Congrats to UMNO for being “more united than ever” although the UMNO President had for the first time in history to sneak in and out of UMNO headquarters from the backdoor to avoid the unfriendly UMNO crowd in front

After yesterday’s UMNO Supreme Council meeting, UMNO leaders including the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who is also Minister for Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, were at pains to convince all and sundry that UMNO is now “more united than ever”. (NST)

Congratulations is in order to UMNO for being “more united than ever” although the UMNO President and Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had,  for the first time in history of any UMNO President,  to sneak in and out of UMNO headquarters from the backdoor to avoid the unfriendly UMNO crowd in front.

But the UMNO Supreme Council meeting failed miserably in assuring the public and the world that the governing coalition has the blueprint and the political will to end the prolonged crisis of confidence plaguing the country.

The UMNO/BN leadership were not only unable to bring a closure to the two mega financial scandals which had undermined national and international confidence in the Malaysian government –  the RM50 billion 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion “donation” in the Prime Minister’s personal accounts twin scandals –  but have allowed new issues to escalate and deepen  the crisis of confidence in the country like the Red Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16.

The UMNO Supreme Council had failed not only the three million UMNO members but also 30 million Malaysians in their inability to resolve these three crisis issues, resulting in the prolonged crisis of confidence getting from bad to worse.

This is one  major reason why the Malaysian ringgit this morning fell to a new 1998 low of 4.3770 to a US dollar.

No UMNO leader, including the Prime Minister, can explain why the Home Minister Datuk Zahid Hamidi had personally signed the order to ban the innocuous yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt but allowed the incendiary and seditious red “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” T-shirt to be sold, even at the UMNO Hqrs yesterday!

Or why the police had been so impotent to deal with the incendiary and seditious “mandi darah” poster, depicting a person dressed in a black Malay costume leaping in mid-air with a bloody machete in his hand hacking a person wearing a yellow Bersih shirt!

On the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal (according to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his last speech as Deputy Prime Minister to the Cheras UMNO Division on July 26, 2015 before he was sacked from the Cabinet two days later), the UMNO Supreme Council had failed both the three million UMNO members and the 30 million Malaysians in getting the Prime Minister to come clean on the biggest financial scandal in the country.

Najib yesterday asked for a six-month period to solve the 1MDB’s financial problems through its rationalisation plan and pledged that he would take care of the problem.

But this is not the first time  Najib had asked for six-month grace period to end 1MDB problem, but umpteenth  time, starting with his closed-door session  with UMNO divisional information chiefs and NGOs at Putra World Trade Centre on June 14, when he pledged to solve 1MDB controversies in a time-frame of between two to six months, i.e. from mid-August to end of the year.

My reaction at the time was one of scepticism, which was why I sought an assurance from Najib that he and the entire Cabinet will resign and retire from politics if the 1MDB scandal and all related 1MDB issues are not resolved by the end of the year.

But neither Najib nor any  Cabinet Minister dared to give such a public commitment.

Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir was equally sceptical at the time, saying that it was impossible for the 1MDB mess to be resolved by the end of the year.

Mahathir has been proved right with Najib still asking for “six months”, which will push the timeframe from December to March next year!

Najib’s “six-month grace period” appears to be an elastic and even permanent one, rolling on indefinitely until kingdom come!

Najib should have convened an Emergency Parliament to deal with the 1MDB scandal as it is one of the major issues which had caused the crisis of confidence in the country, but as he did not dare to do so, he must not skirt or evade the issue in the budget Parliament beginning on Oct. 19.

In fact, in the 2016 budget which Najib will present to Parliament on Oct. 23, MPs and Malaysians will expect Najib to come clean on the 1MDB scandal – how and why Malaysia landed with such a humongous scandal and how the government is going to bring the scandal to a close.

On the third cause of the unprecedented crisis of confidence, the RM2.6 billion “donation” in the Najib personal banking accounts for the 13th General Election, Najib has continued his strategy of “avoidance and evasion” instead of complying  with the principles of accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance to make a clean breast as to who gave the donation, why and where the monies had gone to.

In talking about a political funding law, Najib is trying to divert attention from the very grave question of having received RM2.6 billion donation from foreign sources for the 13th General Election campaign.

DAP had never received a single sen from any foreign source in the past five decades. There is no doubt that if DAP had received any foreign funding, however puny the amount, DAP leaders would have been accused of being anti-national and even guilty of treason.

The foreign donation  Najib had received  for the 13th General Election is not a petty sum but  an astronomical figure of RM2.6 billion, which is more than 26 times the total maximum electoral expenditures that  could be lawfully spent by all the 222 Parliamentary and 505 State Assembly candidates of Barisan Nasional in the 13th General Elections.

In the 2016 Budget on 23rd Oct, Najib should present a report on all the UMNO/BN Ministers, Deputy Ministers and MPs who had benefited from the RM2.6 billion foreign donation in his personal bank account during the 13th General Election, stating the amount each had received and whether such foreign funding for their general election had compromised their independence and loyalty and undermined the nation’s sovereignty.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 10 September 2015, 3:34 pm and is filed under
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DAP bakal lahirkan ‘anak sulung’ di Indera Kayangan?

– Abdul Aziz Isa

The Malaysian Insider

10 September 2015

Pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13), DAP buat pertama kalinya meletakkan calon di negeri Perlis di Dewan Undang Negeri (DUN) Titi Tinggi. Calon DAP iaitu Teh Seng Chuan memperoleh undi sebanyak 2,439, calon MCA iaitu Khaw Hock Kong memperoleh undi sebanyak 3,925 manakala calon bebas Yaacob Man memperoleh undi sebanyak 968. Majoriti undi calon MCA adalah 1,486.

Jika berlaku 2 penjuru, tidak mustahil undi calon bebas (andai kata sahaja, kita hiraukan sama ada undi calon bebas itu majoriti Melayu atau ada undi Cina) akan pergi ke calon DAP dan kemungkinan besar calon DAP akan memperoleh undi sebanyak 3,407 dan ini akan mengurangkan majoriti MCA sebanyak 518 undi.

Hal ini menunjukkan pada PRU14 akan datang DAP akan dapat menewaskan calon MCA di DUN Titi Tinggi dan seterusnya mencipta sejarah baharu dengan melahirkan “anak sulung” DAP di negeri Indera Kayangan itu.

Tidak mustahil juga jika DAP hendak mencuba satu kerusi majoriti Melayu iaitu di DUN Beseri yang terletak bersebelahan DUN Titi Tinggi. Mungkin DAP boleh meletakkan seorang calon Melayu bagi merampas kerusi tersebut daripada Umno. Memandangkan jumlah undi majoriti yang diperoleh oleh calon Umno hanya 540.

Ini bermaksud DAP mempunyai harapan jika berlaku pertembungan 3 penjuru antara PAS, DAP dan Umno di kawasan tersebut.

Sekiranya DAP meletakkan calon Cina di DUN Titi Tinggi dan calon Melayu di DUN Beseri, mungkin suara rakyat Perlis akan lebih didengari. Isu-isu seperti industri gula, keselamatan sempadan Thailand-Malaysia, pengagihan zakat, NCER, peluang pekerjaan dan kebajikan dapat digunakan sebagai isu utama di dua kawasan DUN tersebut.

Sudah 58 tahun Umno memerintah Perlis namun tidak banyak pembangunan dan kemajuan dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan negeri pimpinan Umno. Perlis seolah-olah seperti negeri yang dilupakan oleh kerajaan pusat dan kerajaan negeri pula seolah-olah tidak mempunyai idea yang kreatif dan bernas untuk mengangkat nama Perlis di persada Malaysia. Mungkin sudah tibanya DAP serius untuk menggegarkan Perlis dengan mengetengahkan isu-isu sebegini.

Biarpun kerusi DUN di bawah Parlimen Kangar mempunyai potensi untuk ditembusi namun DAP boleh meneroka kawasan baharu di Parlimen Padang Besar sebagai batu loncatan untuk menafikan 2/3 majoriti Barisan Nasional (BN) di negeri Perlis.

DAP boleh jadikan Parlimen Padang Besar sebagai tapak asas paling utara untuk kelangsungan politik DAP, manakala PKR di Parlimen Kangar dan Amanah di Parlimen Arau. Jika DAP sudah bertapak di kawasan paling selatan di Semenanjung Malaysia iaitu Parlimen Tanjong Piai, tiba masanya DAP memilih Parlimen Padang Besar sebagai kawasan paling utara di Semenanjung Malaysia.

Kalau sudah dapat ekor, mesti dapat kepala untuk menyempurnakan segala-galanya.

Sepintas analisis yang boleh diguna pakai oleh DAP Perlis bagi persiapan PRU14 akan datang. Mungkin pendapat ini dapat dibawa ke peringkat atasan sebagai rujukan.

Analisis seterusnya, negeri Jelapang Padi. – 10 September, 2015.

* Penulis ialah setiausaha Publisiti Pemuda DAP Petra Jaya.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 10 September 2015, 8:55 pm and is filed under
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Najib should cancel the Sept. 16 programme in Kota Kinabalu for  signing of commemorative Malaysia Day document with Sabah and Sarawak Chief Ministers and have it either one day earlier or later so as not to be overshadowed by the Red Shirts pro-Najib  rally in Kuala Lumpur

When the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak endorsed the greenlight given by the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi for the Red Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu”  rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16, it marked not only a great failure of Najib’s  premiership, but a pathetic admission of the failure of his signature 1Malaysia policy when he became the sixth Prime Minister some six years ago to create a united nation where every citizen will regard himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, region and socio-economic status second.

Six years after Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy, the country should be having “Kebangkitan Maruah Malaysia” rallies  and not regressing to hold “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rallies – which is the very antithesis of Najib’s 1Malaysia policy.

Is Najib suggesting that there should also be “Kebangkitan Maruah Cina Malaysia”, “Kebangkitan Maruah India Malaysia”, “Kebangkitan Maruah Orang Asli”, “Kebangkitan Maruah Iban” or “Kebangkitan Maruah  Kadazan-Dusun-Murut” rallies all over the country?

Najib and the Cabinet should be asking Zahid why the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister is practicing double standards in warning of “stern action” against organisers and participants of Bersih 4 rally but gave the okay for UMNO members to attend the Red Shirts rally?

Why did Zahid personally sign a ban of the yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt on the eve of Bersih 4 rally, but endorsed the sale of red “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” T-shirts?

Although Najib said that UMNO is not behind the Sept. 16 “Red Shirts” rally in Kuala Lumpur, everybody can see UMNO’s  marks and thumb-prints on the rally and nobody can be wrong to regard it as a UMNO or pro-UMNO rally, or to be more exact, pro-Najib rally.

What we are seeing is  a pro-UMNO or to be more exact a pro-Najib faction hijacking the Malay cause and agenda by staging a Sept. 16 rally in pursuit of their own ends!

It is meaningless of Najib saying that the Red Shirts Sept. 16 rally should not be used as a platform to incite racial tensions when the pre-publicity campaign for the rally, like red T-shirt screaming the words “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” and the poster on “mandi darah” (bloodbath) depicting a person dressed in a black Malay costume leaping in mid-air with a bloody machete in his hand hacking a person wearing a yellow Bersih shirt were clearly designed to incite racial tensions.

Najib was right when he differentiated between “democracy” and “democrazy” a few days ago  for the peaceful Bersih 4 overnight rally for the cause of good governance and clean, fair elections is “democracy” personified while the Red Shirts pro-Najib  Sept 16 rally is the very personification of “democrazy”!

Najib must  be forewarned that Malaysians and the world are watching how he acquits himself on the Red Shirts Sept. 16 rally.

Time is running out but  it is still not too late for a  government which  really  cares about inter-racial harmony, national unity and our international image as a safe and reliable country for foreign investments to prevent a racially-charged rally based on the slogan of “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” from being held.

In any event,  Najib should cancel his  Sept. 16 programme in Kota Kinabalu for  the signing of a commemorative document with the Chief Ministers of Sabah and Sarawak  to mark the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago.

This Malaysia Day programme at Padang Merdeka in Kota Kinabalu, which would be a “re-enactment” of Malaysia’s formation,  should be held either one day earlier or later so as not to be overshadowed by the Red Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur.

Instead of serving as a reminder of  the bond of Sabah and Sarawak with Peninsular Malaya to form Malaysia, and to resolidify the relations between the partners in the formation of Malaysia, the effect of the overshadowing of Najib’s Malaysia Day programme in Kota Kinabnalu by the Red Shirts Sept 16 rally would be the sad reminder of the  supremacy of UMNO politics over everything else, including the 52nd Malaysia Day celebrations.

Why is Malaysia Day not celebrated in Peninsular Malaysia but only in Sabah and Sarawak?

Or is the racially-charged Red Shirts rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16 to be taken as Malaya’s celebration of the 52nd Malaysia Day?

This is totally unacceptable and unthinkable!

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 10 September 2015, 9:09 am and is filed under
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Raja Bahrin tebus baiah taklik beri makan orang miskin, lapor akhbar

The Malaysian Insider

10 September 2015

Ahli Parlimen Kuala Terengganu Datuk Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah memilih untuk memberi makan kepada 10 orang miskin sebagai menebus sumpah baiah yang dilafazkan sebelum ini berhubung ketaatannya terhadap perjuangan PAS, lapor Sinar Harian hari ini.

Tindakan itu diambil selepas beliau melanggar lafaz baiah yang diikrarkannya secara sukarela di hadapan Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang dua tahun lalu dan kini mengambil keputusan menyertai Parti Amanah Negara (PAN).

Beliau berkata, tindakannya itu dirujuk berdasarkan kepada ayat al-Quran berhubung ruang untuk menebus sumpah baiah jika berlaku pelanggaran sumpah.

“Hukumnya adalah memerdekakan seorang hamba, beri makan 10 orang miskin daripada apa yang kita makan dan berpuasa 3 hari.

“Saya memilih yang kedua, akan beri makan 10 orang miskin,” katanya kepada akhbar itu.

Sebelum ini, melalui baiah tersebut, beliau bersumpah perkahwinannya akan terbubar dengan talak 3 sekiranya beliau meninggalkan PAS.

Raja Kamarul Bahrin menganggap PAS sudah lari daripada perjuangan asal, terutama berhubung tahalluf siyasi, sementara sebahagian besar pemimpin parti itu masih menganggap sumpah baiah itu sah hingga kini.

Beliau mendakwa, antara perkara yang diabaikan dalam PAS ialah konsep “PAS untuk semua” yang kini ditinggalkan terutamanya apabila ia memutuskan hubungan dengan DAP secara rasmi pada Jun lalu.

Katanya, ia satu perubahan besar kepada konsep asal parti itu sebelum pilihan raya umum 13.

Berikutan daripada perjuangan PAS yang dirasakannya sudah berubah, beliau mengambil keputusan untuk “berhijrah” kepada Amanah.

Sementara itu, mengulas desakan PAS Terengganu supaya beliau meletak jawatan sebagai ahli Parlimen, Raja Kamarul Bahrin menuntut Pesuruhjaya PAS Negeri Saiful Bahri Mamat membentangkan prestasi dan kehadiran setiap seorang wakil rakyat Terengganu terlebih dahulu.

“Setelah itu, barulah beliau dan rakyat, pengundi, boleh buat penilaian siapakah sebenarnya yang patut letak jawatan sebagai ahli Parlimen,” katanya. – 10 September, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 10 September 2015, 11:23 am and is filed under
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Sept 16, 2015 should be a red-letter  Malaysia Day marking first important steps by Putrajaya to restore genuine autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak which should not be  spoilt or overshadowed by “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL

On the 52nd Malaysia Day on Sept. 16 next Wednesday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should not just be in Kota Kinabalu for a Public Relations gimmick to join the Sabah and Sarawak Chief Ministers at Padang Merdeka  to sign the commemorative Malaysia Day document to re-enact the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago.

More is  expected of the Prime Minister to do something more substantive, as  giving import and significance to  the occasion, especially in the meeting of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers and Sabah and Sarawak such  as to  mark Putrajaya’s  first important steps to restore genuine autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak.

Najib has committed himself to grant more autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak, and the 52nd Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, in his sixth year as Malaysian Prime Minister,  should be the historic occasion to see the start of the process of Putrajaya honouring  such a commitment.

There are at least four things Najib could do on Sept. 16 to begin the “first step in the journey of thousand miles” to grant meaningful autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak, viz:

(1)	Announce Putrajaya’s agreement to grant autonomy in education to Sabah and Sarawak with effect from 1.1.2016.

(2)	Two-day debate in Parliament before his 2016 Budget presentation on Friday, Oct. 23 on the granting of  greater autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak, with the promise that some of the proposals by MPs in the two-day debate will be incorporated into the 2016 Budget proposals.

(3)	Setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry to assess whether the dreams and aspirations of Sabahans and Sarawakians in forming Malaysia had been fulfilled in the past 52 years and the measures to be taken to fulfil these dreams and aspirations.

(4)	Acknowledgement and recognition by Putrajaya of the historic Keningau Batu Sumpah as the heritage of all Sabahans and a reminder of the historic guarantees given to the people in the interior of Sabah about the trinity of their rights in the establishment of Malaysia in 1963 on religion, land and native customs.

The  three commitments engraved on the Keningau Batu Sumpah were: “Ugama Bebas Dalam Sabah”, “Tanah Tanah dalam Sabah di kuasai oleh Kerajaan” and “Adat Istidiadat anak rayat Sabah dihormatkan dan dipelihara oleh Kerajaan”.

We must always remember Czech writer Milan Kundera’s famous quote: “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting”,  which is the raisons d’etre for the Batu Sumpah Movement in Sabah with its triple objective to restore the history, memory and rights of the people of Sabah.

The red-letter day on Sept. 16 for the people of Sabah and Sarawak should not be spoilt or overshadowed by the Red-Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur, which will be utter disrespect for Malaysia Day for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

It will be doubly deplorable as  the Red-Shirts rally is anti-democracy in opposing the democratic demands of Bersih 4 for good governance and clean, fair elections as well as being  blatantly racist, as seen  from the racially-charged pre-publicity campaign for the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally, inciting and provoking racial hatred, tension and conflict.

There are  great differences between Bersih 4 rally and the proposed Red-Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally.

Firstly, all Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, age, gender or politics converged into Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in support of good governance and clean elections which had nothing to do with any race issue.

But the Red-Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally appeals only to Malays –  but not all Malays as it is specifically targeted at  Malays who  support Najib.

Secondly, there was no worry whatsoever from any quarter whether the Bersih 4 overnight rally could result in a racial conflict, as the only concern was  whether the Police would fire tear gas and water cannons against the peaceful participants.

All the talk distorting Bersih 4 into a racial affair, such as alleging that it was a Chinese show-of-force against Malay political power, were concocted by UMNO propagandists and strategists from their air-conditioned offices after the holding of Bersih 4 rally.

But it is completely different with the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally, which sparked fears of racial conflict from the very beginning of its racially-charged publicity campaign!

Najib is doing Malaysians, in particular the people of Sabah and Sarawak, a great disservice in endorsing the greenlight given by the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi for the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16.

Najib is a minority Prime Minister of Malaysia today because of the support of 33 Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament in Sabah and Sarawak, as without the Sabah and Sarawak MPs, he will only have 101 parliamentary seats, or 11 seats short of a simple majority to form the government in Putrajaya.

If these 33 Barisan Nasional MPs in Sabah and Sarawak are given an opportunity and dare to reflect the views of their constituents, they would say a categorical and unequivocal “No” to the holding of a “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL next Wednesday, as it will not only be racist and undermine the very basis of a plural  Malaysian nation but detrimental to the legitimate aspirations of Sabah and Sarawak to have an equal place under the Malaysian sun.

In fact, I dare to say that even the majority of the UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan MPs will not support the Red-Shirts rally if they dare to speak according to conscience as well as to reflect the views of their constituents.

Najib must prove that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians and not just Prime Minister for an UMNO faction in the country.

Even more important, he must not allow the Red-Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally  to spoil or overshadow the 52nd Malaysia Day!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 11 September 2015, 7:11 am and is filed under
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Why is the case of the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu so sensitive that Aljazeera’s current affairs programme 101 East Asia journalist Mary Ann Jolley had to be deported?

Why is the case of the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu so sensitive that  Aljazeera’s current affairs programme 101 East Asia journalist, Mary Ann Jolley had to be deported when she was doing an investigative piece on her brutal murder?

Is investigative report into Altantuya’s murder strictly out-of-bounds in Malaysia for any journalist, print or online, local or foreign?

In response to Aljazeera’s investigative piece “Murder in Malaysia” on Altantunya’s murder, which was aired today, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement reiterating that “The Prime Minister did not know, has never met, has never had any communication with and has no link whatsoever with the deceased”.

Since Najib had strongly and repeatedly denied knowing or having met Altantuya, his story should be able to stand up to any scrutiny, whether by Aljazeera’s investigative reporter or even by a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Altantuya’s murder, as many questions remain unanswered in her murder, the most serious of which was that the motive of the murder had not been found as the two persons convicted of the brutal murder of Altantuya, former police commandoes Sirul Azhir Umar and Azila Hadri, had not met or known her before the murder.

The Aljazeera programme has produced new evidence which may lead to the discovery of the motive for Altantuya’s  gruesome murder and the person who is the mastermind for the Mongolian’s killing.

Will the police re-open investigations to delve into the real motive and the mastermind  for Altantunya’s murder?

Will Najib, as Prime Minister, direct the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to re-open police  investigations into Altantunya’s murder based on the new evidence reported in Aljazeera’s programme, focussing in particular on the motive and the mastermind of Altantuya’s murder ?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 11 September 2015, 2:59 pm and is filed under
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Najib must live with the reality that  for the rest of his life, he will be haunted and hounded by the Altantunya Shaariibuu murder case so long as there is no full investigation to ferret out the motive and mastermind of the heinous killing

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak today played the role of a victim and complained  that the  revival of the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder is part of a foreign plot to topple him, similar to the toppling of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.

He pointed out that Saddam was ousted by the United States based on false claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

He said:

“Now look at Iraq today. They had no proof and yet they invaded the country.

“Now the Americans have regretted their actions and the Bush name can no longer be accepted.”

Najib is doing himself no service by likening himself to Saddam Hussein, as if claiming that he was being victimised in the same way that Bush Senior  had victimised Saddam.

Is Najib suggesting that he is being victimised by Obama or his predecessor as US President, Bush Junior?

May be Najib should clarify and explain what he is trying to say.

Be that as it may, Najib must live with the reality that  for the rest of his life, he will be haunted and hounded by the Altantunya Shaariibuu murder case so long as there is no full investigation to ferret out the motive and mastermind of the heinous killing.

This has nothing to do with any international conspiracy theory whether involving the foreign media or otherwise, or to use Najib’s own words “top to the bottom and inside and outside the country”, allegedly to topple the country’s leadership but because of gaping holes in the conviction of two former special commandos, Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri for Altantunya’s murder.

Everybody in the country now know that  both the convicted murderers had not known Altantunya before the gruesome killing, and that there could be no motive for them to murder Altantunya.

The question  everybody is asking is what was the real motive and the mastermind of the murder.

Malaysia does not have  a high literacy rate – over 99 per cent –  for nothing.

This is  why the questions about the motive  and whether and who was the mastermind for Altantunya’s murder are on everybody’s mind, and  ordinary Malaysians do not need an international conspiracy to topple the nation’s leadership to be asking these questions themselves.

Malaysia can have no closure on the Altantunya murder case,  Altantunya’s soul cannot rest in peace and Najib can never enjoy unquestioned respect, credibility and legitimacy from Malaysians  and the world unless and until there is a  no-holds-barred investigation into Altantunya’s murder which addresses  the questions as to the motive for the murder and whether there was any mastermind to the heinous deed.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 September 2015, 6:56 pm and is filed under
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DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah leaders must get down to brass tacks to formulate and implement “Win Johor to win Putrajaya” blueprint as 14GE is only 48-56 months away

Congratulations for the launching of the Johor Parti Amanah Negara tonight are in order, for we are witnesses to history in the making.

The launch of Johor Parti Amanah tonight is a historic first step for Johor to be the engine head of the second phase of political change in Malaysia leading from the south to create an united and democratic Malaysia with good governance and socio-economic justice for all.

Just eight years ago, nobody would dare to think or dream that political change in Malaysia or Johor was possible.

In fact, the UMNO/BN leaders were so cocky and arrogant about the “untouchability” and “invincibility” of Johor as their  “fixed deposit state” that  their 2008 General Election campaign theme was to make Johor a “zero-Opposition” state.

The 12th and 13th General Elections in 2008 and 2013 have completely changed the picture and rewritten the electoral and political arithmetic in Johor and Malaysia, and the question is not “whether” but “when” the UMNO/BN coalition government will fall in Nusajaya and Putrajaya.

The first phase of political change in Malaysia had come from the north, from Penang, former PAS Mursyidul Am Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat’s Kelantan and Selangor.

In the second phase of political change, Johor must play the role of the engine head of political change spearheading the movement from the south and cross the sea to mobilise Sabah and Sarawak.

The unthinkable happened in Johor in the last general election – UMNO/BN losing 18 state assembly seats, one short of losing two-thirds majority in the Johor State Assembly, and losing an unprecedented five Parliamentary seats, four to DAP and one to PKR.

The precondition to winning Putrajaya to spearhead political change in Malaysia is to win Nusajaya.

For this reason, there is no reason to delay. We have already  lost precious two years since the 13th General Election, and the Johor leaders of DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah must get down to brass tacks to immediately  formulate and implement a “Win Johor to win Putrajaya” blueprint as the 14GE is only 48-56 months away.

A new Pakatan Rakyat or Pakatan Rayat 2.0 is struggling to be born. Let Johor set the pace and be the example as to how DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah can work together to lay the basis for an inclusive political coalition that can command the respect and confidence of Malaysians to replace the 58-year-old UMNO/BN coalition.

(Speech at the launch of the Johor Parti Amanah Negara in Johor Baru on Friday, 11th September 2015 at 11 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 September 2015, 7:27 am and is filed under
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Is the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL on Sept. 16 finally a pro-Najib anti-Mahathir rally in the latest  round of power tussle in UMNO?

Many must be asking whether the Red-Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16 is finally a pro-Najib and anti-Mahathir rally in the latest round of power tussle in UMNO?

This thought must have struck many after one of the promoters of the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally challenged the former Prime Minister to join the rally on Sept. 16 if “he is Malay enough”!

Putting aside Mahathir’s unrelenting criticisms of Najib , his call for Najib  to step down as Prime Minister, even  his asking Opposition MPs to support a no-confidence motion against  Najib in Parliament but to keep the UMNO/BN government in power, a racially-charged  and ostensible “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally but which is finally a pro-Najib anti-Mahathir gathering, is a real eye-opener.

This  is really astonishing and utterly unbelievable – are the masterminds and promoters of the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu”  rally really suggesting that Mahathir, as President of UMNO and Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years, had betrayed the Malays for over two decades to the extent that  “maruah Melayu” are today facing unprecedented crisis?

If not, are they blaming Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib, the fifth and sixth Prime Ministers after Mahathir,  for the “downfall” of “maruah Melayu”?

I fully agree with the former Law Minister, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim that the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally, which is fully endorsed by Umno and being held  purportedly to ‘redeem Malay honour’ allegedly  besmirched by the largely Chinese gathering of Bersih 4,  will only make Malays a laughing stock of the community.

What I cannot understand is why UMNO leaders from Najib downwards are so dim and dense that they could not grasp such a basic reality  – raising grave questions about the IQs of the present batch of UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders.

The Deputy Prime Minister and successor-designate to Najib as Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, has given his blessings to the “Kebangkitan Maruah Malaysia” rally while several other Ministers like Ismail Sabri, Salleh Said Keruak and Abdul Rahman Dahlan are rooting for the success of the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally on Malaysia Day.

Abdul Rahman  and Salleh are  very poor Sabahans who could allow the significance of the Malaysia Day to be upstaged and  overshadowed by the racist and  pro-Najib, anti-Mahathir “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur.

Although time is running out, I call for  good sense to prevail and urge all the UMNO/BN Ministers to make their voices heard and prevail upon the Prime Minister not to allow such a racially-charged rally, blatantly pro-Naib anti-Mahathir, to be held as it will only make the Malays in Malaysia the laughing stock of the world – including Malays outside Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 September 2015, 12:03 pm and is filed under
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September 16 will be a double test for Najib ,as to how committed he is to the  Malaysia idea and  whether he would allow  the country to be held to ransom by irresponsible elements who want to hold a racist “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL

September 16, 2015 will be a double test for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, firstly as to how committed he is to the Malaysia idea; and secondly, whether he would show leadership and not allow the country to be held to ransom by irresponsible elements who want to provoke racial tensions and  temperatures in the country by holding a racist “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur.

Although the Prime Minister has an appointment with the Chief Ministers of Sabah and Sarawak at Padang Merdeka in Kota Kinabalu on Malaysia Day to sign the commemorative Malaysia Day document to re-enact the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago, this is meaningless PR “public relations” gimmick unless it is accompanied by substantive announcements by Najib on the  concrete measures Putrajaya will take to end the half-century of neglect and underdevelopment of Sabah and Sarawak – like increase of oil royalties to Sabah and Sarawak and the granting of  autonomy on education and other jurisdictions to the two states!

The other test for Najib on Malaysia Day is whether he would allow the country to be  held to ransom by irresponsible elements who want to provoke racial tensions and  temperatures in the country by holding a racist “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur.

Although the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” was announced as a counter to the Bersih 4 overnight rally, there is no basis whatsoever to compare them on the same footing, as Bersih 4 is an expression of the highest patriotism and love of the nation by Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, gender, sex or politics while the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally represents the worst  in Malaysia – the racist, intolerant and bigoted in the country.

The hundreds of thousands who converged in Kuala Lumpur on August 29 and 30 for the Bersih 4 overnight rally never had to worry about racial clashes or conflicts, as these were furthest from their mind as they want to celebrate the coming together of like-minded Malaysians who want a good, accountable and transparent government which is committed to the holding of clean, free and fair elections.

Malaysians at the Bersih 4 rally came together as brothers and sisters, united citizens of a nation.

Any thought of possible trouble is not whether there will be racial clashes or conflict, but whether the Police would deviate from their duties to uphold peace and order and arbitrarily  fire tear gas or shoot water cannons into the peaceful Bersih 4 crowd.

But the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” is a different kettle of fish altogether, as it is not an expression of Malaysian patriotism and inclusiveness, but the creature of the worst in the country – communal intolerance, hate and intimidation.

Right from the beginning of the announcement of the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu”, Malaysians all over the country, regardless of race or religion,  are asking with concern whether there would be racial trouble in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16 – which was never the case with regard to Bersih 4 overnight rally, when such a question was never posed or thought of.

This is because  the pre-publicity for the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” was thick with imagery of  communal intolerance, hatred and intimidation with one message – that it would be a Malay confrontation with the Chinese who allegedly “dominated” the Bersih 4 rally.

This is a gross misuse of the name of Malays as the “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally  threatening  communal peace and the other communities in the country does not have the blessing of the Malays, not even the three million UMNO members, but  merely the mischief of the self-serving few who want to claim credit for defending Najib in the midst of his many woes.

If the organisers of “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” are serious, will they address the issues which are the main causes for undermining “Maruah Melayu” like the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal, the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal bank accounts and the Altantunya Shaariibuu murder case, which resurfaced in a special Aljazeera investigative report today posing the question which had haunted Najib and Malaysians all these years – what was the motive and who was the mastermind for the murder of the Mongolian?

[Speech (2) at the launch of the Johor Parti Amanah Negara in Johor Baru on Friday, 11th September 2015 at 11 pm]

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 September 2015, 8:32 am and is filed under
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Tale of two T-shirts, two rallies and two Malaysia Day highlight the gravity of the prolonged crisis of confidence which plague Malaysia why Malaysians must think beyond race, religion, region or even politics to Save Malaysia

The tale of two T-shirts, two rallies and two Malaysia Day highlight the gravity of the prolonged crisis of confidence which plague Malaysia and why Malaysians must think beyond race, religion, region or even politics to Save Malaysia.

Two T-shirts

There is firstly the yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt, with the five objectives of:

*Free and Fair Elections.

*A Transparent Government.

*The Right to Demonstrate.

*Strengthening the Parliamentary Democracy System.

*Saving the Economy of Malaysia.

Then there is the red T-shirt screaming  the slogan “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu”, with the explicit threat of communal confrontation and if the message was not clear enough, there was also also the vivid imagery of a  communal “bloodbath”.

On 28th August,  the eve of Bersih 4 overnight rally, it was announced that Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had signed an order prohibiting the yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt as “undesirable publication”.

But Zahid could take offence at a totally innocuous, in fact, patriotic yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt but completely unconcerned and unmoved by the red “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” T-shirt with its message of racial confrontation and incitement of racial hatred and conflict.

Up till today,  Zahid still bans the yellow Bersih-4 T-shirt but approves the red “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” T-shirt.

Is this the  model of good governance and “Leadership by Example” by Zahid and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak?

Two Rallies

There was the 34-hour Bersih 4 overnight rally on August 29/30 in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu where Malaysians in unprecedented hundreds of thousands converged to express their common dream for a  Malaysia where there is  good governance  and clean, free, fair elections –  issues which   completely transcend race, religion, region, age, gender or even politics.

Great pity the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak failed to be a Malaysian statesman to embrace the spirit of Bersih 4 but instead continued to adopt a confrontational and  adversarial stance to Bersih 4 to demonise what is undoubtedly the most historic gathering of ordinary Malaysians transcending race, religion and region demonstrating their love and patriotism for the country as if they are knaves and traitors out to destroy Malaysia!

There is then the Sept 16 Red-Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally, heavy with symbolism and threat of communal confrontation and intimidation, which has now been proven to be an UMNO-sponsored affair with UMNO divisions alerted by UMNO headquarters  immediately after Bersih 4 to mobilise UMNO members to the rally from all over the country.

No one thought or worried about racial clashes despite the crowd of hundreds of thousands for the 34-hour  Bersih 4 rally for that was never in anyone’s mind – not even the Police – as  their only concern of “trouble”, if any, was whether the police was going to  do the “dirty work” of the powers-that-be and fire tear gas or shoot water cannon into peaceful crowds.

But the Red-Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” struck fear and concern all over the country as to whether there would be racial clashes in the Federal capital on Malaysia Day right from the beginning of the announcement of the rally, and that was the question everybody broached with me whether I as in the north, centre or south of Peninsular Malaysia in the past fortnight.

One was a peaceful rally to celebrate diversity and to dream of a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age, gender or politics.

The other was a provocative rally to threaten racial confrontation and divide Malaysians, when it was actually a gross abuse of the name of Malays as it was not intended to protect the “maruah” of Malays, but only to protect UMNO or to be more exact, Najib himself!

After 58 years of Merdeka and 52 years of Malaysia, and six years of Najib’s 1Malaysia campaign, we should be talking about “Kebangkitan Maruah Malaysia” and not “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” against other communal groups.

But if the   Sept. 16 “Kebangkigan Maruah Melayu” is really genuine, then it should highlight the issues which had undermined or prejudiced “maruah Melayu” – like the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal, the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal in Najib’s personal bank accounts or even the “mystery” of the Altantunya Shaariibuu murder case.

Will they?

Two Malaysia Day

Malaysians are now told by former Malacca Chief Minister and one-time top voter-getter as UMNO Vice President, Datuk Ali Rustam that it was his organisation, Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan (Pesaka) which was the real organiser of the Sept. 16 rally to counter Bersih 4, and that it had nothing to do with  Red-Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu”.

This has caused even the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tunku Imran Ja’afar to express shock at learning that his vice president, Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin,  who serves as Pesaka secretary-general, is at the forefront of the Sept. 16 rally.

One story today, a different story yesterday, what are Malaysians to expect tomorrow?

Be that as it may, it is simply shocking and outrageous that a  former top UMNO leader, who had been Malacca Chief Minister and a top vote-getter as UMNO Vice President and one-time aspirant even to be Prime Minister of Malaysia if he had not “stumbled and fallen” in UMNO politics, could be so insensitive as to be the mastermind behind the Sept. 16 rally, repudiating the  very import and meaning of Malaysia Day.

At this very fragile period of Malaysian nation-building, when there are even voices of secession from  Sabah and Sarawak because  of more than half-a-century of neglect and underdevelopment of these two states, the Sept. 16 rally in Kuala Lumpur, in whatever name, form or colour, will seriously undermine the unity, integrity and cause of Malaysia.

In fact, the Sept. 16 rally in Kuala Lumpur by UMNO or to be more exact the Najib forces may be the first step to cause the disintegration of Malaysia.

The Sept. 16 rally in Kuala Lumpur, in whatever name, form or colour, should not be held as it is not only a provocation to a multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia, it threatens the unity and integrity of the Malaysian Federation formed 52 years ago.

Equally pertinent, it will cause shame and infamy for Malaysia in the international arena.

This is in fact the time for Malaysians to go beyond race, religion, region or politics to Save Malaysia!

Are there enough Malaysians to save Malaysia?

(Speech at dialogue with leaders of  Kulai DAP Branches in Kulai on Sunday, 13th September 2015 at 10 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 September 2015, 9:33 am and is filed under
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Three measures which Najib should announce tomorrow to address economic crisis

The Prime Minister cum Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib is expected to announce tomorrow measures to strengthen the economy as falling commodity prices and the ringgit currency plumbs near 18-year lows.

I call on Najib to include in his announcement tomorrow the following three measures to address the economic crisis:

Firstly, to suspend the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as it is choking domestic consumption apart from increasing the cost of doing business in difficult economic times;

Secondly, to embark on a regime of government economic austerity, starting with  halving the number of 10 Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department to five.

The first Merdeka Cabinet of the country under Bapa Malaysia and first Prime Minister of the country,  Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1957  had only 10 Ministers and there can be no justification to have 10 Ministers  alone in the Prime Minister’s Department. In fact, the number of 36 Ministers in the Cabinet should also be halved to not more than 20 Ministers for a country with a population the size of Malaysia.

At present, the budget of the Prime Minister’s Office is some RM19 billion, which is more than 19 times that of the entire Federal budget during Merdeka in 1957.  This budget  for the Prime Minister’s Department should be slashed to not more than RM10 billion ringgit as a show of government  earnestness in a regime of austerity in the face of the current economic crisis.

Thirdly, and most important in terms of restoring confidence not only of investors but also of Malaysians in the leadership of Najib as Prime Minister, Najib should come clean on the two biggest financial scandals plaguing the country: the RM50 billion 1MBD and RM2.6 billion “donation” in his personal banking account.

So long as these two mega financial scandals are not addressed satisfactorily in keeping with the principles of accountability, transparency and good governance, and Najib continues to evade and equivocate on these two scandals, the prolonged crisis of confidence of the country will not be resolved.

[Speech at the launching of new edition of Time Bombs in Malaysia (Chinese) in Muar on Sunday, 13th September 2015 at 3 pm]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 September 2015, 8:25 pm and is filed under
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Unconstitutional for speaker to deny no-confidence motion

– Tommy Thomas

The Malaysian Insider

8 September 2015

The prime minister reportedly said his administration cannot be toppled by “street demonstrations” because it would be against the Federal Constitution.

Whatever the intentions of the organisers and participants of Bersih 4, the rally could not force Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down as prime minister from a constitutional and political perspective.

People power, however strong and widespread, cannot overthrow a government under the Westminster style of parliamentary democracy which we have adopted nearly six decades ago.

There are only two methods of replacing a prime minister in the Westminster system.

One would be by the prime minister’s party. Umno and Barisan Nasional however will not replace the prime minister due to the centralisation of power and the awesome weapon of political patronage.

The other would be by a motion of no confidence in the Dewan Rakyat supported by a simple majority.

Hence, Najib’s administration cannot have it both ways.

If it states that street protests cannot achieve change because it is not constitutional, his administration must allow the only recognised mechanism for leadership change to be utilised.

This route should not be blocked as the speaker had reportedly said that the Parliament’s Standing Orders do not provide for the presentation of a no-confidence motion. This is pathetic reasoning and does not represent sound law.

Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution provides that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint as prime minister, a member of the House of Representatives “who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House”.

Article 43(4) states that “if the prime minister ceases to command the confidence” of the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat, the prime minister shall resign, unless the Agong dissolves Parliament and a fresh general election is called.

Hence, the appointment of a Malaysian prime minister is dependent on him enjoying (or not enjoying) at all times the confidence of the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat, that is, at least 112 out of the total membership of 222.

This is the “sine qua non” not only of the Malaysian political system, but of all Westminster systems.

Implied in Article 43(2)(a) and (4) is the duty of the speaker, who is supposed to be non-partisan and independent, to allow a motion of no confidence to be tabled whenever requested by members of the Dewan Rakyat.

The two references to the expression “command the confidence” in Article 43 can only work practically if the speaker discharges his constitutional duty of allowing the motion of no confidence to be tabled so that it can be debated and voted.

Otherwise, the constitutional mechanism to remove a prime minister who has lost the confidence of the majority of MPs will be frustrated and nullified.

Thus, it would be unconstitutional for the speaker to deny a no-confidence motion against the prime minister of the day.

If Najib wishes to dispel the perception that he is afraid to face a no-confidence motion and the speaker is not independent, he must allow it to be tabled in Dewan Rakyat.

Such a result would not only be constitutional, but would also provide a political solution to the impasse that has gripped the nation after the discovery of US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) in the prime minister’s personal bank accounts. – September 8, 2015.

* Tommy Thomas is an advocate and solicitor.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 September 2015, 11:40 pm and is filed under
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European Intrusions Into The Malay World

M. Bakri Musa

www.bakrimusa.com

Sept. 7, 2015

[After last weekend’s mass protest against the nation’s entrenched corrupt and incompetent leadership, I reflect on a moment in our colonial history. If Merdeka has any meaning it is this – our freedom to express our views. We have to remind ourselves and our leaders of this, and often, lest it be forgotten. As we celebrate the nation’s 58th anniversary of independence, I salute those brave Malaysians of Bersih 4. May you succeed!  Your courage humbles and inspires me.]

The Europeans entered the Malay world a few centuries after the arrival of Islam. First were the Portuguese in 1509, followed by the Dutch and finally the British.

      Unlike those early Muslims, the Europeans came not to trade, at least initially, but as explorers during their Age of Discovery. Only when they saw the abundance of the rich natural resources of the land did they go beyond mere exploring.

     With their primordial form of capitalism of the heartless and exploitative variety so well captured in Dickens’ many novels, it did not take long for their greed to manifest itself and be all-consuming. Like all capitalists, they were obsessed with domination, and that quickly expanded beyond mere trading. Colonial aspirations soon followed.

     Preoccupied with commerce, those ancient Portuguese were not interested in converting the natives though that was the penchant with old-world Catholics. Yes, there were priests hauled along to bless their mission, if nothing else. Consumed as they were with profits they could not be bothered with the salvation of the heathens. Either that or those Europeans were aware of the fate of the crusaders and knew better than to try and convert the already Muslim natives.

     The Portuguese did try, and suffered the consequences. Their brief stay in Malacca was characterized by frequent warfare with the natives there and elsewhere in the region. It spilled over even to faraway China where the Portuguese also received a far-from-warm welcome. The Spaniards had better luck in the Philippines.

     Capitalism was a far more powerful cause and master than spreading their Catholic faith, the crude and bumbling initial attempts by the Portuguese excepted. Those Europeans were not at all interested in the natives except when they interfered with trading. Then they were removed in the most brutal and efficacious way.

     Thus began European colonial rule, initially more as a scheme to increase trade and less at empire building. Colonization was an extension of their capitalistic and  exploitative culture.

     It is in the nature of humans to carry things to extremes, to test the outer limits. So it was with the capitalistic exploitation by the early Europeans. Slavery was very much an integral part of that, limited only much later when it shamed their Christian sensitivity. That dampened their activities somewhat, only to be resurrected under a new guise, the banner of the “White Man’s burden.”  In their fervent belief, Almighty God had imposed upon them the divine mission to salvage the lot of “Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child!” to quote Kipling’ s poetry.

     With their ethnocentric worldview and confident of their own sense of God-given superiority and entitlement, those early Europeans were not in the least interested in learning the ways and cultures of the natives or in any way interacting with them.

     As a consequence, the impact on and reaction from the Malay society to the arrival of the European traders could not be more different than with the earlier Muslim ones. While Malays readily welcomed the Muslim traders and embraced their faith, treating them more as enlighteners, in striking contrast our ancestors had nothing but contempt for the European colonizers. No doubt the feeling was mutual.

     A measure of contempt for those European traders-turned-colonizers, especially the Dutch, can be gauged by such expressions as a “Dutch deal.” Legend has it that an early Dutch trader was bargaining to buy a piece of land from a native. “Only the area covered by this piece of buffalo hide!” the foreigner pleaded.

     The trusting native readily agreed; after all he could do without such a small plot of land. Imagine his horror when the trader began slicing the hide into a long thin strip and then began laying it over the property and claiming everything within it! Not even the most crooked lawyer could have thought of such a sly scheme. In Malay culture such a deed was considered duplicitous if not outright fraudulent and a breach of faith. To the Dutch and perhaps also in a few other cultures, it was a shrewd if not brilliant move.

     If you visit Malacca today you can still see the distinctively red-colored museum and other buildings, remnants of the earlier Dutch settlement. It is said that the red color is due to the permanent stain of the betel nut juice those ancient natives contemptuously spitted on those buildings, a measure of their scorn for the Dutch.

     While those early Dutch traders obviously thought they had the better end of the deal – they did, at least in the short term – in the long-term, well, those red buildings are perpetual reminders of the natives’ contempt for them.

     There are others. The best is reflected in the expression, Bini Belanda (Dutch wife), referring to the long white fluffy bolster found in the bedrooms of Malays, only good to rest your legs on and the occasional cuddle when you are lonely, but not much else! Then there is Orang Belanda (Dutch people), the proboscis monkey with its distinctive large white nose.

     Both Islam and Christianity are known for their proselytizing zeal. The ancient Muslim traders by not focusing on converting Malays but only on being good Muslims in their trading activities and other dealings with the natives ended up being effective propagators of their faith. Meanwhile the Catholic Portuguese and Protestant Dutch, otherwise and elsewhere famed for their equally fanatical zeal at conversions, forceful if necessary, ended up merely being the butt of cruel Malay jokes.

     The credit should not all go to the Muslim traders or the blame entirely on those early European colonizers. The large and as yet unexamined question is why did Malays react warmly to and be so welcoming of the Muslim traders but became downright hostile to the later European traders? Here I attribute the differences in attitudes and behaviors between the Muslim and European traders to account for the varying receptions of the natives.

     Viewed from another perspective, what is it about Malay society which before the coming of Islam was so welcoming of foreign people and ideas while after adopting Islam became so hostile to the Portuguese, Dutch, and other foreigners.

     There is a price – and not a small one – to be paid later for that general hostility to foreigners and foreign ideas when Malaysia fell under a less malevolent colonial power. I will explore that in my analysis of our responses to British intervention in our affairs.

     This antipathy towards foreigners and foreign ideas still persists to this day. This insularity is a major handicap for us in facing up to the challenges of and seizing the opportunities afforded by this era of increasing globalization.

Next: Soft Spot For The British

This essay is based on the author’s latest book, Liberating The Malay Mind, ZI Publications Sdn Bhd, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia , 2013.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 September 2015, 5:01 am and is filed under
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If Najib could set the  example of walking the talk, Malaysia will be more united, successful and win greater respect and credibility in the international arena

If the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, could set the example of walking the talk, Malaysia will be more united, successful and win greater respect and credibility in the international arena.

The latest example of Najib not walking the talk can be found in his prepared speech for the 32nd Chinese Cultural Festival in Kuantan on Saturday night, which the Prime Minister did not deem it important enough to personally attend.

In his prepared speech, Najib rightly said that the multi-racial population of Malaysia is not an obstacle but a source of strength for the country.

He said: “This strength and unique feature must be defended so that our nation will continue to be successful in facing the globalised economy that is getting more complex and challenging”.

He reminded Malaysians that peace and harmony in the country did not come about naturally but through efforts to find a middle path in nation-building.

He said that there were still Malaysians who did not appreciate the harmony enjoyed by all and viewed it as something frivolous.

He said: “Social peace and racial harmony should be preserved so that we will not run out of this capital one day.

“We must make it ‘The Malaysian Way’, a heritage to be inherited by our future generations.”

Sadly and unfortunately, Najib not only furnished another example of  his failure as Prime Minister to “walk the talk”, but even more serious, showed himself as one of the Malaysians who does not appreciate the importance of the “capital” of social peace and racial harmony or that “peace and harmony in the country did not come naturally but through efforts to find a middle path in nation-building”.

Otherwise, Najib would not have countenanced the holding of a  Red-Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16, with the Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi not only giving the  “green light” for such a racially-charged rally, but his double standards in banning the innocuous  yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt calling for good governance and clean and fair elections while condoning the sale  of the racist and highly-provocative red “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” T-Shirt.

Is this the act of a government grounded in “moderation” as “the Middle Way”, fully conscious that diversity of  races, religions and customs is not an obstacle but a source of strength for the country and the need to uphold social peace and racial harmony which did not come about naturally?

As a result of the Red Shirts Sept. 16 rally, about  500 shopkeepers and 773 traders in Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur have decided to close their business for safety reasons to prevent untoward incidents.

Is this the hallmark of the Najib premiership which had not happened in the era of the previous six Prime Ministers, from Tunku, Razak, Hussein, Mahathir to Abdullah.

Was this because the previous five Prime Ministers had greater common sense or because the previous  non-UMNO Ministers would have been more outspoken in their objection to such an outrageous idea?

It is not too late for Najib to show leadership and statesmanship and order the cancellation of the Sept. 16 rally solely by Malays, whether called “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” or subsequently altered to the innocuous-sounding but still  racially-charged “Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu” – especially as Sept. 16 is the 52nd Malaysia Day which should be celebrated all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region to mark  the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago and not for any racial group or faction hijacking the name of the Malay race to hold a racially-charged and provocative rally which has led over 1,200 businesses in Petaling Street in KL to close shop on Malaysia Day!

Najib would have disappointed and  let down the leaders and peoples of Sabah and Sarawak if the Red Shirts Sept. 16 rally is allowed to carry on, for it runs counter to the spirit and concept of a Malaysia transcending race, religion or region.

Najib was the Prime Minister who finally recognised the importance of Sept.16 by declaring Malaysia Day  as a national holiday, but he would have destroyed all his services to make Malaysia Day a national holiday if the Red Shirt rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16 is held as it represents a retreat and regression to our ethnic identities instead of moving forward to embrace a larger and more inclusive Malaysian identity and consciousness.

On Wednesday on Sept. 16, we must decide whether 58 years after Merdeka and 52 years after Malaysia, all Malaysians, including Najib, are prepared to be Malaysians and not just Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans. Let Najib be the first to answer.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 September 2015, 11:44 am and is filed under
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Is UMNO through its Kota Baru division, spearheading an inter-cultural and inter-religious fusion, with Kota Baru division enacting Taoist rites of effigy-burning and setting up of an altar, complete with joss sticks and fruit offerings

The first thought that came to me when I saw the Kota Baru UMNO Division video on Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan and me was whether UMNO, through its Kota Baru division, is spearheading an inter-cultural and inter-religious “fusion” with Kota Baru Division enacting the Toaist rites of effigy-burning and setting up of an altar, complete with joss sticks and fruit offerings.

The second thought was the actual role of  the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in this video episode  as his  former political secretary and Kota Baru UMNO division chief, Fatmi Che Salleh, was the key character in this “inter-cultural and inter-religious fusion”.

Probably I should feel flattered as the UMNO leaders and propagandists are attributing to me super-human powers, not only able to lead UMNO through Kota Baru UMNO Division leaders to spearhead an inter-religious “fusion” with Kota Baru UMNO leaders participating actively in the last day of the Month of the Hungry Ghosts, but also to “mastermind” the Bersih 4 overnight rally on August 29 and 30 although I had nothing to do with it.

But this is not the first time I am supposed to have super-human powers, as 46 years ago, I was alleged to be capable of leading Opposition processions through the streets of Kuala Lumpur hurling anti-Malay insults, causing the May 13, 1969 riots although I was never in Kuala Lumpur in the days after the May 10,1969 polling day and was in Kota Kinabalu on May 13, 1969 – and the government even spent millions of ringgit to fund a film to “celebrate” my super-human powers in 1969.

The third thought that came to me was the cross purposes of the different UMNO players in the post-Bersih 4 scenario.

The  protest of innocence by the UMNO Secretary-General and Minister of Federal Territories, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today that the Red Shirt Sept. 16 rally in Kuala Lumpur was not on “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” was shot down by the Kota Baru video, which clearly admitted that the Red-Shirt Sept. 11 rally was to “uphold the dignity of Malays”.

The Prime Minister today announced that Putrajaya will inject RM20 billion into state equity investment firm ValueCap to shore up the stock market in a bid to boost confidence in a country reeling from a political scandal.

But the RM20 billion effort to restore confidence was destroyed in a single stroke by the announcement on the same day that the authorities have legalised the Red Shirt rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16.

Cry, my Beloved Country!

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 September 2015, 3:59 pm and is filed under
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Malay Pride Rally Stokes Race Politics in Malaysia

By Mong Palatino

The Diplomat

September 11, 2015

Another troubling sign that the ‘race card’ is being exploited in the country’s politics.

More than 250 licensed non-government organizations in Malaysia are planning to mobilize 30,000 people on September 16 to protect and promote Maruah Melayu (Malay dignity). The event also aims to show support for the beleaguered leadership of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is being implicated in a corruption scandal.

The event was clearly organized to counter the Bersih (which means ‘clean’ in Malay) protest last August 29 and 30, which gathered more than 100,000 people in Kuala Lumpur. Some leaders of the Malay Pride Rally have ridiculed Bersih as a Chinese conspiracy. To prevent the Chinese protesters from undermining the government, they urged their fellow Malays to join the September 16 gathering and to wear red in order to oppose the yellow color of Bersih.

This framing of the issue is rejected by many who insist that it is a distortion of the real politics of Bersih. While it is true that Chinese protesters were present during the Bersih protest, they were joined by Malays and other citizens who believe that Najib must resign and that a clean election is needed to promote good governance in the country. Last month’s Bersih, and the three previous Bersih protests, didn’t pit the Chinese versus the Malays, although some allies of the government wanted the public to believe that racial sentiments are undermining the country’s stability.

From the beginning, the issue was about corruption and abuse of power by the ruling coalition, which has been in power since the 1950s, yet leaders of the Malay Pride Rally continue to speak about Chinese machinations.

Even a lawmaker from the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has warned against using the race issue in local politics.

“It is their right (to hold a rally) but we must not get into the mindset that Malaysia is only for one race. This will eventually cause tensions among the races,” said PAS lawmaker Mahfuz Omar.

This point was echoed by several influential Muslim organizations, which issued a statement against the planned demonstration.

“We do not redeem our honor and dignity by blaming other races whilst helping an embattled political elite cling to power,” the statement read.

Marina Mahathir, a human rights activist and daughter of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, is not convinced that the rally is worth supporting: “I have a problem trying to figure out what the so-called Red Shirts stand for. They seem to want to protest for the sake of protesting against protesters, specifically Bersih protesters.”

Mahathir was one of those who joined Bersih, though he claimed he was only supporting the call for Najib’s removal.

Meanwhile, some members of the administration coalition Umno have signified their intention to join the activity. Permatang Pauh Umno chief Zaidi Mohd Said clarified that the event is simply a show of unity: “This is actually a gathering to support the government. It is not racist.”

Though Najib arguably stands to benefit from the so-called Malay Pride gathering, the government has distanced itself from the rally and the police has refused to give a permit to the organizers.

Whether or not the rally ends up drawing more crowds than Bersih, it highlights a dangerous turn for Malaysian politics where the race card is increasingly being exploited by some groups and politicians to further their divisive political agenda.

September 16 coincides with Malaysia Day, which commemorates the formation of Malaysia in 1963. And perhaps some may find it proper to celebrate Malay pride. But the issue is not if the occasion should be celebrated, but how it is done. For scholars like Dr. Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi, Malaysians have a choice: they can wear the neutral color white to represent Muslims “who believe in humility and love of the brotherhood of man (in) contrast against the zealotry, bigotry and madness of the Red Shirt.”

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 September 2015, 6:58 am and is filed under
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Malaysia Hosts Anti-Corruption Conference as Government Faces Its Own Corruption Scandal

By Ghazala Irshad

Huffington Post

09/11/2015

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — The irony that leaders of the country hosting an international gathering against corruption are themselves embroiled in an embezzlement scandal provided unprecedented drama for 30 million Malaysians and a rare live case study for more than 1,000 anti-corruption conference delegates who visited Malaysia last week from around the world.

Leaked documents implicating Prime Minister Najib Razak in the embezzlement of $700 million from a state development fund prompted protesters nationwide to don yellow and call for his resignation, ahead of the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) last week.

The scandal was the proverbial elephant in the room on the opening day of the IACC hosted by Malaysia on September 2. Then Jose Ugaz, president of global corruption watchdog group Transparency International, boldly addressed it head-on.

In a fiery speech introducing the new keynote speaker, the Malaysian minister of governance and integrity — who replaced Razak at the last minute — Ugaz clearly outlined all of Razak’s ethical violations and demanded specific answers from an independent probe.

“There are unanswered questions about the $700 million that made its way into the Prime Minister’s personal bank account,” Ugaz said, as the conference hall thundered with applause and cheers.

“In recent weeks we have seen the attorney general who was critical of the government suddenly replaced, the [state development fund] task force suspended, investigators at the Anti-Corruption Commission arrested or transferred, and newspapers suspended for reporting on the matter,” Ugaz continued.

“These are not the actions of a government that is fighting corruption. Malaysia is facing a corruption crisis.”

Ugaz was a hard act to follow for Datuk Paul Low, the minister who spoke in place of the prime minister. Low is also the former president of Transparency International’s Malaysia chapter. Low was visibly humbled as he took the podium from Ugaz, and his remarks were a stark contrast.

“I welcome you all to this conference, and I hope you all will welcome me,” Low began nervously. “The prime minister did not write my speech for me. I am not here to defend the prime minister, or justify the government’s actions.”

Minister Low sought to detract from the scandal by downplaying corruption and puzzlingly, denying the economic woes at the root of the public’s grievances.

“There are no poor people in Malaysia and unemployment is less than 3 percent. The World Bank ranks Malaysia sixth for ease of doing business,” Low said.

“That’s not the sign of a country in economic trouble. Yes, corruption is an issue, but it doesn’t affect Malaysia’s competitiveness.”

Malaysia has been heavily focused on achieving “developed nation” status economically, but without factoring in government transparency or human rights like freedom of speech.

Accusations of gerrymandering, voter fraud, and misappropriation have long plagued the prime minister’s office, but in July, Razak himself was directly implicated in corruption when a Wall Street Journal investigation in July revealed that $700 million were funneled into his personal bank accounts from the 1Malaysia Development Berhand (1MDB) fund ahead of a general election in 2013.

Razak has served as chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board since he established it in 2009 to revitalize Malaysia’s economy, only to have overseen the fund accumulate $11 billion in debt.

Razak initially fully refuted the Journal’s report and threatened to sue the newspaper for libel, but has since admitted to the transfers, calling them “political donations” from unnamed donors from the United Arab Emirates. The Journal released flowcharts and bank documents showing how the funds were funneled to Razak’s account and were used to help his 2013 campaign.

In yet another irony in an earlier session at the conference, Minister Low chided the whistleblower for leaking documents to the press instead of going to the authorities or confronting Razak so that he could have a chance to defend himself.

“You must whistleblow to the appropriate authority [within the government]. Because once you leak, the accused can’t defend themselves,” Low said. “Integrity is not just about fighting bribery, but also making sure you don’t accuse anybody unnecessarily.”

Razak is now being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), although the probe appears to have been compromised and stalled since he fired or reassigned several of the investigators, along with any dissenting voices in his cabinet.

Amid the scandal, the Malaysian ringgit’s value declined sharply, exacerbating the public’s frustration over the country’s stagnant economy, and emboldening an electoral reform movement led by The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections called Bersih, meaning “clean” in Malay.

Two days before Malaysia was set to mark its 58th year of independence, or “Merdeka” in Malay, tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets across the country wearing yellow shirts, despite a government order declaring that besides the protest itself, the color yellow and the word Bersih were also illegal.

The festival-like atmosphere featured protesters singing, playing music, offering each other free nasi lemak and fried bee hoon, and carrying stuffed yellow characters from the animated film “Minions.”

While some wore Guy Fawkes masks symbolizing anarchy and brought saline in anticipation of teargas, all wore yellow shirts stating explicit demands: clean elections, a transparent government, a stronger economy, the right to protest and the prime minister’s resignation.

“I’m an average citizen who wants to improve my financial situation with time just like our government wants for itself,” said 52 year-old Terence, a property developer who said he has not seen his salary change in 15 years, while the cost of living has gone up to the point that he has had to take an extra job. “I work so hard, but I have no savings.”

The two-day protest remained surprisingly peaceful, considering the police brutality, arrests, and repression characteristic of previous Bersih protests in 2011 and 2012 and threats of a crackdown ahead of last weekend.

Police have brought in several Bersih activists for questioning this week.

At the anti-corruption conference, Minister Low praised the police for protecting demonstrators at the Bersih protests despite the government orders deeming them illegal because their purpose was not acceptable.

“Our government gives you the freedom to protest, but what is the purpose? If you’re against corruption or injustice, no problem. But you cannot call for the PM to resign mid-term,” said Low, who introduced himself at the conference as an “apolitical anti-corruption activist.”

“So, it [Bersih] is not just a rally against corruption, but a mini-Arab Spring,” Low went on. “So of course the government cannot allow this.”

It’s unlikely the nascent protest movement in Malaysia will overthrow the government anytime soon.

“I know change won’t come overnight, so this rally was more about demonstrating Malaysian unity in the fight for justice,” said 28 year-old Syawzina, a graduate student of science. “It’s going to be a long road and the protest movement will need to stick together, because the political opposition is too divided.”

But Minister Low has a different suggestion for protesters. “If you don’t like the government, you have the right to express this at the ballot box with your vote at the next election.”

Therein lies the problem, says the Bersih coalition, which was formed three years before Razak assumed office. The group’s full name in Malay translates to “The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections,” and its main demand has always been for electoral reform.

Last year, a Harvard University and University of Sydney study called The Electorial Integrity Project ranked Malaysia as 114th for election fairness and said that it had the worst electoral laws and district boundaries of 127 countries surveyed. Bersih says this gerrymandering has given an unfair advantage to the ruling UMNO party since 1957.

Jose Ugaz, president of Transparency International, ended his speech at the conference with both a general warning to the corrupt, and a direct reference to the Bersih protests against Prime Minister Razak: “Hundreds of thousands of people are sending a message to the corrupt: Your days of impunity are numbered.”

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 September 2015, 7:13 am and is filed under
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Malaysia’s troubles just beginning

Andrew Harding, NUS

East Asia Forum

11 September 2015

As it tussles with multiple crises of political legitimacy and governance, Malaysia has reached a decisive point in its more than half-century history as an independent nation. What started as a shocking but not exceptional scandal has turned into a political crisis of unprecedented proportions. This was underlined by the Bersih 4 protests on 29–30 August in Kuala Lumpur, attended by an estimated 250,000 yellow-T-shirted Malaysians.

First, it was discovered that a development agency, 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), set up by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in 2009, was in debt to the tune of RM42 billion (US$9.6 billion). Where, it was asked, did this vast sum of money go? What mismanagement or corrupt practices led to such a meltdown?

Then it was reported that the sum of RM2.6 billion (US$700 million) had shown up in Najib’s personal bank account. It has been admitted— in instalments —that this money was indeed placed in that account, but it is claimed to have been ‘donated’ from Middle Eastern sources as recognition of Malaysia’s role in fighting ISIS and maintaining Sunni Islam. Given the timing (just before Malaysia’s general election in 2013) and Najib’s claim that the funds were used for party political purposes, the money was clearly intended and used to ensure victory for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, led by Najib’s UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) party.

Najib claims that nothing about this was illegal, given the current lack of statutory control over campaign spending, maintaining that he held the funds in trust for his party. But since BN won the election with a clear minority of votes, yet a majority of the seats in parliament, the legitimacy of the result was already in serious question even before the donation scandal came to light.

It gets worse. Najib’s response to attempts to get to the bottom of these matters has raised further questions about accountability and governance in Malaysia under BN rule. At first he was reluctant to give any explanation. Ultimately, denials followed by evasive answers raised many further questions.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in parliament set about an investigation. The BN government itself set up a ‘task force’ to find out what happened. The task force included the attorney-general’s office, the central bank, the anti-corruption agency (MACC) and the police. Both processes have been interfered with in a highly suspicious way. Four members of the PAC were abruptly transferred into the cabinet in a reshuffle. Two senior MACC officers were transferred to the prime minister’s office, only to be transferred out again after questions were raised. The attorney-general himself was equally abruptly replaced — ‘for health reasons’ — when a report indicated that criminal charges against Najib had been drawn up (by whom is not clear).

These events dismayed the public and rocked the government. The reshuffle involved the sacking of four ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who had called for accountability in respect of 1MDB. Veteran former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad began a political assault on Najib, accusing him of corruption and lack of leadership. There is evidence now of a serious split in UMNO over Najib’s leadership. At this juncture, the official agencies designed to ensure good governance have not been allowed to do their job without political interference. Even the task force supposedly investigating the scandals has been replaced with another multi-agency force that is not empowered to investigate 1MDB.

The question now is: how can Malaysia’s constitutional system move matters towards a resolution in terms of legal and political accountability?

Najib holds the levers of power both in government and within the UMNO party. Party elections have been postponed. The prime minister owes his office, under Westminster conventions set out in Malaysia’s constitution, to his parliamentary majority and he could therefore, in principle, be subjected to a no-confidence motion. This would require sufficient dissent in UMNO and BN to get 24 of their members to vote with the opposition parties. The response of one opposition party (the Islamic party) remains uncertain, and even 24 may not be enough.

The main problem with all of these potential methods of levering Najib out of power is that there is no obvious successor. For now Mahathir undermines Najib, and Muhyiddin is a focus for UMNO dissidents. UMNO division heads apparently support Najib, but in UMNO what passes for personal allegiance is no more than adherence to a political personality for as long as he can deliver. Najib’s support is therefore potentially fragile. Meanwhile, with its former leader Anwar Ibrahim languishing in jail convicted of sodomy, the opposition too is in disarray and in the process of reconstruction.

Malaysia has thus entered uncharted waters. Despite internal crises over the years, UMNO has historically been able to deliver election wins and legitimacy in government. That record is now in doubt. The economy is in free fall, the ringgit plunging and investors fleeing. Bersih 4 demanded Najib step aside and free and fair elections be held. Free and fair elections cannot be held under the current Malaysian Election Commission’s supervision: constituency boundaries are gerrymandered in such a way as to make an opposition victory almost impossible. There is no indication that the electoral system will be set right before the next election, due by March 2018.

Something, sooner or later, has to give. The survival of Malaysia (not just Najib) politically and even economically is at stake. The only real hope, as one wag put it, is that, when the centre cannot hold and things fall apart, they might just, somehow, land in the right place. The only safe prediction is that this sorry tale of corruption and misrule is by no means over. Perhaps, indeed, it has only just begun.

Andrew Harding is professor of law and director of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS).

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 September 2015, 7:22 am and is filed under
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UMNO leaders should not count chicken before they are hatched expecting UMNO/BN to replicate Singapore  PAP’s rebound and resounding election  victory in 14GE in Malaysia

Strangely enough, many UMNO leaders are celebrating Singapore PAP’s general election results last Friday on 11th September 2015 as if the UMNO/Barisan Nasional would be able to replicate Singapore PAP’s rebound and resounding general election victory in the 14th General Election in 26 – 32 months’ time.

In Singapore PAP’s resounding victory, the Singapore ruling party scored 69.9% of the popular vote, up from the record low of 60.1% in the previous general election, and won 83 of 89 parliamentary seats.

It came within a hair’s breadth of taking five more seats in one hotly contested district where a recount was held.

Last Friday’s mandate is Lee Hsien Loong’s strongest since 2001.

What of Malaysia?

In an instant response, the Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak said the landslide victory by the ruling party in Singapore signified that the “noisy minority” does not necessarily reflect public sentiment.

He said this is also true for Malaysia, which last month saw hundreds of thousands of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender, converging in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu to express their united and common demand for good governance and clean, free, fair elections.

Salleh blogged:

“There may be thousands marching and screaming and demonstrating its displeasure.

“But there may be an even larger group that has no issues and do not share the views of this minority group of noisy protesters.

“Undeniably, in Malaysia as well, the noisy minority dominates and monopolises the internet and the social media.

“However, just like what happened in Singapore, the silent majority got turned off with what the noisy minority was saying on the internet and in the social media.”

He added the “overkill” by the “noisy minority” had worked in favour of the government, and that politicians do not fear the “noisy minority” as it is the “silent majority” that they are worried about when they make their decision at the polls.

Salleh suffers from a serious blind spot, as he does not realize that the “silent majority” in Malaysia are in full agreement with what he ridicules as the “noisy minority” on the social media in wanting political change in Malaysia so that a new Malaysia can be created where there is an end to rampant corruption,  mega-scandals, government incompetence and inefficiency; restoration of confidence in the integrity, independence and professionalism of  Malaysia’s key national institutions; economic competitiveness and educational excellence; inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and harmony, and increasingly united Malaysian nation where Sabah and Sarawak do not feel neglected and underdeveloped after more than half a century of the formation of Malaysian federation.

UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders should not count chicken before they are hatched, expecting UMNO/BN to rebound like Singapore’s PAP as to secure a resounding victory in the 14th General Election in 26 to 32 months’ time.

In fact, all the prognonis  are pointing to the contrary as far as Malaysia’s 14GE is concerned.

UMNO/BN Ministers seem to continue to live in a dreamworld of their own, even failing to grasp that the Najib government is a minority government, winning only 47% of the popular vote in the 2013 general election.

In fact, the UMNO/BN percentage of popular vote had been on the downward decline from the 2008 to 2013 general elections.

In 2008 general election, the UMNO/BN coalition won 51.4% or some 4.08 million votes but in the 2013 general election, the UMNO/BN popular vote had dropped to 47.4% or some 5.2 million votes – making Najib the first minority Prime Minister in the nation’s history.

Last Friday, Singapore PAP increased its popular vote by some 10% in the last two general elections from 60.1% to 69.9%.

What of UMNO/BN, which had dropped 4% of the popular vote in the last two general elections from 51.4% to 47.4%?

What are the chances of UMNO/BN coalition rebounding like Singapore’s PAP to scale back 10% of the popular vote or just to become a majority party winning at least 50% of the popular vote?

I do not think the UMNO/BN coalition under the premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak stands much chance of stopping the downward decline of the UMNO/BN popular vote, as it stands a likelihood of even losing the Federal government until and unless Najib is prepared to address three issues by coming completely clean and honest: the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal, the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal banking accounts and a full investigation into the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case to establish the motive of the gruesome killing and whether and who was the mastermind.

There does not seem to be inkling that Najib is prepared to be open, transparent and accountable on these three fatal issues for UMNO/BN coalition.

In which case, UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders should stop building castles in the air.

[Speech (2) at the launching of the new Chinese edition of “Time Bombs in Malaysia” in Muar on Sunday, 13th September 2015 at 3 pm]

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 September 2015, 8:56 am and is filed under
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