Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Pesky French Lawyer Seeks to Return to KL




Sub scandal lawyer, booted out in 2011, scheduled by opposition to address parliament
French lawyer William Bourdon, the leader of an investigation into a long-running scandal involving €150 million in kickbacks over the sale of submarines to the Malaysian defense ministry, was due to land in Kuala Lumpur today to testify on the probe before the Dewan Rakyat, or house of parliament.

It was questionable, however, whether Bourdon would be allowed into the country. He was unceremoniously bundled out by authorities in July of 2011 after giving details of the alleged scandal in a speech in Penang to hundreds of people at a fundraiser to continue his investigation. Bourdon was taken off a flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by immigration officials and was put on another plane out of the country over his protests. 

Bourdon and his team, who had been hired to by Suaram to look into the scandal in dissatisfaction over the government’s investigation of the 2006 murder for hire of the Mongolian translator and party girl Altantuya Shaariibuu, were asked by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to answer questions in parliament tomorrow about the affair. 

Bourdon and Suaram have been battered by both the mainstream press, which is largely government-owned, and an army of bloggers who say the scandal has been overblown and that no trial had been ordered by French authorities. Neither Bourdon, Suaram nor Asia Sentinel, which has reported extensively on the case, have ever said a trial was imminent. But the investigation is continuing and investigating magistrates have been appointed by the French courts. 

As Asia Sentinel reported in June 2012, French police acting on a request from Bourdon’s legal team raided the headquarters of the state-owned defense giant DCN and its subsidiaries and came up with a wealth of detail that enmeshed former French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, current Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and a host of others in the scandal, as well as top officials with DCN. Read more.

Musa Cleared By ICAC:PKR's Geobbels Rafizi Faces Legal Action

November 27, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — Hong Kong’s anti-graft authority had written privately to Datuk Musa Aman last December to inform the Sabah chief minister that he was no longer under probe for corruption for a RM40 million donation to the state Umno chapter, according to the letter sighted by The Malaysian Insider.

In the December 22, 2012 letter, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) explained to the long-serving state chief minister that it had started the probe after receiving a complaint against him, saying that this was required by Hong Kong’s laws on corruption.

But the agency said that upon completing investigations and filing a report with its Operations Review Committee (ORC), both the committee and the ICAC Commissioner had agreed not to take further investigative action “on the basis of the facts now known”.
The letter, which bore the ICAC’s letterhead, was signed off by principal investigator Tso Wai-Yan and was addressed solely to Musa at his office in Kota Kinabalu. No other individual was carbon copied on the document.

Sabah BN secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who showed The Malaysian Insider a picture of the letter on his iPad, said the one-page correspondence could vindicate Musa and the ruling Umno against the firestorm of allegations from opposition leaders here of a major scandal cover-up ahead of the coming polls. Read more.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Anwar Dicing With Malay And Chinese Revolt

Malaysia's Anwar Faces an Islamic Revolt

Asia Sentinel.

PAS says it wants to run any opposition government that might be elected
The always-delicate relationship between Malaysia’s three opposition parties is growing strained again in the wake of the annual general conference of Parti Islam se-Malaysia, the conservative Islamic member of the coalition.

The issues are Hudud – Islamic law – and designation of Malaysia as an Islamic state. The other two wings of the coalition, the Chinese-majority Democratic Action Party and the urban, liberal largely Malay Parti Keadilan Rakyat, want nothing to do with either issue, leaving Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim with the task of trying to bring his coalition back together and particular to keep the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party in the fold. 

The controversy gives Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak a made-to-order issue to paint the ruling Barisan Nasional, or ruling national coalition, as a force for moderation that will look after the well-being of the Chinese against the forces of radical conservative Islam. The Barisan has already begun energetically exploiting those issues through government-controlled media. 

Until the Nov. 16 PAS general meeting, according to political analysts in Kuala Lumpur, the issues of Hudud and Islamic law which had been brought up occasionally had been regarded as fealty to rhetoric to keep the conservative wing of the party happy. Indeed, Hadi Awang, the party leader, opened the general conference on Nov. 16 with a speech that emphasized the common agenda – the so-called Buku Jingga, or yellow book on which the coalition is based –and issues over national elections expected to be held in April of 2013, only to have the conservatives stage a revolt. 

PAS has managed to stay largely in the moderate camp on the strength of a clique of leaders called the “Erdogans” after the moderate Islamic Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has headed the Turkish government since 2003. In June of 2011, moderate rank and file members staged a dramatic revolution at the party’s annual congress, electing secular leaders and abandoning the rural-based party’s traditional call to convert the country into an Islamic state. 

The largest party in Anwar’s coalition, PAS had long turned off urban Malays and other ethnic minorities, particularly the Chinese, with its demands for observance of strict conservative Islamic laws. Given the size of its membership, its organizational abilities and its potential to take votes away from the United Malays National Organization, the country’s biggest political party, PAS unity and support are crucial to the opposition coalition. 

At the 2011 party congress, newer, urban followers of PAS, having fled both the racial stridency and endemic corruption of UMNO and the disorganization of Anwar’s PKR, elected a slate of officers headed by Mohamad Sabu, a galvanic public speaker from Penang and former member of Anwar’s Parti Keadilan who was twice detained under the country's Internal Security Act. Read more.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Bung The Kampong Boy: No Stiff Upper Lip

Hantu Laut




A  'foot in the mouth'  MP. 

Bung Mokhtar is king leper of the Malaysian parliament. Uncouth, uncultured and crude as the crudest oil.

Buat malu orang Sabah.

I shall not waste too many words and prolixity on this boorish, loutish, oafish and brutish man. Synonyms that could fill up a ship's hull to the brim of its free board would be a waste on him. 

He is a sorry case of "familiarity breeds contempt"

Yang berhormat!

Bung, does not live up to his august position........ the honourable man, the yang berhormat.

He claimed here that he retaliates in such vulgar manner because a tweet made by some unknown person insulted him first using the "F" word.

Even so, there is no reason to for him to behave in such uncouth, brutish and ill manner. 

MP is expected to exercise "stiff upper lip" in the face of adversity.

Needless to say, he and that "I am handsome and people are jealous of me" minister need schooling and grooming in social etiquette and proper conduct of honourable member.

As they say "you can take Ahmad out of the kampong but you can't take the kampong out of Ahmad" rings true with Bung.

Why the fixation with Tony Fernandes ? 

He is Malaysia's best example of a success story, a man with outstanding entrepreneurial skills, amazing rag to riches success story that have revolutionised air travel for the masses and have made him and his airline a household name in this region. 

Tony Fernandez, is no thief, he is a businessman, who knows how to make money and who is not dependent on the gravy train and government handouts enjoyed by people like Bung and that of his ilk.

Malaysian politicians should learn not to be envious of other people's success, instead, they should learn from it, how to be successful in business.

There'll be less thieves in this country if more politicians earn honest living like Tony Fernandez and Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.



Wednesday, November 21, 2012

It's No More ABU, It's Now ABBA !

Hantu Laut

First, it was Lim Guan Eng reminding PAS of its digression from who shall be prime minister? Subsequently, panic-stricken,  scores of ants crawled out of the woodwork trying to frame a right picture of what transpired at the 58th PAS Muktamar.

The just ended PAS Muktamar has produced some unsettling news  that put a chink in the coalition's armour and likely to destroy its chance of capturing Putrajaya.

The question of who PAS delegates want as prime minister has been decided at the party's annual meeting.

Is DAP in the hogwash, or real trepidation?

The declaration has send shivers up the spines of DAP leaders, who always believe PAS would concede to Anwar Ibrahim becoming the PM even if PAS garnered the most parliamentary seats among the three. DAP leaders hit the panic button and looking for ways to weather the storm. The Chinese community is now re-calculating its coordinates......whither are we bound ?  To be or not to be.......with Pakatan.

Though, I believe Pakatan won't make it to Putrajaya, the nation would be better off with God-fearing Hadi Awang's clean slate that would make him a better prime minister than Anwar Ibrahim.

A person, chosen by the people, does not need prerequisite to be prime minister, he will be guided by the civil service.To say Anwar has vast experience and therefore more qualified, and Hadi had not, is a lame argument.

Moderate Chinese and Indians see PAS apparent goodwill as nothing but dangling the carrot to hoodwink non-Muslims. The surprise turnaround at the Muktamar by the conservatives revealed that all is not well in the coalition. There is mutual feeling of distrust between PAS and DAP and PAS do not trust Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister as he would  be running the same kind of government as his former party........the spoils system.  

Anwar, who was 'the' doyen of political patronage during Mahathir's administration would have to reward his supporters and leading figures in the coalition partnership with the spoils system. Otherwise, people like Lajim Okin, Wilfred Bamburing and other UMNO/BN turncoats, used to the spoils system, would not have joined him. Some have reaped the harvest since USNO and Berjaya days but could not satisfy their insatiable appetite for more. PAS expect the spoils system would continue under Anwar's leadership and Malaysia would be back to square one. 

The conservatives in PAS feared that the state of corruptions would only change hands and likely to continue under Anwar if he is made prime minister hence the call for Hadi Awang as prime minister. 

To PAS it's no more ABU, it's now ABBA (Anything But Brother Anwar), a contingency they have planned on the quiet to make sure Anwar would not be prime minister.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Conceited Guan Eng Getting Too Big For His Boots

Hantu Laut

Who is Lim Guan Eng to decide who should be the prime minister of Malaysia should Pakatan wins the 13th GE? 

Here, he beckoned Anwar must be made the PM because he does not trust PAS at the helm.

Does he know who will carry the majority number of seats before he insists that Anwar be made the prime minister. By right and by convention the partner with majority seats should get to keep the premiership.If PAS gets more seats than PKR and DAP, the premiership should go to them.

Guan Eng forgets that to get rid of Anwar other than PAS MPs, arch-rival UMNO MPs can join PAS to pass vote of no confidence against Anwar as prime minister. So, Guan Eng, I suggest you think very carefully before you open your big mouth to embarrass yourself. You have no power to appoint Anwar as prime minister other than cheap attempt to fool DAP voters that your party have a big say in the appointment. You don't, unless you think the BN will be a complete wipeout in the 13th GE (General Elections).

I am sure Guan Eng himself must have dreamt of becoming the prime minister if DAP gets the majority as nothing in the Constitution can stop a non-Malay from becoming prime minister. Of course, the Malays won't take it laying down.

This conceited and arrogant man is getting too big for his boots.

A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush

Hantu Laut

PAS, at long last, as I have always suspected a dream they secretly harbour, has fired the first shot for a PAS leader to be prime minister should Pakatan capture Putrajaya in the 13th General Elections.

The dream would become a reality if PAS garnered more MP seats  than PKR, which is highly probable taking into consideration the political ruckus in PKR. There are many long serving PKR members in Sabah unhappy being sidelined by its top leaders for newcomers chosen to stand as candidates in the coming elections.

Hadi Awang, who says he is not interested to be prime minister, but would rather be a khadam (servant) of the people may not be sincere. Is Hadi pretending just to keep Anwar happy until elections day, or pretending not to know that the prime minister is actually a servant of the people and that's what exactly he wanted to be........ rhetorically he refers to as "khadam"

Without any doubt this contentious issue will be hotly debated and pursued by PAS during the campaign period to fish for greater Malay votes to make PAS controlled Pakatan a reality and hence the emergence of a true Islamic state and the realisation of hudud (Karpal, the lone ranger, "over my dead body" conscientious objector would be powerless to stop the slide to hudud). 

By then DAP has a choice of staying with Pakatan and suffer the consequence of Chinese anger or join its arch-enemy UMNO to frustrate PAS push for hudud. I have mentioned earlier in one of my posts the high probability of UMNO MPs throwing their support to make hudud a reality to punish DAP for its chauvinism, arrogance and short-sightedness. 

If "blood is thicker than water" than "bloodline" is just as thick, UMNO  MPs had nothing to lose by joining their Malay brethren in PAS in making hudud a reality.

With hudud, DAP's dream for greater Chinese political power in Malaysian politics will evaporate into thin air. With hudud, the Malays would be able to better preserve political power infinitely and Malaysia would be what Kelantan is now, completely dominated by Malays.

Iran, is typical example of a nation that turned overnight from being secular to becoming one of the strictest Islamic nation after the revolution that brought down its dictatorial ruler Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1979. It hasn't looked back ever since and has become isolated, ostracised and made a pariah state by the Western world. Its Islamic branch of Shiaism is also banned in Malaysia.

Here, a Malaysian Insider reported a matured PAS seemingly moving to the middle ........which I believe is "dangling the carrot"
to fool non-Muslims that the leopard has changed its spots.

Changing is no more about making Anwar Ibrahim the prime minister. The whole scenario has changed, it is now change for the sake of change. Anwar is no more in the equation and may be highly frustrated that the highest office he so dearly coveted may slip away when the final count ended.

Here's another idiot who thinks hudud is not possible to implement in Malaysia.

Friday, November 16, 2012

A West Malaysian Dilemma !

Hantu Laut

In Sabah you don't mess around with these ex-mundus (pirates), they can make your life hang in the balance, or worst case scenario, you are dead meat. Their hearts can be solidified in hatred and revenge.

Two West Malaysians have been abducted by unknown armed group near Lahad Datu, Sabah. Police is still investigating the case.

Abusers, rapists and abductors, do they share the same predicament ?

In West Malaysia reported maid abuse may be just tip of the iceberg, there may be many unreported cases. 

Recent case of an employer raping his 15-year old maid with active participation and consent of his wife is shocking. Even more shocking the abuse seem to transcend not one ethnic group but covers all the ethnic groups in West Malaysia. Here, a 26-year old Indian girl claimed she was raped and abused by her employer for over a year. Here, a Cambodian maid claimed she was physically abused and not given food to eat for days.

Maid abuse and rape of female migrant workers had given Malaysia a bad name. Even the arm of the law, our police, has brought disrepute to the police force and disgrace to the nation for alleged gang-rape of an Indonesian girl in their custody. 

Almost all cases of maid abuse occurred in West Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak seemed to have been spared this phenomenom, a social disorder that requires some medical investigation.

There have been talks of allowing Malaysian to employ French maids to work in the country. Hahaha! how nice, for a change, to have the whites as your servant and not your master.





It is rumoured that the abduction of the two West Malaysians was by disgruntled ex-employees not paid their salaries. How true is hard to tell. Only after thorough police probe we may get to know the truth, or not know at all.

Sabah porous border is haven for criminals crossing between Sabah and the Philippines.

The gist of the story, never owe your workers salary, be abusive, or delay payment. They are as much human as you are and should be treated humanely, and don't rule out the power to strike back at you, over what you think is a meagre sum but a mountain to these poor souls. 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

MAS: "Mana Ada System" atau "Mesti Ada Salah" ?

Hantu Laut

MAS, true acronym should be "Mana Ada System" or "Mesti Ada Salah", but still a great way to fly, if you fly business or first class and paid for by your company.

Now that I am retired and pay from my own pocket, I only travel economy.

I booked my flight online for 14 November on flight MH 2640 departing 15.50 from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu and also booked and paid for two emergency exit seats for my wife and me....... to be precise Seat No.11B and 11C on a Boeing 737-400 configuration. 

I usually booked first row in economy which gives better leg room, but since all seats on the first row were already taken I opted for the emergency exit seats, which also give much better leg room.

Sitting at the holding departure lounge and looking out through the smudged glass ( typical MAB bad maintenance and bad housekeeping. Unlike Changi, where you always see cleaners constantly cleaning the glass panels, MAB never cleaned those huge glass panels at the airport) I can see the aircraft parked at the aero-bridge is not a 737-400 but a bigger aircraft, a 737-800, which I have flown with umpteen times and knew that the seat configuration is not the same.




We boarded the aircraft and true enough our seats were not at the emergency exit. I explained to one of the crew and she told me to wait for the ground supervisor to come to the aircraft, who eventually turned up and apologised for the mixed up. I told him there was no mixed up, it's the airline that caused the confusion without informing me of the change of aircraft.As I have paid extra for the seat the ground crew at the drop bag counter (we kiosk checked-in) should have noticed and moved us to the proper seats.




Next, I was horrified when the ground supervisor foolishly turned to two kampong folks in the seats behind us to exchange seats with us.I politely declined and told him it is not nice to ask them to move since they are already seated. This clueless guy than advised me to seek refund from the airline. I flatly told him I won't want to waste anymore time and spend more money to seek refund of RM40.00, which will take ages to resolve.

I have flown with many other airlines over the decades and I must confess MAS is still a better airline than many that I have flown with, but occasionally they do infuriate you with the "tidak apa" attitude of their staff.

From my past experience some airline would just bump you up to empty seats in business class if they were in the wrong and there were many empty seats in business class that day.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

IGP Should Adopt Zero Tolerance On Rogue Policemen

Hantu Laut

What is the responsibility of a policeman?

Undoubtedly, first and foremost, protecting the life and property of the people and responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.

When you are in trouble you look upon the police as your protector and saviour. That's what they are paid to do, to protect the public from criminal elements.  

One would not imagine being taken to a police station and gang-raped by policemen. 

You hear many horror stories of people dying in police custody and yet there have been very few serious internal investigations done by the police to resolve the problem and weed out bad elements in the police force. 

The IGP should take some responsibility of the misconduct of his men. There are just too many complaints against police misconduct for him to sit comfortably in his chair and do nothing constructive to salvage the police image, which have made the public to mistrust the whole police force because of the perverse behaviour of a few.

Though, we don't expect him to police each and every individual in the force, zero tolerance of indiscipline and waywardness by the top brass can drastically reduce shameful police misconduct among the lower rank. 

Obviously, some policemen think they can prey on the weak and the helpless as in the case of the hapless Indonesian girl who was stopped while on her way home in a taxi and practically abducted by three policemen with intent to use her to satisfy their lust. They took her to the police station, instead of giving her shelter and protection, raped her repeatedly. 

I hope justice will prevail for the poor girl and the three policemen if found guilty be given the maximum sentence under the law.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous Thing

Hantu Laut

The war of nerves between two forces of over-exaggerated pietism. Islam has become a cause celebre of Malaysian politics. Even non-Muslims are coming out with their unpolished knowledge of Islam. 

Here's one from a chauvinist dickhead who thinks he knows the Koran and the Constitution equally well to make the Constitution more supreme for the Muslims than the Koran. No one can make head and tail of his snafu, a withered and floppy creative writing. 

I have been abroad for almost two weeks, off the beaten track, where Internet connections have been erratic, sluggish or non-existence and sourly missed the excitement of Malaysia's puerile politics. 

Malaysian politicians from both sides of the political divide should have been clowns in the circus or court jesters in the royal palaces. They spent more time on meaningless trivia than on matters of fundamental national interest.

The uproar,  this time,  a controversy over Anwar Ibrahim's daughter Nurul Izzah's version of Islam. Both sides claimed polymathic understanding of the religion and competing to be the champion. Malaysia would soon have new hadiths written by these heretics. 

"There is no compulsion in Islam" what is the true meaning of this phrase in the Koran?

I must profess I am not most knowledgable in the religion, but from my understanding, learning it from my grandfather, who is highly respected for his indepth knowledge of Islam during his living years.......it simply means Islam or Muslims should not compel or force non-Muslims to convert to Islam. Conversion should be by the person own free will. It has nothing to do with allowing Muslims the freedom of choice.

Nurul Izzah's version, which I believe was misconstrued and twisted for political mileage was probably not what she intended to convey..... that Muslims can convert to other religion. Even if she thinks so, right or wrong, it's merely her opinion and one should just consider her wet behind the ears and not politicise Islam solely for the purpose of gaining political mileage.

Without any doubt there are many hypocrites in UMNO, but more dangerous are the bigger hypocrites in PAS playing the same political fire of using Islam to gain political mileage among rural Malays and are prepared to twist and turn the true meaning of Islam whenever it suits their political agenda. 


HAPPY DEEPAVALI TO ALL MALAYSIANS. LET THERE BE WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING AND TOLERANCE  OF EACH OTHER'S RELIGION AMONG US MALAYSIANS.



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Why Should Foreigners Care Who Wins the White House?

By 

“Is this presidential election really the most important in our lifetime?” That was the question asked, in so many words, by a concerned Brit at a discussion in London a few days ago. His words were directed at Larry Sabato, the American political analyst, whose countenance had been beamed onto a screen in a conference room like some giant electronic guru. Sabato didn’t blink. “This presidential election,” he replied, “is definitely the most important since 2008.”  
Appreciative laughter followed, but the audience wasn’t entirely satisfied. For the British—as for most other Europeans, and indeed most other foreigners—that aspect of this election is extremely hard to understand. Is the 2012 presidential race “important”—that is, will it mark a momentous change in American foreign policy and American attitudes toward the world—or will its result make no difference at all?
The source of the confusion is clear. Shards of harsh rhetoric from this nasty campaign do drift across the Atlantic, and many Europeans are aware that some Americans think Barack Obama is a Marxist-socialist bent on destroying America, while others think Mitt Romney is a vulture capitalist who will rob the poor to feed the rich. The British in particular like to “ooh” and “aah” over the stacks of cash Republicans and Democrats are spending in the apparent belief that the outcome matters a great deal.Read more.