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Nasib Umno dan BN kini seperti pernah dialami kerajaan empayar Inca

Nur Jazlan
The Malaysian Insider
4 March 2015

Banyak yang diperkatakan mengenai Umno, satu-satunya parti politik yang ditubuhkan sebelum negara mencapai kemerdekaan dan kini menjejaki usia tujuh dekad serta sudah pasti bagi pucuk pimpinannya pada masa sekarang adalah dengan terus melaungkan kejayaan Umno mendapat 88 kerusi dalam pilihan raya umum (PRU) ke-13 lalu.

Kejayaan Umno itu sudah berusia dua tahun dan hanya tinggal tiga tahun lagi sebelum parti orang Melayu ini akan berdepan semula dengan rakyat dalam PRU14 dan ketika ini, suasana di peringkat akar umbi terus resah gelisah dengan apa yang berlaku di peringkat bawahan, situasi berbeza dengan peringkat atasan terutamanya di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) dan Putrajaya yang berterusan dibuai mimpi indah.

‘Mimpi indah’ orang Melayu akan berterusan menyokong Umno dan keluarlah segala statistik dan perangkaan bagi membuktikan ‘mimpi indah’ itu sedangkan hakikatnya, sokongan orang Melayu di kawasan bandar dan luar bandar terus terhakis. Continue reading “Nasib Umno dan BN kini seperti pernah dialami kerajaan empayar Inca”

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Why am I ‘wasting’ my time at Sogo on 307?

— Kenneth Cheng
The Malay Mail Online
MARCH 4, 2015

MARCH 4 — I have to be frank, this is by far the worst Chinese New Year that I have ever celebrated, not because Anwar Ibrahim has been incarcerated in what is widely perceived as a travesty of justice or the farcical strategic development company 1MDB that may cripple our economy and financial sovereignty.

It is certainly not the advent of GST which 40 per cent households with an income of less than RM1,500 per month will suffer the most. Additionally, I have learn to turn a deaf ear towards Cabinet Minister’s race inciting hate comments which seek to further divide Malaysia and divert the attention away from his sheer incompetency.

Last but not least, I would expect nothing less than RM1,200 worth of hair treatment from our very dear first lady, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor given her “modest” and prudent financial management lifestyle.

Yet, I was crestfallen during this festive period simply because friends and family who I visited, choose to remain dispassionate and detach themselves from the recent political development of our country. Furthermore, questions arise among my peers concerning the rationale of holding massive #kitalawan protest in Sogo. They generally empathise with the partisans and resolve to punish the corrupt regime in the next General Election, but deem there is no meaning in participating in the social movement.

As much as I appreciate their attentiveness toward this political issue, nevertheless I need to accentuate that social progress is very much attainable by effective social movements, be it small or big. Therefore, with the interest of the amnesiac public in mind, it is of vital importance to revisit history and to remind the rakyat how humanity and society have constantly made substantial progress through social movements. Continue reading “Why am I ‘wasting’ my time at Sogo on 307?”

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Stop Arrests and Harassment on Those who Exercise Their Constitutional and Internationally-Recognized Right to Freedom of Expression

Malaysia: Open Letter to the Prime Minister
William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador
27 February 2015

(LONDON) – Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia Office of the Prime Minister
Main Block, Perdana Putra Building
Federal Government Administrative Centre
62502 Putrajaya, MALAYSIA
Via facsimile: +60-3-8888-3444

Malaysia: Stop Arrests and Harassment on Those who Exercise Their Constitutional and Internationally-Recognised Right to Freedom of Expression

Mr. Prime Minister,

We, the undersigned human rights organisations and individuals, write to you to register our grave concern over the continued crackdown on freedom of expression in Malaysia, including the latest arrests and investigations against those who criticised or commented on the Federal Court’s decision to uphold the conviction of Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy charges earlier this month.

Since May 2014, more than 40 individuals have been arrested under the Sedition Act and the Penal Code for the exercise of their right to freedom of expression. Over 70 arrests have been made since May 2013.

We are alarmed by your government’s continued abuse of the Sedition Act, exemplified by the following recent cases: Continue reading “Stop Arrests and Harassment on Those who Exercise Their Constitutional and Internationally-Recognized Right to Freedom of Expression”

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PAS, ‘GU’ dan politik realistik

– Huzaifah Ahmad Yamani
The Malaysian Insider
4 March 2015

Dalam kamus ada satu istilah disebut realisme. Makna mudahnya, fahaman yang berpijak di bumi nyata. Apabila seseorang cuba menyesuaikan diri dengan keadaan, kita memanggilnya realistik. Misalnya, apabila kita berjimat cermat dek kerana kenaikan harga minyak dan Cukai Barangan dan Perkhidmatan (GST), ertinya kita seorang yang realistik. Dunia realisme perlu difahami, termasuklah dalam dunia politik.

Apa yang menjadi perdebatan dalaman PAS, antara golongan GU – Erdogan atau sebut sajalah apa pun namanya, bagi saya bertitik tolak dari ‘realisme politik’ inilah. Satu pihak masih mahu mempertahankan ‘status quo’, dan satu pihak lagi mahu berubah dan menjadi ‘realistik’ dengan keperluan zaman.

Nah, ada beberapa persoalan ingin saya ajukan. Satu, salahkah PAS berubah dan menjadi realistik? Dua, apa ‘status quo’ PAS yang sebenarnya? Tiga, antara kumpulan GU – Erdogan ini, mana lebih diperlukan dalam dunia politik Malaysia? Continue reading “PAS, ‘GU’ dan politik realistik”

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The release of Nik Raina

Azrul Mohd Khalib
The Malay Mail Online
MARCH 4, 2015

MARCH 4 — To say that it had been an emotional morning would be an understatement. The judge had just delivered his ruling and Nik Raina’s head had turned sharply to the back to glance at her boss. Everyone in that courtroom pretty much expected an application by the prosecutor for another lengthy six-month sojourn of the Nik Raina-Borders case to be granted, depriving her yet again of reprieve and justice.

Discharge of the charges was certainly not what anyone expected to hear that day in the Shariah courtroom.

Just a moment before, everyone had heard the response from the prosecutor to lawyer Rosli Dahlan’s impassioned plea on behalf of Nik Raina for compassion, kindness and understanding from the court. To correct an injustice which had been inflicted and sustained for three years.

It was her problem, the prosecutor responded, if she felt that she had suffered humiliation, embarrassment and anguish as a result of this case.

He continued by saying that her decision to take the case to the civil court amounted to disrespect of the Shariah court system and that her actions resulted in the prolonging of the case. Basically that it was Nik Raina’s own fault that it had come to three years since that fateful day in 2012. Continue reading “The release of Nik Raina”

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Just A Few Reasons That Prove Lim Guan Eng Is NOT Anti-Malay

by Ashraf Wahab
Malaysian Digest
03 March 2015

During just a little over a year of my time working here in Malaysian Digest, I have learned that headlines containing the names of a few individuals are always guaranteed to generate a lot of page views.

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali is always bound to provoke a reaction and also frequent ridicule, as too is the case with Ridhuan Tee. The Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has never failed to spark multiple responses from our readers. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, despite now being in prison will always remain a popular choice. Also not to be left out are the young Malay women trio in DAP of Dyana Sofya, Rara Othman, and Melati Rahim.

There are also two individuals who constantly invite vitriol and criticism, particularly from our Malay readers – DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang and his son, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. No matter what the content of the story is, be it positive or negative, there will always be a barrage of hate coming from our Malay readers.

When we analyse these spiteful comments, we can conclude their animosity towards the two DAP figureheads can be narrowed down to one common fact – that they are both purportedly anti-Malay and anti-Islam. But is this really true?

Being a Malay and Muslim myself, I actually vehemently disagree. So in the first of what hopefully will be a series of articles, I will try to disprove this claim by first focusing on Lim Junior. Continue reading “Just A Few Reasons That Prove Lim Guan Eng Is NOT Anti-Malay”

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Why is the Police fighting a losing war with Islamic State – has IS developed a local leadership structure in Malaysia with dedicated recruiters scouting for new recruits for the terrorist movement in Syria and Iraq?

Yesterday, the Police announced that “A civil servant said to be one of the most senior Islamic State (IS) members in Malaysia and a 29-year-old housewife who recruited a 14-year-old girl into the militant movement are among three people detained by Bukit Aman”.

The 39-year-old civil servant was arrested by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division in Kuala Lumpur on Monday while the housewife was picked up in Muar on Saturday.

The third suspect – a 22-year-old trader – was also arrested in Perak on Monday.

The civil servant, described by the police as “a senior IS member with direct links to Malaysians in Syria”, is believed to have used his position to recruit members to ensure the local militant network ran smoothly.

This is most shocking news. How “senior” is the civil servant who was arrested, and who are the more “senior” IS leaders in Malaysia?

Malaysia are entitled to ask: Why is the Police fighting a losing war with Islamic State – has IS developed a local leadership structure in Malaysia with dedicated recruiters scouting for new recruits for the terrorist movement in Syria and Iraq? Continue reading “Why is the Police fighting a losing war with Islamic State – has IS developed a local leadership structure in Malaysia with dedicated recruiters scouting for new recruits for the terrorist movement in Syria and Iraq?”

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Gerakan and MCA reacted even more ferociously than PAS and UMNO to my suggestion of postponement of bill on hudud implementation in Kelantan State Assembly because they have completely lapped up UMNO plot to use the issue to break Pakatan Rakyat

Yesterday, I suggested the postponement of a bill to amend the 1993 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code which is scheduled to be presented to the Kelantan State Assembly meeting beginning on March 18, as up to date, the bill has not been presented to the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council for study, as was decided by all the Pakatan Rakyat leaders from DAP, PKR and PAS at the meeting of Feb. 8.

This is to give adequate time for the Pakatan Rakyat parties to study the proposed amendment bill, but even more important, not to provide Prime Minister and UMNO President Datuk Seri Najib Razak and UMNO strategists the political life-line and the opportunity to further their “UG” (unity government between UMNO and PAs) and “hudud” political games solely to save themselves and to destabilize, divide and destroy Pakatan Rakyat unity and remove the challenge to replace UMNO/BN in Putrajaya in the 14th General Elections.

I am not really surprised that the strongest objection to my postponement proposal has not come from either PAS or UMNO, but from Gerakan and MCA. Within hours, the Gerakan reacted in outrage at the suggestion.

Why? This is because MCA and Gerakan leaders had been salivating at the prospect of Kelantan State Assembly passing an amendment bill by the PAS Kelantan State Government to the 1993 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code with the support by Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen, because they planned to use the Kelantan State Assembly passage of the hudud bill to launch a publicity offensive to attack the DAP. Continue reading “Gerakan and MCA reacted even more ferociously than PAS and UMNO to my suggestion of postponement of bill on hudud implementation in Kelantan State Assembly because they have completely lapped up UMNO plot to use the issue to break Pakatan Rakyat”

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Will the Cabinet continue the traditional three monkeys role of “eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouths that speak not” or will they take the bull by the horn to address the three issues which dominate public opinion in past week?

Just before midnight, a Cabinet Minister tweeted that he had just left his constituency which is about three hours’ drive from Kuala Lumpur: “Need to read cabinet papers after I reach home. Tmr morning cabinet meeting as usual.”

My first thought was whether the Cabinet papers would include the thousands of 1MDB transactions and email which 1MDB had tried to “wipe” clean from their computers and servers at the end of last year.

Will the Cabinet papers for all Ministers for the Cabinet meeting later this morning cover at least the three issues which had dominated public opinion in Malaysia in the past week, or will it be another Cabinet meeting to avoid and skirt important national issues like the infamous past Cabinet meetings?

First Issue. Leading the three important issues which should dominate a meaningful Cabinet meeting today is undoubtedly the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, which has been blown wide open by the joint London Sunday Times/Sarawak Report investigations and access to thousands of transactions and email of 1MDB despite abrupt attempts by 1MDB at the end of last year to call in all of its computers, employee laptops and servers to wipe them clean of all emails.

Will the Cabinet end its traditional three monkey stance of “eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouths that speak not” on the 1MDB scandal for the past six years, take the bull by the horn and decide either to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry headed by former Law Minister Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim or other independent credible Malaysians or give support for a full-scale Public Accounts Committee (PAC) public inquiry into the 1MDB scandal? Continue reading “Will the Cabinet continue the traditional three monkeys role of “eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouths that speak not” or will they take the bull by the horn to address the three issues which dominate public opinion in past week?”

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‘Ustaz Haraki’, terimalah cabaran debat

A Shukur Harun
The Malaysian Insider
3 March 2015

Belum pernah seingat saya, terjadi krisis setajam ini di dalam PAS sepanjang 63 tahun penubuhannya, sehingga telah muncul pelbagai tuduhan seperti sesat, barua, songsang, liberal dan pelbagai kata-kata kesat yang sangat tidak elok disebutkan.

Ini menggambarkan bahawa tahap krisis di dalam PAS ini sudah sampai ke peringkat parah di mana Umno/BN – musuh politik PAS selama ini – mendapat “keuntungan politik” daripada krisis dalaman PAS ini.

Krisis ini telah bertambah marak dalam program Multaqa Ulama baru-baru ini, iaitu apabila tercetus serangan bertubi-tubi dari yang menggelar dirinya “Ustaz Haraki” terhadap golongan yang bukan ustaz, khususnya golongan profesional.

Mereka melancarkan pelbagai tuduhan, persepsi yang salah, melemparkan kata-kata kesat yang tidak disebut mereka yang bergelar ustaz, tetapi telah keluar dengan bebasnya dari mulut “Ustaz Haraki”.

Mereka menuduh kononnya beberapa pimpinan PAS di peringkat pusat bersekongkol menjatuhkan presiden PAS. Continue reading “‘Ustaz Haraki’, terimalah cabaran debat”

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A woman’s letter to the men of Malaysia

By Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Mar 3, 2015

COMMENT Dear men of Malaysia,

In 2012, a woman in Delhi was brutally raped and murdered in a bus after an evening out with a friend. Her rapist is now on death row.

The story of this young woman, Jyoti Singh, 23, resonated across the globe – and when it hogged Malaysian social media, I didn’t read a single comment saying she had it coming.

Her rapist and murderer however thinks she did.

Awaiting the hangman’s noose, Mukesh Singh in a BBC interview which will air this Sunday said that Jyoti, whom he and his friends took turns to savage was to blame for the injuries which led to her death.

A woman out at night is inviting trouble, he said, and when it happened she should have just laid there instead of fighting back.

I would like to think that you, the Malaysian male, do not think the same, but reading the reactions that came out of a recent Friday sermon about women who don’t cover their aurat does make me wonder. Continue reading “A woman’s letter to the men of Malaysia”

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I would accept a copy of the Quran

By Kuo Yong Kooi
Malaysiakini
Mar 3, 2015

COMMENT If someone handed me a copy of the Quran, I am happy to accept it with no ill will in my heart. I have concluded long ago that all religious texts in this world are guidelines to improve human behaviours.

The unfortunate part is many people misinterpreted religious text all the time. If someone has got it right, then it does not matter what religion you are from, their action shows.

In my opinion, the rules that the fundamentalists Muslims want every Muslim to follow are not that much different from the monastic rules for the Buddhist monks and nuns. The only big difference is their approach.

Buddhists see the rules as a path for their followers to practice if and only if they want to attain Nibanna (enlightenment). The themes that Buddhism carried all through a person’s religious life are basically an invitation to explore and the gradual training. It is a personal inward journey. No amount of compulsion can facilitate a personal journey.

If a Buddhist decides to go to the beer festivals and have vice activities, that is his or her Karma. It is as simple as that. That is their business. If you want Nibanna, the monastic codes are much stricter than the rules imposed by the Taliban or IS.

A Buddhist monastic cannot have sex, drugs/intoxicants or entertainment. The Taliban can have up to four wives. Continue reading “I would accept a copy of the Quran”

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50 shades of religious harmony

by Emmanuel Joseph
The Malaysian Insider
3 March 2015

Somehow, over the years, ‘harmony’ in Malaysia, much like ‘democracy’ and ‘liberty’, has been reduced to more of a buzzword than an accepted social norm.

We are, now, in effect, at best, an occasionally harmonious country. When it suits tourism and business interests, we put on this façade of a melting pot of culture, race and religion.

But the once-very-real concept of accepting each other as brothers and sisters of different faiths and cultures appear to have been replaced with a more practical, clinical version of harmony. Continue reading “50 shades of religious harmony”

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As amendment bill to the 1993 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code has not yet been presented to Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council for study, suggest deferment of any presentation to Kelantan State Assembly this month

Overnight, the political position of Datuk Seri Najib Razak seemed to have undergone a sea-change for the worse, particularly with the London Sunday Times report on Sunday, March 1, 2015 that its joint in-depth investigations into the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal with Sarawak Report website had been completed and they had obtained access to thousands of documents and emails relating to 1MDB, including its initial joint venture with the little known oil company PetroSaudi International from 2009.

As the news portal Asian Sentinel as aptly headlined its report, “Emails Blow Malaysia’s 1MDB Fund Wide Open”, the joint investigations by Sunday Times London and Sarawak Report had foiled abrupt attempts by 1MDB at the end last year to call in all of its computers, employee laptops and servers to wipe them clean of all emails.

This evening, in an email interview with Malaysiakini, Sarawak Report editor and founder Clare Rewcastle Brown confirmed that she is in possession of “thousands documents” on the dealings of 1MDB and businessman Taek Jho Low’s role in the 1MDB which were neither “forged nor hacked” material.

Although these are body blows to Najib politically, he remains a paradox of being a very weak Prime Minister whose major policy initiatives had all been dismal failures but a strong UMNO President largely because no strong UMNO contender has emerged to threaten his position – unlike his predecessor Tun Abdullah Badawi who was both a weak Prime Minister as well as a weak UMNO President, setting the stage for his easy replacement.

However, the political dynamics and disequilibrium both inside UMNO and outside will increase in intensity, focusing immediate attention not only on the forthcoming national UMNO Divisional Meeting on March 8 but also on the Kelantan State Assembly scheduled to meet on March 18.

The greater the political pressures on Najib arising from a host of political, economic, financial and family scandals, the more Machiavellian UMNO leaders and strategists will be to distract public attention from their political woes, which means the doubling up of plots and conspiracies to try to destabilize, divide and destroy PAS and Pakatan Rakyat as promoting “UG” (Unity Government between UMNO and PAS) and the false lure of Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen offering support to Kelantan PAS for hudud implementation in the Kelantan State Assembly this month. Continue reading “As amendment bill to the 1993 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code has not yet been presented to Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council for study, suggest deferment of any presentation to Kelantan State Assembly this month”

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Emails Blow Malaysia’s 1MDB Fund Wide Open

Asia Sentinel
By Our Correspondent
Posted on March 1, 2015

Sarawak Report blog details how deeply a flamboyant financier and friend of PM Najib actually ran the fund

In December of last year, the controversial investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd abruptly called in all of its computers, employee laptops and servers and wiped them clean of all emails.
(Read: Controversial Malaysian Investment Fund’s Computer Records Wiped Off)

It was too late. The reason has come embarrassingly clear with a report by Clare Rewcastle Brown, the indefatigable blogger who edits The Sarawak Report. Rewcastle Brown had already obtained thousands of emails and documents before the shutdown, detailing that transactions by the fund were actually run by Taek Jho Low, a close friend of the family of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. There were times when the CEO of 1MDB, Shahrol Halmi, and his Malaysian colleagues had no idea what was going on.

Jho Low has repeatedly told the media that he has had nothing to do with 1MDB’s investment activities, and that he has received no money or benefits. But the emails allegedly show that he orchestrated a 2009 joint venture between 1MDB, as the fund is known, and a fledgling oil exploration firm called PetroSaudi International, which was little more than a shell. Continue reading “Emails Blow Malaysia’s 1MDB Fund Wide Open”

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Harrow playboy linked to troubled Malaysian fund

Jon Ungoed-Thomas, Clare Rewcastle and Josh Boswell
The Sunday Times London
1 March 2015

IN THE summer of 2009, a Malaysian nicknamed “the Whale” appeared on the New York nightclub scene. He would travel with a large entourage in a fleet of Cadillacs and his party would spend tens of thousands of dollars a night in the company of socialites such as Paris Hilton.

“The Whale” is said to have celebrated his 28th birthday with a four-day event in Las Vegas that included a party at a pool surrounded by caged lions and tigers. Manhattan was abuzz with questions over his identity and the source of his wealth.

It emerged that the “mystery man” of the nightclubs was the Malaysian tycoon Taek Jho Low, who had been educated at Harrow School and the Wharton School in Pennsylvania. He claimed his success was due to being in the “right place at the right time”.

Low certainly has a wide range of business interests, building up a £650m investment fund that he started at university. He also runs Jynwel Capital, a Hong Kong fund with investments in media, retail, property and commodities. His family is independently wealthy. Continue reading “Harrow playboy linked to troubled Malaysian fund”

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Cabinet tomorrow must decide whether to establish RCI headed by Zaid Ibrahim into RM42 billion 1MDB scandal or give support for full-scale PAC public inquiry taking priority over all other PAC agendas

Will the Cabinet meeting tomorrow hide and run from the biggest financial scandal in the country and the issue which is casting the greatest cloud and doubt on the credibility, integrity and good governance of the Malaysian Prime Minister and government, both nationally and internationally – the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal?

The Cabinet tomorrow should give special focus to the 1MDB scandal, and either decide to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry headed by former Law Minister Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim and other independent credible Malaysians into the 1MDB scandal or give support for a full-scale PAC inquiry into 1MDB scandal, taking priority over all other PAC agendas.

The five Pakatan Rakyat MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Deputy PAC Chairman Dr. Tan Seng Giaw (Kepong – DAP); Kamarul Baharin Abbas (Telok Kemang – PKR); Kamaruddin Jaffar ( Tumpat – PAS), William Leong Jee Keen (PKR – Selayang) and Tony Pua (PJ Utara – DAP) want a PAC hearing on 1Malaysia Development Bhd so that the Finance Ministry-owned firm’s past and present chief executives and auditors would be held accountable.

Even the PAC Chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Muhamad (Pulai) has recently changed his stand on the 1MDB scandal and wants the Auditor General’s Department to immediately carry out an audit of the government-owned 1MDB’s deals before PAC calls up the company.

But this is all before the latest shock expose that Sarawak Report website with London’s Sunday Times newspaper have completed an in-depth investigation into the trail of the missing billions at the heart of the 1MDB scandal, claiming to have obtained access to thousands of documents and emails relating to 1MDB transactions which the company had attempted to wipe clean from its computers and servers at the end of last year.

This development has changed the picture completely. Continue reading “Cabinet tomorrow must decide whether to establish RCI headed by Zaid Ibrahim into RM42 billion 1MDB scandal or give support for full-scale PAC public inquiry taking priority over all other PAC agendas”

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MACC should launch a full-scale investigation into the PMO Statement in the New York Times attributing the Prime Minister’s expenditure, including the multi-million dollar purchases of his wife, to his inheritance or is MACC a mere “paper tiger”?

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should launch a full-scale investigation into the Prime Minister Office’s Statement in the New York Times of February 9, 2015 attributing the Prime Minister’s expenditure, including the multi-million dollar purchases of his wife’s jewellery and shopping sprees, to his inheritance or is the MACC a mere “paper tiger”?

The PMO statement to New York Times said:

“Neither any money spent on travel, nor any jewellery purchases, nor the alleged contents of any safes are unusual for a person of the prime minister’s position, responsibilities and legacy family assets.”

The PMO statement in the New York Times had greatly offended and outraged the four brothers of the Prime Minister, Johari, Nizam, Nazim and Nazir who, in a rare private statement expressed worry that the name of their father, who was known for his frugality, would be tarnished by such talks of family assets. Continue reading “MACC should launch a full-scale investigation into the PMO Statement in the New York Times attributing the Prime Minister’s expenditure, including the multi-million dollar purchases of his wife, to his inheritance or is MACC a mere “paper tiger”?”

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Leaders to debate MH370 search funding

Jamie Smyth in Sydney and Tom Mitchell in Beijing
Financial Times
March 2, 2015

Australia, China and Malaysia will hold talks next month to consider whether to carry on funding the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went missing almost a year ago.

Canberra said on Monday it remained “cautiously optimistic” about finding the missing aircraft and rejected media reports that discussions had already begun on whether to call off the search — the most expensive and complex in airline history.

“Discussions are not under way to call off the search,” said a spokesman for Warren Truss, Australia’s deputy prime minister.

“Discussions are ongoing about the search. We remain cautiously optimistic about finding the plane.”

But he said that ministers at April’s tripartite meeting in Australia may discuss how to proceed if the aircraft is not found. Operations in the current search area are due to be completed by May. Continue reading “Leaders to debate MH370 search funding”

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Hudud: Umno has trapped and shackled Pas

— P Ramakrishnan
The Malay Mail Online
March 2, 2015

MARCH 2 — No one dreamt that Pas would be easily enticed to cooperate with Umno. But Umno has its hidden agenda to break up Pakatan Rakyat in order to weaken the opposition.

It has promised to support Pas when the hudud bill is tabled on 18 March in the Kelantan state assembly. This is being taken as support for hudud — which is utterly fallacious.

What choice has Umno in this issue? Can it vote against the Pas hudud bill? It cannot! It has to prove to the Malays that it is for hudud. It would be suicidal for Umno not to vote with Pas. There are no two ways about it for Umno.

It is merely hoodwinking Pas into thinking that it is helping the Islamist party to implement hudud in Kelantan.

Umno’s strategy is meant not only to weaken Pakatan Rakyat by successfully creating dissension within the coalition, it has an ulterior motive as well. It is also to drive away non-Malay support for Pas, which was given freely on the basis of Pakatan’s agreed common platform. Continue reading “Hudud: Umno has trapped and shackled Pas”