What are the big news of today. There are several jostling for lead position.
They include the following:
First, 1MDB missed the new deadline to pay US$628.75 million (RM2.69 billion) to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) after a five-day extension from July 31.
The first deadline was set in a settlement between 1MDB and IPIC in April in order to avoid an arbitration process over monies owed to IPIC.
Abu Dhabi’s IPIC has given 1MDB until Aug 31 to make a US$603 million debt settlement payment that was due yesterday, plus interest.
However, IPIC said 1MDB was obliged to pay at least US$310 million by Aug 12, according to the company’s regulatory statement to the London Stock Exchange. The IPIC statement yesterday stated that 1MDB and MOF Inc are to pay an undisclosed amount of “default interest” for the delay.
Have 1MDB and MOF Inc to pay the two “default interest” for the two delays and how much do they come to?
The international news about 1MDB and MoF Inc missing two debt-payment deadlines can neither be a boost to foreign investors nor cause for Malaysians to feel proud of the country, after suffering for two years under the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy.
It is reported in the international media that although 1MDB and MoF Inc will get some breathing space until the end of August, the Abu Dhabi government is incredulous at the cavalier manner Putrajaya has handled its debt obligations and is puzzled why it has taken the Malaysian Government so long to handle the transfer of funds, given that the agreement with IPIC was inked in April.
Meanwhile, the charade of the second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani claiming total ignorance about the IMDB-IPIC events, as he was not “privy” to the developments, wears very thin and unlikely to convince both Malaysians and foreign investors when the 1MDB Chairman is none other than the Treasury Secretary-General Tan Sri Irwan Serigar.
It is reported that among the reasons for the delay and missing deadlines was the embarrassing fact that local and international banks do not want to handle transactions with the prefix 1MDB.
The Malaysian Insight, for instance, reported that 1MDB had difficulty transferring funds from overseas accounts with even Malaysian banks being wary of entering any transactions.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Parliament last week that 1MDB is able to pay Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) the US$602.5 million as part of a settlement struck in April, giving an assurance that 1MDB was facing a “technical matter” and not a question of being unable to pay (IPIC).
The Prime Minister has not told Parliament the truth as the whole so-called 1MDB-IPIC arbitration settlement is a financial scam against the interests of Malaysian taxpayers.
The second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani is on record as saying that he had studied the documents of the 1MDB-IPIC dispute and he was confident that 1MDB would win the case in going for London arbitration.
Why then did the Ministry of Finance and 1MDB ended up “surrendering” to IPIC claims in toto in reaching the 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration “settlement” in April where 1MDB had to pay IPIC twice, and now we have the new problem of 1MDB unable to meet two deadlines for the first payment, and having to pay two “default interests”?
Parliament should be the venue for a proper accounting of the latest 1MDB financial scam, the inability or failure to meet the two payment deadlines, having to pay two “default interests, but it is not!
Has the Malaysian Parliament become a 1MDB Parliament to suppress all issues and questions about the 1MDB scandal, not only where questions by over 30 MPs on 1MDB were rejected on the most ridiculous and unparliamentary grounds, but where the 1MDB scandal has virtually become a banned or prohibited subject of debate?
These are great lies against the Malaysian people and nation.
Are there sufficient Malaysians who are concerned about these lies in public affairs, to be able to make a difference to change the entire political landscape where the 1MDB scandal can be pursued in Parliament and by all institutions in the country?
Or the second issue, where the Deputy Chief Minister, Prof P. Ramasamy had written an article entitled “BN’s complete betrayal of non-Muslims!”.
This is with regard to the withdrawal of the amendment to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Bill to put an end to the man-made tragedy of unilateral conversion of underaged children by only one of the parents.
DAP does not agree with the former de facto Law Minister and now Minister for Tourism and Culture, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz that a constitutional amendment is required to put an end to the unilateral conversion of minors by one of the parents, and fully supports DAP MP for Ipoh Barat, M. Kula Segaran that this can be achieved by putting back the proposed amendment withdrawn on Monday in the LRA Amendment Bill to ban unilateral conversion of a child by a parent.
The reasons given by Nazri is a big “cop-out” from an eight-year-old Barisan Nasional Cabinet decision in 2009 to amend the LRA to ban unilateral conversion of a child by a parent.
The argument that only a constitutional amendment can ban unilateral conversion of a child by a parent is a Johnny-come-lately reasoning to camouflage the latest betrayal by BN Ministers, particularly from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the Sabah and Sarawak component parties in Barisan Nasional, from standing up for the constitutional rights of all Malaysians as embedded in the 1957 Merdeka Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
The betrayal of MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers are not surprising, but why have the Sabah and Sarawak Ministers also participated in this betrayal as they are as good as conceding that when Sabah and Sarawak formed Malaysia together with the Peninsular Malay states in 1963, they agreed that a single parent can carry out unilateral conversion of an underaged child – which is most unthinkable and astonishing.
The clause banning unilateral conversion of a minor by a single parent should be restored to the LRA Amendment Bill, and it is for those, like Nazri, who suddenly argue that such a provision is unconstitutional, to let the Courts decide whether it is constitutional or otherwise.
Nazri is not sincere and truthful about the eight-year change-of-heart to amend the LRA to ban unilaterial conversion of minors by a single parent.
He said BN has only 134 MPs which does not constitute a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution to ban unilateral conversions.
A two-thirds Parliamentary majority would mean 149 MPs – ie. short of 15 MPs to Nazri’s 134 MPs. DAP can guarantee support of 37 MPs, which will bring the total vote to 186. In fact, we are confident of support of other Pakatan Harapan MPs from PKR, Amanah and Bersatu – bringing the total of over 200 votes, provided the 134 BN MPs are in real support of such a constitutional.
But will Nazri dare to call the bluff?
The answer is obvious. These are lies and hypocrisies in Malaysian politics.
There are many news items jostling for lead positions, for instance, about Malaysia’s failure to clear or cleanse Malaysia of the infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy despite having a new and vigorous Chief Commissioner for the past year, but who suffered from the serious disease of selective investigation and prosecution.
As I told Mohamad Zakkuan bin Talib, director of MACC Strategic Communication Division at the spanking new MACC headquarters in Putrajaya yesterday, MACC should spearhead a national and international campaign to clear and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy and ignominy of a global kleptocracy, starting with a no-holds barred investigation into the 1MDB scandal.
Or there is the news of the country plunged into a judicial and constitutional crisis because of the unconstitutional extension of the tenure of the two top judicial posts in the land, with Tan Sri Raus Sharif as Chief Justice and Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin as Court of Appeal President respectively.
These are among the important news affecting the country and people, but there are those who do not want Malaysians to focus on the real issues of the country but instead get distracted by minor and irrelevant topics, even lies, fake news and false information.
I have been a favourite subject of demonisation by the UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers, a victim of the lies, fake news and false information pumped from the UMNO/BN propaganda mills – that I caused May 13 riots in 1969, that I am a communist, a chauvinist, a triple agent of foreign powers, of trying to create a Christian Malaysia, and of late, puppet master of Mahathir, Anwar, Wan Azizah, Muhyiddin and Mohamad Sabu among others.
Early this month, the Star accused me of having insulted Tun Mahathir in the past about his Indian ancestry.
Recently, I was accused of having “arrived” in Malaya from China in 1957, that I have suddenly changed my voting address to Penang to contest in Penang in the next general election, and most recently, banners were put up in my parliamentary constituency, Gelang Patah with the words: “Sorry, Uncle Kit Siang, we are not Rihanna, we don’t love the way you lied”
I must confess that I did not know who was Rihanna when I first saw the wording.
However, those behind the banner were not interested in the real liars, who are behind the 1MDB scandal, the farce of the withdrawal of the LRA(Amendment) Bill to ban unilateral conversion, the selective operation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or the latest constitutional crisis in the country as a result of the unconstitutional extension of the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal President.
The masterminds behind the lies, fake news and false information are not concerned about these great issues, and they will continue to hide in the darkness away from light and dare not reveal their real identities, in their continuing agenda to distract Malaysians from the real issues of the peoplel
I have no time for them, whether in the past or in the future.
The great mission to save Malaysia from continuing in the trajectory of a failed and a rogue state is more important than the lies, fake news and false information produced by these propaganidsts and cybertroopers.
(Media Conference Statement in Parliament on Wednesday, 9th August 2017 at 2.30 pm)