Podah - Atuk's Kerbau-er still can't find Muhammad Riduan Abdullah (a.k.a K. Pathmanathan)

MM Online:

IGP insists Jho Low, 1MDB fugitives in Macau, pleads with Chinese authorities to ‘act responsibly’

Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador speaks during a press conference at Bukit Aman headquarters July 10,2020. — Picture by Miera Zulyana


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — The alleged 1MDB mastermind and other suspects in the scandal are believed to be hiding out in China, Malaysia’s police chief said today, urging authorities there to help hunt down the fugitives.

Billions of dollars were stolen from sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad and bankrolled a global spending spree, with looted cash used to buy everything from pricey art to real estate.

Former Malaysian leader Datuk Seri Najib Razak lost power in 2018 over his involvement in the fraud and was last week convicted in a 1MDB-linked trial, but several other suspects remain at large.

The most prominent is Low Taek Jho, a bespectacled, chubby financier known for partying with Hollywood A-listers and accused of being the scandal’s mastermind.

Malaysian police said last week Low was believed to be hiding in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Macau — but Beijing swiftly shot down the suggestion, insisting it does not harbour foreign criminals.

However, Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police Abdul Tan Sri Hamid Bador said a woman was arrested this year who had been sending documents to Low in the gambling boomtown, and authorities had concluded he was there.



He also said Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, ex-CEO of a 1MDB unit, was believed to be in Hong Kong while another former official from the fund, Jasmine Loo, was thought to be in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

“Jho Low is almost freely conducting his business” in Macau, he told AFP in an interview, and appealed for help from authorities. “We want the local authorities, the police, in Macau to act responsibly.”

“Don’t the authorities in Macau have the police instinct to assist us?” he added.

Low’s whereabouts have long been the subject of speculation, and he has been rumoured to be other locations including the United Arab Emirates. He has been charged in Malaysia and China over 1MDB, and denies wrongdoing.

Abdul Hamid also said ties with police in the southern Chinese territory of Hong Kong had deteriorated in recent years, hindering law enforcement efforts there.

Officials in Hong Kong and Macau did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The police chief said it was hard to know when he would succeed in hunting down Low, commonly known as Jho Low, and other fugitives.

“As long as there is a lack of cooperation from authorities in Hong Kong or Macau... it is impossible for me to give any dates,” he said.

But he added: “We will never rest. We will bring them to justice.” — AFP

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kaytee notes:

What a raja kerbau when he couldn't (or ???) the former husband of Indira Gandhi. Mind you, early this year, he boasted he knows where K. Pathmanathan (now known as Muhammad Riduan Abdullah) was, in the same boastful way he now claims he knows where Jho Lo is).

But where is Muhammad Riduan even until now? The IGP has been a kerbau-er and we have to assume he is still a kerbau-er vis-a-vis his pompous BS claim that Jho Lo is in Macau.

His allegations have already been dismissed kaukau by Chinese State Security in Macau yet he still insists. God knows what in the world is his motive in kerbau-ing on the whereabouts of Fei Low?

Hamid Bador is useless and should go together with Atuk lah.

 

Mahathir's gift, a millstone around Malaysia's neck

FMT:

Pro-Proton policies a stumbling block, says minister

 

Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar says pro-Proton policies should be reviewed


KUALA LUMPUR: Policies favouring Proton was a “stumbling block” to the development of the automotive industry, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the policies had caused some major carmakers such as BMW to shift their operations to Thailand. Another reason was the tax imposed on imported cars.

The policies should be reviewed, he said. “Proton has been given special treatment by the government.”

Is the RMN only a sampan force?

FMT:

PAC urged to probe non-delivery of warships

A littoral combat ship similar to the ones supposed to have been delivered by Boustead Naval Shipyard. (Facebook pic) (Facebook pic)


PETALING JAYA: A defence analyst has called for a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) probe into the delay in Boustead Naval Shipyard’s delivery of six warships for Malaysia’s defence.

Lam Choong Wah, formerly a fellow at Refsa (Research for Social Advancement), told FMT an in-depth investigation by the parliamentary body would be appropriate because of the company’s accountability to taxpayers.

He said PAC must find out the reasons for the Boustead Holdings unit’s failure to fulfil its obligation and added that the company needed to go through a holistic revamp to resolve the issues of wastage, inefficiencies and corruption.

The project, worth more than RM9 billion, was awarded in 2014 and the order was for six littoral combat ships (LCS) to be constructed. The first ship should have been delivered in April 2019, but not one ship has been built although the government has paid the company RM6 billion.

Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said recently that Putrajaya was considering one of three courses of action: salvage the construction of at least two ships by Boustead, allow Naval Group France to build the two vessels through a deed of assignment or terminate the contract with Boustead and find other ways to save the project.

Lam criticised the options, saying the first two would see the government shortchanged and the third would see it bailing out the project.

“This is the first time the defence ministry has acknowledged that the LCS programme had encountered a big problem and potential corruption,” he remarked.

“According to the minister’s revelation in Parliament, the main problem lies with the contractor, Boustead, and the government is hesitating to bail out the programme.”

He said the government needed to strike a balance between its financial concerns and the nation’s defence needs, adding that the country’s defence would be struck a “fatal blow” if the arrangement with Boustead were to fail.

He urged Putrajaya to establish a review committee composed of representatives of the defence and finance ministries as well as shipbuilding experts and said the entire programme should be restructured.

Aruna Gopinath, who has retired from the National Defence University, noted that navy veterans last year lodged a report concerning the project with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

She said a decision on whether to terminate the contract could be made only after completion of the MACC probe.

“But MACC will have to investigate the interests of all of the shareholders,” she told FMT.

*********

kaytee notes:

I'm just tired of stories of the non-stop looting of the Defence budget. Mahathir tok-kok on "Malay Dignity" when we can't even build littoral combat ships (LCS), whilst our lil' red-dot neighbour has built 5 La Fayette class frigates.

Its first frigate, RSS Formidable, was built by DCN France, while the remaining 5 frigates were constructed by Singapore Technologies Marine and modified to incorporate their own weapon systems.

Fireman Muhammad Adib - more inquests?

FMT:

Cops propose another inquest into fireman Adib’s death

Fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim died from injuries he received during a riot at the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya in 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have mooted another inquest to probe the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim who succumbed to injuries following a riot in Subang Jaya two years ago.

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin told the Dewan Rakyat that the proposal was made in an investigation paper which was handed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers on July 23.

Adib died at IJN from injuries he received after being despatched to the scene of a riot outside of the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya in November 2018.

In Sept 2019, the Coroner’s Court established that Adib died after he was assaulted by two or three unidentified people during the riot.

*********

kaytee notes:

Sheer bullshit. What can be further ascertained other than 'findings' that the authority "desires".

The previous coroner inquest had in September 2019 established certain findings which have yet to be acted upon.

It's akin to saying the previous inquest was kerbau!!!

From Yahoo News:

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — The next-of-kin of Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim said today they are disappointed with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador for urging a review of the investigation into the fireman’s death.

Expressing their disappointment, the family said they had initially placed high hopes that the authorities would undertake their investigation in a determined and transparent manner to identify Adib’s killer following the Coroner’s Court’s inquest verdict last year.

“It is very disappointing because the IGP’s remark in updating the investigation status had clearly exposed the ignorance demonstrated by the IGP and PDRM towards the detailed facts of the case.

“If the IGP had read in full the grounds of judgement and statement notes while scrutinising the court’s exhibits, we are confident that the IGP will never utter such irresponsible statements.

“This shows a facetious attitude towards conducting the investigations and instead provides an excuse of stumbling into a dead end while claiming they have exhausted all means without making a genuine effort to seek justice for Adib,” they said in a statement through their lawyers.

This comes after Abdul Hamid proposed the setting-up of a review committee to dig further into the sequence of events that led to the severe injuries that killed Adib as the police did not have a strong case to charge anyone despite the inquest suggestion that Adib was the victim of a violent act.

In a September 2019 verdict, the Coroner Court had ruled that Adib’s death was due to a criminal act by two or three unidentified individuals.

Thais "playing with fire"

Focus Malaysia:

Thai protesters openly criticise monarchy





SPEAKERS at a Thai anti-government protest demanded reforms to the monarchy of King Maha Vajiralongkorn last night, calling for its powers to be curbed in unusually frank public comments.

Defaming the monarchy is punishable by up to 15 years in prison under Thailand’s lese majeste laws.

Police did not stop the six speakers, but said that any suspected offences would be investigated.

Many of the 200 protesters were dressed like the fictional wizard Harry Potter and other characters in what they said was a reference to vanquishing injustices under the military-backed government.

Lawyer Anon Nampa, 34, accused the palace of taking on increasing powers that undermined democracy and of inaction in the face of attacks on opponents of the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader.

After the king took the throne in 2016, the palace required revisions to a new constitution that gave him greater emergency powers.

He has since taken personal control over some army units and palace assets worth tens of billions of dollars.

Meanwhile, some Thai activists complain of harassment by authorities, saying that at least nine opposition figures living abroad have disappeared. Two were later found dead.

Reuters has not independently confirmed what happened to these opposition figures.

“Talking about this is not an act to topple the monarchy, but to allow the monarchy to exist in Thai society in the right way and legitimately under a democratic and a constitutional monarchy,” Anon told the group of around 200 at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument.

Two student groups then read out demands that started with: “Cancelling and reforming the laws that expand the power of the monarch and that could impinge on democracy where the king is the head of state.”

The Royal Palace did not answer phone calls seeking comment on the criticism.

Deputy government spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek said it was up to police whether to act against the protesters

“The government wants the young protesters to observe the laws so that they can continue to exercise their rights to make their demands and the country can stay peaceful,” she said.

The students from Mahanakorn and Kaset universities also called on the authorities to listen to the protesters and to reform the lese majeste laws that ban criticism of the monarchy.

Student protests to demand the resignation of Prayuth’s government and a new constitution now happen almost daily. While some placards have made veiled criticism of the monarchy, this is the first time it has been open.

Police officer Surapong Thammapitak said: “We cannot yet determine what offences have been committed… Any offences under any laws will be processed for the investigators.”

Prayuth said in a speech in June that there have been no prosecutions under the lese majeste laws recently, at the king’s request, but warned against criticising the monarchy.

Criticism was exceedingly rare under the king’s father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose 70-year reign ended with his death in 2016.

“Such open criticism of Thailand’s monarch by non-elites at a public place within Thailand – with the police simply standing by – is the first of its kind in Thai history,” said Paul Chambers, who teaches international affairs at Thailand’s Naresuan University. – Aug 4, 2020, Reuters

Treachery the pompous orator

Malaysiakini:

Afif can try his luck, but voters may not forget the treachery

YOURSAY | ‘Harapan did not fall due to arrogance. It fell because of traitors and kataks (frogs).’

I'm ready to face GE15 as PN candidate - Afif

Afif: Arrogance could lead to PN's downfall, like it did to Harapan, BN


FairMalaysian: Dr Afif Bahardin, nice try. There is a saying that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

You have joined a coalition that smacks of racial superiority. When I see you now, I see in the background Azmin Ali, Abdul Hadi Awang, Najib Abdul Razak, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Muhyiddin Yassin, etc, and unless my eyes deceive me, these people are all avowed racists.

I understand that you need to talk about a multiracial country and all that because you need votes. We are not fools.

Your boss Azmin's first order of business after becoming a minister was to initiate the Bumiputera Economic Congress. It is his way of fishing for Malay votes and we understand that, but if someone believes in that kind of a future for this country, then he is not possibly going to have traction with the New Malaysia.

Umno leader Tajuddin Abdul Rahman may have the guts to talk about Tanah Melayu and the supremacy of one race because he comes from a constituency that has a large majority of that race. Let him say the same thing and stand in Pandan, his pants will drop.

What he doesn't realise is that with his recalcitrant attitude, he is going to be the cause of the downfall of some good politicians from his party elsewhere in the country. That is how selfish he is.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently chided Anwar Ibrahim for going along the path of multiracial party politics. What is Mahathir left with now?

Mahathir has always been entrenched in the old school of Malay politics which everyone now believes is the reason why Pakatan Harapan failed.

Mahathir's brand of politics has been and still is very bad for this country. Where Abdul Razak Hussein failed, Hussein Onn made it up but with Mahathir, we have a nation divided as never before.

You can try your luck contesting under the banner of Perikatan Nasional (PN) or Bersatu but, as they say, the result is written on the wall.

OceanMaster: There are a bunch of politicians, including young budding ones like Afif, who think they are the ones carrying all the burden of the nation and that Malaysia is their Sdn Bhd.

Let me be clear and I hope I am able to speak for millions of citizens of Malaysia who slog daily, raise wonderful families, give utmost best for the employers or businesses, diligently pay tax, don't steal, don't deceive, not racist, want justice and peace, and trying to connect our lives to the rest of the globalised world.

Every minute of our commitment, as individuals and collectively, the silent majority, is what the outcome of the Malaysian economy and social well-being is. We are the life jackets that keep Malaysia floating, come hell or high water.

People like you are just parasites with no backbone, taking advantage of the handout culture that is so ingrained in so many politicians. Go out there and find a proper job first. Don't teach us how to suck eggs.

Hang Babeuf: Afif grew up in Shah Alam, Selangor. He received his secondary education at Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Lenggong/Chenderoh in Perak, and had his university education at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), graduated with a bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery.

After leaving university, Afif worked as a medical officer at the Seberang Jaya Hospital and Sungai Buloh Hospital, etc.

One thing I do not understand. All these people who get a fine medical education at the public’s expense and then decide that they don't like being doctors, doing what doctors do.

So they cabut lari (run away) and become politicians - thereby "wasting" the completion of the full years of an entire medical career that, through and in them, the public has invested in. As in this case, much of that national investment in the full term of their careers is simply hangus (burnt).

That is nothing other than a breach of public trust, which is, I suppose, a good and appropriate beginning, in Malaysia that is, for a political career.

Surely one Mahathir as the “doctor to the nation” is enough. At least Mahathir did not prescribe, wholesale, a gulp of warm water as a general prophylactic against the coronavirus.

Iphonezours: Afif, indeed you can contest in the next election as an independent or under PN or any other party, but please remember that you were elected by the grace of the rakyat.

Like your other colleagues, Azmin, Zuraida Kamaruddin and Haniza Mohd Talha, people don’t forget your treachery, and historically, traitors are not given a second chance.

Even now you can see that politicians from the PN government don’t take kindly to the actions of your colleagues and they consider all of you as opportunists. It’s best for you to return to the original cause and struggle if you really want to have a political future.

For heaven’s sake, please don’t talk rubbish about arrogance when you forget about how people betrayed the trust of the party and the voters. Even though you did not leave PKR to join the likes of Azmin and Co, but you supported them.

You should have distanced yourself and condemned such treachery by these people. Lecture these people first, before talking about the arrogance of PN, Harapan and BN.

Wee_R_Malaysian: Sheraton Move was a political coup. It’s lame of you to bend your words and say that it is people's punishment that brought the Harapan government down.

You have no right to say this on behalf of everyone who voted in GE14. It is only through elections that we can throw out a government and it is the only legitimate way.

David: Harapan did not fall due to arrogance. It fell because of traitors and kataks (frogs). I bet my last dollar that you will lose your deposit if you ever stand for election in Seberang Jaya.

Empty vessels like you make the most noise. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Hmmmmmmmm: I think we should refrain from venting our feelings for people like Afif. Let them continue to dream that they still stand a very good chance of winning the GE15.

We only show our displeasure after they are nominated.

Japanese racism at its worst, to the last eff-ing filthy drop

FMT:

Last Korean war criminal living in Japan wants recognition

Lee Hak-rae holds of a photo that was taken at a POW camp run by the Japanese army in Thailand in 1942, at his home in Tokyo on June 25 - (Reuters pic)


TOKYO: To the casual observer, 95-year-old Lee Hak-rae could be just another elderly person in Japan.

Surrounded by pictures of his family and paintings by his great-grandchildren, Lee potters about his cluttered living room on the outskirts of Tokyo.

But Lee is obsessed by brutal events of 75 years ago that have defined his life: his recruitment into the Japanese army from then-occupied Korea in 1942; his role in building the Thai-Burma railway; being designated a World War Two criminal; and how, he says, he was tossed into the dustbin of history by both Japan and South Korea.

Since recovering its sovereignty under the San Francisco Peace Treaty signed in 1951, and reviving military pensions in 1953, Japan has given a pension supplement that can add up to about US$41,000 a year to military veterans.

That includes war criminals and their families, government officials say.

Japanese wartime leaders convicted of war crimes by an Allied tribunal are honoured at Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine.

The treaty also meant Koreans who fought for Japan lost their Japanese nationality, and with it, entitlement to such assistance.

More importantly for Lee, the men have never been afforded the attention and a sense of closure given to their Japanese counterparts.

“Listen to me. Why are they treating us differently?” says Lee, switching in a barely audible voice between Korean and Japanese.

“It’s unfair and doesn’t make any sense. How can I accept this unbelievable situation?” Lee said as he clutched dog-eared clippings documenting his years of campaigning for recognition and compensation.

Lee was among 148 Korean war criminals convicted after the war.

Now he is the last survivor.

Twenty-three of them were executed and he too was sentenced to death by hanging as Kakurai Hiromura in 1947.

His sentence was commuted on appeal to 20 years.

He was released on parole from a Tokyo prison in 1956.

About 240,000 Korean men took part in the war on the Japanese side.

After the war, the Allied governments rounding up suspected war criminals treated men of Korean ethnicity as Japanese.

But the men were rejected by both Korea and Japan, historians say.

“The Koreans convicted of war crimes had a terrible time after the war because they were regarded as collaborators by other Koreans, but they weren’t recognised by the Japanese government as veterans,” said Robert Cribb, history professor at Australian National University.

Cribb said it was unfair the Japan gave pensions to their war criminals but not to Koreans who were part of the Japanese army.


The Lizard

In 1943, Lee oversaw about 500 Allied prisoners of war (POW) building what later became known as the Death Railway between Thailand and Myanmar.

About 12,000 POWs died from overwork, beatings and exhaustion during the construction of the 415km line.

The conditions were made famous in the 1957 film “The Bridge on the River Kwai”.

Trial records reviewed by Reuters show prisoners remembered Lee, known as the Lizard, as one of the most brutal guards on the railway.

Austen Fyfe, an Australian POW, said Lee was notorious for his brutality and beat him repeatedly, including with a bamboo stick on the back of the head.

Other prisoners said Lee would stalk their makeshift hospital and “beat up the people he thought to be well enough to work”.

Lee told the court he had “pushed them slightly near the shoulder” but denied charges of brutality, records show.

Lee said Koreans were on the lowest rung of the Japanese military hierarchy and merely took orders.

After his release, Lee started a taxi company with other Korean war criminals.

Afraid of being labelled a traitor back home, he felt he could not return, even missing his mother’s funeral.

“Except my parents and siblings, no one would welcome me,” he said.

In 1999, Japan’s Supreme Court rejected compensation claims by Lee and other Korean war criminals.

In 2006, South Korea recognised them as victims of Japanese imperialism but offered no compensation to those living in Japan.

Those in Korea gained the right to subsidised healthcare.

Lee can now only walk with help but he keeps campaigning, even from his wheelchair. In June, he went to parliament to urge lawmakers to propose a law compensating Korean war criminals and their families.

“I was lucky to live until 95. I don’t want to live longer for myself but I can’t stop fighting for my dead comrades,” he said.

The brazen nerve of his thick Kerala hide

FMT:

Why Dr M shouldn’t give advice on party-hopping

Dr Mahathir Mohamd has called upon the people of Sabah to reject those in the ruling coalition who decided to back former chief minister Musa Aman and the Barisan Nasional in their bid to wrest control from the Warisan-led state government.

Unfortunately, the move by Musa failed because the state assembly was dissolved, paving the way for a fresh election.

But is Mahathir really the right person to make such a call? Not in my opinion and not by a long shot.

When the Pakatan Harapan government was in power, did he not welcome the Umno defectors into PPBM with open arms? I can still see the picture of Mahathir with a handful of defectors (or frogs as they have come to be known) smiling for the cameras.

It was not long after that Umno announced that lawyers were going to demand RM200,000 from all those that abandoned Umno for PPBM. That move has since been dropped now that the majority of defectors have become part and parcel of the Perikatan Nasional government who consist of PAS, GPS and the BN parties.

Mahathir simply cannot take the high moral ground now. It is ill-conceived, unimaginable and unbelievable that he has the gall to make such a call. Perhaps he has forgotten, conveniently or otherwise, that he encouraged party-hopping when he was the fourth PM of this nation.

He may have forgotten but Sabahans who saw the democratically elected PBS government collapse in 1994 because of defections to BN will never forget who the mastermind of this manoeuvre was. If there was even an iota of righteousness in Mahathir back then, it failed miserably to show up.

As the then PM, he had the power and authority to say that this was not the right thing to do and put an end to the frogging culture. He could have said that the wishes of the people must be respected, and congratulated PBS on their slim victory. But he said nothing and did nothing. Why? Simply because it was to his advantage.

Now Mahathir wants to preach to Sabahans about values and principles. I don’t see any value, credibility or integrity in that statement. Not at all. It would be better if Mahathir kept his advice for the likes of his ex-PPBM MPs who have since crossed over to PN, Azmin Ali and gang and all the other “frogs” that led to the collapse of the PH government at the federal level and various state governments.

Who the people of Sabah choose to vote for is very much their decision. They can choose to vote for a new state government that is aligned to the federal government or for a government that is antagonistic to the federal government. It will be a question of what will work in the best interest of Sabahans. It will be a question that only Sabahans can and will answer.

No need to dispense any advice when whatever you have to say these days sounds hollow and meaningless.

For better or for worse, in troubled times such as this, there can only be one winner.

Common sense and food on the table.

Jasa chief misusing public monies for political purposes

MM Online:

Former Jasa chief lauds plan to revive unit, says crucial to neutralise Opposition’s ‘lies’

Former director of Jasa, Datuk Puad Zarkashi. Puad had claimed that defending the government through Jasa has been a thankless job. — Picture via Facebook/ Puad Zarkashi


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — Datuk Puad Zarkashi lauded today the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s plan to reactivate the Special Affairs Unit (Jasa), calling the department he once led a crucial platform to help the ruling coalition counter Opposition propaganda.

Puad was the former director at the unit set up under Barisan Nasional rule. The Umno supreme council member said Jasa had been effective in communicating the government’s messages and countering “false allegations” against the then administration.

Critics of BN previously saw the department as a propaganda unit. It was dissolved after Pakatan Harapan took power in 2018, which Puad claimed was an act of political vengeance spearheaded by the DAP.

“Reviving Jasa proves that the act of shutting it down was wrong and an act of vengeance,” Puad said in a text reply to Malay Mail.

“Its closure also proved that Jasa was an effective government machinery in communicating the messages ‘of the government of the day’ including responding to the lies and allegations by the Opposition, especially from the DAP,” he added.

The DAP, PH’s predominantly Chinese component member, was often the subject of Jasa’s past efforts. Its leaders claimed the intention was to tap on Malay insecurity and keep the ethnic majority suspicious of the opposition coalition.

The Communications and Multimedia Ministry said last month it has already begun efforts to reactivate Jasa that past government critics alleged had been a propaganda unit.

According to national news agency Bernama, Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin said his ministry was already rehiring former Jasa officers for this purpose.

Talks that Jasa could be reactivated has elicited concerns that the PN government would resort to the same scaremongering and racially divisive tactic.

*********

kaytee notes:

This guy must be another type of Dwarf wakakaka, in saying “Reviving Jasa proves that the act of shutting it down was wrong and an act of vengeance”. Any logic in his moronic statement?

The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government can set up whatever it likes, so long as it's not using public funds for the expenses - which it is in setting up JASA again for the coalition's benefits. 

The PN government is totally disgraceful in (mis)using public-taxpayers' money to establish a PN communication-propaganda unit for PN's (not the public's) political benefits.

PERKASA objecting to Ambiga as EC Chair is OK but NOT for idiotic reason

MM Online:

Ambiga denies being considered for EC chairmanship, tells Perkasa to check its facts

Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan Ambiga also lamented that Azhar’s exit from the Commission has now left it 'vulnerable' ― Picture by Hari Anggara


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — Lawyer and human rights activist Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan today denied rumours that she is being considered to head the Election Commission (EC) replacing Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun who resigned to take up the Dewan Rakyat Speaker post.

Ambiga took right-wing Malay group Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) to task for their being up-in-arms over her alleged appointment, to the point of them bringing up her advocacy for LGBT rights.

Speaking to Malay Mail, Ambiga said that the appointment of the next EC chairman is now being closely watched by those who have been fighting for a clean and fair election system.

Ambiga also lamented that Azhar’s exit from the Commission has now left it “vulnerable”.

“Perkasa should really check its facts before going on a long racist and homophobic tirade. I am not being nominated for EC chair, and I would be very surprised if I was even in the running.

“As far as the chairmanship of the EC is concerned, all of us who fought for years for clean and fair elections are watching this very closely. The former EC chair’s resignation has unfortunately left this important Commission vulnerable. I hope those in Perikatan Nasional (PN) who were with us in our struggle for free and fair elections, will recall the years and years of hard work by the rakyat to see the establishment of an independent Election Commission.

“This important appointment of the EC chair will surely demonstrate if in fact, PN remains committed to free and fair elections. It would be shocking if they are not,” she said.

Malaysia Gazette quoted Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali, saying that Ambiga is unfit for public office, owing to her pro-LGBT stance.

Syed Hassan also claimed that rumours have been circulating that the now-former EC Commissioner, Datuk Seri Ramlan Ibrahim had resigned from the Commission recently, purportedly in protest over the PN government’s suggestion to appoint Ambiga to head the EC.

“But coming back to Perkasa’s attack on one of the most vulnerable communities in Malaysia, the LGBT community, which they seem to have a preoccupation with, what part of what I say are they objecting to?

“Is it the part where I say all human beings (including the LGBT community) deserve to be treated with dignity? That no one should have to live in fear? That no one should be threatened or physically harmed or their lives put at risk because of who they are? That all Malaysians regardless of who they are, enjoy the same fundamental rights under the (Federal) Constitution?

“Which part of that does anyone have an issue with? It merely requires all of us to behave humanely and justly and I make no apologies for advancing my defence of any oppressed community,” she added.

Azmin, Guan Eng clash over Cabinet minutes on trade pact under PH govt

FMT:

Azmin, Guan Eng clash over Cabinet minutes on trade pact under PH govt

International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali clashes with Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng in the Dewan Rakyat today

KUALA LUMPUR: A disagreement over the ratification of an international free trade agreement sparked an argument today between MPs Mohamed Azmin Ali and Lim Guan Eng, both of whom were ministers under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.

Azmin, who is now international trade and industry minister under Perikatan Nasional government, claimed that the PH government had agreed to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The CPTPP is an agreement between 11 countries.

Azmin said a decision on the ratification was made in September 2018 when the Cabinet agreed to ratify the agreement without any time limit.

“We are now continuing discussions with stakeholders and the Attorney-General’s Chambers before we put it forward to the Cabinet for a new mandate,” he said when wrapping up his ministry’s policies.

Hearing this, Lim (PH-Bagan) stood to object, saying the PH Cabinet had not agreed to the ratification as “we did not want foreigners to interfere”.

“So it is not true that the Cabinet agreed. I hope you can correct the facts,” Lim told Azmin who was in charge of economic affairs under the PH government.

But Azmin told Lim to check the minutes of the Sept 5, 2018 meeting, at which Lim asked Azmin to look up the latest minutes of the meeting in 2019.

“Or check with (an) ex-Miti minister. Don’t twist the facts. Ask Langkawi MP (Dr Mahathir Mohamad), too.

“Speak the truth,” said Lim, who was the finance minister in the PH government.

To this, Azmin asked: “Why do you suggest that you are the only person who is speaking the truth?”

Ong Kian Ming, the former deputy international trade and industry minister, asked for permission to interject while Wong Chen (PH-Subang) asked for historical facts.

Earlier, Azmin told the Dewan Rakyat that up to May 31, 2020, Malaysia had received 32 projects from foreigners worth RM17.5 billion, out of which 28 projects had been approved.

Mukhriz Mahathir (Independent-Jerlun) then said big projects took at least a year to materialise and asked if the dealings were approved during the PH administration.

Mukhriz also asked about the types of promotion being carried out to attract foreign direct investments as the country was facing political uncertainties.

Azmin replied that even though the opposition claimed there were political uncertainties in the country, rating agencies and the World Bank had said that Malaysia’s economy would be one of the earliest to recover next year due to the stimulus packages and various measures taken by the PN government.

He further asked opposition MPs to change the narrative of fear in this regard to help create confidence in the country’s economy.

He said the slowdown was a global phenomenon, and due to that Putrajaya had carried out stimulus packages to cushion the economic impact of the crisis.

He was replying to Lim who told him that Fitch Ratings had revised its outlook on Malaysia’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating from stable to negative, and affirmed the rating at A-.

*********

kaytee notes:

Much as I don't like Guan Eng with regards to many things, I support him on this because I just don't bloody trust the other party wakakaka, thus making Guan Eng truthful by default, wakakaka again.

😂😂😂

Kenny Chua defected out of loyalty to Anwar

MM Online:

I defected out of loyalty for Anwar, Sabah rep Kenny Chua says

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is pictured at PKR’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya June 19, 2019. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa


KOTA KINABALU, Aug 3 — State assemblyman Kenny Chua has broken his silence on his defection to support the opposition’s bid to topple the Sabah government, saying he did it out of his loyalty to his former party PKR and its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In a statement today, Chua, a former assistant finance minister said he could not see himself being part of an administration that supports former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.



“It would go against my principle to be part of a state government that was led by Warisan because this party had openly declared its support for Dr Mahathir. It was even reported that it was ready to amend its constitution to welcome him into the party.

“I’ve repeatedly said that as a PKR leader in Sabah, it was only right for me to stay loyal to my party president and threw my undivided support for him as the country’s next prime minister as what all Malaysians and Sabahans had been promised during the last general election,” he said.

Chua, who was a state PKR vice-chairman said that he commiserated with the negative sentiments the majority of Sabahans harboured towards Dr Mahathir for changing the political landscape since the 1980s.

Chua was one the 13 elected and nominated assemblyman who decided to switch sides and rally behind former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman in his bid to topple the Warisan-led state government.

The attempt, however, was foiled after Warisan, led by Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, sought for the dissolution of the state legislative assembly to pave way for a snap state election.

Chua, who was sacked by his party for switching sides, denied allegations that he had been offered huge sums of money to defect.

“The relevant authorities can investigate me. They can check my bank accounts if they suspect that I had been offered millions of cash. But perhaps in all fairness, they should also call for investigation on those elected representatives who switched sides to help Warisan form the state government in 2018,” he claimed.

Chua said that of the 13 who defected, he had the most to lose.

“I’ve been criticised for switching sides. But come to think about it, why would I ever want to jeopardise my position in the government if it had not been for things happening in government and local politics which I didn’t think were right?”

“And the mother of all problems is the [undocumented migrant] and statelessness issue which I’ve repeatedly highlighted in the media even before I was an elected representative,” he said, adding that he would reveal more eventually.

Chua also said that the state government lacks the funds to develop the state and that it was critical to have federal funds.

He also attributed his crossover to Warisan’s treatment towards its partners, PKR, Upko and DAP.

Chua said that he would like the chance to prove his intentions to the people if given the chance for re-election.

Last week, Shafie sought for a dissolution of the State Assembly following the defection of the 13 assemblymen, which gave Musa a simple majority in the 65 member House.

The Election Commission has yet to name a date for the state polls.

Is Perikatan Nasional breaking up?

FMT:

Is Perikatan Nasional breaking up?

by A. Kathirasen

The Perikatan Nasional (PN) appears doomed – even before it becomes a formal, registered coalition. This will not come as a surprise to many, given the fact that it was hastily stitched together by a group of leaders who saw an opportunity to take power without seeking a mandate from voters.

The strongest indication of PN’s vulnerability came on July 30 when Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi snubbed Muhyiddin Yassin by saying his party would not enter into a formal pact with the latter’s PPBM.

However, Zahid said Umno would continue to back the federal government headed by Muhyiddin and would continue to be part of his government.

“We feel that Muafakat Nasional (MN) is the best platform for PAS, Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) parties to face whatever possibilities in the near future,” Zahid added.

This is a major blow to Muhyiddin, for Umno, with 39 MPs, is the largest bloc propping up his government.

Why this decision? Some say it is Umno’s way of showing displeasure at the outcome of the corruption trial of Najib Razak, its former president.

Former prime minister Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million by the High Court after he was found guilty of all seven charges involving abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering linked to the SRC International scandal.

It is certainly a message to Muhyiddin, coming as it does two days after Najib’s conviction – especially since Zahid himself is facing a slew of corruption, CBT and money laundering charges.

PN has yet to be registered but the process has already started. A source told Singapore’s The Straits Times that Muhyiddin would go ahead with PN despite Umno’s stand. The source also said PN had been registered and to wait for the announcement.

If indeed PN had been registered, one would have thought that Muhyiddin would have rushed to announce it so as to show the people PN was stable, but that hasn’t happened.

While Umno said it would not join PN but would cooperate at government level, PAS president Hadi Awang said his party would continue to cooperate with PPBM at both party and government levels.

Meanwhile, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said MN did not hold any discussion prior to Zahid’s announcement that Umno would not join PN. “We are unsure in relation to the matter. We need to discuss the matter,” he said, indicating it came as a surprise to PAS. However, Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said Umno had twice stated at the MN main committee meeting that it would not formally join PN. What does that say about Umno-PAS understanding?

It’s interesting that MN has, in turn, invited PPBM to join it. In fact, Zahid was reported as saying, in stressing that Umno would not become a PN component party, that Muhyiddin had expressed interest in joining MN.

PPBM secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said the party’s Supreme Leadership Council was debating the matter and a decision would be made soon. He said PPBM was reviewing several matters, including the structure of the MN main committee and “how the three parties can chart MN”.

For Zahid, the maths is simple: If Umno joins PN, he would be acknowledging Muhyiddin’s authority or PPBM’s status as leader; if PPBM joins MN, it will indicate PPBM is willing to accept the leadership of Umno. It’s a game; a power play.

By not being part of PN, Umno can negotiate better terms in the run-up to the next general election: how many seats it will contest and whose party will nominate the next prime minister.

Also, PPBM may or may not exist after the next general election whereas Umno and PAS, with their vast networks and spread-out roots, will be around for a long time in Malay and Malaysian politics.

If PPBM joins MN led by Umno, the Umno president will have more power to call the shots at the next general election. This power will be crucial when it comes to apportioning seats to be contested as in the previous general election, PPBM contested almost all the seats that Umno considers its traditional seats.

Perhaps Zahid is also trying to force Muhyiddin’s hands, to add to the pressure so that Muhyiddin calls for snap elections. Reports indicate that Umno and PAS are confident of winning more seats and forming the government in the next general election. Political analysts think so too, according to media reports.

A glimpse of what’s likely to happen at the 15th general election is currently on show in Sabah, where the state assembly has been dissolved.

Even before the dates for an election have been set, Umno and PPBM are quarrelling over seats.

Sabah PPBM chief Hajiji Mohd Noor, an Umno man who crossed over to PPBM, said his party would contest in 45 of the 73 state seats. No sooner had he said this than Sabah Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan charged in to say: “Two words – don’t dream. My suggestion to Sabah Bersatu (PPBM) is that if they want to be friends with Umno, let’s do it on friendly terms. We can discuss. We can negotiate.”

Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin was more blunt: “He (Hajiji) has his party, we have ours. Bersatu exists in Sabah only because of a group of traitors. Umno will continue to receive the support of the grassroots.”

Sabah Umno chairman Bung Moktar Radin said Umno intended to defend all 32 state seats it had previously contested and some of the 13 new seats created in July 2019 when Parliament approved a bill to increase the state constituencies from 60 to 73.

Then again, squabbles over seats among coalition partners are not new. Warisan, the DAP and PKR will face trouble in the Sabah elections too.

At the federal level, PN is hanging on to power by the slimmest of majorities; it won the move to replace the speaker of the Dewan Rakyat by a mere two votes. And it is telling that when Umno talks about giving Muhyiddin’s government support, it almost always ends with “until the 15th general election”.

All it needs is for some MPs from Umno or its Sarawak partner GPS to quit for PN to collapse, which means Muhyiddin will be desperately trying to maintain support for his shaky government. There are many ways a prime minister can do this

So, is PN breaking apart? Will it be a short-lived coalition? The writing is on the wall.

Pahang Jawi signage row – DAP leadership's party-first, not principle-first stand

Malaysiakini:

Pahang Jawi signage row – DAP leadership's party-first, not principle-first stand

by S Thayaparan

"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him."

- Attributed (disputed) to Cardinal Richelieu

In defending Tras assemblyperson Chow Yu Hui's lawsuit that challenged a mandatory directive to include Jawi script on signboards, DAP Youth secretary Eric Teh said: "We should oppose any cultural hegemony instead of surrendering to it, and I think (DAP Youth chief) Howard Lee (who criticised Chow) has forgotten this."

Let us begin with the basics. Culture is a one-way street in Malaysia. The non-Malays have no choice but to learn about Malay culture while the Malays get to retreat to a mainstream political system that claims their culture, economic survival and political system are under threat because of the non-Malays - that generally means the Chinese community.

Therefore, this is not only a question about cultural hegemony but also of political expediency. I have no idea why the Pahang state government is adamant that Jawi is to be incorporated on all signages in the state, even business operations. After all, does the state government need Jawi signage to be part of non-halal businesses that revolve around the sale and distribution of alcohol?

As it stands in this country, certain words are verboten, by law, to the non-Malay community, where books are banned and people hauled up for sedition or hurting the sensitivities of others. This idea that the Tras assemblyperson and his lawsuit is attracting more trouble for the DAP is, well, ludicrous.

The fact of the matter is that Malay power structures have always demonised the DAP because it serves a political purpose. The old maverick and two-time prime minister admitted this and has been trying to walk back on earlier strategic decisions now that he needs the DAP. All this is a matter of public record.

DAP assistant political education director Ong Kian Ming called the lawsuit “totally unnecessary” and the folks involved “wannabe heroes”. Oh, really? What about the time Ong waxed lyrical about reading the Bible in the Malay language and admonished those who would restrict usage of the word “Allah” by Christians and warned of the slippery slope if this was not countered?

"To say that Christians should change the word Allah to Tuhan is to disrespect the rights of a religious group – Christians, in this case – to have autonomy and control over their own religious texts," Ong (above) had said.

"It could easily lead to other 'slippery slope'-type arguments. For example, if the usage of the word Allah by Christians might offend or confuse Muslims and this word has to be changed, would other things in the Bible that may be offensive or confusing to Muslims – such as the many references to Jesus as God and Savior – also be required to be changed?" Ong asked in a post on his blog.

What Ong was describing in his blog post about the Allah controversy is an instinctual reaction to cultural hegemony and the need to protect the freedom of expression and belief that is the foundation of a democratic polity.

You could argue that when Ong was pontificating about the need to respect one another’s culture, he was painting a target on the DAP’s back too. This, of course, did not stop the big guns of the DAP from pursuing this issue and using it as a political prop.

The DAP at that time was supportive of efforts to ensure that free expression and belief remained in political and personal spaces. Of course, with the subsequent “khat” controversy and the various backtrackings since coming into power, the new tone seemed to be “do not spook” the Malays.

What benefit is there to have Jawi signage in stores that sell non-Muslim religious accoutrements? How will having Jawi signages for non-halal businesses “empower” Jawi writing? What this is really all about is the demonstration of religious power over the masses in an effort to negate the pluralism of a religiously diverse polity.

At the height of the Jawi/khat controversy, former Harapan religious czar Mujahid Yusof Rawa (photo), in a piece expressing his devotion to Jawi, made the same claims, or rather, he conflated certain concepts.

Mujahid, who was then minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), made the claim that learning Jawi is an honour for Malaysians and spawned the rather noxious meme that "in order to be a united Bangsa Malaysia, we would cherish Jawi as one people". This passage came from a piece where I debunked the argument that Jawi/khat had nothing to do with religion.

DAP Youth chief Howard Lee, writing in "Jawi" no less, admonished Chow and claimed that the DAP needed to focus on more pressing issues. From now on, Lee should only tweet in Jawi or Malay because, maybe, he could then make inroads into the target audience the DAP needs to demonstrate that the party is not anti-Malay.

How does it look when a DAP youth leader uses the Jawi language as some sort of sarcastic retort to the action of another DAP political operative who was deemed religiously insensitive?

I am not interested in the political manoeuvrings behind this latest provocation of using language as a means of cultural hegemony. What I am interested in addressing, in this piece, is that the phobia against cultural hegemony in this country is justified and like it or not, it falls on the DAP to protect our personal and public spheres.

The only language that needs to be in all business operations or general signage is Bahasa Malaysia (first) and, beyond that, any language that the target demographic understands. Anything beyond that is purely political and the imperative behind that reasoning needs to be questioned.

The Tras assemblyperson's actions are justifiable, if not politically expedient. This is a good thing as far as I am concerned.


S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. A retired barrister-at-law, he is one of the founding members of Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan

Related:

DAP's "Don't spook the Malays"

Mahathir failed to create the ‘Malaysian race’ he proposed because he as usual lied about it

TMI:

Vision 2020 architect says it failed to create ‘Malaysian race’

VISION 2020 has succeeded in reducing the income gap between races and turned the country from an agrarian society into an industrial nation but it has failed to create a Malaysian race, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“When I proposed a Malaysian race (Bangsa Malaysia) to call our own, I believed that we could be like countries such as the USA,” said the 95-year-old on Facebook Live last night.

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kaytee notes:

kok-tok again. Didn't he say the Chinese virtually own all the towns and cities? Now he admits his "VISION 2020 has succeeded in reducing the income gap between races ...".

He proposed a Bangsa Malaysia but he kept tokking kok on racial inequality, Malay Dignity and ketuanan Melayu and even held a congress to emphasise that, when he called non-Malay Malaysians as 'orang asing' who like it so much here they won't go home.

This man is really thick skinned, shameless and an incorrigible liar. He has been horrendously wicked, so wicked he lied and lied and lied to Anwar and other colleagues in PH.