Archive for June 22nd, 2018

Three camps on 1MDB scandal and Malaysia as global kleptocracy in the UMNO elections

Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, UMNO on Friday, 22 June 2018

Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is so predictable but he is getting to be slow-witted and slow-paced.

I told my staff yesterday that Najib was sure to come out with a clarification of his Reuters interview on Wednesday and sure he did – but very much later than I had expected. He seems to have become slow-witted and slow-paced, as I had expected his clarification by mid-day yesterday and not till the evening at 6 to 7 pm.

And what a clarification – one of its kind, for it is a clarification which does not clarify but further obfuscates!

Najib denies blaming the 1MDB board for the financial scandal that plagued the state development fund.

His spokesman said Najib was not shifting the blame to the board as reported in the Reuters interview, and “clarified” that what he said was any board had a fiduciary duty to act in best interests, and that the 1MDB board had a duty and responsibility to advise him on the running of the investment fund.

His faceless and nameless spokesman said: “He did not at any time during the interview said that the 1MDB board was to be blame for what had happened.”

Najib should stop going round in circles and get to the point. Read the rest of this entry »

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Let the opening of the 14th Parliament in July make history for democracy by amending the Constitution to lower the voting age to 18

Posted by Kit in Election, Youth on Friday, 22 June 2018

In my first year in Parliament 47 years ago in 1971, (Parliament was suspended for 18 months after the 1969 General Elections because of the May 13 riots and the declaration of emergency), I made three proposals for electoral reforms, viz:

– Lowering the voting age to 18 years;
– Automatic registration of eligible voters; and
– Compulsory voting.

I therefore welcome almost half a century later the proposal by the Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad that the Pakatan Harapan government lower the voting age from 21 to 18.

In fact, since my suggestion for the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18 in 1971, the majority of the countries in the world have adopted this electoral reform but Malaysia seemed to be frozen in time as far as democratic and electoral reforms are concerned. Read the rest of this entry »

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