Najib should not beat around the bush – if my political  retirement is the condition for the end of the conspiracy to deregister DAP, say so, and I will give it consideration

The Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is going after the wrong target when he called on DAP leaders to cease speculating that DAP may be outlawed by the Registrar of Societies, as the speculation started from the inner sanctum of the Prime Minister’s Office when the press secretary to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Sarifuddin raised this possibility in his political exchange with the DAP Director of Political Education and MP for Kluang, Liew Chin Tong on Thursday night.

If Tengku Sariffuddin had trespassed into Zahid’s territory and jurisdiction as the Registrar of Societies is under the Home Ministry and not the Prime Minister’s Department, he should have been censured for his statement.

But the power balance in the Najib administration has gone as askew that Zahid’s removal as DPM is more likely than the censure of the press secretary to the Prime Minister, so long as Najib is the Prime Minister.

This was confirmed within hours of Zahid’s call as  Tengku Sariffuddin issued another statement which clearly showed that there are two power centres in the Najib adminstration on the issue of DAP’s deregistration –  the power centre in the Prime Minister’s inner kitchen circle which includes non-Ministers and may even exclude Zahid although he is Deputy Prime Minister and the power centre proper in the Registry of Societies and Home Ministry which should be the rightful authorities to deal with the subject.

But everybody knows which power centre is more powerful, and although the Home Minister and the Registrar of Societies can object to any unlawful interference with their proper jurisdictions, there are too many recent examples of the price of such moral, political and civil service rectitude and  uprightness –   Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin  removed as Deputy Prime Minister; Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal removed as Minister for Rural and National Development; and the fate of Tan Sri Gani Patail, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz and Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, who were respectively the Attorney-General, Bank Negara Governor and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner  who had  not fully toed Najib’s line in investigations on the 1MDB scandal, especially when there was a Special Task Force of the four Tan Sris  in 2015 investigating the 1MDB scandal.

Tengku Sariffuddin reminds me of a political secretary to the Prime Minister in a former era  who was so powerful that he could publicly humiliate very senior Ministers, and it would be beneficial to   Tengku Sariffuddin  to ponder the sorry end of such hubris and lack of humility!

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should not beat around the bush or  hide behind the press secretary or a phalanx of overly-paid hack propagandists and publicists.

If my political  retirement is the condition for the  end of the UMNO/BN  conspiracy to deregister DAP, say so, and I will give it consideration.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4 July 2017, 7:52 am and is filed under
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MCA and Gerakan should not celebrate too early, as MCA and Gerakan candidates may get more serious whacking from the voters if DAP and Rocket logo are banned in 14GE

The statement by the Gerakan vice president Datuk Dr. Dominic Lau that the DAP should not blame its problems on UMNO, referring specifically to the revival of talk to  ban the  DAP and disallow the use of  the Rocket logo  in the 14th General Election, is the type of spineless statements which was the cause of the Gerakan and MCA retreating from their glorious past to their ignominious present.

The black ops UMNO/BN  propaganda campaign in the social and mainstream media  to demonise DAP have had some success, so much so that a few so-called impartial political observers  could believe the tall tales  that 865 DAP branches had been discriminated against and that 753 “delegates” victimized and not allowed to take part in the 2012 party elections and 2013 party re-elections, when these were “fake news and false information” with no ounce of truth whatsoever.

Dominic Lau said DAP should save itself from being deregistered by the Registrar of Societies before talking about the saving the country, questioning why the DAP was unable to resolve the issue concerning the validity of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) line-up after five years.

This is the trouble with Gerakan leaders –  they dare not ask why the Registrar of Societies why he could not resolve the DAP’s CEC line-up problem for five years, as it is safer for the political future of the “spineless” Gerakan leaders to blame the DAP instead.

If  a democratically-elected and lawfully-constituted political party, which had been in active existence for 51 years and had taken part in eleven general elections for the past 48 years, could be deregistered as a political party on very capricious and ridiculous grounds, it is all the more reason why the country must  be saved from such misrule, oppression and gross of abuses of power, not to mention rampant corruption, cronynism and the latest national catastrophe – the international multi-billion 1MDB money-laundering scandal which caused Malaysia to be  regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

I want to advise the MCA and Gerakan leaders not to celebrate too early, for if DAP is banned,  MCA and Gerakan parliamentary and state assembly candidates in the 14th General Election will be punished and may even suffer more serious whacking by the voters  in the next general election.

Meanwhile, I reiterate my call to DAP leaders, members, branches and supporters to be prepared for UMNO/BN’s ultimate dirty tactics before the 14th General Election – as  banning the DAP and disallowing  the use of the Rocket logo on the flimsiest of grounds are definitely on the cards.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 5 July 2017, 3:29 pm and is filed under
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No stronger proof that Hadi’s PAS is not the PAS in Pakatan Rakyat than Jasa chief’s attack on Tuan Ibrahim using Hadi’s arguments

There is no stronger proof that Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s PAS is not the PAS in Pakatan Rakyat when it was bound and guided by the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework for a united, harmonious, inclusive, successful, progressive and prosperous Malaysia with zero tolerance for corruption  than the news yesterday that “Jasa chief uses Hadi’s argument to slam Tuan Ibrahim” – an UMNO propaganda operative using the PAS President to attack the PAS Deputy President!

When was there such similar incident in the 66-year history of the party?

As far as I know, such a thing had never happened before in the history of PAS.

Will the PAS President come to the defence of his deputy  from such UMNO attacks? Quite unthinkable!

The Director of  Special Affairs Department (JASA) and UMNO Supreme Council member, Datuk Puad Zarkashi slammed Tuan Ibrahim for claiming that Malaysia’s refusal to pursue the 1MDB case prompted foreign countries to investigate the financial scandal that has spanned the globe.

Puad said: “What paved the way for foreign powers were certain individuals lodging reports (against 1MDB abroad), with the intention of courting foreign intervention in the political conflict of our country.

“This argument is supported by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang himself.”

Puad also  rubbished the call by Tuan Ibrahim and several other opposition leaders for the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the 1MDB scandal.

It is indeed sad and a great political tragedy that UMNO and PAS have come together not to defend  national sovereignty or promote the values and principles which are taught by Islam and the great religions which have made Malaysia their home, but  to defend a political system which has brought unprecedented infamy and ignominy to Malaysians for being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy.

As far as I know, Hadi had never expressed any concern at Malaysia being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy as a result of Najib’s 1MDB scandal.

Why is this so?

But Tuan Ibrahim was not  fully right when he claimed that Malaysia’s refusal to pursue the 1MDB case prompted foreign countries to investigate the financial scandal that has spanned the globe while Puad was completely wrong when he claimed that “what paved the  way for foreign powers were certain individuals lodging reports (against 1MDB abroad), with the intention of courting foreign intervention in the political conflict of our country”.

I am reminded of the September/October 2015 episode when the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak suddenly cancelled  his travel plans to the United States to attend the United Nation General Assembly, and sent his new Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi,  instead to Washington.

Zahid had replaced Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for less than three months after Muhyddin had been less than obedient, supine and dumb over the 1MDB scandal.

Zahid visited Washington for a four-day visit in October and met with the then US Secretary of State John Kerry and the senior officers of Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and he told Malaysian journalists in Washington:

“Nothing on 1MDB was raised by the FBI or John Kerry or any party that I met when I was in Washington.

“(1MDB) is not a big issue to them at all.

“”Maybe the issue is big as it is shouted about in the country (Malaysia) because in our country it is used as a political issue.”

I had at the time asked Zahid why he was afraid to ask FBI whether Najib was being investigated by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative (KARI)  2010  and whether this was for fear of an affirmative answer?

By the time of Zahid’s visit to Washington, it was already public knowledge that FBI was investigating into the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB  money-laundering scandal, as New York Times had reported  on Sept. 21, 2015 followed by other international media that a US federal grand jury was examining allegations of corruption involving Najib and people close to him under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative 2010.

Why didn’t Zahid ask point-blank whether the New York Times report on Sept. 21, 2015 that Najib was being investigated by the US DOJ under KARI was true or not when he met Kerry and the then Deputy Director of FBI, Mark F. Giuliano?

I searched the archives and was able to find the New York Times report of Sept. 21, 2015 entitled “Malaysia’s Leader, Najib Razak, Faces U.S. Corruption Inquiry”, which reported as follows:

“The embattled prime minister of Malaysia, facing mounting political turmoil and a parade of inquiries at home and abroad into a sovereign wealth fund that he oversees, is now coming under the scrutiny of American investigators as well.

“A federal grand jury is examining allegations of corruption involving the prime minister, Najib Razak, and people close to him, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation.

“The inquiry, being run by a unit of the Justice Department that investigates international corruption, is focused on properties in the United States that were purchased in recent years by shell companies that belong to the prime minister’s stepson as well as other real estate connected to a close family friend, said the people knowledgeable about the case, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. Investigators are also looking at a $681 million payment made to what is believed to be Mr. Najib’s personal bank account.”

The New York Times report of Sept. 21, 2015 continued:

“The Justice Department investigation is still in its early days, and it could take years to determine if any federal laws were broken. It was opened partly in response to an examination by The New York Times of condominiums at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan whose ownership is hidden behind shell companies, according to the people with knowledge of the case.

“In one article, The Times documented more than $150 million in luxury residential properties connected either to Mr. Najib’s stepson, Riza Aziz, or to the family friend, a businessman named Jho Low. Mr. Low, The Times found, has also been involved in business deals with Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is a government investment fund.

“That fund, called 1MDB, has run into serious financial problems in part because of aggressive borrowing. Investigators in several countries are examining allegations that money from the fund is missing. This month, Swiss authorities said they had frozen several individuals’ bank accounts, and inquiries are underway in Hong Kong and Singapore as well as in Malaysia.”

The New York Times report also said:

“The details of the corruption allegations involving Mr. Najib and people connected to him are complex and multifaceted. Authorities in each country are focusing on the aspects that fall in their jurisdictions.

“In the United States, officials are examining the real estate tied to Mr. Najib’s stepson and to Mr. Low, which could be seized if a case could be made that the properties had been purchased with the proceeds earned in corrupt practices, according to the people familiar with the investigation. The $681 million payment being investigated falls under United States jurisdiction because it was routed through Wells Fargo, an American bank.

“The inquiry is being run by the Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Initiative, which has seized properties in the United States owned by relatives of politicians from Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, South Korea and Taiwan.”

Was Puad correct when he parroted Hadi and alleged that US DOJ action was caused by “certain individuals lodging reports (against 1MDB abroad), with the intention of courting foreign intervention in the political conflict of our country”?

Among the   first comprehensive  media reports on the 1MDB scandal were the  New York Times’
“Jho Low, Well Connected in Malaysia, Has an Appetite for New York”
 on Feb. 8, 2015 and the
“Heist of the Century”
 expose by the joint London Sunday Times-Sarawak Report investigations into the 1MDB scandal in on Feb. 28, 2015 – well before any “certain individuals” lodged reports against 1MDB abroad.

I am very intrigued by Hadi’s concept of “foreign intervention” which caused him to issue an Open Letter to all Political Parties on the eve of Hari Raya Aidilfriti demonstrating his transformation to be a greater champion and apologist for Najib and his 1MDB scandal than anyone else in UMNO.

If the United States government  or any of its agencies had donated and deposited US$681 million into the  private banking accounts of any Pakatan Harapan leader, Hadi would undoubtedly railed against it as proof of unacceptable foreign intervention undermining national sovereignty.

If so, why is Hadi so mute when Najib claims that the US$681 million in his personal banking accounts were donation  from Saudi royalty for  the 13th General Election?

Why should it be wrong and grave foreign intervention to undermine Malaysia’s national sovereignty when the donation was from US sources but acceptable and enhancement of national sovereignty when it is from Saudi sources?

But what is worse is that these were “681 American pies” and not “681 Saudi pies”, as clearly demonstraied in the detailed trail of money disclosed by the US DOJ kleptocratic suits to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets arising from US$4.5 billion 1MDB money-laundering through American banks and financial institutions.

DAP does not support any foreign intervention into Malaysia’s domestic affairs but we cannot also  justify Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy.

DAP is fortified in this stand because there can be no religion which supports corruption or a kleptocracy and Hadi is misleading PAS members and the Malaysian public into believing that Islam supports Malaysia becoming a “global kleptocracy”!

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 5 July 2017, 8:34 am and is filed under
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Three questions whether the country will have an illegal and unconstitutional  Chief Justice  swirling in the minds of judges, lawyers, legislators and informed Malaysians

Three questions whether the country will have an illegal and unconstitutional  Chief Justice  swirling in the minds of judges, lawyers, legislators and informed Malaysians

Three questions whether the country will have an illegal and unconstitutional Chief Justice at the pinnacle of the judiciary is swirling in the minds of judges, lawyers, legislators and informed Malaysians for some months.

They are:

•	Will the country have an illegal and unconstitutional  Chief Justice after August 3, 2017?

•	Will a new constitutional crisis blow up in the face of Parliament during its three week July/August meeting from 24th July to 10th August with the appointment of an illegal and unconstitutional Chief Justice?

•	Will the country be celebrating the 60th National Day anniversary and the1957 Merdeka Constitution with a most serious assault on the sanctity and integrity of the fundamental provisions in the 1957 Merdeka Constitution on the doctrine of separation of ;powers and the independence of the judiciary?

Many jurists, including a former Chief Justice, a former Federal Court judge and the Malaysian Bar have expressed their concern at the possibility of the appointment of an illegal and unconstitutional Chief Justice but the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General appear to be unmoved by their arguments and reasons.

Former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad has publicly argued that a further extension to the tenure of Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif after the 66 years and six months would be unconstitutional.

Hamid wrote in his blog that he was not writing because he does not like Justice Raus, but was merely highlighting his point of view on the constitutionality of prolonging Justice  Raus tenure with a month to go into his  six-month extension on August 3.

Hamid, who was Chief Justice from November 2007 to October 2008,   argued that an extension beyond the 66-year and six-month tenure for Justice Raus  may compromise the independence of the judiciary.

He recommended that Justice Raus should decline the further extension even if the government had offered him a renewed appointment as Chief Justice after August 3.

Other jurists have expressed similar views and concerns.

Former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Gopal Sri Ram said there are capable judges to take over the position of Chief Justice should Justice Raus retire as the country’s top judicial officer.

He warned that  if the government defied the constitutional and legal restraints and proceeds to extend the tenure of the chief justice, then it would “sow the wind but reap the whirlwind”.

He explained: “First, it will undermine the judiciary and denude it of the respect such as which exists today.

“Second, and more importantly, the extension may be challenged causing embarrassment to the present incumbent. That must be avoided at all costs.”

The Malaysian Bar president George Varughese has also expressed concern that the extension of the tenure of the top judge of the country is not only unconstitutional but unfairly embroils Chief Justice Raus in a controversy.

George said the extension would also put in jeopardy the chief justice’s standing, and gives the impression there is no one else in the judiciary who could take up the position.

Chief Justice Raus should be reminded that last April, when he took his oath as Chief Justice, he pledged that he would carry out the duties of the office to the best of his abilities as required by the Federal Constitution.

The Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the Chief Justice cannot continue to prolong their collective silence on this substantive and sensitive constitutional and one of them must speak up to quell the swirling questions of concern in the minds of judges, lawyers, legislators and informed Malaysians about the independence and integrity of the judiciary after August 3.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 5 July 2017, 12:19 pm and is filed under
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Congrats to Najib in getting Hadi to be his chief defender on 1MDB scandal  as the PAS President himself  is worth more than the phalanx of overly-paid local and foreign and media consultants and propagandists

I congratulate the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, for getting Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to be his chief defender on the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal as the PAS President himself is worth more than the phalanx of overly-paid local and foreign media consultants and propagandists.

On the eve of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Hadi issued an extraordinary Open Letter to all Political Parties asking all political leaders to ease up on their attacks on Najib on the 1MDB scandal, introducing the ridiculous notion that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) kleptocratic lawsuits to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets which had been acquired through stolen 1MDB funds money-laundered through American banks  as “foreign interference” in Malaysian domestic affairs.

Yesterday, Hadi came out with another novel defence of Najib and the 1MDB scandal, claiming that the 1MDB scandal is a consequence of Barisan Nasional’s motto of “leadership by example” over the years, as good as arguing that just because there had been scandals in the past, Malaysians should not object to another scandal – even though the 1MDB scandal is the greatest  financial scandal in the nation’s history and given Malaysia the infamous and ignominous appellation of a “global kleptocracy”!

On this basis, Hadi will be able to defend and justify all the abuses and corruption of power by the Najib government.

Is this the basis on which Hadi wants PAS to defend and even save Najib and UMNO?

Even Hadi’s argument  on “foreign intervention” is most odd and bizarre.

If the United States government  or any of its agencies had donated and deposited RM2.6 billion into the  private banking accounts of any Pakatan Harapan leader, Hadi would undoubtedly railed against it as proof of unacceptable foreign intervention undermining national sovereignty.

But why is Hadi so mute when Najib claimed that the RM2.6  billion in his personal banking accounts in Ambank were donation  from Saudi royalty for  the 13th General Election?

Why should it be wrong and grave foreign intervention to undermine Malaysia’s national sovereignty if  the donation had been  from US sources but acceptable and enhancement of national sovereignty when they were from Saudi sources?

But what is worse is that the RM2.4 billion (or US$681 million) deposit were not  either “681 American pies” nor “681 Saudi pies” but “681 stolen 1MDB pies”, as fully disclosed in the money trail of the stolen 1MDB funds disclosed  in the US DOJ actions to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets arising from US$4.5 billion 1MDB money-laundering through American banks and financial institutions.

Why has Hadi got double standards in his interpretation of “foreign interference” – that it is wrong if  from Western countries but acceptable if from Saudi Arabia?

Hadi’s recent repeated defence of Najb and 1MDB scandal is quite a surprise, considering his prolonged silence at the denunciation of  Yusuf al-Qaradawi the President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (Hadi is the Vice President) as a terrorist by Saudi Arabia a month ago and the arrest of Qaradawi’s daughter, Ola al-Qaradawi  and son-in-law, Hossam el-Din Khalaf by the Egyptian government.

Why is Hadi so silent on  Saudi Arabia and Egypt’s action against al-Qaradawi and his family, while so solicitous in coming to the repeated defence of Najib, 1MDB and Malaysia’s shame and infamy as a global kleptocracy?

Hadi  even had no time to defend his Deputy President, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man who was attacked by an UMNO operative using Hadi’s arguments on the 1MDB scandal!

DAP does not support any foreign intervention into Malaysia’s domestic affairs whether from the United States or  Saudi Arabia but we cannot and will not   justify Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy – let alone defend and prop up Najib over the 1MDB scandal.

DAP is fortified in this stand because there can be no religion which supports corruption or a kleptocracy and Hadi is misleading PAS members and the Malaysian public into believing that Islam supports Malaysia becoming a “global kleptocracy”!

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 July 2017, 8:28 am and is filed under
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Does Prime Minister Najib know that he is the”MO1” referred to in the US DOJ lawsuits to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets money-laundered through American banks?

I am quite impressed. Two page headline leads face-to-face on page 12 and page 13 in the
New Straits Times
 (NST) –  the  page 12  headline lead
“KIT SIANG’S RETIREMENT OFFER A ‘DIVERSION’”
for  a three-column report  while page 13 headline lead
“’KIT SIANG A HYPOCRITE’”
 for a  four-column report.

I have never received such coverage by the self-proclaimed national mainstream newspaper before. Why have I suddenly become so important?

Pity, I am not one of NST fans.

Even greater pity that such prominent coverage comes at a time when the NST has degenerated from a newspaper into a lies-paper, with its formidable circulation in the  region of 300,000 copies a day in the past  shrinking to the  pitiable figure of some 40,000 actually sold circulation  today!

But the mission of NST, just like other media in the UMNO/BN stable, is not to report news but to disseminate lies, fake news and false information  and there are many such lies, fake news and false information  in the two mentioned NST reports today.

It is always quite fun to read  the  media statement of the “two dictators at a time” press secretary to the Prime Minister and his fifth statement in last eight days is no exception – as he does not know what he is talking about, if he writes the statements himself which I have grave doubts.

It has been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and the use of” of the term
“Penang Official 1”
 by the press secretary to the Prime Minister is nothing less than an admission, even though subliminal, of the appositeness and  appropriateness of the use of the term “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) kleptocratic lawsuits to forfeit US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Najib’s right-hand man, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the Director of Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department,  had admitted in an BBC interview last September that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is none other than Najib himself, even stating that only an idiot would not know that Najib is “MO1”.

The question is whether Prime Minister Najib himself knows that he is “MO1”, or whether he may be an idiot like  the Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said only las month that  “MO1” could be anyone.

Or could there be a case of mistaken identity and Abdul Rahman had committed a grave error in his admission to the BBC last September?

May be Datuk Seri  Tengku Sariffudin Tengku Ahmad as Najib’s press secretary can tell whether Najib knows that he is “MO1”.

Or may be Najib himself should break the silence and inform the Malaysian public whether he is aware that he is the “MO1” referred to in the US DOJ lawsuits to forfeit 1MDB-linked assets?

Such revelations would definitely be more interesting than the trash in the media statements in the press secretary’s name but not written by him and about things the writer knows nothing about.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 July 2017, 1:02 pm and is filed under
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Father of modern Malaysia backs jailed former deputy in attempt to oust PM

Randeep Ramesh

Guardian

6 July 2017

Mahathir Mohamad says former deputy Anwar Ibrahimm, jailed on charges of sodomy, should be freed to contest election against scandal-ridden Najib

Mahathir Mohamad, the father of modern Malaysia, is backing the man he sacked as his deputy and saw imprisoned on charges of sodomy to be prime minister, in an attempt to unseat the scandal-ridden incumbent.

In a remarkable political U-turn ahead of a general election next year, Mahathir now says that his former protege Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s most famous political prisoner and its most charismatic public figure, ought to be released from jail and allowed to contest parliamentary elections.

Human rights groups have long said the allegations against Anwar are politically motivated attempts by his opponents, including Mahathir and the current prime minister Najib Razak, to silence him.

Speaking to the Guardian on a visit to London, Mahathir, who in power was accused of being an autocrat, said Anwar is a victim of a political vendetta and that a new administration would seek a royal pardon to allow him to re-enter politics.

Anwar’s lawyers are currently seeking to get him released after evidence emerged that suggested an impartial government-appointed prosecutor was paid a sum equivalent to £2m from a bank account controlled by the prime minister.

“In the case of Anwar we can make a case that he was unfairly treated. The decision of the court was obviously influenced by the government and I think the incoming government would be able to persuade the King to give a full pardon for Anwar,” Mahathir said. “In which case he would be able to participate in politics and become PM. I can have no objection to that.”

Malaysia’s opposition has gained ground in recent years, and nearly toppled the governing party in 2013, winning the popular vote in the general election.

Since then prosecutors have filed a multitude of cases against government critics, including opposition figures, a professor and a cartoonist. A national security act, widely criticised by rights campaigners, came into force last year which gives the army and police sweeping powers for seizure and arrest, and does away with inquests into the deaths of anyone killed in zones declared under a “state of emergency”.

Mahathir stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in office, with no heir apparent. He brooked little dissent during his time in office, and ousted Anwar – seen by many as his natural successor – during a power struggle, ostensibly over an argument over the use of capital controls, in 1998.

A few weeks later Anwar was arrested, beaten by police, then charged with sodomy and corruption. After a trial widely considered to have been politically rigged, he was given a six-year jail term for abuse of power, sparking widespread protests.

Following his release in 2004 he became a leading opposition figure, before returning to prison in 2015 when a court upheld a five-year sentence on another sodomy charge.

Mahathir now accepts he made a mistake by not allowing Anwar to “succeed him”, and that he held on to power for too long, only to anoint two men who subsequently disappointed him, especially the current PM Najib, who is embroiled in one of the world’s largest kleptocracy cases.

According to lawsuits filed by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), at least $4.5bn has been stolen from a state investment fund 1MDB. The purpose of the fund, which was set up by Najib as prime minister in 2009, was to promote economic development in a country where the median income stands at approximately £300 per month.

Instead, the DoJ alleged that stolen money from 1MDB found its way to numerous associates of Najib, who subsequently went on a lavish spending spree across the world. It also accused Najib of receiving $681m of cash from 1MDB. Najib has denied that claim, and all other allegations of wrongdoing.

Money from 1MDB, the US also claimed, helped to purchase luxury apartments in Manhattan, mansions in Los Angeles, paintings by Monet, a corporate jet, and even financed the Wolf of Wall St, a major Hollywood movie. Last week Australian model and actress Miranda Kerr handed over $8m of jewelry that US authorities say was given to her as part of a Malaysian money laundering scheme.

“Najib is bad news for Malaysia. For the PM to be accused of stealing huge sums of money, I think that is something we don’t expect of any other PM. Certainly not in Malaysia. The money he is said to have taken is mind boggling,” said Mahathir.

Mahathir remains hugely popular with a broad swath of rural Malay voters who remember the boom years of his rule.

He has registered a new party and is in talks to join the opposition coalition led by Anwar’s party.

He now accepts that the authoritarian turn Malaysia took under his rule – including the use of the colonial-era Internal Security Act to jail troublesome opponents and tighten laws covering protests and the press – needs to be reversed.

Mahathir said he never foresaw a prime minister like Najib who was willing to “implement laws in a much more oppressive way than during my time”.

“Are the checks and balances not good enough? I agree to a certain extent they are not. We in Malaysia live in a multi-racial society and cannot be ever as liberal I think as the USA or Britain. But we should allow free expression in the press. Najib has a new security act that allows him to declare any territory under a state of emergency and detain people without any reason. I inherited and used the law. I did not abolish it and make another one even worse.”

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 6 July 2017, 6:30 pm and is filed under
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Hishammuddin cannot be more wrong – the issue is not whether he has “nothing to hide” but why as Defence Minister, he could not answer questions about whether military intelligence chief  had  received RM7 million  from Najib a month before the last GE?

Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein cannot be more wrong when he gave a curt and terse response to questions about the claim that the director-general of the Defence Staff Intelligence Division had  received money from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak about a month before the last general election.

He avoided the question by simply declaring “I have nothing to hide.”

Hishammuddin cannot be more wrong – the issue is not whether he has “nothing to hide” but why as Defence Minister, he could not answer questions whether the  military intelligence chief  had received RM7 million  from Najib a month before the last GE; and if so, the reason for the extraordinary payment.

It is no use Hishammuddin going round the bush declaring that the military has “never been political” or that “we are not in the business of spinning this or making speculations”, when the question is why as Defence Minister he could not say “yes” or “no” to the allegation that the director-general of the military intelligence had received RM7 million  from the Prime Minister about a month before the 13GE.

Why can’t Hisammuddin as Defence Minister confirm or deny that the money was indeed paid or not – is this because Hishammudin dare not want to know and dare not ask whether whistleblower site Sarawak Report is right when it alleged that Najib paid RM7 million to the director-general of the Defence Staff Intelligence Division, Lt-General Datuk Abdul Hadi Hussin,  on April 8, 2013?

Sarawak Report claimed that the figures on the transactions came from the joint task force that had investigated 1MDB since March 2015 until it was abruptly disbanded, five months later.

Is this true, or Hishamuddin as Defence Minister does not want to know and dare not want to know?

Malaysian Government leaders have accused Sarawak Report as a website of lies, fake news and false information.

If there is no truth whatsoever in the latest disclosure by Sarawak Report that Najib had paid RM7 million to the director-general of the Defence Staff Intelligence Division on April 8, 2013, this would be a great and difficult-to-find opportunity to prove that the Sarawak Report is not a website of truth but one of fake news and false information.

Why is the Najib administration so kind to Sarawak Report, unless its latest disclosure is true and there is no way Najib can dispute it – just like the identity  of who is “MO1” and “wife of MO1”?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 7 July 2017, 12:26 pm and is filed under
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I will quit DAP if it is a Christian party

By Joshua Woo Sze Zeng

Free Malaysia Today

July 6, 2017

History shows the evil that can be done in the name of religion for political gain, including oppression of other religions and other schools of thought.

COMMENT

I joined DAP as a member before the 12th general election in 2008. I believe in DAP’s vision to make Malaysia a better place for everyone, regardless of race and religion.

I am convinced that DAP’s political framework based on “ideals of accountability, equality, justice and human dignity” (as stated in the party’s constitution) can serve as the best form of governance for the Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan, Bidayuh, and everyone else in this shared country.

I believe that DAP has accurately described the Federal Constitution as a “secular document”. And so, the party aims to follow the constitution to “preserve the special position of the Malays and Bumiputeras while protecting the rights of other races” and “safeguarding the position of Islam as the religion of the federation while simultaneously championing the freedom of other religions” (as stated in the party’s Shah Alam Declaration).

Nine years have passed since I became a DAP member. And the party has not changed its vision and political framework.

Therefore, it is extremely strange that there are people who allege that DAP is a Christian political party and has a “Christian agenda”.

Though far from a perfect Christian, I do consider myself a believer. I have immense passion to learn about Christian thought and history, which led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Christian studies. I have worked with several Christian institutions before, co-edited a couple of Christian books, and used to be active in Christian circles.

However, if DAP is a Christian political party, I will quit from the party without hesitation. I reject any political party that is entirely based on Christianity or has a “Christian agenda”.

The reason is not because I am contradicting my own faith but precisely because I, like many other Christians today, have the benefit of hindsight about what evil can be done in the name of religion for political gain.

For example, the Emperor Theodosius I with Gratian and Valentinian II legislated the Edict of Thessalonica in February 380 to make Nicene Christianity the religion of the empire.

It was supposed to be a victory for the religion. But what followed was the gradual elimination of religious liberty. Christians began to demand the destruction of non-Christian sculpture or idols displayed at public places. By February 391, all non-Christian religious practices and places of worship were banned. Christians who did not adhere to the Nicene Christianity were likewise oppressed and exiled.

The same thing happened in Armenia when King Tiridates III converted his kingdom into a Christian state. All non-Christian religious sites were destroyed, and beliefs contrary to the Nicene Christianity were forbidden.

History shows that when one version of a religion becomes the state religion, the political actors will not only shortchange other religions but also oppress the other schools of thought of the official religion.

This may sound too familiar to many of us in Malaysia.

Moreover, Christianity does not specifically teach Christians to establish a Christian state. There is no verse in the New Testament demanding such obligation.

Instead, Jesus teaches that, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36)

There is no instruction for Christians to establish a physical kingdom of this world.

Nevertheless, this is not to deny the service that Christians can render to the state. Rather, it is to emphasise the fact that religion can be easily exploited for political gain and end up as justification for oppression. This is especially so when the political platform, such as a political party, is entirely based on religion.

For this reason, a religiously neutral party provides the best “check and balance” for followers of any religion or those without religion to serve in politics. This significantly reduces the chances of us being tempted, whether consciously or unconsciously, to exploit religion or religionlessness for political gain.

DAP is such a platform. Its vision and political framework have, on one hand, the moderating mechanism that prevents the exploitation of religion and religionlessness, and, on the other, the ability to unite people from all religions and those without religion based on “ideals of accountability, equality, justice and human dignity”.

Therefore, DAP has leaders and members from all religions or without religion who can lead, work, and struggle for the country together.

The allegation that DAP is a Christian political party or has a “Christian agenda” is the product of dual ignorance: ignorance of the party’s vision and political framework, and ignorance of how Christians relate to political activism. It is all the more surprising when such ignorance is displayed by university lecturers and directors of institutes and organisations that specialise in political analysis.

DAP has always been religiously neutral, for good reasons. That is why I am still in the party. The day when DAP becomes a Christian party or has a “Christian agenda” is the day I submit my resignation.

Joshua Woo Sze Zeng is a municipal councillor with the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) and an alumni of Cambridge University’s Inter-Faith Programme.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 7 July 2017, 5:54 am and is filed under
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RoS decision for  fresh DAP CEC election  as DAP CEC election in 2012 and re-election in 2013 not lawful and valid  most ridiculous

The Registrar of Societies (ROS) decision for fresh DAP Central Executive Council (CEC) election as the 2012 CEC election and the 2013 CEC re-election were not lawful and valid is most ridiculous.

The DAP  emergency CEC meeting tomorrow will decide on the party’s next course of action.

The four to five years taken by Registrar of Societies over the issue and the long campaign of demonization with lies, fake news and false information about the DAP,  the DAP CEC election in 2012 and the re-election of 2013 have allowed fake news and false information to take on the appearance of actual truth and  facts. May be this is what is now popularly referred to as  “post-truth” by the propagandists and purveyors of fake news and false information.

In fact, it has led even independent observers to swallow hook, line and sinker to believe in these fake news and false information.

For instance, one independent commentator described the whole  Registrar of Societies (ROS) fiasco as “a ticking time bomb of DAP’s own design” which should have been addressed a long time ago in a transparent manner.

How is  the RoS fiasco  “DAP’s own design”?

All the tall tales  that 865 DAP branches had been discriminated against and that 753 “delegates” victimized and not allowed to take part in the 2012 party elections and 2013 party re-elections were just lies, fake news and false information but they were repeatedly trotted out in the mainstream and social media as if they were gospel truth.

What is even more interesting is that the RoS decision has been  anticipated and reported by a UMNO cybertrooper website three days days ago, in an article which said:

“So, point number one: this is between DAP and its own members and has nothing to do with Umno. It was the DAP members and not Umno that lodged a complaint with the RoS.

“Point number two: all that the RoS asked was for DAP to hold its party election again. And the RoS is talking about a re-election and not a new election. And there is a huge difference between a re-election and a new election.

“A re-election means the same 2,576 delegates who were eligible to attend and vote in the December 2012 party election must be invited to attend the AGM. In December 2012, 753 of the 2,576 eligible delegates were not invited to the AGM, meaning they were barred from the AGM. Further to that, 547 delegates who were not eligible to attend the AGM were allowed into the hall to vote, meaning they were phantom voters or pengundi hantu.

“That is all DAP needs to do. Hold the party election again. Invite the 2,576 eligible delegates to attend the meeting. Do not bar the 753 eligible candidates from attending the meeting. Do not allow the 547 phantom voters or pengundi hantu to attend the meeting and vote.

“What is so difficult with that? Why can’t DAP do a simple thing like that? Once DAP does that and the 20-member CEC gets voted in, they can then hold their first CEC meeting and appoint all their office bearers, the party Secretary General being one of them. And once the new party Secretary General is appointed, he or she can sign the Surat Watikah for all the DAP candidates in the next general election. So that means DAP’s candidates can now use the rocket logo in the general election.”

The same litany of lies, fake news and false information – about the fictional 753 delegates not invited to the 2012 DAP party congress and  547 “phantom delegates” who had voted.

It  is now quite clear in retrospect  that the press secretary to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad had prematurely let the cat out of the bag as to what is in store for the DAP in his political exchange with DAP Director of Political Bureau and MP for Kluang, Liew Chin Tong, a week ago.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 7 July 2017, 8:37 pm and is filed under
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Will Hadi support the return to the people of Malaysia the  billions of ringgit worth of jewelleries, art pieces and luxury properties misappropriated by Jho Low from 1MDB and gifted to  Leonardo DiCaprio, Miranda Kerr, “wife of MO1” and others?

DAP National Publicity Secretary and MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua; DAP Assistant National Publicity Secretary and MP for Bukit Bendera Zairil Khir Johari; PKR Secretary-General  Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail;  Faiz Fadzil, AMANAH Deputy Youth Chief; Yaakob Osman, Penang Pribumi Bersatu Information Chief and DAP MP for Batu Kawan Kasthuri Patto are to be congratulated for a successful kick-off of the Pakatan Harapan nation-wide tour and  campaign to explain the intricacies and complexities of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal to Malaysians in the rural areas.

As the six Pakatan Harapan leaders told the inaugural “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrasi” (Love Malaysia, Destroy Kleptocracy) 1MDB ceramah in Penaga, Penang last night, the expensive jewelleries, art pieces, even luxury properties which included Jho Low’s US$250 million (approximately RM1.069 billion) mega yacht – the 3,000-tonnes 54th largest yacht in existence which can carry 28 crew members and 18 guests – will all be sold and the money returned to Malaysians if Pakatan Harapan takes control of the government in the coming general election.

As Faiz Fadzil specifically mentioned, these properties include the much-talked-about US$27.3 million (RM117 million) 22-carat rare pink diamond set in a necklace, which the US Department of Justice (DoJ) alleged was purchased with stolen 1MDB money for the wife of “Malaysian Official 1” (MO1).

As Faiz said last night: “Her necklace, we will auction and sell it off and return the proceeds to the people.

“If we can recover the money, we can use it for the people. The pink diamond was bought with our money.”

There is however a nagging question as a result of the recent statements by PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang – an Open Letter to All Political Parties on Hari Raya Aidilfitri challenging the US DOJ kleptocratic lawsuits to forfeit 1MDB-linked assets as “foreign interference” and his latest statement two days ago defending the 1MDB scandal claiming that it was a consequence of the Barisan Nasional’s motto of “leadership by example” over the years, a most shocking and political gymnastics as if two wrongs can make a right.

The nagging question is whether Hadi will support the return to the people of Malaysia the  billions of ringgit worth of jewelleries, art pieces and  luxury properties misappropriated by Jho Low from 1MDB and gifted to  Leonardo DiCaprio, Miranda Kerr, “wife of MO1” and others?

Let us see whether the PAS President is prepared to speak up on this important issue.

American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr have handed over their multi-million US dollar gifts from Jho Low which were misappropriated from 1MDB funds  to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

Representatives of Leonardo Di Caprio  announced three weeks ago  that the American actor  had turned over an Oscar won by Marlon Brando to US investigators probing money laundering by 1MDB as well as initiated the return of other, unidentified items that the actor said he accepted as gifts for a charity auction and which originated from the international 1MDB money-laundering scam.

In July last year, Hollywood production company Red Granite was accused by US DOJ  civil lawsuit of using US$100 million diverted from the 1MDB fund to finance DiCaprio’s 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” in which he starred.

DiCaprio said in October he was cooperating with the probe and would return any gifts or donations if they were found to have come from questionable sources.

In a new filing on 15th June 2017, the US DOJ  moved to seize artwork by Picasso and Basquiat that it said had been purchased with laundered Malaysian money and gifted to DiCaprio by associates of Red Granite.

The latest DOJ filing also sought to seize the assets of two other Red Granite produced films which US investigators alleged were financed by money from the 1MDB fund – the 2014 comedy “Dumb and Dumber To” starring Jim Carrey, and 2015 comedy “Daddy’s Home” starring Will Ferrell.

As for Melinda Kerr, it was reported more than a week ago that she ha  handed over to the US DOJ investigators the gifts given to her by Jho Low which were  misappropriated from 1MDB funds, which included an 11.72 carat heart-shaped diamond valued at US$1.29 million and a US$3.8 million 8.88 carat diamond pendant.

An UMNO government  propaganda operative had said that there was no need for Miranda Kerr to return any jewellery to the US DOJ investigators, as Kerr should have returned the jewellery to Jho Low instead.

Does Hadi agree with this UMNO government operative and what is his stand on the swathes of luxury properties including a mega yacht, high-end real estates including hotels and condominiums, expensive jewelleries and art pieces bought from stolen 1MDB funds?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, clearly does not agree with any forfeiture, sale and return of the proceeds to the people of Malaysia.

Does Hadi agree with Najib?

What is Hadi’s stand on this issue?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 7 July 2017, 10:37 am and is filed under
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Late-night announcement of appointment of Raus Sharif as “additional judge” and extension of tenure  as chief justice for another three years unprecedented and unconstitutional – plunging Malaysia into new constitutional crisis

The late-night announcement of appointment of Tan Sri Raus Sharif as “additional judge” to remain as Chief Justice for another three years is unprecedented and unconstitutional and has  plunged Malaysia into a new constitutional crisis.

Late night announcements seem to have become a new modus operandi of the Najib premiership – as another late-night announcement last night was  the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement firing a ferocious salvo against former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

My statement on Wednesday on the three questions  troubling judges, lawyers, legislators and informed Malaysians for some time may have expedited the late-night announcement last night on the illegal and unconstitutional appointment of Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif as an “additional judge” and extension of his tenure as Chief Justice for another three years.

The three questions that had been swirling in the minds of judges, lawyers, legislators and informed Malaysians for quite some time, and answered by the late-night announcement last night, were (i) whether the country will have an illegal and unconstitutional Chief Justice after August 3, 2017; (ii) whether a new constitutional crisis will blow up in the face of Parliament during its three week July/August meeting from 24th July to 10th August with the appointment of an illegal and unconstitutional Chief Justice; and (iii) whether the country will  be celebrating the 60th National Day anniversary and the1957 Merdeka Constitution with a most serious assault on the sanctity and integrity of the fundamental provisions in the 1957 Merdeka Constitution on the doctrine of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary.

May be Najib is taking heart and encouragement from the support the Prime Minister is receiving from the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang over the 1MDB scandal to commit the latest  unprecedented and unconstitutional act.

Najib struck gold when he enlisted Hadi  as his chief defender and apologist for the 1MDB scandal.

In fact, Hadi’s  novel defence of Najib and the 1MDB scandal, claiming that the 1MDB scandal is a consequence of Barisan Nasional’s motto of “leadership by example” over the years, could also be used to defend other abuses power and even outright illegal and unconstitutional actions, like the unconstitutional appointment of Raus Sharif as “additional judge” and extension of his tenure as Chief Justice for another three years.

Many jurists, including a former Chief Justice, a former Federal Court judge, a former Law Minister and the Malaysian Bar have expressed their concern at the possibility of the appointment of an illegal and unconstitutional Chief Justice but the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General are both  unmoved by their concerns and reasons.

Former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad has publicly stated that a further extension to the tenure of Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif after the 66 years and six months would be unconstitutional.

Hamid wrote in his blog that he was not writing because he does not like Justice Raus, but was merely highlighting his point of view on the constitutionality of prolonging Justice  Raus tenure by appointing him as an “additional judge” and extending his tenure as Chief Justice.

Hamid, who was Chief Justice from November 2007 to October 2008,   stressed that an extension beyond the 66-year and six-month tenure for Justice Raus  may compromise the independence of the judiciary.

He suggested that Justice Raus should decline the further extension even if the government had offered him a renewed appointment as Chief Justice after August 3.

Other jurists have expressed similar views and concerns.

Former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Gopal Sri Ram said there are capable judges to take over the position of Chief Justice should Justice Raus retire as the country’s top judicial officer.

He warned that  if the government defied the constitutional and legal restraints and proceeds to extend the tenure of the chief justice, then it would “sow the wind but reap the whirlwind”.

The Malaysian Bar president George Varughese expressed concern that the extension of the tenure of the top judge of the country is not only unconstitutional but unfairly embroils Chief Justice Raus in a controversy, as well as putting in jeopardy the chief justice’s standing and  giving the impression there is no one else in the judiciary who could take up the position.

Criticism of the  move to retain Raus as top judge also came from former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and former Bar Council president Datuk Param Cumaraswamy.

Raus should be reminded that last April, when he took his oath as Chief Justice, he pledged that he would carry out the duties of the office to the best of his abilities as required by the Federal Constitution.

The ball is now in Raus’ court – whether he is prepared to uphold the sanctity and integrity of the Constitution by declining the appointment as “additional judge” and extension of his tenure as Chief Justice.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 8 July 2017, 7:10 am and is filed under
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Miranda Kerr holidayed on Malaysian billionaire’s yacht after split from Orlando Bloom

Andrew Hornery

Private Sydney

Sydney Morning Herald

JULY 7 2017

While Miranda Kerr’s silence on her “romance” with Malaysian billionaire Jho Low, which last week resulted in her handing over $11 million worth of sparkly jewels from her Los Angeles safe deposit box to US government agents, has been deafening, PS has managed to unearth a few more details about the model and the moneybags’ seemingly unlikely connection.

Among the jewels Kerr handed over, according to The Wall Street Journal, was a 11.72 carat heart-shaped diamond pendant, a Valentine’s Day gift in 2014 from former “boyfriend” and Malaysian financier Low.

PS can reveal that later that year, in August, Kerr and her Californian-based agent Kristal Fox, enjoyed Low’s hospitality aboard his $250 million superyacht Equanimity while it was bobbing off the idyllic coastline of Corfu.

Fresh from splitting with her husband Orlando Bloom, Kerr was spotted in Corfu at the time and even made the local press, but it was her host who is raising eyebrows three years later as the central figure in a corruption scandal that has engulfed Malaysia’s powerful elite.

Fox and Kerr appear to have enjoyed a spot of superyacht-swapping back in 2014, being choppered from one mega pleasure craft to another, Fox even uploading a shot of herself on social media, champagne in hand, departing from Equanimity following her stay aboard with Kerr.

About the same time, Kerr was also a guest aboard James Packer’s Arctic P, and PS was told back then she was attempting to drum up investment in her skin care range with Packer, whom she later described as a good friend, apparently offering her business advice.

Kerr’s US spokesman Mark Fabiani did not respond to PS’ queries about the Corfu trip. Last week he told this column:  “From the start of the inquiry, Miranda Kerr co-operated fully and pledged to turn over the gifts of jewellery to the government.”

Kerr’s sparkling jewels lost a little lustre after they were identified in civil forfeiture lawsuits filed by the US Justice Department pursuing assets allegedly bought with money misappropriated from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The  Equanimity with its gold-plated interiors was also among the items to be seized during the US Justice Department investigation.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 8 July 2017, 1:55 pm and is filed under
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DAP is not afraid of holding CEC elections but only UMNO’s perversity and capriciousness to use RoS to sabotage the DAP preparations for the 14GE for a change of  Federal government in Putrajaya

In the 51 history of the DAP, the party is no stranger to plots and conspiracies by the ruling coalition to sabotage,  destabilise and destroy the party, and the latest such attempt is the Registar of Society’s (ROS) directive to hold another re-election of the DAP’s Central Executive Committee based on the 2012  DAP Congress delegates’ list.

This is a most ridiculous directive for the Sept. 29, 2013  DAP  Central Executive Committee re-elections were exactly based on the 2012 DAP Congress delegates’ list on the directive on the ROS.

Further, why has it taken the ROS four years to decide that the DAP should hold CEC re-elections based on the 2012 Congress delegates’ list, if the ROS is efficient, competent and reasonable in the discharge of his duties?

DAP is not afraid of holding DAP CEC elections, but what is there to prevent a recurrence of the ridiculous situation where, on the flimsiest of grounds, the Registrar of Societies declares that it is withholding its recognition of the newly-elected CEC as he is investigating complaints that the new CEC elections are irregular and takes another four years to declare that there should be re-elections?

Are we to have a situaiton where in 2020, the Registrar of Societies can again ask the DAP to conduct fresh CEC re-elections based on the 2012 DAP Congress delegates’ list?

This is how ridiculous the whole situation had become, as a result of UMNO/BN conspiracy to sabotage the DAP and cause maximum damage and  chaos in the party’s preparations for the 14th general election, simply because the UMNO and BN coalition are worried there is a great possibility that the UMNO/BN will be voted out of power in the next general election.

It is significant that up to now, the Registar of Societies’ letter to the DAP had not been sent. I do not believe that any  civil servant will act in this manner if there is no interference from his political masters.

DAP is not afraid of holding CEC elections but only UMNO’s perversity and capriciousness to use ROS to sabotage the DAP preparations for the 14GE for a change of  Federal government in Putrajaya.

(Speech at the DAP Kopitiam Dialogue in Kg Baru Rahang in Rasah parliamentary constituency on Sunday, 9th July 2017 at 10 am)

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Pakatan Harapan has to defeat the  Najib-Hadi alliance defending Malaysia as a global kleptocracy, assaults on Constitution and Rukunegara if Malaysia is to be saved with a new federal government in Putrajaya in 14GE

The Australian newspaper, Sydney Morning Herald, recently carried a report about two individuals whom Malaysians should be familiar  – Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr and the Penang billionaire Jho Low who is the mastermind behind Malaysia and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s world-class financial scandal – the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal.

The Sydney Morning Herald article entitled “Miranda Kerr holidayed on Malaysian billionaire’s yacht after split from Orlando Bloom” was published after world publicity on Kerr’s handing over of tens of millions of ringgit worth of jewellery from her Los Angeles safe deposit box to US government agents after the third US Department of Justice (DOJ) suits to forfeit US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland purchased from funds stolen from 1MDB and money-laundered through American banks.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported about Jho Low’s courtship of the Australian supermodel in 2014 on the US$250 million super-yacht Equanimity off the idyllic coastline of Corfu, a Greek island in the Ionian Sea.

Jho Low’s ‘”romance” with the Australian supermodel should be private matters except that the jewelleries presented by Jho Low to Kerr, which included a 11.72 carat heart-shaped diamond pendant, a Valentine’s Day gift from Jho Low  in 2014, and even the  US$250 million super-yacht Equanimity, with its gold-plated interiors, were stolen, misappropriated and money-laundered from 1MDB funds, which the US DOJ wanted to forfeit to return to the people of Malaysia.

Pakatan Harapan has launched a nation-wide campaign,  “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrasi” (Love Malaysia, Destroy Kleptocracy) 1MDB ceramah which started  in Penaga, Penang on Thursday night to  explain in simple easy-to-understand terms the DOJ lawsuits about how billions of ringgit of Malaysian people’s monies in 1MDB ended as  expensive jewelleries, art pieces,  luxury properties of a handful of people close to Najib and Jho Low, and why these assets or proceeds from the sale of these assets should be returned to the people of Malaysia.

These assets include of course the now-infamous  US$27.3 million (RM117 million) 22-carat rare pink diamond set in a necklace, which the US DoJ alleged was purchased with stolen 1MDB money for the wife of “Malaysian Official 1” (MO1).

There is however a nagging question as a result of the recent statements by PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang – an Open Letter to All Political Parties on Hari Raya Aidilfitri challenging the US DOJ kleptocratic lawsuits to forfeit 1MDB-linked assets as “foreign interference” and his latest statement defending the 1MDB scandal claiming that it was a consequence of the Barisan Nasional’s motto of “leadership by example” over the years, as if two wrongs can make a right.

The nagging question is whether Hadi and his PAS leadership will support the return to the people of Malaysia the  billions of ringgit worth of jewelleries, art pieces and  luxury properties misappropriated by Jho Low from 1MDB and gifted to  Leonardo DiCaprio, Miranda Kerr, “wife of MO1” and others?

American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr have handed over their multi-million US dollar gifts from Jho Low which were misappropriated from 1MDB funds  to the US DOJ investigators.

But an  UMNO government  propaganda operative had said that there was no need for Miranda Kerr to return any jewellery to the US DOJ investigators, as Kerr should have returned the jewellery to Jho Low instead.

Does Hadi agree with this UMNO government operative and what is his stand on the swathes of luxury properties including a mega yacht, high-end real estates including hotels and condominiums, expensive jewelleries and art pieces bought from stolen 1MDB funds?

Hadi‘s novel defence of Najib and the 1MDB scandal, claiming that the 1MDB scandal is a consequence of Barisan Nasional’s motto of “leadership by example” over the years, is most shocking as the same reasoning could be

used to defend other abuses power and even outright illegal and unconstitutional actions, like the unconstitutional appointment of Tan Sri Raus Sharif as “additional judge” and extension of his tenure as Chief Justice for another three years.

Is Hadi prepared to join in the nation-wide protest against the assault of the Constitution and the important principles of independence of the judiciary and the rule of law  as well as  the doctrine of separation of power by protesting  against the extension of Raus Sharif and Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin respective tenures as Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President?

This does not seem likely.

From these incidents, it is clear that there could not be a sweeping political change in the next 14th General Election unless the Najib-Hadi alliance defending Malaysia as a global kleptocracy and the assaults on the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukunegara could be defeated, so that Malaysia could be saved with a new federal government in Putrajaya.

[Speech (2) at the Pakatan Harapan Temerloh  Hari Raya Aidilfitri reception in Mentakab on Saturday, 8th July 2017 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 9 July 2017, 8:24 am and is filed under
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Pathetic, with Shafie as the lone voice against the tide of informed opinion and  putting up  his worst defence ever for the unconstitutional extension of Raus and Zulkefli for the top two judicial posts in the country

It is most pathetic, with controversial senior lawyer  Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah as the lone voice against the tide of informed opinion and  Shafee putting up his worst defence ever for the unconstitutional extension of  the tenures of Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif and Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin through the backdoor of Article 122(1A) of the Federal Constitution to appoint additional judges.

Just because Shafee got up at 5 am today and first saw the announcement is no testimony for the constitutionality of  the extension of the tenures of the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal president, which were  in fact aggravated by the unconstitutional use of Article 122(1A) as a backdoor for such unconstitutional extensions – making the extensions of Chief Justice Rauf and Tan Sri Zulkefli for the top two judicial posts as doubly unconstitutional!

Shafee begs the question when he said:

“Almost everyone thought Raus recommended himself and Zulkefli to be extended as ‘additional’ judges under Article 122(1A) of the Federal Constitution. He did not.”

Shafee said it was the former Chief Justice, Tun Arifin Zakaria who advised the appointment of Raus and Zulkefli as “additional judges” on March 30, 2017 before his retirement as Chief Justice.

This  is the advice of one former Chief Justice against the advice of another former Chief Justice, Tun Abdul Hamid who was Chief Justice from November 2007 to October 2008.

Abdul Hamid had publicly advised that a further extension to the tenure of Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif after  66 years and six months would be unconstitutional.

Why should the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak prefer to act on Arifin’s advice instead of  Abdul Hamid’s advice when there a whole range of jurists and lawyers backing the latter’s opinion, including former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Gopal Sri Ram, former de facto law minister, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, the Malaysian Bar president George Varughese and the overwhelming  majority of practising lawyers in country?

What would have been the outcome if the Prime Minister had solicited the views and advice of all the serving judges in the country from all three tiers of the judiciary?

It is shocking that Shafee could come up with the argument that nothing in the Federal Constitution forbade an additional judge from being Chief Justice or Court of Appeal President.

By the same argument, there is nothing in the Federal Constitution to forbid an assault on the fundamental principles of judicial independence and the rule of law as well as  the doctrine of separation of powers.

Is Shafie going to be in  the forefront to defend  any such assault on the principles of judicial independence and the rule of law as well as  the doctrine of separation of powers?

Before the whirlwind of the new  constitutional crisis gathers full steam, both Shafee and Zulkefli can nip it in the bud by declining the unconstitutional extension of their tenures as the two top judicial officers of the land.

The time has come for Shafee and Zulkefli to break their silence. Will they speak up?

(Speech at the Pakatan Harapan Temerloh  Hari Raya Aidilfitri reception in Mentakab on Saturday, 8th July 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 9 July 2017, 2:34 am and is filed under
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The RM117 million pink diamond necklace money-laundered from 1MDB funds by Jho Low and gifted to “wife of MO1” is beyond the capability of over 99% of Malaysians, even from their multiple life-time incomes or earnings

The MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, asked how the DAP could assume the responsibility of managing and governing at federal level when the DAP could not resolve its problem with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) for some five years with regard to the DAP Central Executive Committee elections in December 2012.

Liow is barking up the wrong tree, for the problem of the DAP CEC elections dragging on for some five years is solely the responsibility and doing of the Registar of Societies under the directive of the political masters, and not because of any wrongdoing on the part of the DAP.

Who would have imagined that the Registrar of Societies could ask the DAP to have DAP Central Executive Committee re-election some four years after the DAP had conducted such CEC re-election following the ROS’ directive on Sept. 29, 2013?

If Liow Tiong Lai is a conscientious, outspoken and responsible Minister, he should be speaking up in Cabinet to point out that it is extremely ridiculous and irresponsible for the ROS to want the DAP to conduct re-election of DAP CEC based on the 2012 DAP Congress delegates’ list when the DAP had done precisely this on Sept 29, 2013, and asked why the ROS had taken four long years over the matter.

Instead, Liow laid the blame on the DAP but dared not speak the truth in Cabinet.

Similarly, MCA leaders and Ministers have lost their moral compass when not a single one of them dared to ask in Cabinet or Parliament as to the identity of “MO1” and “wife of MO1” in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets as a result of US$4.5 billion money-laundering of 1MDB funds through American banks.

Pakatan Harapan has launched a nation-wide campaign, “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrasi” (Love Malaysia, Destroy Kleptocracy) 1MDB ceramah which started in Penaga, Penang on Thursday night to explain in simple easy-to-understand terms the DOJ lawsuits about how billions of ringgit of Malaysian people’s monies in 1MDB ended as expensive jewelleries, art pieces, luxury properties of a handful of people close to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Penang billionaire and 1MDB mastermind,Jho Low, and why these assets or proceeds from the sale of these assets should be returned to the people of Malaysia.

Can Liow or any MCA Minister or leader explain why none of them had dared to demand an explanation, whether in Cabinet or Parliament, about these billions of ringgit of ill-gotten assets from the money-laundering of 1MDB funds?

These ill-gotten assets include the now-infamous US$27.3 million (RM117 million) 22-carat rare pink diamond set in a necklace, which the US DoJ alleged was purchased with stolen 1MDB money for the wife of “Malaysian Official 1” (MO1).

This one piece of jewellery, costing RM117 million, is beyond the capability of over 99% of Malaysians, even from their multiple life-time incomes or earnings.

If a person earns RM5,000 a month, he would make RM60,000 a year, RM600,000 in  a decade, and given 50 years of lifetime earnings or incomes, we are talking about a total of RM3 million – which is just 2.5% of the cost of the pink diamond necklace of “wife of MO1”. To afford to buy the 22-carat pink diamond necklace gifted to the “wife of MO1” by Jho Low would need incomes from such a person earning RM5,000 a month for 50 years for 40 life-times!

How many people in Malaysia earn RM5,000 a month for 50 years?

What is the use of Liow and MCA leaders to talk about moral values when they do not have the courage to speak up in Cabinet and Parliament against such obscene and criminal extravagance and kleptocracy?

(Speech at the DAP Kopitiam Dialogue in Lukut on Sunday, 9th July 2017 at 4 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 9 July 2017, 11:42 pm and is filed under
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Khairy should withdraw and invite Tunku Makhota Johor to head the team to be responsible  for TN 2050 to restore Malaysia’s greatness and vision as a united, harmonious, progressive and prosperous Malaysia which is a model to the world

At tonight’s DAP ceramah, I am going do something unusual.

I am going to read out verbatim the cry from the bottom of the heart of one distinguished and outstanding Malaysian, as his cry resonates throughout the country, as it  represents the concerns of patriotic and loyal Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, politics or region, that something very wrong is happening to our beloved country – although the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his Cabinet of 36 Ministers, and the entire UMNO/Barisan Nasional leadership does not agree with this cry and concern.

One reason why I reading verbatim the cry of Tunku Makhota Johor, Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim, which was first posted  in Johor Southern Tigers Facebook, is because it should be compulsory reading and study by all Malaysians, not only the citizenry but also  national and state leaders.

In fact, the Cabinet should schedule a special meeting of the 36 Ministers to ponder over the Tunku Makhota Johore’s cry.

Republished by Malaysiakini, under the heading
“I will always pray for your stability, Malaysia”
, this is what Tunku Ismail wrote:

“What’s happening to a country I used to respect? A country that I was once proud to call my home.

A country that I pray for stability. What’s happening to my beloved friend, Malaysia? I hope that one day, you’ll be okay again.

Today, I live in a country where corruption has become a tradition.

A country in which the media protects the corrupt and victimises the innocents, to sell stories.

The uneducated are being deceived, manipulated by the system and torn into pieces.

It has become a place where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

A place where the people no longer acknowledge facts, but rather judge by the perception of what you are wearing.

Where the actors and hypocrites are hailed as heroes while the contributors and those who are dedicated to the good cause are being ignored and perceived as villains, manipulated by the pictures they see.

It has become a place where politicians are wanting to be celebrities and sportsmen.

Where a person who can’t ride a horse or play polo can be selected to represent the country.

Where individuals who don’t even go for proper military training can become a general.

A country where the institution is slowly losing its identity.

Leaders who act with what they’re wearing, but behind closed doors, forces the government to use the people’s money to pay for their private jet, are being respected.

A country where my own race has forgotten our history, heritage and culture.

A country that abandons our local traditions such as our traditional clothes and chooses to adopt foreign customs, wanting to be like the Arabs.

A place plagued by jealousy and envy. A place where you can buy titles, and now those titles have lost its value.

Some chose to keep quiet because they themselves have skeletons in their closet.

While some like me choose to speak up because we are worried about what’s going to happen to our grandchildren and our future generations.

A country where individuals want to be politicians for their personal interest and no longer believe in serving the people and our institution.

Where being in denial and ignorant has become the way of life.

Where the deceiver gains more grounds and power.

Where the truth is being ignored and lies being acknowledged.

Honour, loyalty and being genuine no longer exist. What’s happening to you, my dear friend?

But, don’t you worry, as they are still a few that haven’t lost hope.

There are still a few that will sacrifice for our future generations.

A few that will change things from within.

The vision is clear. Now is the time to implement it. Vision without execution is a hallucination. Stay strong my friend.

You’ll be ok. You’re fortunate to have friends such as Sabah, Sarawak and other places. Be kind to them.

Respect them. Unity is the key to success.

I wish you all the best and I will always pray for your stability Malaysia.

From your friend and a good partner, Johor. The humble servant of the Sultan of Johor and the state of Johor.”

Tunku Ismail has rightly taken  the pulse of the nation – that  we are at the crossroads facing a crisis of nation-building as Malaysia seemed to have lost its way on the 60th anniversary of our attainment of Merdeka on 31st August 1957.

Where have we gone wrong?

As Tunku Ismail Ismail has rightly put it, Malaysia has become a country where  “corruption has become a tradition”;  “the media protects the corrupt and victimizes the innocent to sell stories”; “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”;  “the actors and hypocrites are hailed as heroes while the contributors and those who are dedicated to the good cause are being ignored and perceived as villains, manipulated by the pictures they see”; “politicians are wanting to be celebrities and sportsmen”;  “a person who can’t ride a horse or play polo can be selected to represent the country”;  “individuals who don’t even go for proper military training can become a general”; “a country where the institution is slowly losing its identity”; “ leaders  who act with what they’re wearing, but behind closed doors, forces the government to use the people’s money to pay for their private jet, are being respected”; “a place plagued by jealousy and envy, a place where you can buy titles, and now those titles have lost its value” and a place where “some chose to keep quiet because they themselves have skeletons in their closet”.

Why have Malaysia become such a country sixty years after our Independent nationhood in 1957, to become a country where “individuals want to be politicians for their personal and no longer believe in serving the people and our institution”, a country “where being in denial and ignorant has become the way of life; where  “the deceiver gains more grounds and power”; where “the truth is being ignored and lies being acknowledged” and where “honour, loyalty and being genuine no longer exist”?

But as Tunku Ismail rightly said, “there are still a few that haven’t lost hope” who are worried about what’s going to happen to our grandchildren and our future generations, who are prepared to sacrifice for our future generations.

Tunku Ismail’s message  is clear: Unity is the key to success. The vision is clear. Now is the time to implement it. Malaysians of regardless of race, religion, politics and region must unite to Save Malaysia.

May be the  first step to Save Malaysia and protect the Vision of a united, harmonious, progressive and prosperous Malaysia is for the Minister for Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, who see nothing wrong in Malaysia being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” because of the international multi-billion 1MDB money-laundering scandal, to step down and invite Tunku Makhota to be responsible for TN 50 (National Transformation 2050) to restore Malaysia’s greatness and vision as world-class nation which is an example to the world of a united, harmonious, progressive and prosperous nation where  diversities of race, religion, language and cultures are our greatest strength and assets and not our greatest weakness and liability.

(Speech by at DAP Ceramah in Seremban on Sunday, 9th July 2017 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 10 July 2017, 8:34 am and is filed under
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Khairy should ask Najib at Cabinet tomorrow to appoint another Minister to be responsible for TN 50 if Khairy does not have the courage to get  the Najib administration to give proper accountability on international 1MDB money-laundering scandal

I am still waiting for the UMNO Youth Leader and Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, to reply to my statement yesterday and  explain in clear terms his call that Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and I should retire from politics.

I will await Khairy’s elucidation before responding to his call.

But Malaysians want to know why Khairy has suddenly gone so quiet, and in particular, why he has yet to respond to the lament by Tunku Makhota Johor, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim who asked “What’s happening to a country I used to respect? A country that I was once proud to call my home”.

In fact, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim’s lament reminds me of the concern of another Johorean, former Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Musa Hitam, when he  launched his autobiography,
“Frankly Speaking”
in April this year.

Musa warned that  Malaysia was going downhill slowly, but the situation could get worse quickly.

He  said there was a great distraction in the current Malaysian political scenario that was causing a loss of focus on the wellbeing of Malaysians.

Musa said: “The concerns surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd have left many issues affecting the rakyat unattended….

“The country is going downhill slowly, but the speed could pick up. We have no confidence in the agencies related to administering the nation.”

Khairy has been nominated by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to draft proposals for Transformation Nasional 2050 – TN 50 – which is to replace Vision 2020 as this 30-year programme launched by Mahathir in 1991  had failed to achieve its  nine-point strategic objectives under the Najib premiership.

If Khairy is going to be responsible for drafting the Vision for Malaysians in 33 years’ time in 2050, his most important qualification must his ability not to be trapped by the Grand Denial Complex created by the Najib premiership and his ability to bravely face up to the maze of problems confronting the country sixty years after the country attained independence on August 31, 1957.

An acid test is whether Khairy is prepared to admit to the magnitude, monstrosity and criminality of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal which has caused Malaysia to be regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy in six short years.

Johor  had produced two great sons for the  nation, famous not only for their personal incorruptibility but their commitment to combat corruption, not to mention kleptocracy – Datuk Onn Jafaar and Tun Hussein Onn.

It is all the more poignant that the TMJ in his famous lament which resonates throughout the nation, asked why Malaysia has become a country “where corruption has become a tradition”, where “individuals want to be politicians for their personal interest and no longer believe in serving the people and our institution” and where “Honour, loyalty and being genuine no longer exist”!

Is Khairy aware that Tunku Ismail Ibrahim’s lament is a damning indictment of the present system of governance in Malaysia today?

Let me put it  straight to Khairy – he is not fit or qualified to lead Malaysians to envision what Malaysia should be in 33 years’ time in 2050 if  he is not prepared to come out of the Grand Denial Complex foisted on the nation by the Najib administration and to face up to the maze of problems and crisis presently confronting Malaysia.

Khairy should ask Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow to appoint another Minister to be responsible for TN 50 if Khairy does not have the courage to get  the Najib administration to end the Grand Denial Complex, by firstly giving proper accountability on  the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal as a first step to clear and cleanse Malaysia of the international ignominy and infamy of being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 11 July 2017, 11:59 am and is filed under
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Was  Shafee  involved in  former Chief Justice Arifin’s advice for the unconstitutional  appointment of Raus and Zulkefli as “additional’” judges after the duo’s compulsory retirement to unconstitutionally extend their tenures as the two top judges in the land

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim threw a bomb from Sungai Buloh Prison when he questioned if  prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was involved in the extension of Chief Justice Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif and Court of Appeal President Justice Tan Sri  Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin’s respective tenures.

I full agree that if this is true, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak should come clean on the matter.

This will put Shafee’s comments on the constitutional controversy over the extension of  Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President in  a very different  light –  making Shafee’s comments  most self-serving and lacking in  the candour and professionalism expected of a senior and prominent lawyer.

This was Shafee’s comment on Saturday after the late-night announcement last Friday on the illegal and unconstitutional extension of Raus’ tenure as Chief Justice after August 3:

“I saw the announcement this morning at 5 am and had a quick look at the law.

“Almost everyone thought Raus recommended himself and Zulkefli to be extended as ‘additional judges’ under Article 122(1A) of the Federal Constitution.

“He did not.

“The former CJ on the verge of retiring and possibly one of his last official act recommended both judges to be appointed ‘additional judges’.

“He may have been influenced by the fact that the two top judges after him would have only 4 months and 6 months respectively to hold the two top posts.

“With that sort of limited time frame they would hardly warm up their new seats what more to execute a plan of judicial policy.

“The former CJ must have felt bad about this ‘flash in the pan’ tenure as compared to his, which was more than 6 years.”

Re-reading Shafee’s first comments on the illegal and unconstitutional extension of tenure of Raus’ as Chief Justice and Zulkefli as Court of Appeal President, Najib must not only comply with Anwar’s call to act transparently and disclose whether Shafee was involved in the unconstitutional extension of the tenures of the two top judges in the country, but whether Shafee was involved in the former Chief Justice  Tun Arifin Zakaria’s advice for the unconstitutional  appointment of Raus and Zulkefili as “additional’” judges after the duo’s compulsory retirement to unconstitutionally extend their tenures as the two top judges in the land.

The Cabinet at its meeting tomorrow should  demand that the Prime Minister make a full public disclosure and take immediate action to ensure that the country is not plunged into another constitutional crisis over the judiciary, in particular over the important principles on the doctrine of separation of powers and an independent judiciary,  on the eve of  the country celebrating the 60th National Day anniversary next month.

The easiest and swiftest resolution of the constitutional crisis is for Rauf and Zulkefli to decline the unconstitutional extension of their tenures as Chief Justice and Court of Appeal President – but will both of them be faithful to their oath of office to uphold the Constitution?

As Parliament is meeting on 24th July, the Cabinet should also ensure that the constitutional controversy over the unconstitutional extension of the tenures of Rauf and Zulkefli as the two top judges in the country will be addressed as the first item of parliamentary business – whether  in the form of a debate on a motion by the Prime Minister as to how the country could avoid another constitutional crisis over the judiciary in the country or a motion by the Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on the issue.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 11 July 2017, 7:26 am and is filed under
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1MDB probe: Former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei gets 54 months’ jail for money laundering, cheating

Grace Leong

Straits Times Singapore

12th  July 2017

SINGAPORE – Former BSI Singapore wealth planner Yeo Jiawei was sentenced to 54 months in jail in a Singapore court on Wednesday (July 12) for money laundering and cheating in relation to a massive global probe involving billions of dollars allegedly misappropriated from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund.

Yeo, 34, plead guilty and was convicted on one charge each of money laundering and cheating, with eight other charges taken into consideration.

The sentence, which Yeo began serving immediately, will run concurrently with the remainder of an earlier 30-month jail sentence he was slapped with in December last year for witness tampering.

He is the third former BSI banker to be found guilty in the city’s 1MDB investigations.

The Singaporean had been employed by Swiss-based BSI between December 2009 and July 2014. He allegedly amassed S$26 million from various sources, including illicit schemes to defraud BSI while he was an employee.

The still unfolding case involving 1MDB’s billions is deemed one of the world’s largest money laundering scandals in history. It required the unravelling of, as described by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, a “complex web of transactions involving numerous shell companies and individuals operating in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Malaysia”.

Yeo has repeatedly downplayed his close ties to elusive Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, who is also under investigation in Singapore and elsewhere over money-laundering claims linked to 1MDB.

Senior banker Yak Yew Chee was sentenced in November to an 18-week jail term and fined for forging documents and failing to disclose suspicious transactions allegedly related to Jho Low. Another banker, Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, was jailed for two weeks and fined on Dec 16 last year for similar offenses.

The highest fine of S$128,000 was meted out to Falcon Bank’s ex-manager Jens Sturzenegger who was sentenced to 28 weeks’ jail.

Singapore is the first and only country to date out of at least 10 jurisdictions involved in the probe, that has convicted several facilitators of this scandal.

Four other individuals, including Goldman Sachs’ ex-star banker Tim Leissner, who used to be based in Singapore, have been banned from the city state’s capital markets for periods ranging from 10 years to a lifetime. Three others have been notified by MAS of its intention to issue Prohibition Orders (POs) against them, ranging from three to six years.

So far, MAS’s two year probe into the involvement of financial institutions implicated in the 1MDB money flows have resulted in two private banks losing their licenses here, given serious lapses in their anti-money laundering controls, and eight banks fined a total of S$29.1 million.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 12 July 2017, 8:39 pm and is filed under
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