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Will Mahathir again make history – to be sacked from UMNO twice apart from quitting once on his own?

The Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak went into a political offensive yesterday when opening the two-day 2015 Kedah UMNO Convention, calling on UMNO members to ignore ‘jemuan-jemuan’ (bad characters) and apple-polishers as these people cause disunity in the ranks.

He said UMNO was capable of remaining in power and win elections if these “unwanted people” were not in the party.

Who are these “bad characters” that Najib was referring to?

The persons who immediately come to mind are UMNO’s longest-serving Prime Minister and President, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, his two-time Finance Minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin and his “hullubalangs” like former Information Minister and Utusan Malaysia editor-in-chief Zainuddin Maidin.

It is most noteworthy that Najib has chosen Kedah to go on the offensive, making the speech before the Kedah Mentri Besar, Mukhriz Mahathir, when everybody at the convention and outside knew that heading the “jemuan-jemuan” slammed by Najib is none other than Mukriz’s father, Tun Mahathir. Continue reading “Will Mahathir again make history – to be sacked from UMNO twice apart from quitting once on his own?”

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Anwar jailing could hurt both opposition and Najib

Yang Razali Kassim
East Asia Forum
14 March 2015

The jailing of Anwar Ibrahim following a second sodomy conviction could trigger a chain of events that could shake up Malaysian politics. Unlike after his first jailing in 1998, the opposition, which he leads, is already split and could crumble. But this may well play out as Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is currently under siege within his ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), fights for his own survival. Anwar currently is serving a jail term of five years for what he maintains was a political conspiracy by his enemies, including Prime Minister Najib.

Unless pardoned by the Malaysian King, the verdict could well end the 67-year-old Anwar’s political career. Besides losing his parliamentary seat, by the time he is released, he would be 72 making any political comeback difficult. But the former deputy prime minister has in the past proven to be like a cat with nine lives — and might just have one more. His family’s move to petition for a royal pardon was unexpected, but that prevented Anwar from losing his parliamentary seat pending the King’s decision. Anwar did not make the appeal, insisting on his innocence.

In 2000, two years after he was sacked as deputy premier following a clash with then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad over the handling of the Asian financial crisis, Anwar was jailed for his first sodomy conviction. He was released four years later when that conviction was overturned by the court. Anwar countered his latest court verdict with a vow to continue his fight from behind bars, thus promising to turn himself into a political martyr. Continue reading “Anwar jailing could hurt both opposition and Najib”

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Twin ghosts haunt Malaysia’s sovereign fund

By Una Galani
Reuters
March 12, 2015

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Malaysia’s 1MDB faces a daunting task. The six year-old sovereign fund was set up to finance big national projects but expanded too fast, took on heavy debts and is now at the centre of a growing controversy. An ambitious restructuring brings both political and financial risks.

The fund which counts Prime Minister Najib Razak as chairman of its board of advisors has pledged to dismantle itself following a strategic review led by new chief executive Arul Kanda. It plans to stop making new investments and raise cash through an initial public offering of Malaysia’s second largest independent power producer. Selling unused land and finding equity partners for real estate projects that include a new financial centre in Kuala Lumpur and a development built around the terminus for a planned high-speed rail link with Singapore should bring in additional funds.

1MDB’s most pressing objective is to pay down net debt, which stood at around 38 billion ringgit ($10.3 billion) in March 2014. In the same year it made a net loss of 665.4 million ringgit, despite booking a gain from the revaluation of its property portfolio. Absent similar revaluations, it also made a loss in the previous two years. Continue reading “Twin ghosts haunt Malaysia’s sovereign fund”

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President Barack Obama’s Malaysia Problem

By John R. Malott
Asia Sentinel
March 13, 2015

A former US ambassador tells why he initiated a petition to free Anwar Ibrahim

It was still the evening of Feb. 9 on the US east coast when I learned that the Federal Court, Malaysia’s highest, had upheld the conviction of the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The next day I saw a press release issued by a spokesperson for President Barack Obama’s National Security Council (NSC), saying that “the United States is deeply disappointed with Mr. Anwar’s conviction.” It said that “the decision to prosecute Mr. Anwar and the conduct of his trial have raised a number of serious concerns about rule of law and the fairness of the judicial system in Malaysia.”

While the content of the press release was good enough, many observers pointed out that it was issued in a name of a mid-ranking official in the NSC and not by a higher-ranking person in either the NSC or the White House itself. As such, to many people it seemed that the White House might just be “doing the necessary” and issuing a pro forma statement because it had to. Their suspicions were raised because Obama himself had been seen playing golf in Hawaii with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak just a few weeks earlier.

The golf match with Najib was a rare occasion for Obama, for as The New York Times pointed out in a March 10 article, Obama’s relationships with foreign leaders are almost all cool and businesslike. It is rare for him to invest his time in a personal relationship or to “click” with a foreign leader. According to present and former US Administration officials, however, Obama likes Najib. They “click.” They say that Obama likes meeting and talking to Najib. Continue reading “President Barack Obama’s Malaysia Problem”

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Why is IGP Khalid declaring war on Pakatan Rakyat when he should be declaring war on Islamic State? Is IGP for UMNO/BN or for all Malaysians?

DAP MP for Rasah and DAPSY Chief Teo Kok Seong is the sixth victim of the police crackdown on organisers of the Kita Lawan peaceful rally last week.

He was arrested under Section 143 of the Penal Code when he reported to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters at 11 am this morning, for his statement to be recorded as arranged beforehand.

The Kita Lawan rally was held peacefully to protest against the five-year jailing of Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The other five who had been arrested for the peaceful rally are PKR Youth chief and Selangor Exco Member Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, PKR Vice Chairman/Secretary-General/ MP for Pandan Rafizi Ramli, PKR Youth leader Saifullah Zulkifli, PKR Supreme Council member Fairiz Musa and PAS Youth treasurer Fakhurazi Mokhtar.

PKR Vice President and MP for Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar is expected to be the next target.

Kok Seong has been sent to the Jinjang Police Station where he would be remanded overnight. Is the police planning for a longer remand for Kok Seong, like the further three-day remand in the case of Nik Nazmi?

This is a gross abuse of power. Continue reading “Why is IGP Khalid declaring war on Pakatan Rakyat when he should be declaring war on Islamic State? Is IGP for UMNO/BN or for all Malaysians?”

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UMNO’s “Unity Government” plotters now celebrating for they believe they will be able to achieve a major breakthrough for their seven-year-old conspiracy in four days’ time

UMNO’s “UG” (Unity Government between UMNO and PAS) plotters are now celebrating for they believe they will be able to achieve a major breakthrough for their seven-year conspiracy in four days’ time.

Although UMNO’s “UG” conspirators hatched their plot immediately after the 12th General Elections in 2008, they could not make any headway, although over the years, the UMNO “UG” plotters have refined their game and overcome one obstacle after another.

The UMNO “UG” plot had right from the beginning involved the highest UMNO levels – like the present and former UMNO Presidents and Prime Ministers – and a very high-level meeting was held in the first few months after the 12th General Elections but plotters came away empty-handed.

The “UG” plotters found the obstacles quite impregnable, especially in the steely, principled and consistent opposition of the late Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

In fact, when the “UG” concept was revived again over the Selangor Mentri Besar crisis in the third quarter of last year, there was an article in The Malaysian Insider entitled: “Jangan cakap soal gabung PAS – UMNO selagi Nik Aziz ada, kata penganalisis”, quoting a political analyst who said it was better not to discuss it as it was impossible so long Nik Aziz was still alive. Continue reading “UMNO’s “Unity Government” plotters now celebrating for they believe they will be able to achieve a major breakthrough for their seven-year-old conspiracy in four days’ time”

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Malaysia’s IS problem

Malaysia’s focus on stopping would-be fighters masks growing domestic support for Islamic extremists

By Bridget Welsh and Zachary Abuza
The Edge Review | 6 March 2015

When local papers reported last month that a 14-year old Malaysian girl had been stopped from heading to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic State (IS) movement, the headlines quickly faded into the background.

Her thwarted departure was marked as another “success”, but there was little discussion of the factors shaping the IS movement within Malaysia. Are there domestic factors that contribute? Let’s take stock of what we know so far.

While Malaysia – in common with other Southeast Asian countries – does not rank among the top 20 countries involved in the fighting, its presence is large enough not to be dismissed.

So far 71 people have been detained in Malaysia for their alleged participation in IS, with 59 recorded as fighting. Six Malaysians have died, including its first suicide bomber. There have been enough volunteers from Malaysia and Indonesia that a Malay-speaking unit was formed. Two Malaysians were also identified in a grisly beheading video.
Continue reading “Malaysia’s IS problem”

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Let all previous Home Ministers from Tun Mahathir to Tun Abdullah declare whether they had signed a “stack of letters and agreements” to the US like Zahid’s infamous letter to FBI vouching for the character of an alleged international gambling kingpin?

The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s revelation that that he has a “stack of letters and agreements” his predecessors as Home Minister had signed with the United States which are like his infamous letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) vouching for the character of an alleged international gambling kingpin is a real shocker, especially as his two immediate predecessors Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar (March 2008 – May 2013) had publicly denied that they had ever sent any such support letter unilaterally to the FBI.

Is Zahid seriously suggesting that his two immediate predecessors as Home Minister have publicly lied when in fact they had signed a “stack of lean international gambling kingpin, Paul Phua?

This matter has gone beyond the realm of internal power rivalry in a political party as it now concerns not only national security and Malaysia’s international reputation as well.

If Zahid is referring to either Hishammuddin or Syed Hamid Albar, then there is only one final solution – let the truth be out and it is either Zahid on one side or Hishammuddin and Syed Hamid Albar on the other who have to bow out of public life.

Or is Zahid referring to Home Ministers before Hishammuddin and Syed Hamid Albar?

Who are they? Continue reading “Let all previous Home Ministers from Tun Mahathir to Tun Abdullah declare whether they had signed a “stack of letters and agreements” to the US like Zahid’s infamous letter to FBI vouching for the character of an alleged international gambling kingpin?”

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Moving forward – a simple formula for Pakatan

By Stephen Ng
Malaysiakini
Mar 13, 2015

COMMENT With the current stalemate within the Pakatan Rakyat coalition as a result of having to deal with PAS president Hadi Awang and the ulama faction of PAS, there is only one way forward for Pakatan.

The solution may be found in a simple formula, which can work only when it is agreed upon by all Pakatan supporters.

After all, faced with the possibility of a split in the near future, Pakatan Rakyat may not have too many options to choose from if it seeks to offer a united front to go for the final push in the next general election.

History teaches us that the moment the three component parties parted ways in Barisan Alternatif, there is no way for the opposition to offer a strong challenge against Umno/Barisan Nasional in the elections.

BN strategists have been working doubly hard at splitting the Pakatan votes. By now, Pakatan leaders should have realised that whenever there is a three-cornered fight, Umno’s odds to win the seat become 2:1.

Given that scenario, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim would have gone to jail in vain, and for a nation in birthpangs, all hopes for a better Malaysia that Pakatan sought to offer would be dashed against the rocks.

Every Malaysian’s dream to have a two-party system would be dissipated by the next general election. Before that happens, Pakatan leaders would do well to discuss their strategies and forge ahead amidst the current challenges. Continue reading “Moving forward – a simple formula for Pakatan”

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Malaysia needs not only a new Finance Minister, but also new world-class Education Minister

Calls on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to stand down as Finance Minister led by DAP MP for Kluang and DAP National Political Education Director, Liew Chin Tong have reached a new crescendo with last Friday’s statement by the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin withdrawing blind and total support to Najib’s handling of the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, with the triple position:

1. That the Auditor-General should audit freely and independently, and tracing back to the accounts in 2009 when 1MDB first started, not just the accounts of 2013, as well as a forensic audit to ensure “there is no corruption in 1MDB transactions.

2. That the Public Accounts Committee begin investigating 1MDB without having to wait for the outcome of the Auditor-General’s findings.

3. No bail-out of 1MDB whether in the proposed disposals of lands in Tun Razak Exchange and Bandar Malaysia which were “obtained from the government on the cheap”.

However, the nation needs not only a new Finance Minister, but also a new Education, a need driven home after Muhyiddin’s speech today admitting his shock with the poor performance of Malaysian students in international assessments, despite the millions of ringgit being spent to improve the education system.

What is most shocking about Muhyiddin’s “shock” is that it has to take him 15 months for the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Education Minister to be shocked by the dismal performance of Malaysia’s 15-year-olds in the three subjects of mathematics, science and reading in the 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), when the results were released 15 months ago in early December 2013. Continue reading “Malaysia needs not only a new Finance Minister, but also new world-class Education Minister”

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Something is really “rotten in the state of Denmark” when the twitter-happy IGP can chop and change on an important issue on police investigations into the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal

On February 10, former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad quoted Shakespeare’s Hamlet on “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, and this sense of “rottenness” in Malaysia is increasingly exacerbated with passing weeks and days.

When the twitter-happy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar can chop and change on an important issue on police investigations into the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, something is really rotten in the “state of Denmark” in Malaysia.

On Monday, 9th March, the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar caused quite a media sensation when he announced a high-powered three-agency special task force to investigate the biggest financial scandal in the nation’s history, the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal comprising the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

But Khalid, who said the task force would even investigate the Prime Minister, was contradicted by the MACC Chief Commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed who said on the same day that the MACC would wait for the Auditor-General’s report on 1MDB before starting its own probe.

The MACC Chief Commissioner seemed to be unaware of the three-agency task force on 1MDB which Khalid said was formed the previous week.

The IGP and the MACC should clarify whether there is such a three-agency special task force on the 1MDB or whether it only existed in the imagination of the IGP.

But strangest of all, the very next day, Tuesday, 10th March, Khalid backtracked and announced that the special task force would only start their investigations into the 1MDB after the Auditor-General had completed his scrutiny and uncovered discrepancies and wrongdoings. Continue reading “Something is really “rotten in the state of Denmark” when the twitter-happy IGP can chop and change on an important issue on police investigations into the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal”

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Yet again, Malaysian varsities not among world’s top

BY ANISAH SHUKRY
The Malaysian Insider
12 March 2015

Malaysian universities have once again failed to make the cut in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings 2015, with too few scholars citing the country’s tertiary institutions as being among the best in the world.

The list of the world’s 100 most prestigious universities released today includes two Singapore varsities, and is based on the largest survey of leading academics across the world, said THE rankings editor, Phil Baty.

“As long as academics cite them as being among the very best universities in the world, they will appear in the rankings,” Baty told The Malaysian Insider in an email.

“Unfortunately, not enough scholars around the world named any Malaysian university in sufficient numbers for them to make the top 100. Singapore had two top entries – NUS (National University of Singapore) in 24th place and NTU (Nanyang Technological University) in the 91-100 band.”

Malaysia has never been featured on the list, which is in its fifth year, despite Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh’s recent statement that the country’s universities are world class and on par with varsities in Britain, Germany and Australia.

But unlike Malaysia, those three countries were singled out by THE as having among the highest number of institutions in the World Reputation Rankings 2015.

The US had the most number of institutions at 43, followed by the United Kingdom (12), Germany (six) and Australia (five). Continue reading “Yet again, Malaysian varsities not among world’s top”

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The Najib administration has become a hydra-headed government with Ministers and heads of departments giving different stands on a whole variety of issues

The Najib administration has become a hydra-headed government with Ministers and heads of government giving different stands on a whole variety of issues.

The present meeting of Parliament is providing multiple examples of a hydra-headed government.

For instance, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi in a written answer to the DAP MP for Kulai, Teo Nie Ching, said police have completed investigations on incendiary statements by Umno leaders, the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim and are waiting for further instructions from the Attorney-General.

A total of 32 police reports were lodged against Ismail over his call for Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses as a way to force down the prices of goods while ten police reports were lodged against Mashitah, who had said that Chinese people had burned the Quran in a religious rite in Kuala Kedah, which was a downright lie as it never happened.

But while the Home Minister said that the Police are waiting for instructions from the Attorney-General, another Minister, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, cleared Ismail Sabri of any offence or any crime! Continue reading “The Najib administration has become a hydra-headed government with Ministers and heads of departments giving different stands on a whole variety of issues”

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Khalid’s ‘Twitter policing’ gets home minister okay

BY EILEEN NG
The Malaysian Insider
11 March 2015

The Twitter habits of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar got an endorsement from the home minister, who said today using the social media platform to make announcements did not break any laws.

Instead, it was aimed at keeping the public informed on the police’s actions and was not politically motivated or out to scare anyone, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Police have always acted professionally, maintained law and public order, and set out to detect and eradicate crime without fear or favour, he said today.

“As such, PDRM uses Twitter to inform the public on actions taken on matters which can cause worry among the public, and the successes achieved by PDRM,” he said, using the Malay acronym for the Royal Malaysian Police Force. Continue reading “Khalid’s ‘Twitter policing’ gets home minister okay”

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Removal of Free Anwar petition an error, says US embassy

The Malaysian Insider
11 March 2015

The White House made a mistake when it removed a petition posted on its website urging the Obama administration to free jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said the United States Embassy in Malaysia.

It said today that the White House standard fraud checks indicated a high number of anomalous signatures on a petition related to Anwar’s imprisonment, but because of the multiple petitions on the issue, it had mistakenly taken down the free Anwar petition.

“There were multiple petitions related to this issue, and after follow-up assessment, The White House determined that the petition it removed was not the one that contained fraudulent signatures,” the US embassy posted on its Facebook page.

“To account for the error, the White House has since re-enabled the petition titled ‘Make the Release of Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim from Prison a Top Priority for US Policy Toward Malaysia’, and is extending the deadline to account for the time lost while the petition was disabled. No signatures were removed.”

It said the White House later determined that the fraudulent signatures existed in the petition ‘Respecting the Sovereign Nation of Malaysia’, and had temporarily disabled it from the website. Continue reading “Removal of Free Anwar petition an error, says US embassy”

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Auditor-General’s assurance of professional audit of 1MDB most welcome although public confidence have not been helped by contradictory or uncharacteristic statements by MACC and Police

I welcome the promise by the Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang that his department will call up any individual necessary even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in completing an independent audit on strategic fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The Auditor-General’s assurance of professional audit of 1MDB and not to be swayed by extraneous considerations is most welcome, although public confidence that the various authorities would adopt a professional, accountable and responsible approach in the handling of the 1MDB scandal had not been helped by contradictory or uncharacteristic statements by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Police.

Suddenly, there seems to be a competition among the various departments to show courage and eagerness to investigate the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself – as not only Ambrin does not rule out such possibility, even the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar pointedly said that Najib would be one of the targets of investigation by a three-agency task force to probe the 1MDB scandal.

In fact, the IGP’s announcement has detracted the credibility of the Auditor-General’s statement that his department’s audit would not exclude an investigation into the Prime Minister, for who would believe the IGP’s claim when he had been guilty of kid-glove treatment to BN Ministers and leaders, letting off the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Datuk Ismail Sabri for the most racist and seditious incitement in calling on Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businessmen and allowing the former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Mashitah Ibrahim to enjoy impunity and immunity for spouting heinous lies to incite religious hatred, conflict and tension in plural Malaysia. Continue reading “Auditor-General’s assurance of professional audit of 1MDB most welcome although public confidence have not been helped by contradictory or uncharacteristic statements by MACC and Police”

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Joseph Pairin invited to forum on “How many are REAL Sabahans – Report on RCI Report on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah” in Kuala Lumpur on Monday 16/3 to present his blue-print to resolve once and for all the 45-year Sabah Illegal Immigrants Nightmare

I have written to the PBS President and Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who is also Chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS) Working Committee, inviting him to a forum in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 16th March 2015 for him to present his blueprint to resolve once and for all the 45-year Sabah Illegal Immigrants Nightmare.

Ten months have passed since the RCIIIS presented its report to the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Federal Government, and more than three months have passed since the RCIIIS report was made public in Kota Kinabalu, but up to now, nothing has been done to resolve the 45-year Sabah Illegal Immigrants nightmare.

In fact, it would not be wrong to say that despite the Cabinet decision to establish the RCIIIS in February more than three years ago in February 2012, and the submission of the RCIIIS Report to Putrajaya10 months ago, there had been no concrete measure to break the back of the 45-year problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah apart from the establishment of ESSCOM and ESSZONE as a result of the Lahad Datuk Intrusion in February/March 2013.

Pairin is no stranger to the issue of the 45-year Sabah Illegal Immigrants Nightmare, as he had been as long in active politics in Sabah as the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah. Continue reading “Joseph Pairin invited to forum on “How many are REAL Sabahans – Report on RCI Report on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah” in Kuala Lumpur on Monday 16/3 to present his blue-print to resolve once and for all the 45-year Sabah Illegal Immigrants Nightmare”

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It’s time for women to liberate women

– Dyana Sofya
The Malaysian Insider
8 March 2015

The ‘Wake Up To A Good Cause’ campaign by Marie Claire Malaysia and the Women’s Aid Organisation is meant to raise awareness and give every woman who has ever suffered abuse a voice while raising funds for one of the country’s most established NGOs dedicated to empowering abused women.

One in every three women in this world have suffered from some form of abuse. Meanwhile, about 39% of Malaysian women have been physically, mentally or emotionally abused. Although physical abuse is usually more obvious, the same can’t be said for mental and emotional abuse.

Ironically, even this very campaign to end violence and abuse against women has found itself the target of online abuse in the social media by certain quarters. An uproar has erupted in the last few days over the campaign simply because it depicts pictures of women posing as if they had just gotten out of bed. I am not sure about some, but I am sure everyone else sleeps in a bed.

Instead of focusing on the purpose of the campaign, these “abusers” prefer to denigrate women who are working towards a good cause. Strangely enough, some of these comments even come from women themselves. Continue reading “It’s time for women to liberate women”

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Auditor General Ambrin must buck up as six-day inaction on investigation into 1MDB dereliction of duty

The Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang must buck up and get on with his work and responsibility as the six-day inaction on investigations into the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal is a major dereliction of duty.

Malaysians want to know why the Auditor-General has not swung into immediate action to investigate into the biggest financial scandal in the nation’s history after the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had directed him on Wednesday to independently verify 1MDB’s accounts
Malaysians can still remember the poor and unacceptable reasons given by Ambrin last November why he was not auditing 1MDB accounts.

This was what Ambrin said on November 12, 2014 at a media session in Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with the third series of the auditor’s report 2013:

“My answer is as far as their accounts are concerned, it has already been audited by one of the big four (audit firms), so there is no reason why we should ask them to open up their books because auditing financial statements is very laborious (with) examination of documents and things like that.”

Ambrin was rightly flayed in the media for “passing the buck to The Big Four”, and “lectured” that if auditors were infallible, there would be no financial scandals in the world. Continue reading “Auditor General Ambrin must buck up as six-day inaction on investigation into 1MDB dereliction of duty”

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DAP calls for a “land for landless” policy in Sabah, derived from the Batu Sumpah guarantee of land rights for Sabahans

This is the fifth Batu Sumpah replica to be raised in Sabah since the start of the Batu Sumpah movement five months ago. The first Batu Sumpah replice was in Inanam, second in Mempulut in Pensiangan, third a double mammoth Batu Sumpah in Moyog and the fourth in Kg Iban in Merotai last night.

The Batu Sumpah movement has brought about a quickening of the awareness among Sabahans about their basic rights, symblising the three basic issues which are fundamental to the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago in 1963 – firstly, freedom of religion and land rights and adat istiadat for native Sabahans.

This is taken place at a critical time in the history of Sabah and Malaysia.

For the first time in Sabah history, the voice and aspirations of the people of Sabah are being given more attention by Putrajaya than at any time in the state’s history. Continue reading “DAP calls for a “land for landless” policy in Sabah, derived from the Batu Sumpah guarantee of land rights for Sabahans”