2 Terrible News in 1 Day

A shiny day in Malaysia on January 29, 2016 started peacefully until it was rudely interrupted by the shocking news from the Attorney General of Switzerland (Swiss AG) that USD4 billion might have been misappropriated from Malaysian state companies. It was discovered during the Swiss AG's investigation into the dealings of Malaysian state owned, 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad). 1MDB is the brainchild of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He personally oversees its activities. It is a case involving bribery, public office misconduct and criminal mismanagement. The media release of the Swiss AG is disclosed below:

 You can also read about the news on the Financial Times webpage.

Do you wonder how much USD4 billion is? It is enough to fund all the kids in the USA to learn computer science in schools. Yes, you hear me right. It is enough to fund the computer science education in the schools of the USA with over 300 million population. Malaysia, on the other hand, is a country with less than 30 million people.

President of the USA, Obama has to seek approval from, opposition party, Republican-led Congress for the budget. That means Obama has to provide in great details the basis of this USD4 billion budget to boost learning of computer science in the schools.

Malaysians will certainly wish that they can have the equivalent 'checks and balances' to prevent abuse, corruption and leakages in their country.

On the same day, adding insult into injury, the authority in France officially indicted a French company and its former president, Bernard Baiocco, for bribing Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. You can find screenshots of the news below:

You can  visit http://www.asiasentinel.com/politics/french-charge-scorpines-boss-malaysia-scandal/ for the full news, but it has since been blocked in Malaysia. If you are in Malaysia, you will have to read the news in this alternative webpage.

While the news from Switzerland and France caused a stir among Malaysians over the credibility of their prime minister, the 3rd terrible news came right after the weekend on February 1, 2016. Singaporean authorities have seized a large number of bank accounts as part of their investigations into alleged money laundering and other offences related to the same Malaysian state investment fund, 1MDB. Singapore has made it clear that it does not tolerate the use of its financial system as a refuge or conduit for illicit funds. The news was reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Wall Street Journal webpages. You can also refer to the screenshots below:

Malaysians know that USA is also investigating the illegitimate affairs of 1MDB. They wonder if the prosecutors in the USA would be as impartial as those in Switzerland, France and Singapore. Najib Razak tried to appease President of the USA, Barrack Obama by agreeing to TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement) on behalf of Malaysia. TPPA is championed by Obama to promote the economic benefits of American companies and to check the power of China in Asia. We shall see if the prosecutors will be influenced by the decision of Najib to sign up TPPA. United States of America... We are waiting!

Don't Let Umno Kill Democracy in Malaysia

United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the dominant ruling party in Malaysia, is incapable of practising democracy any more. You cannot expect Umno to practise democracy as a ruling party in Malaysia when itself can not practise democracy.

There is no democracy in Umno. Why?

With Najib Razak taking supreme power and authority as its president, you cannot have democracy in Umno. He delayed the party election for 18 months from June 2015 on the excuse of strengthening the party before the next general election in Malaysia. The fact was that the next general election (GE14) was only due 36 months later. That also meant he would delay Umno party election again for another 18 months before the GE14 on the basis of preparing for the next general election. In total, 2 postponements amount to at least 36 month delay.

It would have been understandable if the party election was only a few months away from the country's next general election. A postponement could be reasoned in that case.

Umno is supposed to have a party election every 3 years (or 36 months). Najib's double 18-month postponements would deprive Umno of one full 3-year term to elect its new leaders. Najib has effectively 'killed' democracy in Umno. Umno can not even practise democracy in its party. How to trust this party to practise democracy for the country?

Malaysia is now governed by a party that does not have a democratic election. That is a de facto North Korea, isn't it? Taking a cue from the death of democracy in Umno, Malaysians should expect new laws and regulations that will curtail or render an election meaningless in Malaysia. If the newly and hastily passed National Security Council (NSC) Act is anything to go by, Najib is determined to press on and push Malaysia into a 'no-election' country. The much anticipated general election, GE14 that is due in 2018, may not happen at all.

BN is the ruling government dominated by Umno; PR is the opposition coalition 

Looking at the chart above, you can perhaps guess why Najib does not want GE14 in 2018 to happen.

Is everyone in Umno happy? That does not seem to be the case. However, any member who speak up would be sacked or kept in cold-storage. A vocal Umno member was even arrested and prosecuted. Najib is simply not listening to Umno members.

Where is Najib's support base in Umno despite his brutality? Cash is King. That is what Najib believes in and is practising. He has been using money to buy support in Umno. Money has kept him in power. Najib has made it clear that he valued unquestioning loyal people over 'smart' people. Cash decides in Umno politics and not good policies or governance. In Umno, democracy is for sale.

If Malaysians want democracy, they can not allow a party that does not appreciate or exercise democracy to rule the country. Does that not tantamount to making Malaysia, a North Korea 2.0?

Lack of interest, apathy and indifference is not an option for Malaysians. Do not undernourish democracy. Do not let Umno 'kill' democracy in Malaysia. 

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.