Why have Speaker Pandikar and Minister Azalina failed to provide MPs with the opportunity to review the Speaker’s rulings which denied MPs the right to hold the Executive to account on the 1MDB scandal?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Friday, 4 August 2017, 3:06 pm
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia broke the Speaker’s gavel at a time when he was mightily displeased that his decisions are being challenged in court.
But is the Speaker aware that conscientious and hard-working Members of Parliament are mightily displeased with his many 1MDB-related decisions, such as rejecting questions on the 1MDB scandal by over 30 Members of Parliament in the current parliamentary meeting, and virtually banning 1MDB from being debated in Parliament, with no meaningful recourse to the Standing Orders to review the Speaker’s ruling?
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Deparment in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, Datuk Azalina Othman Said said Pakatan Harapan MP for PJ Selatan, Hee Loy Sien, had undermined Parliament’s independence and sullied Parliament’s good name when he sued Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
Azalina cannot be more wrong.
I fully endorse Loy Sien’s legal action and the statement by the Pakatan Harapan MP for Padang Serai, N. Surendran who, together with Latheefa Koya act as Loy Sien’s lawyers, said that the suit against the Parliament Speaker was intended to uphold the dignity and role of Parliament to be the scrutineer of the actions of the Executive.
Loy Sien’s legal recourse is in fact a reflection of Azalina’s failure to uphold the parliamentary conventions in keeping with a first-world Parliament, where Parliament has not lost the powers and the independence intended by the Constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers among the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary.
Read the rest of this entry »
Raus is the only person today who can save the country from an ugly constitutional crisis
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Judiciary on Friday, 4 August 2017, 8:29 am
Will today, August 4, 2017, go down in Malaysian history as one of the nation’s black days of infamy when the country fell into the pit of a major constitutional crisis testing the Merdeka Constitution 1957 and Malaysia Agreement 1963 as to whether the nation can remain true to the basic principles of nation-building spelt out in the Merdeka Proclamation 1957 and Malaysia Proclamation 1963?
Two days ago, Pakatan Harapan leaders led by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (Bersatu), Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR), Mujahid Yusuf Rawa (AMANAH) and myself (DAP) petitioned the Yang Di Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V to refer the government’s decision to extend the tenures of the two top judicial posts, the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal President, to the Federal Court.
Article 130 of the Malaysian Constitution on “Advisory jurisdiction of Federal Court” states:
“130. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may refer to the Federal Court for its opinion any question as to the effect of any provision of this Constitution which has arisen or appears to him likely to arise, and the Federal Court shall pronounce in open court its opinion on any question so referred to it.”
The tenure of Tan Sri Raus Sharif as Chief Justice ended yesterday while the tenure of Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin as Court of Appeal President ends on Sept. 27. Read the rest of this entry »
Will Cabinet tomorrow ask Zahid to reaffirm his oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution, including Article 4 on Malaysian Constitution as the supreme law of Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Zahid on Thursday, 3 August 2017, 5:19 pm
Will the Cabinet tomorrow ask the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi to reaffirm his oaths as Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution, including Article 4 on the Malaysian Constitution as the supreme law of Malaysia?
In response to the Court of Appeal ruling that a child conceived out of wedlock can take his or her father’s surname, and that the edict on this by the National Fatwa Committee does not have the force of law, the call by Zahid for Muslim unity to oppose anyone challenging decisions by the National Fatwa Committee is contrary to what Zahid had sworn in his oaths of office as DPM and MP to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution.
Zahid is not only challenging the authority of the civil courts to make decisions affecting the life and liberty of Malaysians, but dishonouring his oaths as Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament to “preserve, protect and defend” the Malaysian Constitution.
The Cabinet tomorrow should ask Zahid to retract his statement which challenges Article 4 of the Malaysian Constitution declaring unequivocally that the Constitution is the “supreme law” in Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
The 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration “settlement” is a financial scam against the people of Malaysia – why did Speaker Pandikar become part of it by refusing a parliamentary debate on it?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Thursday, 3 August 2017, 4:44 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday 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 DAP MP for Segambut, Lim Lip Eng’s emergency motion today under Standing Order 18(1) on 1MDB’s failure to meet the deadline to pay IPIC was rejected by the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, on the ground that the Speaker “difahamkan oleh pihak Kerajaan bahawa 1MDB telah mengambil tindakan seperti yang telah di umumkan pada 1Ogos 2017 berkenaan dengan Pelan Rasionalisasi 1MDB bagi menyelesaikan isu yang dibangkitkan dalam usul” Lip Eng.
I rose in Parliament just now and said that the 1MDB-IPIC London arbitration “settlement” is a financial scam against the people of Malaysia and asked why the Speaker wanted to be part of this financial scam to deceive Parliament and the people of Malaysia by rejecting a parliamentary debate on it.
The 1MDB failure to pay IPIC has been attributed to misappropriation of 1MDB fund or being symptomatic of “bad financial planning”.
I think it is more serious, 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” where 1MDB had to pay IPIC twice, and now we have the new problem of 1MDB unable to meet the deadline for the a first payment? Read the rest of this entry »
If Raus and Zulkefli are not prepared to decline the unconstitutional extension of tenure of the two top judicial posts, they should at least do two things: await Federal Court decision and announce their recusal from all cases where Najib is involved
Yesterday, Pakatan Harapan leaders led by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (Bersatu), Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR), Mujahid Yusuf Rawa (AMANAH) and myself (DAP) petitioned the Yang Di Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V to refer the government’s decision to extend the tenures of the two top judicial posts, the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal President, to the Federal Court.
Article 130 of the Malaysian Constitution on “Advisory jurisdiction of Federal Court” states:
“130. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may refer to the Federal Court for its opinion any question as to the effect of any provision of this Constitution which has arisen or appears to him likely to arise, and the Federal Court shall pronounce in open court its opinion on any question so referred to it.”
The tenure of Tan Sri Raus Sharif as Chief Justice ends today while tenure of Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin as Court of Appeal President ends on Sept. 27.
Tomorrow may therefore see the country plunged into a new constitutional crisis. Read the rest of this entry »
Was Dzulkifli given two specific tasks on his appointment as MACC Chief – don’t allow any investigation affecting Najib’s political survival and free mandate to abuse the MACC to hound the Opposition?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 2 August 2017, 11:42 am
Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad thanked the heavens for having completed his first year as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner.
He said yesterday: “Alhandulillah, I survived.”
In his first year as MACC Chief Commissioner, the MACC had admittedly been very active when compared to previous chiefs whether of MACC or its predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency, in pursuing actions against corruption and the corrupt except in the biggest case of kleptocracy not only in Malaysia but in the world – the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal, which had even transformed Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy!
In fact, when on January 26, 2016 the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali cleared the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak of any wrongdoing on the RM2.6 billion found in the latter’s personal bank accounts, Dzulkifli was seated next to the chief prosecutor during the press conference, in his capacity as director of the Attorney-General’s National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team.
It is clear that Dzulkifli had played a major role in the Attorney-General’s decision that Najib had not committed any wrongdoing on the RM2.6 billion “donation” in the Prime Minister’s personal bank accounts.
Dzulkifli should explain whether his appointment as Chief Commissioner of MACC came with two specific tasks – firstly, not to allow any investigation affecting Najib’s political survival, in particular the 1MDB scandal, and secondly, a free mandate to abuse the MACC to hound the Opposition? Read the rest of this entry »
Parliament Speaker Pandikar should take a cue from the AG’s refusal to send lawyers to US to observe the US DOJ’s civil forfeiture suits of 1MDB-linked assets to revoke his ridiculous ruling banning MPs from asking questions or debating the 1MDB scandal in Parliament
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 2 August 2017, 5:46 am
The Parliament Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia should take a cue from the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali’s refusal to send lawyers to the United States to intervene or observe the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) civil forfeiture of US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets to revoke his ridiculous ruling banning Members of Parliament from asking questions or debating the 1MDB scandal in Parliament.
It is ridiculous for the Attorney-General to adopt the stance that the US DOJ forfeiture suits were unfounded, misconceived and baseless as there is no evidence that any 1MDB funds had been misappropriated or money-laundered, while on the other hand the Speaker of Parliament adopted the equally ludicrous stance that he has “extra-territorial” powers under the sub judice rule to protect the integrity, independence and impartiality of the American system of justice while completely impotent to protect the integrity, independence and impartiality of the Malaysian system of justice!
I had last week challenged Speaker Pandikar to cite an instance from another Commonwealth Parliament where the Speaker used sub judice rule to stop parliamentary question, debate or scrutiny of a local financial scandal because of court proceeding in another country but the Speaker has not been able to cite an instance so far and must be busy looking for such a precedent in another Commonwealth Parliament. Read the rest of this entry »
1MDB Misses $603 Million Payment to Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 1 August 2017, 3:33 pm
By Elffie Chew
Bloomberg
August 1, 2017
1Malaysia Development Bhd. failed to make a $603 million payment to Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund as part of a settlement over a debt dispute, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
International Petroleum Investment Co. is expected to make an announcement in London on Tuesday, said the person who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public yet.
The obligation, which was due on July 31, is half the amount 1MDB and the Malaysian finance ministry agreed to make to IPIC, with a second payment by the end of 2017. 1MDB and the Ministry of Finance didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the non-payment. Read the rest of this entry »
Utterly shameful and disgraceful when we should be focused on how to achieve the lost Malaysian dream to be a world-class nation, we are caught in ugly dogfight insulting each other’s lineage and heritage
Posted by Kit in nation building on Tuesday, 1 August 2017, 2:54 pm
Today is August 1, 2017 – the 30th Day Countdown to the 60th National Day Anniversary to celebrate the nation’s attainment of Merdeka on August 31, 1957.
It is utterly shameful and disgraceful when we should be focused on how to achieve the lost Malaysian dream to be a world-class nation of achievement and excellence in every field of human endeavour, we are instead caught in a ugly dogfight insulting each other’s lineage and heritage.
As if further proof is needed, this is further evidence of how serious things have gone wrong in our six decades of nationhood.
I was in Form III in Batu Pahat High School, and all students were assembled in the school padang to hear the Proclamation of Merdeka read out by the founding Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman at Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, culminating with the chanting of “Merdeka” seven times.
Reading out the Merdeka Proclamation, Tunku Abdul Rahman pledged that the nation “shall be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.
When the country achieved independent nationhood on August 31, 1957, it heralded the beginning of a new era where all its citizens could dare to dream big dreams to remake the world.
But have we been able to achieve world-class status in every field of human endeavor, whether political, economic, educational, social, environmental or on good governance after sixty years?
Today, we have overnight become a global kleptocracy. Read the rest of this entry »
Height of government irresponsibility and professional negligence not to have legal representation in the US DOJ kleptocratic suits to forfeit US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets money-laundered from US$4.5 billion through American banks
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 1 August 2017, 7:49 am
It is the height of government irresponsibility and professional negligence on the part of the Cabinet and the Attorney-General’s Chambers not to have legal representation in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) kleptocratic suits to forfeit US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kindom and Switzerland from money-laundering of US$4.5 billion misappropriated from 1MDB.
The answer from the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman that the Attorney-General’s Chambers has no plans to send lawyers to the US to observe the DOJ’s civil forfeiture suits on 1MDB-linked assets is most shocking indeed.
If the Najib government is consistent, isn’t the Attorney-General’s Chambers seeking an intervention in the US DOJ proceedings to prove that the US DOJ civil forfeiture proceedings are completely misplaced, as both the Malaysian government and the 1MDB had not lost a single sen and that no 1MDB funds had been money-laundered through Americans banks to the tune of US$4.5 billion with US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets the subject of kleptocratic assets forfeiture proceedings?
Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Zahid Hamidi to resign as DPM and MP if he is not prepared to uphold his oath as DPM and MP to “preserve, protect and defend” the Malaysian Constitution, including Article 4 on Malaysian Constitution as the supreme law of Malaysia
Posted by Kit in nation building, Zahid on Monday, 31 July 2017, 4:05 pm
I am shocked by the call by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi for Muslim unity to oppose anyone challenging decisions by the National Fatwa Committee, in response to the Court of Appeal ruling that a child conceived out of wedlock can take his or her father’s surname, and that the edict on this by the National Fatwa Committee does not have the force of law.
This is because Zahid is not only challenging the authority of the civil courts to make decisions affecting the life and liberty of Malaysians, but dishonouring his oaths as Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament to “preserve, protect and defend” the Malaysian Constitution.
I want to remind Zahid of Article 4 of the Malaysian Constitution which states clearly and unequivocably that the Malaysian Constitution is the supreme law of Malaysia, and Zahid has taken oath of offices as Member of Parliament and Deputy Prime Minister to “preserve, protect and defend” the Malaysian Constitution.
Zahid should retract his statement which challenges Article 4 of the Malaysian Constitution and he should resign as Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament if he is not prepared to “preserve, protect and defend” the Malaysian Constitution, including Article 4 on the supremacy of the Constitution as the “supreme law” in Malaysia.
Zahid should not take too long to retract his call in his officiating speech at a Hari Raya event with the Malabari community in Selayang on Friday night or tender his resignation as Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament if he is not prepared to honour his oaths of office as DPM and MP to “preserve, protect and defend” the Malaysian Constitution.
Read the rest of this entry »
With MCA and Gerakan joining more UMNO leaders “whistling in the dark” to hide their increasing panic, 14th General Election more likely this year than next
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Corruption, Elections, Gerakan, MCA on Monday, 31 July 2017, 9:22 am
Since the seismic development on July 14, when Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council announced the Pakatan Harapan structure, logo and leadership line up, signifiying the final Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation after nearly two decades of political enmity, the past 16 days have seen increasing panic among UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders about the very real prospects of losing Putrajaya and the Federal Government in the forthcoming 14th General Election.
As a result, even MCA and Gerakan leaders are joining more UMNO leaders in resorting to “whistling in the dark” to hide their increasing panic, shouting from their rooftops that they are not panicking!
MCA President, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, for instance, is suddenly putting up a bold front proclaiming in Penang that MCA is confident that there will be a change of support among voters in Penang as the people have lost confidence in the DAP for failing to fulfil their promises after taking over the state nine years ago while declaring to the 45th annual general meeting of the Young Malaysians Movement in Kuala Lumpur that MCA believes that the Chinese community is shifting its support back to Barisan Nasional.
Gerakan President Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong announced the Gerakan’s three candidates to contest the Segambut, Batu and Kepong parliamentary seats and declared that Chinese votes for Barisan Nasional are expected to improve to 30% in the 14th General Election from the 13.4% received in the 2013 polls.
It is indeed a great national tragedy and shame that at a historic period when the nation is on threshold of a possible change of Federal government in six decades, MCA and Gerakan leaders have fallen to such a parlous level that they could only indulge in “whistling in the dark” hoping to win more electoral seats depending on UMNO, instead of being focused on the great issues confronting the people and country. Read the rest of this entry »
Ban on G25 Book on “Islam in a Constitutional Democracy” marks Najib’s break with five previous Prime Ministers and the rising influence of PAS President on government policy
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islam, Najib Razak on Sunday, 30 July 2017, 3:32 pm
I am very disappointed that the Cabinet had again proved to be an utterly incompetent and useless outfit, incapable of addressing the great issues of the nation.
I had suggested that the Cabinet meeting last Friday should speak up for a moderate Malaysia for a change, suspend the Home Minister’s ban on G25 book on “Breaking the Silence –Voices of Moderation: Islam in a Constitutional Democracy” and form a high-level committee to hold public hearings whether the book should be banned.
But the Cabinet, the latest personification of the traditional three monkeys with eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and mouths that speak not, completely ignored the issue and there was no statement post-Cabinet on the corrective measures on the shocking, ridiculous and illogical ban on the G25 book.
The ban on G25 Book on “Islam in a Constitutional Democracy” in fact marks Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s break with five previous Prime Ministers – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Husein, Tun Dr. Mahathir and Tun Abdullah – on the basic cornerstone of the nation as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution and reiterated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the rising influence of PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang on government policy, with regard to Islamic matters. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Malaysian youths regardless of race, religion or region to be the vanguard of a political hurricane of change, backed by two political tsunamis, urban and rural, in the 14th General Election
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Harapan on Sunday, 30 July 2017, 1:23 pm
Parti Pribumi Youth chief, Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman gave a very passionate speech just now calling on Malaysians, particularly the youths, to be in the forefront of the political battle for change in the country.
I am reminded that I also started my political journey when I was 24 years old, like Syed Saddiq, but that was some 52 years ago.
This year, the nation will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of our attainment of Merdeka on August 31, 1957 when I was in Form Three in Batu Pahat High School.
I remember that the students in the school were assembled at the school padang, where the Merdeka Proclamation was read out.
We have failed in our Merdeka Dream and Vision to be a world-class nation as a parliamentary democracy; a successful and developed economy; a centre of educational excellence and a united, harmonious and progressive nation despite the diverse races, religions, cultures, languages in the country.
Malaysia has become a joke of a parliamentary democracy, where Members of Parliament are virtually prohibited from posing questions or debating the biggest financial scandal in the nation’s history – the 1MDB scandal. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib would have been found guilty in any consumer court for making false representations when he claimed that UMNO does not practise the politics of fear but spread the politics of hope
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in Perak today that UMNO does not practise the politics of fear as it spreads the politics of hope.
If the Prime Minister can be dragged to the Consumers Courts, Najib would be found guilty of making false representations claiming that it is practising the politics of hope when it is most guilty of practising the politics of fear!
For instance, Najib said in Perak today that DAP dominates Pakatan Harapan, and what is even shocking, that former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, and two former Deputy Prime Ministers, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin have become my stooges and puppets, answering my every “beck and call”.
Could this be true? Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should clarify whether it is true Xi Jinping, President of China will not be visiting Malaysia this year, removing the programme from his 14GE plans
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Harapan on Saturday, 29 July 2017, 1:38 pm
One of the hottest topics in the country is speculation on the timing for the 14th General Elections and the possible outcomes.
Only a month ago, there was considerable unanimity among the psephologists and political soothsayers – that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would win hands-down in the next general election as the Opposition is too weak and divided, especially after the break-up of Pakatan Rakyat as PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang embarked on his new political journey to prop up and champion Najib despite his 1MDB kleptocratic scandal.
One journal even published an article entitled “The Unsinkable Najib Razak”.
Even Najib believe all these hypes.
But a fortnight night ago, there had been a start of a political hurricane in the country.
Now all the bets about the outcome of the 14GE are now off, and Najib and the top UMNO/BN leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers have been in panic in the last two weeks about the possible outcome of the 14GE, which may see them ejected from Putrajaya! Read the rest of this entry »
Challenge to Speaker Pandikar to cite an instance from another Commonwealth Parliament where the Speaker used sub judice rule over court proceeding in another country to stop parliamentary question, debate or scrutiny of a financial scandal
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Saturday, 29 July 2017, 11:59 am
The Speaker of Parliament, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, likes to quote back to me one observation I had made in Parliament, that a good Speaker does nspeak much.
Pandikar is not only a very talkative Speaker, he even holds media conferences to justify his decisions and rulings, some of which are quite high-handed and most indefensible from the standpoint of impartial and independent interpretation of the parliamentary standing orders.
The best place for Pandikar’s justification of his arbitrary and indefensible rulings and decisions, the most recent of which were the rejection of questions from over 30 MPs on the 1MDB scandal and refusal to allow the 1MDB scandal, which had turned Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy, to be the subject of debate in Parliament, is in Parliament itself and not in media conferences where the Speaker cannot be rebutted by MPs.
DAP MP for Puchong, Gobind Singh Deo, who also had questions on 1MDB rejected by the Speaker, had given notice on Wednesday of a substantive motion to review the Speaker’s rulings which in first-world Parliaments, would have come up for debate and decision in Parliament after a 48-hour notice.
Will Gobind’s motion to review the Speaker’s rulings come up for debate in Parliament next week? Read the rest of this entry »
Challenge to Najib to emulate Lee Hsien Loong and have a no-holds barred debate in Parliament on the 1MDB scandal where he would answer all questions raised by MPs on the scandal
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak on Friday, 28 July 2017, 10:49 pm
Earlier this evening, CNN carried the following news item from Islamabad:
“Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned Friday after he was disqualified from office by the country’s Supreme Court.
“The court ruled Sharif has been dishonest to parliament and to the judicial system, and is no longer deemed fit for the office of prime minister.
“The panel of five judges announced their unanimous decision Friday afternoon, with the election commission ordered to issue a disqualification notice to Sharif. With the ruling, Sharif’s cabinet has also been dissolved.”
The question that immediately comes to mind is whether the same thing can happen in Malaysia, whether the Malaysian Parliament and judiciary can remove a Prime Minister from office for corruption and dishonesty to Parliament and the judiciary.
South Korea had recently provided another example of the strength of its national institutions when the South Korean Parliament passed an impeachment motion against President Park Geung-hye, followed by an unanimous decision by eight judges of the South Korean Constitution Court which dismissed Park as South Korean President for corruption – putting Park in prison during her corruption trial.
Could this happen in Malaysia if the Malaysian Prime Minister is corrupt and abused his powers? Read the rest of this entry »
Can the BN Sabah and Sarawak Ministers and MPs be trusted to uphold Sabah and Sarawak interests when they dare not openly declare their support for Malanjum as Chief Justice of Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Judiciary, Sabah, Sarawak on Friday, 28 July 2017, 12:41 pm
The President of the Sabah Council of Datuks, Claudius Roman, said that Sabah may have to wait 100 years to produce another judge as gifted as Richard Malanjum.
He said the Council, which is made up of serving and former senior leaders of the public and private sectors, political organisations and NGOs. had unanimously agreed on Wednesday that Malanjum was the most qualified member of the Malaysian judiciary for the post of chief justice.
The question is whether the Ministers and MPs from Sabah and Sarawak dare to tell the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, that Sabah will have to wait 100 years to produce another judge as gifted as Richard Malanjum.
This is most unlikely as how can the Barisan Nasional Ministers and MPs from Sabah and Sarawak be trusted to uphold Sabah and Sarawak interests when they dare not openly declare their support for Malanjum as Chief Justice of Malaysia, especially as next Thursday on August 3 will be deadline for the appointment of a new Chief Justice. Read the rest of this entry »
Cabinet today should speak up for a moderate Malaysia for a change, suspend the ban on G25 book and form a high-level committee to hold public hearings whether the book should be banned
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Constitution, Islam, Najib Razak, Razaleigh Hamzah, Religion on Friday, 28 July 2017, 8:33 am
The reported ban on G25 book on “Breaking the Silence –Voices of Moderation: Islam in a Constitutional Democracy” is so extraordinary and unbelieveable that the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi must confirm whether he had authorized such a ban and why.
This book is produced by G25, comprising former high-ranking Malay/Muslim civil servants, civic leaders and politicians first formed in December 2014 to call for a rational dialogue on the position of Islam in a constitutional democracy as they are deeply concerned over developments regarding race relations, Islam and extremist behaviour in Malaysia.
In the Open Letter in December 2014 signed originally by 25 prominent personalities, including former secretaries-general, directors-general, ambassadors, judges and prominent Malay individuals who have contributed much to Malaysian society, their spokesperson, Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin, former Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands, said she and the others were “deeply concerned about the state of the debate on many issues of conflict on the position and application of Islamic laws in Malaysia”.
Stressing that it was time for moderate Malays and Muslims to speak up, and that “extremist, immoderate and intolerant voices” do not speak in their name, she said:
“Given the impact of such vitriolic rhetoric on race relations and political stability of this country, we feel it is incumbent on us to take a public position and urge for an informed and rational dialogue on the ways Islam is used as a source of public law and policy in Malaysia”.
She also urged more moderate Malaysians to speak up and contribute to “a better informed and rational public discussion on the place of Islamic laws within a constitutional democracy and the urgency to address the breakdown of federal-state division of powers and finding solutions to the heart-wrenching stories of lives and relationships damaged and put in limbo because of battles over turf and identity”.
Now with the ban of G25’s book, what does it imply?
Will G25 itself, comprising former top prominent Malay/Muslim civil servants and public servants and which has since expanded to double its original number but has decided retain the name of “Group of 25” or “G25”, as this is the name that the Malaysian public is familiar with, be next to be banned, signifying a major setback for the cause of a moderate Malaysia and the triumph of extremist and intolerant forces in the country?
Does the ban of G25’s book signify a far-reaching and even seismic transformation in the nation-building directions in the country, where what had been regarded as being in the “out-boxes” for the past six decades have made a grand entrance into the “in-boxes” and what had been in the “in-boxes” under five Prime Ministers from 1957 to 2009 under Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Badawi have now been relegated to the “out-boxes”? Read the rest of this entry »
