Malaysia and the IMF

Malaysia and the IMF




Below is the text of an address from Islamic Party Leader David Musa Pidcock published in Common Sense issue 30 (Spring 2000).

On 18 March 2000 the Spectator carried an article by its contributing editor Justin Marozzi under the headline "East Beats West" on "how Mahathir Mohamad rescued his country and made fools of the IMF" quoting him as saying: "I did it my way – and it worked".

The article showed how the Malaysian prime minister withstood the onslaught on the Asian economies and exposed the IMF as an extended arm of Western policy. Whilst we do not agree with the way the Malaysian government has treated its domestic opposition without the necessary regard for their dignity and the required differentiation between subversive elements and genuine critics, he must be recommended for standing up to a formidable enemy. The Spectator article prompted the following response from Islamic Party Leader David Musa Pidcock:

In response to your article "East Beats West", The Spectator 18/3/2000, how Mahathir Mohamad bucked the market, rescued his country and made fools of the IMF. It might be of interest for you to know that there was some western input into Dr. Mahathir's eastern thinking. The unsung western heroes include James Gibb-Stuart author of the Money Bomb and Hidden Menace; Kenneth C. Palmerton Vice Chairman of CCMJ – the Christian Council for Monetary Justice and an English convert Rupert Mohammed Rafiq an English banker, and other members of the Forum For Stable Currencies, which meets in the House of Lords every month. By following their good advice and the courage of his own convictions Dr. Mahathir has been able to demonstrate what many politicians know but, because of their cowardice in the face of the enemy, have failed to implement in the interest of the ones who voted for them - Brian Gould was one of the few who understood the solution and would have acted rightly - which is why he was prevented from becoming Leader or Chancellor of the Labour Party. What we have with Tony Blair and Incapability Brown are just Tories in sheep's clothing.

Dr. Mahathir's courageous actions conclusively prove that sovereign nations, however small, can and should always ignore the IMF, The World Bank, and anyone else who tries to impose such destructive monetary and economic restrictions on their countries, particularly when the medicine is rarely applied to the organisations making these harsh rules which claim that: there can be no gain without pain. An extract from an official report into the United Nations Monetary & Financial Conference at Bretton Woods is timeless. It was referred to in a speech to the House of Commons by Norman Smith, the member of parliament for Nottingham South, on Monday, the 20th of August, 1945, and accurately predicted that the IMF and the World Bank - which came out of Bretton Woods - "would POISON world harmony" which it undoubtedly has and yet they are still calling for more of the same.

Your "East Beats West" confirms what we have been advocating for many years together with many others going back as far back as the early 17th century. It was much of this information which we managed to convey in a series of letters, faxes and direct face to face contacts with Dr. Mahathir's advisors and his personal private secretaries leading up to my presenting him with a pack of info personally on the last day of the Langkawi Airshow in 1997. The material included - The Debt Virus; Abraham Lincoln's Monetary Declaration of 1864; David Riccardo's 1823 plan for the National Bank of England; James Gibb-Stuart's recommendations; and, amongst other things the final draft of Napoleon et'l Islam; which we published in Malaysia in 1999.

Dr. Mahathir has shown great courage in taking these steps knowing the fate that befell Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon when they, in turn, tried to buck their own particular markets. Lincoln's Greenback was an interest free alternative to the banker's monopoly money for which he was asked to pay 36% interest. By 1809, Napoleon had succeeded in abolishing usury in France with the co-operation of the Sanhedrin and was also calling for a Common European Currency to facilitate fair trade - a situation the City of London and the Bank of England still vehemently oppose - the Battle of Waterloo decided Europe's fate in favour of the fractional reserve system which has a natural propensity to self destruct and bring about war.

As for conspiracy theories, I think the conspiracy facts are much more interesting. Many were surprised by Al Gore's overt public support for Anwar Ibrahim. However, it is clear that his support was orchestrated by the IMF and Wall Street. What most of the Malaysians don't know is the fact that Anwar Ibrahim is a close friend and ally of Michael Camdessus, the Chairman of the IMF with whom he was co-authoring a book. Unfortunately for Anwar he forgot the maxim: If you sup with the devil you need an awfully long spoon. It is worth noting that Al Gore's daughter, who is also his main advisor, is married to Wall Street Banker, Paul Schiff. The Schiff's have a long track record of destabilizing and taking over governments. It was Jacob Schiff, who invited Trotsky to Wall Street in 1917 to put the finishing touches to the Bolshevik Revolution, which he also financed: so keep a keen eye on Gore, his daughter, and his son-in-law Paul Schiff - remember old habits die hard.

More good news, this time from Pakistan. Last week we met with Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani, a Member of the Shariat Appellate Bench Supreme Court of Pakistan who, amongst other things, is Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Fiqh Academy (OIC) Jeddah, who informed us that they have issued their final judgement which is now binding on the government to Islamise the economy by June 2001. By the end of March, this year, all private transactions involving riba/interest will be outlawed. K.C. Palmerton and I went to Karachi last April and delivered similar materials to those provided to Dr. Mahathir. An American video "The Money Masters – A History of Capital Crimes" apparently proved decisive in their judgement, which now runs to some 1100 pages.

Dr. Mahathir "did it his way", which is also the way for all others to go. Perhaps a more suitable song title for Dr. Mahathir to have chosen would have been: "I Got By With A Little Help From My Friends."

Author: David Pidcock
Date Published: Spring 2000

OH MALAYS....

malays can actually be their own master if they are rsponsible, have good work ethics, free from corruption and abuse of power, good education and have dignity. Remember, we will not be the master of ourself and family if we are just an instrument for someone else. For example, when the malays get contracts and projects, we will always passed on to the experts in the chinese community who have the real knowledge. In the end, the practice of malay supremacy has led to the chinese being the masters. Surely, the chinese traders laugh at the malays because they realise that such malays have no self-worth, no dignity and are prepared to sell malay rights.

trust me, malays will only be respected when status and contracts are form their own effort and not because of their "cable" in the government.. we all know about this dont we? I know many malays who have success with their own efforts and sweat. i respect them for that. they shows the extraordinary capabilities that we, the malays once had. we conquer the tanah melayu, the sumatera and the borneo.. we also once had warriors who fights for their country and not for fame and name..

many of the malays nowadays also had gone overseas to find greater success..they are unafraid of fair and just competition. do malays, with the guarantees of article 153 of federal constitutions, still need further assistance from the government? I do feel that malays still need assistance but in context of providing safety net for the poor and needy. rejecting malay supremacy does not mean rejecting the privileges provided for by the law that is the back bone of the country. THE REAL QUESTION IS.. WHICH MALAY TRULY NEED ASSISTANCE?

the form and manner in which we help the malays is just as important so there are sufficient resources for all and not just SELECTED malays. this is important to reduce the current widespread discrimination and cronyism.

but.. deep in my heart.. the 30% bumiputra equity are extremely important for malays. i cant imagine the malays to challenge gov projects and contracts with the chinese. but till when we must be afraid? my sister are currently studying at MRSM kubang pasu.. recently, my mom attended her graduation day.. know what? the best student at that particular MRSM is a chinese girl came from a small village called kandang in malacca. the top 5 richest man in malaysia are all from different races than malays.. why? because we are less courageous than them.

my purpose to criticize the concept of malay suprmacy and the wrongly intrepeted NEP that was carried on after 1990, is to ensure that the policy to help bumiputras continues to succeed without upsetting or making it difficult for anyone else. From what i see, some umno leaders do not want the people, especially the malays to understand the difference between the policy and its implementation as one to benefit malays or to which benefits their cronies alone. they want to hide this from the public eye. in fact, we are the only country in the world where the majority race got privileges..

The Warisan Merdeka.. is it worth it?

Things are not looking good for the Prime Minister after presenting his 2011 budget. I wonder whether he walks through the budget with his consultants that prepared it or just simply read them without full understanding of it, in Parliament.

Take a look at the Prime Minister response to the great resistance of the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak denied today that it was his idea to build the controversial 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower in the heart of the capital, saying instead the project had been proposed by Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).

There are so many flaws in this one sentence alone. Let me point them out to you.

a)How can he denied it when he already presented it in Parliament. It does not matter whose idea it was but as a leader he must be held responsible because he accepted it without any consultation with others. If he disagree with the proposal, why then he allocated a budget for it.

b)A project still under proposal means it has yet to be agreed or approved by the Government, so why allocate such a huge budget when the project may not be granted approval eventually. Thus, it means that the PM had accepted the proposal without consulting the public and his "People First" means nothing anymore.

c)Who owns Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB). This is what PNB is after paying a visit to it's website:

With fund under management totaling about RM150 billion, the PNB Group is the country's leading investment institution with a diversified portfolio of interests that include unit trusts, institution property trust, property management and asset management.

with it's board of trustees as follows:

Chairman
YAB Dato' Sri Mohd. Najib bin Tun Hj. Abdul Razak

Deputy Chairman
YAB Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin bin Mohd. Yassin

Y.B. Dato' Mustapa bin Mohamed

Y.B. Dato' Seri Haji Ahmad Husni bin Mohamad Hanadzlah

YABhg Tun Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid

You can read more details at PNB website here but be warned, many links do not work.

Is PNB government owned or is it a private entity?

If it is government owned why the PM denied that it was his idea, basically if it is government owned then the PM should be consulted first and the public should be informed about it. The PM is the one to object or approve the project.

If it is a private entity which looks more like it, why the hell should public fund be used. PNB should arrange for their own financing if they think their proposal to develop this 100-storey tower can benefit everyone and that in turn means they can make profit out of it.

How can the PM denied that this was not his idea when he is the chairman of the board of trustees. Was he not informed about the proposal long before they decide to allocate the budget for it?

Coming to the 13th General Election. My observation is that its a touch and go situation for umno/bn and the PM knows very well.

Three States are on shaky ground, Perak, Johor and Negri Sembilan and more State seats may be lost in Trengganu, Sabah and Sarawak.

Umno/bn spent millions upon millions at every general election and this 13th GE is gonna cost them much more then usual. They have plenty of money but may not be enough for this 13th GE.

Najib needs to seek a new mandate to strengthen his grip on power knowing that failing to do so will be his downfall. There is a figure within his own party maneuvering to take control over his position.

The surprise which the PM mentioned when asked about the 13th GE, not too long ago, will be that this 13th GE will be for Parliamentary seats only and together with Sarawak state election.

The remaining 12 State assemblies will not be dissolved to allow him to concentrate on just the Parliamentary seats with sufficient funds to ward off the opposition onslaught.

by malaysia for all ( Richard Loh )

Summary and Highlights of Budget 2011

EPF relief scope extended but limit not increased

Existing EPF relief of maximum RM6,000 is extended to include employees’ contributions to Private Pension Fund (PPF) to be set up by the government in 2011. Employers are allowed for tax deductions for contributions made to the Private Pension Fund. In other word, apart from mandatory contribution to EPF, employees and employers (including self-employed) can now opt to make additional contributions to Private Pension Fund to be set up by the government.

This benefits the lower income group as most of the medium to high income group may already claiming up to the maximum relief of RM6,000 as the relief of RM6,000 is also include the life insurance premium, apart from employees’ own EFP contributions. For employers, this may open up an additional tax planning for tax deductions on such contributions to PPF while rewarding the employees or better structuring the staff remuneration package, as there is a cap allowed for tax deductions in respect of employers’ EPF contributions for staff. Presently, employer contributions to the approved schemes (eg. EPF) in excess of 19% of the employee’s remuneration will be disallowed as tax deductions. However, employer contributions to this new PPF will be allowed for tax deductions and will not count towards the 19% cap.

However, will the employers happy to subscribe to this new PPF? They can always increase the employer (portion) EPF contribution as long it is not exceeding the 19% tax deduction limit. The structure, investment policies as well as return to the new PPF are unknown, compared to the well-established EPF. For those employees who are already claimed at the maximum limit of RM6,000, would they willing to contribute to PPF, in additional to the current mandatory EPF contribution, which may reduce their disposable income but no tax efficiency will be achived as tax relief claimed may already at the maximum limit.

How this new PPF will benefit self-employed persons? If a person carried out a business under the sole proprietorship or partnership (referred to as “business” herewith), the EPF contributions made by the business are not allowed as tax deductions but instead the contributions will be added back and form part of the profit derived from the business by that person and assess for individual tax accordingly. With the introduction of new PPF, contributions made by the business will be allowed for tax deductions.

Parent medical relief scope extended but limit not increased

Current individual tax relief of up to RM5,000 for parents’ medical expenses be extended to cover expenses to care for parents. These expenses are for parents who suffer from diseases or with physical or mental disabilities and who need regular treatment certified by a qualified medical practitioner. This include treatment and care at home, day care centres or home care centres. Currently the tax relief of up to RM5,000 medical expenses for parents are for treatment in clinics and hospitals, treatment in nursing homes and dental treatment (exclude cosmetic dental treatment).

50% stamp duty exemption on housing S&P and loan agreements

First-time Malaysian citizen house buyers will be given stamp duty exemption of 50% on (1) instruments of transfer (i.e sale and purchase agreement) and (2) loan agreement on a residential house price not exceeding RM350,000 during 1 Jan 2011 to 31 Dec 2012. Residential property include a terrace house, condominium, apartment or flat. Question here is – would serviced apartments erected on commercial land be scope out?

Service tax increase to 6%

Service tax rate will be increased from 5% to 6% with effect from 1 Jan 2011. This will impact quite a number of service industry as well as individual consumptions. This may be a temporary measure to increase government revenue while pending the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

ASTRO monthly subscription fee will be increased with a service tax of 6% with effect from 1 Jan 2011. Service tax of 6% will be imposed on paid satellite broadcasting services in which this service was not subject to service tax previously.

The Budget is more focusing on a macro economy and it appears not too many announcements or tax proposals that are affecting the individuals and companies directly.

No new taxes were introduced. No new policies announced on tackling the speculative buying of real properties, in particular the loan to value cap ratio at 70% or 80%.

No tax reductions for individuals and corporate. There was no announcement on withholding tax on dividend income from Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

Nothing was announced on bonus for civil servants.

This Budget is very plain and there was not many tax changes or proposals.

FAKTA RMK-10 (YANG DIBENTANGKAN DI PARLIMEN OLEH PM)

KUALA LUMPUR: Rancangan Malaysia Ke-10 (RMK-10) yang dibentangkan oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak di Dewan Rakyat hari ini adalah rancangan pembangunan negara untuk tempoh lima tahun.

Pelaksanaan RMK-10 akan bermula dari tahun 2011-2015.

Intipati ucapan Perdana Menteri pada pembentangan RMK10 adalah bertemakan "Rancangan Kemakmuran Ekonomi dan Keadilan Sosial".

Ia dilihat amat kritikal bagi meneruskan kesinambungan prakarsa nasional ke arah merealisasikan Wawasan 2020 menjadi sebuah negara maju dan berpendapatan tinggi.

Berikut adalah fakta-fakta penting RMK-10:

* Memperuntukkan RM230 bilion bagi perbelanjaan pembangunan bagi tempoh lima tahun tersebut.

* Daripada jumlah itu, 55 peratus diagihkan kepada sektor ekonomi, 30 peratus kepada sektor sosial, 10 peratus kepada sektor keselamatan dan lima peratus untuk pentadbiran am.

* Laporan ekonomi itu bagi tempoh 2011-2015 setebal 449 muka surat untuk edisi Bahasa Melayu dan 429 muka surat bagi edisi Bahasa Inggeris, yang diterbitkan oleh Unit Perancang Ekonomi, Jabatan Perdana Menteri akan dijual pada berharga RM80.

* RMK-10 merupakan satu daripada empat tiang utama di bawah pentadbiran Najib. * Tiga lagi tiang tonggak itu ialah Gagasan 1Malaysia: Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan; Program Transformasi Kerajaan (GTP) dan Model Baru Ekonomi (MBE).

* 10 PREMIS UTAMA RMK-10:

Pertama:- Memacu ekonomi domestik dengan kepekaan persekitaran luar negara.

Kedua: Memanfaatkan dan menuas faktor kepelbagaian etnik sebagai satu elemen kejayaan di arena antarabangsa.

Ketiga: Mentransformasi negara ke arah pendapatan tinggi menerusi pengkhususan.

Keempat: Menjayakan pertumbuhan diterajui oleh produktiviti dan inovasi.

Kelima: Memupuk, menarik dan mengekalkan modal insan unggul.

Keenam: Memastikan peluang yang saksama dan melindungi golongan mudah terjejas.

Ketujuh: Pertumbuhan bertumpu, pembangunan inklusif.

Kelapan: Menyokong perkongsian pintar yang efektif.

Kesembilan: Menghargai khazanah alam sekitar.

Kesepuluh: Kerajaan umpama syarikat yang berdaya saing.

* 5 TERAS STRATEGIK Pertama RMK-10:

Pertama: Menggubah falsafah dan pendekatan kerajaan ke arah mentransformasikan Malaysia dengan metodologi NKRA.

Kedua: Mewujudkan persekitaran kondusif bagi menggerakkan pertumbuhan ekonomi.

Ketiga: Menuju ke arah pembangunan sosioekonomi secara inklusif.

Keempat: Membangun dan mengekalkan modal insan bertaraf dunia.

Kelima: Mewujudkan persekitaran kondusif ke arah mempertingkatkan kualiti hidup.

* Peruntukan RMK-10 bagi infrastruktur bukan fizikal meningkat kepada 40 peratus, berbanding 21.8 peratus dalam RMK-9, tumpuan diberikan kepada program pembangunan kemahiran, aktiviti R&D dan modal teroka.

* Sebuah institusi perkhidmatan awam bertaraf dunia akan diwujudkan untuk meningkatkan keupayaan penjawat awam.

* Tumpuan kepada 12 Bidang Ekonomi Utama Negara (NKEA) akan diumumkan Oktober nanti iaitu:

(i) Minyak dan gas (ii) Minyak sawit dan produk berkaitan (iii) Perkhidmatan kewangan (iv) Pemborongan dan peruncitan (v) Pelancongan (vi) Teknologi Maklumat dan Komunikasi (ICT) (vii) Perkhidmatan Pendidikan (viii) Elektrik dan elektronik (ix) Perkhidmatan perniagaan (x) Penjagaan kesihatan swasta (xi) Pertanian (xii) Greater Kuala Lumpur

* Satu unit khas, iaitu Unit Transformasi Ekonomi, akan ditubuhkan untuk merancang, menyelaras pelaksanaan dan pembangunan NKEA.

* Suruhanjaya Persaingan dan Tribunal Rayuan akan ditubuhkan untuk memastikan pelaksanaan undang-undang lebih teratur dan berkesan.

* Kerajaan terus berusaha untuk meletakkan Malaysia di lima tangga terbaik negara paling kompetitif di dunia.

* 1MDB akan membangunkan projek strategik KL meliputi Lapangan Terbang TUDM Sg Besi dan KL International Financial District.

* RMK-10 juga akan memastikan sasaran ekuiti korporat sebanyak 30% untuk Bumiputera dikekalkan.

* Dana berjumlah RM20 bilion akan disediakan melalui Dana Mudahcara atau Facilitation Fund bagi memudahkan sektor swasta membiayai projek perkongsian awam-swasta.

* Melalui Dana Mudahcara, kerajaan anggar menarik pelaburan swasta sekurang-kurangnya RM200 bilion; Antara projek yang dipertimbangkan ialah penambakan tanah di Westport, Pelabuhan Klang, Pembangunan Malaysia Truly Asia Centre di Kuala Lumpur dan Taman Teknologi Tinggi Senai di Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.

* Sebuah unit khas ditubuhkan di bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri bagi memandu dan mengarah keberkesanan sistem inovasi negara serta program pembangunan inovasi sedia ada.

* Pembiayaan kerajaan kepada syarikat modal teroka awam akan berbentuk ekuiti dan bukan pinjaman.

* Dana Inovasi Mudharabah (MIF) dengan peruntukan sebanyak RM500 juta akan diperkenal bagi menyediakan modal berisiko kepada syarikat modal teroka kerajaan.

* Dana Perkembangan Perniagaan dengan peruntukan permulaan sebanyak RM150 juta akan ditubuhkan bagi merapatkan jurang pembiayaan antara pengkomersilan peringkat awal dan pembiayaan modal teroka bagi produk berteknologi tinggi.

* Undang-undang kebankrapan akan dipermudah untuk menyokong budaya mengambil risiko terhitung, menghapuskan stigma kegagalan dan membenarkan usahawan berkaliber lagi wibawa yang gagal untuk kembali aktif.

Wake Up Malay !

The non-malays has always been known to have the label of money $$$ on their foreheads. Their immigrant ancestors went to Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak in the name of making more money $$$ regardless whether its halal or haram.

Seriously, if these greedy non-malay money-mongers ever manage to take control of the country, they've forgotten one thing, the Malays as well as the Bumiputeras are willing to go out for full-blown war to win back their country. Defending our ancestral land has always been in our blood.

Don't forget our ancestral heroes against the Europeans British, Japanese; Tok Janggut, Mat Kilau, Rosli Dhobi, Rentap and etc. Don't forget our brave Malay and Bumiputera soldiers during the Communist threat in Malaysia and Indonesia's confrontation; Leftenan Adnan, Sergeant Hassan and etc. Is there any Leftenan Ah Chong or Sergeant Muthusamy recorded in the history? Nahhh, it is because there are non! They all cowardice in their shops and plantations, "duduk atas pagar" (D.A.P.) watching the Malays and native Bumis fight to defend their country, while their reap the country off its wealth and benefits.

But before we ultimately finger pointing these non-malays, I have to admit, let's focus on cleaning the dirty hands of our own people; the UMNO and gang (gang includes MCA and MIC and other component parties). Potential leaders with very good background are held off-field by their corrupted rivals. We all saw what happened during the last UMNO youth election? Justice is still not serve here and then. The Malays themselves are corrupted and prefers shortcut to make money $$$. Eventually we will become just like these non-malays money-parasite or worst.

Conclusion; what's the difference having the non-malays (instead of a Malay) to rule the country when the Malays themselves are at their most shameful and weakest state? I say we just vote the non-malay leaders and see what happen. Maybe it will get even better god knows?

I rest my case! Sheesh! Wake up Malay!

Signs Of General Election

The country’s recent pullback on fiscal reforms has fuelled talk that the government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is gearing up for snap polls even though the next general election is not due until 2013.

Following are questions and answers on the possible timing and the political and economic implications of an early general election in the country.

Why are early polls likely?

The end of fuel subsidy reforms as well as a delay in tabling a Goods and Services Tax Bill in Parliament indicate a reluctance by the government to impose measures that would have an impact on poorer Malay voters, a critical vote bank for the Umno, backbone of the ruling coalition. This in turn signals a government that may be making preparations for early polls.

Should investors worry?

To some extent. The last elections turned unpredictable in 2008, when the opposition alliance, now led by former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, scored the country’s biggest-ever election upset. It ended the government’s two-thirds parliamentary majority, and the opposition wound up controlling five of 13 states. That election result triggered a stock market sell-off.

Recent moves to halt fiscal consolidation imply the government thinks it can narrow its budget gap, which stood at a 20-year high of 7.4 per cent of GDP in 2009, purely on the back of increased economic activity and higher oil prices.

Longer term, failure to implement fiscal reform leaves the country, Asia’s third-most trade dependent economy, vulnerable to external economic and commodity price shocks. State oil company Petronas provides almost half of all government revenues.

When could the polls be held?

The most probable timing now seems to be during 2011, for several reasons:

1. The government normally calls for polls only when economic growth is in positive territory. Najib is aiming for GDP growth of at least five per cent this year after the economy contracted 1.7 per cent in 2009. The government would need at least until the first quarter of next year for the recovery to reach ordinary voters.
2. Many of the reform pledges that Najib has made, covering six core areas from fighting graft to improving urban transportation, have deadlines at the end of this year.
3. Elections in Sarawak. The state is Barisan Nasional’s (BN) stronghold that provides the government with 30 of its 137 Parliament seats. Sarawak is the sole state in the country that holds state elections separately from national polls. It must hold polls by June 2011.
4. If the government held the next Sarawak state election concurrently with federal polls it would stretch the opposition’s meagre campaign resources even more thinly.
5. Alternatively, the government could call for state elections in Sarawak either late this year or early next year, in the hope that a strong showing would bolster confidence ahead of national polls that would follow soon after.
6. But even if the government scores a landslide win in Sarawak, it may not be willing to take a risk in far more politicised mainland Malaysia where the PAS is making inroads into its Malay voter base.
7. Petrol price hikes in 2006 helped the opposition DAP to an unprecedented six state seats in Sarawak polls that year.
8. “I believe the Sarawak polls will be held separately before the next general election because Sarawak is usually taken as a rough barometer before the national polls are held,” said Shaharuddin Badaruddin, associate professor at Universiti Teknologi Mara.
9. Calling for an election later than next year also poses a risk for the government due to the possibility of a rise in religious and racial tensions. Ethnic Chinese and Indian voters have shown no sign of returning to BN since 2008.

What are the indications of imminent polls?

1. The following indicators will provide a rough early warning that polls are coming in the next three to six months. None have taken place so far:
2. BN component party leaders and state leaders from the Umno, the lynchpin of the 12-party ruling coalition, will be summoned by Najib to finalise their proposed list of election candidates.
3. The Election Commission will also indicate looming polls with a step up in its own logistical preparations and a finalising of the electoral rolls.
4. A run-up in the stock market. In the past, government-linked funds were asked to prop up the stock market several months ahead of elections to create a feel-good factor for the economy, though the extent of such rallies varies.
5. What would be the outcome of the polls?
6. While the Opposition has never been stronger in the wake of what locals dubbed the 2008 “political tsunami”, the odds are still loaded in favour of BN.

The Anwar-led opposition has won seven out of nine by-elections held since the 2008 elections and most of Umno’s partners in BN are either paralysed following the drubbing they received in 2008 or plagued by infighting.

Anwar is battling charges of sodomy in court, in what he says is a repeat of a political conspiracy that saw him jailed for six years after his sacking as deputy prime minister in 1998.

The government insists he will get a fair trial. One risk is that a guilty verdict could energise and embolden the opposition. Alternatively it could drive a wedge between the reformers, ethnic Chinese and Islamists that comprise his alliance.

Umno has 78 parliamentary seats. Adding in allied MPs from its stronghold states of Sabah and Sarawak, its total rises to 117 seats, enough for a simple majority in the 222-seat Parliament even if all the coalition’s ethnic Chinese and Indian parties fail to win anything.

Najib however needs a two-thirds majority if he is to legitimise his rule and avoid a leadership challenge, a fate that befell his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who presided over the 2008 election losses.

Five-point strategy to strengthen bumiputra development agenda

THE bumiputra development agenda has been strengthened with five strategic initiatives including the setting up of a high-level council to plan, co-ordinate and monitor its implementation.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he would lead the council which would comprise relevant Cabinet ministers, senior government officials and the private sector.

“The Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department will be the secretariat.

New plan: Books on the 10th Malaysia Plan on sale at the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur. — AP

“The Project Management Unit in the Finance Ministry, meanwhile, will monitor the efficient and effective implementation of program­mes,” the Prime Minister said. He added that other initiatives involved the allocation of RM1.5bil or half of the additional Working Capital Guarantee Scheme to bumiputra entrepreneurs to improve their access to financing facilities.

Entrepreneurial development organisations such as Mara and Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad would also be strengthened with an allocation of RM3bil, he said.

Najib said private equity programmes in government-linked investment companies such as Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera and Tabung Haji would be renewed and expanded to consolidate various funds to broaden ownership and control of bumiputra equity.

“Ekuinas (Ekuiti Nasional Berhad) which has a similar function as PNB will adopt a new approach that is more market-friendly and merit-based.

“To increase property ownership, Pelaburan Hartanah Berhad will establish a Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to facilitate bumiputra investment in commercial and industrial properties and benefit from property appreciation,” he said.

Najib who is also Finance Minister said Kampung Baru, a valuable bumiputra asset in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, would be redeveloped to enable landowners to realise and unlock the value of their properties without affecting the Malay ownership.

Perkasa and the Malay Consulta­tive Council expressed gratitude to Najib for not disregarding the interest of bumiputras in the 10th Plan.

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said the five-point strategy to enhance bumiputra economic participation was in line with 31 resolutions adopted at the recent Bumi­putra Economic Congress.

- the star

PM tables 10th Malaysia Plan to power economy into First World status

After months of anticipation, the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) has been launched to propel the country towards becoming a high-income and high-productivity economy.

Gross national income per capita must increase to RM38,850 (US$12,140) by 2015. This requires achieving real GDP growth of 6% per annum.

Five strategic thrusts have been identified under the 10MP, which was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday:

Designing Government philosophy and approach to transform Malaysia through the National Key Results Areas

> Implementing transformational measures, at the same time pursuing a social justice agenda

> The measures include the 1Malaysia concept, the Government Transformation Programme and the Economic Transformation Programme

Creating a conducive environment for unleashing economic growth

> Strategies based on specialisation are to be adopted, focusing on 12 national key economic areas

> Smart partnerships between the public and private sectors to drive the economic transformation agenda

Moving towards inclusive socio-economic development

> A high-level council led by the PM will see to the development of the bumiputra agenda.

> Those who are most economically vulnerable will continue to be given assistance to mitigate the impact of any subsidy reduction on their cost of living.

Developing and retaining a First World talent base

> A Talent Corporation will be established to attract and retain necessary skilled human capital

> Starting potential talents young by lowering the entry age of formal schooling from six years to five

Building an environment that enhances quality of life

> Ensuring a higher quality of life in urban areas with better public transportation systems and affordable housing

> Rural settlements will be streamlined to support an expanding urban-based economy and ensuring improved delivery of public services to rural areas.

the TRUTH about Khairy Jamaluddin

The relationship between Khairy and Anwar’s inner circle started in the early days of Abdullah’s appointment as the Deputy Prime Minister. At that time, both Anwar and Ezam were in jail – the former in Sungai Buloh Prison, the latter in the Kamunting Detention Centre followed by Kajang Prison. In an effort to pressure the government, Ezam had communicated with Abdullah’s son, Kamaluddin, through an intermediary within UMNO Youth, to solicit Abdullah’s help in exerting some influence in their particular cases. But Kamaluddin was a businessman with little interest in politics, and although several notes passed between Ezam and Kamaluddin, nothing happened until Kamaluddin one day remarked to his sister, Nori, that he had been in communication with Ezam.

Nori took some interest in the correspondence. She referred the matter to Abdullah and, according to Ezam, asked Abdullah to see what he can do about releasing the ISA detainees. Nori also informed Khairy who immediately realised that there might be some value in making some small concessions to Ezam, with a future view of assessing the situation once Abdullah finally becomes Prime Minister.

At first the trail went cold. Then, through former Keadilan Vice Youth Chief Hamdan Taha who had left the party to rejoin UMNO, a message was passed to Khairy that the Anwar camp was open to negotiations.

Hamdan Taha had spent many years as Ezam’s right-hand man. His re-entry into UMNO was never made officially, but quietly. Nevertheless, he found himself advising several key members of the UMNO Youth Exco, notably former Anwar supporter Zambry Abdul Kader. Zambry often invited Hamdan to attend some sessions of UMNO Youth meetings where he was introduced to the rising star Khairy Jamaluddin. After several meetings, Khairy realised that Hamdan was a useful source of info regarding happenings in the opposition parties, as Hamdan still maintained relationships with several key opposition leaders, including Ezam himself. Though he was now in UMNO, Hamdan often spoke to Ezam either by phones smuggled into the prison or through personal meetings during Ezam’s many court hearings. Indeed, Hamdan was Ezam’s closest friend.

After a certain UMNO Youth Exco meeting, Hamdan took Khairy aside and told him of his ‘solution’. According to Hamdan, Khairy could play off Anwar against anyone threatening Abdullah’s position. Hamdan remarked that Mahathir’s deputies had an unfortunate trait of falling by the wayside before becoming Prime Minister. While Keadilan had originally attacked Abdullah’s appointment as Deputy Prime Minister, they could be easily persuaded to change tack and instead focus their vitriol only on Mahathir, but not Abdullah. In return, the cases of Anwar and the ISA detainees should be viewed favourably by Abdullah (then Home Minister) even if he could not openly interfere.

The idea intrigued Khairy enough to cause him to begin sending Ezam feelers through Hamdan.

These feelers did not result in any immediate relief for either Anwar or Ezam. Khairy was being very cautious, as he was being intensely watched by both the Mahathir camp and his enemies within Abdullah’s office. Some of Abdullah’s supporters such as the late Fawzi Basri and Dr. Nordin Kardi were intense enemies of Anwar since the 1970s when they took up the ultra-nationalist position against Anwar’s liberal Islamic view. Indeed, Abdullah’s inner circle included such personalities as Aziz Shamsuddin who had openly celebrated Anwar’s sacking in September 1998 with a kenduri. If Khairy was to play the role of communicating with the Anwar camp, he had to do it in a way so as not to rock the boat that was very fragile indeed.

At this point, Ezam stepped up his moves. He instructed Keadilan supporters to attack Khairy through the Internet. He also made sure that Khairy was criticised, especially in student gatherings which at that time were heavily infiltrated by both PAS and Keadilan supporters. The message eventually got to Khairy that he should accommodate Ezam or face enemies not only within UMNO but amongst the opposition as well. While a battle on two fronts is not unusual, it would make Khairy’s life simpler by only facing the enemy within who can be easily controlled by the power of the name of his father-in-law.

Khairy sent Ezam a message that he was open to negotiations.

From then on, things went smoothly. Khairy began to acquire knowledge of what Ezam wanted, namely that Anwar should be released by whatever means, even if it did not fully clear his name. The most important thing was that Anwar should no longer be in jail – even exile was preferable. All sorts of permutations were discussed. These included the idea of sending Anwar overseas for medical treatment and remaining there for at least some time. Khairy even sent a note during a meeting in the United States to Ezam confidante Adlan Benan, a fellow Oxbridge graduate, on whether it was possible for Anwar to consider rejoining UMNO. The message was duly passed through the lines to Ezam and the answer given back to Khairy. Ezam’s contacts in Selangor UMNO communicated with his strongman, SD Johari, that Khairy was very positive about cooperating with Ezam.

At all times, Anwar was kept informed of the negotiations.

The situation became clearer once Ezam was released by the Shah Alam High Court. Khairy now held open meetings with Ezam who came accompanied by one or two of his supporters. At this point of time, the Keadilan leadership was frantic because Anwar was getting seriously ill and all efforts were geared towards his release. Khairy was one of many UMNO leaders believed close to Abdullah who was approached by Anwar’s inner circle. Other UMNO leaders such as Aziz Shamsuddin and Mahathir’s political secretary (but really an Abdullah man) Johari Baharom were also approached. Yet none were as receptive as Khairy. The others felt that Anwar was historical baggage. Khairy had a different view. Anwar had a place in his future universe, where Khairy was the brightest sun.

It was at this time that Khairy began to think of future threats to Abdullah’s rule. When it was clear that Abdullah was indeed going to succeed Mahathir and that his appointment as successor was not a mere ruse, Khairy began to think of how to secure his long-term political future. It had been an easy rise as son-in-law of the leader of the country, but what if your father-in-law was no longer the leader? What if Abdullah’s tenure was shortened? Relying on Najib Tun Razak would be useless as he saw Abdullah as a rival and would never entertain putting Khairy in a prominent position within his own government. Setting up a rival to Najib within UMNO was also impossible given Najib’s seniority and apparent support from forces aligned to the Mahathir camp. The only alternative was to put a constant threat to Najib in the form of a man more likely to beat him in an open and fair contest. Such a man was Anwar Ibrahim, and Khairy understood that for at least the first term, if not throughout Abdullah’s tenure, Anwar could play this role.

It was a role that Anwar and his inner circle were willing to play. After Anwar’s release, Ezam continued to meet up with Khairy. While Khairy was secretive about the subject of discussion, it was a one-sided secret. Ezam told many of his followers about his meetings. Indeed, he often remarked that Khairy gave him information regarding the goings-on in UMNO far before such information became public.

Recently, Ezam had a meeting with both Khairy and Reezal Merican Naina Merican – where Khairy apparently told Ezam that UMNO Vice-President Isa Samad would be handed down a six-year suspension for money politics and other corruption offences. Ezam told the same to some of his closest friends, including allies of Isa himself. The information itself was not unusual but for the fact that the meeting allegedly happened six days before Isa was called up to face the judgement of the UMNO Disciplinary Committee.

The trust shared between the two is more likely the trust of political allies rather than friends. While both share the traits of rising young to the inner circles of power in Malaysia, both are also very ambitious men, skilled in the art of political deception. It remains to be seen whether the friendship between Khairy and Ezam is a genuine one, or merely a marriage of convenience.

In the meantime, Anwar Ibrahim continues to make his long-distance calls to Abdullah. As Anwar himself has said, he should not be written off. No one has done that, definitely not Abdullah and Khairy. Should the scenario change and the attacks by Mahathir upon Abdullah’s administration grow stronger, there will be no doubt that the setting sun may rise again to illuminate Abdullah’s rule. Together with Anwar, Khairy believes he can defeat any UMNO leader who tries to challenge him, including the people who are backed by Mahathir himself. While waiting for the time to come, Khairy prepares another important weapon always necessary for any big battle within UMNO – the weapon called money…

Source: http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-e/2005/08/khairy-chronicles_19.htm

Why I Doubt Anwar Ibrahim?

I have just finished reading 3 books namely:

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins and A Game as Old as Empire – edited by Steve Hiatt and the third book is Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus – who was awarded the nobel peace prize for his work in eradicating poverty.

So what do these 3 books have to do with Anwar Ibrahim? Well all 3 give damning statements about how the World Bank and IMF and the likes are key tools for the US to corrupt governments of developing countries in order to gain control of these countries by making them indebted to these financial organizations. It is no wonder Tun Mahathir out right refused any help whatsoever from the IMF as he probably understood their modus operandi.

The first two books are unbelievable, eye popping, jaw dropping, stomach curdling.

“Economic hit men,” Perkins writes, “are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder.”

Now that I am starting to put two ad two together, I really have to question Anwar Ibrahim. Is he fighting for Malaysia or is he fighting for himself? Are his goals to lift Malaysia or is it for Malaysia to lift him? He is now the Chairman of the Foundation for the Future. What does this foundation do? Well read on…

Foundation for the Future Seeks to Promote Democracy in the Greater Middle East
Washington, DC, February 2, 2006

After consultations among civil society representatives and government officials from the United States, Europe, and the broader Middle East and North Africa, it was announced today that Rahma Bourqia of Morocco, Bakhtiar Amin of Iraq, and Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia will serve as the selection committee to appoint the board of directors for the Broader Middle East and North Africa Foundation for the Future.

Why Broader Middle East and North Africa – which incidentally is a defined term, well read on…

Africa Policy Outlook 2006

2006 will help clarify whether the compassionate concern for the African continent, worn like a badge by western leaders last year, is a true determinant of Africa policy, or whether it merely masked other, more “strategic” and less “benevolent” impulses and interests.

In 2006, Africa will witness a new wave of U.S. soldiers landing on the continent for training and other missions, as Washington takes aim at reshaping Africa to better serve America’s security interests. The trend in the Bush Administration’s Africa policy is toward an even greater focus on the so-called “War on Terrorism,” with emphasis on intelligence gathering, securing “ungoverned spaces” on the vast continent, and pre-positioning soldiers and equipment to project force globally and to deter al-Qaeda in Africa. But American involvement in actual peacemaking or peacekeeping missions in Africa is far less likely, even as genocide continues in Darfur, Sudan.

The same Africa policy is equally intended to secure access to West African oil, which the Bush Administration now views as a strategic national interest. Imports of African oil are projected to grow from their current 15 percent of the U.S. total to 25 percent by 2015. The U.S. already imports more oil from Africa than Saudi Arabia, and within a decade it could become a greater source of oil imports than the whole of the Persian Gulf.

And finally.....

Walden Bello who has criticized Tun M, in KL, has this to say of the IMF

" The IMF has always been an unpopular figure in the Third World. But never has its connection to its principal “stockholder” been displayed as prominently as it is today, when the words of wisdom coming from US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus have become virtually indistinguishable.

There is a belief going around industrial and government circles throughout Asia that Washington and the IMF conspired with the banks and speculators to bring about the region’s financial meltdown. The alleged reason: to derail Asia from its march to become America’s strategic economic and political rival in the 21st century. This is, of course, classic conspiracy theory, but it is a sign of the times that it now has the status of fact among economic and political elites that once served as Washington’s staunchest backers in Asia. "

*Copyright 1998 Focus on the Global South

Read the books and come to your own conclusions….. For me, the more I read, the more I doubt Anwar Ibrahim.

2012 conspiracy theory

2012 conspiracy theory

I mentioned in the “What will happen” section that there’s a lack of scientific information coming from well respected sources like NASA. Some people claim there’s a conspiracy theory behind the prophecy to hide it from the public so it doesn’t create mass panic. Now, this does and doesn’t make sense. At first, it sounds like it could be true because I totally agree the government could restrain publications from the NASA as it’s a governmental agency, but I find it weird that this kind of information wouldn’t “leak”.

Do you really think something as big as the end of the world wouldn’t leak from any agency? Keep the NASA apart, do you really think the scientific community would miss something as big as that? When there’s no scientific data about a subject, you really have to doubt.

You’ve probably read a lot of information on websites from people claiming they know more than they should know and that the government is hiding all this information from you. Government is hiding a lot of things from you, more than you probably imagine and they would probably try to hide the end of the world if it was going to happen. But, let’s picture this: The Mayas were there 1000 years before Christ which makes it about 3000 years from now. Do you think someone could hide the end of the world for 3000 years if it was really going to happen and was really that possible and scientific?

I have my doubts.

Pole shift/reversal, the only 2012 end of the world possibility

The only rational “2012 End of world” possibility is actually pole shifting. A Pole shift is a rare phenomenon and is characterized by the north and the south poles swapping places. Such reversals, recorded in the magnetism of ancient rocks, are unpredictable. They come at irregular intervals averaging about 300,000 years; the last one was 780,000 years ago. I wrote an article on pole shift that explains the whole process, have a look: What is that pole shift thing?

Such event could really disrupt our planet that’s true. Imagine the North pole and South pole swapping places: Telecommunications, animals, humans, etc. would all be affected and it would be a really important change. There’s only one thing you need to consider… I’ve read in a lot of different places that a polar shift is going to happen on December 21 2012 and it is totally false:
Polar shift is a process that roughly takes 5,000 years to complete and doesn’t start on a specific date and time. The real truth is that nobody knows when the next one is due.

The process takes time and another myth wants the earth’s magnetic field strength to be near zero during that transition time. It would actually be as strong as it is now but simply a lot more complicated. Once again, it is explained in my What is that pole shift thing? article.

Will I die on December 21 2012?

I can’t tell, the Mayas can’t, Nostradamus can’t and the aliens can’t. On December 21 2012, a comet won’t hit the earth, a pole shift won’t happen instantly and a massive gravity burst won’t happen either. The only thing you can fear is a pole shift and it can take up to 5,000 years to complete…

The Real Story of May 13

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

This is Part One of an article I wrote almost nine years ago, which was published in Harakah, the official media organ of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). History is not something that should remain buried. History is something that should be a lesson to all or us so that we do not repeat the mistakes made by those before us.

In 1968, Umno fanned racial sentiments in a bid to 'unite' the Malays under its banner. Umno realised that the Malays were abandoning it in droves and it needed an issue to reunite the Malays. Further to that, the Prime Minister was being blamed for what Umno perceived as a loss of Malay support and the Young Turks in Umno wanted to also use this issue to pressure the Prime Minister into resigning.

Twenty years later, in 1988, Umno again went into turmoil with the emergence of Team A and Team B, which eventually split into Umno Baru and Semangat 46. Again, just like twenty years before that, the Malays had become disillusioned with the Umno leadership and there was a danger that Umno would suffer the same fate it did in 1969 if the general election was called.

The Umno leadership very cleverly got the Umno Youth and MCA Youth leaders to raise racial issues and bring the country to the brink of another ‘May 13’. This was when that infamous gathering at the TPCA padang in Kampong Baru was held and when Najib Tun Razak, the Umno Youth Leader, raised the keris and threatened to bathe it in Chinese blood.

Of course, this second ‘May 13’ never happened. What did happen instead was that Operasi Lalang was launched and more than 100 opposition leaders and activists were detained under the Internal Security Act. Najib and the MCA Youth Leader, Lee Kim Sai, however, were spared detention, although they were the two main players in the whole episode.

The ploy did not quite succeed though. In the 1990 general election, half the Malays swung to the opposition and Umno lost most of the Malay heartland to Semangat 46 and PAS.

Twenty years on and history is, again, being repeated. It appears like every twenty years Umno takes the country to the brink of a race riot in its effort to 'unite' the Malays and to ensure that it does not lose Malay support. And the 8 March 2008 general election, as well as the recent Permatang Pauh by-election, is proof that Umno has lost Malay support.

“The current situation is a repeat of 1969,” said Umno in its brainstorming session held at the Umno headquarters to conduct a post-mortem of the election results. “Therefore, a 1969 ‘solution’ will also be required.”

This is very dangerous talk indeed. And Umno has been doing nothing but talking dangerously since March 2008, as evident in the recent episode in Penang. Maybe the culprit has since been punished. Yesterday, Umno’s Supreme Council decided to suspend Ahmad Ismail for a period of three years. But the damage has already been done and the suspension can’t turn back the clock. Racial sentiments have already been fanned and Malaysia, again, is being pushed to the brink of a race riot.

Malays, Chinese and Indians need to know how May 13 started. They must be made aware of what May 13 was really all about. They must be made to realise that the current sabre-rattling is nothing but the same ploy that Umno used back in 1968 and 1988 whenever it felt that it was losing Malay support. May 13 was not about race although it is being touted as so. May 13 was about ‘reuniting’ the Malays and about ousting the Prime Minister from office.

To forget history would be to repeat its mistakes. Let us not be taken in by Umno’s shadow-play (wayang kulit). They know they are rapidly losing power and they want to retain power through foul means by raising the spectre of May 13. Malaysians need to be matured and clever enough to reject this ploy. Umno can try, but whether it can succeed will all depend on whether we get suckered into this very dangerous race game.

Let me take you down memory lane and recap what I wrote nine years ago so that we may learn from this dark history and not repeat what went wrong. As follows is what I wrote in Harakah on 24 September 1999.

*************************************************
A REPORTER’S ACCOUNT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN ON THE 13 MAY INCIDENT

The following statement is a factual account of the above-mentioned event given to me by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman (first Prime Minister of Malaysia) during an interview at his residence in Penang in 1972. I requested to discuss the above incident and was surprised when the appointment was given within three days.

His Secretary, a Chinese gentleman, allotted me one hour and advised me not to go into too much detail as this would tire the Tunku unnecessarily. In fact, the interview lasted three and a half hours. Because of the very surprising details provided to me, I think it would be best to report in a first-hand manner based on my notes written immediately after the interview.

“It was clear to me as well as the police that in the highly charged political atmosphere after the police were forced to kill a Chinese political party worker on May 4th, 1969, something was bound to happen to threaten law and order because of the resentment towards the Government by the KL Chinese on the eve of the general election. This was confirmed at this man’s funeral on the 9th May when the government faced the most hostile crowd it had ever seen.

Therefore, when the opposition parties applied for a police permit for a procession to celebrate their success in the results of the general election, I was adamant against it because the police were convinced that this would lead to trouble. I informed Tun Razak about this and he seemed to agree.

Now, without my knowledge and actually “behind my back”, there were certain political leaders in high positions who were working to force me to step down as a PM. I don’t want to go into details but if they had come to me and said so I would gladly have retired gracefully.

Unfortunately, they were apparently scheming and trying to decide on the best way to force me to resign. The occasion came when the question of the police permit was to be approved.

Tun Razak and Harun Idris, the MB of the state of Selangor, now felt that permission should be given, knowing fully well that there was a likelihood of trouble. I suppose they felt that when this happened they could then demand my resignation.

To this day I find it very hard to believe that Razak, whom I had known for so many years, would agree to work against me in this way. Actually he was in my house, as I was preparing to return to Kedah, and I overhead him speaking to Harun over the phone saying that he would be willing to approve the permit when I left. I really could not believe what I was hearing and preferred to think it was about some other permit. In any case, as the Deputy Prime Minister, in my absence from KL, he would be the Acting PM and would override my objection.

Accordingly, when I was in my home in Kedah, I heard over the radio that the permit had been approved.

It seems as though the expected trouble was anticipated and planned for by Harun and his UMNO Youth. After the humiliating insults hurled by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, and after the seeming loss of Malay political power to them, they were clearly ready for some retaliatory action.

After meeting in large numbers at Harun’s official residence in Jalan Raja Muda near Kampong Bahru, and hearing inflammatory speeches by Harun and other leaders, they prepared themselves by tying ribbon strips on their foreheads and set out to kill Chinese. The first hapless victims were two of them in a van opposite Harun’s house who were innocently watching the large gathering. Little did they know that they would be killed on the spot.

The rest is history. I am sorry but I must end this discussion now because it really pains me as the Father of Merdeka to have to relive those terrible moments. I have often wondered why God made me live long enough to have witnessed my beloved Malays and Chinese citizens killing each other.”

This was a conspiracy at the highest level and nothing short of a power struggle, with the ‘Young Turks’ then forming the pressure group. To achieve their ends, they very cleverly used race to make the Malays rise and push the Tengku aside.

Today, they are doing it again. This is dangerous politics. It may backfire and, instead, it may make the Malays rise against the non-Malays, like what happened in 1969 -- a fire raging out of control with no fire extinguisher in sight.

We must never allow our country to be turned into a racial battlefield again. Let politics be issues concerning policies, civil rights, good governance and justice. Let us not allow anyone to bring race and religion into our politics lest we suffer the fate of many countries around us where mass murders of entire families are made in the name of ‘bangsa’ and ‘agama’.

Our Lesson today is...

How the government apparatus conducts itself and the consequences of its policy implementation will upset an individual’s innate sense of justice.

The government pays about RM1.8 billion in annual salaries to teachers. A child is taught moral studies in class but he learns in life that adults condone and conspire to immorality by perpetuating the unfairness and injustice which impacts on Malaysia’s young.

On the other hand, the favoured group is given more than their just desserts without either merit or need. When one is bred to think that privilege is only his rightful entitlement, we would not expect this young person to pay back to society in return.

Our Malaysian education system has been flip-flopped, pushed and pulled this way and that until standards dropped to alarming levels. The passing mark for subjects in public exams have fallen notoriously low while the increasing number of distinctions have risen fatuously high with SPM students notching 14As, 17As and 21As.

With top scorers aplenty, there will not be enough scholarships to go around now that the Education Ministry has decided to put a cap on the SPM, limiting takers to 10 subjects.

Be Grateful That U are MALAYSIAN

Try putting yourself in the shoes of an 18-year-old. This young Malaysian born in 1991 is told that Umno was very generous in granting citizenship to his non-Malay forefathers in 1957. Thus as a descendant of an immigrant community – one should be forever grateful and respect the “social contract”.

Gratitude is demanded by the state while little is reciprocated. Under the NEP – and some say this policy represents the de facto social contract – every single Vice Chancellor of every single Malaysian public university is Malay.

Promotion prospects for non-Malay lecturers to full professorship or head of department are very dim, hence we have the dichotomy of non-Malays predominant in private colleges while correspondingly, the academic staff of public institutions proliferate with Malays.

The civil service is staffed predominantly by Malays, too, and overwhelmingly in the top echelons. The government-linked corporations have been turned into a single race monopoly.

Hence is it any surprise that almost all the scholarships offered by government and GLCs seem to be reserved for Malays?

Youngsters from the minority communities see that Malays are the chosen ones regardless of their scholastic achievement and financial position. Some are offered to do a Master although they did not even apply (but the quota is there to be filled, so these disinterested Malays are approached).

A failed STATE?

Consider this startling statistic: There are more Sierra Leonean doctors working in hospitals in the city of Chicago than in their own homeland. More Malawian nurses in Manchester than in Malawi. Africa’s most significant export to Europe and the United States is trained professionals, not petroleum, gold and diamond.

The educated African migration is definitely retarding the progress of every country in Africa. Today, one in three African university graduates, and 50,000 doctoral holders now live and work outside Africa. Sixty-four per cent of Nigerians in the USA has one or more university degrees.

If we carry out a study, we are likely to find a very large number of non-Malay graduates emigrating to Singapore, Australia and other countries that is proportionately similar to the African exodus.

However the compulsion is different, seeing as how some African countries are war-torn and famished, which is certainly not the case with Malaysia.

The push factors for our own brain drain lie in NEP policy and this needs to be addressed with urgency.

My Thought About the Future Foundation Issue

The Ethics Committee of the World Bank already released documents illustrate the following:

1. An attempt was made by the Bank, PW, and SR to follow due process in resolving the conflict of interest at the Bank. Whether they succeeded in that attempt is the crux of the matter and is addressed in the more recent statement by the Bank and PW.

2. That Riza's raise and external assignment to the State Department were the result of deliberations that took place within the World Bank during the Summer of 2005 and that were finalized in September 2005. Neither Anwar Ibrahim personally nor the Foundation for the Future as an organization (which did not even exist at that point) had anything to do with either her raise or external assignment to the State Department.

3. That the Foundation for the Future did nothing inappropriate. The Foundation did not exist in September 2005. It was an idea that existed on paper and could not have been party to any negotiations of any sort. Once the Foundation was a real institution it was in a position to hire staff and to formally assign Riza to the Foundation and dissolve her association with the State Department which was clearly no longer necessary. Anwar Ibrahim's October 2006 letter as Chairman of the Foundation to the Bank reaffirms SR's mandate to work to build and develop the Foundation (which was the focus of her assignment to the State Department as described in a september 2005 letter between the State Dept. and the World Bank). The letter makes no mention of SR's salary other than to refer to the existing arrangement that had already been made with the State Department.

If people took the time to learn the facts instead of being manipulated by innuendo and conspiracy theories then they would see this smear campaign against the Foundation and Anwar Ibrahim is just a political maneuver being staged to marginalize and discredit the only political force in Malaysia that has a chance to change the system.

While the Malaysian Minister is busy trying to dig up a scandal on Anwar Ibrahim where none exists (Anwar does not even receive a salary as Chairman of the Board of the Foundation) the Malaysian government is descending deeper into an abyss of corruption and decadence.

Talk about baiting and switching the Malaysian public.

Foundation For The Future Issue

The Foundation for the Future was first announced in Bahrain in November 2005 by foreign and development ministers of the broader Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the United States. The Foundation is an independent set-up, involving governments and civil society to support civil society organisations in their efforts to foster democracy and freedom in the broader Middle East and North Africa.

From the onset, the Foundation obtained pledges of US$56 million. Thus far the Foundation only received funds from Turkey, the United Kingdom and Jordan, among others. The US has not disbursed any funds to the Foundation.

I was invited to join the board of the Foundation in mid 2006 together with representatives from Morocco, Kuwait, Iraq, Spain, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Switzerland and Qatar.

The other board members include Kamel Abu Jaber, advisor to the Jordanian Foreign Minister; Dr. Cornelio Sommaruga, former President of the International Committee of the Red Cross; Professor Ibrahim Kallin, advisor to the Foreign Minister of Turkey; and Sandra Day O’ Connor, former US Supreme Court justice.

The first board meeting was convened in Doha, Qatar at the invitation of Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, the Foreign Minister and presently Prime Minister of Qatar on 15 July 2006, and I was unanimously elected as the first honorary chairman. The decision was to set up the headquarters in Beirut.

However, in the Board Meeting on 4 December 2006 in Amman, Jordan, I met the Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelelah Al-Khatib, who endorsed the setting up of the regional secretariat in Amman due to the delay in the Beirut headquarters as a result of the Israeli attack on Lebanon. The next board meeting will convene in 29-30 May 2007 in Bahrain, Lebanon.

I did not appoint Ms. Shaha Ali Reza to the Foundation. She was first assigned by the World Bank through the US State Department to the Foundation in late 2005 before I became Chairman. The executive committee of the decided in mid 2006 to regularise the appointment so that Shaha advises directly from the World Bank and not the State Department.

The board will issue a full statement after the meeting in Bahrain next week. However, due to the incessant propaganda from the UMNO controlled-media, I have decided to issue this statement. If there is no clarification by the media on the matter, the Foundation will not hesitate to institute legal action against the relevant parties.

Anwar Ibrahim
Foundation for the Future Chairman
May 20th 2007

Malaysia's submarine scandal erupts in france

A potentially explosive scandal in Malaysia over the billion-dollar purchase of French submarines, a deal engineered by then-Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak, has broken out of the domestic arena with the filing of a request to investigate bribery and kickbacks from the deal in a Paris court.

Although the case has been contained for eight years in the cozy confines of Malaysia's courts and parliament, which are dominated by the ruling National Coalition, French lawyers William Bourdon, Renaud Semerdjian and Joseph Breham put an end to that when they filed it with Parisian prosecutors on behalf of the Malaysian human rights organization Suaram, which supports good-government causes.

Judges in the Paris Prosecution Office have been probing a wide range of corruption charges involving similar submarine sales and the possibility of bribery and kickbacks to top officials in France, Pakistan and other countries. The Malaysian piece of the puzzle was added in two filings, on Dec. 4, 2009 and Feb. 23 this year.

For two years, Parisian prosecutors, led by investigating judges Francoise Besset and Jean-Christophe Hullin, have been gingerly investigating allegations involving senior French political figures and the sales of submarines and other weaponry to governments all over the world. French news reports have said the prosecutors have backed away from some of the most serious charges out of concern for the political fallout.

The allegations relate to one of France's biggest defense conglomerates, the state-owned shipbuilder DCN, which merged with the French electronics company Thales in 2005 to become a dominant force in the European defense industry. DCN's subsidiary Armaris is the manufacturer of Scorpene-class diesel submarines sold to India, Pakistan and Malaysia among other countries. All of the contracts, according to the lawyers acting for Suaram, a Malaysian human rights NGO, are said to be suspect.

With Najib having moved on from the defense portfolio he held when the deal was put together in 2002 to become prime minister and head of the country's largest political party, the mess has the potential to become a major liability for the government and the United Malays National Organisation. Given the power of UMNO, it is unlikely the scandal would ever get any airing in a Malaysian court, which is presumably why Suaram reached out to French prosecutors.

"The filings are very recent and have so far prompted a preliminary police inquiry on the financial aspects of the deal," said a Paris-based source familiar with France's defense establishment. "There isn't a formal investigation yet. The investigation will most likely use documents seized at DCN in the course of another investigation, focusing on bribes paid by DCN in Pakistan."

The source said police have confined their inquiry to bribery allegations so far and have not looked into the 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman in Malaysia who was a translator on the deal for Najib and his friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, during a visit to Paris.

There have been numerous deaths involving DCN defense sales in Taiwan and Pakistan. Prosecutors are suspicious that 11 French submarine engineers who were murdered in a 2002 bomb blast in Karachi – first thought to have been the work of Al Qaeda – were actually killed in retaliation for the fact that the French had reneged on millions of dollars in kickbacks to Pakistani military officers.

The Malaysian allegations revolve around the payment of €114 million to a Malaysia-based company called Perimekar, for support services surrounding the sale of the submarines. Perimekar was wholly owned by another company, KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd, which in turn was controlled by Najib's best friend, Razak Baginda, whose wife Mazalinda, a lawyer and former magistrate, was the principal shareholder, according to the French lawyers.

"Over the past years, serious cases have been investigated in France by judges involving DCN," lawyer Renaud Semerdjian told Asia Sentinel in a telephone interview. "This is not the first case of this kind that is being investigated. There are others in Pakistan and there are some issues about India. To a certain extent, every time weapons of any kind have been provided, suspicion of violation of the law may be very high."

As defense minister from 2000 to 2008, Najib commissioned a huge military buildup to upgrade Malaysia's armed forces, including two submarines from Armaris and the lease of a third, a retired French Navy Agosta-class boat. There were also Sukhoi supersonic fighter jets from Russia and millions of dollars spent on coastal patrol boats. All have come under suspicion by opposition leaders in Malaysia's parliament but UMNO has stifled any investigation. Asked personally about the cases, Najib has responded angrily and refused to reply.

Despite efforts to bury it, the case achieved considerably notoriety after the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian translator and Razak Baginda's jilted lover, who participated in negotiations over the purchase of the submarines. By her own admission in a letter found after her death, she was attempting to blackmail Razak Baginda for US$500,000.

She was shot in October 2006 and her body was blown up with military explosives by two bodyguards attached to Najib's office after Razak Baginda went to Najib's chief of staff, Musa Safri, for help in keeping her away from him. Not long after being acquitted in November 2008 under questionable circumstances of participating in her murder, Razak Baginda left the country for England. The bodyguards were convicted but no motive was ever established for their actions despite a confession by one which was not allowed in court, but which said they would be paid a large sum of money to get rid of her.

The submarine deal was never brought up in court during a months-long murder trial that was marked by prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge working studiously to keep Najib's name out of the proceedings. A private detective hired by Razak Baginda to protect him from the furious Altantuya filed a statutory declaration after the trial indicating that Najib had actually been the victim's lover and had passed her on to Razak Baginda.

The detective, P. Balasubramaniam, said later that he was unceremoniously run out of Kuala Lumpur. He eventually emerged from hiding in India to say he had been offered RM5 million (US$1.57 million) by a businessman close to Najib's wife to shut up and get out of town. He also said he had met Nazim Razak, Najib's younger brother, and was told to recant his testimony.

In the current complaint in Paris, the issue revolves around what, if anything, Razak Baginda's Perimekar company did to deserve €114 million. Zainal Abidin, the deputy defense minister at the time of the sale, told parliament that Perimekar had received the amount – 11 percent of the sale price of the submarines – for "coordination and support services." The Paris filing alleges that there were neither support nor services.

Perimekar was registered in 2001, a few months before the signing of the contracts for the sale, the Paris complaint states. The company, it said flatly, "did not have the financial resources to complete the contract." A review of the accounts in 2001 and 2002, the complaint said, "makes it an obvious fact that this corporation had absolutely no capacity, or legal means or financial ability and/or expertise to support such a contract."

"None of the directors and shareholders of Perimekar have the slightest experience in the construction, maintenance or submarine logistics," the complaint adds. "Under the terms of the contract, €114 million were related to the different stages of construction of the submarines." The apparent consideration, supposedly on the part of Perimekar, "would be per diem and Malaysian crews and accommodation costs during their training. There is therefore no link between billing steps and stages of completion of the consideration."

As Asia Sentinel reported on April 1, services for the subs are being performed by a well-connected firm called Boustead DCNS, a joint venture between BHIC Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of publicly-listed Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd, and DCNS SA, a subsidiary of DCN. Boustead's Heavy Industries Division now includes Perimekar as an "associate of the Group. PSB is involved in the marketing, upgrading, maintenance and related services for the Malaysian maritime defence industry," according to Boustead's annual report.

Originally Boustead told the Malaysian Stock Exchange that the service contract was for RM600 million (US$184.1 million) for six years, or US$30.68 million annually. However, the contract later ballooned to RM270 million per year. Boustead Holdings is partly owned by the government and has close connections with UMNO.

"There are good grounds to believe that [Perimekar] was created with a single objective: arrange payment of the commission and allocate the amount between different beneficiaries including Malaysian public officials and or Malaysian or foreign intermediaries," the complaint states.