Speculation of Zahid’s impending retirement due to ill health...

 

The rumour mill has been in overdrive ever since it was revealed that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had undergone surgery on Nov 16. That his daughter Nurulhidayah Zahid failed to specify the nature of her father’s ailment apart from stating on Instagram that he is recovering well has further stoked rumours that Zahid’s political career is coming to an end.

That Zahid is seen as master key to the Madani government’s survival means that his recuperation is being closely watched by all sides of the political arena. Given the unpopularity of the current unity government, it would be no great shock if UMNO decides to walk out of the coalition should Zahid call it a day.

A widely tipped scenario is for UMNO – alongside GPS (Gabugan Parti Sarawak) and GRS (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah) – to abandon ship and form new strategic alliance with Bersatu-PAS, giving the new Perikatan Nasional (PN) bloc a far more solid foundation in parliament.

The speculation has risen several notches when UMNO deputy president-cum-Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (affably known as Tok Mat) was seen openly mingling with political foes from Bersatu and PAS at an event on Saturday (Nov 18) to mark the nomination day for the Kemaman by-election scheduled for Dec 2.

Should Zahid step down as UMNO supremo, party elections could be held thus paving the way for the return of Tok Mat’s ministerial predecessor Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein who has been suspended from the party for six years or even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s very own predecessor Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who has been pushed out into the cold by Zahid himself.

Adding fuel to the fire was MIC deputy president, Datuk Seri M. Sarvanan who proclaimed to a crowd of 1,500 party delegates on Saturday (Nov 18): “We support the government of the day as the King has decreed. We are very clear that we will not ask for positions in the government but we want recognition.” The Tapah MP and former human resources minster further stated sternly: “If we don’t get due respect, the party leadership will announce our next course of action.”

The MIC had openly supported the leadership of eighth premier Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and later on Ismail Sabri but decided to toe the official line in supporting the formation of a unity government in the spirit of Barisan Nasional (BN) despite not being duly rewarded.

PMX’s increasingly tenuous grip on power seems to be largely dependent on Zahid playing an active role in politics. But given the fluidity of Malaysian politics, it would not at all be surprising to see Anwar’s increasingly unpopular administration crumble way before it fulfils its tenure. - Disillusioned PH supporter,focusmalaysia

Menteri Undang-Undang yang dulu buat apa? - PM Anwar

About 1,500 PAS supporters have gathered near the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya to perform the solat hajat as part of the Gerakan Selamatkan Shariah rally.

Attendees, including Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud, PAS vice-president Datuk Seri Idris Ahmad, PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan and former Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa, began gathering from as early as 8am.

A number of participants came all the way from Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu. Some were spotted with Palestine flags while others held up placards saying “Defend Kelantan’s shariah enactments”.

This comes as a mother and daughter asks the Federal Court to declare several shariah criminal offences enacted by the Kelantan assembly as unconstitutional. The case’s proceedings continue before the apex court today.

Kelantan-born lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid (above) and her daughter Tengku Yasmin Nastasha Tengku Abdul Rahman are claiming that the 20 provisions involve offences that are in the exclusive realm of federal law. - the Vibes

Walaun anggap undang2 Syariah terancam...

Sembilan hakim akan membuat keputusan terhadap permohonan semakan yang difailkan Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid dan Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman bagi mencabar Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (I) Kelantan 2019.

Mereka ialah Ketua Hakim Negara Tengku Maimun Tuan Man, dan disertai Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim (Presiden Mahkamah Rayuan), Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah (Hakim Besar Malaya), Abdul Rahman Sebli (Hakim Besar Sabah dan Sarawak), serta lima lagi hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan - Nallini Pathmanathan, Mary Lim Thiam Suan, Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, Nordin Hassan, dan Abu Bakar Jais.

Panel itu dijangka mendengar hujahan lisan daripada dua amicus curiae (rakan mahkamah), iaitu Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (MAIWP), dan Persatuan Peguam-peguam Islam Malaysia. Ramai ahli dan penyokong PAS berkumpul di pekarangan Istana Kehakiman di Putrajaya sebagai tanda sokongan terhadap Himpunan Pertahan Syariah yang digerakkan parti itu.

Inti pati utama permohonan Nik Elin dan Tengku Yasmin ialah meminta agar Mahkamah Persekutuan membatalkan 20 kesalahan syariah dalam enakmen Kelantan atas alasan dewan undangan negeri terbabit bertindak melangkaui bidang kuasa mereka. Sebelum ini PAS mendakwa mereka berhimpun untuk "memperteguh perundangan syariah negeri-negeri" yang "cuba diruntuhkan” oleh pihak tertentu. - mk

Ulama PAS mula menipu dalam 

kempen 'pertahan syariah'

1. Kata Nik Amar dan Idris Ahmad dilapor Harakahdaily 'Syariah dicabar kerana orang Islam hilang kuasa politik'. Nampak tak game plan Pas?

2. Walhal kes kes Iki Putra (2021) dan Nik Elin (2022) dicabar semasa mereka berkuasa. Idris Ahmad Menteri Agama. Bukan zaman Madani.

3. Begitulah mudahnya Ulama' PAS menipu pengikutnya. Ulama jenis apa  yang menipu? Sila jawab.

4. Akta, Enekmen Syariah dan sistem Mahkamah Syariah banyak negeri di Malaysia dibangunkan bukan oleh PAS.

5. Ada la beberapa negeri yang ada sentuhan PAS, tapi jauh lebih banyak dibangunkan oleh parti lain khasnya BN yang lama jadi Kerajaan

6.  Hanya akhir2 ini PAS mula merasa jadi kerajaan selain Kelantan. Maka tidak adil jika tiba-tiba tuduh parti lain yang membina sistem mahkamah dan Undang2 Syariah nak merungkainya.

7. Dulu PAS hanya pandai retorik dan kapir mengkapir sebab rasakan apa yang dibangunkan parti lain tidak ikut hukum Islam sebenar seperti tafsiran Hj Hadi. 

8. Bahkan Amanat Hj Hadi dulu dakwa 'Perlembagaan Penjajah, peraturan kafir dan jahilliyyah'.

9. Dengan doktrin itu, mana mungkin Hj Hadi dan PAS terlibat aktif bangunkan Undang2 dan Mahkamah Syariah?

10. Kebanyakkan dibangunkan waktu PAS masih lemah. Jadi salah dakwaan 'bila PAS tidak jadi kerajaan maka undang2 Syariah tercabar'.

11. PH sendiri walaupun hanya 22 bulan berkuasa, ada 5 atau 6 penambahbaikan Mahkamah Syariah dibuat. 

12. Tapi PAS bila berkuasa secara Tebok Atap, Hudud dan RUU355 pun tak dibuat, malah Enekmen jenayah Syariah dicabar sewaktu mereka berkuasa. - Ahmad Mursi

Mungkin tiada idea untuk mempertikaikan hal Nik Elin sebagai pengamal undang undang didalam kes beliau memfailkan petisyen bagi menyemak semula 20 peruntukan kesalahan dalam enakmen tersebut terhadap kerajaan Kelantan mereka yang hadir kemudiannya melaungkan "Jahanam Zionis", "Hidup syariah" dan "Hancur liberal".

Biarlah mahkamah memutuskan kes ini . Beliau bukannya mencabar tuhan, mencabar hukum syariah, apa yang beliau cabar ialah perkara takzir penilaian atau hukuman yang dijatuhkan dalam enakmen tersebut.

Cabaran beliau juga adalah kepada Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan yang telah menggubal undang-undang ini tanpa mempunyai kompetensi (keupayaan), tiada kena mengena dengan doktrin di dalam Islam. - Kamsiah Haider

Nak selamatkan syariah? Betulkan dulu kefahaman kita tentang Islam...

1. Menipu itu haram.

2. Rasuah tak boleh jadi sedekah.

3. Mengkafirkan sesama muslim itu haram.

4. Memfitnah adalah dosa yang besar.

5. Khianat sifat terlaknat.

6. Dakwah dengan hikmah, bukan caci maki.

7. Islam mementingkan adab.

Betulkan yang ini dulu baru nak claim diri tu konon penyelamat syariah. Guane boh? - 

Raja Gelap II

Btw,kes Nik Elin cabar enakmen undang2 syariah negeri Kelantan ni bukan difailkan sekarang,pada tahun 2022 ia dah difailkan.Kenapa baru sekarang pembangkang riuh rendah? 

Mother & daughter survived an lsraeli air attack,Gaza...

All of these children were buried alive under 

the rubble of their bombed house in Gaza Strip...

cheers.

Malaysia, Indonesia & Brunei call for an immediate ceasefire...

Malaysia Brunei & Indonesia issue own statement in APEC

PM Anwar Ibrahim tells American President Joe Biden on his face - "You ask us to condemn Russia in the Ukraine,but stay muted on the Israel’s atrocities of killing women and babies in Gaza"...

Look before you leap, Siti Mastura...  

Actions and words have consequences, and the PAS MP for Kepala Batas, Siti Mastura Mohamad, may want to reflect on the speech she delivered two weeks ago, which has outraged DAP. At best, it is a study into “How not to deliver a talk”, and at worst, her speech at a political rally in Kemaman, Terengganu, on Nov 4 was a litany of lies, as alleged by the party.

Siti Mastura may be a youthful and inexperienced first-term MP, nevertheless her role carries with it a lot of responsibilities. As a representative of her constituency, she has to account for her actions and words, but her conduct at the rally shows that she deserves to be punished for slander, if it is proven, and have the whip withdrawn. In other words, she should be subject to disciplinary action by her party.

Did any of the PAS leaders, including its president, Abdul Hadi Awang, censure her for her alleged racist and slanderous comments against Lim Guan Eng’s family, and the family of the late former prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew?

Why was she trying to suggest that a group of non-Malay MPs in DAP were related, and that Lim Kit Siang was the cousin of the late Malayan Communist Party (MCP) leader Chin Peng aka Ong Boon Hua.

To make matters worse, she seemed to suggest that Lee was also Chin Peng’s cousin. The reasons are simple. For several decades, a few politicians have used Lee and Chin Peng as bogeymen to paint DAP, its leaders and MPs in a negative light.

To badmouth DAP and scare the public, these irresponsible politicians often ‘link’ the Malaysian MPs with these two men. To tie them to Chin Peng is to suggest the Malaysian MPs have communist leanings, whereas the connection with Lee is to suggest the DAP MPs are under the “influence” of the PAP.

Siti Mastura’s inability to understand the nuances of the Chinese surname gave her away. Is this an indication that non-Malay and Malay youths rarely integrate in society?

Chinese surnames are very informative, and they show the origins of their families, which differ in terms of migratory patterns and the clan’s historical development in China.

Another DAP MP, Teo Nie Ching, summarised the Chinese surnames description like this: Lee is Lee Kuan Yew’s surname, and he is a descendant of the Hakka clan. Lim Kit Siang’s surname is Lim, and he is Hokkien, whereas Chin Peng aka Ong Boon Hua is Hokchia. All come from different families and they are not cousins.

Siti Mastura, a PhD holder, ought to have known better. She may be a busy woman, but as an MP, she should have instructed her political aides to verify her sources. Were her aides incompetent, was Siti Mastura careless, or did she not care about the information she was releasing to her audience? It shows her lack of attention to detail. Siti Mastura should think before she speaks. - Mariam Mokhtar

Siti Mastura and Hadi Awang are the best examples of the political misinformation and hate propaganda specialist around...

It is more than 10 days since the PAS MP for Kepala Batas, Siti Mastura Muhammad, with a doctorate, made an international fool of herself by claiming that I was related to the former MCP secretary-general Chin Peng as well as the Singapore founder Prime Minister, changing his surname to “Lim” Kuan Yew.

But there has been total silence from the PAS President, Hadi Awang. I can understand Hadi silence on the Siti Mastura issue — as he had not been quiet during the period — and Siri Mastura was clearly his best disciple.

What Siri Mastura did was no different from the wild and preposterous allegations which Hadi had made — that DAP and I had been anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Royalty, communist, and spreading Islamophobia — but which Hadi had not been able to produce an iota of evidence after more than a year.

In fact, Siti Mastura and Hadi Awang are the best examples of the study which showed that the “green wave” was the result of the political misinformation and hate propaganda of the social media in the 15th General Election.

In a piece titled “Social Media and the Manufacturing of Malay-Muslim security”, researchers Hew Wai Weng and Nicholas Chan cited a report that nearly three in four Malaysian Internet users relied on the social media as their main source of news.

They wrote: “Hence, social media necessarily becomes the primary medium where sequestered Malaysian voters experience politics. That means they also experience the wave of hate propaganda, half-truths, and downright misinformation that comes with it. “There is no understanding of the green wave without an honest reckoning of these elements.”

In post-mortem examinations of GE15, it was shown that PN had tapped into the pulse of nation through its deft use of social media — particularly TikTok — to amplify its communal politics and overcome shortcomings at the grassroots level, leapfrogging rivals that were still campaigning traditionally.

According to Hew and Chan, the phenomenon was not unique to Malaysia, and was effectively a “common right-wing playbook” also being deployed in the US, India, and Brazil where the strategy was to “wrap the anti-liberal, anti-minority, and anti-establishment discourse as one, with the moral critique appealing more to conservative middle-class religiosity.”

Such messaging was particularly effective among the masses as it appealed to groups that saw themselves as being marginalised in their “own country,” they added. “With hate speech and misinformation mainstreamed at such volume, efforts aimed at preserving free speech without regulation and ‘fact-checking’ without proactive measures seem increasingly out-of-sync with present challenges.” - Lim Kit Siang 

Face swapping sebar fitnah 

ke atas Prof.Dr.Agus... 

Prof. Agus dah sahkan bahawa video yang tular itu adalah hasil suntingan individu yang berniat jahat. Apa yang penting, laporan polis telah dibuat, Prof juga telah arahkan para peguamnya untuk mulakan legal proceedings.

Itu sudah cukup untuk membuktikan Prof. Agus tak berasa terancam. Macam ni baru la boleh pakai tag berani kerana benar.

Dibandingkan dengan apa yang berlaku kepada dua orang pemimpin PN, Mokhtar Senik dari PAS dan Azmin Ali (Bersatu). Tidak ada penafian rasmi, tidak ada laporan polis dan tiada individu yang disaman, setakat yang aku ingat.

Malah dalam kes Azmin, Haziq dah buat pengakuan bahawa dia adalah pasangan Azmin dalam video tersebut. Kalau Azmin nak saman dah boleh sangat dah. Tapi Azmin macam takut nak saman Haziq.

Begitu juga dengan Mokhtar Senik. Ada yang cabar dia saman, siap tag dia dalam lagi dalam posting FB. Tapi Mokhtar tak berani sambut cabaran. Paling habis pun, dia cuma kata page dia ada admin yang uruskan.

Video VC Prof. Agus tu, sebelum ini bolehlah kata buka aib. Tapi lepas penafian ini, maka ia dah jadi fitnah. Berhati-hati dengan apa yang kita tulis atau katakan. Jangan sampai jadi qazaf pula.

Sekali lagi cubaan walaun dan lebai nak jatuhkan pentadbiran DS Anwar dengan mengaibkan orang kepercayaan beliau gagal. Bukan setakat gagal, ia juga telah menyebabkan tersingkap semula kes-kes Azmin dan Mokhtar Senik yang dah lama senyap.

Kiranya macam senjata makan tuan la ni. Macam Wan Fayhsal la. Nak kutuk PMX tak sedar boss dia buat perkara yang lebih buruk. Tak bertebing betul. Guane boh? - Raja Gelap II 

I’m not the ‘Mr H’ of lewd video, 

J-Kom official says...

An official of J-Kom, the controversial community communications department, has denied he is the “Mr H” behind a video clip allegedly containing a lewd conversation between J-Kom’s former chief and another staff member.

Hakim Ramlee (above) dismissed a blogger’s claim that he is Mr H, saying such allegations were malicious. “I am in the dark myself, but I think (Mr H) is not me. It’s the wrong man,” Berita Harian quoted him as saying. He described the claim by Raja Petra Kamarudin as “such a random accusation”, adding: “What does that have to do with me?”

Hakim, who is director of the J-Kom education and training division, is also known as Ustaz Hakim Ramlee. He said Raja Petra may have confused him with someone else. “But I cannot divulge further information,” he said, as he had been advised against commenting on the matter.

Last night, an assistant community district officer, Abdul Wahab Abdul Kadir, alleged that he had been asked by a prominent official in J-Kom known as “Mr H” to record a video call with J-Kom director-general Agus Yusoff, who has since resigned.

Wahab, who is also vice-chairman of Hulu Langat PKR Youth, said that he had been pressured to record a video call with Agus since joining J-Kom on Nov 1. He also claimed that the 3-minute video clip had been “edited and manipulated as part of a plot within J-Kom to discredit Agus”.

Prof.Agus & Abdul Wahab Abdul Kadir

At the same press conference last night, Agus said he had been framed in a video clip which he said had been doctored to show him having a lewd conversation with Wahab. The video was widely shared following speculation that Agus would be stepping down from his post. He had confirmed yesterday that he had submitted his resignation.

Agus said his resignation was not linked to the video but was because of criticism against the department after the government coalition’s poor showing at the six state elections in August. - fmt

cheers.

The unending saga of Altantuya killers...

 

I knew about Sirul's release from Villawood Detention Centre, early yesterday evening. This is not totally unexpected given the Australian High Court, last Friday, ruled that indefinite detention for people like Sirul, was "unlawful" if deportation was not an option. 

That applied to Sirul because even though he had entered Australia under false pretence (he did not inform Australian Immigration that he had been a convicted felon) deportation was not an option because Malaysia was going to hang him for his deeds - and Australia would not send anybody home to be hanged...for whatever reason.   

And so yesterday, Sirul was among the first batch of detainees released. Sirul is now a free man spending his first day of freedom in Canberra, with his son, Azam. I wish him the best.  He has spent over a decade in detention for doing what he thought was his job as a Unit Tindakan Khas operative - killing someone on orders from his superior. He was following orders. 

After the deed, when he was arrested in Pakistan, he did ask upon landing at KLIA : "Kenapa dia orang tak cover aku?" That question by Sirul tells us that as far as he was concerned, he was doing a job he was trained to do and he was perplexed that UTK had not provided him with a cover for his 'work' in murdering Altantuya.   

Now fast forward to today. What will happen to him now? 

Sirul wants to stay in Australia and what happens now will be a matter for the Australian government to decide. The Malaysian government might ask to extradite Sirul and give an assurance to the Australian government that Sirul will not be hanged for his deed. It will be up to the Australian government to decide. Sirul will certainly ask for asylum in Australia. It will be up to the Australian government to decide. 

Sirul may ask for asylum in another country. It will be up to the Australian Government to decide if they will allow him to go to that country. All that we can hope is that Sirul will have the right people to advise him on what to do in order to get the decision he wants for himself and his son Azam - whose fate, to stay or not to stay in Australia, will depend on what fate has been decided for Sirul by the powers that be.  

What happens to the people in Malaysia, who, in one way or another, have been 'involved' in Sirul's case?  If they have done the right thing by Sirul, no problems. Those who have helped him through the difficult times in the past decades will have his gratitude. I know there are a few people who have stood by him all this while and to them, I am sure, Sirul will again turn for help for him to face the future.

To those who have profited from the woes and problems of Sirul....a word of advice....watch your backs. They know who they are and I know who they are. There are a few Datuks among them. A few lawyers. They know who they are and I know who they are. Among them is Rizal Mansor.....Rosmah's former aide turned prosecution witness against Rosmah. This Rizal Mansor must feel a bit restless now that Sirul is out. Why he is restless? I know and Rizal knows and a few others who donated towards Sirul's defence funds...also know....so that is why Rizal is restless. Najib really has nothing to worry about as far as Sirul is concerned. Why not? 

Common sense will tell you that there is nothing Sirul can do to make life more miserable for Najib. Kepit Man is already in jail. He is already facing millions in fines and hundreds of millions that he still has to pay to LHDN. And if God is unkind, his wife will soon join him in Kajang....so for Kepit Man aka BossKu aka ex Perdana Menteri of Malaysia, Sirul is less of a worry to him than the mosquitoes at Kajang.

Let us all wait and see what the next few weeks or months will bring to the fate of Sirul. He has gone through so much personal pain and suffering for having carried out what he thought was a job that he was trained to do, as a UTK operative. Enough said. - Hussein Abdul Hamid

Will Sirul return, corroborate 

claims of Altantuya murder?...

Reports that convicted killer Sirul Azhar Umar, who was sentenced to death for the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2015, has walked free will result in another round of legal tangles between Malaysia and Australia. Sirul’s freedom was a result of an Australian High Court ruling against indefinite detention.

According to the Daily Mail, the former police officer was freed from Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre yesterday and was said to be staying with a relative in Canberra. Sirul and another police officer, Azilah Hadri, were convicted of murdering the Mongolian mother.

Both were convicted in the High Court but it was overturned by the Court of Appeal and they were set free. The Federal Court subsequently affirmed the High Court decision, and the two were sentenced to death. Sirul had in the meantime, fled to Australia where his son resides.

The Malaysian government sought to extradite Sirul but that application was refused by Australia which has a policy of not deporting anybody facing the death penalty in the country of origin. But from death row in Kajang Prison in 2019, Azilah made an explosive allegation - the order to kill Altantuya came from former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and the latter’s close associate Abdul Razak Baginda.

In admitting for the first time that he and Sirul killed the Mongolian national, Azilah claimed he was merely following an explicit “shoot to kill” order as a member of the elite Special Action Force (UTK) of the police.

These details were contained in an application filed by Azilah, who is seeking the Federal Court to review its decision in the conviction and death sentence imposed on him and Sirul, who is also a former UTK personnel, in 2015. He also sought a retrial to provide full evidence of the clandestine operation in open court so that “justice will be served”. However, all his applications were dismissed.

Death penalty preventing extradition...

Sirul, at the time, was not twiddling his thumbs in detention. A battery of Malaysian lawyers landed at the gates of Villawood offering free advice in a bid to secure his freedom. A middleman, a former Penang hockey player, was appointed “caretaker and liaison man” but nothing further happened despite large amounts of money being spent.

Sirul’s bid for asylum was turned down in 2019 and he was kept in indefinite detention.But after yesterday, he is still not exactly a free man. He may be out of detention but he is a wanted man and a stateless person in the eyes of the government because he has no valid documents, having overstayed his tourist visa when he entered Australia.

The extradition request is still on the table of the Australian Foreign Office and with the death penalty not completely abolished in Malaysia, he may not set foot on these shores. Last year, then prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the death penalty would remain and would not be abolished, with the change only being that judges would be given discretion in sentencing.

Australian laws dictate that its attorney-general must refuse to provide assistance where a person was arrested or detained having committed an offence, or charged with, or convicted of a death penalty offence unless there are special circumstances. An example of a special circumstance is when the foreign country provides an undertaking that the death penalty will not be imposed, or if the death penalty is imposed, it will not be carried out. Another example of a special circumstance is that the assistance provided would assist a defendant to prove his or her innocence.

Staying Down Under...

If he intends to stay in Australia, Sirul would have to make a fresh application for asylum and it would be a tricky situation for the Australian authorities. He previously claimed he took part in the abduction of Altantuya - a Mongolian national who worked as a model and translator - but not her murder.

Australian lawyers said Sirul will now have to apply for a “protection” visa pending his application for asylum. They said the previous extradition may no longer be valid because it was made under different circumstances - when he was in detention.

Now that he is a free man, a new application would have to be made and the Australian Federal Police will have to track Sirul, arrest, and detain him pending extradition to Malaysia. But the lawyers said it would be a long process especially if he, like Azilah, gives the same grounds - that it was a “state-ordered execution” and disobeying it would amount to treason.

However, in an immediate response, Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said their government was “considering other measures that may be appropriate to ensure community safety”.

“Individuals who are required to be released as a result of the High Court’s order will have appropriate visa conditions imposed on them in line with the need to protect the community. Conditions will be based on individual circumstances,” they said in a joint statement. - R Nadeswaran

Malaysia only abolished the mandatory death sentence. The judges can still pronounce death sentences. Furthermore Sirul is now still carrying the death sentence which was reinstated by the Federal Court - Anonymous47029368

Many must have wondered why it is taking so long for Malaysian authorities to bring this convicted murderer back to the country to face the consequences of his crime. Is it the Najib factor or does it involve politics of keeping secrets for political gains? Sirul's case seemed to be frozen in time and forgotten by the authorities and the Malaysian government. - BlueShark1548

It is not really over. Sirul maybe freed from detention, but he has not been granted any form of asylum or citizenship yet. There are a few issues that the Aussie Gormen needs to work out. As this the first instant of such a release by their courts. Community safety is one. He is probably confined to his son's place in the mean time. He has no valid document by now. Anyway on our side a decision is forth coming in 2 days. Let's see what our AG decides. Bring him back with reassurance of the death sentence will not be applied or let the Aussie Gomen decide what they want to do. - Maya

If you are Sirul, do you want to come back? I guessed that someone will not be getting good night sleep from now on. Nightmares are coming when he closes his eyes. -  I disagree

cheers.

Five more Bersatu MPs expected to support PM...

Many Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) members are no longer confident that the party can last until the 16th General Election. A senior leader who did not want to be named claimed the situation cropped up following investigations and charges against several party leaders linked to the Jana Wibawa money laundering cases.

“They are not convinced that Bersatu can rise again from the effects of the charges for cases as big as Jana Wibawa and maybe, Bersatu may not even last until the next general election,” it said to Berita Harian.

Following the concern, the source believed five more Bersatu members of parliament (MPs) will soon declare their support for the unity government led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. “It all depends on the roles played by those who are persuading to convince them to support the government,” it said.

It also claimed that the move to support the unity government does not only involve MPs. “There are also state assemblymen. Division chiefs and those who hold positions in party wings are also waiting for the time to declare their support for the government.”

It said based on information received from division chiefs and other Bersatu members, many of their counterparts and some Bersatu leadership have begun charting the move to support the government.

“It is just that now, the five persons mentioned will influence their other friends or party to try to restore their confidence.” There is information that the total Bersatu MPs who will support the government is 11 people but I am confident nine and four have announced it, with five left,” it said.

Commenting further, the source was supportive of a blogger’s claim that the ‘price’ of each Bersatu elected representative was between RM4 million and RM6 million. “They are declaring this support on several factors. It is not only solely because of money, but money is one of their main motivations. “Besides that, there are also possibilities of them wanting to protect themselves from being charged for any offences,” it said.

Asked on Perikatan Nasional claims that there were political brokers trying to ‘buy” MPs to support the government, the source said such a scenario would definitely happen and was strengthened with efforts by the prime minister himself who had written letters asking all MPs to support the government.

So far, four Bersatu MPs have declared their support for the unity government with some reasoning their move to ensure they secure government allocations meant for their constituents. The move began with Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzukarnain Abdul Khalid, followed by Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim and Jeli MP Zahari Kechik.

Following that, Bersatu will lodge a report with the police as well as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission soon on their leaders declaring support for the government. This came after claims that there were possibilities of lucrative offers given to them that led them to state their support for Anwar’s government. – NST

Kesan akta lompat parti 

ke atas 4 MP Bersatu...

Menteri Dalam Negeri, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail menegaskan bahawa semasa beliau dalam Jawatankuasa Penggubalan Akta bersama Gobind Deo dan Hanipa Maidin mewakili PH, PH berpandangan bahawa MP yang bertindak bertentangan dengan keputusan whip parti di dalam dewan adalah dikira hilang kerusi dan pilihan raya kecil perlu diadakan.

Tindakan MP yang bercanggah dengan keputusan whip parti itu seperti undian belanjawan, usul undi tidak percaya dan apa-apa Rang Undang-Undang (RUU) yang memberi kesan kepada kedudukan kerajaan. Selain itu, MP yang dipecat oleh parti kerana melanggar disiplin dan perlembagaan parti, dikira hilang kerusi.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) masa itu diwakili Hamzah dan Takiyuddin. PN TIDAK SETUJU dengan cadangan PH di atas. Akhirnya, Wan Junaidi Tunku Jafar sebagai pengerusi mengusulkan hanya cadangan yang mendapat konsensus semua parti yang akan dimasukkan.

Isu ini sebenarnya telah ditimbulkan oleh Anthony Loke semasa dalam perbahasan pada 27 Julai 2022. Ini yang dibahaskan oleh Anthony Loke:...

“Saya bagi contoh, kalau lepas Pilihan Raya yang Ke-15 nanti, ada seorang Ahli Parlimen DAP, keputusan DAP sokong Yang Berhormat Port Dickson sebagai Perdana Menteri. Akan tetapi Ahli Parlimen itu tidak mengikut keputusan parti dia sokong Yang Amat Berhormat Bera menjadi Perdana Menteri. Apakah kita boleh buat? “Kalau kita pecat dia, dia kekal sebagai Ahli Dewan Rakyat. Dia tidak akan mendapat apa-apa kesan daripada tindakan itu melanggar keputusan parti.

“Perkara ini juga boleh berlaku di sebelah sana. Kalau sebelah sana ada Ahli Parlimen yang tidak menyokong Yang Amat Berhormat Bera sebagai Perdana Menteri, sokong Yang Berhormat Port Dickson sebagai Perdana Menteri. Maka kalau mereka dipecat, dia juga tidak akan mendapat kesan sebab kerusinya masih kekal.

“Jadi Tuan Yang di-Pertua, saya tahu bahawa keputusan ini dibuat kerana tidak ada consensus dalam Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas. Saya tahu bahawa kita memerlukan consensus daripada semua parti supaya kita ada dua per tiga.

“Akan tetapi saya rasa ada jalan keluar dia. Apa jalan keluar dia? Saya nak mendapatkan kepastian daripada Yang Berhormat Menteri semasa menggulung nanti ialah bahawa kalau seseorang Ahli Dewan Rakyat itu asas dia ialah keahlian keanggotaannya kepada parti.

“Apabila seseorang Ahli Dewan Rakyat itu asas dia kepada parti maka dia juga tertakluk kepada undang-undang tubuh parti ataupun perlembagaan parti. Saya nak bangkitkan dan supaya Yang Berhormat Menteri boleh jawab dalam perkara ini.

“Kalau dalam perlembagaan parti, sesebuah parti politik diletakkan, dikhususkan bahawa kalau dalam keadaan-keadaan yang saya sebut tadi, umpamanya dari segi sokongan kepada Perdana Menteri, undian kepada belanjawan, undian dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan…

“… kalau seseorang Ahli Dewan Rakyat itu dia melanggar keputusan parti dan dalam perlembagaan parti ditulis secara jelas, kalau keadaan-keadaan sebegitu, Ahli Dewan Rakyat itu melanggar keputusan parti…“… maka he ceases to be a member ataupun keahliannya tergantung atau keahliannya terlucut secara automatiknya, tergugur secara automatiknya.

“Maka, bolehkah itu tidak dianggap sebagai pemecatan dan dia akan hilang kerusi apabila pimpinan parti menulis surat kepada Tuan Yang di-Pertua bahawa keahliannya sudah tergugur kerana dia melanggar Perlembagaan parti. “Jadi, itu bagi saya merupakan salah satu way out supaya parti-parti politik dapat kita ada safeguard yang lebih ketat.

“Saya nak memberitahu kepada Yang Berhormat Menteri, kalau Yang Berhormat Menteri esok gulung mengatakan bahawa ini boleh dilaksanakan saya berjanji DAP akan merupakan parti politik yang pertama kita akan pinda perlembagaan parti untuk masukkan seksyen ini dalam perlembagaan parti kita.

“Sebab kita nak foolproof. Kita tidak mahu satu Perlembagaan dipinda bahawa ia tidak boleh dilaksanakan dengan foolproof. Jadi saya harap Yang Berhormat Menteri boleh jawab dalam penggulungan esok.”

Boleh rujuk hansard 27 Julai 2022, halaman 52.

Kesimpulannya, memang wujud loophole dalam pindaan perlembagaan berkaitan anti lompat parti ini. Namun, hal itu berlaku kerana tiada konsensus berkaitan hal ini sewaktu ianya dibentangkan di Parlimen tempoh hari. Oleh itu, untuk mengatasi hal ini segera adalah sama ada dengan membuat pindaan Perlembagaan Persekutuan atau membuat pindaan kepada Perlembagaan parti masing-masing.

Meminda Perlembagaan Parti adalah lebih mudah berbanding dengan meminda Perlembagaan Persekutuan memandangkan pindaan perlembagaan parti hanya melibatkan ahli-ahli parti berbanding dengan pindaan Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang melibatkan 2/3 ahli-ahli Parlimen yang meliputi pelbagai latar belakang.

Kebimbangan yang ditimbulkan oleh Ahmad Maslan juga mempunyai asas kerana UMNO sendiri pun belum meminda perlembagaan parti selaras dengan Perkara 49A Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Ini bermakna MP UMNO masih boleh memberikan sokongan kepada Muhyidin atau Hadi Awang atau Hamzah Zainudin untuk menjadi Perdana Menteri seperti sokongan yang diberikan oleh 4 orang MP Bersatu ini kepada Anwar Ibrahim.

Mungkin yang menghalang beberapa MP UMNO ini daripada beralih sokongan adalah kerana tiada insuran untuk survival mereka jika beralih sokongan. Selain itu, tidak juga dilupakan bahawa MP UMNO keseluruhannya telah menandatangani surat akuan masing-masing yang menyatakan bahawa mereka akan terus mematuhi arahan parti yang diketuai oleh presidennya.

Dalam keadaan sekarang sebenarnya yang terhimpit adalah PPBM. Mungkin yang akan beroleh keuntungan daripada isu ini adalah Pas kerana jika PPBM melemah maka Pas akan menjadi lebih kuat dalam PN dan akhirnya Pas akan menguasai PN secara keseluruhannya sebagaimana Pas pernah lakukan dahulu ke atas Semangat 46.

Cuma, PAS mungkin tidak sedar bahawa undi Melayu-Islam yang banyak diperolehi oleh PN dan bukannya atas tiket Pas semata-mata. Sebab itulah, PAS hanya berani bertanding menggunakan logo bulan di Kelantan dan Terengganu sahaja. - Dr.Zulqarnain Lukman

Boycott McD...

So much so for Mualim unity. 

OIC dah jadi badan "Oh! I See" saja...

cheers.

Lompat tanpa perlu keluar parti & Happy Diwali...

Muhyiddin’s political future in 

doubt as a crisis rocks Bersatu... 

A political mutiny is spreading in the opposition Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), signalling serious troubles ahead for its embattled president, former premier Muhyiddin Yassin. Four Bersatu elected Members of Parliament have in recent weeks publicly declared their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, an unprecedented breaking of ranks in an opposition party already beset with tensions in its leadership.

At an emergency leadership meeting on Thursday night (Nov 9), Mr Muhyiddin reportedly blamed the crisis on unidentified quarters who were bent on weakening the party and alleged that financial inducements had been offered to the Bersatu parliamentary representatives to switch allegiances. Mr. Muhyiddin added that the party would be filing reports with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the matter.

The developments at Bersatu, an ultra-nationalist ethnic Muslim- Malay political entity, are being closely watched because of the party’s oversized role in Malaysia’s political tumult in recent years despite its modest representation in Parliament.

The party and its chief ally, the right-wing Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, have been strong promoters of a brand of ethnic Malay religious populism, often referred to as the so-called “green wave” that has stoked unease among domestic and foreign observers of Malaysian politics.

How the Bersatu crisis plays out in the coming weeks will shape national politics for the rest of Mr Anwar’s mandate before he calls for fresh polls sometime in mid-2027.  “Bersatu has always relied on PAS and now the crisis is showing that the party is a hollow (political)  vessel,” said Mr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi, who is the chief executive officer of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies Malaysia.

Bersatu was founded by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Mr Muhyiddin in 2016 after both politicians left the long-established United Malays National Organisation(UMNO) over deep differences with then-premier Najib Razak. 

The party went on to play a crucial role in the historic victory by the multi-racial opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition in the general election two years later and subsequently assumed leadership roles in government. 

Dr. Mahathir was premier for 22 months, before Mr Muhyiddin wrested control of the premiership by leading a group of Bersatu defectors to form a new coalition government with factions in UMNO and the right-wing Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS).

Mr Muhyiddin’s party currently has 27 elected MPs in the 222-member lower house and the party’s leadership has been reluctant to sack the rebelling MPs over fears that it could lead to more elected representatives opting to throw their support for the Anwar government. Already, the four Bersatu MPs have requested that they be seated along-side government backbenchers, showing that they intend to make a clean break with the opposition.

The latest splintering in the Bersatu ranks reflect the growing restlessness in the party that is bereft of any political funding after its accounts were frozen by the authorities over allegations of abuse of power when the party was in government and concerns over the future of the party’s leadership.

Bersatu insiders acknowledged that Mr Muhyiddin and his deputy, Hamzah Zainuddin, who currently leads the opposition backbenchers in Parliament, do not see eye-to-eye on many issues.Mr Hamzah, who is keen to take over the Bersatu leadership, does not have widespread support in the party.

Separately, the 76-year-old Muhyiddin is fighting corruption charges in court over the abuse of power when he was premier for 17 months beginning March 2020, casting serious doubts over whether he would be able to lead the party in the next general election.

For Mr Muhyiddin, it is not only about keeping his Bersatu party together. He is becoming increasingly politically isolated, noted political analysts. His relations with Dr Mahathir remained strained after both politicians fell out when Mr Muhyiddin staged a coup with UMNO and PAS to take over the premiership in 2021. 

Meanwhile, the PAS leadership has warmed up to Dr Mahathir.  The Islamic party, which controls the four state governments of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, has appointed the 97-year-old politician as its unofficial advisor. For Mr Anwar, who will mark his first year as premier on Nov 24, the troubles at Bersatu have only helped him consolidate power. 

With the four Bersatu elected representatives now backing his coalition government, the Anwar administration currently enjoys a two-thirds majority in Parliament, potentially keeping concerns of a “green wave” at bay.

“The crisis (at Bersatu) should give Anwar and his government the breathing space to implement policies,” said Mr Syed Azman of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies Malaysia. - CNA

Muhyiddin in trouble,but here’s why 

Bersatu MPs’ support for PM Anwar 

is a double-edged sword...

Not one, not two, but four lawmakers from Opposition Perikatan Nasional have publicly declared their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The political landscape started to shake on Oct 12 with Kuala Kangsar MP Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid, followed by Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Oct 30), and then Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Nov 7).

The latest Member of Parliament who joined the bandwagon was Zahari Kechik, a lawmaker from Jeli constituency. Interestingly, all of them are members of the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) party – triggering speculation that its leader, former backdoor Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, is losing control. And you can bet your last penny that this is just the beginning.

At the rate Bersatu MPs switch support, the party could disintegrate before the coming Christmas. With 31 MPs in the 222-seat parliament, the party has the same number of seats as Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR). Bersatu, together with its ally Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS – Parti Islam Se-Malaysia), are the two biggest Malay-Muslim parties in Perikatan Nasional coalition.

The stunning change in political alliances has not only led to disciplinary actions within Bersatu, but saw PAS Islamist party scrambled to assure that none of its MPs would pull a similar stunt. Bersatu’s disciplinary board has since suspended Iskandar for four years and Suhaili for six years. Despite its strong 43 MPs, PAS would be significantly weakened if Bersatu collapsed.

As usual, money talks and bullshit walks. Using the same boring excuse, all the Bersatu defectors said that they had to pledge support for the Anwar administration in order to access development funds from the government to ease the burden faced by their constituents. However, they insisted they were still loyal to Bersatu and had no intention of joining parties in the Anwar-led unity government.

If it’s true that the Bersatu MPs could not survive and had to surrender in less than a year since they won their seats, it only goes to show how fragile and unreliable the party members are. Compared to the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the former opposition party which had been denied allocations for decades since it was founded in 1965, Bersatu is indeed pathetic and disgraceful.

Crucially, Bersatu leaders’ inability to persevere as opposition exposes its vulnerability. Bersatu secretary-general and opposition de-facto leader Hamzah Zainudin has claimed that a businessman had tried to bribe the party’s MPs with positions at GLCs (government-linked companies) as well as Cabinet posts – even offering to settle their personal debts – in exchange for support for Anwar.

Hamzah and the opposition parties should stop whining, crying and bitching over spilt milk. They should have made it a law to fairly distribute allocations to all MPs regardless of allegiance or alliance when Muhyiddin became the country’s first backdoor prime minister. The Opposition cannot expect Anwar government to be fair now when it had refused to give equal allocations when it was the government.

What goes around comes around. It seems “karma” is not done with the most treacherous party in the country. After seizing power in the infamous “Sheraton Move”, whereby Bersatu president Muhyiddin had plotted with enemies – UMNO and PAS – to topple democratically elected Pakatan Harapan government in March 2020, Muhyiddin was himself betrayed by a faction of UMNO leaders.

He served for only 17 months, becoming the shortest serving premier since Malaysian independence in 1957 after losing parliamentary support. The traitor thought he could return as prime minister again after the November 2022 General Election. But his arrogance in snubbing the King’s proposal to form a Unity Government has reduced Perikatan Nasional to the opposition camp.

During his short premiership, he had bribed rival Pakatan Harapan MPs with positions and projects just to cling to power with a razor-thin 114-majority. Even after his strategic error in rejecting the King’s offer, Muhyiddin and Hamzah continued to topple Anwar government by working with an UMNO mole – Hishammuddin Hussein – along with 10 MPs through SD (statutory declarations).

However, drunk with power and arrogance, none of the top brains in the opposition realized that the tactic of forming yet another backdoor regime using SD was obsolete after the new anti-hopping law took effect on 5 October 2022. Hishammuddin and his gang cannot declare support for Muhyiddin as prime minister and jump ship without losing their parliamentary seats.

While anti-hopping law prevents lawmakers from jumping ship unless it is through en-bloc defection, a lawmaker who resigns is free to join another political party and still be able to contest without any penalty. This is due to a loophole – either deliberately or ignorantly designed. Meaning Hishammuddin (above) can re-contest again after switching support and loyalty.

Apparently, the anti-hopping provisions have “removed” Clause (6) of Article 48, which disqualifies a person from being a member of Dewan Rakyat (Lower House) for a period of 5 years if they resign their membership of the House of Representatives. Essentially, with the deletion of this restriction, it enables an MP who resigns to seek re-election at any time.

So, why hasn’t Hishammuddin resigned? Because there’s no guarantee those who resigned and re-contest will win again their respective seats. For example, MCA president Wee Ka Siong won his Ayer Hitam seat due to UMNO-Malay votes, as did Wee Jeck Seng (Tanjung Piai) and Saravanan (Tapah). Even Hishammuddin isn’t sure he can retain Sembrong seat if he were to contest under Perikatan Nasional banner.

Worse, after the recent six state elections and Johor’s twin by-elections, Perikatan Nasional realized that the “green wave” was only strong in the northern part, gradually losing its steam when reached Selangor before stopping in Negeri Sembilan – and rejected in the southern state of Johor. This is why Hishammuddin refuses to trigger by-elections as he will definitely lose.

The only way to keep his seat without going through a by-election is if he is sacked from his party. But Zahid Hamidi, the president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), was smart enough to paralyse Hishammuddin by suspending him for six years. In the same breath, the four Bersatu MPs who “defect” have cleverly declared their support for PM Anwar while insisting that they remained loyal to their party.

Bersatu was facing the same problem like UMNO when their MPs went rogue. The parties can at most suspend their disloyal lawmakers as the anti-hopping law does not apply to an MP who is sacked. But the rogue MPs can still make tonnes of annoying drama to provoke the party leadership to sack them, like asking for a seating change in the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House).

Yes, House Speaker Johari Abdul reveals that he has received a written notice from the four Bersatu MPs of their naughty desire to be seated among the MPs of Unity Government. Not only they were insulting their party leadership with a half-baked pledge of loyalty, but have shown the “middle finger” to Muhyiddin and Hamzah to fire them after their obvious act of defection.

The best part is the anti-hopping law is silent about how MPs could lose their seats based on their preference of the seating arrangement in the August House. Muhyiddin and de-facto leader Hamzah were incredibly humiliated. The Speaker said the four Bersatu MPs specifically told him that they were no longer “comfortable” sitting with the rest of their party colleagues in the Opposition bloc.

If Bersatu sacks all of them, the unity government gets four free seats. But if the opposition party refuses to sack the traitors, or just suspend them, it will still lose four seats and worse – emboldens other MPs to follow suit. Alternatively, it can consider a confidence and supply agreement (CSA) to support the Anwar government, which it has been demonized, in exchange for equal allocations.

Even if a CSA deal can be made, it will create a new crisis between Bersatu and PAS. Either way, PM Anwar has strengthened his parliamentary support to 151 – beyond the 148 super-majority seats. It would certainly be comical if the disgraced Muhyiddin and Hamzah shamelessly claim they have 31 seats in the parliament despite the majority of them moved to the unity government bloc.

The Unity Government should not celebrate prematurely though. The four Bersatu defectors could be “Trojan horse”, who can still switch their alliance back to their party. The tactic of switching support without switching parties is a double-edged sword. UMNO moles like Hishammuddin Hussein – and even moles within Anwar’s PKR party – may use the same “loophole” to topple the prime minister.

If the defections were orchestrated by Bersatu strategists to test the water, and PM Anwar foolishly swallows the hook, line and sinker by “legitimizing” the four Bersatu MPs support for him, a vote of confidence in parliament could see 10 UMNO MPs along with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) suddenly crossing over to Perikatan Nasional in “Sheraton Move 2.0”.

The recent appointment of Mahathir Mohamad as adviser to Perikatan Nasional might be the secret weapon to persuade Sarawak-based GPS to switch support to Perikatan Nasional from Pakatan Harapan, leading to the collapse of Anwar government. The PM should close all loopholes in the anti-hopping law. He does not need the dubious support from the four Bersatu MPs.

If only Bersatu had amended its constitution to make MPs automatically lose their membership via resignation for expressing support for another party or has acted to the detriment of the party, like how DAP and Amanah did, it would not have lost four MPs today. Therefore, it has no one to blame but itself. It arrogantly thought everyone would scramble to join the party, and never thought its own MPs would quit in betrayal. - FT

 

Apa macam YB Dr.Mastura???

No ifs no buts.He is guilty...

The courts have decided - Syed Saddiq is guilty. I think it is too much for a RM1.12 mil CBT and money laundering of Bersatu Youth Fund. I think it is a ridiculous verdict. And I am sure he cannot pay the  RM10 million fine - so add another 6 years in jail. This is not even corruption but a mistake for keeping donated money for use at an election. Listen to what Imraz has to say on the matter. There is much truth in what he says. 

Is this political persecution? Did PMX call the AG and tell the AG to go for Syed Saddiq to the max? I do not think so. But, even if PMX did not like him politically, we have to be fair as humans. At the very least, PMX should call the AG for an explanation of the verdict, and from now on, ensure that the same verdict will be implemented in all future judgements. In truth, we did not fight for over three decades for the courts to pass this kind of verdict.  And we do not want a government that will sit idly by when this kind of verdict is passed by the courts. 

Why compare him with Zahid Hamidi? Saddiq is guilty. Why laud his decision to step down as president of Muda? Saddiq is guilty. Why call him a fallen hero? He is guilty. There is still the appeal process...but he is guilty. Any which way you want to look at it, Saddiq is guilty. Is being corrupt a rite of passage for all politicians in Malaysia? Or was going to prison a rite of passage for politicians all over the world? I am a bit confused here...corruption or prison?

He says he is sorry. What I want to know is why did he do it. If he knew it was wrong, if he knew that was corruption and money laundering...why did he do it?  And is he really going to be spending seven years in jail? Is there a pardon waiting for him next month? Next year?  What will now happen to Muda? What happens to me and the many others,  who believed in his ability to lead and make change happen in Malaysia?

If he knew he had to be whiter than white to be president of Muda - why was he not whiter than white? Those are the thoughts that I, me and mine have been debating, discussing and discoursing with, from late last night. I want to try and find clarity by putting them here and sharing it with you guys. 

We all have questions we want answered and thoughts we want to vent but let us be clear on one thing. One swallow does not a summer make. One football game does not make a season. This guilty verdict on Syed Saddiq does not in any way change my mind that Syed Saddiq will be one of the individuals who will make a difference...a positive difference...to the future that Malaysia and Malaysians need. Enough said. - Hussein Abdul Hamid

cheers.