Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

‘Malaysia Spring’ Approaches in Anwar Vision

Posted: 02 Nov 2011 03:58 PM PDT

By Ranjeetha Pakiam, Bloomberg

Malaysia's opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, said that in the nation's next election, his People's Alliance coalition will end five decades of rule by the National Front as a trend toward democracy strengthens across southeast Asia.

"We're taking over the government at the rate we're going," Anwar said in an interview yesterday at his office in parliament in Kuala Lumpur, citing as a sign of support a July 9 rally where thousands marched and called for greater fairness in election practices. Currently on trial for sodomy -- a charge he says was influenced by the ruling party -- he predicted that the opposition would be boosted even if he is convicted.

An opposition victory would build on gains made in 2008, when Prime Minister Najib Razak's coalition had its slimmest election win since the country became independent in 1957. In a year that has seen autocratic regimes swept from power in a Middle East upheaval known as the "Arab Spring," neighboring Singapore saw a record vote for the opposition in May, and Myanmar released some political rivals from jail last month.

"When will the 'Malaysia Spring' be? The next elections," said Anwar, 64, a former deputy prime minister, anticipating that a vote will come anytime from the end of December to March. "Hopefully, we'll do ours in a peaceful democratic process."

Jailed, Then Freed

Once the designated successor of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled from 1981 to 2003, Anwar was removed from office and tried in 1998 for abuse of power and having sex with a man, which is an offense in Malaysia. He was imprisoned for six years before the sodomy charge was overturned. Barred from politics for four years after being released from jail, he then led the opposition to its 2008 election result.

A conviction in his second trial on sodomy charges is a "foregone conclusion," said Anwar, who could be jailed for as long as 20 years if found guilty. Najib's administration has said that the trial, which is scheduled to resume Nov. 23, isn't politically motivated.

While an election isn't due until 2013, Najib announced a budget last month that stoked speculation about an earlier vote. The plan gives cash to low-income families, raises civil servants' pay and boosts spending on railways to spur growth at a time when global economic risks cloud the outlook for Malaysian exports.

Najib, 58, has sought to broaden the appeal of the ruling party, rolling back decades-old protectionist policies, opening up service industries to foreign investors and easing rules on ethnic-Malay ownership in companies.

Seeking to bolster his public image after July street protests in the capital led to the arrest of more than 1,600 people, Najib has also pledged to abolish a 51-year-old law allowing the government to detain citizens without trial.

Falling Poll Numbers

Support for Najib slipped to 59 percent in August from 65 percent in May, according to a survey by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, an independent research institute based near Kuala Lumpur.

"The opposition will probably win more seats, but an outright victory is doubtful," said Afif Bin Pasuni, a professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. "If Anwar is convicted, it'll be difficult to hold the opposition together because they have very different political ideologies -- Anwar is adept at handling these differences."

The People's Alliance opposition group includes Anwar's People's Justice Party; the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, some of whose members espouse the implementation of Islamic law; and the Democratic Action Party, whose secretary-general is Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Malaysia's only ethnic-Chinese state leader.

Coalition Differences

Theft, illicit sex, alcohol consumption and renouncing Islam are crimes under hudud, or Islamic law, and punishment can involve whipping, stoning to death or amputation of limbs. The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party's support for implementing hudud has faced objections from the Democratic Action Party. Anwar said that while coalition members are free to articulate their views, they cannot compel others to agree.

If he is convicted, Anwar said, a "mechanism" has been put in place for leadership succession. He declined to identify who would take his place.

The alliance anticipates winning more than 40 percent of the vote in the states of Johor and Pahang, making gains in Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu and getting majorities in the five states it won in 2008, Anwar said.

"The trend for freedom and democracy is irreversible," said Anwar, who tells his party leaders to read French author Alexis de Tocqueville's 19th-century political work "Democracy in America." "We should be able to do much better."

Was Malaysian govt silent partner in Maxis-Maran deal?

Posted: 02 Nov 2011 03:55 PM PDT

By Raman Kirpal, Firstpost.Business

The 2G scam is beginning to create ripples abroad. While that was always likely – with companies ranging from Etisalat to Telenor and Maxis having invested in Indian partners who are now under a cloud of suspicion or in jail – for the first time a foreign government has begun to be impacted indirectly.

Reason: Maxis group, which is a Malaysia-based group owned by T Ananda Krishnan, and the Malaysian government are partners in Astro, which invested Rs 629 crore in Sun Direct TV, the Maran family's direct-to-home company.

It found that Khazanah Nasional, a Malaysian government-run company, owns nearly 40 percent in Astro All Asia Networks. Reuters
If, as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleges, Krishnan paid Rs 550 crore to the Sun TV Group for alleged favours shown by Dayanidhi Maran when he was Communications Minister, by implication the Malaysian government's money has been used for something illegal – though it may have been completely unaware of it.

The CBI stumbled upon Malaysian government links while investigating Dayanidhi Maran's alleged role in forcing C Sivasankaran to sell his stake in Aircel to Maxis Group. It found that Khazanah Nasional, a Malaysian government-run company, owns nearly 40 percent in Astro All Asia Networks.

Astro, which is majority-owned by Krishnan, is alleged to have invested in Sun Direct, allegedly as a quid pro quo for favours shown to Maxis in spectrum licences. The Sun TV group is run by Dayanidhi Maran's brother Kalanithi.

Khazanah's chairman is none other Malaysian Prime Minister Haji Mohammed Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak (or Najib Razak, for short). Given its high stake in Astro, the chairman of Astro is a government appointee – former government minister Haji Badri Haji Masri.

The situation is tricky for the CBI, which is planning to send a number of letters rogatory (LRs) to Malaysia to seek information on Ananda Krishnan's companies and activities. The LRs will be sent on the assumption that the Malaysian government does not know about the details of Ananda Krishnan's corporate involvement with the Sun TV Group. But with Ananda Krishnan now becoming an accused in the 2G scam case, it is becoming embarrassing both for him and the Malaysian government, which is his partner.

CBI sources are in the process of sending a formal request to the Malaysian government for information, which, they believe, could set off separate formal investigations against Krishnan for paying the "alleged bribe'' from a company in which the government has a high stake. Khazanah Nasional has listed Astro as one of its industry partners on its website. The website says: "Khazanah Nasional is a driving force in shaping selected strategic industries in Malaysia, nurturing their development and doing so with the objective of pursuing the nation's long-term economic interests.'' In its code of ethics, which applies to all its partners, including Astro, Khazanah believes in sustainable business relationships based on the key principles of integrity, accountability, management of conflicts of interests, honest representation, compliance with applicable laws and regulations and gifts policy.

In its annual report, Astro says that its wholly-owned subsidiary South Asia Entertainment Holdings Ltd (SAEHL) subscribed to shares in Sun Direct, in which it holds a 20 percent stake. Astro's 2010 annual report reads: "As on 31 January 2010, the group had invested some INR 5,990 million (Malaysian ringgit 490 million) in Sun Direct TV for a 20 percent equity interest. During the year, the group accounted for INR 1,102 million (RM81 million) for its share of the anticipated start-up losses arising in Sun Direct TV.''

It's not yet known if Astro's chairman and government appointee Haji Badri Haji Masri was aware that some of this investment may have been made for collateral reasons. Astro's deputy chairman and group CEO Ralph Marshall, however, knew about the "malafide" intentions, the CBI claims. He too finds himself listed as an accused in the 2G scam.

The CBI, which has named Ananda Krishnan as an accused in its FIR, charges that Sun Direct TV had grossly overvalued its assets. Astro bought a 20 percent stake for Rs 629 crore, while the Maran family paid only Rs 79 crore to buy 80 percent in the company. Thus Astro pumped in an additional Rs 550 crore for favours showered by Dayanidhi Maran.

The CBI claims in its FIR that Maran had favoured Maxis Communications by clearing seven spectrum deals and, in return for this favour, Maxis' sister concern Astro invested Rs 629 crore at the rate of Rs 69.57 per share.

As the CBI readies its formal LR to seek help from the Malaysian judicial and regulatory authorities, it expects the news to impact Malaysian politics. As a near 40 percent owner of Astro, the proportionate part of the quid pro quo amount of Rs 550 crore would be Rs 220 crore. This can, quite legitimately, be considered as use of government funds for unintended purposes and personal gains.

Astro could theoretically claim that it had to do some things to gain entry in a foreign market with opaque rules. In fact, its report to shareholders says it faces risks of unexpected changes in laws, regulations, licensing, taxation and other policies, as it invests in foreign ventures and operates overseas. Whether this broad disclosure will cut any ice with the Malaysian government remains to be seen – and also whether the CBI manages to prove quid pro quo.

The CBI, in its LRs, clearly mentions "criminal intent" on the part of Ananda Krishnan and Ralph Marshall in investing funds in the Maran family's Sun Direct business.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Khamis, 3 November 2011