Pasai tu Rimau keluaq cari MB Serambi Mekah...

When UMNO thugs Nazri and Tajuddin rejected by Switzerland and Indonesia as Ambassadors...

Even before the humiliating defeat of the Barisan Nasional government under the leadership of Najib Razak in the May 2018 General Election, the disturbing practice of appointing scandal-plagued or rejected pro-government warlords as ambassadors had been widespread. For decades, the corrupt government’s policy has been – “birds of a feather flock together”.

For example, then-PM Najib appointed his best friend Jamaluddin Jarjis as Malaysian Ambassador to the United States in July 2009 after he sexually harassed a female worker of a restaurant at a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The former Science, Technology and Innovation Minister was said to have grabbed the woman’s buttocks and expressed some sexual remarks.

Of course, after the disgusting acts of sexual harassment were exposed in April 2008, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the top lawyer of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) that ruled the country, was promptly despatched to do damage control. Hours after the victim lodged a police report, she withdrew her statutory complaint against Jamaluddin, and the case was never heard again.

It was clearly an attempt by Najib to protect his buddy from further investigation by shipping Jamaluddin to the U.S. as an ambassador, who had won the Rompin parliamentary seat in the March 2008 General Election, just a month before he molested the poor restaurant worker. Legend has it that Jamaluddin had paid lots of money to make the case disappear.

Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, a Member of Parliament who contested and won Bayan Baru constituency in Penang under the opposition People’s Justice People (PKR) ticket, but switched sides to Najib administration in 2013, was rewarded in a similar fashion. Mr Zahrain, known for his fetish gay sex, was appointed by Najib as the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia in 2013.

Zahrain Mohd Hashim - Former Ambassador to Indonesia

After democratically-elected multiracial government of Pakatan Harapan was toppled by traitors Muhyiddin Yassin and Azmin Ali, who betrayed their respective parties and formed a backdoor government called Perikatan Nasional with defeated UMNO and Islamist party PAS extremists, more MPs have been appointed as dubious special envoys or ambassadors.

It was already bad that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri, after taking over from Muhyiddin Yassin in August 2021, had maintained his predecessor’s bloated Cabinet of more than 70 ministers and deputy ministers. It became worse when the turtle-egg Ismail also retained political appointees such as Hadi Awang, Tiong King Sing and Richard Riot as Special Envoys with ministerial rank.

In order to maintain his fragile, un-elected government, who is struggling to survive with only 114 MPs in the 222-seat Parliament, the desperate prime minister has tried to promote Nazri Aziz and Tajuddin Abdul Rahman as ambassadors to Switzerland and Indonesia respectively. Both UMNO warlords were strong supporters of former PM Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri.

However, in what appeared to be a simple process of bribing Nazri and Tajuddin with ambassadorship in exchange for loyalty that has gone haywire, both individuals were “rejected” by the Swiss and Indonesian governments. The rejection is a slap in the face of PM Ismail because even the U.S. and Indonesia did not reject sex maniac Jamaluddin and gay Zahrain previously.

The speculation of Nazri being considered an ambassador job started flying as early as September 2021, immediately after Ismail Sabri took over the premiership. Mr Nazri, who last served as the tourism minister, had been looking forward to the posh job in Switzerland after he proudly told all and sundry in June 2021 that he was going overseas for a 2 months holiday and to enrol his 5-year-old son to study in France.

Nazri Aziz, Wife and Son Jean Pierre Azize

The distance between Paris and Zurich is only 300 miles (490 kilometres). Both countries, which share a 570-km border, are the perfect choice for Nazri to enjoy his luxury life with wife Haflin Saiful at the expense of taxpayers’ money, while watching his son – Jean Pierre Azize – studying French in a foreign country instead of Malay in poor-quality national schools back in Malaysia.

When a blogger, Hussein Hamid, mocked and laughed at Nazri’s dream job being crushed by the Swiss government’s refusal to consent to his appointment, the UMNO thug immediately went ballistic. The disgraced Nazri shamelessly claimed that he was not interested in the post of ambassador to Switzerland, obviously an afterthought excuse to save face.

Denying claims that the Swiss had rejected his candidacy due to his link to the infamous 1MDB scandal, the furious UMNO gangster argued that it was him who had rejected the offer as he would have to resign as an MP. But even if it’s true that he has to vacate his seat as MP, he should not have any problem doing so. After all, he already announced his retirement from politics in August 2021.

The fact that Nazri repeatedly called the blogger “stupid” suggests that the six-term MP was deeply hurt and frustrated that now everybody knows that he has been rejected by the Swiss government. It was an incredible humiliation. Hilariously, he has even claimed that he was offered the same ambassador post in 2019, during which the ruling government was Pakatan Harapan.

 

The funny thing is, if indeed he treasured his MP seat more, why hadn’t he declared his rejection for the post of ambassador since 2019? Even as recent as September 2021, when rumours about his appointment as Malaysian ambassador spread like wildfire, he only said he wasn’t aware of it. Not once did he express his reluctance to sacrifice his MP in exchange for ambassador. - FT

 

A Swiss Slap In the Face For Malaysia?...

Indeed it is becoming true that the Social Media aka the Alternative Media aka the non-mainstream media are not only read more than the Mainstream Media but often the Social Media are setting the pace for news and discussion which is then being picked up by the Mainstream Media. 

A few days back I saw the Whatsapps and the comments on the Blogs about two countries Switzerland and Indonesia rejecting Malayia's nomination of our ambassadors to those countries. This is a real embarrasment for Malaysia because never before have countries that are considered friendly to us rejected two of our ambassadorial nominees.

The Star has picked up on one of these rejections by Switzerland which first appeared in the blogs:

According to The Star our nominees for ambassador are first approved and appointed by the Yang Di pertuan Agong. After that the ambassador nominee is presented to the foreign country (in this case Switzerland) for their approval. So when the Swiss Government rejected our nominee for ambassador it is equally an embarrasment   for the YDP Agong.

Lately the kaldais have resorted to dishing out ambassadorships to political nominees as rewards and favours. Sometimes even the slugs and toilet bowl scum get selected. If you are an ambassador in a foreign country your children's schooling, your car, driver, housing are all paid for by the Malaysian taxpayer. How nice. 

Actually this is not new. A previous ambassador to Indonesia was also a political nominee. The Indonesians did not reject him.

The foreign countries do not tell us the reasons why they rejected our nominees for ambassador so we can only speculate. But for a certainty the foreign countries depend on their own embassies here in Kuala Lumpur to do background checks on these nominees. So the acceptance and rejection of nominees is influenced by the feedback from their embassies here. 

In the future, to save time and  embarrassment, perhaps Wisma Putra should check informally with the foreign embassies here if their countries would have any objections to Malaysia's ambassador nominees. A bit of back door diplomacy. - Syed Akbar Ali 

Raja Bomoh...

My sympathy for Ibrahim Mat Zin (also known as Raja Bomoh) and his cousin Suliaha Abdul Hamid who have been charged recently in the Lower Syariah Court in Ipoh, Perak, for performing the ritual of “tolak bala”. In this instance, Raja Bomoh was performing a ritual to ward off the floods which had affected various parts of the country.

Apart from the investigation on them by the Perak Islamic Affairs Department (JAIPk) which led to the charge, someone had also lodged a police report on the matter.

Raja Bomoh and Suliaha are being charged under Section 22 of the Perak Shariah Criminal Procedure Enactment 2004 for performing a ritual that goes against Islamic teachings. The Syarie prosecution is also looking into charges under Section 16 of the Perak Shariah Criminal Enactment 1992.

When contacted by media, JAIPk director Mohd Yusop Husin responded by urging Muslims to not to be influenced by such rituals and to avoid practices that could lead to superstition.

I now urge His Highness, the Sultan Of Perak, who is head of Islam in that state, to intervene on the claim made by JAIPk against Ibrahim Mat Zain and friends. Whether the rituals are superstitions or silly “mumbo jumbo” is irrelevant. 

We live in a supposedly free society, and therefore, everyone has the right to do silly or superstitious things, as long as it causes no physical harm to someone else. When we allow the Religious Department to prosecute people for heresy under that legal provision,it means we go back 1,000 years in human history to a time when we burned witches and hanged those who believed in matters not approved by the majority clergy.

The state religious department should not have been given the power to prosecute for criminal actions for heresy and for defaming Islam in the first place, as criminal offences against insulting religions are already found in the Penal Code. Is there a need to provide the state departments with more powers? Is it not enough that Muslims are being punished in so many instances  for criminal offences for the way they dress or buying Sports Toto?

Rituals performed by Raja Bomoh may not have a scientific basis and probably do not have any effect whatsoever on warding off the floods or any kind of misfortune. However, there are many things we do including officially endorsed rituals -which have no scientific basis nor proven to have the effect that they purport to render. These rituals are acceptable because the religious department say so. 

Why criminalise a ritual one disapproves of? Just ignore Raja Bomoh. Islam and its adherents are not going to be affected by some actions of wayward bomohs.

The belief prevalent in the country that if you vote for a particular political party, you will go to heaven, is pure mumbo jumbo; a superstition with no basis whatsoever in science or culture. Yet, I am still waiting for the Religious Department from any state to take action against this organisation and its leaders. The leader of this organisation is close adviser to the Prime Minister.

I am not superstitious but I see the value of bomohs and their role in relieving stress and fear in people’s minds. I grew up in the kampung where "main puteri" was regularly performed and there were occasions when the depressed and the ill were exorcised by the “bagih" and the “ghosts” were taken out of the body of the sick person. 

The bagih performer would begin by chanting words in classical Kelantan Malay, accompanied by traditional musicians. The crowd would rejoice to participate and help the sick person overcome the "ghost" inside the body and sometimes, the sick would recover fully.

My granduncle Pak Cik Soh was one of the more well-known “Bagih “performers in Kelantan. I still remember vividly his electrifying performance to control and ultimately overcome the ghosts. This is how in the old days, people with depression and those who faced emotional challenges were given help. They had no psychiatrists nor psychoanalysts. There were no sleeping pills or anti depressants to swallow.

It may be heresy to the Perak Religious Department now but it was fortunate that religious officers in those days did not prosecute anyone performing such traditional rituals. In the olden days, people in Kelantan were allowed to taste and savour the culture of seven hundred years but now, it has been taken away from them in the name of religion.

Bagih and main puteri are part of Malay culture and traditions dating back many hundred years. Some say it came about when Orang Asli rituals fused with those of the larger Malay community in helping the emotional imbalance amongst depressed individuals.

I suppose there are still many other ghosts inside the leaders of this country that need to be exorcised . If we allow more “Main Puteri and bagih  to be performed on them  ; perhaps there will be less nonsense coming out from them. The level of insanity amongst public officials currently is at all time high

Whatever its usefulness nowadays, the Religious Department should not be allowed to criminalise the rituals in the name of Islam. We already have too many restrictions and punishments, all in the name of Islam. The wise Sultan Nazrin should put a stop to it now. - Datuk Zaid Ibrahim

cheers.

Kasih tak bertepi...

Story kat sini...

How does one open 

the typical Malay mind?...

Whenever a non-Malay writes about some of the shortcomings of the Malays, one can almost guarantee the response, “Pergi balik Tongsan!”

If I were to write about the same flaws, common retorts are:

“DAPig, how much is DAP paying you?”

“You're a liberal and an LGBT supporter.”

“Why should we listen to you? By not wearing a tudung, you have ‘exposed yourself’.” (These are his words, not mine!).

Or the one that expresses feigned disbelief, “Are you Muslim?”

So, what will it take to open the typical Malay mind?

Wearing a tudung is not going to make my messages less critical. Today, it's the tudung; but will he demand that I wear the niqab next time? Then what?

When I ask Malay and non-Malay friends if they ever sit down and discuss pertinent issues about Malaysia's future, the usual response from the non-Malay is, “We used to be close at school. Not anymore. I fear that whatever I say will upset him.”

The Malay would say, “When he talks about Malay politicians, he is deliberately saying things to antagonise Malays.”

Neither will make any attempt to meet halfway or continue interacting.

However, all is not lost. Over the past fortnight, five Malays showed how they finally emerged from the fog.

The most high profile amongst them is Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, the guest speaker at the launch of Kee Thuan Chye’s book, entitled ‘Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian First’.

The co-founder of Muda has undergone a political rebirth or political reawakening. In his youth, he believed the Umno-Baru narrative and portrayal of Lim as the demon who was out to destroy Felda, Mara, Tabung Haji, Felcra, and other institutions which helped underprivileged Malays.

His views changed in 2015 and 2016 when he and Lim started the first of many interactions whilst he was a researcher in the Johor state government. Syed Saddiq was impressed with Lim's exposé on the 1MDB scandal, and further engagements made him realise that they shared much in common. He gave credit to Lim for starting the Undi-18 movement, which then stalled until Syed Saddiq picked up the baton recently.

Common values, reforms, decentralisation, moderation, and a celebration of diversity is what Syed thinks is shared by millions of people in their vision of a new Malaysia. He said, "This journey is all about changing the hearts and minds of people."

Syed Saddiq blamed the National Civics Bureau (BTN) for corrupting his views and said that he was impressed with the way in which DAP never stopped giving opportunities to young leaders to be nurtured to eventually lead Malaysia.

The second reawakening was a Malay from Sarawak, who said that he was glad to relocate from Kuala Lumpur, where he felt the “toxic” atmosphere at his college, where he worked as a lecturer.

He returned to his native Kuching, where he was able to mix freely with people of other faiths and cultures. He has impressed upon his children and his college students to value the harmony practised by the people of Sarawak, but he expressed doubts that the Sarawakians are able to stop the importation of the destructive, divisive influence of the peninsula Malays.

Unbearable hypocrisy

For one Malay woman, the Azam Baki (above) scandal changed her mind about the role of Malays in positions of authority and power.

She said: “Azam’s arrogance is disgusting. He was entrusted to clean-up corrupt institutions and people but has refused to come clean about his own dodgy share dealings.”

“To be truthful, I find the allegations about Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the former governor of Bank Negara and her husband's RM700 million more damaging than Azam's alleged corruption.

“I was the victim of a scam, and a few thousand ringgit was syphoned from my bank account. I wrote to Bank Negara (BNM) on the advice of my high street branch, which had given me details of the scammer's account. BNM did not want to know. “As a single mother, that money was a huge sum for me.

“Do I have faith in the Malays handling money? No! I thought politicians could not be trusted, but apparently, they are not the only sharks around.”

One Malay contacted me via social media and said: “The Azam scandal shows how the civil servants, religious leaders and politicians cannot be trusted. They break us down into groups and make us point accusatory fingers at one another.” “The politicians laugh all the way to the bank, and they get richer, whilst we are forced to eat dedak (crumbs).”

Perhaps, the most poignant reminder of what it means to be human and Malaysian came from a 23-year old Malay.

He said: “I live near Sri Muda, and it makes me angry that my own people have lost sight of what really matters in life. As a young man, I am forever being told that I must care for others because Islam is a religion of peace and fairness.”

“During the recent floods, I was warned, ‘Ko kene tolong orang Islam ko kan Melayu, jadi buat apa ko nak pergi rumah k*****?’ (You must help Muslims as you are Malay. Why do you need to help Indian households?)

“I have lost hope in my family members and the older generation. I pray that young Malaysians will not lose sight of what is important.”

So, will more Malays re-evaluate what they were previously taught?

A container ship or oil tanker needs a few miles to turn, stop, or alter its course. Malaysians have received over five decades of brainwashing. Don't even think that 22 months of Pakatan Harapan rule is sufficient to undo the damage inflicted by Umno-Baru/BN/PAS. It can't!

Malaysia will get better, but change will not happen overnight. There is plenty of hope yet for Malaysia. - Mariam Mokhtar,mk

cheers.

Lebai patut mandi penyamun tabung negara camtu...

Dengaq ni imam...

Azam dares Agong ...

Defiant MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) Chief Commissioner Azam Baki has decided to dig his heels in, refusing to take garden leave, let alone resigning amid his corruption scandal over the purchase of millions of shares in the stock market. Worse, he actually believed that he was so powerful and untouchable that only the King (Agong) can sack him.

It was already hilarious when Mr Azam offered himself to be investigated only by the same anti-corruption agency that he is currently heading – suggesting one of the dirtiest cover-ups is being put in place to clear the MACC chief. It’s extremely hard to trust that the anti-graft agency would investigate professionally and independently against its own chief.

The simple fact that the graft busters’ chief deliberately misled the country that only Agong can terminate him clearly demonstrates his reluctance to follow the rules. Because he was appointed by the King based on the advice from the Prime Minister, Azam Baki can be similarly fired by the monarch if PM Ismail Sabri advises King Sultan Abdullah to do so.

Therefore, it’s not true that the process of termination must start at the Palace. The prime minister can decide that the highly controversial MACC Chief Commissioner be replaced, or at least put on garden leave, pending a thorough investigation. In fact, to ensure transparency, the police – NOT MACC – should investigate the chief of the anti-corruption agency.

However, it’s very likely that Azam Baki has all the damaging files that could embarrass or implicate every top government officials, including PM Ismail Sabri, for corruption. That’s why he knew the lame duck prime minister would keep quiet. It’s not an exaggeration to say the MACC chief even has files on the monarchs, including Sultans and the King, who actively involve in business deals.

Not only Azam did not bother to show any respect for the prime minister, he has actually dared or challenged the King to sack him – if the Malay Ruler has the balls. Crucially, the MACC chief is testing the water to determine whether the weak Sabri administration or the Palace would take any action against him. Any lack of actions would mean Azam is untouchable.

Like it or not, the King appears to have little choice but to take the bold move – terminate the toxic Azam. As turtle-egg Sabri pretends nothing had happened, any further silence from the monarch could be misinterpreted as an endorsement – even approval – to the leadership of Azam Baki in running MACC. Worse, the monarch could also be seen as too afraid of the anti-corruption chief.

It didn’t help that disgraced former PM Muhyiddin, who was responsible for appointing Azam, has cowardly washed his hands. Mr Muhyiddin conveniently blamed Chief Secretary Mohd Zuki Ali for proposing Azam. But should not Muhyiddin administration perform the necessary background checks before appointing Azam as MACC chief commissioner in March 2020?

It’s unthinkable that Muhyiddin was not briefed by the chief secretary Zuki about Azam’s purchase of millions of shares in two public-listed companies back in 2015. Hence, either Zuki was incredibly incompetent (and should be sacked) or Muhyiddin had purposely appointed a corrupted new graft busters’ chief so that he could be controlled or manipulated.

Of course, Muhyiddin did not wish to get involved in Azam’s scandal because he knew the MACC chief could easily leak information about the RM38.5 million corruption scandal involving dubious renovations in the Prime Minister’s official residence. The project, which was personally approved by Mahiaddin alias Muhyiddin during his regime, could explode if he does not play dumb.

Still, the fact that Muhyiddin has distanced himself from the man he appointed less than two years ago also suggests that Azam is too guilty and toxic to be defended. The public perception is such that not only the MACC chief is dirty based on his attempts to twist and spin stories as well as hiding behind the MACC advisory board, but also has become too powerful and arrogant.

 

The King should have learned his lesson previously when the people’s anger spread from the clueless and incompetent Muhyiddin regime to the Malay Rulers after economic mismanagement and Covid mishandling. The ball is in Agong’s court. The monarch cannot keep quiet, especially after he was responsible for appointing two incompetent governments – Mahiaddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri.

MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki is not the only man who has lost the confidence of the people. MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chairman Abu Zahar Nika Ujang, along with MACC Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel chairman Borhan Dollah, should also be fired, or at least demoted, for lying and covering up for Mr Azam.

When Professor Edmund Terence Gomez resigned from the MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel in protest of inaction against the MACC chief, Abu Zahar lied that Gomez did not send any email to him. Borhan, on the other hand, also lied when he said emails from Gomez were not related to any wrongdoings committed by MACC chief Azam Baki.

 

MACC Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission 

But the biggest reason the King should terminate advisory board chairman Abu Zahar is because the board has effectively lost confidence in the chairman. After Zahar unilaterally told a press conference on January 5, 2022 that Azam Baki had been cleared of any wrongdoing, apparently his decision was “unknown” to all the six fellow board members.

Abu Zahar has claimed that the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board held an internal inquiry last November 24 and cleared Azam of any wrongdoing, including Azam’s story that all the shares which he bought in 2015 had been transferred to his brother Nasir in the same year. But in a joint statement on January 8, all the 6 board members revealed that Azam’s share trading scandal was not discussed at all.

It means all the six members – Ismail Omar, Azman Ujang, Akhbar Satar, Hamzah Kassim, David Chua Kok Tee and Mohammad Agus – did not even realize there was a board meeting that eventually cleared the MACC chief. Obviously, Abu Zahar has abused his power and thus must be terminated by the King in order to restore the integrity and reputation of the board.

Amusingly, it was only after all the six board members openly exposed their chairman’s lies that Abu Zahar finally admitted that the board did not possess the power to conduct its own investigations into criminal activities involving any MACC officer, let alone clearing them of any wrongdoing. So, how and why did Abu Zahar clear his friend Azam Baki in the first place on January 5?

Instead of apologizing or resigning for misleading the public, the despicable advisory board chairman whined, moaned and bitched that his colleagues had backstabbed him. As part of damage control, Abu Zahar had wanted to use a closed-door meeting with the board members to convince them to agree with his earlier fake story that the board was satisfied with Azam’s story.

 

No matter how Abu Zahar spins his story, the fact remains that he has essentially lost the confidence of the board. Not only he lied, but has also obstructed any further investigations by falsely claiming that an investigation had been conducted. After all, he did not dispute the Board’s’ revelation that it did not elaborate Azam’s stock purchase at all.

 

Even if all the six board members are being pressured and warned not to issue any remarks or statements now, the King cannot allow Abu Zahar to continue leading the advisory board. With the reputation and integrity of both Azam Baki and Abu Zahar being questioned by the people and the advisory board, the King has to proactively do the right thing – terminate both despicable chiefs. - FT

Why didn’t PM make his move early 

to quell the Azam Baki controversy? 

We wish to refer to FMT dated 12 January in which the MACC Commissioner Azam Baki  was reported to have said that only the Agong could ask him to resign over the controversy  relating to the acquisition of questionable number of shares held by him in a number of  public listed companies, which he claimed belongs to his brother.

As a senior public servant appointed by the Agong, he should have known that to be  bestowed the appointment as the MACC Commissioner comes with certain responsibilities  that has to be honoured, and to show himself to be a person bearing the highest dignity,  integrity, and that he is willing to undertake duties only to serve the nation loyally for King  and country. Azam accepted the appointment under oath to serve the nation’s interest first.  

He must set aside any personal interest that he may have, and to avoid implicating himself  with matters that will be in conflict with his avowed responsibilities and duties. 

The question of one is innocent unless and until proven guilty has no more merit in this case  as Azam himself did admit that the alleged shares belong to his brother who used Azam’s  personal account. Even here he has broken the law which does not allow a third party to use  one’s personal account to dabble in shares.  

Therefore to now invoke the name of Agong to seemingly parachute himself from the  controversy connotes a lack of maturity in his understanding of and reverence for the royal  assent to his appointment. In no uncertain terms it borders on rudeness and shows disrespect  to the revered office of His Majesty the King. 

And by this very rude disposition towards the Palace, Azam has deemed his appointment  untenable. Hence the only recourse is for Azam to resign. Any further attempt to stubbornly  hold on to his appointment only makes a mockery of the Agong and implicates the high  office of the MACC.  

Patriot would like to remind Azam Baki that his actions and media statements as well as the  subsequent statement by Abu Zahar to absolve him of his wrongdoing do not meet the eyes  of the general public. The public sentiment registered in news media and going overdrive on  social media clearly shows that there is an acute distrust in MACC. Azam’s case coming hot  on the heels of the recent case of the RM 25 million which was in safe keeping at MACC and  was reported stolen by a senior MACC official has compounded MACC with a paralyzing  trust deficit. 

Patriot therefore strongly believes that Ismail Sabri should have taken the right and  immediate action in ensuring that Azam Baki either resigned voluntarily or went on garden  leave in order to empower investigations to proceed unhindered. The PM must be cognizant of the non-negotiable fact that an institution like this graft busting  body, MACC, is not like any other Commission. As the ultimate power over our nation’s  battle against corruption, it investigates irrespective of who the individual or organization is. 

But when even MACC is implicated or alleged – and now stained by a stolen RM25 million  in its safe keeping followed by the Commission’s Captain himself having admitted that the  millions of ringgit of shares held under his name were the operatives of his brother, the PM’s  lack of decisive action and immediacy has added to the damages upon the nation’s good  name and leading to the showing of disrespect towards the Palace. 

Patriot upholds patriotism to the letter. We believe that patriotism is the very cornerstone for  building a resilient, progressive and successful nation. It is the duty and prerogative of the serving Prime Minister to ensure that patriotism is not trampled upon by those in office. 

Hence not calling for Azam’s resignation or at the least in ensuring that the implicated  captain goes on legitimate leave in order to empower impartial investigations that are vital to  redeem the good name of the anti-corruption Institution, rescue the falling public trust deficit  in MACC and to safeguard the sanctity of the Constitutional Monarchy, is an attack on  patriotism too.- Brigadier General Dato’ Mohd Arshad Raji (Rtd).President, Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan 

cheers.

Lebai oh lebai!! tak habis2 DAP...

This is how the Azam scandal 

brewed…and brewed…

The man in charge of investigating corrupt acts is himself implicated in dodgy dealings. To make it easy for everyone to understand how this Azam Baki, head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission scandal brewed and brewed till it could not be contained any longer, I have created this timeline of the allegations against Azam, the man who is supposed to lead and protect the nation against corrupt individuals and institutions.

That is the irony of Malaysian governance. The man in charge of investigating corrupt acts is himself implicated in dodgy dealings. The timeline is done to the best of my knowledge from news reports available on the net.

As far as I can make out, the scandal was first exposed before 26 October by a blog and was then picked up by Lalitha Kunaratnam, an investigative journalist. No…it was not me…it was my bludder…Putrajaya’s modus operandi. Sit tight and pray the scandal will go away.

This much I have observed over the years studying how the authorities deal with serious allegations like this Azam scandal. When serious allegations hit Putrajaya or the Ketuanan types, the trend is to do nothing and hope that the problem will go away.

Therefore, for two-and-a-half months, Azam did not publicly respond to the allegations. First, they sit on the allegation and hope it goes away. Of course, it won’t! That is why on 6 January, Azam became Public Bully Number One and sued Lalitha.

TIMELINE:

On 26 October, Investigative journalist, Lalitha Kunaratnam who is also a consultant researcher for an anti-corruption agency, publishes an article in the Independent News Service (INS), about the allegations made by the blog, “Edisi Siasat”.

In her article, Lalitha detailed the allegations of “Edisi Siasat” which said that the Chief Commissioner of the MACC is linked to several companies, some of which constitute a conflict of interest especially as he heads the MACC. After the publication of Lalitha’s article, INS suffers a DDOS attack and is offline for several days.

On 12 November, a member of the MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel, Edmund Terence Gomez, alerts the panel’s chairman, Borhan Dolah, and tells him about Azam’s alleged ownership of around two million shares in a public listed company. He requested an urgent meeting to discuss the “critical issue of national interest”. Borhan’s response towards Gomez’s request is lukewarm, and in the end, fizzled out to nothing.

Gomez wrote twice more to Borhan. This time, he included more information about Azam’s family’s business dealings. He mentioned that the website which had published the allegations had been hacked soon after the articles about Azam had been uploaded.

Gomez also wrote to the chairman of the MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board, Abu Zahar Nika Ujang. In each of his three communications, he relayed the same information that Borhan had received. However, Abu Zahar failed to respond

On 14 December, the Harapan MP for Sungai Buloh R Sivarasa, filed an urgent motion in parliament, seeking the Dewan Rakyat to discuss Azam’s alleged ownership of close to two million shares in a public-listed company.

On 27 December, having failed to convince either Abu Zahar or Borhan about the seriousness of the Azam scandal, Gomez was forced to tender his resignation. He expressed deep regret that both men were “unconscionable” and “extremely irresponsible”.

On 5 January, when the pressure grew too intense, and more people showed interest, Azam issued a daft statement that said he “did not immediately respond to allegations on his shareholdings because he believed he had done nothing wrong.”

Behind the scenes and climax...

Whilst Azam may have acted like nothing was happening, what the public did not know, was that behind the scenes, the news website, INS, which published investigative journalist, Lalitha’s article about Azam, suffered a DDOS attack and was brought down for several days.

At the same time, the website which first exposed the allegations was hacked. Then when things come to a head, and interest in the wrongdoing snowballs, what do these people do…they SUE SUE SUE….

That is why on 6 January Azam demanded an apology from Lalitha and RM10 million in damages. Hogwash and Podah! – Mariam Mokhtar

cheers.

Dah meletup,tak boleh buat apa lagi...

 

How Anti-Corruption chief Azam Baki’s half-baked story backfires and implicates him even more...

MACC’s (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) Chief – Azam Baki – should have learned from former Prime Minister Najib Razak that a lie would need 10 more lies to cover-up. Mr “Pink Lips Najib” was a great liar, probably the best liar the country has ever produced. Still, the compulsive liar failed in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal because his lies were too hilarious and ridiculous.

 

If a seasoned liar like Najib failed, what make Azam thinks he could succeed? When the MACC Chief Commissioner points finger at his brother for using his share trading account to buy millions of shares, it was like Najib pointing finger at the Saudi royal family for donating RM2.6 billion to his personal bank accounts. Mr Azam’s half-baked story has raised more questions than answers.

The corruption scandal involving the anti-corruption top gun exploded after Professor Edmund Terence Gomez resigned from the MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel last week in protest of inaction against the accusation that the MACC chief owned stock market shares beyond his mean in 2015. Initially, Azam kept quiet, hoping that the issue would disappear.

However, when you have a professor as distinguished as Gomez refusing to let go of what he described as “nexus between business and law enforcement” and a “conflict of interest” in his resignation letter on Dec 27, 2021, the anti-graft agency should realize that its boss would not be able to escape easily. Mr Gomez was particularly furious as his complaints had fallen on deaf ears.

Professor Edmund Terence Gomez

Determined to expose the internal cover-up of the agency, Gomez revealed how he had written thrice to MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel chairman Borhan Dollah, as well as to the MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chairman Abu Zahar Nika Ujang. Both Borhan and Abu Zahar (pix,below) did not bother to act on the allegations against Azam.

Worse, Abu Zahar lied when he claimed that Gomez did not send any email to him. Borhan, on the other hand, also lied when he said emails from Gomez were not related to any wrongdoings committed by MACC chief Azam Baki. Both despicable liars were caught with their pants down when Gomez happily shared the emails with the press.

That was the first mistake. You do not lie with a man like Gomez because the professor of political economy was obviously well prepared when he decided to confront the MACC, which was already tainted with corruption and abuse of power over the years. Unable to shield Mr Azam, the anti-corruption chief was forced to respond, only to make another blunder.

When Azam finally broke his silence, he raised more than a few eyebrows with an unbelievable story that it was his brother – Nasir Baki – who had used his name to purchase shares back in 2015. He also claimed that on the same year, the shares were transferred back to his brother’s own stock market account, including CDS (Central Depository System) account.

In what appeared to be a pre-planned and coordinated drama, MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board Chairman Abu Zahar told a press conference that Azam had been cleared of any wrong-doing as the board was satisfied with Azam’s explanation. At the same time, the anti-graft chief arrogantly, but falsely, claimed that he was answerable only to the advisory board.

It was so obvious that something was fishy when both Azam Baki and Abu Zahar played the roles as defender, prosecutor and judge within the four walls of MACC. So, the second mistake was expecting the general public to believe that Azam’s brother did not have any trading account when he purchased a whopping 1,930,000 shares of Gets Global Berhad (formally known as KBES Berhad) in 2015.

According to whistleblower Lalitha Kunaratnam (pix,below), Nasir Baki is a director of nine companies involving in various businesses such as IT products and services, property developer, mining, wholesale, beauty treatments and biotech pharmaceuticals. Interestingly, Nasir is also a shareholder for RI Intelligence Sdn Bhd – a private investigation and detective company.

 

Does it make sense that a man with such business empire did not have a stock market account to buy shares? Only an individual who has not reached the age of 18 years cannot open a CDS account. Considering that Azam’s age of 58 years today, his brother has to be 24 years old, meaning they were born 34 years apart in order to justify that Nasir was under-age in 2015.

The Whistleblower

The third mistake was the MACC chief’s lies when he claimed that the 1.93 million shares of Gets Global Berhad had been transferred to his brother’s own stock market account in 2015. In truth, a year later, he still held 1,029,500 shares of the same company as at 31 March 2016. In addition, he also owned 2,156,000 warrants in Excel Force MSC Berhad.

Nasir, meanwhile, held 3,728,000 Gets Global Berhad shares as at 31 March 2016 – meaning the graft busters’ chief only transferred 900,000 shares, while at the same time, his brother purchased more shares. It also means the MACC advisory board was either incompetent or guilty of covering up Azam without even conducting a simple checking.

The fourth mistake – displaying his brother on public gallery has eventually led to more trouble as Mr Azam may have committed offences related to Section 25 of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 (SICDA). The Securities Commission says every securities account opened with a central depository must be in the name of the beneficial owner or an authorised nominee.

MACC Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission - Chief Commissioner Azam Baki - Corruption

In essence, the MACC Chief Commissioner was as guilty as hell when he “loaned” his account to his brother. Of course, he could play dumb, claiming he didn’t know the law. However, it’s highly unlikely that he was ignorant based on his job nature as the head of graft busters, not to mention his 37-year career in MACC. Worse, the whole scandal could be linked to money laundering.

MACC Chief Azam Baki and Brother Nasir 

- Shares and Warrant Holdings

Imagine a drug dealer uses this method to “wash dirty money”. If Azam Baki can claim innocence for lending his share trading account to his brother, do can criminals’ brother. It didn’t help that he foolishly argued that he was answerable only to the MACC’s advisory board. If that’s true, then there’s a double standard as the MACC chief cannot  be charged by public prosecutors, let alone investigated by the police.

Like former PM Najib Razak, not only Azam is a public officer whose wages are being paid by taxpayers, he is answerable to the public and Parliament. In fact, the MACC chief is not untouchable as he thought, his fifth mistake, but can be sacked by the Agong (King), who appointed him based on the advice from the Prime Minister. Thus, PM Ismail Sabri should intervene instead of keeping his mouth shut.

Azam’s sixth mistake was trying to bully and intimidate whistleblower Lalitha Kunaratnam with the demands of apology, removal of articles and RM10 million. It was like how Najib was trying to harass and sue Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown and the Wall Street Journal. Any attempt to suppress freedom of media and expression will only backfire.

More importantly, where did the anti-corruption chief get the money to buy shares and warrants, not to mention the burning question – did he declare his assets as a member of the civil service as required under Section 10 of the Public Officers Regulations (Conduct and Discipline) 1993? How did he explain millions of public-listed companies’ shares in his account in 2015 and 2016?

 

Previously, the nation was shocked when MACC officers replaced a large portion of RM25 million with counterfeit currency. The three suspects were part of a “special team” assigned to investigate the abuse of power and criminal breach of trust involving Najib’ spy chief – Hasanah Abdul Hamid. What was even more stunning was that the MACC crooks had a close relationship with the MACC Chief Commissioner – Azam Baki. - FT

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