Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Malaysian government says smuggled UBS millions were UMNO party funds Posted: 11 Oct 2012 02:57 PM PDT The Bruno Manser Fund is shocked by Nazri's claim that Hong Kong-laundered UMNO funds, which were secretly cashed in from logging companies in return for favours, should not be linked to corruption. Nazri's statements reveal the extent of collusion with illegal logging by the highest levels of the Malaysian government.
In a stunning statement, Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz ("Nazri"), has today said that 16 million dollar Singapore dollars (USD 13 million) smuggled out of Hong Kong by Malaysian businessman Michael Chia were funds belonging to UMNO (United Malays National Organization), the leading party of Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and not to Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman. The statement was made in a written reply to questions filed in parliament by opposition MP Chua Tian Chang. The minister's statement, obviously aimed at exonerating the embattled Sabah Chief Minister, is likely to create new problems for the Malaysian government. On 14 August, 2008, Michael Chia was caught red-handed at the Hong Kong International Airport with the money in his luggage before boarding a flight to Kuala Lumpur. Michael Chia is a close associate of Musa Aman, the Chief Minister of Malaysian state of Sabah and the brother of Malaysia's Foreign Minister, Anifah Aman, both of whom are UMNO members. Michael Chia's arrest triggered an investigation by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) which asked the Swiss and Malaysian authorities for legal assistance. The Swiss government provided legal assistance to Hong Kong in March 2011 and has since confirmed that UBS is the only Swiss bank involved in the "MUSA Bin Aman et al." legal assistance case. Based on a complaint by the Bruno Manser Fund, Switzerland's Attorney General opened a criminal investigation against UBS over money-laundering on 29 August 2012. Documents submitted by the Bruno Manser Fund to the Swiss prosecutors are showing that Michael Chia played a central role in cashing in kickbacks from logging companies which were granted timber harvest and log export concessions by Yayasan Sabah, a public body controlled by Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman. The Bruno Manser Fund is shocked by Nazri's claim that Hong Kong-laundered UMNO funds, which were secretly cashed in from logging companies in return for favours, should not be linked to corruption. Nazri's statements reveal the extent of collusion with illegal logging by the highest levels of the Malaysian government. The Bruno Manser Fund is calling on the Malaysian King, His Majesty Tuanku Abdul Halim, to appoint an independent special prosecutor in order to investigate the failure of Malaysia's legal and political system in this matter. |
| No man can get rich in politics unless he's a crook! Posted: 11 Oct 2012 02:50 PM PDT I read with curiosity the recent call by PM Najib to inculcate a "natural abhorrence to corruption into the conscience of society." Even after reading his "natural abhorrence" statement, my ringgit still does not feel safe in my pocket. No man can get rich in politics unless he's a crook! - President Harry Truman Frankly speaking, I cannot really grasp the real purpose of his speech because in reality, corruption had already seeped into every nook and corner of our society that had become as common as "nasi lemak".Let's not argue about it. Besides, at times like these, one genuinely needs a healthy dose of jokes every now and then to lift one up and out of the dreary and melodramatic antics of some Barisan Nasional's politicians. These antics are often oozed into the cesspit bottom of the mainstream government-siding electronic and print media as front page news. Well, if Najib is serious, I mean dead serious, he should put this "natural abhorrence" joke aside and read this book: "Give 'Em Hell, Harry!" This book has all the ingredients of what a leader should be made up of. President Harry Truman I never saw myself as President. I was just in the right place at the wrong time. I've always thought of myself as an ordinary man. I don't have any special personal endowments, and I don't waste time worrying about what I don't have. I just try to do the best I can with what I do have. It's not important how you do something or say it; the point is to get it said and done. People even object to my language. Some old party hen is supposed to have come up to Bess and said, Mrs. Truman, can't you get the President to stop using the word 'manure'? And Bess is supposed to have replied, it's taken me 40 years to get him to use it. I may have inherited this job, but, by God, I'm in charge, and they damn well better know it! You know, a fella could get rich in this job, if he really wanted to. But I found out something a long time ago: that when you play ball with the money boys, you pay! Oh, I've done some favors for friends down through the years, just like any other influence peddler in Washington, but I never got anything for myself out of it. And I'll tell you something else: No man can get rich in politics unless he's a crook! It can't be done. Road Contractors When Tom Pendergast paid me a visit after a bond issue had been passed to build roads, I got my first taste of "road contractors." I told Tom that his supporters weren't very good road builders, and that was all that really concerned me. "Their bids were too damn high, Tom," I said, "and the roads they build are crumbling like pie crusts. I'm going to award the job to some bunch from out of state..." There are three things on this earth that'll ruin a man—power, money and women. If a man can accept power as a temporary thing, he's going to be all right. But if he thinks he's the cause of the power, that'll ruin him. And money, if a man makes too much money, too quickly, it can separate him from the rest of the human race who have to work most of their lives just to earn a living. And if a man is disloyal to his family, that'll ruin him. "Cause if you've got the right partner in life, you're not going to have much trouble…" This book is a good read, simple and straight forward. Politically, Truman never budged an inch when he knew that he was right. He literally took the bull by its horns when he was dealing with the Ultra Right Joseph McCarthy, Ku Klux Klan and General McArthur. In his own party, he had to take on President Franklin Roosevelt who was dead set against him because he was backing legislation to limit Presidents to two terms. He also took on the all powerful Joseph McCarthy whom he called the "the most lamentable mistake of the Almighty…" "And I tell you, folks, if you keep your mouth shut about something like that, democracy simply will not work!" - Truman
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