break Pakatan Harapan by demonizing DAP and me, hoping at least to break my spirit and force my retirement from politics

Pieces are falling into place – there is a high-powered and well-orchestrated campaign to break Pakatan Harapan by demonizing DAP and me, hoping at least to break my spirit and force my retirement from politics.

The  two pieces which finally  convince me of such a high-powered and well-orchestrated campaign were the  latest attack from the MCA Deputy President and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department,  Wee Ka Siong replete with lies and falsehoods and the uncharacteristic salvo from UMNO MP for Balik Pulau and Deputy Health Minister accusing me of being untrustworthy and a person not to be believed.

Before this, there were  blasts from the UMNO Information chief, Annuar Musa culminating in taking hate politics to new height in Malaysia, offering RM10,000, which was  upped to RM50,000 within 24 hours, for the “best” essay or social media posting that I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam and the “missing person” banners and posters which were put up in the Gelang Patah parliamentary constituency.

I have never seen such an outpouring, close to an avalanche, of demonization of myself as in the last three months in the UMNO/Barisan owned or controlled mass media, like the New Straits Times, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, Star, or TV3, when for the past half a century of my political activities, I was blacked out in these media, with clear directive given in one mainstream media  that my photograph was never to be used.

Now I appear almost daily, if not in New Straits Times, then in Utusan, Berita Harian, Star or TV3, even with pictures – but there were no  news, facts  or truth, but downright lies, falsehood and fake news to demonise me, describing me as a devil, an hantu, puaka or even jembalang, as if I breathe fire or eat babies for breakfast; that I am anti-Malay, anti-Islam, that I was the cause of the May 13 racial riots in 1969 (exactly 48 years ago)  although I was never in Kuala Lumpur during that period and was in fact in Kota Kinabalu on that tragic day of May 13, 1969; that I am a communist; a stooge of Singapore PAP.

An example of such fake news and false information, is the weekend claim by the BN Strategic Communication Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Abdul Rahman Dahlan that there are DAP grassroots members and even leaders who want a change of DAP party leadership and that I should retire from politics.

In fact, if it is true that there are grievances among DAP grassroot members and among  DAP leaders who want me to retire from politics, Rahman should not spoil their plans by  making a  public announcement of it, but quietly instigate such disaffection in the DAP.

Rahman would only make such a public announcement when his  claim is just a pack of lies –  part of a “masterplan” to demonise me and to break my spirit by incessant baseless attacks to compel me to  retire from politics.

I am surprised that  Wee as MCA Deputy Minister has been drafted into this high-powered and well-orchestrated diabolical  “masterplan” to demonise me to the extent of breaking my spirit and compel me to retire from politics.

What he said in the Star today that I was only an MP for Ipoh Timor for two terms, “while for the rest (of the constituencies), it was only for one term” is another BN “fake news, false information”.

I previously had some respect for Wee, but when he is prepared to become a “court jester” in the UMNO/BN “masterplan” to demonise and destroy me, I will not waste any more time on him.

UMNO/BN leaders (including Wee) behind this conspiracy in the past few months making full use of the UMNO/BN mainstream media as well as the social media to demonise and destroy me should know of the saying 真金不怕紅爐火 (True Gold is not afraid of furnace fire).

I said in Gelang Patah on Saturday that I had been struggling with the question whether I should call it a day as I have been in Malaysian politics for 51 years, since the formation in 1966, and I want to thank supporters and well-wishers who had phoned up to urge me to  soldier on.

The high-powered well-orchestrated campaign by UMNO/BN leaders to demonise and destroy me by breaking my spirit will have the effect of hardening my resolve NOT to succumb to such “dirty politics” of hate, fear and intimidation.

If I finally decide to soldier on in the 14GE, I have to thank the UMNO/BN “dirty tricks department” for their high-powered and well-orchestrated campaign of lies and falsehoods to try to destroy and break my spirit in the political arena.

I should tell the UMNO/BN leaders and propagandists in their “dirty tricks department” that they are sorely mistaken if they believe if they can engineer my retirement from politics, DAP will be easy meat.

With or without me, DAP will continue to be a Malaysian political party committed to the objectives of justice, fair play, freedom, democracy, development and prosperity for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

DAP is not a political party of  one or a few persons but a national movement to achieve the Malaysian Dream where all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or political affiliation, can stand tall and feel proud as a Malaysian, not as at present, when we are ashamed outside the country  to admit that we are Malaysians because of the curse, infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy and the 1MDB scandal.

(Media Statement in Parliament  on Monday, 27th March 2017 at 3 pm)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 27 March 2017, 3:10 pm and is filed under
DAP
,
MCA
,
Media
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Are we in the last ten  days or fortnight of the 44-year-old Barisan Nasional founded by  Tun Razak in 1973  as a consensus-based political coalition  if UMNO imposes  hegemony by unilaterally  taking over Hadi’s private member’s bill on RUU 355, whether on April 6 to 10?

Are we in the last ten days or fortnight of the 44-year-old Barisan Nasional founded by Tun Razak  in 1973 as a consensus-based political coalition if UMNO imposes hegemony by unilaterally taking over PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill on RUU 355, whether on April 6 (the last day of the present Parliamentary meeting) or on April 10 (extension of present Parliament)?

Will Barisan Nasional totally change its character in the next 10 to 14 days from a political coalition where there must be the 3Cs, consultation, consensus and consent from and with everyone of the 13 Barisan Nasional component parties before a policy, measure or decision can become  Barisan Nasional government policy, measure or decision into one where the Barisan Nasional is only a coalition in name but accepts UMNO hegemony, where what UMNO leaders want and desire become the law in Barisan Nasional?

If Barisan Nasional remains true to its founding principles as a consensus-based  coalition as  when it was formed by Tun Razak in 1973, then what the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi announced on March 18  that the government will takeover and  move Hadi’s private member’s bill this Parliament without consultation, consensus or consent from the 12 other parties in Barisan Nasional should not have taken place.

What’s more, if such a  fundamental breach of the  consensus principle had taken place  under the previous Barisan Nasional Prime Ministers, the leaders of the other component parties would have spoken up and even protested, and the previous Barisan Nasional coalition would have rectified such a fundamental breach of the consensus principle at the next available Cabinet meeting.

But nothing happened at the next available Cabinet meeting after Zahid’s fundamental breach of the Barisan Nasional consensus principle – which was on Friday, 25th March 2017.

None other than the MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Sri Liow Tiong Lai confirmed that  at  last Friday’s Cabinet meeting,  the Ministers did not discuss Zahid’s unilateral announcement and fundamental breach of the consensus principle of the 13 BN component parties.

Why was this case?

Why didn’t the 15 non-UMNO Ministers in the 35-Minister Cabinet have the guts, gumption, principle and conviction to  raise the subject of Zahid’s fundamental breach of BN’s consensus principle and to demand a public clarification from Zahid that he was at most speaking on behalf of UMNO, but not the Barisan Nasional as there had been no 3Cs on the issue – consultation, consensus and  consent from all the 13 BN component parties.

There are reports that Sarawak and Sabah will be completely  excluded from the proposed legislation, which will result in “one country, three laws” situation in Malaysia.

Such provision will also  be most divisive for nation-building, as it will be quite impossible to implement “one country, three laws”, as questions that would be raised would be the status of Sarawakians and Sabahans in Peninsular Malaysia – are they affected by the proposed legislation or not?

When an UMNO Minister stands up in Parliament to take over Hadi’s private member’s bill, will all the Ministers and MPs from the other 12 non-UMNO parties in Barisan Nasional declare their dissociation from UMNO and BN, resulting in the dissolution of BN, or will they just accept the new situation and the fact that BN is no more a consensus-based coalition but one based on UMNO hegemony, where what UMNO leaders say and want are the new law and operational principles in Barisan Nasional?

Can the  leaders and Ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP, PBB, PBS and the other Sabah/Sarawak BN parties throw light on this issue, or they are utterly muddled and confused, but accept UMNO hegemony in BN?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 28 March 2017, 12:16 pm and is filed under
Gerakan
,
MCA
,
Parliament
,
PAS
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.