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Malay Pride Rally Stokes Race Politics in Malaysia

By Mong Palatino
The Diplomat
September 11, 2015

Another troubling sign that the ‘race card’ is being exploited in the country’s politics.

More than 250 licensed non-government organizations in Malaysia are planning to mobilize 30,000 people on September 16 to protect and promote Maruah Melayu (Malay dignity). The event also aims to show support for the beleaguered leadership of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is being implicated in a corruption scandal.

The event was clearly organized to counter the Bersih (which means ‘clean’ in Malay) protest last August 29 and 30, which gathered more than 100,000 people in Kuala Lumpur. Some leaders of the Malay Pride Rally have ridiculed Bersih as a Chinese conspiracy. To prevent the Chinese protesters from undermining the government, they urged their fellow Malays to join the September 16 gathering and to wear red in order to oppose the yellow color of Bersih.

This framing of the issue is rejected by many who insist that it is a distortion of the real politics of Bersih. While it is true that Chinese protesters were present during the Bersih protest, they were joined by Malays and other citizens who believe that Najib must resign and that a clean election is needed to promote good governance in the country. Last month’s Bersih, and the three previous Bersih protests, didn’t pit the Chinese versus the Malays, although some allies of the government wanted the public to believe that racial sentiments are undermining the country’s stability.

From the beginning, the issue was about corruption and abuse of power by the ruling coalition, which has been in power since the 1950s, yet leaders of the Malay Pride Rally continue to speak about Chinese machinations. Continue reading “Malay Pride Rally Stokes Race Politics in Malaysia”

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Unconstitutional for speaker to deny no-confidence motion

– Tommy Thomas
The Malaysian Insider
8 September 2015

The prime minister reportedly said his administration cannot be toppled by “street demonstrations” because it would be against the Federal Constitution.

Whatever the intentions of the organisers and participants of Bersih 4, the rally could not force Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down as prime minister from a constitutional and political perspective.

People power, however strong and widespread, cannot overthrow a government under the Westminster style of parliamentary democracy which we have adopted nearly six decades ago. Continue reading “Unconstitutional for speaker to deny no-confidence motion”

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Three measures which Najib should announce tomorrow to address economic crisis

The Prime Minister cum Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib is expected to announce tomorrow measures to strengthen the economy as falling commodity prices and the ringgit currency plumbs near 18-year lows.

I call on Najib to include in his announcement tomorrow the following three measures to address the economic crisis:

Firstly, to suspend the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as it is choking domestic consumption apart from increasing the cost of doing business in difficult economic times;

Secondly, to embark on a regime of government economic austerity, starting with halving the number of 10 Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department to five. Continue reading “Three measures which Najib should announce tomorrow to address economic crisis”

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Tale of two T-shirts, two rallies and two Malaysia Day highlight the gravity of the prolonged crisis of confidence which plague Malaysia why Malaysians must think beyond race, religion, region or even politics to Save Malaysia

The tale of two T-shirts, two rallies and two Malaysia Day highlight the gravity of the prolonged crisis of confidence which plague Malaysia and why Malaysians must think beyond race, religion, region or even politics to Save Malaysia.

Two T-shirts

There is firstly the yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt, with the five objectives of:

*Free and Fair Elections.

*A Transparent Government.

*The Right to Demonstrate.

*Strengthening the Parliamentary Democracy System.

*Saving the Economy of Malaysia.

Then there is the red T-shirt screaming the slogan “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu”, with the explicit threat of communal confrontation and if the message was not clear enough, there was also also the vivid imagery of a communal “bloodbath”. Continue reading “Tale of two T-shirts, two rallies and two Malaysia Day highlight the gravity of the prolonged crisis of confidence which plague Malaysia why Malaysians must think beyond race, religion, region or even politics to Save Malaysia”

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Najib must live with the reality that for the rest of his life, he will be haunted and hounded by the Altantunya Shaariibuu murder case so long as there is no full investigation to ferret out the motive and mastermind of the heinous killing

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak today played the role of a victim and complained that the revival of the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder is part of a foreign plot to topple him, similar to the toppling of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.

He pointed out that Saddam was ousted by the United States based on false claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

He said:

“Now look at Iraq today. They had no proof and yet they invaded the country.

“Now the Americans have regretted their actions and the Bush name can no longer be accepted.”

Najib is doing himself no service by likening himself to Saddam Hussein, as if claiming that he was being victimised in the same way that Bush Senior had victimised Saddam.

Is Najib suggesting that he is being victimised by Obama or his predecessor as US President, Bush Junior?

May be Najib should clarify and explain what he is trying to say. Continue reading “Najib must live with the reality that for the rest of his life, he will be haunted and hounded by the Altantunya Shaariibuu murder case so long as there is no full investigation to ferret out the motive and mastermind of the heinous killing”

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September 16 will be a double test for Najib ,as to how committed he is to the Malaysia idea and whether he would allow the country to be held to ransom by irresponsible elements who want to hold a racist “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL

September 16, 2015 will be a double test for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, firstly as to how committed he is to the Malaysia idea; and secondly, whether he would show leadership and not allow the country to be held to ransom by irresponsible elements who want to provoke racial tensions and temperatures in the country by holding a racist “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur.

Although the Prime Minister has an appointment with the Chief Ministers of Sabah and Sarawak at Padang Merdeka in Kota Kinabalu on Malaysia Day to sign the commemorative Malaysia Day document to re-enact the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago, this is meaningless PR “public relations” gimmick unless it is accompanied by substantive announcements by Najib on the concrete measures Putrajaya will take to end the half-century of neglect and underdevelopment of Sabah and Sarawak – like increase of oil royalties to Sabah and Sarawak and the granting of autonomy on education and other jurisdictions to the two states!

The other test for Najib on Malaysia Day is whether he would allow the country to be held to ransom by irresponsible elements who want to provoke racial tensions and temperatures in the country by holding a racist “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur. Continue reading “September 16 will be a double test for Najib ,as to how committed he is to the Malaysia idea and whether he would allow the country to be held to ransom by irresponsible elements who want to hold a racist “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL”

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Why is the case of the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu so sensitive that Aljazeera’s current affairs programme 101 East Asia journalist Mary Ann Jolley had to be deported?

Why is the case of the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu so sensitive that Aljazeera’s current affairs programme 101 East Asia journalist, Mary Ann Jolley had to be deported when she was doing an investigative piece on her brutal murder?

Is investigative report into Altantuya’s murder strictly out-of-bounds in Malaysia for any journalist, print or online, local or foreign?

In response to Aljazeera’s investigative piece “Murder in Malaysia” on Altantunya’s murder, which was aired today, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement reiterating that “The Prime Minister did not know, has never met, has never had any communication with and has no link whatsoever with the deceased”.

Since Najib had strongly and repeatedly denied knowing or having met Altantuya, his story should be able to stand up to any scrutiny, whether by Aljazeera’s investigative reporter or even by a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Altantuya’s murder, as many questions remain unanswered in her murder, the most serious of which was that the motive of the murder had not been found as the two persons convicted of the brutal murder of Altantuya, former police commandoes Sirul Azhir Umar and Azila Hadri, had not met or known her before the murder. Continue reading “Why is the case of the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu so sensitive that Aljazeera’s current affairs programme 101 East Asia journalist Mary Ann Jolley had to be deported?”

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Sept 16, 2015 should be a red-letter Malaysia Day marking first important steps by Putrajaya to restore genuine autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak which should not be spoilt or overshadowed by “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL

On the 52nd Malaysia Day on Sept. 16 next Wednesday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should not just be in Kota Kinabalu for a Public Relations gimmick to join the Sabah and Sarawak Chief Ministers at Padang Merdeka to sign the commemorative Malaysia Day document to re-enact the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago.

More is expected of the Prime Minister to do something more substantive, as giving import and significance to the occasion, especially in the meeting of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers and Sabah and Sarawak such as to mark Putrajaya’s first important steps to restore genuine autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak.

Najib has committed himself to grant more autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak, and the 52nd Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, in his sixth year as Malaysian Prime Minister, should be the historic occasion to see the start of the process of Putrajaya honouring such a commitment.

There are at least four things Najib could do on Sept. 16 to begin the “first step in the journey of thousand miles” to grant meaningful autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak, viz: Continue reading “Sept 16, 2015 should be a red-letter Malaysia Day marking first important steps by Putrajaya to restore genuine autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak which should not be spoilt or overshadowed by “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in KL”

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Congrats to UMNO for being “more united than ever” although the UMNO President had for the first time in history to sneak in and out of UMNO headquarters from the backdoor to avoid the unfriendly UMNO crowd in front

After yesterday’s UMNO Supreme Council meeting, UMNO leaders including the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who is also Minister for Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, were at pains to convince all and sundry that UMNO is now “more united than ever”. (NST)

Congratulations is in order to UMNO for being “more united than ever” although the UMNO President and Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had, for the first time in history of any UMNO President, to sneak in and out of UMNO headquarters from the backdoor to avoid the unfriendly UMNO crowd in front.

But the UMNO Supreme Council meeting failed miserably in assuring the public and the world that the governing coalition has the blueprint and the political will to end the prolonged crisis of confidence plaguing the country.

The UMNO/BN leadership were not only unable to bring a closure to the two mega financial scandals which had undermined national and international confidence in the Malaysian government – the RM50 billion 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion “donation” in the Prime Minister’s personal accounts twin scandals – but have allowed new issues to escalate and deepen the crisis of confidence in the country like the Red Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16. Continue reading “Congrats to UMNO for being “more united than ever” although the UMNO President had for the first time in history to sneak in and out of UMNO headquarters from the backdoor to avoid the unfriendly UMNO crowd in front”

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Najib should cancel the Sept. 16 programme in Kota Kinabalu for signing of commemorative Malaysia Day document with Sabah and Sarawak Chief Ministers and have it either one day earlier or later so as not to be overshadowed by the Red Shirts pro-Najib rally in Kuala Lumpur

When the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak endorsed the greenlight given by the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi for the Red Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16, it marked not only a great failure of Najib’s premiership, but a pathetic admission of the failure of his signature 1Malaysia policy when he became the sixth Prime Minister some six years ago to create a united nation where every citizen will regard himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, region and socio-economic status second.

Six years after Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy, the country should be having “Kebangkitan Maruah Malaysia” rallies and not regressing to hold “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rallies – which is the very antithesis of Najib’s 1Malaysia policy.

Is Najib suggesting that there should also be “Kebangkitan Maruah Cina Malaysia”, “Kebangkitan Maruah India Malaysia”, “Kebangkitan Maruah Orang Asli”, “Kebangkitan Maruah Iban” or “Kebangkitan Maruah Kadazan-Dusun-Murut” rallies all over the country?

Najib and the Cabinet should be asking Zahid why the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister is practicing double standards in warning of “stern action” against organisers and participants of Bersih 4 rally but gave the okay for UMNO members to attend the Red Shirts rally?

Why did Zahid personally sign a ban of the yellow Bersih 4 T-shirt on the eve of Bersih 4 rally, but endorsed the sale of red “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” T-shirts? Continue reading “Najib should cancel the Sept. 16 programme in Kota Kinabalu for signing of commemorative Malaysia Day document with Sabah and Sarawak Chief Ministers and have it either one day earlier or later so as not to be overshadowed by the Red Shirts pro-Najib rally in Kuala Lumpur”

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Call on UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders not to wear blinkers about Mahathir – regarding all he said now as wrong when during his 22-year premiership, idolising all he said as right even when he was wrong

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad today told the police to go ahead and arrest him for attending the Bersih 4 rally when he returned to the Subang Airport from the Czech Republic.

I would be disappointed if Mahathir had said otherwise or disappeared from Malaysia to escape any police dragnet.

As political leaders, we must stand up for the rights of the people and do not run away from the police if we have done no wrong.

I was advised against returning to Kuala Lumpur during the May 13, 1969 riots as I had flown to Kota Kinabalu on the morning of May 13, 1969 to campaign for the Independent candidate in Kota Kinabalu, but I returned to Kuala Lumpur although I was warned that I was on the blacklist of Internal Security Act arrests, as I felt that my place was with the people of Malaysia in their hour of need and trouble and not to seek personal refuge and safety abroad. I was then 28 years old. Continue reading “Call on UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders not to wear blinkers about Mahathir – regarding all he said now as wrong when during his 22-year premiership, idolising all he said as right even when he was wrong”

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Malaysian prime minister weathers ‘people power’ movement — for now

Global Risk Insights
September 2015

Malaysia’s prime minister has so far weathered anti-government protests calling for his removal. Without political stability and a strengthened economy, his long-term prospects of survival seem uncertain.

The Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur witnessed two days of anti-government protests over the weekend of August 29-30. The 34-hour marathon protests were organised by Bersih, an electoral reform group calling for the prime minister’s removal due to allegations of corruption.

These allegations relate to the 1MDB financial scandal, which has dogged Prime Minister Najib Razak since early July. The 1MDB investment fund is at the centre of an anti-corruption probe, which allegedly uncovered evidence of funds being channelled to accounts owned by Najib. Continue reading “Malaysian prime minister weathers ‘people power’ movement — for now”

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Malaysia’s Badly Timed Political Scandal

By Editorial Board
Bloomberg
Sept 8, 2015

The storm sweeping over emerging markets has hit Malaysia at an especially fraught moment, with Prime Minister Najib Razak embroiled in a $700 million funding scandal. The country’s economic difficulties are bad enough by themselves. The political turmoil makes them all the harder to deal with.

Najib denies accusations that almost $700 million found its way from a state investment fund into his private accounts, and Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission has declared that the money represents donations from anonymous Middle Eastern sources. This explanation failed to satisfy the thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur last month to demand Najib’s ouster.

Leaders of the ruling United Malays National Organization, which has governed the country since independence in 1957 and has long prized loyalty over accountability, will certainly support Najib when they meet on Wednesday. But they need to ask themselves whether maintaining the political status quo is worth the continuing damage to Malaysia’s financial reputation and prospects for growth. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Badly Timed Political Scandal”

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Malaysia’s 1MDB Fund Scandal Spreads to U.A.E.

By BRADLEY HOPE and TOM WRIGHT
Wall Street Journal
Sept. 8, 2015

At issue is a $1.4 billion payment from 1MDB that officials at an Abu Dhabi investment fund said is missing

The corruption scandal around an economic-development fund in Malaysia is spilling beyond the country’s borders, as officials at a United Arab Emirates state investment vehicle raise questions about more than a billion dollars in money that they said is missing.

Abu Dhabi has long been a source of support for the fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., which was set up six years ago by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to develop new industries in the Southeast Asian country. Now, as 1MDB tries to fend off a cash crunch, its backers in Abu Dhabi are asking what happened to a $1.4 billion payment the fund said it made but which they never received, two people familiar with the matter said.

The dispute comes as Mr. Najib is battling a separate scandal linked to 1MDB. Malaysian investigators are examining the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars into the prime minister’s alleged private bank accounts through entities linked to 1MDB. The disclosures have sparked a political crisis and set off a handful of investigations around the world, destabilizing the government and damaging confidence in Malaysia’s economy. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB Fund Scandal Spreads to U.A.E.”

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If the Cabinet today cannot set the country right to address and resolve the multiple crisis of confidence plaguing the country, then it is not a Cabinet Malaysians need

Today’s Cabinet meeting is a critical one for the nation as it will be the last Cabinet meeting before next Wednesday which is a public holiday for Malaysia Day.

This is not because next Wednesday commemorates the formation of Malaysia 52 years ago but because of a “racially-fuelled” Umno or pro-UMNO Sept. 16 red-shirt rally which the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) secretary-general Datuk Seri Syed Hussein Al-Habshee has warned would have “castastrophic” consequences.

In a statement yesterday, Syed Hussein said the rally will “trigger negativity and erosion of business sentiments, affecting foreign investors’ perceptions and tourism and add further pressure on the ringgit”.

The secretary-general of NCCIM, which represents the Malay, Chinese and Indian chambers of commerce and industry, said he feared the effects of the rally could cripple the Malaysian economy, halting its ability to recover.

He said: “It might leave us without fixes to yield a quick recovery process.” Continue reading “If the Cabinet today cannot set the country right to address and resolve the multiple crisis of confidence plaguing the country, then it is not a Cabinet Malaysians need”

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Call on Najib and Cabinet tomorrow to initiate a virtuous circle of development to restore confidence by focussing on the issues of transparency, integrity and good governance

Former Cabinet Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz could not have put it better to describe the grave crisis of confidence the country is facing today – that the “mess” Malaysia is facing today had nothing to do with race but with governance, transparency and integrity.

I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Cabinet at its meeting tomorrow to initiate a virtuous circle of development to restore confidence by focussing on the issues of governance, transparency and integrity and to end the drift aggravated by attempts by some irresponsible quarters to create racial diversions like the Red Shirts movement and the Sept. 16 Malay rally to counter a non-existing Chinese threat in Bersih 4 overnight rally.

Malaysia has lost two precious months in failing to address the confidence crisis, especially since the Wall Street Journal publication on July 3, 2015 about the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal bank accounts for the 13th General Election. Continue reading “Call on Najib and Cabinet tomorrow to initiate a virtuous circle of development to restore confidence by focussing on the issues of transparency, integrity and good governance”

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Appoint Nazir Razak as honorary Ombudsman for “stupid things” by “Power People” with jurisdiction to summon miscreants to publicly lecture them for their stupid utterances or acts which undermine Malaysia’s national image

Two days ago, I had asked whether there was a competition in Najib’s Cabinet as to which Minister could say the most stupid things, which I had entitled:

“’Walking Dead’ – Is there a competition in Najib’s Cabinet as to which Minister could say the most stupid things?”

This was after the statement by the CIMB Group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak who warned a fortnight ago that those he described as “power people” should stop issuing stupid remarks amid the worsening economic crisis in the country, especially with the decline in the value of the ringgit, which had plunged to levels unseen since the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis.

I noted that although Nazir, who is also the brother to prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had urged the “power people” in an Instagram post to “Accept & adjust quickly” as “capital is super sensitive; bad news & bad signs amplified” and to avoid saying “stupid things”, the situation has gone from bad to worse, as if there is a total breakdown of discipline of the Najib Cabinet after the reshuffle of July 28, with the sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Apdal Shafie.

I pointed out that in the previous 12 days since Nazir’s advice, the “stupid things” uttered by Najib’s “power people” had increase by leaps and bounds, and I listed such 13 “stupid things” said by Najib’s “power people” in the past 48 hours, i.e. at the shocking rate of more than half-a-dozen a day!

The volume and velocity of “stupid things” uttered by Najib’s “power people” had not slowed in the least, as seen by the new list of such “stupid things” from the headlines of Malaysiakini in the 48 hours after the first list of “stupid things” on Sunday, viz: Continue reading “Appoint Nazir Razak as honorary Ombudsman for “stupid things” by “Power People” with jurisdiction to summon miscreants to publicly lecture them for their stupid utterances or acts which undermine Malaysia’s national image”

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Call on Cabinet and the UMNO Supreme Council to take a clear Malaysian stand against any rally seeking to provoke and incite tension and hatred of one race against another in Malaysia, whether Sept. 16 and Oct. 10 gatherings

The Cabinet and the UMNO Supreme Council meeting on Wednesday should take a clear Malaysian stand against any rally seeking to provoke and incite tension and hatred of one race against another in Malaysia, whether the proposed Sept. 16 or Oct. 10 gatherings.

The fundamental right to freedom of assembly to peacefully advocate constitutional rights and liberties of Malaysians must be defended as a basic democratic liberty and human right of Malaysians, but there can be no right whatsoever to commit heinous crimes as inciting racial or religious tension, hatred and conflict in plural Malaysia.

It is in fact the basic duty and responsibility of any government to ensure that those who want to provoke or incite racial or religious hatred to create conflict, disharmony and chaos in plural Malaysia must be stopped in their tracks, and not allowed any room whatsoever to commit the heinous crimes of inciting inter-racial or inter-religious tension and conflict.

The Sept. 16 and Oct.10 rallies were conceived as Malay counter to the purported Chinese Bersih 4 rally of August 29 and 30, alleging that Bersih 4 was a Chinese show of force against Malay political power – which is a most irresponsible allegation totally without basis, as there was not a tinge of racialism at all in the Bersih 4 rally where Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, sex, gender or even politics converged in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu for a common cause for good governance and free, fair elections – issues which completely transcend race. Continue reading “Call on Cabinet and the UMNO Supreme Council to take a clear Malaysian stand against any rally seeking to provoke and incite tension and hatred of one race against another in Malaysia, whether Sept. 16 and Oct. 10 gatherings”

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Two more questions for Najib about the RM2.6 billion in his personal accounts – which were 26 times more than the legally permissible limit to be spent by all the 222 BN parliamentary and 505 state assembly candidates in 13GE

Thanks to the Malaysian government hosting the three-day 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Putrajaya from Sept. 2 – 4, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal has been transformed from a national scandal into a global one.

Henceforth, through the 1,000 delegates representing the foremost anti-graft fighters from 130 countries who attended the 16th IAAC, the world will be following closely the development of Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal – to determine whether it will be a classic case of the theme of the 16th IACC, “Ending Impunity: People. Integrity. Action” in the most negative sense!

This year of 2015 should the best possible year for Malaysia in terms of international publicity, as Malaysia is the chair of ASEAN and a member of the UN Security Council, but it is shaping up to be Malaysia’s worst and most horrible international year in the nation’s history – really annus horribilis for Malaysia!

For three days, through the 16th IACC, Malaysia was not only lectured by Europeans, Australians and Americans, but also by Africans and South Americans such as by countries like Peru, Cameroon and Russia, about the deplorable state of integrity and ant-corruption in Malaysia.

Now the whole world knows that the Malaysian Prime Minister could not answer simple questions, to the extent that he had to pull out from the official ceremony of the 16th IACC, which is probably the first time where the head of government of a host country had to run away from an international conference! Continue reading “Two more questions for Najib about the RM2.6 billion in his personal accounts – which were 26 times more than the legally permissible limit to be spent by all the 222 BN parliamentary and 505 state assembly candidates in 13GE”

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“Walking Dead” – Is there a competition in Najib’s Cabinet as to which Minister could say the most stupid thing?

Just 12 days ago, the CIMB Group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak warned those he described as “power people” against issuing stupid remarks amid the continuing decline in the value of the ringgit, which had plunged to levels unseen since the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis.

In an Instagram post, Nazir, who is also the brother to prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, urged the “power people”: “Accept & adjust quickly” as “capital is super sensitive; bad news & bad signs amplified” asking “power people” to avoid saying “stupid things”.

But instead of heeding Nazir’s advice, Najib’s “power people” have got even worse, increasing the stupidity, volume and velocity of their statements in the past 12 days that Malaysians are entitled to ask whether there is a competition in Najib’s Cabinet as to which Minister could say the most stupid things!

The velocity of “stupid things” uttered by Najib’s Ministers and “power people” have increased to notch more than one a day in the past 12 days – in fact to more than half-a-dozen a day in the past two days, as can be gleaned from the following headlines in the past 48 hours: Continue reading ““Walking Dead” – Is there a competition in Najib’s Cabinet as to which Minister could say the most stupid thing?”