Mahathir : Biar saya pula jumpa akar umbi UMNO...

Ahli akar umbi UMNO...

1. Saya ucap terima kasih kerana ada ahli-ahli akar umbi UMNO yang menasihati saya supaya tidak “menyerang” Dato’ Sri Najib, Presiden UMNO dan Perdana Menteri Malaysia.

2. Saya punyai sedikit pengalaman dalam bidang politik, terutama yang berkaitan dengan budaya Melayu. Kita cenderung untuk setia kepada pemimpin. Kita tidak soal apa-apa yang dilakukan oleh pemimpin. Dia pemimpin, kita pengikut. Oleh itu, ikut sahajalah. Lebih-lebih lagi apabila kita diberi penerangan olehnya secara tertutup seolah-olah kita dapat berkongsi rahsia dengan pemimpin kita.

3. Tetapi untuk kita membuat keputusan atau menghukum secara bijak, secara adil kita perlu dengar kedua-dua belah pihak.

4. Jika ada yang fikir saya merosakkan parti, saya harap saya diberi peluang untuk menjelaskan kenapa saya “menyerang” Dato’ Sri Najib. Bagi saya serangan ini mungkin tidak menyenangkan Najib dan sebahagian daripada ahli UMNO tetapi sebabnya ialah kerana saya ingin menyelamatkan UMNO, parti keramat yang dahulu disokong sehingga menang 2/3 tiap PRU.

5. Hanya mereka yang tidak dapat lihat sahaja yang tidak sedar bahawa UMNO dibawah Dato’ Sri Najib telah gagal memulih UMNO selepas Tun Abdullah. Kemenangan Najib lebih tipis.

6. Saya harap saya diberi peluang berjumpa dengan ahli UMNO biasa untuk menerang akan masalah kehilangan berbillion Ringgit oleh Dato’ Sri Najib. Lepas mendengar kedua-dua pihak adililah terhadap “serangan” saya. Apakah saya sedang merosakan parti atau mencuba menyelamatkanya.- che det

Dr M asks for chance to meet UMNO members

Najib’s defiance vs Mahathir’s spunk...

Prime Minister Najib’s open show of defiance in the face of Dr Mahathir’s campaign to oust him will only provoke the former premier to intensify his attacks, according to political analyst Shahbudin Husin.

Indeed, Shahbudin notes in his latest blog entry, Mahathir showed a hint of how combative he could get just hours after Tuesday night’s broadcast of Najib’s belligerent speech.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mahathir referred to rumours about the lavish lifestyle of the Prime Minister and his wife, mentioning the talk about the high expense incurred in celebrating the wedding of their daughter.

Shahbudin joins other commentators in interpreting Najib’s televised speech as a signal to Mahathir that he will fight the former prime minister at whatever cost.

If Najib maintains his resolve and Mahathir remains true to his character, the Malaysian public will be witnessing a bitter war indeed, according to Shahbudin.

The blogger appears to be putting his money on Mahathir.

“As everyone knows,” he says, “Mahathir will never back off, will never surrender, will never abandon something he has started.

“It is said that he would not do anything without placing it on a firm basis. It is also said that he becomes especially creative when engaged in a fight.

“Now that Najib has made it clear that he won’t back down, many believe that it stimulates Mahathir’s stamina and he will become more aggressive. Indeed, he is expected to come forward with more damaging and perhaps extraordinary evidence” to show that Najib is not qualified to remain as Prime Minister.

Shahbudin says its unreasonable to ask Mahathir to stop openly criticising Najib. “He has already tried to counsel the Prime Minister in private and has even written to him, but Najib has chosen to ignore him.”

He says the public is “clearly with Mahathir” in seeking answers to questions that the former premier has posed to Najib. He notes that even Najib’s predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has recently joined the chorus asking the Prime Minister to give direct answers to Mahathir’s questions.

“So, with neither Najib nor Mahathir willing to back down, how will it all end?” Shahbudin asks. “Will the war drag on until the 14th general election and end in the defeat of both?” - fmt

20 sen increase for RON95 in May...

Menteri kaki kelentong...

cheers.

Apa guna ETP,GTP,NKRA kalu soal 1MDB tak boleh jawab...

PM Najib muncul dengan ucapan ala State Of The Nation Address. Tema nya ialah Transformasi Untuk Semua. Ia disiarkan live. 

Dia menggunakan kesempatan tersebut untuk jerit, memberi amaran dan melepaskan geram. Jika kita ada pemimpin seperti ini, ini petanda Malaysia dalam bahaya.

Kita dengar dan kita boleh debat pencapaian dan rekod yang ditunjukkan oleh ETP, GTP, NKRA dan peranan Pemandu. Kita tahu lah ini semua dan ini pun asas kita mengkritik kerajaan.

Yakni sebaik sahaja kerajaan mencampuri pengurusan ekonomi secara aktif, maka nature dan bagaimana campur tangan itu dilaksanakan akan menjadi bahan kritikan dan teguran yang keras. 

Ancaman  terbesar terhadap kepentingan kita sebagai rakyat negara ini ialah apabila berlakunya konsentrasi kuasa politik dan ekonomi. Ia akan menjurus kepada autokrasi dan akhirnya kleptokrasi. It will be a government of the top 1%, for the 1% , by the 1%.

Sebab itu pengurusan dan campur tangan kerajaan melalui GTP, ETP dan Pemandu itu mesti dijaga supaya dijalankan dengan cekap, amanah dan jujur serta adil.Penjagaan dan kewaspadaan terhadap kecenderungan ini dilakukan oleh semua mereka yang public spirited.

Jika kriteria ini tidak diikuti,  apalagi kita lihat ada penyelewengan, ada tidak amanah, ada cabul kuasa, ada rasuah dan ada konsentrasi kuasa ekonomi dengan kuasa politik- ianya sebab2 lebih besar supaya berjaga2 agar kerajaan tidak melakukan sewenang wenang nya.

Najib boleh istiharlah betapa dia dan jemaah menteri tidak akan berganjak, tidak akan menyerah kalah atau terus membina2 sejuta jalanraya untuk kemakmuran- semua itu tidak menghentikan perkara buruk dilakukan. Dan janganlah pula menyembunyikan kelemahan dibawah rayuan bahawa hanya Tuhan sahaja yang sempurna.

Kita bukan kelahi denganTuhan.

Kita tak expect PM Najib berhenti daripada bercakap tak berhenti henti mengenai apa2 acronym yang dicipta oleh pakar runding yang dibayar gaji yang tinggi. Kita lihat sementara dia berucap berapi api- ada para menteri nya asyik sibuk bercakap perkara lain. Itu tanda nya, sesama jemaaah menteri pun, ada yan tidak yakin dengan apa yang diistiharkan.

Dia boleh jerit dan marah tapi tidak sedikitpun mengurangkan tanggapan pendengar bahawa Najib seperti tak tahu apa yang dia cakapkan.

Kita bukan suruh dia jawab mengenai berkesan atau tidak inisiatif acronym kerajaan. Kita hanya perlu jawab pengurusan 1MDB dan ada atau tidak pecah amanah apabila sejumlah wang disapu atau dibenarkan disapu oleh Jho Low untuk buat bisness sendiri.

Kita hendak tahu adakah wang 1MDB digunakan secara tipu helah untuk membeli asset pada harga yang tinggi dengan ada pula nilai goodwill yang tinggi. Kita hendak tahu ada atau tidak kuasa dicabul bila membeli asset kerajaan pada harga yang tidak munasabah rendah.

Rakyat hendak tahu apa yang kurang pada SST dan kenapa ianya diganti dengan GST? Jika GST kutip cukai yang lebih rendah, mengapa pilih GST kecualilah GST itu sebetulnya skim kutipan cukai yang lebih cekap- yang sebenarnya ia begitu. Maka kita tahu kerajaan yang makin membesar memerlukan wang yang lebih banyak untuk mengurus.

Jika demikian, rakyat khuatir kerajaan yang dipimpin oleh seorang PM yang angkuh, yang belanja macam hilang pedoman, yang membenarkan korapsi dan tipu muslihat, yang tidak mengira apa jadi pada rakyat terus memimpin.

Tidak ada orang pun menyoal sama ada kerajaan kerja kuat atau tidak- sesiapa pun jadi kerajaan boleh mengitsiharkan mereka berkerja kuat untuk rakyat dan sebagainya. Tidak pernah kita dengar mana2 pemimpin termasuk yang diktator, autokratik, kleptoratik- semua mereka memerintah atas nama bangsa dan negara. Di Malaysia lagi hebat- landasan perjuangan atas nama bangsa, agama dan negara.

PM Najib dah marah atau jerit tidak mengapa, tapi jawablah soalan2 mudah yang rakyat tanya. Bila Najib  kasi warning  kepada dr Mahathir- saya rasa ini first in our country.

Saya baru membaca kenyataan mutakhir PM Najib. Dia tidak akan menyerah kalah. Saya sudahpun membaca karakter Najib. Apa lagi saya tahu sedikit sebanyak mengenai nya.

Kita lihat dia menari sakan di majlis kahwin anak dia. PM Najib kelihatan gedik- lebih gedik dari Rosmah Mansor.

Itu tanda orang yang tidak peduli apa jadi ada rakyat. Peduli apa jika dia hendak bawak 3-4 kapalterbang, 300 orang ke- 500 orang ke- itu hal dia lah. Dia PM. Bini dia isteri PM.

Kalau dia buat demikian- apa orang lain boleh buat? Mahathir boleh buat apa? Tengku Razaleigh boleh buat apa? Pemimpin UMNO lain yang semua bergantung soru dengan dia boleh buat apa?

Tidak ada seorang pun pemimpin UMNO yang ada kekuatan moral untuk menegur Najib dan co. kalau ada 2-3 orang yang baik, mereka menghabiskan masa mempertahankan hipokrasi pemimpin mereka.

Saya tidaklah hendak menidakkan bahawa ada terdapat beberapa pemimpin UMNO yang baik karakter tapi mereka too caught up dengan karenah buruk pemimpin nombor 1.

Rosmah Mansor boleh sebut dan berkata macam apa yang dikatakan disebut oleh Marie Antoinette- biarkan rakyat makan kueh. Mak datin dan puan sri yang yang ikut serta dengan rombongan ke Kazakhstan semua nya merasa privileged kerana dapat ikut dan tersenarai dalam kumpulan dianugerah keistimewaan oleh pasangan pertama Malaysia. Apatah lagi pencapaian terbesar dalam dunia ini selain daripada diperakui sebahagaian dari elit utama?

Gelagat Najib menunjukkan business untuk remove him from office bukan suatu perkara senang. Jadi jangan kita hidup dalam khayalan. Dr Mahathir tidak akan boleh desak Najib supaya berundur. Geng Najib akan kata- siapa si mamak tua ini? Malah persendaaan kepada Dr Mahathir sudah pun dimulakan. Bloggers UMNO kata apa yang diucapkan oleh Mahathir SEMUA nya fitnah dan dusta.

Maka nya, Dr Mahathir kena ambil angkah drastic yang lain. Seperti secara sistematik dedahkan perkara buruk yang dilakukan oleh Najib supaya seluruh dunia tahu siapa Najib. Dr Mahathir kena jelajah seluruh negara beritahu negara siapa Najib dan apa yang dia telah lakukan.

Sebagai contoh, rakyat marah mengenai GST. Tapi mereka boleh tangkis lagi isiu GST dan kelentong sana sini. Namun belum sempat  isiu GST terjawab timbul pula pembelian jet eksekutif RM700 lebih juta. Campur dengan maintenance, kerajaan akan belanja RM1 billion untuk 15 tahun akan datang. Ini kerja gila dan pembaziran pemimpin yang angkuh yang tidak peduli perasaan rakyat. Pesewat ini akan digunakan untuk rombongan beli belah golongan terpilih dan pemimpin atasan.

Kita menyampah dengan syarahan Najib mengenai ETP, GTP yang mengujudkan perkerjaan berjuta juta. Siapa perkerja tersebut dan siapa yang dapat kepakaran?

Sila beritahu kita jumlah perkerja bumiputera yang berkerja dalam projek2 mega yang Najib laksanakan? MRT sebagai contoh. Pergilah kemana site MRT- para perkerja mereka adalah perkeja asing. Mereka dibayar rendah – mereka boleh terima sebab keadaan negara mereka teruk.

Tapi disamping itu mereka acquire skills dan kemahiran yang tidak diperolehi oleh anak bangsa kita. Jutaan perkerja asing ini meningkatkan modal insan mereka dan boleh menuntut gaji yang lebih tingi dalam negara lain kelak. Mereka memperolehi kemahiran dan skills membangunkan negara yakni membangunkan kapasiti. Anak bangsa kita bagaimana?

Undi tidak percaya.

Demikian juga, tidak ada harapan hendak lihat suatu undi tidak percaya dilakukan oleh ahli parlimen. Ianya tidak akan terjadi. Kita tidak ada sejarah dan tidak ada budaya membuang pemimpin dengan cara ini.

Yang saya sebut dalam artikel yang terdahulu ialah untuk suatu jumlah ahl parlimen keluar parti masing2 dan mengistiharkan mereka ahli parlimen bebas. Kemudian mereka boleh bersama sama menyokong seorang ahli parlimen yang mereka anggap dapat keyakinan majority.

Speaker terpaksa tanya jurucakap kumpulan ahli parlimen, siapa yang mereka fikir boleh command majority support ahli parlimen.

Untuk merealisasikan agenda ini, sejumlah ahli parlimen mesti keuar parti mereka dan keluar dari BN. BN tidak cukup ahli dan tidak boleh berbuat apa apa, kerajaan mereka akan jatuh. Tidak perlu undi tidak percaya. - Dato' Mohd.Ariff Sabri bin Hj. Abdul Aziz@sakmongkol ak47

No need to rave and rant, Najib told...

It’s a sign of peril for a country when its chief executive, in an address to the nation, resorts to screaming and issuing warnings, Raub MP Ariff Sabri says in his latest blog entry.

Referring to the Prime Minister’s televised address yesterday, Ariff says Najib can go on and on about ETP, GTP, NKRA and the “various other abbreviations concocted by highly paid consultants”, but he can’t convince his listeners that he really knows what he’s talking about.

“We’re not asking him about the effectiveness of the abbreviated initiatives,” he says. “We just want answers to questions about 1MDB’s management and whether or not trust has been breached when money is fleeced away or allowed to be fleeced away by Jho Low for his own business.

“We want to know whether 1MDB funds have been dishonestly used to buy assets at exorbitant rates. We want to know whether there has been an abuse of power in the purchase of government assets at ridiculously low prices.

“The people want to know what’s so bad about SST that it has to be replaced by GST.

“We know that as the government grows in size, it will need bigger funding. That being so, the people are worried that a government led by an arrogant PM, one who is extravagant in his spending, who tolerates corruption and swindling, who doesn’t care what happens to the people, will continue to rule.”

Ariff says Najib’s speech was an exposition of how actively and deeply involved the government is in the economic system.

“The biggest threat to our interests as citizens occurs when political and economic powers are concentrated in the same hands,” he says. “There will be a tendency towards autocracy and eventually kleptocracy. It will be a government of the top 1%, for the 1% , by the 1%.” 

He says Najib had no reason to scream and shout at his critics because it is only fitting that the “public spirited” should monitor the government’s meddling in the economic system to ensure that it is done competently and with responsibility and justice.- fmt

Investigators Conclude 1MDB “Cheated” And “Made False Document” to Bank Negara, Deutsche Bank And Others...

Investigators into the Malaysian development fund 1MDB’s 2009 joint venture with the company PetroSaudi International have concluded that the partnership lied to its banks and Bank Negara Malaysia by confirming that the company Good Star Limited was a 100% subsidiary.

In fact Good Star Limited is a third party concern, controlled by the businessman friend of the Prime Minister, Jho Low, whom we have shown was secretly directing the fund’s investment decisions.

It leads to possible charges of “cheating”, write the investigators in a document in our possession.

A “possible offence by [1MDB]” , according to the document, includes:

    “Cheating Bank 2 [sic] by stating that the account in RBS Coutts Bank belongs to 1MDB PetroSaudi’s parent company[PetroSaudi International]”

On a separate occasion the investigators conclude that during the transfer of an alleged USD$700 million ‘loan repayment’ to PetroSaudi 1MDB stood culpable of the “possible offence” of:

“Cheating Bank 1 [sic] by confirming that Good Star is 100% owned by 1MDB PetroSaudi”.

The papers in Sarawak Report’s possession show that the investigators have identified at least three separate occasions on which these and other transgressions were made, which appear worthy of prosecution.

Money was not used for intended purposes in violation of FEA rules
In particular, the investigators concluded that money passed into the joint venture was:

 “not used for the intended purposes under Foreign Exchange Administration (FEA) if 1MDB PetroSaudi cannot show that the money was transferred from Good Star to the joint venture”.

In fact, subsequent documentary information passed to Sarawak Report shows that over USD$500 million was passed from Good Star to an account at the Swiss Bank BSI in Singapore, which was beneficially owned by Jho Low.

Today it has been further reported that Mr Low bought two penthouses in the City State of a combined value of RM154 million, just one of several examples of his conspicuous spending across the globe.

In a related line of enquiry the investigators examined the evidence that USD$260 million from a separate loan of USD$500 million, supposedly made also to the joint venture, was then diverted to buy out the Taib family’s UBG bank.

“We are investigating whether the money (USD$260 mil) was used to buy UBG shares through Javace Sdn Bhd. If it is true [1MDB] is in breach of FEA rules and possible cheating to Bank Negara Malaysia”, says the report, because this was clearly not the stated purpose for borrowing and then lending the money.

False document

The papers also throw up a second accusation of possible falsification of documents by 1MDB.

Last week Sarawak Report revealed that the Singapore authorities had reported that an alleged bank statement submitted by 1MDB, in order to substantiate evidence about the contents of the fund’s BSI account, was in fact false according to the bank itself.

The bank denied the statement, presented to the authorities by 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy, was an authentic document or that it represented a true picture of the Brazen Sky account, which the PM/ Finance Minister has announced is holding USD$1.103 of the fund’s missing money.

Now the Malaysian investigators accuse 1MDB likewise of:

    “making a false document (a letter to BNM [Bank Negara Malaysia]) and submitted to Bank ‘2’.  This is to make Bank 2 believe that BNM was informed that [the] funds are to be remitted to the joint venture’s parent account”

The funds concerned were the USD$330 million, which passed into Good Star under the guise of providing a loan to PetroSaudi and the above statement makes clear that 1MDB had shown a false copy of a letter supposedly sent to Bank Negara to its lender bank.

In fact, it is implied that no actual letter had been submitted to Bank Negara on the matter, thereby deceiving the bank involved in the transaction.

It is plain from the papers submitted by the investigators that they have recommended that the Finance Minister should authorise an approach the Swiss authorities to confirm if Good Star received the various funds and to confirm if Jho Low is the beneficial owner of the company.

They also wish to pursue the matter of:

     “possible cheating and making false documents by 1MDB against Bank Negara Malaysia” and against two other banks, one of which is believed to be 1MDB’s bank, Deutsche Bank.


The investigators further wish the relevant banks to be questioned over their failures to submit suspicious transaction reports “with a view of compounding the offences if the explanations are not satisfactory” - Read Full Sarawak Report

Dr Wan Azizah penyatu dan pemimpin...

cheers.

Mahathir - Ahmad Maslan tak tahu apa2...

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad menempelak Datuk Ahmad Maslan yang tidak tahu hal ehwal kewangan walhal memegang jawatan Timbalan Menteri Kewangan.

Bekas Perdana Menteri berkata, Ahmad Maslan sebagai pelaksana sepatutnya lebih arif tentang Cukai Barangan dan Perkhidmatan (GST).

Katanya, berdasarkan jawapan dan respon yang diberikan oleh Ahli Parlimen Pontian sudah cukup membuktikan Ahmad Maslan sebenarnya tidak mendalami GST.

“Orang yang nak laksana tak paham apa dia (GST). Bila kita tanya dia pun tidak berapa tahu. Jadi nampak tak memahami secara mendalam. Saya pun kena bayar GST juga,” katanya. 

Dr Mahathir berkata, walaupun beliau tidak memahami GST namun Ahmad Maslan tidak pula mengatakan apa disebutnya itu salah.

“Saya tak faham (GST) tapi apa yang saya kata dia (Ahmad Maslan) tak kata salah tapi yang dia cakap tu macam tak tahu apa.

“Jaga pasal kewangan tapi tak tahu pasal kewangan langsung, macam mana?,” katanya.

Sebelum ini, Ahmad Maslan menyifatkan Dr Mahathir tidak tahu GST kerana kemungkinan tidak mendapat penerangan terperinci atau tersalah tafsir mengenai pelaksanaan GST daripada orang-orang di sekelilingnya.

Dalam perkembangan sama, Dr Mahathir mengesahkan beliau tidak akan menyertai perhimpunan pada 1 Mei bagi membantah pelaksanaan GST.

Dr Mahathir berkata, dia tidak mengatakan apa yang disebut Ahmad itu sebagai salah.

"Tapi dia orang (Ahmad) cakap orang (saya) tak tahu apa," katanya.- fmt

Dr M: Ahmad Maslan clueless about finance..

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has criticised Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan as someone who does not know anything about finance.

Ahmad had responded to Mahathir's concern about the goods and services tax (GST), saying that perhaps the former premier does not understand the matter.

Mahathir had previously lamented that civil servants do not understand GST themselves.

As for the deputy finance minister, he said: "I do not know what he is talking about."

"He looks after finance, but he does not know anything about finance," added the former premier, who also held the finance minister portfolio.

Mahathir had previously voiced his objection to the implementation of the GST, which was imposed on April 1.

It is reported that the Customs and Excise Department has collected RM42 million in GST every day since its implementation.

Asked whether he will participate in the proposed mega May 1 rally this Friday against the GST, the former premier replied that he would not protest.

“I feel and I found that the people who wanted to implement it do not understand. I feel there is no proper study to its implementation. I have to pay the GST also,” he said.

No Najib posters?

Asked to comment on reports that no posters of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak have been put up for the by-elections in Permatang Pauh and Rompin, Mahathir said he does not know about this.

However, he felt Umno has a good chance in wresting Permatang Pauh. 

“I am an Umno member, I see there is an opportunity in Permatang Pauh because the opposition is split. It is not because of Umno is strong but the opposition are fighting or quarreling among themselves.

“I also see a good chance of BN winning in Rompin as PAS is weak.

On being asked that such financial assistance like Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) was also given by the West, Mahathir said he does not agree as it is a form of corruption in giving it close to elections.

“What we should do is create more jobs more opportunities for people to raise their income. I did not give BR1M but we won big. Now he (Najib) gives BR1M, his votes (in parliament) have declined,” he said.- mk

Dr M: RM3 juta untuk bunga kenduri, Rosmah...

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad hari ini menafikan beliau menyerang isteri Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak dalam salah satu tulisan dalam blognya.

Menurut bekas perdana itu, apa yang dibangkitkannya dalam tulisan itu hanya mengenai gaya hidup Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor yang kelihatan "mewah."

"Ada khabar angin mengatakan beliau (Rosmah) membelanjakan RM3 juta hanya untuk hiasan bunga-buangan (ketika majlis perkahwinan anaknya).

"Isunya ialah, orang bercerita. Ia mungkin salah atau betul. Saya tak pasti kalau ia benar, tetapi saya fikir ada yang fakta. Itu jadi masalah."

Dr Mahathir juga menambah, pendapatan sebagai seorang perdana menteri tidaklah tinggi.

Ketika menjawat tugas itu, katanya, beliau menerima pendapatan RM20,000 dan ia mencukup untuk dirinya dan keluarga beliau. - mk

Mahathir plucks 'RM3mil flowers' from Rosmah...

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied that he attacked Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor in one of his blog postings.

The former premier said he was only questioning her lavish lifestyle.

"There are rumours out there that she spent RM3 million just for flower decorations for the (daughter’s wedding).

"The problem is orang cerita (people talk). I do not know if it is factual, but I think there are some facts (could be true).

"Itu jadi masalah (that is the problem)," he added.

Mahathir also pointed out that the prime minister's income was not high.

During his time, the former premier said he was paid RM20,000 a month and this was sufficient for him and his family.

"It was enough for me to have a plate of mee (noodles) not many plates of mee," he quipped.

He emphasised the need for leaders to live moderately.

Mahathir was speaking to reporters after delivering a talk on youth and nation building at the German-Malaysian Institute in Kajang today.

Also present was his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali.

On April 20, the former premier had mentioned Najib and Rosmah's extravagant lifestyle in his blog.

He has been demanding for Najib’s resignation, claiming that the latter would cause Umno and BN’s defeat in the next national polls.- mk

Chong Wei: Rosmah not to be blamed for my woes...

National shuttler Lee Chong Wei was slapped with an eight-month ban after consuming a herbal medicine.

It was reported that the medicine was given to him by the wife of a "very influential man".

Speculation has been rife that the person responsible for the former world number one's predicament is Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Rosmah has often shown great support for Lee during tournaments.

However, Lee confirmed that it was not Rosmah who provided him with the tablets.

"Yes. I can confirm it is not her. However, I am not in liberty to reveal the name of the person (who gave him the tablets)," he told Malaysiakini.

"Now that there is an outcome from BWF (Badminton World Federation), I would like to put this episode  behind me and to focus on regaining my status and bring glory to my country," he said.

A source familiar with the matter told Malaysiakini that it was the wife of a former top BN politician.

"This person had given him the herbal concoction without realising that its contents would cause problems.

"There was no malice on her part. It was just an honest mistake," he said.

The source, however, requested that Malaysiakini do not publish the name of the former politician or his wife in order not to put the couple in the spotlight.

Scrutiny on BAM

According to the 12-page BWF report, the wife would purchase cordyseps and have them ground and capsulated at a shop in Kuala Lumpur.

Lee would consume two every morning.

The report said Lee named the wife in camera to avoid having her face any dire consequences.

The shop owner who treated the cordyseps acknowledged that there could be a risk of contamination, but did not give the BWF a statement over fears that it would affect his business.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) officials were aware that Lee was taking the capsules after the wife begun sending them, but did not subject the capsules for testing.

"It is worrying if he has received unsatisfactory anti-doping education from BAM or other sources and/or the focus on anti-doping security has been unsatisfactory," the BWF report said.

The BWF had found Lee guilty of having the non-performance enhancer dexamethasone in his system. The drug is normally used as an anti-inflammatory drug during the off-season. - mk

Chong Wei: Bukan Rosmah bagi pil itu...

cheers.

Sirul told to ‘shut up’ by UMNO-connected legal team...

Who Is Paying For Sirul’s UMNO-Connected Legal Team...

After three and a half months of being holed up in the high security wing of a Sydney immigration detention centre very little has actually happened regarding the case of Sirul Azhar Umar, the bodyguard convicted of the murder of Altantuya Shaaribbuu.

Sirul was arrested while still on a perfectly valid Australian visa, having entered as a free man, following his earlier acquittal by the Malaysian Appeal Court.

After the Federal Court reversed that acquittal, a warrant was issued for his arrest and it has been expected there will be a request for his extradition back to Malaysia.

It was obvious that immediate applications should then have been made to fight such extradition on the basis that Sirul now faces the death penalty in Malaysia.

Australia does not return migrants if they are facing a death penalty.

Yet stunningly slow progress appears to have been made by Sirul’s Malaysia based legal team to support his position and the Malaysian Government has also acted paralysed about what to do.

However, after months of inaction, they suddenly sprang into life just the week before last, immediately after it was made public that Sirul’s anxious mother had sought advice from Dr Mahathir.

Sudden action in Sydney

Sarawak Report has visited Sydney and learnt that within days of the news of that meeting the two Malaysian lawyers, who are representing Sirul suddenly appeared at the Villawood detention centre on Wednesday and Thursday, 15/16th April to see Sirul, after a gap of several weeks.

“They told him to shut up” a person close to the situation has informed. “He was told not to speak to any media and not to speak to anyone associated with Dr Mahathir or his chance of a protection visa [leave to stay] will be in danger. They have advised him that he needs to keep his mouth shut or he may incriminate himself, even though he is already incriminated.”

Sure enough, visitors sent by Sirul’s family the same week, were turned away from seeing the detainee. He had previously consented to see these visitors, so presumably he was acting on his lawyers’ demands.

Local sources have also said that even his own family members have been told by these same Malaysian lawyers not to visit him either, causing them to cancel a planned trip this week to comfort him in Australia.

These developments coincided with a series of media announcements back in Malaysia from his legal team.

On April 12th his Malay barrister told the press that Sirul wanted “supporters and critics to stop speaking for him“.

The same team of lawyers have publicly confirmed they have “gagged” Sirul – advising him not to speak to anyone further on the ground it could jeopardise the outcome of the proceedings of his case.

Even the Inspector General of Police and his department have been barred, acknowledged Sirul’s barrister, who astonishingly implied the police had lied about sending a team to Australia to investigate.

However, a person who has communicated with the detainee, suggests he has become increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress on the part of his own lawyers:

“They are doing nothing, just telling him to wait, wait, wait and not to see outside people. I have a strong suspicion that Sirul has been paid to keep his mouth shut and if he breaks that there is a heavy penalty. Somebody, somewhere will pay.  Something that is dear to him is being held to ransom if he opens his mouth”,  the contact said. They  also observed that Sirul’s son is being looked after in Australia, financed by an unknown source.

So, who is paying?

Which brings us to a question that surprisingly few people seem to have asked openly in this case. 

 Who is paying Sirul’s lawyers and why have they not declared openly, who is their financial backer in managing Sirul’s expensive defence costs?

Because, the identities of the lawyers concerned are truly surprising given the circumstances of Sirul’s case.

Sirul’s solicitor is Hasnal Rezua Merican and his barrister is Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin.

Merican is none other than an UMNO Youth division leader.

As for Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, Sarawak Report notes that just this February he was dignified with a Federal Datuk title, designated by the Federal authorities.

The official notice of this honour described his professional background merely in terms of his being “of UMNO Headquarters”!

Why would Sirul be relying on a legal team so wedded to and indeed employed by the ruling UMNO party, which is chaired and controlled by the present Prime Minister, who is a man deeply implicated in this case?

Sirul has repeatedly burst out in court and elsewhere with the complaint that he was merely a lowly bodyguard, who had acted on the orders of his bosses.  He has said he was made a “scapegoat” since none of those bosses were tried or even required to give evidence in court.

Sirul’s ultimate boss was the Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose bodyguard he was at the time of the murder and who has been implicated in key testimony as being linked to the murdered woman.

So, therefore it is plain that the interests of the Prime Minister and of UMNO do not at all coincide with Sirul’s interests.

Because, whilst UMNO’s interest is to continue to keep the lid on this case and restrict the blame to the most lowly people involved, Sirul’s interest is to widen the blame, in order to mitigate the circumstances of his own crime.

Indeed, the Appeal Court’s earlier dismissal of Sirul and Azilah’s original convictions was based on the grounds that the original trial had been plainly rigged against them and the prosecution had failed to bring crucial evidence before the court or establish a motive on the part of the two men.

This was indeed true and had been widely criticised at the time as representing the most momentous form of cover-up imaginable:

So, since Sirul’s interests definitely do not coincide with UMNO or its Chairman, the Prime Minister, how can it not be the case that these two UMNO lawyers are encumbered by a massive conflict of interest in agreeing to represent him?

According to one senior member of the bar:

“After the Federal Court conviction, Kamarul said to the press that there was never any motive proved behind his client’s crime.

Oh Really?  Did this just occur to you?

Why hadn’t you brought this up at the trial?

You didn’t even allow your client to give evidence on oath in his defence.

Why? What is the point of a very lengthy written excuse read from the dock which basically denied everything (what little thereof) of the prosecution’s case in Court.

He was never allowed to say why he did it.”  [defence lawyer Americk Sidhu]

All about protecting Najib?

The judge and the prosecution team were also ham-fistedly replaced in the early stages of the trial, leaving a widespread impression that the entire process was being rigged to protect the VIPs who were known to be linked to Altantuya.

And it is this team of lawyers who have ‘loyally’ continued to ‘manage Sirul’s defence’ through this latest crisis in the case, which continues to threaten to derail the reputation of the most powerful man in Malaysia.

As one observer close to case told Sarawak Report:

“I conclude Sirul’s lawyers are trying to protect Najib.  They are trying to silence Sirul. It is quite clear they have a conflict of interest and are more biased to protecting the powers that be and indeed the instigators of the murder than their client, the defendant.  There are questions that ought to have been raised even post conviction, but their silence shows they don’t want the issue to re-surface.  They know their client did not have full procedural fairness at the trial – so they should at least have moved to mitigate the culpability from murder to manslaughter.  But, they have not tried.  They did not pursue the question of motive in the original trial and even in the subsequent trial the issue was never raised.  They dismissed motive as an issue.  They did not pursue it. They acquiesced in that, which is clearly not normal for a criminal trial.”

Sirul is now relying on his Australian legal team to submit an application to fight his extradition to Malaysia on the grounds of granting a “Protection Visa” against the prospect of the death sentence awaiting him if he returns to Malaysia.

Those close to him say that he is distraught that he has been left to take the blame for carrying out orders as he had been trained to do – even of the most extreme nature as the bodyguard protecting the safety of a head of state.

“He was trained to pull the trigger and not to question orders relating to the security of the state. He was not the recipient of the direct order and the people who got this direct order are all sitting comfortably in Malaysia. The DSP has been promoted and given a Datukship and moved to a desk job and no one is trying to ask them anything. Rather, they are after the foot-soldiers at the bottom” says one person who has spoken to Sirul about his plight.

Sirul’s Australian legal team are now believed to be starting to apply (belatedly) for a ‘Protection Visa’ to enable him to stay in Australia in order to avoid the death sentence that awaits him in Malaysia.

If he is awarded the visa, will he be pressured into a bond of continuing silence as he continues to sit in an Australian jail facing life imprisonment for murder – if so, is that the best deal that Sirul can really get as his fellow ‘scapegoat’ is silenced in a different way back home? - sarawak report

Read full report here...

1MDB: Kenapa Najib terus berdiam diri...

Sikap Perdana Menteri Najib Razak yang terus berdiam diri selain tindak-tanduk pihak polis dalam skandal dana 1MDB menyebabkan hilangnya keyakinan rakyat terhadap institusi kerajaan.

Hal ini dibangkitkan Setiausaha Publisiti Kebangsaan DAP Tony Pua apabila Najib selaku Menteri Kewangan sekaligus Pengerusi Badan Penasihat 1MDB memilih untuk tidak mahu menjawab isu-isu yang terus dibongkar portal berita The Sarawak Report.

“Najib sebenarnya boleh sahaja memberitahu negara sama ada mengesahkan atau menafikan bahawa pihak-pihak berkait Jho Low telah terlibat menggelapkan dana-dana 1MDB.

“Najib sepatutnya boleh jawab, pastinya beliau mempunyai akses terhadap setiap transaksi kewangan yang telah dibongkar Sarawak Report. Jika Sarawak Report mengarut, saya pasti Najib boleh kemukakan bukti untuk menafikan kredibiliti laman portal itu,” tegas Tony.

Namun, menurut Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara itu Najib memilih untuk mengelak daripada menjawab, justeru menyebabkan rakyat tidak ada pilihan lain melainkan mempercayai setiap dakwaan Sarawak Report.

Tony turut menambah bahawa sikap berdiam diri Najib itu juga turut memberi kesan kepada institusi PDRM.

“Rakyat bukan saja sudah hilang keyakinan kepada PM, kita juga hilang keyakinan dengan PDRM kerana tidak menjalankan siasatan segera terhadap rompakan paling besar dalam sejarah negara ini.

“Bukti Jho Low terlibat dalam 1MDB sudah banyak, tetapi Ketua Polis Negara langsung tidak mahu untuk sekurang-kurangnya berjumpa Jho Low, sekalipun tidak mengeluarkan waran tangkap ke atas beliau.

“Dan pastilah sikap diam diri Najib terhadap isu ini hanya semakin menjatuhkan mutu kompeten Najib sebagai PM sekaligus Menteri Kewangan di samping menunjukkan adanya kaitan beliau dengan skandal mega itu,” jelas Tony lagi sambil mendakwa bahawa Perdana Menteri sedang cuba berlengah-lengah demi melindungi Jho Low dan pihak-pihak yang terlibat. – Roketkini.com

cheers.

Bekas banduan kongsi pengalaman sedih Anwar di penjara...

Di sebalik tirai besi, tiada siapa menyangka, kehadiran Ketua Umum KEADILAN, Saudara Anwar Ibrahim membuka lembaran baharu kepada penghuni-penghuni Penjara Sungai Buloh.

Sulaiman Ajik, 49 yang baru dibebaskan selepas dipenjara enam bulan hadir ke pejabat Suara Keadilan berkongsi cerita dan pengalamannya bersama Anwar.

“Kali pertama melihat Anwar di dalam sel waktu itu, saya cukup sayu dan sedih. Tidak dapat digambarkan bila seorang pemimpin seperti beliau meringkuk di penjara dalam keadaan sedemikian rupa.

“Tapi beliau tidak mudah patah semangat. Dalam penjara pun, beliau selalu beri kata-kata semangat pada semua banduan-banduan lain,” kata Sulaiman menceritakan detik-detik awal ketika melihat sosok tubuh pemimpin berjiwa besar di hadapannya waktu itu.

Sulaiman(gambar,bawah) berkata, masa Anwar banyak dihabiskan dengan mentelaah buku agama dan membaca Al Quran. Malah Anwar juga mengimamkan lebih 300 jemaah banduan dan petugas-petugas penjara serta menyampaikan tazkirah seusai solat.

“Beliau langsung tidak menyentuh isu politik, semua pengisian adalah berbentuk nasihat dan bagaimana mahu menjadi manusia yang baik dan berguna kepada manusia.

“Tetapi yang menariknya apabila Anwar memberi tazkirah, para banduan seolah-olah terpaku dan sentiasa ternanti-nanti pada esoknya apa yang ingin Anwar sampaikan,” katanya yang tidak ralat gambarnya disiarkan Suara Keadilan.

Sulaiman dipenjarakan atas dakwaan memiliki barang curi selepas mendakwa dirinya diperdaya untuk membeli sebuah laptop daripada seorang pelajar.

Menceritakan pengalamannya lebih lanjut, Sulaiman berkata keadaan sel penjara sangat menyeksakan bagi individu seusia Anwar.Apatah lagi, bekas Ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh itu turut menderita sakit belakang.

Mungkin selepas mendapat bantahan peguam, katanya, Anwar diberikan sebuah meja sebagai alas tempat tidur.

“Tetapi yang sedihnya hanya tilam nipis sebagai pengalas perbaringan. Untuk bantal pula atas inisiatif banduan-banduan yang lain yang mengumpulkan lipatan kain dan dimasukkan ke dalam sarung sebagai bantal untuk Anwar tidur,” ceritanya sayu.- Keadilan Daily

Assalamualaikumwarahmatullahiwabarakatuh...

Kepada rakan-rakan Permatang Pauh, - dengan iringan doa agar usaha kita bersama diberkati Allah SWT.

Saya amat hargai dukungan dan doa selama ini. Insya Allah saya akan terus bersabar da perkuat tekad berjuang.

Negara kini bergelut dengan pelbagai tindakan kezaliman dan mendera rakyat dengan beban cukai termasuk GST.

Sekali lagi saya mohon sokongan saudara-saudara meminta Dr Wan Azizah Ismail mewakili keadilan dan Pakatan  Rakyat untuk meneruskan perjuangan menegakkan keadilan dan membela nasib rakyat.

ANWAR IBRAHIM
27 APRIL 2015
MAHKAMAH SYARIAH KUALA LUMPUR

'Suara dari penjara' untuk Wan Azizah...

 Tanpa jasadnya di Permatang Pauh, kehadiran Ketua Umum PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tetap dirasai dengan kemunculan sekeping surat daripada beliau menggesa pengundi menyokong isterinya, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Melalui surat itu Anwar berkata, dia akan terus bersabar menghadapi nasibnya yang kini dipenjara di Sungai Buloh.

“Insha-Allah, saya akan terus bersabar dan perkuat tekad berjuang (dalam menghadapi lima tahun penjara)," katanya.

Menurut bekas timbalan perdana menteri itu negara kini "bergelut dengan pelbagai tindakan kezaliman dan mendera rakyat" serta beban cukai termasuk GST.

“Sekali lagi saya mohon sokongan saudara-saudara memilih Dr Wan Aziah Ismail mewakili Pakatan Rakyat untuk meneruskan perjuangan menegak keadilan dan membela nasib rakyat,” katanya.

Anwar dilucutkan haknya sebagai ahli parlimen selepas disabitkan kesalahan di mahkamah.

Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya menetapkan 7 Mei ini sebagai hari mengundi bagi memilih calon menggantikan Anwar.

Pakatan diwakili Wan Azizah yang juga Presiden PKR. Beliau dicabar tiga lagi calon, termasuk dari BN, Suhaimi Sabudin dan dua calon bebas.

Surat Anwar itu ditulisnya ketika menghadiri perbicaraan di Mahkamah Syariah Kuala Lumpur semalam. - mk

 

Support Azizah, Anwar pens letter for voters...

PKR de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has written a letter to voters in Permatang Pauh urging them to vote for his wife, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The parliament constituency in Penang will witness a by-election on May 7 after the seat was declared vacant following Anwar’s conviction and incarceration.

Wan Azizah will be facing Umno's Suhaimi Sabudin and two others in the contest.

Anwar, who wrote the letter when he attended the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court of Appeal proceedings yesterday, thanked the voters for supporting him in the past.

"Insya'allah (God willing) I would persevere (in facing the five-year jail term) and continue to fight on.

"The country is facing numerous tyrannical actions and the government is abusing the people, including the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"I hope you would support Wan Azizah as the PKR and Pakatan Rakyat candidate to uphold justice and to represent you," he said.

Permatang Pauh is considered a stronghold of Anwar. He held the seat since 1982 until his first imprisonment in 1999.

In the 1999, 2004 and 2008 general elections, Wan Azizah stood in the seat.

She then resigned to pave the way for a by-election when Anwar’s five-year ban from active politics expired in July 2008.

Anwar won the by-election and defended the seat in the 2013 national polls.

The former opposition leader was found guilty by the Federal Court on Feb 10 with sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Yesteday, he was at the Syariah Court of Appeal to hear the decision on having senior lawyer Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar removed from representing Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom and two others, in his qazaf (bearing false witness) appeal.

Anwar has always maintained that the charge was fabricated by his political rivals but the government has denied this.- mk

Pengguna Internet bidas kempen siber BN Permatang Pauh 

Wan Azizah goes shopping to make a point about GST...

Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Pakatan Rakyat's candidate for the Permatang Pauh by-election, took her campaign to a mini mart in Penanti to make a point about the goods and services tax (GST).

She spent about 30 minutes walking from aisle to aisle at the Jimat mini mart, looking at food and household items such as canned sardines, instant noodles and women's sanitary pads that are subjected to GST.

After cashing out the items she bought, which included various food stuff, household items and baby items, she told pressmen that for necessities over RM200, a family would have to pay RM11.23 for GST.

"I have many children and grandchildren too. I also go shopping for household items often. The GST will burden the people, especially the poor every time they need to buy their household items.

"If wealthy people like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad complains about the GST, then what about the ordinary citizens?" she said, in reference to the former prime minister's criticism against implementation of the consumption tax by the present administration under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Dr Wan Azizah said the GST was unfair to those in the low-income group, rubbishing claims that now everyone had to pay tax, adding that the people were being forced to pay for Putrajaya's mismanagement of the economy.

She said when her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was deputy prime minister and finance minister in the 1990s until he was sacked in 1998, the national budget recorded surpluses.

"Now we see a deficit budget recorded every year. The nation's debt has hit a critical level," she said.

Asked if the GST was giving her an advantage in the by-election, Dr Wan Azizah said PR could also win on many other issues.

"There are more issues than the GST... like 'beli jet dan cuci rambut' (buying jet and washing or styling hair)," she said.

PKR's campaign is going with the tagline: "Demi Rakyat: Bantah GST, Tegakkan Keadilan" (For the people: oppose GST, uphold Justice) in its campaign. The GST is the Pakatan Rakyat coalition's number one issue.

PKR strategy director Sim Tze Tzin said the coalition had found the issue to be the main concern of the people during their house-to-house visits around the Permatang Pauh constituency so far.

He said what was amazing was they found that Barisan Nasional supporters were also concerned about GST, not only PR supporters and fence-sitters.

Meanwhile, BN leader Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the opposition was taking advantage of the situation and confusing the people.

The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said there was a difference between the real impact of the GST and the actions of unscrupulous traders hiking up their prices.

He said it was true that Putrajaya must step up on its enforcement exercise but both sides of the political divide should also be united in standing up against irresponsible and profiteering traders.

"The people cannot just blame the government whenever a trader hikes up his prices. It cannot be simply the government's fault.

"If wantan mee is up RM1 or so, do you just blame the government? Flour is zero-rated but washing liquid is not, so that is another issue. Traders must explain if they hike up their prices beyond what is reasonable," he told reporters during a walkabout this morning at the Sama Gagah market, where he campaigned for BN's candidate Suhaimi Sabudin.

The MCA deputy president said the objective of the federal government was still to ensure the people do not suffer and that out of over 170 countries implementing GST, Malaysia was among the more caring ones with many items categorised as zero-rated. – tmi

BN’s Permatang Pauh cyber campaign draws flak from social media users 

cheers.