Month: December 2016

by Edvard Pettersson
Bloomberg
December 14, 2016

A U.S. effort to seize about $1 billion in assets allegedly acquired with funds siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. is moving ahead over objections from relatives of the Malaysian financier at the center of the scandal.

A Los Angeles federal judge’s ruling Monday blocking family members of Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low, from intervening in the forfeiture lawsuits gives the government the upper hand as it seeks to confiscate properties including a $100-million interest in EMI Music Publishing Group, a $35 million Bombardier jet and a $380-million stake in the Park Lane Hotel in New York.

To fight back against the U.S. in Low’s absence, four of his relatives, including his father and brother, are trying to replace the Swiss trustees holding the assets that have declined to oppose the forfeiture. According to the family, the Swiss trustees fear being exposed to criminal liability if they get involved.

U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer refused in Monday’s ruling to give the relatives additional time to pursue legal action in New Zealand and the Cayman Islands, where they are trying to replace the trustees with others who are more willing to defend their interests. Continue reading “U.S. Seizure of 1MDB Assets Moves on With Jho Low’s Family Sidelined”

The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Razali Ibrahim revealed in Senate yesterday that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had seized and frozen assets RM157.3 million this year, RM9.3 million last year and RM19.3 million in 2014.

The RM157 million assets seized and frozen by MACC this year is only a drop in the ocean if the Perak Sultan, Sultan Nazrin Shah’s concern over grand corruption is taken seriously.

Speaking at the Perak Maulidur Rasul 1438H celebrations in Tanjong Malim on Monday, Sultan Nazrin Shah expressed his concern over corruption and criminal breach of trust committed openly by highly-educated and high-ranking individuals.

He said that based on media reports, corrupt practices and criminal breach of trust were not only rampant but even occurring on a very large scale.

Sultan Nazrin said history had shown that criminal breach of trust and corrupt practices, and ravenous use of power were factors that had caused the downfall of many governments and collapse of civilisations.

He said: “In the history of Islamic governments, many among the leaders of the Bani Umaiyyah (Umayyad Caliphate) and Bani Abbas (Abbasid Caliphate), due to their preoccupation with worldly pleasures, were willing to use their wealth to remain in power.

“When power was regarded as an opportunity to fulfill personal interest and not as a trust, the functioning of the government would be impaired and ultimately resulted in its downfall and collapse of a civilization.”

The Perak Sultan’s focus on “grand corruption” involving people in high places in government is most apt and timely, for Malaysians and the world are asking why China is catching “tigers” and Indonesia “crocodiles”, but Malaysia is not able to catch a single “shark” in the war against grand corruption. Continue reading “RM157 million assets seized by MACC this year only drop in the ocean if Perak Sultan’s warning against grand corruption taken seriously”

By Sky Gidge
thatsmags.com
December 12, 2016

Few have less reason to dance than the older women who flood China’s parks, pavilions and parking lots daily, occupying public spaces with shimmying bodies and ear-ringing music.

They are what one researcher termed “the first generation of lonely mothers” in China’s history; products of economic reform, social change and the one-child policy.

They are left with few social outlets, a limited family circle and no employment, while living in a nation radically different from the one they grew up in.

But to tech worker Vanessa Wu, 28, they are mostly just annoying. Wu doesn’t enter her bedroom until 10pm, when the music finally stops. It begins again in the morning, sometimes as early as 6.30am, echoing from the small square across the street where groups of women dance in front of speakers they wheel in twice daily.

“I get it. It’s their way of keeping up with friends,” says Wu. “It just doesn’t need to be so noisy.”

In the apartment building’s common room, Wu’s words are met with nods from other middle class 20-somethings.

The music and the dancers, estimated at 100-million strong by state media, rattle windows and nerves across China every day. Continue reading “Why Do People Hate China’s Dancing Grandmas?”

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the police have received over 20 police reports over the poison pen letter purportedly written by him urging BN parliamentarians and senators to pressure for the ouster of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

He said he did not want to be involved (in the investigation) but he had been informed that the police were conducting a thorough investigation together with the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to find the source (of the letter).

He told reporters: “I am sure whoever this is will face the legal consequences from the government.”

I agree that Malaysia has recently descended to the abyss of the politics of lies and falsehoods to create scare, fear, disharmony and hatred among the people and this deplorable political culture should not be allowed space and room to fester, which will poison not only politics in Malaysia but also the process of nation building to build a show-case of a successful harmonious multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural plural nation in this troubled world.

Those responsible for the poison pen letter dated Dec. 9 which had circulated through social media and WhatsApp purported to be from Zahid and urged BN parliamentarians and senators to pressure Najib Abdul Razak to step down was delivering a very low and despicable blow.

But who was really responsible for the Zahid poison-pen letter? Continue reading “Stop selective prosecution and discriminatory law enforcement – haul the persons responsible for the Zahid poison pen letter calling for Najib’s ouster to court but also prosecute all who disseminate lies or lodged false police reports against Opposition leaders”

The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah’s warning yesterday about rampant grand corruption in the country should be reminder to the Cabinet, Parliament and the ruling political parties of their failure to address this critical issue in Malaysia.

Sultan Nazrin’s concern over corruption and criminal breach of trust committed openly by highly-educated and high-ranking individuals should serve as a salutary end-of-the-year reminder to both the Federal and State Governments that Malaysia must break away from the trajectory of a failed and rogue state where corruption and abuses of power become the prevailing order of the day.

The Perak Sultan’s warning is most timely as a serious denial syndrome has afflicted the political leadership in the country, refusing to acknowledge that Malaysia has broken an infamous barrier when it is regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy”.

This is not the first time that the Rulers have expressed concern about the importance of upholding public integrity in Malaysia. Continue reading “Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah’s warning about rampant grand corruption should be reminder to Cabinet, Parliament and the ruling political parties of their failure to address this critical issue in Malaysia”

By Syerleena Abdul Rashid
Free Malaysia Today
December 10, 2016

68 years later, it is still celebrated in various magnitudes; its significance and meaning varies from one nation to the next but for Malaysians, the struggle to uphold justice, freedom and democracy has become more crucial than ever.

Every year on 10th December, the world celebrates Human Rights Day, a day where we reflect hard-fought battles to restore democracy, freedom and justice. Human Rights Day symbolizes past, present and future struggles to make universal human rights a reality for everyone– regardless of race, gender, disability or religion.

68 years later, it is still celebrated in various magnitudes; its significance and meaning varies from one nation to the next but for Malaysians, the struggle to uphold justice, freedom and democracy has become more crucial than ever; our struggle now is a battle between oppressive forces verses liberty.

2016 has been marred with a barrage of atrocities that violates civility, human rights and basic human decency. In times of absurd revelations, defending our constitutional rights have become more significant than ever. As Malaysians, we must protect these rights and appreciate the battles fought by those who resolved to see a better vision of the world materialize. Continue reading “Crackdown on freedom and democracy in Malaysia”

A joke purportedly about Trump and corruption is making the rounds, viz:

Donald Trump wants the white house painted!
Chinese guy quoted 3 million
European guy quoted 7 million
Malaysian guy quoted 10 million.

Trump asked Chinese guy how did you quote?
He said:
1 million for paint
1 million for labour
1 million profit.
He asked European?
He said :
3 million for paint
2 million for labour
2 million profit.
He asked Malaysian?
Malaysian said:
4 million for me
3 million for you
3 million will give it to the Chinese guy to paint.

Actually, the joke is not about Trump but about corruption in Malaysia!

I do not find it funny at all, but most mortifying, as it is at Malaysia’s expense.

But is it true, that corruption in Malaysia is so “world-class” as to put other countries to shame? Continue reading “Call on all Malaysians to declare corruption as the Number One enemy of all Malaysians and for all occasions – including the 14th General Election”

By Zan Azlee | 12th December 2016
Asian Correspondent

UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), the political party that leads the government in Malaysia, has in the recent years been facing numerous accusations and allegations of corruption.

One of the highest profile scandals is the world-famous 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy that many have tied to Prime Minister Najib Razak and his family.

Several international authorities have already kicked off investigations into the scandal because it involves the misappropriation of funds in the banks of multiple countries. The biggest of these in the headlines right now is the one being conducted by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). In Malaysia, however, the attorney-general has already absolved Najib of any criminal wrongdoing in the matter.

Umno, which Najib heads, still appears to have strong support from the Malaysian grassroots. Earlier this month, the party held their annual meeting of delegates across the country and since I’ve never once missed a meeting in over a decade, I did not want this year’s event to be any different. I also had a burning desire to find out if any of Umno’s grassroots members really believed that corruption wasn’t happening right below their very noses.

So I went. And there, I spoke to several assembly delegates and observers, all of whom had come to listen to their leaders discuss issues involving the party and the nation. It also needs to be said that the party is a Malay race-based party. So their main mission, really, is to protect the rights and interests of the Malays, who form the bulk of the Malaysian electorate. Continue reading “Malaysia: Do the Umno grassroots believe that corruption is non-existent?”

The Orang Asli Temiar in Gua Musang are rebuilding their anti-logging blockades at the Balah Forest Reserve less than a fortnight after the destruction of the anti-logging blockades by the Kelantan State Forestry Department and the Police, which also saw the arrest of 54 protestors.

In my visit to the area and discussion with Orang Asli Temiars affected and Orang Asli NGO representatives, it is clear that the grievances of the Orang Asli Temiar kampongs in the area over the destruction of their resources and water source, which caused them to first set up the blockades in September, have not been taken seriously by the authorities.

I call on the Federal Government and the Kelantan State Government to set up a joint Commission of Inquiry to ensure that there is just and equitable solution to the anti-logging grievances of the Orang Asli Temiars in Gua Musang. Continue reading “Call on Federal and Kelantan State Governments to set up a joint Commission of Inquiry to ensure just and equitable solution to the anti-logging grievances of the Orang Asli Temiars in Gua Musang”

Five recent events have given Malaysians a lot of food for thought and deliberation for the last three weeks of this year, viz:

1. The resounding impeachment of South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye by a 234-56 votes by South Korean Parliament over a corruption scandal which had brought millions onto the streets in protest against her.

2. The unceasing international shame and embarrassment to Malaysians with the unending reverberrations of the global multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal in various foreign countries, creating a spate of adverse publicity like the closure of banks and imprisonment of bankers, Malaysians becoming international corruption fugitives and the mystery of “MO1”, which is impossible to hide from Malaysians in the era of information society – although the 1MDB scandal is strictly kept under the lid by repressive and autocratic laws.

3. A purported letter dated Dec 9 in Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s name addressed to BN MPS and Senators urging them to pressure Najib to step down as Prime Minister, together with a replacement Cabinet with Zahid as Prime Minister and Khairy Jamaluddin as Deputy Prime Minister.

I believe this is a fake letter, but did it originate from within UMNO ranks or outside. In any event, Malaysia is heading for an unprecedented era of political dirty tricks, for didn’t the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself ushered in such disgusting politics of hate and “Big Lies” in his opening and closing speeches at the UMNO General Assembly, with three “Big Lies” Nazi-style:

*That the 14th General Elections will be a contest between UMNO and DAP.

*That the DAP is anti-Malay or anti-Islam.

*The “nightmares” Malay will suffer if UMNO loses power to DAP in the next general elections.

Continue reading “Call on Najib to convene a special meeting of Parliament before end of year to refute ignominy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” or cleanse Malaysia’s reputation to show the world Malaysians cherish reputation of Malaysia as an upright nation of integrity”

DAP will continue to support the special position of the Malays and Bumiputeras while protecting the rights of other ethnic groups as enshrined in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution. This means we also want help to be extended to all communities who are in need.

The special position is for the Bumiputeras who are in need, and not for the rich Umnoputras. It also means that the non-Malays who are backward and who need help must have access to the affirmative action programmes.

In this respect, I would like to point out that Malaysia’s first and original Bumiputeras – the Orang Asli – have long been neglected since Merdeka in 1957 – nearly 60 years ago.

They have been here for thousands of years, yet they were and are still being treated unfairly by the authorities. In terms of privileges, that no one is more deserving than the Orang Asli communities to be given such a special position. Continue reading “Call for amendment of the Malaysian Constitution to put Orang Asli on par with the Malay and Bumiputeras in terms of constitutional privileges”

Koon Yew Yin
10th Dec 2016

Friends who watch the foreign TV news channel have asked me whether Malaysia will be able to follow the example of South Korea in the current leadership crisis found in that country.

In the case of South Korea, their lawmakers recently voted overwhelmingly in Parliament to impeach President Park Geun-hye over an influence-peddling and corruption scandal. If successful, it will set the stage for her to become the country’s first elected leader to be expelled from office in disgrace.

The impeachment motion was carried by a 234-56 margin in a secret ballot in parliament, meaning that at least more than 60 of Park’s own conservative Saenuri Party members backed removing her.

The votes of at least 200 members of the 300-seat chamber were needed for the motion to pass.

The Constitutional Court must now decide whether to uphold the motion, a process that could take up to 180 days. Continue reading “Can the Malaysian Parliament Move Against Prime Minister Najib Razak?”

If the authorities are not out on a “witch-hunt”, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should be the first person who should be probed by the police for “foreign funding” and not Ambiga Sreenivasan or Bersih, for three reasons:

Firstly, the quantum. The amount of “foreign funding” which went into Najib’s personal banking accounts boggles the imagination – at first it was the gargantuan figure of RM2.6 billion and later it was expanded to an even more astronomical figure of RM4.2 billion.

No sane person would dispute the claim by Ambiga, who headed Bersih from 2010 to 2013, that Bersih had at all times been transparent about its finding and accounts, and had never hidden the fact that it had received US$25,000 from Open Society Institute (OSI) and US$9,690 from National Democracy Institute (NDI) in 2011 which were used in election-related projects.

But what is US$34,690 compared to the over US$1 billion foreign funding which had been deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts – as the “foreign funding” that was deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts was 30 million times larger than the puny figures which Bersih had received from OSI and NDI in 2011. Continue reading “If authorities are not out on a “witch-hunt”, Najib should be the first person who should be probed for “foreign funding” and not Ambiga or Bersih”

By Praveen Menon | KUALA LUMPUR
Reuters
Fri Dec 9, 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s stern rebuke to Myanmar for a military-led crackdown on Muslim Rohingyas was a rarity among Southeast Asian nations, who adhere to a policy of non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.

Critics saw the beleaguered Najib reaching for the moral high ground with his criticism over the weekend of Myanmar in order to pander to Malay Muslim voters after a series of protests calling for him to resign over a corruption scandal.

Najib is eyeing elections in the second half of 2017, nearly a year ahead of the 2018 deadline, a government source told Reuters.

At a rally on Sunday, Najib called for foreign intervention to stop the “genocide” of Rohingya Muslims and lashed out at Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for her inaction. Continue reading “Malaysia PM opens thorny debate in accusing Myanmar of genocide”

The Education Ministry is setting a bad moral example to the young generation of Malaysians as it is not even telling a white lie, but a downright lie, on Malaysia’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 results.

It is indeed shocking that a Ministry which is responsible for the moral upbringing of a young generation of Malaysians should be guilty of such immorality as to try to lie its way out of the shame and ignominy of Malaysia’s exclusion from the results and rankings for mathematics, science and reading in the PISA 2015 Report.

Lets get down to the brass tacks – is the Education deputy director-general Datuk Dr. Amin Senin seriously claiming that the Malaysian government’s assertion that Malaysia’s PISA 2015 results for all three subjects have improved from those of PISA 2012 – i.e. mathematics from 404 to 421, Science from 420 to 422 and Reading from 398 to 414 – is recognised by PISA authorities in OECD?

The answer is an unequivocal “NO”, or Malaysia would not have been excluded from the rankings for mathematics, reading and science in PISA 2015, which appears on Page 44 of the PISA 2015 Results Volume 1 (Excellence and Equity in Education). Continue reading “Is Malaysian Education Blueprint target for Malaysia to be above global average and be in top one-third of countries in international educational standards by 2025 realistic and achievable – or whether it should be lowered and amended”

Economist
Nov 26th 2016

But the opposition has to do more to win over rural Malays

FORTY thousand people wearing yellow shirts gathered in Malaysia’s capital on November 19th, to protest against corruption and impunity in government. The rally was orderly and restrained; the response of the authorities was not. On the eve of the protest, police arrested Maria Chin Abdullah, leader of a coalition of human-rights groups that organised the event. She was placed in solitary confinement, and can be held there for 28 days. Even by Malaysia’s dismal recent standards this marked a fresh low. Ordinary Malaysians should not stand by while their leaders undermine the rule of law so casually. Continue reading “Malaysians underestimate the damage caused by the 1MDB scandal”

Reuters
8th December 2016

Relatives of a Malaysian financier at the center of the 1MDB fund scandal were dealt a setback in their efforts to claim assets seized by the U.S. government when a federal judge denied a motion that would have given them time to try their luck in overseas courts.

Earlier this week four relatives of Low Taek Jho filed a motion to delay the Dec. 12 hearing to Jan. 23 so they could go to courts in New Zealand and the Cayman Islands to try and get real estate and other assets transferred to a new trustee.

In a one-sentence ruling, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer denied both the motion to postpone the hearing and a separate request to extend the deadline for filing a claim. No reason was given in the filing, dated Wednesday. Continue reading “Jho Low family dealt setback in move to claim assets in 1MDB probe”

Malaysians send good wishes to the country’s stand-up comedian Harith Iskander to become the world’s funniest person in the final of the international competition, Laugh Factory Funniest Person in the World, in Helsinki tonight.

Although Harith, 50, will be facing stiff challenge from four others, Katerina Vrana (Greece), Mino Van Nassau (India), David Kilimnick (Israel) and Alex Calleja (Philippines), he stands a good chance of winning the final as he topped the chart among the 20 semi-finalists last Sunday.

It is fortunate that last year Harith survived the threat posed by UMNO/Barisan Nasional Ministers and Deputy Ministers to stand-up comedians, as UMNO/BN Ministers and Deputy Ministers at the time like Ahmad Maslan, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Paul Low and even the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, were competing with them to run them out of their jobs with their own comic and clownish statements and actions.

This was why I had occasion to remark last December that very soon, comedians like Harith would have to call it a day because Ministers and Deputy Ministers like Ahmad Maslan, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Paul Low and even Najib would have taken over their jobs; leaving the professional comedians probably with the option of venturing into politics to encroach into the protected domains of the Ministers and deputy ministers! Continue reading “Good wishes to Harith Iskander to become the world’s funniest person in the final of the international competition, Laugh Factory Funniest Person in the World, in Helsinki tonight”

BY BHAVAN JAIPRAGAS
South China Morning Post
7 DEC 2016

China’s economic largesse to Malaysia was back in the spotlight on Wednesday following an apparent renewed effort by Beijing to bail out the Southeast Asian country’s beleaguered 1MDB state investment fund.

Political observers say such multibillion-dollar favours are likely to continue unabated as China seeks to bring a key trading partner closer into its strategic orbit and as Prime Minister Najib Razak turns away from the West, where he is accused of running a kleptocracy.

The Financial Times newspaper in a report on Wednesday said China “had been approached” to help 1MDB – embattled by a long-running money laundering scandal linked to Najib – pay off a US$6.5 billion (HK$50.4 billion) debt to an Abu Dhabi state investment arm. Continue reading “HAS CHINA OFFERED TO BAIL OUT MALAYSIA’S 1MDB? AT WHAT COST?”

The PISA 2015 results were supposed to be the coming-of-age of the Najib premiership, both nationally and internationally – to provide evidence that under Najib’s premiership, with his string of National Transformation Programmes, the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, and most important of all, his forthcoming and most ambitious 2050 National Transformation (TN50) Plan to replace Vision 2020, Malaysia would not only be able to become a RM2 trillion economy in seven to eight years, but to become the Top 20 nation in the world.

But the PISA 2015 results were a major setback to Najib’s towering ambitions, in particular the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 objective to achieve above global average and be in top one-third of countries in international educational standards in less than a decade by 2025.

This was why the Malaysian government was so quick off-the-mark to claim credit for good improvement in the OECD-organised PISA 2015 tests – announcing that Malaysia scored 446 in Mathematics, 431 in Reading and 443 in Science as compared to Malaysia’s PISA 2012 results of 421 in Mathematics, 414 in Reading and 422 in Science.

This will be quite creditable improvement if true, as the three sets of PISA results for Malaysia since 2009 would be as follows:

	PISA Score (Rank)
	2009	2012	2015
Maths	404(57)	421(52)	446(45)
Science	422(52)	420(53)	443(47)
Reading	414(55)	398(59)	431(50)

Continue reading “PISA 2015 a major setback for Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 to achieve above global average and be in top one-third of countries in international educational standards in less than a decade by 2025”