If Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng in connection with corruption allegation for RM2.8 million bungalow, the Prime Minister would be questioned for 12.3 years  for his RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal

When DAP PJ Utara Member of Parliament and Public Accounts Committee, Tony Pua, spoke  just now about the failures of the various national institutions in the 1MDB scandal, whether Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Bank Negara, the Police, Attorney-General’s Chambers or  even the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), I thought about the three-day interrogation  spanning some 23 hours of the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng by MACC officers in connection with the corruption allegations about his RM2.8 million bungalow.

If Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng in connection with the corruption allegation for his RM2.8 million bungalow, the Prime Minister would be questioned 12.3 years for his RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal.

This is because Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal is 1,500 times bigger than Guan Eng’s  RM2.8 million bungalow allegation, and if Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng where the Penang Chief Minister was questioned for three days, Najib will have to be questioned 1,500 x 3 days, yielding 4,500 days.  This works out to 12.3 years – imagine Najib going in and out of MACC office to be questioned for 12 years and four months, from wake up in the morning to retirement for sleep at night, and doing nothing else!

Another panelist, journalist P. Gunasegaram spoke about the 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption offences being instituted in foreign countries, and how it is most surreal that in Malaysia, we continue the pretense that these  almost daily 1MDB developments all over the world  do not exist.

This seems to be the  success of the global cover-up of the 1MDB global financial scandal, but it is something which is not sustainable and cannot last.

I am reminded of the month of July last year, which started with the Wall Street Journal expose on July 2 on the RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts, and the ensuing three- weeks of stirring developments as if the the rule of law will prevail in the country, with the Special Task Force on the 1MDB launching raids on the 1MDB offices, coupled with feverish rumours on the grapevine that Najib’s days were numbered, and that the Prime Minister was going to be charged in court and would have to step down from the highest office of the land.

I was very skeptical at the time about these rumours on the grapevine in the Federal capital, as I asked myself how come the Prime Minister did not know his days were numbered when everyone was talking  about it, and if he knew about it why was he so inert and not taking pre-emptive measures?

The  mystery was resolved  on July 27, when the “Empire struck back” – and the Deputy Prime Minister, a Senior Cabinet Minister and the Attorney-General were summarily sacked from office, the PAC investigations into 1MDB halted in its tracks when the PAC Chairman and four PAC members promoted to the Executive, leading to nine days of chaos in the various enforcement and investigative agencies when top officers were arrested, transferred with immediate effect or  generally intimidated and silenced. The appointment of a new Attorney-General ensured that the Prime Minister need not worry about being stabbed from the back by his own government.

Apparently, Najib knew of the “hostile” moves against him and was biding his time until he launched “the Empire strikes back” operation on July 27.

I asked Clare Brown of Sarawak Report  who appeared on Skype just now from Spain whether she would be prepared to accept an invitation from the Public Accounts Committee to come to Malaysia to  give testimony on the 1MDB if the PAC can assure her of immunity during her stay in Malaysia.

Clare gave a guarded answer, doubting whether she could be assured of full immunity during her return to Malaysia to testify before the PAC, but generally, she seemed prepared to do so if the government of Malaysia can give her concrete guarantees about her immunity.

As I said at the Skype conversation just now, lets leave it to the PAC Chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin to pursue this matter further.

With actions and  investigations by some seven countries into the 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption offences, there should a Royal Commission of Inquiry to get to the bottom of Najib’s twin mega scandals.

But Najib’s henchmen had been quite successful in sweeping the 1MDB scandal under the carpet, involving all three branches of government – executive, legislative and judiciary.

In these circumstances, serious thought must be given whether it is possible to have a Civil Society Tribunal on the 1MDB scandal, involving international stakeholders as money-laundering and corruption as global crimes are receiving greater international attention and joint action.

Can the Colloquium on 1MDB scandal in Sungai Besar today and in Kuala Kangsar tomorrow lead to the establishment of an International Tribunal on the 1MDB scandal?

(Speech when closing the 1MDB Colloquium in Sekinchan on Saturday, 11th June 2016 at 1 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 11 June 2016, 4:20 pm and is filed under
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The DNA of the present MCA leadership is not only different from the DNA of DAP leadership, but have mutated and degenerated as compared to the DNA of the early MCA leadership

The MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai made a very immature and uninformed  statement in Jerlun  in the Kuala Kangsar by-election campaign when he said that PAS and AMANAH “share the same DNA”, and asked the voters not be duped by DAP once again.

Liow said that liberal factions do not exist within AMANAH or PAS, claiming that “there are only two factions in PAS and AMANAH – extreme or more extreme”.

It is sad that we have national leaders in government in a plural society who do not understand the struggle that is ongoing, not only in Malaysia but world-wide, between an open, broad-minded and inclusive understanding of Islamic politics and a closed, narrow-minded and exclusive exposition of Islamic politics.

In Tunisia, the Ennahda or Renaissance Party, a moderate Islamist political party which is the largest in the Tunisian Parliament, just held a historic national congress under its President Rached Ghannouchi pioneering the development of Islamic politics by separating its religious activities from political ones. Ghannouchi described Ennahda as a “political, democratic and civil party” although its point of reference remain rooted in the values of ancient and modern Islam.

It is worth noting that Tunisia, whose population is 99.8 per cent Muslims, does not have hudud.

One of the leaders of Ennahda, Said Ferjani, in a dialogue with DAP leaders during his visit to Malaysia last August, said ensuring peace and freedom of religion should be the priority in politics, especially among Islamists, even more than implementing hudud.

He refuted assertions that the Islamic penal code should be a prerequisite of faith, relating that even Prophet Muhammad did not implement hudud during his time as a state ruler.

What do we have in Malaysia?  A revival of the hudud debate following the success of the  Najib-Hadi plot in Parliament on May 26 to distract national attention from Malaysia’s first twin global financial scandals  – the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal and the RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Talking about DNA, there is no doubt that the DNA of the present MCA leadership is not only different from the DNA of the DAP leadership, but have mutated and degenerated as compared to the DNA of the early MCA leadership.

The first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman once referred to  his relationship with the then MCA President, Tun Tan Siew Sin, who was his Finance Minister. This is what Tunku wrote:

“It was a real joy to work with Siew Sin. He was a very careful finance minister, sometimes a little bit too careful and I had differences with him over matters of expenditure. I said his tight-fisted policy was not helping the country to get richer.

“One day, he asked me for leave to go to Europe and I readily agreed. Then before he left, he came to have a last discussion with me and asked who would take his place as finance minister. I told him not to worry about that. I would take it over from him. He turned around and said: ‘You finance minister? Then I won’t go on leave.’

“That is the type of man (Siew Sin) was, straight and frank and honest and sincere. I appointed Tun (Abdul) Razak (Hussein) as finance minister and so he went off.”

It would be completely unthinkable for Liow, the present MCA President, to have the DNA of Tan Siew Sin as to be able to be “straight, frank, honest and sincere” in his dealings with the Prime Minister.

The DNA of Siew Sin, Tun H.S.Lee, Tun Ong Yoke Lin, like the founder of MCA Tun Tan Cheng Lock, would not have allowed the two global scandals like the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal and the RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal even to start off in the country – but today, none of the MCA Ministers and leaders dare to stop or even question Najib about the two global financial scandals.

What happened in Parliament on May 26, where Hadi’s hudud bill was fast-tracked to jump ahead of all government official business, was the most disgraceful episode in the 43-year history of Barisan Nasional as it represented a betrayal of what Barisan Nasional had stood for 43 years and what UMNO, MCA and MIC had stood for since Merdeka in 1957.

In fact, what happened in Parliament on May 26  spoke volumes about the great difference between the DNA of the present MCA leadership led by Liow and the early founders and leaders  of MCA.

When our children have done a wrong, they must be punished so that they will not repeat their mistakes.

But Liow and the Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong want the people in Sungai Besar by-election to reward Barisan Nasional for the great wrong committed in Parliament on May 26!

Another example of the great divide between the DNA of the present MCA and Gerakan leaders  from the DNA of the early MCA leaders is highlighted by the failure and refusal of Liow and Mah in the past two weeks to  requisition an emergency Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting to uphold and reaffirm the BN consensus on the hudud issue, and to repudiate and reprimand Azalina for moving the Ministerial motion without consulting the other 13 member parties of Barisan Nasional.

It is still not too late for Liow and Mah to demand that Barisan Nasional must return to the status quo ante before May 26  parliamentary episode of the Najib-Hadi plot on Hadi’s hudud bill, which is for the Barisan Nasional leadership led by Najib to admit that the Ministerial motion to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill was a great mistake as it violated the Barisan Nasional spirit and consensus for the past 43 years, and to announce that such a mistake  to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill would not be repeated  in Parliament at the end of the year.

This will be a satisfactory and acceptable conclusion to the two-week controversy over the Ministerial motion in Parliament on May 26 to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill.

Is Liow and Mah capable of getting Najib to make such an announcement and commitment by  15th June 2016 – three days before the polling in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections?

(Speech at the Pakatan Harapan Sungai Besar by-election ceramah in Sungai Besar village on Friday, 10th June 2016 at 9.30 pm)

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Call for a “1MDB Giant Octopus Tribunal” as the RM55 billion 1MDB global financial scandal is  like a giant octopus with its eight tentacles wrapped so tightly  around the country’s personalities and institutions that Malaysia can only free and save itself if it could escape the strangling  embrace of the giant octopus

The RM55 billion 1MDB global financial scandal, which included Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal, is like a giant octopus with its eight tentacles wrapped so tightly around the country’s key personalities and institutions that Malaysia can only free and save itself if it could escape the strangling  embrace of the giant octopus.

The Second Colloquium on 1MDB scandal is to explore how to bring a closure to  the nation’s first global scandal, which had been hounding and haunting the country for the past six years.

I can envision the eight victims which are caught in the suffocating embrace of the eight tentacles of the giant 1MDB octopus, viz:

1. the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak;

2. UMNO whose leadership at the national, state and even divisional levels have been co-opted or compromised;

3. MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Barisan Nasional component parties which is why no  MCA, Gerakan or  MIC Minister or leader dare to  have a confrontation with the UMNO leadership over the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said’s Ministerial motion in Parliament on May 26 to fast-track Hadi’s hudud motion or to requisition an emergency meeting of Barisan Nasional Supreme Council  with the dual objective to  firstly,  restore the status quo ante by reaffirming the Barisan Nasional’s 43-year consensus that hudud is against the Malaysian Constitution and  not suitable for multi-religious Malaysia and secondly, to repudiate and sack Azalina for her Ministerial motion which violated BN spirit and consensus.

4. PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, the only opposition leader to come to the defence of Najib over the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal. As a result, Hadi has moved closer to Hadi, resulting in the Najib-Hadi plot of Hadi’s hudud bill in Parliament on May 26.

5. Parliament, where questions on 1MDB are not permitted or allowed to be raised, besmirching the role and powers of Parliament as the highest political chamber in the land and the Public Accounts Committee which is prevented by a “cari makan” chairman to further investigations into the 1MDB and “donation” scandals to get to the bottom of  these global scandals than just produce  the PAC Report on 1MDB which only addressed the “tip of the iceberg” of the global scandal.

6. The Executive and all major investigative or enforcement agencies, whether Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Bank Negara, the Police, Attorney-General’s Chambers, compromising their capabilities from discharging their powers and responsibilities.

7. The  mortgagint of the rights and interests of 30 million Malaysians and future generations; and

8, Compromising the  good name and international standing of Malaysia.

UMNO/Barisan Nasional propagandists have said that Najib’s RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin global scandals are too difficult, complex and “high brow” subjects for the farmer, fishermen and ordinary voters in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar constituencies to understand or to use them as factors for deciding their votes in the two by-elections.

Furthermore, these UMNO/BN propagandists also strong believe that it  is beyond the comprehension or  imagination of the farmer, fishermen and ordinary voters in these two constituencies to envisage the concept of 1MDB as a giant octopus fully wrapping its eight tentacles on the key personalities and vital institutions in the country, slowly and steadily, strangulating and squeezing out  the vital powers of the country for healthy political and economic development and growth.

I call on the voters on Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar to prove these UMNO/BN propagandists wrong, that they understand the enormity and the heinousness of the multi-billion ringgit 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption – which have become the basis for overseas actions against financial institutions, including closure, and criminal prosecution of individuals involved.

Even more important, let the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar demonstrate that they can understand the concept of the monstrous 1MDB scandal as a giant octopus wrapping its eight tentacles around key personalities and national  institutions undermining their credibility, authority, professionalism and vitality.

Let the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar demonstrate that unlike some national leaders, they have not lost the moral compass of being able to distinguish right from wrong – that they know that embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption are just downright wrong and bad for the country.

With the PAC Report on 1MDB  dealing only  with the “tip of the iceberg” of the colossal 1MDB scandal, there can be no stronger case for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on 1MDB global scandal.

But this is impossible unless there is a change of government in Putrajaya as none other than the Prime Minister himself is directly involved in the 1MDB scandal.

As the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1MDB scandal is not a realistic option at present, all Malaysians, whether political parties, politicians, NGOs and NGIs should seriously consider establishing a 1MDB Giant Octopus  Tribunal,  involving not only national but also international participation as  money-laundering, corruption and other relared crimes have become global challenges which are receiving greater international attention and joint global action – like the revelation of the Panama Papers.

I therefore recommend the  establishment of an international “1MDB Giant Octopus Tribunal” as  agenda for consideration by Malaysian NGOs and the organisations in  international  society  which are concerned about the  phenomenon of global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption.

(Speech  at the closing of the 2nd Colloquium on the RM55 billion 1MDB global scandal in Kuala Kangsar on Sunday, 12th June 2016 at 1.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 12 June 2016, 6:00 pm and is filed under
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Hishammuddin cannot be more wrong when he claimed that Mahathir’s “harping” on Najib was irrelevant as PM not contesting in twin polls

The Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein cannot be more wrong when he dismissed former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s message as irrelevant to the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections because Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak isn’t contesting.

Hishammudin, who was  reacting to Mahathir’s visit to  Sungai Besar this morning  to endorse Parti Amanah Negara’s candidate Azhar Abdul Shukur after the latter signed the Citizens’ Declaration petition calling for Najib’s ouster, said:

“What was raised by Mahathir in his ceramah in Sungai Besar is unrelated.

“I would like to remind that Najib is not contesting in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections.

“What does issues touching on Najib have to do with Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar?”

The Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary constituencies are among the 10th most marginal and most unsafe seats won by UMNO in the 13th general elections although they had been traditional UMNO strongholds since Merdeka, never before lost by UMNO in the past six decades.

However, if on June 18, UMNO/BN loses Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar and they indicate a trend  that there will be a 5% fall in voter support  for UMNO/BN in the 14th General Election, it would mean that UMNO/BN would lose up to 52 seats, leaving the UMNO/BN coalition with only 81 out of 222 parliamentary seats – evicting UMNO/BN from Putrajaya for the first time in the nation’s history.

If this is the outcome of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-election polling results next Saturday, will the indication of a trend of a 5% voter swing against UMNO/BN in the 14 GE, which  would  translate into 52-seat loss to the BN  coalition with UMNO parliamentary representation further reduced from the present 88 seats to 56 seats and the BN total falling from 133 to 81, be irrelevant to Najib’s future as Prime Minister of Malaysia?

I do not think so as what happened in the two by-elections will be relevant about the future of Najib, UMNO/Barisan Nasional as well as the people of Malaysia!

In fact, a  stage may then be  set for the toppling of Najib from inside UMNO to save UMNO from a disastrous electoral defeat in the 14th General Election!

How  then can Hishammuddin say that the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections have nothing to do with Najib, when they will be intimately involved in the issue  as to whether Najib should step down and resign as Prime Minister or to cling on to power in Putrajaya.

(Speech  at the Pakatan Harapan Kuala Kangsar by-election ceramah in Kuala Kangsar town on Saturday, 11th June 2016 at 11.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 12 June 2016, 5:49 am and is filed under
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If the 14 BN component parties cannot issue a joint statement by June 15 to admit that  Azalina’s Ministerial motion to fast-track Hadi’s Hudud bill was a great mistake and violation of BN principle and consensus, MCA and Gerakan should end their electoral fraud and withdraw the by-election slogan of “Vote BN to stop Hudud”

In the  Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangar parliamentary by-elections, MCA and Gerakan Ministers and leaders are going around with the slogan: “Vote BN to stop Hudud”.

This is the greatest electoral fraud in the nation’s history after what happened in Parliament on May 26, where the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said moved the Ministerial motion to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill motion.

Who did Azalina represent when she moved the Ministerial motion in Parliament? Herself, UMNO or the Barisan Nasional government?

MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers and leaders claim that Azalina moved the Ministerial motion in Parliament without MCA, Gerakan or MIC consent and that they never knew that Azalina was going to move the Ministerial motion.

Now Azalina has publicly said  that she had not moved the Ministerial motion on her own initiative, but on the directive of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi.

Did the MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers and leaders confront Najib and Zahid and demand a satisfactory explanation from the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister why Azalina violated Barisan Nasional consensus and  discipline to move a Ministerial motion in Parliament on May 26 to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill when this violated the  Barisan Nasional policy, principle and consensus  since  its formation in 1973 that hudud is not suitable for a multi-racial and multi-religious nation like Malaysia?

The MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers and leaders are treating the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar voters as fools and simpletons with the slogan “Vote BN to stop Hudud”, expecting voters to give approval to Azalina’s Ministerial motion in Parliament on May 26 to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill.

Azalina’s Ministerial motion to ‘fast-track” Hadi’s hudud bill in Parliament on May 26 is  indisputably  the worst “black mark”  in the 43-year history of Barisan Nasional, and it beggars the imagination that MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers could be so insensitive  that they want the voters  in the two by-elections to endorse the Barisan Nasional and approve Azalina’s Ministerial motion by voting for the Barisan Nasional on June 18.

Can the MCA President Datuk Seri  Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong explain why after two weeks from the May 26 parliamentary “black mark”, and more than half-a-dozen public suggestions from me, they still dare not requisition for an emergency Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting to restore the status quo ante on Barisan Nasional’s stand on hudud, as well as to repudiate and reprimand Azalina for moving the Ministerial motion without consulting the other 13 member parties of Barisan Nasional?

It is still not too late for Liow and Mah to demand that Barisan Nasional must return to the status quo ante before the  Ministerial “fast-track” motion in Parliament on May 26, and this must be done at least three days before the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections on June 18.

Are all the leaders of the 14  Barisan Nasional component parties, led by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, able to make a joint statement by before June 15 that Azalina’s  Ministerial motion to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill in Parliament on May 26  was a great mistake as it violated the Barisan Nasional spirit and consensus for the past 43 years, and to announce that such a mistake to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill would not be repeated in Parliament at the end of the year?

If the 14 BN component parties cannot issue a joint statement by June 15 to admit that  Azalina’s Ministerial motion to fast-track Hadi’s Hudud bill was a great mistake and a serious violation of BN principle and consensus, MCA and Gerakan should end their electoral fraud and withdraw the by-election slogan of “Vote BN to stop Hudud”.

(Speech  at the Ipoh Timor DAP 50th anniversary Dinner held in Ipoh on Saturday, 11th June 2016 at 8.30 pm)

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Challenge to UMNO Ministers to cite just one case that I had been anti-Malay or anti-Islam in my 50 years in politics or they should stop  their politics of lies and hatred and focus on how to unite and build an united,  great, just and prosperous Malaysia

The statement by the UMNO Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob in Sungai Besar is typical of the lies and politics of hatred spouted by UMNO leaders, even in this holy month of Ramadan.

Ismail accused former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir of working with a group who wants to reject Malay special rights and Islam, and said that if Mahahtir is “with Lim Guan Eng and Lim Kit Siang that speak for itself”.

I challenge UMNO Ministers to cite just one case that I had been anti-Malay or anti-Islam in my 50 years in politics or they should  stop their politics of lies and hatred and focus on how to unite Malaysians of diverse races and religions in the country to build a great, just and prosperous Malaysia.

I can cite  a list of the racist speeches by Ismail and other UMNO leaders, including Ismail’s infamous call  to Malays last year to boycott Chinese businesses, but can they cite just one instance of my being anti-Malay or anti-Islam in my 50 years in Malaysian politics?

I do not think there is another political leader who had suffered more sustained and greater demonisation in the past 50 years than myself, as I had been accused of all sorts of dastardly and evil deeds especially through the Barisan Nasional-owned and controlled mainstream media.

I have been accused of being anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Malay Rulers, anti-Chinese-educated Chinese, anti-English-educated Chinese, anti-Indian, an agent of Russian KGB, agent of American CIA, agent of  British M16, agent of  Australian Intelligence Services, and a host of unimaginable allegations.

I had been accused of causing the May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur, of having led illegal processions through the streets of Kuala Lumpur hurling anti-Malay slogans and provocations and even urinating in the house of the then Selangor Mentri Besar, Datuk Harun Idris, in Kampong Baru in Kuala Lumpur, as was portrayed in the film “Tanda Putera”!

But I was never in Kuala Lumpur during the May 13, 1969 days as I had flown to Kota Kinabalu early on the morning of May 13, 1969  to help in the belated election  campaigning in Sabah and Sarawak and I learnt about the tragic events of the May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur when  I was whispered the shocking news while speaking at a massive public rally at the Sabah capital.

The police had a full record of my whereabouts during those tragic days of May 13, 1969, but the authorities’ knowledge that I was never in Kuala Lumpur during that time did not stop those-in-power from concocting and spinning the lie and myth down the decades that I was in Kuala Lumpur at the time and responsible for the May 13, 1969 riots.

The lies and falsehoods to demonise me have gone through  various versions with new combinations and permutations.

The latest is the allegation that AMANAH leaders have become my stooges and puppets, and even the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir has become my latest puppet and stooge.

Imagine – Mahathir a stooge of Lim Kit Siang!  Those who concoct such lies and falsehoods must have abandoned reason and sanity!

Many Malaysians have  forgotten that at one time, DAP leaders were accused of being puppets and stooges of PAS, and this was why Karpal Singh and I lost in the parliamentary contests in the 1999 general election, when MCA and Gerakan propagandists cranked up such lies and falsehoods in the short campaign period in the 1999 general elections, alleging that a vote for DAP was a vote for PAS and a vote for Islamic State, and that there would  be no Chinese schools to study, no pork to eat, and no temples for the Buddhists to pray.

May be it was the shocking defeat of Karpal and myself for the parliamentary elections in 1999 which woke up the Chinese and non-Malays to the MCA and

Gerakan  lies and falsehoods that Karpal and I could be puppets and stooges of PAS or anyone else, and although the same lies and falsehoods were spread in the 14 years from 1999 to 2013 general elections, such lies and falsehoods that DAP could be puppets and stooges of PAS lost all credibility whatsoever.

However, the lies and falsehoods in the Malay areas that PAS leaders like Hadi and others were DAP stooges and puppets had a longer life-span, lasting up to the 2013 general elections, to the extent that after causing the  disintegration of Pakatan Rakyat, PAS leaders copied the UMNO ploy to accuse AMANAH leaders of being stooges and puppets of DAP.

Let me ask PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang whether he was a puppet and stooge of DAP during the seven years of PAS in Pakatan Rakyat, and if not, why is PAS  copying the unethical and dishonest UMNO tactics to falsely accuse AMANAH leaders of being DAP stooges and puppets?

UMNO is continuing its politics “divide and rule” through the adoption of the politics of race, but PAS is now emulating UMNO tactics of “divide and rule” using the politics of religion – totally abandoning the “PAS for all” slogan and approach of PAS in the seven years of  Pakatan Rakyat.

DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, has also been accused of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam, when the Penang State Government in the eight years under Guan Eng had done more to promote Islam than the Barisan Nasional and Alliance governments had done in 51 years in Penang from 1957 to 2008!

In 1998, Guan Eng lost his MP-ship, parliamentary pensions and went to jail for 18 months, not because he had committed any crime of theft, robbery, murder or corruption, but because he had defended the dignity and honour of an underaged Malay girl!

Is there another case in the nearly 60 years  of Malaysian politics of an UMNO/Barisan Nasional leader who was prepared to sacrifice his parliamentary position, pensions and gone to jail for standing up for the human rights of a Malaysian of another race and religion?

In fact, is there a single UMNO/Barisan Nasional leader who had been prepared to sacrifice his political future and gone to jail for defending the basic rights of a Malaysian of his own race and religion – never mind about  a Malaysian of different  race and religion?

Guan Eng and I do not ask for recognition, honour or gratitude for what we have done in our political struggle, because what we have done is  expected of all patriotic Malaysians – but it clearly crosses the line of decency and morality to continue to indulge in lies and falsehoods to demonise Guan Eng and I as anti-Malay and anti-Islam, where there is no basis whatsoever.

Guan Eng and I are not anti-Malay or anti-Islam. We are not anti any race or any religion. We want all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region and even political affiliation to come together as patriotic Malaysians to save Malaysia from gross violations of human rights, corruption and socio-economic injustices which have blighted our beloved country and denied Malaysians the greatness they are capable of.

(Speech at the Pakatan Harapan Kuala Kangsar by-election ceramah in Kuala Kangsar town on Sunday, 12th June 2016 at 10.30 pm)

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Pluralism remains critical to Malaysia

Opinion

Straits Times

JUN 10, 2016

Those fearing a creeping Islamisation of Malaysia reacted sharply when the government, led by the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), allowed Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) to table a Bill on hudud – the controversial Islamic criminal code. The debate over its widespread application, if legislated, has divided Malaysia’s multi-religious landscape.

That PAS should push for hudud is hardly surprising. The party’s insistence on Malaysia becoming an Islamic state governed by syariah law, including hudud, has constituted its core political mission for decades. What is noteworthy about the hudud Bill being on the parliamentary agenda is the signal of a possible convergence of interests between Umno and PAS – two Malay-based parties whose erstwhile electoral rivalry expanded space for multi-religious politics. Nominally, the Bill seeks to only enhance the present powers of syariah courts. The larger purpose behind it is the Islamisation of the country through the induction of hudud into the body politic.

Attempts by PAS to reach out to non-Muslims in recent years appeared to signal a move away from its roots in theocratic orthodoxy towards an inclusive idea of Malaysia as a religiously pluralistic nation. However, that phase now appears to have been a tactical one. The renewed bid for hudud reveals the strategic rationale of PAS – to treat every political opening as an opportunity to install Islamic governance in Malaysia. In that sense, the party’s overt return to its hudud agenda serves the useful purpose of reminding voters of the ultimate inability of religion-based parties to embrace social and political heterodoxy.

Ironically, however, PAS continues to work with the secular opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in the Selangor state government. How long that will last is anyone’s guess as PKR has lent its support to PAS’ opponent, Amanah, for an upcoming parliamentary by-election. That politics makes for strange bedfellows might well hold the door ajar, for now at least, and prevent it from closing in on the country’s attempt to find a status quo that does not subvert the multi-religious nature of its polity.

Malaysia is not a secular state, nor is it an Islamic one, as top political leaders have stated. Political parties, civil society organisations and an increasingly vocal intelligentsia navigate their way between these two realities as they envisage the national future. Nations being imagined communities, an acceptance of diversity helped to turn Malaysia into a model Muslim-majority country where religious minorities are comfortable with their place in the national scheme of things. Many would hope that this state of affairs will continue, despite the efforts of PAS to manoeuvre its way to power. The ambitions of a single religious party ought not overturn the long-held multi-religious and multiracial aspirations of an entire nation.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 13 June 2016, 9:12 pm and is filed under
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Would voters who vote for UMNO’s Mastura in Kuala Kangsar or  Budiman in Sungai Besar “sinned and be damned by Allah”?

Apart from refusal to be loyal to the Common Policy Programme of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and his insistence to exercise a veto power overriding the decisions of other PAS leaders reached at  the PR Leadership Council, there is another powerful reason why the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang wanted to cause the disintegration of Pakatan Rakyat – his refusal to accept Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister as he himself wanted to be Prime Minister.

When Hadi found that the other two parties in Pakatan Rakyat would not endorse him as Prime Minister of Malaysia, he had no use for the Pakatan Rakyat and decided on a new political course for PAS led by him, acting as “adviser” to the UMNO President and Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – even when this required him to be blind to Najib’s two global scandals, the RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin mega financial scandals.

Under the circumstances, it did not come as a surprise that Hadi was unmoved and not interested to rock Najib’s boat although former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir met him three months ago to explain about Najib’s “wrongdoings”.

What Mahathir revealed at the Second Colloquium on the RM55 billion 1MDB global scandal in Kuala Kangsar yesterday was news to the whole country, that he had taken pains to meet the PAS President to explain  to him about the 1MDB scandal and other “wrongdoings” of the Prime Minister, but although Hadi admitted that there was some truth in what Mahathir had told him, the PAS President decided to side with Najib.

Hadi’s reply to Mahathir was most revealing.

Confirming later in Sekinchan that Mahathir had met him three months ago about Najib, Hadi explained why he rejected  Mahathir’s overture.

Hadi said PAS does not oppose any individual but only the system and the policy.

He told reporters: “If a person is changed but the policy and approach are the same, nothing changes”.

Malaysians are very baffled by Hadi’s explanation.  It would appear that he opposes the UMNO/BN policy and system, but supports Najib as Prime Minister and UMNO/BN President.  What type of  politics is this?

Malaysians can understand that it is not enough to change the Prime Minister without institutional and systemic changes, but here Hadi is advocating the defence  of Najib as Prime Minister on the ground that Najib’s  governmenht policy and system is not changed.

I am not the only way who could not understand what Hadi is advocating, but I believe that the overwhelming majority of PAS members do not understand as well.

Only Hadi’s  lieutenants, who appeared at the recent PAS Muktamar garbed in traditional warrior costumes, could give Hadi blind loyalty which is probably why one of them could say recently that PAS “not only aspired to, but is determined, to unite with UMNO”.

Hadi warned yesterday that voters might suffer divine punishment if they elect the wrong MP in the by-elections on June 18.

May be Hadi should explain whether voters would have “sinned and be damned by Allah” if they vote for UMNO candidates Mastura Mohd Zahid in Kuala Kangsar and Budiman Mohd Zohdi in Sungai Besar by-elections.

Would Hadi care to clarify the conundrum?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 13 June 2016, 5:38 pm and is filed under
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Focus on reforms, not political hudud

 — G25 Malaysia

Malay Mail Online

June 13, 2016

JUNE 13 — It is incredible that we have politicians and Islamic activists suggesting that only Muslims who are experts in religion have a right to discuss and comment on the shariah and hudud.

They should know it is normal in a democracy for citizens to take an interest in public affairs and to express their views freely.

As the recent tabling of the “hudud bill” is about amending an act of parliament and more importantly amending the constitution also, the public concern goes beyond religion and the Muslims.

This is a matter about the very foundation of our federation of 13 states and it is therefore an issue of grave concern to all races, including our citizens in Sabah and Sarawak.

The surprise manner in which the bill was allowed to be tabled has also alarmed the public that such an important matter was handled so frivolously.

The whole episode smells of a plot to take Malaysia on the road to an Islamic state.

A fundamental principle in all constitutional democracies is the separation of religion from the nation state. Thus, in the Malaysian constitution, although Islam is the official religion of the country, it is not the basis of law and government. The constitution, however, recognises the important role that Islam plays in the life of the Muslim population and has therefore made provisions for the application of shariah laws for specific purposes at state government level under the authority of the respective sultans in their traditional role as head of religion.

It’s important to note that in authorising Islamic laws for Muslims, the constitution has also placed limits on the powers of the shariah courts in imposing sentences on offences applicable to Muslims. Criminal offences are excluded from shariah and state governments as they are strictly reserved under Federal jurisdiction. Federal courts and common law judges have authority to overrule any shariah court decisions that are in conflict with the constitution.

All this goes to show that the constitution is very clear that it shall be the supreme law of the country based on the fundamental principle that all Malaysians, including Muslims, shall be governed under one legal system. Based on this principle, therefore, Muslims do not have a right to be governed by a separate legal system except as expressly provided for in the constitution. The recent bill tabled by PAS and its longer term political objective run counter to this basic intent of the constitution. It is therefore unconstitutional and should not have been allowed.

The public concern is that while the bill that was presented is currently limited in scope, it could the first step towards implementing the ultimate objective of making the shariah courts equal or superior in status to the civil courts. If this were to happen, with two parallel systems of law in place, and if the shariah courts were given greater status, the basic character of the constitution will change and Federal judges in the civil courts will be placed in an ambiguous situation regarding their powers to strike down any legislation passed by state legislatures that conflict with the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the constitution. Malaysians, in particular the minority races, will no longer feel safe that the Federal judges can protect their constitutional rights. The constitution will no longer be the supreme law for the country. There will be uncertainties, confusion and chaos with disastrous implications for the society and the economy, bringing us all down, including the Muslims on the path to a failed state.

There are higher priorities facing the nation than hudud. While corruption, financial mismanagement and abuse of power exist in all countries, Malaysia’s reputation world -wide has taken a big knock as a result of recent trends of poor governance, due to erosion of institutional independence in dealing with the scandals.

It’s the lack of transparency and accountability that has done the most damage to the reputation of the country’s institutions. Urgent reforms are needed in many areas in addressing these problems: making political financing more transparent and acceptable, empowering a strong role for parliament to provide oversight on the functions of government with the objective to reduce the abuse of power among ministers and civil servants, creating an independent office of public prosecutor separate from the Attorney General to facilitate impartial prosecution and establishing an independent elections commission for regulating free and fair elections. Internal reforms in the civil service, in the legal service and judiciary as well as in the police are also important to ensure they carry out their duties professionally, without fear or favour, so as to restore public confidence in our institutions of law and order.

These are the changes that will make the difference for Malaysia. We can become a better country and a role model for the whole Muslim world, in line with maqasid shariah or the higher objectives of shariah. With these reforms, and coupled with sound economic policies and blessed with our rich natural and human resources, and with no religious interference, Malaysia can easily become the most advanced country in this region.

The silent majority among all races are hoping that our representatives in parliament will stop playing around with the divisive religious politics and focus their attention instead on making Malaysia a united, strong nation.

* This statement is released by Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim on behalf of G25 Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 14 June 2016, 6:29 am and is filed under
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IPIC Seeks $6.5 Billion From 1MDB, Malaysia in Arbitration

by Shamim Adam

Bloomberg

June 14, 2016

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, embroiled in a debt payment dispute with 1Malaysia Development Bhd., is seeking $6.5 billion from the troubled Malaysian state investment company as it moves the spat into arbitration.

1MDB and its sole shareholder — Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance — haven’t perform their obligations toward International Petroleum Investment Co. PJSC, the Abu Dhabi fund said in a London stock exchange filing on Tuesday. IPIC and unit Aabar Investments PJS submitted the request to the London Court of International Arbitration, it said.

The Malaysian investment fund and IPIC are locked in a tussle that spilled over to repayments on bonds issued by 1MDB. That led to a default in April, adding to the financial scandals for the Malaysian company that’s already a target of global probes into alleged money laundering and embezzlement. 1MDB has denied wrongdoing.

“The failure of 1MDB and MOF to perform their obligations, cure their defaults or put forward acceptable proposals has left IPIC in the position where it must pursue its claims in arbitration,” IPIC said. “The claim will be determined by an arbitral tribunal that will comprise of three arbitrators.”

Debt Deal

1MDB didn’t immediately to an e-mail and phone calls seeking comment. A Ministry of Finance spokeswoman couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

IPIC entered into an agreement with 1MDB in May 2015 to provide the Malaysian fund $1 billion to settle some liabilities in exchange for a transfer of assets, and assume interest obligations on $3.5 billion of debt. 1MDB and Malaysia’s finance ministry “are in default” on the terms of a binding term sheet, IPIC said in April.

IPIC, which had guaranteed two sets of 1MDB debt, made payments after the Malaysian company missed them in April and May. 1MDB reiterated to bondholders last month its commitment to resolving the dispute.

A report by a Malaysian parliamentary committee in April identified at least $4.2 billion of questionable transactions by 1MDB, including those involving the Abu Dhabi companies. The bipartisan group said it couldn’t verify a $2.1 billion payment to Aabar Investments PJS Ltd.

IPIC has denied ownership of the company that received the funds known as Aabar Investments PJS Limited, or Aabar BVI. IPIC’s unit has a slightly different name to the one that 1MDB transferred money to. 1MDB has said it negotiated “various legal agreements” with the previous heads of IPIC and Aabar, and called it a “surprising claim” that neither Gulf company knew of payments to Aabar BVI.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 14 June 2016, 5:21 pm and is filed under
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Ismail Sabri, a book can wait, but  let’s have one example a day until polling day – or five examples that I had been anti-Malay and anti-Islam in my 50 years in politics

Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday accepted my challenge to cite an example in my 50 years in politics to prove that I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam, and said that he can compile a whole book on the anti-Malay and anti-Islam speeches that I had made.

But he did not cite a single instance to back up his allegation.

Let me tell Ismail – a book can wait, but let’s have one example a day until polling day for the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections on June 18 or five examples that I had been anti-Malay and anti-Islam in my 50 years in politics.

He should have given one example yesterday. As he did not, he owes me one example. I await his one example a day until Friday i.e. five examples in all, which is not too much to ask, since he is talking about a book, presumably at least 100 examples!

I have been tickled to no end reading the fulmination of another UMNO Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industries,  Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, who said that Tun Dr. Mahathir was just the DAP’s latest “warhorse”.

Shabery came to Sungai Besar yesterday and said that I had used PKR Ketua Umum, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, Amanah leaders and now Tun Dr. Mahathir as my “war horses”.

As Hadi is now very intimate with the UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib

Razak, aspiring to be the Prime Minister’s “adviser”, Shabery should ask Hadi to admit publicly that he was a DAP “war horse” in the past.

If not, it is concrete proof that Shabery was just weaving fairy tales to deceive his audience.

If Shabery is right that DAP had made use of Anwar, Hadi, Amanah leaders and now Mahathir as “war horses” to serve its ends, he had forgotten or deliberately omitted another name – Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who was President of Semangat 46 and whom the DAP co-operated in the 1990 General Election in Gagasan Rakyat.

Why did Shabery leave out Tengku Razeleigh as the DAP’s “war horses”?

The answer is very simple.  Shabery  would be indicting himself, as he  was a  minor cog in the wheel of Semangat 46 at the time – a  “war horse” of Tengku Razaleigh – and if Tengku Razaleigh was used as DAP’s “war horse” in 1990, then Shabery had played the role of the “war horse” of DAP’s “war horse” – a most demeaning and humiliating role for one who has risen to become a UMNO Cabinet Minister after betraying his former political boss!

As a former academician, one would have thought that Shabery would never lose the moral compass of being able to distinguish right from wrong.

Who would have believed that the once starry-eyed idealist of an academician could end up as such a hard-nosed political operator who could even defend  global corruption scandals like the RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” mega scandals!

Who has become whose “war horse”, Shabery?

Both Shabery case and that of UMNO followers lodging police reports over the humourous speech by the PKR Secretary-General and MP for Pandan, Rafizi Ramli about Amanah candidate in Kuala Kangsar, Ahmad Termizi Ramli  being a nuclear physicist and that if Termizi  could win in the by-election, he would be able to hurl  an “atomic bomb” at Prime Minister Najib in Parliament shows the utter failure of our educational system whose products do not understand what is a simile, metaphor or a simple figure of speech.

All the recent Education Ministers are clearly national failures going by Shabery example and those who lodged police reports in Kuala Kangsar over Rafizi’s humourous speech about an “atomic bomb” in Parliament!

I fully agree with former Secretary-General of Treasury, Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, 76,  who issued a statement yesterday declaring that there are more important and urgent matters like political and educational reforms to make Malaysia a united and strong nation instead of divisive religious politics like hudud.

(Media Conference  Statement  in Sekinchan on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at 11 am)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 14 June 2016, 10:39 am and is filed under
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Nazri is avoiding the issue, going ahead to gazette the NSC Act without giving due consideration to the proposal by the Conference of Rulers is not only disrespect but contempt for the Rulers

Former Minister in charge of parliamentary affairs, Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz is avoiding the issue of disrespect to the Malay Rulers, for there is no doubt that going ahead to gazette the National Security Council (NSC) Act into law without royal assent, without giving due consideration to the proposal by the Conference of Rulers, is not only disrespect but contempt  for the Rulers.

Nazri said any amendments to the NSC Bill could only be tabled as a new bill in the next meeting of Parliament, but the question is why the NSC Amendment Bill could not be presented to the May meeting of Parliament as the Conference of Rulers had returned the NSC bill to the Attorney-Generral’s Chamber for “refinement” on Feb. 17?

The Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali had then said he would review some sections of the bill while the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said he took note of the rulers’ suggestion.

The onus is both on the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General to convince and satisfy Malaysians whether they had given due consideration to the views of the Conference of Rulers, although there was no provision in the Constitution to empower the Conference of Rulers to direct the government to “refine” any Bill, but since both the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General had promised to give the views of the Conference of Ruler due consideration, had this been done and if so, why any “refinement” had not been brought by way of an amendment bill to Parliament in its May meeting.

This is why I had called on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to give a public undertaking that the National Security Council Act will not be enforced until the concerns of the Conference of Rulers are addressed by way of amendments to be presented in the forthcoming Parliament.

This is especially important as the  NSC Act is a grave threat to democracy and constitutional government as it enables the Prime Minister to oust the prerogatives of the Yang di Pertuan Agong to declare an emergency by imposing emergency-like conditions in so-called “security areas”.

Is the Government prepared to conduct nation-wide public hearings to seek public feedback to the NSC Act?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 14 June 2016, 8:29 am and is filed under
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SUPP President Sim Kui Hian failed big time although he is treated like a “conquering hero” to save MCA, Gerakan and even UMNO in the two by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar

SUPP President, Senator Sim Kui Hian failed big time although he is treated like a “conquering hero” to save MCA, Gerakan and even UMNO in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections on Saturday.

This is the first time in 43-year Barisan Nasional history that the SUPP President is regarded like a “saviour” to MCA and Gerakan which had fallen on “bad times”, as the SUPP President had always been regarded by the MCA and Gerakan as a “little brother” and never as a “saviour” in BN history.

But Sim did not act like a “saviour” for MCA and Gerakan, or he should have spoken up for the MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Gerakan President, Datuk Mah Siew Keong who are afraid of losing their Ministerial posts by making it clear to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the Ministerial motion in Parliament on May 26 to “fast-track” Hadi’s hudud bill is a fundamental breach of 43-year Barisan Nasional policy and consensus that hudud violates the Malaysian Constitution and not suitable for a multi-religious Malaysia where Muslims comprise 62% and non-Muslims 38% of the population.

Sim should have spoken up in support of the proposal that the Prime Minister and all the leaders of the 14 Barisan Nasional component parties should make a joint declaration three days before polling day, i.e. by 15th June 2016, to reaffirm the Constitutional principle and the 43-year Barisan Nasional consensus to reject Hadi’s hudud bill, as well as to state in no uncertain terms that the Ministerial motion by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said was a great mistake as it violated the Constitution and the Barisan Nasional consensus and to ask for her resignation from the Cabinet.

Sim should have warned that if the fundamental principles of the Malaysian Constitution, the 1963 Malaysia Agreement and the 43-year Barisan Nasional consensus are allowed to be violated with impunity, it could lead to the disintegration of the Malaysian Federation.

Did Sim say anyone of these sentiments? Not at all, which is why Sim failed big time in the first appearance of SUPP President as a saviour of MCA and Gerakan in BN history.

But is SUPP the “saviour” for MCA and Gerakan because of its results in the recently-held Sarawak state general elections?

Let us look at the record of SUPP over the years.

In the 2001 Sarawak state general election, SUPP won 16 State Assembly seats in Sarawak, which was reduced to 11 in the 2006 Sarawak General Election and further slashed to just six seats in the 2011 Sarawak General Election.

Yes, SUPP did better in the recently-held 2016 Sarawak State General Election when it won seven Sarawak State General Election.

It is a terrible indictment on the “bad times” that MCA and Gerakan have fallen that they could glorify and idolise the SUPP President when SUPP won only one extra seat in the recent Sarawak General Election, which is still a far cry from their 16 seats in 2001.

Sim is no “saviour” but a “pretender” of a saviour!

[Media Conference Statement (2) in Sekinchan on Tuesday, 14th June 2016 at 11 am]

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 14 June 2016, 5:30 pm and is filed under
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Arul Kanda’s unprecedented appearance in Sungai Besar a triple  admission of the impact of the Colloquium on 1MDB scandal in Sekinchan,  the lack and  loss of credibility of government explanation on 1MDB scandal as well as 1MDB impact on Saturday’s by-elections

The unprecedented appearance of the 1MDB president and executive director Arul Kanda in Sungai Besar is a triple admission – the impact of the Colloquium on 1MDB scandak in Sekinchan last Saturday which was opened by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad,  the lack and  loss of credibility of government explanation on the 1MDB global scandal as well as the 1MDB impact on Saturday’s by-elections.

The 1MDB president and executive director’s programme in Sungai Besar showed that Arul Kanda’s job is more a PR one than to really solve the global financial scandal, especially as it is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself who is sitting on top of the mountain of 1MDB debts and problems since the very start of the  so-called national sovereign fund some seven years ago.

Why is Arul Kanda acting like “a thief in the night” refusing to comment when asked by the press whether he was campaigning for UMNO/Barisan Nasional in the Sungai Besar by-election, when his job should be to resolve Malaysia’s greatest global financial scandal in the nation’s history?

As 1MDB is a 100% government company, Arul Kanda is finally paid from the taxpayers’ monies and no more than a public servant.

As such, he should owe his loyalty to the 30 million Malaysians and not just to his formal employers – the 1MDB, the Ministry of Finance or the Prime Minister himself.

Can we expect Arul to give the 30 million Malaysians, who are his final employers, a full and unvarnished account of the woes of 1MDB, and how a “strategic” national sovereign fund should end up in such pathetic straits, threatening to drag the country to precedented debts and economic woes and liabilities?

So far, the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government with the full help of Arul Kanda, had been avoiding full accountability for the nation’s first global financial scandal, believing that it can get away with the “greatest heinous crime in Malaysian history but without criminals” – winning a handsome victory not only in the recent Sarawak state general election, but also in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections on Saturday.

If the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar  send a  clear and unmistakable  message, heard not only nation-wide but all over the world, by rejecting the Umno/BN candidates on Saturday, the Prime Minister and the UMNO/Barisan Nasional Government will get  akin to an “electric shock” which will serve as a wake-up call that either they give full and satisfactory accountability for the 1MDB global scandal, or they should expect to be evicted from Putrajaya in the 14th General Election in less than 24 months!

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2016, 4:32 pm and is filed under
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High  and low points in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections

The Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections the last 10 days have seen  ups and downs, high and low points, sublime commitment and lowly farce of the Malaysian community.

A high point in Kuala Kangsar  – when a young Malay youth approached me during my  walkabouts in Kuala Kangsar town, asked for a selfie assured me that I have his support and his friends in my advocacy for  national unity, religious tolerance, good governance and healthy democracy in Malaysia. A young Malay who is proud to be a Malaysian!

A high point in Sungai Besar this morning – when a trader in Sekinchan related how she  told off MCA telephone propagandists who phoned  and warned her not to vote for AMANAH as they are no different from PAS, with her immediate rebuttal  why UMNO  is cozying up to PAS and why MCA dare not stop or oppose such a new political alliance? An ordinary citizen who is not as dumb as MCA propagandists think!

Both these “high points” in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-election campaign restored my confidence in the future of Malaysia and my faith in ordinary Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, and their ability to distinguish right form wrong, good and bad, however intense and  saturated the propaganda offensives of UMNO/BN machinery.

But there were also low points and even low farce in the two by-election campaigns, like:

< *blockquote>the “Cash is King” mentality breeding money politics where public funds are flung around indiscriminately to buy votes;

*the infantile and idiotic antics where a humorous speech about an AMANAH nuclear physicist if elected “hurling an atomic bomb” at Najib in Parliament taken literally as a threat to the Prime Minister, when even school children will know that this was a figure of speech for exposing Najib’s wrongdoings in Parliament as  it is impossible for any human being to “hurl atomic bombs” at anyone (the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” atomic bombs which razed Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War in 1945  each weighed some 10,000 pounds);

*the low-class tactics of destroying or defacing AMANAH/Pakatan Harapan banners and billboards;

*the Najib-Hadi conspiracy to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill in Parliament on May 26 so as to edge out the RM55 billion 1MDB  and RM4.2 billion “donation” scandals in the by-elections;

*the low standards of UMNO Ministers, like the Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who bragged that he could write a book about me being anti-Malay and anti-Islam but when challenged, could not cite a single instance from my 50 years in politics; and

*PAS President threatening  divine retribution and damnation in the next world if Muslim voters do not vote for PAS candidates –  a clear violation of Section 9(1) of the Election Offences Act concerning  “undue influence”,   which makes it an offence for any person to make threats including “temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm or loss” to influence voters.

Malaysian voters in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar constituencies are probably  the last to cast their votes in by-elections before the 14th General Elections, unless there is some tragedy in the next  three weeks causing another parliamentary vacancy.

Let the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar, on behalf of 30 million Malaysians,  send out a clear and unmistakable  signal to Najib and the country that Malaysia is prepared to become a normal democratic country after six decades of nation building and elections where    the occupants of Putrajaya could be peacefully and democratically changed, as has happened six times in the United Kingdom with peaceful and democratic transitions of power in the past 60 years  – and which has become the norm in Philippines and Indonesia democratic processes!

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2016, 12:27 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Najib Says He Didn’t Abuse Power or Derail Probes

Shamim Adam

Bloomberg

June 14, 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said he hasn’t abused his leadership positions, according to court documents filed as part of his defense againsgraft allegations made by his biggest critic, former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Mahathir and two others in March accusing him of misuse of power and interference in investigations into a troubled state investment company, said the statement filed on Monday and distributed by his lawyers on Tuesday.

The premier has battled corruption accusations and fended off efforts by Mahathir over the past year to have him removed him from office. Najib has denied wrongdoing and was cleared by the attorney general this year over revelations that $681 million appeared in his accounts before the 2013 election. The Barisan Nasional coalition won that vote by its slimmest margin yet and lost the popular vote for the first time.

Najib “actively and deliberately” sought to derail probes by local agencies into 1Malaysia Development Bhd. as well as the money that ended up in his private accounts, Mahathir’s lawyers said in a statement in March. Mahathir and two former officials of Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation, are seeking damages of at least 2.6 billion ringgit ($634 million) plus interest to be paid to the government.

No Interference

“The defendant will further contend that he has not abused his position as the prime minister, finance minister, Barisan Nasional chairman and UMNO president to further his alleged corrupt practices,” according to the defense statement.

“The defendant has not interfered, continuously interfered with the due process of law, nor has he used his position as an alleged public officer” to disrupt investigations into claims of impropriety or misconduct on his part, it said.

Mahathir, who was Malaysia’s longest serving leader when he stepped down in 2003, has waged a public campaign to get Najib out. He has previously warned BN risks being voted out at the next election which must be held before the end of 2018, although he has tempered his remarks in recent times amid disarray in the country’s opposition.

Najib has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over the funding scandals, saying last year he and Mahathir disagreed over economic policies and that no “individual, however eminent,” should try to interfere with his leadership. He retains the backing of the bulk of powerful divisional chiefs in UMNO.

The government said the $681 million Najib received was a personal donation from the Saudi Arabian royal family and most of it was later returned. Najib has maintained the funds were not used for private benefit.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2016, 8:28 am and is filed under
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Three reasons why Dr. Rani Osman should withdraw as a candidate in Sungai Besar by-election to ensure that the AMANAH candidate Azhar Shukur can give a big blow to Najib and UMNO/BN to save Malaysia

At the Pakatan Harapan Majlis Iftar Perdana at Sungai Panjang earlier in the evening, the Selangor Mentri Besar and PKR Deputy President, Azmin Ali, declared his support for the AMANAH candidate, Azhar Shukor for the Sungai Besar parliamentary by-election on Saturday.

Azmin offered well wishes to the PAS candidate for the Sungai Besar by-election Dr. Rani Osman, who is also PAS Selangor Assemblyman for Meru, who was also present at the Iftar Perdana, expressing the hope that Rani “forges ahead with the determination that despotism must be dismantled”.

When the Sungai Besar by-election first became the subject of public discussion, the by-election was regarded as a contest between UMNO/BN and PAS, and Amanah/Pakatan Harapan was not in the reckoning.

We have past the half-way mark in the by-election campaign, and it is now very clear that the Sungai Besar contest is in fact between UMNO/BN and Amanah/Pakatan Harapan candidates, as PAS does not stand any chance of winning the seat.

In fact, I had publicly estimated that the PAS candidate would lose by some 10,000 votes in the by-election as compared to the PAS vote in  the 2013 General Election result, a prediction no PAS leader dared to publicly challenge or refute.

The best way to “dismantle” the “despotism in Putrajaya” is to ensure that UMNO/BN is defeated in the Sungai Besar by-election, and the best way to ensure such an outcome is for Rani to withdraw from the Sungai Besar by-election to ensure a “one-to-one” contest in the by-election on Saturday.

There are three reasons why Rani should withdraw as a candidate in the three-cornered contest in the Sungai Besar by-election to ensure that the AMANAH candidate Azhar Shukur can give a big blow to Najib Razak and UMNO/BN to save Malaysia.

Firstly, PAS can only play the spoiler’s role in the Sungai Besar by-election, as there is no possibility that PAS can win the Sungai Besar by-election when no PAS leader dare to contradict or refute my forecast that PAS is likely to lose some 10,000 votes as compared to the votes polled by the PAS candidate in the 2013 General Election, when the PAS candidate was standing not just for PAS but for Pakatan Rakyat’s three component parties of PAS, PKR and DAP.

Secondly, with PAS in the third place, the only way to defeat UMNO/BN is to unite every opposition vote behind the AMANAH/PH candidate. In these circumstances, a vote for PAS can only be a vote to help UMNO/BN to beat AMANAH/Pakatan Harapan and to win in Sungai Besar by-election.

Thirdly, Rani should set an example to all PAS leaders, members and supporters that in the political crisis facing Malaysia, they should act as Malaysian patriots together with leaders and members from all political parties, including UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC to rise above party politics to save Malaysia from Najib’s twin global mega scandals – the RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” scandals – and to unite Malaysians of diverse races, religions, cultures and languages to build a just, democratic, God-fearing, progressive and prosperous Malaysian nation.

I have no doubt that AMANAH would welcome Rani to join the party as one of the leaders to bring about change in Malaysia. Even PKR. DAP will also welcome Dr. Rani to join our ranks if he so chooses.

Dr. Rani is a good man but PAS led by Hadi may not be the best political party for Malaysia.

I still cannot understand two things, firstly, why Hadi is so loyal and supportive of Najib, becoming the only Opposition leader to defend Najib in the Prime Minister’s two global scandals.

Other PAS leaders have criticised the 1MDB and “donation” scandals, but Hadi has demonstrated that he has the final say in PAS and that without his endorsement, whatever other PAS leaders (even the PAS Deputy President)  say is not the final PAS policy – which is why Pakatan Rakyat disintegrated.

Secondly, the motive for the Najib-Hadi conspiracy resulting in the Ministerial motion in Parliament on May 26 to fast-track Hadi’s hudud bill.

As many prominent Malaysian Muslims have pointed out, the motion moved by Hadi in Parliament on May 26 was  Hadi’s hudud bill, which is not Allah’s law.

If the Hadi’s motion is about Allah’s law, then Najib and all UMNO MPs must give it 100% support or they will become bad Muslims.

Muslims will not oppose or reject Allah’s law, but it is a different matter if it is a man-made law, like Hadi’s hudud law.

Terengganu under Hadi as Mentri Besar after the 1999 general election enacted the Terengganu hudud enactment, but in the 2004 general election, the PAS Government with Hadi as Mentri Besar was rejected by the voters of Terengganu, who returned UMNO to power in the state.

Is Hadi saying that the Muslims of Terengganu had rejected Allah’s law? No, they only rejected Hadi’s hudud enactment.

Similarly, the Kelantan hudud enactment is PAS Kelantan’s hudud law not Allah’s law.

If the Kelantan hudud enactment is Allah’s law, then it cannot be amended. But the Kelantan hudud enactment was amended by the Kelantan PAS Government in the Kelantan State Assembly last year – illustrating that it was man-made law and not Allah’s law.

Furthermore, how can the Kelantan hudud enactment be different from the Terengganu hudud enactment passed by the PAS governments in the two states, if they are Allah’s law?

One matter which intrigued me is how Hadi’s hudud law will deal with big-time crooks and corrupt leaders who steal the people’s funds not just in hundreds or thousands of ringgit, but in billions or tens of billions of ringgit like the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal or the RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal.

Hadi’s hudud law will not affect these two global financial scandals – another proof that it cannot be Allah’s law but only Hadi’s law!

(Speech at the Pakatan Harapan Sungai Besar by-election ceramah at Sungai Besar town on Tuesday, 14th June 2016 at 11.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 15 June 2016, 7:38 am and is filed under
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Ismail Sabri reminded of my three  tweets to him that I am prepared to forgive him but he must apologise for his nefarious lies about me or I will pursue the matter and not let matter rest

Earlier today, I sent three tweets to the Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakub, as follows:

1. @IsmailSabri60  You can run, you cannot hide. Where are your examples to substantiate your allegation that I had been anti-Malay anti-Islam?

2. Most shocking in this holy month of Ramadam @IsmailSabri60 can still tell such nefarious lies. Am prepared to forgive you if you apologise.

3. If @IsmailSabri60 does not apologise, I will pursue the issue whether in Parliament or the courts. Ball in your court. Over to you.

There has been thunderous silence from Ismail who had pretensions that he is one of the most Internet-savvy Cabinet Ministers  in the country.

Ismail had said that he can compile a whole book to prove that I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam and I had told him that the  book can wait, but to cite an instance a day up to the by-election polling day on Saturday 18th June 2016 that I had been anti-Malay and anti-Islam in my 50 years in politics.

Three days have passed and Ismail already owed me three examples. Will he come up with one example a day today and tomorrow, to produce a total of  five examples in time for the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections – which should be “chicken-feed” since he claimed that he  could compile a book, which should have at least 100 examples.

I had hoped to make some money from Ismail but he seemed to have realised that he is on a slippery slope which would be very costly for him.   If Ismail has now realised that he had wrongly defamed me, he should have the honesty and decency to publicly apologise for telling baseless  lies and falsehoods about me – especially in this holy month of Ramadan.

Let me tell Ismail that silence is no option for him. Either he cite examples to substantiate his allegation that I had been anti-Malay and anti-Islam in my 50 years in politics, or he should without any delay publicly apologise for making baseless allegations against me in this holy month of Ramadan.

Unlike Ismail,  I can cite a list of the racist speeches by Ismail and other UMNO leaders, including Ismail’s infamous call to Malays last year to boycott Chinese businesses.

I do not think there is another political leader who had suffered more sustained and greater demonisation in the past 50 years than myself, as I had been accused of all sorts of dastardly and evil deeds especially through the Barisan Nasional-owned and controlled mainstream media.

I have been accused of being anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Malay Rulers, anti-Chinese-educated Chinese, anti-English-educated Chinese, anti-Indian, an agent of Russian KGB, agent of American CIA, agent of British M16, agent of Australian Intelligence Services, and a host of unimaginable allegations.

I had been accused of causing the May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur, of having led illegal processions through the streets of Kuala Lumpur hurling anti-Malay slogans and provocations and even urinating in the house of the then Selangor Mentri Besar, Datuk Harun Idris, in Kampong Baru in Kuala Lumpur, as was portrayed in the film “Tanda Putera”!

But I was never in Kuala Lumpur during the May 13, 1969 days as I was in Kota Kinabalu for a public rally to campaign for independent candidates in Sabah and Sarawak for the staggered and belated election dates in 1969.

The police had a full record of my whereabouts during those tragic days of May 13, 1969, but the authorities’ knowledge did not prevent those-in-power from spreading the lies and falsehoods that I was in Kuala Lumpur at the time and responsible for the May 13, 1969 riots.

The latest lies are  the allegations that AMANAH leaders have become my stooges and puppets, and even the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir has become my latest puppet and stooge.

Many Malaysians have forgotten that at one time, DAP leaders were accused of being puppets and stooges of PAS, and this was why Karpal Singh and I lost in the parliamentary contests in the 1999 general election, when MCA and Gerakan propagandists cranked up such lies and falsehoods in the short campaign period in the 1999 general elections, alleging that a vote for DAP was a vote for PAS and a vote for Islamic State, and that there would be no Chinese schools to study, no pork to eat, and no temples for the Buddhists to pray.

May be it was the shocking defeat of Karpal and myself for the parliamentary elections in 1999 which killed once and for all  the MCA and Gerakan lies and falsehoods that Karpal and I could be puppets and stooges of PAS. Although the same MCA/Gerakan  lies and falsehoods were spread in the 14 years from 1999 to 2013 general elections, such lies and falsehoods that DAP leaders  could be puppets and stooges of PAS lost all credibility whatsoever with the Chinese and non-Malay communities.

However, the lies and falsehoods in the Malay areas that PAS leaders like Hadi and others were DAP stooges and puppets had a longer life-span, lasting up to the 2013 general elections, to the extent that after causing the disintegration of Pakatan Rakyat, PAS leaders copied the UMNO ploy to accuse AMANAH leaders of being stooges and puppets of DAP.

Has PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang admitted to be  a puppet and stooge of DAP during the seven years of PAS in Pakatan Rakyat, and if not, why is PAS copying the unethical and dishonest UMNO tactics to falsely accuse AMANAH leaders of being DAP stooges and puppets, and now accuse Mahathir as DAP’s puppet and stooge?

The time has come to put an end such despicable politics of lies and falsehood.

DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, has also been accused of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam, when the Penang State Government in the eight years under Guan Eng had done more to promote Islam than the Barisan Nasional and Alliance governments had done in 51 years in Penang from 1957 to 2008!

In 1998, Guan Eng lost his MP-ship, parliamentary pensions and went to jail for 18 months, not because he had committed any crime of theft, robbery, murder or corruption, but because he had defended the dignity and honour of an underaged Malay girl!

Is there another case in the nearly 60 years of Malaysian politics of an UMNO/Barisan Nasional leader who was prepared to sacrifice his parliamentary position, pensions and gone to jail for standing up for the human rights of a Malaysian of another race and religion?

In fact, is there a single UMNO/Barisan Nasional leader who had been prepared to sacrifice his political future and gone to jail for defending the basic rights of a Malaysian of his own race and religion – never mind about a Malaysian of different race and religion?

Guan Eng and I do not ask for recognition, honour or gratitude for what we have done in our political struggle, because what we have done is expected of all patriotic Malaysians – but it clearly crosses the line of decency and morality to continue to indulge in lies and falsehoods to demonise Guan Eng and I as anti-Malay and anti-Islam, when there is no basis whatsoever.

Will Ismail start the process to end the politics of lies and falsehoods by apologising for his baseless and nefarious lies and falsehood that I had been anti-Malay and anti-Islam in my 50 years in politics?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2016, 12:06 pm and is filed under
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The SOPA awards for WSJ and Tom Wright for their investigative reports on the 1MDB scandal is “a slap in the face” and as good as an international vote of no confidence in Najib as Prime Minister

Another world recognition for Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) reporting on the 1MDB global scandal in Malaysia is another nail in the coffin of Malaysia as the  new kleptocracy in global society.

In fact, the Society of Publishers in Asia (Sopa) awards for WSJ and its Asian edition economics editor Tom Wright for their investigative reports on the 1MDB scandal is “a slap in the face” and as good as an international vote of no confidence in Najib as Prime Minister.

Unless the Prime Minister himself can conduct town-hall meetings in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar these two days and give full and satisfactory accounting on the nations’ first global financial scandals – the RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin scandals – and why there had been a string of adverse international  developments and censures for Malaysia over the 1MDB’s global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption, the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections on Saturday should stand up and speak with one voice on behalf of 30 million Malaysians to reject the UMNO candidates  to send a clear and unmistakable message, viz:

“Enough is Enough. Malaysians have enough of the endless adverse international developments over the 1MDB scandal  and want Najib to bring a closure to all the allegations of 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption  before the 59th National Day on August 31, 2016 or he should step down as Prime Minister on the 59th National Day!”

The SOPA awards for WSJ and Tom Wright should be  the most important consideration for the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar in their by-elections on Saturday, for it is further proof that Malaysia has become an international rogue state, with  the world  looking askance at Najib’s premiership  and the ham-fisted attempt by the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government to cover up the RM55 billion and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin global scandals.

Can the world be so wrong on the 1MDB global scandal that those who had  consistently exposed the 1MDB scandal  since last year like Tom Wright of Wall Street Journal and Clare Rewcastle Brown of Sarawak Report are feted world-wide for their exploits, accompanied by  global crackdowns in connection with multi-billion ringgit 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption in Singapore and Switzerland, with ongoing investigations in at least five other countries while all national institutions in Malaysia, from the Prime Minister downwards to the Cabinet, Parliament, the Public Accounts Committee, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Bank Negara, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Police, the mainstream media, all act in concert to try to erect a “cordon sanitare” to sweep the global  scandals under the carpet in Malaysia?

But this is a futile effort in a borderless world in an information era where information travels at the speed of light – as futile as King Canute trying to stop the rising of the tide.

The voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar have a historic mission on Saturday – to use their vote to remind Najib that he is destined to fail like King Canute when he tries to defy the elements, and what the Prime Minister should do is to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1MDB scandal to bring the nation’s first global scandal to full accountability and closure or to immediately step down as Prime Minister.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2016, 1:44 pm and is filed under
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Was ransom paid or not to Abu Sayyaf for the four Sarawakian hostages? Why has Purtrajaya lost the capacity to guarantee the safety and security of Malaysians in their homeland and waters whether from Abu Sayyaf or Indonesian authorities?

Something is wrong with the governance capability in Putrajaya after some six decades of UMNO/BN government.

When will the soul of Malaysia find peace and tranquility?

The latest trauma  to hit Malaysians is today’s report from the Philippines media in Tawi-Tawi  that another four Malaysian nationals had been kidnapped off the coast of Sabah and brought to Sulu.

Has the Malaysian government lost the capacity to ensure safety and security for Malaysian nationals in their homeland and waters?

Zahid told Utusan Malaysia yesterday  that ransom was not negotiated by police to secure the release of the four Sarawakian hostages recently released by the Abu Sayyaf after 69 days of captivity.

Separately, deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim said he was unaware of any ransom paid to secure the release of the four, adding: “I don’t know they paid ransom money; therefore, the best is to ask the family members.”

It is most improper, unethical and irresponsible for the deputy inspector-general of police to feign ignorance as the families of the four hostages said they passed RM12 million as ransom to two police special branch officers –  in 12 metal boxes containing RM1 million each at Hong Leong Bank in Sandakan on May 24.

RM1 million were from mortgages on two homes in Pulau Li Huia, RM2 million from the shipping company where the hostages worked while the rest were public donations from Malaysia, China, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and the Solomon Island.

Zahid changed his tune today when he said the RM12 million raised by the families of hostages recently freed by the Abu Sayyaf was given to an Islamic body in the Philippines, which assists in an Islamic struggle and has no links to terrorism or criminals.

Was ransom money paid to Abu Sayyaf for the release of the four Sarawakian hostages and is the Islamic body which received the RM12 million money a front for Abu Sayyaf?

If Malaysians cannot fully trust the Malaysian government on this issue, can they trust any word and promise by Putrajaya, including  the by-election promises in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar?

Why has Putrajaua lost the capacity to protect the safety and security of Malaysian nationals in their homeland and waters, including the fishermen from Sungai Besar who were often captured by the Indonesian authorities?

What Malaysians want are not just “band aid” measures to secure the release of Malaysians from captivity whether Abu Sayyaf or the Indonesian authorities but full safety and security for Malaysian nationals in their homeland and home waters!

Can the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak give satisfactory explanation to the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar before Saturday’s by-elections why  the  Federal Government in Putrajaya has lost the capacity to perform its  most basic of government duties –  to protect the safety and security of Malaysian nationals in their homeland and home waters  in Malaysia?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 16 June 2016, 7:35 pm and is filed under
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820 Indian voters in Sungai Besar will be king-makers in the by-election on Saturday if the contest between the UMNO/BN  and AMANAH/PH candidates is a close battle

The Sungai Besar by-election on Saturday is expected to be a close fight between the UMNO/Barisan Nasional  and AMANAH/Pakatan Harapan candidates with the PAS candidate taking a poor third position.

If the Sungai Besar by-election is a close battle with the  victor winning by a very slim majority, then the 820 Indian voters in Sungai Besar will be the “king makers”  who will decide whether Pakatan Harapan candidate Azhar Shukor or Barisan Nasional candidate Budiman Mohd Zohdi is elected as MP for Sungai Besar on Saturday.

I call on every single voter, whether Malay, Chinese or Indian to come out to vote so that there is an even higher voter-turnout than during the 13th General Election in May 2013 when over 88% of the voters cast their votes.

Voters should cast their votes, not as Malays, Chinese or Indians, but as Malaysians to ensure tolerance and harmony among the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures as a fundamental principle for the creation of an united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysian nation.

Malaysia will be destroyed if we allow the politics of race and religion to create distrust and hatred among the different races and religions, which is why it is important that we educate every Malaysian to respect the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures in Malaysia.

Recently, the Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah ridiculed AMANAH for choosing the colour orange, which he said was similar to the saffron attire of priests.

This is a double disrespect, to AMANAH as well as to other religions and is undoubtedly a bad leadership example  in plural Malaysia when all leaders, regardless of party politics, should be inculcating the value of respecting all races, religions, culture and even all colours!

Another instance of the increasing disrespect for other races, religions and cultures is the case where Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students are taught that Hindus preferred to be “dirty” as some Hindu followers believe dirt on the body is a form of ritual which could lead to attainment of nirvana; that the presence of Islam taught former Hindu followers “manners in life”; that Sikhism is a combination of Hindu and Islam, but its founder had a shallow understanding of Islam.

Although the UTM Vice Chancellor Prof Dr. Wahid Omar had apologised for the misleading and mischievous teaching module and slides, undertaking to remove and investigate the incident, it is clear that this is not just a problem with UTM but part of a larger national educational problem stemming from the compulsory Tamadun Islam and Tamadun Asia (TITAS) programme for all undergraduates at public universities.

There should be a comprehensive review of the TITAS programme since its introduction for  some three decades to establish whether it is contributing to national unity or doing the reverse, and how it could be modified to ensure that it does not  become an obstacle to promoting greater inter-racial, inter-religious and inter-civilisational understanding in Malaysia, as happened in the UTM teaching module and slides.

(Speech at the Pakatan Harapan Sungai Besar by-election ceramah in Sekinchan on Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 8.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 17 June 2016, 7:41 am and is filed under
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A Pakatan Harapan Federal Government will promote Sekinchan as an international tourist destination just as Suee Lin has succeeded in making Sekinchan a top national tourist spot in Malaysia

The Sungai Besar by-election on Saturday will have far-reaching implications and consequences for Sekinchan, Sungai Besar as well as Malaysia, and those who think that the by-election is just about who will be the new MP for the area and will have no other larger meaning or importance cannot be more wrong.

Although both the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections cannot  materially change  the respective parliamentary numbers and strength of the political parties, a defeat by UMNO in the sixty-year-old  UMNO traditional stronghold of Sungai Besar and/or Kuala Kangsar would have an traumatic effect which will affect the future of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Minister – whether immediately, in the next 24 months or during the 14th General Election by 2018.

In fact, a defeat for UMNO in Sungai Besar and/or Kuala Kangsar will be  world news and make history for by-elections in Malaysia, for it would tally with international perceptions and sentiments about the1MDB global scandal hounding and haunting the Malaysian Prime Minister and government, and a clear signal that even Malaysians in semi-urban areas are not politically apathetic or unconcerned about global scandals, good governance and the great questions of right and wrong in public affairs as many had thought.

In the past two weeks, I have virtually become a resident of Sekinchan, shuttling between Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar, and I have been quite intrigued by the history of Sekinchan, for instance, the origin of the name “Sekinchan”.

Sixty-five to seventy  years ago, there was no “Sekinchan” and the area was known as “Sixteen Gi” or 16 milestone Kuala Selangor – and I was sort of a resident of Kuala Selangor for two months in 1969, when I was detained under the Internal Security Act after  May 13, 1969, and held at the Kuala Selangor Police Station lock-up for two months before my formal detention at the Muar Detention Centre.

In the past six to seven decades, the people of Sekinchan have reasons to be proud of themselves, turning Sekinchan into a Farm for Rice and Seafood – apart from producing a world-famous IT entrepreneur.

In the past ten years, under the leadership of the DAP State Assemblyman for Sekinchan, Ng Suee Lin, Sekinchan has blazed further ahead to become a tourist hot-spot in Malaysia.

If there can be political change in Putrajaya in the 14th General Election, a Pakatan Harapan Federal Government will promote Sekinchan as an international tourist destination just as Suee Lin has succeeded in making Sekinchan a top tourist spot in Malaysia – with international tourists coming to Malaysia because they want to visit Sekinchan.

This progress and upward movement of Sekinchan from “Farm for Rice and Seafood” to “National Tourist Hot-Spot” to another advanced stage as “International Tourist Attraction” will have to  await political change, and the role of Sekinchan and Sungai Besar to play a vanguard role in political change in Malaysia.

This is why the Sungai Besar by-election on Saturday is not just about who is going to be the new MP, but also whether Sekinchan and Sungai Besar can take next step for advanced political, social and economic development for the area.

(Speech at the Pakatan  Harapan Sungai Besar by-election ceramah at Bagan, Sekinchan on Thursday, 16th June 2016 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 17 June 2016, 6:46 pm and is filed under
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