Chua wants scholarships system revamped

(Malaysiakini) Come every middle of the year when results of Public Service Department scholarship applications are out, MCA finds itself in the centre of attraction, or in some cases dissatisfaction, as the party handles appeals from dissatisfied students aces.

This year, MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong described it as the worse year ever since he begin handling such complaints, as many students cry foul that either the scholarships given were poorly matched to their qualifications, or that than lesser deserving students were given more.

In a recent interview, MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek argued that the PSD had performed a large series of mismatches, because too many students were clamouring for scholarships for medical degrees.

He said that there were 1,500 applications to do medical courses overseas and not only can this not be accommodated by the PSD grants, there were insufficient institutions to cater for this volume anyway.

“The mismatch is (because) everybody wants to do medicine. As I told you, there are not enough places to do medicine everywhere in the world. Can you imagine (sending) 1,500 people to do medicine overseas?” said Chua.

Chua, who has practiced medicine for more than a decade, believes that the current PSD scholarship award system is flawed and is proposing a revamp.

He said that the current system which allows for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) top scorers to apply for PSD scholarship for medical courses ought to be mulled over.

Reforms needed

He explained that the PSD scholarship was conceived to ensure placement of students in “critical courses” and he believes that medicine, and some other disciplines, should be struck off that list.

“Malaysia would have a surplus of doctors in five years time. I'm sorry to say that. We are training out more doctors than usual, the same with pharmacy.

“We have said that to the government. We are very worried that a day will come that when doctors come back, they have no place to go. This is something that is a possibility two or three years down the line,” he said.

Moreover, he believes that it was premature to give out grants for SPM leavers to pursue medicine because it doesn't guarantee that they will ace their pre-university exams, such as A-Levels or other matriculation courses.

“But today, if I said this, I will get a lot of scolding... The fact is that if you scored nine A+, it doesn't mean that you will do very well when you do matriculation,” he said.

Chua also argued that it was “not right” to send all top scholars overseas because a whopping 56 percent of PSD scholarship recipients who studied overseas never returned.

“All of them quickly cabut (run away). They specialise and then disappear into thin air,” he said, adding that MCA supports the government's intention to sue absconders.

Miscommunication

For now, MCA's priority in terms of PSD scholarships lies with its special committee, headed for former University Malaysia lecturer Fong Chan Onn, that will draw up suggestions for guidelines to help the department streamline its criteria for scholarships to avoid disputes in the future.

He said that the public were not properly informed about the current criteria and are unfairly critising the government and MCA after failing to secure the grant.

“A lot of people (think that) an A is an A. They don't know what is the difference between an A, A+ and A-. You see the problem?

“In one particular case, (the complainant's) son had ten A. True: Six A-, two A and two A+. So I told him 'Good results, but way behind (the line)',” he said.

Last year, the Najib administration promised that all students who scored eight A+ and above would be entitled to scholarships locally and abroad.

But of the 1,500 scholarships to study abroad, only 300 were distributed based on merit, while the balance were distributed based on four categories - Sabah bumiputeras (five percent), Sarawak bumiputeras (five percent), social composition or the population's racial composition (60 percent) and socially handicapped (10 percent).

Critics claim that this system was unfair to top performing students and would give the impression that the government does not reward its best brains, leading to an eventual brain drain.

Will Chua stand in GE13?

During the hour long interview with Malaysiakini, Chua dismissed talk that BN's losses in the April 16 Sarawak polls and the unprecedented losses suffered by Singapore's ever-ruling PAP party would threaten BN or MCA's chances in the next general election.

He said that in the case of Sarawak, it was a unique scenerio. He said that there was disenchantment with Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud's long rule while much of the population were poor.

“Sarawak is quite a unique case, where a leader has overstayed too long. And in the state, the poverty (level is high). (Then there is) always this accusation of blatant display of wealth,” he said.

Citing the example of how Taib likes to be chauffeured in several of his vintage Rolls Royce cars, Chua said such a practice would cost votes.

“How would people feel? If you asked me, personally, I feel it's a bit odd,” he said.

On whether MCA candidates who lost during the 2008 general election would be fielded again, Chua said that this is the general principle held by the party leaders now, but refused to rule out this possibility.

He said that the party would instead try its best to avoid doing so to prevent the perception that the party was fielding “recycled products”.

“If a person who has lost still has the highest chance of winning, he will be fielded. There is no hard and fast rule (on this),” he said.

On whether the party would be fielding him, Chua coyly said: “I really haven't decided”.

“I don't know. I haven't even decided. I don't even know where I'm going to stand. I may not even want to stand. I may even resign (as party president) before the general election.

“Or maybe I may even resign after the general election if I think I'm not doing a good job. And I have no fear of resigning. You all know that.”

Sopore sisters fall to militant bullets. But the angry Valley looks the other way

BY ZAHID RAFIQ

Snuffed out Akhtara (left) and her younger sister Arifa

IN A congested neighbourhood of old decaying houses, mourners arrive quietly through narrow muddy lanes. On the evening of 31 January, suspected militants dragged two teenaged sisters out of their home in Sopore, Jammu & Kashmir, and shot them dead in cold blood. This time, there were no cries of revenge from angry boys on the streets nor demands for investigations. In the silences and whispers, it seems as if something ominous — rather than horrendous — has happened.

In Muslim Peer, where most of the residents are related to each other, the pauses and measured answers of the girls’ relatives are surprising. There is a palpable feeling of fear and also of an overnight alienation. The victims’ family suddenly feels out of place after rumours that the girls were not only “immoral” but also informers for the security forces.

“Why else would militants kill them? Of course, they had a questionable character too for which they had been warned before,” is a common refrain in the town located 35 km northwest of Srinagar.

Akhtara, 18, and Arifa, 16, were beautiful and poor and often it is a tragic mix, more so when they refused to conform to the accepted morality of Sopore, a Jamaat-e- Islami and militant stronghold.

According to locals, the sisters used to roam around the market at dusk, laughing and chatting on their cell phones. “Akhtara was warned in April and asked to mend her ways but she continued to behave improperly,” says a shopkeeper.

Rumour has it that the girls were not only ‘immoral’ but also informers for the security forces

At around 7.45 pm on that fateful day, Arifa was cooking rice in the kitchen of her 8x10 ft single-room home. Akhtara was upstairs at her uncle’s place cleaning fish. Their father Ghulam Nabi Dar, a manual labourer in a ration depot, had gone to the mosque. Their mother Fareeza, a housewife who can no longer walk because of arthritis, was sitting with her 15-year-old son Ghulam Jeelani when the door suddenly opened and three masked men clad in phirans walked in.

“One of them asked my daughter to come out. I knew something was amiss but I had no idea it would go this wrong,” says Fareeza. “We all fell at their feet, begging them to tell us if we had done something wrong. But they said they just wanted to ask a few questions.”

“Outside, it was like a crackdown,” says a neighbour. Almost everyone heard the noises but no one came out. “There were 6-7 armed men who had cordoned off the area. When we tried to open a window, they warned us to stay inside. We were too afraid to go out,” says a relative.

The gunmen locked Fareeza inside and went up to get Akhtara. “Her uncle tried hard to stop them but they hit him and took the girls away. Some of us followed them but they sent us back saying they just want to talk to them alone. They said it was better for us to go home and not make them angry, and we returned,” recalls Shareefa, their aunt, whom Akhtara used to help with the fish.

Jeelani, who is frail and looks younger than his 15 years, hovered around, unable to understand what to do. Sometimes, he hugged his sisters and sometimes begged the gunmen to leave them alone, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

In mourning Their mother Fareeza (top) and brother Jeelani

Fifteen minutes later, gunshots shattered whatever little hopes the family had left. The bodies were found in Rahim Sahib neighbourhood. One was riddled with six holes, the other with four, including one through the head.

“One of the sisters had a broken arm and another had broken teeth. Their back had been lashed and I couldn’t count the injuries,” says a relative who gave the sisters their final bath before burial. Not many people attended the funeral, as it was almost certain that it was militants who had killed the “immoral girls”.

THE POLICE had given out the names of two local Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) militants — Muzaffar Naikoo alias Muz Maulvi and Waseem Ganai — within hours of the killings but the United Jehad Council (UJC) refuted the police claim and vowed to conduct its own investigation.

Everyone in Sopore seemed to have known the sisters or maybe their murder increased their “notoriety”. “They used to go out to the market at dusk, talk on cell phones on the street and also roamed around STF (Special Task Force) camps,” was the common refrain. But no one saw them entering an STF camp and the police say that none of their informers dare enter the camp through the bus yard.

There’s nothing to prove that the girls were informers. They haven’t stashed any riches, certainly not in their home. They don’t have a television or a bathroom.

Akhtara cleaned fish for Rs.4 a kg and used to work about four hours a day. “Even when she was dragged out, she had fish scales and stench on her hands,” recalls Shareefa.

Ritual condemnations came from several sides but no real words of anger or outrage were said. After the UJC denied any role in the killing, Hurriyat (G) gave a protest call insinuating that it was the work of State agencies. A day later, LeT posters appeared all over the town claiming responsibility for the killing. “We killed the two girls because their behaviour was improper and they were involved in degraded activities like informing the security agencies,” the poster read. It also threatened to take action against those who had started raising questions about the murders. No proofs and explanations of the girls’ involvement as informers were provided.

As for the mainstream political parties, the People’s Democratic Party, which acts as human right champions in the Valley, didn’t talk about the issue for days. The PDP made a passing reference about it five days later in its angry statement over the killing of Manzoor Ahmad Magray, 21, by the army in Handwara on 5 February.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited Magray’s family a day after his killing, but bypassed a numbed mother, a distraught father and hurt brother. However, he was the first to tweet about the murders but no one from Dar’s house was following him on Twitter.

Not many attended the funeral as it was almost certain it was militants who had killed the two girls

Meanwhile, human rights group Coalition of Civil Society, which sent its volunteers to the family, said that the real task was to work beyond statements and make these acts intolerable in our society.

“If the militants have killed the girls for promiscuity, then we have a huge task ahead of us because it is not the job of militants to decide who is promiscuous among us and give punishments. This is against international human rights principles and is certainly against Islam,” says Khurram Parvez, a human rights activist. “And if the girls were informers, we strongly condemn it because we don’t accept civilian killings and we had got UJC to agree to it,” he says.

Dar is a broken man and it is hard to imagine him carrying a load on his bent back as he has been doing for the past 15 years. Fareeza hasn’t moved from a relative’s home where she wails and sings elegies to her dead daughters. Jeelani roams around the bylanes like a ghost.

Their 8x10 ft room — with wires hanging from its low ceiling and the rough cement walls turned black — suddenly seems to have become big for the family that was always cramped for space.

In a distant corner, Fareeza wails in her elegy. “We were two daughters and a mother, we used to joke and laugh together. Tomorrow when everyone will go, who will I talk to? Without her crutches how will a cripple live, come back my daughter, come back to me!”

---

zahid@tehelka.com

Reports of Victims of Forced Conversions to Islam, Rapes and Forced Marriages

By Jeremy Reynalds
 

LAHORE -- In Pakistan forced conversions to Islam, rapes and forced marriages are on the rise.

According to a story by Agenzia Fides (the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies), the victims are mostly Hindu and Christian girls, belonging to religious minorities. The information came from Fides' local sources.

Fides said this has been a worrying phenomenon for the Church in Pakistan for some time, and one that the Church is trying to address. It is looking for institutional cooperation, but the process is an uphill battle.

"The Christian girls are the weakest and most vulnerable, because their communities are poor, defenseless and marginalized, therefore easily exposed to harassment and threats. Often they do not even have the courage to denounce the violence," a sister told Fides.

The sister hides and assists the girls who have managed to escape, Fides said.

The sister said, "But the trend is worrying: There are hundreds of cases a year registered and those that come to light are only a fraction."

Fides said in a society that tolerates discrimination of religious minorities, especially of women, the dominant religion and related social position are used to impose tyranny.

A report sent to Fides by the Center for Legal Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), which takes care of legal assistance for Christians who are discriminated against and persecuted in Pakistan, confirmed this issue. It reported a number of troubling situations, occurring mainly in the province of Punjab.

Fides said Sidra Bibi, a 14-year-old Christian in the district of Sheikhupura in Punjab, is the daughter of a worker in the cotton industry. A Muslim from the village had his eye on her and began to molest her. He eventually abducted and raped her, before threatening her with death.

Physically and psychologically abused, the girl became pregnant.

Fides said she managed to escape from her captor, and is now back with her family. Police have refused to accept her complaint, Fides said, and now CLAAS lawyers are handling the case.

Fides said Tina Barkat, a 28-year-old-Christian, was approached by a Muslim friend who, after being friends with her for several months, asked her to convert to Islam. Her family began to read her verses of the Koran, kidnaped and threatened her, and then gave her in marriage to a Muslim family member. Her attorneys have filed a motion to dissolve the marriage.

Fides said a similar situation has occurred to Samina Ayub, a 17-year-old Christian, who lives with her family near Lahore. Kidnaped by a Muslim, she was forcibly converted to Islam, renamed Fatima Bibi, and forced to marry in the Muslim tradition.

Fides said her family reported the abduction, but police have not prosecuted those responsible. The case remains unsolved, and her family is asking for help from everyone interested in saving Samina.

Fides said Shazia Bibi, a 19-year-old Christian from Gujranwala, in Punjab, worked as a maid in the house of a Muslim woman, the owner of a grocery store. The Muslim boy from the store was in love with Shazia. In collaboration with the owner, they held a "conversion" and forced her into marriage. Fides said the plan was successful, but now as a result of intervention from Shazia's family the case has ended up in court.

In addition, Fides said, two other Christian girls, Uzma Bibi, 15, and from Gulberg, and Saira Bibi, 20, a nurse from Lahore, were abducted by Muslim neighbors, converted to Islam and then forced to marry in an Islamic ceremony.

Fides said the horrified families of the girls have reclaimed their daughters, and the cases are currently before the High Court of Lahore, represented by lawyers provided by CLAAS.

Police give their take on lock-up row

Malacca police say a bank manager was detained because he refused to produce his IC.

PETALING JAYA: A bank manager was arrested for refusing to produce his identity card and driving licence and not because he was not wearing a seat belt, Malacca police chief SAC I Chua Ghee Lye said today.

He said that police did not abuse their power when they detained the bank manager, Edmund Hiew Kok Ming, who is also a DAP member.

“The incident occurred on Jalan Laksamana Cheng Hong at about 9pm on May 28. The manager together with three other persons were in a Toyota Avanza when a traffic officer noticed that the driver was not wearing a seat-belt,” Chua told FMT.

He said that when the police officer tried to flag down the car, the driver at first refused to halt. He only stopped after some 150 metres down the road.

“When the officer asked the driver for his IC and licence, he refused to give. He even told my officer he had no authority to ask for his licence. The officer explained to the bank manager that he was only doing his duty.

“After several attempts, the man surrendered his IC but still refused to hand over his licence. He only gave a receipt of his renewed licence. He even started scolding my officer in Chinese,” said Chua.

He said the officer then warned Hiew that he was obstructing the law by not producing his document. It was only when the officer called for back-up that the driver relented and produced his licence.

“Yes, he did take a photograph of the policeman but that’s not an issue. There’s nothing wrong with taking a picture; we did not arrest him for that,” said Chua.

He said that Hiew’s case had been submitted to the deputy public prosecutor to decide if there is a case, adding that the police would also be taking down a few more statements.


Sufficient grounds

On the allegation that the police did not inform Hiew of his offence, Chua said it was done as it was part of the standard procedures.

“However, I am told that he was informed of his rights to a lawyer but I cannot confirm it,” he added.
“The DAP wants to bring up this issue and I cannot fault them. It is doing its job as an opposition party,” he said.

“But as far as we’re concerned, the manager had committed an offence by questioning police’s authority… The public should be aware that whenever a policeman asks for your identity card, you are legally bound to hand it over,” he said.

When asked why Hiew was held for three days, Chua said the remand order was sought to record all the necessary statements.

“The magistrate must have been satisfied that there are sufficient grounds to hold him longer… perhaps he was hostile or uncooperative,” said Chua.

Earlier today, Hiew, 26, had reportedly accused the Malacca police of arresting, handcuffing and putting him in the lock-up for three nights for merely not wearing a seat-belt while driving with four friends last month.

Hiew, together with DAP leaders, claimed at a press conference today that the police had abused their powers for detaining him after accusing him of allegedly obstructing them from discharging their duties on the night of May 28.

“I was accused of obstructing a civil servant from carrying out his duties by uttering to the police sergeant, ‘Lu apa kuasa mau ambik gua punya IC dan lesen’ (What powers do you have to take my IC and licence?),” Hiew reportedly said in an online newsportal, but denied saying those words.

Hiew, who admitted he did not wear his seat belt, said he cooperated with the sergeant and had handed over his identity card and driving licence.

But he alleged that the sergeant became angry when he took pictures of the situation. The officer even allegedly threatened to put Hiew in jail and inform his employer so that he would be fired.

The police said Hiew’s offence fell under Section 186 of the Penal Code for trying to obstruct policemen from carrying out their duties.

Hiew was held in the Melaka Tengah police station and then transferred to the traffic station before being released on May 31.

He also alleged that the police did not tell him the grounds for his arrest, which, according to lawyer and DAP’s Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, was the right of a detained person.

Lim also said that police contravened Section 28A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) by not telling Hiew that he had the right to see a lawyer.

Laying old Sabah ghosts to rest

The defamation suit brought by former chief minister Harris Salleh against SAPP president Yong Teck Lee will open up a Pandora's Box.

COMMENT

March 19 to 23 next year will stage the stage for a battle royale in the Kota Kinabalu High Court on a RM50 million defamation suit brought by one former chief minister against another. The case has opened up a Pandora’s Box, in more ways than one, since it will no doubt dwell as well on the fact that oil was the reason why Sabah was not allowed to follow suit when Singapore left the Federation of Malaysia in late 1965.
Harris Salleh, an Indian-Brunei Malay, is suing Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee, a Chinese-Suluk.

The latter, according to Harris, had allegedly publicly insinuated that he (Harris) had something to do with the June 6, 1976 air crash which took the lives of then chief minister Fuad Stephens and 10 others including five ministers.

Harris bases his insinuation theory partly on the fact that he was the one who became chief minister upon Stephens’ tragic demise and went on to sign the controversial oil agreement with Petronas and the federal government. Harris suspects that fingers have been pointed at him ever since then – Yong’s call merely confirms it – and he obviously thinks that it’s time to clear the air and ensure his place in history before he meets his maker.

The suit arose after Yong called for the case file on the tragedy to be re-opened in the wake of public comments following a talk given by former finance minister and Petronas chairman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah on April 2 last year in Kota Kinabalu. Much of Razaleigh’s talk was devoted to the 1976 tragedy because, according to him, he was still haunted by it and especially whenever he was in Sabah. Many Sabahans are convinced that Razaleigh, or Ku Li, was sending out a subtle message in his own way and he deliberately chose Kota Kinabalu to do it.

Razaleigh had given a gripping account of how he was taken down from the ill-fated aircraft at the very last minute by Harris. The Petronas chief, in turn, invited then Sarawak chief minister Abdul Rahman Ya’kub to accompany him. Razaleigh was then all belted up and chatting away seated next to Stephens on the GAF Nomad aircraft which was ready for take-off at Labuan Airport.

It’s bit of a mystery how Harris could breach protocol and why – he reportedly didn’t ask Stephens – and get Razaleigh off the plane, at the very last minute ostensibly to visit a cattle farm in Kudat. No one can ask Stephens in court for his account. Dead men tell no tales. But Rahman is still around to shed some light on the mystery. No doubt Razaleigh himself will be called to court by Yong as a star witness.

Conspiracy theories

Stephens was headed for Kota Kinabalu where Razaleigh, and Rahman Ya’kub, had been expected to try and persuade the Sabah chief minister one more time to sign away the state’s oil and gas reserves to the national oil corporation and the federal government in perpetuity. Rahman had already signed such an agreement with Petronas and the federal government.

Earlier, Stephens had been expected in Labuan to sign the so-called oil agreement. Stephens, by all accounts, held out for a higher royalty than the measly 5% the federal government offered for oil and gas produced in the state’s inner waters. The state government would get nothing, under the agreement, for any oil and gas produced in the outer waters.

Stephens predecessor and childhood friend, the legendary Suluk chief Mustapha Harun, had been dethroned by Kuala Lumpur’s machinations on the ground in Sabah for also holding out for a higher oil royalty. Mustapha wanted 20% and not just in the inner but outer waters as well. Kuala Lumpur wouldn’t hear of it and backed Stephens’ newly-launched Parti Berjaya to bring about the downfall of Mustapha’s United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) state government.

Again, Yong has explained himself hoarse that he merely asked for the case to be re-opened – enough to nettle the hypersensitivity of Harris on the issue – to bring closure to the tragedy. The SAPP leader had made a valid point for once. The tragedy continues to haunt all Sabahans and conspiracy theories abound.

Harris, however, thinks that Yong was also trying to make political capital out of the issue at his expense and to revive the fortunes of his ailing mosquito party. Harris wants to prove that he would be no scapegoat for any hidden hands that may have been involved in the tragedy. In that sense, Harris, like Yong, may want to bring closure as well to the tragedy so that his good friend Stephens and the others can rest in peace.

Yong was not the only one to openly make the call. Then PKR vice-president and de facto Sabah and Sarawak PKR chief Jeffrey Kitingan made the same call. Harris wanted to sue Jeffrey as well but Yunof Maringking, Harris’ lawyer in the suit against Yong, refused to take the case. Yunof goes a long way back with Jeffrey from their Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) days.

Yunof, a fellow Dusun, thought that it was sacrilegious to sue Jeffrey, the younger of the Kitingan brothers in politics. His elder brother, Joseph Pairin, is PBS president, a former chief minister and currently a deputy chief minister. Kitingan senior is also Huguan Siou, paramount chief, of the Dusuns – including the Kadazan or urban Dusun – and the Muruts. The Kitingans are cast, much like the Kennedys and Gandhis, in the mould of political royalty in Sabah.

Bad British idea

Ironically, Harris’ suit against Yong came up for mention in the High Court on the 35th anniversary of the air crash, dubbed the “Double Six Tragedy”, probably an ominous portent of things to come.

Just 10 minutes away from the High Court, Stephens’ widow Rahimah and state government representatives gathered at the Double Six monument in Sembulan, for 15 minutes, to lay wreaths and mark the ill-fated date and tragedy.

If something good comes out of Harris suing Yong, it may be an even greater determination on the part of the Sabah government to review the oil agreement.

Many feel that Malaysia should follow in the footsteps of Indonesia to devolve and give greater power to the states. That would also include, like in Indonesia, the oil states keeping 70% of their oil and gas revenue while 30% goes to the federal government for its upkeep and to channel to the non-oil states.

All this can only happen if we accept the thinking that the federal government must downsize as it has since pledged, concern itself only with national economic planning, security and foreign affairs and get out of the business of business.

Equally pertinent is the school of thought that Malaysia is a bad British idea which was not allowed to work in Brunei, did not work in Singapore and has never worked in Sabah and Sarawak. Stephens, like Mustapha, was a stumbling block that some quarters in Kuala Lumpur thought needed to be removed one way or another.

Kazakh trip, IPPs, Khir Toyo and Rosmah's handbag to dominate Parliament

Prime Minister Najib Razak's recent Kazakhstan trip, lop-sided IPP agreements and former Selangor mentri besar Khir Toyo's RM6.5 million cash renovations are likely to top the list of questions to be asked when the mid-year Parliament session starts on Monday.

The seesion will last from June 13 to June 28, and Malaysians can expect a lively debate from the Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. However, whether Prime Minister Najib Razak's government will be as forthcoming with credible answers is less likely, gauging from past records.

Nonetheless, Pakatan MPs have vowed to get to the bottom of allegations that Najib and his wife had abused public money by timing an official visit with the engagement of their youngest daughter to the son of a wealthy and powerful Kazakh official.

They plan to demand that the first couple comes clean on their expenses. Malaysians have been outraged by the possibility that PM and his wife had flown in their personal guests for the engagement under the guise of 'official entourage'.

"Najib needs to separate out his personal guests from the officials who had valid reasons to go to Kazakh. Just imagine all the first-class air fare, hotel fees and what-not. It's no joke you know," Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad told Malaysia Chronicle.

His colleague, Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar, questioned whether the large Kazakh-bound entourage of 200 people was necessary if the trip was just to return an official visit made by the Kazakh prime minister to Malaysia in 2006. This was the reason given for the trip, according to UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

Mahfuz also pointed out that less than 5 nations had attended the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), held at the sidelines of the Kazakh visit, the secondary reason given for the trip. Mahfuz demanded that the PM explain the basis for spending so much money and taking such a large group to the forum, when back home, Najib was asking the people to tighten their belts and accept a slew of price hikes.

Handbag shocker

PAS leaders also plan to raise the issue of Rosmah's prized handbags, alleged to be worth RM1 million and called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the matter.
"This is not a frivolous issue at all. How can she afford such expensive bags. How come she and Najib can spend so much beyond their means? There are serious issues. The RM1 million can be put to good use in building facilities in the rural towns, giving scholarships and so forth," Mahfuz told Malaysia Chronicle.

Meanwhile, PKR Women's chief and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin said the "spendthrift" ways of the first couple made nonsense of the warning given by Idris Jala, the minister in the PM's Department, who in 2010 issued a wake-up call to the nation.

Idris had warned in no certain terms Malaysia could go bankrupt by 2019, the same way as Greece did. Yet instead of biting the bullet and leading the way, Zuraida expressed disappointment that Najib and Rosmah had chosen to "live it up" at the nation's expense.

"Things are no longer the same. There is now a strong opposition in Malaysia and we keep questioning and grilling them. They can be stubborn and arrogant but they do so at their own peril. Voters will surely teach them a lesson in the next election," Zuraida told Malaysia Chronicle.

Khir Toyo oozing cash

Another hot topic to be raised in Parliament is where did Khir Toyo find RM6.5 million cash to renovate his Bali-themed super-luxury mansion in Shah Alam.

According to Mahfuz, the BN government was deflecting attention from the source of Khir Toyo's wealth. Instead of hunting to the ground the source of the possible corruption, how widespread it is, and if others are involved, the Najib administration has only charged Khir for purchasing the mansion at a much-discounted rate.

"When a politician has amassed wealth beyond his pay-cheque, his source of funds must be investigated and his network or syndicate busted. Until that is done, the public will surely accuse Khir Toyo's trial as being just an eye-wash," said Mahfuz.

The PAS vice president also called on the MACC and the Income Tax Department to investigate. So far, the agencies - for reasons better known to themselves - have kept mum on the topic.
Meanwhile, Zuraida urged the public to be vigilant and insist that the government gives full and credible answers.

She said Malaysians can be sure that Najib will be the first to resist giving any satisfactory answers, let alone volunteer explanations in the name of good governance and transparency.

"Even in the august House, the BN Government does not answer questions in a manner that is transparent and responsible, what more the other government institutions? It is beyond a bad example. Najib and BN are treating Parliament as though it is their own mansion. Malaysian voters must teach them how to respect their wishes for check-and-balance," said Zuraida.

IPPs and the 'untouchable' cronies

As for DAP MPs, they plan to raise the issue of the government's lop-sided agreements with the Independent Power Producers, who have been blamed for snagging the bulk of government subsidies - to the tune of at least RM19 billion.

Most of the IPPs are controlled by tycoons with links to the UMNO elite, and according to DAP leaders, instead of cutting their portion of the subsidies, the Najib administration has chosen to take it out on the man on the street with electricity and petrol price hikes.

DAP's Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz, who is Penang's representative in the Dewan Negara, urged the public to demand answers from the government and to make known their disapproval if the Najib administration continued to refuse to co-operate.

"The rakyat (populace) must demand that they be held accountable in all areas of administration in the running of the affairs of the state," said Tunku Aziz.

- Malaysia Chronicle

Matlamat menghalalkan cara

Today you no longer know who are the people behind these fitnah campaigns. Don’t always assume that the ‘other side’ is the culprit behind these campaigns. You might be shocked to know that it is the ‘same side’ doing it. It could be the opposition people slandering their own opposition comrades. Then again it could be Umno people doing it, knowing very well that it will backfire on Umno and become a political liability to Najib.
NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin Matlamat menghalalkan cara means the end justifies the means. Basically, halal becomes haram and haram becomes halal -- the permitted becomes forbidden and the forbidden becomes permitted.
Considering that most Malaysians believe in God -- whether they are Muslims, Christians, Buddhists or Hindus -- this makes it extremely surprising, if not shocking.
Take Islam as an example. The Quran specifically mentions that we may not forbid what God has permitted and vice versa. Yet this is the very thing that those who profess the religion of Islam do, in total violation of the Quran.
The Quran also tells Muslims that they should not alter the word of God. Yet the do exactly that -- they alter the word of God by forbidding what is permitted and permitting what is forbidden.
For example, Islam makes it mandatory for all Muslims to practice amar makruf, nahi munkar. This means you must uphold good (or the truth) and oppose evil. But try doing this in Malaysia and see what happens.
If you were to uphold the truth (by criticising the government) you would get arrested and charged in court or you would be detained without trial under the Internal Security Act.
And Islam is supposed to be the official religion of the Federation of Malaysia, mind you. Podah! Malaysia is no better than Russia, China or Israel.
Well, that is because we have a bad government, you might say. But then this ‘Islamic culture’ not only applies to criticising the government. If you criticise the opposition or opposition leaders, they can’t arrest and charge you or detain you under the ISA, but they would certainly spread stories that you have been bought off by Umno.
So the opposition is no better when it comes to not honouring amar makruf, nahi munkar. It is just that they have no power to arrest or detain you so they slander you instead.
Would the opposition allow amar makruf, nahi munkar if it becomes the federal government? Maybe if Lim Guan Eng or Nik Aziz Nik Mat becomes the Prime Minister they would but I am not sure about the rest of the Pakatan Rakyat leaders.
They are saying that I started criticising the opposition since the fallout between Zaid Ibrahim and Anwar Ibrahim soon after the Hulu Selangor by-election. They attribute this to me being pro-Zaid. Therefore, since Zaid is now anti-Anwar, I too have become anti-Anwar.
This is not about being pro-anyone or anti-anyone. It is about being anti-dirty tactics.
I am not pro-Zaid even though he is my friend (I have refused to join his party although I still socialise with him). I am also in that same spirit not anti-Anwar (I still support him as opposition leader although he no longer talks to me or contacts me). It is just that I am anti-internal sabotage and I don’t like what some PKR leaders or party insiders did during the Hulu Selangor by-election.
If you can remember, at that time I wrote an article whacking Umno for the doctored photograph of Zaid and the beer bottle. I accused Umno of fitnah (slander) for distributing that fake photograph of Zaid with the beer bottle in his hand.
Then, to my shock, I discovered that it was not Umno who did this foul deed but someone high up in PKR. When I found out about this I just kept quiet (which is not quite the Islamic thing to do and opposed to amar makruf, nahi munkar).
I decided to not shake the tree lest something falls out of the tree. I did not want to name the person even though I know who he is.
Now some unknown people are distributing the Mat Sabu sex scandal VCDs. I heard the next campaign is to spread the story that Mat Sabu is a closet Shiah follower and anti-Hadith as well. That will of course hurt Mat Sabu pretty bad and may affect Muslim support for PAS.
I hope Umno is behind this next Mat Sabu slander campaign because if they are then they are very stupid indeed. It is going to backfire terribly. The Datuk T drama backfired terribly. It was a move that hurt Umno more than it hurt Anwar. And this Mat Sabu slander exercise is going to hurt Umno again.
But is it really Umno that is behind the Mat Sabu sex scandal VCD and the Shiah-anti-Hadith campaign that they are about to launch? My Deep Throats in Umno say it is not their people who are doing this and the Umno people too are puzzled as to who is behind it.
According to the Umno people they suspect that someone in the opposition is doing this. If this is true then these people are very clever. The Mat Sabu sex scandal VCD and the Shiah-anti-Hadith exercise are going to backfire badly on Umno. And the ‘beautiful’ thing is even Ummo is puzzled about what is going on and is being caught with their pants down.
Or is it really someone from Umno who is doing this and they are doing it knowing that it will backfire on Umno and will therefore be a huge problem for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak?
Yes, that is another possibility. The 3M team of Mahathir-Muhyiddin-Mukhriz knows that by sabotaging Mat Sabu with the sex scandal VCD and the Shiah-anti-Hadith story it is going to hurt Najib.
So you see, all is not what it appears to be. This is just like Hitler burning the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27th February 1933. And wasn’t Hitler one of the greatest propaganda strategists of his time?
What is halal and what is haram? It no longer matters. What matters is that the end justifies the means -- and never mind if the means is halal or haram.
If you were to bring a bottle of wine to the home of a Muslim he or she would get very upset. Wine is haram and they do not want it in their home. But if you were to bring a ‘red packet’ containing thousands of ringgit to the home of a Muslim that is not a problem.
A bottle of wine cannot. Haram! Bribes can. Not haram.
How does the mind of these Muslims work? The majority of those accepting bribes are government officers and Umno politicians who are supposed to be Muslims. They get very upset if you bring a bottle of wine to their homes but they would welcome, in fact, insist, on bribes.
And they would gleefully fitnah another Muslim and distribute sex VCDs of other Muslims for the purpose of political power. Haram becomes halal for the sake of gaining political power.
Today you no longer know who are the people behind these fitnah campaigns. Don’t always assume that the ‘other side’ is the culprit behind these campaigns. You might be shocked to know that it is the ‘same side’ doing it.
It could be the opposition people slandering their own opposition comrades. Then again it could be Umno people doing it, knowing very well that it will backfire on Umno and become a political liability to Najib.
In fact, there are some in Malaysia’s intelligence agencies who don’t trust Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, one of the three members of the Datuk T gang. The ‘official’ story going around is that Eskay was once a close friend of Anwar who has since sold him out.
Some in Malaysia’s intelligence agencies do not think so. They think that Eskay is still close to Anwar and that he is involved in the porn video exercise to hurt Umno. And it has, in fact, hurt Umno badly, in particular Najib.
Najib may now have to delay the next general election. Initially it was supposed to be in July. And then they said it would most likely be in November (11-11-11) after the budget. The latest I heard is it may be delayed further, to next year, because Umno is worried that all these ‘scandals’ may have backfired on Umno.
Yes, it is getting very confusing indeed. We are hearing all sort of things and we are hearing that so and so is behind all these. But all is not what it appears and those alleged to be behind all these things are equally confused.
Nevertheless, it just proves that Malaysian politics is getting more complicated by the day. You think you can read what is happening but that is no longer true. They aim at a certain target but the real target is another one altogether.
Rahim Thambi Chik is Dr Mahathir’s man. Could it be that Datuk T’s real target is not Anwar but Najib, as what some suspect? Considering the Anwar porn video has backfired on Najib this could be true. Or was Rahim tricked by Eskay, who is still Anwar’s comrade?
I really no longer know. But one thing I do know is that Malaysia’s politics is not as simple as you may think. It is very complicating. The targets are not that identifiable any more. They hit Anwar and Mat Sabu but their real target could actually be Najib.

Surat Terbuka Untuk Perdana Menteri

Mat Zain bin Ibrahim,
10hb.Jun 2011.

Kepada;
YAB Dato Seri Mohd.Najib Tun Abdul Razak,
Perdana Menteri Malaysia,
Jabatan Perdana Menteri,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan                              Dengan Tangan
62152 Putrajaya,
Wilayah Persekutuan.
Yang Amat Berhormat Dato Seri,


PERANAN PEGUAM NEGARA DALAM SKANDAL MAS.


Assalamualaikum wbt.
1.         Saya muncul kali ini untuk, menarik perhatian YAB kepada pengumuman yang dibuat oleh Tan Sri Dr.Hadenan Abdul Jalil pada 31.5.2011 yang “membersihkan” Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Peguam Negara sekali lagi, daripada sebarang salah laku jenayah,berkaitan pemergiannya menunaikan Haji di-Mekah, bersama-sama dengan seorang Shahidan Shafie yang dikatakan seorang proxy kepada Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli.

2.         Saya menyatakan bahawa tindakan Tan Sri Hadenan sedemikian itu, adalah tidak teratur serta tidak mengikut peraturan Undang-Undang sedia ada.Ini memandangkan beliau, sama ada secara persendirian atau sebagai sifat Pengerusi Operation Review Panel MACC tidak mempunyai sebarang kuasa atau hak mengikut Perlembagaan atau mana-mana Undang-Undang,untuk menyemak apa-apa keputusan yang dibuat oleh Pendakwa Raya atau SPRM sendiri.

3.         Untuk penekanan yang lebih jelas,saya sertakan salinan surat Lembaga Penasihat Pencegahan Rasuah (LPPR) bertarikh 23.7.2009, menyentuh  bidangkuasa mereka,yang ditanda tangani sendiri oleh YA Bhg.Tun Abdul Hamid bin Haji Mohamad,Pengerusi LPPR dengan maksudnya berpenerangan sendiri.

4.         Sekiranya Jawatankuasa induk LPPR yang diperngerusikan oleh seorang mantan Ketua Hakim Negara, telah mengesahkan bahawa mereka sendiri TIDAK mempunyai kuasa menyemak keputusan yang dibuat oleh Pendakwa Raya atau SPRM,maka persoalannya ialah;darimana pula Tan Sri Hadenan memperolehi kuasa beliau untuk membersihkan Gani Patail.Selain itu Tan Sri Hadenan sendiri dipercayai telah menerima surat rayuan saya bertarikh 15.4.2009 dialamatkan kepada LPPR dan dipercayai juga, telah mengambil pendirian secara kolektif sepertimana jawapan Pengerusi LPPR bertarikh 23.7.2009 tersebut.

5.         Pada pendapat saya persoalan sama ada Tan Sri Hadenan serta Ahli-Ahli jawatankuasa beliau berpuas hati atau sebaliknya, berkaitan siasatan SPRM itu tidak timbul,memandangkan beliau tidak ada kuasa untuk berbuat apa-apa sekalipun beliau tidak berpuas hati.Malahan Tan Sri Hadenan sendiri telah membuat kenyataan umum, bahawa Operations Review Panel (ORP) tidak terlibat didalam sebarang proses penyiasatan SPRM memandangkan ORP bukan sebagai sebahagian organisasi SPRM melainkan sekadar mewakili orang ramai sahaja,sepertimana yang dilaporkan oleh Bernama pada 12.11.2009. Beliau membuat kenyataan ini ketika mengesahkan akan menghantar peromohan ORP kepada Peguam Negara untuk mendapatkan kebenaran bertulis meneliti kes berkaitan V.K.Lingam.Saya sendiri tidak nampak apa yang ORP boleh buat dengan kes berkenaan oleh kerana ORP tidak mempunyai kuasa penyiasatan atau pendakwaan ataupun kuasa dan hak menyemak semula apa apa keputusan yang dibuat oleh SPRM atau Pendakwa Raya.

6.         Seterusnya saya berpendapat bahawa tindakan Tan Sri Hadenan membuat pengumuman berkaitan pemergian Peguam Negara ke-Mekah sedemikian itu, sekadar merupakan suatu eksesais “white-washing” yang tidak teratur dan sia-sia,bertujuan untuk menyelamatkan Gani Patail daripada dikenakan hukuman jenayah, berdasarkan daripada penerangan yang saya berikan diatas dan juga hujah lanjutan dalam perenggan-perenggan yang akan menyusul selepas ini.

7.         Antara dakwaan utama yang dibuat terhadap Gani Patail berkaitan isu pemergiannya ke-Mekah itu,ialah beliau didapati bersekongkol dengan seorang En.Shahidan Shafie yang dikatakan sebagai seorang proxy kepada Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli (TRI) yang sedang menghadapi penyiasatan SPRM berkaitan skandal MAS.Hubungan erat  antara Gani Patail dengan Shahidan seperti ahli keluarga didakwa telah mempengaruhi Gani Patail untuk tidak mengambil tindakan undang-undang terhadap TRI.

8.         Saya menyatakan bahawa Shahidan bukan sekadar seorang proxy biasa kepada TRI.Malah Shahidan mempunyai liabiliti penjenayahannya yang tersendiri dalam Skandal MAS tersebut, berasingan dengan liabiliti jenayah TRI.Dakwaan ini dapat dilihat dengan jelas dalam laporan kepada SPRM yang dibuat oleh En.Shahari bin Sulaiman Pengarah Urusan MASKargo Sdn Bhd.sebuah anak syarikat MAS pada 20.5.2009.Untuk kemudahan rujukan,saya lampirkan salinan laporan berkenaan yang pernah disiarkan kepada umum oleh blog Malaysia Today sekitar bulan Ogos 2010.

9.         Siapa Shahidan,apa hubungan beliau dengan TRI  dan apa peranan yang dimainkan oleh Shahidan, dilaporkan secara teratur dan kemas dalam laporan berkenaan.Begitu juga dengan peranan dan tanggungan liabiliti jenayah oleh individu-individu lain yang dinamakan dalam laporan sama.Kredibiliti laporan oleh MAS tersebut tidak boleh dipertikaikan memandangkan terdapat wakil Kerajaan dalam Lembaga Pengarah MAS sendiri. Malahan laporan dari MAS itu seharusnya dianggap sebagai laporan daripada Kerajaan.Kerugian terkumpul RM 8 Billion akibat Skandal MAS itu juga wajar dianggap sebagai pendedahan oleh Kerajaan sendiri.

10.       Pada 15 Disember 2010,Tan Sri Hadenan telah membuat pengumuman bahawa Skandal MAS tersebut masih dalam siasatan SPRM setelah muncul keterangan dan saksi-saksi baru.Pengumuman ini telah disiarkan secara meluas oleh media MSM dan alternatif.Ini bermakna status TRI ialah beliau masih dalam siasatan.Begitu juga dengan status setiap seorang yang dinamakan dalam laporan MAS tersebut.Ini juga bermakna bahawa status Shahidan dalam Skandal MAS ini juga, adalah beliau masih dalam siasatan SPRM.

11.       Persoalannya ialah adakah wajar,Gani Patail seorang Peguam Negara yang masih berhidmat dilihat sebagai bersekongkol dengan Shahidan, seorang yang masih dalam siasatan serious SPRM, yang mana hasil siasatannya kelak, dipertimbangkan oleh Jabatan Peguam Negara yang diketuai oleh Gani Patail sendiri.Mampukah SPRM atau Jabatan Peguam Negara bertindak berkecuali serta memberikan pertimbangan yang adil dan saksama dalam kes ini sedangkan skandal ini melibatkan kerugian melebihi RM 8 Billion wang Rakyat.

12.       Ketika membuat pengumuman pada 31.5.2011 itu pula,Tan Sri Hadenan tidak langsung menyebut berkaitan status Shahidan dalam penyiasatan SPRM ataupun mengesahkan sama ada Gani Patail dan keluarganya benar telah pergi dan tinggal bersama dengan Shahidan ketika di-Mekah ,walapun fakta ini adalah fakta material dalam penyiasatan.Sekiranya Tan Sri Hadenan mengharapkan untuk menemui rekod transaksi kewangan antara TRI atau Shahidan didalam akaun persendirian Gani Patail,maka itu seolah mengharapkan bulan jatuh keriba.Sama ada beliau sedar atau tidak,Tan Sri Hadenan boleh disifatkan telah menyembunyikan sesuatu fakta material yang boleh dianggap sebagai suatu perdayaan sepertimana yang ditakrifkan dalam Kanun Keseksaan.

13.       Perkara utama dalam isu ini, tidak lain daripada mempertimbangkan tingkah laku atau conduct Gani Patail.Sama ada sebagai seorang Peguam Negara,sepadan atau tidak, beliau bersekongkol secara terang-terang dengan seorang yang sedang dalam penyiasatan pihak berkuasa kerana didakwa terlibat dalam suatu skandal besar melibatkan wang Rakyat.Apabila ianya melibatkan isu conduct seorang Peguam Negara yang sedang berhidmat,maka pihak yang mempunyai kuasa atau hak mengadilinya, hanyalah sebuah Tribunal yang dilantik oleh SPB Yang Di-Pertuan Agong setelah dinasihatkan oleh Perdana Menteri, sepertimana yang sedia ada secara spesifiknya dalam Artikel 125 (3) dibaca bersama Artikel 145 (6) Perlembagaan.Saya yakin saya tidak perlu menjelaskan perkara ini lebih lanjut lagi memandangkan Kerajaan sendiri pernah menghadapi situasi serupa dalam isu conduct mantan Ketua Hakim Negara, YA.Bhg.Tun Salleh Abbas.

14.       Seorang Peguam Negara yang berwibawa dan mempuyai kredibiliti tidak tercemar, akan mempertahankan hak dan keistimewaan jawatan beliau yang sedia diperuntukkan dalam Perlembagaan.Beliau tidak akan sama sekali membenarkan, mana-mana pihak yang tidak berkenaan, sewenang-wenangnya mengadili atau meneliti perihal conduct beliau sepertimana yang pernah dicabar oleh Tun Salleh Abbas suatu ketika dahulu.Malangnya Gani Patail yang kita kenali, sanggup merelakan dirinya diadili oleh sesiapa jua asalkan pihak berkenaan sanggup mengistiharkan secara umum, bahawa beliau bebas daripada sebarang salah laku jenayah.Sekiranya Gani Patail tidak mampu dan berani mempertahankan hak dan keistimewaan jawatan beliau sendiri,maka bagaimanakah Rakyat boleh mengharapkan beliau menjadi pelindung serta mempertahankan hak kesamarataan Rakyat dari sudut Perlembagaan dan undang-undang Negara.

15.       Walaubagaimanapun perkara yang ,menarik dalam laporan Pengarah Urusan MASKargo itu ialah; “modus operandi” (M.O.) yang diamalkan oleh TRI dan lain-lain individu terlibat dalam Skandal MAS tersebut. M.O yang dimaksudkan ialah, “membuat perjanjian/konrak jangka panjang yang berat sebelah”. M.O sebegini dikatakan telah diamalkan oleh TRI dalam beberapa perjanjian/kontrak sejak beliau mengambil alih MAS dari tahun 1994 sehingga 2001 yang menyebabkan kerugian terkumpul lebih daripada RM 8 Billion.

15.1.   Rakyat juga kini mendapat tahu bahawa Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) juga dilaporkan telah menandatangani beberapa perjanjian/kontrak jangka panjang yang berat sebelah dengan beberapa Penjanakuasa Bebas (IPP),yang mengakibatkan Rakyat menanggung kerugian lingkungan RM 20 Billion.
15.2.   Begitu juga dalam hal skandal kewangan Syarikat Perwaja Steel, dimana beberapa perjanjian/kontrak jangka panjang yang berat sebelah telah dibuat dengan beberapa Syarikat dalam dan Luar Negara yang mengakibatkan dana Rakyat sekitar RM 4 Billion lesap.


16.       Secara kebetulan pula ketiga-tiga “skandal kewangan” ini berlaku atau bermula antara tahun 1994 hingga tahun 1996.Tidak salah jika demi kepentingan Rakyat, Kerajaan meneliti semula kesemua perjanjian/kontrak yang dikatakan berat sebelah itu memandangkan terdapat keserupaan dalam M.O yang digunakan oleh ketiga-tiga Syarikat terlibat untuk mencari “common factor” yang mungkin boleh ditemui jika penyiasatannya dilakukan dengan teliti.Kita tidak boleh mengenepikan kemungkinan mendapati orang atau kumpulan orang-orang yang menyediakan terma-terma perjanjian/kontrak berkenaan terdiri dari kumpulan orang yang sama.Kajian kriminologis telah membuktikan bahawa pencuri,perompak dan penipu lazimnya akan mengamalkan M.O yang sama setiap kali melakukan jenayah kerana itu adalah kelebihan atau kemahiran mereka.

16.1.   Saya percaya eksesais ini berbaloi memandangkan kerugian yang Rakyat telah tanggung melebihi RM 30 Billion.Mungkin Rakyat sendiri tidak dapat membayangkan nikmat dan kemudahan yang mereka akan rasai jika wang sebanyak itu telah dibelanjakan untuk kepentingan mereka.

17.       Boleh dikatakan  tahun 1994 hingga 1996 merupakan suatu tempoh bila mana “skandal-skandal” dan kontroversi menggemparkan Negara berlaku atau bermula.Selain daripada skandal kewangan melibatkan MAS,TNB dan Perwaja Steel yang telah dibincangkan dalam perenggan diatas, beberapa peristiwa menarik perhatian umum yang saya masih ingat antaranya;

17.1.   Beberapa orang Menteri Kanan  dan Ketua Menteri didedahkan melakukan salahgunakuasa dan rasuah melibatkan ratusan juta Ringgit.

17.2.   Pendedahan percutian mantan Ketua Hakim Negara Tun Eusuff Chin dan keluarga ke New Zealand bersama VK Lingam dan keluarga.

17.3.   Pendedahan percutian Peguam Negara Allahyarham Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah dengan VK Lingam dan ahli perniagaan Vincent Tan ke-Italy/Spain.

17.4.   Rompakan terbesar dalam sejarah Negara berlaku di-gudang MASKargo, Terminal B Lapangan Terbang Subang dalam bulan Ogos 1994.Dalam kejadian ini kumpulan “Geng Mamak” terdiri daripada kumpulan 6 adik-beradik berasal dari Kuala Kangsar,Perak telah melakukan rompakan nekad, 300 ketul jongkong emas bernilai RM 10 juta.Kami mengenalpasti Geng Mamak yang melakukan rompakkan ini berdasarkan daripada kajian M.O mereka.

18.       Kecuali kes rompakan 300 jongkong emas di-MASKargo itu,peristiwa-peristiwa lain yang disebutkan diatas masih lagi diperbualkan dan dibahaskan sehingga hari ini.Mungkin kerana kerugian lebih RM 30 Billion itu adalah terlalu besar untuk Rakyat berdiam diri atau memaafkan sesiapa juga yang terlibat mengakibatkan kerugian sebanyak itu yang menyebabkan sebilangan besar Rakyat menderita selama itu.

19.       Dalam tempuh 1994 hingga 1996 itu juga,Gani Patail turut sibuk memainkan peranannya menutup kes atau membenamkan maklumat yang melibatkan Menteri-Menteri atau Ketua Menteri berkaitan yang boleh dibuktikan sebagai telah melakukan salahguna kuasa dan rasuah.Tidak ketinggalan juga berkaitan kes Perwaja dan kemudiannya yang berkaitan dengan TRI.

20.       Berbalik kepada perkara eksesais membersihkan Gani Patail daripada sebarang salahlaku jenayah pada 31.5.2011 itu, bukanlah kali pertama SPRM lakukan. Bukan sahaja keputusan ini sudah dijangkakan,malahan Rakyat telah sampai ketahap meluat dengan tindak-tanduk SPRM yang tidak putus-putus berbohong, semata-mata untuk menyelamatkan Gani Patail daripada dikenakan hukuman jenayah. Rakyat telah hilang keyakinan terhadap SPRM sehinggakan apa juga kebaikkan dan kejayaan yang dipamirkan oleh SPRM dianggap sebagai sandiwara untuk mengabui mata Rakyat semata-mata.

21.       Padahalnya, Operasi 3B yang SPRM lancarkan 2 bulan lalu, yang menghasilkan kejayaan cemerlang, patut diberi pujian dan sepatutnya mampu mengembalikan maruah SPRM yang telah tercemar.Bukan mudah untuk mencapai kejayaan sedemikian itu,melainkan operasinya dirancang dan dilaksanakan dengan tahap professionalisma yang tinggi dan kerahsiaan maklumat yang ketat, yang diamalkan oleh setiap seorang Pegawai dan angguta terlibat dalam operasi tersebut. Malangnya segala usaha mereka dianggap sebagai sandiwara semata-mata.Namun kita tidak boleh menyalahkan Rakyat kerana mereka mempunyai sebab untuk membentuk persepsi sedemikian.

22.       Walaubagaimanapun dalam hal ini hanya SPRM sahaja yang berhak memilih jalan terbaik untuk mereka.Sama ada mereka terus memilih untuk melindungi Gani Patail seorang dan sanggup membiarkan Rakyat terus mengecam mereka, ataupun mereka memilih mempertahankan nama baik dan maruah organisasi dan setiap seorang warga SPRM dan keluarga mereka.Saya yakin Yang Amat Berhormat tidak keberatan membantu mereka.

Selamat sejahtera.Wassalam.
Terima kasih,
Yang benar,
(MAT ZAIN IBRAHIM)

Najib cannot be more wrong as PAS polls outcome is a win for PR and a loss for UMNO

By Lim Kit Siang,


When history is written in the future, the present period may be described as the most exciting, challenging and momentous period in the nation’s history since Merdeka and formation of Malaysia as for the first time in half a century, Malaysians feel that it is within their power to effect far-reaching changes affecting not only themselves, but their children and children’s children.

Just look at the news on online portals and they reflect the multi-facted turmoil affecting the country.
For instance, if we look at the main news headlines on The Malaysia Today, we read the following:

• “Kit Siang, Soi Lek agree race column outdated”
• “Ku Li calls for RCI on power deals”
• “Ex-cop claims AG concealed billion-ringgit scandals”
• “Najib: People, not slogans, decide who wins Putrajaya”
• “PAS polls outcome a win for DAP, says Najib”




The first headline gets to the very root problem of Malaysian nation-building after 54 years as well as the rationale of the 1Malaysia concept – the 2-year RM74million slogan of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

When Selangor DAP Assemblywoman for Subang Jaya Hannah Yeoh and her husband Ramachandran Muniandy tried to register their newborn daughter as an “Anak Malaysia”, it exploded to smithereens the utter hollowness of Najib’s 1Malaysia concept.

Under the official definition of Najib’s 1Malaysia in the expensively-printed 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap launched by Najib in January 2009, 1Malaysia sought to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian perceives of himself of herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, geography and socio-economic status second.

Hannah and Ramachandran sought to be the 1Malaysia pioneer generation by registering their newborn child as “Anak Malaysia” but their 1Malaysia efforts were utterly crushed by the anti-1Malaysia forces in the government bureaucracy – not to mention the Umno hierarchy!

It is a total failure of Malaysian nation-building after more than half-a-century of nationhood that ethnic identities occupy greater primacy than Malaysian nationality.

Malaysians will forever have their separate ethnic identities but they should all be subsumed and subordinated to their common Malaysian nationality – which is why all government documents must be revamped where nationality takes primacy to ethnicity.

In the case of registration of new-borns, the power of National Registration Department to refuse registration of those who refuses to fill in the ethnic column must be taken away.

Who gives the National Registration Department Napoleons the power to decide whether a Malaysian is born in the country or not?

The five headlines in The Malaysian Insider which I cited are just examples of the great changes and turmoil taking place in our country, requiring all leaders to be agile in mind and nimble on foot so that they are always on top, rather than being overwhelmed, by roiling events and developments.

I will just end on the fifth headline: “PAS polls outcome a win for DAP, says Najib”.

Najib cannot be more wrong as PAS polls outcome is a win for Pakatan Rakyat and a loss for UMNO.
This is why Umno and all the Barisan Nasional component parties are panicking as reflected by their reactions to PAS party polls.

The brutal truth is that UMNO and BN have now realised that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition of DAP, PKR and PAS are now a more credible Malaysian option than UMNO and BN to save Malaysia!

{Speech (3) at the opening of the DAP State Assembly Reps’ Workshop in Sibu on Saturday, 11th June 2011 at 10 am:}

Terengganu Beat Kelantan To Lift FA Cup 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- Terengganu ended an 11-year drought to lift the 22nd edition of the FA Cup when they edged Kelantan 2-1 in the final at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil Saturday night.

Ahmad Nordin Alias emerged as the Terengganu hero when he scored the decider after both teams were tied 1-1 at the end of the second half.

The last time Terengganu lifted the trophy was in 2000 when they beat Penang 5-3 through penalty kicks after being tied 1-1 at the end of extra time.

With the victory tonight, Terengganu created history when it became the last champion to lift the trophy which was introduced in 2005 and used for seven editions of the FA Cup final.

Previously, the first FA Cup trophy was used in 15 editions from 1990 until 2004 and the Perak team, who became the first champion and final champion in 2004, were given the honour to keep the trophy permanently. A new trophy to replace the FA Cup will be introduced next season.

Playing in front of a capacity-packed stadium, both Terengganu and Kelantan were evenly matched at the outset of the game but lacked finishing.

Irfan Bakti Abu Salim's charges had a sitter in the 20th minute but striker Abdul Hadi Yahaya's attempt from the top of the penalty box found Kelantan goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat's safe pair of hands.

On the other hand, Kelantan's best opportunity in the first half came in the 40th minute but striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha's stinging shot was parried by Terengganu goalkeeper Mohd Sharbinee Allawee Ramli.

The situation became a bit tense five minutes after the breather when firecrackers were hurled towards Mohd Sharbinee, forcing the referee to stop the match for five minutes.

The Red Warriors broke the deadlock in the 79th minute when Mohd Nurul Azwan Roya, having collected a pass from Mohd Shakir Shaari, eluded Kelantan defenders and chipped the ball with his left foot over the bewildered Terengganu goalkeeper.

With pressure piling up, Terengganu made several counter-attacks which eventually paid off when Kelantan's Mohd Daudsu Jamaluddin nodded in an owned goal in a haste to clear a lob in front of the goal mouth five minutes into the extra time.

After the regulation time ended with a 1-1 draw, the match went into a 30-minute extra time.

Ahmad Nordin Alias became the darling of Terengganu's fans when he volleyed the ball into the net from a corner kicked in the 109 minute to edge Kelantan 2-1.

The victory was made more meaningful for Terengganu as the FA Cup was presented by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

Terengganu captain Mohd Mazuki Yusof was named the best player in the final.