Yong:The Monkey King

Hantu Laut

The President of SAPP, Yong Teck Lee has announced that either one of his two MPs would initiate a vote of no confidence against Abdullah when Parliament re-convene on Monday but said SAPP will remain in the BN and would let the BN decides on its fate.

This will be the first time in Malaysian history an attempt to remove a Prime Minister and a sitting government through vote of no confidence in Parliament.

Is Yong going for broke ? It appears so.

It may be a foregone conclusion that most of the opposition MPs,if not all, will support the motion.Without the support of additional MPs from BN the motion may not go through.Yong needs the support of at least 30 MPs from BN to throw Abdullah our if he already has 100% support of the oppositions.It is rumoured that PAS MPs may not participate in it.

It is common knowledge in Sabah that Yong was angry with the PM for not giving him the Sandakan parliamentary seat to contest under SAPP in the recent General Elections.The seat was given to LDP, a rival party once headed by his archrival Chong Kah Kiat, whom Yong has long standing feud with.Both were vying to be the accepted Chinese leader when Chong was still the President of LDP.

All the hullabaloo about illegal immigrants issues are just excuses.This problem has been there since Mustapha's time.Mahathir has been there for 22 years and Yong was thick in the government with him and was Chief Minister under him.Why didn't he fight tooth and nail with Mahathir to resolve the problem then?

He could have done what he accused Abdullah of not doing now when he was Chief Minister and the more powerful Mahathir was Prime Minister, who had no qualms about sending political opponents to prisons but are not prepared to send illegal immigrants away from this country.It showed that when he was in that chair Yong forgot there was a serious illegal immigrants problem in the state.

Yong also forgot there were allegations of a Project M, whatever that meant, where illegal immigrants were issued with Malaysian identity cards and allowed to vote.Some of those voters voted for him when he stood for election in the constituency that covers Likas and Pulau Gaya where thousands of this kind of voters are found.Did he complain?

Every chief minister of Sabah has failed the people on this issue but at least most of them don't go around pretending to champion the cause after they were no more in office and used it as an excuse to challenge the leadership.Leaders like him should have the guts and do the honourable thing, ask his MPs to resign and challenge the government to a by-election and prove it that he and his party have the people's support.

The illegal immigrants problem started with former Chief Minister Mustapha, with the blessings of the Federal govenment then, allowing Filipinos from the southern Philippines to enter Sabah as refugees.

During Mustapha's time no Malaysian identity cards were ever issued to them, they were given UN approved status as refugees and issued with documents known as IMM 13. The issuance of Malaysians identity cards,geniune or otherwise, can be traced to the days of Berjaya and has now exploded to unimaginable proportion.

After the fall of Berjaya, Yong played active part in politics in Sabah from being a deputy chief minister during PBS time to a chief minister under the BN and he had every chance to pursue his very noble cause of getting rid of illegal immigrants from Sabah.Former Chief Minister Chong Kah Kiat tried and failed miserably because the Federal government didn't play ball with him and at that time the all-powerful Mahathir was Prime Minister.

All previous prime ministers and chief ministers had failed the people of Sabah to provide them security and protection from the 'enemy in the midst'.None have been sincere to tackle the problem once and for all.Sabahans are now refugees in their own land because of greedy politicians like Yong and the rest of them.

What makes Yong thinks if all the previous prime ministers couldn't do what he wanted them to do, Badwai can do miracles and resolve the problem instantaneously.

I am sick to the bone listening to such pathetic and shameless talk of politicians who are rotten to the core with personal greed and pretend to champion the rights of Sabahans.

Yong is a political animal, he truly believes Anwar Ibrahim would be the next prime minister and he is preparing himself to jump on the next bandwagon and on to the next gravy train.

It's nothing but a sham and political blackmail.

"The Monkey King" is a renowned classical Chinese novel written by Wu Cheng-en .The Chinese name for the novel is "Jouney To The West".

Judges And Politicians:Ghosts From The Past

Hantu Laut

"I am sick and fed up of judges who have no guts to speak up when in office and to live up to their oath of office.

Judges demand an independent judiciary but are unwilling to make sacrifices to ensure its independence. It is such silence in the face of such outrageous misconduct by a fellow judge that confirms the public’s perception that judges are opportunists and cowards.

Why make spurious allegations now and not before?

The problem of the judiciary is to be found within the judiciary. Don’t blame third parties for your sordid state of affairs!"

Those are words of Matthias Chang, the ever faithful and obedient sidekick of the former prime minister.

He said Justice Datuk Ian Chin must be sacked for conduct unbecoming of a judge and prosecuted for sedition and contempt.

He and the ex-premier son Mukhriz lamented that Justice Chin should have brought up the matter when Mahathir was still the Prime Minister.

He is definitely faithful to the former prime minister and goes out or his way to defend him and what is even more amazing he, like his former boss, is calling for a tribunal to remove Justice Chin.Didn't that sound familiar and similar to what happened in 1988 when Tun Salleh Abas was sacked by a tribunal.

It was common knowledge that the Agong at that time before he ascended the Johor throne had been prosecuted by Salleh Abas when he was public prosecutor, convicted of homicide and sentenced to six months in jail.It didn't make life too difficult for Mahathir to get what he wanted.

Brought up the matter when Mahathir was still the PM ? Mukhriz is either joking or pretended not to know what kind of a man his father is.

Does Matthias thinks judges should suffer in silence and not speak out if there were injustices against them.What would have happened to Justice Chin if he had spoken when Mahathir was still the PM ? It wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that a tribunal would have been the answer to Justice Chin's revelation.

Matthias was wrong when he says there was public perception that judges are opportunists and cowards.The only public perception of judges that I know of are that some of them (not all) are corrupted.

Matthias appealed to fellow Malaysians not to pay heed to the sideshow and said " You may have noticed by now, that whenever the Badawi Regime has a crisis eg. The UMNO crisis following the General Election disaster and now the oil price fiasco, the Badawi spin doctors would attempt to divert your attention with allegations against Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

This happened just before the General Elections with the setting up of the Royal Commission and the wild allegations against Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

This is another side show to throw your mind and anger away from the oil price hike to a non-issue by a frustrated old Judge who cannot even lie properly. This judge is angry because he covets the post of Chief Judge of Sarawak and Sabah. He cannot understand why Tan Sri Richard Malanjun was promoted to the post instead. He blames the former prime minister but he care not to examine his infantile behaviour. And now, the desperate politicians are taking advantage of his stupidity for their political ends!

Don’t fall for this insidious tactic of the Badawi Regime and the blogs and websites fronting for Anwar Ibrahim".

Matthias, like master, like man has thrown a challenge against the Honorable Judge and said
"In the circumstances, I call upon this disreputable judge to an Open Public Debate on the issues raised in his Open Court Statement within a week from the date hereof.

If he refuses, I am calling him a coward, a liar and a man unfit to continue in office as a judge.

And I challenge him to hold me in contempt of his court in making this challenge!

And I am warning Justice Datuk Ian Chin that I intend to lodge a police report against him on his unfounded allegation on the expiry of my notice to him to accept my challenge!

The courage of Justice Datuk Ian Chin’s convictions will be tested by the courage of my convictions!"

Justice Ian Chin is known for his high integrity and had no reason to lie and would not benefit from such histrionics. I wouldn't want to speculate on the two judges who didn't hear what was being said by Mahathir at that time.

From my experience attending conferences before, I found it is normal for some people, young and old, to fall asleep while the speaker is delivering his speech.Most of the time it is out of boredom and made worse if the speaker is not articulated.Justice Chin said it was a thinly veiled threats which possibly was not picked up by the other two judges.

I am certain Justice Chin will not allow himself to be used by politicians.

Matthias is seeing ghosts from the past.

You can read his full article here.

Mahathir's Crude Calculation Of Crude Oil

Filling up, a painful
experience

Hantu Laut

Subsidising the costs of petrol and diesel are no more feasible due to the high costs of crude oil. Continuing doing so would eventually take the nation to the road of insolvency.The price hike announced by the Prime Minister recently would also put a brake on smuggling that have rendered the nation massive economic losses.

Are we to believe all those hardball politics ? Many don't and it makes life difficult for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

People like Anwar Ibrahim, estranged former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad and Pakatan Rakyat have vested interests to demonise Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.They should not be looked upon as guardian angels.They are the demolition squads.

Anwar wanted Pakatan Rakyat to take over the government and he takes the post of prime minister.Mahathir has an axe to grind with Abdullah for the shelving of his vision of grandeur.Mukhriz Mahathir has lost his sense of balance and had become a chip of the old bloke.

Put any of them to run the government under the present situation you would see the same scenario.Their incessant barkings are now becoming a source of annoyance and an insult to the intelligentsia.

It is amusing to note that an article on comments made by Mahathir in his blog on the recent price hike of petrol and diesel appeared in Malaysiakini penned by one Syed Jaymal Zahiid. Malaysiakini appended a table on the price of petrol in other oil producing countries without doing an analysis and rendering of the different economic and social structures of those countries in comparison with Malaysia. The table from the said article is reproduced below:

Looking at the prices in the table any laymen would
immediately conclude that the Malaysian
government was wrong and could well afford to
give the people cheaper price for petrol and diesel because we are oil producing nation.The purpose of the table is to mislead those who has no grasp of economics.

The writer and Malaysiakini should have shown some semblance of responsibility to explain the purpose of the table.

Malaysia is not in the same league as those OPEC countries mentioned in the table. Crude oil is not the staple food(product) of Malaysia. Our domestic consumption of oil is almost 78% of our production capacity.We are a minuscule net exporter of crude oil.

Let's take Venezuela, which has the same population as Malaysia.It produces 2.8 million barrels per day and exports 2.2 million bbl per day and consumes only 599,000, bbl per day. Its economy depended solely on export of crude oil.Almost 90% of its export earnings came from export of crude. It has the lowest price for fuel oil among OPEC members, an unimaginable amount of RM0.16 per litre.

President Hugo Chavez is doing what Mahathir has been doing for the 22 years he was in power.Instead of making strong effort to raise to optimum level the income and living standards of the people, he pampered them with all kind of subsidies just to keep himself in power. The Malaysians' mindsets are now finely-tuned to the subsidy mentality.

Let us now take the other end of the spectrum, UAE (United Arab Emirates) with a small population of 4.6 millions.It produces 2.54 bbl/day and exports almost all of its premium crude.It imports around 137,000 bbl/day for part of its domestic consumptions. Although it could offer its people the cheapest price for petrol or even give it away free, it didn't.Its domestic price for petrol is MR1.19 per litre which is about the same price during Mahathir's time.

UAE is a forward looking nation and has diversified its economy to be not solely dependent on its crude oil export.Unlike Chavez of Venezuela, the rulers of UAE are fully secured in their seats and have successfully modernised and elevated the income level and living standards of the people.

Prime Minister wannabe Anwar Ibrahim said the price hike “wanton in size and callous in effect” and described the steepness in the price increase as unconscionable.

Anwar together with his former boss played equally damaging role to propagate a carrot and stick administration during his time in UMNO.He did nothing to stop the abuses when he was in the comfort zone.If you opposed the government you are seen as a security threat and are likely to be charged under the ISA. If you are a strong party supporter or a clever sycophant you would be rewarded with lucrative government contracts or given well-established public listed company on the platter that can make you an instant millionaire.

More shameful is Mahathir veiled attempt to mislead the people by saying that the government has the money to keep the fuel subsidy. He is either bad in mathematics or intentionally misrepresented Petronas profits.

For an ex prime minister who had 22 years experience in running the nation he should know the nitty-gritty of economics and interpretation of financial statements.As an adviser to Petronas such blatant disregard for facts and figures is inexcusable.

Writing in his blog he said“Roughly Malaysia produces 650,000 barrels of crude per day. We consume 400,000 barrels leaving 250,000 barrels to be exported. Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us RM27 billion.

“But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the government. I feel sure that maintaining the subsidy and gradually decreasing it would not hurt government finances,”

"Three years ago the selling price of crude was about USD30 per barrel. Today it is USD130 – an increase of USD100. There is hardly any increase in the production cost so that the extra USD100 can be considered as pure profit.

Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us 250,000 x 100 x 365 x 3 = RM27,375,000,000 (twenty seven billion Ringgit).

But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the Government.

By all accounts the Government is flushed with money"

Mahathir's above calculation is grossly misleading and most unexpected coming from someone like him, who is adviser to Petronas and one who knew the inner workings of government.The RM27 billion he calculated is gross sale not profit.

Below are details of the world prices of crude and the spot price of Malaysian Tapis for the period shown there in.Prices are not average but year end price.The annual average price would be much lower.

Year World Price US$ Malaysian Tapis US$ (in red)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 2003 28.13 32.03
Dec 2004 33.05 38.41
Dec 2005 51.73 61.97
Dec 2006 55.95 65.57
Dec 2007 89.76 98.44
-----------------------
Jan 2008 85.53 93.69
Feb 2008 95.15 104.21
Mar 2008 99.32 107.88
Apr 2008 111.03 120.88
May 2008 126.06 138.43
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The price reached US130. bbl only in May 2008.

Assuming we take the year end price between 2003 and 2007, the price for the period would be an untrue average of US$59.28 per barrel for Malaysian Tapis Spot.Let us assume the true average was US$50.00.

Assuming Petronas produced a daily average production of 600,000 bbl/day for the period, the annual gross sale of crude would be US$50 x 365 x 600,000. = US$10.5 billion before deducting operational costs, royalty to states and taxes.

Let us work out how much Petronas make between the period Mahathir left office and Abdullah took over the helm to the end of 2007.

Annual sale of crude US$10.5

Less:5% royalty to states .525
-----------
9.975

Assuming all other costs were
50% of net sales 4.987
------------
Net Profit to Petronas 4.987 x 3.20 = RM15.96

Petronas annual profit attributed to export of crude oil between 2003 to 2007 was only RM15.96 billion not RM27 billion as made out by Mahathir.Petronas also generates profits from it other operations especially its LNG and refined petroleum operations.Its other profit centres are from its overseas operations in other countries. In 2005 its revenue was US$44.3 billions and made a net profit of US$11.6 billions.

Petronas current crude production is in the region of 700,000 to 730,000 barrels per day.With the current high price of crude it probably can make RM60-70 billions from all its operations.

Malaysia's domestic consumption is in the region of 550,000 barrels a day and about 300,000 barrels of crude are imported to supplement the domestic needs .It is obvious from the amount of domestic consumption which is almost 78 % of the total crude production it would be unwise to fleece Petronas to continue with the subsidy. It would be likened to " kill the goose that lays the golden egg" if the government were irresponsible and continue the subsidy just to be popular with the people.

During Mahathir's time when the price of crude was much cheaper, averaging less than US$20. per barrel , Petronas profits had been even smaller. He kept Petronas accounts a closely guarded secret.

Why did Mahathir keeps the accounts of Petronas a secret? It is obvious he didn't want Malaysians to know how the money was spent and what are the reserves left after the many bail outs of failed projects and insolvent financial institutions and financing of his grandiose projects. Petronas is also wasting money on prestigious and non-revenue generating projects such as the Petronas Philharmonic Orchestra and bankrolling the F1 races. Now he claims the government is flushed with money.

The price of crude reached its peak at the end of May but have eased slightly since then.Will the price breached the US$200 mark this year?

Much depend on how the recession set in the United States and whether there would be decline in industrial outputs there, in China, India and other industrialised countries.A deep recession in the US could trigger off a chain reaction to other countries that have huge trades with it.A prolonged global recession would certainly bring down the price of crude and other commodities due to less demand.

With the recent price hike would Abdullah be in serious trouble of losing his job?

Much depend on the loyalty of the 150 BN members of parliament.If they stay with Abdullah his position would be unshakable. No reason for them no to, as by now, they would have realised the false claims by Anwar of the 30 MPs joining Pakatan Rakyat.Many dates given by Anwar and his cohort Jefferey Kitingan had passed without any sign of those frogs making an appearance.

Anwar appears unsure whether he should stand in a by-election against the might of the BN machinery and take the risk of being trashed.He kept saying he is not in a hurry.It's now obvious why he wanted to take over the government through the backdoor. To be on the safe side he would only stand in a by election after formation of the government under the Pakatan coalition.

The chance of a back door take-over seems to be fading away as time goes by.

If he stood in a by-election and lost that would be the end of him, his Pakatan Rakyat and his dream of becoming prime minister.

Abdullah needs massive image reconstruction if he wants to stay in power.His popularity rating has slid further down after the price hike.He is in dire need of a cabinet reshuffle and should get rid of those lazy ministers who have done him more harm than good.He should disband his 4th floor academicians.They are probably better suited to give lectures in our local universities than dishing out advices to the Prime Minister. Those kiddies from Oxford and Cambridge have not shown their mantle. If they had, the Prime Minister wouldn't be in such predicament.

The recent price increase has not been given serious thought and no campaign has been carried out to bring awareness to lessen the shock to the general public. The government should have used the mass media to advertise and dish the dirt out to the people on why the nation needs to reduce the subsidy, at least for six months before the date of implementation.It is obvious his cabinet ministers and public relation officers are not doing their jobs.

After asking the people to change their lifestyle and tighten their belts the government, likewise, must now go on an austerity drive starting with the Prime Minister leading the way by example.

Abdullah should cut down his overseas trip to the absolute minimum. Flying a big private jet is a very expensive affair, where possible he and his deputy should reduce the size of their entourage and used smaller jet or take commercial flights.

Ministers and civil servants should also curtail their overseas trips unless absolutely necessary. Many jaunts overseas had been known to be paid holidays under the guise of fact finding tours or working visits.

Ministers and senior civil servants should switch over to using smaller cars to conserve fuel and reduce government spending.

There are many more things that the government could do to send the message to the people that they are equally serious in cutting costs to reduce the burden on the people.

Abdullah taking this unpopular decision should be viewed positively.It means the man is not afraid of losing his job.

With the oppositions not showing any responsibility, inciting the people to take to the streets to demonstrate, will Abdullah reverses his decision again or send the water cannons and teargas ?

He has made his bed, he must now lie in it.

The simple-minded believe changing the government would change things for the better. Some will have the fortitude to accept the hard facts of life and bear the affliction with dignity while some will keep blaming the government for its uncaring attitude as theorised in Stanley Goh's "We need a more caring, innovative government" in Malaysiakini where he sees the government as the devil for all the hardship that some Malaysians may have to incur by the hike in prices of fuel oil.

Malaysians after many years of palliative care by the government now demand cheap fuel as of their rights and not as a privilege.



Than there are some publicity seeking activists who think going to the streets to vend their anger would scare the government and make them submit to their demands.

No government in their right mind would want to make unpopular decision unless they are forced by circumstances to do so.

Abdullah could have, to be popular, let the subsidy continue and hand over a bankrupt government to his successor or to the next government.

The Mahathirs: Time To Go

Hantu Laut

During his father's time people like him would have been sacked in double quick time from the party without any hesitation or show cause from party leaders.

On top of that he would also be investigated by the ACA for some wrongdoings or corruptions just to seal the lid on the coffin.There are already calls from party members for him to resign or be sacked from the party.

Anwar Ibrahim learned a bitter lesson when he tried to go against the party supremo and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.However, Anwar is not an ordinary human being whose resolve can be easily broken.The few years in prison have made him even stronger and more determine to show the former premier that 'every dog has its day'.

Mukhriz Mahathir knew UMNO wouldn't remove him just yet.He is sitting pretty and continue to hound Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Like his father, his motive is to create more instability in the party and to pressure Abdullah to step down. His ultimate goal is to be sacked from the party and to gain sympathy from party members and ultimately to be seen as a hero.

He would be as disappointed as his father.

There are no love between party members and those out of power or the powerless. UMNO is a party of patronage, tow the line or suffer the consequence of your dissension. Subservience and loyalty are only meant for the oligarchy.

The seemingly weak Abdullah is not taking the bait and wouldn't at this juncture do anything superfluous to weaken the party nor would there be many disgruntled members leaving the party if Mukhriz decides to resign. In the event he is sacked from the party, there wouldn't be any 'reformasi' movement from the masses to show their discontentment and displeasure as seen during the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

The tiff between his father and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had become a family feud with concerted familial attacks by the Mahathirs on Abdullah. The whole unpleasant affair has turned into a personal vendetta that has thrown UMNO into slight disarray.

Mukhriz has openly declared that he would be going for the position of youth chief in the coming party elections in December this year.

This uncontroversial son of the former prime minister is not known for riding the high horses and have always steered away from controversy. Caught between the devil and the deep-blue sea, it is obvious, filial piety had probably got the better of him.A decision not all that wrong but could prove fatal to his future political carrier.

The older Mahathir has now come up with a new formula on how to topple Abdullah. He says 35 UMNO lawmakers should leave the party and stay as independents and stay away from AnwarPakatan Rakyat coalition.With their departure Abdullah government would collapse and Abdullah would have no choice but to resign. He said Najib should have the guts and should detach himself from Abdullah and step in as candidate for prime minister.The 35 ex-UMNO MPs should than give their votes to Najib and he would than be the new prime minister.Sounds terribly easy or just a pipe dream?

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Mahathir is running hither and yon, trying everything from the sublime to the ridiculous, to bring about the downfall of Abdullah. His decrepitude idea of a serious political crisis in the country is merely a figment of his imagination stem from the hatred for Abdullah for dismantling many of his money-spinning contracts for his cronies. Two massive projects chopped by Abdullah triggered off his admonition for the Prime Minister that has now backfired on him.

Soon after he took office Abdullah, at the chagrin of Mahathir, shelved the massive US$3.8 billion railway project given to a consortium controlled by Syed Mukhtar Al-Bukhary, a close associate of Mahathir, and the controversial crooked bridge, a retaliation against Singapore's hard-headed stands on many bilateral issues effecting the two countries. The bridge is his idea of giving access to ships plying the Strait of Malacca and South China Sea to by-pass Singapore and use the Strait of Johor to the Port of Tanjong Perlepas in south western Johor and Pasir Gudang Port in south eastern Johor.Both ports are under the control of Al-Bukhary.

Although the growth of his business empire has had some form of help from former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed, due respect must be given to Al-Bukhary.Unlike many so-called Malay entrepreneurs who depended totally on political connections to jump start their venture into the business world, Al-Bukhary is a true entrepreneur that came from a humble beginning and worked his way up to what he is today.

The vainglorious Mahathir underestimated his current popularity in the party and throws his last trump card hoping he would this time unseat Abdullah by popular uprising in the party triggered by his resignation.A poor judgement and bad decision.

His resignation was followed by his businessman son Mokhzani who also resigned from the party.He was listed as the 28th richest person in Malaysia by Forbes with an estimated worth of US$220 million in 2007.He is also Chairman of Sepang International Circuit which has an annual budget of RM100 millions annually to host the F1 Grand Prix.A new contract with Bernie Eccelstone for night racing under lights would need another RM40-50 millions expenditure to light up the track.This is one of the so-called successful Malay entrepreneurs.

Another son, Mukhriz was elected as member of parliament in the recent elections and has followed in his father's footsteps and has, on several occasions, called on Abdullah to resign as Prime Minister.In spite of his insubordination he refused to resign from the party.

All the Mahathirs are still holding political appointments which they refused to resign.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad is a veteran politician, a man who used to tell UMNO member to be loyal to their leaders and that party interests come first and he who accused the West of double standards.What kind of standard is he using now?

It is by social convention that in any organisation, politics or otherwise, that if we ceased to support the leader and party principles we should resign and decouple ourselves from the organisation.

Since they have not been able to remove Abdullah from his premiership, it would be a matter of moral principle that:

Former PM Mahathir Mohammad resign from his positions as advisers to Petronas and Proton.

Mokhzani resign as Chairman of Sepang International Circuit, and

Mukhriz resign from UMNO.

Mahathir:Cut The Nose To Spite The Face

Hantu Laut

If the saying 'pride goes before a fall' befitting anybody it would be former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.A man befuddled with so much rage and hatred against his hand-picked successor Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he is prepared to kill off his legacy just to get rid of Badawi by whatever means possible.

Why would an octogenarian like him, retired from the highest office and one who has transformed the country from a tropical backwater to a modern and successful nation be bothered by the dismal performance of his successor and the party and goes to such great length to tire himself and become a thorn in the flesh to the Prime Minister and the nation?

Mahathir has reached a point of despair and desperation and did the unthinkable, resigned his life membership from his party. The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohammed Nazri Aziz called it a case of blackmail. The only sensible conclusion to his charade of caring for bangsa, ugama dan negara.

Mahathir might have 'cut his nose to spite his face' by resigning from his party and called on party members to leave the party.His tactical move to split the party to get rid of Abdullah by asking members to leave the party and only return after Abdullah's departure as party president and prime minister is damnable.He didn't get what he wanted.It didn't trigger off a mass exodus.It has the opposite effect, most senior party leaders closed ranks to show their support and loyalty to Abdullah.

Mahathir of all people should know from his twenty two years experience at the helm the kind of political patronage practised in UMNO and the invisible whip in the hand of the Prime Minister.He had used it more vigorously than any other prime ministers before him to keep his boys in line.So far there has been little indication of a mass exodus.

It certainly makes no sense to 'kill the goose that lays the golden egg' because of one old man lost legacy and vindictiveness. All of what Mahathir wanted to happen are perilous to the continued existence of UMNO. To do as suggested by him is suicidal for the party. There are predators waiting in the wings.

Mahathir is a man not short of conflicts,controversies and contradictions.He has picked a quarrel and parted ways with almost all of his deputies.

His tussle for the UMNO presidency against Tengku Razaleigh Hamza in 1987 where he won by a slim majority resulted in UMNO being declared an unlawful society by the court and emergence of a splinter party under Razaleigh called Semangat 46 and UMNO Baru under him.Semangat 46 was later dissolved and Razaleigh returned to the fold and to political wilderness.

The court ruling on the illegality of UMNO resulted in the sacking of the Lord President Tun Salleh Abas and a number of judges and the beginning of a dark chapter in the judiciary.Thereafter, the judiciary had been transformed from an independent body to one that is seen as subservient to the executives.

Last year a video tape of a lawyer trying to fix judicial appointments was released by Anwar Ibrahim to the public by posting it on YouTube which shocked the nation and eventually resulted in the setting up of a Royal Commission.The findings and recommendations of the Commission to investigate the six including Mahathir could have triggered off his latest reaction.

Mahathir thinks he has been unfairly treated, the Malays have abandoned him and that he had not broken any law in the course of his duty as Prime Minister although some of his actions in the past are considered as misdeeds by many Malaysians.

In 1987 a growing rift between him and Musa and misunderstanding and disagreement on policies led to the resignation of Musa as deputy prime minister.Many Malaysians called the government at that time the '2M government' which stands for Mahathir and Musa.Mahathir didn't like the version and were visibly annoyed and didn't want Musa in the limelight.Frustrated with Mahathir's autocratic style, Musa left the government and Malaysian politics on a sour note.

His next deputy was the rustic and less ambitious Ghafar Baba who posed no threat to him. Ghafar was eventually challenged by Anwar Ibrahim for the deputy president of the party and deputy prime minister.

In 1993 Anwar took over from Ghafar as Deputy Prime Minister and was also made the Minister of Finance. Anwar was seen as the blue-eyed boy of Mahathir and his meteoric rise to the top, overtaking other more senior party stalwarts, was not without the blessings of Mahathir.

The firebrand Anwar would soon become a cause for concern for Mahathir.Before he knew it, Anwar was already getting very popular with the rank and file and the Malay grassroots.Anwar's oratory skill and charisma attracted the young Turks in the party, a significant force to be reckon with and substantial political clout to make changes in the leadership.Talks had it, through the grapevine, that Anwar would challenge him at the next UMNO elections, which was vehemently denied by Anwar.From a protege Anwar had suddenly become an adversary and a threat to his position.

A mysterious book made its appearance at the UMNO General Assembly titled"50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM "(50 Reasons Why Anwar Should Not Be Prime Minister).The slanderous books were found inserted in the dockets of some delegates without their knowledge.Finally on 2 Sept 1998 Mahathir dropped the bombshell, asked Anwar to resign which Anwar refused.At about 7 p.m the same day Anwar received his letter of dismissal.Chain of events led to Anwar arrest on charges of corruption and sexual misconduct and was incarcerated for a few years but was later released from prison under Badawi's administration.

Anwar claimed they were trumped up charges brought about by Mahathir and tried under a judiciary subservient to him. Other than the abandonment of the crooked bridge, releasing Anwar from prison was another sore point he had with Badawi.

Now back to the present crisis with Abdullah Badawi.Why did Mahathir chose Abdullah as his successor and not Najib? Although he said he favours Najib over Abdullah but chose Abdullah because of age and seniority he has not been completely honest about what he said. When he said he actually wanted Najib, it was not all that true.At that time he sees Najib as a young man of his own mind and less likely to carry on his legacy and sees in Abdullah a soft, self-deprecating and amenable man whom he thinks he can manipulates and make use of to carry on his legacy.His underestimated Abdullah's capability of being not what he seems to be, as seen with the naked eye.Abdullah is not temperamental and can take criticism in his stride which Mahathir misconstrues as a weakness. It's the idiocy of 'judging the book by its cover'

It is, therefore, more difficult to read Abdullah's true character because he hardly display his temperament and has never been on the defensive or strike back when criticised. His liberalism was also taken as a sign of weakness.One has to admit that today, Malaysians have more freedom to criticise the government than during Mahathir's time, where any form of criticism or dissent, vocal or in writing, is seen as seditious and a threat to national security.During his time the press are more muffled than it is today.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed may have forgotten what he practised when he was prime minister.His contradictions are just appalling and makes one wonder whether he meant what he says.

He wanted the party to remove the prerequisite for any candidate to contest the president and deputy president posts which was introduced by him to protect his position during his time but have now suddenly found it not expedient anymore.During his time he preached about loyalty to leaders and party. Today he is asking the very same people to abandon the party, be disloyal and get rid of the Prime Minister.

He complains about lack of press freedom, party members not allowed to meet him, no freedom to speak out within the party and the practices of cronyism and nepotism in Abdullah's government.If we care to look back, open our eyes and look at the distant mirage we would see our former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad in it, doing exactly what he says Abdullah is doing.It's a throwback from the past that's haunting him now.

The sad thing is many Malaysians have taken Mahathir's propaganda hook,line and sinker without looking at the situation now and those during his time.

The government today is working under intense pressure as compared to his time when the global economy was bullish and price of crude oil was substantially lower compared to what it is today.Not only the world is facing an energy crisis, it is now facing a serious food crisis. The only reason we have not suffered any catastrophe yet is because the global economy is more resilient now than before. The worse is yet to come and Malaysians should ready themselves to buckle up for a rough ride and live without subsidy mentality.

During his tenure as prime minister the average price of crude oil was less than US$20 per barrel.Today the price has exceeded US$130 per barrel.Prices of most commodities have spiralled up without any end in sight. The price of Thai White Fragrance Grade B Rice last week stood at US$1020 per ton F.O.B.In 2002 the price was below US$300 per ton F.O.B.In the building industry the price of steel bar has increased almost double since three years ago.To continue subsidising these commodities is not an easy task for any government especially when the price increases to very high level where huge amount of subsidies become a drop in the ocean and unappreciated by the consuming public.

It is probably better to increase the salaries of the work force and let the commodities find its own price level.Most Malaysians are more concerned with the amount they take home rather than the amount they have to spend.

If not for Mahathir unrelenting attacks on Abdullah and his government there would be no crisis in UMNO.Mahathir was partly responsible for the BN poor showing at the recent polls.His campaign against Abdullah and the BN was worse than that of the oppositions.He had actually helped the oppositions to garner more votes by his endless bickering at Abdullah and his government.

It is appalling that an ex prime minister is using the race card to rally support of the Malays to his undemocratic attempt to topple a duly elected prime minister and his government. It goes without saying that Mahathir thinks he is indispensible and only he and UMNO should rule this nation and only UMNO is a Malay party that can protect Malay interests.

When it suits him he whacked the Malays, calling them ungrateful, Melayu mudah lupa lah! dan macam-macam lagi, with complete disregard for decorum expected of a man of his stature.When he needs them he has no qualms about using the race card.

What about PAS and PKR, aren't they Malays too?

In many democratic countries the kind of elections results Abdullah got would be considered more than enough to form a stable government but unfortunately Mahathir didn't want to see it that way, he always wanted it "His Way" and his way has nothing to do with the love for this nation, it is for the love of personal glory.

It is also sad that a so-called veteran UMNO politician proposed for the Agong to intervene in the feud between Mahathir and Badawi and joined by some really smart bloggers who think likewise that the Agong should be dragged into this crisis.How could you call somebody like Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Tapa a veteran politician when he has absolutely no idea of the working of the constitution of this nation.The Agong is not a Penghulu or Ketua Kampong to be bothered with a long running personal feud of two politicians.It is not a government in crisis,it is not Badawi in crisis, it is not the Malays in crisis, it is only Mahathir in crisis.The constitution is very clear on who can remove the prime minister.The Agong can only accede to it if there were sufficient votes of no confidence passed in Parliament.

Abdullah may not be the best man for the job, but has he actually done that badly, would there be major change and improvement if Najib were to take over now?

Mahathir:This Is "My Way"

Hantu Laut

I am not a member of UMNO or any political party, nor am I a supporter of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

I used to admire our former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad for some of the good things he had done to this country.A man who is truly an embodiment of 'the end justifies the means'.He would do what he feels strongly about even at the expense of personal liberty of others, so long as he gets his way.A man you either love or hate.A man who wouldn't give up a fight and will take it to the end, right or wrong.

His falling out with the present Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi over the shelving of some of his grandiose projects have now reached the end of the road and one that can culminate to a destructive political conflicts that will put UMNO to the test again, to stay united under Abdullah or split down the middle for the two men.The last time it happened was the power struggle between Tengku Razaleigh and him that ended up UMNO being declared an unlawful society by the court and the breaking up of the party and emergence of a breakaway party, Semangat 46 under Razaleigh and the reincarnation of UMNO under him.

At the time there were no other strong oppositions prevailing to challenge the ruling coalition.Now,the opportunistic Anwar and his Pakatan Rakyat are waiting in the wings to seize any opportunity to take over the government.

After a long period of frustrating campaign to remove Abdullah from office of prime minister, Mahathir has not gotten any where nearer his goal.Provoking Najib to stage a coup has not worked either.Calling Najib a coward to spur him to take on Abdullah has not brought him the desired result.The man is now at his wits end on what to do or deal with his burning desire to get rid of the man whom he personally chose as his successor and prime minister of this nation.

If his intention is to arouse senior party members to act against Abdullah and bring him down as prime minister and president of the party, it may disappoint him again as all those at the top would have a lot to lose, personally, if UMNO loses its grip on power.At this point of time the grassroots in the party is irrelevant, only the BN members of parliament can remove him as prime minister, or a mixture of BN and PR members if there were insufficient numbers from the BN that are prepared to be disloyal to him.To think a spontaneous revolt in the party would materialise is like clutching at the straws, it wouldn't happen.

Mahathir is not a man who would be prepared to eat the humble pie and accepts the fact that he is equally responsible and to blame for his poor judgement of Abdullah's character, or was it his selection of Abdullah was based on his assumption that Abdullah is of a complaint nature and will obey him, which fits well into his agenda for the continuation of all his pet projects, or did he expects Abdullah to be grateful for the appointment and would do every thing he says?

Being a prime minister for 22 years Mahathir should know the democratic process more than anyone else in this country.He should know that Abdullah was duly elected by the people and should be allowed to serve his time.He should only be removed by a democratic process in an election or a vote of no confidence against his leadership in parliament.

It appears that Mahathir has failed his gift of the gab and is now prepared to throw down the gauntlet even at the expense of destroying UMNO to get rid of Abdullah and put Najib at the helm.His clarion call for senior party leaders, ministers and deputy ministers to leave UMNO is execrable and undignified.

Although I don't subscribe to Abdullah's style of leadership, I still believe we should allow the democratic process to take its course.

Mahathir resignation from UMNO is a strategy to weaken Abdullah's already vulnerable position and starts a revolt in the party. Is he likely to succeed in his attempt to get UMNO senior leaders to follow him? Can Abdullah take the risk of calling a fresh election?

Mahathir is not short of controversies, this is the second time he is out of UMNO, the first was in 1969 when he was sacked from the party for going against the first Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman.His tussle for the UMNO presidency against Tengku Razaleigh in 1987 divided the party.His conflict with his deputy Musa Hitam ended with Musa resignation as deputy prime minister.The sacking of another deputy, Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 culminated in massive street demonstrations in the capital city and the sending of Anwar to prison on charges of corruption and sodomy.

Most of the top leaders may not pay attention to the call of the clarion but at the middle and grassroots level the story may differ from the top.A fresh election is an option too risky to take at this moment.

The good question now is would Mukhriz follows in his father's footstep?If he does, that would be one less MP for UMNO and the BN.

Will Najib Be The 'Braveheart' ?

Hantu Laut

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His former mentor turned arch-enemy, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed was exalted when Abdullah finally made the announcement to step down.Mahathir thought he has succeeded in destabilising his bete noire and would see UMNO come under a new and stable leadership. He was wrong.

Last week he assured the nation he would step down and hand over the mantle to his solemn-faced deputy, Najib Tun Razak who has, albeit superficially, stood steadfastly behind him and refused to indulge in any conversation regarding succession and his ascent to the premiership.

One have to read Najib's body language to understand how frustrated and annoyed he is with his fickle-minded boss who is becoming even more unpredictable lately. Flip-flopping seems inherent in Abdullah's character.He has made a series of inexplicable blunders which would have caused great embarrassment and concern to most leaders but does not appear to have caused any anxiety to Abdullah.

When rumours were flying around about his intention to marry Jeanne Danker he catergorically denied it. He married her a few weeks later.The biggest shocker was when he assured the nation that he was not ready to dissolve parliament and call for elections and pronto!.......the very next day and in less than 24 hours, he did exactly the opposite, dissolved parliament and called for election. His astounding ability for contradiction and inconsistency is exasperating.

With the latest bout of Abdullah's vacillation, Mahathir may have to re-scramble his demolition team. As Lord Acton famous quote says "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely", and Abdullah finds it hard to let go even after numerous calls from his own party stalwarts and from some of his ministers to step down.

Abdullah had made an about turn and said he would continue until the party general assembly in December and he would also contest the president post and thereafter hand over the helm to Najib.

It would not be too difficult to predict where Abdullah is heading for.If he won the elections in December why should he hands over the helm to Najib.Abdullah is betting on chances that he may be able to garner enough votes to retain the presidency of the party and proved to all and sundry that he still has the support of the majority and, therefore, will not step down as prime minister.

If Abdullah is challenged, likely to be Muhyiddin, than Najib wouldn't be prime minister in waiting anymore, unless Najib openly declared his candidacy before the party elections to keep away other predators from joining the fray.

If Najib or Muhyiddin takes on Abdullah at the party elections than Tengku Razaleigh is likely to stay away from the tussle. If Abdullah changed his mind and refrain from contesting the post, giving way to Najib, there are strong likelihood of others joining the fray.

On the other hand Abdullah may not last until December, a coup in Parliament could remove him from office.

Keeping Abdullah as Prime Minister is good for the oppositions. Anwar Ibrahim had indicated that the oppositions will not pass a vote of no confidence against Abdullah in the August house.
His survival as prime minister depended on the undivided support of the BN lawmakers. The longer Abdullah stays as PM the better it would be for the oppositions and precarious for the BN. More and more disgruntled BN lawmakers who are fed up with Abdullah may want to join the opposition giving Anwar the added strenght of a bigger majority for a new federal government. Anwar knew where Abdullah's weakest link is. At the moment it is with the BN elected members in Parliament.

The support of the ordinary members of UMNO to keep Abdullah as prime minister is not crucial and is irrelevant at the moment.

After the poor showing at the polls, UMNO was in the doldrums, a ship with a captain but no rudder to guide its direction. It has lost the esprit de corps among its members.The elections results sent shock waves throughout the party with most members still in a state of daze and are shocked that the invincibility that they thought they always have had been smashed.The arrogance and complacency of the UMNO leadership had been their own biggest enemy.UMNO leaders think Malaysians owe them a living and would vote for them at every general elections.

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time" is the famous quote by Abraham Lincoln the 16th President of the United States. After fifty years of political incarceration by UMNO overlords the people had spoken albeit not as strong as it should have.

Abdullah wouldn't have this crisis of confidence if not for the bickerings and back stabbings from UMNO members.The campaign to discredit him by certain members of the party has brought him immensely damaging public contempt.

The thorn in the flesh for Abdullah is Mahathir.His incessant attack on Abdullah has shredded Abdullah's credibility to pieces and created divisions in the party. Some members are still loyal to Mahathir.The party is divided between the devil ( Mahathir) and the deep blue sea(Abdullah). His tenure as PM has become untenable and extremely precarious to BN's survival as a central government. BN is walking the tightrope between life and death. If it does not take remedial action now it may not be the government when Parliament convenes.

The race to Parliament has just begun. It would not be a marathon, it would be a 100 meter dash and the fastest runner will take the government.

It would be a race between Anwar and Najib.

If Najib can't convince Abdullah to step down or make a move against him, the probability of Anwar taking over the federal government could become a reality.

Anwar is holding out the carrot to entice Sabahan MPs, especially those from the KDM group who are famous for selling out their souls to the devil, to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat with a promise to give Sabah 20% royalty on oil, gas and timber. Timber ? Timber has always been state resources and Sabah collects 100% royalty from timber.As an ex-finance minister Anwar should have known this and should check his facts before making promises that look stupid and unreal.

Giving 20% on gross revenue ? I wouldn't bet my bottom dollar on it becoming a reality.Giving 20% on gross before deducting production costs and profit sharing with foreign oil companies would be an economic nightmare for Petronas. Most Sabah politicians are just too dumb-headed and would believe the earth is flat.

Living by tradition is no more an option for UMNO.

It is now survival of the fittest.

'Braveheart': Is based on a 1995 Academy Award film directed and acted by Mel Gibson that portrays the legendary Scot, William Wallace who led a revolt against the oppressive rule of Edward I of England.

Pak Lah In A Pressure Cooker

Hantu Laut

Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to give up the PM's post.This time the call came from home, from 20 divisions in Johor UMNO. It wasn't a direct call for him to resign but they urged him to take a sabbatical and let DPM Najib takes over for a while to cool down the very overheated resistance to his presence as prime minister.

Not invited to the meeting were 6 divisional heads who also happened to be ministers in the Federal cabinet. They were Hishammuddin Hussein,Shahrir Abdul Samad, Khaled Nordin,Syed Hamid Albar,Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad.

The meeting was held at the residence of the Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman and the absence of the six divisional heads/ministers and Tourism Minister Azlina Othman and Deputy Minister of Human Resources Noraini Ahmad clearly shows the party is divided on the issue.Those in Pak Lah's cabinet do not want to be seen as traitors although many discreetly wanted him to go and go quickly.

More and more dissenting voices are now coming out from the rank and file.It's apparent that Pak Lah is now confronted with bigger domestic problem within the party.The pain in the neck Mahathir has achieved the objective of destabilising him. The darling of the 2004 Elections is now the most hounded man in the country.

How did Pak Lah's fortunes decline in such dizzying speed ? He is probably the only prime minister who had become unpopular in the shortest span of time. Even the cold-blooded Mahathir managed to retain power for 22 years and didn't go through such agonising moment of embarrassments. There was no spontaneous call for him to step down. Malaysians generally have a love and hate relationship with him. Members of UMNO either despise him in silence or had high regard for his leadership. He is also an enigma and can be full of surprises which kept his enemies in awe or in fear. He has managed to keep his opponents and distractors at bay through fear or favour.

When Abdullah took the helm from Mahathir he was seen as a god-fearing, clean and amiable man. His Mr Clean image and amiability strengthen by his promise to clean up corruptions was the drawing power to his massive electoral victory in 2004. Unfortunately, he failed miserably in his promise and continue to make mistakes without any attempt to correct it. He behaves like a minor thinking making promises is a game that you need not play by the rules. His natural disability of making correct statements when addressing the nation has put him in a bad light and demolished his god-fearing image. His inconsistency and contradiction are appalling.

When he was asked about his son's business and whether he has used his influence to help bolster the son's business he responded by saying that his son doesn't do business with the government and almost all his business were with foreign companies outside the country.He probably didn't realise that many people knew most of his son's businesses are with Petronas overseas operations. When he was asked to confirm the rumour that he is getting married to Jean Danker, he replied in the negative and shocked the nation when he got married a few weeks later.

Like the weather he is notoriously fickle and his state of the art fickleness was played out when he stated in no uncertain term that Parliament wouldn't be dissolved yet to make way for elections, and pronto !.......he dissolved Parliament the next day. The people were horrified in disbelief that a prime minister of a nation can make such infuriating blunders. His series of political blunder leaves a lot to be desired.

Abdullah is not made of grits and guts, he can easily give in to threats and demands.It was not untrue when Mahathir accused him of ignoring some of the candidates recommended by menteri besar and chief ministers.There were no discussions held between him and the menteri besar/chief ministers on changes he made to the list. He unilaterally took the decision to replace it with candidates of his choice.

His handling of the recent controversy with Sabah clearly shows he can buckle under pressure.The rumblings in Sabah BN necessitates him to make a journey there to meet Sabah leaders and he met the leaders separately instead of as a coalition group.He has made certain promises which Sabah BN hopes he will make good.

The appointment of Pendikar Amin Mulia as Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat is most puzzling.There are many elected member who deserved to be given that position instead of Pendikar who is not even an elected member. Pendikar is an UMNO divisional head of a very small community of people called the Iranun, a name changed by him from Illanun which is a connotation for pirate. Pendikar is well known for his abrasiveness and threatening manner, a kind of uncultivated Long John Silver.

Pendikar, Salleh Said Keruak,Amir Kahar Mustapha,Yusof Yacob and Ghafur Salleh were dropped by Chief Minister Musa Aman.Ghafur managed to wriggle he way back in through his connection with a Sabah businessman who has strong link with Syed Hamid Albar who talked Abdullah into putting Ghafur back on as candidate.

Pak Lah has also promised to give more ministerial posts to Sabah which means he has to create new posts just to fulfill that promise, a reversal of the scrapping of a few ministries when he announced his cabinet line-up.

Although Pak Lah is not an evil man and has been quite liberal in his ways, his lack of leadership and inconsistency has made him very unpopular.

Will he survives till the UMNO General Assembly in December ?

Johor, Sabah and Perak have the biggest number of divisions in UMNO. Losing the support of these three states would spell trouble for Pak Lah.

Mahathir: The Enigma

Hantu Laut

Well done Pak Lah! You should have lashed out much earlier. From Musa Hitam, Tengku Razaleigh, the late Ghafar Baba , Anwar Ibrahim and lately you, none of you are good enough for him.

Nobody is good enough for this man.None of those who had the misfortune of becoming his deputy can measure up to his high expectations and his immeasurably excessive demand for loyalty, right or wrong, he expects total subservience.

When he was in power and to protect himself from being challenged he changed the contest rules in UMNO. Now, he wants to change it back to suit his new political agenda.

When he had problems with the sultans he changed the law to keep them in line.

When he had problems with the judiciary, he arranged for tribunals to sack the Lord President and three judges.

When he perceived a challenge from Anwar, the poor chap suddenly turned to become a closet homosexual.

When Abdullah cancelled his crooked bridge, Abdullah is the most useless prime minister this country ever had.

He plays a major part in UMNO's poor showing in the recent polls because he started an opprobrium on Abdullah which eventually effected the party's support at the polls.

Most of all he loves the two-thirds majority because he can do almost anything with it.

Mahathir is a man of mysterious behaviour and at times difficult to understand.Even his smile is enigmatic.

I was a great fan of him once, now I changed my mind.

Don't Let The Despot (Mugabe) In

Hantu Laut

I used to admire our former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad to a fault. I still do to certain extend but with some reservations to some of his recent outbursts which has kind of put me in a dilemma. Call it disappointment if you wish but I certainly do hope he tones down a little and minces his words before he says them.

Honesty and frankness are good virtues and helping a friend in distress is no less a good virtue too. As the saying goes "A friend in need is a friend indeed"

Does Robert Mugabe fits as that kind of a friend.A despot who robbed and ruined his country and shattered the economy that will take generations to recover.

Mugabe was once hailed as a symbol of the new Africa.During his 28 years rule the well-being and health of his people has dropped dramatically.It has the world's shortest life expectancy....37 for men and 34 for women, the highest percentage of orphans and abuse of human rights using arbitrary arrest and torture of political opponents.

When Zimbabwe gained independence 46.5% of the country's arable land was owned by around 6,000 commercial farmers.Mugabe accepted a "willing buyer, willing seller" among other concessions to the white minority.The compensations were paid by the British government to white settlers to return land to poor Zimbabwean farmers. As part of this agreement, land redistribution was blocked for a period of 10 years.

In 1997 the British government led by Tony Blair unilaterally stopped funding the "willing buyer, willing seller" land reform programme on the basis that the initial 44 million pound sterling allocated under the Thatcher government was used to purchase land for members of the ruling elite rather than landless peasants.

Mugabe's family owns three farms: Highfield Estate in Norton, 45 km west of Harare, Iron Mask Estate in Mazowe, about 40 km from Harare, and Foyle Farm in Mazowe, formerly owned by Ian Webster and adjacent to Iron Mask Farm, renamed to Gushungo Farm after Mugabe's own clan name.These farms were seized forcibly from their previous owners.

He has allowed seizure of white-owned farmland without compensations.This are the very people he asked to stay back and guarantee them security of their land when the country gained independence.

Zimbabwe once the "bread basket" of southern Africa is now economically crippled and its farmlands lay in ruins. It now depend on food program and help from outside to feed at least one-third of its population.

Mugabe who has a string of academic degrees hanging around his neck is one of the most useless and corrupted African despots. He is responsible for the freefall of the country's economy by his appalling economic mismanagement, corruption and brutal repression.

It's so disheartening to hear our former Prime Minister Mahathir to ask our government to give asylum to this crook who had destroyed a nation and makes its people suffer immeasurably.

I don't think we need this kind of despot in our midst and I urge the government not to let him enter the country let alone give him asylum.



Mugabe: I will quit, as long I do not face prosecution
Zimbabwe backlash starts as Mugabe thugs march

A Demonised Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Hantu Laut

The once affable Abdullah Badawi has been so much demonised by the oppositions, by some of his party members and most of all, the most vocal of all his critics, his former mentor and ex Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

His seemingly weak leadership, irresolution and people's perception of him allowing his family of getting involved in affairs of the nation, notably his unpopular son-in-law, has smudged and damaged his political image. Mahathir's relentless call for him to resign or be removed is making his tenure as prime minister untenable and UMNO divided.

The ex-premier has again called for Abdullah's resignation and accused him of having 'no sense of shame' for hanging on to a job that most people think he should give up. He also accused the PM of poor selection of candidates that led to the substantial erosion of support for the party by letting his son-in-law interfered with the list submitted by state leaders.

“Of course, everyone knows that the list of candidates is chosen and submitted to 'Sultan' Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi) by state leaders but once it reached to the party president, somebody else takes over,” he said, referring to Khairy as the culprit.

Mahathir's sarcasm is completely lacking in finesse. Calling Abdullah Sultan only shows his irrational nature and his grudge against the man.

Pak Lah is not fully responsible for UMNO's eroded support. The Mahathir's legacy that he inherited played significant role in its making.The culture of corruptions, nepotism, cronyism and abuse of power have always existed in that regime. Mahathir had always swept the dirt under the carpet if it is not in his favour.

During Anwar’s second trial in June 2000 before Justice Arifin Jaka, then ACA director Shafee Yahya had given sworn testimony when asked about an investigation on the director-general of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

Transcript of the notes recorded by the judge of this part of the testimony (excerpts are unedited):

Counsel: Adakah you search the EPU chief’s office?

Shafee: Yes, I did.

Counsel: Was a big sum of money found in the drawer of the EPU director-general for which he could not explain?

Court: What is the relevancy? No need to answer.

Counsel: Did Anwar Ibrahim directed you to raid the office of the EPU chief?

Shafee: No.

Counsel: Did Anwar ask you to close the case against the director?

Shafee: No.

Counsel: Did anyone ask you to close the case?

Shafee: Yes, the prime minister did.

Counsel: Narrate the circumstances under which the PM asked you to close the investigation.

Counsel: Were you called up by the PM?

Shafee: Yes. I was told off, 'How dare you raid my senior officer’s office?' I was taken aback and I replied 'This was based on official complaint by an aggrieved party'.

I did what was officially required under the law. He accused me of trying to fix the former DG of EPU.

I replied that is totally wrong because it is wrong in law to fix anybody. As a Muslim it is a big sin to fix anybody.

He asked me, 'Did Anwar Ibrahim ask you to raid the office?' I said, 'no'.

It was based on an official complain and to be fair to Anwar when I mentioned the complain against the EPU chief, I inform Anwar of my intention to raid but he said, 'Have you cleared this with the PM?'.

I said, 'I mentioned this to PM, the PM kept quiet'.

Counsel: What was the tone of PM when he asked you whether Anwar asked you to raid? Was it in an angry tone or normal conversation tone?

Shafee: The tone was rather accusatory.

Counsel: The EPU was directly under the PM’s Department.

Court: No more questions on the investigation on the EPU chief. I am not satisfied of the relevancy of such evidence.

Counsel: Was the EPU responsible for awarding privatisation of projects?

Shafee: As far as I know, it is.

Counsel: After you were scolded by the PM did you inform anybody about this?

Shafee: I informed the Chief Secretary to the Government.

Counsel: What was your reaction when the PM scolded you and told you to close the case against the DG of EPU?

Shafee: I was highly dissolution and when I went home I told my wife I wanted to resign. But in view that I have two or three months to finish my extension - my wife persuaded me not to resign.

Counsel: Why did you feel dissolution and decide to resign?

Shafee: In my whole career with the government, this was the first time my boss accused me of trying to fix somebody and also my dissolution in the way the PM was interfering with my duty.

Mahathir was never investigated for interfering with the ACA investigation and Shafee had never been charged for perjury, if he had actually lied about his testimony.

Like most cases involving high level corruption by his men, the case was closed.

Pak Lah's biggest mistake was the promise he made to kill corruption before the 2004 polls. Without giving it much thought he made the promise and later realized the monstrosity of the problem and the difficulty in arresting it. It was so widespread and deeply entrenched a full disclosure would have caused the collapse of his entire administration.

The second biggest mistake he made was to allow certain amount of freedom of disclosure of corrupt practices in his administration where high-level personalities were involved but did not take appropriate actions to push through the cases and charge those involved in the court of law.

If he had followed his predecessors style of putting on the lid on every case that's likely to ruin the name of his administration , he wouldn't have the kind of problem he has now.

Another big mistake he made was to ignore the Internet, the blogging community.

In a country where freedom of the press is only free for the government. The Internet was godsend. The new found vehicle for freedom of expression has created an alternative media that penetrates millions of homes, unrestricted and uncensored. The oppositions which have no access to the mainstream media was quick to jump on the bandwagon. They not only utilised it directly themselves but also have cleverly engaged independent bloggers to their sides. Many well-known bloggers are allied to the oppositions.The government on the other hand looked at bloggers as pests and considered them unworthy of any respect.

Having a self-indulging Minister of Information didn't help either.Instead of advising the PM the benefits of engaging bloggers, he did otherwise, reviled them with all kind of names and declared them enemies of the nation.

The government, of all people, should have known that the urban areas are well wired up. Many households in the urban belt have computers and ready access to the internet.It would be safe to say at least 40 to 50 percent of BN electoral losses would have been attributed to bloggers.E-news websites like Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today had become household names and have strong followings. Those like Raja Petra Kamaruddin who was so convincing with his story, even his fictional writing sounds plausible and readily believed by his readers.

After 22 years of Mahathir's Machiavellian rule most Malaysians are not quite used to Badawai's amiable style which is translated as weakness of character.Neither is he a forceful speaker unlike the former prime minister, who has better oratory skills.

The problems in UMNO are combinations of many things, past and present, and the follies of many leaders including Mahathir and Abdullah which culminated to the current political crisis.

Is it fair to blame it just on one man?

Note:Court's transcript taken from Malaysiakini

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.

Another Frog In The Making

Hantu Laut

Another MP from Sarawak is contemplating leaving the BN and may want to join the opposition.

BN-SPDP Mas Gading MP Dr Tiki Lafe has not confirmed or denied leaving the party. He said he is on holiday with his family and is not saying anything.

It was also rumored that 10 MPs from Sabah and Sarawak are on holidays in Australia.After the hard work they need to rest and congregate in the same place !

In a new development, Richard Riot the MP for Serian has denied he is leaving the party. The new twist to the tale is, it was not Richard who made the statement, it was the SUPP publicity chief Alfred Yap.He said he spoke to Richard and he was unhappy about newspaper report that he is leaving the party and that he fully support the party and is loyal to BN.

Where is Richard and why can't he make the statement himself ?

Party hopping or frogging can be a liability or an asset to political party.
Sabah has a long history of party hopping that started as far back as the USNO government.

Sabah is the birthplace of frogging or kataking ( a Sabah term), where greedy politicians can be bought or sold at a price.

The first incident of induced frogging was in 1967 when UPKO assemblyman Payar Juman was abducted from his home in the middle of the night and enticed to join Mustapha's USNO(United Sabah National Organisation) to give it a single seat lead majority in a coalition with SCA(Sabah Chinese Association). With the crossover USNO managed to grab the government from Stephen's UPKO. Payar Juman was given a ministerial post and his abductor Halik Zaman was made his political secretary.

The biggest mass defections of politicians was in 1976 when the federal sponsored Berjaya party was formed to topple the then Chief Minister Dato Mustapha Harun. The exodus was led by Harris Salleh and discreetly supported by Donald Stephens who had converted to Islam and changed his name to Fuad Stephens and was the TYT (Governor) at that time. Berjaya won the 1976 elections and formed the state government with Fuad as chief minister. Later Fuad and some of his cabinet colleagues died in an air crash.His deputy, Harris Salleh was installed as chief minister.

In the 1994 state elections PBS won with a slim majority of 2 seats.Within a month majority of PBS assemblymen had switched side. They were offered hard cash, cabinet positions and other inducements.The then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad denied the allegations and said the crossover was due to PBS slim majority with which they will not be able to govern effectively and may cause political instability.

Party hopping is not illegal but is considered an evil act from moral point of view. It also set a bad example and sending wrong message to the younger generations who aspire to be politicians.Those who are for sale are usually of questionable character, selfish, greedy and are there purely for status and money.They don't give two hoots about serving the people and country, their priority is to serve themselves.

The federal government have used this shameful method to grab power on several occassions from the oppositions in Sabah .Should they complain if Anwar goes round trying to entice potential frogs from the BN camp ?

Another BN MP ready to jump ship?

WHO CREATED THE NEW MALAY DILEMMA ?

The New Malay Dilemma
____________________________________________________________________
Hantu Laut

The following article is an excrept from ex-Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohammed's speech at the Harvard Club in July 2002, shortly before he handed over the baton to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

When Mahathir stepped down and appointed Badawi instead of Najib as PM there was an immense feeling of euphoria among Malaysians of every race, colour and creed.The state of uneasiness of the Mahathir's era evaporated with the appointment of Abdullah, invariably seen as mild-mannered, clean and more endearing.

The general feeling of euphoria was translated into massive support for Abdullah at the polls in 2004 where he garnered 90 percent of the parliamentary seats and trounced the oppositions almost into oblivion.

His massive victory was on the premise of cleaning up corruptions and bring about a clean and transparent government.Promises he eventually failed to keep.The euphoria turned to feeling of dismay, disappointment and distrust of his character.

Mahathir, who often bashes his own people for their weaknesses and dependency on government assistance, have made himself unpopular with the Malay masses. He blames them for all the failures to achieve the objectives of the NEP.

Mahathir was at the helm for twenty two years.He was the longest serving prime minister and have had more than enough opportunity to educate the Malays the nitty-gritty of the business world and the moral principles of life. Was it fair that he only blamed the Malays and not himself for the failure of the NEP ?

Some ( those sidelined) in UMNO are now in nostalgia of the Mahathir's era.

Will Badawi takes the Malays to greater height in the forthcoming polls or destroy the Malay's political hegemony ?

Would there be a new Malay Dilemma if the Malay power base weakened ?

____________________________________________________________________
Excerpts from a speech given by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed at the Harvard Club of Malaysia dinner on 29 July 2002

The Malays are among the few people whose race is legally defined. Thus, the Malaysian Constitution states that a Malay is one who habitually speaks Malay, professes the religion of Islam and practises Malay customs. There is nothing said about the definitive culture of the Malays.

It follows that changes in culture do not make a Malay person a non-Malay.

Culture is made up largely of the value systems accepted, even if not actually practised by a people or a race. Observations have shown that the culture of a people determines whether they are successful or they fail..... .... Europeans, Asians, Africans and American Indians can all be successful and can all fail. It is, therefore, not the race or ethnicity which determines success. It is the culture.

When I wrote The Malay Dilemma in the late 60s, I had assumed that all the Malays lacked the opportunities to develop and become successful. They lacked opportunities for educating themselves, opportunities to earn enough to go into business, opportunities to train in the required vocation, opportunities to obtain the necessary funding, licences and premises. If these opportunities could be made available to them, then they would succeed. ......

.... But today, the attitude has changed. Getting scholarships and places in the universities at home and abroad is considered a matter of right and is not valued any more. Indeed, those who get these educational opportunities for some unknown reason seem to dislike the very people who created these opportunities. Worse still, they don't seem to appreciate the opportunities that they get. They become more interested in other things, politics in particular, to the detriment of their studies. In business, the vast majority regarded the opportunities given them as something to be exploited for the quickest return. ...... They learn nothing about business and become even less capable at doing business and earning an income from their activities. They become mere sleeping partners and at times not even that. Having sold, they no longer have anything to do with the business. They would go to the government for more licences, permits, shares, etc. ....

.... Why has this thing happened? The answer lies in the culture of the Malays. They are laid-back and prone to take the easy way out. And the easy way out is to sell off whatever they get and ask for more. This is their culture. Working hard, taking risks and being patient is not a part of their culture. It should be remembered that in the past the Malays were not prepared to take up the jobs created by the colonial powers in their effort to exploit the country.

Because the Malays were not prepared to work in rubber estates and the mines, the Indians and Chinese were brought in. At one time, the migrants outnumbered the Malays. Had they continued to outnumber the Malays, independent Malaya would be like independent Singapore.

But the Malays have apparently learnt nothing from the near loss of their country in the past. Today, they are still unwilling to work and foreign workers are again flooding the country. And because they are not equipping themselves with the necessary education and skills, they have continued to depend on others. Their political dominance will protect them for a time. But that dominance is fading very fast as they quarrel among themselves and break up into small ineffective groups. Their numerical superiority means less today than at the time of Independence. ....

.... The Malays, together with the other Bumiputeras, make up 60 per cent of the country's population. But in terms of their political clout, it is now much less than 60 per cent. They are now more dependent on non-Malay support, both the government party and the opposition. Economically, of course, they have less than half the 30-per-cent share that has been allocated to them. If we discount the non-Malay contribution to the nation's economy, Malaysia would be not much better than some of the African developing countries.

To succeed, the Malays must change their culture. They must look towards work as a reward in itself. They must regard what they achieve through work as the true reward. There should be some financial reward but this must not outweigh the satisfaction obtained from the result of their work. ....

.... Changing culture is far more difficult than changing the policies of government. It is easy enough to propose affirmative action but it is not easy to implement it. The recipients must have the right attitude if the results are going to be obtained. .... Unfortunately, their view is that their crutches are symbols of their superior status in the country. The sad thing is that they are not even using the crutches properly. As a result, they gain nothing or very little from the availability of these aids. ....

.... So what is the new Malay dilemma? Their old dilemma was whether they should distort the picture a little in order to help themselves. The new dilemma is whether they should or should not do away with the crutches that they have got used to, which in fact they have become proud of. There is a minority of Malays who are confident enough to think of doing away with the crutches, albeit gradually. But they are a very small minority. Their numbers are not going to increase any time soon. They are generally regarded as traitors to the Malay race. ....

.... There will be a host of protests over this generalisation about Malay attitudes. We read almost every day about blind Malay people and other handicapped Malays graduating with university degrees or driving cars or doing all kinds of work. This does not prove that the generalisation that I make is wrong. These are exceptions. They only prove that if the right attitude or culture is adopted, even the handicapped can succeed.

The dilemma faced by those few who want to build a strong, resilient and independent Malay race without crutches is that they are most likely to end up becoming unpopular and losing the ability to influence the changes in the culture and the value system which are necessary. It seems that they should not try and yet they know that without the cultural changes, the Malays are going to fail.