Asia Sentinel Apologised; Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar

Hantu Laut

An apology from Asia Sentinel:

On 12th March 2012, Asia Sentinel published an article entitled "Malaysia’s Securities Watchdog Head Quits" and with the sub-heading "Plagued by questions of conflict of interest, chairwoman steps down" in reference to the departure of Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar as chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia.

It has since been pointed to Asia Sentinel that a number of the statements and allegations contained in the said Article are factually incorrect and misconceived.

Asia Sentinel now accepts the error in publishing the defamatory statements in the said articles and has removed it from the Asia Sentinel website. We withdraw all imputations and allegations upon Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar and thus upon the office which she then held as Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia with immediate effect.

Asia Sentinel expresses its deepest regrets for any and all distress and embarrassment caused by the publication of the defamatory words of and concerning Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar and to her husband, Azizan Abdul Rahman. Asia Sentinel also withdraws all imputations and aspersions cast upon Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman on his personal and business reputation. Asia Sentinel further expresses its sincere and deepest regrets for any and all distress and embarrassment caused by the publication of the defamatory words and unequivocally and unreservedly apologizes.Read more.

Selena's Bluff

Hantu Laut

Quote from Selena Tay's article in FMT:

"A neutral Chinese political analyst who is a friend of this columnist has informed that it is possible for Pakatan Rakyat to win the 13th general election by 118 seats, with BN getting 104. The total number of parliamentary seats is 222."

First, I would like to ask Selena Tay if this Chinese guy is such a hot shot political analyst has he no name, no siang? Where is he from, Malaysia or China? 

A good political analyst do not pluck numbers from the air, he gets scientific and gives specifics.

More figment of her imagination below:

"Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has in fact already lost the general election, in a manner of speaking, and that is why he does not seem to have the sense of urgency to hold the polls".

We all know, except Selena Tay and the oppositions, that dissolving Parliament is the PM's prerogative, he needs not listen to the oppositions or anyone else to call for elections.


If you want to bluff horn your skills first.

Neutral Chinese political analyst without a name and probably doesn't exist!

A neutral Malay political analyst, who is a close friend of Hantu Laut says with certainty  BN will get 148 and Pakatan 74.

Read more of her poppycock here.

Bar Council Promoting Hearsay Culture

Hantu Laut

What's the big outcry about the lawyer who drafted S.Bala 2nd SD (Statutory Declaration)?

You don't need a lawyer to write your SD, you can draft your own SD as it is your own testimony. 

If you can write simple language, you certainly can prepare you own SD. 

When you lose your I/C, you need to swear an oath where,when and how you lose your I/C and to fulfill that requirement you need to have a statutory declaration. 

Most people do it themselves, but for more complex matters you may need a lawyer, but it is not mandatory that you must use a lawyer if you are confident of doing it yourself.

I am not sure whether Raja Petra used a lawyer for his SD, as he himself is a good writer, well exposed and are not ignorant of the many laws of this country. 

S.Bala may be dumber than a fifth grader, that's why he needs a lawyer to draft his SD and later changed his tune that he signed it under duress.

If you think you are not capable of writing it yourself, you may engage your friend who is better at writing to do it for you and all you have to do is to sign the SD in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths as assurance that you are the actual person behind the SD.

In the case of S.Bala the question is not who drafted the SD but whether S. Bala was forced or coerced to sign the SD.

Did he sign it under duress, or was he the one who demanded that he be paid if they want him to change the SD?

He claimed he was paid and his testimony was confirmed by Deepak, who claimed he was the bag man, who arranged S.Bala to retract his 1st SD.

Both SDs of S.Bala and Raja Petra were based on hearsay and may not be admissible in a court of law. Heresay evidence is not acceptable in any court of law. 

It makes one wonder why some lawyers including the MOTHER of them all the BAR COUNCIL gives so much credence to the SD, which should have been destined to the rubbish bin and the makers charged for false declaration.

Any SD can be a work of fiction. Raja Petra and S.Bala SDs are not based on first hand knowledge but on stories provided to them by third party, who for all intents and purposes, might have been sent by the enemies of Najib with the cooked up stories.

It's mind boggling to think Rosmah Mansor had been that stupid as to attend the execution of Altantuya personally. That sounds more like a script written for Hollywood crime movie and the sad think is many Malaysians believe in the story.

I am surprise the Bar Council has jumped on the bandwagon in joining the witch hunt against the lawyer who was only doing his job for his client.

If the Bar Council had shown impartiality as defender of the law it would have advised the public to ignore the SDs of both Raja Petra and S.Bala from the day they were made public.

Unashamedly, the BAR COUNCIL is acting like an opposition political party with its own political agenda.

Is Haris Ibrahim Defending Blackmailers And Extortionists

Hantu Laut

As the general elections loom near, it's high hunting season in Malaysia . 

From revival of the Altantuya's impalpable ghost, to recycling of the RM40 million mysterious UMNO money cum Musa Aman money and to the incomprehensible SDs of Bala, the oppositions seemed to be running out of construction materials.

Here, a lawyer who sees politics a more rewarding career than practising law came out to side with the blackmailers and extortionists calling the Bar Council to take action against the lawyer that drafted the 2nd SD (Statutory Declaration) of P.Balasubramainiam, the ex-private investigator who claimed he was under duress and was paid to change his first SD, which he also claimed was made under duress.

In the West, where moral principle is much valued than in Malaysia the two clowns and their incredible stories would have been thrown to the wolves.

His excuse for the witch hunt is that the lawyer should have first consulted the private investigator before drafting the SD.

I am not a legally trained person but from my experience and business dealings with many lawyers, it may not be the case, as implied by Haris Ibrahim. A lawyer takes direction from his client, the one who pays his fees.

A lawyer is not a policeman, he merely take instruction from his client, and as long as there is no criminal element to the best of his knowledge he needs not consult any other person other than his client.

It is the same with banks, they only deal with documents and as long as the documents presented to the banks have no discrepancy and comply with terms and conditions of the L/C (Letter of Credit), the bank will pay its customers. It is not the bank responsibility to physically check the cargo and its actual loading on to the ship.

Should the cargo, which should have been coffee beans turned out to be broken bricks, the bank is not responsible. It becomes a fraudulent case for which the relevant law apply and up to the buyer to institute the necessary against the seller.

In international trade mutual trust exists between buyers and sellers but fraud can happen and had happened before. The case I quoted of coffee beans that turned to become broken bricks was a real story. 

It was in 1985, if I well remember, when I was still in the export business and the case was in Indonesia whereas the seller who was supposed to ship coffee beans cheated his European buyer by shipping broken bricks in sacks.

If you had been cheated in a business deal you have legal recourse, why mud-sling  irrelevant matters against people you have been apple-polishing when the going was good and turned against them when the tide was against you. That's, no less a contemptible lowlife.

For Haris Ibrahim, may I suggest he should first establish the fact whether somebody put a gun to Bala's head and forced him to sign the SD in the presence of the lawyer before he jumps the gun and accuses the lawyer concerned of dereliction of duty.