11 May 2021, 22:07 Kuching
11 May 2021, 15:07 London
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has sought to clarify a letter that went viral on social media claiming that an allocation of RM35 million had been approved to build a hall in his Pagoh parliamentary constituency.
The letter, dated Jan 11 and addressed to the director-general of the Public Works Department (JKR), was from the Implementation Coordination Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department.
The letter stated it was the prime minister’s wish that the project be implemented as soon as possible and JKR had been directed to start work on the site by March 1.
The leaked document PM8 could not deny
On the day that ‘PM8′ declared a State of Emergency, allegedly to stave off an election ‘during Covid’ (having hours before lost his majority with two more defections from his government) what were his priorities and those of his aides?
We now know that on that very day, far from concerning itself with the people’s suffering over Covid 19, the ‘Implementation Unit’ of the PM’s Department was urgently writing a letter to the Public Works Department ordering it to ‘jump to’ as quick as possible, as per an instruction by the PM himself just three days before, to build RM35 million worth of ‘community hall’ in his own constituency in Johor.
Today the PM has admitted the leak was true, protesting that in fact the bloated sum related to three halls in his region rather than just one. That’s OK then?
It has been observed that at circa RM12m per hall these inappropriate projects in the midst of crisis still work out at least three times as expensive as other such facilities recorded in Malaysia.
Community hall last year, Kelantan
The figure’s for Moo’s halls in Johor
Meanwhile, the cash for these fast track projects in the PM’s own area has clearly been obtained from the bloated ‘Covid’ budget based on record borrowings, which was just rammed through Parliament on the demand of the Agong on behalf of his personally appointed choice of PM.
Despite raising the extra billions in the name of tackling the pandemic after all, the vast bulk of the budget has actually been dedicated to unspecified ‘development projects’ of which this leaked example was clearly one. An over-priced, secretive construction in the PM’s own backyard.
As yet the tender for this contract has not even been announced, although construction is commanded to begin in six weeks time – so, the world wonders, who secretly got this contract and how much ‘commission’ is set to be diverted into other pockets?
Indeed, onlookers will be forgiven for wondering if actual construction was ever seriously planned to go ahead once the project had been allocated and the money with it?
After all who needs these buildings? Does a community hall paid for in the name of Covid actually help tackle the disease? And would not the RM35 million not have better been spent on medical facilities or indeed providing more financial support to desperate families stricken by the ongoing economic crisis?
It is the Prime Minister’s own reference to an upcoming election that appears to be the best clue to his determination to embark on such a blatantly needless waste of money at this desperate time.
Following the loss of his majority the State of Emergency was declared primarily to stave off his removal from office, which he misleadingly claimed would necessitate an election, which he misleadingly declared would not be safe because of Covid. In fact, he is clearly preparing for such an election sooner rather than later.
Pouring money raised in the name of the pandemic into his own constituency in such a manner reeks of blatant vote buying, and the ‘leakage’ potential from such a bloated contract is plain to see.
Indeed how much of this ‘Covid’ budget, which has plunged the country into unprecedented financial debt, is really being spent on vaccines, medical care, stimulus and alleviating hardship as opposed to preparing for a big Bersatu bonanza to buy up votes in a good old-fashioned Malay money politics election? It is anyone’s guess!
Most are guessing that it is by far the largest part, setting aside what has gone straight into politicians pockets and their cronies, of course.
Bersatu supreme council member Muhammad Faiz Na’aman said questioning the motives of the emergency proclamation is treasonous and should be punished.
Faiz said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decision to accede to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s request for an emergency proclamation was based on his wisdom.
He added that apart from the prime minister, the ruler had received briefings from key civil servants before the decision was made.
“Therefore any insult, mockery, jibe or spinning on the emergency proclamation’s true intent as stated in Istana Negara’s official statement can be considered as a betrayal and treason.
“Whether it is done by ordinary or prominent persons, be it overtly or in a veiled manner, should be seen as a form of sedition with the malicious intent of diminishing the people’s respect and loyalty to the institution of constitutional monarchy,” he said in a statement titled “Emergency decree: Traitors should be punished”.
An unelected prime minister has no right whatsoever to call for a State of Emergency with the sole purpose of preventing an election and then to threaten to lock up and punish anyone who questions him.
If this State of Emergency had been agreed by a majority in Parliament that would be a separate matter – the country is ruled by Parliament and not by “the wisdom” of the monarch.
To the contrary the State of Emergency has been blatantly called in defiance of Parliament and with no other purpose articulated than to shut down Parliament – the Prime Minister yesterday said it himself, that he was shutting down Parliament via this State of Emergency to prevent an election being held because he had lost his majority in the previous hours.
The Prime Minister’s ‘Covid’ related excuse was that election would cause a spread of the disease.
This is unconstitutional. Section 150 (3) of the Constitution demands that a SOE is put before Parliament, which can either ratify or dismiss it. Furthermore, the reasoning is specious (ie untrue) since the dismissal of PM8 and this follower of his does not demand an election, merely a replacement. Furthermore, an election held properly (unlike Moo’s Sabah mess) need not become a spreader event.
Muhammad Faiz Na’aman is therefore uttering threatening deceptions to intimidate critics from articulating the truth and hiding behind a fake ‘Royal’ shield to protect himself. The King has extremely limited constitutional powers in Malaysia and by no means has the right to suspend Parliament against its own wishes.
This politician, for reasons of blatant self-interest, is saying otherwise and it is therefore he, if anyone, who is being ‘treasonous’ against the constitution and who is seeking to assert a non-existent concept of royal omnipotence and ‘lèse-majesté’ to justify his presumptions against Parliament.
The rest of the world fully recognises this in the global reporting of this latest scandalous development in Malaysia, which is being widely recognised for what it is – the protection of a failed prime minister on the excuse of Covid.
In fact, just 24 hours earlier the PM had announced the necessary measures to counter the rise in cases in Malaysia. The suspension of Parliament under this SOE was only later called for after subsequent resignations of MPs laid bare his lack of a governing majority.
Sarawak Report like others outside Malaysia cannot be reached by this silly threat against the right to speak truth to power.
Nor should elected and other critics within Malaysia be threatened by such thuggish and pathetic attempts to abuse Parliament and the Constitution to stay in power.
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is not affected by Machang Member of Parliament Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakob’s retraction of support for it, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan.
He said the move by the Barisan Nasional MP did not affect PN’s majority in the Dewan Rakyat….
“What is important is that the government has functioned well since it took over the helm (of the country) since March until now. The people also can see that. So we (government) will continue to serve through its organisational structure at all levels,” he said.
Everyone can see how PN has performed – that is true. However, it is incumbent on this usurper to put that to an electoral test as soon as possible.
However, PN beneficiaries like himself are instead guaranteed to hang on to the power to divert cash into their pockets for as long as they can pull it off. Everyone can see that as well.
The reason this government considers itself unaffected by its lack of a stable majority of MPs is that it has chosen the dark path of ditching democracy and running the place by ‘dictate’ and ‘royal decree’.
As a member of a religious extremist party who believes only male leaders of the faith have a right to decide on anything, the destruction of democratic institutions will not trouble this wily lawyer.
After all, for now he has positioned himself right by the till.
1MDB was established to funnel money to companies linked to Umno, testified the sovereign wealth fund’s former CEO.
Tenth prosecution witness Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman confirmed this during the 1MDB corruption trial of former premier Najib Abdul Razak today.
The witness claimed that funds from 1MDB were used to help contractors linked to the political party in the 1MDB-linked Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) mega project.
Hazem was answering a question by the accused’s lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah during cross-examination.
Shafee had questioned Hazem over a portion of the latter’s witness statement where he (Hazem) claimed that 1MDB-linked businessperson Jho Low told him that the sovereign wealth fund was set up to help Umno…
At one point during the proceedings, Hazem also told the court that Najib was his “ultimate boss”.
This was similar to what was testified by former Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) CEO Azian Mohd Noh in a separate corruption trial of the former premier.
On June 10, 2019, during Najib’s RM42 million SRC International corruption trial, prosecution witness Azian testified that the accused, when he was the prime minister, was the “ultimate boss” in regard to his influence over the fund.
This is the truth and everyone knows it. Except convicted ex-PM Najib, who ordered the entire operation and oversaw it from the moment of its inception till the money flowed into his personal accounts.
Najib will blame this underling, like all the other underlings he blamed for gulling him and cheating him into receiving billions that he poured into his political and personal campaigns.
He will accuse those who have called him out, including Sarawak Report, of being ‘paid’ or ‘politically motivated’ or ‘outsiders’.
How about just plain outraged by a crime that holds massive consequences for millions of law abiding, innocent people who put their trust in their leaders?
(Translated)
Xavier Justo this is a Swiss citizen.
Kamal Sidiqqi is Mahathir’s meeting friend from the past. Even Tun Mahathir’s house lift installed Kamal….
After PH won the GE14, Justo continued to move to Malaysia and was repeated as a hero and given some honor by the PH government.
“As an email between Mahony and Obaid reveals, they were exchanging ideas on how to explain the situation to Najib. It was decided that they would hide from him the fact that 1MDB would have to take a US$500 million loss. Instead, they would impress upon Najib how important it was for 1MDB to quickly invest another US$500 million with them.”
So! Najib reckons he has proof that shows he was thick and stupid rather than complicit after all!
Sarawak Report begs to suggest that Najib is in fact both complicit and pretty stupid – the criminal who got caught. If Jho Low and Mahony thought they could play games behind his back as they all stole billions it does not make Najib innocent.
Najib’s legal guru (whom he once paid RM9.5 million out of the billion dollars stolen from 1MDB that was channelled into his own account) is presently struggling to pull together an appeal case against one of the most solid, extensive and comprehensive judgements ever produced in a Malaysian court. This gambit is unlikely to be the Hail Mary solution to upturn the case.
The judge finds Najib guilty in the SRC case based on copious original documents, evidence and witness statements. Indeed, why would a Prime Minister appoint himself Finance Minister and then race to set up a public fund, take full control of all decisions, rush to borrow money, then invest it in a shell company that loses it all for the money only to turn up in the PM’s personal account? Why, if this is because he was ‘tricked’ by a twenty something advisor, did the PM then seek to cover up what happened and threaten those who published the truth about the thefts he now admits took place?
Yet, seeking as he does day in and out to come up with any sort of excuse to blame others for the money he stole, Najib is now seeking to put out a latest lament on Facebook claiming that because second hand evidence which formed some of the information used by Sarawak Report in exposing what had happened was not introduced in court – why bother when investigators had the actual records straight from the company and the bank?
Najib appears to suggest that because the company PetroSaudi was owned by Prince Turki (who in fact scrambled to get rid of his 50% share after the s**t started to hit the fan in 2014) there could have been no wrongdoing by Najib. Likewise, he suggests that Sarawak Report was “biased” to publish the smoking gun information so he must be innocent (Sarawak Report acknowledges bias against corruption and kleptocracy).
The moaning convict then complains that Justo who obtained the documents is to blame and alleges he is of uncertain character for doing so – fine one to judge. And so it goes on.
The end point that Najib seeks to make is that deep down in the PetroSaudi data, which Justo provided to Sarawak Report having first tipped off a Malaysian car manufacturer he met through PetroSaudi’s dalliance with Formula 1 (using 1MDB money) is some email information that he suggests will let him off the hook. This, he claims is why it was not relied on in court or by the FBI, instead of the real reason which is that it is secondary and not primary evidence.
Also, Najib doesn’t like the car manufacturer whom he blames for wasting Malaysian public money HE invested (although he blames his ex-boss Mahathir of course).
So, let’s be clear. Sarawak Report has extensively reviewed the relevant emails in the PetroSaudi database dealing with 1MDB. They relate to the period 2009-2011 and therefore have no bearing on the SRC case which was the subject of this particular trial (another reason the material was considered irrelevant and unnecessary to his case).
There is nothing in them that exonerates Najib who is described by Jho Low as the Big Boss in his dealings with PetroSaudi. What the emails do show is that Jho Low was up to his neck in managing the deals for 1MDB and that he was using authority given to him by Najib. It shows he had constant access to Najib and spent a lot of time trying to butter him up and help him and lavish attention on his wife. All this was something Najib was denying at the time and denied afterwards as he sought to cover matters up, right till the moment of the trial.
Given the damning evidence Najib’s only hope of reversing his conviction is political. A deal arrived at with a government that relies on his tacky vote in Parliament to keep in power. That would mean putting disgraceful pressure on the judiciary (something Najib record shows he knows a thing or two about) or twisting the arm of his friend the King, who happens to be his local Sultan and family friend.
The Facebook moaning is therefore plainly Najib’s attempt at window dressing what he must hope will be this very outcome.
Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has been sentenced to 12 months’ jail and RM2 million fine in his RM2 million corruption case.
The High Court judge in Kuala Lumpur, Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, delivered the verdict as the accused looked on from the dock during open-court proceedings this morning.
However, the judge allowed the defence’s bid to stay the execution of the sentence pending appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Earlier today, the court had found the former federal territories minister guilty of the graft charge.
The court then went into short recess to allow the defence to prepare mitigation during sentencing.
Today the case was fixed for decision at the end of the defence presentation.
On Dec 7, another bench of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur granted Tengku Adnan a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in a separate RM1 million corruption case.
According to the charge relevant to today’s verdict, Tengku Adnan, in his capacity as a public servant, namely as then federal territories minister, accepted for himself RM2 million from Chai Kin Kong, who is also director of Aset Kayamas Sdn Bhd, via a Hong Leong Islamic Bank cheque belonging to Aset Kayamas.
The cheque was later deposited into the CIMB Bank account of Tadmansori Holdings Sdn Bhd, in which the accused had an alleged interest when it was purported that Aset Kayamas had a connection with his official duties.
Just this weekend Malaysians were infuriated that this old shyster, having managed to get charges dropped was exploiting his continuing position to entertain no less than 10,000 “drive in guests” at a family wedding celebration at Putrajaya.
What unexplained wealth and what cheek?
Clearly this didn’t play either way into the judgement today on some of ‘Ku Nan’s’ other charges, which produced a guilty verdict in no uncertain terms. Malaysians can take heart in the remaining levels of independence amongst at least some of their judges and to see justice denied finally turn to justice supplied.
On the downside, this politician will appeal his lock-up verdict. A well established pattern and recent experience suggest that he will then bail out pending that appeal.
After all, like several other guilty political colleagues, his vote is vital to the continuing survival of the present government. The bailed out Ku Nan will definitely be back in Parliament voting dutifully for PN on every count.
To tot it up, there is the appeal court, then the supreme federal court and of course next a royal pardon to still grind through. We know this Ku Nan has plenty of unexplained funds to pay for the process.
Though rightly condemned to jail (which is from where other normal countries would insist he stage this series of appeals) Ku Nan could well be treating his friends to more jolly weddings at vast expense from Putrajaya over the remaining period of the PN government.
He is plainly, like his kleptocrat pals, banking on the system which is designed to get rich political plunderers off the hook … eventually, after appearances have been satisfied?
Zahid Hamidi today clarified that he was not the defence minister when the government paid out over RM6 billion for warships that were not delivered as part of a RM9 billion project ….
Yesterday, PAC chairman Wong Kah Wong had provided updates on an ongoing PAC probe on the non-delivery of the warships, noting that the project worth more than RM9 billion was awarded through direct negotiations in 2014 to the main contractor Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) Sdn Bhd for the supply of six units of second-generation Littoral Combatant Ships (LCS) warships to the Royal Malaysian Navy.
In this project which is the largest-ever acquisition by the Defence Ministry, Wong said RM6.083 billion had been paid as of October 2020 but without a single LCS delivered by BNS, despite the schedule requiring two LCS ships to be completed by now …
Former deputy defence minister Liew Chin Tong had in September told the Dewan Negara that Putrajaya’s special investigation committee on procurement, governance and finance, had discovered that RM1 billion of the RM5.94 billion paid for the warships could not be traced, and had in October urged the government to investigate the missing RM1 billion.
Zahid is right. The man in the job when this project was commissioned without proper tender and the missing billion disappeared was, of course, Najib Razak’s cousin Hishammuddin Hussein, who is right back in the driving seat now as Foreign Minister – the elected anti-corruption government having been turfed out of office thanks to a backdoor opposition coup and bought MPs.
Whether or (far more likely) not inspections reveal a single ship even started for this record sum of money is of course bound to be declared an ‘Official Secret’ for ‘national security reasons’, the handy tactic used by the same bunch of kleptocrats to cover up their previous thefts.
What better incentive to seize back power than to prevent further dangerous exposes such as this and to close down all the existing corruption trials against them?
However, this is plainly not a group of fellows to merely stop at cover up when opportunities present themselves. Malaysians have been treated to the spectacle of a whole new set of ‘negotiated contracts‘ initiated through the latest ‘Covid Budget’, which itself provides a handy framework for further disappearing billions. Make hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes – PN are working overtime.
Clearly, since a billion (at the very least) is now established as having completely disappeared, everyone associated with this contract should by now have been hauled in for questioning by the MACC and bailed pending criminal proceedings.
Meanwhile, the first witness who ought to be called before the PAC for forensic questioning on each and every decision relating to this latest evil raid on the Rakyat’s savings is the former man in charge of the entire corrupt and non-transparent process, namely the present Foreign Minister of the present unelected Frankenstein administration propped up by crooks seeking to be let off the hook.
Klang MP Charles Santiago has been summoned for questioning at the Bukit Aman police headquarters, the DAP elected representative said on Facebook today.
He said the questioning tomorrow morning will be regarding a forum on the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), which was held on Nov 25, 2019.
Charles is understood to have appeared as a panellist at the forum organised by human rights group Suaram as part of the latter’s campaign to repeal Sosma.
Controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik had threatened to sue Charles over his remarks at the same forum.
Zakir had accused Charles of defaming him by linking him to the arrests of a dozen individuals accused of attempting to revive the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), while lawyers representing Charles said the remarks were not defamatory.
Prior to the forum, the police also said it would not rule out summoning several people including Charles over the allegation there was a ‘deep state’ operating within the government….
In December last year, Bukit Aman police also questioned Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy over the same forum under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code.
The section refers to “statements conducive to public mischief” that are intended or likely to cause public fear or alarm or induce someone to commit an offence against the government or public tranquillity.
What is most “likely to cause public fear or alarm or induce someone to commit an offence against the government or public tranquillity” is police listening in on public forums and then hauling in people (a year later) who say things the police or influential people don’t like.
Did anyone at the Suaram event start committing violent acts? Was anyone incited to do so in the aftermath of the forum by the remarks made by this elected representative of the people or anyone else? Clearly, with a year gone by the answer is no.
Meanwhile, if Zakir Naik, who is hiding in Malaysia from terrorism charges in his own country, feels insulted by something said, he has access to the civil routes.
Citizens of Malaysia have much more reason to become fearful and alarmed at the sight of their police force championing the battles of such a fellow against their own elected representatives.
With regard to talk of a ‘Deep State’, it seems that were these doughty police officers to be transferred to the United States they would have no hesitation in hauling the very President in for questioning. However, it is simply not the job of the police to make judgements about politics, which are the province of the electorate.
Harassing elected representatives of the people on spurious grounds of inciting public disorder in the total absence of any evidence of such disorder, instead of picking up genuine law breakers is – repeat – something that does cause public fear and alarm.
Such behaviour is a sign of a police force out of control or under the control of factional interests. In these circumstances the public might then indeed feel driven to acts against such a government.
Police are there to serve and solve problems of law breaking and disorder, not to cause disorder or raise public concern about their government.
Opposition MPs have accused Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Willie Mongin of making an obscene gesture in the Dewan Rakyat as the sitting was adjourned to make way for another bloc vote.
Fahmi Fadzil (Harapan-Lembah Pantai) and Kasthuri Patto (Harapan-Batu Kawan) took to their social media and posted about the alleged incident.
They accused Willie of showing his middle finger to the opposition MPs and demanded Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun take action.
The session was, however, adjourned and their microphones were turned off.
Willie denied the matter.
“I would like to stress that the allegation is not true and maybe they had mistakenly seen it,” he said after the session resumed.
Willie says what others say they saw is untrue.
However, why would he not ‘show the finger’ at his former allies, now languishing in opposition thanks to his betrayal?
After all, he has shown the finger to all those who voted for him. He has shown the finger to those who soldiered for years to create and sustain the party which he joined (PKR) to get his seat.
And, of course, he has shown the finger to his former allies in PH whom he ditched to join up with a bunch of Malay Muslim supremacists, who preach that the people whom Willie represents (largely Dayak Christians) should know their place as second class citizens in Malaysia.
In return, he has got a second rate minister’s job, a car and plenty of opportunities to enhance his lifestyle in the process. Compared to that, so what if he chooses to show his finger in a vulgar, juvenile gesture towards those of studier morals when it comes to fulfilling their pledges to the public?
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has claimed today that it is “God’s will” that his party has now allied itself with two other Malay-dominant parties, Umno and PAS — both previously its political enemies.
In his policy speech for the third Bersatu Annual General Meeting peppered with verses of Quran and Arabic phrases, Muhyiddin who is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman, said divine will has caused the three parties to band together for the sake of the Malay-Muslim community’s unity.
“This is a test from Allah to us. I believe that there is underlying wisdom in this test that brings together Umno, Bersatu and PAS in one ‘saf’,” he said, using the Arabic term that refers to line or alignment, but usually to describe rows of Muslims united in congregational prayers.
“This cooperation will unite the Malay Muslim in our country who has been divided politically for so long.
“We need to see the bigger ‘maslahah’, the larger good. Wouldn’t it be good that all Malay-Muslim leaders can come together in a larger, stronger ‘jamaah’ than divided into weaker ‘kabilah’?” he asked…
Muhyiddin also promised that PN will fight to return “moderate” Sunni Muslim teachings, which form the basis of the brand of Islam solely recognised by Putrajaya, and to “fight secularism and liberalism”.
Who needs voters when you have God on your side and PAS has taken over your party?
Just as populism looks to be going out of style Mad Moo (as one must now call him) has come gunning in with messages of tribalism and religious intolerance to “fight” non Malays in Malaysia.
Non-Malay Malaysians are thus spurned for their contributions (which have been many) to the comfortable and ever-privileged life of Malays over the past decades. Amongst these oil and other rich resources from East Malaysia. Also the high levels of hard work, educational achievement and professional expertise that are a characteristic gift that minority populations contribute to their wider communities around the world.
How strange that this backdoor PM did not advertise these aggressive sentiments when he stepped together with so many minorities who welcomed him onto the winning platform at GE14, where tolerance and reform were the vote-catching slogans that achieved a landslide.
Having re-joined the losing side, now dominated by the once marginal PAS extremists, he has taken up their toxic and backwards mantra and started claiming to be the divinely imposed emissary of a medieval sounding God (he certainly wasn’t elected after all).
He should note how voters responded to a not too dissimilar pitch this month by the present (but for not long) incumbent in the White House. Hate may excite loyalty and provoke pride, but it also disturbs the peace and destroys neighbourliness, which level headed citizens rightly treasure.
Malaysia was founded on the principles of unity between nations and communities. Instead, Mad Moo has adopted the aggressive tribalism of the Middle East and everyone knows the consequences over there. This style of unity for Malays against others means the end of the unity that created Malaysia and all that came with it.
