Najib steering Malaysia back to authoritarian ways

Anwar Expects Further Crackdowns Under New Malaysian Leader – WSJ.com

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Monday again warned that the imminent rise to power of rival Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will likely provoke a further crackdown on popular dissent in the economically struggling Southeast Asian nation.

Speaking in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in Bangkok, Mr. Anwar said: “I think we can clearly see a trend developing. Already we can see what Mr. Najib’s rule will be like.”

In the past week, Malaysian authorities have shut down two opposition-run newspapers, effectively preventing them from reporting on the run-up to three by-elections on April 7, which will provide a partial test of Mr. Najib’s national support. On Monday, policed seized DVDs the opposition was using as part of its election campaign, and last week riot police used teargas and water cannons to prevent Mr. Anwar from addressing his supporters.

Mr. Najib will likely become premier in the next few days after current Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hands in his resignation to Malaysia’s king on April 2. Already a war of words is emerging with Mr. Anwar, arguably Mr. Najib’s most potent foe after the opposition alliance broke the ruling National Front’s customary two-thirds majority in elections last year.

Their deepening struggle threatens to overshadow the Malaysian government’s efforts to offset its steepest recession since the Asian financial crisis of the 1990s. Some economists predict the economy could contract by as much as 4% this year.

The government this month unveiled a $16.7 billion stimulus package to be spent over the next two years.

In addition to the newspaper closures — which will be in effect for three months, according to the Malaysian government — several senior members of the ruling National Front coalition have also accused Mr. Anwar of betraying his race for supporting the scrapping of Malaysia’s decades-old affirmative action policies which were introduced to ensure economic and political power for Malaysia’s majority Muslim ethnic Malay population.

Mr. Anwar is a Malay, but argues that the New Economic Policy, as the affirmative action program is known, has rendered Malaysia’s economy uncompetitive and will likely limit the country’s recovery from the global slump.

“What I argue is that we should help all the races equally so we can take favoritism out of the equation,” Mr. Anwar said. “I think we’re going to hear more about racial issues if the economic situation continues.”

In addition, Malaysian riot police have forcibly broken up two opposition rallies in the past several days, raising concerns among political analysts that Mr. Najib intends to steer Malaysia back to the authoritarian ways espoused by its former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled Malaysia for 22 years before stepping down in 2003.

Mr. Anwar has been distracted by legal issues after a former aide accused him of sodomy, which is a crime in Malaysia. Mr. Anwar, who was convicted and then acquitted of the same crime after challenging the government in 1998, says he is innocent and his being framed by Mr. Najib’s operatives.

Mr. Najib has repeatedly said he has nothing to do with Mr. Anwar’s legal troubles. On Saturday he denied that he was stamping out opposition dissent.

Read:

Najib’s ascension marked by government crackdown on Umno political opponents and on free speech

Najib starts crackdown on opposition

Umno graft worsens, faces political doom

Malaysians (including Dr Mahathir) have no confidence in Umno leaders

Zaid Ibrahim urges King to appoint some who is beyond reproach to be PM, not Najib

Umno corrupt: survey

Najib’s stimulus package comes too late, fails to impress market

MACC closes in on …. Azalina

Badawi And Najib’s Silence On Umno Youth Thuggery In Parliament Highlight Umno’s Lack Of Credible Leadership

The likes of Umno Youth thugs turning Malaysia into a banana republic

Umno duo want full investigation into Umno graft allegations including Badawi and Najib

Umno-Led Barisan Nasional On The Way DownWith The New Crop Of Uninspiring Leadership

The Unethics Of Umno – The Utter Hypocrisy Of Umno

Malaysia going to the dogs with our ethical levels does not improve

Umno’s ‘defence’ of Perak Sultan raises suspicion

Malaysians disgusted with Barisan Nasional power grab in Perak

Barisan Nasional’s NEP retards national unity, investment and economic efficiency

Only 41% think Najib will be a good prime minister

50 Umno members protest against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s arrest of party members

Najib, ill-placed to change UMNO, a party that lives on patronage and claims to represent the core interests of majority Malay community

Umno’s humiliation at Kuala Terengganu, the beginning of the end

Umno party-ful of carpet-baggers and ne’er-do-wells still clueless to Malaysian’s rejection

Corrupt, callous and incompetent Barisan Nasional becoming more irrelevant in the new Malaysia political landscape

Barisan Nasional’s pork-barrel politics fail to win Kuala Terengganu

Umno politicians polarizing society to score political mileage

Zaid urges Malays to be wary of leaders who use the name of Malays for political mileage

Dr. Mahathir disgusted that Umno cannot control racism, says Ahmad Ismail should face disciplinary committee

Barisan Nasional government has done poorly in fulfilling Malaysia’s Independence proclamation

Umno – money politics reach worrying levels

Umno conservatives stalling reforms

Umno hegemony is under threat, Malays are not under threat

Umno is a nest of conspirators

Umno lacks intellectual capability, courage, energy to lead

Umno on the way down

Umno rife with corruption

Umno’s formula – turn everything racial

Umno’s day is over until it learns to respect Malaysian people with more dignity

Barisan’s Permatang Pauh loss was due to swearing by Saiful and Najib

Barisan’s ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Badawi faces calls to quit after Najib’s botched and ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Najib flees from angry crowd at Permatang Pauh

In Umno, those who lose in general election win posts, those who win general election, lose post

Let Ruler and PM decide on my post, says Adnan

He said that although mentris besar such as Datuk Mohamad Hasan of Negri Sembilan and Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman of Johor had led their states to victory in the general election, they had failed in their bid in party elections but those who had lost in the general election won in the party polls.

He cited former Kedah mentri besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid as an example.

Adnan said the candidates who were chosen by the Umno delegates did not reflect the wishes of voters in the general election.

He added that the public had their own agendas while party delegates had their “own special considerations” when voting.

Read:

Najib’s ascension marked by government crackdown on Umno political opponents and on free speech

Najib starts crackdown on opposition

Umno graft worsens, faces political doom

Malaysians (including Dr Mahathir) have no confidence in Umno leaders

Zaid Ibrahim urges King to appoint some who is beyond reproach to be PM, not Najib

Umno corrupt: survey

Najib’s stimulus package comes too late, fails to impress market

MACC closes in on …. Azalina

Badawi And Najib’s Silence On Umno Youth Thuggery In Parliament Highlight Umno’s Lack Of Credible Leadership

The likes of Umno Youth thugs turning Malaysia into a banana republic

Umno duo want full investigation into Umno graft allegations including Badawi and Najib

Umno-Led Barisan Nasional On The Way DownWith The New Crop Of Uninspiring Leadership

The Unethics Of Umno – The Utter Hypocrisy Of Umno

Malaysia going to the dogs with our ethical levels does not improve

Umno’s ‘defence’ of Perak Sultan raises suspicion

Malaysians disgusted with Barisan Nasional power grab in Perak

Barisan Nasional’s NEP retards national unity, investment and economic efficiency

Only 41% think Najib will be a good prime minister

50 Umno members protest against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s arrest of party members

Najib, ill-placed to change UMNO, a party that lives on patronage and claims to represent the core interests of majority Malay community

Umno’s humiliation at Kuala Terengganu, the beginning of the end

Umno party-ful of carpet-baggers and ne’er-do-wells still clueless to Malaysian’s rejection

Corrupt, callous and incompetent Barisan Nasional becoming more irrelevant in the new Malaysia political landscape

Barisan Nasional’s pork-barrel politics fail to win Kuala Terengganu

Umno politicians polarizing society to score political mileage

Zaid urges Malays to be wary of leaders who use the name of Malays for political mileage

Dr. Mahathir disgusted that Umno cannot control racism, says Ahmad Ismail should face disciplinary committee

Barisan Nasional government has done poorly in fulfilling Malaysia’s Independence proclamation

Umno – money politics reach worrying levels

Umno conservatives stalling reforms

Umno hegemony is under threat, Malays are not under threat

Umno is a nest of conspirators

Umno lacks intellectual capability, courage, energy to lead

Umno on the way down

Umno rife with corruption

Umno’s formula – turn everything racial

Umno’s day is over until it learns to respect Malaysian people with more dignity

Barisan’s Permatang Pauh loss was due to swearing by Saiful and Najib

Barisan’s ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Badawi faces calls to quit after Najib’s botched and ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Najib flees from angry crowd at Permatang Pauh

Is this the kind of NEP Umno nurtured ?

‘Khalid had no right to change marks’

Former Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination director Khalid Yusoff has no authority to alter the marks in the July 2001 CLP examination master list, a High Court heard.

…

Khalid, 57, a former law school dean at UiTM, was jailed three months for forgery and cheating in the July 2001 CLP examination master list.

Sessions Court judge Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, who had found Khalid guilty of the two charges on July 24, 2007, ordered him to serve three months’ jail for each charge.

On the first charge, Khalid was said to have forged the master list with the intention of using it for cheating at the board’s office on the 27th floor, Menara Tun Razak, between August 2001 and Sept 13, 2001.

He had allegedly cheated the board by deceiving it into believing that the July 2001 CLP examination results reflected the actual marks given by the examiners, and inducing it into endorsing the master list.

Yesterday, DPP Raja Rozela submitted that Khalid had ignored a scheme of marking and grading and upgraded marks for some CLP candidates beyond the existing guideline.

“He gave a pass to certain candidates without approval of the board when they do not qualify to be legal practitioners.

“The appellant told the board in late November that he was mandated to help bumiputra candidates and to maintain the pass percentage of CLP examination at 30%.

“Those were the reasons why he altered the marks but that policy was not adopted by the board,” she argued.

…
Akbardin submitted that the trial judge also erred in law when he failed to direct his mind to the fact that the then chairman of the qualifying board, the late Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, was well aware of the moderation process.

Besides, he said that Mohtar’s witness statement tendered to court by the prosecution had clearly absolved Khalid of any wrongdoing.

Judicial Commissioner Zainal Azman Ab. Aziz set April 20 for continuation of the hearing of the appeal.

Read:

Umno’s kind of NEP

Malaysian police seize opposition DVDs

Police seize oppositions DVDs

MALAYSIAN police seized DVDs used by the opposition to campaign for upcoming special elections, officials said on Monday, heightening fears of a crackdown on political dissent.

The April 7 balloting to fill three legislative seats is being fiercely contested because the results will be considered a barometer of public support for the incoming prime minister and other newly elected ruling party leaders.

The National Front coalition government and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s three-party People’s Alliance launched campaigning Sunday for the by-elections, which will be held in three states where lawmakers recently died or resigned.

Police seized 30 DVDs at an opposition campaign rally and briefly detained an opposition official late Sunday in northern Perak state, said Ngeh Koo Ham, a Perak opposition lawmaker.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said the action was ‘the latest example of the increasing intolerance toward fundamental liberties like freedom of speech, thought and expression in Najib’s Malaysia’. The DVD showed clips of opposition lawmakers being barred from holding a meeting at the Perak state legislature after the National Front wrested control of the state administration from the People’s Alliance.

District police chief Azisman Alias denied any political motivation, saying the government’s film censorship board has not approved the DVDs for public distribution.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is scheduled to become prime minister before the end of the week, has dismissed opposition allegations that he is clamping down on dissent. Over the past week, authorities shut down two opposition newspapers and used tear gas to break up a large opposition rally.

Opposition officials claim the moves are meant to prevent them from further eroding the National Front’s support. The Front retained power with less than its longtime two-thirds parliamentary majority in national polls a year ago and lost two subsequent by-elections. — AP

Read:

Najib’s ascension marked by government crackdown on Umno political opponents and on free speech

Najib starts crackdown on opposition

Umno graft worsens, faces political doom

Malaysians (including Dr Mahathir) have no confidence in Umno leaders

Zaid Ibrahim urges King to appoint some who is beyond reproach to be PM, not Najib

Umno corrupt: survey

Najib’s stimulus package comes too late, fails to impress market

MACC closes in on …. Azalina

Badawi And Najib’s Silence On Umno Youth Thuggery In Parliament Highlight Umno’s Lack Of Credible Leadership

The likes of Umno Youth thugs turning Malaysia into a banana republic

Umno duo want full investigation into Umno graft allegations including Badawi and Najib

Umno-Led Barisan Nasional On The Way DownWith The New Crop Of Uninspiring Leadership

The Unethics Of Umno – The Utter Hypocrisy Of Umno

Malaysia going to the dogs with our ethical levels does not improve

Umno’s ‘defence’ of Perak Sultan raises suspicion

Malaysians disgusted with Barisan Nasional power grab in Perak

Barisan Nasional’s NEP retards national unity, investment and economic efficiency

Only 41% think Najib will be a good prime minister

50 Umno members protest against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s arrest of party members

Najib, ill-placed to change UMNO, a party that lives on patronage and claims to represent the core interests of majority Malay community

Umno’s humiliation at Kuala Terengganu, the beginning of the end

Umno party-ful of carpet-baggers and ne’er-do-wells still clueless to Malaysian’s rejection

Corrupt, callous and incompetent Barisan Nasional becoming more irrelevant in the new Malaysia political landscape

Barisan Nasional’s pork-barrel politics fail to win Kuala Terengganu

Umno politicians polarizing society to score political mileage

Zaid urges Malays to be wary of leaders who use the name of Malays for political mileage

Dr. Mahathir disgusted that Umno cannot control racism, says Ahmad Ismail should face disciplinary committee

Barisan Nasional government has done poorly in fulfilling Malaysia’s Independence proclamation

Umno – money politics reach worrying levels

Umno conservatives stalling reforms

Umno hegemony is under threat, Malays are not under threat

Umno is a nest of conspirators

Umno lacks intellectual capability, courage, energy to lead

Umno on the way down

Umno rife with corruption

Umno’s formula – turn everything racial

Umno’s day is over until it learns to respect Malaysian people with more dignity

Barisan’s Permatang Pauh loss was due to swearing by Saiful and Najib

Barisan’s ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Badawi faces calls to quit after Najib’s botched and ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Najib flees from angry crowd at Permatang Pauh

Najib’s baggage

Asia Sentinel – Najib It Is

The new prime minister’s history may make it problematical whether the leaders of major countries are going to want to be seen with him. Concerns include hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable contracts steered to UMNO cronies and friends, not to mention continuing allegations of his involvement in the murder of the Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu following the controversial purchase of French submarines and, more recently, his role in sabotaging the opposition in the state of Perak and his shuttering newspapers and thwarting opposition candidates during his own party’s elections last week.

The convention itself was a good example. Opponents of the Najib team were denied places on the ballot by a panel supposedly charged with cleaning up money politics, although they let Najib’s allies slide by after having committed the same offenses. The result was that the deputy president, Muhyiddin Yassin, and all three vice presidents are from the Najib faction although the Najib forces were unable to prevent Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of ousted Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmand Badawi, from becoming head of the important UMNO Youth wing. They also were unable to stop Shahrizat Abdul Jalil from defeating longtime party hack Rafidah Aziz to take over the Wanita, the women’s wing of the party, also a Badawi ally.

The final election night erupted into name-calling, with allies of Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of the former prime minister, charging that Khairy had bought the votes to make him head of UMNO Youth. Mahathir Mohamad himself railed against the two candidates against his son, calling them corrupt. Rais Yatim, the foreign minister, who lost out in one of the vice president races, demanded that UMNO’s disciplinary board investigate the entire new supreme council over allegations that they had delivered gifts and money to delegates in the effort to win their seats. Mahathir Mohamad has repeatedly launched furious attacks on UMNO leaders, calling them corrupt although he showed up at the last night of the convention to be seen with Najib and others.

The UMNO-owned New Straits Times described the top party positions as having “given much-needed breathing space to Najib as he sets out to unite UMNO and push the party to undertake the reforms he has promised. He will have less of a task to deal with the factionalism that so often arises after a bitterly fought contest in the party.” But in fact, UMNO appears to be as much riven by factional politics as it was going into the convention.

As early as April 8, the party faces the first of three important by-elections – one for a seat in the Dewan Rakyat, or national assembly, and two more for state legislative seats. The first test is for a Perak seat in which support for the Barisan appears to be waning.

“The problem is not the opposition, but within our own ranks,” a local leader told the Kuala Lumpur-based website Malaysia Insider, referring to the perennial problem of factionalism within Umno.

Najib has sought to nullify the opposition with force. Last Monday, a rally led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was broken up by police who fired tear gas at the audience. Other rallies have been cancelled as well. Two opposition newspapers were cancelled until after April 8, the date of the Perak national by-election, presumably because the two papers have hammered away at allegations of Najib’s connections with the two men on trial for killing Altantuya in October of 2006 and her role in the €1 billion purchase of French submarines that netted one of his closest friends €114 million in “commissions.”

To say Najib brings considerable baggage with him is an understatement. While attention has focused on allegations of corruption in the submarine purchases, the fact is that as defense minister from 1999 to 2008, Najib presided over a cornucopia of defense deals that poured a river of money into the coffers of his close friends and UMNO cronies. A September 24, 2007 story in Asia Sentinel quoted Foreign Policy in Focus, a think tank supported by the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, as saying that “many foreign arms manufacturers generally used well-connected Malaysians as their lobbyists for contracts.”

Three contracts approved under Najib have been widely cited by the opposition and fit well into Foreign in Policy in Focus’s patronage scale. They have been forced back into public attention by his ascension to the premiership and by the exoneration under questionable circumstances of Abdul Razak Baginda, one of his closest friends, for Altantuya’s murder.

Spending for defense accelerated across the board after Najib, called “the driving force” behind Malaysia’s military modernization program by Foreign Policy in Focus. The shopping list, the think tank reported, “includes battle tanks from Poland, Russian and British surface-to-air missiles and mobile military bridges, Austrian Steyr assault rifles and Pakistani anti-tank missiles. Kuala Lumpur was also negotiating to buy several F/A 18s, the three French submarines and Russian Suhkoi Su-30 fighter aircraft.

Read:

Najib’s track record

MCA tells Hishammuddin not to ‘rewrite’ history for political mileage

MCA: It was a multi-racial effort that won independence

The country’s independence was forged through the close cooperation of leaders of the Alliance party and was not the sole effort of Umno, said MCA central committee member Lee Wei Kiat.

He pointed out that it was the leaders of MCA, Umno and MIC in the Alliance, which preceded Barisan Nasional before Merdeka, who were all influential in negotiating with the British for independence.

“MCA will not allow efforts from any party in trying to rewrite facts of history or denying the efforts of the other races in helping to fight for the country’s independence 52 years ago,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Lee was commenting on Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein’s statement at the party general assembly that the process of independence and later developments were forged by “Umno and our Malay Rulers and no one else”.

Lee said: “If we look back at history in 1954, Tunku Abdul Rahman led a three-man Alliance delegation comprising himself, Tun Abdul Razak and Tan Sri T.H. Tan from the MCA to England to hold talks with the colonial authority.”

He said that Tunku Abdul Rahman also led an Alliance delegation to London to hold independence talks with the British with MCA represented by Tun H.S. Lee and Tan.

Lee, who is MCA information and communications bureau chairman, said the negotiations led to mutual consent for a draft constitution.

“We hope that Hishammuddin’s remarks are not aimed at gaining political mileage for himself after winning the Umno vice-presidency on March 26,” Lee said.

He urged the minister to show that he was a leader of all Malaysians and not just an Umno leader.

“Any deviation in history will not only affect the country’s harmony currently enjoyed by the various races but also hinder the government’s efforts in fostering racial unity between different ethnic groups,” he said.

He said Malaysian children must understand clearly that all races had to be equally recognised for their efforts and contributions to the country’s development.

Read:

Umno leaders still unwilling to change

Badawi and Najib’s silence on Umno Youth thuggery in parliament highlight
Umno’s lack of credible leadership

Umno ruined the education system

Malaysian history being rewritten by Barisan Nasional government

Shahrir Abdul Samad does not want to be part of Najib’s government

Shahrir to submit resignation on Wednesday

DATUK Shahrir Abdul Samad will submit his resignation as Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

He said he had decided not to be part of any new Cabinet line-up after he lost in his bid for one of 25 seats on the Umno supreme council on Thursday.

He also said that he would not accept any offer of an appointment to the supreme council.

…
Asked if he would reconsider his decision to quit his Cabinet post which he has held for only a year, Shahrir said his decision was final.

…
On the four mentris besar who lost, Shahrir said he was surprised by the results.

“I am not certain how to answer. I cannot explain, especially when they are from states that had been able to garner the support of the people during the last elections,” he said.

Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman (Johor MB), Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob (Pahang), Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (Negri Sembilan) and Datuk Seri Dr Md Isa Sabu (Perlis) failed to win a seat on the supreme council.

Read:

Umno rank and file resist reform calls

Umno’s ways – silence critics, jailing opponents, discriminate against minorities

Badawi issued damning indictment of UMNO – it is contaminated by GREED, COMPLACENCY and INTERNAL RIVALRIES

Badawi in his last UMNO address, warns against Umno to reform

Umno Youth endorsing political bribery

Candidates with good track record lose due to money politics

Najib’s ascension marked by government crackdown on Umno political opponents and on free speech

Najib starts crackdown on opposition

Umno graft worsens, faces political doom

Malaysians (including Dr Mahathir) have no confidence in Umno leaders

Zaid Ibrahim urges King to appoint some who is beyond reproach to be PM, not Najib

Umno corrupt: survey

Najib’s stimulus package comes too late, fails to impress market

MACC closes in on …. Azalina

Badawi And Najib’s Silence On Umno Youth Thuggery In Parliament Highlight Umno’s Lack Of Credible Leadership

The likes of Umno Youth thugs turning Malaysia into a banana republic

Umno duo want full investigation into Umno graft allegations including Badawi and Najib

Umno-Led Barisan Nasional On The Way DownWith The New Crop Of Uninspiring Leadership

The Unethics Of Umno – The Utter Hypocrisy Of Umno

Malaysia going to the dogs with our ethical levels does not improve

Umno’s ‘defence’ of Perak Sultan raises suspicion

Malaysians disgusted with Barisan Nasional power grab in Perak

Barisan Nasional’s NEP retards national unity, investment and economic efficiency

Only 41% think Najib will be a good prime minister

50 Umno members protest against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s arrest of party members

Najib, ill-placed to change UMNO, a party that lives on patronage and claims to represent the core interests of majority Malay community

Umno’s humiliation at Kuala Terengganu, the beginning of the end

Umno party-ful of carpet-baggers and ne’er-do-wells still clueless to Malaysian’s rejection

Corrupt, callous and incompetent Barisan Nasional becoming more irrelevant in the new Malaysia political landscape

Barisan Nasional’s pork-barrel politics fail to win Kuala Terengganu

Umno politicians polarizing society to score political mileage

Zaid urges Malays to be wary of leaders who use the name of Malays for political mileage

Dr. Mahathir disgusted that Umno cannot control racism, says Ahmad Ismail should face disciplinary committee

Barisan Nasional government has done poorly in fulfilling Malaysia’s Independence proclamation

Umno – money politics reach worrying levels

Umno conservatives stalling reforms

Umno hegemony is under threat, Malays are not under threat

Umno is a nest of conspirators

Umno lacks intellectual capability, courage, energy to lead

Umno on the way down

Umno rife with corruption

Umno’s formula – turn everything racial

Umno’s day is over until it learns to respect Malaysian people with more dignity

Barisan’s Permatang Pauh loss was due to swearing by Saiful and Najib

Barisan’s ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Badawi faces calls to quit after Najib’s botched and ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Najib flees from angry crowd at Permatang Pauh

Umno Youth election’s 790 votes took 6 hours to count !! Mahathir says Umno Youth endorses political bribery

Dr M explains absence at assembly

In the latest posting on his blog www.chedet.com, he alleged that Umno Youth was now endorsing political bribery and that this was the reason why he did not attend the general assembly. 

Dr Mahathir said he was also puzzled why it took more than six hours to count 790 votes.

Read:

Khairy’s win, dark and disturbing

Candidates with good track record lose due to money politics, Noh Omar asserts he won based on track record

Losers blame it on money politics

SEVERAL ministers and mentris besar who lost in the party elections have alleged that money politics cost them victory.

They claimed that delegates were less concerned about track records and performance compared to the “distribution of gifts”. 

Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin did not dismiss the allegations outright, saying the disciplinary board would continue with its investigations.

He said that action could still be taken against those found to have breached party ethics, although the elections were over.

The top party leadership, he assured, would not interfere in the board’s investigations.

He, however, refused to speculate if money politics had been the reason why all but one of five mentris besar and chief ministers had failed to secure places on the 25-seat supreme council. Only Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman managed to get on the party’s policy-making body.

“There are some things I can say and some I can’t,” he said.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who lost in his bid for one of the three vice-president posts, wanted the board to analyse the results.

“We cannot gauge it yet but the element of money politics will have to be analysed. I hope the disciplinary board will probe deeper into the matter.

“Talk of gifts is the top topic of the day. It would seem that the advice given by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister were hardly heeded,” he said.

Dr Rais said the supreme council winners’ list was a clear example why the disciplinary board should intervene.

Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamad Hasan also did not rule out the possibility of money politics as the main factor that had worked against him.

He said he was surprised when he lost.

“Maybe they don’t like my face, I don’t know,” he added.

Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, meanwhile, said he had learnt “something” while on the campaign trail this time around.

“I will bring this up at the next party convention.

“This is not the place to talk about it as it can have a negative impact on Umno’s image,” he said, adding that action must be taken if the party wanted to be accepted by all.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman refused to comment about money politics, saying that it could be detrimental to Umno’s future.

Another vanquished leader who wanted to remain anonymous said he believed that most, if not all of the winners, had indulged in money politics one way or another.

“Some delegates have personally told me that they had received a few hundred (ringgit) each,” he said.

Asked why he had not complained to the disciplinary board, the visibly angry leader said it would have been useless as those involved were already sitting on the supreme council.

Datuk Noh Omar, who had garnered the third highest vote for the supreme council, refuted the allegations, saying that those who won had worked hard to convince the delegates.

Noh, the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister, said that in his case, his good track record and performance had endeared him to the delegates.

”There are 11 agencies that serve various groups of people under my ministry.

“Thus I am known to most delegates,” he said, explaining that in 2004 when he was the Deputy Internal Security Minister, he had come in seventh.

Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam suggested that Umno change its rules so all mentris besar and chief ministers are automatically appointed to the supreme council.

“Mentris besar and state liaison committee chiefs should be made supreme council members without having to contest. Otherwise, if they have to contest, and they lose, it is not good for the party.

“That could become an issue to be capitalised on by the Opposition,” he said.

Read:

Umno rank and file resist reform calls

Umno’s ways – silence critics, jailing opponents, discriminate against minorities

Badawi issued damning indictment of UMNO – it is contaminated by GREED, COMPLACENCY and INTERNAL RIVALRIES

Badawi in his last UMNO address, warns against Umno to reform

 

 

Najib’s ascension marked by government crackdown on Umno political opponents and on free speech

 

Najib starts crackdown on opposition

 

Umno graft worsens, faces political doom

 

 

Malaysians (including Dr Mahathir) have no confidence in Umno leaders

Zaid Ibrahim urges King to appoint some who is beyond reproach to be PM, not Najib

 

Umno corrupt: survey

Najib’s stimulus package comes too late, fails to impress market

MACC closes in on …. Azalina

 

 

Badawi And Najib’s Silence On Umno Youth Thuggery In Parliament Highlight Umno’s Lack Of Credible Leadership

The likes of Umno Youth thugs turning Malaysia into a banana republic

Umno duo want full investigation into Umno graft allegations including Badawi and Najib

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The Unethics Of Umno – The Utter Hypocrisy Of Umno

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Corrupt, callous and incompetent Barisan Nasional becoming more irrelevant in the new Malaysia political landscape

Barisan Nasional’s pork-barrel politics fail to win Kuala Terengganu

Umno politicians polarizing society to score political mileage

Zaid urges Malays to be wary of leaders who use the name of Malays for political mileage

Dr. Mahathir disgusted that Umno cannot control racism, says Ahmad Ismail should face disciplinary committee

Barisan Nasional government has done poorly in fulfilling Malaysia’s Independence proclamation

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Umno is a nest of conspirators

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Umno’s day is over until it learns to respect Malaysian people with more dignity

 

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Barisan’s ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Badawi faces calls to quit after Najib’s botched and ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Najib flees from angry crowd at Permatang Pauh

 

Khairy’s win – dark and disturbing

The New Straits Times Online: UMNO DISPATCHES: Khairy Jamaluddin, fortunate man twice over, neutralises rotten odds & a hex

AGAINST ROTTEN odds, a dead man walking “hex“ -and two very fortunate providences, the colourful Khairy Jamaludin sublimely snatched the Umno Youth chief’s mantle over the meanest three-way dogfight ever staged in the movement after trailing early frontrunner Dr Khir Toyo and enduring a late surge from Mukhriz Mahathir to inadvertently capitalise on the messy balloting split that wildly swung in his favour.
It could only mean this: an ambitious man can’t be put down and it is not impossible to resurrect the dead during a grisly political climate. You could almost feel the resigned shudder of his harshest critics when Khairy triumphantly raised his hands as the results were blared out in the hall. What his critics would give to wipe out that smirk on his face.

In the underwhelming 304 votes that Khairy polled, it amazingly transformed into a minority winning tally but more than adequate for him to scrappily nudged Khir (254 votes) and Mukhriz (232 votes). However, Khairy will appreciate the sardonic irony here: had it been a straight fight, he would have been left dangling on the abyss of defeat and with that, possibly contemplating the sensational collapse of his burgeoning political career as an Umno scion.

Khairy’s victory was one that was seized because Mukhriz and Khir, whether unwittingly or not, obliterated each other out of the reckoning. If Khir and Mukhriz had negotiated something of a deal for one of them to pull out, Khairy would have roiled in a hiding. This fortunate win was obviously reflected in the vice chief’s battle where Khairy’s running mate, Reezal Merican Naina Merican, lost stupendously to Razali Ibrahim in a direct face-off.

Before the results were out, Khairy had flexed over national TV, where results were telecast live, a highly confident grin wider than the one he posed when he won the Rembau parliamentary seat. In any case, his elevation from vice chief to Umno Youth supremo at a fledgling age of 33 meant that he surmounted a noxious acid test in the dog-eat-dog survival of the fittest domain of Umno polity. This makes his March 8 victory in the Rembau parliamentary seat looked like a cakewalk when many of his Umno and Barisan comrades were slashed and burned.
But victory last night wasn’t won cleanly, the guilty verdict handed down by the Umno disciplinary Board that he breached party code of ethics shimmering like a halo over his head. He scraped by on a “technicality” after the board decided that his guilt was lessened by the fact that his so-called agent distributing the bung was “indirectly linked” in the strange parlance of his punisher.

That’s two fortuitous happenstances and if you want to be hard on him, you could say that Khairy survived on a fluke by rolling the dices that tumbled favourably into a double six. How much luckier can he get? Will this bung charge that he escaped from drag the new Umno Youth leadership and its high-energy leader? From the moment their candidate had been vanquished, Mukhriz’s supporters made it explicitly clear that they intend to remind Khairy of this fetidness at every opportune moment.

It used to be that Umno Youth, going by historical tradition, was that of a high-octane pressure group that doggedly checks on anything and everything affecting the Malay agenda, including Government policies that fall short on the Umno ideal. In the years before erstwhile leader Anwar Ibrahim took down Suhaimi Kamaruddin twice, in 1982 and 1984, to become Umno Youth chief, the Youth leader was independent, not a Cabinet Minister and free from conforming to the leadership mores of the day. But the tradition was dumped after the Anwar ascendency, in favour of a more “cooperative” Umno Youth whose leader was part of the Establishment. The pressure group work ethic and public integrity was forever shed.

There’s this early talk that Khairy may be offered a Cabinet posting. The Prime Minister-designate may have a different idea. But it should not be rancorous to Khairy if a Cabinet posting is not imminent. When his father-in-law was PM, didn’t Khairy rejected the idea that he should be part of the Abdullah Administration, preferring to operate on the outside? This concept may continue, at least in the next few years while Khairy reforms Umno Youth into reassuming its original pressure group sobriety. If he needed any consultation on how to reignite one, he could seek Suhaimi Kamaruddin’s guiding wisdom.

But the re-metamorphosis demands a higher calling for Khairy: he may have to be prepared to wear a heavily pro-Malay stance to the point of being slapped with an ultra-nationalist tag, for that was the badge of honour Suhaimi wore after insisting consistently in the Dewan Rakyat that the bumiputera/Malays 30 per cent stake in the nation’s economic stakes be bolstered to 50 per cent.

And there’s this other niggling mid-term problem that Khairy would have to check: Mukhriz Mahathir. Who’s to say the scion of Mahathirism won’t mount a second crack at the title in 2012, with a clear understanding from all comers that it would be a straight fight. No Khir Toyo or other characters of similitude to hinder the spoils that should have been Mukhriz’s to grab.

That’s a prospect for all fire-breathing supporters of the two forerunners to savour, the rematch of the decade where Mukhriz takes the crown that should have been his in the first place and obliges Khairy to eat dust. Unless of course, being the young, ambitious man in a hurry he is reputed to be, Khairy may just pre-empt this future spectacle by catapulting himself into the fray of the vice-presidency, running for one of the three slots available and pit himself against the more established party principals. It’s so incredible that it could just be feasible.

Khairy has just that unalloyed derring-do to roll that lucky dice of his and leap for the jugular, the youngest Umno vice-president ever at 36. He’s already the youngest Umno Youth chief and to meet the timeline/deadline he had impressed upon others to become the YOUNGEST Prime Minister of Malaysia before the age of 40, he needs to stick to this gameplan. If he has the nerve to do so in 2012, that would be awesomely ambitious…and devastatingly disturbing to his multitude of nemeses in Umno and across the political divide.

Read:

Rabble rouser Khairy Jamaluddin instigates and brings out the dark side