Chasing UMNO out of Sabah

Karim renews pledge to send Umno ‘packing’ from Sabah

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:11

By Joe Fernandez

KOTA KINABALU: Veteran politician Karim Ghani, 70, who quit Umno on Monday, has vowed for a second day in a row to send his former party packing from Sabah.
He renewed the pledge here last night at a PKR goodwill dinner which was witnessed by several senior leaders led by vice-president Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan.

Senior PKR activist and former health minister Chua Jui Meng was guest of honour. He was accompanied by party seniors Michael Bong from Sarawak and David Yeoh from Johor.

“I am the one who single-handedly brought Umno to Sabah,” said Karim before a full house at a popular seafood restaurant here. “I hope to send this party back to where it came from,” he said to applause.

He told the party faithful that he “had a score to settle with Umno”. “It’s payback time. We will start with the Batu Sapi by-election – 25 activists already on the ground – and work our way towards the next general election.”

Citing from Sabah’s recent political history, he pointed out that Berjaya was used to topple the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) was used to topple Berjaya, Umno was used “not to topple but grab power” from PBS, and “Pakatan Rakyat can topple Umno in Sabah”.

Karim’s beef with Umno is that the Peninsular-based party “has forgotten why it came to Sabah in the first place, that is, to help Usno members”. Instead, Umno is “playing footsie” with PBS, the very party that sidelined Usno for nine long years, added Karim. “Usno was also in the cold for nine years under the Berjaya administration.”

Karim recalled that when Usno went from 17 state seats, during the 1985 state election which toppled Berjaya, to 12 seats the following year in a snap election, the party leaders realised that it was the end for them. So, the decision was made to bring in Umno and get Usno members to join the former en bloc, he said. “I took the initiative to bring Umno to Sabah after PBS left BN in 1990 and was immediately sacked by Usno.”

Subsequently, then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had Usno de-registered when he realised that its members were returning to their old party after abandoning Umno, said Karim. “Now, all our attempts to re-register Usno have been thwarted by Umno and the Registrar of Societies.”

'Cium tangan culture must go'

Umno, noted Karim, has a certain system, culture and practices in place which endure despite the change of leaders. “When a new leader comes in, only the style changes, but the system, culture and practices continue.”

“This cium tangan (hand-kissing) culture must go,” said Karim. “The 2008 general election has opened up a window of opportunity for us. We must make use of it at the next 13th general election.”

Failure to capitalise on the next general election, he warned, would be to miss the window of opportunity and wait another 50 years for change.

He said this message must be communicated to the people by all available means – text messaging, blogs, FaceBook – besides word-of-mouth. “We must recapture the Spirit of 1963,” said Karim who has since added another eight points to the original 20 Points under which Sabah agreed to help form Malaysia in 1963. “We must win back our autonomy and increase the oil royalty to at least 20%.”

Karim appears to be the clearest indication that many local Muslims have decided to part company with Umno, which has often been accused of harbouring illegal immigrants with MyKads. The illegal immigrants are seen as the reason for their growing disenfranchisement.

Karim doesn’t see Umno being acceptable to the voters in Peninsular Malaysia either “since the Indians and Chinese are running away from the Barisan Nasional (BN)”. “The flower (Umno) bloomed and attracted the Indians and Chinese to the BN,” said Karim. “Now, it has wilted and will soon die. The Indians and Chinese are not going to stay with the BN.”
Sabah PKR deputy state chief Christina Liew, who organised the function, earlier issued an eight-point challenge to the state government in a brief speech, namely zero undertable money, no little Napoleons in government departments, deal with state agencies which have deviated from their objectives, no government competition with the private sector, and support the private sector.

She also urged against political interference in the award of government contracts, called for the removal of politicians with vested interests, and wants the Ali Baba system of negotiated contracts done away.

One-to-one fight

Former deputy federal minister Kalakau Untol, in his address, described the night as “a gathering of reformists from every party in the country”.

“The task ahead is how to tackle the BN,” said Kalakau who earlier this year quit the United PasokMomogun KadazanDusunMurut Organisation (Upko) to join PKR. “Negotiations are still going on among opposition parties to ensure a one-to-one fight in Batu Sapi.”

Jeffrey said the forthcoming Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election will be “a test of whether the opposition parties can compromise and work together”.

He expects 40% of the Muslim votes – Usno members – in Sekong, one of the two state seats in Batu Sapi, to vote opposition “now that Karim is with us”. The Chinese-majority Karamunting is the other state seat in Batu Sapi.

Jeffrey also said Umno will not only die, it must die before the country sees political change. “They are talking about a New Political Model (NPM) after flogging the New Economic Model (NEM) for months,” said Jeffrey. “This (NPM) will never happen.”

Hence, Jeffrey’s reading is that it would be impossible for Umno to change despite all the party’s talk about a NPM.

Wallowing in poverty
Jeffrey also took a swipe at the federal government's plan to build a 100-storey skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur “while Sabahans wallow in poverty”.

“At the same time, they say they have no money to pay civil servants the bonus that they deserve,” said Jeffrey. “In another unprecedented move, the federal government has money to make allocations available to the private sector.”

The Sabah strongman suspects that Umno is saddling the country with more debts because “it knows it’s going to lose the next general election”. Moreover, it is an irony that Umno is emphasing on a high-income economy “when we (Sabah) are yet to get out from our poverty trap”.

Chua said Sabah has gone under the BN from being the second richest (1970) state in Malaysia to the poorest (2010). He expects this state of affairs to continue since the recent Budget 2011 only allocates a combined 8% of the financial resources to Sabah and Sarawak.

He pledged better days ahead for the two states as Pakatan's Common Policy Framework was the opposition alliance’s “roadmap to Putrajaya”.

Also read:

Veteran Sabah Umno leader quits, vows to boot out party

Vitrolic debate on Warisan Merdeka Tower

(AFP) - THE Malaysian government's proposal to build a 100-storey mega tower in the capital has triggered a backlash from the opposition and on a fast-expanding Facebook petition.
Plans for the tower, to be built by 2020 at a cost of US$1.6 billion (RM5 billion), were unveiled by Prime Minister Najib Razak during last week's budget speech, which included a number of major infrastructure projects.
The building, named 'Warisan Merdeka' or 'Heritage of Independence', would be the tallest in Malaysia, dwarfing the iconic Petronas Twin Towers which were the world's tallest buildings at 88 storeys when completed in 1998.
Mr Najib said that such projects exemplify the spirit of 'Malaysia Boleh' or 'Malaysia Can!', a national campaign conceived by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, a huge advocate of mega projects.
Mr Mahathir, whose own schemes included the Proton national car and the multi-billion-dollar administrative capital Putrajaya - both of which have failed to thrive - has warmly endorsed the new skyscraper.
But a Facebook page created last Saturday, to which more than 9,600 people had signed up by Tuesday afternoon, has seen an outpouring of criticism from Malaysians who say the money would be better spent elsewhere.

Angry comments

A sampling of angry comments from Malaysians:
'Malaysia needs better education, better health care, better public transportation, safer neighbourhoods, cleaner water, but not a taller building.
'We don't need another white elephant!' said the page, which about 600 people were joining each hour.
'I will support this project if you give me the contract!' - Facebook user named Chee Chuan Tat, referring to endemic crony capitalism linked to the Barisan Nasional coalition.
'It's taxpayers' money, and taxpayers say NO.' - Adrian Matthew Yee.
'What the building will do is to destroy the character of the area while creating a traffic nightmare for all.
There are more than enough office spaces in downtown KL and this will cause a glut of office space, becoming a white elephant like many of the other government projects.' - Opposition lawmaker Fong Kui Lun, in whose constituency the building would be located near the city's chaotic Chinatown, said it would be an eyesore and totally unsuited to the crowded downtown district.
'The country does not need another mega project as the era of mega projects is gone and most Malaysians are not impressed by them any more.' - Tony Pua, also from the Democratic Action Party which is part of the opposition alliance, said. -- AFP

More crony business template

Cancer institute's price doubles to RM700 million

Joseph Sipalan
Oct 20, 10

PARLIAMENT The opposition bench today launched new salvoes at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his far-reaching government transformation plan (GTP), this time claiming that the construction cost of the National Cancer Institute in Putrajaya had jumped by 100 percent to RM700 million.

PKR Machang MP Saifuddin Nasution (right) said the institute was initially supposed to cost RM340 million as indicated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan of former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Saifuddin said the project, which was launched by Abdullah on Jan 9, 2007, was scheduled to be completed over 30 months by June 2009.

“But on March 10, 2009, the then Deputy Health Minister (Dr Abdul) Latif Ahmad said in Parliament that the institute is in the final stages of construction and will cost RM700 million,” he said at a press conference in Parliament.

“Twenty four months after the project was announced, the cost escalated by 100 percent,” he said.

Saifuddin, who is also PKR secretary-general, said the way the project was managed by Kiara Teratai Sdn Bhd was highly questionable as he has seen evidence that the company was in no way involved in the construction of the institute.

“We have gone through some documents, and we suspect that Kiara Teratai did not run the project and instead handed it over to IJM Corporation,” he alleged, saying it could be the reason behind the huge jump in construction costs.

Saifuddin pointed out that a background check done on Kiara Teratai's two directors, Ahmad Zaid Salleh Hamdi and Hashim Hassan, revealed that they have ties with Maritime Management DMCCO (MMC) and Tradewinds.

“These companies are linked to bumiputera billionare Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, which makes these directors very well connected,” he said.

'Tender process only benefits cronies'

Khalid Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) meanwhile queried the government for refusing to take up the offer from the main contractor of the Shah Alam Hospital to complete the controversial RM482 million project.

He said GM Healthcare, which was engaged by developer Sunshine Fleet as the main contractor of the project, had offered to complete the project within 18 months with a RM3 million discount on the project cost.

“The main contractor is giving a good deal, and yet the government has not given them a response. Instead, they want to re-open the tender for the project, which will be offered to selected parties and it will definitely be offered at a higher price,” Khalid (left) said.

Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut (PAS-Kuala Terengganu) added that the RM3.7 billion road upgrading project in Terengganu was not spared the BN's gross mismanagement, with many of the 17 packages under the project left uncompleted while their crony contractors disappear with the profits.

Taking the example of one RM59 million package under the project, he said the contractor had only completed 15 percent of the road but simply left after collecting timber in the surrounding forests.

Khalid said the government is well aware of the “cancer” that infects the government, as proven by Najib's GTP and his many other transformation plans.

“But they do not have the political will to bring about the transformation they talk so much about,” he said.

MK

Face Book obliged Malaysia to block debate

Facebook blocks Malaysia's anti-mega-tower page

Trinity Chua
Oct 20, 10

Social networking site Facebook has blocked a fast-growing page set up by a group of Malaysians against the controversial 100-storey tower proposed by the government.

In just four days, the page attracts more than 30,000 fans, or about one in every 300 Facebook users in Malaysia. It aims to register one million fans.

While Facebook users can still join the '1M Malaysians reject 100-storey Mega Tower' page, the page owners are however barred from posting any message on the site.

The anonymous owner has described Facebook's action as a new form of Internet censorship.

“While new media offers room for social movements, the authoritarian governance by the Internet giants like Facebook has sunk to a new form of censorship,” said one of the creators of the page yesterday after discovering he was blocked from the site.

Facebook has published a brief statement on the page: "Your publishing rights have been blocked due to a violation of the Pages Terms of Use".

Facebook neither specifies the details of violation nor provides a channel of appeal.

"One is presumed innocent until guilty in any civilised society but in Facebook, you are guilty once charged. Not only you cannot claim trial, you don't even know your exact offence! Is this not cyber-tyranny?" asked the page owners.

The '1M Malaysians reject 100-storey Mega Tower' page was set up a day after the Prime Minister Najib Razak's 2010 Budget speech where he announced that the mega-tower would cost RM5 billion.

In a country commonly perceived as divided by ethnicity and faiths, the page has attracted fans from all communities.

Many of the page members argued that the RM5 billion can be better used for purposes other than building the mega-tower.

“This type of money should be spend on the rakyat. Better schools, hospitals, transportation, etc. By upgrading the needs of the rakyat, the money will also stimulate the economy,” said one user, Chris Chin.

“RM5 billion to build the 1Tower while only RM250 million for all schools nationwide. That's just 5 percent of the tower's budget! Who is going to grow Malaysia's economy in the future – the tower or our children?” asked Syed Faisal.

The page picked up 1,000 fans an hour at peak periods after its existence was reported by websites such as Malaysiakini, Merdeka Review and Malaysian Digest.

Najib has defended the mega-tower in the wake of severe criticism. He said the project will have a multiplier effect on the economy.

"We want the area to become a business hub," he said. "So this project is not a waste but is one which will benefit the people."

Not the first censorship by Facebook

This is not the first time Facebook has blocked pages created by Malaysian dissident groups.

In September 2010, another Facebook page, 'Malaysian for Beng Hock', was blocked by Facebook administrators.

Attracting more than 14,880 supporters, the page aims to seek answers behind the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock, an aide of an opposition politician, in July 2009. Teoh was found dead outside the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's Selangor headquarters after an 11-hour interrogation.

Last year, Facebook blocked another similar page, 'Justice for Beng Hock'. The page, now defunct, attracted more than 10,000 supporters.

Two months ago, Facebook took similar action against yet another page, 'Save Jamal on Air'.

Radio DJ Jamal, whose real name is Jamaluddin Ibrahim, was sacked allegedly due to allowing discussion of racially-sensitive issues in his talk show.

The page, which has 11,015 fans, is now dormant after it was blocked.

A billion ringgit palace for Agong

New Istana Negara to cost RM797m

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:45

KUALA LUMPUR: A massive new palace being built for Malaysia's king is expected to be completed next June, at a total cost of RM797 million, Parliament was told today.

The Istana Negara, or national palace, which is taking shape on a hilltop in a Kuala Lumpur suburb is an enormous complex of dome-topped buildings linked to the city's highways with special access roads.

The palace sprawls over a 100,000 square metre (one million square foot) site which was annexed in the 1990s in what has since become a prime residential area.

Works Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor said the palace is expected to be completed on June 30 next year.

The figure has risen from an earlier allocation of RM650 million, he said in a written reply yesterday after a query from the opposition.

"The additional allocation is needed to fulfil costs which were not included in the earlier contract, among them being the security system, utility payments and also interior decoration," he said.

The historic project also entails the construction of a highway flyover and an access road, at a cost of an extra RM138.5 million.

Malaysia's opposition has criticised the government's decision to award the development contract without a tender, and said the company which will handle the construction is controlled by a senior figure in the ruling party.

The Star daily said the government had explained that there was no open tender because the special project was subject to security considerations.

Malaysia has a unique rotating monarchy shared among nine sultans, who are the royal rulers and guardians of Islam in their respective states. They each take turns to rule for five years as the nation's king.

The current monarch, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin from Terengganu, was sworn in in 2006 at the age of 45, becoming Malaysia's second-youngest king ever.

His current palace is a colonial mansion built in the 1920s which was originally the home of a self-made ethnic-Chinese tycoon, and was later bought by the government.

- AFP

Parliament rejected special motion on Orang Asli

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19:  Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia has refused to allow a motion on granting Bumiputera status to Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia, drawing criticism from Pakatan Rakyat members of parliament. ORIGINAL PEOPLE BUT NOT SONS OF THE SOIL ... The group from Orang Asli at the parliament today Earlier, a 27-member delegation from the Orang Asli community was denied entry to the Parliament despite being guests of Telok Kemang member of parliament Kamarul Baharin Abbas. Led by Simpan Suda, deputy chairman of the Orang Asli Land Action Front, they were later allowed in after the police were convinced they were not protestors. The group wanted to follow parliamentary proceedings on an urgent motion by Kamarul over their demand to be recognised as Bumiputera under Article 153 and 160 of the Federal Constitution. The Federal Constitution currently recognises only Malays and natives in Sabah and Sarawak as Bumiputera. Pandikar however dismissed the motion, saying the matter had already been raised during the last debate. A disappointed Simpan said issues revolving around the Orang Asli people should have ended after 53 years of independence. “If the issues regarding the natives in Sabah and Sarawak can be solved in the Constitution, why is the government not ready to solve the demands of the Orang Asli from the peninsula,” he asked. Simpan said following the Speaker's rejection, his group would offer help to the PAS candidate in the upcoming Galas by-election. PAS's Kuala Kerai MP Dr Hatta Ramli said the speaker should have allowed the motion to be debated. “This shows the true colour of the ruling party even though they (Orang Asli) had travelled from far (to be at the parliament),” said Hatta, adding that the group's demand was reasonable as Orang Asli were natives in the country. “To recognise the native people as Bumiputera is only natural,” Hatta added. Meanwhile, Tumpat MP Kamaruddin Jaafaar congratulated Kamarul for his commitment to represent Pakatan Rakyat in defending Orang Asli rights.

Billionaire Chief Minister

Letter reveals Taib's billionaire status

Oct 16, 10

A letter that a former employee of Taib Mahmud's family business empire wrote to the Sarawak chief minister in 2006 reveals the former's billionaire status, claims the website Sarawak Report.

The letter which was written by the late Ross Boyert also reveals a meeting between the chief minister's Canadian son-in-law Sean Murray with “multi-billionaire banker” David Rockefeller to effect a transfer in excess of US$100 million that Boyert claimed was “seemingly effortless”.

The website has published the key points of the 388-page letter that Boyert had written to Taib to complain about his sacking as chief operating officer (COO) of Sakti International, the Taib family's United States-based property company.

The Sarawak Report article follows news of the 60-year-old's untimely death last Sunday.

Boyert (left), in the letter, explains how Murray in 1994 had “bragged about the chief minister's extreme wealth”, and disclosed his meeting with Rockefeller.

Murray, husband to Taib's daughter Jamilah, had at that time approached Boyert to help run Sakti International.

“The position I accepted in 1994 required the formation of an operating company to administer and renovate the Group's assets... The renovations were to be fully funded by equity capital which I was assured was in ample supply,” wrote Boyert in the letter.

“In his discussion of the family wealth now nearing US$1 billion, Sean told the story of the meeting with David Rockefeller and how his request for funds to be placed in his bank was met with the seemingly effortless transfer of what I was told exceeded US$100,000,000.

“He explained how the family controlled its wealth through a series of interlocking offshore trusts giving the example of Sakti International Corporation, held by Sakti Holdings which is held in turn by Sogo Holdings Limited etc.”

Knew too much?

Sarawak Report speculates that Boyert, in confiding all that he knew about the family business and bitter family rivalries, may have angered the chief minister and put the final nail in the former COO's coffin.

“It is likely however, that by confiding in this way to Abdul Taib Mahmud (right), a man he had met but a few times, and by revealing that he was fully aware of the chief minister's great wealth and commanding role in the company (which was meant to be a closely-guarded secret), Boyert had naively sealed his own fate,” says the website.

“Instead of gaining sympathy, it is likely he would have incurred the old man's ire and convinced him that with all this knowledge, he was a dangerous liability to his company and reputation,” it added.

It claims that Boyert's letter backfired and did not convince Taib to intercede, but that the chief minister instead “left Murray to pursue a devastating counter-suit against Boyert's complaint of unfair dismissal, accusing him on numerous counts of embezzlement and dishonesty.”

It says that the confrontation between Boyert and Murray reveals details of both the Murray family's involvement in Taib's business empire as well as the Sarawak family's true position.

“There is no reason to believe he (Murray) or his family members have controlling shares in the other property companies, despite an increasingly active and important managerial role.”

“Sarawak Report therefore concludes that it may suit the Taibs and flatter the Murrays to conceal the real ownership of this property empire by describing it as a 'Murray family business', but that employees like Ross Boyert knew exactly who is in charge,” it said.

The FBI connection

“Thanks to Boyert we now also know that in an apparent attempt to conceal their ownership further, the Taibs transferred Sakti International to an offshore company based in Jersey in the Channel Islands, named Sogo Holdings Limited in 1997.

“Here the company's ownership is registered under Deutsche Bank International Limited, performing a paid service to act as 'nominee'.

The website says Ross also revealed that Sakti's sister corporation Wallyson's, that owns the Abraham Lincoln Building housing the FBI's top security facility in Seattle, has been transferred to a British Virgin Island company called Rodinmass.

Boyert's letter, says Sarawak Report, made clear the sensitivity of Taib's alleged ownership of this key FBI facility.

“This banker, Mr Bob Koch, knew me, and knew the whole story of ... the Abraham Lincoln Building and our relationship to the FBI.” wrote Boyert.

According to the website, the former employee also complained to Taib that having built up a US$80 million company “for the family they, who already had so much wealth, would turn him away with nothing and then attempt to destroy him.”

According to Sarawak Report, Boyert had for 12 years served as the sole manager of a number of the office blocks and residences owned by the Taib family in San Francisco and Seattle.

He was found dead last Sunday in a Los Angeles hotel room with a bag tied around his head.

"It is speculated that he may have taken his own life, but the coroner is withholding judgement pending further investigations," said Sarawak Report, that has recently published a series of explosive revelations on Sarawak's 'first family'.

The story of Malay arrogance

October 16, 2010

The MAS Story: Of Arrogance and Folly

by Din Merican

In the early 1990s, Tajuddin Ramli was the poster boy of then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s plan for Bumiputera wealth creation. He was the iconic bumiputera businessman and a  key “payung” (mentor) for other bumiputera entrepreneurs. For that he was practically handed the post of President of the Malay Chamber of Commerce.

Why bother? Do they matter? Making Obscene Money under Crony Capitalism

Tajuddin would inspire the Malays to achieve the 30% bumiputera equity which was the target under the  now controversial New Economic Policy. The economic objective to eliminate poverty amongst the Malays and give them a share of the economic pie became  the primary means for  enrich ing only a few Malays , especially those associated with the dominant ruling party, UMNO and their cronies (crony capitalism). An economic pie meant for the Malays who constitute 50% of Malaysia’s population of 27 million people would now be in the hands of only a handful of Malays. Now that can be a big pie!

Mentor for other bumiputera entrepreneurs!

Making Obscene Money under Crony Capitalism

In 1994, Tajuddin was handed on a silver platter control of the national airlines, Malaysia Airline System Bhd (MAS). MAS was flushed with cash then. To be exact, according to various reports, including the MACC report made by the MASKargo’s Managing Director, Shahari Sulaiman, MAS had RM600 million in cash. That was a lot of money at that time. By 2001, Tajuddin had to leave and MAS was burdened with a RM8 billion debt. That was a lot of money to lose at that time. Despite the losses, the government bought back MAS from Tajuddin at RM8 per share when the market price at that time was just slightly below RM4 per share. That was a 100% profit for Tajuddin. That was a lot of money to make after having caused MAS to lose RM8 billion!

Tajuddin sued MAS

So, MAS sued Tajuddin Ramli and his cohorts. According to the reports, the former Chairman counter sued several parties including Danaharta and the Government of Malaysia for RM13.6 billion. In his  counter suit, Tajuddin alleged that he was just a government agent and nominee. By his rationale, he did nothing wrong. If he plundered, he did so with the government’s blessings. So, what’s wrong with that? After all, Abdullah Badawi also did the same thing in the LSG Skychef- Ibrahim Badawi deal with MAS!

Mega-financial scandal : the RM8 billion MAS-Tajuddin Scam !

Then last month, in a filing to Bursa Malaysia, MAS announced that Tajuddin had also filed a countersuit for RM 500 million claiming that he had been defamed by MAS when MAS complained to the MACC. That Bursa filing also disclosed that Tajuddin’s countersuit was in retaliation for MAS suing him for various breaches of fiduciary and statutory duties and for defrauding MAS in several related party transactions.

I was getting a bit loss there because MAS Bursa’s filing said that MAS wanted damages against Tajudin for RM174,620,695.00 for the losses caused by Tajuddin in the Hahn Airport project and for an indemnity for the amount MAS had to pay to an ICC Arbitration involving ACL Advanced Cargo Logistics GmbH. As far as MAS is concerned,  ACL is a Tajudin camouflaged company. Instead, Tajuddin wants RM500 million from MAS for having caused MAS to suffer that loss? Now this is becoming a bit dizzy. Tajuddin caused loss to MAS and yet he now wants MAS to pay him because MAS complained against him to the MACC? Does that make sense to you? Maybe, but not to me.

The Bursa Malaysia filing also disclosed that Tajuddin’s counter suit for RM 500 million was in retaliation for MAS when MAS complained to the MACC

Then it all  began to make sense when RPK’s postings on September  8 and September  14 showed that Tajuddin had claimed in his court papers, in his affidavit to be exact, that he was given immunity by UMNO. Then it all made further sense when RPK posted letters from Tajuddin’s lawyers, Messrs Lim Kian Leong, that Tajuddin is seeking a “Global Settlement” with the assistance of the Courts in a “‘mediation process”.

Tajuddin’s Lawyers, Messrs Lim Kian Leong, that Tajuddin is seeking a “Global Settlement” with the assistance of the Courts in a “‘mediation process”.

“Global Settlement” Sought

Now, what this “Global Settlement” is about is not yet known. But it is not too difficult to imagine that Tajuddin is beginning to be worried that he may not be protected forever especially since he had maligned Dr Mahathir and others as being responsible for his actions in MAS. He is worried that Dato’ Seri Idris Jala who was the former MAS MD, is now the Minister in charge of the National Key Result Areas (NKRA)  and PERMUDAH and knows all Tajuddin’s misconduct in MAS. He is worried that former IGP Musa Hassan who had been so unceremoniously bundled off  is no longer there to provide him cover. He is worried that his photo with A-G Gani Patail had been made public. He is worried that the relationship of A-G Gani with his henchman, that ex-policeman who was once charged for corruption, Shahidan Shafie, has been exposed. He is worried sick that his web of deceit in covering up his ownership in the so called German company, ACL GmbH ,has now been discovered. Tajuddin Ramli is a worried man. So he wants a “Global Settlement”.

TajudinRamli is worried sick that his web of deceit in covering up his ownership in the so called German company, ACL GmbH ,has now been discovered.

It is not too difficult to imagine that the “Global Settlement” will result in all the criminal cases against him which have been identified by Dato Ramli Yusuff, former Director CCID PDRM,  being remain buried. That his crimes which have been NFA’d by the AG Gani Patail will not be re-opened. It is not too difficult to imagine  why the MACC did nothing about MAS’s complaints of the collusion between the PDRM and A-G Gani Patail. It is not to difficult to imagine that deals will be struck to cover all these up. It is in this context that the revelations in an Open Letter by former Kuala Lumpur CID Chief, Dato’ Mat Zain Ismail, become a powerful testimony of the manipulation of the country’s criminal justice system by no other than former IGP Musa Hassan and AG Gani Patail.

“Global Settlement” will result in all the criminal cases against Tajuddin Ramli which have been identified by Dato Ramli Yusuff, former Director CCID PDRM, being buried. That his crimes which have been NFA’d by the AG Gani Patail will not be re-opened.

Dato Mat Zain’s Open Letter

Dato Mat Zain holds Musa and Gani  responsible when he asked this rhetorical question:

“Apa sudah jadi dengan Sistem Keadilan Jenayah kita?…siapa yang sepatutnya dipersalahkan? Siapa yang menyebabkan Sistem Keadilan Jenayah kita menjadi kucar kacir sehinggakan sesiapa juga boleh mempermain-mainkannya tanpa takut kepada sebarang tindakan dan hukuman undang-undang?

Saya tidak teragak-agak untuk menyatakan bahawa keadaan ini berpunca daripada ‘precedent’ yang dibuat oleh Tan Sri Gani Patail dan Tan Sri Musa Hassan sendiri.” .

On October 8 2010, Mat Zain bin Ibrahim wrote a 20-page open letter that blows the lid on many issues. You have to read this letter to believe it. In that letter, the former senior cop tells all about long-lodged reports that have only gathered dust in the back-offices of the authorities. Why - because these involved the untouchables, namely Dr Mahathir, Rafidah Aziz, Rahim Thamby Chik, Eric Chia, Attorney-General Gani Patail, recently-retired IGP Musa Hassan ... the list goes on ...

So what do we have here now with Tajuddin Ramli? He is still a wealthy man while those who pursued him — ex-CCID Director Ramli Yusuff and lawyer Rosli Dahlan — ended up in court facing trumped up charges. Tajuddin could get away with murder because Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was also plundering MAS. Others in UMNO were also plundering MAS. And they are in power and can still manipulate the criminal justice system.  RPK’s MACC Part 14 also disclosed the manipulations by those in the corridors of power of the criminal justice system.

Dato Murad Khalid reappears

RPK exposed that Dato’ Murad Khalid formerly Assistant Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia was forced to sign a Statutory Declaration (SD) in order to crucify Anwar Ibrahim. These are all connected to the VK Lingam’s tapes of fixing appointments in the Courts and in the A-G Chambers.

In order to do justice for his own sake, Datuk Murad Khalid signed a Statutory Declaration (SD) in order to crucify Anwar Ibrahim. These are all connected to the VK Lingam’s tapes on fixing appointments in the Courts and in the A-G Chambers.

When talking about Dato’ Murad’s SD, RPK said this – “What happened to lawyer Rosli Dahlan who was brutally arrested and charged for defending his client, Dato’ Ramli Yusuff, is not the first. The only difference is that Rosli Dahlan is fighting back. He is not taking things lying down as some have done in the past.” On this part, I am about to differ with RPK.

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan from Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill

I am not too sure now if Rosli still has the stamina to fight back. I noted from the MAS Bursa announcement the part which states this: “MAS has been advised by its solicitors, Messrs Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, that it has a good defence to Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli’s counter claim.

MAS has instructed its solicitors to take the necessary action to set the matter down for trial as soon as possible, so as to avoid further interlocutory proceedings that have already delayed this matter for over 4 years and which may further delay this matter.”

Tajuddin’s Countersuit of RM500 million for Defamation

I  spoke to several lawyer friends who said that Tajuddin’s counterclaim of RM500 million for defamation is frivolous. Usually frivolous claims are struck out. Yet I see from that announcement that Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill is not taking that course of action. Is it because Hishammuddin is instructing his former firm to not pursue this? Is it because this is part of the deal, the “Global Settlement” mentioned by Tajuddin’s lawyers. That MAS announcement did not mention Rosli Dahlan’s name, but I have no doubt that Rosli is the lawyer responsible for pursuing Tajuddin in that case.

Is that why the MACC is dragging Rosli’ case which has now again been postponed to December 28? Quite clearly, nobody works at that time of the year and it can be anticipated that Rosli’s case will drag on until the year 2011 and may be beyond. Is the MACC being used like how it was used against Dato’ Murad Khalid to secure Rosli’s cooperation not to push the MAS case against Tajuddin too hard? Is this also part of the “Global Settlement”?

MACC is dragging Rosli’ case which has now again been postponed to December 28, 2010 !!

Rosli’s Curt Response

I tried calling Rosli to find out about all these. I wanted to clear the air about them. I wanted to be assured that Rosli is not succumbing to pressure and caving in. But Rosli gave me a curt standard lawyer’s phrase that he can’t discuss his professional work. I respected that, but I suspect there is more to it. I suspect that he is tiring out and emotionally depleted. I suspect that there is something fishy in this “Global Settlement” and that in the end everything will be buried.

I want to remind Rosli that I have been writing about his case because I believe he will stand up against gross injustice. That he would not take things lying down. Yes, I will not deny that was my agenda for reporting his case. I believe writing about Rosli could inspire other Malaysians to speak up against the wrongs that have been perpetrated. I believe that Rosli could play a role in the Third Force in the next General Election.

I wanted to prod him in that direction. Rosli is the right recipe for an election candidate. If Loh Guo Burne can be a PKR candidate and Member of Parliament by just snooping around and catching VK Lingam on tape, then Rosli is better suited to be an MP. It is not every day that you have a low profile bumiputera lawyer taking on the whole establishment.

This is an election story. The signs are already there. Yesterday’s budget speech is an election budget speech. Have no doubt that GE 13 is not too far away. But these recent developments have caused me some concern. I hope I am wrong about Rosli caving in. I hope the government is not using the MACC to squeeze Rosli by delaying his case. I hope Rosli will not succumb to pressure. So I thought I would ask Rosli for coffee if he was uncomfortable talking over the phone.

I asked to meet him at the Kuala Lumpur Golf Country Club on Wednesday November 13. I waited from 9am but Rosli did not turn up, even past 10 am. I was getting upset, until providence step in. While Rosli did not turn up,  Tajudin Ramli appeared. He was with a group of Chinese friends.

Tajuddin, once a bank officer from Kedah, was snobbish, arrogant, and "elitist" when I last saw him at KLGCC.

I knew Tajudin since his banking days. I thought this was a good opportunity for me to seek clarification from him, to give him the opportunity to tell his side of the story. I heard that both he and Halim Saad have said that they are victims of the government’s machinations, of UMNO’s to be more specific. So I thought it would only be fair I hear Tajuddin out and then post his version of things on my blog.

Snubbed by Tajuddin

To my dismay, when I walked over to shake his hands, he waved me away in a “kasar” (rough) manner .I was stunned.  Here was a man younger than me and behaving so “kurang ajar”. The only other occasion in recent times, someone treated me that way was that insolent DPP Zulqarnain during Rosli’s case. I saw the similarities between Tajuddin and that DPP Zulqarnain. Both are kurang ajar people.

I walked away and sat with my friends. Tajuddin Ramli has not changed. I have previously heard complaints about his dictatorial tantrums when he was Chairman of MAS. He treated the company’s assets as if they were his own. He flouted company’s internal policies with impunity. A retired general who was on the MAS Board of Directors was even forced to resign when that general pointed out about Tajuddin taking out money in batches of RM10 million fifteen times just to come within the financial authority limits without being detected. But the MAS Board found out.

Tajuddin behaved like a despot and mentioned Dr Mahathir’s name ever so often that nobody dared challenge him. Not even the then representative of the Ministry of Finance, Tan Sri Clifford Herbert, dared to go against Tajuddin. That is corporate Malaysia for you.

Even the then representative of the Ministry of Finance, Tan Sri Clifford Herbert, dared to go against Tajuddin. That is corporate Malaysia for you.

Tajuddin thinks I don’t know of the things he did. I do, but I only raised his case in the context of how the criminal justice system has been manipulated. I raised it to show that in Malaysia it may not be the crook who gets charged. In Malaysia, it may be the other way round. That is why professionals like Dato’ Ramli and Lawyer Rosli can be fixed. It can be manipulated because people like Tajuddin can go scot free with arrogance. He remains unrepentant.

Azmin opens the campaign move

Team Azmin kicks off with a bang

Regina Lee
Oct 16, 10

Mohamed Azmin Ali's PKR deputy presidency campaign entered fifth gear almost immediately after lodging in his acceptance form for nominations today.

Kicking off with a literal bang, his supporters arranged a gendang (drum) welcome to fanfare his entry into the party headquarters this morning to confirm his candidacy.

It is a stark departure from previous months of intense but rather quiet lobbying and strategising, with Azmin relatively tight-lipped about his chances and selective with exclusive media interviews.

Even fellow elections aspirants have been tight-lipped and coy about their support for him.

The situation just a few hours after the handing of his candidacy papers is significantly different, with his lineup clear as daylight during the function organised to officially mark the start of Azmin's campaign.

No short of pomp

Dubbed 'Reformasi towards Putrajaya', the launch held at Petaling Jaya's Dewan Sivik saw all roads leading to the venue littered with banners depicting Azmin with an outstretched arm, the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya beckoning in the background.

Accompanying him on stage were heavyweights including Penang deputy chief minister Mansor Othman, Wanita chief Zuraida Kamarudin, Batu MP Tian Chua and Selangor exco Xavier Jayakumar, among others.

One by one, many took to the stage to sing his praises.

Azmin in turn peppered his 'acceptance for candidacy' speech with Latin, Tamil and Mandarin phrases.

The audience of some 1,500 supporters were visibly lapping it up.

However, in stark contrast to his rival Zaid Ibrahim's abrasive style against party elders, Azmin instead called for grace and respect for the seniors leaders.

"We must appreciate the sacrifices of (outgoing deputy president Syed Husin Ali). We are grateful for all the work he has done to his party," said Azmin in his speech.

Zaid had previously been reported to have openly criticised the outgoing deputy, after the latter had chided the former minister for not having attended party meetings.

MK 

How many Malaysians in Singapore?

The 10th Malaysia Plan revealed in June announced a Talent Corporation to headhunt Malaysians abroad with the skills to drive economic growth based on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Prime Minister Najib Razak (below) said last week that the body will start work in January.

So far, however, Malaysia has had little success in getting its best people home. Two programmes in the last 15 years have drawn fewer than 1,000 respondents, according to The Straits Times Singapore on Oct 14. Since Singapore is probably the country with the most Malaysians, it is perhaps a good starting point.

The Singapore Census of Population 2010 Advance Census Release revealed some surprising statistics about Malaysians in Singapore.

It says about 1 in 4 (23 percent) of the resident population - Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) - were not born in Singapore. Of that 23 percent, about half (45 percent) were from Malaysia.

The above statistics surprised everyone in Singapore, since it has been raised in various blogs and the media that the recent rise in the local population was due mainly to immigrants from China.

The population of Singapore-born residents dropped from 81.9 to 77.2 percent from 2000 to 2010, ie from 3.3 to 3.8 million.

The non-Singapore-born population rose from 18.1 (592,000) to 22.8 (859,000) percent.

What the census does not say is how many of the 386,000 Malaysian-born residents are Singapore citizens and how many are PRs.

Malaysians everywhere

Out of the total population of 5.08 million, Singapore has 3.77 million residents, of which 3.23 million were Singapore citizens and 0.54 million were PRs. This means that about 4 in 10 are not Singaporeans.

The number of Singapore PRs grew by 1.5 percent in 2010, a decrease from the minimum 6 percent annual growth noted between 2005 and 2009. Growth in the number of non-residents also slowed to 4.1 percent in 2010, down from the peaks of 15 percent in 2007 and 19 percent in 2008, and the number of Singapore citizens increased by only 0.9 percent.

In this regard, what are the corresponding statistics for Malaysia?

According to Wikipedia, Malaysia has 10 to 20 percent foreign workers, the exact figure being uncertain due in part to the large number of illegal workers. There are a million legal foreign workers and perhaps another million unauthorised foreigners.

Sabah alone had nearly 25 percent of its 2.7 million population listed as illegal foreign workers in the last census. Sabah NGOs estimate that out of the 3 million population, 2 million are illegal immigrants.

As Singapore does not allow dual citizenship, Malaysians who take up Singapore citizenship will have to give up their Malaysian citizenship.

In this connection, how many of the 40,000 new citizens and 140,000 PRs in the last two years were Malaysians?

The majority of the increase in PRs comprise immigrants from Malaysia and the Indian subcontinent. The ethnic Chinese PRs in Singapore predominantly hail from Malaysia.

Over the 10-year period, the number of Malaysia-born Chinese in Singapore (PRs and Singapore citizens combined) went up by 81,000, while that of China-born Chinese rose by just 13,000.

Over half million working in S'pore

I understand that when Singapore left Malaysia in 1965, Singaporeans were given the option to choose to become Malaysian citizens. My uncle was one of them. How many Singaporeans made this choice in 1965?

How many of the 1.3 million non-residents in Singapore now are Malaysians, on work permits, employment pass, S-pass, student pass, long-tem visit pass, entrepreneur pass, certificate to seek employment, etc?

Since none of the above statistics are publicly available, I estimate the total number of Malaysian-born in Singapore to be about 600,000, since Malaysia's Human Resource Ministry says that there are about 350,000 Malaysians working in Singapore, and that 386,000 PRs (excluding Malaysian-born Singapore citizens and non-resident Malaysians) were Malaysians.

In addition to the above, what about Malaysian tourists who come to Singapore everyday?

Bus loads of Malaysians have been arriving at Singapore's two new integrated resorts (IR), Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands (below), almost hourly since they opened this year. Malaysia's Express Bus Agencies Association has said that on weekends, at least 50 tour buses roll into Resorts World Sentosa alone. There are at least 30 coach-based travel agencies that run IR tours from Johor.

For example, the purchase of S$100 (RM238) worth of casino chips comes with a free bus ride and freebies like a food voucher, or a discounted RM30 ticket for the two-way bus ride, in addition to loyalty and promotional membership programmes.

Tour packages from Johor to Genting Highlands have reportedly dropped by about 50 percent since Singapore's two IRs opened. Michael Tay, deputy chairman of the MCA's public complaints bureau in Johor Bahru has said that the number of gambling problem cases he handles have jumped from about four or five a month to 16 in the last two months, with about half related to the IRs in Singapore.

Chinese and Malay population slides

In 2005 (latest data available), only 5.4 percent of Malays, were admitted to Singapore's publicly funded universities, compared to 30 and 11 percent for Chinese and Indians respectively. The figures for 1980 was 0.5, 5.9 and 3.5 percent respectively.

Another interesting statistic is that the population of Chinese and Malays in Singapore declined, while that of Indians and others increased. Chinese declined from 76.8 to 74.1, Malays from 13.9 to 13.4, Indians rose from 7.9 to 9.2, and Others from 1.4 to 3.3 percent.

Considering this, it would be interesting to know the breakdown of Malaysians in Singapore along the four ethnic groups.

I wonder if the Malaysian Government have the statistics of Malaysians in Singapore and if so, is it public information?

For example, perhaps one of the most "talked about" topics in my casual conversations with Malaysian friends is how many Malaysians have become Singaporeans, and vice versa.

Perhaps all Malaysians who have given up their citizenship could be encouraged to return by offering them Malaysian citizenship again or allowing dual citizenship.

Some notable countries that allow dual citizenship are the United States, France, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom.

LEONG SZE HIAN's late father moved from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore in 1952. Since he was born in Singapore in 1953, there may be some confusion as to whether he was conceived in Malaysia or Singapore.
MK

Pages from Sarawak Report

By Sarawak Report
Following the tragic death of Ross Boyert, which we announced earlier this week, Sarawak Report has decided to publish in full the amazing allegations contained in a personal letter he wrote to his employer, the Chief Minister of Sarawak.

Company letterhead. Boyert wrote as the former Vice-President of Sakti International to the majority shareholder, Abdul Taib Mahmud

The 388 page document, sent after Boyert was sacked in November 2006, begged Taib to put to an end what he described as appalling treatment in return for his years of hard work building the family’s US property company, Sakti International, into a multi-million dollar business.

He also complained how he had to rescue the disastrous mismanagement of the company by Taib’s son, Rahman, and put a halt to a catastrophic building project, by his son-in-law Sean Murray, which was condemned on safety-grounds by the San Fransciso authorities.

[TO VIEW THE FULL DOCUMENT CLICK ON THE ICONS BENEATH THIS ARTICLE. SOME FAMILY DETAILS ERASED].
Key revelations
In the letter Boyert detailed bitter divisions and rivalries between Taib family members; described what he regarded as bullying tactics by Taib’s ambitious son-in-law, the Canadian Sean Murray, and related how Murray bragged about the Chief Minister’s extreme wealth.  When Murray approached Boyert to help run the family’s US properties in 1994, he even disclosed Taib’s billionaire status and revealed that the Chief Minister had just met with billionaire banker David Rockefeller and made an astonishing deposit of money:

Indiscreet? Boyert acquired much of his information from family members

Junior partner - Hisham (Sean) Murray, Jamilah's younger husband

Empire building
The letter goes on to explain how it was Boyert’s deteriorating relationship with Sean Murray that led to his summary dismissal twelve years later and a bitter court case. In that period Boyert describes a family torn apart by rivalries and greed, which as an employee he strove to manage.
The worst jealousies, he described were those between Taib’s sons, Rahman and Mahmud, and his son-in-law, Hisham (Sean Murray), who they believed was ’Empire Building’ within the network of Taib property companies based in Canada, the US, Britain and Australia.
“As Rahman had told me many, many times, Sean was busy empire building, I was immediately on guard”,  wrote Ross, as he explained to the Chief Minister why he had been reluctant to accept Murray’s original announcement that he had replaced  Rahman (Sulaiman) Taib as President of Sakti International in 2005.  Boyert angered the Canadian by insisting on documented evidence, signed by all the company’s official family shareholders. Sakti is the Taibs’ main property company in the USA and Boyert was employed as its Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer.

Ridiculed? - son Mahmud Taib and his wife

In later passages, which must have further dismayed the Chief Minister, Boyert also confided that Murray had frequently made sneering and disparaging comments about both his sons to him as an employee:

“It [a remark] reminded me how Sean would speak ill of Rahman when he was discussing their interaction.  In fact, in a recent call, Sean said the board meetings he attended droned on-and-on with Mahmud constantly talking but saying nothing.  He couldn’t believe how stupid it was and if not for him, the Kuching Convention Center would have been a total failure since he changed the design facing away, rather than towards, the river.  I did not, and do not, feel such comments are appropriate..”

A tactic that backfired
It is likely however, that by confiding in this way to Abdul Taib Mahmud, a man he had met but a few times, and by revealing that he was fully aware of the Chief Minister’s great wealth and commanding role in the company (which was meant to be a closely-guarded secret), Boyert had naively sealed his own fate.  Instead of gaining sympathy, it is likely he would have incurred the old man’s ire and convinced him that with all this knowledge, he was a dangerous liability to his company and reputation.

MT

Divide and Rule Policy of BN

To the Malays it is about DAP being in power if Pakatan Rakyat comes in. To the non-Malays it is about PAS being in power if Pakatan Rakyat comes in. So, to one group, it is about the fear of the erosion of Malay dominance while, to the other, it is about the fear of the rise of the dominance of Islam.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak delivered his budget speech in the Malaysian Parliament. It is without a doubt an election budget speech, meant to win over the people of Malaysia and entice them to vote for Barisan Nasional in the next general election that can be expected not too far away.  
Najib has done his homework. He realises that the Barisan Nasional government is not having the people’s support. He also realises that the government is not getting support even from the civil servants and members of the security forces.
The Special Branch has told Najib that the majority of the civil service is not with the government, so says my Deep Throat in Bukit Aman. The Chinese are extremely angry with the government and are going to punish the MCA and Gerakan and bury them for good.
The Indians are also angry with the government and are already punishing the MIC after burying the PPP and sending the party into oblivion. The Chinese and Indian component parties of the Barisan Nasional coalition government are trying very hard to make amends with members of their respective communities.
And that is not too difficult to do. All they need to do is to blame everything on UMNO, which is believable seeing that Umno has not learned its lesson of 8 March 2008 and still remains arrogant gila.
To add to Umno’s problems, the Malays are also very angry with the Barisan Nasional government. But who are they going to blame? Perkasa is already saying that Umno is selling out the Malays. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself said the same thing many times since 8 March 2008, which you can see from his videos on YouTube.
Najib is trapped. His 1Malaysia is being criticised by both Perkasa as well as Dr Mahathir. His 1Malaysia is not even getting the support of his Deputy, Muhyiddin Yasin.
However, all is not well with the opposition either. So Barisan Nasional will most likely win again in the next election -- not because Barisan Nasional has become popular but rather because the main component of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR, is showing the same sickness being suffered by UMNO.
And PKR has not even come to power yet. Imagine what it would be like if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power and the sickness in PKR is not just symptomatic but is in fact inherent in all the opposition parties.
It would then make no difference whether the people vote in Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.
On another front, Najib has obtained intelligence reports from CUEPACS that only 30% or so of its members support the Barisan Nasional government. 70% of its members, who represent the civil service, are clearly against the government. And the Special Branch agrees with this finding because Bukit Aman too has come to that same conclusion.
This is a very significant number and is very worrisome to Najib. In the absence of Chinese and Indian support, he will therefore need the Malay vote. And if even the Malay civil servants do not support the government then what hope does Umno have?
According to Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat, the former Secretary General of the Home Ministry, people of his rank -- the senior civil servants, the KSUs, TKSUs, KPs and TKPs -- can do something to arrest Umno’s sagging support. These people have headed the various ministries and departments and they would know how these civil servants behave and think. They know what it would take to recapture the support of these government servants.
Aseh and gang have formed a club or association called “PERSATUAN BEKAS PEGAWAI TINGGI KERAJAAN PENYOKONG UMNO”. And they have promised to help increase Najib’s and Umno’s popularity.
So, today, 16th October 2010, Najib will play host to 600 of these ex-senior civil servants at Sri Perdana to demonstrate that they endorse Najib and that Najib in turn endorses the Persatuan.
PKR, DAP and PAS had better wake up and beware! The race card is going to be played to the maximum. These senior civil servants are going to be told that if Pakatan Rakyat forms the next federal government then DAP is going to be very dominant. And once DAP ‘controls’ the federal government the Malays are going to be sidelined and become second-class citizens and slaves in their own country.
The Chinese and Indians are of course being told the same thing. Only this time it is the religion card that is being played. And they are being told, like what MCA said a few days ago, that once Pakatan Rakyat forms the federal government PAS will become dominant and Islam will be the law of the land.
To the Malays it is about DAP being in power if Pakatan Rakyat comes in. To the non-Malays it is about PAS being in power if Pakatan Rakyat comes in. So, to one group, it is about the fear of the erosion of Malay dominance while, to the other, it is about the fear of the rise of the dominance of Islam.
This is a win-win situation for Umno. If they can put the fear of race into the Malays and the fear of religion into the non-Malays then they get the support of both sides. The British call this the strategy of divide and rule. And the British has successfully used this strategy for hundreds of years.
Expect today’s meeting with Najib to be seditious and malicious. The warning of May 13 Version 2 is going to be bandied about. They are going to be told of the conspiracy by the non-Malays to rob the Malays of their own country. The Malays are going to be told that they will soon be reduced to what the natives or Blacks of South Africa once were in the days of Apartheid. They are going to be warned that their rights and privileges are going to be eroded if not abolished. They are going to be cautioned that even the monarchy may be abolished and Malaysia turned into a socialist republic where meritocracy will prevail and which will spell doom for the underprivileged and backward Malays.
And they hope with that Umno will regain the support of the Malays in the coming general election. And they hope with that Pakatan Rakyat will be denied the next federal government and the states currently under Pakatan Rakyat will return to Barisan Nasional. And they hope that Pakatan Rakyat will remain sleeping tonight as Najib and Umno does its song and dance routine and play host to 600 senior Malay civil servants who will be Barisan Nasional’s lifeline in the coming general election.
MT

Two by-elections at the same time

Nov 4 polls for Batu Sapi and Galas

S Pathmawathy
Oct 15, 10

The Election Commission (EC) has set Nov 4 as polling day for both the Batu Sapi and Galas by-elections.

With today's announcement, the nation will witness next month its 12th and 13th by-elections since the watershed 2008 general election.

EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the EC set Oct 26 for nominations for Batu Sapi, a parliament seat in Sabah, coinciding with that of Galas, a state seat in Kelantan.

Both seats fell vacant following the sudden death of their representatives - PBS parliamentarian Edmond Chong Ket Wah, who was killed in a motorbike accident on Oct 9, and PAS Galas assemblyperson Che Hashim Sulaima, who died of cancer on Sept 27.

Abdul Aziz explained that the by-elections would be held concurrently for three reasons. Firstly, the law does not prohibit the EC from holding both polls at the same time.

“Secondly, we have the experience of conducting by-elections simultaneously, such as in Bukit Gantang (Perak), Bukit Selambau (Kedah) and Batang Ai (Sarawak).

“And lastly, from our discussions earlier today, we concluded that as the time period in running the by-election is shorter, it will not prolong the politicking period. Most of all, it saves costs and reduces tension,” he said.

Abdul Aziz (right) said the nine-day campaign period would be sufficient for political parties, giving them enough time to choose their candidates.

Another pressing reason for the by-elections to be held concurrently is because there were many public holidays and party elections that might hinder the process.

The EC has appointed Mohamad Hamsan Awang Supain, secretary of the Sandakan Municipal Council, as the returning officer and he will be assisted by four EC officials and 405 election officers.

The nomination centre will be the Sandakan Community Hall which also double up as a polliing station, together with 11 schools and one state library for 45 streams.

RM1.3mil allocated for Batu Sapi

Abdul Aziz said the electoral rolls have been updated as of Oct 9 this year, with a total of 25,582 voters, including 1,535 postal voters.

In the 2008 general election, Chong, a PBS candidate, had won the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat with 9,479 votes, beating Independent candidate Chung Kwong Wing by a majority of 3,708 votes.

In the 2008 polls, the breakdown of voters according to race was: Chinese at 37.2 percent, Muslim bumiputera at 60.1 percent, non-Muslim bumiputera at 2.3 percent and others, 0.3 percent.

However, since the electoral roll has been updated to October this year, Abdul Aziz added that there had been a rise in the number of voters as young as 21 and, some over 90.

He also provided the breakdown of the current electoral roll according to the two state constituencies under Batu Sapi - Sekong and Karamunting

In Sekong, Chinese voters numbered 2,366 or 21 percent followed by Sabah bumiputeras at 6,031 or 53 percent.

The rest include 2,167 Malays (19 percent), 676 others (6 percent), 41 Sarawak bumiputeras (0.36 percent), 37 Indians (0.33 percent) and three Orang Asli 0.03 (percent).

In Karamunting, the Chinese make up 9,546 voters or 37 percent followed by Sabah bumiputeras at 9,565, also 37 percent.

The rest include 5,000 Malays (20 percent), 1,213 Others (5 percent), 92 Indians (0.36 percent), 158 Sarawak bumiputeras (0.62 percent) and eight Orang Asli (0.03 percent).

The EC chairperson disclosed that RM2.6 million has been allocated for the Batu Sapi and Galas by-elections, with RM1.3 million each.

Although voting has been slotted on a weekday, Abdul Aziz said the EC expected an 80 percent turnout.

“We are convinced that there will be more people voting on a working day. In Manek Urai, for instance, we had a turnout of 83 percent. While, during the other by-elections held at weekends, we received 70 percent turnout,” Abdul Aziz added.

Will Zaid pull out?

Zaid, Nurul guessing game, pullouts , U-turns expected

Aidila Razak and Hafiz Yatim
Oct 15, 10

Question marks still remain over the candidates for the top PKR posts, with less than 24 hours left for aspirants to accept their nominations - or forfeit their chances.

Despite about a month of campaigning, doubts still surround the candidacy of political bureau member Zaid Ibrahim, with word that last minute negotiations are still taking place.

Zaid announced his ambition for the deputy presidency early in the game, but now speculation is rife that he may step aside for Lembah Pantai MP Nurual Izzah Anwar, who has also qualified to vie for the post.

Zaid (left) had earlier said he would back out if Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim wanted in. However, last week he threw a curve ball by proposing the same "deal" to Nurul Izzah.

The Nurul Izzah variable was put to rest when the latter failed to qualify by the nominations deadline of Oct 10 - but she was back in play, thanks to a surprise decision of the PKR headquarters yesterday.

Yesterday, secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution announced that the party had accepted late nominations from six divisions, including two which nominated Nurul Izzah for deputy president, thus allowing her to enter the race.

Zaid's offer to opt out in favour of Nurul Izzah is being read by some as a way for him to vie for the top post, a move with the potential of severely damaging his reputation.

Those in his inner circle, too, could not confirm his candidacy as of this evening, while Zaid has yet to release the official statement that he told Malaysiakini he would do today.

Candidates have until 5pm tomorrow to confirm acceptance of their candidacy, with Oct 24 scheduled for the annoucement of the names all contestants for central leadership posts.

Horse-trading still going on

It is believed that last minute horse-trading is going on in a bid to restrict the battle for No 2 to Azmin Ali and Khalid Ibrahim, with Nurul Izzah going for vice-president and Zaid bowing out to be appointed to a key party post later.

Mustaffa Kamil Ayub, the Perak PKR chief and another deputy president hopeful, was widely believed to be pulling out of the race - but he confirmed late yesterday that he is in the race till the end.

Met today, Nurul Izzah (right) appeared exasperated by the former de-facto law minister's statements, saying she was both shocked and unsure why her name was dragged in.

She had earlier expressed her intention to contest only the division chief's post, but later threw her hat into the vice-presidential race as the nominations came through.

"I have decided, but will make my official announcement tomorrow morning as it's a bit busy this afternoon with the budget announcement," she said.

Those close to the parliamentarian, who is the daughter of PKR presdient Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and party de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, believe she will not take up Zaid's offer.

If that is so, there are those close to Zaid who see him vying for the deputy presidency, making it a four-way fight, with Nurul Izzah focusing on the vice-presidency.

Adding further to the mystery was Nurul, who was spotted close together with Azmin as they headed for the tabling of the budget in Parliament today.

Some reporters observed the two engaged in serious discussion as they came out of the tower block, with speculation rife that they could be continuing with their earlier discussion - which may have been about tomorrow's PKR nominations.

This could be the reason why incumbent PKR Youth (known by its Malay acronym AMK) leader Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin is having second thoughts about contesting for vice-president.

Despite announcing his intention weeks ago, it is understood that Shamsul will only decide tonight and that he might make a U-turn, citing reasons like not wanting to leave AMK in a lurch.

This decision may ruffle those running for AMK chief, including Badrul Hisham Shahrin, better known as Chegubard, who had apparently helped campaign for Shamsul to garner ample nominations for vice-presidency.

"Badrul told me that he has to fulfill his promise to Shamsul, that is to get him nominated for vice-president and we did that," said Badrul's campaign manager and incumbent AMK exco Zulkifli Ibrahim.

While an about turn by Shamsul (right) may put off the AMK delegates, it is unlikely to unnerve them because of his lacklustre track record.

While he has managed the remarkable feat of boosting the number of AMK divisions, only about one-fourth were eligible to participate in the nomination process.

"Only one-fourth of the AMK divisions were eligible to send in nominations for this election. What does this say about Shamsul's leadership since he took over from (former AMK chief) Ezam Mohd Nor?" Zulkifli asked.

Word on the ground is that negotiations between Shamsul and AMK chief hopeful Rafizi Ramli are ongoing, with the latter said to be making way for the former to go for deputy instead.

Lee Boon Chye not contesting

Not all of the 25 people who qualified for vice-president will be in the fight, with only four candidates confirmed as of today.

They include Kapar MP S Manickavasagam, former PKR communications director Jonson Chong, Padang Serai parliamentarian N Gobalakrishnan and former Federal Territory PKR deputy chairperson R Sureshkumar.

Current vice-president Dr Lee Boon Chye, also Gopeng MP, had already indicated he was not interested in vying for any post in the central leadership in the upcoming party elections.

"This will allow me to focus on my work in my consituency as Gopeng MP, as well as divisional head of Keadilan Gopeng," he said, thanking central leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah and deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali for their support.

Over 200 members have also qualified to run for a spot in the supreme council.