Archive for October 6th, 2015
Young Chinese in Malaysia ‘delusional’ to think Malay domination can change, says top Singapore diplomat
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, PAS, UMNO on Tuesday, 6 October 2015
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. Read the rest of this entry »
Questions Galore for the Cabinet meeting tomorrow
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak on Tuesday, 6 October 2015
There are questions and issues galore for the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
Firstly, will the Cabinet seek clarification from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak whether he is being probed by the United States Department of Justice under its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative 2010; why despite his special relations with President Obama even playing golf with the American President, he has not been able to get a clear-cut “yes” or “no” from the United States authorities and whether the Prime Minister has sent an unmistakable signal to Obama that it is an intolerable stain on the good name of Malaysia for the Malaysian Prime Minister to be investigated as a kleptocrat by the US DOJ.
Secondly, will the Cabinet ask the Prime Minister why he has not yet instituted legal proceedings against Wall Street Journal for its report on July 2, 2015 about the RM2.6 billion “donation” in his personal banking accounts in AmBank in March 2013, although the Wall Street Journal report had been published for more than three months? Read the rest of this entry »
Najib is sounding the death knell for Global Movement of Moderates if he is not prepared to uphold moderation as represented by Bersih 4 and marginalize extremism as represented by Sept. 16 Red Shirts Rally
Posted by Kit in Bersih, DAP, Media, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 6 October 2015
The cat is out of the bag – the mission of irresponsible, dishonest and insidious propagandists in the UMNO/BN camp out to twist facts, distort the truth and even tell outright lies and falsehoods to influence public perceptions and events.
This comes from the admission by the UMNO Secretary-General Tengku Adnan yesterday blaming the UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia for exacerbating the diplomatic flap involving the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang who, to quote Adnan, went to Petaling Street with good intentions but Utusan Malaysia took Ronnie Liu and Teresa Kok’s blog and “twisted” them into the headlines, and it became a problem!
There would be no kid-glove treatment of Utusan Malaysia if it is not a UMNO-owned publication or the authorities would have descended on it like a ton of bricks, even suspending or cancelling its publication licence for activities prejudicial to racial harmony and national interests.
This highlights the UMNO/BN administration’s hypocrisy and double-standards especially as this is not the first time that Utusan had been guilty of journalistic excesses, abuses and anti-national activities prejudicial to social peace, racial harmony and national unity. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s woes illustrate emerging market malaise
by Gillian Terzis
Australian Business Review
5 OCT, 2015
Markets around the world have endured a wild ride in recent times, as global events conspire to spook investors into rash decision-making. Nowhere is this phenomenon more pronounced than in emerging economies.
Take, for instance, Malaysia’s economic struggles. The Malaysian ringgit has been one of the poorest performing currencies in the world, shedding 26 per cent against the US dollar this year and plumbing to a 17-year low of 3.9 ringgit against the greenback. An analyst note from Merrill Lynch illustrates that in some respects, Malaysia appears in weaker shape than it was in 1997 at the time of the Asian financial crisis. For instance, household debt as a share of GDP is now at 86 per cent, compared with 46 per cent in 1997; public debt as a percentage of GDP has climbed from 31 per cent in 1997 to 54 per cent today.
The steep correction in commodity markets hasn’t helped the country either. The commodities upon which Malaysia is heavily reliant (palm oil, petroleum, and rubber) have endured precipitous declines, with little reprieve in sight. The probable downward trajectory of crude oil prices in the short to medium term is certain to inflict even more pressure on the beleaguered currency.
Moreover, the rhetoric and actions undertaken by Malaysia’s federal government are likely to disabuse one of any optimism, no matter how cautious, for the country’s economic outlook. It has been alleged by the Wall Street Journal that RM2.6 billion ($840 million) had been transferred into the personal accounts of Prime Minister Najib Razak from companies connected to 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a heavily indebted state-owned strategic development company. Razak has since shut down an investigation into his administration’s alleged graft and mismanagement of state funds.
Unsurprisingly, these revelations have weighed on investor sentiment, with foreign investors withdrawing some RM11.7bn out of equities markets to date. The country’s bond markets are also a source of vulnerability, with big moves recorded in the lead up to the maturation of RM8.2bn of government debt on October 15. (Commentators have expressed concerns about the country’s rapidly waning currency reserves.) Read the rest of this entry »
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