Malaysian armed forces chief in Myanmar to repair relations

Gen Zulkifeli has met Myanmar president and its commander-in-chief to smoothen strained relations between the two countries, says report.

YANGON: Malaysian armed forces chief Gen Zulkifeli Mohd Zin met Myanmar’s president U Htin Kyaw and commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing here yesterday.

According to the Myanmar Times, the meeting was to smoothen Myanmar-Malaysia ties following the harsh criticism of the Myanmar government by Prime Minister Najib Razak at a rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

A statement released by the Myanmar commander-in-chief’s office said Aung Hlaing told Zulkifeli that no human rights violations had taken place against Muslim Rohingya.

The statement also read that Myanmar authorities could not lie about this given the local and international media focus on the state, according to the report.

A statement from the president’s office said Htin Kyaw too held discusions with Zulkifeli.

It said the president’s office blamed the diplomatic tensions on “false news” and that the Myanmar government was working to resolve the issues in Rakhine state in accordance with existing laws and human rights standards.

At a rally attended by about 10,000 people at Titi­wang­sa Stadium on Sunday, Najib lambasted the Myanmar government for its alleged mistreatment of Rohingya Muslims. It was the first time in recent years that an Asean leader had criticised another Asean nation over internal matters.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar Times report also quoted analysts on Najib’s actions and the consequences on relations between the two nations.

Bangkok-based expert on Asean affairs Kavi Chongkittavorn said Najib’s action was an attempt to gain votes from the Malaysian Muslim community. He said Najib could have made known his concern more effectively through discreet diplomacy.

Adviser to former Myanmar president U Thein Sein, U Ko Ko Hlaing, was quoted as saying Najib’s action was aimed at diverting public attention away from corruption allegations levelled against him.
He said such “inteference” was not good for Asean unity.

The Myanmar Times reported that a group of Muslim organisations in Myanmar had released an open letter to the Malaysian government expressing disapproval of Putrajaya’s response.

In the letter, which was delivered to the Malaysian embassy yesterday, they said Najib’s remarks and actions would do more harm than good for the Muslims in Myanmar.

Why RM2.6b not probed under Section 124C, asks Ambiga

With the spotlight now on foreign funding, former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan has demanded Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed to provide an explanation on
the RM2.6 billion donation issue.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, Ambiga said it was outrageous that NGOs are being hounded over their funding when there is an admission that the RM2.6 billion in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s accounts was used for the last general election.

"If anything, this is the direct interference in our parliamentary democracy, not the work of NGOs fighting for our democratic institutions.

"The deputy minister owes the public an explanation as to why this RM2.6 billion is not being investigated as an activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy under Section 124C of the Penal Code since, there is a spotlight on foreign funding," Ambiga added.

Electoral reform group Bersih, the Bar Council and Malaysiakini are being investigated under Section 124C over reports of funding from Open Society Foundations, which is linked to American billionaire George Soros.

On Nov 18, Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah was detained for 10 days under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

Ambiga also criticised Nur Jazlan for his comments on United Nations representative Maina Kiai (photo), whom the deputy minister accused of interfering in Malaysian affairs.

"This guy, who is not Malaysian and works for a foreign organisation, comes here and tells the people to demonstrate and criticise the government. He is interfering in Malaysia.

"His action gives reason for the police to investigate groups or NGOs that receive foreign funding to check whether there is foreign interference," Nur Jazlan told Malaysiakini.

However, Ambiga described Nur Jazlan’s remarks as "ill advised, if not rude".

"This ‘guy’ he refers to is a respected UN rapporteur on freedom of assembly and given that Malaysia is a member, the comment does not speak well of Malaysia.

"The deputy minister would do well to remember that we were twice members of the human rights council and we are on the UN Security Council now.

"He should also read Malaysia's Aide Memoire seeking membership of the human rights council that reflects Malaysia's commitment to the Federal Constitution and fundamental liberties. This comment is an embarrassment to Malaysia,” Ambiga said.

During a lecture in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Kiai called for a common standard in dealing with foreign funding, questioning among others, the dangers of receiving funds from Saudi princes and whether these donors were influencing the recipients.

The RM2.6 billion in Najib’s accounts was described as a donation from a Saudi royalty to the prime minister with no strings attached, though his critics like Dr Mahathir Mohamad insist that the sum originated from 1MDB.

Najib has denied abusing public funds for personal gain and blamed such allegations on Mahathir and those conspiring to topple him from power.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali also cleared the prime minister, and revealed that of the US$681 million received, US$620 was "returned" to the donor.

In its suit on the alleged abuse of 1MDB funds, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) claimed US$731 million flowed into the accounts of an individual it named as "Malaysian Official 1" or MO1.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan confirmed that MO1 is Najib, but claimed that since the documents did not name the prime minister, he was not part of the investigation.

The DOJ in its lawsuit named four individuals, including Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz and Malaysian-born businessman Jho Low, who is said to be a close to the prime minister’s family.

What if Iskandar region seeks independence, asks Dr M

News reports suggesting that new homes for millions of people currently being build in Iskandar Malaysia region has former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad wondering who would eventually stay in them.

In his latest blog post, Mahathir pointed out that a Bloomberg report had claimed that there were 60 projects in the region involving the construction of up to half million homes.

Conservatively, Mahathir estimated that this amount of homes would house 1.5 million people.

“Who will be staying in these sky scrappers? Does it make sense for the 1.5 million Johoreans – Malay, Chinese and Indians – move into these luxury dwellings? It does not.

“But having 1.5 million foreigners stay near Johor Bahru does make sense. Apparently, they are supposed to stay for three months during the winter. But was there an agreement on this?

“Can you imagine 700,000 people flying into Johor for three months and the same 700,000 leave after that, leaving the Iskandar region empty for nine months.

“Now imagine 1.5 million people emptying the city, apartments, shops and factories for nine months. Johor Bahru will be quiet. Does that make sense?” wrote Mahathir.

MB rubbishes Dr M's claims

Recently, Mahathir had told a ceramah in Krubung, Malacca that 700,000 people from China will be given Malaysia identity cards that would allow them to vote in the next general election.

He alleged that this was part of the deal sought by Putrajaya during the highly publicised state visit to China. Mahathir claimed that these 700,000 people would be housed in Forest City, which is part of the Iskandar Malaysia region.

According to the same Bloomberg report, the developers of Forest City are actively wooing Chinese investors. The report also claimed that AirAsia added a Johor Bahru-Guangzhou route in April to accommodate visiting Chinese investors.

Following this, Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin rubbished Mahathir's allegations on grounds that the Forest City project would be rolled out in 30 years.

While he agreed that there might be 700,000 foreigners residing in Johor 30 years later, it was impossible for all of them to be from China.

Khaled claimed that Forest City was being marketed the world over, including Australia and the Middle East, and not just China alone.

'Merdeka for Iskandar'

Meanwhile, continuing with his hypothetical scenario for Johor, Mahathir asked if these newcomers had decided to stay long term, would the Johor menteri besar be able to make them leave?

“If you can't chase them out, what is their status? What happens if they want to be permanent residents? What if they want to be citizens? What if they are quietly being given Malaysian identity cards before the next election?

“To Khaled, I say congratulations. You will have 1.5 million foreigners surrounding you. Apparently they won't be made citizens, but they will be your neighbours,” said Mahathir.

However, having that many new neighbours may come with certain dangers, he warned.

“With 1.5 million foreigners in Johor, you will have a problem. See what happened to Singapore. Just because the composition of its population was different from Malaysia, we have to remove Singapore from Malaysia.

“When Johor Bahru is surrounded by 1.5 million foreigners, what if we (have to) merdekakan (grant independence) to the Iskandar region? God forbid,” wrote Mahathir.

Clare to Zahid: Why probe me? Why not probe FBI

Instead of setting up a task force to investigate Sarawak Report, the whistleblower website's editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown has challenged Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi to probe the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) instead.

This was because the FBI was investigating the very same thing she had been reporting on.

"I find it very strange that the deputy prime minister and the Umno party wished to somehow vilify and attack me... for revealing something that has now been corroborated by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies the world over.

"So why doesn't Mr (Zahid) Hamidi decide to have a special task force to take on the FBI, why doesn't he criticise the banks who have admitted that there are malfeasance that took place with respect to 1MDB money?

"Why not just take on the force of law and order in other countries, who have identified the crime known as 1MDB," asked Rewcastle-Brown.

She also challenged Zahid to interview her.

"Please do come and interview me. I would be very happy to give you my full mindful about why I am doing what I am doing," she said.

Invited as speaker at anti-graft conference

Rewcastle-Brown said this in a video recording made at the sidelines of the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) which is taking place in Panama City.

She was among three speakers at the IACC session titled "Investigations on Money Laundering" last Friday, where she spoke on 1MDB.

On Saturday, Zahid told the Umno general assembly that a special task force had been set up to probe local organisations, including the Malaysia-focused but London-based whistleblower website.

Zahid claimed that the organisations have allegedly received foreign funding and is under the sway of foreign powers who want to see the present BN-led Malaysian government fall through non-democratic means.

Overseas, 1MDB-linked banks and officials are being investigated by several foreign jurisdictions over alleged complicity in money laundering and embezzlement involving the state fund, which Sarawak Report frequently reported on.

Though Malaysian authorities have dismissed problems with 1MDB as being only consigned to management weaknesses and denied reports of monies being laundered out of the company, accusing the website of trying to destabilise Malaysia and its economy with such news.

Rewcastle-Brown have denied being complicit in any conspiracy to fabricate news to attack the Malaysian government.