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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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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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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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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”

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Goldman Sachs, a ‘Nama letter’ and the links to a $6bn fraud probe

Simon Rowe
Irish Independent
19/06/2016

When a Wall Street star left under a cloud, the ‘smoking gun’ was a letter destined for our bad bank

A senior ex-Goldman Sachs banker who quit the Wall Street firm after being investigated over a falsified assurance letter – which, it is believed, he had sent to a European bank to assist a Malaysian tycoon’s bid to purchase property from Nama – has become embroiled in a $6bn global embezzlement probe.

Tim Leissner, who had close ties to the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB and was considered Goldman Sach’s point man in Singapore dealing with the fund, was interviewed on January 19 this year in relation to “inaccurate and unauthorised statements” made by him in a June 2015 reference letter.

According to filings with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the US securities industry’s self-regulating body, the letter was written without Goldman Sach’s knowledge or approval.

Sources close to the case said Leissner’s letter had included details about the finances of his client, who is believed to be well-known Malaysian tycoon Jho Low, while overstating the extent to which Goldman Sachs had done due diligence on him.

The letter, which vouched for Low and his finances to a financial institution in Europe, was to be used to help Low reach a deal to buy real estate from the National Asset Management Agency, it is believed. Continue reading “Goldman Sachs, a ‘Nama letter’ and the links to a $6bn fraud probe”

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BSI Appealing Swiss Regulator Actions Against It Over 1MDB

by John Letzing
Wall Street Journal
June 23, 2016

BSI says Finma actions are “unlawful” and “disproportionate”

ZURICH—BSI SA, a Swiss bank embroiled in the legal controversy surrounding Malaysian state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., said on Thursday that it is appealing “flawed” actions taken against it by Switzerland’s financial regulator.

The Swiss regulator, Finma, issued a sternly worded statement in May, saying that BSI had committed “serious” breaches of money-laundering regulations in its dealings with the Malaysian fund, 1MDB, and had executed a number of large transactions for the fund “despite clearly suspicious indications.” Finma ordered BSI to pay 95 million Swiss francs ($99 million) in profits tied to its business with 1MDB to Switzerland’s public coffers.

Finma also said it was starting enforcement proceedings against two unidentified former managers at the Lugano-based bank.

On Thursday, BSI said Finma’s communication about actions taken against the bank “has severely harmed the reputation of the bank and its employees.” BSI added that it “challenges Finma’s assessment of the facts, and holds that the measures [Finma] ordered are unlawful and disproportionate.”

BSI said it has lodged its appeal with the Swiss Federal Administrative Court. A BSI spokesman declined to comment further on what remedies the bank is seeking.

A Finma spokesman said that its decisions can be challenged and are subject to judicial review, and declined to comment further. Continue reading “BSI Appealing Swiss Regulator Actions Against It Over 1MDB”

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An early GE14 on the cards?

P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
21 Jun 2016

QUESTION TIME While most people had expected BN to win the parliamentary seats of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar hands down, the huge margin of victory must have surprised both BN and the opposition and raises the possibility of early general elections in the wake of the euphoria and an opposition in disarray.

But before we discuss that, what caused the rout and what are its implications? By numbers, two things seem fairly obvious. One, there was a massive swing to BN of Chinese votes and two, Amanah’s support among Malay votes were even lower than expected. Continue reading “An early GE14 on the cards?”

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Citizens’ Demands on 1MDB and Najib’s US$1 billion “donation”

The 1MDB Colloquium held in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar on 11th and 12th June 2016 respectively, which was graced by many distinguished speakers have raised many pertinent issues with regards to the Government’s complete lack of accountability with 1MDB.

The recent global developments over 1MDB made it even more imperative for Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to explain what he has refused to explain for more than a year.

We, the undersigned, are citizens of Malaysia demanding clear and direct answers by the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and his Cabinet on the following pressing questions on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Najib’s US$1 billion deposits into his personal bank account:

1. Who will pay if 1MDB loses the arbitration case with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC)?

On 14 June 2016, IPIC has filed its US$6.5 billion worth of claims against 1MDB in London’s Arbitration Court. IPIC is seeking US$3.5 billion bond plus interest that amounts to US$4.8 billion, the US$1.2 billion loan plus interest, and about US$481 million owed to its subsidiary, Aabar Investment PJS.

The above claims followed the discovery that 1MDB has made as much as US$3.5 billion of payments to a fraudulent British Virgin Island incorporated entity, Aabar Investment PJS Limited, which IPIC has denied ownership. Continue reading “Citizens’ Demands on 1MDB and Najib’s US$1 billion “donation””

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Five “atomic bomb” issues for the AMANAH candidates to hurl at Najib in Parliament if they are elected as MPs on Saturday

PKR Secretary-General and MP for Pandan Rafizi Ramli created quite a stir when at a Kuala Kangsar by-election ceramah, he said that if the AMANAH candidate, Ahmad Termizi Ramli, who is a nuclear physicist, is elected, he would be asked to hurl an “atomic bomb” at the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament.

Everybody had a good laugh as they knew that it was a figure of speech, meaning that Ahmad Termizi would be raising in Parliament mega Najib scandals and wrongdoings, as it would be physically impossible for any human being to “hurl” any atomic bomb at anyone in Parliament – as an atomic bomb will be too heavy for any human being to hurl it around as if Termizi is a superhuman weight-lifter. For example, the two atomic bombs, “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which ended the Second World War in Asia-Pacific in 1945, weighed more than 10,000 pounds each!

But there are cretins who took Rafizi literally as even to lodge police reports as if
Rafizi was issuing a grave threat threatenning the life and limb of the Prime Minister (if so, even DAP leaders will be the first to deplore Rafizi’s speech) and what is even more shocking, the Police took the police reports of the cretins so seriously that Rafizi had been questioned by the police and there is even a possibility that Rafizi may be charged in court for an action which would be the first in the world – for issuing a threat through use of figurative language.

We will wait to see what the Police and the Attorney-General will do in this case, but there is no doubt that if Azhar Shukor and Ahmad Termizi Ramli are elected as MPs in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar respectively, they will be expected to raise issues and scandals of “atomic-bomb proportions” in Parliament. Continue reading “Five “atomic bomb” issues for the AMANAH candidates to hurl at Najib in Parliament if they are elected as MPs on Saturday”

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The SOPA awards for WSJ and Tom Wright for their investigative reports on the 1MDB scandal is “a slap in the face” and as good as an international vote of no confidence in Najib as Prime Minister

Another world recognition for Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) reporting on the 1MDB global scandal in Malaysia is another nail in the coffin of Malaysia as the new kleptocracy in global society.

In fact, the Society of Publishers in Asia (Sopa) awards for WSJ and its Asian edition economics editor Tom Wright for their investigative reports on the 1MDB scandal is “a slap in the face” and as good as an international vote of no confidence in Najib as Prime Minister.

Unless the Prime Minister himself can conduct town-hall meetings in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar these two days and give full and satisfactory accounting on the nations’ first global financial scandals – the RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin scandals – and why there had been a string of adverse international developments and censures for Malaysia over the 1MDB’s global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption, the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections on Saturday should stand up and speak with one voice on behalf of 30 million Malaysians to reject the UMNO candidates to send a clear and unmistakable message, viz:

“Enough is Enough. Malaysians have enough of the endless adverse international developments over the 1MDB scandal and want Najib to bring a closure to all the allegations of 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption before the 59th National Day on August 31, 2016 or he should step down as Prime Minister on the 59th National Day!” Continue reading “The SOPA awards for WSJ and Tom Wright for their investigative reports on the 1MDB scandal is “a slap in the face” and as good as an international vote of no confidence in Najib as Prime Minister”

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Arul Kanda’s unprecedented appearance in Sungai Besar a triple admission of the impact of the Colloquium on 1MDB scandal in Sekinchan, the lack and loss of credibility of government explanation on 1MDB scandal as well as 1MDB impact on Saturday’s by-elections

The unprecedented appearance of the 1MDB president and executive director Arul Kanda in Sungai Besar is a triple admission – the impact of the Colloquium on 1MDB scandak in Sekinchan last Saturday which was opened by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the lack and loss of credibility of government explanation on the 1MDB global scandal as well as the 1MDB impact on Saturday’s by-elections.

The 1MDB president and executive director’s programme in Sungai Besar showed that Arul Kanda’s job is more a PR one than to really solve the global financial scandal, especially as it is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself who is sitting on top of the mountain of 1MDB debts and problems since the very start of the so-called national sovereign fund some seven years ago.

Why is Arul Kanda acting like “a thief in the night” refusing to comment when asked by the press whether he was campaigning for UMNO/Barisan Nasional in the Sungai Besar by-election, when his job should be to resolve Malaysia’s greatest global financial scandal in the nation’s history?

As 1MDB is a 100% government company, Arul Kanda is finally paid from the taxpayers’ monies and no more than a public servant.

As such, he should owe his loyalty to the 30 million Malaysians and not just to his formal employers – the 1MDB, the Ministry of Finance or the Prime Minister himself.

Can we expect Arul to give the 30 million Malaysians, who are his final employers, a full and unvarnished account of the woes of 1MDB, and how a “strategic” national sovereign fund should end up in such pathetic straits, threatening to drag the country to precedented debts and economic woes and liabilities? Continue reading “Arul Kanda’s unprecedented appearance in Sungai Besar a triple admission of the impact of the Colloquium on 1MDB scandal in Sekinchan, the lack and loss of credibility of government explanation on 1MDB scandal as well as 1MDB impact on Saturday’s by-elections”

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High and low points in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections

The Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections the last 10 days have seen ups and downs, high and low points, sublime commitment and lowly farce of the Malaysian community.

A high point in Kuala Kangsar – when a young Malay youth approached me during my walkabouts in Kuala Kangsar town, asked for a selfie assured me that I have his support and his friends in my advocacy for national unity, religious tolerance, good governance and healthy democracy in Malaysia. A young Malay who is proud to be a Malaysian!

A high point in Sungai Besar this morning – when a trader in Sekinchan related how she told off MCA telephone propagandists who phoned and warned her not to vote for AMANAH as they are no different from PAS, with her immediate rebuttal why UMNO is cozying up to PAS and why MCA dare not stop or oppose such a new political alliance? An ordinary citizen who is not as dumb as MCA propagandists think!

Both these “high points” in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-election campaign restored my confidence in the future of Malaysia and my faith in ordinary Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, and their ability to distinguish right form wrong, good and bad, however intense and saturated the propaganda offensives of UMNO/BN machinery.

But there were also low points and even low farce in the two by-election campaigns, like: Continue reading “High and low points in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections”

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Malaysia’s Najib Says He Didn’t Abuse Power or Derail Probes

Shamim Adam
Bloomberg
June 14, 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said he hasn’t abused his leadership positions, according to court documents filed as part of his defense againsgraft allegations made by his biggest critic, former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Mahathir and two others in March accusing him of misuse of power and interference in investigations into a troubled state investment company, said the statement filed on Monday and distributed by his lawyers on Tuesday.

The premier has battled corruption accusations and fended off efforts by Mahathir over the past year to have him removed him from office. Najib has denied wrongdoing and was cleared by the attorney general this year over revelations that $681 million appeared in his accounts before the 2013 election. The Barisan Nasional coalition won that vote by its slimmest margin yet and lost the popular vote for the first time.

Najib “actively and deliberately” sought to derail probes by local agencies into 1Malaysia Development Bhd. as well as the money that ended up in his private accounts, Mahathir’s lawyers said in a statement in March. Mahathir and two former officials of Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation, are seeking damages of at least 2.6 billion ringgit ($634 million) plus interest to be paid to the government. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Najib Says He Didn’t Abuse Power or Derail Probes”

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IPIC Seeks $6.5 Billion From 1MDB, Malaysia in Arbitration

by Shamim Adam
Bloomberg
June 14, 2016

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, embroiled in a debt payment dispute with 1Malaysia Development Bhd., is seeking $6.5 billion from the troubled Malaysian state investment company as it moves the spat into arbitration.

1MDB and its sole shareholder — Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance — haven’t perform their obligations toward International Petroleum Investment Co. PJSC, the Abu Dhabi fund said in a London stock exchange filing on Tuesday. IPIC and unit Aabar Investments PJS submitted the request to the London Court of International Arbitration, it said.

The Malaysian investment fund and IPIC are locked in a tussle that spilled over to repayments on bonds issued by 1MDB. That led to a default in April, adding to the financial scandals for the Malaysian company that’s already a target of global probes into alleged money laundering and embezzlement. 1MDB has denied wrongdoing. Continue reading “IPIC Seeks $6.5 Billion From 1MDB, Malaysia in Arbitration”

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Call for a “1MDB Giant Octopus Tribunal” as the RM55 billion 1MDB global financial scandal is like a giant octopus with its eight tentacles wrapped so tightly around the country’s personalities and institutions that Malaysia can only free and save itself if it could escape the strangling embrace of the giant octopus

The RM55 billion 1MDB global financial scandal, which included Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal, is like a giant octopus with its eight tentacles wrapped so tightly around the country’s key personalities and institutions that Malaysia can only free and save itself if it could escape the strangling embrace of the giant octopus.

The Second Colloquium on 1MDB scandal is to explore how to bring a closure to the nation’s first global scandal, which had been hounding and haunting the country for the past six years.

I can envision the eight victims which are caught in the suffocating embrace of the eight tentacles of the giant 1MDB octopus, viz:

1. the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak;

2. UMNO whose leadership at the national, state and even divisional levels have been co-opted or compromised;

3. MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Barisan Nasional component parties which is why no MCA, Gerakan or MIC Minister or leader dare to have a confrontation with the UMNO leadership over the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said’s Ministerial motion in Parliament on May 26 to fast-track Hadi’s hudud motion or to requisition an emergency meeting of Barisan Nasional Supreme Council with the dual objective to firstly, restore the status quo ante by reaffirming the Barisan Nasional’s 43-year consensus that hudud is against the Malaysian Constitution and not suitable for multi-religious Malaysia and secondly, to repudiate and sack Azalina for her Ministerial motion which violated BN spirit and consensus.

4. PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, the only opposition leader to come to the defence of Najib over the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal. As a result, Hadi has moved closer to Hadi, resulting in the Najib-Hadi plot of Hadi’s hudud bill in Parliament on May 26. Continue reading “Call for a “1MDB Giant Octopus Tribunal” as the RM55 billion 1MDB global financial scandal is like a giant octopus with its eight tentacles wrapped so tightly around the country’s personalities and institutions that Malaysia can only free and save itself if it could escape the strangling embrace of the giant octopus”

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If Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng in connection with corruption allegation for RM2.8 million bungalow, the Prime Minister would be questioned for 12.3 years for his RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal

When DAP PJ Utara Member of Parliament and Public Accounts Committee, Tony Pua, spoke just now about the failures of the various national institutions in the 1MDB scandal, whether Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Bank Negara, the Police, Attorney-General’s Chambers or even the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), I thought about the three-day interrogation spanning some 23 hours of the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng by MACC officers in connection with the corruption allegations about his RM2.8 million bungalow.

If Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng in connection with the corruption allegation for his RM2.8 million bungalow, the Prime Minister would be questioned 12.3 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 three days, Najib will have to be questioned 1,500 x 3 days, yielding 4,500 days. This works out to 12.3 years – imagine Najib going in and out of MACC office to be questioned for 12 years and four months, from wake up in the morning to retirement for sleep at night, and doing nothing else!

Another panelist, journalist P. Gunasegaram spoke about the 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption offences being instituted in foreign countries, and how it is most surreal that in Malaysia, we continue the pretense that these almost daily 1MDB developments all over the world do not exist.

This seems to be the success of the global cover-up of the 1MDB global financial scandal, but it is something which is not sustainable and cannot last. Continue reading “If Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng in connection with corruption allegation for RM2.8 million bungalow, the Prime Minister would be questioned for 12.3 years for his RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal”

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DAP and Pakatan Harapan are not enemies of ordinary UMNO and PAS members and we invite UMNO and PAS members to join in the “Save Malaysia” campaign to stop the country from sliding down the slippery slope of corruption and abuses of power to become a failed state

We are almost at the half-way mark of the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-election campaign.

At the beginning, the AMANAH/Pakatan Harapan candidates in these two by-elections were the true underdogs.

When I first went to campaign in Kuala Kangsar, I was asked by the press whether the AMANAH/Pakatan Rakyat candidate, nuclear physicist Professor Dr. Ahmad Termizi Ramli would lose his deposit in the by-election.

The situation in both by-elections is now clearer, that in both places, it is a contest between UMNO/BN and AMANAH/PH candidates, as a vote for the PAS candidate in both constituencies would be a wasted vote with no chance whatsoever that the PAS candidate can win in either one of the two constituencies.

In fact, I had said publicly that I expect the PAS candidate in Sungai Besar to lose by some 10,000 votes and in Kuala Kangsar to lose by some 5,000 votes as compared to the votes polled by the PAS candidates in these two constituencies in the 13th General Election in 2013, and no one in the PAS leadership has come forward to contradict me.

I want to make four points tonight:

Firstly, the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections are capable of creating political earthquakes in Malaysia. If Azhar Shukor is elected MP for Sungai Besar and Prof Termizi the MP for Kuala Kangsar on June 18, winning in traditional UMNO strongholds which no UMNO candidate had ever lost in six decades, the message is clear – either Datuk Seri Najib Razak steps down as Prime Minister or UMNO/BN will be defeated in the next 14th General Election. Continue reading “DAP and Pakatan Harapan are not enemies of ordinary UMNO and PAS members and we invite UMNO and PAS members to join in the “Save Malaysia” campaign to stop the country from sliding down the slippery slope of corruption and abuses of power to become a failed state”

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The DNA of the present MCA leadership is not only different from the DNA of DAP leadership, but have mutated and degenerated as compared to the DNA of the early MCA leadership

The MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai made a very immature and uninformed statement in Jerlun in the Kuala Kangsar by-election campaign when he said that PAS and AMANAH “share the same DNA”, and asked the voters not be duped by DAP once again.

Liow said that liberal factions do not exist within AMANAH or PAS, claiming that “there are only two factions in PAS and AMANAH – extreme or more extreme”.

It is sad that we have national leaders in government in a plural society who do not understand the struggle that is ongoing, not only in Malaysia but world-wide, between an open, broad-minded and inclusive understanding of Islamic politics and a closed, narrow-minded and exclusive exposition of Islamic politics.

In Tunisia, the Ennahda or Renaissance Party, a moderate Islamist political party which is the largest in the Tunisian Parliament, just held a historic national congress under its President Rached Ghannouchi pioneering the development of Islamic politics by separating its religious activities from political ones. Ghannouchi described Ennahda as a “political, democratic and civil party” although its point of reference remain rooted in the values of ancient and modern Islam.

It is worth noting that Tunisia, whose population is 99.8 per cent Muslims, does not have hudud.

One of the leaders of Ennahda, Said Ferjani, in a dialogue with DAP leaders during his visit to Malaysia last August, said ensuring peace and freedom of religion should be the priority in politics, especially among Islamists, even more than implementing hudud.

He refuted assertions that the Islamic penal code should be a prerequisite of faith, relating that even Prophet Muhammad did not implement hudud during his time as a state ruler.

What do we have in Malaysia? A revival of the hudud debate following the success of the Najib-Hadi plot in Parliament on May 26 to distract national attention from Malaysia’s first twin global financial scandals – the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal and the RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Continue reading “The DNA of the present MCA leadership is not only different from the DNA of DAP leadership, but have mutated and degenerated as compared to the DNA of the early MCA leadership”

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What has Najib or PMO got to say on WSJ’s correction to say that the US$3 billion bond fund raised by Goldman Sachs went to BSI Bank in Switzerland and not Singapore, and part of it eventually landed in Najib’s personal bank accounts?

What has the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Raak or the Prime Minister’s Office got to say on Wall Street Journal’s correction to say that the US$3 billion bond fund raised by Goldman Sachs went to BSI Bank in Switzerland and not Singapore, and part of it eventually landed in Najib’s personal bank accounts?

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has issued a correction, stating that the US$3 billion bond fund Goldman Sachs raised for 1MDB went to BSI Bank in Switzerland and not Singapore as initially reported.

In its correction, WSJ said its article earlier had “incorrectly stated the money was sent to 1MDB’s account at the private bank’s Singapore branch”.

The WSJ stood by the allegation that part of the US$3 billion sent to Switzerland (and not Singapore) ended up in offshore accounts that eventually landed in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal bank accounts. Continue reading “What has Najib or PMO got to say on WSJ’s correction to say that the US$3 billion bond fund raised by Goldman Sachs went to BSI Bank in Switzerland and not Singapore, and part of it eventually landed in Najib’s personal bank accounts?”