Hobson’s Choice And Scraping The Barrel

by
Tunku Abdul Aziz

MySinChew

20.3.09

Najib Abdul Razak will be remembered as the most controversial prime ministerial aspirant this nation has ever known. The deadweight political baggage he is lugging around, as he sets his course on what he fervently hopes will be the last lap to the best address in the country, is enough to make a grown man cry, but not Najib, the single minded man of destiny according to his wife, Rosmah.

He seems to take his travails in his stride. Is he not, again, according to Rosmah, predestined to occupy the highest political office in the land? I am inclined to think that there may be some truth in what Rosmah has been saying about his destiny because she has already begun, to preen herself, so the gossip goes, to play the part of Malaysia’s First Lady.

Unfortunately for her, and others who might harbour a similar ambition in the deep recesses of their fantasy, our country is a monarchy, albeit a constitutional one (may it always remain that way) and as such, the First Lady is our queen, not the wife of the prime minister. Her confident prediction of Najib’s political ascendancy and immortality could, in the event, prove to be just a little premature given the murky political waters he is wading through.

“The PM governs; the king rules! The queen is the First Lady.”

It is not my intention enumerate the reasons for Najib’s unprecedented unpopularity. Many serious allegations of moral and ethical lapses have appeared on local blogs as well as in foreign publications. Rightly or wrongly, he has been cast as someone unappealing, and these negative perceptions look set to feed on him. They can only be reversed by his clearing his name in the court of law.

Najib is an intelligent man, and he must surely know that many people do not trust him and that he cannot govern this country effectively with so much ill will surrounding his person. In his beleaguered state and feeling, no doubt, under constant siege there is, many of us fear, no knowing what diabolical measures he will resort to, including using the Internal Security Act, to silence his critics. I hope Najib will take early steps to assure the citizens of this country that the little crumbs of freedom that Pak Lah has grudgingly thrown at us will not be swept away. He has a monumental task to convince us that he really, despite all indications to the contrary, believes in the rule of law. He has to show that he can be trusted to do the right thing by us.

I am greatly amused to read that our irrepressible former prime minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad the selective amnesiac has proffered gratuitous advice, as is his wont, to “young Najib” who is starting out in the serious business of governance on the importance of choosing the right people to serve as his cabinet colleagues. What sort of people did Tun himself pick when he ran this country for 22 years? Men and women of great moral and ethical rectitude?

I believe Najib knows what he needs to do to survive the next general elections. The luckless man will be scraping the bottom of the barrel to find men and women of integrity whose main interest as politicians is service in the public interest. We wish him well as he goes about putting his team together. It does seem me that Najib might yet turn out to be a great prime minister by doing the opposite of what Tun Mahathir did when he held sway over this country. He should distance himself from the great meddler and be his own man for once.

Najib will need to be less of an Umno top brass and more of a Malaysian nationalist by putting the interests of the country first and last. Malaysia after the political machinations of nearly three decades is divided as never before on all fronts, and it is time we settled down to a period of calm reflection and introspection. We cannot hope to achieve sustainability of purpose as a united, prosperous and peaceful nation by blind indulgence in policies that we know to be unjust and unfair, policies that are inimical to the future well being of our people.

We cannot survive as a nation in social, political and economic terms unless this country is governed with equity and justice for all. We need another unprincipled politician like we need a hole in the head. However, we need desperately a statesmanlike politician (a contradiction in terms, be that as it may) who has broad appeal not because he embodies and personifies the politics of patronage that sustained Mahathirism of unhappy memory but because he knows instinctively that integrity, and all that it stands for, in governance is the only way forward for this country of ours.

Najib has his work cut out for him, and I wish him well as our next head of government. He governs; the king rules! The queen is the First Lady.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 23 March 2009, 12:15 pm and is filed under
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Najib’s countdown –  shows again  his “iron fist”

“Harakah, Suara Keadilan banned 3 months”
 – latest news from Malaysiakini, viz:

“The Home Ministry has suspended the organs of two opposition parties – PAS’ Harakah and PKR’s Suara Keadilan – for three months, effective immediately.

“With the suspension, both newspapers will not be able to publish until the end of June, missing out on a number of crucial political events including the three by-elections on April 7.”

Another example of Najib Razak showing his “iron fist” – with the countdown to his anointment as UMNO President reduced to less than two days and ever closer to his political prize as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 23 March 2009, 6:34 pm and is filed under
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Nizar – PR candidate in Bukit Gantang by-election

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin has been named as the Pakatan Rakyat candidate for the Bukit Gantang parliamentary by election which falls on 7th April 2009.

The battle for democracy in Perak and Malaysia is now full joined with Nizar the official standard bearer for Pakatan Rakyat in the by election.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 23 March 2009, 11:08 pm and is filed under
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The  start of the Najib crackdown?

Are Malaysians seeing the start of the Najib crackdown from events of the past week?

These developments  include:

16.3.09:  DAP MP for Puchong Gobind Singh Deo suspended for one year in “kangaroo court” proceeding in Parliament without parliamentary pay and privileges for asking the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak whether he was involved in the murder case of Mongolian Altantuya Shariibuu.

17.3.09: DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh charged under the Sedition Act 1948 for stating that a State Ruler can be brought  to court in their official and personal capacities under the Constitution.

18.3.09: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) showed utter contempt for the doctrine of separation of powers and continued harassment of the Perak State Assembly Committee of Privileges chaired by Perak State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar for suspending usurper Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir and his illegitimate six exco members from the assembly, by subjecting the committee members to questioning for the offence of corruption in misusing their powers.

23.3.09: Unreasonable and undemocratic three-month suspension of PAS’ Harakah and PKR’s Suara Keadilan;

23.3.09: Indiscriminate police firing of tear gas and chemical-lacked water on 5,000-people ceramah at Bukit Selambau, Kedah minutes after Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took the podium.

Since the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and constitutional power grab in Perak on 5th February 2009, personally orchestrated by Najib, the PM-in-waiting  has confirmed the worst fears that his ascension as the sixth Prime Minister would see a return of Mahathirism and a Najib crackdown.

Media reports of the parliamentary debate on the Witness Protection Bill yesterday have been sanitized to remove all reference to questions about Najib’s  suitability, integrity and legitimacy to become the new Prime Minister, so long as he is not prepared to take the necessary actions to clear all doubts haunting and hounding him, whether about mega defence deal commissions, the Altantuya Shariibuu murder case or the undemocratic, unethical, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak.

During the debate, I referred to the spate of adverse international media reports about Najib’s coming ascension –  in London Sunday Times on Sunday, Paris Liberation last week, as well as in Thailand and Australia – questioned the seriousness and the political will in the purported reform  to root out corruption (of which the Protection of Witness Bill is part of the package), the disappearance of private investigator Bala Subramaniam after two statutory declarations highly detrimental to Najib’s reputation and integrity, and the urgent need for Najib to respond frontally to the many swirling allegations dogging him by establishing a Royal Commission of Inquiry to vindicate his innocence, as he had claimed.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri  Aziz avoided all these burning issues with the stance that they were  totally irrelevant to the Bill.

Who is really being protected –  Najib?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 March 2009, 11:34 am and is filed under
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Is UMNO power crazy?

For saying that I was suspended in Parliament today.

But Hishammuddin Hussein the out-going Umno Youth Leader called Anwar Ibrahim power crazy. And he became a hero.

——

Kit Siang ejected for calling Umno ‘power-crazy’

Malaysiakini | S Pathmawathy | Mar 25, 09 11:13am

DAP Ipoh Timor parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang was suspended from Parliament proceedings this morning up to 1pm for saying that Umno is “power-crazy”.

Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee issued the suspension order after Lim (left) questioned the hasty manner in which the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Amendment) 2009 Bill was being debated.

“We were not given proper notice and there was no consultation. We should have been given a day’s notice to review the amendments… this is totally against the Standing Orders of the House,” Lim had said.

Kiandee pointed out that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz had made an announcement yesterday after the first reading, that the Bill would be tabled for the second and third reading today.

“The government has the power to prioritise which Bills are to be brought forward. Sufficient time was given to members of parliament to be prepared for the debate,” said Kiandee.

Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) then interjected to ask: “Does the Executive control Parliament? The amendments were only given to us yesterday. We can’t just amend the Bill at short notice.”

Mohd Nazri said the second reading had been brought forward to give the MPs the opportunity to debate the Bill at this session, which ends today.

However, as he was reading the Bill, opposition MPs began raising objections under the Standing Orders. He ignore the interjections.

When the debate was opened to the floor, Lim once more said that parliamentarians should have been given more time to study the Bill.

“I know that all Umno members of parliament are crazy about the general assembly and elections,” he said, following it up with the remark that “Umno is power-crazy”.

Reason for amendments

This ignited a war of words between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians.

BN lawmakers told Lim to withdraw his remark. Refusing to do so, he said that he was just stating the obvious and that there was no offence in his words.

BN MPs called Lim “a dog” and “bastard”. One not just shouted “Anjing!” but even went “Woof! Woof!”

Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) warned Lim to not insult Umno, saying: “You are trying our patience… take back what you said.”

Lim shouted back: “I will not take back what I said, Umno is power-crazy.”

Kiandee repeatedly told Lim to sit, but he refused to heed the order. This led to his suspension until the lunch break.

After Lim left the House, the deputy speaker ordered Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan, right) to  retracted his remark that the DAP parliamentarian was “biadap” (insolent).

Amendments to the Human Rights Commission Act have been necessitated by requirements set by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC).

The ICC has given the government up to tomorrow to incorporate changes on the appointment of commissioners, failing which the commission’s ranking will be lowered.

The current session of the Dewan Rakyat was extended up to today from March 19.

——

‘Beware of that power-crazy traitor’

Malaysiakini | Mar 25, 09 11:01am

Outgoing Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein today warned party members to be wary of the ONE who is “using all means to topple the Barisan Nasional government.”

umno youth 2009 agm 250309 hishammuddinAlthough the education minister did not mention names, there is no doubt that his remarks were targetted at opposition leader and former Umno deputy president Anwar Ibrahim.

According to Hishammuddin, this “traitor is power-crazy and would stop at nothing (to achieve his goals).”

Turning the clock back to Sept 16 last year, he said the ‘traitor’ had vowed that a change of government would happen on this date and planted the seeds of doubt amongst the people.

“But God decided that the reverse happens, with a transition of power taking place in Perak,” he said, adding that it was God’s response to the claims made by those who were arrogant.

“This traitor would sow the seeds of hatred, would work with the enemy, would turn against his own race and insult his own country in various international arenas.

“The traitor would also ridicule the institution of the royalty and anyone else for the sake of his unbridled lust.

“But whatever he does, he would be judged by history as a man who wears a mask, practises the culture of hypocrisy and false pretences, (and) as someone who manipulated others – he says one thing in front and does another at the back.”

‘Trap does not forget the mousedeer’

Hishammuddin also quoted a Malay proverb to illustrate his point, which hinted that a ‘trap’ could be in place for the opposition leader.

“Wahai Petualang bangsa, pelanduk mungkin lupakan jerat, tetapi jerat janganlah sama sekali melupakan pelanduk.” (To the one who has betrayed his race, the mousedeer might forget the trap, but the trap would never forget the mousedeer).

The Umno Youth wing, he pledged, would fight the “traitor’s dirty and revolting politics till the very end”.

“The country is now struck by the uncivilised practice of street politics. Of late, we have seen premeditated efforts by the opposition to demolish the foundations of the nation.

“The people are sown with hatred for the security forces, with the police being targeted. The good name of the police force is tarnished and their sacrifices no longer appreciated,” he said.

“Certain quarters have become arrogant and high-headed to the point of questioning the social contract and status of the Malays and bumiputera. The social contract is deliberately misinterpreted to fan racial sentiments,” he added.

The Umno Youth chief also expressed concern that some have become emboldened enough to insult the royal institution and the status of Islam.

“Irrespective of the circumstances, without caring for the consequences, they hurl baseless allegations and ridicule all those who do not share their views,” he said.

In an obvious reference to DAP supremo Karpal Singh (right) and his son Gobind, Hishammuddin said these irresponsible people must not hide behind parliamentary immunity to showcase their courage and shoot off their mouths.

No unsheathing of the keris

This was Hishammuddin’s last speech as Umno Youth chief as he is contesting a vice-president’s post in this party polls.

He continued with the controversial Umno Youth tradition of arriving at the meeting hall with a keris.

But in what appeared to be a concession to past criticism, Hishammuddin pointedly avoided raising the keris and stopped at just kissing the traditional Malay weapon.

He then raised his right hand and shouted the customary clarion call of ‘Hidup Melayu’ (Long Live the Malays) three times.

In the past, Hishamuddin’s act of raising the keris had drawn much flak from various quarters who viewed it as a threat to other races.

Today’s change in protocol seems to indicate that Hishammuddin was avoiding causing discontent among non-Malays, particulary in light of the three impending by-elections on April 7.

However, this decision could have a bearing on his bid for vice-presidency, as many hardcore Umno members could see Hishammuddin as being weak.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 25 March 2009, 6:20 pm and is filed under
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Abdullah’s warning against return of Mahathirism – Will  Najib scotch talk of imminent  ISA arrest of Anwar?

In his farewell Umno Presidential
speech
 today, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi confirms his image as a basically  decent and humble person  who unfortunately could not translate his good  instincts into government policy, measures and actions resulting in his being  prematurely and ignominiously forced out by his own party and becoming the shortest-serving Prime Minister of the country.

Why is this so?

The fault cannot be borne by Abdullah alone, but must be on the shoulders of  the rest of Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships, for failing to give  Abdullah the necessary support, and in many cases, for actively sabotaging him  in the past five years to frustrate  Abdullah from walking the talk of long overdue national reforms.

As a result, Abdullah could not even salvage and accomplish  the minimalist legacy of reform he had hoped to leave behind before stepping down as Prime Minister – when the last of the trio of his final  reform legislative programme, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) Bill, had to be again  deferred although it was meant to be the “crown jewel” of Abdullah’s last parliamentary meeting lasting 22 days from Feb. 16 which ended yesterday.

Even the first two of the trio of his  minimalist reform legislation – the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) Act and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Act – have proved to be great disappointments  and letdowns, but Abdullah seemed to have abandoned whatever is left of his reformist zeal in his last three months in office.

There is no more eloquent testimony that Abdullah has given up the ghost in the fight to introduce reforms  when he was not prepared to put his foot down to  salvage the  last of his trio of reform legislative programme, especially when it is meant to honour one of his earlier and most important pledges to implement the Royal Police Commission’s key  recommendation to establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) so that Malaysia has a world-class police service to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect/promote human rights.

One of the most important parts of Abdullah’s farewell speech is his views about Umno “at the crossroads”, saying:

“ The path that we choose will determine whether we continue to remain relevant or whether we are reduced to a forgotten footnote in the pages of history.

“Sadly, there are still those who feel that we do not need to pursue reforms. They believe that Umno will regain its glory if we revert to the old ways — the old order, by restricting the freedom of our citizens and by silencing their criticism.

“They are of the view that Umno can continue to be in power if they safeguard the interests of certain individuals and give in to the demands of certain groups. There are those among us who gain comfort from these thoughts and are still lulled into a false sense of security.

“If we revert to the old path I believe we are choosing the wrong path; one that will take us to regression and decay. It is a path that I fear will hasten our demise. If we do not take courageous steps to reform in the face of this dynamic transformation of society and the radical global changes taking place, then we shall live to witness the end of our beloved Umno.”

This is a very subtle but unmistakable warning by Abdullah against the return of Mahathirism when Datuk Seri Najib Razak takes over as the sixth Prime Minister – although Najib has begun to talk the language of reform.

In Najib’s pre-100 days as Prime Minister, the country is already seeing increasing signs of the powers-that-be reverting to the “old ways” of restricting freedom and silencing criticism as illustrated by the sedition charge against DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor, Karpal Singh; police sedition investigation against Johore State Assembly Opposition Leader and Johore DAP Chairman, Dr. Boo  Cheng Hau; one-year suspension of DAP MP for Puchong, Gobind Singh Deo without parliamentary pay and privileges; three-month suspension of Harakah and Suara Keadilan; prosecution of bloggers; indiscriminate and high-handed police action against Pakatan Rakyat gatherings and ceramahs; etc.

Najib should take a clear-cut stand in his acceptance speech as the new Umno president on Saturday, to set his face clearly and strongly against any return of Mahathirism in his premiership.

I will go even further and ask Najib to scotch  growing talk of the imminent arrest of Parliamentary Opposition Leader and Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim  under the Internal Security Act  as well as the  possibility of another Operation Lalang mass arrests.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 March 2009, 1:05 pm and is filed under
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M vs Pak Lah (Round One) –  M triumphalism checked

Mahathir triumphalism was checked with  Abdullah Ahmad Badawi winning  Round One of the “M vs Pak Lah” battle with  the following Umno Youth Chief election results yesterday:

Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar	304

Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Khir Toyo	254

Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir                	232

But incoming Prime Minister, Najib Razak has not emerged as the clear winner, especially with the Umno Wanita chief results:

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil	507

Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz		280

Today is Round 2 of the UMNO elections stakes.

Who will emerge the real winner – Najib, Mahathir,  Abdullah or none?

Add new tag

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 March 2009, 8:52 am and is filed under
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UMNO or MIC General Assembly?

Crowd turns rowdy, cops called in

Star Online

Published: Thursday March 26, 2009 MYT 3:02:00 PM

UMNO secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor has asked for police help in maintaining calm at the general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

He said that he had made the request to Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar as the crowds along the hallways had grown excited and difficult to control.

“I am saddened by what is happening and if they are doing anything wrong they should be picked up,” he told reporters when asked about the conduct of candidates’ supporters.

Delegates, VIP guests and media were hindered by campaigners and the scene at times turned ugly, with some resorting to aggressive shoving and pushing. As a result, some people almost fell or were nearly trampled upon.

The media also had trouble trying to get reactions from various leaders as PWTC security rudely handled pressmen by blocking access to the leaders, instead of moving the crowd.

At one point, police had to set up a police line on both sides of the walkway to allow guests and delegates to move freely.

Hundreds of Umno delegates were prevented from entering the main hall as security personnel kept the doors locked, saying that more time was needed to prepare the hall for balloting.

Those who found themselves in this predicament included veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Kelantan delegate Datuk Abdul Rahim Rahman and Penang delegate Datuk Musa Sheikh Kadir Fadzir, who were forced to use an alternative route to enter the hall.

At one point, some delegates knocked on the doors seeking entry, while others resorted to kicking the walls leading into the hall.

Umno updates: Cops called in to maintain calm

Updated: Thursday March 26, 2009 MYT 3:33:53 PM

2:30pm:
 Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor says he has asked for police help in maintaining calm at the PWTC because the crowd was turning rowdy.

12.45pm:
 Polling for the posts of Umno deputy president, vice-presidents (3)and supreme council (25) seats begins. A total of 2,519 delegates will be voting and results are expected only after midnight.

12.40pm:
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has been officially declared the new Umno president. The announcement was made by Umno permanent chairman Tan Sri Onn Ismail at PWTC Thursday. Najib won the post uncontested on Nov 2 when he was the only one to get enough nominations to qualify to contest.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 March 2009, 4:43 pm and is filed under
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Umno power crazy – parliament video

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 March 2009, 1:00 pm and is filed under
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UMNO power-crazy? Yes, says Pak Lah…

Is Umno power-crazy?

I had said in Parliament
(video)
 that if Umno is not power-crazy
(gila kuasa),
 it would not have suffered the shattering defeat in the political tsunami in the last general election of March 8, 2008.

For  speaking truth to power, I was suspended from Parliament yesterday.

Now, outgoing UMNO President and Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has admitted as much that Umno is power-crazy.

In fact, he even gave five illustrations of  Umno being so power-crazed as to create a crisis of credibility and erosion of public trust in Umno.

According to Abdullah, the
five factors
resulting in  Umno becoming power-crazy are as follows:

•	longevity in power has led to complacency and a number of Umno leaders are increasingly out of touch with the ordinary people who have been the source of Umno’s strength for so long.

•	relative neglect of the rural community in our desire and intent to achieve developed nation status.

•	ineffectiveness of Umno political programmes in reaching out to the younger generation, apart from what is already being implemented by various governmental institutions.

•	prolonged conflict among ourselves, especially while competing for positions within the party, has eroded the spirit of fraternity among party members.

•	materialism has seeped into the party, making a number of party members greedy and avaricious, hence creating the negative perception that Umno is a corrupt party.

UMNO MPs who got their pound of flesh yesterday by getting me suspended from Parliament had done Umno the greatest disservice by  hoisting the denial syndrome on all levels of Umno.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 March 2009, 4:18 pm and is filed under
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M vs Pak Lah (Round 2) – Mahathirism vindicated,  set to be dominant force in Najib premiership

Although Mahathir triumphalism was checked in Round One of the  “M vs Pak Lah” battle in the elections for Umno Youth and Wanita leaders on Thursday, with the outgoing Prime Minister getting the upperhand, Round Two of the “M vs Pak Lah” battle for the top Umno posts yesterday saw Mahathirism vindicated and set to be the dominant force in the new Najib premiership.

With Abdullah’s proxy,  Mohd Ali Rustam disqualified from the contest, Muhyiddin Yassin was elected Umno Deputy President  with  1,575 votes,  defeating  Muhammad Muhammad Taib with 916 votes.

The three elected Umno Vice Presidents are Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (1,592 votes), Hishammuddin Husein (1,515 votes) and Mohd Shafie Apdal (1,445 votes).

Abdullah’s farewell speech to wean UMNO from the scourge of money politics and corruption did not go down well at all with the Umno delegates, as he was repeatedly booed when he spoke against “greedy and avaricious” Umno members who created “the negative perception that Umno is a corrupt party” and Umno members who “expect positions and projects”, “titles and awards”, “material fulfillment” while “the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of struggle, the spirit of serving the people and country is fast fading away”!

The UMNO Supreme Council elections have also chalked up a notorious record, justifying the following  caustic comment by Malaysian Insider’s
“Winners and Losers,  Day 2”
:

“Malaysians – What else can you do besides shrug your shoulders and wonder what is going in Umno when three of the most obnoxious MPs – Datuk Bung Mokthar Radin, Datuk Puad Zarkashi and Datuk Tajudin Rahman – get elected to the most powerful decision-making body in the party.”

The following article is also recommended:

A glimpse of what could have been – The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 26 – This was the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who once had an approval rating of more than 90 per cent among Malaysians.

This was the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who went missing for long periods between 2005 and 2008.

In 4,000 words, Abdullah reminded many Malaysians why they invested so much hope in him when he became the prime minister in October 2003. In 4,000 words, he also gave a cameo performance of why his administration will be remembered with regret, disappointment and frustration by many Malaysians.

If only – those two words were on the lips of many at the end of his speech at the opening of the party assembly.

During the one-hour speech, Malaysians had a glimpse of Abdullah the:

•       Magnanimous – He had been bludgeoned by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad since 2005; called unflattering names by the former prime minister and shamed in public.

Yet today before the whole country (the speech was telecast “live”), he thanked Dr Mahathir for appointing him as the DPM in 1999 and then making way for him in October 2003. “Thank you, Tun, ‘’ he said.

Many in the hall enjoyed the moment but his supporters said that his magnanimity and inability to kill off opponents sowed the seeds of his downfall in Umno. The party loved him but they never feared him.

•       Ultimate party loyalist – He took party delegates down memory lane today, speaking about his love and devotion for Umno, the party his grandfather, father and mother served with distinction.

He took a stab at the critics within the party who humiliated him since Election 2008 but pointed out that never once did he consider damaging the party or quitting Umno.

He spoke with pride about the party which united the Malays, fought for independence, built a country. Sadly, the party which he was speaking about in glowing terms bore little resemblance to the one today.

•       Reformer – In Umno circles, they blame Abdullah for allowing the culture of criticism in Malaysia to prosper and for not using the sledgehammer approach to bring the media and Opposition into line. They want a return  to the old days when newspapers shut out the Opposition completely and when fear coursed through the veins of many Malaysians. Abdullah said that going back was not an option. Never could be.

“There are those who believe that Umno will return to winning ways if we go back to the old ways, to the old order and by stifling people…If we take that old path, I believe we are selecting the wrong path…I fear that this path will speed the demise of Umno,” he said.

Is his plea going to make any headway with his party leaders or members? Little chance. They forced him out because they want a return to the old days.

•       Leader of all Malaysians – Too little, too late, but only a sprinkling of Umno leaders today would be prepared to go before the party assembly and urge them to keep their natural instinct in check. Abdullah cautioned Umno against becoming racial and religious extremists and urged them to always offer an umbrella of protection to all Malaysians.

Nice words but it is unlikely that a political party which has become more inward-looking since Election 2008 will be moved by words. He could have done much more to resolve the knot of issues between the races or find a new platform of cooperation for Barisan Nasional. His party’s failure to make Malaysia a hospitable place for all is his failure.

•       The meek  – Warts and all, Malaysians, especially in rural Malaysia, embraced him as prime minister because of his soft demeanour, his willingness to show his human side. Today, he conceded that he did not manage to fulfill all his promises and acknowledged that he had made mistakes.

“I apologise for my shortcomings and weaknesses,” he said, concluding a speech which said much about the man and his party.

They gave him a standing ovation but, like many elements in his speech, perhaps it was too little, too late. If only…

                This entry was posted on Friday, 27 March 2009, 8:57 am and is filed under
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Scraping the bottom of the barrel for judicial talent

How to judge a judge

– a talk given to the Perak Bar on 7 March 2009 –

by N. H. Chan

The judge’s craft

Before anyone can hope to be able to judge a judge it is essential that he should know about his craft. It is only when you know of the judge’s craft that you will be able to judge the performance of the judges: it is only then that you will know the difference between the good and the bad judges. But before you go about judging them, remember the words of the most liberal of American judges, judge Learned Hand, who once wrote:

“… while it is proper that people should find fault when the judges fail, it is only reasonable that they should recognise the difficulties. Perhaps it is only fair to ask that before the judges are blamed they shall be given the credit of having tried to do their best. Let them be severely brought to book, when they go wrong, but by those who will take the trouble to understand. (Leaned Hand, The Spirit of Liberty, at page 110)”

So do take the trouble to understand, then, you may severely bring the judges to book whenever they go wrong.

Before I proceed any further, here is something which I think every advocate should know about how thc judge’s mind works. This is universal knowledge which every judge in a common law country already knows. If a judge does not know it already, then he should not be a judge at all. This is what Lord Justice Denning (as he then was) says (see
The Malayan Law Journal
, [1951] MLJ xx):

“The judges . . . do not consider it their duty to make researches into the laws. They proceed on the fiction that the law is already known to them. They carry it in their breasts if not in their heads and they expound it when necessary for the information of the Bar. They insist, however, that it is for the Bar to thaw their attention to any precedents which have any bearing on the matter, so that they may not expound the law differently from their predecessors or their contemporaries.
 They require every Barrister in a case to refer to those cases which support his side
but also to those which are against him.
 Then having debated the point in open Court, the Judges lay down the law under the thinly veiled pretence that they are not making new law but only expounding the old.” (The emphasis is mine)

The advocate’s first duty is to the Court rather than his client. By expounding the old is what is known as the doctrine of precedent.

The judge’s craft consists only in the essential qualities of impartiality and the appearance of impartiality and, in the duty to do justice according to law.

The essence of justice

As suggested in my opening of this talk, the two most important qualifications to be a judge are (i) impartiality and the appearance of it, and (ii) to administer justice according to law. Of the two, the most essential and indeed the primary requirement of any judge is impartiality and the appearance of it. This requirement is the very essence of justice itself. It is what judicial sense is all about. The judge who does not appear to be fair; who does not appear to be impartial, is useless to the judicial process. Even though he has given the right judgment, the judge who does not appear to be fair at the hearing leaves behind a sense of injustice to the losing party who will feel that he has been singled out by the judge’s show of partiality. Such a judge is useless to the process and gives a bad name to the courts of his country.

As for actual or real impartiality, every judge will think he is impartial but that is not the point. Most times when an application is made for a judge to recuse himself, a bad judge will always say that he is not bias. This is because he does not know, when everyone else who is a fair-minded person knows, that the point is what Lord Denning has stated in
Metropolitan Properties Co. (FGC) Ltd v Lannon
 [1969] 1 QB 577:

“… in considering whether there was a real likelihood [use ‘danger’ as insisted by the Federal Court]  of bias, the court does not look at the mind of the justice himself or at the mind of the chairman of the tribunal, or whoever it may be, who sits in a judicial capacity. It does not look to see if there was a real likelihood [danger] that he would, or did, in fact favour one side at the expense of the other. The court looks at the impression which would be given to other people. Even if he was as impartial as could be, nevertheless if right-minded persons would think that, in the circumstances, there was a real likelihood [danger] of bias on his part, then he should not sit. And if he does sit, his decision cannot stand: Nevertheless there must appear to be a real likelihood [danger] of  bias. Surmise or conjecture is not enough. There must be circumstances from which a reasonable man would think it likely or probable that the justice, or chairman, as the case may be, would, or did, favour one side unfairly at the expense of the other. The court will not enquire whether he did, in fact, favour one side unfairly. Suffice it that reasonable people might think he did. The reason is plain enough. Justice must be rooted in confidence: and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking: ‘The judge was biased’.”

The reason why these words of Lord Denning are so important for justice and fairplay is because actual or real bias cannot be proofed. A bad judge can always pretend to be fair a he could accept a bribe or inducement secretly. All good judges understand that the appearance of impartiality is the most important element of justice. The appearance of justice means – justice should not only be done, but should be seen to be done.

Every judge, unless he is a bad judge, knows how to apply the famous saying of Lord Chief Justice Hewart in
R. v Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy
: “It is not merely of some importance, but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.”

Here are two well known examples where justice have not been seen to be done.

 The first Anwar Ibrahim trial – a travesty of justice

The first Anwar Ibrahim trial (
Public Prosecutor v Anwar Ibrahim
 [1999] 2 AMR 2017; [1999] 2 MLJ 1): the so-called “corruption trial”, had attracted much adverse worldwide attention. It was not the judgment that was criticised (it could even be impeccable) but the way the trial was conducted which attracted so much adverse comment and disapproval from television broadcast abroad and from the international press. The remarks and behaviour from the bench: like when the lawyers for the defence were threatened with contempt of court, in fact one of the lawyers, Zainur Zakaria, was actually charged with the offence, and with the judge being difficult with the witnesses and counsel for the defence at almost every turn of the trial, gave the impression to the media and to those who were there that the judge was one sided. It did not matter that the judge was not. It was the perception of the general public that mattered. As Lord Devlin observed, “The judge who gives the right judgment while appearing not to do so may be thrice blessed in heaven, but on earth he is no use at all” (Patrick Devlin,
The Judge
, p 3). Mr Justice Augustine Paul (he is now a Federal Judge), like the infamous Judge Jeffreys before him, by the manner in which he had conducted the trial and his shocking behaviour on the bench brought ignominy and embarrassment to the reputation of the courts of this country.

As apparent bias has been shown by Augustine Paul J in the manner in which he had conducted the trial ofAnwar Ibrahim and his shocking behaviour on the bench when he was dealing with the witnesses and counsel for the defence, the judge’s decision to convict Anwar Ibrahim could not stand. The conviction was a nullity. It was void. Despite the invalidity of his conviction poor Anwar Ibrahim was made to serve his sentence of imprisonment. What happened to him was a travesty of justice because of an unjust judge.

In the House of Lords’ decision of
Ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (No 2)
 [1999] 1 All ER 577 (HL (E)) one of the Law Lords was a director of a charity closely allied to Amnesty International which was a party to the appeal. Accordingly, he was automatically disqualified from hearing the appeal for apparent bias. The decision in the House of Lords where the Law Lord had taken part was set aside and the matter referred to another committee of the House for rehearing. Lord Nolan remarked that “in any case where the impartiality of a judge is in question the appearance of the matter is just as important as the reality”, so that justice could be seen to be done; per Lord Nolan in
 Ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (No 2) (HL (E))
 [2000] 1 AC 119 at 139.

In the case of
 Paul Jonathan Howell & Ors v Marcus Lees Millais & Ors
 [2007] EWCA Civ 720 in the English Court of Appeal, Sir Anthony Clarke MR said at para 4:

“4. … The relevant test is now well established. In Porter v Magill [2002] 2 AC 357, especially per Lord Hope at paras 102 to 103, the House of Lords endorsed the approach set out by Lord Phillips MR giving the judgment of this court in Re Medicaments and Related Class of Goods (No 2) [2001] 1 WLR 700 at [85] as follows:

‘The court must first ascertain all the circumstances which have a bearing on the suggestion that the judge was biased. It must then ask whether those circumstances would lead a fair-minded and informed observer to conclude that there was a real possibility, or a real danger, the two being the same, that the tribunal was biased.’”

 The Ayer Molek case another travesty of justice

In
Ayer Molek Rubber Co Bhd & Ors v Insas Bhd & Ano
 [1995] 2 MLJ 734, the Court of Appeal noted that the defendants had already complied with the
ex parte
 mandatory order of the High Court on April 14, 1995. The defendants’  / applicants’ notice of motion to the Court of Appeal for a stay of the
ex parte
 order pending appeal was lodged on April 18, 1995 after the defendants had already complied with the
ex parte
 order. This is what I said in the Court of Appeal, p 742:

“The ex parte order in the instant case which compels compliance of it within two working days and the subsequent conduct of the judge in adjourning the application of the defendants to set aside the exparte order to a date after the period allowed for compliance of the order (without granting a stay of the ex parte order) have effectively deprived the defendants from exercising their right to apply to set aside an ex parte injunction. This misuse of the court’s procedure, in our view is manifestly unfair to a party to litigation before it. This court, therefore, has a duty to exercise its inherent power to prevent misuse of its procedure.

Since the order … of the High Court had already been complied with, it is no longer possible for this court to stay the ex parte order. Not only are the shares now registered in the plaintiffs’ names, they can now also enjoy the benefits of registration: the process of becoming a member and shareholder of a company is incomplete until entry on the register. But, that does not mean this court is powerless to prevent an injustice. The shares although they are now registered in the names of the plaintiffs, can still be preserved pending the outcome of the appellants’ appeal to the Court of Appeal. So we granted an interim order to prevent prejudice to the claims of the parties pending the hearing of the appeal in these terms:

‘Pending the disposal of the appeal, the respondents be and are hereby restrained from enjoying or exercising any rights, including disposingof the shares whether directly or indirectly …  described in the ex parte order dated April 10, 1995.’

Thus we have exercised our inherent power to prevent further injustice from being perpetrated”

Now that you are aware of the actual factual circumstances which were before the Court of Appeal, you would be in a position to condemn the decision of Eusoff Chin CJ for what it is – a travesty of justice. Ayer Molek was a case where the judge of the High Court had unfairly favoured one side at the expense of the other. Chief Justice Eusoff Chin being aware of the injustice and unfair treatment meted out by the High Court judge against the defendant company Ayer Molek, nevertheless, acted against the Court of Appeal and set aside its order. If ever there was a case of bias, this is the pinnacle of injustice because the Federal Court upheld the High Court which took the side of the plaintiff litigant Insas unfairly at the expense of thc other defendant litigants Ayer Molek and others. Injustice was Chief Justice Eusoff Chin’s besetting sin. It was beyond his ability to know that his decision could not stand.

The whole duty of the judge is to administer justice according to law

After impartiality and the appearance of it, next comes the judges’s one and only duty or function which is to administer justice according to law on the evidence before him. Lord Devlin in his book The Judge, at p 85 said: “The first – ought one to say the whole duty of the judge is to administer justice according to law”. This means that the judge’s only duty is to do justice in the disinterested application of known law. Known law means basic law and the term includes both common law and statute law.

In his book
The Judge
 Lord Devlin said at p 3:

“What is the function of the judge? Professor Jaffe has a phrase for it – ‘the disinterested application of known law’ (Professor Jaffe in his book English and A merican Judges as Lawmakers, p 13) … It is at any rate what 90% or more of English judges – and I dare say also of all judges of all nationalities – are engaged in for 90% of their working lives. The social service which the judge renders to the community is the removal of a sense of injustice. To perform this service the essential quality which he needs is impartiality and next after that the appearance of impartiality. I put impartiality before the appearance of it simply because without the reality the appearance would not endure. In truth, within the context of service to the community the appearance is the more important of the two. The judge who gives the right judgment while appearing not to do so may be thrice blessed in heaven, but on earth he is no use at all.”

Therefore, the essential, indeed it is the primary, qualities that a judge needs are impartiality and the appearance of it. After that the judge’s whole duty or function is to decide the case according to law on admissible evidence. Lord Devlin also wrote at p 4:

“It is the virtue of the English system that from first to last the judge is exposed to the parties; they do not read the judgment: they see and hear it being made and given.

That is why impartiality and the appearance of it are the supreme judicial virtues. It is the verdict that matters, and if it is incorrupt, it is acceptable. To be incorrupt it must bear the stamp of a fair trial. The judge who does not appear impartial is as useless to the process as an umpire who allows the trial by battle to be fouled or an augurer who tampers with the entrails.”

 Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim – where justice is not administered according to law

In the
The Sun
 newspaper of March 4, 2009 we read on page 1 this startling report:

“
lpoh High Court
 grants injunction sought by Datuk Dr Zainbry Abdul Kadir and the six State Executive Councillors to stop speaker V. Sivakumar from convening any state assembly sitting.

Court also ruled that Sivakumar’s five lawyers have no legal standing to represent him in the case filed by Zambry to seek a declaration that Sivakumar’s decision to suspend him and his executive council was unconstitutional and unlawful.”

The objection against Sivakamar’s counsel from representing him was made under s 24 of the Government Proceedings Act 1956. Subsection (1) does not apply because it deals with civil suits brought by or against, in this context, the State Government. Subsection (2) may be more appropriate. It reads:

“(2) Notwithstanding any written law
 in civil proccedings to which a public officer is a party
 –

(a)
by virtue of his office
; or

(b)
in his personal capacity, if the Attorney General certifies in writing that it is in the public interest that such officer should be represented by a legal officer
;

a legal officer

may appear

as advocate on behalf of such officer
 …”

Section 2 of the Act gives the following definition:

“ ‘legal officer’ includes a law officer

‘law officer’ means . . . in respect of proceedings by or against the Government of a State or to which a State Officer officer is a party, includes the Legal Adviser of such State”

Subsection (2) of the Government Proceedings Act only applies to civil suits brought by or against a public officer. In such a case, a public officer may be represented by a legal officer which could include a State Legal Adviser. This provision only applies if the Attorney General certifies in writing that it is in the public interest that the public officer should be so represented by a legal officer. This clearly shows that unless the Attorney General certifies in writing that the public officer is to be represented by a legal officer, the public officer will not be represented by a legal officer. So then how could a public officer insist that he be represented by a legal officer if he wants to sue someone, or if he is sued? It is up to the Attorney General to give his written consent whether a particular public officer is entitled to be represented by a legal officer free of charge.

You may ask, or shall I say wonder, how a judge can ever misinterpret subsection (2) of s 24 of the Government Proceedings Act? It is so plain and simple that even a non-lawyer can understand it, but not this judge.

More over, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a State is not a public officer; see Article 132, Clause (3) of the Federal Constitution. It says:

“(3) The
public service
 shall
not
 be taken
to comprise
 –

(a) …

(b)
the office of
 President, Speaker, Deputy President, Deputy Speaker
or member
 of either House of Parliament or
of the Legislative Assembly of a State
;”

Therefore, s 24(2) of the Government Proceedings Act does not apply to the Speaker and the members of the Legislative Assembly of a State.

Now we all know, except the judge, that Mr Tommy Thomas and his team could not be prevented from representing the Speaker of the Perak Legislative Assembly.

Next is the application filed by Zambry to ask for a declaration that Sivakumar’s decision to suspend him and his executive council was unconstitutional and unlawful. The answer is to be found in the Federal Constitution. It is in Article 72, Clause (1) and it clearly states that:

“(1) The validity of any proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of any State shall not be questioned in any court.”

Anyone who can read knows that the application of Zambry cannot be sustained. Any reasonably competent judge, or even a layman who can read, can dispose of the matter in a few minutes. But not this judge. I am aware that most of us do not know the Federal Constitution that well, but we can always ask the lawyers who are in the court to tell us the law. I know I would ask them if they know of any provision in the Constitution about this. Straight away a lawyer will tell me that the law can be found in Article 72, Clause (1). I understand that this judge has adjourned the matter to the Federal Court. Why must there be a delay for something so simple as this? This makes us wonder if the powers that be for the appointment of judges are scraping the bottom of the barrel for judicial talent.

Postscript

I read in the New Straits Times of March 24, 2009 that “The Federal Court ruled it cannot entertain applications to interpret state constitutions if referred directly from the High Court. This means an aggrieved party can go to the Federal Court only through the normal appeal process through the Court of Appeal.” Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 only applies to the Federal Constitution but not to state constitutions, And I read in today’s newspapers – 25 March 2009 that JC Ridwan Ibrahim has transferred the case against the Perak assembly speaker Sivakumar to another judge.

(NH CHAN, who is former Court of Appeal judge, lives in Ipoh.)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 27 March 2009, 7:34 am and is filed under
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Second  issue for Najib tomorrow – set up RCI to clear his name on Altantuya murder case and mega defence commissions

In his farewell speech as Umno President, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi  conducted a public soul-searching on Umno’s crisis of confidence and  test of credibility, asking: “Why are we suffering this fate, blamed to this terrible extent? Why are we now seen to be completely without virtue?”

Abdullah’s diagnosis is the same as the one I prescribed in Parliament on Wednesday, when I said Umno had become “power-crazy” (gila kuasa).

Abdullah admitted as much when he said the cause of the credibility crisis  of Umno is because the party is   “intoxicated” by power.

Abdullah said:

“We were intoxicated by our achievements and we become complacent. We believed that we had become all-powerful.  We have put our own positions within the party first, instead of being concerned over Umno’s position in the eyes of our citizens and the nation.”

Among Abdullah’s five factors leading to the “erosion of public trust” in Umno, was “materialism has seeped into the party, making a number of party members greedy and avaricious, hence creating the negative perception that Umno is a corrupt party”.

I should have been thanked for helping to diagnose the fundamental cause of Umno’s crisis of confidence, but no, I was instead suspended from Parliament under the pressure of UMNO MPs who clearly belonged to the party’s  “Denial Camp”.

What decent and reasonable Malaysians must find most objectionable is that  the most boorish and loutish among these UMNO MPs could get elected into the UMNO Supreme Council – no better testimony that Abdullah was conducting a dialogue of the deaf when trying to deliver his last “reformist” message at the Umno general assembly.

Yesterday, I had called on the new Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Razak, waiting to become  the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, to respond forthrightly and positively to Abdullah’s warning that Umno would be reduced to a footnote in the pages of history if Umno succumbs to pressures from those who reject reforms and want  to revert to the  old ways of harsh and hardline undemocratic rule – a return to Mahathirism!

I asked Najib to  take a clear-cut stand in his acceptance speech as the new Umno president tomorrow  to set his face clearly and strongly against any return of Mahathirism in his premiership, and to declare  that the imminent arrest of Parliamentary Opposition Leader and Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim  under the Internal Security Act  and the launching of  another Operation Lalang mass arrests are not among the political options that he is considering in his first 100 days or first year in office.

Today, I want to ask Najib to make another declaration in his acceptance speech as UMNO President tomorrow as it is intimately related to his fitness, integrity and legitimacy to become the new Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has called on Najib  to “come clean”  and submit to legal scrutiny on the international scandals linking the Prime Minister-in-waiting with the murder of Altantuya Sharibuu and with the purchase of the Scorpene submarines.

Tengku Razaleigh wrote in his
blog “We should all come clean”
:

“It is safe to say that in the international media, the incoming Umno President and the presumptive Prime Minister is being evaluated through the Altantuya scandal. The UK’s Sunday Times, the International Herald Tribune, the French daily, Libération, The Australian Financial Review, the Far Eastern Economic Review and the New York Times have all published stories raising questions about the link between the murdered young woman, Dato’ Seri Najib, and the gigantic commission paid out by the French company Armaris to a Malaysian company for the purchase of submarines. This is now an international story.

“And this story will not go away.  With its dramatic details  and the alleged involvement of elite Malaysian government operatives, it captures the journalistic  imagination. But the story is now connected with an ongoing investigation into the dealings of a major French company.

“The  story is also going to stick around because it is a handy looking-glass into Malaysia’s ‘increasingly dysfunctional political system.’ It implicates our entire system of government, our judiciary, and our press, and it casts a shadow on our ability as a nation to face and tell the truth. Against this backdrop promises of reform ring hollow.  The storyline of the New York Times article, for example, is that scandal-clouded succession reveals a once confident young country shaken to its foundations by institutional rot. I cannot say this is inaccurate.

“The scandal is bringing shame to the nation and damaging our international credibility. For the honour of the nation, for the honour of the office of prime minister, for the honour of the sovereign institutions expected to endorse, confirm and lend authority to him should he become prime minister according to Umno’s plans, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak should finally face these suspicions and implied charges, submit himself to legal scrutiny, and come clean on them.

“Swearing on the Al-Quran is not the way out. Scoundrels have been known to do that. The truth, established through the rigorous and public scrutiny of the law, is the only remedy if an untrue story has gained currency not just internationally but at home among a large section of the people.

“Najib should voluntarily offer to testify at the trial of the two officers charged with killing Altantuya Sharibuu. He could also write to these newspapers and if necessary he should take legal action against them to clear his name and that of our country.”

I call on Najib to declare tomorrow that he would establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to clear the grave and long-swirling questions concerning his integrity and legitimacy as Prime Minister particularly on defence deal mega commissions and Altantunya Shariibuu murder case.

I had repeatedly in Parliament such as in October last year and on Monday this week called on Najib  to agree to such a Royal Commission of Inquiry to clear his name in the face of these grave allegations especially as he has claimed innocence.

This is the least that Najib should do even before he becomes the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, to protect the honour of the office of Prime Minister and the nation.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 27 March 2009, 1:54 pm and is filed under
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Umno – buffetted by winds of change

by
Tunku Abdul Aziz

26 March 2009

MALAYSIAN INSIDER 4

A monolithic organisation is by definition slow to change. This description fits UMNO like a glove.  As it lumbered into its 59th annual party conference, the collective mood of the general assembly was much less confident than it had ever been in its history.

There was really nothing to celebrate, certainly not the succession of Najib with all that huge and unsavoury media attention he is attracting internationally. Even here in Malaysia, where standards of public morality and ethics are much less vigorously applied to those in high office, there is a real feeling of queasiness and unease that Najib appears to be so cavalier about the critical need to clear his name against what he protests are unsubstantiated allegations of impropriety.

The salvation of his personal honour and integrity depends on his clearing the air, using all legal means at his disposal. Swearing on the al-Quran is not really the answer: it is not just a matter between him and his Maker. More to the point, he needs to respond to the concerns of society as a whole. The sooner he gets to grip with this inconvenient blight on his otherwise unblemished character, the better it will be for him and the country. Put this episode to rest. It will be good for the soul.

Wrecked and bedevilled  by one scandal after another, sordid and nearly all verging on the criminal, the once arrogant standard bearer of “ketuanan Melayu” is still licking last year’s electoral battle  wounds. It was a Waterloo of sorts for a party that until then had largely assumed their right to rule as one of God’s immutable laws. The fallout was nothing if not surreal, a shambles of the first order if there ever was one. If it was a total shock for the party, then for Abdullah Badawi the man who led the troops into battle’ equipped with unreliable intelligence and an obsolete school boy atlas, it was a personal tragedy. Ever the gentleman, he took the blame for the debacle without a murmur.

There were no tears shed for him even as a keris was plunged, and twisted for good measure, into him. Naturally, there was no ‘requiem’ for the untimely political demise of its president, but then you would not have expected such a heart-warming gesture of decency and appreciation from a monolithic political structure bereft of common values of human decency.

Did they not do the same to the greatest ever Malaysian statesman, the man who came to be known as Bapa Malaysia? They demonised Tunku Abdul Rahman, and rewrote the history of our country’s independence in a way that blotted out his role in the fight for freedom. The Malays are rather good with their keris.

 Abdullah Badawi will be remembered as the prime minister who had no stomach for the sort of vicious political infighting that is UMNO’s hallmark. His handling of the 12th general elections dealt the coup de grace to his political career. By his departure, he will also be remembered as the prime minister who did nothing to stop a scandal-strapped deputy from assuming the highest political position in the land. His decision to promote Najib may well have met with the approval of the UMNO membership, but what about the millions of other Malaysians who, unlike their UMNO friends, are fussier about the choice of the person to lead the country.

It is an act of irresponsibility to say the least, on the part of Abdullah Badawi, to foist on the nation a successor who has yet to satisfy the people of his innocence through the legal process. Pak Lah must realise that UMNO is not Malaysia, and by the same token Malaysia is not UMNO. It is this inability to distinguish between the party and the government that has cost UMNO its attractiveness as a party of the people, and that could work against UMNO come the next general elections.

The speeches have all been well crafted; the sentiments expressed resonated beautifully, but the test of the pudding will always be in the eating. We have heard thousands of speeches from UMNO politicians over the years, and if only a tiny fraction of those had been translated into action, Malaysia not have remained a divided country, a country that is in danger of being torn apart not only along racial lines but also, God forbid, class lines.

There is a lot of practical wisdom in Abdullah Badawi’s farewell speech for UMNO, but I am not sanguine that anything useful will come out of it as long as the same people remain in control of the party. The shake-up has been nothing more than a recycling process. I hope to goodness that I am wrong on every count, and there is hope for all of us yet.

 Most of all I pray that the Najib years as many fear will not bring a return of the Dark Age of Mahathirism.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 27 March 2009, 11:17 am and is filed under
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7.4.09 – Balik Mengundi!

Spread the word – Let’s Change For Malaysia!

This video is to remind Malaysians of the sense of hope and liberation felt by all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, at the heart-thumping general election results of March 8, 2008 – uniting  all  Malaysians in an uplifting feeling that  there is  still a  future for the country as change is possible.

With the three important by-elections of Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai in eleven days’ time on April 7, 2009, let us reinforce the paradigm shift in Malaysian politics achieved last year after half-a-century of electoral politics to endorse the advent of two-coalition politics where Malaysians will always have a meaningful choice at the ballot box in the march towards freedom, democracy, justice, accountability, integrity and good governance.

Every vote counts in the three by-elections on April 7.

People’s power in Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai to end political hegemony in the country!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 28 March 2009, 3:14 pm and is filed under
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New “MAHATHIR” prophecy on the next  line of Malaysian Prime Ministers?

Making the rounds of the grapevine of Umno  delegates and observers at the current Umno General Assembly is talk of a new political prophecy to replace the  “RAHMAN” political prophecy on the first six Prime Ministers of the country – the “MAHATHIR” prophecy on the next line of Malaysian Prime Ministers.

Umno delegates and observers expect the RAHMAN prophecy to be fulfilled completely  when Abdullah  Ahmad Badawi relinquishes the premiership and Najib Razak is sworn in  as the new Prime Minister.

But for the first time in Malaysian history, the popularity of the incoming Prime Minister is so dismal that even those who had earlier demanded the early departure of Abdullah from Putrajaya because of his failure to deliver on his host of reform pledges will find it a relief if  Abdullah remains to block Najib’s ascension.

I do not see this scenario being played out but it is a most   significant political phenomenon that many Malaysians, transcending the political divide, are wondering whether there is any way to stop Najib from becoming Prime Minister until he comes clean on the many serious swirling  allegations haunting and hounding him  affecting his suitability, integrity and legitimacy as Prime Minister and the honour of the highest political  office in the land and that of the  nation.

Those succumbing to  the new  MAHATHIR prophecy have no doubt that the RAHMAN prophecy will be vindicated  with Najib as the sixth Prime Minister, after Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak, Hussein Onn, Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

According to the MAHATHIR prophecy, the new line of Prime Ministers after Najib will be led off by the newly elected Umno Deputy President Muhyiddin Yassin (M),  followed by the two  Vice Presidents with the highest votes,  Ahmad Zahid (A) and  Hishammuddin Hussein (H).

A second’s thought will show that the new-fangled  MAHATHIR  prophecy is just bunkum.

Many expect the RAHMAN prophecy to signify the end of the line of Umno Prime Ministers marking the end of Umno hegemony and government – with Najib as the last and even shortest-serving Umno Prime Minister.

Even if Najib can prove this wrong, age will rule out the possibility that Muhyiddin or even Ahmad Zahid succeeding Najib as Prime Minister.

Tunku Abdul Rahman deserves a prophecy in his name – but not Mahathir!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 28 March 2009, 2:40 pm and is filed under
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Politics in an Age of Unreason

By
 Farish A. Noor

So now the bomohs (witch doctors) rule the roost it would seem. The news that a magic charm or spell was found hidden surreptitiously under the desk of none other than the Prime Minister of Malaysia does not bode well for the future of this country of ours. It may make the headlines under the ‘Strange but True’ column of foreign papers, but this historian has grown somewhat jaded by now by such ridiculousness dressed in the garment of wonderment and fantasy. No, this was no laughing matter (and if we did laugh, it was a pitiable laugh at best).

One recalls the blanket order issued by some political parties last year just before the general elections of March 2008, to the effect that politicians should refrain from calling upon the services of such practitioners of the ‘black arts’. That political parties have to issue such warnings in the first place speaks volumes about the state of Malaysian politics today, a primordial politics that is being enacted in an age of unreason.

As a scholar in Britain in the 1990s I remember reading a report about a Latin American country that had fallen into an economic tailspin of unprecedented proportions. As inflation rose to the level of more than a thousand percent, the hapless citizens of that unfortunate country wondered aloud about how their country’s economy could have fallen apart in so short a space of time.

It later transpired that the Cabinet Minister in charge of Economic Development and Finance had consulted a Latin American equivalent of a bomoh too. In the middle of the night he had snuck out of the capital in his air-conditioned luxury car to meet up with the half-naked savant in the steamy jungle. In the witch doctor’s primeval hut a chicken was readied for the task. The fowl’s belly was split open and the entrails were laid out for inspection. The witch doctor took a look at the shape and form of the animal’s liver, kidneys and intestines, and then gave his expert opinion as to how the country’s economy should be managed over the rest of the fiscal year. The Cabinet Minister dutifully took down notes and made the necessary changes to the budget. In a week’s time the economy had crashed and in this case at least we cannot blame the chicken for the economic collapse. The rest is history, and a sad one at that…

I shudder at the thought that Malaysia today may be heading in the same direction. We pride ourselves with the thought that we have the most beautiful international airport in the region; and that our capital boasts of having one of the tallest buildings in the world. But the word on the street is that one should not linger too long on the forty-first floor of the KLCC tower for fear that one may bump into the resident ghost who tarries along the corridor in the dead of night. And of course magic spells have the tendency to end up under your table if you happen to be the Prime Minister as well.

My despondent character is hardly improved by these revelations. Indeed it brings me closer to suicide every time I read of such nonsense that passes as politics in our benighted country.

Malaysian politics is in dire need of a heavy dose of reason and rationality. For too long we have become accustomed to a primordial politics based on sentiment and couched in narrow essentialisms of race, ethnicity, language and religious differences. Yet to build a modern nation-state and to engage in the effort of nation-building, it is our rational critical faculties that we need to draw upon. The abstract idea of a plural and democratic Malaysia is not the result of the bomoh’s arcane craft, but rather the result of careful planning and micro-management of a host of social and cultural variables.

Looking at where we are today, with a country that continues to be split along ethnic, racial, linguistic and religious lines, one is compelled to ask: Can Malaysia survive the next 50 years and will we remain on the map? The recent calls for the protection and promotion of exclusive racial interests that were uttered prior to the UMNO general assembly all point to the return of primordial politics with a vengeance. Worst of all, almost all of the politicians in this country have retained the ethnic-communitarian card till today.

This, my friends, is the real danger we face in Malaysia at the moment. Faced with an economic crisis of gargantuan proportions, we are a nation in denial and unable to address the realities of the world face-to-face. Running to the bomoh and hiding behind the rhetoric of racial exclusivism are the same thing: A pathetic attempt to escape from the real issues that may make or break this nation, while we perpetuate our collective conceit that we are a developing state-in-waiting. For our sake, and for the sake of the future generations of Malaysians, reason and rationality will have to make a comeback in no uncertain terms.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 28 March 2009, 2:51 am and is filed under
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Karpal attacked by missile torrent of loaded  plastic “water bottles”

DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh was attacked by a missile torrent of loaded plastic  “water bottles” by Umno/Barisan Nasional members/supporters at  the Bukit Gantang parliamentary by-election nomination centre at Taiping town hall this morning.

At least some 50 to 60 of these missiles were flung at Karpal’s MPV when he arrived at the nomination centre with his wife and supporters.

It was fortunate that there was no physical harm to Karpal and his entourage, and  the  MPV withstood the missile attacks but not without leaving behind tell-tale signs of the disgraceful, disgusting and despicable  incident on the  MPV windscreens and  bodiwork.

Karpal has subsequently lodged a police report in Taiping against the latest example of growing nastiness and  beastliness in Malaysian politics.  Only last month, wheelchair-bound Karpal was mobbed by Selangor UMNO Youth goons in the parliamentary precincts seeking to interfere and intimidate him from discharging his parliamentary duties.

Will the police take against the latest UMNO culprits introducing an unacceptable and intolerable culture of violence in Malaysian politics?

Will the new Umno President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak apologise to Karpal for this shameful episode of Umno/BN gutter politics?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 29 March 2009, 6:55 pm and is filed under
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MACC: Chucking Out The Wine And The Bottle

by
Tunku Aziz

MySinChew

2009-03-27

It is not for want of trying but, for the life of me, I find it difficult to take the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s self-trumpeted independence seriously. Since its much hyped up launch just weeks ago, its chief commissioner, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, has managed to put his mouth into overdrive while shifting his brains into reverse on at least two occasions. The F1 television advertisement has obviously got through to me at last.

The first was when he claimed that there was “good and strong evidence” against the Pakatan Rakyat menteri besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim even before the MACC investigation into the “car and cows” saga had got into first gear.

More recently, he was again at his favourite game of shooting his mouth and, not content with that, he succeeded in shooting himself in the foot as well when he declared, to the chagrin and utter disbelief of us all, that there were “elements of misuse of power” in the case involving the Perak assembly speaker, V.Sivakumar. This was over the suspension of the “other” menteri besar Datuk Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six assembly men.

What are we to make of the MACC, Malaysia’s last great stab at corruption, when its chief commissioner is obviously intent, by his behaviour, on destroying any residual trace of public confidence in an organisation whose very creation has only been accepted tentatively and with a large dose of scepticism?

I am by nature, so I am told, a charitable man. However, I must admit to an irresistible temptation to go the whole hog and describe him as either a knave or a fool; or perhaps a bit of both for committing one gaffe after another in double quick succession. He will be remembered as the chief commissioner with a special talent for hastening, without even trying, the demise of the unloved MACC. Perhaps Ahmad Said is doing the country a great favour, and we should, on reflection, just say nothing and let him carry on regardless.

I am told that when I referred to the rebranding of the much reviled Anti-Corruption Agency as akin to decanting old wine into a new bottle in my first column in the Sin Chew Daily a few weeks ago, I had trodden on a few sensitive toes of folks who work in the cloistered world of Putrajaya. I am rather glad to know that even though the commissioners are generally thought to be disdainful of public opinion, they at least have sensitive toes. How useful sensitive toes are in the fight against corruption I am not able to say.

My point about the old wine seems to have been borne out by recent events involving our new-look commissioners. These self-same functionaries who developed “second guessing” into a fine art form under Mahathir’s special guidance on integrity cannot, in all seriousness, be expected to change their work practices which have become almost second nature to them.

The MACC will not be effective until all of Mahathir’s former hatchet men in the ACA of unhappy memory, and that effectively includes all the senior men and women, have been turfed out of that organisation and replaced with carefully selected officers from other law enforcement agencies as well as other professionally qualified men and women who have the right aptitude and attitude to the mission of fighting corruption. Remember, we are not talking about rocket science, just basic honesty and high ethical standards of behaviour.

Otherwise, the same corked wine will be served again and again to us, the unsuspecting public. These officers-turned-commissioners overnight have in one way or another blotted their copy book and they jolly well know it. They should be put out to grass where they can do no serious damage. In all fairness, the MACC should be given a chance to develop a life of its own minus of all the skeletons in the closet and the influence of those who operated under a regime with vastly different value systems as compared to today’s.

The current flurry of anti-corruption activity appears to be motivated solely by publicity seeking rather than by a clear practical strategy of identifying and isolating the disease rather than trying to treat the symptoms. I should like to suggest to the MACC that they start by looking into the corridors of power. Get all cabinet ministers and their deputies to account for their assets, including those of their spouses.

To be rich is not a crime as long as you can account for your wealth. A person elected or appointed to high public office must be prepared to subject himself to the closest public scrutiny. It would be helpful for the MACC commissioners to possess the uncanny intuitive powers of Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery behind the wealth of individual ministers and other elected officials, but even without those abilities, it would be quite easy to conclude with a reasonable degree of certainty where all the wealth has come from. As Mr. Holmes would have said in a case as plainly as this, “It is elementary, my dear Watson.”

Our elected leaders generally enter politics with shallow pockets, but in next to no time, they become the nation’s glitterati, the nouveau riche determined to flaunt their high net worth for the entire world to see, with more than the occasional shopping trips to Milan, Rome and London for the little woman behind every great man.

Once they have dealt with our elected leaders, the MACC should move down to the next level comprising both the incumbents as well as the retired senior members of all law enforcement agencies, judges and the attorney(s)-general. Do this in a systematic way, without fear or favour, and we will soon put the fear of the Almighty in the country’s corrupt elites. This is how it is done in Hong Kong and Singapore. If we can confront corruption decisively on this level, we could even consider some form of conditional amnesty, on a case by case, for those not involved in “grand” corruption and who are willing to come clean and tell all, a full confession, no less.

They must be prepared to implicate those who have been involved in corrupt practices. In return, they will be treated and given protection as whistle blowers. Depending on the degree of their cooperation, they will be allowed to keep a percentage of their ill-gotten gains and given immunity from prosecution. This will have to be a conscious political decision with the sole object of undermining corruption to an extent that it will be regarded for all time as “a high risk, low return enterprise” and, therefore, simply not worth the effort.

The MACC can learn a great deal about corruption and how to get to the bottom of it all from this exercise. It is worth a try; it can open the way forward in the fight against systemic corruption that at present seems to be in favour of the opponent in the opposite corner with deep pockets. Let us start all over again, with a clean slate and show no mercy to the corrupt thereafter. This prescription is perhaps what the doctor recommends for that morally debilitating UMNO disease euphemistically referred to as “Money Politics.”

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 29 March 2009, 12:39 am and is filed under
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Bukit  Gantang by-election – three historic missions of the voters

The 55,562 voters in the Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency  have a three-fold historic mission when they cast their votes in the by-election on Tuesday, April 7, 2009.

Firstly, to vote on behalf of the people of Perak to reject the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak orchestrated by Datuk Seri Najib Razak sparking off a prolonged constitutional crisis with two Mentris Besar, a political stalemate and the grave erosion of the doctrine of the separation of powers, symbolised by the Democracy Tree in Ipoh which has entered into Malaysian political folklore and gained international recognition and admiration. Vote on April 7 for a return of the mandate to the voters of Perak by dissolving the Perak State Assembly and holding of state general election for Perakians to decide on the government of their choice.

Secondly, to vote on behalf of the people of Malaysia to send a clear and unmistakable message to Najib, who is to succeed Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister of Malaysia, that to safeguard the honour of the highest political office of the land and that of the nation, he must address the many serious swirling allegations haunting and hounding him whether about mega-defence commissions or the C4 murder of Mongolian Altantunya Shariibuu as they  affect public and international perceptions about his suitability, integrity and legitimacy as Malaysian Prime Minister – and public interests demand a Royal Commission of Inquiry to establish Najib ’s innocence  and clear his name with regard to all these allegations; and

Thirdly, to vote on behalf of all Malaysians to endorse and reaffirm the March 8, 2008 general elections results  to demonstrate that the political tsunami last year was  not an accident or one-off phenomenon  but represented the deep-abiding aspirations of Malaysians for political change and an end to Umno political hegemony and arrogance of power; that Malaysia can only move forward to  become more democratic towards a two-coalition political system with effective checks and balances to prevent gross abuses of power and that there can be no retreat or return to the  Mahathirism of the past under Najib.

(Speech at the Pakatan Rakyat Bukit Gantang by-election ceramah at Kuala Sepetang on nomination day, Sunday, 29th March 2009 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 30 March 2009, 1:30 pm and is filed under
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Does Najib  want to turn Malaysia into a criminal state?

Umno/BN leaders in Perak are mortally afraid of the Democracy Tree under which the Perak State Assembly convened on March 3, 2008 although the Perak Speaker and the overwhelming majority of the Perak Assembly members were locked out of the Perak State Assembly in the State Secretariat building by an illegal and usurper Mentri Besar and State Executive Council.

Umno/BN leaders in Perak are mortally afraid of the Democracy Tree plaque commemorating the historic occasion where the spirit for democracy in Perak refuse to be quashed by arbitrary, high-handed and illegal exercise of “usurper” executive power.

Umno/BN leaders in Perak are now mortally afraid of information technology and the DVD on the Democracy Tree which recorded for posterity the events leading to the historic Perak State Assembly under the Ipoh Raintree!

This was why DAP Perak State Assemblyman for Tebing Tinggi Ong Boon Piow was arrested by the police for allegedly violating the Film Censorship Act 2002 in not getting approval and a B certificate from the Film Censorship Board before “manufacturing, circulating, distributing, displaying” the Democracy Tree DVD.

This  is a draconian law which must be repealed. It provides for a mandatory minimum  fine of RM5,000 and  up to RM30,000, three years’ jail or both, for any conviction under the Act. In other words, an MP or State Assembly member found guilty under this charge would automatically be disqualified as an elected representative in view of the mandatory minimum fine of RM5,000 – as a fine of RM2,000 and above in a criminal charge is sufficient to cause such disqualification.

With such a law, Malaysia will not only become a police state but also a criminal state, as with the advances of information technology, IT-savvy Malaysians would all run foul of this draconian law for  burning an extra copy of DVD without first getting approval and B certificate from the Film Censorship Board.

What message is Datuk Seri Najib Razak, on the threshold of becoming the sixth Prime Minister, sending out to the nation and the world?

That his ascension marks an enveloping darkness descending in all fronts of human rights, as hardly a day passes in the past fortnight without a new encroachment and erosion of the fundamental liberties whether freedom of speech, expression, assembly, association or the right to information.

Does Najib want to turn Malaysia into a criminal state, with law-abiding but IT-savvy Malaysians becoming instant criminals?

If not, repeal the draconian and anti-IT provision in the Film Censorship Act and stop harassing Boon Piaw over the “Democracy Tree” DVD.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 30 March 2009, 5:39 pm and is filed under
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