Emotional blackmail won’t wash, Najib

Free Malaysia Today

Najib forgets that many of the people who are disgusted with his rule are the young

COMMENT

Why is Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak reminiscing about his father, Tun Abdul Razak? Is it because he wants to remind us of the past in the years after Merdeka or is he savouring the moments before Malaysia undergoes its most defining moment in her history since Independence?

Najib should be aware that very few of the older generation care for the way he (Najib) has led Umno/BN and that few of the things most of us valued since Merdeka, like justice, equality and respect, have been upheld by BN.

Najib said of his father, “Among the things I learned from him was on how to be patient and not to be too power-crazy.

“My father told me that he was afraid of absolute power. He was willing to make way for others to lead Umno after Datuk Onn Jaafar resigned as Umno president as he felt that he was not ready to be the number one in the party at that time.

“I don’t think such values are practised now as there are many power-crazy people who do not mind undercutting others, just to stay above the rest.”

Najib must be living in cloud cuckoo land. All he does has been about remaining in power. What does he call the Perak debacle when he allegedly paid various people, including VVIPs to do his bidding?

There are the other states too; the civil service appointment in Selangor was supposed to topple the state goverment, the Sarawak state elections and more.

Today, Najib talked about how his father taught him patience. But how many of the old are listening? Many of those who still remember his father, Abdul Razak do not have fond memories of his involvement and careful manouevering of the May 13 incident.

They may praise Abdul Razak for Felda, but it is his son, Najib, who has reduced this organization to a pitiful version of this once mighty outfit.

Saturday July 9 will be Malaysia’s defining moment. By and large, we are a peaceful nation and we do not spill over onto the streets just because we are displeased with something.

If anything, we are very reticent about revealing our true feelings and would rather take the ‘tidak-apa, sabar lah’ attitude, rather than talk rationally and discuss with those who have courted our displeasure.

Perhaps this is our failing – the failure to properly engage with others around us. Is this because of our culture? Or our upbringing? Or is it the Asian values which we are proud of and which we practise in our daily lives which are the complete opposite of those ‘westerners’ whom we feel hold nothing back? Why is it that when we protect our ‘face’, we are prepared to be trampled on or trample on others?

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Ex-US envoy: Najib running scared

Free Malaysia Today

A clean and fair elections would mean the end of Najib and his ruling coalition, says John Malott.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former US ambassador John R Malott believes Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s “is running scared” given his guile handling of Bersih.

Malott, who was Washington’s envoy here from 1995-98, in an opinion published in the Wall Street Journal today said a clean and fair elections in Malaysian would mean the end of Najib and his ruling coalition.

“Bersih’s main issue is not freedom of assembly but the fairness of Malaysia’s democratic process. Bersih’s backers ask how anyone can be opposed to free and fair elections.

“It’s an easy question to answer. The United Malays National Organisation (Umno), of which Najib is president, is the longest continuing ruling party in the world, and it is running scared.

“Many observers of Malaysian politics believe that electoral reform will lead to the ruling party’s defeat, and that is why Umno is afraid of Bersih,” he said.

Malott also accused Najib of undermining the authority of the King when he backpedalled on his promise to provide a stadium for Bersih to hold its July 9 rally if it agreed to call of its planned street protests.

“Najib has undermined the authority of the king, who gave Bersih and its concerns credence by meeting with its leadership and calling for a negotiated solution”.

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Dirty treatment for a clean cause

Free Malaysia Today

Despite all the dirt thrown at Bersih, the movement has emerged cleaner than the tainted powers that be.

COMMENT

Shamefully desperate. This best describes Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is going all out to finish off election watchdog Bersih 2.0.

Applying all the dirty tactics in the book, Najib sought the help of his cousin-cum-Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, and got Bersih 2.0 declared as an illegal outfit.

Then, there were claims that Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan was the beneficiary of illegal funding including from controversial currency speculator George Soros.

It did not end there. The police claimed it found a bag full of the yellow T-shirts with the word Bersih on it, Molotov cocktails and other weapons days ahead of the July 9 rally.

Still unhappy with the people’s show of support towards the rally, Najib has ordered the police to apply for a court order and arrest the 91 individuals including Ambiga, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang should they set foot in certain parts of Kuala Lumpur.

All that could be done to tarnish the image of Bersih 2.0 and cast doubt on its “Walk for Democracy” rally was being done by Najib and his team. Yet, all that failed to brainwash the people who staunchly support Bersih 2.0.

Utterly desperate, Najib’s last attempt was to “instruct” the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to interfere, which the former dutifully did, urging that the rally due tomorrow not happen on the streets because of the chaos it might lead to.

Bersih 2.0 respectfully abided by the King’s request to not take to the streets, not realising that the “powers that be” were not trustworthy.

Bersih 2.0 agreed to hold the rally in a closed-door environment and identified Stadium Merdeka as the preferred venue, due to its historical significance, that is, being the site where the country’s independence was proclaimed by the country first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

But the Stadium Merdeka management refused to entertain that request from Bersih 2.0, giving reasons that the stadium was already booked for July 9.

Passing the buck

While the tug-of-war goes on between Bersih 2.0 and Stadium Merdeka, Najib watches from afar, pleased that he succeeded in giving Ambiga the run-around for a venue, passing the buck of dealing with an illegal organisation to the police.

The latest scenario has the Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar telling Bersih 2.0 to seize the “golden opportunity” offered by the government for the rally to take place indoors – but best they do it outside Kuala Lumpur.

“Malaysia is a big country. Why do you want to hold it in the heart of the city which could potentially become chaotic? Please listen to my advice,” Ismail said at a press conference at the federal police headquarters at Bukit Aman.

Meanwhile, Ambiga is adamant that the rally will take place at Stadium Merdeka.

So intense has the situation become that with the people’s support towards the “Walk for Democracy” growing by the day, so has Najib’s fear of not enjoying control over Putrajaya, come the 13th general election.

The police crackdown, the clampdown on public transport to prevent supporters of the rally pouring in to lend support plus a series of manipulation adopted by Najib have all failed to scare Ambiga from going ahead with the “Walk for Democracy”. This former president of the Malaysian Bar remains focused on the objective behind the rally, which is to reform the electoral system.

Provoking the people into street riots is not Ambiga’s agenda. To make sure the nation is “free” of corrupted influences during elections is what Bersih 2.0 is working so hard to achieve.

But then, as history has shown, fighting for the truth is always painful and difficult. The case with Bersih 2.0 is no different. Its office was raided and the now symbolic yellow T-shirts seized.

Still, Najib was not satisfied. He turned to instilling fear in the people, which was done with the arrest and re-arrest of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) activists under the Emergency Ordinance, one of them being Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, the good doctor who dethroned veteran politician S Samy Vellu from his Sungai Siput constituency seat in the 2008 general election.

A humble Malaysian poet, A Samad Said who supported Ambiga’s call for a reformed electoral system was also taken to task over a poem he dedicated to Bersih 2.0 and its efforts to weed out manipulation at the polls.

Using the monarch

Still, the vendetta against Bersih 2.0 was far from over. Threats to her life aside, the well-intentioned Ambiga became the target of hate by the “powers that be”. To the ultra-Malay group Perkasa and Umno Youth, they had the task of foiling the July 9 rally and that too by holding counter-rallies of their own on the same day of the rally.

While Umno Youth has pulled out from organising a rally, Perkasa mouthpiece Ibrahim Ali who is infamous for being crude and brute, says his rally is on and that too at Stadium Merdeka, failing which it will take place at Stadium Titiwangsa, that too for free since Perkasa is an NGO and is not “flush with cash”.

Despite all the damage done to Bersih 2.0 and the July 9 rally, the people however are in no mood to swallow whatever venom the government “servant” Radio Televisyen Malaysia has been spitting against the “Walk for Democracy”.

That too failed to garner Najib the desired results. Now completely desperate, he made the final move, that of asking the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to come to his rescue.

So on the night of July 3, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin sent out a message that street demonstrations bring more harm than good, albeit the original intention being good.

Trusting Najib to handle the rally “problem” in the best possible way, the monarch urged “the Barisan Nasional government to carry out everything that is entrusted to it by the people in a just and wise manner”.

The problem is that it is this very mandate of the people that for 53 years had been sacrificed for personal agendas by these so-called leaders.

Now that the Bersih 2.0 clarion call has been made for changes to the electoral system and the people too have agreed, the insecurity facing Najib and the rest of the BN leaders might just turn fatal.

Dealing with the “Walk for Democracy” in such a seedy manner has earned Najib nothing but disgust as far as the Human Rights Watch (HRW) is concerned.

Its deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, said none of the demands made by Bersih 2.0 warranted a spate of arrests including using the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) and deploying the army on the day of the rally.

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Wajah sebenar UMNO-BN

Kepada sesiapa yang belum mengenali UMNO dan BarisanNasional, inilah peluang terbaik untuk melihat sendiri wajah sebenar kerajaan yang telah mengisytiharkan rakyat jelata sebagai musuh.

UMNO-BN juga jelas memaparkan diri sebagai pimpinan yang memandang enteng terhadap rakyat dan sanggup memperkudakan apa sahaja demi mengekalkan kuasa yang dimenangi dalam pilihanraya yang kotor, tidak adil dan tidak bebas.

Kerana itulah UMNO-BN bermati-matian mahu mempertahankan amalan dan sistem pilihanraya yang kotor, jelek dan penuh kebejatan mereka sudah tidak mampu menang dalam pilihanraya yang bebas, adil dan bersih.

Matlamat jijik itu telah menghalalkan cara mereka yang penuh dengan penipuan, pembohongan dan perlakuan zalim. Semuanya itu kerana takut menghadapi perhimpunan aman damai Bersih yang dijadualkan esok.

Jika ada yang masih ragu-ragu tentang kejijikan UMNO-BN, buktinya terserlah di sini.

Setelah berminggu-minggu menohmah, mencaci, membenci, menabur fitnah terhadap Bersih, tiba-tiba Yang di-Pertuan Agong bertitah mahu pihak kerajaan berunding dengan penganjur perhimpunan aman itu bagi mengekalkan keharmonian dan kestabilan negara.

Bermula dengan titah Yang di-PertuanAgong itu, satu harapan baru telah bertukar menjadi tekanan, penindasan dan kongkongan terhadap rakyat jelata oleh kerajaan UMNO-BN hingga ke saat ini.

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BERSIH: Rakyat M'sia turut berhimpun di 24 bandaraya

Dengan pihak berkuasa meningkatkan tekanan menjelang perhimpunan di Stadium Merdeka esok, BERSIH 2.0 Global meminta rakyat Malaysia di seluruh dunia supaya turut berhimpun pada masa yang sama, sebagai tanda sokongan kepada pilihan raya yang bebas dan adil.

Dalam kenyataannya, BERSIH 2.0 Global, menggesa supaya perhimpunan diadakan serentak di 24 bandaraya di 15 negara di Eropah, Asia Timur, Australasia dan Amerika.

"Di mana pun berada, kita hendaklah memakai baju-T kuning serta membawa sepanduk, belon dan plakad kuning bersama slogan menyokong pilihanraya yang bersih dan adil di Malaysia," kata wakil gerakan global itu.


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BERSIH tetap berhimpun di Stadium Merdeka esok

Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (BERSIH 2.0) tetap akan berhimpun di Stadium Merdeka esok.

Dalam satu kenyataan yang dimuat-naikkan di laman sosialnya di Facebook, BERSIH 2.0 berkata tidak kira sama ada kerajaan memilih untuk menjadi munasabah ataupun tidak, orang ramai teguh dengan pendirian melaksanakan hak mereka sebagai rakyat yang patriotik.

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PERKASA DAN PERCACAI UMNO TUNGGU PENDEDAHAN SETERUSNYA

Skandal Scorpene: Gelombang Perancis bermula

LAPORAN kemas kini tiga kumpulan hak asasi Malaysia, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) menjangkakan tuntutan mahkamah berkenaan rasuah yang difailkan ke atas syarikat senjata api tentera laut Perancis DCNS akan didengari di mahkamah terbuka dan perbicaraan akan bermula pada Mei atau Jun ini.

Ini akan membuka jalan bagi rakyat Malaysia untuk akhirnya mendapatkan akses kepada butiran yang boleh dipersoalkan mengenai perjanjian kapal selam RM6.7bilion yang ditandatangani oleh Kementerian Pertahanan mereka pada tahun 2002, dan terus dirahsiakan oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

DCNS merupakan vendor kapal selam tersebut dan Najib telah dituduh memberi keuntungan kepada teman rapatnya, Razak Baginda dengan komisen 114 juta euro melalui perjanjian tersebut.

“Terdapat bukti kukuh mengenai rasuah dan antaranya adalah maklumat baru mengenai rasuah baru yang didedahkan semasa penyiasatan.

“Sebahagian daripada ini boleh menjadi sesuatu yang sensitif atau memalukan kepada kerajaan Malaysia tapi ini adalah sebahagian daripada proses untuk membantu pembayar cukai Malaysia mendapatkan semula wang mereka yang hilang melalui perjanjian korup,” kata Pengarah Urusetia Suaram, Cynthia Gibrael kepada Malaysia Chronicle.

Pada Disember 2009, Suaram memfail tuntutan awal terhadap DCNS di mahkamah Paris untuk ‘rasuah aktif dan pasif, pertukaran untuk pertolongan dan penyalahgunaan aset syarikat’ selepas gagal membuat sebarang kemajuan dengan kerajaan Malaysia, yang enggan memberikan sebarang butiran walaupun tidak henti-henti didesak oleh ahli-ahli pembangkang di Parlimen.

Perjanjian yang dipersetujui antara Najib yang merupakan Menteri Pertahanan ketika itu, dan DCNS melibatkan penjualan dua kapal selam Scorpene dan satu kapal selam Agosta kepada kerajaan Malaysia.

Di bawah konvensyen OECD 2000 di mana Perancis merupakan ahli, mana-mana individu rakyat Perancis ataupun syarikat Perancis yang didapati terlibat dalam perjanjian korup dengan kerajaan asing boleh dihukum 10 tahun penjara dan didenda 150,000 Euro.

Keputusan ini memberikan ruang terhadap permohonan Suaram untuk mencuba dan mendapatkan kembali wang pembayar cukai yang hilang melalui transaksi yang salah.

“Kami telah memohon agar hakim siasatan untuk mempengerusikan perbicaraan terbuka. Ini akan membuat perbicaraan itu lebih bebas dan kami pasti akan mendesaknya untuk mengarahkan lebih banyak penyiasatan dan siasatan yang lebih terperinci,” kata Cynthia dipetik.

Sememangnya, seorang hakim yang dilantik kerajaan Perancis mungkin kurang neutral memandangkan DCNS yang berpengaruh ini merupakan salah satu syarikat terbesar di Perancis.

Seks dan pembunuhan C4 Altantuya

Aspek sensasi dari perjanjian taruhan tinggi ini adalah pembunuhan rakyat Mongolia berusia 28 tahun, Altantuya Shaariibuu, seorang penterjemah dan perantara yang dipercayai bertindak sebagai orang tengah kepada Razak Baginda dan syarikat Perancis tersebut.

Dia dibunuh di Kuala Lumpur dengan bahan letupan C4 di hutan cerang di Shah Alam setelah dia dikatakan cuba mengganggu Razak untuk bahagiannya daripada komisen tersebut.

Dua daripada bekas pengawal Najib telah dijatuhi hukuman gantung bagi pembunuhan itu, tapi perbicaraan mahkamah mereka telah dikecam sebagai tidak adil.

Bekas-bekas polis itu mendakwa mereka dibayar RM100,000 untuk membunuh Altantuya, tetapi testimoni ini telah ditolak oleh hakim perbicaraan Malaysia, yang juga menangkis segala usaha oleh peguam pembela untuk bertanya tertuduh, siapa yang memerintahkan mereka untuk membunuh Altantuya.

Akhbar Perancis – La Liberation melaporkan bahawa si rupawan Altantuya, yang boleh bercakap empat bahasa termasuk Russia, memberitahu kedua-dua pembunuh itu bahawa dia mengandung dan telah merayu agar dirinya tidak diapa-apakan sebelum mereka menembaknya di kepala, mengikat C4 di tubuhnya dan kemudian meledakkan bahan letupan yang hanya tersedia untuk tentera di Malaysia.

Seorang penyiasat persendirian yang diupah oleh Razakmenyatakan bahawa Najib yang bertemu Altantuya di pameran berlian di Singapura, dan mereka mempunyai hubungan sebelum beliau ‘melepaskan’ Altantuya kepada Razak.

Tetapi Altantuya akan dipertonjolkan dalam perbicaraan Perancis itu, bahagian yang lebih besar dari perbicaraan itu akan berpusat kepada kapal selam dan kos transaksi antara DCNS dan kerajaan Malaysia.

Kos perjalanan Razak dan Altantuya 2.5 juta Euro

Kemungkinannya, di antara saksinya adalah bekas pengurus pentadbiran dan kewangan DCNS, Gerard-Philippe Menayas, yang telah disoal siasat oleh polis Perancis melibatkan kes serupa di Pakistan. Gerard telah mengaku mempunyai bukti untuk menyokong sogokan yang terlibat dalam perjanjian Malaysia tersebut.

Pada mulanya, Amaris, anak syarikat DCNS dan Thales, telah disyaki membayar komisen sebanyak 114 juta euro kepada sebuah syarikat Malaysia bernama Perimekar, yang diterajui oleh isteri Razak.

Namun, maklumat terkini menunjukkan bahawa bukan Armaris tetapi kerajaan Malaysia yang telah membayar 114 juta euro kepada Perimekar, untuk membolehkan syarikat Perancis itu memintas konvensyen OECD.

Perlu diambil perhatian bahawa ia bercanggah dengan penjelasan yang diberikan oleh Timbalan Menteri Pertahanan, Zainal Abidin Zin di Parlimen pada tahun 2006 di mana Zainal mengatakan bahawa kerajaan Malaysia yang telah membayar US$100 juta komisen bagi perjanjian untuk membeli tiga kapal selam tersebut.

Sementara itu, dua bukti baru yang telah ditemui, termasuk bayaran 30 juta euro oleh DCNS kepada salah satu syarikatnya sendiri dan bayaran 2.5 juta euro kepada perantara yang masih tak dikenali.

“Para penyiasat kami masih menyiasat perantara tersebut tetapi kami mendapati bahawa sebuah syarikat bernama Gifen telah ditubuhkan di Malta oleh seseorang bernama Jean-Marie Boivin untuk memudahkan pemindahan kewangan bagi tujuan membiayai perjalanan Baginda dan Altantuya,” tambah Gabriel.

* Rencana ini dipetik dan diterjemah dari Malaysia Chronicle.