Archive for March, 2017

Why Bentong did not become a model constituency with the best educational, health and socio-economic infrastructures and facilities in the country as it had been held by Ministers for over four decades?

My one-day visit to the Bentong parliamentary constituency, covering Perting new village and Karak town, to encourage all eligible voters in the constituency to register themselves by this month if they want to be able to cast their vote in the 14GE if held in September, attracted considerable MCA attention, with MCA putting up posters and buntings all over the constituency attacking me.

This did not happen during my previous visits to Bentong, when it was held by the two previous MPs – Tan Sri Chan Siang Sun and Tan Sri Lim Ah Lek.

Does this mean that the incumbent MP for Bentong Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, unlike his two previous predecessors, has reason to be afraid of my visit to Bentong – resulting in the posters and bunters attacking me for visiting Bentong!

Bentong is one of the most fortunate parliamentary constituencies in the country, as it had been a Minister’s constituency for over four decades – when the first MP for Bentong, Tan Sri Chan Siang Sun was MP ifor 1959 to 1989 and Lim Ah Lek became the MP for Bentong from 1989 to 1999. Liow Tiong Lai is the third MP for Bentong since 1999. Read the rest of this entry »

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PAS leadership fantasies of winning 40 Parliament Seats and capturing Selangor in 14GE

Recently, a video of clip of PAS President, Hadi Awang viralled.

In this video, he was clearly shown to have made two important points. Firstly, that PAS wanted to win control of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perak and Selangor and that PAS would leave the other states to UMNO.

Secondly, that PAS wanted to win 40 parliament seats in the next general election to have the “king-maker” role to determine the next Federal Government in Malaysia.

I am not sure where Hadi derives his confidence to win 40 parliament seats in the next general election but it seems to be based more on fantasy than facts. Read the rest of this entry »

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The U.S. Is Preparing to Charge Financier Jho Low in Malaysian 1MDB Scandal

By BRADLEY HOPE and TOM WRIGHT
Wall Street Journal
March 21, 2017

U.S. authorities intend to file criminal charges against Mr. Low, according to people familiar with the investigation, but haven’t disclosed potential timing

U.S. authorities intend to file criminal charges against a financier in connection with an international scandal rooted in Malaysia that they believe could be one of the largest financial frauds ever, according to people familiar with the matter.

The scandal involves a state fund called 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, and the focus of the criminal investigation is Jho Low, a flamboyant financier the U.S. Justice Department portrayed in civil asset-seizure lawsuits last July as central to an alleged plot to siphon billions of dollars from the fund.

The civil suits, which are proceeding separately from the criminal probe, seek more than $1 billion of assets, including van Gogh and Monet paintings and luxury real estate in New York and Los Angeles, allegedly bought with stolen money. The Justice Department is currently seeking to add recently discovered Low family property to the list of assets it is trying to seize, including a yacht Mr. Low controls, the $165 million, 300-foot, helipad-equipped Equanimity, people familiar with the U.S. investigation said.

In addition, Singapore has been building a potential criminal case against Mr. Low, said a person involved in the city-state’s investigation. A Justice Department team has just finished a visit to Singapore to conduct interviews related to Mr. Low and other aspects of the 1MDB matter, said two people familiar with the trip. Read the rest of this entry »

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Will Liow, Wee, Ong, Mah and Subramaniam succeed at the Cabinet meeting on Friday to get Zahid to withdraw his statement that the government will adopt and move Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament and clarify it is UMNO but not BN stand?

Last Friday, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi announced that the government will take over PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill in Parliament to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act 355, but the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Sabah/Sarawak Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders claim that they knew nothing about it and never agreed to it.

At this stage, we need not go into the merits or demerits of such a bill, although there are attempts by irresponsible, divisive and destructive quarters to brand those who criticize or even oppose Hadi’s private member’s bill as anti-Islam, forgetting that the Sarawak Chief Minister, Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg (a Muslim himself) had upheld the stand of the previous Sarawak Chief Minister, Adenan Satem (another Muslim) and directed all the 25 Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs (which included four Muslim Federal Ministers) to reject Hadi’s private member’s bill motion .

Before we discuss the merits or demerits of Hadi’s private member’s bill, the first question to be dealt with is whether Barisan Nasional has changed its character from a coalition based on consensus, where everyone of the 13 Barisan Nasional component parties must give consent and agreement before a policy, measure or decision can be regarded as Barisan Nasional policy, measure or decision into one where the Barisan Nasional is only a coalition in name but accepts UMNO hegemony, where what UMNO leaders want and desire become the law in Barisan Nasional!

This will be the case if the Zahid can announce that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government will take over Hadi’s private member’s bill in Parliament even without have to discuss and get the agreement of the Ministers and leaders of the other 12 BN component parties outside UMNO. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tony Pua has won 2-0 in the first round of “Open Letter War” with Johari Abdul Ghani – would the second Finance Minister dare to try to gain the upper hand in new rounds of “Open Letter War”?

I would adjudge DAP PJ MP for PJ Utara Tony Pua as having won 2-0 in the first round of “Open Letter War” with second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

Would the second Finance Minister dare to try to gain the upper hand in new rounds of “Open Letter War” with Pua?

Johari made three critical mistakes in his opening salvo of the “Open Letter War” with Tony.

No patriotic Malaysian would endorse Johari’s call to Pua to give the 1MDB scandal “a rest”, allegedly on the ground that “the folks of Petaling Jaya Utara elected you (Pua) as their MP to do better things than just being obsessed with 1MDB”.

I believe the voters of PJ Utara, as well as patriotic Malaysians all over the country, want Pua and DAP leaders not to fly the white flag but to continue to demand accountability and good governance over the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal – or Malaysians must be resigned to the mockery, ridicule and odium of the world in living in a global kleptocracy.

I am prepared to organize a series of walkabouts in PJ Utara and accompany Johari and Pua to visit the people of PJ Utara to ascertain whether they want the 1MDB issue to given “a rest” on the ground that their MP should not be “obsessed” with 1MDB.

All that Johari needs to do is to give the signal that he is prepared to take part in such a 1MDB walkabout of PJ Utara, and I will arrange the rest. Read the rest of this entry »

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Do the four MCA/Gerakan Ministers agree with the four-day remand of Kuan Yau for his “vulgar, vituperative and vitriolic” Facebook posting?

I am not surprised by “Superman” Hew Kuan Yau’s arrest by the police, as this had been the yearning of MCA and Gerakan leaders since Kuan Yau’s appearance on the ceramah circuit exposing MCA and Gerakan hypocrisies whether in government or outside.

But I am very surprised and even shocked that Kuan Yaw has remanded for four days for his Facebook posting against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Rosman Mansor.

This is an open-and-shut case which does not justify any single day of remand, unless we have the most inefficient, incompetent and unprofessional police force, which I do not believe.

This leaves only one explanation left – a gross abuse of powers to detain Kuan Yau, a way to punish Kuan Yau for being a fierce and popular critic of MCA and Gerakan in the ceramah circuit in the past few years.

Kuan Yau’s four-day remand may warm the cockles of the hearts of MCA and Gerakan leaders and die-hards, but if they understand justice and fair play, they know it is very wrong to abuse powers just to take vengeance against anybody. Read the rest of this entry »

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MARA under Annuar Musa’s chairmanship is the third example of the kleptocratic culture after the international multibillion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal and Felda

Yesterday, at the Pakatan Harapan FELDA Convention in Shah Alam, I spoke of the curse of the “kleptocratic culture” which has resulted in Malaysia becoming the object of world-wide scorn and ridicule as a “global kleptocracy” because of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal.

This “kleptocratic culture”, for which the sixth Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak must bear full responsibility as it was non-existent under the first five Prime Ministers – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Razak, Hussein Onn, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – is not just about the country’s largest global kleptocratic money-laundering scandal, but the cause of FELDA succumbing to the curse of kleptocracy.

When a person removed as a Minister for money politics and corruption could be appointed as FELDA Chairman for five years, it is no surprise that FELDA succumbed to the culture of kleptocracy, resulting in a slew of FELDA problems not only about corruption among FELDA bureaucrats, but increasing woes of 1.5 million FELDA settlers and their dependants, whether concerning Felda Global Ventures (FGV), Perumahan Generasi Kedua, GSA, education, etc.

But the 1MDB scandal and FELDA are not the only examples of the curse of the culture of kleptocracy which has permeated into all aspects of national life, which is why Malaysia’s 2016 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International (TI), both in ranking and score, are even worse than 22 years ago, when TI CPI first made its annual appearance in 1995.

Other countries like China, India and Indonesia have been impressive strides in the anti-corruption campaign in the past two decades, but Malaysia’s ranking and score of the annual TI CPI are even worse than two decades ago. Read the rest of this entry »

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I do not endorse Kuan Yau’s language on his Facebook which is vulgar, vituperative and vitriolic but it is no crime and no basis to arrest him or to deploy scarce police resources against him

I was shocked to learn of “Superman” Hew Kuan Yau’s arrest by the police in Penang on my way from Parliament to Malim Nawar, on the basis of a police report by Johor Jaya MCA branch.

He will be brought down from Penang to Johor Baru by the police for investigations against him.

I visited Kuan Yau’s Facebook as it was the subject of Johor Jaya MCA police report report against Kuan Yaw.

I do not endorse Kuan Yaw’s language on his Facebook which is vulgar, vituperative and vitriotic but it is no crime, and definitely no basis to arrest him or to deploy scarce police resources against him.

On the way here, I read of the Open Letter by the second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani to DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, calling for “ceasefire” on the 1MDB scandal and suggesting that everybody should give the 1MDB scandal a “rest”.

While I look forward to Tony Pua’s reply to Johari tomorrow, I do not think that national interests will be served by giving a “rest” to the 1MDB international money-laundering scandal when every day the 1MDB scandal is making waves and news headlines all over the world – as it is the largest kleptocratic scandal in the world in recent times. Read the rest of this entry »

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Malaysia is deeply mired in a “kleptocratic culture” when a person removed as Minister for money politics and corruption could be appointed FELDA Chairman for five years

Malaysia is deeply mired in a “kleptocratic culture” when a person removed as a Minister for money politics and corruption could be appointed FELDA Chairman for five years. And he is still today the top man of a key FELDA conglomerate!

It is this kleptocratic culture, unknown in Malaysia under the first five Prime Ministers of the country, which has plunged the country into the infamy and ignominy of being regarded and ridiculed worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”.

There had been problems of good governance and democracy in the relationship between the Felda settlers and the Felda bureaucracy in the early years of Felda, and I had spoken on these Felda ssues in Parliament in the very first year that I entered Parliament 45 years ago in 1972, but Felda problems and grievances never reached the kleptocratic level as in the past several years.

This is clear and evident when we see Felda brought low by a sea of problems, not only with many important Felda officials arrested and charged for corruption by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (which is probably only the tip of the iceberg of the problem of kleptocracy in Felda) but the slew of FELDA problems besetting Felda settlers, whether concerning Felda Global Ventures (FGV), Perumahan Generasi Kedua, GSA, education, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

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1MDB Dormant Amid Global Probe

finews.com
16 March 2017

1MDB: The Year of Reckoning

As the international investigation into the billion-dollar graft scandal at 1MBD deepens, the Malaysian fund itself is remarkably calm. The country’s political opposition faces an uphill battle to change that.

1MDB, which is ultimately under the purview of Prime Minister Najib Razak, has been an island of calm amid a sprawling investigation which has shuttered two banks in Singapore, jailed and barred bankers, and revealed an asset haul including a now-grounded private jet and financing for a Hollywood blockbuster co-produced by the PM’s stepson.

The fund’s board hasn’t met in nearly one year, nor validated any profit-and-loss accounts for a whopping five years, Tony Pua, a spokesman for Malaysia’s opposition, said in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, according to «Sarawak Report».

Razak and Malaysia have insisted that 1MDB didn’t suffer any damages, a view that is echoed among legally-minded bankers in Singapore. This view is difficult to reconcile with the depth, scale and detail of the U.S. probe, the largest kleptocracy investigation in the country’s history. Read the rest of this entry »

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Call on voters of Malacca to continue their historic role to provide leadership to demand for a “Malaysia Reset” of national policies which is only possible if there is a change of Federal government in Putrajaya

My message tonight to the voters of Malacca is to continue their historic role to provide leadership in Malaysia, and in the current challenge and context, to demand for a “Malaysia Reset” of national polices to keep what is good but to correct or abandon policies which are detrimental to the rights and interests of Malaysians.

Without going into history going back to 600 years ago, Malacca’s important role in modern nation-building in Malaysia was clear and evident even before the nation achieved Merdeka on August 31, 1957.

On February 20, 1965, Tunku Abdul Rahman who was then Chief Minister chose Malacca to announce that Malaya would achieve independence on August 31, 1957.

Before I came to the dinner, I visited the YSG Gallery at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, and it brought back memories for it was at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock where I held the first of many public rallies in my campaign for the Bandar Melaka parliamentary constituency in 1969.

I have been MP for Malacca town for three terms, from 1969 – 1978 and 1982-1986.

I remember three outstanding matters when I was MP for Malacca town. Read the rest of this entry »

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10 areas where a “Malaysia Reset” must be undertaken, but only if Najib, UMNO and BN are toppled in the 14GE

Fifty one years ago, when the DAP was formed, nobody would have expected that we would be so strong, confident and even formidable as evidenced by the high-spirited turn-out of DAP leaders and activists from the various parliamentary constituencies in Penang for the launch of the Penang DAP election machinery for the next general election today – all ready for the great electoral battle in the 14GE, expected to be held in September this year.

If the recent publicity offensives of the UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers are to be believed, DAP should today be a very disunited, dispirited and diffident party in the midst of a national crisis and on the verge of disintegration and disaster – and we would never have been able summon such a large turnout of highly-spirited and highly-motivated DAP leaders and activists all ready for the 14GE, whenever it is held.

In the first general election contested by DAP in 1969, DAP secured 286,000 votes which was increased six times to 1.7 million votes in the 2013 General Election, which was one-third of the total of 5.6 milllion votes secured by Pakatan Rakyat, while the UMNO/Barisan coalition secured only a minority popular vote of 47%.

This is not a record of a political party on the verge of disaster, disintegration or decline, but a party which has reasons to be confident of achieving greater political changes in Malaysia because of the strong and sustained support of Malaysian voters.

This year Malaysians will be celebrating our 60th National Day to commemorate the nation’s attainment of Independence on August 31, 1957.

In the past six decades, Malaysia failed to live up to the promises of Merdeka in 1957 for the country to be an example and showcase to the troubled world as to how diverse races, languages, religions, cultures and civilisations could successfully co-exist and integrate to build a united, harmonious, purposive, democratic, just, progressive and prosperous nation.

The 60th National Day anniversary is a fit and proper moment for the nation to undertake a “Malaysia Reset” movement, where we keep policies and measures which had done good to the country but correct or even abandon policies and measures detrimental to the nation or which had damaged the nation building process. Read the rest of this entry »

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Conspiracy by MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other 12 BN parties to hide the “elephant in the room” – that National Front has changed its character from a 13-party coalition of equals based on consensus to a coalition based on UMNO hegemony and UMNO wishes where no consensus from the other 12 parties are needed?

Is there a political conspiracy by MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the other 12 Barisan Nasional parties to hide the “elephant in the room” – that the National Front has changed its character from a 13-party coalition of equals based on consensus to one based on UMNO hegemony and UMNO wishes where no consensus from the other 12 parties are needed?

Is this why MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other non-UMNO Ministers from Sabah/Sarawak BN parties are at a loss, for they have no idea when PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill motion would be given priority in Parliament to be debated and voted, although there is no consensus whether in the Cabinet or BN Supreme Council for the Barisan Nasional Federal Government to give priority to Hadi’s private member’s bill motion in Parliament or for the Federal Government to takeover Hadi’s private member’s bill after Hadi’s motion is adopted by Parliament.

I had asked MCA, Gerakan, MIC and all the other 15 non-UMNO Ministers to force an issue at the Cabinet as there is no consensus for the government to give priority to Hadi’s private member’s bill or for government takeover of Hadi’s private member’s bill, but there is so far, only thunderous silence from the Cabinet. Read the rest of this entry »

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Let Najib show Malaysians the money trail of RM2.6 billion “donation” into his personal banking account – where the monies came from and where they have gone to – during Ministers’ Winding up in Parliament next week

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in Parliament yesterday that Saudi Arabian King Salman’s visit to Malaysia had put to rest lies about Malaysia.

I do not know what Najib was referring to, but there is no doubt that to the 31 million Malaysians, the most important question which King Salman could have cleared up and “put to rest” and which he failed to do, is about the RM2.6 billion “donation” deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts before the 13th General Election in March 2013.

The Prime Minister had said that the extraordinary amount of RM2.6 billion was a “donation” from the Saudi Arab royal family, although this is doubted not only by informed opinion in Malaysia but the whole wide world as well.

When I spoke in Parliament yesterday in the royal address, I said that UMNO Ministers and leaders have been trying to exploit the four-day visit of King Salman of Saudi Arabia to Malaysia as proof that there was nothing hanky-panky about the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal banking account in 2013, and even claiming that Salman’s silence could only mean confirmation that the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal banking account had come from Saudi Arab royal circles.

I had in Parliament described such claims are “nonsensical and preposterous”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Call on all Malaysian youths, regardless of race or religion, to lead a “Malaysia Reset” national movement on the 60th Merdeka celebrations to make the country a world-class nation

This year Malaysians celebrate the 60th National Day anniversary to mark the historic day on August 31, 1957 when Malaya achieved Independence and set out as an independent and sovereign nation in the international community, leading to the formation of Malaysia 57 years ago on Sept. 16, 1963.

Malaysia was second after Asia in terms of prosperity and income when we achieved independence in 1957. Had we built on our advantages, assets, resources and talents in the last sixty years?

Malaysia achieved global prominence on the occasion of our 60th National Day anniversary – when we achieved the infamy of becoming a global kleptocracy.

In the November meeting of Parliament, I asked Barisan Nasional MPs whether they know the meaning of “kleptocracy”. I said “kleptocracy” is a government of 3Ps – Pencuri, Perompak and Penyamun.

Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said there is a fourth P – Penyangak.

What is most shocking is that the Najib Government has put up a great pretence – becoming a “Great Pretender” – that the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal does not exist although almost every other day, it is making waves and world headlines in other parts of the world with new developments and angles of the largest kleptocratic money-laundering in recent times.

As I said in Parliament yesterday, just google “1MDB” on any browser on the Internet, and you will get millions of results on the seacrh for “1MDB” within seconds. Read the rest of this entry »

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Is Sarawak Chief Minister, the four Sarawak PBB Malay-Muslim Federal Ministers and 25 Sarawak MPs anti-Islam because they reject Hadi’s private member’s bill?

In Parliament earlier today, during the parliamentary debate on the Royal Address, I specifically asked whether the Sarawak Chief Minister, Datuk Abang Johari Tun Openg, the four Sarawak PBB Malay-Muslim Federal Ministers – Nancy Shukri, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department; Datuk Fadillah Yusuf, Minister for Works; Datuk Wan Junaidi, Minister for Natural Resources and Environment; and Rohani Abdul Rahman, Minister for Women, Family and Community Development – and the 25 Sarawak Members of Parliament are anti-Islam because they reject PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill?

If the answer is in the positive, are we saying that we have an anti-Islam Sarawak State Government? This is clearly unthinkable, unbelievable and impossible.

If the answer is no, why are people going around hurling the epithet of “anti-Islam” against all and sundry for rejecting Hadi’s private member’s bill?

The position of the Sarawak Chief Minster and the Sarawak Barisan Nasional is very clear.

In a news report dated Feb. 16, 2017, Abang Johari was quoted as saying that he would repeat former Sarawak Chief Minster, Adenan Satem’s directive to the 25 Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs to reject Hadi’s private member’s bill.

Abang Johari said after chairing his first cabinet meeting: “That is the stand of Tok Nan before and we will follow that stand.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Election Commission Chairman and Members should have their salaries and perks slashed by 25 per cent as they are unable to register 25% of the eligible voters on the electoral roll

The Election Commission Chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Hashim Abdullah said in Lundu, Sarawak on Sunday the Election Commission is always ready to hold a general election.

He said this when commenting on a viral message on the social media that the Information Department had issued a circular freezing leave for personnel and personal trips abroad from May 1 because of impending 14th General Election.

How can the Election Commission claim that it is ready to hold the 14GE when some 25 per cent of the eligible voters are not registered on the electoral roll and cannot cast their vote in the 14GE if held in September unless they register as voters in the next fortnight – making the current voters’ registration the final voters’ registration exercise if the 14GE is held by September as the Election Commission requires some six months before they could process and finalize a voter on the electoral roll?

There are 17.6 million eligible voters but over four million of them are not registered on the electoral roll which comes to some 25 per cent of the eligible voters not able to cast their vote if 14GE is held in September unless they are registered in the next two weeks.

The Election Commission Chairman and Members should have their salaries and perks slashed by 25 per cent as they are unable to register 25% of the eligible voters on the electoral roll. This is indeed shocking incompetence and ineptitude. Read the rest of this entry »

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Umno accuses Mahathir of being my stooge while MCA/Gerakan accuse me of becoming Mahathir’s puppet – can they make up their mind as to who is whose stooge and puppet?

UMNO accuses Tun Dr. Mahathir of being my stooge while MCA/Gerakan accuses me of being Mahathir’s puppet.

Can UMNO/Barisan Nasional make up their mind as to who is whose stooge and puppet?

Tun Dr. Mahathir is over 91 years ago and had been Prime Minister of Malaysia for over 22 years. Why should be he become my stooge, and how have I suddenly become so powerful as to become the “king-maker” in Malaysian politics, directing the actions and thoughts of former Prime Minister Mahathir, former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and other political leaders including Opposition Leader and PKR President Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Amanah President, Mat Sabu?

I am 76 years old, dedicated myself to 51 years of full and active involvement in Malaysian politics because of my love for Malaysia to ensure that the country can become a model prosperous and democratic plural nation for the world. I have been twice detained under the Internal Security, hauled to court countless times on trumped-up charges, my son Lim Guan Eng had been detained under the ISA and gone to jail and lost his position as Member of Parliament to defend an underaged Malay girl. Why should I become a puppet of Mahathir?

Both Mahathir and I have strong views and opinions. Mahathir is not my stooge and I am not his puppet. We co-operate as patriotic Malaysians who feel that we have to work together to Save Malaysia from becoming a global kleptocracy and hurtling towards a failed and rogue state.

The present batch of UMNO/BN leaders just do not understand that in politics, there are roles apart from being a stooge or a puppet. Read the rest of this entry »

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Why must every Minister in Najib’s Cabinet end up making dumb and asinine statement like the one by second Finance Minister Johari on Mahathir-Nazri debate on 1MDB scandal?

One question which has been bugging today is why every Minister in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Cabinet must end up making dumb and asinine statements like the one by the second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani on the Mahathir-Nazri debate on the 1MDB scandal.

Firstly, how can Johari claim that the Mahathir-Nazri debate on the 1MDB scandal has “nothing to do” with the government?

It is precisely because of the 1MDB scandal which has caused Malaysia to be ridiculed world-wide as a global kleptocracy, making Malaysians ashamed when abroad to declare that they are Malaysians as other questions like, who is MO1 and why the Malaysian government is doing nothing about the international 1MDB money-laundering scandal, will follow suit.

Secondly, how can Johari say that that the 1MDB scandal had been “debated extensively in Parliament” when MPs are not even allowed to ask questions about the 1MDB scandal, when almost every other day, the 1MDB scandal is continuing to make headlines in other countries almost every other day?

For the record, Parliament has never conducted any debate on the 1MDB scandal. Read the rest of this entry »

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If UMNO is toppled in 14GE, Malays will not suffer – on the contrary, a new Federal Government comprising Pakatan Harapan parties including DAP, PKR and Amanah plus Pribumi Bersatu will compete with UMNO’s 60-year record to demonstrate we can better serve Malays and all Malaysians

Yesterday, I covered three states in one day – in Teluk Datuk in Selangor in the morning, Senawang in Negri Sembilan in the evening, and Johor at night.

This the fifth parliamentary constituency I am visiting today in my lightning tour of Northern Johor in my “Voters’ Registration Within Two Weeks” as the next two weeks may be the last chance for eligible but unregistered voters to register on the electoral roll if they are to be able to cast their vote if the 14th General Election is held in September this year.

I started in Segamat parliamentary constituency this morning, then visited Labis, Ledang, Bakri and am now the Muar parliamentary constituency.

Everybody is talking about the next 14th General Election.

When will it be held?

It is very near, as the Information Department has confirmed that it has issued a circular freezing applications for personal or unofficial trips overseas from May 1, because of the impending 14th general election. In fact, I will not be surprised if similar circulars are being sent out by the police and all government departments who will be involved in the 14GE.

However, I don’t think even the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak knows when Parliament will be dissolved for the holding of the 14GE, for he must be toying with various dates and possibilities.

Will it be September, or even earlier in May or July or much later than September? Read the rest of this entry »

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