Open Invitation to Najib to make a joint appearance at Bersih 4 rally where the Prime Minister can hold face-to-face dialogue with Bersih 4 organisers and principal supporters on the state of democracy in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Najib Razak on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 11:39 am
I will like to follow up on my suggestion yesterday that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should take the unusual and unorthodox initiative of co-operating with the Bersih 4 organisers to turn the Bersih 4 overnight rally on August 29/30 into a Human Rights Carnival or Festival, where the human rights of freedom of expression and assembly of Malaysians are celebrated rather than suppressed, which will make it an unique event and milestone in the 58th Merdeka Day Celebrations – not only in Malaysia but globally.
I wish to issue an Open Invitation to Najib to make a joint appearance at Bersih 4 rally where the Prime Minister can hold face-to-face dialogue with Bersih 4 organisers and principal supporters on the state of democracy in Malaysia.
The Prime Minister can be assured of full security and courtesy, as the police as well Bersih 4 organisers and principal supporters will ensure that the Prime Minister is not only safe but accorded the full courtesies and politeness which Malaysians show to their leaders and officials. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib is a liability to Umno, say party grassroots
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 10:37 am
By MD IZWAN
The Malaysian Insider
23 August 2015
Some Umno grassroots members, who now feel uneasy facing the public, are saying that scandal-tainted Datuk Seri Najib Razak is a liability to the party.
Trust among the rank and file towards the party president has been affected by ongoing controversies, from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to the RM2.6 billion put in his personal accounts, allegedly as a donation, with members finding it hard to swallow the explanations given.
“The people want Najib to step down. Even if we talk nicely they do not want to hear, so what more to say?
“Umno members still love Umno, but Umno members no longer love Najib,” said former Tenggara Umno youth committee member Asrul Esreen Mohd Salleh to The Malaysian Insider. Read the rest of this entry »
I believe three million UMNO members want UMNO to “Save Malaysia” to become United Malaysians National Organisation instead of degenerating to become Abdul Aziz Kaprawi’s United Morons National Organisation
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, UMNO, Zahid on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 9:54 am
I do not know whether to laugh or to cry when I read that the Sri Gading UMNO chief and deputy transport minister, Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told his division’s meeting in Parit Raja, Johore yesterday that the Arabs donated RM2.6 billion to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to fight off “Jewish backed” DAP because DAP was a threat to Islam in the country.
Does Abdul Aziz think that UMNO has degenerated to become United Morons National Organisation and no more United Malays National Organisation as to believe in such trash by a power-hungry UMNO neophyte who has no political principles or scruples to concoct bald-faced lies and falsehoods?
It is shocking that Abdul Aziz’s moronic speech was made in the presence of the new Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, as if Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi has become the new chieftain of the United Morons National Organisation in Malaysia!
What a contrast between Parit Sulong and Parit Raja UMNO Divisional meetings although they are just adjacent UMNO divisions.
So near and yet so far! Read the rest of this entry »
Is there a reprieve in sight for the ringgit?
Posted by Kit in Finance, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Sunday, 23 August 2015, 7:11 am
G. Sharmila
KiniBiz
August 21, 2015
TigerTalk
The ringgit has taken more than its fair share of beatings this month, weakening past the 4.0 level against the greenback and some analysts are predicting that it will hit the 4.2 level. Tiger thinks that the currency desperately needs a reprieve and believes that it may happen, though not as soon as she would like.
“Desperation is like stealing from the Mafia: you stand a good chance of attracting the wrong attention.” – Douglas Horton
A special trait that all Tigers have is the ability to sniff out desperation kilometres away from the source, which is usually an unfit kijang struggling to get away or a human being desperately climbing a tree to avoid being eaten by yours truly and the rest of her kind.
But the desperation of the worst kind is when it comes from panicking investors – in this case, those heedlessly fleeing from the weak ringgit. Tiger thinks in some ways they are unjustified and believes that there could be a reprieve in sight for the ringgit, if a confluence of factors take place sooner rather than later. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should halt all “demonisation” campaign of Bersih 4 and offer hand of friendship and co-operation to Bersih organisers to make a success of August 29/30 overnight rally which would break the jinx of unending bad news for Malaysia for over a month
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Human Rights on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 5:06 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should halt all “demonisation” campaign of Bersih 4 whether directly by his Ministers, lieutenants and UMNO/BN leaders or indirectly by pro-UMNO/BN NGOs and personalities, and instead, offer the hand of friendship and co-operation to Bersih organisers to make a success of the August 29/30 overnight rally, turning it into a Human Rights Carnival or Festval,, which will break the jinx of unending bad news for Malaysia for over a month.
This is particularly pertinent as SUHAKAM, which was set up by Parliament to advise the government on human rights, has made three important points:
1. that as far as the Bersih rally is concerned, public assemblies cannot be banned. After the repeal of Section 27 of the Police Act, the concept of illegal assemblies no longer exist.
As Suhakam Chairman, Hasmy Agam has put it succintly, “an assembly is to be considered peaceful if its organisers have clarified that its intentions are peaceful”.
2. The police must not prevent, hinder or restrict a peaceful assembly, except in the interests of security of the country or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
3. To protect all participants from individuals or groups of individuals, including agent provocateurs and counter-demonstrators, who aim at disrupting or dispersing the assembly. Such an obligation does not rest on the organisers. Read the rest of this entry »
Are there at least 35 UMNO/BN MPs who are prepared to join with Opposition MPs in October Parliament on a “Save Malaysia” agenda including a no-confidence motion on Najib?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Parliament on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 11:29 am
The universe seems to be conspiring against Malaysia, as there is no surcease of daily bad news for the country.
Yesterday’s, it was disclosed that Bank Negara’s international reserves have declined further to US$94.5 billion (RM356.4 billion) as at Aug 14 compared to US$96.7 billion (RM364.7 billion) on July 31.
At this rate of shrinking international reserves to stem the ringgit slide against the US dollar which yesterday stood at RM4.17 to a US dollar, the BN international reserves could fall to some US$92 billion on Merdeka Day on August 31 and by Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, might be struggling not to fall below the US$90 billion level.
The news yesterday of the flip-flop by the new Attorney-General, Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, forming a new task force to investigate the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, after disbanding the earlier multi-agency Special Task Force to investigate into the twin scandals of 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts, but now excluding the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), is only calculated to further undermine and not restore a very shaken public confidence in the key national institutions in the country.
In this context, the “interesting proposition” by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir that the Opposition support a no-confidence vote in Parliament against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak while still retaining Barisan Nasional as government has opened up a Pandora’s Box about the directions Malaysia should be heading in the coming years. Read the rest of this entry »
Suhakam: No such thing as ‘illegal assembly’ now
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Human Rights on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 8:11 am
Malaysiakini
Aug 21, 2015
In light of the upcoming Bersih rally, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today emphasised that peaceful public assemblies cannot be banned.
This follows the repeal of Section 27 of the Police Act 1967, following which the concept of illegal assembly no longer exists, it said.
“As such, an assembly is to be considered peaceful if its organisers have clarified that its intentions are peaceful and have duly conveyed them to the authorities,” said Suhakam chairperson Hasmy Agam in a statement.
Suhakam’s reminder comes after Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said police were right to ban the Bersih 4 rally scheduled for Aug 29 and 30.
“Consequently, the authorities not only have an obligation to protect peaceful assemblies, but should also take measures to facilitate them, and to comply with the many international human rights standards on freedom of assembly as this right is protected constitutionally in Article 10 of our Federal Constitution.” Read the rest of this entry »
2015, year that never was for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in ASEAN, Bersih, MH 17, Najib Razak on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 7:31 am
– Rizal Rozhan
The Malaysian Insider
21 August 2015
To be honest, as a student of international relations, and a fan of international affairs, 2015 was supposed to be a benchmark year for Malaysia. A year to prove that Malaysia can strut her stuff in the global plane.
Once more, like 2014 (we were anticipating Visit Malaysia year to boost our tourism, yet we were marred with a series of unfortunate events), this year is turning out to be a disaster as well.
Even worse than 2014.
Because this time, the problems which beset Malaysia are not those caused externally. This time, we brought ourselves to the chopping board. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih not about rhetorics
– Bong Chan Siong
The Malaysian Insider
21 August 2015
What Bersih wants? You know. I know. A lot of people know. So it is clear what Bersih wants.
Yes, Bersih wants a clean government. Bersih wants free and fair elections. Now, Bersih also wants to “save the economy”.
Why does Bersih want these? For the lack of vocabulary, #BetterNation heh.
And how to achieve these? The specifics of it? May I direct you to some of the recommendations made by Bersih.
Bersih’s 10 institutional reforms: Read the rest of this entry »
Political funding and transparency: an Islamic perspective
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance, Islam on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 6:49 am
– Maszlee Malik and Musa Mohd Nordin
The Malaysian Insider
21 August 2015
It is widely accepted that the practice of good governance leads to higher investment and growth, hence development. And political accountability has been highly regarded as one of the sine qua non elements in the governance equation.
Transparency in party financing as well as asset disclosure are amongst the crucial characteristics of political accountability in many developed nations.
A myriad of researches and reports have shown that the lack of openness in money and politics has often contributed to the corruption of political finance.
Thus, policymakers aspiring for sustainable national development must seriously address the transparency of money in politics. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Many Scandals
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Corruption, Election, Najib Razak on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 6:25 am
By AMBIGA SREENEVASAN
New York Times
AUG. 20, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s ruling party is facing its greatest crisis of legitimacy yet. Long seen as a modern and moderate Muslim democracy, Malaysia has been riding on its economic growth and good diplomacy for years, and the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which has led coalition governments for nearly six decades, has been claiming the credit.
But rampant corruption, curbs on freedom of expression, a slowing economy and a currency in free fall have eroded public trust in the government’s stewardship. It hasn’t helped that Prime Minister Najib Razak recently reshuffled the cabinet, and sacked the deputy prime minister and the attorney general for asking uncomfortable questions. Or that once again the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), is using its influence over government agencies to bypass or manipulate electoral rules to its advantage, most recently through gerrymandering in the eastern state of Sarawak. Read the rest of this entry »
Stop demonising human rights
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Islam on Saturday, 22 August 2015, 6:15 am
Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
21 August 2015
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said this at an international Islamic forum: “Even though universal human rights have been defined… in our country, human rights are defined in the context of Islam. Though it is difficult to defend internationally, we must defend our definition of human rights.”
Throughout the forum, he continued to demonise several communities – especially the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered – which echoed the diatribe he unleashed at the National Quran Recital Competition a little over a year ago, where both ideals of humanism and liberalism were reduced to being “retrograde as it glorifies human wants and desires”.
Islam has always been a religion that upheld peacefulness, egalitarian values and humanism. Islam is never the type of religion that curbs personal liberties and freedom.
By definition, Islam in Arabic means submission and surrender to Allah, the Almighty. The Quran upholds the sanctity and absolute value of human life (Surah 6: 151) and reiterated that “the life of each individual is comparable to that of an entire community and, therefore, should be treated with the utmost care” (Surah 5: 32) – both clearly representing the essence of universal values. Read the rest of this entry »
Political leaders can meet and discuss Mahathir’s interesting proposition to see how far it could advance the cause of “Save Malaysia”
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Good Governance, Malaysian Dream on Friday, 21 August 2015, 3:46 pm
(Scroll down for English text)
Pemimpin-pemimpin politik boleh bertemu dan membincangkan cadangan menarik Mahathir untuk melihat sejauh mana ia boleh membawa kepada matlamat “Menyelamatkan Malaysia”
Pada Mac tahun ini, saya telah menyarankan agar rakyat Malaysia mengumpul keberanian untuk memikirkan perkara-perkara yang tidak terfikirkan, termasuk membayangkan kemunculan seorang Perdana Menteri baru dan gabungan kerajaan baru sebelum Pilihanraya Umum ke-14 dalam tempoh tiga tahun ini bagi “Menyelamatkan Malaysia”, mempertahankan Perlembagaan Malaysia, kedaulatan undang-undang dan membentuk urus tadbir yang baik.
Menerusi beberapa kenyataan media dan ucapan sepanjang Mac dan April, saya telah membincangkan kemungkinan wujudnya satu pakatan besar “Menyelamatkan Malaysia” pasca-BN dan pasca-PR.
Saya juga telah menyatakan dengan jelas bahawa jika pakatan besar “Menyelamatkan Malaysia” pasca-BN dan pasca-PR itu dibentuk, ia mestilah tidak terhad kepada hanya kaum atau agama tertentu tetapi meliputi semua kaum, agama, dan daerah, atau dalam ungkapan lain, sebuah kerajaan gabungan yang jamak-kaum, jamak-agama dan jamak-daerah, meliputi Muslim dan bukan-Muslim, Melayu dan bukan-Melayu, serta warga Malaysia dari Semenanjung Malaysia, Sarawak dan Sabah.
Gabungan itu juga mesti melampaui pakatan dan parti politik sedia ada, merangkumi Ahli-Ahli Parlimen dari kedua-dua kubu politik dan juga kedua-dua sisi Laut Cina Selatan, iaitu meliputi Sabah, Sarawak dan Semenanjung Malaysia, bagi mempertahankan perlembagaan dan kedaulatan undang-undang dengan seorang Perdana Menteri baru dan sebuah kerajaan Malaysia yang baru. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Najib to help ensure the success of Bersih 4 as it is Malaysia’s “coming of age” as a democracy in the world stage
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should send a clear directive to the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to facilitate and ensure the success of Bersih 4 to demonstrate to the world the Malaysian Government’s respect of the people’s rights to free expression and peaceful assembly and readiness to listen to the people’s legitimate views and criticisms.
There has been a lot of irresponsible talk recently by those in power about plots to topple the elected government of Malaysia.
There are no such subversive plots involving violent and/or unconstitutional means to topple the elected Prime Minister or elected government, as I dare say after five decades in politics that Malaysians regardless of race or religion do not want any violent or unconstitutional change of government, and everyone is committed to upholding the fundamental principles of the Malaysian Constitution – which means a change of the elected government only by peaceful, democratic and constitutional means, not just during a general election, but also at times in between general elections as by a vote of no confidence in Parliament. Read the rest of this entry »
Ambiga: Why we need Bersih 4
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Human Rights on Friday, 21 August 2015, 3:32 am
By Ambiga Sreenevasan
Malaysiakini
Aug 20, 2015
COMMENT We have to fix this nation for the next generation. We cannot hand them a broken nation
There is no change in the usual anti-Bersih rhetoric. “It is anti-government, it will ruin businesses, it will cause chaos.”
Pictures of (Bersih chairperson) Maria (Chin Abdullah) are being defiled. They have simply run out of ideas, and no one is really listening to them.
Judging by the thousands of t-shirts being sold every day, Bersih 4 is set to see a massive turn out. Why? Because people are sick to death of the dishonest governance of our beautiful nation.
And it is time our leaders know they are not fooling us with their ridiculous responses. Read the rest of this entry »
Did the new Attorney-General start off his tenure making a public statement which is far from the truth when he said that the purported corruption charge sheet against the Prime Minister was a fake?
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Corruption, Najib Razak, Parliament on Thursday, 20 August 2015, 1:29 pm
The 2015 Sabah earthquake which struck Ranau with a magnitude of Richter 6.0 on 5th June lasted for 30 seconds, but it killed 18 people on Mount Kinabalu and caused some 90 aftershocks for the following next three weeks.
Similarly, the convulsions in the very sanctum of Federal government in Putrajaya in the last days of July, which saw the sacking of the Attorney-General and Deputy Prime Minister on 28th July and the arrests and harassment of top government officers in key institutions are still having their aftershocks – like yesterday’s sudden and abrupt transfer out of the Special Branch (SB) of the deputy director of the police intelligence agency, Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador to the Prime Minister’s Department reporting directly to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak!
Abdul Hamid, who had been with the Police force for 37 years, was completely in the dark on the reasons for his abrupt transfer to the Prime Minister’s Office, reminiscent of the sudden transfer of two Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) directors, Bahri Mohd Zin (special operations division) and Rohaizad Yaakob (strategic communications) at the height of the recent stand-off between the Police and MACC over investigations into 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion Najib personal accounts, which also saw the most extraordinary solat hajat (special prayers) by MACC officers seeking divine intervention to allow MACC officers to carry out their anti-corruption duties.
Although the immediate and punitive transfer of Bahri and Rohaizad out of MACC to the Prime Minister’s Department had been cancelled because of adverse public reactions, penalties are being considered to punish the two MACC directors – which the powers-that-be should know could not be kept secret but would have to be fully explained and accounted for when Parliament reconvenes on October 19 for the 2015 Budget meeting.
And what of Abdul Hamid? Read the rest of this entry »
Sustaining strong institutions for clean gov’t
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Najib Razak on Thursday, 20 August 2015, 11:08 am
By Group of 25
Malaysiakini
Aug 19, 2015
COMMENT The success of the transformation and development of the Malaysian economy and its financial system has been primarily due to an empowering legal framework and sound institutions that operate on structured processes and with strong accountabilities, underpinned by a good governance framework.
Malaysia is indebted to visionary leaders whose dedicated focus and emphasis on building strong institutions have provided the foundation to support the development of the Malaysian economy.
These institutions continue to be led by strong leaders with a vision, a culture of integrity and competence which is imbued with values and virtues of hard work and prudence. This institutional framework has been the most important aspect of the growth and resilience of the economy today.
The ‘invisible hand’ does not work, by itself: it requires help from the rules of the game which govern how the market and its participants interact with each other. Institutional quality not only has a significantly positive impact upon income per capita, but it is also positively auto-correlated with the level of economic integration and trade (Rodrik & Subramanian 2003).
An improvement in institutional quality raises GDP directly, as well as promotes closer integration into the global economy, hence, enabling the economy to benefit from international trade and foreign investment flows. The auto-correlation also implies that higher national income and exposure to developed markets tend to lead to demand for improved institutions, thus enforcing a benign cycle. Read the rest of this entry »
Why is Anifah Aman the only one out of 69 Ministers and Deputy Ministers who dare to declare that he has not received any funding from Najib’s RM2.6 billion personal accounts?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Parliament on Thursday, 20 August 2015, 8:58 am
I commend the Foreign Minister Anifah Aman for declaring publicly that he has not received any funding from Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion personal accounts in AmBank in 2013 for 13GE campaign.
Malaysians are intrigued why Anifah is the only one out of 69 Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Senators will have to be excluded) who dare to declare that the has not received any funding from Najib’s RM2.6 billion personal accounts for 13GE campaign.
Although my 96-hour notice to all Cabinet members to demonstrate that the Najib administration is serious when it proposed the National Consultative Council on Political Funding by individually declaring whether they had received any funding from Najib’s RM2.6 billion personal accounts for the 13 GE campaign, and if so, how much they received and spent, Cabinet Ministers could still declare whether they had been connected in any way to Najib’s RM2.6 billion personal accounts.
Since the DAP forum “Ke Mana Halatuju Malaysia” at Tropical Inn, Johor Baru on Monday night, I had named 18 Ministers and two deputy ministers and asked them to declare whether they had received funds from Najib’s RM2.6 billion personal accounts for the 13th General Election campaigning, and if so, to state the amounts.
Anifah is the only Cabinet Minister to respond and in the negative. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib Razak has too much power for Malaysia’s good
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Thursday, 20 August 2015, 6:18 am
David Pilling
Financial Times
August 19, 2015
Once a model of development, the country’s reputation is sinking and so is that of the PM
The story is that in March 2013 one or more unnamed Middle Eastern donors transferred a total of nearly $700m into the personal account of Najib Razak, prime minister of Malaysia. The generous amount was a donation to be lavished on that year’s election campaign of the ruling United Malays National Organisation as Mr Najib saw fit. So sordid are the goings-on in Malaysia these days that, astonishingly, this is not the case being mounted against the prime minister. This is the case for Mr Najib’s defence. Malaysia’s widely lampooned prime minister is in such a deep, dark and money-stuffed hole that this is the version of events being promoted by his allies.
It was also the finding this month of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. It turns out that an anonymous donation from a foreign benefactor is the least damaging explanation of how 2.6bn ringgit found its way into Mr Najib’s account. The prime minister has denied committing any wrongdoing or accepting money for personal gain.
If this is the positive take, the negative version is worse. Read the rest of this entry »
Escaping Najib’s Malaysia, Investors Also Flee Currency and Stock Market
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 19 August 2015, 8:03 pm
Y-Sing Liau and Lilian Karunungan
Bloomberg
August 19, 2015
While Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s cabinet overhaul may have achieved the “unified team” he was seeking in the face of probes into his bank accounts, global funds have been voting with their feet.
The ringgit has slumped 6 percent, the benchmark stock index lost 8 percent and sovereign bond risk jumped to a four-year high since the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on Aug. 3 said Najib had received 2.6 billion ringgit ($634 million) from donors and not state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. The conclusion failed to help 1MDB’s bonds, which are trading at 82 cents on the dollar.
PineBridge Investments LLC has cut Malaysian sovereign bond holdings, while Schroder Investment Management Ltd. says it’s too early to buy Asia’s worst-performing currency, as political uncertainty clouds the outlook for an economy rocked by plunging oil prices and an emerging-market selloff. Najib denies taking money for personal gain and has counterattacked against what he described as a campaign to oust him, by reshuffling his cabinet, suspending a leading newspaper and seeking the arrest of a newsletter’s founder. Read the rest of this entry »
