1MDB Default Deters Funds as Malaysia Can’t Put Scandal to Bed

Denise Wee
Bloomberg
May 10, 2016

As Malaysia’s state-owned investment company reaches out to bondholders to explain why it has defaulted, some investors say they can’t wait to hear the end of the saga.

1Malaysia Development Bhd., which defaulted on dollar-denominated bonds last month and faces another coupon payment Wednesday, said it plans a call on May 23 to explain its dispute with a co-guarantor and how it plans to meet future obligations. Returns on debt from Malaysian issuers have cooled amid probes into financial irregularities at 1MDB, whose advisory board has been headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“The political situation in Malaysia continues to be one of the biggest, I would say, hurdles for foreign investors,” said Arthur Lau, co-head of emerging-market fixed income in Hong Kong at PineBridge Investments, which manages about $83 billion globally. “In terms of fundamentals everything points to be quite O.K., especially now with oil prices rebounding. The only one thing that really drags is the political noise.”

The ringgit has slumped 2.8 percent this quarter, turning to Asia’s worst performer from its best in the first quarter. The cost of insuring the nation’s sovereign debt against default has risen 10 basis points since March 31 to 163. Malaysia’s corporate dollar bonds returned 1.1 percent in the period, slipping to seventh place from third place in the first three months, based on Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. Continue reading “1MDB Default Deters Funds as Malaysia Can’t Put Scandal to Bed”

Sarawak Win Buys Malaysia Premier Time as Economic Risks Mount

Shamim Adam
Bloomberg
May 9, 2016

A state election win for Malaysia’s ruling coalition has given Prime Minister Najib Razak breathing space after months of political turmoil, while serving as a reminder he needs to focus on the economy to avoid becoming a liability to his party before the next national vote.

Barisan Nasional secured a bigger majority in Sarawak, the nation’s largest state located on Borneo island and across the South China Sea from peninsular Malaysia.

Najib visited the state frequently over the past two months, shifting last week’s cabinet meeting there as he campaigned alongside Chief Minister Adenan Satem.

Even as he carries back the message to his United Malays National Organisation — the lead party in BN — that he can still help win elections, the Sarawak polls show Najib can’t afford to let bread-and-butter issues slide with voters. Malaysians are contending with rising prices that are eating into disposable incomes and eroding consumer confidence, while a debt default by a government investment fund could pose a threat to state finances. Continue reading “Sarawak Win Buys Malaysia Premier Time as Economic Risks Mount”

Islam Is Diversity and Contradictions

M. Bakri Musa
10th May 2016

Review of Shahab Ahmed’s What Is Islam. The Importance of Being Islamic

First of Two Parts

While holidaying on an island in the Indonesian Riau Province I came upon a communal graveyard. I was surprised that while the graves had markers, there were no individual identifications, no names or even dates of death. On enquiring, the villagers told me that this was to discourage ancestor worship. In Islam we worship Allah, and only Him. Any deviation would be shirk, a blasphemy.

Yet only a few islands away on Pulau Penyengat, there is an elaborate mausoleum to honor the great poet Raja Ali Haji of Gurindam XII fame. On religious days and special occasions, villagers throng the site; at other times they come to pray for their children’s success at school.

The inhabitants on both islands are devout Muslims. While we could readily comprehend and accept variations in Islam (or any faith for that matter) in different geographic areas and with different cultures, the people on both islands are all Malays. What gives? Continue reading “Islam Is Diversity and Contradictions”

The struggle I fought so hard for, and lost

Musa Ngog
Malaysiakini
9th May 2016

COMMENT In my battle for the Tarat state seat, I lost more than half of the total votes in my own village. I even lost votes from my own relatives.

It is not a total surprise since some are so scared of me due to my standing in my political struggle.

I lost badly in Dunuk, the place where I grew up; Bisira, where I have my cousins, nieces and of course my close relatives from my father’s side. I also lost half of the votes in Marakep, the place of origin of my father. I lost in all the rural polling districts.

I saw fear in them when they are not allowed to hang my posters and flags. I even saw the impressions of uneasiness on my cousin’s face when I visited him to ask for help to hang my posters.

They fear being sidelined from all the goodies and assistance given by the Barisan National. Indeed, poverty doesn’t have power to make a change, since fear is always the enemy of change. Continue reading “The struggle I fought so hard for, and lost”

Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections will be more reliable barometers of Najib’s fate in 14GE than the 11th Sarawak state general election

The Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Salleh Said Keruak may be wide off the mark to think that the Sarawak polls show that Barisan Nasional can win in the 14th General Election.

At least the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was more realistic when after Adenan Satem’s swearing-in as Sarawak Chief Minister, he hailed Barisan Nasional’s victory as an indication of “Sarawakians’ confidence in Adenan’s leadership” – which is a very different matter from Sarawakians’ confidence in Najib’s leadership despite Najib’s hijacking of the Sarawak state general election from Adenan by being the Santa Claus of the BN election campaign of money politics.

Salleh should know that the impending parliamentary by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar will be more reliable barometers of Najib’s fate in the 14GE than the just concluded 11th Sarawak state general electilns.

This is one of the several myths which have been born in the past 36 hours after the results of the 11th Sarawak state general election on Saturday night. Continue reading “Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections will be more reliable barometers of Najib’s fate in 14GE than the 11th Sarawak state general election”

A ‘fixed’ result – Sarawak’s electoral distortions

Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
7 May 2016

As Sarawakians head to the polls today, it is important to understand that the BN-created electoral constituencies in the state will significantly impact the result. Malaysia’s non-independent Electoral Commission (EC) has staked the system in its favour in how it has delineated and recently redrawn the state’s electoral boundaries.

Chief Minister Adenan Satem’s victory has been assured, but it will not be a win that is based on fairness or meet basic international standards of electoral integrity. This article looks at malapportionment and gerrymandering in Sarawak, and shows how those in office have manipulated the system to their advantage. Continue reading “A ‘fixed’ result – Sarawak’s electoral distortions”

It’s raining money in Sarawak

Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
7 May 2016

More than any other state in Malaysia, Sarawak’s elections have been seen to be determined by money. Vote buying and patronage are deeply intertwined in the state’s political fabric, as many voters look at the election period as one of festivity and entertainment.

Booze is purchased, and bounty is shared. Projects are announced, and even more ‘development’ promises are made in arguably one of Malaysia’s most neglected states.

The 2016 campaign is similarly being affected by the use of resources and highlights how uneven the playing field is in this election. Given the seriousness of the 1MDB scandal and the use of these tainted funds in Malaysia’s 2013 election, understanding the role money plays in determining the electoral outcomes is more important than ever.

Money politics in Sarawak is not only intense; it is expensive. There is no question that the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) is using its control and access to resources to assure a victory in this Borneo state. Continue reading “It’s raining money in Sarawak”

Stopping ‘change’ – Sarawak’s electoral battlegrounds

Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
6 May 2016

While the Sarawak campaign may lack dynamism, the nature of the state’s politics has been transforming. Over the last 10 years, voting has changed considerably, with more support for alternatives and, importantly, greater engagement in politics.

The seats the opposition has won in state elections has increased from two in 2001 to 16 in 2011, with gains in Parliament from one seat in 2004 to six seats in 2013. The share of the popular vote won in Sarawak state elections jumped from 29 percent in 2001 to 44 percent in 2011.

Chief Minister Adenan Satem and his team, led by the head of the BN Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, aim to stop and reverse these gains, and in the process assure that the state remains a BN stronghold. By looking at voting behaviour, we can understand the electoral battlegrounds and the slowly-shifting sands of the Sarawak political landscape. Continue reading “Stopping ‘change’ – Sarawak’s electoral battlegrounds”

‘Same Old’ in Sarawak campaign

Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
3 May 2016

As the lacklustre 11th Sarawak 2016 election campaign comes to a close on Friday, consistency rather than change has predominated.

Most Sarawakians on both sides of the political divide had made up their minds on how they will vote before the campaign began. So far, the campaign has done little to change their orientations, and even less to inspire Sarawakians to vote at all. Political parties have mainly relied on old strategies, offering little new in their engagement with the electorate. Continue reading “‘Same Old’ in Sarawak campaign”

DAP must not be afraid to lose in elections as we must learn from the crushing defeat in the Sarawak state elections yesterday so that we can become stronger to fight for justice, freedom and human empowerment another day

DAP must not be afraid to lose in elections as we must learn from the crushing defeat in the Sarawak state elections yesterday so that we can become stronger to fight for justice, freedom and human empowerment for all Sarawakians and Malaysians another day.

The test of a political movement dedicated to the higher ideals of justice, freedom and human empowerment is the ability not to be crushed by a “crushing defeat”, but the ability to rise from a “crushing defeat” to be stronger and more committed to our cause to fight another day.

We can bemoan that if the voter turnout had been more than 70 percent and close to 76.3 per cent as in the 2013 Paliamentary elections and not just 68.1% yesterday, DAP Sarawak could have kept the 12 state assembly seats won five years ago.

In fact , on the same day that the Sarawak voters went to polls yesterday, a political analyst Bridget Welsh had predicted the Sarawak state general election outcome in her article, “A ‘fixed’ result – Sarawak’s electoral distortions” in Malaysiakini, explaining that the non-independent Election Commission (EC) had staked the system in the Barisan Nasional’s favour in how it had delineated and recently redrawn the state’s electoral boundaries – resulting in the DAP Sarawak losing five of the 12 state seats and the greatest victim of such “BN-created electoral constituencies in the state” is Alan Ling Sie Keong, DAP Sarawak State Secretary in a redelineated Piasau assembly seat.

It is because of such gerrymandering that Adenan could predict during the election campaign that the BN would win at least 70 of the 82 seats, which turns out finally to be 72. Continue reading “DAP must not be afraid to lose in elections as we must learn from the crushing defeat in the Sarawak state elections yesterday so that we can become stronger to fight for justice, freedom and human empowerment another day”

Is Sarawak Barisan Nasional opposed to the appointment of a Dayak Sarawak Chief Minister in the 2021 Sarawak state general election – for the first time in half a century since the appointment of two Iban Chief Ministers from 1963-1970?

I am surprised that there is no strong reaction from both the Federal and Sarawak Barisan Nasional leaders to the shockingly unMalaysian statement by the PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang that a Chinese or a non-Muslim bumiputera cannot be the Sarawak Chief Minister.

As the PAS President has become a close ally of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, even defending Najib’s RM50 billion 1MDB global financial scandal, why is Najib and caretaker Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem silent on Hadi’s shocking statement?

So far only the PBB Vice President and Deputy Minister for Rural and Regional Development Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi had expressed his outrage at Hadi’ statement, causing him to describe Hadi as “ignorant” and “stupid”.

But why are the heavyweights like Najib and Adenan silent on this important issue? Continue reading “Is Sarawak Barisan Nasional opposed to the appointment of a Dayak Sarawak Chief Minister in the 2021 Sarawak state general election – for the first time in half a century since the appointment of two Iban Chief Ministers from 1963-1970?”

Call on Sarawak voters to think “2021” in next five years for Sarawakians to change political course in the next state general elections and to vote in a new State Government which gives priority to the interests of people and not just to cronies

I call on the Sarawak voters to think “2021” in next five years for Sarawakians to change political course in the next state general elections and to vote in a new State Government which gives priority to the interests of the people and not just to cronies.

The 11th Sarawak State general election is one of the most challenging elections ever experienced by the Sarawak DAP since its formation 38 years ago in 1978.

In a way, its a “Do or Die” battle for the DAP.

The Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Adenan Satem, and the Sarawak Barisan Nasional election juggernaut are doing their utmost to destroy or reduce the DAP to a “mosquito” party with only half a dozen seats in the State Assembly with their four-pronged strategy of Adnan effect, Najib effect, the politics of money and the politics of fear/intimidation.

Adenan would want to see the worst-case scenario for DAP after the May 7 Sarawak state general elections, reduced to at most half-a-dozen seats in the Sarawak State Assembly.

DAP Sarawak is not cowed and is not prepared to play according to the Sarawak Barisan Nasiona’s rules of the game. Continue reading “Call on Sarawak voters to think “2021” in next five years for Sarawakians to change political course in the next state general elections and to vote in a new State Government which gives priority to the interests of people and not just to cronies”

If DAP succeeds in forming Sarawak State Government in next general election in 2021, the first DAP Chief Minister of Sarawak is unlikely be a Chinese but most likely be a Dayak

Sarawakians and Malaysians must be shocked to read about the speech by the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang at a ceramah in Kuching that only a Muslim bumiputera can be Chief Minister of Sarawak and not a Chinese or a non-Muslim bumiputera.

It is very sad and shocking to see PAS advocating such narrow and divisive politics, when everyone should be promoting unity, harmony and togetherness in our multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural society.

For promoting such a narrow, negative and divisive stand, all the 11 PAS candidates in the 11th Sarawak state general election deserve to lose their deposits on May 7 Polling Day.

Sarawak and Malaysia should be going forward to weld a greater unity out of the rich and diverse ethnic groups, languages, religions and cultures in our midst instead of segregating the diverse ethnic groups, languages, religions and cultures into their separate silos which is not to promote greater national unity but engender greater distrust, division and disunity in our plural society.

I met the first Sarawak Chief Minister, Stephen Kalong Ningkan half a century ago when DAP was established in 1966, and after Stephen was toppled as Sarawak Chief Minister, he was succeeded by another Iban, Tawi Sli.

Sabah had also a history of Chief Ministers who is not a Muslim bumiputera, with personalities like Peter Lo, Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Yong Teck Lee, Chong Kah Kiat and Bernard Dompok.

It is sad that instead of going forwards to promote greater unity, there is a political party which is advocating that the country should go backwards to erect artificial walls to divide the people in Sarawak and Malaysia. Continue reading “If DAP succeeds in forming Sarawak State Government in next general election in 2021, the first DAP Chief Minister of Sarawak is unlikely be a Chinese but most likely be a Dayak”

Mystified why Najib gave Adenan an open slap-in-the-face by rejecting Sarawak Barisan Nasional request for 20 per cent oil royalty for Sarawak on eve of May 7 Polling

I must confess I am mystified why the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had given Tan Sri Adenan Satem an “open slap-in-the-face” by rejecting the Sarawak Barisan Nasional’s request for 20 per cent oil royalty for Sarawak on the eve of the May 7 Polling.

Why could’nt Najib wait until after the 11th Sarawak state general results on May 7 to deliver such bad news to the people of Sarawak?

Is it because it is finally not Adenan’s Team and Adenan’s Way but Najib’s Team and Najib’s Way as far as the 11th Sarawak State General Election is concerned?

The reason given by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for Najib’s announcement after the Cabinet meeting in Kuching yesterday that this would not be the right time to consider raising the state’s oil royalty to 20 percent is too patronising and an insult to the intelligence of Sarawakians.

Zahid said that the total RM20 billion allocations handed to Sarawak by the federal government is more than the 20 percent oil royalty to the state.

Zahid claimed that Najib’s allocation for the Pan Borneo Highway, as well as those from other federal ministers, have exceeded RM20 billion.

Zahid had said that the weekly Cabinet meeting had been switched from Putrajaya to Kuching to support Adenan’s leadership in Sarawak.

This a very strange and funny way for the Cabinet to support Adenan’s Chief Ministership in Sarawak, as the Cabinet should have approved Adenan’s request for 20% oil royalty. Continue reading “Mystified why Najib gave Adenan an open slap-in-the-face by rejecting Sarawak Barisan Nasional request for 20 per cent oil royalty for Sarawak on eve of May 7 Polling”

Call on voters of Sarawak to solidly vote for DAP to deliver two powerful “Yes” and one even more powerful “No” on May 7

I call on the voters of Sarawak to solidly vote for the 31 DAP candidates to deliver two powerful “Yes” and one even more powerful “No” in the 11th Sarawak state general election on Saturday on May 7.

The May 7 Polling Day will decide the success or failure of the two-pronged DAP objective in the 11th Sarawak state general election to defend the 12 State Assembly seats won five years ago and to achieve a breakthrough in Dayak-dominated constituencies and to send a clear, categorical and unmistakable message that a new political era has arrived in Sarawak where rural areas like Samalaju, Kemena, Murum, Mulu, Tasik Biru, Mambong, Bukit Semuja, Kedup, Simanggang, Pakan, Bukit Goram, Pelagus, Ngemah have joined their brothers and sisters in the urban areas in Kuching, Sibu, Sarikei, Bintangor, Bintulu and Miri to demand for political change and meaningful development.

The message of the two powerful “Yes” and the even more powerful “No” which the voters of Sarawak must send out to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the caretaker Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Adenan Satem, Malaysia and the world are:

The first loud and clear “Yes” is to Adenan as the next Chief Minister of Sarawak for the next five years. Adenan himself said many a time that he is 72 years old and wanted only another five years as Sarawak Chief Minister as he wants to retire and play with his grand children. The first “Yes” includes a “Yes” to Sarawak Barisan Nasional forming the Sarawak state government for the next five years as the issue of who is going to be the Sarawak Chief Minister for the next five years was as good as decided and resolved on Nomination Day on April 25, 2016.

The second loud and powerful “Yes” is to have a strong, effective and principled Opposition in the Sarawak State Assembly to ensure that Adenan deliver his promises to give top priority to the rights and interests of Sarawakians, and even more important, to check him from any abuses and excesses of power, bearing in mind Lord Acton’s maxim: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely”!

The ideal result on May 7 is to deny Adenan two-thirds State Assembly majority, which will require a collective Opposition strength of 28 out of the total of 82 State Assembly seats.

This appears very difficult to achieve, and I will personally be delighted if DAP can win over 20 State Assembly seats on May 7 – which will also start the Sarawak DAP on the new journey to aim to form the Sarawak State Government with like-minded Sarawakians in the next 12th Sarawak State Government in 2021. Continue reading “Call on voters of Sarawak to solidly vote for DAP to deliver two powerful “Yes” and one even more powerful “No” on May 7”

The battle cry in the next Sarawak state general election in 2021 is that a new Sarawak State Government involving the DAP and like-minded Sarawakians will be able to achieve more in 20 years what Barisan Nasional failed to do in 60 years in terms of development and upliftment of the poor and needy

Dayak DAP State Assemblymen will demand a full explanation by Sarawak Barisan National Government the reasons for 53 years of development backwardness and failures in Sarawak and to give a final warning that DAP Sarawak State Government will take over in 2021 unless there is meaningful remedy of these basic failures.

This will undoubtedly be the main thrust of the agenda of Dayak DAP State Assemblymen elected on Saturday on May 7 when they take their place in the Sarawak State Assembly.

I have visited more than a dozen Dayak constituencies in the past two weeks – including Mulu, Marudi, Tasik Biru, Mambong, Bukit Semuja, Kedup, Simanggang, Krian, Pakan, Bukit Goram, Katibas and Ngemah, and will visit Samalaju, Kemena and Murum.

I find the tour of the Dayak constituencies most enriching and eye-opening experience, learning not only about Dayak hospitality, the rich cultures and even the long history of the Dayaks – over a hundred years of the Kelabit high-achievers in Bario and the some two centuries of the Bidayuh in Bau surroundings – but I am also shocked by the backwardness of many Dayak communities, especially in terms of basic infrastructures and basic human needs which are not being met.

I was in Kapit and Song the last 24 hours and it is most shocking that although the multibillion-ringgit Bakun Dam is in the Kapit Division, the majority of the long-houses in the three districts in the area – Song, Kapit and Pelagus – do not enjoy electricity let alone piped water.

A DAP Sarawak State Government will ensure that the longhouses in the Kapit Division of Song, Kapit and Pelagus districts will enjoy electricity in view of the vicinity of the multibillion ringgit Bakun Dam project. Why can’t the Barisan Nasional government do the same thing? Continue reading “The battle cry in the next Sarawak state general election in 2021 is that a new Sarawak State Government involving the DAP and like-minded Sarawakians will be able to achieve more in 20 years what Barisan Nasional failed to do in 60 years in terms of development and upliftment of the poor and needy”

Call on Sarawak voters to cast their vote on Saturday to ensure that the DAP can campaign to capture the Sarawak state government in the next Sarawak State Election in five years’ time in 2021

Two issues in the 11th Sarawak state general election on May 7 are already decided – that Tan Sri Adenan Satem will be the Sarawak Chief Minister for the next five years and that the Sarawak Barisan Nasional will form the next Sarawak State Government.

The real issue about the Sarawak State Assembly to be decided on Sarawak Polling Day is whether there is going to be a strong, effective and principled Opposition grouping in the Sarawak State Assembly to ensure three things: (i) that Adenan keeps his election promises to serve the people; (ii) Adenan does not abuse his powers as Chief Minister; and (3) to prepare for a new non-Sarawak BN government in five years’ time in the next Sarawak state general election in 2021.

With the situation very clear that Adenan will be the Sarawak Chief Minister for the next five years with Sarawak Barisan Nasional as the State Government, the most ideal result of the May 7 Polling is for the denial of Adenan’s two-thirds majority in the State Assembly which is the best safeguard to protect the rights and interests of Sarawakians.

However, I do not think this is likely to be achieved on Polling Day on Saturday as I do not see the signs that the Opposition collectively will be able to win 28 State Assembly seats, the “magic figure” to deny Adenan two-thirds majority in the 82-seat Sarawak State Assembly.

I hope more than 20 Opposition State Assembly representatives could be elected on May 7, which would be a resounding setback for the many high-handed actions taken by the Sarawak Barisan Nasional in the election campaign, aimed at reducing the DAP to a “mosquito” presence of about half-a-dozen seats in the State Assembly. Continue reading “Call on Sarawak voters to cast their vote on Saturday to ensure that the DAP can campaign to capture the Sarawak state government in the next Sarawak State Election in five years’ time in 2021”

Time for Katibas voters to have a young, dedicated and idealistic State Assemblyman instead of a seven-term incumbent who became Assemblyman even before Paren Nyawi was born and could not build the road from Song to Kapit and Kanowit after more than three decades

It is time for the Katibas voters to have a young, dedicated and idealistic State Assemblyman instead of a seven-term incumbent, Datuk Ambrose Blikau, who became Assemblyman even before the DAP candidate Paren Nyawi was born and could not build the road from Song to Kapit and Kanowit after more than three decades as government representative for the area.

Before the formation of Malaysia, numerous fact-finding missions from Sarawak visited Peninsular Malaysia and were promised that if Sarawak, together with Sabah and Singapore, agreed to form Malaysia, the people of Sarawak particularly in the rural areas could expect a standard of development and living comparable to those in the rural areas in the peninsula.

We now have the third generation of Sarawakians, after 53 years of the formation of Malaysia, but the promises made in the early sixties have still to be fulfilled or the road from Song to Kapit and from Song to Kanowit would have been completed one generation or two ago. Continue reading “Time for Katibas voters to have a young, dedicated and idealistic State Assemblyman instead of a seven-term incumbent who became Assemblyman even before Paren Nyawi was born and could not build the road from Song to Kapit and Kanowit after more than three decades”

Great Sarawak Debates on 1MDB and email to PM Najib for me to appear before Cabinet meeting in Kuching on Wednesday to present case why Cabinet must take a stand on the 1MDB scandal

I have yesterday emailed the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, for me to appear before the Cabinet meeting in Kuching tomorrow to present the case why the Cabinet must take a stand on the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal.

I will give a briefing of the public feedback I have received from 121 parliamentary constituencies I had visited since my six-month suspension from Parliament because of my insistence that Najib should give full accountability for the RM50 billion 1MDB and the RM4.2 billion ‘donation’ twin financial scandals.

I await for Najib’s reply and although I will be going to Song and Kanowit from Pelagus and Kapit, I am prepared to rush down to Kuching to appear before the Cabinet tomorrow because of the critical importance of the 1MDB scandal not only to the economic development of Malaysia but for Sarawak as well.

The situation for the 1MDB is getting more and more grim and storm signals are going off all over the world that the end-game for Malaysia’s first global financial scandal may not be far off.

Bleak and pessimistic analysis appearing about the fate of the 1MDB scandal, to the extent that one article on the 1MDB today is entitled “Game over 1MDB and Najib?”

The problem is that even if the answer is “yes” to the the article “Game over 1MDB and Najib?”, it is not 1MDB or Najib who will pay for the RM50 billion debts of 1MDB, but the 30 million people of Malaysia including 2.6 million Sarawakians who will have to pay this garganrtuan bill – including their children and children’s children. Continue reading “Great Sarawak Debates on 1MDB and email to PM Najib for me to appear before Cabinet meeting in Kuching on Wednesday to present case why Cabinet must take a stand on the 1MDB scandal”

Sarawak BN is running the most schizophrenic election campaign in Malaysian election history

Only eight days into the 11th Sarawak state general election on May 7, Sarawak Barisan Nasional is running the most schizophrenic election campaign in Malaysian election history, painfully reflecting the confusion, “double vision” and split personality of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional campaign.

The best example is the reaction of the PBB Deputy President Abang Johari Abang Openg who warned Barisan Nasional not to be lulled into a false sense of security by my statement that DAP risks losing seven seats.

Abang Johari should not be accusing me of employing a “ploy”, but should direct his attack on the Sarawak Chief Minisrer, Tan Sri Adenan Satem, as I was only taking Adenan seriously when he declared two days ago that Barisan Nasional would win at least 70 of the 82 seats in the May 7 polls.

This would leave at most 12 seats to be won by the Opposition. Baru Bian predicts five seats for PKR, which leaves only some five to seven seats for the DAP – which fits exactly the worst-case scenario described by Adenan, and why I had warned in Sarikei on Saturday night that DAP risked losing more than half of the 12 seats won in the 2011 general election.

If I am wrong, then it was Adenan who was wrong in publicly declaring that BN would win at least 70 out of 82 State Assembly seats on May 7. Continue reading “Sarawak BN is running the most schizophrenic election campaign in Malaysian election history”