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Prime Minister and Inspector-General of Police will be guilty of grave dereliction of duty if they fail to uphold the law and allow the Red Shirts to go on provocative rampage, resulting in clashes and ugly incidents on Saturday

Prime Minister Najib Razak has expressed concern over an imminent physical clash between ‘red shirt’ and ‘yellow shirt’ protesters during the Bersih 5 peaceful rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

He said: “If one side wants to protest and the side that wants to protect the government is compelled to come out … but I don’t want any physical clash.”

The Prime Minister and the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar will be guilty of grave dereliction of duty if they fail to uphold the law to ensure peace and order and instead, allow the Red Shirts to go on a provocative rampage resulting in clashes and ugly incidents on Saturday.

The Prime Minister and the Inspector-General of Police could not be ignorant of Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which was enacted to deal with exactly the type of situation which the Red Shirts have created – a counter-demonstration.

The Red Shirts are fully entitled to hold a counter-demonstration in support of Najib’s undemocratic and kleptocratic rule, but they are not entitled to threaten or provoke breaches of the peace and acts of violence. Continue reading “Prime Minister and Inspector-General of Police will be guilty of grave dereliction of duty if they fail to uphold the law and allow the Red Shirts to go on provocative rampage, resulting in clashes and ugly incidents on Saturday”

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Ex-BSI banker trial: Yeo Jiawei slept at Jho Low’s house, wore his clothes, says prosecutor

Grace Leong
Straits Times
Nov 17, 2016

DPP accuses defendant of downplaying ties with Malaysian tycoon

Former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei was so close to controversial Malaysian tycoon Jho Low that he slept at his apartment, flew on his private jet and even wore his clothes, a court heard yesterday.

The claims arose yesterday as Yeo’s previous testimony, including claims over referral fees he reaped and his relationship with Mr Low, came under intense scrutiny by prosecutors.

Yeo, who faces four counts of witness tampering, has repeatedly downplayed his close ties to Mr Low, who is under investigation here and elsewhere over money-laundering claims linked to scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Continue reading “Ex-BSI banker trial: Yeo Jiawei slept at Jho Low’s house, wore his clothes, says prosecutor”

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Critic of Najib Razak, Malaysian Leader, Gets Prison for 1MDB Disclosure

By RICHARD C. PADDOCK
New York Times
NOV. 14, 2016

BANGKOK — An outspoken member of Malaysia’s Parliament was sentenced on Monday to 18 months in prison for publicly disclosing classified information from an official audit into a scandal-plagued government investment fund.

A lower court ruled that the lawmaker, Rafizi Ramli, was guilty of violating the Official Secrets Act by possessing and publicizing information from the document. Mr. Rafizi, who has served in Parliament since 2013, could also lose his seat and be barred from running for office for five years.

Rights advocates said the prosecution and conviction of a sitting member of Parliament for speaking publicly was unprecedented and was aimed at silencing one of the government’s most vocal critics. Continue reading “Critic of Najib Razak, Malaysian Leader, Gets Prison for 1MDB Disclosure”

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Time to stop all pretences and charade – Is the Najib government admitting “MO1” is Najib or not?

The time has come for the Najib government to act with dignity, decorum and honour and end all pretences and charade over the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit to forfeit US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from over US$3 billion of multi-billion dollar international kleptocratic conspiracy of embezzlement and money-laundering of 1MDB funds.

In its latest propaganda campaign to go into the offensive to counter the long-standing blaze of adverse international publicity over the 1MDB scandal, the government propaganda arm, the Special Affairs Department (JASA) of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, has launched an initiative to reach out to university students both at home and internationally.

This surreptitious JASA campaign went to Australia last week to influence Malaysian students in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, but this was discovered by the Australian media, although Australian reporters were barred from the “private” 1MDB briefings organized by JASA which featured 1MDB chief executive Arul Kanda.

The Australian Business Review, in its report “Malaysia’s 1MDB in university hard sell” on Nov. 15, 2016, said Kanda when confronted by the media at the University of NSW refused to answer questions about “the alleged corruption, including the funnelling of hundreds of millions of dollars into the personal bank account of Mr Razak” and “was quickly ushered into a waiting car”.

The Australian Business Review, which said that a glossy 20-page booklet entitled “DoJ’s summons is questionable” was distributed at the JASA briefings, reported:

“The unsigned pamphlet also attempts to cast doubt that Mr Najib is the person referred to in DoJ court filings as ‘Malaysian Official 1’ and in the Malaysian media as ‘MO1’, and who is identified as the beneficiary of much of the brazen theft from 1MDB via an account at AmBank.

“’DoJ did not name MO1 because the complaint that was made did not contain information and evidence to link MO1 with any assets and criminal wrongdoing such as was mentioned in the report,’ it claims.

“But Malaysia’s Housing Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan in an interview with the BBC in September admitted Mr Najib was ‘MO1’.”

I call on the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Mohd Salleh Mohd Keruak to make public the JASA bookletentitled “DoJ’s summons is questionable” or is it a tendentious, scurrilous and disreputable publication which cannot stand public scrutiny and can only bring further shame and humiliation to the Najib government? Continue reading “Time to stop all pretences and charade – Is the Najib government admitting “MO1” is Najib or not?”

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Is the Najib camp trying to ingratiate with the new Trump team by alleging that the US DOJ suit on 1MDB was part of US AG Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hilary Clinton’s email controversy and should be abandoned by the Trump administration?

Is the Najib camp trying to ingratiate with the new Trump team by alleging that the US DOJ suit on 1MDB was part of US AG Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hilary Clinton’s email controversy and should be abandoned by the Trump administration?

Two recent events seem to mark a new “offensive” by the Najib administration on the 1MDB global embezzlement and money-laundering scandal, viz:

• Najib’s written interview with Nikkei Asian Review seeking to claim credit that it was he himself who first instructed multiple authorities in Malaysia to conduct investigations to the 1MDB scandal and blaming the 1MDB issue of having become “highly politicized, with certain elements within Malaysia attempting to exploit it for their own personal political benefit” and “feeding foreign authorities with, at times, false or incomplete information”; and

• The latest round of propaganda offensive by Najib’s propaganda arm, the Special Affairs Department (JASA) of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, among Malaysian university overseas claiming that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action in its US$1 billion forfeiture lawsuit against 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland because of over US$3 billion the international conspiracy of embezzlement and money-laundering of 1MDB funds was in part fuelled by US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hillary Clinton’s email controversy.

The allegation that the US DOJ’s largest kleptocratic action against 1MDB under the US Kleptocratic Asset Recovery Initiative 2010 was partly fuelled by the Hillary-Trump presidential battle for the White House is doubly significant, firstly, because it is the first time that the Malaysian authorities have made such an allegation about the motivation of the US DOJ action against 1MDB; and secondly, it would appear to be a deliberate shift of Putrajaya’s 1MDB strategy to ingratiate with Trump team following the shocking Trump win for the White House bid, hoping to get the Trump administration to drop the DOJ suit altogether! Continue reading “Is the Najib camp trying to ingratiate with the new Trump team by alleging that the US DOJ suit on 1MDB was part of US AG Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hilary Clinton’s email controversy and should be abandoned by the Trump administration?”

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In Malaysia’s heartland, a call to action over corruption

Daily Mail
By AFP
15 November 2016

With yellow flags waving and vuvuzelas blaring, a convoy of two dozen cars snakes into the sleepy Malaysian town of Batu Gajah, breaking the rural calm with warnings of corruption and national decay.

For nearly seven weeks, Malaysia’s leading pro-reform group has waged an information insurgency through towns and villages nationwide, shining light on a scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak and state-owned fund 1MDB.

In public speeches, flyers and door-to-door canvassing, the unprecedented campaign attempts to explain a highly complex and seemingly distant affair in what is essentially hostile territory — Malaysia’s pro-government rural heartland.

“We have planted the seed. The seed where people actually start to ask what is (the) 1MDB scandal all about?” said Maria Chin Abdullah, chair of civil-society alliance Bersih, during a recent swing through rural central Malaysia. Continue reading “In Malaysia’s heartland, a call to action over corruption”

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Some politicizing 1MDB for personal advantage, Malaysian leader says

CK TAN
Nikkei Asian Review
November 15, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says it was he who first ordered probes of a troubled state investment fund, and he charges that the issue has been politicized by “certain elements.”

Malaysian authorities, including a bipartisan parliamentary committee, had concluded that weaknesses existed in the management of 1MDB, but none of its executives have been charged so far on allegations of embezzlement. However, authorities in Singapore, Switzerland and the U.S. are probing entities and people related to 1MDB for possible money laundering and other offenses.

In written responses to questions from the Nikkei Asian Review ahead of a three-day visit to Tokyo that begins Tuesday, Najib also touched on Malaysia’s plans for high-speed rail as well as relations with China and Japan. Below are excerpts from the responses.

Q: Foreign governments are investigating the misappropriation of funds related to 1MDB. Do you consider these actions as interference? Will Malaysia reopen investigations into the fund following probes in foreign jurisdictions?

A: Malaysian authorities have actually led the way in investigations into 1MDB. It was I who first instructed multiple authorities in Malaysia to conduct investigations. For example, the company has been the subject of investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the auditor general, the police and the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, which includes opposition politicians. I have always made clear that full cooperation should be extended to any investigation provided it is in accordance with the laws of our country. Furthermore, as I have consistently stated, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception.

However, it is important to note that this has become a highly politicized matter, with certain elements within Malaysia attempting to exploit this for their own personal political benefit, and feeding foreign authorities with at times false or incomplete information. Those outside Malaysia cannot always appreciate these complexities, but it is something they should bear in mind to avoid becoming entangled in what has become a domestic political matter. Continue reading “Some politicizing 1MDB for personal advantage, Malaysian leader says”

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Don’t forget 1MDB just yet

By Zan Azlee
Asian Correspondent
14th November 2016

A LOT of things happening in Malaysia are grabbing headlines in the news media, from the martial arts obsessed racist red shirts who break concrete blocks on their heads while demonstrating silat skills and protesting against clean and fair elections, to Prime Minister Najib Razak singing karaoke with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

This is all fine and good. I mean, these are current events and definitely newsworthy to be in the media. What I am trying to say is that, although we can and do consume news that is absurd and amusing to our hearts, we should also not forget the news that is more important and has a more adverse affect on society.

Recently, news just broke about how the Malaysian government has refused to provide information and to collaborate with Switzerland’s authorities who are currently investigating corruption allegations within their banking system that is related to the 1MDB scandal, 1MDB being the controversy hit national sovereign wealth fund.

According to news reports, Malaysia is refusing to provide details to the Swiss authorities because apparently, the attorney-general’s office claims that there is an on-going police investigation by Malaysian police on the 1MDB. And this isn’t the first time they have refused to assist. Continue reading “Don’t forget 1MDB just yet”

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Malaysia’s Running Out of Trump Cards

By Andy Mukherjee
Bloomberg
Nov 13, 2016

Amid a deepening emerging-market rout, three of Donald Trump’s seven promises to American workers are making Asia particularly nervous.A U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership would kill the 12-nation deal, while labeling China as a currency manipulator is set to provoke a tit-for-tat response. If the president-elect delivers on those two threats, the export-led region will wait for Trump to make good on his vow to end “all foreign trading abuses.”Although no Asian nation would relish the prospect of an all-out trade war, Malaysian investors are perhaps most at risk.

Why Malaysia? China, Japan, South Korea, India and Singapore are among America’s 15 biggest trading partners; Malaysia is not. And while it’s a TPP member, the accord’s demise is the least of Kuala Lumpur’s worries. It might even be a short-term boon. After all, the Southeast Asian country is an energy and palm-oil exporter. It’s not terribly competitive at much else.

Opening up Malaysia’s consumer economy of 30 million people as part of the free-trade bargain could turn a fast-vanishing current-account surplus into a permanent deficit. That would weigh on the ringgit, scare away investors in Malaysian bonds, and lead to a spike in companies’ cost of capital.

But TPP being dead doesn’t help either. For one, dollars are in short supply in the banking system, and therefore a flight to safety among investors jittery about a Trump presidency makes Malaysia a particularly vulnerable emerging market. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Running Out of Trump Cards”

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1MDB: Malaysia’s extraordinary financial scandal

Daily Mail
By AFP
15 November 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been under fire since 2014 over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from state investment fund 1MDB in an audacious campaign of fraud and money-laundering.

On Saturday, an influential pro-reform group is planning a rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur to demand Najib’s ouster over the affair.

Here are some answers to key questions in the saga. Continue reading “1MDB: Malaysia’s extraordinary financial scandal”

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Malaysia’s 1MDB in university hard sell

BEN BUTLER and KYLAR LOUSSIKIAN
The Australian
November 15, 2016

An investigation by US authorities into the alleged theft of billions of dollars from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB was in part fuelled by Attorney-General Loretta Lynch’s desire to divert attention from Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, according to materials distributed in private lectures given by the company’s chief executive Arul Kanda in Australia last week.

The glossy 20-page booklet claims the US Department of Justice investigation, which has so far resulted in the freezing of more than $US1 billion ($1.34bn) in ­assets allegedly removed from 1MDB, is “questionable, strange and bizarre” and threatens the stability of Malaysia.

When it was set up in 2009, 1MDB was touted as a development bank that would invest billions of dollars into energy, real estate and hospitality, but the DoJ alleges the pillaging of the fund began within months of its creation.

Under increasing pressure from the series of international investigations, 1MDB and the ­Malaysian Special Affairs Department, JASA, have been secretly shoring up support among backers of the country’s ruling party in a series of closed-door lectures at Australian universities. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB in university hard sell”

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MalaysiaKini commended for its frame-by-frame footage of the Jamal red-nose incident during the Red Shirts’ anti-Bersih outing at Ampang Point to highlight the provocation of kleptocrats and their ilk to sabotage Bersih 5

Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics, have a rendezvous with history at the Bersih 5 rally outside Dataran Merdeka on Saturday, November 19, to send a clear, united and unmistakable message to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Malaysians and the watching world of their resolve to reclaim Malaysia as a land of democracy and not to become a land of kleptocracy.

The conviction and jail sentence of one of the most outspoken leaders in Malaysia against corruption and abuses of power, Rafizi Ramli, MP for Pandan and Secretary-General of PKR, on two charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocracy scandal, and his disqualification to stand for election as an MP in the forthcoming 14th General Election, has highlighted the special pertinence and importance of Bersih 5 rally this Saturday.

Today, November 14, 2016 is a black day for democracy in Malaysia. It is however a great day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Let November 19, 2016 be a great day for democracy and a black day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Malaysians regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics must reclaim the country as a democracy and not a kleptocracy – and let this begin on Bersih 5 on Saturday, culminating in the 14th General Election expected next year. Continue reading “MalaysiaKini commended for its frame-by-frame footage of the Jamal red-nose incident during the Red Shirts’ anti-Bersih outing at Ampang Point to highlight the provocation of kleptocrats and their ilk to sabotage Bersih 5”

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‘Jho Low was a big client who brought 1MDB deals to BSI’

By Chan Chao Peh / The Edge Financial Daily | November 14, 2016

SINGAPORE: Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was an important client of BSI Bank (Singapore) Ltd because he brought a number of “very huge” deals to the bank, ex-BSI banker Yeo Jiawei told a Singapore court.

Yeo said Jho Low was a very important client of Yak Yew Chee, a senior relationship manager at BSI who was the person who gave instructions to him (Yeo) on what he (Jho Low) wanted done.

He described Jho Low as a “gatekeeper and adviser” to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Yeo is on trial for tampering with witnesses involved in Singapore’s investigations into the laundering of billions of dollars that belonged to 1MDB. He has also been charged with money laundering and the trial will start next April.

Last Friday Yak pleaded guilty and was jailed for 18 weeks and fined S$24,000 (RM72,850) for forging documents and failure to report suspicious transactions. He also forfeited a substantial part of the S$27 million he had earned for the billions of dollars in 1MDB related transactions. Continue reading “‘Jho Low was a big client who brought 1MDB deals to BSI’”

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Rafizi’s conviction, jail sentence and disqualification as MP confront Malaysians with the stark choice in 14GE whether they want democracy or kleptocracy in Malaysia

November 14, 2016 is a black day for democracy in Malaysia. It is however a great day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Today, one of the most outspoken leaders in Malaysia against corruption and abuses of power, Rafizi Ramli, MP for Pandan and Secretary-General of PKR, was convicted on two charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocracy scandal, sentenced to 18 months’ jail each and will be disqualified from standing for election as a Member of Parliament in the next 14th General Elections unless his appeal against conviction and sentence could succeed in the higher courts.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak called for the rejection of hypocrisy in public policy and politics.

Is the Malaysian government led by the Prime Minister guilty of hypocrisy in public policy and politics, especially with regard to the greatest question confronting Malaysians today – whether Malaysia should be a democracy or a kleptocracy?

Singapore over the weekend saw the first criminal conviction linked to the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal when former managing director of BSI in Singapore, Yak Yew Chew, 57, pleaded guilty to four charges relating to forgery and failure to disclose information.

Yak was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail and a S$24,000 fine after he agreed to disgorge S$7.5 million and to co-operate with Singapore investigations into the multi-billion dollar international 1MDB kleptocratic, embezzlement and money-laundering scandal.

In Malaysia, our first criminal conviction is not to uncover and penalize culprits and criminals responsible for the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal, which has caused the nation to suffer the international infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”, but against a person who had patriotically and valiantly stood up for full accountability and transparency for the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal! Continue reading “Rafizi’s conviction, jail sentence and disqualification as MP confront Malaysians with the stark choice in 14GE whether they want democracy or kleptocracy in Malaysia”

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Najib cannot be more wrong – Malaysia is far from a “mediocre” country or we would not have become a “global kleptocracy” in seven short years!

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in Sabah on Saturday that Malaysia don’t want to be a mediocre country as his 2050 National Transformation (TN50) agenda is to become a class one nation.

But Najib cannot be more wrong as Malaysia is far from a mediocre country or we would not have become a “global kleptocracy” in a matter of seven short years since his taking over as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia in April 2009!

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (Eighth edition 1990) defined “mediocre” as “(1) of middling quality, neither good nor bad; 2. second-rate”.

Malaysia is not “neither good nor bad” or “second-rate” but extremely “bad” and first-rate, probably top of the class of nations in the realm of “kleptocracy”.

In fact, I can think of no country which had leapt to the realm of a “global kleptocracy” in so short span of time – a feat none of the previous five Prime Ministers, including Najib’s father, Tun Razak, would even have contemplated let alone accomplished! Continue reading “Najib cannot be more wrong – Malaysia is far from a “mediocre” country or we would not have become a “global kleptocracy” in seven short years!”

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14th General Election will be battle of democracy versus kleptocracy

The next General Elections will be a battle of democracy versus kleptocracy.

There is speculation that the next general elections would be held early next year. It could also be held in the second half of next year, especially after the 60th National Day celebrations centred on August 31, 2017.

Be that as it may, the voters of Malaysia should be asked to vote for democrats or kleptocrats, as to whether they want Malaysia to become a democracy or a kleptocracy.

What recently happened highlights the stark choice of the people between democracy and kleptocracy in the next general elections.

In the last two days, the international media have been screaming with headlines about the first criminal conviction linked to the 1MDB global financial scandal which took place in Singapore on Friday, viz:

• “Former BSI boss gets jail, fine in 1MDB-linked case” (Straits Times, Singapore);

• “Singapore Court Convicts Ex-BSI Banker in 1MDB Probe” (Wall Street Journal);

• “Former banker convicted in Singapore over 1MDB scandal” (Financial Times, London);

• “Singaporean banker jailed for role in 1MDB scandal” (Taipei Times);

• “Ex-BSI Banker Yak Found Guilty in Singapore 1MDB-Linked Case” (Bloomberg);

• “1MDB probe: Singapore banker Yak Yew Chee gets 18 weeks’ jail, S$24,000 fine” (Channel News Asia).

The common theme if these negative headlines is “1MDB”, a Malaysian state-owned investment fund supposed to attract foreign investment but instead spurred criminal and regulatory investigations around the world – and with Najib as the head of its advisory board exercising veto and final executive powers.

But the Malaysian government authorities and institutions pretend that these foreign criminal and regulatory investigations and actions linked to 1MDB’s international money-laundering forays do not exist. Continue reading “14th General Election will be battle of democracy versus kleptocracy”

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Instead of being referred to the Committee of Privileges, MACC Chief Commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad should volunteer to appear before Committee of Privileges to explain his offence of parliamentary contempt in his 100-day “Open Warkah”

Instead of being referred to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges, the MACC Chief Commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad should volunteer to appear before the Committee of Privileges explain his offence of parliamentary contempt in his 100-day “Open Warkah” yesterday
.
To mark his 100th day in office yesterday, Dzulkifli issued an Open Warkah (Open Letter) which, among other things, referred to Members of Parliament when he told YBs to “stop fooling the people”

In his “Open Warkah”, he urged YBs not to betray the people and not to fool the people with fairy tales while at the same time engaging in corruption.

Dzulkifli told MPs:

“Don’t be swayed by the desire to be praised and raised on thrones, to the extent of neglecting judgement and (public) interests.

“Stop lulling the people with fables and fairy tales which hide the truth, when at the same time you greedily grab the spoils of corruption
Without mentioning names, Dzulkifli also warned those who are mired in corruption to turn themselves in to the authorities before it is too late.

“To those still drunk and drowning in graft, heed this warning. For the last time, stop this betrayal of corruption and abuse of power.

“Surrender. Stop foolishly beating your chest, lest you risk your life and limbs and fall into tragedy.”

Continue reading “Instead of being referred to the Committee of Privileges, MACC Chief Commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad should volunteer to appear before Committee of Privileges to explain his offence of parliamentary contempt in his 100-day “Open Warkah””

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Had Pandikar committed the crime under section 124(B) of Penal Code of activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy when he egged on police investigations of three former Cabinet Ministers for their speeches on 1MDB in Parliament?

During the final winding-up of the 2017 Budget debate yesterday, I asked the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani whether and how the three former Cabinet Ministers, MP for Pagoh and former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, MP for Semporna and former Rural and Regional Development Minister, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and the MP for Tambun and former Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Abdul Husni Hanadzlah had violated Cabinet secrecy when they took part in the debate in Parliament on the budget.

Johari was unable to give a cogent and intelligible answer.

I in fact asked Johari why he dared not repeat inside Parliament what he had earlier said outside the Parliament chamber, that it was not wrong for MPs and former Cabinet Ministers like Husni to ask questions about 1MDB in Parliament.

There was no answer from Johari.

Although the Second Finance Minister, the Minister tasked with the final reply on the 2017 Budget speech, does not know that the three former Cabinet Ministers had violated Cabinet secrecy, the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia seemed to know more about Cabinet secrets about the 1MDB than Johari with his media conference statement on Thursday, 27th October that the three former Cabinet Ministers might have broken their oaths of secrecy when debating the 2017 Budget.

This has shocked many lawyers and law professors, as well as the former longest-serving Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman, who was AG for 13 years from 1980-1993, who expressed surprise and questioned how the Dewan Rakyat Speaker knew that three former ministers had revealed government secrets when they raised the 1MDB issue during budget debate.

Abu Talib wondered how Pandikar, as head of the legislature, knew that the Cabinet had discussed the 1MDB issue. Also, how did he know what was discussed was classified information.

Abu Talib asked whether somebody had told the Speaker about it, and if so, Speaker should have lodged a police report against that very person who told him.

However, this most important question is whether Pandikar had committed a crime under section 124(B) of Penal Code of an activity “detrimental to parliamentary democracy” when he egged on police investigations of three former Cabinet Ministers for their speeches on 1MDB in Parliament – especially as the police seemed to be using Section 124(B) against all and sundry, including university students and peaceful critics of the government-of-the-day! Continue reading “Had Pandikar committed the crime under section 124(B) of Penal Code of activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy when he egged on police investigations of three former Cabinet Ministers for their speeches on 1MDB in Parliament?”

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China is catching “tigers” and Indonesia “crocodiles”, why is Malaysia not catching “sharks” in the war against grand corruption?

The 2016 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) will be made public in a month’s time.

Will Malaysia’s ranking improve or deteriorate?

In the TI CPI 2015 report, Brazil was specifically mentioned as follows:

“Dealing with many entrenched corruption issues, Brazil has been rocked by the Petrobras scandal, in which politicians are reported to have taken kickbacks in exchange for awarding public contracts. As the economy crunches, tens of thousands of ordinary Brazilians have lost their jobs already. They didn’t make the decisions that led to the scandal. But they’re the ones living with the consequences. “

Brazil was ranked No. 76 out of 168 countries, with a CPI score of 38 out of 100 and was one of the five countries named whose CPI had deteriorated compared to previous years.

Will Malaysia be dishonourably named in the TI CPI 2016 Report, especially with Malaysia recently regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy” after a spate of disastrous developments in province of kleptocracy, in particular the US Department of Justice (DOJ) forfeiture suit of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland arising from US$3 billion international embezzlement and money-laundering and the the regulatory and criminal actions taken by over half a dozen countries connected with 1MDB kleptocracy, including the Switzerland, United Kingdom, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Australia? Continue reading “China is catching “tigers” and Indonesia “crocodiles”, why is Malaysia not catching “sharks” in the war against grand corruption?”

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Najib should learn from the anti-corruption campaign in China where some one million officials, from Ministers and other “tigers” downwards, were punished in the last three years to ensure that Malaysia is famed as one of the top countries for anti-corruption

The video on 50 years of DAP we saw at the beginning of the Convention reminds us of the DAP leaders and activists who had slogged and sacrificed for the party, not for any personal gain or benefit, but for the DAP ideals and principle which inspired and motivated them.

As a DAP member and leader for 50 years, I can speak with knowledge and authority that this is the great difference between DAP leaders and members from those who joined the parties in the ruling coalition – that unlike their counterparts in the ruling parties, members and leaders in the DAP joined and are in politics not because of money, business opportunities, position or titles, or even to be Members of Parliament or State Assembly representatives, but because of their patriotism, ideals and commitment to the DAP cause of justice, freedom, equality and a better Malaysia for all Malaysians.

We are reminded by the video of the past DAP leaders who have contributed through their sacrifices and struggles which formed the basis for the DAP’s present success in Penang, but who have now left us, in particular Karpal Singh, P. Patto, Chian Heng Kai, Peter Dason, Tan Loo Jit and N. Shanmugam.

DAP thanks the Penang State Government for naming roads after Karpal, Patto and Heng Kai in appreciation and commemoration of their patriotism, service and sacrifices to the welfare of the people, state and nation. I understand that a road has been earmarked to be named after Peter Dason, and I urge the Penang State Government to also commemorate the patriotism, services and sacrifices of Loo Jit and Shanmugam so that they could all be role models for the new generation of Malaysians in Penang. Continue reading “Najib should learn from the anti-corruption campaign in China where some one million officials, from Ministers and other “tigers” downwards, were punished in the last three years to ensure that Malaysia is famed as one of the top countries for anti-corruption”