Anwar verdict resets Malaysian politics

By
Simon Roughneen

Asia Times

KUALA LUMPUR – A not-guilty verdict in a sex scandal case against Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim could prove a game-changer in the run-up to elections due by 2013 but thought by many analysts to be held this year.

After months of railing against what he deemed trumped-up and politicized charges, Anwar cut an understandably cheerful and relieved dash on Monday morning when speaking to perhaps 3,000 supporters outside the Kuala Lumpur court where he was acquitted of charges of sodomizing a male party aide in 2008. Sodomy is a criminal offense punishable by 20 years in prison in Malaysia, where Muslim citizens are subject to sharia law.

The case, which has hung over the country’s political scene for over three years, represented the second time Anwar faced such charges. He was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. Anwar thanked God for the not-guilty verdict, telling reporters, “We must focus on the next general elections and the reform agenda. We hope for an independent judiciary and free media.”

Supporters, some of whom donned Anwar masks outside the court building, chanted “reformasi” and “long live Anwar”.

The 64-year-old opposition leader was accompanied by his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, both prominent politicians in their own right. The post-verdict celebrations were curbed by three small explosions that injured several protesters and damaged cars parked outside the court. Nobody took responsibility for the blasts.

The unexplained explosions underscored to some the growing polarization of Malaysian politics, pitting the ruling United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO) against Anwar’s opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

UMNO, the country’s largest political party, which has ruled uninterrupted since post-colonial independence through its multi-ethnic Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, is struggling to portray itself as a force for change ahead of the upcoming polls. Some analysts believe the decision in Anwar’s favor could have been orchestrated to avoid a backlash against UMNO at the ballot box.

Ambiga Sreenavasan, head of the opposition-linked Bersih 2.0 reform movement, told Asia Times Online after the verdict that “as a lawyer I am pleased to see the upholding of the law and to have a decision that makes sense. I have always believed this was a political prosecution and it is alarming to see the court being used to bring down political opponents.”

The verdict was viewed as a surprise by none other than Malaysian politics eminence grise and former long-time prime minister Mahathir Mohamed, who said, “I’m surprised that he was not found guilty. This shows that there was no government conspiracy against him before.”

Others believe the case may have been manufactured to distract the opposition from its earlier Anwar-led drive in 2008 to unseat UMNO through parliamentary defections, which for various reasons failed to materialize. Anwar’s Pakatan Rakyat made historic inroads at the 2008 polls, winning five out of the country’s 13 federal states. UMNO, which lost its decades-long two-thirds parliamentary majority at that poll, has since recaptured control of one of those states, Perak.

Renegade reformer

Anwar, a former student leader, began his political career as a Mahathir protege before an estrangement over governance and economic and financial policies in 1998 saw him take up the reins of de facto opposition leader. That was a role that Malaysia’s opposition believes prompted corruption and sodomy charges, widely perceived as politicized, against Anwar at that time. He was sentenced in 1999 to a six-year jail term on corruption charges and in 2000 to nine years in prison for sodomy. A federal court in 2004 reversed the sodomy conviction.

Anwar spearheaded the late 1990s drive for reform, or reformasi, amid the backdrop of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis and the end of the 32-year Suharto dictatorship in neighboring Indonesia. He has been consistently outspoken about the cronyism and nepotism that has come to define UMNO’s decades-long rule. After his jail term, Anwar’s wife Azizah fronted the opposition coalition’s historic success at the 2008 election, which has blunted the UMNO-led government’s previous ability to railroad legislation through a rubber-stamp legislature.

Whether or not Monday’s verdict makes the prospect of a history-making Anwar-led, non-BN government more or less likely, is not yet clear. Anwar can now run for election as a charismatic, reform-minded alternative to incumbent Najib Razak. Najib greeted Monday’s verdict as evidence that Malaysia’s judiciary is independent and free from government influence – contrary to Anwar’s and various human-rights groups’ views.

“The case against Anwar was politically motivated and plagued with irregularities,” the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement released after the verdict. “During the trial, the prosecution refused to turn over key evidence as required by the Malaysian criminal procedure code, including its witness list and witness statements, notes by the doctors who examined [the alleged sodomy victim] at Kuala Lumpur Hospital, pharmacists’ worksheets and notes on DNA testing and analysis, and closed-circuit television recordings from the condominium guardhouse where the alleged sodomy took place.”

The government’s counter-statement landed in journalists’ inboxes mere minutes after the verdict was read, with Information Minister Rais Yatim saying, “Malaysia has an independent judiciary and this verdict proves that the government does not hold sway over judges’ decisions. The current wave of bold democratic reforms introduced by Prime Minister Najib Razak will help extend this transparency to all areas of Malaysian life.”

Skeptics – and Malaysia’s conspiracy-prone electorate – might say that the verdict points directly to government interference given that the decision has “deprived the opposition of an emotive issue that they could milk for sympathy and point towards institutional weakness in the system”, according to Ibrahim Suffian, head of the Merdeka polling organization.

Yet Najib might feel he has Anwar and the opposition on the back-foot. After a clumsy and heavy-handed crackdown on the Bersih 2.0 protest last July, when around 20,000 people took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur seeking reform of what they described as a bent electoral system, Najib turned on his heels and pledged a series of reforms to some of Malaysia’s more stringent laws – including the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial – on the eve of Malaysia’s independence day celebrations last September.

More broadly, some experts of Malaysian politics believe the verdict could ultimately improve the country’s democratic prospects.

Bridget Welsh, a political science academic at Singapore’s Management University, said the outcome “will make elections even more competitive as both sides will have to focus beyond personal attacks”. Merdeka’s Suffian adds that, with the trial now out of the way, the political discussion can move away from navel-gazing and towards substantive policy issues as both sides try to sway voters in advance of the election.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 11:33 am and is filed under
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Guan Eng says national debt ‘dangerous’, potentially disastrous

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 11, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — Massive borrowing and irresponsible spending by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government will result in Malaysia becoming a fully indebted nation before the end of the decade, Lim Guan Eng said today.

The Penang chief minister said that Putrajaya’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio has increased yearly from 53.1 per cent in 2010 to 53.8 per cent last year and is expected to hit 54.8 per cent this year.

“This is extremely dangerous, and even more disastrous when coupled with statistics from Bank Negara’s Annual Report 2010, which revealed that Malaysia’s household debt at the end of 2010 was RM581 billion, or 76 per cent of GDP, thus giving us the dubious honour of having the second-highest level of household debt in Asia, after South Korea.

“In absolute terms, federal government debt rose by 71 per cent in four years to RM456 billion at (the) end (of) 2011 from RM266 billion at end (of) 2007,” said Lim in a statement today.

The DAP secretary-general said by following the same expansion rate, national debt would be a projected RM780 million by 2016 and RM1.3 trillion by 2020.

Lim’s remarks are in response to a statement by Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) distinguished fellow Mohd Ariff Abdul Kareem, who warned that federal government revenue was growing too slowly to keep up with its borrowings which hit 53.1 per cent of GDP in 2010.

Mohd Ariff told The Malaysian Insider recently that Malaysia’s national debt will hit 100 per cent of the GDP by 2019 should Putrajaya continue to borrow more than it earns. He said while the current size of government debt relative to GDP was not troubling, the pace of its growth in recent years was cause for concern.

Debt-to-GDP ratio jumped from 41.4 per cent in 2008 to 53.1 per cent in 2010 while government debt grew 14.6 per cent in 2008 and 18.3 per cent in 2009, far outpacing the country’s GDP growth, Ariff had said.

Lim added that a stagnation in salaries, coupled with increased prices for basic commodities such as sugar, eggs, and bread, will further result in Malaysians becoming even more debt-laden.

The Bagan MP said that MIER’s projections that Malaysia could end up becoming bankrupt by 2019 showed the need for new federal government, one that should be led by Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

He said that PR has successfully “managed” finances in states such as Penang.

“Penang managed to reduce (its) state debt from RM630 million in March 8, 2008 to only RM30 million as at end of October 2011. This represents a debt reduction of 95 per cent, or RM600 million, which is the highest debt reduction of any state in Malaysia’s history.

“Clearly, Malaysians who wish to have a better life for themselves and their future generations must make a choice between a government that is spendthrift and that borrows irresponsibly without being able to make the pie grow bigger, or a government that is prudent and transparent that will put the concerns of the rakyat first,” Lim added.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 7:09 pm and is filed under
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Hold The Accolades!

by
M. Bakri Musa

Now that Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah has acquitted Anwar Ibrahim on his “Sodomy II” charge, there is no end of praise heaped upon the judge specifically and the system of justice generally. Prime Minister Najib was quick with his smug assertion that “neither politics nor politicians have any influence over the dispensation of justice.” Foreign governments too have been effusive with their praises. Some now brazenly call for Anwar Ibrahim to apologize for his earlier criticisms of the system.

            Hold the accolades! This sordid trial reveals everything that is rotten with the Malaysian system of justice. This case should never have been prosecuted in the first place. That it was reflected the level or more precisely lack of professionalism on the part of these career prosecutors. As for the trial, there were many instances where the judge could have thrown the case out, as when the physical evidence was introduced. Now the learned judge used that as the reason for acquittal.

            As for Anwar Ibrahim, he and his family are rightfully grateful for the verdict, but hold on to your apology. Forgiveness, yes, as he said recently; that is always praiseworthy. He rightly cautioned that one court decision does not a judicial spring make. Besides, there is still the monumental task ahead to clear up the mess, and not just in the system of justice. Najib’s much-ballyhooed “transformation” is a charade concocted by his exorbitantly-paid consultants.

Doing Away With Anwar

The decision to do away with Anwar was made a long time ago. In opting for this particular route, they had hoped that whatever the outcome Anwar would be irreparably damaged by the smear. How they misjudged! The public remains convinced that the charge was politically motivated, and crassly at that, right from the very beginning.

            The tragedy here, apart from the agony and humiliation Anwar and his family had endured, is that a delayed-adolescent college flunkey desperate for his 15 minutes of fame was being exploited. They used the poor boy as a battering rod, pardon my metaphor, to do in Anwar.

            There is only one possible redeeming value to Judge Zabidin continuing this trial in its squalid entirety, and that is to expose the pathetic lack of professionalism of not just the prosecuting team but also the other professionals involved. This included the police officers and crime investigators to the forensic scientists tasked with the crucial DNA analysis and the senior specialists who examined Anwar’s accuser.

            Consider those medical specialists. They failed in their duty to inform and educate the court; they owed the court their individual professional judgment, not a committee report. Unlike paid experts, those government doctors were not beholden to the accuser or accused, only to uphold the truth. If they had doubts they should so inform the court. Likewise those chemists; before they performed the DNA analyses they should be satisfied of the integrity of the specimens. If they were forced to perform tests on specimens of questionable integrity, they clearly should have informed the court of their doubts.

            Those specialists were based at the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur, an apex institution in the government’s healthcare system; thus presumably they must be the best. They should also have known that this was a very high-profile case and that their performance would come under global scrutiny. It should have been an opportunity for them to showcase their talent and professionalism. Instead the judge singled out the inadequacy of the physical evidence, as reflected in their reports and testimonies, as the reason for acquittal.

            The only physician who had acquitted himself well was the foreign doctor who first examined the accuser. That doctor had the conviction to document clearly his findings and impressions without first having to “discuss” it with his superiors. That he had to flee the country afterwards reveals much about our system of justice.

            If in his written judgment Judge Zabidin were to comment on the quality of the prosecution’s expert witnesses and address the performance of the prosecution, in particular the alleged gross breach of professional conduct where one member was romantically linked with the accuser, then I will not only take back my criticism but would praise the learned judge profusely. Then there was considerable wisdom in his letting the trial go through its entire course – to serve as a much-needed “teaching moment” for the nation.

            At its most benign the alleged prosecutorial misconduct could simply be the case of a young man and woman with raging hormones. At its most sinister, it is “witness coaching” brought to a whole new low level. When that wild allegation first surfaced, the prosecution dismissed it, only to admit later that the alleged woman was only a “junior” and thus an inconsequential member of the team. Never mind that she was a lawyer, a fellow professional.

            The prosecution was led by the government’s top lawyer, the Solicitor-General. He is a career civil servant, not a political appointee and thus, at least theoretically, immune to political pressure. Nonetheless he should have known that in this day and age, the charge of sodomy is patently laughable. Major jurisdictions including the US and Canadian Supreme Courts have decriminalized the act except where it is non-consensual. Heck, even the Chinese Supreme Court has ruled similarly!

            Even in Malaysia that statute has rarely been invoked. The only time it was used was in 1998, and the victim was again Anwar. That conviction was subsequently overturned on appeal, but not before he was incarcerated for six long years. If the Solicitor-General had invoked sexual harassment charges instead, that at least would have highlighted an all-too-common problem.

            Even if the physical evidence had been compelling, recognizing that this was a high-profile case with all the political implications, and aware of the poor reputation of the judiciary in the eyes of the public, it would have been prudent to appoint an independent prosecutor. That would remove any suspicion of political influence. That the Solicitor-General did not again reflected the caliber of his judgment. The irony is that this case was decided soon after he submitted his early optional retirement!

            The verdict not withstanding, many unanswered questions remain. Najib has yet to explain why he met this confused young man just days before he filed the complaint against Anwar. If, as Najib intimated, that they were discussing a scholarship, I can suggest a few other much more talented Malaysians now at top universities who are more deserving of such attention.

            Najib and the other UMNO leaders are forever proclaiming that Malaysia is an Islamic state. In this case both the accuser and the accused are Muslims. Why not invoke the shari’a? They did not, for the obvious reason that had it been invoked, both accused and accuser would have to be charged as there was no element of force.

            Far from being a turning point, this trial illustrated and highlighted how dysfunctional and ill-equipped our institutions and personnel are in the administration of justice. I predict two things: One, the judge’s written judgment would be long in coming; and two, he will not be bound for promotion any time soon.

            As I suggested earlier, hold the accolades.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 4:23 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Moment of Sanity

By
Bridget Welsh

The Wall Street Journal

Yesterday’s acquittal of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on the charge of sodomy ends two and a half years of a bad sequel. After being convicted once in 2000 on the same charge and subsequently exonerated on appeal, this time the court found that the prosecution failed to prove its case.

The decision is a moment of sanity after three years of political turmoil since the March 2008 polls. That election effectively broke the stranglehold on power of the incumbent Barisan Nasional, the National Front coalition, which lost its two-thirds majority in parliament. After the loss, the ruling United Malays National Organization seemed to go back to its mode of personal-attack politics, as practiced by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The new accusation against Mr. Anwar also signaled a return to the ways of the Mahathir era.

The acquittal is a sign that Malaysia is moving forward and a win for several key players. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak can run in the upcoming election as a reformer who has allowed the rule of law and fairness to prevail, giving him an opportunity to earn his own democratic mandate. Mr. Anwar is free to focus on leading the opposition. The judiciary can stand tall with the credit that when the final decision was reached, it was made on the basis of the evidence rather than politics. And with the closure of yet another sordid trial, Malaysia can showcase its successes rather than being endlessly associated with sex scandals.

The price the country has paid during the drawn-out trial has been high. The Mahathir mode of politics has been bringing down Malaysia’s leaders. It certainly undermined the current ones. Mr. Najib, otherwise thought to be a sound, problem-oriented leader, was tarred by the perceived brush of engaging in a political conspiracy, which he denies. Mr. Anwar’s personal reputation was hammered.

The conduct of the trial, particularly involving the submission of contradictory testimony and flawed evidence, threatened to discredit the courts. At best, the current case was a distraction. At worst, it revealed the inadequacies of moving the nation’s politics into more rational, reasoned discourse. Overall, Malaysians were being done a disservice with attention focused on gutter politics, rather than real problems.

The public’s attention will now thankfully move to the next general elections, likely to be held this year. The stakes are high given that the elections will be the most hotly contested in Malaysia’s history. Over half the seats are highly competitive. Each side is sure to use the trial for political capital, though the verdict has now made the playing field more level. The mass political support around Mr. Anwar shows that he remains a political force, with iconic charisma, tenacity and staying power. For Mr. Najib, the acquittal shows he is willing to engage his opponent in a fairer fight, and stand on his record.

That’s an improvement, considering until yesterday, the Anwar trial had served to reinforce the political base of the two camps. Mr. Anwar was channeling the attacks into anger toward Mr. Najib’s administration and Mr. Najib was consolidating support among his party, many of whom considered the best strategy for victory was to sideline the opposition leader. The polarized electorate was increasingly moving to the extremes. Both camps have been tapping into the anger and anxiety, in a politics mobilized by personal attacks.

In moving forward, both sides will be forced to change tactics and hope their bases will follow. Mr. Najib faces a particularly difficult battle of convincing the more reactionary elements of his party that he has acted in UMNO’s interests. He has to contend with those in his party who compare him unfavorably to Mr. Mahathir and mistakenly believe that the only way forward is to repeat the outdated tactics of the past. Mr. Najib has to be able to show that the acquittal was a sign of strength, rather than one of weakness. Mr. Anwar on his part has to extend his reach beyond his base, and convince skeptics that his politics is not just about his persona or about being victimized.

The battle will hinge on the middle ground, since undecided voters make up as much as 30% of the electorate. That means the government needs to focus on how to strengthen ethnic relations, create jobs, reduce income inequalities, boost wages and bring in investment, especially in this more uncertain global economy. Whoever the winner is, the acquittal opens up the ways for him to focus on Malaysia’s future, rather than endure a rerun of its political past.

Ms. Welsh, a consultant for Freedom House, teaches Southeast Asian politics at Singapore Management University.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 11:27 am and is filed under
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National debt to equal GDP by 2019 if Putrajaya remains spendthrift, say economists

By Yow Hong Chieh

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 10, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — Malaysia’s national debt will hit 100 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2019 should Putrajaya continue to borrow more than it earns, economists say.

Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) distinguished fellow Mohd Ariff Abdul Kareem warned that the federal government revenue was growing too slowly to keep up with its borrowings, which hit 53.1 per cent of GDP in 2010.

He said while the current size of government debt relative to GDP was not troubling, the pace of its growth in recent years was cause for concern.

Debt-to-GDP ratio jumped from 41.4 per cent in 2008 to 53.1 per cent in 2010 while government debt grew 14.6 per cent in 2008 and 18.3 per cent in 2009, far outpacing the country’s GDP growth, Ariff noted.

“If nothing is done to reverse the current trends in government expenditures and revenues, extrapolation suggests that Malaysia’s national debt will explode to 100 per cent of GDP by 2019.

“Should the debt growth gather speed, this can happen sooner,” he told The Malaysian Insider via e-mail.

Ariff pointed out that while government spending on fiscal stimulus packages in the face of global financial crises has mostly translated into infrastructure development, there was a need to trim fat from the bloated civil service, which formed a significant chunk of Putrajaya’s operating expenditure.

He said emoluments to Malaysia’s civil service — the largest per capita in the Asia-Pacific according to the OECD — have risen from 23.3 per cent of the operating budget in 2007 to 33.1 per cent in 2010, rising to 41.6 per cent in 2010 if pensions were included.

This was a major financial burden on the government, as were the cost overruns, wastages and leakages exposed annually by the Auditor-General, the professor for international finance at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) said.

“There is certainly a need to rein in government operating expenditure, which must include a downsizing of the bloated civil service, to bring government procurements under greater scrutiny with increased transparency and accountability and to undertake serious tax reforms to raise more revenue,” Ariff added.

RAM Holdings Bhd chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng said there needs to be political will on the part of Putrajaya to execute its Government Transformation Plan (GTP), which is partly aimed at stopping the fiscal deficit from rising further.

“We must follow it religiously because [the fiscal deficit] is currently the main vulnerability of Malaysia’s economy,” he said.

Yeah said Malaysia would be on the right track to keeping its fiscal deficit in check in the medium to long term if Putrajaya remained committed to this plan but cautioned that this was premised on an annual GDP growth of five to six per cent.

This was because any slowdown in the economy would lead to lower wages and higher unemployment, which would in turn negatively impact tax revenues, he said.

“There is a close correlation between growth and government revenue,” he said, noting that for every one per cent decrease in GDP growth, tax collection will drop by 0.8 per cent.

“During a slowdown we can expect government fiscal deficit to actually widen.”

Yeah added that the government does not have long to consolidate its fiscal position as income from the oil and gas sector, which makes up about 40 per cent of total government revenue, was expected to fall over the next five to 10 years as Malaysia’s oil reserves dwindle.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 10:07 am and is filed under
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Time to Pull ‘CSI: Malaysia’ Off the Air

By William Pesek

Jan 11, 2012

Bloomberg: The Ticker

If there’s any economy in Asia that needs a change in narrative, it’s Malaysia.

When the resource-rich nation of 28 million people has made headlines globally in recent years, they have been about sodomy charges against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, tension between Muslims and Christians, Beyonce’s bellybutton offending local sensibilities or murder investigations involving high-ranking officials. Malaysia really could have its own CSI crime drama.

Far from finding all this entertaining, many foreign investors eye Malaysia with skepticism. That’s a shame given the huge potential of an economy growing 5.8 percent. When you consider Asian economies that deserved far more attention in 2011 than they received, Malaysia is Exhibit A. It’s high time for Prime Minister Najib Razak to change the story, to shift the focus toward reforms, not tabloid scandals. Announcing the end of affirmative-action policies that hurt Malaysia’s competitiveness might be just the thing.

Malaysia’s four-decade-old “New Economic Policy” favoring the predominant Malay community has long since outlived its usefulness. It limits investment, stifles competition and keeps the economy from becoming a meritocracy. It’s a third-rail issue and can barely be discussed seriously.

Najib has broached the issue, though no timetable exists for Malaysia to join the ranks of more competitive Asian economies. The world won’t wait for Malaysia. China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are evolving in ways that enable them to leapfrog over peers in a few years. Developing economies need to watch their backs. Acting boldly now, as 2012 begins, to declare an end to policies that hold Malaysia back would cheer investors.

At the moment, any global attention Malaysia gets is focused on sodomy trials of Anwar, the former deputy prime minister (he was acquitted Monday). Just like the other saucy stories — like those of pop stars including Beyonce, whose sexy outfits irk religious leaders — it’s a distraction. The real issue is what Malaysia is doing to raise its economic game amid fast-increasing competition.

It’s time to take “CSI: Malaysia” off the air. An unscripted bout of economic change could be just the thing.

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg View columnist.)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 6:35 pm and is filed under
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Anwar free: And now for Malaysia

Dean Johns | Jan 11, 2012

Malaysiakini

Failing an appeal that may yet be made by the prosecution, Anwar Ibrahim is finally free of his latest spurious sodomy charge and the possibility of up to 20 years in jail.

And now, it’s time for the Malaysian people to win their freedom from 50-plus years – or the equivalent of more than two life sentences – of imprisonment and empoisonment by the rotten Umno/BN regime.

Though it could be argued that a great many Malaysians have nobody but themselves to blame for this punishing experience, having effectively held themselves captive by voting for their oppressors so repeatedly and for so long.

Some, of course, have supported the powers-that-be in return for petty handouts or promises of special privileges for suitably passive and grateful inmates of the system. But the only crime or offence that most of the Umno/BN regime’s captive voters have been guilty of, it seems to me, is ignorance.

It is the ignorance that has been created and perpetuated by the regime itself through walls of official secrecy and barricades of media bias, selective silence and lies, all carefully guarded by corrupt and politically-partisan police, hopelessly compromised law officers and a notoriously compliant judiciary.

Yet the man most responsible for this disgraceful state of affairs, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has hailed the acquittal of Anwar Ibrahim on the latest sodomy charge against him as proof that there is “no government conspiracy or interference in the country’s judiciary”.

Mahathir, the very man who destroyed the integrity of Malaysia’s judiciary by firing the Lord President of the (then) Supreme Court and several other leading jurists back in 1987, then went on to claim that “the country’s judiciary was always independent and was not influenced by any quarters, including the government or opposition, in arriving at any decision”.

Same lying tone

Current Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak took the same lying line, declaring that “the verdict shows once again that despite what many have claimed, the Malaysian judiciary is an independent institution where neither politics nor politicians have any influence over the dispensation of justice.”

And the operative currently responsible for the political partisanship of Malaysia’s ignorance-promoting mainstream media, Information Minister Rais Yatim, similarly claimed that the acquittal of Anwar “proves that Malaysia’s courts are free of manipulation”.

In fact, this case appears to me and many others to prove quite the opposite. The sodomy charge itself was clearly manufactured. The two-year trial was riddled with irregularities unfairly and unjustly favouring the prosecution.

And the “not guilty” verdict was so evidently a sop to Anwar sympathisers ahead of the looming general election that it stank to high heaven of regime manipulation.

Manipulation similar to that so glaringly evident in a great many other infamous trials, or rather mistrials, from that of the alleged murderers of the Mongolian translator involved in the Scorpene submarine scandal, Altantuya Shaariibuu, to the conviction and ridiculously light sentencing of Khir Toyo for corruption and the so-called “Datuk T” trio for publishing a pornographic DVD portraying an Anwar Ibrahim look-alike having sex with a prostitute.

But even more of an imposition on the Malaysian people than miscarriages of justice like the Anwar, Altantuya, Khir Toyo, Datuk T and other show-trials are all the countless no-trials.

Routine failure to prosecute or even properly investigate the hundreds, if not thousands, of killings of ‘suspects’ in police ‘shoot-outs’ and official custody, for example. As in the case of the late Ananthan Kugan, who was deemed to have succumbed to “fluid in the lungs” despite Internet images of his corpse clearly showing evidence of brutal beatings and torture.

Or in the even more notorious case of Teoh Beng Hock, the young witness whose death in the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was found by an inquest, and then a royal commission, to be due to “neither suicide nor homicide,” so that no suspect killers could be identified.

No-trials for manslaughter and outright murder, however, are just a part of the punishment Malaysians have been forced to either like or lump during 54 years in Umno/BN custody.

They’ve also been robbed of billions upon billions of their hard-earned ringgit and their nation’s natural resources and expected to stand hopelessly, helplessly by and watch the culprits live high on the hog on the proceeds.

Hardly any specific participant in massive regime-sponsored theft, fraud and embezzlement can legally be named by me or anyone else, of course, as a multitude of suspicions and allegations have resulted in precious few prosecutions and even less convictions.

Suffice to mention, therefore, that countless massive financial scandals involving commodity, power, water and other monopolies, share issues, swaps and trades, ‘soft’ government loans, land-grabs, utility and airline privatisations, motor-vehicle import approval permits, taxi licences and highway toll concessions have come and gone unpunished before such relatively recent specific examples as the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco and the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scam.

Astonishing business accumen

And a good many prominent families, notably those of former prime minister Mahathir, Sarawak Chief Minister Mahmud “The Termite” Taib and current Prime Minister Najib, have grown so rich that they must have quite astonishing business accumen, or else, as First Lady Rosmah Mansor explained in reference to her proposed purchase of a multi-million-ringgit diamond ring, been mighty savers since they were young.

Of course any Malaysian is free to join Umno or one of its racially-appropriate coalition parties in the BN in the hope of scoring a “get-out-of-jail-free” card and a chance to grab a share of the loot.

But most people, it seems to me, would much rather simply be free. Free, like Anwar Ibrahim is, at least for now, from the threat of selective, malicious prosecution under Umno/BN’s slew of unconstitutional, repressive Acts of repression and aggression against opponents or protesters.

Free from regulations designed to keep the innocent ignorant and the guilty in government, like Umno/BN’s Official Secrets Act, Printing, Presses and Publications Act and the Universities and University Colleges Act.

Free from domination by those who consider their lying word to be law, and themselves and their friends, families and cronies to be immune from prosecution for their crimes.

Free, in short, from a gang of goons so gross as to go to any length, from fraudulent legislative ‘reform’ to pulling the strings of its puppet judiciary, to try and rig yet another general election in favour of keeping the future and fortunes of Malaysia and Malaysians in Umno/BN’s greedy grasp.

——————————————————————————–

DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he coaches and mentors writers and authors and practises as a writing therapist. Published books of his columns for Malaysiakini include ‘Mad about Malaysia’, ‘Even Madder about Malaysia’, ‘Missing Malaysia’ and ‘1Malaysia.con’.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 1:32 pm and is filed under
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Anwar’s acquittal has bought for Najib his  last  but very short-lived chance to prove that he can walk the talk of a reformer and proponent of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s surprise acquittal of Sodomy 2 charge on Monday has bought for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak his last but very short-lived chance to prove that he can walk the talk of a reformer and proponent of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan.

Nobody really believes the self-serving claims by Najib, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin and the Minister for Information, Communications and Culture Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim that Anwar’s acquittal was proof of the independence of the judiciary in Malaysia and would increase the confidence of Malaysians and international community in Najib’s transformation promises.

The 33 months of Najib’s premiership since April 2009 were lost months for reform and transformation as there were only empty rhetorics not backed up with any political will to bring about fundamental changes in all aspects of national life.

There are, for instance,  all sorts of 1Malaysia gimmicry in the past 33 months but Malaysia has never been so divided and polarised along ethnic and religious lines under Najib’s premiership than under any Prime Minister in Malaysia history –  all caused by the politics of desperation,  hate and lies emanating from UMNO and its  mouthpieces.

In fact, right from the very beginning, Najib’s concept of 1Malaysia to create a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographic or socio-economic background second, was rubbished by none other than  the Deputy Prime Minister who declared himself as Malay first and Malaysian second!

When Najib dared not bring his deputy into line to comply with the 1Malaysia policy, avoiding the issue completely when asked by the media what he thought of Muhyiddin’s open repudiation of 1Malaysia policy, it was in fact a death-knell for any meaningful 1Malaysia policy apart from the 1Malaysia gimmicries.

Najib’s reform and transformation programmes also suffered early death with the swift  burial of the New Economic Model, in particular to break from the New Economic Policy (NEP) and introduce new affirmative actions based on need and merit which will consider all ethnic groups fairly and equally as long as they are in the low-income 40% of the households.

The year 2012 ended with Najib’s National Transformation Programmes given two

“black eyes”:

*firstly, when Transparency International’s (TI)  Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011 showed Malaysia in two-and-a-half years under Najib was more corrupt than 22 years under Tun Mahathir and five years under Tun Abdullah, with Malaysia registering the worst TI CPI ranking and score in 17 years – ranked No. 60 with score of 4.3; and

*secondly, when not a single Malaysian university was included in the Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/2012.

Najib’s last chance to “walk the talk” of a 1Malaysia reformer and transformer could be very short-lived indeed, as it could be smashed to smithereens in a matter of days if the growing pressure for the Attorney-General to appeal against Anwar’s acquittal succeeds in the coming days.

The announcement by the Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden over TV3 last night that the prosecution team will recommend to the Attorney-General that an appeal to be filed against Anwar’s acquittal is most extraordinary and unprecedented, and must be the first case of its kind where any prosecution team goes public to lobby and pressure  the  Attorney-General to file any appeal.

Let there be no doubt that any appeal by the Attorney-General against Anwar’s acquittal would smash to smithereens whatever little credibility and confidence the Najib administration has gained nationally and internationally from Monday’s High Court judgment in Anwar’s Sodomy II trial – plunging Malaysia back into the maelstrom of gutter politics and further despoilation of institutional independence, integrity and legitimacy.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 1:42 pm and is filed under
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Judiciary still in winter of emasculation

— by Bob Teoh

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 12, 2012

JAN 12 — Let’s not be beguiled by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s claim of the judiciary’s independence following the High Court’s full acquittal and discharge of Anwar Ibrahim from the charge of sodomy. As succinctly put by an international civil liberties watchdog, the Opposition leader should not have been charged in the first place.

Anwar’s three trials over 20 years were simply an abuse of due process; nothing more than Umno’s dirty and sordid politics to rid itself of its arch nemesis involving all three prime ministers in a row.

Don’t be misled, a swallow doth not a summer maketh. We are still deep in the winter of an emasculated judiciary frozen since the Mahathir ice age. We need more evidence of courage and boldness from our judges before we can hope to thaw into a new spring.

But credit must be given to where it’s due. Recent judgments indicate some judges are willing to go into early retirement or be put into the cold storage by going the extra mile in their adjudication. The High Court’s judgment against the government in the Allah case is a case in point. There are a few others that are noteworthy.

The Najib administration must undo what Dr Mahathir Mohamad has done to the judiciary for the 23 years he was prime minister. Najib’s predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, made a feeble attempt by apologising to the former Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas and other judges sacked by Dr Mahathir in the late 1980s when they didn’t deliver the judgment that Mahathir wanted. Abdullah didn’t survive the wrath of Mahathir over this, among other things. In stepped Najib, Dr M’s original choice as successor.

But Najib must stand on his own now. One of Dr Mahathir’s muzzles on the judiciary was the removal of the power of judicial review of executive action. One by one, new legislations were introduced or existing ones amended by taking away the court’s inherent power. From the Internal Security Act to the Industrial Relations Act, this phrase was inserted: The minister’s decision shall be final and shall not be challenged in any court of law. Thus began our slide into a judiciary dictated by the whims and fancies of an increasingly autocratic executive branch of His Majesty’s government.

Najib must restore to the judiciary what is rightly theirs to act as check and balance in a parliamentary democracy by removing all anti-judicial review clauses from the country’s laws soonest possible.

Najib must also bite the bullet by reviewing the controversial amendment to Article 121 of the Federal Constitution curtailing judicial power in that “the (civil) courts shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts.”

The bone of contention is that this amendment impairs the sanctity of the Federal Constitution as in Article 4 (1) in that “This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day (31 Aug 1957) which is inconsistent with the Constitution, shall to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”

This constitutional amendment has posed a serious problem to those seeking conversion and apostasy hearings to the extent that it infringes on their rights regarding fundamental liberties like freedom of religion provided under Article 11.

The Syariah amendment known as Article 121(1a) has served as a convenient escape clause for some judges to avoid hearing such cases and to hide behind the judicial sarong of their cowardice.

An increasingly arrogant and powerful Attorney-General adds to the maladministration of justice through selective prosecution and manipulation of due process like delaying or expediting hearings to suit the establishment’s convenience.

Take, for instance, the Catholic Herald’s Allah case, in which the High Court ruled against the government, saying it had no inherent right to prohibit others from using the word “Allah” to refer to God. There are two other similar cases filed much earlier than the Herald case but these have been held in abeyance because the AG has filed an application to the Court of Appeal for a review. But it has been more than two years now since the Herald judgment and yet the AG is in no hurry. This robs plaintiff of their judicial victory. Justice delayed is justice denied.

In the interim, people of other faiths, particularly Christians, are still prevented from using the Allah word. This is a travesty of justice considering that two thirds of the Christians in Malaysia are Bumiputeras who use the Alkitab or Malay Bible where God is referred to as Allah. Dr Mahathir banned the Alkitab in 1981 five months upon coming to power as PM. He claimed that it posed a threat to national security. It is still under a restricted ban through various extra-judicial decrees and even under Najib’s ludicrous 10-point solution to the Alkitab problem. The Alkitab remains a threat to national security.

Make no mistake about it; the judiciary is still in the winter of emasculation. But my prayer and hope is for a new spring. I remain optimistic it will come — sooner than later.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 1:11 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia Election Around the Corner?

Asia Sentinel

by Our Correspondent

Thursday, 12 January 2012

With Sodomy II out of the way, looks forward to March polls — maybe

With the Sodomy II trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim now out of the way, it is probably time to start thinking seriously about Malaysia’s 13th general election, which most observers — but not all — believe will be called in March, during school holidays when the classrooms are empty.

Despite euphoria on the part of the three-party opposition coalition, the end of the trial doesn’t mean that Anwar’s troubles are over. One political observer in Kuala Lumpur told Asia Sentinel that the United Malays National Organization, the lead party in the ruling national coalition, will probably do its best to discredit him in other ways.

Despite being declared not guilty, the image of the opposition leader as a sexual deviant has probably been planted in a lot of Malaysian minds. Mohd Saiful Bukhairy Aznam, Anwar’s accuser, appears to have no intention of going away. He has asked the attorney general to appeal the acquittal and is tweeting and texting his outrage and innocence to anyone who will read them. UMNO could well put him on the trail to demand denied justice at every campaign stop.

However, UMNO and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak carry plenty of baggage of their own. A long series of scandals within the party bear the hallmarks of being pushed by various Umno factions to cripple each other. That isn’t to say the snap poll won’t come off. But there are headwinds. The party held its annual general assembly in December and was expected to come out fighting. There was plenty of harsh rhetoric that made it sound as if Umno is besieged on all sides by threatening foes from both inside and outside the country – particularly from Christians, particularly Chinese ones.

Najib himself concluded the conclave by pounding the war drums in stark terms, outlining a dark future if the opposition were to win, saying that: “This is the fate that will befall us if Umno loses power. Who will uphold the symbol of Islam? Who is capable of protecting the rights and agenda of the Malays? Who will continue to honour our Malay rulers?”

Massive scandal derails party conclave

Almost simultaneously with the annual general assembly, however, UMNO found itself in a massive scandal involving the family of Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the head of Wanita Umno, the women’s wing of the party and minister for Women, Welfare and Community Development. It has been impossible to wish the scandal away as a ploy by the opposition because it was exposed in September by Malaysia’s Auditor General.

As some observers have pointed out, it is also damaging because it involves agriculture, and particularly cattle – something Umno’s rural constituency can understand in all of its ominous implications. The matter involves the National Feedlot Corporation, which was given RM250 million (US80 million) in a government soft loan and was established to slaughter as many as 60,000 cattle a year by halal, or religiously accepted, methods. However, NFC has never slaughtered 10 percent of the projected total and has since scaled back its target to 8,000 head but hasn’t been able to meet that target either. The agreement to establish the company, made when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister, was okayed by Muhyiddin Yassin, the agriculture minister at the time and now the deputy prime minister.

None of Shahrizat’s family had any experience in cattle production or beef supply prior to the establishment of the company. It appears that much of the money—as much as RM131 million — was poured into things that had nothing to do with feeding cattle but instead into cars, condos and travel, among other things.

The matter has been seized upon with a good deal of glee by the opposition. One Malay businessman source said “there may be other revelations as to how the money for cattle was used which may implicate the number 2 guy.” That is Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister. “This thing has been a lifeline for the opposition who are sitting on a thumb drive full of info which they are revealing in bits and pieces,” he said.

Intermixed with this are reports that both Muhyiddin’s and Najib’s private secretaries have been accepting funds of at least RM10,000 per month from private parties for reasons that are unclear. The allegations against each – complete with pictures of checks — are suspected of having been leaked by the Muhyiddin and Najib factions against each other. There reportedly is yet another massive scandal waiting in the wings, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in connection with the Iskandar project in Johor across the strait from Singapore. Documents have been made available to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission that are said to implicate former lieutenants of former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Some sources have said the Shahrizat matter and shortcomings by other ministers argues for a cabinet reshuffle prior to any election. Certainly, Shahrizat is expected to be dropped as a candidate in the next election, whenever it is to be held, and that probably her husband will be charged at some point.

The allegations of corruption have cost the country four places in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, dropping it to a still relatively respectable 60th. But it is the third straight year the country has slipped in the perceptions index – all three of them occurring on Najib’s watch. Although the mainstream media, all of which are owned by the component parties of the Barisan have tended to downplay the corruption reports, it is estimated that 41 percent of Malaysians now have access to the Internet – and a huge flock of opposition bloggers and websites, some of which, such as Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini, are very professionally produced, and which pull no punches on reporting corruption and government mismanagement.

Part of the problem for Umno, a party source says, is getting divisional warlords to make way for winnable candidates in races that have become competitive now that the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition has become a genuine movement rather than a ragtag group of parties cobbled together by Anwar. These are old hands that refuse to give away to younger, more attractive and educated candidates.

It is a longstanding problem borne out by the fact that Rais Yatim, the information minister and an Umno Supreme Council member, said after the December conclave that those not selected must refrain from sabotaging the party. It is significant enough that the Mahathir wing of the party is contemplating demanding that party members sign a loyalty oath. A Penang district member, Musa Sheikh Fadzir, proposed the establishment of a General Election Disciplinary Committee to take action against those who go against the party in the upcoming polls.

Added to this are concerns that the party isn’t appealing strongly enough to young, urban Malays, turned off by infighting and corruption, who have been drifting towards Parti Islam se-Malaysia, or PAS, which has rebranded itself as a secular party, and to a lesser extent to Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

According to the Neilsen rating agency, Malaysia’s highest Internet usage is recorded among the young — people aged 20-24: 57 percent use the Internet regularly, spending an average of 22.3 hours online per week. Despite considerable publicity in recent weeks over a demand that the party return to its Islamic roots by former executive committee member Hasan Ali and his confederate, Nasharudin Mat Isa, a former PAS deputy president who was supplanted by the new moderate team, other sources say the party remains perhaps the most disciplined in the three-party opposition.

The biggest of the three opposition parties, it is continuing to work to appeal to urban voters. It is a dramatic illustration of the change in Malaysian society. According to the CIA World Factbook, 72 percent of the country’s 28.7 million people are now living in cities. Although Malays make up the preponderance of the other 28 percent, the rural roots of both Umno and PAS are vanishing – at an annual rate of 2.4 percent. Agriculture now comprises only 13 percent of the workforce, with industry, 36 percent, and services, 51 percent, making up the rest.

As evidence of the racial divisions in the country, a poll by the Merdeka Centre taken last year said 61 percent of ethnic Malays believe the country is going in the right direction as opposed to only 31 percent of Chinese. Ethnic Indian approval of the way the country is going, at a high of 66 percent, has fallen dramatically as well, to 39 percent despite Najib’s assiduous efforts to woo Indians back to the fold.

Najib, Rais Yatim and others have pointed to the decision to acquit Anwar as evidence of the Malaysian judiciary’s independence, which is probably stretching the truth considerably. However, Umno and its leaders have been touting reforms of the hated colonial-era Internal Security Act, which allows for the indeterminate jailing of anyone the attorney general considers to be subversive, amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act and election law cleanup as well as other liberalizations as a step towards a new Malaysia.

Opponents regard these changes as cosmetic. The ISA is likely to be replaced by something akin to the Patriot Act, which was jammed through a panicked US Congress in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

The government appears to have shot itself in the foot with the passage by the Dewan Rakyat, or parliament, of a Peaceful Assembly Act that opposition lawmakers, human rights activists and the country’s lawyers say was about as bad as the law it replaces as it bans street demonstrations and requires assemblies, meetings and processions to be held only on designated compounds.

Whatever strength Najib has within Umno and whatever hold Umno has on the ethnic Malay electorate, the Barisan Nasional appears almost certain to have to simply write off the Chinese vote, and perhaps an unknown portion of the urban Malay and Indian vote as well. According to one analysis, overall 50 percent of parliamentary seats are Malay majority, 25 percent are Chinese majority and mixed seats i.e. seats in which no ethnic group has a majority, 25 percent are from the east Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak. To win Putrajaya, either the Barisan or Pakatan Rakyat must secure at least half of Malay majority seats — 25 percent of the total parliamentary seats. For the Barisan, the winning formula is: 25 percent Malay majority seats, 5 percent Chinese or mixed seats and 20 percent from Sabah and Sarawak. For Pakatan, the winning formula is: 25 percent Malay majority seats, 20 percent Chinese or mixed seats and 5 percent from Sabah and Sarawak.

The other Barisan component parties are in considerably worse shape than Umno. The nearly moribund Malaysian Chinese Association is enmeshed in a scandal over the development of the Port Klang multimodal port facility, which we have alluded to before and which has the potential to cost the country RM13 billion if all loan commitments are to be met. There is also hand-to-hand combat among leadership factions. In addition Chua Soi Lek, the head of the party, has been repeatedly taken to task by Malay supremacists such as Ibrahim Ali and his NGO Perkasa, which has the tacit backing of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, further disenchanting ethnic Chinese, who make up 23.7 percent of the population. They appear to have abandoned the party wholesale.

Although East Malaysia appears solidly in the Barisan camp, if the state election held in Sarawak held on April 16 is any harbinger, the results indicate a clear abandonment of the Barisan by Chinese voters. The Chinese-based opposition Democratic Action Party won 12 of the 15 seats it contested, doubling its share of seats in Sarawak since the 2006 state elections. Parti Keadilan Rakyat, led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, won three seats, including a rural one.

Thus the outcome appears to depend on how much PAS, having abandoned its Islamic goals, can make inroads among the Malay population, and particularly the urban Malay population. That 72 percent urban preponderance starts to look interesting indeed.

Thus the most likely scenario is a Barisan win, but the historic two-thirds majority in parliament, which allowed the Barisan to dictate the country’s political and governmental agenda, is likely gone for good.

That doesn’t mean the opposition is faring much better. Pakatan Rakyat coalition continues to be beset with defections and arguments between the three component parties.

One of the things militating for an early election is increasingly dour economic forecasts. Second-half gross domestic product growth edged lower to 4.0 percent year-on-year as domestic demand weakened. By sector, according to the Malaysia Economic Institute of Research, services (6.3 percent growth) and manufacturing (2.1 percent) were the main growth engines. MEIR expects growth momentum to moderate as exports weaken on lacklustre performance by its main export partners, principally the United States. For 2012, MIER has revised its GDP growth forecast downward to 5.0 percent. Other research analysts, more pessimistic, put growth at 4.4 percent.

Although inflation seems relatively tame at a forecast 3 percent, Malaysia’s tripartite growth model, two segments of which are manufacturing and commodities and both directed for export, will be hit by what appears to be an almost certain 2012 economic downturn in Europe and sub-par growth in the United States barring some miracle. That leaves just fiscal pump-priming and the public sector economy to maintain growth. Federal government net borrowing is forecast at RM45.1 billion for the full year of 2011 and RM43.6 billion in 2012. Najib has produced an election budget with some goodies for everybody, but particularly the country’s ethnic Malays, including 1.3 million civil servants, one of the highest civil servants-to-population ratios in the world – the preponderance of them ethnic Malays. Civil servants will be offered tuition assistance for part-time studies

Other goodies include abolishment of payments for primary and secondary education, a “commercialisation innovation fund” to help out SMEs, a RM2 billion “shariah-compliant” financing fund for SMEs to be managed by selected Islamic banks – another bone thrown to Malay businessmen – as well as a review of capital gains taxes on property to stabilise the property market.

Najib and his troops have been hitting the campaign trail assiduously. But whether that means an election is imminent remains to be seen. Mahathir, the party’s stormy petrel, counsels waiting until all of the ducks are lined up. But he also counsels that the Barisan keep up the pressure to make the opposition believe the national polls could happen sooner – forcing them to spend money, time and energy to try to keep up with the government parties.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 8:38 pm and is filed under
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Start law reforms by probing A-G, ex-cop urges PM

By Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 12, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim today insisted Datuk Seri Najib Razak prove his impartiality by calling for a royal inquiry on Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail over the Attorney-General’s alleged mishandling of several high profile cases.

According to Mat Zain, the prime minister should make formal representation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the setting up of a tribunal to examine Abdul Gani’s actions.

“It would be the first step forward for PM Najib to restore the country’s criminal justice system which has been tainted for a long time. The people would accept no less than this,” the former Kuala Lumpur CID chief said today in a letter to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar.

Mat Zain said that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal on Monday did not prove the Najib administration had not interfered in the case or the judiciary’s independence.

“Should the prosecution produce false facts and testimonies, the judge would then make his decision based on the false facts and testimonies,” he said.

He pointed out that it was the A-G who holds the power to initiate, proceed or halt any criminal proceeding while a judge’s duty was merely to judge based on information produced in court.

Mat Zain added that every court case had its own merits and differed from each other, even if they were presided over by the same judge.

“Therefore, the executive cannot beat its chest to say that judge Mohd Zabidin’s ‘not guilty’ verdict on Anwar is proof that the judiciary is impartial and free from influence or interference from the executive,” he added.

Mat Zain proceeded to list examples of high-profile cases since 1998, in which he alleged “certain parties” were believed to have referred to the executive body to obtain a decision.

Among others, Mat Zain cited the corruption and statutory rape case of former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, and the corruption cases involving former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, former MAS chairman Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli and former Pelabuhan Klang assemblyman Datuk Zakariah Md Deros.

He also referred to recent scandals surrounding Minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom on his alleged abuse of zakat funds and Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abd Jalil on the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) controversy.

“What I would like to emphasise and confirm here is that every case example above has Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s touch on it,” said Mat Zain.

As such, he said, this would be a good time for Najib to prove his determination and sincerity and his “people first” promise by taking appropriate action against the country’s top lawyer.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 12 January 2012, 1:01 pm and is filed under
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Acquittal a teaser to another conviction

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz| January 13, 2012

Free Malaysia Today

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will want Anwar Ibrahim stopped at all cost.
COMMENT

Anwar Ibrahim is not out of the woods yet. Despite being acquitted, Anwar is circumspect about the judiciary.

His acquittal does not prove the judiciary is independent, he said.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Anwar said this present case should not be considered as a landmark case representing the independence of the judiciary.

Now, that is somewhat ominous. Why would Anwar say that?

Anwar knows this: he is let off the hook this time – that’s what the government may want the public to think. So that they can say, this is proof that the judiciary is independent.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Anwar’s acquittal is proof that the judiciary is independent even before the sitting Prime Minister (Najib Tun Razak) issued a statement.

Even Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim said the same thing. Finally Najib joined in saying the same thing.

It’s almost like preparing the ground to justify that if Anwar is charged and convicted for some other offences, it is not possible for people to accuse the judiciary of being not independent.

It is the same judiciary that acquitted Anwar in this Sodomy II case.

Stop Anwar

What if Anwar is charged with other offences and he is convicted there because the evidence is so overwhelming?

Then Anwar can’t turn around to say, the judiciary is not independent. That would be contradictory.

So despite being acquitted, Anwar can’t say the judiciary is independent.

He can be charged with making a false report about the video showing a man resembling Anwar having sex with a China doll.

Having sex is not a crime but making a false report is.

Anwar is then charged once more because the prosecution has the Omega watch, the Chinese national in its custody and the video is proven as authentic by forensic experts.

Anwar can then be charged. So, he is still not out of the woods yet. Even in the present case, the prosecution can appeal.

Mahathir will order Najib to appeal. Mahathir would rather have Umno lose than allow Anwar to be prime minister.

He knows if Anwar ascends to the chief executive office, Mahathir and all those on the same ship are finished. So Anwar must be stopped at all cost.

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and a FMT columnist. This is an excerpt from his blog sakmongkolak47.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 13 January 2012, 2:34 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Najib Readies for Vote

by James Hookway

Wall Street Journal

Malaysian leader Najib Razak pointed to the acquittal this week of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as evidence he’s serious about political reforms, even inviting an election battle that could propel him out of power.

Eager to paint himself as a leader of the Malaysia’s most sweeping political reforms since independence, Mr. Najib appears to be betting that the judiciary’s release of Mr. Anwar would help rather than hurt him politically.

Three days after Malaysia’s High Court acquitted Mr. Anwar on sodomy charges this week, Mr. Najib said in an interview Thursday that both the government and opposition camps will step up their race to claim the center-ground of Malaysian politics in the coming months—but that this will only strengthen the predominantly Muslim country and provide a fresh example that democracy and Islam can coexist.

Once the verdict was released, “all of the tension surrounding the trial suddenly fell away and people suddenly realized there are more important things than just the Anwar issue,” such as economic growth, Mr. Najib said in the interview in his office in Malaysia’s administrative capital, carved out of the palm-oil plantations and jungle surrounding the commercial hub of Kuala Lumpur.

“What is important now is that we move forward,” he said, ticking off new measures to make elections more transparent ahead of the next vote, which is due by March 2013, but could be called as early as a month or two from now, and laying out plans to roll back press censorship and limit the government’s powers to hold suspects without charge. Malaysia’s parliament has already repealed several laws that allow for warrantless detention, and is working on other steps.

Many Malaysians continue to doubt the sincerity of Mr. Najib’s push to court the political middle in Malaysia, an important U.S. trading partner. Some activists say they fear the next elections won’t be free and fair, which the government denies, and many of Mr. Najib’s reforms over the past several years—including liberalization of the country’s economy–have fallen well short of investors’ hopes.

Mr. Najib, though, is trying to position his administration among a growing number of others across Asia that have given their citizens more political freedoms in recent months, even if it means stripping the ruling United Malays National Organization of some of the advantages it has enjoyed in past elections.

Thailand’s army—which has often intervened in politics in the past—stood aside to let the populist Puea Thai, or For Thais, Party sweep to power in a landslide election win last July. Myanmar’s leaders have launched a closely-watched effort to reform that country’s politics and reverse its reputation as an oppressive police state, while Singapore has taken steps to expand the political space for its opposition leaders.

Mr. Najib says Malayisa’s changes could provide the U.S. with a new partner in promoting democratic politics and free trade across Asia and the Islamic Middle East, Mr. Najib says.

“America considers Malaysia a moderate, progressive Muslim country, so in terms of their engagement with the Muslim world it is important that we are perceived as a democratic country,” said Mr. Najib, the 58-year-old British-educated son of a former prime minister.

Once famed as the country that rose from a colonial backwater to build the cloud-scraping Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysia has suffered a series of black eyes in recent years, including the trials of Mr. Anwar, the opposition leader.

A one-time deputy prime minister, Mr. Anwar was sacked from the government in 1998 after challenging the leadership of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and was accused of sodomizing a speechwriter and a chauffeur. Anwar denied the charges, saying they were part of a government plot to silence dissent. He spent six years in jail before his conviction was overturned in 2004, the year after Dr. Mahathir stepped down. Dr. Mahathir denies conspiring against Mr. Anwar.

Then, after leading a new multiethnic opposition alliance to its best election performance in years during 2008’s national polls, Mr. Anwar was again arrested after a male aide accused the 64-year-old opposition leader of sodomizing him in a Kuala Lumpur condominium. Again, Mr. Anwar said the accusations were a government plot—a claim which Mr. Najib denies.

Last July, meanwhile, foreign governments criticized the way riot police used water cannons and tear gas to break a mass demonstration in support of cleaner, fairer elections.

Mr. Najib responded with a series of political reforms. He said Thursday that Mr. Anwar’s acquittal underscores the depth of the reform process.

“It shows that as chief executive of the country, I don’t interfere in the judiciary,” he said.

Some analysts say Mr. Najib may have concluded it is better to have Mr. Anwar out of jail than behind bars. Johan Saravanamuttu at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore said that Mr. Anwar is a known quantity outside prison.

“Inside, the sympathy factor would be great in an impending election,” he said.

Nor will the election fight likely be entirely clean. Both government and opposition camps have lobbed sexual accusations against each other.

Some of Mr. Anwar’s foes last year presented a videotape to the media which they say portrayed Mr. Anwar having sex with a prostitute, which Mr. Anwar denied. Prosecutors may also still appeal his recent acquittal in the sodomy case.

Some opposition activists, meanwhile, have tried to link Mr. Najib and his wife to the murder of a Mongolian model who once had an affair with one of Mr. Najib’s closest advisers. Mr. Najib denies having anything to do with 2006 death of Altantuya Shaariibuu, whose body was destroyed with plastic explosives.

Both sides, though, seem to sense that the outcome of the vote depends on whether they can capture mainstream voters who are more interested in the economy than scandals.

Mr. Anwar told The Wall Street Journal earlier this week that he is now reconfiguring the opposition alliance to tackle a gamut of issues in the upcoming vote, from ensuring greater economic freedoms to tackling poverty and stamping out corruption.

Mr. Najib is countering by pointing to the way he has already rolled back parts of the country’s decades old-affirmative action policies, which were designed to boost the country’s majority Muslim Malay population but which are hugely unpopular among Malaysia’s large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

On Thursday, he told members at a local sports club that they face a choice between an administration pushing economic development “or a man who talks of ‘toppling governments’ and ‘overthrowing’ elected officials,” in reference to Mr. Anwar.

Mr. Najib also gets to choose the date of the election in Malaysia’s parliamentary system, a significant advantage.

In his interview Thursday, Mr. Najib said he hopes the vote will be “soon” but added that his government still has to show that its economic reforms are producing real results before he is ready to go to the ballot box amid mounting speculation the worsening global economy might push him to call a vote sooner rather than later.

“Essentially, it’s a call you have to make on the basis of a feel-good factor, and that’s when you press the button,” he said.

“Essentially, it’s a call you have to make on the basis of a feel-good factor, and that’s when you press the button. But of course at the end of the day it’s a rather intuitive decision,” Mr. Najib told The Wall Street Journal in an interview at his offices in Malaysia’s administrative capital, Putrajaya.

“You can have all the polling numbers but you must have the sense that this is the right time. I hope it will be the right time soon enough, but we still have to deliver on our promises and it’s important for people to have the feeling that the reforms we have promised will actually benefit them,” he said.

Mr. Najib has to call an election by March 2013.

He acknowledged that the deteriorating global economic environment, especially the persistent debt crisis in Europe, could complicate his decision about when to call a vote. A worsening outlook could encourage him to call an election sooner than planned. “But so far we are still quite comfortable because our exposure to the EU in terms of total trade is only about 9%, so we are less vulnerable,” he said. “But a euro-zone collapse or some other catastrophe there will affect the whole world.”

Turning to the Anwar verdict, Mr. Najib said it was unclear whether prosecutors would opt to appeal the High Court decision, saying it was a matter for the attorney general, although he added that the acquittal would likely help to convince critics that the government doesn’t interfere in politically charged judicial cases.

Mr. Anwar has accused Mr. Najib’s government of orchestrating the case against him after a former male aide accused the opposition leader of sodomizing him in 2008. Mr. Najib denies having anything to do with the case.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 13 January 2012, 11:51 pm and is filed under
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The party’s over

By
Mariam Mokhtar
 | January 13, 2012

Free Malaysia Today

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was aware of the consequences of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim being jailed. With limited choices, he was forced to choose the unpalatable option of having Anwar acquitted.

In doing so, Najib’s reputation may have been enhanced, his party Umno-BN saved from the brink of annihilation at the polls and, most important of all, the creation of the powerful and feared martyr (Anwar), was neutralised.

For Anwar, acquittal meant he could concentrate on leading the opposition and making sure the government performs. Sodomy II was designed by Umno to be a distraction, for him and the rakyat. Valuable time and resources had been wasted on this sham trial which was designed to wear Anwar and the rakyat down.

Najib must think us fools to believe that Anwar’s acquittal signalled an independent judiciary. What about the many other cases which have been rigged in the past? Teoh Beng Hock, Aminulrasyid Amzah, Ahmad Sarbani, A Kugan.

Najib seems to need Anwar for political survival and may have “saved” Anwar, so that he can be used in his fight against former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Mahathir must be fuming that his long-term ambition, to be rid of Anwar, has been thwarted again.

Anwar may have been the protagonist in Act I of Sodomy II, but if he and his coalition become too complacent, Act II may blow up in their faces.

Ill-gotten gains

There is no reason why Umno diehards should surrender and see their ill-gotten gains, plundered during the 54 years of misrule, be destroyed by one man. They have too much to lose, not just their positions of power and wealth, but also their freedom.

If people are still celebrating the acquittal, let us not forget that the country still has to be saved and there is much work to do. Corruption, abuse of power, rocketing public spending, injustice, police brutality for the normal man in the street, have yet to be resolved.

Najib’s political expediency is apparent (he has his foreign advisers to thank for this) but people power had much to do with Najib’s decision to “advise” the judiciary to deliver Monday’s Sodomy II verdict.

Conservatives on the Umno sidelines are watching Najib’s every move. His own deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, with whom Najib shares an intense love-hate rivalry, is alleged to be “guided” by Mahathir.

Najib’s premiership has been dogged by flip-flops, empty rhetoric, meaningless soundbites and costly foreign PR campaigns. If he cannot run his own Cabinet, how can he be entrusted to run the country?

If one acquittal means an independent judiciary, then Najib’s judgment and reasoning, among other things, are poor. The one drug addict caught in the back streets of Chow Kit does not mean the police are winning the war on drugs. The small-time trader who is caught paying “extra” to have his permit approved quickly does not mean that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is doing a fantastic job.

Malaysians are aware of the breakdown of their confidence in the government, but they also have some mistrust in the opposition. No one claims to think that Anwar knows best or that the opposition is 100 percent ready and perfect.

The focus has always been to be rid of a corrupt government and to restore proper democracy to Malaysia. Our job, as the rakyat, is to keep these politicians on their toes, and kick out those who are self-serving or incompetent.

As one political observer said, “Malaysian minds are made mush by shopping malls… average quality of life is good, most basics of life being relatively affordable. Even the most enlightened, ‘liberal’ ones only complain about ‘the others’ without examining their own complicity or own unwillingness to modify their behaviour. That extends to voting for change, less so fighting for it.”

Red rag

Have Malaysians forgotten that before Jan 9, the focus was on Women, Community and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and her family’s abuse of RM250 million of taxpayers’ money?

So why is Shahrizat going on leave at this juncture? Has Najib decided that with Shahrizat “out-of-sight-and-out-of-mind”, the rakyat might forget about the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC)? Would having Shahrizat around be like waving a red rag at the public?

If Najib had any leadership qualities, he would have suspended her, instructed the MACC and police to do a thorough investigation, frozen the accounts of the NFC, arrested Shahrizat’s husband and children and placed them on bail, have their passports impounded and notified the public of developments about the NFC scandal.

There are many other, far larger corruption cases but Najib knows that if Shahrizat felt she had drawn the short straw, she would drag others down with her. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

At Umno’s last general assembly, Shahrizat faced the audience and rolled up her sleeves in a show of defiance and arrogance as if to say, “bring them on, I am spoiling for a fight”.

Today, she is in retreat and people will remember her words “I am only the wife of the project chairman” which she uttered when the NFC scandal first broke. The NFC chairman is her husband, Mohamad Salleh Ismail.

Readers may recall a few years back, when a certain woman was asked to comment on the allegation made in a statutory declaration that she had been present when the body of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu was disposed of. She declared her innocence and said, “…I’m just the wife of a politician.”

                This entry was posted on Friday, 13 January 2012, 12:27 pm and is filed under
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Call for independent public inquiry  into RM300 million NFC scandal – the role of implicated Ministers including Muhyiddin, Noh Omar and Shahrizat

The freeze of the assets of the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) pending investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Police is not adequate and does not inspire confidence that this is a prelude to a  no-holds-barred full inquiry into the RM300 million NFC scandal.

Announcing the freeze on NFC assets yesterday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he had discussed with the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil the decision to take three weeks leave from her ministerial duties, adding:

“I’ve discussed with her the decision to take leave. It is an appropriate decision as it allows the authority to carry out a thorough investigation.

“Datuk Seri Shahrizat said she was willing to be investigated fully. What happens after this will depend on the outcome of the investigation.”

Nobody expects Shahrizat to return to the Cabinet or Parliament after the expiry of her three-week leave expiring on Feb. 3, 2012.

But what is significant and ominous in Najib’s statement is the implication that before she was finally pressured to “voluntarily” go on three-weeks leave on January 12, she had  successfully resisted any “full investigation” into her role in the RM300 million NFC scandal.

The question was how she could successfully resist a “full investigation” into her role in the NFC scandal for more than eleven weeks since release of the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 on the “Beef Valley” scandal in the last week of October 2010, followed by a series of  revelations of the misuse of the NFC funds turning it into a “Cattle Condo” scandal.

Long after she has left the political scene, two of the most unforgettable images of Shahrizat in the RM300 million NFC scandal causing permanent image problem to UMNO will be her defiant “rolling up her sleeve” gesture at the recent UMNO Wanita General Assembly declaring her “innocence” and her subsequent rhetoric question: “Tell me, which UMNO leader does not have problem?”

Najib said he had asked the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar to look into NFC’s future directions and to find the best solution for the centre.

This is totally unacceptable as Muhyiddin and Nor Omar are among the Ministers, one being Agriculture Minister at the time of the approval of the RM300 million NFC project and the latter as the current Minister in charge of the project, who owe the Malaysian public a fully accounting of why they had allowed the NFC scandal to reach such a disgraceful proportion under their charge.

What the country needs is an independent, no-holds-barred public inquiry into the  RM300 million National Feedlot Corporation scandal, in particular the role of all implicated Ministers and leaders, including Muhyiddin and Noh Omar as former and current Agriculture Minister and Shahrizat, and other UMNO political leaders still unknown.

Is Najib prepared to announce such a public inquiry or even to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry fully assisted by the police and the MACC into the NFC scandal, declassifying all Cabinet and official documents for such an inquiry?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 January 2012, 2:28 pm and is filed under
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Kit Siang dares Najib to respect GE results if Pakatan wins

Yow Hong Chieh

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 14, 2012

ALOR STAR, Jan 14 — Lim Kit Siang today challenged prime minister to promise that Barisan Nasional (BN) will respect the outcome of the next national polls and guarantee free and fair elections.

The DAP parliamentary leader also dared Datuk Seri Najib Razak to make good on his call for moderation by retracting the vow he made at the Umno general assembly two years ago to “defend Putrajaya with our bodies and broken bones”.

“This is not the voice of moderation, this is not the voice of moderation,” he told the PR convention here.

“We want the prime minister and all Umno leaders to declare that they will accept the decision in the 13th general election, even if Pakatan Rakyat forms government and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becomes prime minister.”

The opposition and electoral reform group Bersih has criticised elections in Malaysia as unfair, citing alleged fraud, vote-buying and uneven media access.

Ten of thousands of Malaysians rallied on the streets of Kuala Lumpur on July 9 last year to demand free and fair elections, prompting the Najib administration to promise a raft of concessions aimed at speeding up electoral reform.

Lim also challenged Najib to transform Umno-owned paper Utusan Malaysia into a beacon of reason to show the latter truly believed in transforming Malaysia into a better nation.

“The word ‘transformation’ is one of Datuk Seri Najib’s favourite words. Transform Utusan Malaysia into a voice of moderation,” he said.

“Can he transform Utusan Malaysia into a voice of moderation and not a voice of extremism, slander, lies and all that is not true?”

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 January 2012, 12:26 am and is filed under
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Opposition will devise plan to make country graft free

Himanshu Bhatt

The Sun

14 January 2012

ALOR SETAR (Jan 14, 2012): The Pakatan Rakyat will come up with an action plan to combat corruption, should they win the next general elections.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang said leaders of the three member parties – PKR, PAS and DAP – will discuss the matter and come with the plan prior the general elections, which must be held by April 2013.

“We will discuss the matter. And probably before the 13th general elections, we will come out with a proposal,” he at the PR’s 3rd annual convention at the Stadium Sultan Abdul Halim here.

“We want a graft free country,” he added in response to a query by guest speaker Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who is also Bersih 2.0 chairman,

Also present were Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, DAP vice-president Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Abdul Hadi Awang and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

Ambiga, who was invited to address the gathering as an NGO leader, had asked for the opposition’s plan on corruption.

“I want to know if PR is looking at setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission For Corruption,” she said, stressing that such commissions had been set up in countries like South Africa and Hong Kong.

Ambiga also said the country should have a policy to pardon those who had committed minor graft offences, to help facilitate transformation in the government administration.

She noted that Malaysia’s ranking in the world Corruption Perception Index dropped to 60th place (out of 182 countries) in 2011, from 56th in 2009 and 2010.

She also asked what PR plans to do to have assets that have been lost due to corruption to be returned.

She said more than RM1 trillion has been reported to have flowed out of the country. “What are PR’s plans to bring back the money?” she said adding “This is the people’s money.”

Asked by reporters later, Anwar said the PR leaders were open to ideas about formulating an anti-corruption plan.

“I will meet her (Ambiga) and listen for suggestions,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hadi expressed hope that the freeing of Anwar through the recent judicial decision pronouncing him not guilty in his sodomy trial, was a turning point for the independence of the judiciary, as well as the separation of powers between the political and executive segments.

PAS vice president Datuk Mahfuz Omar explained that the coalition partners will gather pertinent points and important issues that are also raised in the convention, to formulate a single manifesto dereved from the Orange Book which highlighted the opposition’s plan and aspirations if they take over government.

The PR leaders also agreed to hold the coalition’s next convention in 2013 in Putrajaya.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 January 2012, 12:46 am and is filed under
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Solidariti ekonomi penawar kemelut

by Zairil Khir Johari

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 15, 2012

15 JAN — Sempena Persidangan Kebangsaan DAP 2012 tempoh hari, Jawatankuasa Tertinggi Pusat telah membentangkan “Deklarasi Shah Alam” sebagai juadah intelektual terbaru dalam agenda parti untuk Pilihan Raya Umum yang akan datang.

Perisytiharan yang dibuat ini melambangkan modal siasah baru yang cuba dipacu oleh DAP demi memupuk satu wadah kenegaraan yang berkisar pada dasar dan bukan sekadar isu-isu sensasi.

Teras asas dalam perisytiharan tersebut adalah isu ekonomi yang diulas melalui konsep “solidariti ekonomi”. Intisari perisytiharan tidak perlu diulangi di sini, namun saya ingin mengupas sedikit tentang tema yang boleh dikatakan menjadi “jiwa” yang menyelubungi jasad yang dipanggil Deklarasi Shah Alam ini.

Sesungguhnya tanggungjawab sesebuah kerajaan adalah untuk memastikan kualiti hidup yang selesa dan sejahtera bagi rakyatnya. Ini bermaksud kehidupan yang tidak dibebani hutang yang melampau, serta pendapatan yang memadai untuk membina rumahtangga dengan segala kelengkapan asas seperti rumah, kereta dan pendidikan anak-anak. Dalam erti kata lain, kesejahteraan ekonomi rakyat hendaklah dipelihara.

Namun begitu, keadaan semasa di negara kita lebih indah khabar dari rupa. Walaupun diberitahu bahawa pertumbuhan ekonomi sedang giat berkembang melalui Modal Ekonomi Baru (NEM) dan program-program serpihannya seperti Program Transformasi Ekonomi (ETP) dan Bidang Utama Ekonomi Negara (NKEA), tetapi hakikatnya Malaysia merupakan negara di mana purata pendapatan rakyat adalah terlalu rendah dan sudah lama terbantut.

Lebih kurang 40 peratus keluarga di Malaysia mempunyai pendapatan isi rumah kurang daripada RM1,500 sebulan. Tiga perempat daripada angka itu merupakan keluarga Bumiputera. Ini ditambah pula dengan nisbah bayaran hutang isi rumah (debt service ratio) yang dilaporkan berada di tahap 47.8 peratus pada tahun 2010. Ini bermakna bahawa keluarga tipikal di Malaysia secara lazimnya akan menggunakan setengah daripada jumlah pendapatan suami isteri untuk tujuan pembayaran hutang rumah, kereta, pendidikan dan sebagainya. Siapakah yang larat hidup dalam keadaan sebegini?

Jurang pendapatan pula semakin meluas. Jumlah pendapatan 40 peratus golongan terbawah masyarakat kita hanya merangkumi 14.3 peratus daripada jumlah pendapatan negara, manakala golongan 20 peratus yang teratas pula mengaut 50 peratus ataupun setengah daripada jumlah pendapatan seluruh negara. Yang kaya makin raya dan yang papa makin kedana.

Di sini, konsep solidariti ekonomi disajikan untuk penyelesaian kemelut yang melanda. Istilah ini berpunca daripada prinsip asas demokrasi sosial yang menjadi ideologi tunjang bagi parti DAP, iaitu prinsip solidariti ataupun kesetiakawanan. Dalam konteks ekonomi, solidariti bermaksud kesetiakawanan di antara kaya dengan miskin, bandar dengan luar bandar, kapitalis dengan marhaen. Dalam erti kata lain, ia berkisar pada pengagihan hasil yang lebih saksama.

Kegagalan untuk mengamati konsep solidariti ekonomi dalam dasar kerajaan akan membawa padah kepada kerajaan tersebut. Saya ingin menggunakan negara Singapura sebagai contoh yang jelas.

Walaupun ditakrifkan sebagai negara maju dengan pembangunan infrastruktur dan pertumbuhan ekonomi yang jauh meninggalkan negara-negara jirannya, Pilihan Raya Umum serta pemilihan presiden yang diadakan tahun lepas telah menghasilkan keputusan yang paling teruk pernah dialami oleh parti pemerintah. Bukan sahaja seorang menteri kanan telah kecundang dalam pertandingan untuk sebuah Kawasan Perwakilan Berkumpulan (GRC), malah calon yang disokong parti pemerintah untuk jawatan presiden hanya berjaya mengatasi lawannya dengan beza undi popular kurang daripada 1 peratus sahaja. Suatu keputusan yang sungguh tidak disangka buat parti yang telah memerintah sejak tahun 1965.

Bagaimanakah boleh sampai ke tahap begitu, terutama sekali bagi sebuah kerajaan yang telah membawa kemakmuran dan kemajuan yang di luar jangkaan ramai sejak dizahirkan kurang daripada 50 tahun dahulu? Negara yang keluasannya hanya setengah daripada saiz seluruh negeri Pulau Pinang itu mempunyai Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) per kapita yang tiga kali ganda KDNK Malaysia. Pertumbuhan ekonominya pula telah mencatat 14.5 peratus pada tahun 2010. Di samping itu, berpuluh-puluh ribu peluang pekerjaan baru telah diwujudkan dalam tempoh tahun-tahun yang lepas ini. Begitu pesat pembangunan yang berlaku di Singapura, namun rakyatnya tidak berasa puas hati. Mengapa?

Pokoknya, krisis Kerajaan Singapura telah berlaku akibat ketiadaan solidariti ekonomi dalam dasar pengagihan hasilnya. Pembangunan dan keuntungan yang dicapai hampir kesemuanya dibolot golongan kapitalis elit, sementara rakyat di bawah hanya berdaya untuk mengutip saki bakinya.

Sungguhpun KDNK per kapita berada di tahap yang cukup mengkagumkan, sebenarnya pendapatan golongan 30 peratus terbawah telah mengalami susutan dalam tempoh 5 tahun yang lepas, sementara kelas menengah pula telah menampakkan peningkatan pendapatan nominal sebanyak 1 peratus sahaja. Ini bermakna bahawa segala pertumbuhan ekonomi yang dijana dalam beberapa tahun yang lepas ini semuanya bertumpu kepada golongan kapitalis elit. Peluang-peluang pekerjaan yang diwujudkan pula rata-rata dipenuhi oleh pekerja-pekerja asing daripada China dan Filipina.

Akhirnya, tanpa solidariti ekonomi, yang menikmati kejayaan dan keuntungan adalah kelas atasan dan warga asing, sementara rakyat jelata Singapura terpaksa menanggung inflasi serantau dan beban kenaikan kos sara hidup.

Kita harus berhati-hati kerana negara kita sedang mengikuti jejak langkah negara jiran di selatan itu. Matlamat Modal Ekonomi Baru adalah untuk menggandakan KDNK per kapita daripada USD7,000 kepada USD15,000. Untuk mencapai matlamat itu, pelbagai projek dicanangkan di bawah naungan Program Transformasi Ekonomi yang dikatakan sudah berjaya menerima pelaburan berjumlah lebih daripada seratus bilion ringgit dengan kewujudan hampir 300,000 peluang pekerjaan.

Namun rakyat ingin bertanya, kepada siapakah perginya pelaburan itu dan adakah peluang pekerjaan itu akan menjana pendapatan yang lebih tinggi untuk rakyat jelata? Unjuran pertumbuhan ekonomi hanyalah angka kosong jika ia tidak berjaya mengurangkan jurang pendapatan dan memastikan kesejahteraan rakyat. Oleh itu, dalam keadaan ekonomi dunia yang mencabar ini, solidariti ekonomi menjadi penawar.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 January 2012, 2:18 pm and is filed under
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