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RM55 billion 1MDB scandal is so humongous that if divided among 42,837 voters in Sungai Besar, every voter would get RM1.3 million!

Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has achieved world-class notice for Malaysia which none of the five previous Prime Ministers, including his father Tun Razak, had ever done in five decades – international notoriety as one of world’s top countries infamous for global corruption.

Wherever one goes in the world, Malaysia is now equated with the notorious and infamous RM55 billion 1MDB scandal – which has been described last week by the international financial news agency, Bloomberg, as one of the “world’s biggest financial scandals”.

Everybody knows that the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal is huge, but how huge is it?

I myself cannot fully envisage how astronomical is RM55 billion and I believe that 99% of Malaysians cannot imagine how huge is RM55 billion!

How many zeroes do we have in our bank accounts? RM100 is two zeroes, RM1,000 is three zeroes, RM10,000 is four zeroes and RM100,000 is five zeroes.

The overwhelming majority of Malaysians will not even have five zeroes in their bank accounts, even if they have property or assets worth five zeroes.

Having bank accounts of more than six zeroes (millionaires) will be beyond the reach of ordinary Malaysians, but RM55 billion or RM55,000,000,000 is to have 10 zeroes – a completely unthinkable sum of money.

Hidden in the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal is Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal, and I don’t think there is a single leader in the democratic world that believes in democracy, good governance, accountability and transparency who has huge sums of money involving nine zeroes deposited into his private banking accounts and refusing to account for them!

The RM55 billion 1MDB scandal is so humongous that if divided among 42,837 voters in Sungai Besar, every voter would get RM1.3 million! Continue reading “RM55 billion 1MDB scandal is so humongous that if divided among 42,837 voters in Sungai Besar, every voter would get RM1.3 million!”

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Barisan Nasional’s overwhelming victory in May 7 Sarawak GE was reason why Najib could give green light to Hadi to prioritise his hudud private member’s bill motion in Parliament on Thursday

Barisan Nasional’s overwhelming victory in the May 7 Sarawak state general election was the reason why the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, could give the green light to the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to prioritise his hudud private member’s bill motion in Parliament on Thursday.

Najib could act in disregard of the views of the other Barisan Nasional component parties and leaders apart from UMNO because Najib believes that there is a a swing-back of support of the Chinese voters to Barisan Nasional in the Sarawak state general election.

The hue-and-cry by leaders of other Barisan Nasional parties apart from UMNO, whether MCA, MIC, Gerakan or the Sabah and Sarawak parties, protesting their opposition to Hadi’s motion pales into insignificance against the backdrop of three factors: Continue reading “Barisan Nasional’s overwhelming victory in May 7 Sarawak GE was reason why Najib could give green light to Hadi to prioritise his hudud private member’s bill motion in Parliament on Thursday”

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UMNO/BN can only be defeated in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections if there is a “game changer” giving the two by-elections unprecedented national significance and importance

After the 11th Sarawak state general election on May 7, the country is poised for the two Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections next month.

Everybody’s first option is to have a one-to-one contest with UMNO/BN in the two by-elections, but this may not be a feasible or even the best political choice.

I have said that although the inability of Pakatan Harapan to campaign as one united team was a cause of great disappointment not only in Sarawak but also in Malaysia, the results of the Sarawak state general election showed that the multi-cornered contests involving Pakatan Harapan parties had not materially affected the outcome of the state election results.

Regardless of whether Pakatan Harapan had been able to present an united front, the results of the 11th Sarawak state general election results would have remained largely the same – Adenan Satam as Chief Minister of Sarawak, Barisan Nasional Sarawak forming the Sarawak state government with continuing two-thirds State Assembly majority and the question to be decided on the May 7 polling day was whether there could be a strong, effective and principled Opposition grouping in the Sarawak State Assembly. Continue reading “UMNO/BN can only be defeated in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections if there is a “game changer” giving the two by-elections unprecedented national significance and importance”

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Call for public inquiry into the tragic helicopter crash during the 11th Sarawak general election causing the death of six people, including a deputy minister and another MP

The 11th Sarawak state general election has ended on May 7 polling with fairly expected results, the re-election of Tan Sri Adenan Satem as Sarawak Chief Minister, the formation of the new Sarawak State Government by Sarawak Barisan Nasional and the failure to deny Adenan two-thirds majority in the 82-seat Sarawak State Assembly.

I had publicly predicted these three results after Nomination Day on April 25, and I was not greatly surprised by the outcome of the 11th Sarawak state general elections.

One of the disappointments of the 11th Sarawak state general elections was the inability of Pakatan Harapan to campaign as one team, and which saw multi-cornered contests even involving Pakatan Harapan parties, but the results have shown that it had not materially affected the results of the Sarawak state general election.

A combined and united Pakatan Harapan in the Sarawak state general election would have found it difficult to regain the 15 state assembly seats won by DAP and PKR five years ago in the 2011 state general election, but there is no doubt that the failure to present an united front by Pakatan Harapan parties caused great disappointment all-round and should be a lesson to all Pakatan Harapan parties for the future. Continue reading “Call for public inquiry into the tragic helicopter crash during the 11th Sarawak general election causing the death of six people, including a deputy minister and another MP”

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Myths about the forthcoming Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has said that he would reshuffle his Cabinet.

Instead of reshuffling his jumbo-sized Cabinet of 36 Ministers, he should do some pruning and remove his Cabinet of deadwood and half-past six Ministers, starting with Najib himself relinquishing the Finance Minister’s portfolio and more than halving the number of Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department who now comprise some 30 per cent of the Cabinet.

How many of the 36 Ministers were in Parliament yesterday to pay last respects to two BN/UMNO Members of Parliament, Sungai Besar MP Datuk Noriah Kasnon who was Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities and Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-jl Anuar Wan Ahmad, who was also the Malaysian Palm Oil Board Chairman, in the minute of silence observed at the beginning of Parliament?

The first row of the first block in Parliament headed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, the Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Health Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam was totally empty while the first block was virtually empty!

Why were some 90 per cent of the jumbo-sized Cabinet absent in Parliament yesterday to pay the one-minute last respect to Noriah and Wan Mohammad Khairil?

There have been some myths about the impending Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections, with nomination fixed for June 5 and polling on June 18. Continue reading “Myths about the forthcoming Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections”

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Victory and insecurity – Sarawak results and trajectories

By Bridget Welsh
13 May 2016, 11:25 am
Malaysia Kini

With the ‘landslide’ results of the Sarawak election last week, it would appear on the surface that Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has been given a political reprieve. His close ally Sarawak’s Chief Minister Adenan Satem secured an overwhelming majority of 72 out of 82 seats, or 87 percent of the seats.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition gained 8.3 percent of the popular vote, to a total of 63.7 percent compared to the 55.4 percent it won in 2011.

It would seem that the message sent across the world was that Sarawakians support the BN. They appear to care little for corruption, abuse of power, an electoral system that relies on massive vote buying, gross distortions of electoral constituencies and abuse of political position against opposition alternatives.

They were not moved by one of the most serious global money-laundering scandals. In fact, while this may be true for some of the electorate, this reading of the election is not complete.
Continue reading “Victory and insecurity – Sarawak results and trajectories”

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Johor should take over the baton from Sarawak to be the vanguard for political change in Malaysia

At the mid-point of the 11th Sarawak state general election campaign on April 30, I warned that seven of the 13 seats carved out of the 12 State Assembly constituencies won by DAP in last general election were in “danger list” for the May 7 poll.

A week later, on Polling Day, I was proved right when DAP could only win seven of the 12 seats won five years ago.

DAP Sarawak fought the 11th Sarawak state general election with two objectives:

(I) to defend and win the 13 State Assembly seats carved out of the 12 DAP seats
won in the last general elections; and

(2) to achieve a breakthrough in the Dayak-dominated seats to expand DAP support from the urban areas.

I had hoped that DAP candidate Modi Bimol could win the Tasik Biru state assembly seat, and that was why I was in Tasek Biru on Nomination Day.

But the combined artillery and firepower of the Barisan Nasional national and state “heavyweights” including the Sarawak Chief Minister and the Malaysian Prime Minister who led a long queue of State and Federal VIPS to descend on the constituency with monetary offers and other goodies, succeeded in foiling Modi from the DAP election breakthrough. In the event, Modi lost by 1,288 votes.

I had right from the beginning of the election campaign acknowledged that the 11th Sarawak state general election was not about deciding who would be the Sarawak Chief Minister and who would form the Sarawak State Government as both these questions had already been decided on Nomination Day – i.e. Adenan Satem as Sarawak Chief Minister and Sarawak Barisan Nasional as the Sarawak State Government.

I even said that the goal of denying Adenan two-thirds state assembly majority would be quite impossible, as it would mean the Opposition collectively electing at least 28 State Assembly seats in Sarawak. Continue reading “Johor should take over the baton from Sarawak to be the vanguard for political change in Malaysia”

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RM50 billion 1MDB scandal is equivalent to 100 years of Kelantan’s annual state budget

The Kelantan Amanah Chairman, Datuk Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah tells me that the annual budget for the Kelantan state is about RM500 million a year.

This would mean that the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal is equivalent to 100 years of Kelantan’s annual state budget – an indication of the enormity and magnitude of the nation’s first global financial scandal and why it is imperative that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is also the Finance Minister should accept immediate and full responsibility and accountability for the worst case of public governance in almost six decades of the nation’s history.

The 1MDB global scandal would be a leading issue in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections, with the nomination date fixed for June 5 and polling on June 18.

PAS contested on behalf of Pakatan Rakyat in both constituencies in the 13th GE in May 2013, with the PAS candidate losing by 399 votes in Sungai Besasr and 1,082 votes in Kuala Kangsar.

PAS candidates in the by-election in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar will not get more votes in either constituency in the 2013 general elections, as their votes can only be lower, as PAS has alienated considerable segment of voters in both constituencies and is no more a Pakatan Rakyat component party. Continue reading “RM50 billion 1MDB scandal is equivalent to 100 years of Kelantan’s annual state budget”

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S’wak’s Tasik Biru battle DAP’s litmus test of conscience

Mordi Bimol
Malaysiakini
12th May 2016

COMMENT On the nomination day for the Sarawak state election on April 25, 2016, Lim Kit Siang, who was present at the Tasik Biru seat nomination centre, described the battle in Tasik Biru between Henry Jinep of the BN and I, as the litmus test for DAP in the Dayak majority seat.

Tasik Biru is a constituency that comprises 68 percent Dayak, 26 percent Chinese and six percent Malay Melanau. BN eventually won with a majority of 1,288 votes, garnering 6,922 votes (55 percent) against the DAP’s 5,634 votes (45 percent).

Although we lost the seat in a straight fight with BN-SPDP, we made significant inroads in this Dayak majority seat.

In the 13th general election, I contested for the parliamentary seat of Mas Gading, which comprises two state assembly seats – Tasik Biru and Opar – and garnered 5,293 votes.

In this state election, we obtained more votes (5,634) in just one state assembly seat alone. At the micro-level, we won in four out of 20 Dayak villages, with one of them as high as 70 percent. We averaged at 40 percent votes for Dayak localities. Such an achievement was unimaginable three years ago.

We managed to make significant inroads into the Bidayuh heartland despite BN’s systematic pouring of cash handouts on the last day and use of fear tactics – the villagers were told that the government would cut their water, electricity and welfare aid if BN were to lose the seat! Continue reading “S’wak’s Tasik Biru battle DAP’s litmus test of conscience”

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Elections in Malaysia – Rumbles in the jungle

Economist
May 7th 2016 | KUCHING

A cakewalk in Borneo is a boon for Najib Razak— at least for now

IN A hut on stilts on the island of Borneo, a dozen skulls hang in a cage. They are those of long-dead victims of the Dayaks—indigenous tribes whose members make up the majority in Sarawak, a sprawling Malaysian state. Once thought to harbour protective spirits, the heads are now tourist curios. Few indigenous people still live in the communal dwellings such relics guard, and those who remain hang Christian crosses on their doors.

This month many Malaysians would like to see the Dayaks take one last scalp. Sarawak’s state election on May 7th is a chance for voters to rebuke Najib Razak, Malaysia’s unpopular prime minister, who has spent much of the past year denying that hundreds of millions of dollars which entered his bank accounts were wangled from an ailing national investment firm. Investigations into 1MDB’s dealings are under way in half a dozen countries; some of its borrowings are in default. Yet parties loyal to Barisan Nasional, Mr Najib’s coalition, will probably retain a crushing majority in Sarawak’s state assembly. That prospect illuminates the prime minister’s resilience, which outsiders find bizarre. Continue reading “Elections in Malaysia – Rumbles in the jungle”

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Malaysia’s Najib Has Little to Cheer Over Sarawak Triumph

By Luke Hunt
May 11, 2016
The Diplomat

The election win is rooted in local rather than national factors.

Victory for the incumbent at Malaysian state elections in Sarawak has been billed by the government-friendly press as a turning point for the embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak. The state poll was won by chief minister Adenan Satem and Najib was quick to claim the credit.

But any applause for Najib is misplaced and overlooks Adenan’s popularity, which was achieved on the back of promised reforms and his stand against corruption in the aftermath of his predecessor Taib Mahmud, who retired with his family ranked among the world’s richest following over three decades at the helm of Sarawak.

This weekend’s election was not a test of national policies. It was fought on local issues in a state, which legally is an equal part of a three-way Malaysian federation that encompasses neighboring Sabah and the Malaysia peninsula.

In the election, Barisan Nasional (BN), the ruling coalition which is led by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which Najib heads, secured 72 out of 82 seats. UMNO has been the dominant party within BN at the federal level ever since Britain told Malaysia it was time to evolve into a country in its own right. That was almost 60 years ago and ever since then, politicians have enjoyed conflating the two political outfits when it suits their political purposes.

In this case, it is quite clear that Najib attempted to steal the headlines and craft national-level spin for a local story written by Adenan, who had earned high marks after Taib stood down by promising to respect the rights of the long-marginalized indigenous tribes, crack down on corruption and “put the fear of god into people who are dishonest.” Continue reading “Malaysia’s Najib Has Little to Cheer Over Sarawak Triumph”

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Malaysia’s Hobbled PM Taps Local Election Win For Support: Why It’s Not Enough

Ralph Jennings
Forbes
MAY 10, 2016

Malaysia’s ruling coalition and embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak got some breathing room this month but aren’t out of the ICU.

Najib’s Barisan Nasional party won 72 of 82 state assembly seats in Sarawak on Saturday, indicating that the party’s coalition has a chance of holding parliament in national elections expected by August 2018. To carry on politically, Najib needs to rebuild his name. He has been suspected since last year of moving about $700 million from government-run development company 1MDB to personal bank accounts. The 62-year-old leader faces no formal charges, but based on suspicion alone a lot of people want him out after seven years as prime minister.

The state election, his party’s first contest since the bank account issue erupted, gives Najib a narrow margin to grapple his way back to good standing before the nationwide vote.

His continuation in power would mean more economic development, his thing all along. The well-off Southeast Asian nation of 30 million people relies mainly on resources such as gas and rubber but faces risks from drops in fuel prices and oil-related taxes that the World Bank says account for around 17% of public revenues. So it’s building up an Islamic finance sector, manufacturing (up more than 20% in 2014) and even a film industry.

The Sarawak victory is a quick fix for the leadership. It’s not necessarily enough to last through the national election, per analyst views. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Hobbled PM Taps Local Election Win For Support: Why It’s Not Enough”

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Will Adenan become the next Pak Lah?

The jubilation over Adenan Satem’s victory in Sarawak is somewhat reminiscent of the Pak Lah ‘tsunami’ in the 2004 general elections.

In the 2004GE, Pak Lah led the BN to victory by winning a historic 91% of parliament seats (199 out of 219) with 61% of the popular vote.

He went into the elections promising to clean up corruption in the country. He promised a collaborative approach by famously asking people to ‘work with him, not for him’.

He was helped by a delimitation exercise that added 26 parliament seats in 2003.

The opposition then also did not present a united front or a united coalition although three corner fights were avoided in the majority of seats.

But four years later, in GE2008, Pak Lah suffered a humiliating set back.

He was the first Prime Minister to lead a BN government that did not have a 2/3rds control of parliament. The number of opposition MPs increased fourfold from 20 (9%) in 2008 to 80 (36%). BN’s share of the popular vote dropped from 61% to 55%. Continue reading “Will Adenan become the next Pak Lah?”

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Why DAP, PKR failed miserably in Sarawak

Adrian Lim
Malaysiakini
10th May 2016

COMMENT With humble and sincere intentions, I have to point out what Sarawakians and Sabahans generally feel about West Malaysians.

If Sun Wu Kong (the Monkey God) had a ‘Journey to the West’, PKR and DAP should now have a ‘Journey to the East’.

In future, obey these rules, and you will not fail so miserably in the east.

1. NEVER go into others’ house, telling them their house is under-developed, lesser democratic, less rich, no highway, no water, no electricity.

Sarawakians are humans, and humans have dignity. The first impression would be: “Why are you West Malaysians so arrogant”? Continue reading “Why DAP, PKR failed miserably in Sarawak”

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Sarawak Win Buys Malaysia Premier Time as Economic Risks Mount

Shamim Adam
Bloomberg
May 9, 2016

A state election win for Malaysia’s ruling coalition has given Prime Minister Najib Razak breathing space after months of political turmoil, while serving as a reminder he needs to focus on the economy to avoid becoming a liability to his party before the next national vote.

Barisan Nasional secured a bigger majority in Sarawak, the nation’s largest state located on Borneo island and across the South China Sea from peninsular Malaysia.

Najib visited the state frequently over the past two months, shifting last week’s cabinet meeting there as he campaigned alongside Chief Minister Adenan Satem.

Even as he carries back the message to his United Malays National Organisation — the lead party in BN — that he can still help win elections, the Sarawak polls show Najib can’t afford to let bread-and-butter issues slide with voters. Malaysians are contending with rising prices that are eating into disposable incomes and eroding consumer confidence, while a debt default by a government investment fund could pose a threat to state finances. Continue reading “Sarawak Win Buys Malaysia Premier Time as Economic Risks Mount”

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The struggle I fought so hard for, and lost

Musa Ngog
Malaysiakini
9th May 2016

COMMENT In my battle for the Tarat state seat, I lost more than half of the total votes in my own village. I even lost votes from my own relatives.

It is not a total surprise since some are so scared of me due to my standing in my political struggle.

I lost badly in Dunuk, the place where I grew up; Bisira, where I have my cousins, nieces and of course my close relatives from my father’s side. I also lost half of the votes in Marakep, the place of origin of my father. I lost in all the rural polling districts.

I saw fear in them when they are not allowed to hang my posters and flags. I even saw the impressions of uneasiness on my cousin’s face when I visited him to ask for help to hang my posters.

They fear being sidelined from all the goodies and assistance given by the Barisan National. Indeed, poverty doesn’t have power to make a change, since fear is always the enemy of change. Continue reading “The struggle I fought so hard for, and lost”

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Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections will be more reliable barometers of Najib’s fate in 14GE than the 11th Sarawak state general election

The Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Salleh Said Keruak may be wide off the mark to think that the Sarawak polls show that Barisan Nasional can win in the 14th General Election.

At least the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was more realistic when after Adenan Satem’s swearing-in as Sarawak Chief Minister, he hailed Barisan Nasional’s victory as an indication of “Sarawakians’ confidence in Adenan’s leadership” – which is a very different matter from Sarawakians’ confidence in Najib’s leadership despite Najib’s hijacking of the Sarawak state general election from Adenan by being the Santa Claus of the BN election campaign of money politics.

Salleh should know that the impending parliamentary by-elections in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar will be more reliable barometers of Najib’s fate in the 14GE than the just concluded 11th Sarawak state general electilns.

This is one of the several myths which have been born in the past 36 hours after the results of the 11th Sarawak state general election on Saturday night. Continue reading “Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections will be more reliable barometers of Najib’s fate in 14GE than the 11th Sarawak state general election”

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A ‘fixed’ result – Sarawak’s electoral distortions

Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
7 May 2016

As Sarawakians head to the polls today, it is important to understand that the BN-created electoral constituencies in the state will significantly impact the result. Malaysia’s non-independent Electoral Commission (EC) has staked the system in its favour in how it has delineated and recently redrawn the state’s electoral boundaries.

Chief Minister Adenan Satem’s victory has been assured, but it will not be a win that is based on fairness or meet basic international standards of electoral integrity. This article looks at malapportionment and gerrymandering in Sarawak, and shows how those in office have manipulated the system to their advantage. Continue reading “A ‘fixed’ result – Sarawak’s electoral distortions”

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It’s raining money in Sarawak

Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
7 May 2016

More than any other state in Malaysia, Sarawak’s elections have been seen to be determined by money. Vote buying and patronage are deeply intertwined in the state’s political fabric, as many voters look at the election period as one of festivity and entertainment.

Booze is purchased, and bounty is shared. Projects are announced, and even more ‘development’ promises are made in arguably one of Malaysia’s most neglected states.

The 2016 campaign is similarly being affected by the use of resources and highlights how uneven the playing field is in this election. Given the seriousness of the 1MDB scandal and the use of these tainted funds in Malaysia’s 2013 election, understanding the role money plays in determining the electoral outcomes is more important than ever.

Money politics in Sarawak is not only intense; it is expensive. There is no question that the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) is using its control and access to resources to assure a victory in this Borneo state. Continue reading “It’s raining money in Sarawak”

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Stopping ‘change’ – Sarawak’s electoral battlegrounds

Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
6 May 2016

While the Sarawak campaign may lack dynamism, the nature of the state’s politics has been transforming. Over the last 10 years, voting has changed considerably, with more support for alternatives and, importantly, greater engagement in politics.

The seats the opposition has won in state elections has increased from two in 2001 to 16 in 2011, with gains in Parliament from one seat in 2004 to six seats in 2013. The share of the popular vote won in Sarawak state elections jumped from 29 percent in 2001 to 44 percent in 2011.

Chief Minister Adenan Satem and his team, led by the head of the BN Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, aim to stop and reverse these gains, and in the process assure that the state remains a BN stronghold. By looking at voting behaviour, we can understand the electoral battlegrounds and the slowly-shifting sands of the Sarawak political landscape. Continue reading “Stopping ‘change’ – Sarawak’s electoral battlegrounds”