Archive for November, 2019

Fake news and hate speech an urgent challenge as they can not only destroy Pakatan Harapan Government but Malaysia’s hopes to become a top world-class nation

The topic tonight “Democracy in a Polarised Age” is most relevant.

For over a decade, democracy in the world is in retreat, despite isolated reverses as witnessed in Malaysia last year and recently in the presidential elections in Indonesia.

In Malaysia, the hopes of Malaysians for the first peaceful and democratic transition of power in six decades to reset nation-building policies to build a New Malaysia have turned sour and there is an urgent need for the realisation of the promises and pledges of the Pakatan Harapan Manifesto in the 14th General Election.

We are in a very polarised age, not only in Malaysia but worldwide and the problem has taken a new shape in the era of the Internet, celebrating its 30th anniversary.

A few days ago, the inventor of the world wide web, Tim Beners-Lee announced a global plan to save the web. Read the rest of this entry »

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DAP will not be MCA2 or Pakatan Harapan become BN2, for the simple reason that DAP and Pakatan Harapan are committed to the agenda to reset nation building policies to build a New Malaysia – objectives which the MCA, UMNO, Barisan Nasional and Muafakat Nasional are opposed

On Friday, I attended a youth camp at Janda Baik and the topic I was asked to talk about was: “Is the idea of a Malaysian an empty dream?”

This was particularly pertinent, as only a week earlier, Pakatan Harapan was given a drubbing in the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election, where Pakatan Harapan not only lost the seat which it had clinched with a slim majority of 524 votes 18 months earlier in the 14th General Election, but lost it with a landslide majority of 15,086 votes.

If the Tanjong Piai by-election is a harbinger of the 15th General Election in 2023, then the Pakatan Harapan government would be a one-term government and would be voted out of Putrajaya in the next general election.

But do Malaysians want a return of the UMNO-BN government, which would come back under the guise of Muafakat Nasional with PAS, and the quandary of the country which resulted in the Pakatan Harapan loss in the Tanjong Piai by-election becoming the order of the day – the politics of race and religion taking to their extremity with both the Malays and non-Malays in fear that their rights, position and future are under unprecedented threat by other communities making the topic of the youth camp, “Is the idea of a Malaysian an empty dream?” a most prescient and relevant one!

The past week has revealed more about the mendacity and immorality of the previous kleptocratic regime, how the 1MDB audit report prepared for the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee was tampered by the former Prime Minister with the deletion of important information about the 1MDB scandal, like the presence of Jho Low at a meeting of the 1MDB Board of Directors and the financial status of 1MDB or the revelation in the trial of the former Deputy Prime Minister for bribery, criminal breach of trust and money-laundering that not one cent of the RM31 million in a foundation to help the poor was used to help the poor.

Is this global kleptocracy the type of governance Malaysians want to revert to or would Malaysia become ungovernable and the country’s fate is to be a failed, rogue and kleptocratic state? Read the rest of this entry »

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DAP and Pakatan Harapan accept the devastating result of the Tanjong Piai voters who spoke not only on behalf of themselves but of the country at their frustration and unhappiness at the pace of reforms since May 9, 2018

Firstly, let me congratulate Wee Jeck Seng on being elected Member of Parliament for Tanjong Piai yesterday.

DAP and Pakatan Harapan accept the devastating result of the Tanjong Piai voters who spoke not only on behalf of themselves but of the country at their frustration and unhappiness at the pace of reforms since the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.

This will the first agenda of DAP and Pakatan Harapan after the Tanjong Piai by-election.

The devastating Tanjong Piai by-election result has given greater urgency and importance to the review of the pace and implementation of the reforms promised by Pakatan Harapan, especially those contained in Buku Harapan in the 14th General Election Manifesto, for which the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council had established a special review committee.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 17th November 2019)

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The real story behind Wee Jeck Seng’s 20-hour political acrobatics of courage and bravery

It is most extraordinary that the PAS, UMNO and MCA candidate for Tanjong Piai, Wee Jeck Seng, should be playing the “disappearance” game at the most important MCA by-election media conference yesterday, which would be the last day the media conference would be covered by the media as whatever said today would not be reported tomorrow, the polling day for Tanjong Piai by-election.

Why was Jack Seng conspicuously absent at the MCA’s last and most important media conference yesterday?

Here is the real story behind Jeck Seng’s 20-hour political acrobatics of courage and bravery and his “disappearance” game.

On Wednesday at 7.48 pm., Jeck Seng posted on his Facebook that “MCA unites to oppose Jawi”, which lasted for some 20 hours, but at 4.41 pm yesterday, this particular line was amended to read: “MCA unites to oppose the addition of Jawi khat (calligraphy) in the Bahasa Malaysia curriculum in Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools”.

Why did Jeck Seng disappear from the last and most important MCA media conference in the by-election yesterday?

We are not saints and we are capable of making mistakes. Is there anything wrong with Jeck Seng admitting that he had been wrong to put up his original posting, that the pressure from Muafakat Nasional of PAS and UMNO was too powerful for him to resist for more than 20 hours and that he had to back-track, withdraw and amend his Facebook?

No, it is not so.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Tanjong Piai by-election has reversed the role of by-elections before May 9, 2018 – where government coalition calls for continued fight against corruption and abuses of power while the Opposition stands for a return to corruption and abuse of power of past government

The voters of Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election will go to the polls on Saturday, 16h November.

Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election has reversed the role of general elections and by-elections before the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 – as the government coalition calls for continued fight against corruption and abuses of power to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy to a leading nation of integrity in the world in a decade’s time, while the Opposition stands for a return to the corruption and abuses of power of the past government.

This is why the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election is important as a marker of future direction of the nation-building policies in the country – whether we continue in the reform agenda of the Pakatan Harapan government despite the missteps and mistakes of the past 18 months, or whether we abandon these reform programmes altogether.

The stand of Muafakat Nasional of PAS, UMNO and MCA on the 1MDB scandal is the best illustration – for up to now, they are united in denying that there is a 1MDB scandal although the whole world knows about the 1MDB scandal and the roles of Najib Razak and Jho Low in it, several bankers have been jailed in foreign countries for their role in the scandal and the Malaysian government is paying heavily in terms of tens of billions of ringgit for the 1MDB debts when the money could be used for the people’s welfare. Read the rest of this entry »

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Achievements of PH government in 18 months which are recognised internationally

Going by the campaign rhetorics of Muafakat Nasional of PAS, UMNO and MCA in Tanjong Piai by-election campaign, it would appear that the 18 months of Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya has been a total failure and disaster which is in total contrast to the recognition given by the world to the achievements chalked up by the Pakatan Harapan Government.

The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index has improved to the 12th best in the world in 2020 from 15th in 2019, while Malaysia is among the best improved economies in the World Bank’s 2018 Worldwide Governance Indicators.

Thanks to its commitment to institutional reforms after the “509” result of the 14th General Elections, Malaysia is also among the best improved country in the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) for year 2018.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Call on Tanjong Piai voters to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat to ensure a Pakatan Harapan win in the by-election to reject Muafakat Nasional and MCA candidate, endorse rejection of global kleptocracy and to have stamina and endurance to continue the long journey to make Malaysia a top world-class nation of integrity

The Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election is in fact the most despicable and unprincipled by-election campaign waged by the Muafakat Nasional, comprising firstly PAS and UMNO and now, MCA.

In the Malay areas, Malays were told that the Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was my puppet, that the Malays and Muslims have lost their rights and position in Malaysia. But in Chinese areas, the Chinese were told that I was nothing but Mahathir’s stooge and that the Chinese had lost their rights and position in Malaysia.

In this era of social media, when lies, fake news and hate speech can be spread in a matter of seconds, both the Malay and Chinese voters would have voted against Pakatan Harapan if they do not have the time and opportunity to verify the truth or otherwise of these lies, fake news and hate speech, which include the monstrous lie that I was not born in Batu Pahat in 1941 but came to Malaysia from China in 1957 when I was 16 years old.

The Muafakat Nasional of PAS, UMNO and MCA, is not competing with Pakatan Harapan as to which coalition have the best policies to make Malaysia a successful top world-class nation of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity, as all that PAS, UMNO and MCA want is to wreck and destroy the Pakatan Harapan Government, although they have nothing constructive to propose, in particular about the future of Malaysia.

For instance, does Muafakat Nasional of PAS, UMNO and MCA support the Pakatan Harapan objective to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity in the world? Read the rest of this entry »

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November 11, 2019 an important date in the journey to fulfil four of the five pillar-promises of Pakatan Harapan pledge of a New Malaysia, and public support must continue until the goal of a New Malaysia is achieved

Today, November 11, 2019 is an important date in the journey to fulfill four of the five pillar-promises of Pakatan Harapan pledge of a New Malaysia and public support must continue until the goal of a New Malaysia is achieved.

Today, the judiciary made two important decisions, viz: firstly, the Federal Court denied the application of leave to challenge the constitutionality of the existence of Chinese and Tamil primary schools; and secondly, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered former Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak to defend himself against all seven charges in relation to SRC International Sdn Bhd., placing the onus on the defence team to prove reasonable doubt in the cases established against Najib failing which the former premier would be convicted.

The four pillar-promises in the 14th General Election Pakatan Harapan Manifesto which these two judicial developments helped to advance are:

· Reduce the people’s burden;

· Institutional and political reforms, which includes transforming Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity in the world, and the restoration of the important principles of the rule of law and an independent judiciary;

· Spur sustainable and equitable economic growth; and

· Create a Malaysia that is inclusive, moderate and respected globally.

The High Court decision today on Najib’s first of several corruption trials is an affirmation that Malaysia’s trajectory to transform itself from a global kleptocracy to a leading nation of integrity in the world is on course, although Malaysia is still a long way to achieve its goal. Read the rest of this entry »

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Pakatan Harapan would have lost Tanjong Piai by-election if polling were held last week, but in second week of campaign, PH workers and supporters must claw back every possible vote to clinch victory on Nov. 16

Pakatan Harapan would have lost the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election if polling had been held last week.

In the Malay areas, Malays were told that the Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was my puppet, that the Malays and Muslims have lost their rights and position in Malaysia. But in Chinese areas, the Chinese were told that I was nothing but Mahathir’s stooge and that the Chinese had lost their rights and position in Malaysia.

In this era of social media, when lies, fake news and hate speech can be spread in a matter of seconds, both the Malay and Chinese voters would be right to be very upset if they believed these lies and there is no time or opportunity to verify the truth or otherwise of these allegations.

This is in fact the most despicable and unprincipled by-election campaign waged by the Muafakat Nasional, comprising PAS and Barisan Nasional, with the MCA included in the latter.

It is clear that Muafakat Nasional, comprising PAS and Barisan Nasional, is not competing with Pakatan Harapan as to which coalition have the best policies to make Malaysia a successful top world-class nation of unity, justice, freedom, excellence and integrity, as all that PAS, UMNO and MCA want is to wreck and destroy the Pakatran Harapan Government, although they have nothing constructive to propose, in particular about the future of Malaysia.

In the past week, we have started to refute the lies, fake news and hate speech and to tell the people the truth – that there is no basis for these lies, fake news and hate speech spread by the Opposition.
Read the rest of this entry »

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BOSSku has come to Tanjong Piai not to campaign for the people of Tanjong Piai but for his own agenda – to claim innocence in the 1MDB scandal and the hope to be Prime Minister again

Tanjong Piai had a special guest today, BOSSku, who came without his outriders not to campaign for the people of Tanjong Piai but for his own agenda – to claim innocence in the 1MDB scandal and the hope to be Prime Minister again

Monday on November 11 will be an important date for BOSSku and Malaysia, for the Kuala Lumpur High Court will be deciding whether he walks free or will be ordered to enter his defence for seven charges of abuse of power, corruption and money-laundering involving RM42 million of funds from SRC International.

Already, many Malaysians are very upset why the former Prime Minister is still not in jail and is free to roam all over the country, but the Pakatan Harapan in our pledges in the last general election to rebuild the nation and fulfil the hopes of Malaysians committed ourselves to five pillar-promises, one of which is to carry out “institutional and political reforms”.

This means the restoration of the important principles of the rule of law and an independent judiciary.
Read the rest of this entry »

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November 11 and 16 will be important dates determining whether Malaysia is inexorably set in the trajectory to become a top world-class nation of integrity or whether global kleptocracy could make a come-back in the country

Next week will be an important week for Malaysia in determining whether Malaysia is to make a complete break from the past of global kleptocracy and to become a top world-class nation of integrity.

On November 11, the Kuala Lumpur High Court will decide whether the former Prime Minister, Datuk Najib Razak walks free or will be ordered to enter his defence on seven charges of abuse of power, corruption and money-laundering involving RM42 million of funds from SRC International.

On November 16, the voters of Tanjong Piai will cast their votes in the parliamentary by-election to demonstrate whether Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, will continue to support the Pakatan Harapan government’s New Malaysia objective to become a top world-class nation of integrity although this mission will take more than one general election cycle of at least one decade or more to accomplish.

Recently, the global anti-corruption movement, Transparency International (TI), which releases the prestigious annual Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking and score for the nations in the world since 1995, celebrated its 25th anniversary.

It came out with a list of 25 corruption scandals that “shook the world” in the past 25 years, and Malaysia made it to this infamous list because of the 1MDB scandal. Read the rest of this entry »

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Zahid should apologise for his Wednesday speech in Tanjong Piai by-election where he committed contempt of court with his reckless and irresponsible statement attacking the integrity of a magistrate

UMNO President and Barisan Nasional Chairman Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi should apologise for his Wednesday speech at the Muafakat Nasional ceramah in the Tanjong Piai by-election campaign where he committed contemp0t of court with his reckless and irresponsible statement attacking the integrity of a magistrate.

In his speech, Zahid had questioned the Johor Bahru Magistrate Court’s decision to acquit the driver involved in the accident in which eight teenagers were killed.

In the ruling last month, magistrate Siti Hajar Ali released Sam Ke Ting, 24, without having her called to the stand after finding the prosecution to have failed to prove a prima facie case.

In her judgment, Siti Hajar said the court took into consideration several factors, namely that it was a dark, hilly and winding road where the driver – who was not local to the area – could not foresee that there would be a bicycle gang on the road at three o’clock in the morning.

The magistrate added that the bicycle gang had put themselves in danger.

Siti Hajar said investigations found that Sam was not under the influence of alcohol, was not using her phone, and wore a seatbelt while driving, proving that the accused was driving responsibly and carefully.

The rule of law is one of the institutional reforms that the Pakatan Harapan Government is committed to restore and the fact that the former Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Home Minister could make such reckless and contemptuous attack on the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary is indication of the magnitude of the problems about the rule of law and an independent judociary under the previous regime.

The Barisan Nasional candidate for Tanjong Piai, Datuk Seri Dr. Wee Jeck Seng should also dare to speak out bravely and reprimand Zahid for committing contempt of court and ask Zahid to retract and apologise for his reckless speech.

This is in fact an acid test whether Wee Jeck Seng dare to speak up for truth and justice, without fear or favour as he is promising to restore check-and-balance in the political system.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Pekan Nenas on Friday, 8th November 2019)

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Call on Tanjong Piai voters to send out strong message of long-term support of Pakatan Harapan objective of New Malaysia of unity, excellence and integrity because despite the historic vote of 509 for a change of government, it is not easy to undo decades of corruption, injustices, abuses of power and wrongs in a matter of months or years

Pakatan Harapan has a very uphill battle in the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election on November 16, 2019.

The MCA is confident that its candidate, Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng can win the by-election with a majority of over 5,000 votes.

I call on the Tanjong Piai voters to send out a strong message of long-term support of the Pakatan Harapan objective to build a New Malaysia of unity, excellence and integrity because despite the historic vote of 509 in the 14th General Election 18 months ago for a change of government, it is not easy to undo decades of corruption, injustices, abuses of power and wrongs in a matter of months or years.

Although the MCA is fielding a candidate in Tanjong Piai by-election, the real battle in Tanjong Piai is between the Muafakat Nasional of UMNO and PAS on the one hand and the Pakatan Harapan on the other and the MCA candidate is only an agent of Muafakat Nasional of UMNO and PAS.

Muafakat Nasional, as stated at its ceramah on Wednesday night, wants to make use of Tanjong Piai by-election as the first step for the installation of a Muafakat Nasional government in Putrajaya latest by the 15th General Election. Read the rest of this entry »

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Call on Tanjong Piai voters to prove Muafakat Nasional and Barisan Nasional wrong as 1MDB scandal is not fake news but the most shameful chapter of Malaysian history which have denied funds to the people

It was a marvel yesterday to see the Members of Parliament of Muafakat Nasional and Barisan Nasional, in the presence of BOSSku, the former Prime Minister, responding as a united bloc during the end of the second reading debate of the 2020 Budget in Parliament to claim that the 1MDB scandal had not been proven and therefore could not be taken as having happened.

The Tanjong Piai voters have a national duty on the by-election voting day on 16th November to prove both the Muafakat Nasional and Barisan Nasional wrong as the 1MDB scandal is not fake news but the most shameful chapter in Malaysian history which not only brought infamy, ignominy and iniquity to the nation as a global kleptocracy but denied funds which could have been spent for the benefit of the people.

It is most shocking that Muafakat Nasional and Barisan Nasional leaders could still claim that the 1MDB scandal is still unproven, although the country had to tighten its financial belt so as to pay some RM9 billion towards the 1MDB debt over the last two years, while the 1MDB debt now stands at some RM50 billion.

If Malaysia does not have to pay billions of ringgit to pay off the 1MDB debt in the past two years, as well as billions of ringgit towards 1MDB debt interest payments in the coming years, these billions of ringgit could be released to build more roads, schools and hospitals to improve the quality of life of all Malaysians.

The united stance of the Muafakat Nasional and Barisan Nasional MPs yesterday continuing to deny that the 1MDB scandal is unproven is all the more shocking as it flies in the face of the truth, both nationally and internationally. Read the rest of this entry »

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The meaning and importance of Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election – to ensure that the historic decision of the 14th General Election of May 9, 2018 does not go to waste and the country slip back to become a failed and rogue state flying the banner of klepto-theocracy

The Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election is the fourth parliamentary by-election since the historic decision of peaceful and democratic transition of power in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018 – Port Dickson on 13th October 2018, Cameron Highlands on 26th January 2019 and Sandakan on May 11, 2019.

The score in these three earlier parliamentary by-elections was PH 2 and BN 1.

Since then, PAS and UMNO has formed Muafakat Nasional, and as the UMNO Vice President Khalid Nordin has openly admitted, Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election will be an acid test as to whether PAS and UMNO’s Muafakat Nasional could lead to its long-term plan to win the 15th General Election.

Khaled Nordin was not shy to admit that MCA’s victory will pave the way for its BN partner Umno and ally PAS to get the necessary support from non-Muslims to take back Putrajaya.

PAS leaders have also not hidden their glee and excitement that Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election is the first test of whether Muafakat Nasional Charter signed by PAS and UMNO leaders in September could result in a Muafakat Nasional government in Putrajaya in the 15th General Election.

This long-term result will be to make the historic decision of the 14th General Election on May 9, 2019 come to nought, and Malaysia will slip back to become a failed and rogue state flying the banner of klepto-theocracy. Read the rest of this entry »

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The real battle in the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election is between the Pakatan Harapan coalition comprising Bersatu, PKR, Amanah and DAP and the new Muafakat Nasional, comprising PAS and UMNO, and their respective vision of what should be the future of Malaysia

Two days ago, I had forecast that the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election will be the WhatsApp by-election in Malaysia, and this forecast has been vindicated since the Tanjong Piai by-election nomination yesterday.

This morning, the voters of Tanjong Piai by-election was bombarded by an overload of lies, fake news and hate speech, and it is clear that the industrious, creative and highly-funded “influencers” who are responsible for producing the overload of lies, fake news and hate speech on the social media in the past 24 hours had been working overtime going by the volume of their products since nomination.

Among the lies, fake news and hate speech that are being disseminated in the by-election is the allegation that it had been 18 months since Pakatan Harapan became the government but Pakatan Harapan has failed to fulfill any of its promises in its Manifesto.

If such an allegation, which could be easily shot down as untrue could be spread in the Tanjong Piai by-election, it should not be difficult to imagine the monstrous lies, fake news and hate speech which could be disseminated in the by-election.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Another Malaysian first in the world but which Malaysians have nothing to be proud about

Malaysia has achieved another first in the world but it is something which Malaysians have nothing to be proud about.

Two days ago, Malaysian ‘billionaire’ and fugitive financier from justice, Jho Low reached a settlement deal with the United States Department of Justice and agreed to surrender US$1billion in funds he and his family had misappropriated from Malaysian investment fund 1MDB.

As Jho Low himself said his personal blog page:

“I am very pleased to confirm that a landmark comprehensive, global settlement has been reached with the United States government, which fully and forever resolves in their entirety each of the U.S. government’s civil, criminal, and administrative actions or proceedings relating to the defendant assets at issue in the Central District of California.

“The historic agreement builds on a series of successful prior agreements negotiated with the U.S. Department of Justice and is the result of good faith discussions between the parties.

“Importantly, the agreement does not constitute an admission of guilt, liability or any form of wrongdoing by me or the asset owners. We believe all parties consider this resolution, which is subject to final court approval, to be a successful and satisfactory result.”

Jho Low is not only the first Malaysian, but the only person, in the world who could surrender US$1 billion in funds, although his action “does not constitute an admission of guilt, liability or any form of wrongdoing by me or the asset owners”.

But this is not an action which any Malaysian can feel proud. Read the rest of this entry »

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