Christmas Special

Last few Indian driving schools.

Indians excluded from MARA Entrepreneur RM 150 K loans.

But only a token number of Indians are merely given RM 8,000.00 or so for “show case” and as “show piece” Indians under the Tekun loans“ayam telur sebiji rioh sekampong” UMNO propaganda which is ably dished out through their mandore MIC stooges.

For example no Indian has ever been given a single MARA loan what more the RM 150,000.00 loan granted to malay muslims to open up and operate a driving school as is reported in Utusan Malaysia on 14/12/09 at page 9.

The last few remaining Indians driving school owners are a dying breed. With the passing away of these older Indian driving school operators there would very soon be no more Indian driving schools in UMNOs’ Malay-sia. Hardly any more licences are given out to new Indians wanting to operate driving schools over the last forty years or so. All this under UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malaysia and the implementation of UMNOs’ racist, religious extremist and supremacist policies.

P. Uthayakumar.

HRP Secretary General

No entry to UM for 817 Tamil school 7As’ pupils.

A group of 400 Indian students visited the Science Faculty of University of Malaya (Makkal Osai 14/11/09 at page 16).

But almost all of these students and in particular the 817 Tamil school students nationwide who had recently scored 7As’could only dream of entering this University if they are the average students. (But which is made available to almost all average Malay students). These average Indian students would never ever get into this University Malaya or any of the government public Universities in Malay-sia because of the implementation of UMNOs’ racist, religious extremist and supremacist education policies.

P. Uthayakumar

HRP Secretary General

PAS have ‘strong’ case of misconduct against Hasan, Khalid

By G Manimaran, Adib Zalkapli and Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 — Selangor PAS commissioner Datuk Dr Hasan Ali and his former deputy Khalid Samad are expected to be censured for misconduct after the party disciplinary committee wraps up its probe next month.

Disciplinary committee chairman Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man told The Malaysian Insider that they have a strong case against the two Selangor PAS leaders.

He disclosed that Hasan and Khalid, who is Shah Alam MP, will be called in for further explanation on Jan 7 and 9.

“We are satisfied with the written explanation given by them and we found that there is case against both of them. So, we decided to call them to give their verbal explanation on certain aspects,” Tuan Ibrahim told The Malaysian Insider.

However he did not say what type of further testimony was required from the two leader, who have publicly differed on policy.

“We have already informed Khalid and he agreed to cooperate with us and meet the committee on Jan 7.

“However no date has been set with Datuk Hasan and the secretariat will keep in touch with Datuk Hasan for him to meet us,” he added.

The duo are under investigation for making statements that are detrimental to the Islamist party.

Among the evidence submitted to the committee was an audio recording of a PAS leader ridiculing the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government.

Tuan Ibrahim, who is also one of the vice president, explained that any disciplinary action against them will depend on their explanation.

“There is no decision yet whether there is a need to call other witnesses,” he further explained.

The committee has three choices; give written warning, suspend or expel from the party depending on the severity of their offences.

“The disciplinary committee will decide the sentences, not the central committee. But they can appeal to central committee,” Tuan Ibrahim said.

He also dismissed rumours that Hasan has been sentenced by the disciplinary committee during their meeting on Wednesday night.

“We are still in the mid of studying their explanation, so no such thing,” he said.

The rumour of the disciplinary action against Hasan started to emerge yesterday morning, just hours after the disciplinary committee meeting on Wednesday night.

Got a great sports photo? Can it win this photo contest?

The disciplinary committee was also said to have recommended for Hasan to be suspended from the party for two-terms.

In retaliation to the decision Hasan is alleged to be making preparations to declare himself as an independent state assemblyman.

Hasan could not be reached for his comment.

On Wednesday, Hasan told reporters that he is willing to resign from party positions if asked by the party leadership.

The Malaysian Insider also understands that rumour of Hasan’s sacking was spread by party leaders from a rival faction in an attempt to pressure the disciplinary committee to punish the Gombak Setia assemblyman.

The group who has been opposing Hasan’s leadership are worried that the disciplinary committee is buying time before acquitting him, said a party insider.

However, the other two PAS vice presidents Salahuddin Ayub and Datuk Mahfuz Omar when contacted by The Malaysian Insider dismissed the rumour, saying that they would have been informed about it.

“Whatever the decision is, it must first be approved by the central committee but we have not heard anything yet,” said Mahfuz.

Salahuddin concurred with Mahfuz but said that he was ‘unsure’ if the disciplinary committee had indeed passed a sentence against Hasan.

Meanwhile Khalid laughed and described it just a “joke” of end of the year.

“I heard about the rumours and also some blogs carrying such information,” said Khalid who is also Shah Alam PAS chief.

However he explained that it is too early to say about the outcome of the disciplinary committee’s decision.

He assumed that they should only able to know the final outcome by the end of January.

“Now we are still at preliminary stage, they (the disciplinary committee) still going through our explanation and then they have to present at the central committee meeting for debate,” he said.

PAS leaders left unsure by Nik Amalina’s outbursts

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 — PAS leaders appears uncertain over how to address the controversy surrounding Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s daughter and her stinging criticisms against party leaders.

While some have noted that she has a right to her views and objections, other have dismissed her complaints and are keeping a lid on the entire issue.

When contacted by The Malaysian Insider, PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar refused to comment on the matter and claimed he was clueless as to what was going on.

He even went so far as to say that he had no idea who Nik Amalina was, pleading ignorance to the fact that she was the daughter of the Kelantan Mentri Besar himself.

“I have not been informed of the issue..is there an issue? Who is she? Oh, she wrote something on a blog? I have no idea..I cannot comment because I don’t know what’s going on,” said Mahfuz.

Another PAS leader, who did not want to be named, dismissed Nik Amalina’s claims as being very counter-productive, and added that he would be the least excited to be involved in the matter.

On Wednesday, the daughter of the PAS spiritual leader blasted party leaders who have been criticising her husband, embattled PMBK Chief Operating Officer Abdul Ariffahmi Abdul Rahman, who has been told to resign from his post following allegations of graft.

PAS is divided by this issue with one faction, understood to be led by Datuk Husam Musa’s Erdogan faction, blasting Ariffahmi as a liability to the party, while their rivals are claiming such criticisms are targetted to undermine Nik Aziz’s position as Mentri Besar.

The youngest child of Nik Aziz had stated the leaders who had criticised her husband are trying their best to exploit the controversy for “cheap publicity.” She also demanded the resignation of a “certain Kelantan exco”, in an apparent reference to Husam.

However today she downplayed her initial outburst by urging PAS leaders not to interpret her remarks as an attack against party members critical of her husband and father.

She may have found herself some understanding in the form of Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, who feels that closure is needed to prevent the hawks in Umno and Barisan National from exploiting the matter further.

“For a person like me who is in full support of freedom of expression, it would be improper for me to criticise her views and frustrations..maybe its good in a way that she does so, so that we know what are her opinions and views,” said Khalid.

The Shah Alam MP asserted that these matters could not be “simply swept under the carpet”, but at the same time they should be addressed with a heavy dosage of wisdom and understanding.

“I do not condone what she is doing. It has not been done in the wisest manner. She should extricate herself and look at the isssue on a policy-based, strategic level -like how the party would handle situations like this in the future.”

On a personal note, Khalid feels that the main problem is a policy one, on whether a relation of a mentri besar can be appointed as a CEO. The appointment must be done in the interest of merit, something that Ariffahmi apparently had fulfilled.

“The party should be given time to absorb the points raised, and at the same time not backtrack from the position of Tok Guru and Ariffahmi’s decision to step down.”

Nik Aziz’s son-in-law tendered his resignation after pressure from party leaders but had refused to step down immediately , saying that he will “honour” his contract that would allow him to stay as CEO of PBMK untill March 2010.

His decision sparked an uproar from leaders who have been trying hard to unseat him and has fuelled further fire between the warring PAS factions.

Regarding the theft of fighter plane engines and the IGP

IGP has no power over the military, as far as I know, unless the military personnel committed an offense that causes injury / loss / death of a civilian.

By Penang Penang

Someone wrote this on Susan Loone's blog:

Najib’s talk about making a police report and passing the files to the AG for action exposes a glaring point about his intentions to take action or inaction. The PDRM and AG can only act against civilians, local or foreign, who were involved in the theft. Uniformed officers in the service at the time are subject to Military Law, even if they have been cashiered since then.
Military courts are under the Judge Advocate General of the Malaysian Armed forces, the Gujerati AG has no authority over them.
There has been NO Court Martial of the officers and enlisted men involved.
...
There’s a lot more to Engine-gate than meets the eye … its not entirely improbable that Najis or someone very high up is involved right to his eyebrows.

Now I don't know if the above is true or not, but from my own knowledge based on the American system, that is true.

The fighter plane engine belongs to the military, the thieves are from the military, hence it is a military affair.

IGP has no power over the military, as far as I know, unless the military personnel committed an offense that causes injury / loss / death of a civilian.

Please check if the above allegation is true or not.

Apcet II court decision: Get ready to be disappointed!

Aliran hails the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision ordering the government to pay RM30,000 to each of the 29 human rights activists and journalists wrongfully detained during the Apcet II conference in Kuala Lumpur.

By P. Ramakrishnan (President, Aliran)

Rowdy elements from Umno Youth stormed the conference and disrupted a peaceful gathering that sought a settlement for East Timor. The former Deputy Home Minister, Megat Junid Megat Ayob, was implicated in the unbecoming and rambunctious demonstration that shamed the country more than a decade ago on November 9, 1996.

Appeals Court Judge Wan Adnan Muhamad delivered his decision on December 22, 2009, saying that "the facts here are clear and straightforward and the judgment is based on facts submitted by both parties".

Aliran has been keeping track of recent court decisions and with this knowledge we must warn the jubilant litigants not to get carried away easily. This is Round 1 and Round 1 usually goes in favour of truth and justice. It is here where the facts are scrutinised diligently and justice has its sway. It is as far as justice can go!

In Round 2, this decision will almost certainly be overturned, as has been the case on many occasions. It is here where facts don't matter but technicalities will be the overriding factor and justice will be forced to take a back seat.

This glaring outcome is inevitable in our system of justice. We have witnessed this without fail in Anwar's cases, in the Perak Pakatan government's tussle for democracy, in the Kampung Buah Pala residents’ plea for justice and in the MAAC case involving Tan Boon Wah's human rights.

God save our judiciary!

Stop the Daylight Robberies in Malaysian Households

The compulsory billing to households in Malaysia by Indah Water Consortium, the so-called sanitary disposal services of household wastes, is indeed the most ridiculous daylight robberies that exist in this county.

By Bullied by Daylight Robbers

Firstly, this so-called service has never been provided to households till today. I have been the owner of my house in Petaling Jaya for the last ten years and never have I ever seen any such service provided to my household. Let me make it clear here. By right nobody, and I mean nobody, not the Prime Minister, nor the police nor the Agong nor the Judiciary, has the right to compel any household to pay for a service that has not been provided to the household. When I say household, I mean the rights to the home. What anybody does outside our home is not our business and they are free to do what they want as long as they are not a threat to a household’s safety and security.

Yet, a so-called company by the name of Indah Water has been billing households a monthly bill of RM50.00 which they are not entitled to do so. Are households provided with a service which they have utilized, or received or by which they have enjoyed this service? If human faeces is a precious commodity then it is their right to decide what should be done with this precious commodity. Who gave anybody the right to utilize our faeces and make a business out of it without our permission? Who gave anybody the right to make a commercial enterprise of our own faeces and then send a bill to our homes without our permission? May I know who is this idiot who allow these thieves to capitalize on our faeces and in turn send monthly payment bills to our households without even our permission?

This is unlawful and daylight robbery!!

Will our state government put a stop to this immediately? Will our Prime Minister put a stop to this most outrageous and cunning businessmen out of our privacy and stop this illegal plunderers of our money?

If there is anyone out there who wants to condone these daylight robbers then let them do so but not those who do not give their consent to do so.

Can anyone drop a bill of payment into our letter boxes and say they have cleaned the roads and therefore the households are forced to pay? Can anyone say they have planted some flowers on the road side and therefore the households must be forced to pay? Can anyone say they have installed some playthings at the playground and therefore the households must be forced to pay? Can anyone say they have sprayed some insecticide into the drains in front of our houses and therefore our households must be forced to pay? Can any policeman simply stop by our front gates and demand that a payment must be paid simply because someone has demanded for money?

Does our government allow these despicable conniving gangsters to extort money from innocent and helpless households? This is sheer extortion and is a crime and immediate action must be taken against these criminals. The billings imposed by Indah Water Consortium on households is a replica of these criminal gangsters who are looting households for services not provided to households.

May I know who is the grand idiot who masterminded this daylight conniving robbery and with sleight of hands forced millions and millions of Malaysian consumers to pay without their permission or consent? Now the shameless conniving thieves have amassed a fortune and now even have the nerve and audacity to drag consumers who refuse to be a part of this criminal activity to court hoping the fear-struck consumers would pay up so as to further increase their fortune.

My question here to the BN government is this. What is the service they have provided to the households that warrants a payment? Yes, water, electricity, telephone, internets are provided right into the homes and it is fair to demand for payment failing which the services would be terminated. Yet in the Indah Water billing there are no such services provided and therefore this compulsory billing ought not to have been allowed by the law. Any consumer who refuses to pay should have their services terminated. However, in the case of Indah Water, there is no such termination of services but forced and compelled billings failing which they are threatened by court action.

The logic here is simple and plain. There are no termination of services simply because there is no service provided to households. Can people in the government understand this? Are our courts being used as bill collectors for a non-existent service? Can someone explain this ridiculous situation to consumers in Malaysia? Our State Governments must take firm action and stop these mafia operators from terrorizing our citizens in this state.

But our Federal Government must also take immediate action to stop these bandits and thieves who terrorize and bully us. Ordinary citizens are being bullied by these silent criminals who feed on the silent and helpless citizens. No household has received any service into the house as far as waste disposal is concerned and therefore this must be stopped immediately before a host of other criminals come up with new sounding thievery programs to milk and extort the innocent and helpless citizens of their hard earned money. What is even more disgusting is that there are some lawyers who have the nerve and the illogical minds to even send out demand letters for these non-existent household services to helpless citizens.

Will the Government of the day please step forward and put a stop to this daylight robbery?

Najib: Malaysia Committed To Upholding True Values Of All Religions

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is strongly committed to upholding the true values of all religions, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said on Friday.

"Religion teaches us to be tolerant, caring and respectful of the beliefs and practices of others. In our multi-racial society, we must constantly remind ourselves of the values that bind us together," he said in his speech at a Christmas reception organised by the Christian Federation of Malaysia at the St Thomas Church, here.

"We are bound by our common destiny as 1Malaysia. We are bound by our common heritage. We are bound by our need to forge ahead as one nation to face the challenges that lie ahead," he added.

The text of his speech was read out by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.

The prime minister said Idris' presence at the reception represented the strong commitment of the Barisan Nasional government to the freedom of worship that had been practised in Malaysia since the country's independence.

Najib said he was happy to see that the people were responding to the many initiatives introduced by the government to provide a better future for the current and future generations.

"Our 'People First, Performance Now' campaign is not a mere slogan. It is a commitment to action," he stressed.

Religious festivities had become more meaningful by focusing on helping the disadvantaged and less fortunate in society, said Najib as he urged Malaysians to give generously.

The prime minister said the goverment had identified the hardcore poor throughout the country and would redouble its effort to help every Malaysian get out of the poverty cycle.

"We will bring speedy economic development to all communities regardless of their ethnic origins, religions, cultures or geographical locations," he said.

Among those present at the reception were the supreme head of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church Reverend Dr Joseph Mar Thoma, and opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Christmas celebrations begin; pope falls at St. Peter's

(CNN) -- A commotion at the start of Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica briefly disrupted ceremonies and caused the pope to fall, a Vatican spokesman said.

Pope Benedict XVI was helped to his feet by his aides and the service resumed, spokesman Federico Lombardi told CNN.

The disruption began when a person tried to touch the pope as he was walking down the main aisle of the church, he said.

The person was intercepted by Vatican guards before reaching the pope, Lombardi said.

Benedict began what has traditionally been a midnight Mass at the Vatican at 10 p.m. as officials sought to keep the 82-year-old pontiff from a late night.

Celebrants in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the West Bank, however, joined the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal for a midnight Mass attended by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials.

Outside the Church of the Nativity, erected over the site Christian tradition says was the place of Jesus' birth, the faithful gathered under the watchful eyes of heavily armed Palestinian police.

Gallery: Christmas Eve around the world

But Palestinian shopkeeper Nadia Hazboun said the security situation in the West Bank has improved in the time since the militant Hamas group took over Gaza and Abbas' Fatah movement abandoned the narrow strip of land between Israel and the Mediterranean for the West Bank.

"It was bad, now it is good," he told Voice of America radio. "I told you, before anybody take the law in his [own] hands. But now the law [is] with the police. We have security, we have calm, we have now the best situation in Bethlehem."

Christmas Eve in Bethlehem is a popular destination for American Christians, including Iowan Paul Edelman.

"Just the festivities, the idea that this is the birthplace of Christ, and you get to see all the historic places and share it with people from around the world; it's a very nice experience," he told Voice of America radio.

Hindraf's ex-treasurer fumes over request for accounts

Former Hindraf treasurer K Vasanthakumar is up in arms over a demand for the movement to open up its accounts for scrutiny by P Waythamoorthy's lawyers.

Accounting firm Padmarajah & Co have been tasked by legal firm Kumar, Hashimah & Co acting on behalf of the Hindraf chairperson to look into the status of the accounts.

Waythamoorthy had recently sent a letter of demand to Vasanthakumar and three others, asking them to retract statements they made, imputing that he swindled money meant for Hindraf's cause.

Besides Vasanthakumar (right), V Ganabatirao, DAP Sungkai assemblyperson A Sivanesan and Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy were told that if they refused to retract their statements and issue an apology, he would sue them.

A fuming Vasanthakumar said: "I'm the sole owner of Hindraf Enterprise with a single bank account in RHB bank in my name. Padmarajah & Co have no business meddling into the accounts of Hindraf Enterprise."

Vasanthakumar explained that he held Hindraf Enterprise's accounts until Dec 13, 2007 when he was detained under the Internal Security Act for 18 months.

"Monies collected after that should be revealed by the 10 coordinators appointed by Wathamoorthy," said Vasanthakumar at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

'Waytha playing a Tom and Jerry game'

Ganabatirao who was also at the press conference said: "Waythamoorthy is playing a Tom and Jerry game.

"We've asked him to account for the money collected by his appointed coordinators for the five detainees' families numerous times."

Waythamoorthy recently also sent another letter of demand to Ganabatirao's brother Papparaidu demanding that Papparaidu return RM50,000 belonging to Hindraf.

Ganabatirao said the RM50,000 was used to post bail for Hindraf's legal advisor P Uthayakumar when he was detained by the police prior to the latter's ISA arrest. It does not belong to Hindraf as it came from other sources, he added.

"Did he (Waythamoorthy) send similar letters to the coordinators that he appointed, such as S Jayathas and RS Thanenthiran?" asked Ganabatirao.

He also questioned how Padmarajah & Co, can claim to act on behalf of a banned organisation.

On the same note, he demanded Waythamoorthy (right) to disclose the full details of the money collected on behalf of the Hindraf 5's families after their ISA arrest.

"Failure to do so would force me to lodge a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission," he threatened.

He said Hindraf coordinators made massive collections through fund raising dinners and the sale of Hindraf paraphernalia in the name of the families but not a single cent was given to them.

"Now they claim it is in Hindraf's accounts," he said.

In addition, he also wants Waythamoorthy, who is currently in London, to return the RM110,000 that was collected by Papparaidu and banked into the account of Kumar Hashimah & Co on Dec 18, 2007.

He said Papparaidu would ensure that the money is given to the families of the Hindraf detainees.

Meanwhile, when contacted yesterday, Sivanesan asked for proof as to when Waythamoorthy was appointed or elected as Hindraf chairperson.

He also faxed a letter to Kumar Hashimah & Co asking for documentary evidence that Hindraf is a registered organisation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by Mydin Kutty - 5 hours ago

Hoorah finally the truth is coming out from the mouth of the crooks. all the while they accused waytha of swindling the money. Now that waytha is taking the legal steps and appointing the accountants, looks like they are shivering. well coupled with the civil suit these crooks would be jammed. Now let the public know who are the real crooks. If vasantha kumar can admit he is the sole owner of Hindraf Enterprise then the onus and responsibility is on him. The intelligent would be able to differentiate between what is pure gold and gold covering. Hindraf and its leaders are pure. The crooks are being cornered legally now. I think they are panicking.

by concern citizen - 6 hours ago

Dei madaya Vasamthakumar, if ur solely represent Hindraf enterprise. and ur the treasurer for Hindraf, than ur the culprit of swindle the money. ur the one supposed to show the account and ur should take accountability of these money. why should wathamoorthy answer for this. he sound like damn stupid right. hahahahahah

by Bozuka - 11 hours ago

As explained by Vasanthakumar he was operating the account and he is the signatory of this account. As such the onus lies with Vasanthakumar and NOT Waythamoorthy to account for every single cent collected under Hindraf account. Rao if you want to implicate Thanenthiran please go ahead. Sivanesan you need to account for the monies collected at Perai, Padang Serai and Kulim under the name of Hindraf ISA detainees’ family monthly expenses. I’m sure your memory is coming back now

by ND2817 - 11 hours ago

Dei DAP mandors, where is the receipt for the fund collected by you peanut brainees from Paya Besar Karumariamman Temple for the Hindraf 5 families...You DAP mandores promised to post the receipt after bank in..On that event, all the DAP manores & konco konconya were present themselves to the temple..DAP big ass mandore Ramasamy, DAP mandore Kula, DAP ganabathirau's wife & brothers, local DAP mandore Neelamekan....

by Raja Rajan - 12 hours ago

Finally v can declare the 'Comical Characters of the Year 2009' - T.Magan Vasanthakumar, P.Magan Ganabatirau and Madayan Sivanesan. Vaayai Koduttu Soottai Punnaakuvathu . . . Ithu thaanda, madayargala. If Sivanesan thinks Waythamoorthy was never elected or appointed by anyone as Hindraf chairman, then he should not have rode on the Hindraf-inspired Makkal Sakti wave in the last general election to register his first ever electoral success after series of flops. Vasanthakumar and Ganabatirau can dream on to hijack Hindraf or Indian masses. One needs talent to lead a community. Both severely lack it.

Penang CJs party at their graduation - Part I

Samy Vellu Denies MIC Failed To Register New Voters

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 (Bernama) -- MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu said it was not true that the MIC does strive to register youths as new voters.

While rejecting a statement by the Election Commission (EC) yesterday that the MIC failed to register new voters in Penang and Selangor in October, he said the EC may not have understood MIC's process to register voters all this while.

He said it was not necessary to register new voters through the Assistant Registrar appointed by the EC.

"The registration of new voters is done by each MIC branch by identifying both members and non-members of MIC who are not voters. The first step is to register youth who have turned 21 years of age as MIC members and ask them to register as voters with the EC," Samy Vellu said in a statement here on Thursday.

He said the process by the party to register new voters was done via campaigns carried out by each MIC branch with the assistance of the EC's mobile office.

He said recently the party headquarters had directed each MIC branch to carry out a process to register new voters every six months and this had been made been known through several local newspapers.

"It is not true to allege that the MIC was not agressive in registering new voters based only on data for October 2009. The EC should see the whole picture without depending on data from the EC Assistant Registrar alone," he said.

He said many of the MIC's new voter registration programmes were done indirectly by involving EC officers without the EC Assistant Registrar channel.

Samy Vellu said the MIC could not only depend on the Assistant Registrar appointed by the EC from among MIC members to register new voters.

He said the MIC not only assisted in registering new voters who had turned 21 years of age but also all Indians who were not voters yet.

-- BERNAMA

Dr M defends himself

By Leslie Lau - The Malaysian Insider

Consultant Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has hit back at Barry Wain, the writer of a recently published book about the former prime minister, and denied charges that his administration squandered nearly RM100 billion through corruption and grandiose projects.

In a posting on his blog yesterday, Dr Mahathir made a point for point defence against the accusations leveled against him, and once again implied that Tun Abdullah Badawi wasted more public funds.

Wain, the former managing editor of the Asian Wall Street Journal, recently released his book “Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times,” in which he accuses Dr Mahathir of wasting RM100 billion in public funds during his tenure as PM.

Dr Mahathir had on Tuesday said he welcomed Lim Kit Siang’s call for the government to set up a royal commission to probe whether he “burned” RM100 billion.

In his latest blog posting, he directly references Wain’s accusations in the book.

“In Barry Wain’s book I was accused of losing Government money over the purchase of tin being sold by speculators. When the time came for them to deliver the tin, they could not deliver as they had no physical tin. But the London Metal Exchange ruled that the speculators need not honour the contract to sell to us.

“We lost money but not in billions of ringgit as alleged.”

He also acknowledged that Bank Negara had traded foreign currencies and lost money, but he denied that it was in the amount Wain imputed.

The third case in which Dr Mahathir defended himself was over losses made by Bank Bumiputera in Hong Kong in the 1980s.

“Altogether I don’t think the amount lost added up to RM10 billion even. If we had lost 100 billion ringgit the government would be in deep trouble. But although we did have poor growth during certain years, the government had never failed to meet all financial commitments including the servicing of loans. In fact we had enough money to prepay loans.

“The projects of course cost a lot of money. But the projects can be seen by the people.”

Among the projects he cited were the Penang Bridge, Twin Towers, KL Tower, KL International Airport, North Port and West Port in Klang, commuter train, LRT and monorail, the numerous expressways all over the country, electrification and double tracking, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Langkawi development, Proton, Modenas, the Silterra chip manufacturing plant and cement plants.

“However, I don’t think Barry Wain was referring to these projects when he said I burnt RM100million of government money,” said Dr Mahathir.

He also compared his spending with that of Abdullah, his hand-picked successor whom he later criticised for being inept.

The feisty Dr Mahathir pointed out that Abdullah’s administration had received RM270 billion from national oil company Petronas in his five year tenure as PM.

“How was this huge sum spent? There are only empty corridors everywhere,” he said in reference to the economic corridors set up by the Abdullah administration.

“The public has a right to know how 270 billion ringgit in five years has been spent. What projects have been financed by it. Why do we have to borrow money from China to build the second Penang Bridge?”

Dr Mahathir said that his government had only received RM126 billion from Petronas in 22 years.

“I know every effort was made to find whether I had misused government money. Failing to find anything the Abdullah government set up a Royal Commission and accused me of being influenced by others in the choice of judges.

“I have a right to clear my name. Tun Abdullah also has a right to clear his name,” he said.

Dr Mahathir also suggested that Wain was only willing to criticise him and not the leaders of Singapore, where the writer resides.

“Barry Wain was formerly with the Asian Wall Street Journal and Asia Week. Presently he is with the Singapore think tank, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

“He knows that if he writes anything against Singapore leaders he would be dragged to the courts, sued and forced to pay huge indemnity. His colleagues have all been found guilty of defamation when they wrote something that was not approved by Singapore leaders.”

Quintessence of Mahathirism– pure Machiavellianism, perverse illogic and most cunning to distract attention from the core issue

By Lim Kit Siang,

It is the quintessence of Mahathirism – pure Machiavellianism, perverse illogic and most cunning to distract attention from the core issue.

This was what Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad produced in his blog yesterday when claiming to welcome my proposal that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate into the allegation by Barry Wain’s new biography, “Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times” that the former Prime Minister had wasted or burned up to RM100 billion on grandiose projects and corruption in his 22 years as PM.

He even sweetened his welcome by insisting that such a commission should not be made up of government nominees, but should instead have as members “impeccable people including foreigners and members of Transparency International.”

How many instances can Mahathir quote of the occasions when he had followed such precepts in his 22 years as Prime Minister to probe into financial scandals or serious allegations of abuses of power?

Why Mahathir’s sudden conversion to uphold “impeccable people including foreigners and members of Transparency International” instead depending on compliant government nominees who can command no credibility whatsoever as was his wont during his premiership?

However, Mahathir’s welcome came with a caveat which the former Prime Minister knows would not be fulfilled and therefore no inquiry commission would be held – that the commission should not confine to one Prime Minister only but also to his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Mahathir reached the heights of Machiavellism when he suggested that I should get Najib’s agreement to set up such a Royal Commission of Inquiry into both the Mahathir and Abdullah premierships.

Why didn’t Mahathir ask that such a commission should also inquire into the corruption and abuses of power of Najib, the current Prime Minister as well?

Mahathir is only practicing the art of saying yes while saying no. This is too cheap a trick for the fourth and longest-serving Prime Minister to be indulgingin his “elder statesman” years.

As for Mahathir’s statement that he reserved the right to sue me for libel, I had tweeted:

“Why his suit conditional on outcome of RCI into Barry Wain’s allegation when M will do utmost 2block RCI though claiming support publicly?

“Why Mahathir don’t sue me now if I had libelled him calling for RCI into Barry Wain’s RM100 billion allegation in his book Maverick M?”

Missing engines ‘found’

By Lourdes Charles

KUALA LUMPUR: The missing RM50mil jet engines have been “found” — they are in Argentina.

It is learnt the General Electric J85-21A afterburner turbojet engines (the power plant for the single-seater F-5E Tiger 11 and RF-5E Tigereye) were shipped off from Port Klang to a third country before ending up in Argentina.

All documents on the sale and shipping of the parts are said to be originals.

It is believed that the engines are in the possession of an individual. A quick search over the Internet revealed that the Argentina military does not use the F-5E Tiger 11 and RF-5E Tigereye.

Several senior Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) officers, including generals, are expected to be quizzed by police in connection with the theft.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hasan said police would question the generals although four people, including three low-ranking RMAF personnel, had been arrested and released on bail for their alleged role in the theft.

“We need to question all of them as it is not easy to just cart away the engines without authorisation and proper documents. Our investigators have so far seized and recovered several documents pertaining to the sale and shipping of the engines,’’ he said.

Police have also seized and frozen the property of the local jet engine buyer, said to be worth millions of ringgit, as they believe the assets were bought from ill-gotten gains.

It is learnt that the properties — a double-storey bungalow, two luxury condominium units and cash in the bank — were seized under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

More people are expected to be quizzed and more assets seized as investigations continue.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the engines were discovered missing from the Sungai Besi RMAF airbase during routine maintenance service. Also missing were its maintenance and service records.

He said a brigadier-general and 40 other armed forces personnel had been sacked over the incident.

Meanwhile, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has given an assurance that his Chambers would go “all out” in this case.

“It is a serious matter. I need a full investigation,” he said in New Delhi.

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