Najib benar – apabila UMNO dan MCA tidak boleh bersetuju dengan isu asas, BN telah hilang moraliti dan legitimasi untuk memerintah Putrajaya

Dalam Ucapan Dasar Presiden UMNO pada Khamis lalu, Perdana Menteri dan Presiden UMNO Datuk Seri Najib Razak kembali kepada topik kitar semula yang mempersoal bagaimana Pakatan Rakyat yang terdiri daripada PKR, PAS dan DAP akan membentuk kerajaan perikatan kerana terdapat perbezaan pada isu asas yang memisahkan mereka.

Tentu Najib tahu walaupun PKR, PAS dan DAP mempunyai perberzaan ideologi, kami telah bersetuju untuk membentuk Pakatan Rakyat dan mengikat diri kami dengan Kerangka Dasar Bersama dan Buku Jingga untuk Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 dan PR akan dipandu oleh apa yang menyatukan kami dan bukannya apa yang memisahkan kami – akan tetapi itu adalah untuk kenyataan yang lain.

Apa yang ingin saya tunjukkan sekarang adalah Najib telah betul-betul menggambarkan apa yang menjadi punca masalah walaupun itu bukanlah niat beliau – sepertimana yang beliau dedahkan sebenarnya Barisan Nasional telah hilang moraliti dan legitimasi untuk mentadbir Malaysia yang berbilang kaum, berbilang bahasa, berbilang budaya dan berbilang agama apabila UMNO dan MCA tidak dapat bersepakat pada isu asas sama ada Melayu atau bukan Melayu yang akan kecundang sekiranya Pakatan Rakyat memenangi pilihan raya ke-13.

Pada hari pertama Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66, delegasi UMNO dan komuniti Melayu telah diberi amaran bahawa sekiranya UMNO tewas pada PRU13, orang Melayu akan kehilangan kuasa politik dan akan “merempat” di tanah air sendiri – suatu kenyataan yang ditolak oleh pimimpin MCA yang telah jelajah seantero negara membangkitkan tentang kehodohan Negara Islam dan memberi amaran kepada orang Cina dan bukan Melayu bahawa mereka akan kehilangan hak-hak politik, ekonomi, pendidikan, sosio-ekonomi, agama dan kewarganegaraan jika Pakatan Rakyat menggantikan UMNO/BN di Putrajaya.

Pemimpin UMNO mendakwa sekiranya PR memenangi PRU13, hak Melayu akan tergadai – sangat bercanggah dengan dakwaan pemimpin MCA bahawa dalam keadaan sedemikian hak orang Cina dan bukan Melayu yang akan kecundang.

Semalam, politik “pecah dan perintah” yang tidak bertanggungjawab, tidak jujur dan anti-nasional berterusan di dalam Perhimpunan Agung UMNO, apabila delegasi UMNO diberi amaran bahaya kehilangan hak Melayu dan kedaulatan Raja Melayu sekiranya DAP dan Pakatan Rakyat dibenarkan memerintah.

Ini jelas-jelas merupakan hasutan, menggunakan pembohongan dan penipuan untuk mencetuskan kebencian dan memburukkan lagi perpecahan kaum dan agama di dalam negara ini demi memenangi undi dan kerusi Parlimen pada PRU13, langsung mengabaikan kerosakan dan perpecahan terhadap Malaysia yang berpunca darinya.

Inilah perbezaan asas di antara Barisan Nasional dan Pakatan Rakyat.

Tidak seperti BN, PR mahu semua rakyat Malaysia memenangi PRU13 – rakyat biasa di kalangan orang Melayu, Cina, India, Orang Asal, Kadazan dan Iban. Sudah tentu akan ada yang kecundang – mereka adalah UMNO putra dan kroni-kroni di dalam parti komponen Barisan Nasional.

Sekiranya Najib ikhlas dengan pengenalan dasar 1Malaysia, beliau sepatutnya meninggalkan politik tidak bertanggungjawab, memecahbelah dan pengecut “pecah dan perintah” berdasarkan pembohongan dan penipuan yang dilakukan UMNO, MCA dan pemimpin BN.

Tetapi apakah Najib, yang berselindung di sebalik gelaran “Bapa Transformasi”, mampu melakukan transformasi itu sendiri dengan menjadi “Malaysia terlebih dahulu” untuk menamatkan politik “pecah dan perintah” di dalam UMNO dan BN serta bersaing dengan Pakatan Rakyat melalui politik “bersatu dan perintah” yang positif dan konstruktif?

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/01/najib-is-right-when-umno-and-mca-cannot-agree-on-the-core-issue-whether-malays-or-non-malays-would-be-the-losers-if-pr-wins-in-13ge-bn-has-lost-the-morality-and-legitimacy-to-rule-in-putr/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 3 December 2012, 12:12 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
MCA
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Najib yang sepatutnya menjawab dakwaan serius Deepak pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO esok bukannya Zahid

Menteri Pertahanan dan Naib Presiden UMNO Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi telah mengatakan bahawa beliau akan menjawab dakwaan yang dibuat ahli perniagaan Deepak Jaikishan terhadap keluarga Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak yang turut melibatkan kes pembunuhan berprofil tinggi seorang warga Mongolia Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Bukan Zahid tetapi Najib sendiri yang sepatutnya menjawab dakwaan itu di dalam ucapan penggulungan pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66 esok atas tiga sebab.

Pertama, dakwaan Deepak melibatkan keluarga Najib, yang mana dia telah membayar sejumlah wang yang tidak didedahkan untuk campurtangan Perdana Menteri bagi membolehkannya menjadi satu pihak dalam satu projek Kementerian Pertahanan pada 2005 yang bernilai RM100 juta sewaktu Najib merupakan Menteri Pertahanan – membuat perjanjian dengan syarikat ketua Wanita UMNO Selangor yang membolehkannya menyertai sebagai pihak ketiga. Memandangkan Najib bukan sahaja hadir tetapi juga mengepalai UMNO, beliau sepatutnya menjawab kerana apa sahaja yang dikatakan Zahid tidak lebih sekadar khabar angin dan tidak mempunyai kewibawaan dan legitimasi.

Kedua, hubungkait Deepak dengan kes pembunuhan berprofil tinggi warga Mongolia Altantuya Shaariibuu. Deepek telah meluahkan kekesalan melibatkan diri dalam rancangan membuatkan penyiasat persendirian P Balasubramaniam membuat Pengakuan Bersumpah kedua, menarik balik Pengakuan Bersumpah pertama yang mengaitkan Najib dengan pembunuhan warga Mongolia Altantuya. Di dalam satu wawancara Deepak mengatakan yang beliau terlibat dalam kes Bala bagi membantu “keluarga Perdana Menteri”. Sekali lagi, jawapan Zahid terhadap dakwaan Deepak tidak akan memuaskan kerana hanya Najib yang sesuai menjawab dengan berwibawa semua dakwaan itu.

Ketiga, ini merupakan batu uji kepada Ucapan Dasar Presiden UMNO semalam yang menyatakan bahawa Pakatan Rakyat tidak sepatutnya diberikan peluang untuk memenangi Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 memandangkan UMNO/Barisan Nasional mampu membawa kejayaan besar memerintah Malaysia sejak lima dekad lalu – salah satunya adalah “keampuhan institusi negara”.

Keburukan skandal Deepak/Bala/Altantuya adalah pengakuan memalukan, bukan kepada kejayaan tetapi korupsi dan memusnahkan “keampuhan institusi negara” memandangkan Malaysia tidak mungkin akan terjerumus ke keadaan buruk dalam kes pembunuhan Altantuya sekiranya pelbagai institusi negara, sama ada polis, badan Kehakiman, Jabatan Peguam Negara, Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah dan akhbar Malaysia memelihara dan menegakkan integriti, kebebasan dan profesionalisme mereka.

Adakah Najib bersedia menyangkal tuduhan-tuduhan terhadapnya, kerajaannya dan negara dengan menyerahkan dirinya untuk satu siasatan awam yang menyeluruh dan bebas terhadap skandal Deepak/Bala/Altantuya dan mengumumkannya pada penggulungan Perhimpunan Agung UMNO esok?

Sekiranya Najib bersedia menyerahkan dirinya untuks satu siasatan awam yang menyeluruh dan bebas ke atas skandal Deepak/Bala/Altantuya, maka permohonan maafnya di dalam Ucapan Dasarnya bagi pihak kepimpinan UMNO atas sebarang “kesalahan” atau “kekhilafan” adalah jujur. Jika tidak, permohonan maafnya tidak lebih daripada sekadar retorik.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/11/30/its-najib-and-not-zahid-who-should-respond-to-deepaks-most-serious-allegations-at-the-umno-general-assembly-tomorrow/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 3 December 2012, 12:37 pm and is filed under
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Umno Youth’s delusions

 — Ahmad Ashraf

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 01, 2012

DEC 1 — When it comes to talk, very few can match Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. After all, he used to host a talk show. And today, he displayed his prowess when saying Umno is winning the battle for the hearts and minds of Malaysian youth.

However, the country’s “richest unemployed young man,” as dubbed by Lim Kit Siang, is just talking up his achievements.

Is Umno popular among the young? Khairy says results of the recent campus elections reflects youth acceptance of Umno, where 18 out of 20 elections were won by the pro-government Pro-Aspirasi groups.

Well, the government-backed undergraduates won in elections where rules were stacked against those linked to opposition. In Universiti Malaya and the International Islamic University, where attempts to influence results failed, the pro-opposition candidates swept to power.

Care to explain that, Khairy?

Also, why resort to social media to measure Umno’s popularity? Aren’t most followers fake or phantom accounts, especially in the Twitterverse? They are just eggs without tweets and set up on the same date with the same followers and following the same people.

Of course, you can say Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak has over 1.25 million fans on Facebook, and over one million followers on Twitter while Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim only has around 400,000 Facebook fans, and around 200,000 Twitter followers.

That’s what the statistics say. But have you seen the number of likes and dislikes for the recent Google+ hangout? Did you see the number of likes and dislikes for Najib until all YouTube videos of the event had to be made private?

It was embarrassing for the prime minister and the minions who had convinced him that he is popular. And now you say he is popular and that is proof the youth are backing Barisan Nasional (BN).

I had high hopes for you, Khairy, and in some ways, I still do.

So, please make full use of your foreign education and privileged birth by talking about issues that matter, not some kind of lame propaganda for Umno to thank you for the youth vote.

Don’t delude yourself and Umno into thinking you have the youth vote. You don’t. Work hard for it, as hard as Najib is going around the country to keep up support for BN.

Najib needs allies who can tell him the facts and not blow smoke into his eyes. He isn’t the Emperor with his new clothes with sycophantic courtiers. Get your facts right and go out there to get support, not blow your trumpet that the youth vote is with BN.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 3 December 2012, 1:16 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
,
Youth
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


When Najib says that a vote for DAP is a vote for oppression of Malays while Chua Soi Lek declares that it is a vote for oppression of Chinese, time has come to save Malaysia from such dishonest,  deceitful, unprincipled and immoral UMNO/BN govt

In his winding-up speech at the 66th UMNO General Assembly on Saturday, the UMNO President and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak ended with the flourish urging UMNO members to work harder to convince the people to support Barisan Nasional as a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays.

But this is the exact opposite of what MCA leaders like the MCA President Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek is telling the Chinese up and down the country, that a vote for the DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Chinese.

It is clear that when Najib says that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays while Chua Soi Lek declares that it is a vote for oppression of the Chinese, the time has come to save Malaysia from such  dishonest, deceitful, unprincipled and immoral UMNO/Barisan Nasional government.

What credibility and  legitimacy has a political coalition like Barisan Nasional, which is capable of such blatant deceit and dishonesty, plumbing the depths of lies and falsehoods to entrench itself in power, to dare claim that it has the credentials and moral high ground  to continue to govern multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia when it is in fact actively aggravating racial and religious polarisation in the country?

Najib and UMNO leaders are lying when they said that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays, just as Chua Soi Lek and MCA leaders are lying when they sounded the warning that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Chinese.

But since both are in one political coalition, the Barisan Nasional, they should at least co-ordinate and reconcile their differences to come out with one “Big Lie against the DAP” instead of continuing to tell two conflicting lies to two different communities and to be caught “red-handed” in their lies!

Najib and the Barisan Nasional leaders should know  that they are in the era of Internet and it is no more possible for the political leaders in the country to censor or manipulate the flow of information as  to hide the fact of dishonesty and hypocrisy of UMNO leaders lying to the Malays that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays while MCA leaders are lying to the Chinese that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Chinese.

Just  on this issue alone, with the component parties of the Barisan Nasional spreading not only blatant but contradictory lies about the DAP, showing their utter bankruptcy of political principles and moral scruples, UMNO/Barisan Nasional should be drummed out of Putrajaya.

Malaysian voters regardless of race, religion or region should rise as one to speak loud and clear in the 13GE to inform the nation and the world that they  condemn, abhor and repudiate such contemptible and despicable politics of lies and dishonesty so as to introduce clean and principled governance in Malaysia.

DAP, together with PKR and PAS in Pakatan Rakyat, reject the negative and destructive UMNO/BN politics of “divide and rule” and want it to be replaced by the positive and constructive politics of “unite and rule”.

Pakatan Rakyat opposes the oppression of any race, religion or group and will ensure the end of marginalisation or discrimination of any race, religion or group which will be one of the guiding principles of a PR federal government in Malaysia.

All Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans or Ibans will be winners in a Malaysia under a PR government.

But we cannot promise that there will be no losers if PR achieves the “impossible dream” of Malaysians to defeat the UMNO/Barisan Nasional coalition in the 13GE and forms the federal government in Putrajaya.

UMNO putras and their cronies in BN, who have waxed fat and rich at the expense of the ordinary Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans or Ibans, will be the losers for it will be the end of the road for them to acquire ill-gotten gains at the expense of the Malaysian public.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/04/apabila-najib-mengatakan-mengundi-dap-bermakna-mengundi-penindasan-orang-melayu-sementara-chua-soi-lek-mengisytiharkan-yang-undi-itu-adalah-bagi-penindasan-orang-cina-sudah-tiba-masanya-untuk-menyel/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 3 December 2012, 12:40 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
MCA
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Apabila Najib mengatakan mengundi DAP bermakna mengundi penindasan orang Melayu, sementara Chua Soi Lek mengisytiharkan yang undi itu adalah bagi penindasan orang Cina, sudah tiba masanya untuk menyelamatkan Malaysia daripada kerajaan /UMNO/BN yang tidak jujur, penuh tipu daya, tidak berprinsip dan tidak bermoral

Presiden UMNO dan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak di dalam ucapan penggulungannya pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66 menyeru ahli UMNO untuk berkerja lebih keras bagi meyakinkan rakyat untuk menyokong Barisan Nasional kerana undi untuk DAP bermakna mengundi penindasan orang Melayu.

Akan tetapi ini sangat bercanggahan dengan apa yang pemimpin MCA seperti Presiden MCA Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek katakan kepada orang cina seantero negara, bahawa undi untuk DAP bermakna mengundi untuk penindasan orang Cina.

Jelas apabila Najib mengatakan mengundi DAP adalah mengundi penindasan orang Melayu sementara Chua Soi Lek mengisytiharkan mengundi DAP mengmengundi penindasan orang Cina, bermakna telah tiba masanya untuk menyelamatkan daripada kerajaan /UMNO/BN yang tidak jujur, penuh tipu daya, tidak berprinsip dan tidak bermoral.

Wibawa dan legitimasi apakah yang dimiliki perikatan seperti Barisan Nasional yang sanggup membuat tipu daya dan ketidakjujuran, menanam penipuan dan pembohongan bagia memastikan mereka kekal berkuasa, tetapi mengakui bahawa mereka mempunyai kelayakan dan moral untuk memerintah Malaysia yang berbilang kaum, berbilang bahasa, berbilang agama dan berbilang budaya walhal sebenarnya mereka giat memecahbelahkan kaum dan agama di Malaysia?

Najib dan prmimpin UMNO berbohong apabila mereka mengatakan yang satu mengundi DAP adalah mengundi penindasan Melayu sepertimana Chua Soi Lek dan pemimpin MCA berbohong apabila mereka memberi amaran bahawa mengundi DAP adalah mengundi penindasan orang Cina.

Memandangkan kedua-duanya berada di dalam satu perikatan politik Barisan Nasional, mereka sepatutnya cuba untuk menyusun dan menyelaraskan perbezaan mereka untuk menghasilkan satu “Penipuan Besar Keatas DAP” bukannya berterusan menyampaikan dua pembohongan yang saling bercanggah kepada dua komuniti berlainan dan tertangkap menipu!

Najib dan pemimpin Barisan Nasional sepatutnya tahu bahawa mereka sekarang berada di era internet dan tidak mungkin pemimpin politik di negara ini dapat menyekat dan memanipulasi aliran maklumat bagi menyembunyikan ketidakjujuran dan sikap berpura-pura pemimpin  UMNO membohongi orang Melayu bahawa mengundi DAP adalah mengundi penindasan orang Melayu sementara pemimpin MCA membohongi orang Cina bahawa mengundi DAP mengmengundi penindasan orang Cina

Pada isu ini sahaja, melihat bagaimana parti komponen Barisan Nasional menyebarkan bukan sahaja pembohongan yang terang-terang tetapi juga bercanggah berkenaan DAP, menunjukkan muflisnya prinsip politik dan moral mereka, maka UMNO/Barisan Nasional sepatutnya dikeluarkan daripada Putrajaya.

Pengundi Malaysia tidak mengira kaum, agama dan kawasan sepatutnya bangkit dan bersatu untuk menyatakan denga jelas ketika PRU13 bagi memberitahu seluruh negara dan dunia bahawa mereka mengecam, benci dan tidak menerima politik yang sedemikian jijik juga bagi menaikkan kerajaan  baru yang lebih bersih dan berprinsip.

DAP, bersama PKR dan PAS di dalam Pakatan Rakyat, menolak politik “pecah dan perintah” UMNO/BN yang memusnahkan dan mahu ia digantikan dengan politik “bersatu dan perintah” yang lebih positif dan membina.

Pakatan Rakyat menentang penindasan mana-mana kaum, agama atau kumpulan dan akan memastikan berakhirnya peminggian dan diskriminasi mana-nama kaum, agama atau kumpulan dan ini akan menjadi prinsip kerajaan persekutuan PR di Malaysia.

Semua rakyat Malaysia, sama ada Melayu, Cina, India, Orang Asal, Kadazan atau Iban akan menjadi pemenang di dalam Malaysia di bawah kerajaan PR.

Tetapi kami tidak menjanjikan bahawa tiada yang akan kecundang sekiranya PR mencapai “impian mustahil” rakyat Malaysia untuk menewaskan UMNO/Barisan Nasional pada PRU13 dan membentuk kerajaan persekutuan di Putrajaya.

UMNO-putra dan kroni-kroninya dalam BN, yang telah menghirup kekayaan titik peluh rakyat Malaysia, sama ada Melayu, Cina, India, Orang Asal, Kadazan atau Iban, akan menjadi mereka yang kecundang kerana tertutupnya jalan bagi mereka memperoleh kekayaan mudah  dari titik peluh rakyat Malaysia.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/03/when-najib-says-that-a-vote-for-dap-is-a-vote-for-oppression-of-malays-while-chua-soi-lek-declares-that-it-is-a-vote-for-oppression-of-chinese-time-has-come-save-malaysia-from-such-dishonest-dece/

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 4:33 pm and is filed under
MCA
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Dear Khairy, Its Churchill!

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 10:57 am and is filed under
Martin Jalleh
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Perkara paling mengecewakan daripada Najib pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO – kegagalan mengisytiharkan perang ke atas rasuah

Perhimpunan Agung ke-66 “perang” UMNO baru sahaja berakhir dengan penuh keyakinan dan tawa gembira, apabila Setiausaha Agung UMNO Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor dan pemimpin UMNO yang lain mengisytiharkan bahawa UMNO bukan sahaja bakal menang pada pilihan raya umum akan datang, tetapi akan memenangi kembali majoriti dua pertiga dan keempat-empat negeri Pakatan termasuklah Kelantan dan Pulau Pinang.

Walau bagaimanapun, manusia hanya merancang, Tuhan yang akan menentukan”.

Kemungkinan untuk Barisan Nasional mendapatkan kembali keempat-empat negeri Pakatan Rakyat iaitu Pulau Pinang, Kelantan, Selangor dan Kedah atau menyekat kemaraan Pakatan Rakyat untuk memenangi semula Kerajaan Negeri Perak tidak harus ditolak sepenuhnya.

Di peringkat nasional, pengakhiran PRU13 adalah amat mendebarkan, dengan keputusan yang boleh memihak kepada sesiapa sahaja sama ada kembalinya Barisan Nasional ke tampuk kekuasan Persekutuan atau Pakatan Rakyat akan menggantikan BN sebagaik kerajaan Malaysia yang baru memecahkam dominasi kuasa UMNO.

PRU13 akan melihatkan demografi politik baru rakyat Malaysia – dengan majoriti populasi yang berjumlah 29 juta hari ini lahir selepas Hari Malaysia, dengan hampir 70 peratus tinggal di kawasan bandar, lapan puluh peratus berumur di bawah 45 sementara sementara separuh daripada orang kita adalah di bawah 25 tahun.

Siapa yang menawan Putrajaya pada PRU13 bukanlah ditentukan oleh penyokong kuat BN atau PR tetapi pengundi atas pagar, terdiri daripada lebih kurang 30 peratus daripada 13.1 juta, contoh: 4 juta, pengundi berdaftar.

Sejak dua minggu lalu, Pakatan Rakyat menghadapi masalah paling teruk melibatkan kelompok atas pagar ini semenjak penubuhannya selepas tsunami politik.

Pakatan Rakyat perlu merungkai semula keserabutan itu sekiranya PR mahu mencipta sejarah di dalam “ibu segala pilihan raya” pada PRU13 yang dijangka diadakan dalam tempoh tiga atau empat bulan ini.

Pakatan Rakyat tidak sepatutnya kehilangan kepercayaan, keyakinan dan sokongan pengundi atas pagar kepada Barisan Nasional kerana kegagalan atau sebarang bentuk politik yang tidak sensitif memandangkan PR memerlukan sokongan dan undi kalau boleh setiap rakyat Malaysia sama ada Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan atau Iban; di Semenanjung Malaysia, Sabah atau Sarawak; penyokong setia atau pengundi atas pagar yang masih belum membuat keputusan, itupun sekiranya PR mahu berjaya dalam tugas besar untuk menumpaskan BN pada PRU13.

Walaupun Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66 “perang” yang baru sahaja melabuhkan tirai telah disusun dan diatur dengan teliti, dengan banyak peraturan buat mereka yang bercakap pada Perhimpunan UMNO selama empat hari itu untuk memastikan penampilan UMNO pada PRU13 di peringkat terbaik, kesimpulan rasional rakyat Malaysia yang berfikir tidak dapat mengelak daripada merasakan UMNO akan kekal korup selagi mana terus berkuasa meskipun bergebang tentang “transformasi”.

Itulah sebabnya saya mahu menilai kegagalan Perdana Menteri untuk mengisytiharkan perang habis-habisan ke atas rasuah sebagai perkara paling mengecewakan daripada Najib pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66.

Bandingkan ucapan beliau dengan ucapan Presiden China dan Setiausaha Agung Parti Komunis China (CCP) Hu Jintao pada Kongres CCP ke-18 bulan lalu yang mana beliau memberi amaran bahawa rasuah akan mencetuskan keruntuhan Parti dan negara – tajuk yang dibangkitkan dalam ucapan pertama ketua Parti Komunis China yang baru, Xi Jinping, yang mengecam tersebar luasnya rasuah dan berkata para pegawai mestilah memelihara diri daripadanya atau ia akan “memusnahkan parti dan negara”.

Sebenarnya Najib mempunyai lebih banyak sebab berbanding Hu Jintao dan Xi Jinping untuk memberikan lebih keutamaan kepada masalah rasuah kerana sejak dua dekad lalu, China telah mencapai kemajuan dalam usaha membanteras rasuah manakala Malaysia pula sebaliknya.

Sekiranya corak kemajuan China di dalam Indeks Persepsi Rasuah (CPI) Transparency International (TI) sejak 17 tahun lalu (1995-2011) dan kejatuhan Malaysia terus tidak dihalang, China akan berada pada kedudukan yang lebih baik daripada Malaysia di dalam CPI TI kurang daripada lima tahun.

UMNO dan Barisan Nasional sudah menjadi begitu sinonim dengan rasuah di Malaysia dan sepanjang 44 bulan Najib menjadi Perdana Menteri telah menunjukkan bagaimana Najib hanya pandai mengucapkan slogan anti-rasuah tetapi tiada kesungguhan politik dan komitmen untuk membasmi rasuah, terutamanya rasuah besar melibatkan pemimpin politik dan kerajaan.

Sebab itulah Perhimpunan Gaung UMNO ke-66 memaparkan situasi menyedihkan apabila Ketua Menteri Sabah, Datuk Seri Musa Aman berjaya “menghilangkan diri” sekalipun terdapat pelbagai usaha daripada wakil media menjejaki beliau untuk menjawab tuntutan delegasi UMNO Sabah supaya Musa menjelaskan skandal “sumbangan politik UMNO Sabah” berjumlah RM40juta yang melibatkan beliau dan ahli perniagaan balak Michael Chia.

Yang turut membimbangkan adalah membisunya Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi disertai dengan kegagalan Najib menjawab kepada dakwaan serius berkenaan projek kementerian pertahanan bernilai RM100 juta pada 2005 yang dibangkitkan ahli perniagaan Deepak Jaikishan membabitkan keluarga Perdana Menteri dan juga berkaitan dengan kes pembunuhan berprofil tinggi warga Mongolia Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Yang menghantui Najib pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66 adalah hantu Altantuya Shaariibuu. Mengapa hantu Altantuya itu tidak tenteram?

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/02/greatest-najib-disappointment-at-the-66th-umno-general-assembly-failure-to-declare-all-out-war-against-corruption-which-is-proof-that-umno-incapable-of-change-so-long-as-it-remains-corrupte/

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 10:22 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Election
,
Najib Razak
,
Pakatan Rakyat
,
Sabah
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Police shenanigans

— Sarjen Rossem

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 04, 2012

DEC 4 — There might be a need to order more popcorn, seeing that two former top cops are feuding openly in public. I refer to today’s The Malaysian Insider report on Datuk Ramli Yusuff and Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

Both speak about political interference and their revelations point to one real fact. That the Polis Di Raja Malaysia is in shambles.

Ramli accuses his one-time colleague of fixing evidence and mixing with underworld figures. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Can we believe such fanciful tales?

These revelations are all the more ironic and distressing at a time when public confidence in the police is already at a low due to the apparently rising spate of crime around the country.

Yes, I know. It is just a perception. There is no rise in crime, because there are fewer reports about crime. The police are doing a good job. I should trust them. Just as much as I should believe there is a tooth fairy

Are we going to get more details if these two senior policemen reveal more in their very public quarrel? I do hope they are brave enough to tell all and show proof of such shenanigans by the top officers.

And what does the government of the day, the current home minister, have to say about this? They have been mum about this.

There has been past revelations of police crack unit personnel being involved in murder-for-hire schemes and the latest is four policemen being charged with rape.

How can we trust the boys in blue if these stories are true? They are supposed to be our protectors to ensure peace and security in the country. Instead of being loyal to King and country, they appear to be self-serving men with their own agenda to gain power and money.

We need a police force we can trust and be proud of. Both Ramli’s and Musa’s revelations show us a different picture. What more with political intervention from the powers-that-be.

I urge the prime minister to intervene and investigate this matter as thoroughly as possible. Distrust of the police force is the first step to not trusting the government.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 11:19 am and is filed under
Police
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Can BN regain its supermajority?

by Tay Tian Yan

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 03, 2012

DEC 3 — Umno’s morale has been boosted after its general assembly and even its goal has changed.

Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak set retrieving two-thirds of parliamentary seats as the new goal. As the prime minister, he must have a certain degree of confidence to say so or he would have to face both internal and external pressure once he fails to achieve the goal.

Najib is very clear that he is just a “transition prime minister”, who received the regime directly from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In other words, he has not received a formal mandate from the people.

To be a strong leader, he must lead his team and win the election. And he understands that if Barisan Nasional just barely wins, the regime will be inevitably unstable while his personal reputation will also be very low.

Abdullah’s experience showed that Umno needs a powerful regime instead of a simple majority ruling.

Umno’s demand is very clear, namely to win two-thirds of the parliamentary seats and retrieve Selangor. Only that will be called the true victory of Umno and the BN coalition.

Retrieving the two-thirds majority is meant to ensure regime stability. In addition to passing law amendments in Parliament, it can at the same time rout the Pakatan Rakyat’s morale and weaken its threat.

Meanwhile, the need of winning back Selangor is because the state is the essence of the country with rich resources and developed economy. It is also a political centre. BN cannot afford to lose it again.

If Najib can achieve the two goals, he can then change the declining situation of the 2008 general election while affirming his leadership.

However, if he can achieve only one goal such as retrieving the two-thirds majority but fails to win back Selangor, or fails to retrieve the two-third majority but wins back Selangor, it will then be an incomplete victory.

Such an outcome would not be satisfactory for Umno, but still barely acceptable.

However, if he fails to achieve both the goals and repeats Abdullah’s Waterloo, Najib would then have to face a greater pressure and might end up as a lame duck prime minister.

The goal receives a great respond from the party. Party senior and middle -level members do not only believe that the BN can regain the two-thirds majority but are also confident in winning back Kedah, Selangor and even Kelantan.

The question is, can BN win two-thirds of the parliamentary seats?

If the question is directed to Umno’s diehard supporters, they will absolutely believe so, and the polls conducted by Umno and BN showed similar results.

However, if the question is directed to Pakatan Rakyat’s supporters, the answer will then be very different. They insist that it will be impossible for BN to regain two-thirds of seats, some even believe that the Pakatan Rakyat can beat the BN and take over Putrajaya.

As for swing observers, they believe that the political structure has been established after the 2008 general election. Since the two-party system has been shaped, there should not be much change in power distribution.

Swing voters want a balance of power instead of an excessively strong government. It would be difficult to reproduce a strong government with a two-thirds majority. — mysinchew.com

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 12:35 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
Pakatan Rakyat
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Umno assembly – final chance for change missed

Dr Chris Anthony

Malaysiakini

Dec 3, 2012

The just concluded 66th Umno general assembly was the last opportunity for the party to convince the people of its willingness to change – a promise it made four years ago after its unprecedented losses at the March 8 election of 2008.

Unfortunately it appears that Umno had missed that opportunity going by the proceedings at the assembly, the last before 13th general election.

It was pathetic to see a party in power for 55 years, having led the fight for independence and developing the nation to a level to be admired by many, resorting to three misguided strategies to win the crucial 13th general election that is seen as a threat to unseat it.

They are:

1. Over-boasting of its experience in governance and achievements while failing to address all its glaring misdeeds.

2. Threatening of riots and unrest if it loses.

3. Opposition bashing and ridiculing the opposition as an unholy alliance, its inexperience in governing and unrealistic populist policies which will only lead the country to bankruptcy.

It was unfortunate that led by the heads of the Youth and Wanita wings and president, speaker after speaker took turns to attack the opposition and its leaders instead of trying to prove they had changed and deserve to be trusted to continue to rule for another term.

The PM also boasted on Umno’s past achievements instead of trying to chart a new direction his party will head to take the country and the people to greater heights.

The Umno Wanita leader’s use of May 13 to scare Malaysians to support Umno reflects how desperate her party is to win the elections at all costs.

By trying to instill fear of riots and the possibility of another May 13 should they lose power, they exhibited great anxiety and fear at the prospect of losing power.

It further proved they had totally lost touch with what the people on the ground want – peace and progress, not war and chaos.

The vast majority of Malaysians of all races are living quite comfortably and are not in the mood for fights and riots with their own fellow citizens.

They want to continue their peaceful coexistence to develop the nation to greater heights.

Her claim that that Malays will lose political power if Umno loses the mandate to govern in the next general election is ridiculous as Malays also form the majority in Pakatan.

In actual fact, it is Umno who will lose their power not Malays as they will continue to dominate even under Pakatan rule.

The Umno Youth leader’s comparison to the coming elections to World War II is unbecoming of a leader in a democratic country who could be aspiring to be the PM in the future.

In a war you fight against enemies invading your country and you have the right to kill if necessary – unlike in an election where you contest against your opponents who are not your enemy but fellow citizens who are your comrades in building your nation.

I don’t understand the relevance of him quoting Winston Churchill’s words which refers to war, not elections.

The Umno president did not spare the opposition in his opening address.

He reiterated that if Pakatan rules, the country will be demolished economically and lose its sovereignty.

What proof does he have to support that as Pakatan has yet to be given a chance to rule?

They condemned and even ridiculed Pakatan’s promises to reduce oil prices, car prices, abolish toll and provide free tertiary education to all, saying such populist measures are unrealistic and only will bankrupt the nation.

It is hard to believe how enriching the people will cause the nation to go bankrupt.

What concrete measures are Umno-BN planning to alleviate the people’s impoverished state other than giving out free cash occasionally in the form the abused BR1M?

On the whole the assembly was a great letdown for those who had hopes that Umno is capable to reinvent and change itself for the sake of the country and the people.

Instead what it really proved was that it was still in denial.

It was more of an opposition-bashing only on a more subdued tone compared to previous Umno general assemblies because of the coming elections.

It also showed its desperate attempts to cling on by bringing back services of an ageing former leader and even God.

The strategies adopted by Umno, instead of garnering more support, would only help convince fence sitters to make up their mind against BN in the coming election.

The incumbent party cannot hope to win an election by the non-existing demerits of its untested opponent but only by its merits over 55 years of rule.

The over two thousand delegates of the 66th Umno general assembly may have gone home feeling good, motivated and recharged by the intensive three days of opposition bashing but how long that fire in them lasts to bring the desired victory at the 13th general election remains to be seen.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 12:55 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


UMNO is incapable of change unless it is sent to the Opposition benches in the 13GE

The recently concluded and highly-choreographed 66th UMNO General Assembly has only served to underline one inescapable fact of Malaysian political life – that UMNO is incapable of change unless it is sent to the Opposition benches in the 13th General Elections.

Malaysian voters will do UMNO and the country a great national service by dispatching UMNO to the Opposition benches for they will not only be creating the necessary conditions before any “transformation” can be effected in UMNO, but also laying a firmer and more solid basis for greater maturity of the parliamentary democratic process by institutionalizing the two-coalition system and the peaceful alternation and transition of power through the democratic process.

Without these “building blocks”, Malaysia cannot even talk about wanting to be the “world’s best democracy” as had been claimed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

In his Umno presidential address, Najib said:

“This election will shape the Malaysia of tomorrow to be inherited by our children. It will be a toss between a developed Malaysia based on shared values and goals or a backward Malaysia separated by invisible barriers compounded with suspicion and prejudice.”

Najib is right in the first sentence but wrong in the second when he implied that Malaysian voters  in the next general elections must support UMNO/Barisan Nasional.

The question all Malaysians must be asking is what credentials and legitimacy have  UMNO/BN to appeal for Malaysian support to promote “shared values and goals” when there are no “shared values and goals” in BN, with UMNO and MCA for instance openly inciting hatred and conflict with diametrically contradictory messages – UMNO telling the Malays that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays while MCA warning the Chinese that a vote for the DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Chinese!

The Pakatan Rakyat parties of PKR, PAS and DAP do not hide our ideological differences whether on the question of Islamic state or hudud laws, but we are committed to put our differences aside and promote the PR Common Policy Framework to uphold the fundamental features of the Malaysian constitution, foster greater national unity, restore democracy and justice, and ensure good governance.

Pakatan Rakyat is also bound by the principle that there must be consensus among the three PR component parties before there could be any change in any agreed PR policy.

It is taboo for Pakatan Rakyat parties to campaign in the dishonest and unprincipled fashion like what UMNO and MCA are doing – UMNO blatantly lying that  a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays while MCA shamelessly lying that a vote for the DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Chinese.

The lasting impression of the 66th UMNO General Assembly is not UMNO Wanita Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil’s raising of the “May 13” spectre;   the subtle but irresponsible talk by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin  about “chaos” if UMNO is defeated by PR; Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob’s promise to cut off his ears if MCA loses Bentong to DAP or the claim by a Penang UMNO delegate that UMNO is “the party chosen by God”.

The dubious honour must go to Najib for providing the categorical testimony that he is incapable of implementing the whole raft of his “transformation” promises, starting with his 1Malaysia signature policy and slogan, and explaining why neither Najib nor any UMNO delegate said a word about the No. 1 problem in the country – the problem of corruption and cronyism which is even worse today under Najib than under the previous Prime Ministers as well as when compared to other countries, whether in ASEAN, Asia-Pacific or Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) which are  chalking up progress in their anti-corruption efforts in recent years.

If UMNO is really to change and transform, it needs a spell in the Opposition!

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/04/umno-tidak-mampu-untuk-berubah-melainkan-mereka-dihantar-ke-bangku-pembangkang-pada-pru13/

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 2:07 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
Pakatan Rakyat
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


UMNO tidak mampu untuk berubah melainkan mereka dihantar ke bangku Pembangkang pada PRU13

Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66 yang melabuhkan tirainya baru-baru ini hanya menggariskan satu hakikat yang tidak dapat dielakkan tentang politik Malaysia – bahawa UMNO tidak mampu untuk berubah melainkan mereka dihantar ke bangku Pembangkang pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13.

Pegundi Malaysia akan memberikan UMNO dan negara bantuan yang sangat besar dengan menghantar UMNO ke bangku Pembangkang kerana itu bukan sahaja akan mencipta keadaan yang sesuai sebelum sebarang proses “transformasi” dapat berjalan di dalam UMNO, tetapi juga akan mewujudkan asas yang lebih kukuh dan kuat untuk proses demokrasi berpalimen yang lebuh matang dengan menginstitusikan sistem dua perikatan dan peralihan kuasa yang aman melalui proses demokratik.

Tanpa “batu asas” ini, Malaysia tidak langsung dapat bercakap tentang menjadi “demokrasi terbaik dunia” sepertimana yang telah didakwa oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Dalam ucapan dasar presiden, Najib berkata:

“Pilihanraya inilah yang akan mencorakkan rupawajah Malaysia hari esok untuk ditinggalkan pada anak-anak kita. Antara sebuah Malaysia yang maju berteraskan nilai serta matlamat dikongsi bersama, atau, Malaysia yang mundur terpisah oleh tembok ghaib dipalit rasa prasangka dan prejudis.”

Najib adalah benar pada rangkap awal tetapi silap pada rangkap seterusnya apabila beliau mengatakan pengundi Malaysia mestilah menyokong UMNO/Barisan Nasional pada pilihan raya akan datang.

Persoalan yang bermain di fikiran rakyat Malaysia adalah apakah wibawa dan legitimasi yang UMNO/BN ada untuk merayu rakyat Malaysia supaya menyokong untuk “berkongsi nilai dan matlamat” apabila tiada “perkongsian nilai dan matmalat di dalam BN, dengan UMNO dan MCA contohnya secara terbuka menanam kebencian dan konflik dengan mesej yang saling bercanggah – UMNO memberitahu orang Melayu bahawa undi DAP bermakn mengundi penindasan orang Melayu manakala MCA memberi amaran kepada orang Cina bahawa mengundi DAP bermakna mengundi penindasan orang Cina!

Parti-parti Pakatan Rakyat yang terdiri daripada PKR, PAS dan DAP tidak menyembunyikan perbezaan ideologi kami sama ada persoalan Negara Islam atau hukum hudud, tetapi kami komited untuk mengetepikan perbezaan dan memperjuangkan Kerangka Dasar Bersama PR untuk menegakkan ciri-ciri dasar perlembagaan Malaysia, menyemarakkan kesatuan kebangsaan, memulihkan demokrasi dan keadilan dan memastikan tadbir urus yang baik.

Pakatan Rakyat juga terikat dengan prinsip bahawa perlulah ada kesepakatan di kalangan tiga parti komponen PR sebelum sebarang perubahan pada dasar PR yang telah dipersetujui.

Adalah pantang di kalangan parti-parti Pakatan Rakyat untuk berkempen dengan cara tidak jujur dan tidak berprinsip sepertimana yang dilakukan UMNO dan MCA – UMNO terang-terangan berbohong bahawa undi DAP bermakna mengundi penindasan orang Melayu manakala MCA tanpa rasa malu menipu orang Cina bahawa mengundi DAP bermakna mengundi penindasan orang Cina.

Tanggapan yang kekal berkenaan Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66 bukanlah apabila Ketua Wanita UMNO, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil membangkitkan tentang “13 Mei”; yang lebih lembut tetapi tidak bertanggungjawab adalah ucapan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin  berkenaan “huru-hara” sekiranya UMNO ditewaskan PR; Menteri Besar Pahang Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob bersumpah akan memotong telinganya sekiranya MCA tewas kepada DAP di Bentong atau dakwaan perwakilan UMNO Pulau Pinang bahawa UMNO adalah “parti yang dipilih Tuhan.”

Tanggapan yang kekal adalah apabila Najib memberikan bukti mutlak bahawa beliau tidak mampu untuk melaksanakan keseluruhan janji “transformasi” beliau, bermula dengan dasar dan slogan 1Malaysia, dan menjelaskan mengapa sama ada Najib atau mana-mana perwakilan UMNO tidak menyebut tentang masalah nombor satu negara – masalah rasuah dan kronisme yang semakin memburuk di bawah pemerintahan Najib berbanding Perdana Menteri sebelumnya juga jika dibandingkan dengan negara-negara ASEA, Asia Pasifik atau Pertubuhan Persidangan Islam (OIC) yang menampakkan kemajuan dalam usaha membanteras rasuah kebelakangan ini.

Sekiranya UMNO benar-benar mahu berubah dan melakukan transformasi, mereka perlu menjadi Pembangkang!

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/04/umno-is-incapable-of-change-unless-it-is-sent-to-the-opposition-benches-in-the-13ge/

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 4:36 pm and is filed under
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Umno’s Ponzi scheme

Mariam Mokhtar

Malaysiakini

Dec 3, 2012

Malaysians need not fear that we will become like Afghanistan because Afghanistan has learnt from us and has become like us.

A New York Times report headlined ‘Audit says Kabul Bank began as Ponzi scheme’ bears a striking resemblance to the way Umno runs this country.

Investigators have claimed that the Kabul Bank has been fraudulently obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars and siphoning it off to a few individuals connected to President Hamid Karzai (left).

The war-torn country is trying to get to grips with the concepts of western democracy and banking, but public trust and confidence in the government has been shattered by the revelations of crony capitalism and corruption on a massive scale.

Governments around the world are shocked at the Kabul Bank scandal but are turning a blind eye to similar events in Malaysia, where institutions routinely siphon off money to Umno and its cronies.

An audit by the Kroll investigative firm has revealed that the Kabul Bank’s financial duplicity was mired in controversy and cover up. There was a political conspiracy involving those at the very top of government to stall the investigations.

This is no different from Malaysia. Recent cases are the political interference concerning Tajuddin Ramli’s involvement in the Malaysia Airlines scandal, the Sabah Umno and Michael Chia fiasco and the National Feedlot Corporation case.

The Kroll report also revealed that official stamps had been issued to fake companies so that forged papers could be made to look legitimate. The bank kept two sets of books to dupe auditors and loans were issued in the names of the owner’s friends, relatives and even domestic servants.

Sherkhan Farnood, the bank’s founder and chairperson, stashed the loot in Dubai. It is also claimed that money was smuggled out of Kabul via an airline belonging to shareholders linked to the bank. Kharzai’s brothers, who were implicated, have claimed innocence and escaped prosecution. No one appears accountable or has taken responsibility for the alleged fraud.

Last week, Umno held its 66th general assembly. It was laced with theatrics, its members reduced to tears by a song, and a former premier wielded more influence than the incumbent. All these are signs that the country, not just the party, is in trouble.

The way Umno operates is similar to a Ponzi scheme but instead of making a financial contribution, Malaysians have had to pawn their livelihood and their children’s future, just to keep people at the top of the scheme in power and wealth.

Charles Ponzi, Bernie Madoff, and Kautilya Pruthi, the British equivalent of Madoff, had conned people out of their life savings but were eventually caught and jailed. In what is known as a Ponzi scheme, people were lured into investing their hard-earned cash with con merchants who offered them in the short-term, higher returns than any other investments could provide.

Change from within

Umno’s Ponzi scheme is destined to fail. With the increase in Umno warlords, greater demands are exerted on the kitty, which is financed by the taxpayer. Those who are more senior in Umno want a greater share. The VVIPs and their children have to be appeased. The fickle-minded, untrustworthy party ‘frogs’ also need feeding.

An Umno member would find willing victims to become party members, force them to swear allegiance to be a true member and get them to find fresh recruits.

Like any pyramid scheme, only those at the top of the pyramid reap the benefits. For instance, Umno divisional heads are given incentives to keep them happy. It is alleged that they can demand government projects of a certain fiscal value, to pass on to their cronies and members.

In some cases, divisional heads are alleged to be given hundreds if not thousands of taxi permits as inducement.

With each taxi driver being obliged to pay about RM30 to the company per day, it is not difficult to work out how many millions of ringgit some people can make per month.

Why does Kuala Lumpur need 35,000 taxi drivers? When there is a glut of drivers, there is depressed income from fares and more drivers sinking into debt.

The Ponzi-type scheme Umno operates also uses religion and affirmative action policies to keep the Malays under control, but Malays need to understand one thing – they do not owe the government a living.

A student on a Mara loan or scholarship should be beholden to the taxpayer for funding his studies. When the government is guilty of corruption or injustice, the student should not keep quiet because he thinks he is beholden to the government for his education. He is not.

Sadly, many Malays refrain from criticising the government because they feel indebted to the government when in truth, they should be grateful to the taxpayer. The Malays know that Umno does not represent them, but they have been brainwashed to keep silent, with tiny inducements and the fear of God to keep them in check.

The government should give every Malaysian child a decent standard of education and equal opportunities, but even the privileged are cheated.

The method with which Umno rules the country dwarfs the Kabul Bank Ponzi scheme. The west does not give a damn what happens in Malaysia just as Umno does not care at all what it is doing to Malaysians.

The west wants to please the government so that the Employees Provident Fund can continue to buy up properties abroad, a refugee swap deal can proceed smoothly, Malaysian taxpayers can purchase the latest weaponry or that a rare-earths refining plant can be built.

The rakyat cannot rely on the west for help, so any changes have to come from within Malaysia.

——————————————————————————–

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 12:48 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Mariam Mokhtar
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


What has Umno achieved?

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 December 2012, 1:22 pm and is filed under
Martin Jalleh
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


From now on, it’s a Malay vs Malay contest

― Ooi Kee Beng

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 05, 2012

DEC 5 ― As Umno general assemblies go, the one held last week was rather tame in its rhetoric. It was certainly memorable for its lack of vitriolic language.

And it was expectedly so ― therein lies its significance.

Things were quite different back in the days before 2008, when ethnocentric exhortations were run of the mill, and Umno Youth was the amplifier of racial extremist voices. This year, showing party unity was the order of the day.

Much of the credit must go to the fact that Malaysia today has a surprisingly stable two-party system in place. As we know, such a competitive structure has a strong moderating effect on extremist voices, be they racial or religious. After all, gaining the middle ground is how electoral victories are won.

The fact that the incumbent prime minister, Najib Razak, reportedly cited ― as a warning to his followers ― significant errors made by Republican challenger Mitt Romney in his defeat at the hands of United States President Barack Obama, tells us that even at the highest level, the possibility of the hitherto invincible Umno being toppled is being taken seriously.

Indeed, the bipolar Obama-Romney battle is being reflected in the clash between Najib and Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the opposition.

What this actually reveals is the most important point that anyone can make today about the dramatic changes that have been taking place in Malaysian politics, not only over the last five years but also over the last decade and a half.

Opposition forces within the Malay community have come of age. That is the fundamental difference. We are witnessing a Malay-Malay battle.

Despite the rhetoric, the Malay community ― perhaps because of its increased relative size, its comparative youth, its growing urbanity or its heightened educational level ― is showing a political confidence it did not have before.

Its questioning of Umno’s claim to being the only plausible champion of their interests as a community ― in fact, questioning the limitations of communal politicking ― is an expression of that very maturity.

One Malay leader is pitted against another Malay leader, and each is backed by an assortment of non-Malays. Such a situation, strangely enough, does not encourage racial or religious politics. This goes for Umno as well as the Islamist opposition, PAS.

Instead, the new issues are about wealth distribution and governance, not those of race against race, or religion against religion.

Now, issues of governance are not simple things.

They are comprehensive, covering difficult matters such as cronyism, corruption, rule of law, the state of the civil service and the electoral system, among others.

What all this boils down to once elections come around is: Who will be the next prime minister of Malaysia, Najib or Anwar?

Abdullah Badawi was replaced by Najib in April 2009 in punishment for letting so much support for Barisan Nasional slip away. Najib’s job, therefore, is to win back that support. To his mind, the best way to do that is to continue with the reform agenda (he has preferred the term “transformation”).

However, should support for his coalition not rise markedly in the coming elections, there is a real risk that he will be replaced in his turn.

But why this sudden wish for reform and transformation on BN’s part?

No doubt, Anwar has a lot to do with it. He was after all the man behind the pivotal Reformasi movement that started in 1998 after his sacking by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

But the fact that Abdullah’s impressive electoral victory in 2004 could not bury that movement for good tells us that the forces pushing for change have deep roots in society, and in the times.

What Anwar managed to do after his release from prison in 2005 was to become a bridge for the major opposition parties on the one hand, and a lightning rod for general social discontent on the other.

And so, although at one level, the fight is between two Malay leaders, the election, whichever way it goes, is at a deeper level about how governance in Malaysia is to develop ― how Malaysia is to develop ― in the coming years.

And within that equation, the role of East Malaysia will increase since both coalitions will be fighting to win votes there. Since the racial and religious ― not to mention political ― conditions in Sabah and Sarawak are so markedly different from those found in West Malaysia, the heightened significance of these states is bound to transform the socio-political situation.

Predicting Malaysia’s political future has become a much harder gambit. ― Today

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 5 December 2012, 12:52 pm and is filed under
Anwar Ibrahim
,
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


No reason to celebrate but many grounds to rue over Transparency International 2012 Corruption Perception Index which ranked Malaysia 54th as compared to 60th last year as least corrupt country in the world

There is no reason to celebrate but many grounds to rue over Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2012 which ranked Malaysia 54th as compared to 60th last year as least corrupt country in the world.

The total number of countries assessed in the TI CPI 2012 have been reduced from 183 countries last year to 176 countries this year and TI has used a new methodology, declaring that country scores of the CPI 2012 cannot be compared against those of 2011 or previous editions.Year to year comparisons will be possible from 2012 as the baseline year for subsequent years.

Under the new methodology, the the CPI score will be on a scale of 0-100 where a 0=highest level of perceived corruption and 100 = lowest level of perceived corruption as compared to the previous CPI score from 0 to 10.

Although Malaysia’s 2012 TI CPI score of 49 out of 100 cannot be compared with the past TI CPI scores of the past 17 years from 1995 to 2011, one inescapable fact is that Malaysia has been fighting a losing battle against corruption in the past decades, which saw Malaysia’s TI CPI ranking falling to the lowest level of 60th place last year as compared to 23rd ranking in 1995, and the CPI score plunging to an unprecedented low of 4.3 last year as compared to the highest score of 5.32 achieved in 1996.

Even though the 2012 TI CPI score cannot be compared to past years, Malaysia is clearly below average in international rankings and scores. Since 1995 Malaysia has been overtaken by South Korea and Taiwan while many countries are closing the corruption gap, especially Turkey which was ranked No 29th with a CPI score of 4.1 in 1995, but which has caught up with Malaysia with both equally ranked at No. 54 with a score of 49 in the 2011 TI CPI.

What is Malaysia doing to ensure that we will not be left behind by Turkey and many other countries in ASEAN, Asia-Pacific and OIC countries in TI CPI in coming years as they have demonstrated greater seriousness and political will to combat corruption when compared to Malaysia.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/07/tiada-apa-untuk-diraikan-tetapi-banyak-sebab-untuk-dikesalkan-terhadap-indeks-persepsi-rasuah-transparency-international-2012-yang-meletakkan-kedudukan-malaysia-di-tempat-ke-54-berbanding-tempat-ke-60/

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 5 December 2012, 7:20 pm and is filed under
Corruption
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Public spectacle of whipping penalty becomes circus for the masses

By
CPI
 | 05 December 2012 11:39

CPI Introduction

The following below is an account of public flogging under an Islamic system in Pakistan. It is an eyewitness’s description which should provide pause for those who want to see Islamic norms prevail in our judicial system.

However, it should be noted that even under our present British-derived justice system, flogging or ‘judicial caning’ as it is sometimes kindly described, is also widely practiced in Malaysia though it is done in the privacy of the prison compound rather than in public as is the Islamic practice.

Although the number of judicial canings is not known, it is believed to run into the thousands and is especially inflicted on what are deemed to be serious offenders such as drugs traffickers and offenders of unnatural sex crimes, e.g. sodomy.

According to one study, “to these severe canings for serious offences have been added, in recent years in … Malaysia, a very large number of much less severe canings of illegal immigrants.” (see “Judicial Caning in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei” by
World Corporate Punishment Research
)

The rising trend of canings has been fuelled in part by politicians and the media who see this as a way to deter crime and anti-social behaviour and to gain public popularity.

These canings whether under an Islamic or secular legal system are a severe and barbaric form of punishment.

Despite the efforts of civil society organizations and bodies such as the Bar Council and Amnesty International, they remain in widespread use in the country and are a blot on our collective sense of humanity and decency.

CPI urges its readership to lend their support to the campaign to legislate this brutal and uncivilized form of punishment out of our books – whether secular or Islamic.

Readers who are in two minds may change their views after reading the account below as well as viewing this link to a
video (here)
 of the actual flogging of a drug trafficker in Malaysia some years ago. Readers are warned that this video is not to be viewed by the faint hearted.

Pakistan: Public flogging c.1980 eyewitness account

Extract from Fifteen Lashes by Anwar Iqbal

Published in GRANTA 63, London, Autumn 1998

Soon after he took over, the general [General Zia ul-Haq, who came to power in a military coup in 1977] arranged a big public flogging-show and I, as a reporter, was sent to watch. The victims were lined up in white pyjamas, loose white shirts and white caps. They looked like circus animals waiting for the crack of the trainer’s whip. All were men, most of them middle-aged. They looked pale, and they shook with fear. Some even wet their trousers when the flogging began, but it had little effect on their captors or the doctor whose job it was to examine each victim and declare him fit to be flogged.

The stage was built in a big open space between the old city of Rawalpindi and the new capital Islamabad; the two places adjoin each other. Normally, children played football, cricket and hockey there. It was an open platform, about fifteen feet high, and could be viewed from every corner of the huge ground. A wooden frame was fixed in the middle of the platform where every victim was to be tied, his hands and feet separately as on a cross. His face would be turned towards the stage where the policemen, the magistrate, and other important people were sitting; the press had special seats so that they could watch the flogging closely and report every detail. His hips, which would receive the whip, were to face the audience. A microphone was fixed on the frame, near where the victim’s mouth was to be, so that everybody could hear him scream.

Centre stage stood a tall and well-built man wearing only a loincloth. He was rubbing oil all over his body. Then he did some push-ups to show his muscles. When he finished, he picked up a big stick, soaked in oil, from a corner where about half a dozen such sticks were kept for him to choose from. He picked one and tried it in the air. The whip made a horrible hissing noise every time he cut the air with it. The whipper, who was a convict himself, had been brought specially from the prison to perform the job, which earned him privileges inside. He received superior food and spent most of his time exercising. He was in great demand and toured Pakistan from city to city to flog whenever the government thought it needed to scare people. He looked very intimidating. He was now ready to flog. All his muscles tightened and bulged like the feathers of a rooster ready to fight.

As those on the stage prepared for the flogging, thousands of people had already gathered to watch it. The ground was full to capacity. So were the neighbouring roads and side streets. There were people on the rooftops of nearby buildings. Some even clung to the trees and electricity poles around the ground. The poor watched with a cautious nonchalance; they have learned not to appear too interested in such things because they tend to supply the victims whenever their rulers need to demonstrate their strength.

The rich behaved differently. They had come by car and on their motorbikes and were cruising around, waiting for the spectacle to begin. The young among them were dressed in tight jeans and bright shirts and some of them had brought their girlfriends with them. Some might have committed the same sin for which the fifteen victims were to be flogged: drinking alcohol and having sex with women other than their wives. But they did not seem bothered. They were safe in doing whatever they did because they belonged to the so-called ‘VIP’ class where no law, religious or secular, applies.

They also had better, safer places in which to drink or screw and did not have to frequent cheap hotels which the police would raid whenever their bosses felt the need to impress the public with activity. All the victims were arrested from a hotel in a lower-middle-class neighbourhood of the old city. The raiding party, so it was said, had found more than fifty people drinking alcohol and having sex. All of them were convicted in a trial completed in three days. Most of them were over fifty and so found unfit for flogging. The women involved in this crime were also convicted but were spared the whip. Those men found fit were brought for flogging.

Now the flogging was to start. The man with the stick indicated that he was ready. An official came on to the stage, detached the microphone from the wooden frame and announced the name of the first man who was to be whipped. He then read out the allegations against him and signalled the guards to bring him on to the platform. Two constables brought the convict on to the stage. He looked utterly helpless. He was not trembling. He did not even look afraid. He looked more like an animal about to be slaughtered and unable to understand what was happening to him. He could not follow verbal commands. So to make him move, one of the constables had to give him a little push. He moved, and then kept walking so that he would have fallen off the opposite end of the stage if the other constable had not stopped him. It was as if his mind had stopped functioning. There seemed to be no coordination between his thoughts and his actions. Each of his hands and feet appeared to be moving separately. The constables led him to the frame. Then the doctor came, examined him, listened to his heart with a stethoscope, and declared him fit for flogging. The man listened to the pronouncement with indifference, as if it did not concern him. He even nodded his head twice, as if endorsing the doctor’s decision.

By now the crowd was completely silent. Even the hawkers, selling ice cream and fresh fruits to the crowd, were quiet. The constables lifted the man up on to the frame, and tied his hands and feet to the scaffolding: his face was turned towards the stage and his buttocks exposed to the crowd. They tied another piece of cloth above his hips to mark the target. Then they moved aside. Now all eyes were fixed on the whip-man who was fiercely slashing the air with his whip. The crowd was so quiet that the microphone picked up the slashing of the whip and carried it everywhere. The man on the scaffolding also heard the sound. So far he had been very quiet but the slashing sound changed him. He started trembling and then cried, very loudly. The loudspeakers carried his voice to the crowd and beyond, but nobody spoke a word.

Now a magistrate, also sitting on the stage, asked the whip-man to begin. He tested the whip for the last time, slowly hitting his left palm, and then came running, stopped a foot or two from the scaffolding and hit the victim with full force. The whip touched his skin, went into his flesh and came out again. The man shrieked in agony. Those sitting on the stage could see blood oozing from the wound. One, said the official counting the whips. The man was sobbing now which could be heard on the loudspeakers.

The whipper went back to his mark and came running again when the magistrate signalled him to resume. The whip hit the flesh, the man shouted for help, the flogger withdrew, came back again, hit him and withdrew. Once this sequence was broken when the doctor came to examine the victim. After his examination, he invited the whip-man to continue. The constable untied the man after the fifteenth lash and he fell on to the stage. They removed him on a stretcher and brought the next man.

This was my first public flogging. Several months later I went to a maidan, a public space, in Rawalpindi where a blind woman was to be flogged for sexual misbehaviour. An audience of hundreds of men surrounded the stage where she was to he whipped. They displayed neither sorrow nor passion. They chatted about politics and sport as they waited for the flogging to begin.

Then a police officer came and asked them to go home because a higher court had suspended the flogging. Soon the maidan rang with voices of disapproval. The men wanted to watch the tamasha, the hullabaloo. They were there to watch the woman’s helplessness and to enjoy it. But the policemen were ready with their batons, so they had to disperse. And the truth was that I shared their disappointment. Although I had been writing against public flogging ever since it began, I wanted to watch it. I might go back to my typewriter and condemn it, but I did not want to miss the spectacle.

This was an unpleasant discovery to make about myself. A sorrowful, angry disgust – with myself and the country I lived in – thus became a feature of my life.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 5 December 2012, 3:13 pm and is filed under
Judiciary
,
Law & Order
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


What has been “transformed” — is Rais himself!

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 5 December 2012, 3:18 pm and is filed under
Martin Jalleh
,
Rais Yatim
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Avoiding corruption course for MPs? Nonsense

— Kunjuraman Karuppan

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 06, 2012

DEC 6 — You get worried about the old country sometimes. From rather nonsensical statements made by so-called authorities to unquestioning reporters, one gets the feeling that most of Malaysia is mediocre, and stupid.

The latest is a course on avoiding corruption for parliamentarians by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers next year, says PEMANDU director D. Ravindran.

While you are at it, Mr Ravindran, how about a course for those in the august Dewan Rakyat to stop lying or using foul language. Perhaps even potty training?

What, these MPs are kids is it? They are stupid? They don’t know right from wrong? How hard is it to stop corruption? Stop taking money for favours. Stop doing favours that will give advantage to one party over another.

How hard is that, Mr Ravindran, that you are quoted as saying the following by a news portal, “So, for the first time, we are going to teach our parliamentarians what is right to take and what is not right to take.”

I mean, if the MPs don’t know what constitutes corruption, then Malaysia is in a lot of trouble. Then the MACC has been useless, and is that what you are saying, Mr Ravindran?

I am also disturbed that Mr Ravindran quoted an MACC study in 2007 that found that most university students considered it “acceptable” to give or receive bribes and this was why the MACC was also planning to teach students about corruption.

For his information, considering that he is from PEMANDU, the MACC was formed in 2009. I don’t want to split hairs with him but one must know the facts before speaking.

So I wonder if there ever was a study and if this is just another harebrained scheme to show that there are results in the anti-graft fight.

Our MPs should already know what is wrong and what is right. If they don’t, we should make sure they never make it to Parliament again. We don’t need to waste money on such courses for our MPs.

We should just make sure the MACC goes after and makes sure those who are corrupt get punished. Not teach them to avoid corruption. That is absolute nonsense.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 December 2012, 4:04 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Parliament
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Can BN Lose Sabah? Boleh Bah Kalau …

By Kee Thuan Chye

Malaysian Digest

6th December 2012

Three men in a coffeeshop with nothing much to do.

DOGOL: Hey, Ragang, you think Sabah will fall to the Opposition this coming GE?

RAGANG: I don’t know.

LUNCHAI: You don’t know? You Sabahan and you don’t know?

RAGANG: I not God.

DOGOL: Umno is now praying to God to win the GE. Najib told the members at their general assembly last week, better pray hard!

LUNCHAI: As if God will side any political party.

DOGOL: God does not take sides, so to call on God to help Umno and BN win is itself ungodly.

LUNCHAI: Hahaha! You’re right!

DOGOL: Maybe Najib needs to pray because he’s worried Sabah is not a safe deposit for sure?

LUNCHAI: Ya, especially after the defections … Wilfred Bumburing from Upko, Lajim Ukin from Umno.

RAGANG: That’s not enough. Lajim is not so influential beyond Klias and Lumadan. Anwar Ibrahim wants Wilfred to try and win the KDM seats, but he will come up against Jeffrey Kitingan’s State Reform Party (STAR).

LUNCHAI: KDM?

RAGANG: Kadazandusun and Murut.

DOGOL: Unless Wilfred and Jeffrey join forces lah.

RAGANG: But can they? If they can’t, they’ll be fighting 3-cornered fights. Their votes will be split bah. Like that, BN sure will win. Don’t forget there will also be Independents standing. If you remember, in 2008, for the Bingkor state seat, if it was a straight fight between BN and the Opposition, the Opposition might have won. But it was a four-cornered fight and there were two Independents who took away some of the anti-BN votes from the PKR candidate. If you count the votes the PKR man and the Independents got, they were more than the BN candidate’s.

LUNCHAI: Why can’t Jeffrey and Pakatan Rakyat work together?

RAGANG: Jeffrey wants STAR to contest almost every seat. Will he work with Pakatan, which is led by Anwar? You remember, Jeffrey was vice-president of PKR but he quit the party on the last day of 2010?

DOGOL: I remember he said he quit because he wanted to concentrate on the United Borneo Front to look after the interests of the people of Sabah and Sarawak. That doesn’t mean he can’t cooperate with Anwar and Pakatan for the GE. He can serve both causes at the same time.

RAGANG: There’s more to it bah.

DOGOL: It would be a real shame if the Opposition doesn’t win Sabah this time. Sabah looks like it’s ready to swing.

LUNCHAI: I heard if the Opposition get it right, they can win up to 15 parliament seats.

DOGOL: That could have an effect on winning the federal government.

RAGANG: Most urban Sabahans even want a change in the federal government, same like many people in Semenanjung. They also want a good government, no hanky-panky, use the people’s money rightly. But the rural people … many are very poor, so BN comes and gives money to them and they are happy, they vote BN.

LUNCHAI: Wah! Hard lah like that!

RAGANG: Pity. Sabah is the poorest state in the whole of Malaysia – although we have oil. We deliver RM15 billion a year to the federal government, but how much of that comes back to us, to fund our development? We also have the largest oil palm plantations in the country. We are also suffering because of the Cabotage policy. Prices of goods are higher in Sabah because of that. Now inflation has made it worse. How can our poor villagers survive? Semenanjung has PetronasTowers, plenty of expressways, what do we have? Where is our infrastructure? How do we develop? Our water supply not up to standard. If a government cannot provide good, clean water to every citizen, it is a failure. Water is basic bah.

LUNCHAI: Ya, the people of Sabah deserve better than what they been getting for so many decades. I was in KK earlier this year, so surprised to find it so backward, like KL in the ’80s. The islands off KK, like Manukan and Gaya, you can see those houses on stilts on the sea with thousands of illegal immigrants living there. This must be the biggest problem for Sabah, but still not solved.

DOGOL: I saw it in the streets of Tawau as early as 1986 when I was there for a week. It was already a problem then. The illegal immigrants had no jobs and many were on the streets, some just selling cigarettes.

LUNCHAI: Now got RCI coming up, can solve ah?

RAGANG: That’s a joke bah. Why did Najib rush down to Sabah to announce the RCI only after Wilfred and Lajim jumped to the Opposition? How sincere is the federal government? It’s only because the GE is coming. They want our votes bah. We’ve been asking for the RCI for so long, the first time nearly 20 years ago, but nothing. Anyway, the problem is so big, we don’t expect them to solve it in six months – that’s the time limit Najib gave the RCI. How can? So we don’t believe it. We are not fools.

DOGOL: You don’t think Sabahans will vote BN for establishing the RCI? The Merdeka Centre survey done in September found that the illegal immigrant problem was the number one issue for them.

RAGANG: I think the RCI is all for show. That same survey said only 54 per cent of the people are confident the RCI can address the problem. And 36 per cent said it’s only to make Sabahans feel less angry before the GE.

DOGOL: I keep thinking this is the best time to take Sabah from BN. There is infighting among BN in Sabah. Musa Aman is under pressure for allegations of corruption, for getting tons of money from granting timber licences. The Merdeka Centre survey shows that Sabahans think the Sabah government is not doing so well. From 66 per cent approval in 2009, it has dropped to 54 per cent in September 2012. And this comes from all races. Rural and urban.

LUNCHAI: I saw that survey too. The big surprise is the reaction from the Muslim Bumiputeras. They were the biggest drop from 79 per cent to 62.

RAGANG: Yes, they are usually the biggest supporters of BN.

DOGOL: The KDM support also dropped about 9 per cent. Now is the time for the Opposition to strike. Never mind if they can’t win the state; if they can win many parliamentary seats in Sabah, they can stand a good chance to win Putrajaya.

LUNCHAI: But Ragang is right, it must be one-to-one fights. Like in 2008 in Peninsular Malaysia. Very effective.

RAGANG: In 2008, the Opposition failed to form an electoral pact in Sabah. So like in Inanam, PKR was standing against DAP. Their combined votes were much higher than the BN victor’s votes. If either PKR or DAP had stood alone, the Opposition would have won.

DOGOL: That failure to form a pact did hurt the Opposition.

LUNCHAI: It mustn’t be repeated in the coming GE if they want to do well.

RAGANG: Pakatan must work with the local parties, share power. PKR and DAP must realise that Sabahans, especially the KDM, want local parties to represent them at the federal level. These parties understand the local needs better. That’s why people vote PBS and Upko. So the Semenanjung-based parties must form alliances with local parties. Pakatan may win just a few seats on its own, perhaps Pensiangan, Penampang, KK. That’s why it must come to an agreement with Jeffrey because he is still a force in Sabah politics. His brother, Pairin, and PBS are losing support because Pairin is seen as a BN man and afraid to speak up on local issues. So STAR is gaining ground in KDM areas. Jeffrey talks of getting Sabah a bigger oil royalty, of getting autonomy for Sabah. And he wants to contest in all the KDM parliamentary seats. Anwar has to negotiate with him.

DOGOL: I asked Anwar the Sabah question at a fund-raiser where he was the guest-of-honour the other day, and he said Pakatan was for one-to-one contests and would negotiate with all parties. With STAR, he said he had asked Wilfred to continue negotiating with Jeffrey, but if Jeffrey wants to contest in all KDM areas, “that will be a problem”. He also said SAPP initially asked for 40 state seats, but that was “way too much”, and now they’ve brought it down to 25.

RAGANG: Everyone is thinking big, that’s the problem! But SAPP could be a problem for DAP because they are both after mainly the Chinese votes. They also need to give and take. I hope Anwar is doing all it takes to resolve the seat-sharing issue.

LUNCHAI: The future of Sabah depends on that hnuh?

RAGANG: I don’t know about that, but Sabahans who have woken up now realise we can influence the outcome of the GE in some way, so we should vote for the benefit of Sabah. No point giving our vote and getting little or nothing in return. And by the way, changing the government is nothing new in Sabah, we have done it before.

LUNCHAI: So can we say if the Opposition get it right this time, got chance for new government?

RAGANG
(laughs): Boleh bah kalau kau.

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians, available in bookstores together with its Malay translation, Jangan Kelentong Lagi, Kita Semua Orang Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 December 2012, 8:11 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Johore
,
Sabah
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


From one ‘Penangite’ to another

— Alan Wong

The Malaysian Insider

Dec 06, 2012

DEC 6 — I was reading about the recently concluded Hay Festival of Literature and Arts in the Bangla Academy at Dhaka and the protesters who felt the event, which focuses on English literature, shouldn’t be hosted at the venue.

Though the protesters in Bangladesh had better reasons to object in comparison, the planners of Hay in Dhaka:

“…went to great lengths to ensure due homage to local culture and history, as the opening ceremony presented classical Indian dances performed to Bangla poems, and ended with a jatra, a form of folk dance-drama. Out of 41 panels, at least 15 were in Bangla, and the stage was taken by four times as many Bangladeshi writers as foreign ones. The Bangla panels found equal room for new poets, like Trimita Chakma, who writes in the minority Chakma language. And the event marked the time at Hay that women outnumbered men on stage.”

Closer to home, there’s the Singapore Writers Festival, which began in 1986. Before anybody starts talking up the lack of local culture there, just look at these names.

Which is probably why I felt the podcast about the George Town Literary Festival devoted too much time on the grouses of an allegedly “fed-up Penangite”.

The irate letter he sent to The Star complains about the festival not featuring any Georgetown talent, and how the event was dominated by imports from outstation and overseas.

“How long do you think Penangites are going to put up with these so-called George Town Festivals that have got nothing to do with the real history, culture and people of Penang?” he asks in the end.

As I understand it, a “George Town Literary Festival” is “a lit fest held in George Town”, not “a lit fest about George Town.” I doubt the Singapore Writers Fest would be as fun or exciting if it were held in the spirit of the latter definition.

I’m from George Town, and though I rarely go back, I feel pretty confident about my hometown’s quaint little charms, street food and whatnot. So it’s a great place for a lit fest, next to Ipoh maybe.

To me, this hang-up about the richness and significance of our culture blinds us to other important stuff. For one, many Malaysians are, I think, more acquainted with foreign writers, so an event that gets foreign and local writers together is a treat, to say the least.

Another important aspect of our culture we’re so fond of hyping up is our hospitality. It’s not just what you got, but also how you present it to your guests that keeps them coming back. That emotionless Singapore can host a bigger better lit fest than we can, even with a two-decade head-start, makes you wonder.

To see this cloying display of petty, insecure, condescending self-righteousness from someone who calls himself a Penangite is dispiriting. I wouldn’t want him on the organising committee of any cultural event wherever, whenever.

I’m more embarrassed by how many Penangites, including myself, seem to be less interested in contributing to running a lit fest than attending one. I’m much less embarrassed about the “parachuted” outsiders and foreign imports that ran the show. I’ll put up with anyone who cares enough to do what is currently a thankless, exhausting job.

I don’t believe that that Penang-based poet is “Fed-up Penangite”. If he declined an invitation to the festival, writing that letter afterwards would be an incredibly galling thing to do. By the way: that DIVA thing appears to be for real.

A more plausible reason for the letter can possibly be inferred from its first line: “While constantly preaching that the state always puts Penang and Penangites first, in practice it is quite the opposite.”

I wouldn’t even call this letter a cheap shot. And why spoil it for those who hope the George Town Lit Fest will one day become something that rivals the one in, say, Singapore or Ubud?

When that day comes, or maybe — maybe — next year, I’ll be happy to parachute in, even if it’s just to wash the wine glasses after the party. You fed-up Penangites, stay out of my way.

* Alan Wong is an editor and book reviewer.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 December 2012, 4:44 pm and is filed under
Penang
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Malaysia’s CPI Rank has improved from 60 out of 183 countries in 2011 to 54 out of 176 countries in 2012 but three main thrusts of the Fighting Corruption NKRA still have gaping holes

In the recently released Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2012, Malaysia’s ranking improved from 60 out of 183 countries in 2011 to 54 out of 176 countries in 2012.

While Malaysians may take some comfort in this temporary arrest in Malaysia’s steady decline in our CPI ranking, one must keep in mind that this ranking of 54 is still worse than Malaysia’s ranking of 43 out of 179 countries in 2007 and far worse than the ranking of 33 out of 102 countries in 2002 (See Table 1 below).

Table 1: Malaysia’s CPI ranking, score and total number of countries in sample, 2001 to 2012

Year

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Ranking

36

33

37

39

39

44

43

47

56

56

60

54

Score

5

4.9

5.2

5

5.1

5

5.1

5.1

4.5

4.4

4.3

49

Total No. of Countries

91

102

133

145

158

163

179

180

180

178

183

176

Indeed, one should not take too much comfort in the fact that Malaysia improved in the ranking because it overtook ‘luminaries’ of ‘clean’ government such as Jordan, Namibia, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Indeed, many developing countries that have far lower per capita GDP compared to Malaysia continues to do better than us in the CPI rankings including Rwanda (50), Bhutan (33) and Botswana (30), not to mention the newly industrialized economies (NIEs) in Asia namely South Korea (45), Taiwan (37), Hong Kong (14) and Singapore (5).

More worryingly, the three major thrusts of the Fighting Corruption National Key Results Area (NKRA) under the Government Transformation Program (GTP) – namely, to strengthen the anti-corruption enforcement agencies and legislation, to tackle grand corruption and to reduce leakages from government procurement – continue to have gaping holes when it comes to delivery and execution.

For example, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission remains very much a toothless tiger which is dependent on the Attorney General to prosecute cases.

This explains why, despite numerous policy reports, allegations and investigative pieces made against the Chief Ministers of Sarawak and Sabah, most notably by the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), the Attorney General has refused to make any charges against these two BN leaders.

And as long as the MACC is not independent or seen as independent, even legislation such as the Whistleblowers Protection Act will not have any substantive long term effect on reducing corruption.

After all, this is an Anti-Corruption Commission which investigated a supposed RM2000 misallocation of funds case by a Selangor Exco Member which eventually led to the still unsolved death of the political aide of Ean Yong Han Wah, Teoh Beng Hock while the real ‘crocodiles’ are left free to continue to devour the resources of the state.

This was the same MACC which investigated customs officer, Ahmad Sarbani, who also died from a fall while under its custody.

From a perception perspective, there is little doubt that the MACC has not been strengthened in such a way as to allow it to do its job, without fear or favor.

There is also no sign that grand corruption has been effectively tackled by the Fighting Corruption NKRA.

Nearly all of the cases which appear in the ‘Name and Shame’ public database are small cases involving relatively ‘small fish’.

It is of no surprise that the big fish continue to escape attention especially given statements like the one made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Nazri Aziz, brushing aside the RM40m money laundering attempt by Michael Chia as a ‘political donation’ to Sabah UMNO and to ignore evidence that the same Michael Chia had generously ‘lent’ a half a million RM luxury hummer to his son.

Even the prosecution of the supposed big fish in the PKFZ RM12.6 billion scandal – namely former Transport Ministers Ling Liong Sik and Chan Kong Koy – have not been properly concluded leading one to wonder if these cases will follow in the footsteps of the cases against former Sabah UMNO Minister, Kasitah Gaddam, and former Perwaja chairman, Eric Chia, both of whom were charged with corruption with great fanfare prior to the 2004 general election but who were both subsequently released.

Last but definitely not least, there remain glaring exceptions to the efforts to reduce leakages in government procurement.

The release of the Auditor General’s 2011 Report was delayed until two weeks into the budget debates making it difficult for MPs to raise important issues related to weak oversight and controls in government procurement.

Furthermore, no action has been taken by the MACC or the Attorney General in term of charging those responsible for mismanaging government procurement (including those infamous RM56,350 binoculars for the Marine Parks Department worth not more than RM1,940).

In addition, the government continues to operate under a cloud of secrecy in land deals that could have raise many billions of ringgit of revenue for the government but were instead sold at way below market value to a government agency, namely 1MDB.

Most recently, carpet dealer, Deepak Jaikishan, made explosive allegations against not only Selangor Wanita UMNO chief Raja Ropiaah Raja Abdullah, but also Prime Minister Najib himself, over a RM100m land for a contract to build a National Defense Research Center (Puspahanas), allegations which the Prime Minister have yet to respond to.

With such grievous and gaping holes in the fighting corruption initiatives and efforts, Malaysians cannot take any comfort in the slight improvement in the country’s CPI ranking.

What Malaysians should take comfort in is the fact that Pakatan Rakyat leaders will continue to expose the corruption and abuses of power under the present BN government which show no signs of changing their old habits.

What Malaysians should take comfort in is the fact that the Pakatan Rakyat state governments, especially in Penang and Selangor, have shown how transparency and the responsible management of government resources can translate into increased surpluses and reserves while benefitting the larger public at the same time.

What Malaysians should take comfort in is the fact that the opportunity to vote out this corrupt BN government in the next general election will come very soon.

Only under a Pakatan government can the roots of corruption in this country that has been governed uninterruptedly by a bankrupt and corrupt BN be eradicated and the perception of a Malaysia that is increasingly less corrupt by grounded in reality.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/07/kedudukan-cpi-malaysia-meningkat-daripada-tempat-ke-60-daripada-183-negara-pada-2011-kepada-54-daripada-176-negara-pada-2012-tetapi-tiga-teras-utama-nkra-membanteras-rasuah-masih-mempunyai-banyak-kele/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 December 2012, 11:44 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Pemandu
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Urgent priority for MACC and AG’s Chambers to conduct course on corruption for PM, DPM, Cabinet Ministers, MBs and CMs particularly Sarawak and Sabah and top government officers including AG himself  if Malaysia is serious in  war against “grand corruption”

On the way to Yong Peng from Kuala Lumpur tonight, I came across the news report that the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers will hold a course on avoiding corruption for parliamentarians next year.

The Pemandu director D Ravindran, who is in charge of the anti-corruption section of the National Key Results Areas (NKRA), is quoted as saying:

“The Government Transformation Plan 2.0 (GTP 2.0) has the commitment of both the MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamad and the AG (Abdul Gani Patail), who will both be conducting the course for our lawmakers.

“So, for the first time, we are going to teach our parliamentarians what is right to take and what is not right to take.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the launching of the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index 2012, Ravindran said the course would include information on what constitutes corruption, and the codes of conduct and best practices to avoid it.

The MACC and the AG’s Chamber should not be barking up the wrong trees as they should know where the priorities in fighting corruption, especially grand corruption, should lie.

Let me tell MACC and the AG’s Chambers that the urgent priority in the battle against graft in Malaysia is  for MACC and AG’s Chambers to conduct a  course on corruption for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers particularly Sarawak and Sabah as well as top government officers including the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Gani Patail himself, if Malaysia is serious in its  war against “grand corruption”.

It would appear that many of these top political and government leaders do not know “what is right to take and what is not right to take”, which is why there are so many allegations of abuses of power, malpractices and even corruption against them which had not been responded fully and satisfactorily, whether it be the scandal of the RM40 million “political donation to Sabah UMNO” implicating the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman or the extraordinary wealth and assets of the family of the Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Taib Mahmud amounting to RM64 billion after 30 years as Sarawak Chief Minister as alleged by the Bruno Manser Foundation recently.

Dare  the MACC and AG’s Chambers conduct a course not only on avoiding corruption for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers particularly from Sarawak and Sabah, and top government officials, but also on their responsibility to account fully and satisfactorily when serious corruption allegations are publicly made against them, including clearing their names and establishing their reputation in the courts of law?

(Speech at the DAP Yong Peng “Ubah” dinner in Yong Peng, Johore on Wednesday, 6th December 2012)

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2012/12/07/keutamaan-yang-sangat-mendesak-bagi-sprm-dan-jabatan-peguam-negara-untuk-menjalankan-kursus-berkenaan-rasuah-buat-perdana-menteri-timbalan-perdana-menteri-menteri-kabinet-menteri-besar-dan-ketua-me/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 December 2012, 3:02 am and is filed under
Corruption
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.