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The new National Security Council Bill should be withdrawn from debate tomorrow to allow MPs and civil society adequate time to study its far-reaching implications on civil liberties

The new National Security Council (NSC) Bill should be withdrawn from debate and passage tomorrow and deferred until Parliament next month to allow Members of Parliament and the civil society adequate time to study its far-reaching implications on human rights and democratic freedoms in Malaysia.

The 33-page Bill, in both Bahasa Malaysia and English, was only presented in Dewan Rakyat for first reading and it is really ridiculous and outrageous to rush through the second and third readings for the Bill tomorrow, without giving MPs and the civil society the opportunity to study its far-reaching implications on human rights and democratic freedoms in the country.

Members of Parliament may not be required to understand the real implications of the law, as their only requirement is to vote in support of any bill which the government tables in Parliament, but it is an insult to the intelligence of Pakatan Harapan Members of Parliament and discerning members of the public to expect them to behave like unthinking and obedient robots or digits to give blank cheque support to whatever is decided by the Cabinet.

In fact, I believe the majority of the Ministers may not even understand the far-reaching implications of the National Security Bill although they all nodded in agreement when the Bill presented for Cabinet consent by the relevant Ministry and department concerned. Continue reading “The new National Security Council Bill should be withdrawn from debate tomorrow to allow MPs and civil society adequate time to study its far-reaching implications on civil liberties”

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Hasan Arifin should let Dr. Tan Seng Giaw head PAC probe into 1MDB as he is too keen to demonstrate his “cari makan” characteristics

Datuk Hasan Arifin is too keen to demonstrate his “cari makan” characteristics to be a suitable Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman heading the PAC probe into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1MDB scandal.

He should make way for the Deputy PAC Chairman Dr. Tan Seng Giaw to head the PAC inquiry into the 1MDB scandal so that the PAC inquiry would not be sullied by his “cari makan” propensities.

Hasan exhibited such a “cari makan” propensity yesterday when he jumped the gun and declared that he was “satisfied” with the testimony given by the 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy to the PAC, although Arul had not completed his testimony nor did Hasan had the authority of the PAC to declare publicly that the PAC was satisfied with Arul’s testimony. Continue reading “Hasan Arifin should let Dr. Tan Seng Giaw head PAC probe into 1MDB as he is too keen to demonstrate his “cari makan” characteristics”

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My six-month suspension from Parliament a most symbolic way to mark my 50 years in politics in pursuit of the Malaysian Dream

Fifty years ago, I started my involvement in Malaysian politics and my current six-month suspension from Parliament in a most symbolic way marked my half-century of political work and patriotism where I dedicated virtually my whole life to the pursuit of the Malaysian Dream of an united, inclusive, progressive, just and prosperous Malaysia for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, language, culture, region, politics or class.

My six-month suspension from Parliament is a salutary reminder that the pursuit of the Malaysian Dream is not a completed journey but very much a work-in-progress, that it is not a smooth-sailing venture but requires courage, commitment and vision to overcome the trials and tribulations of an upstream, against-the-current struggle to build a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, where good governance and justice is the order of the day and an end to the ever-lengthening list of political and economic scandals suffocating the country. Continue reading “My six-month suspension from Parliament a most symbolic way to mark my 50 years in politics in pursuit of the Malaysian Dream”

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Malaysia Vainly Seeks to Keep Lid on Scandal

By John Berthelsen
Asia Sentinel
November 30, 2015

Latest involves attempt to intimidate prominent KL lawyer

The lengths Malaysian authorities are willing to go in the effort to keep a lid on continuing financial scandals involving Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, has taken a new turn with a threat to arrest a prominent lawyer for assisting a US businessman in making a sworn statement on his brother’s reported involvement into the stalled probe.

Police are demanding that Americk Sidhu, who assisted in writing the sworn statement by Atlanta-based businessman Charles Morais of his murdered brother’s reported involvement in the stalled Najib investigation, come in for questioning. Khalid Abu Bakar, Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police, told local media on Nov. 30 that “we are giving Americk two days to step forward and have his statement recorded.”

On Nov. 26, Morais read a sworn statement to a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that his brother Anthony Kevin Morais, a Malaysian deputy prosecutor whose body was found in a cement-filled oil drum that had been dumped in a river, had said he was assisting in the investigation of Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, before he disappeared. Morais said he had also received a USB drive from his dead brother, to be kept for safekeeping. But he gave no details about what was on the USB drive. Almost immediately after holding the press conference, Charles Morais left the country to go back to the US. Continue reading “Malaysia Vainly Seeks to Keep Lid on Scandal”