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Is UMNO leading MCA/Gerakan/MIC/BN or PAS down the garden path on Hadi’s hudud bill?

On May 26 in Parliament, the UMNO leadership led MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the Sabah/Sarawak Barisan Nasional parties down the garden path when without any Barisan Nasional “consensus”, the UMNO Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Azalina Othman Said unilaterally and arbitrarily, moved a motion in Parliament to give priority to PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill motion over all official business.

In the last two days in Parliament, the UMNO leadership led PAS President, PAS MPs and the PAS membership down the garden path when Hadi’s private member’s bill motion was pushed from Item No. 4 yesterday to Item No. 7 today.

Although PAS members throughout the country expected Hadi’s private member’s bill motion to be passed in Parliament either yesterday or today, it is now clear that Hadi’s private member’s bill motion is unlikely to be debated in this first week of Parliament, which means it could not be debated, if at all, only in the last two days of the present budget meeting on Nov. 23 and 24 as Parliament will begin debating the 2017 Budget on Monday.

The intriguing question is who UMNO is leading down the garden path – MCA/Gerakan/MIC/BN parties in Sabah and Sarawak or PAS? Continue reading “Is UMNO leading MCA/Gerakan/MIC/BN or PAS down the garden path on Hadi’s hudud bill?”

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Boycott of Minister’s Question Time (MQT) debut in protest against Parliamentary charade pretending Malaysia’s international infamy for being “global kleptocracy” does not exist

Today is supposed to be a historic day for the Malaysian Parliament with the debut of the half-hour Minister’s Question Time (MQT), touted as the most significant of the Speaker’s parliamentary reforms.

I have however boycotted the debut of the MQT in protest against the parliamentary charade pretending that Malaysia’s infamy for being a “global kleptocracy” does not exist.

I had submitted a question for the MQT debut today to ask the Prime Minister what action the government was taking to cleanse and purge the national infamy of being regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy”.

This question was rejected by the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia for today’s MQT.

After the Speaker’s ruling yesterday barring all questions on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit filed on July 20 seeking forfeiture of US$1billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from over US$3 billion international embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds on the ground that it is “sub judice”, the rejection of my question for the MQT would appear to be part of a blatant and unashamed attempt to censor and outlaw all debate, discussion or question not only about the DOJ action but anything concerning 1MDB and Malaysia’s infamous and iniquitous appellation as a “global kleptocracy” in the Malaysian Parliament.

I fully agree with former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Hishammuddin Mohd Yunus who asked what “sub judice” was the Speaker talking about, as Ministers should not be “barred” from answering questions in Parliament on the United States Department of Justice’s (DOJ) civil suit involving the alleged misappropriation of 1MDB funds for the reason of sub judice. Continue reading “Boycott of Minister’s Question Time (MQT) debut in protest against Parliamentary charade pretending Malaysia’s international infamy for being “global kleptocracy” does not exist”

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History will not look kindly at 13th Parliament as it pretends that the 1MDB financial scandal and infamy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” are no issues at all!

History will not look kindly at 13th Parliament as it pretends that the 1MDB financial scandal and infamy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” are no issues at all!

We must thank young creative architect Tey Tat Sing for sharing with us his vision of transforming our present living surroundings into a more humane, connected, integrated and holistic living spaces with a “soul”.

I particularly appreciate Tat Sing’s reimagination as I find the very unconventional décor of the Library for Social Democracy very soothing to the nerves and the soul, especially after a very stressful, disconnected and dehumanizing day – attending the first day of the 2017 Budget Parliament and at the end of it, being caught in more than an hour of a totally no-reason traffic jam in Kuala Lumpur, where traffic lights at intersections changed from red to green for close to ten times, but no traffic moved!

I thank REFSA (Research for Social Advancement) Chairman Liew Chin Tong for inviting to launch this Library for Social Democracy.

I am reminded of the great libraries during the golden age of Islamic civilization in the ninth through thirteenth centuries which mark an era of scientific, religious, philosophical and cultural development the scale and depth of which had never been in world history before or since.

There was Abbasids’ House of Wisdom in Baghdad which was at once a university, library, translation institute and research lab, all on one campus.

Baghdad had reached its highest reputation and glorious status during the reigns of the Caliphs Al-Rasheed, Al-Ma’moun, Al-Mu’tadhid and Al-Muktafi.

It was the centre for Islamic (if not the world) culture and civilisation, as well as the headquarters for the Arts, Sciences and Letters. It was crowded with Scientists, Physicians, philosophers, Mathematicians, Astronomers, Men of Letters, Poets, Writers, Translators, Scribes, and Professionals in the various arts and crafts.

Baghdad’s House of Wisdom met its sad, tragic and brutal end in 1,258 with the Mongol invasion of Baghdad and the killing of the last Abbasid Caliph, the slaughter of the Caliph’s entire family and relatives, as well as those in the Caliphate Court – marking the end of the Abbasid Caliphate.

The magnificent collection of books and manuscripts of the House of Wisdom was thrown into the muddy waters of the River Tigris whose brown colour turned black for days as a result of the washing away of the ink used in the writing of these books and manuscripts. Continue reading “History will not look kindly at 13th Parliament as it pretends that the 1MDB financial scandal and infamy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” are no issues at all!”

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World’s largest gathering of blind and mute MPs on Monday – when Malaysian Parliament reconvenes pretending the 1MDB financial scandal and infamy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” do not exist

The world’s largest gathering of blind and mute Members of Parliament will meet on Monday when the Malaysian Parliament reconvenes with the Barisan Nasional MPs, with the exception of former Finance Minister, Datuk Husni Hanazlah, pretending that the 1MDB global financial scandal and the infamy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” do not exist.

All patriotic Malaysians who love the country deeply and passionately must feel ashamed and outraged that since the May meeting of Parliament some five months ago, Malaysia has acquired the international infamy being a “global kleptocracy”, especially after the July 20 lawsuit initiated by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from over US$3 billion international embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds and the recent actions by the Swiss and Singapore financial regulatory authorities to either close down banks or institute criminal proceedings in connection with 1MDB money-laundering crimes.

The 1MDB global scandal and the infamy of Malaysia becoming a “global kleptocracy” should be the first item of parliamentary business when Parliament reconvenes on Monday, but from the Parliamentary Order Paper, it is clear that these two issues are totally absent from the radar of the Malaysian Government and Parliament.

One can in fact use the 1MDB and Malaysia’s infamy as “global kleptocracy” as a yardstick to judge whether a Minister or a Member of Parliament is a Malaysian patriot and nationalist, as no Malaysian can claim to be a patriot, nationalist or love Malaysia if he or she is not ashamed and outraged by the disgraceful appellation of Malaysia as a “global kleptocracy”, as if Malaysians are happy to be ruled by PPP – Pencuri, Perompak dan Penyamun.

It is to the eternal shame of the Malaysian Parliament that no oral question on the 1MDB global financial scandal is slated to be answered in the 90 minute of question time on the first day of Parliament on Monday – although there are seven out of the 56 oral questions listed for Monday’s Question Time, but they are placed so behind the queue that they will not be answered at all. Continue reading “World’s largest gathering of blind and mute MPs on Monday – when Malaysian Parliament reconvenes pretending the 1MDB financial scandal and infamy of Malaysia as “global kleptocracy” do not exist”

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Are MCA Ministers seeking “insurance” to remain in Cabinet as long as possible by equivocating on Hadi’s private member’s bill motion?

MCA Ministers led by the MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai must have thought that they are very smart and clever in finding a way to get “insurance” to remain in the Cabinet for as long as possible by equivocating on PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill motion.

MCA leaders have been going round the country declaring that MCA Ministers will relinquish their Cabinet posts if Hadi’s private member’s bill is passed.

This is begging the question as MCA Ministers are completely avoiding the issue which may come up in the first week of Parliament beginning on Monday as to whether Hadi’s private member’s bill motion will be debated and passed by simple majority vote.

Will MCA Ministers declare that they will relinquish their Cabinet posts if Hadi’s private member’s bill motion is passed in Parliament either next week or the last week of Parliament from Nov. 21 – 24?

And if not, why not?

This applies to the Ministers from Gerakan, MIC and other Sabah/Sarawak Barisan Nasional component parties.

By making an artificial distinction between Hadi’s private member’s bill motion and Hadi’s private member’s bill, MCA Ministers hope to get “insurance” to cowardly and cravenly hang on to the Cabinet for as long as possible – relying on Standing Order 49(3), (4) and (5) to argue that although Hadi’s private member’s bill motion had been passed in Parliament, Hadi’s private member’s bill had not yet been passed. Continue reading “Are MCA Ministers seeking “insurance” to remain in Cabinet as long as possible by equivocating on Hadi’s private member’s bill motion?”

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Six possible scenarios as to what could happen to Hadi’s private member’s bill motion in the 25-day budget Parliament

There are six possible scenarios as to what could happen to the PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill motion in the 25-day Budget Parliament beginning on Monday, viz:

1. Hadi’s private member’s bill motion comes up for debate in the first week of Parliament, whether on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and passed with simple majority support.

2. Hadi’s private member’s bill motion debated in the first week of Parliament and rejected with simple majority vote.

3. Hadi’s private member’s bill motion not debated in the first week of Parliament and deferred until after the 2017 Budget’s debate and passage in the last week of Parliamentary meeting from Nov. 21-24.

4. Hadi’s private member’s bill motion debated in Parliament’s last week and passed by simple majority.

5. Hadi’s private member’s bill motion debated in Parliament’s last week and rejected by simple majority.

6. Hadi’s private member’s bill motion not debated and deferred to next year’s Parliamentary meeting.

I am quite perplexed by the statements which the MCA President and the MCA Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, had been making in the past two days about the possibility of Hadi’s private member’s bill motion coming up for debate and vote in next week’s Parliament. Continue reading “Six possible scenarios as to what could happen to Hadi’s private member’s bill motion in the 25-day budget Parliament”

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Former Finance Minister Husni Hanadzlah is the only BN MP who had put in a parliamentary question out of the 1,800 oral and written questions in the 25-day budget meeting on the 1MDB scandal

I had several shocks when going through the Parliamentary Order Paper for the 25-day budget meeting of Parliament from Oct. 17 to 24th November.

One is that PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill motion is item No. 4, which means that after the Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin’s motion to congratulate the Malaysian Olympians and Para-Olympians for their sterling performances in the two recent world sporting events; the Advocates (Sabah) (Amendment) Bill 2016 and a Treasury motion to convert a RM500 million loan to Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank) to equity, Hadi’s private member’s motion may come up for debate and voting on Tuesday, or even on Monday!

This will lead to be tectonic shift of the fundamental basis and principles of the Merdeka Constitution 1957 and the Malaysia Agreement 1963, with far-reaching consequences not only the nation-building process but to the very survival and integrity of the Malaysian federation since 1963.

Another surprise and shock is the lowly and irrelevant position given to the one issue which had made Malaysia infamous internationally – the 1MDB global financial scandal which had catapulted the nation into world rank of a “global kleptocracy”.

The 1MDB global scandal should the first item of parliamentary business when Members of Parliament reconvened on Monday 17th October, after a break of five long months, when the country’s reputation was battered all over the world in a tide of negative and adverse international developments about the 1MDB scandal, the worst being the July 20 lawsuit initiated by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from over US$3 billion international embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds as well as the crackdowns by the Singapore and Swiss financial regulatory authorities.

But from the Order Paper for the forthcoming 25-day meeting of Parliament, it would appear that the 1MDB global scandal is not a major concern or worry for Malaysia at all – and totally absent from the radar of the Malaysian Government.

No Malaysian can claim to be a patriot or love Malaysia if he or she is not ashamed and outraged by the disgraceful appellation of Malaysia as a “global kleptocracy” – as if Malaysians are happy to be ruled by thieves and robbers.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that no Malaysian is fit to be a Member of Parliament or Minister in the country if he or she is not ashamed and outraged by appellation of Malaysia as as a “global kleptocracy”. Continue reading “Former Finance Minister Husni Hanadzlah is the only BN MP who had put in a parliamentary question out of the 1,800 oral and written questions in the 25-day budget meeting on the 1MDB scandal”

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Will there be a tectonic shift of the fundamental basis of the Merdeka Constitution 1957 and Malaysia Agreement 1963 next week in Parliament if Hadi’s private member’s bill is passed?

I visited Parliament to collect the Parliamentary Order Paper for the 25-day budget meeting of Parliament from Oct. 17 to 24th November, and I find the parliamentary business planned most surprising and even shocking.

Firstly, will there be a tectonic shift of the fundamental basis of the Merdeka Constitution 1957 and Malaysia Agreement 1963 next week in Parliament if the PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill is passed?

Hadi’s private member’s is slated as the fourth item of parliamentary business after a motion by the Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin to congratulate the Malaysian Olympians and Para-Olympians for their sterling performances in the two recent world sporting events; the Advocates (Sabah) (Amendment) Bill 2016 and a Treasury motion to convert a RM500 million loan to Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank) to equity.

Under the circumstances, the possibility that Hadi’s private member’s bill motion will come up for debate and voting either on Tuesday, or even on Monday, cannot be ruled out. Continue reading “Will there be a tectonic shift of the fundamental basis of the Merdeka Constitution 1957 and Malaysia Agreement 1963 next week in Parliament if Hadi’s private member’s bill is passed?”

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Has Barisan Nasional consensus degenerated from the original meaning of agreement by all 13 BN component parties into a perverted and corrupt version of what is unilaterally and arbitrarily decided by UMNO even in the face of objection by the other 12 BN component parties?

An UMNO-owned mainstream media reported today that PAS President, Datuk Seri A Abdul Hadi Awang’s hudud-enabling private member’s bill would be tabled and debated in Parliament next week.
In the circumstances, the continued silence of the Presidents of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah and Sarawak component parties of Barisan Nasional on whether they have agreed on a Barisan Nasional consensus for Hadi’s private member’s bill to be given priority over official business in the budget meeting of Parliament to be debated and voted upon is no more tenable.

The time has come for all the Barisan Nasional component parties to break their silence on Hadi’s private member’s bill.

Early this month, the UMNO and Barisan Nasional secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said that BN has arrived at a consensus regarding Hadi’s private member’s bill. Continue reading “Has Barisan Nasional consensus degenerated from the original meaning of agreement by all 13 BN component parties into a perverted and corrupt version of what is unilaterally and arbitrarily decided by UMNO even in the face of objection by the other 12 BN component parties?”

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Malaysians should vote in next general election to purge and cleanse the country of infamy of global kleptocracy if Cabinet and Parliament are not prepared to defend national dignity and reputation by getting rid of such an epithet

Parliament will reconvene on 17th October for a 25-sitting budget session till Nov. 24.

The question is whether Parliament will give priority and importance at this meeting to purge and cleanse the country of the infamy of a global kleptocracy, an epithet which Malaysia acquired after the May meeting of Parliament – after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed lawsuits under the US Kleptocracy Assets Recovery Initiative on July 20 for the forfeiture of US$1 billion of assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from over US$3 billion international conspiracy of embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds.

Even at the May meeting of Parliament, Malaysia had already acquired a seedy reputation as far as public integrity, accountability, transparency and good governance are concerned, as Malaysia had suffered the ill-repute of being placed third in the international website,foreignpolicy.com’s ranking of the world’s “worst corruption scandal in 2015”, TIME magazine’s second ranking of “global corruption” in March, the Economist’s second placing in its second index of crony capitalism in May apart from falling four places and ranked No. 54 among 168 countries in the 2015 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) – a far cry from the National Transformation Programme (NTP) target for Malaysia to be in the top 30 countries in the TI CPI in five years’ time in 2020.

The question is whether there is a great sense of outrage and shame among our Ministers and Members of Parliament at the infamy of the epithet of a global kleptocracy for Malaysia or whether our Ministers and Members of Parliament take an indifferent, nonchalant and “tidak apa” attitude to such an epithet for Malaysia.

This is in fact a test of patriotism for a Malaysian – a person who is indifferent, unconcerned and nonchalant about the infamy of the epithet of a “global kleptocracy” for the country cannot be a Malaysian patriot. Continue reading “Malaysians should vote in next general election to purge and cleanse the country of infamy of global kleptocracy if Cabinet and Parliament are not prepared to defend national dignity and reputation by getting rid of such an epithet”

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Has Barisan Nasional consensus degenerated from the original meaning of agreement by all 13 BN component parties into a perverted and corrupt version of what is unilaterally and arbitrarily decided by UMNO even in the face of objection by the other 12 BN component parties?

What is most significant about the “policy” statements the MCA and Gerakan Presidents at their respective MCA Johor State Convention and the Gerakan national delegates’ conference today is not what they said but what they did not say.

MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai brushed off the possibility of a “one to one” fight between the Opposition and the Barisan Nasional in the next national general elections as “empty talk” although this is a prospect MCA leaders fear most – not that they are comfortable with other political scenarios in the 14GE to make MCA more than a “7/11” political party.

Gerakan President Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong struck a “holier than thou” stance and railed against former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for “dabbling in unhealthy politics” with the statement that the Barisan Nasional government in three states of Perak, Terengganu and Johor could fall before the general election as a small change in state assemblymen could topple the BN state governments.

Mah suffered from an early case of amnesia when he said that a change in the top leadership and administration of a state could only be determined by a process of democracy via an election, and not by getting elected representatives to switch camp or entice them to defect – forgetting how Barisan Nasional toppled the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak under Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin as Mentri Besar in February 2009 by engineering a defection PR State Assembly members.

But what is more important is not their verbal gymnastics but their silence on the claim by the UMNO and Barisan Nasional secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor that BN has arrived at a consensus regarding PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang’s private members bill.

What is this Barisan Nasional “consensus” on Hadi’s private member’s bill? Continue reading “Has Barisan Nasional consensus degenerated from the original meaning of agreement by all 13 BN component parties into a perverted and corrupt version of what is unilaterally and arbitrarily decided by UMNO even in the face of objection by the other 12 BN component parties?”

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“Biggest corruption bust ever” more a reflection that MACC has yet to become an independent and professional anti-corruption agency to combat the scourge of corruption which has become a runaway problem tarring the country as “global kleptocracy”

This is the biggest “corruption bust ever” in the nation’s history – RM114million recovered from the top two officials of the Sabah Water Department, including RM53.7mil in cold hard cash that took more than 30 officers 15 hours to count.

Also recovered from the homes and offices of the department’s director and his deputy were nine mostly luxury vehicles, expensive watches, jewellery and 94 high-end handbags.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said the cash – RM45mil seized from the director and RM7.5mil from his deputy – was found stashed inside safes, cupboards, drawers and also a car boot.

Also seized was RM1.18mil in over half-a-dozen foreign currencies.

Among the vehicles seized were a BMW 535i (which costs RM500,000), Mercedes-Benz C300 (RM308,000), Range Rover SE V8 (RM1.1mil), Mazda6 (RM195,000), Volvo XC60 (RM270,000), Lexus ES (RM260,000), Audi A1 (RM180,000) and Ford Ranger (RM112,000) – in all, the cars total some RM3mil in value.

The luxury watches comprised brands like Patek Philippe, Tag Heuer, Rolex, Cartier and Guess while the handbags included Chanel, Burberry, Versace, Louis Vuitton and Hermes.

The two senior state civil officers were arrested by MACC yesterday and remanded for a week for investigations into alleged kickbacks involving RM3.3bil worth of federal infrastructure projects.

The corruption figure may even reach a staggering RM300 million as MACC revealed the amount of money, in cash and from accounts of the suspects, recovered so far did not include the value of properties and possible deposits made overseas. Continue reading ““Biggest corruption bust ever” more a reflection that MACC has yet to become an independent and professional anti-corruption agency to combat the scourge of corruption which has become a runaway problem tarring the country as “global kleptocracy””

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48-hour silence of top MCA, Gerakan and MIC leaders on Tengku Adnan’s claim that BN has arrived at a consensus on Hadi’s private member’s bill is more eloquent than any statement by them

The 48-hour silence of the top MCA, Gerakan and MIC leaders who are also Cabinet Ministers to the claim by the UMNO and Barisan Nasional secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor that the Barisan Nasional has arrived at a consensus regarding PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill is more eloquent than any statement anyone of them could make.

As usual, the top MCA, Gerakan and MIC leaders allow their low-level underlings to cast doubt on Adnan’s claim, but they dare not personally contradict Adnan’s statement and their silence are louder than the protestations by the MCA, Gerakan and MIC underlings.
Before the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting two Fridays ago, I had said that the BN Supreme Council had degenerated from the Barisan Nasional Federal coalition government’s highest decision-making body into a superfluous and even superannuated creature without any bite, role, authority or purpose whatsoever.

What UMNO leadership decides is the order of the day, and this is what happened to Hadi’s private member’s bill in the May meeting of Parliament. Continue reading “48-hour silence of top MCA, Gerakan and MIC leaders on Tengku Adnan’s claim that BN has arrived at a consensus on Hadi’s private member’s bill is more eloquent than any statement by them”

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Najib should seek parliamentary support through a motion when Parliament reconvenes on Oct 17 to refute allegation that Malaysia has become a global kleptocracy

Together with three DAP MPs, Teresa Kok (Seputeh), Zairil Khir Johari (Bukit Bendera) and Steven Sim (Bukit Mertajam), we made a five-day visit to Jakarta and Jogjarkata to meet with leaders of political parties and Islamic organisations as well as public intellectuals to understand the development of Islam and democracy, and the dangers of Islamic extremism, in a country with the largest Muslim population of some 220 million out of a national population of 250 million people.

One thing that struck us during the discussions we had during our visit in Jakarta and Jogjarkarta was the central place of Pancasila among the major Indonesian political and intellectual leaders in the nation-building process in the country, as compared to Malaysia, where the “establishment” political and intellectual leaders have virtually forgotten about the Malaysian counterpart to Pancasila, the Rukun Negara!

Leaders of the two largest Muslim organisations in Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, have no qualms in publicly stating, whether in private discussions or public forums, that their commitment to Pancasila was an important reason why the Islamic State concept was not suitable or appropriate for Indonesia, although it has the largest number of Muslims for any country in the world!

How many Malaysian political and intellectual leaders in the country are still committed to the five principles of Rukunegara, viz:

• Belief in God.
• Loyalty to King and Country.
• Upholding the Constitution.
• Rule of Law.
• Good Behaviour and morality. Continue reading “Najib should seek parliamentary support through a motion when Parliament reconvenes on Oct 17 to refute allegation that Malaysia has become a global kleptocracy”

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Dangers of passing a law to impose hudud

Koon Yew Yin
Malaysiakini
04.8.2016

COMMENT In two months from now, Parliament will be sitting again. What is at stake for the nation is nothing less than our way of life and our Malaysian dream.

This is because a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 will be tabled and debated at that sitting.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has been going around to claim that this bill is only to upgrade the Syariah Courts and that it has nothing to do with non-Muslims.

PAS-oriented analysts and ulama leaders have also commented that it is not really a “Hudud Bill” and that it’s passage is only intended to pave the way for PAS to enforce its version of the Islamic penal code in Kelantan. Hence they argue that its effect will be limited.

However, Hadi and his supporters are only trying to fool the public. Continue reading “Dangers of passing a law to impose hudud”

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Will the Police investigate criminal offences of embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption revealed in the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB although the AG’s Report is classified under the OSA?

I have been intrigued by the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s statement last Saturday that he had to verify from the Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang whether the revelations and exposes by the whistleblowing website Sarawak Report were genuine version of the AG’s Report.

This is because the Police should have a copy of the AG’s Report on the 1MDB.

It is over three months ago that the Police had announced a high-level team to probe the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report which is headed by none other than the IGP himself.

As the PAC report on the 1MDB is based on the AG’s Report on 1MDB, which in a most unprecedented parliamentary manoeuvre had been omitted as an appendix to the PAC Report when laid in Parliament on April 7, is the IGP implying that the Police did not have a copy of the AG’s Report on 1MDB despite over three months of investigation into the PAC Report because it is classified under the OSA?

What then is this high-level investigation which is being conducted by the police since the tabling of the PAC Report in Parliament in early April?

There seems to be only one farce after another from one national institution to another in the sorry saga of the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal! Continue reading “Will the Police investigate criminal offences of embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption revealed in the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB although the AG’s Report is classified under the OSA?”

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What has happened to the high-level police probe into the PAC Report on 1MDB headed by IGP himself after more than three months?

The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Abu Khalid said last Saturday that the police will verify with the Auditor-General, Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, whether the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB purportedly leaked by the whistleblowing website Sarawak Report was the genuine document.

He said: “We’re also not sure if the document they published is genuine. So let me discuss with the auditor-general (Ambrin Buang) first to make sure whether the document is truly the auditor-general’s report, which has been classified as secret.”

Two questions are in order.

Firstly, as a week has passed, has Khalid verified from Ambrin whether the Auditor-General’s Report on the 1MDB was the genuine report, especially as Sarawak Report is publishing the full AG’s Report on its site.

Secondly, why didn’t the Police have a copy of the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB to allow the Police to establish on its own whether the AG’s Report on 1MDB purportedly leaked by Sarawak Report was genuine? Continue reading “What has happened to the high-level police probe into the PAC Report on 1MDB headed by IGP himself after more than three months?”

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Najib administration should immediately declassify the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB not only to take the wind out of the sails of Sarawak Report but to show to the world that the Malaysian Prime Minister and government have nothing to hide about allegations of 1MDB multi-billion ringgit global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should immediately declassify the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB not only to take the wind out of the sails of the whistleblowing site, Sarawak Report, but to show to the world that the Malaysian Prime Minister and government have nothing to hide about allegations of 1MDB multi-billion ringgit global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption.

The option to keep the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB secret and classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) was never a tenable, sustainable or wise decision in this information age when information travels at the speed of light in a borderless world, especially when the decision went against all notions of good governance and principles of accountability and transparency, as well as public pledges by the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Auditor-General himself that the AG’s Report would be made available to the public.

With the announcement by the Sarawak Report website that it is publishing in full the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB, after it had carried daily exposes of the AG’s Report on 1MDB in the past few days, Najib and the Malaysian Government are only inviting global scorn, contempt and humiliation if they continue to keep the AG’s Report under wraps in Malaysia under the OSA while it is available to the world as well as to Malaysians on the borderless Internet.

The Cabinet at its meeting yesterday should have discussed the subject of the declassification of the AG’s Report to defend Malaysia’s international reputation and image. Was this subject discussed by the Ministers yesterday? Continue reading “Najib administration should immediately declassify the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB not only to take the wind out of the sails of Sarawak Report but to show to the world that the Malaysian Prime Minister and government have nothing to hide about allegations of 1MDB multi-billion ringgit global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption”

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UBS Said to Have Flagged Suspicious 1MDB Transactions to MAS

Jeffrey Voegeli and Chanyaporn Chanjaroen
Bloomberg
July 13, 2016

UBS Group AG flagged suspicious transactions linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd. to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, prompting an investigation of the accounts involved, a person familiar with the matter said.

The transactions were not immediately recognized by UBS as suspicious, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. At least $1.24 billion was transferred in 2014 from the account of a 1MDB subsidiary held at BSI SA in Lugano, Switzerland, to a UBS account in Singapore held by what appeared to be a unit of an Abu Dhabi company, U.K.-based investigative blog Sarawak Report said on July 11.

A spokeswoman for UBS declined to comment on the 1MDB transfers. When asked about the UBS case, the Singapore regulator referred to its previous statements made on March 31 and May 24. MAS has said it is conducting supervisory reviews of several financial institutions and bank accounts through which suspicious and unusual transactions have taken place, without identifying the parties involved. Continue reading “UBS Said to Have Flagged Suspicious 1MDB Transactions to MAS”

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What my father P Patto taught me

Kasthuri Patto
Malaysiakini
12th July 2016

COMMENT Today, July 12, marks the 21st anniversary of the passing of my father, P Patto.

Twenty-one years have passed and the void left behind hits hard, for not only my mother, my sister and my family but to all his old friends, party cadres, supporters and Malaysians alike, from all walks of life.

It was on a Wednesday morning that he left us so suddenly and the news shook many Malaysian comrades, parliamentarians, statesmen, leaders of nations and also from dear members of civil society.

Condolence messages poured in from all over the world via phone calls, letters, condolence cards, telegrams and bouquets of flowers. Continue reading “What my father P Patto taught me”