Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword – Why Khairy’s Sacking & Hishammuddin’s Suspension Are Long Overdue

Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword – Why Khairy’s Sacking & Hishammuddin’s Suspension Are Long Overdue




Zahid Hamidi would have become a great surgeon had he not joined politics. With great precision, the president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) boldly and decisively removed two biggest cancer cells from the party – Khairy Jamaluddin and Hishammuddin Hussein. The decision on Friday (Jan 27) effectively eliminates all Zahid’s opponents in the party.



While the Malaysia’s oldest political party has sacked Khairy and supreme council member Noh Omar, former defence minister Hishammuddin was suspended for a whopping 6 years. In total, almost 50 UMNO leaders were either fired or suspended. Of course, they have tried to put up a brave face, saying “this is not the end, but merely a beginning” and all sorts of self-comforting quotes.



Khairy announced he is “unbowed, unbent, unbroken”. Yet, in a series of Instagram stories on Saturday (Jan 28), he whined and bitched how he was unilaterally and unfairly sacked. He complained that despite his loyalty to the party for 23 years, he had not been given a show cause letter, let alone disciplinary hearing. Hilariously, before his sacking, he bragged that he was ready to face any disciplinary action – including being sacked.



Hishammuddin too was stunned over his suspension. In a TikTok video posted at about 8pm Saturday (Jan 28) night, he claimed he would not be broken, along with a quote – “What has happened will not break my spirit to continue my struggle for my religion, race and country”. Equally hilarious, he too had challenged Zahid to sack him a couple of weeks ago – if the UMNO president dares.



Now that both UMNO warlords have been punished, they started to pretend how innocent they are and how they had been victimised by their party president. In truth, Khairy and Hishammuddin deserved to be sacked after what they had done to the party. The only reason Hishammuddin and his gang were suspended instead of axed is because they are Members of Parliament.



It’s not a coincidence that all those who were expelled like Khairy and Noh do not contribute any parliamentary seat to UMNO. Noh Omar, a well-known gangster, thinking Zahid could not do any worse, stood up during the supreme council meeting and challenged the party president to sack him instead of suspended for 6 years. Zahid gladly complied – “If that’s what you want, you got it”.



Not even former lame duck Prime Minister Ismail Sabri, one of three UMNO vice-presidents, could pressure Zahid against punishing Khairy and Hishammuddin. The punishments might not have followed the necessary process, but Zahid’s action was not illegal. Some five supreme council members disagreed with the disciplinary decision, but Zahid had already decided.



Mr Noh probably had forgotten that his boss was a bigger gangster when he tried to play reverse psychology by saying he would rather be sacked and suspended. Mr Khairy, an Oxford graduate, probably thought he was too intelligent for his boss to sack him. Mr Hishammuddin most likely believed he was too powerful and influential to be punished.



However, they have all miscalculated and misread Mr Zahid. The UMNO president is not a master strategist like former PM Mahathir Mohamad. He is not a snake oil salesman like Najib Razak, the crooked ex-PM currently serving 12 years in prison for looting the state investment fund 1MDB. And he is certainly not a politician with patience equals to God’s like Anwar Ibrahim.



Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is just the “Big Boss” of “Tiga Line Gangster”. So, like Al Capone, he will do what a gangster boss would normally do when faced with rebels, snitchers and betrayers within the organization. Either he exterminates those disloyal to him, or get killed eventually. He does not want to waste time looking over his shoulders for backstabbers and betrayers.



And this is where Zahid is different from Anwar, who had stubbornly and stupidly chosen to keep and trust his deputy Azmin Ali – despite numerous warnings of treachery and betrayal. When then-former PKR president Azmin finally switched sides in Feb 2020, leading to the collapse of Pakatan Harapan government, Anwar cried a river. Zahid has no plan to repeat Anwar’s mistake.



Speculations that action would be taken against UMNO traitors, saboteurs and provocateurs had already begun after the 15th General Election in November 2022. Behind Zahid’s back, traitor Hishammuddin quietly instigated 10 UMNO-led Barisan Nasional MPs to support rival Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin as 10th Prime Minister after the election that produced a hung Parliament.



Yes, back in Nov 21, Hishammuddin said he was willing to be removed by the party, rather than cooperate with Pakatan Harapan in forming a new government. Having signed statutory declaration (SD) to support Muhyiddin, he was leading 10 MPs ready to cross over to the enemy’s camp, only to retract the SDs after Zahid warned they could lose their parliamentary seats in violation of anti-hopping law.



The same anti-hopping law which saw Hishammuddin chicken out some three months ago is the same reason Zahid could not sack him on Friday. If he is sacked, he could keep his seat and happily join opposition Perikatan Nasional. On the other hand, he will lose the seat if he quits UMNO over his 6-year suspension. To keep the seat within UMNO, Zahid cleverly suspends Hishammuddin.




Now, the cousin of Najib is trapped for the next 6 years. He could neither challenge Zahid nor leave the party. There’s no guarantee Hishammuddin could retain his Sembrong seat if a by-election is called if he quits UMNO. The fact that he won in the recent election suggests that it was a stronghold of UMNO. Therefore, UMNO supporters would not accept a traitor if he jumps ship to Muhyiddin’s party.



But Hishammuddin’s treachery and betrayal started as early as after the May 2018 General Election. After Barisan Nasional lost power for the first time in 61 years since independence, he cowardly ran away, refusing to even defend his precious UMNO vice-president post. Worse, he began sucking up to PM Mahathir Mohamad, who successfully led Pakatan Harapan to the historic victory.



Having deserted UMNO when the party was at its lowest point, Hishammuddin only came back after it returned to power as one of governing partners in the loosely glued Perikatan Nasional backdoor government in March 2020 – comprising UMNO, Muhyiddin-led Bersatu and extremist PAS Islamist party. He again tried to leave UMNO after the party performed terribly in the Nov 2022 national election.



When UMNO lost power in 2018, traitor Hishammuddin instigated dozens of UMNO MPs to switch sides to Mahathir in an attempt to weaken his own party. When UMNO lost more seats in 2022, the same traitor instigated 10 Barisan Nasional MPs to switch sides to Muhyiddin in an attempt to destroy his own party. Exactly why should Zahid keep a Trojan horse like Hishammuddin?



Clearly, Hishammuddin isn’t as loyal to UMNO as he tries to hoodwink the UMNO-Malays. In fact, he is worse than his cousin Najib. At least, Najib did not badmouth his own party’s president, let alone plotting with the enemies who wanted to destroy and swallow UMNO, before taking over its assets, grassroots and machinery. Hishammuddin’s loyalty is with Muhyiddin and Bersatu, not UMNO anymore.



Like the ambitious Hishammuddin, Khairy too wanted to become the youngest prime minister. He openly declared during 2022 General Election campaign that he is ready to lead the country and become prime minister. It was merely a gimmick to win Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat, which he did not succeed. He was deliberately given the tough seat to end his political career.



Accusing UMNO of having gone astray under Zahid leadership, Mr Khairy was admitting that the party has become rotten and corrupted. He tried to paint himself as a reformist, copying a page from Anwar Ibrahim’s “Reformasi” playbook. He must have thought voters were too stupid to remember how he kept quiet as his former boss – Najib Razak – helped himself to billions of dollars in the infamous 1MDB scandal.



He also assumed the people were too gullible to realize how he, as Minister of Health, had given instruction to free Najib by relocating the crook to the Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital on Sept 17, 2022, allowing the prisoner to stay in VVIP ward – till the plan was exposed by an anonymous. Khairy claimed Najib needed physiotherapy, but Najib only suffered high blood pressure, which has nothing to do with physiotherapy.



Crucially, it was under Khairy’s leadership that Pharmaniaga, despite its lack of expertise, was allowed to rebottle and repackage Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine at a time when people were dying so that some cronies could profit from it. It’s absolutely funny that Khairy wanted to clean up UMNO only after he was out of favour and no longer a government minister.



And you don’t need a genius to tell the actual mastermind behind the civil servant of the Ministry of Youth and Sports involved in RM100 million scandal when he helmed the ministry. The perception that Oxford-educated Khairy was relatively clean and efficient is largely because 99% of UMNO leaders and ministers were clueless, incompetent, corrupt and not highly educated.



Make no mistake – Khairy and Hishammuddin were not punished because they challenged Zahid’s presidency. They were sacked and suspended for betraying the party – destroying UMNO internally by working the enemies like Bersatu and PAS, as well as sabotaging Barisan Nasional candidates and campaign during election by sponsoring independent candidates as in the case of Noh Omar.



Hishammuddin, who is also the grandson of Onn Jaafar who founded UMNO in 1946, and the eldest son of 3rd Prime Minister Hussein Onn, thought he belonged to an UMNO blue-blood hence “untouchable”. Likewise, Khairy, who is the son-in-law of 6th Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, thought he was part of the elite club and also untouchable. But both arrogant warlords hadn’t a clue what Zahid was capable of.



Ironically, Hishammuddin and Khairy were the same UMNO racists who happily waved their respective “Keris” (Malay dagger) during the party general assembly in despicable attempts to frighten and threaten minorities Chinese and Indians. Today, that same weapon – the keris symbol on UMNO flags – has come back to end their political career.



Both Khairy and Hishammuddin would instantly withdraw support for the Anwar-led unity government if they managed to topple Zahid. Their loyalty has been with Muhyiddin since they were bribed with senior ministry portfolios in March 2020. True, Zahid isn’t as educated as Khairy and not as eloquent as Hishammuddin. But at least Zahid refused to surrender to Mahathir during UMNO’s darkest days.

Still trapped in a Malays-only mentality? How ridiculous

Still trapped in a Malays-only mentality? How ridiculous




I heard recently that what we see as ridiculous can often be dangerous. A simple example is of laughing at Hitler’s ridiculous Chaplinesque toothbrush moustache. After all, how could anyone take seriously someone who looks like that? But that Chaplin-parody became one of history’s worst butchers, killing millions and causing destruction and untold misery to millions of others.

So perhaps being ridiculous doesn’t always cause mirth and fun.

Malaysia, though, is full of ridiculousness. Where should we start?

The latest episode is that of a highly-regarded school in Johor Bahru arranging special tuition classes, apparently paid for by a donor, for Malay students only and going to extraordinary lengths to keep it a secret from others.

However, the organisers didn’t factor in social media, which was how the charade was uncovered. They would surely be planning now for future secret programmes to have stronger SOPs regarding participants’ use of social media, but this episode is still Ridiculous #1.

By the way, last minute cramming doesn’t work. It may get you a slightly better exam result, but you basically remain uneducated or under-educated, and the “real world” in the future won’t be kind to you.

The education minister reportedly left the matter to the state education department to handle. While that’s technically correct, it isn’t the smartest way to handle this hot political tapioca, and she also wasted the chance to look, well, ministerial at the very least.


Lessons to be learnt

In all likelihood no letter of the law or regulations were broken. But the selfish spirit of the matter, one that says ”for us to win, others must lose” is the one that stinks. That’s Ridiculous #2.

The rationale that Malay students need extra tuition because they’re weak is likely to be true, but that is just a perpetuation of race-based rather than a needs-based way of doing things in Malaysia, with nary a lesson being learnt from the years of failure.

For the perpetrators here, how many steps away are they from changing a few test marks or sharing hints or even exam questions or perhaps padding up the transcripts, all in the name of helping race and religion? When you think God is on your side, anything is possible.

How could doing such selfish things ever make the Malays strong and respected, and open up people’s hearts to the causes of the Malays and of Islam? Did God approve of using religious studies as a cover to keep it secret? Is He looking down proudly at this display of “necessary” lies? Ridiculous #3 and #4.


Mollycoddled

But back to the real issue. The real reason it is wrong, over and above the moral issues of selfishness and deceit, is that it’s never worked and will never work and it will actually make things worse for the Malays.

Over the last few decades, we’ve seen the sad spectacle of the Malays withdrawing ever deeper inwards, cloaking themselves in the warm embrace of collective insecurity while being mollycoddled by the political system they’ve built and now control.

Starting with being economically backwards under the colonialists and behind the migrant communities, especially the Chinese, we’re perhaps in a deeper hole than we’ve ever been, despite the Vellfires and the mansions and the ostentatious wealth of the favoured, and often dishonest, few.

The occasional donations for exclusive tuition cram sessions don’t hide the fact that economically we still can’t stand on our own two feet without massive help from the government.


Overpowered by insecurity

After some years of honest affirmative action in the early days, the insecurity that envelopes much of the Malay psyche has overpowered everything.

Instead of preparing us for the increasingly competitive world, the focus instead became one of shielding us from competition. It’s like saying the Olympics are too tough – let’s do Malay-only races, and also ban the Olympics!

Lots of things, from schools to the public service, became Malay-only, either in name or in fact. Some are proudly trumpeted, such as the Malays-only universities that shout Bumiputera or Islam as a cover, while others are more indirect, such as, well, almost everything else in the public sphere.

I went to such a school decades ago, one meant for the “cream” from Malay-medium primary schools. It was literally a lottery win for many of us, if you’ll pardon the non-halal reference, and I’m forever grateful and indebted to the public money that allowed me to begin my journey out of poverty.

But just because you’re top of the class in Standard 6 doesn’t mean you’ll still be top in Form 3 (for the LCE or Lower Certificate of Education exams), with some not even able to pass the next barrier, the MCE or Malaysian Certificate of Education exams at Form 5.


A failure of education

What happened to the “elites”? True, the school has produced some well known alumni, though almost all are in politics, and as far as I know none are professors at Harvard or running large foreign multinationals or winning global awards for literature or the arts. We’ll take whatever we can get, but being big in politics is not exactly a measure of excellence.

If I were to run such schools, I’d do a few things differently. First, every year the bottom 15% would leave and go back to their kampung, and a new set of students who might perhaps be late bloomers would replace them. No “wins”, such as getting into that school, are permanent, and neither should “losses” be too.

Truth be told, had this been the case, there would have been a few years when I’d be packing my bags and “balik kampung” myself. But had that been so, then so be it. I’d have learnt some powerful lessons, and who knows, in a few years I could’ve qualified to attend the school again.

Second I’d introduce some non-Malays into the school to balance the overwhelming Malay majority which has caused the school to revert to being a Malay kampung in culture and behaviour. There isn’t much that a kampung mindset and culture can teach us when preparing young minds for the modern world. If I’d wanted to retain a kampung mentality, I’d have stayed back in the kampung.

Our public education system is failing us, unless we only care about producing students to be government servants or employed by GLCs or the religious authorities, where you won’t be concerned with much of life’s realities – competition, living in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society, having to justify your economic existence (i.e. your job) day in day out.


Syiok sendiri syndrome

Instead of producing students who’re book-smart but also able to handle real life’s challenges and competition and co-exist with people different from us, we’re doing everything possible to abolish competition by creating our own alternate world where we call the shots, ignore any inconvenient facts, and declare victory whenever we feel like it.

A world where, to use familiar Malay terms, we’re “syiok sendiri” and “khayal” all the time.

It’s not a world we should be living in. That world is for people who take hallucinogenic, addictive drugs. But given that rhetoric about race and religion are also addictive drugs, many of us are actually addicts even if we didn’t realise it.

Anyway, back to my old school. As an alumnus I could’ve had my son attend this male-only boarding school. But I chose not to go for that. I’d rather my children grow up in the real world, with all its pains and fears and struggles, but also with all its charms and beauty and possibilities.

It’s ridiculous, and dangerous, and delusional to believe you can achieve excellence by running away from competition.

Zahidi claims many Umno leaders will follow him to join PKR

MM Online:

Zahidi claims many Umno leaders will follow him to join PKR

Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin said he has decided to submit his membership form to PKR on February 4, and claims many Umno leaders, including those highly ranked at the national level, had voiced their intention to join him.— File picture by Hari Anggara

Monday, 30 Jan 2023 11:36 AM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin reportedly revealed that Umno leaders will be following him in leaving the party en masse to join PKR.

According to Malay daily Sinar Harian, the former deputy minister of communications and multimedia said he has decided to submit his membership form to PKR on February 4, and claims many Umno leaders, including those highly ranked at the national level, had voiced their intention to join him.


This morning, Bernama reported Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as saying that his coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) will take the views of component party leaders into consideration before deciding to accept expelled Umno leaders.

This was to preserve cooperation within the current unity government, he told reporters after officiating at the opening of the Tambun parliamentary service centre.


He said at the moment none of the sacked Umno leaders had expressed any desire to join PH.


Also earlier today, former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin who was among those sacked from the party, said that he will not be appealing the decision.

Khairy said he had discussed the matter with former supreme council member Tan Sri Noh Omar and former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan who were also part of those purged from the party.

“No, I won’t be appealing. I discussed the matter with Noh and Shahril. And what’s the point of appealing? They are intent on throwing us out or keeping us in the sin bin”, he said in an interview with BFM radio this morning.

Last Friday, Umno had carried out a purge of the party, expelling a total of 44 members for several offences including contesting as independent candidates and helping opposition candidates in the polls.

Additionally, former vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and former information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan were suspended for six years, along with Datuk Maulizan Bujang and Datuk Seri Mohd Salim Sharif.

***

kt comments:

I sincerely hope PKR won't be like Atuk-Bersatu who embraced UMNO frogs and cast-offs. These people are rotten and will poison your party.

Sulu heirs ‘deceitful’, says Azalina on why attachment order set aside

Sulu heirs ‘deceitful’, says Azalina on why attachment order set aside

Azalina Othman Said says Putrajaya will continue in its effort to protect and preserve Malaysia’s interests and sovereignty.


PETALING JAYA: The district court of Luxembourg had decided to set aside an attachment order requested by heirs of the late sultan of Sulu due to their conduct, says law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said.

In a statement, Azalina said the court found that the heirs had opted not to reveal their real addresses, adding that this omission was “significant” to the court.


“(The court) found that the claimants’ conduct impeded the service of documents and the enforcement of the potential judgment to be rendered against them.

“According to the court, the claimants’ conduct constituted a ‘manifestly illicit hardship’ that is detrimental to Malaysia,” she said.




Azalina hit out at the claimants, saying it was typical of their “deceitful and fraudulent” conduct in making their claim against Malaysia.

She reiterated that Putrajaya will continue in its effort to protect and preserve Malaysia’s interests and sovereignty while taking necessary action to “put an end to the claimants’ fictitious claim”.

The district court of Luxembourg set aside the attachment order last Tuesday, after it was given on July 11, 2022.

Two Luxembourg-based subsidiaries of Petronas were seized by court bailiffs in July 2022 as part of the heirs’ effort to claim the award, after the attachment order was given.


Malaysia immediately applied to the district court of Luxembourg to set aside the attachment order as part of interim relief. The hearing took place on Dec 5.

In February 2022, a French arbitration court instructed Putrajaya to pay US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) to the descendants of the last sultan of Sulu.

The arbitrator, Gonzalo Stampa, ruled that Malaysia had violated the 1878 agreements between the old Sulu kingdom in the Philippines and a representative of the British North Borneo Company that used to administer what is now Sabah.

The arbitration process originated in Spain but was moved to Paris.

Under the 1878 agreements, then sultan of Sulu, Sultan Jamal Al Alam, ceded sovereignty over large parts of Sabah to Baron de Overbeck, the then maharaja of Sabah, and British North Borneo Company’s Alfred Dent, who agreed that they and their future heirs were to pay the heirs of the sultan 5,000 Mexican dollars annually.

In 1936, the last formally recognised sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram II, died without heirs. Payments temporarily ceased until North Borneo High Court Chief Justice Charles F Macaskie named nine court-appointed heirs in 1939.

Although Malaysia took over these payments when it became the successor of the agreement following Sabah’s independence and the formation of Malaysia in 1963, these payments – equivalent to RM5,300 a year – ceased in 2013 after an incursion by armed men into Lahad Datu, along the eastern coast of Sabah.

Govt to return alleged 1MDB funds of RM21.7mil to 11 appellants

Govt to return alleged 1MDB funds of RM21.7mil to 11 appellants

MACC took out legal action in June 2021 to recover funds allegedly transferred from Najib Razak’s bank accounts. (AP pic)


PUTRAJAYA: The government will return alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM21.7 million forfeited from 11 individuals, business entities and political parties.

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Kamal Baharin Omar told a three-member Court of Appeal bench today that the prosecution team had been instructed to withdraw its appeals in the matter.


“A notice of discontinuance was filed last Friday,” he told the bench chaired by Justice Kamaludin Said.

The DPP said the forfeited sums will also be returned to the 11 respondents.

Kamaludin, who sat with Justices Abu Bakar Jais and Supang Lian, then struck out the appeals.

The 11 respondents, and they amounts they received some 10 years ago, were: Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd (RM10,747,042.77), Mediaedge CIA Sdn Bhd (RM4,631,602), AGA Touch Sdn Bhd (RM3 million), Johor Barisan Nasional Johor (RM957,395.65), Pekan Umno division (RM700,000), Johor Umno (RM677,872.55), Jakel Trading (RM628,314), Sarawak United People’s Party (RM188,132.26), Yayasan PBAKM (RM100,000), Kasitah Gaddam (RM100,000) and Sim Sai Hoon (RM41,261.64).

Four separate High Courts in Kuala Lumpur had in 2021 allowed the government to forfeit the money from the 11 respondents.

Apart from that, the High Courts had also dismissed the government’s application to seize another RM2.1 million from two political parties, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (RM1 million), Pahang MCA (RM835,258.19), and seven individuals (totalling RM265,146.16).


Those cases are also pending in the Court of Appeal.

Kamaludin said the prosecution must also act consistently in the three appeals.

In reply, Kamal Baharin said the lawyers in the three cases were at liberty to make representations to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

Pahang MCA’s lawyer Ben Chan said he hoped the AGC will consider his client’s representations favourably.

“We hope the AGC will accept our representations,” he told FMT after the proceedings.

During case management later, the three were allowed until Feb 10 to file their respective representations.

The bench is scheduled to hear their cases on March 28.

In June 2019, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) filed civil forfeiture applications against 41 individuals and entities to recover RM270 million allegedly transferred from Najib Razak’s bank accounts.

The 14 appeals today were from among those 41 cases.

The forfeiture applications were filed under Section 56 of Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Act 613), commonly known as “Amla”.

The biggest recipients were Umno divisions and branches, getting a total of RM212 million.

Some of the recipients have since returned the money to MACC.

Najib is facing 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited in his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

Navy to get 5 LCS units, not 6

Navy to get 5 LCS units, not 6

On Jan 5, defence minister Mohamad Hasan said the unity government will go ahead with the RM9 billion LCS project.


PETALING JAYA: The navy is set to receive five units of littoral combat ships (LCS) in the troubled RM9 billion project instead of six, says the new navy chief, Abdul Rahman Ayob.

He said this reduction was agreed upon after the government discussed proceeding with the controversial project, Bernama reported.


On Jan 5, defence minister Mohamad Hasan said the unity government will go ahead with the LCS project as part of strengthening the country and navy’s defences.

The LCS project, said to be the largest defence procurement in Malaysia’s history, came under much scrutiny last year after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed that not a single ship had been completed although Putrajaya had already paid out RM6.08 billion on the project.

The PAC said the navy should have received five of the ships by August last year.

The project had been awarded to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) through direct negotiations.

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was defence minister in 2011, was among top officials summoned by the PAC during its probe.

The others summoned included former defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein, defence ministry secretary-general Muez Abd Aziz, former auditor-general Ambrin Buang, former navy chief Reza Sany, and the CEO and chief operating officer of BNS.


Last March, the Ismail Sabri Yaakob-led administration decided to proceed with the project, before the release of the PAC report in August.

Hishammuddin, who was defence minister then, had said the first LCS was expected to be completed this year.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which investigated the project, had recommended that several individuals be charged.

Construction site issued stop work order after Ampang LRT disruption

Construction site issued stop work order after Ampang LRT disruption

On Jan 27, the Ampang LRT line experienced delays when it was found that one of its pillars had been damaged due to construction works adjacent to the area. (Bernama pic)


KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has issued a stop work order for a construction site in Jalan Raja Laut here with immediate effect following service disruptions on the Ampang LRT line on Jan 27.

KL mayor Mahadi Che Ngah said the stop work order was issued to “Persekutuan Seruan Islam (Jam’iyah) Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan”, the owners of the proposed project which involved the construction of the 44-storey Menara SOHO building comprising 326 units with a basement on Lot PT 163.


He said the decision followed a meeting with representatives of the land public transport agency (Apad), Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, and several DBKL departments last Saturday.

“This directive is a safety measure to ensure that Apad and its related agencies can investigate and determine the cause of the LRT service disruption,” he said in a statement.

He said the project is still at a preliminary stage, involving earthworks outside of zone 1 and zone 2 (protection zone).

“DBKL will also seek the involvement of Apad and Prasarana to obtain their views when there is a development application in or near the railway protection zone,” he added.

On Jan 27, the Ampang LRT line experienced delays due to a kinked track alignment near the Bandaraya LRT station.

In a statement, Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd said preliminary checks found that this was caused by damage to the flyover structure carrying the rail tracks due to construction works adjacent to the area.

Nurul Izzah not qualified to advise on economics, finance, says think tank

Nurul Izzah not qualified to advise on economics, finance, says think tank

Anwar Ibrahim has defended Nurul Izzah Anwar’s appointment as his senior economics and finance adviser, saying it was made based on her qualifications.


PETALING JAYA: A think tank has joined the chorus of criticisms against Nurul Izzah Anwar’s appointment as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s senior economics and finance adviser, questioning her credentials to hold such a position.

In a statement, the Center for Market Education (CME) pointed out that Nurul Izzah, a PKR vice-president, may be qualified in the field of engineering and international relations, but it did not matter.


“She does not possess any specific background in economics or finance. While this is not necessary for primary political roles such as ministers or deputy ministers, it should be mandatory for advisers and counsellors,” CME CEO Carmelo Ferlito said.

Yesterday, Nurul Izzah explained that she would not be paid in her role as senior economics and finance adviser to the prime minister, but Ferlito said that was not the issue.

“The actual cost of politics paid by the rakyat is not the cost of salaries, but the consequences of bad policies.

“Bad policies, although guided by good intentions, can ruin a nation. We have seen this with price ceilings or the ban on foreign workers,” he said.

Ferlito warned that Malaysia did not have much time left to resolve structural issues in the economy in view of the challenges that lie ahead for the country.

Yesterday, Anwar defended Nurul Izzah’s appointment as his senior economics and finance adviser, saying it was made based on her qualifications.


Anwar said Nurul Izzah had a degree in engineering and another degree in public and social policy from Johns Hopkins University in the US.

Analysts have since condemned the move, saying the former Permatang Pauh MP’s appointment reeked of nepotism and would attract unwarranted attention to the unity government when it was still trying to find its footing.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said Anwar was doing a disservice to his own call for good governance, which prohibits the practice of nepotism, among other things.

I won’t appeal against dismissal from Umno, says KJ

I won’t appeal against dismissal from Umno, says KJ

Khairy Jamaluddin says he bears no grudges against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and still considers him a friend.


PETALING JAYA: Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin says he will not appeal against his dismissal from the party.

Speaking on BFM’s the Breakfast Grille, he said there was no point in appealing the Umno Supreme Council’s decision to expel him when the same people who wanted him out are still with the party.

“Appealing means appealing against the same entity that has unilaterally and summarily expelled me from the party,” he added.

The former Rembau MP added, however, that he bears no grudges against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and still considers him a friend.

Khairy was sacked on Friday for breaching party discipline during the 15th general election (GE15).

He said that former Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar, who was also sacked from the party, and former information chief Shahril Hamdan, who was suspended for six years, agreed with him that there was no point in making an appeal when those in the party “are intent on throwing us out or keeping us in the sin bin”.

Khairy then reiterated his justification for the top two posts in the party to be contested in the upcoming Umno elections.

“I only wanted an open contest for the top (two) positions because Zahid had presided over the most disastrous electoral performance by Umno in GE15,” he said, referring to the 26 seats that the party won, marking its lowest ever representation in the Dewan Rakyat.

In the recent general assembly, Umno adopted a no-contest motion for the top two posts, thus ensuring that Zahid and his deputy, Mohamad Hasan will return unopposed at the party polls, which has been scheduled for March 18.

On his next move or the prospect of joining another party, Khairy said he would take his time to contemplate his future.

He said he had received many offers and invitations and that he would listen to each one.

“I still want to be involved in politics. If and when I come back to frontline politics, that’s something I want to take my time with,” he said.

Najib's son to contest Umno Youth vice-chief post

Najib's son to contest Umno Youth vice-chief post


Jailed former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's son Nazifuddin has announced that he wants to run for the Umno Youth vice-chief position in the party election next month.

Nazifuddin said he wants to bring back youth support for Umno and will make it his priority if given the chance.

"With the sincerest heart, I offer myself to fill the position of Umno Youth vice-chief.

"I realise that the biggest challenge is to bring back the support of young people to Umno. And thus, I am ready to do this," Nazifuddin (above) said on Facebook yesterday.

The Langkawi Umno division member hoped that he can contribute to the party and also to Malaysians through the role.

‘Teamwork very much needed’

"Teamwork, unity and cooperation in every effort are very much needed.

"As a party member, of course, this would be the main element which has been nurtured in me.

"I want to give back to this party, which has helped many. Not only the Malays but also all Malaysians," Nazifuddin added.

Umno will begin its party election on Feb 1, with its branches nationwide holding meetings to elect their office bearers for another term.

“Anwar mustn’t portray himself to be more Islamic than PAS to win Malay votes”

“Anwar mustn’t portray himself to be more Islamic than PAS to win Malay votes”





PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim must not be over-zealous in his quest to win over the support of Muslim Malays by showing that he is more “Islamic” than PAS.


Such is the advice rendered by local historian Ranjit Singh Malhi who was “totally shocked and disappointed” with the Tambun MP’s unwarranted knee-jerk reaction to the recent burning of the holy Quran in Sweden by pledging to “immediately distribute one million copies of the Holy Quran globally”.

“You chose to react to the foolish action of someone overseas at the expense of Malaysian taxpayers,” criticised the independent historian who has written 19 books on Malaysian, Asian and world history in a recent Facebook post.

Ranjit Singh Malhi

“Additionally, you are trying – albeit unintelligently – to win over the support of Muslim Malays by showing that you are more ‘Islamic’ than PAS.”



Ranjit also took a swipe at Anwar for keeping silent when a school in Johor recently practised ethnic discrimination towards its SPM students based upon media reports.

“But yet, you preach a ‘Malaysia for Malaysians’,” contended the historian who was appointed to the prestigious advisory committee of UNESCO’s Regional Centre of Quality and Excellence in Education (RCQE) in July last year.

“Please focus on making Malaysia great again by enhancing the quality of our education system, practising meritocracy, and truly demonstrating that all Malaysian children will be treated equitably, just as you preached before being elected as our 10th PM.”

Ranjit was referring to the outrage of parents over the recent discriminatory staging of a ‘sponsored’ two-day/one-night SPM workshop in a hotel limited to Muslim pupils in the guise it involved only the agama subject (Pendidikan Islam) at the SMK Infant Jesus Convent Johor Bahru.

Not only that transparency was absent, the event which happened under the nose of the school’s principal “turned out to be a comprehensive workshop covering other subjects such as chemistry and additional mathematics, among others.

Condemning in the strongest terms the recent act of extremist right-wing Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan in burning the Quran, Anwar had said the move by Yayasan Restu to distribute copies of the Quran globally would be the most beneficial way to respond to the impudent and brazen act committed against the holy book.

‘I agree that the most beneficial way to respond to this insane and impudent act is to continue the efforts that have been started and to have the resolve to print and distribute one million copies of the Quran around the world in the shortest time possible,” he told reporters after attending the Restu Global Quranic Arts Festival yesterday (Jan 28).

“(It will be) followed up with several programmes towards the appreciation and understanding of the Quran with a clear message.” – Jan 29, 2023

“Instead of attempts to take Selangor, fix Kelantan” Netizens told PAS

“Instead of attempts to take Selangor, fix Kelantan” Netizens told PAS





NETIZENS are advising the PAS to fix Kelantan and make it into a new Selangor instead of focusing their efforts on “overthrowing” the current ruling class in the richest state in Malaysia.

They call the efforts by the PAS to win in Selangor an attempt to “Kelantanise” the state, which is spoiling it.

PAS and Perikatan Nasional (PN) have started an offensive in Selangor in an attempt to take the state in the next state elections, which are slated to take place by June this year.


The PAS strategy includes ongoing criticism of the Selangor government, a focus on what they perceive to be problems in the state, and mobilising their troops online to disseminate the apparent “breakdowns” on social media.

It is also claimed that the strategy includes the party’s choice to talk with Pakatan Harapan (PH) about an appropriate time for the concurrent dissolution of the state assembly in the six states that did not have their elections on Nov 19, 2022.

Perhaps the intention is to persuade the PH states to hold elections earlier, possibly to ride on the ‘feel good’ factor after the PN and PAS’s outstanding achievement in the 15th General Election (GE15).

Nevertheless, a Twitter user @Edie5792922 :


Drpada fikir nak ‘diKelantankan’ Sgor baik fikir bagaimana nak ‘Selangorkan’ Kelantan.

Kurangkan penghijrahan rakyat Kelantan ke luar.

— Senatorrr Antonio Samad (@Edie57929225) January 28, 2023

(Instead of thinking about wanting to be “Kelantanised” Selangor should think about how to “Selangorised” Kelantan. Reduce the migration of Kelantan people abroad.)

At the time of this writing, the tweet has more than 21,000 views, and many other users have replied to the tweet to support the view.

In fact, the PH supporters turned their anti-opposition campaigns into criticism of the PAS’s rule over the state of Kelantan.

User @ih_tr said:


Idea yg sangat baik. Dan saya tak rasa ada mana2 pemimpin PAS yg pernah terfikir idea sebagus ni. Waima teknokrat mereka sekalipun. Saya bg 10 utk idea ni.

— #IniKaliLah (@ih_tr) January 28, 2023


(Very good idea. And I don’t think any of the PAS leaders have ever thought of such a good idea. Even their technocrats did not think of that. I give 10 stars for this idea.)

Being more cynical, one user @hrashidah3 added:


Terlalu susah hendak selangorkan kelantan sebab memerlukan FDI yang tinggi dan modal untuk bina infrastructure, lebih baik modal itu guna beli mercedes. Hendak supply air bersih pada kelantanese pun maybe 50 tahun lagi baru selesai.

— Hanis (@hrashidah3) January 29, 2023


(It is too hard to “Selangorised” Kelantan because it requires high FDI and capital to build infrastructure, it is better to use that capital to buy Mercedes. If we want to supply clean water to Kelantanese, maybe it will take another 50 years to complete.)

There were no comments made to defend the PAS rule over the state of Kelantan.

Another user @PemendamRasa8 said:


Setuju. Dari diorang sibuk nak rampas negeri yang dah kaya dan maju. Baik majukan dulu negeri kelantan tu. Kalau rajin, InsyaAllah banyaklah duit masuk. Yang penting kebajikan rakyat terjaga. Jangan sibuk bolot kekayaan tapi rakyat menderita.

— Pemend m R s (@PemendamRasa8) January 28, 2023


(Agreed. Instead of wanting to seize the state (Selangor) that is already rich and developed. It’s good to develop the state of Kelantan first. If you are diligent, God willing, you will make a lot of money. The important thing is that the welfare of the people is preserved. Don’t be busy getting rich but the people are suffering.) — Jan 29, 2023

“Stop berating Najib, TunM; Muhyiddin & you are 2 biggest robbers in M’sian history”

“Stop berating Najib, TunM; Muhyiddin & you are 2 biggest robbers in M’sian history”





UMNO information chief Datuk Isham Jalil has taken a potshot at two-time premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for incessantly chastising incarcerated former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.


Isham who assumed his new role in June last year went on to suggest that “the ones who should and haven’t gone to jail yet are Dr Mahathir and (Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin)”.

“He (Najib) is still going up and down the court to clear his name from Dr Mahathir’s accusations,” chided Isham in a recent Facebook post in response to Dr Mahathir’s claim that “Najib’s biggest victory is the downfall of the Malay moral”.


“Because Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin are most likely two biggest penyakau (scammers) in the Malaysian history. Even though Tun said he was supposedly clean, no one believed him. Muhyiddin is the same.”

For context, Isham had previously served at Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) under Najib where he was the special officer to the PM and former director at the Economic Planning Unit.

Prior to that, he worked for Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) for nine years.

Isham went on to accuse Dr Mahathir as the person responsible “in teaching people how to play money politics all this time till it became a systemic disease in this country”.

“Once upon a time, Tun said that Muhyiddin is the richest politician in Malaysia ast he was massively involved in corruption. The fact is that both Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin are the same.”

He also said if Malaysia wants to move forward, the country must get rid of money politics, which he said is the result of year’s of Dr Mahathir’s scamming in the country’s politics.

He advised Mahathir to behave like an elderly person by cleaning all hatred from his heart to regain the respect of the population. He also warned that Mahathir risk seeing his soul and heart blacked by such hatred for others.

“Dr Mahathir said that he is old, so get rid of all the hatred in your heart so that Dr Mahathir will be respected again like when he first entered politics.

“If not, that hatred will blacken Dr Mahathir’s heart and soul until the end of his life. If this is the end, then this ending is a bad ending. History will see Dr Mahathir as a hater with a rotten heart,” he advised.

He also said that there is still time for Dr Mahathir to change by throwing away the murky sentiments and enlighten his heart with prayers.

Not only did Dr Mahathir pick battles with Najib. Additionally, he has criticised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and all elected Members of Parliament, claiming that Anwar does not have the ability to govern the nation and that vote-buying was the sole reason for the MPs election. — Jan 29, 2023

The 1MDB 'Land Grab' Model

OutSyed The Box

Saturday, January 28, 2023


The 1MDB 'Land Grab' Model


The 1MDB land grab model (curi tanah model really) was very simple. They made the federal government "sell" government land to their crony company for a below market price (RMxx). Crony company then re-sold the undervalued land to third parties at full market valuation (RMyy).

Crony company made buta money RMyy - RMxx = Untung Besar. A very simple land grab model.

Fast forward to 21st century.

There is plenty of land that was transferred from the States to the Federal government (going back to the 1980s, and at 1980s valuations). Plenty of this land has remained undeveloped. Today 40 years later the value of those lands must have multiplied 10 times or more. (For comparison in the early 1980s a double storey terrace house in Bangsar Baru was valued at around RM200,000. Today the same house is worth RM2.5 million). So there is plenty of undervalued land (or actually land with unrealised capital gains) lying around.

The States (or some of them) are asking for such lands to be handed back to them - at the same 1980s valuations. Wow!! Lands with potential capital gains of multiple times what they were in the 1980s.





Wouldnt that be a dainty dish to be set before an MB or CM?

But what shall be the quid pro quo?

What shall be the consideration?

You scratch my back, I will scratch your back.

Satu untuk kau, . . .


And you thought egg shortages and chicken prices were the main items on the menu? There are much larger fish to fry.


By Syed Akbar Ali at January 28, 2023

Nurul Izzah is PM’s senior adviser on economics, finance

Nurul Izzah is PM’s senior adviser on economics, finance

Nurul Izzah Anwar hopes that her past experience as an MP as well as her service on the Public Accounts Committee will help her.


PETALING JAYA: PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar has revealed that she has been appointed as a senior adviser to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on economics and finance.

The former Permatang Pauh MP told The Star in an interview that her appointment took effect on Jan 3.


The prime minister’s daughter hoped that her past experience as an MP, where she worked on poverty and technical and vocational education (TVET) issues, as well as her service on the Public Accounts Committee would serve her well.

“These can be leveraged in my engagement with experts in navigating economic governance, accountability and evidence-based policies,” she told the daily.

Nurul Izzah also said that one of her goals is to channel and leverage the talents of Malaysia’s best and brightest, both within and outside the government, and to add value to the ongoing efforts to improve the rakyat’s economic situation.

“My new roles will allow me to take on new responsibilities that are no doubt challenging, given the economic headwinds we are facing,” she said.

“However, I am confident of being able to contribute to the evolution of a Malaysia that not only seeks growth for growth’s sake but one that elevates all strata of society and provides equity in opportunities.”

Nurul Izzah previously served as the MP for Lembah Pantai for two terms from 2008 and later in Permatang Pauh, but she lost in the last general election (GE15).

Stop being a passenger just for power, Ku Li tells Umno

Stop being a passenger just for power, Ku Li tells Umno

Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s disciplinary action against certain members was reasonable as it was his responsibility to ensure the party was run well.


PETALING JAYA: Umno must reform itself and not be seen as a passenger just to obtain a bit of influence and power, says party veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

He said Umno had to change its image because many recent incidents in the party have shown that all is not well with the party in the eyes of the public.


“We have to rise again as a strong party and not piggyback on others just to get some power.

“Our party represents the majority of Malaysians as a Malay-based party.

“So, we should not just hope to remain a passenger (in the ruling coalition) and hope for a few positions that do not mean anything to us,” Berita Harian reported him as saying after chairing the Gua Musang Umno committee meeting.

Despite the current problems Umno is facing following its heavy defeat in the 15th general election (GE15), the former Gua Musang MP was confident the party would reform itself and rise again.

Speaking on the suspension and sacking of senior Umno leaders, Razaleigh, who is also known as Ku Li, felt it was normal for the party’s disciplinary committee to take action against members after giving it careful consideration.

He said disciplinary action against leaders and members for breaching party rules happened in all political parties.


“I believe this has been examined carefully by the disciplinary committee.

“Anyone who does not follow the set parameters of the party will be subject to disciplinary action to ensure the smooth running of the party.”

He said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s action was reasonable as it was his responsibility as the leader to ensure the party was run well and to strengthen it.

On Friday, former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and former Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar were sacked for breaching party discipline during GE15.

The party also suspended its former vice-president and Sembrong MP Hishammuddin Hussein, former information chief Shahril Hamdan, Tebrau Umno division leader Maulizan Bujang and former Jempol MP Salim Sharif for six years.

Five Umno members from Pasir Gudang, nine from Putrajaya, two from Tanjong Karang and 26 from Pahang were also sacked.

Bandar Kuching MP: Wouldn’t RM30m for ‘tallest flagpole’ project in Petra Jaya be better spent on public needs?

MM Online:

Bandar Kuching MP: Wouldn’t RM30m for ‘tallest flagpole’ project in Petra Jaya be better spent on public needs?

Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has called for the Sarawak government to ensure transparency in relation to the parties who are involved with erecting the “country’s highest flagpole” in Petra Jaya. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

Sunday, 29 Jan 2023 11:50 AM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has called for the Sarawak government to ensure transparency in relation to the parties who are involved with erecting the “country’s highest flagpole” in Petra Jaya.

He said since there is a claim that it is a project funded by the private sector as a CSR (corporate social responsibility) contribution, it opens more questions than answers.


“They cannot just push the matter to CSR and wash their hands of the matter.

“It is thus imperative that the government is transparent and continues to be held accountable on this matter to ensure it is not merely an after-thought due to the backlash, and more importantly to ensure that there are no public funds used for this project nor are there conflict of interest in the matter,” said Dr Yii in a statement today.


He added that this should involve not just revealing the identity of the private entity, but also its past, present and even possible future dealings with the Sarawak government to ensure there is no conflict of interest or that such an endeavour is not used as a form of inducement for further or future dealings.


“It also opens up the question on who initiated the idea of such a project?

“If really it was initiated by the private entity, then why did the Sarawak government approve such a project when there are many other more important priorities which RM30 million could go a long way to address and directly benefit general Sarawakians?

“Knowing the real needs of Sarawakians, the government could have easily advised the ‘generous’ company to better use such funds to invest in public infrastructure, or even in our health or education, or to feed our poor in the community,” he said.

In his statement, the DAP Youth chief reiterated that it is clearly a case of misplaced priority and a misplaced “obsession of optics over substance”.

It was previously reported that the flagpole is a project held in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Sarawak as a party to the formation of Malaysia.

The Sarawak government has also since clarified that this project has no relation to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and will become one of Kuching’s tourist attractions.

Anwar crooned “Naan Aaniryrtal” to supporters in Tambun

MM Online:

PM Anwar reminds leaders unnecessary drama burdens the people

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim attends the Tambun parliamentary’s 2023 Ponggal celebration, at the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Klebang, Chemor, Ipoh January 29, 2023. — Bernama pic

Sunday, 29 Jan 2023 2:58 PM MYT


IPOH, Jan 29 — Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, today reminded leaders not to sideline or burden the people after gaining power.


He said the people should enjoy the blessings of this country, and not get stuck in the drama of fights between leaders, including politicians.

“The important thing is that our country has to be saved; when I say Malaysia has to be saved (this is for the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Dayaks and Kadazans) not for the upper class.


“This country is rich; there are a lot of resources, but why do the rich (stay) rich and there are many poor people, because the available money, such as contracts and projects, (have) too many leakages,” he said when attending the Tambun parliamentary’s 2023 Ponggal celebration, at the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Klebang, Chemor, today.


Anwar, who is also the Member of Parliament for Tambun, also had time to leave a message while singing some lyrics of a song titled “Naan Aaniryrtal” by M. G. Ramachandran, about power and the people. — Bernama

Umno purge: 'Those crying foul did nothing when I was sacked'

Umno purge: 'Those crying foul did nothing when I was sacked'


Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has reflected on his departure from Umno in 2008 while taking a swipe at several individuals who were recently sacked or suspended by the party’s supreme council.

Taking to Twitter, Zaid (above) said - like those who were purged from the party on Friday - he was also sacked from Umno without going through due process.

“When I was sacked from Umno years ago for being too liberal, there was no show cause, no warning, and no basis.

“Yet, the guys who are now complaining did nothing,” said Zaid, who rejoined Umno last year after stints in multiple parties.

He first joined Umno in 2000 and won the Kota Bahru parliamentary seat in 2004. He was not chosen as a candidate for the following general election in 2008.

Former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, as then Umno president, sacked Zaid in December 2008 for attending opposition events.

Zaid reportedly attended the PKR congress held in November 2008 before he joined the party and made a failed attempt to run as deputy president two years later.

He quit PKR in 2010 and then formed his own party, which failed to take off. Following that, he joined DAP from 2017 to 2020.

Without naming names, he also tweeted, “You are never far from injustice if you decide to pick and choose when it is applicable.”

‘Cleaning up’ Umno

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi previously said the party will undergo a clean-up operation and the party’s supreme council at its meeting on Friday subsequently decided to sack former Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin and former Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar for breaching party discipline during the 15th general election.

The party also suspended its former vice-president and Sembrong MP Hishammuddin Hussein, former information chief Shahril Hamdan, Tebrau Umno division leader Maulizan Bujang, and former Jempol MP Salim Sharif for six years.

Five Umno members from Pasir Gudang, nine from Putrajaya, two from Tanjong Karang, and 26 from Pahang were also sacked.

Yesterday, Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he objected to the purge as he claimed the process was flawed without any recommendation from the party’s disciplinary committee to Zahid for such actions to be taken.

Former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram dies, aged 79

Former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram dies, aged 79

Gopal Sri Ram was reported to have been warded in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago.


PETALING JAYA: Former Federal Court judge and senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram has passed away at the age of 79.

His passing was confirmed by a source to FMT.


He was reported to have been warded in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago.

He was the lead prosecutor in the 1MDB corruption trial involving former prime minister Najib Razak.

He was also the lead prosecutor for the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project corruption case involving Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.

MORE TO COME