Malaysia under Mahathir – the lost ethical years

 

The Mahathir years are best exemplified by a reckless disregard for public duty in the public interest. Public opinion was totally ignored because with the concentration of power at the centre, there was no need even to pretend to care.
For example, a senior officer, in possession of a large sum of money that he could not explain satisfactorily and who was the subject of an Anti-Corruption Agency investigation, was rewarded with an appointment to a high public office that symbolised the pinnacle of integrity: a disdain for public opinion at its worst.
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Nowadays, we hear a great deal about the “social contract” in the context of the Constitution. There is no such contract relating to our so-called special rights and privileges.
There is, however, an unwritten and unspoken social contract between the government and the governed that is implicit in the duty of the government to ensure that in all its undertakings, the interests of the people will be of paramount consideration.
This is a sacred duty in the performance of which a government renews its commitment to govern justly and conduct its affairs with integrity, putting the people and their welfare, irrespective of race or creed, above all else.
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As we move on, let us regard the Mahathir years as the lost ethical years that are best forgotten, as we do a bad dream.
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The New Straits Times Online……..

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Asia Sentinel – Malaysia Faces a Succession Crisis

 

The country, already battling inflation that is expected to jump from around 2 percent to 5 percent this month, a new 10-year high, and judicial corruption, now faces a succession crisis. Many analysts believe Najib is far from an ideal or even practical choice. Besides allegations of corruption, he is tainted by the gruesome murder of a 28-year-old female Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was shot before being blown up with military grade explosives in a jungle just outside Kuala Lumpur. One of his closest friends and his advisor, Abdul Razak Baginda, 48, has been charged with abetting the murder along with two Special Action Force officers, who are also Najib’s bodyguards, who have been charged for the murder. All three face the death penalty if convicted.

The trial, which opened a full year ago, seemed at the start to be a relatively open-and-shut case. But it has droned on month after month, seemingly with no conclusion in sight, raising suspicions that it is deliberately being delayed to allow public indignation to die down in preparation for a verdict that would let the three off the hook. The case is tinged with overtones of the possible involvement of political figures at the very top of the national power structure. Altantuya had flown to Malaysia to confront Abdul Razak Baginda, the of a local political think tank, to demand as much as US$500,000 from him after he had jilted her following a whirlwind romance in Hong Kong, Paris and other cities, during which he acknowledged that he had already given her tens of thousands of US dollars.

In an affidavit submitted last December just before the start of the trial, Baginda said he contacted Musa Safri, Najib’s aide de camp, to deal with Altantuya. Musa subsequently introduced Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, one of the accused, to Baginda. But despite Baginda’s assertions, Musa has been neither questioned nor called as a witness, nor has Najib been questioned. The trial seemingly has been designed by both prosecution and defense to exclude every mention of the two despite multiple questions over their possible involvement.

Asia Sentinel – Malaysia Faces a Succession Crisis

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Asia Sentinel – Malaysia Faces a Succession Crisis

 

The country, already battling inflation that is expected to jump from around 2 percent to 5 percent this month, a new 10-year high, and judicial corruption, now faces a succession crisis. Many analysts believe Najib is far from an ideal or even practical choice. Besides allegations of corruption, he is tainted by the gruesome murder of a 28-year-old female Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was shot before being blown up with military grade explosives in a jungle just outside Kuala Lumpur. One of his closest friends and his advisor, Abdul Razak Baginda, 48, has been charged with abetting the murder along with two Special Action Force officers, who are also Najib’s bodyguards, who have been charged for the murder. All three face the death penalty if convicted.

The trial, which opened a full year ago, seemed at the start to be a relatively open-and-shut case. But it has droned on month after month, seemingly with no conclusion in sight, raising suspicions that it is deliberately being delayed to allow public indignation to die down in preparation for a verdict that would let the three off the hook. The case is tinged with overtones of the possible involvement of political figures at the very top of the national power structure. Altantuya had flown to Malaysia to confront Abdul Razak Baginda, the of a local political think tank, to demand as much as US$500,000 from him after he had jilted her following a whirlwind romance in Hong Kong, Paris and other cities, during which he acknowledged that he had already given her tens of thousands of US dollars.

In an affidavit submitted last December just before the start of the trial, Baginda said he contacted Musa Safri, Najib’s aide de camp, to deal with Altantuya. Musa subsequently introduced Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, one of the accused, to Baginda. But despite Baginda’s assertions, Musa has been neither questioned nor called as a witness, nor has Najib been questioned. The trial seemingly has been designed by both prosecution and defense to exclude every mention of the two despite multiple questions over their possible involvement.

Asia Sentinel – Malaysia Faces a Succession Crisis

Read:

Graft in Najib’s Defense Ministry ?

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Wither Malaysia, under BN ?

AFP: Malaysia’s Petronas to open books to public: report

 

Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas will open its books to the public after a decision to hike fuel prices by more than 40 percent set off days of protests, news reports said on Monday.

The reports come with a major opposition party still calling for as many as 100,000 people to take to the streets at a rally early next month amid growing anger over the cost of fuel in Malaysia, which is heavily state subsidised.

Nor Mohammed Yakcop, the country’s second finance minister, told the New Straits Times newspaper that Petronas could open its ledgers to the public as soon as next week as the government looks at cutting the fuel subsidy.

AFP: Malaysia’s Petronas to open books to public: report

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Corruption at critical level – watchdog – Forbes.com

Malaysia’s Proton needs strategic partner – Khazanah – Forbes.com

 

Malaysia’s national carmaker Proton needs a strategic partner to be competitive and penetrate global markets, the government’s investment arm, Khazanah, said on Friday.

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Khazanah’s managing director Azman Mokhtar said although Proton’s domestic operations had improved with the introduction of new models, an alliance with a major company would help expand its sales in other countries.

‘In terms of the operations and the cyclical nature of Proton, it has made improvement without doubt. However, the more pertinent question is on the strategic and structural side,’ Azman told reporters.

‘Proton needs to basically integrate more into the global supply chain in the global market. Our exports have not reached the export penetration that we wanted,’ he said.

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Azman said the strategic alliance idea should be revisited and that it was a ‘no brainer’ that Proton had to integrate into the global system to produce economies of scale that would enable it to be competitive.

‘The question is how and under what conditions,’ he said, without ruling out that a future deal ‘may include equity ownership and partnership.’

He said any partnership with the national automaker would need to be done in a way that would preserve its brand and distribution networks.

‘In this industry, size matters, scale matters. We need to be part of a bigger family in a way that works for us.’

Azman said he hoped an alliance would be formed within the next five years.

Proton, which has been burdened with a reputation for poor quality and unimaginative models, has struggled in recent years to cope with increasing competition in a deregulated market.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said the government would gradually reduce protection measures for Proton and urged it to improve standards and become more competitive.

Malaysia’s Proton needs strategic partner – Khazanah – Forbes.com

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A timely rebuke to Umno for its arrogance, corruption and shrill racist rhetoric

 

What happened on March 8 was merely a very timely rebuke to Umno for its arrogance, corruption and shrill racist rhetoric.

If Umno hopes to head off its decline, the party needs to acknowledge the limited appeal of its political language, not to mention its ham-fisted strategy and policy implementation. Perhaps the party is content surviving off support from amongst rural Malays, Sabah Muslims and the south of the peninsula?

But if Umno wishes to reclaim the west coast – the economic backbone of the nation – the high-octane and ugly promotion of Malay rights has to be jettisoned: alienating valuable vote-banks doesn’t make electoral sense.

Furthermore, the skewered execution and the preponderance of politically well-connected Malay beneficiaries have also angered the majority of urban Malays who feel that they have the requisite ‘know how’ whilst lacking the all-important ‘know who’.

A shared agenda?

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What leadership should be, but is not in Malaysia’s politicians

Wither Malaysia, under BN ?

Malaysia, 22 years of cavalier governance

 

Tunku Abdul Aziz, who authored the book Fighting Corruption: My Mission in 2004, said there was a time when Malaysia arguably had the best and most respected judiciary in the region.

However, it had since come to the point when “lawyers could choose their judges” and companies preferred to settle their disputes outside the country, said Tunku Abdul Aziz, who is the president of the Caux Round Table Malaysia, a US-based business organisation promoting good governance.

“It is so important that the judiciary be made incorruptible. When the people do not trust the A-G and the judiciary, then you fall into this terrible situation,” he added.

He said a Cabinet minister, whose function would only be to advise the Government on constitutional matters, should hold the post of A-G.

Tunku Abdul Aziz also urged the people to act as watchdogs that both “bark and bite”.

Declaring that he was “not anti-government but only anti-corruption”, he said: “I believe that ethics really forms the foundation of good governance, without which even the best rules and procedures come to nothing.”

“Instead we compromise our institutions, our enforcement is derisory. We have no ethics at all. It has been completely eroded by 22 years of a cavalier approach to governance,” he added.

Take decision to prosecute off A-G’s hands, Government urged

Read:

Graft in Najib’s Defense Ministry ?

Corruption at critical level – watchdog – Forbes.com

Mismanagement of government funds

What leadership should be, but is not in Malaysia’s politicians

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Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says road signs should use Bahasa Malaysia and Jawi

 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said all local councils and state agencies should also use Jawi in road signages and billboards to promote the script which he described as a national heritage.

“This has to be done … I don’t think a particular ministry or government department would lose its identity if they incorporated Jawi into their letter heads.

“Also, Jawi can be used together with Bahasa Malaysia on road signs and in advertisements,” he said when launching the Jawi Warisan Bangsa (Jawi Our Heritage) programme at Sek Datuk Abdul Razak near Sg Gadut near here.

Use Jawi, councils and state agencies told

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Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says corporate companies must seek religious experts’ advice before launching promotions

Extremists fragmenting Malaysian society and destroying the Malaysian identity