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Pokemon Go Turned One Couple’s Life Into ‘A Nightmare.’ Now They’re Suing.

Lauren C. Williams
ThinkProgress
August 16, 2016

A Michigan couple is suing the game’s co-creators Nintendo, Niantic, and Pokemon Co. for turning their street into “a nightmare.”

Scott Dodich and Jayme Gotts-Dodich live on what used to be a “peaceful, quiet, and safe” suburban street directly across a small public park in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. But since Pokémon Go was released July 6, the couple’s quaint neighborhood located outside of Detroit, has turned into “a nightmare,” according to court documents.

The Dodiches filed a class-action lawsuit with the U.S. District Court of Northern California alleging that the augmented reality mobile game’s co-creators— the developer, Niantic software company, Nintendo, the owner, and Pokémon Co., which licenses the game—are responsible for player trespassing private property and threatening homeowners in pursuit of catching Pokemon.

The residents of Revere Street had their lawns trampled. They were yelled at for calling the police, according to the complaint, and were threatened by players visiting the popular Pokéstop and Pokégym or hangout in nearby Wahby Park. Players also peered into the windows of residents’ homes, hiding in bushes after dark to wait out the police.

Pokémon Go players “are on our lawns . . . looking right into our windows to catch a Pokémon,” the Dodiches said in the complaint. As residents “[we] don’t feel safe sitting on our porch.” Continue reading “Pokemon Go Turned One Couple’s Life Into ‘A Nightmare.’ Now They’re Suing.”

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Who is the main beneficiary of the 1MDB scandal – Najib or Jho Low?

Yesterday, I asked about the real relationship between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Penang billionaire Jho Low, as to who was making use of whom in the 1MDB global scandal – Najib making use of Jho Low or Jho Low making use of Najib?

This is a question which is on the mind of every concerned Malaysian in the past two years, but despite the investigations by the various national enforcement and investigative agencies, including the high-powered Special Task Force on 1MDB (which was ignominously dissolved after the sacking of the then Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail who had chaired the Special Task Force and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin), Police, Bank Negara, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee, Malaysians are no nearer to a truthful and satisfactory answer.

Will Parliament when it meets in October be able to get an answer from Najib, at least in his 2017 Budget speech?

Nobody however is optimistic that Najib would be prepared to furnish any answer and it would be easier to squeeze water from a stone. Continue reading “Who is the main beneficiary of the 1MDB scandal – Najib or Jho Low?”

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1MDB – Malaysia’s Enron and Watergate Combined

M. Bakri Musa
16th August 2016

The One Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption is business as usual in Malaysia. That is a great tragedy as well as a gross injustice. To Malaysia, 1MDB is “case closed.” That reflects the nation’s system of justice and quality of its institutions, as well as the caliber of those entrusted to run them.

Like ugliness, injustice is obvious to all and transcends boundaries. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) first shone the light at the hideous pox on 1MDB’s face with the filing of the asset forfeiture lawsuit on July 20, 2016. That was only the beginning. Shortly thereafter, Singapore froze the assets of Jho Low, one of the culprits. Together with Switzerland, it also closed the bank involved.

There is now a racketeering suit filed by Husam Musa and Matthias Chang, as private citizens, on August 11, 2016 in New York. That has yet to be certified as a class action suit. With the huge number of potential plaintiffs, it will have no difficulty meeting the numerosity criterion.

1MDB will be Malaysia’s Watergate and Enron combined. Continue reading “1MDB – Malaysia’s Enron and Watergate Combined”

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Najib should explain his real relationship with Jho Low in the 1MDB global kleptocratic scandal instead of spreading canard that DAP is anti-Malay and anti-Islam

Instead of spreading canards that DAP is anti-Malay and anti-Islam, it would be more useful and productive for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to explain his real relationship with the billionaire Jho Low in the 1MDB scandal which had overnight catapulted Malaysia into the stratosphere of a global kleptocracy with the single largest US and global action by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Or does Najib think that his expensive 1MDB caper was in the interests of upholding the rights, interests and glory of Malays and Islam in Malaysia?

In which case, let Najib state clearly who was making use of whom in the 1MDB scandal – Jho Low making use of Najib or Najib making use of Jho Low?

Who was taking who for a ride?

Was Jho Low the “mastermind” of the 1MDB global financial scandal, resulting in his named as one among the five persons, including Najib’s son-in-law, Hollywood film producer Riza Aziz, as defendants in the DOJ lawsuits to forfeit more than US$1 billion in assets, including about US$150 million of residential properties in New York and Los Angeles as well as several works of art, out of some US$3.5 billion stolen, embezzled, misappropriated and money-laundered from 1MDB funds, or was Najib the “mastermind” resulting in the reference to “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” 36 times in the 136-page DOJ complaint? Continue reading “Najib should explain his real relationship with Jho Low in the 1MDB global kleptocratic scandal instead of spreading canard that DAP is anti-Malay and anti-Islam”

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Swiss probe ex-Abu Dhabi official over alleged Malaysia fund scam

Michael Peel and Simeon Kerr
Financial Times
15th August 2016

Swiss criminal authorities are probing a well-connected former top Abu Dhabi finance official over an alleged international conspiracy to embezzle money from Malaysia’s 1MDB wealth fund.

Investigators suspect Khadem al-Qubaisi, ex-head of the Emirati government’s International Petroleum Investment Company, of fraud, money laundering and corruption, according to a letter seen by the Financial Times.

Mr Qubaisi has long been regarded as close to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, owner of Manchester City football club and brother of Sheikh Khalifa, ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of United Arab Emirates. Continue reading “Swiss probe ex-Abu Dhabi official over alleged Malaysia fund scam”

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The dangers of Pokémon Go: Kids’ brains are vulnerable to virtual and augmented reality

NICHOLAS KARDARAS
Salon
AUG 12, 2016

Immersive and interactive games that are fine for adults can cause a blurring of reality in younger users

A few weeks back I was sent a link to an article about Pokémon Go—the latest craze that has been sweeping not only our native Manhattan, but seemingly the entire country. The person who had sent me the article thought I’d be interested in this latest tech development because of my work: I’m a psychologist and professor who specializes in treating addiction and working with adolescents; and I had just written a book called “Glow Kids,” which explores some of the uncomfortable clinical realities of too much screen time.

Two days later I was sent yet another link. This latest article from a major national newspaper waxed poetic about kids and the new Pokémon craze. According to that article, Pokémon Go is a parent’s dream, a video game holy grail: a game that actually got kids up off the couch and outside exploring and interacting with the real world—albeit while staring at a screen and pursuing an illusory augmented reality hologram.

That small detail aside, I had to ask myself: well, is this the game that finally proves the screen alarmists wrong? After all, kids are going outside to play the game and collaborating with others to find clues in their digital scavenger hunts. Aren’t those good things? In that same pro Pokémon Go article, a child and adolescent psychologist interviewed for the piece, was quoted saying “it gets kids out in the world and promotes socialization. It seems that kids are using it as a tool to connect to each other and the world around them.”

All that sounds perfectly reasonable, but my research and clinical work indicates otherwise. If you’re a child or pre-teen, there may be a price to pay. To be clear: If you’re an adult, have at it! Pokémon Go to your heart’s content; wander the streets looking for the little augmented reality buggers. Just be careful you don’t walk into oncoming traffic or light posts, but Pokémon your days away if you like.

But children have additional vulnerabilities when they interact with interactive and immersive screens; their brains and what psychologists call “reality testing”—the ability to discern what’s real and what isn’t—are not fully developed yet. That’s why researchers who study the effects of immersive and interactive video game experiences have coined the term “Game Transfer Phenomenon” (GTP)— a reality-blurring psychotic-like feature that young people who are chronic gamers experience. Continue reading “The dangers of Pokémon Go: Kids’ brains are vulnerable to virtual and augmented reality”

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The future of Pokémon Go: more human interaction or advertisers’ top target?

Toby Barnes
Guardian
14 August 2016

The game has built its success on a largely single-player experience – but to really leave a mark on players, developers should focus on the interpersonal angle

A location game overlaying the city, with players able to hunt monsters, capture stations, battle each other, build guilds. A virtual imagined world connected to the physical one by a database of locations and human “check-ins”.

It’s not Pokémon Go. It’s Chromaroma, from the UK games company Mudlark. And it’s not from this year. It was released in 2010.

Augmented reality games have been in development for the last 15 years, and I ran Mudlark from 2005 to 2011. Our biggest success was Chromaroma, which overlaid London and connected with players’ Oyster cards, letting people battle with fantastical weapons and armor. It was part Risk, part Monopoly, part Foursquare. But we made games and experiences – we called them mixed reality and transmedia – that, honestly, we struggled to explain to people.

Fast forward and the global hit Pokémon Go hits the “transmedia” sweet spot perfectly: a license that combines 90s game nostalgia, Japanese color palettes, full spectrum imagination and friendly competitiveness.

I asked my young son why he thinks the game has struck such a chord and he replied that he considered it the manifestation of every Pokémon player’s dreams. Perhaps not realizing what he was saying also applied to the game designers, he added: “The game is basically letting us all do the things we have been imagining for years.” Continue reading “The future of Pokémon Go: more human interaction or advertisers’ top target?”

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The Pokémon Go influence on new tech

Dr. Roger Smith
Crunch Network
14.8.2016

Pokémon Go has changed the trajectory of the world on a scale just slightly smaller than Google Search and Facebook, but still to a magnitude that will be felt through all industries in the coming years. To many, it looks like a very simple game that incorporates a few unique and compelling features. But this game has taken technologies from niche research and gaming communities and thrust them into the world’s consciousness.

Suddenly everyone understands what “augmented reality” means and how an artificial digital world can be mapped onto the real physical world. Neither of these is new, but they garnered little attention until they appeared in a concrete, compelling and simple free game for every cell phone in the country.

Augmented reality is a technique for layering data from one or more virtual worlds onto the real physical world. It has been demonstrated and used in military situation awareness and aircraft maintenance applications for years. But it has barely escaped these kinds of niche communities.

Overlaying virtual and physical worlds seemed like a plaything for nerds until it was coupled with the ubiquitous cell phone. Then it became a way of enhancing how we interact with everything on the planet, from entertainment and emergency response to education and healthcare, to name but a few. Continue reading “The Pokémon Go influence on new tech”

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It is not just UMNO but the whole Malaysian nation which had been hit by the 1MDB scandal like being blasted by an “atomic bomb”, with the crowning ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”

I do not know whether the police will open an investigation paper under Section 506 of the Penal Code against the Shah Alam UMNO chief Zahari Shaari, who lamented this morning that the 1MDB scandal had hit UMNO like an “atomic bomb”.

This was what the Police did the last time an “atomic bomb” reference made news two months ago during the Kuala Kangsar by-election when the PKR Secretary-General and MP for Pandan, Rafizi Ramli said that if the AMANAH candidate, nuclear physicist Ahmad Termizi Ramli, was elected in the by-election, Termizi would be asked to hurl an “atomic bomb” at Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament.

Police reports were lodged against Rafizi and even an UMNO Minister admonished Rafizi for joking about an “atomic bomb”, although eventually nothing came out of the hullabaloo over Rafizi’s “atomic bomb” joke.

But Rafizi was joking while Zahari was deadly serious in comparing the after-effects of the 1MDB scandal to that of an mushrooming “atomic bomb” explosion. Continue reading “It is not just UMNO but the whole Malaysian nation which had been hit by the 1MDB scandal like being blasted by an “atomic bomb”, with the crowning ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy””

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It is not just UMNO but the whole Malaysian nation which had been hit by the 1MDB scandal like being blasted by an “atomic bomb”, with the crowning ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”

I do not know whether the police will open an investigation paper under Section 506 of the Penal Code against the Shah Alam UMNO chief Zahari Shaari, who lamented this morning that the 1MDB scandal had hit UMNO like an “atomic bomb”.

This was what the Police did the last time an “atomic bomb” reference made news two months ago during the Kuala Kangsar by-election when the PKR Secretary-General and MP for Pandan, Rafizi Ramli said that if the AMANAH candidate, nuclear physicist Ahmad Termizi Ramli, was elected in the by-election, Termizi would be asked to hurl an “atomic bomb” at Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament.

Police reports were lodged against Rafizi and even an UMNO Minister admonished Rafizi for joking about an “atomic bomb”, although eventually nothing came out of the hullabaloo over Rafizi’s “atomic bomb” joke.

But Rafizi was joking while Zahari was deadly serious in comparing the after-effects of the 1MDB scandal to that of an mushrooming “atomic bomb” explosion. Continue reading “It is not just UMNO but the whole Malaysian nation which had been hit by the 1MDB scandal like being blasted by an “atomic bomb”, with the crowning ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy””

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One-to-one electoral contest is one of the two elements for an united Opposition to replace UMNO/BN in 14 GE – the other more important is a minimum common electoral programme

Everyone agrees with National Human Rights Society (HAKAM) Chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan who said at the 69th birthday celebration for jailed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim outside Sungai Buloh prison on Wednesday night that the best birthday present for Anwar would be a united opposition against UMNO/BN to face the 14th General Election.

A one-to-one electoral contest is one of the two elements for an united Opposition to replace UMNO/BN in 14GE – the other more important is a minimum common electoral programme.

Can we for instance replicate or improve on the Opposition’s performance of the 13th General Election on May 5, 2013 when the Opposition, then in the form and name of Pakatan Rakyat, won three state governments, polled 53% of the popular vote, and elected 89 Members of Parliament and 229 State Assembly men and women, excluding Sarawak?

As things stand today, assuming that the current political climate holds without any major changes, it would be naïve to assume that voters would simply revert back to their GE2013 voting habits if one-to-one fights can be guaranteed in the next general election.

Lets consider Selangor, using the results of the recent Sungai Besar by-election as a benchmark.
Continue reading “One-to-one electoral contest is one of the two elements for an united Opposition to replace UMNO/BN in 14 GE – the other more important is a minimum common electoral programme”

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To be fair to Idris Haron, Malaysians are flummoxed most of the time by the statements of UMNO Ministers and leaders as the Malacca Chief Minister is the rule not the exception

Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob came out with a gem of a statement yesterday when he said he did not know what was going on in Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Idris Haron’s head when the latter claimed the United States was trying to topple Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the Malays.

Idris had claimed last Sunday that the US was doing this through the Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits related to 1MDB.

Sabri refused to comment on the alleged conspiracy, and asked journalists to ask Idris instead.

Sabri is not the only one who was bamboozled by Idris’ “conspiracy theory”, as nobody knew what Idris was blabbering about.

Which UMNO Minister or leader dare to specifically endorse Idris’ statement and talk sense instead of nonsense?

But the tragedy of Malaysia today is that Idris is not the only UMNO leader who make statements which cause everybody to wonder what was going on in the person’s head!

To be fair to Idris Haron, Malaysians are flummoxed most of the time by the statements of UMNO Ministers and leaders – as Idris Haron is the rule not the exception. Continue reading “To be fair to Idris Haron, Malaysians are flummoxed most of the time by the statements of UMNO Ministers and leaders as the Malacca Chief Minister is the rule not the exception”

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Cabinet silence on DOJ lawsuits after its third meeting yesterday after DOJ filing three weeks ago has yet to prove that it is a Cabinet of patriots and not idiots or kleptocrats

Malaysians are disappointed by the eerie silence of the Cabinet on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits after its third meeting yesterday after the DOJ filing three weeks ago for forfeiture of over US$1 billion MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from the US$3.5 billion stolen, misappropriated, embezzled or laundered from 1MDB and the people of Malaysia, as the Malaysian Cabinet has yet to prove that it is a Cabinet of patriots and not idiots or kleptocrats.

Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, has said that there is no secret who is Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) mentioned in the US DOJ civil lawsuits as everyone who has read the court documents or familiar with the issues would know who is the person being referred to, as “only an idiot doesn’t know who that person was”.

Do all the Cabinet Ministers know who is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, or are most of them “idiots” in Abdul Rahman’s parlance?

Or do all the Ministers agree with what the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Indonesian television last weekend, that the DOJ action does not involve him, the Malaysian government or 1MDB directly?

Are the Ministers not aware that under their watch, Malaysia has overnight been turned into a global kleptocracy, not only because the DOJ complaint is the single largest US and global kleptocracy action, but the shocking inability and impotence of the Malaysian Government to debunk and rebut the grave allegations of kleptocracy against the Malaysian government, especially the litany of “criminal conduct” as well as the embezzlement and money-laundering of billions of dollars stolen from 1MDB meant for the country’s development? Continue reading “Cabinet silence on DOJ lawsuits after its third meeting yesterday after DOJ filing three weeks ago has yet to prove that it is a Cabinet of patriots and not idiots or kleptocrats”

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Bar: Irresistible to conclude PM is MO1

Steven Thiru
President, Malaysian Bar
Malaysiakini
11th August 2011

COMMENT The Malaysian Bar is deeply disturbed by the grim disclosures contained in the complaint filed by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) “to forfeit assets involved in and traceable to an international conspiracy to launder money misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)”.

The DOJ has made serious allegations of siphoning or diversion of funds, fraud, and the misuse of the banking system for illegal activities, by the individuals and entities named in the complaint.

Various persons have in the past weeks sought to interpret the DOJ’s 136-page complaint.

It is appalling that some have deliberately set out to distort the proceedings, and have attempted to create confusion, ostensibly to protect¬ wrongdoers.

In the interest of upholding the rule of law and the cause of justice, the thrust, purpose and ramifications of the DOJ proceedings must be appreciated.
Continue reading “Bar: Irresistible to conclude PM is MO1”

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If Anwar had become Prime Minister in 2013, Malaysia would have been spared the agony of the protracted 1MDB scandal, there would be no DOJ lawsuit derogatory of the nation’s international reputation and Malaysia would be spared the latest label as a global kleptocracy

We are here outside the Sungai Buloh Prison walls to honour and celebrate the 69th birthday of a foremost Malaysian leader and patriot, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

If the 2013 General Elections had been fair, democratic and reliable, the Prime Minister of Malaysia today would be Anwar and not Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and the country would have been spared the agony of the protracted 1MDB scandal, there would have been no US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits for the forfeiture of over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland stolen, embezzled, misappropriated and money-laundered from some US$3.5 billion meant for 1MDB and belonging to the people of Malaysia, the so-called mystery of “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” in the 136-page DOJ lawsuits.

Even more important, Malaysia would have been spared the infamy and ignominy of being labeled as a global kleptocracy – the contempt and laughing stock of the international community. Continue reading “If Anwar had become Prime Minister in 2013, Malaysia would have been spared the agony of the protracted 1MDB scandal, there would be no DOJ lawsuit derogatory of the nation’s international reputation and Malaysia would be spared the latest label as a global kleptocracy”

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Malaysia’s Defiant Prime Minister: The 1MDB Purge

By Dhirenn Nair
The Diplomat
August 09, 2016

Despite a deepening scandal, Najib Razak has strengthened his position by purging his party and government of critics.

July 20, 2016 was a dies horribilis for Najib Razak, the embattled prime minister of Malaysia. For over a year, he had been battling accusations of financial mismanagement of the state fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and embezzlement for personal gain. Exposés by the Wall Street Journal and the Sarawak Report, an investigative journalism site which is blocked in Malaysia to “maintain national security,” first showed alleged financial mismanagement in the fund. Then came allegations that Najib had over $680 million in 1MDB-related funds transferred into his own personal account. The response of the Malaysian authorities was to investigate the Sarawak Report for leaking confidential government information.

Najib, on the other hand, claimed that the funds found in his personal account were a donation from Saudi Arabia; a portion of that “donation” was used to finance his coalition’s 2013 re-election campaign and the rest was returned to the donor(s). His claim was later corroborated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the attorney general, Apandi Ali; Saudi Arabia also confirmed that a political donation had been made to Najib. Legally, the prime minister had not done anything unlawful, for there are no existing political financing laws in Malaysia. It appeared Najib has dodged a bullet — but then came the announcement by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) on July 20. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Defiant Prime Minister: The 1MDB Purge”

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Is PAC Chairman’s refusal to re-open PAC investigation into 1MDB a signal that Malaysia is to become a nation in denial about the 1MDB global scandal on top of a new infamy of Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy?

Is the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, Datuk Hasan Arifin’s refusal to re-open investigations into the 1MDB scandal a signal that Malaysia is to become a nation in denial about the 1MDB global scandal on top of a new infamy of Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy?

Yesterday, DAP National Publicity Secretary and MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, walked out of the PAC meeting after Hasan rejected his proposal to re-open PAC investigations to 1MDB and to summon the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to testify at the PAC in the light of lawsuits filed by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

Are we going to have a situation where all the key national institutions, starting with the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, Parliament, the PAC, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, Bank Negara, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor-General, the mainstream mass media, are going to act in concert as a nation in denial about the 1MDB scandal, virtually ignoring the largest US and global action in the DOJ forfeiture of over US$1 billion assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland as a result of an international conspiracy of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of 1MDB funds?

The Cabinet meeting tomorrow will be a litmus-test whether Malaysia is going to adopt the stance of a nation in denial about the 1MDB scandal, ignoring the 136-page DOJ lawsuits, coupled with a “wait-and-see” attitude for the US legal process to take its course, hoping that this will take years! Continue reading “Is PAC Chairman’s refusal to re-open PAC investigation into 1MDB a signal that Malaysia is to become a nation in denial about the 1MDB global scandal on top of a new infamy of Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy?”

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Has Malaysia a Cabinet of idiots or kleptocrats?

Thanks to the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the question arising from the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest single action in the United States and the world for forfeiture of over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland because of embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering is simply this:

Has Malaysia a Cabinet of idiots or kleptocrats?

Abdul Rahman said that there is no secret who is Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) mentioned in the US DOJ civil lawsuits as everyone who has read the court documents or familiar with the issues would know who is the person being referred to.

He said that there is “no mystery” about “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” as “only an idiot doesn’t know who that person was”.

Can we be sure that we do not have a Cabinet of Idiots, that at least by now, 19 days after the DOJ complaint, every Cabinet Minister would have “read the court documents or familiar with the issues” and would know who is the person codenamed “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” being referred to? Continue reading “Has Malaysia a Cabinet of idiots or kleptocrats?”

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Only an idiot doesn’t know that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is implicated in the “criminal conduct” of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of 1MDB funds which formed the basis of the US DOJ lawsuits

My first reaction to the startling statement by the BN Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan that only an idiot doesn’t know who “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is was to wonder when the UMNO Supreme Council became an Idiots’ Council.

This is because an UMNO Supreme Council member, the MP for Kinabatangan Bung Moktar Radin had said on Wednesday that the UMNO Supreme Council meeting the previous Friday (July 29) did not discuss the “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” mentioned 36 times in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits “because nobody knew who ‘MO1’ was”.

Bung told Malaysiakini: “DOJ did not name the person, so it is difficult to predict (who the person is).”

Abdul Rahman is a member of UMNO Supreme Council, which means he was an “idiot” by his own definition – at least up to July 29 when the UMNO Supreme Council met.

When did Abdul Rahman cease to be an idiot, and realise who is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”?

May be what is more appropriate is to say that only an idiot does not know that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is implicated in the “criminal conduct” of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of 1MBD funds which formed the basis of the US DOJ lawsuits to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, and there is nothing to be proud of such incriminating mention – 36 times in the DOJ lawsuit. Continue reading “Only an idiot doesn’t know that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is implicated in the “criminal conduct” of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of 1MDB funds which formed the basis of the US DOJ lawsuits”

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Ironically, it is Khairy who has refuted Najib’s statement on Indonesian TV that the US DOJ lawsuit does not involve him, the Malaysian government or 1MDB directly

Ironically, it is the UMNO Youth Chief and Youth Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin who has refuted the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement on Indonesian television yesterday that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit does not involve him, the Malaysian government or 1MDB directly.

Khairy Jamaluddin told the Sepang Puteri and UMNO Youth annual assembly last night that the US DOJ’s accusatory tone in its lawsuit made it as though the Malaysian Government was a guilty party in their forfeiture suit for over US$1billion 1MDB-linked assets.

He said the US press conference on July 20 on troubled state investment fund 1MDB was to present the findings of their year-long investigations, but the language used were as though Putrajaya had already been convicted.

“The way they announced (their findings) is as though it was a conviction, as though (those named) are already guilty and to be punished.

“The words used showed as though Malaysia and the government are guilty,” Khairy said at the Sepang Puteri and Umno Youth annual assembly last night.

He said this went against the concept of “innocent until proven guilty”.

Isn’t this precisely the reason why inaction by the Prime Minister and the Malaysian government for the past 17 days is untenable and not an option, especially as Malaysian Prime Minister and the nation’s reputation and good name had never been so besmirched and tarnished as by the DOJ’s largest single forfeiture action, making it the largest in the world, as a result of embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption of Malaysia’s national sovereign wealth fund and the country being named overnight as a global kleptocracy? Continue reading “Ironically, it is Khairy who has refuted Najib’s statement on Indonesian TV that the US DOJ lawsuit does not involve him, the Malaysian government or 1MDB directly”