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Is AG Apandi guilty of conflict of interest when he decided that Najib will not be charged for the RM2.6 billion “donation” and SRC scandals?

Is the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali guilty of conflict of interest when he decided that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had committed no criminal offence in the RM2.6 billion “donation” and SRC scandals?

Apandi should have withdrawn from the decision-making process on what actions should be taken on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation papers on Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” and SRC scandals, and left the decisions to be taken by the Solicitor-General.

It is open history that Apandi was appointed by Najib in the most extraordinary of circumstances, when the former Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail was suddenly and shockingly sacked on July 28 purportedly on “health” reasons, which even took Gani by total surprise.

Up to now, the real reason for Gani’s sacking as Attorney-General had not been given to the Malaysian public, as he appeared very healthy and is even now starting on a new career as a legal consultant after having retired from the public service three months after he was sacked as Attorney-General – three months before his compulsory retirement.

It has been speculated in the public domain that the reason for Gani’s sacking was because the Attorney-General’s Chambers under Gani was preparing to charge the Prime Minister for corruption in connection with Najib’s world-class twin mega scandals.

Up to now, there has been no satisfactory answer on this issue, whether involving Najib as Prime Minister, Apandi as the current Attorney-General or Gani as the sacked Attorney-General.

These extraordinary circumstances of Apandi’s appointment as Attorney-General by Najib in place of Gani are additional reasons why Apandi should have avoided any conflict of interest situation and withdrawn from any decision-making on MACC’s investigation papers relating to Najib in its investigations into the RM2.6 billion donation and SRC scandals.

Apandi’s announcement that there will no charges against Najib also runs contrary to what MACC officials had said on public record. Continue reading “Is AG Apandi guilty of conflict of interest when he decided that Najib will not be charged for the RM2.6 billion “donation” and SRC scandals?”

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The illiberal threat to Islam

Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
25 January 2016

Central to the idea of liberalism, be it political, economic or social in context, is human agency – the capacity for individual human beings, acting rationally, to make choices deemed to be in their best interest.

However, freedom of choice and conscience alone is insufficient if it is not complemented by the necessary space, both in the personal sphere and the public realm, to act upon those choices without discrimination or victimisation.

Conversely, illiberalism refers to the lack of such fundamental freedoms. An illiberal polity is, therefore, one where diversity is not tolerated, and where being different invites persecution, whether by society or the state.

It is one where conformity is not only approved of, but even coercively imposed. In Islamic terms, it is where ijtihad (independent reasoning) is suppressed and taqlid (to follow blindly) is expected.

In an illiberal state, speech and expression are censored and dissent is suppressed. In most cases, citizens are kept in check through the fear of an existential threat – often through the construction of an “other”. Continue reading “The illiberal threat to Islam”

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Was Hadi an agent, stooge or puppet of DAP in most of the seven years of Pakatan Rakyat from 2008 to 2015?

The demonisation of DAP as anti-Malay and anti-Islam, and the tactics of fear and hate to scare Malays into believing that they will lose political power if UMNO and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak are toppled from Federal power in the 14th General Election have been intensified recently.

I expect such politics of fear and hate to escalate in the coming weeks and months.

The reason is very simple and obvious – Najib and his UMNO propagandists believe and fear that UMNO and Barisan Nasional would be defeated in the next national general election.

A recent opinion poll had found that the popularity rating of Najib’s UMNO-led Barisan Nasional government had for the first time in UMNO history fallen below the 50% mark among Malay voters, plunging to as low as 30%.

What better way to save Najib and UMNO by the classic tactics of creating an imaginary enemy for the Malay community!

Hence the continued intensification and escalation of the campaign of fear and hate to scare Malay voters into believing that Malays will lose political power and Islam will come under grave threat if UMNO and Prime Minister Najib are defeated in the 14th General Election – never mind that rational Malays will find this proposition a most preposterous and outrageous one, as such a scenario will never come to pass in Malaysia.

There is no way that the Malays can lose political power in Malaysia and that the DAP or the Chinese will rule the country. Continue reading “Was Hadi an agent, stooge or puppet of DAP in most of the seven years of Pakatan Rakyat from 2008 to 2015?”

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My Tribute to Badri bin Muhammad, PhD

M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com

Last and for a very special reason, I will cite another example of a free mind, Dr. Badri bin Muhammad. Badri was special to many, most immediately his wife and fellow Professor of Chemistry Karen Crouse, and their children Susanna, Adam, Diana, Nadira, and grandson Mitchell.

Once on meeting a group of Malaysian graduate students here in America, a few happened to have attended University Putra Malaysia. To my query whether they knew of Badri, one bright student beamed widely, “Yes, he was my wonderful chemistry professor!” and the others quickly joined in the praise. Very effusive and very heartfelt, those students were among Badri’s many legacies.

Badri died recently after a brief illness. He was special to me as we had been dear friends for a long time and shared so many bonds. Our wives knew each other well and so did our children who were of comparable ages. Continue reading “My Tribute to Badri bin Muhammad, PhD”