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Munshi Abdullah – Exemplar of a Free Mind

M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com

Malay society has no shortage of formal leaders. First we have the hereditary leaders, from the sultan down to his various lowly chieftains including the local datuk lembaga (lord admiral). This pattern of leadership has a long history in our society.

Then came the religious leaders, of more recent vantage, introduced in the 15th Century with the coming of Islam to the Malay world. More recently and fast gaining a pivotal role, are political leaders.

With modern political institutions, especially democratic ones, we should expect a more frequent emergence of fresh leaders. This is not necessarily so. China is far from being a democratic society yet its People Congress gets more infusion of fresh talents with each party’s election. Compare that to the United States Congress, the self-declared exemplar of representative government. You are more likely to get a new member of the old Soviet Politburo than you are to get a new member of US Congress.

UMNO, the premier Malay political organization, is on par with the old Soviet Politburo in nurturing new talent.

Despite modernity, both hereditary and religious leaders still have a strong hold on Malays. Continue reading “Munshi Abdullah – Exemplar of a Free Mind”

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European Sympathies Lean Toward Iran in Conflict with Saudi Arabia

by Sewell Chan
New York Times
JAN. 4, 2016

LONDON — In the days since Saudi Arabia inflamed tensions with Iran by executing 47 people, including a Shiite cleric, European observers have been quick to condemn the action, reflecting broader concern across the Continent about Saudi policy and its role in the tumult rolling through the Middle East.

Opposition in Europe to the death penalty — and harsh corporal punishment, including the flogging of a Saudi blogger who has become something of a cause célèbre in Europe — is just one element of the criticism of the Saudi monarchy. Even as European governments continue to view Saudi Arabia as a vital if problematic stabilizing force in the region, as well as a rich market for European arms and other products, European opinion has grown increasingly critical of Saudi support and financing for Wahhabist and Salafist preachers who have contributed to the Sunni extremist ideology that has fueled Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

In addition, the European Union and six major world powers reached a deal in Vienna over the summer to contain Iran’s nuclear program, and Iran is seen as essential to ending the five-year-old civil war in Syria, which has fueled a surge of migrants to the Continent, the highest number since World War II.

So for many Europeans, Iran — long a pariah because of its anti-Western rhetoric and its nuclear program — has suddenly become, at least in comparison with Saudi Arabia, an object of sympathy. Continue reading “European Sympathies Lean Toward Iran in Conflict with Saudi Arabia”

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Iranian Protesters Ransack Saudi Embassy After Execution of Shiite Cleric

by Ben Hubbard
New York Times
JAN. 2, 2016

Iranian protesters ransacked and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran on Saturday after Saudi Arabia executed an outspoken Shiite cleric who had criticized the kingdom’s treatment of its Shiite minority.

The cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, was among 47 men executed in Saudi Arabia on terrorism-related charges, drawing condemnation from Iran and its allies in the region, and sparking fears that sectarian tensions could rise across the Middle East.

The executions coincided with increased attacks in Saudi Arabia by the jihadists of the Islamic State and an escalating rivalry between the Sunni monarchy and Shiite Iran that is playing out in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere. Sheikh Nimr was an outspoken critic of the Saudi monarchy and was adopted as a symbolic leader by Shiite protesters in several Persian Gulf countries during the Arab Spring uprisings. Continue reading “Iranian Protesters Ransack Saudi Embassy After Execution of Shiite Cleric”

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Fifth phase of DAP – form Malaysian federal government with Pakatan Harapan in the 14th General Election

Young and idealistic Malaysians came together fifty years ago to form the Democratic Action Party not because of perks, position or power but because of our common beliefs in justice, freedom and national unity out of our diverse races, religions, languages and cultures in the country and out of our love and patriotism for Malaysia as we believe Malaysia can become a great nation and a show-case to the world for successful and harmonious plural nation building.

We never thought that we would be around for fifty years, but we were engaged not in a battle for a day but for ages, as we are committed in a long-term mission to realise our vision of a great nation founded on the principles of justice, freedom, democracy, integrity and good governance.

The five-decade history of DAP, which will be fully 50 on March 18, 2016, the date of our registration, can be divided into four phases: Continue reading “Fifth phase of DAP – form Malaysian federal government with Pakatan Harapan in the 14th General Election”

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Poor MCA – so irrelevant and so lost that it is even following the lead of liars to scrape the bottom of the barrel

Poor MCA, so irrelevant and so lost in the woods of Malaysians politics that it is even following the lead of liars to scrape the bottom of the barrel!

This is not only my reaction, but the response of most Malaysians who came across new report like the one headlined: “MCA Youth join in to bash DAP over alleged Israeli link”.

I do not blame the MCA and MCA Youth for feeling so irrelevant and so lost, for what else can they do when MCA has established the most unenviable record of being the first political party in Malaysia which has a majority of members who do not vote for the MCA and Barisan Nasional in a general election?

Similarly, I will not waste any more time on the so-called Pro-Barisan Nasional NGOs Coalition whose president Zulkarnain Mahdar said that DAP should sue the Penang Chief Minister’s former special officer Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman who alleged DAP of being offered RM1.2 billion in return for an Israeli base in Port Dickson if the opposition managed to capture Putrajaya in the last general election. Continue reading “Poor MCA – so irrelevant and so lost that it is even following the lead of liars to scrape the bottom of the barrel”

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Two questions for Najib on his twin mega scandals – what were 1MDB’s total debts before “rationalization” and why no one charged court for 1MDB’s multi-billion ringgit losses?

I have resumed my tour of parliamentary constituencies as part of the “Solidarity with Lim Kit Siang & Mana RM2.6 billion?” nation-wide campaign, following my suspension from Parliament for six months on Oct. 22, in pursuit of the question “Mana RM2.6 billion?”.

Kluang yesterday was the 56th and Pulai today the 57th Parliamentary constituency I am visiting in the new year of 2016, and both visits have shown that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak could not be more wrong when he claimed in his New Year message that his RM2.6 billion donation and RM55 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals have been resolved and are no more issues in the country.

In fact, the opposite is the case, as both scandals remain foremost issues among Malaysians, especially as they had been responsible for the most shameful episode in the 58-year history of the nation – Malaysia’s third placing in the world’s “worst corruption scandal in 2015”!

Although it will not be possible for me to visit all the 222 Parliamentary constituencies in the country during the period of my 180-day six-month suspension from Parliament, I will try to visit more than 150 Parliamentary constituencies in the country by the time I am allowed to return to Parliament – with a strong and unmistakable mandate from Malaysians from all over the country, embracing all races, religions and regions in the country, to demand that Najib must fully account for his twin mega scandals.

Najib had tried to bury “once and for all” his twin mega scandals in his New Year message, but his effort could not survive 24 hours.

He claimed that he had honoured his promise in June last year to resolve the 1MDB problem, alleging that with the latest agreement announced on 31st December for the sale of 60 per cent equity in Bandar Malaysia to a joint local and international consortium – composed of Iskandar Waterfront Holdings at 60 per cent and China Railway Engineering Corporation at 40 per cent – 1MDB will see its debts reduced by approximately RM40.4 billion, which represents the overwhelming majority of 1MDB’s debt.

Leaving aside for the moment the details of the 1MDB “rationalization programme” to reduce 1MDB debts, as they are indirect bailouts by the Federal Government, there are two questions which Najib needs to answer. Continue reading “Two questions for Najib on his twin mega scandals – what were 1MDB’s total debts before “rationalization” and why no one charged court for 1MDB’s multi-billion ringgit losses?”

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Ramadi: Series of IS counterattacks target Iraqi forces

BBC
2 January 2016

Fighters from so-called Islamic State (IS) have continued to pursue counterattacks on the edges of Ramadi a week after the city was recaptured by Iraqi troops.

Most of the attacks were outside central Ramadi to the north and east, spokesman for the US-led coalition, Col Steve Warren, told the AFP news agency.

He said Iraqi government forces had so far successfully repelled every attack.

On Friday the group attacked a military base near the city.

The Iraqi government said a week ago that it had “liberated” Ramadi from IS. The jihadist group had held the city since May.

Col Warren said they had not yet seen IS “mass enough combat power to move Iraq off their positions”.

The BBC’s Thomas Fessy, who has just returned from Ramadi, says a tough fight continues in the city and government forces have been taking casualties. Continue reading “Ramadi: Series of IS counterattacks target Iraqi forces”

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Zahid’s claim that Malaysia wants to be top 30 of some 200 countries by 2020 as non-corrupt country busted by Najib’s twin mega scandals, causing Malaysia to be ranked third among the world’s “worst corruption scandals in 2015”

Malaysia has this week achieved the dubious international dishonour of being named the third most corrupt country in the world because of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion donation and RM55 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals.

This has busted Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s claim that Malaysia wants to be the top 30 by 2020 as a non-corrupt country, as with Malaysia ranked third with the world’s “worst corruption scandals in 2015”, as nobody believes that the goal of Malaysia becoming the top 30 out of some 200 countries in the world in 2020 in terms of being least corrupt is within the realm of reality or practicability.

When Najib became Prime Minister in 2009, one of his major policy initiatives was the National Transformation Programme in which anti-corruption was one of the primary agendas.

Some seven years later, Najib’s National Transformation Programme proves to be a great failure when it suffered an irreparable damage as Malaysia was named third place in the ForeignPolicy website ranking of the world’s “worst corruption scandals in 2015”. Continue reading “Zahid’s claim that Malaysia wants to be top 30 of some 200 countries by 2020 as non-corrupt country busted by Najib’s twin mega scandals, causing Malaysia to be ranked third among the world’s “worst corruption scandals in 2015””

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DAP and Pakatan Harapan prepared to work and co-operate with disaffected UMNO leaders, branches and members in a new political realignment to “Save Malaysia” from rampant corruption, widespread socio-economic injustices and nation-building failures

The start of the new year 2016 has not been an auspicious one – with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s most disappointing New Year message claiming that his RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM55 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals are no more issues in the country, as if by a magician’s wand, they have disappeared into thin air!

This is the worst example of denial syndrome in the nation’s history, where the Prime Minister is openly denying the existence of a problem and scandal which he himself could not possibly believe in.

In fact, just three days ago, Malaysia was catapulted into the stratosphere when we won the international dishonour of being named the world’s third most corrupt nation in 2015 thanks to Najib’s twin mega scandals.

Just now, we made history for Malaysia when the people of Kluang displayed the placard “Mana RM2.6 billion?” as a reply to Najib’s New Year Message, not only on behalf of Kluang but of Malaysia, that the RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM55 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals remain very alive and are the leading issues of the nation for this year, and that Malaysians expect Najib to address them and not to continue to run and hide. Continue reading “DAP and Pakatan Harapan prepared to work and co-operate with disaffected UMNO leaders, branches and members in a new political realignment to “Save Malaysia” from rampant corruption, widespread socio-economic injustices and nation-building failures”

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Is pro-BN NGO alliance seriously suggesting that IGP Khalid should be disciplined for police negligence in failing to act on the allegations that DAP was offered RM1.2 billion by Israel in exchange for a Israeli naval base in Port Dickson?

Is the pro-Barisan Nasional (BN) non-government organisations (NGO) alliance seriously suggesting that the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar should be disciplined for police negligence in failing to act on the allegations that DAP was offered RM1.2 billion by Israel if we win the general elections in exchange for the building of an Israeli naval base in Port Dickson?

This would appear to be the case, as the Pro-BN NGO alliance president Zulkarnain Mahdar wants police to investigate allegations by the PAS Research Centre director Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki that the DAP was offered RM1.2 billion by Israel in exchange for an Israeli naval base in Port Dickson, on the ground that if these allegations were true, it would be a huge disaster for Malaysia that should not be left ignored as it involved national security and sensitivities o the Muslims.

I would fully agree with Zulkarnain and go one step further, that if the allegations were true, it would highlight a serious and inexcusable police negligence as such allegations were first made some four years ago, and Khalid should explain why the Police had been guilty of such a grave dereliction of duty in the past four years in its failure to protect the security interests of the country.

I do not want to comment on the intellectual, moral, religious and political credibility of a senior political leader who could believe in such lies and falsehood as to now recycle them, when for the past four years, he and his political “soul mates” had no problems with such “security” and “Muslim sensitivity” concerns as none of them had once asked the DAP about such wild allegations when they were with the DAP in the same political coalition. Continue reading “Is pro-BN NGO alliance seriously suggesting that IGP Khalid should be disciplined for police negligence in failing to act on the allegations that DAP was offered RM1.2 billion by Israel in exchange for a Israeli naval base in Port Dickson?”

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Senior political leader who lied about the DAP being offered RM1.2 billion in exchange for an Israeli naval base in Port Dickson will have to pay the heavy price in court for making false and defamatory statement

There is recently a culture of political desperation in the country.

This could be seen from the New Year Message by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday claiming that his twin RM2.6 billion and 1MDB mega scandals are no more, when they are never more alive and kicking, growing ever bigger in scale and impact, that Malaysia has just been “crowned” as the world’s third most corrupt country – thanks to Najib’s twin mega scandals!

What beggars the imagination is how Najib could make such an outrageous claim when he himself could not possibly believe it, unless he has left the real world of politics and entered the world of make-believe!

Another example of such political desperation is the regurgitation of wild and reckless allegation by a senior political leader of another political party about the DAP’s ties with Israel, and the preposterous allegation that the DAP was offered RM1.2 billion by Israel if we win the general elections in exchange for the building of an Israeli naval base in Port Dickson.

Senior political leaders from other political parties who lied about the DAP, like the one who made the preposterous allegation about the DAP being offered RM1.2 billion in exchange for an Israeli naval base in Port Dickson, will have to pay the heavy price for such baseless and reckless allegations in the courts.

All political leader must learn the hard lesson that they cannot just get away with lies or the most preposterous allegations, or seek refuge for their nefarious and dastardly deeds by claiming they were merely recycling such lies and falsehoods by “men of straw” or some insubstantial characters!

According to Al-Quran, slander is a crime worse than murder. Continue reading “Senior political leader who lied about the DAP being offered RM1.2 billion in exchange for an Israeli naval base in Port Dickson will have to pay the heavy price in court for making false and defamatory statement”

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Does Najib really believe that all Malaysians wake up this morning fully relieved that the twin mega scandals have disappeared into thin air?

If Malaysians wake up this morning with the feeling, hey presto, the 1MDB scandal has disappeared into thin air, then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would be fully vindicated with his upbeat 2016 New Year Message that he had delivered what he had promised in June last year that all the problems facing 1MDB will be resolved by the end of 2015.

If a poll is conducted among Malaysians, I dare say that there is not a single person who in the past year had been haunted and hounded by the 1MDB issue would feel on waking up this morning of being fully relieved of the pressures of the accountability, transparency, good governance and integrity dimensions and implications of the scandal.

In fact, the reverse is the case.

Najib’s twin RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM55 billion 1MDB mega scandals have by the end of the year become even bigger and more overwhelming than at any time of last year, as both mega scandals have achieved the virtually impossible feat of accumulating like a snowball even more questions than answers with each passing month! Continue reading “Does Najib really believe that all Malaysians wake up this morning fully relieved that the twin mega scandals have disappeared into thin air?”

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West Grapples for a Response to Islamic State

by Yaroslav Trofimov
Wall Street Journal
Dec. 31, 2015

Finding a strategy to defeat Islamic State will be the focus of political debate in the West

Feeling the pressure on its home turf in Syria and Iraq, Islamic State has taken the war to its enemies’ homes by launching terrorist attacks overseas—and promised more such carnage in 2016.

How to respond to the threat is becoming the focus of political debate on both sides of the Atlantic — with consequences that shape the future of the Middle East and the West.

In the main goal of terrorism — to terrorize — Islamic State has already succeeded. Security has become the main issue for the presidential campaign in the U.S., where a recent poll found that more people fear an imminent terrorist attack now than either right after Sept. 11, 2001 or any time since. France has lived in a state of emergency since Islamic State killed 130 people in November in Paris. In Egypt, the struggling tourism industry collapsed after the October downing of a Russian airliner.

This anxiety feeds, to a large extent, on a sense of impotence. A year and a half since the U.S. began military action against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, leading a coalition of 65 nations, the extremist group has managed to retain the bulk of its territory while spawning new affiliates around the world.

The entrance of Russia and France into the campaign against Islamic State in Syria in recent months has, so far, produced only limited results. Continue reading “West Grapples for a Response to Islamic State”

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Ramadi residents describe their nightmare escape from Islamic State

By Mustafa Salim
Washington Post
December 31 2015

HABBANIYAH, Iraq — Residents of the Iraqi city of Ramadi who escaped the recent battle there are describing the horrors of life under the Islamic State and their relief at being rescued by the Iraqi army when it recaptured most of the city earlier this week.

Many of the families had made a brave dash for safety across the front lines to escape attempts by retreating Islamic State fighters to take them as human shields.

But the men who got away have now been detained by Iraqi security forces for investigation, in a reminder of the deep suspicion with which those who have been living under Islamic State rule are regarded by the Iraqi government. Continue reading “Ramadi residents describe their nightmare escape from Islamic State”

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What Twitter really means for Islamic State supporters

Amanath Amarasingam
War on the Rocks
December 30, 2015

Abu Ahmad, one of Islamic State’s most active supporters online says he has had over 90 Twitter accounts suspended, but is not planning to slow down. He is a trusted member of what has come to be called the Baqiya family, a loose network of Islamic State supporters from around the world who share news, develop close friendships, and help each other when members get arrested or come under law enforcement surveillance. Abu Ahmad, as with all Baqiya members, agreed to talk to me on the condition that his real name and location not be published.

While Islamic State social media accounts used to flourish, Twitter has now been suspending the accounts of fighters and supporters alike. Scholars and analysts continue to debate whether this is effective and worthwhile.

For over two years now, I have co-directed a study of Western foreign fighters based at the University of Waterloo and have been interviewing — on Skype and various text messaging platforms — several dozen fighters and members of this Baqiya family. A few things are clear: First, while Twitter suspensions certainly disrupt their ability to seamlessly spread information, they have developed innovative and effective ways of coming back online. Second, these youth receive an enormous amount of emotional and social benefits from participating in their online “family.” Continue reading “What Twitter really means for Islamic State supporters”