WSJ: Najib didakwa guna dana 1MDB untuk PRU13...
Laporan Wall Street Journal (WSJ) hari ini mendakwa bahawa dana 1MDB telah digunakan untuk membiayai kempen Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13).
Laporan itu mendakwa bahawa ia dilakukan dengan 1MDB membuat pembelian aset pada harga yang tinggi dari Genting Group pada 2012.
Genting kemudiannya didakwa membuat sumbangan kepada sebuah yayasan yang didakwa ada kaitan dengan Najib sebelum PRU13 dan dana itu telah digunakan untuk berkempen.
"1MDB pada Oktober 2012 memperolehi satu unit Genting yang memiliki 75 peratus kepentingan dalam loji janakuasa arang batu 720 megawatt berhampiran Kuala Lumpur," kata laporan itu.
WSJ mendakwa, pembelian 1MDB terhadap kepentingan Genting dalam aset kuasa itu adalah kira-kira lima kali ganda nilainya ketika itu.
Laporan itu mendakwanya "harganya yang bersamaan dengan kira-kira AS$740 juta pada masa itu, menjadi RM2.3 bilion.
"Beberapa bulan selepas jual-beli itu, satu unit Genting yang dikenali sebagai Genting Plantation Berhad membuat sumbangan kira-kira AS$10 juta kepada sebuah badan amal yang mempunyai kaitan dengan Najib, menurut jurucakap untuk Genting Plantation," dakwa laporan itu lagi.
WSJ mendakwa bahawa yayasan itu ialah Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia, yang menyenaraikan Najib sebagai pengerusinya di laman web yayasan tersebut.
Menurut laporan WSJ itu lagi, walaupun ditubuhkan untuk membantu rakyat Malaysia yang kurang bernasib baik melalui pendidikan dan sukan, namun badan kebajikan itu kemudiannya terlibat dengan perbelanjaan yang dilihat untuk membantu Najib mengekalkan kuasanya dalam pilihan raya umum Mei 2013. - mk
Najib used 1MDB's funds for GE13...
A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report today
claimed that 1MDB's funds were used to bankroll Prime Minister Najib
Abdul Razak's campaign in the 13th general election.
The report said this was achieved by having 1MDB make overpriced purchase of power assets from Genting Group in 2012.
Genting then made a donation to a foundation controlled by Najib before the 13th general election and the funds were used for campaigning.
"The 1MDB fund in October 2012 acquired a Genting unit that owned a 75 percent stake in a 720-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Kuala Lumpur.
"The price, which was equivalent to about US$740 million at the time, came to RM2.3 billion.
"A few months after the sale, a unit of Genting called Genting Plantations Bhd made a donation of about US$10 million to a Najib-linked charity, according to a spokesperson for Genting Plantations," said the report.
The foundation, WSJ said, was Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia, which lists Najib as chairperson on its website.
"Though set up to help underprivileged Malaysians through education and sport, this charity soon got involved in spending that appeared designed to help Najib retain power in the May 2013 election," it said.
WSJ said 1MDB's purchase of Genting's stake in the power asset was around five times what it was then worth.
"The price, which was equivalent to about US$740 million at the time, came to RM2.3 billion.
"Genting later reported it had a 1.9 billion ringgit extraordinary gain on this sale, implying a value for its stake in the power plant of just 400 million ringgit - or less than one-fifth what 1MDB paid for it.
"In a second sign that 1MDB paid a high price, the fund’s financial statement for the fiscal year ended in March 2013 said the power unit’s property, plant and equipment were worth a little under RM500 million at the time of acquisition," it said.
WSJ said the "donations" to Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia were then poured into the election campaign in Penang for BN's bid to recapture the state.
"It and other charities linked to the government spent millions of dollars before the voting in Penang, a northern state that was an important election battleground.
"Najib visited Penang during the campaign and announced that Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia would donate RM2 million to two local schools.
"These schools serve Chinese communities that are not a poor demographic, but whose support would be crucial to win voting in the area," it said.
'Goldman pushed to raise money before GE13'
It said regulators found the charity had failed to file its required financial status since 2013.
WSJ added that Goldman Sachs, which received a handsome commission for raising US$3 billion (RM11.22 billion) in bonds for 1MDB, was pressed to do so quickly shortly before the general election.
"Goldman Sachs Group Inc arranged the bond sale and took on extra risk to get the deal done quickly at 1MDB’s request, according to a person familiar with the matter, earning unusually high profits as a result," it said.
Shortly after the general election, Kinibiz reported that Genting made an unexpected RM190 million in donations, believed to be related to the election.
"Analysts were puzzled that the Genting group made such a huge donation, and that too spread out over several companies, in just one quarter, significantly impacting its bottom line.
"They speculated that the so-called donations could be election-related, using charities as fronts. It is normally unthinkable that such large contributions were made to charities, Kinibiz quoted an analyst as saying.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) did not directly address the allegation in the WSJ report.
“Unfortunately, the prime minister’s political opponents, unwilling to accept his record or the facts, continue to try to undermine him with baseless smears and rumours for pure political gain," the PMO told WSJ.
WSJ was told by 1MDB to refer the matter to Genting. Genting Group declined to comment.
Malaysiakini has contacted the PMO, 1MDB and Genting Group on the WSJ report and is awaiting their responses. - mk
The report said this was achieved by having 1MDB make overpriced purchase of power assets from Genting Group in 2012.
Genting then made a donation to a foundation controlled by Najib before the 13th general election and the funds were used for campaigning.
"The 1MDB fund in October 2012 acquired a Genting unit that owned a 75 percent stake in a 720-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Kuala Lumpur.
"The price, which was equivalent to about US$740 million at the time, came to RM2.3 billion.
"A few months after the sale, a unit of Genting called Genting Plantations Bhd made a donation of about US$10 million to a Najib-linked charity, according to a spokesperson for Genting Plantations," said the report.
The foundation, WSJ said, was Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia, which lists Najib as chairperson on its website.
"Though set up to help underprivileged Malaysians through education and sport, this charity soon got involved in spending that appeared designed to help Najib retain power in the May 2013 election," it said.
WSJ said 1MDB's purchase of Genting's stake in the power asset was around five times what it was then worth.
"The price, which was equivalent to about US$740 million at the time, came to RM2.3 billion.
"Genting later reported it had a 1.9 billion ringgit extraordinary gain on this sale, implying a value for its stake in the power plant of just 400 million ringgit - or less than one-fifth what 1MDB paid for it.
"In a second sign that 1MDB paid a high price, the fund’s financial statement for the fiscal year ended in March 2013 said the power unit’s property, plant and equipment were worth a little under RM500 million at the time of acquisition," it said.
WSJ said the "donations" to Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia were then poured into the election campaign in Penang for BN's bid to recapture the state.
"It and other charities linked to the government spent millions of dollars before the voting in Penang, a northern state that was an important election battleground.
"Najib visited Penang during the campaign and announced that Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia would donate RM2 million to two local schools.
"These schools serve Chinese communities that are not a poor demographic, but whose support would be crucial to win voting in the area," it said.
'Goldman pushed to raise money before GE13'
It said regulators found the charity had failed to file its required financial status since 2013.
WSJ added that Goldman Sachs, which received a handsome commission for raising US$3 billion (RM11.22 billion) in bonds for 1MDB, was pressed to do so quickly shortly before the general election.
"Goldman Sachs Group Inc arranged the bond sale and took on extra risk to get the deal done quickly at 1MDB’s request, according to a person familiar with the matter, earning unusually high profits as a result," it said.
Shortly after the general election, Kinibiz reported that Genting made an unexpected RM190 million in donations, believed to be related to the election.
"Analysts were puzzled that the Genting group made such a huge donation, and that too spread out over several companies, in just one quarter, significantly impacting its bottom line.
"They speculated that the so-called donations could be election-related, using charities as fronts. It is normally unthinkable that such large contributions were made to charities, Kinibiz quoted an analyst as saying.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) did not directly address the allegation in the WSJ report.
“Unfortunately, the prime minister’s political opponents, unwilling to accept his record or the facts, continue to try to undermine him with baseless smears and rumours for pure political gain," the PMO told WSJ.
WSJ was told by 1MDB to refer the matter to Genting. Genting Group declined to comment.
Malaysiakini has contacted the PMO, 1MDB and Genting Group on the WSJ report and is awaiting their responses. - mk
Aziz Bari: Siasat jika Tunku Idris menghasut...
Pakar perlembagaan Abdul Aziz Bari berkata, polis perlu menyiasat jika putera raja Johor bertindak menghasut melalui kenyataan berhubung hak Johor keluar daripada Malaysia.
Abdul Aziz berkata, Putera Johor Tunku Idris Sultan Ibrahim tidak menikmati kekebalan undang-undang seperti sembilan orang Raja-Raja Melayu.
“Dalam
apa jua kes, Peguam Negara dan pasukan polis perlu membuat pendirian
sama ada putera raja tersebut melanggar undang-undang, khususnya Akta
Hasutan 1948.“Jabatan ini bertanggungjawab untuk menguatkuasa undang-undang dengan adil ke atas semua rakyat; putera raja Johor tidak kebal daripada undang-undang.
“Hanya sembilan orang raja-raja Melayu yang menikmati keistimewaan ini, tertakluk kepada peruntukan mahkamah khas untuk raja-raja,” kata Abdul Aziz dalam kenyataannya.
Katanya, tindakan itu perlu dilakukan dengan pantas, seperti operasi ke atas aktivis Sabah dan Sarawak yang didakwa menghasut untuk membawa negeri itu keluar dari persekutuan Malaysia.
Mengulas lanjut, Abdul Aziz berkata, Tunku Idris juga sepatutnya mengehadkan ulasan dalam ruang lintup Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Konteks hujah
Ini kerana, ulasan Tunku Idris di Instagram dilihat mengandungi fakta sejarah tidak tepat apabila menyebut Perjanjian Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dibuat pada 1946, sedangkan ia dimeterai pada 1948.
Tambahan pula, tulisan tersebut menyatakan bahawa sekiranya mana-mana daripada syarat tersebut dilanggar, maka terkeluarlah Johor daripada Malaysia – yang hanya wujud 17 tahun kemudian pada 1963.
“Undang-undang
asas pada masa ini ialah Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Ini adalah
undang-undang yang menentukan hubungan dan hak di antara negeri dan
kerajaan pusat.“Putra Johor mungkin ada hujah tetapi dia perlu tumpukan dalam konteks dan skema Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
“Sesuatu perjanjian pada masa lalu sudah kehilangan keabsahan dan kuasa, apabila ada Perlembagaan Persekutuan, undang-undang paling agung di tanah ini,” tegas Abdul Aziz.
Tulisan di Instagram itu adalah rentetan kepada kenyataan Menteri Kabinet, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz yang menegur Tengku Mahkota Johor agar tidak campur tangan dalam politik.
Nazri bertindak demikian ekoran kritikan Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim ke atas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak kerana tidak hadir dalam debat bersama bekas perdana menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.- mk
Expert: Sedition Act does not exempt princes...
Constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari said those suggesting for Johor to secede from Malaysia are not exempted from the Sedition Act 1948.
This, he said, is in light of police's swift action against those who called for secession in Sabah and Sarawak.
"The
attorney-general and police need to make a stand as to whether the
prince has broken the law; namely the Sedition Act 1948 and the likes."These departments are under a duty to enforce the law equally on all citizens; the Johor prince is not immune under the law.
"Only the nine rulers enjoy that privilege, subject to the provision of the special court for the rulers," he told Malaysiakini.
Instagram posting
Abdul Aziz was responding to Johor prince Tunku Idris Sultan Ibrahim's Instagram posting of an agreement which suggested Johor could secede from Malaysia if its conditions for joining the federation were violated.
He pointed out that police had acted against several Sabahans and Sarawakians for merely voicing out "legitimate points of views" and did not propagate secession from the federation.
Elaborating on Tunku Idris' posting, Abdul Aziz who is attached with Universiti Selangor, said the Federal Constitution supersedes all previous agreements.
"An
agreement of the past ceased to have its validity and force in the
light of the existing Federal Constitution, the highest law of the
land," he said.Abdul Aziz argued that the prince may have legitimate views to air but it must be done within the confines of the highest law of the land.
"This (Federal Constitution) is the law that governs the relationship and rights between states and the central government.
"The Johor prince might have a point but he needs to square his arguments within the context and scheme of the Federal Constitution," he said. - mk
Malaysia’s opposition comes unstuck...
Malaysia’s opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, came close to snatching power at the general election in 2013. But instead of regrouping for a fresh assault on the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)—which has ruled the country, in a coalition it dominates, since independence in 1957—the three-party Pakatan partnership seems to have torn itself apart.
On June 16th the Democratic Action Party (DAP), one of its components, declared that the coalition “effectively ceases to exist”. The following day leaders of the People’s Justice Party (PKR) agreed that Pakatan “no longer functions formally”.
Pakatan was founded by Anwar Ibrahim, a charismatic reformer and a turncoat from UMNO. It is anchored by PKR, his centre-left and multi-ethnic party. Yet the coalition’s survival has always depended on a truce between the DAP, a secular ethnic-Chinese outfit, and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), a devout ethnic-Malay one.
Their relationship has been battered by PAS’s determination to introduce hudud (harsh sharia punishments, such as stoning and amputations) in the northern state of Kelantan, its stronghold.
In March the DAP said that it was no longer willing to co-operate with Hadi Awang, the president of PAS and architect of its campaign to strengthen sharia. But at PAS’s conference this month the party faithful re-elected him in a landslide—and then passed a motion of their own cutting ties with the DAP
The bust-up might have been better handled had Mr Anwar been around to manage things. But he was imprisoned in February on a sodomy charge—trumped up, it seems, to keep him from power. UMNO has been playing mischief too behind the scenes, quietly backing PAS’s sharia campaign.
Pakatan’s implosion could not come at a better time for Najib Razak, the prime minister. His government has lurched from crisis to crisis. He is currently fighting allegations of mismanagement at 1MDB, a state investment firm he helped create (it is struggling to service debts of more than $11 billion).
Some of the fiercest criticism of Mr Najib has come from within his own party, in particular from Mahathir Mohamad, a mischievous former Prime Minister, and his allies. Dr Mahathir says that Mr Najib’s unpopularity could spell disaster for UMNO at the next general election in 2018. Last month Mr Najib pulled out of a forum which might have seen him forced to debate with the elder statesman, citing fears that crowds were planning to get rowdy.
The coalition’s collapse could lead to complicated negotiations in Selangor, a rich state near Kuala Lumpur, the capital; it is currently governed with the support of all three Pakatan parties. In the longer term Malaysia’s opposition leaders must decide how (or whether) to regroup. The DAP and PKR will probably muddle along together. But without an Islamist partner they may struggle to gather support from across the electorate, which consists of a Malay Muslim majority with Chinese, Indian and Christian minorities.
Some moderate members of PAS who have been isolated by the success of a conservative faction at last month’s party elections say they will break away to set up a less toxic Muslim party which could join DAP and PKR in a new coalition. If that plan comes off it may reinvigorate Pakatan’s appeal; many Malaysians have been put off by the strict Islamists lurking on its fringes.
Much hinges on how PAS’s dominant conservative wing chooses to proceed. The party’s ageing leaders seem to think that time is running out to introduce hudud in Kelantan and look willing to reach some form of accommodation with UMNO, despite a history of antagonism, in order to achieve it.
Support from PAS, however tacit, would boost UMNO’s chances of stringing out its long reign. But it would also see Malaysia’s poisonous politics split more cleanly along ethnic lines—hardly a heartening thought. - the economist
Mahathir, the man credited with turning the agricultural backwater Kuala Lumpur, which literally means "muddy river," into one of Asia's most impressive skylines -- responded to his country's crashing economy by castigating hedge fund managers. He singled out George Soros as a "moron."
Mahathir now has a new target -- Najib Razak, Malaysia's current prime minister. The daily squabbling between Najib and his predecessor has unsettled Malaysian markets, with the ringgit falling to its lowest value in a decade. But Najib has nobody to blame but himself for the attacks, given the country's underlying economic distress.
Malaysia's prolonged slow growth, which has Fitch now threatening a downgrade of the country's credit ratings, traces back to Najib's refusal, or inability, to make good on his pledges to dismantle race-based policies that strangle innovation, feed cronyism and repel multinational companies.
You don't have to take Mahathir's word for it -- Malaysia's most successful entrepreneurs say the same thing. Just ask Tony Fernandes of AirAsia.
The man often referred to Asia's Richard Branson has been waging his own battle with the government on Twitter. Fernandes has been decrying, 140 characters at a time, the Malaysian government's misguided priorities and its utter lack of accountability. "Government and opposition spend so much time on race and religion. Will there ever be a truly Malaysian party that puts people first?" he tweeted recently. Another message reads: "Good education, good hospitals, fair distribution of wealth, an economy that creates jobs, honest clean government. Transparent leadership."
My favorite was Fernandes's take on the kind of national culture the government should be cultivating: "Where all Malaysians respect each other's culture, religion but work together to benefit all. If you need an example look at AirAsia."
You don't have to take Mahathir's word for it -- Malaysia's most successful entrepreneurs say the same thing. Just ask Tony Fernandes of AirAsia.
The man often referred to Asia's Richard Branson has been waging his own battle with the government on Twitter. Fernandes has been decrying, 140 characters at a time, the Malaysian government's misguided priorities and its utter lack of accountability. "Government and opposition spend so much time on race and religion. Will there ever be a truly Malaysian party that puts people first?" he tweeted recently. Another message reads: "Good education, good hospitals, fair distribution of wealth, an economy that creates jobs, honest clean government. Transparent leadership."
My favorite was Fernandes's take on the kind of national culture the government should be cultivating: "Where all Malaysians respect each other's culture, religion but work together to benefit all. If you need an example look at AirAsia."
This last point deserves closer attention. AirAsia has admittedly had a rocky six months, beginning in December with its first crash (killing all 155 on board) and culminating in today's share-price plunge (its accounting practices are being questioned by GMT Research).
But Fernandes has earned his status as a major player -- and Malaysia's most recognizable face -- on the global stage. With his Bransonesque daring and social-media savvy, the billionaire Formula One team owner personifies the heights to which the Malaysian economy might climb if the country's dysfunctional politics didn't stand in the way.
Indeed, AirAsia might never have gotten off the ground if Najib had been in office at the time of its inception, rather than Mahathir. Fernandes had three big strikes against him when he started out 14 years ago: He's not Malay (the majority ethnicity coddled by Malaysia's affirmative-action policies); he was intent on challenging the flagship Malaysian Airlines; and he was starting an airline just as the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. was sending the industry into the throes of an existential crisis.
Nonetheless, Mahathir's government gave Fernandes the green light to create the company. In the interim, AirAsia has literally changed the world. Although the company's "Now Everyone Can Fly" slogan seemed somewhat trite at the time of its founding, it has gone on to inspire myriad developing-world copycats.
Malaysia needs more homegrown success stories that raise living standards and the country's global status. Sadly, when Malaysia makes headlines these days, they're often about the government's dysfunction -- whether the never-ending effort to jail opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges, legal tussles over who exactly is permitted to utter the word "Allah," or clueless castigations of foreign tourists (a group of whom allegedly caused an earthquake by taking nude photos atop Mount Kinabalu).
Indeed, AirAsia might never have gotten off the ground if Najib had been in office at the time of its inception, rather than Mahathir. Fernandes had three big strikes against him when he started out 14 years ago: He's not Malay (the majority ethnicity coddled by Malaysia's affirmative-action policies); he was intent on challenging the flagship Malaysian Airlines; and he was starting an airline just as the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. was sending the industry into the throes of an existential crisis.
Nonetheless, Mahathir's government gave Fernandes the green light to create the company. In the interim, AirAsia has literally changed the world. Although the company's "Now Everyone Can Fly" slogan seemed somewhat trite at the time of its founding, it has gone on to inspire myriad developing-world copycats.
Malaysia needs more homegrown success stories that raise living standards and the country's global status. Sadly, when Malaysia makes headlines these days, they're often about the government's dysfunction -- whether the never-ending effort to jail opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges, legal tussles over who exactly is permitted to utter the word "Allah," or clueless castigations of foreign tourists (a group of whom allegedly caused an earthquake by taking nude photos atop Mount Kinabalu).
Since becoming prime minister in 2009, Najib should have worked to level Malaysia's playing field for would-be entrepreneurs. Instead, he has protected race-based quotas and deepened the economy's reliance on oil and gas production. Najib seems to be more concerned about retaining power for his ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which has been in power for almost six decades, than attending to the aspirations of Malaysia's 30 million people.
Meanwhile, some of his supposed reforms are dragging down the economy. A case in point is 1Malaysia Development, the state investment company Najib created, and which Mahathir claims is missing "huge sums of money" and buckling under debt. The scandal has contributed to the plunging of Malaysia's currency some 13 percent over the past 12 months.
The ringgit's fluctuations are a decent summary of the country's wayward course in recent years. It's now close to 3.80 to the dollar, the level where Mahathir pegged it during the 1997-1998 Asian crisis. Mahathir now says it may be time to peg the currency anew to stabilize it. That speaks to how little progress Najib has made internationalizing the economy -- and how urgent new political leadership (or a return to old political leadership, as it were) would be for entrepreneurs like Fernandes.- William Pesek,BloombergView
Meanwhile, some of his supposed reforms are dragging down the economy. A case in point is 1Malaysia Development, the state investment company Najib created, and which Mahathir claims is missing "huge sums of money" and buckling under debt. The scandal has contributed to the plunging of Malaysia's currency some 13 percent over the past 12 months.
The ringgit's fluctuations are a decent summary of the country's wayward course in recent years. It's now close to 3.80 to the dollar, the level where Mahathir pegged it during the 1997-1998 Asian crisis. Mahathir now says it may be time to peg the currency anew to stabilize it. That speaks to how little progress Najib has made internationalizing the economy -- and how urgent new political leadership (or a return to old political leadership, as it were) would be for entrepreneurs like Fernandes.- William Pesek,BloombergView
Sejak nak tubuh kerajaang perpaduang
tiap2 malam keluar dalam TV3/4...
cheers.
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