Rabu, 8 Jun 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


Ahmad Sarbani’s death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 4)

Posted: 08 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT

The MACC I.O.s have since been directed to get the 'cooperation' of the Customs officers who have not been able to explain the money in their bank accounts. They were told that if they point their fingers at the late Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, the MACC will ease up on them and will not prosecute them and may even turn them into 'prosecution witnesses'.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Police officers removing Ahmad Sarbani's body from MACC KL Office

This is the final episode of the late Customs Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed 'suicide' story. Note that what we have written in the four episodes of this story is based on the testimony of our Deep Throats in the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and Malaysian Customs Department (Jabatan Kastam).

The Police and Customs officers no longer trust their own government. They would rather trust Malaysia Today in seeing justice done. And that is why they have requested Malaysia Today to reveal what really happened to Ahmad Sarbani.

To my friends in the Police Force who have taken great pains to keep me safe from harm, I thank you. Without you I would not have escaped…well, you know what. And to my friends in the Customs Department who are always in touch with me to ask about my health, I also thank you. I trust Malaysia Today has been of service to you by revealing the true story behind Ahmad Sarbani's death.

A grief stricken Marziah, Ahmad Sarbani's wife

Okay, let the story continue.

So far what our Deep Throats in the Police Force and the Customs Department have revealed is that Ahmad Sarbani did not kill himself. He did not ride his bike all the way to MACC's office in Jalan Cockrane in Kuala Lumpur just to commit suicide by jumping out of the window like what they allege Teoh Beng Hock also did.

It appears like the Police investigating officer (I.O.) has also come to the conclusion that Ahmad Sarbani is not a corrupt Customs officer who became scared and committed suicide. And the Attorney-General is not happy with this conclusion. That is why this slime-ball and scumbag of an AG sent the Police investigation report back to the Police THREE TIMES.

The AG insists that by hook or by crook they must come out with a verdict of suicide. So, while the AG continues to bonk his Director, the Police have been instructed to 'bonk' the 'witnesses' and force them to implicate the deceased in corruption and conclude that he committed suicide because of it.

What puzzled PDRM I.O. ASP Zuhairi Mohamed was that the CCTV conveniently did not show any of these incidents -- suggesting that the attempt at a cover-up involved the MACC's top leadership and that Dato' Mustafar Ali had lied in his press statement.

What was more disturbing was that immediately after Wan Zainal gave his third and last statement to the police, Yusof Akope and Mohd Fauzi immediately directed S.I.O. Abdul Ghani to pick up Wan Zainal to be brought to the MACC's office for interrogation.

The focus of the MACC interrogation was to find out what Wan Zainal had told ASP Zuhairi and what documents were given to the police. This showed an intention to circumvent the police investigation.

Wan Zainal was interrogated from 3.00pm to 11.00pm.

The MACC tried to intimidate Wan Zainal and two of his other colleagues, Maggie and Eddie, in marathon interrogation sessions in the weeks that followed. They were threatened that if they refuse to 'cooperate', the MACC will now target them and their companies in follow-up investigations on the corruption allegations. In other words, help the MACC fix up Ahmad Sarbani or else the MACC will fix them up instead.

Having failed to get the cooperation of these freight forwarders, Yusof Akope and Mohd Fauzi changed tactics.

The MACC I.O.s have since been directed to get the 'cooperation' of the Customs officers who have not been able to explain the money in their bank accounts. These Customs officers were told that if they point their fingers at the late Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, the MACC will ease up on them and will not prosecute them and may even turn them into 'prosecution witnesses'.

All they needed to do was to say that all the unexplained money in their bank accounts actually belongs to Ahmad Sarbani. Therefore, if they agree to fix up Ahmad Sarbani then the MACC will let them go free and may even allow them to keep the money in their bank accounts that they can't explain where it came from.

Killing an innocent man is one thing, but putting the blame on a dead man who cannot defend himself is just a bit too much and even corrupted government officers draw the line on this one. So they refused to accept the 'deal'.

That is how far the MACC top leadership is prepared to go to cover up their evil deeds. They need to explain how Ahmad Sarbani died and they want to convince us that he killed himself because he was corrupted and he was scared to face the music. The Malays call this kambing jaga sireh or, as the English say, the fox in charge of the hen house. The agency tasked with fighting corruption is rapidly turning into a most corrupt agency, prepared to commit murder even.

Since the suicide story would be plausible only if Ahmad Sarbani owned unusual and extraordinary wealth, they wanted the other Customs officers to say that all their unexplained wealth actually belongs to the deceased. And the MACC is prepared to give immunity to corrupt Customs officers if they agree to do this.

They need to nail Ahmad Sarbani real bad and they will go to great lengths in achieving this. And note that these are Muslims who pray five times a day, fast during the month of Ramadhan and go to Mekah, mind you! Yet they would not hesitate to do a deed most foul -- framing a dead man.

But the Police and Customs officers are fighting back. They are not going to allow the MACC to frame Ahmad Sarbani. They want the world to know he is clean and that he did not commit suicide. And they want us to know how the MACC is tying to suggest otherwise. And to do that they have enlisted the help of Malaysia Today.

In the next part, part 5, we will disclose who killed Ahmad Sarbani -- but only if we need to. We will hold back part 5 pending the official statement by the government as to how Ahmad Sarbani died. Since the AG has announced that there will be an Inquest, let us give the Police an opportunity to reveal the real evidence at this Inquest and let us hope that they get it right this time.

If the MACC, AG Gani Patail and the Police repeat what they did in trying to cover up Teoh Beng Hock's death, then Malaysia Today will reveal the full investigation report on who killed Ahmad Sarbani. And if they want to call our bluff and play poker, thinking that we will not do it, then they do not know Malaysia Today well enough yet. We just love challenges and will rise to any challenge. 

So don't force us to do this. But we will if we have to just to clear the name of an innocent dead man who did not commit suicide but was murdered. So, till next time, part 5, if circumstances force us to come out with a part 5, take care and keep the fight for change going.

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 1)  

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 2) 

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 3) 

 

Ahmad Sarbani’s death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 3)

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT

The mention of the AG's name did not intimidate Wan Zainal who insisted to ASP Zuhairi that "saya takkan fitnahkan orang yang dah meninggal" (he would not defame a dead man) just for convenience. ASP Zuhairi also discovered that the background of Wan Zainal is not consistent with someone who would give bribes.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Ahmad Sarbani – maligned in his death

We continue the story behind the mysterious death of Customs Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed. Ahmad Sarbani was the second person to 'commit suicide' while under the custody and while being interrogated by the MACC, the first being Teoh Beng Hock.

Although the government is trying to suggest that Beng Hock committed suicide, most Malaysians believe that this is not true and that Beng Hock was either murdered or was accidentally killed by the MACC officers who were forcibly trying to extract a confession from him.

Ahmad Sarbani's death appears to meet this pattern and because of this Malaysians are even more convinced that he did not commit suicide. In fact, Ahmad Sarbani's death reinforces the belief even more that Beng Hock did not also commit suicide.

Whatever the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry may be with regards to these two deaths, Malaysians have already decided that the two deaths are not suicides and that the government is trying to cover up this evil deed by fabricating reports and evidences.

However you look at it, these two incidences are going to have a negative impact on the government come the next general election.

Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) Investigating Officer (I.O.) ASP Zuhairi Mohamed did a thorough check on the late Customs Department Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed's assets and found that there was no unusual or extraordinary wealth.

He had only three modest cars -- a Perodua Kancil, a second-hand Honda CRV and a Proton Persona -- and a Modenas Kriss bike, which he rode to the MACC office on that unfortunate morning of 6th April, the day of his death.

He owned an apartment in Bukit Tinggi, Klang (RM65,872), an apartment in Puncak Alam (RM68,988), a Semi-D cluster house in Saujana Impian in Sungai Buloh (RM230,000) and RM35,000 in savings in Amanah Saham Bumiputra.

All these were duly accounted for.

The only significant asset, which was the Semi-D house, was bought via a government loan drawn from his wife's savings with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which she had withdrawn when she turned 50.

ASP Zuhairi then interviewed Wan Zainal Abidin and found out something more perplexing.

MACC Senior Investigating Officer (S.I.O.) Abdul Ghani had said that Ahmad Sarbani had implicated Wan Zainal and that he was the last person whom Ahmad Sarbani and Abdul Ghani had called just before his death.

This meant that Ahmad Sarbani was already in MACC's custody when he died. And this shows that Dato' Mustafar Ali had lied in his press statement.

In all, Wan Zainal gave three statements to ASP Zuhairi because AG Gani Patail was not satisfied when this man had steadfastly denied being involved in any bribery each and every time.

The reason for these three statements is because AG Gani Patail and Abu Kassim wanted the police to 'wrap up' this 'suicide' case by pointing to Wan Zainal as the cause of the fear and the resulting death of Ahmad Sarbani. They were bent of coming out with a verdict of 'suicide' so they needed the 'cause' but failed.

The mention of the AG's name did not intimidate Wan Zainal who insisted to ASP Zuhairi that "saya takkan fitnahkan orang yang dah meninggal" (I will not defame a dead man) just for convenience. ASP Zuhairi also discovered that the background of Wan Zainal is not consistent with someone who would give bribes.

Wan Zainal is a God-fearing man and the Imam Jenazah of his surau. His salary and allowances are very modest. He voluntarily gave his last three years bank statements to DSP Shafie, which showed there was hardly any money for him to survive monthly, what more to bribe Ahmad Sarbani or any other Customs officer for that matter to the tune of billions of ringgit.

Wan Zainal also told ASP Zuhairi that on the eve of 4th April, he had met Ahmad Sarbani who apologised to him because he was forced by S.I.O. Abdul Ghani to implicate Wan Zainal. Since Wan Zainal worked for one of the largest forwarding companies in the country as well as globally it would be believable that this company would pay the biggest bribes to clear goods.

Upon realising that he had been tricked to implicate his innocent friends, Ahmad Sarbani told Wan Zainal that he would put things right.

On the morning of 6th April at about 9.50 am, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani had asked Ahmad Sarbani to summon Wan Zainal to the MACC office. By the time Wan Zainal arrived at around noon, Ahmad Sarbani had been killed.

At 2.00pm, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani met Wan Zainal and asked him to assist in giving a story to the police that would support the MACC's spin that Ahmad Sarbani committed suicide because he was under pressure. Wan Zainal was also asked to coordinate the timing of certain calls and events to corroborate the MACC's diary.

To absolve himself, S.I.O. Abdul Ghani also told a close friend that on the morning of 6th April, another MACC I.O. by the name of Shaikh had tried to upstage his leadership of the investigation by reporting to Mohd Fauzi that Ahmad Sarbani would not agree to be 'cooperative'. This caused Mohd Fauzi to go ballistic who directed Shaikh and another officer, Kamal, to apply pressure on Ahmad Sarbani.

S.I.O. Abdul Ghani felt slighted that Shaikh was trying to gain prominence over him in this 'big case'.

Abdul Ghani also confided that he saw Ahmad Sarbani with Shaikh and Kamal who were applying 'pressure techniques' and was making Ahmad Sarbani sign the acknowledgement form for the seizure of his telephone when Ahmad Sarbani was killed.

To pacify the Malaysian public, I.O. Shaikh and I.O. Kamal have been suspended indefinitely and this created a lot of enmity within the Selangor MACC, especially because S.I.O. Abdul Ghani was being protected by Yusof Akope and Mohd Fauzi.

Part 4 will follow tomorrow where we will reveal a massive cover-up and lying exercise aimed at hiding the fact that Ahmad Sarbani did not commit suicide but was murdered.

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 1)  

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 2) 

 

Something that never happened and never can happen

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 08:55 PM PDT

This article is an imaginary situation. This incident never happened and never can happen in a country like Malaysia. Nevertheless, let us break away from the reality of our miserable lives and allow our imagination to run wild just for once and fantasize just like in a Hollywood movie.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Your Honour, Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says: Where a person is arrested he shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest and shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

My client may be regarded as a Muslim, Your Honour, and I stress the word 'regarded', as we shall come to that again later, and I am a self-professed atheist, but as Your Honour can clearly see, the Constitution stipulates that my client is allowed to be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

Your Honour can't forbid me from representing my client on the basis of my religion, or in this case my rejection of religion. To do so would be a violation of the Constitution and therefore a breach of my client's fundamental liberties and civil rights.

This court cannot impose any other laws and rules on my client, religious or otherwise, as Article 4(1) of the Constitution says: This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

This means, Your Honour, the Constitution reigns supreme and overrides all other laws, especially if those laws were passed after 31st August 1957 and are opposed to and inconsistent with the Constitution.

In this case, Your Honour, this court cannot forbid me from acting for my client based on my religion or non-religion as the Constitution says that my client can be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice and there is no stipulation in the Constitution as to the religion of that practitioner.

Your Honour, Article 5(1) of the Constitution says: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.

This means, Your Honour, the proper laws must be applied and these laws must be consistent with and in compliance to the Constitution and any laws passed after 31st August 1957 that are in violation of the Constitution are void.

In other words, Your Honour, this court cannot move the goalposts, so to speak.

Your Honour, Article 6(1) of the Constitution says: No person shall be held in slavery.

Your Honour, we shall be calling expert witnesses who will testify that religion is a form of slavery and therefore to impose religion on my client is to subject my client to slavery.

Our expert witnesses are renowned psychologists with no less than 40 years experience and who have lectured and written numerous books on the matter. They have also conducted intensive studies to determine that since time immemorial the ruling elite has been using religion to control and imprison the minds of the populace and subject them to mental slavery, which is more effective and dangerous than physical slavery.

Your Honour, Article 8(1) of the Constitution says: All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

Now, my client is being denied this right, Your Honour. He is being brought before this court because he is regarded as a Muslim and has openly professed that he is an atheist who does not believe in the existence of God. However, if he were not regarded as a Muslim he would not have been subjected to this trial.

This means, Your Honour, my client is being prosecuted because of his faith, or in this case his rejection of faith, which also means he is not being treated equal before the law or being given equal protection of the law.

Would someone who is not regarded as a Muslim be subjected to what my client is being subjected to? Would a non-Muslim who rejects his faith be here today? The answer, Your Honour, is no! So this is a violation of Article 8(1) of the Constitution.

If Your Honour were to look at Article 8(2) of the Constitution, it says: Except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.

Your Honour, my client is being discriminated against because of his religion, or rejection of it, and this, again, is a violation of the Constitution.

Your Honour, Article 11(1) of the Constitution says: Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

This means, Your Honour, this court cannot take away the right of my client to believe in whatever he wants to believe in or not believe in whatever he chooses to not believe.

This court may argue that Article 11(4) of the Constitution overrides Article 11(1). Article 11(4) says: State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.

This Article merely talks about propagation, not belief. My client is not propagating anything, especially to persons professing the religion of Islam.

Now, Your Honour, let us go to the laws of Islam, in this case the Quran, the only true guidance for those who profess the religion of Islam.

Chapter 2, verse 256 of the Quran says: Let there be no compulsion in religion.

Your Honour, the Quranic passage, la ikraha fi d-dini, or there is no compulsion in religion, is generally understood to mean that no one should use compulsion against another in matters of faith.

As it is understood here, Your Honour, this statement represents a principle of religious tolerance.

Historically, the People of the Book, that is, the members of the older religions, particularly the Jews and the Christians, were in principle never compelled to accept Islam. They were obliged, while residing in any territory under Islamic domination, only to recognise the supremacy of Muslims and, at the same time, as an external indication of this recognition, to pay a separate tax.

In all other matters they could maintain their inherited beliefs and perform their practices as usual. They were even allowed to establish their own internal administration.

The situation, however, was different for members of the pre-Islamic pagan Arab society. After Islam became established and had extended its power over the whole of Arabia, the pagan Arabs were forcefully compelled to accept Islam. To state it more accurately, they had to choose either to accept Islam or face death in battle against the Muslims.

This regulation was later sanctioned in Islamic law that came long after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

However, Your Honour, all this stands in open contradiction to the meaning of the Quranic statement: la ikraha fi d-dini. The non-Muslims at that time were clearly compelled to accept Islam unless they preferred to die.

In view of these circumstances we must return to the real meaning of la ikraha fi d-dini. And this, Your Honour, becomes clearer in chapter 10, verse 100 of the Quran, which says: And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would believe together. Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers?

In other words, Your Honour, the Quran says that God could have made all people of the same faith had He wanted to but He purposely did not. And the Quran questions us: Wouldst thou compel men until they are believers?

That means the Quran is asking us whether we are trying to do what God Himself does not do.

Your Honour, in the contemporary world of Islam, the acknowledgement of religious tolerance is well established. And it is made clearer in the Quranic statement: la ikraha fi d-dini.

Your Honour, we must always keep in mind that in many ways the circumstances governing early Islam differed from those of today and that the presuppositions for a general and complete religious tolerance were not given at that time.

And that brings us to my client's case, Your Honour. Is this court empowered to try my client and impose upon him not only what the Constitution forbids but what the Quran also clearly does not propagate or allow?

Is this court playing God and doing the job of God when the Quran clearly states that God could have made everyone of the same faith if He had wanted to but intentionally did not?

This, Your Honour, will be what the Defence will be raising if this court persists in continuing with this trial and refuses to withdraw the charge of apostasy against my client.

 

Ahmad Sarbani’s death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 2)

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT

The first thing that ASP Zuhairi did was to interview Ahmad Sarbani's colleagues and he discovered a totally different picture of this much-maligned dead man. ASP Zuhairi obtained witness statements that Ahmad Sarbani was a responsible and hardworking officer who was ever so helpful to everyone who dealt with the Export & Import Section of Port Klang Customs Dept.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Dato Seri Abu Kassim was the Deputy Chief Commissioner of the MACC when Teoh Beng Hock died in custody in 2009. When news first broke about what they are trying to mislead us and classify as 'suicide', the then Selangor MACC Director, Hishamudin Hashim, panicked and ran to Abu Kassim to get 'further instructions'.

Teoh Beng Hock in happier times

The Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry (TBH RCI) has since found damning evidence of lies and manipulation of facts by the MACC to cover up what had transpired at that time -- including the revelation that MACC officers have the habit of watching pornography in the office.

To divert public attention from this damning evidence, on 1st April 2011, Abu Kassim, who by now was the MACC Chief Commissioner, launched a nationwide blitz against the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (Jabatan Kastam) by sensationalising the 'news' that Customs officers had colluded with hundreds of freight forwarders to fleece the government of RM108 billion in tax revenues.

Things went terribly wrong for the MACC when, on 6th April at about 11.00am, Customs Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed was found dead, thrown out of the third floor of the brand new MACC office building at Jalan Cochrane in Kuala Lumpur. 

Police officers removing Ahmad Sarbani's body from MACC's KL Office

The MACC Director of Investigations, Datuk Mustafar Ali, gave an immediate press statement that evening that Ahmad Sarbani had come to the MACC office voluntarily and without an appointment.

MACC Investigations Director Dato' Mutafar Ali justifying the Customs officer's death at the MACC office

Malaysia Today has now received a report from 'Deep Throats' within the MACC as well as within the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) that Datuk Mustafar's statement was a lie and calculated to deny the fact that Ahmad Sarbani died in MACC's custody, just like what happened to Teoh Beng Hock.

This is what Malaysia Today's Deep Throat in the MACC said:

"The MACC's leadership cannot be trusted. They lied and tried to cover up Teoh Beng Hock's death. And now they are doing the same again in Ahmad Sarbani's death."

The MACC needed something sensational that can overshadow its battered reputation in the TBH RCI. They lied to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak by saying that widespread corruption by the Royal Malaysian Customs had caused the government to suffer tax losses of RM108 billion.

That got Najib excited. You see, Malaysia is going broke and Najib needed that revenue very badly and he thought that this was one way for the country to 'earn money'.

The Selangor part of the investigation is coordinated by its Director, Yusof Akope, and his deputy, Mohd Fauzi. The Senior Investigating Officer (S.I.O.) for this case is Abdul Ghani.

However, instead of conducting fair and unbiased investigations and telling the truth, these three concocted unverified intelligence to support the MACC HQ's plan to make the allegations of the loss of RM108 billion believable.

They must have learned this from the CIA, which had fabricated false intelligence reports on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in order to support President Bush's plan to invade Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Now the whole world knows that Saddam never had any WMDs. But the end had justified the means -- Saddam has been hung dead.

The Malaysian government-owned mainstream media was roped in to sensationalise the raids and arrests of 62 Customs officers in Penang, Johor, Selangor and Pahang by a special task force, which purportedly comprised the MACC, the Inland Revenue Board, Bank Negara and the Customs Department.

The subsequent reaction of the Customs Department D-G, Dato' Mohamed Khalid Yusuf, who expressed shock and unhappiness over the exaggerated tax losses and the death is very telling. In fact, the top leadership of the Customs Department was actually in the dark over the MACC plans and did not know anything about what was going on -- contrary to what we were told.

Customs D-G Dato' Khalid (centre) clarifying the MACC's erroneous allegations with FMM President Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur and FMM Customs Committee vice-chairman Datuk Tan Kwong Jin

The targets did not require much intelligence to identify. Going by the theory that the revenue losses were from import and export activities, they simply zoomed in on the custom entry points and presumed that all the officers in these divisions were corrupted.

That was how the MACC led these raids. There were no prior investigations. All the MACC had to work on are hunches. But they didn't care because the objective was to divert public attention from the TBH RCI. That was what the disbanded APCO Public Relations firm had taught them -- it is all about managing public perception.

In the days that followed the sensational raids, the mainstream media kept playing up the story leaked by the MACC itself about one officer who purportedly had several million ringgit in his bank account while another had almost RM1 million. Two others were alleged to have more than RM500,000 each. Stories of the sweeping raids recovering gold bars and more than RM600,000 in cash stored in several bags were played up to the maximum.

With such strong 'evidence', you would imagine that these officers would have been charged by now. It has been two months since the raids and arrests, yet not one officer has been charged!

In the meantime, Yusof Akope, Mohd Fauzi and Abdul Ghani continued to smear the name of the dead Ahmad Sarbani as a very corrupted officer and painted him as the mastermind of the multi-billion ringgit Customs Department scam.

They told the Police I.O., ASP Zuhairi Mohamed, that Ahmad Sarbani jumped off the MACC building and committed suicide because he was afraid that the MACC investigations would show the billions of cash that he had stashed away. They even dubbed the case as the 3B case (RM3 billion).

See how fast it came down from RM108 billion to a mere RM3 billion!

They also told ASP Zuhairi and DSP Shafie that Ahmad Sarbani had admitted that he received bribes from Ah Seng of Top Mark Freightforwarding and Wan Zainal Abidin of Schenker Logistics.

The first thing that ASP Zuhairi did was to interview Ahmad Sarbani's colleagues and he discovered a totally different picture of this much-maligned dead man. ASP Zuhairi obtained witness statements that Ahmad Sarbani was a responsible and hardworking officer who was ever so helpful to everyone who dealt with the Export & Import Section of Port Klang Customs Department.

ASP Zuhairi found out that stories of Ahmad Sarbani being stressed out were also untrue. On 4th April, during Zuhur prayers at the Customs surau in Port Klang, Ahmad Sarbani was seen hugging and consoling fellow officer Basharuddin who had just been released from MACC remand.

According to Basharuddin, Ahmad Sarbani had told him to have faith in God and not to be afraid, as the truth will prevail.

Apparently, Ahmad Sarbani was also an Imam Zuhur of that surau and was a pious Muslim. To ASP Zuhairi, all these are not consistent with the conduct of a stressed-out, corrupted officer who committed suicide. 

And tomorrow we shall continue this story with part 3, so stay tuned.

Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 1)

 

Ahmad Sarbani’s death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 1)

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 07:11 PM PDT

And so it is with regards to the MACC. Those in the Royal Malaysian Customs Department have no one to turn to. They don't trust the PDRM. They don't trust the MACC. But they trust Malaysia Today. So they have asked Malaysia Today to let truth be told. And that is what we are going to do.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

We from the civil society movements are extremely unhappy about the rampant corruption in Malaysia that threatens to reduce the country to the status of a failed state. But what can we do about it other than lament and reveal what we know? Not that anything is going to be done about what we reveal.

Hey, we even revealed that the Attorney-General is bonking one of his Directors. And know what? Not only has nothing been done about it but he is still bonking her until today in spite of everyone knowing about it.

"So why bother?" many may ask. Well, our job is just to reveal the truth whether anything is done about it or not. We even reveal the misconduct of the opposition although we get vilified and are called traitors and are accused of being bought off.

It is what we do -- never mind how unpopular that makes us. And if you don't like it, tough! That's your problem, not mine.

Talking about corruption, I still remember back in the 1980s when I spoke to the Deputy IGP, Tun Haniff Omar's number two, about corruption in the police force and he said that if they want to eradicate corruption they would have to sack 97% of the police force.

I did not ask Tan Sri Amin whether he is in the 3% or the 97%.

I also remember back in the 1990s when the Director of ACA Terengganu named Zainal launched corruption investigations against senior government officers and Umno leaders. It appeared like 100% of these people, Menteri Besar Wan Mokhtar Ahmad included, were going to be sent to jail.

Wan Mokhtar called Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Zainal was transferred within 24 hours.

So, yes, there are some good and dedicated Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA, now called MACC) officers. But then if they were to do the job they have been entrusted to do they would suffer persecution, 24-hour transfers, sent into 'cold storage' and whatnot. So it is not worth doing your job. Better, as one Member of Parliament said: you 'close one eye'.

Closing two eyes plus your mouth and ears as well may be even better. Then you would go far.

So whom do people turn to when they are unhappy and distrust the very institutions that are supposed to be the trustees of the public? To the police? Pleeeeeez! To the MACC? What? And get thrown out of the window?

Luckily lawyer Rosli Dahlan was detained overnight in the MACC lockup in Putrajaya, which is underground. If not he would have also been found dead on the ground floor.

Can you imagine the newspaper headlines the next day if Rosli had died?

"Lawyer Rosli Dahlan was found dead on the ground floor of the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya. Rosli was suspected to have jumped out of MACC's underground lockup and landed on the ground floor."

Yes, as in the movie 'Ghost Buster', whom do you call? The Police? MACC? No, you call the Ghost Busters! You contact Malaysia Today. You come to Malaysia Today to ask that the truth be told.

And so it is with regards to the MACC. Those in the Royal Malaysian Customs Department have no one to turn to. They don't trust the PDRM. They don't trust the MACC. But they trust Malaysia Today. So they have asked Malaysia Today to let truth be told. And that is what we are going to do.

So stay tuned and tomorrow we shall tell you part two of the story "Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC", a story that will shock you.

Just when you thought it is safe to go into the water, as they said in the movie 'Jaws'. That's right, there are many sharks in Malaysia. But not all sharks swim in the water. Many sharks walk on two feet. And many sharks wear uniforms. And many sharks are under the protection of Umno.

In fact, many of these sharks are actually instruments of those who walk in the corridors of power. They are instruments to take down those critical of the government. They are tools used to silence dissent.

And what worries those who walk in the corridors of power is that many who work for the government no longer trust the government but trust Malaysia Today more. And that is why they come to Malaysia Today to tell their story. And this is why they want Malaysia Today to reveal what they told us.

Now, hold on for part two where we reveal what our Deep Throat in the Customs Department told us.

 

Syed Hassan Ali’s education versus Andreas Panayiotou’s no education

Posted: 05 Jun 2011 01:15 AM PDT

Syed Hassan Ali is educated. But he wants the government to continue giving the Malays handouts so that they can remain on crutches. Andreas Panayiotou is a school dropout. But he is worth more than RM3.5 billion and did not need to make it with government handouts.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin



Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali also criticised Mohamad Sabu's credibility, saying the newly-elected deputy was not fit for the office.

"Mat Sabu only studied in ITM and did not even finish, he is not even a religious studies graduate from the Middle East. It is an embarrassment to the ulama faction in PAS because Mat Sabu has no academic qualifications while the Erdogans are disappointed because Mat Sabu does not support Anwar," said Syed Hassan through a text message.

He added that Mat Sabu had once called the opposition leader as Anwar al-Juburi or Anwar the anus, referring to the latter's sodomy trials.



Syed Hassan believed the new leadership will make it hard for Umno to have unity talks with PAS.

He also regretted Hadi's attacks against Umno and the president's allegiance with the DAP and PKR.

"There was not a single sentence in his speech yesterday that can pave the way for PAS to have a common understanding for the Malay race and Islam," he said.

He added the Islamist party must be the first party to start the unification process because Islam invites its followers to forge unity for the religion.

**********************************



Andreas Panayiotou is the son of a Cypriot immigrant. He was raised in the East End of London and became an amateur boxer at the tender age of seven. He wanted to turn professional but his parents were opposed and persuaded him to join the family dry cleaning business in Islington, North London.

Panayiotou left school in East London at 15 without any qualifications and built his fortune by developing blocks of flats on the edge of an up-and-coming area and waiting for prices to rise. He has amassed an estimated £725 million fortune, putting him in 81st place on the Sunday Times Rich List.

His chief UK company, Ability Development, has net assets of £190 million. He also owns a collection of yachts and jets and extensive property assets.


 

Signs of panic

Posted: 04 Jun 2011 01:38 AM PDT

How do you detect signs of panic? It's simple, really. As an example read PERKASA's and UMNO's kneejerk response to the Islamic Party of Malaysia's party elections on Friday. These are what you can call signs of panic. And guess why they are panicking. If I have to tell you then you don't deserve to live.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Ibrahim Ali calls new PAS leadership 'Anwar's voice'

(The Malaysian Insider) - Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali mocked the new PAS leadership as merely Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's voice, saying today the internal elections have not changed the Islamist party's outlook.

Ibrahim said Anwar's influence will still remain in the party if PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang continue to be at the helm.

"Anwar's voice in PAS is determined by Datuk Nik Aziz and Hadi who has become a stooge… the others are not relevant… True, there are the Erdogans, ulamas and others but all do not have any influence except for Datuk Nik Aziz and Hadi the stooge," he said in a statement.

******************************


Perkasa secretary-general says Mat Sabu has no academic qualifications

(The Malaysian Insider) - Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali criticised Mohamad Sabu's credibility, saying the newly-elected deputy was not fit for the office.

"Mat Sabu only studied in ITM and did not even finish, he is not even a religious studies graduate from the Middle East. It is an embarrassment to the ulama faction in PAS because Mat Sabu has no academic qualifications while the Erdogans are disappointed because Mat Sabu does not support Anwar," said Syed Hassan through a text message.

He added that Mat Sabu had once called the opposition leader as Anwar al-Juburi or Anwar the anus, referring to the latter's sodomy trials.

Syed Hassan believed the new leadership will make it hard for Umno to have unity talks with PAS.

********************************


DAP, PKR have influenced PAS to change principles: Mukhriz

(Bernama) - DAP and the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) have succeeded in influencing PAS to the extent that the party's objective of setting up an Islamic state, which was the party's struggles all this time, has been changed to a welfare state.

Deputy chairman of the Kedah Umno Liaison Body Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir said PAS was also seen as lacking a fixed stand when it changed the principle of struggling for an Islamic state to a welfare state because it wanted to realise the aspirations of the DAP and PKR in championing the cause of the multi-racial society in Malaysia.

"Congratulations to the DAP and PKR for succeeding to influence PAS to the extent that only those aligned to them (no ulama) were elected as PAS vice-presidents and even the deputy president."

"The influence of the DAP and PKR in PAS is very substantial. This does not reflect that PAS is free from the influence of those who are actually against Islam," he told reporters.
 

What the PAS party elections means to me

Posted: 03 Jun 2011 07:41 PM PDT

This is how I interpret yesterday's Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) party elections. Of course, it is still too early to bring out the wine, halal or otherwise -- as they say, we should not count our chickens before they hatch. However, from the number of eggs (and I counted at least a dozen), we can sort of already tell.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

1. PAS will move more towards the centre from presently the right.

2. DAP will reciprocate by also moving more towards the centre from presently the left.

3. PKR, which is presently in the 'centre' and used to play the very crucial 'middleman' role to balance the leftist and rightist parties (DAP and PAS respectively), will see its relevance much reduced.

4. DAP and PAS will build up a better working relationship through the new 'liberal' leaders.

5. Pakatan Rakyat would be less dependent on PKR and if anything were to happen to Anwar Ibrahim or PKR the opposition coalition would not suffer too much with PAS poised to take over the role of PKR as the 'liberal Malay-based party'.

6. PAS, like DAP (and as DAP would wish), will focus less on theological issues as its party's thrust and will instead concentrate on universal issues and the economic and social welfare of Malaysians (which was what the New Economic Policy or NEP was actually all about in the first place).

7. PAS will field non-Muslims in the coming general election while DAP will field Malay candidates as part of its 'moving towards the centre' exercise.

8. PAS will see a better balance between the perceived 'ulamak' and 'secular' leaders from what used to be a purely ulamak leadership.

9. Mat Sabu, the new number two in the party, who is seen as more 'modern thinking', will complement the number one, who is seen as more 'old school'.

10. The non-Muslims will become more comfortable with the new PAS leadership line-up -- many who are seen as less 'extreme', 'orthodox' or 'fundamental'.

11. It will be more difficult for Ummo to continue talking about 'Malay unity' and to entice PAS to work with Umno for the sake of the 'Malay cause' seeing that PAS will now be perceived as the 'new and better Umno'.

12. PAS will be able to replace Umno as a 'Malay party' seeing that PAS is becoming more 'Malay' while at the same time retaining its 'Islamic' identity -- something which Umno would have a problem duplicating.

13. Liberal Malays who hang on to Umno and/or PKR as their hope for the future would begin to see PAS as a viable alternative.

 

Mustafa Akyol: Faith versus tradition in Islam

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 04:01 PM PDT

Mustafa Akyol is the deputy editor of the Turkish Daily News. Mustafa Akyol talks about the way that some local cultural practices (such as wearing a headscarf or tudung) have become linked, in the popular mind, to the articles of faith of Islam. Has the world's general idea of the Islamic faith focused too much on tradition, and not enough on core beliefs?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

First of all, see the video here:

OR SEE VIDEO HERE: http://www.ted.com/talks/mustafa_akyol_faith_versus_tradition_in_islam.html?

Mustafa Akyol is Turkish. Turkey's population is higher than that of Britain (72 million) and 70% of Turks live in urban areas with only 30% living in the rural areas. But there are many reasons why the Turks are more modern than Muslims of other countries, as explained by Mustafa Akyol in the talk above.

The reason I am writing this article today is to respond to what the MCA Chinese leaders have to say about PAS's 'dress code'. Actually, if you go to the Sultan of Selangor's palace, you also have to observe a dress code and if you do not wish to comply with the dress code then you are at liberty to decline all invitations to the palace and boycott all palace functions -- if that so pleases these MCA Chinese.

But then these MCA Chinese people will even dress in monkey suits if they are ordered to do so just as long as they can go to the Sultan of Selangor's palace to receive awards, medals or datukships. That is the hypocrisy of these MCA Chinese people. They will drop their pants and bend down if they can get datukships. Even Chinese gangsters and underworld bosses pay RM250,000 to get datukships and they don't mind wearing suits and songkoks to attend the palace functions.

Try walking into Selangor Club or the Lake Club dressed in shorts and sleeveless T-shirts and see what happens to you. In fact, even the National Press Club (NPC) has a dress code and those dressed in slippers, shorts and/or collarless T-shirts will be denied entry to the club premises (which happened to me and my guests a couple of times).

In Turkey, women are banned from wearing the tudung in the parliament building or on the grounds of the universities. They must remove their tudung as they enter the gate or else will be denied entry. This is of course the opposite of the 'compulsory tudung rule'.

In short, whether you enter a club, university, palace, mosque, parliament or whatever, it is up to the building owner to decide on your dress code. In England, in some places they enforce the coat and tie rule -- even in some restaurants -- and if you are not dressed properly they will be very happy to lend you a coat and tie.

Try walking into Masjid Negara (the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur) dressed as above. And note that the National Mosque is NOT owned by PAS but by the government of Malaysia. You will certainly be denied entry.

Does MCA have a problem with this? Foreign tourists who visit the National Mosque do not complain and they are very happy to follow the dress code (or do not visit the National Mosque if they have a problem with the dress code).

Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa says that the non-Muslims are kurang ajar (insolent) and are questioning Islam. Maybe Ibrahim Ali should address this to MCA. The non-Muslims in Pakatan Rakyat are not complaining. It is the MCA Chinese who are members of Barisan Nasional who are.

The MCA Chinese are those who are the real kafir kurang ajar whom Ibrahim Ali is talking about.

Anyway, PAS did not impose the tudung ruling on the non-Muslim women attending their annual assembly. So the issue is a non-starter. It is just that the MCA leaders are trying to mislead the nation and are pretending that PAS imposed this when actually it did not.

That is the real issue here. So, as Mustafa Akyol said in the video above, we must understand what is Islam and what is tradition. Some Muslims are confused between the two. And some non-Muslims whack Islam also because of their misunderstanding about what is Islam, what is dress code, and what is tradition and culture (which may not be Islam at all).

 

Why sometimes I like to sound racial and scream: CINA BABI!

Posted: 30 May 2011 09:17 PM PDT

MCA Wanita secretary-geneneral Chew Lee Geok said that the requirement for female journalists to don headscarves and barring skirts and dresses was discriminatory. PAS election committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman told The Malaysian Insider that he had not issued such a directive and refuted reports carried yesterday in the Chinese media.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

MCA flays PAS over muktamar dress code

MCA Wanita has criticised PAS for enforcing a dress code on non-Muslim journalists covering its annual general assembly over the weekend.

In a statement today, MCA Wanita secretary-geneneral Chew Lee Geok said that the requirement for female journalists to don headscarves and barring skirts and dresses was discriminatory.

"The choice of personal clothing is a fundamental and individual right. This is a clear example of PAS depriving people of their personal liberties.

"In a multiracial country, I absolutely respect the Muslim dress code, but we also want PAS to respect the non-Muslim customs and choices," she said.

Chew said that the rule shows that PAS held "extreme beliefs" and are "controlling individual rights". -- Malaysiakini

READ MORE HERE: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/165648

*****************************************

PAS denies headscarf rule on non-Muslims

PAS denied today that it had set rules forcing non-Muslim female journalists to wear headscarves when covering the party's 57th muktamar this week.

PAS election committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman told The Malaysian Insider that he had not issued such a directive and refuted reports carried yesterday in the Chinese media.

"As far as I know, there is no such condition," he said when contacted.

Committee officials later confirmed with The Malaysian Insider that only Muslim journalists are required to wear tudungs (Muslim headscarf) during the muktamar while the non-Muslims must dress neatly in non-revealing clothes.

"Both men and women are not allowed to wear shorts and t-shirts while the women cannot wear revealing clothes. Non-Muslim women are not required to wear headscarves," said an official.

According to a report in the Chinese-language section of an online news portal yesterday, PAS had issued a circular ordering all non-Muslim female journalists to wear headscarves and forbidding them from wearing dresses and skirts.

The report irked Wanita MCA secretary-general Senator Chew Lee Giok who likened the rule today as a form of "extremism, conservatism and discrimination against women". -- The Malaysian Insider

READ MORE HERE: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pas-denies-headscarf-rule-on-non-muslims/

 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


A political party is just like our car, a mere vehicle

Posted: 08 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT

If it works, keep it. If it breaks down, change it. Make it work for us. Don't become a slave of our vehicle. And make sure that politicians understand that this is how we are going to play the game from hereon. We need to be ruthless and mercenaries. Then we will get a good deal. If not we will get a raw deal. And that will make us worse than prostitutes.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Many people do not understand what slavery and bondage mean. There are many forms of slavery and bondage. We have sex slaves. Economic slavery. Then we have mental bondage.

Mental bondage in itself comes in many forms. Denying the people an education or a proper education is one form of mental bondage. Uneducated people can't think for themselves and their minds can be manipulated.

Then we have another form of mental bondage perpetuated by religion. Much in religion is about reducing us to slaves. We are told what we are allowed to think and most times we are not allowed to think. And we are told we must not rationalise but accept the unproven based on 'faith'.

Faith is the word used to explain the absence of evidence.

Economic slavery is another very popular and effective form of slavery. If people are too economically independent then they become a political problem to the ruling elite. Better the people are poor and dependent on the government. Then they become compliant. (Does the NEP ring a bell?)

Developed countries see changes in government every election or every few elections. Poor countries see the same government for decades, sometimes for 50 years without change.

Then there is another form of bondage and slavery, which I want to talk about today. And this is political slavery.

We are told that only Umno can look after Malay interests, or only PAS can safeguard Islam, or only PKR and DAP can guarantee us multiculturalism, or only MIC can protect the Indians, or only MCA can defend the Chinese, or whatever.

Actually, the truth is, Umno, MCA, MIC, PKR, DAP, PAS, Gerakan, PPP, PBB, SNAP, SUPP, LDP, PRS, SPDP, UPKO, PBS, PBRS, KITA, PRM, PSM, MDP, SAPP, BERJASA, HAMIM, (all the two dozen or so political parties in Malaysia) have only one purpose in mind. And that purpose is to seek power.

They are all political parties, nothing more and nothing less. And the job of political parties is to get into power.

Let's not believe the bullshit that they are here to serve us. Political parties serve themselves. And they use us to get into power.

Many working-class Malaysians suffer and struggle to pay for their motorcar. Sometimes half their salaries or more go towards paying and maintaining their car or cars. Why is this so?

A car is merely a convenience. It is a vehicle to get us from point A to point B. It is a tool to enable us to go to work. So why are we working for our car instead of making our car work for us?

It appears like we are tools of our cars instead of our car being a tool for us. We should not be emotional and sentimental about our car, a mere vehicle for our convenience. But that is not how most Malaysians view it. And that is why we work for our cars instead of making our car work for us.

A political party is also a tool. It is a convenience. It is merely a vehicle to enable us to get from point A to point B.

So we should not also be emotional and sentimental about political parties. Being a tool or vehicle, we should make the political parties work for us. We should not work for the political parties.

A political party must serve us. It is there merely to fulfil a purpose. And this purpose is to run the country the way we want it to be run.

It does not matter which political party we give that job to, just like it does not matter what car we drive. A political party, just like our car, is a convenience, a mere vehicle to help us achieve our objective.

A political party, like our car, is not the objective. It is a means to an end.

Let us not be emotional or sentimental about political parties, just like we should not be about our car.

If our car can do the job we keep it. If it breaks down we repair it. From time to time we service it to prevent it from deteriorating or breaking down. If it becomes a problem we get rid of it and buy a new one. If a better model or make comes along we get rid of our old and problematic car and opt for the latest.

That is how we should treat our cars. And you should not suffer by working long hours just to pay for your car. A car enables us to get to work. We should not work so that we can pay for the car.

And we should not burn all our salary just to pay for the car.

That is also how we should treat political parties. If it works, we keep it. If it breaks down, we get rid of it. If it can do the job, fine. If not, then why bother with it?

We must use political parties. We should not allow political parties to use us. Political parties want only one thing, to get into power. And they will use us to get into power. So we must be smart enough to use them instead.

We know what political parties want. That is fine with us. But we should make them work for it. We should turn them into our slaves. Make them crawl on the ground and beg and kiss our feet. We should not instead become their slaves.

At least prostitutes know what to do. They know you want their pussy. So they open their legs and let you have what you want. But you have to pay for it because what they want is your money. And they make sure you pay dearly for it.

Prostitutes do not open their legs and then pay you money as well. You pay. So why are we allowing political parties to screw us and then we pay them on top of that instead of making them pay? That makes us worse than prostitutes.

And we have the cheek to look down on prostitutes when they are smarter than us?

I am not emotional or sentimental about any political party. If they do the job I expect them to do then they get my support and vote. If not then I trade in this old and problematic 'car' for a new one.

(Incidentally, since 1974 to 1994 I voted for PAS is Kampong Kolam in Terengganu and since 1999 till 2008 I voted for PKR in Subang USJ9).

Anwar Ibrahim has changed 'cars' before when the old one broke down. So has Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. The first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman did the same thing, as did the third Prime Minister Hussein Onn, and his father before him, Onn Jaafar.

Dr Mahathir Mohammad changed 'cars' many times. Rais Yatim, Shahrir Samad, and many cabinet ministers -- as did many PAS leaders, party presidents included -- went that same route.

So you see, if it works, keep it. If it breaks down, change it. Make it work for us. Don't become a slave of our vehicle. And make sure that politicians understand that this is how we are going to play the game from hereon. We need to be ruthless and mercenaries. Then we will get a good deal. If not we will get a raw deal. And that will make us worse than prostitutes.

 
Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


Raja Petra sick of being used

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:01 PM PDT

Raja Petra with Matthias Chang in London in January 2011

From the tone of his email and recent interviews, it looks like Raja Petra has lost faith in the opposition movement. Contrary to his statement to Malaysian Digest, it looks like he is finally joining politics via MCLM. If that is true then BN is not the only rival Pakatan Rakyat has to worry about. MCLM could be a third force to be reckoned with.

by Al Jafree Md Yusop, Malaysian Digest   

Raja Petra being interviewed by TV3 in Perth in February 2011

In an email exchange between blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin and writer Kee Thuan Chye in April 20th to 27th, the former had made it crystal clear that he will not be used by the opposition anymore. Apparently, in his last email to Kee (better known as Chye) dated 27th April Raja Petra wrote: "The opposition does not need and does not desire 'my voice', as you have put it. They just need me to help them win the elections, by hook or by crook."

Initially, on the 20 April, Chye wrote an email to him asking for a clarification on his controversial interview with TV3. Chye wrote:

"I was hoping you would be responding to it through this email. A lot of people have been asking me if you have done a U-turn and I cannot answer them. Not even after the reports of your "clearing the air".

"The people who used to support you are confused. And they don't seem convinced by your explanations. Some of them are really saddened by it all."

In his reply on April 26, Raja Petra said:

"I'm not going to bother to 'win anyone back'. I am not trying to win a popularity contest. I am not running for office or contesting the elections. If they are unhappy with me that's their problem, not mine."

"What, these people are paying for my food or what? I'm employed by them that I must take orders from them or what? No one owns me. I do what I want. They don't like it, tough."

"Do I sound arrogant? I hope so. Arrogance is my middle name. Kamunting can tell you that. Sungai Buloh Prison can tell you that. Bukit Aman can tell you that. They hate my guts and that makes my day."

Raja Petra's response insinuates that all this while the opposition had been using his influence to gain voters' sympathy especially during the last General Election in 2008. Since then Raja Petra has been super-critical of the opposition coalition especially PKR and opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Previously, in his interview with Malaysian Digest he (Raja Petra) stated that:

"I've always been disappointed (with PKR) since way back in 1999 when PKR was first formed when it was called PKN, Parti Keadilan Nasional. Even way back then I've always criticized PAS, I've criticized DAP, I've criticized PKR and I've always criticized all the parties in Barisan Nasional. So my criticism is not something of late. It's something that's always been there. I've criticized the opposition way back even before there was an opposition coalition and back in the mid 90's while Anwar was still in Umno. So it's not something new."

Maybe the TV3 interview is a sign that Raja Petra has given up on the opposition especially with the formation of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) with him as the its chairman. The only confusing part with the formation of the MCLM is, during the Malaysian Digest interview, when asked on whether he has any intention to join politics, his answer was:

"If I wanted to be part of a political system, I would've done so a long time ago. I've been involved with politics for like more than 30 years. 30 years I've been outside of the party political party system. But I have been a critic of a political system. I mean, 30 years… why do I need to join now?

But a few weeks after the interview, after the MCLM meeting in London, they officially announced that they will be fielding candidates from MCLM who will be contesting as independent candidates for the next General Election. The question is will they be contesting as the third force contesting against both BN and Pakatan Rakyat or will there be negotiations for parliamentary and state assembly seats between MCLM and Pakatan Rakyat?

From the tone of his email and recent interviews, it looks like Raja Petra has lost faith in the opposition movement. Contrary to his statement to Malaysian Digest, it looks like he is finally joining politics via MCLM. If that is true then BN is not the only rival Pakatan Rakyat has to worry about. MCLM could be a third force to be reckoned with.

 

WIKILEAKS: Perak coup: ‘Court set dangerous precedent’

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 05:54 PM PDT

 

The apex court's ruling would allow a prime minister to be replaced by the King without going through a no-confidence motion in the Parliament, stated a leaked US cable.

The Federal Court's unanimous 5-0 decision on Feb 9, 2009 stated that the Perak sultan had the authority to appoint a new menteri besar if he believed that a different political coalition commanded the allegiance of a majority of seats in the state assembly.

K Kabilan, Free Malaysia Today

A 2010 Federal Court ruling in favour of Barisan Nasional's takeover of Perak a year before not only renewed questions about the independence of the Malaysian judiciary, but also legitimised political manoeuvring to undermine democratic elections, noted US diplomats based in the US embassy here.

The court ruling which upheld a decision of the Sultan of Perak to appoint a new menteri besar has set a dangerous precedent by implying that the King, likewise, could remove the Prime Minister, without a no-confidence motion in Parliament, the diplomats added.

Their observations were made in a confidential cable sent to the US State Department in Washington. The cable was sent just days after the court's ruling.

Details of the cable were leaked by WikiLeaks to popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin who had reproduced the cable in his Malaysia Today website today.

"A well-financed political coalition could persuade Members of Parliament to support the other side, shifting power through undemocratic means, as many allege (had) occurred in Perak.

"Before this Federal Court decision, the (State Legislative) Assembly would have instead been dissolved for fresh elections, but now the sultan can legitimise the takeover without voter input," added the US cable.

It further noted that the Malaysian goverment's argument was that the Federal Court decision was based on "a sound interpretation of the Perak constitution".

"Opposition figures disagree and argue the decision legitimises political manoeuvring to change the results of democratic elections, setting a dangerous precedent by implying that the King could remove the Pime Minister, without a no-confidence motion in Parliament," added the cable.

The cable also quoted Pakatan Rakyat's Perak Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin as saying that the ruling would result in "the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister holding office at the pleasure of the King or the Sultan", and setting a dangerous precedent.

READ MORE HERE

 

Men should be allowed sex slaves and female prisoners could do the job - and all this from a ...

Posted: 07 Jun 2011 03:03 PM PDT

 

(Mail Online) - A Kuwaiti woman who once ran for parliament has called for sex slavery to be legalised - and suggested that non-Muslim prisoners from war-torn countries would make suitable concubines.

Salwa al Mutairi argued buying a sex-slave would protect decent, devout and 'virile' Kuwaiti men from adultery because buying an imported sex partner would be tantamount to marriage.

And she even had an idea of where to 'purchase' these sex-salves - browsing through female prisoners of war in other countries.

Outrageous ideas: Salwa al-Mutairi's suggestions have provoked anger and disbelief

Outrageous ideas: Salwa al-Mutairi's suggestions have provoked anger and disbelief

The political activist and TV host even suggested that it would be a better life for women in warring countries as the might die of starvation.

Mutairi claimed: 'There was no shame in it and it is not haram' (forbidden) under Islamic Sharia law.'

 

She gave the example of Haroun al-Rashid, an 8th century Muslim leader who ruled over an area covered by modern-day Iran, Iraq and Syria and was rumoured to have 2,000 concubines.

Mutairi recommended that offices could be opened to run the sex trade in the same way that recruitment agencies provide housemaids.

Example: Mutairi cited Haroun al-Rashid as a man who also had concubines

Example: Mutairi cited Haroun al-Rashid as a man who also had concubines

She suggested shopping for prisoners of war so as to protect Kuwaiti men from being tempted to commit adultery or being seduced by other women's beauty.

'For example, in the Chechnyan war, surely there are female Russian captives,' she said.

'So go and buy those and sell them here in Kuwait. Better than to have our men engage in forbidden sexual relations.' 

Her unbelievable argument for her plan was that 'captives' might 'just die of hunger over there'.

She insisted, 'I don't see any problem in this, no problem at all'.

In an attempt to consider the woman's feelings in the arrangement, Mutari conceded that the enslaved women, however, should be at least 15.

Browsing: Mutair says female war prisoners could be bought and kept as sex slaves

Browsing: Mutair says female war prisoners could be bought and kept as sex slaves

Mutairi said free women must be married with a contract but with concubines 'the man just buys her and that's it. That's enough to serve as marriage.' 

Her remarks, made in a video posted on YouTube last month and carried by newspapers in the Gulf states in recent days, have sparked outrage in cyber-space from fellow Kuwaitis and others in the wider region.

'Wonder how Salwa al Mutairi would've felt if during the occupation (of Kuwait) by Iraqi forces, she was sold as 'war booty' as she advocates for Chechen women,' tweeted Mona Eltahawy.

Another tweeter, Shireen Qudosi, told Mutairi 'you're a disgrace to women everywhere'.

For Muna Khan, an editor at the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television station, the 'icing on the cake' of Mutairi's 'preposterous views' was her assertion that her suggestions do not conflict with the tenets of Islam.

Shopping for sex: Mutairi said that during a recent visit to Mecca, pictured, Saudi muftis said it was not forbidden to own a sex slave

Shopping for sex: Mutairi said that during a recent visit to Mecca, pictured, Saudi muftis said it was not forbidden to own a sex slave

Mutairi said that during a recent visit to Mecca, she asked Saudi muftis – Muslim religious scholars – what the Islamic ruling was on owning sex slaves. They are said to have told her that it is not haram.

The ruling was confirmed by 'specialized people of the faith' in Kuwait, she claimed.

'They said, that's right, the only solution for a decent man who has the means, who is overpowered by desire and who does not want to commit fornication, is to acquire jawari.' Jawari is the plural of the Arabic term jariya, meaning 'concubine' or 'sex slave'.

One Saudi mufti supposedly told Mutairi: 'The context must be that of a Muslim nation conquering a non-Muslim nation, so these jawari have to be prisoners of war.' 

Concubines, she argued, would suit Muslim men who fear being 'seduced or tempted into immoral behaviour by the beauty of their female servants'.

 

Taking a leaf from Sarawak’s politics

Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:27 PM PDT

 

Musa may call for a state election if only to consolidate his grip on Sabah – and keep Najib's Umno commandos out of the state.

What Najib couldn't do in Sarawak with Taib, he wants it done in Sabah. His boys have already packed enough meat on the arrest of Sabah businessman Micheal Chia at the Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong, among others, to kill off Musa. Chia, who is said to be Musa's proxy, was detained with S$16 million in cash and the Hong Kong authorities are still investigating the money-laundering case.

Free Malaysia Today

Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has learnt a thing or two from his peer Taib Mahmud in Sarawak.

The most important lesson is that you should call the shots in your own state.

To be able to do that you should, like Taib, not overrate the role of "big brothers" from Putrajaya.

Some would say Taib can talk because his Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) is not Umno and that Umno has no "real" influence in Sarawak.

But in Sabah, Musa is Umno chief. And Sabah Umno, they stress, is under Kuala Lumpur's thumb.

Still, what is to stop Musa from stepping out of the shadows and consolidating his political position, his state administration and his wealth when under threat?

If Taib is Sarawak, then Musa is Sabah. If Taib is a billionaire, so too is Musa.

If Taib is protective of his turf and influence, so is Musa.

Already rumours abound that Umno president Najib Tun Razak is planting his men in Sabah because he wants Musa out.

Open war

What Najib couldn't do in Sarawak with Taib, he wants it done in Sabah.

His boys have already packed enough meat on the arrest of Sabah businessman Micheal Chia at the Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong, among others, to kill off Musa.

Chia, who is said to be Musa's proxy, was detained with S$16 million in cash and the Hong Kong authorities are still investigating the money-laundering case.

But for Najib to pull the plug, Musa must first fall.

Politically, Najib has seconded his Umno "commandos" to Sabah to stir the cauldron of dissatisfaction.

Their warlord is Mohd Shafie Apdal.

To stoke up the fire, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin recently declared that Sabah Umno is facing a "cold war" within.

The timely expression of "concern" gave vent to public accusations that Musa and his men were blocking development "brought in" by Shafie under his federal rural and regional development ministry.

Musa has denied Shafie's allegations, saying Sabah needs allocations from the federal government and that Shafie was lying.

But opposition Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee and those in the business circles in Sabah have in the past also accused Musa's state government of stalling Shafie-linked projects.

According to the rumour mill, Musa had allegedly demanded that all federal funds be channelled through his state government.

But Shafie has refused to do so.

Although Shafie is seen not to have "major" support in Sabah Umno, he derives his clout from being Najib's man.

Curbing Shafie's influence

Musa does want this "clout". He does not want Shafie to get any credit from funding projects and by default, gaining influence in Sabah Umno.

Shafie's camp in Sabah include the likes of Pandikar Amin Haji Mulia, Amir Kahar Mustapha, Salleh Said Keruak and "semi-independent" Bung Moktar Radin, who sees himself as Najib's boy.

All are members of Usbo (United Sabah Bajau Organisation), which is also seeking to play a more political role in the state. The organisation secretly harbours a desire to get back the chief minister's seat once held by the Suluk community. Shafie is a Suluk descended.

But Musa has subtlely worked his influence on Shafie's camp.

He made both Pandikar and Salleh state speakers and brought them into his camp.

Then he removed Sabah Umno Youth chief Azman Ruslan, a Shafie's man.

Khairy said that Azman was removed from his post to prevent the Sabah Umno "cold war" from escalating.

It's no more a covert operation in Sabah, it is open war.

There are no more rumours of unhappiness and seething anger among members, but only "directives" from Musa that Shafie should not be invited to any of the Umno branch and division meetings.

Wealthy Musa, like Taib, will consolidate with or without Najib.

While Musa might not be liked in Sabah, he has the money to do as he pleases and most say he can handle this "cold war" problem if Kuala Lumur does not muscle in.

READ MORE HERE

 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net
 

Malaysia Today Online

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved