Testimoni Saiful faktor utama penentu nasib Anwar...

Selasa ini, Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan berada di dalam kandang Mahkamah Persekutuan menantikan keputusan rayuan liwatnya yang berlarutan sejak 10 tahun lalu.

Pada September 2004, keputusan majoriti 2-1 mahkamah membebaskan beliau dan adik angkatnya Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja daripada tuduhan melakukan hubungan seks luar tabii bersama Azizan Abu Bakar yang merupakan pemandu Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, isteri kepada Anwar.

Dalam kes liwat keduanya, Mahkamah Rayuan tahun lalu menjatuhkan hukuman terhadap ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh itu kerana melakukan salah laku seksual terhadap bekas pembantunya, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, di sebuah unit kondominium di Desa Damansara, di Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur pada 26 Jun 2008.

Pada 2012, hakim perbicaraan, Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah membebaskan Anwar atas alasan integriti sampel diragui.

Bagaimanapun, Zabidin menerima Saiful sebagai saksi berkredibiliti. Keputusan Mahkamah Persekutuan pada 10 Februari ini akan menentukan sama ada testimoni Saiful mampu membalas ruang-ruang kosong dalam hujah pasukan pembelaan Anwar.

Peguam Amer Hamzah Arshad berkata, bukti baharu tidak akan diambil kira mahkamah jika hakim mendapati hujah dalam testimoni Saiful tidak boleh dipercayai.

Permaidani

Mahkamah ketika pendengaran rayuan Anwar pada 28 Oktober lalu, peguam Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram memberitahu hakim panel hakim yang diketuai Ketua Hakim Negara Tun Arifin Zakaria, Saiful saksi tidak boleh dipercayai atau tidak mungkin menjadi mangsa liwat.

Terdapat ruang-ruang kosong dalam testimoni Saiful, seperti dakwaannya perlakuan berkenaan berlaku di atas karpet, tetapi bukti berkenaan tidak pernah dipersembahkan ke mahkamah.

Cubaan pihak pendakwaan merujuk kepada permaidani lain, namun ia hanyalah yang digunakan unit kondominium berkenaan dan bukannya lokasi dikatakan kejadian berkenaan berlaku.

Sri Ram juga berkata tidak terdapat bukti membuktikan permaidani itu dipindahkan dari lokasi kejadian berkenaan.

"Jika permaidani itu tidak pernah dipindahkan, jadi perlakuan liwat itu tidak pernah berlaku. Jadi, bukti Saiful tidak boleh dipercayai," kata Sri Ram tahun lepas.

Pelincir sebagai bukti

Salah satu bukti dalam testimoni Saiful adalah tiub pelincir yang didakwa digunakan dalam kejadian berkenaan, yang mana didakwa diserahkan kepada pegawai penyiasat kes, Supritendan Jude Pereira pada 28 Jun 2008. Pereira bagaimanapun memberitahu Saiful supaya menantikannya mengambil pelincir berkenaan keesokan harinya.

Sri Ram berkata, pelincir berkenaan digunakan untuk membantu hubungan seksual antara Anwar dan Saiful, hanya diambil daripada pengadu keesokannya dan ini menimbulkan persoalan mengapa pegawai penyiasat menolak bukti daripada pengadu.

Pelincir berkenaan juga tidak pernah diserahkan sebagai bukti, atau dimaklumkan Saiful dalam laporan polisnya. Bekas pembantu Anwar itu hanya membangkitkannya pertama kali ketika testimoni.

Sri Ram juga berkata, jika jeli pelincir itu digunakan dalam aktiviti liwat tersebut, Saiful sudah pasti tidak akan berasa sakit seperti dikatakannya.

Objek plastik

Pasukan pembelaan turut berkata, dakwaan Saiful seperti dimaklumkan kepada Dr Mohd Osman Abdul Hamid, doktor pertama yang memeriksanya selepas dakwaan liwat dan diserang menggunakan objek plastik oleh VIP di lubang duburnya.

Dr Osman bagaimanapun mendapati, selepas pemeriksaan tidak terdapat bukti penembusan.

Bagaimanapun, pendakwaan tidak pernah memanggil Dr Osman untuk memberikan keterangan – satu lagi kegagalan mendapatkan bukti kes daripada saksi utama, kata pihak pembelaan.

Pasukan pendakwaan bagaimanapun menganggap Dr Osman sebagai saksi yang tidak boleh dipercayai dan menuduhnya mengubah kandungan laporan perubatan Saiful.

Rantaian bukti

Peguam Anwar juga turut menyatakan terdapat lompangan dalam rantaian bukti forensik ketika tempoh sampel daripada Saiful di Hospital Kuala Lumpur pada 28 Jun, 2008 sehingga diserahkan kepada pakar kimia Dr Seah Lay Hong 2 hari kemudian.

Pakar kimia itu mendapati sampel itu "asli" namun bukti dokumentari dan testimoni pakar pembelaan menunjukkan bukti berkenaan kurang mutunya kerana tidak disimpan dalam peti ais.

Sebaliknya, pegawai penyiasat menyimpan sampel berkenaan dalam kabinet besi di pejabatnya yang berhawa dingin.

Pasukan pembelaan turut mencadangkan sampel berkenaan dicemari Pereira ketika beliau memotong plastik beg yang mengandungi sampel untuk memindahkannya ke dalam sampul surat.

Dakwaan konspirasi politik

Peguam N Surendran berhujah dakwaan dibuat ke atas Anwar konspirasi politik kerana Saiful mengakui bertemu Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan menghubungi Ketua Polis Negara ketika itu, Tan Sri Musa Hassan. Kesemua pertemuan itu berlaku sebelum tarikh dakwaan liwat.

Saiful juga bertemu pegawai kanan polis, Senior Assistant Commissioner Mohd Rodwan Mohd Yusof yang terlibat dalam kes liwat pertama Anwar.

Anwar menyerahkan kenyataan tidak bersumpah 32 muka surat ketika perbicaraan untuk menafikan beliau melakukan jenayah berkenaan dan menjelaskan dakwaan liwat keduanya itu bermotifkan politik.

Pihak pendakwaan, bagaimanapun berkata, bukti berkenaan tidak memadai kerana kenyataan tidak bersumpah tidak boleh diserahkan dan tidak boleh diberikan kenyataan balas.

Mahkamah Tinggi dan Mahkamah Rayuan menolak kenyataan Anwar, dan menganggapnya "penafian" daripada pendakwaan.

Beban pembuktian

Pihak pendakwaan ketika membuat penyerahan dalam rayuan Anwar tahun lalu, cuba memindahkan beban pembuktian kepada tertuduh.

Diketuai Peguam Umno Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, pihak pendakwaan mempertahankan keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan yang mengetepikan keputusan pembebasan oleh mahkamah perbicaraan.

Shafee bertindak sebagai timbalan pendakwa raya mengejut bagi pihak kerajaan dalam kes ini.

Beliau berkata, mahkamah harus mempercayai testimoni pakar kimia kerajaan yang menjalankan ujian DNA terhadap sampel untuk mengaitkan Anwar dengan dakwaan liwat.

"Jika dakwaan Anwar, sampel air mani bukan miliknya, beliau harus menjalankan ujian DNA untuk membuktikan sebaliknya," kata Shafee.

Pasukan pendakwaan juga berkata, dakwaan sampel air mani disimpan pegawai penyiasat dicemari tidak masuk akal kerana sukar mendapatkan air mani segar.

Shafee berkata, Anwar harus menjelaskan bagaimana spermanya boleh berada dalam kawasan sulit Saiful.

Beliau turut mempersoalkan kenapa pasukan pembelaan tidak membekalkan saksi alibi ketika Anwar memberikan alibi mempertahankan diri. 

Kredibiliti Saiful

Peguam diminta untuk memberikan hujah berkenaan bukti dengan berkata jika pasukan pembelaan mampu membuktikan kepada hakim Saiful tidak boleh dipercayai, bukti-bukti lain juga tidak lagi relevan.

Amer berkata, pasukan pendakwaan tidak mampu menyoal balas tempoh pertama jika terdapat kekurangan dalam bukti utama daripada pengadu.

Amer berkata, beban guaman untuk membuktikan kes selalunya kekal dengan pendakwaan dan pembelaan perlu menimbulkan keraguan yang munasabah.

Peguam lain, Ramesh Sivakumar berkata, kenyataan Anwar dan alibi pembelaan hanya relevan jika pendakwaan membuktikan kes prima facie terhadap tertuduh, kerana beliau disabit tanpa memanggilnya untuk membela diri.

Sivakumar berkata, pembelaan menjalankan kes itu di Mahkamah Persekutuan untuk menunjukkan Saiful saksi yang tidak boleh dipercayai dan hakim perbicaraan boleh membebaskan Anwar kerana pendakwaan gagal mewujudkan kes prima facie.

Sivakumar berkata, pembelaan menjelaskan mereka tidak menggunakan alibi pertahanan Anwar kerana saksi berkata mereka dikasari polis.

"Kenyataan Anwar tidak boleh ditolak keseluruhannya kerana ia menimbulkan penafian pembelaan (aktiviti seksual itu tidak pernah berlaku) dan konspirasi politik," tambahnya.

Mahkamah Rayuan menjatuhkan hukuman penjara 5 tahun terhadap Anwar namun tidak menahannya sementara menanti rayuan.

Pihak pendakwaan memfailkan rayuan balas untuk hukuman penjara lebih tinggi terhadap Anwar yang mana sehingga 20 tahun.

Sekiranya mahkamah membebaskannya, ia akan lebih mudah untuk Anwar, namun jika mahkamah memutuskan bersalah, Shafee dijangka akan memfailkan mengapa ketua pembangkang itu perlu diberikan penambahan hukuman. Pihak pembelaan akan diberikan peluang berhujah mengenainya.

Karier politik Anwar akan tiba di penghujungnya jika dijatuhkan hukuman denda RM2,000 dan dipenjarakan lebih daripada setahun dan jika tidak menerima pengampunan. – tmi

Anwar’s fate hinges on Saiful’s credibility...

On Tuesday, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be in the dock as the Federal Court delivers the much-awaited verdict on the PKR de facto leader's sodomy appeal, reminiscent of the scenario about 10 years ago.

In September 2004, the apex court, in a majority 2-1 ruling, acquitted him and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja of having carnal intercourse with Azizan Abu Bakar, who was the driver of Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ibrahim, Anwar’s wife.

In this second sodomy case, the Court of Appeal last year convicted the Permatang Pauh MP of sexual misconduct on his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, at a unit of the Desa Damansara condominium in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, on June 26, 2008.

In 2012, trial judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah freed Anwar at the close of the defence's case on grounds that the integrity of the samples could have been compromised.

However, Zabidin accepted Saiful as a credible witness. The Federal Court's verdict on February 10 will thus hinge on whether the judges find Saiful's testimony able to stand up to the holes and gaps that Anwar's defence team has highlighted.

Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said any other corroborative evidence would not matter to the court if the judges were convinced that Saiful's testimony was unreliable.

The carpet

In the apex court's hearing of Anwar's appeal last October 28, lead counsel Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram told the five-man bench led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria that Saiful was not a worthy witness nor could he have been a sodomy victim.

There were gaps in Saiful's testimony, such as his claim that the alleged act took place on a carpet but this exhibit was never produced in court.

The prosecution attempted to refer to another carpet, but it was one found in an adjacent condominium unit and not the one where the crime was said to have happened.

Sri Ram said there was also no evidence produced to show that the carpet was moved from the alleged crime scene.

"If the carpet was never moved to the adjacent unit, then the act of sodomy never took place. So, Saiful's evidence can't be believed," Sri Ram said during submission last year.

K-Y Jelly as material evidence

Another contested piece of evidence in Saiful's testimony was a tube of lubricant allegedly used in the crime, which the former aide had offered to the case investigating officer, Superintendent Jude Pereira on June 28, 2008. But Pereira told Saiful to wait and that he would collect it the following day.

Sri Ram said the lubricant, purportedly used to aid in the sexual act between Anwar and Saiful, was only seized from the complainant the next day and this had raised the question as to why an investigation officer would decline a material exhibit from the accuser.

The tube of K-Y Jelly was never tendered as evidence, nor had it been mentioned by Saiful in his police report. The former aide only raised it for the first time during his testimony.

Sri Ram had also said if the lubricant had been used in the sodomy attack, Saiful would not have complained of pain, which he did.

The plastic object 

The defence also noted Saiful's claim that he had told Dr Mohd Osman Abdlu Hamid, the first doctor to examine him after the alleged sodomy, that he had been assaulted by a VIP with a plastic object inserted into his anus.

Dr Osman's findings after examining Saiful were also that there was no evidence of penile penetration.

However, the prosecution never called Dr Osman to testify – yet another failure to produce material evidence by a key witness, the defence had said.

The prosecution, however, had considered Dr Osman an unreliable witness and accused him of modifying Saiful's medical report.

Chain of evidence

Anwar's lawyers had also asserted that there was break in the chain of forensic evidence during  the time the samples were taken from Saiful at Kuala Lumpur Hospital on June 28, 2008 until they was handed to chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong two days later.

The chemist found the samples to be "pristine" but documentary evidence and testimonies by defence experts showed that the exhibits would have degraded as they were not refrigerated. 

Instead, Pereira, the investigating officer, had kept the samples in a steel cabinet in his air-conditioned office.

The defence also suggested that the samples had been tampered with by Pereira when he cut open the plastic bag containing the swab samples in order to transfer them to individual envelopes.

Claim of political conspiracy

Co-counsel N. Surendran had argued that the charge against Anwar was a political conspiracy as Saiful had admitted meeting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and had called the then inspector-general of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan. All these meetings were before the date of the alleged sodomy.

Saiful had also met senior police officer Senior Assistant Commissioner Mohd Rodwan Mohd Yusof who was involved in Anwar's first sodomy case.

Anwar had given a 32-page unsworn statement from the dock during trial stage to deny committing the crime and to explain why the second sodomy charge against him was political in nature.

The prosecution, however, said that this evidence was worthless as unsworn statements from the dock were not admissible and could not be cross-examined.

The High Court and Court of Appeal had dismissed Anwar's unsworn statement, considering it a "bare denial" of the charge.

Burden of proof

The prosecution, when making submissions at Anwar's appeal last year, tried to shift the burden of proof to the accused.

Led by Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the prosecution defended the Court of Appeal's ruling, which had reversed the acquittal decision of the trial court.

Shafee was acting as an ad hoc deputy public prosecutor engaged by the government for the case.

He said the court should believe the testimony of the government chemists who conducted DNA profiling of samples to connect Anwar to the sodomy charge.

"If Anwar claims the semen sample was not his, then he should do his own DNA test to prove otherwise," Shafee had said.

The prosecutor also said claims that the semen samples kept by the investigating officer had been tampered with were "unreasonable" as it would have been difficult to find fresh semen.

Shafee also said Anwar should explain how his sperm had ended up in "intimate areas" of Saiful.

And he also questioned why the defence did not call any alibi witnesses when Anwar had put up an alibi defence. The court was obliged to draw an adverse inference, Shafee had said.

Saiful's credibility

Lawyers asked to comment on the evidence said that if the defence could convince the judges that Saiful should not be believed, any other corroborative evidence would then become irrelevant.

Amer said the prosecution would not be able to cross the first hurdle if there were deficiencies in the primary evidence of the complainant.

"Corroborative evidence cannot be relied upon if the main evidence is deficient or inadmissible," he said.

Amer said that the legal burden to prove a case always remained with the prosecution and the defence need only to create a reasonable doubt.    

Another lawyer, Ramesh Sivakumar, said Anwar's statement from the dock and alibi defence was only relevant if the prosecution had proved a prima facie case against the accused, as he should have been acquitted without calling for his defence.

Sivakumar said the defence conducted its case in the Federal Court to show that Saiful was an unreliable witness and that the trial judge should have acquitted Anwar because the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case.

Sivakumar said the defence had explained that it did not use Anwar's alibi defence because the witnesses had said they were harassed by the police.

"Anwar's statement from the dock also cannot be dismissed altogether because it raises the defence of denial (that the sexual act never happened) and political conspiracy," he added.

The Court of Appeal had sentenced Anwar to five years' jail but granted him a stay on the sentence pending the outcome of his appeal.

The prosecution has filed a cross-appeal for a higher jail sentence against Anwar, which could stretch up to 20 years.

It will be a straightforward matter for Anwar if the Federal Court frees him, but if the court upholds the conviction, Shafee is expected to give submissions as to why the opposition leader deserves an enhanced sentence. The defence will then be given the opportunity to argue against this.

Anwar's political career could come to an end if he is fined more than RM2,000 or jailed more than a year and does not received a free pardon. – tmi

Survival Najib, Anwar dan Dr Mahathir...

Keputusan penghakiman perbicaraan akhir Liwat II terhadap Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pada 10 Februari ini akan memberikan titik peralihan baharu terhadap politik Malaysia. Bagi Anwar beliau bertawakal dan berserah kepada Allah dalam apa-apa jua keadaan. Namun persekitaran politik Malaysia cukup dinamik dan ruang dinamik ini memberikan sebarang kemungkinan yang akan berlaku dalam politik Malaysia. 

Keputusan rayuan terakhir Anwar yang dijangka diumumkan pada 9 pagi, Selasa depan akan membawa kepada beberapa implikasi dan senario politik negara. Apa pun keputusan panel panel hakim yang diketuai Ketua hakim Negara Tun Arifin Zakaria perlu dihormati semua.

Sekiranya,  keputusan tidak berpihak kepada Anwar maka, sudah pasti akan membangkitkan kemarahan penyokong Anwar dan akan menyebabkan kewujudan undi protes kalangan pada PRU akan datang. Pasti cabaran besar kepada Barisan Nasional (BN) untuk terus bertahan. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) akan kehilangan Anwar yang dianggap simbol utama penyatu kepada PAS, DAP dan PKR.

Di sebalik kemungkinan ini, ia memberikan ruang baharu kepada kepimpinan PKR sedia ada seperti Azmin Ali, Rafizi Ramli, Nurul Izzah dan Saifuddin Nasution menggilap kepimpinan dalam PKR. Sepatutnya BN lebih bimbang kemunculan tokoh-tokoh muda dan pintar ini berbanding Anwar. 

Keupayaan Azmin dan Rafizi misalnya merupakan bakat besar dalam politik negara yang perlu diketengahkan dan diberikan lebih ruang untuk menonjolkan kepimpinan yang dinamik sesuai dengan era baru. Ketiadaan Anwar ketika beliau dipenjarakan juga membuktikan PR boleh bergerak dengan jaya tanpa Anwar.

Terdapat juga kemungkinan Anwar akan dibebaskan. Sudah pasti bagi penyokong BN ini merupakan mimpi ngeri mereka. Anwar akan mudah mengukuhkan PR yang kini dipulihkan khususnya di antara PAS dan DAP. Tanpa peranan Anwar agak sukar menyatukan dua ideologi parti yang perlukan moderasi Anwar.

Pancingan Politik

Adakah Anwar akan dipancing untuk kembali menyertai Umno bagi meretakkan PR dan mengukuhkan konflik dalaman Umno? Sudikah Anwar sekiranya ditawarkan jawatan kerajaan yang lebih strategik seperti jawatan menteri dalam negeri?  

Mungkinkah Ezam Mohd Nor yang sudah menjadi sebagai pengarah komunikasi di Kementerian Kewangan sejak pertengahan Mac 2014, berminat untuk menjadi tali penghubung Anwar dengan Umno? Hal ini kerana Ezam perlu mengukuhkan politiknya dalam Umno dan mendapatkan kepercayaan lebih besar daripada ketua baru, Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Pada zaman di bawah Anwar, Ezam mempunyai akses hingga ke pejabat The Washington Post yang cukup berpengaruh. 

Namun Ezam tahu lama sukar untuknya bersaing dengan Azmin sekiranya beliau terus bersama PKR. Keterampilan Azmin dalam politik kini terserlah apabila beliau akhirnya menjadi timbalan presiden PKR dan bukan calang-calang ahli politik yang dapat mendaki ke peringkat tinggi tersebut.  Kini Azmin dilantik sebagai menteri besar Selangor. Jalan lain bagi Ezam ialah Umno. Rantaian isu Anwar dapat dikaitkan dilema Najib dan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dilema Najib dan Dr Mahathir

Najib kini  menghadapi  tiga cabaran terbesar dalam hayat politik beliau. Yang pertama keputusan PRU13 yang menjadikan pembangkang menguasai 52% undi popular dan BN menang tipis.  Kedudukan Najib lebih berbahaya dalam politik kerana beliau hanya mendapat 133 kerusi berbanding era Pak lah  yang mendapat 140 kerusi dalam pilihan raya 2008. 

Sungguhpun era Najib dianggap lebih liberal dan terbuka dalam menambat undi Cina, namun kemerosotan undi Cina terus berlaku. Inilah terpancar dalam peribahasa, "kayu yang hendak tumbang, kura-kura pun hendak memanjatnya'.

Suara Sabah dan Sarawak yang sering menyuarakan hak seperti royalti minyak dan dasar kabotaj yang menyebabkan harga barang lebih mahal di Sabah dan Sarawak dan kian bergema. Apakah perlu hanya meletakkan orang di tempat strategik di Sarawak atau Sabah, atau perlukah Umno di Sarawak untuk mengukuhkan Umno di Semenanjung Malaysia? Yang pasti rakyat Sarawak tidak mahukan Umno sekurang-kurang untuk tempoh terdekat ini.

Yang jelas, isu seperti IMDB yang mempunyai aset RM51.4 bilion dan hutang RM49.97 bilion memberikan keraguan akar umbi sehinggakan Naib Ketua Umno Bahagian Batu Kawan, Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan membuat laporan polis. Mantan perdana menteri Dr Mahathir juga berterus-teras kepada media beliau tidak menyokong Najib. 

Selain isu IMDB, Dr Mahathir tidak berpuas  isu seperti TPPA dengan Amerika, ISA dan dasar gaji minimum. Bagi Dr Mahathir, pemilik The Edge Datuk Tong Kooi Ong diserang kerana media miliknya kerana mengkritik IMDB. Dr Mahathir  baru-baru ini menegaskan beliau tetap menyebelahi negara, bangsa dan parti. Bukannya menyokong pembangkang. Kata Dr Mahathir, apabila beliau menyebelahi parti Umno, tidak bermakna beliau menyebelahi pemimpin parti. Hal ini tentulah merumitkan politik dalaman Umno. 

Dalam sejarah Umno, Dr Mahathir pernah mengkritik dasar Tunku Abdul Rahman dan Pak Lah hingga menyebabkan mereka berundur. Pada 1987 Tun Musa Hitam pernah membentuk regu politik Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah untuk menentang Dr Mahathir kerana tahu agak sukar untuk melawan regu Dr Mahathir. 

Bagaimanapun, kedua-dua tewas melawan regu Dr Mahathir. Percubaan Anwar bangkit menentang Dr Mahathir dan masih gagal dan ini sudah pasti menyebabkan Najib lebih teliti untuk berhadapan dengan kritikan Dr Mahathir.

Daim yang terkejut (bukan lagi yang diam)

Sebelum ini, Tun Daim Zainuddin dikatakan memberikan nasihat dan pandangan kepada kerajaan atas kapasiti sebagai bekas menteri kewangan. Namun nasihat ini disalah tafsir sebagai kritikan terhadap kepimpinan Najib. 

Adakah memberikan tempat kepada pihak pembangkang untuk menyerang bekas menteri kewangan itu  oleh TV3   dalam waktu  perdana  sebagai wacana tandingan untuk mengimbangkan kritikan Daim? Malah Daim juga dikaitkan seolah-olah bergabung dengan Dr Mahathir dan ini menyebabkan Daim yang selama ini jarang berhubung dengan Dr Mahathir terkejut dan membuat sidang akhbar untuk penafian.

Adakah tindakan tersebut di luar radar pengetahuan perdana menteri? Adakah agak terlambat untuk membetulkan segala persepsi politik? PRU14 dijangka berakhir pada Mei 2018.  Tempoh sekitar 2 tahun 4 bulan ini agak kritikal. Mungkinkah Najib akan duduk semeja dengan Dr Mahathir atau Anwar untuk berdepan PRU14? Atau kedua-dua mereka sekali?  Atau pun, sangguhkah Najib berjiwa besar dengan berundur secara terhormat bagi menyelamatkan parti Umno khususnya dan BN?

Dikatakan terdapat kebimbangan dalam kalangan propembangkang, sekiranya Najib berundur lebih awal akan menyebabkan kelewatan PR menawan Putrajaya. Namun sejauh manakah persepsi ini benar? Namun dalam politik,  persepsi kelihatan lebih hidup daripada realiti. Pendapat umum terhadap kepimpinan parti dalam dan luar parti menentukan kelangsungan politik semasa. Kuasa media sosial kadangkala lebih difahami daripada penerangan ketua cawangan ranting mana-mana parti politik.

Akhbar talian seperti The Malaysian Insider dan Malaysiakini, dianggap sebagai alternatif zaman keterbukaan media Pak Lah kini merupakan media arus perdana secara maya. Penggunaan aplikasi whatsapp memudahkan pembentukan kumpulan pendapat dan wacana harian tercetus pula berupaya menentukan hala tuju politik negara. Perhatikan sahaja sebaran whasapp Pengarah Pusat Operasi PAS yang memberikan senario kemungkinan keluar dari PR menjadi viral tidak lama dulu.

Negara kita melalui banjir besar negara yang memusnahkan infrastruktur yang mencecah 2.9 bilion ringgit. Bencana ini sepatutnya memberikan kesedaran, keinsafan, membina perpaduan yang lebih kukuh di antara parti politik tanpa mengira ideologi dan agama. Namun, situasi politik di Malaysia masih terus di tampuk lama. Adakah menjelang atau selepas PRU14 nanti akan menyebabkan landskap politik akan benar-benar berubah? Semua ini akan ditentukan kebijaksanaan pengundi nanti. – Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi,tmi

Anwar,what Najib and UMNO fail to understand...

Feb 10 is V-day - Verdict Day. That's when we will learn whether Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim will be found guilty in a trial that governments and human rights organisations around the world unanimously have called politically motivated.

No legal basis for Anwar's guilt

Judged solely on legal grounds, there is no doubt that the prosecution has failed to prove its case. In the Federal Court hearings which spread over two weeks, Anwar's defence team, led brilliantly by a former judge, Gopal Sri Ram, made mincemeat of the government's prosecutor, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (right), who is better known as Umno's lawyer.

Anyone who looks at the facts of the case would conclude this: If Anwar is found guilty, it will be for political, not legal, reasons.

Malaysia has changed forever

But if Anwar is found guilty, he can go to prison with his head held high. He can look back and think about all that he has been accomplished since he was first arrested by then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998, and how Malaysia's political situation has changed over the past 16 years.

Even as the Umno government pursued and persecuted him, Anwar never gave up. Neither did his supporters. And now the movement he began, and the challenge to Malaysia's political order that he and his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail started in 1998, have become much larger than Anwar himself.

There is no going back. Malaysia has changed forever.

Anwar put country above self

Anwar had many opportunities over the past decade to travel overseas. But he always went back to Malaysia, despite the risk. If Anwar were selfish - if it were just about him - he could have stayed overseas and gone into exile.

Mahathir actually gave him that choice in 1998, yet Anwar turned him down and ended up spending six years in prison.

That is one reason why I respect him so much. Anwar always chose to go back. He chose his country Malaysia over any risk to himself.

I wonder how many other people would do that.

Umno a minority government

Anwar can think about the fact that in the last general elections, the opposition defeated - yes, defeated - Umno and its coalition partners in the popular vote.

Umno was saved only because of the inequitable distribution of electoral seats by the Electoral Commission, which as everyone knows is controlled by the Umno government.

Even with one hand tied behind its back, Anwar and the opposition won 53 percent of the vote in peninsular Malaysia. It defeated BN at the polls.

As for Umno's own candidates, they took only 33 percent of the national vote.

Malaysia now has ‘two-party’ system

Anwar can think about the fact that in the past 16 years, a genuine opposition and ‘two-party’ system have emerged. The difference between Umno-BN and Pakatan Rakyat is now very clear.

One side, BN is dominated by Umno, which increasingly tries to survive by appealing to the basest and most racist instincts of its members. It survives by the use of Sedition Act, control of the media, and threatening to arrest anyone who dares to speak out.

Umno has castrated the other parties in the coalition, MCA and MIC, to the point where they are politically meaningless. There really is no BN anymore.

Umno - even though it was the recipient of only 33 percent of the national vote - now calls 100 percent of the shots. MCA and MIC have lost their supporters and are struggling for their own survival.

Chinese Malaysians have shifted

During the struggle in 1998, the Chinese Malaysian community stood on the sidelines. They considered it an internal Umno struggle among the Malays. They thought of Anwar as an "ultra Malay".

But not today. The Chinese-Malaysian community has shifted their support to the opposition, to the point where Najib complained of a Chinese tsunami after the last elections.

No longer just about Anwar

Over the past 15 years, the movement that began with Anwar's sacking, arrest, and imprisonment has grown into Pakatan. It is now a permanent fixture in Malaysia's political landscape and a genuine alternative to BN.

Fifteen years ago, Keadilan basically was about Anwar and the injustice that had been done to him. But no longer. Today it is about democracy, freedom, human rights, and Malaysia's future. It is about an end to corruption and cronyism. It is about Malaysia's future.

So whether he goes to prison or not, Anwar already has won. - John Mallot,mk
  

The 'Only Ngeh in Perak DAP' to sue Ismail Sabri over anti-Islam slur...

DAP lawmaker Ngeh Koo Ham, who was singled out by Umno minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob in his recent racial rant on Chinese businesses, said he will sue the minister for labelling him and his family anti-Islam.

The MP for Beruas also repeated his call for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to sack the agriculture and agro-based industries minister for lying just to avoid owning up to what he said.

Both Ismail and Ngeh have been in the spotlight after Ismail advised Malays to boycott Chinese businesses.

He had alleged that Ngeh owned shares in the OldTown White Coffee chain which was singled out as a Chinese business that Malays should boycott.

"Malays are still refusing to boycott (OldTown White Coffee), what more when its owner is said to be the DAP Ngeh family of Perak who are known to be anti-Islam.

"As long as the Malays don't change, the Chinese will take the opportunity to oppress the Malays," Ismail had said in a Facebook post.

Ngeh then denied he had ever owned any shares in OldTown Bhd, and demanded that the minister retract his anti-Islam allegation and issue him a public apology.

The minister shrugged off a 48-hour deadline to apologise to Ngeh, saying that his remarks posted on Facebook did not specifically mention "Ngeh Koo Ham".

In a statement today, Ngeh said the time given for the Umno minister to retract and apologise for his remarks had lapsed, adding that he had instructed his lawyers to proceed with legal action.

He added that Ismail had lied about two things in his Facebook post, that he owned shares in Old Town and that he was anti-Islam.

Ada dak nama Ngeh Koo Ham... Ismail pakai hentam saja...

Ngeh pointed out that when the posting caused a public outcry and Ismail was confronted, he tried to avoid responsibility by telling two more lies – that his remark referred to only 'stubborn' Chinese and that he had not targeted any specific race in his post, according to a statement from the PM's Department.

"Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak cannot be keeping a man proven to be quick to lie in his cabinet as he will pose a great danger to the nation.

"The fact that he has withdrawn his posting and avoided identifying me and my family as his targets are clear admissions of guilt on his part," Ngeh said.

Ngeh also urged the Islamic authorities to reprimand the minister to show that Islam did not condone such conduct.

He said this was a chance for the guardians of the religion to explain that Islam was against defaming others and lying.

"This is also an opportunity for the Islamic authorities in our country to refute the accusation by some that they only act against those who are of lesser station in our society.

"The Islamic authorities can also take this opportunity to emphasise the importance of the substantive values taught by Islam, apart from the teaching on the appropriate attire to wear and whether a certain food is halal or otherwise," Ngeh said.

In his Facebook post, Ismail had written: "Forgive me for sharing my views, but besides the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, which uses the Price Control Act and the Anti-Profiteering Act to act against traders who raise their prices indiscriminately, the greatest power lies with consumers.

"The majority of consumers are Malay, Chinese are a minority. If the Malays boycott their businesses, they will surely have no choice but to reduce their prices." - TMI

Ngeh akan saman Ismail Sabri

On Ismail Sabri...

Jawapan Hadi terhadap kehadiran mesyuarat Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat...

Presiden PAS tidak terikat atau bergantung kepada mana-mana pihak untuk hadir ke mesyuarat Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat yang dijadualkan pada 8 Februari ini.

Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang berkata terpulang kepadanya sama ada hadir atau sebaliknya pada mesyuarat yang akan diadakan di Pejabat Agung PAS itu.

Ini kerana, kata beliau, tidak ada mana-mana pihak yang berhak bagi menentukan kehadirannya.

“Dia (Guan Eng) tidak berhak menentukan saya hadir atau tidak hadir. Terpulang kepada saya nak hadir ke tak hadir. Saya bukan anak murid sekolah, kita tengok dululah.

“Tengok hari mesyuarat inilah saya hadir ke tidak hadir. Saya tak bergantung dengan sesiapa saya nak hadir,” ujarnya berseloroh kepada media selepas menyampaikan kuliah mingguan Jumaat di kediamannya Kampung Rusila, hari ini. Hadir sama ialah Naib Presiden PAS, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Beliau berkata demikian sebagai reaksi balas desakan Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng yang mahukan Presiden PAS itu hadir ke mesyuarat Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat, Ahad ini.

Sehubungan itu, Ustaz Abdul Hadi turut menafikan dakwaan beliau banyak kali tidak hadir ke mesyuarat berkenaan berbanding dengan pemimpin PR yang lain.

Bahkan, kata beliau pihak terbabit boleh melihat rekod kehadiran ahli-ahli mesyuarat majlis berkenaan bagi menentukan kebenaran dakwaan tersebut.

“Cuma saya rasa bangga, saya lebih banyak hadir mesyuarat dari Lim Guan Eng, kecuali (ketika) saya sakit dulu.

“Mesyuarat PR, masa saya jadi Menteri Besar pun saya hadir tiap-tiap kali mesyuarat. Saya tidak sibuk macam Ketua Menteri dan jika sibuk pun saya mesti hadir untuk mesyuarat Pakatan Rakyat.

“Kalau kata saya banyak tak hadir mesyuarat itu tak betul, kena ‘check’ kehadiranlah siapa paling banyak tidak hadir mesyuarat,” ujarnya yang juga Ahli Parlimen Marang. - harakahdaily

Story kat SINI dan SINI  

cheers.

Najib lebih rela dilihat 'bodoh' daripada kutuk Ismail...

Tidak ada gunanya Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak bercakap tentang Gerakan Kesederhanaan Global (GMM) dan mempromosikan ’1Malaysia’ tapi akhirnya mempertahankan kenyataan perkauman Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, kata Tony Pua.

Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara itu berkata, kenyataan Najib semalam kononnya kata-kata Ismail ditujukan kepada semua peniaga bukan peniaga tertentu adalah amat mengecewakan dan satu lagi pembohongan berulang UMNO.

“Kegagalan Najib mengecam Ismail atas kenyataan perkauman tersebut adalah amat mengejutkan dan mengecewakan sedangkan beliau selama ini berkhutbah menggalakkan ’1Malaysia’ dan GMM.

“Nampaknya Najib lebih suka kelihatan bodoh daripada melakukan usaha mengutuk perkauman melampau dan pembohongan berniat jahat ahli-ahli kabinetnya sendiri,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan, hari ini.

Menurut Setiausaha Publisiti DAP itu, tindakan Najib mempertahankan Ismail juga mengulangi perilaku Menteri Propaganda Nazi Joseph Goebbels.

“Dalam petikan kenyataan yang sering dikaitkan dengan Goebbels, beliau pernah menyebut ‘jika kamu ulangi suatu pembohongan acapkali, orang akan percaya dan kamu sendiripun akan mempercayainya’

“Jelas pemimpin dan menteri UMNO-BN sedang menderita sindrom ‘pembohongan besar’ apabila mempercayai penipuan berniat jahat mereka sendiri,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan, hari ini.

Baru-baru ini, Ismail melalui laman Facebook menyarankan pengguna Melayu untuk memboikot perniagaan kaum Cina supaya harga barangan turun.

Beliau juga mempersoalkan sikap pengguna Melayu yang masih makan di kedai milik kaum Cina yang diragui status halalnya walaupun terdapat banyak restoran Melayu lainnya.

Ismail turut memberi contoh bahawa restoran kopitiam Old Town White Coffee yang kononnya dimiliki Ahli Parlimen Beruas Ngeh Koo Ham patut diboikot.

Kata Ismail, Ngeh adalah keluarga DAP Perak yang terkenal dengan anti-Islam.

Old Town Kopitiam adalah sebuah syarikat awam yang tidak mempunyai kaitan dengan Ngeh atau keluarganya.

Tokoh DAP Perak itu telah membuat laporan polis, selain mendesak Ismail menarik balik kenyataannya jika tidak mahu dibawa ke mahkamah. – Roketkini.com

So Ismail Sabri is more powerful than Najib

Najib prefers to look stupid than hang Ismail...

I had earlier asserted that Agriculture and Agricultural Industries Minister Ismail Sabri, Home Minister Zahid Hamidi and their fellow BN Umno leaders are among the most ardent disciples of the Paul Joseph Goebbels school of propaganda.

In a quote often attributed to the German dictator Adolf Hitler's propaganda chief himself, “if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.”

Our BN-Umno ministers and leaders are certainly suffering from the ‘Big Lie’ syndrome, believing in their own malicious lies.

The latest unbelievable racist rant from Ismail Sabri for example only proved that their cohorts lie so much in public and in social media to victimise their political opponents that they have actually come to believe their own myths and fabrications.

Ismail Sabri (above left, next to Najib) first accused the Chinese of hiking up prices of goods and services, and hence called for the “majority” Malay community to boycott Chinese businesses.

He then asserted that the popular Old Town White Coffee chain is owned by DAP Member of Parliament Ngeh Koo Ham, whom he accused of being anti-Malay and anti-Muslims and hence, should be similarly boycotted.

These were clearcut lies, which have been circulating, in the Umno-owned print media and the social media for some time.  They have also been refuted many times.

Despite the sheer audacity of the racist rant and lies, Prime Minister Najib Razak has inexplicably decided that Ismail Sabri is worthy of his defence and protection.

The Prime Minister’s Office has issued a statement explaining that the agriculture minister’s comments were "meant to rebuke traders who refuse to lower the price of goods".

"The rebuke he made was targeted to all traders and not just traders from a particular race. Besides that, he suggested consumers use their purchasing power to force traders to reduce their price of goods," the PMO statement clarified.

Never said that?

The reply by the prime minister is a blatant attempt at pretending Ismail Sabri never said what he said, despite the latter’s no holds barred attempt to unjustifiably blame the Chinese community.

The complete failure by the prime minister to even gently rebuke Ismail Sabri over his incendiary racist statement is both appalling and disappointing given his rhetoric of promoting 1Malaysia and the Global Movement of Moderates.

Instead, Najib is only following the Goebbels playbook, where the latter wrote in his article entitled ‘From Churchill’s Lie Factory’ that “when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it.  They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.”

It is obvious from the above example, that the honourable prime minister would rather look stupid and ridiculous, than to make any effort to denounce blatant racism and malicious lies spouted by his own cabinet members. - Tony Pua,mk

PMO on Ismail akin to Zul Noordin's Indian kiss...

A PAS leader has likened the stand taken by the Prime Minister’s Office on Ismail Sabri Yaakob to former Perkasa leader Zulkifli Noordin’s election stunt.

Yesterday, the PMO clarified that Ismail, who is agriculture and agro-based industry minister, had reprimanded all errant traders despite his Facebook post urging Malays to boycott Chinese businesses who do not reduce prices.

This, according to PAS central committee member Khalid Samad, reminded him of how Zulkifli, who was his former opponent, received a peck on the cheek from an Indian supporter when he was named as the BN candidate for the Shah Alam parliament seat.

"This statement (by PMO) is same like what was done by Zulkifli during the last election.

"After insulting the non-Malays, he takes a picture of himself being kissed by a non-Malay to show he is no more anti non-Malays,” he told a press conference today.

At the time, Zulkifili had come under fire over a video posting in which he had ridiculed Hindu deities.

His candidacy also drew flak from Umno's allies, especially MIC.

'Just sack him'

Meanwhile, Khalid called on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razk to relieve Ismail of his post instead of defending him.

"If Najib wants to show he does not like the posting by Ismail, he should not have just released the statement to spin what has been said by Ismail.

"He should instead fire Ismail if he is really serious about eradicating racial issues and should be able to see how stupid of a statement it was trying to explain the price hike from a racial angle," he added.

Thus far, Ismail Sabri has gone on television and held several press conferences to claim that he never intended to single out any ethnic group.

However, BN coalition members MCA and Gerakan are calling his bluff and are still demanding his apology and retraction. - mk

cheers.

Anwar - Orang jahat sumbat atuk dalam penjara...

Lima hari sebelum Mahkamah Persekutuan menyampaikan keputusan sama ada beliau akan bebas atau ke penjara, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak menunjukkan tanda-tanda lemah semangat.

Ketua umum PKR itu malah bergurau dengan wartawan supaya sentiasa ceria.

"Muram saja nampak. Saya OK," katanya sambil ketawa.

Beliau juga menceritakan betapa sibuknya sekarang sehingga tidak memakai stoking kerana sentiasa tergesa-gesa.

Menyentuh kemungkinan beliau kembali merengkok dalam penjara, ketua pembangkang berkata akan memanfaatkan masa itu untuk membaca buku digemarinya, termasuk karya-karya William Shakespeare.

Beliau bagaimanapun mengakui bahawa anggota keluarganya berasa bimbang dengan kemungkinan itu.

“Anak perempuan (Nurul) Izzah tanya saya, atuk, kenapa mereka cakap pasal penjara?

"Saya cakap pada dia, orang jahat nak sumbat atuk dalam penjara,” katanya.

Nurul Izzah yang juga naib presiden PKR anak sulung Anwar Ibrahim.

Keputusan kes Liwat II itu akan disampaikan pada Selasa depan.

Anwar sebelum ini merayu terhadap sabitan kesalahan dan hukuman lima tahun yang dikenakan padanya.

Sementara itu, Anwar Ibrahim menafikan penglibatan beliau dalam pertembungan dalaman Umno ekoran daripada kesediaannya bekerjasama dengan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) bagi siasatan salah guna kuasa terhadap Tun Daim Zainuddin.

Menjelaskan situasi itu, Ketua Umum PKR itu berkata, dakwaan salah guna kuasa terhadap bekas menteri kewangan itu sudah lama dibuat iaitu sejak tahun 1999.

"Saya tak terlibat dalam pertembungan dalaman Umno. Saya bukan lagi ahli Umno. Kenyataan saya ketika itu merujuk kepada Daim.

"Ia sudah lama, sejak tahun 1999, saya pernah membuat laporan polis, saya keluar dokumen sebagainya, malah saya pernah serahkan dokumen ke mahkamah," katanya pada sidang media selepas merasmikan peluncuran buku Dr Syed Husin Ali, di Shah Alam hari ini. 

SPRM kemudiannya berkata akan menyiasat Daim dan Anwar pula menyatakan kesediaannya untuk memberi kerjasama sekiranya dipanggil badan tersebut. 

Sementara itu PAS disaran membentangkan cadangan pindaan terhadap Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (2) Negeri Kelantan dalam Mesyuarat Majlis Pimpinan Rakyat (PR) Ahad ini, sebelum ia dibawa ke Parlimen, kata Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Ketua pembangkang itu berkata ia masa terbaik membentangkan enakmen yang akan membolehkan pelaksanaan hukum hudud di negeri itu, supaya pemimpin DAP dan PKR boleh turut memahami dan menilai terlebih dulu cadangan undang-undang Islam itu.

Anwar yang juga ketua umum PKR berkata, PR juga sudah meminta kerajaan negeri Kelantan menunjukkan kepada mereka terlebih dulu kertas cadangan enakmen sebelum sebarang keputusan dibuat.

"Kita sudah minta dan sampaikan kepada kerajaan negeri, kalau diberikan sebaiknya dalam Mesyuarat Majlis Pimpinan PR," katanya pada sidang media selepas merasmikan pelancaran buku Dr Syed Husin Ali, di Shah Alam hari ini.

Anwar, yang tidak menyatakan secara jelas pendirian PR mengenai hukum hudud itu berkata, pihaknya masih belum melihat enakmen yang dipinda kerajaan negeri itu.

"Kita mahu lihat dahulu rang undang-undang tersebut. Walaupun tumpuan kita sebenarnya pada ketika ini ialah kepada pasca banjir, bantuan dan menyelesaikan perumahan, mesej kita ialah ke arah itu," katanya.

Anwar yang merupakan ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh berkata, meskipun PR sudah ada pendiriannya sendiri mengenai hudud, ia tidak mempertikaikan hak PAS membentangkan rang undang-undang tersebut. 

"Dalam ruang PR, kita ada beritahu tentang persetujuan hudud pada 2010. Tetapi, kita juga tidak pertikaikan hak PAS.


"Kita juga menghormati pendirian DAP, tetapi dalam hal ini, kita belum tahu apa yang dikemukakan dan apa yang ditolak," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian apabila ditanya mengenai kenyataan Timbalan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah yang Kelantan merancang membentangkan rang undang-undang persendirian berkenaan di Parlimen Mac ini.- mk/tmi

Bad people sending grandpa to prison...

With five days left before the Federal Court announces its verdict that will determine if he is to be incarcerated or remain a free man, Anwar Ibrahim continues to portray a brave front.

He jokes with journalists, telling them not to look glum. "Muram je nampak (all of you look gloomy). I am okay," he said, drawing laughter.

In his speech later, Anwar even revealed that he did not wear socks because he was rushing for the function.

As far as the possibility of landing in prison is concerned, the opposition leader quipped that it would provide him with ample time to indulge in books, such as the works of Shakespeare.

However, Anwar admitted that his family are worried, and even his granddaughter has been asking him about his possible imprisonment.

"(Nurul) Izzah's daughter asked me, 'Grandpa, why are they talking about prison?' I told her that bad people are sending grandpa to prison," he said.

Next Tuesday, the Federal Court would deliver its judgement on Anwar’s final appeal against his sodomy conviction and five-year prison sentence.

Like the first sodomy charge in 1998, the opposition leader has claimed that the second was also fabricated by his rivals.

The government has denied this.

Meanwhile, Anwar, when addressing reporters today said he is "praying for the best" and prayed that "sanity will prevail".

Nevertheless, he said he had to be realistic this time around especially since it was easier when he was imprisoned in his twenties and fifties.

"It is certainly not easy when you are approaching your seventies. But that is the price I have to pay for sticking to my principles.

"And however painful it will be, I have to endure it. Hopefully they (the police) won't ill-treat or assault me.

"The current IGP (Khalid Abu Bakar) looks slightly more decent although quite aggressive," he jested.

Apart from reading Shakespeare, Anwar said his friends from all over the world had promised to send him "good, expensive books".

"Other than focusing on my prayers, I can finish a book in one day although the thicker ones would take longer ," he said.

Elaborating further on his wife. PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's concern over him, Anwar said: "She's worried about my health.This is not just a sacrifice on my part, but on my family as well.

"She (Wan Azizah) is a bit disturbed, but she is ready (for the decision on Tuesday)," he said.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he has nothing to do with the infighting plaguing ruling party Umno despite his willingness to cooperate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)'s probe against former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.

The opposition leader said allegations of Daim's abuse of power had been around since 1999.

“I am not involved in Umno’s internal fight,” he said.

“I am no longer an Umno member. My statement at that time was referring to Tun Daim.

“It's been so long, since 1999, and I have lodged a police report previously. I even showed documents and submitted it in court,” he told reporters after launching senator Dr Syed Husin Ali's book in Shah Alam today.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) wants to meet Anwar Ibrahim on the evidence he purportedly possesses on former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.

However, the opposition leader told reporters that he cannot find the time, and invited the MACC officers to meet him either in the Sungai Buloh or Kajang prison, if the need arose.

"I have expressed my intention to cooperate with MACC, but now I am busy because all my relatives want to meet me for at least five minutes.

"If I am free after Feb 10, I will meet them. If not, I will invite them to either the Kajang or Sungai Buloh prison," he said.

"Langkah Kajang (Kajang move), langkah terus masuk Kajang (step straight into Kajang prison)," he joked.

Anwar said that MACC should not have problems in gathering evidence against Daim as it can go to the Treasury and other institutions to do so.

On another matter, the opposition leader described Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s call on Malays to boycott Chinese traders as "unacceptable, racist and flawed".

Anwar said it was within the power of the federal government to control monopolies.

On the Prime Minister's Office which had said that Ismail had not targeted Chinese traders alone, he said: "It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister's Office had responded as such. The PMO should go back to the facts and advise Ismail accordingly."

He added that the government should first deal with monopolies of goods such as rice and sugar.

"And why doesn't the government talk about rich cronies amassing profits in the billions?” he asked.

Meanwhile, when asked to comment about Kelantan’s plan to table a private member’s bill on hudud in March, Anwar confirms that they had asked the PAS central leadership as well as the Kelantan state government to view the bill.

As such, the coalition’s leadership council this Sunday would be the best platform for PAS to explain the matter further.

“The best time for them to explain would be at the meeting (this Sunday).

Anwar also admitted that both PAS and DAP had their own respective positions over the matter.

“We cannot deny PAS’ right to table the bill nor DAP’s position against it. But at this point, we don’t know what is to be presented and what is being opposed... We need to study this first,” he said.

Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah was yesterday reported as saying that the state government plans to table a private member's bill in Parliament in March to seek approval for amendments to the Syariah Criminal Code II 1993 to enable hudud to be implemented in the state.

PAS and DAP’s spats over the matter are not a secret, with both parties at loggerheads over the hudud issue. 

Next Tuesday, the Federal Court would deliver its verdict on the opposition leader’s final appeal against his sodomy conviction and five-year prison sentence. 

Anwar also said that the issue concerning Daim was not related to the tussle in Umno.

Since the mainstream media provided space for Anwar and PKR to launch attacks on Daim, a strongman of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, speculation has been rife of a realignment in political forces.

Some have claimed that Anwar has joined hands with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to counter the latter’s opponents in Umno.- mk/tmi

February 10...

February 10 is an important date for this country. That is the day Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will know if he is going to be a free man or if he will be incarcerated for sodomy for a minimum of five years.

The way the verdict goes will tell the world a few things about Malaysia. That’s the reason I have urged my friends from Kota Bharu to come to the city to witness this important event. The night before that, they will have an opportunity to hear Anwar speak at a rally in Putrajaya.

If the case is acquitted (as I hope it will be), then it means the justice system upholds the basic tenet of giving the benefit of reasonable doubt to the accused. Much has been made about why Anwar’s alibis did not materialise or why he elected to give his statement from the dock and not under oath. 

But those are his choices and he has a right to make them. We may draw any inference from them that we want but they do not amount to evidence against him.

The primary evidence, on the other hand, is all in tatters. The DNA samples were tampered with, although some will point out that what was tampered with or torn was just the plastic bag the samples were kept in and not the samples themselves. 

Well it’s clear that the person who was responsible for this tampering was a policeman investigating the case, and not a chemist or someone not involved with the prosecution. 

I hope the judges will view the investigating officer’s conduct with suspicion and draw an adverse inference on this point and release Anwar Ibrahim. A good criminal lawyer can give other valid reasons why he should be acquitted.

If it’s a guilty verdict, then I would say this country is ripe for a political tsunami once again. For the first time since independence, we would be sending someone to prison for five years for what is a moral offence, at best. 

How can we condone that, and then feel no revulsion over the way Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered? How can we feel no necessity to explore the motives behind the heinous killing?

I applaud DAP for at least making some effort to highlight the importance of a public inquiry into her murder. It can reveal to us how the system of government operates, as well as how the police and our justice system will manage such cases— where there is some connection to top leaders—in future. Understanding what happened to Altantuya holds the key to understanding many things that are wrong with our country.

In this regard, I would not waste time waiting for Parliament to agree to such an inquiry. It’s best that we secure several retired judges as members of a public inquiry panel to examine the case in greater detail. 

It’s unlikely that any key witnesses will come forward with any new information, and this panel will not have the powers to compel attendance. Still, such an inquiry can help lift, even if only slightly, the cloak of secrecy that engulfs our Government.

For example, the Registrar of the Court may be unwilling to explain why the first judge that was appointed to hear the Altantuya case was changed. But a retired Registrar somewhere may be willing to explain how judges are allotted to hear cases, under what circumstances they can be changed and by whom.

We can also call retired police officers who might be willing to volunteer other relevant information, such as when commandos like Azila and Sirul are used. They can explain to us the chain of command and who the bosses are. We can also understand better how explosives like C4 are kept and who can authorise their use.

Let’s not forget the Immigration Department: we might be able to get retired immigration officers who are willing to explain under what circumstances immigration records can be deleted and who can make such an order.

 

I am sure Sirul will volunteer, or that his lawyers will be able to enlighten us of the information his client will allow us to know. I am sure the wife of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam knows a thing or two. The fearless Amerik, the late Bala’s lawyer, will also be eager to attend and can give some juicy tidbits about Tan Sri Cecil Abraham’s conversations with him.

Critics will say that this inquiry will only be able to unearth hearsay and double-hearsay. They will label it all rubbish speculation to a straightforward murder. It’s true that such an inquiry may not reveal the whole truth or bring us any closer to know the motives or circumstances of Altantuya’s murder. But the inquiry is not aimed solely at discovering what happened to Altantuya; more importantly, it’s to show that the secrecy by which this Government operates will not be tolerated by the people of this country.

It’s an opportunity to show that there are enough Malaysians who are willing to stand up to accomplish this. If the people of this country have the conviction to want a democracy, transparency and accountability, and feel enough revulsion for the current secret style of governing, then Altantuya would have contributed immensely to the cause.

Let’s not let her death be in vain. Let’s have a public inquiry funded by the public for the benefit of the public, so that one day we will have a Government that is willing to explain anything strange that may happen. At the moment they do not have to, because we the people tolerate secret operations and a secret system of government! - Zaid Ibrahim @zaid.my

Ismail Sabri and the Oldtown Fiasco... 

Ismail Sabri, one of Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s bloated minions, who happens to be the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister thought he was very clever and could screw Wonder Woman by calling ethnic-Malays to boycott Chinese businesses, starting with Oldtown White Coffee. Apparently, Ismail believes that since the majority consumers are Malay, the Chinese businesses would suffer if get boycotted.

Superman Ismail Sabri had singled out the OldTown White Coffee café chain owned by OldTown Bhd, because he claims that opposition DAP Ngeh family owned shares in the company. That’s quite amusing, because from the rumours we heard, heavyweight Rosmah actually owned Oldtown White Coffee through her Chinese nominees (*grin*). Well, in case Ismail didn’t realise it, the chairman of public-listed Oldtown is a Malay – Datuk Ahmed Tasir.

For the financial year ended March 2014, Oldtown registered revenue of RM382,171,650, of which RM16,038,755 in taxes were paid to the government. If Oldtown goes bankrupt because of Malays’ boycott, Najib administration would have less RM16 million in taxes to plunder. And where would be the Malays’ next destination of boycott? What about McDonald’s and Starbucks? After all, Vincent Tan, a Chinese, owned these restaurants.

Going by Ismail’s brilliant logic, McDonald’s and Starbucks should be boycotted as well. McDonald’s hamburgers were less tasty but more expensive than Ramli Burgers. And Starbucks latte beverages were crazily priced, so much so that a Grande Latte costs more than 10 glasses of Mamak Teh Tarik. There’re more – all the 4D / 5D / 6D betting outlets are also Chinese-owned, of which the Malays are crazily in love.

UMNO hypocrites such as Ismail Sabri conveniently targeting Oldtown even though he knows very well that all public listed companies are also partly owned by UMNO-Malays. We mention UMNO-Malays because the ordinary Malays do not get the chance to receive free shares in such companies, the same way UMNO warlords such as Ismail himself does. So, has Ismail just joined the proxy war between PM Najib and tycoon Mahathir?

The fact is Oldtown business relies on other cost factors. Oldtown is the second tier business entity which passes cost to the consumers. There is transportation cost, of which PLUS needs to be paid. There is electricity cost, of which TNB needs to be paid. There is labour cost, of which under table money needs to be paid in order to secure the Bangladesh workers. There is raw material cost such as sugar and rice, of which Syed Mokhtar needs to be paid.

So, why only targets the second tier but not the first tier suppliers such as PLUS, TNB, Tradewind, Bernas, Petron Malaysia Berhad, and whatnot? Ahh, because all these first tier corporations are heavily owned by UMNO. Needless to say, these suppliers will not start the chain reaction of passing the benefits of cheaper gasoline to the average Ahmad, Ah Seng and Ramasamy.

Obviously, Mr. Ismail Sabri was barking the wrong tree. He should have called everyone, regardless of race, to boycott PLUS, TNB, Tradewind, Bernas and whatnot. And if Oldtown refuses to do the right thing even after electricity, rice, flour and sugar prices are lowered, then it’s time to boycott Oldtown and other similar businesses. To be a racist, Ismail is no better than Ibrahim Ali or Mahathir who had called for boycott on American products.

Perhaps Ismail Sabri and other minion ministers should think twice about trying to be Superman wanting to screw Wonder Woman. For every time they wish to satisfy their lusts, there’s always an Invisible Man (UMNO) already lying down doing nothing but milking easy money from various cashcows. Unless Ismail Sabri doesn’t mind, what he gets is only the Invisible Man, not Wonder Woman (*tongue-in-cheek*).- financetwitter.com

Ismail Sabri boycotting HSBC,but the bank has not closed shop or changed its policies...

Over the past two days, a gaffe by a member of the Cabinet has made the seven-letter word the most talked-about issue.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's remark is no ordinary howler like those we hear from political wannabes and attention seekers.

The consequences of those words he posted on Facebook will continue to haunt him. But they also send a dark message to the masses and add yet another chapter in our history – race and religion will continue to dominate the scene despite slogans like 1Malaysia or Putting People First.

Sticking labels on the conduct of businessmen and traders based on ethnicity is idiotic, to say the least. Ismail Sabri should have known better. Having been previously the consumer affairs minister, it is common knowledge that boycotts have hardly worked in this country.

Remember the first US invasion of Iraq? Owners of Indian-Muslim eateries proclaimed that they would be boycotting American cola beverages. It never worked.

More recently, following the Israeli strikes on Palestine, more bird-brained ideas came to the fore – boycott US products. And of course, in the front line were a popular cola beverage and a leading fast food chain. What have they got to do with Israel?

Demonstrations were held outside a fast food chain's outlet and there were even reports that its delivery staff were threatened.

And Ismail Sabri is not new to this kind of spectacle. In August last year, he posted a picture of himself cutting his credit card and boycotting a foreign bank in response to its policy of closing the pro-Palestinian activists' accounts in the UK.

"(The bank) closed accounts belonging to an Islamic organisation that supports Palestinians. So, I took the decision to cancel my account and credit card with (the bank)," Mi'raj Islamic News Agency (Mina) quoted him as saying.

So, has his boycott worked? The bank has not closed shop or changed its policies. In many countries, people power brings down prices and even governments.

But in Malaysia, calls for boycott have been made once too often with no justification whatsoever. It has often been misused by publicity seekers, politicians and power brokers who want their five minutes of fame.

This writer is not defending or condoning Ismail Sabri's words. Having known him since 2008 when he was sports minister, he has never dabbled in race or religion.

He had always advocated himself as people-friendly and, perhaps, this is the first time he has crossed the line, so to speak. His colleagues from law school speak volumes about him and his character and conduct.

But even if it was an unintended or inadvertent mistake, he should have deleted or retracted the offending remarks. However, Ismail Sabri has made it more difficult for himself by insisting that he was referring to rogue traders.

A moot point to add – if the inspector-general of police had his way, you would not have read this column. Why?

According to Bernama, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar wants all parties to stop making any statement on boycotting businesses over this issue.

On his Twitter page, Khalid said such statements could disrupt racial harmony in this country. "Boycott issue, @PDRMsia ask all parties to immediately exercise restraint in making public statements. It hurts our racial harmony," he said.

Agreed Tan Sri, but there have been more toxic chants by racists and supremacists which you have not addressed.

Discussion on this matter cannot be stifled or curtailed as it affects all Malaysians, irrespective of race, religion or creed.

It should be discussed openly in an intelligent "can agree to disagree" atmosphere. It gives Joe Public the opportunity to understand the mindsets of many of our leaders who shout the unity slogan but never practise what they preach.- R. Nadeswaran,citizen-nades@thesundaily.com

cheers.

If Jackie Chan can be a datuk,Rajnikanth pun boleh...

Jackie Chan's datukship is no laughing matter...

Just like the current depreciating trend of our Ringgit, now at its lowest level against the USD, soon (if not already) there will be very little ‘value’ associated with honorary titles awarded to various individuals for their contributions to the society.

After all, sceptical Malaysians may view such titles as a ‘joke’ when it can be awarded to a foreign actor best known for his comedic roles, no matter how multi-talented he may be.

In conjunction with the Federal Territories Day celebration this year, Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan have joined the (very) long list of individuals conferred the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah award that carries the title ‘Datuk’.

English-daily The Star reported that Chan was present at the Istana Negara on Sunday to accept his award from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, dressed in a songkok and black suit.

The report also stated that some of the guests were caught by surprise when the name ‘Chan Kong-sang’ was announced and it was the 60-year-old actor-director who walked up the dais to receive his award from the King.

On social media, the news was also met with much amusement.

“If Jackie Chan can be a datuk, Rowan Atkinson pun boleh. After all, his Mr. Bean character entertained millions of Malaysians,” tweeted user @Duurianne.

“If Jackie Chan is honoured with a Datukship, what about Rajnikanth? Why so selective?” said another user, @HRDipendra. Rajnikanth is a popular Tamil movie star.

 

Local actor-director Afdlin Shauki, on his Facebook page, meanwhile said: “For a Malaysian, we know it’s a great honour to be bestowed (not bought) a datukship. It would mean a lot again if these datukships were conferred on Malaysians who actually made the country proud for their contributions to the country.

“Give a datukship to people who risked their lives for others during the banjir la.... Make these datukships mean something again! Just my two cents,” said Afdlin.

In response to criticisms against the decision to honour Chan with the title, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor on his own Twitter account said that Chan can help to promote Malaysia as he has a large fan following here.

Just like how the Malacca state government had defended its decision to confer Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan a datukship in 2008, Tengku Adnan also pointed out that Chan had in 1992 featured Kuala Lumpur in his movie, Police Story 3.

Going through the list of 70 other individuals also conferred the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah award, there is no denying that they may have contributed a lot to the development of the Federal Territories.

Apart from Chan, The Star reported that the list included H.E. Fahad Abdullah Hamad Al-Rashid (Saudi Arabia Embassy mission head), Federal Territory mufti Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, Kuala Lumpur Catholic Lawyers Society committee member Joy Wilson Appukuttan and Federal Territory MCA secretary Ong Boon See.

This is a time when it is considered ‘normal’ for a person to be conferred multiple titles from different states, so much so that they will not even miss it when one ‘Datuk Seri-ship’ is revoked.

So, just like our currency today recording a record low of RM3.60 to 1USD, it is no surprise when Malaysians will see that the ‘higher’ the number of datukship awarded, the lower its value becomes.- Alyaa Alhadjri,theantdaily

Tweet fitnah, Kit Siang mula prosiding undang-undang terhadap blogger UMNO...

Lim Kit Siang akan memulakan prosiding undang-undang terhadap blogger Umno Syed Akbar Ali atas tweet fitnah yang mendakwanya komunis, bersikap perkauman yang anti-Melayu dan menyebabkan tercetusnya rushan kaum 13 Mei.

“Saya telah mengarahkan peguam-peguam saya memulakan prosiding sivil dan jenayah terhadap blogger Umno Syed Akbar Ali berkenaan tweet fitnah beliau lewat malam semalam yang mendakwa saya komunis, bersikap perkauman yang anti-Melayu dan menyebabkan tercetusnya pergaduhan kaum 13 Mei,” kata Kit Siang dalam satu kenyataan.

Menurut Kit Siang, tweet Syed Akhbar turut memuatkan grafik menunjukkannya berpakaian ala Mao Tse Tung, mendakwanya ‘Bapa 13 Mei’ selain tuduhan menjadi pencetus rusuhan kaum 13 Mei 1969.

Tweet Syed Akbar Ali itu turut memaparkan kenyataan slogan anti Melayu kononnya daripada Kit Siang dengan kapsyen bertulis: “Melayu keluar! Apa lagi duduk sini, Kita hentam Lu, sekarang kita sudah ada kuasa” Lim KIt Siang (Bapa 13 Mei)

Grafik dikongsikan dalam tweet Syed Akbar mendakwa Kit Siang membuat kenyataan-kenyataan, di masa dan tempat seperti berikut:

1. Menggunakan slogan “Malai-Si” bermaksud “Mati Melayu”.

2. “Apa polis boleh buat, kita Raja. Buang sama polis Melayu.”
– (11 Mei 69, Bukit Bintang)

3. “Mati Melayu, sakai pergi masuk hutan”.
– (11 Mei 69, Jalan Bukit Bintang).

4. “KL sekarang cina punya”.
– (11 Mei 69, Jalan Changkat Dollah)

5. “Melayu balik kampung, melayu sekarang tiada kuasa. Sekarang kita Cina sudah control.”
– (12 Mei 69, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman)

6. “Melayu keluar…! Apa lagi duduk sini, kita hentam lu, sekarang kita sudah ada kuasa…”
– (12 Mei 69, Jalan Khir Kampung Baru)

7. “…semua Melayu kasi habis, kasi halau semua polis.”
– (12 Mei 69, depan Balai Polis, Jalan Pudu)

8. “Apa ini Melayu, kita sudah perintah dia negeri, ini negeri bukan melayu punya, mata-mata lancau…!”
– (12 Mei 1969)

9. “Butuh Melayu, Malai si, pergi mati Melayu…”
– (12 Mi 69, Jalan Canvel).

10. “Ini negeri bukan Melayu punya, kita mahu kasi halau semua Melayu”
– (12 Mei 69, Jalan Bukit Bintang).

Tegas Kit Siang, ayat-akat tersebut merupakan pembohongan jahat.

“Bukan sahaja saya tidak pernah menyebut semua ini, malah perkataan ini semua tergolong dalam kategori yang tidak pernah saya gunakan sepanjang hidup.

“Saya juga tidak berada di Kuala Lumpur pada 11 hingga 13 Mei 1969 ketika rusuhan 13 Mei, dan ini boleh dibuktikan oleh Cawangan Khas melalui rekod mereka.

“Retorik kebencian, intoleransi, kefanatikan dan ekstremisme berasaskan pembohongan dan kepalsuan semakin menjadi-jadi akhir-akhir ini.

“Saya menyeru semua rakyat Malaysia yang moderat dan patriotik untuk bersatu dan mengatakan TIDAK kepada ekstremisme dan tidak bertoleransi dengan politik pembohongan dan kebencian,” kata Kit Siang. – Roketkini.com

Lim takes blogger to court for ‘dastardly lies’...

DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang has instructed his lawyers to institute criminal and civil proceedings against a pro-Umno blogger, Syed Akhbar Ali, over a tweet that allegedly defamed him by insinuating that he was a communist and an anti-Malay racist who caused the May 13 race riots in 1969.

The tweet appeared last night, Lim said in a press statement today. The statement did not say whether he would first send Syed Akhbar a letter of demand.

“Syed Akhbar’s tweet carried a graphic of me in the garb of Mao Tse Tung,” fumed Lim, who is the MP for Gelang Patah.

“It alleged that I am ‘Bapa 13 Mei’, and accused me of having caused the May 13 race riots in 1969.”

He said the graphic was captioned with the words “Melayu keluar! Apa lagi duduk sini, kita hentam lu, sekarang kita sudah ada kuasa – Lim Kit Siang (Bapa 13 Mei).” The offending words can be translated as follows: “Malays get out. Why stay here any longer. We will whack you. We have power now.”

The graphic in Syed Akbar’s tweet, added Lim, alleged that he made offensive statements in several places and on specific dates.

According to the tweet, Lim purportedly used such slogans as 

1.Malai-Si (Die Malays); 

2.Apa polis boleh buat, kita Raja. Buang sama polis Melayu (What can the police do, we are now King. Get rid of the Malay police); 

3.Mati Melayu, sakai pergi masuk hutan (Die Malays, slaves go into the jungle); 

4.KL sekarang Cina punya (KL now belongs to the Chinese); 

5.Melayu balik kampung, Melayu sekarang tiada kuasa. Sekarang kita Cina sudah control (Malays go back to the kampung. Malays now have no power. We Chinese are now in control); Semua Melayu kasi habis, kasi halau semua polis (All Malays are finished. Chase out the police).

“These are dastardly lies,” said Lim. “Not only I have never said them (in fact, there are words and terms in this category which I have never used in my life), I was never in Kuala Lumpur from May 11 to 13, 1969, during the May 13 riots, which the police Special Branch can vouch from their records.

“Let my decision to institute criminal and civil proceedings against Syed Akbar be the first blow of decent, moderate and patriotic Malaysians to save Malaysia from extremism and to declare ‘Zero Tolerance for the Politics of Extremism, Hate and Lies in Malaysia’.” - fmt

Tebusan Jordan Muath al-Kasaesbeh dibakar hidup...

Story kat SINI dan SINI 

Pesawat Taiwan Terhempas...

Story kat SINI dan SINI  

Ini Storynya...

cheers.