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Has Malaysia become a police state?

By John R Malott
Malaysiakini
Aug 9, 2015

COMMENT How ironic it is that many Malaysians are now being threatened for taking actions that are “detrimental to parliamentary democracy.” Actually, they are the very people who are struggling for democracy and political freedom.

As someone who follows developments in Malaysia closely, I believe that the greatest threat to parliamentary democracy in Malaysia today is Prime Minister Najib Razak, and the head of the national police force that he controls, Khalid Abu Bakar.

It is Najib and Khalid who actually should be investigated for violating Section 124B of the Penal Code.

Najib wants to stay in power, no matter what. For any politician, that is understandable.

For whatever reason, Khalid has chosen to be Najib’s lackey. He is ready to do Najib’s bidding and deploy his police force in wilful violation of the law and the fundamental guarantees of Malaysia’s constitution. Continue reading “Has Malaysia become a police state?”

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Reading the tea leaves of 1MDB

– Meredith Weiss
The Malaysian Insider
9 August 2015

The 1MDB scandal shows that Malaysia is in desperate need of political finance reform. But can the country clean up its messy “money politics”?

By the time this piece comes out, even if it’s only a few hours from the writing, the array of known facts about Malaysia’s bewilderingly complex 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal will almost certainly have changed.

There may well be another conspiracy theory or two making the rounds by then, and some creative new threat/spin/bombast from one or another of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s currently trusted spokesmen. Continue reading “Reading the tea leaves of 1MDB”

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister: A Dead Man Walking?

Greg Lopez
Forbes
8.8.2015

Malaysia’s Prime Minister broke a cardinal rule in politics. He inadvertently admitted ‘guilt’ when the Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission cleared him of any wrong doing in accepting a political donation. His position – vulnerable since his ascent to premiership – is no longer tenable as Malaysians question his sincerity and trustworthiness.

On 2 July 2015, the Wall Street Journal alleged that $700 million had gone into a personal bank account of Malaysia’s Prime Minister. The Prime Minister offered a non-denial denial :

Let me be very clear: I have never taken funds for personal gain as alleged by my political opponents – whether from 1MDB, SRC International or other entities, as these companies have confirmed.

The Prime Minister also labelled the report a political sabotage and threatened to sue the Wall Street Journal (more than a month after the allegation was made, at time of publishing this article, the Prime Minister has yet to sue).

As the noose tightened around his neck, the Prime Minister went for broke. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Prime Minister: A Dead Man Walking?”

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Call for public inquiry into “nine days of madness in Putrajaya” with Police and MACC on “war footing” against each other

The statement by the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar that the police will temporarily postpone the investigations on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) alleged leakage of information which was published in the Sarawak Report portal is neither satisfactory nor acceptable.

Khalid said that although more people would be called to facilitate in the investigation, the case was postponed to avoid numerous assumptions and public perception.

When asked how long the investigation would be postponed, Khalid said: “We’ll see…I don’t want my friends at the MACC to think we are making some kind of harassment.”

This must be the understatement of the year, for in the past nine days, MACC officers were not treated as “friends” but virtually as “enemies of the state” by the police, as they were more than just “harassed”, but were hounded, arrested and – to use the words of the wife of MACC director of special operations division Datuk Bahri Mohamad Zin, Datin Noor Haslina Abdullah on her FaceBook – “persecuted” by the police, to the extent that the MACC officers had to hold a special prayer session to seek divine intervention to carry out their anti-corruption duties and to protect themselves from Police attacks. Continue reading “Call for public inquiry into “nine days of madness in Putrajaya” with Police and MACC on “war footing” against each other”

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All UMNO members must form the first line of defence of national institutions and hold Najib personally responsible for the punitive transfer of the two MACC Directors Bahri and Rohaizad out of MACC if he does not countermand the order to the duo to report to the PMO tomorrow

(Scroll down for English text)

Semua ahli UMNO mesti berdiri di barisan pertahanan paling depan untuk mempertahankan institusi-institusi negara dan menuntut Najib untuk secara peribadi bertanggungjawab atas pertukaran dua orang Pengarah SPRM, iaitu Bahri dan Rohaizad, dari SPRM jika beliau enggan membatalkan arahan kepada kedua-dua mereka untuk melaporkan diri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri esok

Negara mana dalam dunia ini yang perdana menterinya berikrar untuk menjadikan pembanterasan rasuah sebagai dasar utamanya tetapi dia sendiri dituduh memiliki segunung wang, dalam kes ini sebanyak RM2.6 bilion, yang disalurkan medalam akaun peribadinya sejurus sebelum Parlimen dibubarkan untuk membuka jalan kepada pilihanraya umum?

Negara mana dalam dunia ini yang perdana menterinya dituduh melakukan korupsi melibatkan wang sebanyak RM2.6 bilion yang disalurkan ke dalam akaun perbankan peribadinya tetapi membisukan diri selama lebih sebulan tanpa mengatakan hatta semudah “Ya” atau “Tidak” untuk mengesahkan sama ada wang sejumlah itu pernah diterimanya atau tidak, sebaliknya terpaksa meluangkan masa yang lama untuk menyusun strategi bersama-sama para penasihat komunikasi beliau untuk mencari cara bagi menjelaskan deposit sebanyak RM2.6 bilion tersebut sebelum akhirnya membuat pengakuan – lima minggu selepas tuduhan berkenaan kali pertama muncul dalam Wall Street Journal pada 3 Julai 2015?

Negara mana dalam dunia ini yang mempunyai Pasukan Petugas Khas yang melibatkan pelbagai agensi, termasuk Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) dan Pejabat Peguam Negara, yang berperanan menyiasat skandal kewangan terbesar negara ini, iaitu skandal RM42 bilion 1MDB dan penyaluran wang sebanyak RM2.6 bilion ke dalam akaun peribadi PM, tetapi tidak dibenarkan menyempurnakan penyiasatan apabila tiga daripada empat agensi terbabit dilumpuhkan oleh penguasa, iaitu apabila Peguam Negara dipecat, Gabenor Bank Negara pula “kurang sihat” dan pegawai-pegawai SPRM ditangkap dan ditukar jabatan serta-merta?

Negara mana dalam dunia ini mempunyai agensi pencegahan rasuah yang terpaksa memilih jalan akhir dengan meminta pertolongan tuhan menerusi solat hajat untuk menjalankan tugas pencegahan rasuah dan memelihara diri mereka, memandangkan ada kuasa lebih kuat yang masuk campur dalam tugas mereka untuk membasmi rasuah? Continue reading “All UMNO members must form the first line of defence of national institutions and hold Najib personally responsible for the punitive transfer of the two MACC Directors Bahri and Rohaizad out of MACC if he does not countermand the order to the duo to report to the PMO tomorrow”

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A very long day at MACC

By Radzi Razak
Malaysiakini
Aug 8, 2015

It was a long day at the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) yesterday as uncertainty lingered in wake of a ‘crackdown’ over its probe on SRC International Sdn Bhd’s money allegedly found in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bank accounts.

However work continued at the commission with some departments holding a Hari Raya gathering in the last week of the Syawal month.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an officer said while many heard about the impending transfers, they didn’t know who among them would get the order to pack their bags.

“That is until late in the evening when we finally get the news,” the officer told Malaysiakini.

True enough, the directive came late yesterday with MACC special operations division director Bahri Mohamad Zin and strategic communication director Rohaizad Yaakob told to clear their desks.

The pair was unceremoniously transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department purportedly for disciplinary reasons. However, there has been no official confirmation on the transfers. Continue reading “A very long day at MACC”