Archive for August, 2017
Kerk Chee Yee appointed as my political secretary to spearhead the fifth rejuvenation of DAP
We gather here to remember Kerk Kim Hock, the fourth DAP Secretary-General and a two-term Member of Parliament as well as a one-term Malacca State Assemblyman, who died on August 9, 2017 after battling cancer for 15 years.
Kerk was foremost a great Malaysian patriot, a compassionate and down-to-earth political leader, a humble and easy-going politician, a dedicated warrior for justice and freedom for all Malaysians, but last but not least, a believer for change for the better for all Malaysians.
I first met Kerk at the Monash University in Australia in September 1980 when he was President of the Monash University Malaysian Students Union (MUMSU) and invited me to give a talk to a record-breaking capacity crowd of Malaysian students. Guan Eng was helping Kerk in MUMSU and became the next MUMSU President.
I was attracted by Kerk’s youthful idealism and boundless spirit, and he and Guan Eng were among the young Malaysians who dedicated themselves to struggle for a more just, equal and democratic Malaysia on their return to Malaysia after their graduation from Monash University, and joined the DAP as the “new blood” for political change in the country.
DAP must always continue in this process of rejuvenation as we must never lose sight of the fact that Malaysia is a very youthful country. Read the rest of this entry »
Why is the Bank Negara Forex Losses Cabinet Task Force so keen to question Anwar but the Bank Negara Forex Losses RCI so afraid to summon Anwar, who was Finance Minister at the relevant period, to testify?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Financial Scandals, Good Governance, Mahathir on Thursday, 24 August 2017
One question swirling in the minds of informed Malaysians is why the Cabinet Task Force on Bank Negara Forex Losses half-a-century ago was so keen to question Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim but the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Bank Negara Forex Losses is so afraid to summon Anwar, although Anwar was Finance Minister during a major part of the relevant period being investigated by the RCI –and especially when the Chairman of both probes is the same person!
Anwar’s statement from Sungai Buloh prison makes sad reading for Malaysians who had expected the RCI into the Bank Negara forex losses to function professionally and operate with full accountability and transparency.
Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s cautionary warning today to the RCI on Bank Negara Forex Losses is particularly pertinent in the light of Anwar’s complaints – that the RCI tasked with investigating foreign exchange losses suffered by Bank Negara over two decades ago must follow proper procedures to ensure it does not “blacken” the image of the monarchy.
Mahathir said the image of the monarchy was at stake, as it gives a certain image that is linked to the position of the rulers, and as such a royal commission must follow the rules and regulations and procedures that will not affect the image of royalty, in particular, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Read the rest of this entry »
Considerable merit in Musa’s proposal that a RCI into Memali tragedy be held but after 14th General Election
There is considerable merit in the proposal by the former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Tun Musa Hitam that a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the Memali Tragedy in November 1985 which claimed 18 lives be held but after the 14th General Election.
Musa said the RCI should be established after the next general election to prevent it from being abused by politicians for their interests. There is also no need to rush the RCI since the incident occurred more than three decades ago. Read the rest of this entry »
In three days, Gerakan has provided ample evidence that it has been reduced to a “three-stooges” party in BN which dare not speak up on the great issues of right and wrong in Malaysia but dwell on trifles and trivialities
In three days, Gerakan has provided ample evidence that it has been reduced to the status of a “three-stooges” party in Barisan Nasional which dare not speak up on the great issues of right and wrong in Malaysia but could only dwell on trifles and trivialities.
Firstly, there is the Gerakan President and Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong as the first stooge who created political history by issuing a challenge, not on behalf of himself, but on behalf of another, when he challenged me to contest against the Barisan Nasional/Gerakan Penang State Chairman Teng Chang Yeow in the 14th General Election.
Secondly, a second stooge when we see the BN/Gerakan Penang State Chairman continuing to “twist and turn” to camouflage his desire to contest again in next general election, but he dared not return to Padang Kota where he had been Assemblyman for three terms in 1995, 1999 and 2004 but was defeated by Penang DAP State Chairman Chow Kon Yeow in the 2008 General Election by a margin of 1,666 votes.
In the 2013 General Election, he was afraid to face Chow again in Padang Kota and ran away to what he thought was the safest seat for Gerakan in Bukit Tengah, but was defeated by the PKR candidate, Ong Chin Wen with a huge margin of 5,190 votes. Read the rest of this entry »
Isa Samad should not have been forced to wear orange-coloured MACC lock-up uniform when taken to court for remand, but he should also not continue to hold the post of SPAD Acting Chairman
Posted by Kit in Corruption, UMNO on Wednesday, 23 August 2017
It is wrong, improper, unconstitutional and most humiliating and demeaning to force Tan Sri Isa Samad to wear the orange-coloured MACC lock-up uniform when he was brought to court for remand proceedings as it breached a detainee’s fundamental liberty under the Federal Constitution.
I call on the MACC to immediately cease all such unconstitutional and demeaning practices especially as a member of the MACC advisory board, Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah, a former Court of Appeal judge, yesterday stressed that a detainee’s fundamental liberty included being presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Mohd Noor Abdullah should find out from the MACC Chief Commissioner, Datuk Dzulkfli Ahmad whether the MACC proposes to immediately cease such demeaning practices, abuses of power and violation of the constitution, failing which he should requisition for an emergency meeting of the MACC advisory board to put a halt to such improper, unconstitutional and demeaning practices. Read the rest of this entry »
Let Hadi appear before the Memali tragedy RCI to testify the impact of Amanat Hadi on the loss of 18 lives in 1985 and how he could reconcile Amanat Hadi with his present intimate relationship and defence of Najib, 1MDB scandal and Malaysia as a ‘global kleptocracy’
Former Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor said in an interview with The Malaysian Insight today that he did not understand why the PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang would want to resurrect the Memali tragedy in 1985, as “it will emerge that he had played a role in it”.
Rahim said that if a Royal Commission of Inquiry is to be held into the Memali tragedy, “we won’t be able to avoid the fact that the ‘Amanat Hadi’ had played a role in causing the Memali incident”.
“Amanat Hadi” refers to Hadi’s speech on April 7, 1981, in which he declared Umno and Barisan Nasional an infidel government who ruled like colonialists.
In “Amanat Hadi”, Hadi, the then PAS Terengganu commissioner had said: Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO’s Felda Fixed Deposit: Going, Going, Gone
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Felda on Tuesday, 22 August 2017
Koon Yew Yin
21 Aug 2017
Many Malaysians following the commentaries over social media – and not the fake news in the official print media – will have received a whatsapp message from an astute lawyer that no one should get excited with the arrest of Isa Samad for questioning. This is only a sandiwara or UMNO theatre meant to fool the rakyat into thinking that some action is being taken against corruption at high levels.
The due process of law will take time and the ultimate decision making – obviously only made after the next election – will be left to the Attorney General to decide whether there is enough evidence to prosecute.
The lawyer who obviously has to remain anonymous to avoid arrest predicted that “no one should be shocked to hear later the AG announcement that the case against Isa be dropped due to ‘insufficient evidence’. He pointed out too that “In Malaysia someone who is in power can even get away with murder. Corruption is only a mild case, you can easily go scot-free.”
I agree with the lawyer that if BN remains in power after the next election, Isa Samad will not be prosecuted for the way in which he has abused the FGV and public treasury to enrich himself and his cronies. Read the rest of this entry »
Solving The Malay Problem: Learning From Others
M. Bakri Musa
21.8.2017
Learning from others is a natural for some; those are the lucky ones. They consider the exercise mind expanding and liberating. For the rest, learning from others is a difficult endeavor, and often associated with deep embarrassment. To them, ignorance is bliss. Those are the closed-minded.
In my earlier book, Malaysia in the Era of Globalization, I gave the positive examples of Ireland and South Korea, nations worthy of our emulation, while citing Argentina as a negative one, of what not to do. Early in the last century Argentina was a bright star; a few generations later it was wrecked with one economic crisis after another. For South Korea, in the 1950s it was receiving foreign aid from the Philippines; today, the fate of the two countries could not be more different!
A more relevant example for Malaysia is Ireland of the early 20th Century. Just substitute Malays for the Irish, and Chinese for the English; and Islam for Catholicism. Just as Malays feel inferior to the Chinese, so too were the Irish to the English. Today’s Malays are in the tight grip of the Islamic establishment, so too were the Irish to the Catholic clergy. Only when the Irish mentally freed themselves from the Church were they emancipated. Progress soon ensued.
Malaysia had its Sean Lemass (“The Architect of Modern Ireland”) with the late Tun Razak. Both were leaders for about the same duration (1959-66 for Lemass; 1970-76 for Razak), but without diminishing Razak’s monumental legacy, his impact on Malaysia, specifically Malays, was not comparable to Lemass and Ireland with the Irish. Read the rest of this entry »
Pity that Gerakan has fallen from a national party which prides itself as the conscience of Barisan Nasional into a pathetic “mosquito of mosquitoes” party
Yesterday, Gerakan President Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong challenged me to contest against the Gerakan Penang State Chairman, Teng Chang Yeow in Penang in the 14th General Election.
I ignored the puerile call and did not give it a second thought.
Today, Teng upped the ante, urging me to be man enough to respond to the Gerakan challenge and announce whether I would contest in Penang or Gelang Patah.
I really feel sorry for Gerakan, falling from a national party during its heyday when it claimed that it was the conscience of Barisan Nasional, to the pathetic and abject “mosquito of mosquitoes” party today where both the Gerakan national President and the chairman of its most important state, which it had ruled for five decades, had to resort to cheap tactics to get publicity and attention. Read the rest of this entry »
When even the formation of RCI can become a political power play, the Government concerned has lost all authority, credibility and legitimacy and should be replaced
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Monday, 21 August 2017
Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said yesterday that the government is ready to set up a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to probe the 1985 Memali tragedy if there is a demand from any quarters, which was immediately welcome by PAS whose central committee will meet on the matter.
I had called for a public inquiry more than three decades ago when the Memali tragedy, where 18 people including four policemen, were killed and many others injured after the police launched an operation to arrest religious teacher Ibrahim Mahmud, popularly known as “Ibrahim Libya”, occurred on Nov. 19, 1985.
I had repeated my call for a public inquiry into the Memali tragedy as recent as in March 2014.
Since then a national disaster, many times more heinous and catastrophic than the Memali tragedy or any other scandal or tragedy in the nation’s history, had come to light – the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had transformed Malaysia in the past two years into a global kleptocracy. Read the rest of this entry »
Hadi’s three public statements in the past week bespeak of his new role as foremost apologist and defender of Najib Razak, in particular to deflect attacks and criticisms on Najib’s transforming Malaysia into a global kleptocracy
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Harapan, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Monday, 21 August 2017
PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s three public statements in the past week bespeak of his new role as the foremost apologist and defender of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in particular to deflect attacks and criticisms on Najib’s transforming Malaysia into a global kleptocracy.
Imagine, three public statements in the past week and not a single reference to the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal and Malaysia being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy in the past two years!
Like Najib, Hadi does not believe that there is any 1MDB scandal. He believes that Najib is the victim of an international conspiracy to character-assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia and he does not mind Malaysia being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy!
This is the PAS President in 2017, a far cry from previous PAS Mursyidul Ams and Presidents of yesteryears like Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Fadzil Noor and Yusof Rawa – as it conceivable to imagine them leading a national and international campaign against the 1MDB scandal and to clear or clease Malaysia of the infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.
But today, under the Hadi leadership, Malaysia as a global kleptocracy is acceptable to PAS which would be anathema to Nik Aziz, Fadzil Noor and Yusof Rawa.
This is why Hadi’s PAS leadership is hand-in-glove with the UMNO leadership to deflect attention, criticisms and attacks on the 1MDB scandal and Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy. Read the rest of this entry »
In Barcelona, a heartening rejection of Islamophobia
By James McAuley
Washington Post
August 20, 2017
Spain investigates large-scale terrorist plot
BARCELONA — In the aftermath of Europe’s latest terrorist attack, a set of familiar tensions clouded this sunny, vibrant city Sunday.
Some here insist that Barcelona is a state of mind, a nonstop celebration of the good life where anyone is welcome and anything goes. But then came the almost predictable events of last week. In a scheme that resembled recent assaults in Paris and Brussels, a group of young, local Moroccan Muslim men — some of whom spoke Spanish and Catalan better than Arabic — staged Spain’s deadliest attack in more than a decade. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for their actions.
Suddenly, Barcelona — and the surrounding region of Catalonia — is being put to a test that has faced not just Paris and Brussels, but also Nice, Berlin, Stockholm and London in the past two years. At stake is the place of the region’s Muslim community, the largest in Spain. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Najib to ask the Attorney-General to drop the charges against the three Malaysians for insulting him on the social media
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak on Sunday, 20 August 2017
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should ask the Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali to drop the charges against three Malaysians for insulting him as the Prime Minister.
Three Malaysians were charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Friday under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) which carries a maximum RM50,000 fine or one-year imprisonment or both, upon conviction.
Roti canai seller Mazlan Yusoff, 48, was charged with uploading a posting under the profile name Zain Al Aznam on a post written by one “Dr Hassan Ali”, which was critical of the country’s financial situation.
Mazlan had posted a doctored image of Najib, captioned “Mao Hu Tang” beside a picture of Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
Mazlan allegedly made the posting about 2.53am on Nov 11, 2016. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan Harapan will win 39 seats, BN 20 and PAS zero seats in Perak State Assembly if there is a three-cornered contest with a Malaysian tsunami with a swing of 10% Malay votes and 5% non-Malay votes to Pakatan Harapan from Barisan Nasional in the 14GE
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Harapan on Sunday, 20 August 2017
In the past week, I had discussed the possibility of Pakatan Harapan (PH) winning 113 parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia with the help of a Malaysian tsunami which will rid the country of BN’s 60 year rule and allow Malaysia to start on a clean slate under a new government.
In such a scenario, Barisan Nasional will win 50 parliamentary seats and PAS two seats in Peninsular Malaysia, setting the stage for formation of a Pakatan Harapan Government in Putrajaya with Sabahans and Sarawakians.
This Malaysian tsunami will take place if 10% of Malays and 5% of non-Malays were to switch their votes from the BN in the 13th General Election in 2013 to Pakatan Harapan in the forthcoming 14th General Election and that voters make a clear distinction between supporting Pakatan Harapan and rejecting PAS, as the PAS leadership under Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has become the greatest apologist and defender of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s kleptocratic regime.
In the 13th General Election, Pakatan Rakyat won 53% of the popular vote but Najib became the first minority Prime Minister because Barisan Nasional won 60% of the parliamentary seats despite getting the support of the minority of the votes – thanks to the gerrymandering and undemocratic electoral system in the country.
The same electoral injustice happened in Perak in the 13GE, where the Pakatan Rakyat in Perak won 55% of the popular vote for the Perak State Assembly, but Barisan Nasional continued to form the Perak State Government as it won 31 State Assembly seats as against 28 for Pakatan Rakyat.
In four Perak State Assembly seats, PR lost by less than 303 votes – Lubuk Merbau where PR lost by 53 votes, Manjoi by 132 votes; Manong by 231 votes and Pasir Panjang by 302 votes.
If there is a three-cornered contest for the Perak State Assembly seats with PAS playing the spoiler’s role, with a swing of increase of 10% support from Malay voters and increase of 5% support from non-Malay voters from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Harapan, a likely outcome will be Pakatan Harapan 39 seats, Barisan Nasional 20 seats and PAS zero seats. Read the rest of this entry »
DAP will be able to help Pakatan Harapan win the Kedah state government if DAP contests in Kulim and Gurun
In the past week, I had discussed the possibility of Pakatan Harapan (PH) winning 113 parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia with the help of a Malaysian tsunami which will rid the country of BN’s 60 year rule and allow us to start on a clean slate under a new government.
This Malaysian tsunami will take place if 10% of Malays and 5% of non-Malays were to switch their votes from the BN in the 13th General Election in 2013 to PH in the forthcoming 14th General Election and that voters make a clear distinction between supporting PH and rejecting PAS.
Under these circumstances, even with PAS playing the role of a spoiler, PH will not only win the majority of parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia, it will also win control of the state governments in Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Johor in addition to retaining Penang and Selangor with even larger majorities compared to GE2013.
Under this scenario however, the outcome in Kedah will be a 18-18 deadlock between the Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, with PAS unable to win a single seat in Kedah although PAS candidates will be responsible for BN winning 14 of the 18 seats because of split votes.
DAP will be able to help Pakatan Harapan break this 18-18 deadlock so that PH can win the Kedah state government if DAP contests in Kulim and Gurun state assembly seats as well as to mobilise support for Pakatan Harapan candidates in Central and Southern Kedah, instead of just being focused on the two state assembly seats in Alor Setar. Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO is nearing its end as the eternal Government in Malaysia, forfeiting all authority, credibility and legitimacy when it could dub the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia and UMNO President for 22 years as the “foremost enemy” of Malays in Malaysia!
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak, Penang Government, Politics on Saturday, 19 August 2017
UMNO is nearing its end as the eternal Government in Malaysia, forfeiting all authority, credibility and legitimacy when it could dub the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia and UMNO President for 22 years as the “foremost enemy” of Malays in Malaysia.
Does that also mean that for 22 years, from 1981 to 2003, UMNO was the “foremost enemy” of the Malays, governing Malaysia for the whole period?
I think it takes some digesting – Mahathir as the “foremost enemy” of the Malays leading UMNO as the “foremost enemy” of the Malays to govern Malaysia for 22 years from 1981-2003.
But this is only a matter of degree, as for some 50 years, Malaysians particularly Malays had been fed a diet of lies, fake news and false information to portray DAP and I myself as the “foremost enemy” of the Malays, when there is completely no truth, basis or evidence whatsoever.
UMNO leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers knew all along that there was no truth, basis or evidence that DAP and I were anti-Malay and anti-Islam and yet this knowledge had not deterred them from continuing to spread lies, fake news and false stories that DAP and I myself were anti-Malay and anti-Islam.
What does this speak about the character, moral compass or religious upbringing of these UMNO leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers?
If UMNO leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers could be so unprincipled, blatant and flagrant in their lies, fake news and false stories against the DAP and myself over the decades, clearly they would also have no qualms to tell lies, manufacture fake news and disseminate false information against other national stakeholders, or even against the nation, in the pursuit of their own self-interests! Read the rest of this entry »
For Malaysia, the fight against corruption is also a fight for democracy
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak on Saturday, 19 August 2017
By Cynthia Gabriel
Washington Post
August 16, 2017
Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission has been making lots of headlines lately. Its agents have been carrying out high-profile arrests of government officials accused of bribery and influence-peddling. You’d think that Malaysians would be happy at the news.
But they aren’t — because it’s all too obvious that, however welcome this campaign, it’s just an attempt to divert attention from a far larger corruption scandal that has been rocking the country for the past five years.
I should know, because I’m one of the people — one of many — who were involved in bringing it to light. Read the rest of this entry »
Unfair of UMNO Youth to dislodge me from the UMNO demonology from the pole position as the “musuh utama” of the Malays in favour of Tun Mahathir
I must protest at the unfairness of UMNO Youth dislodging me from the UMNO demonology from the pole position of “musuh utama” (top enemy) of the Malays in favour Tun Mahathir.
Today, the Umno Youth vice-chief Khairul Azwan Harun announced that Tun Mahathir is the “musuh utama” of the Malays as he is working hard to ruin Umno.
For five decades, I had been demonised as the “musuh utama” of the Malays. How can they snatch this “title” from me without any proper consultation with me and award it to Tun Mahathir?
This shows how ridiculous, unfounded and baseless is the whole UMNO demonology of attacking a person as “mush utama” of the Malays.
This is the worst example of the lies, fake news and false information which UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers are using to mislead the Malaysian people. Read the rest of this entry »
Most shocking Najib did not condemn the thuggish ruckus and riot at the 1MDB “Nothing to Hide 2.0” forum but instead made a joke of it
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Penang on Friday, 18 August 2017
I regret that for six days, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had failed to condemn the thuggish ruckus and riot at the 1MDB “Nothing to Hide 2.0” forum at Shah Alam on Sunday when he should have been first to do so.
It is even more regrettable that Najib made joke of it, referring to “flying chairs” during his visit to PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s stronghold of Permatang Pauh.
Isn’t this the strongest indication of high-level UMNO “hand” in the thuggish ruckus and riot at the 1MDB “Nothing to Hide 2.0’” forum in Shah Alam, where there was rowdy and “samseng” behaviour of flying slippers, flying chairs and flying “flashes”?
The rowdy and thuggish ruckus at the 1MDB “Nothing to Hide 2.0” forum and the disrespect shown to the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, is most regrettable, but the failure of the Prime Minister up to now to condemn such rowdy and thuggish behaviour is doubly regrettable. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Malaysians to return to the core values for the building of a united, harmonious, prosperous and successful Malaysian nation on the 60th anniversary of attainment of Merdeka on 31st August 1957
Posted by Kit in Corruption, nation building on Friday, 18 August 2017
I call on all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics to return to the core values for the building of an united, harmonious, prosperous and successful Malaysian nation on the 60th anniversary of the nation attaining Merdeka on 31st August 1957.
That something has gone terribly wrong with the Malaysian experiment of plural nation-building can be gleaned from the following four disturbing developments:
Firstly, the recent police warning that the Islamic State (IS) is planning to launch an attack in Perak during the upcoming Merdeka celebrations.
Secondly, Malaysia losing international recognition even among international Islamic scholars and academicians as a moderate nation.
Thirdly, the trend towards greater rowdyism and thuggery in political and public life, as witnessed by the riot at the “Nothing to Hide 2.0” forum at Shah Alam on Sunday, targeting former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad with flares and flying chairs, slippers and bottles.
Fourthly, the intensification of lies, fake news and false information in publicity and propaganda organs of the government.
Fifthly, the collapse of Malaysia’s good name and international standing because Malaysia new-found infamy as a global kleptocracy and our inability to clear or cleanse the country of such notoriety. Read the rest of this entry »
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