A clip that riled the local Malays

A 40-second clip shown in the UK has got some Malaysians upset.

Actually, the 40-second clip showed a man on a beach firing a machine gun into the air and shouting in the Malay language: "I'm the most evil man in the world. Come fight with me. I will kill you all."

Apparently he appeared to be ethnic Malay or Indonesian.

To be precise, the clip was a recruitment video advertisement of the British Navy.

What got our diplomats to be upset? Well, no prizes for guessing but it was the portrayal of a Malay man as a terrorist.

A letter writer had expressed his indignity in Utusan Malaysia two days ago after have watched the advertisement.

And then, since it involved an issue of Ketuanan Melayu, the senators got all worked up and then the foreign ministry got involved and as a result, the British Defence ministry withdrew the advertisement from the Royal Marines Web site.

The clip will not be shown in British cinemas as well.

Excellent! Out top mandarins surely know how to rectify a situation urgently, as long as it was committed by others.

When it comes to such insensitive activities against certain other races locally, we seem to have to wait forever for any action, let alone an apology to those effected.

Read story on the ad withdrawal here.

Time to stake proper ownership, M’sia

Goodbye Pulau Batu Puteh (now officially known as Pedra Blanca).

We lost an isle the size of a football pitch and gained a series of rocks (Middle Rocks) and most probably another stone (called South Ledge) which is only visible on low tide.

How do we call this a win-win case? The foreign minister is surely taking positive spin to a new level.It’s definitely a bad loss for us as Pedra Blanca was not just a boundary marker, it was also a source of income from passing international ships, let alone the rich natural resources one can find there.

Now we have rocks in the region, with Singapore right on our noses, extending their boundary.

The ICJ ruling is clear – the Malaysian government has been lackadaisical in exercising sovereign rights over a piece of ‘useless’ rock which the Johor Sultanate's had sovereignty since time immemorial.

I don’t know if the problem started in 1844 when the British Colonial Administration built a lighthouse on the island or in 1953 when the Acting State Secretary of Johor replied to the colonial authority that "Johor has no claim of ownership over Batu Putih".

But I solely blame the federal government for not staking sovereignty the moment Singapore became independent in 1965. Only in 1979 did we include it in our maps and even then took no bloody steps to assert any ownership.

And over the period of time we allowed them to take control of the island, even having to seek their permission to land there. Their navy blockaded the island to stop us from entering the waters surrounding it.

It’s quite embarrassing that an isle which is only about 14.3km from Johor has been a no-go zone for Malaysians while Singaporeans from 46.3km away were ‘ruling’ it.

Anyway, it’s gone now. But, hei, we have Middle Rocks.

And then we have Pulau Pisang, which also has a light house maintained by Singapore, who also controls a jetty and a team of border guards on the Malaysian island.I think we should exercise some form of ownership before it too goes the Batu Puteh way.

So it’s up to the Johor state government and the federal government that Pulau Pisang remains ours.

Interestingly there are other islands next to it - Pulau Tunda, Kemudi and Sauh. Quite a rich picking these ones. If it goes to ICJ again, who knows we might face another banana skin with Singapore taking Pulau Pisang and we are left with the other smaller ones!

And then we have Pulau Unarang (off eastern Sabah and bordering Indonesia), Pulau Perak (between Penang and Sumatra) and several islands in the South China Sea.

Interestingly Malaysia had taken control of some of the islands, which are unclaimed. To stop a Pedra Blanca fiasco, we will have to start exerting our presence in these islands now.

In Pulau Unarang for example, the Indonesians have put up fishing apparatus but are unable to build a lighthouse or permanent structure as our navy is patrolling the island.

And in Pulau Perak, we have a helicopter pad with our army and navy patrolling it, still these strategic rocks are being ignored, with reports of pirates resting there at times!

So we have to move fast. I hope the government will wake up.

A New Straits Times report today indicated that we are looking at the right step by staking claims and sovereignty over 100 islands, reefs, rocks and other marine features lying in the South China Sea, Straits of Malacca and off Sabah.

Pulau Batu Puteh may have gone. The rest should remain ours, at all costs. We should not lose them due to our lackadaisical attitude.

How should Pak Lah react?

Now that Mahathir has decided to quit Umno in protest to force Abdullah to step down, it is inevitable that in the coming days a few more shocks will happen.

There will be some pockets of party members who will join MM in leaving the party. Some pundits are even saying that some 200 divisions in Johor alone are ready to follow suit.

Likewise I am sure some veterans will also follow MM. But, how about Umno MPs and state level leaders? Would they jump the ship as well?

I highly doubt it. I think it would be against their self-interest for any minister, deputy minister or and MP to quit the party now.

As it is Abdullah is holding a meeting with Umno MPs today and tomorrow he would have a similar meeting with BN MPs. What will follow is a BN meeting and then Umno supreme council meeting.

I am sure they will discuss the repercussions of MM’s decision and on Abdullah’s future as well.

There are two strong messages which Abdullah and Umno can give MM. They are:

1. Thank you for all your services and now that you have resigned, we hope you will have a good rest. Do enjoy your break.

2. Do not get yourself involved in local politics, especially in Umno politics, as you no longer have the standing to comment on a party which you are no longer a member.

At the same time, MM should be reminded to be prepared to defend himself in court IF he is to be tried for the conspiracy in the appointment of friendly judges, as recommended by the Lingam tape commission.

He should also be reminded to keep himself occupied with completing his memoir.

And finally someone should ask MM as to the real reason he is doing this.

Is it because he loves the party too much that he can’t sit and watch Abdullah ruining it, thus wanting him to be replaced by Najib or Muhyiddin or even Tengku Razaleigh?

OR, is it because he is afraid that Anwar Ibrahim will take over the government if Abdullah remained in power?

MM must openly explain if it’s his dislike of Abdullah or fear of Anwar coming back to haunt him.

Live on RTM with Home Minister

On Tuesday night I was a guest panellist on RTM1's 'Bersemuka Bersama Media', having the chance to grill Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar on the ISA and press freedom.

It was a good session, one of which I personally am proud of for having a chance to ask some questions to the minister on these issues.

There is a media report on the programme itself (read here) so I will not get into that apart from saying that the minister did give his assurance that he would continuously looking into making reforms, without making any concrete promises.

So as it stands, there’s no end to ISA and no immediate freer media environment.

Other interesting things that came out from him (both on and off-air):

1. On KDN meetings with editors: He sort of alluded that would not happen under his ministry. So let’s wait and see if he sticks to his words.

2. On having evidence but still detaining people under the ISA: The way he put it, it was as though the Hindraf 5 are hardcore terrorists that were on the verge of toppling the government.

3. On number of ISA detainees: He said there were about 55. Also added that the government was successful in rehabilitating them. I don’t know how when there are some who has been detained for six years and entering into their fourth two-year term (meaning it would be 8 years).

4. On new publishing permits: He said there were about 7 or 8 still pending. Also said it was PM who actually approved PKR’s permit for Suara Keadilan even before the March 8 GE. He clarified that it was not for a daily.

5. On mkini print permit: He said we should just stick to online publication. Said we shouldn’t cause competition to the MSM. However agreed we can re-submit application.

6. On Indian priests, musicians and sculptors: I told him that although there seem to be a change in policy, the immigration people were still not renewing permits for these category of people. The minister said these people would be allowed to remain and work and at the same time said he would move for a revolving system where these foreign experts would eventually be replaced by locals. He said he was going to have a talk with all concerned parties soon to see how this could be done without affecting the temples, foreign skilled workers and local talents.

7. On overcrowded illegal foreign workers detention camps: He said nothing could be done on that now. Said it was unfortunate and blamed foreign embassies for delaying the repatriation of these workers.

8. On mainstream media: Agreed that they had lost some credibility and agreed the alternative media was become mainstream now and indicated his willingness to work together with them. "We can agree to disagree," he stressed.

At the end of the interview, the RTM people were happy with the line of questioning. They are eager to regain some credibility and want to be seen as a reliable news agency - thus the invitation to people like me to go live to question the minister.

The information minister was there too and he was eager to make use of the internet new organisations and bloggers in generating debate. That’s good indeed.

And finally, both the ministers said they were ‘happy’ with the grilling they got from me and The Sun's political editor Zainon Ahmad, the other panellist.

Jakim contradicts PM

On April 19, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government would introduce a regulation requiring non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam to inform their family before doing so.

He said this would prevent problems of families disputing the conversion of their loved ones when they die.

He made this announcement after meeting with Islamic religious authorities, giving the impression he had spoken about this to them and had obtained approval.

His basis for such a regulation was to ensure people would not be going at each other over this matter, as it is happening now. In a nutshell, Abdullah wanted a harmonious relationship between all.

However a report in the Star today gives a different picture altogether.

Surprise! Surprise! Now senior Jakim leaders are saying converts need not inform family, and openly rejected Abdullah’s proposal.

This rejection was mentioned by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz himself, saying that it was the joint view of state legal advisors, muftis, syarie judges and Islamic department directors.

And their basis for this - nothing to do with human relations but instead it was based on the Quran!

It seems the holy book does not provide anything that “compel a person wishing to convert to Islam to inform the family before doing so”. Instead they want the need to inform loved ones should be left to the discretion of the person wishing to convert.

So in one hand we have a premier who is thinking about maintaining a racial harmony and thinking like a leader for all Malaysians and on the other a group of religious old-schools who simply refuse to move away from the interpretations of their holy book.

Malaysia for Malaysians? Fat chance if this continues.

Rompin’ MP shouldn’t get off easily

I don’t care if the victim has withdrawn her police report against a former minister for alleged sexual harassment. It is the duty of the police to call in the former minister, who is also an MP, for questioning.

There can be many reasons for the victim to have withdrawn her report. She could also have cited various excuses for lodging the report in the first place.

Of course it is within her right now to say that there was a misunderstanding over the ex-minister’s behaviour and that she was "sensitive and moody" at the time of the incident and as such she had felt offended at that time due to her “complicated mood”.

She had added she had known the former minister over the past five years and was used to his rough ways, and he had acted in jest without any bad intention.

Based on her statutory declaration which she signed to withdraw her report, it can be alluded that:

1. the MP is known for such behaviour against her in the past, and,
2. that she had in the past experienced his rough ways and his “jest without bad intention”.

However, sexual harassment is still sexual harassment and an offence even if it was done in jest!

I am glad the KL police chief had said that they would still question the MP, which they had done yesterday. They have also spoken to some witnesses apparently.

Now if they think he had acted against the law in sexually harassing the woman, they should pass the file to AG for action. And on the other hand if the victim had indeed lodged a false report, action should be taken against her as well.

I think the public perception at the moment is that she has been either forced or has been bought over to withdraw the report.

The police can clear this perception by completing their probe on her report and making public their finding, all in the spirit of the new found reform agenda of the prime minister.

[Rompin’ (or romping) means, among others, to play or frolic boisterously.]

Ex-minister in sex harassment scandal

This is a Bernama report:

“Police are investigating a woman's claim that a former minister molested her at a five-star hotel near KL Sentral last week.

Kuala Lumpur CID Chief SAC II Ku Chin Wah said the woman, in her 30s who works at the hotel, lodged the report at the Brickfields police station on Friday.

The incident allegedly took place on April 14, he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent Headquarters today.

Ku refused to divulge more details but did say that the ex-minister was currently abroad and police would summon him for questioning on his return.

He said police were investgating the case under Section 354 of the Penal Code which carries up to 10 years jail or a fine or whipping or any two.”

From my sources: the incident happened at the Havana cigar club in Le Meridien Hotel near Kl Sentral. Apparently he was drunk and when this girl served drinks to him, he tried to touch her hand, and then followed her to caressed her buttocks.

The girl shouted and an angry scene arose after her boyfriend, who also works there, confronted the ex-minister. The couple finally lodged a report on Friday.

So who is this sex deviant?

Well, lets look at the clues:

- A sitting MP but dropped in the new cabinet line up.

- He headed a very important space-age ministry before the March 8 general election.

- A very cocky fellow who before being appointed a minister sat in a powerful parliament committee.

- Cigar-loving Umno person

- Was embroiled in a racist controversy last year - for making a nasty, demeaning remark to a student overseas for which he was forced to apologise to the student.

Enough-lah....It should be clear now who this Jinjang Joe is!

‘Have they forgotten us?’

I didn’t expect such complaints to come out against the new state government in Penang.

Suddenly the high-expecting makkal sakthi people are wondering if all their hard work has been misplaced and taken for granted by the new administration.

Their complaints in particular are on:

1. The lack of non-Chinese staff in the CM’s office

2. The number of Indian reps in the two local councils in the state - about three or four at most and that too given to people closely aligned to a certain state/party leader. No makkal sakthi grassroots leader has been recognised, they claim.

3. The new state leaders are also paying less attention to the Indian issues now, in fact at times not bothering to take part in open dialogues in trying to solve issues which they said they would do before being voted in.

4. A seasoned journalist also said that the newly appointed leaders have become so elusive that its difficult to get hold of them.

Well, I would still say that we should give the new state government some time to settle down and get on with their own policies. It’s only been more than a month now since they took over.

I am sure they would not be chauvinistic as they are labelled now. We wait in full patience. After all, they too are fully aware of the power of the makkal!

First sign of repression?

This was the question posed by opposition leader Lim Kit Siang after the banning of popular Tamil daily Makkal Osai today.

He asked if the daily was denied the renewal of its KDN due to prominence in its coverage for the Pakatan Rakyat.

“Is this the first sign of repression and crackdown on human rights and the little space opening up in the printed media after the March 8 political tsunami?” he asked in a statement today.

Insiders say there are many reasons for that - but chiefly it was for being anti-establishment.

Apparently the ministry was upset that daily gave wide coverage to Anwar (including the Black 14 rally and the police probe that followed) and Makkal Sakthi issues.

The publication of Uthayakumar’s photographs from the Taiping hospital is also said to have riled the ministry.

And finally it seems there was a business competitor who had fed information about Makkal Osai’s misdeeds to the ministry.

I am sure the cabinet had discussed this matter this morning. Is this how the PM is going to regain the trust and support of the Indian community?

As it is I think the one-month suspension of Makkal Osai last August for publishing an offending photo of Jesus caused some resentment towards the government - perhaps it was even the start of such a feeling against the BN.

The government must be smart enough to just renew the KDN and let the daily do its business.

Watch Pak Lah fall (2)

Looks like it is gonna happen sooner than later.

First we had a handful of powerful leaders calling for his resignation (led by Dr M no less).
Abdullah said he was not convinced as he had the people’s mandate.

And then you had individual leaders making similar noises.
Abdullah said these were the minority within the party.

Then came the divisions in Kedah, Penang basically asking him to step down in favour of Najib.
Abdullah said he has some unfinished task in hand and that the people had not rejected him.

The biggest blow, as I see, finally came from Johor divisions, who couched their call for his resignation in a civilised manner - they asked for a succession plan.
Abdullah was in a corner by now, accepting that BN’s defeat was his fault but still determined to hang on.

Then came the clincher - his so-called ally Muhyiddin Yassin first telling on Friday that Abdullah has agreed to discuss succession plan with Najib and then again over the weekend hammering the nail by adding that it was time for a leadership change in Umno to save the party from becoming irrelevant.

Abdullah is silent on these, perhaps realising too late that even his allies are now against him.

Today, former Selangor MB Khir Toyo urged for a quick hand over and urged for an open contest in party polls in December. And another ally, Rais Yatim, also wants Abdullah to be swift with his succession plan.

I am sure more will come out in the open in the next few days/weeks to force Abdullah to step down, perhaps forcing him to announce his intention in the next month or so and officially giving up to Najib in December!

Anwar’s goal: MP or PM?

This is part of an interview which PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim gave to The Jakarta Post today, which I found rather interesting.

Q: You will be eligible again to be voted as state official this month. Do you have any plans to become a parliament member in the next election to pave your way to become prime minister?

A: April 14 is the date when my ineligibility period ends, a period which was imposed on me by corrupt judges who were politically steered. But I've never been worried about or paid attention to that situation, and I've been campaigning all along.

I do have an option (to become a parliament member and run for premiership), but I am not making it my personal agenda. It is more crucial for now to manage the opposition coalition and I will deal with my personal goals in the coming years. I'm in no rush.

I was particularly drawn to this line: “I do have an option (to become a parliament member and run for premiership)...I will deal with my personal goals in the coming years. I'm in no rush.”

He says he is in no rush. Betulkah ini? I guess we may know a bit more of his immediate plans right after April 14.

note:

I just found out that PAS president Hadi Awang was admitted to hospital in Kuala Terengganu this morning, suffering from a mild stroke. He won both the Marang parliamentary and Ru Rendang state seats in the general election.

Imagine the irony if his seats were to fall vacant for Anwar to contest after April 14. Anyways, according to PAS sources, the tok guru is fine!

Powdering up for TV appearance

Did you read that the traditional Wednesday cabinet meetings are now to be held on Fridays? What to make of this switch? For me, it shows the lowest level our BN reps can come to.

So low, to the extent of rescheduling the all-important Wednesday cabinet meetings to Fridays so that they can be ‘seen’ doing their job on live parliament telecast.

The question now is this. Fridays, being a holy day for Muslims, mean a limited working day. And then it is also the day for MPs to head back to their respective constituencies.

With all these, can the ministers give us an assurance that they would not be rushing their cabinet meetings to fulfill their religion and constituency obligations? When would they be holding their post-cab meetings and the usual press conferences that follow? Mondays?

Definitely not an effective method of governance.

Also it is uncertain if this arrangement is only during the parliament sittings or throughout the year. I await our beloved PM’s comments on this matter.

The full Bernama report on this can be found here:

Below is the excerpt

“KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Bernama) -- The Cabinet meetings usually held on Wednesdays will be moved to Fridays to enable ministers to be present at parliament sittings, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He said it also had to do with the planned 30-minute live telecasts of Parliament proceedings from the end of this month.

"Before this, during question time (Q&A) deputy ministers or parliamentary secretaries answer for ministers because they (ministers) sometimes are unable to be present.

"Now with this live telecast move, the ministers themselves will provide the answers as the people will be closely watching the proceedings," said Mohamed Nazri on the "Bersemuka Dengan Media" talk show programme on the RTM1 television channel tonight.”

Now, everyone wants them released

MIC president S Samy Vellu is under fire for asking for the release of Hindraf 5. Rightly so, I think.

What took him so long to finally make that call? Some of his party supporters defend him by saying that he is at least pushing for the release now. To me, this is shallow thinking, precisely why MIC lost horribly in the general election.

As an Indian-based party, MIC and Samy Vellu should have nipped the community problems way before it came an Hindraf cause.

And then when Hindraf took off, the party should not have seen them as criminals or outcasts. It should have embraced them and worked with them - within the BN system - to solve the issues.

What happened was the opposite. The party and it president refused to acknowledge the existence on Hindraf, played down the role played by the Hindraf leaders and even justified their detention under the ISA for allegedly being linked with LTTE.

And now suddenly for the president to call for their release is comical, to say the least.

I would see Samy Vellu’s sudden change of mind on the Hindraf leaders as one calculated to fool the community again. An attempt for him to win again the trust of th Indian community.

I don’t think the community will buy this, again!

The same goes to the other BN component parties - Gerakan and MCA - who suddenly feel that the Hindraf 5 should be released. Where were they when the Hindraf rally happened on Nov 25 or when ISA was used on the 5 on Dec 13?

Why is it that only after losing the Indian voters in the general election do these parties think they need to do something for the Indian community?

They are still hellbent on taking the community on a ride, I’d say.

Watch Pak Lah fall

Will he be forced to go or would he persevere and stay on?

I am talking about the mounting pressure on PM Abdullah to leave the scene and let others to take over. The pressure is so bad that Abdullah has to openly assuring Malaysians that he has NOT resigned.

Bernama quoted him last night as saying:

"I am here. I am here. They speculate that I want to run away. Why should I resign?"

"My government has got a strong majority (although) not the two-third majority. Why must I run away from my entrusted responsibilities."

Now lets look at the situation:

1. He has internal Umno problems - arising from people dropped from the candidate’s list for the general election right up to those upset with the undue influence of his son-in-law Khairy on ALL matters.

2. The pressure from veteran Umno leaders are getting hotter by the day. While his predecessor Mahathir has been openly targeting him, there are others who act in the darkness, ready to stab at any moment.

These factors will come into play as the Umno party polls on Dec 16 draw closer. By then many alliances and partnerships will be formed to challenge the top post, especially from Tengku Razaleigh.

Abdullah will have to be at his best, give away so much concessions and win new loyalists to win support and retain his post. As it stands, these look remote!

However things might not wait till December.

I am anticipating an earlier exit, If Abdullah do succumb to all pressure.

The exit could take place within the next 4 to 6 months and for that to happen, Anwar Ibrahim will be the final nail in Abdullah’s coffin.

Anwar’s political ban expires on April 15, after which he is free to contest in a by-election. More importantly he would be free to head his government, with the help of several party-hopping MPs.

With Anwar gathering force and support to form an alternate government, Umno will have to consolidate and regroup to counter the Anwar factor.

As it stands a weak Abdullah is seen as the cause for the weak Umno. A stronger Umno needs a stronger leader who could bring together all the party warlords to stop Anwar from taking control of the government.

The new man could be Najib, could be Razaleigh or even Muhyiddin. And their ultimate cause would be to safe the party from losing all control to Anwar.

To stop that form happening, even dumping a sitting (sleeping) president would be fine with party delegates and members. You just watch it!

Dr M speaks (writes) out..

Below is Tun Mahathir’s take on the Pak Lah-palace tiff over the Terengganu MB post. The former premier also speaks about his ‘clean’ legacy, on why people have no faith in the government, on the recent calls made for him to apologise to Salleh Abas and as well as his sharp rebuke against Zaid Ibrahim.

The article is also available here

Ask Commission to apologise

By Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

PETALING JAYA (March 27, 2008): A Concerned Malaysian has expressed his worry over the role being played by Sultans in the appointment of the Mentri Besar.

His Royal Highnesses have clearly refused to take the advice of the Chief Minister i.e. the Prime Minister. Instead, they have chosen on their own a member of the state legislature to head the Government.

We hear a lot of opinions on the propriety of the action by the Sultan. Some say he has the right to do this while others point out that as a constitutional ruler, he could not do this.

The Constitution says that the Ruler or Head of State must choose the elected member who enjoys the support of the majority of members in the legislative body to be the Prime Minister or the Mentri Besar. Subject to this provision, the Ruler it is who chooses and appoints the Prime Minister or Mentri Besar.

The Prime Minister, as Prime Minister, has no role in the choice of the State Mentri Besar or Ketua Menteri. His naming of candidate who should be the Mentri Besar is purely a party matter. Obviously, if the State is captured by the Opposition Party, he cannot name the candidate.

However, if the Ruler chooses someone who does not enjoy majority support, he could be deposed at a sitting of the legislative body through a vote of "no confidence".

After that, another member can be appointed by the Ruler to take his place. But if for some reason, there is no other candidate or the candidate with majority support is considered unsuitable by the Ruler, a new Government cannot be formed. The Ruler may then dissolve the legislative body and a new election may be held.

This new election may lead to the same impasse. The Ruler may not like the member with majority support.

However, it should be noted that this kind of thing had never happened during the premiership of the four previous Prime Ministers. Concerned Malaysians should wonder why.

Is it just that the particular Ruler is being difficult, unwilling to accept the principles of democracy, wanting to return to feudalism and the absolute authority of the monarch?

I do not think so. There must be a reason why the Ruler refuses to accept the candidate named by the party. But the Ruler chooses not to reveal the reasons and indulge in public debates. He merely expresses his displeasure by refusing to do what normally the Rulers would do.

Concerned Malaysians must ask what has the particular candidate done which is so wrong that it incurs the displeasure of the Ruler.

There are lots of talks in the town. Terengganu is blessed with petroleum deposits. It should get 5% of the total earning from oil production. The Federal Government; fearing the previous PAS government might use this money wrongly had withheld payment.

But when the Barisan Nasional (BN) regained Terengganu the money, now called "Wang Ehsan", was lavishly spent by the Federal Government on Terengganu. It is not a small sum. Over these years "Wang Ehsan" totalled several billion.

We know that since the BN regained Terengganu in 2004, all kinds of projects have been developed in Terengganu. This includes The Monsoon Cup, luxury housing for sale to foreigners, Crystal Mosque and theme park, university, etc. Some of these projects are very good but many are totally unnecessary and wasteful.

But what the Terengganu people are saying is that all these mega projects costing billions of Ringgit have been contracted out to people outside Terengganu. Terengganu contractors got practically nothing.

But additionally, they say the contracts all went to one person and they are suspicious that behind this person are members of the first family.The rumours also say that the previous Mentri Besar was responsible for these things happening and of course, they think that he might have benefited financially.

The rumours went on to say that the Prime Minister might have influenced the Mentri Besar into doing wrong things. These are all rumours. It will be quite impossible to prove anything as the perpetrators are skilled in hiding themselves.

This is not good for a Government keen to abolish corruption and be transparent. To clear its name, an investigation should be made.

But the public is leery of investigations by Government agencies and departments. Even Royal Commissions are not highly regarded. The people believe, not true of course, that the Government has been interfering with the work of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), the Police and the Attorney General (A-G)'s Chambers. The say this is borne out by the results of investigations by these agencies.

When a Deputy Minister was accused of accepting money for the release of a detainee, the A-G said there was no case because the detainee said he did not give any money to the Deputy Minister. It is so easy. If you have a case involving someone, all the enforcement agencies need to do is to ask him whether he was involved. If he says "no", then there is no case.

For some reason, judges are finding that people accused of murder are not guilty because of insufficient evidence by the police. Yet people who are totally not involved in a case, who were not accused of any misdeeds and who did not appear in court at all and been given a hearing are found guilty and publicly condemned.

The public cannot be blamed for not having faith in Government agencies doing investigations. The public cannot be blamed for suspecting cover-ups by the Government or worse still the Government may be using these enforcement agencies to threaten people.

To clear its good name, the Government should get credible foreign agencies to do the investigation. Of course, they must be given full access to the documents etc.

Now my detractors are going to say I did worse things when I was Prime Minister. Well, if that is so, let us have the foreign agencies investigate me also. I am aware that people are looking into possible misdeeds by me during my 22 years so as to threaten me and ask me to shut up. So far they have not found anything.

Not only have I not taken anything that was not due to me while I was Prime Minister but I have given back to the Government and the people everything that I had received as gifts during my tenure of office.

The Government had offered me land in Kedah and Langkawi and I had refused to accept. I have a 5-acre plot in Putrajaya which I paid for even though the Government was offering it to me free.

Unless there is a frame-up, I think there should be nothing to pin on me. Even other accusations against me, including the dismissal of judges, were not my doing and I do not feel obliged to apologise. Ask the Tribunal to apologise.

The person asking that the Government should apologise for what happened to Tun Salleh Abbas may have forgotten that as President of the Muslim Lawyers Association, he fully supported the action that was taken. He castigated the Bar Council for condemning Tun Hamid Omar over the dismissal of judges. Now he wants to be more correct than correct. I wonder why.

The Terengganu palace wins

Umno Supreme Council just decided that it would unanimously support the palace-backed Ahmad Said as the new Terengganu menteri besar.

Apparently the council, headed by party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, directed former MB Idris to accept Ahmad’s appointment.

Abdullah himself said that the next task was to appoint the exco members to get the state administration running.

Well, until yesterday Abdullah was still insisting that Idris should be the MB, even calling Ahmad’s appointment unconstitutional. The party was suppose to sack Ahmad today.

And then came the meeting with the King/Sultan of Terengganu yesterday morning. What transpired at the meeting, no one can be sure but when Abdullah came out of the meeting, he knew he had to back down.

And when the matter was discussed at the council meeting today, sources say that none of the council members objected Ahmad’s appointment. Does this mean only Abdullah was against it, along with Idris?

Whatever it is, the council is likely to have a new member, Ahmad, in his capacity as the state Umno chief. I expect him to replace Idris for the position too.

So it IS bye, bye Idris, and hello Ahmad.

And for Abdullah, he has to keep a straight face even when he knows full well that he had been given a body blow by the royal palace.

Replacing ‘Raja Idris’ with ‘Plain’ Ahmad

[For obvious reasons, I am going to blog this entry by being mindful of the defamation laws, sedition act as well as the treason act.]

According to sources today PM met with the king, who is also the sultan of terengganu, to talk about the menteri besar issue in terengganu.

PM wanted to stress to the king as to why his man Idris Jusoh (IJ) should continue to be the MB. Apparently the king was not interested to hear anything and told PM to have a meeting instead with the royalty’s chosen candidate, Ahmad Said who had assumed office yesterday.

It seems that the PM even put forward a third person as a neutral candidate but the king was adamant of having his man in place. For all it seems, it looks like the PM had to backdown and let the terengganu palace has its way.

The PM also met with IJ and it seems it was a fruitful meeting, according to people close to IJ.

Whatever it is, the matter will be clearer after the Umno supreme council meeting tomorrow when the party is to decide if they want to sack Ahmad.

If they do, then the sign is clear that Umno is ready to battle it out with the terengganu palace. But if they back Ahmad for the post, then we know it is the palace that has won. As a compromise Umno might allow IJ to continue being the party's state chief. The palace has no say in this.

So why is the sultan so against IJ?

Many sources say it has to do with the manner he has been channelling the RM1 billion Petronas wang ehsan in favour of the Putrajaya-backed mega projects (read: monsoon cup, the islam hadhari village and the crystal mosque among others) and not to help alleviate poverty in the state.

Apart from that, it is the issue of IJ being a small-time Raja in the state by not paying any attention to the 11-year-old regent, his advisory council or his father who works as the king in KL. Apparently many religious (Islamic) projects were approved by the MB without consultation with the palace.

And then we have the issue of the Umno-led state administration making a mockery of democracy by using the police to forcibly remove people in Batu Buruk last year and in Marang on election day. Apparently the sultan was upset with the manner democracy was abused on those two days by the Idris government.

And the finally, it seems (I repeat IT SEEMS) the sultan is also unhappy that outside power brokers (Putrajaya fourth floor, Patrick Badawi and others) and IJ are making tonnes of money in the state via mega projects and the sultan feels left out, unlike in other states where his fellow brothers enjoy a good business patronage.

Thus the idea that is being floated is that by removing IJ, the sultan can ensure that wang ehsan is distributed equally to everyone in the state; people would be treated with respect by the police and the Umno politicians; mega projects that have no beneficiary to the state can be stopped; the sultan, his son and the advisory council will be made to be more useful; and finally, the palace coffers will be full again!

Now you get it as to why all the fuss about replacing ‘raja’ Idris with the ‘plain’ Ahmad?

It is in this game that PM has fallen in, either to protect his own financial or political interest, or to stand firm against a royalty who is keen to get back what he has lost by taking Putrajaya for a ride.

What? IPCMC on the top menu?

Prime Minister Abdullah said today that the bill for the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) will be tabled in the coming parliament session.

The PM said the draft of the bill was ready and was to be tabled in the cabinet before parliament was dissolved for the general election but he held it back because of the GE.

Isn’t that strange?

What about the IPCMC-style Special Complaints Commission Bill 2007 which was tabled for the first reading on Dec 13 in the Dewan Rakyat by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz?

On Dec 14, the then opposition leader Lim Kit Siang called the SCC bill as a fake IPCMC and pointed to the explanatory statement in the bill which confirmed that the bill was a watered-down version of the much-anticipated IPCMC.

This WAS definitely before the GE, which was held on March 8 this year.

So what is the PM trying to do here with today’s announcement? Has he forgotten about the SCC bill? Or is he trying to regain the people’ trust by putting back the IPCMC back into the frontline as a populist move?

Whatever it may be, he need not be sneaky about doing what is good for the rakyat.

A game which Pak Lah can never win

It is now 16 days since the general election. All states have had their menteri besar sworn in but for Terengganu.

The state, although won comfortably by BN with 24 out of 32 seats, seems to be embroiled in a crisis on the choice of the MB. The palace is clearly keen on Ahmad Said, PM Abdullah wants Idris Jusoh.

Constitution says palace has the right, political power says Abdullah has the mean.

However the latest seem to indicate that the palace is indeed winning. Even the 13 of the original 22 who backed Idris and Abdullah are now supporting Ahmad, it is reliably learnt.

Only Abdullah and Idris are steadfast in holding that it should be them who should rule Terengganu.

A win for the palace in the battle means a loss of face for the prime minister. Actually it is the second blow for him from the royalties.

Remember Perlis? The Raja there held on to appoint his own man despite Abdullah insisting that it should be Shahidan Kassim. In the end the Raja won, and had his man sworn in, sending Shahidan into oblivion and Abdullah into his own hole.

Now Terengganu sultan looks set to deliver the second blow. Even if Abdullah uses his political muscle to get Idris appointed despite all, he would still look bad for being a traitor to the sultan!

His new-found nemesis Tengku Razaleigh said this today:

“The Prime Minister's actions suggest stunning ineptness in managing fundamental relationships and straightforward functions of government.

This storm in Terengganu is just the latest in a series of crises brought on by an apparent failure to understand how state powers work relative to federal ones.”

Abdullah can never win this game. He can compromise though by giving in to the sultan’s choice.

What is stopping him? Lost of face? Or lost of business ventures (for cronies and family)?

This show of wealth is utterly vulgar

The images you see here are not from some English castle, belonging to some white lord.

It is actually from much closer to home - in Klang to be precise. This is the humble abode that the late Zakaria Deros built.

One does wonder where he got the money from?

His day-time job was a state assemblyman (until he was dropped), Klang council member (until he was forced not to accept nomination) and a satay seller (a successful one as well until his illegal satay stall was demolished).

So how did he manage to build this mansion (read: palace)? Was he a true NEP success story?

The previous BN government had been silent on Zakaria’s wealth. I hope the new PKR-led government would look into how he became so vulgarly rich.

The fact that he is dead (just days after the GE) should not stop the state government to look into any possibilities of corruption, cronyism and also if all papers are in order to build a palace in a low-cost housing area.

Illegally gained money should be accounted for; illegally built structures should be torn down (remember the many Hindu temples?).

p/s: these are just some sample images of the palace. There’s more in the Internet.

(pls click on the image for bigger view)