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The RM250 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal – “shouldn’t someone go to jail”?

In his new book on the world’s latest financial crisis hotspots, “Boomerang: Travels In the New Third World”, journalist Michael Lewis wrote about how the then new Greek Minister of Finance George Papaconstantinou found out when he took office in October 2009 that his country had cooked its deficit figures with a budget deficit of 12.7% of GDP, four times more than the eurozone’s limit, and a public debt of US$410 billion. The projected Greek deficit of roughly 7 billion euros was actually more than 30 billion.

At his first monthly meeting with European Finance Ministers after he told his counterparts his shocking discovery, a European Finance Minister came up to him and said: “George, we know it’s not your fault, but shouldn’t someone go to jail?”

This is the same question many Malaysians are now asking about the RM250 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal, especially after the shocking claim by the UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin that the purchase of an RM10 million condominium from funds meant for cattle production was a “strategic move”, so that the money would not lie idle.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak or his Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was Agriculture Minister when the NFC project was first mooted and approved, should answer this question in the minds of most Malaysians: “Shouldn’t someone go to jail?” Continue reading “The RM250 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal – “shouldn’t someone go to jail”?”

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Does this sound like Malaysia?

The Malaysian Insider | November 10, 2011

NOV 10 — Greed, ignorance, hubris, corruption and a departure from long-held principles and a lazy media all played roles in the financial meltdown that is Greece, Ireland, Iceland. In his latest book “Boomerang”, Michael Lewis goes on a meltdown tour to find out how countries and societies got into this mess.

Malaysia is not Greece or Iceland but some of his observations should resonate with Malaysians. Below are just a sampling of some of his observations and the commentaries under each point made by The Malaysian Insider.

What “Boomerang” says:

1) “The world is now pocked with cities that feel as if they are perched on top of bombs. The bombs have yet to explode but the fuses have been lit…
Continue reading “Does this sound like Malaysia?”

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Meminta Kerajaan menyiasat tuduhan rasuah terhadap Peguam Negara dan mengapa laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2010 tidak dibentangkan di Parlimen walaupun Bajet 2012 telah dibentangkan

Yang Berhomat Ipoh Timur meminta Kerajaan menyiasat tuduhan rasuah terhadap Peguam Negara yang dilemparkan oleh bekas Ketua CID Kuala Lumpur, Dato’ Mat Zain Ibrahim yang dibuat melalui surat terbuka.

Jawapan Bertulis YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri semasa Menggulung Perbahasan Bajet 2012 (Peringkat Dasar) di Dewan Rakyat pada 24 Oktober 2011

Untuk makluman Yang Berhormat, perkara ini telah pun diperjelaskan oleh saya pada 14 Disember 2010 di Dewan Yang Mulia ini.

Ahli Panel Bebas yang terdiri daripada Datuk Abdul Kadir Sulaiman dan Datuk Wira Mohd. Noor Ahmad, mantan Hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan dan Datuk Mohd. Noor Abdullah, mantan Hakim Mahkamah Rayuan mendapati tiada kes ke atas Peguam Negara dengan majority 2-1.

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Yang Berhormat Permatang Pauh, Yang Berhormat Ipoh Timur, Yang Berhormat Kuala Kedah, Yang Berhormat Rantau Panjang dan Yang Berhormat Pokok Sena ingin mengetahui kenapa laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2010 belum dibentangkan di Parlimen walaupun Bajet 2012 telah dibentangkan.

Jawapan Bertulis YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz, Menteri Continue reading “Meminta Kerajaan menyiasat tuduhan rasuah terhadap Peguam Negara dan mengapa laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2010 tidak dibentangkan di Parlimen walaupun Bajet 2012 telah dibentangkan”

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Surcharge the public officers responsible for over payments of 2,900-11,400 % more the market price and such financial hanky-panky will cease in future AG Reports

Malaysia must be the only country which aspires to be developed nation status where year in year out, the Auditor-General reports of horror tales of financial hanky-panky, irregularities, abuses of power and financial indiscipline in Federal Government accounts.

Malaysians are entitled to know why such financial hanky-panky and irregularities could not be stamped out when there should be quite easy ways of achieving this objective.

For instance, surcharge the public officers responsible for paying RM5,700 or 11,400% more the market price of a car jack or RM56,350 or 2,900 per cent higher than the market price of binoculars and I am sure, such financial hanky-panky will cease in future Auditor-General’s Reports once the message is sent out the government servants who authorize irregular payments will have to personally account for their financial indiscipline from their personal pay checks.

At present, these public officers do not have to pay for their financial misfeances and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is a standing joke as it has proved to be completely impotent and ineffective in taking actions against errant public servants based on the voluminous Auditor-General’s annual reports.
Continue reading “Surcharge the public officers responsible for over payments of 2,900-11,400 % more the market price and such financial hanky-panky will cease in future AG Reports”

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Who must bear responsibility for the deception delaying tabling the 2010 Auditor-General’s reports until after the end of the general debate on the 2012 Budget – Prime Minister or Chief Secretary?

Who must bear responsibility for the deception and sleight-of-hand delaying tabling the 2010 Auditor-General’s reports on the annual and continuing “horror of horrors” of government financial hanky-panky, mismanagement and misappropriations of public funds until after the general debate in Parliament on the 2010 Budget (except for the official Ministerial winding-ups) is over?

Is he the Prime Minister or Chief Secretary? Or nobody need be held responsible for this gross parliamentary disrespect and deception?

Although the Auditor-General’s Reports for 2010 rated most ministries and government departments as “excellent” in their financial management, the Auditor-General nonetheless made history producing two thickest and most voluminous reports in Malaysian history on the Federal Government’s Accounts totally over 1,330 pages – retailing the hair-raising pecaddiloes and major transgressions in the government’s public finances in the first full year of Najib’s premiership in 2010.

The first public conclusion from the 2010 Auditor-General’s Reports is that there is no difference between Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s National Transformation Policy and his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s “Islam Hadhari” – as horror tales of financial hanky-panky, mismanagement and misappropriations continue unchanged, year in and year out, whether under Najib, Abdullah or even Tun Mahathir’s time as Prime Minister.
Continue reading “Who must bear responsibility for the deception delaying tabling the 2010 Auditor-General’s reports until after the end of the general debate on the 2012 Budget – Prime Minister or Chief Secretary?”

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‘Monument of Corruption’ still gets flak

by M Jegathesan, AFP | October 27, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

BAKUN DAM: The first turbine is spinning, electricity is pulsing out, and the water level is climbing in the Borneo jungle behind Malaysia’s huge US$2.2 billion Bakun hydroelectric dam.

But questions continue to swirl around the viability of a project described by critics as a graft-plagued human and ecological disaster – and as opposition mounts against a dozen other planned dams in Sarawak.

The first turbine from French giant Alstom began producing electricity in August and the dam’s reservoir has swelled to the size of Singapore since impoundment began a year ago.

After years of warnings about the impact on Sarawak’s pristine jungles and the forced removal of thousands of local tribespeople, the dam’s head Zulkifle Osman sees light at the end of the tunnel.
Continue reading “‘Monument of Corruption’ still gets flak”

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Is Muhyiddin fit to continue as Education Minister when he could violate a student’s child rights just to serve a blatant and dishonest political agenda?

I am indeed shocked and outraged by Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement yesterday that Lim Guan Eng’s denying sexual harassment claims against his son (my grandson) was inadequate.

Let the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and every Cabinet Minister declare whether they agree with Muhyiddin or not – which will also be a measure of the quality of Cabinet Ministers Malaysians have.

The school principal concerned has denied that there was ever such an incident of sexual harassment involving my grandson. The Penang State Education Director Ahmad Tarmizi Kamaruddin also said yesterday that his department found no evidence to back the allegations in several blogs.

The alleged victim Anya Corke, who is a 21-year-old Woman Grand Chessmaster in her third year in Wellesley College in the United States have rubbished the allegation, as she had not been in Malaysia for seven years and does not know Guan Eng or my grandson.

Can Muhyiddin explain what is “inadequate” when there is the total and unequivocal denial and rebuttal of the most irresponsible, diabolical and devilish allegation which could be hurled against an innocent 16-year-old student solely for the accusers to score political points against Guan Eng? Continue reading “Is Muhyiddin fit to continue as Education Minister when he could violate a student’s child rights just to serve a blatant and dishonest political agenda?”

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5 transformation measures for Malaysia

Proposals which would have given meaning to 2012 Budget as a National Transformation Policy

The theme of of the 2012 Budget is: “National Transformation Policy: Welfare for the Rakyat, Wellbeing of the Nation.”

It is supposed to be a very important budget as it is open up a new decade of National Transformation Policy or DTN effective from 2011 to 2020 when Malaysia is to become developed and high-income nation.

The National Transformation Policy is the final lap of development policies starting with the New Economic Policy 1971-1990, National Development Policy 1991-2000 and the national Vision Policy 2001-2010.

But is there “transformational” in the 2012 Budget which is to usher in a decade of transformation in Malaysia? I can’t find anything transformational or even visionary at all. Continue reading “5 transformation measures for Malaysia”

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Teoh Beng Hock and Sarbaini – victims of MACC

3. Continued degradation instead of restoration of independence, professionalism and integrity of key national institutions in the country.

(a) Great flaw of TBH RCI report – failure to affix responsibility for TBH’s death on MACC despite evidence galore

The Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry did not contribute to the restoration of public confidence in the independence, professionalism and integrity of key national institutions but their continued degradation.

A great flaw of the Teoh Beng Hock (TBH) Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report is its failure to affix responsibility for Beng Hock’s death on the MACC although there were evidence galore before the RCI proceedings.

It was not just persons, namely various MACC officers led by Hishammuddin Hashim the then Selangor MACC Deputy Director and the “mastermind” of the illegal and massive 33-officer MACC “operation”, who must bear responsibility for Beng Hock’s death but also the institution of MACC as well. Continue reading “Teoh Beng Hock and Sarbaini – victims of MACC”

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2012 budget – cornucopia of goodies for votes

Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2012 Budget on Friday was a veritable cornucopia of goodies for votes in the 13th general elections – the most brazen and cynical budget exercise in the nation’s history to reach out for voter support from a whole swathe of targetted groups comprising important vote-banks.

But the inequitable and corrupt system which bred decades of injustice, inequality and exploitation remains completely untouched.

The 2012 Budget is designed to win the next general elections for Najib and not to reform and transform the country’s system, structures and institutions to end the rot which has seen Malaysia losing out in international competitiveness and being overtaken by more and more countries in national, economic and human resource development including in South East Asia. Continue reading “2012 budget – cornucopia of goodies for votes”

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The system’s breaking down

— The Malaysian Insider
Sep 22, 2011

SEPT 22 — Anti-corruption officers extorted RM1 million from money changers. Policeman sentenced to five years’ jail for shooting 14-year-old boy in the back. The Attorney-General accused of a string of serious and damning offences, including fabricating evidence.

Nope, these are not headlines from a banana republic in Central America or Zimbabwe. This is what is happening in Malaysia and is only a snapshot of a system falling into a serious state of disrepair, where there is a serious blurring of lines between law enforcers and law breakers, where the culture of easy money and lack of respect for the rule of law are hurting the country’s once-respected institutions.

Oh, you can bet that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will talk about how a few bad apples should not sully the whole basket but we believe recent evidence suggests that the problems at the anti-corruption agency are institutional rather than isolated.

Wasn’t it the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock’s death which found the behaviour of the MACC interrogators abhorrent? And of course that was before the Customs official fell to his death and where a CCTV recording mysteriously disappeared.

Aminulrasyid Amzah was shot in the back by a policeman and in another incident, the court awarded RM900,000 to a man who became paralysed after being shot in the back. Continue reading “The system’s breaking down”

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Anything But Umno

— Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 10, 2011

SEPT 10 — Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK), the blogger, is right. We don’t know if Pakatan Rakyat will be able to govern our beloved country responsibly or walk the talk.

But we do know that they will not be worse than the plundering and blundering hordes of Umno. I say Umno and not BN because in reality the BN component parties such as the MCA, MIC, etc are subsidiaries of Umno. They may have a different flag, motto and even president but their mission statement is to be subservient to Umno.

The elections are around the corner. How do we know that? Simple, the clamour for allocations and funds is getting louder in Umno. Soon, we will be asked to make a choice and by my reckoning the choice is clear: Anything But Umno.

Just let us examine what these Umno types have done to our country. I have no doubt that the likes of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Dr Ismail, Hussein Onn, Tan Siew Sin were men of integrity and served the rakyat. Continue reading “Anything But Umno”

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Malaysian procurement system riddled with corruption, says US cable

The Malaysian Insider
Sep 09, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — The seedy and allegedly corrupt side of Malaysia’s defence procurement has been laid bare in a US embassy cable, with startling revelations on how Umno politicians, agents, civil servants and military officials receive 30 per cent “commission” on deals.

In a note on the opaque procurement system here revealed by whistleblower site Wikileaks, the US embassy noted that American companies operating here had three main complaints about the system: the lack of transparency, outright corruption, and Bumiputera requirements.

The undated cable sent during the Abdullah administration between 2004 and 2009 also noted that many government tenders do not follow procurement rules.

A US aerospace executive told the US embassy here defence deals were done through shadowy agreements with no tendering process. For example, the then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s (picture) sister-in-law arranged a US$400 million (RM1.2 billion) contract to buy military cargo aircraft from Airbus.

The deal was announced following Abdullah’s return from a trip to France. Continue reading “Malaysian procurement system riddled with corruption, says US cable”

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MACC and constituency funds

By Ronald Benjamin | September 06, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

SEPT 6 — The use of constituency funds as an election tool by the BN government to induce support should be investigated immediately by the MACC. Since the Election Commission has said that it is helpless, the MACC should step forward and investigate such a blatant act, which is the mother of all corruption.

The hesitancy to take action in a proactive manner against money politics would project the MACC as being impotent and unable to morally, proactively and culturally define its role as a watchdog capable of creating a climate of accountability where powerful politicians with government positions would not be able to get away with bribing voters.

There are two critical reasons for the MACC to act. Firstly, the coming general election is going to be the dirtiest in history. Winning at all cost has been Prime Minister Najib Razak’s aim and this has been well recorded in his speeches and actions.
Continue reading “MACC and constituency funds”

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Merdeka! Are we truly free?

Jeswan Kaur
Free Malaysia Today
August 31, 2011

Corruption, nepotism, cronyism and the abuse of the judiciary and legislation have marred the significance of Aug 31.

COMMENT

Aug 31 is a day of reflection, of taking cognisance of the fact that the country’s independence or Merdeka can no longer be taken for granted, that too by the “keepers” of this nation.

Regrettably, it is the “powers that be” that have marred the meaning of Merdeka. Corruption, nepotism, cronyism and the abuse of the judiciary and legislation have marred the significance of Merdeka, especially for the younger generation.

Instead of imparting profound meaning to Malaysians, Aug 31 had been reduced from the sublime to the ridiculous by the power-hungry and “self-first” politicians-leaders of this country.

The fact is Malaysia is “independent” but only in name, not in act. The existence of draconian laws that are continuously abused by the “powers that be” to safeguard its position have turned the understanding of Merdeka into a laughing stock. Continue reading “Merdeka! Are we truly free?”

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Who killed Teoh Beng Hock?

The burden of proving that Teoh’s death was an accident lies on those who had held him at the MACC

By N H Chan

Recently (see my article “If you put the cart before the horse” or “Cart and Horse” depending on where you have read it), I wrote about the unfounded conclusion of a befuddled Royal Commission of Inquiry that Teoh Beng Hock was driven to suicide while he was in the custody of the MACC.

One still wonders how such a conclusion could ever have been reached by the RCI without any evidence to support it whatsoever! Such evidence requires the opinion of an expert – which is a relevant fact under section 45 of the Evidence Act – to say that Teoh was driven to suicide as a direct consequence of the third degree method of interrogation inflicted on him by the police while he was in the custody of the MACC. It is because the finding of the RCI that Teoh was driven to suicide was unsupported by any evidence that we all realized how silly had been those judges who sat on the Royal commission. Those three judges have since become the laughing stock of the nation! Continue reading “Who killed Teoh Beng Hock?”

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Mubarak pleads ‘not guilty’ at Cairo trial

Al Jazeera
03 Aug 2011

Former Egyptian president maintains innocence over charges that include corruption and unlawful killings of protesters.

Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s ousted president, has denied charges of corruption and complicity in the killing of protesters at the start of his historic trial in Cairo.

At his first court appearance on Wednesday, Mubarak spoke from a hospital stretcher where he lay inside a cage for defendants.

“I categorically deny all the charges,” Mubarak said.

The proceedings, in a temporary court at the Police Academy in Cairo, was shown live on state television. Continue reading “Mubarak pleads ‘not guilty’ at Cairo trial”

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Resign Or Snap Election For Najib, Here’re The Reasons

By Finance twitter

As much as I would like to stop writing about PM Najib administration, the plot just got interesting and I think he may just hit the bull’s eye as far as my prediction that his downfall may be faster than his predecessor, Abdullah Badawi, is concerned. Compared with Najib, Badawi now seems like a cute adorable little kitten, who merely likes to sleep (on the job). Malaysians tend to be more forgiving on lazy prime minister but not a prime minister who lies, cheats, brutal, dirty (allegation on Mongolian Altantuya’s murder), hypocrite but above all stupid yet arrogant.

One cannot help but fell off the chair laughing after read that Najib said he cancels a family vacation because he wants to spend more time with Malaysians. This was perhaps the best joke ever by premier Najib since he took over from Abdullah Badawi. This joke actually worth a thousand “Like” on his facebook page. Forget about Bersih 2.0 because this guy may quit under pressure – not from opposition parties or Bersih 2.0 but from his internal UMNO party. Boy, if it was true that the US$24 million controversial diamond ring indeed belongs to his wife Rosmah Mansor, that ring is cursed.
Continue reading “Resign Or Snap Election For Najib, Here’re The Reasons”

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MACC a house of criminals, says Kit Siang

By Joseph Sipalan and Lee Way Loon | Jul 27, 11
Malaysiakini

INTERVIEW Responsibility for the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock lies squarely on the shoulders of the BN, which created a monster in the form of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), senior DAP leader Lim Kit Siang says.

Lim said the recently released report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh’s death details a “horror” story that clearly outlines the gross abuses of the power MACC wields.

“… we let Parliament pass it (the MACC Act of 2009), gave it increased powers and funding, all sorts of support (were) given. What has happened? It became a monster,” he told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview.

Lim, who marks 45 years in active politics this year, accused the BN of using the MACC, particularly the Selangor MACC, to further its political agenda in wresting the state back from Pakatan Rakyat rule.
Continue reading “MACC a house of criminals, says Kit Siang”

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DAP says RCI report tarnished party image

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
July 25, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — The DAP today continued criticising the results of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Teoh Beng Hock’s death, claiming that the report was “inconsistent” and had affected the party’s political image.

The late Teoh’s boss, Ean Yong Hian Wah, charged that the RCI report had failed to include the fact that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation on him and Teoh had concluded that there were no “elements of corruption and abuse of power”. Continue reading “DAP says RCI report tarnished party image”