Greatest naivety for anyone to think that  there are those among  the 45 signatories of the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia  who believed that  the day after signing the Declaration, Najib would be removed as Prime Minister

It is the greatest naivety for anyone to think that  there are those among the 45 signatories of the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia  who believed that the day after the signing of the 304 Declaration on March 4, 2016 that Datuk Seri Najib Razak would be removed as Prime Minister.

The road to  fundamental political changes in Malaysia is a long and arduous one, with the Citizen’s Declaration on March 4 only the first step.

Malaysia is in uncharted political waters and we can only take the political tests and challenges we have assumed with the signing and proclamation of the Citizen’s Declaration on March 4 one step at a time, fully putting national interests above all racial, religious, regional, party and individual interests.

As stated in the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia, the signatories are fully aware that leadership change must be accompanied by democratic and institutional changes or the country would be back to square one.

In the sixth decade of nationhood, Malaysia is very sick in all sectors of human endeavour, whether in politics, economics, education,  human rights, environment, good governance,  nation building or even in the field of sports – which is why the film “Ola Bola” evoked so much  mixed national feelings.

In fact, I had been calling for a post-BN, post-PR “Save Malaysia” grand coalition (when there was still a Pakatan Rakyat) for the past year, urging  on Malaysians to  think the unthinkable and move beyond the present political scenario.

This  post-BN, post-PR “Save Malaysia” grand coalition was  not  to be a copy of the “UG” (Unity Government between UMNO and PAS to protect Malay unity) Government which had been proposed on-and-off since the 2008 General Elections but a national consensus not exclusive to  any one race or religion but fully inclusive of all Malaysian races, religions and regions, in other words, a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-regional new Malaysian coalition  comprising Muslims and non-Muslims, Malays and non-Malays, and Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah.

I spelt out this call for a Save Malaysia National Coalition when I spoke to Malaysian students in Alexandria in April last year  when DAP MPs made a fact-finding visit to Jordan and Egypt, and I stand by what I had proposed.

The “Save Malaysia” Grand Coalition must not be an opportunistic get-together but must be based on a programme of principles and the national interests.

Similarly, the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia must not be an opportunistic document but must be the forerunner of a programme for democratic and institutional reforms to make Malaysia great again where all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics could again feel proud to be a Malaysian citizen.

When I was accused of being opportunistic, unprincipled, selling out  the DAP and the national interests in signing the Citizen’s Declaration for Save Malaysia, I am reminded of my first ISA detention  in 1969 when in the first few days of being sent to the Muar Detention Centre, I watched the film “Soul of Nation” – 国魂 – and the immortal words of Wen Tiangzang:

『人生自古誰無死，留取丹心照汗青』—None since the advent of time have escaped death, may my loyalty forever illuminate the annals of history.

I had seen this film before during my school days in the fifties, but it was in Muar Detention Centre when I was a ISA detainee that it made the greatest impression on me – on the primacy of patriotism and loyalty to the nation and the great principles and ideals for which the DAP was formed to achieve in 1966.

I am prepared to work with any Malaysian to Save Malaysia, not only Mahathir and Muhyiddin, but even with Najib if the Prime Minister is prepared to admit that he had led the country on a wrong tangent and that Malaysia must be saved with far-reaching democratic and institutional reforms.

I believe that the overwhelming majority of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, race or politics, love this country and can subordinate  self-interest  to national interests and support a Save Malaysia campaign to stop the country hurtling down the slippery slope towards a failed and a rogue state.

I am glad that the people of Sungai Patani have given me full endorsement for taking a strong stand to “Save Malaysia”, even to work with Mahathir and Muhyiddin and all like-minded political and civil society leaders who could agree with the two major thrusts in the Citizen’s Declaration – the removal of Najib as Prime Minister and far-reaching democratic and institutional reforms.

(Speech  at the “Mana RM2.6 billion” dialogue in Sungai Patani on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 12 noon)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 March 2016, 1:53 pm and is filed under
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Parliament Speaker Pandikar should disclose how many oral questions, particularly on Najib’s twin mega scandals, had been rejected for the current five-week Parliament

Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Mulia Amin has yet to explain why there are such a large number of oral questions by Members of Parliament which had been rejected by him in the current five-week Parliament meeting on the ground of violation of Standing Orders, especially on the vexing subject of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM55 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin mega scandals.

From random reports, it would appear that the current meeting of Parliament has probably set a new record in the 57-year history of the Malaysian Parliament in the number of oral questions rejected by the Speaker – a dubious record which no Parliament Speaker has reason to feel proud, especially one who is talking the “parliamentary reform” language.

Pandikar should make public the full list of oral questions which had been rejected by him for the current five-week Parliament meeting, for scrutiny not only by MPs but the Malaysian public about the rationale and justification for the rejection of these parliamentary oral questions.

In fact, let Pandikar make public the total number and full list of oral questions by MPs from both sides of the House which had been rejected by the Speaker for every Parliamentary meeting since the May 5, 2013 General Election.

Although Dewan Rakyat has only met for the first of the five-week parliamentary meeting, there can be no dispute that the dominant issues continue to be Najib’s twin mega scandals, although the Prime Minister wants to create the illusion that they are no more issues for the people and country, as they had been resolved completely.

This is the greatest hallucination in the history of Malaysian governance since Merdeka in 1957, for Najib’s twin mega scandals not only continue to haunt and hound the Prime Minister and his Ministers, whether in Parliament or outside, the twin mega scandals continue to create adverse news for the country in terms of the Malaysian Government’s commitment to accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance in the international media.

The earlier the government ceases its attempt to spread illusion and hallucination that Najib’s twin mega scandals have ceased to be issues, and get down to the serious work of giving full answer and accountability to the thousand-and-one questions about the twin mega scandals, the better it is for the government and the nation.

I cannot attend the five-week parliamentary sittings from March 7 to April 7 as I am suspended for six months for wanting to get to the bottom of Najib’s twin mega scandals.

I will spend the next few weeks visiting Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis, Terengganu and Pahang in my “Mana RM2.6 billion?” national tour to get feedback from the people on the twin mega scandals – with the objective of visiting over 100 parliamentary constituencies when Dewan Rakyat adjourns on April 7.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 March 2016, 4:28 am and is filed under
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Paul Low must be the only Minister responsible for integrity in the world who was neither moved nor concerned about revelations of mega money politics and corruption like Mukhriz’  and Idris Haron’s disclosures of RM1.5 billion  or more spent in 13GE

Paul Low Seng Kuan must be the only Minister in the world responsible for integrity who is neither moved nor concerned about revelations of mega money politics and corruption like former Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir’s disclosure of RM1.5 billion spent  by Barisan Nasional – Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Idris Harun said its more than RM1.5 billion –  in the 13th General Election.

It is  rather amusing,  even comical but most outrageous  that Paul Low had  protested that he was “definitely” not sleeping on the job, when evidence had just surfaced publicly that he was doing exactly that – “sleeping” on the job.

Can Paul Low explain what he had done as Minister  in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of integrity and good governance to Mukhriz’ shocking disclosure when speaking to UMNO grassroots members at a function in Kelantan on Monday that Najib had revealed that BN spent RM1.5 billion for the 13th General Election in a meeting with UMNO liaison chiefs?

Mukhriz has recounted that he was told about this after quizzing Najib in a meeting of the Prime Minister with UMNO liaison chiefs about the RM2.6 billion that was deposited into the latter’s personal bank accounts, which the prime minister stated was a political donation from the Middle East.

Mukhriz questioned how Najib could return RM2.03 billion of the RM2.6 billion if RM1.5 billion was spent on the election.

“What I find strange and curious about the RM2.6 billion which he claimed was an Arab donation is, if having spent RM1.5 billion in the 13th general election, only RM1.1 billion is left.

“How can he return RM2.03 billion to the Arabs? How did the (remainder of) RM1.1 billion become RM2 billion?

“I think even children can understand that the figures don’t add up.”

Mukhriz said he was shocked and questioned how BN could perform even worse than the previous general election despite spending such a huge sum.

If Paul Low was not “sleeping” on his job as the Minister in charge of integrity and good governance, he should be the most concerned and outraged person in the whole country that there was such colossal money politics and corruption in Malaysia, where Barisan Nasional outspent legal limits for election expenditures for all 222 parliamentary candidates by at least 34 times.

As the maximum ceiling for electoral expenditure by a parliamentary candidate is RM200,000,   the total  expenses the 222 BN parliamentary candidates from BN are allowed to spend by law came  to RM44 million – while Najib’s RM1.5 billion election expenditure  is over 34 times this  legal sum!

The revelation by the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Idris Haron is even more alarming and shocking.

He said that BN spent more than RM1.5 billion for the 13th General Election, but the amount did not necessarily come from Najib’s RM2.6 billion “political” donation.

Can Paul Low explain what he has done, as a Minister not “sleeping on his job”, when such incontrovertible evidence of astronomical money politics and corruption in the 13th General Election have surfaced this week?

Did he kick up a row at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting expressing his disappointment if not his disgust at such money politics and corruption in the 13th General Election?

Does he know how much was in fact spent by BN in the entire 13GE campaign?

Has he initiated action to have a full investigation carried out to ascertain whether the Malacca Chief Minister was right that more than RM1.5 billion was spent by BN in the 13GE – if so, was  it RM2 billion, RM2.5 billion or RM3 billion –  where all these  astronomical sums of money came from and where they had gone to?

Even I, despite my 50 years in politics, would want to know how Barisan Nasional could perform so poorly  when they spent money like water in the 13th General Election?

I am sure even UMNO/BN leaders are wondering whether billions of ringgit had been spent in the 13th general election as BN had never spent that kind of money in previous general elections and could still win two-third majorities in Parliament until the 2008 general election.

The former longest-serving Prime Minister for 22 years leading the BN into five general elections, Tun Mahathir,  is on public record as stating that winning elections does not require billions of ringgit.

If Paul Low is not sleeping on his job, let him tell us what is being done with regard to the  disclosures not only by the former Kedah Mentri Besar but also by the incumbent Malacca Chief Minister about billions of ringgit spent by BN in the 13th General Election.

In other countries, such  shocking revelations by the former Kedah Mentri Besar and the Malacca Chief Minister would have sparked off a national crisis and  shaken Parliament to its very  roots, but in Malaysia, there is apathy where  even the Minister specifically in charge of integrity and good governance is unconcerned and not bothered.

This provides further  proof of the relevance of the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia which 45 political and civil society leaders, including former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir and former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin and several former Cabinet Ministers, signed in Kuala Lumpur last Friday – the need not only for the removal of Najib as Prime Minister but for far-reaching democratic and institutional reforms to bring an end to such rampant corruption and money politics in Malaysia.

(Speech at the “Mana RM2.6 billion?” dialogue in Kok Lanas, Kelantan on Friday, 11th March 2016 at 12 noon)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 March 2016, 6:45 am and is filed under
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Sanusi: Instead of Kit Siang, Umno should be wary of Jho Low

Malaysiakini

11 March 2016

Umno veteran Sanusi Junid has hit out at some in Umno for demonising DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, arguing instead that the person who is more dangerous to Umno and the country is billionaire Low Taek Jho, popularly known as Jho Low.

Jho Low has been linked to the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion scandals which are threatening to tear Umno apart.

“The Chinese that we should abhor, is Chinese like that Jho Low… and the scoundrels that are his friends, those are the ones we should hate, but that is the person which is seen as a good person (by Umno).

“If he is asked to go before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), he wants that his testimony be kept secret. Cannot be revealed to the people, because it might show his bad side,” he lamented in an exclusive interview with Blogger Din Turtle.

Sanusi sarcastically pointed out that despite being opposed to Umno for many years, Lim has not done Umno and the people any harm, hinting that Jho Low has perhaps had a hand in worse things.

“The people up top shouldn’t lie to the people in the villages and scare them to fear this Chinese (Lim). Is Kit Siang that great? I never see him as great. I am truly confused how an entire party of Malays is scared of one Chinese man.

“This Chinese man (Lim) who was in the opposition for dozens of years… and has never sat in the government. He never gave us any trouble. Never asked us to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST). He never proposed in Parliament not to pay debts. He never asked Parliament to do the unreasonable,” argued Sanusi.

The former minister also snidely added that perhaps the first requirement for someone to be PM, is an undertaking that if they want to borrow state funds they must discuss with the cabinet first.

“Don’t be secretive. We cannot hide things about the rakyat’s money. It must be done in the open, there must be consultations…  If there are enquiries from the public, we cannot hire others to answer for us, we must answer ourselves,” he stressed.

He also warned that what came out from the mouths of those that speak up for the PM should be scrutinised as some may have ulterior motives.

“If someone were to speak, we must verify their background, Sometimes those that speak do so because of their salary, because of their post, sometimes because they profit from speaking like they did…,” he said.

He questioned the sincerity of those who were rewarded to say good things and noted that if a person is truly seen as having done a lot of good to the party, then people would praise them without need of reward.

Sanusi added that love for the party does not mean singing praises all the time, but also in pointing out when there are problems afoot.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 March 2016, 4:41 am and is filed under
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Semiling Challenge to Najib to immediately hold 14th General Election to ascertain whether the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia represent the majority view of Malaysians

I have just read the news that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed in Kuching that the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia signed by 45 political and civil society leaders last Friday does not represent the majority view of Malaysians.

He said that the Declaration was mooted only to promote the agenda of a select few.

Najib cannot be more wrong which shows how serious is his problem of being  consistently cut off from the ground.

Although there are some voices of qualification and reservation among Malaysians as to whether the Declaration could lead to Najib’s removal as Prime Minister as well as the fate of democratic and institutional reforms to ensure that a second Najib with  world infamous mega financial scandals cannot appear again  in Malaysia, there is no doubt that the  Declaration has the support and endorsement of the majority of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region even politics.

Najib seems to have forgotten that he is the first minority Prime Minister who does not have majority support of the popular vote in Malaysia.

In the 13th General Election on May 5, 2013, Najib lost the popular vote securing only 47% of the support of the voters.

Pakatan Rakyat at the time won 53% of the popular vote, and if the election system is democratic, fair and just, the Prime Minister after the 13th General Election in May 2013 would have been Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and not Najib.

There is no doubt that since the last 13GE, Najib’s popularity rating has further nose-dived, which is why a recent opinion poll had found that Najib’s support among Malay voters had fallen to as low as 31%.

Najib’s boast that he has majority support of Malaysians is therefore baseless and flies against the face of political realities in the country.

If Najib claims that the Citizen’s Declaration does not represent the majority view of Malaysians, I want to issue a Semiling Challenge to Najib – to  immediately hold 14th General Election to ascertain whether the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia represent the majority view of Malaysians.

The Merbok parliamentary constituncy is the 87th parliamentary constituency that I am visiting after my six-month suspension from Parliament, after visit to five parliamentary constituencies in Kelantan – Kok Lanas, Machang, Tanah Merah, Tumpat and Kota Bahru – and to Sungai Patani parliamentary constituency in Kedah just now.

I should have no problem in visiting more than half  of the 222 Parliamentary constituencies in Malaysia  to feel the pulse of the people not only on Najib’s twin mega scandals, to highlight the question “Mana RM2.6 billion?”, but also the public mood on how to Save Malaysia in the face  an advanced serious national illness.

(Speech at the “Mana RM2.6 bllion?” dialogue in Semiling, Merbok on Saturday, 12th March 2016 at 2.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 12 March 2016, 3:41 pm and is filed under
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Arrest of Australian journalists latest climax of Najib’s twin mega scandals haunting and hounding Malaysia to a new international level

Malaysia is today a greater news in the world than in the country, for three reasons:

Firstly, there is media control and censorship in the country.

Secondly, the arrest of two Australian journalists from ABC Four Corners programme for “aggressively” posing questions to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Kuching.

Thirdly, catapulting Sarawak general elections into international news even before the dissolution of the Sarawak State Assemby and the holding of Sarawak state general elections, as Najib was in Kuching to carry out pre-dissolution general election campaign.

I have just read the report that the Attorney-General’s Chambers is considering action against the two  ABC News journalists , reporter Linton Besser and camera operator Louis Eroglu, who were in Malaysia to investigate a local corruption scandal and who have had their passports seized despite being released after questioning yesterday.

They were previously detained for allegedly approaching  the Prime Minister aggressively.

I am horrified by the very clumsy and ham-fisted manner in handling the case of the ABC Four Corners journalists.

Is there no better way of handling this matter without elevating  it into an international sensation?

The root cause of this unnecessary international scaandal for Malaysia is not so much the Australian journalists breaching the Prime Minister’s so-called “security line”, which is a very weak excuse, but Najib’s  incorrigible refusal to come clean and full to answer the multiplying questions about Najib’s twin mega scandals.

The most sensible solution is to cut the losses from very clumsy mishandling of the issue, allow the Australian journalists to return home to Australia instead of forcing them to remain in Malaysia, and most important of all, a review to change the Prime Minister’s PR policy and attitude which prioritises  openness, accountability and transparency instead of erecting wall after wall of silence and secrecy on Najib’s twin mega scandals.

Most important of all, Najib should not regard independent and professional journalists as enemies but co-opt them in the mission to create an open and transparent and accountable world.

(Speech at the DAP Perlis “Mana Rm2.6 billion?” ceramah kopitiam at Pau, Arau, Perlis on Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 4 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 March 2016, 4:59 pm and is filed under
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Dr Mahathir and Ku Li, two peas in a pod?

– Koon Yew Yin

The Malaysian Insider

13 March 2016

During the past 10 years I have written a great deal about our national politics and the country’s leadership. In particular I have focused on our prime ministers. What I have written has really been in response to the policies they have initiated and the way they have managed the key issues and challenges of our multi-racial society and developing economy.

Besides writing on the three prime ministers – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tun Abdullah Badawi and Datuk Seri Najib Razak – that we have had during the past 30 years I have also written extensively on two political figures who could have become prime ministers but never quite made it – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Readers will note that my view of Dr Mahathir has not been charitable. In fact, it will be considered unkind. He – and most Malaysians, including a majority of Malays today, will agree with me – is a failed leader who has let down the country badly.

Malaysians of my generation with longer memories than the current generation who know of the stability, harmony and prosperity that we enjoyed as well as experienced the high standards of governance inherited from the British, see the son of Mohamad Iskander Kutty, Dr Mahatir, as the principal cause of our badly dysfunctional economy and society.

The worst inheritance that the man which groups such as Perkasa regard as “Bapa Malaysia” could have left the nation which was not in the form of his cock-ups such as Proton, MAS, Perjawa Steel. It was not even in the form of the cronies that he favoured which have resulted in a disproportionate proportion of the country’s wealth to be held by a few. Perwaja Steel, MAS and even Proton can be erased from the books overnight. And cronies can be compelled to renegotiate their contracts so that the national interests are protected.

It is actually in the form of the dominant party Umno which runs the country and which Dr Mahathir has shaped into a right wing, ketuanan Melayu party which has placed Malay special interests above all else.

Umno is the nation’s bully which has destroyed many of our important institutions such as the judiciary. It fosters cronyism which has impoverished our economy, and undermined many of our basic rights and freedoms.

And Dr Mahathir is the man who nurtured this bully to what it has become today: an oppressive grouping of Umnoputras but functioning like a baby’s alimentary canal with a healthy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.

Imagine my surprise therefore two weeks ago to read of  Dr Mahathir’s resignation from the party which he has helped transform into a party of patronage and pirates.

When the news reached me. I had emailed friends the following note:

“I see Dr M has resigned from Umno. I now have some respect for him and

“I lost my respect for Tengku Razaleigh.”

Since then he has become the main figure in the unveiling of the Citizens’ Declaration which is aimed at getting the country rid of the current prime minister.

There is some talk of broad political reform in the document. But in his latest speeches, it looks like  Dr Mahathir does not think there is much wrong with Umno and he is apparently waiting to return to Umno the moment Najib leaves the scene.

If this happens, then I will have to withdraw my initial reaction of having some respect for Dr. Mahathir. I hope that Dr. Mahathir gives up completely on Umno and helps the opposition come to power.  That way, he will atone for the mistakes he has made and leave a positive legacy.

Ku Li’s disappearing golden principles

As for Ku Li, I and many of my colleagues had high hopes for him, especially after he came out with his own declaration in the form of Ten Golden Political Principles delivered in an address to the Perak Academy in 2009.

His speech which was made more than six years ago actually spells out the road map for reform in the country more clearly and comprehensively than what Dr Mahathir and the other signatories have come out with recently.

I have spoken and written in support of Ku Li’s Golden Principles on many occasions. But Tengku Razaleigh himself appears to have given up on them. How else can we explain why he has failed to push them in the way that Dr Mahathir has pushed his Citizen’s Declaration?

When we think hard about it, it is clear that whatever political rhetoric they are spouting or declarations or principles they come up with, Dr Mahathir, the former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tengku Razaleigh are hardcore, die-hard Umno leaders who will never give up on their party voluntarily.

This is why it is difficult to believe that Umno is capable of reform unless and until it is finally removed from power and sits in the opposition benches. – March 13, 2016.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 March 2016, 10:45 pm and is filed under
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Five things for Najib to do to establish his bona fides in support of democratic  and institutional reforms to “Save Malaysia”

I have been asked what I meant when I said in Sungai Patani yesterday that I am prepared to work with any Malaysian to  Save Malaysia, not only Tun Mahathir and Tan Sri Muhyiddin, but even with Datuk Seri Najib Razak  if the Prime Minister is prepared to admit that he had led the country on a wrong tangent and that Malaysia must be saved with far-reaching democratic and institutional reforms.

I said in Sungai Patani that I believe that the overwhelming majority of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, race or politics, love this country and can subordinate self-interest to national interests and support a Save Malaysia campaign to stop the country hurtling down the slippery slope towards a failed and a rogue state.

I am glad that the people of Sungai Patani,  Semiling, Anak Bukit and Alor Star which I visited yesterday had given me full endorsement for taking a strong stand to “Save Malaysia”, even to work with Mahathir and Muhyiddin and all like-minded political and civil society leaders who could agree with the two major thrusts in the Citizen’s Declaration – the removal of Najib as Prime Minister and far-reaching democratic and institutional reforms.

But if Najib is to come board the “Save Malaysia” campaign, there are  at least five things he can and should do immediately:

1. Free Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and restore to him all his political rights and civic enfranchisement like Nelson Mendela when the South African leader was released from prison after 27 years or  10,000 days in imprisonment so as to fully participate in a national consultative process on the democratic and institutional reforms necessary to restore national and international confidence in Malaysia.

2. Establish an independent and credible Royal Commission of Inquiry to carry out comprehensive and far-reaching investigations into Najib’s RM55 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin mega scandals, summoning all relevant personalities to testify, including Najib himself;   the four Tan Sris in the previous Special Task Force on the twin mega scandals, namely Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, former Attorney-General,  Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar,  Bank Negara Governor at the time Tan Sri Zeti Akhar Aziz and the Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamad; the present Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali; the donor or donors who deposited RM2.6 billion (figure has increased to RM4.2 billion); all the key operatives of 1MDB and of course, the corporate-cum-government “mover and shaker” billionaire Jho Low.

3. Najib taking leave as Prime Minister until the outcome of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into his twin mega scandals, to allow the RCI to operate without any suggestion of being intimidated or pressured by an incumbent Prime Minister, who is the central figure of the RCI.

4. Halt the lurch towards dictatorial trends, by not only withdrawing all draconian legislative proposals, including  proposed amendments to  the Official Secrets Act, the Sedition Act, the Penal Code or the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the withdrawal of the National Security Council Bill, but also to withdraw all charges and investigations against Opposition and  civil society leaders under a variety of repressive and undemocratic laws.

5. Immediately suspend the Goods and Services Tax (GST), slash RM50 billion of wasteful government expenditures and corrupt practices, including halving the size of the Cabinet and to give high priority to focus on  the education, health and housing needs of all Malaysians.

(Statement during visit to Padang Besar, Perlis with DAP Padang Besar Branch leaders on Sunday, 13th March 2016 at 12 noon)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 March 2016, 12:10 pm and is filed under
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Thanks to 1987 Operation Lalang, half a dozen ISA detainees incarcerated for 14 -16 years  got released or they might have become the world’s longest-held detainees because they were forgotten by the authorities

We gather tonight  for “Tribute to ISA detainees”. The Internal Security Act (ISA)  which had detained without trial over 10,000 people in its 51-year iniquitous history, including political leaders and literary giants  like Ahmad Boestamam, Abu Bakar Al Bakir,  Burhanudin Al-Helmy,  Ishak Muhammad (Pak Sako), Aziz Ishak, Syed Husin Ali, Kassim Ahmad, Samad Ismail, Anwar Ibrahim, Karpal Singh, P. Patto, Mohamad Sabu, Lim Guan Eng, Dr. Tan Seng Giaw,  Khalid Samad, Kamaruzaman Ismail, Nashir Hashim, Hishammudin Rais, Saari Sungib, Goh Kean Seng,  and Lee Hai Chew.

I was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) twice, first time for 17 months in 1969 after my first election as Member of Parliament for Bandar Melaka and  the May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur  and second time, under Operation Lalang for 18 months.

Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng and I were among the first to be detained when the Operation Lalang dragnet was launched on Oct. 27,  1987, resulting in the arrest of  106 detainees from a  whole spectrum of national life. Although the 49 persons formally detained under the ISA after the custodial detention and interrogation of 60 days were released in batches, Guan Eng and I were the last two  to be released after 18 months of detention in April 1989.

I still remember that when I was transferred to Kamunting Detention Centre after being held for 60 days at the ISA Remand Centre in Batu, Kuala Lumpur, I was welcomed by  half a dozen ISA detainees in another compound and  who had obviously been incarcerated for quite some time.

I asked them how long they had been detained in Kamunting Detention Centre and I was shocked when I was told that they had been detained from 14 to 16 years. They had been languishing in the Kamunting Detention as they seemed to have been forgotten by the authorities.

Through DAP Members of Parliament who were  free outside Kamunting to carry out their parliamentary duties, the plight and their  long-term detention under the ISA were highlighted, and shortly after,  the half-dozen ISA detainees were released.

We can therefore say that thanks to 1987 Operation Lalang, the half a dozen ISA detainees incarcerated for 14 – 16 years  got released or they might become the world’s longest-held detainees because they were forgotten by the authorities.

I am delighted to meet with Goh Kean Seng, who was detained in Kamunting for eight years, as I had raised the issue for which he was detained in Parliament in the seventies, although I had never met him until today.

Goh was active in the University of Malaya Chinese Language Society in the early 70s, and which had staged a play “Chun Looi” – “Spring Thunder” – depicting the unity of all races to fight the British colonialists. Goh and others were detained under the ISA for spreading the communist ideology in staging the play, and I can still remember castigating the authorities for detaining the University of Malaya Chinese Language Society student leaders, in particular for their allegation that the Chinese Language Society play had used real rifles to depict the fight against the British authorities, when they were in fact wooden stage props.

Those were the times when even lies and falsehoods were used as justification to detain people under the ISA, where constitutional guarantees of liberty of the person, freedom of speech, expression, opinion and information were trampled upon by the authorities with impunity.

Although the iniquitous ISA has been repealed, the country appears to be heading to a new period of repression with new draconian legislative measures likely to be presented in the current meeting of Parliament, with new   draconian provisions and increased penalties for offences under the  Official Secrets Act, Sedition Act as well as giving the Prime Minister dictatorial powers to virtually declare emergency in the country without checks-and-balances from the Yang di Pertuan Agong and Parliament.

All MPs and Malaysians must be vigilant to safeguard their fundamental liberties entrenched in the Constitution and not allow these  human rights to be diluted or taken away in any manner  under any circumstances.

(Speech at the “Tribute to ISA Detainees” ceramah held at Kota Bahru Chinese Chamber of Commerce hall on Friday, 11th March 2016 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 March 2016, 9:39 am and is filed under
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Another infamy chalked up in Najib’s  seven-year premiership – the death of The Malaysian Insider

Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s seven-year reign as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia had added another casualty in its  long list of infamies – the death of news portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI) from midnight.

Najib and his new Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak may feel proud of their “achievement” in the death of TMI, especially with the government blocking of the news portal last month, but to decent and thinking Malaysians, there can be no joy but immense sadness at the death of TMI, whose travails in the past eight years  reflect the agonies and trials of Malaysia to become a normal democratic country where the fundamental liberties enshrined in the Merdeka Constitution in 1957 are living guarantees and not meaningless words.

Clearly those in power have forgotten the 20-year Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) guarantee of “No Internet Censorship” with the Malaysian government under Najib prepared to take Malaysia backwards to the dark age instead of forward to  the Information Society.

Malaysians pay tribute to the TMI editor Jahabar Sadiq and all the TMI journalists for their contribution in bringing Malaysia towards the light of information and accountability, fighting the darkness of censorship and secrecy.

The battle for democracy, freedom, accountability and good governance must go on, and although TMI has fallen, the soon-to-be former TMI journalists and like-minded Malaysians must put their shoulder to the wheel to keep alive and alight the aspirations of all Malaysians for truth, freedom and justice until the achievement of the Malaysian Dream.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 March 2016, 1:09 pm and is filed under
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Goodbye from The Malaysian Insider

BY JAHABAR SADIQ, EDITOR

The Malaysian Insider

14 March 2016

Goodbye readers from near and far, and those reading us in Malaysia despite the government block.

The Edge Media Group has decided to shut down The Malaysian Insider from midnight today, for commercial reasons. Perhaps it is fitting that we go offline at the start of the Ides of March.

I hope we have served you well since our first day of going live on February 25, 2008. And I hope others will continue to serve you in our absence.

We worked as impartial journalists to inform Malaysians and other readers so that they make informed decisions. We worked to make all voices heard in this marketplace of ideas.

But our work in The Malaysian Insider has now come to an end in a Malaysia that more than ever requires more clarity, transparency and information.

All said and done, I want to thank everyone of you in Malaysia, around the world, and those who have been with The Malaysian Insider from day one until now for your support, well wishes and criticism during these fantastic eight years and 18 days of The Malaysian Insider.

I won’t put down my pen, I won’t lay down my camera, I won’t shut up and I won’t be blinkered or turn a deaf ear to what goes on in Malaysia and the world. And I urge all of you to do the same.

And I shall always be the biggest fan of this news portal called The Malaysian Insider.

Goodbye.

The Editor

* Jahabar Sadiq runs The Malaysian Insider until tonight.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 March 2016, 12:33 pm and is filed under
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Selling the Save Malaysia movement to a sceptical Malaysian

Julia Yeow

The Malaysian Insider

13 March 2016

It’s been slightly more than a week since former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced he was championing a “people’s movement” to call for the resignation of his hand-picked successor Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Malaysians have been largely divided as to whether or not they should celebrate a loose coalition that claimed to want to save the country, or if they should run as fast as they could from another marriage of convenience between parties that have too many fundamental differences to be taken seriously as a team.

The largely ambivalent response to Dr Mahathir’s new grouping has led to prominent anti-Najib activist and former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to make an impassioned plea for Malaysians to put aside their political leanings for this season of time, and come out in full support of this initiative.

Malaysians have been through much disappointment over the past year, and most are fatigued from the string of political manoeuvrings which have churned out more question marks than answers over the issue of Najib’s RM2.6 billion, and the colossal losses by state-owned investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

If Dr Mahathir’s Save Malaysia effort really hopes to convince one million citizens to put aside their cynicism and throw their support behind him, he will need to do much more than launch an online petition, form a secretariat or send out press statements.

Dr Mahathir and his team need to address the elephant in the room, which is the question of what happens if and when Najib does step down.

Zaid appeals to Malaysians to put aside this question for now, but on the contrary, this is the time that Malaysians must insist on leadership based on principles and values, and not settle for surface level change.

If this movement truly aims to save Malaysia from its doldrums, are we expected to accept that all that is wrong with Malaysia today stems purely from one man being in power?

The Save Malaysia movement must spell out to Malaysians what system will be put in place to ensure that Najib’s successor will be someone who is truly capable of leading this country to greatness, and a leader who has proven to be consistent in his stand against corruption and abuse of power.

Even if it’s unable to name a candidate at this time, it must be able to address the fears of many Malaysians that the new prime minister would be no different from the existing one.

Dr Mahathir needs to show us the angel we don’t know, otherwise Malaysians will naturally be inclined to stick to the devil we do.

Dr Mahathir’s movement must also cut through the confusion of the many other anti-Najib movements, and make clear exactly how they hope to pressure Najib to step down.

This is important because if everything Dr Mahathir, the opposition and civil society groups have been doing for the past one year have not gotten them any closer to forcing Najib’s resignation, how does this new movement differ in its effectiveness?

Public pressure and international shaming are obviously water over Najib’s back, leaving only the options of a vote of no-confidence in Parliament, and an intervention by the Rulers, as the two possible democratic ways to unseat our prime minister.

But Dr Mahathir’s movement has kept rather silent on this question as well, either to keep their gameplan under wraps, or because they simply have no idea themselves.

Malaysians are tired of rhetoric and unwilling to support any movement that could very likely be just convenient stepping stones for ambitious, self-serving leaders.

But make no mistake that we are hungry for change, and eager to put to an end the political deadlock and the utter lack of transparency from our government leaders.

However, even in our desperation, we must not be like sheep blindly following shepherds who could possibly turn out to be wolves.

Until we see a commitment to addressing the policies and systems that have led to the very problem that Dr Mahathir wants to get rid of now, we must not be so naïve to think that any movement – regardless of how charismatic its leader – will succeed in saving Malaysia. – March 13, 2016.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 March 2016, 5:33 am and is filed under
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Voters in 12 parliamentary constituencies in Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis which I visited after the  signing of the “Citizen’s Declaration” of March 4 support Save Malaysia campaign calling for Najib’s removal as well as  democratic and institutional reforms

Kuala Perlis is my seventh stop in the visit to four parliamentary constituencies in Kedah and three parliamentary constituencies in Perlis yesterday and today.

Kangar (which includes Kuala Perlis)  is the 92nd parliamentary constituency I am visiting since my six-month suspension from Parliament on Oct. 22 for demanding full and satisfactory accounting from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib for his RM55 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin mega scandals.

The seven parliamentary constituencies in Kedah and Perlis I visited in the last two days are: Sungai Patani, Merbau, Kuala Kedah, Alor Setar, Padang Besar, Arau and Kangar.

The purpose on my nation-wide visit of the parliamentary constituencies is to take  the pulse of the people on Najib’s twin mega scandals, and there is no doubt that uppermost in everyone’s minds are teeming questions as where the billions in Najib’s personal banking accounts came from, where they have gone to, and whether the RM2.6 billion (mushroomed now to RM4.2 billion) donation scandal is part of the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal.

So many question, and which are increasing by the day, which remain unanswered – sending out the disturbing message not only to Malaysians but to  the world that Najib has got many things to hide!

In the whole process for the past year, Malaysia is acquiring the notoriety of being among the most corrupt nations in the world – how sad for patriotic Malaysians!

Since March 4, there is an added issue which I am taking the pulse of the people during my visit to the parliamentary constituencies –  the people’s reactions and feedback to the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia signed by  45 political and civil society leaders, involving former Prime Minister,  Tun Dr. Mahathir, former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as well as former Cabinet Ministers, bridging the political divide with signatories from the government coalition and the Opposition, calling for Najib’s removal as well as for  democratic and institutional reforms.

I have visited five parliamentary constituencies in Kelantan (Ketereh, Machang, Tanah Merah, Tumpat and Kota Bahru), four parliamentary constituencies in Kedah (Sungai Patani, Merbok, Kuala Kedah, Alor Setar) and three parliamentary constituencies in Perlis (Padang Besar, Arau and Kangar) since March 4 to get the  people’s feedback to the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia launched on March 4.

I find the voters in the  12 parliamentary constituencies in Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis which I visited after the  signing of the “Citizen’s Declaration” of March 4 support the Save Malaysia campaign calling for Najib’s removal as well as for democratic and institutional reforms although they have some questions and reservations.

In the final analysis, however, they are in support of the larger picture and objective –that the paramount question is how to cure Malaysia of the great sickness which has caused the nation to fail in achieving the   great national promises when we aspired when the nation attained  Merdeka 59 years ago with our rich human talents and natural resources.

Why is Malaysia regressing in every field of human endeavor, whether political, economic, educational, human rights, the rule of law, national unity, and even in the field of sports – as the film “Ola Bola” remind Malaysians how we have fallen from a great Asian football nation in the early decades of independent nationhood to No. 171 in the current FIFA ranking for Malaysia!

Malaysia must shake off the spectre of Najib’s twin mega scandals, which had been  haunting and hounding Malaysia’s national and international image for the past year.

The arrest of two Australian journalists in Kuching who wanted to question Najib about his twin mega scandals have again catapulted Malaysia into new international notoriety.

Malaysia has not recovered from  the adverse international publicity over the recent ban on The Malaysian Insider and other repressive actions to continue to hide the truth about Najib’s twin mega scandals from the Malaysian public, we are already landed with another “black eye” to the nation’s frail and vulnerable international reputation.

Najib as Prime Minister should lay down the policy for the Attorney-General to follow and not the other way round – and he should make it clear to his chief law officer to be “hands off” the two Australian journalists to allow them to return to Australia without any further restraint as well as to revoke the ban on The Malaysian Insider and cease and desist from embarking on a spree to put more draconian laws on the statute books in the current session of Parliament.

(Speech at the Perlis DAP “Mana RM2.6 billion?” kopitiam ceramah held at Kuala Perlis, Perlis on Sunday, 13th March 2016 at 5 pm)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 March 2016, 6:35 am and is filed under
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“Mo zhe shi tou gua he”
 is one  approach of the Save Malaysia campaign launched by Citizens’ Declaration of March 4, 2016

Many questions have been asked following the 304 Citizens’ Declaration (March 4) signed and proclaimed by 45 political and civil society leaders, including the country’s longest-serving former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir, former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former Cabinet Ministers and former UMNO stalwarts crossing the political divide in bringing together DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara leaders in their personal capacities.

Some of these questions include:

•	Who will be the Prime Minister after Najib?

•	Is Mahathir the puppet of Lim Kit Siang or Lim Kit Siang the puppet of Mahathir?

•	Will Mahathir or Kit Siang benefit most from the Citizens’ Declaration?

•	Will the Citizens’ Declaration be UMNO’s salvation?

•	Is there a guarantee of success in the Citizens’ Declaration and Save Malaysia campaign?

There are no sure and clear answers to the teeming questions thrown up by the unprecedented and historic Citizens’ Declaration, but there are certain facts that should be put straight.

The Citizens’ Declaration to Save Malaysia is not about Mahathir or myself but about how to save Malaysia from hurtling down the slippery slope of a failed state where Malaysia is unable to fulfil our political, economic, educational and nation-building potential as a global example of a successful plural nation and from being a rogue state where the democratic doctrine of separation of powers, the rule of law and constitutional guarantees of fundamental liberties are subverted and rendered meaningless.

It is ludicrous for anyone to suggest even for a second that I am Mahathir’s puppet or Mahathir is my puppet for signing the Citizens’ Declaration to Save Malaysia, or to ask as to whether Mahathir or myself would benefit most – queries  which would not enter the mind of the overwhelming majority of thinking and rational Malaysians who love this country.

Those who want to know who will be the Prime Minister after Najib are putting the cart before the horse, as Najib does not appear to be on the verge of stepping down as Malaysia’s sixth Prime Minister in the same way Tun Abdullah stepped down as Malaysia’s fifth Prime Minister after pressures mounted for him to relinquish to premiership.

In fact, Najib seems to be even stronger and more entrenched in Putrajaya after the 304 Citizens’ Declaration – the paradox of being the weakest Prime Minister but strongest UMNO President!

It  is the greatest naivety for anyone to think that there are those among the 45 signatories of the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia who believed that on the day after the signing of the Citizens’ Declaration on March 4, 2016 that Najib Razak would be toppled as Prime Minister.

The road to fundamental political changes in Malaysia is going to be a long and arduous one, with the Citizen’s Declaration on March 4 only the first step.

Malaysia is in uncharted political waters and we can only take the political tests and challenges we have assumed with the signing and proclamation of the Citizen’s Declaration on March 4 one step at a time, fully putting national interests above all racial, religious, regional, party and individual interests.

As stated in the Citizen’s Declaration to Save Malaysia, the signatories are fully aware that leadership change must be accompanied by democratic and institutional changes or the country would be back to square one.

In the sixth decade of nationhood, Malaysia is very sick in all sectors of human endeavour, whether in politics, economics, education, human rights, environment, good governance, nation building or even in the field of sports – which is why the film “Ola Bola” evoked so much mixed national feelings.

The Chinese saying “Mo zhe shi tou gua he” or “cross the river by groping the stone under foot ”is one  approach of the Save Malaysia campaign launched by Citizens’ Declaration of March 4, 2016.

“Mo zhe shi tou gua he” has been described as the pragmatic approach favoured by the  architect of China’s reforms Deng Xiaoping, where there is no explicit grand strategy nor ambitious systematic programme.

A commentator of The Malaysia Insider which ceased operations at midnight last night, Rama Ramanathan, in his article “A Chinese view of the Citizens’ Declaration” on March 10, also referred to this “Mo zhe shi tou gua he” approach, where he said:

“It is often not possible to see everything that’s ahead. That doesn’t mean you just rant or twiddle your thumbs. It means you take risks and you accept that you may miscalculate and have to take a step backward and try a different approach.

“The Citizens’ Declaration could be a tipping point in our nation: the point at which a series of small changes or incidents cause a larger, more important change.”

What all patriotic Malaysians should do now is to transcend the political, racial, religious and regional divides to ensure that the Citizens’ Declaration is the tipping point to Save Malaysia from becoming a failed and a rogue state.

(Speech at the special briefing for DAP state and branch leaders in Federal Territory and Selangor held at DAP Hqrs in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, March 14 at 8 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 March 2016, 1:13 pm and is filed under
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Thank You, TMI!

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 March 2016, 11:07 am and is filed under
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We are all The Malaysian Insider

Jahabar Sadiq

Malaysiakini

14 Mar 2016

COMMENT |
The Malaysian Insider shuts down tonight. No words can adequately express the entire spectrum of feelings I have for this moment, and all the moments since late 2007 when a few of us thought of setting up a news portal.

I was in Reuters Television then, and had signed a contract to work in Jakarta as a senior producer. It would be good to look at Malaysia from afar, after having spent a decade as a television producer in Malaysia.

The job was never just about Malaysia, as it involved the region.

To cut a long story short, I came back in 2010 to run The Malaysian Insider and take care of my parents. and It has been a roller coaster ride focussed just on Malaysia.

There were no more exotic locales or tales from the wild side, I thought. This is Malaysia, easy enough to cover with predictable storylines. But Malaysia was changing and I had to keep up with the changes too.

The team changed after the 2013 elections, most had gone off to the Malay Mail Online on June 14, 2013. Guess the 14th is always a bugbear date for me personally.

I was supposed to go to but my mother’s illness kept me back from making that jump. How do you care for an ailing parent and a start-up? I didn’t know how to do either.

I stayed back. Got a new team in by June 19 and then my mother passed away June 27, 2013 – the same day Malay Mail Online went online.

My old colleagues were in competition and I raised a new group to compete head-on, apart from established sites such as Malaysiakini and Free Malaysia Today.

To cut a long story short, 2013 to 2016 has been a crazy ride even with a change of ownership for The Malaysian Insider.

We have been through a lot, even spent a night in police lock-up, and more so during our office dinners when inexplicably planes either disappear or crash.

All that are fond memories from tomorrow. We will shut down, but we will keep our stories. We will keep our friendships, we will keep whatever we have because we did well together.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I want to thank everyone here on FB who have commented, tagged me, posted something in the past and today and tomorrow, all those on Twitter and Instagram, all my colleagues past and present, for this wonderful eight over years of my life.

This last eight years is a treasure trove of memories and adventures equal to all my years in Reuters.

We won’t go gently into the night, well because news never takes a break anyway. We will stay up, one way or another, to inform you and to let you speak to everyone who wants to listen to you.

The biggest lesson I learnt is simply this, we are all The Malaysian Insider.

Thank you. See you around. Have fun. Speak up.

Good night for now, The Malaysian Insider. I’ll say hello to you again soon, am sure of that. Love you always as I do Reuters Television. Two best gigs of my life ever.

And let me write this for the last time ever.

Jahabar Sadiq runs The Malaysian Insider.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 March 2016, 7:53 am and is filed under
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Aktivis seni budaya sokong Deklarasi Rakyat

oleh Fatih Hassan Nordin & Hafiz Zainuddin

Rocketkini

16 Mac 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 MAC: Usaha menyelamatkan Malaysia daripada menjadi sebuah negara gagal bukan sahaja tugas ahli politik dan aktivis, ia juga melibatkan golongan budayawan dan aktivis seni.

Budayawan, Che Samsudin Othman yang juga lebih mesra dipanggil Dinsman, berkata penglibatan golongan seni dan budaya itu dalam gerakan politik di negara ini semakin mengecil sejak era 1990-an.

Sehubungan itu, beliau menyeru supaya budayawan dan aktivis seni menyatakan sokongan terhadap gerakan rakyat dengan menandatangani Deklarasi Rakyat, yang antaranya menuntut pengunduran Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak dari tampuk pemerintahan.

“Saya tidak aktif dalam mana-mana parti politik, tetapi saya aktif dalam seni budaya. Apabila saudara Lim Kit Siang meminta supaya saya ikut serta (tandatangan Deklarasi Rakyat), saya bersetuju,” katanya dalam satu majlis tandatangan Deklarasi Rakyat di Ibu Pejabat DAP di sini, hari ini.

Terdahulu, Dinsman bersama antaranya Sasterawan Negara, A. Samad Said; pakar undang-undang, Tommy Thomas; aktivis undang-undang, K. Arumugam; serta wakil-wakil DAP seperti Ahli Parlimen Cheras, Tan Kok Wai; Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua; pakar undang-undang Perlembagaan Persekutuan, Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari; Ahli Parlimen Ipoh Barat, M. Kulasegaran; Adun Nilai, Arul Kumar Jambunathan; dan Naib Pengerusi DAP Negeri Sembilan, Teo Kok Seong; turut menandatangani deklarasi tersebut.

Dinsman berkata, keputusan untuk menandatangani deklarasi berkenaan diambil selepas mengadakan pertemuan meja bulat bersama para aktivis seni yang merumuskan perlunya penglibatan luas budayawan seni dalam pembangunan dan perubahan negara.

“Sejak reformasi dilancarkan (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim pada tahun 1998, penyertaan golongan seniman dan budayawan sampai sekarang ini masih terlalu minimum, masih terlalu sedikit.

“Ini adalah satu fenomena yang pelik di negara ini sebab, kalau kita membaca sejarah, zaman kebangkitan atau zaman negara kita mula mengalami perubahan awal kurun ke-20, yang menggerakkannya adalah penulis, budayawan.

“Tetapi sekarang, rakyat sudah berubah, tetapi golongan ini (budayawan) masih tidak mahu berubah,” katanya. – Roketkini.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 4:28 pm and is filed under
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Development of a common core agenda to Save Malaysia to check the rot in the country and create a clean, democratic, incorruptible, inclusive government of excellence which upholds constitutionalism, rule of law and human rights

Whether March 4, 2016 goes down in Malaysian history as a historic watershed in the politics and nation-building in Malaysia  will depend on whether the Citizens’ Declaration signed by  45 political and civil society leaders, including  former Prime Minister,  Tun Dr. Mahathir, former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin,  former Cabinet Ministers, as well as Opposition and civil society leaders bridging the political divide calling for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s removal as Prime Minister of Malaysia as well as for  democratic and institutional reforms gets the support of the majority of Malaysians.

Today’s gathering of distinguished personalities endorsing the Save Malaysia Citizens’ Declaration is a further step in developing a momentum to create national awareness of the urgent and imperative need for Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region, politics, to stand as one Malaysian people to cure the country of the great sickness which has caused the nation to fail in achieving the   great  promises we aspired when the nation attained  Merdeka 59 years ago with our rich human talents and natural resources.

Because of my six-month suspension from Parliament, I had the opportunity of visiting so far 92 parliamentary constituencies to take the pulse of the people on Najib’s twin mega scandals, and in the past two weeks, public reaction to the Save Malaysia Citizens’ Declaration.

Last week, I visited 12 parliamentary constituencies in Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis i.e. Ketereh, Machang, Tanah Merah, Tumpat and Kota Bahru in Kelantan; Sungai Patani, Merbok, Kuala Kedah, Alor Setar in Kedah and  Padang Besar, Arau and Kangar in Perlis and I find that by and large, the Citizens’ Declaration resonates with the people’s deepest aspirations because all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics love this country and want to be able to be proud of Malaysia to  secure world recognition and appreciation of our achievements.

We do not want to become one of the world’s most corrupt countries with our  football ranking as  No. 171 in the world, when in the early decades of the nation, we are one of the great football nations in Asia.

It is almost one year ago, at the Bukit Bintang DAP dinner on March 22, 2015, that I broached the idea of a political coalition crossing the political, racial, religious and regional divides to Save Malaysia to resolve the multitude of national crisis confronting the country.

The 304 Citizens’ Declaration to Save Malaysia on March 4, 2016 is a first step to bridge the political divide to realise this Malaysian Dream, although the journey is going to be a long and arduous one.

It is natural and understandable that Malaysians, like the  45 signatories to the Citizens’ Declaration to Save Malaysia on March 4, have different and separate political agendas, but our greatest challenge is to come together to develop a common core agenda to Save Malaysia by  checking the  rot in the country and create a clean, democratic, incorruptible and  inclusive government of excellence which upholds constitutionalism, the rule of law, human rights and restore the independence, credibility, professionalism and integrity of the national institutions in the country.

I call on all Malaysians to endorse the Citizens’ Declaration and support all programmes and activities that will be organized by various stakeholders in support of the Citizens’ Declaration in various parts of the country in  the coming weeks and months.

Ideally, we should develop enough momentum to ensure that by the next 14th General Election, the slogan and cry of “Save Malaysia” can be the most overpowering one which not only  unites all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, but can be the remedy for the multiple ills afflicting the nation.

(Media Conference Statement at the endorsement of Save Malaysia Citizens’ Declaration at DAP Hqrs on Wednesday, 16th March 2016 at 11.30 am)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 11:01 am and is filed under
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Four Corners reporter Linton Besser describes frightening detention in Malaysia

ABC reporter Linton Besser has revealed the frightening, frustrating, and at times “comical”, details of how he and cameraman Louie Eroglu came to be arrested, detained and threatened with charges while working on a Four Corners investigation in Malaysia.

Besser and Eroglu were arrested on Saturday after trying to question Prime Minister Najib Razak about a corruption scandal.

Yesterday they were threatened with charges, but the charges were abruptly dropped and the pair were escorted out of the country.

Now in Singapore, Besser shared his experience with PM’s Mark Colvin:

Colvin: Now you’ve been accused of crossing some lines (at the PM’s press conference) or breaking some rules. Were you aware of crossing any lines, any cordons, were there any rules that had been outlined to you that you broke?

Besser: Absolutely none, and that is why initially it was so disturbing when we were told we were going to be charged with a criminal offence, because as you’d expect, we have vision of this incident and it’s incontrovertible and there is absolutely no police cordon.

We have audio. There are no instructions given.

What did you ask him?

I asked him how he could explain or whether he could explain the hundreds of millions of dollars that have flowed into his personal bank accounts in recent years.

How did he react?

He initially looked at me when I introduced myself and then he continued walking and ignored me.

So it was a mute response?

You could put it that way, from him anyway.

And what about his entourage?

Well I was immediately surrounded by police and Malaysian intelligence, special branch operatives, basically detained on the spot, taken out of the area in which I was standing.

Louie Eroglu, our cinematographer, was then also detained and brought to where I was, because we had been separated in the kind of crush in the crowd.

And it kind of went on from there.

The police were very upset with us because of course they had been embarrassed that a foreign journalist had been able to ask a question.

Anyway, we had our passports examined, our details taken. They took photos of every form of ID we had in our wallet I think.

And then the superintendent said to us, “Look, if you go quietly it’s OK. Get in your car and go”. So we did.

And we got in our van. We didn’t actually have a hotel booking so we, having had a little fright, we thought it might be prudent to get on the first flight out of Sarawak.

We tried that, there were no seats available on the last flight out.

So we tried to find a hotel, but as we were pulling up to the first hotel we were going to try, we were pulled over by an unmarked car and four or five police pulled us down from the van and questioned us in the lobby of the hotel and then told us that we were going to be placed under arrest.

How long were you detained?

Look I can’t quite remember, but it’s been reported as six hours, that sounds about right to me.

And then you had this period when you were not sure whether you would be able to get out of the country — you might be charged?

Yeah, we had our passports confiscated, that’s right. And so I think we got to bed that night at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning.

We didn’t have any passports. I think this was, so this must have been Sunday.

And then the next event was very strange because then we get some good news from our lawyer who tells us that the local police want to meet us to return our passports.

So we thought, great. We packed up; we got ready to leave Sarawak on the next available flight.

And strangely, it was quite comical. The police in their Hawaiian shirts decided the facetious place to do this was the pool deck of our hotel.

So we all sat around garden furniture as they formally handed back our passports. But then they said to us, “You can’t leave, you’re still on police bail,” which was confusing.

We didn’t know for what purpose they’d returned our passports.

And eventually you got out. Have you got the material that you need to make this Four Corners program?

We haven’t lost any material. So we’re here in Singapore planning our next moves, but we intend to continue investigating the story.

And you obviously will not be able to go back into Malaysia. Are you coming back to Australia now?

We’re still planning it, but I think I won’t be back for a few more days yet actually. Although, just on your first point, it’s not clear to me that I won’t be allowed back into Malaysia.

It’s been widely reported that we’ve been deported by Malaysian authorities and indeed we were whisked through airport and immigration and customs by uniformed police.

And even all the way to our seats on the plane where we were photographed by a very nice police officer … but at no point were we told we were being deported.

Our passports don’t say we’ve been deported. We were never given a piece of paper to say that that was the case.

I understand that Malaysian authorities or local government authorities in Sarawak are now saying that that is the case but we’re none the wiser

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 7:14 am and is filed under
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Malaysia must arrest its decline

The Australian

March 15, 2016

Julie Bishop has good reason to express Australia’s “deep concern” over the arrest of an ABC Four Corners team in Malaysia. Detaining journalists is not the answer in the deepening political crisis the country faces over allegations about the personal probity and conduct of Prime Minister Najib Razak. It is imperative authorities in Kuala Lumpur are left in no doubt about the serious view taken of their actions.

Central to the crisis, as The Australian’s reporting has pointed out, is the stability of one of the most strategically important countries in our region — one that is a close partner of Australia, the US and other Western interests and has long been admired as a successful, free-market democracy that manages to navigate a path of moderate Sunni Islam while maintaining a highly regarded, British-based legal system.

That stability is being put at risk by Mr Najib’s failure, in the words of opposition Democratic Action Party leader Lim Kit Siang, to “come clean and fully answer the multiplying questions” about the scandals surrounding him. Last July our sister paper The Wall Street Journal first disclosed the payment to the Malaysian leader of almost a billion dollars as an unexplained “personal donation”.

This, it was subsequently claimed, came from the Saudi royal family, allegedly to help defeat Islamist hardliners in Malaysia’s 2013 election. Serious questions remain about the payment despite a whitewash investigation by a hand-picked attorney-general.

The broader scandal also involves the beleaguered 1MDB sovereign wealth fund set up by Mr Najib; many more millions have reportedly gone missing. And there is mystery over the murder of the glamorous Mongolian translator Altantuya Sharibuu whose death has been linked to the country’s highest office. She was the lover of a close Najib confidant.

Mr Najib’s highhanded refusal to provide full explanations about these scandals is not helping to deal with a crisis of confidence in the country’s institutions. Curbs on media freedoms, including the ABC crew’s arrest, are increasing fears Malaysian democracy is being weakened, if not derailed.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 6:57 am and is filed under
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Najib Razak: Malaysian PM has diminishing room to manoeuvre

Greg Lopez

The Interpreter

14 March 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s scandal-linked tenure has continued unabated but now his foes from various sides of the political divide have coalesced to pressure him to resign. This latest unified effort to unseat him could push him over the edge.

International media last year pronounced Najib ‘a dead man walking’ after he admitted to an allegation — of having more than $700 million in his private account — made by the Wall Street Journal. Yet he has remained in power, due largely to the sheer coercive powers and vast resources of the Malaysian institutions that he controls as both prime minister of Malaysia, and president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

Najib was never the most popular within the party. He rose to the top of the UMNO over many colleagues by patiently waiting, and betting on the right horses at the right time. He made more than a few enemies along the way. As soon as he was named deputy prime minister in 2004, his opponents sought to bring him down. That he lasted as deputy (2004-2009), and now as prime minister (April 2009 – present), under the most trying circumstances reflects a determination and instinct his rivals did not anticipate.

Such is Najib’s strength that sworn rivals have banded together. Tun Mahathir Mohamed, an autocrat himself, has managed to garner the support of prominent Malaysian leaders’ from the opposition as well as civil society. Together they have launched the Citizens Declaration in their quest to ‘Save Malaysia’.

Splits among UMNO’s ruling elites are nothing new. The party has experienced at least five leadership challenges since it began in 1946. Almost always, the ousted leaders would form a new political party and/or collaborate with the opposition during elections. UMNO always prevails. Those who challenge and fail have generally been absorbed back into the fold (after having sufficiently repented and/or been penalised). The few who have remained outside UMNO have generally faded into oblivion.

There have only been two exceptions; the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) and the Peoples Justice Party (PKR). Both have grown in strength, despite several near death experiences. These two parties have also taken their toll on UMNO. At the 2008 and 2013 general elections the PAS and PKR, together with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) damaged UMNO. At the 2008 election, the two-third majority that Barisan Nasional (BN) held was wiped away. In 2013, the majority of Malaysians voted for the opposition coalition. This coalition, Pakatan Rakyat — although now in disarray — demonstrated that UMNO was no longer invincible.

UMNO’s foundational myth and ideology as the protector of the Malays, and guarantor of the ‘social contract’ (the ethnic bargain) is now increasingly being challenged, not only by opposition parties, but by UMNO stalwarts themselves.

UMNO’s performance as reflected by the Najib administration, while mediocre (but not terrible by global comparison) has been criticised by Malaysians suffering from long-term institutional degradation, an out-dated economic model, and a political system unsuited for the contemporary challenges their country faces.

Against this background, those behind the Citizens Declaration represent a serious challenge to Najib.

From progressive to autocrat

In his first term, Najib tried to portray himself as the progressive Muslim. 1Malaysia, the New Economic Model, the Government Transformation Program, and the Economic Transformation Program were the signature policies that Najib hoped would drive Malaysia towards Vision 2020, as a developed nation with liberal values.

Since the 2013 election, however, when the majority of Malaysians chose Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition over his, Najib has been morphing into an autocrat, controlling the nation in the name of Islam. With his liberal reform measures no longer credible, he is playing the tried and tested race-and-religion card to bolster support.

Since independence, Malays and Islam have enjoyed a privileged position in Malaysia. The competition between PAS and UMNO, and global developments, have embedded an intolerant variant of Islam. not just among the clerical class but across Malaysia’s Muslim population. Najib has courted this group and invested heavily in them. He has also placed a very big bet on the House of Sauds inadvertently tying the future of Malaysia to Saudi Arabia. These groups are unlikely to let him go even if he wishes to change course in the future.

One advantage that Najib has over his rivals is the support of Western powers. The leaders of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore all have a vested interest in seeing him continue as PM (although Australia’s patience is being tested with the arrest of a news crew over the weekend).

Moreover, Najib knows that his future (and that of his family) would be bleak if he were to be removed. It’s hard to see how a pardon could be part of any exit strategy, given the nature of the allegations made against him, and the investment those who oppose him have made in prosecuting those allegations.

He can only play to win.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 4:33 am and is filed under
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Najib’s latest “achievements”  – two self-inflicted “black eyes” on Ides of March

The sixth premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak has achieved another “first” – two self-inflicted “black eyes” on the Ides of March, 15th March 2016.

On this Ides of March, Malaysia became international news for a double event – the arrest and deportation of two Australian journalists from ABC “Four Corners” and the closure of the Internet news portal, The Malaysian Insider, as a result of government harassment against independent journalism and violation of the 20-year Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees of “No Internet Censorship”.

Malaysia was the subject of international news for these two events – not to Malaysia’s credit,  but only to the national detriment in further undermining a plunging international reputation and image.

A sample of the adverse international reporting of the Malaysia’s first self-inflicted “black eye” on the arrest and deportation of the two ABC Australian journalists is as follows:

•	ABC Four Corners crew detained in Malaysia (Sydney Morning Herald) March 13, 2016.

•	ABC reporters detained in Malaysia (Sky News, Australia) March 13, 2016.

•	Australian journalists detained in Malaysia for trying to question PM (Gulf Today, UAE) March 13, 2016.

•	Julie Bishop says ABC Four Corners journalists who questioned Najib Razak are being helped (Daily Mail, UK) March 13, 2016.

•	2 Aussie journos held for trying to question Malaysian PM: report (The Manila Times) March 13, 2016

•	Australian government raises concerns over detained journalists in Malaysia (Deutsche Welle) March 13, 2016.

•	Australia ‘concerned’ over detention of journalists in Malaysia (The Nation, Thailand) March 14, 2016.

•	Australian Journalists Arrested in Malaysia (Voice of America) March 14, 2016.

•	Australian Journalists Investigating 1MDB Scandal Arrested in Malaysia (Wall Street Journal) March 14, 2016.

•	Australian broadcaster says Malaysia won’t charge (Jakarta Post) March 14, 2016.

•	Malaysia to hear out Bishop over charges for Four Corners crew (The Australian) March 14, 2016.

•	Australia ‘concerned’ over journalists detained in Malaysia (Japan Today) March 14, 2016.

•	Change of heart in Malaysia over Four Corners reporters from Oz (Hong Kong Standard) March 15, 2016

•	Malaysian police: detained Australian report will be deported (Times of India) 15.3.2016.

•	Australian journalists leave Malaysia after detention (Financial Express, Bangladesh) 2016-03-15

•	Malaysia deports Australian reporters for disrupting PM (Anadolu Agency, Turkey) 15.3.2016.

•	Australian journalists leave Malaysia after avoiding charges (BBC) 15 March 2016.

•	Malaysia backs down hours after threatening to charge ABC journos (SMH) March 14, 2016.

•	Malaysia drama ends for ABC 4 Corners pair (Australian) 15 March 2016.

•	Four Corners reporter Linton Besser describes frightening detention in Malaysia (ABC) 15 March 2016.

Is this the international publicity Malaysia needs at this time, when the country has been buffeted with one bad news after another for the past two years?

Or a sample of the adverse international publicity for the other self-inflicted “black eye” on the Ides of March this year:

•	Malaysian Insider to Close After Government Blocked It Following1MDB Coverage (Wall Street Journal) Mar 14, 2016.

•	A news website that reported on the Malaysian prime minister’s alleged corruption is shutting down (Quartz) Mar 14, 2016.

•	Malaysian Insider shuts as political pressures add to commercial woes (TODAY online) Mar 14, 20916.

•	Independent Malaysian news site closes amid government clampdown on media (Guardian) 15 March 2016.

These are not the international publicity Malaysia needs after a prolonged bout of adverse bad news for Malaysia, starting with the still mysterious disappearance of MH 370 with 239 passengers and crew on board  more than two years ago – followed by the shooting down of MH 17 killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board four months later.

Has Malaysia’s international image and reputation not gone  South enough in the past two years, and are Malaysians content to see our international reputation to continue travel South and deep like the disappeared MH370?

I have seen the video of the ABC journalist Linton Bresser questioning Prime Minister Najib in Kuching last Saturday which showed that the journalists did not breach any security cordon, as claimed by police.

Bresser, who had joined a group of press photographers who crowded around Najib as he got out of his car to enter a Kota Sentosa mosque, had asked Najib:

“Hello Mr Prime Minister, it’s ABC Australia. I’m wondering if you could explain the hundreds of million in your account?”

Bresser was ignored by Najib who continued walking with a stony face.

“Hello, Mr Prime Minister, can you explain all the hundreds of million of dollars in your account? Mr Prime Minister?” Bresser  asked again.

At this point, the police intervened. There was no security cordon as claimed by the police nor did Bresser “aggressively” approached Najib, as claimed by the police.

The video shows that the excuses which have been given by the various Ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and  the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin were groundless.

The DAP MP for Batu Kawan, Kasthuri Patto, had asked a most pertinent  question – why taking selfies with Prime Minister Najib is okay but asking question is not, why the Prime Minister is busy going to the ground in Sarwak to “meet the people” so that they can shake his hand and take selfies, but when two Australian journalists ask questions about the 1MDB scandal, suddenly it’s considered a crime.

Will Malaysians be arrested for asking Najib questions about the RM55 billion 1MDB  and RM2.6 billion donation twin mega scandals in his walkabouts, especially in the run-up as well as during the Sarawak general elections campaign?

Najib and Malaysia have not come out of the deplorable episode over the two ABC Four Corners journalists pursuing answers on Najib’s 1MDB scandal smelling like a rose.

I call on Najib to present a Ministerial statement in Parliament on what lessons his government has learnt from the international Public Relations misadventure – in fact, a “disaster” – over the arrest and deportation of the two ABC Four Corners journalists and whether Najib is prepared to come full and clean to the teeming questions about his twin mega scandals in the current Parliament, as they are  the root cause of his government’s latest PR disaster?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 8:17 am and is filed under
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Sasterawan Negara sifatkan BN yang tidak peduli undang-undang sebagai kerajaan “haram”

oleh Fatih Hassan Nordin & Hafiz Zainuddin

Roketkini

16 Mac 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 MAC: Sasterawan Negara, A. Samad Said, menyifatkan usaha gabunganraya Selamatkan Malaysia untuk menumbangkan Datuk Seri Najib Razak daripada tampuk kuasa negara adalah wajar ekoran daripada penglibatan Perdana Menteri dalam pelbagai skandal mega.

Beliau yang mesra dengan panggilan Pak Samad berkata, Najib bukan sahaja menyebabkan dunia mengenali Malaysia melalui imej buruk, malah imej dalam negara juga sudah kotor, termasuk perbuatan melanggar undang-undang dengan berbelanja berbilion ringgit dalam pilihanraya umum yang lalu.

Justeru, beliau menganggap kerajaan yang ditubuhkan oleh Barisan Nasional selepas PRU13 adalah tidak mengikut laras undang-undang, dan menyifatkan kerajaan kini sebagai sebuah “kerajaan haram”.

“Setakat ini, rekod demokrasi kita sangat buruk. Contohnya antara soal ulang-alik pelbagai tafsiran aliran dana dari negara luar, kononnya sebagai dana simpati daripada golongan kaya Arab.

“Yang merunsingkan adalah dana ‘rahsia’ ini mengalir ke dalam kempen pilihanraya dan perbelanjaan yang berleluasa, sedikit-sebanyak telah dimaklum bahawa RM1.5 billion digunakan Barisan Nasional, yang mana melanggar syarat sebanyak 16 kali ganda yang dibolehkan untuk satu-satu pilihanraya.

“Bererti kerajaan yang ada ini sebenarnya adalah kerajaan haram,” tegasnya, menambah kerajaan juga sudah mula memperkenalkan pelbagai akta dan undang-undang yang membataskan pergerakan serta pengucapan rakyat dalam mengkritik pentadbiran negara.

Tokoh sastera negara itu menyuarakan pandangannya dalam satu sidang media bersama aktivis budaya dan undang-undang yang dianjurkan DAP di ibu pejabat parti di sini hari ini.

Menurut Pak Samad lagi, dengan keghairahan pentadbiran Najib mahu memperketatkan undang-undang bagi menghalang kebebasan rakyat bersuara, tidak mustahil segala akta dan pindaan akta zalim akan digunakan terhadap kelompok pembantah.

“Kita sudah pun ada undang-undang yang merisaukan, SOSMA (Akta Kesalahan Keselamatan (Langkah-Langkah Khas)) dan POTA (Akta Pencegahan Keganasan) contohnya, yang dalam situasi terdesak bakal dimanfaatkan secara total (oleh kerajaan).

“Malah, pada April ini, Rang Undang-Undang Majlis Keselamatan Negara juga akan dihidupkan memberi kuasa yang penuh kepada kerajaan untuk menangkap atau menahan seseorang tanpa perbicaraan,” katanya. – Roketkini.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 4:47 pm and is filed under
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