Orang Melaka suka Penyamun...

BN has secured two-thirds majority control of the Malacca legislative assembly.This is a major turnaround for the coalition, which previously had only 13 out of the 28 seats.With a two-thirds majority, BN can amend the state constitution.

The Anwar Ibrahim-led PKR fielded 11 candidates for the state election but failed to win a single seat. Anwar is also the chairperson of Harapan. PKR came close in Paya Rumput, which saw its central committee member Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin being edged out by BN's Rais Yasin. In the 2018 general election, PKR won 3 seats. Nasib baik ada DAP, jika tak malu besaq PH...

Meanwhile, PN component parties PAS and Gerakan, both of whom decided to stick with former premier Muhyiddin Yassin's Bersatu instead of BN, were also left empty-handed . PAS fielded eight candidates while Gerakan five. - dr.ts

cheers.

Jom balik Melaka mengundi...

What message will 

Melaka voters send?...

Today’s Melaka state election will depend as much on how voters vote as it will on whether they come out to vote. Two factors will be playing on the minds of the voters: whether to risk the possibility of catching Covid-19, and whether it is worth the trouble to vote in politicians who could betray them yet again.

There are 495,195 registered voters in the state, including 11,557 early voters and 7,601 postal voters. The impressive early voter turnout of 89.9% on Nov 16, higher than the 76.2% in the last general election, does not say much as most of the early voters were policemen and soldiers who follow orders and who are not expected to be intimidated by a virus.

A friend in Melaka tells me that some people are jaded and just want to get on with their lives as they struggle to adapt to the damage caused by Covid-19. He said they felt the polls should not be held in the first place, given the pandemic. Many others don’t have confidence that those who are going to be elected will not jump party after Nov 20. He said: “It is like the old Tamil saying, ‘Raman aandahl yenna, Ravanan aandahl yenna?’”

It means, whether Rama (the hero of the epic Mahabharata) or Ravana (the villain in the same epic) rules, the life of the common man will remain a struggle. Which seems to be the sorry story of Malaysia in recent decades.

The question is: Who will win the election? Most people I’ve spoken to say it is between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN). Some of them say BN has the edge while others say PH will take back the state it won in the 2018 general election, only to lose it later to Perikatan Nasional (PN) due to defections.

The PN state government headed by Sulaiman Ali of Umno collapsed when four assemblymen declared they no longer supported him, resulting in Sulaiman getting the Yang di-Pertua Negeri to dissolve the state legislative assembly.

Adly Zahari, PH's CM candidate...

I want to look at the possible messages the voters of Melaka will be sending on polling day. If they give PH a decisive win on Nov 20, it could mean they are sore about being robbed of their choice of government soon after GE14. It could mean they feel PH was robbed of its mandate to govern and it is their duty to return it.

It could be that they feel PH was better, or would be better, for Melaka, and that they are looking for political stability in the state. It could also mean they want a coalition with a better racial balance, not a coalition dominated by a single race.

But if they feel PH is not united and that voting it into power will not resolve the problem of political stability at national level, they’ll look elsewhere. If they feel giving the state to PH so near the next general election may not benefit them, they’ll not give PH a resounding victory.

Melaka voters will give their vote to the Umno-led BN if they feel there was stability and the economy did well prior to GE14 when BN ruled. Giving BN a decisive win could show they value political stability and the revival of the economy and that BN, despite its flaws, is better suited to lead the nation.

But if they do vote the BN into power, they’d also be saying that they are not bothered about the allegations of corruption against Umno leaders and the court cases involving former prime minister Najib Razak and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and others.

The message would either be that they are tolerant of corruption or that they don’t believe Umno leaders are corrupt. Or that they believe just because some Umno leaders at the federal level may be corrupt, it does not mean Melaka Umno leaders are also corrupt.

If they feel strongly that political stability and economic recovery are more important than ethics and reforms, they’ll give BN a resounding win. A strong win for Umno could also indicate that voters believe Umno has since changed; that it has learned its lessons and is now more sober.

Sulaiman Md Ali, UMNO/BN's CM candidate...

If Malay voters believe Umno’s claim that only Umno can protect the rights of the Malays and safeguard the position of Islam, they’ll vote for the party.

Melaka voters will elect PN candidates into the state legislative assembly if they feel PN has done a great job at the federal level and in Melaka too.

Giving PN a strong victory could mean that Melaka voters feel there was nothing wrong with the decision of Bersatu, the backbone of PN, to abandon PH after winning in GE14.

If Malay voters believe that PN will be better than Umno at protecting their rights and safeguarding the status of Islam – despite the fact that neither Malay rights nor Islam are under threat from anyone – they’d give their full support to PN.

If they vote for candidates from PAS, which is part of PN, it could mean they support the actions of the party, such as the recent decision by the PAS government in Kedah to effectively ban licensed gambling; and that they are open to the same happening in Melaka.

If they vote in a few independents, it would be a slap in the face of all the political parties. It would mean Melaka voters are fed up of the sneaky political games played by the parties. It would mean voters are now ready to vote for individuals rather than parties.

If, however, there is no clear winner in the election, it will likely mean that Melaka voters have no clear choice; that none of the parties is good enough. Or they may feel, “Raman aandahl yenna, Ravanan aandahl yenna?”

Mas Ermieyati, PN's CM candidate...

Whatever Melaka voters decide, it will have some bearing on the next general election. It will certainly affect the fluid political alignments that we now have, especially in the Umno-Bersatu-PAS cluster. The result could also likely indicate what we can expect to happen in GE15.

Going by demographics, Melaka mirrors the racial makeup of voters in the peninsula. About 60% of Melaka voters are Malays, about 30% are Chinese and the rest are Indians and others.

Since, as a nation, we haven’t reached sufficient maturity to move away from racial and religious politics, since there are some weak parties that depend on raising racial and religious issues to win, we’ll continue to live under the horrible shadow of race and religion-based politics for a while yet.

But perhaps the voters of Melaka, the land of legends, can set a new trend where being Malaysian matters more than race and religion, where cooperation and clean politics are honoured. Perhaps they can help lead us away from narrow, parochial, race-based politics.

After all wasn’t this once a great maritime kingdom on par with top cities such as Venice and Canton and Cairo, and which exuded a cosmopolitan atmosphere? Wasn’t Melaka a centre of world trade in the 15th century, a melting pot of diverse cultures where, it is said, 84 languages were spoken? - A. Kathirasen

 

cheers.

Lebai dok sibuk juai agama...

 

Stop PAS now before it is too late...

Recent actions by PAS politicians on the sale of alcohol and the prohibition of lotteries are a potent reminder that PAS has nothing to offer Malaysians other than an intolerant, bigoted, narrow-minded sectarian state led by small-minded men with an even smaller vision for Malaysia. Make no mistake; it’s not about alcohol or gambling but about a grand strategy to impose upon the nation a dark and sectarian model where supercilious religious leaders police public morals, decide what we can and cannot do, how we dress, how we worship and what we read or watch. It goes beyond anything seen in other Muslim countries save for Iran where mullahs rule and basic human rights are trampled underfoot.

Now that it has finally acquired a measure of federal power, PAS is showing its true colours. Banning alcohol, needlessly inciting religious discord over the name of a brand of whiskey or banning lotteries are but low-hanging fruits. More drastic measures will surely follow. The trouble with playing the religious and racial card is you can’t stop; you have to keep upping the ante to grab attention, to stay relevant. It won’t end until they turn Malaysia into a state where bigotry, racism and discrimination become the new normal. And then they’ll turn on their fellow Muslims for not being Muslim enough. If they succeed, Malaysia is finished.

For this reason, I have always maintained that PAS – especially under its current leader, Abdul Hadi Awang – is the most dangerous political party in the country. Its ideology is completely incompatible with the Federal Constitution, its vision for Malaysia utterly contrary to that of our founding fathers. It has a long track record of denigrating other religions, discriminating against ethnic minorities and pushing hate and intolerance at every turn.

Furthermore, its leaders both at the federal and state level have neither the expertise nor even the inclination to properly govern. They don’t even have clean drinking water in Kelantan, a state where PAS has held sway for a good many years. A PAS government will quickly plunge Malaysia into the chasm of a failed state.

The Malacca state election is upon us. No Malaysian who truly cares about our future should ever give their vote to PAS or to any party or coalition that collaborates with PAS. To vote for PAS is to sanction the marginalization of ethnic minorities, to approve the destruction of their way of life, to consign our nation to backwardness, decay and decline. To collaborate with PAS is to betray everything that Malaysia stands for.

Political parties have to decide where they will now stand on the most critical issue of our time – the existential challenge from PAS. It is nothing but disingenuity to complain about religious and racial extremism and then continue to collaborate with PAS, the fountainhead of both racial intolerance and religious extremism in Malaysia.

The voters of Malacca too have a decision to make. There is little point in grumbling about the antics of PAS leaders and then giving their vote to parties that are facilitating PAS’s rise to power.

My hope is that the good people of Malacca will send a decisive message to PAS that its brand of politics is not welcome in Malaysia. The same message should be sent to parties like PPBM, GERAKAN, STAR, GPS and SAPP who appear willing to shake hands with bigots in order to gain power. Just look at how these parties have bent over backwards to avoid criticising PAS over the lottery issue – Azmin Ali of PPBM calls for more discussions on the issue while GERAKAN proposes to send a delegation to discuss the matter with PAS (after the Malacca state election, of course). What about condemning these actions first and calling on PAS to stop all this nonsense?

Vote UMNO (especially now that it has broken away from PAS) if you don’t like Pakatan Harapan but keep PAS out at all cost. We might well be able to survive yet more years of corruption and misgovernment under UMNO, but we will not survive a few more years of PAS in Putrajaya. Besides, if UMNO-BN does well on its own – as pundits are forecasting – perhaps UMNO will be encouraged to stand on its own come GE15, and PAS will be consigned to the lunatic fringes of our politics where it belongs.

The battle for Malaysia’s future could well begin in Malacca, the first statewide election in the peninsula since the infamous Sheraton Move gave PAS a foothold. Let’s hope that Malacca will be Waterloo for PAS. I’m ready with my bottle of Timah whiskey to celebrate. I might even go and place a small bet on the number 2011 (20th November) or some variation of it. – Dennis Ignatius

UMNO  needed money in the 50's,

so they started their own lottery...

Malaysia meanwhile also has a peculiar history with gambling and lottery. One notable incident happened in the 90s, when the Nipah virus outbreak required plenty of pigs to be culled and farmers to be compensated; to help fund that, the govt had set up a ‘special draw’ lottery for it.

But even before that, there had already been plenty of lotteries being held, with one of those lotteries having been run by the unlikeliest of people – UMNO. Before we get to that part, here’s a primer on why UMNO had to do so.

The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was formed in May 1946, and as with many political parties around that time, the party operated using funds generated by donations from their supporters. Unfortunately for the fledging party, the donations collected didn’t exactly amount to billions – quite the contrary in fact.

Later on, a member of the Kesatuan Melayu Kedah would bring this up with UMNO’s higher ups, and suggested that running a lottery would help the party raise more funds. He wasn’t alone though. After his proposal, the Secretary General of the Perak Malay Alliance also called for UMNO to run a lottery, after their own attempt to do so was shut down by the Jabatan Agama Perak.

They argued that while there were some ulama (Muslim scholars) who forbade gambling and the lottery, the Malay community at the time were in dire economic conditions. As such, if UMNO were to run a lottery, it would be done with the intention that the funds collected would be used solely to help the welfare of the Malay community, especially those in need.

“We need funds to run UMNO smoothly. We have big plans for welfare work but UMNO has so far been handicapped by lack of funds. We cannot always depend on others to help us,” – Naim bin Sukram, UMNO Youth Member, in 1952, as quoted from The Straits Times

Now they weren’t the only political party in town considering running a lottery to help raise funds. The Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) had also began their own welfare lottery to garner funds in 1950 – and it was wildly successful.

Their welfare lottery allowed the party to aid the Chinese locals resettle into the ‘New Villages’ by helping folks rebuild their houses and community. Over $16 million would be raised from MCA’s lottery, with $9.5 million being used as prize monies, while MCA used the rest for welfare. The British however forced an end to the MCA welfare lottery, claiming that ‘no political organisations in this country should be allowed to become too strong or too powerful financially’.

Nevertheless, the success of MCA’s welfare lottery would be enough to convince UMNO’s top brass that their own welfare lottery would have a good chance of succeeding (perhaps unlike winning the lottery itself). And so…

The first UMNO welfare lottery would be drawn in June 1953. It soon became clear that many in UMNO wanted a welfare lottery. After a few years of UMNO divisions calling for it, at the 7th UMNO General Assembly, it was finally official: UMNO would run their own welfare lottery.

Originally, they had planned for the first lottery to be drawn on the 7th of June, 1953. But because it clashed with the month of Ramadan, it was later pushed back to the 19th of June. The idea was that the UMNO welfare lottery would be run roughly 4 times a year, with the first run having 200,100 lottery tickets printed in Penang. The lottery tickets were sold at $1 each, and the lottery agents selling them would get a 7% commission from the total they sold.

And the prize monies weren’t too shabby either. According to the journal we found, that first lottery’s prize pool was:

First prize: $18, 340.66

Second prize: $5,502.20

Third prize: $1,834.06

Fourth prize: $366.80 x two winners

Fifth prize: $183.41 x six winners

As for the tickets that didn’t win, that was considered as a donation to the party for them to use for welfare purposes. And that’s apparently exactly what it was used for to, as funds from these lotteries would go on to help with various things from funding scholarships at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar to helping the tuberculosis fund at the Lady Templer Hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for UMNO’s welfare lottery. It was reported that there were quite a number people who lost their tickets. There’s even a teacher by the name of Cikgu Salleh who seemed to somehow lose 104 tickets during a bus ride in Malacca. There were even cases of lottery agents bending the rules somewhat in trying to sell more tickets.

“A Chinese shopkeeper named Cheok Lay Lock had been approached by an UMNO welfare lottery ticket agent… who offered him an UMNO membership and privileges if he bought a lottery ticket,” – Abu Hanifah bin Jamil, translated from UMNO Malaya Lottery 1946 – 1969

Missing tickets and shady lottery agents aside, there’s also perhaps the elephant in the room to address with UMNO’s welfare lottery: was it halal or haram? Well, one thing was for certain – the ulama faction within UMNO were not happy that they organised a lottery. It would lead to the formation of PAS...

As mentioned earlier, the very idea of an UMNO-run lottery was bound to hit a nerve with the religious academics in the country. A number of prominent religious scholars even got together in Kuala Kangsar to discuss the matter, but they would not reach a unanimous decision about it.

While some like the then-Terengganu Mufti Tuan Yusof al-Zawawi were of the opinion that it was halal, others such as the then-Penang Mufti Syeikh Abdullah Fahim were adamant that it was haram. Indeed, it was said that a majority of the religious scholars in the country felt that way too.

Even within UMNO itself, tension was brewing. Haji Ahmad Fuad Hassan, who was at that time the head of UMNO’s Religious Affairs Bureau, was already not a fan of Tunku Abdul Rahman’s love of cars, poker and racehorses. And now with UMNO organising a lottery, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He and several hundred other ulama would attend the 3rd Ulama Congress in 1951, and at that congress, a new party was formed: the Persatuan Islam Se-Malaya.

Despite the controversy, it met its aim of helping the people.The welfare lottery would see itself continue for the better part of 30 years, before eventually being phased out by the late 1980s. And as far as we know, no political party in Malaysia has tried to run a lottery ever since (but do let us know if we missed out on any).

That being said, while definitely contentious, the lottery could be said to have achieved its goal – to improve the welfare of the people. Even at the very first one in 1953, the influx in funds helped with people’s education and healthcare. Don’t just take our word for it either:

“The money raised from the lottery helped fund social welfare for the Malay community, such as detainees, healthcare, education and so forth. As such, this financial aid at least did help lift the dire situation that plagued the Malay community during the mid-20th century,” – Abu Hanifah bin Jamil, translated from UMNO Malaya Lottery 1946 – 1969 - Raymond Saw

cheers.

Laki dia, yang ostad kalut pasai apa?...

PAS leaders bully reporter...

It’s been stressful lately if you’re a minority in Malaysia, trying hard to stick to the multi-racial liberal line and not resent the silent majority. For there are unmistakable signs that we are being squeezed yet again so that the Malay right-wing can score points – and we know deep down that not many of the majority race will speak up like Zaid Ibrahim and Hassan Karim have.

In fact, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan just called for a review of Article 153 of the Federal Constitution so that affirmative action policies can be revamped to be more needs-based rather than race-based.

“What is the point of helping wealthy Malays who own stocks and are able to stash money in offshore accounts when poor Chinese, Indians, and indigenous people (Orang Asli) are struggling?” he asked while debating the Supply Bill 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat last week.

Not content with taking our tax money and redistributing it in an overtly racist manner through the budget, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s regime has started clamping down on our freedoms which violate its ideas on moral policing.

First, there was a fiasco over the name of a whiskey followed by some very real infringements and curtailing of freedoms involving gambling and alcohol. There was Kuala Lumpur City Hall's (DBKL) prohibition of the sale of liquor in grocery stores, convenience stores, and traditional Chinese medicine halls beginning Nov 1. 

Incidentally, a strongly worded statement against the ban was signed by seven Kuala Lumpur MPs - Tan Kok Wai, Teresa Kok, Fong Kui Lun, Tan Yee Kew, Hannah Yeoh, Lim Lip Eng and P Prabakaran. The signatures of Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Fahmi Fadzil were conspicuous by their absence. Sadly predictable, especially as I keep telling people they are among our best hopes for the future.

Next, Kedah’s PAS Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor announced that his state would be enforcing an effective ban on the operations of all 4D gaming shops by not renewing business licences issued by the local councils.

This tells every non-Muslim Malaysian what we need to know about the false promises that Act 355 and Syariah law will never be allowed to affect us. It’s just another hypocritical lie, and we already knew that. And by the way, if we use the logic of drunk driving for clamping down on alcohol, should we close certain types of schools because they sometimes produce terrorists?

Mind you, I've never bought 4D in my life, but I do like my alcohol. What I really resent is the ketuanan (supremacy) of race and religion. Yes, a few bad apples made these decisions, but most of the rest did what they do best - pandai duduk diam (clever at keeping silent) when the heat is on.

PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad

It was in this context that another trademark move occurred. Free Malaysia Today reporter Minderjeet Kaur came in for some intimidation yesterday when she tried to ask PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad, a senator who is the religious affairs minister, about the ban in Kedah.

Idris asked if she could tolerate her husband being a gambler, while his party colleague Awang Hashim, who is deputy human resources minister, insisted that she ask the question in Bahasa Malaysia.

After listening to the audio recording, it was clear that the two men didn’t like being challenged when Idris first said that the policy on banning gambling had been implemented in Kelantan and Terengganu, and was well received by the non-Muslims in the two East Coast states. Awang even asked if Minderjeet was a Malaysian, saying that she should ask questions in Malay. To me, this is clearly a patriarchal reaction by those who are used to making stupid and sweeping statements and not being challenged.

The shameful bullying reminded me of various incidents in the past involving former ministers Rais Yatim, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Mohd Redzuan Yusof all of whom used language or race to challenge non-Malay reporters who were asking them questions.

Redzuan’s reaction to my colleague Ng Xiang Yi was outright racist as he went so far as to ask if she knew the Constitution and then posted a social media post referring to her as a “Chinese reporter”.

I suppose some of them are not so fluent in English and don’t want to be embarrassed, but that’s exactly what happens when they try to step onto the global stage – they look like country bumpkins and let well-educated Singaporeans run rings around us. They are the ones who need to improve, not the reporters.

There are other instances of Umno politicians Zahid Hamidi and Khairy Jamaluddin also using their position to intimidate Malaysiakini reporters, although that was when they were busy defending former premier Najib Abdul Razak over 1MDB, so perhaps it is understandable. 

Anyway, to my reasonable but meek Malay friends, of whom there are many – I say this, learn to speak up and out against bigotry.

If the good-natured and good-hearted majority is silent, the right-wing minority will push their agenda and one day this country will become unliveable for your sons and even more so for your daughters.

Take a look at the Afghanistan that PAS leaders like Abdul Hadi Awang so admire. One day brutal laws for apostasy and blasphemy could be upon us. All someone has to do is accuse you, and you’re finished. Incidentally, some people try to play the “whataboutism” game in Malaysia’s racial politics, but it’s not a balanced equation – one group holds all the cards.

Just look at Hadi's hardline view of religion (essentially that his views are superior and others are inferior) and the casual racism of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Malay Dilemma – all that has been mainstreamed and shaped our society and its policies. It cannot be compared to the writings of people like Siti Kasim and even Malaysiakini columnist S Thayaparan, who represent a small fringe. - Martin Vengadesan

cheers.

Timah tertipu, selamat Yam Seng...

Kempen ikut SOP. Undilah PH...

It’s bread and butter issues in Melaka – 

but Muhyiddin shows desperation and stupidity... 

Melaka received 18.7 million tourists and attracted RM21.3 billion revenue in 2019. About 67% were domestic tourists while the remaining 37% were foreign visitors. That’s about 6.9 million foreign tourists. It may not sound a lot, but based on total 26.1 million tourist arrivals in Malaysia in the same year, Melaka (Malacca) actually grabbed a whopping 26.4% of the market share.

 

However, the tourism sector in the state of Melaka plunged more than 70% in 2020 due to Coronavirus pandemic. Last year was also the same year Muhyiddin betrayed his allies in the democratically elected Pakatan Harapan government so that he could become a prime minister, working hand-in-glove with corrupt UMNO and radical PAS Islamist party to form a backdoor government.

 

More importantly, the state that depends heavily on tourism dollars suffered largely due to Muhyiddin’s economic mismanagement and Covid-19 mishandling. The power-hungry prime minister’s coup in the Sabah state, which sparked a new wave of the outbreak, and multiple half-baked lockdowns thereafter were largely responsible for the prolonging pandemic that affects tourism.

Crucially, most of the foreign tourists to Malacca were from China, Singapore and Indonesia. It was therefore a foolish political move to politicise the “Timah Whisky” when PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang – the best friend of Muhyiddin – insisted that Timah resembles the name of the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, hence must be banned for “confusing” the Malay Muslims.

Not satisfied with religious extremism and bigotry, the government, comprising primarily UMNO, PAS and Bersatu, has banned the sales of alcohol in sundry shops, grocery stalls and even Chinese medicine outlets in their effort to suppress and oppress the non-Muslims. What do you think happens to the Melaka’s tourism industry with Talibans and terrorists running the country?

Do you really think the people of Malacca will vote for Taliban Hadi’s party (PAS) or Traitor Muhyiddin’s party (Bersatu) in the coming November 20 state election, knowing very well both men have destroyed their rice bowl and will continue to screw up the state’s economy? Not only Muhyiddin was the worst prime minister, his 17-month-regime had done the most damage than any previous governments.

It was incredibly hilarious seeing how PAS extremists continue their self-fulfilling prophecy, convincing themselves that they could win the Melaka state election, while Bersatu traitors also think they could win with their wishful thinking. Yes, not only both PAS and Bersatu, contesting under Perikatan Nasional banner, are being “syok sendiri” (self-amused), but also “bodoh sombong” (stupid yet arrogant).

There’s a reason why PAS was totally wiped out in Melaka in the 2018 General Election, getting only 10% of total votes. Not only the Islamist party failed to defend its lone state seat (which it won with help from Pakatan Harapan in 2013) and lost in all the 24 seats it contested, a jaw-dropping 10 of its candidates were humiliated when they lost their deposits – getting less than 10% of the total votes cast.

Clearly the Islamist party is extremely toxic in Melaka. Seriously, Muhyiddin’s fragile Perikatan Nasional is better off without PAS. When even the Malay Muslims in Melaka overwhelmingly rejected an extremist party, it’s super dumb to be associated with the bigots.  However, without PAS’ machinery and grassroots support, Mr Muhyiddin’s party is crippled.

Allowing Timah Whisky to keep its name now is rather too late, after attempts to stir up racial and religion sentiments among the Malays have backfired. The damage has been done. It will neither help PAS nor Bersatu. UMNO’s lapdog – Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) – tried to claim credit, but voters today are simply too smart to be insulted with such cheap political gimmicks.

As desperado Muhyiddin fights a losing battle against UMNO, his own ally in the federal government, and opposition Pakatan Harapan for the Malay votes in the Melaka state election, he has again issued a “syok sendiri” statement that Gerakan, his version of MCA, could garner the support of the Chinese community. The problem is, Gerakan is worse than PAS in Melaka.

Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin appears to be a lone ranger in the election campaign in Melaka. His two most trusted lieutenants who engineered the “Sheraton Move”, Azmin Ali and Hamzah Zainuddin, are visibly absent. Both Azmin and Hamzah, who betrayed PKR and UMNO respectively, were too controversial due to their previous treachery and treasonous.

It’s not rocket science that Mr Muhyiddin is running a campaign similar to that of Sabah, where he had used “Abah Kita” (our father) moniker to trick ignorant voters. In Melaka, he currently runs a silly campaign called “Abah Sayang Melaka” (father loves Melaka). An initial “Melaka Sayang Abah” (Melaka loves father) campaign was scrapped after being ridiculed, mocked and rejected.

However, unlike in Sabah where he was still the prime minister, Muhyiddin can no longer splash cash to buy votes in Melaka now, not that the people of Melaka could be easily tricked and bought like the gullible Sabahans. Still, he could afford to sponsor independent candidates to sabotage UMNO, the same tactic used in Sabah to split the votes which saw UMNO lost some seats.

The Bersatu president was indeed very desperate based on his combative campaign against UMNO, so much so that he looked spectacularly stupid. Muhyiddin claims that he’s not a vengeful person because he personally suggested turtle egg Ismail Sabri as his successor. In truth, lame duck Sabri was chosen because he has been Muhyiddin’s strong supporter from the beginning.

In fact, Muhyiddin’s own admission that he was willing to support UMNO, who had earlier toppled him as prime minister, rather than see the return of democratically elected Pakatan Harapan coalition was the clearest proof that not only he was a vengeful man, but also a bloody racist who refuses to share the administration of the country with minorities Chinese or Indians.

The former backdoor PM also shamelessly claimed that despite having a choice to dissolve the Parliament, he did not do so when he was forced to resign. In truth, King Sultan Abdullah will reject his proposal due to the pandemic. So, to pretend as if he was a good leader, the power-crazy man lied about his willingness to surrender power to Sabri, a vice-president of UMNO.

It’s not true that Muhyiddin was not interested in revenge. The despicable traitor cannot seek revenge because to do so would only see his own “weak” party ends up in the opposition camp, which in turn will see Bersatu disintegrates as most of the 31 MPs are expected to jump ship to either UMNO or the Opposition. There’s no loyalty among thieves, let alone traitors.

 

He then bragged that he could easily topple the UMNO-led state government of Johor, but chose not to do so for the sake of people’s safety. Amusingly, when UMNO warlord Shahrir provoked Muhyiddin, challenging him to pull support in Johor, the former PM went ballistic, calling Shahrir “stupid”. Did Muhyiddin realize how stupid he was to threaten to topple the Johor government without the balls to follow through?

If Muhyiddin was a man with integrity and honour whom the people admire, as he keeps telling himself, he should teach UMNO Johor a lesson by withdrawing Bersatu’s support. After all, was not Johor Sultan Ibrahim a huge fan of him, a former Chief Minister of Johor? If indeed Perikatan Nasional was as strong as it claims, it should be able to win Johor together with PAS and Gerakan, no?

The best part was when the racist, corrupt and traitor Muhyiddin declared that his fragile Perikatan Nasional is a principled, transparent, caring and good government who rejects abuse of power and fight corruption. Perhaps he should explain why it was a jolly good decision to splash RM38.5 million renovations on the prime minister’s residence “Seri Perdana” that he never planned to occupy.

Was not shutting down the Parliament under the pretext of fighting Coronavirus, when the rest of the country was opened, speaks volumes of not only an abuse of power, but also the greatest cowardice displayed by Muhyiddin? A man without the gut to face the peoples’ representatives in Parliament and without the balls to accept a challenge from an UMNO warlord is simply pathetic.

In reality, the man who had betrayed his allies Pakatan Harapan, only to be backstabbed and betrayed by his gang of UMNO crooks, is absolutely terrified in facing the Melaka state election. His campaign strategy is horrible and his self-praised is overkill. Worse, he is clueless about the reality on the ground. The people of Melaka are concerned about bread and butter issues.

Muhyiddin should have boycotted the state election under the pretext of saving the people from Covid-19, in order to save his party from total annihilation and humiliation. He had bet that both PM Ismail Sabri and PAS President Hadi could persuade and convince UMNO leadership to work together with Perikatan Nasional disguised under Malay unity. But the two idiots had failed their missions.

Running like a headless chicken, Mahiaddin alias Muhyiddin is throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, to save his loosely glued coalition. Unfortunately, the people of Melaka still remember what he did last year in the Sheraton Move and this year during the Covid-19 pandemic. Corruption may be part of UMNO Malay culture, but certainly not treachery and betrayal. He will meet his Waterloo in Malacca.- FT

cheers.

Polis pun pening...

5 x 2 ; 2 x 5...

Nazir regrets helping Najib cash RM25.7m 1MDB-tainted cheques for GE13...

Former CIMB Group Holdings chairperson Nazir Abdul Razak expressed regret for helping his eldest brother, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, cash cheques for the 13th general election that later turned out to be 1MDB-linked.

Detailing the incident in his memoir 'What's In A Name', Nazir (above) said in the run-up to the 2013 polls, Najib approached him to help turn four cheques totalling RM25.7 million into cash to be used for campaigning.

He reiterated in the book that he saw it as only helping his brother, and had no reason to suspect the money came from fraudulent sources beyond legitimate campaign contributions.

"It never for a moment crossed my mind to think the funds could be of questionable origin.

"Of course, with the benefit of hindsight I regret agreeing to be involved at all," he said.

In 2016, it was revealed by the Wall Street Journal that the cheques came from an account owned by Najib where misappropriated 1MDB funds had been channelled.

Nazir said the revelation was distressing and prompted him to take garden leave as the head of CIMB to allow for an internal probe.

'1MDB became a sore point'

CIMB would later find that Nazir did not misuse his position in disbursing the cheques.

Nazir, who had been vocal about 1MDB, said in his memoir that he warned Najib on several occasions between 2009 and 2013 about the wealth fund, and expressed concerns that funds were being siphoned.

He said 1MDB became a sore point and strained his relationship with his brother.

"After a while, 1MDB became almost a taboo subject for us.

"I couldn't get through to him, and a couple of times he even quipped that I must be jealous or just have a personal dislike of Jho (Low)," he said.

Low, who is now a fugitive, was a close confidant of Najib and is believed to have played a key role in siphoning 1MDB funds.The 1MDB problem later caused tension between the two brothers, which seemed to be a topic that both of them avoided.

Nazir detailed in his memoir that his personal unease with 1MDB led him to work together with others such as The Edge's boss Tong Kooi Ong to investigate the fund, and even approached Dr Mahathir Mohamad for help in 2015.

His actions also caused his sister-in-law Rosmah Mansor to turn against him, he claimed.

He claimed that during a Ramadan dinner on July 15, 2015, at Najib's house, Rosmah loudly told Najib not to speak to him.

"For Rosmah, life was very simple; you were either with them or against them. There was no middle ground,

"Now at the Ramadan party, she grabbed Najib's hand and looking straight at me said, loudly: 'Don't talk to him! He's working against you and trying to topple you'," Nazir recalled.

He said Najib tried to calm Rosmah down, but to no avail.

"She added, with more than a hint of venom: 'I know what you're up to. I have eyes. You had better watch out'," Nazir wrote.

He said his sister-in-law was not entirely wrong, but that his motives were to get to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal and not to hurt Najib. - mk

When politics is involved, 

justice flies out the window...

The definition of a Malaysian minister is someone who does not care in which direction the car is travelling, as long as he remains in the driver’s seat and gets the taxpayer to pay for the vehicle, preferably a Toyota Vellfire. Ministers and politicians are not the only ones to insult our intelligence. One institution which we are regularly reminded is independent, is also testing our patience. The judiciary.

Convicted felons and allegedly corrupt ministers and their cronies are treated like pampered pooches. Recently, corrupt ministers, some of whom have been convicted, or who are awaiting trial for corruption and money laundering, had their passports returned. They can now travel overseas to conduct business, await the birth of a grandchild or seek medical treatment.

Would you, or I, be allowed such freedom even if we had been accused of a lesser crime? Malaysians are wondering if the allegation that justice comes with a price tag is true. When there is politics, there can be no justice. When those at the top of the judiciary keep quiet, it reflects badly on them.

If you owe the Inland Revenue Board RM100 or RM1,000, you will be told, “pay first, talk later”, but the rules are reversed for the Malay elite, like the convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak and his son.

Should Malaysians prepare themselves for the time when Najib is set free? Will he sue the government and demand compensation for tarnishing his reputation, putting him under undue stress, and making his hair fall out? He claimed he had money problems and members of his constituency willingly pawned their jewellery to help him out.

Najib and his spouse were accused of stealing taxpayers’ money to purchase expensive jewellery and handbags, round-the-world shopping trips, foreign homes and luxury holidays. He claimed that the money was from his personal account, whilst his spouse lashed back at her critics and told them that perhaps they should stop being envious, and start saving from the time they were teenagers. Would the common folk be given leeway?

When the law finally caught up with the couple, police raids revealed a stash of hundreds of millions of ringgits and foreign currency, gems, handbags, luxury watches, and designer spectacles.

In the SRC International trial, he backtracked and said that the money was intended for a group of orphans. The decision to ban the former PM and his spouse from travel has been rescinded. The seized luxury items and hoard of cash and foreign currency have been returned because of a technicality.

We are a nation of incompetent politicians, lawyers, lawyers’ aides, civil servants and court officials. Where are the MPs and bar council to demand the retraining of these court officials? We waste taxpayers’ money, time, and valuable resources because an official failed to do his job properly.

Bringing the convicted felon, Najib, to trial was akin to extracting one’s teeth. There were numerous delays. He claimed to have fallen sick. He was late for his own trial. He wandered off to the toilet and failed to inform court officials. His lawyer and the lawyer’s pet dog were also caught up in the delay drama. If that was not bad enough, the judge granted Najib’s lawyer a week’s leave to attend his son’s wedding in February 2020. Most people plan their children’s weddings months in advance, but apparently, not this lawyer.

If you, or I, were to behave in a similar fashion, we would probably have been in contempt of court. Why were Najib and his spouse given so much leeway? Why are politicians allowed to repossess their seized money, just because they claimed it was for political funding? You, and I, if convicted, would be forced to lodge an appeal from prison. To date, we have not heard anything about Najib’s appeal for his SRC conviction.

Two other politicians, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and Bung Moktar Radin, both of whom will face trial for alleged corruption, are now allowed to travel overseas. The former for medical treatment, the latter to attend business meetings in the Middle East. Would the rules be relaxed for us, had we been on trial? It affects all of Malaysia

So, what is happening to the judiciary? Dispensing justice is only as good as the men and women who are appointed judges. They have to be rational, fair, honest, and ethical. They ensure that the system and administration of justice will work.

If people with no quality are appointed as judges, the law becomes flawed and justice will fail. The duty of judges is to administer justice, but in Malaysia, political interference will undermine them.

Judges, like those in other professions, have to look after their periuk nasi. They are subject to pressure from outside. They have peers who will influence them, or peers with friends in high places. They have to work with incompetent court officials, or officials who allow politics to interfere with their work.

The Bar Council is aware of this, so what are they doing about it? The man in the street is not interested in the small print or the legal mumbo-jumbo. He sees corrupt ministers slowly being returned to power. He fears the increasingly flawed system. He wants to know how MPs, and the judiciary will react. How will they address the rakyat’s lack of trust?

This is not just a problem for the legal profession. This is a Malaysian problem because it will affect everyone. - Mariam Mokhtar

cheers.

Adly Zahari untuk KM Melaka...

Returning the loot to thieves 

- the law is an ass...

Supposing I am a crook who has stolen billions from the people. In my possession, I have luxury goods, jewels and hard cash in currencies of different countries which runs into millions.The long arm of the law caught up with me and my wife. They took away part of the wealth we had accumulated and both have been indicted on several criminal offences and the state has filed civil suits seeking the return of the riches so that it can be added on to its coffers.

In the meantime, the government seeks to forfeit all those ill-gotten riches. So, they go and seek an order from the court so that they get to keep what they had seized. But the court said that the onus is on the claimant, in this case, the state to prove that I accumulated all the wealth from illicit and illegal activities.

Although it is common knowledge that the wealth was not inherited and neither could I have earned that kind of money during our working lives, the court then tells the state: “Please produce evidence to show that the money was the proceeds from something illegal.”

For a good measure, it meant that if you can’t show proof, they can get to keep everything. Does it mean criminals can keep their loot while the victims weep in pain and suffering? Yes, something like that.

If you are just an ordinary joe with no titles, status or position – past or present – could it be a different story? What if you don’t have a battery of lawyers and the money to fight the forfeiture order?  But before that, probably a public parade in purple or orange for the TV cameras would be the start, and perhaps a week or so incarcerated with food and boarding paid by the state.

But wouldn’t any anti-corruption body use its powers to ask you to declare your source of income? Or will the taxman come after you asking you to pay your portion of the wealth in your possession? If you are a politician, you can always plead: “Your honour, it was a political donation meant for the party.”

Isn’t the law an ass?

What is the matter with our court/judiciary? 

Mysterious deposits

Mr A had about RM1 million in a bank in a foreign country and the source of that money was and still remains a mystery. The money was deposited in small amounts (for whatever reasons) through cash deposit machines that are dotted around that country. Those who deposited the money were unknown to him and bank officials and as the account starts to swell, an alert bank manager calls the cops.

“I say, mate, there’s some fishy business going on. We are getting dribs and drabs of money and it is being deposited anonymously to one single account. It looks suspicious and could be money laundering,” says the banker. The account is flagged and the incessant flow of money continues and is keenly watched. A check on the systems shows that Mr A is a senior police officer in his country.

So, a polite note is exchanged between the police chiefs of the two countries. It simply said: “Can you get Mr A to come over and explain things? We just want to elucidate some answers to these mysterious deposits.”

The media in both countries go to town with the story and hopefully, get some truthful answers. The silence became deafening but Mr A’s boss says: “He had explained everything to us. He has a son studying there and opened an account there and the money in that account are proceeds from the sale of his house.”

But isn’t it the usual and proper practice for the buyer to get his solicitor to send the money to his solicitor, who will, in turn, deposit the money in Mr A’s bank account? But when did he buy the house and where did the money come from? No one knows and the mystery can only be solved if Mr A opens his mouth.

But Mr A didn’t. Neither did he travel or offer any other plausible explanation, and interestingly, he just allowed the money to be forfeited. The parting shot was: “I don’t need it. You can keep my money.”

If it was ordinary joe, there would have been an extradition process, he would be strutted in handcuffs through the offices to the courts and probably put on the next flight, and arrested and charged upon disembarkation for money laundering. But no, there are different strokes for different folks.

Isn’t the law an ass? - R.Nadeswaran,mk

Clinics sell ‘vaccinated’ status 

without Covid shots for RM1,600...

Unvaccinated people can pay certain clinics RM1,600 to have their status changed to fully vaccinated without having to take the Covid-19 shots, The Malaysian Insight discovered.

The “upgrade” is accessible via Telegram chat. To join the chat group, one must send to the group administrator a screenshot of one’s unvaccinated status on MySejahtera.

The group, which has 137 members, will inform the clinic to set up an appointment. Each clinic offers only 10 appointment slots.

“Those who have received their appointment for Saturday, please do not scan your MySejahtera anywhere two days before your appointment,” said the administrator of the group earlier this week. It is believed that the appointments mentioned are at a clinic in Puncak Alam, Selangor.

In another update, the administrator said the service was only available at certain clinics in Johor Baru for now. “Ten slots (are) available in JB. Others are temporarily closed. Things are heating up in KL, Klang and Seremban so at the moment we do not have slots in these three places,” it said.

“Clinics prefer cash and not online transactions. The location of the clinics will be provided directly to those with appointments.” It is learnt that these clinics do not dispense the jab during the appointments but will only upgrade the person’s status to vaccinated.

Last month, The Malaysian Insight reported on a similar service where one could pay RM3,000 for a fully vaccinated status. Payments were made directly to people with backend access to the MySejahtera app and deals were made through secure messaging apps such as Telegram.

A businessman with a “Datuk” title, who was not vaccinated, told The Malaysian Insight that he paid “someone in the Health Ministry” RM3,000 for a “fully vaccinated” status on MySejahtera. 

In August, police began investigating the sale of fake digital Covid-19 vaccination certificates. Last month, screenshots of a post on Telegram offering different types of vaccination certificates for RM1,500, RM400, and RM200 were widely shared on social media.

The government has virtually made Covid-19 vaccination compulsory by allowing only those who are fully dosed to dine in restaurants, stay in hotels, cross state borders, and travel overseas without applying for permission.

The Malaysian Insight has spoken to the group administrator to ask if the Sinovac vaccine certificate offered by the clinics was genuine. The administrator said the people who had paid for the certification had yet to complain about being cheated.

“The certificate is genuine and can be used anywhere. If this were a scam, people in the group would have complained,” the admin said. Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Abdul Jalil Hassan has been informed of the Telegram group. Police have vowed to look into the matter.

More than 22.4 million people, or 95.7% of the adult population, have had the full course of Covid-19 jabs. The CovidNow website also showed 97.8% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine. – TMI

cheers.