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Abdul Azeez should return to Baling to publicly apologise for his “balik tongsan” and other offensive remarks in Parliament or he should be voted out in 14GE as betraying the trust of the Baling electorate

The UMNO Member of Parliament for Baling, Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahman made Baling infamous in Parliament when he betrayed the trust of the voters of Baling by making offensive remarks against other races and other MPs, like his derogatory “balik tongsan” remark in Parliament early this month.

Only those who have a narrow, extremist and intolerant mindset, completely at odds with the inclusive 1Malaysia policy, could regard the Chinese or any other ethnic group as inherently “disloyal” to Malaysia, and be so irresponsible as to flippantly hurl the derogatory term “balik tongsan” against the Malaysian Chinese, which was as good as telling them to “return to mainland China”.

Abdul Azeez made the remark in Parliament against DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu, Jimmy Wong, during the committee stage of the 2016 Budget debate on the Home Ministry, causing outrage among right-thinking Members of Parliament and Malaysians.

Although Abdul Azeez, as a result of the protest by the DAP parliamentary whip, Anthony Loke (Seremban), was forced to retract the offensive and derogatory term “balik tongsan” in Parliament, he was never remorseful for his most unMalaysian conduct for he never apologised for it.

Abdul Azeez should return to Baling to publicly apologise for his “balik tongsan” and other offensive remarks in Parliament or he should be voted out in 14GE as betraying the trust of the Baling electorate.

All genuine Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, must be offended by Abdul Azeez’s “balik tongsan” remark, for it shows the utter failure of Malaysian nation-building when an UMNO Member of Parliament could make such offensive and derogatory remark against other races in the country. Continue reading “Abdul Azeez should return to Baling to publicly apologise for his “balik tongsan” and other offensive remarks in Parliament or he should be voted out in 14GE as betraying the trust of the Baling electorate”

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Has Hishammuddin’s warning that UMNO is suffering from denial syndrome and losing trust come too late?

UMNO Vice President Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today that UMNO cannot continue with it denial syndrome as it is now facing an erosion of trust and must find ways to stay relevant.

He said that UMNO must “clearly, courageously and sincerely” admit that UMNO is facing a test of trust as the new generation of Malays do not feel the sentimental connection with the party and they no longer feel like UMNO is addressing issues that concerned them.

Has Hishammuddin’s realization and warning that UMNO is suffering from denial syndrome and losing trust come too late? Continue reading “Has Hishammuddin’s warning that UMNO is suffering from denial syndrome and losing trust come too late?”

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300 cawangan Umno diupah bagi desak Najib undur, kata Ku Nan

The Malaysian Insider
Monday November 23, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, 23 Nov — Wujud gerakan dari dalam Umno sendiri untuk mendesak Presidennya Datuk Seri Najib Razak meletakkan jawatan, dedah setiausaha agung parti.

Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor berkata gerakan “orang dalam” parti itu sedang mengumpulkan 300 cawangan bagi tujuan tersebut, lapor Utusan Malaysia hari ini.

“Kita tahu ada dalang yang berlegar dalam Umno yang ingin melihat ada percanggahan dan kekeruhan berlaku dalam parti kerana sehingga kini mereka tahu bahawa Umno adalah sebuah parti yang kukuh.

“Dalang ini merupakan orang yang kecewa dengan parti. Kita tiada masalah, Umno mempunyai 25,000 cawangan seluruh negara, walaupun 300 cawa­ngan dibayar untuk membuat ke­n­yataan sedemikian, ia langsung tidak akan menjejaskan parti.

“Tindakan cawangan parti yang telah mengeluarkan kenyataan juga tidak mengikut saluran yang betul,” Tengku Adnan, juga dipanggil Ku Nan, dipetik berkata.

Beliau bagaimanapun tidak menjelaskan siapa di belakang gerakan tersusun itu. Continue reading “300 cawangan Umno diupah bagi desak Najib undur, kata Ku Nan”

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Call on Malaysian public to help the police and AG by producing evidence of Ali Tinju’s speech in Low Yat riots to lead to his prosecution under Sedition Act

The interview today of the new Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali in The Malaysian Insider on how Ali Tinju’s sedition charge had been dropped is neither convincing nor reflection of professionalism of the new Attorney-General and the police to bring to book those who openly flout the law to undermine national unity and harmony in the country.

Apandi said the sedition charge against Mohd Ali Baharom was dropped because the police could not come up with the audio recording of the alleged inflammatory remarks the ex-soldier made outside Low Yat Plaza in July.

Apandi said that without the evidence, he was unable to pursue the case.

He said:

“The actual recording was not enough. It was only a few seconds… We missed the ‘seditious’ part.

“They (the police) couldn’t find it. It wasn’t forthcoming. I told them, ‘this isn’t enough, go find more’. They said, ‘cannot find’. So that put an end to it.”
Continue reading “Call on Malaysian public to help the police and AG by producing evidence of Ali Tinju’s speech in Low Yat riots to lead to his prosecution under Sedition Act”

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Tun Dr Ismail would’ve been disappointed with current leadership, says son

by Anisah Shukry
The Malaysian Insider
8 November 2015

Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s second deputy prime minister, would have been disappointed by the state of the country’s leadership if he were alive today, his eldest son Tawfik Ismail said.

The government is paralysed and the country is “in a mess” because leaders are preoccupied with defending Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over issues, such as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and his RM2.6 billion donation, says Tawfik in an interview with The Malaysian Insider.

“I think he would have been disappointed with the way the leadership is right now,” said the 64-year-old in an interview in conjunction with the release of Drifting into Politics, a collection of writings by Dr Ismail himself.

It was also the 100th birth anniversary of Dr Ismail on November 4. Continue reading “Tun Dr Ismail would’ve been disappointed with current leadership, says son”

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As Najib’s Prime Minister popularity rating among Malay voters have fallen below 30%, the three million UMNO members must decide whether UMNO’s survival in the next general election will lie in having a new UMNO head and Prime Minister

It is reported today that at least 154 out of 191 UMNO division chiefs want the party’s supreme council to take against errant party leaders, referring to former Deputy Prime Minister and still Deputy UMNO President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former Rural and Regional Development Minister and UMNO Vice President, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, and even former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir and former Cabinet Minister and former UMNO Secretary-General Tan Sri Sanusi Junid.

This is the result of an internal poll in UMNO conducted among 170 UMNO division leaders in an exclusive WhatsApp programme.

However, the result may be different if a poll is conducted among the three million UMNO members as it is becoming quite clear that for the first time since Merdeka, UMNO has never been so fragmented and fractured between the 300 UMNO chieftains versus the three million UMNO members.

The 300 UMNO chieftains are primarily Umno Supreme Council members and Umno division chiefs who are mostly in the pockets of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak the majority of whom will toe the Najib line, as compared to the three million Umno members most of whom must be very embarrassed by the two Najib mega-scandals of the RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation”, and the lack of political will to resolve these two scandals until they mushroom to become international scandals, and the move to penalise UMNO leaders for speaking up against these two scandals.

All over the country, the question that is commonly asked is how long Najib can survive as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, whether he would suffer the fate of his predecessor, Tun Abdullah in having to give up the Prime Ministership before the end of his term. Continue reading “As Najib’s Prime Minister popularity rating among Malay voters have fallen below 30%, the three million UMNO members must decide whether UMNO’s survival in the next general election will lie in having a new UMNO head and Prime Minister”

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#Merah169 youths say stung by toll rates hiked by government they defended

by Syed Jaymal Zahiid
Malay Mail Online
October 28, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 ― After genuine belief that their lives could be improved by joining the controversial #Merah169 rally, the sense of pride and optimism among the many poor urban Malay youths who took part in that movement is now fading.

Less than two months after the controversial gathering here in the capital city, ostensibly to uphold Malay dignity in the face of Chinese insults, the angst that drove them to proudly don the movement’s colours has found a new and ironic source ― #Merah169’s own backer, Umno.

“My family was upset about the toll hike. My mom only sells kuih and my dad has little income. Can you imagine what the increase will do to our expenses?

“And who did this? It’s the Umno government… it’s a Malay party,” Alif Fikri, who was interviewed by Malay Mail Online in a special report on urban Malay racism, said when met last week. Continue reading “#Merah169 youths say stung by toll rates hiked by government they defended”

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Battle between Najib’s 300 UMNO chieftains and the three million UMNO members will be a major factor to determine the fate of Malaysia

The reservations and opposition by UMNO leaders, like the UMNO Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Vice President Datuk Shafie Apdal and former UMNO Deputy President Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad about the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s role in the two mega scandals in the country – the RM50 billion 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion ‘donation’ in Najib’s personal banking accounts – and by the 14 UMNO Branches in Telok Kemang calling for Najib’s resignation must be given serious consideration.

In fact, the battle between Najib’s 300 UMNO chieftains and the three million UMNO members will be a major factor to determine the fate of Malaysia, whether Malaysia will hurtle headlong to become a rogue and failed state because of breakdown of rule of law, rampant corruption and abuses of power, and the collapse of good governance or whether Malaysia can pick herself up, re-strategise and reunite to strike forward to fulfill our national potential when we were on verge of becoming one of the Asian tigers before the 1997 financial crisis.

I agree with former International Trade Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz that Malaysia can rise from its current state again as the country has all the factors for success. Continue reading “Battle between Najib’s 300 UMNO chieftains and the three million UMNO members will be a major factor to determine the fate of Malaysia”

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Najib’s 2016 Budget made history as a budget which could not generate any budget euphoria as it was snuffed out within seconds of delivery by phalanx of Opposition MPs standing up and displaying “Mana RM2.6 billion” placard

Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2016 Budget made history as the first Malaysian budget which could not generate any budget euphoria as it was snuffed out within seconds of delivery by the phalanx of Opposition MPs standing up and displaying the “Mana RM2.6 billion” placard.

Normally, the budget presented by a Finance Minister in Parliament on a Friday would be able to generate a budget euphoria for weeks, or at least for the immediate weekend, with glowing economic reports and superlative accounts of the government’s budgetary plans, but Najib’s 2016 Budget failed dismally on this account, with the country overcast with hazy sky and noxious air which for weeks had closed schools, disrupted the economy and created havoc in the life of Malaysians.

In fact, events in the 24 hours after Najib’s delivery of the 2016 Budget had continued to be relentless in stamping out any ember for any post-budget euphoria, for instance:

1. the report by The Australian yesterday that a sixth foreign government, Australia, has joined five other countries, namely Switzerland, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore and United States in the ever-widening international inquiry into Malaysia’s biggest scandal in history, the RM50 billion 1MDB (well exceeding the RM42 billion normally associated with the scandal, according to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his last speech as Deputy Prime Minister to the UMNO Cheras Division on July 26); Continue reading “Najib’s 2016 Budget made history as a budget which could not generate any budget euphoria as it was snuffed out within seconds of delivery by phalanx of Opposition MPs standing up and displaying “Mana RM2.6 billion” placard”

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Malaysia’s Mahathir: strongman turns activist to unseat former protégé

Oliver Holmes and David Munk in Kuala Lumpur
Guardian
23 October 2015

‘Father of modern Malaysia’ brought down two former allies groomed to succeed him. Can he topple prime minister Najib Razak, his most stubborn heir?

He makes a most unlikely blogger. And, for many, an even more unlikely full-throated advocate of freedom of speech.

But that is the role Mahathir Mohamad has carved out for himself in Malaysia, the nation he is credited with transforming into a regional economic powerhouse.

As he enters his 91st year, he has become the country’s most prominent and undoubtedly most effective activist.

He has come out of retirement to throw allegations of arbitrary arrest, throttling of the press and corruption against current prime minister Najib Razak – similar to accusations that were lobbed against him during his own premiership from 1981 to 2003.

Sitting in his cavernous office and surrounded by gifts from world leaders, the man whose two decades in power are described by rights groups as autocratic has slipped seemingly with ease into his new role. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Mahathir: strongman turns activist to unseat former protégé”

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Malaysia’s Eventual Fall From Grace

STRATFOR Global Intelligence
Analysis
OCTOBER 22, 2015

Forecast

  • In the near-term, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will survive efforts to oust him over mounting corruption allegations.
  • Whether or not Najib holds onto power longer, the years leading up to the next general elections will be turbulent ones.
  • Political stability, crucial to Malaysia’s economic rise, will be challenged by demographic changes that stress the country’s delicate ethnic balance.

Analysis

A deepening political crisis in Malaysia is highlighting the country’s longstanding ethnic divides and its uncertain road ahead. Since early this year, Prime Minister Najib Razak has been caught in a scandal surrounding the heavily indebted 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund. Among other points of controversy, Najib is struggling to explain the source of nearly $700 million deposited in his personal account.
Continue reading “Malaysia’s Eventual Fall From Grace”

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The final countdown, earthquakes and iPhone

Liew Chin Tong
Malaysiakini
19 Oct 2015

MP SPEAKS Much as it sounds like cliché, our time is indeed both the best of times and the worst of times. In such a confusing time, clarity is in short supply.

Three things may help us to describe the state of affairs in Malaysian politics better: that the final countdown is imminent; that there were major political earthquakes, tectonic shifts and realignments in 2015; and that the voting public is waiting for something transformative, a bit like the iPhone when it was first created.

The final countdown

The joint press conference by former rivals Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah surprised some of us. Many of us were even amazed with the unprecedented statement by Majlis Raja-Raja Melayu (the Rulers Council) on 1MDB and the falling ringgit, as the council usually restricts its pronouncements to matters relating to Islam and national unity.

Since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim from the government in 1998, Malaysia has been a nation impatiently waiting for change. But change has been meagre, if any.

And we are now entering another crisis – a ‘perfect storm’ crisis that engulfs the nation on multiple fronts – politics, economics, finances, ethnic relations and so on. Continue reading “The final countdown, earthquakes and iPhone”

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Political myths in Malaysia that must be debunked if Malaysia is to move forward to fulfill our destiny to be a world model of an united, harmonious, moderate and successful plural society

There are several political myths in Malaysia that must be debunked if Malaysia is to move forward to fulfill our destiny to be a world model of an united, harmonious, moderate and successful plural society instead of becoming basket-case of a failed, or even worse, rogue state.

Some of these political myths are:

1. Umno is Malay and Malay is UMNO.

Nothing can be further from the truth as right from the first general election in 1959, UMNO was not the only political party representing the Malays in the country.

Arising from this myth, other myths have been born – the myth that Malay rights and interests are under threat because UMNO is fighting a battle of political survival and that Malay rights and interests will be the first casualty if UMNO is ousted from Putrajaya in the next general election.

Whether Najib is ousted as Prime Minister or UMNO replaced as the leading political party in the government coalition, Malay political power is not threatened as a new Prime Minister will be a Malay and new coalition will be Malay-dominated reflecting Malaysia’s demography. Continue reading “Political myths in Malaysia that must be debunked if Malaysia is to move forward to fulfill our destiny to be a world model of an united, harmonious, moderate and successful plural society”

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With Hishammuddin clarification, the UMNO “Magnificent 7” who are currently under investigation for disciplinary action cannot be related to any “no confidence” motion against Najib in the forthcoming meeting of Parliament

UMNO Vice President and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday that former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had not betrayed UMNO by calling on the Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down as Prime Minister and the voters of Pekan to vote out Najib in Pekan.

Hishammuddin said: “In terms of the party, it is not a betrayal. (But) it should not go on and should not be entertained as it could break the party apart.”

Hishammuddin said such attacks could damage the party but so far, no damage has been done.

With Hishammuddin clarification, UMNO/BN MPs do not have to feel as if they are traitors to the nation or party if they are inclined to the position that Najib should not continue as Prime Ministere and want to discuss with the Opposition the proposal of no confidence motion against Najib as PM. Continue reading “With Hishammuddin clarification, the UMNO “Magnificent 7” who are currently under investigation for disciplinary action cannot be related to any “no confidence” motion against Najib in the forthcoming meeting of Parliament”

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Young Chinese in Malaysia ‘delusional’ to think Malay domination can change, says top Singapore diplomat

Malay Mail Online
October 6, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese youth are “delusional” if they believe that Malay dominance in politics can be replaced by a change in the system, Singapore’s ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan has said.

Instead, the top Singaporean diplomat said this dominance will be defended by any means, including a possible political alliance between Malay nationalist ruling party Umno and opposition Islamist party PAS. Continue reading “Young Chinese in Malaysia ‘delusional’ to think Malay domination can change, says top Singapore diplomat”

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Can an UMNO/BN leader declare that Najib should step down as Prime Minister without being disciplined or sacked for breach of party discipline?

Two former top Barisan Nasional leaders have openly called for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down as Prime Minister – Tun Mahathir, former longest-serving Prime Minister and UMNO President for 22 years and Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik, MCA’s former longest-serving President for 17 years.

Although the incumbent MCA Ministers, Wee Ka Siong and Ong Ka Chuan have in double-quick time dissociated the MCA leadership from Ling’s stand, there is no doubt that Mahathir and Ling’s call on Najib to step down as Prime Minister has struck a great resonance among the ordinary UMNO and MCA membership.

This support for the call on Najib to step down as Prime Minister will increase when Najib continues to be incapable of coming clean on the two mega scandals of the RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal banking accounts – compounded by Najib being the first Prime Minister or President not only in Asia but the world to be probed as a kleptocrat by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) under its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative 2010.

It is a matter of grave national concern that two weeks after the New York Times first reported about the Najib probe by US DOJ under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, neither the Prime Minister nor the Malaysian government could categorically come out with a denial. Continue reading “Can an UMNO/BN leader declare that Najib should step down as Prime Minister without being disciplined or sacked for breach of party discipline?”

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Has Najib lost confidence in Saifuddin as CEO of Global Movement of Moderates and looking for a new candidate?

The mounting pressure for action to be taken against Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, including open calls for his expulsion from UMNO, raises the question whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has lost confidence in Saifuddin as CEO of Global Movement of Moderates and is looking for a replacement for Saifuddin.

This is one of the items Najib should clarify today on his return from Expo Milano 2015.

At the beginning of his fourth speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Najib recounted how five years ago he had stood before the same assembly and called for a Global Movement – of Moderates of all religions and all countries – to marginalize extremists, reclaim the centre, and shape the agenda towards peace and pragmatism.

He said Malaysia had followed up his call with both practical action and by building intellectual capacity.

What has Malaysia to show in terms of the “practical action” and the building of “intellectual capacity” for a home-grown Movement of Moderates? Continue reading “Has Najib lost confidence in Saifuddin as CEO of Global Movement of Moderates and looking for a new candidate?”

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Malaysia and the Race Card

Wall Street Journal
29th Sept 2015

Minorities become scapegoats as Najib tries to keep power.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s fight for political survival has divided the ruling United Malay National Organization and hurt the nation’s economy. Now it is sparking racial discord. Malaysia’s history of ethnic strife, including the 1969 riots in which hundreds of Chinese were killed, makes this development especially troubling.

At the end of August, a series of rallies by the reform movement Bersih demanded that Mr. Najib resign because of corruption allegations that he denies. The main Malay opposition party PAS didn’t take part as it did in past Bersih rallies, so the crowd of at least 50,000 was mostly made up of Chinese and Indian minorities.

That gave Mr. Najib’s supporters a pretext to claim that the main ethnic Chinese opposition party, the Democratic Action Party, is part of a conspiracy to bring down the Prime Minister and take away the affirmative-action privileges reserved for the Malay majority. On Sept. 16 the most radical hotheads, known as red shirts, tried to rally in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, scene of the worst violence in 1969. Continue reading “Malaysia and the Race Card”

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Political ‘earthquakes’ that realigned Malaysian politics (Part 1)

— Liew Chin Tong
Malay Mail Online
September 25, 2015

SEPTEMBER 25 — In the wake of an earthquake, tectonic plates will shift and realign. It takes time before gradually stabilising. In the process of seismic shifting, instead of hoping for a more stable surface, it would be better to reflect on the possible changes after the earthquake.

The spectrum of Malaysian politics experienced three great political earthquakes that caused shifting and realignment. After each shaking, the scenario that emerged was a previously unthinkable one. Once the tectonic plates shift, the outcome is a change that will never be the same again.

The first pre-Merdeka pan-Malayan General Election in July 1955 saw the success of the Alliance, using the UMNO-MCA-MIC formula. Continue reading “Political ‘earthquakes’ that realigned Malaysian politics (Part 1)”