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Posted: 05 Aug 2011 10:57 PM PDT

By Daniel John Jambun

We know that the state Umno leadership is not at its most harmonious. There is factionalism as confirmed recently by sharp criticism by one group against another group. Even government policies have been questioned by Umno's own leaders. The Chief Minister himself had advised state leaders to avoid factionalism because it would not be good for the state-level Umno.

Component members of the state BN had on many occasions raised the voices against Umno, including the recent outburst by Sebatik Island PBS leaders who claimed to have been sidelined by Umno on that island. But while this has become a common story at the state level, there are now reports of problems creeping up at the highest level in central Umno. Datuk Khairy Jamaluddin, as the Umno Youth Chief, had been critical of some decisions by his party's decisions, including the arrest of the six leaders of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM). Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah too has been out on a safari shooting at all sorts of targets in Umno as if he is no longer in Umno.

Clearly, he has been speaking out of sheer conscience, without any fear or favour. He has been playing the game of brinkmanship, prepared to be kicked at anytime, if Umno dares to! His bravado has emboldened the opposition to approach him secretly to seriously think about coming into Pakatan Rakyat to assume leadership of the opposition coalition in the expectation that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will deftinitely be going for another long-term incarceration. Ku Li must know that this is one very golden opportunity to eventually get what he had always wanted – to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia!

But there is another leader who has the same ambition. The most serious story in Umno now is the wild rumour that Datuk Seri Najib will be challenged by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for the post of Umno's presidency in Umno's next general assembly, and that the former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir, is behind this agenda. This story seems to be credible, knowing that this Mahathir had not been very happy the way the nation had been governed (once calling the government "weak"), despite his previous support for Najib to take over his predecessor.

If Muhyi challenges Najib, it will be another historic fight with the same epic proportion of the Tun M vs. Ku Li debacle. No doubt, the event will divide Umno and create national tension. Muhyi will be putting his political life on the line, because it will be a case of a do-or-die mission – he can lose everything. But Muhyi has his supporters who have been prodding him to take the plunge, simply because there is a glaring opportunity for an upset because Najib appears to have been weakened, not just by his own indecisions and being implicated in the ongoing court case in France, but by the antics of his wife which have displeased a lot of Umno senior leaders and members.

And herein also lies the big question about the timing of the next general elections. It is now expected to be in November, not just because the number eleven is Najib's favourite number, but because there is the need to avoid his further loss of credibility before a very possible challenge by Muhyi in the next Umno general assembly and a more heated development of the court case in France to which he may be called to testify.

While Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi's fall was because of lack of backbone, Najib's possible fall will be because of lack of will to rein in certain people, to control his wife (the FLOM office, the handbags, the ministerial and ambassadorial roles, the jewellery, etc.), and because of having too many controversies. It is all still undercover now, and the stories are creeping out only through the grapevine, and being reported only in online portals. Will it soon be part of the big stories of the printed media?

Anwar Ibrahim: Malaysia can learn from Manila

Posted: 05 Aug 2011 01:50 PM PDT

By Leila Saraverria, Global Nation

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Friday said his country could learn a thing or two from the Philippines' experience under a dictatorship.

Anwar, who traveled to Manila to speak at a forum on national hero Jose Rizal, said he was appealing to Malaysian authorities to respect the rule of law, to stop filing trumped-up charges against protesters, and not to allow the judiciary to work at the behest of the executive.

"The entire world, including the most conservative Muslim hotbed in the Middle East, has now transformed and is clamoring for change and reform. Why must Malaysia be lagging so much behind?" Anwar said at a breakfast forum in San Juan organized by the city government and his friend, former President Joseph Estrada, whom he described as having "many admirers" in his country.

He lamented that a simple and peaceful demonstration in Malaysia was "treated like al-Qaida," with state forces shooting and arresting people.

Over 1,600 were arrested in the aftermath of a mass action in July, he said, adding that the demonstrators were merely seeking clean elections, and not the ouster of current leaders.

"This has to change. Learn from the experience of the Philippines. Learn in a positive light what happened after years of dictatorial rule," Anwar said.

He was referring to the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolt that ousted the strongman Ferdinand Marcos and that became the model for bloodless revolts all over the world.

Honored to speak

According to Anwar, he cannot even get a minute of airtime in the Malaysian media, which the government controls.

He also cannot enter universities, he said, adding that this was why he was honored when the University of the Philippines invited him to speak at a forum on Rizal later Friday.

But he professed optimism about the prospects of democracy in his country, and said he believed that Malaysians were now more aware of their rights.

Anwar said there were things worse in Malaysia than in the Philippines. For example, he said, the use of indelible ink during elections was not even possible in his country.

He said the controversy here over the Philippine National Police's purchase of two used helicopters at brand-new prices had puzzled Malaysians.

A bigger scandal in Malaysia involves two huge submarines, he said.

Nevertheless, "we must stop this rot of corruption," he said.

Anwar said Malaysia had been lagging behind the Philippines and Indonesia in building credible institutions.

He said that while Malaysia's economy was in a better position, it had been falling behind Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam in terms of foreign investments, competitiveness and market capitalization.

"There is an imperative for reform in Malaysia," he said.

Support from Estrada

Anwar said he wanted the help of Estrada as his group battled with the ruling party in Malaysia's forthcoming general elections.

He said getting Estrada to directly campaign for him would be a sticky matter but that the former Philippine leader's endorsement and support could come in many ways.

"Erap is my great friend, family friend," Anwar said, referring to Estrada by his nickname. "And how I wish he could come to Malaysia and help me in the campaign because he still has many admirers there."

In a subsequent press conference, Anwar said that under Malaysia's rules, it would be difficult to get a foreign spokesperson to campaign directly for him.

But Estrada can speak on issues in other forums, Anwar said. "In the right forum, I'm sure he will be able to be of immense influence in many parts of Malaysia, I can tell you. Do not underestimate the importance of his call and his passion."

In response, Estrada said that if Anwar would ask him for support, he did not think there was a reason to refuse.

"As I said … I'll be all-out for him because I believe in him," Estrada said, adding that he would be there for Anwar's inauguration when the latter became prime minister.

Common vision

In a speech, Estrada called on all freedom-living Filipinos to support Anwar.

He cited their common vision to have an Asian region with "a democracy that is committed to supporting instead of suppressing the will of the people; a democracy that honors instead of obliterates justice; a democracy that respects religion and race."

Estrada lauded Anwar for the latter's impressive knowledge of Rizal, and went on to crack a joke: "As we all know, Jose Rizal was a hero not only of the Filipino people but also of the Malay race because he was a man who died for his convictions. My good friend Anwar and I are also men of conviction. That is why both of us were convicted."

He was referring to his being convicted of plunder, and Anwar's being convicted of corruption.

Estrada also said he was supporting Anwar because he knew what it was like to be a victim of "unjust and ruthless" politics.

He said he was "unconstitutionally" ousted and jailed for six years on "trumped-up" plunder charges, while Anwar was jailed for six years on corruption charges.

"But we all know that Anwar was imprisoned not because he committed corruption but because he countered it," Estrada said.

Humility

In his own speech, Anwar also heaped praise on his friend.

He lauded Estrada's humility when the latter told him that he was more knowledgeable about Rizal. He said that this may not necessarily be true, and that it was rare for political leaders to show humility.

"Tell me, how many ministers, vice presidents and presidents in the world would tell another friend, 'Thank you, you are more knowledgeable'?" he said.

He added that he believed in Estrada's desire to help the poor and the oppressed, noting that the latter spoke with so much passion about the matter.

What's the future for Anwar Ibrahim?

Posted: 05 Aug 2011 01:37 PM PDT

By Carmen N. Pedrosa, Philstar

I have met Anwar Ibrahim several times both in Kuala Lumpur and in Manila. The first meeting was at the UP many years ago after Mahathir Mohamad dropped him as his political protege. He came to deliver a lecture on Jose Rizal. I was surprised how well he knew our national hero whom he said he greatly admired.

"In a way, Malaysians envy Filipinos because they had a hero and patriot like Jose Rizal. We don't. And since he is called the Great Malay, we can also claim him," he said.

I was in Kuala Lumpur February last year when the defense sought access to certain "prosecutor evidence." His lawyers were optimistic that the evidence would not hold water and so they aggressively wanted it out. After much legal wrangling, the upshot of the court hearing was a mere postponement.

Anwar said the trial was a machination led by Prime Minister Najib and his wife to re-open the case against him. Others said they see the hand of Mahathir Mohamad and this was more of the same.

My daughter, Veronica covering the trial for Al-Jazeera, told me the case has also placed the judiciary on trial. Will he get a fair chance? I later interviewed Mahathir in his office in Putrajaya who said quite candidly that he will get a fair trial. He said he was not a great admirer of Prime Minister Najiv either. "It isn't politically motivated," he said. "I am out of politics."

I asked the former prime minister what brought about the estrangement between him and his protégé. He said "differing policies". While he was abroad, colleagues told him that Anwar was upsetting his government's program and could not be relied upon.

Outside the court were members of the opposition chanting support for Anwar and pushing to get in. There were some minor scuffles with police.

* * *

That was last year. But things have changed in KL since then. More aggressive crowds will be prowling the streets that can very easily turn into a political protest not unlike what is happening in the Middle East.

The recent walk for democracy organized by BERSIH, the 9th of July Malaysian democracy movement drew some 20,000 to 30,000 mostly young students who said they were fighting for freedom and democracy in Malaysia. They were asking for "fair and clean elections, as well democratic rights." A keen watcher of Malaysian politics said some planning went into this show of force with Malaysians abroad in Singapore, Bangkok, London and Melbourne joining in.

More than a thousand protesters were detained, including organizers and opposition parties. The police used tear gas and chemical-laced water to disperse the crowds. Curiously, they were also wearing yellow shirts reminiscent of colored "revolutions" in other countries for regime change.

BERSIH is limited to calling for 'fair and clean elections', and says nothing about the social and economic needs of the working class majority as well as the youth, as a consequence of the pro-capitalist policies and agenda of the BN government.

Anwar's visit to Manila would be perfectly timed in case trouble breaks out next week.

* * *

With a growing opposition in the appointment of Domingo Lee as Philippine ambassador to Beijing, newly appointed ambassador to KL, Eduardo Malaya's book on the "Frontlines of Diplomacy" is a good read. It is time that the Philippines thinks carefully about assigning diplomats. Beijing is probably the most sensitive post today, even more important than the US post. Domingo may be a good man and a family friend of the Aquinos but he does not have the experience necessary for the job.

In his book Malaya asked 31 entry-level foreign service officers to interview 37 retired and active ambassadors and three spouses about their careers, the issues and challenges they faced and many other sundry things. It is less on substantive issues that ought to be the subject of another book but about the daily challenges of the life of diplomats and as Malaya said more about human-interest stories for a reading public on just what a diplomat's life is all about. "It is not always a charmed life."

He gives the example of two Filipina envoys — Ambassador and later Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani and Minerva Jean Falcon who teamed up to write the first draft of what we now know as the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and how it almost never made it to the UN floor.

There is a section on Domingo Siazon Jr., the first career officer to become Foreign Secretary, that is full of amusing stories on the ASEAN troika in the Cambodia peace process, democratization process in Myanmar, the South China Sea issue and the Flor Contemplacion execution in Singapore.

"When I took over as secretary of Foreign Affairs, my main concern was Filipinos on the block for hanging. So I talked with Prime Minister Mahathir, who said "Siazon, we are not as efficient as the Singaporeans! … I have been in politics long enough. This is a sensitive issue. No Filipinos will be hanged here." Then I went to Brunei. I got the same message. This is what diplomacy is all about. It is personal. You really have to know each other. Puwedeng pakiusapan." (interview by Priscile Yap-Bahjin)

The book dispels the notion that being a diplomat is all about being in the social circuit. Clemencio Montesa was held hostage by Sandinista rebels in 1996 while awaiting to present his credentials at the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry.

Leonides Caday's limbs were shattered in Jakarta in 2000 when his car was blown up by the Jemaah Islamiyah. "I was vulnerable. I thought I had no enemies," reminisced Caday.

Rounding out these narratives are interviews with three spouses whose contributions to the success of their partners' work are immense. Ada Ledesma-Mabilangan, spouse of the former envoy to the UN, helped in the renovation of the Philippine townhouse in New York and also wrote the informative "Entertaining with Ease: Etiquette and Protocol for the Modern Filipino."

Malaya was in Brussels when my late husband, Alberto Pedrosa was Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union from 1992 to 1995. He says it helped that having lived in exile in London during the martial law years and worked in euro-capital markets, he was familiar with the continent's issues and the ways of the Brussels bureaucracy. This helped when he negotiated the entry of Philippine carrageenan and tapioca to the EU market, among other issues.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Sabtu, 6 Ogos 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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