The Aneh-ness of 42 useless people

13 saje pun bolih hentam 42 kaukau - wah aneh betul.

Yang kena wallop pun diam diam kuai kuai, lebih aneh lah, wakakaka

juga diam diam secara kuai kaui terhadap hal KHAT dan Malay Dignity Congress

Atuk: Dei, Cinapek, ta'mahu balik Tionghwa kah? Terlalu syiok di Malaya?

Tim kai ah, Ah Sok?

Tiu KHAT, hei moe GULI keh

wakakaka

aiyoh Apek Penjaja Mee Yok, 'nak derma wang untungan untuk TAR-UC kah?

Kenapa pula?

Guanee ta'mahu memperuntukkan wang bagi TAR lagi lah

aiseh, yang biasanya pandai berpidato sekarang diam diam saje dengan hal hal atas, wakakaka, Pak Bisu

Mahathir ignored Thomas' advice on Zakir Naik

FMT:

Dr M told me to avoid open court proceedings in Naik’s case, says Thomas

PETALING JAYA: Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas said Dr Mahathir Mohamad informed him to avoid any open court proceedings in attempts to extradite controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik.

The lawyer said he met the then prime minister to brief him on the Naik issue sometime in 2018.

Prior to his meeting with Mahathir, the Indian high commissioner met Thomas to discuss Naik and they wanted Malaysia to “expel him from our shores”.

“He (high commissioner Shri Mridul Kumar) was frank. The India-Malaysia relations would not be on an even keel unless the ZN issue was resolved to India’s satisfaction.

“He also agreed that instituting extradition proceedings against Naik in our courts would exacerbate tension.

“I then briefed Tun (Mahathir) on the matter and he agreed any form of court action must be avoided at all cost because that was what exactly Naik would prefer; a platform for him to spew his poison,” Thomas wrote in his memoir, “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, on sale now.

He [Thomas] also said he suggested for Naik to be expelled from Malaysia so that “it would be his responsibility to find a home other than India”.

However, he said Mahathir did not accept this solution and told him to leave the matter to him.

“Over time, when I brought up the Naik matter, his response was the same, and that no third country was willing to accept him,” he added.

Thomas said he also spoke to Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador over Naik and was told the police wanted to have Naik removed from Malaysia.

“Tan Sri Hamid said despite their best endeavours, no Muslim country in the world wanted Naik.

“I have mentioned several countries but IGP replied that each of the countries had declined to have Naik,” he said.

Thomas went on to say he was “puzzled” at why his advice over Naik was not accepted by Mahathir.

“At that time, Tun was concerned with adverse religious and racial sentiment concerning the expulsion of Naik (not extradition).

“Tun was constantly haranguing the Malays for being indolent,” Thomas said, adding that if Mahathir had taken his advice and acted on it, Pakatan Harapan would not have suffered politically for long.

Tommy Thomas revealed the Evil that was/is Mahathir

Malaysiakini:

Ex-AG: Dr M pushed himself as interim PM after Agong proposed Wan Azizah

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad intervened and insisted on being appointed interim prime minister when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah proposed his deputy Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to the position, revealed former attorney-general (AG) Tommy Thomas.

In another revelation in Thomas' new book 'My Story: Justice in the Wilderness' which was published yesterday, the former AG also pointed the blame for the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government firmly at Mahathir.

"Primary responsibility for the failure to manage the Harapan coalition rests with its leader, Prime Minister Mahathir. The buck stops at the desk of the Harapan leader.

"The goodwill of the electorate towards Tun (Mahathir) in the early months of Harapan's rule was magical," wrote Thomas.

However, he said that Mahathir's encouragement of Umno MPs to defect to Bersatu sent alarm bells ringing.

"Being kept out of the cabinet only increased (PKR president) Anwar Ibrahim's insecurity.

"What compounded his doubt of ever becoming prime minister was the apparent tilt, particularly in the first year of Harapan's administration, by the prime minister toward Anwar's arch-enemy in PKR, Azmin Ali," said Thomas.

Mahathir then set about trying to form a unity government that cut across party lines, in direct contravention of his initial promise to hand over the premiership to Anwar.

"The inaction and inertia that marked Harapan's response to racial and religious issues also resulted in another bizarre decision by the prime minister.

"Instead of defending his colleagues, with whom he had done battle prior to the 14th general election, Tun reached out to MPs from Umno, welcoming them with open arms.

"Two or three waves of Umno 'frogs', totalling about 18 defected to Bersatu," Thomas wrote.

When Azmin defected, and things came to a head during the "Sheraton Move" in February last year, Mahathir resigned as prime minister but promptly put forward his own name for the position, Thomas revealed.

"This is probably without precedent in modern politics. A prime minister who is comfortably in power, resigns of his own free will and volition.

"Consistent with that decision, he should leave the political scene after holding the most important position in the state," he said.

Thomas added that the potential appointment of Wan Azizah would have been the correct constitutional decision.

He also attacked Mahathir's decision to dissolve his cabinet upon his resignation, saying that when prime ministers resign, their cabinets usually stay.

"It must be kept in mind that Tun's resignation was personal, only as prime minister. The resignation was confined to that office, not the entire government."

Was MH370 shot down over Vietnam?

FMT:

A new conspiracy theory – was MH370 shot down over Vietnam?

The flaperon from the wing of the MH370 found on Reunion Island on display in Kuala Lumpur. Investigative journalist Florence de Changy claims the plane was shot down mistakenly or in a planned attack. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Almost seven years after Flight MH370 disappeared without a trace an explosive new theory has emerged — that it was blown out of the sky by a modern weapon.

In a startling interview with the Sun of London, investigative journalist Florence de Changy claims that the plane that disappeared on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, was shot down by a “fighter jet, missile or a new laser-guided weapon system being tested in the region at the time”.

She does not know if it was an accident or a planned attack.

Official accounts have concluded the Boeing-777 did a U-turn less than an hour into its planned flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, before plummeting somewhere into the southern Indian Ocean.

But Florence claims it stayed on course and was shot down over the Gulf of Thailand, off Vietnam.

The writer of the book — The Disappearing Act: The Impossible Case Of MH370 — centres her theory around what she claims to be conversations between the crew and others before the plane went missing.

Florence claims an intelligence source had told her that MH370 was approached by two US planes between 1.21am and 2.25am. She, however, does not explain what US planes were doing over Thai or Vietnamese airspace.

She said another aircraft nearby made radio contact with MH370 at 1.30am. There was no sign of panic from its crew.

When air traffic control in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, made contact, the plane’s crew announced it would be landing.

At 2.37am, they told Kuala Lumpur control: “The aircraft is landing at (unintelligible).” Two seconds later, Kuala Lumpur replied: “Say again. Say again for Malaysian 370.”

The Kuala Lumpur controller shared the aircraft’s location on the coast of Vietnam, close to Da Nang.

Florence writes in her book: “Unfortunately, the transcript of that conversation stops there.”

By 2.43am, the plane issued a Mayday message saying the cabin was disintegrating and they needed to make an emergency landing. That message, according to The Sun report, can still be heard on a Taiwanese website.

In the official investigations, however, there is no mention of such conversations. The last message from the cockpit to Malaysian air control was: “All right, good night.” It was made at 1.19am.

The plane went off the radar at 2.22am, over the Andaman Sea after making a U-turn. A plane fitting the description of MH370 was tracked flying over Butterworth before the plane disappeared.

Florence, however, believes that the official version of events was a “diversion operation” and “the biggest cover-up in recent times” to hide the fact that the plane was carrying illicit cargo not checked before being put on board.

She again raises the debunked theory of mangosteens on board the planes.

While officials have made it clear mangosteens do not cause explosions, Florence claims the 4.5 tonnes of fruit on board could have been something else.

She said: “The mangosteens made no sense. It was not the right season; it was a ridiculous amount. Then I found ‘fresh mangosteens’ on every flight of MH370 for the following month.

“The largest hub for illegal trade between Africa and China is Kuala Lumpur airport. So mangosteens could be the cover for all sorts of things, including rhino horns or elephant tusks.”

Even stranger, she says, was 2.5 tonnes of small electrical items from Motorola on the manifest — lithium-ion batteries, walkie-talkie accessories and chargers.

Florence said: “It was supposed to be small things, not very valuable, not very heavy. The official report said this cargo was not X-rayed.

“This is a very big problem. The head of one of the biggest cargo airlines in the world said never in his life had he accepted cargo on a plane that had not been X-rayed. The reason given was that it was too bulky. How can walkie-talkies and chargers be bulky?”

Florence’s theory is that the mysterious cargo might have been why the plane was forced to make an emergency landing. She described “a cargo confiscation operation” with an aim to “force the plane to make a landing, confiscate whatever that cargo was and let it fly again”.

She added: “If you are surrounded by military planes, you are to follow orders. But if it is just an order over the radio, it is legitimate to refuse. No one would notice a slight delay into Beijing. But the captain would have to follow orders to make an unscheduled landing.”

Florence claimed that “the plane continued to fly for another 80 minutes, until 2.40am. A new laser weapons system was being tested at the time. The shooting-down could have been a blunder or a last resort to stop the plane’s special cargo falling into the wrong hands.

“Only military or intelligence sources could provide this kind of detail. The strength of my book is in the timing and the cluster of clues that prove a disaster around 2.45am in the north of Vietnam,” she said

*********

kt notes:

The disappearance of MH370 is still a monumental mystery, more so in today's world where almost everything could be monitored, traced and pinpointed. But obviously MH370 remains an exception to the modern world's scientific-electronic surveillance.

Thus such a theory will surface from time to time, with its author claiming a startling major discovery. It may sound plausible with one exception, namely, the discoveries of bits and pieces of MH370's B777 washed ashore on Reunion Island in Western Indian Ocean, just east of Madagascar, Africa, and not on the coasts of Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam nor Indonesia.

If Florence de Changy's claims are sound, how then to explain the drifting of, say, the B777's broken-away flaperon from the South China Sea around the southern parts of Malaysia, up the Straits of Malacca (or alternative all the way down south to the sea between eastern Java and southern Sumatra) into the Eastern part of the Indian Ocean before it arrived at Reunion Island?

Sheesh, Atuk even had a better conspiracy theory which naturally involved sinister US involvement, wakakaka.

And Lim KHAT Sial showed his dark side, really very DARK side, when he posted (unnecessarily and nastily for a Malaysian politician) a newspaper article which would only traumatised the families and loved ones of the victims on MH370 - oh, for what purpose other than cynical exploitation of the emotions of the grieving, for only cheap political gains. T'was the beginning of the end of my respect and affection for him, even though at that time I struggled (most valiantly as a 'true believer') to defend Uncle's questionable action.

Sadly for us Malaysians, MH370 and its unfortunate occupants should and shall remain only in our memories.

Thayaparan: Why Ridhuan Tee Abdullah may be upset

Malaysiakini:

Why not just bar non-Malays from all top govt positions?

by S Thayaparan

Pasir Mas member of Parliament Ahmad Fadhil Shaari, who presented on the religion cluster, urged Putrajaya to ensure that all top government positions to be held only by the Malays. “This includes positions such as chief justice, attorney-general, chief secretary, inspector-general of police, chief of defence forces and other strategic positions such as the prime minister, deputy prime minister, chief ministers and menteri besar, finance minister, defence minister and education minister"

 

– at the Malay Dignity Congress, Kuala Lumpur, 2019

COMMENT | A sneak peek into the former attorney-general's soon to be released memoir reveals a tantalising tidbit of how the old maverick attempted to pressure him to resign because of “Malay opposition”. Of course, like everyone else, I wonder why the Pakatan Harapan political elite would nominate a non-Malay and then be “surprised” by the reaction from the “Malay community”.

You see, the old maverick is always cultivating such tensions. Tommy Thomas should resign because he was a target of Malay opposition. Lim Guan Eng wanted to resign to ease tensions. Meanwhile, Anwar Ibrahim is not a suitable candidate for the prime minister's post because the Malays reject him for being a liberal.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as reported in Berita Harian: “Anwar keluar-keluar (Umno), dia buat parti liberal. Dia nak dapat sokongan daripada DAP, maka dia ajak DAP masuk, PAS masuk. Falsafah dia liberal". The former Harapan prime minister added that this was why the majority of Malays rejected Anwar and why he (Mahathir) was needed to court the Malay vote.

Why don’t we just legislate this issue? Why doesn’t the Malay establishment work with their willing non-Malay counterparts and draft up legislation that non-Malays and Malay liberals cannot hold positions of power and influence in the government because this would cause distress to the Malay community?

Why not draw up legislation which would give legal validity to all those fears and grievances of the Malay community when it comes to non-Malay/liberal Malay leadership in this country? After all, non-Malay political operatives and Malay liberals are always warned not to spook the Malays or not trespass into territories that are supposedly exclusive “Malay”. For years we were fed the narrative that the government was supposed to be a bastion of Malay leadership and privilege.

Or how about this - why not all non-Malay and liberal Malay candidates sign pledges that even if elected to state or federal level they would not seek positions of power and influence. Maybe assistant roles would be all they would hope to achieve but the big positions would only be for the Malays of the "illiberal" persuasion.

This is in line with what PAS said during that wonderful Malay dignity congress that many Malay leaders attended. "Obviously we will take it up to the government for discussion as this reflects the feelings of the Malays, and they are worried about their future. We want to find ways so the Malays can play a role in restoring their honour".

After all, if every time a non-Malay (especially if they come from Harapan) needs to worry about restoring honour for the Malay community, maybe the federal government and state governments should just legislate and make it clear that non-Malays and liberal Malays can never be qualified to do so?

This way we can avoid all these needless controversies of how non-Malays in positions of power or influence are threatening the Malay community. This way we can make it clear that it is government policy not to have non-Malays in positions of power instead of this drama of the PM - whoever it is – asking folks to resign because of Malay opposition. The same goes for Malay liberals.

I have no idea if the Malay community really objects to the appointment of non-Malays to positions of power and influence. I do know that what they think of as "liberal" is complete horse manure. The only time we hear of Malay discontent is from political operatives who claim to represent Malay interests but who keep telling us that the Malays are lagging in the social and economic spheres of influence.


'Embodiment of evil'

I have no idea if this Malay outrage really exists because like all these manufactured outrages, the people who ferment trouble and incite the Malay community to action are political operatives and the various outsourced grievance machines often funded by the state.

Malay political operatives either incite opposition to non-Malay politicians or coddle anti-democratic, fascist or racist sentiments against non-Malay political operatives. If someone like Syed Saddique Syed Abdul Rahman has to write about how he thought that Lim Guan Eng was the embodiment of evil, it should tell us – non-Malays – of the kind of propaganda that has taken hold of the majority community.

Mind you, as someone who has very specific criticism against the DAP, I have never thought of anyone in the Malaysian mainstream politics as “evil incarnate”. Can you imagine the level of toxicity that propaganda organs spew to incite such levels of fear and mistrust?

And it is not as if the Malay establishment has not dealt with non-Malays in positions of power and influence or even liberal Malays for that matter. The underlying theme in such transactions is that those “acceptable” non-Malays in positions of power and influence pose no threat to the Malay political establishment and "liberal" Malays have always provided a fig leaf for all the other nonsense that goes on in government.

So where does this leave you? Either with Malay political operatives who are there because they can defend race and religion which means they will side with the Malay establishment or non-Malays who will kowtow to the Malay establishment because they are “acceptable”. In this situation, can anyone really trust the government?

It also makes any objective assessment of the way appointees carry out their roles impossible because Malay only leadership by its definition means that any objective assessment of their abilities is moot because race is the determining factor. Qualified independent Malays would be unsuitable for such positions.

Meanwhile, acceptable non-Malays will always be referred to as running dogs because they would be too busy giving the impression that upholding Malay dignity is their mandate no matter which part of the government they lead.

I do not normally use the “think of the children” line of argument but in this case, think of the children. Non-Malay young adults and children are told by politicians that their very existence in leadership roles are a threat to the Malay community. Meanwhile, Malay young adults and children are told that only they can lead this country and anyone else who is not of their “race” and “religion” are an existential threat. And forget about how these Malays are supposed to think about Malay liberals.

And remember, kids, it is Malay Muslim and not just Muslim. So if you are Muslim convert than you are not fit to lead this country too. Ridhuan Tee Abdullah is, of course, upset.



S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. A retired barrister-at-law, he hopes young people will assume the mantle of leadership – if there is to be any hope for this country.

MCO all for nothing? Ineffective enforcement? Double standards?

FMT:

Did we waste 16 days in a half-baked MCO, says Najib

The current movement control order in all states except Sarawak is scheduled to end on Feb 4.

PETALING JAYA: After 16 days of the second movement control order (MCO 2.0), Najib Razak has questioned its effectiveness in containing the Covid-19 pandemic as case numbers remain high.

“Did the government force the people to waste 16 days in implementing an MCO which isn’t so effective when many rules had been relaxed?” he said.

“We have seven days to go before MCO 2.0 ends on Feb 4. Will we be able to reduce the number of infections by then?” he said in a Facebook post.

He noted that 4,094 infections were reported in the last 24 hours, and 3,680 cases were reported the day before. Many were wondering just how effective the MCO was, he said.

Najib was commenting on a poll run by Astro Awani which he said showed that 76% of the 45,000 respondents felt that the current MCO was weak.

An MCO is in force in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Terengganu, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Labuan, Johor, Kelantan and Sabah until Feb 4.

PAS arrogance further exposes the illogic of morons who rendered MIC, MCA weak

Malaysiakini (extracts):

PAS arrogance further exposes MIC, MCA weakness

YOURSAY | ‘Sleeping with PAS? Don’t be surprised if people punish MIC, MCA further…’

Kedah MB: PAS does not need MIC support to do well

Iphonezours: Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor may be arrogant but in reality what he says is correct.

MIC and MCA are irrelevant to the Indians and Chinese, despite MIC doing a bit better than MCA in GE14. Just like the Chinese, the Indians too have lost faith with MIC, all due to their incompetency and also by being a part of the larger picture of Umno-BN’s corruption in Malaysia.

Now with both MIC and MCA sleeping with PAS and the backdoor traitors to form the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, don’t be surprised if the people will even punish them further to the extent that both parties may not even have any representation in Parliament in the next general election.

But more importantly, we have seen how damaging PAS can be to both Muslims and non-Muslims with their insensitive statements in Parliament about Christianity, trying to control how people dress, women’s rights, and in this issue on Thaipusam.

Malaysians, be it Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sabahans and Sarawakians - PAS is a real threat to multiracial and multi-religious Malaysia. We must never vote for PAS or any other parties that associate with them.

kt notes:

So MIC and MCA are getting the sh*ts again. We know both of them are weaklings in BN or PN. After GE14 MIC was left with 2 of its previous 4 MPs, with even its President Subramaniam losing his erstwhile stronghold seat of Segamat. MCA fared worst, retaining one seat out of its previous 7, and then only by a slim majority.

Subsequently, MCA obtained another parliamentary seat in the Tanjung Piai by-election but this time with a humongous landslide of more than 15,000 majority. But MCA did not over exalt that victory, realising it was more of the non-Malay voters' discontent with the pathetic "boe-laam-phar-ness" of the DAP element of the Pakatan government than their return to the arms of MCA.

Analysts warned MCA that the Tanjung Piai by-election victory does not promise a potential resurgence for MCA.

Thus, today, MIC and MCA went into the ring with the VELL-y abusive FIRE-y PAS' Sanusi with both their arms tied behind each's back. Was it any wonder that the VELL-y cherubic PAS MB of Kedah FIRE-d them off with VELL-y arrogant disdain?

Of course not, but what has been the bizarre moronic wonder was the expectation by infantile-minded nons that the MIC and MCA should have put up a more aggressive competent fight, even unto resigning from PN to eff up Muhyiddin's slim majority in parliament.

Firstly, Muhyiddin's slim majority. Did the withdrawal of support from PN coalition by UMNO stalwarts Ku Li, Nazri Aziz, Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub make any difference?

Yet some like my visitor 'TS' has frequently demanded that the MIC and MCA MPs withdraw support from PN to topple the Muhyiddin government. Moronic thinking lah when UMNO MPs' withdrawal has done nothing to shake the Muhyiddin government. Besides, why should MIC and MCA withdraw when you did nothing to support them in the first instant.

Secondly, what could two parties (of 2 MPs each), virtually like boxers with both hands each tied behind their backs, do to a cherubic but still VELL-y FIRE-y pugnacious Kedah MB?

More importantly, who had tied their hands behind their backs?

You the nons (people like my blog visitor 'TS') who tok-kok, demand this and that of MCA-MIC, but did NOT vote MIC nor MCA, yet have the nerve to demand MIC and MCA do this and that, yet remain embarrassingly silent about the DAP (who they voted for) then in government, with 42 MPs but a useless number because they succumb, surrender and servilely serve Atuk who had only 13 MPs at that time.

Deafening silence when 42 MPs capitulated to 13 MPs, abandoning its manifesto promises, ICERD, Rome statute, LYNAS, KHAT, UEC, TAR-UC, Malay Dignity Congress, Atuk's insulting "orang2 asing yang syiok duduk di Malaysia dan ta'mahu balik negeri2 mereka", etc, compelling an erstwhile DAP supporter to throw eggs at a DAP service centre and Penang hawkers to donate their day sales to support TAR-UC. 

From MKINI:

... the man accused DAP of "betraying the Chinese" and "exterminating Chinese education."

He then pelted Chaw's office with eggs while shouting expletives in Cantonese. At one point, his daughter could be heard urging him to leave.

It is believed that the assailant was referring to Putrajaya's plans to introduce khat into the Year 4 Bahasa Malaysia syllabus.

Star (04 Nov 2019)

Hawker helps raise funds for varsity

GEORGE TOWN: A hawker here has brought back memories of the 1970s when labourers and trishaw riders chipped in to help raise funds to build Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC).

For every bowl of curry noodles he sells, he will donate 10 sen to TAR UC.

Loke Thean Meng, 59, said that in the 1970s, people from all walks of life contributed to the building fund of the then college.

“I remember people such as hawkers, trishaw riders and hairdressers doing their very best to collect money and donate it to the college. This year marks TAR UC’s 50th anniversary and it is facing difficulties.

“It is time for me to contribute and do something for the future generations,” said the father-of-three, adding that his youngest daughter is doing her third year in the university college. [...]

Under Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s Budget 2020, not only was the matching grant for TAR UC not reinstated, but the development funds for it were also cut to RM1mil from RM5.5mil.

TAR UC is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in Malaysia and the alma mater of more than 200,000 graduates.

It is the only institution in the world approved by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to internally assess all the nine modules of ACCA Fundamentals taken by TAR UC degree students.

Spotted enjoying Loke’s curry noodles were TAR UC students Tye Kher Loon, 23, and Jeroum Chin, 25.

“We decided to drop by after seeing the Facebook post,” Tye said.

“We get to have a meal and at the same time contribute to our university college, so why not?”

But shamelessly the DAP would not hesitate holding out an empty Tin Milo for Guan Eng's possible bail from a court charge he was then facing.

So eff-ers like 'TS' demanded the impossible from people and berated them when they couldn't perform , precisely because these people had rendered helpless by 'TS' and Co through not voting for them, whilst the same morons kept their mouths shut when useless un-Chinese (one Chinese said "I'm NOT a Chinese") so-called "heroes" kowtow kuai kaui to their beloved Atuk - yes, "heroes" who the Chinese gave 90% of their support to.

You know, MIC and MCA don't have to explain to you why they were humiliated by Sanusi. That's because they know you facilitated that VELL-y FIRE-y cherubic racist in doing so by withholding your support and giving it uselessly away to the dumb as mute guli-carriers for Atuk.

Umno’s leadership woes

FMT:

Umno’s leadership woes won’t end with Zahid quitting, says insider

The Umno election at the next general assembly is the best platform for the grassroots to pick the leaders they want and reject the ‘enemies within’.

PETALING JAYA: An Umno insider says the party’s biggest problem is its leadership but removing president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is not the “silver bullet” it needs.

Speaking to FMT, the Umno leader, who declined to be named, said this was obvious to its leaders and grassroots.

There have been increasing calls for Zahid to resign as president, and while the insider says Umno will benefit from being led by someone who is not facing trial, the party’s top leaders are still very much in the picture.

“It is nothing personal against the current leadership, but some perceptions, true or otherwise, just can’t be changed no matter what we do.”

He said, however, that the biggest “change” in Umno after the 14th general election (GE14) could end up being the “cure” to its leadership problem in the coming party election.

“Unlike before, our grassroots have become more vocal in what they want to see from the central leadership. This is evidenced by the recent call by the majority of the divisions to end ties with PPBM.

“We are slowly but surely becoming the Umno that our founders envisioned, a party that belongs to the grassroots and not the leadership alone,” he said.

The leader added that he believed the outcome of the coming Umno election would better reflect what the grassroots wanted to see, a leadership that was clear on the way forward, particularly for the next general election.

He said although Umno’s traditional voters were returning to the fold, this might also be down to the frustrations with Pakatan Harapan and the Perikatan Nasional government.

He believes it is now important for Umno to really listen to the grassroots and the rakyat on what they expect from Umno.

“What we want is immaterial. In the end, we are servants of the people. It is they who matter the most. It is they who decide whether we win or become the dominant party in the next election.”

The Najib factor

On where former prime minister Najib Razak fits into the question of leadership, the insider said the former prime minister still held sway over the grassroots.

“He (Najib) could still be a factor for the party’s future direction with his experience in both governance and party leadership. It would be a waste if the party dismisses him.

“His ability to raise the people’s concerns within and outside Umno has made him very popular and he is effective against our opponents.”

Universiti Malaya sociopolitical analyst Awang Azman Pawi agreed with the insider on the point of changes in Umno becoming more apparent when the party election takes place.

He said the grassroots would likely reject those seen as “enemies within”.

“It is clear that calls for Zahid to resign won’t work nor will it solve Umno’s problems. It will only lead to a belief that there is a conspiracy to weaken Umno from the outside when the issues are internal.

“The Umno election is the best platform for the grassroots to pick the leaders whom they want to fight their battles, the bread and butter issues, not those who are only interested in power and position.”

Anwar Ibrahim for PM9 - our only hope

I have just read a posting over at my matey (RPK)'s blog, in which Anwar Ibrahim has been condemned kaukau. It's democracy that we practise (apparently, wakakaka) in Malaysia so Anwar just has to accept that criticism like all politicians. 

But I left a comment on that post in RPK's blog, to wit:

Wakakaka, matey, in the Kingdom of the Blind, the one-eyed man is King, even with a black one, wakakaka again. Yes, in our failed world of politics, Anwar might not be perfect and even have mucho warts, but he remains the only hope in our diminishing options for political leadership. Anwar also stands out as the only Malaysian leader who will be respected by the East, Middle-East and the West.

Undoubtedly Anwar Ibrahim is today the most feared (and envied) politician in Malaysia, feared by Muhyiddin, Mahathir, UMNO, or anyone. Whether he will be PM one day or be destroyed kaukau through endless campaigns against him will be his unenviable fate, his Kismet, Karma, Nasib.

And part of this anti Anwar campaign are the anti-anybody who supports or are suspected of supporting Anwar, blokes like Zahid and Co, wakakaka.

Today, we read of him & Co spreading chaos within UMNO which in itself is obviously a kerbau anti Zahid (thus Anwar) campaign. Consider, even Ku Li, Nazri Aziz, Ahmad Mazlan, Khalid Nordin and Ahmad Jazlan Yaakob are against Muhyiddin bossing PN in a most incompetent way where Moo-Moo's most shining performance has been in Machiavellian moves rather than policies of benefit to Malaysia and Malaysians - no doubt aided by the alleged gay sex pembelot.

And the MM Online in one of its reports today publishes:

... Ahmad Jazlan stated that 143 out of Umno’s 191 divisions had told the party leadership they no longer want to cooperate with Muhyiddin’s Bersatu at the next general election.

Another party insider said, however, that the Umno president had to abide by grassroots’ opinion after they openly rejected any further continuation of the relationship.

“Zahid has to follow the majority voice of the grassroots and division leaders. The decision is not his alone as many Umno members are demanding that we break it off with PN and head into the elections with PAS”

Anwar is your-our man to be PM9 lah, and eff Atuk, sorry KHAT and Chye-Chye, wakakaka.

Covid pandemic - Anwar sees Putrajaya as kow-towing to ‘big taukes’

MM Online:

Anwar sees Putrajaya as kow-towing to ‘big taukes’ by not stopping sectors rife with Covid-19

The Opposition leader’s criticism came amid growing pressure for the Perikatan Nasional to conduct mass testing and shut down the factories and construction sites, two economic sectors that contributed to the bulk of daily cases reported in the last two months. — Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim criticised the government tonight for refusing to shut down industries riddled with Covid-19 cases, saying this reeked of a double standard and portrayed officials as doing the bidding of rich “big taukes”.

The Opposition leader’s criticism came amid growing pressure for the Perikatan Nasional to conduct mass testing and shut down the factories and construction sites, two economic sectors that contributed to the bulk of daily cases reported in the last two months.

“The solution shouldn’t have been limited to just caging the people, enforcing the movement control order, and let alone imposing Emergency rule,” Anwar, the MP for Port Dickson, said in a talk delivered on his Facebook page.

“Do testing. These factories must resume operations as soon as possible so the best way to do that is conduct testing. That should have been the responsibility of these factories,” he added.

Public criticism against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Cabinet have mounted since the third wave of Covid-19 infections hit the country in October last year, which many blamed on the government’s refusal to heed calls for mass testing.

Mass testing would have allowed the authorities to identify, isolate positive cases quickly and let workers free of the virus return to work, critics said.

“Once all workers have been tested then we can let them work. But while testing is taking place the workers’ movement must be restricted. Otherwise we would see more factories will have outbreaks in the future,” Anwar said.

The Ministry of Health continues to report over 3,000 cases, and new clusters daily since December last year, with cases exceeding 4,000 some days. Most of the cases and clusters were found to involve workplaces.

The cases stemming from these places have also drawn attention to the deplorable treatment of workers by employers, noted Anwar.

“They are treated almost like slaves, forced to stay in small cramped lodgings, which seems to suggest employers are only interested in profits,” the Opposition leader said.

“Then you see all these politicians giving all these fiery, earth-shaking speeches, giving warnings here and there (to adhere to restrictions) but when it comes to being stern with the big taukes you dare not,” he added.

Naughty Nattukotai Chettiar Temple infuriates Dr Rama with its go-it-alone Thaipusam procession

Malaysiakini:



No NSC approval for Penang Thaipusam chariot procession - deputy CM

The Thaipusam chariot procession in Penang early this morning did not have approval from the state government or the National Security Council, said Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.

He also claimed that the Chettiar temple was emboldened to carry out the procession due to "federal intervention" by Human Resources Minister M Saravanan.

Penang had previously called off Thaipusam festivities in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, urging devotees to pray at home instead.

However, Ramasamy said the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple filed an appeal to hold a chariot procession after a similar one was approved for the Batu Caves temple.

Ramasamy said the state government had not even discussed the temple's appeal when they sought Saravanan's intervention.

"I understand that the Chettiar temple emboldened by the intervention of Saravanan had put out their silver chariot for a limited run under the SOP.

"To date, the state government and the NSC have not given permission for the chariot procession in Penang.

"I understand that what Chettiar temple is doing now is unacceptable," he said in a statement, adding that action should be taken against them for defying directives from the state government or the NSC.

Human Resources Minister M Saravanan

Ramasamy also chastised Saravanan for alleged interference in state matters.

When contacted, the human resources minister said he would call and explain the matter to the Penang deputy chief minister.

Malaysiakini has also contacted the Chettiar temple committee and the NSC for comment.

The Chettiar temple procession from the Kovil Veedu at Penang Street to the Waterfall Temple at Jalan Kebun Bunga took place in the wee hours of the morning under police supervision.

FMT reported that only 10 people accompanied the chariot, in addition to a priest who sat next to the statue of Lord Murugan.

*********

kt notes:

When asked, Minister Saravanan said he would call the Penang DCM and explain the matter, meaning Saravanan is on the defensive, wakakaka.

It's suspected that the Kedah MB's disrespectful abuse of the Indians in the northern state might have influenced the federal MIC to lobby for such silly (amidst the pandemic) Hindu actions in KL and to allow the Chettiar in Penang to proceed on a mini-Thaipusam procession, just to show its defiance and Hindu pride amongst Indian voters. However, Dr Ramasamy reiterated that the NSC did NOT give permission for the Penang (quiet) procession.

What the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple did during a pandemic was of course wrong, and which may explain in general why the pandemic is getting worse. This is not to say the Chettiar Temple's defiant action causes the worsening of the pandemic per se but that their indiscipline and defiance against official instructions demonstrated a sad reflection of some Malaysian tidak-apathy attitude towards the dangers of spreading the pandemic and amplified a bad example.

Additionally, there already exist disagreements between the local Hindu Endowment Board (headed by Dr Ramasamy) and the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple which has been said to owe its loyalty to its Tamilnadu origin rather than to Penang. 

Section 4 of the Hindu Endowment Act gave the Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) the right to discuss matters pertaining to Hindu temples in Penang, and thus the kind of punishment it can/will mete out to the Nattukottai Chettiar Temple for the defiant procession.

Tangan Atuk di tuduhan mahkamah Najib mengenai hal 1MBD?

MM Online:

High Court sets Feb 15 to deliver decision on Najib’s third attempt to disqualify Sri Ram as his lead prosecutor in 1MDB trials

Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court September 17, 2020. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — A decision as to whether former federal court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram should be disqualified from prosecuting over Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s criminal trials, for supposedly being biased, will be delivered on February 15, the High Court decided today.

Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan proposed the date to deliver his judgment after listening to more than three hours of oral submissions by both prosecution and defence lawyers, in what is Najib’s second attempt through the criminal courts to disqualify Sri Ram.

“I thank both counsels for their submissions today, and I would need about three weeks to deliver my judgment.

“This is better so that I can deliver the full grounds of judgment,” Mohamed Zaini told the court before deciding on the date and adjourning today’s proceedings.

Najib was represented by his lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah while the prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib.

Earlier, during oral submissions, Shafee explained to the court that unlike their previous application to disqualify Sri Ram which was eventually struck out by the Federal Court, this latest application differed as new evidence had cropped up.

The evidence Shafee was referring to concerned an exposé made by former Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi on social media in June last year, and then his subsequent affidavit submitted to the court, where the former AG claimed that Sri Ram had tried to persuade him to arraign criminal charges against Najib.

Text message exchanges from May 2018, within court documents sighted by Malay Mail, showed Sri Ram allegedly expressing his views to Apandi telling him of how he “wished” the former AG had taken his “advice to charge that criminal Najib”.

Also submitted by Shafee were details of a purported meeting that took place between Sri Ram and Apandi in January 2018, when Najib was still prime minister, where Apandi claimed the “advice” was conferred by the former federal court judge when Sri Ram visited him.

It was during this visit that Apandi that claimed Sri Ram suggested he charge Najib, where by doing so he would then be revered as a people’s hero and the first AG to charge a sitting prime minister.

Shafee submitted that Apandi’s allegations of Sri Ram having expressed such prior sentiment towards Najib’s status of innocence even before the charges were filed, was sufficient to disqualify him from prosecuting Najib’s cases involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

“He is not only biased, but there is also a perception of him being biased by the former AG.

“He (Sri Ram) believed Najib was guilty and deserves to be labeled a criminal,” Shafee submitted.

Shafee also argued that given Sri Ram having such preconceived notions of Najib, with the reputation as a senior lawyer and former federal court judge, would only cause further damage with him as Najib’s lead prosecutor, claiming he could possibly press his views onto the more junior DPPs to craft the case to his liking.

In response, Akram submitted that other DPPs also assigned to work under Sri Ram had never kowtowed to the senior lawyer, asserting how he himself had presented mistakes in draft copies of several charge sheets to Sri Ram, to which the latter responded positively.

“Do allow me to also share a story about Sri Ram. When the draft charges were presented with other DPPs in presence, and there were 11 draft charges, all of them agreed to proceed with it including Sri Ram.

“But after examining the documents, I found some errors and informed my senior, who communicated it to Sri Ram and the first thing he (Sri Ram) did was asked me, ‘who are you’, and I thought he was about to scold me.

“Then he asked me what was wrong, I pointed it out, and then he said, ‘Akram, you are right’, and he told the rest ‘from now on listen to Akram because he is able to point out my mistake’.

“My point is, until today with all the cases we are handling with Sri Ram, the applicants have failed to show a single prosecutorial misconduct by Sri Ram, and that is the threshold that should be taken by this court,” Akram submitted.

Akram further submitted that the alleged conversations between Sri Ram and Apandi were mere brotherly exchanges between two former judges who also happen to be close friends.

He argued that such messages should be interpreted in that way given the tone of Sri Ram’s replies, pointing out that the exchange ended with Sri Ram expressing how his views are only his ‘humble opinions’.

In response, Shafee disagreed that such exchanges should be written off as brotherly conversation, pointing out how the exchange should instead be seen as one taking place between a sitting Attorney General and a former federal court judge.

“He has shown a pre-opinion and now it has become a public perception.

“He gave his uninvited opinion, whether he volunteered or not is another thing, but he was speaking as a counsel to an AG in service who was serving at that time.

“We are not asking for the trial to stop but are just asking for him to be disqualified; it is not a punishment for any sort of misconduct but rather to serve as protection for the justice and the public,” he said, before Mohamed Zaini decided on his date of judgment.

Previously, Najib had in a judicial review application in the civil courts sought to remove Sri Ram as his prosecutor in 1MDB-related cases, but this was dismissed by High Court judge Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya on August 28, 2020.

Najib had also filed an application in the criminal courts to have Sri Ram removed from prosecuting his 1MDB-related cases, but this was dismissed by High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, with both the Court of Appeal and Federal Court subsequently also dismissing the bid to disqualify Sri Ram.

*********

Meanwhile, in Malaysiakini (relevant extract only):

Sri Ram, Apandi's conversation were between two 'brothers', no bias - prosecution

The message conversation between former federal court judge Gopal Sri Ram and then attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali was merely a discussion between "two brothers", the Kuala Lumpur High Court heard today.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib submitted that the WhatsApp conversation in 2018 does not indicate bias by Sri Ram in seeking to charge former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"The whole tone of the conversation was between two brothers.

"This is a brother (former) judge telling another brother (former) judge about his humble opinion," he said.


"Sri Ram has never 'buat heboh' (tell everyone) that he did not like Najib. This was just something (personal conversation) between the two (Sri Ram and Apandi).

"The applicant (Najib) has failed to show a single prosecutorial misconduct by Sri Ram, regardless of whatever (alleged) meeting or WhatsApp (between Sri Ram and Apandi)," Akram told judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

Najib is seeking to recuse Sri Ram from prosecuting the former premier's 1MDB audit report tampering case.

The former prime minister's recusal application relied on an affidavit by Apandi, who alleged that Sri Ram had tried to coax him (Apandi) to play a role to arrest Najib.

In a posting on his Facebook last year, Apandi claimed that Sri Ram had approached him at his house in January 2018, supposedly under the instruction of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Copies of the WhatsApp conversation between Apandi and Sri Ram were produced in previous court proceedings. The message was supposed to have been sent after the alleged January 2018 meeting.

PAS Sanusi’s extraordinary hatred for Indians

finance-twitter:

Beware Of Karma – Arrogant & Racist PAS Tells Indian Hindus To Fly Kites, Don’t Need Their Votes

UMNO warlord Johari Abdul Ghani, a former finance minister, arrogantly said in 2010 that minorities Chinese and Indian votes were not needed for his party to win the general election. The former Titiwangsa MP once said – “We just want Malay votes. There is no need for Chinese or Indian votes.” In short, the ethnics Chinese and Indians can go fly kites for all UMNO cares.

His arrogance indirectly caused UMNO-led Barisan Nasional coalition to lose popular votes for the first time in history in the 2013 General Election. It only won 47.38% of total votes. Johari himself barely survived and won by razor-thin 866-majority votes in Titiwangsa constituency. Of course, he lost the seat in the subsequent 2018 General Election.

It was only after he lost that Mr Johari finally realized his mistake for offending the non-Malays. Lecturing his fellow colleagues, he said in 2018 – “They can take pride in winning in their respective constituencies, but their statements which offended the non-Malays led to many of their comrades in UMNO and Barisan Nasional paying the price in urban areas.”



UMNO won the battle but lost the war. The United Malays National Organization won all its racist battles against ethnics Chinese and Indians. Even after it lost its popular votes in 2013, UMNO continued its arrogance and racism policies against the minorities. In 2018, UMNO was defeated – stunningly lost power for the first time in 61 years since independence in 1957.

Today, another short-sighted idiot follows Johari’s footstep. Kedah Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) Muhammad Sanusi arrogantly said his PAS Islamist party does not need the Indian Hindus’ votes after Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) threatened to not support PAS in the next 15th General Election. Essentially, PAS was telling the ethnic Indian to fly kites for all the Islamist party cares.

Amusingly, both MIC and PAS are part of the backdoor Perikatan Nasional government, which is no longer legitimate after losing its simple majority support in the Parliament but illegitimately and shamelessly clings to power by declaring an emergency rule. At the centre of the problem is PAS warlord Muhammad Sanusi’s extraordinary hatred for the Indian community.



Apparently, Sanusi had unilaterally announced the cancellation of Thaipusam, declaring that there would be no public holiday for the religious festival due to MCO lockdown. It immediately triggered criticisms because unlike the state of Kedah, other states still maintain Thaipusam as a “public holiday”, even though a nationwide celebration is cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The insensitive and racist Kedah chief minister has argued that since the Thaipusam celebrations are cancelled, the public holiday is also cancelled. The simpleton Sanusi’s illogical argument could not be accepted because he deliberately refuses to recognize that celebrations can still be done at home or privately even if it cannot be done in public or on the street.

Going by his twisted logic, must the public holiday for Hari Raya Haji (Eid Al-Adha) be cancelled if the celebrations for the Muslim festival have to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus? He didn’t seem to understand, or pretends not to understand, that cancelling the celebration and cancelling the public holiday are two different things altogether.



Not only the Indian community is furious with the PAS Islamist party’s disrespect – even bullying – of the rights of minorities in Malaysia, but it has also attracted displeasure from the Chinese community. If today, PAS can disrespect the celebrations, traditions and cultures of the Hindus, the racist and extremist Islamist party can do the same to the ethnic Chinese.

It appears that PAS is on a mission to “Talibanize” the multi-ethnic and multicultural Malaysia into an extreme and radical country that would adopt violent instead of moderate Islamic values. Currently drunk with power, whatever the Islamist party does not like about the minority non-Malays, they would bully and intimidate by taking away their rights.

It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that PAS is worse than UMNO. Despite a corrupt and racist party, at least UMNO had not plunged to a level as radical as cancelling Thaipusam public holidays. But under Muhyiddin regime, the country increasingly becoming very obsessed with getting rid of whatever remains of second-class citizens’ culture and rights.



MIC, a component party of Barisan Nasional, is supposed to represent the Malaysian Indian community. The cancellation of the Thaipusam public holiday is indeed a slap in the face of MIC. Strangely, despite being humiliated by PAS, not a single UMNO-Malay minister has come out to defend their little brother MIC, making the Malaysian Indian Congress look like a pariah.

This is not the first time that the anti-Hindu Kedah chief minister has bullied the ethnic Indians. The PAS state government had previously demolished two Hindu temples. But when criticised, the PAS leader chose to mock and insult the Indian community instead, telling the minority ethnic group that they should not be “drunk on the toddy”.

It’s not hard to understand why even a low-ranking warlord like Muhammad Sanusi, who took over as Kedah state leader from Mukhriz Mahathir last year, has been so daring in humiliating MIC leaders. After the 2018 General Election, the Malaysian Indian Congress is reduced to only 2 seats in the Parliament – its worst performance since the party was established in 1946.



It was already bad that MIC, a minor component party of the Barisan Nasional, has consistently been fed with crumbs from the once powerful UMNO table. It’s now worse that MIC is being told publicly by PAS, a minor partner of the “Malay government” of Perikatan Nasional, to have the dignity of not relying on non-Indians votes to win seats in the next election.

Yes, Sanusi might be arrogant and racist, but MIC leaders like its president SA Vigneswaran and deputy president M Saravanan deserved to be humiliated for not having the dignity to pull out of the backdoor government. To make matters worse, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin did not even care to calm the situation, but allows both PAS and MIC to play the racial and religious cards.

Like it or not, it’s true when the Kedah chief minister said the disgraced MIC could not even attract Indians’ support, let alone telling the community to support PAS. However, karma is a bitch. While up to 95% of Chinese voters had voted for opposition Pakatan Harapan, about 70% to 75% of Indians voted for the same coalition, allowing it to win in 2018 before losing it after 22 months later through betrayal.



As the political landscape becomes extremely volatile, it’s not cast in stone that the current Perikatan Nasional will stay intact and will not disintegrate before the next election, paving a way for three-cornered contests again. What happens if bitter rivals Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan somehow decide to join forces to topple Perikatan Nasional, forcing PAS to choose sides?

Unless PAS is absolutely sure it will partner with PM Muhyiddin’s party PPBM (Bersatu) come rain or shine, which the Islamist party will most likely not, it’s silly to burn the bridge with Indian voters over petty matters like Thaipusam holiday. It may not sound a lot, but a swing of 10% of Chinese or Indian votes can make the difference between a victory and a defeat in a three-cornered fight.

PAS is incredibly arrogant today largely because the fake holy men thought all the three biggest Malay political parties – UMNO, PPBM and PAS – will stay united forever, hence will capture 99% of Malay votes. That equation, unfortunately, will change if UMNO quits the coalition. More importantly, PAS’ Taliban behaviour pushes ethnic Chinese and Indian with no choice but to support the opposition.