Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Change in PAS Leadership: For Better Or Worse?
- Zaid wants to take the spin out of politics
- Securency money trail nudges Malaysia's political royalty (UPDATED)
- Rough weather ahead for PAS?
- Will PAS’s new dream team be Umno’s nightmare?
| Change in PAS Leadership: For Better Or Worse? Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:51 PM PDT
As we all know, Mat Sabu has a somewhat 'sentimental' relationship with Anwar. We already know that he was once the biggest hater of the Opposition leader. In fact, Mat Sabu is the man who first coined the title 'al juburi' (the one who like buttocks) to refer to Anwar. This is enough to show how much he hated Anwar. How things can suddenly have turn 180 degrees in politics…
I talked to several PAS members during the Muktamar last weekend on the possibilities of PAS leaving Pakatan. One of them agreed with the idea as he believes that Pakatan has caused a lot of damage to PAS. He said that PAS has to 'take care' of the burden caused by Anwar's questionable morals and because of this, PAS, as an Islamist party, has become prone to attacks from their BN rivals. His friend also agrees with him. He said, before PKR and Pakatan came to the picture, PAS had a very clean image. In fact, until now there is no major issue that involves PAS directly. However, the sodomy and sex video issue of the Permatang Pauh MP (Anwar Ibrahim) has affected PAS. He said if PAS never collaborated in Pakatan, it would be a lot stronger than now as it would have been more consistent in championing people issues. The 2011 PAS Election has ended last weekend. As expected, the 'professional' group or better known as the 'Erdogan' group has monopolized almost all the top positions in PAS leadership. Led by Mohammad Sabu or better known as Mat Sabu who won the deputy president post, many believe that the new leadership could bring betterment to the party.The party election results showed Mat Sabu winning the race for the party deputy president post with 420 votes beating incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa who received only 224 votes and vice-president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man who came second with 399 votes. A total of 1,100 delegates voted in this year's party elections. Below is the list of the top three post winners: PRESIDENT: Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Mohamad Sabu VICE PRESIDENTS: 1. Datuk Husam Musa 2. Datuk Mahfuz Omar 3. Salahuddin Ayub Shortly after the results were announced we could see Mat Sabu exuberating diplomacy when interviewed by reporters following the announcement on election results. He told reporters that the Ulama group in PAS still has a great influence in the party especially with the ulama and syura council. According to Mohamad, as an Islamist party, PAS scholars still have their own role under the syura council where they are able to control the party's direction. "Ulama still have a great influence in the party. We are not like Umno who placed scholars under a bureau. We have a syura council where they (ulama) can control the party's direction," said Mohamad. He added that the new leadership has all the abilities needed for PAS to gain momentum in its preparation for the next General Election. "I believe that the new leadership is able to bring a momentum for us to win the next GE with support not only from PAS members, but also the non-Muslims," said Mat Sabu. Many political analysts believe that the party election result, which is not in favor to the ulama group, will see the end of the PAS-Umno Unity Government (UG) which was masterminded by the ulama faction within PAS. I do agree with them. However, I still believe that it is not impossible for another surprise to arise in PAS. As we all know, Mat Sabu has a somewhat 'sentimental' relationship with Anwar. We already know that he was once the biggest hater of the Opposition leader. In fact, Mat Sabu is the man who first coined the title 'al juburi' (the one who like buttocks) to refer to Anwar. This is enough to show how much he hated Anwar. How things can suddenly have turn 180 degrees in politics… My conclusion of the PAS election is that, with Mat Sabu as deputy president and Hadi retaining his party president past, I think it is possible that PAS will be leaving Pakatan in the near future. As for the prospect of a pact between Umno and PAS, I guess Hadi and Sabu have to fight it out…
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| Zaid wants to take the spin out of politics Posted: 05 Jun 2011 04:34 PM PDT
Kita chief continues his broadside against Anwar Ibrahim and talks about the need to change our political culture. "To me, it is not so much who forms the government. It is what sort of governance we have and until we address the question correctly, the public will be involved in what I call 'dirty, stupid, emotional politics of hatred, of dividing the people'." Mariam Mokhtar, Free Malaysia Today Kita president Zaid Ibrahim took potshots at both Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in the concluding part of the interview. He said the failure of the government to punish Ibrahim was "a travesty", adding that he would have come down hard on anyone who made inflammatory remarks. "You should not have someone like Ibrahim inciting people to hatred. This politics of hatred will destroy the country. "If we are not prepared to take action against him and people like him, then we have no future." Zaid stressed that spin and the lack of honesty in dealing with issues were bad for Malaysian politics. "The first thing the politician will say is: 'How do I measure in the popularity scale, if I say this?'" "This is applicable to both Barisan Nasional and Anwar (Ibrahim). This is why it is so disappointing. Extremists like Ibrahim will encourage other extremists. "The country must be governed by civilised laws and principles. If it is offensive to normal human beings, then you should not allow it. "Issues must be dealt with in a transparent and objective way. You cannot spin and hide the truth from the people. That would be irresponsible leadership. "But the art of spinning and propaganda has deeply affected both sides that we cannot see the truth anymore. "We have become cynical. Everybody is for sale, everybody can be bought. This political culture is what I am fighting against. I am not fighting for Putrajaya… "We must be prepared to tell the truth and let the people decide what they want." Short-term political gain Zaid expressed his disappointment with Umno for failing to punish Ibrahim. "Umno says it is… a free country. That is irresponsible because freedom must have limits. We cannot pander to the obnoxious politics of hatred." When asked why he didn't do anything about the "sedition law" when he was then in the government, Zaid said: "I wanted to do so many things, but I was only there for six months. I did what I could, quite a lot of things in my six months." "I think I did more in six months than Anwar did in 15 years." Zaid has his take on how the Malays could reduce their dependency culture on handouts. "I think the first problem is that Umno has informed the Malays they are special. When you are special, you think you are entitled to it (privilege). So you can't blame the Malays for saying, 'If I am entitled to it, why not?'" "It is not the Malays who are the problem; it is the Malay leadership that is the problem because they do not tell the truth about the rights of the people. "Umno wants immediate short-term political gain." When asked why many Malays were reluctant to question their leaders, he said, "There are a lot of Malays who are quite happy with this situation; otherwise Umno would have lost all the seats. "Malays must go through this cultural and political values overhaul about our position in society: what our rights are, the rights of other citizens, how do we live with them, what is this is all about. "First, we must tell the truth about the situation to the Malays and to everybody. The political hypocrisy is so deep, you cannot blame the public for being confused." As Zaid was once part of the establishment, he was asked to give an insight into why ministers remained silent when in power, but seemed to open up after they left the Cabinet. "If you want everything your way, you will become like me, you won't last very long." Collective decision Zaid found it unacceptable that ministers supported government's policies "150%" when in power, but attacked them when they were out of power. "Anwar said that Sabah had a problem with immigration, with the Project IC. He said that he was kept out of the loop. How convenient." "He was the deputy prime minister (DPM) and brought Sabah Umno in, but blamed (Dr) Mahathir Mohamad for that. "When he (Mahathir) sacked all those judges., he (Anwar) was the DPM, what did he do?" Zaid was asked why ministers were slow about effecting change. "Ministers cannot effect change if you are just a minister. It is a collective decision. You can express your views. "But if you are DPM, it is different. If you are also the deputy president of Umno you can influence more things than just an ordinary minister. "I think it depends on where you are in the hierarchy as well. If you are just an ordinary minister, I don't think you can effect much without pushing it to the limits. "Like in my case, you reach a point, the limit comes very soon and then you have to withdraw. But I did not join the Cabinet because I wanted a job. Few people will believe I didn't want the job. "I told the prime minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) that I wanted certain things done. I believed at that time that I was able to do it. When I couldn't, I quit. "It is not that I was a career politican. I was critical of Umno even when I was in Umno. I was just an ordinary member. I was not head of the supreme council. I spoke my mind about change. "Many years ago, if they had listened to me, Umno would be a better party now. But that is a matter of conjecture." Phoney politics Zaid was asked whether ministers kept silent, even though they disagreed with government policies, because the BN has dirt on the past misdeeds of various politicians. "Yes, they probably have. As for me, any misdeeds or flaws in my character were exposed in Hulu Selangor (by-election). "But the difference between Anwar and I is that when it is true, I say 'yes'. I do not say, 'It's not me, sounds like me, but it's not me'. I would not say that." When asked what is the greatest threat the Malaysian people faced, he said: "Phoney politics." "Phoney leaders. People who have no respect for the rakyat. People who have no respect for the truth. People who have no respect for decent values. "The people deserve the leaders they have. If the people are happy with these sort of leaders, this is what they get. "Anwar made fun of my morality. But I am a lot more moral than him. I do not pretend to be what I'm not. "Anwar? He is a great pretender. "I may not be perfect but I believe in telling the truth. Anwar doesn't. So who is the better on the moral scale?" Massive wastage Zaid's message to the Malaysian people is simple. "Malaysians must not be afraid of the truth. They must use their heads. They must use facts and resources to find out and not come to conclusions, too easily. "Politics involves discourse about issues. You must not be prejudiced. There is already so much prejudice, bigotry, suspicion and cynicism in our country. "The politics of the last 50 years was partly contributed by BN, by Umno, by Anwar. I keep coming back to my first point, about process, systems and values. Those must come first. "We got to get the basics right. We may differ with the conclusion. "For example, the government should cut its spending. It is a massive wastage. Why buy submarines for billions of dollars? "But would Malaysians ask that question when they go to the polls? "We will never get a good government and good leaders if we are not prepared to punish leaders for bad policies.
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| Securency money trail nudges Malaysia's political royalty (UPDATED) Posted: 05 Jun 2011 01:56 PM PDT
Haris Onn Hussein is well connected - his cousin is the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, and his brother is Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who is expected in Canberra soon to sign the deal under which Australia will transfer 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia and accept 4000 refugees in return. By Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie, The Age THE Reserve Bank firm Securency hired a company owned by a close relative of Malaysia's Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister - the two men with whom the Gillard government is negotiating to swap asylum seekers - to help win banknote contracts. The revelation comes amid growing sensitivity within the federal government about the Australian Federal Police investigation of Securency and the potential for Australia's international relations to be harmed if foreign officials allegedly linked to the RBA firm's bribes are named. The Age has learned that Securency signed Kuala Lumpur firm Liberal Technology as its Malaysian agent in 2009. The biggest individual shareholder in Liberal Technology is businessman Haris Onn Hussein. Haris Onn Hussein is well connected - his cousin is the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, and his brother is Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who is expected in Canberra soon to sign the deal under which Australia will transfer 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia and accept 4000 refugees in return. Securency hired Haris Onn Hussein in the hope he would offer it access to, and influence over, Malaysia's top politicians. It is a common in parts of Asia for the relatives of politicians to be hired by foreign companies as agents. The Age understands that some officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other agencies are keen for the AFP not to identify certain foreign dignitaries or their relatives who are alleged to be linked to Securency in order to protect Australia's broader overseas interests. Securency, half-owned and supervised by the Reserve Bank, has for two years been investigated by the AFP and the British Serious Fraud Office for allegedly bribing public officials in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria to win banknote supply contracts. Under Australian law, it is a criminal offence for a company or individual to pay, or offer a benefit to, a foreign government official or their close relatives to obtain a business advantage. Australia is yet to prosecute a foreign bribery case, but Securency - which has four RBA-appointed directors on its board - may be the first, given the two-year AFP investigation and the arrest and questioning of some employees and agents last year. No charges have yet been laid. Haris Onn Hussein and Hishammuddin Tun Hussein are political royalty in Malaysia. Their father, the late Tun Hussein Onn, was Malaysia's prime minister between 1976 and 1981. He was succeeded as prime minister by Mahathir Mohamad. Their grandfather, Dato Onn Jaafar, was the founder of Malaysia's ruling United Malays National Organisation political party. Hishammuddin Tun Hussein is vice president of UMNO. Haris Onn Hussein owns shares in or sits on the board of several companies that have benefited from Malaysian government concessions. In 2006, the Malaysian finance ministry told cigarette and alcohol manufacturers that they would need to buy security labels provided by Haris Onn Hussein's Liberal Technology to legally sell their products. Haris Onn Hussein is also associated with a company given a 34-year concession to operate a major Malaysian toll road. Under Securency's corporate structure, its board should have been informed and approved of Mr Haris Onn's company being signed as an agent. The Age can also reveal Securency engaged Malaysian state MP and a former UMNO branch treasurer, Dato Abdullah Hasnan Kamaruddin, as another agent. Mr Kamaruddin was the UNMO party treasurer in Dr Mahathir's home state of Kedah, a position that gave him substantial influence. Despite engaging the extremely well-connected Liberal Technology as agent in 2009, Securency is believed not to have won any further banknote supply contracts. The company won its last major Malaysian contract in 2004. At that time, Mr Razak was the country's defence minister and Hishammuddin Tun Hussein the education minister. It also won a smaller contract in 1998. The Age is not suggesting Mr Razak nor Hishammuddin Tun Hussein were involved in Securency's deals. The company's 1998 and 2004 contracts involved another Malaysian agent, businessman, arms broker and former UMNO official, Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad. He has since been arrested and questioned by Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission over the Securency deals and his use of commissions paid by the RBA firms. The AFP began investigating Securency in May 2009 after The Age revealed its payment of tens-of-millions-of-dollars in commissions to politically connected middlemen to win contracts in Nigeria, Vietnam and India. The company wired millions of dollars into tax haven bank accounts in an effort to conceal the beneficiaries of its payments in an apparent breach of the RBA's rules. The AFP and Britain's Serious Fraud Office have conducted several raids on the offices of Securency and its British half-owner, Innovia Films. Properties owned by serving and former executives and agents have been raided and several arrests made. No charges have been laid yet. Securency's managing director, Myles Curtis, and chief financial officer, John Ellery, were forced out of the company in March last year. Securency's deputy chairman, English businessman Bill Lowther, resigned in October following his arrest by the Serious Fraud Office. RBA governor Glenn Stevens has defended his bank's appointees who have chaired and sat on the Securency board since 1996, telling a federal parliamentary committee in November that he had not seen any evidence to suggest they had acted inappropriately. The RBA plans to sell Securency. EDITOR'S NOTE: Dato' Haris Onn, a Malaysian, is an Independent Non-Executive Drector of the Company and was appointed to the Board on 5 April 2006. Dato' Haris Onn graduated from Cambridge University, United Kingdom, with a Bachelor of Art Degree in Economics. http://www.scomigroup.com.my/core/haris.asp Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad is already in trouble with the Australian government
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| Posted: 04 Jun 2011 04:59 PM PDT
The fundamentalists have lost out to the young professionals, thus setting the stage for further trouble in PAS. Thus, the Pakatan-ruled Selangor government often faced obstacles in administering the state, with verbal clashes common among PKR, DAP and PAS on policies that touched on Islam and Muslims. Zainal Epi, Free Malaysia Today PAS is heading for an internal crisis following the conclusion of the party election where the young intellectuals aligned to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim won all the posts they contested. The result caught the ulama group or veteran fundamentalists by surprise as they had managed to ward off the onslaught of the young group dubbed the "Erdogans" in the 2009 party election. But this time around, their "shields" were no longer invincible. (The Erdogans are named after popular Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is known for his moderate Islamic politics.) Outside the Dewan Kolej Universiti Islam Zulkifli Mohamad, at Taman Melewar, here, where the results were announced yesterday, many veterans voiced their dissatisfaction. Two-termed deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, "targeted" by the Erdogans in 2009, fell to party rebel rouser Mohamed Sabu who captured the number two spot with a convincing majority of 196 votes (Nasharuddin polled 224 votes to Mohamed's 420). Mohamed, known for his fiery speeches, had even defeated another well-known candidate Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man by a mere 21-vote majority. Nasharuddin has been marked for "political assassination" by the Erdogans when he mooted the idea of a unity government with Umno immediately after the 2008 general election, where the Barisan Nasional performed dismally. Islamic ideology The veterans have all this while refused to play second fiddle to PKR or DAP in the Paktan Rakyat as they tried to promote its brand of Islamic ideology in the alliance, which has been rejected outright by DAP and quietly by PKR. Thus, the Pakatan-ruled Selangor government often faced obstacles in administering the state, with verbal clashes common among PKR, DAP and PAS on policies that touched on Islam and Muslims. Even Valentine's Day celebration became a big issue as PAS tried to ban the event, which it said contains elements of Christianity. While the veterans were beating the drums, the Erdogans kept silent as they quietly planned a "new approach and strategy" to take over the leadership after their failed bid in the 2009 party election. With the fall of Nasharuddin and the vice-presidents – Sallehuddin Ayub, Mahfuz Omar and Husam Musa – the party is now totally in the hands of the Erdogans. Abdul Hadi Awang, who won the president post uncontested, is now standing alone and he will no longer be able to dictate policies as he wishes. With the new line-up, PAS is expected to field mostly professionals in the coming general election, but the seat allocations will be decided by an "outside force", that is, Anwar.
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| Will PAS’s new dream team be Umno’s nightmare? Posted: 04 Jun 2011 11:23 AM PDT
By Sheridan Mahavera, The Malaysian Insider The election of veteran activists, parliamentarians, state administrators and think tank experts into the top PAS leadership has appeared to put the party on a firm war footing. This line-up of Mohamed Sabu as the PAS deputy president and vice-presidents Salahuddin Ayub, Datuk Husam Musa and Datuk Mahfuz Omar is expected to not only stand shoulder to shoulder with allies in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but it is said that they want to spearhead the coalition in its march to Putrajaya. Their election perhaps speaks of the party's changing membership and support base, and the rank-file's desire to see the party move beyond an Islamist movement to a national-level ruling party. And there is very little doubt about working or talking to Umno or Barisan Nasional (BN). Not only will this leadership have no truck with them, PAS's new war cabinet fervently wants to replace Umno as the representative of Malay Muslims. Yet despite the optimism that the new leadership could widen PAS's public appeal, a significant number of members are uncomfortable with the shift in the voting trend. "I wished that an ulama had won. PAS should be lead by an ulama because it is an Islamic movement," said a Kuala Lumpur grassroots member when he heard the new line up. For the first time in 20 years, a majority of PAS's top leadership are made up of those who don't come from a religious education background or to use a much-misunderstood term, ulama (religious scholar). "This is the leadership that will put the fear in Umno," said Kelana Jaya delegate Abdul Rahman Othman. "It is a dynamic dream team for us to go into the next general election." The headline-grabbing personality is the very amiable new party deputy president Mohamad. A former MP, senior Pakatan leader/activist, ex-Internal Security Act detainee, popular ceramah speaker and a veteran civil disobedience insurrectionist. Mohamad defeated incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa and another popular challenger, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man for the coveted post. Below him are three vice-presidents, each of whom has crafted huge public profiles as national parliamentary opposition leaders — Salahuddin, Husam and Mahfuz. Of the central committee members, only six are considered "ulama" personalities. The rest of the 18 elected members are lawyers, doctors, engineers, — individuals that more reflect the majority Malay middle and working class that PAS courts. Mohd Rashidi Hasan, a popular pro-PAS writer, explained that though delegates still wanted the ulama to be "guardians of the party", they realised it would take more than religious scholars to beat Umno. "PAS wants to lead Pakatan, but to do that it needs to win more Malay majority seats," said Rashidi. In a way, the election results are an out-growth of the sentiments that elected the new Muslimat (women's wing) leadership, where the top three posts went to two MPs and a Senator. "We wanted a leadership that would be able to take Muslimat forward," said a Muslimat member from Perak, who requested anonymity. It is a desire for PAS to move beyond Malay society's religious set and appeal to mainstream Muslims, whose ties to the faith are basic and who are more worried about making ends meet. Delegates however took pains to stress that the polls was not a manifestation of the "ulama vs professional" schism that has dominated media reports about PAS.. "We choose based on who we think can best perform," said Temerloh delegate Syed Hamid Syed Mohamed.
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