Day: July 8, 2015

ANALISIS OLEH ZULKIFLI SULONG, PENGARANG ANALISIS DAN RENCANA
The Malaysian Insider
8 July 2015

Siapakah yang bakal mendapat manfaat daripada krisis dihadapi Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak sekarang?

Siapakah bakal dilantik perdana menteri sekiranya Najib terpaksa melepaskan jawatan ekoran skandal syarikat sarat hutang 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) yang sudah menjadi perhatian antarabangsa.

The Malaysian Insider cuba menyenaraikan tokoh yang mungkin mendapat manfaat sekiranya anak kepada perdana menteri kedua, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein berundur. Continue reading “Siapa untung jika Najib berundur?”

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has notched up another precedent, sending lawyers’ letter which is ambivalent whether it paves the way for the Prime Minister to sue or not to sue Wall Street Journal (WSJ) for publication of report that Malaysian government investigators have found almost US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) of 1MDB’s funds deposited into Najib’s personal accounts at AmBank.

According to Malaysiakini, Najib’s lawyers, the legal firm Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak has asked Dow Jones, the owner of WSJ, to respond with 14 days “whether it is your position, as taken in the articles, that our client misappropriated nearly US$700 million from 1MDB”.

Najib’s lawyers’ letter to Dow Jones said: “You will no doubt appreciate the seriousness of the allegation made against our client in the said articles and confirmation is sought to enable us to advise our client the appropriate legal recourse he can take to seek redress in relation to the publication of these articles.”

If UMNO Supreme Council member and Deputy Agriculture Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman is right that WSJ never implicated Najib, but only 1MDB, such a letter should not have been sent.

However, this letter was not what Malaysians had been led to expect with the various threats of legal action against WSJ for its report and allegation, especially as conspicuously absent is any forthright demand to WSJ to apologise for the defamation of the Prime Minister and withdrawal of WSJ report concerned with the undertaking not to repeat such defamation. Continue reading “Najib has notched up another precedent, sending lawyers’ letter which is ambivalent whether it paves the way for the Prime Minister to sue or not to sue Wall Street Journal”

Farouk A. Peru
The Malaysian Insider
8 July 2015

London has a thriving scene of Malaysian political activism. I began taking notice of it a few years ago when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to win over the London crowd.
Since then, much has changed. The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) which was just a newborn back has now met a timely demise.

However, I have to express admiration for DAP which is still going strong. They retained Penang in the 13th general election and have now weathered the breakup of PR.

Last Sunday, I steeled myself for a ride on the London underground to attend a talk by Zairil Khir Johari.

For those of you who don’t know, riding on the tube during hot London summers is like almost like a taking shower! Continue reading “An evening with Zairil”

All eyes are on the first Cabinet meeting today after the Wall Street Journal report making unprecedented and ground-shaking allegation of embezzlement against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak when it reported last Friday that Malaysian government investigators have found almost US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) of 1MDB’s funds had been deposited into Najib’s personal accounts.

Today’s Cabinet meeting is a test for all the Ministers, whether they are model Malaysian patriots and leaders who will always put national interests above party and/or personal interests or whether they are just a coterie of self-seeking politicians who are not prepared to take a public and patriotic stand on the great issues of the day.

And the greatest issue of the day is undoubtedly the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, the WSJ allegation of embezzlement and Prime Ministerial misconduct and Najib’s failure after five long days, in an information age of 24/7 communication of information, to categorically clear himself of impropriety by declaring two simple things: (I) that it is untrue that some US$700 million (RM2.6 bilion) had been deposited into his personal bank accounts; and (ii) that he has no personal bank accounts in AmBank.

Yesterday’s announcement that the special task force of the quartet of investigating agencies (Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Royal Malaysian Police and Attorney-General’s Chambers) into 1MDB and the allegation that RM2.6 billion of 1MDB funds had been transferred into Najib’s personal accounts, had frozen six bank accounts, three of them believed to belong to the Prime Minister, has cast a completely new complexion on the biggest Prime Ministerial crisis in the nation’s history.

Is the noose which the Wall Street Journal report had thrown around Najib’s neck getting tighter? Continue reading “Six options for Ministers to prove that they are a Cabinet of model Malaysian patriots and leaders and not just a coterie of self-seeking politicians who cannot put national interests above personal and/or party interests”

A Shukur Harun
The Malaysian Insider
7 July 2015

Pelbagai pihak, khususnya generasi muda, sedang menunggu-nunggu akan kelahiran parti baharu – Gerakan Harapan Baharu – yang dirancang diumumkan selepas hari raya ini.

Ini menunjukkan sebuah parti baharu yang mampu memberikan harapan masa depan kepada rakyat Malaysia sangat diharapkan. Iaitu ketika rakyat melihat dengan sangat bimbang pelbagai krisis yang menimpa negara yang tidak dapat diselesaikan oleh parti pemerintah, di tengah-tengah Pakatan Rakyat (PR) sendiri juga tidak habis-habisnya berkrisis.

Parti Gerakan Harapan Baharu ini dirancang penubuhannya oleh golongan progresif dan sederhana yang disingkirkan dengan penuh hina dalam muktamar PAS bulan Jun lalu.

Penubuhan parti ini juga untuk meneruskan legasi perjuangan Allahyarham Datuk Fadzil Mohd Noor dan Allahyarham Tuan Guru Nik Abd Aziz Nik Mat yang sangat terbuka dan demokratik serta berpandangan jauh ke depan. Continue reading “Parti baharu sangat dinantikan”

by Austin Ramzy
New York Times
July 7, 2015

HONG KONG — Officials in Malaysia said on Tuesday that they had frozen bank accounts as part of an investigation into the country’s troubled development investment fund and accusations that hundreds of millions of dollars from the fund had been transferred to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Government investigators have been looking into the finances of the heavily indebted 1Malaysia Development Berhad, also known as 1MDB. News reports have said that some of its funds have been routed to accounts controlled by Mr. Najib. Continue reading “Inquiry Into Malaysian Fund Also Puts Spotlight on Prime Minister”

— P Ramakrishnan
The Malay Mail Online
July 7, 2015

JULY 7 — Mere denials do not establish one’s innocence. Evidence must be established to dispel and nail false accusations and unfair allegations.

Unfortunately, denials are the only form of defence resorted to by people who are put on the spot whenever they are accused of corruption. They fail to understand that mere denials do not clear their name or safeguard their reputation.

This is something the Prime Minister must be mindful of. So must his coterie of supporters who mindlessly come to his rescue by denying and condemning others without any solid evidence to convince Malaysians that there is no shred of truth in what was claimed. Continue reading “Yes, Prime Minister, you must sue!”