A call to Malay M’sians to reject red-shirt menace

Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

Malaysiakini

8th Sept 2015

I am writing as a concerned Malaysian and as a responsible Muslim against the overt threats of those I will refer to as the RSMM – the Red Shirt Malay Menace.

I have no idea what the official name of this group is, so I am using my academic licence to call them RSMM. Were this a Bahasa Malaysia article, I would dub them MMTM – Melayu Merah Tiada Maruah.

But strangely enough, this article is not about the RSMM but more about the deafening silence from the Malay political leadership, the Malay leadership of public universities, the Malay ulama who are muftis, and the Malay leadership in one particular political group which claims to be the sole warriors of Islam.

From the first day that the activities of this group were reported in the media and online videos showing them as ‘pahlawan’ or warriors getting ready for battle, I have kept a close eye on not their childish statements and loud bravado but on who amongst the Malay elites of this country holding the bastion of power socially, religiously and politically would say about this group and their more-than-clear intention.

Fair enough, some of these elites have considered the Bersih 4 rally an illegal event bordering on ‘biadab’ for allegedly marring our National Day events. What is totally unacceptable and unfair is that many of these elites seem to agree to the suggestion that the rally is a ‘Chinese-led’ protest against the sanctity of Malay and Muslim governance in this country.

Were these people blind to the many Malays who were at the rally? What is clear is that both the organisers and the participants were multiracial. Yes, there was more of one race than the others but even if there was the presence of one intelligent, moral and conscientious Malay, that would still make the rally a multiracial event.

What is clear from the pictures and videos, the RSMM organisers and participants are 100 percent Malays. How do I know this academically? Well they called themselves ‘Melayu’ and talked about defending ‘maruah Melayu’. Now I will not speculate on who actually were responsible for the posters showing bloody pictures of racial mayhem but that they were there in plain sight for many to see speaks volume of who the perpetrators might possibly be.

Where have they gone?

Now let us leave the RSMM to their dances of silliness and animalistic mimicry. Let us ask ourselves, where are the moderate and sane voices of the Malay elites?

First, let us ask ourselves where are the moderate and Islamically-sane voices of the many rich and powerful Umno elites strutting proudly in the corridors of power in Putrajaya? Where are the voices of the Malay menteri and timbalan menteri that number more than two bus coaches can bear?

Many were quick to point out about Bersih’s purported ‘illegality’ and ‘kurang ajar-ness’; where now are their voices against the RSMM and their obvious aim of ‘cari gaduh’. Where are the voices?

Or is it that our menteris and timbalan menteris are frightened that the Umno delegates would not vote for them if they utter any voice of sanity and love to hear them condemn non-Malays and spew venom on those Malays who loves their non-Malay brethren, be they Chinese, Indians, Christians, Buddhists or Hindus?

Many Malaysians like me are wondering whether these Malay elites should be given the serious responsibilities of running this country. For all their wealth, education and frequent trips to Mekah, I see a sorry state of leadership in our cabinet of Malay ‘warriors.’ Or perhaps these Malay leaders are waiting for a signal from their esteemed leader, the prime minister himself?

I think I do not wish to say anything about our esteemed prime minister because it is very hard to read him since he is always in his infamous ‘elegant silence’ mode. Anyway let us leave the PM as he seems very busy – the busiest I have seen in his entire career – giving speeches here and there and giving this and that to various groups of people.

What I learn is that a true leader must stand alone and be brave and conscientious enough to make a stand. What is the point of being a minister in the cabinet entrusted by the Agong and the hope of 30 million true Malaysians (minus the RSMM of course) if he or she does not even understand the basic and simply stated ideological statement of the Rukunegara – ‘Kesopanan dan kesusilaan’?

Perhaps Malaysiakini columnist KJ John can be persuaded to give ‘all of us’ a refresher course on the foundation and spirit of the Malaysian idea and constitution.

Closing of M’sian minds

This brings me to the Malay elites in education – the vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors of the public universities. I have spent 24 years at a public university in Malaysia and have watched carefully and patiently what happens and what does not happen at our illustrious tertiary education bastions.

What happens is the call for more and more research and so-called ‘high impact publication’. What happens is the increasing demands for publications for promotion to the point that most of my friends have given up even to try to get them.

What happens is the shutting of gates, literally, to concerned Malaysian citizens trying to give an alternate discourse to students who are supposed to be the next leaders of our country. What happens is the last-minute cancellation of well-organised intellectual events to provide balanced perspectives on issues.

What does not happen is the encouragement of VC and and DVC to implore students to be more responsible for society and to embrace fairness and compassion. What does not happen is the encouragement of debates and discourses on different viewpoints on issues affecting the nation.

Minus these events, universities seem to be a place of training workers and not the training of responsible citizens and visionaries as well as compassionate leaders. Once, I even thought of writing an article titled ‘Public Universities in Malaysia: The Last Place to Learn Anything Meaningful’.

I tell all my children to attend the forums organised by bodies such as the Islamic Rennaissance Front (IRF), the Penang Institute, the Institute of Democratic and Economic Affairs (Ideas) or the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, venued at Nottingham University Malaysia or Sunway University or the Global Movement of Moderates.

It used to be Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and International Islamic University that led the way for intellectual discourses but sadly these institutions have fallen into the hands of those with a small and race-prone vision.

Yes, public universities in Malaysia have produced many engineers, architects and doctors and lawyers who have made a good materialistic living out of their education. But after four decades, we are faced with the ridiculous and dangerous antics of the RSMM. Can this be said to be the product of our public universities – the extremism of some Malay graduates and the apathy of many others?

So I ask again, where are these voices of professors and academics entrusted with the education of our children, the next citizenry and leaders of Malaysia? Or perhaps these professors are nothing more than civil servants with the motto ‘saya yang mengikut perintah’. The success of my academic carrier has always been ‘Saya tak pernah ikut perintah … terutamanya perintah yang bodoh dan tak masuk akal.’

Wear white

Finally, I wish to call on the voices of our religious scholars, the muftis, the professors of Islam and the leaders of the sole self-professed Islamic party, PAS. What I have heard in the media and more so in the Friday sermons are the condemnation of entities, individuals and events deemed anti-Islamic.

Funnily enough these are the same voices that are strangely muted in cases of corruption of leaders and dubious allegations of sexual misconduct. But more importantly, where is the moderate and magnanimous voices of those who claimed to be the spokesman of the Prophet Muhammad who were compassionate with many of his enemies? Where is the ‘representative’ of the Prophet who would always call on Muslims to be soft spoken and not blare their voices, which he says akin to ‘the braying of an ass or donkey’?

There was even a mufti who had proclaimed the ‘halal-ness’ of the blood of peaceful demonstrators but is completely silent on a group of Muslims baying for blood? I would excuse the Islamic party in this call to moderation because the party which could make women as a pledge of property should not even be given any dignity to explain their ‘elegant silence’.

With all this deafening silence, I charge that Malaysia is a failed state. Its institutions have failed the country, not the rakyat. The rakyat in general know what being a Malaysian is but there seems to be a question whether the Malay elites in the corridors of political, educational and religious power actually do understand the rudimentary ideals of Rukunegara. In this silence, I grade all these institutions an ‘F’. I am, however, willing to give them a supplementary exam, provided that they ask for it.

In closing, I wish to inform all the Malays who are good Malaysians and humble Muslims to join me at a seminar organised by Ideas at the Institut Integriti Negara on Sept 16. The opening speech will be given by Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, followed by CIMB chairperson Nazir Abdul Razak.

I will go with my whole family clothed in white. Why white? White is the colour Muslims wear at the sacred ritual of umrah and hajj. It symbolises that we approach Allah without our worldly status and wealth and hoping that all our sins will be washed away. White is also our shroud in death where we hope to die without any feelings of vengeance and despair, but that we end our stay on this earth with compassion to all man.

I wish that all Malays who believe in the idea of a Malaysia with ‘kesopanan dan kesusilaan’ and Muslims who believe in humility and love of the brotherhood of man come to the seminar in the same white to contrast against the zealotry, bigotry and madness of the Red Shirt Malay Menace group and also against the deafening silence of the Malay-Muslim elites in politics, education and Islamic entities.

PROF DR MOHAMAD TAJUDDIN MOHAMAD RASDI is Professor of Architecture at UCSI University, Cheras.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 September 2015, 9:10 am and is filed under
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Appoint Nazir Razak as honorary Ombudsman for “stupid things” by “Power People” with jurisdiction to summon miscreants to  publicly lecture them  for their stupid utterances or acts which undermine Malaysia’s national image

Two days ago, I had asked whether there was a competition in Najib’s Cabinet as to which Minister could say the most stupid things, which I had entitled:

“’Walking Dead’ – Is there a competition in Najib’s Cabinet as to which Minister could say the most stupid things?”

This was after the statement by the CIMB Group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak who warned a fortnight ago that  those he described as “power people” should stop issuing  stupid remarks amid the worsening economic crisis in the country, especially  with the decline in the value of the ringgit, which had plunged to levels unseen since the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis.

I noted that although Nazir, who is also the brother to prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had urged the “power people” in an Instagram post to “Accept & adjust quickly” as “capital is super sensitive; bad news & bad signs amplified” and  to avoid saying “stupid things”, the situation has gone from bad to worse, as if there is a total breakdown of discipline of the Najib Cabinet after the reshuffle of July 28, with the sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Apdal Shafie.

I pointed out that in the previous 12 days since Nazir’s advice, the “stupid things” uttered by Najib’s “power people” had increase by leaps and bounds, and I listed such 13 “stupid things” said by Najib’s “power people” in the past 48 hours, i.e. at the shocking rate of more than half-a-dozen a day!

The volume and velocity of “stupid things” uttered by Najib’s “power people” had not slowed in the least, as seen by the new list of such “stupid things” from the headlines of Malaysiakini in the 48 hours after the first list of “stupid things” on Sunday, viz:

Sept. 6:

1.	Zahid: Blessing in disguise from Bersih’ picture stomping incident.

2.	‘Bersih rally hurt feelings of UMNO, lacked manners, morals’.

3.	Najib is Umno’s pillar of strength, says Mahdzir.

4.	Ismail Sabri: Strengthen Umno for the sake of Malays.

5.	Azalina raps Ambiga for ‘unpatriotic’ urgent sitting petition.

Sept. 7:

1.	Rahman: I’ll dump the trash at Bersih’s doorstep next time;

2.	MCA: DAP to blame for Malay anger, not Chinese.

Probably, the Prime Minister should appoint Nazir Razak as honorary Ombudsman for “stupid things” by “Power People” with jurisdiction to summon miscreants to  publicly lecture them for their stupid utterances or acts which undermine Malaysia’s national image.

Imagine Ministers like Zahid, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Madzir, Ismail Sabri, Salleh Said Keruak, Azalina  and Shabery Cheek getting a public tongue-lashing from Nazir, which I think is probably the best antidote to get them to  reduce their quota of “stupid” utterances and statements.

UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders like Azalina should not be too trigger-happy to accuse others of being “unpatriotic” when the Prime Minister has received at least RM2.6 billion foreign donation from a purportedly Middle Eastern source for the 13th General Elections campaign, something which had never happened in 56 years under the first five Prime Ministers from Tunku Abdul Rahman to Razak, Hussein, Mahathir and Abdullah from 1957 – 2013.

This RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal of Najib has been elevated from a national into a global scandal, with global graft-fighters using the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) to quiz, one after another, the Malaysian Prime Minister why he could not answer the simple questions of who paid the money and why, and where the monies have gone to.

I want Najib to realize that after the 16th IACC Conference, he has not only a national but global responsibility to set an example to all the heads of governments and states in the world by answering these questions fully, truthfully and without any further delay.

As for Azalina, will she declare how much she had received from such foreign funding via Najib, and if she had had been one of the recipients,   how could she have the temerity to accuse others of being unpatriotic when she had no qualms in receiving foreign funding via Najib for her general election campaign and victory in 2013?

To show her absolute patriotism, will she pay the amount of foreign funding she had received via Najib into the Treasury funds and undertake to raise the issue in tomorrow’s Cabinet to persuade every Cabinet Minister to do the same with the foreign funding they had received via Najib  for the 13GE campaign  by  declaring and remitting similar  sums to the Treasury?

I must say that I have never felt that a UMNO/BN statement should have  the widest circulation, not because of its correctness or sharpness of insight but because of its utter stupidity,  than the statement by a MCA leader which was given the headline of “MCA: DAP to blame for Malay anger, not Chinese” by Malaysiakini yesterday.

When I read the report, I had tweeted “Dead man walking. Por Tor not over yet.”

I must admit that this MCA statement must take the cake as the most daft, dense and spineless one that I have ever read coming from Najib’s “power people” and it should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in understanding why the Umno/BN coalition is really doomed.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 September 2015, 8:54 am and is filed under
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Call on Najib and Cabinet tomorrow to initiate a virtuous circle of development to restore  confidence by focussing on the issues of transparency, integrity and good governance

Former Cabinet Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz could not have put it better to describe the grave  crisis of confidence the country is facing today – that the “mess” Malaysia is facing today had nothing to do with race but with governance, transparency and integrity.

I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Cabinet at its meeting tomorrow to initiate a virtuous circle of development to restore confidence by focussing on the issues of governance, transparency and integrity and to end the drift aggravated by attempts by some irresponsible quarters to create racial diversions like the Red Shirts movement and the Sept. 16 Malay rally to counter a non-existing Chinese threat in Bersih 4 overnight rally.

Malaysia has lost two precious months in failing to address the confidence crisis, especially since the Wall Street Journal publication on July 3, 2015 about the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal bank accounts for the 13th General Election.

Najib has not lived up to his promise of accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance which he had promised Malaysians on becoming Prime Minister, as in the past two months, despite growing national and international pressure including the three-day 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) which virtually focussed on Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal, Najib has not explained much except to say that he had not used any money for his personal purpose and the tacit admission that the RM2.6 billion deposited into his bank accounts was “donation” from foreign sources.

I am bewildered as to how Najib, who had been in public life for nearly four decades, serving at different times as Mentri Besar, Cabinet Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister for six years, had not realised the gravity of his receiving foreign funds for general elections campaigning in the country.

DAP had never received a single sen from any foreigners in the past five decades, but if we had receiving such foreign funding, however puny the amount, DAP would have been accused of being anti-national and even guilty of treason.

In such circumstances, how could Najib receive any foreign funding for the 13th General Election, and not a small sum, but RM2.6 billion, which is an astronomical figure.

RM2.6 billion was  in fact 26 times more than what was permissible to be spent by all the 222 Parliamentary candidates and 505 State Assembly candidates of the Barisan Nasional in the 13th General Elections.

The maximum expenditure which is legally permissible for a parliamentary candidate is RM200,000 while the maximum legal expenditure for a State Assembly candidate is RM100,000.

With 222 Parliamentary candidates and 505 State Assembly candidates, the maximum legal electoral expenditures for all the 222 Parliamentary and 505 State Assembly candidates of UMNO/Barisan Nasional in the 13th General Election will come to RM44.4 million for all parliamentary candidates and RM50.5 million for all state assembly candidates or a grand total of RM94.9 million – not even reaching RM100 million!

The RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal accounts for the 13th General Election is therefore more than 26 times the legally permissible limit to be spent by all the BN parliamentary and state assembly candidates in the 13th General Elections.

How many of the Ministers, Deputy Ministers and UMNO/BN MPs are tainted by this foreign funding of RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal accounts for the 13th general elections?

Former Minister and Barisan Nasional Backbenchers’ Club (BNBBC) Chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Samad had admitted that he was one of the beneficiaries and receipients from this foreign funding via personal accounts for the 13th General Election campaigning.

When are the other Ministers, Deputy Minister and MPs who had been beneficiaries from this foreign funding in the last general elections going to admit and excuse themselves from participating in anyl decision-making process connected with Najib’s RM2.6 billion ‘donation’ scandal?

I welcome two recent developments, the decisions by Malaysia’s expert in political funding, University of Malaya political economy professor Dr. Terence Gomez and the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) not to participate in the National Consultative Committee on Political Funding, which is chaired by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of governance and integrity, Datuk Seri Paul Low.

The National Consultative Council on Political Funding is just a charade if it is not allowed to deal with “the elephant in the room” – Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal.

There is no doubt that the whole idea of the National Consultative Council on Political Funding had only one purpose – to shut up inquiries and investigations into Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal.

It was the scandal of  Najib’s  RM2.6 billion “donation” in his personal bank accounts which was responsible for the 16th IACC being a global Public Relations disaster for Malaysia for three consecutive days – starting with the Prime Minister pulling out in the last minute from officiating at the IACC for fear of “hard questions, followed by the Malaysia’s daily crucifixion over the issue by IACC delegates during the three-day conference.

In fact, after Malaysia’s unprecedented  humiliation at a three-day international conference, and held at the home ground in the country, Paul Low should have tendered his resignation as Minister instead of chairing the National Consultative Council on Political Funding, which lacks both credibility and legitimacy.

If Malaysia is to move ahead to end the grave crisis of confidence afflicting the country, either Najib  should step down as Prime Minister immediately or he must prove that he  and his reshuffled Cabinet can end the drift afflicting the country in the past two months and  capable of formulating and implementing a new blueprint which will initiate a virtuous cycle of development to restore confidence by focussing on the issues of transparency, integrity and good governance.

This is the greatest challenge before Najib and his Cabinet tomorrow.

(Media Conference Statement  at DAP Hqrs in KL on Tuesday, 8th September 2015 at 12 noon)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 September 2015, 12:15 pm and is filed under
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Is Umno Baru the Malays’ defender?

Mariam Mokhtar

Malaysiakini

7th Sept 2015

In the past, Umno Baru used the battle cry, “Umno Baru is the only party in Malaysia which defends the Malays”, to try and win their hearts and minds. Not wanting to be excluded, PAS would claim, “PAS is the only party that protects Islam”.

Ironically, a highly divided Umno Baru and fragmented PAS can no longer claim to be defenders of the Malays, nor the protectors of Islam, but then, they never were. There will be Malays when both Umno Baru and PAS have been wiped out.

Today, both Umno Baru and PAS are in disarray. The leaders’ greed for power, selfishness, underhand tactics and their manipulation of the Malay mind, have brought about their own downfall, and that of their parties.

These leaders failed to lead. They were only interested in feathering their own nests and prolonging their power.

These leaders used to say that Malays were victims in their own land. The truth is that Malays are the victims of Umno Baru’s policies and political manipulation. Today, the Malays in the heartlands of the country realise the enormity of the damage done by both Umno Baru and PAS. They know these parties lied to them, repeatedly.

The people of influence in both Umno Baru and PAS did not advise their leaders because they, too, were thinking about their own positions and how to jostle for the top position.

Previously, the majority of the educated Malays, who could have done something, were content to enjoy their privileged positions and were satisfied, to be mere observers.

The enlightened Malays knew that the Umno Baru leaders, past and present, surrounded themselves with sycophants. They were aware that Najib Abdul Razak appoints mediocre ministers so that he will appear to be capable and smart.

They realised that Umno Baru’s education policies kept the Malays dim. Very few of these Malays, unlike Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim of Parent Action Group for Education (Page, photo), had the courage to confront the authorities and fight for better education policies, not just for the Malays but for all Malaysians.

The Malays, in the construction industry, or any industry for that matter, were aware that to win contracts, some palms would have to be greased. They could have highlighted this abuse but many preferred to keep quiet. They probably thought, “If you can’t beat them, you might as well join them.”

Many of these Malays graduated from western universities, and were ready to serve their country but were stymied when in the course of their careers they faced corruption, cheating and abuse of power on a massive scale.

After all the rhetoric about Malays being the superior race, the realisation that their fellow Malays are amongst the most sly, devious, lazy, insensitive, corrupt, racist, intolerant and bigoted people in Malaysia must have hit them hard.

The Umno Baru Malays damaged race relations and caused non-Malays to feel contempt for the Malays, but the majority of Malays who were aware of Umno-Baru’s machinations did nothing. A few will have said, “It is God’s will”. Others will say, “Who are we to punish them?”

A few may have tried to report these practices, but themselves got into trouble. The leaders of the corporations were themselves tainted. Those who acted as whistleblowers were shunned, denied promotion, demoted or sacked. Today, many Malays have joined the brain drain.

Seemingly powerless to undo the damage

The institutions which were tasked to deal with such abuse of power and corruption were tainted, too. Former PM Mahathir Mohamad saw to that, and today, he is seemingly powerless to undo the damage he wreaked on the institutions, and ironically, on Umno Baru.

The enlightened Malays enjoy the trappings of a privileged middle-class existence, but many are in denial. They are aware that corruption is killing them. They can see that the Umno Baru politicians are inflicting serious damage to the nation.

Today, the Malays who were misled by Umno Baru and PAS, are slowly beginning to reflect on the future of their country.

Perhaps, for the first time, they are thinking, “With all the money thrown at the Malays, the perks, the business models and the pro-Malay government policies, how come we are still victims?”

Perhaps they are asking, “Why should Islam be under threat, when mosques are popping-up on every corner and religious study time is increased? Why do Malays have low morals, despite the enforcement of a religious dress code, attendance at Friday prayers, and a moral police which pries into their private lives?”

Perhaps, they are wondering, “If the Rohingyas are Muslims, why did Najib initially order the Malaysian navy to tow their boats back to sea? If Malaysia has a major say amongst Muslim nations, why has it not demanded that the Arab states accept the Syrian people, who are fleeing their war-torn nation?”

Islam, as practised in Malaysia, is not the Islam of our forefathers. Today’s ‘Made-in-Malaysia’ Islam has strong undercurrents of anti-Semitism and promotes misogyny. The majority of Malays, on the streets and in schools, are taught to be anti-Semitic, and anti-Christian, just to toe the government line.

Islam, as promulgated in Malaysia by Umno Baru, is no longer a religion; it is a tool to enslave the Malays.

Umno Baru knows that its days are numbered. So do not believe the government hype that there were few Malays at Bersih 4. They would say that, wouldn’t they?

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 September 2015, 6:01 am and is filed under
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Racism is the colour of Jahiliyyah Arabs

Nurul Izzah Anwar

Malaysiakini

Sept 7th, 2015

MP SPEAKS
 The planned Sept 16 red-shirt racially-based rally is deeply troubling, fomenting concerns of racial provocation in times when unity is sorely needed in facing Malaysia’s many adversities. It is especially disheartening to see a minister openly supporting this racist ideology. The Star Online reported Umno supreme council member Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be sending party members to join the rally in his capacity as Bera Umno division chief.

Just yesterday a police report has been lodged against this racially provocative protest. The police must immediately act to ensure such acts of provocation does not proceed with any sense of impunity. Continuing silence from the authorities is even more troubling when contrasted with the home affairs minister’s incessant urgings to hunt the few outliers who desecrated images of PAS and Umno leaders in the Bersih 4 rally.

Notwithstanding general disapproval and condemnation over such crude insults against any political leaders as well as their symbols ; the social harmony of our society necessitates priority. The police must act to stem any efforts to racialise events – as this is clearly an effort to further divide Malaysia along racial lines.

What’s worse, the posters being displayed in KL associated to the Sept 16th event is akin to inviting violence on one racial group by another. This is completely flouting existing laws and reason and cannot be allowed to continue.

It bears reminding that in Islam, racial equality is crucial .

It bears reminding that in the Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon, the Prophet SAW said, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.”

The prophet chose Bilal ibn Rabah, a black slave as the Muazzin, a high position in Islam.

The Prophet’s struggles helped lead Arabs out of racist darkness and into the light by guiding them onto the path of justice and equality which is part of PKR’s main thrusts.

Clearly, Islam forbids tribalism at the expense of justice. Racism is the practice of the Jahiliyyah as clearly mentioned in many Hadiths.

It was defined by the Prophet when he was asked: “Is it tribalism for a man to love his people?” and he said: “’No, tribalism is to support your people in an unjust cause.” (Ahmad)

Up till now, there is no clear cause or goals defined for this red-shirt rally, other than a counter-rally to Bersih 4.

Dangerous list of woes

The excuses from Himpunan Maruah Melayu gathering are so superfluous that they range from being a response to the Low Yat fracas and Bersih 4 to recovery of Umno’s pride – a dangerous list of woes that eventually linked bank to race.

As former cabinet minister Rafidah Aziz (photo) has said, Bersih 4 has clear demands for a clean and fair elections. One could not be faulted to assume that the planned counter rally is to protect the interests of the few with much to lose at the expense of Malaysians – especially on such an auspicious day like Sept 16. It is a day we celebrate the official birth of the Malaysian community.

Malaysia is facing a leadership crisis. Scandals are mounting. The economy has taken a turn for the worse. It is time that we Malaysians come together to fight against real concerns that are truly plaguing our future – such as failed governance, the need for transparency and integrity; certainly not politically expedient yet imaginary ones such as the need for racial supremacy.

I strongly urge the police to take stern actions against the organisers of this rally for stoking racial sentiments, even if this means going against their political masters. The police force has the people’s support – in pursuit of professionalism, maintaining social harmony and protecting Malaysians in line with rights enshrined under the federal constitution.

This rally will put Malaysia on a slippery slope to the downfall of the very fabric of our society- if allowed, devoid of any rationality and common sense – to continue. We must reject the loss of a moral compass and the eventual racial jingoism in its wake to dominate rational thinking, common decency and sense.

NURUL IZZAH ANWAR is Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament, PKR vice-president and its elections director.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 September 2015, 5:01 am and is filed under
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4 soalan kepada Melayu DAP

– Sheikh Omar Ali

The Malaysian Insider

8 September 2015

Beberapa hari lalu, seorang senior saya semasa bergiat dalam Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam UM (PMIUM) dahulu mengutus mesej menerusi WhatsApp.

Beliau memohon agar saya menjawab beberapa persoalan yang diajukan rakan beliau berkaitan Melayu dalam DAP.

Saya terpanggil untuk kongsikan pandangan dan pendirian saya sebagai seorang Melayu dalam DAP kepada pembaca.

Soalan 1: Kenapa Melayu-Islam perlu bersama DAP?

Melayu Islam perlu bersama DAP kerana DAP merupakan sebuah parti politik yang sah seperti termaktub dalam perlembagaan dan pendaftaran pertubuhan. Menurut perlembagaan DAP, ia merupakan parti yang bukan berasaskan kaum atau agama. Tidak kira apa juga bangsa dan agama, boleh sertai DAP.

DAP berjuang atas dasar sosial demokrasi. Sosial bermaksud DAP ingin mengangkat martabat rakyat tanpa mengira latar belakang. Demokrasi bermaksud DAP akan bergerak mengikut lunas-lunas demokrasi untuk menjayakan agenda perjuangannya. Pendirian saya, demokrasi adalah selari dengan Islam dan disahkan Qardhawi dalam banyak tulisannya mutakhir ini. Dalam Islam, ia menepati konsep Masdaqul Ijtima’iyyah – people’s mandate.

Soalan 2: Apa faktor yang menyebabkan sebilangan orang Melayu-Islam kini menyertai DAP?

Orang Melayu Islam menyertai DAP kerana ruang yang luas diberikan DAP selari dengan perjuangan digariskan dalam perlembagaan parti. DAP juga serius dalam menarik seramai mungkin anak muda khususnya untuk bersama DAP dan menjadi pemain utama dalam menentukan halatuju politik negara menerusi wadah parti politik DAP. Contoh sebagai bukti, 80% adun DAP di Johor adalah dibawah paras umur 35 tahun.

Selain itu, bertepatan dengan usaha serius pimpinan DAP iaitu membetulkan persepsi rakyat yang diracuni Umno, DAP parti Cina. Liew Chin Tong – AJK DAP pusat sendiri pernah menggagaskan dalam konvensyen DAPSY Johor tahun lalu dan diperteguhkan menerusi satu retreat DAP Kebangsaan pada pertengahan tahun ini, kearah merealisasikan DAP sebagai parti semua rakyat Malaysia dan benar-benar ber’wajah’ Malaysia selepas lebih 50 tahun Umno mendakyahkan DAP di mata rakyat dengan ‘hantu’ perkauman.

Justeru, tidak salah dan DAP amat mengalu-alukan seluruh rakyat tanpa mengira bangsa dan agama; termasuklah Melayu-Islam untuk menyertai DAP.

Soalan 3: Sejauh mana DAP boleh menjamin hak/kedudukan Melayu-Islam?

DAP serius mempertahankan hak Melayu-Islam yang selari dengan ruh perlembagaan sepertimana yang pernah digariskan dalam Common Policy Framework PR satu masa dahulu berkaitan kedudukan Raja, Agama, Bahasa dan Bangsa.

Dalam masa yang sama, DAP turut mengangkat, menghormati dan mengiktiraf kepelbagaian bangsa, agama dan bahasa yang lain yang wujud di Malaysia sesuai dengan semangat keharmonian rakyat dalam bernegara.

DAP melawan sebarang bentuk penyalahgunaan elemen agama, bangsa dan bahasa yang akhirnya menyemai kebencian serta prejudis di kalangan rakyat seterusnya meruntuhkan keharmonian dalam bernegara.

Soalan 4: Ahli-ahli DAP tergolong dari golongan liberal yang banyak menyentuh isu sensitif Islam seperti LGBT dll. Apa pandangan dan bagaimana ia boleh menjamin kedudukan Islam?

Saya ingin menjadi seorang Muslim yang baik dan kuat beragama. Dalam masa yang sama, saya tidak sedikit pun merasa rendah diri menjadi ahli DAP. Saya dihormati rakan dan pimpinan DAP dan saya tidak pun menerima sebarang ancaman sepanjang berada dalam DAP!

Menurut perlembagaan parti, DAP merupakan sebuah parti sekular. DAP tidak akan menjadikan sentimen mana-mana agama sekalipun disalahgunakan untuk kepentingan parti atau kelompok tertentu. Dan DAP menghormati mana-mana sahaja ahlinya untuk menjadi seorang yang kuat beragama. Bagi DAP, urusan beragama adalah bersabit seorang hamba dengan Tuhannya.

Adapun nilai-nilai baik yang datang daripada ajaran agama tidak menjadi masalah dalam DAP untuk diterima. Selagi mana ia boleh dikemukakan, dihujahkan dan diperbahaskan dalam kerangka kebebasan bersuara, mengkritik dan memilih mengikut lunas2 demokrasi.

Itulah juga ajaran Islam. Kita tidak boleh memaksa, sebaliknya menerang, mendakwahkan dan mendatangkan hujah sehingga datang keyakinan orang untuk menerimanya. – 8 September, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, 12:44 pm and is filed under
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Call on UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders not to wear blinkers about Mahathir – regarding all he said now  as wrong when during his 22-year premiership, idolising all he said as right even when he was wrong

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad today told the police to go ahead and arrest him for attending the Bersih 4 rally when he returned to the Subang Airport  from the Czech Republic.

I would be disappointed if Mahathir had said otherwise or disappeared from Malaysia to escape any police dragnet.

As political leaders, we must stand up for the rights of the people and do not run away from the police if we have done no wrong.

I was advised against returning to Kuala Lumpur during the May 13, 1969 riots as I had flown to  Kota Kinabalu on the morning of May 13, 1969 to campaign for the Independent candidate in Kota Kinabalu, but I returned to Kuala Lumpur although I was warned that I was on the blacklist of Internal Security Act arrests, as I felt that my place was with the people of Malaysia in their hour of need and trouble and not to seek personal refuge and safety abroad. I was then 28 years old.

Anwar Ibrahim could have stayed overseas to avoid serving jail sentence in the Sodomy II political trial, and he was advised by his many friends abroad including from Turkey and Indonesia to continue his political struggle for freedom and justice for the people of Malaysia from exile instead of undergoing incarceration in jail, but Anwar never hesitated for a moment that his place is in the country with the people of Malaysia, even if it is  within  four walls of a Malaysian jail in the latest episode of his political persecution. Anwar was 67 years old when starting his fourth incarceration.

I have had a lot of political differences with Mahathir in my five decades of politics in Malaysia, but just as I never thought of running overseas despite the gathering of storm clouds in the run-up to Operation Lalang which resulted in my second ISA detention of 18 months when I was 36 years old, I want to salute Mahathir for not flinching from any possibility of police action for his speech and participation in the Bersih 4 rally on August 29 and 30. Mahathir has celebrated his 90 birthday.

What Malaysia needs are not political opportunists which are aplenty but political leaders of conviction who are prepared to pay the price for their political principles and beliefs.

I find thehe present breed of political opportunists, like their predecessors, equally distasteful as they are  doing the greatest disservice to the country.

In this connection, I call on UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders not to wear blinkers about Mahathir – regarding all he said now  as wrong when during his 22-year premiership, idolising all he said as right even when he was wrong.

I will never do this. When Mahathir was at the height of his power, I have no hesitation in speaking truth to power even if the price was another spell of Internal Security Act detention.

Similarly, if what Mahathir does or says  now is right and good for the country, I have no hesitation in supporting or praising him, as I will not allow his past iniquities and failings to stand in the way of commending him when he is doing the  right thing.

What I find most despicable are politicians who have neither principle nor honour and  whose only  interest and obsession is to climb up the greasy pole to  political influence and power even if the price is having to prostitute themselves.

One such example are UMNO politicians playing the race card about the Bersih 4 rally distorting it as a Chinese show-of-force and challenge to Malay political power when it had no tinge of racialism whatsoever, and Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, colour, gender or even politics had converged in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu for the common cause of good governance and free, fair elections which transcended race completely.

As Mahathir said this morning, there is no need for any “Red Shirt” Malay  rally to counter Bersih 4, as it was not a question about race but about good governance.

But even more despicable than UMNO politicians who are trying to play the race card over the Bersih 4 rally are MCA and Gerakan politicians who could go so low as to concoct  grounds to help the opportunistic UMNO politicians to play the race card, such as declaiming that “growing Malay anger towards the Chinese community should be blamed solely on DAP” when there is no basis for  any “growing Malay anger” in the first place.

These opportunistic MCA and Gerakan politicians (who are  best described as “Dead Men Walking”) made baseless allegations that the DAP had “hijacked” and taken  over control and command of Bersih 4 (although the Malaysian Special Branch, one of the best police intelligence forces in the world could find no such evidence) and that DAP must be responsible when isolated incidents like stepping on Najib and PAS President Hadi Awang’s photo or the burning of hell notes to Najib took place.

DAP had right from the beginning deplored such  incidents although DAP leaders had no first-hand knowledge about them, like the two Bersih 4 rally participants who stomped on the picture of Najib and Hadi  as this is not the political or civic culture we want to promote in Malaysia.

In rebutting my disapproval of senseless act like stomping on picture of political leaders, some MCA and Gerakan leaders claimed that they have evidence that at the Perak DAP State Convention in November 2009,  I had stomped on the pictures of former Perak Pakatan Rakyat Assembly members whose defection from PR had resulted in the collapse of the PR Perak State Government in February 2009.

My media statement of 4th December 2009, which I am reproducing in full, explained the circumstances and why I maintain that I had not stomped on the photograph of any political leader in my nearly 50 years in politics:

“
Perak DAP convention doormat incident a lesson to all politicians

“ 4th December 2009

“The Perak DAP convention doormat incident on Sunday (30th November 2009)  was not the best of political judgment, taste or example.

“I was taken by surprise when confronted with the doormat and tried to avoid stepping on the three pictures but not completely with success.

“I fully share the apology made by the DAP leadership over the incident. In fact, I had on the very same day of the convention suggested to the Perak DAP leadership to tender a public apology over the incident.

“The Perak DAP convention doormat incident is a lesson to all politicians to be particularly mindful about sensitivities of Malaysians in a plural society and the propensity of irresponsible politicians to turn a non-racial issue into a racial one.

“The DAP leadership has learnt from the mistake.

“But have the UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaderships learnt any lessons, whether before or after? The answers to both can only be in the negative.”

On the same day, 4th December 2009,  the then Perak DAP State Chairman Ngeh Koo Ham issued the following statement:

“
DAP Perak takes full responsibility for the 3 frogs door-mat incident at the DAP Perak Annual Convention. DAP leaders who were invited to the convention should not be blamed, UMNO and BN leaders who criticized Lim Kit Siang over the incident has no sense of justice and are hypocrites for failing to criticize their own members who have acted in more terrible manner

“DAP Perak takes full responsibility for the 3 frogs (3 Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives who defected) door-mat incident at the DAP Perak Annual Convention and we have apologised to all Malaysians who felt offended by the incident.

“DAP leaders including YB Lim Kit Siang, the Chief Minister Penang, YAB Lim Guan Eng and the leaders PKR and PAS who were also invited to the convention are not to be blamed. As the door mat was placed across the entrance to the convention hall, all persons entering the hall will have to step on the door mat.

“UMNO leaders have singled out YB Lim Kit Siang for attack. This is totally unjustified and it clearly show their lack of the sense of justice.

“The door-mat was not placed by YB Lim Kit Siang and all persons entering the convention hall would have also stepped on the door-mat.

“UMNO leaders who criticized the incident are hypocrites as they failed to show the same displeasure when BN/UMNO members did similarly or worse in the following incidences:-

(i) UMNO members stepping on the portrait of Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon last year.

(ii) BN members burning the portrait of the Chief Minister of Penang, YAB Lim Guan Eng, recently.

(iii) Perak BN Youth tearing the portraits of YB Lim Kit Siang, my portrait and other PR Leaders.

(iv) The storming of APCET II (Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor) meeting by UMNO Youth.

(v) UMNO Youth Chief, Khairy Bin Jamaluddin behaving in an unruly manner during the visit of the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Condoleeza Rice, to Malaysia.”

Malaysian politics and public life can do with greater civility, rationality and even humility instead of the barbarity, irrationality, cockiness and arrogance seem to abound at present in certain political circles in Malaysia.

DAP leaders are setting an example in promoting the civic and political culture of civility, rationality and humility. Are UMNO/BN leaders prepared to do the same?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, 4:03 pm and is filed under
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If the Cabinet today cannot set the country right to address and resolve the multiple crisis of confidence plaguing the country, then it is not a Cabinet Malaysians need

Today’s Cabinet meeting is a critical one for the nation as it will be the last Cabinet meeting before next Wednesday which is a public holiday for Malaysia Day.

This is not because next Wednesday commemorates the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago but because of a “racially-fuelled” Umno or pro-UMNO Sept. 16 red-shirt rally which the National Chamber of  Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) secretary-general Datuk Seri Syed Hussein Al-Habshee has warned would have “castastrophic” consequences.

In a statement yesterday, Syed Hussein said the rally will “trigger negativity and erosion of business sentiments, affecting foreign investors’ perceptions and tourism and add further pressure on the ringgit”.

The secretary-general of NCCIM, which  represents the Malay, Chinese and Indian chambers of commerce and industry, said he feared the effects of the rally could cripple the Malaysian economy, halting its ability to recover.

He said: “It might leave us without fixes to yield a quick recovery process.”

To hold a racially-charged rally for UMNO or pro-UMNO Malays to counter a purportedly and completely-untrue allegation of a Chinese Bersih 4 rally on Sept. 16 also subverts and destroys the very theme of “Sehati Sejiwa” which the Cabinet had chosen for this year’s independence day celebrations covering both Merdeka Day  Anniversary on August 31 and Malaysia Day Anniversary on Sept. 16.

Malaysians should able to remember what the then Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said in early June when announcing the Cabinet choice of the “Sehati Sejiwa” theme, which is  to reflect the spirit of solidarity, understanding, togetherness and humanity of all people in the country.

In less than three months, the Cabinet itself has forgotten the reasons for the choice of the theme “Sehati Sejiwa” for the Merdeka Day  and Malaysia Day celebrations as the UMNO or pro-UMNO Red Shirt rally planned for Kuala Lumpur next Wednesday will be the very antithesis of the theme of “Sejiwa Sehati” for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age, gender or politics – as it is the very opposite of the symbolism of the spirit of solidarity shared by all Malaysian citizens no matter where they are.

Instead of the symbolism of “unity in diversity” and “unity is strength”, the Red Shirts represents the discredited  “divide and rule” practices initiated by the British colonial era, which Merdeka Day of 1957 and Malaysia Day of 1963 were meant to be the beginning of the journey to slay and bury more than half a century ago.

Sarawakians and Sabahans will be fully justified to be  greratly aggrieved and alienated that on Malaysia Day, UMNO leaders are sponsoring an anti-Bersih Red Shirt rally, showing how little regard or respect they have for the anniversary marking the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia comprising Peninsular Malaya with Sarawak and Sabah.

The greenlight given by the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi for the Red Shirt rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16 has taken everyone by surprise, as it was Zahid himself who had repeatedly warned that the authorities would take “stern action” against the “mastermind” and participants of the  Bersih 4 rally and even personally signed the order banning Bersih 4 T-shirts as “undesirable” items on the eve of Bersih 4 rally.

 Zahid’s “greenlight” for the Sept. 16 UMNO or pro-Umno Red Shirt rally is all the more shocking as the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim had announced that the “Red Shirt” rally will not be allowed to take place due to safety concerns.

In view of the highly-charged and seditious nature of the pre-publicity for the Red Shirt rally, inciting and provoking racial hatred and tensions, is the Police going to investigate Zahid as to why the Home Minister is encouraging the holding of the Sept. 16 Red Shirt rally, when he said that UMNO members will not be barred from participating in the Red Shirt rally?

Can Zahid explain why he is now talking about the “individual rights of Umno members” to attend the Red Shirt rally when he had threatened  punitive action against those who attended the Bersih 4 rally?

Furthermore, why the government has “no opinion” on the Red Shirt rally when he was so gung-ho and hawkish in his condemnation of the Bersih 4 rally, even personally signing the order to ban the use of  yellow Bersih 4 T-shirts?

UMNO Ministers and deputy minister should know better and set an example to all Malaysians, but some of them like Ismail Sabri and Ab Aziz Kaprawi are in the forefront to  endorse the Red Shirt rally for a Malay protest against the alleged but spurious Chinese show of force against Malay political power in the Bersih 4 rally.

The Cabinet meeting today is very crucial  and if  the Cabinet cannot set the country right to address and resolve the multiple crisis of confidence plaguing the country, then it is not a Cabinet Malaysians need at this critical hour.

The Cabinet must end the drift afflicting the country in the past two months and  come up with a  new blueprint to  initiate a virtuous cycle of development to restore confidence by focussing on the issues of transparency, integrity and good governance.

Is the Cabinet capable of rising up to this challenge?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, 9:39 am and is filed under
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Malaysian prime minister weathers ‘people power’ movement — for now

Global Risk Insights

September 2015

Malaysia’s prime minister has so far weathered anti-government protests calling for his removal. Without political stability and a strengthened economy, his long-term prospects of survival seem uncertain.

The Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur witnessed two days of anti-government protests over the weekend of August 29-30. The 34-hour marathon protests were organised by Bersih, an electoral reform group calling for the prime minister’s removal due to allegations of corruption.

These allegations relate to the 1MDB financial scandal, which has dogged Prime Minister Najib Razak since early July. The 1MDB investment fund is at the centre of an anti-corruption probe, which allegedly uncovered evidence of funds being channelled to accounts owned by Najib.

Najib’s response to the ‘people’s power’ movement was diplomatic

Saturday’s protestors came out in force, with disputed figures ranging from 30,000 to 200,000. Despite the Najib government claiming the rally was illegal, the protest remained calm and police presence was low-key. This can be compared to a similar rally in 2012, when authorities deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.

In an attempt to strengthen the protests, ex-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad called for a ‘people’s power’ movement to topple the embattled Najib.

Mahathir vocally opposes Najib despite once acting as the prime minister’s mentor, stating that “the only way for the people to get back to the old system is for them to remove this prime minister…and to remove him, the people must show people’s power”.

The peaceful protest is undoubtedly a step forward for Malaysian civil society. And it seems Najib’s careful handling of the protest has so far paid off.

Rather than visibly cracking down on protestors, the prime minister has employed a seemingly more diplomatic approach. In a speech on 4 September, Najib insisted “elections are the time when we leave it to the people to choose the government. Judge us, prosecute us as the government of the day whether it is good or not, the people can determine it…in between elections, we cannot do anything that contravenes our country’s constitution and laws”.

Najib went on to state that he and his colleagues are “willing to be judged during elections”.

Long-term strategic prospects remain mixed

The extent of this diplomatic approach may be questioned, however. Malaysian authorities have targeted Mahathir and leaders of the street protest for further questioning. A police spokesperson stated that Mahathir “made several allegations in his speeches…that warrants police action”.

This suggests that those responsible for the protest may yet face legal charges, although this is unlikely to extend to Mahathir.

Other factors can also be credited as working in Najib’s favour. The protest largely consisted of minority Malaysian Chinese. Without the support of ethnic Malays and a party identified with the Malay majority, it is unlikely to present a credible challenge to Najib, who appears to have maintained the support of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) government.

However, Najib’s long-term prospects remain in question. Claims of corruption continue to haunt the prime minister, and future protests cannot be ruled out, which may not always be handled so carefully.

The continuing political unrest is also having a debilitating effect on the Malaysian economy. According to recent statistics, Malaysia’s ringgit has dropped by nearly 17 percent since January, and foreign investors are selling their stocks. This is unlikely to improve unless a degree of political stability is returned to Malaysia.

Indeed, the ringgit rose to a one-week high following the weekend protests, suggesting a brief restoration of investor confidence. This will need to be maintained if there is any hope of restoring the economy, and salvaging Najib’s political career.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, 12:02 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia’s 1MDB Fund Scandal Spreads to U.A.E.

By BRADLEY HOPE and  TOM WRIGHT

Wall Street Journal

Sept. 8, 2015

At issue is a $1.4 billion payment from 1MDB that officials at an Abu Dhabi investment fund said is missing

The corruption scandal around an economic-development fund in Malaysia is spilling beyond the country’s borders, as officials at a United Arab Emirates state investment vehicle raise questions about more than a billion dollars in money that they said is missing.

Abu Dhabi has long been a source of support for the fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., which was set up six years ago by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to develop new industries in the Southeast Asian country. Now, as 1MDB tries to fend off a cash crunch, its backers in Abu Dhabi are asking what happened to a $1.4 billion payment the fund said it made but which they never received, two people familiar with the matter said.

The dispute comes as Mr. Najib is battling a separate scandal linked to 1MDB. Malaysian investigators are examining the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars into the prime minister’s alleged private bank accounts through entities linked to 1MDB. The disclosures have sparked a political crisis and set off a handful of investigations around the world, destabilizing the government and damaging confidence in Malaysia’s economy.

Mr. Najib has denied wrongdoing and said he didn’t take money for personal gain.

The U.A.E. is trying to sever its ties to the fund and restructure the entity that provided it with financial support, the people said.

The disputed payments are related to the purchase of power plants around the world by the Malaysian fund in 2012. A state investment fund in Abu Dhabi, the International Petroleum Investment Co., or IPIC, guaranteed the $3.5 billion in bonds that 1MDB issued to finance the purchase, according to the bond offering documents. In return, IPIC was to receive options to buy a 49% stake in the power plants as well as collateral for the bond.

According to 1MDB’s financial statements, the Malaysian fund made a collateral payment of $1.4 billion. A draft report into 1MDB’s activities by Malaysia’s auditor general, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, said the payment went to a subsidiary of IPIC called Aabar Investments PJS.

IPIC’s consolidated financial statements, however, contain no reference to the receipt of the payment. Two people familiar with the matter said IPIC and Aabar never received the money. It isn’t clear what happened to the funds. 1MDB didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The dealings between the two countries shines a rare light on the workings of sovereign-wealth funds, which have increased significantly in size and are backed by wealthy governments but often lack transparency. The interactions between the two funds also are attracting scrutiny in Malaysia.

“This relationship is beyond a normal business relationship,” said Tony Pua, a member of the Malaysian opposition Democratic Action Party who sits on a parliamentary committee that also is investigating 1MDB.

Ibrahim Al Abed, a spokesman for the U.A.E., declined to comment, as did the country’s ambassador to the U.S. The office of Mr. Najib, who also is chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers, didn’t respond to questions. IPIC and Aabar didn’t respond to requests for comment on the transfers.

The U.A.E.’s focus on its dealings with 1MDB is the latest in a series of inquiries into the Malaysian fund.

A Malaysian government probe found that nearly $700 million moved through banks, agencies and companies linked to 1MDB before being deposited into Mr. Najib’s alleged private bank accounts ahead of a close election in 2013, the Journal reported in July.

The source of the money is unclear, and the government investigation hasn’t detailed what happened to the funds that allegedly went into Mr. Najib’s personal accounts. Malaysia’s anticorruption body in August said the funds were a donation from the Middle East. The donor wasn’t specified.

The allegations drew tens of thousands of yellow-clad protesters into the streets of the capital last month. Malaysia’s currency, the ringgit has fallen to a 17-year low in part due to concerns over the fund.

The 1MDB fund was created to spur economic development by investing in lucrative industries and attracting foreign partners to help finance projects. The fund has rolled up over $11 billion in debt to fund purchases of assets, largely made up of power plants and real estate in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Sri Lanka and the U.A.E.

The 1MDB fund’s assets have failed to generate enough cash, and at times it has rescheduled debt payments.

1MDB said it hopes to repay the debt by selling assets, which the fund’s management has said are valued at more than its borrowings.

The U.A.E.’s rulers in April dismissed IPIC’s managing director for a number of reasons, including issues related to 1MDB, according to the people familiar with the matter, and replaced him with the emirate’s energy minister.

The new management team is investigating the previous managers’ actions and relationship with 1MDB, according to the people. They also are in the early stages of crafting a restructuring plan for IPIC, which itself has become heavily indebted, they added.

To help shore up the Malaysian fund, IPIC’s new managers this year cut a deal with Malaysia’s finance ministry to inject $1 billion into 1MDB to cover a maturing bank loan and agreed to take over the $3.5 billion in power-plant bonds it had guaranteed. In return, the Malaysian government will transfer an equal value of assets to IPIC.

In the beginning, Malaysia touted ambitious goals for the fund. Mr. Najib sought to use 1MDB to raise Malaysia’s economic development and standing in the world by going beyond its dependence on exports of raw materials such as natural gas, palm oil and rubber.

Mr. Najib early on turned to the Middle East, a region with which Malaysia has strong ties based on trade and a shared religion in Islam. Over the next few years, the U.A.E. pledged to invest billions of dollars in projects through 1MDB, including a plan to turn Kuala Lumpur into a global financial center named after Mr. Najib’s father, Malaysia’s second prime minister.

Little of that money ever flowed. Instead, IPIC agreed to back the Malaysian fund’s power-plant bonds, leading to the payments that are the focus of IPIC’s inquiries.

Aabar, the IPIC subsidiary, also helped 1MDB during a disputed audit. According to the Malaysia auditor general’s draft report, 1MDB fired KPMG LLP as its auditor in late 2013 after the firm declined to sign off on 1MDB’s accounts unless it received more details about $2.32 billion the fund said was invested in a Cayman Islands account.

Aabar stepped in and guaranteed the Cayman Islands funds, an official for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., which took over as 1MDB’s auditor, told a closed-door meeting of the parliamentary committee probing 1MDB, according to a transcript of the proceedings reviewed by the Journal. This guarantee was never made public. Deloitte later signed off on the fund’s accounts. KPMG and Deloitte declined to comment.

Malaysia’s auditor general plans to issue a full report on 1MDB later this year. The central bank last month said it had completed another report into 1MDB, but details haven’t been made public. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission also is probing allegations that cash flowed into Mr. Najib’s alleged accounts.

Two of the transfers into Mr. Najib’s alleged bank accounts totaling $681 million came from unknown sources via an account held by a British Virgin Islands-based company at Falcon Private Bank, a Swiss bank owned by Aabar, the U.A.E. fund, according to Malaysian investigation documents reviewed by the Journal. Falcon Bank declined to comment.

Swiss authorities said in August that they have opened a criminal probe into what they called suspicious transactions between Switzerland’s banking system and 1MDB. On Sept. 2, they said they had frozen funds valued at tens of millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts linked to the fund on suspicions of corruption and money laundering.

—Simon Clark

contributed to this article.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, 11:37 am and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Badly Timed Political Scandal

By Editorial Board

Bloomberg

Sept 8, 2015

The storm sweeping over emerging markets has hit Malaysia at an especially fraught moment, with Prime Minister Najib Razak embroiled in a $700 million funding scandal. The country’s economic difficulties are bad enough by themselves. The political turmoil makes them all the harder to deal with.

Najib denies accusations that almost $700 million found its way from a state investment fund into his private accounts, and Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission has declared that the money represents donations from anonymous Middle Eastern sources. This explanation failed to satisfy the thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur last month to demand Najib’s ouster.

Leaders of the ruling United Malays National Organization, which has governed the country since independence in 1957 and has long prized loyalty over accountability, will certainly support Najib when they meet on Wednesday. But they need to ask themselves whether maintaining the political status quo is worth the continuing damage to Malaysia’s financial reputation and prospects for growth.

China’s slowdown and plunging oil prices — Malaysia derives 22 percent of its income from oil-related sources — have hammered the ringgit, which has fallen for 11 weeks running. The currency stands near lows last reached during the 1997 financial crisis. The central bank has spent almost a fifth of its reserves trying to halt the slide. Although a full-scale crisis may not be imminent, the country is among the most vulnerable in Asia to a rise in U.S. interest rates.

The situation requires a government that commands trust. Yet while Swiss authorities have started a criminal investigation into the fund, Najib has stalled a domestic probe by removing the attorney general and reassigning four members of a committee coordinating the inquiry. He’s dismissed as unpatriotic the crowds of largely Chinese and Indian protesters calling for him to step down. Such efforts at damage control risk further undermining the credibility of Malaysia’s institutions and polarizing its racially mixed society.

Foreign investors are watching. Ratings company Fitch has so far maintained its A- sovereign rating, noting that “weak governance is already factored” into its judgment. The country’s anti-corruption commission “lacks genuine independence,” according to Transparency International, and the prime minister has too much influence over the appointment of judges. Weak campaign-finance laws leave too much scope for political patronage. Parties can spend freely between elections and don’t have to account for contributions. An anonymous $700 million donation wouldn’t, in itself, be illegal.

If UMNO now chooses to bolster its support by pandering to its rural Malay base, pro-growth economic policy may be sidelined. Powerful government-linked companies are stifling innovation and crowding out private investment. Reform is needed, but it’s politically challenging. Najib once promised to roll back government policies favoring Malays. That no longer looks feasible. A brain drain of able minorities is likely to continue.

Indeed, the greatest danger is that growing racial and religious polarization might fracture Malaysia’s multiethnic society. Some UMNO leaders have flirted with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, which favors the imposition of Sharia law. Even normally circumspect neighbors are worried.

It looks unlikely that Najib will subject himself to a truly independent and transparent investigation. U.S. President Barack Obama, who’s scheduled to visit Malaysia for a regional summit this fall, may be able to exert some quiet pressure. But ultimately, UMNO leaders will have to choose: What kind of Malaysia are they trying to build?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, 11:49 am and is filed under
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Purveyors of hate

– Sheela R

The Malaysian Insider

8 September 2015

Voices of hatred seem bent on gaining traction in our nation, with their exclusivist agenda. Sadly, history seems to have taught us little.

In the 1930s, the Nazis, obsessed with a vision of a racially pure society, employed a series of cunning strategies, to ensure the realisation of their goals. These included:

Reshaping intellectual and public perception through the banning of books, articles, magazines, newspapers, and public displays of burning literature that were deemed to be incompatible with Nazi ideals. Such literary materials were deemed to foster “liberal decay”.

As an example, guidelines for libraries in that era specifically blacklisted the literature of Marxism, Communism and Bolshevism, writings of a philosophical nature and social content dealing with scientific concepts such as Darwinism, literature with liberal, democratic tendencies and attitude, etc. (re: Guidelines from Die Bucherei 2:6 (1935).

Even the book of the celebrated activist Helen Keller, who overcame her disabilities (she was born blind and deaf), to become an author was banned.

Not surprisingly, there was a marked deterioration in the primary and secondary school systems, as intellectuals were systematically discarded from shaping the nation’s educational policies.

Instead, the Nazi regime implemented a curriculum that would serve the needs of its political masters, by encouraging blind obedience and little intellectual fervour.

Special schools were set up to indoctrinate students with Nazi propaganda. These students, who were all from the same racial mould, were eventually absorbed into the ruling system.

At the university levels, professors complained that the new generation of students were unfit for higher education. Admission was not determined by brilliance but by racial standards.

Banning music which were inconsistent with their world view. These were often labelled as degenerate, decadent, radical or subversive.

Instituting discriminatory ideologies to prevent women from achieving their fullest. In the pre Nazi era, the status of women were among the most progressive in Europe. These included rights in civil matters, maternity rights and spousal equality between sexes.

Discriminatory policies of the Nazi regime soon eroded the rights and freedom previously enjoyed by women.

For example, science programmes were replaced with language and domestic skills courses (1933), women were barred from high level positions in the judiciary and the medical fields (1936), make-up, high heeled shoes, trousers and other aspects of female attire which contravened the Nazi idea of “morality” were frowned upon. The concept of a highly educated woman was seen as “Jewish intellectual” ideal, detrimental to society. Women were now rated on their childbearing and housekeeping efforts.

The consequences of these policies would prove disastrous in time.

Youths, fed on a daily dose of hate ideologies, turned into efficient killing squads, with a warped sense of morality. The dehumanisation of Jews and minorities through state sanctioned “kill” policies, paved the way for genocide.

In a bizarre but chilling account of a squad member, “execution tourism” came into existence, whereby a prospective “tourist” could tag along with a murder squad member, to witness killings. Even the timings of the executions could be altered to suit the “tourist”.

Ironically, by the start of the Second World War, few women were qualified to take up positions outside the home. Labour market rules were hastily rewritten to encourage female participation, but the measures were at best, too little, too late.

Consequently, the Nazis did not succeed in fully utilising their female labour resources, compared to the UK and the US. This led to gaps and failures in war materials production.

Clumsy attempts to patch the labour shortfall by conscripting prisoners and foreign immigrants; the resultant confusion between different government agencies; amongst other factors, would eventually play a part in the downfall of the Nazis.

The resurgence of groups like Islamic State, with policies for obliterating culture, revamping educational curriculums to the detriment of children and limiting the roles of women, etc., are all too similar to the Nazis.

While one might be tempted to argue that the Nazis and Islamic State are not cut from the same cloth, their exclusivist agendas mark them for what they are; purveyors of hate ideologies.

Let us not become one of them. – September 8, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, 12:28 pm and is filed under
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Why Malays were underrepresented at Bersih 4

Farouk A. Peru

The Malaysian Insider

9 September 2015

By now the dust settled on the greatest show of defiance Malaysia has ever seen. Despite the typical strong arm tactics by Umno politicians to discourage Bersih 4, Malaysians came out in force to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

However, from the very beginning of Bersih 4, given the racial make-up of its participants, the inevitable question was asked – where were the Malays?

This is actually an unfair question and I am sure the government along with its racist supporters would so love that Bersih 4 would be bereft of Malay presence.

This is of course not the case. I happen to know some Malay participants and I highly doubt that those whose pictures were taken while praying and the many women who wore headscarves were photoshopped in!

No, of course there were Malays but the question is, were the Malays proportionately represented in Bersih 4? I do not think so.

At Bersih 4 London, I made it a point to count the number of Malays who attended. Out of the three hundred odd people who turned up, I could not find more than twenty or so people who looked Malay.

We must calibrate this hypothetical proportion with the fact that looks can be deceiving. At least two Malays at Bersih 4 London would have passed off for South Asians (one of them being yours truly). By and large though, I would say the count shows that Malays were in fact underrepresented.

Why was this the case? In Kuala Lumpur, one can pinpoint a number of reasons.

Perhaps the biggest reason is that the currently embattled PAS had chosen to stay away for really hollow-thin reasons.

PAS is currently trying to plug up the holes in its sinking ship, thanks to the emergence of Parti Amanah Rakyat (Amanah). Although I cannot really see any substantial difference between Amanah and its parent, the novelty of Amanah is currently winning over the Islamist masses.

PAS therefore had to hedge its bets with Umno. Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Datuk Haron Din made great overtures towards Umno in recent weeks, claiming that the money in Najib’s account needed four witnesses to validate its legality.

PAS depends on these puerile statements in order to stay relevant, unfortunately. Its politics will never grow and develop beyond this superficial nonsense. In any case, the lack of PAS support helped keep Malay numbers down in Bersih 4.

In London, I believe that there is a massive support for the issues raised by Bersih. Certainly, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gave a series of talks a few years ago, the turnout was massive. Yes, there were Chinese and Indian Malaysians back then but the majority, in my observation anyway, were Malays.

Anwar’s undeniable charisma, notwithstanding his flip-flopping on issues, helped attract Malays to the events.

Back then, there was still the possibility of him becoming the PM. Pakatan Rakyat was still in its infancy and there was hope still that it would find its way to Putrajaya.

Anwar’s political skill to make even excrement smell like roses helped keep that hope alive, despite the fundamental contradictions between the ideologies of DAP and PAS. Reformist Malays came in droves, the threats to their financial aid by the government notwithstanding.

However, in the case of Bersih 4, the pros simply did not outweigh the cons. Losing one’s financial aid for an afternoon of “tunjuk perasaan” probably did not seem like a good trade-off, despite Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan’s urging the week before.

Now we come to the real reason behind the Malay’s underrepresentation. I am sad that this is what I logically deduce to be the main reason, but only when we are truthful can we begin resolving the situation on the ground.

To me, the real reasons are tribalism and racism. It really is as simple as that. We are not talking about the Umno Malays who are ultra-racists nor the PAS Malays who are the worshippers of the Hadi cult.

We are talking about reformist Malays. Malays who are anti-government and not necessarily pro-PAS either. I believe the reason they stayed away was due to Bersih 4 being portrayed as a non-Malay movement.

It is sad but there still is a racialist consciousness among these Malays. On Facebook, you can see these reformist Malays, even very liberal ones, hating Bersih 4 and certain political parties because they seem to be threatening the Malays’ “special position”.

It is a pity that few Malays realise that this “special position” is only a paper tiger which Umno uses while it loots the nation, including the Malays themselves.

While these reformist Malays may reap some benefit, by and large this pernicious policy is bleeding the nation and depriving it of racial harmony.

Of course Umno does not have the intelligence to figure this out and if it did, maybe it does not want to. However, until the Malays realise this and that their true political future lies in an egalitarian Malaysia, I fear there will be no real reform in Malaysia. – September 9, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, 12:18 pm and is filed under
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A new low for Wisma Putra

– Dennis Ignatius

Former Malaysian High Commissioner to Canada

7 Sep 2015

The newly minted deputy minister of foreign affairs, Reezal Merican, has warned that Wisma Putra would be monitoring Malaysians involved in BERSIH rallies overseas and be reporting them to the relevant agencies for follow-up action. [Malaysiakini, September 4th 2015]

Obviously, he has a lot to learn about the proud traditions of our foreign service. In the first place, Wisma Putra is not a spy agency with embassies abroad keeping tabs on the activities of Malaysian citizens. That is something that countries like North Korea, China and Iran do. In all my 36 years in the foreign ministry, we never spied on our citizens, kept records of their activities or threatened them. In fact, we went out of our way to build rapport with them because we recognized that they could contribute to promoting Malaysia.

Of course, there were times when we disagreed with their actions or the positions they took on national issues. Our response, however, was always to engage them, explain government policies and endeavour to win them over. We won some and we lost some; that’s the way it goes in a democracy. Whatever the outcome, the Malaysia I represented then always respected the rights of its citizens even when we disagreed with them. There was no question of trying to intimidate them.

Sadly, this is something that the present crop of UMNO politicians do not seem to understand. To them, all dissent is seditious and unacceptable. Instead of respectfully engaging dissenting citizens with tact and diplomacy, they threaten, demean and dismiss them as enemies of state to be pursued, harassed and intimidated. And then they wonder why more and more people are disgusted by their behaviour.

I suppose morally bankrupt politicians have few options. They dodge the truth, distort the facts and evade the issues. When that fails, they hide behind race and religion. And when even that fails, they fall back on threats and intimidation.

It is particularly distressing that Reezal is now bringing this mindset to a once proud institution like Wisma Putra. Instead of using Wisma Putra to advance and defend the national interest in critical areas of global diplomacy and security, he has reduced it to just another party political organ where diplomats have to set aside the important work they do for the nation to cater to UMNO’s desire for vengeance against fellow citizens. This is what happens when you put small-minded politicians with oversize ambitions in the foreign ministry.

Reezal was also reported to have said that the actions of protestors abroad could tarnish the image of the country at the international level.

You have to be asinine to believe that.

Any one with a modicum of common sense and understanding about international affairs would know that it is the behaviour of the present government that has brought the nation into disrepute with its scandalous behaviour, gross incompetence and abuse of power. If Reezal cares to do his job and acquaint himself with what the international media, other governments, respected NGOs and investors are saying, the deputy minister would know that his accusations against Malaysian protestors abroad are utter nonsense. When it comes to tarnishing Malaysia’s name, UMNO is in a class of its own.

The deputy minister is also talking nonsense when he says that other countries don’t appreciate Malaysians taking to the streets. As far as I know, not a single democratic government has sought to prevent a BERSIH gathering. Democracies understand that people have constitutional rights to peacefully express themselves. It is only undemocratic and insecure governments that get their knickers into a knot every time there’s a protest or feel threatened by balloons or yellow tee-shirts.

Reezal also went on to offer gratuitous advice to Malaysians abroad to comply with the laws of the countries they reside in. He would have better served the nation if he encouraged his own colleagues in government to abide by the laws of the land and respect the constitutional rights of Malaysians.

For my part, I salute, without reservation, the thousands of Malaysians abroad who joined their countrymen at home in demanding free and fair elections, an end to the endemic corruption that is bleeding our nation dry, and good governance. They are like shining lights on a hill reminding the world that though the situation at home is bleak there is still hope because millions of Malaysians still carry the torch of freedom in their hearts.

I am inspired by their patriotism and commitment to our nation.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 10 September 2015, 5:48 am and is filed under
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Bar Council seeks lawyers’ nod to sue anyone blocking probe into 1MDB, RM2.6 billion donation

BY V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The Malaysian Insider

9 September 2015

The Bar Council wants its members to give their mandate to take legal action against any person responsible for obstructing investigations into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fiasco and the case of the RM2.6 billion “donation” channelled into the prime minister’s private accounts.

This is among the suggestions forwarded by president of the Malaysian Bar Steven Thiru, who will move the motion at its emergency general meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

Copies of the motion were sent to 16,000 lawyers in the peninsula yesterday.

A copy of the motion, sighted by The Malaysian Insider, also stated that the Bar mandates the council to take steps to affirm and preserve the rule of law, to uphold the Federal Constitution and to protect the administration of justice.

The motion would also discuss the abrupt removal of former Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail from office.

It also calls for the government to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to probe into allegations of financial impropriety concerning 1MDB, which has raked up debts of more than RM42 billion, and the transfer of RM2.6 billion into Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bank accounts.

Putrajaya had said the RM2.6 billion was from a Middle-Eastern donor whose identity has not been revealed.

Also on the agenda is the crippling of the Public Accounts Committee, the harassment, intimidation and oppression of investigating officers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara Malaysia and Special Branch who were in the special government task force investigating the 1MDB fiasco and the RM2.6 billion.

Steven said the EGM would be held in line with the objectives set out in Section 42 of the Legal Profession Act which stipulated that the Bar must uphold the cause of justice without regard to its own interests or that of its members.

On July 28, Gani was removed from office and replaced by former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali.

Gani was the task force chief investigating 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion.

On the same day, former Special Branch director Datuk Seri Akhil Bulat, who was nearing retirement but who was on leave, was replaced by Datuk Seri Mohamad Fuzi Haron, the former Bukit Aman management department director.

Also transferred out of Special Branch was Akhil’s deputy, Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador, who was asked to report to a new security division in the Prime Minister’s Department.

On August 7, two MACC directors were transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department with immediate effect, but their transfers were rescinded after 48 hours due to public pressure.

Seven MACC officers were also called in for questioning by the police. The probe by MACC was in relation to SRC International over a RM4 billion loan from the government pension fund (KWAP) to 1MDB and the subsequent transfer of RM42 million into Najib’s personal bank accounts.

The police have been probing MACC officers with regard to leaks from this investigation under Section 124B of the Penal Code for “activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy”, but this has sparked allegations of an attempt to thwart the commission’s probe.

Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz on August 13 revealed that seven officers were also questioned by police over information leaks related to the 1MDB probe.

On August 16, Barisan Nasional strategic communications director Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan was quoted in an English daily as saying that Najib had to “take out people” after a draft copy of an alleged charge sheet against him emerged.

Former officer in the Attorney-General’s Chambers Jessica Gurmeet Kaur, who was recently arrested in connection with leaks into the 1MDB investigations, also had her contract terminated last month. – September 9, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 10 September 2015, 6:41 am and is filed under
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Biarkan si baju merah berarak

Hafidz Baharom

The Malaysian Insider

9 September 2015

Saya tidak menyokong perbuatan tersebut, tapi saya berpendapat rakyat Malaysia patut membiarkan ia berlaku tetapi motif saya berlainan.

Biarlah si baju merah semuanya berkumpul di Bukit Bintang, beraksi semula dengan kayu-kayan, berguling sana sini, mengucapkan apa-apa yang mungkin bersifat perkauman dan anti Cina, menunjukkan mereka kononnya perwira bangsa Melayu.

Biarlah setiap kata-kata mereka direkodkan dan dimuat naik ke semua laman sosial. Biarlah setiap kata-kata mereka diterjemahkan ke semua bahasa yang rakyat Malaysia dan warga asing di sini faham.

Biarlah video-video berserta terjemahan dalam setiap bahasa ini disebarkan oleh rakyat Malaysia sendiri melalui laman sosial ke Bangladesh, Korea Selatan, Jepun, Amerika Syarikat, Kanada, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, China, Vietnam, Singapura dan Rusia – mana-mana negara yang mempunyai kepentingan perdagangan dengan Malaysia.

Maka dengan aksi sedemikian rupa, kerajaan sendiri perlu menanggung tanggungjawab penyokong politik mereka sendiri.

Apakah menteri perdagangan antarabangsa boleh dikekalkan dalam perundingan Perjanjian Kerjasama Trans-Pasifik (TPPA) jika semua menteri perdagangan antarabangsa berserta ahli politik Kongres AS melihat video tersebut?

Apakah Datuk Seri Noh Omar selaku pengerusi Barisan Nasional Selangor boleh memenangi kembali 20% pengundi Cina di negerinya dengan video penyokongnya malah ketua Umno Sungai Besar, Datu Jamal Yunos sendiri tersebar luas?

Apakah Menteri Pelancongan, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz boleh terus menarik pelancong dari China dan Taiwan ke Kuala Lumpur jika setiap ayat bersifat perkauman dilontarkan, direkodkan dan dihebohkan bersama terjemahan dalam bahasa Mandarin?

Bagaimana pula dengan menteri dalam negeri kita? Apakah dia masih lagi boleh menarik 1.5 juta warga Bangladesh menjadi pekerja asing jika video tersebut berserta terjemahan bahasa mereka tersebar ke pihak kedutaan mereka?

Bagaimana pula jika disebarkan kepada setiap kedutaan yang ada di Malaysia yang mempunyai laman sosial Facebook dan Twitter? Setiap akaun e-mel?

Bagaimana pula dengan setiap ahli parlimen Barisan Nasional yang bukan Melayu? Apakah mereka boleh bertahan lagi dua tahun jika setiap pengundi mereka mendapat tayangan percuma si baju merah pejuang bangsa Melayu ini?

Mungkin mereka semua tidak menggunakan Internet, tetapi ini boleh diselesaikan dengan sebiji telefon bimbit, projektor mini dan layar putih – anggaran kos di bawah RM3,000 – yang boleh dialihkan dengan mudah ke mana-mana kawasan pedalaman.

Apakah pihak polis sendiri sudah bersedia untuk menerima beratus atau beribu laporan polis serata negara atas percakapan berbaur perkauman yang menyalahi undang-undang?

Adakah Nancy Shukri sudah bersedia menjawab berliku-liku persoalan perundangan mengapa tiada tindakan diambil? Bagaimanakah pula pihak peguam negara?

Sewaktu perhimpunan Bersih, ada yang kata ia membantu kerajaan dalam propaganda mereka meraih kembali sokongan.

Pada jangkaan saya, perhimpunan kononnya hendak “membangkitkan semula maruah Melayu” ini pula akan membenarkan pihak anti Barisan Nasional bukan sahaja mendapat sokongan dari rakyat Malaysia, tapi boleh juga dijadikan bahan propaganda untuk meraih sokongan antarabangsa.

Manalah kita tahu, lepas ini pihak lain pula yang terima “wang derma” berbilion-bilion datang pilihan raya umum tahun 2018 nanti.

Tetapi lebih penting dari itu, apa-apa bahan propaganda yang dicatat, direkod dan disebarkan berpunca dari pihak baju merah ini boleh dijadikan bahan-bahan untuk menekan semua rakyat negara luar untuk mengenakan satu “harta global” ke atas negara kita.

Setiap negara luar dan rakyat mereka akan menyebarkan bagaimana rakyat Malaysia sendiri bersikap aparteid, menyamakan tindakan dan perbuatan si baju merah ini dengan apa yang berlaku dengan sejarah Nazi di Jerman, dengan dasar-dasar Afrika Selatan, malah mungkin juga dengan puak Klu Klux Klan di Amerika Syarikat.

Dengan perbandingan seperti ini disebarkan ke serata dunia, mampukah menteri-menteri Kabinet kita berusaha memulihkan semula imej Malaysia bukan di mata ahli politik antarabangsa, tapi rakyat marhaen luar negara?

Mengikut data laman web statista.com, suku kedua 2015 menunjukkan jumlah pengguna aktif bulanan Facebook sedunia menjangkau 1.31 bilion pengguna. Laman tersebut juga menyatakan pengguna laman Twitter sedunia pula berjumlah 304 juta pengguna aktif bulanan.

Rakyat Malaysia pula sudah majmuk, sudah faham dan boleh menterjemah pelbagai bahasa dari Bahasa Melayu hinggalah ke bahasa Mandarin mahupun Bahasa Perancis. Rakyat Malaysia juga meluangkan purata 5 jam sehari menghadap Internet.

Ini termasuklah mereka yang menyertai perarakan oleh Bersih selama 34 jam itu, berjumlah antara 50,000 hingga 100,000.

Cuba bayangkan bagaimana kelihatan laman sosial masing-masing ketika itu, dengan keadaan kerana terlalu padat dan kawasan Dataran Merdeka yang memang “lubang hitam” tiada signal Internet.

Sekarang bayangkan apa yang mereka boleh lakukan dengan akses Internet di Bukit Bintang dan rumah masing-masing bagi menyebarkan sebarang perbuatan perkauman, anti Cina, anti Yahudi, malah anti apa-apalah yang si baju merah nak berucap nanti.

Jika kerajaan berkata mereka sudah bersiap sedia untuk bertanggungjawab ke atas sebarang tindak balas dari segi imej negara kita di khalayak antarabangsa, perdagangan antarabangsa negara kita, segala wang yang masuk dari industri pelancongan, maka teruskan menyokong himpunan Melayu ini.

Bagi kita yang tidak menyokong tindakan ini, kita juga akan bersiap sedia untuk memastikan mereka ini mendapat perhatian khalayak antarabangsa bagi menunjukkan parti politik kerajaan – tidak mengira UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, semua parti ahli Barisan Nasional di Sabah dan Sarawak – menyokong golongan ekstrem bersikap perkauman.

Jadi, teruskanlah. Kita masing-masing bersiap sedia. – 9 September, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 10 September 2015, 8:41 pm and is filed under
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