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“Once bitten twice shy” means nothing for leaders of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak who are singing to a new mantra of “Once bitten, twice not shy and thrice still willing”

The saying “Once bitten twice shy” means nothing to leaders of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Barisan Nasional component parties in Sabah and Sarawak who seem to be singing to a new mantra of “Once bitten, twice not shy and thrice still willing”.

This sums up the sorry saga of the seven-month long Barisan Nasional crisis, which is compounded by the fact that the Barisan Nasional leaders, especially from the 13 other Barisan Nasional component parties, have been acting like ostriches with heads buried in the sand – who do not know or do not want to admit even to themselves that UMNO’s axis with PAS over Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) had plunged Barisan Nasional into its worst crisis since its formation 43 years ago in 1973.

In response to remarks by the Deputy International Trade and Industry, Datuk Ahmad Maslan on Sunday, MCA Secretary-General and Second Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Ong Ka Chuan, declared that any Government Bill to be tabled before the Dewan Rakyat must take into account the Barisan Nasional spirit of consensus.

He said a final decision of those Bills can only be made after consultation and deliberation among all component parties.

He said: “There is no such thing that Barisan component parties must support the Government Bill.”

It is noteworthy that Ka Chuan was trying to rebut a statement by his own Deputy Minister – clear evidence of the topsy-turvy world in the political hierarchy in Barisan Nasioanal where the MCA secretary-general although second Minister for International Trade and Industry is politically subordinate and subservient to the Deputy Minister in his own Ministry, who is just an UMNO Supreme Council member!

Ahmad had said that all Barisan component parties cannot object to proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 if becomes a Government Bill.

Ahmad was not merely giving his personal view but disclosing an elaborate UMNO strategy to “cement UMNO’s unity with PAS”, and the first step for UMNO support of Hadi’s private member’s bill motion is a government takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill when the private member’s motion is passed in the March Parliament – which would be equivalent to the first reading of Hadi’s private member’s bill. Continue reading ““Once bitten twice shy” means nothing for leaders of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak who are singing to a new mantra of “Once bitten, twice not shy and thrice still willing””

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British embassy questioned whether Malaysian PM cleared of corruption

Oliver Holmes, South-east Asia correspondent
Guardian
19th December 2016

Exclusive: diplomatic cable said an investigation into mysterious $700m found in Najib Razak’s bank account had not absolved him of corruption

The British embassy in Kuala Lumpur has questioned a claim by the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, that his country’s anti-graft agency had cleared him of corruption, according to a diplomatic cable seen by the Guardian.

Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission (MACC) said in August last year that its investigation had found that nearly US$700m had been deposited into Najib’s personal bank account from unnamed “donors”.

It did not elaborate on the donor or why they transferred funds to Najib’s private accounts but said the money was not from the debt-laden state fund 1MDB, which had been the focus of the scandal.

Five days later, Najib told members of his ruling party that the MACC had cleared him of corruption allegations. Continue reading “British embassy questioned whether Malaysian PM cleared of corruption”

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Worst BN crisis since 1973 – leaders of other BN component parties should cancel their year-end holidays overseas to requisition emergency meeting of BN Supreme Council to establish whether UMNO has smashed BN consensus principle into smithereens

The cat is out of the bag. UMNO leaders were determined right from beginning to outfox the other 13 Barisan Nasional component parties on Hadi’s private member’s bill and the strategy of how UMNO is going to support Hadi’s private members bill was revealed by two UMNO leaders yesterday.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Jamil Kamil Khir Bahrom said Hadi’s Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) enabled the government to circumvent the due constitutional process, as requiring consensus from all states, the National Islamic Council and the Rulers’ Conference.

Jamil explained: “You can’t bring it to the Rulers Conference if you don’t have consensus from 14 states, but a private member’s bill requires only one state or one person to table it.”

Jamil made this shocking admission at the Umno Overseas Club Alumni annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.Jamil said that when Hadi’s private member’s bill motion moves to the second reading stage, it would be taken over by the government and read out by him.

What Jamil did not mention was that this UMNO strategy to support Hadi’s private member’s bill not only tried to circumvent the constitutional process to secure the consensus from the 14 states and the support of the National Islamic Council and the Rulers’ Conference, it was also a ploy to circumvent the Barisan Nasional consensus of all the 14 BN component parties for any policy or measure to be adopted in the name of Barisan Nasional Government. Continue reading “Worst BN crisis since 1973 – leaders of other BN component parties should cancel their year-end holidays overseas to requisition emergency meeting of BN Supreme Council to establish whether UMNO has smashed BN consensus principle into smithereens”

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SINGAPORE – Casualties from the 1MDB fallout

The Newspaper, Singapore
Dec 17, 2016

2 JAILED

Yak Yew Chee, 57
Jailed 18 weeks, fined $24,000

*The former managing director of BSI Singapore was the relationship manager for Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho.
*Pleaded guilty in November to two counts each of forgery and failing to report suspicious transactions.
*Also offered to give to the State $7.5 million of the bonuses he received from BSI.

Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, 45
Jailed 2 weeks, fined $10,000

*A director at BSI Singapore, was the next most senior banker on Yak’s team.
*Pleaded guilty to three charges of aiding in forging documents and failing to report suspicious transactions.

Continue reading “SINGAPORE – Casualties from the 1MDB fallout”

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Second tranche of five questions for Salleh to answer before he can restore his right to demand answers from others

Yesterday, I said that the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak has lost the right to ask questions and demand answers from others, when he as Minister which incorporated the Ministry of Information of the past, had failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings.

I put to him the first tranche of five questions for him to answer to perform his Ministerial duty before he could start asking questions and demanding answers from others.

Today, I am putting forward to him the second tranche of five questions to answer in the process to restore his right to demand answers from others.

My second tranche of five questions are:

Question 6 –

In early October, the country was convulsed by reports of the rampant corruption in the Sabah Water Department, especially the revelation that 60 per cent of the RM3.3 billion earmarked by the federal government to improve water supply to residents, including those in remote areas in the Sabah State, had been “siphoned off” by corruption.

Would Salleh agree that the 60% corruption at the Sabah Water Department, for which no one has yet been charged in court for corruption, is proof that Malaysia is not serious about combating corruption, even less so with regard to grand corruption affecting top political and government leaders.

Can Salleh explain why China is catching “tigers” and Indonesia “crocodiles”, but Malaysia has not been able to catch a single “shark” at the national level in the war against grand corruption?
Continue reading “Second tranche of five questions for Salleh to answer before he can restore his right to demand answers from others”

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Civil society demands that the government stops harassing and stigmatising NGOs

― Hakam & civil society NGOs
Malay Mail Online
December 15, 2016

DECEMBER 15 ― 1. We, members of Civil society (represented by the organisations listed below) are greatly concerned by the recent developments pertaining to the arrest of Puan Maria Chin Abdullah under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, the summoning of activists from Suaram, Lawyers for Liberty and Empower for investigations, the police raid and seizure of the offices of Bersih and Empower and the numerous news reports making allegations against various organisations in respect of the foreign funding, including the Malaysian Bar Council.

2. We are also perturbed by news reports of the Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announcing the formation of a task force to probe into NGO funding and accusing them of enticing revolutions to topple the present government and news reports of Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan’s reply to the numerous concerns regarding local human rights issues raised by Maina Kiai the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in his recent visit to Malaysia.

3. The recent events and published news reports give the impression that the authorities are out to discredit and demonise human rights activists and civil society organisations who have voiced criticisms and dissent against the government. Continue reading “Civil society demands that the government stops harassing and stigmatising NGOs”

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Predicting Malaysia’s next election date

Reme Ahmad and Lim Ai Leen
Straits Times Singapore
DEC 18, 2016

Likely slots are in April, May, Oct, say analysts, after ruling out no-go months

Will Malaysia’s general election be held in April or May next year? Or will it be held much later in October?

That is a question that only Prime Minister Najib Razak can answer.

He has started beating the drum for the polls, sending politicians and analysts scrambling in search of clues.

A quick way to predict likely election dates is by first eliminating the traditional no-go months in Malaysian politics.

Datuk Seri Najib would then only have the leftover months and weeks to choose from, say analysts and politicians. Continue reading “Predicting Malaysia’s next election date”

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Salleh has lost the right to demand answers when he, as Minister for Communications and Multimedia, failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings

Recently, the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak indulged in spree of questions directed at the Opposition, Pakatan Harapan and PPBM.

It is a pity that Salleh did not realise that he has lost the right to ask questions when as Minister for Communications and Multimedia, which included the role and responsibility of the former Ministry of Information, he had failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings.

If there is any Ministry which is assigned the responsibility of defending the government, it is Salleh’s Ministry, but realizing that much as he wanted, he is just incapable of defending the indefensible, Salleh is subtly trying to transform his Ministerial portfolio of answering questions on behalf of the government into one of asking questions about the Opposition.

In terms of Ministerial KPIs, Salleh is a big flop.

If Salleh expects answers to his questions, let him perform his Ministerial duty to answer questions about government scandals and failings, starting with the following five: Continue reading “Salleh has lost the right to demand answers when he, as Minister for Communications and Multimedia, failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings”

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Must Pakatan Harapan win Putrajaya before Penang International Airport ceases to be a “pasar malam antarabangsa Pulau Pinang” just as Penang only stop being “garbage dump of the Orient” when it is ruled by a DAP-led state government?

I was piqued by an Internet news item that “Shenzhen Airport, via its official Weibo account, stated it expects to welcome its 40th millionth passenger for the year on 15th December 2016”, the first time the airport’s annual passengers have exceeded 40 million, and I wondered what were the air passenger traffic for Malaysia for the major airports, particularly Penang International Airport.

I found that according to Ministry of Transport’s annual transport statistics, total air passenger traffic (excluding transit passengers) in the past ten years had slightly doubled from 42.9 million in 2006 to 85.9 million in 2015.

KLIA claimed the bulk of the air passenger traffic, from 23.6 million or 55.2% of total air passenger traffic in 2006 to 48.6 million or 56.6% of total air passenger traffic in 2015.

Kota Kinabalu International Airport occupied second place, with 3.86 million passengers or 8.99% in 2006 to 6.57 million or 7.64% of total air passenger traffic in 2015.

Penang International Airport (PIA) leapt from fourth place with 3.09 million passengers or 7.2% in 2006 to 6.25 million or 7.27% of total air passenger traffic in 2015.

Kuching International Airport slipped from third place in 2006 to fourth place in 2015, with 3.1 million or 7.2% in 2006 to 4.76 million or 5.5% of total air passenger traffic in 2015. Continue reading “Must Pakatan Harapan win Putrajaya before Penang International Airport ceases to be a “pasar malam antarabangsa Pulau Pinang” just as Penang only stop being “garbage dump of the Orient” when it is ruled by a DAP-led state government?”

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Guardian ranked second most secure online news site

Alex Hern
Guardian
16 December 2016

The listing, produced by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, was topped by the US site The Intercept

The Guardian has been listed as the second most secure news publication on the web, according to a ranking produced by the American non-profit Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Points were awarded for supporting technologies which protect the privacy and security of visitors, with a focus on using HTTPS, a web protocol that allows for encrypted connections.

The ranking was topped by the US news site The Intercept, created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. It gained the highest score of A+.

The Guardian, rated as A- along with TechCrunch and ProPublica, scored highly for having a valid HTTPS version of its website, and for defaulting to that connection for all visitors. Continue reading “Guardian ranked second most secure online news site”

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Oil rises on Goldman forecast, signs producers complying with cuts

By Scott DiSavino | NEW YORK
Reuters
Dec 16, 2016

Oil rose on Friday, edging closer to new 17-month highs, after Goldman Sachs boosted its price forecast for 2017 and producers showed signs of adhering to a global deal to reduce output.

Brent futures rose $1.19, or 2.2 percent, to settle at $55.21 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1, or 2 percent, to settle at $51.90 per barrel.

That put both contracts on track to rise for a fourth week in the last five, with Brent up around 23 percent during that time and U.S. crude up about 20 percent.

The premium of the Brent front-month over the same U.S. contract closed at $2.26 a barrel, its highest since the end of August.

“We’re up today because Goldman Sachs bumped up its oil estimates and the Russians said their oil companies would reduce output,” said Phil Davis, managing partner of venture capital fund PSW Investments in Woodland Park, New Jersey.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1, its first such deal since 2008. Russia and other non-OPEC producers plan to cut about half as much. Continue reading “Oil rises on Goldman forecast, signs producers complying with cuts”

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Exclusive: Cost of pump-at-will oil policy spurred Saudi OPEC U-turn

By Rania El Gamal and Dmitry Zhdannikov | DUBAI/LONDON
Reuters
Dec 15, 2016

Saudi Arabia has long said it could produce as much as 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil if needed, but that pump-at-will claim – which would require huge capital spending to access spare capacity – has never been tested.

Sources say the kingdom may have stretched its current limits by extracting a record of around 10.7 million bpd this year, which could be one reason why Riyadh pushed so hard for a global deal to cut production.

Riyadh, the world’s top oil exporter, felt the burn of cheap oil this year when crude was trading below $50 a barrel, as the reality of its costly war in Yemen and the task of shaking up its economy to create thousands of jobs began to sink in.

With tight resources, Saudi Arabia found itself weighing the prospect of investing billions of dollars to raise oil output further if it wanted to gain more market share under a strategy adopted in 2014.

Instead, cutting production amid a global glut and low prices to take the pressure off its oilfields, secure better reservoir management and save itself unnecessary expenses, seemed the perfect deal.

“You invest in raising your production when prices are high, not when they are low,” a Saudi-based industry source said. Continue reading “Exclusive: Cost of pump-at-will oil policy spurred Saudi OPEC U-turn”

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Malaysia in an era of fake news, false cartoons and false allegations

Malaysia is now in an era of fake news, false cartoons and false allegations.

Today, the Penang Chief Minister’s Office had to deny a Whatsapp message on Dec. 14 with a photograph of the Penang Chief Minister that Lim Guan Eng had supported the action against the Rohingya community in Myanmar.

The Chief Minister’s special assistant Zaidi Ahmad, lodged a police report on the fake news and said the whole objective of the fake Whatsapp message was a racialist slander to incite religious sentiments against the Chief Minister.

In actual fact, at the Penang Chief Minister’s initiative, the recent Penang State Assembly unanimously passed a motion condemning the atrocities against the Rohingyas.

I understand that there are also fake news and fake postings on the Internet alleging that I had also supported the oppression of the Rohingyas in Myanmar when on Dec. 6 I had called for an international inquiry into the ethnic cleansing of Rohginyas in Myanmar.

But the perpetrators of fake news, false cartoons and false allegations are no respecters of truth. Continue reading “Malaysia in an era of fake news, false cartoons and false allegations”

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Thailand to free Swiss man linked to 1MDB scandal

South China Morning Post
AFP
14 December, 2016

Thailand will free a Swiss man jailed for blackmail in a case linked to a graft scandal engulfing the 1MDB Malaysian state investment fund, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Xavier Justo was jailed last August for attempting to blackmail his former employer PetroSaudi International, a Saudi oil firm allegedly involved in corrupt dealings with Malaysian fund 1MDB.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who launched the scandal-mired 1MDB, has been besieged by allegations that he and his cronies looted billions of dollars from it, prompting calls for him to resign.

According to Thai police Justo was jailed after demanding around US$2.5 million from PetroSaudi to return sensitive company data he claimed to have taken before leaving the firm in 2011.

He was arrested on the Thai island of Koh Samui in June 2015 and handed a three-year sentence.

But on Wednesday his lawyer said he will get out early after a mass prisoner amnesty. Continue reading “Thailand to free Swiss man linked to 1MDB scandal”

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Ex-BSI Banker Seah Convicted of 3 Charges Tied to 1MDB Case

by Andrea Tan and Melissa Cheok
Bloomberg
December 16, 2016

Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, a former BSI SA private banker, became the second person to be convicted in Singapore’s probe into alleged money laundering linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Judge Salina Ishak found Seah guilty of three charges in a Singapore state court Friday for aiding in forging documents and failing to report suspicious transactions allegedly related to Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho. Prosecutors are taking into account four other charges in seeking a two-week jail sentence for Seah, 45, while her lawyer Peter Low asked for a fine.

Imposing a fine for the “well-heeled” like Seah isn’t a sufficient deterrent, prosecutor Nathaniel Khng said in seeking the prison term. Seah’s conduct had harmed Singapore’s reputation, he said. Continue reading “Ex-BSI Banker Seah Convicted of 3 Charges Tied to 1MDB Case”

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Malaysian politics: ‘Mother of all battles’ shaping up

Yang Razali Kassim
Straits Times Singapore
DEC 15, 2016

The ruling Umno-led coalition faces a challenge from a new opposition alliance led by two former allies: Mahathir and Anwar. Despite Umno’s confidence, the ground may be far from sweet in the coming general election.

The mother of all battles is shaping up in Malaysian politics as beleaguered Prime Minister Najib Razak pulled out all the stops to defend himself in the face of a reconfiguring opposition.

Putting his dominant party, Umno, on a war footing at its recently concluded annual general assembly, Datuk Seri Najib resorted to the Islamic doctrine of wala – or loyalty to the leader – as he manoeuvred to rally support and ready Umno for a general election.

The enabler was his No. 2, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who started the ball rolling by pledging his own loyalty to Mr Najib, who has been under siege since the outbreak of the scandal involving state development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) last year.

Umno for the first time had to ward off an uprising against a sitting president led by a former prime minister and party president. In a single-minded drive to push Mr Najib out, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is leading a “people’s movement” to “Save Malaysia”. Having resigned from Umno in protest against Mr Najib, Dr Mahathir has joined the opposition, even reconciling with his former ally-turned-nemesis Anwar Ibrahim to revive their once powerful political partnership. Continue reading “Malaysian politics: ‘Mother of all battles’ shaping up”

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After being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy, PISA 2015 should not be the second international infamy Malaysians have to suffer for the year 2016

Ten days are long enough for the Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid to abdicate from his responsibility to explain the shame and infamy from the exclusion and rejection of Malaysia’s results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, described as the world’s school report.

Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Chong Sin Woon, raised eyebrows when he said yesterday that “A report being prepared by the committee conducting the mathematics, reading and science under PISA 2015 will explain the reason for the inadequate sampling which resulted in Malaysia’s disqualification”.

Let me tell Mahdzir – Just tell the truth. There is no need for a committee to crack its head as to how to “massage the message” of Malaysia’s disgraceful disqualification from PISA 2015 although 9,660 Form III students from 230 schools reportedly took part in the PISA 2015 tests.

If the Education Ministry tries to cook up a cock-and-bull story to put it in good light over Malaysia’s disgraceful exclusion and disqualification from PISA 2015, it bears the risk of double infamy when it is exposed a second time.

When the PISA 2015 results were released worldwide in London on 6th December, and Malaysia was excluded from PISA 2015 rankings although Malaysia took part in the PISA 2015 tests, I had on the same day called on Mahdzir to give “a full and detailed explanation”. Continue reading “After being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy, PISA 2015 should not be the second international infamy Malaysians have to suffer for the year 2016”

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Malaysia’s Vulnerability Exposed by Dollar’s Ascent

By RACHEL ROSENTHAL
Wall Street Journal
Dec. 15, 2016

Foreign investors are fleeing the country’s stock and bond markets

Malaysia has been one of Asia’s worst-hit economies amid the continued climb of U.S. interest rates and the dollar.

Foreign investors sold $5.3 billion of Malaysian stocks and bonds in November, the largest monthly outflow since September 2011, according to ANZ Bank. That is almost a quarter of the $22.1 billion pulled from emerging markets in the region, excluding China.

The bulk of the selling was in Malaysia’s bond market. The $4.5 billion of bonds sold by foreigners in November, in ringgit terms, marks the biggest monthly debt outflow on record, according to ANZ. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Vulnerability Exposed by Dollar’s Ascent”

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Anwar’s “Malaysia at the crossroads” article in Guardian should be compulsory reading for all Malaysians who care and are concerned about the nation’s future

Pakatan Harapan’s Prime Minister-designate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s “Malaysia at the crossroads” article in the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom should be compulsory reading for all Malaysians who care and are concerned about the nation’s future.

Malaysia’s choice is stark and dire. In Anwar’s own words:

“Two decades ago Malaysia was arguably the bright spot of progress in the Muslim world. We believed then that our combination of economic growth and improving democratic engagement would be an example for other Muslim-majority countries. The past 20 years, however, have seen our country go from bad to worse politically and economically, driven by compromised democratic institutions and years of systematic abuse by the ruling elite to maintain their grip on power…

“This has put Malaysia at a crossroads: it can either return to its rightful place as a shining political and financial star in a developing world desperate for such successes; or it can descend to the role of yet another Muslim-majority country with a failing democracy and economy. Internationally, support for fundamental political reforms in Malaysia can help create a south-east Asian bloc of Muslim governments that will be a model for the rest of the world.”

Contrast Anwar’s article with the Prime Minister’s Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s UMNO Presidential speech on 1st December – the former infused with patriotic concern about Malaysia’s future despite its potential for greatness and capacity for good in the international society and the latter a small-minded and spiteful oratory reminiscent of Nazi-style “Big Lie” propaganda to pander to the most primordial sentiments by provoking the most elemental emotions of fear, hate and intolerance totally inimical to the objective of a democratic, harmonious and peaceful plural society. Continue reading “Anwar’s “Malaysia at the crossroads” article in Guardian should be compulsory reading for all Malaysians who care and are concerned about the nation’s future”

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Malaysia needs democracy. I’m in prison for that belief – but I won’t change it

Anwar Ibrahim
Guardian
Tuesday 13 December 2016

My country is at a crossroads: it can either return to freedom and transparency, or it can become just another failing Muslim-majority country

Winston Churchill once famously paraphrased: “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others.” Recent anti-progressive electoral upsets in the US and UK, combined with potential successes looming for similar sentiment in upcoming European polls, are conspiring to give democracy a bad name in some circles.

Yet despite the challenges, we must be globally resolute in our commitment to accountable representative governments, with reinforcing systems of transparency and accountability.

In the Muslim world in particular, real democracy is essential to confront the threats to life, peace, security, freedom and human dignity that have become virtually epidemic from Africa to east Asia. Failure to address political grievances allows extremists the opportunity to pounce on the disenchanted and marginalised with their brand of deviant Islam.

Earlier this year my long-time friend, Rached Ghannouchi of Tunisia, challenged his Islamist peers by boldly pronouncing at the Ennahda party convention, “We are leaving political Islam … We are Muslim democrats.” Continue reading “Malaysia needs democracy. I’m in prison for that belief – but I won’t change it”