politicians – Page 12 – SeaDemon Says

August 8, 2017August 8, 2017

Pakatan Will Give Sabah It’s Autonomy With Mahathir As The Top Dog

Top Dog will give Sabah more autonomy like he did as PM of 22 years

Kurniawan bin Hendrikus (not his real name) who now lives in Kampung Gayaratau off the Ranau-Tamparuli road fears for the future if Pakatan wins Sabah.

“I worked in Semporna and Tawau in the 1990s and used to fear walking alone at night as these towns virtually belonged to ‘Malaysians’ from the Southern Philippines,” he recalled. “Now, the same man who treated Sabah like rubbish is heading the Opposition to try oust the Barisan Nasional.”

Sabah has been plagued by illegal immigrants for over three decades, causing socio-political and economic problems for the state. Although the numbers vary from thousands to millions depending on who you ask, all agree that the influx of immigrants especially from the Southern Philippines happened during Mahathir’s premiership, a move said to dilute the influence of the majority-Christian Kadazan-Dusun-Murut (KDM) communities.

Mahathir must be brought to account for “Projek IC”, the massive operation that flooded Sabah with illegal immigrants in exchange for Malaysian citizenship in the move dubbed ‘Project IC’ said Madius Tangau, the MP for Tuaran.

Madius who is also the President of the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) added that the Sabahans want the PM then (Mahathir) who has admitted to giving out the fake ICs to be held responsible.

Mahathir blamed Anwar Ibrahim, who was his deputy at the time of the ‘Project IC’ taking place, for being directly involved in ‘Project IC’ and for acting without his (Mahathir’s) knowledge, the same blame game he uses in the Scorpene drama where he blamed Najib Razak, who was then the Defence Minister, for paying RM3.7 billion without the knowledge of the Minister of Finance, who also happened to be him (Mahathir).

A day after blaming Anwar, the latter returned the ball to Mahathir’s court saying it was Mahathir who was behind ‘Project IC.’ Anwar pointed out that there was even a taskforce set up by Mahathir to oversee the awarding of Malaysian citizenship to immigrants in Sabah.

Mahathir had a taskforce set up to oversee the awarding of citizenship to immigrants, said Anwar

Pakatan’s hint that Mahathir would be able to restore Sabah’s rights had Sabah’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) scoff at them for “daydreaming.”

Its President Teo Chee Kang reminded Pakatan that it was under Mahathir’s rule that the state suffered greatly, and lost some of its autonomy.

“I read in the papers that several Pakatan leaders from Sabah recently flew all the way to Kuala Lumpur to see Mahathir on Sabah rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963. I find it ironic. I would like to remind them that it was during Mahathir’s administration in 1983 that our state powers to regulate the distribution of gas and electricity were taken back by the federal government. In the 22 years of Mahathir’s rule we lost numerous state rights to the federal government,” he added.

Dr Jeffrey Kitingan who is Sabah’s STAR Chairman said it was Mahathir who introduced ‘Project IC’ and told him (Jeffrey) not to ‘teach’ the people what they didn’t know (Sabah rights).

‘Project IC’ was also called ‘Project M.’ ‘M’ is for ‘Mahathir.’

Sabah also lost a lot under Mahathir’s rule. In 1983, Mahathir made plans for Labuan to be handed over to the Federal Government. Labuan is an important hub for the oil and gas industry. In order to make oil revenues from Labuan totally the Federal government’s, Mahathir conceived the plan for Labuan to become a Federal Territory during a Barisan Nasional meeting in 1983.

Harris Salleh, who was the BERJAYA Chief Minister of Sabah then agreed to hand over the island over to the Federal government without any deliberation. No referendum was made for the proposal.

In August 1983, Tun Datu Mustapha who was USNO’s President made a call to Labuan’s USNO division to reject the proposal and demonstrate against it. In February 1984, Mahathir proposed for the expulsion of USNO from the Barisan Nasional. On 21 February 1984, the Labuan USNO division voted to dissolve itself in support of the handing over of Labuan to the Federal Government. On 27 February 1984, UMNO Supreme Council voted for the expulsion of USNO from the Barisan Nasional. The expulsion of USNO from the BN took effect on 15 April 1984, one day before Labuan became a Federal Territory.

“We are not giving away our territory because the Federal Government is in the position to develop the island,” Harris said in his defence.

As a result of his subservience to Mahathir, Federal allocation to Sabah increased tremendously during the years when BERJAYA was in power. Despite this, in 1986 the poverty level in the state remained at 33 percent, which was higher than the national average of 18.

The spike in Federal allocation to Sabah as a result of Harris Salleh’s subservience

The transfers to Sabah from the Federal government dropped in 1986 when PBS under Joseph Pairin Kitingan won the state.

It was during the Mahathir-Harris master-and-servant relationship that Sabah also almost lost its right to determine its own Immigration policy.

Pairin, in reminding Harris on why he was ousted in 1985 as Chief Minister, reiterated that it was under the latter’s Berjaya Government that the state’s rights were slowly eroded until very little was left.

“The Berjaya Government was on the verge of surrendering Sabah’s immigration powers before it was ousted from power,” said Pairin in a bombshell revelation.

Pairin’s revelation that Harris almost gave Sabah’s immigration rights away to Mahathir before BERJAYA’s rule ended

Even Lim Kit Siang who is Mahathir’s now best-friend-forever wrote that Mahathir must explain the attempt to undermine Sabah’s rights to its own immigration policies.

He wrote: “As the then Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir – who is still very active and alert in the public domain, even plotting to scalp another Prime Minister – should throw light on another long-kept secret in Malaysia on the circumstances and history of attempts in his first four years as Prime Minister in the eighties to abolish Sabah’s state immigration powers as revealed by Joseph Pairin.”

Mahathir the Destroyer (pic courtesy of Wakeup Malaya)

This goes to show that other than Mahathir neither Lim Kit Siang nor Anwar Ibrahim or their respective parties (PRIBUMI, PKR, DAP) can be trusted to look after Sabah’s rights. But what about Shafie Apdal, once UMNO’s rising star from Sabah?

Shafie’s WARISAN, is seen by many in Sabah as being a proxy of Mahathir’s PRIBUMI. Many also question Shafie’s honesty in wanting to help Sabahans.

“People ask what he did to develop Sabah when he was in the federal Cabinet. Did he do anything to fight for Sabah autonomy? Even the other opposition leaders are asking these questions,” said Unimas don Dr Arnold Puyok to The Star.

Three village chiefs, Sosor Bin Aling from Kg Mempulut , Simon Sinsuran from Kg Dalit Stesen and Lidy Bin Lunggiri from Kg Pohon Batu said in the 1980s when Mahathir was in power, roads were never repaired and electricity did not reach them.

“Along the way, we were still using kerosene. Road conditions were extremely severe and there was hardly clean water to use. The primary schools were still as in the days of the British. However, the current Prime Minister had given them access to electricity and water supply is currently under installation, ” they said.

They said compared to the last 22 years with the last eight years, Najib Razak as the Prime Minister had helped them to get basic amenities like roads, schools and a clinic.

“We therefore fully support the government led by Najib. He is one of the best leaders compared to Mahathir. Logs were felled at the time of Mahathir and our area was also handed over to the major companies and we did not get any results,” they lamented.

Simon thanked Najib as he approved the construction of SMK Dalit which served about 30 villages.

After building SMK Dalit, their children no longer need to go to Keningau to study at secondary schools.

He hoped Najib would upgrade the clinic at the Dalit station.

Similarly, in Kabulu, they asked for a clinic for the good of the people in the area.

With also the toll-free Pan Borneo Highway which is already under construction set to improve communications and livelihood of Sabahans (as well as Sarawakians), it is only right for Sabahans to know that progress will only happen by having an administration that truly cares for its people and delivers promises.

Not the ones who use arm-bending solutions or those who now turn a blind eye on the said solutions just because they want to try ride on the dictator’s self-imagined ‘popularity.’

August 4, 2017August 4, 2017

Insider Submarine Trading?

Najib Razak’s reply to Wan Azizah on the Scorpene issue in 2008

In 2008, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, in his reply to Wan Azizah confirmed that all terms and approvals of the procurements of the two units of Scorpene submarines and 18 units of fighter jets were made in accordance with Government procurement procedures and could only be executed by the Finance Ministry.

The inking of the deal to purchase the Scorpene submarines was made in June 2002 when a now-amnesiac Prime Minister was also the Finance Minister then.

In yesterday’s posting I mentioned about Ibrahim mohd Noor being Daim Zainuddin’s proxy and ran Perimekar Sdn Bhd with Mohzani Mahathir out of a bungalow at Jalan Lembah Ledang off Jalan Duta in Kuala Lumpur. The fact is that very few people know that Ibrahim had an office there, which also happened to be the base for the creation of Ibrahim’s venture into media and advertising via Blue Inc Sdn Bhd.

Being close to Daim gave him the advantage of ‘privileged knowledge’ and knew when Mahathir finally agreed to to the submarine program. He teamed up with Mokhzani Mahathir and used Perimekar as the vehicle for this venture. A nucleus team was formed and started on the proposal. They went to a few reputable German shipbuilders like HDW and Blohm & Voss.

However, at the end of 2001, Daim and Mahathir had a fall out. Lim Kit Siang, Mahathir’s now best friend, was very observant of this event and commented that the Mahathir-Daim fall-out is not over policy differences on whether to end the policy of bail-outs and buy- outs.

Rather, he claimed, it was “over differences as to who should be the beneficiaries of such government bail-outs and buy-outs at a time when the government must pick and choose the beneficiaries as public resources are stretched to the limit and are incapable of saving all crony companies and individuals.”

Of course, Lim Kit Siang being an old man although not yet as old as Mahathir, suffers from selective amnesia and seems to have forgiven Mahathir for all his sins to the people of Malaysia – as long as the position that gives power is within his grasp.

As a result of the fall out, Ibrahim had to give up Perimekar and his quest to supply the Royal Malaysian Navy with its submarines, and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) took this up.

At the time, Boustead was planning to take over Amin Shah’s Business Focus Group, in particular the PSC Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd. Amin Shah, a known Daim crony, privatised the Royal Malaysian Navy’s dockyard during Daim’s tenure as the Finance Minister and injected it into a company he took over, Penang Shipyard Co.

At the time, PSC Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd already had the contract to supply six out of 27 new-generation patrol vessels for the RMN, which happened to be a deal between PSC Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd’s joint-venture with German shipbuilder Blohm & Voss.

It seemed convenient for Perimekar then to also have another deal with a German shipbuilder especially Blohm & Voss.

After Ibrahim was out of the picture and Abdul Razak Baginda’s wife was in Perimekar, the latter shopped around for a suitable submarine. The DCNS and Thales at the time had a product which was the Scorpene submarine, considered a superior diesel-electric attack submarine at the time and was constructing for the Chilean Navy.

In early 2002, the Malaysian Defence Industry Council was hosted at PSC Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd in Lumut, and Amin Shah tried to peddle two used Dutch submarines to Najib Razak who was then the Defence Minister. The submarines, the Tijgerhaai (Tigershark) and Zwaardvis (Swordfish) were ambitiously bought by Amin Shah. However, Najib Razak was not interested in having two rustbuckets for the RMN.

The Scorpene had incorporated systems that are in use with the French Navy’s nuclear attack submarines, also built by DCNS and Thales. The proposal also included the very potent Blackshark II torpedoes and MBDA SM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.

Abdul Razak Baginda also managed to package together the elite turnkey submarine training with the DCI-NAVFCO at Brest. Coupled with extensive exercise exposure of the RMN officers and men with their French counterparts in the submarine force at Brest gave the RMN men an exposure to the French Navy’s role and operations as well as tactics used in NATO.

Once the deal was inked in June 2002, Razak never went to Cherbourg again.

And Altantuya? She only existed a few years after the deal was inked. Even a renowned Najib Razak-hater wrote in his book that Abdul Razak Baginda first met in 2004, a good two years after the Scorpene deal was done.

It is interesting to note that the RMN had sent its first batch of officers for submarine training with the Royal Australian Navy in 1992. They earned their submariners’ dolphin a year later.

And guess which Minister of Defence it was then who mooted the idea of having a submarine force?

The then-Defence Minister replying to a question by Lim Kit Siang in Parliament

So was the plan for Perimekar laid out like a carpet a while before the then Prime Minister gave the go ahead to work out a submarine program for the RMN?

It is impossible for the Prime Minister or Finance Minister then to not know about the purchase of the submarines. This is not like buying sweets at a Mamak shop. They cost billions of Ringgits that would still need the approval of the Finance Ministry.

So is Mahathir not afraid of the hereafter peddling one lie after another?

Borrowing the words of a certain Opposition office-holder:

“Allah Knows!”

August 3, 2017August 4, 2017

Scorpene: Who Is Who And What Is What?

Tokong Lim Guan Eng torpedoed Pakatan’s claim in December 2011 when the submarine he was inside DIVED into the depths of the Strait of Melaka. He was on board for 90 minutes (pic courtesy of BigDog)

Now that I have your attention on the Scorpene issue that U-Turn Mahathir has conveniently forgotten (like the PKFZ issue and others), let me take you down memory lane to tell you more about the whole issue. There will be a few corrections pertaining to the timeline as per the previous posting.

Everyone who talks about the Scorpene deal talks about Abdul Razak Baginda and a company called Perimekar Sdn Bhd that supposedly had gotten millions of Ringgits in kickbacks pertaining to the submarine deal.

The original proponents of the Malaysian submarine program were Mokhzani Mahathir and Ibrahim Mohd Noor (who was then then CEO of newly-listed BERNAS, acting on behalf of Daim Zainuddin). They proposed the German Type 212 (an Air-Independent Propulsion version of the Type 209 design) through a company called…wait for it…Perimekar Sdn Bhd, then operating drom a bungalow in Jalan Lembah Ledang off Jalan Semantan in Kuala Lumpur.

However, in 1999 the then-Chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), Admiral Tan Sri Abu Bakar Jamal convinced the then Prime Minister (guess who) at the Avillion Layang-Layang Resort for a submarine program purchasing a very capable submarine.

The Prime Minister bought the idea when Admiral Abu Bakar said, to the effect of, “Imagine we (the RMN) could operate in stealth as far as the Sea of Japan and the North Indian Ocean, without anyone finding out.” The green light was given then.

Sometime in September 2001, the ownership of Perimekar Sdn Bhd was transferred to the Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) through Boustead Bhd’s special purpose vehicle called Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd. The Board of Directors of Perimekar Sdn Bhd then were Rear Admiral (Rtd) Hussin Tamby and Mazlina Makhzan, Abdul Razak Baginda’s wife.

The company, together with officials from the RMN sifted through more than 17,000 pages (28 volumes) of technical documents of the Scorpene. After this point, as mentioned in my previous posting, the Secretary-General of Treasury took over the final commercial negotiations. MINDEF, Perimekar et al no longer had any role to play.

The deal to purchase two Scorpene-type submarines from DCNS and Thales was inked in June 2002, when the then-Prime Minister was also the Finance Ministry who would have given the final approval for the procurement. It was signed by all the relevant parties at the Ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur.

The Ministry of Finance was represented by the Secretary-General of Treasury Tan Sri Samsuddin Hitam while LTAT was represented by Dato’ Lodin Wok Kamaruddin.

The consideration for the deal was partly in kind – export of palm oil to France. The final consideration of the deal came from a condition laid by the Ministry of Transport which the French agreed to the day before the deal was inked – for Malaysia Airlines to get the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th landing rights at the Charles de Gaulle (CDG) in Paris.

So, now you know the story behind the Scorpene. Now you know why it is impossible for anyone involved to forget the deal that was made 15 years ago.

Anyone who does forget should not be in politics as it could be a sign of a deterioration of the brain function. And these persons should remember Allah before he finally forgets Who Allah Is.

August 2, 2017

Kerala Militant Torpedoed

You know the next general election is going to be a dirty one when old issues are brought back ad infinitum despite being repeatedly shot down.

The latest issue that is being brought back is of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Scorpene deal. Two portals, Free Mischief Today and Malaysian Incite published a report yesterday claiming that Abdul Razak Baginda has been charged in a French court.

A quick search by a friend found no such news from AFP.

I find it impossible that such a big thing never made it into a little column on the AFP portal.

Today, U-Turn Mahathir revealed that the purchase of the Scorpene was never discussed in any cabinet meeting. It was reported again by Malaysian Incite. Perhaps the Big Chief of that portal had had too much during happy hours with Tokong.

Anyway, Mahathir can fool the youngsters like Pribumi’s Ketua Amanda, Syed Sajat. Other more matured people would know the truth.

The green light for the purchase of the Scorpene was given by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister back in 1995. I’ll leave it to you to name them. The negotiations were conducted according to defence procurement contracts procedures.

In June 2002, the contract was signed after getting the final approval of the Finance Minister who was also the Prime Minister. Again, I shall let you guess his name.

Included in this contract was the purchase of a former French Navy submarine (which is now a museum in Melaka) that would act as a training platform for Malaysian’s submariners for four years.

The final commercial committee was headed by the Secretary-General of Treasury who submitted the report of the acquisition. At this point, the Ministry of Defence was no longer involved.

Back in 2012, Mahathir said that neither he nor Najib Razak were involved in the acquisition of the Scorpene submarines. The Opposition bloggers went to town to link Mahathir and Daim Zainuddin to the purchase.

So, how is it that Mahathir is exonerated by the Opposition and now claims he would have blocked the purchase had he known about it?

July 30, 2017

GE14 Will Be The Dirtiest Elections Ever And This Is Why

Every time election nears, you will see old issues being spun again just to show that the elections will be a dirty one – just so that when they lose again, the same reasons will be put forward to bait the monkeys that support them.

For GE14, Nurul Izzah has chosen to slander the Elections Commission. The last elections she chose to slander her opponent, Raja Nong Chik.

After a four-year hiatus, Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh is back slandering LYNAS. The LYNAS issue went quiet almost immediately after the last general elections. Expect more demonstrations in the run-up to the next elections.

Hey! After four years I am hearing the name LYNAS again!

Whatever it may be, no matter if they win more seats or are able to hold on to the states they have been holding on to since 2008, the elections, according to the monkeys at Pakatan, will only get dirtier and dirtier. The country will, to use an ANALogy that the followers of Anwar Ibrahim might understand, “be deep in shit.”

But it is nothing new. Emperor Lim Kit Siang, the de facto leader of Pakatan said that the previous general elections would be the dirtiest in history.

Everything is dirty according to Emperor Li Kit Siang

Anwar Ibrahim even went to town to claim that 40,000 foreigners, emphasising on Bangladeshis, voted in the last general elections.

Not contented, he issued a statement through PKR’s mouthpiece:

Anwar later claimed that he said no such thing

Even Anwar Ibrahim’s good friend from abroad, Azeem Ibrahim, whose homeland was split into three in 1947 into India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, joined in the circus to show his support for Anwar the Schizo.

Azeem Ibrahim also joined in the fray to condemn GE13

Don’t get me started on how they claimed that during the vote counting process, some vote counting centres experienced “blackouts” that resulted in “the victory of the Barisan Nasional.” And like monkeys getting excited at the sight of a plastic banana, the Pakatan supporters converged onto the Kelana Jaya stadium for the ‘Blackout 505’ gathering to hear more lies by Anwar Ibrahim alleging that Bangladeshi, Indonesians and Filipino voters helped Barisan Nasional win.

However, four months later DAP’s Ong Kian Ming agreed with electiosn watchdog PEMANTAU that no blackout ever occured and there was no evidence whatsoever of any foreign voters tampering with the elections process.

Ong Kian Ming agreeing with PEMANTAU’s findings that no blackout ever occured and no foreigners voted in GE13

And in an about turn, master liar Anwar said he never made claims that there were 40,000 Bangladeshis who voted during GE13.

And Nurul Izzah who went on a smear campaign against her opponent Raja Nong Chik which led to her victory against the very popular man decided to settle the case out of court and issued an apology to Raja Nong Chik.

Do right and fear no man, until you get caught lying and fear you might lose in court

Pakatan is trapped in its own doings. You have a “son of” who disguised himself as a Malay and now is disguising himself as a Pribumi; you have a puppet President of a party who is Malay first but instead of getting a Cina to masuk Melayu, he masuk Cina. You have the Secretary-General of a party who claims to have 10 steps to eradicate corruption but he himself was charged in court for corruption; You have a party President who admits to be just a seat-warmer for her jailed husband, wasting taxpayers’ money and voters’ time every time a by-election has to be held so her husband could contest to become a Member of Parliament.

And among themselves, they cannot agree on who is to lead the coalition. Their solution to that is to desigate three appointments which, in the real sense, has no difference whatsoever other than the spelling and how the are pronounced.

So, the reason GE14 will be another “dirtiest elections in the history of Malaysia” is simply because the monkeys in Pakatan will spew lie after lie to justify their existence, to gain sympathy, and to collect “donation” from monkeys who are stupid enough to part with their money after listening to lies disguised as “issues” that will eventually go quiet after the election is done, only to be brought back to the surface at GE15.

And these are the people who want to save Malaysia…hopefully from them.

Many may have wised up to their antics. But there will always be those who will remain as monkeys.

July 25, 2017

Pulau Pinang’s Pot-Smoking Initiatives Are Better

Between 2008 and 2010, the number of registered drug addicts in Pulau Pinang increased from 1,622 in 2008 to 3,753 in 2010.

Tokong’s Political Secretary Wong Hon Wai must have been smoking something when he told reporters yesterday that Pulau Pinang has better anti-corruption initiatives than that of the MACC. Probably, he has been breathing the same air as the Tokong for far too long and has become as delusional, or psychopathic, as the Tokong has.

He said that since 2008, when DAP first came to power in Penang, it had adopted 10 initiatives to show its commitment to be a corruption-free state. They include:

Selling off government land in exchange for the opportunity for an under-priced purchase of a bungalow on Jalan Pinhorn by Tokong…okay, it has no swimming pool;
Award projects to a company that has a paid-up capital 1,900 percent below the level stated in the government guideline;
Allowing the Chief Minister to practice corruption and have him charged in court for graft;
Pay a company 400 times more than the scheduled fees according to the Board of Engineers for a feasibility study.
Construct the 19.5km Penang Island Link 1 (PIL-1) at RM7.5 billion, or RM385 million per km;
Increase water tariffs several times since coming into power in 2008 to cover the 500 percent increase in the State Government’s annual operating expenditure;
Allowing Kumpulan PDC Pulau Pinang (Penang Development Corporation) to register a pre-tax loss of RM17.18 million in 2015 despite selling off RM1.94 billion worth of government land since 2008;
Pulau Pinang’s only affordable housing project gets planning approval from Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang within 233 days; the Federal Government’s affordable housing project gets its planning approval from the MBPP in 516 days; yet a luxury condominium project built on a former government land given as payment to the company that has been awarded the Penang Tunnel project had its approval done by MBPP in just EIGHT (8) DAYS;
The Klang Valley’s 37km LRT3 project which includes 2km of tunnel costs RM9 billion, or RM243 million per km. Yet Pulau Pinang’s 30km LRT cost is at RM8.4 billion or RM280 million per km. This went up by RM1.4 billion from the previous year;
Suing every journalist that questions or highlight the lack of integrity of the Pulau Pinang State Government.

So, if the standard of anti-corruption in Pulau Pinang is higher, then Wong Hon Wai should just tell the state government to sign the MACC’s pledge because there should not be any compliance issue.

I challenge you, Hon Wai, to do so.

July 20, 2017July 20, 2017

Defence: Teka Bila Kem Tentera Mula Hendak Dijual?

Kian viral di WhatsApp ialah satu pesanan dari Yang Berbahagia Brigadier Jeneral Dato’ Mohammad Arshad bin Mohammad Raji (Bersara) yang pernah berbakti dalam Tentera Darat Malaysia. Pesanan beliau berbunyi begini:

“Surat terbuka kepada Menteri Pertahanan Malaysia

Kami dimaklumkan bahawa sebuah kem tentera peninggalan tentera British yang menyimpan banyak sejarah dan kenangan pahit manis pada ribuan veteran ATM yang pernah berkhidmat dan menduduki kem tersebut, akan dijual (atau pun sudah dijual) dengan sewenang- wenangnya kepada pihak awam.

Ini bukan kali pertama sebuah kem tentera peninggalan British dijual, tanpa menghormati sejarah silam, iaitu sesuatau yang amat berharga kepada veteran ATM, terutama bagi mereka-mereka yang pernah bertugas dan menduduki kem tersebut. Kem-kem peninggalan tentera British yang telah dijual oleh kerajaan adalah seperti berikut:

1. Kem Majidee, Johor Baharu, Johor
2. Kem Transit, Ampang, Selangor
3. Kem Tebrau, Johor Baharu, Johor
4. Kem Lapangan Terbang Sg. Besi, Kuala Lumpur

Kami baru difahamkan bahawa Kem Batu Kantomen, iaitu sebuah kem induk lojistik bagi Tentera Darat Malaysia bertempat di Jalan. Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur akan/telah menjadi mangsa untuk dijual/telah dijual. Disini kami ingin tahu samada maklumat berikut benar atau tidak:

1. Keluasan kem tersebut adalah dalam jangkauan 200 ekar.
2. Benarkah kem tersebut dijual secara rundingan terus kepada Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT)?
3. Benarkah harga yang ditawarkan kepada LTAT ialah RM2.3 bilion, dan bukan mengikut nilai pasaran semasa?
4. Benarkah arahan sudah pun dikeluarkan bagi semua anggota dan unit yang sekarang masih bertempat di Kem tersebut berpindah keluar dengan secepat mungkin?
5. Benarkah peruntukan sebanyak RM700 juta disediaka untuk pemindahan ke kem-kem lain buat sementara waktu sehingga kem baru disediakan?
6. Benarkah RM1,6 bilion dari harga jualan tersebut akan digunakan bagi membayar veteran-veteran yang tidak berpencen, yang akan diumumkan oleh Perdana Menteri pada Perhimpunan Raksaksa Veteran pada 31 Jułai ini di MIECC, Balakong, Selangor.

Persoalan nya sekarang……apa perlunya Kem yang besejarah ini dijual dengan begitu tergesa gesa dan melalui rundingan terus?

Sekiranya tiada sebarang kenyataan dibuat oleh Menteri Pertahanan dalam tempoh 14 hari dimana mana media massa menafikan maklumat ini, maka kami anggap maklumat ini benar. Jika ianya benar, maka adakah ini satu petanda bahawa kerajaan sedang menghadapi kesulitan kewangan akibat skandal 1MDB, dan tujuan Kem Batu Kantomen dijual secara tergesa gesa adalah bagi menyelamat kan kerajaan dari masalah kesulitan kewangan serius yang dihadapi sekarang?

Brig Jen Dato Arshad Raji ( B)”

Sebagai seorang bekas pegawai tentera, saya berasa amat terharu masih ada di kalangan bekas pegawai kanan tinggi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia yang masih mengambil berat akan kebajikan para veteran serta tradisi ketenteraan. Semoga Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala merahmati niat murni beliau.

Namun sebagai seorang yang gemar mengkaji, saya suka membaca apa jua pesanan mahupun artikel-artikel dan kemudian membuat sedikit penyelidikan untuk memastikan fakta-fakta yang diberikan bukan sahaja oleh YBhg Dato’ Arshad, tetapi oleh sesiapa sahaja. Dan sepertimana di dalam grup-grup WhatsApp Veteran yang mana saya ikuti, sekiranya betul dan memberi manfaat akan saya kongsi, yang tidak betul saya terangkan.

Sebagaimana kisah mengenai “kedudukan strategik” Pangkalan Udara Kuala Lumpur yang telah saya terangkan, kisah kini berkisar beberapa buah kem Tentera Darat (TD) yang merupakan kem-kem warisan peninggalan British. Sudah tentu tempat-tempat tersebut mempunyai banyak peninggalan sejarah. Kem-kem tersebut di atas adalah, elok saya ulangi di sini, Kem Majidee dan Kem Tebrau di Johor Bahru, Kem Transit Ampang di Selangor, dan Kem Batu Kantonmen di Kuala Lumpur. Di antara kem-kem yang saya sebutkan di atas, Kem Batu Kantonmen mempunyai nilai sentimental buat saya kerana pada tahun 1988 di situlah saya dan rakan-rakan bermain ragbi melawan pasukan MINDEF Officers Rugby semasa membuat persediaan untuk perlawanan tiga perkhidmatan menentang TD dan Tentera Laut DiRaja Malaysia (TLDM).

Namun, kepesatan pembangunan kawasan bandar menyebabkan kesemua kem yang dinyatakan di atas dihimpit pembangunan yang tidak lagi menjadikan kawasan-kawasan tersebut strategik. Kalau dulu kem-kem tersebut berada di pinggir atau luar bandar, kini kesemuanya terhimpit dalam sebuah bandaraya yang membangun pesat.

Pelan penjualan Kem Batu Kantonmen ini sebenarnya dibuat pada tahun 2002 lagi, tujuh tahun sebelum 1MDB ditubuhkan. Ketika itu, negara ditadbir oleh seorang Perdana Menteri yang lain. Kerajaan Negeri Perak ketika itu juga telah menyediakan satu tapak seluas 680 hektar (hampir 7 kali keluasan Kem Batu Kantonmen) untuk tujuan penempatan unit-unit TD yang terkesan akibat pembelian kem tersebut.

Pada tahun 2011, Boustead Holdings yang ketika itu mempunyai Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) sebagai pemegang saham terbesar, iaitu 59 peratus saham syarikat, telah menyatakan

Berpandukan nilai hartanah pada tahun 2011, tanah yang belum ditukar kegunaan milik Kem Batu Kantonmen seluas 98 hektar (atau bersamaan 240 ekar) itu adalah sekitar RM40 hingga RM80 sekaki persegi. Ini bermakna jumlah yang boleh diperoleh dari penjualan tanah tersebut ialah sebanyak RM845 juta. Nilai tersebut KINI adalah sekitar RM1.7 billion.

Sepatutnya kita tidak mempersoalkan sebarang pembelian yang dibuat oleh sama ada Boustead mahupun LTAT kerana apa jua pembelian yang mendatangkan hasil untuk kepada kedua-dua organisasi tersebut akan memberi manfaat kepada para anggota dan pegawai sama ada yang masih berkhidmat mahupun yang telah bersara. Ini adalah kerana Nilai Pembangunan Kasar tanah tersebut sebanyak RM8 billion setelah ditawarkan kepada LTAT dengan harga RM2.3 billion bermakna keuntungan kasar yang bakal diperolehi adalah berjumlah RM3.2 billion, yang mana akan menjadi dividen masa hadapan LTAT itu sendiri.

Sekiranya benar RM700 juta telah diperuntukkan untuk perpindahan yang dinyatakan juga adalah satu jumlah yang besar dan berpatutan. Malah, kita sepatutnya berasa gembira adik-adik kita yang kini berkhidmat, berpeluang dipindahkan ke kem-kem serta pangkalan-pangkalan yang moden, lebih selesa, dan lebih sesuai sebagai instalasi tentera berbanding bangunan-bangunan uzur.

Kenapa juga kita mempersoalkan kenapa kem-kem bersejarah ini dijual secara terus tanpa memanggil tender? Pada saya, ini soalan peringkat amatur dan bukannya peringkat pakar strategi. Sekiranya dipanggil tender maka ianya terbuka kepada syarikat-syarikat pemaju gergasi yang pasti akan menafikan Boustead atau LTAT peluang untuk membuat keuntungan yang boleh dinikmati oleh semua yang menabung di LTAT dan para veteran.

Yang saya tidak faham adalah kenapa seorang bekas pegawai kanan tinggi TD mempersoalkan imbuhan sebanyak RM1.6 billion yang akan diberikan kepada para veteran yang bersara tanpa pencen? Adakah para veteran tidak berpencen tidak layak menerima imbuhan seperti bayaran pencen bulanan yang diterima oleh mereka yang berpencen? Adakah veteran tidak berpencen berada dalam kasta yang lebih rendah dalam hirarki Veteran?

Sayugia diingatkan juga buat semua veteran dan mereka yang masih dalam perkhidmatan, begitu getir cabaran mereka yang berkhidmat sebelum kita sehingga merdekanya Tanah Melayu dan terbentuknya Malaysia kemudian dari diberi arahan oleh pihak British yang mentadbir kita sebelum ini.

Pada tahun 2016, Kementerian Pertahanan United Kingdom telah membuat pelan untuk menjual LIMA PULUH ENAM kem-kem tentera termasuk kem-kem tentera yang lagi penuh dengan sejarah, termasuk yang pernah digunakan untuk melatih para tentera semasa Perang Dunia Kedua seperi Woolwich Barracks di London dan Fort George yang sejak azali menjadi kem Batalion Ketiga, Rejimen DiRaja Scotland.

Kini kita pula ingin memalukan mereka yang berkhidmat sebelum kita dengan menjulang peninggalan kolonialis. Kalau benar dkerajaan pusat bersalah menjual kem-kem usang yang disanjungi, kenapa kita berdiam diri apabila bangunan bersejarah yang pernah menempatkan Markas Dua Divisyen di Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Georgetown, Pulau Pinang dijual dan dirobohkan untuk pembangunan baharu? Banyak juga kenangan saya di bangunan tersebut dalam tahun 1980an.

Dan telah dibuktikan bahawa 1MDB tidak mengalami sebarang kerugian mahupun kesulitan kewangan. Saya kecewa sekiranya YBhg Dato Arshad mempergunakan emosi para veteran untuk mencapai tujuan politik kerana kenyataan yang melibatkan 1MDB sememangnya berbaur politik.

Biarlah sekiranya kita hendak memperjuangkan hak, perjuangkanlah dengan betul, dan bukannya berlandaskan yang batil. Kita ini semuanya veteran. Setiap hari kubur menghampiri kita. Eloklah kita benar dalam percakapan dan perbuatan tanpa sebarang niat yang memesongkan.

July 19, 2017

Malaysia Will Go To Top Dog

Not too long ago Al Jazeera interviewed U-Turn Mahathir. In the interview Mahathir told all sorts of lies about the politico-economic situation of Malaysia. Among the things he said was:

“Malaysia will go to the dogs.”

Many disagreed and wondered why, that despite the good showing of economic growth, concurred by the world’s economic institutes, Mahathir said that Malaysia is now as doomed as when he was at the helm.

Mahathir’s 22 years of plundering the nation including allowing the Bank Negara to come to the brink of collapse during his tenure is now being investigated by a Royal Commission of Inquiry and the man is desperate to put the stops to it as it could lead him to become the oldest conman to be jailed.

Even PONY TUA, DAP MP for Petaling Jaya U-Tua wrote about Mahathir’s practice of cronyism once upon a time. Of course like the good Christian PONY TUA is, this is swept under the Pakatan carpet.

Mahathir has hinted that he might have to become Prime Minister again – a very scary thought. Almost all of us remember what it was like during his time to blog and be sent to Kamunting under detention without trial..

He covered that up later by naming a few people as potential Pakatan Prime Ministers including the useless Mat Sabu whose job in Pakatan is nothing more than to promote the “Planet of the Apes” franchise as well as hugging Chinese girls. Something he could not do when he was in PAS.

We all know that Mahathir knows only he is fit to become a Pakatan Prime Minister. He never stopped becoming the Prime Minister or power-broker until Najib Razak put a stop to it. And he is incensed by that.

Although he did not name himself a Prime Minister again, he has again hinted as being the person most qualified for the job. He is now Pakatan’s TOP DOG!

This prompted the biggest dog of all, who is also Mahathir’s arch-nemesis on the Internet, to bite the old dog. And you wondered why there is an outbreak of rabies in this nation?

Whatever it is, Mahathir claims to be the Top Dog. And he did say to Al Jazeera that the country will go to the dogs. We know now which dog and pack he was referring to.

And with Mahathir as the Top Dog, Malaysia will be in for another round of screwing.

July 17, 2017

Where Is The Love?

Monkeys jump easily. Especially pet monkeys. This includes the ones kept by the Tokong to pick coconuts and lice for him.

Today one such pet jumped when the MACC asked for the Pakatan and Opposition states to take an anti-corruption pledge.

In a opposition-leaning Malaysiakini report, Saifuddin who is Tokong’s adviser on God-knows-what chastised the direction in which Dzulkifli Ahmad is leading the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), questioning if he was out to become a politician or celebrity.

“What the country needs is a MACC chief who is effective and substantive, not a celebrity,” said Tokong’s pet. “People did not want public relation exercises in the form of pledges.”

Tokong’s pet was responding to MACC Chief Dzulkifli Ahmad’s push for Penang, Selangor and Kelantan to sign MACC’s anti-corruption pledge.

It also questioned that despite MACC’s apparent blitz against those involved in corruption, how many had actually been convicted.

We know he is as eager as we are to know the verdict of Tokong’s corruption case.

The Menteri Besar of Selangor Azmin Ali also brushed aside Dzulkifli’s push for the pledge to be signed.

Azmin said Selangor had its own way in dealing with integrity and corruption issues which is why Teoh Beng Hock had to be silenced and various reports on corruption against Azmin’s administration have been made by PKR.’s own members.

While Tokong’s pet was busy criticising the MACC’s effort to combat corruption, the MACC raided the FELDA Investment Corporation office and seized some documents to investigate alleged corruption activities involving the senior management of the GLC.

This morning, Parti Cinta Malaysia Deputy President Datuk Huan Cheng Guan lodged a police report against Tokong’s administration for irregularities pertaining to the awarding of a project to a very under-qualified company.

Going by the DAP’s Goat-of-God‘s post this morning, does Tokong think that the Pulau Pinang taxpayers’ money is his?

This is why the Pulau Pinang and Selangor state governments refuse to sign the MACC anti-corruption pledge. This is so that they could use taxpayers money like their own money.

And it was not so long ago that they were in all praises for the MACC when 1MDB was being investigated.

So, where is the love?

July 14, 2017

Festering With Hatred

The special Jalur Gemilang MRT train – photo courtesy of Dato Najmuddin Abdullah

In three days time the Sungai Buloh to Kajang (SBK) line of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) will come into operation. Works Package Contractors that have won the contract to construct the respective packages on the Sungai Buloh – Serdang – Putrajaya (SSP) of the MRT will commence their works there in full swing. The Project Delivery Partner as well as the Supervising Consultants (PDP/SC) will complete the handover of construction-related documents to MRT Corp. All that will be left of the PDP/SC are those overseeing the warranty period.

A project envisioned to help millions of the Klang Valley’s urban and suburban commuters get from one point to another easier will now bear fruit. Every day, tens of thousands of workers from as far as Senawang, Tanjung Malim and Pelabuhan Klang, can take the KTM Komuter and work or find work in places like Kota Damansara, Mutiara Damansara, TTDI, Pusat Bandar Damansara, and Cheras without having to switch to buses or taxi, or drive all the way to their destination.

The MRT anticipates a drop of 160,000 cars enterng Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas daily. The only thing that would prove to fail the statement would be our own attitude towards public transport.

This article may come at a point when things related to a recent hoo-haa have begun to die down. Nevertheless, I had to do some checking before writing this post.

The first hoo-haa is related to the claim of having 160,000 lesser cars entering Kuala Lumpur etc. Many ridicule the statement and ask if MRT Corp has 160,000 parking bays or more. I sometimes wonder if there is anything at all inside the cavity in between their ears.

While the MRT has several Multi-Storey Park and Ride (MSPR) complexes, the idea of having the MRT is for commuters to leave their vehicles at home, not to worry about the “escalating cost of fuel and living,” get on board the feeder buses to the nearest MRT station to get to work.

Previously, someone living in Tanjung Malim working in Kota Damansara’s Sunway Giza for example, would have to take the KTM Komuter and alight at Sungai Buloh, then take either a bus or a taxi to get to office while spending time in traffic. Now, all he or she has to do is to alight the KTM Komuter at Sungai Buloh and get on one of the MRT trains and alight at the Surian station and take a MRT feeder bus if the last mile is a bit far for walking. Commuters now have access to jobs at places they previously would not consider because it may involve relocating the family.

The next hoo-haa involves the recent visit by Najib Razak and family, and a few selected social media influencers. There was a claim that passengers were pushed back by Prasarana officials from the front of the coach to the rear. I find this amusing to say the least. To understand why I laughed at this claim, you must understand the current phase of the MRT service.

Justified? I don’t think so. This is the baseless hatred towards anything Najib Razak talking

Phase one of the MRT SBK line commences at the Sungai Buloh station, passes Kampung Selamat in Sungai Buloh, Kwasa Damansara, Kwasa Sentral, Kota Damansara, Surian (Sunway Giza), Mutiara Damansara (IKEA), Bandar Utama (One Utama), TTDI (near GLO and KPJ Damansara), Phileo (Section 16/Eastin Hotel), Pusar Bandar Damansara, and terminates at Semantan (until Sunday 16 July 2017).

The Prime Minister and his entourage boarded the train at the Pusat Bandar Damansara station AFTER office hours. At one station before that (Phileo), Prasarana had cleared the front portion of the train.

You must understand several more things – each train has the capacity to transport 1,200 commuters, three times the number each LRT train can carry. Each train has four coaches. Every day after office, more commuters take the Sungai Buloh-bound train than the one going to Semantan. I asked staff from Prasarana and MRT Corp, as well as the Special Branch officers who were there that day, all of them put the number of commuters headed towards Semantan station that day at “ten or less.” I would concur as I have taken this route at this very time.

An MRT train. Note how it has four coaches and each coach has four doors

The “push back” which obviously was for security reasons, involved getting those on board to clear the area in the vicinity of the first door only. One official who entered through the third door said, “There were about ten people or less who were seated near the second door. They got off at the last station.”

So, it was not like hundreds of people were pushed back to the fourth coach, but just ten people or less in a train with the capacity to carry 1,200. How far back do you think did they have to go?

Inside an MRT train – how far do you think ten people need to go when pushed back?

It is a case of making a mountain out of a molehill with the intention to make those alike incensed because here is some wimp who was “inconvenienced” at having to move to the rear of the train, those who hate anything that the government does unless it is a government that has Lim Kit Siang or Lim Guan Eng manning the puppet string.

An example of a “Hate anything Najib” zombie

“Passengers were asked to move to the back of the train.” Pathetic bitch.

And this was all caused by Malaysiakini’s (as usual) absence of journalistic ethics, reporting only half-truths, inciting people to hate anything not controlled by the DAP. Of course, they have the KPI set by the NED to meet to guarantee operating funds.

MalaysiaKini is very into nation-disintergration

I mentioned above that I had to seek clarification on the physical situation of the event in order to understand, and make you understand the circumstances. Unlike some portal that writes before the brain could start functioning, then corrects its article only after thousands express their rage on social media.