Tag: Abdullah Badawi

Posted on

Off With His Head

Off with his head, and set it on York gates;
So York may overlook the town of York.

(William Shakespeare, 1592 – Henry VI Part III)

Shouts of “Pecat (Expel)” and “Nyanyuk (Senile)” reverberated the hall where UMNO President, Najib Razak, gave a closed-door briefing to UMNO divisional and state committee members on the issues of the 1MDB, the RM2.6 billion donation and the accusation by his deputy (also his former Deputy Prime Minister) Muhyiddin, and former Prime Minister Mahathir made saying that the people of Malaysia will soon become beggars.  Both Muhyiddin and Mahathir made this claims countless times in spite of various explanations and proof saying otherwise. Of course, in Mahathir’s own words:

"I don't have enough evidence" - Mahathir
“I don’t have enough evidence” – Mahathir
This is why he started off attacking Najib and the 1MDB with the claim that RM42 billion had gone missing to 1MDB is a debt-laden company. Idiots would be quick to accept Mahathir’s statement as the 1MDB is a government company. However, those with brain and usage of brain cells know that although the 1MDB started off with a RM42 billion debt, it is backed by assets worth RM51 billion. The RM42 billion is not even the rakyat’s money. In comparison, if you earn RM3,000 a month, and purchase a car worth RM70,000, you are debt-laden, especially if you stay in a rented house with no other assets to back you up. And it is not just YOUR money, it is also the money you use to support your family.

Now why does one still want to harp on  an issue when one does not have evidence of any wrongdoing? Why should an UMNO member add more fuel to the fire set by the Opposition? In my world that is called treason!

On the economy, removing Najib is not going to get the oil prices to go up. The economy will not improve and jobs created with the removal of one person. To believe so is bordering on senseless stupidity. Our current economic fundamentals are nowhere near what it was when Mahathir was at the helm in 1997-98. Sometimes I am inclined to believe that Mahathir allowed Anwar to err in order to find a solid reason to remove the latter whom he found to be a threat to his position (You can read more about it here).

Malaysia’s competitiveness ranking is 18th in the world, and first in the Islamic world. Malaysia’s GDP rose 61% from RM202.26 billion in 2009 when Najib took over the helm to RM326 billion!

Despite claiming that Malaysians now eat grass daily to stay alive (or become beggars as mentioned by Mahathir), Malaysians bought 103% more cars in October 2015 compared to October 2014. Car sales as at end of October for 2015 stands at 541,142! No wonder the people are eating grass! They would rather spend money on cars!

  
As for the 1MDB issue, you can read all the explanations on their website. Google the URL. 

Muhyiddin…

Muhyiddin is a different animal altogether. He is one person who can show disrespect then change his tune. Just look at how as a Johorean and one who claimed he has the support of the Istana, Muhyiddin did not wear the white band on his songkok as a symbol of state mourning just a day after the late Tunku Jalil Iskandar of Johor was buried.

  
It seems that Muhyiddin has a knack for using the Malays to achieve his goals – including selling the Malays out. Those who were born after 1980 may not remember how Muhyiddin was kicked out of Johor as the Menteri Besar in the 1990s by the then Sultan of Johor but was saved by Mahathir. You can read more about Muhyiddin’s sins to the Johor people HERE.

I will tell you this story about Muhyiddin and Mahathir as it was what my comrades and I had bitterly experience back in 1998.

For those who watched the live telecast on RTM when two Malaysians made it to the summit of Mount Everest. There was a teleconference between Mahathir and the Team Leader and Mahathir asked who the two Malaysians were. When the Team Leader replied “M Nagappan and M Magendran” in a disappointed voice Mahathir asked, “Siapa lagi?”

Mahathir seemed disappointed that his “countrymen” has made it to the too while the Malay climbers did not. I was at the Malaysian Ex-Commandos Club on Jalan Kelantan up Federal Hill in late 1997 when its then President, the late Rahim King, instructed us to form a team to regain the Malay honour by skydiving at the North Pole. Rahim became the Chef de Mission. Another former Air Force commando, Aziz Ahmad, was assigned the Team Leader, in-charge of selection and training, while I became the Deputy Team Leader in-charge of logistics and planning. Captain Datuk Azmi Hamid Bidin was made in-charge of the support team based in Malaysia to iron out finances and other support. It was an all-Malay team, to be supported by a television crew from TV3 as the official media. Initially TV3 had offered Karam Singh Walia, a renowned broadcast journalist, but we were told it had to be an all-Malay team.

To cut a long story short, Anwar had started his nepotism and cronyism battle-cry and the exonomy was really bad that members of Mahathir’s cabinet shunned him – afraid of being seen to support Mahathir in case Anwar manages to depose of his mentor. Our expedition’s launching ceremony on the 30th March 1998 broadcast live on TV3 had Mahathir attending alone without his cabinet ministers, not even Muhyiddin who was then the Minister for Youth and Sports. That was how Muhyiddin repaid the kindness to the man who saved him. That was how lonely Mahathir was in 1998.

The expedition departed for Moscow early April 1998 after Anwar announced in parliament that the finances for the expedition had been finalised, when it really wasn’t. We almost did not make it to the North Pole if it weren’t for people like (then) Datuk Adzmi Wahab, Managing Director of EON Berhad; Datuk Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi, Foreign Minister; and my friend Zahid Hamidi who was the UMNO Youth Chief. Anwar, Muhyiddin never responded to calls for help even from Capt Datuk Azmi when we were being threatened by the organisers who were all ex-Soviet military and  I believe with obvious links to the Russian mafia.

Muhyiddin is a chameleon, a self-serving one who would go to lengths to achieve his personal goals, even at the expense of selling out the Malays, or to switch political camps faster than he changes his underwear.

If the Malays in UMNO and the people of Pagoh still do not realise the potential harm this man could do, then the Malays are doomed.

He will be like Darth Vader, loyal to the Emperor until it’s time to protect his self-interest.

  

Off with his head!

Posted on

Loose Talks Sink Ships

  

A friend wrote this to me:

“I disagree with Sanusi Junid that Najib is the person that made UMNO weak.
Mahathir is the root cause of UMNO weakening. But he did make UMNO strong once during the past 16 years.
Statistics don’t lie.
1999 GE, Mahathir made UMNO lose a staggering 24% of their seas – down 22 seats from 93.
2004.- Mahathir made UMNO strong by retiring from politics, no longer contesting and keeping quiet and letting his replacement do his work. 
Immediately, UMNO won 53% more seats and jumped from 71 seats to 109 – in the best results ever for UMNO and BN.
2008: Mahathir made UMNO weak again by continuously attacking and treasonously attacking his own party over years – which made UMNO weak again by losing 38% seats.
In 2013, Najib won 9 more seats for UMNO – hence strengthening UMNO.. Mahathir was also relatively quiet this period.
Najib inherited an UMNO that already has partners that have been rendered weak. UMNO with the remnants of supporters of its partners not only have to fend off attacks from the Opposition but also now from those who cling onto Mahathir for meagre amount of morsels to remain relevant in their dreams. It is these attacks that further divided UMNO into the circus it is now. Lest we forget the younger and opportunistic vultures who help pick the flesh off others.

Thus, this is indisputable proof where we can draw two conclusions:
1) Mahathir is the main cause of UMNO weakening. 
2) If you want UMNO to be strong, ask Mahathir to shut-up.”

I have said this again and again. STFU and let the authorities do their work. The more you feed fuel to fire, the bigger it will burn.

But not everyone has the brain power to understand simple logic such as that.

If you go back to the early 1980s, it was Mahathir who prodded Sulaiman Palestine to mount a challenge against Tun Hussein Onn. Then urged Ku Li to take on Musa Hitam. Those in their 30s wouldn’t remember how UMNO split into Team A and Team B after Ku Li in turn challenged Mahathir and UMNO was declared illegal soon after. And because of the Team A and Team B spat, Mahathir changed the UMNO constitution into the form it is now and changed how an UMNO President is elected. Oh! How can we forget that because of the Team A and Team B thing Mahathir fired several ministers as well – Pak Lah, the late Ajib Ahmad and a few others.

Then Mahathir also lost Kelantan in 1990 to PAS. That was the biggest blow to BN that time, only to be outdone again during his time in 1999. Who remembers the Wan Mokhtar-Yusuf Noor spat and why it happened?

Musa was too smart for Mahathir. Everyone knew this. The MM (Mahathir-Musa) partnership was more a “don’t step on my toes and I don’t step on yours” relationship. In the end, Mahathir used the mishandling of the Memali incident to oust Musa Hitam. He did not stop at that. He had Ghafar Baba as his deputy, but his real sight was on Anwar.

Ghafar was that pleasant and docile deputy everyone would have loved to have, but not as a successor. Anwar had a lot of following especially from his former organisation, ABIM. Mahathir used the late Rahim King’s organisation, Kelab Bekas Komando Malaysia, to pave the way for Anwar’s rise and to remove any opposition to Anwar. In the end, Ghafar, a true UMNO loyalist, was dropped in a disgraceful manner helped by hidden hands.

UMNO was weak. Members were tired of Mahathir who had by then overstayed his welcome. The onybreason they were still supporting him was because of his choice for deputy – Anwar Ibrahim. Finally, UMNO had found a young and energetic character to be able to replace Mahathir and everyone waited for that day.

Of course, unbeknownst to both Mahathir and the Special Branch then, Anwar was engaging in unhealthy activities that the DAP had known since 1984 but brought it to the surface in 1997 by the late Karpal Singh, and subsequently given the title “Sheikh al-Anwar al-Juburi” by some people’s new hope: Mat Sabu.

Naturally when Mahathir fired Anwar and sacked the latter from UMNO, the party weakened even further. In the 1999 elections even Sanusi fell victim to the people’s wrath against Mahathir. Members of the Actors Studio were seen taking to the streets in support of the “Reformasi” movement giving ad hoc interviews to Maria Ressa from CNN then saying “We are tired of Mahathir! He must go!”

Mahathir’s move against Najib has also gained support from the member of a certain state’s royal family. The irony is in 1983 it was this royal family member’s late grandfather whom Mahathir was trying to prevent from becoming the Yang DiPertuan Agong. Almost weekly a Nuri helicopter would fly the then-Prime Minister to Kuala Kangsar to convince the late Sultan Idris, who also happened to be the maternal grandfather to this member of the Royal family, to become the Yang DiPertuan Agong instead. Fate had it that Sultan Idris passed on in early 1984 and Sultan Iskandar ascended the throne of the Yang DiPertuan Agong in April of 1984.

It was during this seemingly invisible interference by Mahathir that had caused a constitutional crisis that almost saw the civilian government being overthrown by the military. The only problem the military had was its lack of contact with the general population and needed a bridge in the form of the police. Although the police supported the idea but they thought it was not the right time for a coup and it failed. The constitutional crisis did not rear its head again until 1993 when the powers of the Rulers Institution was greatly reduced.

So, UMNO gets blamed for everything when it was all done by Mahathir for himself, or for those close to him. And as mentioned, Pak Lah inherited a weak UMNO from Mahathir. All the previous UMNO proxies were not allowed to help finance BN after Mahathir stepped down. Mahathir left taking all the UMNO proxies with him. UMNO was left not only weak, it was also left poor, save for whatever was handed to Pak Lah.

The government now has Revenue Recovery Committee to recover lost government revenue, it is time that UMNO has one too.

As confidence in Malaysia continues to weaken helped by with no thanks to Mahathir and his hanger-ons who keep burning the party on the pretext of saving it, both UMNO and PAS now suffers from trust deficit and the likely winner in all this would be DAP and the Gerakan Harapan Baru.

And by Mahathir’s logic, only Najib should shoulder the blame when it is his loose talks that helped sink the ship.

Posted on

Clear And Present Danger

The Predecessors of the current Rulers at a Rulers' Conference
The Predecessors of the current Rulers at a Rulers’ Conference

The roles of the Rulers (or sometimes referred to as the Malay Rulers) in this blessed nation are somewhat misunderstood.  While many often think that the Institution of the Rulers mirror that of the British’s Westminster-style monarchy, it is not.  Britain had undergone a period of regicide and for a moment was a republic under Oliver Cromwell, but monarchy was reinstalled with the ascension of Charles II guided by the British Parliament with laws made and passed solely by the Parliament. Here, we have Rulers who, until 1957, ruled the land (although much of the administration was passed to British advisers through various treaties who were on the Rulers’ payroll).  It was only on 31st August 1957 that the executive powers of the Rulers were handed over to a civilian government chosen by the majority of the people of the Federation of Malaya. The Rulers, as owners of this land, continue to enjoy their position with their income regulated by the respective laws, and receive advice from the Menteris Besar (or in the case of the Yang DiPertuan Agong, the Prime Minister). This is evident in Article 181(1) of the Federal Constitution which states:

“Subject to the provisions of this Constitution,” the “sovereignty, prerogatives, powers and jurisdiction of the Rulers…as hitherto had and enjoyed shall remain unaffected.”

The same was noted by Mark R Gillen of the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria (Gillen 1994:7). In the words of the late Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, former Lord President, it is:

“a mistake to think that the role of a King, like that of a President, is confined to what is laid down by the Constitution, His role far exceeds those constitutional provisions” (Azlan Shah 1986:89)

As history have shown, time and time again, the strength and weakness of the Rulers lie in the strength or weakness of those responsible to advise the Rulers.  Those appointed as the Prime Minister and Menteris Besar are expected to be sincere, wise and knowledgeable, truthful and forthcoming no matter how bitter the advice may be, so that the Rulers can act with just with their feet firmly on the ground, or in the Malay saying:

Supaya Raja tidak dibuai dalam khayalan; tidak diulit gurindam pujian

Why I have not referred to the Rulers in this particular post as the Malay Rulers is deliberate, with references made to various research papers on this subject.  Before the entrance of the British advisers, each of the Ruler was the Ruler of all he surveyed and was the enjoyer of all he surveyed. This means that there were no state boundaries as we now have to show the dominion of each Ruler, and the people whom we collectively refer to as the Malays (as the Chinese and Indians are back in China and India are) used to refer to themselves as people of where they originated: orang Muar, orang Jasin, orang Pekan so on and so forth.  Their loyalty is to the Ruler who has dominance over their area. With the introduction of the Chinese and Indian immigrants by the British, the role of the Ruler transcended protector of the Malays, as protector of the immigrant subjects as well. The Hikayat Johor of the early 20th century lauds Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor for “looking after the Chinese subjects living in the state.” There is also mention of Chinese and Indians welcoming the Sultan home from an overseas journey (Anthony Milner, Australian National University, Milner 2002:214).

Even a left-wing Malay who wanted to unite a Raja-less Malaya with Batavia (Jakarta), Ibrahim Yaacob, referred to a Kelantan Ruler bestowing a prestigious title on a Chinese merchant and observed that the Johor state council building looked like a Chinese audience hall because it was decorated Chinese writing. When Ibrahim Yaacob asked what was the writing about, he was told that it recorded the personal service of wealthy Chinese people to the Ruler (Milner 2002:261).  Ibrahim Yaacob later served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Japanese Giyuugun (Volunteer Army) and fled Malaya for Batavia and served under Sukarno taking up the name Iskandar Kamel Agastya (SeaDemon: Road to Merdeka – Persekutuan Tanah China (6th September 2011).

When racial strife hit Malaysia on 13th May 1969, the Sultan of Terengganu as well as other Rulers took steps to protect their non-Malay rakyats (Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian, Faculty of Humanities, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Kobkua 2011:364). This goes to affirm the special press statement made by the Conference of Rulers in October 2008 explaining that the Institution of Rulers is a “protective umbrella ensuring impartiality among the citizens.” The statement itself explains the Rulers’ constitutional role respecting the so-called “Social Contract” between Malays and non-Malays, and assures the non-Malays that there is no need to “harbour any apprehension or worry over their genuine rights.” (Kobkua 2011:425-426).

When the British wanted the Sultan of Selangor to banish a Chinese man, Ho Chick Kwan, (Ho Chick Kwan v Honourable British Resident Selangor, Criminal Appeal No. 11 of 1931), Ho was described as a “natural born subject of the Ruler of the State of Negeri Sembilan, and his adopted mother Lui Ho described herself as owing “true allegiance to His Highness the Sultan of Selangor.”

Such is the role of the Rulers in unifying the rakyat, and such was how the non-Malays back then were loyal subjects of the Rulers as the Malays were – a far cry compared to what we have today.

As mentioned in the fifth paragraph above, the strength and weakness of the Ruler depends on the strengths, weaknesses, sincerity, truthfulness, and knowledge of their adviser, namely the Prime Minister and the Menteris Besar.  The recent fiasco in Johor shows how a weak adviser can put the Ruler in harm’s way.  When the British acted as advisers and administered the states of behalf of their respective Rules, many of the Malays, including Ibrahim bin Yaacob, Burhanuddin Helmy et al saw no need for the monarchy to remain as an institution, hence the desire to make Malaya a republic united with Batavia. UMNO then took over as the linchpin of the Malays from the Rulers with the formation of the Malayan Union.

It is easy to understand why the Rulers agreed to the formation of the Malayan Union: weakened by the pompous nature of their British advisers who departed when the Japanese arrived, the Japanese relegated the Rulers into nothing more than deputy advisers in the administration of the Malay customs and religion.  Imagine what it was like for a Johor commoner to see his Sultan being scolded by the Japanese for leaning on his stick.  Seen working with the Japanese in World War Two, and weak in the eyes of the Malays, the Rulers did not have much choice but to succumb to the demands of the British.  But the Tunku was quick in restoring the faith of the Malays in the Rulers. He recalled that:

“At all costs I wanted to avoid having a split with the Rulers.” (Simon C Smith, Professor of International History, University of Hull, Smith 1995:183)

The seemingly weak administrations of both Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak, and the digression of UMNO from its original intended path of protecting Islam, the Malays and Bumiputras and its inherent weakness in dealing with various right-wing Chinese and Indian organisations that have thrived under weak administrations have led to the formation of right-wing Malay groups such as the PERKASA and ISMA.  Najib seems to have given in to a lot of demands from people who will never ever support him nor his party, promising uncontrolled legal reforms thence setting up the left-leaning National Unity Consultative Council.  The National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill proposed by the NUCC is seen as a clear and present danger to a society that is already on the edge of destruction.

In Section 6 (1) (iii) of this Bill, will render the Rulers powerless in selecting the Menteri Besar for their respective state; the Agong will not have the power to select his Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, his Inspector-General of Police, or his Chief of Armed Forces even.  You Malays and Bumiputras may think that Article 153 can protect you, but you should also read Article 153(5) of the Federal Constitution and see what it says, and tell me if what I have written in this paragraph is not true.

Section 7 (1) (ii) even allows people of the LGBT group to hold important positions.  Gender equal opportunity is already in effect, but regardless of sexual orientation? I have gay friends and some are good friends of mine. Even they cringe whenever their lifestyle is brought under the spotlight by glamour-seeking peers.  It is not that they are not talented but will this not tear the fabric of our society?  May I ask the so-called religious Muslims and Christians if they agree with this?  In the name of Human Rights, we are beginning to fight to become animals, where unnatural ways are to become the norm of our society. I wonder how long would the Christian church in Malaysia be able to resist same-sex marriages with this Bill coming into effect. Removal of the Sedition Act would certainly act as a catalyst to destruction, much as the removal of the Internal Security Act has contributed to the worsening condition of the country.  There is nothing wrong with either Act.  Mere tweaking to prevent the laws from being abused by politicians would have been sufficient.

I fear for the future of this nation.  We must not let extremism prevail.

This is where the Rulers can play a role in holding the fragile fabric of this divisive society, to once again play a pivotal role in bringing this nation back to its senses.  We can no longer rely on weak Prime Ministers and Menteris Besar to protect this society from falling apart, all in the name of Human Rights (and the desire to please non-believers thinking you can get votes by kow-towing to their demands).  The Rulers also need to keep their conduct, and that of their families, in check.  There is no use correcting the society when they and those related to them do not behave with the utmost decorum.  And as history has proven again and again, the Rulers can act independently from their weak and self-interested advisers.

In the words of Sultan Nazrin Muizuddin Shah of Perak in July 2011:

“Rulers must use wisdom to calm situations, but they do not have a ‘magic lamp’ to keep unity, especially when the situation has become chaotic.“

I was an Officer of the Armed Forces of Malaysia, my loyalty has always been for my King and Country.  I humbly beg His Royal Highnesses to intervene and override weak and destructive suggestions of the government of the day.  Again in the words of Sultan Nazrin:

“Unity requires a willingness to sacrifice, accept defeat willingly and celebrate victory with humility.”

I, your humble servant, humbly beg.

Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian. This goes to affirm