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With no statute of limitation, will the Attorney-General charge Isa in court for the corruption of money politics in Umno?

When he was announced as the Barisan Nasional candidate for Bagan Pinang by-election on Tuesday, Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad declared that he did not “commit a crime, but had violated the party elections’ code of ethics” in addressing the issue of his qualification and credibility as a candidate on account of his money politics in Umno which caused him to be suspended as an Umno for three years.

This is a fallacious argument and it does not speak highly of the commitment of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, the Cabinet Ministers and leaders of the Barisan Nasional parties whether Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC or the Sabah and Sarawak parties that no one finds anything wrong with such an argument or prepared to make a stand of principle.

Technically Isa had not committed any crime, as he had not been convicted, in fact, not even charged in court for corruption arising from Umno money politics which led to his three-year party suspension.

But was this because money politics in Umno was a mere party infraction and not a criminal offence of corruption, or was it just another example of the double-standards of the Attorney-General and the anti-corruption agency failing to uphold the law without fear or favour, regardless of status, wealth or position?
Continue reading “With no statute of limitation, will the Attorney-General charge Isa in court for the corruption of money politics in Umno?”

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In the beginning he was DPM!

by Hussein Hamid

What was Anwar’s biggest contribution to what we are today? I sat and ponder over this question the whole day today. I wanted to write about it and yet I cannot because there were so many thoughts that came and went inside me. All I could do today was about two half page – notes on times go by – Cakap cakap about AP and then I revisited the “Bentong car park” issue because one of our friends sent me something new about that car park. It is now 11.42pm and I have been thinking since 7.15am this morning….fifteen minutes ago it hit me! I believe that what Anwar did to me and to many of us can be conceptualised in two words:

“POLITICAL AWAKENING”

Before Anwar was dismissed by Mahatir I was a Bumiputra intent on pursuing my “rights” as a Bumiputra. The right to have a share in the perceived richness brought into the consciousness of the Malays as a result of the New Economic Policies. All that was in my mind was where the next ringgit was going to be found. Tenders, project proposals, pink slips, AP’s, IPO, licenses, Privatisation opportunities…life was a whirl of meetings and discussions in five star hotels and lunches in restaurants whose name you find hard to pronounce – Troika was one of those that I can still remember – in Jalan Raja Chulan. The evenings were again another whirl of coffee houses and meetings until the early mornings. Continue reading “In the beginning he was DPM!”