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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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British embassy questioned whether Malaysian PM cleared of corruption

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

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

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

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

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

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

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SINGAPORE – Casualties from the 1MDB fallout

The Newspaper, Singapore
Dec 17, 2016

2 JAILED

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

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

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

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

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

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Predicting Malaysia’s next election date

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Salleh has lost the right to demand answers when he, as Minister for Communications and Multimedia, failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings

Recently, the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak indulged in spree of questions directed at the Opposition, Pakatan Harapan and PPBM.

It is a pity that Salleh did not realise that he has lost the right to ask questions when as Minister for Communications and Multimedia, which included the role and responsibility of the former Ministry of Information, he had failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings.

If there is any Ministry which is assigned the responsibility of defending the government, it is Salleh’s Ministry, but realizing that much as he wanted, he is just incapable of defending the indefensible, Salleh is subtly trying to transform his Ministerial portfolio of answering questions on behalf of the government into one of asking questions about the Opposition.

In terms of Ministerial KPIs, Salleh is a big flop.

If Salleh expects answers to his questions, let him perform his Ministerial duty to answer questions about government scandals and failings, starting with the following five: Continue reading “Salleh has lost the right to demand answers when he, as Minister for Communications and Multimedia, failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings”

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Malaysia in an era of fake news, false cartoons and false allegations

Malaysia is now in an era of fake news, false cartoons and false allegations.

Today, the Penang Chief Minister’s Office had to deny a Whatsapp message on Dec. 14 with a photograph of the Penang Chief Minister that Lim Guan Eng had supported the action against the Rohingya community in Myanmar.

The Chief Minister’s special assistant Zaidi Ahmad, lodged a police report on the fake news and said the whole objective of the fake Whatsapp message was a racialist slander to incite religious sentiments against the Chief Minister.

In actual fact, at the Penang Chief Minister’s initiative, the recent Penang State Assembly unanimously passed a motion condemning the atrocities against the Rohingyas.

I understand that there are also fake news and fake postings on the Internet alleging that I had also supported the oppression of the Rohingyas in Myanmar when on Dec. 6 I had called for an international inquiry into the ethnic cleansing of Rohginyas in Myanmar.

But the perpetrators of fake news, false cartoons and false allegations are no respecters of truth. Continue reading “Malaysia in an era of fake news, false cartoons and false allegations”

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Thailand to free Swiss man linked to 1MDB scandal

South China Morning Post
AFP
14 December, 2016

Thailand will free a Swiss man jailed for blackmail in a case linked to a graft scandal engulfing the 1MDB Malaysian state investment fund, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Xavier Justo was jailed last August for attempting to blackmail his former employer PetroSaudi International, a Saudi oil firm allegedly involved in corrupt dealings with Malaysian fund 1MDB.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who launched the scandal-mired 1MDB, has been besieged by allegations that he and his cronies looted billions of dollars from it, prompting calls for him to resign.

According to Thai police Justo was jailed after demanding around US$2.5 million from PetroSaudi to return sensitive company data he claimed to have taken before leaving the firm in 2011.

He was arrested on the Thai island of Koh Samui in June 2015 and handed a three-year sentence.

But on Wednesday his lawyer said he will get out early after a mass prisoner amnesty. Continue reading “Thailand to free Swiss man linked to 1MDB scandal”

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Ex-BSI Banker Seah Convicted of 3 Charges Tied to 1MDB Case

by Andrea Tan and Melissa Cheok
Bloomberg
December 16, 2016

Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, a former BSI SA private banker, became the second person to be convicted in Singapore’s probe into alleged money laundering linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Judge Salina Ishak found Seah guilty of three charges in a Singapore state court Friday for aiding in forging documents and failing to report suspicious transactions allegedly related to Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho. Prosecutors are taking into account four other charges in seeking a two-week jail sentence for Seah, 45, while her lawyer Peter Low asked for a fine.

Imposing a fine for the “well-heeled” like Seah isn’t a sufficient deterrent, prosecutor Nathaniel Khng said in seeking the prison term. Seah’s conduct had harmed Singapore’s reputation, he said. Continue reading “Ex-BSI Banker Seah Convicted of 3 Charges Tied to 1MDB Case”

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Malaysian politics: ‘Mother of all battles’ shaping up

Yang Razali Kassim
Straits Times Singapore
DEC 15, 2016

The ruling Umno-led coalition faces a challenge from a new opposition alliance led by two former allies: Mahathir and Anwar. Despite Umno’s confidence, the ground may be far from sweet in the coming general election.

The mother of all battles is shaping up in Malaysian politics as beleaguered Prime Minister Najib Razak pulled out all the stops to defend himself in the face of a reconfiguring opposition.

Putting his dominant party, Umno, on a war footing at its recently concluded annual general assembly, Datuk Seri Najib resorted to the Islamic doctrine of wala – or loyalty to the leader – as he manoeuvred to rally support and ready Umno for a general election.

The enabler was his No. 2, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who started the ball rolling by pledging his own loyalty to Mr Najib, who has been under siege since the outbreak of the scandal involving state development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) last year.

Umno for the first time had to ward off an uprising against a sitting president led by a former prime minister and party president. In a single-minded drive to push Mr Najib out, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is leading a “people’s movement” to “Save Malaysia”. Having resigned from Umno in protest against Mr Najib, Dr Mahathir has joined the opposition, even reconciling with his former ally-turned-nemesis Anwar Ibrahim to revive their once powerful political partnership. Continue reading “Malaysian politics: ‘Mother of all battles’ shaping up”

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Anwar’s “Malaysia at the crossroads” article in Guardian should be compulsory reading for all Malaysians who care and are concerned about the nation’s future

Pakatan Harapan’s Prime Minister-designate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s “Malaysia at the crossroads” article in the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom should be compulsory reading for all Malaysians who care and are concerned about the nation’s future.

Malaysia’s choice is stark and dire. In Anwar’s own words:

“Two decades ago Malaysia was arguably the bright spot of progress in the Muslim world. We believed then that our combination of economic growth and improving democratic engagement would be an example for other Muslim-majority countries. The past 20 years, however, have seen our country go from bad to worse politically and economically, driven by compromised democratic institutions and years of systematic abuse by the ruling elite to maintain their grip on power…

“This has put Malaysia at a crossroads: it can either return to its rightful place as a shining political and financial star in a developing world desperate for such successes; or it can descend to the role of yet another Muslim-majority country with a failing democracy and economy. Internationally, support for fundamental political reforms in Malaysia can help create a south-east Asian bloc of Muslim governments that will be a model for the rest of the world.”

Contrast Anwar’s article with the Prime Minister’s Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s UMNO Presidential speech on 1st December – the former infused with patriotic concern about Malaysia’s future despite its potential for greatness and capacity for good in the international society and the latter a small-minded and spiteful oratory reminiscent of Nazi-style “Big Lie” propaganda to pander to the most primordial sentiments by provoking the most elemental emotions of fear, hate and intolerance totally inimical to the objective of a democratic, harmonious and peaceful plural society. Continue reading “Anwar’s “Malaysia at the crossroads” article in Guardian should be compulsory reading for all Malaysians who care and are concerned about the nation’s future”

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U.S. Seizure of 1MDB Assets Moves on With Jho Low’s Family Sidelined

by Edvard Pettersson
Bloomberg
December 14, 2016

A U.S. effort to seize about $1 billion in assets allegedly acquired with funds siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. is moving ahead over objections from relatives of the Malaysian financier at the center of the scandal.

A Los Angeles federal judge’s ruling Monday blocking family members of Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low, from intervening in the forfeiture lawsuits gives the government the upper hand as it seeks to confiscate properties including a $100-million interest in EMI Music Publishing Group, a $35 million Bombardier jet and a $380-million stake in the Park Lane Hotel in New York.

To fight back against the U.S. in Low’s absence, four of his relatives, including his father and brother, are trying to replace the Swiss trustees holding the assets that have declined to oppose the forfeiture. According to the family, the Swiss trustees fear being exposed to criminal liability if they get involved.

U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer refused in Monday’s ruling to give the relatives additional time to pursue legal action in New Zealand and the Cayman Islands, where they are trying to replace the trustees with others who are more willing to defend their interests. Continue reading “U.S. Seizure of 1MDB Assets Moves on With Jho Low’s Family Sidelined”

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Stop selective prosecution and discriminatory law enforcement – haul the persons responsible for the Zahid poison pen letter calling for Najib’s ouster to court but also prosecute all who disseminate lies or lodged false police reports against Opposition leaders

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the police have received over 20 police reports over the poison pen letter purportedly written by him urging BN parliamentarians and senators to pressure for the ouster of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

He said he did not want to be involved (in the investigation) but he had been informed that the police were conducting a thorough investigation together with the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to find the source (of the letter).

He told reporters: “I am sure whoever this is will face the legal consequences from the government.”

I agree that Malaysia has recently descended to the abyss of the politics of lies and falsehoods to create scare, fear, disharmony and hatred among the people and this deplorable political culture should not be allowed space and room to fester, which will poison not only politics in Malaysia but also the process of nation building to build a show-case of a successful harmonious multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural plural nation in this troubled world.

Those responsible for the poison pen letter dated Dec. 9 which had circulated through social media and WhatsApp purported to be from Zahid and urged BN parliamentarians and senators to pressure Najib Abdul Razak to step down was delivering a very low and despicable blow.

But who was really responsible for the Zahid poison-pen letter? Continue reading “Stop selective prosecution and discriminatory law enforcement – haul the persons responsible for the Zahid poison pen letter calling for Najib’s ouster to court but also prosecute all who disseminate lies or lodged false police reports against Opposition leaders”

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Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah’s warning about rampant grand corruption should be reminder to Cabinet, Parliament and the ruling political parties of their failure to address this critical issue in Malaysia

The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah’s warning yesterday about rampant grand corruption in the country should be reminder to the Cabinet, Parliament and the ruling political parties of their failure to address this critical issue in Malaysia.

Sultan Nazrin’s concern over corruption and criminal breach of trust committed openly by highly-educated and high-ranking individuals should serve as a salutary end-of-the-year reminder to both the Federal and State Governments that Malaysia must break away from the trajectory of a failed and rogue state where corruption and abuses of power become the prevailing order of the day.

The Perak Sultan’s warning is most timely as a serious denial syndrome has afflicted the political leadership in the country, refusing to acknowledge that Malaysia has broken an infamous barrier when it is regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy”.

This is not the first time that the Rulers have expressed concern about the importance of upholding public integrity in Malaysia. Continue reading “Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah’s warning about rampant grand corruption should be reminder to Cabinet, Parliament and the ruling political parties of their failure to address this critical issue in Malaysia”

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Call on all Malaysians to declare corruption as the Number One enemy of all Malaysians and for all occasions – including the 14th General Election

A joke purportedly about Trump and corruption is making the rounds, viz:

Donald Trump wants the white house painted!
Chinese guy quoted 3 million
European guy quoted 7 million
Malaysian guy quoted 10 million.

Trump asked Chinese guy how did you quote?
He said:
1 million for paint
1 million for labour
1 million profit.
He asked European?
He said :
3 million for paint
2 million for labour
2 million profit.
He asked Malaysian?
Malaysian said:
4 million for me
3 million for you
3 million will give it to the Chinese guy to paint.

Actually, the joke is not about Trump but about corruption in Malaysia!

I do not find it funny at all, but most mortifying, as it is at Malaysia’s expense.

But is it true, that corruption in Malaysia is so “world-class” as to put other countries to shame? Continue reading “Call on all Malaysians to declare corruption as the Number One enemy of all Malaysians and for all occasions – including the 14th General Election”

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Malaysia: Do the Umno grassroots believe that corruption is non-existent?

By Zan Azlee | 12th December 2016
Asian Correspondent

UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), the political party that leads the government in Malaysia, has in the recent years been facing numerous accusations and allegations of corruption.

One of the highest profile scandals is the world-famous 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy that many have tied to Prime Minister Najib Razak and his family.

Several international authorities have already kicked off investigations into the scandal because it involves the misappropriation of funds in the banks of multiple countries. The biggest of these in the headlines right now is the one being conducted by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). In Malaysia, however, the attorney-general has already absolved Najib of any criminal wrongdoing in the matter.

Umno, which Najib heads, still appears to have strong support from the Malaysian grassroots. Earlier this month, the party held their annual meeting of delegates across the country and since I’ve never once missed a meeting in over a decade, I did not want this year’s event to be any different. I also had a burning desire to find out if any of Umno’s grassroots members really believed that corruption wasn’t happening right below their very noses.

So I went. And there, I spoke to several assembly delegates and observers, all of whom had come to listen to their leaders discuss issues involving the party and the nation. It also needs to be said that the party is a Malay race-based party. So their main mission, really, is to protect the rights and interests of the Malays, who form the bulk of the Malaysian electorate. Continue reading “Malaysia: Do the Umno grassroots believe that corruption is non-existent?”

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Call on Najib to convene a special meeting of Parliament before end of year to refute ignominy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” or cleanse Malaysia’s reputation to show the world Malaysians cherish reputation of Malaysia as an upright nation of integrity

Five recent events have given Malaysians a lot of food for thought and deliberation for the last three weeks of this year, viz:

1. The resounding impeachment of South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye by a 234-56 votes by South Korean Parliament over a corruption scandal which had brought millions onto the streets in protest against her.

2. The unceasing international shame and embarrassment to Malaysians with the unending reverberrations of the global multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal in various foreign countries, creating a spate of adverse publicity like the closure of banks and imprisonment of bankers, Malaysians becoming international corruption fugitives and the mystery of “MO1”, which is impossible to hide from Malaysians in the era of information society – although the 1MDB scandal is strictly kept under the lid by repressive and autocratic laws.

3. A purported letter dated Dec 9 in Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s name addressed to BN MPS and Senators urging them to pressure Najib to step down as Prime Minister, together with a replacement Cabinet with Zahid as Prime Minister and Khairy Jamaluddin as Deputy Prime Minister.

I believe this is a fake letter, but did it originate from within UMNO ranks or outside. In any event, Malaysia is heading for an unprecedented era of political dirty tricks, for didn’t the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself ushered in such disgusting politics of hate and “Big Lies” in his opening and closing speeches at the UMNO General Assembly, with three “Big Lies” Nazi-style:

*That the 14th General Elections will be a contest between UMNO and DAP.

*That the DAP is anti-Malay or anti-Islam.

*The “nightmares” Malay will suffer if UMNO loses power to DAP in the next general elections.

Continue reading “Call on Najib to convene a special meeting of Parliament before end of year to refute ignominy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” or cleanse Malaysia’s reputation to show the world Malaysians cherish reputation of Malaysia as an upright nation of integrity”

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Can the Malaysian Parliament Move Against Prime Minister Najib Razak?

Koon Yew Yin
10th Dec 2016

Friends who watch the foreign TV news channel have asked me whether Malaysia will be able to follow the example of South Korea in the current leadership crisis found in that country.

In the case of South Korea, their lawmakers recently voted overwhelmingly in Parliament to impeach President Park Geun-hye over an influence-peddling and corruption scandal. If successful, it will set the stage for her to become the country’s first elected leader to be expelled from office in disgrace.

The impeachment motion was carried by a 234-56 margin in a secret ballot in parliament, meaning that at least more than 60 of Park’s own conservative Saenuri Party members backed removing her.

The votes of at least 200 members of the 300-seat chamber were needed for the motion to pass.

The Constitutional Court must now decide whether to uphold the motion, a process that could take up to 180 days. Continue reading “Can the Malaysian Parliament Move Against Prime Minister Najib Razak?”

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If authorities are not out on a “witch-hunt”, Najib should be the first person who should be probed for “foreign funding” and not Ambiga or Bersih

If the authorities are not out on a “witch-hunt”, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should be the first person who should be probed by the police for “foreign funding” and not Ambiga Sreenivasan or Bersih, for three reasons:

Firstly, the quantum. The amount of “foreign funding” which went into Najib’s personal banking accounts boggles the imagination – at first it was the gargantuan figure of RM2.6 billion and later it was expanded to an even more astronomical figure of RM4.2 billion.

No sane person would dispute the claim by Ambiga, who headed Bersih from 2010 to 2013, that Bersih had at all times been transparent about its finding and accounts, and had never hidden the fact that it had received US$25,000 from Open Society Institute (OSI) and US$9,690 from National Democracy Institute (NDI) in 2011 which were used in election-related projects.

But what is US$34,690 compared to the over US$1 billion foreign funding which had been deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts – as the “foreign funding” that was deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts was 30 million times larger than the puny figures which Bersih had received from OSI and NDI in 2011. Continue reading “If authorities are not out on a “witch-hunt”, Najib should be the first person who should be probed for “foreign funding” and not Ambiga or Bersih”

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Malaysia PM opens thorny debate in accusing Myanmar of genocide

By Praveen Menon | KUALA LUMPUR
Reuters
Fri Dec 9, 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s stern rebuke to Myanmar for a military-led crackdown on Muslim Rohingyas was a rarity among Southeast Asian nations, who adhere to a policy of non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.

Critics saw the beleaguered Najib reaching for the moral high ground with his criticism over the weekend of Myanmar in order to pander to Malay Muslim voters after a series of protests calling for him to resign over a corruption scandal.

Najib is eyeing elections in the second half of 2017, nearly a year ahead of the 2018 deadline, a government source told Reuters.

At a rally on Sunday, Najib called for foreign intervention to stop the “genocide” of Rohingya Muslims and lashed out at Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for her inaction. Continue reading “Malaysia PM opens thorny debate in accusing Myanmar of genocide”

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Malaysians underestimate the damage caused by the 1MDB scandal

Economist
Nov 26th 2016

But the opposition has to do more to win over rural Malays

FORTY thousand people wearing yellow shirts gathered in Malaysia’s capital on November 19th, to protest against corruption and impunity in government. The rally was orderly and restrained; the response of the authorities was not. On the eve of the protest, police arrested Maria Chin Abdullah, leader of a coalition of human-rights groups that organised the event. She was placed in solitary confinement, and can be held there for 28 days. Even by Malaysia’s dismal recent standards this marked a fresh low. Ordinary Malaysians should not stand by while their leaders undermine the rule of law so casually. Continue reading “Malaysians underestimate the damage caused by the 1MDB scandal”