Archive for category Sabah
Perkara paling mengecewakan daripada Najib pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO – kegagalan mengisytiharkan perang ke atas rasuah
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah, UMNO on Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Perhimpunan Agung ke-66 “perang” UMNO baru sahaja berakhir dengan penuh keyakinan dan tawa gembira, apabila Setiausaha Agung UMNO Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor dan pemimpin UMNO yang lain mengisytiharkan bahawa UMNO bukan sahaja bakal menang pada pilihan raya umum akan datang, tetapi akan memenangi kembali majoriti dua pertiga dan keempat-empat negeri Pakatan termasuklah Kelantan dan Pulau Pinang.
Walau bagaimanapun, manusia hanya merancang, Tuhan yang akan menentukan”.
Kemungkinan untuk Barisan Nasional mendapatkan kembali keempat-empat negeri Pakatan Rakyat iaitu Pulau Pinang, Kelantan, Selangor dan Kedah atau menyekat kemaraan Pakatan Rakyat untuk memenangi semula Kerajaan Negeri Perak tidak harus ditolak sepenuhnya. Read the rest of this entry »
Greatest Najib disappointment at the 66th UMNO GA – failure to declare all-out war against corruption which is proof that UMNO incapable of change so long as it remains corrupted in the corridors of power
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah, UMNO on Sunday, 2 December 2012
UMNO’s “war” 66th General Assembly has ended with UMNO leaders confident and euphoric, with the UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and other UMNO leaders declaring that UMNO will not only triumph in the next general elections, but will win back the two-thirds parliamentary majority as well as all the four Pakatan states including Kelantan and Penang.
However, “Man proposes, God disposes”.
The possibility of Barisan Nasional wresting back the four Pakatan Rakyat states of Penang, Kelantan, Selangor and Kedah or blocking Pakatan Rakyat from winning back Perak State Government cannot be dismissed completely.
At the national level, the 13GE is going to be a nail-biting finish, with the outcome a toss-up as it could go either way with Barisan Nasional returned to Federal power in Putrajaya or Pakatan Rakyat replacing BN as the new Malaysian government breaking UMNO political hegemony.
The 13GE will be faced with a new Malaysian political demography – with the majority of the 29 million population of today born after Malaysia Day, with nearly 70 per cent living in the urban areas, eighty per cent are under the age of 45 while half of our people under the age of 25.
Who wins Putrajaya in the 13GE will not be decided by the BN or PR hardcore but the middle ground voters, comprising some 30 per cent of the 13.1 million, i.e. 4 million, registered electorate. Read the rest of this entry »
BN will recapture all Pakatan states, win two-thirds majority, say Umno leaders
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 01, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — Umno is confident of wresting back all four Pakatan Rakyat-led (PR) states and even recapturing its two-thirds parliamentary majority in the coming polls, buoyed by a strong belief that the Najib government’s reformist measures have successfully impressed the Malaysian electorate.
Several leaders told The Malaysian Insider that Umno is now fully prepared to march to the battle lines, having struggled through four years of heavy transformation from the party’s administration to the mindsets of its over three million members.
Emerging fully charged after the second day of the party’s assembly here yesterday, the leaders wasted no breath in declaring that achieving two-thirds is no longer an aspiration for Umno but a comfortable reality.
“Of course,” Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said, when asked if the party was confident it would once again occupy two-thirds of Parliament’s 222 seats after the polls.
“I believe that we will win back two-thirds and we will get back at least all the four Pakatan states… including Kelantan and Penang,” he added. Kelantan has been in PAS’s hands since 1990. Read the rest of this entry »
RM40m Sabah Umno ‘donation’ is pittance, say Umno delegates
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Sabah, UMNO on Friday, 30 November 2012
By Mohd Farhan Darwis and Leannza Chia
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 30, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — Several Umno members appeared today to dismiss the controversy over Sabah Umno’s RM40 million “political donation”, saying the sum was pittance compared to the millions the party dishes out during elections.
Arsit Sedi @ Sidik, a delegate from Sabah, even described the sum as “a very small dot” and revealed that in the Putatan constituency in his home state, Umno would have to spend up to RM6 million during the polls.
“RM40 million is a small sum, I don’t think it can even support the next election.
“The amount needed is very high, especially Sabah. If you are talking RM40 million, it is not enough to even move the election machinery.
“RM40 million is a very small dot only,” he told The Malaysian Insider when approached on the sidelines of Umno’s 66th general assembly here. Read the rest of this entry »
Sabah voters will be the “kingmakers” in the 13GE to decide who will form the Federal Government in Putrajaya and who will be the Prime Minister of Malaysia
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah on Tuesday, 13 November 2012
After my latest visit to Sabah and three-day “DAP UBAH tour” of Papar (Kg Tamui), Kota Belud ( Kg Nahaba), Inanam, Matunggung (Kg. Pinaurat) and Kudat, with Sabah DAP leaders, it is clear that the Pakatan Rakyat Sabah’s RM7.28 billion Alternative Budget 2013 announced last month has “hit the marks” and put intense pressure on the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman and the Barisan Nasional Sabah leaders.
For instance, Musa was reported in the Sabah newspapers on Friday of handing over funds totaling RM30.9 million to 140 non-Islamic religious bodies and 266 schools including Chinese independent and missions schools in the state – made up of RM18 million to religious bodies including churches, Chinese temples and other non-Muslim places of worship and RM12.9 million to the schools.
Although Musa said that “the large allocation for non-Islamic religious bodies was reflective of the Barisan Nasional government’s commitment in upholding religious freedom in the country”, it was clearly in response though weak and inadequate to the fourth of five thrusts of Pakatan Rakyat Sabah’s Alternative Budget 2003 on “Empowering Local Communities”.
However the Sabah BN government has fallen far short of what the PR Sabah Alternative Budget proposed.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan Rakyat’s 13GE call and objective is positive “Unite and Rule” unifying all races and religions while Umno and Barisan Nasional resort to the traditional polarising “Divide and Rule” tactics
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah, UMNO on Sunday, 11 November 2012
For the first time in the nation’s history, voters in Sabah and Malaysia have become very impatient of waiting for the general elections as they have been waiting for more than two years for the most crucial and critical 13th General Elections.
Everywhere throughout Malaysia, whether in Sabah, Sarawak or the peninsular states, whether at ceramahs, dialogues or walkabouts, the question most frequently asked is: “When is the general elections?”
Although it has become the national guessing game for more than two years, only one man in the country has the answer – the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
But the greatest irony is that even Najib does not have the answer as he agonises for over two years on when to call for the 13th General Elections – not because of any high national consideration or reason of state but purely from the selfish standpoint of his own personal political survival.
Read the rest of this entry »
Umno leaders cannot be more wrong as Umno’s biggest problem in 13GE is not the perception but the fact of their corruption
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah, UMNO on Saturday, 10 November 2012
Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor cannot be more wrong in claiming that Umno’s biggest problem in the 13th General Election is the perception that it is a corrupt party.
The real problem is the corruption in the Umno leadership, which must bear the full responsibility for Malaysia’s worst ranking in the past 17 years of Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and losing out to more and more countries not only in the region, the Asia-Pacific but even to Islamic countries in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in the fight against corruption.
When the TI CPI was first introduced in 1995, Malaysia was ranked No. 23. I can still remember the condemnation by the then Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who accused it as part of the Western “white men” conspiracy to demonise Asian countries as the global anti-corruption NGO was headquartered in Berlin.
What is most ironic is that in the months before he stepped down as Prime Minister in October 2003, he was singing a different tune, according legitimacy by giving his bessings to the annual TI CPI when he urged the country to aim to be among the top countries among the least corrupt nations in the annual TI CPI.
When Mahathir stepped down as Prime Minister, Malaysia’s ranking in 2003 had dropped from 23rd in 1995 to 37th position!
Read the rest of this entry »
Sabah’s ‘development or else’
Erna Mahyuni
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 07, 2012
NOV 7 — A long time ago, Sabah was like the miserable child in a messy custody battle. Custody battles are hard. It’s not easy for a judge to rule on what truly is best for a child. Who could provide a better environment? The rich parent or the one who makes up for it in affection what he or she lacks in money?
Sabah got to choose… and chose the poorer parent, who wasn’t getting paid child support from the other, richer parent: Umno. Umno was still mad about the PBS walking out and like all vengeful “spouses” chose to try and beggar PBS and, by proxy, Sabah.
But in the end, choice didn’t matter. Because Sabahans’ right to choose who they wanted to lead them was taken away from them by the Great Frog Exodus.
It’s funny that Sabah’s chief minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman, can so blithely state that Sabah has grown as a “progressive, prosperous, peaceful and stable state” under Barisan Nasional.
That’s like saying after starving and torturing a child for leaving your care and then bribing someone to place the child in your hands, you expect the child to be grateful for receiving what it was due, after you denied it child support for eight years? Read the rest of this entry »
MyKad ‘Islamisation’ of Sabah’s Bumiputera Christians
Posted by Kit in nation building, Religion, Sabah on Tuesday, 6 November 2012
— Bob Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 05, 2012
NOV 5 — Bumiputera Christians in Sabah continue to be “converted to Islam” by the National Registration Department (NRD) simply because they have “bin” and “binti” in their names. Sabah churches are seeking urgent solutions to the crisis but none seems to be in sight.
The NRD has made it clear it would continue to list Bumiputera Christians in Sabah as Muslims as long as they are known by bin or binti. It would also not rectify past entry errors by way of changing the religion listing back to Christianity in the identity cards (MyKad) of those affected.
The NRD would only act upon an order by a syariah High Court to determine whether those Bumiputera Christians whom it had listed as Muslims are not Muslims indeed.
Even if these native Christians get a hearing from the syariah court, both the NRD and Islamic authorities may not turn up, thus causing unnecessary delays.
A current test case has been mounted by a 53-year-old widow and her two adult daughters and supported by the respective local churches. All three are from the Dusun Banggi community. Read the rest of this entry »
MyKad ‘Islamisation’
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Islam, Orang Asli, Sabah on Monday, 5 November 2012
by Martin Jalleh
How do Najib, Nazri or MACC know whether RM40 million “smuggled” cash at HKIA in August 2008 was laundered money or not?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Sabah on Saturday, 20 October 2012
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday denied that there was any attempt to illegally smuggle the RM40 million “donation for Sabah Umno” into the country.
Responding to a question at a press conference at the UMNO headquarters yesterday, Najib curtly said “No” when asked whether there was any basis to the opposition claim that the funds were smuggled or laundered through Hong Kong, adding: “It has already been explained in Parliament”.
Nothing has been explained in Parliament as to whether the RM40 million cash in Singapore currency which Sabah timber trader Michael Chia had in his luggage before boarding a flight to Kuala Lumpur at the Hong Kong International airport on August 14, 2008 and was arrested for currency trafficking and laundering was “smuggled or laundered money”.
All that Parliament had been told is the Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman had been cleared of “corruption” as the RM40 million concerned were “contribution” to Sabah UMNO and not for Musa’s personal use, and that “no element of corruption was proven” – although this flies in the face of media reports at the time that Chia had told the Hong Kong authorities that the money belonged to Musa. Read the rest of this entry »
HK dropped Musa’s case after MACC probe, says Nazri
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament, Sabah on Saturday, 20 October 2012
By Clara Chooi
Assistant News Editor
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 20, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 ― Putrajaya has confirmed that Datuk Musa Aman was only cleared of corruption after Malaysian graftbusters told Hong Kong authorities that a RM40-million cash contribution allegedly meant for the Sabah chief minister was a “political donation” to Umno.
De facto law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told The Malaysian Insider that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) probe on Musa was initiated after Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) requested for information on the issue.
He said the ICAC had asked for MACC’s co-operation after Sabah timber trader Michael Chia was arrested and charged with money laundering in 2008 for attempting to smuggle S$16 million (RM40 million) out of Hong Kong.
According to media reports, Chia had at the time told Hong Kong authorities that the money belonged to Musa.
“MACC agreed to co-operate with its Hong Kong counterparts and found that the money in question was not for Musa’s personal use.
“The agency then reported back to ICAC with the information and the Hong Kong authority decided to drop the matter and pull its complaint from the Swiss court,” Nazri told The Malaysian Insider yesterday.
The minister was asked to respond to DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang’s accusation that he had been giving conflicting reports to Parliament on which anti-graft authority ― Malaysia’s or Hong Kong’s ― had first cleared Musa of graft. Read the rest of this entry »
Nazri tying himself up in contradictions when he said it was HK’s ICAC and not MACC which cleared Musa Aman of corruption in the RM40 million “smuggled” cash from Hong Kong
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah on Friday, 19 October 2012
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has tied himself up in contradictions when he said in Parliament yesterday that it was Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and not the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which cleared the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman of corruption in the case of RM40 million “smuggled” cash from Hong Kong in August 2008.
In answer to supplementary question by the DAP MP for Cheras, Tan Kok Wai, Nazri said in Parliament yesterday:
“Yang Berhormat bercakap tentang wang yang dibawa masuk daripada Hong Kong. Saya hendak sebut di sini itu bahawa siasatan yang dijalankan bukan daripada SPRM. Siasatan dijalankan oleh ICAC iaitu Hong Kong yang terkenal dengan penyiasatan without fear or favor. ICAC telah pun menyatakan itu bahawa tidak ada kes rasuah di sini. Soal sumbangan kepada mana-mana pertubuhan pun tidak ada kesalahan. Kalau macam mana-mana parti pun hendak menerima wang tidak ada kesalahan, boleh terima orang hendak sumbang bagilah, apa salahnya.”
However, Nazri gave a very different story in his written answer on the same subject to the PKR MP for Batu, Chua Tian Chan last week, viz: Read the rest of this entry »
UNODC clarification that it was not passing judgment about corruption in Malaysia welcome especially as MACC’s credibility at lowest ebb after pre-IAACA and post-IAACA blows
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah, Sarawak on Wednesday, 17 October 2012
I welcome the clarification by the chief of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s corruption and economic crime branch, Dmitra Vlassis to dispel perceptions that at the recent 6th International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) Conference and General Meeting, he was commending and passing judgment about the Malaysian government’s efforts to fight corruption.
I had issued a statement last week questioning news reports about his commending the Malaysian Government for its “serious efforts” in fighting corruption.
I had pointed out at the time that anti-corruption campaigners in Malaysia had been horrified by such a commendation as “they regard this as a major blow by the United Nations anti-corruption agency undermining their efforts to get the Najib government to have the political will to really walk the talk to fight corruption, in particular ‘Grand Corruption’ involving VVIPs, especially top political and public personalities”.
I had also said:
“Furthermore, they are mystified as to how the Malaysian government could merit praise for its anti-corruption efforts when from the 17-year history of Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Malaysia’s ranking and score for 2011 on both counts is lowest on record – ranking No. 60 and score of 4.3 when in 1995 Malaysia was ranked No. 23 and attained a score of 5.32 in 1996.
“In simple terms, TI CPI 2011 underlined the brutal fact that corruption in Malaysia under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is worse and more intractable than at any time under his predecessors, whether the five years under Tun Abdullah or the 22 years under Tun Mahathir.” Read the rest of this entry »
Police report on corruption against Attorney-General Gani Patail based on lawyer Zainal Abidin’s book “Tan Sri Gani Patail: Pemalsu, Penipu, Penjenayah (Fraud, Liar, Criminal)?” still under investigation
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament, Sabah, Sarawak on Wednesday, 17 October 2012
I have received written replies by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, to some of the points on corruption which I had raised in my speech on the 2013 Budget in Parliament on Oct. 4, 2012 but which the Minister did not have the time to respond during his winding-up on Monday.
In my speech I had called on the Prime Minister to give Parliament and nation an update of the actions being taken by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) with regard to the various police reports lodged against the “trio” of Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Taib Mahmud, the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman and the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.
I had specifically asked what is the outcome of the police report lodged with regard to corruption allegations against the Attorney-General, in particular with regard to lawyer Zainal Abidin Ahmad’s recent book, “Tan Sri Gani Patail: Pemalsu, Penipu, Penjenayah (Fraud, Liar, Criminal)?”?
This is Nazri’s written reply:
“Yang Berhormat Ipoh Timur ingin mengetahui tindakan terhadap dakwaan rasuah oleh Peguam Negara Malaysia sebagaimana dalam buku tulisan Zainal Abidin Ahmad yang bertajuk ‘Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail Pemalsu, Penipu, Penjenayah’. Untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat, buku yang ditulis oleh Zainal Abidin Ahmad mengenai dakwaan rasuah terhadap Peguam Negara yang bertajuk ‘Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail Pemalsu, Penipu, Penjenayah’ masih dalam siasatan pihak polis.”
On corruption reports against the Sarawak Chief Minister, Nazri’s written reply states:
“Yang Berhormat Ipoh Timur, Yang Berhormat Bandar Kuching, Yang Berhormat Sibu, Yang Berhormat Puchong dan Yang Berhormat Serdang ingin mengetahui hasil siasatan tuduhan rasuah yang melibatkan YAB Ketua Menteri Sarawak. Untuk makluman Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat, isu ini masih dalam siasatan SPRM. Siasatan kes-kes rasuah yang dibuat oleh SPRM adalah berlandaskan undang-undang dan memerlukan beban pembuktian yang cukup kukuh sehingga mencapai tahap (dengan izin) beyond reasonable doubt. Ini kerana penyiasatan sesuatu kes itu menjurus kepada intipati kesalahan yang melibatkan keterangan saksi, dokumen dan bukti-bukti lain yang mampu menyokong kes berkenaan.”
Can MACC recover from the disastrous setback of being exposed as among the most inept and incompetent anti-corruption agencies in the world?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Sabah on Sunday, 14 October 2012
There continues to be widespread disbelief and questions galore about the highly-publicized exoneration of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman of corruption in connection with the seizure of S$16 million (RM40 million) cash and arrest of Sabah businessman Michael Chia at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 14, 2008 for money trafficking and laundering before boarding a flight bound for Kuala Lumpur.
It was earlier reported that Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found that the money was earmarked for Musa and were part of more funds being deposited into a Swiss bank account containing US$30 million allegedly being held in trust for the Sabah Chief Minister by a lawyer.
If what the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said in his parliamentary reply is true, that investigation papers submitted to the Attorney-General by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) show that the RM40 million a Sabah businessman was caught with in trying to smuggle into Malaysia from Hong Kong were political contributions to the state Umno and not for Chief Minister Musa Aman and that “no element of corruption was proven”, two immediate questions arise:
1. Why did the MACC submit investigation papers to the Attorney-General for decision when “no element of corruption was proven”; and
2. Why has the MACC taken more than four years to discover that it has no case of corruption against Musa Aman? Read the rest of this entry »
As Najib is an interested party as UMNO President, he should establish a RCI into the RM40 million Hong Kong-laundered UMNO funds to clear UMNO/BN and Malaysia’s name
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Sabah on Saturday, 13 October 2012
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has refused to disclose the source of the RM40 million “political donation” for UMNO Sabah that was the subject of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation of Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Aman, giving an unbelievably weak and unacceptable excuse.
Najib said that “All parties have a right to receive political donations” and “As long as it is through the right channels, it is not an offence”.
What Najib had completely ignored is that the RM40 million is not “above-board money” but dirty money, as it is Hong Kong-laundered UMNO funds which the Sabah businessman Michael Chia had tried to smuggle into the country in his luggage in cash in the form of $S16 million currency but got arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 14, 2008 for money trafficking and laundering.
This has raised a very pertinent question, whether the MACC and the Attorney-General are empowered to enquire and prosecute the top UMNO leadership (including the UMNO President) whether for corruption or money laundering without getting the green-light from the Prime Minister?
Nobody in Malaysia is under the illusion that the MACC and Attorney-General have such powers, that is to conduct full investigations into the top UMNO leadership including the UMNO President, involving corruption and money laundering, as the Prime Minister is none other than the UMNO President himself. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib refuses to disclose source of Sabah Umno’s political donation
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Sabah, UMNO on Saturday, 13 October 2012
By Md Izwan
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 13, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak refused tonight to disclose the source of a political donation received by Umno Sabah that was the subject of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman.
“It is a political donation. All parties have a right to receive political donations. As long as it is through the right channels, it is not an offence,” the Umno president (picture) told reporters after chairing a Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting.
“We are not at liberty to disclose… the opposition also receives donations and they don’t disclose,” he said.
Yesterday, Parliament was told the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had cleared Musa of graft and money-laundering allegations after finding that the over S$16 million (RM40 million) allegedly channelled to the Sabah chief minister through corrupt means was meant for Sabah Umno’s use. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysians could just imagine what would have happened if RM40 million cash Michael Chia caught trying to smuggle into Malaysia from Hong Kong were meant for Anwar or anyone of the PR parties
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Sabah on Friday, 12 October 2012
The case of the Sabah businessman Michael Chia caught red-handed at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 14, 2008 with RM40 million cash in his luggage before he could board a flight to Kuala Lumpur is bizarre enough but even more weird is the utter indifference and unconcern shown by the authorities to the case purportedly because the RM40 million which Chia was trying to smuggle into Malaysia from Hong Kong were political contributions to the state Umno and not for Chief Minister Musa Aman’s personal use and that “no element of corruption was proven”.
Malaysians could imagine the prolonged nation-wide furore that would have ensued if the RM40 million cash Chia had been caught red-handed at the Hong Kong International Airport trying to smuggle into Malaysia had been meant for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or anyone of the three Pakatan Rakyat parties!
The leaders at various levels of Barisan Nasional component parties and their mainstream mass media would have competed, day-in-day out for weeks, demanding full accounting and action by the authorities, including throwing the books on corruption or money laundering.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have trotted out his exhortation at the recent International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) conference in Kuala Lumpur on the critical and crucial importance to instil “a natural abhorrence to corruption” among people in positions of power and authority.
UMNO/BN Ministers and leaders would have issued one warning after another about treachery, traitors and the betrayal of the nation from the dangers and evils of foreign funding, particularly dirty money while dubious organisations and individuals would have crawled all over the country with demonstrations, butt-dances and denunciations.
But now, there is pin-drop silence from all these sectors and no “natural abhorrence to corruption” whatsoever! Read the rest of this entry »
I weep for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance, Sabah on Friday, 12 October 2012
by J.C.
As the week draws to a close, I am struck by three events that occurred earlier in the week that would make every educated Malaysian tear his/her hair out.
The first is the allegation surrounding the award of a contract to supply padi seeds to companies that originally failed the evaluation criteria. Does this sound familiar ? My mind goes back to the Ampang LRT extension where a disqualified tenderer got reinstated, and then won the contract despite not being the lowest bidder. Back to the padi seeds case. Apparently the tender process was well crafted, and three committees from various ministries were created. The advertisement was clear enough: companies need to have the requisite qualifications to submit bids for the RM 164.8 million contract. When the successful tenderers were announced, it became clear that at least one company, linked to a Negeri Sembilan exco member, did not fulfill the original requirements of the tender. When asked about this, the Agriculture Minister Noh Omar sarcastically commented that “….it is suprising that when we introduced the open tender…..there were more protests…”. Read the rest of this entry »