14th General Election will be battle of democracy versus  kleptocracy

The next General Elections will be a battle of democracy versus kleptocracy.

There is speculation that the next general elections would be held early next year. It could also be held in the second half of next year, especially after the 60th National Day celebrations centred on  August 31, 2017.

Be that as it may, the voters of Malaysia should be asked to vote for democrats or kleptocrats, as to whether they want  Malaysia to become a democracy or a kleptocracy.

What recently happened highlights the stark choice of the people between democracy and kleptocracy in the next general elections.

In the last two days, the international media have been screaming with headlines about the first criminal conviction linked to the 1MDB global financial scandal which took place in Singapore on Friday, viz:

•
“Former BSI boss gets jail, fine in 1MDB-linked case”
(Straits Times, Singapore)
;

•
“Singapore Court Convicts Ex-BSI Banker in 1MDB Probe”
(Wall Street Journal)
;

•
“Former banker convicted in Singapore over 1MDB scandal”

(Financial Times, London)
;

•
“Singaporean banker jailed for role in 1MDB scandal”

(Taipei Times)
;

•
“Ex-BSI Banker Yak Found Guilty in Singapore 1MDB-Linked Case”
(Bloomberg)
;

•
“1MDB probe: Singapore banker Yak Yew Chee gets 18 weeks’ jail, S$24,000 fine”

(Channel News Asia)
.

The common theme if these negative headlines is “1MDB”, a Malaysian state-owned investment fund supposed to attract foreign investment but instead spurred criminal and regulatory investigations around the world – and with Najib as the head of its advisory board exercising veto and final executive powers.

But the Malaysian government authorities and institutions pretend that these foreign criminal and regulatory investigations and actions linked to 1MDB’s international money-laundering forays do not exist.

Singapore is the first country to convict someone in the 1MDB  multi-billion dollar financial  scandal which was gained for Malaysia the infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy” – ruled by PPP, Pencuril Perompak and Penyamun!

It is reported that Yak Yew Chee, 57, the banker in charge of managing the relationship with 1MDB at the Singapore branch of Swiss bank BSI SA, was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment and a fine of S$24,000 and agreed to surrender S$7.5 million in salary and bonuses previously frozen by investigators, after pleading guilty to two charges of forgery and two charges of failing to report suspicious transactions related to dealings with 1MDB.

The conviction has been described as a milestone in the global investigations into the 1MDB scandal, which had been making headlines in Malaysia and around the world in the past year for the wrong reasons.

There are probes reported in at least ten countries related to 1MDB, or on companies and individuals linked to it.  These countries include the United States, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia.

Many questions are raised about the first criminal conviction secured over the 1MDB scandal.

Firstly, why are the Malaysian authorities and institutions, in particular the Prime Minister, Attorney-General, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Inspector-General of Police and Parliament,  blissfully indifferent and unconcerned about Yak’s conviction related to the international 1MDB kleptocracy?

Secondly, the S$7.5 million bonus which Yak was paid for his dealings with Jho Low, is being forfeited to the state in Singapore. Shouldn’t Malaysia submit a claim for this S$7.5 million which comes from 1MBD funds and should belong to the people of Malaysia?

Thirdly, Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD)  have said that Jho Low is a person of interest in their continuing probe into the multi-billion dollar money-laundering scheme.

Jho Low has been variously described as “gate-keeper” and even “mastermind” of the 1MDB global scandal.

The two charges which Yak had been convicted related to forging reference letters vouching for Jho Low and the Low family and two more for turning a blind eye to the hefty sums – proceeds allegedly from criminal conduct – coursing through BSI Bank in Singapore.

Jho Low has also been named by the US Department of Justice (DOJ)  as a partial beneficiary of around US$3.5 billion it believed was misappropriated from 1MDB and laundered through the US financial system.

Why then is Jho Low still to be arrested by the local authorities or international police. Why are there no efforts by the Malaysian police to arrest him or to seek the help of Interpol for the purpose?

Fourthly, we are immediately reminded of Malaysia’s rejection of Singapore and Switzerland’s request for mutual legal assistance (MLA) in the 1MDB international kleptocratic  embezzlement and money-laundering scandal despite Najib’s  “surprising” statement in Germany in September that Malaysia would co-operate with US and other international authorities investigating the embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds.

The past four weeks of the parliamentary proceedings give no light at the end of the kleptocratic tunnel.

Parliament started on Oct. 17 with the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament making the unprecedented ruling anywhere in the world applying the sub judice rule arising from lawsuits in foreign countries to censor and outlaw question, debate and discussion not only about the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action for the forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, but anything concerning the 1MDB scandal.

Even three former Cabinet Ministers who spoke in Parliament on 1MDB in the 2017 Budget debate are being hauled up by the police for investigation  (at the instigation of the Speaker) – contrary to Constitutional guarantees on  parliamentary privileges and immunities except in clear-cut cases of violation of the four constitutionally-entrenched sensitive issues under the Sedition Act  which do not apply in the present cases.

All over the world, the reverberations from Malaysia being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy as a result of the 1MDB global financial scandal continued unabated in the past four weeks, but in the Malaysian Parliament there is the great pretence that Malaysia’s infamy being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy as a result of the 1MDB global financial scandal does not exist and had even  become a “sensitive” subject which could not be raised in Parliament.

I have so far boycotted the half-hour Minister’s Question Time (MQT) touted as the most significant of the Speaker’s parliamentary reforms, as the Speaker in his various media conferences have so far failed to convince Malaysians that he is not the only one  Speaker in the world who is “mis-applying” the sub judice rule with regard in litigation in foreign countries to save the Prime Minister from full accountability for the kleptocratic 1MDB scandal in Parliament.

Malaysian Parliament does not become a first-world Parliament just because of MQT or power-point budget presentation by Najib, if MPs are not allowed to raise grave and burning issues in the country in Parliament.

Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2017 budget speech on Oct. 22 was another parliamentary blasphemy, a classic case of  denial syndrome when there  was no mention whatsoever of the 1MDB global scandal or a single word about fighting  corruption.

The MACC Chief Commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad in his “Open Warkah” told politicians, including Ministers and Members of Parliament, when he specifically mentioned  YBs, to “stop fooling the people” with fairy tales while at the same time engaging in corruption.

Such a warkah was most presumptious when the MACC dare not take any action whether in connection with the 1MDB global scandal, “MO1” or the issue of Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy.

Parliament will meet for another two weeks before adjournment.

We will give Najib a last chance as to whether he and the Barisan Nasional government are prepared to ask Parliament to rebut and refute Malaysia’s infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” or if there is basis for Malaysia to be regarded as a “global kleptocracy”, to purge and cleanse the national system of such a blot so that Malaysia will cease to be a “global kleptocracy”.

Are the UMNO and the other Barisan Nasional parties, whether MCA, MIC, Gerakan and the Sarawak and Sabah component parties of BN, prepared to ask Parliament to take such a stand before parliamentary adjournment in a fortnight’s time?

The prognosis is not good, for neither  UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, or the Sabah and Sarawak Barisan Nasional component parties had dared to take any stand or ask any questions on the 1MDB financial scandal or Malaysia’s infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” in the past few years.

Will MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the other BN component parties be any different now?

(Speech at the opening of the DAP Selangor Convention in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 13th November 2016 at 10 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 November 2016, 12:49 pm and is filed under
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Former banker convicted in Singapore over 1MDB scandal

Jeevan Vasagar in Singapore

Financial Times

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Yak Yew Chew ‘motivated by a desire to please’ Malaysian businessman Jho Low

A private banker in Singapore convicted on Friday of forging documents and failing to disclose suspicious transactions was “motivated by a desire to please” Jho Low, the Malaysian businessman linked by US prosecutors to the 1MDB scandal, a court has been told.

Yak Yew Chew, 57, a managing director of BSI, a Swiss private bank, was convicted of four charges relating to forgery and failure to disclose information.

The case, the first criminal conviction linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB affair, has highlighted the risks posed by the rapid growth of the private banking industry in Singapore, and the influence exerted by powerful clients on their wealth managers.

The court was told Mr Low had informed BSI he was helping 1MDB, the Malaysian state investment fund, to invest.

Mr Yak’s lawyer, Lee Teck Leng, said in a plea in mitigation: “Our client was motivated by a desire to please Low as Low was his most important customer at BSI. Low had brought in a lot of business, not just for our client but for BSI as a whole.”

One of the charges on which Mr Yak was convicted was forging a reference letter to the chief executive of Rothschild Trust in Switzerland, after queries were raised about an earlier transfer of $110m from Mr Low’s BSI account to the Rothschild bank.

The prosecution said in a statement that Mr Yak knew the contents of this letter were “misleading” as they were designed to give the impression that the source of the funds was Low Hock Peng, Mr Low’s father.

In fact, the prosecution said, the source was an account held in the name of Good Star Limited. US prosecutors have alleged that more than $1bn was fraudulently diverted from 1MDB to an account held at Coutts in Zurich in the name of Good Star.

“As Low was BSI’s biggest and most important customer, our client’s immediate supervisors had instructed him to keep Low happy and leave the back-office work to them,” Mr Yak’s lawyer said.

Mr Yak was jailed for 18 weeks, fined S$24,000 (US$17,000) and will forfeit S$7.5m in bonuses to the state.

Passing sentence, Jennifer Marie, deputy presiding judge, said: “It is imperative that the public confidence in the integrity of Singapore’s banking and financial industry is zealously protected.”

Mr Low also gave instructions to BSI to transfer millions of dollars to his father’s account at the same bank, most of which was transferred back days later, according to the prosecution in Singapore.

The prosecution said a BSI compliance officer found that the flow of funds from Mr Low to his father was “nebulous to say the least and not acceptable in compliance’s view.”

However, the funds were later processed after Mr Low said in an email that he had given his father the funds as a “matter of cultural respect”.

Mr Yak’s lawyer told the court that, as private banking has expanded rapidly in Singapore, banks have set high targets for their staff.

“Bankers have tried their best to achieve those targets by, inter alia, pandering to their clients,” Mr Lee said. “In the process, the line between impeccable financial integrity and revenue growth unfortunately became blurred.”

In May, the Monetary Authority of Singapore ordered the closure BSI in Singapore for serious breaches of requirements against money-laundering.

Singapore is the world’s sixth-biggest wealth management centre, with $500bn in assets and 5 per cent of global market share, according to a Deloitte report published last year.

Mr Yak and Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, his former subordinate, were charged last month for their roles in forging bank reference letters and not reporting suspicious banking activities involving Mr Low. Ms Seah is due in court later this month.

Yeo Jiawei, another of Mr Yak’s former colleagues at BSI, is on trial in Singapore on charges of obstructing justice by attempting to tamper with witnesses.

Mr Low has previously denied wrongdoing. 1MDB has denied any wrongdoing.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 November 2016, 5:43 am and is filed under
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Singapore Court Convicts Ex-BSI Banker in 1MDB Probe

By JAKE MAXWELL WATTS and  P.R. VENKAT

Wall Street Journal

Nov. 11, 2016

Singapore is the first country to convict someone in the alleged fraud at the Malaysian state fund

SINGAPORE—A Singapore court Friday sentenced a key suspect in an ongoing probe into alleged misappropriation at Malaysian state fund 1MDB, in the first conviction of a person linked to the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud.

Yak Yew Chee, 57, the banker in charge of managing the relationship with 1MDB at the Singapore branch of Swiss bank BSI SA, on Friday pleaded guilty to two charges of forgery and two charges of failing to report suspicious transactions related to dealings with the fund. He was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment and a fine of 24,000 Singapore dollars (US$17,105), and agreed to surrender S$7.5 million in salary and bonuses previously frozen by investigators.

The conviction marks a milestone in the investigation of what happened at 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Bhd., a fund set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 that raised as much as US$13 billion — with a public mandate to promote the country’s economic development.

Investigators in at least five countries are probing 1MDB’s finances in response to allegations that billions of dollars have gone missing. Swiss investigators say they believe that as much as US$4 billion was misappropriated from the fund through several banks, including BSI. The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a civil case to seize assets connected to the case.

1MDB and Mr. Najib have denied any wrongdoing and pledged cooperation with any lawful investigation. The Malaysian attorney general has said the prime minister acted legally.

Malaysian authorities, however, have declined to cooperate with Singapore’s probe of 1MDB’s finances, according to people familiar with the matter. On Friday, Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General also said that Malaysia has refused to help Swiss investigators looking into the alleged misappropriation.

Mr. Yak’s criminal conviction in Singapore stands in contrast to Malaysia, which hasn’t charged anyone as a result of its investigations.

The sentencing is also a key step for Singapore, which is trying to rebuild a reputation that the city-state’s central bank managing director has admitted was damaged by its association with 1MDB’s alleged fraud. Prosecutors in Singapore have said the fund’s transactions are part of the largest money-laundering probe they have ever conducted.

“It is imperative that the public confidence in the integrity of Singapore’s banking and financial industry is zealously protected,” Jennifer Marie, the judge presiding over Mr. Yak’s sentencing, said Friday.

Mr. Yak’s role at BSI was to find new clients for the bank and act as liaison between them and the bank’s wealth-management staff, which implemented instructions on a client’s behalf — a job for which Mr. Yak earned as much as S$27 million in salary and bonuses between 2011 and 2014, according to Singapore court documents.

Mr. Yak was BSI’s relationship manager for 1MDB and Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, prosecutors said. Singapore investigators have called Mr. Low, known as Jho Low, a “key person of interest” in their investigation into the alleged 1MDB misappropriation.

Mr. Low had pressured Mr. Yak to rush transactions through BSI bank without full due diligence to verify their authenticity, Mr. Yak’s lawyer, Lee Teck Leng, said in submissions to the court.

Mr. Low had declined to provide further explanation for certain transactions on the grounds that the deals were government-to-government “and hence, state secret,” the lawyer said. He noted that Mr. Yak was motivated by a desire to please Mr. Low, who Mr. Yak called the most important customer at BSI.

Mr. Yak’s lawyer said in his submissions that his client had no grounds to believe during his employment at BSI that Mr. Low was involved in allegedly criminal conduct and that BSI’s top management “was always prepared to act on [Mr.] Low’s requests.”

Mr. Low couldn’t be reached for comment. He has previously denied any wrongdoing in his dealings related to 1MDB. BSI has said it is cooperating fully with authorities and has improved its anti-money-laundering controls.

Mr. Yak is one of three former employees at BSI who have been charged in Singapore with various offenses related to their handling of 1MDB funds. In addition to the four charges he pleaded guilty to on Friday, Mr. Yak is charged with one additional count of forgery and two additional counts of failing to report suspicious transactions between 2012 and 2014, during his employment by BSI.

The judge agreed to consider the additional charges against him in her sentencing. The prosecution won’t pursue those charges separately.

In a neighboring courtroom, Friday, the trial continued of Mr. Yak’s former colleague, wealth planner Yeo Jiawei, 33, who faces four charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Mr. Yeo is fighting all the charges against him in court.

In October, Mr. Yak and his former subordinate Yvonne Seah, 45, were charged in Singapore’s state courts with three counts each of forgery and four counts each of failing to report suspicious transactions. No pleas were entered at that time, and both were released on bail.

The forgery charges, upon conviction, carry a maximum jail term each of up to four years. Failing to report a suspicious transaction is punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than 20,000 Singapore dollars (about $14,500).

At the time Ms. Seah was charged, her lawyer declined to comment, saying he needed to review the charges. On Friday, he declined further comment.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 November 2016, 7:53 am and is filed under
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Singaporean banker jailed for role in 1MDB scandal

Taipei Times

November 13, 2016

AFP, SINGAPORE

A Singaporean private banker was jailed on Friday on fraud charges relating to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal, becoming the first figure to be convicted in the international multibillion-dollar saga.

Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from the Malaysian state fund through money laundering have triggered a massive corruption scandal that has embroiled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Prosecutors said Yak Yew Chee (易有志), a former managing director at the Singapore branch of Swiss bank BSI SA, helped manage funds linked to 1MDB, which was set up by Najib with the help of a close family friend, Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho (劉特佐).

Yak, 57, who was also a private banker to Low, forged reference letters to Swiss banks and funds, and failed to report suspicious money transfers involving accounts belonging to his client, the prosecutors said.

He was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail after pleading guilty to four charges of forgery and failure to report suspicious transactions related to the investment fund.

He was also fined S$24,000 (US$17,000) by a Singaporean district court.

One of these transactions saw a 1MDB subsidiary transfer US$110 million, channeled through six banks and nine accounts, to the Swiss bank account of Selune Ltd, a company US investigators said is owned by Low.

The banker for the subsidiary, 1MDB Energy Ltd, was Falcon Private Bank Ltd, whose Singapore branch was shut down by regulators this year.

The complex web of transactions cut across international borders as the money passed through accounts controlled by Low and his father.

The transactions were flagged as suspicious by BSI compliance officers, but dismissed by the bank’s senior management who said that “intra-family transfers are not always going to be logical,” according to court documents.

Yak was paid a bonus of S$7.5 million for his dealings with Low that has now been forfeited to the state.

Najib, Low and 1MDB have all strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Before handing down the sentence, judge Jennifer Marie said she hoped “to send a strong signal to the public, and errant bankers in particular, that the courts will not tolerate such conduct that harms the standing and reputation of the financial institutions of Singapore.”

Singapore last year launched a probe into alleged illicit fund flows linked to 1MDB and closed down the local branches of two Swiss banks — BSI and Falcon Private Bank — involved in the scheme.

Singaporean authorities also seized about US$180 million in assets during their investigation. Half of the assets were linked to Low.

Another private banker, Singaporean Yeo Jiawei (楊家偉), 33, is also on trial in the city-state on charges of obstructing the investigation into the financial scandal.

The scandal is also being investigated by Switzerland — because Swiss banks were allegedly used to transfer illicit funds — and the US, where assets were purchased using allegedly laundered 1MDB money.

The US Department of Justice in July filed lawsuits in the US alleging a massive international conspiracy by Najib’s relatives and associates to steal billions from 1MDB.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 13 November 2016, 6:04 am and is filed under
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‘Jho Low was a big client who brought 1MDB deals to BSI’

By Chan Chao Peh / The Edge Financial Daily   | November 14, 2016

SINGAPORE: Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was an important client of BSI Bank (Singapore) Ltd because he brought a number of “very huge” deals to the bank, ex-BSI banker Yeo Jiawei told a Singapore court.

Yeo said Jho Low was a very important client of Yak Yew Chee, a senior relationship manager at BSI who was the person who gave instructions to him (Yeo) on what he (Jho Low) wanted done.

He described Jho Low as a “gatekeeper and adviser” to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Yeo is on trial for tampering with witnesses involved in Singapore’s investigations into the laundering of billions of dollars that belonged to 1MDB. He has also been charged with money laundering and the trial will start next April.

Last Friday Yak pleaded guilty and was jailed for 18 weeks and fined S$24,000 (RM72,850) for forging documents and failure to report suspicious transactions. He also forfeited a substantial part of the S$27 million he had earned for the billions of dollars in 1MDB related transactions.

Some of these transactions included US$790 million that originated from 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd and eventually ended up with bank accounts of companies whose beneficial owners were Jho Low, his father Tan Sri Larry Low Hock Peng and an associate Eric Tan Kim Loong.

BSI bank had helped create layers of pass through transactions that investigators now say were money laundering operations. BSI and another private bank Falcon have been shut by Singapore for their involvement in facilitating money laundering.

On the same day at his own trial last Friday, Yeo cited the first two major deals from Jho Low that Yak brought to BSI were US$100 million from SRC International Ltd in 2011 and US$2 billion in 2012 from Brazen Sky Ltd. Both were subsidiaries of 1MDB.

Yeo said he met Jho Low after he structured a trust for SRC in which money would be invested in the Enterprise Emerging Markets Fund. The fund subsequently gave money via a loan to Blackstone Asia Real Estate Ltd which investigators said was beneficiary owned by Tan.

Yeo also worked with corporate service company Amicorp to create the Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund which described itself as a high risk fund in which investors could lose all their money.

Brazen Sky invested US$2 billion in that fund whose custodian bank was BSI. This is the fund which subsequently became infamous in Malaysia when 1MDB and the ministry of finance later admitted that there was no cash in that account but just “units”.

Based on what has been revealed in Yeo’s trial so far, these units were either promissory notes or loans and sales and purchase agreements with third parties.

Yeo’s trial continues on Wednesday. —
theedgemarkets.com.sg

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 November 2016, 5:29 pm and is filed under
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Najib cannot be more wrong –  Malaysia is far from a  “mediocre”  country or we would not have become a “global kleptocracy” in seven short years!

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in Sabah on Saturday that Malaysia don’t want to be a mediocre country as his 2050 National Transformation (TN50) agenda is to become a class one nation.

But Najib cannot be more wrong as Malaysia is  far from a mediocre country or we would not have become a “global kleptocracy” in a matter of seven short years since his taking over as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia in April 2009!

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (Eighth edition 1990) defined “mediocre” as “(1) of middling quality, neither good nor bad; 2. second-rate”.

Malaysia is not “neither good nor bad” or  “second-rate” but extremely “bad” and first-rate, probably top of the class of nations in the realm of  “kleptocracy”.

In fact, I can think of no country which had leapt to the realm of a “global kleptocracy” in so short span of time – a feat none of the previous five Prime Ministers, including Najib’s father, Tun Razak, would  even have contemplated let alone accomplished!

I do not feel pride but  great mortification  that I could stand up in Parliament recently and express outrage that Malaysia is regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” – ruled by PPP, Pencuri, Perompak and Penyamun – without any sense of shame or outrage or action  by Barisan Nasional Ministers or MPs to rebut or refute such international infamy and ignominy or to purge and cleanse Malaysia’s international reputation if there is basis for such an appalling epithet. And not a single Barisan Nasional Minister protested!

It is still not too late to salvage and redeem Malaysia’s reputation  and declare to the whole world that Malaysia does not want to be in the league of global kleptocracies but want to be a class one nation in terms of democracy; united, tolerant and successful plural nation-building as a confluence of the great religions and civilizations in the world and economic prosperity and justice for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

Parliament has still two weeks before adjourning to March next year.

The least and last thing Parliament must do before it adjourns this year must be  to defend the country from the infamy and ignominy of the appalling epithet of a “global kleptocracy” through an unanimous motion to rebut and refute the epithet of a “global kleptocracy” or to cleanse and purge Malaysia of any kleptocratic phenonemon in the country so that Malaysia is a first-class country, not among the bad and kleptocratic ones, but  among the good and exemplary nations.

If the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is prepared to move such a motion in Parliament, all Pakatan Harapan MPs will support him.

In fact, such a motion should be the first item of Parliamentary business when Parliament reconvened on Oct. 17 for the 25-day 2017 Budget meeting.

But there was no such motion to defend the nation’s honour and reputation, but horror of horrors, there was the unprecedented ruling by the Speaker of Parliament invoking and mis-applying  the sub judice rule arising from lawsuits in a foreign land  to censor and outlaw question, debate and discussion not only about the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action for the forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, but anything concerning the 1MDB scandal.

I have been pondering as what could be  the rationale  behind such a unprecedented Speaker’s ruling on sub dice which is the first of its kind in the world.

Even the most senior UMNO/BN parliamentarian, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, had spoken up against it, saying that MPs should not be barred from discussing active cases in other countries as the sub judice rule only applied locally.

I do not think Najib Razak is so frail, fragile or brittle  that he needs such protection from a perverted sub judice ruling in Parliament, but undoubtedly, the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan had created a most delicate and difficult problem for Najib with his unauthorized admission in a BBC interview that the “MO1” (“MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1) mentioned 36 times in the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest kleptocratic lawsuit to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland was none other than Najib himself?

Was Najib or any other Minister to endorse Abdul Rahman’s admission and admit in Parliament that the “MO1” in the largest US DOJ kleptocratic suit is none other than Najib, or is Parliament to be told that Abdul Rahman, the “powerful” Minister in charge of Economic Planning Unit, was wrong and misguided?

It has not escaped notice that no other Minister had endorsed Abdul Rahman’s “bravado” admission that “MO1” is none other than Najib, all including Najib are  prepared to be regarded as “idiots” – after Abdul Rahman’s outburst in August that only an idiot does not know that “MO1” is Najib.

The Speaker’s perverted sub judice ruling banning all question, debate and discussion on the kleptocratic DOJ suit with its reference to MOI was apparently the only way to save the situation caused by Abdul Rahman’s bravado admission with the  BBC interview and banning the embarrassing  issue from being raised in Parliament.

This is why Abdul Rahman tried to make amends, with his ridiculous statement that MPs could discuss matters related to the US DOJ lawsuit on 1MDB anywhere outside Parliament although they are banned by the Speaker from touching on the matter inside Parliament.

Abdul Rahman should realise that he is not helping matters but is only adding oil to the fire which he created with his unauthorized “bravado” admission on BBC  that MO1 is Najib.

It is the height of ridicule that MPs are allowed to talk on DOJ suit anywhere in the country except in Parliament.  What type of a parliamentary democracy is this?

But what takes the cake in this “tragic-comedy of errors” is the recent announcement by a leader of a wing of a  Barisan Nasional component party that David Trump’s shock victory as US President  had been so inspirational that they are going to borrow Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan in the run-up to the 14th General Elections.

How can any BN component party march into the 14th General Elections with the slogan “Make Malaysia Great Again” when Malaysia is already great in becoming a global kleptocracy in seven short years?

Or to get down to earth, how could such a slogan be used when not a single BN leader, whether from UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, or the Sarawak/Sabah component parties dare to question Najib about the 1MDB scandal or Malaysia’s “global kleptocracy” as those who dare to do so, like former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former Rural and Regional Development Minister, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and former Kedah Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir found themselves outside UMNO/BN in no time?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 November 2016, 9:20 am and is filed under
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Rafizi’s conviction, jail sentence and disqualification as MP confront Malaysians with the stark choice in 14GE whether they want democracy or kleptocracy in Malaysia

November 14, 2016 is a black day for democracy in Malaysia. It is however a great day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Today, one of the most outspoken leaders in Malaysia against corruption and abuses of power, Rafizi Ramli, MP for Pandan and Secretary-General of PKR, was convicted on two charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocracy scandal, sentenced to 18 months’ jail each and will be disqualified from standing for election as a Member of Parliament in the next 14th General Elections unless his appeal against conviction and sentence could succeed in the higher courts.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak called for the rejection of hypocrisy in public policy and politics.

Is the Malaysian government led by the Prime Minister guilty of hypocrisy in public policy and politics, especially with regard to the greatest question confronting Malaysians today – whether Malaysia should be a democracy or a kleptocracy?

Singapore over the weekend saw the first criminal conviction linked to the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal when former managing director of BSI in Singapore, Yak Yew Chew, 57, pleaded guilty to four charges relating to forgery and failure to disclose information.

Yak was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail and a S$24,000 fine after he agreed to disgorge S$7.5 million and to co-operate with Singapore  investigations into the multi-billion dollar international 1MDB kleptocratic, embezzlement and money-laundering scandal.

In Malaysia, our first criminal conviction is not to uncover and penalize culprits and criminals responsible for the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal, which has caused the nation to suffer the international infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”, but against a person who had patriotically and valiantly stood up for full accountability and transparency for the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal!

Or compare how the Najib government had treated Rafizi and Jho Low, who had been described in the Singapore’s 1MDB-linked  trial as “gate-keeper and adviser to 1MDB”, and elsewhere as “mastermind” of 1MDB.

Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD)  have said that Jho Low is a person of interest in their continuing probe into the multi-billion dollar money-laundering scheme.

Jho Low has also been named by the US Department of Justice (DOJ)  as a partial beneficiary of around US$3.5 billion it believed was misappropriated from 1MDB and laundered through the US financial system.

But Rafizi, who wants to defend national interests by demanding full accountability for the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal, is heading for jail and disqualification as Member of Parliament, while Jho Low is still to be arrested by the local authorities or international police, and allegedly continuing to receive “red carpet” treatment as confidante of the Prime Minister.

Is this what justice and the rule of law have degenerated to, reflecting the deep hypocrisy of Malaysian public policy and politics?

Rafizi’s conviction for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal should be a priority agenda in Parliament, but no one expects this to be the case when  the Speaker could make the unprecedented ruling invoking and mis-applying  the sub judice rule to censor and outlaw question, debate and discussion not only about the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action for the forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, but anything concerning the 1MDB scandal.

Even the most senior UMNO/BN parliamentarian, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, had spoken up against it, saying that MPs should not be barred from discussing active cases in other countries as the sub judice rule only applied locally.

Is the remedy to the injustice of the conviction, sentence and disqualification of Rafizi for performing the patriot’s duty to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal only to be in the ballot boxes in the 14th GE, where voters have to decide whether Malaysia is to become a democracy or a kleptocracy?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 November 2016, 4:56 pm and is filed under
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1MDB: Malaysia’s extraordinary financial scandal

Daily Mail

By AFP

15 November 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been under fire since 2014 over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from state investment fund 1MDB in an audacious campaign of fraud and money-laundering.

On Saturday, an influential pro-reform group is planning a rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur to demand Najib’s ouster over the affair.

Here are some answers to key questions in the saga.

– What is 1MDB? –

1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is a state investment fund Najib launched in 2009 shortly after assuming office.

Its portfolio has included power plants and other energy assets in Malaysia and the Middle East, and real estate in Kuala Lumpur.

The fund has been closely overseen by Najib.

Whistle-blowers say Low Taek Jho, or “Jho Low”, a shadowy, jet-setting Malaysian financier close to Najib but who has no official positions, helped set up 1MDB and made key financial decisions.

– How did the scandal emerge? –

Concerns escalated in 2014 as 1MDB slid into an $11 billion debt hole, and the intensifying public scrutiny led to a string of revelations concerning missing funds.

The issue exploded in July 2015 when the Wall Street Journal published documents showing Najib received at least $681 million in payments to his personal bank accounts.

The US Justice Department piled on the pressure this year by filing lawsuits to seize more than $1 billion in assets it said were purchased with stolen 1MDB money.

– What are some key Justice Department allegations? –

— US authorities said a figure it calls “Malaysian Official 1” knowingly received huge sums of 1MDB money. A Malaysian Cabinet minister has since confirmed that official was Najib.

— From 2009-11, at least $1 billion was secretly diverted from a 1MDB joint venture with a Saudi energy firm to bank accounts controlled by Low, who has been photographed partying with the likes of Paris Hilton and Leonardo DiCaprio.

— $1.37 billion was diverted from a pair of 2012 bond offerings to accounts in the British Virgin Islands and Singapore, believed controlled by Low, as was $1.26 billion raised in a 2013 bond sale.

— Tens of millions of dollars in stolen money were used in 2012 by Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz, an aspiring film producer, to fund the Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street” starring DiCaprio.

— Hundreds of millions were used, mainly by Riza and Low, to purchase high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York, and London, a Monet painting for $35 million, a Van Gogh for $5.5 million, a $35 million Bombardier jet and a $100 million stake in EMI Music Publishing.

– Has anyone faced justice? –

A Singaporean private banker was sentenced last week to 18 weeks in jail for facilitating illicit money flows, and another banker in the city-state has been hit with similar charges.

Singapore has also shut down the local operations of two Swiss-based banks involved in the scheme.

But so far no big fish have been hooked.

Najib shut down domestic Malaysian investigations last year, denying wrongdoing and saying the scandal was concocted by his political enemies.

The US lawsuits do not target any individual for prosecution, but investigations in several countries are continuing.

– What impact has 1MDB had on Malaysia? –

Since the scandal emerged, Najib has purged 1MDB critics from his government, curbed domestic investigations, enacted a tough new security law and generally lurched to the right.

Political analysts say Najib’s strengthened hold makes it unlikely he will come clean, but critics accuse him of imperilling Malaysia’s already fragile democracy just to save his skin.

Tension over 1MDB simmers, with the pro-reform group Bersih saying it will proceed with its rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday despite authorities declaring it illegal. Past Bersih protests have ended in clashes with police.

But pro-government rightists are threatening to disrupt the demonstration, raising fears of violence.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 November 2016, 5:56 pm and is filed under
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Don’t forget 1MDB just yet

By Zan Azlee

Asian Correspondent

14th November 2016

A LOT of things happening in Malaysia are grabbing headlines in the news media, from the martial arts obsessed racist red shirts who break concrete blocks on their heads while demonstrating silat skills and protesting against clean and fair elections, to Prime Minister Najib Razak singing karaoke with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

This is all fine and good. I mean, these are current events and definitely newsworthy to be in the media. What I am trying to say is that, although we can and do consume news that is absurd and amusing to our hearts, we should also not forget the news that is more important and has a more adverse affect on society.

Recently, news just broke about how the Malaysian government has refused to provide information and to collaborate with Switzerland’s authorities who are currently investigating corruption allegations within their banking system that is related to the 1MDB scandal, 1MDB being the controversy hit national sovereign wealth fund.

According to news reports, Malaysia is refusing to provide details to the Swiss authorities because apparently, the attorney-general’s office claims that there is an on-going police investigation by Malaysian police on the 1MDB. And this isn’t the first time they have refused to assist.

The 1MDB scandal has been reported in the news for a few years now and almost anyone with a slight interest in current affairs will now the basic premise of the story. Funds for the organisation were mysteriously obtained and misappropriated. Najib Razak has been linked to it because Malaysia money was alleged to have been transferred to his personal account.

Other notable people who have been linked to it and are currently being investigated by authorities from multiple countries around the world such Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, Australia and of course Switzerland, include Najib’s step-son Riza Aziz and a businessman named Jho Low. Some celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro have been linked too.

But here’s the thing. After the passing of time, more sensational news seem to be dominating the headlines that the 1MDB story is slowly losing the attention even as more developments start creeping out of the woodwork. And it would seem that the Malaysian government would be happy for the smokescreening.

In the past few months, many people have been trying very hard to keep the issue alive in the minds of the public. Former Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah gave a speech in Parliament in October and he raised certain concerns, issues and information relating to 1MDB.

For this, he was called up by the police and questioned. They have now classified Husni’s remarks as seditious and also allegedly, the speech may have violated the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972. Husni is not the only one in trouble — so are former Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Minister of Rural Development Shafie Apdal.

Speaker, Pandikar Amin Mulia, has declared any discussion relating to 1MDB as off limits in Parliament since investigations on the case is still going on. He is being criticised for his decision because the investigations are all happening outside of Malaysia. Malaysian authorities have closed investigations and declared no wrongdoing.

Of the three former Cabinet ministers who have gotten in trouble for criticising the 1MDB scandal in Parliament, Muhyiddin and Shafie were actually sacked last year for being too vocal and critical against Prime Minister Najib, while Husni resigned of his own accord from his post and from the Umno party last June.

If one were to look at all the developments of how the case is being handled in Malaysia, it would be easy to assume that the government is trying to kill any interest in the scandal that Malaysians have by stopping all discussion, dialogue or talk surrounding it.

That’s why it is important that the media continue to follow up on the issue and to make it the headline whenever it is deserving so that Malaysians, and the world, won’t forget. Let it be sensationalised and let it be politicised. That is the only way.

Only then will the pressure be on and for the investigations to really bring who is accountable to justice. Remember, the billions of Ringgit involved is the people’s money. Hard earned money from people who expect that money be put to proper use for the good of the country and for the people.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 November 2016, 6:48 pm and is filed under
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MalaysiaKini commended for its  frame-by-frame footage of the  Jamal red-nose incident during the Red Shirts’ anti-Bersih outing at Ampang Point to highlight the provocation of kleptocrats and their ilk to sabotage Bersih 5

Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics,  have a rendezvous with history at  the Bersih 5  rally outside Dataran Merdeka on Saturday, November 19, to send a clear, united and unmistakable message to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Malaysians and the watching world of their resolve to  reclaim Malaysia as a land of democracy and not to become a  land of kleptocracy.

The conviction and  jail sentence of one of the most outspoken leaders in Malaysia against corruption and abuses of power, Rafizi Ramli, MP for Pandan and Secretary-General of PKR, on two charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocracy scandal, and his disqualification to stand for election as an MP in the forthcoming 14th General Election, has highlighted the special pertinence and importance of Bersih 5 rally this Saturday.

Today, November 14, 2016 is a black day for democracy in Malaysia. It is however a great day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Let November 19, 2016 be a great day for democracy and a black day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Malaysians regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics must reclaim the country as a democracy and not a kleptocracy – and let this begin on Bersih 5 on Saturday, culminating in the 14th General Election expected next year.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak called for the rejection of hypocrisy in public policy and politics.

Is the Malaysian government led by the Prime Minister guilty of hypocrisy in public policy and politics, especially with regard to the greatest question confronting Malaysians today – whether Malaysia should be a democracy or a kleptocracy?

Singapore over the weekend saw the first criminal conviction linked to the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal when former managing director of BSI in Singapore, Yak Yew Chew, 57, pleaded guilty to four charges relating to forgery and failure to disclose information.

Yak was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail and a S$24,000 fine after he agreed to disgorge S$7.5 million and to co-operate with Singapore  investigations into the multi-billion dollar international 1MDB kleptocratic, embezzlement and money-laundering scandal.

In Malaysia, our first criminal conviction is not to uncover and penalize culprits and criminals responsible for the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal, which has caused the nation to suffer the international infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”, but against a person who had patriotically and valiantly stood up for full accountability and transparency in the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal!

Is this what justice and the rule of law have degenerated to, reflecting the deep hypocrisy of Malaysian public policy and politics?

Rafizi’s conviction for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal should be a priority agenda in Parliament, but no one expects this to be the case when  the Speaker could make the unprecedented ruling invoking and mis-applying  the sub judice rule to censor and outlaw question, debate and discussion not only about the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action for the forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, but anything concerning the 1MDB scandal.

Even the most senior UMNO/BN parliamentarian, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, had spoken up against the Speaker’s unprecedented ruling, saying that MPs should not be barred from discussing active cases in other countries as the sub judice rule only applied locally.

Let Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics come out in unprecedented numbers on Saturday for Bersih 5 to stage a  massive Gandhian peaceful and non-violent demonstration for the sake of our children and children’s children.

I am 75 and have been in politics for 50 years. I do not expect to gain anything personally from Bersih 5 but only to fight for a better Malaysia, a land of democracy and not kleptocracy, for future generations of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics.

There are agent provocateurs out of create fear and hate to sabotage Bersih 5, like  UMNO’s Red Shirts.

In this connection, Malaysiakini must be commended for its latest frame-by-frame footage of the Jamal Yunos red-nose incident during the latest Red Shirts’ thuggish anti-Bersih outing at Ampang Point shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The Red Shirts leader, Jamal Md Yunos  had sustained injuries to his nose during a scuffle when the police prevented members of the red-shirts movement from trailing PKR activists at the Ampang Point shopping mall.

Video footage showed Jamal shouting repeatedly, “Polis tumbuk saya (police punched me)”, but he later claimed that the assailant was linked to PKR Wanita chief and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin and subsequently lodged a false police report that he was struck by someone in a yellow Bersih T-shirt. From the video footage, the alleged assailant appeared to be wearing dark blue.

This is the morality, quality and character of agent provocateurs who are trying to sabotage a peaceful, non-violent, Gandhian and democratic Bersih 5 rally on Saturday.

Let Malaysians unite as one people for Bersih 5 at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday, November 19 to start a national, democratic, peaceful , non-violent, Gandhian movement to reclaim Malaysia for democracy and reject the kleptocrats and their ilk in Malaysia.

Najib had asked how I could work with Tun Dr. Mahathir despite our decade of political differences.

Let me tell Najib, that if he is prepared to join the movement to Save Malaysia, to reclaim the country for democracy and to reject kleptocracy, I am prepared to work hand-in-hand with him for the national cause  despite our political differences!

(Speech at the “Bersih 5 – Ke Arah Malaysia Baru” Ceramah at Kompleks Sukan Pandamaran in  Klang on Monday, 14th November 2016 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 November 2016, 6:52 am and is filed under
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Malaysia’s 1MDB in university hard sell

BEN BUTLER and KYLAR LOUSSIKIAN

The Australian

November 15, 2016

An investigation by US authorities into the alleged theft of billions of dollars from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB was in part fuelled by Attorney-General Loretta Lynch’s desire to divert attention from Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, according to materials distributed in private lectures given by the company’s chief executive Arul Kanda in Australia last week.

The glossy 20-page booklet claims the US Department of Justice investigation, which has so far resulted in the freezing of more than $US1 billion ($1.34bn) in assets allegedly removed from 1MDB, is “questionable, strange and bizarre” and threatens the stability of Malaysia.

When it was set up in 2009, 1MDB was touted as a development bank that would invest billions of dollars into energy, real estate and hospitality, but the DoJ alleges the pillaging of the fund began within months of its creation.

Under increasing pressure from the series of international investigations, 1MDB and the Malaysian Special Affairs Department, JASA, have been secretly shoring up support among backers of the country’s ruling party in a series of closed-door lectures at Australian universities.

The tour followed an apparent pivot towards China by Malaysia, a long-time US ally, with Prime Minister Najib Razak visiting Beijing a fortnight ago to sign a 55 billion ringgit ($17bn) railway construction contract with the state-owned China Communications Construction Company.

CCCC, which owns Australian contractor John Holland, has previously denied reports the railway deal was inflated to conceal 1MDB’s financial black hole.

Accompanied by JASA officials, 1MDB chief executive Arul Kanda last week appeared at three Australian campuses — in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane — where the pamphlet, entitled “DoJ’s summons is questionable”, was distributed.

When confronted by The Australian at the University of NSW about the alleged corruption, including the funnelling of hundreds of millions of dollars into the personal bank account of Mr Razak, Mr Kanda refused to answer questions and was quickly ushered into a waiting car.

Mr Kanda did not meet with any Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade officials while in Australia, nor anyone at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission or at ANZ, which owns a quarter of AmBank, the Malaysian bank where Mr Najib held the account that allegedly received the money.

ANZ last week attempted to distance itself from the scandal engulfing its Malaysian affiliate. The bank’s chief executive, Shayne Elliott, who was on the AmBank board until October last year, told a parliamentary inquiry the bank had not investigated activities of ANZ employees seconded into senior AmBank ranks at the time.

Responding in writing to questions after the hearing, Mr Elliott also declined to comment on his knowledge of an internal investigation into the vast flow of money through Mr Najib’s account, or discussions of the issue while he was on the AmBank board, citing “confidentiality requirements under Malaysian law”.

The contents of Mr Kanda’s presentation on Australian campuses is unknown, with The Australian ejected from the lecture shortly after it began.

However, the unsigned pamphlet, released ahead of the US presidential election, claims the US attorney-general was pursuing the fund as she is “eager to obtain a position under the leadership of the incoming president”.

“Loretta (Lynch) intends to align the media’s and citizen’s views away from the allegations that she was ‘choosing sides’ as she did not take any further action following the Hillary Clinton email scandal,” the document, which was written in Malay and translated by The Australian, reads.

The unsigned pamphlet also attempts to cast doubt that Mr Najib is the person referred to in DoJ court filings as “Malaysian Official 1” and in the Malaysian media as “MO1”, and who is identified as the beneficiary of much of the brazen theft from 1MDB via an account at AmBank.

“DoJ did not name MO1 because the complaint that was made did not contain information and evidence to link MO1 with any assets and criminal wrongdoing such as was mentioned in the report,” it claims.

But Malaysia’s Housing Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan in an interview with the BBC in September admitted Mr Najib was “MO1”.

The Malaysian Ministry of Communications, of which JASA is a part, did not respond to questions from The Australian about the presentation or the pamphlet, although Malaysia’s Deputy Communications Minister Jailani Johari last week said Mr Kanda funded his Australian trip himself except for “his food and beverages”.

The pamphlet claims 1MDB will make a surplus of 2.96bn ringgit when it is finally shuttered in 2039 as part of a “rationalisation plan”. This forecast relies on cash flows including 12.29bn ringgit from 1MDB’s key urban renewal project in Kuala Lumpur, Tun Razak Exchange, part of which is to be developed by Australian developer Lend Lease.

It also relies on recovering $US1bn ($1.32) from Abu Dhabi sovereign fund the International Petroleum Investment Company under a disputed bond guarantee.

DoJ investigators believe $US1.367bn raised in a $US3.5bn 2012 bond issue was siphoned into a Swiss bank account and distributed to associates of a key player in the alleged scam, Malaysian businessman and Najib associate Jho Low.

IPIC has refused to pay the guarantee and has launched arbitration proceedings against 1MDB in London, which the pamphlet claims there is “full confidence” 1MDB will win.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 November 2016, 2:19 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Running Out of Trump Cards

By Andy Mukherjee

Bloomberg

Nov 13, 2016

Amid a deepening emerging-market rout, three of Donald Trump’s seven promises to American workers are making Asia particularly nervous.A U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership would kill the 12-nation deal, while labeling China as a currency manipulator is set to provoke a tit-for-tat response. If the president-elect delivers on those two threats, the export-led region will wait for Trump to make good on his vow to end “all foreign trading abuses.”Although no Asian nation would relish the prospect of an all-out trade war, Malaysian investors are perhaps most at risk.

Why Malaysia? China, Japan, South Korea, India and Singapore are among America’s 15 biggest trading partners; Malaysia is not. And while it’s a TPP member, the accord’s demise is the least of Kuala Lumpur’s worries. It might even be a short-term boon. After all, the Southeast Asian country is an energy and palm-oil exporter. It’s not terribly competitive at much else.

Opening up Malaysia’s consumer economy of 30 million people as part of the free-trade bargain could turn a fast-vanishing current-account surplus into a permanent deficit. That would weigh on the ringgit, scare away investors in Malaysian bonds, and lead to a spike in companies’ cost of capital.

But TPP being dead doesn’t help either. For one, dollars are in short supply in the banking system, and therefore a flight to safety among investors jittery about a Trump presidency makes Malaysia a particularly vulnerable emerging market.

This can be seen in the overall cost for a bank trying to raise dollar funds by borrowing locally in the interbank market, using those ringgit to purchase greenbacks in the spot market and then selling them forward by, say, three months. That operation now costs 1.78 percent, the stiffest premium over Libor among major Asian economies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The dollar crunch may ease if the ringgit falls, so foreign investors would find local currency-denominated assets cheap again. But authorities can’t allow an abrupt exchange-rate adjustment to take place right now. Among other things, a weaker home currency would push up dollar-linked coal-purchase costs for power producer Tenaga Nasional Bhd.; those pressures would in turn get passed on to consumers who are already among the most indebted in the region.

That would be an ill-timed blow. Friday’s GDP report might have masked the weakness in Malaysia’s consumer economy, but bank lending trends offer a clue.

The so-called Amanah Saham Bumiputera unit trusts, which are available only to the indigenous Malay Muslim population, have been a popular asset for banks to lend against. But advances against such securities are slumping. According to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Diksha Gera, retail clients may be redeeming their unit-trust investments to manage their cash flow better amid higher living costs.

Cashing Out

A global probe into allegations of theft and the laundering of billions of dollars from Malaysian state-run investment fund 1MDB led to the first conviction in Singapore on Friday. The scandal has weighed on both investor and consumer sentiment.

However, an early election may be in the cards and the government has been throwing money around to placate voters. Since May, domestically focused Public Bank Bhd. has outperformed its larger and more international rival Malayan Banking Bhd. on expectations consumers will shake off their blues.

But on Friday, the Malaysian currency fell 0.7 percent onshore. If that doesn’t sound like much, it’s only because the central bank may have intervened to prevent a steeper slide. In offshore forward markets, where the bets are settled in dollars, the ringgit dropped to a 12-year low.

If fears about a Trump presidency keep exchange rates volatile, and the $5.5 billion of foreign inflows into Malaysian bond markets turn into outflows, hopes consumers will provide a floor to the economy may quickly disappear.

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In Malaysia’s heartland, a call to action over corruption

Daily Mail

By AFP

15 November 2016

With yellow flags waving and vuvuzelas blaring, a convoy of two dozen cars snakes into the sleepy Malaysian town of Batu Gajah, breaking the rural calm with warnings of corruption and national decay.

For nearly seven weeks, Malaysia’s leading pro-reform group has waged an information insurgency through towns and villages nationwide, shining light on a scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak and state-owned fund 1MDB.

In public speeches, flyers and door-to-door canvassing, the unprecedented campaign attempts to explain a highly complex and seemingly distant affair in what is essentially hostile territory — Malaysia’s pro-government rural heartland.

“We have planted the seed. The seed where people actually start to ask what is (the) 1MDB scandal all about?” said Maria Chin Abdullah, chair of civil-society alliance Bersih, during a recent swing through rural central Malaysia.

Bersih, an alliance of 93 NGOs and other groups that has staged some of Malaysia’s largest-ever protests, caps its pitch with a call to attend a demonstration in the capital Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to demand Najib’s resignation.

“There is no turning back. We should not be intimidated, because for 50 years we have been intimidated into silence,” Chin said, referring to nearly six decades of control by the corruption-prone ruling coalition.

– Country roads –

Malaysia has been seized for more than a year by allegations that Najib and associates plundered billions of dollars from 1MDB, which he founded and oversaw.

The globe-spanning scandal has sparked investigations in several countries including the United States, which in July filed lawsuits to recover 1MDB-linked ill-gotten gains.

Najib, 63, denies wrongdoing, but last year purged critics and shut down domestic investigations. He says his accusers need to “move on”.

Bersih staged large Kuala Lumpur demonstrations in recent years to demand reform, including a peaceful 1MDB protest by tens of thousands in August 2015.

But the current campaign marks its first major rural outreach.

Under a tent in the tiny oil palm hamlet of Kampung Changkat Tualang, villagers listened to lawyer-activist Chin’s warnings of a “crisis” of corruption, as palm trees rustled and chickens squawked.

The message resonated with Jamiah Yop Mat Ali, 81.

She quit Najib’s ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) years ago, saying it had forsaken its original goal of Malay empowerment in favour of money politics and patronage while poor communities struggled with rising costs.

“We must change our leaders. Our lives now are difficult,” said Jamiah, who yearned for “the good old days” of clean government and less divisive politics.

No one expects Saturday’s rally to unseat Najib. UMNO has won recent by-elections and he looks secure.

But with general elections looming in the next 18 months, Bersih hopes to raise doubts among rural Malays, multi-cultural Malaysia’s majority group and UMNO’s bedrock.

Muslim Malays have for decades relied on UMNO handouts and warnings that only the party can protect them from progressive Malays and the industrious Chinese minority.

– Devil in the details –

But apathy and conservative attitudes die hard in the heartland, and only a handful of Jamiah’s 150 fellow villagers turned out, though Bersih says the response overall has been strong.

“The (urban) response is fantastic,” said opposition parliamentarian Nizar Jamaluddin, who took part in the campaign, but rural Malay areas are an “UMNO fortress”.

The complexity and opacity of 1MDB’s bewildering fund flows adds to the challenge, said Bersih activist Sandrea Ng.

She said nearly every Malaysian has heard of the now-notorious scandal but “people find it very difficult to understand” what happened and why it matters to them.

Bersih also blames official intimidation for suppressing turnout.

In Kampung Changkat Tualang, dozens of police photographed villagers or recorded their particulars at Chin’s appearance.

The “Red Shirts”, an UMNO-aligned rightist group has obstructed or assaulted Bersih activists along their route, and its firebrand leader has vowed to disrupt Saturday’s rally, raising fears of violence.

Bersih supporters clashed with police in past demonstrations, and authorities have declared Saturday’s rally illegal though there is no sign they will crack down.

Chin, 60, who has received death threats including images doctored to depict her family members decapitated, vows to barrel ahead.

“I believe (the) 19th of November is a time where we can send a strong message that the people are ready for change,” Chin said.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 November 2016, 7:27 am and is filed under
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Is the Najib camp trying to ingratiate with the new  Trump team by alleging that the US DOJ suit on 1MDB was part of US AG Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hilary Clinton’s email controversy and should be abandoned by the Trump administration?

Is the Najib camp trying to ingratiate with the new  Trump team by alleging that the US DOJ suit on 1MDB was part of US AG Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hilary Clinton’s email controversy and should be abandoned by the Trump administration?

Two recent events seem to mark a new “offensive” by the Najib administration on the 1MDB global embezzlement and money-laundering scandal, viz:

•	Najib’s written interview with Nikkei Asian Review seeking to claim credit that it was he himself who first instructed multiple authorities in Malaysia to conduct investigations to the 1MDB scandal and blaming the 1MDB issue of having become “highly politicized, with certain elements within Malaysia attempting to exploit it for their own personal political benefit” and “feeding foreign authorities with, at times, false or incomplete information”; and

•	The latest round of propaganda offensive by Najib’s propaganda arm, the Special Affairs Department (JASA) of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, among Malaysian university overseas claiming that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action in its US$1 billion forfeiture lawsuit against 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland because of over US$3 billion the international conspiracy of embezzlement and money-laundering of 1MDB funds was in part fuelled by US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hillary Clinton’s email controversy.

The allegation that the US DOJ’s largest kleptocratic action against 1MDB under the US Kleptocratic Asset Recovery Initiative 2010 was partly fuelled by the Hillary-Trump presidential battle  for the White House is doubly significant, firstly, because it is the first time that the Malaysian authorities have made such an allegation about the motivation of  the US DOJ action against 1MDB; and secondly,  it would appear to be a deliberate shift of Putrajaya’s 1MDB  strategy to ingratiate with Trump team following the shocking Trump win for the White House bid, hoping to get the Trump administration to drop the DOJ suit altogether!

The Australian media has reported that in the latest 1MDB propaganda offensive  launched by JASA officials and 1MDB chief executive Arul Kanda at three Australian campuses – Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane – a glossy 20-page booklet entitled “DoJ’s summons is questionable” was distributed.

The glossy booklet claims the US DOJ action  is “questionable, strange and bizarre” and threatens the stability of Malaysia.

It alleged that the action by the US authorities against 1MDB was in part fuelled by Attorney-General Loretta Lynch’s desire to divert attention from Hillary Clinton’s email controversy.

The
Australian Businss Review
, in its report
“Malaysia’s 1MDB in university hard sell”
 on Nov. 15, 2016, said:

“When it was set up in 2009, 1MDB was touted as a development bank that would invest billions of dollars into energy, real estate and hospitality, but the DoJ alleges the pillaging of the fund began within months of its creation.

“Under increasing pressure from the series of international investigations, 1MDB and the Malaysian Special Affairs Department, JASA, have been secretly shoring up support among backers of the country’s ruling party in a series of closed-door lectures at Australian universities.”

It reported:

“Accompanied by JASA officials, 1MDB chief executive Arul Kanda last week appeared at three Australian campuses — in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane — where the pamphlet, entitled ‘DoJ’s summons is questionable’, was distributed.

“When confronted by The Australian at the University of NSW about the alleged corruption, including the funnelling of hundreds of millions of dollars into the personal bank account of Mr Razak, Mr Kanda refused to answer questions and was quickly ushered into a waiting car.

“Mr Kanda did not meet with any Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade officials while in Australia, nor anyone at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission or at ANZ, which owns a quarter of AmBank, the Malaysian bank where Mr Najib held the account that allegedly received the money.

“ANZ last week attempted to distance itself from the scandal engulfing its Malaysian affiliate. The bank’s chief executive, Shayne Elliott, who was on the AmBank board until October last year, told a parliamentary inquiry the bank had not investigated activities of ANZ employees seconded into senior AmBank ranks at the time.

“Responding in writing to questions after the hearing, Mr Elliott also declined to comment on his knowledge of an internal investigation into the vast flow of money through Mr Najib’s account, or discussions of the issue while he was on the AmBank board, citing ‘confidentiality requirements under Malaysian law’.

“The contents of Mr Kanda’s presentation on Australian campuses is unknown, with The Australian ejected from the lecture shortly after it began.

“However, the unsigned pamphlet, released ahead of the US presidential election, claims the US attorney-general was pursuing the fund as she is ‘eager to obtain a position under the leadership of the incoming president’.

“’Loretta (Lynch) intends to align the media’s and citizen’s views away from the allegations that she was ‘choosing sides’ as she did not take any further action following the Hillary Clinton email scandal,’ the document, which was written in Malay and translated by The Australian, reads.

“The unsigned pamphlet also attempts to cast doubt that Mr Najib is the person referred to in DoJ court filings as ‘Malaysian Official 1’ and in the Malaysian media as “MO1”, and who is identified as the beneficiary of much of the brazen theft from 1MDB via an account at AmBank.

“’DoJ did not name MO1 because the complaint that was made did not contain information and evidence to link MO1 with any assets and criminal wrongdoing such as was mentioned in the report,” it claims.”

The question that must be asked is whether  the Najib camp is  trying to ingratiate with the new  Trump team by alleging that the US DOJ suit on 1MDB was part of US AG Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hilary Clinton’s email controversy and that it  should be abandoned together by the Trump administration?

Is JASA prepared to make public its new glossy 20-page booklet entitled “DoJ’s summons is questionable” or is it a tendentious, scurrilous and disreputable publication which cannot stand public scrutiny and can only bring further shame and humiliation to the Najib government?

Is  the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Mohd Salleh Mohd  Keruak or the Prime Minister himself prepared to override JASA and order this new JASA publication to be made public?

Najib’s claim that he was the first to initiate investigations into the 1MDB scandal and therefore wants to whole truth about the 1MDB scandal to be exposed, is most laughable and incredulous, when for over seven months, even the  very weak, diluted and attenuated recommendation of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for criminal action be taken against 1MDB officers had not been acted upon!

Najib is very naïve if he thinks that Malaysians and the world had forgotten all the actions that had been taken to frustrate a courageous and  full public accounting of the 1MDB scandal – how the Special Task Force on 1MDB, comprising four Tan Sris had been dismantled; how PAC, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Bank Negara and the Police were brownbeaten when they were too zealous in wanting to get to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal;  the sacking of the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Gani Patail, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Rural and Regional Development Minister, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and most recently, the stepping down of the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Husni Hanadzlah who was last year appointed the Cabinet Spokesman for 1MDB – all connected to 1MDB – and most recently, the unprecedented ruling of the Speaker of Parliament barring all questions, debate and discussion about the US DOJ suit on the ridiculous ground of “sub judice”.

As a result of the multi-billion dollar 1MDB international embezzlement and money-laundering scandal, Malaysia in the past few months is regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”.

Najib recently asked how I could work with Tun Dr. Mahathir despite our decade of political differences.

Let me tell Najib, that if he is prepared to join the movement to Save Malaysia, to reclaim the country for democracy and to reject kleptocracy, I am prepared to work hand-in-hand with him for the national cause despite our political differences!

Is Najib prepared to work with me to Save Malaysia so that Malaysia can be a democracy and not a kleptocracy?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 November 2016, 11:54 am and is filed under
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Some politicizing 1MDB for personal advantage, Malaysian leader says

CK TAN

Nikkei Asian Review

November 15, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says it was he who first ordered probes of a troubled state investment fund, and he charges that the issue has been politicized by “certain elements.”

Malaysian authorities, including a bipartisan parliamentary committee, had concluded that weaknesses existed in the management of 1MDB, but none of its executives have been charged so far on allegations of embezzlement. However, authorities in Singapore, Switzerland and the U.S. are probing entities and people related to 1MDB for possible money laundering and other offenses.

In written responses to questions from the Nikkei Asian Review ahead of a three-day visit to Tokyo that begins Tuesday, Najib also touched on Malaysia’s plans for high-speed rail as well as relations with China and Japan. Below are excerpts from the responses.

Q: Foreign governments are investigating the misappropriation of funds related to 1MDB. Do you consider these actions as interference? Will Malaysia reopen investigations into the fund following probes in foreign jurisdictions?

A: Malaysian authorities have actually led the way in investigations into 1MDB. It was I who first instructed multiple authorities in Malaysia to conduct investigations. For example, the company has been the subject of investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the auditor general, the police and the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, which includes opposition politicians. I have always made clear that full cooperation should be extended to any investigation provided it is in accordance with the laws of our country. Furthermore, as I have consistently stated, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception.

However, it is important to note that this has become a highly politicized matter, with certain elements within Malaysia attempting to exploit this for their own personal political benefit, and feeding foreign authorities with at times false or incomplete information. Those outside Malaysia cannot always appreciate these complexities, but it is something they should bear in mind to avoid becoming entangled in what has become a domestic political matter.

Q. If the US fails to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership, how will Malaysia react? If the US requests a renegotiation, will Malaysia agree?

A: While we are aware of President-elect Donald Trump’s stated views on the agreement, it would be premature for us to make any conclusions before he assumes office.

In its current guise, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement cannot come into force without the United States’ involvement. As such, it is not a question of whether or not Malaysia — or any other country for that matter — could still proceed with its ratification.

Whether TPP proceeds or not, we remain committed to strengthening our economic and trade ties with the U.S. and the other countries involved.

Q: Malaysia has deepened economic and defense ties with China recently. Will this relationship strengthen further? Is Malaysia reconsidering its relationship with the U.S.?

A: While Malaysia and China have enjoyed a strong relationship since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1974, the ties between our two countries have reached new levels over recent years, and this is a trend we expect to continue. This is not surprising given that China is our largest trading partner and accounts for over 15% of trade outside our borders.

Having said that, Malaysia’s relationship with any one country does not come at the expense of its relationship with any other country. And as far as the United States is concerned, this is a relationship we place great importance on. Indeed, this is reflected by the elevation of our bilateral relationship to a comprehensive partnership in 2014. We already cooperate on a range of areas including the economy, trade, security and defense – and hope to further enhance our relationship under President-elect Trump.

Q: What is the most important factor in the bidding to build the high-speed rail line connecting Kuala Lumpur to Singapore?

A: The planned high-speed rail service between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore will be the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by our country.

This is something we are tremendously excited about, and we are committed to an objective, transparent and competitive selection process in the form of a public tender to find the best railway system. The shinkansen system’s long record of safety, reliability and excellence ensures that it will be a competitive player in the bidding process.

Q: ASEAN’s decision-making process is criticized as slow. Should the consensus-based process be changed to one based on a majority?

A: I believe that this is one of the unique factors about [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] — and, indeed, is what we call “the ASEAN way.”

Everything that ASEAN has achieved is as a result of the collective efforts of its 10 member states. As such, this consensus style of decision-making has served the community well — politically, economically, socially and culturally — and should be preserved.

Does it sometimes lead to frustrations, particularly when we face deadlocks while trying to make fast and impactful decisions? Perhaps. But, at the end of the day, the strong solidarity between the member states allows us to have a robust dialogue and inevitably land at an amicable solution that is in our collective interests.

Q: What is Malaysia’s stance on The Hague’s ruling on the maritime claims by China?

A: Malaysia has consistently held, and expressed, the view that all claims in the South China Sea must be based and resolved in accordance with international law. We believe it is important for all parties to respect diplomatic and legal processes, and resolve any disputes and differences peacefully through negotiations.

Q: What is the purpose of your visit to Tokyo?

A: Malaysia and Japan have always enjoyed a cordial relationship based on mutual trust and respect. I was therefore delighted to accept Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s invitation to make a working visit to the country — and we will be discussing bilateral matters as well as issues of regional and international importance.

In addition to my talks with Prime Minister Abe, I will also be meeting with ministers from various departments including land, infrastructure, transport and tourism and the business community.

In terms of our bilateral relationship, Malaysia and Japan are currently in the second phase of the Look East Policy, and in line with that we will continue to enhance institutional cooperation between our two countries. In particular, I am committed to increasing trade and investment flows — specifically in areas such as innovation and cutting-edge technology, high-tech skills and services development, and renewable energy. Japan has led the way in many of these sectors, and we are keen to learn, and cooperate, with the country in these areas.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 November 2016, 6:37 am and is filed under
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Critic of Najib Razak, Malaysian Leader, Gets Prison for 1MDB Disclosure

By RICHARD C. PADDOCK

New York Times

NOV. 14, 2016

BANGKOK — An outspoken member of Malaysia’s Parliament was sentenced on Monday to 18 months in prison for publicly disclosing classified information from an official audit into a scandal-plagued government investment fund.

A lower court ruled that the lawmaker, Rafizi Ramli, was guilty of violating the Official Secrets Act by possessing and publicizing information from the document. Mr. Rafizi, who has served in Parliament since 2013, could also lose his seat and be barred from running for office for five years.

Rights advocates said the prosecution and conviction of a sitting member of Parliament for speaking publicly was unprecedented and was aimed at silencing one of the government’s most vocal critics.

“The 18 months’ imprisonment sentence can only be described as harsh and excessive, all the more so as Rafizi was merely performing his role as an elected representative,” Lawyers for Liberty, a Malaysian human rights organization, said in a statement.

“The conviction and sentence will create a dangerous chill on free speech and result in a more repressive, opaque and unaccountable government.”

Mr. Rafizi, a member of the People’s Justice Party, has been a leading critic of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is accused of receiving $1 billion from 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, a government investment fund that Mr. Najib established and oversaw. Mr. Najib has said that he never received any money from the fund or took anything for personal gain.

The United States Justice Department says that more than $3 billion is missing from the fund and that at least $731 million of it was deposited into the personal bank account of the prime minister, identified as “Malaysian Official 1.”

The Justice Department filed suit in federal court in California in July to recover more than $1 billion in assets that it said were acquired by Mr. Najib’s stepson and close associates in the United States with money stolen from the fund, including high-end real estate and expensive artwork.

The prime minister has held on to power by firing critics within his own party, blocking investigations and suppressing dissent. No one in Malaysia has been prosecuted over the missing money.

The government conducted an audit of the investment fund, which it then classified as secret under the Official Secrets Act. Mr. Rafizi’s conviction was based on comments he made at a news conference in March in which he discussed a page of the audit that dealt with the fund’s failure to make payments.

Around the time of his sentencing, Mr. Rafizi posted on Twitter: “I am not shocked, sad, angry, afraid or anything. No such feelings. Just another day. Been like this. What doesn’t kill u makes u stronger.” He did not respond to requests for comment, but associates said they expected him to appeal.

Cynthia Gabriel, director of the Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism, based in Malaysia, questioned the purpose of having an audit if the findings were to be kept secret.

“The Official Secrets Act is being used to hide corruption,” she said. “We need freedom of information laws to help the public monitor and bring to account powerful politicians and businesses.”

The prime minister’s office defended the prosecution of Mr. Rafizi by saying that he broke the law to make a political point and wanted to become a “political martyr.”

“He tried a cheap stunt for personal political gain, but he knowingly committed a serious crime in doing so,” said Abdul Rahman Dahlan, a minister in the office. “It is right that he pays the price — and he has only himself to blame.”

Opponents of the prime minister plan to hold a rally on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, the capital. A similar event last year drew as many as 100,000 people, most wearing yellow T-shirts with the slogan, “Bersih,” or “clean” in Malay, despite a government ban on the garments. A court later upheld the prohibition on the grounds that the shirts posed a threat to national security.

Maria Chin Abdullah, a leader of the Bersih movement, said the Official Secrets Act gives the prime minister extraordinary power to suppress potentially damaging information.

“The act vests vast powers in the hands of the executive to conceal key information from public access and to decide on what constitutes ‘official secrets,’ which cannot be challenged in court on any grounds,” she said.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, said the conviction went further than the government’s previous steps to block criticism.

“This prosecution really is unprecedented because it involves a sitting MP, and the content is the Auditor General’s annual report, which prior to this year has regularly been released to the public after being introduced in Parliament,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 November 2016, 8:13 am and is filed under
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Ex-BSI banker trial: Yeo Jiawei slept at Jho Low’s house, wore his clothes, says prosecutor

Grace Leong

Straits Times

Nov 17, 2016

DPP accuses defendant of downplaying ties with Malaysian tycoon

Former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei was so close to controversial Malaysian tycoon Jho Low that he slept at his apartment, flew on his private jet and even wore his clothes, a court heard yesterday.

The claims arose yesterday as Yeo’s previous testimony, including claims over referral fees he reaped and his relationship with Mr Low, came under intense scrutiny by prosecutors.

Yeo, who faces four counts of witness tampering, has repeatedly downplayed his close ties to Mr Low, who is under investigation here and elsewhere over money-laundering claims linked to scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Yeo claimed that he had never been employed by Mr Low nor had he ever “received a single cent” from the high-living financier.

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Kiat Pheng, in cross-examining Yeo yesterday, pointed to inconsistencies in his testimony about his first meeting with Mr Low.

He also accused Yeo of lying about what he did in Hong Kong before returning to Singapore.

Yeo had testified that he spent several hours at the Hong Kong airport. But DPP Tan said: “You were actually spending that time in Jho Low’s house. You slept at his house. And because you didn’t have any clothing with you, you even wore Jho Low’s clothing. You lied because you’re trying to downplay your relationship with Jho Low.”

Yeo replied: “I disagree because the prosecution was going to ‘up-play’ it. Jho Low is just a client of mine.”

The prosecution also sought to discredit Yeo’s testimony on why the referral fees were paid.

The court was told the true purpose of incorporating two firms that Yeo and his former boss, Mr Kevin Swampillai, beneficially owned was to hide the fact that they were receiving “secret profits”.

Prosecutors said Yeo had arranged for these two firms to receive a significant portion of referral fees or “secret profits” for their own benefit.

Under the arrangement, a portion of the management fees paid by 1MDB unit Brazen Sky to fund manager Bridge Partners Investment Management (Cayman) went to a firm called Bridge Global Managers before passing to the companies owned by Yeo and Mr Swampillai.

Mr Tan asked Yeo how these payments could be justified: “I put to you that there was no further necessity to distribute the money downstream” to the firms owned by Yeo and Mr Swampillai.

Yeo disagreed, saying it was Mr Swampillai’s plan to eventually have Bridge Global Managers take over Bridge Partners using funds held by the two firms.

The prosecution also pointed to inconsistencies in Yeo’s testimony regarding the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).Yeo had testified that he could not recall if the CAD had warned him not to meet with witnesses. But in a statement to the CAD on April 27 this year, Yeo wrote that he had in fact been been warned not to do just that.

Yeo said yesterday that he was “afraid he would get charged” if he admitted to the CAD that he had met Mr Swampillai and Mr Samuel Goh on March 27 after they had been questioned by the CAD.

Yeo was accused of telling Mr Goh on March 27 to lie to the police and claim the funds he transferred to the firms owned by Yeo and Mr Swampillai were his own money.

DPP Tan maintained that Yeo withheld information about the March 27 meeting from the CAD because he was “afraid that his and Mr Swampillai’s illicit transactions… would be discovered”.

Yeo, who faces four counts of witness tampering, has repeatedly downplayed his close ties to Mr Low, who is under investigation here and elsewhere over money-laundering claims linked to scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 November 2016, 11:26 am and is filed under
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Prime Minister and Inspector-General of Police will be guilty of grave dereliction of duty if they fail to uphold the law and allow the Red Shirts to go on provocative  rampage, resulting in clashes and ugly incidents on Saturday

Prime Minister Najib Razak has expressed concern over an imminent physical clash between ‘red shirt’ and ‘yellow shirt’ protesters during the  Bersih 5 peaceful rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

He said: “If one side wants to protest and the side that wants to protect the government is compelled to come out … but I don’t want any physical clash.”

The Prime Minister and the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar will be guilty of grave dereliction of duty if they fail to uphold the law to  ensure peace and order and instead, allow the Red Shirts to go on a provocative rampage resulting in clashes and ugly incidents on Saturday.

The Prime Minister and the Inspector-General of Police could not be ignorant of Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which was enacted to deal with exactly the type of situation which the Red Shirts have created – a counter-demonstration.

The Red Shirts are fully entitled to hold a counter-demonstration in support of Najib’s undemocratic and kleptocratic rule, but they are not entitled to threaten or provoke breaches of the peace and acts of violence.

Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 on “Counter Assembly” stipulates:

“18. If the Officer in Charge of a Police District receives a notification of a counter assembly and it is evident that the organization of the counter assembly will cause conflict between the participants of the assemblies, the Officer in Charge of the Police District shall give an alternative for the counter assembly to be organized at another time, date or place.”

If the Prime Minister and the Inspector-General of Police ensure that the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, especially with regard to a “counter assembly” is adhered to, together with the repeated pledges and commitment by the Bersih 5 organisers to hold a peaceful and incident-free Bersih 5 rally, there is no reason whatsoever for the Prime Minister to express concerns of any “imminent physical clashes” between the Red Shirts and the Yellow Shirts.

Clearly,  without the express and tacit support by the UMNO leadership, the Red Shirts would not have given the immunity and impunity by the authorities for weeks to flout the law, peace and order of  the country  with their crude threats and provocative actions, which would have resulted in police crackdowns and actions if they had been committed by Bersih 5 or other NGO activists.

The independence, impartiality and professionalism of the Police and the various government authorities will be at stake on Saturday.

There will be no Red Shirts-Yellow Shirts clashes if the police uphold the law.

There will only be clashes and ugly incidents if the Prime Minister and the Inspector-General of Police fail in  performing their duties to uphold the law and maintain peace and order.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 November 2016, 1:47 pm and is filed under
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