Posted on

Sixth tranche of questions for Salleh from 1MDB to Rukunegara, Vision 2020 and former Court of Appeal Judge N.H.Chan

My sixth tranche of questions for the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to help him reinstate his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, after forfeiting such right when as Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, he failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings, are as follows:

Question 26:

Yesterday, the Finance Minister II Datuk Johari Abdul Gani yesterday said it was “good news” for the conviction of the third former BSI Singapore banker Yeo Jiawei on witness-tampering charges in relation to Singapore’s investigations into the 1MDB money trail, which has resulted in Yeo’s 30 month prison sentence.

Yeo is to stand trial next year for another seven charges including money-laundering, cheating and forgery in the illicit movement of S$23.9 million (US$16.54 or RM74 million) of 1MDB-linked funds.

Is Johari’s “welcome” statement an indication that the Malaysian Government has woken up from its charade and realised that the Malaysian government cannot continue to pretend that the global 1MDB kleptocratic scandal is no problem at all in Malaysia when criminal investigations and prosecutions connected with 1MDB are taking place in some 10 countries?

If so, what is the government’s next step to restore national and international confidence in the Malaysian government by coming to grips with the international 1MBD money-laundering scandal? Continue reading “Sixth tranche of questions for Salleh from 1MDB to Rukunegara, Vision 2020 and former Court of Appeal Judge N.H.Chan”

Posted on

1MDB Case Hangs Over Goldman Sachs as Investigators Dig for Answers

By NATHANIEL POPPER and MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN
New York Times
DEC. 22, 2016

Even as Goldman Sachs is gaining a more prominent profile in the administration of Donald J. Trump, the Wall Street investment firm is undergoing scrutiny in an investigation in a sprawling international money laundering and embezzlement scheme.

Prosecutors have said that billions of dollars that Goldman raised for a Malaysian government investment fund — known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB — were channeled into a web of personal bank accounts and was ultimately used to buy paintings, luxury real estate and investment stakes in movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Investigators are now questioning what Goldman knew about the final use of the money.

Goldman has said it believed the money was being used to buy legitimate assets for the investment fund, which was run in part by the Malaysian government and its embattled prime minister, Najib Razak. Continue reading “1MDB Case Hangs Over Goldman Sachs as Investigators Dig for Answers”

Posted on

2016 is ending as an even worse annus horribilis for Malaysia than 2015

In a week’s time, 2016 is ending as an even worse annus horribilis for Malaysia than 2015.

Malaysians were shocked when at the end of last year, Malaysia was named among the world’s six “worst corruption scandals of 2015” by the international website, foreignpolicy.com, which is published daily online by the Slate Group, a division of Washington Post Company.

Malaysia was in the dishonourable third place, as the first two “worst corruption scandals of 2015” went to corruption in the world’s soccer industry involving FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) and Nigeria. The fourth to sixth places went to Honduras and Guatemala, Ghanian judges and the UN General Assembly.

The infamous plaque of dishonour for Malaysia cited as follows:

“When U.S. President Barack Obama visited Malaysia in November, he had the pleasure of arriving in the middle of an awkward corruption scandal. Four months earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that some $700 million of state funds had ended up in Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank account — which was not where they were supposed to go. That tied Razak directly to a probe into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a government-owned development company that was supposed to turn Kuala Lumpur into a thriving financial hub. Najib has disparaged the Journal’s reports as inaccurate, claiming instead that the money in his account came from personal donations. But the reports came after the fund had already fallen behind on its payment schedule. Obama claims he raised the question of corruption in a private meeting with Najib, but publicly said only that the government should aim to be ‘more accountable, more open, more transparent, to root out corruption’.”

Continue reading “2016 is ending as an even worse annus horribilis for Malaysia than 2015”

Posted on

Goldman Sachs Ties to Scandal-Plagued 1MDB Run Deep

By JUSTIN BAER, TOM WRIGHT and KEN BROWN
Wall Street Journal
Dec. 22, 2016

Bank courted state fund now at heart of global embezzlement probes, and investigators want to know if it should have reported suspicious activity

On a yacht moored at Saint-Tropez, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak talked business with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince. Included in the horseshoe of chairs set up for the July 2013 gathering was a partner from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The bank earned its place through years of cultivating Mr. Najib and a state investment fund he founded. Goldman had raised $6.5 billion for the fund and earned nearly $600 million in fees, making the Malaysian client among its most lucrative.

Mr. Najib lavished praise on Goldman, said people familiar with the meeting. “Do you see any other bankers on this boat?” one recalls him saying.

Today Mr. Najib and the state fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, are at the center of what investigators consider one of the largest financial frauds in history. Investigators have said 1MDB was used by the prime minister as a political slush fund and by associates of his to buy more than $1 billion of real estate, art and other luxuries from London to Beverly Hills, Calif. Continue reading “Goldman Sachs Ties to Scandal-Plagued 1MDB Run Deep”

Posted on

Fifth tranche of questions for Salleh from 1MDB, RUU 355 to PISA 2015

My fifth tranche of questions for the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to help him reinstate his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, after forfeiting such right when as Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, he failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings, are as follows:

Question 21:

Can Salleh explain why there was no post-Cabinet statement yesterday on the Cabinet position on Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355), especially after the joint admission by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Jamil Khir Bahrom and the Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Ahmad Maslan on Sunday that the UMNO leadership wanted to force the other 13 component parties to support Hadi’s private member’s bill by a government takeover of the bill in Parliament next March?

Did the Ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC, and the Sabah and Sarawak BN component parties just keep their silence in Cabinet yesterday when they should have spoken up after Jamil and Ahmad Maslan’s revelations? Continue reading “Fifth tranche of questions for Salleh from 1MDB, RUU 355 to PISA 2015”

Posted on

As Najib has failed not only the nine strategic objectives of Vision 2020, but also Rukunegara and bedrock Constitutional principles, his Vision 2050 in NT 2050 cannot be anything exciting to shout about

Today is Dōngzhì (literally: “the arrival of winter”) or Winter Solstice Festival, where the Northern hemisphere has the shortest daytime and longest nighttime.

Traditionally for the Chinese, the Dongzhi Festival is a time for the family to get together for the making and eating of tangyuan (湯圓), which symbolizes reunion.

In four days times, Christians in Malaysia will celebrate Christmas.

Just over a week ago, Muslims in Malaysia celebrated Maulidur Rasul and at the end of October Hindus celebrated Deepavali.

This is the best time for Malaysians to reaffirm our uniqueness and strength, which lies in the diversity of our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious society, especially as in recent years, the voices of extremism and intolerance of the diverse races, languages, cultures and religions in Malaysia seem to be gaining traction, causing Malaysians to suffer the worst racial and religious polarisation in the nation’s history.

Malaysians should go back to the founding principles of our Constitution and nation-building process if we want to break away from the present trajectory towards a failed and rogue state – the building of a united, harmonious, democratic, secular, progressive and liberal Malaysia.

The first and third Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn, were particularly concerned that Malaysia should not waver from our founding principle to be a secular nation with Islam as the official religion and freedom of religion in the country; while the second Prime Minister, Tun Razak (Najib’s father) wanted to highlight Malaysia’s commitment to be a liberal Malaysia, embedding in the Rukunegara the objective “to ensure a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural traditions”. Continue reading “As Najib has failed not only the nine strategic objectives of Vision 2020, but also Rukunegara and bedrock Constitutional principles, his Vision 2050 in NT 2050 cannot be anything exciting to shout about”

Posted on

Malaysia will give the world another cause to be dismissed as “laughing stock” if great-grandfather and longest-serving Prime Minister for 22 years, 91-year old Mahathir is investigated by police for “activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy”

It would appear that there are not enough occasions for Malaysia to be the international object of ridicule, contempt and disgust after the infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy” and an entire jetliner disappearing into the oceans without a trace for close to three years that the Malaysian government and its politicians are working overtime to create even more causes for Malaysia to be dismissed as a “mad, mad, mad world” in the international community of nations!

Today alone, there are three such instances.

There is firstly UMNO’s chief rabble rouser turning up at the Selangor Mentri Besar’s Office in Shah Alam semi-nude, armed with a toothbrush tucked behind one ear and a dipper filled with toiletries, demanding to use the shower facilities there; while in Penang, the Gerakan and Barisan Nasional Chief staged a tasteless comedy appearing at a media conference with his mouth sealed by plasters creating an “X” sign.

DAP had been in Opposition politics for 50 years (excluding Penang and Selangor where we captured state power after the political tsunami in the 2008 general elections) but despite the crushing pressures from the Barisan Nasional government, DAP had never went so low and to be such a cheapskate as to stage the “dramas” in Selangor and Penang yesterday.

May be Harith Iskander, who became the world’s funniest person in the world competition in Helsinki, should cede the crown to the two clowns in the Selangor and Penang circus yesterday. Continue reading “Malaysia will give the world another cause to be dismissed as “laughing stock” if great-grandfather and longest-serving Prime Minister for 22 years, 91-year old Mahathir is investigated by police for “activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy””

Posted on

Don’t just think of our grandkids, but think of the grandkids of all Malaysians

I must thank the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz for his being so solicitous over my welfare, suggesting that I should be caring my grandchildren in my twilight years.

But Nazri cannot be more wrong, for we should not just think of our grandchildren, but also about the grandchildren of all Malaysians.

In fact, I call on all Malaysians, regardless of age, to transcend race, religion or region, to be solicitous of the national welfare and should involve themselves in ensuring that the country is a better place of our grandchildren and their children.

I put Nazri’s suggestion on my Facebook yesterday, asking whether I should listen to his advice.

The overwhelming majority, almost unanimous, view was in the negative, and some of the comments are as follows: Continue reading “Don’t just think of our grandkids, but think of the grandkids of all Malaysians”

Posted on

Fourth tranche of five questions for Salleh from Musa Hitam, 1MDB, Islamic State to Hadi’s private member’s bill

The following is the fourth tranche of my five questions for the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to help him reinstate his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, after forfeiting such right when as Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, he failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings:

Question 16:

Is the former Prime Minister, Tun Musa Hitam, right when he said at a forum yesterday that only the political bankrupts would use the politics of race and religion as gambling chits in the political arena, and one of the most egregious examples of such reckless exploitation of the politics of race and religion is none other than the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his UMNO Presidential Speech on Nov. 30? Continue reading “Fourth tranche of five questions for Salleh from Musa Hitam, 1MDB, Islamic State to Hadi’s private member’s bill”

Posted on

Answer these first, Kit Siang bombards Salleh with questions

Malaysiakini
20 Dec 2016

Lim Kit Siang has bombarded Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak with a barrage of questions

This is after the minister questioned whether the opposition could come up with a shadow cabinet and also asked that the opposition explain what it would do if PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim cannot become prime minister.

However, Lim pointed out that Salleh was raising a spree of questions when the minister himself has not been answering for the government’s alleged scandals and failings.

“If there is any ministry which is assigned the responsibility of defending the government, it is Salleh’s ministry.

“But realising that much as he wanted, he is just incapable of defending the indefensible, Salleh is subtly trying to transform his ministerial portfolio of answering questions on behalf of the government into one of asking questions about the opposition.

“If Salleh expects answers to his questions, let him perform his ministerial duty to answer questions about government scandals and failings,” he said.

The veteran leader then proceeded to bombard Salleh with questions on a daily basis since last Sunday. Continue reading “Answer these first, Kit Siang bombards Salleh with questions”

Posted on

MALAYSIA’S RINGGIT ROUT RAISES SPECTRES OF 1998 ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS

BY BHAVAN JAIPRAGAS
South China Morning Post
20 DEC 2016

Currency hits levels last seen in 1998 as uncertainty over Trump, interest rates and 1MDB scandal create perfect storm – but government denies capital controls could be on the cards

The beaten down Malaysian ringgit is showing no signs of catching a break in the tail end of 2016.

The currency on Tuesday hovered near its lowest level since the height of the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, as it reeled from a perfect storm of bearish factors including uncertainty about Donald Trump’s impending presidency in the United States, the acceleration of US interest rate hikes and a long-running corruption scandal linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Some observers said the slump – the ringgit is poised to finish the year as Asia’s worst performing currency for a second year running – raised the spectre of a repeat of the controversial capital controls imposed in 1998.

The government has so far swatted away suggestions it will re-introduce such measures.

The ringgit traded at 4.4798 in Tuesday afternoon trade in Asia, according to Bloomberg. It had fallen to 4.4805 on Monday, its weakest point since January 1998.

It has lost six per cent since Trump’s shock victory in the US presidential election on November 8. Continue reading “MALAYSIA’S RINGGIT ROUT RAISES SPECTRES OF 1998 ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS”

Posted on

After 2 Years, Experts Say MH370 Likely North of Search Area

New York Times
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DEC. 20, 2016

SYDNEY — For two years, a handful of ships have diligently combed a remote patch of the Indian Ocean west of Australia in a $160 million bid to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. On Tuesday, investigators made what was surely a painful admission: They have probably been looking in the wrong place.

The latest analysis by a team of international investigators concluded the vanished Boeing 777 is highly unlikely to be in the current search zone and may instead be in a region farther north. But though crews are expected to finish their deep-sea sonar hunt of the current search area next month, the possibility of extending the search to the north appeared doubtful, with Australia’s transport minister suggesting the analysis wasn’t specific enough to justify continuing the hunt.

The latest twist in the search for Flight 370 highlights the extraordinary difficulty officials have faced in their attempts to find the aircraft based on the faintest scraps of data. All along, officials have said they are not simply looking for a needle in a haystack — they are looking for the haystack.

On Tuesday, the haystack was poised to shift again, with the release of a report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is leading the search for the plane. The report is the result of a November meeting of international and Australian experts who re-examined all the data used to define the search area for the aircraft, which vanished during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board.

Since the plane disappeared, experts have analyzed a series of exchanges between the aircraft and a satellite to estimate a probable crash site along a vast arc of ocean in the southern hemisphere. A deep-sea search of a 120,000-square kilometer (46,000-square mile) stretch of water along the arc has so far come up empty. Continue reading “After 2 Years, Experts Say MH370 Likely North of Search Area”

Posted on

Third tranche of questions for Salleh – from 1MDB, PISA 2015 to Aleppo

Yesterday, I put to the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak a second tranche of five questions to answer so that he could restore his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, as he had forfeited such right when as a Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, had failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings.

Today, I put to Salleh a third tranche of five questions for him to answer to perform his Ministerial duty before he could start asking questions and demanding answers from others.

My third tranche of five questions are:

Question 11:

One of the questions posed in an electronic media today is as follows:

“If 1MDB is squeaky clean, why are people charged abroad?”

In Singapore, bank officer Yvonne Seah was jailed for two weeks, while her supervisor Yaw Yee Chee was jailed for 18 weeks for abetting businessman Jho Low to launder funds linked to 1MDB.

While the Singapore government has prosecuted the few private investment bankers and closed BSI Bank and Falcon private bank, nothing seems to have happened in Malaysia to the few, untouchable men, namely Jho Low and the prime minister’s stepson Riza Aziz, without whom this massive financial scandal could not have taken place, causing US$3.5 billion to be stolen from the Malaysian people, as alleged by US attorney-general Loretta Lynch.

Can Salleh explain the unending reverberations in other countries of the roiling international 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal, when the Malaysian government continues with its pretence that there is nothing wrong with 1MDB.

Are Yvonne Seah and Yaw Yee Chee wrongly convicted and jailed in Singapore? Continue reading “Third tranche of questions for Salleh – from 1MDB, PISA 2015 to Aleppo”

Posted on

“Once bitten twice shy” means nothing for leaders of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak who are singing to a new mantra of “Once bitten, twice not shy and thrice still willing”

The saying “Once bitten twice shy” means nothing to leaders of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Barisan Nasional component parties in Sabah and Sarawak who seem to be singing to a new mantra of “Once bitten, twice not shy and thrice still willing”.

This sums up the sorry saga of the seven-month long Barisan Nasional crisis, which is compounded by the fact that the Barisan Nasional leaders, especially from the 13 other Barisan Nasional component parties, have been acting like ostriches with heads buried in the sand – who do not know or do not want to admit even to themselves that UMNO’s axis with PAS over Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) had plunged Barisan Nasional into its worst crisis since its formation 43 years ago in 1973.

In response to remarks by the Deputy International Trade and Industry, Datuk Ahmad Maslan on Sunday, MCA Secretary-General and Second Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Ong Ka Chuan, declared that any Government Bill to be tabled before the Dewan Rakyat must take into account the Barisan Nasional spirit of consensus.

He said a final decision of those Bills can only be made after consultation and deliberation among all component parties.

He said: “There is no such thing that Barisan component parties must support the Government Bill.”

It is noteworthy that Ka Chuan was trying to rebut a statement by his own Deputy Minister – clear evidence of the topsy-turvy world in the political hierarchy in Barisan Nasioanal where the MCA secretary-general although second Minister for International Trade and Industry is politically subordinate and subservient to the Deputy Minister in his own Ministry, who is just an UMNO Supreme Council member!

Ahmad had said that all Barisan component parties cannot object to proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 if becomes a Government Bill.

Ahmad was not merely giving his personal view but disclosing an elaborate UMNO strategy to “cement UMNO’s unity with PAS”, and the first step for UMNO support of Hadi’s private member’s bill motion is a government takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill when the private member’s motion is passed in the March Parliament – which would be equivalent to the first reading of Hadi’s private member’s bill. Continue reading ““Once bitten twice shy” means nothing for leaders of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak who are singing to a new mantra of “Once bitten, twice not shy and thrice still willing””

Posted on

British embassy questioned whether Malaysian PM cleared of corruption

Oliver Holmes, South-east Asia correspondent
Guardian
19th December 2016

Exclusive: diplomatic cable said an investigation into mysterious $700m found in Najib Razak’s bank account had not absolved him of corruption

The British embassy in Kuala Lumpur has questioned a claim by the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, that his country’s anti-graft agency had cleared him of corruption, according to a diplomatic cable seen by the Guardian.

Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission (MACC) said in August last year that its investigation had found that nearly US$700m had been deposited into Najib’s personal bank account from unnamed “donors”.

It did not elaborate on the donor or why they transferred funds to Najib’s private accounts but said the money was not from the debt-laden state fund 1MDB, which had been the focus of the scandal.

Five days later, Najib told members of his ruling party that the MACC had cleared him of corruption allegations. Continue reading “British embassy questioned whether Malaysian PM cleared of corruption”

Posted on

Worst BN crisis since 1973 – leaders of other BN component parties should cancel their year-end holidays overseas to requisition emergency meeting of BN Supreme Council to establish whether UMNO has smashed BN consensus principle into smithereens

The cat is out of the bag. UMNO leaders were determined right from beginning to outfox the other 13 Barisan Nasional component parties on Hadi’s private member’s bill and the strategy of how UMNO is going to support Hadi’s private members bill was revealed by two UMNO leaders yesterday.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Jamil Kamil Khir Bahrom said Hadi’s Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) enabled the government to circumvent the due constitutional process, as requiring consensus from all states, the National Islamic Council and the Rulers’ Conference.

Jamil explained: “You can’t bring it to the Rulers Conference if you don’t have consensus from 14 states, but a private member’s bill requires only one state or one person to table it.”

Jamil made this shocking admission at the Umno Overseas Club Alumni annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.Jamil said that when Hadi’s private member’s bill motion moves to the second reading stage, it would be taken over by the government and read out by him.

What Jamil did not mention was that this UMNO strategy to support Hadi’s private member’s bill not only tried to circumvent the constitutional process to secure the consensus from the 14 states and the support of the National Islamic Council and the Rulers’ Conference, it was also a ploy to circumvent the Barisan Nasional consensus of all the 14 BN component parties for any policy or measure to be adopted in the name of Barisan Nasional Government. Continue reading “Worst BN crisis since 1973 – leaders of other BN component parties should cancel their year-end holidays overseas to requisition emergency meeting of BN Supreme Council to establish whether UMNO has smashed BN consensus principle into smithereens”

Posted on

SINGAPORE – Casualties from the 1MDB fallout

The Newspaper, Singapore
Dec 17, 2016

2 JAILED

Yak Yew Chee, 57
Jailed 18 weeks, fined $24,000

*The former managing director of BSI Singapore was the relationship manager for Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho.
*Pleaded guilty in November to two counts each of forgery and failing to report suspicious transactions.
*Also offered to give to the State $7.5 million of the bonuses he received from BSI.

Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, 45
Jailed 2 weeks, fined $10,000

*A director at BSI Singapore, was the next most senior banker on Yak’s team.
*Pleaded guilty to three charges of aiding in forging documents and failing to report suspicious transactions.

Continue reading “SINGAPORE – Casualties from the 1MDB fallout”

Posted on

Second tranche of five questions for Salleh to answer before he can restore his right to demand answers from others

Yesterday, I said that the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak has lost the right to ask questions and demand answers from others, when he as Minister which incorporated the Ministry of Information of the past, had failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings.

I put to him the first tranche of five questions for him to answer to perform his Ministerial duty before he could start asking questions and demanding answers from others.

Today, I am putting forward to him the second tranche of five questions to answer in the process to restore his right to demand answers from others.

My second tranche of five questions are:

Question 6 –

In early October, the country was convulsed by reports of the rampant corruption in the Sabah Water Department, especially the revelation that 60 per cent of the RM3.3 billion earmarked by the federal government to improve water supply to residents, including those in remote areas in the Sabah State, had been “siphoned off” by corruption.

Would Salleh agree that the 60% corruption at the Sabah Water Department, for which no one has yet been charged in court for corruption, is proof that Malaysia is not serious about combating corruption, even less so with regard to grand corruption affecting top political and government leaders.

Can Salleh explain why China is catching “tigers” and Indonesia “crocodiles”, but Malaysia has not been able to catch a single “shark” at the national level in the war against grand corruption?
Continue reading “Second tranche of five questions for Salleh to answer before he can restore his right to demand answers from others”

Posted on

Civil society demands that the government stops harassing and stigmatising NGOs

― Hakam & civil society NGOs
Malay Mail Online
December 15, 2016

DECEMBER 15 ― 1. We, members of Civil society (represented by the organisations listed below) are greatly concerned by the recent developments pertaining to the arrest of Puan Maria Chin Abdullah under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, the summoning of activists from Suaram, Lawyers for Liberty and Empower for investigations, the police raid and seizure of the offices of Bersih and Empower and the numerous news reports making allegations against various organisations in respect of the foreign funding, including the Malaysian Bar Council.

2. We are also perturbed by news reports of the Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announcing the formation of a task force to probe into NGO funding and accusing them of enticing revolutions to topple the present government and news reports of Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan’s reply to the numerous concerns regarding local human rights issues raised by Maina Kiai the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in his recent visit to Malaysia.

3. The recent events and published news reports give the impression that the authorities are out to discredit and demonise human rights activists and civil society organisations who have voiced criticisms and dissent against the government. Continue reading “Civil society demands that the government stops harassing and stigmatising NGOs”

Posted on

Predicting Malaysia’s next election date

Reme Ahmad and Lim Ai Leen
Straits Times Singapore
DEC 18, 2016

Likely slots are in April, May, Oct, say analysts, after ruling out no-go months

Will Malaysia’s general election be held in April or May next year? Or will it be held much later in October?

That is a question that only Prime Minister Najib Razak can answer.

He has started beating the drum for the polls, sending politicians and analysts scrambling in search of clues.

A quick way to predict likely election dates is by first eliminating the traditional no-go months in Malaysian politics.

Datuk Seri Najib would then only have the leftover months and weeks to choose from, say analysts and politicians. Continue reading “Predicting Malaysia’s next election date”