Isnin, 3 Disember 2012

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The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 10)

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 04:07 PM PST

So, no, I did not make my first million getting contracts from the government, as many people may have thought. I did it by changing the way we did business in the fishing industry. In time, the 'old boys' no longer regarded me as a wet-behind-the-ears new kid on the block. And imagine my pride when the 'old boys' who had been in business before I was born offered me Chinese tea and called me 'boss'.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I was the new kid on the block. I was only 24 years old. And I was trying to break into the market that is older than I have been alive. And it is a very Chinese dominated market, too, on top of that.

After Michael Toh agreed to create Account A and Account B, I had to now take over the business from my partner who had been running it before me. It is not that I wanted to. It is that Michael had agreed to suspend all my debts and will allow me to stay in business only if I took over the business and ran it myself.

I confronted my partner. I knew I would never get my money back but at least I could oust him from the company. And he agreed to sign all the papers and I took control of the company. Once I took control of the business I now had to make it viable.

I drove up and down Terengganu and Kelantan and visited every single fishing village, even the most remote village along the Malaysian-Thai border. In the beginning it was just that -- 'study tours' of sorts. I needed to not only learn the trade, which I knew nothing about, but I also needed to get to know my potential customers.

Most of them were very nice and humble people. Many were simple fishermen. Some were fishing taukays who had started life as fishermen and now owned a fleet of fishing boats that were operated by other fishermen on a profit-sharing basis.

It was almost like the serf system that the peasants of Europe were subjected to 200 years ago except that they were free to terminate the arrangement any time they wished to and would not be put to death if they 'ran away'. The majority were Malay taukays but there were many Chinese as well although Terengganu and Kelantan were predominantly Malay states.

Breaking into the market was not that easy. These fishermen or fishing taukays had a decades-old relationship with the 'old boys' who had been around even before I was born. Some of the players had been dealing with each other since the first generation so we were now talking about the second generation that had inherited all this 'goodwill'.

I discovered that 'old ties' meant a lot in business. People were not prepared to sever old ties and transfer their business to a still-wet-behind-the-ears new kid of the block. I had to earn their respect and confidence. I had to have something new and something better to offer before people would end 20- or 30-year old relationships and deal with you instead.

I was beginning to wonder whether my effort was futile. An added problem was I could not beat their prices. I was puzzled as to how the other dealers could sell at cost. And if I wanted to beat their prices I would have to sell below cost. This would have been disastrous.

Then I discovered that the others could sell at cost because they were getting 90 days credit and they just wanted the quick cash. They collected cash in advance before they ordered the engines. That gave them an additional 30 days. Then they would 'drag' their payment and get an additional 30-60 days. Then they would pay by post-dated cheques.

All in all they got to use the cash for roughly six months or so. They then lent this cash on a '10-4' basis. Basically, it was a loan-shark operation and it worked like this.

Petty traders who needed quick cash -- and they could not get it from the bank for obvious reasons -- would borrow, say RM2,000, from these money lenders. The borrowers would be charged 4% interest a month or 48% interest a year. (That is why they called it '10-4').

They would then receive the RM2,000 minus the interest. Hence they would not receive RM2,000 but just slightly over half the amount. But the 48% interest a year is charged on RM2,000, not on the RM1,000 or so that they receive.

It was a real cutthroat business (hence it is called 'loan shark' business). And that was why they did not care whether they made any money on the sale of the engines. They were not interested in making money on the sale of the engines. They were using the engine business to raise cash and it was by lending out this cash that they made money.

And we must remember that the cash was 'free', at least for six months.

I needed an incentive to get the fishermen and fishing taukays to give me their business. My competitors were selling for cash. I needed to sell on credit. But I was 'broke' so how could I do that?

One day I saw an advertisement in the newspapers. It was an advertisement by M&F, a finance company wholly-owned by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (now called HSBC). I wrote them a letter applying for finance facilities.

The Kwailo running M&F phoned the Kuala Terengganu branch manager of the HSBC to ask him whether he knew whom I was. "I think he may be an old school friend of mine from MCKK," replied the branch manager.

The HSBC manager then phoned me to confirm that I was from MCKK. I replied that I was and he was delighted. "But how come you are not banking with us?" he asked. "I want you to open a bank account with us today."

I went over to the bank and opened an account. In those days you needed RM1,000 to open a company bank account so, invariably, I had to pawn some of Marina's jewellery to raise that RM1,000. I have to admit that walking into a pawnshop was a most embarrassing experience.

A few days later, the Kwailo made a trip to Kuala Terengganu to meet me. He was not only very pleased that the HSBC manager was an old school friend of mine but when he found out that my mother was from his same 'kampong' in London he was so delighted. (Soon after that he visited my mother for Hari Raya and invited her to the Paddock in the Kuala Lumpur Hilton for dinner, with Marina and I as well, of course).

The Kwailo told me he will start us off with RM200,000. Once that is fully used up he would increase it. Eventually I was rolling with RM2 million of the bank's money, a king's ransom 40 years ago.

There was another issue to resolve first, though. The fishing boats that we were going to finance needed to have insurance. But no one in Malaysia does fishing boat insurance. I searched high and low but could not find a company that would issue insurance for fishing boats. It was too high risk.

Unless I could find a company that was prepared to issue insurance for fishing boats my deal with M&F would never get off the ground.

I approached a friend of mine who was one of the leading insurance brokers in Terengganu. He had never heard of any company doing fishing boat insurance but he promised me if there was then he would be able to find one. However, it would all depend on the amount of business I expected.

I promised him RM1 million a year in business (insured value) and fully secured. (Actually, I tembak only because I did not know, but I had to 'play poker' to entice them with the belief that the 'stakes' were going to be very high.)

I then laid out my plan. I would take land from the fishermen as security (almost all the fishermen had land) and with this land as security I would underwrite any potential loss that the insurance company would suffer in the event of a claim. (In all that time we suffered only one claim, less that 1% of the total premium we collected over those many years).

So now I was not only in the engine financing business. I was also in the fishing boat financing business as well as the fishing boat insurance business. I not only gave out 100% financing on the engines. I also financed 50% of the cost of the construction of the boats. Sometimes I even financed the fishing nets, which at times could be more expensive than the fishing boats.

But all this must be backed with insurance plus land, which I valued myself and took at the lower value. Hence if they defaulted I would be able to sell off the land at twice what they owed me. In all that time I never once had to sell off any land to recover what they owed me.

Overnight, our modest business became a multi-million business. I soon had millions floating in the market -- all the bank's money, of course. Each deal gave me a profit of 30-40%, although collectable over 3 years. And from that day on the fishermen in Terengganu and Kelantan knew me as 'Taukay Yanmar'.

Fishermen and fishing taukays lined up to see me, not to buy engines from me but to obtain loans to finance the construction of their fishing boats. However, to qualify for the loan, they would first need to buy their engines from us. And they no longer cared about the price of the engine. I was pricing my engines 25-30% higher than my competitors. But my competitors collected cash in advance. I allowed my buyers to pay me monthly over three years.

The only thing is, I did not charge loan shark rates, though, because we were bound by Bank Negara's rules, which was 10% per year fixed-rate interest, which more or less came to 18% per year based on reducing rate.

Eventually, some of the fishermen offered me shares in their fishing boat. They felt honoured to have the Taukay Yanmar as their partner. At the 'height' of my fishing business I had a stake in no less than five fishing boats. And we ate fresh fish every day because the fish were delivered to our house straight from the fishing boat.

And the irony of this whole thing is I did not like fish. I only ate chicken and beef. Nevertheless, one can't say that my business dealings were not 'fishy'. Whatever it may be, though, that resulted in me making my first million within just three years.

So, no, I did not make my first million getting contracts from the government, as many people may have thought. I did it by changing the way we did business in the fishing industry. In time, the 'old boys' no longer regarded me as a wet-behind-the-ears new kid on the block. And imagine my pride when the 'old boys' who had been in business before I was born offered me Chinese tea and called me 'boss'.

That was worth more than the money I was making. I suppose when money is no longer the criteria you aspire for recognition.

And I never realised the goodwill I had made until I returned to Kuala Terengganu in 2008 to campaign in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. Those who I had known back in the 1970s and 1980s still called me 'boss', even 20 or 30 years later, and they voted for Pakatan Rakyat (PAS) just because 'the boss said we must vote for PAS'.

And when the by-election result was announced I cried like a baby because it was not just about winning the by-election but about the people who voted for PAS did so because I wanted them to. (I think Eechia took a photo of me sitting there and crying).

Ah well, I am a sentimental old fool, am I not?

TO BE CONTINUED

 
Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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Need for independent public inquiry into police top brass and Home Ministry — Kua Kia Soong

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:51 PM PST

Musa Hassan

(TMI) -- The serious allegations of misconduct against the former IGP Musa Hassan through a statutory declaration (SD) made in 2009 and the recent claim by the ex-IGP himself that criminal elements had infiltrated the force as well as interference of politicians in investigations warrant an urgent independent public inquiry to restore public trust in the police force.

 

These allegations contained in the SD were by police officer Noor Azizul Rahim Taharim, who served as Musa's aide-de-camp from 2005 to 2007. The document accuses Musa of wrongdoings during his tenure and exposes how he had purportedly silenced critics with transfers and trumped-up charges. 

Azizul claims that former CID director Christopher Wan had revealed to him that Musa had directed the setting up of a covert blog to publish allegations of corruption against then Deputy Home Minister Johari Baharom. The contents of the blog, he said, damaged Johari's reputation and subjected him to a probe by the Anti-Corruption Agency.

"I am also aware of the statutory declarations made by several policemen, police informants and subjects of police actions showing links between Musa and the underworld, specifically concerning restricted residence detainee Goh Cheng Poh @ Tongku and one shadow figure, BK Tan. Based on my personal knowledge and involvement as the ADC to the IGP, I can confirm that the statements made by these deponents concerning Musa were true…," he alleged.

Referring to the SDs of ASP Mior Fahim Ahmad and ASP Hong Kin Hock, Azizul confirmed that their allegations had basis. The pair had claimed that there was manipulation of promotions, ranks and postings in the police involving BK Tan.

"The credibility of these officers would be 'demolished' such that whatsoever information they gathered about Musa would be discredited. These officers would suffer hardship being transferred away from their families and home base. They would also get bypassed in promotions and suffer disciplinary action without the proper process. Consequently, less able officers climbed the ranks and the victimised officers were used as warnings against others… This process of 'mecantas' [pruning] explains the apparent lack of ability by PDRM to tackle crime, the lack of motivation and low morale within PDRM that saw crime escalating at an alarming rate during Musa's tenure," he added.

After former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi gave Musa a two-year extension in 2007,"this served as a powerful endorsement that the government was fully behind Musa. A sense of fear also gripped many within PDRM and outside when not long after that in October 2007, the lawyer who assisted CCD [Ramli] in the Goh Cheng Poh @ Tengku matter [after the A-G's Chambers declined to prepare affidavits for the CCD] was himself arrested in a most humiliating manner and charged one day before Aidilfitri.

"The message was clear that Musa had the support of the ACA, the Attorney-General and the prime minister in all his actions. The fear among officers in PDRM became the need for self-preservation after six rank-and-file policemen including Ramli were charged with various offences. Not long after that, the A-G ordered the release of the said Goh Cheng Ph @ Tengku." (FMT, 4.12.12)

These are serious allegations by the former aide-de-camp of the ex-IGP which have demoralised the entire Malaysian police force.

Earlier in the week, the ex-IGP himself had pointed the finger at Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein when he charged that politicians had interfered with investigations. Musa's revelations that the police force had been infiltrated by criminal elements and that the current IGP Ismail Omar was weak in heading the police force are enough reason for the urgent establishment of an independent public inquiry.

These exposes of unprofessional goings-on in the police top brass and skeletons in the cupboard of the Home Ministry provide us with some clue as to why the recommendation by the Royal Commission on the Police in 2005 for an Independent Police Complaints & Misconduct Committee has failed to be implemented after so many years. 

The government must ultimately be held responsible for dragging its feet on this vital reform to stop deaths in custody, police shootings and the culture of impunity in the Malaysian police force.

The just accomplished Leveson Commission over British media practices brought about by phone hacking of the British media cannot compare with these much more serious allegations against the Malaysian police top brass and the home minister.  

* By Dr Kua Kia Soong, Suaram adviser.

PKR dakwa keluarga Pak Lah terlibat dalam pembekalan meter elektonik TNB

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:21 PM PST

Pak Lah

(TMI) -- PKR hari ini mendakwa keluarga bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi terlibat dalam pembekalan meter melalui program penggantian meter analog kepada elektronik Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

 

Pengerusi Biro Pelaburan PKR, Wong Chen berkata, syarikat Obata-Ambak Holdings Sdn Bhd yang dimiliki Noor Asiah Mahmood, adik kepada isteri pertama Abdullah, Allahyarhmah Tun Endon Mahmood, memiliki 15 peratus pegangan saham dalam Malaysian Intelligence Meters Sdn Bhd, salah sebuah daripada lima syarikat yang membekalkan meter elektronik tersebut kepada TNB.

Beliau turut berkata, program yang dihentikan sementara waktu atas arahan Menteri Tenaga, Teknologi Hijau, dan Air (KeeTha) Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui pada Oktober lalu menunjukkan pengguna akan membayar sebanyak RM6.88 bilion kepada keuntungan TNB dalam tempoh 10 tahun.

"Kajian kami menunjukkan TNB mempunyai 8.03 juta pengguna sekarang ini dan harga purata setiap meter berharga RM250.

"Justeru itu, program ini berpotensi mencapai sehingga RM2 bilion.

"Untuk tahun kewangan 2012, hasil TNB daripada semua pengguna adalah RM34.4 bilion.

"Jika meter elektronik ini memberi peningkatan konservatif dua peratus, beban tambahan pengguna adalah sebanyak RM688 juta setahun.

"Memandangkan jangka hayat meter ini adalah 10 tahun, pengguna akhirnya akan membayar sehingga RM688 bilion kepada TNB bagi tempoh itu," kata Wong Chen kepada pemberita dalam sidang media di Ibu Pejabat PKR di sini.

Pengarah Komunikasi PKR, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad yang turut hadir ketika sidang media itu berkata, isu itu bukan lagi isu kecil kerana pengguna dibebani peningkatan sehingga 50 peratus kos bil elektrik mereka.

"Justeru, PKR menggesa ketelusan dan kebertanggungjawaban TNB dalam perkara ini untuk mendedahkan siapa pembekal meter elektronik ini, harga yang dibayar untuk meter ini, adakah harganya berdaya saing mengikut standard tempatan dan antarabangsa, dan adakah tender dibuat secara terbuka atau runding terus?" tanya Nik Nazmi.

 

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Pegawai kanan SPR ada jawatan dalam Umno?

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:10 PM PST

SPR

(Harakah Daily) -- Dewan Pemuda PAS negeri Sabah mendesak agar Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR)  tampil memberikan penjelasan berhubung isu salah seorang kakitangan kanan mereka di SPR cawangan negeri Sabah dikatakan turut mempunyai jawatan yang penting di peringkat pemuda UMNO bahagian Kinabatangan.

Hal ini disampaikan kepada Dewan Pemuda PAS negeri Sabah oleh beberapa orang rakyat negeri ini yang prihatin apabila mereka mendapati bahawa beberapa kenyataan pegawai SPR tersebut di media sosial kelihatan jelas menampakkan beliau mempunyai kedudukan dan kepentingan dalam Umno.

Justeru pemuda PAS Sabah menuntut agar respon yang segera daripada SPR.

Lahirul LatiguDemikian kata Lahirul Latigu, Ketua Pemuda PAS Sabah dalam satu kenyataannya hari ini.

Pemuda PAS Sabah menginggatkan bahawa ia akan menjejaskan kepercayaan rakyat terhadap kredebiliti SPR selaku organisasi yang bertanggungjawab memastikan pelaksanaan demokrasi di negara ini.

"Sekiranya SPR tetap memilih untuk terus membisu dalam isu ini pihak Dewan Pemuda PAS tidak akan teragak-agak untuk mendedahkan butiran yang lebih lanjut berkaitan individu ini," kata Lahirul.

Dewan Pemuda PAS, katanya, akan memastikan hal ini mendapat jawapan yang jelas dari pihak SPR kerana mereka tetap dengan komitmen untuk bersama dengan inspirasi rakyat Sabah untuk melihat proses pilihanraya dinegeri ini berjalan secara adil dan bersih.

 

UMNO Lost An Opportunity to Court Middle Ground

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:01 PM PST

UMNO Assembly 2012

Khoo Kay Peng, Straight Talk

I was asked by several media organizations to comment on recent UMNO's general assembly. I had predicted that it would be an opposition bashing session. UMNO was not expected to raise sensitive issues which included wrongdoings and controversies involving some of the party leaders.

As expected, the party and its delegates went full throttle against Anwar Ibrahim, Pas, PKR and Dap. There were attempts to use fear and threats to win support by summoning the battled spirit of May 13 to the forefront. A leader even suggested that the party is mandated by God to rule the country perpetually. Invoking the mandate from heaven is as feudalistic as you can get. Unsurprisingly, UMNO and its component partners are already using religion and race in their divisive campaigns to garner support.

Against the backdrop of several damning and serious controversies such as Lynas, PKFZ, Scorpene, Pengerang, RM40 million kickback for UMNO Sabah/Musa Aman, Sarawak fiasco, NFC, Selangor land grab and others the party had chosen to keep mum. This is inconsistent with the mantra of change the party president has tried to peddle in the assembly. How can the party change if it refuses to address its own shortcomings?

UMNO wants to attract first time and young voters.  How can the party gain the support of this segment if the party shows little initiative in trying to understand the issues and challenges facing youths in the country?

There is little to show that the UMNO led government has been successful in creating jobs, generating economic opportunities and provide a safer environment for youths in the country. Little is done to curb the arrivals of migrant workers who are taking away jobs from the locals and provide no incentive to local companies to scale up technology adoption and use better skilled an educated local workers to wean off their addiction of low cost and low skilled foreign workers.

The party president did not provide any clue how he is going to govern differently in his second term as the prime minister. His transformation plans are full of euphoria but short on results and real implementation. He needs to address sectors such as manufacturing and services which are providing employment to more than 60% of the workforce.

The party's chest thumping, ethno-religious rhetoric and senseless threats of violence is going to push away the middle ground instead of winning them over.

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APS to back pro-Pakatan candidates

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:56 AM PST

Wilfred Bumburing

(FMT) -- Contrary to expectations, the loose Sabah opposition platform, Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) will not promote any particular candidate in the coming general election.

 

Throwing its opponents and detractors off guard, the pro-Pakatan Rakyat political platform headed by Tuaran MP Wilfred Bumburing will instead focus its strength on uniting Sabahans behind opposition candidates challenging the Barisan Nasional's hold on power.

The group sees it as its best chance to be able to effectively bring about a change of government in the 13th general election.

"We in APS are committed to support any candidates that will be fielded by any of political parties in PR (Pakatan) in the coming election," Bumburing told a gathering on Sunday that he used to celebrate his 61st birthday.

The former deputy president of United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) urged APS members, supporters and sympathisers to reaffirm their commitment towards achieving their goal which was changing the government.

"APS' commitment is to align ourselves with the political parties that make up Pakatan Rakyat as well as work alongside other non-governmental organisations that are also aligned with the other organisations in Pakatan," he said.

Bumburing said the grouping had formed a pro-tem supreme council and each of its members had been allocated specific duties to streamline and coordinate its activities.

The supreme council is made up of a mix of well-known politicians and Sabah activists.

Former Tuaran MP Kalakau Untol, a former federal deputy minister, is chief organising secretary while deputy president is former Upko vice-president ex-senator Maijol Mahap.

The vice-presidents are businessman Dr Richard Gunting, ex-assemblyman Laimun Laikim and retired senior government officer Hernman Tionsoh.

Native rights

Youth leader is Denis Gimpah of Tamparuli while Pertus Francis Guriting of Tambunan is the secretary-general.

Guriting is being assisted by Benson Inggam of Kuamut. Brendan Mojilip is treasurer-general assisted by James Miki of Beluran.

Lesaya Lopog Serudim from Kiulu is information chief while assistant is Patrick Sadom of Sipitang. Retired senior government servant Alex Kando from Inanam is APS liaison chief. The post of women's wing chief is still vacant.

Bumburing also announced the appointment of 13 other supreme council members. They are former senator and ex-Kuala Penyu assemblyman John Ghani, ex-Tuaran MP Monggoh Orow, Mail Balinu, Itoh Manggonb, Biou Suyan, Ismail Banaran,Stephen Michael, Liberty Lopog, Maruddin Suabon, Paul Kadau, Edwin Ambu, Maurice Awit and herman Mianus.

Touching on his 61st birthday, he said since it was a special day for him he wished to renew his pledge after resigning from the government ruling party on July 29 "to champion the welfare of the people of Sabah, especially the native."

The former deputy chief minister said APS would fight for the rights of the natives in land ownership under the native customary right (NCR).

He said it was sad to note that the native of Sabah had been deprived of ownership of land on which they had been toiling for generations.

GE13 will be horror show for BN

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:14 AM PST

GE13

I have a horror tale for Barisan Nasional.

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor claims BN expects to win more than the 140 federal seats it took in the 2008 general election.

He is quoting "trusted" government sources. Pray tell: can we expect government sources to tell otherwise?

And who are these "trusted" government sources who produce these intelligence report? Are they reports from Kemas, Jasa or maybe from minister Rais Yatim?

If it is from Rais, then the numbers are understandable. Rais was never known to be good at numerics.

Seriously, let's look at the numbers. BN admits to the possibility of losing six seats in Sabah and seven seats in Sarawak.

BN is saying it will win more than 140 seats. There are 222 seats in Parliament.

If BN loses 13 seats in East Malaysia, Pakatan Rakyat will be getting 122 seats because in Peninsular Malaysia, the opposition coalition is set to win 109 seats.

With PKR's Ibrahim Menudin set to win in Labuan, Pakatan has 110 seats already.

What Tengku Adnan dare not reveal is that BN can lose up to 12 seats in Sabah and up to 13 seats in Sarawak, making a total loss of 25 seats from the East Malaysian states.

Don't dream, BN

The nightmare ahead is that BN will be reduced to a party with 87 seats. Let me tell you how.

In the four northern states – Perlis, Penang, Kedah and Perak – Pakatan will win 56 seats to BN's 14.

In the west coast – Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor – Pakatan will win 35 to BN's 26 seats. Pakatan expects to win nine seats in Johor this time around.

Out of the 36 parliamentary seats in the east coast states – Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang – Pakatan can win 22 to BN's 14.

In the Federal Territories – Wilayah Persekuatuan Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan – Pakatan will win 11 against BN's two.

There you are, 110 seats for Pakatan, and we haven't even talked about Sabah and Sarawak!

Musa too abused powers while IGP, says Ramli Yusuff

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:05 AM PST

Musa Hassan

(TMI) -- Tan Sri Musa Hassan had abused his power while he was the Inspector-General of Police and colluded with the Attorney-General to escape from being arraigned in a 2006 criminal court case, his former colleague and rival in the force, Datuk Ramli Yusuff, has alleged.

The retired Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) director was responding to the ex-IGP's bombshell at a new conference last week in which the latter had accused Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as among ministers and politicians who had interfered with police matters.

"CCID once captured a criminal named Goh Cheng Poh @ Tengku Goh in December 2006. Tengku Goh made his affidavit and implicated Musa Hassan's name.

"Then I handed it to the A-G's office but it was never filed in court, resulting in the habeas corpus application by Tengku Goh being allowed and [he] was freed," Ramli told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.

The retired police veteran has been a vocal critic of Musa and A-G Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, both whom he blames for putting him in the dock on a corruption charge in 2007, which several mainstream media had sensationalised as the case of the "RM27 million cop".

"Instead, the A-G directed the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to get confidential files regarding this case and hunted down informants to change their original testimonies," said Ramli, who was once the nation's third-most senior police officer.

Asked what proof he had to support his allegation, he said: "If what I say is not right, I am ready for Musa or Gani to take legal action against me. Berani kerana benar [bold as true]."

Ramli also stood up for Musa's successor, IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar, and said the latter should be given the chance to prove his capability.

"The negative perception started during Musa Hassan's term. Tan Sri Ismail Omar is making an effort to improve that image," he said, referring to the endemic poor public confidence in the police force.

"To me, it is not just if Musa attacks relentlessly the IGP now."

Ramli said that Musa's criticism against the public institution the latter once led and the government was nothing new.

"He started becoming vocal and criticised the government when Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin announced his service would not be extended," Ramli said, referring to the ex-IGP, and adding that it was the source of Musa's disgruntlement.

Musa served as IGP for three years before retiring on September 13, 2010, after a corruption case that was closed in July 2007 for lack of evidence.

The nation's former No. 1 watchman had last week described his working relationship with Hishammuddin as cordial, but the home minister did not see eye-to-eye with him on the command of the police force, saying that his refusal to indulge those who tried to interfere had likely been the reason why his tenure had not been extended.

The police force and other enforcement agencies fall under the home minister's portfolio.

"When I found out that instructions were given to junior officers and OCPDs (Officer in Charge of Police District) without my knowledge, then something is wrong.

"So, I highlighted to him section 4(1) of the Police Act ... command and control of the police force is by the IGP, not a minister.

"I talked to him nicely, he didn't like it ... that's why (my tenure) was not extended," Musa told a news conference last week organised by Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch), a crime watchdog which had claimed that it will "challenge any statistics that the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) comes out with".

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‘Missing’ delegates at Penang DAP convention

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 04:47 PM PST

Most of the delegates were missing for the afternoon session while the others were more interested in the private conversations rather than the speakers.

Hawkeye, FMT

GEORGE TOWN: Penang DAP held its convention yesterday and the most notable event that happened was that by afternoon half the 300-odd delegates were "missing".

Those who remained were either having a snooze or were talking among themselves, paying scant attention to the speakers.

This prompted Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who, by nature, is reserved to say that perhaps they should have lucky draws with cars and condominiums as prizes.

Chow's remarks may not apply to Penang alone. There was a poor turnout at the Selangor convention and the situation was similar in some other states.

But Chow, being the wily old politician, corrected himself by saying it was the same for other political parties.

But, here Chow, the Tanjong MP, stand to be corrected.

At the PAS muktamar, one had to line up to use the restrooms, while at the Umno general assembly, they sat on the floor to listen to the proceedings.

"We should not read too much into it as this is not an election year at the state level," said state DAP Youth activist Chris Lee.

Testament of power

DAP's power base basically revolves around Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and parts of Johor.

It now also has a growing presence in Sarawak and a moderate representation in Sabah.

A political observer here, Ng Whien Chin, says DAP has always been a top-heavy organisation in terms of active members .

"DAP, however, is a party populated more by high-octane personalities than those with a crowd following. The exception now is DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng who is popular among the grasssroots," Ng said.

Lim would be revered in DAP and become its permanent statesman, if he can deliver Putrajaya, similar to how his father Kit Siang had managed the party through the turbulent years , Ng claimed.

Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi shares the same view as Lee over the turnout, saying that usually, conventions only have a reasonable turnout – not an overwhelming one since there is no election.

But Ng does not agree. He says from a neutral view, accumulating a crowd is a testament of power and to illustrate to the fence-sitters that DAP is not to be taken for granted by either Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional.

"Penang has one of the highest number of fence-sitters as the people here are highly educated and independent-minded." he said.

READ MORE HERE

 

Ex-aide damns ex-IGP in SD

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 04:40 PM PST

In his statutory declaration, Musa Hassan's former aide claims that the ex-IGP had betrayed his oath of office by indulging in a slew of wrongdoings.

RK Anand, FMT

The Malaysian police force's image continues to plummet as allegations of serious misconduct pour in against its top brass.

The police, which is ailing from a serious public confidence crisis, was dealt another black eye last week by none other than its former chief Musa Hassan.

The ex-inspector-general, whom detractors had accused of having several closets laden with skeletons himself, claimed that criminal elements had infiltrated the force.

Pointing the finger at Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Musa also charged that politicians interfered with investigations.

But his successor Ismail Omar downplayed the allegations as unimportant while Hishammuddin questioned the timing of Musa's revelations which came during the Umno annual general assembly.

The snub by his successor led an infuriated Musa, who had described Ismail as a "good man" just hours before, to denounce him as a "snob" later.

Amid this raging controversy, a statutory declaration (SD) made in 2009 had now re-surfaced.

The document accused Musa of a slew of wrongdoings during his tenure and exposed how he had purportedly ruled with an iron fist, silencing critics with transfers and trumped-up charges.

The SD was by police officer Noor Azizul Rahim Taharim, who served as Musa's aide de camp from 2005 to 2007.

Azizul claimed that during the period which he served under Musa, he had witnessed numerous things which caused him to lose confidence in the latter's leadership.

Likening his former boss to a "pengkhianat" (traitor), he said: "Many of his [Musa's] actions undermined the integrity and credibility of PDRM…"

"On many occasions, I observed that the public persona displayed by Musa was opposite to his private conduct. Musa's actions constituted an act of betrayal of his oath of office," he added.

'Manipulation of promotions and postings'

Azizul claimed that former CID director Christopher Wan had revealed to him that Musa had directed the setting up of a covert blog to publish allegations of corruption against then deputy home minister Johari Baharom.

The contents of the blog, he said, damaged Johari's reputation and subjected him to a probe by the then Anti-Corruption Agency (now known as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission).

"I am also aware of the statutory declarations made by several policemen, police informants and subjects of police actions showing links between Musa and the underworld, specifically concerning restricted residence detainee Goh Cheng Poh @ Tongku and one shadow figure, BK Tan.

"Based on my personal knowledge and involvement as the ADC to the IGP, I can confirm that the statements made by these deponents concerning Musa were true…," he alleged.

Referring to the SDs of ASP Mior Fahim Ahmad and ASP Hong Kin Hock, Azizul confirmed that their allegations had basis.

The pair had claimed that there was manipulation of promotions, ranks and postings in the PDRM involving BK Tan.

"I have personal knowledge and involvement in that I was asked to compile and coordinate such posting orders based on the drafts and proposals made by BK Tan.

"Officers were transferred to achieve certain objectives. In some cases, there were 'entrapments' that made certain officers appear guilty of wrongdoings. In others, allegations were made against certain officers that resulted in them being given 24-hour transfer orders or short notice transfers.

"This gave the impression that Musa was eradicating corruption and abuses within PDRM… in most cases that was the furthest from the truth," said Azizul.

"The credibility of these officers would be 'demolished' such that whatsoever information they gathered about Musa would be discredited. These officers would suffer hardship being transferred away from their families and home base. They would also get bypassed in promotions and suffer disciplinary action without the proper process.

"Consequently, less able officers climbed the ranks and the victimised officers were used as warnings against others… This process of 'mecantas' [pruning] explains the apparent lack of ability by PDRM to tackle crime, the lack of motivation and low morale within PDRM that saw crime escalating at an alarming rate during Musa's tenure," he added.

READ MORE HERE

 

‘Dr M tells Umno leaders to kill Najib after GE’

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 04:36 PM PST

Anwar Ibrahim claims that the former premier has been asking Umno state leaders to grit their teeth and lend their support to Umno and BN for now. 

Teoh El Sen, FMT

Dr Mahathir Mohamad is asking Umno state leaders to postpone their plan to kill off Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak until after the general election, according to Anwar Ibrahim.

The opposition leader said he "knew for a fact" that Mahathir had been asking state leaders to lend their support to Umno and Barisan Nasional while suggesting that they could "topple the leader after the election."

"This message has gone to almost all state leaders. I think that is why because of this fear, Najib feels that his personal position is rather insecure," he told a press conference here.

Anwar was responding to Najib's sudden move to thank Mahathir for voluntarily campaigning for Umno towards the end of the party's annual general assembly on Saturday and congratulating the former premier for his Vision 2020 yesterday.

"Najib has displayed very little courage as a leader, he cannot deal with [Wanita Umno chief] Shahrizat [Abdul Jalil] firmly, can't imagine he can deal with Mahathir firmly. That is why he is trying to appease everyone," he said.

Asked if he thought Najib now realised that he needed Mahathir in the run-up to the 13th general election, Anwar said: "Knowing Najib he will need to cling to everyone; his personality of seemingly [appearing] confident was never Najib's style."

Anwar said that Najib's camp was not happy that Mahathir had been "interfering with government matters and in the giving out of contracts to cronies", but had no choice as Najib was unable to put his foot down.

"Najib does not have the courage to put his foot down… you have a party where Dr Mahathir still goes around calling party leaders. I don't think he [Najib] has the courage to deal with it… [so] he has to appease all parties, because he does not have the clout to enforce his policies or views," he said.

On the Umno general assembly, Anwar said that the ruling party's confidence of winning back four opposition-held states and re-capturing the two-thirds majority was a sign of denial.

"They [Umno leaders] are in a state of denial. They sit in five-star hotels, smoke expensive cigars, spend time in lounges, that's where they devise their strategy… a clear disconnect between the multimillionaire Umno leaders and the masses on the ground… the urban, rural Malays… non-Malays," he said at a press conference to rebut issues raised at the 66th Umno general assembly.

READ MORE HERE

 

Anwar: I’m not behind Deepak, Musa

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 04:33 PM PST

The opposition leader denies playing a role in the startling revelations by the carpet dealer and ex-IGP.

Teoh El Sen, FMT

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has denied involvement in the startling revelations made by carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan and former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan.

However, Anwar stressed that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein should respond to the accusations directly.

"Musa has been coming out with very serious allegations against the minister of home affairs. I think coming from the former IGP and involving the security of the nation, it should warrant a response from the minister. Whether you agree or disagree, you cannot dismiss it," he told reporters at the PKR headquarters today.

"Similarly, coming from Deepak, who is known to be direct associate of Najib and Rosmah [Mansor]. You can't just be dismissive.

"If it is just a scurrilous attack. I would understand that Najib would dismiss it. But this is specific, that he is involved to reverse a statutory declaration, so, answer lah," he added.

Anwar dismissed suggestions of Pakatan Rakyat or PKR being behind Deepak or Musa's statements, but expressed that PKR was open to Musa joining them if the matter came to that.

"The allegation [that Pakatan is behind these exposes] is baseless. Look at the facts.

"Have I met him [Musa]? No. Yes, I did met him when he withdrew the civil suit against me. But that was it.

"Did he indicate that he was interested in joining PKR? No. What if he does? I'll think about it. But the issue is irrelevant. It is not fair because I have not heard, neither has he indicated interest about being in politics," he said.

Musa recently held a press conference in his capacity as the patron of a newly launched anti-crime NGO MyWatch, saying that there were political interference by the home minister during his tenure and that such incidents still occurred.

He also alleged that criminal elements had infiltrated the police force, and expressed that his successor Ismail Omar needed to buck up.

READ MORE HERE

 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 10)

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 04:07 PM PST

So, no, I did not make my first million getting contracts from the government, as many people may have thought. I did it by changing the way we did business in the fishing industry. In time, the 'old boys' no longer regarded me as a wet-behind-the-ears new kid on the block. And imagine my pride when the 'old boys' who had been in business before I was born offered me Chinese tea and called me 'boss'.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I was the new kid on the block. I was only 24 years old. And I was trying to break into the market that is older than I have been alive. And it is a very Chinese dominated market, too, on top of that.

After Michael Toh agreed to create Account A and Account B, I had to now take over the business from my partner who had been running it before me. It is not that I wanted to. It is that Michael had agreed to suspend all my debts and will allow me to stay in business only if I took over the business and ran it myself.

I confronted my partner. I knew I would never get my money back but at least I could oust him from the company. And he agreed to sign all the papers and I took control of the company. Once I took control of the business I now had to make it viable.

I drove up and down Terengganu and Kelantan and visited every single fishing village, even the most remote village along the Malaysian-Thai border. In the beginning it was just that -- 'study tours' of sorts. I needed to not only learn the trade, which I knew nothing about, but I also needed to get to know my potential customers.

Most of them were very nice and humble people. Many were simple fishermen. Some were fishing taukays who had started life as fishermen and now owned a fleet of fishing boats that were operated by other fishermen on a profit-sharing basis.

It was almost like the serf system that the peasants of Europe were subjected to 200 years ago except that they were free to terminate the arrangement any time they wished to and would not be put to death if they 'ran away'. The majority were Malay taukays but there were many Chinese as well although Terengganu and Kelantan were predominantly Malay states.

Breaking into the market was not that easy. These fishermen or fishing taukays had a decades-old relationship with the 'old boys' who had been around even before I was born. Some of the players had been dealing with each other since the first generation so we were now talking about the second generation that had inherited all this 'goodwill'.

I discovered that 'old ties' meant a lot in business. People were not prepared to sever old ties and transfer their business to a still-wet-behind-the-ears new kid of the block. I had to earn their respect and confidence. I had to have something new and something better to offer before people would end 20- or 30-year old relationships and deal with you instead.

I was beginning to wonder whether my effort was futile. An added problem was I could not beat their prices. I was puzzled as to how the other dealers could sell at cost. And if I wanted to beat their prices I would have to sell below cost. This would have been disastrous.

Then I discovered that the others could sell at cost because they were getting 90 days credit and they just wanted the quick cash. They collected cash in advance before they ordered the engines. That gave them an additional 30 days. Then they would 'drag' their payment and get an additional 30-60 days. Then they would pay by post-dated cheques.

All in all they got to use the cash for roughly six months or so. They then lent this cash on a '10-4' basis. Basically, it was a loan-shark operation and it worked like this.

Petty traders who needed quick cash -- and they could not get it from the bank for obvious reasons -- would borrow, say RM2,000, from these money lenders. The borrowers would be charged 4% interest a month or 48% interest a year. (That is why they called it '10-4').

They would then receive the RM2,000 minus the interest. Hence they would not receive RM2,000 but just slightly over half the amount. But the 48% interest a year is charged on RM2,000, not on the RM1,000 or so that they receive.

It was a real cutthroat business (hence it is called 'loan shark' business). And that was why they did not care whether they made any money on the sale of the engines. They were not interested in making money on the sale of the engines. They were using the engine business to raise cash and it was by lending out this cash that they made money.

And we must remember that the cash was 'free', at least for six months.

I needed an incentive to get the fishermen and fishing taukays to give me their business. My competitors were selling for cash. I needed to sell on credit. But I was 'broke' so how could I do that?

One day I saw an advertisement in the newspapers. It was an advertisement by M&F, a finance company wholly-owned by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (now called HSBC). I wrote them a letter applying for finance facilities.

The Kwailo running M&F phoned the Kuala Terengganu branch manager of the HSBC to ask him whether he knew whom I was. "I think he may be an old school friend of mine from MCKK," replied the branch manager.

The HSBC manager then phoned me to confirm that I was from MCKK. I replied that I was and he was delighted. "But how come you are not banking with us?" he asked. "I want you to open a bank account with us today."

I went over to the bank and opened an account. In those days you needed RM1,000 to open a company bank account so, invariably, I had to pawn some of Marina's jewellery to raise that RM1,000. I have to admit that walking into a pawnshop was a most embarrassing experience.

A few days later, the Kwailo made a trip to Kuala Terengganu to meet me. He was not only very pleased that the HSBC manager was an old school friend of mine but when he found out that my mother was from his same 'kampong' in London he was so delighted. (Soon after that he visited my mother for Hari Raya and invited her to the Paddock in the Kuala Lumpur Hilton for dinner, with Marina and I as well, of course).

The Kwailo told me he will start us off with RM200,000. Once that is fully used up he would increase it. Eventually I was rolling with RM2 million of the bank's money, a king's ransom 40 years ago.

There was another issue to resolve first, though. The fishing boats that we were going to finance needed to have insurance. But no one in Malaysia does fishing boat insurance. I searched high and low but could not find a company that would issue insurance for fishing boats. It was too high risk.

Unless I could find a company that was prepared to issue insurance for fishing boats my deal with M&F would never get off the ground.

I approached a friend of mine who was one of the leading insurance brokers in Terengganu. He had never heard of any company doing fishing boat insurance but he promised me if there was then he would be able to find one. However, it would all depend on the amount of business I expected.

I promised him RM1 million a year in business (insured value) and fully secured. (Actually, I tembak only because I did not know, but I had to 'play poker' to entice them with the belief that the 'stakes' were going to be very high.)

I then laid out my plan. I would take land from the fishermen as security (almost all the fishermen had land) and with this land as security I would underwrite any potential loss that the insurance company would suffer in the event of a claim. (In all that time we suffered only one claim, less that 1% of the total premium we collected over those many years).

So now I was not only in the engine financing business. I was also in the fishing boat financing business as well as the fishing boat insurance business. I not only gave out 100% financing on the engines. I also financed 50% of the cost of the construction of the boats. Sometimes I even financed the fishing nets, which at times could be more expensive than the fishing boats.

But all this must be backed with insurance plus land, which I valued myself and took at the lower value. Hence if they defaulted I would be able to sell off the land at twice what they owed me. In all that time I never once had to sell off any land to recover what they owed me.

Overnight, our modest business became a multi-million business. I soon had millions floating in the market -- all the bank's money, of course. Each deal gave me a profit of 30-40%, although collectable over 3 years. And from that day on the fishermen in Terengganu and Kelantan knew me as 'Taukay Yanmar'.

Fishermen and fishing taukays lined up to see me, not to buy engines from me but to obtain loans to finance the construction of their fishing boats. However, to qualify for the loan, they would first need to buy their engines from us. And they no longer cared about the price of the engine. I was pricing my engines 25-30% higher than my competitors. But my competitors collected cash in advance. I allowed my buyers to pay me monthly over three years.

The only thing is, I did not charge loan shark rates, though, because we were bound by Bank Negara's rules, which was 10% per year fixed-rate interest, which more or less came to 18% per year based on reducing rate.

Eventually, some of the fishermen offered me shares in their fishing boat. They felt honoured to have the Taukay Yanmar as their partner. At the 'height' of my fishing business I had a stake in no less than five fishing boats. And we ate fresh fish every day because the fish were delivered to our house straight from the fishing boat.

And the irony of this whole thing is I did not like fish. I only ate chicken and beef. Nevertheless, one can't say that my business dealings were not 'fishy'. Whatever it may be, though, that resulted in me making my first million within just three years.

So, no, I did not make my first million getting contracts from the government, as many people may have thought. I did it by changing the way we did business in the fishing industry. In time, the 'old boys' no longer regarded me as a wet-behind-the-ears new kid on the block. And imagine my pride when the 'old boys' who had been in business before I was born offered me Chinese tea and called me 'boss'.

That was worth more than the money I was making. I suppose when money is no longer the criteria you aspire for recognition.

And I never realised the goodwill I had made until I returned to Kuala Terengganu in 2008 to campaign in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. Those who I had known back in the 1970s and 1980s still called me 'boss', even 20 or 30 years later, and they voted for Pakatan Rakyat (PAS) just because 'the boss said we must vote for PAS'.

And when the by-election result was announced I cried like a baby because it was not just about winning the by-election but about the people who voted for PAS did so because I wanted them to. (I think Eechia took a photo of me sitting there and crying).

Ah well, I am a sentimental old fool, am I not?

TO BE CONTINUED

 

Troubled and desperate ... Deepak could do anything

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 01:51 PM PST

Anyway this legend of Deepak could only have come out from the mouth of Dato Mumtaz Jaafar, the former national athelete and trainer to maam, and was behind many other leakage of private Najib household.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

There are issues and events to write about and comments to make. But who cares?

It is the holiday season and we are still in a "devil may care" mood. To pun Billy Joel's song lyric, "I am in a Sabah state of mind." In fact, we might be going again before Christmas.

It had to take one of PKR's "General Chief" attempted stunt to deviate public attention from UMNO's General Assembly to get us to get back in a writing mood.  

It is not the futile anti-Lynas group or Husam-initiated Royalti Minyak Kelantan  losing concern stunt or frogging in UMNO Semporna that are worth writing about

But the one on Deepak.

Simply because it tries to revive and link with the debunked Scorpene issue by still trying to slander Rosmah with the death of Altantunya. We still have a story waiting for the timing to release.

Frankly, only idiot would buy into Suaram's latest edition of French lawyer's press conference. It is ridiculous for French court to have jurisdiction on Malaysian soil on criminal issue?

Now ... the name Deepak first appeared in Raja Petra's Malaysia Today years ago when he was in his instruments playing up the link between Altantunya's murder and Rosmah that culminated in his infamous "reliably informed" Statutory Declaration.

Deepak's name was seldom bandied as a close associate of the Prime Minister's wife in the same stroke with names like Jho Loh. Since there is not enough story to play on, they created the story that Deepak was sent by Rosmah to deal with PI Bala and pay him off.

Boy Dugong

However, it is all suspicious. Maybe Deepak did meet or maybe he didn't meet PI Bala. If he did it, it is of his own accord to win the heart of Rosmah. But pleaz ... this dugong is no toyboy material.

In the first place, why would Rosmah entrust someone like Deepak, whom she just knew for few years, to do such a politically sensitive task?

Anyway this legend of Deepak could only have come out from the mouth of Dato Mumtaz Jaafar, the former national athelete and trainer to maam, and was behind many other leakage of private Najib household.

Raja Petra used to write that she was Tan Sri Nor Mohamad Yakcop "man."

It is heard that she was a toll collector arranging meeting with Rosmah and benefited financially. God knows, if there is any truth.

Since her name surfaced everywhere and had put the first family in bad light many times,  Mumtaz is now no more part Rosmah's household.  

Back to Deepak.

Deepak the carpet man but trying to be carpet beggar

Deepak Jaikishan is merely a carpet seller and taking over his father's business at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. He only knew the first family when Rosmah was interested in his carpet designs and commissioned him to install carpets at their private residence at Jalan Duta. It is heard that she came down to the shop.

Like any overly ambitous and opportunistic businessmen yang "tidak tahu segan dan malu" (have no shyness and shame), Deepak used the opportunity in supervising the installation to get to know the maam.

Perhaps, he did got help from maam to ask PM to help him help secure contracts for official residence of Deputy Prime Minister, Sri Satria and later at Prime Minister's official residence, Sri Perdana.

Deepak was quite an impressionable young man and he managed to gain the confidence of others to get appointed on the Board of Director of IMDB, George Kent and many others.

Basically, he managed to exploit the opportunity to the fullest by creating the impression that he is maam's orang kuat. If one is smart, getting negative expose on Malaysia Today does boost oneself sometimes. Khairy did too.

Deepak became greedy, reckless and ruthless

However, Deepak got greedy and reckless. He was selling maam's name to frequently and all over town that it reached Rosmah's ears that he is a conman.

The carpet man was becoming a carpet beggar ruthlessly pouncing on unsuspecting businessman. One former Tan Sri high flying corporate man had to pay him commission for fund raising which he was not part off.

It is heard and he himself admitted to Malaysiakini that he had amassed RM600 million of facility. Off course, the public would jump to make the presumption that he got those loans because Najib is Finance Minister.

Firstly, is the number right? Secondly, having facility is one thing but was he able to drawdown those facilities. Thirdly, if Najib did not help get him the facility, who then?

Deepak had raised a couple of banking facilities with the likes of Hong Leong bank, Bank Rakyat, Maybank, and bulk of it is with Kuwait Finance house (KFH).

Talk of KWH, it reminded us of BCCI that went under decades ago.

KWH had a character who was the Managing Director by the name of K Salman Younis or Dato K Salman Younis. This guy was giving facility on name lending and Deepak sold himself real well.

He has since left in 2009 or he would have been in the slammer under BAFIA. Here is The Edge report

With facility available and the yearning to be a billionaire in a hurry by 40, Deepak went about town  to secure, hustle and even extort deals and investments.

One such scheme was to get himself into his failed joint venture with Wanita UMNO Selangor, Dato Raja Ropiaah's privatisation deal with MINDEF.
She got it when she was not a position holder but a struggling business women.

How convenient that Deepak sued Raja Ropiah at around now when he does not have a legal fighting chance of winning the lawsuit?

For him to make a police report against  Raja Ropiaah on claims of CBT, can the bloke differentiate between alleged CBT and alleged non-fulfillment of agreement?

Isn't it obvious that Deepak is lending a hand to assist PKR Selangor from Wanita Selangor's planned onslaught?

With the money standing by, it is easier to get and secure deals. The trump card Deepak used was Najib and Rosmah's name. How is anyone going to check with Najib and Rosmah? More so, with Malaysia Today's help to create him into an urban legend..

But since 2009, after Salman left, and his relationship with maam gone sour by 2010, things were not looking up for Deepak. His board membership were pulled back.

True he was investigated by MACC and IRD by him. Opposition made noises of him and so sure they will go in. Only thing is MACC do not make noise.

It is heard that he called maam for help to remove all the officers. Apalah Deepak, since when first lady can order around government agencies like that?

Banks begin to recall their loans. It is raining so Bank will pull back their umbrellas.

It is heard that Maybank had forsold his land to recoup the loan. Kuwait Finance House also pulled the plug on him when they found that there were elements of conmanship or fraud in the manner Deepak secured the facility.

Deepak couldn't pay back Kuwait Finance House. It is believed in the tune of more than RM100 million. Some say it is as much as RM140 million. This is part of the reason behind his debacle with Raja Ropiah because he wants his money back or give the project wholly to him.

Obviously Bank had to sue him and it is also another of Deepak's many ongoing case with Banks.

He fits in the maxim seldom heard in the securities industry, "high flyers get shot down."

This amateurish wheeler dealer but smooth talker was flying high. He once flew by private jet to Las Vegas to impress one sexy leggy Chinese girl. Smart girl .. take the money and run.

Deepak tried to seek Rosmah's help, tried to seek Rosmah's name when being investigated, tried to get Rosmah to ask Najib to ask investigators to pull their brakes and get banks to allow him to use his facilities, etc.

READ MORE HERE

 

DAP delegate questions why Karpal uses media

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 01:43 PM PST

(NST) - A delegate at the state DAP convention yesterday questioned party national chairman Karpal Singh's (pic) ability to voice his opinion in the central executive committee (CEC).

Taman Alma branch chief David Marshall said he was left wondering why the Bukit Gelugor member of parliament had to resort to using the media to voice his concerns and proposals regularly.

"I want to know if the CEC has not given him much opportunity to speak during its meetings."

Marshall said he was not out to criticize anyone but to seek clarification from the party.

He raised this question during the convention debate and state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow later told reporters that the party member had asked the question based on observations that Karpal had been talking to the media regularly.

He said Karpal had raised many issues, including the single-seat single candidate policy.

 

P I Bala, Deepak, Musa - who next?

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 01:35 PM PST

IT'S TOFFEE'S TURN

Everyone who has given testimony against the powers that be has been branded a liar, Musa of all people has now come out and Syed Hamid the man who together with his successor Hishamuddin have successfully revealed the level of common sense that prevails in UMNO now comes out to say that this is all an opposition ploy.

Musa Hassan?

After what he did to Anwar Ibrahim surely at the request of his superiors including a former UMNO chieftain, surely it must be seen that he was a player in a whole scheme to rid the country of Anwar, the man who knew too much and who had publicly declared that there would  be no more nepotism, cronyism and corruption in UMNO.

In UMNO this could not happen, no one could get into UMNO and declare such "nonsense,"  so anwar had to go at all costs, and they madee sure he did, so now when the Truth is coming out there is fear in the corridors of power, UMNO power.

This man Musa Hassan is not going to come out in the open to say such things like the government intervened with his work unless it really happened and unless  he has some really compelling reasons to.

No Malaysian in his proper frame of mind would have accepted that PI Bala was forced to come out with the Statutory Declaration to implicate Najib, everyone believed him when he said that the carpet man was involved, that carpet man has now come out and is revealing the truth albeit in installments.

So why is the truth coming out  in installments?

Well we'll dwell on that later, and now all these men who were their trusted lieutenants are now looked upon as conniving opportunists working together with the opposition to oust Najib for no rhyme or reason does that make sense?

The  key to the truth lies some where in the home of our Prime Minister it does not take a genius to figure that out, a moron would be able to have figured that out, and we have many of that kind of people in UMNO, I might have mentioned a few names earlier in this article and it is the duty of one of those to direct a full investigation, unless it was his office that ordered Altantuya's entry records by the Malaysian immigration removed.

Surely if they could get a Deputy Prime Minsiter on trumped up charges they can easily get this cop, they could and would for their own convenience  they would even use the Anwar's  case to get him,they are capable of doing that but why aren't they?

Why is Syed Hamid claiming that this is all a political ploy by the opposition?

The only reason  is it has to be the  truth, what these people are saying must be the truth, Deepak was a close friend of Rosmah, why did he suddenly turn against her and Najib?

There must be some elements of truth in it, and f the government goes for them, the truth will come out, that is something they can't afford, after all they have Mahathir Mohammed as the Prime Minister, the man for whom the ends justify the means.

If what Deepak is now saying is not the truth, then Najib should use the full force of the law  to protect the sanctity of the office of the prime minster because the attacks are personally targeted on Najib bin Tun Razak, and it was whilst he was in office as the minister of defence.

It is not for the current minister of defence to come  out to clear the issue he knows nothing about this he was not even in government at that time, so why is Najib so quiet?

Should he not sue Deepak? Should he not go to clear his name? Had it been the Lees down south they'd have sued the pants off Deepak?

Najib has failed to do this when in his personal capacity when he was accused by Raja Petra Kamaruddin, now when he is openly accused by PI Bala, and Deepak he is still hiding, is he afraid to come out in open court?

Well if that is no the case, and especially with all the implications  derived from the interview with Deepak, will Rosmah at least subject herself to an interview with the press both international and local on these issues since there seems to be so much directed towards her too?

After all she is the "first lady" very eloquent, been overseas, held meetings with so many other first ladies, and even visited heads of states for which once Najib bragged that our students in Egypt got out safely because of her connections, she surely  must have the ability, the eloquence and  the presence of mind to handle these small time reporters on these issues. Can't She?

I am sure she is more than capable (she is the first Malaysian PM's wife to have declared herself "First Lady") and ever willing, surely this  "first lady" who delights at the slightest opportunity for some of the limelight will given the opportunity,  but Najib will not allow her to, he is so scared he will not allow her to.

When he was preparing to come to office I wrote an article on the need for him to first clear his name on the Altantuya case or,  the office of the Prime Minister would be compromised, that was something that any decent man would have done before assuming such high office but, Najib Tun Razak did not see that necessity, neither did his mentor the Doctor because that would  be so very convenient for him - the doctor>

A compromised PM would be easy for the picking, he can easily dictate terms like he so often does these days.

You can't hide too much under the carpet, it will swell with the heat and the carpets will even though well bound wall to wall burst at its seems and all the dirt will spill out for the world to see and that is what is happening now.

All the mantharam imported from Kerala will not work, mantharams are evil, it abhors the Truth, but the Truth cannot be suppressed for too long it will surface as is now happening.

I have my doubts about  the sincerity of these players, I am convinced  they are telling us the truth, but why  in installments?

I believe, they are doing this because they are short changed, and so are reveling the truth in installments  in the hope that the big pay day will come so that they can decide to keep quiet, but if that big pay day comes then they will look forward to another bigger pay day, after all it pays and it pays big.

I doubt Deepak's claims that he will tell all, he is waiting for the big payouts as soon as possible, he knows as much as Rosmah, Mahathir and Najib know that the end is near the BN government is going to be dumped, they all know that, they are trying their level best to intimidate the people, but this time it will not work.

Before this government falls all these players must collect their ill gotten gains promised to them by the big boys, they have to leave the country less they get caught for all the bad things they have done in concert with the BN and so they are letting out this truth in installments.

Remember that for the government to fall the majority of the Malays must vote the opposition and that is the definitive score today, all their polls have indicated that,  so there is this feeling of deep despair amongst the top brass in UMNO, they can't give in to every PI, Carpet man or Cop or there won't be enough pay the UMNO division chiefs if they win the elections, and if they do not deliver there then all hell will break loose in UMNO itself.

Remember that  the majority of the Police Force and the Military are made up of Malays, many of whose brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and children will be with the opposition, vote the opposition  so if this government were to fall they had best do the right thing and hand over power without any abuse, not the type that was applied when Selangor  and Perak fell, and time was given to the outgoing government to take away with them so many "secrets" from office.

READ MORE HERE

 

MAS still faces turbulent weather

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 01:11 PM PST

Analysts say the national carrier needs to be more imaginative to improve operational efficiency.

By Sathish Govind, FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: While Malaysian Airline System Bhd's (MAS) recent return to the black could be taken as the first baby steps for the troubled airline, analysts see the road to sustained profitability for the national carrier is still a long and winding one.

Analysts say MAS needs to be more aggressive in cost-cutting and more imaginative in ratcheting up operational efficiency before it can even begin to dream of regaining its place and stature of old.

MAS announced on Nov 27 that it had returned to its first net profit of RM37 million for the July-September period after six consecutive quarters of losses.

It also announced plans to raise RM3.1 billion via rights issue and reduce its par value per share from RM1 to 90 sen.

Operation-wise, MAS made a small profit of RM3.9 million versus a net loss of RM191 million for the corresponding period in 2011. Revenue was lower at RM3.4 billion from RM3.5 billion previously due to decreased passenger traffic.

The airline also reported earnings per share of 1.11 sen versus a loss per share of 14.29 sen. No dividend was declared for the quarter. A research note from Maybank Investment Bank Bhd said the recent results suggest that its cost-cutting initiatives are beginning to bite.

However, the researcher believes MAS' strategy of picking up routes from the bargain bin – South Africa, Argentina, Pakistan and Dubai – is misguided as these routes are not profitable and "added to the overall bottom line of the company".

The airline's reorganising of its flight frequency timetable and finding bumping up capacity, however, has helped reduce unnecessary increases in costs.

In announcing the quarterly result, MAS group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya is rightfully pleased that the airline's "revenue initiatives have begun to gain traction in the market" and that the management is beginning to see the results of their hard work.

An OSK Research Sdn Bhd analyst said even though the cost-cutting has achieved a short-term result, MAS needs to address structural issues that will determine long-term profitability.

He said it needs to take an aggressive approach in its cost-cutting strategies and shore up its revenue.

"Its yields have not improved considerably and could further receive pressure from low-cost carriers and other foreign full service carriers in the international segment," he said.

 

The fear to hold polls

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:59 PM PST

After frightening the rakyat into believeing that only Umno can ensure peace and prosperity in this nation, Najib himself is now in fear of calling for the election

CT Ali, FMT

Why are we talking about who will be prime minister after the 13th general election? Why are we wondering if Pakatan Rakyat will be our choice or if Barisan Nasional will still be in control of our destiny? Why? Are we even going to have a general election? This prime minister of ours, who has been putting fear into our hearts, is himself afraid to call for a general election.

Was it not this prime minister who told the Chinese that if they do not want to lose all the wealth that they have gained thus far, then they must vote BN because if Pakatan comes to power, they will lose it all?

This same prime minister told the Malays that they must be united and make sure Umno is still in power if they do not want to lose all that they have gained under Umno these last 50 over years. If the Malays do not vote, Umno they will lose Ketunanan Melayu (Malay supremacy), lose their Sultans, lose their privileges.

And it is this same prime minister who put fear into all the other races in Malaysia, telling them that only Umno can ensure peace and prosperity in this nation of ours. And this prime minister who has put all this fear into us all is now himself in fear of calling an election?

Why is he so much in fear of calling for the 13th general election? Is it because all the information available to this prime minister tells him that BN will lose in the 13th general election?

That Special Branch has reported to him that BN will not be the rakyat's choice for government after the 13th general election?

This, in spite of the RM500 already given to so many of them; in spite of the tyres already bought for taxi drivers; in spite of the Hari Raya bonus for civil servants; in spite of all the transformation programmes and economic initiatives started by Najib Tun Razak.

Win or lose, Umno is in for the ride of its life! Everything has changed for Umno and yet nothing has changed within Umno. The world outside Umno has evolved towards an open, responsible and accountable society where everyone wants to have a voice and a role to play (if they so choose) in their future. But nothing has changed within Umno.

Desperate plea

Few people think that Najib can deliver what he has been promising. Taxi drivers could not care less – they already have their tyres. The civil servants will have their bonus and all those who would have benefited from any cash handouts have had their cash.

So would they remember that it was Najib and BN that gave them the cash and vote for him and BN in the 13th general election? Maybe they will, maybe they will not. As Mahathir said, "Melayu mudah lupa" and the same can be said of many Malaysians.

Najib desperately hopes that this time around the people of Malaysia and the "pendatangs" (immigrants) who have been given right of abode and the right to vote, all of them will be translated into votes for BN . If it does not, then Najib has a problem. And that makes him very afraid of what the 13th general election will bring him.

I do not envy the game Najib is playing but he has no other choice. He has nothing to draw upon from his years in public service to validate his desperate plea to the people to give him an elected term in office as their prime minister.

Do you want Najib as your prime minister? What credentials does he possess to ask us for the privilege of leading us after the 13th general election? And do not forget that it is a privilege to be leader of any nation – not a right! And who will give him the privilege of leading this nation again come the 13th general election?

READ MORE HERE

 

CM uses goodwill inter-faith dinner to bash Umno

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:55 PM PST

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng took the opportunity at the MCCBCHST function to campaign for Pakatan Rakyat.

(FMT) - Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng last night used the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) Penang inter-religious goodwill dinner to criticise Umno, the backbone of the ruling Barisan Nasional.

The event, which was supposed to foster closer relations between the different religions in the country, was turned into a political forum by Lim taking potshots at Umno and the ruling BN.

He also took the opportunity to campaign for the opposition pact, Pakatan Rakyat, saying that the coalition of three opposition parties – PKR, DAP and PAS – has managed to bring about good change since the 2008 general election.

"Umno has taken a very extremist view that does not respect the rights of non-Muslims. For instance, an old Indian shrine was demolished by Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) controlled by the federal government last year. To-date it has not fulfilled its promise to rebuild the Hindu shrine.

"Umno leaders have also not respected the requirement of providing land for non-Muslim places of religious worship on development approvals. When Umno slandered me with lies that I had sold off mosque land in Bayan Mutiara to Ivory Property Group by open competitive tender, it failed to mention I had also sold off non-Muslim religious land."

"Clearly, Umno did not mention non-Muslim religious land because the previous Umno state government thinks non-Muslim have no right to being provided with non-Muslim religious land," he said.

"I wish to stress that the state government had not sold off mosque or non-Muslim land in Bayan Mutiara as such religious land is a requirement for approval by local councils. If no Muslim or non-Muslim land is provided, then no development orders will be given. And the state government will provide for non-Muslim religious land," he said at the dinner.

He also took a potshot at Perkasa calling it a racist and extremist organisation.

"All Malaysians regardless of race, religions or gender are treated as our children by embracing love and rejecting hate, promoting peace and rejecting violence so that everyone can live with dignity.

"There is deep concern that there is no action against those involved in violence or condone violence by racist and extremist organisations such as Perkasa.

"When a young Chinese girl was handcuffed for stepping on the picture of the prime minister, why was similar punishment not given to the Perkasa leaders who conducted a Hindu funeral rite in front of my house?" the Penang chief minister asked.

Lim said while God does not take sides based on political party lines, "there are those who have recently claimed that they are the chosen people, and that their party has been chosen by God to rule the country".

"I believe that rather than asking whether God is on our side of our party, we should ask whether our party is on the side of God, good moral values like justice, integrity, freedom and truth," he added.

 

DAP must stick to Pakatan plot

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:52 PM PST

The DAP is yet another party, like PAS, that has joined the 'reformasi' and benefited largely from the electoral 'tsunami' of 2008.

Ali Cordoba, FMT

The big question being asked is whether the DAP has turned itself into a "submarine", using the Chinese voters, to "tag" along with PKR and impose its agenda after the general election.

The party is still moving on the fringe of the Malay-Muslim community despite its association with Pakatan Rakyat and its landmark rule in Penang.

The extent of their "fright" was seen with some PAS members voicing their "concerns" at the Islamist party's collaboration with DAP. And this, after having enjoyed the victories that came with PAS' association with the "ogre".

The most hard-hitting criticism of the PAS-DAP alliance came from Umno, with Perkasa taking the frontline offensive. The DAP has been linked to former communist elements, yet this is only part of the heavy criticism that PAS had to contend with in recent times.

The demonising of DAP will continue into the final days of the 13th general election. The risk with this state of affairs, is that Pakatan may end up losing more support if the DAP is continuously portrayed as "traitors" and as the "ogre" that will eat the Malays once it is in power.

If the DAP's role in the Pakatan coalition is to represent the Chinese community, it is certain that it does not have 100% support from the community.

PKR has a wider appeal for the fence-sitters in the Chinese community since it is well represented in the party. The Chinese seem more comfortable with Anwar Ibrahim's leadership in PKR than with MCA's junior role in BN.

The DAP is yet another party, like PAS, that has joined the "reformasi" and benefited largely from the electoral "tsunami" of 2008.

The party has also benefited from its association with Pakatan in Sabah and Sarawak and will continue to do so as long as it is associated with Anwar and Pakatan. These are facts DAP cannot deny.

Henceforth, any "hidden" agenda by the DAP, if any, to subvert Pakatan's victory parade in the corridors of power will be futile. Why is that so? Pakatan is today a transformed organisation. The people voting for Pakatan are those voting for change.

There will only be change in Malaysia if Pakatan remains a solid and united political coalition after it takes power. Any attempt by the DAP to impose any of the anti-Malaysia and anti-Islam agenda will fail as there will be no majority in the Parliament to support such a move.

Status quo

Likewise, a Pakatan cabinet will be Muslim-dominated. Unfortunate as this sounds, the reality is that the next regime in place will be forced to continue to play along "communal" lines.

There is no way Pakatan can deny the role played by the Malay-Muslim community in local politics.

PAS and PKR, under Anwar, will have to ensure that the status quo on the communal field is respected.

The DAP will, nevertheless, get to play a more active and a greater role in enhancing Pakatan's avowed policies of equality, justice and fairness for all Malaysians.

If this is what the Umno-BN and pro-Umno, pro-extreme right Malay voices within the PAS are afraid of, then there is nothing they can do if Pakatan is in the seat of power in Putrajaya.

There are reports, unconfirmed of course, of the DAP being infiltrated by former communist elements. There again, it is doubtful that these elements – if they are given a chance to be in Parliament – will be able to influence any decision-making that may affect the Malays.

In the event former communist elements within the DAP are catapulted into the cabinet, one wonders whether they will be able to carry out subversion in the country.

The claims that such elements have infiltrated the DAP is indicative of a total failure of the strict and draconian laws that were in place to curb subversive elements. If 54 years of the Internal Security Act (ISA) did not stop the "communists" from camouflaging and infiltrating into Pakatan on the onset of the "reformasi" era, then what can stop them?

Does the DAP have a pro-China agenda that will boost the Chinese community's progress report card in Malaysia? There is little doubt that a regime under the helm of Anwar will have a very pro-Western approach.

Pakatan in power, if it wins the general election, will tend to consolidate Asean's new-found trust in the US. It will also kowtow to the "Asian values", promoted by Anwar while he was deputy prime minister.

Pakatan will not allow Malaysia to become a "mini-China" as it will be guided – as mentioned above – by the need to protect the majority community while it enhances the role of the minorities.

Here again, we see how DAP will be limited in its scope to influence even the foreign policies of a country run by Pakatan. The opposition coalition has, on many occasions, shown support for the "revolts" in the Arab world and is against the survival of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria.

If this is any yardstick to measure the DAP's real influence in Pakatan, then one might just say that China will lose more under a Pakatan regime in Malaysia than it is under a BN regime.

China is a supporter of the Assad regime and has vetoed attempts by the West to declare total war against Syria. This is against Pakatan's foreign policy, which is a pro-war approach in Syria.

READ MORE HERE

 

Thousands attend Pakatan ceramah in Umno territory

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:48 PM PST

More than 30,000 people turned up to hear Pakatan leaders tell why its best to vote for them and not for Umno in Johor.

(FMT) - BATU PAHAT: A Pakatan Rakyat ceramah here on Friday managed to attract more than 30,000 people in what Pakatan leaders say is a sign of support moving away from Umno to them.

Never in Johor's political history has an opposition rally attracted such an enormous crowd.

The assembly was part of the ongoing state-level Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (Peoples' Uprising Assembly) series being organised by Pakatan nationwide.

It followed the national-level assembly staged in Taman Seremban Jaya in Senawang on Nov 3 which also attracted about 30,000 Malaysians.

Johor PKR chairman Chua Jui Meng and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim arrived together at about 11pm and were pleasantly surprised by the mammoth crowd.

They both had to wade through a sea of people to get to the stage with their shoes and trousers covered with mud. PAS president Hadi Awang was then in the midst of his speech.

After Hadi wrapped up his ceramah, a brief ceremony was held to introduce and accept the membership application forms of several ex-senior Johor civil servants and former key Umno members who joined PAS.

Anwar was then called to the stage to deliver his ceramah and got the crowd roaring when he shot off with: "This is not an Umno assembly! What (Prime Minister and Umno president) Najib (Tun Razak) doesn't understand is the emergence of Kebangkitan Rakyat (Peoples' Uprising)."

"Malaysians today are well informed about socio-political issues. They are also much more intelligent and it is not so easy, as in the past, to fool them.

"There is no room for lip service and mere rhetoric in politics anymore. We must tell the rakyat (people) what we can offer and what we can do to provide good governance.

"We must make clear our people-oriented policies and that we are here to serve the people and to ensure their welfare and country's progress.

"Unlike BN, if we are given the mandate to administer Putrajaya after the next 13th general election, we will ensure the eradication of corruption," Anwar said.

READ MORE HERE

 

Rahman Maidin sertai PAS untuk bantu jatuhkan BN

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:44 PM PST

(Gambar: Datuk Rahman menyerahkan borang permohonan keahlian PAS kepada Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi di Baru Pahat pada Sabtu lalu.)

(Harakah Daily) - Bekas Pengerusi Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia (DPMM), Datuk Rahman Maidin bersedia jadi ombak untuk menghempas benteng lama sehingga pecah.

Ujarnya, biar pecah benteng lama yang sudah tidak kukuh dan membina kembali dengan benteng yang kuat dan padu.

"Jika digambarkan suasana di lautan, saya pilih ombak sebab ombak dia boleh bersihkan pantai bahkan bukan setakat bersih, dia boleh hancurkan benteng yang tak kukuh, " ujarnya ketika ditanya selepas berucap di majlis makan malam anjuran Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS (DHPP) Pulau Pinang dengan kerjasama PAS Kawasan Tasek Gelugor di Taman Desa Murni, Sungai Dua semalam.

Beliau berkata, sudah sampai masanya, benteng usang diganti supaya rumah atau pokok yang ada berdekatan pantai dapat diselamatkan.

Jika ombak kuat berlaku di tengah lautan pun tegasnya, alunannya boleh menenggelamkan kapal besar yang muatannya berlebihan.

"Kemasukan saya dalam PAS bukan untuk apa-apa tujuan melainkan ingin membantu PAS bersama Pakatan Rakyat menjatuhkan Barisan Nasional (BN) pada pilihanraya umum ke 13 nanti," katanya yang juga bekas Pengerusi Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Pulau Pinang.

Berucap sama dalam program tersebut ialah Timbalan Presiden PAS, Mohamad Sabu, Naib Presiden PKR, Tian Chua dan Pengerusi DHPP Pusat, Hu Pang Chaw.

 

The pathologies of Malay nationalism

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:32 PM PST

malaya-union

Historians highlight the early 1980s as the point of no return. The revivalism of Islam was the demand of a strong Malay grassroots then. The regime, eventually armed with the credibility of Anwar Ibrahim's Islamist background, launched its deep and thorough project of Islamisation in response: Islamic banking was introduced. The International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM/UIA), now heavily sustained by Saudi funding, was established. So was the Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM), which has since then served as the intellectual mouthpiece against pluralism and apostasy. 

Ahmad Fuad Rahmat, CPI

The nation

The problem begins with the nation-state ideal; for its coherence depends on there being a people deemed as the rightful owners of a land. It is rooted to the belief that territory is property – a thing to own – and that loyalty to the people means, among other things, the readiness to uphold the integrity of territory to ensure it belongs to the nation.

This requires clearly defined, finite, national borders, which – at least at the face of it – appears as a simple enough idea. Matters become complicated when we ask who those borders are meant for. There cannot be a nation-state, if there is no nation to begin with.

But identities unlike land cannot be enclosed and demarcated. Cultures do not flourish in vacuums. They develop out of interactions and fusions with one another. New words, outlooks and practices are adopted while others fade, in a slow, arbitrary and often ambiguous organic process of contact and migration through time.

The nationalist agenda is at odds with this reality. The belief in the congruence of identity and territory – or indeed identity as territory – at the face of inevitable cultural change that can neither be controlled nor predicted, means that each nation will always find itself in the position of having to redefine the conditions of membership, to determine what or who should or should not be excluded. Culture too is given boundaries as a result.

The nationalist imagination must, in other words, assume however implicitly that there is some supposed essence underlying the flux of culture and identity, out of which the 'Otherising' so common to nationalist politics is legitimised. The marker could be anything from a common language, religion, ethnicity, race or history. It could even be a set of values or general traits. None of this is exclusive, of course. At any given time, depending on the issue and occasion, different factors can be evoked to proclaim dissimilarity.

Islam

Islam as we've seen time and time again has featured prominently in attempts to imagine a core to Malay identity. It is in fact presented as a condition: the protection of Malays, we're told repeatedly, depends on the preservation of Islam.

History has had much to do with this. The growth of Islam in 15th century Nusantara converged with the Malay apex of imperial grandeur, where for centuries Malay kingdoms dominated commerce, producing diplomatic relations and maritime armies that placed the Malaccan Straits on the map of world trade.

This began as a very much elite affair, for the earliest Muslim converts in the Peninsula were among the feudal and merchant classes. It was not only until Islam eventually reached the commoner that its defining presence in Malay notions of identity began. Gradually, Islam became appreciated as a force of enlightenment, as it inspired Malays to leave their supposedly superstitious animistic ways of life towards a higher stage of civilization. The necessity of learning the Quran for basic rituals meant that Islam was also the context with which Malays experienced their earliest exposure to systemic, although largely informal, learning. In fact, Islam as education remained the case for common Malays for centuries.

But while education and memories of empire shaped Malay attachments to Islam, its legalistic thrust ensures that it would remain a useful tool. One would be right, for example, to dismiss the recurring Hudud polemics as mere political ostentations between two parties seeking to out-Islamise one another, but in doing so we must not forget how much Islam, with its endless list of dos and don'ts, makes for a convenient resource of conformity and control.

Islamisation

That would not be so troubling, if not for how the pressures for more and more Islam are actually coming from the ground up. Today, Islamic validations are increasingly sought for things as mundane as medicine, fashion and entertainment, as can be seen in the rising trend of halal living. Academic discussions on Islamic science have produced volumes of theoretical literature, albeit with little effects on actual scientific practice or meaningful discoveries. Unsatisfied with the already rigid curriculum of Islamic studies in national schools, more and more private Islamic schools, including kindergartens, continue to be established throughout the country. The list can go on and on.

The state has had little need to take issue with the above demands, for the simple reason that any Islamisation, given present circumstances, would only secure a more Malay definition of Malaysia anyway. Thus it was not at all surprising to see the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), always already seeking to solidify Malay rule, having no qualms about competing on this turf. They seemed to have even relished the challenge, excelling – in realpolitik terms – in ensuring the drastic insertion of Islamic policies into the Malaysian state.

Historians highlight the early 1980s as the point of no return. The revivalism of Islam was the demand of a strong Malay grassroots then. The regime, eventually armed with the credibility of Anwar Ibrahim's Islamist background, launched its deep and thorough project of Islamisation in response: Islamic banking was introduced. The International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM/UIA), now heavily sustained by Saudi funding, was established. So was the Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM), which has since then served as the intellectual mouthpiece against pluralism and apostasy. A more Muslim oriented foreign policy was initiated. New laws were imposed, banning imports of non-halal beef and Muslim entry into casinos. Marriages and sermons were made subject to Islamic certification and approval.

Today, JAKIM (Malaysian Department of Islamic Development) is the third most funded department under the Prime Minister's Office, receiving RM 402 million in 2010 alone. It stands among several other Syariah institutions that were recently erected in rapid succession such as Jabatan Kehakiman Syariah, Malaysia (Department of Syariah Justice) in March 1998 and the Syariah section of the Attorney General's office in 2003. The latter is to ensure that all laws – including international laws Malaysia are to ratify – are Syariah compliant. In 2009, planning for a Jabatan Penguatkuasaan dan Pendakwaan Syariah (Syariah Enforcement and Prosecution Department) began.

Power

But what is all that power for?

Curiously, the persistence of conservative presence in Malay politics suggests that the increased Islamisation of government, on top of the huge representation of Malays in the military, police, civil service, the cabinet, petit bourgeoisie and banking, in addition to our nine monarchs, are still somehow not enough to assuage insecurities.

It can also be argued that the significant powers that Malays have amassed through the government and bureaucracy over the years are mere catalysts for greater conservative demands, for in apprehensive hands no amount of power will suffice if it cannot translate to total control.

Thus it may be more accurate to look past the power held to see what the power is meant to protect in the first place. And for this we will have to inquire into a prior anxiety, one that is more essential in driving the politicisation of Malay identity as a whole, and that is the fear of losing control over Malaysia's multicultural complexities.

To clarify, the conservative claim is not that the Malays were here before everyone else. Rather, the Malays, at one point the subjects of a glorious medieval empire, were the ones who shaped the customs and civilization, and by consequence the historical significance, of the Peninsula.

It was therefore the bitterest injustice for the Malay nationalist imagination that independence from centuries of colonialism began with the masses of Malays in wretched poverty. They were 70% of Malaysia's poor at the time, confined mostly to low level-menial work. University education was far from reach and with little, in fact inconsequential, ownership of capital (Malays owned only 4% of all businesses) Malay control of the country was nothing more than ceremonial despite the triumphant proclamations of Merdeka (Independence).

Malays in fact became poorer in the ensuing decade, a reality that soon compelled the demand which we are all too familiar with by now: that only the material enrichment of Malays can mend inter-communal relations since they would no longer have to bear the shame of being poor sons of the soil.

Shame and self-loathing

This shame left a deeply bitter mark, for the little real political power that Malays could claim also translated to a crisis in self-esteem. The worst of this fermented into the long tradition of self-loathing that one can find in bourgeois Malay thought, whereby Malay poverty is often explained away as an obvious outcome of laziness.

The Malay Dilemma by Mahathir Mohamed (Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister at 22 years) has for some reason survived as the most frequently reissued attempt to defend that thesis. Not only did it draw a direct causal link between Malay laziness and poverty, they were also somehow taken as certain proof of Malay racial inferiority.

But if we are at all to recall that book for its originality, it would have to be for the rather taxing attempt it made to explain that link with pretensions of evolutionary science. Otherwise, the Malay Dilemma was merely reiterating an impression that was already prevalent among early Malay bureaucrats. After all, it was published only a year after Revolusi Mental (Mental Revolution), a longer book comprising of essays that also insisted on the Malay poverty-laziness-inferiority idea, this time by the most prominent Malay educators in government then.

It is painful, though not unfair, to acknowledge that there was some hint of inevitability to all that, especially when viewed from a broader historical perspective. Munshi Abdullah, the pioneer of Malay reformist thought, was already lamenting Malay inferiority – also in the manner of simplified sweeping claims about Malay laziness – as early as the British takeover of the Straits. Indeed, it was against his profound awe of British science and technology that the lazy, inferior, bumbling, dumb and superstitious Malay which he took constant note of was often "portrayed" in his works (although always, somehow, in the pretext of some deep care and concern he had for Malay progress).

This spirit of supposed tough love resonated again in the early 20th century, this time in Pendeta Za'ba's works which was also not short of bile. The modern man of Malay letters said that the Malays were poor in "all aspects of life" – in demeanour, attitude and worldview, "in all the conditions and necessities that can lead to the success and greatness of the nation". Malay youths spend too much time on wasteful activities, he said, and "are perverse in indulging in their carnal and animalistic needs" while having no foresight or prudence in spending. Their elders, on the other hand, are too caught up in stupid superstitions. The works of Malay literature are also "poor and not of the kind that can uplift spirits and improve thought".

One can argue that such frankness is common to all nationalist rhetoric. It can be likened by analogy to the kind of direct criticism we have all encountered in one way or another in heated family arguments, only the end message in this case is of course broader and more political, to provoke Malays to wake up and strive.

But what makes the above preoccupations with racial inferiority particularly pernicious is the conclusion drawn at the end of it all: the Bourgeois Malay's ultimate prescription for independence was not revolt or rebellion against exploitation and underdevelopment. Rather, the way forward was conceived in terms of the capitalist ethos, through hard work, self-reliance and private enterprise.

Obstacles

The central role of British colonialism in perpetuating myths of the lazy native is a subject that is best dealt in another discussion, although it would suffice at this point to state the curious fact that the notable Malays who were most willing to uphold and defend that myth were significantly influenced by the colonial lebensvelt.

Munshi Abdullah, for example, taught and translated Malay for Stamford Raffles on top of many other notable Orientalists. Both Za'ba and Mahathir – whose treatises on the subject were originally written in English – were educated via the British system. It was indeed through this orbit of circumstances that the capitalist ethos brought by the British found their advocates among Malay nationalists, however indirectly.

For a better sense of what's at stake here, we should consider the contrasting attitudes of Malay nationalists who were not as fortunate. For example, Rashid Maidin the labourer, or Ahmad Boestamam the son of a peasant, saw little to no virtue behind the laziness myth or British capitalism, having witnessed and lived through first-hand the violent exploitation of labour that was needed to service British industries. The Malayan left, with whom they mobilised, advocated instead a more confrontational and militant route towards self-determination. Naturally, the British, in the post-war ruin of their empire amidst fears of a Communist takeover of Southeast Asia did all they could to suppress all manifestations of leftist unrest, often with little hesitation to resort to violence or outright political intervention.

The fact that the Malay left and the British ended up more and more preoccupied with one another after independence also meant that Malay capitalism was met with less resistance. This, however, did not mean that it was without its obstacles. There was, for one, the absence of a critical Malay mass: the majority of Malays at the turn of Merdeka were rural, illiterate, uneducated and, more significantly, unfamiliar with the belief in "grace-through-hard-work" that the early Malay elites and bureaucrats embraced.

There was also a problem in the form of an apathetic Malay elite, the old guard of UMNOists close to Tunku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia's first Prime Minister) who were not seen as committed enough to the cause of Malay development. The Tunku recalled the Malays as "a simple and contented people, used to their own way of life, their distinctive traditions, their deep Islamic belief in God and the hereafter, and respect for their Sultans. Sons of the soil and the sea, they lived close to nature in a bountiful land. Why bother to work so hard?"

But nothing stood in the way as agonisingly as the peninsula's demographic realities. In 1955, the Malays constituted 84.2% of the total electorate. After independence it was reduced to just 56.8% due to the formal mass incorporation of Chinese and Indians as Malaysian citizens. This was not an easy fact to accept especially for those who just regarded them as temporary migrant workers whose presence in the Peninsula was due to colonial, rather than Malay, demands. It didn't help that the Chinese were soon perceived as threats: When they were not smeared as mere greedy businessmen, they were feared as treacherous communists.

READ MORE HERE

 

God, Comedy and the Umno General Assembly

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 07:59 AM PST

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/ae159/Malaysia-Today/kee_thuan_chye.jpg 

It is the level of intellectuality that comes from decades of playing to the gallery, of pandering to the masses who have been deliberately manipulated to remain politically immature and intellectually challenged through being provided sub-standard education. And so to reach out to these masses, our so-called leaders appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Kee Thuan Chye

The Umno General Assembly has often come across as reality comedy. Its 'performers' unwittingly amuse us with their unintentionally comic turns. This year, they didn't disappoint.

Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, whose family is embroiled in the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal that cost her the renewal of her senatorship, says that for the upcoming general election, she is a winnable candidate. God help her.
 
Indeed, God was invoked on several occasions throughout the general assembly, sometimes for the sake of seeking His help.
 
President Najib Razak urged Umno members to pray hard to God in order to win the general election. "Let us pray so that with His blessings, we will continue to be the country's ruling party," he said.
 
The subtext of that smacked of a loss in confidence.
 
In fact, Najib's rhetoric in the past several months has been reflective of that. He has been practically begging his audiences to "give us another term", an appeal no Umno leader has ever stooped to. They had always taken it for granted that they would rule long-term.
 
He has been persuading voters not to change the government, as if he were expecting them to. He has been bashing the Opposition parties at every available opportunity, to influence voters not to vote for them.
 
At the general assembly, he even entertained the prospect of losing: "We can replace treasures or honour that are lost, but if we lose this fight, we will be left with nothing."
 
He was of course exaggerating – because not winning Putrajaya doesn't amount to losing everything – but he was nonetheless acknowledging the possibility of defeat.
 
No other Umno president before him has ever had to countenance that.
 
Now Najib cannot bank on the confidence of the Umno of the past to carry him cockily to the general election; it has been too deeply mired in corruption and cronyism, and the rakyat have got wise to it.
 
He even apologised at the general assembly for all the wrongdoings of Umno and the other parties in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. But, as they say, it may be a case of "too little, too late". And it certainly is of no use if the corrupt practices are still continuing.
 
Why, for instance, has he not answered the allegations of businessman Deepak Jaikishan that for his help in facilitating a project deal, his family was paid by the latter, and that Deepak got involved in the case involving the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu because he wanted to help Najib's family? Why did Najib leave it to Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to volunteer to reply to Deepak?
 
This exposé, the NFC scandal and the question surrounding the RM40 million "political donation" received by Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman have caused untold damage to Umno. It may not fully recover from the blows.
 
Even so, there was much bravado flaunted at the general assembly. There was talk among Umno leaders of winning the general election with a two-thirds majority and recapturing all the four states now in Pakatan Rakyat's hands. They might have prayed to God first before they offered these predictions.
 
Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob even said to the media, "I tell you, DAP cannot win in Bentong. Cannot win! If DAP wins in Bentong, you cut off my ears and I'll jump into the Pahang river."
 
Such haughtiness! Well, just to see if he will keep his word, the electorate should vote BN out of Bentong. Earless Adnan might be a more humble person after that!
 
Hey, but the next day, probably feeling scared that his Bentong prediction might actually prove wrong, he did a flip-flop. That, however, made him even more laughable. He said he didn't mean "cut off my ears" literally. He said he was using figurative language.
 
"Do you know figurative speech? In English language, we have figurative speech. We have simile, we have metaphor, hyberbole," he said. "So when I say cut off my ears, that means they (DAP) can never win ... not that if we (BN) lose, they (the Opposition) take the knife and cut off my ears literally."
 
And why did he use "figurative language"? His reply: "… to let people learn English"!
 
Hahaha! That got me rolling on the floor – because "cut off my ears" is not at all a figure of speech in the English language! Adnan doesn't know that and he wants others to learn English? What a clown! The epitome of the know-nothing who behaves like a know-all! Or a case of someone who's caught and simply tembak (shoots)!
 
And since there's no such figure of speech, dear voters, please continue sharpening your knives.
 
Meanwhile, enjoy the most hilarious, most misplaced joke that came out of the assembly – courtesy of Umno Youth information chief Reezal Merican Naina Merican, who said Umno is the party chosen by God to liberate the chosen land of Malaysia.
 
Woweee! This is fresh! This is creative! This is … divine!
 
He even said God's chosen people are the Malays living in Malaysia.
 
But hang on! Doesn't "God's chosen people" traditionally refer to the Israelites? And the chosen land to the Nation of Israel? Jews, baby!
 
Did Reezal make a boo-boo in associating with the enemy? Was he even aware of it?
 
He said God is the true authority over all governments, the giver of power to those that He has chosen, so he must believe that Umno-BN will win the next general election. But what if it doesn't? Will he stop believing in God?
 
What kooky thinking! Here's something Adnan could learn from in terms of the English language – an example of hyperbole.
 
Reezal was probably trying to outdo his Umno Youth boss, Khairy Jamaluddin, by waxing so hyperbolic. The day before, Khairy quoted from Winston Churchill's famous speeches in his call to fight Pakatan Rakyat, but he obviously went overboard.
 
He was comparing the next general election to World War Two. But come on la, brudder, they're not the same la.
 
While Churchill's "we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets" and "we will continue hand in hand like comrades and brothers until every vestige of the Nazi regime has been beaten into the ground" are inspiring, Khairy's "we will debate them in Parliament, we will smash their arguments in coffee shops, we will expose their lies in cyberspace … we will lay this wretched Pakatan coalition into the ground!" sounds terribly frivolous. Schoolboyish even. 
 
The scary thing about all this comedy is that among the people spewing this rubbish are holders of high public office, and that some of the Umno Youth upstarts may one day become ministers.
 
Even outside of the general assembly, you get the Chief Minister of Melaka, Ali Rustam, accusing Singapore of interfering in Malaysian politics simply because the briefing by French lawyers on the Scorpene investigations in France were recently held there.
 
Worse, last week Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad disparaged the name of French lawyer William Bourdon by changing it to "Bodoh" (stupid). The jury may have no difficulty in deciding who was being "bodoh" in this case, but it showed the level of class and intellectuality among our so-called leaders.
 
It is the level of intellectuality that comes from decades of playing to the gallery, of pandering to the masses who have been deliberately manipulated to remain politically immature and intellectually challenged through being provided sub-standard education. And so to reach out to these masses, our so-called leaders appeal to the lowest common denominator.
 
They are the avatars of "the devil we know" – the phrase Mahathir Mohamad recently coined to describe Umno-BN – and they often exhibit the worst characteristics of politicians. The crucial question is: Do we want these types to continue leading the country? Do we want them to be the chosen ones, i.e. chosen by us? At the coming general election, do we vote them in – again?
 
All I can say is, God help us if we do.
 
 
* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians, available in bookstores together with its Malay translation, Jangan Kelentong Lagi, Kita Semua Orang Malaysia.

 

PM Najib, words are sounds, example is thunder

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 07:56 AM PST

http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s720x720/18103_298084450309453_680508352_n.jpg

 

If he wants to, he has the power and authority to get to the bottom of this fiasco and find out what is the real problem. It is high time that he puts his foot down firmly on the issue if BNM is still grappling to find fault with GM. If there is any fault, BNM would have found it already by now.  

 

Dee Casey 

 

As I spent the afternoon reading Savana Sim's latest posting on 1st December 2012 (commemorating exactly the second month since the controversial raid by BNM on GM) with the article titled "Misfeasance in Malaysia" (http://on.fb.me/UypHFL) ... my thoughts shifted to PWTC where our PM, Najib Razak and his fellow UMNO members enter the final weekend to the UMNO's General Assembly making fiery speeches to exert their presence and relevance. The PM, undoubtedly now busy chasing for the critical mandate needed from both his party generally and members of the public particularly for the power to lead the country on for the next five years.

 

He has made numerous promises to the people of this country and hence we all seen his slogan "Janji Ditepati" magnified (literally) to gigantic size everywhere. Of course he can afford to make all sorts of promises and make good some of them. After all, he is the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and also the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development. Indeed he is a man who holds vast powers and hence we look up to him as a man with integrity and conviction to keep to his words and deeds.

 

With this still in mind, I have gathered together some of his quotes which he made along the way since becoming PM:

 

"I urge us to rise to the challenge of building a 1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now." (April 3: On assuming office as the sixth prime minister);

 

"Umno should be seen, regarded and trusted as a party that is capable of looking after the lot of the people. Umno cannot be seen as a party which is only passionate about struggling for the interest of a small group. Instead, we want Umno to be seen, felt and fully trusted as a party that is inclusive and that puts the interests of the people before personal interests. Therefore, the perception that Umno is a party for people to "cari makan" (earn a living) must be erased and discarded." (15/10: maiden speech as Umno president in conjunction with the 2009 Umno General Assembly);

 

"I have to make a decision in the interests of the BN. I am not merely the president of Umno; I am also the chairman of the BN. I am the prime minister not only for the Malays; I am the prime minister for all Malaysians." (1/11: opening Gerakan national Delegates' conference);

 

"We will change for the better. I give you the commitment; we will change for the better. But I ask (that it should be) not only me. Do not just look at the prime minister; we all must reflect the change. We must be like the train. (When) the train is moving … it cannot be the locomotive alone … everybody else must work together." (1/11: opening Gerakan national delegates);

 

"I have been saying privately, but I might as well say it publicly, that the thing I liked about President Bush's foreign policy is that he was very pro-free trade. Frankly I don't like the other policies, but I like his policy on free trade." (14/11: panel session at the Apec CEO Summit 2009);

 

"The era of government knows best is over";

 

"We have to innovate. No nation can be successful unless they are involved in innovative and creative activities";

 

"The world is changing quickly and we must be ready to change with it or risk being left behind." (30 March 2010: unveiling of the NEM); and

 

"Don't worry" (19 October 2012: PM's assurances to Genneva Malaysia Gold buyers).

 

In trying to hammer in his pitch for the New Economic Model (http://bit.ly/UyAujj) to the public and to achieve the transformation needed, Najib said there were eight strategic reform initiatives that would be focused on:

  1. Re-energising the private sector to lead growth;
  2. Developing a quality workforce and reducing dependency on foreign labour;
  3. Creating a competitive domestic economy;
  4. Strengthening the public sector;
  5. Putting in place transparent and market-friendly affirmative action;
  6. Building knowledge based infrastructure;
  7. Enhancing the sources of growth; and
  8. Ensuring sustainability of growth.

PM Najib has called for Malaysians to be innovative, to stop playing safe and come out to be real entrepreneurs. We have seen people like Tony Fernandez of Air Asia doing just that when he emerged starting from scratch. Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd has done exactly that as well and the company has rapidly grown by leaps and bounds since then. What Genneva had accomplished would have put to shame any other home grown entrepreneur wished for under the umbrella of the government's Economic Transformation Programme (http://etp.pemandu.gov.my/)

 

PM Najib was on the correct path when he advocated for the right to free trade and free entreprise. Sir, to don a laissez faire outfit, your leadership is required so that you are able reign in and put a check to all your men in the hierarchy of bureaucracy. No one in the government should be allowed to stifle the free market at his whims and fancy unless for a very good reason. In any abuse of the system such as that in the case of Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd (GM), it is grossly unfair to all concerned, even to the nation.

 

Of the eight strategic reform initiatives which PM Najib has talked about, GM can already fit into at least five of them, those being as follows:

  1. GM belongs to the private sector and it is contributing to and doing its part to chip in to the government's agenda calling for this sector to lead growth (in the area of gold trading);
  2. GM has developed a quality workforce nationwide, training skillful staff and consultants to handle gold trading and GM is the only one in the industry that has effectively put in place the government's aim of reducing dependency on foreign labour and yet achieving high income status within its community.
  3. GM is not only creating but actively pursuing and contributing vibrantly to the domestic economy;
  4. GM is not only enhancing but actively tapping into sources of growth in the gold industry; and
  5. GM is ensuring the sustainability of growth by combining forces as a regional player in the gold industry.

Turning the spotlight back to PM Najib, he is the Finance Minister. BNM is under the purview of his ministry. If he wants to, he has the power and authority to get to the bottom of this fiasco and find out what is the real problem. It is high time that he puts his foot down firmly on the issue if BNM is still grappling to find fault with GM. If there is any fault, BNM would have found it already by now. There is no more reason or excuse to dilly-dally.

 

PM Najib, don't let a few civil servants dictate to you what you should or should not do. It is time for you to call a spade a spade. We Gennevians look up to you and truly hope that you say what you mean and mean what you say. So when you say "don't worry" many if not all will hold you to that promise. After all, it is only you who coined the slogan "Janji Ditepati".

 

**Note from Admin: No permission required to re-post this in any media.

 

Misfeasance in Malaysia

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 07:52 AM PST

Savana Sim

 

For the first time in the annals of the country an investigation by the authorities against a private limited liability company has drawn such a massive and united support for the company. Not one single sustainable complaint has been made by anyone claiming to have suffered at the hands of the company. This is indeed a historical and dramatic phenomenon.

Consider these figures:

  • Sixty thousand plus (60,000+) people have bought gold from Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd (GM)
  • There are about six thousand (6,000+) consultants.
  • The GM supporters on Facebook have drawn nearly five million (5,000,000) readers. These are inclusive of local and global visitors to the site.
  • The odds of each of the above 66,000 people having four or five friends, relatives and dependents multiplies the directly involved to nearly 400,000 bodies. And these can geometrically multiply, especially to the young and impressionable voters of tomorrow.

The most amazing feature of this situation is the remarkable silence of those who have an opportunity to speak up for a good cause. Good men need to stand up. So far there has been none except perhaps one, albeit retired. Surely the reverence owed to this voice of wisdom needs some serious attention.

 

The more exasperating (and helpless) is the media frenzy that has GM convicted even before the alleged speedy investigations are completed, allowing publications of articles based on half truths, incorrect facts and innuendos that boggles one's imagination.

 

Does not this situation cry for an explanation? Is the dictatorship of the civil service to be a feature of the future of the country? Does one have to resort to the expensive and drawn out remedies that the courts offer as the only resort? Why are none of our elected representatives coming to the aid of the GM community? Perhaps they have not familiarized themselves with all the facts. Perhaps what follows may assist in their understanding the situation more accurately.

 

Historical Facts

  1. GM has obtained written approval from the Ministry of Domestic Trade to buy and sell Gold.
  2. A letter from Bank Negara stating that gold trading and gold as an asset does not come under the purview of BNM.
  3. GM conducts AMLA seminars with mandatory attendance, a compulsory prerequisite for an individual to be accepted as a consultant.
  4. Adherence to the principles of Syariah has been approved, policed and audited by the relevant Syariah authorities.
  5. It was the GM management and The Gold Bullion Entrepreneurs Association of Malaysia (GBEAM) that sought guidelines for the gold trade from the deputy finance Minister as a result of which a task force was established.
  6. Correspondence with the Prime Mister's office resulted in the PM instructing the Governor of BMN to look into gold trade business.

Current Facts

  1. Not a single case of default in the delivery of physical gold, payment of Hibah or commissions has been lodged anywhere against GM – a record that was only interrupted abruptly by the raid on GM by the authorities.
  2. The raid was on "suspicion" but there was no explanation whatsoever of the basis fro this alleged suspicion. Could this absence of explanation be because there is none?
  3. All GM personnel have been interviewed ad nauseam and have responded to all enquiries made by the investigators in the first week of October 2012.
  4. To date there has been no cause, claim or disclosure of any contravention of any law by GM. Only total silence.
  5. One person of high rank and in authority has claimed that a figure of ten billion Ringgit is involved. This figure has been pulled out of a hat as there is no basis at all for this claim. It is too preposterous to merit a denial but an untruth like this cannot be left uncorrected.
  6. Another official has claimed in Parliament that the seizure of assets in the case of Genneva Sdn Bhd was to protect the public while investigations are being completed. It is four years since and the saga is still ongoing. In the case of GM the public is not being protected but rather being made to suffer "whilst investigations are being speedily completed". Nearly two months have vanished and the "speedily" is not so speedy after all.
  7. Obviously the raid was planned and preordained because media representatives were already at the offices of GM even before the raiding party arrived.
  8. Why the need to seize assets, office operational material and computer equipment if it is only a question of investigations – that too based on suspicion?

Obvious Inferences

  1. Somebody cried wolf and everybody jumped onto the wagon without any care or concern for the consequences and the affect it would have on the lives and livelihood of nearly 66,000 people.
  2. Apparently the authorities did not take into consideration how massive and total the support would be for GM but proved to be real, huge and dramatic.
  3. This case has drawn global attention not only in reference to this case but has instigated the global society look at all the negatives in this country. This unwarranted grim perception of the country is self inflicted.
  4. For the people of GM these have been trying times but because of GM's past performance all have remained loyal. That so many people remain loyal cannot be without good reason. GM has performed and delivered. Surely so many cannot be all wrong.
  5. The entire Genneva community is also waiting to see who their friends are and who their enemies are. Fence sitters and neutrals must understand that now is the time, if at all, to speak up – be it for or against. Once the outcome is known, then it will be too late to take sides.
  6. Huge numbers of people have been able to generate economic wealth, change their life styles, support children at school, cater for retirement and old age, meet medical expenses and cost of living. It is these people who are most affected. For all those who preach plaudits about concern for the Rakyat, their welfare, justice and fair play, now is the time and the opportunity to stand up and be counted.
  7. Does the conduct of the GM management display the characteristics of a group of people intent on running the operations legitimately or does it show a conspiracy to hit, loot and run away?

Expectations

  1. If GM has not violated any known law, is it not right and just to announce this fact to the public and allow GM to resume operations, if for no other reason but to settle and assuage the concerns of all existing customers and consultants?
  2. If no law is violated why the public must be made to suffer for the misjudgement and baseless suspicions of over enthusiastic civil servants?
  3. Is it too much to expect the often self-claimed politicians who constantly claim to be champions of the Rakyat speak up for the GM community?
  4. If the authorities are in earnest about the trade being operated properly why this crucifixion of good people? Instead why not complete the investigations speedily as promised, issue appropriate guidelines and let the GM community get on with their lives?

 

UPDATE - Eye-witnesses report: The three government departments came in petrol cars 1:40pm. Reporters started from 2:50pm onwards. GMSB lawyer came about 3:25pm. More reporters arrive at about 4:10pm. Lawyer left 6:20pm. TV crews came 10+pm. Gold carted close to midnight.

— Genneva Malaysia Supporters

 

 

 

Please inform your Member of Parliament. Contact numbers and email, http://bit.ly/WW7KUa

• Read Genneva Gold 101 for Dummies - http://on.fb.me/UHMz3L

• For Genneva Critics Reading Pleasure - http://on.fb.me/V5Gjkq

• More Notes - http://on.fb.me/VegfUE

 

— Genneva Malaysia Supporters

http://www.facebook.com/GennevaMalaysiaSupporters

 

Karpal: Pakatan can be wrong too

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 12:07 AM PST

(The Star) - The DAP must speak up when Pakatan Rakyat does something wrong, said party chairman Karpal Singh.

He cited the recent demolition of a Hindu altar in a house in Taman Seroja in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi last week and the Kelantan municipal council by-laws prohibiting women from cutting men's hair in the state, saying both were wrong.

"The DAP's principles since its early days remain intact. We must point out when Pakatan is wrong," he said.

Describing the Sepang Municipal Council (MPSP)'s action to demolish the altar as a "complete abuse of power", Karpal said Pakatan must be sensitive to what is dear to the people.

He said Pakatan must not make mistakes and provide Barisan Nasional with "cannon fodder" to attack it.

"I've taken off my coat and I'm ready for battle. There's no doubt in my mind that we will retain Penang and win back Perak," he declared.

Karpal, who is the Bukit Gelugor MP, "guaranteed" that the DAP would defend and win 19 state seats.

"We have high hopes that PKR will win more than nine seats with PAS holding on to what it has (in Penang)," he said at the party's annual state convention here on Sunday.

In his speech, state party chief Chow Kon Yeow said the Malays would remain in power (in their own land) if Pakatan took over Putrajaya.

He said the coming general election was the most important for the country as it would determine the nation's future direction.

"The latest prediction is that Barisan will win 120 seats compared to 100 to Pakatan if the election is held now.

"We are ready to face Umno and Barisan but we must use the coming 50 to 100 bonus days' to double our efforts," he said.

He warned that Islamic issues such as calls for PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to be the prime minister if Pakatan comes into power, must be handled well.

The debates at Sunday's meeting saw the proposal for DAP to adopt a one-man one-seat policy being fiercely debated by its delegates.

Taman Alma DAP branch head David Marshall, who is also DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) executive council member, said central executive committee (CEC) should not prevent party leaders from discussing the policy.

"The state committee members should explain their stand on the issue," he said.

In a hastily staged press conference later, Chow said the policy had been raised numerous times in the CEC and national congress.

"CEC will table a resolution on the policy during the 16th National Congress to enable delegates to decide on whether to endorse or otherwise on this matter," he explained.

 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 9)

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 07:17 PM PST

My father now had no choice but to buy me that motorcycle he had promised me. And I became the 'King of the Road'. My father received countless complaints from the police and I crashed 12 times during the first two years. My father was so pissed he told me if I want to race then go race in the Malaysian Grand Prix. And in 1968 I did, with my father as my 'pit crew' and timekeeper.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I had my first girlfriend when I was nine. Well, it was not actually a girlfriend in the hold-hands sort of way. It was more like I would hand her a love letter in class and she would hand it to the teacher.

If you were to ask me when I would consider as my most embarrassing moment in life, I would probably have to reply that that would be when my teacher showed my love letter to another teacher and they both looked at me and giggled.

I was in the Alice Smith School at that time (then behind the Agong's palace and near NAAFI) and the girl of my dream was Sarah Chin. Alice Smith was a Kwailo school and there were only three Asians in that school, two Chinese and one Chap Chong Kui, me.

Invariably, my parents were informed about my 'indiscretion'. I still remember the beam on my father's face as he told my mother, "That's my son," and she responded with, "A chip of the old block, for sure."

It was then that I received my first lesson in philosophy: right and wrong are subjective and mere perceptions.

Actually, my father was more buddy than dad to me. For example, when I raced in my first Grand Prix in 1968 (the Malaysian Grand Prix), my father was my timekeeper. As I did my practice laps, he would record each lap with a stopwatch.

In another incident, my class teacher in VI (Victoria Institution), Miss Siew, who also taught us English, complained to my father that every day I sleep in class. There was not a single day she did not catch me sleeping.

My father came home to tell me about the meeting he had with Miss Siew and about her complaint regarding me perpetually sleeping in class all day long. "Miss Siew is so pretty," said my father, "I just can't understand how you can sleep when she teaches."

I never did understand the relationship between the first part of that statement and the second part.

When I took Marina (now my wife) out on our first date, my father chauffeured the car to take us to the dance (since I was only 17 and did not yet have a driving licence -- although I already had a motorcycle licence). He insisted that I sit behind with Marina, who was then 14, like how it should be when you are chauffeur-driven to a dance and are on your first date.

He then fetched us after the dance and when we reached Marina's house in Brickfields he stopped the car on the corner and did not drive right up to the house.

Marina got out of the car and after the usual exchange of pleasantries she was about to close the car door and walk off when my father said to me, "You are not going to allow her to walk all alone are you? Go walk her to the door."

I was too dumb to realise that my father was giving us some privacy so that I could attempt a good night kiss or something like that. It did puzzle me at first as to why he stopped the car so far from the house.

Anyway, I was not really too interested in girls after that very embarrassing disaster involving the love letter. My real passion was motorcycles.

I rode my first motorcycle when I was ten, a Honda Cub 50cc. This was when I visited my grandfather during the school holidays, who was then the Governor of Penang. I blasted down the Residency grounds and my grandfather was furious. He called motorcyclists 'temporary citizens', probably meaning they die too early.

I kept bugging my father to buy me a motorcycle and after constant nagging he said he would get me one only if I were to pass my LCE (form three) exams. I don't think he expected me to pass my LCE exams because the headmaster, Murugesu, had written in my report card 'the least likely to succeed'. Furthermore, other than perpetually sleeping in class, I failed all my monthly tests and trial exams

When the results came out and were displayed on the notice board, my father scanned through the list of 'fails' but could not find my name. He then looked at the 'C' list and still could not find my name. The 'B' list also did not reveal my name.

"Did you sit for the exam or not?" my father asked me. I then asked him to look at the 'A' list and he gave a grunt that sounded like 'hmph' or something like that. However, lo and behold, my name was on the 'A' list.

"How the hell did you do that?" my father asked, "Did you cheat?" He could not understand how, from primary school right up to form three, my school reports were so bad and yet I passed both my 11-plus (standard six) and LCE exams and got 'A' on both occasions.

It was then that my father probably realised that I was not one for academic excellence but put me through the test and I will sail through with very little effort.

My father now had no choice but to buy me that motorcycle he had promised me. And I became the 'King of the Road'. My father received countless complaints from the police and I crashed 12 times during the first two years. My father was so pissed he told me if I want to race then go race in the Malaysian Grand Prix. And in 1968 I did, with my father as my 'pit crew' and timekeeper.

In 1968 I was already 'going steady' with Marina and she refused to support me or go see me race. In fact, she was very angry with my father for encouraging me. When I crashed and broke my left wrist my father drove to Marina's house to inform her that I was in the University Hospital.

Marina refused to go see me in hospital and my father had to beg her, "Please lah. He is in great pain. Go visit him in hospital." Marina finally agreed but only so that she could gloat and tell me, "I told you so." Until today, "I told you so" is my favourite phrase, in case many of you have not realised this by now.

Marina was fiercely anti-motorcycle. It took a year before she would agree to climb onto the back of my motorcycle. She realised that to love me means you have to also love my motorcycle. Our wedding vows were probably the only one that went "To love, honour and obey Raja Petra Kamarudin and his motorcycle and till death do you part."

I suppose Marina's main concern was that the 'till death do you part' part of that vow may come earlier than planned if you only know two speeds -- full speed and full stop.

Actually, Marina and I met quite accidentally, almost literally, when I almost knocked her down with my motorcycle. I was tearing down the road at full speed and she was running across the road to catch her school bus. I hit the brakes and skidded while missing her by inches. She let fly with a few choice four-letter words (and I don't mean U-M-N-O) and I shouted, "Stupid girl! Nak mati ke?"

I suppose most people will relate their story of love at first sight while ours was love at first fight.

TO BE CONTINUED

 

Najib: Dr M still watches over me

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 04:45 PM PST

Zurairi AR, The Malaysian Insider

Datuk Seri Najib Razak appeared today to admit that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad still wields a strong influence over the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, pointing out that the country's longest serving prime minister is "watching over him".

While launching the People's Progressive Party (PPP) annual general meeting (AGM) here, Najib congratulated Dr Mahathir for Vision 2020, a blueprint for Malaysia to reach the status of a developed nation which was launched by the latter in 1991.

"He got the easy task, (but) I got the difficult task," the Najib joked.

"He announced ... made the vision, (but) I had to fill up his vision. Because he's still watching over me."

Dr Mahathir was also mentioned by PPP president Datuk Seri M Kayveas in his opening address, who thanked the former prime minister for his contribution to the nation.

Kayveas described Dr Mahathir as a "priceless pearl" and the architect of modern Malaysia, whom he credited for PPP's rise to relevance.

"It is not wrong for me to say PPP was given recognition and solid support during Tun's time until it became a stable party (up) from the dark ages," Kayveas told the hall filled with around 4,000 PPP members here.

Buoyed by praise from Najib and Kayveas, Dr Mahathir emerged from the event today boasting that BN would snap up the two-thirds parliamentary majority it is gunning to win in the next polls.

"I think today we could see PPP for example ... the spirit is very good," Dr Mahathir told reporters on the sidelines of the PPP assembly today.

"You can see it, you can feel it. I'm sure we'll do much better than the last (election), and we may even get the two-thirds majority."

The veteran statesman has remained in the public eye since his exit from the forefront of Umno politics in October 2003, but has been more prominent in the spotlight of late, seemingly in his attempt to shore up support for BN ahead of the polls.

But the outspoken Dr Mahathir has made it known that he was campaigning to keep Umno and BN alive, even though it meant trumpeting policies by Najib that he has oftentimes admitted he disagreed with.

Opposition leaders have been criticising Umno and Najib for fearing Dr Mahathir's influence and therefore, refusing to shut him up, and have warned that the former prime minister's sometimes radical remarks may frighten off Najib's middle ground support.

Critics also have pointed to Dr Mahathir's apparent endorsement for Malay right-wing group Perkasa, oftentimes described as an outlet for Umno conservatives to spew pro-Malay and pro-Islam extremism, which has been curbed in the party, as Najib tries to garner centrist votes.

Dr Mahathir's influence in Umno has been seen as just the right balance that Najib needs to keep Umno's conservative bloc of supporters in BN's fold.

As such, Najib has not once criticised Dr Mahathir, likely learning from his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's past.

READ MORE HERE

 

Musa Hassan’s motives

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 04:37 PM PST

Some notable retired senior officers have joined PAS, including former Bukit Aman CID chief Fauzi Shaari, former chief secretary for the ministry of land and cooperative development Nik Zain Nik Yusof, former solicitor-general Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, and former TUDM officer Mohd Nazari Mokhtar.

Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily

The policy speech by the Umno president at the annual general assembly is often a kind of political show the entire nation closely watches. Unfortunately, this year's show has been hijacked by former IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

Even as Najib Razak hit out hard at Pakatan Rakyat and tabulated the accomplishments of the Barisan Nasional government, Musa Hassan's shocking revelation has nevertheless exposed the administrative weaknesses of our government agencies.

Musa Hassan is no ordinary retired civil servant, and as such the government should seriously consider setting up an independent panel to probe his accusations which must not be downplayed as immaterial or be trifled with.

If Musa Hassan's accusation that politicians have intervened in police affairs is true, the operation of the police force will be adversely affected and its integrity eroded.

The police force is tasked with the responsibility of keeping the social order intact and, therefore, must exercise its professionalism to achieve this in the absence of political intervention.

Musa said when the police were about to arrest some heavyweight suspects, they would often receive calls from those in power.

If the country's laws cannot be justly upheld, how do we expect the public to have faith in our law enforcement?

The Malaysian police force should be an unbiased enforcement institution. If it fails to operate independently, it would be very difficult for it to carry out its duties during the upcoming general election.

Musa Hassan also exposed links between senior police officers and illegal gangs, an accusation that would jeopardise the integrity of the police force.

When police discipline is involved, things will suddenly become very sensitive.

Because of Musa Hassan's previous objection to the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), the issue of police misconduct remains unresolved to this day.

The MACC investigations and subsequent charges against Musa Hassan and former CID chief Ramli Yusof are nothing we can be proud of. The police force must strive to improve its image instead of persistently rejecting supervision.

If a split takes place at the top ranks of the police force, how do we expect them to set a good example for their subordinates?

Thirdly, Musa Hassan also queried the reliability of the police's crime data, and this has begun to arouse public suspicion.

Well familiar with the modus operandi of the police force, Musa Hassan highlighted the fact that some police officers have resorted to converting unresolved cases to "no further action" cases in a bid to achieve the government's crime reduction targets.

Without true and genuine figures, the minister will be kept in the dark and thus wrongly assess the actual crime situation in the country.

This August, the Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) received a letter said to be from an anonymous police officer making the same accusations. As such, it is imperative that the police's crime figures be appraised by an independent third party institution with the hope the root cause of the problem could be identified.

Fourthly, why do some senior civil servants continue to slam the government after their retirement?

Some notable retired senior officers have joined PAS, including former Bukit Aman CID chief Fauzi Shaari, former chief secretary for the ministry of land and cooperative development Nik Zain Nik Yusof, former solicitor-general Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, and former TUDM officer Mohd Nazari Mokhtar.

The BN government has been taking very good care of our civil servants; the defection by any of them could deal a serious blow on Umno.

 

PAS should accept public rejection of its puritanism

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 04:26 PM PST

Even more troubling is that both parties failed to rebut firmly such proposed interference by PAS. Far from blaming Barisan Nasional for raising these embarrassments to Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition must look within itself to make peace with modern social realities, particularly as a general election approaches.

The Star

ALL sane and responsible people understand the need to live by certain ethical values and moral standards. Malaysians, generally, have never been an "anything goes" people.

But at the same time, many of us also realise that these values and standards tend to be subjective, being personal or communal in scope, limits and interpretation. All modern societies are heterogeneous spaces with myriad tastes and expressions, afforded between the rights of citizens and the laws of the land.

However much we may sometimes wish to see our values and standards apply throughout society, beyond what is commonly provided for by societal consensus and existing laws, formal codes that set the limits still need to undergo due process in being fashioned by enlightened minds and fettled by mature policymakers.

That means we must avoid imposing our values and standards on others beyond what is deemed acceptable by society at large. When imposition involves political application, and more so the actualisation of a particular group's supposed norms on the whole country, we need to be doubly circumspect.

That is why the PAS edict in Kelantan barring hairdressers of one gender from attending to clients of another is so troubling. The worst is assumed in the business relationship between all vendors and customers without any basis whatsoever, incurring business losses to many innocent parties through unjust fines and unwarranted prohibitions.

Such unreasonable strictures apply on various fronts, including entertainment and sports. At the recent PAS party conference, there was self-criticism over a perceived failure to "set policies" for PKR and DAP on these issues.

Even more troubling is that both parties failed to rebut firmly such proposed interference by PAS. Far from blaming Barisan Nasional for raising these embarrassments to Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition must look within itself to make peace with modern social realities, particularly as a general election approaches.

PAS has ventured overzealously into similar issues before and had been rejected roundly by the people. It should accept the unpopularity of its stand and seek to revise it, renounce it or just forget it.

We understand that PAS now wants to press the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry for tighter curbs on future music concerts. It should try an independently monitored referendum on the subject instead, and see how the public respond.

 

Deepak: I will not be silenced

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 04:13 PM PST

However, the carpet trader says he agreed to "sit still" for the last day of the Umno AGM after a meeting with a high-ranking Umno supreme council member.

Teoh El Sen, FMT

Deepak Jaikishan claimed that there was an attempt by a high ranking Umno man to 'silence' him following the various the interviews the carpet trader has given in the past few days.

Late Friday night, Deepak said he received a call by a "senior Umno supreme council member" asking him to meet at the Grand Dorsett Hotel in Subang. The man, who he refused to name, seemed aggressive, Deepak claimed.

Deepak said that he subsequently agreed to meet the person, but brought along some extra protection for his safety.

The meeting was also attended by a few pro-government bloggers, and Deepak said he was told not to make any more noise, at least until the end of the Umno AGM which was yesterday.

"They told me that I am under surveillance…I was given a caution because yesterday was their closing ceremony. They practically warned me not to have a press conference until they finish their convention," he told FMT.

"I told them you cannot stop me from having press conferences… even if I have to go to the Istana Negara, I would do it. If they really force me… I would go in front of the palace and petition the King lah," he said.

However, Deepak said he agreed to "give due respect" and cancelled all his media interviews he had lined up for Saturday.

He added that he originally thought he would be in danger but when he met the Umno man, "they were very civil".

When asked to reveal the names of the individuals he met, Deepak said:"Oh, then I'll be in serious trouble. Then it would be messy." But he added:"I'm not afraid. If I am afraid I wouldn't have come this far. I'm not under any political umbrella or anything."

Asked if he was offered anything for his cooperation, Deepak said:" They offered me nothing. This is not something I would negotiate."

He said that he would be giving more press conferences to explain things in full soon.

Fall-out with Najib's family

In the past week, Deepak has resurfaced after a period of silence, giving several media interviews in which he claimed he regretted getting private investigator P Balasubramaniam to retract his first statutory declaration (SD) concerning murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

READ MORE HERE

 

'Love for Umno should be instilled among children at home'

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 10:32 AM PST

(Bernama) - The strong feeling of love for Umno should be instilled among the children at home so that they would not be influenced by the ploys used by the opposition especially in the increasingly challenging political environment.

For Mohd Razali Ahmad, 58, a member from the Lenggong Umno division in Perak, he had adopted this concept for so long that all his five children had become Umno members and their confidence in the party would not be shaken even if they were 'baited' by the opposition.  

Mohd Razali said he had introduced Umno to his children, aged between 18 and32, when they were still small.    

"Let's not talk to them about Umno when they are already teenagers. Umno must be introduced at home.  

"When they think about Umno, then they will ask...what is Umno? We respond by saying...Umno is the United Malay National Organisation...Umno has been championing the Malay cause right from the start," he said.  

"This is what we want to teach, we talk about Umno, this is the Umno struggle...this is Umno, that is Umno, so that they will love Umno. But if we never mention about Umno at all in our house, how can they love Umno?" he said.  

"If they go out to pursue higher studies anywhere, the early exposure that we have given them about Umno will certainly remind them about the party. Let others come and talk about anything, they will eventually come back to the struggles of their parents and grandparents. They will love Umno," he said.  

Meanwhile, a mother of three, Zadariah Ismail, 59, said she had always reminded her three children, aged between 28 and 37, on the Umno struggles for the Malays.  

"We have to remind our children of our struggles in the past because our children are now living in comfort.   

"Sometimes I feel sad...really sad. I tell my children that they must remember...without the present government, they may not become what they are today," she said, adding that all her children were now Umno members.


Tough for Umno to move as one, analysts say

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 10:26 AM PST

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/01/najibumno1130b.jpg 

(The Malaysian Insider) - Umno's faithful broke from their final pre-polls huddle last night clearly spirited and re-energised but there was little they gained from the four-day meet, analysts have said, noting that the assembly witnessed nothing more than chest-thumping and finger-pointing rhetoric from party delegates.

The only significant takeaway from the assembly for those in attendance, however, was party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak's unity message last night and his repeated reminders for members to stay united and to point their knives outward ― towards the enemy ― rather than at internal rivals.

It was a message that was driven home to the hilt, particularly with the country hurtling so quickly forward to the next general election, which must be called by next April.

"We must say, declare with loud voices that... even if I am not chosen, I will fully support the candidate chosen by Umno and [Barisan Nasional]," the prime minister had said in his closing speech at Umno's 66th general assembly.

A loud chorus of approval came in response, and shouts of "Can!" rocked the cavernous Dewan Merdeka here as delegates clambered to declare their unity.

But their enthusiasm and the tears of emotion that poured down some faces when Najib led them into prayer later, may not be enough for Umno to score the win it so badly needs at the ballot boxes.

For one, although Najib and his team have been working tirelessly to transform and reinvent Umno in the past four years, it is difficult to say if the party's grassroots, who form the majority of its over three million members, have followed in the party president's steps.

This was most apparent during the assembly, when party delegates employed the same opposition-bashing tactics of past meets, despite Najib's advice to offer fresh ideas for the future, instead of dwell on past mistakes.

In his policy speech when opening the assembly, Najib had said that Malaysia's voter demographics had changed radically over the past few decades and the youth now made up a significant portion of the electorate.

He told delegates that voters today are a more discerning, critical and technology-savvy bunch who would want to see what the government could offer for their future instead of reminisce on past successes.

But Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) political analyst Professor Datuk Dr Mohammad Agus Yusoff told The Malaysian Insider that despite this clear message from Najib, there was little mentioned during debates on future reforms and fresh policies that the BN lynchpin could offer the future generation of Malaysians.

"From the news, (I) see no direction taken; I only saw endless criticisms against the opposition," he said.

The academician agreed that this was clear indication that while Najib and his team of leaders have taken giant leaps forward in their transformational process, much of the party remained behind.

"The assembly this time did not bring forward the transformation in Umno that the president has promised.

"The hall was merely filled with sentiments and emotion," Agus added.

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/tough-for-umno-to-move-as-one-analysts-say 

 

Best to get it over with fast

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 10:21 AM PST

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2010/3/12/business/p5-wongchunwai.JPG

No one should complain about the campaigning period being limited because the reality is that since the 2008 general election, where Barisan lost its two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat, both Barisan and Pakatan Rakyat have been busy campaigning. Everything has been seen to be political since then and no one has been spared. 

Wong Chun Wai, The Star 

Most of us now expect the general election to take place in March. Hopefully, we can then all get back to some sanity and not waste time on silly political antics.

I KNOW most of us would have said this of the past few years: The year has passed on really fast. But seriously, this year has REALLY gone by fast. Just a few weeks from now, another year will be over.

Everything seems to have just zapped past our eyes and it's frightening because I can still remember vividly the parties I attended during the festive seasons.

The only thing that has not happened is the general election. For many, lives seemed to have been put on hold because of it.

There have been so many wrong predictions, postponed vacations, cancelled meetings and false starts. Our plans have been disrupted in many ways.

The next popular date now is some time in March, which is based on the assumption that the Prime Minister would seek the dissolution of Parliament after the Chinese New Year celebration, which begins on Feb 10.

There isn't much time left because the Barisan Nasional term ends on April 28, which means that by the next two months, the momentum for the elections should be peaking.

No one should complain about the campaigning period being limited because the reality is that since the 2008 general election, where Barisan lost its two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat, both Barisan and Pakatan Rakyat have been busy campaigning.

Everything has been seen to be political since then and no one has been spared. Even badminton hero Datuk Lee Chong Wei found himself the target of a Tweeter attack from a mindless DAP politician who was apparently cheering for his Chinese opponent Lin Dan.

Lee also found himself being belittled by supporters of Pakatan Rakyat on Facebook because of his wedding plans. As it was his wedding, he had the right to decide who he wanted to invite and who he wanted to sit with. Even his big day was the target of incredulous political connotations.

Then there is the Automated Enforcement System (AES) speed trap plan. That has become a political bombshell too. Strangely, no one from either side of the political divide has demanded that the police stop putting up roadblocks along the highways.

These roadblocks are irritating and give rise to suspicions of corruption. Most of us, especially those who claim to despise corruption, would want to end any perception that conversations in the middle of the road revolve around the "macam mana selesai" (how to resolve this) question. So, if you are not speeding or breaking any speed limit, why would you complain about the AES?

Going to church or the mosque can turn political too in this over-extended silly political season. If Barisan supporters find it painful listening to imam or pastors who seem to be inclined towards Pakatan Rakyat, the same must surely be felt by supporters of the latter who have to listen to a pro-Barisan preacher.

I believe those who advocate loudly about purported political consciousness in places of worship wouldn't be so enthusiastic if their preachers were inclined to Barisan in their sermons. But there shouldn't be different sets of rules.

Going for a haircut in a unisex salon can become political too if you are in Kelantan because the PAS-controlled state wants to impose its brand of religious fervour on the people.

Going gay has taken a different meaning now. Older Malaysians like me were taught that "going gay" means "being happy" but now it means adopting a certain sexual preference. For PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan, it can mean that you become "hedonistic and gay" after attending an Elton John concert.

And simply by questioning every concert coming to town with his political-­religious stance, Nasrudin has made it into the world news. Now, he is demanding that the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry consult him on any concert to be staged in Malaysia. Good luck to PAS supporters; he deserves your vote.

I wonder how he missed protesting against Jennifer Lopez who will be performing at Stadium Merdeka tonight. Maybe he does not find the Latino singer hot since he has already found the pencil-thin Avril Lavigne to be hot.

I really can't wait for 2013 to start. Hold the general election, accept the results and we can all get back to some sanity, focus on keeping businesses healthy in a softening economy and not waste time on silly political antics.

As an aside, I wonder why my wife questioned me suspiciously when I came back to my Petaling Jaya home before midnight after the concert. It was too early for me to be home, it seemed. And I looked and felt happy after a great concert.

I must not use the word gay, though. But I must remember to show her the clipping of the front page of The Singapore Free Press dated Aug 31, 1957. "A So Gay Merdeka Day" was its headline, and the subheading read, "Not even a heavy downpour could dampen their enthusiasm."

 

Empirical evidence: Top-secret colonial files missing in UK

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 10:05 AM PST

http://rt.com/files/news/britain-colonial-files-missing-024/ie77bf731ba40a06b33b26f77dfa9ba5b_4379047503_c7db021cd4_b-copy.n.jpg 

(RT) - Boxes containing top secret files about former British colonial rule have gone missing, with those relating to Singapore possibly destroyed. Declassified colonial Kenyan files earlier played a key role in proving the UK responsible for grave abuses.

Britain has admitted that it was aware that 170 boxes of files were transferred to Britain from former colonies. But the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister David Lidington said that the government did not know what had happened to the files afterwards.

"It remains the case that the FCO is still unable to confirm the existence or destruction of 170 boxes of top secret colonial administration files known to have been returned to the UK," Lidington told AFP.

"There is some evidence that the Singapore-related top secret colonial administration files were destroyed as part of a review of FCO post files in the 1990s."

The FCO is continuing the search for the files and any evidence relating to their possible destruction.

The revelation comes after files relating to British rule in Kenya and Cyprus were declassified, made public and played a key in a court case by three elderly Kenyans who say they were tortured during the British army's suppression of the 1950s Mau Mau Rebellion.

At the court hearing an archive of 8,800 secret files were examined. The released documents proved attempts by UK authorities to cover-up the killings of 11 prisoners during the uprising and showed that detainees had been battered to death by warders at the Hola detention camp.

A British court granted a historic victory to the three Kenyans, allowing them to claim damages for the suffered abuses when imprisoned during the Mau Mau uprising, including castration, beatings and severe sexual assaults.

The Kenyan case set a historical precedent and it is estimated that 2,000 other surviving Kenyans imprisoned during the Mau Mau insurgency can know sue the British government, which could have a significant consequences for the government.

Overall, Britain used to have total control over 50 colonies including Canada, India, Australia, Nigeria, and Jamaica. Currently, there are 14 British Overseas Territories that remain under British rule. However, all have their own internal leadership and most are self-governing.

 

Rosmah bakal dapat RM26 bilion dakwa Deepak

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 05:29 AM PST

(Harakah) - Deepak Jaikishan yakin, walaupun ramai calon Umno mempunyai peluang menang yang tinggi (Winnable candidate) tetapi dengan Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor yang menjadi penjaga golnya, Pakatan Rakyat mempunyai peluang cerah untuk menjaringkan gol.

"Tangannya penuh dengan bilion ringgit untuk ditangkap, jadi dia tidak mempunyai masa untuk menangkap bola yang ditendang masuk," kata Deepak dalam kenyataannya kepada media.

Atas dasar itu, Deepak bekas kawan baik Rosmah itu berkata, BN bakal gagal dalam pilihan raya ini.

Beliau menjangkakan, Pakatan akan mendapat 123 kerusi, BN 99 kerusi dan Rosmah akan mendapat RM26 bilion.

Deepak mengulas kes ini ketika mengulas ucapan perwakilan dari Kelantan yang mendakwa pasukan Red Warior di Kelantan akan menjadi contoh pengurusan Umno pimpinan Najib yang bakal menang dalam pilihan raya ini.

Ketika ditanya, di manakah beliau mendapat angka RM26 bilion tersebut, Deepak berkata, ia adalah hasil kiraan beliau berdasarkan projek yang melibatkan Rosmah.

"Saya membuat kiraan berdasarkan projek yang saya terlibat dan projek yang saya tahu dimiliki oleh dia," kata Deepak dalam satu kenyataanya malam tadi.

Deepak sebelum ini mendakwa beliau adalah rakan perniagaan Rosmah sebelum berbangkitnya kes Penyataan Bersumpah (SD) P Balasubramaniam.

Sejak kes P Bala, hubungan mereka bermasalah kerana beliau didakwa tidak menunaikan janji untuk menyelesaikan kes Bala.

Deepak berkata, dia hanya menolong kawan dalam kes itu bukannya terlibat secara langsung.

 

Jeffrey wants ‘Homeland Security’ for Sabah

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 05:23 AM PST

The state government should set up its own Homeland Security Division to fill in for the shortcomings of the federal agencies in protecting the people in Sabah.

Queville To, FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Police in Sabah are coming under increasing pressure to send a message to residents that their state is not going to be overrun by what is perceived to be the seedier elements of legal and illegal immigrants flooding the state.

The latest to rap the performance of the the police force over growing fears that crime has spiralled out of control in the state over the years is the Sabah chapter of the State Reform Party or STAR Sabah.

The opposition party which is gaining rapid grassroots support around the state has suggested that the state government should set up its own Homeland Security Division to fill in for the shortcomings of the federal agencies in protecting the people in Sabah.

Party chairman Jeffrey Kitingan made the provocative recommendation while speaking at the launching of its election canvassing unit in Kaingaran, on Saturday.

He was responding to the public furore over the alleged murder of Norikoh Saliwa, a 16-year-old student from Kota Marudu last Sunday.

Kitingan noted that the public outrage over the teenager's death was reflected in the torrent of postings on social network sites with the vast majority blaming Sabah's teeming population of immigrants.

The STAR Sabah chairman pointed out that one of the key factors which pushed Sabah to join with neighbour Sarawak and Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963 was the security threats from Indonesia and Philippines.

The idea being that being in the federation would provide better security for the state and its people.

"However, the federal agencies responsible for Sabah's security and borders have failed to live up to the people's expectations.

"Therefore, Sabah must have its own Homeland Security to ensure the better safety of its citizens and its borders in the wake of increasing crimes being committed by foreigners/illegal immigrants
against locals and the influx of illegal immigrants all over the state," he said.

READ MORE HERE

 

Wan Azizah should contest in Penang

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 05:20 AM PST

The PKR president should contest for a state seat as that would derail attempts by BN from playing up issues about marginalisation of Malay leaders by the DAP.

Amir Ali, FMT

Reports that PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be a candidate in the next general election is a hotly debated issue among the public.

Will she be a candidate or not? Where will she be a candidate to fight her way back into mainstream politics?

These are the main questions.

The answers are not easy to come by since it is not known where will she lean to in the end.

However, there may be a solution to the corny issue that might simply tame Umno as well as hunt them for the next five years.

Wan Azizah may well be a candidate for a state seat, rather than a parliamentary seat, and it should be in Penang.

There are already two members of the Anwar Ibrahim family who will contest in their respective parliamentary seats in the next general election – Anwar in Permatang Pauh and daughter Nurul Izzah in Lembah Pantai.

This leaves way for Wan Azizah to be a candidate for a state seat and Penang seems to be the best bet so far.

There is the possibility that the Malay voters in Penang may be giving some credence to the BN-Umno propaganda in Penang. The opposition should not allow any lapses in their campaigns and they may need a stalwart politician from the PKR to fend off this menace.

With this in mind, Pakatan Rakyat may as well allow Wan Azizah to contest in the state rather than Selangor – the two states reportedly interested in paving way for her return.

The decision to let her contest in Penang may just render BN's anti-Pakatan campaign in the state to be ineffective.

It will be an unexpected move as it will mean the communal campaign led by the BN will have been diluted with the presence of a major Malay opposition figure in the Penang state assembly contest.

Her campaigning in Penang may altogether divide the pro-BN supporters and this will surely cause a steep fall in the BN's expectations to retake Penang back.

READ MORE HERE

 

‘Govt must investigate Musa Hassan’

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 05:16 AM PST

Never trust an individual who badmouths his organisation, much less an organisation which he had helmed for four years, says ex-MACC advisory panelist Robert Phang.

(FMT) - The government should initiate investigation against former IGP Musa Hassan  over claims of his alleged triad links, his alleged role in undermining several senior police officers as well as alleged abuses of power during his tenure as the police chief.

Making this call today, former MACC advisory panelist Robert Phang, said only such an investigation, or even perhaps a royal commission, would reveal the truth about Musa.

"Musa has no sense of loyalty to the organisation that has given him his livelihood and his lifetime career.

"As a rule-of-thumb, I will never trust an individual who badmouths his organisation, much less an organisation which he had helmed for four years," said Phang.

Phang was referring to Musa's revelations earlier this week that the police force had been infiltrated by criminal elements and that the current IGP Ismail Omar was weak in heading the police force.

He also claimed that there had been political interventions, including from the Home Ministry, even during his time as the IGP. He said the presence of criminal elements was the reason for the rising crime rate in the country.

Coming to the defence of the police force and Ismail, Phang said the crime statistics had increased under Musa's tenure and the situation had only started to turn around after his retirement in 2010.

"If truth be told, Tan Sri Ismail Omar, the current IGP has now managed the Herculean task to return crime rate to the pre-Musa Hassan time.

"Thus Musa's attacks against Ismail is clearly unwarranted and below the belt. The current IGP has managed to clean up the mess left by his predecessor, both in terms of crime rate and in terms of restoring the morale of the police force.

"What I see before me is that Musa has failed as a leader when he was the IGP, and currently lacks the humility to comprehend just that," said Phang.

'I remember history'

Phang, a member of the National Crime Prevention Foundation, also revealed his knowledge on Musa's contract extensions as the national police chief.

"I am an old man, and I remember history. Musa says that after he clashed with Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on his powers as IGP, his contract was terminated. That is a lie.

"The truth is that Musa had his contract extended twice. He was so cunning that he placed people who can pose no threat to him in the succession line of the PDRM."

He added that Musa had also ensured that those who can succeed him will retire before him, and claimed that Musa had a mercurial rise to become the IGP by "fixing people up".

"There are still people from the force with enough knowledge about all these. Some had been sidelined, others faced trumped-up charges, and one even had prepared a statutory declaration to reveal the truth," he said.

READ MORE HERE

 

Rename the "Malay" race: from bangsa “Melayu” to bangsa “Sawojaya”

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:39 PM PST

The word "Malay" or "Melayu" in the modern and post-modern times has carried its connotation of "malaise", "withering", "wilting" "backwardness", "paranoia", disempowerment", and even "laziness".

A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE

Dr Azly Rahman

"History is bunk,"

               Henry Ford, American inventor

What if, like the creation of a people called "Americans", the Malays undergo a conscious and mandated name-change -- from Melayu or Malay to Sawojaya? I believe this is possible as a preamble to a suggestion of a planned "evolution" of the name "Malay". I think we are at an exciting historical juncture in which human creativity is at its highest points, given the power of the advanced digital communication technologies such as Web 2.0 and the like.

It is time that the Malays are "rebranded" into something less contentious as the name of a race or ethnic group or even a political entity. It would be an exciting idea in postmodern anthropology, one that will signify a "discovery of the grounded theory of the Malay philology" somewhat. The anthropological challenge might be to erase all the prefixes, affixes, and suffixes of "Malay" in all existing documents that have ever existed on the Bangsa Melayu.  


Why this proposal?

Consider these, within the context of the syntagmatic perspective of history, within the paradigm of the political-economy of change, and the archaeology and philology of language analyzed within the context of class and the post-modern caste system.

The word "Malay" or "Melayu" in the modern and post-modern times has carried its connotation of "malaise", "withering", "wilting" "backwardness", "paranoia", disempowerment", and even "laziness".

Me-layu = wilting

Malays = malaise

Mel-ange = range of differences/fragmentation

Malas = lazy

In Malaysia, particularly wherein Malays form a substantial majority and political power is in the hands of a "Malay" party called "United Malays National Organization", concepts related to the word "Malay" have been hovering to indicate the "malaise-ness" of ideas:

Notions such as "Ketuanan Melayu" successfully marketed by the Malay propaganda outfit The Biro Tata Negara, "Kedaulatan Melayu" trumpeted by Malay blind nationalists and ageing sloganeers, and "Tak Melayu Hilang di dunia" vainglorified by one-dimensional historians and inscribers on meaningless statues propped in front of a national museum – all these have been the reason behind the bad publicity the Malays have been getting over the last 500 years. In fact the founding of Melaka itself has been a historical accident that has catapulted the word "Malay" into a situation of historical problematique and contributed to the feel of the malaise-ness of the Malays. The biggest culprits in contributing to the malaise have been the Malay politician.

Of late, there is confusion amongst the Malays themselves as to who is representing who in the struggle to "liberate" the Malays. Many are confused why there is a small segment of the Malays supporting the continuation of the use of the repressive tool of the state, the Internal Security Act. Many are confused why the Malay linguistic nationalists are insisting that Mathematics and Sciences are taught in the Malay language. Many are even more confused which Malay political party is actually representing the Malays.

In modern times many have been written about the Malays and what is happening to this ethnic group. Works such as The Malay Dilemma, The Malays: Their problems and their future, Revolusi MentalTuntutan MelayuQuo Vadis Bangsaku, are amongst those that address the Malay racial and political-economic problematique.

"Might is right" may have been the notion that governs the dominant power of choice that dictates which political entity or entities will "guide" (pimpin) the Malays. It is as if the leadership of the Malays has undergone a process of "salah pimpin" in the process of leading due to the fact that they have undergone "salah tuntut" or wrongly following the philosophy of leading. In the culture of the Malays, "salah tuntut" is a serious matter – entailing a life relegated to following this or that cult that produces deviant teachings.

Institutions and ideologies that have permeated the psyche of the Malays, create misrepresentation, and exacerbate the malaise-ness of the Malays abound. Consider these:

- Biro Tata Negara

- PLKN

- Malay-only institutions

- Malay centric curriculum

- Malay Rights doctrine

- Malay centric notion of a "social contract"

- Malay postmodern bourgeoisie class

- Malay media power that monopolizes the indoctrination of the Malay mind

- UMNO or United Malays National Organisation

The Malays are generally considered a people of a dark brownish skin color. In the language it is called "sawo matang" drawn from the Kiwi/Mango-looking brownish fruit popular in the island of Java.

The word "Jaya" is a Sanskrit word meaning "Victory"; the core idea of The Mahabharata. The assassin=prince of Melaka, had a name of a Hindu god, Parameswara. I consider the suffix "Jaya" as a successful idea that can be used in hybridizing the word "Sawo" ("brownish-skin") to replace the word Malay. Examples abound, especially in the names of places -- symbols installation of the ideology of "victory" : "Cyberjaya", "Putrajaya", "Petaling Jaya", "Subang Jaya", "Kelana Jaya" "Seberang Jaya", "Nusajaya" "Johor Jaya". There is also a Malaysian mall that uses the word "Jaya": Jaya Jusco.  There is also a favourite 1980s composition called "Raja Jaya" by the Malaysian percussionist Lewis Pragasam's band Asiabeat Percussion.

A new race is born

In the age of biogenetics, cloning, nanotechnology, embedded journalism, casino-capitalism, stimulus packages, this or that "-nomics" Web 2.0, deconstructionism, and cultures that undergo re-enculturalisations, a name-change of the Malays is necessary. A new identity, a karma, a rebirth, a renaissance, a cure for this linguistic myopia in the form of a construction of a brave new world is necessary.

I invite the Malays for a name-change.

Viva Bangsa Sawojaya!
OUR USUAL REMINDER, FOLKS: 
While the opinion in the article/writing is mine, 
the comments are strictly, respectfully, and responsibly yours; 
present them rationally, clearly,  politely, and ethically.
AND - VOTE WISELY!

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

DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master's degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/azly.rahman

http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/

 

Misrepresentations of Islam in the Contemporary Anglophonic Discourse

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:05 PM PST

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/40498-16x9-340x191.jpg 

Having read a recent piece by AB Sulaiman entitled "Nurul Izzah's statement in the Kaum Muda-Kaum Tua context" (26th November 2012, The Malaysian Insider), it exemplified in our opinion, a typical kind of writing that is laced with half-truths and prejudices with regard to the Muslims and to Islam.

Wan Fayhsal 

Of late, there has been a surge of commentaries and analysis with regard to the religion of Islam in the mass media. It was sparked by YB Nurul Izzah's remarks on a verse of the Qur'ān that many were led to equate with the notion of the 'freedom of religion'.

For the sake of clarity, the full verse that many have referred to is: 
"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things."
(2:256, trans. Abdullah Yusuf Ali)

Sadly many who commented on this issue are guilty of misunderstanding and misinterpreting the words and neglecting the whole meaning of that particular verse. Such attitude will definitely derail the proper understanding of the whole meaning and context of that verse especially to the lay readers.

This trend is not conducive to true knowledge and correct understanding as it gives rise to inaccurate commentaries, which will eventually marginalize the real and true authorities in explaining about Islam. It will lead to confusions at various levels, not only amongst Muslims but more so to non-Muslims who sincerely want to understand the issue at hand.

Of course there are rooms and space to debate and discuss on matters of religion within the tradition of Islam. In order to arrive at a proper understanding, prejudices or half-truths must not be placed on the table. Anything that comes up short, despite possessing some grain of truths yet enmeshed with dubious facts are but an antipode of truth – which is error.

Verily in Qurʾān, God the Almighty has clearly stated that:
"And what is there beyond truth but error?" (10:32)

Having read a recent piece by AB Sulaiman entitled "Nurul Izzah's statement in the Kaum Muda-Kaum Tua context" (26th November 2012, The Malaysian Insider), it exemplified in our opinion, a typical kind of writing that is laced with half-truths and prejudices with regard to the Muslims and to Islam. Furthermore, AB Sulaiman's efforts exemplified misappropriation of proper tools of inquiry, especially on employing conceptual terms and categories. We have attempted to present clear and persuasive arguments in a systematic and rational manner on this issue, especially in two lengthy and technical essays entitled The Tyranny of Commonplace Mind and Censuring the confused in their erroneous reading of verse (2:256) in the Holy Qurʾān, both of which can be reached at hakim.org.my/ blog.

However, in the spirit of free and honest inquiry in pursuit of the truth and at the same time, in order to make clearer the distinction between truth and untruth with respect to this matter, we wish to address ourselves to several misrepresentations that have come to our attention in AB Sulaiman's article and where necessary, to unmask and challenge these misrepresentations so that sincere readers may not be mislead to accept its false conclusions:

Misrepresentation #1: The alien conceptual categories of reformist-progressive, orthodox-conservatives, kaum tua-kaum muda.

In the piece written by AB Sulaiman, he employed conceptual categories that are really foreign to ears and the minds of Muslims such as reformist-progressive, orthodox-conservatives, kaum muda-kaum tua. These terms are 'loaded words' in English and each of them has its own historical baggage. It would be considered a gross misapplication if these concepts were to be forced upon in making general statements and in deriving vague conclusions about the social and political issues pertaining to the Muslims and the religion of Islam.

Most of the words mentioned by AB Sulaiman were often used within the sociological discourse of religion of Islam. In truth, Muslim society does not exhibit such phenomena that can come to terms with the suggested meanings of such words and conceptual categories. This is one clear mistake made by the writer – evoking false concepts in describing something that did not exist within the religion of Islam, what more in Muslim society at large.

He may have over-simplified the issue by adopting the categories that are unfounded in Islam, most glaringly on the notion of orthodox and progressive with regard to Reason and Revelation. By orthodoxy, he means a rigid conservative who failed to keep up with the pace and change of time and lack rational intelligence in studying the Holy Qurʾān; while a progressive is painted as someone one who is at home with rationality and considered to be the torch-bearer of enlightenment that Islam and Muslim of today desperately need.

This exemplified a kind of historical reductionism that does not do justice to Islam and its rich history – as we will prove in the subsequent points below.

Misrepresentation #2: Clergy and Orthodoxy: the inaccuracy of English to depict Islamic intellectual tradition.

Throughout the piece, AB Sulaiman cast a myriad of English terms to describe the intellectual history of Islam in a manner that these words do not correspond to the truth, being pretty much alien to the subject matter being discussed. Even the most learned Orientalist would not use such words like clergy, orthodoxy, ossified religiosity (whatever that means) and heresy – which are typically English and Christians. And for him to use such cliché of 'Revelation won over Reason' is again another form of misrepresentation as the true scholars of Islam (ʿulamāʾ) will never conceive of Reason as being pitted against Revelation.

Another misconception by AB Sulaiman is when he used the term 'religious school' to imply 'madrasah'. Madrasah in the past – before secularization crept into Muslim world and the adoption of modern schooling system – were places where religious sciences like jurisprudence, creed, were taught alongside with subjects like mathematics, algebra, physics even medicine.

Renowned historians of Islamic history the likes of George Makdisi and Francis Robinson have documented historical and empirical evidences with regard to the harmonious and integral relationship between 'knowledge based-on text – Revelation' (naqliyyah) and 'knowledge derived by Reason' (ʿaqliyyah) that was the common substratum of all madrasah within the tradition of Islamic education.

Makdisi also demonstrated in his seminal work Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1981) that the most celebrated institution of higher learning of today which we call 'university' was imitated and modeled upon Muslim higher education institutions like Al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt and Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco that existed far earlier than the likes of Oxford and Cambridge.

In short, we cannot simply describe Islam using English terms that are loaded with Westerners' religious experience. Dimitri Gutas, the author of Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ʿAbbāsid Society 2nd-4th/8th-10th centuries (London: Routledge, 1998) writes the following:

"Unlike say, the Vatican in the Roman Catholic Church, which might promulgate an 'official' truth and legislate it by virtue of the institution's coercive powers, Islam has never had a centralized authority. In the Muslim world there are no ordained clergy; no institutionalized religious orders; no synods; and no pontifical truth, a deviation from which constitute heresy."

It is clear from the arguments that we have posited, one must be very particular and demonstrate meticulousness in using English to describe Islam and not haphazardly employ ill-fitting terms and conceptual categories that do not commensurate with the real facts and truth about Islam.

Misrepresentation #3: Al-Ghazālī – the orthodox theologian who stunted Reason and Science 

Imām "The Proof of Islam" Abū Ḥāmid Al-Ghazālī (1058 – 1111) was one of the most distinguished and authoritative scholar of Islam in history. His ideas and intellectual imprint have flourished throughout Muslim world for millennial even up to this very day.

Sadly, he has been continuously misunderstood and it has really become a cliché nowadays to put blame on Al-Ghazālī as the one who was guilty for the demise of Reason in the Muslim world.

We are continuously drummed by popular culture – despite it having been completely discredited and rejected in the scholarly community – that Al-Ghazālī attacked Hellenistic science along with the very notion of laws of nature via his famous work Tahāfut al-Falāsifah (Incoherence of the Philosophers), hence Reason as a whole.

This is quite unwarranted as it was Al-Ghazālī who introduced the science of logic (ʿilm al-manṭīq) as the primer in philosophy and methodologies of Islamic jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh).

Moreover Al-Ghazālī throughout his life had valiantly worked hard to establish a more robust rational method by doing what Professor Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud called 'Islamization of Hellenistic science' – which rendered such science fit to be included in the methodology of religious sciences.

As a result, the entire edifice of traditional Islamic sciences post-Ghazālī, be it tafsīr (exegesis of Qurʾān), hadīth (traditions of Prophet Muhammad), fiqh (jurisprudent), kalām (science of discourse), taṣawwuf (sufism) were further strengthened with more complex reasoning tools in which they are totally indispensable for teachers and students of Islamic sciences till this very day.

Al-Ghazālī's remarkable efforts are clearly exemplified in his various philosophical and jurisprudential works such as Miḥakk al-Naẓar (Touchstones of Reasoning), Miʿyār al-ʿIlm (Standard of Knowledge) and Al-Mustaṣfā minʿIlm al-Uṣūl (Choice Essentials of the Methods of Jurisprudence).

According to Jamil Ragep, Professor of History of Science at McGill, recent scholarly work has shown that science in Islam not only continued after Al-Ghazālī but in fact flourished for centuries thereafter. George Saliba in his Islamic Science and the Making of European Renaissance (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2007) has shown that medieval Islamic society exhibits an 'open marketplace' of ideas, in which knowledge derived by Reason such as medicine (ṭibb), mathematics (riyāḍiyyāt) and engineering (al-ḥiyal) were not marginal activities but pretty much central to Muslim intellectual life and harmoniously flourished alongside religious sciences that were based on Revelation.

It is not surprising that well-known historians of science like George Sarton and Marshall Clagett regarded the contributions in the past of Muslims to science as not just mere preservation of science of the Antiquities (Greek, Indian, Chinese and others) but also the creative role played by the Muslims in reconceptualizing, improvising and extending the discourse that made modern science what it is today.

The giants of modern science such as Copernicus and Newton built their scientific works on the ground laid by Muslim scientists, mathematicians and philosophers such as Al-Khāwarizmī, Ibn al-Haytham, Ibn Nāfis and others who lived and flourished after Al-Ghazālī.

Misrepresentation #4: Islam in the Malay Archipelago came from an inferior version.

It is a surprise to note AB Sulaiman admitted that he did not come across "any meaningful intellectual development from the Malay civilization beginning circa 1403." In actual fact, he had not done proper scholarly homework before proclaiming the version of Islam that arrived to the Malay Archipelago was conservative and orthodox.

Islam that arrived in the Malay world is not monolithic what more deemed by AB Sulaiman to be 'ossified' and anti-Reason. Textual evidences in the form of Jawi (Bahasa Melayu in Arabic script) texts and manuscripts are abundant, case in point is the oldest known Malay manuscript called 'Aqāʾid al-Nasafī – a 16th century text on the creed of Islam which presented a higher-form of intellectual discourse on the possibility of knowledge (epistemology) and nature of reality (ontology).

By 17th century, we already have Metaphysicians like Nūr al-Dīn al-Rānīrī discussing about Greek philosophy and by 18th century scholars like Raja Ali Haji and Ahmad Khatib Al-Minangkabawi were busy writing numerous intellectual works on political philosophy, medicine and mathematics.

Our foremost authority in Islamic Thought and Malay History – Tan Sri Professor Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas once delivered a monumental professorial lecture way back in 1972 at UKM entitled 'Islam dalam Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu' (Islam in the History and Culture of Malay). In that lecture, he cogently argued that it was due to the advent of Islam in the Malay Archipelago that had caused a 'Copernican revolution' of a historical-kind, which in turn gave rise to 'modernity' for the Malays as early as 13th century.

In that lecture Al-Attas emphasized the important role of taṣawwuf (Islamic metaphysics) in the Islamization process of the Malay Archipelago. The process became the cornerstone in the development of a highly intellectual and rationalistic religious spirit that was projected in most Malay literary works of that new period – hence transforming Malay language to become more rational and scientific than before – in contrast to the aesthetic and exclusive literary works that were not meant for the profane ear of the masses in the Hindu-Buddha period.

Al-Attas highlighted the role of Ḥamzah Fanṣūrī – a great Malay Muslim metaphysician of early 17th century – as a shining example of homo intellectus of that era. Through his various works such as Asrār al-'Ārifīn, Sharab al-'Āshiqīn and al-Muntahi, he demonstrated a highly rational and philosophical thought that was unique in contrast to earlier Malay works of pre-Islam era. Al-Attas also affirmed that it was Ḥamzah Fanṣūrī who pioneered the usage of the Malay language in a rational and systematic manner by elucidating philosophical ideas through his creative intellectual prowess in writing.

From there on, the impact of rational and systematic usage of the Malay language had influenced many scholars in various parts of Malay Archipelago to produce important works in Malay literature that depicted highly scientific and rational thought.

Such evidences are crystal clear – the version of Islam that had transformed the Malay people since its earliest days was not of the orthodox and conservative-kind, what more anti-Reason.

Islam has molded the minds of the Malays to be more rational and scientific and such force of change was unprecedented before.

 

It's all about worldview

Discerning readers will realize that currently many written materials in the mass media are not able to capture and present facts on Muslims and Islam satisfactorily. One must be able to distinguish things carefully by sifting the wheat from the chaff in order to arrive at the kernel of truth. For that to be possible, writers and readers must possess to certain degree, some basic understanding on the worldview of Islam.

Worldview is an integral component for man to interpret the reality that he is bounded to. Such reality can be meaningfully understood among us through the proper use of language. Language acts as the medium for our worldview to be manifested within our mind as well as in our expression to the outside world.

The intimate connection of language and worldview is best understood from the explanation by Professor Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas via his important work Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam:

"The narrative of language can be depicted as a thin veil in various colours that always be placed at the front view of the observer, whether the observation is about the physical or a metaphysical world. Therefore, the colour and the design, the characteristic and the shape of the world that being observed will be influenced by the thin veil of language."

Concocting various kinds of modern and foreign terms that were inferred from other languages would be detrimental to the effort of capturing the right meanings of a particular discourse that had not undergone a similar kind of experience or of not having the same intellectual dimension – as in case here, between the Western tradition and Islam.

Such careless ways of conveying things as demonstrated by AB Sulaiman will do no good in assisting our collective effort to provide the proper understanding about Islam to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

This is more so true for the Muslims because if we fail to explain Islam in accordance to the correct methods as laid down by the scholarly authority of Islam, it will only hamper the readers, especially the non-Muslims, from getting the right facts on how Islam should be understood in the context of present times alongside with its rich history.

Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal reads Islamic Thought and Civilization at Centre for Advanced Studies on Islam, Science and Civilization (CASIS-UTM).

 

 

‘Goalkeeper Rosmah will cause BN downfall’

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:49 PM PST

The controversial carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan has made a startling prediction about the outcome of the 13th general election.

Teoh El Sen, FMT

Controversial carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan today made a startling prediction: Barisan Nasional will suffer a big loss in the upcoming general election, all because of a goalkeeper called "Rosmah".

In a cryptic SMS sent to the media, the well-connected businessman used a football metaphor and named "Rosmah" as the sole Umno goalkeeper who would fail to stop Pakatan Rakyat from scoring big.

Deepak said he was referring to the speech given by Umno Kelantan delegate Md Alwi Che Ahmad who drew the analogy of Umno being like the "red warriors", the committed and hardworking football players of the state.

The Kelantan opposition leader was quoted as saying that "Umno players" are winnable candidates and are able to score goals.

"The party's president want the best players to score goals… winnable candidates" he reportedly said.

Deepak, however, laughed off the suggestion, saying that he found it amusing as the Kelantan players actually belong to PAS.

"I refer to the Umno Kelantan speech & his anology of kelantan's champion footballer's 'red warriors' as d criteria for 'winnable candidates'," he wrote.

"Najib is indeed an excellant striker & a winnable candidate in Pekan but unfortunately Umno's only goalkeeper today is Rosmah & she has her hands full catching the billions coming her way that she won't have the time to stop PKR from scoring goals in parlimentary seats."

The man, who has previously admitted to being close like a sibling to Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, then made a startling prediction in his text.

"GE13 will be PKR 123, seat Rosmah RM26 BILLION, BN 99 seats. A prophercy that will happen."

'Goalkeeper not interested in catching balls'

Asked about the meaning behind his SMS, Deepak said: "You have a winnable candidate who can win his seat, but this is not the presidential election. If he wins and the others lose, there is no point.

"I fully agree that we should have winnable candidates. I'm saying that, yes, Najib can win in Pekan, but you have so many players and you only have one goalkeeper; this goalkeeper is not interested in catching the ball, but in catching billions," he told FMT.

"You can win that one Pekan seat. But you are going to lose 120 other seats because your goalkeeper is not trying to catch the ball the opposition is trying to score."

READ MORE HERE

 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 8)

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:02 PM PST

I really did not care too much whether Anwar was going to spend the rest of his days in jail. I felt he deserved jail anyway, if not for sodomy at least for helping Dr Mahathir screw up the country and for making his friends and family rich. But Anwar had started something here, which could be useful to the cause of unseating Dr Mahathir and kicking Umno out. So why not ride on that Reformasi wave and take advantage of it?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

By mid-1990 I had already wound down most of my businesses or sold off those that could be sold. Fortunately, that was just two years or so before the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. The bankers I met told me I must be a genius to be able to anticipate this crisis two years before it happened and to get out of the market in time.

The truth is I just no longer had any interest in business. Business sickened me. I felt nauseous when I looked at my business.

Nevertheless, I did not correct this misperception by the bankers. I allowed them to continue to think that I am a genius who anticipated the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis two years before it happened when even the world's best economists could not see that -- or even Malaysia's greatest leaders such as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim.

A friend of mine told me that my enemies had got a bomoh (witch doctor) to charm me with black magic ('kena buat', as the Malays would say) so that my heart 'turned' and I felt 'sick' with business. And that is why I just write and write and neglect my business, my friend said.

That was quite true. I did feel sick with business and I was writing and writing, day in and day out. But I am not too sure whether this was because a bomoh had 'buat' me. Anyway, I have seen stranger things in my 62 years, some which defy explanation. I would like to believe, though, that there were no magic spells involved in my 'change of heart'.

Just to digress a bit, another friend told me that every time I came near him he felt that something was 'wrong' (ada tak kena). He said he suspected I 'kena buat orang'. He insisted he take me to meet a 'gifted' person who is known to have the ability to exorcise 'demons' from 'orang kena buat'.

I have always been a curious person who would not hesitate to try anything new, at least once. So I agreed to the exorcism. The 'exorcist' just touched my big toe lightly and I began sweating profusely and wailed like a banshee. My friend could not stand the sound of my screaming so he left the room. He later told me that the scream did not sound like me one bit. It was a most unusual scream that did not sound human at all, he told.

I am not one to believe in the supernatural. But there you are. Believe it or not, that happened, and I still do not know what to make of it. The church, however, believes in such things, as do the majority of Muslims. As far as I am concerned, though, I had found my new 'calling' -- a political activist cum political writer -- and I found this life more interesting than the life of a businessman, something I had been for 20 years.

I think, at 45, I just needed a change, that's all. Call it mid-life crisis if you wish. Or maybe it was because I was almost the same age as when both my parents died so I wanted to do something different before I died. Or call it possession by demons, if you also wish. Your choice!

Anyway, back to the issue of my businesses. For companies like Maroda Sdn Bhd, the Mercedes Benz dealership, I sold my interest to my partner. That was actually a very profitable company and what I regarded as my 'flagship', as I mentioned in the earlier episodes of this series of articles.

I did not make any profit on those shares I sold to my partner. In fact, I made a loss because I transferred my shares at RM1 per share even though I had held on to those shares for more than ten years and a Mercedes Benz dealership is worth at least a million or two in 'goodwill'. Nevertheless, I took a 'haircut' because my partner could not possibly have forked out RM1 million or RM2 million if I had asked him to pay me that.

I practically 'gave' that company to my partner, a result of my disgust regarding the state of affairs. Hmmm…or maybe it was my partner who had got the bomoh to buat me. Smile (Joke only lah).

Another factor that prompted me to sell off my shares in Maroda is the fact that my partner was an Umno man and he was facing a lot of problems from Umno for partnering with an opposition supporter, meaning me. In fact, Umno was lobbying Cycle and Carriage to terminate Maroda's dealership and to give the dealership to an Umno company. Hence, if I had stayed his partner, Maroda would have probably lost the agency anyway.

In fact, Umno had been trying to block Maroda from getting the Mercedes agency since 1980. Shahrir Samad, the then Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, can confirm this because he told my partner so. To be fair to Shahrir, though, he did not do what Umno asked him to do -- to deny Maroda the agency. So not all Umno people are scumbags -- at least not Shahrir Samad, whose brother, Khalid Samad, is the current PAS MP for Shah Alam.

By mid-1998 I was totally retired except for a bihun (fine noodles) factory that I still owned. But I was not involved in the running of that factory. I had a manager to take care of it.

The bihun manufacturing business was not too bad, although you can't become a millionaire in that business -- because it was very competitive and monopolised by the Chinese. Around 50% of our market was our own branding while the other 50% was contract manufacturing -- which means we manufacture for others.

You can't really make money in contract manufacturing because the selling price is too low. But it allowed you to cover your fixed costs such as salaries, etc. Hence you can make a decent profit from your own brand -- which you can sell at a higher price -- and since the fixed costs are already taken care of you only need to worry about the variable or material costs.

1998 was also the time that Anwar Ibrahim was sacked from Umno and the government -- 2nd December 1998 to be exact. And that was a day of celebration for me.

You see, over the three years before that, I had been whacking Anwar Ibrahim kau-kau. I condemned him and even exposed his wrongdoings and revealed details of how all his cronies and family members were getting rich. My 'flagship' article was called 'The Rise and Fall of Anwar Ibrahim', which was published in Harakah, the party organ of PAS.

Anwar's people were, understandably, furious.

In that article I had predicted Anwar's downfall. I also revealed why he was going to fall. I revealed that Anwar was plotting behind Dr Mahathir's back and that the old man took two months leave and appointed Anwar the Acting Prime Minister as a trap for Anwar to walk in to. I then predicted that Dr Mahathir would make his move on Anwar and would finish him off, once and for all, once he returns from his two months leave.

Hence, when it happened exactly as how I predicted it was going to happen, I felt that that was a cause for celebration. I was right and now I could tell everyone, "I told you so!" And when Anwar launched his Reformasi Movement on 2nd September 1998, culminating in the massive rally at Dataran Merdeka on 20th September 1998, I did not 'go to the ground'. I stayed home and watched Anwar get demolished by Dr Mahathir.

It was when I saw Anwar's black eye and we were told that he was handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten up by no less than the IGP himself that I became outraged. I was also quite surprised by the massive turnout at Dataran Merdeka on 20th September. It was then that I realised that Anwar had created a wave of dissent and that there was a strong likelihood the Reformasi Movement could be a platform for our opposition to Umno.

I really did not care too much whether Anwar was going to spend the rest of his days in jail. I felt he deserved jail anyway, if not for sodomy at least for helping Dr Mahathir screw up the country and for making his friends and family rich. But Anwar had started something here, which could be useful to the cause of unseating Dr Mahathir and kicking Umno out. So why not ride on that Reformasi wave and take advantage of it?

Okay, maybe my reasons for rallying to Anwar's side were less than noble. It was not so much to see justice for Anwar (who did not understand the meaning of the word anyway) but to 'use' Anwar, the new icon of dissent, to further our own cause, which I had personally been involved in since the 1970s. Anwar was using us anyway to fight the system that he was once part of and which he exploited for his own interests. Hence, since he was using us, it was not unfair if we too used him. It was a win-win situation, as they would say today.

So I decided to come out and become active in the Reformasi Movement. But then that triggered other problems for me. My bihun customers began cancelling their contracts. They were under pressure to kill our business.

I met up with the GM of our biggest customer, Anwar Ibrahim's schoolmate in the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK), and he advised me to remove my name from the company. As long as my name was still in the company they can't give me any more business.

I discussed this matter with another of Anwar's classmates, Lt Kol Yunos Othman, and he agreed to become one of my nominees. I would transfer 500,000 of my shares to him and another 500,000 to another person. He would also take over the running of the business and I was not to show my face at the factory to prove that I had 'sold' the business.

He then told me he needed RM500,000 working capital to finance the business and he brought me to meet someone high up in the bank, another classmate of Anwar. The banker agreed to give the company RM500,000 but they would need security. His bank would give loans based on 50% of the security value if it is vacant land. So the land must be at least RM1 million in value.

I agreed to lend the company my land and the company got the loan. The bihun contracts were reinstated and with a price increase on top of that. And every month I would receive a 'salary' of RM5,000 as agreed.

After a few months the RM5,000 stopped coming. I then found out that the 500,000 shares of the second nominee had been transferred to Lt Kol Yunos. I spoke to my second nominee and she denied that she had transferred the shares. I then went to meet the Company Secretary, Ong Keng Tong, and he said that my nominee had signed the transfer forms in front of him -- which she, again, denied.

Later, I received a letter from the land office informing me that the bank was auctioning off my land. I found out from the bank that not a single Sen of the loan had been paid.

By then I had other problems on my hand -- my detention under ISA -- so I decided to call it a day and just move on. I never spoke to Lt Kol Yunos again and till today I do not know what happened to my factory. I just did not care any more. To me that was my 'previous life' and I no longer wanted to be concerned about my previous life.

Or maybe it was the charm that the bomoh put on me that made me not care. Smile

TO BE CONTINUED

 

Umno runs down LGBT, pluralism, liberalism as assembly ends

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:57 PM PST

Zurairi AR, The Malaysian Insider

Umno today wrapped up its final assembly before the polls with delegates calling for action against advocates of anti-Islam elements such as homosexuality and those who propagate pluralism and liberalism in mainly Muslim Malaysia.

While debating the issue of education and religion, one delegate even suggested a rehabilitation centre for the maligned lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) community.

"We want to transform them from zaman kejahilan (dark age of ignorance)," Tanjong representative Mohd Shaharudin Mohd Hasan Tajudin told the over 2,000 delegates at Umno's cavernous Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here.

Shaharudin also suggested that high school students be taught to reject the LGBT lifestyle — along with pluralism and liberalism — in their religious education.

Another delegate, Datuk Ariffin Mohd Arif from Kimanis, called for an official sanction against those who spread pluralism and liberalism, which he called a "teaching of the Devil".

"Just like al-Arqam ... we must take action against these people. Our actions must be strict, and we must not budge," Ariffin said.

The religious issues elicited animated responses from the delegates, with Shaharudin exclaiming that Umno fighters shall be "bathed in blood" should anyone mock Islamic principles.

"This LGBT is haram in Islam. (But the opposition) is making LGBT halal ... they even said that the law on sodomy is obsolete," said Pendang delegate Mohd Kamal Saidin, who accused Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the man responsible for this.

The ruling coalition and the opposition have been at loggerheads on the issues of LGBT, pluralism and liberalism, which are deemed sensitive in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

Earlier this week, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had revealed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had objected to the inclusion of LGBT rights when signing ASEAN's first human rights charter recently, saying Malaysia could not accept principles that go against the order of human nature.

The deputy prime minister took a swipe at Anwar when warning him against legitimising these "twisted practices" just because they were accepted by western nations, suggesting that it was the opposition leader's "hobby".

The Malaysian government recently came under heavy fire again when it was reported to have endorsed a list of identifiable gay and lesbian traits for schools and parents, purportedly to prevent the spread of the phenomenon among teenagers, especially students.

The controversial guideline, listed by the Chinese-language Sin Chew Daily, said that gay men have muscular bodies and like to show off by wearing V-necks and sleeveless clothes, prefer tight and light-coloured clothing, are attracted to men and like to carry big handbags similar to those used by women.

Lesbians are said to be attracted to women, like to eat, sleep and hang out in the company of other women and have no affection for men, according to the report.

It was later reported that the Ministry of Education had never authorised nor endorsed the guidelines.

 

BN will recapture all Pakatan states, win two-thirds majority, say Umno leaders

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:53 PM PST

Puad said BN has its fingers on the pulse of today's voters.

Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider

Umno is confident of wresting back all four Pakatan Rakyat-led (PR) states and even recapturing its two-thirds parliamentary majority in the coming polls, buoyed by a strong belief that the Najib government's reformist measures have successfully impressed the Malaysian electorate.

Several leaders told The Malaysian Insider that Umno is now fully prepared to march to the battle lines, having struggled through four years of heavy transformation from the party's administration to the mindsets of its over three million members.

Emerging fully charged after the second day of the party's assembly here yesterday, the leaders wasted no breath in declaring that achieving two-thirds is no longer an aspiration for Umno but a comfortable reality.

"Of course," Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said, when asked if the party was confident it would once again occupy two-thirds of Parliament's 222 seats after the polls.

"I believe that we will win back two-thirds and we will get back at least all the four Pakatan states... including Kelantan and Penang," he added. Kelantan has been in PAS's hands since 1990.

Generous estimates of Barisan Nasional's (BN) chances at the ballot boxes have included Kelantan as a possible casualty for PR but most observers believe that the federal opposition pact will withstand any onslaught in Penang.

Despite this, Tengku Adnan was not alone in his prediction.

Former Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim appeared to agree that Penang should not be regarded as impossible to recapture.

"We are confident of getting back Kedah, even Kelantan and Selangor... and Perlis, of course. Maybe we have to work harder in Penang," he said of the state led by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Umno deputy minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi was equally as confident as his party colleagues of BN's chances next polls.

"Oh definitely, two-thirds majority. I'm very confident," he told The Malaysian Insider.

Tengku Adnan is confident Umno will win back all the four Pakatan states.
The leaders owed their optimism to what they said was a flagging support for PKR and renewed confidence in the much-changed BN government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who will close the Umno congress later this evening.

The bespectacled son of Malaysia's second prime minister has already earned himself the title of "Father of Transformation" for his countless transformative initiatives and reform measures that include historic legislative changes.

Key among these was Najib's decision to pull the Internal Security Act (ISA) from Malaysia's statute books, a long-time demand of opposition leaders and civil society groups.

The prime minister also enacted a fresh law to regulate mass public gatherings, which was in the past deemed a crime under section 27 of the Police Act.

He even mooted amendments to allow greater media freedom and permit student participation in politics, keeping to his promise to widen civil liberties in Malaysia.

"This is a big example of walking the talk. Najib is clearly serious about making changes and although he ruled without a two-thirds majority, it did not pose as a hurdle to his intention to fulfil his promises," Puad said.

The deputy education minister added that Najib and BN also have their fingers on the pulse of today's voters and have acknowledged that it would be the fence sitters, new voters, youths and women who will determine their future at the ballot boxes.

He explained that this was why Najib has been pulling out all the stops in ensuring he remains close to these voter groups by keeping in touch with them constantly and doling out initiatives tailored specifically for them.

As examples, Puad pointed to the BN Youth job fair, the My First Home scheme for young homeowners and even the extension of Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia to the youth group.

But apart from BN's tireless campaign to shore up support, the Umno leaders pointed out that voters have also begun returning to the ruling pact because they have had time to weigh in on the promises dished out by those in PR.

They repeated old lines of the purported failure by PR member parties to strike a cohesive agreement to iron out key ideological differences which, they said, could prove detrimental if the pact comes to power without resolving these issues.

Over the past few days of the assembly, delegates have been warning of instability in the nation under a PR federal government, largely due to the protracted dispute between PAS and the DAP over the former party's struggle for an Islamic state and hudud laws.

Shahidan said it was due to BN's power-sharing formula that Malaysians have managed to enjoy decades of peace among the races, warning that this could be ruptured under PR.

"In Malaysia, if you want a strong government and you do not want a crisis, they you need this formula," he said.

He said that even though Umno is a race-based party like some of its partners in BN, it was not "racist".

"But somehow, because we still see some disparity between the races, we have to fight for our respective races... this is important in a sense because one race would know about their community better than others," he said.

The Malaysian Insider reported in October that BN expects to win more than the 140 federal seats it took in Election 2008 despite the onslaught and talk by PR that it can capture Putrajaya in the next general election.

READ MORE HERE

 

When the Lord spoke to the chosen people

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:55 PM PST

Nana Kassim

Out of the more than seven billion people in this world, God recently chose to speak to two people. And both on the same day! And both these people are from Penang! Can you beat that? And in the spirit of fairness, both sexes were represented amongst the multitude.

That goes to prove that what Umno has been saying all along is true: LBGTs are persona non exsistere. For those not familiar with Latin, it means that LBGTs don't exist.

To the male who God spoke to, He declared the appointment of Umno as the chosen party to liberate the chosen land of Malaysia and to uplift the chosen race called the Malays. To maintain peace with Moses - or, in the chosen language, to maintain Musa Aman - this declaration was made in the form of a tablet.

There remains the RM40 million question for the government printers: which is the chosen tablet to use. Samsung or Apple?

To the female God spoke to, He said that Utusan Meloya has been appointed as the official mouthpiece of Umno for its sincerity. I guess no one can dispute that. Utusan Meloya has been revered by its readers for its exaggerated lies, unlike the social media, which only spits out the truth.

However, the criteria of this appointment had nothing to do with truth and lies. The criteria here is sincerity. Utusan Meloya tells lies from the heart and with all sincerity. Their nawai tu is second only to the Pharaoh who, after 22 years in power, is still trying to uplift the Malays from the soil from which they have been named after.

Maybe they should organise a roti jala party and come up with a timeframe to accomplish this worldly task.

Isn't it wonderful that these two chosen people from the chosen state of Penang have chosen to announce to the world that God has chosen to speak to them just before GE13, the date of which the Prime Minister's husband has chosen not to reveal?

By the way, in case you haven't already understood the consequences to mankind living in this chosen country, by virtue of this appointment of Umno as the chosen party to liberate the chosen land of Malaysia and to uplift the chosen race of the Malays, Article 40(2)(a) of the Constitution of Malaysia is now rendered redundant. The job scope is now reduced.

Also, with the appointment as the official mouthpiece of Umno, Utusan Meloya has reason to celebrate, as it has now achieved full freedom status. It is no longer subjected to the Printing Presses and Publications Act. With its new status, Utusan Meloya is urging the government to pass a new law that will make it an offence for anyone to dispute any report it carries. Utusan Meloya believes that such an act of dispute is tantamount to questioning the sincerity of Utusan Meloya.

Now, who would dare say Utusan Meloya is not sincere, even when it lies?

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

And the Lord said unto Moses

I am your Lord

And you shall call me Tuan

And you shall practice Lording

And you will call it Ketuanan

And I offer you peace

And I name you Moses Peace

For I am your Lord

Lord of all in this land

And I call it The Land Below The Wind

So go forth and tell your people

That I will make them the vicegerent

And they will live in prosperity

For you are the chosen people

And you will inherit the land

And you will rule over everything the eye can see

And I make this covenant with you

That you will obey my commandments

Or suffer my most devastating retribution

And Moses said unto the Lord

I hear you and obey you, oh Lord

But I fear my people may follow a false Prophet

This false Prophet who comes from the far north

And who is the son of Abraham

For this false Prophet has come to my people

And has promised them heaven and earth

And has led my people astray

So Moses incurred the wrath of the Lord

Do they not fear me? asked the Lord

Have they not seen the people before them suffer?

And Moses went back to his people

And he told his people what the Lord had commanded

But his people shunned the Lord's word

So they suffered the Lord's wrath

The Lord took away their oil

But He gave them back 5%

And other people came from across the sea

And they occupied the land of the chosen ones

And the people lived in poverty and misery

For the people did not learn

That everything comes from the Lord

And what the Lord giveth the Lord can taketh away.

 

‘DAP’s partisan politics will backfire’

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:04 PM PST

People in Penang want to see the party in constructive engagement with its opponents, says Gerakan.

Hawkeye, FMT

GEORGE TOWN: The DAP's tendency to indulge in partisan politics will backfire in the long term, says a state Gerakan leader.

Penang Gerakan vice-chairman Wong Mun Hoe said the people in the state now would prefer to see the party engaged constructively with its opponents rather than to run them down endlessly.

Since 2008, DAP has been engaged in partisan politics, criticising its rivals at every turn and corner, he said.

"For the DAP, it is either you are with me or against me. This had been its adage for a very long time. Now that the party is in government, this sort of attitude is opened for all to see," he said in an interview.

The public does not like what it is seeing, Wong added.

Hence, a growing list of deractors have emerged in Penang, amid accusations that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has become a cocky and arrogant person, he said.

"The critics are not necessarily from the Barisan Nasional. Everyone in Penang from the hawkers to the trishaw peddlers hold strong opinions [about the state government]. Can Lim accept criticism?"

For example, Wong said the DAP-led Penang government was now embroiled in an alleged disagreement with the PAS-led state government in Kedah over a deal to supply raw water from the Muda River.

Lim has denied the existence of such a deal but Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak had reportedly told a recent State Legislative Assembly sitting that is neighbour (Penang) has agreed to purchase water from Kedah.

When Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow spoke about the conflicting statements from both, the DAP turned around and asked him (Teng) to resign, Wong said.

"Almost every DAP statement is about asking its opponents to step down."

When its rivals pointed out that DAP's has own "skeletons in the closet," the party leaders became paranoid and issued gag orders on their own members, Wong said.

READ MORE HERE

 

Deepak Jaikishan : A Pattern of Lies and Deception

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 07:37 PM PST

Freedom Come Freedom Go

From reports and blogs, some excerpts of personalities involved in the PI Bala SD I and II affair.

Lawyer M. Puravalen, who was Abdul Razak Baginda's first lawyer in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case two years ago, has refused to divulge to the police today the details of "privileged information" shared with him by his client.

The 54-year-old lawyer said such information when made in full confidentiality was a fundamental and sacrosanct aspect of the lawyer-client relationship. - As posted on the Malaysian Bar website.
That was 3 years ago, 18 July 2008.

Fast forward, 14 August 2012 a press statement by Sivarasa Rasiah, PKR Member of Parliament for Subang,
RPK was invited to that meeting in Puravalen's house the day before the 3nd July press conference to be given a pre-view of Bala's 1st SD to put up on his blog and write about it which he did.
I just cannot reconcile the above two quotes. For anyone who understands what Bala SD I was all about, it raises questions.

For example, how could Mr Puravalen house a meeting related to a statutory declaration which had (at the time) significant references to his former client and not risk breaching "privileged information" of the lawyer-client relationship?

Was it judicious for Mr Puravalen to be involved, in any way, with a statutory declaration that could, one way or another, be seen as damaging to his former client?

Anyway back the Deepak fellow.

Bear in mind, of course, we do not know to whom or what the Deepak fellow is referring to, as he is riddling us this and that.

These are for those are frothing at the mouth and think whom and what the fellow is referring to.

For starters.

Then,
Deepak Jaikishan, the carpet dealer mentioned numerous times by blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, said Rosmah "is a good person, if you know her personally".
Now,
"I had no business being there, I am a businessman. I regret helping a friend whom I thought was true... I am not supposed to be involved in this James Bond movie."
Then,
He also rubbished the website's claims that he had played a key role in silencing private eye P. Balasubramaniam in the 2006 sex-murder scandal of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu; and in Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's ongoing sodomy trial.(sic0
Now,
"It was damage control to stop the problem... I was tasked - don't ask who tasked me - with getting him to agree to sign another SD, not because of the (first) SD itself but because of the repercussions that will happen the next day if that (first) SD was not reversed," he said.
I see a distinct stratagem here and the personalities involved in the PI Bala saga are interconnected.

Support first and later, in the familiar words for Raja Petra Kamarudin, whack.

And whack first and later, support.

RPK prints all over.

"I would have better use for the millions of ringgit that I would have needed to do that, which I don't have in the first place" - Sivarasa Rasiah
Mull on that for now.

READ MORE HERE

 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 7)

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 06:57 PM PST

Ibak had been watching this mafia for quite some time and had decided that enough is enough. He opened up the meter business to the non-cartel members and we managed to squeeze in. Within three years we walked away with RM40 million in business. But I was the most hated supplier because I ignored the mafia and refused to join the cartel in the price rigging.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

When I reflect on my corporate life, I can probably summarise it as 20 years of the 62 years that I have been walking the face of this earth. I became a businessman at age 24 and 'retired' at age 44. Considering that my father and mother died at ages 46 and 47 respectively, I regarded myself as almost reaching the end of my life.

Hence, maybe, a change of career was in order.

However, I have to admit that my retirement was not actually my choice but the point of frustration that I had reached. When I first started my business in 1974, you could make it with sheer hard work, ingenuity, and plenty of guts to venture into areas where angels fear to tread. However, by 1994, it was no longer about know-how but about know-who.

If you were not aligned to those who walk in the corridors of power then the doors would be closed to you. And mere 'alignment' was not enough. There were also the contributions you had to make to various political funds, all to be made in cash and not with traceable cheques.

I, too, was not exempted from having to 'buy' contracts. In the beginning it was not too bad. A RM500,000 donation to Umno for a RM30 million contract where you earn at least 8% or RM2.4 million was affordable. You still had some money left in your pocket. But when margins dropped to less than 5% and the commissions (or kickbacks) increased to 10%, it was pointless to continue with that type of business.

My wife, Marina, was actually the one who 'pulled the plug', so to speak. As I wrote in the earlier parts of this series, we became 'Born Again' Muslims in the late 1970s and by the early 1980s I was practically a radical Muslim who believed in the Iranian Islamic Revolution and dreamed of such a revolution in Malaysia.

I also became closer to PAS, although still very much a 'closet' supporter because of my business activities. I so very much wanted to come out into the open but I would first have to get out of business to do that. Hence it would have been just a matter of time before I made this switch.

One day, Marina asked me how we could consider ourselves as true Muslims and at the same time indulge in haram activities. When she said haram activities she meant indulging in bribes and giving money to Umno, the enemy of Islam.

What she said made sense but I needed a 'trigger' to spur me into doing the right thing. And that 'right thing' offered itself in the early 1990s. And that story goes as follows.

By 1990, I felt that a change of course was required. For the past 16 years we had been acting as a mere dealer, distributor or agent. No doubt not all our businesses were government business -- maybe about 20% or so -- but we were just selling 'other people's products' and, therefore, were at their mercy.

We needed a product of our own.

I spoke to a friend in TNB and, interestingly enough, he told me that a certain 'mafia' monopolised the electricity meter business and they had formed a cartel and was rigging the price. TNB, therefore, was at their mercy.

I then spoke to someone in GE Singapore who gave me a list of all the electricity meter manufacturers in the world. I found that one manufacturer, Schlumberger from France, was not marketing their meters in Malaysia. (There were many others, of course, but Schlumberger was the best amongst them).

I flew to Paris and met up with a man named Arman Carlier. I proposed a partnership with Schlumberger to manufacture their meters in Malaysia and to try to break into the TNB market.

Arman did not think it was viable. Even 'strong' companies like George Kent (M) Bhd (a company linked to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak) failed to break into the TNB market. And their meters are actually very good -- Landis and Gyr. So what makes me think we can succeed where others have failed?

I told Arman that our meters must be fully manufactured in ASEAN, with maybe 30% of the components locally manufactured in Malaysia -- and the local content to be increased as we go along. We must then 'dive' at least 20% below the prices of the cartel (they all tender at almost the same price with a couple of Sen price difference).

I was confident we could demolish the cartel and beat the 'mafia' that was merely importing their meters and doing a 'bolt-and-nut' operation. But Arman was still not sure. He knows the TBN market, as Schlumberger had done other business with them, so he knows the mafia has a strong hold on the meter business.

I told Arman that if Schlumberger agrees to set up a factory in Malaysia and they fail to get any business, I was prepared to underwrite the entire operation and reimburse them for all their expenses.

Arman finally agreed and said that he will give the Malaysian operation one year to get the business and that if we fail he will then close the factory down. We sealed the deal and then went to 'Le Crazy Horse' (SEE HERE) to celebrate our new partnership.

The factory was set up but after one year we got nothing. So much time and money spent with nothing to show for it. Arman told me it was time to close shop unless I could assure him we would be able to get at least some business.

I asked him for an extension of three months and he agreed. But that was it. Another three months and then they were going to close shop.

The mafia was determined to keep us out. In the meantime, the cartel was laughing all the way to the bank. I was bracing myself for bad news at the end of that three-month extension.

As I said earlier, a drowning man can come up only three times before he goes down for good. I had gone down twice so far, once in 1975 and again in 1985-1987. It looks like this time I was going to go down for good.

Then, suddenly, the unexpected happened. The General Manager, who was not supposed to retire yet, retired. He got a 'golden handshake' involving a large coal supply contract to prompt him to retire. His deputy, Datuk Ibak Abu Hussein, took over as the new number one.

Ibak had been watching this mafia for quite some time and had decided that enough is enough. He opened up the meter business to the non-cartel members and we managed to squeeze in. Within three years we walked away with RM40 million in business. But I was the most hated supplier because I ignored the mafia and refused to join the cartel in the price rigging.

What a stroke of luck! Schlumberger was just days away from closing down the operation. And that would have meant I would have lost my pants, for the third time. But fate decided it was not yet time for me to die.

Unfortunately, Ibak did not last long as the head honcho of TNB (the mafia hated him as well). He was 'pushed' into retirement and Ani Arope, a Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad-Anwar Ibrahim man, took over (the first time in history an 'outsider' was appointed as the head of TNB).

And that allowed the mafia to bounce back and go for me with a vengeance.

We soon began to lose tender after tender even though our price was the cheapest by far. By the third tender we lost, the TNB mafia approached Schlumberger and told them that as long as Raja Petra Kamarudin is their partner they are never going to get any business from TNB. We also lost the fourth tender and this convinced Schlumberger that the mafia was serious about it.

The second unfortunate thing was that Arman Carlier had been transferred to another division and was no longer heading the meter business in France. The new chap had no 'history' with me so there was no sentimental attachment. Hence he made the decision to 'file for a divorce'.

Schlumberger took on a new Malaysian partner who was 'highly recommended' by the TNB mafia. I found out later that his new partner was linked to Anwar Ibrahim. So it was an 'inside job' after all.

I was so furious I decided to get out of this whole 'rat race' once and for all. This was getting very stressful. Fighting your competitors is one thing. But when your 'own people' stab you in the back and grab what you painfully built up with a lot of risks involved, there was just no point in continuing.

I never forgave Anwar's people for taking away my last shot at making it in the business world. Anwar was the Finance Minister and TNB reported to him. But I never once walked into his office to ask for any help all that time he was Finance Minister (Anwar actually complained about this to one ABIM chap). But for his people to take away what I felt belonged to me was something so intolerable that I decided to throw in the towel and go for a career change.

And this new career change was to become a political activist and political writer. I was part of the corrupt system. I worked within that system that eventually 'ate' me up as well. Now I was going to fight that very system I had operated in.

That was 18 years ago in 1994. Today, I am still doing what I started 18 years ago back in 1994. I now have very low tolerance for abuse of power and corruption, even when committed by those from Pakatan Rakyat. And trust me, it does happen in Pakatan Rakyat as well. After all, many of those Pakatan Rakyat people are the same people who 'makan' me back in the 1990s.

TO BE CONTINUED

 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 6)

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 03:49 PM PST

Actually, I blame the banks for all this. Back in the 1980s, around ten years after starting my business, bank managers were coming to see me to invite me to lunch. They would practically beg me to 'give them some business'. Over lunch they would confirm RM2 million or RM3 million without even asking me what I would do with the money.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

People assume that since I am Malay therefore all my business must have come from government contracts. That is stereotyping and as 'fair' as assuming that since you are Indian you are a drunkard who beats his wife or since you are a Chinese you are dishonest because you worship money.

I do not deny that I did do some government business. Even Chinese and Indians do government business whenever they can. So this is not really a crime. Nevertheless, over 20 years from 1974-1994, my companies did about RM300-350 million in turnover with maybe about 20% of that in government contracts.

And government contracts are really not that profitable, mind you. Sometimes we get away with a profit of only 2.5%. To make 10% or more from a government (supply) job was a rare thing indeed, especially in those 'early days'.

Government jobs are good when you need to go to the bank to raise funds. If you won, say, a RM30 million government contract, this would allow you to borrow RM6 million or even RM10 million.

In those days, even when I did not need the money (since the supplier gave us credit of 60-90 days anyway), I would still go to the bank to borrow. I would use the funds and then pay back what I used within the same month. This would impress the bank like hell -- although they are not too happy with this since they would earn very little when you pay back almost immediately.

The reason I did this was so that, next time, when you really do need funding, you can go back to the bank and get a loan. In the beginning I borrowed RM2 million. By the time I decided to call it a day, I was rolling with RM20 million, all borrowed funds.

Actually, I blame the banks for all this. Back in the 1980s, around ten years after starting my business, bank managers were coming to see me to invite me to lunch. They would practically beg me to 'give them some business'. Over lunch they would confirm RM2 million or RM3 million without even asking me what I would do with the money.

You see, branch managers had a quota to fill and they were trying to use me to fill their quota. So they would offer me facilities in the millions even though I did not need the money and would not have known what to do with it anyway.

Once I was even invited for lunch in the executive suite of HSBC in Kuala Lumpur. The Kwailo then asked whether his bank 'could be off assistance' to me. He then offered me RM3 million and instructed his Chinese officer to follow up on this 'application'.

The Chinese officer followed me back to my office and sat down with me to work out the details. But we had one problem. We could not justify the facilities. In other words, we could not show that I needed the money. After cracking our heads for an hour, I told the officer to just forget it. Actually I don't need the money.

I felt good to be able to tell HSBC that I don't need their money. That boosted my image and even more bank managers came a courting when they found out that I told the Kwailo from a Kwalio bank that I don't need their money.

Yes, bank managers get an orgasm when you tell a bank you don't need their money.

It came to a stage that all I needed to do was to phone the MD or GM of the bank and over the phone I could raise a million or two with no questions asked. Of course, I was not the only one enjoying this VIP treatment. All over town banks were throwing money our way.

Then, in mid-1980, the folly of this attitude hit us. Many of us were over-geared. No doubt our loans were 'backed by assets'. But these so-called assets were 'paper assets'. They were stocks and shares trading at ten or twenty times their value -- or worse.

No one cared about PE ratios. In the UK, you may be looking at PE ratios in the single digit. In Malaysia (plus Singapore and Hong Kong) the PE ratios of the 'darlings' of the stock market were sometimes in the triple digits.

That was crazy. Banks should not have touched such company shares with a ten-foot pole. But who thought that the bubble was going to burst? We were on a roller coaster ride and it was going up, up and up. Then, in 1985, it went down, down and down.

It was then that I understood the meaning of 'fair weather bankers'. They invite you to lunch and beg you to borrow from them when you do not need their money. However, when the market turns, they become your 'wakeup call' early in the morning when they phone you to inform you of the 'margin call'.

If you do not 'top up' by the time the market opens for the day, expect them to 'force-sell' your shares. And the more they force-sell the more depressed the market gets and the more depressed the market gets the lower your shares go and the lower your shares go the more margin you need to top up -- and so on and so forth. It basically becomes a vicious cycle.

Now that you need the money the banks no longer want to deal with you. The banks do not want to give you money because you need the money. They only want to give you money when you do not need it.

I was only 35 then and about ten years in business. But I was very rapidly finding out that another word for 'banker' is 'shark'. When they smell blood they go into a feeding frenzy. And when you are floundering in the water trying to keep your head up so that you do not drown, these sharks come up from behind you and bite off your balls.

Yes, we were greedy. I admit that. We may even have been inexperienced and were taking too many risks. But when you are still quite young and new to business, you tend to be like this. That is what being young is all about.

But the banks were also greedy. These banks that have been around for a long time and have seen many recessions come and go should have practiced prudent banking. They should have known that bubbles eventually burst. And they should not have been the ones to inflate the bubble and then, as soon as it shows sign of deflation, they prick the bubble by pulling the rug from under our feet.

Many suffered. Almost everyone, regardless of race, collapsed. Many saw their companies change hands. Some were even unfortunate enough to end up in jail. As I said, at 35 I could afford to pick up the pieces and start all over again. Those who no longer had the luxury of time chose the easy way out by ending their life.

We would have imagined that by 1985-1987 the banks would have learned their lesson. Apparently they did not -- as 1997 and now, 2012, have proven. Banks will still be banks and risk-takers will still be risk-takers.

I am just glad I am no longer in the game where we live day-to-day with the anxiety that when we wake up the following morning we are going to find out that the bottom has fallen out of the market.

As they say: let the borrower beware.

TO BE CONTINUED

 
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