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Call on all Pakatan Rakyat leaders, including PAS President Hadi Awang, to focus single-mindedly on how to save Pakatan Rakyat and discourage efforts and elements within our ranks who are prepared to destabilize and even destroy PR

In my Chinese New Year Message on 17th February, I had said that many issues will jostle as the top Malaysian concerns and conversational topics during the Chinese New Year.

This is the third day of the Chinese New Year, and I confess that I had expected Anwar’s conviction and five-year jail sentence for Sodomy II by the Federal Court and his fourth incarceration in his 47-year political struggle as the No. 1 conversation topic of all Malaysians in the Chinese New Year.

I was however wrong, for another issue caught up and gained an edge over Anwar’s conviction and 5-year jail sentence to compete for the No. 1 Chinese New Year top conversation topic – another Federal Court decision concerning a nine-year-matter, the heinous murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu and the blowing up of her body with military C4 explosives in the Shah Alam bushes on Oct. 19, 2006.

On the day I issued my Chinese New Year Message on 17th February, Sirul Azhar, one of the two convicted murderers of Altantunya who had absconded and is seeking asylum in Australia, told Malaysiakini that he was mulling over the possibility of “telling all” about the Altantuya murder as he was only acting “under orders”.

The fast-paced five-day developments of the Altantuya murder case from the Sirul perspective, threatening to reveal “all” in a video conference from Australia tomorrow (Monday) morning, catapulted the issue into a greater cause celebre during the Chinese New Year family re-unions, get-togethers, discussions and coffee-shop talks than the Anwar case – although both these cases were unchallenged as the two top-most first and second conversation topics in the Chinese New Year.

These two high-profile cases highlighted a common defect in our system of governance – a deep rot in the leadership of the 130,000 strong police establishment in not allowing the men and women in blue to act efficiently, independently and professionally to uphold what is right and lawful rather to be subverted to glorify “might is right”’ and the shocking lack of commitment and quality of performance by the political leadership and public service to provide good governance.

I am thoroughly shocked and outraged at the failure of our system of administration of justice in both these high-profile cases in keeping with the maxim to ensure that “justice is not only done, but seen to be done”.

There were several burning issues which qualify to be described as the concerns and top conversation topics of all Malaysians on the occasion of the Chinese New Year of the Goat in the past few days, and among those competing for the second tier level of the Chinese New Year concerns and top conversation topics are: Continue reading “Call on all Pakatan Rakyat leaders, including PAS President Hadi Awang, to focus single-mindedly on how to save Pakatan Rakyat and discourage efforts and elements within our ranks who are prepared to destabilize and even destroy PR”

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Shafee’s nation-wide roadshow against Anwar no less vile, vengeful and vindictive just because it has become a closed-door event

Tan Sri Mohammad Shafee Abdullah’s nation-wide roadshow against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to try to win in the court of public opinion on Anwar’s conviction and five-year jail sentence on Sodomy II is not less vile, vengeful and vindictive just because it has become closed-door event not to be reported in the media.

Last night, Shafee was in Permatang Pauh for the second stop of his nation-wide roadshow against Anwar, in a talk dubbed “Sejenak bersama TS Shafee Abdullah”, but unlike his first stop of his nation-wide roadshow at an UMNO Youth forum in Kelana Jaya last Tuesday, the media were told not cover or write about the talk.

But Shafee should know that his roadshow against Anwar is not less vile, vengeful and vindictive just it is now closed-door not to be reported by the media, which actually makes it even more deplorable, despicable and unwarranted, as he would be able to “get away with murder” without fear of being challenged whether in the court of law or the court of public opinion.

It is in fact a most cowardly act, embarking on a roadshop clearly detrimental to Anwar’s reputation and character without affording Anwar any opportunity to answer his serious and even wild allegations against the Parliamentary Opposition Leader and former Prime Minister. Continue reading “Shafee’s nation-wide roadshow against Anwar no less vile, vengeful and vindictive just because it has become a closed-door event”

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China’s corruption probe bares its teeth

By Jonathan Fenby
BBC
20 February 2015

Every Chinese republican regime and imperial dynasty has inveighed against corruption.

The impact has invariably been limited, with campaigns against graft scraping only the surface and being abandoned after a short period when a few big fish have been held up to public scrutiny and the immediate political aim has been achieved.

This time, it is different.

The anti-corruption campaign launched by China’s leader, Xi Jinping, after he took office at the end of 2012, will go on forever, says its chief implementation officer, Wang Qishan, head of the Communist Party’s Discipline Commission. Continue reading “China’s corruption probe bares its teeth”

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Survey: M’sia’s polls boundaries worst in world

Malaysiakini
Feb 21, 2015

Malaysia has the worst electoral boundaries in the world and among the worst set of election laws, the Electoral Integrity Project (EIP) found.

This places Malaysia among countries with ‘low electoral integrity’ ranking 114 out of 127 nations surveyed along with the likes of Angola, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Egypt, EIP’s 2014 report said.

It trails far behind neighbour Indonesia, which ranks 51st for its presidential elections. The Philippines and Thailand ranks 91st and 88th place respectively.

Malaysia was dragged down by its score for voting boundaries, where it scored 28 out of 100 – the worst in the world. The average global score was 64.

International and domestic experts who responded to EIP’s survey after GE13, said Malaysia’s electoral boundaries discriminated against some parties, favoured incumbents and were not impartial.

Similarly, Malaysia was in the bottom five in electoral laws by scoring a dismal 33, far behind the global average of 64, the report found. Continue reading “Survey: M’sia’s polls boundaries worst in world”

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Sirul should make a clean breast of the truth about the 2006 murder of Altantuya – admit to being one of the two killers, demonstrate true remorse and spell out the outrage that he is sentenced to death while the murder “mastermind” is allowed to get away scotfree

Former police special commandore Suril Azhar Umar should stop hiding and running which he had been doing for the past nine years but to take a honest stand to make a clean breast of the truth about the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu – admit to being one of the two killers (together with Azila Hadri), demonstrate remorse at the heinous deed “under orders” and spell out the outrage that he is sentenced to death while the murder “mastermind” is allowed to get away scot-free.

The time has also come for Sirul to make a public declaration of his first confession to the police on November 9, 2006 on the Altantuya’s murder.

Although his confession to the police was declared inadmissible by the Kuala Lumpur High Court during Sirul’s trial in July 2007, Sirul must now declare whether his confession represented the truth.

On Feb. 3, 2009, a tearful Sirul had asked the court not to sentence him to death for Altantuya’s murder, saying he was like “a black sheep that has to be sacrificed” to protect unnamed people who have never been brought to court or faced questioning.

“I have no reason to cause hurt, what’s more to take the life of the victim in such a cruel manner,” Sirul said. “I appeal to the court, which has the powers to determine if I live or die, not to sentence me so as to fulfil others’ plans for me.”

In his Nov. 9, 2006 confession to the police, which had been ruled inadmissible in the Altantuya murder trial, Sirul said his boss at the time, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri who is also charged with Altantuya’s murder, had talked about a reward of between RM50,000 and RM100,000 if the case was settled. Continue reading “Sirul should make a clean breast of the truth about the 2006 murder of Altantuya – admit to being one of the two killers, demonstrate true remorse and spell out the outrage that he is sentenced to death while the murder “mastermind” is allowed to get away scotfree”

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Dubai Torch tower fire: Why no one died

By Jessica Mendoza
Christian Science Monitor
February 21, 2015

Dubai Torch tower fire: Witnesses said that the quick actions of the city’s civil defense and police departments led to a safe, orderly evacuation of residents.

A fire that ripped through a luxury residential tower in Dubai’s Marina district early Saturday morning engulfed several stories and displaced hundreds, but caused no casualties, according to multiple news reports.

A number of people were treated for minor injuries by ambulances at the scene, The Associated Press reported.

The blaze, which broke out around 2 a.m. in the 86-story Torch tower building, appeared to have started on the 50th floor, according to CNN. High winds fanned the flames and scattered debris on nearby streets.

First responders evacuated residents before turning their attention on the fire, which took 12 fire engines and several hours to put out, the BBC reported. Continue reading “Dubai Torch tower fire: Why no one died”

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Sirul cannot continue to equivocate about the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu but must show genuine remorse for the killing under orders if he wants Malaysians and the world to be equally outraged at his betrayal by the murder “mastermind”

The latest from former police commando Sirul Azhar, one of the two convicted murderers of the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu who is in Australia challenging the bid of the Malaysian government to extradite him to return to the death row in Malaysia, is that he had never admitted to the murder of Altantuya.

Sirul has been maintaining in his telephone conversations with Malaysiakini that he had acted under orders and was being made a scapegoat.
He told Malaysiakini on Chinese New Year on Wednesday, 19th February – the day the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, blurted “utter rubbish”, “total rubbish” to Sirul’s claim of having acted “under orders”:

“There are no witnesses to the murder until today. All this is based on circumstantial evidence linking me (to the murder).

“I understand that circumstantial evidence is not strong as direct evidence.”

Sirul should come clean and admit to the heinous murder of Altantunya under orders.

Sirul cannot continue to equivocate about the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu but must show genuine remorse for the killing under orders if he wants Malaysians and the world to be equally outraged at his betrayal by the murder “mastermind” Continue reading “Sirul cannot continue to equivocate about the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu but must show genuine remorse for the killing under orders if he wants Malaysians and the world to be equally outraged at his betrayal by the murder “mastermind””

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ISIS Boasted Of These Christians’ Deaths. Here Are The Lives They Lived.

Sophia Jones
Posted: 02/18/2015 4:56 pm EST Updated: 02/19/2015 4:59 pm EST
The Huffington Post

AL AOUR, Egypt — Death is everywhere in Al Aour. When a video surfaced late Sunday showing Islamic State fighters beheading 21 men in Libya, it seemed no family here was spared. Thirteen of the victims hailed from this dusty Egyptian town, roughly three hours south of Cairo.

The men were laborers, gone for months on end, who sent home hard-earned money to feed entire families. They left their impoverished home in Egypt to work in Libya for a better future, despite the dangers. What they found instead was a militant group hell-bent on humiliating and harming them because they were Christian. While most of the people killed by the Islamic State have been Muslim, the group’s recent propaganda video made a point to threaten Christianity as a religion. The fact that the 21 men were Egyptian made them even more sought-out targets: citizens of a country cracking down on Islamists both within its own borders and inside Libya.

On Jan. 3 at around 2:30 a.m. in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte, masked gunmen began knocking on doors, according to survivors. They were looking for Christians marked with traditional tattoos on their hands that identified them as Copts, an ancient Christian sect in Egypt. Some men were pulled from their beds at gunpoint. Others hid and prayed, only to later see their captured friends and family members decapitated in a widely circulated and highly produced Islamic State video. Continue reading “ISIS Boasted Of These Christians’ Deaths. Here Are The Lives They Lived.”

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How much is Shafee paid as lead prosecutor in Anwar’s Sodomy II prosecution and is he also paid for leading a nation-wide road show justify the Federal Court’s decision and to humiliate Anwar?

PAS MP for Sepang Mohamed Hanipa Maidin has asked the government to reveal the actual fees it has to pay to Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to be lead prosecutor in Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar’s Sodomy II case at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court levels.

Shafee is now spearheading a nation-wide UMNO roadshow to try to win in the court of public opinion in Anwar’s Sodomy II prosecution, as it is abundantly clear that while Shafee had won in the courts in the judiciary, he had lost in two other courts – the court of public opinion in Malaysia and the international court of public opinion.

As Malaysians taxpayers are paying Shafee for his role as lead prosecutor in Anwar’s Sodomy II case at both the Court of Appeal and Federal Court, they are entitled to know how much Shafee is costing them to put Anwar in jail for the fourth time in his 47-year public career fighting for justice, freedom, human dignity and good governance in Malaysia.

Are the services of Shafee as lead prosecutor on Anwar’s case equivalent to the remuneration of the Attorney-General for a whole year, and if so or it approximates the sum, the question arises as to why the Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail is not conducting the prosecution himself instead of privatizing it to Shafee?

Furthermore, Malaysian taxpayers are also entitled to know whether they are also paying for Shafee’s nation-wide UMNO roadshow to justify the Federal Court’s decision against Anwar, as well as to take the opportunity to carry out a vicious and vengeful campaign against Anwar, and if so, the exact full amounts or fees or whether he is rendering his services to UMNO pro bono. Continue reading “How much is Shafee paid as lead prosecutor in Anwar’s Sodomy II prosecution and is he also paid for leading a nation-wide road show justify the Federal Court’s decision and to humiliate Anwar?”

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Sirul is showing to the whole world the “feet of clay” of the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General, the Judiciary and the Prime Minister in their mishandling of the 2006 Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case

The last thing former police commando Sirul Azhir Umar wanted to do is to show to the world the “feet of clay” of the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General, the Judiciary and the Prime Minister in their mishandling of the 2006 Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.

In his first telephone interview with Malaysiakini on Tuesday 17th February, Sirul said:

“I was under orders. The important people with motive are still free.

“It is not like I do not love the police (force) or the country, but I acted under orders.”

But this is exactly what Sirul has done, for in one fell swoop he had exposed the “feet of clay” of the pillars of our country, the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General, the Judiciary and the Prime Minister.

Many Pakatan Rakyat leaders, including the DAP MP for Bukit Gelugor Ramkarpal Singh, who is also lawyer for the family of the murdered Mongolian, have called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to initiate fresh investigations into Altantuya’s murder after Sirul claimed that he was ordered to kill her.

The IGP, however, is obstinate that the police will not re-investigate Altantuya’s murder even though new allegations have surfaced on the ground that Sirul had not divulged information that merited renewed scrutiny into the case. Continue reading “Sirul is showing to the whole world the “feet of clay” of the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General, the Judiciary and the Prime Minister in their mishandling of the 2006 Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case”

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Shafee’s unprecedented and most questionable road-show an admission that although he had won in the Federal Court with 5-0 verdict in his favour on Anwar Sodomy II trial, he has lost out in the court of public opinion

Its really so pathetic – Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah going on a UMNO-sponsored national roadshow to have a second “ bite of the cherry” in his prosecution of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sodomy II case.

Yes, Shafee has won in the Federal Court on Feb. 10 with a shocking 5-0 unanimous decision to dismiss Anwar’s appeal and to sent him back to jail for five years, Anwar’s fourth incarceration.

Even those who were most pessimistic about Anwar’s chances and had believed before the Federal Court decision that he would lose in the Federal Court appeal had expected either a 3-2 verdict or at worst a 4-1 decision.

Everybody was floored when there was an unanimous 5-0 decision and there were not only no dissenting judgment, there was no other judgment from the five-member Federal Court quorum, apart from the single judgment by the Chief Justice, Tun Arifin Zakaria!

Although Anwar had lost in the court of the Malaysian judiciary, he had won in two other courts – the court of public opinion in Malaysia and the court of international opinion, as it will not be easy to find another Federal Court judgment in the past two decades which had met with such instant universal condemnation, not only inside the country but also outside. Continue reading “Shafee’s unprecedented and most questionable road-show an admission that although he had won in the Federal Court with 5-0 verdict in his favour on Anwar Sodomy II trial, he has lost out in the court of public opinion”

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Opinion: Anwar imprisoned, Malaysia rights in free fall

Phil Robertson, Special for CNN
February 16, 2015

(CNN)—Watching from the observers’ gallery last week, I could see Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim moving from hope, to exasperation and then finally to anger as the country’s highest court dismissed his defense team’s arguments against his sodomy conviction.

After his appeal was denied on all counts, the sentencing hearing started — and Anwar took the gloves off, declaring the incident was a “complete fabrication” and a “political conspiracy” and attacking the five Federal Court judges for becoming “partners in the crime for the murder of judicial independence and integrity.”

The judges weren’t having any of that, and abruptly stood up and walked out of the courtroom to deliberate in chambers on Anwar’s fate, leaving a stunned courtroom behind them.

Anwar now faces five years in prison to contemplate the question that is on the minds of many Malaysians, which is how could a government get away with prosecuting a former deputy prime minister and the head of the opposition not once, but twice, for violating an archaic British colonial law against sodomy that has been invoked a total of only seven times since 1938?

Has the Malaysian government so clearly lost the plot that even outside observers would recognize that the trial was blatantly political from day one? Continue reading “Opinion: Anwar imprisoned, Malaysia rights in free fall”

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‘Zahid broke OSA in writing FBI letter’

By Zakiah Koya & Kamles Kumar
Malaysiakini
Feb 19, 2015

EXCLUSIVE A former top cop has accused Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of breaking the Official Secrets Act (OSA) by writing the letter to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to clear gambling kingpin Paul Phua Wei Seng.

This is because the information contained in the police investigation files is classified under the OSA, unless it has been declassified, former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim said.

The Official Secrets Act 1972 (Act 88), or OSA, is a federal law in Malaysia that prohibits the dissemination of information classified as an “official secret”.

Mat Zain said Zahid disbursed ‘secret’ information to unauthorised parties, such as the FBI and to the lawyers for Phua, Shafee Abdullah in Malaysia and Messrs Chesnoff & Schonfeld in the US.

In an email to Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail on Jan 19, Mat Zain said Zahid had broken the law in writing the letter and stating that Phua is not a member of the 14K triad.

The email, as seen by Malaysiakini, is titled “Detailing the crime of Zahid and Shafee under the Penal Code and OSA”. Continue reading “‘Zahid broke OSA in writing FBI letter’”

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‘Boob job’ posters banned for trivialising cosmetic surgery

By Dugald Baird
Wednesday 18 February 2015 11.47 GMT
The Guardian

The advertising watchdog has banned a poster campaign for “trivialising” cosmetic surgery.

Posters were placed in toilets in motorway service stations and shopping centres by the Malaysian-based Medical Tourism Association stating “Did you know… ‘Boob job’ is the most popular cosmetic procedure for women”.

They added: “Malaysia is proud to be amongst one of the only countries within the region where medical tourism is promoted by the government. Hence medical tourists can have the assurance of quality care and be guided by the regulation, safety standards and the governing laws within this industry.

“Our private hospitals bagged three out of nine awards at the international Medical Travel Awards 2014.” Continue reading “‘Boob job’ posters banned for trivialising cosmetic surgery”

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Is Najib’s statement on Sirul’s claim that he acted under orders exculpatory or incriminating?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, has made a most rash and imprudent outburst at the MCA Chinese New Year open house today, when he said that former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar’s claim that he acted under orders to murder Altantuya Shaariibuu was “utter rubbish” and “total rubbish”.

Was the Prime Minister’s outburst exculpatory or incriminating?

It would be exculpatory if he is asserting that Sirul was talking “utter” or “total rubbish” that he murdered the Altantuya in 2006 together with Chief Inspector Azila Hadri under orders as there were no such orders to the two former police commandos to murder Altantuya.

The question that immediately arises is how Najib knows that the two convicted police commandos had not received any such orders from their superior to kill Altantunya and destroy evidence by blowing up her body using C4 explosives?

He can say there was no such “order” from him, but how could he say that there were no such “order” from other people? How can he be so sure? Continue reading “Is Najib’s statement on Sirul’s claim that he acted under orders exculpatory or incriminating?”

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Why have the police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary ignored the “elephant in the room” in Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case – that Sirul and Azilah could not have killed the Mongolian whom they did not know without a motive and a mastermind?

The Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case is the second case in Malaysia to kick up an international storm after the Federal Court’s 5-0 conviction of Anwar Ibrahim on Sodomy II and five-year jail sentence.

Although the Federal Court decision on the Altantuya murder case was made on Jan 13 finding the two former police commandos Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri guilty of the murder of the Mongolian in 2006, the Altantuya case did not become an international storm until after Anwar’s Federal Court decision when Sirul, seeking refuge in Australia, announced that he was thinking of “telling all” about the murder of Altantuya.

Sirul said: “If I die today, I would not find peace. I did what I was told and this is what I get in return.”

I believe the entire Malaysian population can share Sirul’s sense of injustice if he has to pay for the murder of Altantuya, but the mastermind who had the motive and ordered the killing is able to get away scotfree. Continue reading “Why have the police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary ignored the “elephant in the room” in Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case – that Sirul and Azilah could not have killed the Mongolian whom they did not know without a motive and a mastermind?”

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Law don grills Shafee’s ethics after Anwar attack

By Gurdial Singh Nijar
Malaysiakini
February 16, 2015

COMMENT Several interviews in national daily newspapers given by the lawyer engaged as a prosecutor, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, have reignited issues surrounding the conviction of Anwar Ibrahim.

In a rather brutal attack on Anwar, whom he helped put away for a five-year jail term, Shafee implied that the accused would have been torn to shreds if he had testified, instead of giving his ‘evidence’ from the dock. He labelled Anwar a ‘coward with something to hide’.

I do not recall any such condemnatory remarks being ever made publicly by the former lawyers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers who conducted the prosecution at the earlier two judicial tiers – the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Such statements seem to be at odds with established ethical standards – as applicable to lawyers appearing as defence counsel or for the prosecution. Continue reading “Law don grills Shafee’s ethics after Anwar attack”

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What could Sirul tell us?

– Nawawi Mohamad
The Malaysian Insider
19 February 2015

The order to kill the Mongolian beauty Altantuya Shaariibuu must have been cascaded down the line of command from someone above. Ultimately Sirul Azhar Umar was the one who had to do all the dirty work and take all the blame when things went wrong.

Thus when any person along the line of command is removed, the others will be insulated and will not collapse like a domino.

Therefore allowing Sirul to slip off to Australia could be part of the plan. Sirul may be allowed some freedom and may also tell his story, but he could only put the blame on his immediate superior.

Sirul telling his story also acts like a pressure release valve, since the Altantuya murder case has heated up like the pressure in a volcano that increases from time to time.

In court, Sirul mentioned that it was Azilah Hadri who instructed him to ensure that Altantuya was really dead. Sirul may not know firsthand on who actually gave the order.

The one who gave the order must have been wise enough to insulate himself or herself from the crime through the line of command. Thus whatever Sirul will say, he cannot say for sure say that such and such person instructed them to kill. Continue reading “What could Sirul tell us?”

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1MDB-PetroSaudi deal includes repaying US$700 million debt, says whistleblower site

The Malaysian Insider
18 February 2015

Online news portal Sarawak Report has published a 26-page document, revealing sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had paid US$1 billion of public funds into a shady venture with Petrosaudi International, despite its lack of a tangible track record.

“What the document reveals is that the prime minister and his advisors at 1MDB paid USD1 billion of borrowed public money into a venture that already carried a USD700 million debt in the form of a loan from PetroSaudi’s parent company to the subsidiary that was entering into the joint venture, PetroSaudi Holdings (Caymans) Limited,” it said in its report.

“Crucially, under the terms of the joint venture, agreed to by 1MDB, the Malaysian development fund had committed to pay back this whopping great loan to the parent company, PetroSaudi International, on day one of the joint venture!,” it added. Continue reading “1MDB-PetroSaudi deal includes repaying US$700 million debt, says whistleblower site”