In honesty, for a moment there, I feared that Isa’s (I almost spelt it ISAs) suspension was not seen by Bagan Pinang locals as a big deal.
It would appear otherwise :)
Sometimes, the enemy gives you the best indications of their own weaknesses.
For Najib to take such efforts to defend Isa’s record (all the way in France no less, where Najib himself has some questions to answer - see below) clearly indicate that Umno can no longer afford to ignore this problem - usually the best defense against a ‘non-issue.’ And remember: BN is privy to a lot more information regarding trends than we are.
(And c’mon, corruption = just a ‘techincal’ issue?? Yeah, maybe in Umno, but not in the real world my friend)
And then today, the empire strikes again:
At least two Chinese-language dailies have been ordered not to report on Isa Samad’s suspension from Umno, after he was found guilty of buying votes during the party polls in 2004.
… a source in a Chinese daily said the ban prevents any mention of Isa’s suspension in either news reports or commentaries.
“The reason given was that the suspension is a widely known old fact and that Isa has already been punished. As such, it would be best to let the voters to decide for themselves,” said the source.
“BN is also worried that the issue could become another blow to its campaign, given the internal problems between Isa and current Menteri Besar Mohammad Hassan.”
Tsk tsk.
I’m not counting unhatched chickens in what is clearly a tough battle in Bagan Pinang, but goodness, it’s nice to have the enemy on the defensive.
And yes, the problems between Isa and Mohammad Hassan can’t possibly be good for the ruling party.
On a bigger picture note, it seems that many have expounded on the fact that Umno may win this battle, but by displaying in choosing Isa a complete lack of interest in mending its corrupt ways, lose the war.
I’ve heard talk about how disappointed ‘reformists’ within Umno have viewed this development, quashing hopes that some semblance of integrity may yet be salvaged within the party.
Oh well.
Anyway, I hope Pakatan gets the message clearly and adds Isa’s tarnished reputation to its campaign arsenal (unless of course this is all a feint to get Pakatan to campaign counter-productively, but who knows where the rightful place of such ‘paranoia’ is :P :)
*
Re: Najib in Paris, a statement from the Altantuya Foundation -
October 4, 2009 Paris, France
Sunday will mark the start of Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s first official four-day visit to France to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues with top French leaders including President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon.
France is one of Malaysia ’s key trading partners with bilateral trade in 2008 reaching a total of RM13.91 billion. Currently, several French companies operate in Malaysia including Lafarge (cement), Technip (infrastructure for gas and oil exploration), Alcatel (telecommunications), Alstom (energy and railway equipment) and Carrefour (retail).
However what was omitted from mainstream reports in Malaysia and France is that Najib since assuming Premiership in March 2008 is easily the most controversial Prime Minister since political independence in 1957 as he has been linked, through two policemen in charge of his protection and according to the statutory declaration of a private investigator, to a murder case. And we are not talking of any “normal” murder case but the gruesome murder of a beautiful Mongolian woman Altantuya Shariibuu connected to the purchase of French submarines worth a billion euros.
How is Najib linked then? Apparently, she was introduced by Najib to Abdul Razak Baginda, a close friend and defense analyst from the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre think-tank, to work for the deal Baginda was brokering for the Malaysian government to buy three submarines from France for one billion euros. According to the same private investigator, the duo quickly became romantically involved.
In October 2006, Altantuya was informed that the commission of 114 million euros was paid into the account of Perimekar, a company Baginda controlled. Altantuya then went to Kuala Lumpur to demand her share of the commission, which was to have been US$500,000. She went missing on 19 October 2006. In the last letter she wrote before her murder, she said that she had been blackmailing Baginda. The private investigator who linked PM Najib to Altantuya a few days after reneged on his first statement and then disappeared.
The Malaysian police found fragments of her bone in a forested area in Shah Alam, some 30 km from Kuala Lumpur . Police investigation revealed that she was shot twice before C4 explosives were used on her remains. Baginda and two members of the police force were arrested and charged for her murder. The two murder suspects Azilah Hadri, 30 and Sirul Azhar Umar, 35 are members of the elite Unit Tindakan Khas (the Malaysian Police Special Action Force or counter-terrorism unit) and were both assigned to the office of the then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who was also the Defence Minister. Both policemen were found guilty and sentenced to death while Baginda was acquitted. The Malaysian Attorney General has not appealed on Baginda’s acquittal and he is now a free man.
The father of Altantuya, Professor Shariibuu Setev who had tried but failed to seek satisfactory justice and accountability in Malaysia will issue a statement in Paris to highlight his daughter’s murder and how its linked to the Malaysian Prime Minister and the billion euro French submarine deal.
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