1MDB Scandal Around Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Puts Spotlight on Wife

By TOM WRIGHT

Wall Street Journal

Sept. 11, 2016

Documents show $6 million in credit-card spending by Rosmah Mansor

A major financial scandal swirling around the Malaysian prime minister is drawing fresh attention to his glamorous wife, Rosmah Mansor, who newly revealed documents show has racked up at least $6 million in credit card charges in recent years—despite having no known source of income beyond her husband’s salary.

At an anticorruption rally last month in Kuala Lumpur, hundreds of students, young professionals and other demonstrators took to the streets behind a cardboard caricature of a meticulously coiffed woman carrying a Hermès handbag, demanding an investigation into Ms. Rosmah’s finances.

“She said she saved that money since she was small. That is impossible,” said Anis Syafiqah Mohd. Yusuf, a 24-year-old student from the University of Malaya who helped organize the protest.

Ms. Rosmah’s jewel-bedecked public appearances have long made her a polarizing figure in this relatively poor, Southeast Asian country. She is the only child of schoolteachers, hasn’t had a regular paying job in years and her husband, Prime Minister Najib Razak, is a longtime bureaucrat with an annual salary of $100,000.

Ms. Rosmah, 64 years old, says she has a habit of saving. “I have bought some jewelry and dresses with my own money. What is wrong with that?” she wrote in her 2013 autobiography.

But allegations that Mr. Najib received hundreds of millions of dollars siphoned between 2009 and 2015 from 1Malaysia Development Bhd., a state investment fund he set up, are bringing renewed scrutiny of her.

Extensive bank-transfer records reviewed by the Journal showed that large sums from 1MDB wound up in the prime minister’s personal accounts via intermediaries.

The records were also cited in a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department in July seeking the seizure of more than $1 billion of assets from people connected to Mr. Najib. The lawsuit doesn’t name Mr. Najib, but a person with direct knowledge of the investigation said the “Malaysian Official 1” in the complaint is Mr. Najib.

Mr. Najib has denied wrongdoing. His attorney general, without releasing documentation, described the money as a legal political donation from Saudi Arabia, most of which he said was returned. The Saudis have offered only vague statements.

The Wall Street Journal reported this year, citing banking documents, that at least $1 million in purchases made by Ms. Rosmah at jewelry and fashion stores in Europe and the U.S. in 2014 were paid for by Mr. Najib using credit cards that drew on 1MDB funds. The couple declined to comment at the time.

New documents seen by the Journal show those expenses are part of at least $6 million in spending by Ms. Rosmah between 2008 and 2015 on clothing, shoes and jewelry from London’s Harrods department store, Saks Fifth Avenue of New York and elsewhere.

Ms. Rosmah hasn’t commented on that spending. Attempts to reach her and Mr. Najib for this article were unsuccessful.

The prime minister’s office last year said the first family’s spending was commensurate with Mr. Najib’s inheritance from his father, a former prime minister. His four brothers later denied their father had left a big estate, without giving details. Mr. Najib issued another statement describing his father as frugal and a man of integrity, without addressing the inheritance.

When the 1MDB scandal broke in July 2015, Ms. Rosmah advised her husband to tough it out, according to a person who knows the family. “My advice [to Mr. Najib] is to be very, very patient as this is a test from Allah,” she said at an April event, according to local media reports.

The person also said Ms. Rosmah introduced her husband to Jho Low, the Malaysian financier who U.S. officials, in their lawsuit, charge was at the center of the alleged 1MDB scandal.

Ms. Rosmah has longstanding ties to Mr. Low; A decade ago, Mr. Low helped Ms. Rosmah and her son set up a British Virgin Islands company, according to Malaysian investigation documents seen by the Journal.

Attempts to reach Mr. Low for comment were unsuccessful.

Ms. Rosmah is “becoming more prominent” as more details of the 1MDB case come out, said James Chin, a Malaysian academic at the University of Tasmania.

Ms. Rosmah met Mr. Najib, who was chief minister of Pahang state, in the 1980s. She was working for a property company, but stopped soon after they were married.

After Mr. Najib became prime minister in 2009, she drew criticism for her ostentatious style. Photos appeared online of her with a dozen different Hermès Birkin bags, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The U.S. lawsuit, which charges more than $3 billion was diverted from the fund, detailed how Ms. Rosmah’s son from an earlier marriage—a onetime banker named Riza Aziz—allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from 1MDB, which U.S. officials say he used to buy property in London, Los Angeles and New York and to finance a Hollywood film company.

The studio, Red Granite Pictures, has said that to its knowledge, none of its funding “was in any way illegitimate” and that Mr. Aziz “did nothing wrong.”

Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, a cartoonist who has taken potshots at Ms. Rosmah, depicting her with huge rings and massive hair, was charged last year with sedition for questioning the impartiality of Malaysia’s judicial system. He denies the charges. A trial is set to begin this month.

He held a display of works, including more caricatures of Ms. Rosmah, in a field outside Kuala Lumpur this month. The opening was attended by opposition politicians and human-rights workers.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 September 2016, 1:05 am and is filed under
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Is Husni prepared to lead a national and international campaign to save Malaysia to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the ignominy of a global kleptocracy so that not only he could be healed, but the nation and 30 million Malaysians could be healed of the 1MDB sickness?

Until 18 months ago, 1MDB was a national scandal, the subject of constant parliamentary questions and badgering by DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua and the PKR MP for Pandan, Rafizi Ramli the previous five  years – with Pua asking his first question in Parliament about the 1MDB scandal  with regard to the rationale of 1MDB investment in PertroSaudi International as far back as March 2010.

But 18 months ago, the 1MDB scandal escalated and graduated from a  national into an international scandal.

I remember I was in Labis on the evening of 1st March 2015 to take part in a DAP Chinese New Year  kopitiam ceramah, and just before my turn to speak, I read on the Internet the shocking expose by the Sarawak Report whistleblower website in its “Heist of the Century” article which announced that together with London Sunday Times, they had completed an in-depth investigation into the  1MDB scandal.

It claimed to have obtained access to thousands of documents and emails relating to transactions by 1MDB, including its initial joint venture with the little known oil company PetroSaudi International from 2009.

It alleged that the documents establish that, in spite of copious official denials, the entire joint venture project was conceived, managed and driven through by the Prime Minister’s associate and family friend the party-loving billionaire tycoon, Jho Low and that the documents also prove that the USD$700 million so-called “loan” that was supposedly repaid to PetroSaudi as part of the joint venture agreement, was actually a “front” to channel the money to a company controlled by Jho Low.

It was a shocking tale about the makings of the biggest financial scandal in the nation’s history.  At the time, the figure quoted for the 1MDB scandal was RM42 billion, which was already the greatest of all the financial scandals in the country, eclipsing even the worst and biggest of financial scandals in the country’s history, whether the RM2.5 billion BMF (Bumiputra Malaysia Finance) scandal, Bank Negara forex exchange scandal,  Maminco, MAS and Perwaja scandals.

Now the 1MDB scandal would have ballooned easily from RM42 billion to RM55 billion as the RM42 billion figure was for  1MDB liabilities on March 2014 – some  30 months ago – as the audited accounts for 1MDB for the past two years remain in  the realm of mystery to the public including parliamentarans!

The tragedy of the 1MDB scandal is that in retrospect, all the grave  allegations whether in the Sarawak Report in the article “Heist of the Century”, or  in international  newspapers like the New York Times  or the Wall Street Journal, both before and after the “Heist in the Century” article,  had withstood the test of time and neither 1MDB nor the Malaysian Government had been able to puncture  or cast doubt on  the veracity of anyone of the serious and myriad allegations about the theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of billions of ringgit of 1MDB funds – with the “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” cast  like a spider at the centre of the spider web.

For the past 18 months, the honour, dignity, reputation and integrity of the Malaysian Prime Minister, the Malaysian Government and the Malaysian nation had been haunted and hounded by the 1MDB international scandal, dragged through the coals,  becoming ever bigger and more monstrous with the passage of time instead of being minimised or  resolved.

Najib boasts of “National Transformation” programmes for the country but the greatest irony of all is his success in “transforming”  1MDB  first from a national into a international scandal; and secondly, from an international scandal involving the kleptocracy of  a Prime Minister into one involving the nation as to whether  Malaysia has become an overnight global kleptocracy.

This happened some seven weeks ago when the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its single largest kleptocracy lawsuit for the forfeiture of US$1 billion of assets resulting from the theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of US3.5 billion 1MDB funds in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland under its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.

From July 20, Malaysia acquired a new infamy as a “global kleptocracy”, which should be  an acid  test of patriotism and loyalty for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or political affiliation, as every patriotic and nationalistic Malaysian must bristle and object to be regarded as a citizen of a “global kleptocracy” as  “kleptocracy” is defined as rule by a thief or thieves.

The greatest disservice that the Najib administration has done to Malaysia is to take such an international indictment as a “global kleptocracy” in stride, as if it is the commonest  thing for a government  or nation to be named and identified not only as a “kleptocracy” but a “global kleptocracy”!

Neither the government nor the various national enforcement and investigative institutions in the country had sought the co-operation of the US authorities for information about the serious allegations of theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of billions and tens of billions of ringgit of 1MDB funds, although “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” which one Minister had admitted was the Prime Minister himself, had been profiled as playing a kingpin role in the “Heist of the Century”, nor had Parliament been convened in a special patriotic session to defend, purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international infamy of being identified as an overnight global kleptocracy.

It has been reported today that the former Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah has admitted that the 1MDB scandal was the real reason why  he had left the Cabinet and dissociated himself from the 1MDB scandal.

Husni was appointed the Cabinet spokesman on 1MDB  in June last year but he gave up on this role after his  efforts to “defend the indefensible” proved futile and even infantile  in a matter of months.

He was under heavy stress for several months as he was  tasked with resolving the growing 1MDB scandal  although he was never part of the debt-ridden sovereign fund when it was first set up.

The stress over the 1MDB scandal caused Husni to suffer prolonged high blood pressure.

He contemplated resigning since January this year but could not bring himself to do it.

However, on one fateful Saturday in April while he was flying to the meeting of Asean finance ministers in Laos, he fell ill in the afternoon due to rising blood pressure.

“I told the officers (with me) that I can’t attend the meeting in the evening,” Husni told Sinar Harian in an interview.

A senior Bank Negara officer then asked why Husni was being hard on himself over 1MDB even though he was not involved in the scandal.

“Those words opened my heart… I had to separate work, things that do not involve me and my condition.

“I felt relieved (after resigning). 1MDB no longer disturbs my mind and heart.”

Husni said he took the elevated blood pressure which he suffered for some five hours at the time as a sign from Allah.

Husni abruptly resigned from his position during a cabinet reshuffle in June, when he also resigned from all party positions.

In his interview, Husni  lamented about “hypocrites” who dealt with corruption issues and shared that he was once criticised when he proposed efforts to improve Malaysia’s standing in Transpareny International’s corruption perception index.

The 1MDB had not only made Husni sick, but the Malaysian nation and 30 million Malaysians sick.

This is the time for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, religion or party politics, to take  a common patriotic stand in a national and international campaign to defend the international good name and reputation of Malaysia and to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment and infamy of an overnight global kleptocracy.

The question is whether there are enough Malaysians to save Malaysia from the first international scandal to hit Malaysia and purge and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy of being an overnight global kleptocracy.

Is Husni prepared to lead such a national and international campaign to save Malaysia from the infamy of an overnight global kleptocracy, so that he is not the only one who would be healed but the whole country and 30 million Malaysians could be healed from the serious 1MDB sickness?

(Speech at the Gelang Patah DAP  Pesta Tanglung in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 11th Sept. 2016 at 9 pm)

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What a handshake between Mahathir and Anwar really means for Malaysia

William Case

South China Morning Post

12 Sep 2016

Two years ago, Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia, visited Hong Kong. At the time, the Umbrella Movement was in full swing. Mahathir had been invited to address a pro-establishment gathering of political figures and business elites at the convention centre in Wan Chai. Few in the audience seemed to know much about Malaysia. But they knew about Mahathir. And in appreciating the managerial fist that he had wielded during his long tenure, they paid high fees to come and take heart.

Mahathir didn’t disappoint. Though 90 years old, he held the floor for an hour, without notes or nary a stumble. His central theme was that mainland China, in contrast to the meddlesome West, was beneficent and nobly intentioned, with Malaysia uplifted by its investment. The audience nodded on in agreement. But what they really wanted to learn from Mahathir was how to stamp out the Umbrella Movement.

So, during the Q&A, local notables clamoured for the mike. A loyalist member of Legco implored, “Can you give us some of your precious advice?” Mahathir pursed his lips, then sagely intoned, “the best way to handle it is to handle it before the occupying” – intimating that Hong Kong’s police had been tardy and soft. At this, Mahathir was thunderously applauded. A Malaysian guest at my side thumped the table top. “I’d like to bring the Malaysian police in here,” he growled. “They’d teach these kids something.”

Today Mahathir remains an opinion leader in Malaysia. But he is now dispensing different advice. While prime minister, Mahathir regularly ordered the arrest of opposition leaders and activists whom he accused of wanting to “topple the government” – a record that his Hong Kong audience warmly recalled. But now in opposition himself, Mahathir courts his own arrest while trying to topple the government of the current prime minister, Najib Razak.

Mahathir loudly demands that Najib resign, citing the money laundering scandal over Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. He has quit the party that Najib leads, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno). He has applied to register a new opposition vehicle. And he is the patron of the Citizens’ Declaration and the Save Malaysia Movement, a broad social coalition that through rallies, town hall meetings and a nationwide signature campaign, is pressuring for Najib’s ousting.

In doing this, Mahathir has radically changed course. He has joined hands with a veteran Chinese opposition leader, Lim Kit Siang, whom he had once detained under the notorious Internal Security Act. He applauds the West as its authorities investigate 1MDB. But most strikingly, Mahathir appeared, even if only briefly, at a large street protest in August last year, calling for Najib’s ouster.

Malaysians were astonished by Mahathir attending this protest. And during the past week, they were stunned yet again, with Mahathir shaking the hand of his one-time deputy turned adversary, Anwar Ibrahim. Early in his prime ministership, Mahathir had recruited Anwar into his government, anointing him as successor. But later, amid the economic crisis during the late 1990s, Anwar, motivated in equal measure by reformist desires and ambition, challenged Mahathir’s leadership. Mahathir struck back, seeking to disgrace Anwar by accusing him of sodomy and corruption, then bundled him off to prison. Anwar was released in 2004, then flourished in opposition, enabling him eventually to challenge Najib. Najib responded to Anwar as Mahathir had, with sodomy charges and imprisonment. Anwar’s sentence runs until 2020.

Last week, though, Anwar was briefly freed so that he could contest in High Court an onerous new security law – a showing that evokes Malaysia’s curious mix of heavy-handedness and due process. Mahathir came to court dressed in a safari suit and backed by an entourage, then engaged Anwar for 30 minutes – their first encounter in nearly two decades. Mahathir patted Anwar’s arm and offered him support in his court case, however futile. Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah, tweeted approvingly. The chief minister of Selangor, Azmin Ali, veering between Mahathir and Anwar, avowed that their meeting would strike fear into Najib and Umno.

It is an axiom in political science that every transition to democracy begins with a split between national elites, followed by coalescence among those favouring change. Mahathir has broken with Najib. He has joined forces with opposition leaders and civil society activists, even across ethnic lines. He welcomes Western intervention over 1MDB. And he seems to be reconciling with Anwar.

Is Mahathir forming this coalition and welcoming foreign pressure merely to bask one last time in the limelight? Or, in nearing the end of his long authoritarian arc, has he found virtue in electoral competitiveness and leadership turnover? Many Malaysians hope for the latter. But of course, this would gravely disappoint Mahathir’s fans in Hong Kong.

William Case is Professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at City University of Hong Kong

                This entry was posted on Monday, 12 September 2016, 2:57 pm and is filed under
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Darah naik 5 jam! Husni kongsi cerita

Wartawan Sinar Harian

11 September 2016

PENGUNDURAN
bekas Menteri Kewangan II, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah daripada Kabinet dan Umno menimbulkan tanda tanya banyak pihak.

Sebelum ini, Ahmad Husni pernah berkata hanya mahu tumpu tugasnya sebagai ahli parlimen tanpa mengulas lanjut tentang tindakan diambilnya. Sinar Harian berpeluang bertemu Ahli Parlimen Tambun itu mengenai perkembangan terbarunya dan sudi menceritakan detik-detik yang membawa beliau mengambil keputusan berundur.

Bila Datuk Seri lepaskan semua jawatan kerajaan dan parti, kecuali sebagai wakil rakyat, masih ramai yang tidak puas hati dengan kenyataan ringkas Datuk Seri. Boleh ulas sedikit apa yang mendorong kepada tindakan itu?

Saya ada terfikir untuk letakkan jawatan tahun lalu. Saya tetapkan pada Januari 2016 sebagai tarikh akhir dalam Kabinet. Saya telah bincang dengan setiausaha politik menyatakan rasa tidak serasi dengan pembawaan pimpinan. Bila tiba Januari, saya rasa tidak tergamak pula untuk meletakkan jawatan, saya terus berkhidmat. Kemudian, pada April lalu niat hendak meletak jawatan kembali dan semakin kuat. Pada awal April itu, saya membeli alat bacaan tekanan darah untuk isteri bila pulang dari pejabat. Tiba di rumah jam 7 malam, saya pasang pada tangan saya untuk tunjuk pada isteri cara hendak menggunakan alat tersebut. Tetapi, saya pula yang terkejut apabila bacaan tekanan darah saya begitu tinggi.

Saya pergi ke Damansara Specialist Hospital. Doktor memeriksa kesihatan saya dengan rapi. Pada jam 12 tengah malam, tekanan darah mula turun. Saya merasa pelik mengapa tekanan darah saya tinggi selama 5 jam (7 petang hingga 12 malam). Tak pernah berlaku dalam sejarah hidup saya. Doktor membenarkan saya pulang pada jam 2.30 pagi, memberi cuti 3 hari dan minta saya datang semula untuk rawatan lanjut pada hari Jumaat.

Pada hari Jumaat, alhamdulillah, pemeriksaan menunjukkan jantung, darah dan air kencing tiada masalah. Saya juga tiada penyakit darah tinggi. Kesihatan saya baik. Kata doktor tekanan darah tinggi berpunca dari stres, kurang tidur dan kurang rehat.

Apa yang Datuk Seri fikir selepas doktor beritahu tekanan darah tinggi itu berpunca daripada stres?

Sudah beberapa bulan saya stres sebab 1MDB. Saya anggap tekanan darah tinggi selama lima  jam datang dari petunjuk Ilahi bagi saya menilai di mana saya harus berada. Ada kala saya terasa, bekerja secara lurus tidak ada tempat di dunia ini. Saya bertanya, adakah patut saya terus berada dalam Kabinet atau tidak? Saya membuat penilaian satu persatu dari sudut tubuh, minda, hati dan kerohanian, sejauh mana tertekan dengan permasalahan 1MDB?

Pada hari Sabtu, saya terbang ke Laos bagi menghadiri Mesyuarat Menteri-menteri Kewangan Asean. Tengah hari, saya tidak berapa sihat. Saya beritahu pegawai-pegawai, saya tidak mampu untuk hadir mesyuarat pada sebelah petang. Seorang pegawai kanan Bank Negara berkata, “Semua orang tahu Datuk Seri tidak terlibat dengan urusan 1MDB. Mengapa Datuk Seri tertekan dengan isu 1MDB?” Kata-kata itu membuka mata hati saya…harus pisahkan antara kerja, perkara yang tidak melibatkan saya dan keadaan diri. Fikiran saya terasa lega. 1MDB tidak lagi mengganggu minda dan hati saya.

Setahu kami Datuk Seri seorang banker, kenapa Datuk Seri terlibat politik?

Setelah beberapa tahun bekerja di bank, saya bertukar kerjaya dan bekerja di anak syarikat sebuah agensi milik Kerajaan Negeri Perak pada tahun 1980-an. Di situ saya terdedah dengan tingkah laku sesetengah pemimpin yang menggunakan syarikat tersebut untuk mengumpul kekayaan. Atas penentangan ke atas amalan tersebut, saya laporkan kepada pucuk pimpinan. Tiada tindakan diambil, malah suatu hari seorang pegawai kanan agensi menelefon dan berkata kepada saya, “Awak duduk dalam kapal lanun. Ingat awak boleh jadi imam? Mampus awak!” Mungkin beliau berseloroh, tetapi saya ambil kenyataan itu serius, lalu saya kembali semula bekerja di sektor perbankan.

Beberapa bulan kemudian isteri saya bersalin anak sulung. Saya berada di sisi isteri dan baru saya sedar betapa seksa melahirkan seorang anak. Tiba-tiba saya terbayang apa masa depan anak saya di bawah pimpinan seperti tadi? Selepas membaca azan dan iqamat, saya berjanji pada anak, “Bapak akan jaga kamu.”  Sejak itu, saya menyertai politik.

Saya dididik oleh bapa yang bekerja di Jabatan Agama Islam. Beliau juga seorang imam dan mengajar al-Quran. Ibu membantu bapa mengajar anak-anak muridnya membaca al-Quran. Saya terdedah kepada pengajian ilmu Tauhid, Usuluddin, Fiqah dan Tasawuf. Pemahaman saya, seorang pemimpin mestilah bersikap lurus dan tegas. Keutamaan pemimpin adalah kebajikan rakyat. Berteraskan kejujuran, keikhlasan dan integriti, maka setiap sen mestilah dibelanjakan untuk rakyat.

Dalam ucapan saya di Parlimen pada 15 Februari 2000, saya menekankan, “Kita hendaklah melahirkan individu yang mempunyai sistem nilai dan etika serta akhlak yang baik, bertanggungjawab, patuh kepada Tuhan serta berkemampuan untuk membangunkan negara dan masyarakat pelbagai kaum.”

Kontroversi 1MDB sedikit sebanyak terpalit kepada Datuk Seri yang ketika itu memegang jawatan Menteri Kewangan ke II. Apa komen Datuk Seri?

Sebenarnya saya tidak tahu tentang penubuhan 1MDB. 1MDB ditubuhkan pada tahun 2009. Saya tidak dirujuk walaupun saya Menteri Kewangan II. Bila saya dapat tahu tentang penubuhannya, saya mempersoalkan mengapa perlu tubuh 1MDB? Pada faham saya, penubuhan sesebuah syarikat pelaburan memerlukan kajian mendalam melibatkan Kajian Fisibiliti, Risiko Perniagaan, Risiko Kewangan, Unjuran Aliran Tunai, Unjuran Untung Rugi dan Unjuran Imbangan Kewangan.

Saya tidak dilibatkan dalam urusan 1MDB sehinggalah pada tahun 2015. Pada awal tahun 2015 saya diminta untuk merangka jalan penyelesaian kepada masalah hutang 1MDB yang begitu tinggi dengan aliran tunainya yang negatif. Dengan izin ALLAH SWT, dengan bantuan SUSK, kami berjaya menyediakan Pelan Rasionalisasi 1MDB, namun saya tidak terlibat dalam perlaksanaan Pelan Rasionalisasi tersebut.

Saya berharap masalah 1MDB akan selesai. Saya berdoa agar setiap discrepancies dalam 1MDB dapat diatasi. Kita semua faham sebarang perkembangan negatif boleh menjejaskan rating negara yang akan membawa kepada kesan sistemik kepada keseluruhan ekonomi negara yang akhirnya akan merugikan negara dan rakyat.  Begitu juga dengan SRC, saya berharap akan diselesaikan segera. Dalam konteks kewangan kerajaan, uruslah secara berhemah. Pemberian tender hendaklah secara telus. Projek PPP mestilah dikaji mendalam dari konteks value for money. Kerajaan hendaklah menyediakan unjuran kewangan jangka panjang melihat akan kemampuan kerajaan membayar hutang dari projek PPP. Kita mesti ingat Hasil Pendapatan Negara pada masa depan tidak semewah seperti pada masa lalu.

Mengapa tiba-tiba Datuk Seri mengambil keputusan meletakkan semua jawatan?

Seminggu sebelum saya berundur dari Kabinet iaitu pada 21 Jun 2016, saya ke Jeddah bagi menghadiri mesyuarat bilateral dengan Presiden Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Sesampai saya ke hotel di Jeddah pada Isnin, jam 8.30 malam, seorang hamba ALLAH menemui saya untuk membawa saya mengerjakan umrah. Kami sampai di Makkah pada jam 2 pagi. Saya diperkenalkan kepada polis Masjidil Haram. Dengan bantuan polis Masjidil Haram saya selesai tawaf dalam waktu yang singkat. Selama setengah jam, walaupun di tengah-tengah ribuan orang yang melaksanakan tawaf semacam musim Haji. Ini kelaziman dalam bulan Ramadan.

Di situ saya menunaikan solat sunat. Kemudian dibawa ke Hajar Aswad, saya menciumnya. Keseluruhan umrah selesai dalam 1 jam 10 minit. Setiba di bilik Hotel di Jeddah, saya duduk berfikir. Mengalir air mata mengenangkan diri saya seorang yang kerdil dalam kalangan 1.8 bilion umat Islam di seluruh dunia, bagaimana saya boleh menjadi tetamu yang istimewa di Makkah? Kekuatan kerohanian saya bertambah kukuh. Tiba-tiba terfikir apakah saya masih patut duduk dalam Kabinet?

Niat untuk berundur telah bermain dalam fikiran sejak beberapa bulan. Akhirnya, saya memutuskan untuk terus berkhidmat sehingga PRU ke-14 dan Kementerian Kewangan sebagai kementerian terakhir sebelum saya berundur dari Kabinet. Saya berfikir saya harus membantu YAB Perdana Menteri, saya harus hadapi semua risiko yang berkait dengan 1MDB dan SRC. Saya sedar bukan mudah duduk di Kementerian Kewangan. Kadangkala, ada individu-individu yang menghentam saya kerana tidak meluluskan permohonan tender secara rundingan terus dan tender terhad. Saya berpendirian tugas yang saya pikul adalah suatu amanah dari kerajaan dan Ilahi. Amanah ini harus saya pikul

berprinsipkan good governance. Saya berpegang kepada pendirian bahawa tanggungjawab kerajaan adalah untuk menjaga negara dan kepentingan rakyat.Selepas balik dari Jeddah, saya hadir satu mesyuarat. Mesyuarat ini diadakan 4 hari sebelum saya berundur dari Kabinet.Dalam mesyuarat itu, saya membangkitkan kebimbangan atas kejatuhan ranking negara dalam laporan rasuah Transparency International. Saya menyatakan sistem tender kita mestilah lebih telus. Saya dihentam. Peristiwa ini menyedarkan saya betapa di dunia ini terdapat elemen hipokrit. Saya menjangkakan konklusi mesyuarat tentulah saya diminta untuk menyediakan laporan dan cadangan yang lebih lengkap.

Yang akhirnya, pada pagi Isnin, 27 Jun lalu, semasa di pejabat, saya terkejut membaca sebuah akhbar bahawa saya akan dipindahkan ke kementerian lain dalam rombakan Kabinet yang akan dilakukan pada hari itu. Saya tidak dimaklumka lebih awal?

Nasib baik pada jam 11.30 pagi ada mesyuarat Majlis Ekonomi. Selepas mesyuarat pada jam 1.15 tengah hari, saya bertanya PM adakah benar beliau akan menukar saya ke kementerian lain seperti dilaporkan akhbar berkenaan?

PM menyatakan saya akan ditukar ke kementerian lain. Perbincangan itu mengambil masa dalam 2 minit. Saya mohon untuk berundur dari Kabinet.

Mengapa? Pertama, saya telah tanamkan dalam hati sejak umrah seminggu lalu, Kementerian Kewangan adalah kementerian terakhir sebelum saya bersara dari Kabinet. Kedua, saya tidak mampu menjadi pemimpin efektif berkhidmat di kementerian lain dalam tempoh 1 1/2 tahun sehingga PRU14. Selaras dengan itu, saya mengundurkan diri dari Kabinet dan oleh kerana saya merasakan tidak sesuai lagi memegang jawatan dalam parti, saya meletakkan semua jawatan dalam parti.

Bagaimanapun, saya masih Ahli Parlimen Tambun. Bagi jawatan ahli parlimen, saya dipilih rakyat, saya harus memegang amanah itu dan sanggup berkorban untuknya.

Setelah semuanya berlalu, apa harapan Datuk Seri?

Kita mesti melihat ke hadapan. Akhirnya masa hadapan kita ditentukan oleh ALLAH SWT. Sebagai ahli parlimen,

saya akan tingkatkan perkhidmatan kepada rakyat. Atas kedudukan sebagai Ahli Perundangan (Legislator), saya sedang membuat persiapan, apakah soalan-soalan dan ucapan-ucapan untuk menghadapi persidangan parlimen pada Oktober ini.

Saya masih memegang jawatan Presiden Asian Forum For Parliamentarian On Population And Development (AFPPD), Malaysia dan Timbalan Presiden Inter- Parliamentary Union, Malaysia. Saya telah bincang dengan pegawai-pegawai Parlimen untuk mengaktifkan peranan AFPPD.

Sekarang saya kerap memberi ucapan kepada pelbagai golongan, termasuk golongan muda, intelektual dan profesional.

Pada 26 Ogos yang lalu, saya diundang dan menyampaikan ucaptama pada persidangan tahunan Australian National University di Canberra, Australia. Saya berucap di bawah tajuk ‘Malaysia…A Political Journey’. Saya dapati di Australia juga, isu 1MDB begitu panas dibincangkan. Semasa naik teksi pun, pemandu teksi turut bertanya isu 1MDB.

Di Parlimen nanti, saya akan menyuarakan prinsip good governance yang harus menjadi asas kepada pemerintah untuk membawa kesejahteraan kepada masa depan negara dan rakyat. Kerajaan hendaklah bersih, cekap dan amanah berpegang kepada prinsip digniti dan integriti supaya rakyat boleh berpaut demi masa depan mereka. Alangkah indahnya

dunia jika semua ini terjadi? Saya petik semula ucapan saya di Parlimen pada tahun 2000, pemimpin mestilah mempunyai ‘sistem nilai dan etika serta akhlak yang baik, bertanggungjawab, patuh kepada Tuhan serta berkemampuan untuk membangunkan negara dan masyarakat pelbagai kaum.’ Setiap sen dibelanjakan mestilah ke arah membina kesejahteraan serta kematangan negara dan rakyat. Jauhi kepentingan diri demi cintakan agama, negara dan rakyat.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 September 2016, 1:13 am and is filed under
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Human Rights Activist, Charity Demand Leonardo DiCaprio Return “Ill-Gotten” Donations

by Alex Ritman

The Hollywood Reporter

9/12/2016

Save Rivers, which is active in Malaysia, and Ambiga Sreenevasan, recipient of the U.S. International Women of Courage Award, are the latest to speak out about money linked to a corruption scandal.

Leonardo DiCaprio dropped by the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday to present the world premiere of his latest environmental doc
Before the Flood
, directed by Fisher Stevens, to a packed audience at the Princess of Wales theater.

The film, which follows the Oscar-winning U.N. Messenger for Peace around the world as he sees the devastating effects of climate change firsthand, was warmly received, The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore describing it as “well-intentioned,” noting the special access available to its star, who speaks to John Kerry, Barack Obama and Pope Francis.

But the very same day
Before the Flood
 bowed at TIFF, another charity added its voice to a growing list of organizations and activists criticizing DiCaprio’s association with individuals connected to a major corruption scandal and called on him to return millions of dollars in donations made to his environmental charity.

DiCaprio has been the focus of intense scrutiny over the past two months after he appeared as “Hollywood Actor 1” in a major Justice Department filing relating to a billion-dollar money-laundering scandal involving controversial businessman Jho Low and Riza Aziz, stepson of the Malaysian prime minister and co-founder of Red Granite Pictures, which produced The Wolf of Wall Street, allegedly with money diverted from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.

The actor is also alleged to have accepted donations originating from 1MDB to his environmental charity, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, the focus of an exposé in THR questioning its ties to the scandal and lack of transparency.

“In keeping the ill-gotten money, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is acting in complete contradiction to its mission statement, which is to be ‘dedicated to the long-term health and wellbeing of all Earths inhabitants … while restoring balance to threatened ecosystems and communities,'” said Peter Kallang of Save Rivers, a grassroots network of indigenous communities and organizations that has been working to protect human rights and halt the construction of damns in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. “The money should thus be returned to the people of Malaysia to stop the massive destruction to the environment and ecosystem from land developments and pollution.”

Kallang argues that the billion dollars of debt stemming from the 1MDB scandal — “not only a case of embezzlement but stealing from the poor” — will be borne by the Malaysian taxpayers. “The money could have been put into good use for bringing infrastructure to the neglected part of the country like the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.”

Meanwhile, Ambiga Sreenevasan, a prominent Malaysian lawyer and human rights advocate who in 2009 was honored by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the U.S. International Women of Courage Award, also spoke out.

“Imagine our shock — and embarrassment — to learn that a man whom we admire and respect is connected with the heist of the decade that has undermined the [Malaysian] people in so many ways,” she wrote in an open letter to DiCaprio on Monday. “We know that apart from being a wonderful actor, you are deeply concerned about humanitarian and social issues. How then can you remain silent in the face of this travesty?”

Sreenevasan pointed to the economic fallout from the 1MDB scandal, including major budget cuts to essential services such as hospitals and educational establishments, the reduction in student scholarships, and a drop in the value of the local currency.

“The 1MDB debt is so huge that our children and grandchildren will be stuck paying for it. How anyone could have used the people’s money in a manner that benefited themselves and burdened the people, is truly beyond me,” she wrote, also calling on DiCaprio to return monies to the Malaysian people “so that it may go some way towards compensating them for this massive fraud that has been perpetrated upon them.”

The demands from Save Rivers and Sreenevasan come just weeks after the Bruno Manser Funds, a rainforest charity working in Sarawak, became the first to openly urge DiCaprio to return donations made to his foundation connected to 1MDB and also his Wolf of Wall Street earnings.

DiCaprio’s director in
Before the Flood
, however, defended his actions. Speaking to THR, Fisher Stevens said that there was simply “an unsavory character in there who donated some money,” claiming that “Leo did nothing wrong.”

In
Before the Flood
, DiCaprio visits the rainforests of Sumatra in Indonesia, left devastated after being burned down to make room for palm oil manufacturing.

In Malaysia, the world’s second-biggest producer of palm oil, many have directly linked the 1MDB scandal with rainforest deforestation.

“I urge you to come to Malaysia. We are close to Indonesia, where your foundation is doing some work. See for yourself if what I am saying is true,” added Sreenevasan. “Check out how massive corruption has destroyed so much in our country, including our precious rainforests. Get to know us so that you understand why keeping even one cent of money connected with 1MDB would be immoral and completely unacceptable.”

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 13 September 2016, 12:17 pm and is filed under
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Call for Anwar Ibrahim to be given  the royal pardon and freed from Sungai Buloh prison on  Malaysia Day as a first step to make Malaysia Day a National Day for all Malaysians and not just in Sabah and Sarawak

The time has come for the Malaysian Government to make Malaysia Day on September 16 a National Day in the genuine sense of the term for all Malaysians and not just in Sabah and Sarawak.

What is being done by the Federal Government to make Malaysia Day a National Day of solidarity for the reaffirmation of the unity, integrity and sovereignty of Malaysia at two levels – firstly, of the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures which have come together to make Malaysia their home and an “Instant Asia” and secondly, the union of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak into a new nation in South-east Asia in 1963 by smoothing out the knots and kinks of nationhood in the past five decades – in particular the legitimate grievances felt by Sarawakians and Sabahans about their neglect and underdevelopment in the past half century?

Malaysia Day last year was hijacked and desecrated by the  UMNO-inspired “Red Shirts” rally  when  it should be an occasion for all Malaysians to strengthen national integration and counter the divisive and centrifugal forces seeking the division and disintegration of the nation.

Not only Malaysia Day, but  Sabah and Sabah were virtually forgotten on Sept. 16 last year  when  national and international attention were riveted on the Red Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur.

More is expected of the Federal Government to give greater substance to the import and significance of  Malaysia Day not only to the people of  Sabah and Sarawak but also to the people in Peninsular Malaysia.

The three golds won by the Malaysian Paralympians, Mohamad Ridzuan, Muhammad Ziyad and Abdul Latif at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, three weeks after the four silvers and one bronze won in the Rio Olympics by badminton ace Lee Chong Wei, doubles Tan Wee Kiong-Goh V Shem and mixed doubles Goh Liu Ying-Chan Peng Soon, and the  women’s 10m diving platform synchro Pandelela Rinong-Cheong Jun Hoong and cyclist Azizulhasni Awang have proved that Malaysians are capable of world-class achievements and not just be “jaguh kampong” in all fields of human endeavour – regardless of race, religion, region or politics.

The Malaysian Olympians and Paralympians should be an inspiration for all Malaysians.

Let Malaysians make 53rd Malaysia Day a memorable National Day not only for Sabahans and Sarawakians in terms of meaningful steps to restore genuine autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak, but to unite all Malaysians for a common national cause of greatness for Malaysia.

There can be no better start in this  process to reunify all Malaysians for a common national cause of greatness for Malaysia  than for the release of Malaysian patriot and leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from imprisonment.

For this reason, I call for Anwar Ibrahim to be given  the royal pardon and freed from Sungai Buloh prison on  Malaysia Day as a first step to make Malaysia Day a National Day for all Malaysians and not just in Sabah and Sarawak.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 14 September 2016, 1:57 pm and is filed under
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A question for Malaysians to  ponder while  commemorating 53rd  Malaysia Day – Is Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy dead or alive?

I dedicate a question for Malaysians to ponder while commemorating the 53rd Malaysia Day – is Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Policy dead or alive?

If Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy is still alive, why are UMNO leaders spearheading a national campaign of hate and lies drumming up  racial and religious politics, the latest example being the Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who alleged that Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s new political party is a proxy for DAP to divide the Malay community – just like PKR and Parti Amanah Negara?

DAP shared the same platform as the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman and veteran UMNO leader, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah when the latter led Parti Semangat 46 in the 1990 General Election to bring about electoral and institutional changes in the country.

Were  Tunku and Razaleigh traitors of the Malay community or pioneers of Malaysian nationalism and patriotism?

Is Najib and UMNO’s survival justification enough to abandon the 1Malaysia Policy to promote racial and religious hatred and animosities based on lies and falsehoods?

If Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy is to create a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion or region second, why is UMNO and Barisan Nasional acting so recklessly and irresponsibly as to betray the fundamental principles of the Merdeka Constitution 1957 and Malaysia Agreement 1963 that Malaysia is a secular nation with Islam as the official religion – undermining not only racial and religious harmony but threatening the very basis of the Malaysian nation which  resulted in the formation of the federation in 1963?

Will the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council reaffirm and  reiterate a policy stand that until and unless there is unanimous agreement of all the Barisan Nasional component parties, including those from Sarawak and Sabah, the Barisan Nasional government will not support any bill in Parliament, whether official or  private member, which undermines the very cornerstone of the formation of Malaysia – such as a hudud-enabling bill as was attempted in the May meeting of Parliament?

The commemoration of Malaysia Day will be meaningless if the question as to what has happened to the Report of  Royal Commission Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS) is not raised, as this is also central of the question as to whether Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy is dead or alive.

The RCIIIS was established in February 2012, and although initially given 18 months to complete its findings, submitted its report to the Federal Government more than two years later in May 2014, but the RCIIIS Report was only made public more than six months later in December 2014.

Since then, the RCIIIS Report seemed to have been completely forgotten by Putrajaya as if thrown into the wastepaper chute, despite the formation of a high-sounding RCIIIS Report Working Committee under the chairmanship of Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and PBS Chairman, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan to look into the RCIIIS findings and compile recommendations.

Will the Prime Minister render a full account in Parliament next month  as to what Putrajaya proposes to do with the RCIIIS Report  with regard to the “illegal immigrant nightmare” which had haunted the people and state of Sabah for over two generations?

A Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Joseph Kurup today advised Malaysians not to engage in activities that will be detrimental to the harmony of the country and which aimed to damage the international image of the country such as illegal assemblies.

Kurup is clearly referring to  Bersih 5 which was announced yesterday as to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 19.

Bersih 5 rally is not intended to damage but to save  the international image of the country.

There  is nothing that any Malaysian or group of Malaysians can do more  to  damage the international image of Malaysia than two things:

firstly, involvement in an international money-laundering conspiracy resulting in Malaysia gaining the world infamy of an overnight global kleptocracy; and secondly,  accepting such international infamy as a global kleptocracy  with indifference and nonchalance as if it is the commonest thing in world – as is the case with  the Malaysian Cabinet.

It is most shocking that Kurup seems quite happy and content to be a Minister of a global kleptocracy.

If not, what  does Kurup propose to do so that  Malaysia can undo  such grave damage to its  international image?

(53rd Malaysia Day Message in Gelang Patah on Thursday, 15th September 2016)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 15 September 2016, 3:04 pm and is filed under
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Najib Razak
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Belasungkawa Allahyarham Dato’ Dr Haron Din

DAP menzahirkan rasa simpati dan takziah kepada keluarga Allahyarham Dato’ Dr Haron Din atas pemergian Allahyarham pagi ini.

Walaupun ada kalanya berbeza pendapat dari segi politik, DAP mengiktiraf peranan Allahyarham sebagai tokoh penting dalam medan politik dan dakwah negara.

Semoga Allahyarham ditempatkan dalam kalangan mereka yang beriman.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 16 September 2016, 2:10 pm and is filed under
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Onus is on Election Commission to prove that it is not gerrymandering the current constituency redelineation exercise as in the past to keep  UMNO in power

The onus is on the Election Commission to prove that it is not gerrymandering the current constituency redelineation exercise as in the past to keep UMNO in power.

There are two reasons why the Election Commission shoulders such an onus.

Firstly, the public admission or confession at the end of 2013  by the former longest-serving Secretary and later Chairman of the Election Commission, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, who managed six of the 13 general elections and responsible for three of the four electoral  constituency redelineations in Malaysia that he had gerrymandered the redelineations to ensure that the Malays remain in power.

Secondly, preliminary study of the current redelineation exercise indicate that it is driven by the overall agenda to keep UMNO in power and to eliminate Opposition leaders in vulnerable seats from Parliament, like Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in Pagoh and Nurul Izzah Anwar in Lembah Pantai  than to comply with the democratic and constitutional principle of “one man, one vote, one value” and to establish that the Election Commission is transparent, independent and professional not beholden to the dictates of the government of the day.

As rightly pointed out by the Pakatan Harapan Johor leaders, Liew Chin Tong of DAP, Aminolhudu Hassan of AMANAH and Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar of PKR, the redelineation of Pagoh is not only politically motivated to end Muhyiddin’s parliamentary career, the underlying objective of the exercise is to ensure that UMNO/BN will not lose power in Johor in the next general election  –  just as in Selangor, the objective of the gerrymandering is to  help UMNO/BN to recapture power in the state.

This is a perversion of the constitutional mandate of the Election Commission to carry out constituency redelineation under Article 113 of the Federal Constitution when the purpose is to address malapportionment and not to allow gerrymandering.

In December 2013, the then Chairman of the Election Commission, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusuf cited the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution as authority why constituencies after redelineattion will only contain a maximum of 100,000 voters.

Can the Election Commission explain why under its proposed redelineation, there are 13 Parliamentary constituencies with more than 100,000 voters (six in Selangor, two in Johor and one each in Malacca,  Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) violating

the redelineation principle diby the immediate former Election Commission Chairman himself, viz:

Damansara		150,439

Bangi			146,168

Klang			141,275

Petaling Jaya	        129,363

Subang		        128,330

Gelang Patah	        112,081

Kota Raja		121,126

Pasir Gudang	        108,156

Kota Melaka 		105,067

Kuala Terengganu	101,875

Sungai Petani	        101,829

Tumpat		        101,318

Kapar			100,456

                This entry was posted on Friday, 16 September 2016, 5:45 pm and is filed under
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Election Commission’s proposed redelineation of constituencies is not only undemocratic but runs afoul of the 1Malaysia Policy to build a nation of Malaysians

In my 53rd Malaysia Day message, I asked whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Policy is dead or alive.

This was because the Election Commission’s constituency redelineation proposals,  made public on the eve of the 53rd Malaysia Day, was not only undemocratic in violating the “one man, one vote, one value” principle, but clearly against the 1Malaysia policy to create a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion or region second.

Let the Election Commission Chairman, Datuk Seri Mohd Hashim Abdullah explain whether the constituency redelineation proposals had been inspired by the 1Malaysia policy to promote a nation where every Malaysian regards himself or herself as Malaysia first or will in effect exacerbate racial polarisation and consciousness, and undermine national unity,  in the country.

Furthermore, let him answer critiques that the new redelineation proposals are  in fact more undemocratic than previous redelineations  in violating the democratic principle of “one man, one vote, one value”.

At the end of 2013, the former longest-serving Secretary and later Chairman of the Election Commission, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, who managed six of the 13 general elections and responsible for three of the four electoral  constituency redelineations in Malaysia, made a shocking confession about the secret and unconstitutional agenda of previous redelineations to gerrymander the electoral constituencies to ensure that the Malays, actually  meaning UMNO,  remain in power.

Let Mohd Hashim explain whether the Election Commission is still promoted by this secret agenda in the redelineation of electoral constituencies, as analysis of the redelineation proposals seem to point not only to the existence of this agenda to ensure that UMNO remains in power, but its being  the raison d’etre of the  Election Commission’s fifth redelineation exercise.

How else can the Election Commission explain for proposing an even greater disparity in the number of electors among the constituencies?

For instance, for the States  of Selangor and Johor, the disparity between  parliamentary constituencies  with the largest and smallest electorates in the 13th General Elections have been widened rather than decreased in the redelineation proposals,  e.g.  144,159 voters  in Kapar and 37,318 voters in Sabak Bernam in the 13th General Elections widened to 150,439 voters in Damansara and 37,126 in Sabak Bernam for Selangor and 106,725 voters in Gelang Patah and 37,714 voters in Labis in the 13th General Elections  to  112,081 voters in Gelang Patah and 37,568 voters in Labis.

There has been no serious attempt to reduce the voter disparity to give meaning to the principle of “one man, one vote, one value” principle.

Peninsular-wide, the electorates of 15,627 voters in Putrajaya and 150,439 voters in Damansara in effect provide an example where one vote in Putrajaya is equivalent to 10 votes in Damansara!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 17 September 2016, 3:35 pm and is filed under
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Election Commission’s constituency redelineation proposal the worst gerrymandering in all five redelineation exercises in nation’s history

The Election Commission’s constituency redelineation proposal is the worst gerrymandering in all five redelineation exercises in the nation’s history.

Under the proposed redelineation, the parliamentary quota in the Peninsular states – which  is the average number of electors per parliamentary constituency in the peninsular states, derived from dividing the total electorate by the total number of parliamentary constituencies  in all the peninsular states – is 68,814.

The parliamentary quota for each state in Peninsular Malaysia are as follows:

2016 Redelineation:-

State

Registered Voters

Parliamentary Constituencies

Parliamentary Quota

Selangor

2,078,311

22

94,469

Johore

1,649,131

26

63,428

Perak

1,407,529

24

58,647

Kedah

1,044,444

15

69,626

FT (KL)

788,413

11

71,674

Penang

867,748

13

66,750

Kelantan

940,591

14

67,185

Pahang

740,023

14

52,859

Negri Sembilan

557,137

8

69,642

Terengganu

669,546

8

83,693

Malacca

456,645

6

76,107

Perlis

137,098

3

45,600

FT (Putrajaya)

17,627

1

Peninsular Malaysia

165

68,814

The Election Commission owes the Malaysian electorate a full explanation why the present exercise is even more unfair and undemocratic in disregarding the “one man, one vote, one value” principle than the previous four constituency redelineations.

With Damansara in Selangor redelineated as the largest constituency with 150,439 votes, it is more  than double the parliamentary quota of 68,814.

This will the biggest and undemocratic electorate disparity when compared to the four previous redelineations: in 2003, Johore Bahru, the parliamentary constituency  with the biggest electorate (90,187) representing a 94% deviation from the parliamentary quota of 46,498;  49% deviation in the 1994 redelineation (Klang’s 69,422 voters to the parliamentary quota of 46,558), 69% maximum deviation in the 1984 redelineation (Petaling Jaya’s 67,846 voters to the parliamentary quota of 40,139) and 65% maximum deviation in the 1974 redelineation (Ipoh’s 51,569 to the parliamentary quota of 31,198).

This is why all the following 13 “super” Parliamentary seats redelineated with more than 100,000 voters should be redrawn so that they do not have more than 100,000 voters:

Damansara

      150,439

Bangi

           146,168

Klang

           141,275

Petaling Jaya

       129,363

Subang

         128,330

Gelang Patah

      112,081

Kota Raja

         121,126

Pasir Gudang

      108,156

Kota Melaka

        105,067

Kuala Terengganu

   101,875

Sungai Petani

       101,829

Tumpat

         101,318

Kapar

           100,456

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 18 September 2016, 10:03 pm and is filed under
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Why the BN Government Will Lose in the Next GE

Koon Yew Yin

18.9.2016

The latest hot news in town is whether Najib and BN are going for early elections, Various UMNO ministers have been calling on their constituency members to be prepared with some UMNO leaders claiming that this is the best time to take advantage of the wins in the two recent by elections in Perak and Selangor and the state elections in Sarawak.

On the other hand, PM Najib has not dropped any hints. But the Deputy PM has discounted early elections. According to Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the claim that the general election could be held as early as next March was based on speculation. He also stated the conclusion was reached using the predictions of unnamed Umno leaders polled by the media outlet. “That is a prediction based on structured sampling which they did. But the reality is that we must keep our feet firmly planted on the ground and while the leaders in the government, BN and Umno don’t deny that the survey was done academically, but the reality is different”.

Whatever the truth is on this matter, I hope it is true that an early election will come about. In my previous posting, I had noted that we have had a lifetime of UMNO/Aliance and UMNO/BN rule in the country.

One lifetime is bad enough.

An early election will give us the opportunity to get rid of what an MCA leader has referred to as “jaguh kampung” – that is UMNO leaders – who have enriched themselves and their cronies but let the Malays and all Malaysians down badly.

I am sure that this coming election will be different in its outcome for the following reasons.

1. Not many Malaysians are aware that the last election was stolen by the BN. At the last GE, BN polled 5,237,699 votes, or 47.4% of the vote. The opposition PR polled 5,623,984 votes, or 50.9% of the vote. Yet the BN won the election in terms of seats.  The PR increased their vote by 2.9%, while the BN vote fell by 3.9%, yet the PR made a net gain of only 7 seats. BN pulled off this “remarkable feat” – 60% of the seats with 47% of the vote, leaving the opposition with 51% of the vote but only 40% of the seats by electoral cheating. In the coming election, I expect the opposition parties to go all out to expose the electoral tricks and deceit of the BN which gave the BN victory in the last election. This will ensure that the voting public delivers a clear cut and decisive victory for the opposition despite the BN’s electoral manipulation.

2. Most Important Factor: At the last GE, the opposition won more votes but less seats because UMNO won more seats in the rural areas. Now there are 3 Malay opposition parties (PAS, AMANAH and Pribumi) and chances are that they can win more seats in the rural areas if they get their act together. 4-5 years since the last election is a long time. Rural voters know the bad economic situation facing them today is entirely the work of UMNO. The FELDA Global Ventures listing, for example, has benefited UMNO’s cronies but impoverished thousands of settlers and their families.

3. Today Malays and Malaysians are not only better educated but also better informed about what is taking place and what is good and bad for the country. Everybody knows how 1MO and 1MDB have not only cost the country billions of ringgit but have also brought us great shame and humiliation. Till today, we have not had a honest and full account of what has happened in the twin scandals of 1MDB and the massive donation into the PM’s personal account. Nobody in the voting booth in the next GE in Peninsular Malaysia will cast his or her vote without taking into consideration these two mother-of-all political scandals. Dr. Mahathir and Muhyiddin will make sure of this.

4. Today too, we are seeing signs of the BN breaking up. Some MCA, Gerakan and MIC leaders are finally realizing that they have been played out by UMNO’s extremist policies and politics and are speaking out.  We can expect that they and their supporters in the BN will take silent revenge against UMNO at the next poll. I also expect to see a few political parties from Sabah and Sarawak joining up with the opposition to cut UMNO down to size at the federal level.

5. On a personal note too, I hope Tunku Razaleigh and other UMNO dissidents can leave UMNO to join the opposition. They must realize that there is no future for them in a Najib-controlled UMNO – only a sinking ship and the loss of whatever name and honour they have still.

To the PM and BN leaders – please have an early 14 GE so that Malaysians have an early opportunity to say: “good riddance to bad rubbish”!

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 18 September 2016, 11:35 pm and is filed under
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Pakatan Harapan will have to consider the option of snap polls in Selangor as the Election Commission’s constituency redelineation proposals have mangled and butchered the map of Selangor with the sole purpose of returning UMNO to power in the state

Pakatan Harapan will have to consider the option of snap polls in Selangor as the Election Commission’s constituency redelineation proposals have mangled and butchered the map of Selangor with the sole purpose of returning UMNO to power in the state.

The Barisan Nasional only won 12 UMNO state assembly seats in the 2013 General Elections, but it is hoping to recapture the Selangor State Government which it had failed in two general elections in 2008 and 2013 through the most unashamed, blatant and flagrant violation of the democratic principle of “one man, one vote” in the redelineation of the constituencies, both for Parliament and State Assembly, in the Selangor state.

The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Razali Ismail, has denied that the

redelineation exercise is lop-sided and in favour of UMNO and Barisan Nasional, claiming that the allegation is aimed at tarnishing UMNO’s image. He needs to only look at the redelineation proposals in Selangor.

Razali and other UMNO leaders know the truth, but are putting up a great show, just as UMNO leaders, apart from the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, are all pretending that they do not know that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” mentioned 36 times in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit for the forfeiture of over US$1 billion assets from the embezzlement, defrauding, money-laundering of US$3.5 billion 1MDB funds referred to none other than the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Only a person who has the special brief to redelineate the Selangor state assembly seats with the sole objective of returning UMNO/BN to state power in Selangor could have so mangled and butchered the map of Selangor as to produce State Assembly seats which make no sense whatsoever, and in particular, violate the Constitutional mandate to ensure that every constituency redelineation exercise should close the voter disparity to approximate to the “one man, one vote, one value” principle.

The current fifth constituency redelineation is making history by making the voter disparity in electoral constituencies even greater than before – which is clearly not intended by the Constitution.

It is clear that there are multiple objectives of the current redelineation exercise – all of which violate the Constitutional spirit and word of complying with the democratic principle of “one man, one vote, one value” and which includes the following:

To regain UMNO power in the Selangor state.

To regain for UMNO the two-thirds parliamentary majority.

To eliminate individual personalities in the 14th General Election, most notably the former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former Pakatan Rakyat Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin and PKR Vice President Nurul Izzah Anwar.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 19 September 2016, 7:50 am and is filed under
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Award Canceled for Children’s Group With Ties to Malaysia’s First Lady

By LOUISE STORY

New York Times

SEPT. 18, 2016

Organizers of a high-profile event to be held during the annual United Nations conclave this week have at the last minute canceled an award they had planned to give a Malaysian organization over concerns about its links to Malaysia’s first lady, whose family is mired in corruption allegations.

The event, to be held Thursday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, honors people and groups that have fought extremism. Among the scheduled honorees was Permata, a Malaysian children’s organization that was founded several years ago under the auspices of Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak.

Ms. Rosmah is known for her lavish spending on luxury items like Hermès Birkin bags.

The couple’s family and close friends are at the center of a Justice Department lawsuit claiming that $1 billion in assets — including a $30.6 million penthouse at the Time Warner Center in New York and a $39 million mansion in the Los Angeles hills — were bought with money stolen from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, called 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.

A statement on Sunday from Tudor Parfitt, a scholar involved in the event, confirmed that the honor had been withdrawn.

The statement said that questions had been raised about the sources of Permata’s funding, and that although the event organizers were not aware of any specific wrongdoing, they did not have time to vet the organization.

The event is co-hosted by the head of Unesco, Irina Bokova. Ms. Bokova is running to be secretary general of the United Nations, so her actions are also being closely scrutinized.

Questions surrounding Malaysia’s prime minister and his wife have intensified since the Justice Department lawsuit was filed two months ago.

Ms. Rosmah is not named in it, and Mr. Najib is referred to only as Malaysian Official 1. But Ms. Rosmah’s son from a first marriage — Riza Aziz, a movie producer — is named. The suit claims that Mr. Najib had $731 million from 1MDB, a government investment account, moved through his personal accounts.

Mr. Najib has said he broke no laws and took nothing for personal gain.

Malaysia is one of the 10 countries that hold a rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council, and Mr. Najib in recent years has had a big presence at the annual General Assembly session.

In 2013, Mr. Najib gave a speech about the “moderate Muslim,” which caused controversy in Malaysia, a Muslim country, but won him allies in the West. Also that year, he spoke at venues such as the Harvard Club about business opportunities in Malaysia.

Mr. Najib had lobbied strenuously for Malaysia to be added to the Security Council.

When Mr. Najib and Ms. Rosmah traveled to New York in the past, they stayed in the lavish Mandarin Oriental hotel, which is in the Time Warner complex, the location of one of the pricey properties included in the United States government’s asset forfeiture suit.

That condo was purchased by a shell company and traced by The New York Times in a 2015 investigation to Jho Low, a close associate of the prime minister and his wife.

Mr. Low, also prominently named in the Justice Department case, has burnished his image with ties to the United Nations as well. In 2014, his family’s foundation, Jynwel, was a major sponsor of the Social Good Summit, an event thematically tied to the General Assembly session. And late that year, the Jynwel Foundation invested $25 million in Irin, the United Nations’ news service.

A spokesman for the prime minister could not be reached for comment, and neither Unesco nor the United Nations Foundation immediately responded to a request for comment.

Somini Sengupta contributed reporting from the United Nations, and Richard C. Paddock from Bangkok.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 20 September 2016, 6:55 am and is filed under
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Election Commission Chairman Mohd Hashim should explain why he had jettisoned his predecessor’s redelineation plan to abide by the Constitution and the  democratic principle of “one man, one vote” by ensuring that there will be no super-size  parliamentary constituencies exceeding 100,000 voters?

The DAP MP for Serdang, Dr. Ong Kian Ming’s repartee to the denial by the Election Commission Chairman, Datuk Mohd Hashim Abdullah that the  constituency redelineation exercise is being carried out for the benefit of certain parties is a gem: “Yeah right, and I’m sure that Jho Low had nothing to do with 1MDB either…”

Can Mohd Hashim explain why he had jettisoned his precedessor, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof’s redelineation plan to abide by the Constitution and the democratic principle of “one man, one vote” by ensuring that there will be no super-size parliamentary constituencies exceeding 100,000 votes?

Abdul Aziz had gone on public record to say that in the new constituency redelineation to be  proposed  by the Election Commission, “a constituency with a large number of votes, more than 100,000, has to be divided into two, so that the constituents could obtain good service from the elected representatives”.

Why did Mohd Hashim abandon this important Constitutional and democratic principle in the final proposal  of the Election Commission for the redelineation of electoral constituencies?

Is this at the behest of the powers-that-be in UMNO?

In fact, the Election Commission’s constituency redelineation is downright unconstitutional, as  it violates the important principle laid down in the Thirteenth Schedule of the Constitution which stipulates that in any constituency redelineation, “the number of electors within each constituency in a State ought to be approximately equal except that, having regard to the greater difficulty of reaching electors in the country districts and the other disadvantages facing rural constituencies, a measure of weightage for area ought to be given to such constituencies”.

The Thirteenth Schedule provides for weightage for rural areas, but this voter disparity or weightage  for urban-rural constituencies should constantly be closed and not widened, as is the case with the proposed redelineation.

In Selangor, for instance, the voter disparity had been widened from the previous 15,187 voters (Sungai Air Tawar)- 61,688 (Subang Jaya) gap during the 13th General Elections to  15,033 (Sungai Air Tawar)-66,059 (Subang Jaya) in the proposed redelineation.

Why is the Election Commission widening instead of narrowing the voter disparity in the state constituencies in Selangor, if there is no ulterior agenda to redelineate the electoral constituencies to benefit UMNO?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 20 September 2016, 8:34 am and is filed under
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Barisan Nasional Supreme Council has degenerated from Federal  coalition government’s highest decision-making body into a superfluous and even super-annuated creature without any bite, role, authority or purpose whatsoever

Nobody is impressed with  the Barisan Nasional Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s announcement that the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council will meet on Friday to discuss the Election Commission’s (EC) proposed redelineation exercise.

This is because the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council has degenerated from the Barisan Nasional Federal coalition government’s highest decision-making body into a superfluous and even superannuated creature without any bite, role, authority or purpose whatsoever.

It has followed the footsteps of the Cabinet to become an utterly toothless, purposeless and irrelevant body.

Despite protestations  and denials by the EC Chairman, Datuk Mohd Hashim Abdullah that the constituency redelineation exercise was being carried out for the benefit of certain parties, nobody believes that the Election Commission would dare to propose the most unconstitutional, blatant and flagrant constituency redelineation proposals – the most undemocratic of all five redelineation exercises in the nation’s history  – without “greenlight” from the  highest “political strategists”  in the corridors of power in Putrajaya (which do not include anyone from outside UMNO)!

Mohd Hashim’s protestation and denials lack credibility or conviction, for the EC Chairman is unable to explain why he had jettisoned his predecessor, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof’s previous  redelineation plan to abide by the Constitution and the democratic principle of “one man, one vote” by ensuring that there will be no super-size parliamentary constituencies exceeding 100,000 votes.

Is the EC Chairman prepared to make public the redelineation proposals drafted under the Chairmanship of Abdul Aziz which is based on the principle that there will be no super-size parliamentary constituencies exceeding 100,000 votes?

Or for that matter, is the EC Chairman prepared to reveal how many sets of redelineation proposals had been considered by the Election Commission before the EC announced the redelineation proposals as the basis of its constituency delimitation exercise on the eve of Malaysia Day on 15th Sept and to make public all the redelineations proposals considered by the EC under the previous and present EC Chairman?

The BN Supreme Council meeting on Friday will be superfluous and irrelevant as none of the leaders from the 13 non-UMNO parties in the Barisan Nasional would dare to demand that the EC  make public all the constituency redelineation proposals which had been considered by the EC – including the one referred to by Abdul Aziz to redelineate constituencies to ensure that there will be no super-size constituencies exceeding 100,000 voters – to demonstrate that the EC had acted in a responsible, transparent, democratic and constitutional manner.

MCA and Gerakan have expressed their opposition towards the EC’s redelineation proposals, but do they really matter as their leaders have along abandoned the important “consensus” principle in Barisan Nasional and accepted a subsidiary and subordinate role in the Barisan Nasional coalitio .

In fact, MCA and Gerakan leaders had not dared to even requisition  for an emergency meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council when  UMNO Ministers unilaterally fast-tracked the PAS President’s private member’s bill  in Parliament in May  which violated the  43-year Barisan Nasional stand and consensus that PAS’ hudud proposal was not appropriate for Malaysia’s plural society and against the fundamental provisions of the 1957 Merdeka Constitution and 1963 Malaysia Agreement.

Although MCA and Gerakan leaders have promised in the recent Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections that the Barisan Nasional “consensus” will be restored, will MCA, Gerakan and the other BN component parties especially from Sabah and Sarawak ensure that the BN Supreme Council decide on Friday that there will be no repeat in Parliament of what happened in May to fast-track the PAS President’s private member’s bill motion unless there is approval by all the 14 BN component parties?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 21 September 2016, 7:02 am and is filed under
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Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation creating waves in Indonesia

The Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation is creating waves in Indonesia, and is the subject of inquiry of the many political leaders and public intellectuals I met during the four-day visit to Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

This is the third overseas visit by DAP leaders to learn and update on the latest political developments with regard to Islam and democracy, particularly in Moslem-majority nations.

The countries first visited were Jordan and Egypt in April last year, followed by visits to Tunisia and Turkey last October.

Accompanying me in the current Indonesian trip are DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Seputeh, Teresa Kok, DAP National Deputy Publicity Secretary and MP for Bukit Bendera Zairil Khir Johari and DAP MP for Bukit Mertajam, Steven Sim.

During the four-day visit, DAP leaders visited the Indonesian Parliament, met and had wide-ranging discussion with Indonesian political, Islamist and intellectual leaders on the political and current developments and trends in Indonesia, Southeast Asia and the world, particularly with reference to Islam and politics, and the need combat Islamic extremism and the Islamic State (IS) threat.

During the discussion with Indonesian political leaders as well as leaders of Muslim organisations, including the Secretary-General of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and former presidential spokesman for President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf and the former Chairman of Muhammadiyah (1998 – 2005), Ahmad Syafi’i Maarif (receipient of 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding), there is consensus that a tolerant, moderate and inclusive Islam and not an Islamic State, IS idea of an Islamic Caliphate or exclusive, intolerant and extremist expressions of Islam is the future for peace, harmony and justice in the world.

Among the personalities we met include foremost journalist and author, Goenawan Mohamad, founder of Tempo and former Nieman fellow at Harvard University; Muslim reformist Ulil Abshar-Abdala; PDI-P parliamentarian Jalaluddin Rakhmat; Director for Centre for the Study of Religion and Culture, Irfan Abu Bakar; Secretary-General of newly-formed Partai Solidaritas Indoneia (PSI) Raja Juli Antoni; public intellectuals including Prof Dr. Purwo Santoso of Gadjah Mada University, Novriantoni Kahar and Lufti Assyaukanie.

Media Statement in Yogyakarta on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016

L

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 22 September 2016, 7:43 pm and is filed under
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The rise of Aman Abdurrahman, IS master ideologue

Rendi A. Witular

The Jakarta Post

January 25 2016

Unlike his contemporaries, cleric and terrorist convict Aman Abdurrahman has never seen war. He never fights along his fellow jihadists in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria or in any domestic sectarian conflict.

But Aman’s preaching is so contagious that Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, the elder statesman of the regional terrorism network, has succumbed to his doctrine and authority.

Aman’s notoriety was recently extended with the alleged involvement of his followers in an attack targeting police and foreigners in a Central Jakarta district packed with shopping centers, embassies, the UN headquarters and government offices on Jan. 14. The attack killed four civilians and four perpetrators.

Bahrun Naim, who is suspected by the police to have orchestrated the attack and has been in Raqqa, Syria, with the Islamic State (IS) movement since early 2015, was a member of Aman’s prayer community before leaving Indonesia.

Afif, also known as Sunakim, identified on the day of the attack wearing a DJ Tiesto shirt, shared Aman’s ideology as he joined Aman’s terrorist training camp in Aceh in 2010, as well as his prayer community.

‘The perpetrators shared a similar doctrine that has been widely preached by Aman,’ National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan said recently.

While the police have not uncovered any evidence to suggest that Aman orchestrated the attack, many in the intelligence community have pointed to Aman’s proliferating doctrine and his ability to win over many influential figures in the terror network as invigorating for the terrorism movement.

It was not until the establishment of IS in 2013 that Aman and his takfiri doctrine (an offshoot of fundamentalist Salafism that accuses other Muslims of apostasy, and therefore liable to be killed) gained ground in the domestic violent jihad community long dominated by al-Qaeda’s Salafism doctrine.

Takfiri is the prime doctrine of IS, a terrorist organization that has occupied territory in Syria and Iraq in its quest to repeat the glory of the Islamic caliphates.

Introduced by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2001, takfiri is represented by his group Tawhid wal-Jihad, and was quickly adopted by Aman for distribution in Indonesia through Aman’s version of Tawhid wal-Jihad.

Unlike Ba’asyir’s al-Qaeda splinter, Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which focused its attacks primarily on Western interests, Aman and his followers have declared war on anyone, including fellow Muslims, who refuse to follow their doctrine.

However, Aman’s track record during Ba’asyir’s heyday between 2000 and 2011 was not as impressive as his JI fellows.

Aman was sentenced in 2004 to seven years in prison for a failed terror plot. The bomb, prepared by his group, was prematurely detonated in the terrorists’ hiding spot in Cimanggis, Depok, West Java.

During his time in prison, Aman met with Ba’asyir, who spent time in prison for terrorism between 2005 and 2006. In 2008, Aman was released after receiving remissions for good behavior.

Soon after his release, Aman collaborated with Ba’asyir to form a joint terrorism training camp in Aceh in 2010 that united the different factions of terrorism groups. Due to the Aceh camp incident, Aman and Ba’asyir received nine and 15 years in prison, respectively, and are now detained in a supposedly maximum-security prison on Nusakambangan, an island off the shores of Cilacap, Central Java.

But while Aman is kept behind bars, the police have accused his followers of involvement in several terror plots, including a suicide bombing at a mosque inside a police headquarters in Cirebon, West Java, that only claimed the life of the perpetrator in 2011.

His doctrine is also blamed for a string of attacks that killed several police officers, including one in Pamulang, South Tangerang, Banten, in 2013.

When IS was declared in 2013, Aman used his flare to lure others into joining his group, particularly JI hard-liners who longed for action at a time when Ba’asyir’s influence was waning.

Encouraged by Aman, Ba’asyir agreed to pledge his allegiance to IS in mid-2014, enraging his own family and loyalists who had long provided support to al-Qaeda splinter faction Jabhat al-Nusra in its fight against Syrian government forces.

‘Aman is IS’ master ideologue in Indonesia. He has long preached the takfiri doctrine, and IS has served his cause,’ former National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chairman Ansyaad Mbai said recently.

‘He can easily lure people into his influence through his eloquence in preaching. Many extremists have high respect for Aman for his extensive knowledge of the religion as his fluency in Arabic is unrivaled by his peers,’ he said.

After the merger of many terrorist factions into Tawhid wal-Jihad, Aman renamed his organization Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) to propagate IS ideology and recruitment in Indonesia.

Through his group, Aman manages his followers, conducts recruitment for IS and spreads IS propaganda behind bars.

Aman, also known as Oman Rochman, is among the few individuals in Indonesia trusted by the IS hierarchy, with their recommendations and schemes considered sufficient without additional references from IS headquarters, according to research by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC).

According to the National Police, Aman’s JAD has produced four prominent figures: Santoso, a former JI member who leads the Eastern Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) in an insurgency movement in Poso, Central Sulawesi; Bachrumsyah, commander of the Western Indonesia Mujahidin (MIB), who has joined IS in Syria but still has pools of followers in Greater Jakarta; Bahrum Naim, the recent attack orchestrator; and Salim Mubarak At Tamimi, known also as Abu Jandal, who has also joined IS in Syria.

The police suspect Bachrumsyah, Bahrum and Abu Jandal of collaborating from Syria to direct more attacks in Indonesia through their followers.

Bachrumsyah, a dropout communications student from the State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah in South Tangerang, Banten, is among Aman’s staunchest disciples recruited through his prayer community in Pamulang.

In July 2014, Bachrumsyah uploaded a video to YouTube inciting Indonesians to join IS.

Similar to Bachrumsyah, Bahrum was also recruited by Aman through his prayer community in Bandung, West Java, between 2008 and 2010. According to the National Police, Bahrum often visited Aman in Nusakambangan to hear him preach.

Born in Sumedang, West Java, on Jan. 5, 1972, Aman was mostly educated in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). He earned a Bachelor’s degree from the Islamic and Arabic College of Indonesia (LIPIA) in Jakarta after seven years of study.

The college is a branch of the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.

After graduating, he served as a lecturer and preacher at the campus and at other education institutions in Jakarta, Bogor and Bandung, West Java. However, he was dismissed in early 2000 for his radical adoption of the takfiri doctrine.

With Aman’s doctrine proven to be contagious and detrimental, as evidenced by the Jan. 14 attack, the prison authority has finally confined Aman into an isolation cell on Nusakambangan.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian recently acknowledged the extent of threat that the takfiri doctrine will pose in encouraging future attacks, and the need for the public to become more aware of such teachings.

‘The movement is more dangerous than those inspired by al-Qaeda. The takfiri doctrine means that everyone is permitted to be killed whereas, al-Qaeda prioritizes attacks on Western symbols,’ said Tito, who has been handling Aman’s cases since 2003.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 22 September 2016, 7:19 am and is filed under
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Unesco holds back award for Malaysia PM’s wife amid 1MDB fallout

Jeevan Vasagar in Singapore

Financial Times

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

Honour for Rosmah Mansor on hold in sign of growing international impact of graft scandal

Unesco has postponed an award it planned to give to Rosmah Mansor, the Malaysian prime minister’s wife, at the last minute in a sign of the growing international fallout from a corruption scandal engulfing the country’s leaders.

Irina Bokova, the Unesco director-general, wrote to Ms Rosmah this month saying Malaysia’s first lady was to receive the award at an event in New York this Thursday, according to the Malaysian government.

The award was to recognise efforts to counter extremism through the education system and honour the work of Permata, a Malaysian organisation that works with children and teenagers. Permata was founded by Ms Rosmah.

However, Malaysia’s ambassador to the UN was told in an email that it would be deferred to 2017 because of questions about Permata’s funding, according to a Malaysian government statement on Tuesday.

Questions surrounding the Malaysian prime minister and his family have intensified after US prosecutors outlined detailed allegations this summer concerning Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB.

While Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, was not identified by name in the US court documents, the description of “Malaysian Official 1” matches his personal details and responsibilities. US prosecutors say that this official received funds misappropriated from 1MDB. Mr Najib denies any wrongdoing.

Riza Aziz, Ms Rosmah’s son from a previous marriage, was named by US prosecutors in the court documents. He is co-founder of Red Granite, the film studio behind The Wolf of Wall Street, a Hollywood film allegedly produced with funds diverted from 1MDB. Red Granite denies wrongdoing and says it is co-operating with inquiries.

Tengku Sariffuddin, the Malaysian prime minister’s press secretary, said in a statement on Tuesday that Permata was funded by the Malaysian government under an allocation published in the government budget and approved by parliament.

“We deplore attempts to politicise the work of an exemplary organisation whose only aim is to improve the lives of children,” he said, adding that Ms Rosmah and Permata had now declined the award “to avoid any further distraction”.

Ms Rosmah is frequently a target of criticism on social media for her allegedly lavish lifestyle. Supporters of the prime minister dismiss these attacks as politically motivated.

Ms Bokova, who assumed leadership of Unesco in 2009, is running to be secretary-general of the UN.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 23 September 2016, 7:39 am and is filed under
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Excommunicating Saudis? A New Fracture Emerges in Islam

By YAROSLAV TROFIMOV

Wall Street Journal

Sept. 22, 2016

International conference in Russia’s Chechnya leaves out Saudis, creating fresh religious strife — this time within Islam’s Sunni sect

Political conflicts in the Middle East between the Saudi-led camp of Sunni powers and a rival Shiite camp led by Iran have already morphed into a religious war. Now, a theological dispute within Sunni Islam is causing another regional political rift — a result of an initially obscure conference in Russia’s Chechen Republic.

Chechnya’s strongman Ramzan Kadyrov — just re-elected with a modest 98% of the vote — is a follower of the Sufi current of Sunni Islam. The diverse and more mystical version of the Muslim faith is one long at odds with the puritan Islam promoted by Saudi Arabia and based on the teachings of 18th-century cleric Mohammed ibn Abdel Wahhab.

Normally, Mr. Kadyrov, a former Islamist rebel known for his fierce loyalty to President Vladimir Putin and for using his Instagram account to solicit citizens’ help in locating a missing cat, isn’t considered an authority on Islamic affairs, at least not outside Chechnya. But buoyed by Russia’s new influence in the Middle East after last year’s intervention in Iran-allied Syria, he managed to bring some of the Muslim world’s most famous luminaries to a conference in late August in the Chechen capital of Grozny.

The conference, co-sponsored by an Islamic foundation in the United Arab Emirates, was attended by the imam of Al-Azhar Grand Mosque in Cairo, advisers to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, influential Yemeni cleric Habib Ali Jifri and the mufti of Syria, among others. Its mission was no less ambitious than determining who qualifies to be a Sunni Muslim.

Representatives of Saudi Arabia’s religious establishment, dubbed “Wahhabis” by critics, weren’t invited and neither were members of the broader Salafi current of Sunni Islam that seeks to return the religion to its “pure” origins at the time of Prophet Muhammad and his companions. (Chechen authorities have banned Salafi Islam and routinely imprison locals for praying or dressing the “wrong” way.)

Not surprisingly, the Grozny conference’s resolution defined Sunni Muslims as followers of the four traditional schools of jurisprudence and praised Sufi practices, implying that Wahhabis and Salafis fall outside the pale.

As news of the Grozny resolution (since disavowed by some key participants) filtered out in the Middle East, this attempt at excommunicating Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Islam’s holiest shrines, and millions of Salafi Muslims elsewhere caused a predictable outcry.

That is especially so because Iran has long used similar theological arguments to delegitimize Saudi Arabia, with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif penning a New York Times op-ed just this month to depict the crisis in the Middle East as a “contest between Wahhabism and mainstream Islam.” Mr. Zarif is one of the architects of the nuclear deal that led to an improvement in ties between the U.S. and Iran.

Scores of Saudi clerics and countless ordinary Saudis took to social media to express their outrage in the weeks after the Grozny event.

“On a public level, the Saudis are very upset and think that the kingdom is being conspired against by the Russian-Sufi axis and the American-Shiite axis, and they are expressing their anger and fear,” said Saleh Alkhatlan, a professor of political science at King Saud University in Riyadh.

The Saudis and the Salafis weren’t the only ones dismayed by the Grozny decision. The Muslim Brotherhood, which is neither, has expressed its “deep sorrow” and said the Chechen gathering “ignited fires of discord among Muslims around the world.”

The backdrop of the Syrian war fueled some of that outcry.

“It isn’t seen as moderates against Salafis. It is seen as Sisi supporters and Emirati supporters going to Russia at a time it is bombing Syrian civilians. It left a bad taste and they are seen as traitors and sellouts,” said Hassan Hassan, a fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy in Washington.

It is true that some of the Middle East’s bloodiest jihadist organizations — particularly Islamic State — follow extreme versions of the Salafi doctrine and rely on some fatwas by Abdel Wahhab. But following a certain theological doctrine doesn’t necessarily translate into a propensity for political radicalism, let alone violence. Salafis, Sufis and Shiites have all spawned violent groups, adding to the region’s mayhem.

Saudi Arabia’s “Wahhabi” religious establishment puts the stress on obedience to the king and outlaws participation in any jihad not proclaimed by the legitimate ruler. Most Salafis elsewhere belong to the “quietist” current that shuns political activism, let alone violence.

The Sufis, meanwhile, aren’t always about just spiritual growth. Historic jihads against European colonialists were often launched by Sufi leaders and Sufi insurgent groups today include the Naqshbandi Army in Iraq. Mr. Kadyrov’s own father, the Sufi mufti of Chechnya at the time, formally proclaimed jihad against Russian forces in the 1990s and personally led a large unit of insurgent fighters.

In Chechnya today, Islamic observance is enforced by the state, with women required to wear head scarves in government offices and alcohol sales outlawed.

“What makes the Sufis seem moderate is that they often promote the status quo,” said Omar Ashour, senior lecturer in Middle East politics and security studies at the University of Exeter.

“But the idea that they are more moderate than the Salafis is ridiculous. Both of them are regressive, anti-liberal and to a certain degree anti-democratic.”

                This entry was posted on Monday, 26 September 2016, 7:47 pm and is filed under
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