Archive for category Anwar Ibrahim
Even after Anwar’s acquittal, politics will likely stay dirty
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Saturday, 11 February 2012
— Bridget Welsh
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 10, 2012
FEB 10 — Malaysia recently hit the headlines after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted of sodomy charges, although the prosecution has already filed an appeal.
The case is entirely political and reflects the government’s willingness to use the judiciary for political ends. Malaysia is set for the most competitive elections it has ever had, likely before June or else pushed off until 2013, and each side has a fighting chance to win.
Malaysian politics is dirty. Murder, sodomy, secret trysts, sex videos and conspiracy are all commonplace, and corruption scandals occur regularly. Both sides wallow in this political gutter, each trying to darken the reputation of the other and not fully appreciating how much the system as a whole has been damaged. Anwar’s acquittal gave the government an opportunity to take the high road and move away from this negative approach. Instead, it opted to appeal, despite the shabby evidence.
Concerns are now focused on the integrity of the electoral process. The government is mooting reforms but the problems are vast, from administrative neutrality to vote buying. As the system becomes more competitive, political institutions involved in anticorruption and law have been compromised, with the government pressuring institutions such as the civil service to toe the line. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s prime minister loses most from Anwar trial
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Saturday, 11 February 2012
— by Barry Wain
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 10, 2012
FEB 10 — Malaysians expressed a collective sigh of relief when Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was acquitted of sodomy charges in early January.
Their groan of dismay over the prosecution’s subsequent decision to appeal was equally palpable.
For most Malaysians, despite being divided in their opinions of Anwar, the acquittal marked a chance to move away from the sleazy politics that has long dominated daily life. Now, they expect more of the same. Aware of public exasperation, Prime Minister Najib Razak was quick to seize on the not guilty verdict as proof of his ‘reformist’ agenda and Malaysia’s supposedly independent judiciary. But the appeal leaves him stranded, inclined to delay calling a general election, and acutely aware that he is under threat as much from within his own ranks as from the opposition. It seems likely that Najib will win the next election, but unless he scores big — which seems unlikely — his leadership could be at risk. Read the rest of this entry »
Malay matters in the nation’s future
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, DAP, PAS, UMNO on Monday, 30 January 2012
S Thayaparan | Jan 29, 2012
Malaysiakini
COMMENT Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s challenge to the DAP to provide figures on the number of Malays joining the ranks of this centre-left party, not to mention Professor Khoo Kay Kim’s rather jaundiced view of Malay leftist as “non-freedom fighters”, is further evidence of the party’s desperate need to define what it means to be Malay, both historically and in the present.
Umno’s continuing efforts at creating the perception of a monolithic Malay polity has veered from the insidiously sophisticated to the downright crude.
Every facet of Malay life as projected by the state’s media propaganda organs has been to present the image of the Malays as a unified voting block raging against the liberal foreign ideas of the DAP, the eroding Islamic ideals of PAS or the immorality of Anwar Ibrahim.
There is a reason why there is a state-sanctioned method of practicing Islam. There is a reason for the morality police. There is a reason for apostasy laws. There is a reason for marriage laws.
There is a reason why other religions are demonised. There is a reason why the Malay population has been indoctrinated to fear their fellow Malaysians. And the reason for this is simple.
What Umno desires, and has received for so many years, is total submission from the sizeable majority of the Malay population. Read the rest of this entry »
New PR government in Putrajaya will establish RCI into the RM336.64 million NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Auditor-General Report, Corruption, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Sunday, 29 January 2012
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was very quick and abrupt yesterday in rejecting my call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM336.64 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC)/National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) “cattle condo” scandal, eager to pronounce the idea as “dead as a dodo”.
Malaysians everywhere are asking who is Muhyiddin to reject the call for a RCI into the “cattle condo” scandal when Muhyiddin himself, as the Agriculture and Agro-based Minister who approved the controversial project back in 2006, would himself be one of the subjects and personalities of any RCI investigation?
It smacks of conflict of interest on Muhyiddin’s part and he should exclude himself from any decision-making as to whether there should be a RCI into the cattle condo scandal, instead of being so gung-ho in opposing the proposal.
It is downright disgraceful that the RM336.64 million cattle condo scandal had dragged out publicly for three months like a soap opera without any satisfactory conclusion – which is a most telling indictment of the lack of political will of the Najib administration to declare effective and meaningful war on corruption and be an example of an open, accountable and transparent governance as promised in the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP).
If the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is unable to satisfactorily handle the RM336.64 million cattle condo scandal after three months, who believe that he has the political will to lead an all-out war against corruption which cost the country RM28 billion a year or address the problem of over a trillion-ringgit outflow of illicit capital overseas in a decade from 2000 to 2009 because of corruption and other financial malpractices? Read the rest of this entry »
Judiciary far from truly independent
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Friday, 27 January 2012
— Ronald Benjamin
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 27, 2012
JAN 27 — Since Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal, political commentators and prominent intellectuals have made statements that the judiciary has shown independence. Prime Minister Najib Razak has said that the High Court decision is testimony that he has not interfered with the judiciary. Is the PM implying there was indeed interference before?
Is our judicial system built on such shaky grounds that it has to depend on the goodwill of a prime minister in office for its independence? While it is true recent cases such as the judgment on the Universities and University Colleges Act and the conviction of a prominent state politician have suggested the independence of the courts, these rare decisions do not make the judiciary independent.
One of the greatest truths in any meaningful reforms is the ability to dig deep beyond the surface to discover the root cause of the judicial rot and accepting the widespread perception that interference of judiciary may have occurred. The culprits must be nailed and remedial solutions must be found. Atonement must be shown for past mistakes, and we can then look forward to a lasting solution that would allow us to leap forward into a new era.
This requires honesty and truth seeking. Has our judiciary undertaken such soul searching in its quest to become truly independent? Some commentators have argued that over the years the judiciary has shown independence by taking action against both government leaders and opposition politicians and this by itself shows independence. But this argument is simplistic because the judicial process is not merely based on the judgment in a given case. The details of the process of justice itself, whether it meets the standards of natural justice and its ability to adhere to the supreme objective law of the constitution, are other major considerations. This is where the Malaysian judiciary system appears to have failed compared with other countries with a more well developed and independent judiciary. Read the rest of this entry »
Upshot of attacks on Anwar, ABU
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Mariam Mokhtar | Jan 23, 2012
Malaysiakini
This is not an auspicious start to the Year of the Dragon for the PM. The person who controls events in Malaysia and who will undoubtedly shape its future, is one effete man called Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is wrong to think he leads the country.
Malaysians thought that after 9 January, the nation would move on, but their dream was shortlived. Only in Malaysia would the government and its institutions, like the judiciary, be preoccupied with Saiful’s posterior, just as his face will always be associated with Sodomy II.
So now, instead of the nation concentrating on a way forward, of improving our lives, of revitalising the economy and of making sure our politicians do the work we elected them for, we are trapped in Sodomy II, Scene 2. Read the rest of this entry »
Top five topics of all Malaysians during the Dragon Chinese New Year holidays
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Elections, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Sunday, 22 January 2012
What will be the top five topics of all Malaysians during the Dragon Chinese New Year holidays?
I will pick the following five:
(1) The Attorney-General’s appeal against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal in the Sodomy2 charge by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, expressing the determination of the top UMNO leaders to want to see Anwar in jail.
(2) The Court of Appeal decision to overturn the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision to acquit and discharge DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh on the sedition charge relating to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic coup d’etat against the Pakatan Rakyat Perak state government.
Both these incidents have killed off public hopes that Malaysia is firmly set on the road to restoration of national and international confidence in our justice system, with a just rule of law and truly independent judiciary.
The only inescapable conclusion is that Malaysia can only begin to seriously undo the ravages against the doctrine of separation of powers especially between the Executive and the Judiciary in the past 24 years years stemming from the arbitrary sacking of the then Lord President Tun Salleh Abas and two Supreme Court judges Tan Sri Wan Suleiman Pawanteh and Datuk George Seah in 1988. Read the rest of this entry »
They are going to convict Anwar – that is certain!
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary on Sunday, 22 January 2012
by P. Ramakrishnan
22 January 2012
What wasn’t expected surprisingly happened. The High Court acquitted and discharged Anwar. That decision took everyone by surprise and they hoped that it would be the end of this sordid affair.
What the vast majority of Malaysians had hoped for following Anwar’s discharge did not happen. The Prosecution shocked everyone and appealed the High Court decision.
What will happen following this appeal is predictable. We have said as much in our previous statement on 23 December 2009. This is what we said:
“Aliran has been keeping track of recent Court decisions and with this knowledge we must warn the jubilant litigants not to get carried away easily. This is Round 1 and Round 1 usually goes in favour of truth and justice. It is here where the facts are scrutinised diligently and justice has its sway. It is as far as justice can go!
“In Round 2, this decision will almost certainly be overturned, as has been the case on many occasions. It is here where facts don’t matter but technicalities will be the overriding factor and justice will be forced to take a back seat.
“This glaring outcome is inevitable in our system of justice. We have witnessed this without fail in Anwar’s cases, in the Perak Pakatan government’s tussle for democracy, in the Kampung Buah Pala residents’ plea for justice and in the MACC case involving Tan Boon Wah’s human rights.” Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar verdict: What Najib now faces
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Razak on Saturday, 21 January 2012
— Yang Razali Kassim
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 20, 2012
JAN 20 — Last July, Prime Minister Najib Razak and Indonesian Muslim leader Amien Rais had a private meeting in a third country to chat about the case of Anwar Ibrahim. Amien, who is close to Anwar, apparently had expressed brotherly concern to Najib about how the political conflict within the Malay leadership was undermining the credibility of Malaysia as a country the Muslim world looked up to.
Amien intimated whether Najib could withdraw the charge. Najib, predictably, told Amien he could not do as asked as he had no power over the judiciary. Besides, Najib said, the case had nothing to do with him.
Six months later, on January 9, the High Court stunned Malaysians by acquitting and discharging Anwar of the charge of sodomy. The surprise verdict lent support to Najib’s assertion about the independence of the judiciary. Indeed, at face value, the court’s verdict to acquit Anwar is a setback to Najib’s political position.
A free Anwar would certainly be a grave threat to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. It had indeed been widely thought a foregone conclusion that Anwar would be found guilty and put away before the coming general election — reflecting the Malaysian public’s generally low confidence in the judiciary.
So what does the verdict mean for Malaysian politics? Read the rest of this entry »
‘Anxieties engulfing BN camp’
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Thursday, 19 January 2012
Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | January 19, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
Gemas, now infamous for the National Feedlot Centre and the double tracking railway project scandals, is poised to be the epicentre of another political tsunami.
COMMENT
Usually those who are pressing for an early election are those from within Umno itself and who think they will contest as candidates replacing the incumbents.
In Umno replacing incumbents is not difficult – just mobilize a few dissenting and envious voices to create the necessary ‘public’ opinion.
Elevate personal anecdotes and personal sob and frustrated stories and exploit those as generalizations.
Then package all the lies and present it to a nervous and insecure Umno division head.
Never mind if he was the Deputy Prime Minister then and now Prime Minister.
I was in Gemas for the Rapat Rakyat programme on Jan 15. Anwar Ibrahim was there.
I would estimate the crowd to have been around 10,000 people. The local guy standing next to me in the crowd confided that he had never seen such a big crowd before attending a political gathering. And he’s been staying in Gemas since the 60s.
Umno will of course trivialize this observation by saying the opposition has always attracted large crowds to their rallies. But in the end, the Barisan Nasional will win. Read the rest of this entry »
The last days of Umno are beginning
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, Dr. Chen Man Hin, Economics, Najib Razak, NEP on Thursday, 19 January 2012
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor
UMNO shows no signs of genuine reforms despite claims by PM Najib that UMNO is on the reform road as shown by the verdict of freedom for Anwar over the Sodomy 2 conspiracy. If there are no signs of reforms than UMNO will collapse in time, similar to what happened to the Soviet Union which collapsed in 1990.
Like Najib, Mikail Gorbachev tried to save Russia with his policies of ‘glasnost and perestroika’ but these failed to save Soviet Russia, because he could not introduce democracy and economic restructuring as there was no policies or infrastructure to modernise Russia.
Najib is also claiming that he has great plans to reform the country, ever since he introduced his 1 Malaysia program. However, all he had to deliver are just promises. Nothing concrete he promised to cut down corruption, but every day corruption is the rule in government departments, judiciary and the police. Events have overtaken Najib and there is no way he could reverse the corruption cancer pervading the country.
Read the rest of this entry »
Why did they free Anwar?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 18 January 2012
— P. Ramakrishnan
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 18, 2012
JAN 18 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal and discharge could not have earned the judiciary any brownie points. Neither did the trial judge, Justice Datuk Zabidin Mohd Diah, come across as someone capable of blazing a new trail in proactive justice.
In fact, the court proceedings only disappointed Malaysians the way the judge denied the defence the many crucial notes they were entitled to, dismissed their right to question the prime minister and his wife by granting their application not to appear as witnesses, and refused to recuse himself as the presiding judge by dismissing Anwar’s application that he was biased in the proceedings.
He even strengthened this belief by concluding at the end of the prosecution case that Saiful was a “truthful and credible witness” without even hearing the defence side of the case. The bias was so blatant and so obvious. Read the rest of this entry »
Kit Siang dares Najib to respect GE results if Pakatan wins
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Najib Razak on Sunday, 15 January 2012
Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 14, 2012
ALOR STAR, Jan 14 — Lim Kit Siang today challenged prime minister to promise that Barisan Nasional (BN) will respect the outcome of the next national polls and guarantee free and fair elections.
The DAP parliamentary leader also dared Datuk Seri Najib Razak to make good on his call for moderation by retracting the vow he made at the Umno general assembly two years ago to “defend Putrajaya with our bodies and broken bones”.
“This is not the voice of moderation, this is not the voice of moderation,” he told the PR convention here.
“We want the prime minister and all Umno leaders to declare that they will accept the decision in the 13th general election, even if Pakatan Rakyat forms government and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becomes prime minister.” Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Najib Readies for Vote
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Friday, 13 January 2012
by James Hookway
Wall Street Journal
Malaysian leader Najib Razak pointed to the acquittal this week of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as evidence he’s serious about political reforms, even inviting an election battle that could propel him out of power.
Eager to paint himself as a leader of the Malaysia’s most sweeping political reforms since independence, Mr. Najib appears to be betting that the judiciary’s release of Mr. Anwar would help rather than hurt him politically.
Three days after Malaysia’s High Court acquitted Mr. Anwar on sodomy charges this week, Mr. Najib said in an interview Thursday that both the government and opposition camps will step up their race to claim the center-ground of Malaysian politics in the coming months—but that this will only strengthen the predominantly Muslim country and provide a fresh example that democracy and Islam can coexist. Read the rest of this entry »
Acquittal a teaser to another conviction
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Judiciary, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Friday, 13 January 2012
Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz| January 13, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will want Anwar Ibrahim stopped at all cost.COMMENT
Anwar Ibrahim is not out of the woods yet. Despite being acquitted, Anwar is circumspect about the judiciary.
His acquittal does not prove the judiciary is independent, he said.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Anwar said this present case should not be considered as a landmark case representing the independence of the judiciary.
Now, that is somewhat ominous. Why would Anwar say that?
Anwar knows this: he is let off the hook this time – that’s what the government may want the public to think. So that they can say, this is proof that the judiciary is independent. Read the rest of this entry »
The party’s over
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Mariam Mokhtar, Najib Razak on Friday, 13 January 2012
By Mariam Mokhtar | January 13, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was aware of the consequences of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim being jailed. With limited choices, he was forced to choose the unpalatable option of having Anwar acquitted.
In doing so, Najib’s reputation may have been enhanced, his party Umno-BN saved from the brink of annihilation at the polls and, most important of all, the creation of the powerful and feared martyr (Anwar), was neutralised.
For Anwar, acquittal meant he could concentrate on leading the opposition and making sure the government performs. Sodomy II was designed by Umno to be a distraction, for him and the rakyat. Valuable time and resources had been wasted on this sham trial which was designed to wear Anwar and the rakyat down.
Najib must think us fools to believe that Anwar’s acquittal signalled an independent judiciary. What about the many other cases which have been rigged in the past? Teoh Beng Hock, Aminulrasyid Amzah, Ahmad Sarbani, A Kugan.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia Election Around the Corner?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak, UMNO on Thursday, 12 January 2012
Asia Sentinel
by Our Correspondent
Thursday, 12 January 2012
With Sodomy II out of the way, looks forward to March polls — maybe
With the Sodomy II trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim now out of the way, it is probably time to start thinking seriously about Malaysia’s 13th general election, which most observers — but not all — believe will be called in March, during school holidays when the classrooms are empty.
Despite euphoria on the part of the three-party opposition coalition, the end of the trial doesn’t mean that Anwar’s troubles are over. One political observer in Kuala Lumpur told Asia Sentinel that the United Malays National Organization, the lead party in the ruling national coalition, will probably do its best to discredit him in other ways. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar’s acquittal has bought for Najib his last but very short-lived chance to prove that he can walk the talk of a reformer and proponent of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Thursday, 12 January 2012
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s surprise acquittal of Sodomy 2 charge on Monday has bought for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak his last but very short-lived chance to prove that he can walk the talk of a reformer and proponent of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan.
Nobody really believes the self-serving claims by Najib, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin and the Minister for Information, Communications and Culture Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim that Anwar’s acquittal was proof of the independence of the judiciary in Malaysia and would increase the confidence of Malaysians and international community in Najib’s transformation promises.
The 33 months of Najib’s premiership since April 2009 were lost months for reform and transformation as there were only empty rhetorics not backed up with any political will to bring about fundamental changes in all aspects of national life. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar free: And now for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Elections, Judiciary, Najib Razak on Thursday, 12 January 2012
Dean Johns | Jan 11, 2012
Malaysiakini
Failing an appeal that may yet be made by the prosecution, Anwar Ibrahim is finally free of his latest spurious sodomy charge and the possibility of up to 20 years in jail.
And now, it’s time for the Malaysian people to win their freedom from 50-plus years – or the equivalent of more than two life sentences – of imprisonment and empoisonment by the rotten Umno/BN regime.
Though it could be argued that a great many Malaysians have nobody but themselves to blame for this punishing experience, having effectively held themselves captive by voting for their oppressors so repeatedly and for so long. Read the rest of this entry »
Judiciary still in winter of emasculation
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Constitution, Court, Judiciary on Thursday, 12 January 2012
— by Bob Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 12, 2012
JAN 12 — Let’s not be beguiled by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s claim of the judiciary’s independence following the High Court’s full acquittal and discharge of Anwar Ibrahim from the charge of sodomy. As succinctly put by an international civil liberties watchdog, the Opposition leader should not have been charged in the first place.
Anwar’s three trials over 20 years were simply an abuse of due process; nothing more than Umno’s dirty and sordid politics to rid itself of its arch nemesis involving all three prime ministers in a row.
Don’t be misled, a swallow doth not a summer maketh. We are still deep in the winter of an emasculated judiciary frozen since the Mahathir ice age. We need more evidence of courage and boldness from our judges before we can hope to thaw into a new spring.
But credit must be given to where it’s due. Recent judgments indicate some judges are willing to go into early retirement or be put into the cold storage by going the extra mile in their adjudication. The High Court’s judgment against the government in the Allah case is a case in point. There are a few others that are noteworthy. Read the rest of this entry »
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