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For close to a year, Pakatan Rakyat existed only in name but not in fact

For close to a year, Pakatan Rakyat existed only in name but not in fact.

For the past year, it was impossible to convene a meaningful Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council meeting as the two pillars which have seen Pakatan Rakyat posed the greatest challenge to the Umno/BN coalition in the 13th General Elections and even reduced it to a minority government in Putrajaya had been knocked out – the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework which the three component parties DAP, PKR and PAS had freely, fully and voluntarily agreed in 2008 and the consensus operational principle that the consensus of all the three component parties is the only basis for PR decision-making and no one political leader or political party can exercise a veto power over the others.

The UMNO/BN coalition has lost the trust and confidence of Malaysians because it has demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that it has no high political principles and national objectives but only the sordid interest of the UMNO/BN leaders clinging on to power so as to enjoy the perks of power – office, position and money-making opportunities.

The Pakatan Rakyat political coalition cannot make the same mistakes as the UMNO/BN coalition and must always prove that it is motivated by common political principles of justice, freedom and human dignity for the benefit of the people and country, and not opportunistic interests of self, whether for office, position or money-making opportunities.

Otherwise, there will be no difference between the Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. Continue reading “For close to a year, Pakatan Rakyat existed only in name but not in fact”

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Excerpt #4: The Curse of Our Obsession With Politics

M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com

Malays hold an almost exclusive grip on the political process and leadership. Through demographic dynamics Malays could rule the country without support from any other community, and still do justice to the principle of representative governance and other niceties of democracy.

That we do not is a tribute to our sense of fairness and justice, reflecting the values of our culture. It also shows that we have not been infected with the destructive virus of tribalism, an affliction that grips even the most sophisticated. This point deserves repeating as it is not widely acknowledged much less appreciated.

Contrary to the delusions of many Malays, this near exclusive grip on political power is not all blessing or an advantage. It would be if handled competently, but current Malay leaders across the political spectrum are far from being adroit or sophisticated. This political power is thus more bane than blessing. It distracts us from other important and equally worthy pursuits, especially economic.

Worse, with politics now all-consuming, it corrupts all our other endeavors. Our academics are but politicians with glorified professorial titles; our singers and writers are known less for their talent and creativity, more for their endless praises for our leaders.

Because of their long unchallenged grip on power, our leaders are infected with the megalomania virus. They are immune to criticisms; worse, they delude themselves into believing that they can do no wrong. They deceive themselves into thinking that they could readily transfer their political “skills” to other spheres. They cannot; the skills required to ascend the party hierarchy are very different from those needed to run a ministry, helm a major corporation, or lead an academic institution. It is the rare individual who could make a smooth and successful transition. Continue reading “Excerpt #4: The Curse of Our Obsession With Politics”

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Najib not telling the truth if he said he could not visit earthquake-hit zones in Sabah on Friday because it was the birthday of Yang di Pertuan Agong

According to The Malaysian Insider, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, told a crowd during his visit to Kundasang in Sabah today, near where Friday’s earthquake struck, why he could not visit Ranau/Kundasang earlier.

Najib said:

“I had intended to come earlier after hearing news about the earthquake. But that day was the birthday of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and then I had to leave for an official visit to Saudi Arabia as the king and the crown prince were involved.

“Because our bilateral ties are very important, I could not come to Sabah, specifically to Ranau, earlier.”

Najib would not be telling the truth if he had indeed said that he could not visit the earthquake-hit zones in Sabah on Friday because it was the birthday of Yang di Pertuan Agong as this was not the case.

The birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was on Saturday, 6th June 2015 and not on Friday, 5th June 2015. Continue reading “Najib not telling the truth if he said he could not visit earthquake-hit zones in Sabah on Friday because it was the birthday of Yang di Pertuan Agong”

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There is no Pakatan Rakyat if there is no PR Common Policy Framework or PR consensus operational principle

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s concern from Sungai Buloh Prison about the fate of Pakatan Rakyat after the PAS Muktamar is the concern of the majority of Malaysians who had voted for PR in the last general elections two years ago, reposing their trust and hopes in PR to spearhead the political, socio-economic, educational and nation-building changes and end the corruption, cronyism and abuses of power rampant in the country if Malaysia is to achieve its full greatness as a nation.

DAP and I reaffirm our commitment to the PR Common Policy Framework and the PR consensus operational principle which had been the basis of PR’s success in the 2013 General Election, which ensured that the Najib government is a minority government for the first time in the nation’s history and denied the UMNO/BN coalition two-thirds parliamentary majority for the second general elections.

The UMNO/BN coalition is on its last legs, but there is no way Malaysians can continue to repose their trust and hope in Pakatan Rakyat if we cannot be steadfast, constant and consistent in our commitment to the PR Common Policy Framework and the PR consensus operational principle. Continue reading “There is no Pakatan Rakyat if there is no PR Common Policy Framework or PR consensus operational principle”

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Selepas ‘cai’ tentukan pimpinan PAS

A Shukur Harun
The Malaysian Insider
9 June 2015

Dengan berbekalkan sekeping cai – kertas yang mengandungi senarai nama calon pimpinan PAS yang perlu dipilih – maka perwakilan di muktamar PAS minggu lalu pun mengundi dalam situasi di mana cai itu memberi arahan bisu supaya mengundi nama yang tersenarai dalam cai itu.

Walaupun sebahagian kecil perwakilan tidak menurut ‘arahan ghaib’ cai itu, tetapi kebanyakannya mematuhi arahan supaya mengundi calon yang tersenarai dalam cai itu.

Diberitakan, hampir 80% perwakilan dipengaruhi dengan kertas ‘cai’ itu. Ada pihak yang sempat merakam gambar perwakilan yang sedang ‘khusyuk’ meneliti cai, sebelum mengundi berdasarkan arahan cai tersebut.
Continue reading “Selepas ‘cai’ tentukan pimpinan PAS”

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Trouble ahead for Pakatan

– Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman
The Malaysian Insider
9 June 2015

The outcome of last week’s PAS annual meeting is likely to change the Malaysian political landscape. It is the first time in nearly three decades that the Islamist party’s leadership has been dominated by leaders from only one faction within the party.

The conservatives (ulama) in the party, made up of religious scholars and clerics, effectively routed its rival reformist faction by winning all the party’s top positions and 17 of the 18 positions in the central committee.

The women, youth and religious scholars’ wings are now dominated entirely by the conservatives, which hold different views from the reformists on the implementation of Islamic criminal law (hudud), and whether PAS should continue to work with the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition.

Significantly, in the aftermath of the win by the ulama, the party has adopted a resolution to break all ties with its opposition partner DAP, throwing into question PAS’s political direction and that of the three-party PR pact. Continue reading “Trouble ahead for Pakatan”

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Najib should fly straight from Saudi Arabia to the Ranau/Kinabalu earthquake-hit zones in Sabah to give meaning to his declaration “I owe Sabah”

One question uppermost among Sabahans when I visited the earthquake-hit zones of Ranau and Kinabalu Park yesterday was why Najib, who said only last month that “I owe Sabah”, did not visit Sabah over the Ranau/Kinabalu earthquake disaster before his Saudi Arabia trip on Saturday night.

With his new personal private jet which cost a bomb to Malaysian taxpayers, Najib should have no problem to visit Ranau/Kinabalu before flying off to Jeddah for his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia.

The aftermath of the 5.9 Richter Ranau/Kinabalu earthquake, which claimed 18 lives, and Najib’s double absence, from the 1MDB “Nothing2Hide” forum in Kuala Lumpur on Friday morning and from Sabah over the earthquake disaster, were the talking points of Sabahans, in particular why Najib took some five hours to tweet his concern about the earthquake in Sabah at about noon when the earthquake struck Ranau and Mount Kinabalu at around 7.15 am on Friday morning!

Najib’s tweet was unbelievable for it said some five hours after the disaster: “I was just informed that an earthquake happened not far from Ranau. I hope all are safe and calm.” Continue reading “Najib should fly straight from Saudi Arabia to the Ranau/Kinabalu earthquake-hit zones in Sabah to give meaning to his declaration “I owe Sabah””

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Pakatan Rakyat Selangor is in unchartered waters post-PAS Muktamar

Tony Pua
DAP Selangor Chairman and MP PJ Utara
8th June 2015

The PAS General Assembly (“Muktamar”) has decided to sever all ties (“putus hubungan”) and stop all political cooperation “kerjasama politik” with DAP. As a result, Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor has undoubtedly entered unchartered waters. The only thing certain under such circumstances is that nothing can or will be the same again.

It is inconceivable for anyone to think or believe that Pakatan Rakyat can continue to exist in its current state given the above unequivocal motion. The Pakatan Rakyat government comprises of three political parties which subscribed to a common policy platform. However, when the common policy platform is breached, compounded by the decision of one party to stop cooperation with another within the coalition, then the coalition naturally collapses.

How does the Government function, when the state executive councillors (Exco) of PAS refuses to cooperate with the Exco from DAP when carrying out their respective duties? Can one even imagine how surreal the state Exco meeting will be, with the PAS Exco ignoring the DAP Excos or pretending that they don’t exist? Continue reading “Pakatan Rakyat Selangor is in unchartered waters post-PAS Muktamar”

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Post-PAS muktamar scenarios

— Liew Chin Tong
Malay Mail Online
June 7, 2015

JUNE 7 — I have been asked by the media to comment on DAP’s relations with PAS in Johor.

PAS muktamar’s 6th June 2015 approval of a motion to severe ties with DAP, as well as the PAS party polls on 4th June are two key events that set the scene for major realignments in Malaysian politics beyond PAS’ internal dynamics.

The agenda of PAS’ conservatives is to work with Umno with the aim of pushing for hudud legislation. In the mean time, in order to work with Umno and to push for hudud, ties with DAP needed to be severed. To win federal power is not a priority as the conservatives are prepared to accept Umno’s continous rule.

The progressives, who became a significant force in PAS after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking in 1998, aspire to defeat Umno and its associated racial politics. As it is realistic to expect PAS not to win enough seats on its own to form the federal government , cooperation with DAP via a consensus-based common policy platform is deemed the pragmatic route.

The defeat of the progressives and the motion to severe ties with DAP gives rise to new situations and scenarios. Continue reading “Post-PAS muktamar scenarios”

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PAS dan tragedi sebuah kesombongan

– Muhamad Takiyuddin Ismail
The Malaysian Insider
7 June 2015

Bagi pemerhati dan penganalisis yang mengikuti perkembangan dalam PAS secara neutral, agak sukar untuk tidak berasa sedih apabila melihat perkembangan yang berlaku dalam Muktamar PAS ke-61 yang baru berlangsung.

Hal ini lebih dirasakan apabila seseorang mengikuti dengan lebih dekat dan menyaksikan sendiri muktamar yang berlangsung selama tiga hari itu. Pergelutan kuasa yang berlaku sekian lama antara kem agamawan dan kem progresif menemui penamatnya dengan penguasaan menyeluruh kem agamawan.

Di sebalik semua label dan alasan ketidaksenangan yang dimomokkan terhadap golongan progresif ini, tidak ada faktor yang dianggap lebih berperanan penting selain “kesombongan”. Kesombongan merupakan faktor yang menggarisbawahkan keterpinggiran golongan progresif ini dalam PAS. Continue reading “PAS dan tragedi sebuah kesombongan”

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Pandikar should agree to an urgent motion in Parliament to allow televised PAC hearings on 1MDB scandal as a first step to parliamentary reforms in Malaysia

Members of Parliament from both sides of the House are in full support of the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Aman Mulia to push for parliamentary reforms to eradicate Parliament’s negative image of “rubber stamp” of the Executive and to ensure separation of powers is in place.

The Speaker should not wait until next year to test out whether proposals for parliamentary reforms could be accepted and implemented by the Executive, as parliamentary reforms which meet immediate public needs should be carried out without any delay.

One such immediate parliamentary reform is for the Public Accounts Committee hearing particularly on the biggest scandal in the country – the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal – to be held in public and to bde televised live, as is the position of Dewan Rakyat proceedings. Continue reading “Pandikar should agree to an urgent motion in Parliament to allow televised PAC hearings on 1MDB scandal as a first step to parliamentary reforms in Malaysia”

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Stop all pretences – Najib should exorcise the haunting presence of Jho Low in the 1MDB scandal by giving a full account to Parliament of the latter’s role and influence in the nation’s biggest financial scandal

In his TV1 interview on “1MDB – Where is the money?” on Wednesday night, which failed to answer the subject of the topic but piqued greater public interest and concern about the whereabouts of the 1MDB billions, the second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah coyly avoided giving answers on Jho Low and his involvement in the debt-ridden 1MDB, asking “What’s the point of glamorising his name?”

Husni should know that he is incapable of adding to Jho Low’s glamour, as the Penang-born businessman has achieved what the second Finance Minister is incapable of – being the top attraction of a five-part feature by New York Times in February on the influx of global money which had fuelled the American city’s high-end real estate boom. And this is without mention of Jho Low’s life in the high society of the West.

The issue at hand is not about Jho Low’s glamour but the government’s accountability and transparency in the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, particularly about Jho Low’s role and influence.

Until recently, the Cabinet, Parliament and nation were kept in the dark about the most important facet of the 1MDB scandal – that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had right from the beginning of the establishment of 1MDB in 2009 been the final approving authority for all 1MBD deals, transactions and investments, which means that the Save 1MDB Roadmap passed by the Cabinet on May 29 was really a Save Najib Roadmap!

Another important facet of the 1MDB scandal was Jho Low’s role and influence not only in the creation of the 1MDB, but its ballooning in six years to pile up a debt of RM42 billion. Continue reading “Stop all pretences – Najib should exorcise the haunting presence of Jho Low in the 1MDB scandal by giving a full account to Parliament of the latter’s role and influence in the nation’s biggest financial scandal”

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PAS moving to the dark side

By Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
May 29, 2015

COMMENT As PAS prepares for the most divisive and decisive muktamar in its history next week, serious questions are being asked about the Islamic party’s direction.

The media has focused heavily on the troubled relationship with Pakatan Rakyat, with the frayed relationship between DAP and PAS over hudud taking centre stage. Others have focused their analyses on PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang who has brought the party to its current state.

The issues go much deeper than personality and policy differences – they go to the core of PAS as a religious political party, revealing that PAS is losing its moral foundation.

The 61st muktamar election will determine whether PAS will move to the dark side, namely further away from the principles and integrity that has given the Islamic party a comparative advantage in winning support from Malaysians. Continue reading “PAS moving to the dark side”

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The failure of Vision 2020

Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
5 June 2015

Sometime in 1991, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed envisioned “Malaysians of all colours and creeds are free to practice and profess their customs, cultures and religious beliefs and yet feeling that they belong to one nation”. This dream was the essence of Vision 2020, or Wawasan 2020, as it is known in the national language.

Vision 2020 called for a united Malaysian society; one that indicated a progressive society where all of its citizens were more than able to embody compassion, civility and ethnic labels were a thing of the past. Malaysia in the year 2020 boasted an economy that was sound and healthy; there was fair and equitable distribution of wealth and development was spread out evenly throughout the Federation.

Now with only five years left before this vision becomes a reality, many of us can see how far off we really are. With only five years left, the vision of a colourless society seems far beyond our reach. Five years of catching up to a vision that has become some sort of a utopian concept that has lead this nation into a bitter cycle of suspicion and passive aggressive hostility.

The saddest part of humankind is that most of us are unable to shake off the “us and them” mentality and the harm we inflict upon other fellow Malaysians – be it physically and verbally, this is due to our own insecurities, humiliation and pain. Such feelings stem from our inability to understand human diversity – we want them to be like “us” and if they aren’t, there is no way we can accept them into our fold. Continue reading “The failure of Vision 2020”

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Questions after the ulama tsunami in PAS

Abdar Rahman Koya
The Malaysian Insider
6 June 2015

Abdar Rahman Koya works for The Malaysian Insider. He considers himself to have all the qualities of an ordinary Malaysian, a practising Muslim, and an incorrigible cynic.

The much anticipated battle between the so-called ulama and professional factions in PAS, symbolised by the showdown between the two Awangs, has ended.

As expected, the ulama have won. The professionals are defeated, turfed out of almost all leadership positions in the party, in what can be aptly described as the ulama tsunami.

But who are these factions, these so-called ulama and professionals? This is the question few – whether supporters or opponents of PAS – have bothered asking.

The ulama are so called not necessarily because they fulfil the criteria of knowledge and piety, but because they have claimed that title for themselves.

So what defines them? Is it just that they are the ones in robes and turbans whose last names mysteriously have the Arabic “al-“ prefix, even though their looks show no trace of non-Malay heritage?

And even if their birth certificates show nothing more than the standard “bin” required by our guardians of Malay-Muslim demography?

Or are these ulama those whose pictures adorn packs of raisins and other nutritional products, blessed by their special prayers and mantras so that the weak-brained masses will buy them to help pass school exams and supply energy in their daily Islamic rituals?

Perhaps these ulama are simply those who religiously pay their subscriptions to Dewan Ulama of PAS, or some other organisation whose name includes the word “ulama” — such as, ironically, the Ulama Association of Malaysia, once led by none other than Ahmad Awang who is now grouped in the non-ulama faction?

Or – radical though it may be to suggest it – are the ulama actually those who have gained a deep knowledge of religion, even though their formal qualifications are in some other fields?

Those who have thought about and critiqued society, proposed practical solutions to modern-day problems in the light of their religious learning, and earned the recognition and respect of the masses despite failing to ostentatiously clothe themselves in garb assumed to emulate those worn by Arabs in the desert sun? Continue reading “Questions after the ulama tsunami in PAS”

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The PAS purge of the progressives

By Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
Jun 6, 2015

COMMENT The results have definitely spoken – the progressive, national-oriented pro-Pakatan Rakyat faction inside PAS has been wiped out from leadership positions in all of the party organs.

The outcome was not unexpected, but the ugliness of the muktamar even surpassed the nastiness of the vicious campaign before the polls. The implications of this outcome will deepen the ongoing divisions of the opposition, effectively severing Pakatan irreparably and empowering Umno.

This outcome was exactly what Umno wanted and assisted in with its infiltration of PAS. Ironically the electoral sweep by party leader Abdul Hadi Awang and his ulama hatchet men will feed into the continued leadership crisis within Umno. With Pakatan fractured, schisms and splits within Umno also deepen.

In short, the results of the PAS elections have contributed to Malaysia’s ongoing political crisis across the political divide and highlighted the deficit in quality national leadership to address the challenges ordinary Malaysians face.

The blame game has already begun. There are many at fault – PAS leaders from both factions, Umno, DAP and more. Labels of ‘losers’ and frustrations are likely to rise, as the noise of Malaysian politics gets louder with internal pettiness that serves to disenchant and anger the general public. Continue reading “The PAS purge of the progressives”

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My forecast that Pakatan Rakyat might not be around in two weeks’ time seems to have come true and what is left are the funeral rites

A fortnight ago, I gave my most pessimistic forecast that in two weeks’ time, there may not be a Pakatan Rakyat left.

It would appear that my worst-scene forecast for Pakatan Rakyat has come to pass and all that is left are the funeral rites.

Today, the PAS 61st annual congress passed a motion to sever ties with the DAP and yet remain in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) without debate.

With this PAS Muktamar motion, Malaysian politics has entered into unchartered waters with immediate consequences.

In Penang for instance, the PAS Muktamar motion will make it impossible for PAS representatives to continue at the various levels of Penang State Government.

In Selangor, the worst scenario will include a Selangor state general elections. Continue reading “My forecast that Pakatan Rakyat might not be around in two weeks’ time seems to have come true and what is left are the funeral rites”

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Najib’s “Nothing2Hide” forum has infamously boomeranged into a Public Relations disaster and its time the Prime Minister have a “tell all” session in Parliament to demonstrate that he has really nothing to hide in the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “Nothing2Hide” forum scheduled this morning has infamously boomeranged into a Public Relations disaster and its time the Prime Minister have a “tell all” session in Parliament to demonstrate that he has really nothing to hide in the RM42 billion scandal.

Never before in the nation’s history has the Prime Minister become the butt of national jokes, to the extent that Najib’s failure to show up at the 1MDB “Nothing2Hide” forum this morning has become an instant and foremost national news, overshadowing all other developments in the country, including the worst earthquake which hit Ranau and Mount Kinabalu areas this morning and the PAS Muktamar in Kuala Selangor.

In one fell swoop, the painstakingly-orchestrated and highly-funded campaign to present Najib as the most popular Prime Minister in the nation’s history, and in the process, to claim that he has popular endorsement for his controversial handling of the RM42 billion 1MBD scandal, has been destroyed by the farce of Najib’s “no show” on the grounds of the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s tweet directive to cancel the forum – after it was known to all that former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir would be at the forum.

It does not speak well for Najib’s “Bugis warrior spirit” or the Royal Malaysian Police’s prowess and professionalism that it could not ensure order and security in an indoor dialogue involving some 1,500 people. Continue reading “Najib’s “Nothing2Hide” forum has infamously boomeranged into a Public Relations disaster and its time the Prime Minister have a “tell all” session in Parliament to demonstrate that he has really nothing to hide in the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal”

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Will Najib sack Khalid as IGP for gross incompetence and lack of professionalism where police could not maintain order, security and national harmony in an indoor dialogue involving 1,500 people in the very sanctum of UMNO headquarters?

In one fell swoop, the painstakingly-orchestrated and highly-funded campaign to present Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the most popular Prime Minister in the nation’s history, and in the process, to claim that he has popular endorsement for his controversial handling of the RM42 billion 1MBD scandal, collapsed as a result of the misjudgment over the 1MBD “Nothing2Hide” Forum at the UMNO sanctum at Putra World Trade Centre this morning.

Despite his boast of “Bugis warrior spirit”, Najib developed cold feet at the last minute and dared not show up at the forum when it was confirmed that his 1MDB critics, especially former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir, would show up for a “high noon” encounter with him.

What is most reprehensible is Najib’s roping in the police, and the preparedness of the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to “play ball” by tweeting a police order to cancel the 1MDB “Nothing2Hide” forum on the grounds of public order and national harmony.

Something is really very amiss with the Royal Malaysian Police when it cannot even maintain order, security and national harmony in an indoor forum attended by some 1,500 people in the very sanctum of UMNO headquarters! Continue reading “Will Najib sack Khalid as IGP for gross incompetence and lack of professionalism where police could not maintain order, security and national harmony in an indoor dialogue involving 1,500 people in the very sanctum of UMNO headquarters?”