Monday, June 29, 2015

You think you are patriotic? (Updated: So what if they want to be Singaporeans?)

Updated:


Very patriotic blogger says "Good riddance" to Msians who wannabe Singaporeans. Zakhir Mohamad is a MalaysianMalay and a CEO in a MalaysianChinese-owned public-listed company. It would be unheard of in Singapore, the country a "growing number" of Malaysians are dying to belong to, or so according to Dina Zaman's piece Bidding farewell to Malaysia in the Malaysian Insider. 

Read her article in Zakhir's latest posting Good Riddance[I was told that this is Big Dog's longest posting ever].

I was a PR of Singapore for 18 years who left for Malaysia because my dad felt that this Malaysia would be greener pasture for a Malay. Well, I'm sure I'd do fairly well if I'd stayed back in Singapore but maybe minus the suburb landed properties that I have now and the big cars that I drive around, not to mention the dozens of bikes that I've owned (including the ones I keep overnight for test-rides).  My sister is a Singaporean and she's doing fairly well. More importantly, she's happy.

And that's my point, actually. Happiness. If you are so very unhappy, you gotta leave. If you are really not happy in a marriage, and you happen to be in love with someone else, get a divorce. If you are really not happy with your boss, and you think that your friend's boss is kinder and kinda sexy, quit and apply for a job at your friend's. Same thing with citizenship. 

But in the case of Daphne Lim and Saranee Joseph, the two women cited by Dina, I don't see them having much of a choice, really. If I read the story correctly, both have been married to Singaporeans. Saranee is still marreid and has given birth to a daughter in Kandang Kerbau (heh, everybody who was born in Singapore during the 60s were born or registered in Kandang Kerbau Hospital) so she's got to do the only right thing by her girl. Daphne, a single mom now, has always wanted a divorce. She said it herself:  “It was never an issue for me. I knew that one day, I would no longer be Malaysian.”

The article says some 1 million Malaysians "are said to be residing abroad as expats, PRs and citizens of their chosen countries". I say, that's good. In my travels abroad, I encounter Malaysians or ex Malaysians and we always get on well. Most of them, having left Malaysia for good or for years, usually have only good things to say about their country of birth. Over time, they discover that home is where the heart is. Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri ... baik lagi negeri sendiri.

If your heart says Malaysia won't do it for you, by all means ... 




Original article:




Well, however patriotic you think you are, someone is RM1.3 million* more patriotic than all of us. This Malaysian from southern Semenanjung is willing to pay that much money for PATRIOT 1, making it the most expensive vehicle registration number in Malaysia. But you can still outbid him/her; bidding closes on 22 July; for more info go to patriot.org.my 
*I can't say if price includes GST or not. 
p.s Elsewhere, the price of cigarettes is 30 sen more from July 1. A typical pack of 10 will be RM13.80, plus GST.

Dumbwits on dumbing down


Or dumb and dumber. Pardon my language, this being the holy Ramadan especially. But reallly, I don't know whether to cry or laugh at some of the opponents of the 1MDB/Prime Minister. The latest being their antics over the Kampung Baru mosque. I mean, if you are going to be a rebel, at least be a smart rebel. Don't we have enough morons already?! 

To see their absurdity, first please read what The Malaysian Insider reported on 5 Feb 2011 [note the year, please, that's more than 4 years ago]:

"1MDB will contribute RM20 million ..." - Najib, Kg Baru redevelopment begins with local mosque upgrade

A bit of background: Kg Baru, a Malay reservation within KL, has always been a tug-o-war between the BN government and the Opposition. In 2011, with the general election looming, it became even so. Kg Baru falls under the Titiwangsa parliamentary seat which was won by Pakatan in the 2008 general election. In the 2013 GE, BN led by Najib wrested the hotly contested constituency from Pakatan. Now you may or may not wish to credit Najib for this victory but it did happen under his watch and the Kg Baru redevelopment plan may have something to do with it.

Fast forward, June 2015:





See what I mean? PM Najib had announced the Kg Baru mosque plan in 2011, even before Mahfuz's ex-comrade DAP's YB Tony Pua started making 1MDB his personal and political punching bag, and way, way before the mantle was passed to Tun Dr Mahathir and Zam.  

Read also: Helen Ang's Cina TM @ Youtiup is J-Star Editor's Choice, 29/6/2015, inspired by this tweet:



Sunday, June 28, 2015

1MDB: Sufi Yusof wouldn't have


Now here's a theory, not a fact ... yet.


RPK says it, the plot thickens and goalposts change all the time that even his seasoned operative mind is a little muddled, exhausted by the intrigues of parties using the 1MDB to try and bring down Najib Razak. Read  A new dimension to the 1MDB controversies  to understand how thick they (plot and plotters) have grown.



Now, you and I know RPK. You give him half a truth and he use that to hypnotise the masses with a series of plausible theories that may take years to snap out of. He's who Clare of the Sarawak Report should have as an ally if she wants to save her reputation. But RPK does seem to have something on Sufi Yusof, Dr M's loyal aide, or at least he believes he does. Now I know Sufi - in fact, longer than I know RPK - from when he was a cadet reporter back in the early 90s until the time he briefly served Najib Razak as the National Comms Team head.

Sufi may have met Justo but Sufi wouldn't have misled the Tun, not in a thousand years. (Doubt Sufi met Justo by A Voice, 26/6)


p.s. As for the poster above, it's the kiind of plausible theory that's gone viral, h e r e and t h e r e. The Sarawak Report is reeling so I expect The Edge and Tong Kooi Ong to come out with everything they've got. I expect threats, I expect lawsuits. Credibility and integrity are on the line.

In a related development:

Media statement issued by 1Malaysia Development Berhad on 28 June 2015

1MDB to attend PAC hearing, will fully cooperate 

1MDB notes speculative statements in the media today, attributed to YB Lim Kit Siang and YB Tony Pua, questioning if Datuk Shahrol Halmi  and Arul Kanda would attend upcoming PAC hearings in August.

1MDB repeats our commitment, as announced on 25 May 2015, to attend the PAC hearings.

It is clear that the speculation today by both individuals is to divert attention from the recent heavy criticism of YB Tony Pua, a member of the PAC, for his many statements that may be seen as prejudging 1MDB although the PAC process has yet to be completed.

1MDB has every confidence in the PAC process and trust that the honorable members will carry out their role in a fair and professional manner.

We hereby reconfirm our attendance and commitment to fully cooperate with the PAC.


Friday, June 26, 2015

Justo Annoy Zappers by Azmi Arshad


Updates: Belum 30 Jun lagi Najib dah gulung tikar! 


Original article:
There are daily gems in the the social media by people - real people, ie not Anonymous - who are not defending 1MDB or Najib Razak as much as they are defending common sense and the truth. This piece by one Azmi Arshad of Shah Alam (I met the dude in some bike [food] fests a while ago) is one of those. From time to time, I hope to publish these gems, with the hope of sharing their sense of humour, at the very least, and to provide a better perspective for all of us. May we all keep our sanity for a little while longer. - Bru

JUSTO ANNOY ZAPPERS
SHAH ALAM, 26 June: Zappers (Zombies and Pentaksub Personified) are very upset at the arrest of Xavier Justo. They are now defending him like zombies had defended Anwar Ibrahim. 
This is what zappers say: 
1. This “proves" the documents were genuine. Of course zappers ignored the part where PGI said the documents had been tampered. Well, what to do… zappers are used to reading only the headlines or news captions. Remember when zombies said Anwar Ibrahim’s sperm had been tampered when it had not — now zappers can’t believe that Petrosaudi’s documents had been tampered with. 
2. They call the Justo a “whistleblower”. This reminds me of zombies calling Anwar a “political prisoner”. They can’t bear Justo, their tatooed hero (who was sacked by his employer), being called a blackmailer or extortionist. I’ve never heard of a whistleblower asking for millions to not “blow the whistle”. Usually they just want protection. 
3. Suddenly zappers are now claiming Justo's arrest does not make the RM42 billion debt disappear after previously claiming that RM42 billion had disappeared. Well, nobody ever denied that there was debt of RM42 billion (although zappers pretended not to see the corresponding assets of RM51 billion) but the debt is being managed and 1MDB won’t go bust because of it (much to the frustration of zappers). This is kind of like zombies conceding that Anwar did commit sodomy but that it was “consensual". 
3. One zapper even asked something as irrelevant as why then did 1MDB desperately sell the TRX land or who pays for the report that shows that documents were tampered. It reminded me of Anwar Ibrahim claiming there was a government conspiracy to convict him while not changing the fact that it was his sperm in someone’s butt. I wonder if these zappers think that everything is so inter-dependent that this also affects the price of bananas in Africa. 
4. Ada juga yang bodoh kata what’s the point of doing business if the profit is not enough to pay the finance costs. Zappers think 1MDB plans to make losses every year probably because they have no idea what cashflow projections, NPV and IRR are about. Companies like Astro would not exist if the shareholders and management had that kind of zapper mentality. This just confirms zappers dah buntu. Almost like when Anwar’s zombies complained about Tan Sri Shafee’s roadshow. 
5. Zappers are looking at Justo’s arrest very suspiciously, as though the Malaysian government planned it as part of a "cover-up”. Ya ya ya…. just like Anwar’s arrest was also a government conspiracy. 
Quite simply put, Zappers have been floored by Justo’s arrest and other revelations that came about with the arrest. Fortunately many had not yet been fully transformed into zappers and have taken a step back to re-evaluate their position. Hard core zappers will however continue to make fools of themselves trying to defend the indefensible. 
Nonetheless, so how now zappers? When are you going to produce facts and logical arguments that billions of dollars have been siphoned out of 1MDB? When are you going to prove that 1MDB has defaulted on loans? When are you going to prove that 1MDB is not a going concern? When are you going to prove that 1MDB paid US$500m commission to Goldman Sachs? When are you going to prove that Good Star Ltd belongs to Jho Low and not Petrosaudi? When are you going to prove that 1MDB issued a guarantee letter to Jho Low’s company? When are you going to prove that the BSI asset was worthless even if international banks knew otherwise? When? When? 
Like many others, I’m not impressed with rhetoric, drama and meroyan. Just bring out the facts lah … Even if you don’t have facts, bring out logical arguments instead of telling us your wet dreams.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

A police report against Tong Kooi Ong and his The Edge



So, half a year after UMNO man Khairuddin Abu Hassan lodged a police report on 1MDB, his ex-DAP rival Mr Tan Tuan Tat today lodged one against tycoon Tong Kooi Ong and his influential business weekly The Edge over the use of documents related to 1MDB that might have been tampered with. 
The copy of Mr Tan's police report is attached and self-explanatory, I hope. 
Read my earlier posting Sarawak Report's reputation in tatters ... for context. 
You will be interested also to read a May 13 letter to FMT Was 1MDB set up by the Sarawak Report? by Calvin Sankaran. Thanks Mr Sankaran for leaving the comment earlier.

Sarawak Report's reputation in tatters following arrest of rogue Petro Saudi ex employee



POLICE REPORT AGAINST THE EDGE?
Latest: Mr Tan Tuan Tat, (right), a politician formerly with the DAP, is lodging a police report in Serdan against the Edge for alleged defamation against 1MDB (something about publishing fabricated documents, I was made to understand). For the uninitiated, it is not excessive to make police reports in Malaysia. The ongoing 1MDB drama unfolded after one such police report lodged by an Umno branch leader, Khairuddin Abu Hassan last December.



Updated: A couple of reports from Bangkok about Mr Justo's relationship with his former employer Petro Saudi, something about him getting a RM15 million handshake and denying blackmailetc. Many Anonymous comments to this posting - some I've published, many are too emotional to see print even here in this "free" comment box of mine - defending Mr Justo and Sarawak Report, none using his/her real name. Well, it's a free country but please take extremely personal/stupid comments elsewhere, thank you. 
For certain, most of us in the right mind who are following the 1MDB issue won't think that the arrest has vindicated anyone in 1MDB but it does mean that our suspicions of utter malice against the 1MDB and a politically-motivated agenda to unsettle the Malaysian government is not unfounded, after all. PM Najib should push for the Auditor General to finish his report that would assist the PAC to hasten its ongoing information, notwithstaind the significant development in Bangkok. The arrest should help bring out the whole truth. Kan ke berani kerana benar? 

Additional reading on the arrest and what it means, by some familiar names and familiar Anons:

 Melayu Mudah Lupa by Seademon, pen name for Capt Rahmat bin ex-IGP Hanif 

The Agenda of deceit by the blogging ceo Zakhir Mohamad
Of liar, senility dementia and morons!! by Barking Magpie


Original Posting

Rewcastle Brown's deep throat?
The Rakyat Post has details on the sensational arrest of a former Petro Saudi employee who's believed to be behind an attempt to blackmail the company and the source of  Sarawak Report's politically-motivated expose targeted at Malaysia's 1MDB.


Excerpts:

Justo had allegedly attempted to blackmail and extort PetroSaudi for as much as 2.5 million Swiss francs (RM10 million) two years. 
The report stated after the blackmail, various emails and documents appeared on a politically-motivated blog Sarawak Report, sparking a wave of allegations against 1MDB. 

It has now been learnt that some of the emails and documents published on the blog were found to be tampered with, bringing into question the veracity of these allegations.

Read the whole TRP's entire article H E R E.


End of the road for Savior Andre Justo and, possibly, the Sarawak Report

Mr Justo's arrest could not have come at a more divine time. Malaysia's Auditor-General has completed an audit on the 1MDB and the country's bipartisan Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is conducting its own investigation after it was called in by Prime Minister Najib Razak himself following weeks of relentless attacks on 1MDB and his Administration by the Opposition, the Sarawak Report (and publications that have pledged allegiance to it) and ex-PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and supporters. 

I have always been suspicious of the Sarawak Report and I've made it public (even before its self-claimed "exclusives" on 1MDB, when it was trying in vain to bring down former Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud; hence, the portal's name). You can read my official view of Clare Rewcastle Brown's portal via my March 2 posting When the Sarawak Report champions the cause for 1MDB, or anything at all for that matter ...

Some politically-motivated people will desperately come to the defence of Sarawak Report. I say, let them. I have a feeling that we (or the Thais, rather) are about to blow their cover with the arrest of the Swiss. 

Hasta la vista baby. In court, that is, Mr Justo (and, hopefully, Ms Brown, too!)


“We are relieved that Mr Justo will now face justice through the courts. We have been the victims of a regrettable crime that has unfortunately been politicised in Malaysia,” a PetroSaudi spokesperson said. 

“We are happy to finally set the record straight and we apologise to the Malaysian people for the harm that one of our unscrupulous ex-employees has caused to them,” he said. 


Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Tun's first real Ramadan posting

Ceasefire? After dozens of almost back-to-back postings attacking Najib Razak in the last few months, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's first blog article for the holy month of Ramadan has nothing to do with the PM, his wife, 1MDB or Arul Kanda. Racial Equality is the former Prime Minister's take on an article he read recently in The Foreign Affairs ("not my favourite magazine") which admits that Malaysia's New Economic Policy was, actually, quite a success story. Even when compared with the US, where Dr M observes that "being equal with the whites has not benefitted the blacks much".



10. It would seem that Malaysia has done a better job of building a more equitable multiracial society than most multiracial countries including the US. The policy of equality of treatment i.e. meritocracy has not yielded tangible results. 
11. The magazine Foreign Affairs seems to admit that Malaysia’s affirmative action has merit. Like the reversal of the opinion on Malaysia’s fixed exchange rate policy, there now seem to be a reversal of condemnation of our affirmative action, at least by the Foreign Affairs magazine. Other foreign media simply copy the biased reports made a long time ago without trying to investigate the realities regarding Malaysia’s management of race relations and development of its economy.


p.s. So, what, is this ceasefire? Many plus I hope so. But not everybody will be happy if the Tun decides to give peace a chance, even if it's Ramadan. For some, they are relevant only if the Statesman and the PM continue to openly be at loggerheads.

Monday, June 22, 2015

The "Gentleman" YB is back!

Two years ago, some people wanted us to believe that Shaziman Abu Mansor, who was Works Minister, had been "dropped" from Najib Razak's Cabinet. Well, I hear the man's back, recalled to fill a void in PM Najib Razak's Administration left by the late Jamaluddin Jarjis
I used to be skeptical of this MP of Tampin but by opting to leave his ministerial post to focus son his Constituency after the last general election,  thus allowing others a shot at the Cabinet, Shaziman confirmed he was far from selfish, the kind of man a the Prime Minister badly needs around him now.  
He once proposed a mandatory registration for bloggers so as to make everyone in cyberspace accountable for his action and word, but we were all dead against it [I'm a gentleman blogger, 23/8/2006] because we suspected it was a trick to curb freedom. With the benefit of hindsight, I think the idea was just a little ahead of its time.  
Shaziman would fit right in if Najib decides to do a Cabinet reshuffle. Like right about now is the right time for that long-overdue reshuffle, seeing that we are exactly half-way the current 13th Parliament. Many people I spoke to think the PM should let someone else be the MoF (but not his younger brother Nazir). One CEO blogger says it should be this someone else


Who should be OUT and Who should be IN?


Saturday, June 20, 2015

How to deal with sloppy columnists (even if they are from Bloomberg)

Updates:  The onslaught and Najib's quit deadline
21/6/15 - In his latest posting, the blogger A Voice suspects that the NYT/WSJ/Bloomberg onslaught could be aimed at realizing a prophecy that Najib Razak would be forced to resign by the end of this month over a  "confession" by Sirul (the rogue cop who killed Altantuya in cold blood, now residing in Australia) and a mysterious surat layang (poison pen letter) that would have impregnated the meaning of today's Happy Fathers' Day




 Original Article, 20/6/15
Differing opinions are bound to be expressed on Bloomberg View. The defence of “fair comment”, however, does not apply to getting facts so woefully wrong. We would hope that the editors at Bloomberg agree, and will correct or take down such a disgracefully biased and ill-informed article. - Idris Jala to Bloomberg
C'mon Pesek, get your facts right!

Idris Jala is a bluesman so you've probably never seen or heard him lose his cool. In his open letter to Bloomberg, however, the Minister in the PM's Department comes close to losing his head. And it's cool, really. I mean, it's cool to have a Malaysian Minister defend this country so passionately against such great economic experts who never had to run anything but thier columns, and they get sloppy even at that. 

Well done, Senator Idris! 

OPEN LETTER TO BLOOMBERG 
When I read William Pesek’s latest commentary on Bloomberg View, I barely recognised the country he was writing about. He starts by referring to Malaysia’s “underlying economic distress” and “prolonged slow growth”, which he says are caused by “race-based policies that strangle innovation, feed cronyism and repel multinational companies.”


The facts, however, are these. Between 2009 and 2014, Malaysian Gross National Income grew by 47.7 percent ...

You may read Idris' demolition solo at Please read my lips, I'm not going to repeat it again!

p.s. Looking forward to the corrections and apology by Bloomberg

No "balik kampung" ad for TV3 this year






Proton hits back at TV3 "smear campaign". So you won't see any "balik kampung" Proton commercial in TV3 this year, no thanks to the television station's mysterious series of unflattering reporting about the national car in the past week or so. 

I hear Proton spends quite a bit on TV3 - the benefit of a long-standing relationship and the same political qibla - so this is going to pinch the management on the cheeks. If Proton's retaliation extends to the Media Prima group that owns several other TV stations, radio channels, newspapers, billboards and digital platforms, we will be talking about millions down the drain, and with 2015 already a challenging year even before all this mess, pinch could turn into punch.

Proton Ertiga?
Proton, the Malay acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional,  is the brainchild of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he was Prime Minister; now he's chairman of the company that has sold some 4 million cars since the first Saga back in July, 1985. Proton has lost a lot of market share and quite a bit of our special affection in recent years due to various reasons, mostly quality and apathy issues, but a lot of people I talk to have no love whatsoever for whatever it was the TV3 bosses thought they were trying to do for themselves or thier political masters by running down the national car during prime time news.

To be fair, TV3 (and Media Prima) journalists are not answerable to the government or any politician, but to their editors; in fact, there are quite a few supporters of the late Pakatan Rakyat making an honest living in Balai Berita and Seri Pentas. Only the very top editors are answerable to the Prime Minister's Office. I can say for a fact that PM Najib Razak provides these editors all the latitute in the world but trouble is, sometimes special directives come from powerful go-betweens.  Whether they are doing it for themselves or on behalf of their Boss, I can't say.

What's clear is that propaganda 70s style doesn't work anymore. You gotta be subtle, savvy and smart. Which the exissting go-betweens are not.

Friday, June 19, 2015

NYT and its agenda of making sure the "nasty spat" not only continue but gets nastier in Ramadan



With updates

For sure, as JMD underscores h e r e, it was the New York Times' correspondent who had requested for the exclusive interview with the Tun, for the reverse (i.e Dr Mahathir Mohamad requesting for the NYT to interview him) would be simply unthinkable! 

But I would still have questioned the timing the NYT chose to publish the article. They know very well that we are "an officially-Muslim country" and they decided to publish the piece on the eve of  our holiest month Ramadan. It's an editorial act, I must say, verging on the malice. JMD may not agree but I grew up as a journalist during Dr M's era, when we were taught to view foreign media with the greatest suspicion. Anwar Ibrahim, for example, was the darling of the foreign media when he was the Deputy Prime Minister  (and I doubt he had to pay a single sen to any of them, either) and weren't we right to be suspicioius of him?

So the NYT got what it wanted, and Tun got to rehash what he'd been saying. So on the first day of holy Ramadan, PM Najib Razak got accused of doing things "verging on criminal" (not exactly as a criminal yet, Salleh Syed Keruak please note, but close and still is the darndest accusation made thus far by the Old Man). And the ghost of Altantuya is ressurrected once again, and Rosmah Mansor "projects herself too much" again, etc etc.

Nothing new, as JMD pointed out (which is not entirely true, actually - Dr M's response on Myanmar/Rohingya vs the Malaysian Chinese is classic, pls see notes at the end of this posting) ...

But there goes our hope for a holy ceasefire.


p.s. For the record, I've never heard Anifah Aman speak ill of Dr M. His open letter to the NYT, in response to the article by the NYT based on the exclusive interview with Dr M that was sprinkled with quotes by others, including Rafizi Ramli (see end notes again), stems from genuine regret, I'm sure. Perhaps because the NYT article was published, coincidentally of course, on the day Malaysia was to chair the United Nations Security Council meeting. If he thought NYT was out to embarrass Malaysia on the occasion, can I blame him?

Updated: Malaysia leads effort to end war crimes against children


Anifah chaired the UNSC meeting today

OPEN LETTER TO THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR

1.     It is regrettable to see Tun Mahathir seeking to undermine his own country in the international media as part of a personal political vendetta.
2.     It is irresponsible of any citizen, let alone a former prime minister, to spread lies and distortions about state owned companies – saying for example that RM42 bn is missing from 1MDB to create public anxiety, when in fact these are audited debts backed by RM51 bn assets. These reckless claims have affected market sentiment towards Malaysia.
3.     Furthermore, it is telling that he continues to mount his attacks, rather than wait for the findings of the enquiries currently being undertaken by Malaysia’s central bank, Auditor General, and parliament’s bipartisan Public Accounts Committee. This shows that Tun Mahathir is not interested in answers from the appropriate lawful authorities. Rather, he is just using 1MDB as an excuse to topple the serving prime minister, Najib Tun Razak.
4.     And all because his personal demands, as Tun Mahathir himself has acknowledged, are not being met. Prime Minister Najib, as Malaysia’s democratically elected leader, will do what he thinks is right for the nation, and will not allow rule by proxy.
5.     Tun Mahathir told the New York Times that UMNO “lacks vision and talented people”, that it “has become a repository of patronage-seeking politicians”, and that members “try to keep out people who are more intelligent than themselves”. But it is Tun Mahathir who led the party for 22 years. It was he that, during his time, worked to cultivate ‘yes men’ and entrench his position – even introducing a quota system for the UMNO presidency to prevent challengers – rather than bringing in talent and strengthening the party. It is Prime Minister Najib who democratised the party constitution to make it far easier to challenge him for his job.‎
6.     For Tun Mahathir to accuse Prime Minister Najib of acts “verging on criminal” is simply outrageous, and entirely false. It is a measure of the reforms put in place under Prime Minister Najib’s administration that Tun Mahathir has the freedom to be so vocally critical of the party and government he once led.‎
7.     But Tun Mahathir is abusing that freedom, and his privileged standing as a former prime minister, to indulge in reckless and baseless personal smears against Prime Minister Najib and his family. Most Malaysians would rather see Tun Mahathir retire gracefully than continue to damage the standing of his own country for personal political gain.


Y.B. Dato’ Sri Anifah bin Haji Aman
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia




Notes: The NYT's article quoted Dr Mahathir calling for Asean to kick out Myanmar and for the world to boycott that nation for atrocities against the Rohingyas. I thought this was front page material. But then Myanmar is America's latest sweetheart in this region, so I won't expect NYT to follow through. In fact, I was surprised the quotes made the article:

On Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya:
This country claims that the Rohingya are not their people. They’ve been there for 800 years, much longer than the Chinese in Malaysia. The atrocities committed are terrible. They killed and burned people, they beat people to death. In this day and age, people should not behave like that. Asean [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] should do something. If necessary, I think I would expel this country. It’s terrible. The whole world should boycott this country.
Read more h e r e

Notes 2: Rafizi had the last say (laugh) in the article, actually. I think it was the plan from the start, to help the Opposition reclaim credit for 1MDB:

Rafizi: We've been at 1MDB for FIVE years lah!
“We have been talking about and highlighting 1MDB for the last five years, and although it slowly gained momentum as a national issue, things changed the moment Mahathir picked 1MDB as an issue to bring down Najib,” said Rafizi Ramli, an opposition Parliament member. “For the first time, a government scandal has reached the attention of both sides of the political divide. In fact, it’s a bipartisan issue.”

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Tourism Malaysia gets a Wee boost


These days I still call him YB even though he's no longer an elected representative out of respect and fondness for Wee Choo Keong. He was the first lawyer to offer me his services, pro bono, when I was sued by my former employers in 2007 for my unflattering write-ups about them on my blog. In return, the bloggers campaigned for the axed DAP man during the 2008 general elections, where he pulled one of the biggest upsets. He did not contest in the 2013 general election.
And now, two years later, YB Wee is Chairman of Tourism Malaysia! 
It's an interesting appointment, not least because Wee is known to be one of the fiercest critics of both Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia, the main carriers of our inbound tourists.  Last year, we hosted 27.4 million tourists who spent RM72 billion. But tourist arrivals dropped more than 8% in the first quarter of this year so Wee will have a lot of work to do.
Tahniah, YB. As Bujai puts it, you better be good! :-)  

Read also:  Malaysia looks at "quick wins" to address drop in tourist arrivals, The Sun 18/6/15

92.48 reasons why TH should beg to differ with PM Najib over TRX land deal


TRX will be 100% foreigners' unless Tabung Haji keeps its land

92.48 is the percentage of people in an online poll who voted in favour of Tabung Haji keeping the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) land it bought from 1MDB. 
Staggering, but hardly surprising. Yes, when the deal was publicised and politicised last month, some quarters manufactured  such a ruckus that PM Najib Razak was compelled to ask the management of Tabung Haji to let go of the property to appease the protestors. But you had a feeling all along that it was a clever conspiracy against anything related to 1MDB.
Turns out now that in every ten people polled in Capt Rahmat bin ex-IGP Tun Haniff's survey (over 3,000 people took part, three times more than Merdeka Centre's normal sample), only half a man (or half a woman) is actually against the deal; the other 9-and-a-half want TH to keep the land. 
What does it mean? It can mean two things: 1. A few can make a helluva ruckus (hence, the term "silent majority") 2. The silent majority are not stupid or easily swayed by the few 
In TH-TRX's case, most right thinking people ask themselves pertinent questions and eventually get answers. You can do the same: If it was bailout, why would Indonesia's Mulia Group pay nearly 20 per cent more than what Tabung Haji paid for a similar plot of land? Why are Chinese and Japanese investors queuing up also? Property developer shrugs off 1MDB controversies, considers investment in TRX [The Mole, 26/5] and Political perception not factor for potential 1MDB investors
More importantly, if Tabung Haji is allowed to sell the land (for a hefty halal profit, no doubt), what's left for Malaysians in TRX? Takkanlah semuanya menjadi hak milik asing? 
I'm not the only one who's in favour of Tabung Haji keeping the TRX land. Excerpts from a CEO blogger's posting:




Read on Putih mata, tiada hendaknya

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Najib, Tun, Arul Kanda, Nazri, TMJ, RPK, Syed Akbar, Unspinners, Big Dog, Apanama, Jay, the Muslims in TV3, Proton, Edge, Insider, Kini etc Ramadan Blessings

1Ramadan starts tomorrow, Thursday 18/6. It's the holiest in the Islamic calendar, the month that the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. Muslims observe it by fasting throughout the day, and being a good human being, in the hope that we'll go to heaven after we die, and we will all die. One of the demands on us is that we make peace during this month, repair broken relationships, and seek forgiveness before Shawal comes. 



So here I am, my Dear Readers, asking to be forgiven.  Selamat Berpuasa!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Pakatan Rakyat, Death by Suicide: Next, please!



1 April 2008-15 June 2015. And you said BN was bad. Now, your Pakatan Rakyat is dead. At its own hand. A shot to the head, right between the eyes. For those who have been following Malaysian politics, Pakatan's demise didn't come as a surprise. Opposition coalitions have come and gone, unholy marriages of convenience, fooling the voting public again and again. Every time, the same faces (plus wrinkles, minus hair) would promise the sky to you and I, having convinced themselves that they -  the Opposition parties - have finally and at last come to their senses and would put the Rakyat before their narrow, selfish interests. Bah! 
Sorry if I sounded like I was sorry for Pakatan and its fans; I'm not. I'm choking over the fact that the incumbent, the ruling coalition, BN, doesn't seem to be grateful or even aware how fortunate it is. Umno is trying to kill itself too, MIC half dead, MCA half alive, and yet the Almighty sees it fit to bless them with a selfish, self-destructive, morons as rivals. 
Perhaps He has in store a worse fate for ingrates. 
Have a blessed Ramadan, everyone.

[The news that inspired this feeling/rambling]:


Pakatan Rakyat no longer exists, says DAP's Lim Guan Eng

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Pakatan Rakyat no longer exists, says DAP's Lim Guan Eng
Lim said the party accepted PASs 61st Muktamars motion to sever ties with the party. 
KUALA LUMPUR: DAP’s secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the DAP central executive committee (CEC) had unanimously resolved that Pakatan Rakyat ceases to exist.

Lim said the party accepted PAS’s 61st Muktamar’s motion to sever ties with the party.

“As Pakatan Rakyat was formed by the three parties based on consensus and bound by the Common Policy Framework, the PAS Muktamar’s motion effectively killed off Pakatan Rakyat,” Lim said in a press statement today.

However, DAP said it will continue working with PKR and other forces who want to end Barisan Nasional’s rule.

“DAP will work towards a broad based and principled new coalition that shall emerge to fill the political vacuum that can rekindle hopes of change to realise our Malaysian dream for a better future for all,” he said.

Lim said DAP will also support Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali to reframe the state government with a new functioning coalition.

The PR was formed on 1st April 2008 by the DAP, PAS and PKR following the March 8, 2008 general election.

Lim also blamed PAS’s leadership, led by Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang for the death of PR, in particular the Selangor MB crisis and hudud.

“Decisions agreed upon at Majlis Pimpinan was violated by PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, which resulted in near-paralysis of the coalition,” he said.

Lim said the near-paralysis of PR was exacerbated by Abdul Hadi’s willingness to forge a unity government with UMNO and his support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“The breach of promise made personally by Hadi at the Pakatan Rakyat Majlis Pimpinan on 10th February to discuss the hudud laws proposed by PAS first with Pakatan Rakyat partners at Majlis Pimpinan before being tabled to the Kelantan State Assembly or a private motion by Hadi in Parliament further immobilised the entire Pakatan Rakyat Majlis Pimpinan.,” he said.

Lim said, the breach of promise by Abdul Hadi was followed by the momentous decision at the PAS Muktamar, which had accepted without debate a motion to sever ties with the DAP.