Is the Prime Minister’s Office  going to issue another “transcript” of what Najib said at the White House in his meeting with President Trump to prove that he had been “misconstrued”?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak  said yesterday that his comment to the United States President Donald Trump on wanting to help strengthen the US economy had been “misconstrued” to “confuse the rakyat”.

Najib clarified:  “I said that I was there to strengthen the economy which did not mean that we will contribute to the US economy without receiving anything from its economy.

“I meant that we were not there to ask for alms but that we were there as a successful country which has the potential to be a significant global player.”

This caused me to go back to the transcript of the exchange between Najib and Trump at the beginning of Najib’s visit to the White House on Sept. 12.

According to the transcript, this is what Najid said:

PRIME MINISTER RAZAK:  Thank you very much, Mr. President, for your invitation for me and members of my delegation to meet with you at the White House.  I want to say that we come here with a strong value proposition to put on the table.

Number one, we want to help you in terms of strengthening the U.S. economy.  I come with three specific proposals.  Number one, we intend to increase the number of Boeing planes to be purchased by MAS.  We are committed to 25 planes of the 737 MAX 10, plus eight 787 Dreamliners.  And there is a strong probability — not possibility – probability that we will add 25 more 737 MAX 10 in the near future.  So within five years, the deal will be worth beyond $10 billion.  That’s one.  We will also try to persuade AirAsia to purchase GE engines.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Great.

PRIME MINISTER RAZAK:  Secondly, we have Employees Provident Fund, which is a major pension fund in Malaysia.  They’ve got quite a big sum of capital to be exported.  They have invested close to $7 billion, in terms of equity, in the United States.  And they intend to invest three to four additional billion dollars to support your infrastructure redevelopment in the United States.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Great.

PRIME MINISTER RAZAK:  And thirdly, our sovereign fund, Khazanah, they have an office in Silicon Valley.  They have invested about $400 million, in terms of high-tech companies, and they intend to increase that investment as well.

Secondly, the other goal of your administration, Mr. President, which is to make the United States safe — and with that, the world safe — we are committed to fight Daesh, IS, Al-Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf — you name it.  They are the enemy of the United States, they are also the enemy of Malaysia, and we will do our part to make sure that our part of the world is safe.

We will also contribute in terms of the ideological warfare because you need to win the hearts and minds.  And the key to it is to support moderate and progressive Muslim regimes and governments around the world, because that is the true face of Islam; that is the authentic face of Islam.  The more you align with progressive and moderate regimes, the better it would be in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim world.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

PRIME MINISTER RAZAK:  So, Mr. President, thank you once again.  The United States has always been our partner for a long, long time.  And this year is our 60th anniversary of our relationship, and I hope that today’s meeting will make it even stronger in the years to come.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much.  Appreciate it.

According to the transcript, Najib did not mention a single word about expecting the United States to contribute to the Malaysian economy or that Malaysia was not asking for alms as Malaysia was a successful country with the potential to be a significant global player.

Were these remarks omitted from the transcript released by the White House itself.

In that case, is the Prime Minister’s Office  going to issue another  “transcript” of what Najib said at the White House in his meeting with President Trump to prove that he had been “misconstrued”?

In the absence of a second “transcript” and a second “video” of the Najib-Trump exchange at the start of Najib’s visit to the White House on Sept. 12, we can only go by the transcript and 5-minute 58-second video released by the White House.

Can Najib enumerate how his remarks at the  White House at the opening of his meeting with President Trump had been misconstrued?

In the absence of an alternative transcript and video, what Najib said at the White House was crystal clear – that he was making his US visit “to help you (US President Trump)  in terms of strengthening the U.S. economy” with three “value propositions”.

Like a well-performing child, Trump in his cocky self with arms folded, rewarded Najib with words of approbation of “Great”, “Great” and “Right” when Najib outlined  the three “value propositions” to strengthen the US economy – and nothing more!

There was no mention that Malaysia expected the US to contribute to the Malaysian economy as quid pro quo, that Malaysia was not asking for alms just as from the transcript Najib did not mention the US Department of Justice (DOJ) kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets, DOJ’s reference of Najib as “MO1” or suggestion  to Trump to drop the US DOJ suit and FBI criminal investigations into the 1MDB scandal.

If there is another transcript, Najib should direct the PMO to release the second transcript or he should state out clearly how his White House statement had been misconstrued.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 25 September 2017, 3:17 pm and is filed under
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How long will Najib and his administration  perpetrate the charade that there is no 1MDB scandal although  it continues to make waves and  hog international headlines and turned  Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy?

How long will the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his administration perpetrate the charade that there is no 1MDB scandal although it continues to make waves and hog international headlines,  the subject of the largest kleptocratic litigation and investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ)  and turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy?

So long as Malaysia plays the modern-day role of “The Emperor with no clothes” in the international arena, pretending that there is no 1MDB scandal within the four walls of Malaysia although in  foreign financial centres,  former bankers are convicted and imprisoned and banks and financial houses and banks are penalized and even closed down for involvement in the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal, so long will the 1MDB scandal hamper and impede  the healthy  political,  economic, moral, nation-building and democratic development of the country.

It will even affect Malaysia’s foreign relations as witnessed by Najib’s  recent disastrous visit to the White House and meeting with President Trump, the conspicuous absence of a press conference by Najib with the White House press corps  and Najib’s equally conspicuous absence from the United Nations General Assembly opening session  although he was in Washington a few days earlier.

This is a first time that the Prime Minister of Malaysia is behaving like a “fugitive” when overseas, studiously avoid the international press all because of the 1MDB scandal which had turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy.

What is even more shocking is the failure of any legal action by the Prime Minister against Newsweek news magazine and former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitze for calling him a “crook” on Sept. 13?

This is the first time that a Malaysian Prime Minister in 60 years has been publicly called a “crook” by an international personality like the former World Bank President and an international news magazine.

I will ask Najib to explain in Parliament which reconvenes on Oct. 23 why he is keeping quiet and submitting so docilely  to such public defamation, when he should be  defending  his personal honour and the nation’s dignity by taking legal action to sue Wolfowitz and Newsweek magazine for calling him a “crook”!

Malaysians can still remember that it is more than two years ago that Najib had threatened to sue Wall Street Journal in July 2015 for implicating him in the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion donation twin mega scandals, but nothing has come out of it.

If these epithets “Kleptocrat”, “MO1” and “crook” are flung at Najib because of his personal activities, it is Najib’s personal matter. But when it is hurled against Najib because of his capacity as Prime Minister of Malaysia, it is not Najib’s personal matter but a national issue of great importance.

Is Najib going to take all these infamy and ignominy with a grin without any legal action to establish his integrity and incorruptibility as Prime Minister of Malaysia?

(Speech at the Pakatan Harapan ceramah on “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” at Dewan Dato Nazir, Batu 14 Dusun Tua, Selangor on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017 at  9.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 26 September 2017, 9:18 am and is filed under
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Najib has recently  developed very Trumpish habit with a special appetite for chest-thumping about the greatness of his premiership but why has he studiously avoided the subjects of Malaysia turning  overnight into a global kleptocracy and the creeping Talibanisation in the country?

Najib has recently  developed very Trumpish habit with a special appetite for chest-thumping about the greatness of his premiership but why has he studiously avoided the subjects of Malaysia turning  overnight into a global kleptocracy and the creeping Talibanisation in the country?

Recently, since his return from his visit to the White House and meeting with US President Trump,  the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has developed very Trumpish habit with a special appetite for chest-thumping about the greatness of his premiership, but why has he studiously avoided the subjects of Malaysia turning overnight into a global kleptocracy and the creeping Talibanisation in the country?

Examples of such Najib’s “Trumpish” chest-thumping, which started with his return from his White House visit ten days ago, are:

•	Najib’s boast on his return at KLIA that Trump called him “friend” and gave him a personal send-off.

•	His boast on his blog that 1Malaysia Negaraku concept is the starting point of a new unity among Malaysians of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures.

•	His boast that his National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) programme has provided the best services to the people at optimum spending.

•	His boast that “Even though my father, grandfather are not from Kerala, I am called the father of Indian community development”.

But Najib had studiously avoid important subjects to Malaysians, for instance, Malaysia turning overnight into a global kleptocracy and the creeping Talibanisation in the country.

Every boast of Najib is open to challenge.

For instance, although Trump called him “friend” and gave him a personal send-off, did Najib raise with Trump, regarded as the most Islamophobic US President in American history, the issue of Muslim ban, the 91 per cent increase in hate crimes against Muslims under Trump’s presidency, etc.

How can the 1Malaysia Negaraku concept be the new dawn  for unity and solidarity among Malaysians when the Najib government has itself abandoned the 1Malaysia slogan and policy since the BN loss of majority voter support in the  13th General Election in May 2013, allowing extremisn, intolerance and bigotry to rear their ugly heads with racial and religious polarisiation in the worst stage today in the past 60 years of the nation’s history?

How can Najib claim success for the National Blue Ocean Strategy when Malaysia has overnight become a global kleptocracy; with Kedai Malaysia 1Malaysia (KRIM) shops to benefit low-income urban Malaysians with basic  necessities sold at 30 to 50 per cent lower prices than at other supermarkets are closing down one by one; and the economic crisis faced by 100,000 Felda settlers and 700,000 PTPTN defaulters – while Najib bore gifts to the White House worth RM60 billion to strengthen the American economy?

Najib’s claim to be the “father of Indian community development” is also most controversial.

I commend Najib for standing his ground on the appointment of Datuk T. Subromaniam as the Customs Department Director-General as he is the most senior and most qualified.

But when the Prime Minister has to be involved in such appointments, standing his ground or otherwise, something has gone very wrong with the system of public appointments.

Does it mean that the “three wise men” system, where the Chief Secretary, the head of the Public Services Department, and the Secretary-General of the Finance Ministry were supposed to collectively decide on all senior public appointments wisely without any interference or discrimination, had broken down as to require a Prime Minister to intervene?

Furthermore, the issue of the controversy over the appointment of T. Subromaniam as Customs Department DG has thrown light on  the lack of Indian and non-Malay Ketua Setiausaha (KSUs) and other senior positions in the public service.

What should rank as a major national concern is the creeping Talibanisation in the country.

Najib’s brother, CIMB Group chairperson Datuk Seri Nazir Razak has joined the chorus of condemnation against a laundrette in Muar, Johor, which limits its services to Muslims only, saying:

“This is very troubling. We have to curb such extremism if we are to build a peaceful and progressive multicultural Malaysia.

“This must be a misinterpretation of Islamic teaching.”

Johor prince Tunku Idris Sultan Ibrahim  also voiced  similar concerns yesterday.

Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin described the move by the laundrette as “narrow-minded”, saying that the practice ran contrary to the teachings of Islam, which do not seek to burden the lives of its adherents.

But why has the Prime Minister who promoted the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) at the United Nations General Assembly in three speeches, kept his silence?

Is this a further confirmation that Najib’s GMM has proven to be not global, not a movement and  not moderate?

The recent furore over the Better Beer Festival in Kuala Lumpur has not enhanced Malaysia’s reputation as a moderate nation, particular where the Police has to be dragged in so that security or terrorist threat could be cited as a reason for the Kuala Lumpur City Hall ban.  What the police authorities did not realise is that such lame excuse cast a most unfavourable impression on the efficiency, competence and professionalism of the Malaysian Police.

What is Najib doing to pull Malaysia back from the trajectory of Talibanisation which would cause division and disunity in multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia as well violate the fundamental nation-building  principles in the Malaysian Constitution.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 26 September 2017, 2:35 pm and is filed under
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If MACC can recommend that BN candidates involved in  the 1MDB scandal, which turned Malaysia into a global kleptocracy, should not be fielded in  next general election,  I will recommend to DAP CEC that DAP candidates in 14GE be vetted by MACC

The Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has invited political parties to submit the names of their prospective candidates for the coming 14th general election (GE14) to it for vetting.

He said that although there was no law or compulsion for the political parties to do so, vetting could be done to ensure the candidates were clean and not tainted by corruption and abuse of power.

According to Dzulkifli, only the Barisan Nasional sent in the names of their leaders and would-be candidates for vetting by the MACC while the opposition parties had never done that.

Dzulkifli is not so naïve as not  to know the real reason why the Opposition parties had never sent their prospective election candidates to MACC for vetting.

In fact, if there is an opinion poll as to who believes that the MACC is independent, impartial and  professional and not  a tool of the powers-that-be, in particular the Prime Minister himself, I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority, may be even exceeding 90 per cent of those polled, would hold the view that the MACC is not independent, impartial or professional and a mere tool of the Prime Minister’s Office.

But I am prepared to be convinced otherwise.

If the MACC can recommend that Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates involved in  the 1MDB scandal, which turned Malaysia into a global kleptocracy, should not be  fielded in the  next general election,  I will recommend to the DAP Central Executive Committee that DAP candidates in 14GE be vetted by MACC.

The ball is in MACC’s court.  Can the MACC deliver?

The MACC is presently on a national road show with the slogan “Say No to Corruption”.

 MACC dare not even change its national roadshow slogan  from “Say No to Corruption” to “Say No to 1MDB scandal”, although I have given five reasons when this should be done, viz:

Firstly, the 1MDB scandal is the country’s largest financial scandal in history, in fact, it is the subject of United States Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets in US, UK and Switzerland;

Secondly, it is the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal which has turned Malaysia overnight into a “global kleptocracy”;

Thirdly, “Say No to 1MDB scandal” embraces “Say No to Corruption” while “Say No to Corruption” does not include “Say No to 1MDB scandal”;

Fourthly, there is no single issue which will as forcefully and powerfully send out the message  to Malaysians and the world that the MACC is serious about fighting corruption than to launch an all-out battle against the 1MBD scandal; and

Fifthly, so long as MACC does not directly address the 1MDB scandal, it will never get the trust and confidence of Malaysians and the world that it has finally come of age and become a truly professional world-class anti-corruption agency dedicated to the war against corruption “without fear or favour” of the powers-that-be.

The 1MDB scandal will be MACC and Dzulkifli’s acid  test as to whether they are serious, independent, impartial and professional in fighting corruption, without fear or favour, of whether they are merely creatures of the powers-that-be to use the language of anti-corruption to cover up the corruption and kleptocracy of the powers-that-be.

The world today is replete with examples of some of the most corrupt nations in the world with Anti-Corruption Commissions, just as there are so many nations with Human Rights Commissions which are among the worst violaters of human rights of their citizens.

There is a new book on corruption and kleptocracy in the world  which details how nations had set up Anti-Corruption Commissions as part of their lip-service commitment to fight corruption.

This new book, The Corruption Cure by Robert Rotberg,  pointed out that Anti-Corruption Commissions are no panaceas to end the problem of corruption. In fact, in many countries, Anti-Corruption Commissions have been worse than ineffective as they have been “weaponized to punish opponents of corrupt regimes”.

Has the MACC been “weaponized” by the BN Government to fight opponents of Malaysia  becoming a global kleptocracy?

On August 3, scores of Members of Parliament marched from Parliament to Bank Negara to pressure the central bank to re-open investigations into the 1MDB scandal, following additional filings by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on its kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

In its reply to the MPs’ memorandumn to Bank Negara, revealed by the Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at a news conference this morning, Bank Negara has given a very vague disclosure, saying that from 2015 to June 2017, a total of RM115.8 million in compound fines and penalties were imposed for breaches of financial laws and regulations.

The media had reported that Ambank was fined RM53.7 million by Bank Negara for breaches of financial laws and regulations. Does this mean that 1MDB had been fined RM63.1 million for breaches of financial laws and regulations?

What type of transparency and accountability is Bank Negara talking about when it is not prepared to answer this question?

But even more important and relevant for the credibility of the MACC, is it prepared to re-open investigations into the 1MDB scandal with regard to the corruption dimensions when such a massive scale of financial scandal is involved?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 September 2017, 3:12 pm and is filed under
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Three FAQs on 1MDB scandal on whether Najib received RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi royalty and returned RM2.1 billion,  whether the RM144 million  pink diamond necklace for “wife of MO1” came from stolen 1MDB funds all answered in US DOJ kleptocratic suits

Tonight a historic political night for Pahang with the launch of Pahang Pakatan Harapan.

We have with us tonight  the Pahang Pakatan Harapan Chairman and PKR Pahang Chairman, Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman (MP for Indera Makhota); DAP Pahang Chairman and Pahang Assemblyman for Tanah Rata, Leong Ngah Ngah and DAP Pahang Vice Chairman Tengku Zulpuri Shah b Raja Puji (State Assemblyman for Mentakab);  Amanah Pahang Chairman Dr. Hamzah Jaafar and Amanah Pahang Deputy Chairman  and Pahang State Assemblyman for Kuala Semantan Syed Hamid Syed Mohamed; Pribumi Bersatu Pahang Chairman, Datuk Salim Salleh as well as the national representatives of the four Pakatan Harapan component parties – Mohamad Sabu, Amanah President; Sdr. William Leong, PKR MP for Selayang and  Akramshah Sanusi Junid, Pribumi Bersatu Central Commttee member.

The gathering of the national and state leaders of the four component parties of Pakatan Harapan to launch the Pahang PH wants to send out a clear message to the voters of Pahang – that Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, are on to move to reclaim their democratic right to  save Malaysia from kleptocracy and fulfill our Merdeka and Malaysia Dream for Malaysia to be a world-class example of  “unity in diversity” where  diverse races, religions, languages and cultures can come together  to build a democratic, just, progressive and  prosperous nation.

There is a great difference between the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan coalitions.

The BN coalition leaders talk in  forked tongues – UMNO leaders playing the race and religious cards among the Malays, inciting fears among the Malay voters with lies that  DAP and I are anti-Malay and anti-Islam, that Tun Mahathir, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim , Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohamad Sabu are all my stooges and can only say and do what I told them to do; but MCA and Gerakan leaders among the Chinese voters  try to scare them with a different story, that I am a puppet of Tun Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim.

But we in Pakatan Harapan, whether DAP, PKR, Amanah or PBBM, say the same thing whether to Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans – that the time has come for Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region or even politics to unite and as  summed up in tonight’s theme, “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi”.

I was in Kuching on Sunday night for the launch of the Sarawak Pakatan Harapan, and the support and fervour at the gathering is proof that there is an  awakening among Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, that we cannot allow Malaysian to get into the trajectory of a failed and a rogue state; that if we love Malaysia, we must unite as Malaysian patriots to save Malaysia from corruption, kleptocracy, injustices, exploitation and the fate of a third-world nation.

Only a change of Federal Government in the forthcoming 14th General Election can save Malaysia from global kleptocracy, for the UMNO/BN government of Datuk Seri Najib Razak has done absolutely nothing in the past few years to clear or cleanse Malaysia of the shame, indignity, infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy.

I have said that Najib’s visit to White House and meeting with US President Trump is a national shame and humiliation, for the Najib government had done nothing  to challenge and prove that the US Department of Justice’s allegation of him as a kleptocrat and “MO1” were completely baseless and untrue.

The reason Malaysia has overnight become a global kleptocracy is because of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal, which involved Najib himself as he was at all relevant time the “top dog” in the 1MDB as Chairman of 1MDB Board of Advisors who exercised all the real and strategic powers in the company.

The three FAQs on 1MDB scandal are:

1.	Whether Najib received RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi royalty;

2.	Whether Najib returned RM2.1 billion to Saudi royalty; and

3.	Whether the RM144 million  pink diamond necklace for the “wife of MO1” came from stolen 1MDB funds.

The answers to all these three FAQs about the 1MDB scandal are given, in great detail, in the US DOJ’s largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

They are all to be found in the 10 killer paragraphs in the US DOJ kleptocratic litigation  –  Paragraph 339 to 348 under the section “$681 MILLION WAS TRANSFERRED FROM THE TANORE ACCOUNT TO AN ACCOUNT BELONGING TO MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”.

Why had the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any wrongdoing with regard to the 1MDB scandal,  when the whole word knows that his statement had beenv  refuted by all the evidence given in the 251-page 957-paragraph US DOJ kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets?

In view of the US DOJ kleptocratic litigation and all the evidence  there, is Apandi going to re-open the 1MDB case?

Of course, Apandi is not going to re-open the 1MDB case.

Malaysia needs a new Prime Minister and a new Attorney-General to save the country from kleptocracy, and this is one of the primary objectives of Pakatan Harapan in the forthcoming 14th General Election.

(Speech at the launching of the Pahang Pakatan Harapan in Raub on Tuesday, 26th September 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 September 2017, 8:31 am and is filed under
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What would Samy Vellu think of his son Vell Pari’s statement yesterday virtually condemning his father’s 29-year political legacy as Federal Minister from 1979-2008

I wonder what Tun Samy Vellu think of his son, Vell Pari’s statement yesterday virtually condemning his father’s 29-year political legacy as Federal Minister from 1979-2008.

In his article,
“Poser for Dr M’s ‘cheerleader’ – What did ex-PM do for Indians?”
, Vell Pari, who is now MIC Treasurer, defended Datuk Seri Najib Razak as “Father of Indian Development” and  castigated Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s 22-year premiership and said that the time has come for the government to “revamp the policies of the yester-year dictator”.

He asked what Tun Mahathir had done for the Indians as Prime Minister of Malaysia and posed three questions:

1.	Who caused the reduction of Indians within the civil service?

2.	Who caused the systematic displacement of Indians from estates and into downtrodden longhouses and shackles they were forced to live in?

3.	Who initiated the unfair intake into universities?

These are valid questions, but the best person to answer these questions is none other than Vell Pari’s father,  Tun Samy Vellu, who was Federal Minister representing MIC and the Indian community during the whole period of 22 years when Mahathir was  Prime Minister – in fact Samy Vellu was Federal Minister before Mahathir became Prime Minister and long after Mahathir had retired as Prime Minister!

Let Vell Pari state clearly and categorically whether he is repudiating the political legacy of his father regarding it as a “dark chapter” in the history of Malaysian Indians in Malaysia, and if so, why is Samy Vellu continuing as Malaysia’s Special Envoy on Infrastrcuture to India and South Asia?

Furthermore, is Vell Pari of the view that his father does not deserve the Tun-ship he was conferred on 9th September  in conjunction with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V’s birthday celebrations?

Is Vell Pari being unfilial just to pursue his own political fortunes at the expense of his father?

Let Tun Samy Vellu speak up!

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 September 2017, 6:14 pm and is filed under
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A recent upsurge of race and religious issues over beer, shorts, launderette and Christianisation to compensate for  the disastrous flops over Najib’s meeting with Trump and RCI on forex losses to target Mahathir and Anwar

There has been an upsurge of race and religious issues over beer, shorts, launderette and so-called Christianisation to compensate for the propaganda setbacks suffered by UMNO/BN over the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s meeting with US President Trump and the failure of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to target former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Cabinet should take heed of the call by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) Chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail –  whose distinguished diplomatic service included a year as President of the United Nations General Assembly – that Putrajaya should “take stock of the drift towards religious extremism”.

The prospect of creeping Talibanisation is the concern of all moderate and patriotic Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, culture or region, who love Malaysia and want the country to be an oasis of peace and harmony in a very troubled world and be an example to the world of how a plural society formed out of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures could unite to build a harmonious, tolerant, moderate and  modern nation which is just, democratic, progressive and prosperous.

Even the  Association of Churches in Sarawak Chairman Rev Justin Wan had yesterday sounded the call for Malaysians to wake up and stop the religious extremism which reared its ugly head in recent times.

As a representative of G25, the influential NGO of the country’s  former top public servants, Johan Ariffin, former deputy director of Sabah Foundation, warned a few days ago, the authorities must be vigilant against   any “over-reach” of Islamic laws and fatwas which affect the non-Muslims, which will not only undermine Malaysia’s image as a moderate Muslim nation but violate the bedrock principle of the Federal Constitution and a cornerstone of the formation of Malaysia with Sabah and Sarawak in 1963.

Najib’s Global Movement for Moderates (GMM)  should be in the forefront to counter the recent upsurge of extremism, bigotry and intolerance in the country but it  was strangely and conspicuously silent and inert – reinforcing the critique that the GMM initiative has proved to be a disastrous failure as being neither global, a movement nor moderate!

The country is thankful to the Johore Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar for ending the controversy by ordering the Muslim-only launderette in Muar to stop its controversial policy or it should  shut down.

The Johor Sultan rightly said that Johor and Malaysia are not an Islamic State – that Johor and Bangsa Johor belong to all races and faiths,  upholding a progressive, modern and moderate state.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that the action of the launderette in Muar in apologizing and withdrawing the decision to offer the laundry service only to Muslims should be well-received as there was a basis in the concern of the Sultan of Johor that the entrepreneur’s action would lead to a narrow image of Islam, contrary to the country’s desire to nurture a united, harmonious, moderate and tolerant society.

As exponent of the Wasatiyyah (moderation) principles in Islam, Najib should be in the  forefront against all forms  of extremism, intolerance and bigotry in the country, and not come in at the tail-end after the Sultan of Johore had spoken out against such extremism, intolerance and bigotry.

Will the Cabinet next week place on top of its agenda the recent upsurge of race and religious issues which undermined Malaysia’s image of moderate and tolerant nation?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 September 2017, 1:03 pm and is filed under
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From My Detention in Malaysia, Thoughts on Islam and Tolerance

Mustafa Akyol

New York Times

SEPT. 28, 2017

I am writing this column from an airplane, on my way from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to my new home, Wellesley, Mass. I’m in a comfortable seat, and I’m looking forward to getting back to my family. About 12 hours ago, though, I was miserable, locked in a holding cell by Malaysia’s “religious police.”

The story began a few months ago, when the Islamic Renaissance Front, a reformist, progressive Muslim organization in Malaysia, invited me to give a series of lectures on Islam, reason and freedom. The group had hosted me three times before in the past five years for similar events and also published the Malay version of my book “Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty.” I was glad for the chance to visit Malaysia again.

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 22. The next day I gave my first lecture on the suppression of rational theology by dogmatists in early Islam, making the point that this “intellectual suicide” still haunts Muslim civilization.

The second talk was on a more controversial topic: apostasy from Islam. I argued that Muslims must uphold freedom of conscience, in line with the Quranic dictum “No compulsion in religion.” I said that apostasy should not be punished by death, as it is in Saudi Arabia, or with “rehabilitation,” as it is in Malaysia. The practice of Islam must be on the basis of freedom, not coercion, and governments shouldn’t police religion or morality.

It turns out all you have to do is speak of the police and they will appear.

At the end of my talk, a group of serious-looking men came into the lecture hall and showed me badges indicating that they were “religion enforcement officers.”

“We heard that you just gave an unauthorized talk on religion,” one of the men said. “And we got complaints about it.” They took me to another room, photographed me and asked questions about my speech.

When they were done with their questioning, they handed me a piece of paper with Malay writing on it and told me that I shouldn’t speak again without proper authorization. They also warned me away from my next planned talk, which was going to be about my most recent book, “The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims.”

“We heard that you will speak about commonalities between Islam, Judaism and Christianity,” one officer said. “We don’t like that kind of stuff.” Then they left.

After all this, I consulted with my hosts, and we decided to cancel the final lecture. I assumed that was the end of the matter and went shopping for gifts for my wife and children.

Later in the day, I went to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to begin the 30-hour trip back to Massachusetts. When I gave my passport to the border police, I realized that my experience with offending Malaysia’s Islamic sensibilities wasn’t over.

“You need to wait, sir,” said the woman who checked my passport. She called some police officers, who called other police officers, who took me to a room where my arrest order was read to me. Apparently the religious police, known as JAWI, wanted to interrogate me again for my “unauthorized” talk on religious freedom and had issued that arrest order to make sure I didn’t leave the country.

I was taken from the airport to a police station, then to another station. Finally, I was taken to the JAWI headquarters, where I was locked up.

To be fair, nobody was rude to me, let alone cruel. Still, I was distressed: I had been arrested in an alien country whose laws and language I did not understand. I had no idea what would happen to me — and, most painfully, when I would see my wife, Riada, our 2-year-old son, Levent, and our 2-month-old baby, Efe.

In the morning, I was taken to a Shariah court, which is used in Malaysia to adjudicate religious issues, where I was interrogated for two hours. At the end, to my surprise, I was let go. Soon I learned that this was greatly facilitated by the diplomatic efforts of my country, Turkey — and especially the contact made by a former Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, with Malaysian royalty.

This incident showed me once again that there is a major problem in Islam today: a passion to impose religion, rather than merely proposing it, a mind-set that most Christians left behind at the time of the Inquisition.

Luckily, there are antidotes within Islam to this problem. One of them is the Quranic verse that the JAWI officers repeatedly chided me for daring to recite: “No compulsion in religion.”

In fact, mainstream Muslim tradition, reflecting its illiberal context, never fully appreciated the freedom implied by this verse — and other ones with similar messages. “The ‘no compulsion’ verse was a problem to the earliest exegetes,” as Patricia Crone, a scholar of Islamic history, has noted. “And they reacted by interpreting it restrictively.” The verse was declared “abrogated,” or its scope was radically limited.

This is still evident in a parenthetical that is too frequently inserted into translations of the verse. “There shall be no compulsion in religion (in becoming a Muslim).” I’d known that Saudi translations added those extra words at the end. Now I have learned that the Malaysian authorities do, too. They append the extra phrase because while they agree with the Quran that no one should be forced to become a Muslim, they think that Muslims should be compelled to practice the religion — in the way that the authorities define. They also believe that if Muslims decide to abandon their religion, they must be punished for “apostasy.”

One of the officers at my Malaysian Shariah court trial proudly told me that all of this was being done to “protect religion.” But I have an important message for her (which I didn’t share at the time): By policing religion, the authorities are not really protecting it. They are only enfeebling their societies, raising hypocrites and causing many people to lose their faith in or respect for Islam.

I came to understand that while I was being held in the JAWI headquarters, listening to a loud Quranic recitation coming from the next room. I heard the Quran and for the first time in my life it sounded like the voice of an oppressor. But I did not give in to that impression. “I hear you and I trust in you, God,” I said as I prayed, “despite these bigots who act in your name.”

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 September 2017, 6:42 pm and is filed under
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Good questions, Dzukifli – MACC must not only resist Najib hiving off  SPRM to Paul Low, it must demand MACC comes directly under an Opposition-headed Parliamentary  Committee to ensure its independence and professionalism

“Who are you to control us, MACC boss gives Low a blow”
 is the Malaysiakini headline for a Penang-datelined  report  of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad hitting out at Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Paul Llow for his proposal for a new Department of National Integrity and Good Governance (JITN) to monitor MACC and ensure that it properly investigate corruption cases and charges perpetrators effectively.

Dzukifli fumed and said:
“We are supposed to be independent. If the excuse of forming the JITN is to monitor MACC, why should I report to him?”

He then asked:
“Who is this minister? Who is the minister to control how we investigate cases?”

Good questions, Dzulifli. MACC must not only resist the Prime Minister hiving off MACC to Paul Low’s JITN so that he does not have to personally do the “dirty work” of directing the MACC, MACC must demand that it  comes directly under an Opposition-headed Parliamentary Committee to ensure its independence and professionalism.

MACC is “supposed” to be independent, but it is not. It will be even less “independent” when it is hived off to Paul Low under JITN!

The 1MDB scandal is the worst blot on the independence and professionalism of the MACC.

The three FAQs on 1MDB scandal are:

1.	Whether Najib received RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi royalty;

2.	Whether Najib returned RM2.1 billion to Saudi royalty; and

3.	Whether the RM144 million  pink diamond necklace for the “wife of MO1” came from stolen 1MDB funds.

The answers to all these three FAQs about the 1MDB scandal are available in great detail in the US DOJ’s largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

The answers to the three FAQs are: (1) Najib never received RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi royalty, although he received other donations from Saudi sources. The monies came from 1MDB funds. (2) Najib never returned the RM2.1 billion to Saudi royalty, as the money did not come from Saudi sources, but were returned to Tanore account in Singapore and were from stolen 1MDB funds. (3) The RM2.1 billion returned to Tanore account in Singapore was used to buy, among other things, the RM144 million pink diamond necklace for the “wife of MO1”.

These details   all to be found in the 10 “killer” paragraphs in the US DOJ kleptocratic litigation  –  Paragraph 339 to 348 under the section “$681 MILLION WAS TRANSFERRED FROM THE TANORE ACCOUNT TO AN ACCOUNT BELONGING TO MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”.

Why had the MACC and the  Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any wrongdoing with regard to the 1MDB scandal?

In view of the US DOJ kleptocratic litigation and all the evidence  in these 10 “killer” paragraphs in the US DOJ litigation, are Dzulkifli and  Apandi going to re-open investigations into  the 1MDB case?

Malaysians do not expect Dzulkifli and Apandi to re-open investigations into the 1MDB scandal, as this can only be done if there is a new Pakatan Harapan Federal Government in Putrajaya after the 14th General Election, when MACC will be responsible directly to a Parliamentary Committee and not to  Najib or Paul Low.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 September 2017, 4:03 pm and is filed under
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Malaysian launderette owner stirs Asian hornet’s nest

By James M. Dorsey

Huffington Post

09/28/2017

Uproar about a launderette owner’s decision to bar non-Muslims from using his service has focused a spotlight on broader discriminatory attitudes in Malaysian society as well as elsewhere in Asia that are reinforced by Saudi-inspired ultra-conservative interpretations of Islam.

In contrast to many Asian leaders who have been reluctant to confront-ultra-conservatives head-on, Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Sultan Iskander, the sovereign of the Malaysian state of Johor, did not mince his words in forcing the launderette owner to rescind his ban on non-Muslims and insist that Johor was “not a Taliban state.”

The silver-lining in the launderette owner’s controversial move is the fact that it sparked debate about discrimination in Malaysia. Malaysian opposition member of parliament Teo Nie Ching announced that she was considering introducing legislation to strengthen anti-discrimination in the country’s legal code. It was not immediately clear whether she would tackle Malaysia’s banning of the use of the word Allah by Christians and repression of the country’s miniscule Shiite community in any proposed legislation.

Similarly, Malaysian lawyer Syahredzan Johan asked on Twitter what the difference was between what the difference was between a launderette owner refusing to service non-Muslims and Malaysian Chinese accepting only Chinese roommates or Malaysians refusing to rent properties to Africans.

“We need to look at the aspect of discrimination within our society… I think these are discussions that need to happen moving forwards instead of just pigeonholing it as something like increasing Islamisation or Talibanization,” Mr. Johan said.

The launderette uproar was but one of several incidents in Malaysia sparked by Saudi-inspired ultra-conservatism. Ultra-conservatives stirred a furore over this year’s Better Beer Festival in Kuala Lumpur.

In contrast to Sultan Ibrahim’s response, Kuala Lumpur’s municipality caved in to Islamist agitation by refusing to authorize the annual event that aims to promote smaller breweries because it was politically sensitive.

Similarly, a decision by religious authorities in the Malaysian state of Kelantan to recommend counselling and impose a fine on a Muslim man for wearing shorts in public triggered fierce debate on social media. “Slowly, those educated in religious education in Middle East is trying to turn Malaysia into Taliban country,” said John Brian Anthony on Facebook.

The debate sparked by the string of incidents goes to the core of concern across Asia about a rising threat of jihadism as the Islamic State (IS) loses its territorial base in Syria and Iraq and looks for new pastures in South, Central and South-eastern Asia. A IS-affiliated group has been battling security forces in the Philippine city of Marawi for the past three months while Islamic militants are blamed for sparking the latest Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.

The challenge for Asian governments is to complement law enforcement and military measures to counter militants with inclusive policies that ensure that all segments of their populations have a stake in society.

That is proving to be a tall order for leaders like Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has used Islam to shore up his image tarnished by a massive corruption scandal, as well as Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Like others, the two leaders face popular pressure from Saudi-inspired Islamic militants. Similarly, Pakistani military and civilian leaders see militants as useful proxies in their dispute with India and geopolitical manoeuvring in Afghanistan.

There is little indication that Asian governments are capable or willing to confront deeply ingrained attitudes that have in part been fostered by a global, four-decade old, $100 billion Saudi campaign that propagated ultra-conservative visions of Islam in a bid to establish the kingdom as the leader of the Muslim world and to counter the revolutionary appeal of Iran following the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled a monarch and an icon of US influence in the Middle East.

The campaign has not only influenced segments of Muslim society across Asia, but also ensured that discrimination is enshrined in legislation in various countries that politically would be difficult, if not impossible, to revise.

Repealing blasphemy laws in countries like Indonesia and Pakistan would spark popular revolts. So would rolling back Saudi-inspired anti-Ahmadi legislation in Pakistan and anti-Shiite laws in Malaysia and discrimination of Ahmadis as well as gays and transgenders in various parts of Asia. Militants this year successfully blocked a Christian from running for re-election as governor of Jakarta after ensuring that he was convicted on blasphemy charges.

In Pakistan, a country in which Saudi-inspired ultra-conservatism has left one of its largest footprints, supporters of a preacher who adheres to a strand of Sufism, a mystical wing of Islam denounced by ultra-conservatives, attacked a party in a region bordering on Afghanistan for playing music The incident demonstrated the pervasiveness of Saudi-inspired ultra-conservatism.

“If you use force to make people more religious or make them understand religion the way you understand it, then you are bringing more harm than benefit to the religion,” said Mustafa Akyol, a prominent Turkish intellectual and journalist, minutes before boarding a plane at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after he was detained for 24 hours for giving a university lecture allegedly without having proper credentials.

In an indication of the risks of ingrained discrimination and racism, Malaysian authorities this week arrested an Indonesian supporter of IS who was on his way to Myanmar to support the Rohingya by attacking Myanmar targets.

The arrest highlighted the degree to which Asian leaders would have to think out of the box to tackle drivers of militancy and work towards religious and ethnic harmony. The Rohingya issue poses a threat that goes far beyond immediate humanitarian concerns or where to temporarily locate hundreds of thousands who in recent weeks have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar, a patchwork of 135 predominantly Buddhist ethnic groups.

Differences of opinion about who the Rohingya are and where they belong among Myanmar Muslims and non-Muslims alike are not going to solve a problem that is fuelling militancy and potentially is becoming a rallying cry for the Muslim world.

“We don’t want to simply go back to Myanmar to be non-persons. We want to belong somewhere,” a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh was quoted by news media as saying.

The refugee hit the nail on the head. The Rohingya will continue to be a festering problem as long as no permanent solution is found. The stakes are not defining who they are or where they historically belong but creating a permanent, solution for a group whose unresolved plight goes to the future of Asia. The stakes are what kind of Asia Asians want and to what degree Asian leaders and societies are willing to confront problems head-on.

Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture, and co-host of the New Books in Middle Eastern Studies podcast. James is the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog, a book with the same title as well as Comparative Political Transitions between Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, co-authored with Dr. Teresita Cruz-Del Rosario and Shifting Sands, Essays on Sports and Politics in the Middle East and North Afri
ca

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 September 2017, 7:01 pm and is filed under
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Fa Abdul’s children and Tian Chua are examples today that despite temporary setbacks, change for the better in Malaysia cannot be really be stopped so long as Malaysians are prepared to stand up for their fundamental rights

I wish to congratulate Fa Abdul for very well brought-up children who could critically think what is best for themselves and the country, in response to Zaid Ibrahim’s advice to young Muslims in Malaysia to hijrah to UK in order to live a better life as Malaysia has become “a sick Muslim country”.

I was taken aback when I read Zaid’s views two days ago, and although I did not agree with him and his views would be twisted and exploited to create “political problems” for the DAP, this was price we have to pay if we believe in freedom of speech and expression – even those which conflict with the party’s viewpoint.

I was quite moved by Fa Abdul’s piece, especially the exchange between the siblings about never giving up, although changing the government is not easy and changing people’s mindset is even more difficult.

I do not know whether Zaid made his advice to young Muslims to hijrah “tongue-in-cheek”, but Fa Abdul’s writing on the exchange with his children gives hope that whatever the adversities and however difficult or impossible the challenges to effect change, change will come inexorably and unrelentingly.

The most dramatic example is the royal announcement that Saudi women will be allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia next June – a baby step, but nonetheless proof of the futility of those including in Malaysia who want to put the clock back.

What is needed are people with the stamina and perseverance who will not give up whatever the adversities and challenges to bring about change for the betterment of the human condition wherever in the world.

Today, PKR Batu MP, Tian Chua has chosen to go to jail for a month to highlight the injustices and oppression in Malaysia.

As Tian Chua highlighted in his speech at the Court of Appeal before withdrawing his appeal, millions of Malaysians long for a better world where there is justice, liberty and fairness, where Malaysians are free to speak up to openly share their thoughts without fear, as guaranteed by the Malaysian Constitution.

Fa Abdul’s children and Tian Chua are examples today that despite temporary setbacks, change for the better in Malaysia cannot be really be stopped so long as Malaysians are prepared to stand up for their fundamental rights.

Malaysians should not be disheartened and discouraged by recent upsurge of race and religious issues whether over beer, shorts, launderette and alleged Christianisation.

While the Cabinet should heed the warning of the Suhakam Chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail of the “drift towards religious extremism” in the country, all moderate and patriotic Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, culture, region or even politics, must come together to save Malaysia from kleptocracy and build a harmonious, tolerant, moderate and modern nation which is just, democratic, progressive and prosperous.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 September 2017, 2:00 pm and is filed under
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I have great differences with Mahathir – but I  never called him  “mahazalim” or “mahafiraun” – but this is time for all Malaysian patriots to unite to save Malaysia and get rid of kleptocracy

I was in Kuching on Sunday night with former Prime Minister and now Chairman of Pakatan Harapan, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for the launch of the Sarawak Pakatan Harapan, and the support and fervour at the gathering is proof that the country is on the move involving all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status or region, who want to save Malaysia from the trajectory of a failed and a rogue state.

If we love Malaysia, we must unite as Malaysian patriots to save Malaysia from corruption, kleptocracy, injustices, exploitation and the fate of a third-world nation.

Tun Mahathir will speak after me on why we must unite to save Malaysia.

It is public record that Mahathir and I had many great  differences during his 22 years as Prime Minister, and Guan Eng and I became “guests of His Majesty’s Government” during his premiership in Operation Lalang dragnet nearly 30 years ago.

But I had never been personal, vengeful or vindictive – I had never called Mahathir “mahafiraun” or “mahazalim” – as our differences were always  on government policies and actions.

I do not deny my differences with Mahathir in the past, but we are now united by a larger common goal to save Malaysia from kleptocracy,  a failed and a rogue state, and the fate of a third-world nation.

There is a great difference between the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan coalitions.

The BN coalition leaders talk in  forked tongues – UMNO leaders playing the race and religious cards among the Malays, inciting fears among the Malay voters with lies that  DAP and I are anti-Malay and anti-Islam, that Tun Mahathir, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim , Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohamad Sabu are all my stooges and can only say and do what I told them to do; but MCA and Gerakan leaders say the opposite and try to scare the Chinese with a different story, that I am a puppet of Tun Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim.

But we in Pakatan Harapan, whether DAP, PKR, Amanah or PBBM; whether Mahathir, Muhyiddin, Azizah, Azmin, Mohd Sabu, Guan Eng or I myself  say the same thing whether to Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans – that the time has come for Malaysians regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status, region or even politics to unite and as  summed up in the theme of the Oct. 14 Pakatan Harapan rally in Petaling Jaya –  “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi”.

Only a change of Federal Government in the forthcoming 14th General Election can save Malaysia from global kleptocracy, for the UMNO/BN government of Datuk Seri Najib Razak has done absolutely nothing in the past few years to clear or cleanse Malaysia of the shame, indignity, infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy.

But we do not want only a Pakatan Harapan Federal Government in the 14GE, we have higher goals – to maintain the Pakatan Harapan state governments in

Selangor and Penang as well as to win the state governments in Johore, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Kedah.

The forthcoming 14th General Election will cause the greatest political change in the electoral history of Malaysia, based on a  rural political tsunami to match the urban tsunami in the 13th general elections so that Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans unite for the greatest political change in the nation’s history.

[Speech (2) at the DAP Port Klang Branch “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” dinner in Klang on  Thursday, 28th September 2017 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 September 2017, 8:56 am and is filed under
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Reply to Dzukifli – people are watching whether you will be the head of the world’s  first “kleptocratic” anti-corruption agency

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commissioner Chief Commissioner, Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad said yesterday that the people are watching me to judge my commitment and seriousness towards fighting corruption and abuse of power.

I thank Dzukifli for this reminder, for I have placed myself to be  judged by the people for 52 years since my decision to be involved in politics, but  unlike so many in UMNO and Barisan Nasional, I am in politics  not for titles, wealth or other personal advancement  but for my political beliefs and principle to make my contribution towards the building of a Malaysian nation where every Malaysian, regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status, region or politics, could feel proud as a Malaysan because of the unity, harmony, freedom, justice and prosperity  in the country which is also an example to the world of a successful, moderate, tolerant, plural nation.

Let me remind Dzulkifli that the people are watching him whether he will be the head of the world’s first “kleptocratic” anti-corruption agency.

Let me tell Dzulkifli of the things he must do to ensure that he does not go down in the history of Malaysia and the world as the first Chief Commissioner of a “kleptocratic” Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

As Dzulkifli  said in his retort  to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Paul Low yesterday, the MACC is “supposed to be independent”, but everyone knows that it is not “independent” and the worst blot on the independence and professionalism of MACC is none other than the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal, which has turned Malaysia overnight into a “global kleptocracy”.

It is understandable although not excusable or forgivable for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Ministers to be engaged in a charade pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist, but why should the MACC, which is supposed to be “independent” and serve the interests of the nation and all Malaysians and not the political interests of one man and his coterie of supporters, aid and abet in such a sorry charade?

What is the use of MACC catching ikan bilis but unable to see the sharks of corruption which is obvious to everyone in Malaysia and the world?

Three frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the 1MDB scandal are:

1.     Whether Najib received RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi royalty;

2.     Whether Najib returned RM2.1 billion to Saudi royalty; and

3.     Whether the RM144 million  pink diamond necklace for the “wife of MO1” came from stolen 1MDB funds.

The answers to all these three FAQs about the 1MDB scandal are available in great detail in the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

The answers to the three FAQs are:

(1) Najib never received the RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi royalty just before the 13th General Election, although he received other donations from Saudi sources. The RM2.6 billion monies came from 1MDB funds.

(2) Najib never returned the RM2.1 billion to Saudi royalty, as the money did not come from Saudi sources, but were returned to Tanore account in Singapore  which was operated by 1MDB mastermind and Najib’s confidante, Jho Low, and were from stolen 1MDB funds.

(3) The RM2.1 billion returned to Tanore account in Singapore was used to buy, among other things, the RM144 million pink diamond necklace for the “wife of MO1”.

These details are  all to be found in the 10 “killer” paragraphs in the US DOJ kleptocratic litigation  –  Paragraph 339 to 348 under the section “$681 MILLION WAS TRANSFERRED FROM THE TANORE ACCOUNT TO AN ACCOUNT BELONGING TO MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”.

Had Dzulkifli read these ten “killer” paragraphs in the US DOJ litigation on the 1MDB-linked assets, and why had he not acted to re-open investigations into the 1MDB scandal in pursuance of the 251-page 957-paragraph US DOJ kleptocratic litigation on 1MDB?

Or does Dzulkifli wants me to send him a copy of the US DOJ litigation?

Dzulkifli recently celebrated his first anniversary as MACC Chief Commissioner.

Can Dzulkifli explain what action he had taken on being appointed as MACC Chief Commissioner with regard to the shocking disclosures and revelations of the 1MDB scandal, as contained in the US DOJ litigation, both when the US DOJ first initiated  its litigations in July 2016 and after they were  updated in June 2017!

As MACC Chief Commissioner, is Dzulkifli concerned that Malaysia is regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy, what is he doing about it?

Dzulkifli should realise that if he acts as the traditional three monkeys, with eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and mouth that speaks not, about the 1MDB scandal, he will be making the MACC into the first “kleptocratic” anti-corruption agency in the world!

(Speech at the DAP Port Klang Branch “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” dinner in Klang on  Thursday, 28th September 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 September 2017, 8:13 am and is filed under
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Challenge to MACC Chief Commissioner Dzulkifli to explain at the Pakatan Harapan “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrasi” rally in PJ on Oct. 14 what MACC had done about fighting corruption and abuses of power in the  1MDB scandal

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner (MACC) Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad said two days ago that the people are watching me to judge my commitment and seriousness towards fighting corruption and abuses of power.

I have been watched by the people for more than half a century, and DAP leaders are prepared to be judged by the people.

But the MACC Chief Commissioner does not seem to realise that the people are watching the MACC under his leadership to judge whether it dares to fight the “sharks” of corruption, or only goes after the “ikan bilis” and the “medium-sized fishes” in its campaign against corruption.’

In his first anniversary as MACC head, Dzulkifli has launched a nation-wide anti-corruption campaign by MACC officials.

Unfortunately, MACC officials only dare to tell the people to “Say No to Corruption” but they dare not say so themselves, in particular on the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy.

I challenge Dzulkifli to come to the Pakatan Harapan “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” rally in Petaling Jaya on Oct. 14 to tell Malaysians what the MACC under his leadership had done about the No. 1 financial scandal and corruption in Malaysia – the 1MDB scandal.

Let Dzulkifli come to the Pakatan Harapan “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” rally in PJ on Oct. 14 to explain what the MACC has done to fight corruption and abuses of power in the 1MDB scandal.

If Dzulkifli dare not come to the PH rally to explain what the MACC had done to fight corruption and abuses of power in the 1MDB scandal, what is the use of MACC launching a nation-wide road-show on fighting corruption?

(Speech at the launch of Johor Pakatan Harapan at Taman Dahlia, Tampoi, Johor Baru on Friday, 29th September 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 September 2017, 7:37 am and is filed under
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DAP will form “senior citizens” branches throughout the country to tap the resources, talents  and experience of  senior citizens to contribute to the nation-wide campaign to “Save Malaysia from kleptocracy” in contrast to MCA leadership which regards senior citizens as useless deadwood

I want to announce at the DAP kopitiam dialogue in Plentong this morning that the DAP will form a series of “senior citizens” branches throughout the country to tap the resources, talents and experience of the senior citizens, regardless of race or religion, to contribute to the nation-wide campaign to “Save Malaysia from kleptocracy” in contrast to the MCA leadership which regards senior citizens as useless deadwood.

I confess I was shocked last week when I saw the letter from the MCA Secretary General Ong Ka Chuan sacking a former Plentong village chief for nine years, Wong Kong Fook as a MCA member for being photographed with me during my visit to Plentong.

This is utterly mad, devoid of moral principles and standards, and something no sane or rational party or leader would do.

I welcome Wong Kong Fook who  has “abandoned darkness, joined light” and has applied and been approved as a DAP member.

The three MCA Ministers and leaders, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (MCA President), Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong (MCA Deputy President) and Datuk Ong Ka Chuan (MCA Secretary-General) should publicly apologise for the crazy, irrational and morally unjustifiable expulsion of Wong Kong Fook, the former Johore village chief for nine years as a MCA member for being photographed with me.

In fact, all the senior citizen members in MCA throughout Johor and Malaysia should protest and  demand unqualified apology from the MCA top leaders for the most unfair and shameful treatment of Wong Kong Fook.

Many people from Plentong had been photographed with me this morning during my visit to Plentong, and if they are MCA members, I do not know whether they will suffer the same fate as Wong Kong Fook and be sacked from MCA.

Both Tiong Lai and Ka Siong had been photographed with me at some function or other. Are Tiong Lai and Ka Siong going to be expelled from MCA as happened to this former Johore village chief for nine years, and who had a longer MCA membership history than Tiong Lai, or are there obviously double-standards in the MCA, one for the MCA leaders and Ministers and another for the MCA rank-and file?

After the news of Wong Kong Fook of being sacked from MCA for being photographed with me became public, the MCA leadership was quite embarrassed, and denied that Wong Kong Fook was sacked because he was photographed with me.

If Wong Kong Fook was sacked not because he was photographed with me, can the MCA leaders explain why the former nine-year kampong ketua was sacked from MCA?

(Speech at the DAP kopitiam dialogue at Plentong, Johor Jaya on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 10 am)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 September 2017, 3:46 pm and is filed under
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Dzulkifli must decide whether he wants to be a MACC Chief Commissioner or Barisan Nasional politician, and if latter, let him ask for a candidature from Najib and contest in 14GE

Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad should decide whether he wants to be Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner or Barisan Nasional politician, and if the latter, he should ask for a candidature from the Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional Chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak and contest in the forthcoming 14th General Election.

After his first anniversary celebration as MACC Chief Commissioner, Dzulkifli is acting something none of the dozen heads of the anti-corruption agency since its establishment in the past 50 years since 1967 had ever done – conducting himself more as a politician than as MACC Chief Commissioner.

A most recent  instance was his open attack on the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Paul Low, for the latter’s proposal for a new Department of National Integrity and Good Governance (JITN) to monitor MACC and ensure that it properly investigate corruption cases and charges perpetrators effectively.

Leaving aside for the moment the merits or demerits of the proposed JITN, what is most unprecedented is the open attack on a Minister by a head of a government agency, which had never happened before in the 60-year history of the public service and raising the question whether Dzulkifli thinks he has the patronage or protection of the Prime Minister to lash out publicly against  Ministers – and why Dzulkifli thinks so!

In fact, Dzulkifli should have been put on the carpet for his outburst against Paul Low, but who dares to discipline Dzulfifli when even the Prime Minister is wary of him?

This is where Dzulkifli’s comment that he was open to criticism but it should be conveyed in a civilized manner reeks of so much arrogance and humbug.

Did Dzulkifli think that I was scolding him as a “monkey” when I used the saying of the three traditional three monkeys, “with eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and mouth that speaks not” about the 1MDB scandal?

Dzulkifli is very wrong and shallow-minded to think so.

Is Dzulkifli aware that the saying of the three monkeys have both positive and negative connotations.

Positive in the context of “Three Wise Monkeys” – a pictorial maxim originating from Japan which embodies the proverbial principle of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.

The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil. Sometimes there is a fourth monkey depicted with the three others; the last one, Shizaru, symbolizes the principle of “do no evil”. He may be shown crossing his arms.

The traditional three monkeys are each offering a piece of advice, and jointly their advice is to behave generously,  the Japanese version of the Golden Rule – not to spread evil.

But the traditional three monkeys can also be understood as recommending disregard for the immorality and evil around us – turning a blind eye to it.

It is for Dzulkifli to choose the positive or negative interpretation of the “three monkeys” saying, and not to go off the tangent to feign umbrage and outrage  at being called a monkey, when nobody is calling him a monkey!

Dzulkifli should not run away from the issues which I had raised, and the best venue for him to vindicate himself as MACC  Chief Commissioner is to  accept my challenge to explain to Malaysians what he and the MACC had done on the 1MDB scandal and clear Malaysia’s name of the infamy and ignominy of a “global kleptocracy” at the Pakatan Harapan “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” rally in Petaling Jaya on Oct. 14.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 September 2017, 5:55 pm and is filed under
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Launch of Johor Pakatan Harapan is launch of campaign to establish new PH governments in Putrajaya and Johor in the next 14 General Election

Tonight’s launch of Johor Pakatan Harapan, comprising the four component parties of DAP, PKR, Amanah and Pribumi Bersatu, is historic for it is the launch of a campaign to establish a new Pakatan Harapan Federal Government in Putrajaya and a new Pakatan Harapan State Government in Johor.

Sixty years ago, we achieved Merdeka on August 31, 2017.  We should today be one of the world’s top-class nations in every field of human endeavor as well as an example to the troubled world as to how a nation of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures like Malaysia could succeed as a united, harmonious, just, democratic, progressive and prosperous nation.

Instead, 60 years after Merdeka in 1957, we are in the danger of becoming an international disgrace with Malaysians dragged into the abyss with three problems – worsening economic crisis plaguing the country, most serious  racial and religious polarization with the UMNO/BN coalition playing the race and religious card to try to keep themselves in power and Malaysia becoming overnight a global kleptocracy especially because of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal.

Only Pakatan Harapan can save Johor and Malaysia from these triple ills, to ensure that the ordinary people, regardless of race, religion,  region, socio-economic status or even politics, fully enjoy the true meaning of Merdeka we achieved 60 years ago.

I have said that if there is a swing of 10 per cent of Malay votes and five per cent of non-Malay votes from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Harapan in the 14th General Election as compared to the 13th General Election, there will be a Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya. This is because out of the 165 Parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia, Pakatan Harapan would have won 113 seats, BN 50 and PAS two.  The total PH parliamentary score will be more when Sabah and Sarawak’s support for PH is taken into consideration.

But we must set our sights higher for we must aim not only at a new Pakatan Harapan Federal Government in Putrajaya and ensure that Penang and Selangor remain firmly in the hands of Pakatan Harapan, we also want to establish new Pakatan Harapan state governments in Johor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Kedah.

[Speech (2) at the launch of Johor Pakatan Harapan at Taman Dahlia, Tampoi, Johor Baru on Friday, 29th September 2017 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 September 2017, 8:26 am and is filed under
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Let Dzulkifli of MACC explain at the “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” rally in PJ on Oct. 14 whether Malaysia TI CPI will stagnate and regress or improve in coming years

Last night, at the launching ceremony for Johor Pakatan Harapan in Tampoi, I challenged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad to explain at the Pakatan Harapan “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrasi” rally in Petaling Jaya on Oct. 14 what MACC had done about fighting corruption and abuses of power in the  1MDB scandal.

I was responding to his statement two days ago that the people are watching me to judge my commitment and seriousness towards fighting corruption and abuses of power.

I told Dzukifli that I had stood the test of being judged by the people for 52 years since my involvement in politics in Malaysia, and reminded the MACC head that the people are watching him and the MACC  to judge whether they are fakes and phonies, who only dare to go after the “ikan bilis” and the “medium-sized fishes” but dare not touch the  “sharks” of corruption.

Let us see whether Dzulkifli has the courage, commitment and zeal against corruption to come to the Pakatan Haeapan “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrasi” rally in Petaling Jaya on Oct. 14 to explain how the MACC had ensured that the 1MDB scandal do not turn Malaysia into a global kleptocracy.

 Three frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the 1MDB scandal are:

1.     Whether Najib received RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi royalty;

2.     Whether Najib returned RM2.1 billion to Saudi royalty; and

3.     Whether the RM144 million  pink diamond necklace for the “wife of MO1” came from stolen 1MDB funds.

The answers to all these three FAQs about the 1MDB scandal are available in great detail in the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

The answers to the three FAQs are:

(1) Najib never received the RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi royalty just before the 13th General Election, although he received other donations from Saudi sources which have not been given a proper accounting. The RM2.6 billion monies came from 1MDB funds.

(2) Najib never returned the RM2.1 billion to Saudi royalty, as the money did not come from Saudi sources, but were returned to Tanore account in Singapore  which was operated by 1MDB mastermind and Najib’s confidante, Jho Low, and were from stolen 1MDB funds.

(3) The RM2.1 billion returned to Tanore account in Singapore was used to buy, among other things, the RM144 million pink diamond necklace for the “wife of MO1”.

These details and evidence are  all to be found in US DOJ kleptocratic litigation  and are  virtually “served on a silver platter” to MACC, and Dzulkifli should explain on Oct. 14 why he and the MACC had done nothing about these incontrovertible evidence.

Dzulkifli should know that there is nothing for MACC to be proud about integrity and corruption in Malaysia today, although for the past six years, Parliament had approved an  annual budget allocation of over RM200 million for anti-corruption as compared to smaller sums for the earlier years, e.g  less than RM30 million before 1997, less than RM100 million before 2006 and less than RM200 million before 2011.

What has the MACC and its predecessors to show for such allocations by Parliament on the anti-corruption front?

Absolutely nothing – as Malaysia is today known worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

If for the next two decades, China and Indonesia improve in their TI CPI ranking and score at their pace in the past 22 years, while Malaysia stagnates, both countries would have overtaken Malaysia in both the TI CPI ranking and score well before 2040. We do not even have to wait for TN 2050!

Let Dzulkifli come to the Pakatan Harapan “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan kleptokrasi” rally in PJ on Oct. 14 to explain whether the MACC expects Malaysia’s TI CPI to stagnate or regress in the coming years and what counter-measures are being taken by MACC.

[Speech (2) at the DAP kopitiam dialogue at Plentong, Johor Jaya on Saturday, 30th September 2017 at 10 am]

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 September 2017, 3:53 pm and is filed under
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Challenge to MACC chief, Dzulkifli to declare whether he dare to recommend that Najib is not a suitable candidate for the next general election because of involvement in the 1MDB scandal?

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has said that Barisan Nasional has submitted part of its 14th general election (GE14) list of candidates to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for screening.

Is Najib on this list of BN candidates for the 14GE submitted to the MACC for “screening”?

Even more important, dare the MACC Chief Commissioner, Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad recommend that Najib is not a suitable candidate for Barisan Nasional in the forthcoming general election because of his involvement in the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal?

Let Dzulkifli declare whether he dares to recommend Najib  is not suitable as a BN candidate for the 14GE as Najib had single-handedly turned Malaysia into a global kleptocracy, something which the five previous Prime Ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah, had never done in over half a century of premiership?

If Dzulkifli or the MACC dare not make such a declaration in such circumstances, what is the use of the MACC screening or vetting the potential candidates from the various parties for the forthcoming 14GE?

I  also fully support the proposal by the Permaisuri Johor Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris Shah for concerted efforts to create more opportunities for young people to study the English Language and take their place on the world stage.

She said serious and urgent intervention was needed because of the “dramatic and drastic” decline in the proficiency of both written and spoken English among younger Malaysians in general.

I would go one step further.

I propose that opportunities to study English should be extended to chiefs of national institutions and government departments and agencies, or the Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Dzulkifli Ahmad would not have made the elementary blunder of accusing me of calling him a “monkey” when I used the saying of the three traditional three monkeys, “with eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and mouth that speaks not” about the 1MDB scandal!

Dzulkifli should arrange for all MACC officers to undergo English language lessons, with him the first to enrol in such courses!

[
Speech at the DAP kopitiam ceramah in Bangi, Selangor on Sunday, 1st October 2017 at 12 noon
]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 1 October 2017, 4:17 pm and is filed under
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Tomorrow, a third “Believe It or Not” event in two years involving the Prime Minister will take place when Najib declares open the new glittering MACC headquarters in Putrajaya

Tomorrow morning, a third “Believe It or Not” event in two years involving the Prime Minister will take place when Datuk Seri Najib Razak declares open the glittering new MACC headquarters in Putrajaya – and like the two earlier “Believe It or Not” events, be the joke of Malaysians and the world!

Pakatan Harapan Members of Parliament only discovered that the MACC was having a gleaming new headquarters at Precinct 7 in Putrajaya on August 8 when some 30 Members of Parliament walked about 600 metres from Putrajaya Sentral station to the MACC headquarters to present a memorandum to MACC Chief Commissioner, Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad to re-open investigations into the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal.

A week earlier, more than 30 Pakatan Harapan Members of Parliament marched from Parliament to Bank Negara to present a memorandum to the Bank Negara Governor, Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim to reopen its investigation into the 1MDB scandal in light of new developments.

The MPs carried paper cutouts of “pink diamond” and a large banner stating “Sayangi Malaysia Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” during the march.

Bank Negara has since replied to the memorandum of the Pakatan Harapan MPs, revealing that Bank Negara had imposed a total of RM115.8 million in compounds and administrative penalties on 1MDB and its entities in the past two years.

Although the Bank Negara reply was unsatisfactory, at least there was a response, but  there is no official reply as yet from the MACC Chief Commissioner.

Will the MACC Chief Commissioner deliver his reply to the memorandum of the Pakatan Harapan MPs on August 7 at the official opening of the new MACC Building in Putrajaya tomorrow?

But Dzulkifli must first brush up on his English, which is quite atrocious or he would not have made the elementary mistake of accusing me of calling him a “monkey” when I used the saying of the three traditional three monkeys, “with eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and mouth that speaks not” about the 1MDB scandal?

The two other “Believe It or Not” events involving the Prime Minister in the past two years were:

Firstly, Najib’s last-minute pull-out from declaring open the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Putrajaya in September 2015 with the theme “Ending Impunity: People, Integrity and Action” shortly after the 1MDB scandal had  burst on the world, with the  sudden and multiple top-level sackings of the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and  the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail and the taming of national institutions which were involved in the High-Level Task Force investigating the 1MDB amidst reports that Najib was to be charged in court for corruption; and

Secondly, Najib’s visit to the White House and meeting with US President Trump on Sept. 12, which was national shame and humiliation as it is the US Government through its Department of Justice (DOJ) which had branded Najib as “kleptocrat” and “MO1” in its largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in US, UK and Switzerland. What is worse and most mortifying, Najib went to the White House to offer RM60 billion to “strengthen” the US economy, when the government has no money for adequate medical supplies in the government hospitals!

What will Najib announce at the opening of the new MACC headquarters in Putrajaya tomorrow?

Will Najib announce an immediate action plan involving all political parties and stakeholders in Malaysia to launch an international campaign to clear and cleanse Malaysia of the indignity, infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”?

Will Najib announce that his Cabinet and Government have woken up from their “Rip Van Winkle” long sleep and ending the charade of pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist?

Will Najib announce a Royal Commission of Inquiry to conduct comprehensive investigations into the 1MDB scandal – both national and international dimensions?

Will Najib support the MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad appearing at the Pakatan Harapan “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocrasi” rally in Petaling Jaya on October 14 to give a full account of  what the MACC had done on the 1MDB scandal?

Will Najib permit a full debate of the 1MDB scandal in Parliament when it reconvenes on Oct. 23, allowing questions  by MPs on 1MDB and the US DOJ litigation and criminal investigations to be asked and answered?

Malaysians will know the answers in less than 24 hours – whether he would do anyone of the five above?

(Speech  at the  Pusat  Komuniti Pulai Telatai Mooncake Festival at Taman Sri Pulai, Gelang Patah on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 1 October 2017, 7:25 am and is filed under
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Call on all Opposition political parties in Sabah to unite on a common platform to topple Najib, UMNO and Barisan National at both the federal and Sabah levels in the 14GE and not to allow any differences among them to deflect them from this common objective

My first visit and first political programme in Sabah was 48 years ago on May 13, 1969 when I came over from Peninsular Malaysia to help in the campaigning of the independent parliamentary candidate in Kota Kinabalu, and I was to visit Sandakan and Tawau, but the infamous May 13 riots  in 1969 broke out in Kuala Lumpur, and the rest is history.

In the past 54 years, Sabah has had 13 Chief Ministers (in contrast with six in Sarawak), but in the past half a century, Sabahans had not enjoyed the fruits of development which Sabahans and Sarawakians had been promised when the federation of Malaysia was formed from the Malaysia Agreement 1963 by Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

The Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad said in Putrajaya today that between August 2016 and August 2017, MACC seized assets worth RM334.53 million.

This gives an indication of the enormity and monstrosity of the corruption and abuses of power which had been rampant in Sabah in the past few decades when about half of the MACC seized assets in the past 12 months came from Sabah.

The Barisan National Federal Government is trying to use the Pan-Borneo Highway to get the votes of Sabah and Sarawak for the 14GE, but if there had been effective and good government in Sabah and Sarawak in the past half a century, instead of rampant corruption and abuses of power, Sabah and Sarawak on their own would have the resources, capability and financial capacity to have built the Pan-Borneo Highway.

But there is now an air and hope for major political change in Malaysia.

I was in Gelang Patch in Johore this morning, mid-day in Kajang in Selangor and now in Tawau – a hectic schedule for Pakatan Harapan leaders to bring about a political tsunami for Malaysia in the next general election.

There was a political tsunami in the 13th General Election in May 2013, but it was confined to the urban areas. It was not a Chinese political tsunami but a urban political tsunami of the Chinese, Indians, Malays, Kadazans and Ibans in the urban areas. But it was not enough to overcome the undemocratic features in the system to bring about a political change to elect a new Federal Government in Putrajaya.

We need not just a urban political tsunami, but a Malaysian political tsunami – a rural political tsunami to complement the urban political tsunami, where all Malaysians, whether Malays,Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans stand up to demand for political change throughout Malaysia and in all the territories and states of Malaysia.

I was with Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the Pakatan Harapan Chairman and other Pakatan Harapan leaders in Penang and Kuching the previous week; and in Selangor and Johor last Thursday and Friday.

We can sense that the people in Malaysia, whether in urban or rural areas, are on the move to demand fundamental changes in Malaysia in the next General Election.

We can sense this in the various states in Peninsular Malaysia, including states which had all along been regarded as the “fixed deposits” states of UMNO/Barisan National, like Johor and Malacca.  We can sense this when Sarawak Pakatan Harapan was launched in Kuching the previous Sunday.

Can there be a united mission for change by all Opposition parties and forces in Sabah?

I want to make a proposal, not on behalf of Pakistan Harapan or even on behalf of DAP, but as a Malaysian political worker who had dedicated 52 years of my life to a better Malaysia for all Malaysians.

I call on all Opposition political parties in Sabah to unite on a common platform to topple the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, UMNO and Barisan National at both the federal and Sabah levels in the 14GE and not to allow any differences among them to deflect them from this common objective.

Lets put aside whatever differences there are among the Opposition parties and focus single-mindedly on effecting political change in Putrajaya and Sabah  for it is not going to be an easy task to topple Najib, UMNO and BN in Malaysia and Sabah in the 14GE.

Let us put aside the artificial arguments about local parties and peninsular parties for where is the good faith and sincerity to regard DAP MPs Steven Wong and Jimmy Wong and DAP State Assemblyman Chan Foong Hin as if they are in any way less Sabahan than others when they championed Sabah rights and interests  in Parliament and the Sabah State Assembly.

Let us realise that there is no way Sabah can be saved if we do not save Malaysia; in the same way, there is no way Malaysia can be saved if we do not save Sabah.

We should there Save Sabah to Save Malaysia; Save Malaysia to Save Sabah.

If we miss the opportunity to effect political change in Sabah and Malaysia in the 14GE, and Najib can continue as Prime Minister of Malaysia after the 14GE, it may be a long time before the people of Sabah and Malaysia can bring about change through the democratic process.

[
Speech at the Tawau DAP Mooncake Festival celebration in Tawau on Sunday, 1st October 2017 at 9 pm
]

                This entry was posted on Monday, 2 October 2017, 9:01 am and is filed under
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