Why  have Speaker Pandikar and Minister Azalina failed to provide MPs with the opportunity to review the Speaker’s rulings which denied MPs the right to hold the Executive to account on the 1MDB scandal?

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia broke the Speaker’s gavel at a time when he was mightily displeased that his decisions are being challenged in court.

But is  the Speaker aware that conscientious and hard-working Members of Parliament are mightily displeased with his many 1MDB-related decisions, such as rejecting questions on the 1MDB scandal by over 30 Members of Parliament in the current parliamentary meeting, and virtually banning 1MDB from being debated in Parliament, with no meaningful recourse to the Standing Orders to review the Speaker’s ruling?

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Deparment in charge of  Parliamentary Affairs, Datuk Azalina Othman Said said Pakatan Harapan MP for PJ Selatan, Hee Loy Sien, had undermined Parliament’s independence  and sullied Parliament’s good name when he sued Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.

Azalina cannot be more wrong.

I fully endorse Loy Sien’s legal action and the statement by  the Pakatan Harapan MP for Padang Serai, N. Surendran who, together with Latheefa Koya act as Loy Sien’s lawyers, said that the suit against the Parliament Speaker was intended to uphold the dignity and role of Parliament to be the scrutineer of the actions of the Executive.

Loy Sien’s legal recourse is in fact a reflection of Azalina’s failure to uphold the parliamentary conventions in keeping with a first-world Parliament, where Parliament has not lost the powers and the  independence  intended by the Constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers among the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary.

The 1MDB scandal, which turned Malaysia into global kleptocracy overnight, provides instances where Parliament has been deprived of its independence and role to demand that the Prime Minister and the Executive give  full accounting of the nation’s biggest financial scandal which is even admitted by the United States Department of Justice as the largest case of kleptocracy it had handled.

The 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration settlement,  which is clearly another financial scam against the people of Malaysia, is another shocking episode from  the 1MDB scandal.

This was the background to the emergency motion by the Pakatan Harapan  MP for Segambut, Lim Lip Eng, who invoked Standing Order 18(1) on 1MDB’s failure to meet the deadline to pay IPIC the first payment of US$602.5 million.

But Lip Eng’s emergency motion  was rejected by the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, on the ground that the Speaker “difahamkan oleh pihak Kerajaan bahawa 1MDB telah mengambil tindakan seperti yang telah di umumkan pada 1Ogos 2017 berkenaan dengan Pelan Rasionalisasi 1MDB bagi menyelesaikan isu yang dibangkitkan dalam usul” Lip Eng.

Najib had told Parliament that 1MDB was able to pay IPIC, and the failure to meet the deadline for the first payment was a “technical matter” and not a question of being able to pay IPIC.

Isn’t the IMDB-IPIC London arbitration “settlement” a financial scam, because 1MDB had claimed that it had already repaid IPIC and the second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani is on record as saying that he had studied the documents of the 1MDB-IPIC dispute and he  was confident that 1MDB would win the case in going for London arbitration.

Why then did the Ministry of Finance and 1MDB ended up “surrendering” to IPIC claims in toto in reaching the 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration “settlement” where 1MDB had to pay IPIC for the same debt twice, in addition to  the new problem of 1MDB unable to meet the deadline for the a first payment?

Parliament is the proper forum where Malaysians, through Members of Parliament, could demand a full accounting from the government for the latest “financial scam” by 1MDB.

Why did the Speaker become part of the financial scam by disallowing a debate on the 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration settlement?

The Speaker had rejected questions by over 30 MPs on the 1MDB scandal, and he said that MPs who are not happy with his ruling, which is final until reviewed by the House, can invoke Standing Order 43 to move a substantive motion which requires only two days’ notice to review his ruling.

DAP for Puchong, Gobind Singh Deo, had moved such a substantive motion to review the Speaker’s ruling rejecting questions by MPs on 1MDB, but  for the whole of last week, Gobind’s motion was at the bottom the Parliamentary Order Paper, ie. Item No. 39 yesterday –  never to see the light of day or  coming up for debate making Dewan Rakyat Standing Order 43 a “dead letter”!

Surely, it should be the responsibility of the Speaker and Azalina as the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of parliamentary affairs to ensure that there is a parliamentary convention that  such a substantive motion comes up for debate after the requisite two-day notice.

The proper place for the Speaker to justify rejection of questions about the 1MDB scandal is through  debate in Parliament to review the Speaker’s rulings, and not at press conferences by the Speaker.

Why are MPs denied of such opportunities in Parliament?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 4 August 2017, 3:06 pm and is filed under
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14th General Election is around the corner and UMNO faces the possibility of  historic triple losses in next polls

The 14th General Election is around the corner.

Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, let slip this possibility when he spoke at the Merbok UMNO AGM in Sungai Petani last night and continued the Zahid-Mahathir spat started by the Deputy Prime Minister  striking the first blow by taking a dig at the 92-year-old’s Indian heritage.

Zahid told.Umno Merbok to hold on to the Merbok parliamentary and Tanjung Dawai state seats and reclaim the Bukit Selambau state seat if they wished to enjoy rewards.

He said: “I have heard requests for allocations for a hostel, canteen and water pipe upgrade here. I promise to return in six months with gifts if you can retain Merbok and Tanjung Dawai and take back Bukit Selambau.

“In GE11, we made a clean sweep of all three but in GE12, we lost all three seats and the state of Kedah along with that.  Don’t let it happen again.”

This would mean that the 14th General Election would be all over in six months’ time, pointing to general polls this year rather than next year.

But will Zahid remain as Deputy Prime Minister after the 14th General Election as UMNO faces the possibility of  historic triple lossES in the next general election, resulting in UMNO being ejected out of Putrajaya and occupying the Opposition benches in Parliament?

There is no doubt that the UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and  all the UMNO leaders are suffering from an attack of nerves, because for the first time in UMNO history, UMNO face the prospects of historic triple losses, all happening at the same time in the next general election, viz:

•	UMNO’s loss of support of the majority of Malay voters in the country.

•	UMNO’s loss  of support  of the majority of the 1.6 million civil servants in the country.

•	UMNO’s loss of  the support of the highest percentage of UMNO members (at present, 3.5 million UMNO members) at any general election in the nation’s history.

Najib and UMNO leaders are fearful that  the seismic political development three weeks ago on July 14 when Pakatan  Harapan announced its structure, logo and leadership line-up, portended major political changes in the country – sustaining not only a political tsunami in the urban areas but also creating a political tsunami among the Malay voters in the rural areas for political change in Malaysia.

UMNO leaders suddenly realized that the unthinkable Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation after nearly two decades of political enmity between the two political leaders pose a grave threat to UMNO’s  survival and its chance of continuing to govern the country, as the Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation and  combination leading the four-party Pakatan Harapan  coalition of DAP, PKR, Amanah and Bersatu are creating  the political conditions whereby UMNO will suffer the historic triple losses all happening at the same time in the  14th General Election  resulting in UMNO becoming an Opposition party in Parliament for the first time in UMNO and Malaysian history.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 5 August 2017, 10:20 am and is filed under
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Call on voters in Pagoh and the  rural areas  to emulate the example of Muhyiddin to speak truth  to power to launch a political tsunami in the rural areas to match the urban tsunami in the 13GE to  save Johor and Malaysia  from a global kleptocracy

We have with us Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was Deputy Prime Minister until some two years ago when he was sacked from the Cabinet  and Government by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

What was Muhyiddin’s crime or great and unforgivable  mistake?

Was Muhyiddin guilty of grand corruption causing Malaysia to be known overnight as a global kleptocracy, which I had defined  in Parliament to BN Ministers and MPs as a government of three Ps – Pencuri, Perompak and Penyamun?

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had added a  fourth P in a global kleptocracy – Penyangak!

No!

Was Muhyiddin sacked as Deputy Prime Minister because he had told lies or had abused his powers as DPM?

No! No!

Muhyiddin was not sacked for any corruption, crime, wrong or mistake but because he was too honest and too principled in speaking truth to power to save Johor and Malaysia from a global kleptocracy.

Muhyiddin was not prepared to shut his eyes, close his ears and seal his lips over the largest financial scandal in the nation’s history, the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal, which had made Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy!

I call on voters in Pagoh and all the  rural areas in Malaysia to emulate the example of Muhyiddin to speak the truth  to power and  to launch a political tsunami in the rural areas to match the urban tsunami in the 13GE to  save Johor and Malaysia  from a global kleptocracy.

Our vote in the forthcoming 14th General Election is not for one person or even for one political party, but for the country and our children and children’s children, regardless of race, religion or region, to ensure that Malaysia becomes a great, united, harmonious, progressive and prosperous multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation which achieved world-class  standards in all fields of human endeavour.

If Malaysia is to achieve greatness as a nation, the nation should not become a nation of sheep and no political party should be a political party  of sheep.

We want thinking Malaysians in every political party in the nation, who can discern right from wrong and  truth from lies.

I must confess I was  utterly shocked when an UMNO MP and UMNO division chairman in Kedah today extolled blind loyalty as the highest virtue and value of an UMNO leader and member, and that regardless of whether the top UMNO leadership is corrupt or dishonest, every UMNO member must be blindly loyal and faithful to the UMNO  leadership.

I do not think this is the system of values which is embedded in the Rukunegara or something we want to inculcate in the young generation of Malaysians. In fact,  this is not  countenanced by any great religion or moral system of the world.

Is this what the TN 50 – National Transformation 2050 – is all about, to bring up  a generation of Malaysians who are blindly and unthinkingly loyal and faithful to the leadership, however dishonest or corrupt?

Are Najib and the top UMNO leadership prepared to say openly and publicly that this is what they expect  of UMNO members and Malaysian citizens – to be unthinking sheep who accept whatever the leadership does, however corrupt or dishonest?

In fact, the convulsions and convolutions which UMNO underwent in the past three weeks after the seismic political  development on July 14 with the announcement of the Pakatan Harapan structure, logo and leadership line-up is symptomatic of a sclerotic UMNO in panic and crisis, for Najib and the top UMNO leadership are fully aware of the triple risks UMNO faces in the 14th General Elections:

•	UMNO’s loss of support of the majority of Malay voters in the country.

•	UMNO’s loss  of support  of the majority of the 1.6 million civil servants in the country.

•	UMNO’s loss of  the support of the highest percentage of UMNO members (at present, 3.5 million UMNO members) at any general election in the nation’s history.

The nation and the people await the 14th General Election, where a political tsunami in the rural areas accompanied by a sustained  urban tsunami in the urban areas – signifying a Malaysian political tsunami involving Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region – is the only salvation for a  just, democratic, progressive, prosperous and modern Malaysia!

[Speech (2) at the Grisek DAP Branch Dinner to prepare for 14th General Election held in Grisek, Johor on Saturday, 5th August 2017 at 8 pm]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 6 August 2017, 8:38 am and is filed under
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Haris Ibrahim and other political activists invited to work with Pakatan Harapan secretariat to prepare the Pakatan Harapan  reform agenda to save Malaysia

Haris Ibrahim, a political activist,  told Free Malaysia Today news portal today his concern that the reform agenda of the opposition may be set back if PPBM chairman Tun Dr.  Mahathir Mohamad is chosen as prime minister in the event that Pakatan Harapan wins the coming general election.

Haris Ibrahim, a longtime advocate of political reform, said  it was becoming more and more likely that Mahathir would be prime minister again should Barisan Nasional be toppled.

He was commenting on a recent assessment of Malaysia’s political situation by Global Risk Insights, a publication for political risk news and analysis founded at the London School of Economics.

According to the assessment, Mahathir’s leadership of Pakatan and the fallout from the 1MDB affair could turn the tide against BN in the 14th general election.

Speaking to FMT, Haris said it appeared that Pakatan had no choice but to appoint Mahathir as prime minister since the preferred opposition choice for the post, Anwar Ibrahim, would still be in jail at the time the election results are announced.

The pardon process that would see Anwar released would take some time, he said.

“With that in mind, are we talking about a second round of a Mahathir premiership?”

He said he was “thrilled” at the idea of BN being brought down, but added that the introduction of reforms was more important to him.

There is consensus in Pakatan Harapan that Anwar will be the nation’s eighth Prime Minister if Pakatan Harapan wins the 14th General Election and topples Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Minister and evicts the UMNO/BN coalition from Putrajaya.

However,  a decision has still to be taken based on Pakatan Harapan consensus as to who will be the Prime Minister if Pakatan Harapan wins the next general election and becomes in fact the seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, working on an agenda so that Anwar can become the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

However,  Haris’ concerns are valid and legitimate as Pakatan  Harapan coalition of DAP, PKR, AMANAH and Bersatu wants not only a change of Prime Minister but a reform agenda to ensure that there cannot be another Najib to helm the government and equally important, a reform agenda to save Malaysia from the present trajectory towards a failed and a rogue state.

Haris Ibrahim and other political activists invited to work with Pakatan Harapan secretariat to prepare the Pakatan Harapan reform agenda to save Malaysia.

In another 26 days, Malaysia will celebrate the 60th  National Day anniversary.  If the 14th General Election is held this year, this year will be doubly significant.

The most meaningful way to celebrate the 60th National Day anniversary is for the 14th General Election to be a national landmark to unite Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics, based on the Pakatan Harapan Reform Agenda to re-set nation-building directions and policies for Malaysians to compete with the rest of the world to be a world-class nation in every field of human endeavour, whether in parliamentary democracy, good governance, economic development, educational excellence and be a showcase to the world of as a successful, progressive, harmonious and united plural nation  – and once and for all, end the international infamy and ignominy of becoming a global kleptocracy.

(Speech at the Grisek DAP Branch Dinner to prepare for 14th General Election held in Grisek, Johor on Saturday, 5th August 2017 at 8 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 6 August 2017, 12:32 am and is filed under
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The revelation by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki that extension of Raus’ tenure as Chief Justice was made without recommendation of Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) makes the extension not only  unconstitutional and unprecedented  but  most improper

The newly-reappointed Chief Justice Tan Sri  Md Raus Sharif has conceded that his reappointment is “unprecedented” but said that it is still constitutional.

However, he left the final decision on the constitutionality of his position to the court.

This is indeed doubly unprecedented – leaving the country with a Chief Justice who is believed by the Malaysian Bar through a emergency EGM and many jurists, including many serving and former  top judges in the land, unconstitutionally occupying the top judicial post in the land for the next three years.

Surely, there can be no greater blow to the independence, impartiality and professionalism of the judiciary than for the country to have a judiciary which is headed by a person for next three years enmeshed in a controversy about the constitutionality of his extension of office?

A top judicial officer  who cherishes unquestioned respect for the rule of law and unblemished standing of the judiciary not only in the eyes of the bench and bar but the Malaysian populace would want to spare the judiciary from the agony of a controversy lasting for the next three years over the constitutionality of the extension of the Chief Justice of the land.

The revelation by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi in an article in New Straits Times yesterday that Raus’ extension as Chief Justice was made without recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has made Raus’ reappointment as Chief Justice not only unconstitutional and unprecedented, but even most improper.

Tun Zaki in his article said:

“IT is pointed out that under the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Act, Section 21 empowers the JAC to recommend to the prime minister candidates for the offices of chief justice and the president of the Court of Appeal.

“Section 26 envisages a report sent to the prime minister. It is alleged that if the JAC had not recommended to the prime minister the reappointment of the chief justice and the president, then the prime minister’s advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was in violation of a mandatory procedural requirement.

“In rebuttal to this argument, it can be pointed out that the JAC is an extra-constitutional body.

“It cannot replace or substitute the procedures and requirements of the supreme constitution. The supreme constitution in Article 122B(1) on the appointment of judges does NOT require the prime minister to act on the recommendation of the JAC.

“In any case, the procedures of the JAC Act are not mandatory, but merely directory. The prime minister is not required to act on the JAC’s recommendations. The prime minister is not limited to the candidates recommended by the JAC.

“From the point of view of constitutional and administrative law, the power conferred on the prime minister by the constitution cannot be usurped by the JAC or abdicated by the prime minister. The prime minister’s discretion under Article 122B(1) is not fettered by the deliberations of the JAC.”

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali should explain whether they fully endorse Tun Zaki’s views that the JAC is an entirely irrelevant and inconsequential  body.

Tun Zaki has  added to the murkiness of the circumstances surrounding the unconstitutional extension of Raus’ extension as Chief Justice, especially as it affected the promotion opportunities and prospects of at least eight Federal Court judges, including three women, and most importantly, the denial of the opportunity of Tan Sri Richard Malanjum as the first Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak to be appointed as Chief Justice of Malaysia.

It is sad and most unfortunate that Raus did not see that his best contribution to the judiciary lies in his declining the unconstitutional extension of his tenure as Chief Justice, and even more unfortunate, his failure to see the merit of two proposals which I made in the event that he is not prepared to decline the unconstitutional extension:

•	Firstly, announce that he will await the Federal Court decision on the constitutionality or otherwise of his re-appointment as Chief Justice; and

•	Secondly, announce that he  will recuse himself  from all court cases where Datuk Seri Najib Razak is involved as a party, whether as Prime Minister, UMNO President or in his private personal capacity for the next three years, during his  extended tenure as Chief Justice.

The ball is now in  Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin’s court.

Will Zulkefli decline the two-year extension of his tenure as Court of Appeal President when his tenure as COA President ends on Sept. 27?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 6 August 2017, 11:33 am and is filed under
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Why the tape recording of the Mahathir-Zahid meeting in 2015 has yet to be publicly played?

With the velocity of the Mahathir-Zahid spat showing no let-up, but increasing in intensity with each passing  day  in the past week since it was triggered by the Deputy Prime Minister and Acting UMNO Deputy President, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, an UMNO Johore State  Assemblyman, Tengku Putra Haron Aminurrashid Jumat has warned against playing “strip poker” with Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

I do not know what is this UMNO  “strip poker” but as is customary wont in UMNO politics nowadays, the DAP is always accused of either masterminding or capitalizing from these UMNO-related political gymnastics or acrobatics.

Zahid has said right at the beginning that he has the recording of the meeting between him and Dr. Mahathir in 2015.  In fact, he said Mahathir also has a copy of the same recording of the meeting that was held by them in 2015.

If so, why  the tape recording of the Mahathir-Zahid meeting in  2015 has yet to be played for everybody to know what actually transpired if it is true that both Zahid and Mahathir have  a tape recording of their meeting in 2015?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 6 August 2017, 5:39 pm and is filed under
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Would it be constitutional and proper for Raus to continue to be appointed as “additional judge”  in August 2020 to extend his tenure as Chief Justice for another three years?

In reply to the question whether he should have  declined  re-appointment as Chief Justice under  circumstances where the weight of legal and informed opinion are quite united in regarding it as unconstitutional, Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif said the issue does not arise.

He said: “Why should I decline? Because the government is of the view that the government needs our services…so they went through the process.”

Raus cannot be more wrong, as he knows that his claim that his re-appointment as Chief Justice is constitutional though unprecedented is open to challenge.

A chief justice of a country should not act like a “cantakerous litigant” arguing over  every possible point of law, however far-fetched or ridiculous.

Raus’ defence that his re-appointment is because of what the government wants ignores the doctrine of the separation of powers and the need for the Judiciary to maintain integrity, independence and propriety as important judicial values separate from what the Executive-of-the-day wants.

Furthermore, Raus’ response can be easily shot down as the Chief Justice of Malaysia for the next three years would have ignored and  violated the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct 2003, which established standards for ethical conduct for judges, particularly on independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety, equality, competence and diligence.

Is Raus going to be the first Chief Justice in the world to repudiate and renounce the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct 2003, which had been endorsed by the United Nations to ensure that a “judiciary of undisputed integrity” is the “bedrock institution essential for ensuring compliance with democracy and the rule of law”?

Raus’ understanding of what is constitutional and the judicial values of independence, impartiality, integrity and propriety are so dubious, shallow and shocking that he should answer the simple question:

“Would it be constitutional and proper for Raus to continue to be appointed as ‘additional judge’ in August 2020 to extend his tenure as Chief Justice for another three years?”

What is  Raus’ answer  to this question?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 7 August 2017, 10:45 am and is filed under
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Unless Raus could defend as “unprecedented but constitutional” his re-appointment as Chief Justice in August 2020 for another three years using the unconstitutional backdoor of “additional judge”,  how could he justify his present re-appointment?

Yesterday, I asked “Chief Justice” Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif a specific question: “Would it be constitutional and proper for Raus to continue to be appointed as ‘additional judge’ in August 2020 to extend his tenure as Chief Justice for another three years?”

Raus has yet to answer. I await his answer. But I want to ask him a further question:

“Unless Raus could defend as ‘unprecedented but constitutional’ his re-appointment as Chief Justice in August 2020 for another three years using the unconstitutional backdoor of ‘additional judge’,  how could he justify his present re-appointment?”

If Raus could defend his re-appointment as Chief Justice in August 2020 for another three years using the unconstitutional backdoor of “additional judge” under Article 122(1A) of the Constitution, a further question to Raus would be in order – whether he is true to his solemn oath of office and allegiance to “bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia, and will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution”?

The ball is in Raus’ court.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 August 2017, 7:30 am and is filed under
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We do not need anyone to distort Malaysians from seeing the clear divide between keeping a kleptocratic government engulfed in a multi-billion dollar global scandal, or choosing a democratic coalition of hope to rescue, renew and repair the nation

In 2012, on the cusp of the 13th General Election, Malaysians were presented with a trailer to the movie Tanda Putera. The trailer, supposedly of a cinematic representation of the relationship between the late Tun Razak and his deputy Tun Dr Ismail, became a farce when I was apparently made a target alongside a narrative of how I had urinated at the flag pole in the compound of the Menteri Besar of Selangor’s residence, during the days leading up to the riots of May 13th.

Before the 2008 elections, there was never any mention of me being the person responsible for the May 13th 1969. After the tsunami of March 8th 2008, the DAP and I were repackaged as a new target to complete a new narrative of how the Chinese and the DAP were the bad guys in the single most dark episode in the history of our nation.

I responded with a series of explanations and clarifications, emphasizing that I was neither in Kuala Lumpur nor was I in any part of any rallies leading up to the riots. If I were, the Special Branch would have had enough evidence to prove me so, and charge me in court. That did not happen.

Five years after Tanda Putera and the efforts of the powers that be to frame the DAP as the culprit behind racial tensions since 1969, a new bogey has been spotted in the form of another cinematic trailer of a movie entitled ‘Malay Regiment’.

I am told that the movie is about the younger generation seeking knowledge of the sacrifices made by their grandfathers who fought against the Communists in 1976.

A particular scene from the trailer depicts a bespectacled Chinese man, standing next to a car with the registration number ‘DAP165’. The man holds a 2005 satirical book by André de Guillaume entitled “How to Rule the World: A Handbook for the Aspiring Dictator”. while a voice over in Chinese says “We don’t need war. We just need to use our brains to rule the economy”.

The significance of such registration number being arranged so close together to form a word that is disparaging towards the DAP is only known to the director cum producer of the film. So is the significance of portraying a Chinese man, instead of some other race. I withhold comment on these as the filmmaker who might have his own reservations towards the DAP.

After all, the producer, Datuk Jurey Latiff Rosli claims himself to be an avid supporter of Barisan Nasional. He reportedly said the following during a press conference in FINAS back in May 2016: “Saya adalah penyokong kuat kerajaan Barisan Nasional. Saya Presiden Persatuan Penerbit Filem Malaysia yang merupakan ahli gabungan Barisan Nasional nombor satu.” (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/frontpage/2016/05/04/saya-penyokong-tegar-bn-kata-jurey/)

Be that as it may, the Communications and Multimedia Minister, Salleh Said Keruak has issued a directive for the scene to be taken out.

“The matter was brought to my attention this morning. Upon checking the trailer, I found that the scene was inappropriate and asked for it to be removed,” he says, as reported by Malaysiakini.

I welcome the step taken by Salleh. A film funded by the national coffers with the objective to instil patriotism in the hearts and minds of the young, should not be misused as a political tool to breed hate and contempt towards parties seeking betterment of the nation, for all regardless of race, religion and region. Creative license does not justify any means to plant the seeds of racial contempt and prejudice, towards one another belonging to the same land.

A film like Ola Bola for instance, is a good example of an effort to stoke the spirits of patriotism during the month of August, without having to resort to any display of war and blood to educate a nation on what does it mean to love your country. Who doesn’t love a heartwarming tale of national football?

If war is the theme of the market, then how about taking a leaf out of P. Ramlee’s books from a film like Sarjan Hassan, with the memorable speech at the end saying: “Memang bangsa kita masih muda dan masih lemah. Harapanku hanyalah, kita sama sebangsa, bersatu padulah hendaknya.”

On the verge of the 60th National Day and counting down to the 14th General Elections, the country must stay united and level headed in order to see the bigger picture of rescuing Malaysia from accelerating towards becoming a failed and rogue state, ruled by kleptocracy and governed by thieves.

We do not need anyone to distort nation loving Malaysians from seeing the clear divide between keeping a kleptocratic government engulfed in a multi-billion dollar global scandal, or choosing a democratic coalition of hope to rescue, renew and repair the nation for the future of children, our grandchildren and the generations to come.

Let our children, and their children’s children remember us for rescuing and saving Malaysia from the wretched kleptocratic being that is UMNO and BN. Let them remember that when the country calls for it to be saved, we stood up and took action. Let us not be remembered as the generation that brought down Malaysia with hatred and prejudice towards one another.

(Media conference statement in Parliament on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at 3 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 8 August 2017, 2:52 pm and is filed under
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As Attorney-General is principal legal adviser to the government and not the final arbiter of law, had he advised the  Prime Minister of Article 130 of the Malaysian Constitution  to seek Federal Court opinion on whether Raus and Zulkefli’s  re-appointment as Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President are  constitutional or otherwise?

The Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Apandi Ali has finally spoken on the new constitutional crisis he had helped to  precipitate as the principal legal adviser to the Federal Government, declaring that the re-appointment of Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif as Chief Justice and Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin as  Court of Appeal President are constitutional.

But these are just superfluous words, for clearly, without the Attorney-General’s approval and sanction, the Prime Minister’s Office would not have issued the controversial media statement dated 7th July 2017 announcing the unconstitutional extension of tenure of Raus and Zulkefli’s as Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President respectively following their unconstitutional appointment as “additional  judges” under Article 122(1A).

What the Attorney-General has written in his  article in Berita Harian yesterday declaring that the re-appointment of Raus and Zulkefli as Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President respectively are constitutional does not add anything new to the arguments in the controversy as Apandi only repeated  run-of-the-mill arguments defending the reappointment of Raus and Zulkefli in the two top judicial posts in the land as constitutional.

Apandi can go to the rooftops and shout a thousand times that the re-appointments of Raus and Zulkefli as Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President respectively are constitutional – but this does not necessarily make them constitutional.

Apandi,  as Attorney-General,  is the principal legal adviser to the government and not the  final arbiter of law in Malaysia.

In view of the constitutional controversy and crisis  precipitated by the “unprecedented” re-appointments of the two top judicial posts, with far-reaching impact on the doctrine of separation of powers and the rule of law in Malaysia, Apandi’s duty is not to write run-of-the-mill articles to UMNO/Barisan Nasional owned/controlled newspapers, but to advise the Prime Minister about  Article 130 of the Malaysian Constitution and  to seek Federal Court opinion whether Raus’ and Zulkefli’s  re-appointments as Chief Justice  and Court of Appeal President respectively are  constitutional or otherwise?

Last Wednesday, Pakatan Harapan leaders led by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (Bersatu), Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR), Mujahid Yusuf Rawa (AMANAH) and myself (DAP) petitioned the Yang Di Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V to refer the government’s decision to extend the tenures of the two top judicial posts, the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal President, to the Federal Court.

Article 130 of the Malaysian Constitution on “Advisory jurisdiction of Federal Court” states:

“130. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may refer to the Federal Court for its opinion any question as to the effect of any provision of this Constitution which has arisen or appears to him likely to arise, and the Federal Court shall pronounce in open court its opinion on any question so referred to it.”

Will Apandi support the petition of Pakatan Harapan leaders and advise the Prime Minister to advise the Yang di Pertuan Agong to refer the critical issue as to whether the extensions of tenure of Raus as Chief Justice and Zulkefli as Court of Appeal President are constutitutional, bearing in mind two important matters:

Firstly, the adverse effects on the promotion opportunities and prospects of at least eight Federal Court judges, including three women, and most importantly, the denial of the opportunity of Tan Sri Richard Malanjum as the first Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak to be appointed as Chief Justice of Malaysia; and

Secondly, the weight of juristic, legal and informed public opinion against the turning, twisting and torture of the Constitution to justify the two unconstitutional re-appointments – which include  a former Chief Justice, a former Federal Court judge , a former Attorney-General, a former de facto Law Minister, and the Malaysian Bar in the form of an Extraordinary General Meeting specifically on the issue last Thursday.

In fact, I believe the outcome would be quite unanimous in opposing the unconstitutional extension of tenures of the two top judicial posts in the land if the Prime Minister had solicited the views and advice of both the serving and retired judges in the country from all three tiers of the judiciary.

Will the Attorney-General himself set the example of being true to this oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend” the Malaysian Constitution by advising the Prime Minister to support the Pakatan Harapan petition to the Yang di Pertuan Agong to refer the constitutional controversy to the Federal Court?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 August 2017, 8:51 am and is filed under
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The great mission to save Malaysia from continuing in the trajectory of a failed and rogue state is more important than the lies, fake news and false information of UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers

What are the big news of today.  There are several jostling for lead position.

They include the following:

First
, 1MDB missed the new deadline to pay US$628.75 million (RM2.69 billion) to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co  (IPIC) after a five-day extension from July 31.

The first deadline was set in a settlement between 1MDB and IPIC in April in order to avoid an arbitration process over monies owed to IPIC.

Abu Dhabi’s IPIC has given 1MDB until Aug 31 to make a US$603 million debt settlement payment that was due yesterday, plus interest.

However, IPIC said 1MDB was obliged to pay at least US$310 million by Aug 12, according to the company’s regulatory statement to the London Stock Exchange.

The IPIC statement yesterday stated that 1MDB and MOF Inc are to pay an undisclosed amount of “default interest” for the delay.

Have 1MDB and MOF Inc to pay  the two “default interest” for the two delays and how much do they come to?

The international news about 1MDB and MoF Inc missing two debt-payment deadlines can neither be a boost to foreign investors nor cause for Malaysians to feel proud of the country, after suffering for two years under the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy.

It is reported in the international media that although 1MDB and MoF Inc will get some breathing space until the end of August, the Abu Dhabi government is incredulous at the cavalier manner Putrajaya has handled its debt obligations and is puzzled why it has taken the Malaysian Government so long to handle the transfer of funds, given that the agreement with IPIC was inked in April.

Meanwhile, the charade of the second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani claiming total ignorance about the IMDB-IPIC events, as he was not “privy” to the developments, wears very thin and unlikely to convince both Malaysians and foreign investors when the 1MDB Chairman is none other than the Treasury Secretary-General Tan Sri Irwan Serigar.

It is reported that among the reasons for the delay and missing deadlines was the  embarrassing fact that local and international banks do not want to handle transactions with the prefix 1MDB.

The Malaysian Insight, for instance, reported that 1MDB  had difficulty transferring funds from overseas accounts with even Malaysian banks being wary of entering any transactions.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Parliament last week that 1MDB is able to pay Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) the US$602.5 million as part of a settlement struck in April, giving an assurance that 1MDB was facing a “technical matter” and not a question of being unable to pay (IPIC).

The Prime Minister has not told Parliament the truth as the whole so-called 1MDB-IPIC arbitration settlement is a financial scam against the interests of Malaysian taxpayers.

The second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani is on record as saying that he had studied the documents of the 1MDB-IPIC dispute and he was confident that 1MDB would win the case in going for London arbitration.

Why then did the Ministry of Finance and 1MDB ended up “surrendering” to IPIC claims in toto in reaching the 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration “settlement” in April where 1MDB had to pay IPIC twice, and now we have the new problem of 1MDB unable to meet two deadlines for the first payment, and having to pay two “default interests”?

Parliament should be the venue for a proper accounting of the latest 1MDB financial scam, the inability or failure to meet the two payment deadlines, having to pay two “default interests, but it is not!

Has the Malaysian Parliament become a 1MDB Parliament to suppress all issues and questions about the 1MDB scandal, not only where questions by over 30 MPs on 1MDB were rejected on the most ridiculous and unparliamentary grounds, but where  the 1MDB scandal has virtually become a banned or prohibited subject of debate?

These are great lies against the Malaysian people and nation.

Are there sufficient Malaysians who are concerned about these lies in public affairs, to be able to make a difference to change the entire political landscape where the 1MDB scandal can be pursued in Parliament and by all institutions in the country?

Or the second issue
, where the Deputy Chief Minister, Prof P. Ramasamy had written an  article entitled “BN’s complete betrayal of non-Muslims!”.

This is with regard to the withdrawal of the amendment to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Bill  to put an end to the man-made tragedy of unilateral conversion of underaged children by only one of the parents.

DAP does not agree with the former de facto Law Minister and now Minister for Tourism and Culture, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz that a constitutional amendment is required to put an end to the unilateral conversion of minors by one of the parents, and fully supports DAP MP for Ipoh Barat, M. Kula Segaran that this can be achieved by putting back the proposed amendment withdrawn on Monday in the LRA Amendment Bill to ban unilateral conversion of a child by a parent.

The reasons given by Nazri is a big “cop-out” from an eight-year-old Barisan Nasional Cabinet decision in 2009 to amend the LRA to ban unilateral conversion of a child by a parent.

The argument that only a constitutional amendment can ban unilateral conversion of a child by a parent is a Johnny-come-lately reasoning to camouflage the latest  betrayal by BN Ministers, particularly from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the Sabah and Sarawak component parties in Barisan Nasional, from standing up for the constitutional rights of all Malaysians as embedded in the 1957 Merdeka Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

The betrayal of MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers are not surprising, but why have the Sabah and Sarawak Ministers also participated in this betrayal as they are as good as conceding that when Sabah and Sarawak formed Malaysia together with the Peninsular Malay states in 1963, they agreed that a single parent can carry out unilateral conversion of an underaged child – which is most unthinkable and astonishing.

The clause banning unilateral conversion of a minor by a single parent should be restored to the LRA Amendment Bill, and it is for those, like Nazri, who suddenly argue that such a provision is unconstitutional, to let the Courts decide whether it is constitutional or otherwise.

Nazri is not sincere and truthful about the eight-year change-of-heart to amend the LRA to ban unilaterial conversion of minors by a single parent.

He said BN has only 134 MPs which does not constitute a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution to ban unilateral conversions.

A two-thirds Parliamentary majority would mean 149 MPs – ie. short of 15 MPs to Nazri’s 134 MPs.  DAP can guarantee support of 37 MPs, which will bring the total vote to 186. In fact, we are confident of support of other Pakatan Harapan MPs from PKR, Amanah and Bersatu – bringing the total of over 200 votes, provided the 134 BN MPs are in real support of such a constitutional.

But will Nazri dare to call the bluff?

The answer is obvious. These are lies and hypocrisies in Malaysian politics.

There are many news items jostling for lead positions
, for instance, about Malaysia’s failure to clear or cleanse Malaysia of the infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy despite having a new and vigorous Chief Commissioner for the past year, but  who suffered from the serious disease of selective investigation and prosecution.

As I told Mohamad Zakkuan bin Talib, director of MACC Strategic Communication Division  at the spanking new MACC headquarters in Putrajaya yesterday, MACC should spearhead a national and international campaign to clear and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy and  ignominy of a global kleptocracy, starting with a no-holds barred investigation into the 1MDB scandal.

Or there is the news of the country plunged into a judicial and constitutional crisis because of the unconstitutional extension of the tenure of the two top judicial posts in the land, with Tan Sri Raus Sharif as Chief Justice and Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin as Court of Appeal President respectively.

These are among the important news affecting the country and people, but there are those  who do not want Malaysians to focus on the real issues of the country but instead get distracted by minor and irrelevant topics, even lies, fake news and false information.

I have been a favourite subject of demonisation by the UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers, a victim of the lies, fake news and false information pumped  from the UMNO/BN propaganda mills – that I caused May 13 riots in 1969, that I am a communist, a chauvinist,  a triple agent of foreign powers, of trying to create a Christian Malaysia, and of late, puppet master of Mahathir, Anwar, Wan Azizah, Muhyiddin and Mohamad Sabu among others.

Early this month, the Star accused me of having insulted Tun Mahathir in the past about his Indian ancestry.

Recently, I was accused of having “arrived” in Malaya from China in 1957, that I have suddenly changed my voting address to Penang to contest in Penang in the next general election, and most recently, banners were put up in my parliamentary constituency, Gelang Patah with the words: “Sorry, Uncle Kit Siang, we are not Rihanna, we don’t love the way you lied”

I must confess that I did not know who was Rihanna when I first saw the wording.

However, those behind the banner were not interested in the real liars, who are behind the 1MDB scandal, the farce of the withdrawal of the LRA(Amendment) Bill to ban unilateral conversion, the selective operation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or the latest constitutional crisis in the country as a result of the unconstitutional extension of the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal President.

The masterminds behind the lies, fake news and false information are not concerned about these great issues, and they will continue to hide in the darkness away from light and dare not reveal their real identities, in their continuing agenda to distract Malaysians from the real issues of the peoplel

I have no time for them, whether in the past or in the future.

The great mission  to save Malaysia from continuing in the trajectory of a failed and a rogue state is more important than the lies, fake news and false information produced by these propaganidsts and cybertroopers.

(Media Conference Statement in Parliament on Wednesday, 9th August 2017 at 2.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 9 August 2017, 2:21 pm and is filed under
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Is Raus prepared to allow his peers in Federal Court to pronounce on the constitutionality of his re-appointment as Chief Justice?

The self-serving justification by Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif on his controversial re-appointment as  Chief Justice through the unconstitutional backdoor of being appointed as “additional judge” under Article 122(1A) of the Constitutiion must have nagged many Malaysians in the last few days, as it does not seem to be right and proper.

Raus said his reappointment as Chief Justice was “unprecedented” but constitutional.

He  said there is always a first time for everything,  and that when something happens for the first time, there is bound to be many differences in opinions.

Raus sad that despite these differences in opinions, in the end, it is up to the court to decide on the constitutionality of the appointment.

“Lawyers always disagree. It is nothing strange for lawyers to disagree on the interpretation of the constitution.

“It happens every day in court,” he said.

Raus’ justification is to smug, self-serving and wrong that it was all right to have different opinions whether his re-appointment as Chief Justice is constitutional or not.

Why can’t we have a situation where all jurists and lawyers as well as informed Malaysians are in unanimity about its consitutionality?

The appointment or re-appointment of the top judicial post in the land should be met with full if not near unanimity as to its constitutionality by the whole body of juristic, legal and informed public opinion in the country, or the reputation, independence and impartiality of the judiciary would be the greatest casualties.

What more, when in the reappointment of Raus as Chief Justice under circumstances where the weight of juristic, legal and informed public opinion is of the view that   Raus’ re-appointment as Chief Justice for the next three years is unconstitutional – as seen by the large array of jurists and lawyers who are of this view involving a former Chief Justice, a former Federal Court judge, a former Attorney-General, a former de facto Law Minister and he Malaysian Bar through an extraordinary general meeting on this specific issue.

Raus acceptance of his unconstitutional re-appointment as Chief Justice is particularly unacceptable when it is done through a most devious process which affected  the promotion opportunities and prospects of at least eight Federal Court judges, including three women, and most importantly, the denial of the opportunity of Tan Sri Richard Malanjum as the first Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak to be appointed as Chief Justice of Malaysia.

If not for the unconstitutional re-appointment of Raus as Chief Justice and Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin as Court of Appeal President, Malaysia may in next few years see a woman appointed to both the two top judicial posts of the country – Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President – from the three women Federal Court judges in the country, Tan Sri Zainum Ali, Tan Sri Zaharah binte Ibrahim (both Johor Bahru born) and Datuk Aziah binti Ali (Alor Setar born).

Let Raus  declare whether he is prepared to allow his peers in Federal Court to pronounce on the constitutionality of his re-appointment as Chief Justice, and taking active measures in this direction?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 10 August 2017, 10:52 am and is filed under
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Best way to remember Kerk Kim Hock’s patriotic struggle and sacrifices is for people of Malacca to spearhead a “Love Malaysia, Change Malaysia” national campaign

Many historic events took place in Malacca, the nation’s oldest heritage city.

For instance, on 20th February 1956, Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman chose Padang Bandar Hilir in Malacca to announce that Malaya would achieve independence on August 31, 1957.

Closer in time, in 1984, the people of Malacca spearheaded an impossible mission when they successfully led a “Save Bukit China campaign” to preserve the oldest cemetry heritage hill in the country.

This is the country’s 60th National Day anniversary to commemorate the nation’s attainment of Merdeka on 31st August, 1957.

Yesterday, the country lost a great patriot and nationalist with the death of Kerk Kim Hock, the fourth DAP Secretary-General and a two-term Member of Parliament as well as a one-term Malacca State Assemblyman.

Kerk had dedicated his life to his ideals to make Malaysia a great nation worthy of the Merdeka Proclamation 1957 and Malaysia Proclamation 1963 that the nation “shall be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.

When the country achieved independent nationhood on August 31, 1957, it heralded the beginning of a new era where all its citizens could dare to dream big dreams to remake the world.

But have we been able to achieve world-class status in every field of human endeavor, whether political, economic, educational, social, environmental or on good governance after sixty years?

We have not and we have seemed to have lost our way, and if we do not change course, we are in the trajectory towards a failed and rogue state.

In Parliament today, there was chaos and pandemonium when the Barisan Nasional MPs tried to distract focus on the rampant corruption in Malaysia, which has turned the country overnight into a global kleptocracy because of the notorious 1MDB scandal and the infamous appellation of “MO1”, by creating a “MO1 vs CM” or “MO1 vs PO1” tirade.

“MO1” is the result of a global kleptocracy while “PO1” is the result of the federal government fast becoming a kakistocracy, i.e. a government run by the worst or most unscrupulous people, who are prepared to do the worst to distract attention from the 1MDB scandal.

The national institutions, whether Parliament, Judiciary, Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, even the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) have lost their independence, impartiality and professionalism.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on the authorities to investigate Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor’s wealth, as well as Najib’s son and son-in-law and not just focus on his children.!

Will this be done as independent, impartial and professional institutions in a country which have not degenerated into a kakistocracy will do?

A Royal Commission of Inquiry into Bank Negara foreign exchange losses a quarter of a century ago started work yesterday.

Where is the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1MDB scandal, which had transformed Malaysia into a global kleptocracy overnight?

The wake of Kerk Kim Hock is a suitable occasion to call on the people of Malacca to return to play a historic role in the affairs of the nation and to lead a national campaign on the 60th National Day anniversary to “Love and Save Malaysia”.

I am sure wherever we go in Malaysia today, the most frequently-heard political comment even by the most unpolitical people is: “The country cannot go on without change or the future will be unthinkable.”

Just as the people of Malacca successfully spearheaded the “Save Bukit China Campaign” three decades ago, I call on the people of Malacca to answer the nation’s call to spearhead a “Love Malaysia, Change Malaysia” national campaign.

This is the best way to remember the life-long struggle and sacrifices of Kerk Kim Hock.

(Statement at the wake of Kerk Kim Hock at the meeting of Pakatan Harapan Malacca leaders on Thursday, 10th August 2017 at 9.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 11 August 2017, 12:45 am and is filed under
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“Love Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Change Malaysia” in memory of Kerk Kim Hock’s political struggle and sacrifices  to save Malaysia from kleptocracy and kakistocracy

On the second day of the wake for Kerk Kim Hock’s death, let Malaysians be part of a national campaign to “Love Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Change Malaysia”  in memory of Kerk Kim Hock’s life-long political struggle and sacrifices to save Malaysia from kleptoracy and kakistocracy.

In the past two years, Malaysia’s international reputation plunged to the lowest depth in the nation’s 60 year history as we are regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

The Prime Minister and the Umno/Barisan Nasiuonal government   not only has no political will to clear or cleanse Malaysia of the international infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy, it seems to be  doing its utmost to compromise the reputation  and standing of the major institutions of the country by making them allies in the great charade to suppress all accountability about the 1MDB scandal.

The recent three-week meeting of Parliament ended yesterday, which achieved a major blot in Malaysian parliamentary history with questions by over 30 Members of Parliament on the 1MDB scandal rejected by the Speaker of the House on the most ridiculous and indefensible grounds.

As a result, those who want to reduce the Malaysian Parliament into a 1MDB Parliament seem to have succeeded, with Parliament taking part in a national and international charade pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist by banning  questions  and debates on the 1MDB scandal  in the Malaysian Parliament.

But the national and international charade orchestrated from Putrajaya requires not just Parliament, but all major national institutions to participate fully in the national and international charade pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist – like reducing the Judiciary, AG’s Chambers, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara, Police, the media into 1MDB Judiciary, 1MDB AG’s Chambers, 1MDB MACC, 1MDB Bank Negara, 1MDB Police, 1MDB media etc!

Do we have enough upright, honest and God-fearing Malaysians to ensure that these who want to make Parliament, Judiciary, AG’s  Chambers, MACCA, Bank Negara, Police, the media and other national institutions to participate fully in the national and international charade pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist do not succeed?

Malaysia is at a critical watershed in our national development – whether we can liberate ourselves from the yoke  of the 1MDB scandal and international infamy of a global kleptocracy.

Malaysian faces two dangers – becoming a kleptocracy and a kakistocracy, ie. a government run by the worst or most unscrupulous of people, who are prepared to do the worst to divert national and international  attention from the 1MDB scandal.

Let us remember the pledge in the Merdeka Proclamation 1957 and the Malaysia Proclamation 1963 that the nation “shall be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.

If Malaysia is true to this pledge in the double Proclamations, Malaysia will never become a global kleptocracy, let alone a kakistocracy.

When the country achieved independent nationhood on August 31, 1957, it heralded the beginning of a new era where all its citizens could dare to dream big dreams to remake the world.

But have we been able to achieve world-class status in every field of human endeavor, whether political, economic, educational, social, environmental or on good governance after sixty years?

We have not and we seemed to have lost our way, and if we do not change course, we will be trapped in  the trajectory hurtling ntowards a failed and rogue state.

On this second day in the wake of Kerk Kim Hock’s death, I call on Malaysians to take part in a national campaign of “Love Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Change Malaysia” in memory of Kerk’s life-long political struggle and sacrifices – to save Malaysia from kleptocracy and kakistocracy.

Wherever we go in Malaysia today, the most frequently-heard political comment even by the most unpolitical  of people is: “The country cannot go on  like this without change or the future for our children and children’s children will be unthinkable.”

A  “Love Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Change Malaysia” national campaign is most befitting to remember the life-long political  struggle and sacrifices of Kerk Kim Hock.

(Media Statement on the second day of the wake for Kerk Kim Hock in Malacca on Friday, 11th August 2017)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 11 August 2017, 8:54 am and is filed under
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Stolen 1MDB Funds Are Focus of U.S. Criminal Investigation

By Edvard Pettersson

Bloomberg

August 11, 2017

The U.S. is moving forward with a criminal investigation into money stolen from a Malaysian state investment fund that allegedly was used to acquire about $1.7 billion in real estate, art, jewelry and other assets.

Court filings by the Justice Department Thursday show the U.S. is escalating its probe in a worldwide effort to track how much of the money that was raised by 1Malaysia Development Bhd. was used to pay for luxury real estate in New York, London and Beverly Hills, film productions, private jets, yachts and more.

Justice Department officials asked a judge in Los Angeles to put on hold civil forfeiture lawsuits against assets acquired by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, and others involved with 1MDB because pursuing these cases may hamper the criminal investigation.

The U.S. investigation is part of a global effort to track how much of the $6 billion that 1MDB raised for development projects was allegedly embezzled or involved in money laundering. Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg are among the countries also investigating the roles played by banks and individuals.

Separately, 1MDB paid $350 million to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund on Thursday ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline, the Malaysian Insight reported, citing bankers it didn’t identify. The payment is part of an arbitration settlement agreement with International Petroleum Investment Co. after a debt dispute that brought up further allegations of missing funds and possible fraud.

‘Destruction of Evidence’

An FBI agent warned in a U.S. court filing that information disclosed in the civil cases may reveal “potential targets and subjects of the investigation and the investigative techniques that have been and will be used in the investigation.”

“Such disclosures could result in the destruction of evidence, flight of potential subjects and targets, or the identification and intimidation of potential witnesses,” according to the agent’s declaration.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, had no immediate comment on the Justice Department’s filings.

In its civil cases, the U.S. has alleged that from 2009 through 2015, more than $4.5 billion belonging to 1MDB was diverted by high-level officials of the fund and their associates.

The Low assets the U.S. is trying to seize include a stake in New York’s Park Lane Hotel, a $107 million interest in EMI Music Publishing, a $35 million Bombardier Jet and a $30 million penthouse at Time Warner Center in New York.

Diamonds, Picasso

In a second round of 1MDB-related forfeiture lawsuits filed in June, the Justice Department alleged that a $1.29 million heart-shaped diamond and a $3.8 million diamond pendant Low gave in 2014 to his then-girlfriend, actress Miranda Kerr, were bought with stolen money.

Low allegedly also gave a $3.2 million Picasso painting to actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who played the lead in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” a movie the U.S. says was financed by Riza Aziz, a stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, using misappropriated 1MDB funds.

Najib, who until last year was the chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board, has denied any wrongdoing and was cleared by Malaysia’s attorney general.

The Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Finance and 1MDB didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking comment on the latest U.S. filings. 1MDB is wholly-owned by the finance ministry and it has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Malaysia’s prime minister and attorney general responded angrily to the U.S. forfeiture actions in June and suggested they were politically motivated.

Low also issued a statement in June, saying the U.S. government was continuing “inappropriate efforts to seize assets despite not having proven that any improprieties have occurred.”

“We look forward to the court being presented with the actual facts which demonstrate that the DOJ’s case is completely without foundation,” he said through a representative.

The case is U.S. v. “The Wolf of Wall Street,” 16-cv-05362, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles).

— With assistance by Shamim Adam

                This entry was posted on Friday, 11 August 2017, 11:38 am and is filed under
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Three Scenarios in 14GE  with PAS as a “spoiler” in a  three-cornered contests

Creating a Malaysian Tsunami

One of the major obstacles for Pakatan Harapan to defeat the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th general election is the ‘spoiler’ role which PAS will play in creating multi-corner fights. The impact of a multi-corner fight featuring a BN candidate, a Pakatan Harapan candidate and as PAS candidate can be seen in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-election in June 2016 whereby the majority of the BN increased because of the split in the anti-BN vote even though BN’s vote share did not change significantly from the 2013 general election results.

The Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-election results are the ‘worst-case’ results for Pakatan Harapan where PAS won approximately 30% of the Malay vote (but hardly any non-Malay support) and where the support for Pakatan Harapan, in this case, AMANAH, among the non-Malay voters fell by about 10% because of reduced turnout, especially among the younger voters, and some of the older voters drifting back to the BN. This is Scenario 1.

But a few politically significant events have taken place in the Malaysian political landscape since June 2016. Firstly, BERSATU has now formally joined Pakatan Harapan which would undoubtedly increase the Malay support for PH including among disgruntled UMNO members. Secondly, PH is now in the process of being formally registered, which gives the public a higher sense of confidence that there is a strong and credible alternative coalition to the BN. Thirdly, PAS has shown its ‘true colours’ when it announced that it was no longer cooperating with PKR thereby further isolating itself politically. Of late, PAS under Hadi’s leadership has become the greatest champion and apologist for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

With these developments in mind, it is possible to envision another scenario, Scenario 2, where PAS only manages to win 20% of Malay support (down from 30% in Scenario 1) with little non-Malay support. At the same time, BN faces a Malay backlash because of the cost of living issues and the FELDA and 1MDB scandals but not enough to create a Malay tsunami. In Scenario 2, BN loses 5% of Malay support and 1% of non-Malay support (compared to GE2013).

There is also a chance that the conditions will be created for a “Malaysian tsunami” to take place in GE14. In this scenario, Scenario 3, BN loses 10% of Malay support and a further 5% support among non-Malays (compared to GE2013). PAS, because of its isolated position and also the public perception that it is being ‘used and abused’ by UMNO, only managed to win 10% of Malay support.

What will happen under these 3 scenarios? (Assume that DAP and PKR will contest in the seats previously contested in GE2013, AMANAH and BERSATU will contest in seats previously contested by PAS and PAS will contest in all parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia)

Table 1 below summarizes the changes in the level of BN support and the project PAS support among Malay, Chinese, Indian and Other voters in GE14.

Table 1: Changes in BN support and PAS support in GE14 under Scenarios 1, 2, and 3

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3

Change in BN support

PAS support

Change in BN support

PAS support

Change in BN support

PAS support

Malay support

-1%

30%

-5%

20%

-10%

10%

Chinese support

+10%

1%

-1%

1%

-5%

1%

Indian support

+5%

1%

-1%

1%

-5%

1%

Others support

+0%

1%

-1%

1%

-5%

1%

Not surprisingly, under Scenario 1, the role of PAS as a spoiler will help BN by allowing it to win 113 out of 165 parliaments seats in Peninsular Malaysia (compared to 85 seats in GE2013). PAS will also be affected, winning only 6 parliament seats (compared to 21 in GE2013). Pakatan Harapan will end up with only 46 seats (compared to 80 for Pakatan Rakyat in GE2013).

Under Scenario 2, where the BN backlash is not sufficient to create a Malaysian tsunami, BN and PH would end up with 80 parliament seats each with PAS winning only 2 parliament seats.

Under Scenario 3, a Malaysian tsunami would leave the BN with only 50 seats and PH winning an overwhelming majority of 113 parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia. PAS would be left with only 2 parliament seats.

Table 2: Number of parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia won under Scenarios 1,2, and 3

Scenario 1

(Worst Case)

Scenario 2

(BN backlash)

Scenario 3

(Malaysian Tsunami)

BN

113

80

50

PH

46

80

113

PAS

6

5

2

Are the conditions ripe for a Malaysian tsunami? There are definitely signs pointing to this becoming a reality in the next general elections. Previous ceramahs in rural areas that were only attended by a handful of people now see people turning out in the hundreds. When BERSATU leaders such as Tun Dr. Mahathir and / or Tan Sri Muhyiddin are present, the numbers can easily swell to the thousands including the FELDA areas which were previously ‘no-go’ areas for the opposition. Recent survey results also indicate that PAS is losing ground among the electorate and the perception among Malay voters that the RUU355 issue is being used by UMNO to ‘manipulate’ PAS is also growing.

With this in mind, I call upon Malaysians of all races and backgrounds to unite together to create a Malaysian Tsunami which will wipe out the BN in the next general election and allow the country to start on a clean slate with Pakatan Harapan leading the way to a better and brighter future for the country.

[
Speech at the DAP Johor Jaya General Elections Preparations Dinner held at Johor Jaya on Friday, 11th August 2017 at 8 pm
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                This entry was posted on Friday, 11 August 2017, 9:57 pm and is filed under
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Various global developments of the 1MDB scandal coming to a head and it may not be possible for Najib government to continue with national and international charade pretending the 1MDB scandal does not exist

Various global developments of the 1MDB scandal, which made Malaysian overnight into a global kleptocracy, are coming to a head and it may not be possible for the Najib government to continue with the national and international charade pretending that the 1MDB scandal does not exist.

Firstly, there is the news report from Los Angeles that the billions of US dollars of stolen 1MDB funds are now the focus of United States criminal investigation and that the US Justice Department has asked a judge in Los Angeles to put on hold civil forfeiture lawsuits against assets acquired by Malaysian financier Jho Low and others involved with 1MDB to prevent any hampering with the criminal investigation.

The US investigation is part of a global effort to track how much of the US$6 billion that 1MDB raised for development projects were stolen, embezzled or involved in money-laundering and used to pay for  luxury real estate in New York, London and Beverly Hills, film productions, private jets, yachts and more – all for personal aggrandizement.

What is now the stand of the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Mohd Apandi Ali as it was only in June after the third kleptocratic suits by US DOJ to forfeit 1MDB-linked assets money-laundered through American banks that Apandi  reiterated that “there has been no evidence from any investigation conducted by any law enforcement agency in various jurisdictions that show that money has been misappropriated from 1MDB; and that there have been no criminal charges against any individual for misappropriation of funds from 1MDB”?

No ostrich has dug it head so deep in the sand, despite Apandi’s  exoneration  of Najib of any wrongdoing or crime in the 1MDB scandal in January 2016 which had  become increasingly ridiculous and unbelievable with the deluge of information and data  on the 1MDB international money-laundering scandal, especially from the US Department of Justice kleptocratic suits.

Secondly, 1MDB has made a US$360 million payment to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), as 1MDB was given by IPIC until tomorrow to pay US$310 million as part of the first tranche of a debt repayment scheme.

Malaysians are entitled to know whether the difference of US$50 million was the “default interest” which 1MDB had to pay as a penalty for failing to miss the original July 31 deadline and a five-day extension for the first tranche of US$603 million as part of the 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration settlement – as it is definitelyh a very hefty and extortionate “default” penalty?

Thirdly, on the Malaysian front, Najib have strengthened himself by winning over the support of the PAS leadership for the 1MDB-IPIC arbitration settlement, when it is in fact the latest financial scam in the 1MDB scandal against Malaysian taxpayers and people.

The second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani is on record as saying that he had studied the documents of the 1MDB-IPIC dispute and he was confident that 1MDB would win the case in going for London arbitration.

Why then did the Ministry of Finance and 1MDB, with now the full support of the top PAS leadership,  ended up “surrendering” to IPIC claims in toto in reaching the 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration “settlement” where 1MDB had to pay IPIC twice?

Twenty months ago, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib was supremely confident that he had fixed up the 1MDB problem, and he even announced  in the New Year Eve Message on Dec. 31, 2015 that his RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion donation twin mega scandals had been resolved and were no more issues.

Najib could not be more wrong as for the past 20 months, the 1MDB scandal, instead of fading from the public radar into some distant “bad dream”, had  gathered increasing speed, momentum and power every month as the biggest kleptocratic scandal in the world.

Malaysians cannot hold their heads high in international forums until we have exorcised the ghost of the 1MDB scandal and laid to rest, firmly and unequivocably, the corpse of Malaysia as a global kleptocracy.

But this is only possible if there is a change of occupiers of Putrajaya in the 14th General Election.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 11 August 2017, 2:35 pm and is filed under
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Is Abdul Rahman Dahlan regretting having admitted at the BBC interview last September that “MO1” is Najib Razak and that only idiots do not know that ”MO1” is Najib?

Is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Director of Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan regretting having admitted at the BBC interview last September that “MO1” is Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and that only an idiot does not know that “MO1” is Najib?

I am sure all the other Cabinet Ministers, who have virtually been condemned as “idiots” by Abdul Rahman, are gleefully condemning the BN Strategic Communications Director as a real idiot for having made such an admission, now that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the Los Angeles court to put on hold civil forfeiture lawsuits against 1MDB-linked assets to allow criminal investigations into the 1MDB scandal to proceed without any hampering.

In the DOJ‘s court filings to stay its civil forfeiture suits on 1MDB-linked assets, there is no mention of Malaysian Official 1 (MO1), his spouse, or any transfers or gifts made to them.

The BN Strategic Communications Media team under Abdul Rahman immediately pounced on this yesterday and was the first to come out with a response, virtually claiming that the DOJ’s action to stay its civil forfeiture lawsuits to permit criminal investigations to continue unhampered was virtually a victory for the Malaysian government on the baseless ground that the DOJ’s latest action was tantamount to admission that its earlier 250-page civil forfeiture suits were baseless and groundless.

I do not know how the BN Strategic Communication team under Abdul Rahman could come to such a ridiculous conclusion, as the DOJ’s announcement has in fact brought DOJ investigations into the 1MDB scandal to a more serious level, requiring the putting on hold of the DOJ’s civil forfeiture actions so as not to hamper the DOJ’s criminal investigations.

All the allegations in the DOJ’s civil forfeiture suits and all the references to the 1MDB culprits, including “MO1”, remain as valid and relevant as ever – crying out for satisfactory  explanations by the persons named as 1MDB culprits.

In any event, the Malaysian authorities cannot pretend that there is no reference to “MO1” or ignorance of the identity of “MO1” as Abdul Rahman has admitted to the whole world in the BBC interview last September that “MO1” is none other than the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Who is now the “idiot” in the Malaysian Cabinet?

The question is whether Najib will now step forward and follow Abdul Rahman’s example to admit  to theh world that he and he alone is “MO1”?

(Media Conference Statement at the third day of wake for Kerk Kim Hock in Malacca on Saturday, 12th August 2017 at 5 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 August 2017, 5:50 pm and is filed under
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Under Najib, Malaysia has not only become a global kleptocracy, it has also become a kakistocracy – a government by the worst people

I am shocked at the arrest of DAP Penang Exco Member, Phee Boon Poh by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over alleged letters issued by his office involving an illegal factory in Seberang Prai.

I have known Boon Poh for more than 30 years since 1986, when I first contested in Tanjong parliamentary constituency in Penang.  In 1990, Boon Poh was first elected as DAP Penang  State Assemblyman for Bagan Jermal and in 2004, he was elected Penang State Assemblyman for Sungai Puyu and Leader of Penang Opposition State Assemblyman.  When the DAP formed and led  the Penang State Government in the 2008 and 2013 General Elections, Boon Poh had been a Penang State Exco member since 2008.

I have always known Boon Poh in the past three decades as a hard-working down-to-earth political leader, who has always kept himself close to the pulse of the people.  Dedicated to the cause of justice, freedom and the welfare of the people, regardless of race or religion, Boon Poh is a practical idealist, who is not afraid to take up the people’s causes although this make him unpopular with the powers-that-be.

If Boon Poh is corrupt, produce the evidence and by all means arrest and charge him.  But I do not believe that Boon Poh belongs to the breed of corrupt political leaders who corruptly enriches himself from politics.

We in the DAP belong to a different breed of people from the political leaders in UMNO and Barisan Nasional – we are in politics because of what we can achieve for the people and country  and not for what we can achieve for ourselves  from politics, while UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders are in politics basically for what they can get from politics and not what they can contribute to society and Malaysians.

This is why I believe that Boon Poh is the latest  victim of corrupt power play, and  instead of eradicating corruption, the MACC has become an instrument to white-wash corruption at the highest political levels, especially to white-wash the 1MDB scandal which has turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy and the 1MDB culprits, like “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” or “MO1”.

Under Najib, Malaysia has not only become a global kleptocracy, it has also become a kakistocracy – a government by the worst people!

If a public officer, whether politician or civil servant, is to be arrested not because of tens of millions of ringgit of cash and other valuables found in his home as in Johor or hundreds of millions of ringgit of cash or other valuables stashed in his house as in the case of Sabah, but because of letters that his office had sent, in Boon Poh’s case involving an illegal factory, then there will not be any municipal councillors, state executive councillors, Ministers, even Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister left in the country!

There is no need to create vacancies in Federal, state and local government offices with MACC nabbing people in connection with letters, but let the MACC launch a nation-wide campaign to nab national and state government leaders with disproportionate wealth and income, who live lavishly well beyond their known means of income, and there will not be enough prison or lock-up spaces in the country to fill the influx of arrests!

Malaysia is supposed to celebrate the 60th National Day anniversary this year to mark Malaysia’s attainment of Merdeka on August 31, 1957.

In the past two years, Malaysia’s international reputation plunged to the lowest depth in the nation’s 60 year history as we are regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

The Prime Minister and the Umno/Barisan Nasional government not only has no political will to clear or cleanse Malaysia of the international infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy, the major institutions in the country, including the MACC, are doing their  utmost to whitewash the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal and 1MDB culprits like “MO1” and victimise and penalise Malaysian political leaders who dare to oppose Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy.

Today, Boon Poh has become a victim of such a campaign and arrested in the name of fighting corruption. I expect more victims of such campaigns to whitewash the 1MDB scandal and 1MDB culprits like “MO1” in the run-up to the 14th general election.

Today, Malaysia is not just a grand kleptocracy, it has become a kakistocracy – a government by the worst people in Malaysia, the most unscrupulous and unprincipled.

Let us remember the pledge in the Merdeka Proclamation 1957 and the Malaysia Proclamation 1963 that the nation “shall be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.

If Malaysia is true to this pledge in the double Proclamations, Malaysia will never become a global kleptocracy, let alone a kakistocracy.

Let words go out from Pekan Nenas tonight, that all patriotic and right-thinking Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, are united in wanting to ensure that Malaysia does not become a kleptocracy and kakistocracy.

Let us launch a nation-wide campaign of “Love Malaysia, Save Malaysia, Change Malaysia”culminating in a new Malaysian government in Putrajaya in the 14th General Election!

(Speech  at the Pekan Nenas DAP General Elections Preparatory Dinner held at Pekan Nenas on Friday, 11th August 2017 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 August 2017, 7:58 am and is filed under
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If in 14GE, PH can draw away a further 10% Malay voter support and 5% non-Malay voter support in Peninsular Malaysia as compare to 13GE, a new  PH Federal Government will be formed in Putrajaya

Disaster for Malaysia has struck three in a row –  to the detriment of Malaysia as a favourite foreign investor haven and the pride of Malaysians about the international reputation, standing and ranking of Malaysia in the international community of nations.

First, Malaysia overnight became a global kleptocracy (I defined in Parliament as a government of 3Ps – Pencuri, Perompak and Penyamun), as  result of the infamous international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filing the largest kleptocratic civil suit to forfeit some US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, naming 1MDB culprits including the easily identifiable “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” (“MO1”) and the Penang billionaire Jho Low; now superseded by DOJ’s latest  decision to ask for its civil suits for the forfeiture of the 1MDB-linked assets to be put on hold while the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) focus on criminal invesgigations into the 1MDB scandal.

Second, we became a kakistocracy – a government by the worst people in the country, completely unscrupulous and unprincipled, where the various national instruments were wantonly abused to prop up kleptocracy in the country. An example is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrest of Penang DAP Exco member, Phee Boon Boh, clearly not to fight corruption but to “whitewash” and distract public attention from  the1MDB global kleptocracy scandal, “MO1” and the RM117 million 22-carat rare pink diamond necklace stolen from 1MDB funds and giv en to the “wife of MO1” as a gift by Jho Low.

But a third disaster was waiting to strike against Malaysia, and this happened today when international  Islamic scholars and academicians, like Professor Zachary Abuza and Almad el-Muhammady, declared  that Malaysia is not the moderate state that it used to be and that Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “Global Movement of Moderates” initiative was nothing but a big bluff on the international stage.

Those who have been following the recent political developments in the country, especially PAS under the leadership of Datuk Seri Hadi Awang transforming PAS into greatest apologist and champion of Najib’s kleptocracy and kakistocarcy, are not surprised by the international condemnation of Malaysia for having veered and even betrayed the secular basis of the Merdeka Constitution 1957 and Malaysia Agreement 1963.

It is indeed strange but true that Najib has now no greater apologist of for his single biggest kleptocratic scandal, the 1MDB scandal, than Hadi’s PAS.

As a result, Najib has abandoned the “moderation” commitment not only of his father, Tun Razak, but the basis of the Merdeka Constitution 1957 and Malaysia Agreement 1963.

In the coming 14th General Election, PAS will be playing a “spoiler’s role” in multi-cornered contests to help ensure that Najib can continue to be the Prime Minister in Malaysia.

At the Johor Jaya DAP General Election Preparations Dinner in Johor Baru last night, I had described three possible scenarios and outcomes in the 14th General Election with PAS in a “spoiler” role in three-cornered contests.

The first scenario was what happened in the Sungei Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections in June 2016, where there was a BN candidate, a Pakatan Harapan candidate  and a PAS candidate.

But the Sungei Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-election results are the “worst-case”  scenarios, where PAS won approximately 30% of the Malay vote (but hardly any non-Malay support) and where the support for Pakatan Harapan, in this case, AMANAH, among the non-Malay voters fell by about 10% because of reduced turnout, especially among the younger voters. There appeared to be a 10% flow-back of the Chinese voters and 5% of the Indian voters to Barisan Nasional.

A second political scenario is where PAS only manages to win 20% of Malay support (down from 30% in Scenario 1) with little non-Malay support. At the same time, BN faces a Malay backlash because of the cost of living issues and the FELDA and 1MDB scandals, as well as the impact of  Parti Pribumi Bersatu under the leadership of Tun Mahathir and Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s . However, lets assume that this is not enough to create a Malay tsunami with the  BN losing 5% of Malay support and 1% of non-Malay support (compared to GE2013).

A third scenario is where  there are  conditions for a “Malaysian tsunami” to take place in GE14. In this  third scenario, BN loses 10% of Malay support and a further 5% support among non-Malays (compared to GE2013). PAS, because of its isolated position and also the public perception that it is being ‘used and abused’ by UMNO, only managed to win 10% of Malay support.

All the three scenarios also assume that  DAP and PKR will contest in the seats previously contested in GE2013, AMANAH and BERSATU will contest in seats previously contested by PAS and PAS will contest in all parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia

The following  two tables summarise the changes in the level of BN support and the projected PAS support among Malay, Chinese and Other voters in the 165 parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia:

Table 1: Changes in BN support and PAS support in GE14 under Scenarios 1, 2, and 3

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3

Change in BN support

PAS support

Change in BN support

PAS support

Change in BN support

PAS support

Malay support

-1%

30%

-5%

20%

-10%

10%

Chinese support

+10%

1%

-1%

1%

-5%

1%

Indian support

+5%

1%

-1%

1%

-5%

1%

Others support

+0%

1%

-1%

1%

-5%

1%

Table 2: Number of parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia won under Scenarios 1,2, and 3

Scenario 1
(Worst Case)

Scenario 2
(BN backlash)

Scenario 3
(Malaysian Tsunami)

BN

113

80

50

PH

46

80

113

PAS

6

5

2

Under Scenario 1, the role of PAS as a spoiler will help BN by allowing it to win 113 out of 165 parliaments seats in Peninsular Malaysia (compared to 85 seats in GE2013). PAS will also be affected, winning only 6 parliament seats (compared to 21 in GE2013). Pakatan Harapan will end up with only 46 seats (compared to 80 for Pakatan Rakyat in GE2013).

Under Scenario 2, where the BN backlash is not sufficient to create a Malaysian tsunami, BN and PH would end up with 80 parliament seats each with PAS winning only 2 parliament seats.

Under Scenario 3, a Malaysian tsunami would leave the BN with only 50 seats and PH winning an overwhelming majority of 113 parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia. PAS would be left with only 2 parliament seats.

These projections show that in the 14th General Election, if Pakatan Harapan can draw away a further  10% Malay voter and 5% Chinese  and Indian voter support  from Barisan Nasional as compared  in the 13th General Election in 2013, there will be a Malaysian political tsunami, UMNO and Barisan Nasional will be evicted from Putrajaya and the 14GE will establish a new Pakatan Harapan  Federal Government in Malaysia.

(Speech at the Bahau DAP Branch General Election Preparatory Dinner held in Bahau on Saturday, 12th August 2017 at 8 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 August 2017, 6:18 am and is filed under
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The “nothing-to-hide” 1MDB pandemonium a sign of growing panic among UMNO leaders that UMNO/BN would lose to Pakatan Harapan in 14GE

The ruckus at the  “nothing-to-hide” 1MDB forum at Shah Alam is a sign of growing panic among UMNO leaders that UMNO/BN would lose to Pakatan Harapan in the 14th General Election.

I welcome the statement by the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi that the police would investigate professionally and would  take action against the culprits of the ruckus yesterday.

I only feel pity for the actual culprits, who for pittance, allowed themselves to be used as tools to disrupt the “Nothing-to-hide” 1MDB  forum.

Investigation and action must be taken not only against the actual culprits but the masterminds of the ruckus, and a special effort must be made by the authorities to trace these “masterminds” of trouble. It should not be difficult to trace the “masterminds”, although the actual culprits of the ruckus could only lead to their “handlers”, but it is these “handlers” who would lead to the “masterminds”.

This would be a test of the professionalism of the Police.

The pandemonium created at the “Nothing to hide” 1MDB forum at Shah Alam is the latest evidence of the growing panic among UMNO leaders that UMNO/BN would lose to Pakatan Harapan in 14th General Election.

The supreme confidence of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the UMNO/BN leadership that Barisan Nasional could coast through to continued power in the 14th General Election as the Opposition seems so weak and divided  had evaporated from the cold and hard reality of a united Pakatan Harapan announced on July 14 to evict UMNO/BN from Putrajaya.

All that is needed to defeat the UMNO/BN federal government in the 14th General Election is for at least 10 per cent of Malay voters, five percent for Chinese and Indian voters, who voted for Barisan Nasional in the 13th General Election to switch support and  vote for Pakatan Harapan.

If this happens in the 14th General Election, then out of the 165 parliamentary seats in  Peninsular Malaysia,  Barisan Nasional could end up with 50 seats; PAS, which has  become the greatest apologist and defender of Najib and his 1MDB scandal, two seats;  while the Pakatan Harakan could win as many as 113 seats – setting the stage for a change of Federal Government for the first time in 60 years.

This is the reason for the ruckus at the “Nothing to Hide” 1MDB forum yesterday.

[Media Conference Statement (2) at the Penang High Court on Monday, August 14, 2017 at 1 pm]

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 August 2017, 6:11 pm and is filed under
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