Umno is all about 1PM ?

UMNO is the acronym or the initials of a political party called United Malay National Organisation in Malaysia. You would have thought that Umno was about uniting Malays or fighting for Malay ethnic. The unfolding of recent events in Umno showed that Umno was not really about Malays. Shocking as it may be, this is the truth. Why?

Umno is not about Malays. Why?

As an organisation oriented on Malay ethnic, you can least expect it to have a history of unjustifiably 'hurting' the Malays. You will be most surprised to look at the Malays who have been persecuted, victimised or even criminalised by Umno. Any Malay at any age can fall foul of Umno's iron fist. Just to mention a few below:

Adam Adli- Convicted for Sedition

Anwar Ibrahim- UN: Jailed without Fair Trial

Mat Sabu- Charged for Illegal Assembly, Criminal Defamation

National Laureate. Pak Samad- Ridiculed, Harassed

Zunar- Charged for Sedition

Nik Nazmi- Charged 3 Times for the Same Alleged Offence

Umno is not about Malaysia. Why?

1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a company wholly owned by Malaysian government, sold its energy assets, at a huge loss, to a Chinese company from mainland China, called China General Nuclear Power Corp.

• 1MDB bought the energy assets at RM12.1 billion, plus assuming RM30 billion debts. Hence, the all inclusive cost was RM42.1 billion
• 1MDB sold the energy assets at RM9.8 billion, plus releasing RM17 billion debts to the Chinese company. The all inclusive price was RM26.8 billion
• The sale of the energy assets, Edra Global Energy Bhd, upon completion would represent an immediate all inclusive loss of RM15.3 billion

The ruling regime in Malaysian led by Umno cannot possibly be doing this sale of energy assets in the interest Malaysia. Umno government would rather introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) that has burdened the people with higher living cost and inflation to collect additional RM20 billion from the people in 2015. It is on the contrary willing to give out, 3/4 of what it is expected to collect from the people, to this company from China.

It was funny that the same people antagonised the Chinese and branded them 'pig' and 'communist'. At the same time, Umno would incur a loss at the expense of the Malaysian people to appease the Chinese. Umno is more about China than Malaysia, isn't it?

Umno is not even about Umno. Why?

We once thought Umno was full of itself and it existed to fulfil the selfish interests of its elitists and members. In recent months, Umno has proven itself that it was not even about Umno any more. Look at what happened to the Umno leaders and members, who have been spoken out for the party in relation to several alleged wrongdoings by a party leader. 

Anina Saadudin- Sacked from Umno

Hamidah Osman- Sacked from Umno

Muhyiddin Yassin- Sacked from Deputy Prime Minister post

Shafie Apdal- Sacked from ministerial post

Khairuddin Abu Hassan- Sacked from Umno, Arrested and Rearrested

Mahathir Mohamad- Investigated by Police

What is Umno about?

Umno is now reduced to a party that is about protecting and safeguarding 1PM (Powerful Man). He is the most powerful man in Umno because he has the most cash to buy support. He is the Guinness World Record holder, as the only man on earth, who is made a billionaire by receiving 1 donation. No one else in the history of mankind has achieved this feat before. This is 1 amazing history made in Malaysia.

Umno members and leaders, on the other hand, are happy to support him as long as he constantly dishes out cash to them. Should you be wondering where does he get so much money to hand out in exchange for support, you can search: 1MDB Corruption Scandal. You will get an idea.

MALAYSIAN DREAM ?

In a land that the government claimed to have achieved 'full employment' for decades; many foreign workers were imported due to tight labour market created by economic growth; many 'best in the world' stature including best education, best healthcare, democracy, etc. Yet, the front page of the local newspaper, the Sun, published the below shocking news.

72.2% of the undergraduates prefer to study overseas and not in the local higher institutions. They prefer to remain overseas and apply for Permanent Residence (PR) status upon completion of their studies, and not to return and work in their country.

By definition, undergraduates are the talents of a country, who are academically able to pursue tertiary studies in the universities. A country cannot progress without this human capital. We need these talents to contribute to the advancement of this country. Why have they given up on their own country?

It is shocking to see what has become of this land called Malaysia. No one in the government seemed to pay any attention to this shocking news. Is it because this does not involve any donation?

For every 4 talented Malaysians that you see, 3 of them prefer to migrate out of that country. I wrote this piece (I Just Want to Have A Better Place for My Children) on 17 May 2012. I subsequently shared the feeling of a friend in this article (I Do It for My Children) in 2014. Little did I know that almost 75% of parents in Malaysia might have shared our sentiment. Is this the new Malaysian Dream?

It looks like a reverse of whatever that should be desired by a nation.

Imagine 3 out of 4 children of a mother wish to leave her and may not be returning to her ever.
You cant say that she has taken good care of her children. She must have done something very wrong to push them away.

We know that leaving home is hard for these young undergraduates. Leaving home means that they are separating themselves from what they know best: their families, their friends, their familiar home and lifestyles.

The government of this country must have done something very wrong to push them away. Do you not agree?

I am speechless...

You can read gather more information on the following links:

http://www.theantdaily.com/Main/Survey-M-sian-students-prefer-to-study-overseas-want-PR

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/10/23/msia-losing-talent-as-most-studying-abroad-never-return/

The survey was conducted by Anderson Market Analytics over six months polled students from six local private varsities, four of which are locally-owned and two owned by foreign universities.

Colour Blind - Will you ?

I am a colour blind Malaysian

We, Malaysians, have been living together

We live together not because we fear May 13, 1969

We live together not because we are forced to do so

We live together because we want to!

We choose to live together...

I am colour blind because I choose to be a colour blind.

My country is a country of many colours

A friend of mind shared the above with me. He is a Malaysian and a very proud one too. This friend of mine has been staying in Malaysia happily and is able make this claim without hesitation. He is a strong believer in racial and communal integration. "We need to do more than accepting each others. We must like the diversity and enjoy the differences that we have," he always emphasised.

Are you a Malaysian who is living together with your fellow Malaysians of various ethnic origin because you want to and you choose to do so?

Will you be a colour blind to all racial and religious differences?

Will you choose to be a colour blind?

Lets declare that Malaysians live with each other irrespective of race and religion because Malaysians want to and choose to do so!

Choose to be a colour blind because you want!

Choose to be a colour blind without hesitation!

Come and join together to make this a special Malaysian phenomenon

Be a colour blind in a country of many colours...

Free your mind. See beyond colours...

Shortcut to Billions in Malaysia

Legend has it that there are many ways to create wealth. Every rich man or woman does it differently .....

BILL GATES


Created wealth by innovating software

WARREN BUFFET 


Created wealth by making investments









NAJIB RAZAK 


Created wealth by receiving 1 donation

Many admired how Bill Gates created Windows software and monopolized the operating system of personal computers since the 1980's. Warren Buffet is one of the most respected investment guru on earth who has consistently generated superior returns on his investments.

Najib Razak is the prime minister of Malaysia who is a career politician. He is not known to be an expert in innovation or investment. He received a donation of USD700 million in 2013, amounting to Malaysian Ringgit 2.6 billion, in his personal account from an undisclosed donor for an inexplicable reason. This donation alone made him the top 20 richest billionaires in Malaysia. In the United Kingdom, a minuscule total amount of USD100 million was received by not one but ALL the political parties in 2014.

Despite his overnight fame and wealth, after the exposé by Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report blog, Najib has remained evasive about his new found wealth. The paper trails have indicated that the money might have come from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), after going through several layers of overseas and domestic corporate vehicles. 1MDB which is a Malaysian government investment company.  The Sarawak Report blog has since been banned and blocked in Malaysia although its Facebook page and twitter @sarawak_report are still accessible.

Naturally, Malaysians are very curious as to why this huge amount of money has gone into Najib's personal account. Where did the money come from? Najib and his aides have made not less than 17 responses to a simple question of whether the USD700 million has been transferred into his personal account from 1MDB. The responses are as follows:

You may require Google translate to understand all the responses. You should nonetheless try to Google translate at least a few answers if you have a problem understanding the responses. With due respect, the answers can be hilarious!

Rest assured that you can not find any exact answer to the simple question as to whether the USD700 million has been paid into Najib's personal account from 1MDB. Curiously, it has since been reported that USD650 million of the USD700 million in Najib's account was subsequently re-transferred out of Malaysia to an overseas bank account.

The legend can only continue to highlight that Najib is the 1st person in the world to become a billionaire in his country by getting 1 donation.

This has to be 1 Guinness Book of World Record event!

Rightly or wrongly, you can be an instant billionaire, provided you join the political party called United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in Malaysia, by getting 1 donation or maybe two.

When the Truth is a Crime...

I have not been a fan of Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia, but he made an interesting point lately. He mentioned on 31 July 2015 that it is now a ‘crime’ to talk about 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Although there is no law against anyone speaking about 1MDB, several well known individuals and institutions have been punished for speaking on 1MDB’s mounting debts, questionable transactions and corruption.

Muhyiddin Yassin and Shafie Aqdal were both unceremonially sacked from their respective deputy prime minister and minister posts by the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak for speaking on 1MDB’s problems. They did not disclosed much details on 1MDB but they called for the truth on1MDB to be revealed with an independent and thorough investigation when they were still in the ministerial cabinet.

Muhyiddin made the latest comments on what he knows about 1MDB after his removal from the cabinet. These comments support the revelations made so far by other sources.

Muhyiddin Yassin

Shafie Aqdal

Tony Pua and Rafizi Ramli, opposition members of the parliament of Malaysia, are black-listed by the Malaysian immigration department and banned from travelling overseas. No reason was given for the ban except for ‘instructions from above’. The immigration department comes under the purview of Malaysian home minister, Zahid Hamidi. It is believed that they are penalised for their roles in explaining the intricacies of 1MDB transactions to the people.

Tony Pua

Rafizi Ramli

The publication of The Edge newspaper was also suspended for 3 months after revealing the details of alleged frauds by 1MDB. Zahid Hamidi claimed that The Edge newspaper published untrue news but he could not name which news or any parts of the news that were untrue. You will appreciate how bizarre it is if you are penalised for committing murder but you have not been informed of the very basic information about who is the victim of your murder.

The Malay Mail Online

The Sarawak Report website which has been exposing information on 1MDB’s potential wrongdoings is now blocked in Malaysia. No one can access http://www.sarawakreport.org/ with a Malaysian IP address. The information disclosed by Sarawak Report has been supported by substantial amount of documentary evidence and has appeared to be consistent with the news published by Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Bloomberg, The Guardian newspaper, etc.

Despite the claim of violation of Malaysian national law, the ministry has not explained how is it in violation

As regards the exposé by WSJ, Najib merely told his lawyers to write to WSJ to seek explanation. He did not expressly threaten any form of legal proceeding in the letter itself despite some ambiguous use of legal terms. Unsurprisingly, some local mainstream media played the letter up as ‘legal action’ to bolster Najib’s claim of being wronged. The letter, together with the local media play-up, was more to create a misleading smokescreen to the rural and less informed folks in Malaysia, where support base of Najib’s party is.

Dow Jones & Company, the publisher for the WSJ, has since responded to the request for explanation and said that it would continue to stand by the accuracy of its reports. Najib has remained deafeningly quiet since the WSJ's firm reply. He did not or dared not instigate a legal action despite the fact that he has openly claimed to be wrongly accused by a conspiracy of international media. The local mainstream media has so far remained silent on WSJ’s response as well. [Update] Najib's law firm has recently issued a statement to say that it is looking to seek legal advice from legal firms outside Malaysia to determine the next course of action. The firm and Najib did not know what were they doing all these while despite issuing the legal letter? As suspected, the whole affair with this Hafarizam law firm's letter was merely for local mainstream media spin to create a perception of Najib's innocence.

The Malaysian prime minster has not initiated a legal action against anyone thus far despite his claim of being wrongly accused by the foreigners and political conspiracy. He has neither provided any evidence to show that these news reports and information on 1MDB are untrue, nor showed any proof of documentary tampering by the Edge newspaper or foreign media as claimed by him.

Najib has specialised in making counter accusations against others, backed by local mainstream media spins, to portray a perception of his innocence. He has however failed to provide any evidence of his innocence. Najib is apparently not even able to make simple and straight denials.

DO YOU SEE THE TRAITS OF AN INNOCENT MAN IN NAJIB?

P/S:

• For better understanding of 1MDB crisis in Malaysia, please search or google '1MDB crisis' to know the latest news on the scandal. There is now a whole literature of 1MDB issues on the news which are too extensive for this posting.
• Please search or google '1MDB arrests' to see the latest victims of how whistle-blowers, messengers and critics have been arrested for unsubstantiated or at times even unspecified crime.

The Rise of the Moderates?

I have seen many friends and acquaintances who were worried by the breakup of Pakatan Rakyat (Pakatan).They feared the end of a strong coalition which could challenge the ruling regime, Barisan Nasional (BN) with United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) as its dominant party. The breakup came when Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) declared its intention not to work with Democratic Action Party (DAP) in Pakatan. You cannot have a coalition where the component parties refuse to work with each other. It means the end of any coalition.

Contrary to many worries, the Pakatan breakup appears to be unavoidable in my humble view. My reasoning is as follows:

• Pakatan is a coalition. It is only as strong as the collective strength of all members. The strength disappears when they cannot work together. Pakatan means little without the collective strength. We can not be too attached to the name. It is just a name.
• The objective of most Malaysians is crystal clear. We want a cleaner, fairer and more accountable government. In the absence of Pakatan, we have to move on and look forward to a new coalition or party that can deliver this objective of Malaysians. Where there is demand, there will be supply. Pakatan Rakyat Baru?
• PAS has not sat comfortably within Pakatan all these years. It was the late Nik Aziz who held PAS together and ensured PAS remained a key member of Pakatan coalition. While PKR and DAP are more about social justice, clean government and transparency for all in a multi-racial and religious Malaysia. PAS apparently existed only to advance its Islamic rule in Malaysia at least in the eyes of its current president, Hadi Awang. PKR and DAP are more moderate in nature.
• The fallout between the professionals and Ulamas of PAS is inevitable too. The professionals in PAS are moderate and very inclusive in their national agendas. The Ulamas, on the other hands, share the same thinking as Hadi Awang and prefer to take more extreme stance. They are really 2 different breed of PAS members. The professionals thrived during the leadership of Nik Aziz because he was a clean, fair and moderate leader. The same cannot be said about Hadi.
• A government formed by moderates and extremists pulling at two opposing ends may not last. It would certainly not be good for Malaysia.

The breakup of Pakatan is not necessarily a bad thing. I will go further to submit that the breakup of Pakatan may be a good sign for Malaysian politics in the long run. Why do I have the audacity to say that?

• Malaysians loathe the politics of race and religion that have been practised and exploited by UMNO government. Most Malaysians desire to live together as Malaysians irrespective of color, race and religion. Malaysians have a long history of peaceful moderation. They have never been the aggressor in the region and have been acceptable to adoption of different religions, languages and cultures over time. This can be traced back to as far as the Malacca Sultanate.
• UMNO government has inherited the 'divide and rule' administration based on race and religion from the British and wishes to perpetrate it to stay in power and to gain from its own corruption, abuse and injustice. UMNO has grown more extreme than what it used to be in order to secure its stranglehold on the people. The Malaysian desire is no longer in line with the wish of the extremist UMNO.
• The battle line for a new government of Malaysia is much clearer than before. It has been drawn by the sequence of events manoeuvred by the extremist UMNO over the years. It is the moderates against the extremists now! 
• Only a moderate government which practices clean, just and transparent administration can fulfil the Malaysian desire. Its not about race. Its not about religion. Its about policies!
• We can find many moderate leaders in PKR, DAP and PAS's professionals.
• Many leaders in PKR, especially the newer generations, are moderate in nature. Nonetheless, PKR has a few ex-UMNO leaders who have unfortunately carried over the bad practices from UMNO. This smaller group may be the spoiler for PKR to be a truly moderate party. Anwar Ibrahim, as a key figure in PKR, must shed the shadow of Umno in PKR. PKR will grow stronger without the menace of ex-UMNO leaders in it.
• DAP has always been a relatively small party up to recent years when there were a flock of younger and moderate leaders joining the party. These younger leaders have captured the inspiration of young voters in the last 2 generation elections. DAP has lesser issue with extremist leaders due to its previously smaller size and generally moderate senior leaders. However, DAP must firmly deal with its state-level warlords and racial bigots to truly be a party for all Malaysians. 
• The professionals in PAS in the name of Gerakan Harapan Baru, PasMa or any other name form a large pool of moderate and talented leaders.
• UMNO leaders are mostly extremists by nature who do not hesitate to resort to violence. There are very few true moderate leaders in UMNO. By now, we are absolutely certain that there is no hope to see UMNO or BN turning moderate for Malaysia.

We will continue to see the core of UMNO/BN claiming to champion racial and religious cause while they continue to pursue corruption, abuse and injustice. PAS Ulamas are likely to join force with UMNO, with PAS focusing on Islam and UMNO focusing on Malays. How can UMNO that claims to champion the rights of Malays for the past 58 year still be making the same claim today? That means UMNO has failed for the past 58 years and yet they want more time. It simply does not make any logical sense.

On the other end, we may well see the rise of a truly moderate coalition from the ashes of Pakatan. We can expect to see the moderates congregating to fight for Malaysia purely on clean, just and transparent policies. There is no necessity to resort to politics of race and religion in this new moderate force. This must finally spell the end of race-politics for the good of the nation!

Do we have enough moderate voters to turn Malaysia into a moderate and progressive nation? I know the answer is YES. That may still not be sufficient.

We know that this UMNO government has been gerrymandering and manipulating voters' list, including phantom voters, 'citizenship for vote', etc. We also know that this UMNO goverment will not stop practising these abuses any time soon. The next tough question is whether we have enough moderate voters to win the next election despite all these abuses of voters' list?

WILL THE MODERATES RISE TO THE OCCASION?

The moderates from all walks of life must stand up and be counted if they do not want their country to become Myanmar or North Korea. Spread the words of moderation. Help bring more Malaysians to the side of moderates. It is time for the moderates to regain this country from the hands of corrupt extremists. The time is now! Think moderate; Eat moderate; Sleep moderate; Vote moderates!

May the moderates rise and form the strongest coalition to challenge UMNO/BN in the next election.

Notes:-
Extremists and moderates are used in this article to largely mean the following:

Extremists have their extreme views on race and religion. Many of them join politics for the sole purpose of money. Corruption is accepted as a way of politics.

Moderates are inclusive and have a balanced views on race and religion. Many of them join politics for a sense of achievement and they have the will to do good to the society and country. They do not and must not join politics for money. Corruption is rejected.

Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right

Everyone in Malaysia would have by now learned about the on-going squabbles between the country's former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad and the current prime minister, Najib Razak. Any criticism against the leadership in the Malaysian ruling regime, Barisan Nasional (BN,) which has been dominated by United Malays National Organisation (Umno), rarely gained any traction with the local mainstream media or the Umno fraternity. The words of Mahathir, Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister, however did catch the attention of the mainstream media and Umno members.

Mahathir has been bluntly highlighting a few pertinent issues concerning Najib and the country:

• The money that has disappeared from Najib's brainchild, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), to the amount of RM27 billion. 1MDB is carrying a total debt of RM42 billion, more than 10% of Malaysian total gross external debts, but it only owns RM15 billion assets. 1MDB management deliberately skipped a meeting called by Public Account Committee (PAC) constituted by the Malaysian Parliament without giving any reason recently.
• The murder of Altantuya with C4, which was an explosive restricted only to military use, when Najib was then the Defence Minister in charge of the military. A 'kangaroo court' was convened after much delay but the real perpetrator was never identified. Altantuya was rumoured to be in a relationship with Defence Minister Najib. She was involved in the negotiation of the purchase of Scorpene submarines by Malaysian Government from France.
• Najib claimed to inherit wealth from his father but Najib's family members have since denied that. Najib himself could not explain the wealth and lavish lifestyle of his wife, children and step-son.  It has been too coincidental that someone else always happened to be willing to pay for the exorbitant expenses.
  
  

Najib has not been able to give any credible answers to the questions posted by Mahathir. Najib's response can at best be described as beating around the bush.

Despite his failure to explain Mahathir's unsettling questions, Najib and his large pool of local and foreign advisers have been aiming the cannons at Mahathir too. Najib's team has claimed numerous failures during Mahathir's administration. The following are several of the failures regurgitated:

• Malaysian Government lost billions when it tried to manipulate or control foreign exchange rates and tin price.
• Bumiputra Finance Malaysia which was owned by Malaysian Govt lost billions in a series of uncreditworthy loans extended.
• Failure of Mahathir's privatization polices which resulted in eventual bail-outs of the privatized companies, including those owned by Mahathir' son, by the government costing billions.

Mahathir admitted that there were flaws in the policies during his time as the prime minister and he lost the country's money. He was quick to point out that the money was lost due to failure of a venture or investment. The money did not disappear the same way as how money has gone missing in the case of 1MDB (no pun intended).

I submit that the policies during Mahathir's administration were flawed and bias. He practised authoritarian tactics and oppression against the opposition leaders. Corruption was rampant during his time and his policies bred corruption. It can be argued that Mahathir was 'wrong' in many instances when he was in power. On the other hand, there are too many questionable issues that show Najib is currently 'wrong' too.

Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right!

Najib seems to be interested only in pointing out how Mahathir was 'wrong'. He has been unable to answer or put right any of his own 'wrong'. Umno leaders should learn that by saying someone else is ugly does not make you more beautiful than you are. They can learn a lot by reading wikipedia like ordinary people.

More importantly, the revelations by Mahathir and Najib have made it evidently clear to Malaysians that this government formed by Umno, from the leadership of Mahathir in the 1980's to Najib today, has been meddling in corruption, abuse of power and malpractices to the detriment of the country. Despite a change of 3 leadership within the period, this Umno government has not changed its traits and still behaved in the same way today. A change of the leadership will not do any good to Malaysia because it is still the same Umno government that is corrupt, abusive and unethical. The only solution for a betterment of Malaysia is to change the government. Malaysia is in desperate need of a clean, accountable and just government.



You are advised to search for '1MDB scandal' or '1MDB Sarawak Report' should you wish to know more about 1MDB. There is a very long list of suspected wrongdoings in 1MDB which is beyond the scope this posting.