SPRM ACUH TAK ACUH MENYIASAT RASUAH MEMBABITKAN AHLI POLITIK

RAFIZI RAMLI

YB Dato’ Senator Paul Low menjawab soalan lisan saya mengenai jumlah laporan rasuah yang diterima terhadap ahli politik di antara 2010 hingga kini dan jumlah siasatan yang dibuka. Saya juga bertanyakan dari jumlah itu, berapa kes yang dihantar kepada Peguam Negara dan berapa kes yang berakhir dengan pendakwaan.

Jawapan yang diberikan Menteri adalah pendek dan mengelak dari menjawab soalan yang sebenarnya. Jawapan ringkas itu hanya berbunyi:

“Sepanjang tahun 2010 hingga Ogos 2013, SPRM telah menangkap 9 orang ahli politik dan dari jumlah itu, 5 orang telah didakwa di mahkamah”.

Soalan yang saya ajukan cuba mengesahkan bahawa SPRM ada melakukan siasatan terhadap ahli-ahli politik tetapi kertas pendakwaan ditolak oleh Peguam Negara. Oleh itu, statistik berapa siasatan yang ditolak oleh Peguam Negara adalah penting untuk mengesahkan dakwaan SPRM selama ini bahawa Peguam Negaralah yang bertanggungjawab melindungi SPRM.

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Walau bagaimana pun, keengganan SPRM dan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri mengesahkan berapa siasatan yang dibuka terhadap ahli politik dan berapa kertas siasatan yang dihantar kepada Peguam Negara menunjukkan bahawa SPRM pun acuh tidak acuh dalam memerangi kegiatan rasuah di kalangan ahli politik. Dari jawapan di Parlimen ini, saya boleh merumuskan bahawa SPRM pun turut sama melindungi ahli politik yang rasuah seperti mana Peguam Negara.

Anwar’s Acquittal – What Are The Hidden Messages?

By now everybody in Planet Earth knows de-facto opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has been acquitted on a charge of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008. The acquittal surprises many people – from opposition parties, Najib administration, former premier Mahathir and even Anwar himself. But was Anwar really surprised with the verdict? For a person who was about 90% to be sent behind bars for the second time for the same sodomy charge, Anwar doesn’t seems to be the happiest person in comparison to his wife, daughters, the thousands cheering crowds and his buddies from the opposition parties.

Taib’s ‘rogue’ PR campaign, thanks to Najib

CORRUPT BARISAN NASIONAL : KUCHING: When Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud hired FBC Media, it was to counter widespread negative reports of him.

Nothing wrong with hiring a PR company, is there?

Taib needed it, more so after revelations surfaced of his immense personal wealth and billions of dollars in global business links allegedly derived from timber concessions dating back to the 1980s.

The Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund had linked and blacklisted 49-companies in eight countries to Taib and his family.

To top this opposition, environmentalists and conservationist here and abroad have claimed that under his rule 70% of Sarawak’s rainforest have been deforested and indigenous communities marginalised, abused and ignored.

Furious Hadi orders 1 million PAS members to attend Bersih

Corrupt Barisan Nasional : UMNO has had it easy for too long. So has the BN coalition it heads. Prime Minister Najib Razak has not been shy to bully his way through using the might of the government machinery and the institutions of authority to maintain his momentum.

But with the next general election on the way, the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is starting to show its long-held-back muscle. Leaders all three component parties PAS, PKR and DAP have declared their unreserved support for the Bersih 2.0 rally organised by 62 of the country's most established NGOs.

The rally is mean to be a citizens' march for democracy, culiminating with the delivery of a memorandum to the King, demanding free and fair elections. But Najib and his UMNO party believe that the march is a slap in the face to his leadership.

BIG PROBLEMS FOR BN!

Wowing the crowd? George Chan in his own constituency!

A picture speaks a thousand words so we offer our readers a bit of a rest by posting one of George Chan addressing a BN rally last night in Miri, which is his constituency.  We invite you to contrast it with our featured picture of the rally half an hour later just a few yards away for PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim.

Ex-PKR lawmaker says more will quit soon

By Clara Chooi

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — A former PKR lawmaker fuelled speculation that more will quit Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s party, saying this included MPs and state assemblymen.

The lawmaker, among five who left PKR since Election 2008, told The Malaysian Insider last night that “future defectors” had called him for advice.

“They wanted to know what it was like and they wanted my advice. They wanted to find out what I had faced,” he said on condition of anonymity.

In the past two weeks, Penang MPs Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim (Bayan Baru) and Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) had walked out of PKR citing dissatisfaction with the leadership, party and ally, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

The two outspoken MPs were the most high-profile resignations followed by that of former PKR secretary-general Datuk Salehuddin Hashim and ex-Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Mohd Fairus Khairuddin.

The former PKR lawmaker revealed that the number of those walking out of PKR was larger than many expected, adding it was not planned as a group but as individuals.

“Each have their individual grievances and reasons on why they want to leave from PKR. I understand their positions — the decision is not an easy one to make.

“But it is not like a planned move for all to leave, like what people think. For example, person A does not know that person B wants to leave too,” he said.

He added that he could not reveal the names of those who want to leave as that would not be fair to them.

The lawmaker also rebutted claims that the defectors were being bought over by the ruling Barisan Nasional federal government, stressing that they had genuine reasons for wanting to leave.

“When they called me, they never once asked me how much I had gotten from Barisan for leaving,” he said.

Instead, the lawmaker revealed that the general consensus was that most were unhappy with the direction that the party was heading and had lost confidence in its leadership.

“I cannot say exactly that they all blame (party de facto leader Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim entirely, but they all feel that PKR has lost its way and lost its very basic ideals.

“They all believed in PKR’s struggles and ideologies and they still do but it looks like at the present moment, these struggles have become very individualistic and personal,” he said.

He noted that some also believed that the PKR was not a strong enough voice in the Pakatan Rakyat.

“It is either Anwar has failed to give good advice to the other Pakatan parties or that the other Pakatan parties refuse to listen to his advice,” said the lawmaker.

He added that over the past few months, he had been contacted by many lawmakers, both MPs and state assemblymen alike, all voicing their individual frustrations in the party.

“Some have problems with their respective division leaders or state leaders or the general party leadership too,” he said.

He told The Malaysian Insider that the defections would come soon but would not happen en bloc.

“It will be one at a time. You wait and see,” he said.

The defections of the two Penang MPs have triggered speculation that another 10 MPs and several other assemblymen would follow suit.

I contributed to Zul’s victory & I’m sorry — Nomad Muslim

MARCH 2 — Dear Editor, I would appreciate if you publish this long but terribly important letter on Zulkifli Nordin, Umno, the Malays and the tragic state Malaysia finds itself in today. Thank you and may Allah (sw) bless you.

The letter:

I did contribute to Zulkifli’s victory and I’m sorry dear Malaysians

I’m a Muslim student in Malaysia from an African non-Muslim country. I have been here for a while to know much about this country.

Although I’m in the science stream, I follow the Malaysian political scene with fervour. In fact, foreign students particularly Muslims follow Malaysia’s sorry state with disgust and shock.

A nation we thought we could be proud of and sell to others including our countries, but unfortunately hell-bent on proving that God’s Grace can be a curse.

As Malaysia prepared for the now historic March 08 elections, we did whatever we could in our own simple ways of contributing to the Pakatan (later formed of course) groups particularly PAS and PKR.

Either we encouraged our Malay brethren whom we knew were registered to go and vote or at least help in disseminating the PAS and PKR political platforms and popularize their candidates. One such candidate was Nulkifli Nordin, a Reformasi stalwart.

Reading his blog then which was started in Feb 2008 was interesting. What a shameful metamorphosis indeed! In case he deletes it, we have captured it for posterity and Allah (sw) knows much more. Now here comes what I did.

On March 02, 6 days before the poll, as I went through Malaysian blogs, I came across damaging information against the UMNO candidate for KULIM Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir published in the blog of former DAP MP James Wong, who linked to a statement issued by The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).

The statement was carried by The Merdeka Review and it was in Chinese. I immediately alerted Zulkifli through email and a comment left at his blog. I also sent him the link to Lim Kit Siang’s reaction to what Abdul Azizi has done by threatening to burn down the KLSCAH in 2000.

By then, the people who were visiting his blog were very small in number. He was desperately popularizing his blog through Malaysia-Today, Harris Ibrahim and Zorro blogs which are of course very popular. But my information will change a lot. As I left the comment in his blog, I requested that his not publish my comment but act on its message. He heeded my call. To him, I was just a concerned “Malaysian” who was fighting with him (or for him?) to secure him a victory against Umno.

Zulkifli Nordin thanked me and on the same date that I alerted him published the KLSCAH information plus Lim Kit Siang’s press statement on Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir’s antics. Using the photo provided by Merdeka Review, he added: Tolak budaya samseng and then wrote: (We thank you wanyama for alerting us on this news....).

Wanyama was the fake name I used to sign in. The reaction was swift. That particular entry was published in Malaysia today. I personally linked it to Harris Ibrahim’s blog and Zorro’s too through commenting in their blogs. 20 people including me commented on the entry and I wrote: “Well, I’m the one who rang the alarm bell. Mr Zulkifli, this is a big chance to awaken the Chineese. It should be printed today and made sure every Chinese voter gets it. It is politics of honesty, accountability, responsibility and good manners. UMNO samsengs have no such qualities no wonder they are threatening people with fire. How can such people be made MPs? Kulim voters, be they Chinese, Malays or Indian, reject samseng.”

Zulkifli who was struggling with the Chinese vote got a golden chance to awaken the Chinese in Kulim and distributed thousands of flyers over this “Extremist” UMNO man (to use his own words…how days change). This also proved fatal to UMNO. Desperate to defeat him, UMNO was distributing demonic CDs against Anwar Ibrahim in Kulim and Zulkifli was campaigning on the premise that he was a Reformasi man and that he was DSAI’s lawyer. Rather than continuing on its demonic spree against DSAI, UMNO in Kulim was put on the defensive and by March 06, it was clear that Zul was headed for an emphatic history.

UMNO tried to disqualify him 2 days to the polling date on the premise that he didn’t submit his Account Statement and he lodged a police report against the Returning Officer and also sent a scathing letter to The Star for publishing a report titled: “Question mark over Zulkifli” and demanded that it publishes his press statement. Later the EC clarified that he was eligible to contest. Note that UMNO wanted to act against him only after his chances of winning became clear and didn’t object to his candidacy on the nomination day as usual.

Then the DAY came and Zul went on to win the Kulim seat. His ranted against the evil, corrupt, extremist and disgraceful Umno (his words) and the people listened and voted for him. One day after the victory, a Mahathirist commentator who used the pen name: arb_ok wrote: “Assalamualaikum YB, Congratulations on your recent election as the people’s representative. On behalf of my friends from KL who went back all the way to Kulim just to vote you, we sincerely hope that you shall carry your new responsibilities to the fullest.

Please remember not to take the voters for granted. The Kulim folks are no longer awed by the BN. I personally hope that despite you winning on Keadilan ticket, you shall not pursue the cause of DSAI as he is a gone case. Please remember to serve the Kulim folks well and you shall be rewarded handsomely.

And I must let you know that my vote went to the candidate and not the party. I despise Keadilan for their struggle on Anwar. Largely the Kulim folks are not fond of Anwar but we were simply sick of the PM and his advisers.

Selamat berkhidmat. Wassalam and syabas YB.”

I responded to this rabid Mahathirist and defended Anwar, Zul and PKR as a “Malaysian” and I wrote:

“Dear arb_ok

Ass.wr.wb

Your understanding is warped and your intellectual poverty is immense and heartrending that it needs attention. Let me address the issues that you have raised one by one.

1. You congratulated the new YB on his victory which is right. Then you went on to claim credit on behalf of your friends in KL. Well, you need to show the evidence that there were friends of yours who authorized you to speak on their behalf. I myself is from KL and went to vote in Kulim for Noordin. You said the new YB should carry his duties well since Kulim voters are no longer awed by BN. Agreed! But it is Malaysia which also is not awed by BN and its pussyfooters.

2. Then you addressed the new YB saying that he shouldn’t pursue the cause of DSAI since he is a gone case. It is here that I’m very interested in. first of all, what’s DSAI’s cause and who determines that cause? Secondly, how did you know that he was gone? Using which barometer? By what law, by what justice? Your calculation that you voted for the candidate but hates his party unearths your buffoonery since at the end of the day a candidate is voted on the basis of the ideals and manifestos of his/her party. Moreover, if Noordin is good, then it means the party that fielded him must have been good in the sense that it looked for the good people.

3. You wrote: “I despise Keadilan for their struggle on Anwar.” I must say that your hatred to Anwar the person has rendered you a buffoon beyond salvation point. This is because KeADILan is a party made of diverse people with diverse background driven by one goal: a better Malaysia. The fact that Anwar is part of that mass movement or party shouldn’t confuse you my dear. Yes, I can see you hate Anwar but Anwar even is not aware of your existence, so it will be civil and informed not to nag others about him as you are desperately doing here. Furthermore, the fact that KeADILan was formed after Anwar was jailed doesn’t make it an Anwar party. In any way, a party is borne at a given moment due to a certain political, economical or national cause at a given moment too, and therefore KeADILan’s birth at the height of the political assassination of DSAI doesn’t make the party bereft of any idea or its multifarious supporters and winners a hapless bunch of people wallowing in intellectual penury.

4. You said Kulim people are not fond of Anwar. Hehehe Which Kulim people are you talking about? It is just like how you said on behalf of KL friends. Mah! You are so cheap and condescending my dear. Your view and atavistic rage against Anwar can’t be said to be that of Kulim or its people. I’m sorry to inform you that Kulim is not you. Kulim has thousands of people with different ideas, perceptions, beliefs and orientations, therefore, your childish rants that the people of Kulim are anti-Anwar as if you are the Kulim itself makes your argument utterly naïve and ludicrous. Just say, as far as I’m concerned, ok? Thanks, wassalam.”

One may ask why all this trouble, well, we did all this to support the change and Malaysia’s prospect for a better tomorrow. We support the Islam of Tok Guru Nik Aziz (note I say Nik Aziz and not Ustadh Hadi) and the leadership of DSAI and now Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. We did this in order to support the people we thought were conscientious enough to understand that there is a crying need for a new paradigm in this nation and the salvation of this outwardly glamorous nation but deeply rotten inside. We did this because we have seen how rotten the system is, how failed Malaysia is becoming and how defeatist culture and inherent opportunism is becoming the accepted norm.

In 2006, a friend from another country was arrested in Kedah while he was going to Thailand. He was informed that his visa had expired the previous day by the Kedah Immigration and then he was detained. A relative of his requested me to accompany him to Alor Star to visit the man. I did. What I saw was shocking. Rather than putting the man through due process, the Immigration men demanded RM10,000. And when we informed them that his case has already being taken to court, a lawyer from UiTM who was working with the Immigration men said this to me: “all this will be solved. Both the prosecutor and the judge are known to me and he will be released immediately provided you pay the amount”, and then he gave me his account number.

He was a treacherous man selling his motherland. He is a product of a corrupt system that’s hailed as a success. We wanted the likes of Zulkifli to do something for Kedah, Malaysia and all those who love this nation. And those petty Umnoputras who rant against the world for demanding a fair tribal for DSAI, it is because even poor foreign students know how corrupt Malaysia’s judiciary is. We are witness to it and the world knows much than you can imagine.

Like would a Malay(sian) student in the US would in all probability support Obama, or the same student in India would do a dig for the Congress, the overwhelming majority of foreign Muslim students in Malaysia unequivocally support Anwar Ibrahim. Make no mistake about it and we aren’t stupid about it. We also salute beloved Tok Guru Nik Aziz whose courage and fatigue represent the spirit of the nation. And we also salute the always urbane and truly patriotic Ku li. For me and many others, these three men (plus many others in the trenches) are the real patriots. A patriot is the one who demands the best of his/her nation, not a vile, tribal posturing, knife (keris) waving buffoon who can’t express himself in an intelligent way. These three men also have been victims of the system and they are ones who can only correct it.

For us, Zul was part of the true patriots. The man who accused his UMNO rival of extremism became its ugly and unacceptable face. There was no intellectual input from him on any issue, a typical Ibrahim Ali, only younger. The fact that Ibrahim Ali is a vile character who can bad mouth others isn’t a sign of patriotism and neither would his empty tribal rhetoric take the Malays to a new frontier. I have been observing Zul, and I must say I feel sorry that I did little to help him win an argument against a rival whom he embraces today betraying the men and women who struggled with him all along. May be the Arab saying that revolution eats its children is true.

In fact, the Malays are very strange people if not the strangest on earth. Say, if you work together and you disagree, they will become your enemies and even do unimaginable things to you simply because you parted ways. Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un.

They will also go to your “original” enemies simply to spite you but it is they who spiting their own souls and dignity. You can say they are a people who cut off their noses to spite their faces. Ya Allah! Take former PKR Secretary General Dato Salehuddin Hashim for example. The fact that he has had few disagreements with (may be) some PKR leaders, today, he wants to destroy the party! That’s his way of his struggle and reformasi. Reading his statements in the Malaysian Insider and The Edge yesterday reminded me of the Quranic verse: “And do not be like she who untwisted her spun thread after it was strong [by] taking your oaths as [means of] deceit between you because one community is more plentiful [in number or wealth] than another community. Allah only tries you thereby. And He will surely make clear to you on the Day of Resurrection that over which you used to differ.” (16: 92)

When Malaysian MPs were going to Korea two weeks ago, I was at KLIA leaving for my country-South Africa. As I waited for my flight and roamed the airport, I saw PKR MPs Zuraidah Kamaruddin and Kapar MP M. Manickavasagam, PAS MPs like Dr Hatta Ramli and Dr. Lo’lo Ghazali and some UMNO MPs. Zul was the loudest and the most uncouth. Wearing a tight jeans and a T-Shirt (infidel clothes I guess), he never even greeted the Pakatan MPs. He stuck with UMNO MPs and you could see him haughtily laughing from around the corner. Loudly speaking on the phone, you could think he was excited for flying. I almost wanted to talk to him, but some UMNO MPs guarded him and I was fearful knowing that I’m a foreigner even if a Muslim.

Definitely he was a trapped man, and a perfidious character devoid of God’s fear. I want to say this to Zul, dishonesty and betrayal of ideals and friends is not part of serving Islam. And Islam is not served by attacking private premises, bad mouthing others, tribalising its universal message and turning it into a base political tool. Islam is more than that my dear! One way of serving Islam is respecting your friends and comrades even if they are non-Muslims let alone Muslims and disagreements in ideas and ideologies in Islam is a mercy. If certain PKR leaders take a position and you take another, that’s a mercy unto you all. Don’t force others to take your position and don’t humiliate others and be conscious of God in Whose Court you shall answer alone. Your intentions should be for Him and remember God wants us to prove that we love Him by loving humanity.

Zul today wants PAS and PKR to severe ties with DAP but he thought it fit that he should use DAP support to win. He saw it fit to use Lim Kit Siang’s statement against his UMNO rival to get the overwhelming Chinese vote and today he talks as if UMNO gave him the seat. Any person with an iota of intelligence will tell you that Lim Kit Siang is more pro-Islam and Malay today than he was on March 07, 2008. Rather than capitalizing on that; and bringing the nation together and giving the Malays dignity and bringing to an end this heartrending mentality of: “we are sensitive people, (you mean others aren’t?), we will ran amok. We are weak, we need eternal crutches”, Zul is going back, back on anything good.

If he was a visionary leader, he would have understood that neither UMNO nor the current mentality will sustain the Malays. He would have taken his people to a new frontier much as they may hate it because a great leader takes his people where they DON’T want but aught to be while a leader (UMNO type) takes his people where they WANT. (Responding to base reactions, empty rhetoric and visionless politics devoid of God’s fear and based on brutal tactics).

Allah (sw) has been good to you Malays in many ways. He made you Muslims, He brought the Chinese and Indians to this country, if you doubt their benefit and contributions, ask others. Ask us! After Islam, the presence of the Chinese and Indians in this country is the greatest grace Allah (sw) has bestowed upon you Malays. He gave you a beautiful, an abundant nation. He gave you meek people who accept second class status and never demand much-the Sabah and the Sarawak Bumis. He gave you resources and a strategic place to call home. Rather than glorifying God and taking care of this nation, you cry daily, whine daily, threaten others daily, refuse to ask yourselves critical questions. Blame others, shame yourselves by repeatedly saying ‘we are weak, we are sensitive’ and defame Islam by using it as a tribal bomoh culture rather than a universal message.

You cry our “Allah”, since when did Allah become your tribal god? Please explains to us Muslims from the four corners of the earth why “Allah” is yours for example? You are not more Muslims than us. Are you? So tell us why? You won’t respond and if you do, it will be along the usual lines: “Our people will be confused.” All that you know is to say: our people are weak, our people are sensitive, our people are easily confused, and our people can easily run amok”. Is that’s how you prove your intelligence? Is that’s how you want others to respect you? Is that’s how you want Muslims in other countries to take your case and explain it to others? Is this is how you want to be viewed globally? My dear brethren, my dear Malays…till when? For us Muslims in other parts of the world, we know why! Unfortunately the people who are responsible for this tragic state are the same people who are leading you today and you never even stop for a moment to ask: where are we heading. May be you will wake up when you have already fallen to the pit!

Islam is not for Muslims alone. Non-Muslims can use Islam against us if they feel we aren’t being true to what we purport to believe in. If the Chinese and Indians say NEP is un-Islamic, that’s true. The Prophet (pbuh) would have decreed the same today. The Prophet (pbuh) would have issued a decree saying the poor Chinese and Indians should be given aid too. But a typical UMNO-Zulikifli type would respond: “We are sensitive, hak kita, ini bumi kita…we will use the keris… we will run amok...May 13” There won’t be a single intelligent response. An Islamic input, a humanist input, an economical input. It will be the same Ibrahim Ali and May 13 rhetoric. Not only you shame yourselves, you do that to those who love you because of Islam.

There is a crying need for the Malays to wake up and realize that business can’t be as usual. That protests don’t build a powerful community. They need to realize that Islam is for all and that UMNO’s tribal posturing will harm them more others and that the world isn’t waiting for them. You are being overtaken by all and sundry while you rant and rave, stuck in your own created quagmire. The Ibrahim Alis, demonic Utusan-undoubtedly Malaysia’s face of evil-, the Puad Zarkashis, The Alhabshees, BTN, and opportunist, inherently dishonest turncoats who can be bought for few Ringgits won’t help you in becoming a better people and a nation.

A man who can’t show your capability, but rather trades in your anguish, a man who sacrifices your future for political expediency, a man who doesn’t share with you the latest economic figures, research out, etc but sings a tribal song to you in order to inflame you and arouse your base emotions is not the one who will make you prosper and succeed in the Two World. You need intelligent leadership, a God fearing leadership, an honest leadership, true Malay leadership. You need Ku Li, Nik Aziz and DSAI. Allahuma Fashhad (O God be the witness).

“And that ears (that should hear the tale and) retain its memory should bear its (lessons) in remembrance.” Holy Qur’an 69: 13)

Wassalam!

Your brother from South Africa

Anwar sues NST for RM100m

Anwars (left) has filed a RM100 million suit against the NST. — Picture by Jack Ooi

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is suing the News Straits Times for RM100 million in damages, for insinuating he is an American agent in an article written six years ago.

The English-language daily’s former deputy group editor Datin Rose Ismail today denied defaming Anwar in the article.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court which heard both their testimonies today fixed submissions for tomorrow.

By Debra Chong

Media exaggerating PKR problems

By Neville Spykerman

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — PKR’s de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim played down today Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s six months’ leave of absence from the party, but conceded there were problems in the opposition party.

“He is still in the party and still in the leadership.” said Anwar, who added the former Umno law minister would be going to perform the Haj during his leave of absence.

Murder most foul. You have done it.

Anwar said he did not understand why Zaid's leave was being interpreted in such a negative manner.

“I concede, yes we have to address this, if there are issues to be discuss.” said Anwar, but he blamed the media for sending the negative signal that there was serious infighting in the party and that PKR was unravelling.

Anwar said the problems in PKR were not as major as those in MCA, MIC or even in Umno.

On Friday, Zaid said he would not be attending PKR political bureau meetings because he did not want to be “constrained” and instead wanted to concentrate on his primary purpose of establishing a common platform for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition.

PKR insiders have indicated that Zaid’s decision stems from infighting and his decision to visit Sabah where local leaders are in open revolt over PKR vice-president Azmin Ali's appointment as state chief.

"He (Zaid) is very much in touch with us. He is now in Sabah and later, will be joining the PKR president in Sarawak for a function," said Anwar, who was speaking at the Hari Raya open house of his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, the Lembah Pantai MP.

Anwar said there was no problem with Zaid being in Sabah.

He said the party’s stand was that national leaders should only attend functions organised by branches or divisions which had been endorsed by the state leadership.

Anwar said the reports about the open revolt in Sabah and Sarawak, where local PKR leaders oppose the appointment of Peninsular Malaysia-based vice-presidents Mustafa Kamil Ayub and Azmin as state leaders, were exaggerated and misleading.

He said the appointment of both leaders was a temporary measure and they have been given till the end of the month to obtain consensus on who locals want to lead them.

Meanwhile, Anwar said Zaid may have taken his leave of absence because he is under pressure to strengthen PR as a formal coalition which was the main priority entrusted to him.

“The leaders of all the component parties have agreed that this is our priority.”

However, he said no time frame has been set.

Anwar also denied the problems in PKR were contributed because he had taken his foot off the pedal by travelling overseas rather than handling party matters.

Anwar said he only started going overseas in October and that most of his trips were during the weekends and there was no disruption in his party’s affairs.

He defended his trips and said the international networking was important in the interest of civil society, democracy and international understanding.

Evidence of graft

The funeral of Mr Teoh who died after questioning by anti-graft officials drew thousands of angry mourners, threatening to raise tensions in Malaysia. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

SHAH ALAM - A FRESH twist has emerged in the case concerning the death of Democratic Action Party (DAP) political aide Teoh Beng Hock after he was questioned by a graft agency probing misuse of funds by some Selangor state assemblymen.

Documents purportedly showing details of money being siphoned off to non-existent organisations and individuals by certain Selangor executive councillors have surfaced in an anonymous blog.

The blog also alleged that Mr Teoh was forced to be involved in the scam and that he had made copies of all the vouchers and stored them in a disk of which a copy was said to have been given to someone for safekeeping.

The allegations were immediately denied by executive councillor Ronnie Liu, who dismissed the blogger's claim that Mr Teoh had left behind evidence of wrongdoings by DAP leaders.

He said he did not believe such a disk existed.

Mr Liu also said the documents on the blog were doctored and said the details of all public spending were recorded and coupled with photographic evidence.

'We are following the procedures used by the previous Barisan Nasional government and we are doing more, by also having photo evidence,' he said, adding that all programmes also needed the approval of the district office before they can be implemented.

Documents supposedly showing names, cheque numbers and vouchers from the state assemblymen's development allocations have appeared on a blog called Truth For Teoh Beng Hock on Friday.

The blog alleged that dummy companies were paid with fake invoices for non-existent projects using the allocations.

Seven Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen in Selangor were reportedly being investigated for alleged misuse of constituency development funds.They include Mr Ean Yong Hian Wah, who was Mr Teoh's boss. -- THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

From Elizabert Wong To Malaysian.

Dear friends,

I have departed today.

Despite having tendered my resignation from all posts, the media and websites continue to intrude into my private life and privacy. I have been informed by several media that they will continue to publish even more lewd graphical, sensational stories of my private life. I have also been told there will be a fresh assault, with more photographs and videos released and circulated in order to completely degrade and bury me.

This is the darkest episode in my life. I have never felt so alone, vulnerable and humiliated. I need to rest and to search for peace of mind to get away from the stormy events surrounding me.

I appreciate the overwhelming support from all quarters, especially my voters, women in particular and party comrades. Words cannot express my gratitude for your gentle kindness.

I have informed my party leaders that I am determined to relinquish all my positions, as a Selangor State Exco Member as well as the State Assemblywoman for Bukit Lanjan. I am thankful for the party leadership’s concern and encouragement. I seek their understanding for my predicament.

My commitment to the ideals of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat remains unwavering. I shall retain my party membership and continue to struggle for a just society with the party.

The nation is at a crisis facing a serious economic recession. Unemployment is rising, while corruption remains rampant. I wish public discussions would concentrate on these important issues rather than analysing my private life. My principle remains the same – I will not answer any questions pertaining to my private life. My private life is not for public scrutiny as I have not broken any law or caused harm to anyone.

I plead to the media as well as my supporters to allow me some peace of mind, and to give me space. I urge the media to leave my family, friends and I alone. Please do not continue to shame my family and I, so that we have a chance to lead a normal life as ordinary citizens.

Lastly, I wish to thank the support from the public that has been pouring in ceaselessly. I am very moved and eternally grateful to my friends and colleagues who stand by me. There is nothing in this world that can repay your kindness.

ELIZABETH WONG

YB Eli Ex-boyfriend sought

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN police are seeking the ex-boyfriend of opposition politician Elizabeth Wong after photos of her in the nude were circulated.

He has been identified as Mr Hilmi Malek (above), 32, who worked as a personal assistant to lawmaker Hee Loy Sian for nine months after last year's March general election.

Like Miss Wong, Mr Hee is also from the opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said they had received two nude photographs, and a CD, of the 37-year-old Wong from a Malay Mail journalist.

The photos, which have been circulating since last week, reportedly show Miss Wong partially covered by a sarong. It is not known how the private snaps ended up in public circulation.

Police have recorded statements from four journalists from the Malay Mail and Sun, reportedly the first two newspapers to have received the photos.

They also recorded Miss Wong's statement on Tuesday, after she offered to resign from her Selangor executive councillor and assemblyman posts. PKR has not yet accepted her resignation. She is now on leave.

According to the Malay Mail, Mr Hilmi has been missing since last Saturday, with unconfirmed reports saying he has left the country. The paper quoted Mr Hilmi's colleagues as saying they were aware of his relationship with Miss Wong and that the latter had revealed that they had split up recently.

Prominent blogger and opposition MP Jeff Ooi wrote on his blog that this would be the second time a politician's aide was involved in such a scandal, and suggested they were 'trojan horses'. He cited the earlier example of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who had accused Mr Anwar of having sodomised him.

'I believe there is a dire need for all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and elected representatives to beware of trojan horses in our earnest deeds to recruit new blood and party cadres,' he wrote.

For now, it appears that Miss Wong could continue as assemblyman.

PKR insiders said she may relinquish her executive council position in the Selangor government, but public support could enable her to keep her state seat, the Malaysian Insider news website reported.

Selangor chief minister Khalid Ibrahim has said he is open to the idea, but added he would seek the advice of the Selangor sultan and discuss the matter with the state executive council. snst

Elizabeth Wong may give Pakatan a boost - Malaysiakini

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 – The need to uphold a higher moral ground in comparison with the Barisan Nasional (BN) and shrewd political calculations are behind the resignation of Elizabeth Wong as Bukit Lanjan assemblyman and Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong, after pictures of her in the nude were circulated in the past week.

“The party debated the issue long and hard on Monday night and early Tuesday and although it is so painful we had to let her go,” said a senior PKR leader who could not be identified because he is not authorised to comment on the issue.

“Some of us actually cried,” the person said, adding the general consensus was that although everyone stood by Wong and agreed she is the victim of a cunning blackmail, but they also felt the party had to distance itself from the affair.

“The party comes first, it has to be protected,” the person said.

“We felt our political enemies would extensively exploit the images and other materials during the Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau (April 7) by-elections,” the person said. “The party would be badly damaged.”

In addition, hard-nosed political considerations are also involved in letting Wong go, not just to fend off BN attacks.

While Wong says the photographs could have been taken by her former boyfriend it is still not known how it fell into the hands of her political enemies who are not necessarily all from the BN.

At an emotionally-charged press conference today Wong described the circulation of the pictures as a smear campaign which had caused her a lot of anguish but the real target was the PKR.

“I have done nothing wrong; I wish to state that I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and as a single person,” she said.

She said that she believed that the attacks would continue in greater intensity and that the PKR’s political rivals would continue to manipulate the situation to their advantage.

“Accordingly, I have decided to make a stand in the interest of the party and its struggle for the people,” Wong said as supporters broke into tears, while urging her to reconsider.

Elizabeth was outspoken even in the PKR and in the Selangor executive council and is known by her friends and colleagues to have strong opinions on major issues close to her heart, such as the environment, poverty alleviation, minority rights and press freedom.

She was outspoken and fought for such policies as declaring assets, a minimum wage for workers and more rights for women in an environment that was unreceptive to such ideas even though these were promised in the Pakatan Rakyat manifesto.

She had enemies within and outside, a colleague said.

By letting her go, Pakatan Rakyat has lost a highly committed, sincere and dedicated activist, said the colleague.

While some of her supporters say she can make a comeback like MCA veteran Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, who resigned all posts following a sex scandal in 2007 but managed to bounce back to win the MCA deputy presidency.

It remains to be seen whether Wong can make a comeback or have a political life at all.

She won the Bukit Lanjan seat by a 5,000 vote majority, a sterling achievement for a newcomer and in a state seat where majorities are mostly small.

If a by-election is held as it seems likely, Pakatan Rakyat is confident of recapturing the seat which consists of 52% Chinese, 30% Malays and 14% Indians.

But political circumstances are changing across the country with the departure of Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi and the rise of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib’s rise coincides with the loss of Perak and the injection of new vigour into Umno and BN and consequently giving the impression that the Pakatan Rakyat tide might have reached its zenith.

Some quarters say BN/Umno – given the changing circumstances and other factors – can possibly win Bukit Gantang or even Bukit Selambau but probably not Bukit Lanjan.

Therefore, a comfortable victory in Bukit Lanjan would boost the Pakatan Rakyat at a time when it seems to be in retreat after losing Perak and facing allegations of defections of its representatives in Kedah and Selangor.

In that sense, letting Wong go, saving the image of PKR and winning back Bukit Lanjan, are shrewd political calculations. - By Baradan Kuppusamy

Press against the Pakatan

There has been a steadily escalating drive to get the local press - newspapers such as the Star, the NST and Utusan - to paint the Opposition in a negative light and to portray an image of an imminent bust-up between the three Pakatan Rakyat partners KeADILan, DAP and PAS.

And the man behind this latest push to gag and steer the Barisan Nasional-controlled press has turned out to be none other than Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak!

In a move that goes against civil norms and his own self-professed moderate outlook, Najib is reneging on very public promises made - including during last month’s high-profile Al-Jazeera interview with Riz Khan - that under him, Malaysians can safely and assuredly look forward to greater democratic space.

If Malaysians had believed him then and thought he deserved a second listen, then for sure they know now that they were wrong, and that this adage does indeed apply to him - a leopard cannot change its spots!

For Najib - in the public eye for 33 years - has long been been known for the huge political baggage that he carries, which include a barrage of allegations of multi-billion ringgit corruption.

Although, he has tried hard to rebrand himself, the 55-year old DPM is now desperate to ensure that he gets to sit in Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s chair this March.

Although, he has won the Umno presidency uncontested, it is still not a given that he will automatically assume Abdullah’s premiership.

What goes around comes around

What could stand in his way?

Basically, a massive loss of confidence from within the Barisan Nasional and in particular Umno. There is already a growing group of BN and Umno politicians, who are starting to seriously wonder if Najib is indeed made of the ‘right stuff’ to be Malaysia’s sixth prime minister.

Privately, they have been asking among themselves - does Najib even have clear leadership over his own community - the Malays - let alone the respect of rest of the nation’s 25 million people.

Well, they will soon know. A quick test is coming up - the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election slated for Jan 17. The 80,000-strong constituency is 88-percent Malay, with Chinese forming nearly 11 percent, while the rest are Indian and other minority groups.

Many in the politically-savvy Malay community believe that KT will mark either the beginning or the beginning-of-the-end of his hold over Umno and the BN.

They believe that it is crucial for Umno to retain KT and by a more convincing majority than the 628-vote differential it won in the March 8, 2008 general election.

It was during this watershed election that for the first time, the Umno-led BN lost its two-third majority in Parliament.

The result was so disastrous that it paved the way for Najib to oust Abdullah - by scouring support from disgusted Umno and BN leaders to force the latter into accepting early retirement.

But the wheels of fortune keep turning and those who live by the sword die by the sword. As Najib ousted his boss, others are now looking to oust him, the incoming president of Umno.

Deflecting attention from his own scandals

Abdullah - blamed for the March 8 debacle - may have agreed to pass the baton to Najib this March.

But once it is clear that despite the succession plan, Malaysians still prefer to support Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan alliance - then this is when the political clock will start ticking for Najib.

According to independent online news reports and other sources, the DPM summoned key editors from both the electronic and print media to his official residence two weeks ago.

He gave them a tongue lashing and a severe dressing-down. Also present was Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Despite being used to ‘guidance’ on the angle of their news coverage, the editors were nevertheless stunned by the directness and dead-serious demeanour of the DPM - who told them in no uncertain terms to be distinctly anti-Opposition or else risk his wrath.

Sources said Najib also warned of dire consequences befalling Malaysia if the Opposition formed the federal government. He repeatedly stressed the importance of winning the Kuala Terengganu seat.

Against such manipulation - Malaysians lose most

Thus the reason for the recent all-out assault by the BN-controlled media on the Pakatan and its leaders.

MCA’s recently elected president Ong Tee Keat too was quick to side his boss, Najib, while taking the opportunity to rid his party-controlled Star newspaper of top executives aligned to his predecessors Ong Ka Ting and Ling Liong Sik.

Nevetheless, despite the power play and no matter which way KT turns out, it is Malaysians nationwide who will lose the most if they do not stand up and reiterate their rejection against the brand of manipulation and intimidation being promulgated by Najib now, and by his mentor ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad before.

For how else can they prevent corruption, how else can they stop their national wealth from being eaten up and siphoned out, how else can they protect their children from the endless greed of recalcitrant leaders, how else to ensure that future generations get to inherit what is rightfully due to them.

Said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim: “Our country is now facing a very uncertain economic future. The effects and implications are only starting to play out. The high inflation rate has caused the price of goods to rush up. There is a crisis of confidence in the security of the country, in its judiciary system. All these do not bode well for us and make it even more difficult to attract investments to stimulate our economy.We cannot remain in a state of denial.”

“The Kuala Terengganu by-election is a crucial and critical one as it will have a major influence on whether the changes started by the March 8 political tsunami last year should be pressed on or be blocked and even reversed,” DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said.

Political baggage revisited

It is clear that Najib will continue pursuing a strategy of directing efforts, resources and time on snuffing out the Opposition rather than focusing on the economic crisis and the never-before-seen retrenchment levels, which are both starting to be felt across the country.

Despite loud calls to Malaysians to stop politicking and focus on the economy, Najib is not heeding his own words.

Perhaps he knows that he cannot allow a two-party system to exist. Perhaps he knows he is not the one to lead Malaysia’s transformation. Lacking in both political firepower and personal drive to rid the country of the corruption crippling it, perhaps Najib knows that his survival lies in destabilising Pakatan at all costs.

This realisation is also starting to dawn on the country, the rest of Umno and the BN.

Until now, despite having entered active politics at age of 22, few Malaysians can actually point out Najib’s contributions to the country.

Many know about about his ‘political aristocracy’ - that he is the eldest son of second premier Abdul Razak - but after that what else?

Sad to say, in 99 times out of 100, when Najib enters the topic of conversation, attention invariably zooms in on his infamous ‘political baggage’, rather than on his achievements for the country.

Always only after a huge public uproar

For example, which Malaysian hasn’t heard about Najib’s recent attempt to privatise the National Heart Institute (IJN) to conglomerate Sime Darby? Or debated the pros and cons of the wasteful RM1.7 billion ringgit air terminal project at Labis - again granted to Sime?

As Finance Minister, Najib was weeks ago accused of selling out lower-income Malaysians, ignoring their concerns about escalating health-are costs. In particular, the IJN deal sparked allegations of cronyism because it was arranged by a bank led by his youngest brother Nazir. The deal was scrapped only after another huge public uproar.

Few Malaysians too have not heard of his alleged involvement with Altantutya Shaariibuu, wherein he was accused of having a sexual affair with the beautiful Mongolian woman before passing her onto his adviser Razak Baginda, who also took her in as his lover.

The sensational murder trial of the 28-year old Altantuya, horrifically killed and bombed to pieces in Malaysia in 2006, has been widely reported in the international press. The suspects are two police officers from a special unit tasked to look after Najib and his office. The two are now being tried for her murder.

Then, who hasn’t heard of Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the blogger who broke the news linking Altantuya to Najib and his wife, Rosmah? Raja Petra was later detained under the Internal Security Act and is still facing sedition charges.

What about the RM1.6 billion Eurocopter chopper deal that Najib rushed through during his last days in the defence ministry? Haven’t you heard of that?

And also what happened to its whistleblower - Abu Zahar Hashim, the former Umno Petaling Jaya Selatan division leader. Zahar, who leaked news of the deal which was approved without conducting test flights on the helicopters, was suspended by his party for daring to speak up.

He has since joined PAS and has promised to reveal other misdeeds - starting with the BN government’s purchase of Scorpene submarines during Najib’s time in the defence ministry.

With so much negative press of his own in the pipeline, it is no wonder that the DPM feels the need to go all out to gag his own press.

Even at the risk of futher marginalising the country and obstructing its socio-economic development and prosperity.