Talkback

Only A Man Can Represent Rural Areas?

Perikatan Nasional election director Azmin Ali has come to the defence of Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, who recently said that a woman is not fit to become the MP for the rural Sik constituency.

Azmin told reporters this afternoon that Sanusi (above) had explained the matter to him and the PAS leader did not mean to be condescending to women in his speech at the constituency….

“He comes from Sik, he lives in Sik, and to the people there, it (what Sanusi said) was nothing unusual to them. He did not mean to insult women,”

Sanusi was caught on video, which went viral on social media, criticising BN’s move to field Maizatul Akmam Othman in the Sik parliamentary seat.

Sanusi said that, without meaning to demean PAS Muslims, the area is vast and rural with many poor residents. He claimed it might be beyond the capabilities of women to serve there.

Our comment

Do women not live in rural areas and do not their magnified problems (after all they have to do all the physical work in the house and much of the physical work on the land) make it all the more important to include woman in decision making roles?

Women may be the weaker sex, but they also have more stamina for the longer hauls. One wonders who would really be the first to run out of puff traipsing round the far flung constituencies – a tough lady or the average puffing, portly, ageing PAS cleric wading round in his flowing gowns?

After all, as everyone knows, the more familiar mode of transport for PAS’s Rolex-wearing clerics is the back of a Toyota Vellfire or Mercedes Benz.

Hopping in and out of a river boat or climbing up walkways?

It would be fun to watch the likes of Kedah’s bigoted Menteri Besar (after all his real reason for excluding women is that he fears them being treated equal) in action!

Hadi And Co Would Be "Stupid" To Declare Their Assets!

PKR’s decision to compel its candidates to declare their assets prior to election day was a form of “stupidity”, according to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

“Asset declaration is sometimes a form of stupidity. They want to menunjuk-nunjuk(show off).

“What should we show the public? We should show that we are good people,” Hadi told reporters after delivering his weekly lecture in Marang, Terengganu today.

Hadi said this when asked to comment on whether PAS would follow PKR’s footsteps in having election candidates declare their assets.

Our comment

The extremely religious Hadi Abang is of course absolutely right. He would be completely stupid to declare his assets, let alone ask his devious band of allies to do the same. Azmin Ali has angrily claimed “it’s all a farce” – in his case it would be.

Malaysians already know these are people who say one thing and do another. Yet, to have to openly acknowledge the fleets of custom cars and bikes, the designer watches and all the more hidden treasures (such as properties abroad) would make a mockery of these holy men who claim to put the people first.

Best ignore and demand that people judge them by their words and not their actions!!

Another 'Trust Fund' That Sarawakians Are Asked To Trust?

Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has assured Sarawakians that the proposed sovereign wealth fund will be well-managed by a full team of international professionals, thus securing the future of younger Sarawakians.

“Our sovereign fund will be completely professionally managed, even the board directors will be of all international professions. We hope that will give us secure future for Sarawakians,” he said in his speech during the Development Bank of Sarawak’s (DBOS) 5th anniversary dinner here, last night.

Reiterating that a Bill to set up the sovereign wealth fund will be tabled in the State Legislative Assembly next month, Abang Johari said the fund will be managed professionally and able to generate excess funds for rainy days.

Apart from that, he said it will allow the state government to provide free and quality education and send young talents to renowned world universities to pursue knowledge and skills.

Our comment

What guarantees are written into the legislation to support these claims of good governance and where will the exact level of oversight be spelt out?

Abang Jo presides over a state government that has sought to sue the opposition leader for doing his job in pointing out that half the entire state budget had been disappearing into similar so-called ‘trust funds’ which have proven to have had zero accountability.

Rather than meet the required transparency and providing the figures to explain where the public money had gone the Sarawak state government drove the Malaysian courts to over-turn every global legal precedent to allow a public body to sue for libel.

The same regime, which Abang Jo has been part of for many years, has allowed the shameful looting of a raft of other ‘trusts’ presiding over the enforced alienation of funds from the community.

These include the shocking pillaging of the Amanah Saham Sarawak Berhad (ASSAR) fund involving over half a billion ringgit of compensation money due to thousands of landowners forcibly deprived of their heritage – a fund which was so badly and opaquely managed that instead of providing steady ‘dividends’ to its enforced ‘shareholders’ it is now worthless, the money having somehow been lost.

HSBC was the ‘trustee’ that oversaw that debacle, so much for ‘safe international management’. The decision makers were all politically connected folk from Sarawak after all.

Or how about the other native fund, the Forest Concession Area Trust Fund (LKWKKH), supposedly to compensate for rampant logging on customary lands? No surprise that this trust has also gone the same way with less than 1% being spent on the promised benefits to the supposed local beneficiaries.

Once again, lack of transparency has left the actual destination of the money something of a mystery although few were surprised to learn that the management of this cash was largely handled by companies controlled by the Taib family – of Abang Jo’s predecessor and political ally.

There has been no condemnation by Abang Jo of any of these disastrous ventures – all promised as being well-managed trusts to benefit the people. So, why should anyone trust his words this time?

Shafee's 'Get Out Of Jail Free' Card Tells Voters All They Need To Know

Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah walked free from four criminal charges linked to RM9.5 million from former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning ruled that the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case against the veteran legal practitioner.

Today was set for a decision at the end of the prosecution’s case involving the alleged laundering of the funds.

During the open-court proceedings, trial judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin said the prosecution failed to prove that the two cheques – one worth RM4.3 million and the other RM5.2 million – were the proceeds from unlawful activities.

“The prosecution failed to show that these monies were the result of unlawful activity,” Jamil said, adding that prosecutors failed to establish any predicate evidence that Najib or anybody else was linked to any unlawful activity.

“To prove that the RM4.3 million and the RM5.2 million are the proceeds of unlawful activity, the prosecution must prove the unlawful activity whereby the money was obtained.

“I find from the testimony proffered by the prosecution that there is no evidence on any predicate offence involving the RM4.3 million and RM5.2 million,” Jamil said…

… The lawyer was also charged with two counts of engaging in transactions resulting from illegal activities, namely submitting incorrect tax returns, which is in violation of paragraph 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967 for the financial years ending Dec 31, 2013, and Dec 31, 2014.

He was purported to have omitted income of RM4.3 million received on Sept 13, 2013, and RM5.2 million that was received on Feb 17, 2014, in his tax returns.

Our comment

Voters can consult the facts they know and then consider the conclusions arrived at by this judge.

Everyone in Malaysia knows that Shafee was paid his RM9.5 million in cash from Najib’s bank account – the one that received the billions which were directly stolen from 1MDB.

Global investigations have made it crystal clear how that public money was stolen and then secreted into Najib’s account using bogus off-shore investment funds and an Abu Dhabi bank that has now been fined with its chairman thrown in jail.

However, the High Court Judge has complained the prosecution failed to provide evidence that the RM4.3 million and the RM5.2 million were the proceeds of unlawful activity. One is left to wonder how they could have been so negligent?  Or, as the jubilant Shafee put it, “I think the reasons provided [by the judge] are not only sound, they are also original and groundbreaking”. Indeed!

Everyone also knows, because it has never been disputed, that Shafee never mentioned the receipt of this RM9.5 million in cash from the prime minster to the tax man either.

Yet the lawyer has likewise been let off on the tax evasion charges also brought against him. What are ordinary folk who worry every year about filing their tax forms correctly and without mistakes (on pain of possible imprisonment) to make of that?

These charges did not even start to deal with WHY Najib might have seen fit to pay this lawyer so much money. Was it for his services offered at the time of the murder of Altantuya?

Or was it for agreeing to prosecute Najib’s arch political rival, Anwar Ibrahim, ‘for free on behalf of the nation’ when the public prosecutors balked at appealing Anwar’s acquittal on charges shown to have been personally orchestrated by this criminal client of his (Najib)?

Shafee has never explained either why he turned up at the hospital on the day of the murder of banker Hussein Najadi, hovering round the ambulance. Najadi had filed a police report about Najib’s illegal accounts after all, so had Shafee been asked to watch the case?

The reasons behind Najib’s vast payments to Shafee remain undisclosed because Shafee had sought to keep them secret rather than detailing them in his accounts like one is supposed to do.

However, Shafee is just one of a raft of UMNO henchmen who have escaped the consequences of their criminal charges following the political coup by the election losers of 2018. Indeed, ‘getting off’ appears to have been the primary motivation for seizing power and their primary motive as they seek to win GE15 – by hook or crook.

The fact that the likes of Shafee have raced to get their botched prosecutions settled before the election as opposed to after is perhaps a sign they realise that voters may not share their priorities in this respect.

Seeking To Weaponise The Justice System For Political Advantage Is Itself A Major Offence Ismail Sabri!

Caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has admitted that he had declassified the report detailing Putrajaya’s investigation into former attorney-general Tommy Thomas’ book so it can be used as political “bullets” to attack Pakatan Harapan.

In a rally at Bagan Datuk yesterday, Ismail Sabri urged the party machinery to “capitalise” on the findings to attack its rivals in the upcoming general election campaign.

“I have given you bullets. In the Thomas case, we exposed (the report) by the special task force. I have given lots of bullets here.

“I asked the de facto law minister to publish it on their website, to detail what was done and what mistakes Thomas made.

“I told the attorney-general to take immediate action (against Thomas) under the Official Secrets Act, defamation law and so on. I told him to bring up this issue immediately,” he said.

“So, if this is already brought up, we cannot just leave it like that. We must capitalise on this issue to attack them.”

Ammo against Dr M

 

Ismail Sabri also noted how a separate task force found then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad negligent in the Pulau Batu Puteh case.

He said the task force found Mahathir jumped the gun when he instructed the legal team to withdraw from the sovereignty dispute with Singapore, even before the cabinet was consulted.

At the rally yesterday, he referred to the declassified information as BN’s “weapon” against Mahathir.

“In my statement I said there is a possibility of negligence on the part of Mahathir…this is a point for us. Our weapon. Don’t let this slide. Play up this issue,” he told the party machinery.

 

Our comment

This has to be one of the most shocking self confessions made by any politician anywhere, ever.

Even the most blatant autocrats atop of the most brutal of regimes would hesitate to be so frank about such a personal and self-interested abuse of the law for political advantage. Such thugs generally at least seek to pretend that they have allowed the due process of the law to take its independent course against the enemies for whom they have concocted ‘crimes’, even if behind the scenes everybody knows they spurred the actions.

Of course, UMNO leaders have got slack in such dissembling, having become so used to getting their way in everything. For the same reason they have so easily been caught stealing. Najib was up to the same thing, of course, personally conspiring in advance with the young man who later accused his political opponent Anwar of ‘sodomy’ against him. But at least he attempted to keep his machinations secret.

Yet here is Ismail Sabri, who apparently has the benefit of a law degree so ought to understand the basic principles at least of the system of justice he represents, openly advertising his plan to abuse the system of justice by launching political prosecutions to help fight an election.

How jaw dropping is that?

He ADMITS that he has instructed the Attorney General to prosecute his predecessor Tommy Thomas, based on a report Ismail himself commissioned and then de-classified so that the contents could be again used in the court of public opinion against his target in a blatant act of contempt.

Then he admits that he plans the same tactics against the former prime minister himself against whom he has likewise gone after, rootling around for possible ‘crimes’ to be identified against him – the best he can come up with is a subjective view that Mahathir failed to get a good enough agreement out of Singapore over a dispute he settled.

Quote: “there is a possibility of negligence on the part of Mahathir…this is a point for us. Our weapon. Don’t let this slide. Play up this issue,”

As for Thomas, he admits the best he can drum up is an accusation of “mistakes” but says mistakes will do. What about Ismail’s mistake in admitting in public that he has abused his position by interfering with the independence of the law?

Quote: “I told the attorney-general to take immediate action (against Thomas) under the Official Secrets Act, defamation law and so on. I told him to bring up this issue immediately….. We must capitalise on this issue to attack them.”

Hopefully, the Malaysian people will see this crass and awful behaviour for what it is, political bankruptcy, corruption and desperation. If a party that acts in such a manner is allowed to return to office no one will be safe from the corrupt and predatory abuses of UMNO right from the top echelons of society to the humble corner shop.

Ismail’s “ammo” deserves to be returned to sender and explode right in UMNO’s back yard on Election Day.

Dog On Standby Waiting To Trip Up Shafee?

A judge has reminded the prosecution and defence that the Kuala Lumpur High Court has a commitment to wrap up the RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Collin Lawrence Sequerah today told parties that the trial, which began in 2019, has been stretched for a long time.

The trial judge said this when allowing the defence team’s application to adjourn the trial this afternoon due to Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah being on medical leave (MC).

As former finance minister Najib looked on from the dock, his co-defence counsel Alaistair Brandah Norman informed the court that Shafee fell ill this morning and is on MC until Sunday.

Our comment

Once Mr Shafee has got over his sore throat we can be sure he has his dog back on standby to trip him up again – or maybe a cat to scratch him?

The ‘cunning plan’ for all to see is that his client wishes to push through an imminent election which he thinks his tame party colleagues (indeed despite his disgrace his party has not dropped the ex-PM, far from it they are trying to allow him to still sit in Parliament !!!!) will soon call.

Clearly, the coup mongers of BN/PN think they can craft an election win, especially if floods ensure low turn out. So, Shafee just needs to string out a few more Covid contacts, sore throats and dog nips to get his client over the line in an unequalled show of virtuosity in the ‘practice of the law’.

Then Najib will expect a new AG to drop the case against him before judgement is reached leaving him to claim SRC is merely a few trivial millions that he stole, which can be pardoned given how very special he is and all the amazing things he has done for his poor suffering people.

They suffer purely owing to the corruption of his party and himself.

Ooops! Ismail Admits He Runs Justice After All!!

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has directed that immediate investigations for possible wrongdoing be taken against former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas over the latter’s memoirs.

The prime minister said this was based on the report of the special task force investigating the matter, which was presented to the Cabinet today.

In a statement, Ismail Sabri said the investigations will be conducted under Sections 124(I) and 203A of the Penal Code, Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948, Section 8 of the Official Secrets Act 1972, and Section 3 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009.

“The report was prepared by this team within nine months, since December 2021 to August 2022, detailing each of the allegations mentioned by Thomas in his book titled ‘My Story: Justice in the Wilderness’.

“Based on the investigation conducted, the team categorised 19 important issues detected in book the into four main topics,” said Ismail Sabri.

The four topics were allegations against the judiciary; the disclosure of government information and secrets; wrongful acts, abuse, and negligence; as well as seditious statements.

On August 29, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the special task force the appointed last year had met 10 times between December 23, 2021 and April 12.

Our comment

Having piously explained how he could not possibly intervene in the justice system to get his BN leadership rival, Najib Razak, off the hook for his proven crimes, Ismail has just exposed himself completely.

Having commissioned a ‘task force’ to go through and pick holes in a book that in part dealt with Malaysia’s progressive struggles to maintain and establish an independent judiciary, he has now ordered the ‘independent’ prosecution service to go after the venerable writer over a slew of accusations they concocted over several months.

Najib is justified in asking his successor, in which case why not “order” him a pardon? The answer, of course, would be that it is convenient for Ismail to keep Najib right where he belongs for now, which is in jail – as the vast majority of Malaysians would agree.

Let us remind ourselves, the man put in charge of the said task force which has now produced these 19 ‘criminal allegations’ could not possibly have been a more controversial choice in terms of a past tainted by service to gross corruption and abuse of power.  He is none other that the appalling JC Fong who guided the Sarawak kleptocrat Abdul Taib Mahmud through his decades of rape and tyranny, first as the all powerful state attorney general and then in a shadowy advisory position where he continued to flex power amidst concerns over conflicts of interest.

This dubious BN flunkey has come up with a laundry list of sections from the penal code with which to accuse his former federal boss of everything from ‘sedition’ to betraying official secrets and even corruption in response to a book. This was the ex-AG’s well-received memoire of his time in office that shed much understanding on the entrenched problems of weak governance and corruption that had bedevilled the country during the years that JC Fong’s own career had flourished, and which set out guidelines for reform.

So, let’s look at who has really committed crimes. Having toppled the elected government that appointed the author and former AG Tommy Thomas to enforce the law against kleptocrats and power abusers, UMNO/BN – a criminal organisation that masquerades as a political party – has worked hard to reverse the proceedings against almost all their exposed colleagues through the appointment of a new AG who methodically dropped charges, cut deals and mucked up cases as fast as he could to rescue almost the entire band of brigands with a few high profile exceptions, including Najib and his wife.

UMNO president Zahid Hamidi is of course doing everything he can to ensure the government nobbles the prosecutions against himself as well, on the basis that it is perfectly fine for career politicians to accumulate huge and ostentatious signs of wealth, and for cash ‘donations’ to be made to the same politicians in return for licences to cut timber (known as a Musa Aman) or to traffic workers (known as a ‘Zahid’) as long as they are retrospectively described as having been ‘political’ not ‘personal’ kickbacks. (This understanding is NOT laid out in any penal code, naturally, as it is so outrageous).

All this has been attempted under the guise of pretending Malaysia’s prosecution service, headed by an AG nominated by the prime minister, is independent. Meanwhile, the anti-corruption commission head (who quakes in fear at his political masters and has progressed accordingly in his career) has even claimed that to be accountable to parliament would interfere with his own ‘independence’ – working as he does under the prime minister’s office.

By ORDERING all these forces now to go after a highly respected former senior public servant on pretended criminal charges is blatant vengefulness, classic intimidation. abuse of office and a pathetic attempt to toss some compensation to cheer up those who have been rightfully charged and convicted for real crimes (Najib) thanks to the bold decisions of Tommy Thomas.

Malaysia's Global Notoriety As A Hub For Trafficking Endangered Species

The Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) seized 150kg of processed bird’s nest worth about RM250,000 for export to Vietnam at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Thursday (Sept 22).

Maqis Selangor director Mohd Sobri Md Hashim in a statement today said an inspection at 1pm conducted by officers from Maqis in collaboration with the Malaysia Airports Auxiliary Police, on a Vietnamese national found 15 boxes he was carrying did not have valid documents such as export permits and health certificates.

“Following that, the processed bird’s nest weighing 150kg were detained for further action,” he said.

Export of animal products without a valid permit is an offence. Offenders are liable to be fined not more than RM100,000 or jailed not more than six months or both if convicted.

Our comment

Nostalgia for past delicacies, and the vanity that comes with craving their increasing rarity on the part of ignorant people who know no better how to spend their money, is raping the earth of every living species.

It is now, thanks to the learning of a few civilised people, possible for greedy and ignorant, unthinking people to obtain tools that can destroy any plant or animal on the planet.

Instead of using the tools made by others wisely (or being forced to do so by society and good governance) we see greedy criminals setting to work to extract every last piece of “value” from what they can kill. No thought to conserve life for the next generation, just cash for now.

These simple minded criminals have wreaked the planet and they sell their products to those who know no better: simple minded criminals like themselves who are happy to sit down at smart restaurants to guzzle turtle eggs, birds nest soup or satellite hunted tuna, all on the brink of extinction thanks to their base appetite.

The same sort of pampered idiots then go home to treat themselves with tiger penises, rhino horns and voodoo medicines until carried to hospital for wiser care.

Malaysia’s people and their government, which is presently full of politicians and officials who merely require the accepted backhanders (before eating such products themselves) must stand up for the native people who know how to husband these resources and protect them from such pillage.

They need to wake up fast and far more effectively to this trade in plants and creatures, for which Malaysia is a world famous hub.  It is a trade far far far worse and more catastrophic than drug taking which punishes of itself and yet is treated in Malaysia as if it matters more.

Otherwise, it is Malaysia’s children who will be left with nothing to eat in a boiling desert.

Clean Money? PetroSaudi's Lies Are Unmasked (Again)

The High Court today was told today that no funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) were used in an oil exploration project between Petrosaudi International Ltd (PSI) with the Venezuelan government and that none of it ever flowed into the escrow account held by United Kingdom law firm, Clyde & Co LLP.

Counsel Alex Tan described the unspecified sum of monies kept in Clyde & Co as “clean” monies and which came from an oil drilling contract that PSI had entered into with a Venezuelan-based company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which is a lawful economic proceed.

Tan was representing PSI, its subsidiary Petrosaudi Oil Services (Venezuela) Ltd (PSOS-VZ) and Temple Fiduciary Services Limited, who are the second, third and fifth respondents in the government’s application to block PSI director Tarek Obaid, PSI and PSOS-VZ from using the monies kept in the UK law firm.

Figures published by 1MDB/PetroSaudi Whistleblower Xavier Justo disprove the claim by PetroSaudi lawyers that money did not come from 1MDB

Figures published by 1MDB/PetroSaudi Whistleblower Xavier Justo disprove the claim by PetroSaudi lawyers that money did not come from 1MDB

Our comment

The Saudi Mega-thief, Tarek Obaid, has holed himself up in a five star Swiss sanatorium on the proceeds of 1MDB money that the US courts have allowed him to spend on lawyers and ‘his business’ – a staggering one million dollars a month – as he concocts lies to fend of the seizure of profits made in Venezuela.

Let’s be clear. On the eve of his phoney ‘joint venture’ with jailed Najib Razak and 1MDB Tarek was begging his bank manager to forgive his hundred thousand over-draft on his credit card.

Then the backhanders came in – first the $300 MILLION ‘investment’, then more hundreds of millions in loans, all of it stolen from the people of Malaysia.

Tarek’s crooked British financial advisor, Patrick Mahony, and a veritable team of British ‘professional advisors’ then ploughed this cash into another massive dirty deal in Venezuela where officials were bribed to draw up a terrible and exploitative deal whereby PetroSaudi’s clapped out drill ships (bought with the 1MDB ‘loans’) would be paid half a million dollars a day to drill for oil, whether or not any oil was produced.

No oil was produced.

Therefore, the Saudi crook and his criminal side-kick Mahony (who still lords it in fancy homes in London and Gstaad) have managed to screw over the suffering people of a second nation also, namely the public of Venezuela.

However, British judges decided that a deal was a deal when it came to honouring a letter of credit, whether or not it had been fraudulently obtained by bribing officials. The Venezuelan bankers were forced to pay over…. $340 million!!!

Fortunately, the US Department of Justice then stepped in and proved just how the money had been twice stolen from the impoverished populations of two countries. At which point Tarek’s UK lawyers Clyde & Co lost their bottle (having defended Tarek’s right to the money to the hilt till then) and passed the cash to the courts to decide.

It was a crashing blow for the conspirators who looked to be one of the big time winners from 1MDB still ranging free at large. After all, the Swiss prosecutors have pathetically and perhaps predictably faltered to a close on their actions to hold these criminals to account on the numerous crimes they are indicted with in that country (Switzerland lets off people who are rich, by and large, usually by choosing to prosecute too slowly).

However, the bitter pill was sure sweetened by that million dollars a months allowed by the US judges. How else to pay an army of eager lawyers and other ‘upstanding professionals’ who are now queueing to represent Tarek in cases like this one brought by 1MDB in Malaysia who would rather like their money back?

And what is a lie between lawyers? They are entitled to believe their client after all, as opposed to the wealth of evidence of the FBI and now the direct evidence also of Xavier Justo who ran their Venezuelan operations until he learnt the extent of the graft and corruption involved.

This was Justo’s comment yesterday as he posted the figures you see above in response to the KL court reports:

Petrosaudi Lawyers are claiming that no 1MDB money went to the Venezuela deal.
Here you have two print screens showing how the 1MDB money ended up in Venezuela.

First 1MDB sent money to Petrosaudi Cayman in different trenches, later Petrosaudi Cayman sent the money to Petrosaudi Oil Services and from there you have a payment to PDVSA the Venezuelan state oil company!

We know Tarek is a crook and the courts should rule accordingly and remove his cash.

The Swiss should do their duty and put him in jail.

 

Purple Porsche Politicians Are Not What Malaysia Needs

An UMNO Division Chief’s Porsche was involved in an accident around Damansara recently.

According to a video published on social media, the driver of the Porsche escaped unscathed.

Checks online found that the Porsche is a 911 GT3 model with a reported market value of RM1.77 million in Malaysia.

According to sources close to UMNO’s leadership, the driver was UMNO Subang Division’s Chief, Dato’ Armand Azha Abu Hanifah.

The source added, the vehicle is registered under Koperasi Suara Anak Muda Selangor Berhad, of which Armand is the President

Malaysia Sentinel cannot independently verify the revelation, but other sources close to the incident have been reached for comments.

Checks on social media also found that Armand who is also an UMNO Supreme Council member had on 14 May 2022 uploaded a video to TikTok. The video showed a brief view of a Porsche of a similar model, colour and body sticker in the background.

He was appointed a Senator in October 2021.

In December 2021, the Ministry of Health gave Asia Coding Centre Sdn Bhd, a company in which Armand is a Director, the green light to begin a trial run and deployment of Covid-19 screenings at international entry points.

Our comment

RM1.7 million car belonging to UMNO division chief - now a heap of twisted metal

RM1.7 million car belonging to UMNO division chief – now a heap of twisted metal

This is surely a picture and set of circumstances emblematic as to why the jailing of a few top dogs is not going to suffice to purge the rot from UMNO.

Even a division chief feels compelled to drive around in a ludicrous toy vehicle worth nearly two million ringgit, money that plainly ought to have been put to good use by the so-called Koperasi NGO it was bought in the name of and which this ‘political leader’ was in charge of.

Where is the dignity and where is the duty?  None.

And that is before we address the matter of the enormous government Covid contract handed to this gentleman’s business by his pals who seized office by overturning the government that had been elected by the people, thanks to a large degree through plain bribery.

If that contract was awarded to this UMNO playboy via open tender this would definitely be the time to go public with those details.

Malaysians do not deserve to be ‘represented’ by the man-child spivs and crooks who have taken over UMNO. An entire industry of western and Japanese big toy motor vehicles thrives off a club of buyers almost exclusively from places like Malaysia and the Gulf – many of them purporting to be super-religious Muslims, who nonetheless don’t seem to be able to find a better cause for their money.

Vote in serious people with adult minds and an anti-corruption agenda for reform, before all Malaysia’s money ends up with nothing more to show than twisted rust heaps like this embarrassing display.