Month: January 2017

By RICHARD W. PAINTER and NORMAN L. EISEN
New York Times
JAN. 29, 2017

President Trump’s executive order banning travel to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries is being rightly challenged in the courts for, among other things, its unconstitutional interference with free exercise of religion and denial of due process. Overlooked in the furor is another troubling aspect of the situation: President Trump omitted from his ban a number of other predominantly Muslim nations where his company has done business. This adds further illegitimacy to one of the most arbitrary executive actions in our recent history, and raises significant constitutional questions.

The seven countries whose citizens are subject to the ban are relatively poor. Some, such as Syria, are torn by civil war; others are only now emerging from war. One thing these countries have in common is that they are places where the Trump organization does little to no business. Continue reading “Who Hasn’t Trump Banned? People From Places Where He’s Done Business”

By MARGHERITA STANCATI in Dubai and AHMED AL OMRAN in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Wall Street Journal
Jan. 30, 2017

Monarchy’s desire to cultivate good relations with Trump administration run counter to outcry in Muslim world over ban

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home to the religion’s two holiest sites, has long used its religious clout to project its role as a regional leader. Now that same clout has caught the kingdom in a prickly dilemma.

The monarchy’s desire to cultivate a better relationship with the Trump administration than it had with the U.S. under Barack Obama is exposing Saudi Arabia to criticism that it is unwilling to stand up for its Muslim allies, particularly those caught in an executive order that restricts entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries.

“The ban puts Saudi Arabia in an awkward position,” said Ibrahim Fraihat, a professor of conflict resolution at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. “Saudi Arabia will be expected to take a position against it because some of the countries included in the ban like Sudan and Yemen are key allies and because it projects itself as leader of the Muslim world.” Continue reading “U.S. Travel Restrictions Put Saudi Arabia in a Bind”

It is the right of the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to talk about his aim for PAS to win at least 40 Parliamentary seats in the next general election, but it is the height of irresponsibility in a plural society for any political leader to pander to either Islamophobia or non-Islamophobia.

This is because there must be no Islamophobia or non-Islamophobia if Malaysia is to succeed as a nation to achieve her full potentials benefitting from the diversity and confluence of the world’s great religions, cultures and civilisations in Malaysia.

Hadi has the right to talk of his expectation that PAS will win 40 parliamentary seats, just as it is the right of others who prognosticate that PAS may even lose the Kelantan state government which PAS had ruled for five consecutive general elections since 1990 under the late Tok Guru Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who was both Kelantan Mentri Besar in all the five general election battles and PAS Mursidul Am.

Not only that, there is also the forecast that PAS would possibly face the worst electoral defeat in the next general elections in the 14GE under Hadi’s leadership.

It is regrettable that Hadi seems to be promoting a form of non-Islamophobia when he said in a special address in Kedah that the PAS’ previous political consensus with Pakatan Rakyat allies PKR and DAP had achieved the best result so far for the Opposition, but had resulted in a political imbalance.

He said: “Do you realise how the situation was with the seats? Unknowing, the 89 Opposition seats were 21 seats for PAS, 30 for PKR, and 38 for DAP.”

He asked: “Is it fair for this country, the government is governed by Muslims in 39 seats, with non-Muslims having a larger share? This is not right.” Continue reading “There must be no Islamophobia or non-Islamophobia if Malaysia is to succeed as a nation to achieve her full potentials benefiting from her diversity and confluence of the world’s great religions, cultures and civilisations in Malaysia”

It is now more than 58 hours since US President Trump, at 4.42 pm Friday Washington time, with a stroke of a pen signed the cruel and inhumane Executive Order against refugees and immigrants, creating world-wide turmoil and reverberations, with chaos and confusion in US airports and capital cities all over the world.

What is disturbing is that the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his government are not part of this global outrage at the inhumanity and insensitivity of Trump’s executive order.

It cannot be that Najib and the Malaysian Foreign Ministry had been overtaken by complete surprise by such an executive order, as Trump had in fact been talking about such an inhumane measure since the GOP primary campaign last year, and Trump’s executive order against refugees and immigrants had in fact been leaked to the media several days before Trump signed the executive order.

Najib cannot blame anyone for asking why he acted with such alacrity when he lashed out at Myanmar and Aung San Suu Kyi on the Rohingya issue but is so tame and tardy when the Muslim world is revolted and outraged by Trump’s executive order against refugees and the 130 million people from seven Muslim-majority countries, viz: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

As a sign of growing political intimacy and collaboration between Najib and the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, there is also conspicuous silence from the PAS leadership on Trump’s cruel and inhumane executive, completely out of character of PAS leadership which would have been the first to denounce Trump’s executive order.

Is this a sign of growing maturity and responsibility of the Hadi PAS leadership or just of closer political collaboration with Najib’s UMNO leadership? Continue reading “Najib is consigning his initiative of a Global Movement of Moderates to the grave if he is not prepared to be part of the global outrage at US President Trump’s cruel and inhumane executive order against refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries”

Dominic Dudley
Forbes
JAN 26, 2017

Transparency International has released its latest rankings of corruption around the world and, as ever, there is little to cheer about in the Middle East, with five of the world’s ten most corrupt countries coming from the region.

The worst performer is Syria, which is ranked 173rd out of 176 countries, followed by Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Iraq. It is no coincidence that all of these countries are poor and war-ravaged, but even in the wealthier and more peaceful corners of the region the problem of corruption is generally getting worse rather than better. Continue reading “The Most (And Least) Corrupt Countries In The Middle East”

Koon Yew Yin
29th Jan 2017

Long before the setting up of Amanah, the progressive Islamic party, in 2015, I had called on Malaysians to reject PAS under its hardline leader, Abdul Hadi Awang. Today with the drums of an early election beating louder, I am directing this call again to the opposition parties to stand firm and to reject PAS if it insists on the hard line condition of support for RUU 355 before any kind of opposition electoral understanding is arrived at.

I do not understand why the BN and Pakatan are courting PAS which under its present leadership is in such a hurry to promote the establishment of an Islamic state.

Most Malaysians can understand it – the promotion of an Islamic state – if the advocate is a fundamentalist or opportunist such as those from UMNO. But does anyone that is sensible and practical and who is not power hungry see this as a desirable vision?

How the establishment of an Islamic state can resolve the problems of our complex economy and society has never been spelled out by PAS since the beginning of its existence in 1951. Continue reading “Stand Firm Against PAS Under Hadi”

Indonesia has spoken. The Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said that Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, deeply regrets US President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban more than 130 million people from seven countries from the United States and to deny entry to all refugees.

Why is Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who mooted the proposal for a global movement of moderates, still silent about Trump’s executive order which had caused world-wide reverberations, with chaos and confusion in US airports and capital cities all over the world.

Trump’s seismic ban was enacted with a stroke of a pen at 4.42 pm Friday Washington time. More than 38 hours have elapsed, as it is now past 6.42 a.m. Sunday Washington time. Why is Najib still keep silent?

It is not that Najib and the Foreign Ministry had been overtaken by complete surprise by such an executive order, as Trump had in fact been talking about such an inhumane measure since the GOP primary campaign last year.

Has Najib’s dilatory response anything to do with US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest kleptocratic lawsuit relating to the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal? Continue reading “Indonesia has spoken. Why is Najib still silent more than 38 hours after Trump signed the executive order banning 130 million people from seven countries from United States?”

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 is the 114th birthday anniversary of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bapa Malaysia and the first Prime Minister of the country.
I believe Tunku would be horrified that Malaysia has become a global kleptocracy and heading towards a failed and rogue state.

In fact, the second and third Prime Ministers, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein, would have been horrified by the trajectory of the nation under the sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The fourth Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir, one of the two surviving former Prime Ministers, has already made his horror about Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy and hurtling towards a failed and rogue state clear and obvious to all Malaysians.

I think there can be no better way to commemorate Tunku’s 114th birthday anniversary than to convene a roundtable of political and civil society leaders to save Malaysia from a global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state.

All political and civil society leaders will be invited to attend this Roundtable to Save Malaysia from global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state. Continue reading “Save Malaysia Roundtable of political and civil society leaders on Tunku’s 114th birthday anniversary to save Malaysia from global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state”

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should call for an emergency Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) meeting to demand that President Triump rescind the anti-Muslim executive order to bar refugees and people from at least seven Muslim countries from entry into United States for 90 days.

Trump’s executive order, which temporarily halts admissions for all refugees while barring Syrian refugees indefinitely, also temporarily bans the entry of visa holders from at least seven Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. Continue reading “Najib should call for an emergency OIC meeting to demand that Trump rescind the anti-Muslim executive order to bar people from at least seven Muslim countries from entry into United States”

What a haughty, arrogant but misconceived and misinformed response from Hadi.

It is PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s prerogative to dismiss any possibility of working with DAP, but he has no right to turn and twist facts to justify his position.

It is not the DAP but Hadi as PAS President who violated the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework and the Pakatan Rakyat consensus principle that all decisions in Pakatan Rakyat coalition should be reached by consensus of all the three component parties.

But the last straw that broke the camel’s back was when Hadi vetoed what had been agreed by the Pakatan Rakyat leadership council with PAS represented by its Deputy President and Secretary-General, demonstrating that Hadi not only wanted to be a dictator in PAS but also in Pakatan Rakyat.

Hadi should look into the mirror when he alleged that the DAP has failed to look after the interest of the people of Penang, although it had one term to do so.

Lest Hadi forgets, DAP-led Pakatan Rakyat won 30 state assembly seats in the 2013 general elections as compared to 29 seats in the 2008 general election.

In the 2013 general election, DAP not only won all the 19 seats it won in the 2008 general elections, but with a bigger majority in everyone of the 19 seats, with majority as big as more than 300 per cent as in the case of Chong Eng in the Padang Lalang seat where she won with a 14,930- vote majority as compared to the 4,242-vote DAP majority in 2008 general election and of over 400% increase as in Padang Kota where Chow Kong Yeow won with 7,196-vote majority as compared to 1,661-vote majority in 2008; and in Pulau Tikus where Yap Soo Huey won with a 8,220-vote majority as compared to 1,714-vote majority in 2008 and in Seri Delima where RSN Ryer won with 9,227-vote majority as compared to 2,128-vote majority in 2008.

In contrast, Hadi was thrown out of the Terengganu state government after one term as Mentri Besar. In the 1999 Terengganu state general elections, thanks to the Anwar “reformasi” wave, Hadi became Terengganu Mentri Besar with PAS winning 28 out of the 32 state assembly seats, winning 87.5% of the popular vote in the state.

In the 2004 general elections, an astounding reverse took place, with Hadi thrown out as Mentri Besar when UMNO won 28 out of the 32 state assembly seats, leaving PAS with only 4 seats but its popular vote crashed from 87.5% in 1999 to 12.5%.

Can Hadi explain such a great contrast in popular support for the DAP-led state government in Penang as compared to his ignominious one term as Teregganu Mentri Besar? Continue reading “My lawyers instructed to consider whether Hadi’s insinuation that I am anti-Islam is defamatory and cause for legal proceedings”

By TK Chua
Free Malaysia Today
January 27, 2017

We should stay focused on the big picture and, instead of harping on past problems, be more realistic and practical about issues such as racism, graft, and massive development projects.

There are just too many incongruous arguments going on in Malaysia today. I consider all these deliberate distractions and diversions from the more fundamental problems confronting us.

The first distraction is the assertion that Lim Kit Siang will become deputy prime minister should the opposition take federal power. There is nothing wrong in Lim Kit Siang becoming DPM if the situation warrants it. Why would the race of a person become an issue unless it is the embedded racism being voiced? Has racism become so entrenched in Malaysia today that even the racists are not consciously aware of their own behaviour?

We must not get distracted; fight we must against racism and bigotry before it is too late. Continue reading “Let’s keep our focus on things that matter”

Malaysia Dateline
24 Januari 2017 | BORHAN AHMAD

Bekas ketua pengarang Harakah, Ahmad Lutfi Othman menyifatkan akhbar milik Pas itu kini umpama ‘kapal yang bocor menunggu masa untuk tenggelam’ manakala nasib partinya pula, Pas, lagi menyedihkan.

Dalam tulisan pertamanya selepas 26 bulan tidak menulis, Lutfi dalam tulisan pertamanya di Malaysia Dateline berkata, “Gugatan media baru memang satu faktor besar tetapi kurangnya persiapan untuk mencabar ancaman baru itu, bagi saya, lebih berperanan untuk menjatuhkan lagi jumlah cetakan akhbar.”

Lutfi yang tidak sihat sejak beberapa tahun lalu tamat perkhidmatannya secara rasmi dengan Harakah akhir Disember tahun 2016 lalu.

Kini beliau menyertai akhbar mingguan Amanah yang dimiliki oleh parti pecahan dari Pas itu sebagai Penasihat Editorial mula menulis dengan Malaysia Dateline mulai hari ini. Continue reading “Ketika Harakah umpama kapal bocor, Pas lagi menyedihkan, kata Lutfi”

Chinese New Year Message
27th January 2017

The Chinese New Year of the Rooster in 2017, like all the national festivities in the country, will be celebrated under the cloud of Malaysia as a global kleptocracy.

The appellation of “global kleptocracy” is a stain and slur on the reputation and integrity of Malaysia and 30 million Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, gender or age, and it must be the common resolve of all self-respecting and patriotic Malaysians in the coming year to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the ignominy and infamy of being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

I wish all Malaysians, and just not confined to Malaysian Chinese, a Happy Chinese New Year with the resolution that 2017 is the only kleptocratic Chinese New Year in the history of Malaysia. Continue reading “Let 2017 be the only kleptocratic Chinese New Year in the history of Malaysia”

BY KARIM RASLAN
South China Morning Post
25 JAN 2017

Despite disquieting migration statistics, a young Chinese Malaysian couple say they are happy where they are and see prosperity ahead in the Lunar New Year

Seri Kembangan, Selangor, is 22km to the south of Kuala Lumpur and just 20 minutes away from Putrajaya, Malaysia’s gaudy administrative centre.

Sixty years ago, this would have been scrubland dotted by tin mines, rubber plantations and small market gardens. The area is home to a patchwork of predominantly Chinese Malaysian communities with a large Hakka contingent, hardened wayfarers from Southern China – a people accustomed to living on marginal land.

In the early 1950s, most of the inhabitants were corralled into euphemistically named “New Villages” such as Sekinchan and Jinjang as the British colonial authorities sought to quell a nagging communist insurgency.

But what was formerly a no-man’s-land has long since been transformed into choice real estate. There is the iconic Commonwealth sports complex, a Turf Club, that bizarre Mahathir-era hostelry the Palace of the Golden Horses and countless small factories, townships, shopping centres and housing estates. Continue reading “YEAR OF THE ROOSTER: GOOD FORTUNE FOR MALAYSIA’S DWINDLING CHINESE COMMUNITY?”

Up till noon today, on the expiry of my 72 hour offer to meet MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, together or separately, any place any time to discuss how we can co-operate in the larger national interests to save Malaysia from a global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state, I have not been contacted, either directly or indirectly, by Liow or Mah.

I regret this although I am not in the least surprised that Liow and Mah are not prepared to save Malaysia from kleptocracy as their entire political future hinge on not rocking Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s boat like raising awkward issues concerning the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal.

I also regret that the PAS President, Datuk Hadi Awang had spurned my offer of co-operation to save Malaysia from becoming a global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state, as there had been complete silence from him in the last six days apart from puerile, ridiculous and malicious responses from his subordinates in PAS.

What the issue in the past six days had shown is that I am prepared to co-operate with Najib, Hadi, Liow, Mah and the other Barisan Nasional leaders in Sabah and Sarawak on an overriding national agenda – to save Malaysia from global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state – but unfortunately, Najib, Hadi, Liow and Mah are not prepared to reciprocate.

Of course, it will not be easy for them to reciprocate my offer for what does saving Malaysia from global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state mean? Continue reading “Not surprised in the least that Liow and Mah not prepared to save Malaysia from kleptocracy as their entire political future hinge on not rocking Najib’s boat like raising awkward issues concerning the 1MDB money-laundering scandal”

Was the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner, Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad, directing his “Just You Wait” warning to MO1, and if not, what credibility is there that the MACC will break the jinx of just going after ikan bilis while ikan yus continue to go scotfree, unlike the “tigers” in China and “crocodiles” in Indonesia who are being caught, brought to justice and jailed?

Dzulkifli should know that Malaysians have had enough of excuses why “grand corruption” involving top political leaders continue to be a protected “species” and no amount of belly-aching about inadequate budget or staffing is acceptable as an excuse for MACC’s failure to break the back of the problem of grand corruption in Malaysia – as evident by another drop in Malaysia’s ranking and score in the Transparency International (TI)’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2016!

For 2016, Parliament allocated a budget of RM250 million for the MACC, which is more than six times the budget allocated to its predecessor, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for the year 2000.

Can Dzulkifli produce a report to demonstrate that the MACC today is six times more effective than ACA in 2000 in fighting corruption, in arresting and jailing the corrupt especially in terms of netting ikan yus and ikan bilis by bringing them to justice, whether “grand corruption” or “petty corruption”?

Malaysia’s ranking in the TI CPI 2001 was No. 36 out of 91 countries and the score was 50 out of 100, but in the 2016 TI CPI, Malaysia was fallen to No. 55 out of 176 countries with a below mid-point score of 49 out of 100.

Is this the six times’ improvement in performance and KPI of the MACC as compared to the ACA in year 2000? Continue reading “Was the MACC chief directing his “Just You Wait” warning to MO1, and if not, what credibility is there that the MACC will break jinx of just going after ikan bilis while ikan yus continue to go scotfree, unlike “tigers” in China and “crocodiles” in Indonesia who are brought to justice and jailed?”

Was it a sheer coincidence that the Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times and Berita Harian today all reported an article entitled “Apa salahnya DAP jadi TPM” which appeared on online portal Malaysiakini yesterday, and all omitted that it was an article written by Zulhazmi Shariff, Ahli Jawatankuasa Biro Guaman DAP Kedah.

This was power play at the most blatant, someone – who is actually UMNO’s Goebbels – who had the power to direct the three UMNO-owned “mainstream newspapers” what to print, how to print, and what to omit!

For most of the past five decades of my political life, I was virtually a non-person to the UMNO-owned and controlled “mainstream media”, never reported about or mentioned except on occasions to demonise me or to put me in the worst possible light.

But for the past four weeks, I had become quite a “regular” in these three UMNO-owned “mainstream media” which had treated me as a “persona non grata” – not because these three “mainstream media” have suddenly realized that the journalists’ craft is to tell the truth, but for the UMNO propaganda masterminds to set me up so that UMNO leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers could discredit, destroy and demolish me.

They were modern-day Malaysian practitioners of the Nazi craft immortalized by Hitler’s Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels who said the infamous words – “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Continue reading “It flaunts the power but also advertises the failure of UMNO’s Goebbels in using Nazi Big Lies to demonise me as power-hungry, anti-Malay and anti-Islam”

MY DREAM

Do I see rainbow in the sky
With droves of birds flying by?
Do I see a lush greenery
Flora and fauna of sheer beauty?

Do I see rich traditions
From ancient civilisations?
Do I see children playing together
Of various races and gender? Continue reading “MY DREAM – Alwi Jantan”

I can report that in the second day of my 72-hour proposal to MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong for a separate or joint meeting to discuss how we can co-operate in the larger national interests to save Malaysia from a global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state, I have received no contact from either one of them.

I have also received no response from Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to my statement in Penang on Sunday during my “Jelajah Desa” at Sungai Gelugor in Penang that I am prepared to co-operate with the PAS President to save Malaysia from becoming a global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state – apart from negative statements from his subordinates in PAS.

It would appear that Liow and Mah have an unwritten agreement with Hadi that they will not rock the boat of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and will not raise any issue or question about the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal even if Malaysia is as a result regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.

Am I wrong? We will know when my 72-hour offer to Liow and Mah expires at noon tomorrow!

Actually, there is no better time than now for all the political leaders, whether in government or opposition, to demonstrate their patriotism and love of the country by uniting on a common national agenda to save Malaysia from global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state, especially with the release of the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2016 in Berlin yesterday which showed that Malaysia is hurtling downwards in a unchecked decline in national and international perceptions about integrity, good governance and the war against corruption. Continue reading “Liow and Mah seem to have an unwritten agreement with Hadi that they will not rock Najib’s boat and will not raise any issue about the 1MDB money-laundering scandal even if Malaysia is known as a global kleptocracy”

I wish to report that in the first 24 hours from 12 noon yesterday till 12 noon today, neither MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai nor the Gerakan President Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong had contacted me in response to my public offer yesterday that I am prepared to meet with them, individually or collectively, any place any time in the ensuing 72 hours to discuss how we can co-operate in the larger national interests to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy.

I had asked whether Liow and Mah would have to get UMNO approval before responding. We will wait and see what happens in the rest of the 72-hour offer.

Already, there is a strange political phenomenon. In yesterday’s press, I was the target of massive attacks from all the top MCA and Gerakan leaders for offering during my “Jelajah Desa” at Sungai Gelugor in Penang on Sunday to co-operate with PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to save Malaysia from becoming a global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state.
Continue reading “A week ago, Google returned 255,000 results in 0.42 seconds on “1MDB” search – today it returned 4.41 million searches in just 0.32 seconds!”