Archive for April, 2016
Seven of the 13 seats carved out of the 12 State Assembly constituencies won by DAP in last general election are in “danger list” for the May 7 poll
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Saturday, 30 April 2016
This is the mid-point of the 12-day 11th Sarawak State General Election, and the four-prong strategy of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional campaign must not be underestimated as seven of the 13 seats carved out of the 12 State Assembly seats won by the DAP in the last general elections are in the “danger list” for the May 7 poll.
The four-prong strategy of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional election offensive are:
1. The Adenan effect.
2. The Najib effect.
3. Politics of Money.
4. Politics of Fear and Intimidation.
The Sarawak DAP strategy in the 11th Sarawak State General Elections are two-fold:
(I) to defend and win the 13 State Assembly seats carved out of the 12 DAP seats won in the last general elections; and to achieve a breakthrough by winning a few of the Dayak-dominated seats in the other 18 constituencies contested by the DAP;
(2) to prepare Sarawak DAP for a major plan to win the Sarawak State Government in the 12th Sarawak State General Election in 2021 if the DAP succeeds in demonstrating that it is not only capable of defending its state assembly seats in the urban areas in Kuching, Sibu, Sarikei, Bintangor, Bintulu and Miri but also to get support outside the urban areas like Tasik Biru, Mambong, Serian, Simanggang, Pakan, Mulu and Murum. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib is fighting for his political life in Sarawak state general election, which is why he supports Adenan in the abuse of immigration autonomy powers and is bringing the whole Cabinet of 37 Ministers to meet in Kuching and campaign in Sarawak next week
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Saturday, 30 April 2016
The Prime Minister, Datuk Sri Najib Razak is fighting for his political life in the Sarawak state general election on May 7.
This is why he is campaigning as if the 11th Sarawak state general election is the 14th Parliamentary general elections, as he himself had declared on Nomination Day that the Sarawak polls on May 7 will be a “precursor” to the 14GE in two years’ time, which will decide his future as the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
This is also why he has aided and abetted the Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Adenan Satem in the abuse of Sarawak immigration autonomy powers although Najib should know more than anyone else that it is unconstitutional, illegal and against both the word and spirit of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement to ban Malaysians who are not Sarawakians from entering Sarawak for the sole purpose of carrying out “legitimate political activities”.
Najib is doing a third thing in the “fight for his political life” in the Sarawak state general election – bringing the entire Cabinet of 37 Ministers to campaign in Sarawak under the guise of holding the Cabinet meeting in Kuching next Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry »
Salleh should stop making asinine statements like I have said its a waste to vote for the Opposition
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Saturday, 30 April 2016
The Minister for Communications and Multimedia Datuk Salleh Said Keruak should stop making asinine statements like I have said its a waste to votethe Opposition in the Sarawak state general elections.
Salleh was trying to be “little clever” when he twisted my admission that Adenan Satem will be the Sarawak Chief Minister and that the Sarawak Barisan Nasional will win the 11th Sarawak state general election into saying that in the circumstances its a waste to vote for the Opposition.
In fact it is an argument for voters to vote for the Opposition to ensure that there will be effective check and balance to ensure that Adenan will fulfill his election promises and not commit abuses and excesses of power. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib is only echoing his father’s pledge some half-a-century ago when Tun Razak’s pledge should have been achieved more than one generation ago
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Saturday, 30 April 2016
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in his campaigning for the Sarawak Barisan Nasional in the 11th Sarawak state general election, promised that he is committed to bringing Sarawak to greater heights so that it will be on par with Peninsular Malaysia.
Before Malaysia was formed in 1963, many missions and study tours from Sarawak and Sabah were organised to visit Peninsular Malaysia to convince Sarawakians and Sabahans that Sarawak and Sabah would benefit if they agree to form Malaysia with Malaya and Singapore, promising that Sarawak and Sabah would enjoy the type of development in the rural areas in Peninsular Malaysia if they chose to federate with Peninsular Malaysia to form Malaysia.
The series of study tours and fact-finding visits by Sarawakians and Sabahans to Malaya succeeded because Malaysia was formed on Sept. 16, 1963.
One clear promise that Tun Razak, father of Najib, made on becoming the second Prime Minister at the end of 1970 was that Sarawak and Sabah would be developed on par with Peninsular Malaysia.
I am therefore surprised to read of Najib echoing his father’s pledge some half a century ago, when Tun Razak’s pledge should have been achieved more than a generation ago, and not be used as a campaign pledge in the 11th state general elections in Sarawak more than 52 years after the formation of Malaysia.
Najib’s repeating of his father’s pledge some half a century ago is a testimony of how Sarawak and Sarawakians had been neglected in Malaysia in the past decades although Sarawak was firmly under Barisan Nasional Sarawak rule and control all the time. Read the rest of this entry »
Four issues of the 11th Sarawak state general election
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Friday, 29 April 2016
I want to discuss four issues of the 11th Sarawak state general election.
The first issue is Sarawak Chief Minister after the May 7 Polling Day.
This question is as good as decided on Nomination Day on April 25, because there is no doubt whatsoever that the Sarawak Chief Minister of Sarawak after the May 7 Polling Day will be Adenan Satem and nobody else.
Only the mentally weak or deficient would think that Adenan would not the Sarawak Chief Minister for the next five years.
In Siburan yesterday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Adenan should be given five more years as Sarawak Chief Minister and it is not fair if Adenan is only given two years.
I fully agree with Najib and there is no doubt whatsoever that Adenan would be given five more years as Chief Minister of Sarawak. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Simanggang and Sarawak voters to unite to “create miracles on May 7” to deny the new Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan two-thirds majority in State Assembly by voting 28 Opposition Assemblymen
I do not know why Tan Sri Adenan Satem wants to give out the impression that he may be knocked out as the Sarawak Chief Minister in the 11th Sarawak state general election, when it is as clear as daylight on Nomination Day on Monday that there is 100 per cent certainty that he will continue as the Sarawak Chief Minister for the next five years.
This is why I am prepared to do what is not my practice, to bet with anyone who said that Adenan will not be the Sarawak Chief Minister on May 7. In fact, I am prepared to bet even with Adenan himself!
Does Adenan really believe that he might not be the Sarawak Chief Minister after May 7? I will like to know the reasons why.
The issue on May 7 Polling Day is not whether Adenan will become the Sarawak Chief Minister for the next five years, but whether he can be denied two-thirds State Assembly majority to ensure that he keeps his election promises to the people of Sarawak and does not abuse his powers as the Sarawak Chief Minister.
I call on the voters of Simanggang and Sarawak to unite to achieve the objective of “May 7 – Create Miracles” to deny Sarawak Barisan Nasional two-thirds State Assembly majority by voting at least 28 State Assemblymen into the Sarawak State Assembly. Read the rest of this entry »
Adenan does not have to fear, as neither Chieng Jen nor Baru Bian will be the Sarawak Chief Minister on May 7th
Tan Sri Adenan Satem does not have to fear, as neither the DAP Sarawak Chairman Chong Chieng Jen nor the PKR Sarawak Chairman Baru Bian will be next Sarawak Chief Minister on Polling Day on May 7.
Only one person will be the Sarawak Chief Minister on May 7 – Adenan Satem.
The Gerakan Youth chief said yesterday that Chieng Jen or Baru Bian might be the next Sarawak Chief Minister.
May be the Gerakan Youth Chief, who is undoubtedly the chief political ignoramus among the Barisan Nasional leaders and members, is the only person in the country who believes in such garbage, but I wonder whether Tan Sri Adenan is not a bit influenced by him as causing Adenan to talk as if he might not be the Sarawak Chief Minister on May 7.
Adenan should have more confidence in himself, especially as I have honestly and sincerely said that his position as Sarawak Chief Minister on May 7 is utterly secure and completely unshakeable.
In fact, I would say that Adenan’s position as the Sarawak Chief Minister for the next five years is even more secure than Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s position as Prime Minister of Malaysia until the 14th Parliamentary General Elections in 2018. Read the rest of this entry »
“507 – Create Miracles “ – Call on Voters of Serian, Tasik Biru, Mambong, Simanggang, Mulu, Murum, Samalaju, Pakan, Ngemah, Katibas and Bukit Goram to support the voters of Kuching, Sibu, Sarikei, Bintulu and Miri for political change and meaningful development for all
In the 13th Parliamentary General Elections of May 5, 2013, the call and slogan of the polls was “505 – Change Government”.
In the 11th Sarawak State General Election on May 7, 2016, the call and slogan of the polls should be “507 – Create Miracles”.
This is a tall order for the voters of Sarawak in ten days time on May 7, 2016 – for they are being asked to create a third political wave in Sarawak and Malaysia in preparation for the fourth political wave in Sarawak in five years time in 2021.
The first wave of political change in Sarawak was in the 2006 Sarawak state general election where the people of Kuching, Sibu, Meradong and Bintulu stood up for the rights of all Sarawakians by giving the DAP an unprecedented six State Assembly seats in Sarawak.
This created a great impact and was the precursor to the “political tsunami” of the 12th Parliamentary General Elections in 2008, which saw Barisan Nasional lost power in five states – Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Penang and Selangor. Read the rest of this entry »
Assurance to Adenan that he is sure to be the Sarawak Chief Minister for next five years and that the most the Opposition can achieve is to deny Sarawak Barisan Nasional two-thirds majority in Sarawak State Assembly
I want to assure the caretaker Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Adenan Satem that he is certain and sure to be the Sarawak Chief Minister for the next five years and that the most the Opposition can achieve on May 7 Polling Day is to deny the Sarawak Barisan Nasional two-thirds majority in the Sarawak State Assembly.
I cannot understand why Adenan is so suspicious-minded that he urged voters in Kuching last night not to believe Opposition parties’ claim that they only wanted to deny Barisan Nasional a supermajority in the state election.
He considers this “a ploy to convince voters that supporting the opposition would not result in a change of government” and said:
“Don’t be fooled by this talk by Lim Kit Siang about reducing our majority of two thirds, because if people overreact to this one, then you might end up having them be the government.
“This is just a ploy so that people think there’s no harm in voting for them, and that they would get the best of both worlds. But then their aim is to form the next government, and if that happens, we will be governed by parties from west Malaysia.”
Hope for Bidayuh breakthrough in Sarawak state elections with a quartet of DAP Bidayuh state assemblymen elected into the Sarawak State Assembly on May 7
DAP hopes to achieve a Bidayuh breakthrough in the Sarawak state elections with a quartet of DAP Bidayuh State Assemblymen elected into the Sarawak State Assembly on May 7, comprising Mordi Bimol contesting in Tasik Biru, Sanjan Daik in Mambong, Edward Luak in Bukit Semuja and Andrew Nyabe in Kedup.
This is part of the third wave of political change which I hope the 11th Sarawak State General Election on May 7 can achieve.
The first wave of political change in Sarawak was started in the 2006 Sarawak state general election where the people of Kuching, Sibu and Bintulu stood up for the rights of all Sarawakians by giving the DAP an unprecedented half-a-dozen State Assembly seats in Sarawak.
This created a great impact and was the precursor to the “political tsunami” of the 12th Parliamentary General Elections in 2008, which saw Barisan Nasional lost power in five states – Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Penang and Selangor.
The second political wave was the 2011 Sarawak State general election where DAP State Assembly representation in Sarawak was doubled from six to 12, with Miri joining Kuching, Sibu and Bintulu in the vanguard for political change.
This impacted on the 13th Parliamentary General Election in 2013, resulting in a whisker away from change of federal government in Putrajaya. Read the rest of this entry »
Are the voters of Tasik Biru prepared for their rendezvous with history on May 7?
Are the voters of Tasik Biru prepared for their rendezvous with history on May 7?
The famous gold-mining town of Bau had been replete with history, going back some 200 years.
There was a historic episode in Bau in 1837 and another in 1857, but on May 7, 2016, the people of Bau and the voters of Tasik Biru are set to write a new and greater history for Sarawak and Malaysia in the 11th Sarawak state general election by spearheading a third wave of political change in the country.
I first visited Bau in September 1978, after the Great Fire of Bau on 24th September 1978 when Bau town was virtually razed to the ground. Read the rest of this entry »
Apology to the people of Sarawak and Malaysia for the failure of Pakatan Harapan to ensure a one-to-one contest against the Barisan Nasional in Sarawak state election
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Harapan, Sarawak on Tuesday, 26 April 2016
I apologise to the people of Sarawak and Malaysia for Pakatan Harapan’s failure to ensure a one-to-one contest with Barisan Nasional in the 11th Sarawak state election.
I was not involved in the negotiations at any stage and I do not propose to revisit this sorry chapter of Pakatan Harapan until after Polling Day on May 7.
I apologize to the people of Sarawak and Malaysia for the failure of Pakatan Harapan to ensure a one-to-one contest against the Barisan Nasional in the Sarawak state election and promise that DAP leaders, members and supporters at all levels will work doubly or even trebly hard to compensate for the failure of Pakatan Harapan to ensure a one-to-one contest against the Barisan Nasional.
I do not know how Pakaran Harapan is going to pick up the pieces as a result of the failure of the Pakatan Harapan electoral pact in the Sarawak state election, but let us leave it till after the Polling Day on May 7.
Our one and only task now is to focus on the Barisan Nasional for the next 12 days in the Sarawak election campaign, and ensure that the voters of Sarawak make a historic choice on May 7 in the best and higher interests of Sarawak and Malaysia.
Tan Sri Adenan Satem has asked for another five years as Sarawak Chief Minister. Read the rest of this entry »
The only way Arul can earn some sympathy from the Malaysian public is for him to come clean and own up to all the frauds in the biggest global scam in Malaysian history – including those committed before his time
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Monday, 25 April 2016
The only way for Arul Kanda Kandasamy to earn some sympathy from the Malaysian public is for him to come clean to own up to all the frauds in the biggest global scam in Malaysian history – the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal – including those committed before his time.
It is just not good enough for the 1MDB president to canvas the possibilities of “massive fraud” and “collaboration from our side” over the US$3.5 billion worth of payments made to the “fake” Aabar BVI, when the international news media and whistle-blower website Sarawak Report had been detailing such “massive frauds” and “collaboration” for almost the past year.
Didn’t Arul take the most elementary measures to check on the veracity of these very detailed reports in the international media and Sarawak Report?
Even more important and relevant, why did he defend the integrity and good governance practices of 1MDB in these these cases of “massive frauds” and “collaboration”?
Nor can Arul exonerate himself from being complicit in Malaysia’s mega scam by just washing his hands and quitting his MDB post, protesting that the issues and scandals at the 1MDB scam were not his and “not what I signed up for”. Read the rest of this entry »
As Zeti Term Ends, Malaysia Poised to Name Central Bank Governor Shamim Adam
Posted by Kit in Finance, Najib Razak on Monday, 25 April 2016
by Shamim Adam & Y-Sing Liau
Bloomberg
April 25, 2016
Malaysia’s central bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz has one week to go in the job and investors still don’t know who will replace her.
Zeti is credited by investors with strengthening the credibility and independence of Bank Negara Malaysia in the 16 years she’s been at the helm and the longer Prime Minister Najib Razak drags his feet on announcing a successor, the more market analysts are worrying. It’s something the economy can ill afford with sentiment already under pressure as Najib faces his biggest political crisis since coming to power seven years ago.
“Trepidation is particularly pronounced” given the uncertainty over Zeti’s successor, said Jack Chambers, an economist at Moody’s Analytics Australia Pty Ltd. While the ringgit has gained about 10 percent this year after a 19 percent slump in 2015, a measure of its implied volatility is the highest in Asia. Read the rest of this entry »
How long can Jho Low disappear or go incognito?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Sunday, 24 April 2016
Two days ago, I posed five questions to the “alpha and omega” of Malaysia’s first global financial scandal, Penang-born billionaire Jho Low, but as expected, no answer had been forthcoming.
In the past 48 hours, there had been more world-wide developments in Malaysia’s first global financial scandal, a salutary reminder that in the borderless world of 24/7 era of information, where information travels at the speed of light, it is no more possible for one country to sweep scandals under the carpet, especially when the financial scandal is of global reach and dimension like the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal.
In Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak can try to impose a total clamp on all investigations and information about the 1MDB scandal, and even virtually ban discussion on the subject in the highest legislative and political chamber in the land, Parliament, but what is the purpose of such puny national efforts at censorship when the global community and some ten countries are conducting separate investigations related to the 1MDB scandal?
Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal has been described by the influential financial weekly, the Economist, as “an important test of how the world deals with cross-border corruption”, especially after the leaking of the Panama papers – after describing investigations within Malaysia as have been “timid or stymied”.
Such adverse international commentary on the 1MDB scandal a fortnight after the tabling of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report on 1MDB to Parliament vindicated what I had said right from the beginning – that Najib was wrong in regarding the PAC Report as a “comprehensive, conclusive and definitive report” on 1MDB when it was only the first step to reveal and unveil the full “horrors” of Malaysia’s first global financial scandal. Read the rest of this entry »
Final appeal for a one-to-one electoral contest between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional in Sarawak general elections as the Sarawak polls on May 7 is a battle for Malaysia
Monday is the nomination day for the 11th Sarawak state general election.
I want to make final appeal for a one-to-one electoral contest between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional in Sarawak general elections as the Sarawak polls on May 7 is not just a battle for Sarawak, but a battle for Malaysia.
DAP and PKR leaders have actually reached an electoral understanding for a one-to-one contest in the Sarawak state general election with Barisan Nasional, which had involved difficult give-and-take, and it is most unfortunate if this electoral understanding reached by DAP and PKR leaders are broken resulting in a multi-cornered electoral contest involving the BN on the one part, and the DAP and PKR on the other.
I hope that in the interests of the political future, not only of Sarawak but of Malaysia, Pakatan Harapan parties can face the challenges of the 11th Sarawak state general elections as one team.
DAP leaders are prepared to campaign for PKR in state constituencies contested by PKR candidates, and PKR leaders are welcome to campaign in areas contested by DAP candidates so that se can send out a message, loud and clear, of Pakatan Harapan’s solidarity, cohesion and commitment to bring about political change not only in Sarawak but also in Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Five questions I would like to ask Jho Low
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Friday, 22 April 2016
I said at my 108th parliamentary constituency visit to Tanjong in Penang during my “Pantang Undur – Berani kerana Benar” nation-wide tour yesterday that Penang billionaire Jho Low is the “alpha and omega” of Malaysia’s first global financial scandal, that he probably knows more about the RM50 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion ‘donation’ twin mega scandals than the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and that he should return to Malaysia to appear before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) to testify in its unfinished inquiry into the 1MDB scandal.
There are five questions I would like Jho Low to elucidate to the PAC, Parliament and the Malaysian public, viz:
1. How much was spent in the special operations during the 13th General Elections to defeat DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, in the Penang State Assembly seat of Air Puteh, when money flowed like water in the constituency with free dinners, free-wheeling angpows, lucky draws and the whole paraphernalia of give-aways to the Air Puteh voters? Was it RM30 million or RM40 million? Did the money come from 1MDB through various bogus off-shore companies? Was he ever investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for corruption and money politics for the special operations in the Air Puteh state assembly seat campaign in the 2013 General Elections? Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia Pays Bigger Premium in Debt Sale as 1MDB Delays Payment
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Thursday, 21 April 2016
Y-Sing Liau
Bloomberg
April 21, 2016
Malaysia paid a bigger premium to bondholders to own some of its new Islamic debt as a delayed interest payment by its troubled state investment fund weighed on demand.
The government priced $1 billion of 10-year notes at a wider spread than an offering a year ago. The sale, which also included $500 million of 30-year notes, drew $6.3 billion of orders, compared with $9 billion for an issuance of the same size in April 2015.
Malaysia warned investors that it faces as much as $4.5 billion in potential liabilities as government investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. remains locked in a dispute with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund over debt obligations. The disagreement has led to a delay in an interest payment of $50 million on 1MDB bonds, hurting confidence in the sovereign just when the outlook for the oil exporter was improving amid a stabilization in crude and strength in the ringgit.
“The 1MDB risk might have spooked investors’ sentiment this round as it reemerged when the deal was about to close,” said Fakrizzaki Ghazali, a Kuala Lumpur-based strategist at RHB Research Institute Sdn. Read the rest of this entry »
1MDB gatecrashes party for new Malaysian sukuk
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Thursday, 21 April 2016
Jackie Horne
Finance Asia
Thursday, 21 April 2016
The Federation of Malaysia returned to the international bond markets on Wednesday with a $1.5 billion wakala sukuk whose success will almost certainly be overshadowed by the gathering storm engulfing state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The investment fund faces a cross-default across its $11 billion outstanding debt after one of its guarantors failed this Monday to make a $50 million interest payment on a $1.75 billion note that matures in 2022. It has now entered a grace period, which ends on April 25.
The event forced the government to issue a supplementary note to the preliminary offering circular for its sukuk on Tuesday. It said that non-payment will “constitute an event of default, which could result in acceleration of the 2022 notes and could result in cross-defaults or cross-acceleration of other indebtedness of 1MDB.”
The government added that it is liable for up to M$5.8 billion ($1.5 billion) in guarantees and a further $3 billion through a letter of support to 1MDB, but “does not believe any amounts it would be required to pay with respect of 1MDB’s indebtedness would be material to the government.” Read the rest of this entry »
Razak critic urges 1MDB findings be publicised
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Thursday, 21 April 2016
The National
United Arab Emirates
April 20, 2016
A leading critic of Malaysia’s prime minister Najib Razak said corruption had reached levels never seen before in the country and urged foreign governments linked to the controversy surrounding a state investment fund to make their findings public.
1MDB, whose advisory board is chaired by Mr Razak, is under investigation in at least five countries including Switzerland and the US over allegations of money laundering and embezzlement.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, at one time the country’s longest-serving prime minister, said the investigations into the 1MDB fund were not just a problem for Malaysia.
“Being diplomatic isn’t going to help Malaysia or anyone else,” he said on the sidelines of the International Conference on Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Dubai yesterday. “They must recognise action needs to be taken and do what is necessary.” Read the rest of this entry »
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