Umno ahead of annual assembly: Wracked by 'civil war' & DEADLY

UMNO has been getting a lot of flak of late due to the antics and misguided actions of its leaders including its current president Najib Razak and its former president Mahathir Mohamad. But not all of UMNO's 3-million-odd members are like its elitist top leadership, given to greed and corruption and relying on racism, race championing and religious bigotry to bail themselves out when the going gets tough.

 

Ordinary UMNO members and supporters are like other Malaysians - decent and desirous of a prosperous and happy future for themselves and families. They too are at the mercy of the UMNO elite. So are the lower ranking UMNO leaders, the Opposition, the economy, the judiciary, the civil service, the flora and fauna, the rivers and hills - all in the country are at the mercy of the UMNO elite.

 

But is the UMNO top leadership really so powerful or is this because they have been allowed to get their own way for so long that they have made themselves seem invincible? For example, top UMNO leaders can instruct the police to catch anybody, fabricate all the evidence and charges, prosecute in court and then pack the hapless person off to jail. And nobody can do anything about it! Just ask past victims such as Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh - all three Opposition leaders have suffered at the hands of the UMNO elite.

 

But is this power or abuse of power? The sudden dawning of consciousness - whether from education, the Internet or sheer evolution and  accompanied by growing public anger - that such behavior is wrong and cannot be condoned is certainly a key spanner thrown into the UMNO works. It brings to an inevitable end an era that Prime Minister Najib Razak and former premier Mahathir Mohamad still hope to cling onto. Based on past record, to maintain power the UMNO 'warlords' have never and cannot be expected to hesitate to trample on democracy or abuse human rights.

 

But time waits for no man or woman, and UMNO too will have to move on. Members may not realize it but change is happening in their party. The initial stages may be crude and in the form of intense never-before-seen factional infighting, but the implosion that is bound to come will allow the pus to finally exit.

 

In the meantime, it is everyman and woman for him and herself in UMNO, currently the most-watched and dangerous party in Malaysia, capable of inflicting not only enormous damage to itself, its members but also to the rest of the nation.

 

Muhyiddin Yassin, the outcast

Obviously Najib and his cousin Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein being from the Tun Razak-Tun Hussein clan feel that they have every right to control UMNO and rule Malaysia forever. After all if Mahathir could govern Malaysia for 22-years, what more they with their 'aristocratic' political heritage.

 

The cousins certainly believe they are strong enough to take on Mahathir. They have no need for Muhyiddin, he is not on their radar at all. The current 'plan' is for Najib to continue to be the UMNO president and Prime Minister of Malaysia while Hishamuddin is promoted to be his deputy. This is why Muhyiddin is set to lose his post as the deputy premier if the cousins have their way.

 

At 64, Muhyiddin will have to really hang in there and work doubly hard if he wants to retain his place in both the Cabinet and the party. He would have to show complete obedience to either Najib or Hisham for them to accept him ito their circle.

This is why Muhyiddin has no choice but to allow himself to become the 'self-appointed' henchman for Mahathir Mohamad. He needs Mahathir, who is arguably the most powerful 'warlord' in UMNO now to keep the cousins at bay.

 

Mahathir, the king maker

Mahathir on the other hand knows he cannot depend on his sons; they are not clever enough. The 87-year-old former PM has only one hope, that his youngest boy Mukhriz will follow in his footsteps and take over as the new 'Don' in UMNO. Sad to say, at 46, Mukhriz is still not up to the mark but as far as Mahathir is concerned, Mukhriz will have to do. Mirzan and Mokhzani - his other two sons - have even less political talent while his daughter Marina has never shown interest to learn the political ropes from her dad.

This is why Mahathir and Muhyiddin are able to form a symbiotic-parasitic relationship. Both need something from the other. Muhyiddin needs shelter and support, while Mahathir needs someone who will do the dirty work and cut a track for Mukhriz to climb up and trump the cousins.

 

Muhyiddin has always taken care to show a different style from Najib's. He seldom praises or publicly shows support for Najib's policies and programs. He is especially disapproving of those that threaten the hegemony and money-making 'rights' of the party's warlords and is quick to label these as being either not in the interest of Malays or the Muslims.

To many party old-timers, the Muhyiddin-Najib face-off is similar to the Musa Hitam-Mahathir challenge. Like Muhyiddin, Musa was practically on his own when he tried to take on Mahathir and this is why Musa failed.

 

And this is also why Muhyiddin is trying so hard to win Mahathir's support. He knows he will end up like Musa, relegated to the political fringes if he does not shore up his defences. But so far, the wily Mahathir has refused to fully throw his support behind Muhyiddin, supporting him discreetly and not on all issues, most notably on education and the use of English in teaching Math and Science.

 

Publicly, Mahathir has still been expressing support for Najib but that can always change and in the blink of an eye too. Politically ruthless, Mahathir would think nothing of pulling the rug from under Najib's feet - as he did previously to undermine, and later oust, Badawi.

 

Empty or real threat to SACK

Muhyiddin raised eyebrows when he recently threatened to sack those who sabotaged UMNO especially in the run-up to the coming 13th general election. But who are the people he was referring to? Who are the most likely saboteurs?

 

Certainly, it won't be the ordinary UMNO members. The last thing they would want to do is to spend their own money on fruitless pursuits - what can they gain from such activity? It would be different of course if they were paid by their party seniors to create mischief, but this is unlikely to be what Muhyiddin meant when he used the word 'sabotage'.

 

If Umno members are deeply angered, as they were in 1999 in the aftermath of the sacking and jailing of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim on trumped-up sodomy charges, they would just vote for the Pakatan Rakyat instead of BN. Or they may spoil their votes.

This is actually the worst form of damage and Umno leaders would do well to keep their members happy, but so far, they have been taking their party for granted, engrossed in their own factional tussling and backbiting.

 

So that leaves the senior leaders in UMNO. Exactly how serious is Muhyiddin in his threat to punish these leaders? So many have brought disgrace and shame to UMNO including himself.

 

Najib too is corruption-tainted and unable to shake off the perception that he and his wife Rosmah Mansor are involved in the controversial Altantuya Shaariibuu murder. Even Isa Samad, the former Negri Sembilan chief minister found guilty of money politics, was allowed to contest in Bagan Pinang and rewarded with the cushy and extremely well-paid job of being the FELDA chairman.

 

Such dubious credential are of course a huge liability to UMNO and certainly a drag on its chances in defending the federal government come GE13. But carrying political 'baggage' and refusing to step aside for those with clean records are not likely to constitute sabotage to Muhyiddin. After all he would have to sack himself if they did.

Sabotage to you, loyalty to me!

 

To Muhyiddin, sabotage is most likely to mean someone doing something to block his path to the PM's chair. Who are those most clearly loyal to Najib? At the moment apart from Hisham, Information Minister Rais Yatim, Minister in the PM's Office Nazri Aziz and UMNO secretary-general Tengku Adnan are considered to be the PM's men. Would Muhyiddin dare to go after any of these leaders or would he attack the layers below - the divisions chiefs, branch chiefs, secretaries, advisers and strategists who would be the ones doing the actual dirty work?

 

Another point to consider is that infighting is raging hot and fierce throughout UMNO to the extent that Najib is expected to pounce on it as an excuse to delay the GE13 until next year. In fact, he has just announced that the party's annual assembly will be held from Nov 27 to Dec 1 and that the party elections would be held only after the country's general election.

 

Of course, the mainstream media has spun this around, and that the annual assembly could be postponed if GE13 were called. Really? September is already nearing an end. Why announce an event as important to UMNO as its annual meeting with such short notice if there is no intention to see it through? If Najib is so whimsical as to be able to suddenly decide he has been 'inspired' to call GE13 after Hari Raya Haji in late October, this completely debunks the myth the mainstream media has been creating to make him look good - that he is meticulous in his preparation. If anything, such impetuosity would only confirm a chronic inability to be decisive.

 

Most of all Najib should stop lying to the people. Who does not know that UMNO would want to gather all its delegates, give them the pep talk of the year, rouse up feelings of racial supremacy and yet at the same time stir up the false sense that Malays would perish if BN lost before sending them home to hang out the party flags, and convince the rest of their families and friends to vote for UMNO-BN. It is a certainty that rallying the troops would top the agenda for this year's UMNO annual assembly.

 

Relax, no sackings or purges until after GE13 - then WATCH OUT!

So Muhyiddin may have just been trying to sound important and powerful when he warned saboteurs would be sacked. Tough warlords like Mahathir would laugh till their tummies ached. When infighting is threatening to finish off UMNO, how could Muhyiddin or even Najib possibly dare to sack anyone? If they did, the party would implode even more quickly.

 

Perhaps, after the GE13. In fact, sackings and ousters will be the order of the day whether BN wins GE13 or not. If the federal government is taken by the Pakatan, the first head to roll is course Najib's. The purge will carry on until all those whom his successor - most likely to be Muhyiddin - does not like are removed from positions of influence.

 

If BN retains the federal government with a result worse than the 2008 general election, UMNO would still be wracked by instability. The difference is that there would be greater decorum in the way the 'crocodiles' are allowed to fight in their pit. UMNO would still be the governing party and it would not do to behave like a band of cut-throat pirates out to gobble the crown jewels.

 

But the outcome would not be much different. Najib would still have to go, although he may be given more time to make a 'graceful' exit. And unless the secret deals currently bubbling deep under the surface find the momentum to break up, such as Tengku Razaleigh gaining the support he still badly lacks as of now, plodding Muhyiddin will be crowned the new UMNO top dog. And sad to say - for Malaysians - their new PM!

Rooster No.1

 

Of course, if BN stunned all predictions and performed better than in 2008 or perhaps even regained their two-thirds of the 222-seats in Parliament, then Najib would crow. He would be Rooster No. 1. Rosmah would have all the overseas trips and doctorates if she so craved. Another dynasty would be entrenched, the Mahathirs would be kicked out. Hisham can then finally breathe easy and look forward to his reward of taking over once Najib is ready to relinquish the post.

 

Amazing? Comical? Stage-managed? Unbelievable? Then what about the antics of Perkasa, the butt-exercising army veterans at the home of Bersih chief Ambiga Sreenevasan, the disappearing immigration records of the murdered Altantuya Shaariibuu, the miraculous escape from prosecution of Mahathir and his Lingam tape cronies?

 

Sad to say, even after 55 years of independence from colonial rule, this is still the state of play in Malaysia's political arena. For how long more will such backward politics reign depends on how Malaysians vote in GE13. But even if they continued to choose UMNO-BN, reforms will still come to Malaysia eventually, although it may take another 55 years! Happily for Malaysians, this is the least likely scenario. Isn't it?

 

 

 

 

 

Malaysia Chronicle

With 13m voters now, urgent call to clean up electoral roll

File photo of people checking their status at a polling booth in Kuching in last year’s Sarawak state elections. 

With 13 million registered voters to date, the Election Commission (EC) now faces increasing pressure to clean up the electoral roll and conduct separate polls for areas under both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The Selangor PR government has openly declared it will not hold state elections when the federal BN calls them unless the EC is able to show the gazetted electoral roll to be used in GE13 has been cleared of dubious entries.

In its latest electoral statistics gazetted last August 16 made available to The Malaysian Insider, the EC recorded the number of registered voters as 13,052,374 people, out of whom 12,778,127 fall into the category of ordinary voters while 274,247 are recorded as absent voters. The latter group encompasses the armed forces, the police and overseas voters.

Selangor recorded the largest number of overseas voters, currently standing at 579 people, while the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur has the highest number of absent voters with 40,543 people. This is followed by Perak with 38,367 voters and Johor a distant third with 25,058 voters.

Kuala Lumpur FT also has the highest number of absent voters from within the ranks of the armed forces, totalling 24,979 people, while Selangor has the largest number of absent voters from within the police force, with 16,525 people.

The electoral law provides for absent voters to cast their ballots through the post even if the person is stationed within the voting constituency. This lack of transparency in the voting process has led to various allegations of gerrymandering and tampering with the ballot papers.

DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke has urged the EC to speed up cleaning its voter registry.





In the last general election in 2008, the ruling BN coalition succeeded in grabbing only one out of 11 parliamentary seats in the Kuala Lumpur FT, namely Setiawangsa. The DAP won five, PKR scored four and PAS took the remaining one — leading to the most successful partnership among the three opposition parties in the last decade. 

DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke has urged the EC to speed up cleaning its voter registry, saying the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reform had stated that it would only take four months to do so.

“It has been four months since the report was out but we are still receiving complaints, that’s why we want the EC to speed up the cleaning process.

“We urge the EC to show commitment in this cleaning process, and will continue to press them to update the data or explain this issue,” said Loke, who is both a federal and state lawmaker in Negri Sembilan.

He said cleaning the electoral roll was still being carried out and the Malaysian Microelectronic System Institute (MIMOS) had found dubious voter names in the roll.
“In the parliamentary report, MIMOS found there were 324 addresses registered with more than 100 voters, and 938 addresses with more than 51 to 100 voters.

“The overall voters were more than 100,000,” he said.

However, the deputy chairman of the EC, Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, has made it known that he disagrees with Selangor’s suggestion of separate poll dates for the state election.

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/with-13m-voters-now-urgent-call-to-clean-up-electoral-roll/

Will BN take a hit over Talam and water?

The Talam Corporation issue is now a bone of contention. And it is not surprising as the name ‘Talam’ itself can be said to be controversial, in the Cantonese dialect, that is.
For ‘Talam accented properly and translated literally in Cantonese is ‘hit-collapse’. But used in a sentence it means to defeat one’s rivals, for example: “We will ‘ta-lum’ all our rivals in the competition.”

BN and especially MCA, most notably Labis MP, Chua Tee Yong, has been using the Talam Corporation issue to ‘ta-lum’ the Selangor state government helmed by Pakatan Rakyat.
So far, the Pakatan Selangor state government is holding up well. Although much time and energy has been expended to clarify matters, the state government’s explanations rarely get highlighted in the mainstream media in a prominent manner.

The Talam debate on Sept 12 saw the Labis MP refusing to debate with Pakatan MPs: Tony Pua (DAP, Petaling Jaya Utara), Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS, Kuala Selangor) and William Leong (PKR, Selayang).

Of course, Chua does not have the level to debate with Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. Thus the debate arranged by MCA on Sept 12, knowing that Khalid will be away, is a cheap publicity stunt in order for MCA to do damage control as the sudden emergence of the Tan Koon Swan saga will surely greatly damage MCA.

It is impossible for MCA not to know that Khalid will be away on that particular day. This is therefore an MCA stunt to claw back popularity from the Chinese who are increasingly losing respect for this party who only voices out on selective issues.

Most conspicuously missing is the MCA voice in the Jalan Sultan-Save The Heritage issue where the property owners are unhappy with the MRT tunnelling beneath their properties. The property owners’ contention is that the MRT can tunnel beneath Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (formerly Foch Avenue) in front of Kota Raya, Kuala Lumpur.

According to Shah Alam PAS MP, Khalid Samad, MCA does not know all the facts and figures. Said Khalid Samad: “KPMG which audited the Selangor state government’s handling of the Talam matter is very well-known, established and professional auditor and it has cleared the Selangor state government of any wrong-doing.”

“The Selangor government has recovered all its loans and got back the lands. The state government has profited from the whole venture and the auditors even praised the Selangor government’s professionalism in this matter,” he added.

BN’s weapons
Till to-date the water and Talam issues are BN’s weapons to hit out at the Selangor government in order to cause its collapse. But it is MCA which is going to get hit and collapse before the 13th general election as MCA has almost lost all credibility among the Chinese voters. Only BN’s cronies support MCA now.

BN has never sat still since it lost Selangor in the previous general election. It has continuously tried every trick in the book to recapture Selangor by hook or by crook. This is not surprising as Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is the head of Selangor Umno. Previously he was the head of Perak Umno and we know what happened there.

Many people are now getting very tired and fed up with the intense and non-stop political activity since March 2008.

It is BN which is responsible for this as it controls all the public institutions, the mainstream media and the government machinery which it enjoys using at the expense of the rakyat. Pakatan has no choice but to respond to BN’s attacks and it is this factor that contributed to the intense politicking.

BN leaders seem to ignore the fact that their politicking does not augur well for the investment climate. The Felda shares have suddenly dropped to below the psychological benchmark of RM5 and this is not a healthy sign.

PAS Kuala Selangor MP, Dzulkefly Ahmad, mentioned that the incoming foreign direct investment (FDI) figure is RM7 billion but the outgoing is RM16 billion. That means the outflow is RM9 billion.

The BN federal government keeps harping on the inflow figure but forgets to inform the citizens of the outflow figure and this shows that the government is adept at being economic on the truth.

With so much hidden under the carpet, we will not be able to know the truth concerning the nation’s economic health until an implosion occurs. By then, it will already be too late.
The BN federal government cannot hold on much longer. After winning the 13th general election, it will surely increase the price of RON95 by leaps and bounds as had happened after the March 2008 general election. The goods and services tax (GST) will then be introduced and this will certainly burden the poor and the low-wage earner.

The situation in Malaysia is dire. But the incumbent government is telling the rakyat: “Everything is fine. You are in good hands. The economy is robust and thriving. BN has a proven track record unlike Pakatan Rakyat.”

Proven track record aside, we need to see how the government is going to curb expenditure in the 2013 Budget which will be tabled on Sept 28. By right the Auditor-General’s Report should also be tabled on the same day.

But last year, the budget was tabled on Oct 7 and the Auditor-General’s Report was only tabled on Oct 24, which was 17 days late. This is against parliamentary procedure. Let us see whether the same bad practice will again be adopted this year. By the way, the budget will of course be passed because the opposition MPs are outnumbered.

PAS assures Hindraf better life for Indians

Waythamoorthy has a fruitful meeting with spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and it could pave way for strong electoral ties between Pakatan and Hindraf

 
PAS has assured Hindraf Makkal Sakti that marginalised ethnic Malaysian Indians would have a better future if Pakatan Rakyat captures Putrajaya in the next election.
PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat assured that “things would be different under Pakatan” to Hindraf supremo P Waythamoorthy during a meeting on Thursday morning.
Hindraf national coordinator W Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy had explained to Nik Aziz of the human rights violations against the Indian community under Umno’s misrule.
He said Waythamoorthy told the PAS leader how most working class Indians have been  excluded and isolated from the country’s mainstream development since independence.
“Tuan Guru Nik Aziz listened attentively on the plight of marginalised Indians raised by Waythamoorthy.
“The Menteri Besar was symphatetic and assured us that under Pakatan rule things would be different,” said Sambulingam.
The private meeting between Nik Aziz and Waythamoorthy was held at the Kelantan Menteri Besar’s home.
As Nik Aziz was not feeling well, the meeting, originally scheduled at the Menteri Besar’s office, was moved to the PAS leader’s home.
Waythamoorthy also held a separate meeting with PAS vice president and Kelantan executive councillor Husam Musa in his Kota Bahru office the same day.
PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu was present.
Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy and the PAS leaders held discussions on forging electoral ties between Hindraf and Pakatan to face Barisan Nasional.

Win-win partnership
Waythamoorthy also assured Husam and Mat Sabu that Hindraf was willing to deploy its members as elections volunteers for Pakatan in Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Negeri Sembilan.
“Waythamoorthy reiterated Hindraf’s commitment to help Pakatan on the understanding that there should be a strategic win-win partnership between the parties,” said Sambulingam.
Waythamoorthy has also briefed both leaders on the displacement of about 800,000 estate workers since the 70s due to the country’s unscrupulous urbanisation programme.
Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy told them that these estate workers were systematically excluded from the government’s mainstream socio-economic master plan for decades.
He added that the PAS leaders were enlightened on how estate workers were denied land, house and cash compensations and even job opportunities.
“Waythamoorthy explained how estate workers were relegated from a vibrant pool of human resources to forgotten urban poor,” said Sambulingam.
The Hindraf chair also highlighted the plight of about 350,000 stateless Indians, who were denied proper jobs or education, own properties and even get their marriages registered.
Both the meetings were facilitated by Mat Sabu.
Waythamoorthy, who returned to Malaysia on Aug 1 after a five-year self-imposed stay in London, also met DAP national chairman Karpal Singh in Penang on Aug 12.
Waythamoorthy thanked Karpal for his support and legal assistance to the Hindraf activists who were detained without trial under the now repealed Internal Security Act.
The meeting between Waythamoorthy, a leading Indian rights activist and Muslim leaders from PAS could pave way for a strong electoral ties between Pakatan and Hindraf.

If it happens, Hindraf could help sway lost Indian votes from BN, boosting Pakatan chances to capture federal powers in next election.

NYANYUK - HALLUCINATION

In the Malay language, this is known as "nyanyuk"! This is aptly applied to people of age who talks nonsense and without sense !

VERY WELL WRITTEN AND MUST BE READ BY ALL MALAYSIAN WHO INDEED WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR TUN !


Is the Tun Hallucinating

In an open letter to Mahathir, P Ramakrishnan takes to task the former premier for his outrageous statements about the Pakatan administrations in Penang and Selangor of late.

My dear Tun Dr Mahathir, I’m at a loss as to whether you are hallucinating or failing to see the reality. Your views on Penang and Selangor are misconceived and misplaced. You come across as a dishonest politician determined to score political points and mislead Malaysian voters. You do no credit to yourself nor do you live up to your reputation as an elder statesman (Bernama, 29 January 2012).

Your statement, “They have already been given a lot of chances. A lot of unhappy things have happened in Penang, the same (is happening) in Selangor,” does not make any sense at all. “They have been given a lot of chances”, you unreasonably claim.

Pakatan only came to power on March 8, 2008. They have been in office only for four short years. What chances were given to them and who gave them those chances? What are you talking about? What miracles were you expecting them to perform in this short period of time?

 

Compare their short term of office to the Barisan Nasional’s nearly 55 years of tenure – truthfully and honestly. (22 years of which were under Dr.M, the longest PM in Malaysia who could have done so much more!). We can justifiably throw back at the BN the very words you had uttered: “They (BN) have already been given a lot of chances.

 

A lot of unhappy things have happened in Penang, the same (is happening) in Selangor.” This is indeed a valid observation requiring an honest answer from you, dear Tun.

Indeed, 55 years is a very long time. It is more than half a century. The BN have been given all the chances it wanted and needed. But what have the BN achieved during their long tenure in office except undermining our unity and keeping the people apart? Our unity has been destroyed by senseless and thoughtless policies and statements without a care for the welfare of the majority of Malaysians who are peace-loving and poor. Yes, Tun, if anybody had been given too much chance it is the BN. Indeed, what more can the BN do which they had failed to do during these 55 years? What miracles can the BN now perform to transform this country into a haven for all citizens and provide them with a dignified livelihood?


What do you actually mean by claiming, “They have been given the chance? What’s there left to try. If we allow the situation to deteriorate badly, it will be difficult to repair.”

 

Your rambling statement, “If we allow the situation to deteriorate badly, it will be difficult to repair” comes across as ridiculous and garrulous. What has the Pakatan done that has brought about the deterioration? What is that they are doing that would render the problem beyond repair? Please be specific and enumerate the wrongdoings of the Pakatan.


Tun, you should not make sweeping claims that are without merit. Many Malaysians are truly disappointed and disillusioned with you and justifiably feel that you have out-lived your usefulness as a political leader. You had your time and you did things the way you wanted to. That period is over and done with. There is nothing more for you to do.

Both Penang and Selangor have attracted the biggest FDI totalling more than RM15bn, which is unmatched by the BN-controlled states. Doesn’t this indicate positively that the Pakatan-controlled states are performing very much better in spite of their short term of tenure and lack of administrative experience and expertise? Honestly, dear Tun, doesn’t that deserve some praise?


You kept everything under wraps and resorted to the Official Secrets Act (OSA) to deny citizens their right to be informed. A lot of scandals and corruption prevailed because they are kept from the purview of public scrutiny and guarded as state secrets.


The Pakatan-controlled states in Selangor and Penang, on the other hand, have promulgated a Freedom of Information Act in order to be transparent and accountable. Tun, isn’t this something that has to be complimented?

Cronies and corruption Under your tenure for 22 years, many crony politicians became wealthy beyond imagination and without being accountable for their wealth. Elected representatives and cabinet ministers declared their assets only to you and, according to certain well-informed circles, you had used this information to secure their unquestioning loyalty. That was how you had your way – it was your way and no other way!


We are reminded of the episode concerning the removal of Osman Aroff, the then Menteri Besar of Kedah, who had enjoyed the support of the majority of assembly members in Kedah. These assembly members went to see you, dear Tun, to plead for the retention of their MB. You, reportedly saw them individually and after that they all returned to Kedah abandoning Osman Aroff. Rumour had it then that you had a file on each of them and that forced them to fall in line behind you.


Dear Tun, Pakatan-controlled states of Selangor and Penang did something that you wouldn’t dare dream of doing. All their Exco members declared their assets publically. This is something that civil society of Malaysia has been campaigning for, for a very long time, claiming that this would curb corruption and check abuse of governance.

But you would not be persuaded. You wanted to be the sole privy to the corruption and abuse so that you would have absolute control over politicians holding public positions.

Many Malaysians, in the past, have worked loyally and faithfully and had contributed to the progress of this country. These old timers who retired many years ago are forced to struggle to live a hard life with their meagre pensions in these times of hardships. Their counterparts of modern times, on the other hand, draw reasonable pensions to lead a decent life. The hardships suffered by these senior citizens have not been addressed. Their contributions were not even acknowledged.

But the Pakatan government in Penang has been giving out RM100 once a year for the last three years to express their appreciation to these senior citizens. Admittedly, this isn’t very much but the very thought of appreciation really warms the hearts of these people. With the vast resources available to the BN, they are placed in a far better situation to do more to help these unfortunate people. But why, dear Tun, did the BN government not bother doing this? They could have shown a generous face and given more to these people with all the wealth at their disposal. But they did nothing!

 

Corruption has become so rampant that so much of our wealth is either lost or stolen to the detriment of the nation. Contracts given to crony companies with inflated costs have drained our wealth. Highway toll agreements, the Tajuddin-Malaysia Airlines out-of-court settlement, the rescue of Bank Rakyat and Bank Bumiputra, the reckless forex fiasco in the UK, the bungling Maminco tin-buying spree, to name a few – they have all resulted in the loss of billions of ringgit that could have alleviated the plight of the poor. These are, unfortunately, dear Tun, your legacies that brought terrible hardships for the homeless and the helpless.


Uplifting the people You wouldn’t have open tenders for projects that would have saved billions of ringgit and secured the services of contractors with ability and proven expertise. That would have prevented some contractors from running away without completing their projects and ensured that buildings wouldn’t collapse because of poor workmanship and inferior materials. But repeated episodes of cheating contractors and uncompleted projects did not seem to disturb the conscience of those in charge. It was business as usual and billions of ringgit were regularly squandered without a care in the world.


On the other hand, now we have open tenders in the Pakatan states and Class F contractors are very happy and contented with this arrangement. According to these contractors, under the previous BN government, one had to have connections to get a contract and one had to give inducements to be considered favourably. Otherwise, getting contracts would have been impossible. But now, with open tenders, the deserving have been rewarded with contracts and they have delivered the completed projects on time. Isn’t this something that has to be appreciated, dear Tun?


Malaysian workers have been struggling for years for a minimum wage policy. The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has been championing this issue for decades. But it was opposed vehemently by the Malaysian Employers Federation, which wanted to reap hefty profits from the sweat of the workers. And the Malaysian government did not have the political will to implement the minimum wage policy. Thus we lost our local skilled workers and builders who left the country to work elsewhere. But the exploitation continues to this day with the employment of foreign workers.

Isn’t it praiseworthy that the Pakatan government in Selangor has implemented a minimum wage policy for all its employees in GLCs as from January this year? They are paid a minimum salary of RM1,500. Shouldn’t the employees enjoy the fruit of their labour, dear Tun? Farmers in the new villages of Perak who have been tilling the land and growing vegetables and fruit for the country for generations were exploited and kept in a state of uncertainty as to their livelihood as they did not own the land. Every election this became a moot point for the farmers. Whether their TOL would be extended or cancelled was a worrying experience for these farmers. And when the BN wins the election in Perak, the TOL of these farmers would be renewed.

 

The message was very clear. Vote for the BN or your TOL would not be renewed. They were beholden to the BN for the extension of their TOL. The Pakatan government gave them the land titles and their dignity and freed them from their unnecessary anxiety. The rational was these farmers have been on the land for generations and have been serving the nation with their produce and they deserved the land titles. Isn’t this something wonderful that deserves to be congratulated, dear Tun? Every voter who dies in Penang and Selangor is given RM1,000 and RM2,500 respectively for funeral expenses. This assistance is greatly appreciated, especially by the poor. For the first time a voter receives something very specific and substantial when he or she dies. This had never happened under BN rule. They bribe the living for their vote and forget them when they are dead. Under the Pakatan rule they take care of the living and the dead! Don’t they deserve a pat on their back, dear Tun? All this caring and giving must make a great impact on the people. If given more time there will be other good policies that will benefit the people and perhaps make it difficult for the BN to make any headway in the future. Is that what is worrying you, dear Tun? Is this what you meant when you sounded the warning to the BN, “If we allow the situation to deteriorate, it will be difficult to repair”?

You have correctly foreseen the inevitable doom for the BN. You have realised that it will be difficult to undo the good deeds of the Pakatan. In comparison, the BN will be cast in poor light and cursed for neglecting the majority of the deserving Malaysians who are poor. You are seeing what is impending and you have the right to fear the inevitable, dear Tun!

 

 

 

 

 


P Ramakrishnan is an Aliran executive committee member.

The writer of this article was a former teacher from Penang. During the "hey days" of the NUT, he was the Chairman of NUT Penang and an executive member of NUT Malaysia for many years. He still is an eloquent speaker.

He is a founder member of Aliran and served as its President for many years. In later years he gave up the Presidency of Aliran and is currently an Ex-Co member of that organisation. I am proud to be a friend of this great and brave gentleman!

Deep and Dirty: Malaysia's Submarine Scandal

Leaked prosecution documents show a pattern of official misdeeds in two countries

A two-decade campaign by the French state-owned defense giant DCN and its subsidiaries to sell submarines to the Malaysian ministry of defense has resulted in a long tangle of blackmail, bribery, influence peddling, misuse of corporate assets and concealment, among other allegations, according to documents made available to Asia Sentinel.

Some of the misdeeds appear to have taken place with the knowledge of top French government officials including then-foreign Minister Alain Juppe and with the consent of former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, according to the documents, comprising 133 separate files and hundreds of pages. They were presented to the French Prosecuting Magistrate at the Court de Grand Instance de Paris in May and June of 2011. French lawyers have begun preparing subpoenas for leading Malaysian politicians including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, the current Defense Minister, Ahmad Zaki Hamad and several other figures.

The documents were sent anonymously to Asia Sentinel via a circuitous route that took them to Brussels, Belgium; Lagos, Nigeria; Brazzaville,Congo; Libreville, Gabon; then to Leipzig, Germany and finally to Hong Kong. The documents, written in French, can be found in a collection in Asia Sentinel's Scribd account.

Click here to view documents.

The documents were compiled as a result of a raid on April 7, 2010, when scores of investigators from the anti-organized and financial crime unit of the French Directorate of Judicial Police swooped down on DCN’s offices at 19 rue du Colonel Pierre Avia in Paris’s 15th Arondissement, and four other locations, demanding that stunned officials give them access to safes, files and computers. They collected thousands of documents that form the bulk of the files delivered to Asia Sentinel.

Together, they present a damning indictment of Malaysian officials whose goal was to steer a €114.96 million (US$114.3 million at current exchange rates) payment through a private company called Perimekar Sdn Bhd, wholly owned by Abdul Razak Baginda. Razak Baginda was then the head of a Malaysian think tank called Malaysian Strategic Research, which was connected with the United Malays National Organization, the country’s biggest political party.

The payment appears to have been in violation of the OECD Convention on Bribery, which France ratified on June 30, 2000. On Sep. 29, 2000, according to document D00015, DCNI, a DCN subsidiary, “took corrective actions” after France joined the bribery convention. Contracts concluded after that date were to be routed to Eurolux and Gifen, companies held by Jean-Marie Boivin, DCN’s former finance chief, and headquartered in Luxembourg and Malta respectively Boivin is being investigated for having played a central role in the “corrective actions,” with what were described as “outlandish commissions” traveling through the welter of companies that he established in tax havens around the world. Among the documents is one that shows Boivin paid to send Razak Baginda on a jaunt to Macau with his then-girlfriend, Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian national who was later murdered by two of Najib’s bodyguards.

“A separate agreement sets other compensation consisting of a fixed amount independent of the actual price of the main contract,” one document reads in reference to the payment to Perimekar. “This has been made to be consistent with [DCN’s] internal rules and [its subsidiary] Thales and those of the OECD. The beneficiaries of these funds are not difficult to imagine: the clan and family relations of Mr. Razak Baginda. In addition, these funds will find their way to the dominant political party." Malaysia’s dominant political party was and is UMNO.

Malaysian Defense Spree

The story in essence began when Najib Tun Razak was appointed defense minister in Mahathir’s cabinet in 1991 and embarked on a massive buildup of the country’s military, arranging for the purchase of tanks, Sukhoi jets, coastal patrol boats – and submarines. That kicked off a stiff competition between French, German, Swedish, Russian and Dutch manufacturers, who in turn went looking for the most effective cronies of the Malaysian leadership to help them out. By 1995, according to document DC00078, DCN’s subsidiary Thales was losing out to the German manufacturer Kockums AB, which was represented by Amin Shah, dubbed “Malaysia’s Onassis” because of his business and shipping interests, who was close to then-finance minister Daim Zainuddin and was suspected of being a front man for Daim’s interests.

French authorities seemed to counter by paying a “consultancy fee” according to a handwritten document called a "Consultancy Agreement” signed in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 1, 1996 between DCN International representative Emmanel Aris and a Malaysian Army major named Abdul Rahim Saad. The purpose was “to reintroduce DCNI in the short list of tenders after it was rejected by the Government of Malaysia” on Dec. 14, 1995, according to the French documents.

The remuneration was to be paid in two lots, US$20,000 before Jan. 31, 1996, and US$80,000 after acceptance. Apparently it was successful. Rahim is now managing director of a company called ARS Sehajatera Sdn Bhd., which supplies logistical equipment to the Malaysian armed forces.

However, there are questions whether Rahim was ever paid. A memo found in the DCN files said he “expresses discontent and proclaims his support for the Agosta [the Spanish manufacturer of the Scorpenes for DCN] submarines since 1996 but he ‘has not had any news from DCNI to date.’ He says he organized shady activities to promote the French bid…He complains of not having been paid for his services.”

Eventually, according to the documents, Amin Shah began to lose his influence with the government after Daim Zainuddin left his position as finance minister. DCN and its subsidiaries began casting around for other sources of influence within the Malaysian government.

An attempt to woo Tan Sri Razali Ismail, one of Malaysia’s most distinguished diplomats, failed. “It was ultimately unsuccessful and Mr. Abdul Razak Baginda was chosen in his place,” the documents note. “The role of the latter was to facilitate the submission procedure to the Malaysian government and the responsible ministers, in particular the Minister of Defense, with whom he claimed to have a close relationship.”

According to Document D000112, “…Razak Baginda has maintained excellent relationships with the Defense Minister and Prime Minister. Moreover, his wife, Mazlinda Makhzan, is a close friend of the Defense Minister’s wife. Thus, Baginda has become the center of the network. Both companies are at the center of this network: Terasasi, related to Baginda, and Perimekar, which was initially controlled by Mohamad Ibrahim Mohamad Nor,” who was also close to Daim Zainuddin. However, with Daim stepping down as finance minister after a spat with Mahathir, Razak Baginda took over sole proprietorship of that company through his wife.

“The major defense contracts in Malaysia as in other countries require substantial money transfers to individuals and/or [political] organizations,” the document noted. “In Malaysia, other than individuals, the ruling party [UMNO] is the largest beneficiary [rather than Perimekar, the company to which the commission was directed]. Consultants [agents or companies] are often used as a political network to facilitate such transfers and receive commissions for their principals.”

The Heart of the Deal

Over the next few years, the documents show, as the contract came closer to fruition Razak Baginda and Najib maneuvered in France to get the best possible deal for themselves and UMNO, establishing a tangle of companies through which funds would ultimately pass.

Their activities included the founding of several companies including Perimekar in 2000 as a vehicle to funnel the €114.9 million commission to Razak Baginda and others, with Razak Baginda’s wife the principal shareholder. The plan appears to have had the approval of Mahathir. A diplomatic cable to Foreign Minister Juppe said, “The company chosen by the government for the submarine project is…Perimekar. This choice is the subject of an official notification from the Malaysian Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Defence... Note that this decision of the Ministry of Finance was taken while the Prime Minister himself held the post of Minister of Finance, after the departure of Tun Daim.”

The French company appears to have had no illusions as to Perimekar’s function. Documents note that “Perimekar was a limited liability company with a capital of MR5 million (€1.4 million) of which 1 million is available. It was created in August 1999 … it has no record of sales during 2000. Its ownership is in the process of restructuring.”

As Asia Sentinel has previously reported, document D00087 shows that Najib demanded a US$1 billion “condition” for Perimekar Sdn Bhd’s “stay in France.” The notes, however, don’t make it clear exactly what that means. The information is contained in a note faxed from Francois Dupont, the Asian representative of Thales International Asia, to his bosses but the notation in the documents presented to the court doesn’t elaborate. Dupont indicated that a meeting with Najib on July 14, 2001 would take place with the above mentioned “condition” but it was not known if the meeting transpired.

Along the way, Jasbir Singh Chahl, one of Razak Baginda’s associates at Perimekar, decided he hadn’t been paid enough. In several memos to DCN, Jasbir Chahl demanded a full fourth of Perimekar’s total €114.96 million. Despite several demands, there is no indication that Chahl has ever been paid. He has been subpoenaed as a witness in the case, but after first indicating to French lawyers that he would cooperate, he has since said he knows nothing of the affair. He is said to be extremely ill and suffering from some form of cancer.

Other documents made public by Asia Sentinel earlier show that at least €36 million flowed from the DCNS subsidiary to Terasasi Hong Kong Ltd., whose principal officers are listed as Razak Baginda and his father. Najib was defense minister from 1991 through the time when the submarines were delivered in 2002. Terasasi only exists as a name on the wall of a Wanchai district accounting firm in Hong Kong.

The French-Malaysian Submarine Scandal: the Documents

The 133 official documents uploaded onto this website are from the Directorate-General of the French National Police and the Judicial Police Directorate’s anti-organized and financial crimes unit.

They were presented to a French anti-corruption court in May and June of 2011. Taken together, they present –in French – the clearest picture to date of the two-decade campaign by the French state-owned defense manufacturer DCN and its subsidiaries to sell Scorpene submarines to the Malaysian Ministry of Defense.

Asia Sentinel’s story summarizing what is in the documents is in a collection in Asia Sentinel's Scribd account. They tell a story of corruption on both sides of the world that included – according to one presentation to the court – “blackmail, bribery, influence peddling, misuse of corporate assets and concealment.” The documents show that many of these activities were carried out with the full knowledge if not connivance of top officials in both the French and Malaysian governments.

Click here to view the documents.

There is considerable doubt in Malaysia that these documents actually exist, and that the story of corruption was fabricated by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition. Here is proof that they exist indeed. Readers who speak French may examine them at their leisure.

The documents were sent anonymously to Asia Sentinel because of our persistence in cataloguing the story of the submarines since October 2006, when Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian party girl and translator of sorts, was murdered in a patch of jungle near the suburban city of Shah Alam and her body was blown to bits with C4 explosives.

It subsequently became apparent that Altantuya had accompanied Abdul Razak Baginda, the head of Malaysian Strategic Services and a close associate of then-Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak, to Paris and Brest during final negotiations for the contract to train Malaysian sailors and to maintain the submarines once they arrived in Malaysia. Although the documents indicate French authorities found no record that Altantuya had ever entered France, Asia Sentinel ran a series of pictures of her in Pars in front of the Louis Vuitton Paris shop, the Arc de Triomphe, the Cathedral of Notre Dame and other locations. The story and pictures, whjich ran on Dec. 5, 2007, can be found here:

http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=916&Itemid=178

Two of Najib’s bodyguards – one of whom said in a formal statement that they were to be paid RM100,000 to kill the woman – were convicted of murder, but the courts carefully stayed away from identifying who had ordered her death.

The case eventually spread to France, where lawyers led by William Bourdon were engaged by the Malaysian NGO Suaram to attempt to get to the bottom of the case. Their efforts led French anti- corruption police to raid the offices of DCN and its subsidiaries. Thousands of documents were seized, along with computers and vast stores of documents and files. For the better part of two months, prosecutors detailed the evidence in a French courtroom. They will stay on the Asia Sentinel website as a public service for readers to compile their own evidence of a scandal that infected two governments.

Asia Sentinel.com 

Umno's population engineering a disaster

The Malays are lost and waylaid and at the crossroads of a really serious Malay dilemma. If you don't believe me, check this out.

If you happen to travel around this country and check on the statistics, especially the pasar malam, find out who runs the stalls and their businesses? Check out our beloved Chow Kit Road, and see who owns the thriving commerce? Or visit the Pudu wet market and see who is shouting for customers at 4 am (even before the cock crows).

Half the businesses now are with the foreigners, another half with other races, the Malays only have land titles left (especially reserve land of no value). All the GLC's are still in Malay hands, but not for long; otherwise all will be sold off in no time at all. As a people, the Malays are not known for perseverance and enduring commitment. They have no business acumen. Being entrepreneurial is a steep climb for them and the Malays have no stamina to stomach the strains and stresses. I speak from experience. They are easily swayed by circumstances.

More than half our local workforce are pendatangs (Indons, Myanmars, Nepals, Vietnamese, Banglas!) This country is not only bankrupt as said by Idris Jala, but also - telah dilelongkan. The poorer of the majority Malays left behind will become beggars and mat rempit, mat gian, mat ragut and mat dadah (they are all subsidized by our government funding to buy their No 1 drugs of escapism to run away from a harsh reality - Metadon). Who culled their own Malay race? Nobody but UMNO-BN itself! I rest my case.

Strategy of mind control

Since 1957 UMNO has effectively carried out the population engineering of our country to ensure its own long-term survival by creating the myth of a two-pronged “Ketuanan Melayu” strategy of mind control. “Ketuanan Melayu” for the majority Malay masses who are lulled and numbed into a feeling of being superior over the non-Malays because of their demographic numbers; and “Ketuanan Melayu” for the favored UMNOputra Malay political elites through the accumulation of massive material wealth and power for themselves and their cronies. And while UMNO has failed by almost any measure you chose to gauge them – good governance, ethics or morality – without question they have succeeded too well in the social engineering exercise after the bloody race riots of May 13, 1969.

The duplicity of UMNO in proclaiming 1Malaysia - Satu Bangsa, Satu Negara -while all the while undertaking a relentless program to whittle down the numbers of the non-Malays through a very precise and focused political initiative is breathtaking in its effectiveness!

Consider this -

In 1957:

– 45% of the population were Chinese

– 12% of the population were Indians

In 2010:

– 25% of the population are Chinese

– 7% of the population are Indians

Over 600,000 Chinese and Indian Malaysians with red IC status were rejected repeatedly when applying for citizenship and possibly 60% of them had passed away due to old age.

Since 1957:

– 2 million Chinese have emigrated

– 0.5 million Indians have migrated

– 3 million Indonesians came over to Malaysia to become Malaysian citizens with Bumiputra status even if they stay less than 5 years. (Nett gain 0.5 million and an additional of 3 million manufactured Bumiputras like Muslim Indonesians). The most famous is none other than Mohd Khir Toyo who stayed for 20 years but became MB of Selangor.

Chinese population to dwindle and the Indon to rise

In the not too distant future, I reckon Malay bumiputras may have to worry about 2nd or 3rd generation Indonesian migrants, owing to the virtues of hard work and thrift taught by their parents, or grandparents, would have surpassed the majority Malays in terms of socio-economic progress. Mohd Khir Toyo is smarter than most local-born Malays in terms of amassing his personal wealth at the shortest duration of time. Even Muhammad Muhammad Taib is no match for him. That's how smart Khir Toyo is.

Instead of teaching their people the virtues of hard work and perseverance, the UMNO warlords are proclaiming Ketuanan Melayu to feed off the Chinese minorities like parasites. If not for the Chinese taxpayers, the Malays will be sleeping the five foot-ways. Of course the Chinese isn't a threat - they are just workaholics - they want to create wealth and prosperity so much so that no failures of any kind is going to stop them. Not even the ultra Malay racists spewing blood in their eyes or frothing venom in their mouths.

It is envisaged the Chinese demographics will dwindle to stabilize at 4 percent of the overall Malaysian population but their accumulated wealth and economic power will continue to rise to more than 75 percent of the overall GDP of the country. That’s proof enough how steady and influential the Chinese economic stranglehold over the majority Malays will become; and we believe racial hatred and resentment is well likely to remain for the next 50 years. They work hard for the money but we envy them in our idleness.

Whereas the Indonesian newcomers went out to work before you become awake and they are not home yet when you call it a day and went to bed. Will the majority Malays consider them a threat when they deservedly find new wealth? The Indonesians respect the Chinese for their business acumen and diligence. Do the Malays think likewise if not indulge in unguarded jealousy and envy?

Best to lay the blame where it belongs - not the Malays but UMNO

Now the non-Malays are well aware of this tinkering and engineering of our population and it would do us Malays no good to say that it was UMNO’s doing and that we had no hand in what happened at the end of the day. As a Malay I was then comfortable that UMNO was the dominant partner in the Barisan Nasional. It was indeed comforting to know that Malays controlled four of the five major banks. We were also in control of UMBC, MISC and Southern Bank – all previously owned by the Chinese. But seemingly the Chinese-owned Public Bank which is not in our control is moving ahead of the others still in economic prowess and competitive skills. What’s wrong with our control?

Education?

Between 1968 to 2000:

– 48 Chinese primary schools shut down

– 144 Indian primary schools closed

– 2637 Malay Primary Schools were built

Of the total government budget for these schools, 2.5% were for the Chinese, 1% for the Indians and a whopping 96.5% for the Malay primary schools.

The fact that 2637 Malay primary schools were built between 1968 to 2000 implied that the engineered process of retarding our majority Malays or bumiputras is getting obvious. At the end of their school lives, they have nowhere to go except to stay put in this country, as like idiots they have nowhere else to go because everywhere they are faced with a serious language problem and a communication breakdown with others. They will, like it or not, have to support the Ketuanan Melayu concept to survive for their freebies or welfare. The mentality is - No need to work and money will still come. Scions of the rich and wealthy UMNOputras will be educated overseas and return to continue to rule over their poorer local cousins.

Petronas petrol stations?

Of the 2000 station the Malays owned 99%. Yes…we the Malays were indeed in control. In control of what? We were in control of all the business licenses and permits for Taxis and Approved Permits (APs).

We were in control of Government contracts of which 95% were given to Malays.

We were in control of the rice trade through Bernas that bought over 80% of Chinese rice millers in Kedah. Even Robert Kuok aka Sugar King was forced to sell his sugar franchise to UMNO crony interests so that the Malays are deemed to be in control of the sugar market; and the other essential basic items.

We were in control of bus companies. Throughout Malaysia, MARA buses could be seen plying all the routes. Non-Malays were simply displaced by having their application for bus routes and for new buses rejected. Many local Chinese owned bus companies are already kaput in the urban centers.

Every new housing estate being built had a mosque or a surau. None, I repeat “no” temples or churches were built for any housing estate even if the majority residents are non Malays! We even blare the loudspeakers in every mosque calling for Azan at maximum volume just so to tell the non Malays and non Muslims that we are in control!

How come still poor with so much control?

So why with control over all these highly visible entities and business opportunities are the majority Malays still unable to stand tall and with pride over and above the non-Malays?

We are unable to so do because it was not the Malays that benefited from these opportunities - only the favoured UMNOputras enjoyed the benefits, and the poorer among the majority Malays were merely taken for a ride as their name were used by UMNO to hijack the national agenda.

The Chinese bogeyman and the Malay hobbyhorse work wonders for UMNO to play one against the other in their evil scheme of Divide and Rule to suit their survival plan.






Malaysia Chronicle