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Bamiyan-isation of Lim Guan Eng

K Temoc
Malaysiakini
1 Jul 2016

When Lim Guan Eng led Pakatan Rakyat to a resounding victory in Penang in 2008, he became the state’s chief minister (CM) and since then has impressed Penangites with his state government’s governance, policies and programmes, endearing himself to the locals. Pakatan Rakyat’s second election victory in 2013 further enhanced his image in the eyes of Penangites.

Lim Guan Eng became known, initially jokingly but subsequently quite credibly as a ‘tokong’ (deity) to his Penang political parish. In the eyes of most Penangites he could do no wrong. Thus he is politically invincible, iconic and idolised by Penangites. He has been seen as politically un-removable, with his favourable image and status quo as CM almost set in concrete.

His popularity is such that the Pakatan government (despite the absence of an original Pakatan partner but now foe) is seen as likely to hold office (majority rule) for several election terms.

The Gerakan Party and the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) in Penang have been in deep, very deep political trouble and I dare say, might have virtually given up hope for their respective futures in the face of such a formidable political god confronting their election prospects. To defeat Pakatan in Penang they must first defeat Lim Guan Eng. That would be a Sisyphean effort, but nonetheless he must be destroyed.

Well, how does one demolish such an iconic personality whose character, charisma and charm are so influential and deep set in the psyche of most Penangites? So what can his political opponents do with such an invincible foe, a virtual ‘tokong’? Let’s first take a wee detour into foreign history. Continue reading “Bamiyan-isation of Lim Guan Eng”

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Dastardly distractions?

Rom Nain
Malaysiakini
4th July 2016

It is widely believed now that a snap general election (GE) will be held, possibly as early as in November this year.

Word in the grapevine also is that, leading up to the GE, numerous disruptive strategies will be implemented, meant to distract the people’s attention from the real issues at hand, especially 1MDB.

And to relate everything to race and religion, and, of course, to cripple if not totally destroy an already divided opposition.

That idiotic, evil and dangerous accusation of ‘kafir harbi’ hurled at the DAP (and those who support them) is a clear example of the form of ethno-religious distraction that is, yet again, being employed to demonise the secular political party.

That – and the highly-questionable assertion that DAP is an ethnically-chauvinistic party – has been the stock ammunition of a regime that for many, for a long time, has been devoid of any worthwhile ideas.

Truth be told, if the DAP is a chauvinistic party, what then does that make Umno, the MCA and the MIC? Continue reading “Dastardly distractions?”

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Instead of condemning the Pahang mufti for his dangerous classification of DAP and non-Muslims as “kafir harbi”, has Prime Minister’s Office invented a new Islamic term of “kafir harbi” who need not be slain?

Eighteen years ago, Lim Guan Eng was jailed, disqualified as MP for Kota Melaka, lost his parliamentary pensions and disenfranchised of his right to vote and stand for elective office for five years on release from Kajang Prison because he was defending the dignity and human rights of an underaged Malay girl.

Today, Lim Guan Eng faces another jail sentence, disqualification as Chief Minister of Penang and MP, loss of his Chief Minister and parliamentary pensions, and another period of civil enfranchisement because he wanted to introduce integrity and good governance in Penang, so that it could be a model state for the rest of Malaysia.

When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister of Malaysia in April 2009, he announced the 1Malaysia Transformation Plans, and the war against corruption was listed as one of the seven NKRAs (National Key Result Areas).

He announced “Big Results” as an important methodology to realise the National Transformation Plans.

Najib has succeeded beyond expectations in achieving “Big Results”, for his RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin mega scandals have reached global scale, catapulting the nation to its first global financial scandals in the world.

Something is very wrong with our national integrity system when seven separate countries are investigating into the 1MDB global multi-billion ringgit embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption but the RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” scandals are completely exonerated by the Attorney-General of the country. Continue reading “Instead of condemning the Pahang mufti for his dangerous classification of DAP and non-Muslims as “kafir harbi”, has Prime Minister’s Office invented a new Islamic term of “kafir harbi” who need not be slain?”

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I will tour the country to hear views whether Guan Eng should resign as Penang Chief Minister or take leave facing corruption charges by the Najib government

Former Law Minister, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said that going by the RM1 million bail for Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, if the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is charged, he will attract a RM1 billion bail.

If Najib is given the same MACC (Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission) treatment as Guan Eng in connection with the corruption allegation for his RM2.8 million bungalow, the Prime Minister would be questioned 16.4 years for his RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal.
This is because Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal is 1,500 times bigger than Guan Eng’s RM2.8 million bungalow allegation, and if Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng where the Penang Chief Minister was questioned for some 30 hours for four days, Najib will have to be questioned 1,500 x 4 days, yielding 6,000 days. This works out to 16.4 years – imagine Najib going in and out of MACC office to be questioned for 16 years and 4 months, from wake-up in the morning to retirement for sleep at night, and doing nothing else!

A hot topic for the last two days is whether Guan Eng should resign as Penang Chief Minister or take leave facing corruption charges by the Najib government. Continue reading “I will tour the country to hear views whether Guan Eng should resign as Penang Chief Minister or take leave facing corruption charges by the Najib government”

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Why is Johari playing the old record about resolving the 1MDB issue “transparently” when the Finance Minister himself is not prepared to make any such commitment or the 1MDB issue would be behind the country long ago?

Three days after his appointment as the new Second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said he has made 1MDB one of his priorities and pledged to resolve the state investment fund’s problems transparently.

He promised that the government would address the issues raised in the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report on 1MDB and said: “What had been raised in PAC report – whatever or whoever that caused (problems in) 1MDB – definitely action will be taken.

It speaks volumes that the new Second Finance Minister should be making such an assurance about the PAC Report on 1MDB which was submitted to Parliament on April 7, which could only mean that the Finance Ministry has yet to take seriously the recommendations of the PAC report although it had been made public for nearly three months on a financial scandal which had catapulted Malaysia to world attention for global corruption?

This is most shocking especially when the PAC Report on 1MDB only revealed the “tip of the iceberg” of the financial chicanery and fraud and global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption which is now the subject of investigation by seven other countries, but despite its weak and minor recommendations, the Finance Ministry has yet to take full action to implement the PAC recommendations after the passage of nearly three months.

This shows that the Finance Ministry does not have the political will or capability to resolve the RM55 billion 1MDB global scandal and ensure full accountability to who is responsible, for the simple reason that the person who must bear the greatest responsibility of the nation’s first global scandal is none other than the Finance Minister himself – who happens to be the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Continue reading “Why is Johari playing the old record about resolving the 1MDB issue “transparently” when the Finance Minister himself is not prepared to make any such commitment or the 1MDB issue would be behind the country long ago?”

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Futile to talk about double standards

By TK Chua
Free Malaysia Today
July 1, 2016

To be free from blemishes is not an option for any Opposition politician but an obligation to set the bar higher.

COMMENT

What is there to argue about on whether Lim Guan Eng should resign, take a leave of absence or continue doing his job as the chief minister of Penang?

To me there is really no answer to this argument. The choice really depends on which side of the political divide the individual in question is on – whether he is a supporter or adversary. This is what partisan politics has done to most of us. We have become blind and adamant in our struggle, regardless of the rights and wrongs involved.

This is the nature of our “legal system” – we cannot argue why someone is charged while others are not, even though they may have committed similar or even graver offences. We cannot argue why a person is charged even though the evidence is flimsy or probably ridiculous while others are let go even though the proof is substantial.

The system says the power to prosecute is discretionary. When it is discretionary, it could also mean arbitrary or selective. Seriously, which parts of these predicaments are we Malaysians still unable to understand? Continue reading “Futile to talk about double standards”

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Brexit is not just Europe’s problem. It highlights a crisis in democracies worldwide.

By Dan Balz
Washington Post
June 27, 2016

LONDON — Britain’s political system remained in turmoil Monday, virtually leaderless and with the two major parties divided internally. But the meltdown that has taken place in the days after voters decided to break the country’s ties with Europe is more than a British problem, reflecting an erosion in public confidence that afflicts democracies around the world.

Last Thursday’s Brexit vote cast a bright light on the degree to which the effects of globalization and the impact of immigration, along with decades of overpromises and under-delivery by political leaders, have undermined the ability of those officials to lead. This collapse of confidence has created what amounts to a crisis in governing for which there seems no easy or quick answer.

The debris here is clear. The Brexit vote claimed Prime Minister David Cameron as its first victim. Having called the referendum and led the campaign to keep Britain in the European Union, he announced his intention to resign the morning after the vote. The results also now threaten the standing of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who faces a likely leadership election after seeing more than two dozen members of his leadership team resign in the past two days.

Alastair Darling, a former chancellor of the exchequer, outlined the extent of the crisis here during an interview with the BBC’s “Today” program on Monday. “There is no government. There is no opposition. The people who got us into this mess — they’ve gone to ground,” he said “How has the United Kingdom come to this position? We have taken this decision and have no plan for the future.”

The seeds of what has brought Britain to this moment exist elsewhere, which makes this country’s problems the concern of leaders elsewhere. In Belgium and Brazil, democracies have faced crises of legitimacy; in Spain and France, elected leaders have been hobbled by their own unpopularity; even in Japan, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces no threat from the opposition, his government has demonstrated a consistent inability to deliver prosperity. Continue reading “Brexit is not just Europe’s problem. It highlights a crisis in democracies worldwide.”

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Stung by a betrayal, former London mayor Boris Johnson ends bid to lead Britain

By Griff Witte
Washington Post
June 30, 2016

LONDON – It was a scene lifted from the scripts of Shakespeare — or perhaps a binge-watching session of “House of Cards.”

When Thursday morning broke, Boris Johnson, the transparently ambitious former mayor of London, was preparing to give the speech of his life — one that would vault him out of the political mayhem wrought by last week’s referendum on the European Union and straight to the job he had long sought: British prime minister.

But the man who was to be Johnson’s campaign manager had a different idea: Michael Gove, the bookish justice secretary who has repeatedly denied any aspiration to higher office, was getting ready to stick a dagger into Johnson’s chances, and twist.

By day’s end, Britain would be reckoning with one more betrayal in a political season full of them. This one stunned an already dazed nation, and left no doubt, if any had remained, that Britain is divided, directionless and leaderless as it prepares for a leap into the unknown of life outside the E.U.

Johnson, the mop-headed rogue who had been considered the odds-on favorite to take the keys to 10 Downing Street, has now been shunted to the sidelines of the contest to lead the Conservative Party and, by extension, the nation. Continue reading “Stung by a betrayal, former London mayor Boris Johnson ends bid to lead Britain”

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Malaysia’s Najib tightens grip on power

Leslie Lopez
Jakarta Post
June 30 2016

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After more than a year on the political back foot, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is striking back hard at his detractors.

Emboldened by a series of election victories over the last two months, the Premier has moved to purge his opponents to emerge stronger than he has been since taking over the premiership in April 2009.

In the last 10 days, Najib has turned the tables on his political foes, who were seeking his ouster for his deep involvement in the fiasco at state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad ( 1MDB ). Continue reading “Malaysia’s Najib tightens grip on power”

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Guan Eng’s arrest and two corruption charges one of the eight after-effects of Barisan Nasional victories in the twin Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections

DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s arrest and two corruption charges is one of the eight after-effects of the Barisan Nasional victories in the twin Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections on June 18.

The Barisan Nasional twin by-election victories have given the Prime Minster, Datuk Seri Najib Razak confidence to go on an all-out political offensive, believing that he has the licence to do whatever he likes to consolidate his political power position despite creating a paradox for Malaysia – a Prime Minister who is seemingly more powerful and unshakeable inside the country but who is increasingly regarded in international society as the worst Prime Minister for Malaysia who had virtually made Malaysia synonymous with global corruption with his RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin mega financial scandals, which are being investigated in seven different countries.

The eight twin by-election effects are:

1. Giving Najib the confidence and belief that he can sweep the twin RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” scandals under the carpet at home, either by intimidating or silencing critics or dissent, whether in the media, civil society or political front, closing media publications, blocking internet sites, arrests and prosecutions, and just ignore growing international clamour for accountability for the 1MDB scandal of global embezzlement, money laundering and corruption. In fact, in the ten days after the twin by-elections, the world’s media have continued with exposes of the ramifications of the 1MDB global scandal, including spotlighting on the whereabouts of the Penang billionaire Jho Low and his real role in Najib’s twin mega scandals. Continue reading “Guan Eng’s arrest and two corruption charges one of the eight after-effects of Barisan Nasional victories in the twin Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections”

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Instead of mobilising world moderate opinion against Islamic State (IS) terrorism through GMM, the Najib government has failed to stand up against ISIS-minded official preachers like the “kafir harbi” statement by the Pahang mufti

Yesterday, eight people were injured after a hand grenade was tossed into the porch of a nightspot at the IOI Boulevard in Puchong.

Later, a Facebook page linked to the Islamic State (IS) reportedly claimed responsibility, but the owner of the pub disputed this IS claim.

In the early hours of this morning, 8,300 kilometres away in Istanbul, three suicide bombers opened fire then blew themselves up in Europe’s third-busiest international airport, killing 36 people and wounding close to 150 in what Turkey’s prime minister said appeared to have been an attack by Islamic State militants.

The attack bore similarities to a suicide bombing by Islamic State militants at Brussels airport in March which killed 16 people. A coordinated attack also targeted a rush-hour metro train, killing a further 16 people in the Belgian capital.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the attack should serve as a turning point in the global fight against militant groups.

He said: “The attack, which took place during the holy month of Ramadan, shows that terrorism strikes with no regard for faith and values.

“The bombs that exploded in Istanbul today could have gone off at any airport in any city around the world.”

Malaysians cannot agree more with Erdogan’s condemnation of the violence and terrorism at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, especially with the increasing foreboding that Malaysia may not be spared from the horrific and senseless acts of terror perpetrated by Islamic State (IS) terrorists, using the name of Islam but actually committing a gross blasphemy of Islam.

This is a real anomaly.

Whether the Islamic State was responsible or not for the hand-grenade incident in Puchong early yesterday, why has Malaysia got caught in the coils of global terrorism of IS? Continue reading “Instead of mobilising world moderate opinion against Islamic State (IS) terrorism through GMM, the Najib government has failed to stand up against ISIS-minded official preachers like the “kafir harbi” statement by the Pahang mufti”

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First job of reshuffled Cabinet is to prove that the Ministers of the Najib Cabinet 3.0 after the 13GE is not a “kafir harbi” Cabinet or like the traditional three monkeys, with eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouths that speak not

The Najib Cabinet 3.0 after the 13th General Election, announced on Monday with the new Ministers and Deputy Ministers taking their oath of office yesterday, will meet for the first time today.

The first job of the reshuffled Cabinet is to prove that the Ministers of the Najib Cabinet 3.0 after the 13GE is not a “kafir harbi” Cabinet or like the traditional three monkeys, with eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouths that speak not.

The Najib Cabinet 3.0 was a great disappointment for four reasons:

• Failure to end the disastrous combination of the office of Prime Minister and the Finance Minister which catapulted Malaysia to the world’s top nations notorious for global corruption with Najib’s RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” mega financial scandals.

• Failure to trim the jumbo-sized Cabinet of 35 Ministers to a lean, smart and professional team based on the Ministers’ ability to end Malaysia’s decline in all fields of human endeavour and to take the nation to greater heights instead of their sycophancy to the Prime Minister of the day.

• A slap-in-the-face to Sarawak in dropping a Minister despite Sarawak BN’s “landslide” victory in the recent Sarawak state general elections, and the recycling of “half-past six” and “deadwood” Ministerial material.

• The inexplicable resignation of more technocratic and professional Ministers like the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, who must have gone through hell during the few months he was made Cabinet spokesman for the 1MDB scandal, raising the serious question about the moral compass of the present batch of Ministers.

Continue reading “First job of reshuffled Cabinet is to prove that the Ministers of the Najib Cabinet 3.0 after the 13GE is not a “kafir harbi” Cabinet or like the traditional three monkeys, with eyes that see not, ears that hear not and mouths that speak not”

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Kafir Harbi dan Mufti Pahang

25 Jun 2016 | MUJAHID YUSOF RAWA
Malaysia Dateline

Mufti Pahang dinasihatkan bercermat dalam mengkategorikan orang bukan Islam dalam negara ini sebagai Kafir Harbi atas dasar mereka menentang Islam. Kenyataan umum demikian amat merbahaya dalam konteks pembinaan negara bangsa yang terdiri dari berbagai agama di Malaysia, apatah lagi diisyaratkan kepada parti politik tertentu.

Apakah yang didefinisikan sebagai alasan ‘menentang Islam’ sebelum Kafir Harbi dikategorikan? Apakah Sohibus Samahah Mufti Pahang mengandaikan memberi pandangan dalam konteks demokrasi dalam soal perundangan negara dan perlembagaan negara dalam hal pentadbiran Islam itu menentang Islam?

Mufti Pahang nampaknya keliru antara mengkritik isu pentadbiran Islam dengan menentang Islam, ia adalah dua perkara yang berbeza, malah kedudukan beliau sebagai mufti juga ditentukan oleh perundangan negara yang boleh dikritik dan dipertikaikan dari segi pentadbiran. Apakah Mufti menganggap dirinya yang ditentukan oleh pentadbiran sebagai ‘suci’ tidak boleh dikritik?

Mufti Pahang juga ketinggalan dalam fatwa terkini yang diterimapakai oleh dunia Islam bahawa pengkategorian hubungan Muslim dan bukan-Muslim dalam konteks kenegaraan atau Muwathanah ditentukan oleh prinsip kewarganegaraan atau kerakyatan yang diikat dengan undang-undang negara dalam memberi hak dan keadilan kepada semua warganya. Artikel 8 Perlembagaan Persekutuan menyatakan hak mendapat keadilan undang-undang untuk semua rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum, agama, keturunan, bangsa dan tempat lahir. Continue reading “Kafir Harbi dan Mufti Pahang”

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Tuduhan kafir harbi, pandangan ketinggalan zaman

— Muhammad Nur Manuty
Malay Mail Online
27.6.2016

Sesungguhnya, Biro Pemahaman & Pemantapan Agama (BiPPA) Keadilan ingin menyatakan rasa dukacita kami berikutan laporan kenyataan Mufti Pahang, Datuk Seri Abd Rahman Osman di sebuah akhbar perdana yang menyatakan bahawa, penentangan DAP terhadap pelaksanaan hukum hudud dan Rang Undang-undang Persendirian Mahkamah Syariah (Bidang Kuasa Jenayah (Pindaan) 2016 jelas membenci Islam, tergolong sebagai ‘kafir harbi” dan berdosa besar bagi umat Islam bekerjasama dengan mereka.

Kami berpandangan kenyataan ini telah dikeluarkan secara ‘simplistic’, tanpa hujah yang jelas dan tiada fakta yang kukuh untuk membuktikan ketepatan tuduhan dan hukuman yang dikemukakan. Justeru, kenyataan tersebut wajib disanggah, kerana ia amat mengelirukan masyarakat – Islam dan bukan Islam – di negara ini.

Sesungguhnya, kenyataan tersebut boleh mengundang pelbagai implikasi negatif kepada keselamatan negara, menggugat perpaduan umat Islam, memecahbelah keharmonian hubungan kaum, mengundang tingkahlaku keganasan dan mencemar imej agama Islam sebagai agama pembawa risalah ‘alamiyyah’(universal) dan rahmat untuk seluruh insan.

BiPPA kesal dengan kenyataan tersebut yang menampakkan ketinggalan dalam menekuni pelbagai sudut pandang para sarjana dan ilmuan Islam yang bersifat semasa dan kontemporari dan berautoriti seperti Syeikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Syeikh al-Raisuni, Syeikh Wahbah Zuhaili, Syeikh Taha Jabir, al-Ghanoushi, Dr Abdul Hamid Sulaiman, Dr Hassan Turabi, Salim al-Awa, Jaafar Sheikh Idris dan ramai lagi. Continue reading “Tuduhan kafir harbi, pandangan ketinggalan zaman”

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Who is more dangerous and subversive to the Malaysian nation-building process – ISIS member Mohd Rafi Udin warning Bukit Aman plice personnel they will have “no peace” or a state mufti spouting “kafir harbi” edict implying that non-Muslims Malaysians can be killed regardless of rule of law?

Who is more dangerous and subversive to the Malaysian nation-building process – ISIS member Mohd Rafi Udin warning Bukit Aman plice personnel they will have “no peace” or a state mufti spouting “kafir harbi” edict implying that non-Muslims Malaysians can be killed regardless of rule of law?

Who is more dangerous and subversive to the Malaysian nation-building process – ISIS member Mohd Rafi Udin from Negri Sembilan warning that there would be “no peace” for police personnel in the Bukit Aman headquarters, and urging IS supporters in Malaysia to employ whatever means necessary to kill non-believers – “Kill them wherever you meet them…if you have a car, hit them…Use your weapon and knives to stab them in the chest” – or a state mufti spouting “kafir harbi” edict implying that DAP and non-Muslims can be killed regardless of the rule of law?
I think it is the latter who pose a greater threat to the integrity and success of the Malaysian nation-building process than the former, for there is a Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division whose special responsibility is to be vigilant and prepared for such ISIS threats, but Malaysia seemed to be completely defenceless to ISIS-minded religious officials preaching doctrines no different from ISIS.

Pahang mufti Abdul Rahman Osman yesterday insisted that he would neither retract his statement nor apologise to DAP over his earlier remarks labelling DAP as ‘kafir harbi’. Continue reading “Who is more dangerous and subversive to the Malaysian nation-building process – ISIS member Mohd Rafi Udin warning Bukit Aman plice personnel they will have “no peace” or a state mufti spouting “kafir harbi” edict implying that non-Muslims Malaysians can be killed regardless of rule of law?”

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Kafir Harbi atau Warganegara?: Kepelbagaian Dalam Bingkai Kesatuan.

Prof Dato Dr Siddiq Fadzil
Pengerusi Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE)
27.6.2016

Pembinaan bangsa dalam konteks Malaysia harus berasaskan formula kepelbagaian dalam kesatuan. Kita harus dapat bersikap positif, melihat dan menerima kepelbagaian kaum, agama dan budaya bukan sebagai sumber konflik, sebaliknya sebagai aset kekuatan, kekayaan, kreativiti dan dinamika kemajuan. Bangsa tidak dapat dibina menerusi formula melting pot atau kawah besar peleburan. Tidak ada golongan yang rela jati dirinya dilebur. Kebinekaan atau keragaman budaya tidak menjadi masalah, andainya ia diletakkan dalam bingkai keekaan atau kesatuan.

Formula kepelbagaian dalam kesatuan adalah selaras dan serasi dengan fitrah dan sunnatu’Lah. Tema inilah yang dihuraikan dengan cukup menarik oleh Dr.Muhammad `Imarah dalam bukunya, al-Islam wa al-Ta`addudiyyah: al-Ikhtilaf wa al-Tanawwu` fi Itar al-Wihdah (Islam dan Pluralisme: Perbezaan danKepelbagaian dalam Bingkai Kesatuan).

Segala kewujudan yang kita saksikan pada alam dan kehidupan semuanya memancarkan hakikat kepelbagaian dalam kesatuan–keesaan Pencipta dengan kepelbagaian makhluk ciptaan-Nya; kesatuan keinsanan dengan kepelbagaian bangsa, warna dan bahasanya; kesatuan agama Allah dengankepelbagaian syari`atnya; kesatuan syari`at dengan kepelbagaian fiqh, mazhab dan ijtihadnya. Continue reading “Kafir Harbi atau Warganegara?: Kepelbagaian Dalam Bingkai Kesatuan.”

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Pahang Mufti Abdul Rahman should repent – or let him state specifically whether I am “kafir harbi” who should be killed

The Pahang Mufti Datuk Seri Dr. Abdul Rahman Osman should not twist and turn and should repent or let him state specifically whether I am “kafir harbi” who should be killed or slain.

May be Abdul Ramabn should also state when I became “kafir harbi”?

I have taken the oath as a Member of Parliament 10 times to “faithfully discharge my duties…to the best of my ability” and that “I will bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia and will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution”.

Can a Malaysian who had subscribed 10 times to the oath as an MP to “bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia” and to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” become a “kafir habir” to be killed or slain?

Or did I become a “kafir harbi” when I stood up in Parliament in 1978 to defend PAS to oppose the UMNO-controlled Barisan Nasional government’s declaration of state of emergency in Kelantan to topple to PAS state government?

Or did I become a “kafir harbi” when in 1985 I deplored the government handling of the tragic Memali incident which killed 18 people and called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry?

Or did I become a “kafir harbi” in 1998 when my son, Lim Guan Eng went to jail for defending the honour and dignity of an underaged Malay girl, losing his position as MP for Kota Melaka, his parliamentary pension as well disenfranchised and deprived of right to vote or to stand for elective office for five years from release from Kajang Prison in August 1999?

Or did I become a “kafir harbi” in 2000 when I denounced the Federal Government for hijacking the five per cent oil royalty of Terengganu because PAS had won the Terengganu State Government in the 1999 general election and Hadi Awang had become the state’s Mentri Besar? Continue reading “Pahang Mufti Abdul Rahman should repent – or let him state specifically whether I am “kafir harbi” who should be killed”

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UMNO/BN must be voted out of Putrajaya at least once if Malaysia is to become a normal democratic country and break the present national trajectory trending down the slippery slope towards a fractured, failed and rogue state

Many are asking about the future of Malaysia after the two big Barisan Nasional wins in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections a week ago, with the backdrop of the BN landslide victory in the Sarawak State General Election and the previous Teluk Intan by-election.

Is it still possible for Malaysians to hope for political change in Putrajaya at the 14th General Election whether in 2018 or a year earlier in July or August next year or in the near future?

Let us have a reality check as we have travelled quite a political distance in Malaysia. Only eight years ago, before the 2008 General Election, if any Malaysian was asked if it was possible foresee a change of Federal Government, the answer would be an unanimous and and unambiguous “No”.

But the “political tsunami” of the 2008 General Election had completely changed the political landscape, and what had been “unthinkable” and “impossible” had been transformed into a “thinkable”, “possible” and “achievable”, and the question of a change of Federal Government has taken the quantum leap from “whether” to “when” and “how”.

The 2013 General Election was fought on the platform of a change of Federal Government, and although 53% of the voters voted for change, victory was denied them because of the undemocratic electoral system which allowed Datuk Najib Razak to become the nation’s first minority Prime Minister by winning 60 per cent of the parliamentary seats though only securing a minority of 47% of the popular vote.

Malaysia is now an extraordinary paradox – on the one hand, Najib Razak an increasingly more powerful and unshakeable Prime Minister of Malaysia inside the country , while internationally he is under increasing siege perceived as corrupt, haunted and hounded by the RM55 billion 1MDB global scandal (which contained within it the RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal) which is being investigated by seven other countries. Continue reading “UMNO/BN must be voted out of Putrajaya at least once if Malaysia is to become a normal democratic country and break the present national trajectory trending down the slippery slope towards a fractured, failed and rogue state”

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Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting should be convened to declare the BN stand on Pahang state mufti’s incendiary and seditious “kafir harbi” statement

When I suggested last month that an emergency meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council should be requisitioned over what happened in Parliament on May 26, where the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, fast-tracked Hadi’s hudud motion and violated the 43-year Barisan Nasional stand and consensus that PAS’ hudud proposal was not appropriate for Malaysia’s plural society and against the fundamental provisions of the 1957 Merdeka Constitution and 1963 Malaysia Agreement, there was not a single leader from the 14-party Barisan Nasional coalition who dared to take up the suggestion.

Since then, the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections had been held with unexpectedly big victories for the UMNO/Barisan Nasional candidates.

But what do the twin Barisan Nasional by-election victories mean in terms of Hadi’s hudud motion, which will need another Ministerial motion to “fast-track” it in the parliamentary agenda when Parliament reconvenes on Oct. 17, so that it could be given priority over government business to be presented to Parliament for resolution.

Will the twin Barisan Nasional by-election victories mean that there will be another Ministerial motion at the end of the year to fast-track Hadi’s hudud motion, or will it mean that there will no Ministerial motion to fast-track Hadi’s hudud motion and that it will left in limbo as had been the case with Hadi’s hudud motion in the past?

All the leaders of the other 13 parties in the Barisan Nasional coalition are keeping mum on the subject as none of them know what is going to happen in Parliament at the end of the year as it will all depend on what would best serve the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s interests to ensure his own political survival.

This is a sad commentary that the Barisan Nasional has long ceased to be a coalition of equals, where the Prime Minister is ‘primus inter pares’ but a very lop-sided political coalition where the UMNO President and Prime Minister, can singly, unilaterally and arbitrarily disregard 43-year-old Barisan Nasional consensus and decide what should be Barisan Nasional policy as happened in Parliament on May 26. Continue reading “Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting should be convened to declare the BN stand on Pahang state mufti’s incendiary and seditious “kafir harbi” statement”

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Call on Najib to convene special Parliament meeting before National Day on August 31 to debate the country’s burning issues, including Najib’s twin global scandals, the NSC Act and worsening racial/religious polarisation highlighted by Pahang mufti’s incendiary “kafir harbi” statement

I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to convene a special Parliament meeting before National Day on August 31 to debate the burning issues in the country, including Najib’s RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin global scandals, the National Security Council (NSC) Act and the worsening racial/religious polarisation in the country highlighted by the Pahang mufti’s incendiary “kafir harbi” statement.

Parliament adjourned on May 26 and is next scheduled to reconvene on Oct. 17 – a recess of some five months.

In an era of fast-changing developments, especially with many burning national issues crying out for answers and solutions, it is the height of irresponsibility for Parliament to adjourn for as long as some five months and this is why Najib should convene a special meeting of Parliament before National Day on August 31, where the two newly-elected MPs from Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar can officially take their oath of office.

There are many national burning issues awaiting answers or resolutions, and I will touch on three of them. Continue reading “Call on Najib to convene special Parliament meeting before National Day on August 31 to debate the country’s burning issues, including Najib’s twin global scandals, the NSC Act and worsening racial/religious polarisation highlighted by Pahang mufti’s incendiary “kafir harbi” statement”