Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Posted: 03 Aug 2011 07:27 PM PDT

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's wife blazes her own controversial trail

She has also been photographed carrying what appears to be a Birkin handbag, designed and manufactured by Hermès of Paris and named for the actress and singer Jane Birkin. Prices of the bags range from US$9,000 to US$150,000 according to the type of material used. She has been photographed as well wearing what appears to be a 65.77 carat white and black Zebra safari bangle bracelet from also Jacob & Co. and made of white and black pave diamonds and 18-karat white gold.

Written by John Berthelsen, Asia Sentinel

The surat layang – "flying letters" in Malay, or anonymous assaults -- have been flying in record numbers in recent weeks, attacking Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. They are being picked up and spread in volume by the country's blogosphere, much of it arrayed against the Barisan Nasional, or ruling national coalition.

It isn't certain who is behind the attacks, but they are clearly tied to national elections expected either late this year or early in 2012. The opposition and the dominant United Malays National Organization are blaming each other and both saying they aren't involved. But the 60-year-old Rosmah has become a lightning rod for criticism of the administration, most of it centering on her alleged profligacy and her reported dominance of her husband's political and social agenda. The attacks compare her to both Shakespeare's Lady MacBeth, who drove her husband to murder and tragedy, and to former Filipino First Lady Imelda Marcos, who gained fame for her extravagance including owning hundreds of pairs of shoes.

More ominously, as Asia Sentinel has reported, she has been the subject of rumors for several years that she somehow was involved in the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu, to the extent that a businessman close to her allegedly paid a witness RM750,000 to get out of the country after he said the dead woman had an affair with her husband. In addition, court testimony has indicated that she met with a former aide to Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim prior to the aide's accusing Anwar of raping him.

Those in Anwar's Pakatan Rakyat coalition say the attacks on Rosmah are coming from Muhyiddin Yassin, the 64-year-old deputy prime minister and protégé of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Muhyiddin played a major role in driving former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from power and has long been regarded as being ambitious to succeed Najib should the prime minister stumble.

Added to that equation, the sources say, are Mahathir's own ambitions to see his third son Mukhriz, currently the deputy minister of international trade, as deputy prime minister. Muhyiddin also fits Mahathir's political philosophy more than Najib does. He is an advocate of Ketuanan Melayu – ethnic Malay dominance of the economic and political landscape, in opposition to Najib, who is committed to his so-called 1Malaysia campaign, an attempt to bring other races back into the Barisan Nasional fold. Mahathir has become increasingly strident in his calls to preserve Malay dominance as well.

Sources in the United Malays National Organization blame the accusations on Pakatan Rakyat in an effort to blacken Najib's reputation and hamstring the ruling national coalition in advance of elections expected later this year or early next. One aide to a top UMNO politician says neither Mukhriz or Muhyiddin would be likely to be attack Rosmah as Najib's surrogate now. If serious infighting broke out within UMNO, the aide says, it would seriously cripple the party and the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in advance of the polls.

If Mahathir and Muhyiddin were really after Najib, the aide says, it would make no sense for them to be daring the destruction of their party and the loss of even more of the Barisan's power, which was severely dented in March 2008 elections when for the first time in the country's then-50 year history its two-thirds hold on parliament was broken by the opposition. Other sources say that Mahathir himself owes a debt of gratitude to Najib's father, the late Tun Abdul Razak, for rehabilitating him after he had been kicked out of UMNO by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first prime minister, and that he wouldn't go against Najib for that reason.

However, observers point out, Muhyiddin hasn't been publicly defending either Najib or Rosmah lately. One businessman in Kuala Lumpur told Asia Sentinel: "Mahathir and Anwar are both working towards the same objective even if they aren't working together – get Najib out."

Rosmah has been controversial since well before Najib became prime minister. The newest sensation appeared a few weeks ago with a report by a Kuala Lumpur-based opposition blog that she had received a US$24.8 million diamond ring from the New York-based Jacob & Co. jewelers and that the ring had passed through customs without duty being charged. Rosmah has said publicly that: "There is nothing I want to say (in relation to the purchase of ring) because I have no time to entertain such issue." She later denied buying the ring.

She has also been photographed carrying what appears to be a Birkin handbag, designed and manufactured by Hermès of Paris and named for the actress and singer Jane Birkin. Prices of the bags range from US$9,000 to US$150,000 according to the type of material used. She has been photographed as well wearing what appears to be a 65.77 carat white and black Zebra safari bangle bracelet from also Jacob & Co. and made of white and black pave diamonds and 18-karat white gold.

In addition to her taste in jewelry, Rosmah has raised hackles about her influence on government, rumors that she is enriching the family and because of the social life she leads. Particularly galling to some is her claiming the title of Malaysia's first lady, a title usually reserved for the wife of the king. A six-person unit has been established in the prime minister's office, known as FLOM, an acronym for First Lady of Malaysia, to look after her needs, a far cry from the wives of previous prime ministers such as Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, Mahathir's austere physician wife.

Sources say Rosmah has continually inserted herself in the political process and has been responsible for spending vast amounts of government money – for instance, as much as RM80 million in a 15-month campaign to refurbish the Prime Minister's residence.

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Pakatan Rakyat terbuka buat Ku Li

Posted: 03 Aug 2011 06:11 PM PDT

Jika dia terus berdiam diri di sarang UMNOnya di Gua Musang, Najib dan UMNO tidak akan berani mengusiknya. Jika dia tidak dicalonkan semula di Gua Musang oleh BN, dia akan bertanding atas pentas apa jua, dan saya amat yakin Pakatan Rakyat akan memberi laluan kepadaya untuk mengalahkan calon BN selain daripadanya.

Subky Latiff, Harakah Daily

APABILA Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah dan beberapa orang bekas orang kuat Barisan Nasional membentuk NGO bernama Amanah, mengaitkannya dengan legasi Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra dan pesan amanah kemerdekaan yang ditinggalkan, maka ia terdedahkan kepada serba spekulasi.

Kenyataan awal pelancaran Amanah itu baik dari Ku Li dan rakan kanannya Tan Sri Kadir Shikh Fadhir mengkritik politik dan pimpinan Perdana Menteri Najib yang mereka kira tidak sejalan dengan semangat amanah kemerdekaan yang dibawa Tunku dulu.

Ku Li dan Amanahnya akan membuat penjelasan lanjut tentang dakwaan itu dan menariknya ia berlaku di ambang PRU 13 dan sejurus selepas tsunami Bersih 2.0 yang menggegarkan tembok pentadbiran Najib dan BN.

Reaksi awal tidak segara datang dari Najib tetapi datang dari pihak yang boleh dikira proksinya iaitu Zaharin Hashim, MP pelarian PKR Bayan Baru. Ia tidak datang dari UMNO yang sah dan tidak juga dari kerabat BN.

Tetapi suaranya dipercayai mewakili kekhuatiran Najib.

Politik Ku Li kira-kira adalah gara-gara risikan kerabat Pakatan Rakyat menganjurkan Ku Li boleh alih peranan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ditakdirkan ketua pembangkang itu dipenjarakan atau dijatuhkan hukum yang melarangnya jawatan awam politik.

Mungkin fikiran mengaitkan Ku Li dengan perkembangan pembangkang itu ada asasnya, tetapi bom asap yang dilepaskan oleh Zaharin itu adalah bagi menolak supaya Ku Li terkeluar dari sarang UMNOnya dan segeralah berambus ke gelanggang Anwar.

Kemahuan Najib ia supaya Ku Li tidak lagi jadi duri dan ancamannya dalam UMNO. Kiranya Najib mulai berada di sarang UMNO yang Abdullah Badawi bertinggik dulu, maka Ku Li adalah antara calon berpotensi untuk menolaknya sama seperti Najib menolak Tun Lah dulu. Akan kurang satu ancamannya dari dalam.

Bagi Zaharin adalah untuk mendapat sedikit untung dari apa jua yang boleh melemahkan Anwar dan PKR. Sekali pun dia payah untuk mendapat kedudukan dalam UMNO selepas PRU nanti, tetapi dia boleh menumpang kasih dari Najib kiranya kembali berkuasa.

Tetapi bagi Ku Li tidak beroleh apa-apa kerugian dari politik bom asap yang dilepaskan oleh Zaharin itu.

Hayat politik Zaharin dipercayai berakhir sebaik Parlimen dibubarkan, tetapi Ku Li mulai ada harga yang tinggi baik dia kekal dalam UMNO atau pun dia ditolak keluar dari UMNO.

Jika Najib dan UMNO menang lagi dan Ku Li adalah dalam UMNO, maka Ku Lilah tumpuan UMNO bagi mendepani politik Najib yang serba uzur itu. Sekali pun Najib kembali berkuasa tetapi kedudukannya lebih teruk dari kedudukan Tun Lah dulu. Giliran Ku Li sekali lagi menawar diri menjadi calon Presiden UMNO.

Kali ini peluang Ku Li lebih baik dari sebelumnya.

Tetapi kalau digugurkan UMNO di Gua Musang, Pakatan Rakyat adalah terbuka kepadanya. Memang Pakatan Rakyat terbuka untuk semua orang kecuali Dr. Mahathir.

Dan kalau sudah ada kemputusan Anwar tidak boleh menyertai pilihan raya, maka keadaan Ku Li mungkin terapung ketika itu tetapi harganya tinggi. Tidak kira dia akan menggantikan Anwar atau tidak, tetapi dia dapat menambah satu gambar lagi dalam poster Pakatan Rakyat, setanding dengan gambar Tok Guru Nik Aziz, Tok Guru Haji Hadi, Lim Kit Siang dan Anwar.

Tidak penting sama ada Ku Li sudah dirisik atau tidak. Dengan dia menubuhkan Amanah, dia mulai menjadi bahan politik yang panas.

Jika dihantar oleh merisiknya pun tidak ada yang merugikan PR. Jika dia menolak, maka PR tetap dalam keadaannya yang ada, dan kedudukan Anwar tidak akan bertukar dari keadaan yang payah kepada keadaan yang senang. Anwar hanya akan senang kira PRU 13 ini memihak kepada Pakatan.

Tetapi jika Ku Li memberi jawapan positif kepada risikan itu, ia bukan sekadar bom asap kepada politik negara, tetapi ibu segala bom.

Tidak salah Ku Li dirisik dan dipujuk. Tentunya seseorang itu mahu dihargai. Bukan tujuan saya mahu menyamakan Ku Li dengan Abu Sufian. Abu Sufian sudah tidak ada harga pada Rasulullah SAW sekali pun dia masih orang kuat Quraisy.

Bapa saudara Nabi, Abas memujuknya supaya beriman ketika baginda sudah dalam perjalanan untuk membebaskan Mekah. Dia pun beriman. Nabi menghargainya dengan menyatakan siapa yang berlindung di rumah Abu Sufian dijamin selamat.

Sikap di saat terakhir Abu Sufian itu membantu Nabi masuk Mekah tanpa halangan.

Merisik Ku Li dan dia tahu pula membawa diri menyesuaikan dengan keadaan, memberi banyak manfaat kepada semua kecuali UMNO dan BN.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Khamis, 4 Ogos 2011