Dr. M Bakri Musa-Make Way for Anwar Ibrahim

April 1, 2019

Soon after his coalition’s stunning victory in the 14^thGeneral Election of May 8, 2018, Prime Minister Mahathir admitted that he had not expected it, thus the “thick manifesto with all kinds of promises.” Today nearly a year later and at 93, Mahathir, aware that he is getting “very old, and very soon I will weaken and I will die,” is a man in a hurry.

Mahathir does not need to confess, apologize, or lament. His dislodging the Najib Administration was a monumental achievement in itself. Mahathir’s victory, expected or not, saved Malaysia. Having achieved that, it is time for him now to exit. Delaying would only risk tarnishing that singular achievement.

Mahathir should not wait to be asked as no one would. That is not our culture. By the time we want our leaders to go, rest assured that the message then would not be polite, much less subtle. Mahathir does not need any reminding on that.

Mahathir has nothing more to prove or achieve. Besides, if he could not accomplish his goals back then when he ruled Malaysia unchallenged for over 22 years, and when he still had his vigor and wits, the probability that he would achieve them now is nil. Time to declare victory and exit stage left.

There is little need for him to pit his debating prowess against bright young Oxford undergraduates, preach to Africans on beating corruption, or be bestowed the Highest Imperial Honor from the King of Konga.

Were he to linger, there is a real danger that old bad habits and repressive patterns, Mahathir Version-1 as it were, might reemerge. That would not be good for him or Malaysia. Already many of his utterances of late, especially his resorting to stereotyping, are verbatim quotes from his 1970 book, The Malay Dilemma.

Delaying would risk having to do it in a chaotic or precipitous manner. Malaysia cannot afford a leadership crisis. After the disasters of Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak, that would not be a worthy legacy.

Mahathir produced two dud leaders in Abdullah and Najib; with Najib– an insatiably corrupt one too. Mahathir thus should not pick or be given the choice to pick his third successor.

Hand over power to Anwar Ibrahim, and do it now. That was the consensus before the election among the coalition partners even though not stated in their manifesto. That was also the expectation of voters. Mahathir validated that by seeking Anwar’s immediate post-election royal pardon and his subsequent entry into Parliament via the Port Dickson by-election.

No one in Mahathir’s current cabinet is capable or worthy of leading Malaysia. I had high hopes in the beginning for Wan Azizah. She has the smarts. However, her performance has been underwhelming. Perhaps her heart is not in it, believing that she is merely warming the chair for her husband. Or perhaps (intuiting from her displays of piety) she believes that a community led by a woman is doomed for failure, as a prophetic tradition would have it.

Muhyiddin Yassin too, like Mahathir, is on borrowed time. He should be spending the remaining precious little time he has with his loved ones. He has been in politics and government long enough. He had not shined in all those years; he is unlikely to bloom now.

As for that character who cannot keep his advice to himself, Azmin Ali was not even born in Malaysia. Not many countries would allow a non-natural-born citizen to be its leader. As for his Emotional Quotient (EQ), an important attribute in a leader, Azmin is in conflict with all his siblings, as well as other family members. Don’t expect him to get along with his cabinet colleagues.

Azmin has yet to demonstrate his competence or relevance as a minister in charge of the economy. His bio touted him as an economics graduate from the University of Minnesota, which on the surface sounds impressive, except that he did not attend its prestigious flagship Minneapolis campus, instead one in the ulus.

Mahathir would be picking his third dud of a successor if he were to choose Azmin.

Anwar Ibrahim remains the most capable to lead Malaysia. The Anwar of today is a very different person from the one who tried to upstage Mahathir in the late 1990s. After being incarcerated twice on trumped-up charges, Anwar has emerged not only intact physically (except for his back ailment) but also stronger, wiser, and more tolerant. A lesser soul would have long ago crumbled or capitulated.

Anwar’s decency and humanity showed at the interview he gave on BBC soon after his pardon. He was serene, with no sense of bitterness towards those who had done him wrong. I saw a Nelson Mandela in him. Through his sense of humor I also saw a man of deep faith. No mortal who has gone through what he did could have such an equanimity as Anwar showed during that interview.

He was not at all riled up by the tough questions, as on the sensitive matter of his relationship with Mahathir – his erstwhile tormentor and the man he would like to succeed.

I have a special empathy for Anwar. He was a few years my junior at Malay College and I have many fond memories of supervising his evening class-prep hours. Our children too are of comparable ages. The thought that struck me when Anwar was hauled to jail for the first time with his infamous black eye after being bludgeoned by the-then Chief of Police was:  How would I react if I had been Anwar?

What could replace those precious years of missing your children develop into and go through their turbulent adolescence and then mature into young adults without your being there lending support and guidance? And most of all, to savor those precious memory-building moments that could never be replicated.

I had an earlier intimation of this inner, steely Anwar. Soon after his first conviction was reversed on appeal and while he was out on bail awaiting trial for his secondsodomy charge, Anwar was allowed the rare privilege to travel abroad. At a private dinner at Stanford given by his hosts, l asked him whether his being given that special dispensation was a divine sign for him to seek his freedom in the West, a view shared by many at the table. After all many great leaders had done that.

My suggestion startled him.

“Oh no! I could never do that, Bakri!” he replied in his soft voice. He had a mission for his country and was determined to complete it regardless of the personal price or burden. I was humbled by his response.

That was the depth and strength of Anwar’s commitment. It is time for Mahathir, having done his part, to let his hitherto protégé, Anwar Ibrahim, move Malaysia forward.

 

A collective Malay shame and tragedy

November 5, 2018

by Dr.M Bakri Musa  |www.malaysiakini.com

 

COMMENT | Reading the US Department Of Justice’s (DOJ) criminal indictment of November 1, 2018, relating to 1MDB, as well as its earlier (July 2016) civil forfeiture lawsuit on assets allegedly linked to it, I am struck by three singular observations.

First is the appalling avarice of the alleged culprits; second, the utter impunity with which they conducted themselves; and third, the sheer stupidity of the man without whose authority those shenanigans would not have been possible – Malaysian Official 1, as referred to in both charges. The world now knows him as Najib Abdul Razak. While he is not facing any DOJ charges as yet, in Malaysia he faces several criminal ones that could put him in jail for the rest of his life.

This 1MDB heist is by far the most complex and largest in terms of monetary value. The sheer hubris of the perpetrators to think that they could get away with it. As for Najib, he is not terribly bright, just wily enough to know that his fellow ministers and UMNO leaders could be bought cheaply with the loot from 1MDB.

As for his rise in UMNO, that too is more the consequence of Malay culture. Malays are suckers for terhutang budi, an excessive sense of gratitude. With Najib, it was for his father Abdul Razak Hussein – Malaysia’s second Prime Minister who died unexpectedly while in office in 1976.

 

Had Najib not been a Bin Razak, he would be but a middling civil servant, at best. Think of it; had his Bin Razak status been ignored, or the powerful had not been terhutang budi, Malaysia would have been spared much grief today, and a whole lot less debt.

Najib Razak and his Master Yoda

The trail of financial liabilities of 1MDB, though massive and painful, is at least quantifiable. Not so the associated lost opportunities. Had the billions not been squandered on luxuries in London, Beverley Hills, and New York or funding soft porno movies, but on improving national schools and Felda settlements, we would be that much closer to the goals of Ketuanan Melayu and Vision 2020.

This being Malaysia, the dangerous race factor is never far from the surface. That is the most pernicious and consequential legacy of 1MDB. Already there are ugly rumours, and not just within UMNO but also other segments of the Malay community, blaming those smart, greedy Chinese once again taking advantage, if not outright cheating, of sweet, innocent Malay leaders.

Even Najib is now distancing himself from Jho Low  This potential explosive component is the most dangerous and incendiary, and one that cannot be unquantified.

 

Even uglier and more painful to express publicly is this: Malays are downright ashamed by the outrageous behaviour of their corrupt leaders. Not stated but obvious is that all those charged in Malaysia are Malays, not ordinary ones but top leaders.

Malaysians must thank Mahathir for appointing Tommy Thomas as the attorney-general. It is amazing what you can achieve when you put a premium on honesty, integrity, and competence. Yes, there were many Malays who complained of Thomas not being a Malay or Muslim, as well as on his less-than-polished Malay.

Regardless, he put to shame his predecessor, Mohamed Apandi Ali. He, together with Najib, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim and others, is but an unmitigated disaster and gross embarrassment to Malays and Muslims, bar none.

UMNO new Leadership devoid of Honour and Integrity

By normal reckoning, Apandi should have been impeached. Again in a perversion of values, Najib made him a Tan Sri, and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong agreed. Like it or not, to many non-Malays as well as Malays, the likes of Najib and Apandi represent the best that our community could offer. That hurts!

UMNO’s Bro Azeez Mamak Rahim

As for those other champions of Ketuanan Melayu, their goals would be achieved that much faster and more efficaciously if they would first get rid of these characters in their midst.

It is good to be reminded that with DOJ’s filings, a pivotal defendant in its criminal case has already pleaded guilty; with its civil (case), at least two have agreed to settle.

Much can be deduced from the local reactions, and even more so from the lack of same among some notable quarters. It is not surprising that simple kampung folks still believe Najib despite those charges as well as the boxes of gold and cash hauled from his residences. They still believe that the money was for them!

What stretches one’s credulity is that UMNO leaders too bought Najib’s snake oil, and they included many lawyers and accountants, as well as an Oxford graduate and even an Ivy League PhD! That is the greatest Malay shame and tragedy.

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M BAKRI MUSA, a surgeon in California, is a frequent commentator on Malaysian affairs.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

Shafee Joins Najib Razak Liars’ Club: READ ON:

September 10, 2018

 

Have you heard the one about the Prime Minister and the one billion dollar donation from an Arab Royal (no strings attached)?

Well, here’s another even taller story.  The chief lawyer to the aforementioned Prime Minister has admitted after publicly claiming it was “nonsense” that he had after all been paid RM9.5 million by Najib Razak out of money stolen from 1MDB.

Earlier he had denounced Sarawak Report for exposing it and threatened to “see Anwar in court” for suggesting he had been bought, has now admitted the payment was in fact entirely true.

Shafee had never imagined, of course, that BN could lose the last election and that all the forces of law and order would then be unleashed to investigate the whole affair. With the proof and documentation now presented by the public prosecutors in open court the lying lawyer has had to acknowledge the truth at last.

He should be stripped of the right to practice immediately and thrown off the defence team for Najib Razak, which attempted to gag the entire proceedings, accusing none other than Sarawak Report of falsifying information on grounds of bias.

However, Shafee still thinks he can explain his way out of the situation with a laughable tale of woe. The RM9.5 million was an act of kindness for a friend who needed a new house for his growing family, he said yesterday. What a big family it must be!

Because of this tear-inducing situation the sharp suited lawyer had decided to tot up bills owing to him from UMNO for whom he had worked for simply years without getting round to pressing for payment. Perhaps he thought UMNO was short of money?

Shafee goes on to explain that he therefore took an opportunity of a “chance meeting with” his close friend and confidante, Najib Razak, to raise the matter with him out of the blue.  Why he had never done so on all the previous occasions when they had hunkered down together, for example to discuss how to manage the supposed allegations by one Saiful Bukari against Anwar and then strategise Anwar’s prosecution, is not explained.

After Shafee had brought it up on this unspecified occasion Najib immediately paid ou,t the lawyer’s latest story continues – but not from UMNO’s various offical funds, which you would expect to be the case given Shafee claims it was for accumulated official legal services or as he put it:

“Cases that were assigned to me and my firm ranged from election petitions to other serious litigations involving UMNO and BN.  I remember undertaking litigation works on behalf of UMNO and some other clients in relation to the mega damages in defamation matters”

Najib paid Shafee out of his own bank account instead (from money that Najib says he thought was donated from the Arab Royal, but has also now admitted came from 1MDB instead).

Strangely, Najib did not pay the money in one cheque.  As Sarawak Report originally correctly reported, Shafee received one payment RM4.3 million in 2013 and a later payment of RM5.2 million in 2014. That RM5,200,000 received in February 2014 came just a fortnight before the Appeal Court overturned the earlier acquittal of Anwar, after Najib had specially brought in Shafee to handle the prosecution case.

Shafee still says this was not a payment for those services however.  He still claims that he did that bit of work for UMNO for free – or rather he claims he did it “for the country”.

Pascal Najadi, the grieving son of the murdered banker Hussein Najadi, former Chairman of AmBank, has pointed out that the payment in September 2013 came just a month after his father was shot dead.

 

Najadi has claimed that his father had attempted to make a police report and to notify the banking authorities about the mysterious billion dollar payments that had entered Najib’s account at his former bank shortly before his assassination.

Can you spot Lawyer Shafee Abdullah who had mysteriously appeared at the hospital?

He also says that Shafee had mysteriously appeared at the scene as his father’s body was transferred to hospital and had aggressively taken over the handling of affairs, including a swift burial before he could reach his father’s side. He has asked if the two matters might be connected and who paid Shafee to turn up at the mortuary to take control?

Malaysians have been left to digest Shafee’s own explanation of events and the fact he has admitted now to lying in public about the whole affair. In the end they will have to see how he fares in court.

Jho Low And The China Issue

July 19, 2018

by Sarawak Report

http://www.sarawakreport.org/2018/07/jho-low-and-the-china-issue/

They seek him here and they seek him there, but best bets are back on China.  Indeed, earlier today, a Hong Kong radio station reported that Jho Low had most recently fled back from Hong Kong into China, where it claimed he has now been detained pending Dr Mahathir’s visit next month.

Certainly, Malaysia’s newly reinstated veteran leader has made clear he is champing at the bit to get to see the Chinese President, since there are plenty of highly pertinent issues he wishes to discuss, albeit embarrassing to China.

 

Xi Met Mahathir during his visit in 2013,

 

These, of course, relate to a series of multi-billion dollar mega-projects that Chinese state controlled companies signed up to with the previous premier, Najib Razak, star patron of the man on the run, Jho Low.

All of them have been frozen by the new government, which has been issuing toe-curling statements confirming everyone’s suspicions that the contracts were prime examples of super-corruption, which the Chinese had been prepared to pander to in return for digging its economic tentacles into Malaysia and cementing a strategic control over the region.

They include two pipe-line deals in East Malaysia with the China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB), which the Finance Ministry recently disclosed had already received 88% of the agreed payment two years early and when only 13% of the work had been completed.

The Finance Minister and his team have not minced their words when indicating their firm suspicion that the reason for this outrageous outlay was that the project were being used as a front to channel money to repay billions of dollars of debts owed by Najib’s notorious multi-billion dollar slush fund 1MDB.

Likewise, the grossly inflated East Coast Railway, contracted by Najib to China’s unfortunately named China Communications Construction Corporation – or CCCC (C4 was the explosive used to murder a young woman in a particularly murky case linked to Najib and the has become synonymous with cover-up and corruption in Malaysia).

It was Sarawak Report which exclusively revealed leaked documents back in 2016 that showed how this C4 contract also was inflated by 100% at the last moment, following negotiations with Najib to again write of debts and liabilities connected to 1MDB and Jho Low.  The exact repayment details over the next decade were written into a secret annex to the contract, which on the surface had provided merely broad brush calculations to justify the increased expenditure.

Throughout the period when these contracts were being drawn up the already fugitive Jho Low was based in Shanghai, and it is generally agreed that he was acting as Najib’s agent to use the Chinese to get the prime minister off the hook financially and politically after the United States Department of Justice published the exact details of the 1MDB theft in July 2016.

In other words, to save his own skin Najib proved willing to tie up his country in a mountain of debt and obligation to its neighbouring predatory super-power.

Numerous other Chinese funded projects were likewise put underway, in particular the evironmentally catastrophic Forest City, deemed to provide a helpful financial boon to the Sultan of Johore.  Not only was the development a perfect conduit for Chinese wishing to export cash, the project envisaged providing citizenship to a million new immigrants.

READ ON:  https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2018/05/375032/embracing-common-future

Mahathir and his reformist allies in the new Harapan government are naturally furious at all these thefts and deceptions and are demanding a re-negotiation with China, should these projects go ahead at all.  However, the entire episode represents a humiliating debacle for China, which like the rest of the world had mistakenly placed its bets on the politial survival of the unmasked kleptocrat Najib.

President Xi Jinping will hardly relish the prospect of the extent of his country’s bad behaviour and complicity in corruption being paraded on the world stage and it makes Malaysia’s top wanted man into a useful bargaining chip to help save face in the up-coming diplomatic wranglings and renegotiations.

The Long Arm of the Law will get at him shoot.

It remains to be seen if China will hang on to Malaysia’s wanted man, who can tell all over Najib’s kleptocratic dealings (and China’s own involvement) or bargain a deal that includes the renegotiation of key projects in Malaysia’s favour, in return for a polite silence over the more embarrassing aspects of China’s corrupt part in propping up Najib?

Malaysia has its strong advocate in the trenchant Mahathir, but it appears China has a valuable hostage in its hands.

Malaysians reject fear tactics and opt for change

May 12, 2018

 

by Chandran Nair

The Financial Times

A first ever opposition victory signals voters’ disgust with corruption

Millions of Malaysians woke up on Thursday (May 10) to a new reality.

With the unexpected victory of Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope), Malaysians have overcome their fear of change and voted out the Barisan Nasional (National Front), after more than 60 years in power. The people have seized an opportunity to reshape their country after years of underachieving and feelings of shame.

Pakatan Harapan should work to create a new system of politics that does not distinguish between races, ethnicities and religions. It needs to restore meritocracy in the civil service and it needs to start reforming the country’s national development policy so that it serves all disadvantaged Malaysians equally.–Chandran Nair

Malaysia may have elected the world’s oldest Prime Minister in Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, aged 92, but it has also elected its youngest ever MP at 22 years old, and chosen its first ever female Deputy Prime Minister.

For the first time since independence, power will be transferred between political parties. Only Singapore has remained under single party control for longer: its People’s Action party has governed since 1959, before the country was independent.

This recent election should restore faith in democracy, at least a little, at a time when it is now common to talk about “democracy in retreat”. The truth is that many Malaysian reformers worked tirelessly and peacefully for years with little reward until now. It is also important to note that power is changing hands without incident, a testament to the endurance of state institutions despite allegations of corruption and legal manoeuvres aimed at keeping the ruling party in power.

Malaysia is perhaps the most culturally diverse country in its region, with a mix of Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnicities. Four of the world’s major religions have a vibrant presence: Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. There is also a thriving Sikh community.

It is also wealthy, behind only Singapore in South-East Asia. It is well-educated, with a sizeable middle-class workforce proficient in English. The country really should be much more of a player on the world stage, but it has not capitalised on its competitive advantages. In addition, pride in the country has been hammered hard in recent years and many professionals have left.

Much of the credit for this change goes to Dr. Mahathir, perhaps Malaysia’s most well-respected and revered politician. In Malaysia, the deck is heavily stacked against the opposition. Opposition parties are denied coverage in the press and television. Leaders are often harassed, if not arrested, by the government. Dr. Mahathir’s decision to come out of retirement to stand as the Head of the opposition gave Pakatan Harapan the strength to go toe-to-toe with the government. He was not someone who could be threatened or thrown into jail.

Dr. Mahathir is not perfect, of course: he also harassed the opposition during his previous tenure as Prime Minister. But he has apologised for his past mistakes and has promised to give up his prime ministerial position to his former nemesis and current ally Anwar Ibrahim within two years.

But this result is also about outgoing Prime Minister Najib Razak, who pushed his luck and ultimately went too far.

Corruption has always been a problem in Malaysia, but the 1MDB scandal is the worst the country has ever seen. Lurid stories about bribery and money laundering have embarrassed Malaysia on the world stage. Malaysians were used to poor business practices and dirty money in politics, but this brought shame to the nation.

Perhaps Malaysians needed to face the stark choice between someone as discredited as Mr. Najib and as revered as Dr. Mahathir before they would vote for change. But at least it has now happened.

 

This election saw voters reject politics based on ethnic, racial and religious divisions. Mr. Najib’s campaign tried to capitalise on the old division between the Malays — the bumiputra — and ethnic minorities. He routinely tried to instil fear in the majority by arguing that Pakatan Harapan would be far more sympathetic to the Chinese and Indian minorities. Pakatan Harapan inherits a country with many problems, including stagnating wages, a bloated civil service, unethical business practices and declining education standards. But, several immediate steps come to mind.

First, Pakatan Harapan needs to clean up the 1MDB scandal. If Malaysia resolves this problem within the Rule of Law, which Dr. Mahathir has stated he is committed to, it would restore international confidence in the country and allay fears about the state of the public coffers.

Pakatan Harapan should work to create a new system of politics that does not distinguish between races, ethnicities and religions. It needs to restore meritocracy in the civil service and it needs to start reforming the country’s national development policy so that it serves all disadvantaged Malaysians equally.

A Malaysian society and economy structured along these lines would give any economy in South-East Asia, if not the entire continent, a run for its money.

http://www.global-inst.com/ideas-for-tomorrow/article/2018/malaysians-reject-fear-tactics-and-opt-for-change

Azrene Soraya Ahmad on Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor

May 11, 2018

Azrene Soraya Ahmad (Daughter of Zero Lady of Malaysia)  on Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor

by Azrene Ahmad

Bismillahirahmanirahim. Today (May 9, 2018) marks the end of an era of tyranny that many have prayed for. I grew up looking up to these two individuals, loving them and respecting them. There was a time when I would have walked through the fires of hell and back for them. As I grew older, I saw the selfishness and greed of one above all else.

I experienced firsthand emotional, physical and mental abuse at the hands of the one on the left. I witnessed firsthand the same abuse she caused onto the one on the right. I witnessed many trespasses, deals and handshakes these two made for the benefit of power and to fuel their appetite for greed. I witnessed the side deals made behind the back of the one on the right.

The amount of money in brief cases exchanging hands and being spent like water not for the benefit of the rakyat but to be spent like water on jewels, bribery of officials and used in the pursuit of gaining more power. Shamans, witch doctors, aesthetic doctors and the like walking the pathways of my home for one reason or another but mostly to bring to heel and gain dominion over their peers and over their family members, even to cause harm on those who were audacious enough to cross them.

The numerous offshore accounts were opened to launder money out of the country for their personal spending. The steel safes full of jewels, precious stones and cash amassed. Being made a cash mule or even crystal shoes mule carrying these quietly into and out of the country was no fun either, let me tell you. The countless attempts to sell me into marriage to the highest bidder or even persons with the highest position that will be able to help them gain political and social advantage.

The greed, avarice and pride that grew with each step that was gained closer to the top position. Nothing could stop their reign of terror and yet I stayed out of loyalty and duty. When this terror was then focused on me and became too unbearable a burden to carry, I decided to leave. Thus began my self imposed exile from this unfortunate family.

When I married the man of my choosing after exhausting all ways of trying to convince them to release me from my bond, my new family unit was harassed and exposed to countless cruel, intolerable, degrading treatment at the hands of one Rosmah Mansor and her collaborators. Unchecked, she engaged different government machinery, civil servants, media and members of Parliament to harass the family. Many other creative methods too were used to terrorise us and shut all ways of providing for the family and our children.

Najib Razak : “Too scared of his bed partner to exercise any semblance of mercy”, says Azrene Soraya Ahmad

Throughout all of this and despite numerous attempts to seek help from the Prime Minister it was all to no avail. In fact, he covered his wife’s tracks instead. The one person who could have helped, refused to do so and turned a blind eye and a deaf ear. Too scared of his bed partner to exercise any semblance of mercy.

Just as he was too scared to stand up for the rights of the people when he realised something malignant had creeped into 1MDB but instead this family resorted to committing this disgustingly treasonous act of stealing from their people billions of dollars which they proceeded to use not just as their personal coffers to the detriment of the people but to bribe, extort, silence, maim, and kill.

 

Azrene Soraya Ahmad (Rosmah Mansor’s Daughter)

The day I left home, I left you a warning. That one who has been elected into office has power only at the will of the people. They are there to serve the people, not the other way round. There will come a reckoning when the people will punish you for your trespass on them. There will come a day when God will punish you for your trespasses the very people you swore to protect.