Isnin, 23 April 2012

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim

Scorpenes And The “James Bond” Legal Eagle: What Dark Secrets Are Najib And Rosmah Hiding?

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 09:43 PM PDT

Malaysia Chronicle
Written by Nawawi Mohamad, Wong Choon Mei

Did Prime Minister Najib Razak send Umno’s top legal eagle off to Europe for some derring-do and hush-hush activity?

So far, two versions have hit the news portals. One, that Shafee Abdullah is in Australia attending an international law conference as any diligent and good lawyer should do. Two, that he is now somewhere in Europe, most likely Paris, where he has been tasked to look after the interest of the Malaysian PM and wife Rosmah Mansor in connection to the RM7.3 billion Scorpene corruption scandal.

Whichever it is, Shafee is but the mere hired help – the butler so to speak. The interesting question is, what stinky stuff do Najib and Rosmah have in their closets that cannot be aired publicly?

Why not Anifah or Muhyiddin …

As the saying goes, no smoke without fire. No reaction without action. Thus, the buzz around town. Why on earth would Najib find the need to send someone off on this rather strange assignment? It really is like a "James Bond" mission but without the action, guns and the beauties in bikinis and plunging necklines. Or rather, not since the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu anyway. The 28-year-old Mongolian translator was a stunning beauty, that’s for sure, and she was somehow tied up with the Scorpenes case as her dad Setev Shaariibuu is due to reveal to the French courts soon.

In the olden days, an assignment of this nature would be seen as being akin to Genghis Khan sending a trusted general to size up the next country he planned to conquer. Or Henry VIII sending a trusted confidant to check out the prospects of successfully hooking a new wife. But given that Rosmah’s name was also mentioned by PKR leaders when they divulged Shafee’s alleged assignment, it must be somewhere in between.

Since Malaysia is in no position to conquer any country, the alleged assignment must be related to a very personal and private matter. Incidentally, Malaysians, having recently experienced being duped to pay for Najib’s guests during his daughter’s engagement parties, had better beware of yet another grand onslaught on their public coffers.

If it was a mission of diplomacy, surely Najib would turn to Anifah Aman, the Foreign minister. If it was political, Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister should go.

Since there have not been any news of threats against Najib, his children or even his unpopular wife, the ‘assignment’ is unlikely to involve their personal, family or national security. There were also those who wondered if it was a ‘health issue’, but looking at how chubby and in the pink of health Najib and Rosmah are, that is unlikely.

Obviously a personal matter of a very sensitive nature …

Perhaps, the clue lies in the fact that Shafee is a lawyer. Yes, as far as most Malaysians are concerned, the cat is out of the bag. The French Scorpene trial has finally begun. Najib, Defense minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Abdul Razak Baginda are key witnesses to be called to the stand over whether French arms seller DCN had paid “specific” Malaysian officials illegal kickbacks in order to secure the Malaysian government’s agreement to buy 2 Scorpene submarines for RM7.3 billion.

So obviously it makes sense Najib and Rosmah would want their lawyer to represent them – someone entrusted to answer all the relevant questions on their behalf and also to make the necessary denials. Since this involves a head of government, Najib’s grilling will be done in a closed courtroom and of course, nothing will be made public. An experienced legal beagle like Shafee would set this as a first condition before agreeing to take part.

But why would Najib agree to such request from the French court? Look at the arrogant way in which he and Rosmah showed contempt for the due process in Malaysia when they snubbed a request to take the witness stand in the Anwar Ibrahim trial.

No traction in France

Ah! That is the nutshell, the essence of the way that the Umno elite see life. They have two perspectives. In Malaysia, everything is under their control, from the police, to the courts to the press. Notice, not a squeak in Utusan, the Star or the other mainstream media about the globe-trotting Shafee nor the French court agreeing with Malaysian NGO SUARAM that there is ground to investigate alleged corruption and bribery.

But in France, if Najib were to ignore a call to answer questions in relation to the DCN sale in which he as the Defense minister in 2002 had sanctioned, it would immediately raise eyebrows. Already the diplomatic corp is whispering about his greed and indiscretions. It would certainly not do for it to be officially recorded that Najib – the Malaysian PM – had failed to respond to what is a perfectly normal request that any RESPONSIBLE person, what more a leader, should willing agree to.

After all, what is the purpose of the French trial but to find out the truth in the name of transparency and justice for a society – in this case the Malaysian people – who may have been duped of their hard-earned money by an unscrupulous conspiracy of big-time crooks.

Of course, the court can find Najib ‘innocent’. But given he was the main person behind the purchase, the chances are slimmer. Would a soldier or his general get a bribe of RM570 million to buy the subs? Would a soldier have the capability to sanction the purchase in the first place? The answers are clear and self-explanatory.

Who is Najib to Sarkozy or the rest of the world?

But why did Najib not seek the help of the French government. President Nicholas Sarkozy himself has been implicated in other shady DCN-related arms deals. After all, Najib is king of the "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" business. Even to voters at Malaysian by-elections, Najib can unashamedly say such things, so why not sound out Sarkozy in faraway France who must surely understand the stress his Malaysian counterpart is going through given his own recent experience.

The are several answers to this question. Firstly, Sarkozy does not want to be tainted with anymore of the DCN dirt. The French conglomerate has been involved in just too many dark deals. Mysterious deaths have occurred because the size of the bribes offered have been so huge, those who received the largesse would do ‘anything’ to hang onto their new-found but unsavory wealth.

Sarkozy has already been slapped on the wrist and if he wants to continue to be the French president, which he does, why should he stick his neck out? Moreover who is Najib? Sarkozy would not waste his time and reputation on a person he hardly knows and who has absolutely no stature in the international arena.

Why the James Bond secrecy if not guilty?

No matter, how much of Malaysians’ money Najib squanders on international public consultants, he cannot come anywhere near his arch rival Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is known far and wide and respected as a reformist. Even Nelson Mandela sent greetings and a personal invitation to Anwar and family when the Malaysian leader was released from incarceration in 2004 imposed by ex-boss Mahathir Mohamad.

The thing is, if Najib is truly innocent and the French court has no evidence whatsoever – as his underlings are desperately spreading down the corridors of Putrajaya – why didn’t Najib announce to the world that he is sending a lawyer to clarify the matter? Why didn’t the Malaysian premier make a public declaration that he is innocent and the truth will be made clear in the French trial?

That would be the right protocol and he would have been respected for having the moral integrity to stand on the right side of the light. Instead, Najib Razak secretively sent his "James Bond" lawyer off on a mysterious mission. If Najib is innocent, he should not be afraid as he has nothing to hide.

So, sad to say, this is another damning piece of evidence against the Malaysian prime minister and his wife. Their own behavior and apparent fear of being found out already pinpoints them.

Money, money, money

Finally, why was it stated in the news reports that the Umno lawyer would go to several cities including New York, London, Dubai, Paris and Basel? Now, this is INTERESTING. You see, New York, London and Dubai are the world's financial centres and Basel is located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet.

Could Najib be involved in some financial transaction or other? Basel is quite a strategic city for any lawyer to be in. For example, Najib’s own lawyer can attend the court in Paris and then go to the Swiss banks to check on his client’s accounts – maybe even to get some hard cash to defray some of his expenses.

Some of the Opposition members even suspect Najib of trying to use cash to gain some favors with the French authorities, especially the DCN officials so as not to implicate him and his associates such as Razak Baginda.

Yet others think Najib is trying to get into Altantuya’s father’s good books so that the former university professor will not blow the whistle on him. Remember, Altantuya’s dad has seen a photo of his daughter with Najib and Baginda. He has said that she came to Malaysia to see Najib specifically. Sad to say, she was murdered because she allegedly pestered too hard for her share of the Scorpene loot.

Arrested!

There is even some wild conjecture that Najib is contemplating going overseas on self-exile. But this is ridiculous since at the moment he is free to go anywhere in the world. Just resign and go. Nobody would stop him and he can go wherever he likes.

Even if the outcome of the French trial is against him, Najib and family would be most welcome in Kazakhstan, which is ruled by an even more scandal-tainted dictator and where the Najibs have relatives by marriage.

But chances are if Najib goes to France and Mongolia, he might get arrested.

2 Soalan ‘Maut’ Bakal Buat Najib ‘Kecut Perut’

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 08:27 PM PDT

Harakah

Ketua Umum PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak akan berdepan dua soalan maut dari wartawan dalam dan luar negara apabila menjadi Ketua Pembangkang Parlimen Malaysia nanti.

Soalan pertama adalah kenapa harga minyak boleh diturunkan apabila Pakatan Rakyat memerintah negara sedangkan ketika Barisan Nasional (BN), bukan hanya mustahil untuk diturunkan, malah berdepan kenaikan setiap tahun.

Soalan kedua kata Anwar, bakal ketua pembangkang itu akan ditanya adakah Malaysia akan bankrap selepas harga minyak diturunkan Pakatan Rakyat.

“Dua soalan itu pasti menjadi fokus utama takkala Najib menduduki kerusi Ketua Pembangkang.

“Wartawan seluruh dunia inginkan penjelasan Najib yang selama ini memberitahu rakyat bahawa kerajaan pimpinanya akan kekurangan wang ataupun boleh bankrap jika mengisytiharkan penurunan harga minyak, ” kata Anwar.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika berucap merasmikan pelancaran jentera pilihan raya Pakatan Rakyat Permatang Pauh di Taman Cermai, Sama Gagah, semalam.

Menurutnya, dua soalan itu sudah memadai untuk Najib ‘kecut perut’ kerana selama ini dia membohongi rakyat semata-mata mahu mengekalkan kuasa dan hegemoni BN.

Adalah mustahil kata Anwar, jika pendapatan Petronas RM80 bilion setahun tidak boleh membantu rakyat dengan menurunkan harga minyak.

“Najib bila kena soalan itu pasti kecut perut sebab nak kata sokong takut Umno marah, (kalau) kata tak sokong rakyat marah.

“Begitu juga dengan persoalan tentang adakah negara akan bankrap kalau minyak diturunkan. Najib akan jadi serba salah, ” ujar beliau yang juga Ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh.

Mengulas isu pemansuhan pinjaman Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN), Anwar turut membawa contoh sikap Perdana Menteri Turki.

Menurutnya, apabila perdana menteri Turki berjaya memerintah negara, beliau membuat perubahan dengan memberikan pendidikan percuma kepada rakyat dan berbeza dengan pemerintahan sebelum ini.

Adalah satu kelemahan besar bagi perdana menteri Turki jika tidak mampu berikan pendidikan percuma pada anak bangsanya.

Namun kata Anwar, Perdana Menteri Malaysia langsung tidak timbul perasaan belas kasihan terhadap pelajar yang terpaksa menanggung hutang untuk belajar.

“Perdana Menteri Turki kata dia nak letak muka di mana jika tidak boleh berikan pendidikan percuma pada rakyat sebab ramai yang berada di pedalaman Turki tidak mampu.

“Cara hutang menghadkan rakyat yang miskin memasuki univesiti. Itu baru sikap seorang pemimpin ” terangnya diikuti laungan reformasi beberapa kali.

Turut serta berucap dalam program tersebut ialah Pesuruhjaya PAS Negeri, Datuk Saleh Man, Timbalan Ketua Menteri 1 Pulau Pinang, Datuk Mansor Othman dan Yang Dipertua PAS Permatang Pauh, Haji Omar Hasan.

(Bersih 3.0 Countdown) Tamrin Ghafar Baba: Jangan biarkan BN gadaikan Malaysia

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 07:35 PM PDT

Shocking Polls Amendments Bulldozed Through

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 07:18 PM PDT

Malaysia Chronicle

On 19 April 2012, many Bills were rushed through Parliament. One of them, which appears to have escaped the attention of the public, was a Bill that sought to amend the Election Offences Act 1954.

The amendments are, to say the least, shocking and have far reaching consequences upon the voting process.

They are designed solely for the purpose of making the voting process less transparent. Needless to say this Bill was passed.

1. Those that publish defamatory, racist and sexist remarks may do so with impunity

Section 11(c) which had required any print materials to have the names and addresses of its printer and publisher is DELETED IN FULL.

This means that anyone can now put up anonymous defamatory, racist or sexist posters without identifying the publisher or printer. Poison posters will now become standard fare. This goes completely against Bersih 2.0's demand to end dirty politics.

2. Election monitoring at EC's discretion

s14 1(A) is replaced with a clause which allows the Election Commission to appoint time slots to determine when polling agents or counting agents of a candidate may be present. Therefore the time when an agent of a candidate is allowed into the Polling Station is no longer fixed and is now left to the discretion of the EC to decide. They are free to remove Agents from Polling Station at will.

The reality is that polling and counting agents are usually appointed by the candidate and this ensures a more transparent process. However, with the new amendment there are possibilities of abuse. The time schedule is best understood by the candidates as they organise their agents according to their time availability, as most of them are volunteers. If the time schedule is at the discretion of the EC, this may mean that different persons are being rotated and this does not allow the agents to observe inconsistencies systematically. Worse, when such a time schedule is applied during vote counting, as it again may open up opportunities for mis-counting.

3. Curbing candidates and their staff from checking on identity of voters

S26 1(e) which allowed for checking of the identity of any person entering a polling centre is DELETED IN FULL.

The implication is that candidates and its election staff are not allowed to check on the identity of voters to establish if they are genuine or even to help them to identify if they are at the correct polling station. This also means that phantom voters or multiple voters will not be detected. The 50m exclusion zone outside the polling centre is now extended to 100m or more, depending on what the EC to decide. This makes it impossible for election monitors to see anything illegal going on.

It will also make it impossible to see if a voter is marked with indelible ink thus minimising its effect.

4. Election agent or candidate disallowed at election booths (barong) S26A Sub-section (2) and (3) are DELETED IN FULL. This means that all channels of election observation are sealed off as it now does not allow election candidates and staff to observe the registration of voters during polling day. Such an amendment opens up possibilities of abuse and fraud. There will be no more Barung Observers who were previously the only non-EC people able to look at the IC of the voter and pick up discrepancies. This is a major blow to the plans to weed out phantom voters. They can now walk in freely and the polling agent (even if he is allowed into the polling station) will have no opportunity to look at the IC of the voter. The same point about indelible ink made above, will apply

These amendments which have been introduced so late and bulldozed through Parliament makes a mockery of our electoral process. More importantly it makes a mockery of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) as it appears that these amendments were hidden from them. What does the PSC have to say about this?

Today, Bersih 2.0 reiterates its call for the Election Commissioners to resign immediately as it has failed to uphold the rakyat's demand for a clean, fair and democratic electoral system. In fact it is unashamedly doing the opposite.

If anyone had any doubt that Bersih 3.0 is necessary, that doubt is now dispelled with this latest move. These amendments confirm our worst fears that the 13th GE will be the dirtiest yet.

The audacity with which these amendments are proposed and the speed with which they were passed reflects the utter contempt being shown for the rakyat's call for clean and fair elections.

The EC must resign for allowing such amendments to be proposed.

We urge members of the public to read the amendments for themselves and then to fax the EC at 603-88889117 to express their views and if seen fit to call for their resignation.

Sit-in Protest And Democracy

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 07:09 PM PDT

Malaysiakini
By Josh Hong

The atmosphere was joyous and almost festive. Fahmi Reza, founder of Student Power, was jumping from one end to the other just to get people to sit down for the lecture, and so enthusiastic was he that his lanky body seemed to belong to someone else.

And there was Azmi Sharom (right), the Universiti Malaya (UM) associate professor who persistently pushes the boundaries of academic freedom, ready to speak with a cigarette in his hand. Was there a cooler way to deliver a talk?

The topic? Not just about one's right to affordable tertiary education, but also on Article 153 of the federal constitution and its implications for race relations in this country.

"The definition of Malay cannot be based on race, for a simple reason that none of our prime ministers is 100 percent Malay!" Azmi grinned, and the crowd laughed out loud.

"Tapi boleh kah Ridhuan Tee diingat sebagai orang Melayu menurut Artikel 153?" one young student asked curiously.

"Oh, memang. Dia ni 100 persen Melayu!" Azmi's tone couldn't be more sarcastic.

"Tapi dia Melayu Umno!" someone interjected to boisterous laughter.

All this, of course, will never happen in a conventional lecture room in any of our universities. But Universiti Dataran Merdeka is different in that the participants are eager to quest for real knowledge that cannot be found elsewhere.

They are protesting against the increasing costs of tertiary education that will soon be beyond the ability of an ordinary Malaysian household, but also using the opportunity to challenge and even subvert the doctrines that are jealously guarded by the powers-that-be as the sacrosanct truth.

So why did the peaceful, rational and edifying event have to be met with violence?

Who is outsourcing thuggery to reckless, irresponsible and even dangerous forces that now seem bent on scaring the general public?

Najib Abdul Razak recently appeared on NTV7 and defended the police, arguing that crime rates had come down substantially. If our police were indeed so professional, why have they repeatedly failed to tackle the slew of attacks by the thuggish elements, who – 'coincidentally' – only struck at those who happen to disagree with Barisan Nasional policies?

I would say our police can indeed be efficient, but only selectively.

Beating the police at their own game

The daring character of these ruffians and the failure of the police to ensure the safety of the students at Dataran Merdeka are telling and instructive of the capricious nature of the BN-ruled Malaysia. One may blame the onlookers for appearing to have done nothing, yet how does one fight off a sizeable group of hoodlums who have beaten the police at their own game time and time again?

With the connivance and acquiescence of you-know-who, these unruly youths will continue to frighten to their heart's content those who yearn for change, while the police stand idly by allegedly because of "the lack of capacity".

The refusal by Hishammuddin Hussein to condemn the incident is only expected. The home minister's reputation was so terribly damaged after the fiasco over the Bersih 2.0 protest last July that he is now only full of resentment and bitterness towards civil society.

What is most despicable is the tweet by Khaled Nordin which appears to imply that the students only have themselves to blame. Such acerbity from someone holding the portfolio of higher education – while tarnishing further Malaysia's already tainted image – is emblematic of BN politics nonetheless. It is akin to saying one deserves to be robbed by a snatch theft simply for being 'audacious' enough to carry a suitcase in public!

There is simply no hope for the future generations if Najib is to materialise his flamboyant and pompous pledge to transform the country with the likes of Hishammuddin, Khaled Nordin, Kong Cho Ha, Liow Tiong Lai and, lest we forget, Rais Yatim.

But why should the public continue to back a prime minister who does not even have the guts to appoint a right person to oversee the Women's Ministry? This ludicrous arrangement only strengthens the perception of Rosmah Mansor being a back-seat driver!

No, we have not heard any unequivocal condemnation from any prominent government figure. Would there be such 'elegant silence' if the victims had been BN politicians? Or would Najib and his cohorts continue to bury his head in the sand over some anti-Islamic/Malay remarks?

It is also utterly ridiculous for the government to accuse the students of serving the opposition's agenda. If anything, it is the dearth of a proper channel to address various issues concerning our tertiary education – ranging from escalating costs to the stifled academic freedom – that some are compelled to take to the streets. If they happen to find a common platform with a political party, so be it.

Wasn't it Antonio Gramsci who famously argued that civil society is a site of social contestation, wherein collective identities, ethical values and alliances are forged? Too bad that the BN henchmen have chosen to be absent from the meaningful struggle.

Be that as it may, one ignores the latest havoc at one's peril, for it could be a harbinger of more sinister things to come as 'the mother of all elections' draws near. It is therefore vitally important that Malaysians be bold to stand up and be counted, and the best way to regain democracy is for one to be present at Dataran Merdeka on April 28.

JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life to the full in spite of politicians.

PTPTN: Kenyataan Hadi, Anwar Tidak Bercanggah

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:46 AM PDT

Harakah

KUALA LUMPUR: Setiausaha Politik Presiden PAS, Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar (gambar) menyelar laporan The Star dan beberapa media perdana hari ini yang cuba menggambarkan Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang seolah-olah tidak bersetuju dengan pemansuhan Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional PTPTN.

Menurutnya, akhbar itu juga dalam laporannya cuba menunjukkan kononnya presiden PAS menyanggah cadangan Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim untuk memansuhkan PTPTN jika Pakatan Rakyat meguasai Putrajaya.

“Ini adalah menunjukkan niat jahat untuk melaga-lagakan pimpinan tertinggi Pakatan Rakyat semata-mata. Media arus perdana ini dengan jeleknya telah sengaja memutar belitkan maksud ulasan Presiden PAS seperti mana menjadi amalan kebiasaan mereka.

“Ingin dipertegaskan bahawa isu penghapusan PTPTN telah dibincang dengan mendalam dan Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang juga turut memberikan pandangan yang menjadi pendirian bersama pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat dalam isu ini,” kata Samsuri.

The Star dalam laporannya yang bertajuk 'PTPTN must stay for now' yang memetik sumber Sinar Harian melaporkan kononnya Abdul Hadi tidak menyokong penghapusan PTPTN dan memberikan pandangan yang bercanggah dari Anwar dalam isu PTPTN.

Sedangkan kenyataan asal Abdul Hadi yang dipetik akhbar berbahasa Melayu itu langsung tidak menunjukkan sebarang percanggahan dengan kenyataan Ketua Umum PKR itu seperti dilapor The Star.

“Apa yang dipertegaskan oleh Presiden PAS ialah bahawa PTPTN akan dihapuskan. Manakala penghapusan PTPTN pula akan dilaksanakan dengan prosesnya.

“Proses yang dimaksudkan oleh Presiden PAS di sini ialah penghapusan PTPTN sepatutnya tidak membimbangkan mana-mana pihak, kerana ianya akan dilaksanakan dengan penuh prinsip keadilan dan tidak membebankan rakyat, di mana orang miskin akan dibela tanpa mengira kaum mereka dan orang yang kaya mestilah memainkan tanggungjawab membantu mengikut kemampuan mereka dalam sebuah negara,” kata Samsuri lagi.

Menurut laporan Sinar Harian semalam, Abdul Hadi juga turut mendakwa kerajaan pimpinan Barisan Nasional (BN) berbohong kepada rakyat apabila menyatakan negara akan jatuh bankrap sekiranya dana pendidikan itu dihapuskan.

"Pendidikan percuma itu konsep negara berkebajikan yang PAS kemukakan. Masalah dana perlu ditangani dengan bijak, kita nak laksanakan konsep (negara berkebajikan) tapi terpaksa memikul bebanan kesalahan BN.

"Bankrap itu tidak betul, bohong, ia disebabkan salah urus. Banyak negara seperti Britain, Sweeden, Norway dan Jerman beri pendidikan percuma. Apa yang berlaku adalah kerana duit negara bocor sebab rasuah, penyelewengan," katanya.
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