Just as Deepavali celebrates eternal battle and victory of light over darkness, the darkness of the RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM50 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals must be exposed by the light of integrity, transparency and good governance
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Sunday, 8 November 2015, 7:37 am
Deepavali celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of truth and justice over falsehood and oppression.
The course of human history is replete with examples in different countries and civilisations of the hard and difficult battles fought by righteous men and women down the ages to uphold truth and justice against injustice, falsehoods and oppression and how eventually, light prevailed over darkness.
We must always be mindful that the darkest hour is just before dawn!
For me, the Deepavali this year will be quite out of the ordinary, for I have been suspended from Parliament for six months not because I had committed any crime but because I was speaking what was in the hearts and minds of ordinary Malaysians in Parliament – that the three-month derailment of the Public Accounts Committee in its investigations into the RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM50 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals was wrong and unacceptable and that the Parliament Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia had no such powers to stop the PAC from continuing with its 1MDB investigations for three months. Read the rest of this entry »
“SAYA ORANG TUA DARI SASTERA, ORANG MUDA DARI SIASAH”
By ~ A. SAMAD SAID
UCAPAN MALAM SOLIDARITI BAGI LIM KIT SIANG @5.11.15
SETIAP kali kerajaan dikritik atau ditegur
biasanya sangat cepat ia ditafsir atau didakwa
sebagai hajat atau upaya menggoyah kerajaan.
Tidak ditanya apakah selaran atau kritik itu
sahih atau palsu, berdasar atau tidak, seolah-
olah ia tidak perlu.
Tampaknya, teguran atau saranan itu sentiasa
bermula sebagai salah atau sememangnya nakal.
Kerajaan kita kini seolah-olah menganggap yang
menegur tetap seteru, tidak kiralah apa yang ditegur,
sementara kita orang biasa atau kelompok
oposisi, alhamdulillah, masih berupaya coba tetap
berarah. Malah, jika berkhayal pun, masih tetap
berniat sihat.
Lihat, kini yang mengkritik atau menegur kerajaan
bukan lagi melulu pihak oposisi. Sebaliknya,
semakin ramai dan bergema yang resah membantah
mula datang dari kalangan parti pemerintah
sendiri. Khusus tentang kesamaran 1MDB, yang
menegur, malah ketika-ketika tidak tersangka,
datang dari tokoh-tokoh UMNO yang terpenting. Read the rest of this entry »
If DAP and Pakatan Harapan are only interested in our own political interests, we will do everything possible to ensure that Najib will remain as Prime Minister and lead UMNO/BN into the 14th General Elections because he will be an easier target
Posted by Kit in Budget Debate, Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Harapan, Parliament on Saturday, 7 November 2015, 4:29 pm
If DAP and Pakatan Harapan are only interested in our own political interests, we will do everything possible to ensure that Datuk Seri Najib Razak will remain as Prime Minister and lead UMNO/Barisan Nasional into the 14th General Elections because he will be an easier target with so many political and economic scandals exploding all over the place.
We will not force an issue of a vote of confidence in Parliament, whether in the form of a no-confidence motion or in defeating the government on an important measure like the Second Reading of the 2016 Budget which will be voted on Monday 16th November at the end of the three-day Ministerial winding-up of the budget debate.
But our national interests must override all our political party interests for we want to send a clear and unmistakable message that the present state of national affairs where confidence, whether national or international, has plumbed to the lowest depths in the nation’s history, cannot continue for the next two-and-half-years before the 14th General Elections, as the country cannot afford the great economic and nation-building costs of such prolonged crisis of confidence.
November 16. when there will be a vote in the Second Reading of the 2016 Budget, will be Najib’s first test of leadership in Parliament.
Pakatan Harapan has 72 Members of Parliament, but only 71 votes, as I have been suspended from Parliament for six months. PAS has declared that it will not support any effort to vote out the 2016 Budget.
In these circumstances, is it possible to expect 41 Members of Parliament from UMNO/Barisan Nasional to cross the floor on Nov. 16 to support Pakatan Harapan Members of Parliament to vote down Najib’s 2016 Budget by ensuring that there is an absolute simple majority of at least 112 votes out of a Parliament of 222 Members of Parlaiment? Read the rest of this entry »
Police and MCMC raid of Malaysiakini and Star Online must be condemned in strongest possible terms as part of a repressive plan to create culture of fear to stifle freedom of expression and dissent in country
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 7 November 2015, 8:33 am
The police and Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) raid of Malaysiakini and Star Online yesterday must be condemned in the strongest possible terms as part of a repressive plan to create a culture of fear to stifle freedom of expression and dissent in the country.
Pakatan Harapan leaders had been on the receiving end of lies and criminal defamation for years but I do not see the police and MCMC taking any action against the UMNO/BN and pro UMNO/BN media or cybertroopers for these flagrant lies and falsehoods.
A classic case is the Utusan Malaysia front-page report that the DAP wanted to create a Christian Malaysia, which was not on a most mischievous, malicious and diabolical lie – but no action had been taken by the authorities against Utusan Malaysia not only in this instance but also many similar such cases by the same guilty parties. Read the rest of this entry »
New PAC Chairman Hasan Arifin is more concerned about shutting up Tony Pua on 1MDB than about completing PAC investigations and getting to the bottom of the RM2.6 billion “donation” and 1MDB twin mega scandals
Posted by Kit in DAP, Najib Razak, Parliament on Saturday, 7 November 2015, 7:07 am
On the first day of the current budget parliamentary meeting on Oct. 19, Parliament elected the UMNO/BN MP for Rompin, Datuk Hasan Arifin as the new Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which had been derailed for three months from continuing its 1MDB investigations because of the promotion of the previous PAC Chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamad and three other PAC members as Minister and Deputy Ministers.
However, in the 17 days that he had become PAC Chairman, Hasan seemed more interested in shutting up the DAP MP for PJ Utara and PAC member, Tony Pua, from speaking about the 1MDB scandal both inside and outside Parliament, than about completing the derailed PAC investigations and getting to the bottom of the RM2.6 billion “donation” and 1MDB twin mega scandals.
Was this the “brief” that was given to Hasan before his name was proposed as the PAC Chairman in Parliament – his KPI (Key Performance Indicator) as PAC Chairman being to stop Tony Pua from continuing to speak about the RM2.6 billion “donation” and 1MDB twin mega scandals, both inside and outside Parliament?
Hasan has insisted that the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has imposed a blanket gag on Pua from commenting on the 1MDB, including debating about 1MDB in Parliament.
Quoting Pandikar as having said that it was “difficult to differentiate between the chilli from the spice or the sweet and the sugar”, Hasan said that he would advise the PAC and Pandikar if Pua makes any remark about the 1MDB.
Hasan is clearly twisting the Speaker’s words, as Pandikar had told Pua in Parliament yesterday morning that he could talk on 1MDB if he did not touch on the PAC’s 1MDB probe and Pua had repeated umpteenth times that he had never made use of any classified information which he had obtained as a member of PAC. Read the rest of this entry »
Penang’s “Solidarity with Lim Kit Siang – Mana RM2.6 billion” (photos)
Posted by Kit in DAP, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Penang on Friday, 6 November 2015, 12:44 pm
Its not just me, suspended from Parliament for six months, but the 30 million Malaysians including the three million UMNO members, who are victims of RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Friday, 6 November 2015, 10:51 am
I thank Penang DAP under the chairmanship of Sdr. Chow Kon Yeow for organising this “Solidarity with Lim Kit Siang and Where have RM2.6 billion gone?” ceramah, and the participation of the Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, the head of Pakatan Harapan secretariat, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Parti Amanah Negara Deputy Chairman Mujahid Yusuf Rawa, Nobel Laureate Pak Samad, DAP Members of Parliament Zairil Khir Johari and Ram Karpal Singh.
I am a victim of the RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin mega scandals which have wrought such economic and political devastation in the country.
But I am not the only one. In fact, the 30 million Malaysians, including the three million UMNO members, are also victims of the twin mega scandals of the country, for we are suffer from their damaging consequences, like the fall in the value of the Malaysian ringgit, the collapse of the Malaysian stock market, the plunge in international reserves, the exit of foreign capital and our inability to sell Malaysia to foreign investors as a haven for foreign investment. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Najib not to condone Azalina’s unparliamentary schedule but to be in Parliament on Nov. 16 to give full accountability on the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin mega scandals
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Friday, 6 November 2015, 7:49 am
When Parliament resumes on Monday November 16 after the Deepavali holidays, it will be the last day of three-day Ministerial winding-up of the debate on the 2016 Budget.
Will the Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak appear in person to wind up the debate and answer the various pertinent issues raised by Members of Parliament from both sides of the House in the six-day debate by the parliamentary backbenchers or will Najib again play truant from Parliament?
The new Minister for the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Azalina Othman Said has already set the stage for Najib to play truant from Parliament on Nov. 16, when she told the media yesterday that the government would reply on the controversial RM2.6 billion “donation” that went into Najib’s personal bank accounts on the last day of the 25-day budget meeting on Dec. 3, although she could not yet say whether it would be Najib or another Minister who would be nominated to do the answering.
This is the height of contempt of Parliament, treating Parliament like a classroom of recalcitrant students, with the Speaker given the role of a mere school principal but the Prime Minister like the education supervisor whose word and action is law!
Azalina who is Minister in the PM’s Department in charge of parliamentary affairs should understand the doctrine of separation of powers in a parliamentary democracy and the principle of parliamentary control of the Executive where the Prime Minister must also comply with the Parliamentary tradition, conventions, procedures and practices and cannot act as he likes in Parliament. Read the rest of this entry »
What I had predicted is coming to pass – flouting of parliamentary tradition and conventions to stack and answer all parliamentary questions about Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” on the last day
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Parliament on Thursday, 5 November 2015, 3:19 pm
What I had predicted last week is coming to pass – that the UMNO/BN government would flout parliamentary tradition and conventions to stack all parliamentary questions about Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion “donation” in the current 25-day budget meeting of Parliament and answer them in “one go”, not allowing the subject to be pursued further even if MPs are completely dissatisfied with a “tai chi” non-answer.
This was my reaction to the bad, undesirable and unacceptable parliamentary precedent set by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Azalina Othman, on the first day of the current meeting on Oct. 19, refusing to answer questions on the RM2.6 billion “donation” issue by DAP MPs Lim Guan Eng (Bagan) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut) on the ground that the government will answer questions about the RM2.6 billion “donation” and other relations questions on an undetermined date of the present meeting.
Deploring such a new-fangled practice as undermining an important principle of parliamentary control over the Executive, I asked whether this would mean that the question would be answered on the last day of the 25-day parliamentary meeting on Dec. 3, allowing MPs no room or opportunity to pursue the question if the answer was totally unsatisfactory?
Furthermore, whether the “bad, undesirable and unacceptable” parliamentary practice would be “set a disastrous precedent for Ministers to evade and avoid answering parliamentary questions posed by Members of Parliament by pushing the questions to the very last day with totally unsatisfactory and unacceptable answers”? Read the rest of this entry »
With protracted and inordinate delays in PAC investigations on 1MDB, would’nt Parliament’s credibility and integrity be undermined if there is no PAC report on 1MDB when Dewan Rakyat adjourns on Dec 3?
Posted by Kit in DAP, Financial Scandals, Parliament on Thursday, 5 November 2015, 12:11 pm
Parliamentary and national attention had been focused in the past few days on the debate between DAP PJ Utara MP and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua and the 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy on the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal and the threat by the Speaker, Tan Sri Padikar Amin Mulia’s of resignation by Monday if the debate is held and televised live by RTM tomorrow on Friday.
Pandikar defended his ruling on the ground that he is upholding the integrity of Parliament.
Wouldn’t Parliament’s credibility and integrity suffer greater damage if there is protracted and inordinate delays in PAC investigations into the 1MDB scandal, particularly if there is no PAC report on the 1MDB scandal when the current meeting of the Dewan Rakyat ends on December 3?
Pandikar asked what was wrong for the proposed debate to be conducted after the PAC had submitted its report to Parliament?
There is nothing wrong, but it would be academic. Read the rest of this entry »
Song on missing 2.6 billion goes viral
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Thursday, 5 November 2015, 9:59 am
Malaysiakini
5th November 2015
Netizens may be venting their anger over the unresolved issue of RM2.6 billion in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal bank accounts, but singer Amirudin Hizadin has instead chosen to express his concern through music.
His sombre song, which describes the RM2.6 billion as “missing stars” that has made his world dark, has quickly gone viral after less than half a day in the cyberspace.
The Malay music video titled ‘Mana Hilang 2.6 Bintang’ (Where have the 2.6 stars disappeared) uploaded on Facebook garnered over 80,000 views with more than 3,300 shares at writing time.
In the lyrics, Amirudin reminisced about the likelihood if he had not come to Kuala Lumpur as he thought about the hardships. Read the rest of this entry »
Twenty-eight years and eight days ago…
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Judiciary, Media on Thursday, 5 November 2015, 9:20 am
— Lee Yew Meng
Malay Mail Online
November 4, 2015
NOV 4 — On Oct 27, 1987, The Star managing director Datuk Steven Tan told his top management that the newspaper’s publishing permit had been withdrawn with immediate effect. The letter was hand-delivered earlier during a downpour.
The front page on that day read: “DETAINED — 19 picked up in swoop”. The masthead was in black, dramatising the events of the previous day.
I have no recollection of what was discussed during that meeting. Stuck in my head was: “Hey, this is ridiculous. Our chairman is Tunku Abdul Rahman (our first prime minister) and we are owned by MCA, a senior coalition partner in the government.”
All employees were on a quarter-month’s pay henceforth. It was a double whammy for couples on The Star’s payroll. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Malaysia may have hit bottom
Posted by Kit in Finance, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 4 November 2015, 6:31 pm
Leslie Shaffer
CNBC.com
4th November 2015
Malaysia’s hard-hit stock market is getting a less-than-ringing endorsement with one of the world’s leading lenders telling investors that things aren’t likely to get any worse.
“There have been numerous globally attention-grabbing headlines on Malaysia this year, which we believe have increased political uncertainty and risk in investing in Malaysia,” analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note Monday.
“However, going forward, we do not expect this to increase.” Read the rest of this entry »
Pondering Our Fate – Imagining Otherwise
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa on Wednesday, 4 November 2015, 9:34 am
M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com
4th November 2015
It is human nature that when things go well we pay little attention to them; we take them in stride as if they are meant to be, the natural consequences. When we assume such an attitude, we miss some significant learning opportunities. We can learn so much more from our success than we could ever from our failures. For that to happen however, we first must recognize our successes. Contrary to common belief, this can sometimes be no easy task.
One way would be to undertake a mental exercise, to imagine if things had taken a different path. What if Malays had not embraced Islam but fought and rejected it? Likewise, what would be our fate had we enthusiastically embraced the Europeans and adopted their ways? As for our pursuit of independence, imagine had we bowed to the wishes our sultans and their British “advisers” and accepted our fate to be under permanent British domination, as the Malayan Union Treaty would have it? Lastly, assume we had let those rabble rousers be our leaders fighting for our independence, and they took to fighting the British literally and seriously.
In all of these instances there are ready examples of societies and cultures that had indeed chosen precisely those paths that I just outlined, and we can readily see the consequences today of their collective decisions then. Read the rest of this entry »
If Arul Kanda cannot testify before the PAC investigations on 1MDB, will Najib appear before PAC to testify on 1MDB’s behalf as everybody knows that an investigation into 1MDB is in fact an investigation into Najib?
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Wednesday, 4 November 2015, 8:42 am
Yesterday was a double whammy for the long, difficult and windy mission to establish accountability and transparency for the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin mega-scandals afflicting the country.
There was firstly the morning episode where Parliament was reduced to a theatre of the absurd – with Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia ruling that DAP PJ Utara Member of Parliament Tony Pua should either resign from the Public Accounts Committee or abstain from the committee’s probe on 1MDB if he wants to debate with 1MDB CEO, Arul Kanda and that Arul can no longer be a witness in the PAC probe if the debate goes on.
The Speaker’s ruling was quickly followed up with the announcement by the PAC Chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin’s ruling that Pua must cease and desist from making any statements on 1MDB, whether in Parliament or outside!
It is no surprise that the following comment was one of the public reactions to all these parliamentary calisthenics over the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin mega-scandals:
“I was wondering why Arul was so quick to drop his condition. Now I know. He has someone else to impose the condition for him.” Read the rest of this entry »
Deal with reality, Najib is staying in power
Posted by Kit in Elections, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Pakatan Harapan on Tuesday, 3 November 2015, 7:12 pm
– Koon Yew Yin
The Malaysian Insider
3 November 2015
Lately the Internet has been filled with stories of how Prime Minister Najib Razak is losing ground in Umno and likely to resign soon.
Much speculation is going on about what is happening behind the scenes in the Umno Supreme Council and the party’s divisional leaders.
There is also a lot of chatter about the infighting and horse trading that is taking place among the supporters of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah – all seen as contenders to succeed Najib should he be toppled.
In my view this is all sound and fury which signify nothing. Also that it will not amount to much. Read the rest of this entry »
Parliament has been reduced to a theatre of the absurd with the PAC Chairman wearing the dunce’s cap as the most absurd Parliamentarian with his absurd edict banning Tony Pua from speaking about 1MDB in public
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Tuesday, 3 November 2015, 4:50 pm
Parliament has been reduced to a theatre of the absurd with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin wearing the dunce’s head as the most absurd Parliamentarian with his absurd edict banning Tony Pua from speaking about 1MDB in public.
At the rate of such absurdity in Parliament and the higher echelons of government leadership, it appears to be just a matter of time before “1MDB” joins the select group of subjects where mere criticism will be criminalized and construed as an act of sedition!
It is clear that the Najib leadership had been brainstorming for quite some time to find a way to criminalise and ban public debate on the twin1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin scandals, starting with Parliament before the ban is extended to all public spaces in the country, especially with the two scandals acquiring lives of their own, exploding every few days with new revelations completely beyond the control or ken of Najib’s PR handlers – to the extent that more than half a dozen countries have initiated their own separate investigations into the twin mega scandals.
Worst of all, the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been pinpointed by the United States media as being the target of a FBI probe under the United States Department of Justice Kleptocracy Assets Recovery Initiative 2010 with neither Najib nor the Government able to deny or clarify such a damning report of Najib being investigated as a kleptocrat although more than a month had elapsed since the United States media report. Read the rest of this entry »
After three-month derailment, PAC under new Chairman is dragging its feet on 1MDB investigations with no sense of urgency or priority – making total mockery of the concern of the Malay Rulers, 30 million Malaysians and the majority of three million UMNO members
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Parliament on Tuesday, 3 November 2015, 10:06 am
The first meeting of the newly reconstituted Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under a new Chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin is a great national let-down, as after three-month derailment, the PAC is dragging its feet and procrastinating on 1MDB investigations with no sense of urgency or priority and making a total mockery of the concern of the Malay Rulers, the 30 million Malaysians and the majority of the three million UMNO members.
I suggest that the PAC Chairman Datuk Arifin and the newly-appointed PAC members should be provided with a copy of the Malay Ruler’s unprecedented statement of Oct. 6 calling for the 1MDB investigations to be completed “as soon as possible” and for “appropriate stern action” to be taken against all found to be implicated.
The Malay Rulers’ statement should be compulsory reading for Arifin and the new PAC members for it articulated not only the concern of the Malay Rulers, but the 30 million Malaysians including the majority of the three million UMNO members on the inordinate procrastination of 1MDB investigations. Read the rest of this entry »
10 questions I would pose to 1MDB President, Arul Kanda during the “live discussion, talk show or debate”
Posted by Kit in DAP, Financial Scandals, Parliament on Tuesday, 3 November 2015, 8:59 am
Tony Pua
DAP MP for PJ Utara
3rd November 2015
1MDB President, Arul Kanda has during his press conference on Saturday, informed Malaysians that “I will meet YB Tony Pua for live discussion, or talk show, or debate, without any condition.”
I would like to announce that the Members of Parliament for Kulai and Serdang, Teo Nie Ching and Dr Ong Kian Ming will be representing me to conduct the necessary discussions with the team from 1MDB to finalise the format and details of the proposed “live discussion, or talk show, or debate” between the 1MDB President, Arul Kanda and myself.
While we wait for the much anticipated face-off, I would like to offer Arul Kanda the heads up, so that he can prepare the necessary answers whether during replies or debate speech. This way, Arul cannot feign ignorance or pretend that the documents were unavailable with him to provide the necessary answers. Therefore, let me disclose here the 10 questions which I will ask during the “live discussion, or talk show, or debate”: Read the rest of this entry »
Malay Schizophrenic Response to British Colonialism
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, History, Malays on Monday, 2 November 2015, 4:49 pm
Bakri Musa
[email protected]
Oct 28 2015
Malays actively shunned and refused to participate in the various colonial endeavors even those that could potentially benefit us. Instead we undertook a form of passive resistance, utilizing what John C Scott refers to as “weapons of the weak.”
While these everyday forms of passive resistance may not grab headlines, nonetheless they are akin to the cumulative accumulation of the coral reefs. In the aggregate and over time they exert a profound impact. When the ship of state runs aground on such reefs, attention is directed to the shipwreck and not to the aggregations of petty acts that made those treacherous reefs possible.
So was the Malayan Union initiative shipwrecked upon a reef of resentment and resistance that had quietly been building up and concretized over time. Read the rest of this entry »
