Reforming Pentagon

By Fareed Zakaria

Monday, August 16, 2010

Robert Gates's latest efforts at reforming the Pentagon are modest. He is not trying to cut the defense budget; he merely wants to increase efficiency while reducing bureaucracy, waste and duplication. The savings he is trying to achieve are perfectly reasonable: $100 billion over five years, during which period the Pentagon would spend approximately $3.5 trillion. And yet he has aroused intense opposition from the usual suspects -- defense contractors, lobbyists, the military bureaucracy and hawkish commentators. He faces spirited opposition from his own party, but it is the other Republicans, not Gates, who are abandoning their party's best traditions in defense strategy.
Can anyone seriously question Gates's ideas on the merits? He has pointed out that the spiraling cost of defense hardware has led to the absurdity of destroyers that cost $2 billion to $3 billion per ship and bombers that cost $2 billion per plane. He notes that while the private sector has eliminated middle management and streamlined organization charts, the Pentagon has multiplied its layers of bureaucracy. A decade ago, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld complained that there were 17 levels of staff between him and a line officer. Gates guesses that there are now about 30.
Gates has proposed initial reforms that include dismantling one command and eliminating 50 generals. To put this in context, we have almost 1,000 generals and admirals, a number that has grown 13 percent in 15 years, even as the armed forces have shrunk. Every layer of Pentagon bureaucracy is much larger than it was at the height of the Cold War. Paul Light of New York University's Wagner School of Public Service notes that in 1960 we had 78 deputy assistant secretaries of defense. There are 530 today. Gates likes to point out that there are more musicians in U.S. military marching bands than members of the Foreign Service. In fact, the Pentagon has 10 times as many accountants as there are Foreign Service officers.
Any thoughts of broader reforms or even budget cuts seem inconceivable, despite the tremendous pressure on the federal budget. While some Democrats have taken up this cause, most Republicans are blindly opposed. They should take the time to read two of Gates's recent speeches, one to the Navy League, the other at the Eisenhower library.

Gates is an unabashed admirer of President Dwight Eisenhower, whose portrait hangs behind Gates's desk. He respects Ike's restraint, his emphasis on the trade-offs involved in funding the military and his reluctance to create what he called a "military-industrial complex." Eisenhower understood, Gates reminded his audience at the presidential library in May, "that even a superpower such as the United States -- then near the zenith of its strength and prosperity relative to the rest of the world -- did not have unlimited political, economic and military resources. Expending them in one area -- say, a protracted war in the developing world -- would sap the strength available to do anything else." Eisenhower "was wary of seeing his beloved republic turn into a muscle-bound, garrison state -- militarily strong but economically stagnant and strategically insolvent."
In the spirit of Ike, Gates asked: "Should we really be up in arms over a temporary projected shortfall of about 100 Navy and Marine strike fighters relative to the number of carrier wings when America's military possesses more than 3,200 tactical combat aircraft of all kinds? Does the number of warships we have and are building really put America at risk when the U.S. battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined, 11 of which belong to allies and partners? Is it a dire threat that by 2020 the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China?"
Eisenhower's seriousness of purpose was reflected in more than just his military strategy. He also believed in fiscal restraint and that government should run deficits during recessions but surpluses during recoveries. In 1960 his vice president, Richard Nixon, implored him to cut taxes to give the economy a temporary boost -- and thus help Nixon's electoral prospects. Eisenhower declined, intent on leaving office with a budget surplus, which turned out to be the last one for more than three decades. Robert Gates is a genuine conservative in Eisenhower's tradition. Unfortunately, between Gates and the painting behind him, there are only two of them in Washington these days.
Fareed Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International. His e-mail address is comments@fareedzakaria.com.

MCA Raps Hisham

MCA raps Hishammuddin for questioning loyalty

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

August 16, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — MCA vice-president Datuk Chor Chee Heung criticised Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today for questioning the party’s loyalty to Barisan Nasional (BN).
It was reported that the Umno vice-president had “reminded MCA to stick with the struggles” of BN.
Chor stressed the MCA has always been loyal to BN and never abandoned Umno.
“MCA has consistently showed its loyalty to BN. In times when Umno had encountered difficulties in the 1980s and 1990s, MCA never abandoned them. Nevertheless, we also have to take cognizance that such a statement from a coalition partner which hinges on political hegemony causes voters to turn away from BN,” he said.
He said the party has always respected the country’s Constitution and had never questioned the special position of the Malay community.
“MCA has never questioned the special position of the Malays as outlined in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.
“MCA recognises the noble objective of the NEP which was to eradicate poverty regardless of ethnic background. However, in echoing the words of CIMB Group CEO Datuk Nazir Razak where he said that the NEP’s ‘implementation has been hijacked by self-interest groups’, these weaknesses have to be rectified,” Chor (picture) said in a press statement.
The housing and local government minister said his party believes that affirmative action should not be based on race but on needs and merit.
“Malaysia cannot escape the realities of globalisation, and MCA remains committed towards meritocracy to boost our national competitiveness as well as productivity,” he said.
Tension has been brewing between the two BN component parties as the MCA tries to reaffirm its position in the Chinese community.
The war of words began when the MCA called on Hishammuddin to use his authority to rescind the ban on the non-Muslims’ use of the word “Allah” after the home minister admitted that the decision was regrettable.
The appeal led to a stern warning by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who said that the MCA had to accept the decision of the government and not trigger another debate on the word “Allah”.
The Umno deputy president also questioned the MCA’s intention in sharing the same platform with the DAP.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek explained that the MCA was merely echoing the wishes of non-governmental organisation Christian Federation of Malaysia after a dialogue with it during the party’s presidential council.
However only three days later, Dr Chua criticised Umno as well as PAS for using religion to compete for Malay support and claimed that the competition between the two Malay-centric parties had led to some “non-progressive policies” which had caused the country to be caught in a middle-income trap for more than 10 years.
This led to Umno leaders firing back at Dr Chua and accusing him of trying to shift racial politics into religious politics and claimed that his statement would cause unrest in the country.
The MCA defended Dr Chua and claimed that its president’s remark was taken out of context.
On Saturday, the MCA’s Chinese Economic Congress called for economic liberalisation and that a merit-based and needs-based system would contribute to the path for Malaysia to be globally competitive.
However, the congress was only given scant attention in major Malay newspapers.
Chor said BN must be progressive and no longer practise “behind-the-scenes consultation”.
“When there is an injustice or discrimination (whether real or imagined) be it in government guidelines, policies, enforcement by authorities or questionable judicial rulings, the public expects MCA along with other political parties to take a stand and speak up.”
MCA has been increasingly vocal on issues affecting the Chinese community, suggesting that the second largest party in the ruling BN coalition is no longer content to be a junior partner.
The Malaysian Insider understands that there is also a growing anger among MCA leaders over the recent prosecution of former party president Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

LPA Amendments and the Bar Council

By S Rutra

KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran lawyer Karpal Singh said the Bar Council's reticence to stand up on issues can be traced to the 1970s when amendments were made to the Legal Profession Act.
Among others, it stipulates that those holding office in any political party and trade unions could not offer themselves to be elected to the council.

He said as a result of the amendments, MPs , assemblymen and unionists known for their vocal views have been “legislated out” and remain as ordinary members.

Thus, only “toothless people” without the right qualities were eligible to contest for a council seat, he added.

"And as a result, the Bar Council has become weak and ineffective," said Karpal.

He said the government had amended the Act after he had initiated a motion urging lawyers not to take up cases where hearsay evidence was admissible even without the presence of counsel and accused during trials.

"The motion was adopted with some amendments, with the words "should not" substituted with "advice".

"I was disappointed and discharged myself from three cases as a mark of protest where eventually the courts sentenced the accused in the cases to death," he added.

He said those elected now are bereft of the qualities possessed by members in the 1960s and 1970s where they spoke up without fear or favour on any issue or government policy.

He described some of the current council members as "self-seekers" who are merely keen on rubbing shoulders with judges and securing award for themselves.

"Because of them, the government does not care anymore about the Bar Council's views and opinions and bypasses its input when amending laws," said Karpal.

He said that he agreed with Bar Council member Edmund Bon who had lashed out against the council for its toothless approach with the government on various issues.

"The rot set in after the amendment to the Legal Profession Act in 1977 where members had limited choices in picking the right people," added Karpal.

He said Section 46A of the Act, which spells out the eligibility of those aspiring for positions, should be repealed.

"I'm not saying all of them were toothless; there were some exceptional cases," said Karpal.

Men of principle

He singled out Raja Aziz Addruse as an example of a man of principle who stood up during the 1988-1989 judicial crisis and Manjit Singh Dhilon who was proactice on certain issues.
"Because of people like Raja Aziz and Manjeet Singh, people were fired up on issues and the government was afraid of the Bar Council," added Karpal.

He said current council members lacked such sprit as people expected them to stand up and speak out on issues.

The Bar Council was not consulted on the recent amendements to the Subordinate Court Act, which had far-reaching implications on issues like injunctions to be handled by the Sessions Court.

"I'm of the view that these matters should remain with the High Court, with the amendments starting at the Sessions Courts and stopping at the Appeal, not the Federal Court anymore," he said.

Karpal said the government did not care mainly because of the weaknesses of the Bar Council.

"Why are they (judges) so afraid of the CJ (Chief Justice). They should stand up. It's very distressing to see judges rushing to dispose of cases because of KPI (Key Performance Indicators),” he said.

“The judges are forced to take on much more than they can chew," added Karpal.

The senior lawyer concurred with Bon that there was nothing wrong in confronting the government on issues affecting the people.

"This has been done before. It's nothing new to speak out against the government," added Karpal.

On the different approaches adopted by junior and senior lawyers (the latter will prod the Bar Council to be more aggrresive while the former wants a more non-confrontational approach), Karpal said only way they (seniors) could gain the confidence of juniors was by standing up for rights of their members and public in general.
Also read:
Bar Council uses its fangs judiciously
Bon was right to bite, say lawyers
'Bar Council becoming toothless'
Letter: Don't misinterprete Bar Council's history

FMT

Getting to be interesting

One interesting thing in this whole matter, however, is that the latest corruption case involves a payment for RM169,700 made to Ummi Haflida Ali. Now, was this one of the many pay-offs to Ummi, the person central to the Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy I case?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin
When Annuar Musa, the one-time Umno Kelantan Chief, became a minister back in the 1990s, there was a lot of talk in town about corruption in the ministry he headed. His own political secretary, Chekgu Din, resigned and told us about the shenanigans and how disgusted he was with Annuar Musa’s blatant acts of corruption.
Basically, Annuar Musa’s job was to grab back Kelantan, which had fallen to PAS-Semangat 46, and he was supposed to use his ministry, Rural Development, in achieving this. But the money he spent went into his own pocket, not to the kampong folks.
Annuar Musa was eventually removed and replaced with the new Umno Kelantan Chief, Mustapa Mohamed. Annuar Musa was never charged for any crime, just replaced as a minister as well as the Umno Kelantan Chief.
Invariably, someone had to be punished for all the corruption in the ministry and they chose to charge the secretary-general of the ministry, Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Muhammad.
Datuk Aziz was charged for ‘abetting’ a crime and was sentenced to five years jail. Later, he won his appeal. The two ministers, however, were never brought to book when it was they who had made all the decisions and the hapless secretary-general, who was a mere civil servant, just carried out the instructions of the minister.
When Azalina Othman became the Minister of Tourism, the same allegations of corruption and abuse of power surfaced. Her greatest adversary, the secretary-general of the ministry, Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, opposed her every step of the way. Everyone knew about the conflict between the minister and her secretary-general who would overrule all the decisions the minister made.
Eventually, they went for the secretary-general while the minister was spared. The secretary-general was charged for corruption and, just like in the case of Datuk Aziz, he too was acquitted.
It appears like in all these cases the staff and the secretary-generals of the ministry are the ones who face the courts while the ministers escape punishment. And they are brought to book basically because they opposed their ministers and spoke out against the corrupt acts of their ministers.
Today, two people were charged in relation to the Pempena Sdn Bhd issue. Will the secretary-general, Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, now face another charge on the same issue after being acquitted of the earlier charge?
Well, you can be assured that the minister, Azalina Othman, will not be the one who will be made to face the law. The ministers who instructed the civil servants never are. It is always those who were instructed by the ministers to carry out the instructions that are the ones to take the fall.
One interesting thing in this whole matter, however, is that the latest corruption case involves a payment for RM169,700 made to Ummi Haflida Ali. Now, was this one of the many pay-offs to Ummi, the person central to the Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy I case?
Yes, if you were to read the court transcripts of the Anwar trial back in 1998-1999, you will see that Ummi Hafilda was well rewarded for her role in bringing Anwar down. And the latest case today proves that. But it is the poor employees who just did what their ministers asked them to do who are now on trial.
And this appears to be how it works. The ministers tell their staff what to do. And when the shit hits the fan, the staff are arrested and charged while the ministers get to walk free.

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Former Rural Development sec-gen's conviction overturned
Former Rural Development Ministry secretary- general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Muhammad yesterday won his appeal in the High Court against his 2005 conviction for abetting in a criminal breach of trust and cheating case, for which he received a five-year jail term.
In allowing the appeal, judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah held that the Sessions Court judge did not consider several pieces of key evidence. He said there was insufficient evidence to show that Aziz had instigated Terengganu Tengah Development Authority (Ketengah) general manager Datuk Alwi Said to release funds without approval from the Finance Ministry.
Aziz, 63, now a businessman, had been found guilty of abetting Alwi in committing CBT involving RM2 million.
The offence was alleged to have been committed at Kompleks Kewangan in Jalan Raja Chulan between April 27 and July 31, 1999.
He was also convicted of cheating the then second finance minister, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, through Finance Ministry officials, into believing that Ketengah's RM9 million investment in orchid cultivation, fish-rearing and recreation projects in Tasik Puteri, Bukit Besi, Dungun, were sound.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Finance Ministry in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, between June 24 and Aug 9, 1999.
He was sentenced to five years' jail on each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently.
On the first charge, Zabidin said Alwi's own testimony showed that he (Alwi) had released the money before getting the Finance Ministry's approval not because he was pressured by Aziz but because the Tasik Puteri Integrated Farm project was in dire need of money and he was confident of its viability.
He added that Alwi was also confident that the approval would be obtained eventually with the help of Aziz. -- New Straits Times, 7 November 2008

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Tourism DG’s acquittal stands after prosecution withdraws appeal
The prosecution has withdrawn its appeal against the Sessions Court’s acquittal of Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab for allegedly accepting dental treatment without consideration in 2005.
The prosecution withdrew the appeal when the case was mentioned before High Court judge Justice Ghazali Cha on Friday.
Justice Ghazali struck it out after Mirza’s defence counsel Saseedharan Menon did not raise any objection over the withdrawal
Mirza, 52, who was smiling broadly, said he was relieved by the decision.
“After all the preparation that had been made against the appeal, I am also surprised with this,” he said, adding that the case had affected his motivation to work.
“It is a busy weekend for the Tourism Ministry’s Citrawarna (now known as Colours Of 1Malaysia) event. I am thankful to my staff who have supported me,” he said, adding that he planned to hold a thanksgiving feast soon.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s legal and prosecution division director Datuk Abdul Razak Musa said the prosecution had reviewed the appeal and decided to withdraw it.
“We found that the evidence of the witnesses was not sufficient although in reality, Datuk Mirza underwent the treatment and the bill was paid by a witness,” Abdul Razak said.
On July 24 last year, Sessions Court Judge Zainal Abidin Kamarudin said the prosecution had failed to prove criminal intent on Mirza’s part that he had accepted the treatment from a company director.
Mirza, who was acquitted by the court without his defence being called, had claimed trial on Aug 13, 2008 to accepting dental treatment worth RM13,860 from company director Zulhisyam Ayob without consideration. -- The Star, 21 May 2010

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Two charged over Pempena scandal for payment to Ummi Hafilda Ali
Two former top officials of scandal-plagued Pempena Sdn Bhd were charged this morning with cheating in what are the first prosecutions involving the controversial Tourism Ministry subsidiary set up during Datuk Seri Azalina Othman’s tenure as minister.
The two former officials were charged over payments made to Ummi Hafilda Ali, who was a key witness in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy and abuse of power trials in 1999.
Today’s prosecution is the culmination of a scandal which broke while Azalina was still minister in 2007.
Pempena chief operating officer Mohammad Rosly Selamat and financial controller Lim Khing Tai were brought to face criminal breach of trust charges involving RM169,700 this morning.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had been investigating Pempena for financial improprieties believed to involve more than RM50 million.
The MACC had originally probed claims that Azalina, the former tourism minister, had hired 20 employees in Pempena although government regulations allow a minister to employ only eight people.
Mohammad Rosly, 56, and Lim, 38, are accused of making unauthorised payments for a concert without the consent of Pempena’s board of directors.
The money via four cheques was paid to Ummi Hafilda as sponsorship payments for organising Arab singer Amr Diab’s concert here.
The alleged offence took place at Pempena’s office at the Putra World Trade Centre on August 15, 2006.
If convicted, they face imprisonment of at least two years and not more than 20 years as well as a whipping and fine.
Session Court judge Rozana Ali Yusof set bail at RM20,000 for each and the case was fixed for mentioned on September 6.
DPP Muhamad Anas Mahadzir appeared for the prosecution.
Mohammad Rosly was represented by Rejinder Singh Dhaliwal while Lim was represented by Cheow Wee.
Former Tourism Ministry director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab was also seen earlier at the Jalan Duta Court Complex before leaving after half an hour.
Besides the sodomy charge, Anwar was charged in 1999 with directing Mohd Said Awang, then-Special Branch Director, and Amir Junus, then-Special Branch Deputy Director II, to obtain a written statement from Ummi Hafilda addressed to the prime minister denying allegations of sexual misconduct and sodomy as contained in her confidential report entitled “Perihal Salah Laku Timbalan Perdana Menteri” (Sexual Misconduct of the Deputy Prime Minister) dated August 5, 1997 in order to save himself from embarrassment. -- The Malaysian Insider, 16 August 2010

MACC Failed to Investigate MAS

PAS MP claims MACC failed to investigate MAS scandal

By Adib Zalkapli

August 16, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub claimed today that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) jeopardised the investigation into the RM8 billion losses suffered by MAS more than 10 years ago.
The Kubang Kerian MP told a press conference that he had received a copy of a letter from the airline’s lawyer expressing his unhappiness with the MACC for referring the complaints to the police’s Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID).
Salahuddin (picture) said the MACC’s action violated the MACC Act 2009 as the complaint was also made against the CCID.
“I have received the letter together with the case background in my capacity as a member of the special committee on corruption,” said Salahuddin.
The special committee consists of lawmakers from the Dewan Rakyat and the Senate and is chaired by Kangar MP Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad.
“I will talk to the chairman to convene a meeting immediately I will also communicate with the MACC to ask them to take action,” said Salahuddin.
Copies of the letter to the MACC and various reports lodged by MAS were made available to the media.
MAS had first lodged a police report against its former executive chairman Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli in 2002 for allegedly causing the national carrier to suffer losses in excess of RM8 billion.
Tajuddin was the executive chairman from 1994 to 2001.
According to a report to the MACC, one of the single biggest loss under Tajuddin was caused by the relocation of MAS’s cargo operation in Amsterdam and Frankfurt to a single hub in Hahn, Germany, where the airline was forced to enter into a disadvantageous aircraft lease contract with a company, which was later found out to be under the control of Tajuddin’s family.
The new cargo hub operation had caused MAS to suffer losses of between RM10 million and RM16 million a month before the project was terminated after the government regained control of MAS in 2001.
The termination resulted in a RM300 million arbitration claim against MAS by the company said to be linked to Tajuddin.
The report to the MACC dated May last year also alleged that the Attorney-General has been reluctant to prosecute Tajuddin, despite the then-CCID chief Datuk Ramli Yusoff’s assurance in 2007 that it had identified various prosecutable offences.
It also claimed that Tajuddin had been given access to the investigation and police records, which were used to facilitate the arbitration claim.
“This scandal is as big as PKFZ, it involves public funds amounting to RM8 billion,” said Salahuddin.
“I hope the culprits in this case will not be protected,” he added.
MI