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

By Clara Chooi
Assistant News Editor

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.

Where The Shoe Pinces

Hantu Laut

It is more a "siok sendiri" poll,  the reliability of the survey remained doubtful.

Is there a reputable agency that audit Merdeka's opinion poll survey? The results of its surveys have never been audited and authenticated for it margin of error, its samples and confidence intervals.

Some poll can be deliberately engineered by unscrupulous  pollsters to generate certain result thus making its questionable.

A recent poll conducted by the agency claimed that Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman popularity had declined to 45 percent and Prime Minister Najib popularity remained high in Sabah at 75 percent.

Any intelligent Sabahan who follow Sabah politics would immediately know the opinion poll is self-serving and one that also serves the opposition as well as some Sabah UMNO warlords who wanted to get rid of Musa by giving Najib the false impression that UMNO can win in Sabah without Musa. Someone in Sabah UMNO wanted Musa's job badly.

In any war the enemy always sought to eliminate the best general in order to demoralise his force. It is the same in politics using character assassinations to demonise leader who is seen likely to lead his party to victory is common place throughout the world.

Barack Obama went through the same hell mudslinging when he ran for the US president in 2008, accused of being a Muslim because of his middle name.


Watch carefully the voice over, the bad editing and cut and paste of the video.

In spite of the many attempts at muddying the waters on Obama the American people stood steadfastly behind him and chose him as the next president of the United States. 

The same dirty campaigning is happening in Malaysia to denigrate Prime Minister Najib, Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. The three are seen as the biggest roadblocks hindering the opposition's journey to Putrajaya. 

Suaram, the tool of the opposition and those who wanted Najib out of office has been caught in a web of deceit on the Scorpene submarine investigation.A French government prosecutor Yves Charpernel has denied of any ongoing trial in France as depicted by Suaram to the Malaysian public. Suaram and its two French lawyers, out of shame having been caught lying, still insisted that such court proceeding was ongoing. 

Who would you want to believe, a government prosecutor or two street smart lawyers?

There is concerted effort by the oppositions to eliminate the two East Malaysian leaders, Taib Mahmud and Musa Aman, both most likely to lead the BN to victory in their respective states where the oppositions are still fragmented and have not come to terms with each other to mount a challenge on BN grip on the two states.

Both Musa and Taib are political strategists that have the ability to outmaneuver their opponents and proved their detractors wrong. The Sarawak Report, a blog based in the UK, founded and controlled by one Clare Rewcastle Brown, the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has both Taib and Musa are constantly on her radar and is on the permanent hit list with gory tales of corruptions, abuses of power and even murder. Sarawak Report estimated Taib to be worth more than  US$15 billion.  

Robert Kuok the richest man in Malaysia amassed his wealth for almost two generations is only worth RM45.7 billion in 2012 and at today's exchange rate that would be about US$15 billion, the same as Taib. 

The Musa and Taib haters are having a field day with their tales from the crypt why these two men should go to the grave. Some even predicted that Anwar's PKR would take a leading role in Sabah politics. That's, maybe, a bridge too far. Taking in a few "orang kecewah" may be good politics few decades ago, it is not now, Sabahans are getting sick of such political misconduct.

Just before the March 2008 General Elections, 5 out 10 people I talked to predicted the political demise of Musa Aman and the end of BN in Sabah. The same are being said now by the same people who had never got their political predictions right. The same people also predicted Yong Teck Lee would win big in the Batu Sapi by-election. Yong, who refused to give way to Pakatan candidate for a one to one fight against the BN was buggered by DAP and lost badly. Pakatan/PKR's candidate Ansari Abdullah fared much better than him because DAP's Chinese supporters voted for Ansari. 

The only opposition party, as I have always said in this blog, that will make inroads in Sabah is DAP, who would do well in Chinese predominant constituencies, but not enough to pull the rug from under the BN's feet. The rest may have to fight, tooth and nail,  to win 1 or 2 seats.

Najib is smart not to be influenced by such talk and opinion poll to remove Taib and Musa from the equation.

In Sabah politics, money speaks louder than words.

Phnom Penh

Sarawak Report:The Bitching And Ranting Of A Sore Loser

Hantu Laut

Why don't you screw your own government for not listening to your demand, or better still screw the royal couple for bringing shame to your country.

William and Kate have also visited Soloman Islands which had suffered serious environmental damage and degradation of its forests due to unsustainable and illegal logging activities and corruptions, but you are completely silent on the Solomon but keep barking like a mad dog at Sabah and Sarawak Chief Ministers with your skewed and twisted political agenda.

Are you really concerned about the environment or you have prostituted yourself to the Malaysian oppositions. The answer is obvious.

You have put pen to paper but did not pen your name to the story.

Ain't, life a bitch ! When you have to hide behind the face of anonymity, pretending and deceiving people into believing that you are an accredited news portal, ostensibly you are not,  you are merely a blog with one political agenda.....placarding Sabah and Sarawak Chief Ministers with lies, half-truths and untruths for the sake of the oppositions.

Read the endless bitching of an English woman who has made Malaysian politics her regular meals.

Sabah Trip Goes Tits Up!

A story about topless sunbathing has dominated international coverage of the William and Kate Sabah trip.

It means the destruction of the jungle of Borneo, caused by corruption in Malaysia’s highest political circles, has been ignored in favour of a lot of fuss about a ‘Peeping Tom’ photographer.

One person who will be relieved is Chief Minister Musa Aman.  Sabah may not have got the international attention it might have, but then nor did his corrupt practices.

William and Kate were whisked to a canopy walk in Danum Valley, where they also photographed captive orang utans, and then whisked away again.

Thanks to the destruction of most of Sabah’s natural heritage that is all most tourists get to do in Sabah anyway.

The UK’s Guardiannewspaper had reflected on the situation in Sabah earlier in the week, drawing attention to the concerns that the Royal visit would do less to help save what is left of Borneo than bolster the corrupt regime of the greedy man who has been driving the deforestation.

The top international NGO Global Witness likewise has condemned the visit and asked Prince William to consider the real causes of deforestation, which is the corruption of ministers.Read more.

Sarawak Report, your trusted source of lies, untruths and falsifications.

ICAC And UBS Say No Comment to Sabah Money Laundering Report

Hantu Laut

In an article carried by Asia Sentinel, the ICAC when asked to verify Sarawak Report's mass of transactions and documents on claim of Musa Aman misdeeds said "We would not comment on questions on operational matters."

UBS has responded in similar fashion in the article below.

But says its policy is to cooperate fully with authorities

The Swiss bank UBS, at the center of allegations of money laundering by Sabah’s chief minister Musa Aman, said it couldn’t comment on the claims although a spokesman for the bank said UBS is fully committed to assisting in the fight against money laundering.

“UBS does not comment on market speculation or rumor,” Mark Panday, a spokesman for the bank’s operations in Hong Kong, told Asia Sentinel. “However, in all markets in which it operates, UBS’s policy is to cooperate fully with regulators. Indeed, it is committed to assisting in the fight against money-laundering, including corruption and terrorist financing.”

The Sarawak Report, an NGO based in Kuching and London, alleged in a report made public Sunday that more than US$90 million was passed circuitously in 2007 by Sabah lawyer Richard Christopher Barnes from Musa into Barnes’ UBS Hong Kong account before it was forwarded in turn to a UBS Zurich account in the chief minister's own name.

The money transfers allegedly were shepherded by a UBS client manager named Denis Chua, who originally worked at the Singapore branch for HSBC Hong Kong until 2006. According to the report, Chua moved to UBS, taking the accounts with him.

The Sarawak Report said Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption discovered the transactions in an investigation into alleged money-laundering by a Musa associate, Michael Chia Tien Foh, and compiled a detailed list of the transactions between Barnes, Chia and the UBS accounts.

Denis Chua is believed to have left UBS. A call to the UBS Hong Kong office elicited no response. Panday declined any further comment on the matter.

Hong Kong’s money-laundering law, which appears to be focused mainly on drug trafficking, nonetheless make it an offense for bankers, lawyers or accountants to deal with property they know or have reasonable grounds to believe represents the proceeds of drug trafficking or other serious crimes. Offenders are subject to a maximum of 14 years in prison. Records must be kept on any transaction over HK$8,000, the rough equivalent of US$1,000.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s voluminous guidelines put the onus on banks and other financial institutions and their professional employees to ensure that companies follow legal guidelines on deposits. As required by the guidelines, banks make it a common practice to subject all employees dealing with the transfer of funds to regular, detailed briefings on money-laundering statutes and the penalties involved.

The need to guard against money laundering received new impetus in 2004 when the Hong Kong Monetary Authority urged banks to be especially alert to the possibility of money laundering as the territory prepared tReda moreo become an outlet for yuan-denominated deposits. In June of that year, the HKMA issued a supplement to the territory's anti-money laundering guidelines, setting out "Know-Your-Customer" principles, taking account of the requirements of a paper on "Customer Due Diligence for Banks" issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Read more

"The Ides Of March" Recyling The Muss!

Hantu Laut

Have you seen the movie "Ides Of March" with its back-stabbing, connivance, skulldruggery and dirty politics?

If you don't already know "The Ides Of March" is not George Clooney's own original title for the movie. The Ides of March goes back thousands of years.

It's a term used by the Romans for middle of the month in the Roman calendar and is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was murdered, on the 15th day of March 44 B.C. , stabbed 23 times by conspirators led by Brutus and Cassius Longinus and supported by 60 other co-conspirators.

In Shakespeare's play of Julius Caesar, chief conspirator Brutus had a ready answer why he killed Caesar when he addressed the people and told them:

"It's not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more"

Politics is such even those who pay allegiance to you can rise up against you in a most brutal way.Knowing your enemy outside is easy, knowing your enemy inside is walking in the dark, your best friend could be your worst enemy.

Caesar ignored the soothsayer that warned him to be beware of "The Ides Of March" with ended in fatal consequence for Caesar.

That's about enemies inside. There are also enemies outside and enemies at the gate, UMNO has plenty of these sorts.

Prime Minister Najib is again in the limelight with a recycling of the Atlantuya murder case sponsored by Suaram, a so-called human rights movement that has become a pathetic instrument of the oppositions.Like Bersih, its songs stink of politics.

In a conference with Mr Shaarribuu (video below), father of the late Altantuya who claimed his daughter showed him the photo of her with Baginda and Najib taken in Paris, non of the Suaram officials have asked him what happened to the photo.

In these days of digital technology, or even if taken by conventional film camera there are ways to get copies of the film if it truly exists.Obviously, there was no such photograph, otherwise, it would have appeared, somewhere, published for the whole world to see.

Are they really looking after the interests of human rights or working for the opposition to inflict maximum damage on Najib's reputation, by choosing the most opportune time to bring back Mr Shaarribuu and bring back the ghost of Altantuya.

What did the French court say about the money trail of the commission paid for purchase of the 2 submarines.Did they show solid evidence where the money goes to?

They did not, all they say was that they theorise that part of the money could have gone to Najib's pocket.

Theorise! The French Court must be a kangaroo court for it to accept unsubstantiated claims and theorised that Najib is guilty of corruption.

Can I say I theorised that Anwar murdered Altantuya and framed Najib for it?

Another recycling case was Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, where ghost of the past was brought back , apparently, by an enemy within.

The Sabah's Caesar's story of UMNO heavyweight, purportedly, backed by PM Najib as the next Sabah Chief Minister is here. Musa denied the allegations.

With a bigger war chest, which Musa is prepared to use, Shafie Apdal may be at a disadvantage.The recent action of the government registering huge numbers of undocumented Sabahans in Semporna, which looked dubious and likely to be illegal immigrants, to help prop up supports for Shafie, could have a disastrous outcome, as the rest of Sabah, particularly, the KDM people look unkindly on the issue that have angered them for many decades against the Federal government refusal to look into the problem.It may change the KDM from voting BN.

LDP's absence too glaring: Salleh

As they say "Clothes do not make the man". Taking political hatred to the extreme.Even Lim Guan Eng had the courtesy to visit Najib's Raya open house.


LDP's absence too glaring: Salleh
Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: The absence of top echelon leaders from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at the Chief Minister and State Cabinet Hari Raya Open House in Likas, last Wednesday, did not go unnoticed.

State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Tun Said Keruak hoped it was due to them being unavailable rather than a boycott, saying it was not right for Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties to boycott the Hari Raya open house held by Muslim members of the State Cabinet.

He said they should respect one another despite their political differences in line with the BN spirit and the concept of 1Malaysia.

He also said they ought to respect the leadership of the State Government, even though they may not see eye-to-eye on certain issues.

"Maybe they were too busy but if there were elements of boycott, I'd (rather) leave it to the LDP to comment," he told reporters during his Raya open house at the State Assembly building, Monday. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and members of the State Cabinet were among those present.

Salleh said many people (including leaders from BN coalition parties) came to the Raya open house hosted by Musa and Muslim members of the State Cabinet. However, he noted there was hardly any from the LDP.

Strangely, he said LDP leaders attended the Raya open house hosted by Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin on the first day of Aidilfitri on Aug. 30.

"They were also willing to go to Semporna and Papar to attend the open houses by (Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Mohd) Shafie (Apdal) and (Pantai Manis Assemblyman Datuk) Abdul Rahim (Ismail)," he said.

Nevertheless, Salleh said it is unnecessary for the LDP to give any explanation on the matter. "Some people were only querying why they did not attend (the CM's Raya open house)," he said.

On the non-attendance of Shafie and Abdul Rahim at the Chief Minister and State Cabinet Hari Raya Open House, he said the duo probably had commitments elsewhere.

He also said that the Hari Raya open house is open to all and that there is no pressure on anyone to be there. "If you can't attend because you are busy, there is no problem, but if it is a boycott, it is unhealthy," he said.

When contacted, LDP President Datuk VK Liew, denied any planned boycott on its part.

"As matured politicians we never boycott any government event, so please don't make speculative statements," he said, and suggested Salleh check his facts before making such statement.

"As a matter of fact, LDP was represented at the open house by Youth Chief, Chin Shu Ying and a divisional leader, Datuk Lee Chuen Wen.

"Just because they are not in the picture, we are accused of not being there," he said, adding it so happened on that day most of LDP elected representatives, including him, had to return to their respective constituencies to attend programmes with their constituents.

On the question of him going all the way to Papar to attend the open house hosted by Rahim, Liew said:

"Is there any restriction for me to go anywhere? This is Hari Raya so I will visit many places É I don't think this should become an issue.Read more.

DCM post not an automatic right of LDP: Umno

Kota Kinabalu: The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) should stop throwing its weight around as well as implying that the Deputy Chief Minister post is automatically theirs.

"Why are you asking something from someone you have no confidence and cannot work with. You cannot piss all over the state leadership and then expect him to be kind to you," said Sandakan Umno Youth Chief Haji Awang Kadin Tang.

Apparently referring to senior LDP leaders namely, Chin Su Phin and Shin Su Ying, openly criticising Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman last year, he said:

"LDP's leadership never made a clear stand on the party's position on the matter and, instead, skirted around the issue."

Kadin said the only time LDP addressed the issue was when Datuk VK Liew (Party President) was cornered by reporters during the Batu Sapi by-election and was asked if he supported the Chief Minister's leadership.

"Of course by then he said 'yes', but only after months of being evasive.

However, it is unfortunate that the stand was not taken up by other leaders in LDP. They continued to attack the Chief Minister," he said in a statement, Saturday.

On Friday, LDP Youth Chief Chin Shu Ying lamented that LDP seemed to lose all its positions one by one ever since Datuk Seri Musa became the Chief Minister.

"We have lost not only our Deputy Chief Minister and Cabinet quota, we also lost the Deputy Speaker post, the Senator post and the numerous Chairman and Deputy Chairman posts. We are left with just a single Assistant Minister post in the State," Chin had said.

To this, Kadin said LDP wanted to be treated with respect and kindness but some of its party leaders demonstrated utter disdain for the state leadership.Read more

One Swallow Does Not Make A Summer

Hantu Laut

The double win at Batu Sapi and Galas should not be reason enough for the Najib's administration to rush to the polls.There are still lots of ground work to do particularly in urban and semi-urban areas where the main oppositions are concentrated and where political awareness are far greater than the rural areas.

It is not yet a turning point to rejoice on these small windfalls not forgetting that the BN lost 9 out of 10 by-elections in Peninsula Malaysia and 1 out of 2 in Sarawak in spite of massive donations and promises of projects by Najib.

The opposition Pakatan Rakyat may look disarryed by the results of these two by-elections but support in urban and semi-urban areas are still something to be reckoned with.Diehard supporters hard to convince to change their minds that the BN has turned a new leaf.

The win at Galas and Batu Sapi are both unique and not so much that the BN has fully recovered but more the human factor and strategy employed by leaders given the task of heading the operation, namely Tungku Razaleigh and Musa Aman.Credit should be given to these two men for the astounding work, they are good political strategists.

Many self-styled political analysts had given Musa Aman little chance of winning the Batu Sapi by-elections, including some leaders, particularly in UMNO and LDP, secretly wishing Batu Sapi to fall to the opposition that would bring about the political demise of Musa Aman, which have been predicted umpteen times in the past in various political blogs and coffee-shop talks.He probably has a cat nine lives giving his detractors and those vying for his CM post severe indigestion.

He turned around the precarious state financial position and now having one of the largest financial reserves in spite of his detractors calling him a 'vacuum cleaner'.Obviously, he is a good vacuum cleaner, cleaning up the mess left by his predecessors.

Lest, they forget, he delivered almost all seats to BN in the 12th General Elections that saved the BN from becoming the opposition.Even then the political soothsayers predicted massive defeat in Sabah.

Unfortunately, princely Razaleigh was unable to do the same in Kelantan which showed his sphere of influence was only in his own constituency.It's rather strange that you thank one and not the other.

Najib has certainly done better than Pak Lah politically but is still a long way from being satisfactory to the rakyat overall.His only hope of retaining the rein of power is to make sure he doesn't lose big in Sabah and Sarawak.The situation in Peninsula Malaysia is expected to remain the same.

Galas and Batu Sapi, not by any note, that summer is on the way and Najib should not throw the baby and the bathwater out and call for snap elections.

He has already made one unnecessary mistake, probably on wrong advice of his people at the Finance Ministry, to include the 100-storey building (although to be built by GLC) and eco-resort in Karambunai, Sabah which has absolutely nothing to do with government budget as they were considered private sector projects.

The mistake brought him strong opposition and slide in popularity.To date, there were almost 240,000 against the idea on Facebook.

The Prime Minister needs to take note that many of them are voters and scattered all over the country.

Proof Of The Pudding Is In The Eating

Hantu Laut

Outgoing Permanent Secretary to the Sabah Finance Ministry Haji Yusof Kassim made a stunning revelation at his farewell dinner given in his honour on his retirement.

It's about the man who has been called by all kind of names, from 'Mr Big and Small' to Mr 'Vacuum Cleaner' by his nemeses and enemies, especially from his own party.Sabah UMNO has many aspiring chief ministers that covertly working behind his back.Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman is always ahead of the curve.

Many of Musa's enemies predicted his political demise at the March 2008 General Elections but in a surprising turn, Musa not only won his seat overwhelmingly but also delivered a landslide victory for the BN, without which the BN would have lost the Federal government.

A regular contributor in the name of 'Deep Throat Sabah' supplys regular mud-slinging and contemptuous articles on Musa to Malaysia Today, rumoured to be, financed by the chief minister wannabies in Sabah UMNO.

Yusof lamented how the rotation system almost bankrupted the state.

Prior to March 2003, before Musa took over the chief ministership, the state finance was in dire straits with only RM60 million in state reserves... less than 2 months salaries for the civil servants.Under Musa stewardship the state reserves has gone up to RM2.4 billion in 2008.He expects the figure for 2009 to be higher but would not announce it yet because the figure is not official yet.

The last time the state finance was in good hands was under Berjaya's Harris Salleh.Unlike, other chief ministers, Musa and Harris came from business background which probably gave them the nose for frugality.

The truth is out.You can smear anything but the truth behold and as the English say "The proof of the pudding is in the eating"

In business, we simply called it 'good track record'

Read the story here.

Who Has Brain Tumor, Musa Or Ronnie Klessen? Check It Out.

Hantu Laut

On Saturday 20 June 2009 a new blogger by the name of Ronnie Klessen wrote an article titled 'Musa inflicted with brain tumor?' Malaysia Today carried the story here. He claimed that Musa was on his way to the US seeking medical treatment and wrote:

"Coincidentally, Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre (pic) has both neurosurgery facilities and expertise. We reliably learnt that Musa is expected to leave for the United States of America (USA) for neurosurgery, at the Cleveland Clinic Brain Tumour and Neuro-Oncology Centre in Cleveland, Ohio. He's currently awaiting air space clearance from the Department of Civil Aviation of Japan and USA to fly over their air space, as well as for the landing rights. This is an international pre-requisite condition when passengers travel by their very own private jet".

The following day Sunday 21 June Musa was seen in Membakut, Sabah launching a new padi scheme on 200 hectares of idle land. The story here.

So! who has brain tumor, Musa or Ronnie Klessen?

I was told Ronnie is a PKR member.

Regurgitation without checking the fact and truth of the matter can only bring embarrassment to oneself.

Or was it dirty business as usual for those in the opposition?

Cabotage Within A Cabotage: Sabah Ports' Moronic Idea

Hantu Laut

Most developed nations have cabotage law to protect transport of goods and passengers within the country.

'Cabotage' basically means the transport of goods or passengers between two points in the same country.It is a form of protectionism.It was originally started in shipping but later widen to cover aviation and to all other form of inland transport.The US has strict cabotage policy and consider it as not only protection for domestic transportation but as a form of national security and public safety.

Malaysia has its own cabotage policy to protect local shipping. Most goods from overseas are first shipped to Port Klang and later shipped on local carriers to other ports in the country. If domestic shipping is efficient and readily available than this is fine, the costs of transportation could be lowered but it could pose huge problems if the local shipping is erratic and inefficient, costs would go up making goods more expensive and less competitive.

Consumers in Sabah and Sarawak have to pay higher price for consumers goods due to the policy and even worse, manufacturers in the two states who export their products overseas have to incur higher costs in paying additional freight/transhipment charges for transhipment of the goods through Port Klang which is not a very efficient port by any measure.

There should be flexibility in this policy as far as Sabah and Sarawak are concerned.Strict adherence to cabotage would make Sabah and Sarawak unattractive to investors. There should be total relaxation on bulk shipments. That is to allow direct calls by both foreign and Malaysian registered vessels for bulk cargo going out or coming to the ports in Sabah and Sarawak. The two states are separated from the Peninsula by over a thousand miles of open sea and a malleable cabotage policy should be the case.

Take for instance if there was a big shipment of heavy equipment from Kobe in Japan to Kota Kinabalu it makes economic sense if the sailing is direct to Kota Kinabalu instead of going to Port Klang first because the freight charges would be much cheaper than to send it to Port Klang and than re-ship to Kota Kinabalu.

As they say "from the frying pan into the fire". It bothered me to read the most ridiculous proposal by Sabah Ports to make Kota Kinabalu Sepangar Port as the only terminal port for all ships coming to Sabah including all ships from Port Klang.Goods destined for other ports in Sabah shall be transported by barges and scows from the Sepangar Port.

I wonder whether the people in Sabah Ports are fit to be there in the first place. Void of better ideas on how to make money this bunch of morons have decided to start their own cabotage policy.They are trying to create a cabotage within a cabotage and bring more miseries to the economy and the people of Sabah.

The business community and the people of Sabah are already burdened by the high costs of goods by the inefficiency of domestic shipping protected under the national cabotage policy and they are trying to add salt to the wound and aggravate the already unpleasant situation. Needless to say this kind of vacuous policy would drive away both domestic and foreign investors.No businessman in his right mind will invest in a state where poor infrastructure, high costs of production and high cost of shipping existed.

It is also ridiculous on the part of Sabah Ports to implement such ridiculous policy after spending huge amount of money to upgrade the Sandakan port and those in Lahad Datu and Tawau.

This kind of policy makes no economic sense to Sabah other than to serve the incompetence of the 'goyang kaki'( laziness) management of Sabah Ports. The proposal virtually makes one 'smell a rat' in Sabah Ports and its parent company Suria Capital. The next step is to monopolise the transport sector by giving it to one or few people.

Malaysia as a nation already have in existence a national cabotage policy which covers the whole nation. Sabah should not be allowed to implement its own cabotage policy just to fulfil the whim and fancies of the management of Sabah Ports. The state government should not agree to this meretricious proposal even though Sabah Ports belong to the state.It's would be killing the elephant to save the ant.

I would be surprised if Chief Minister Musa Aman who himself was a businessman will allow this kind of policy to be implemented and one that will damage the state economy and stifle new investments.

Maybe, he should also consider appraising the management of Sabah Ports whether they are competent to run port business without government protection.

Of Conduct Unbecoming

Hantu Laut

I am not going to walk, touch or talk on the subject of the Budget.Too many have commented, some with hardly a full sentence.We should leave it to the experts to dissect it and come to their own conclusion.This is an imperfect world and just like beauty,imperfection too is in the eyes of the beholder.

It would be foolish to think that the oppositions would have nice words for Abdullah's budget. Anwar Ibrahim although was a former finance minister chose to play to the gallery by saying Malaysia is the only oil-producing country that have a deficit budget.It's pure posturing and grandstanding.He should know what he says meant nothing in macroeconomic terms. There are many other indicators that determine the economic health of a nation, like balance of payment ,external debt,GDP growth and many others that are the essentials.

The United States had been on budget deficit for umpteen years and yet it is the wealthiest nation on earth.Of course there are differences between the U.S. and Malaysian economy, but overall the principles should be the same.

Anwar only tells you one side of the story.He didn't tell you that Malaysia consumed almost three-quarters of its oil production,some directly and some through import replacement, therefore, the net surplus is the quantity exported which is not by any measure considered huge and put Malaysia in the league of oil-exporting nations.If you don't have over a million barrels a day you are considered a non-entity and can't even enter the exclusive club---OPEC.

Oil is not Malaysia's staple export.To look at as a cash cow as suggested by Anwar Ibrahim is foolhardy.

I do agree wasteful spending and corruptions had some adverse effect on the economy but it is not anything dissimilar from the time he was deputy prime minister and finance minister when he had the chance to do something about it but chose not to for well known reasons.

Across the South China Sea, on the other side, in the 'Land Below The Wind' former Chief Minister and former President of LDP Chong Kah Kiat said what the people are witnessing today are leaders who once were lavishly praising the BN leadership barely four months ago, but now condemning the same publicly.

Without mentioning any quarters by name he said "It incredulous.Before we see them hugging and hovering around our PM and DPM and talking highly about them".He said the rakyat have good memory and remember what they have said earlier.

I couldn't agree more with Chong of the low moral standard of some of our politicians.Some of them think they can fool the rakyat with their audacious rhetoric.Some pretend not to remember the abuse of power and corruption they indulged in when they were in power and have the audacity to accuse others of the same.

In Sabah the President of SAPP had questioned Chief Minister Musa Aman on the fresh injection of capital of RM200 million into Amanah Saham Sabah to revive its unit share price.Many Sabahans lost their whole life-saving in this badly managed State investment arm.

The whole of Sabah knew the huge losses at ASS occurred during Yong's time as Chief Minister. This is also the very same man who did nothing about the illegal immigrants during his tenure as Sabah Chief Minister and is now harping and howling at the Prime Minister and accusing him of not doing anything about this long standing issue and ordered his MPs to pass a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The only chief minister that had taken action against illegal immigrants was Chong Kah Kiat.

Some politicians seemed not to have any sense of shame and don't give two hoots of what people think of them as long as they can satisfy their greed.It's telling on your character if with the blink of your eyes you can flip over your tongue and say something in complete contradiction of your earlier statement.

The MPs of SAPP have attempted to remove the PM but failed to do so and the party is still in the BN.

There are two things Yong Tet Lee can do, he either take SAPP out of the BN or failing which, he should resign from SAPP.

That should be the way of an honourable man.

The Politics Of Federalism

Hantu Laut

Sabahans have always had an ambivalent relationship with the central government. This love and hate relationship goes as far back as the time of the USNO (United Sabah National Organisation) government under Tun Dato Mustapha Harun, a flamboyant, unmanagable and most feared Chief Minister Sabah ever had. The only leader of a state who had 2 stated-owned private jets (Grumman 2) and purchased another 2 customised Boeing 707 for his private use.At that time even the Prime Minister have to take commercial flights.

Mustapha, a tin-pot dictator was given wide-ranging power by the then Federal government under first Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman. His wide ranging power included the power to arrest political opponents and throw them in prison without trail.

Desirous of perpetuating Malay power in Sabah, the Federal government allowed Mustapha to do as he pleases and was assigned a special aide dispatched from Kuala Lumpur to be his special adviser. A lawyer by profession, Syed Kechik eventually became the most powerful man in Sabah, as powerful as the Chief Minister if not more.

He was also the most hated and was practically running the state on behalf of Mustapha, who spent most of his time in the play grounds of Europe and the Middle East.Mustapha spent most of his time in casinos in Beirut and London.

Mustapha not only collected private planes but also collected overseas properties, wives and mistresses at the expense of state resources. He was also responsible for opening the back door and allowed illegal immigrants to come in from southern Philippines to increase the Muslim population in the state and was notoriously responsible for mass conversion to Islam of some indigenous tribes in the state.

When Tun Razak took over as Prime Minister, Mustapha had become too powerful, completely out of control and was planning to take Sabah out of Malaysia and install himself as sultan. The authenticity and the truth of this story had not been established till today.

His refusal to sign the Petroleum Act agreement giving the Federal government and Petronas full power over oil resources and giving the state only 5 % in oil revenue angered the central government.Despite repeated attempts by the Federal government to get him to agree, Mustapha refused to negotiate any further. Razak was on the horns of a dilemma on how to deal with him.The Federal have to find an excuse to get Mustapha out of the way. The only way is to topple him democratically using his own men.

In 1975 the Federal urged Harris Salleh to leave USNO and form a new political party. Harris formed Berjaya with full blessing of the Federal government.Harris was later joined by Tun Fuad Stephen who resigned his head of state position and along with other Mustapha's trusted men ditched USNO for Berjaya. The machinery to topple Mustapha was launched and massive defections from USNO and other political parties to Berjaya followed.Election was held the following year and Mustapha was ousted.

The Federal backed Berjaya won the elections and formed the state government with Tun Fuad Stephen as Chief Minister. Unfortunately, Stephen, his son and some of his ministers died in a mysterious plane crash soon after his appointment. A tragic loss of Sabah's most colorful, amiable and down to earth leader. Harris took over the helm.

His first task as Chief Minister was to salvage the extensive damage to the state economy under Mustapha. He embarked on massive public expenditure to rebuild the shattered economy and made Sabah one of the most prosperous states at that time.His relationship with the Federal was excellent and helped in bringing more federal expenditure to the state. After a massive landslide victory for the second term of office and more than cordial relationship with the Federal, Harris got an illusion of invincibility and made some very unpopular decisions.

In spite of his success as a leader of a multi-racial party and outstanding performance as Chief Minister, there is a dark side to Harris Salleh, only known to those close to him.He can be very temperamental, aggressive and profoundly unreasonable.

The sacking of Joseph Pairin Kitingan, abrogation of Tambunan as a district, the giving away of Labuan to the Federal without any compensation to the state and erosion of state rights embodied under the 20 points was the straw that broke the camel back and one that brought him nemesis at the state elections in 1985.The election was won by PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah) led by the estranged Joseph Pairin. USNO led by Mustapha took significant number of seats and was later accepted into the BN.He later brought UMNO into Sabah and almost all members of USNO automatically became members of UMNO.

Having obtained a simple majority PBS reneged on its promise of a coalition with USNO and formed the government on it own but not before overcoming the cloak and dagger antics of Berjaya and USNO and attempted coup.

The thumping defeat of Berjaya must have shocked Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad who had promised Harris to sink or swim with him.Sink or swim ? Harris soon realised there was no such thing in federal politics, there is no love and affection only desertion if you failed.

The defeat at the polls did not stop them from staging an Istana coup to swear in Mustapha as Chief Minister in spite of the fact USNO and Berjaya didn't have simple majority to form the government.They almost got away with it if not for the interference of Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam who still have respect for the democratic process and avoided an incident that could have given Malaysia a bad name internationally.Prime Minister Mahathir was away overseas and Musa was acting on his behalf.

Sabah had two chief ministers for a while until the case went to court and Mustapha lost. The incident also brought violent street demonstration in Kota Kinabalu organised by leaders of Berjaya and USNO and purportedly supported by a few federal leaders.

Sabahans have always felt marginalised and remained at the lowest rung in term of economic development.

When it was in the opposition under the PBS government it received very little developmental expenditure from the Federal government.All development funds from the Federal were channelled through JPPS (Jabatan Pembangunan Persekutuan Sabah), which was specifically formed to avoid channelling funds through the state government. Trengganu got the same treatment when PAS took over the state in 1999.The double standard and undemocratic actions of the federal government is unbelievable in a country that practises democracy and a Westminster-styled parliamentary system. It is a brand of politics called Mahatirism.

In Sabah the federal development expenditure which used to go through the state before the PBS era is still being channelled through JPPS.Many Sabah members of parliament had complained about the way these funds have been administered and that many big federal projects were given to companies from the Peninsula with Sabah contractors only getting the crumbs, if they are lucky to get any. Most federal departments also deployed their senior officers from the Peninsula to the ire of Sabahans who felt they are as much qualified if not better. To make matters worse some officers were abhorrent and treat Sabah more like a colony rather
than as an integral part of Malaysia.

Sarawak didn't have this problem as most things agreed upon when it joined Malaysia are still intact and under state control.

In the 1994 Elections, PBS won the election with a simple majority of 25 seats against BN (Barisan Nasional) 23 seats. Joseph Pairin had to wait 36 hours outside the istana (palace) gate before he was sworn in as the Chief Minister.The PBS government only lasted two weeks before it was ousted by undemocratic menouvering of the BN. Majority of its assemblymen defected to BN parties with some of its leaders forming new Kadazan-based parties.Pairin resigned as Chief Minister on 17 March 1994 and handed over the government to the BN who won the government through manipulations and undemocratic menouvering. The then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad introduced the rotational system of chief minister among the major races in the state, which many Sabahans deemed as unconstitutional and an attempt to divide and rule.

Now, without two-thirds majority the BN government can hang in the balance if there were defections to PR ( Pakatan Rakyat) of dissatisfied BN members of parliament.The irony is the BN or particularly UMNO is contemplating passing an anti-hop law when it had in the past abolished a legislation by a 1992 High Court ruling on anti-hop in the 'Sabah State Constitution' that was passed by the PBS government on the excuse that it was ultra vires the 'Federal Constitution' and are,therefore, illegal and that it contravened the freedom of association enshrined in the Constitution.

What about freedom of speech, isn't it part and parcel? If the Federal Constitution allows freedom of association than it must also allow freedom of speech in totality, without any restriction,hindrance and persecution.

In March 1999 State Elections PBS still managed to get 17 seats against the might of the BN and got 213,432 total votes against the combined BN total votes of 240,110.It showed that the PBS had maintained its popularity.

On 22 April 2000, six PBS Assemblymen led by Jeffery Kitingan(brother of Pairin) defected to PBRS, a BN component party.In January 2002 PBS was re-admitted into the BN.In April 2002 five PBS Assemblymen who defected to PBRS returned to PBS.

The KDM politics has for a long time strive more on self interest rather than interests of the community.There are three predominantly KDM-based parties for a community of less than 500,000 people. It definitely does not believe in "united we stand, divided we fall".

A Kadazan friend once opined to me and said "the biggest enemy of the Kadazan community is Jeffery Kitingan, all he does is bring infamy and disgrace to the community for his selfish act, and the sad thing is many of our people think he is fighting for them tooth and nail"

In 2004 General Elections the BN won the biggest landslide victory under the new leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and delivered a crushing blow to the oppositions. It was Abdullah glorious moment and the beginning of his soured relationship with his predecessor, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

The bitter falling out of these two men would eventually weaken UMNO and the BN, partly due to Abdullah own faults and boosted by Mahathir incessant "remove Abdullah" campaign which has effectively divided UMNO into two camps.

The consequence of Abdullah's failure to keep his promise of reforms and Mahathir's unrelenting attacks on him are shown in the results of the 8 March 2008 Elections.

In the March 2008 Elections, Sabah and Sarawak outstanding performance were nothing less than admirable especially Sabah, which held both its parliamentary and state elections simultaneously, while Sarawak only had its parliamentary.Unlike Sabah, Sarawak stills control its state election and does not need Puterajaya's consent.

The was huge outcry of unfair treatment from politicians and ordinary Sabahans soon after Prime Minister Abdullah announced his cabinet line up. It didn't reflect the contributions of Sabah and Sarawak and gratitude for saving the BN from biting the dust.Without Sabah and Sarawak delivering almost all of the parliament seats, UMNO would, today, be seating on the opposition bench. MCA, MIC and Gerakan with whatever seats they have won would have abandoned the BN if they can't form the government.

The first to express dissatisfaction over the unfair treatment was the MP for Kimanis Anifah Aman (brother of Musa Aman) who turned down the offer of deputy minister and subsequently followed by the MP for Merotai Ghaffur Salleh who had accepted a deputy minister post but resigned two weeks later.

Ghaffur Salleh was initially dropped by Chief Minister Musa Aman but was later included in the list of candidates upon his appeal to Abdullah.It must have made Abdullah see red for someone he had helped to embarrass him in such a way.

At a recent Parliament sitting Kimanis MP Anifah Aman spoke his mind after being taunted by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi whether Sabah backbenchers were tempted to crossover to the oppositions.

This is another example of stupid politician asking stupid question and forgot if not for Sabah and Sarawak he wouldn't be in the cabinet and so are the rest of his colleages.There seems to be plenty of them in the Federal cabinet who think they are smarter but came out sounding pathetically stupid.

Anifah response was most appropriate and the most serious note so far coming from a Sabah politician.He said if there were no more room in the big bungalow what's is wrong to move to a smaller house.If you are ignored, marginalised and treated like a stepchild what's the point of staying.You can read "Anifah speaks his mind" here.

What Anifah brought up in Parliament has reverberated throughout the state with many politicians and the people of Sabah starting to speak up. Former Chief Ministers Harris Salleh and Yong Tat Lee have thrown their supports behind Anifah and described his speech as worthy of praise and support.

Harris said he hopes the Federal will take heed and seriously implement some of the ideas presented by Anifah for the two East Malaysian states.

The voters in Peninsula Malaysia had shown their displeasure at the arrogance and antics of those in power and there is strong possibility that Sabah and Sarawak would be tempted to change even before the next general election if nothing palatable coming out from the Federal government.

Sabah has lost its decision-making autonomy since UMNO assumed power in the state.It has lost the power to administer the state independently. The basic functions of government embodied in the State constitution are no longer the authority of the Chief Minister and the cabinet. Unlike Sarawak, it has lost its independence to dissolve its Assembly and call for elections.

The BN is safe at the moment but the picture might change once Anwar Ibrahim is elected to Parliament.

The kataks (frogs) waiting at the front gate at the moment may decide to change ponds when Anwar enters Parliament.

The Politics of 'no shame'

Hantu Laut

There seems to be no difference between the politicians from both sides of the political divide.Malaysians would soon again be disappointed with their elected representatives from both sides of the political fence.

The case of "I quit....now I don't" by Buntong assemblyman A.Sivasubramaniam shows how blackmail and extortion can be used by disgruntled elected member to make demands on a fragile government.

Sivasubramiam resignation from the party could have caused the collapse of the BR coalition government in Perak.The party and coalition partners have succumbed to his demands because they stood on very weak ground, an insufferable marriage of convenience that can up in dire straits.

On the other side of the political fence some elected BN members have refused to accept minor ministerial positions and in one case a deputy minister resigned his position in less than two weeks after having accepted it, giving less than plausible excuse for his actions.

Although unspoken by them it is without any doubt that they think they deserve better and more important positions.They are sending subtle threat to weak Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi not to take them lightly.

In Sabah the 'wayang kulit' (shadow play) gets even more luminously amusing and ludicrous. A candidate dropped by Chief Minister Musa Aman in the recent elections is trying to lead a revolt against him by calling on elected members to pass vote of no confidence against Musa in the next assembly sitting.

Former Chief Minister Salleh Said Keruak has been calling on those whom he thinks are not aligned with Musa to openly revolt against him and support Rahim Ismail as chief minister, with promises of lucrative contracts and positions for those who jumped the Musa's ship.

Six of the 'topple Musa' team have seen the prime minister.The six are Salleh, Bung Mokhtar,Ghafur Salleh,Pandikat Amin,Rahim Ismail and Dr Yusof Yacob, apparently to impress the PM to change the chief ministership.

The PM may have been called by many names but wouldn't be that stupid to remove a man who delivered 24 out of 25 parliamentry seats and 59 out of 60 state seats to the BN.

Rahim Ismail,Salleh Keruak and Pendikar have been trying to take over the CM seat since two years ago but failed to convince Pak Lah to change, a decision that probably saved the BN from being thrashed in Sabah.As Pendikar and Salleh are now out of the picture, it is now only left for Rahim to go for it, which appears unlikely to see the light of day.

In the meantime, the ever caustic and witty former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammad has accused Abdullah of having no shame at all.

He said "Anyone else would have already resigned but (Abdullah) has no shame" His son, Mukhriz made the same call for Abdullah to step down. The gathering was attended by over 1000 UMNO members including Khir Toyo.

Is Mahathir going to make a comeback and contest against Abdullah at the UMNO elections if he doesn't step down before the UMNO General Assembly ? It is a possibility you can't ruled out if there is no other candidate whom he thinks doesn't have enough punch to unseat Abdullah.

Mahathir looked the most eligible choice at the moment and would easily get the required nominations to take on Abdullah. If he wins, he probably stays on for one term and hand over the baton to another successor, hopefully not another wrong choice.

Dropped Desperadoes Trying To Mount A Frivolous Coup

Hantu Laut

New rumour circulating in Sabah of some dropped candidates in the recent election going round asking elected members of the Sabah State Assembly to pass a vote of no confidence against Chief Minister Musa Aman and support Rahim Ismail as CM, who was dropped by Musa from the State cabinet recently.

The main plotters rumored to be from an ethnic association who have records of switching parties many times are planning to unseat Musa first and than Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. They have also apparently met the PM recently to demonise Musa hoping Badawi would listen to them.

The plan is to get Musa, an UMNO loyalist out of the way and a grand plan to shift the balance of power to the oppositions.

The coup which has little hope of success is rumoured to also include a deputy minister who resigned from his post recently and a former chief minister.

The frog culture is making a come back to Sabah. It will intensify when Anwar gets elected.

Details in the pipeline.

ELECTION 2008: DO OR DIE

Hantu Laut

This coming election will see the demise of some political parties in Sabah.

One that faces mass desertion from some of its senior leaders is LDP (Liberal Democratic Party), formerly headed by former Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat. Due to the Mazu controversy and a falling out with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, he resigned all his ministerial positions and as President of LDP and handed over the presidency to his deputy, Datuk Liew Vun Keong.

In 2004 LDP was given 1 parliamentary and 3 state seats in the ruling coalition. It lost the Sandakan parliamentary seat to an independent. Out of the three state seats, two were traditionally UMNO seats given to LDP during Tun Mahathir's rule. Objection from Sabah UMNO at that time was set aside by Mahathir. Chong was seen as his blue-eyed boy.Although his party only have 3 state seats at that time, he was made Chief Minister under the rotation system, to the consternation of other component parties in Sabah BN.Both seats, Tanjung Kapor and Merotai have predominantly Muslim voters.

Voting trends among BN coalition partners are based on comradeship. Every member of the coalition must deliver their support to any chosen candidate from any partner in the coalition irrespective of whether they like it or not. Occasionally there would be underhand tactics and sabotage if the candidate is not acceptable with other coalition partners, as was the case with LDP's loss of the Sandakan seat, which they blamed on SAPP headed by Datuk Yong Tet Lee. The seat was also coveted by SAPP on the basis of that it is a bigger party and has more members and supporters.

On Tuesday night nearly 200 Sandakan LDP members announced their resignation en bloc from the party due to dissatisfaction and objection to the fielding of an outsider to contest the Sandakan parliamentary seat. The candidate was the president himself, Datuk V.K.Liew. Sandakan LDP members have thrown their support behind Fong Vun Fui, LDP ex-State Deputy Youth Chief who resigned from the party and is standing as an independent against Datuk V.K.Liew. It appears that Liew is fighting an uphill battle and may lose the seat. Political pundits in Sandakan predicted he may even lose his deposit and rumours has it that the bookies are busy taking betting odds not in his favour.

The two state seats that are likely to end up the same way as Sandakan are Merotai and Tanjung Kapor. The dissatisfaction and objection was similar, putting an outsider to contest the seats.

The incumbent for Merotai Datuk Liew Vun Fah, although being a Chinese was a popular figure with the electorates in his constituency, was dropped as he was seen to be too close to Chief Minister Musa Aman. An outsider, Pang Yuk Ming was fielded in his place. LDP may have overlooked or didn't care that he obtained a majority of 4305 votes in 2004. The Muslims dominated constituency of Tanjong Kapur with eight-cornered fight would also see an uphill battle for LDP.

It is predicted that LDP may end up with zero seat or at the most only one, Karamunting in Sandakan, which was also given a slim chance.

Would it be do or die for LDP ?