Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- DAP wants SC action over Tajuddin suits
- After two years as PM, Najib losing middle ground
- Cut Waste? Who Is Wasting Resources?
- WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIA REACTS TO CEASEFIRE
- Nik Aziz sokong larangan bacaan al-Quran guna pembesar suara
- DAP, PKR still wary over church raid despite PAS’s stand
- UMNO - Lebih memberi masalah dari menyelesaikannya
- MAS-Air Asia swap: A shroud of mystery
- Malaysian Insider’s sinister agenda to divert away from ‘share-swap deal’
- ‘Pakatan leaders stopped MBPJ from seizing DUMC’
- Islamic groups ask Jais to act against proselytisation
- With Penang in mind, move to unseat Tsu Koon gathers pace
| DAP wants SC action over Tajuddin suits Posted: 14 Aug 2011 12:25 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider The DAP has called on the Securities Commission (SC) to act against GLCs which have been ordered to drop billion-ringgit civil suits against Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli for failing to reveal all material developments in their claims against the former Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chairman. Party publicity chief Tony Pua said in a statement today that Putrajaya's directive to withdraw their claims should have been immediately disclosed on Bursa Malaysia as "the litigations involved billions of ringgit in claims and counter-claims which are surely material to the finances of these companies." "The board of directors of these companies must also immediately state their immediate position vis-à-vis the letter from Nazri to allow investors, particularly the minority shareholders, to weigh their investment options," the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said. The Malaysian Insider had reported that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz issued a letter earlier this month telling all GLCs that the government was settling their claims with Tajuddin out of court. Tajuddin is presently facing billions in legal claims against him, following accusations by MAS in 2002 that he had caused the carrier to suffer losses in excess of RM8 billion. Nazri's letter had called for "all civil claims against Tan Sri Dato Tajuddin Ramli and others to be withdrawn immediately in view of the fact that the government and the Finance Ministry have agreed that the said cases will be settled out of court." "For your information the government has given me the mandate to act for the government in this matter," it added, directing these companies to hand over their cases to Datuk Hafarizam Harun, who has handled other high-profile cases for Umno such as the constitutional crisis over its takeover of Perak in 2009. But after his letter surfaced, Nazri defended the administration's move, saying it would not spell a debt bailout for Tajuddin but was merely a suggestion to the GLCs to work out an out-of-court settlement with the former MAS chairman.
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| After two years as PM, Najib losing middle ground Posted: 14 Aug 2011 12:20 PM PDT
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Najib Razak risks drifting further away from the centre if he does not deliver on his reform initiatives and continues to "pacify" right-wingers, analysts have warned. Pundits have charged that Najib has been moving away from a centrist position since taking office as prime minister in 2009, saying his indecisiveness in carrying out policies mirrored that of his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Delayed economic reforms, the New Economic Model's (NEM) watered-down emphasis on competitiveness in its final version, coupled with Najib's (picture) poor handling of the July 9 Bersih are instances where the PM has been accused of placating the demands of right-wing groups as well as members within Umno. "In the long run Najib is moving to the right, and is running a big risk. Not everyone supports right-wing sentiments. "There is credence to the arguments that Najib is drifting away from the centre. Despite his proposals for reform and overtures to the non-Malay community, these are still in traction," said Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian. Ibrahim believes that not much has changed since Najib introduced his government transformation programmes, pointing out that the results have not "trickled down" to the public. The polls expert stated that economy was the ultimate determining factor as to future voter support, and that turbulent economic times would not bode well for the PM. "It is in part driven by necessity, Najib is trying to protect his current support, he can't push for reforms at the expense of Malay support base within Umno," Ibrahim added. Using the recent Bersih 2.0 rally as an example, Ibrahim said Najib should have taken a more moderate position and allowed space for dissent by listening to the election watchdog. "He has to be seen as a prime minister for all Malaysians," said Ibrahim. The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib has fallen out with several key advisers over the government's security crackdown during the rally. A few liberal advisers have been sidelined while those with right-wing sentiments feel the prime minister should take a harder line. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) academic Dr Faizal Hazis concurred with Ibrahim's views, saying that although Najib had promised a "moderate, centrist" government administration, there was a lack of will on the part of Najib to carry through his plans. "In trying to placate all parties, Najib is drifting away from the centre. "There is no strong will to see the initiatives through, especially on the part of Umno," Faizal told The Malaysian Insider. The simplest example, said the academic was Najib's refusal recently to state whether he was a proponent of his own two-year-old 1 Malaysia policy that espouses being "Malaysian first" — for fear of contradicting his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
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| Cut Waste? Who Is Wasting Resources? Posted: 14 Aug 2011 01:34 AM PDT  By Masterwordsmith Undeniably, health care, an important social service provided by the government for citizens, must be easy, accessible, adequate in supply and affordable to the masses. Yet, our country has yet to draft and to implement a National Health Policy for the rakyat. After reading this report, I am compelled to cut to the chase the talk about cutting waste at government hospitals.
The ministry is collating data from the other government hospitals. Eisah said the current figures alone reflect the amount of medicine wasted adding that it would be a substantial amount for all the hospitals.
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| WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIA REACTS TO CEASEFIRE Posted: 14 Aug 2011 01:00 AM PDT
Khairy Jamaluddin's antics provided a sometimes entertaining, sometimes maddening diversion throughout the Lebanon crisis. He organized a large and noisy but non-violent July 21 rally in front of the Embassy during which he was pictured by the press at the Embassy's gate, haranguing marchers with a bull horn. Khairy led a July 28 demonstration on the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center during Secretary Rice's participation in the ARF, demanding unsuccessfully to deliver a harshly worded petition to the Secretary, and his appearances often seemed to direct more attention to himself than to his cause. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
C O N F I D E N T I A L KUALA LUMPUR 001587
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2016 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, IS, LE, MY SUBJECT: MALAYSIA REACTS TO CEASEFIRE
REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 1559 B. KUALA LUMPUR 1354 C. KUALA LUMPUR 1397 D. KUALA LUMPUR 1377
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission David B. Shear for reasons 1.4 (b, d)
1. (C) Summary: Malaysian officials have welcomed the passage of United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1701, and the Malaysian media's preoccupation with the Middle East crisis has quickly diminished. GOM officials reaffirmed their commitment to a lasting peace in the Middle East and reiterated their commitment to send peacekeeping troops to support the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Despite some rhetoric and political posturing, Malaysia seems willing to work with the UN in determining what, if any, Malaysian forces would appropriately augment UNIFIL. Until they were corrected by the Prime Minister, leaders of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) Youth movement called for boycotts of American products and for a cessation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. UMNO Youth leaders admit they are making concessions to their conservative base, but have generally returned their focus to the domestic agenda. Calls for a boycott of American products largely fell on deaf ears, but the demand that the GOM terminate the FTA talks reflects the extent to which the GOM will have to work in order to generate domestic support for an FTA. End Summary. GOM Supports UNSCR 1701 2. (C) Senior Malaysian officials including Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Foreign Minister Hamid have strongly supported the ceasefire in Lebanon. Notwithstanding recent reports that Israel may object to peacekeeping forces from nations that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and FM Hamid have all declared publicly that Malaysia will send troops to support UNIFIL over Israel's objections. However, privately, Malaysia's Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs Shahrul Ikram has told us that Malaysia will naturally allow the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations to decide if Malaysia should send troops and what their composition would be. He also reported that Malaysia wants to help, but will naturally work through the UN to ensure UNIFIL has the appropriate composition to complete the mission. And the Negative Public Rhetoric Cools 3. (C) The Malaysian public and media reacted strongly to the Lebanon crisis, and, in addition to sustained criticism of the U.S. in the local press, the Embassy experienced demonstrations on several Friday afternoons at the end of July that were larger and noisier than usual. But the passage of UNSCR 1701 and the August 14 implementation of the ceasefire in Lebanon quickly deflated much of the negative political rhetoric prevalent in Malaysia after the start of hostilities. Politicians and reporters have largely returned their attention to domestic politics: a new budget session in parliament scheduled to begin on September 1, preparations for the November UMNO General Assembly, and former Prime Minister Mahathir's jabs at the government. Despite overwhelming coverage of the war prior to the ceasefire, most newspapers did not headline the implementation of the ceasefire, nor did they give front-page billing to the return of displaced Lebanese families back to southern Lebanon. Malaysian officials have continued calls for comprehensive peace and reaffirmed their commitment to send peacekeeping troops to Lebanon (ref A). Khairy Jamaluddin: Criticizes the FTA Talks; Calls for Boycott of U.S. Goods 4. (C) UMNO Youth deputy chairman and Prime Ministerial son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin's antics provided a sometimes entertaining, sometimes maddening diversion throughout the Lebanon crisis. Khairy's influence on his father-in-law and some of his recent financial dealings have been the target of former Prime Minister Mahathir's ire for several months, and, no doubt sensing that political opportunity knocked, he decided to lead a highly visible UMNO Youth effort to flay the U.S. for its support of Israel. He organized a large and noisy but non-violent July 21 rally in front of the Embassy during which he was pictured by the press at the Embassy's gate, haranguing marchers with a bull horn. Khairy led a July 28 demonstration on the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center during Secretary Rice's participation in the ARF, demanding unsuccessfully to deliver a harshly worded petition to the Secretary, and his appearances often seemed to direct more attention to himself than to his cause. The frenetic Khairy also called for a stop to U.S.- Malaysia FTA talks and for a boycott of the "American" brands Coca-Cola and Starbucks, statements that were rebuffed by the Prime Minister. 5. (C) Khairy has been less vocal since the cease fire went into effect. Our subsequent meetings with UMNO Youth executive committee leaders confirmed that UMNO Youth rhetoric over the past two months was intended to appeal to UMNO's more conservative base. They have told us that it was also aimed at preventing the Islamic opposition party PAS from gaining momentum given the recent clashes between Abdullah and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed (ref D). Having achieved those ends, UMNO Youth has returned to its preparations for the UMNO General Assembly in November and the general elections anticipated for next year. We expect the occasional jab from Khairy and his UMNO buddies as preparatory meetings for the November UMNO General Assembly continue, but we doubt the drumbeat will reach the decibel levels heard through late-July and early August. Calls for Boycott Not Threatening 6. (C) Khairy's call for the GOM to boycott the US seems to have gained little traction publicly and politically. U.S. firms operating in Malaysia are watchful, but not overly concerned by Khairy's calls for a boycott. The local Coca-Cola bottler recalled that a similar boycott call in 2002 following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan had no impact on sales. Both the Coke and Starbucks franchisees (the local operations actually are owned by Malaysian companies) plan to take no action, believing the best approach is not to draw further attention to the issue. At the monthly meeting of the board of governors of the American-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) August 16, members expected that the boycott would fade quickly, so long as the situation in Lebanon remains under control. The board also agreed to take no action in response to the call for a boycott at this time. Effect on FTA Remains To Be Seen 7. (C) We doubt that the Lebanon crisis itself had a lasting negative effect on GOM support for the FTA talks. But Khairy's opportunistic attack on the talks underscores the extent to which the negotiation may be vulnerable to Malaysian domestic politics. At a minimum, it also demonstrates the extent to which the GOM will have to work to convince even the ruling party's rank-and-file of the benefits of a FTA with the U.S. LAFLEUR
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| Nik Aziz sokong larangan bacaan al-Quran guna pembesar suara Posted: 13 Aug 2011 06:14 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Menteri Besar Kelantan Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat tidak bersetuju amalan bacaan al-Quran dibuat menggunakan pembesar suara sehingga mengganggu mesyarakat sekitarnya. Mursyidul Am PAS (gambar) itu berkata perbuatan itu tidak mengambil kira sensitiviti masyarakat setempat sehingga boleh menyusahkan mereka dan seseorang Islam harus menghormati masyarakat sekeliling dengan tidak membuat bising, walaupun dengan membaca al-Quran menggunakan pembesar suara. Sehubungan itu, dipetik Bernama Online, beliau menyokong tindakan Jawatankuasa Fatwa Negeri Pulau Pinang yang melarang bacaan al-Quran menggunakan pembesar suara pada waktu subuh. "Kita (umat Islam) hanya dibenarkan melaungkan suara ketika azan untuk mengerjakan solat. "Oleh itu, saya tidak bersetuju jika masjid menggunakan pembesar suara sehingga menjejaskan orang lain yang sedang tidur atau sakit," katanyaselepas melancarkan Koperasi Rakyat Kelantan Berhad (KRKB) di sini, hari ini. Beliau ditanya mengenai tindakan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang melarang penggunaan pembesar suara semasa mengaji al-Quran pada waktu subuh di masjid dan surau di negeri itu.
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| DAP, PKR still wary over church raid despite PAS’s stand Posted: 13 Aug 2011 06:11 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - DAP and PKR leaders refrained today from openly supporting PAS's stand on a controversial church raid by Islamic authorities, revealing the continuing uneasiness among the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties over religious issues. When contacted by The Malaysian Insider today, some leaders chose to decline comment while others would not openly state their support or rejection of the Islamist party's statement yesterday. The leaders told this news portal that speculation at this point would be premature as the details of the raid and the investigation by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on reports of proselytisation have yet to be publicly revealed. PAS decided after its political bureau meeting yesterday to back Jais if the agency should find concrete proof that Christians were proselytising to Muslims at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya. "I think let's wait for the report first. We don't know the details," said DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, before choosing not to speak further on the topic. Lim had earlier lambasted PAS's Datuk Hasan Ali, the Selangor state executive councillor for religious affairs, when the latter issued a statement justifying the raid by claiming proof of proselytisation had been found. The DAP veteran then accused the Islamist party leader of breaking ranks with the Selangor state government as his statement appeared to contradict that of Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim who had said he regretted the incident. Selangor's Islamic enactments allow the religious authorities to act against non-Muslims if they are found guilty of proselytising to Muslims. When contacted, DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke also declined comment today and said he would refer the query to Selangor DAP chief Teresa Kok, a devout Christian and a state executive councillor in the Selangor administration. DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua would not expressly declare his support for PAS's firm stand but pointed out that its deputy president, Mohamad Sabu, had said the party would back Jais only if proof of proselytisation was found, adding this was "expressing the obvious". "Mat Sabu (Mohamad) said if there if proof of proselytisation — which is indeed restricted by our Constitution — his call for the relevant parties to be charged accordingly is only expressing the obvious; nothing more, nothing less," he told The Malaysian Insider. Pua stressed, however, that Jais' investigation must be done in accordance with the law and pressed for the agency to apologise if it finds that it had made a mistake.
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| UMNO - Lebih memberi masalah dari menyelesaikannya Posted: 13 Aug 2011 05:18 PM PDT
ASPAN ALIAS Proses kemusnahan sesebuah sistem politik negara itu selalunya tidak di sedari oleh mana-mana pemimpin yang tidak memberikan fokus kepada menilai kepimpinan masing-masing. Kehilangan fokus ini selalunya adalah di sebabkan campur aduk politik peribadi dengan di saluti oleh elemen-elemen yang lain seperti keinginan untuk memperkayakan diri dan keluarga dan lebih mementingkan usaha untuk memupuk 'legendary' masing-masing. Di dalam keghairahan untuk mementingkan keuntungan peribadi ini maka segala nilai-nilai murni dalam sesuatu sistem politik itu akan secara beransur-ansur luntur dan akan wujud krisis keyakinan yang merbahayakan negara dan rakyat.
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| MAS-Air Asia swap: A shroud of mystery Posted: 13 Aug 2011 05:09 PM PDT
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL Ihe opportunity for me to give the most current commentaries on the few development involving the latest development MAS has passed me. I was hospitalised since last Tuesday. After undergoing fairly lengthy tests, it turns out I've been asthmatic for quite many months. Having undergone the treatment, I am feeling much better now. Not fully recovered, but physically better.
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| Malaysian Insider’s sinister agenda to divert away from ‘share-swap deal’ Posted: 13 Aug 2011 05:02 PM PDT
BIG DOG The hottest business this week is the 'Malaysia Airlines-AirAsia share swap' deal. It got so many reactions despite the mainstream media playing the text-book perspective on how positive and progressive the 'strategic alliance' is. In the many criticism of the alternative media, The Malaysian Insider in its usual sinister agenda misled the focus of the issue away from the crux of the deal and how it would benefit Malaysia Airlines. Suspiciously, looks like Kalimullah "Riong Kali" Hassan playing his cards to deflect the issue away. The Malaysian Insider the past few days felt that it was important to highlight the current suit and counter suit between Danaharta and former Malaysia Airlines, TRI and Naluri Chairman Tan Sri Tajuddin. They were compelled to skew the on-going civil case, even to a point of false reporting and getting quotations meant to demonise a onetime power Malay business baron. They even got quotations from the Opposition, to show the ruling party's patronage on certain business personalities is still very much alive, just like former-abuse-of-power-convict Anwar "Mat King Leather" Ibrahim's immediate charge against then Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the former was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister on 2 September 1998, 'cronyism'. The case was about complications of a business loan spinning into a very vicious cycle and eventually turned bad. A straight forward term loan was raised by Tajuddin as a 'privatisation project to improve financial and profitability of Malaysia Airlines'. Many also want to be believe that then he was asked to take over Malaysia Airlines from Bank Negara in 1994 for RM 1.792 billion. The taking-over of Malaysia Airlines shares from Bank Negara alone was a story which has a very interesting history to it. The RM 1.792 billion was raised via a term loan syndicated through RHB Bank. The collateral of the loan then was 130 million of TRI shares, 309.6 million of Naluri shares and 45.2 million of Promet Langkawi shares. Then came the Asian financial crisis of 1997/8. Business was bad and Tajuddin and his group was cash strapped. His loan defaulted. It became non-performing loan. As an after math of the 1997/8 Asian Financial crisis, RM 90 billion worth of loans defaulted and became non performing loans (NPLs). Government of Malaysia set up Danaharta to take-over these NPLs from the financial institution so that they could move on. Instead, Danaharta would do its best to either supervise a recovery plan to for turn-around and make these NPLs productive or recover the most from these NPLs, which include liquidating it. An extract of a Bank Negara presentation in 2005:
So, Danaharta took over these loans from the banks at 30sen from the nominal RM 1.00 value. After a series of discussion which involved the Government of Malaysia, Tajuddin entered into a Settlement Agreement with Danaharta on 8 October 2001. Considering Danaharta took over the balance of Tajuddin's loan amounting to RM 942 million for RM 300 million, it was agreed that the repayment tranche was broken into four:
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| ‘Pakatan leaders stopped MBPJ from seizing DUMC’ Posted: 13 Aug 2011 04:54 PM PDT
Blogger Papa Gomo makes the claim based on a document allegedly leaked from MBPJ. (Free Malaysia Today) - Pro-Umno blogger Papa Gomo has claimed that Pakatan Rakyat leaders had interfered to stop Petaling Jaya City Council's (MBPJ) shutting down the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) last Thursday. The seizure operation was supposed to be conducted by MBPJ's security and enforcement division. DUMC has been in the limelight since Aug 3 when Selangor religious department (JAIS) interrupted a dinner held at the church following allegations that efforts to proselytize the Christian faith to Muslims were under way. Papa Gomo's claim was substantiated with a report purportedly from MBPJ's enforcement and security division on its operation to seize the hall. The report stated that on Aug 11 at 10.30am, the enforcement and security division had to call off its operation to seize DUMC after receiving a telephone call at 10.58am from Selangor senior exco Teresa Kok who queried about the seizure. The report added that Kok requested the operation to be called off. The report also claimed that PAS' Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad had similarly urged the MBPJ to cancel the seizure operation at 11.07am. Papa Gomo also claimed that according to the leaked report, another Selangor exco, DAP's Ronnie Liu had allegedly warned that personnel from the security and enforcement division woud be transferred out if they continued with the operation. The report claimed that at 11.40 am, there were more instructions from the top, including from PKR's Elizabeth Wong, to cancel the operation and the police was also notified abut the cancellation. The two page report has the word 'Sulit' (confidential) stamped on its top right corner but does not carry MBPJ's letterhead. Catch-22 for PAS "And if PAS supported JAIS, then it would lose credibility among the non-Muslim crowd."
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| Islamic groups ask Jais to act against proselytisation Posted: 13 Aug 2011 03:46 PM PDT By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider Islamic non-governmental organisations (NGO) have demanded immediate action from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) against those who tried to convert Muslims. "We urge the Jais and the other authorities to immediately take action and if there were efforts to convert Muslims from holding their faith as claimed by the National Fatwa Council Chairman and former Chairman of the National Fatwa Council. "We are united and committed to defending the faith of Muslims held in this country from the encroachment in accordance with the position of Islam as a religion of the Federation of Malaysia Constitution and the provision of the existing laws including enforcing the law of apostasy," the group of NGOs said in a statement today, as a result from the roundtable discussion organised by Ikatan Ilmuan Malaysia (ILMUAN). The NGOs were referring to the recent raid of a dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya. The authorities have denied that a raid had been conducted at DUMC, preferring instead to claim that they had merely inspected the premises that August 3 after receiving complaints that Muslims were attending the function. The discussion, "Ummah faith issues: What should our attitude be and what is our role?" was held yesterday at the Selangor state executive councilors housing complex. The NGOs added that they uphold and support the efforts of any party to strengthen Muslims' faith through education and welfare programmes and will demand empowerment programmes including the return of adequate assistance to religious schools. The group also demanded that the relevant bodies with Islamic trust properties to act efficiently to help marginalised Muslims so that their life are "protected and secure" and that the issues related to the faith of Muslims are not manipulated and distorted by the newspapers to give political advantage to a certain party until it undermines the solidarity of Muslims. "We stressed that issues relating to the faith of Muslims are very sensitive issues that could affect racial harmony, thus calling on all parties not to act against the stipulated law. "We urge the institutions governing the affairs of Muslims are submitted to those truly qualified and respected so that these institutions are seen as absolutely authoritative," they said. |
| With Penang in mind, move to unseat Tsu Koon gathers pace Posted: 13 Aug 2011 03:32 PM PDT By Jahabar Sadiq, The Malaysian Insider Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon is going to get taste of what Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud got in the run-up to polls in the east Malaysian state — the constant drumbeat of politicians and the media asking him to retire from politics. The view in Putrajaya is that the mild-mannered Gerakan chief should step down as head of the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party before the coming general elections if the coalition is to have any chance of wresting back Penang from Pakatan Rakyat (PR). While Tsu Koon (picture) has not been dogged by allegations of corruption and abuse of power as Taib Mahmud, he is viewed as indecisive and a symbol of the BN leadership which was rejected by the voters in 2008. BN chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has spoken behind closed doors on the need to rejuvenate the Gerakan leadership with younger talent and acknowledges that BN component parties need new talent if inroads are to be made in Penang, where DAP's Lim Guan Eng is a formidable opponent. In its latest issue dated August 13, international weekly The Economist dubbed Penang "the first custom-made city of globalisation" and credited Lim for boosting the port city's revival by axing a racial special treatment economic policy in the state to create a more level-playing field that appeals to foreign investors. "He has become the first governor in Malaysia to open up all state tenders to competition. This has entailed dismantling the special preferences for ethnic Malays that have underpinned the BN's rule since the early 1970s," the influential magazine on business and international affairs said of the Penang chief minister and his economic reforms. "Adapted to the national stage, such policies could transform the way that the Malaysian federal government conducts business," it added. The international praise for Lim is seen as an indictment of Tsu Koon's rule of the island state, which began prospering under his mentor, the late Tun Lim Chong Eu, before the Princeton graduate took over as chief minister from 1990 to 2008. In what is likely to be a recurring theme, Umno-owned Mingguan Malaysia urged Tsu Koon today to consider his position as chief of Gerakan, with the paper's Awang Selamat saying that the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department was only concerned with publicity and appearing in photographs with national leader. The commentator said that his ministerial position appeared to be wasted on him because he had not used the profile to galvanise Gerakan in Penang or chart a plan to regain the state. Still, using the media to push out a seasoned politician is a strategy fraught with minefields. In the run- up to Sarawak elections, Najib tried to nudge a politically liable Taib by getting him to say that he would not lead the state for the full term.
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