Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by soundsyst64

Sarawak bebas tol 2016

soundsyst64 — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 13:21:00 +0800

http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/11/25/sa...ai-tahun-depan/

BAU: Menjelang tahun depan Sarawak dijangka bebas tol selepas pemansuhan tol terakhir iaitu Jambatan Tun Salahuddin yang akan berkuat kuasa menjelang akhir tahun ini.

Ketua Menteri Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem berkata pemansuhan tol berkenaan seperti yang dijanjikan sebelum ini selepas pemansuhan tol bagi dua jambatan sebelum ini iaitu Jambatan Lanang di Sibu dan Jambatan ASEAN di Baram, Miri.

“Kita sudah mansuhkan tol di Lanang, tiada tol di Baram dan menjelang hujung tahun ini tiada lagi tol di Jambatan Tun Salahuddin.

“Begitu juga apabila sudah terlaksananya Lebuh Raya Pan Borneo nanti, kita tidak mengenakan sebarang tol kerana kita mahu mengurangkan beban kos sara hidup rakyat,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika berucap pada Majlis Penyampaian Warta Rizab Komunal Bumiputera Seksyen 6, Surat Hak Milik Tanah Seksyen 18 dan Cek Pampasan Tanah di Dewan Suarah Bau di sini, semalam.

Tambahan, notis yang disiarkan di pintu tol baru-baru ini juga jelas menandakan bahawa kadar tol Jambatan Tun Salahuddin akan dihapuskan.

Sebelum ini tol Lanang Sibu telah dimansuhkan pada Mei lepas diikuti tol Jambatan ASEAN Baram yang dimansuhkan pada Jun 2015.

Ronny Chieng in Daily Show

soundsyst64 — Sat, 21 Nov 2015 17:17:18 +0800

http://cilisos.my/omg-a-malaysian-is-now-h...night-talkshow/

Here’s a hilarious clip about him (and you can hear the Malaysian accent a bit even!) checking out America’s super high-tech voting machines.
[YOUTUBE]mQsNkt9yuKI[/YOUTUBE]

Instant Kolo Mee

soundsyst64 — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 21:00:26 +0800

only available in East Malaysia and Brunei
[attachmentid=5328092]
http://www.maggi.com.my/bigkombo-mikolo

Vape: Nicotine overdose, die instantly

soundsyst64 — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 15:03:09 +0800

http://bm.therakyatpost.com/berita/2015/11...tin-berlebihan/

Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) memberi amaran, amalan menghisap rokok elektronik (e-rokok) atau vape yang mengandungi nikotin berlebihan boleh mengakibatkan kematian serta-merta terhadap individu terbabit.

Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah berkata, ini berikutan kajian saintifik terbaru Pusat Racun Negara di Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) yang mendapati, 40 miligram nikotin dalam 10 mililiter cecair bahan kimia vape boleh membunuh dengan serta-merta seorang manusia dewasa.

“Amalan menghisap vape juga boleh mendedahkan kepada ketagihan dan penyakit berbahaya, seperti kanser paru-paru, selain kesan sampingan pengguna nikotin,” katanya selepas Op Kepialu, pada Khamis.

Di bawah Akta Racun, nikotin diletakkan sebagai racun kategori C yang hanya boleh dijual atau dibekalkan sebagai ubat atau bahan dalam ubat oleh pengamal perubatan berdaftar.

Dr Noor Hisham berkata, pihaknya tidak akan teragak-agak menggunakan Akta Racun 1952 bagi mengawal penjualan nikotin, termasuk dalam vape, selepas kajian mengenainya siap.

Dalam pada itu, beliau berkata, pihaknya sedang meningkatkan usaha memberi kesedaran kepada orang ramai tentang bahaya penggunaan vape dalam jangka panjang, kerana difahamkan, lebih sejuta rakyat menghisap vape, termasuk wanita dan pelajar sekolah.

Wake up earlier, use toll-free roads to save money

soundsyst64 — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 14:41:09 +0800

http://m.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/a...free-roads-to-s

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 ― Motorists in the Klang Valley on a budget should put more effort to get organised and use alternative routes if they want to avoid paying tolls, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said today as he defended the government against criticism of the recent rate hike.

The Kota Belud MP said motorists can always find toll-free roads if they wish to keep their expenses low, although that would require them to either brave the traffic congestion or by “waking up earlier” to avoid the traffic.

“Wherever there are tolls, there are alternative routes. So you can avoid tolls just that you would have to brave the traffic. You would have to invest in more time, waking up earlier.

“It's about trading off,” he told reporters after launching a forum on town planning here.

Abdul Rahman said the government had no choice but to allow the concessions to raise the rates as there had been no increase for some time.

The rate hike was necessary as maintenance costs of operating the highways were also shooting up, and the government felt that it was only fair that consumers bear some of the costs to prevent more taxpayers money from being used to subsidise the tolls.

“Given the choice no government would want to increase the toll rates… but we have no choice.

He also maintained that Putrajaya was still subsidising some of the costs despite the increase.

Two weeks ago, toll rates were increased between 10 sen and RM3 at 18 highways within the Klang Valley.

The move drew flak from the public as inflation costs soared with critics pointing out that the average Malaysian’s purchasing power to be further impacted, in addition to the weakening ringgit against a basket of foreign currencies.

Since then, Putrajaya and other public transportation authorities have announced hikes in fees for all intercity rail services, key means of transportation for the city's middle and low income earners.

Abdul Rahman when asked to comment on the matter said he agreed that the government should try to ensure the rail services remain affordable for city folks in the future.

“That I agree. In the future we should try and keep them affordable as this is important to make people switch to public transportation,” he said.

He said making public transportation as the number one traveling mode for city folks was the government's priority in order to cut traffic congestion, which have worsened for the past few years.

But Abdul Rahman admitted that an efficient service was pivotal to drive that change of mindset.

The Hajj Tragedy Begging to Happen

soundsyst64 — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 09:52:43 +0800

http://www.malaysia-today.net/the-haj-trag...ging-to-happen/

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I have been to Mekah ten times thus far, twice to perform the Haj, so I understand perfectly well the conditions there. When you congregate two or three million people in one place, crowd control becomes a problem.

Just to digress a bit, even 500,000 is a huge crowd. If you get a helicopter view of what 500,000 people in a crowd looks like, it is hard to imagine that the Bersih rally attracted 500,000 people as they claim. I mean, have you seen what a crowd of 500,000 looks like?

Anyway, the problem with the recent tragedy in Mina where more than 700 are reported to have died and almost 900 injured — which means the death toll may increase since some of those injured are quite critical — is not due to the size of the crowd but because of the attitude of those people.

I was there in 1990 when more than 1,400 were crushed and died in the tunnel in Mina — with many more injured, some quite serious. I have also seen people stepped on and crushed in some of those other trips I made there as well.

In fact, I was once caught in such a crush myself. I thought I was going to die so I tried to climb above the crowd. But what happened in the end was my feet could no longer touch the ground so I was carried by the crowd and for about fifteen minutes I fought just to be able to breath.

I ended up very far from where I started and from that day on I never dared enter the mosque for Friday prayers. I prayed outside the mosque, and when the crowd became too big and unruly outside the mosque as well, I prayed in the hotel lobby.

Anyway, the crowd stretched from the hotel lobby all the way to the mosque so I could not have reached the mosque even if I wanted to. I once tried entering the mosque at 10.00am, three hours before the start of the prayers, but by 1.00pm the crowd got so large that I still got crushed.

In one incident a Pakistani kicked me and told me to get out so that he could take my spot. I meekly got up and walked away and some Iranians who saw the incident waved me over and made space for me. So I sat down amongst the large Iranian crowd who offered me ‘protection’ from those rude Pakistanis who probably thought I was Iranian. In fact, the Iranians spoke Parsi to me because they, too, thought I was Iranian.

But they were still nice to me even though I told them I was Malaysian. They even invited me for lunch but I politely declined since most of them were Iran-Iraq war veterans and I did not want to end up getting embroiled in Middle Eastern politics (they were chanting anti-US rhetoric).

Actually, people die every year in stampedes during the Haj. Maybe the 1990 incident and yesterday’s incident were the more serious of the many. But every year people die in crushes and stampedes. It is only not reported until the death toll exceeds 100.

If you have been to Mekah ten times like I have, you will know that it is the attitude of the people that causes these tragedies. Pilgrims from South East Asia, such as those from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, etc., are okay. It is those Arabs (Turks and others included), Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Africans and so on who are the problem. They are rough, aggressive, rude, and quarrelsome. They just like conflict.

When we from South East Asia face the aggressive Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Africans, etc., we back down. When they push we give way and do not push back. The Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Africans, etc., when pushed, do not back down or give way. They push back and people fall down and get stepped on. Then the crowd breaks out into panic and starts to stampede and more people fall down and get stepped on.

They lock arms and bulldoze their way through the crowd as if it was a rugby scrum. If you happen to be standing in their way you will get knocked and if not careful you will fall down and they will step on you. So you do not fight back. You quickly step aside and let them pass.

It is no coincidence that amongst the 1,500 or so victims of yesterday’s stampede there were no Malaysians (at least at the time I write this article there are no reports of Malaysian victims). This is because while the ‘others’ come out to ‘stone the devil’ around noon, Malaysians come out in the evening when the crowd has thinned.

This was what Tabung Haji advised us so if there were any Malaysian victims this can only mean they were stubborn and did not listen to Tabung Haji’s advice. In 1990, there were some Malaysians amongst the 1,400 who died and this is because they ignored Tabung Haji’s advice.

Sometimes when you look at the problems in the Middle East, Africa, the Indian continent (Pakistan and Bangladesh included), in particular regarding the violence, you get an impression that this all has to do with Islam and hence there must be something wrong with the religion.

Actually it has nothing to do with Islam. It is that there is something wrong with those people. And if you have been to Mekah ten times like I have, then you will know what I mean. The people from the Middle East, Africa, the Indian continent, etc., are just too rough, aggressive, rude, and quarrelsome — they like to argue and fight.

They push and knock you down and step on you. And that is why people die during the pilgrimage every year. If they could only be a bit more courteous and polite, disasters could be avoided. But being nice does not appear to be the nature of the beast to these people. And they make Muslims appear uncivilised due to this.

API in Palangka Raya, over 1955

soundsyst64 — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 21:11:44 +0800

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapa...html?cid=twtcna

[attachmentid=4981096]

PALANGKA RAYA, Indonesia: Around 150 protesters, including students and activists from non-governmental organisations, held a protest at the Central Kalimantan Governor’s office on Tuesday (Sep 22), decrying government inaction against the ongoing forest fires, which has led to a thick haze that blankets parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

"The government is not taking serious measures to solve the fires,” said Ali Wardana, one of the protest leaders. “Central Kalimantan is in a state of emergency, and people are suffering from respiratory illnesses.”

He added: “We want disaster management teams to be prepared in advance in order to safeguard people’s health. And we want sanctions against those who burn the land for profit.”

Southeast Asia has for years suffered from annual bouts of haze caused by slash-and-burn practices in Indonesia's islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The protests outside the Governor’s office included students and activists from around 10 organisations including Save Our Borneo and Walhi, an Indonesian environmental advocacy group. Many braved the acrid and stinging conditions - the PSI level in Palangka Raya hit 1,955 at 2pm on Tuesday - to vent their anger.

Addressing the group of about 20 security personnel guarding the gate outside the Governor's office, protesters threatened to enter the compound if the Acting Governor did not come out to meet them. A few were subsequently allowed to enter the premises.

Some among the protesters told Channel NewsAsia they they feel the central government must do more to tackle the problem. Ms Umi Mastika, a member of the Palangka Raya city parliament, said the local government lacks the capacity to deal with these problems.

"Companies keep burning the forest every year but it's time for the government not to search for who did or didn't do it, but it's time for the government to take care of the health of the cities' children and the general economy," she said.

"Compared to previous governments, the current government of Joko Widodo is not acting as quickly as the previous central governments."

NGOS PRESENT LIST OF DEMANDS

Aryo Nugroho, who works for environmental group WALHI said that Acting Governor Hadi Prabowo has told him that "he has many issues to deal with and work can't stop just to meet the protesters".

However, Mr Nugroho, said that the protesters have left a list of demands for him, which include full state responsibility to handle the situation and to stop giving licenses to the companies behind the forest fires.

Protesters who left the scene subsequently stationed themselves at one of Palangka Raya's busy roundabouts at Taman Pemuda handing out regular clinical masks (costing locals around US$0.07) to motorists, though many if not all protesters told Channel NewsAsia that they did not know that these masks were ineffective conditions such as these.

"No one told us," said Rinting Alfaranus, 40, a researcher who has been living in Palangka Raya since the early 1990s. "All the clinics and doctors we go to tell us it is effective. They are not?

"No one tells us what to use, and your (N95) mask is too expensive for us," he said. "The people here are poor."

Catch Get Real: Living in the Heart of the Haze on Channel NewsAsia Oct 27, 8pm.

- CNA/rw

Accident at Kesas

soundsyst64 — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 11:45:24 +0800

please go die.
[YOUTUBE]Eg_7aPeQfVI[/YOUTUBE]

Cow's milk talk misinterpreted

soundsyst64 — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 14:16:37 +0800

as usual, playing "misquote" card
[attachmentid=4756438]

Raya Airways

soundsyst64 — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 08:48:46 +0800

[attachmentid=4738390][attachmentid=4738391]

Why make so much noise about RM 2.6 bil?

soundsyst64 — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 09:39:06 +0800

http://www.malaysia-today.net/why-make-so-...-rm2-6-billion/

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Yesterday, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that democracy is dead in Malaysia. I remember back when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was Prime Minister and Dr Mahathir grumbled that Malaysia has turned into a police state and that there is longer any freedom of speech in Malaysia.

Yes, as funny as it may sound, that was what Dr Mahathir said yesterday and also what he said about eight or nine years ago when he whacked Abdullah.

I say it is funny because this is exactly what people said when Dr Mahathir himself was Prime Minister — Malaysia is not democratic, Malaysia is a police state, there is no freedom of speech in Malaysia, the media practices self-censorship, etc.

When we criticised Dr Mahathir (and the government, Umno, Barisan Nasional, etc.) about all these (Malaysia is not democratic, Malaysia is a police state, there is no freedom of speech in Malaysia, the media practices self-censorship, etc.) he replied that Malaysia, just like in Singapore, cannot allow western-style absolute democracy.

Malaysia, just like in Singapore, practices ‘guided democracy’ (in fact, that term ‘guided democracy’ was invented by Lee Kuan Yew), Dr Mahathir explained. Because of the very delicate multi-racial mix, the government cannot allow western-style absolute democracy but must apply guided democracy. If not the country will face the danger of racial strife.

Could it be that the problem is not Dr Mahathir, Abdullah or Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak? Could it be even if we kick Najib out and a new Prime Minister from Umno takes over we shall still be grumbling about the same old thing? Could it be that the problem is actually Umno?

Or is the real problem the many races that still look at themselves as Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs, Kadazans, Dayaks, Ibans, etc., first and Malaysian second? To make matters worse, more than half the Malays look at themselves as Muslims first, Malays second and Malaysians third.

In places like Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak this is even worse because they look at themselves as Kelantanese, Sabahans and Sarawakians first, their ethnicity second, their religion third and as Malaysians fourth.

So, yes, in that sense we do have a problem and allowing people absolute democracy and freedom of speech would only expose Malaysia to the risk of racial strife. But then this brings us back to my very often-asked question: are we curing the disease or are we merely trying to tackle the symptoms of the disease?

Now, let us go back to the eve of the 29th November 1999 general election. At that time Anwar Ibrahim was sitting in jail and Dr Mahathir was leading Umno and Barisan Nasional in the Tenth General Election.

That was the fifth general election under Dr Mahathir (he also led Umno and BN in the 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1995 general elections). But Dr Mahathir did well in the first four general elections and he was expected to take a beating in the 1999 general election because of the Reformasi movement, which exploded onto the scene due to the jailing of Anwar.

Well, on the eve of the Tenth General Election, Dr Mahathir told the country that they must give back Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in Parliament. If Barisan Nasional does not retain its two-thirds majority in Parliament then the government would become weak and a weak government cannot guarantee the safety of its citizens.

In other words, if Barisan Nasional loses its two-thirds majority in Parliament in the 1999 general election there may be another race riot like what happened 30 years before that in 1969 when the ruling party also lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Because of that threat (plus the army trucks that were sent to ‘patrol’ the streets in Chinese areas) the non-Malays did not follow the Malays to vote opposition. They voted Barisan Nasional just to ‘play safe’. And many Chinese confessed (personally to me) that they voted Barisan Nasional although they supported Barisan Alternatif to avoid May 13 Version 2.

So, yes, democracy is dead in Malaysia, as Dr Mahathir said yesterday. But the question is did democracy die just over the last few months or over the last one year, as Dr Mahathir seems to suggest? Or did democracy actually die many decades ago, the day that Dr Mahathir took over as Prime Minister in 1981?

In 1999, when we attempted to ‘sell’ Reformasi to Malaysians, one of the key issues we raised was that in Malaysia power is concentrated in the hands of the executive (meaning the Prime Minister). There are no longer any checks and balances and the concept of power sharing has been destroyed.

We need to bring back the powers of the four branches of government, we argued, where the Legislature, the Judiciary, and the Monarchy are able to play their roles in this check and balance. Under Dr Mahathir’s rule, power is concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister and that means Malaysia is not a democracy but an autocracy.

That was what we said in 1999 when Dr Mahathir was Prime Minister. And that was what Dr Mahathir said in 2006 when Abdullah was Prime Minister. And that is what Dr Mahathir is saying today with Najib as Prime Minister.

But Dr Mahathir is making it look like this has only recently happened since Najib became Prime Minister. What we said in 1999 is that this began to happen in the 1980s not long after Dr Mahathir took over as Prime Minister.

So I do not agree that this is a creation of Najib. I do, however, agree that this is a legacy of Dr Mahathir, which Najib inherited. And I also do agree that whatever Najib is doing is merely a continuation of the Umno culture and tradition that was started 30 years ago under Dr Mahathir.

Another legacy of Dr Mahathir was the ‘corporatising’ of Umno. Umno, which used to be just a political party before that, was turned into a business entity. Umno was no longer just in the business of winning elections but was also now in the business of making money.

What we are seeing regarding the RM2.6 billion is a case in point. We are puzzled as to why RM2.6 billion was banked into the personal bank account of the Umno President. Malaysians are appalled that something like that could happen.

Well, we are appalled only because we have just come to know about it. But this has always been the way that Umno does business. This is not something that Najib started. And it is not something that just Najib did. This is what has been going on for 30 years since the 1980s.

Of course Najib and the Umno Supreme Council do not view this as a crime. Even if it were not a crime from the legal aspects many of us would still see it as morally wrong. But Umno and even Barisan Nasional do not see it that way because this has been the way for more than 30 years.

The only difference is that now we know about it. For the last 30 years before this we did not know about it. But then we (or at least I) have been talking about it for 30 years. But were any of you listening?

About 30 years ago around 1985 or so, I stood up during one seminar and whacked Umno. We created the term ‘Umnoputera’ (yes, we created that term 30 years ago in 1985) and told Umno that we (the Malay businessmen) do not regard the Chinese as our enemies and competitors. Instead, we regard Umno as the enemy and competitor.

We have Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras, I said. But above both the Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras are a new preferred group called the Umnoputeras. And the Umnoputeras are the real threat to us Bumiputeras because they do business and compete with us and take away all the business that we Bumiputeras are trying to get.

The Member of Parliament for Terengganu, Alias Ali, stood up to reply to me. He said what is wrong if the Umnoputeras also do business and make money? After all, the Umnoputeras are serving the nation so why can’t they also be rewarded with business opportunities for their service to the nation?

Because of my ‘outburst’ I was blacklisted and no longer got any government business. My business suffered so I had to venture into non-government businesses. One of those non-government businesses was the Terengganu dealership for Mercedes Benz.

When Umno Terengganu found out that I was about to get the Mercedes dealership they went to meet the Deputy Trade Minister, Shahrir Samad, and asked Shahrir to block my appointment and make sure the dealership went to Umno Terengganu instead.

Shahrir replied that Umno Johor already had the Mercedes dealership for Johor and the company is in a mess. Umno is not able to properly run businesses, said Shahrir. So he did not intervene and I finally got the Mercedes dealership for Terengganu.

But we faced a lot of problems. Whenever the Terengganu State Government wanted to buy any cars they negotiated with Lee Motors in Kelantan and not with us in Terengganu.

The Terengganu State Government would rather buy their cars from a Chinese dealer from outside Terengganu than from a Bumiputera dealer in Terengganu. So I finally sold my shares in the company to my Umno partner at a loss to end the problems we were facing with Umno Terengganu. And not long after that I left Terengganu and went back to Selangor.

So stop making so much noise regarding the RM2.6 billion. And next time take note when I tell you something. For 30 years I have been screaming about the matter and suffered because of it. So now you people have to live with it. You deserve it.

That's your culture

soundsyst64 — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 18:14:47 +0800

[attachmentid=4711674]

Was Aabar's Khadem Al-Qubaisi Connected

soundsyst64 — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 11:35:54 +0800

If you like to follow 1MDB controversy, kindly proceed.
If you are TL;DR guys, exit the thread

http://www.sarawakreport.org/2015/08/was-a...prime-minister/

There are three outstanding elements to the present investigations over 1MDB.

These are the whereabouts of the missing US$1.3 billion siphoned from the PetroSaudi deal into the PM’s proxy Jho Low’s companies; the whereabouts of RM4 billion borrowed from Malaysia’s pensioners by 1MDB’s former subsidiary SRC International and the whereabouts of monies that have evaporated out of various development and power purchase deals made in tandem with Abu Dhabi’s Aabar fund – formerly headed by the now sacked Khadem al Qubaisi.

It was a sum of RM27 million (out of a total of RM42 million) traced from SRC International into the private account of Prime Minister Najib Razak in December, which formed the basis of a charge sheet that was drafted by the former Attorney General, just before he was shockingly sacked last week.

Separately, the Parliamentary Accounts Committee was trying to interview key players in the PetroSaudi deal, including businessman Jho Low and former Chief Executive Shahrol Halmi, before its hearings were forcibly shut down on the order of the Speaker.

MACC Pressed Into Service
Meanwhile, action was taken Wednesday to try to explain the US$680 million that was posted into the PM’s personal AmBank account just before the calling of the General Election in 2013 – a matter also revealed by the enquiry into 1MDB and published by the Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report.

An anonymous statement was produced from the MACC (Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission), which claimed its investigators had ‘cleared’ the Prime Minister on this matter, because the agency could confirm that the money was a “donation” from an ‘undisclosed source’ from the Middle East and nothing to do with 1MDB.

This statement was surprising, not least because it came only hours after the MACC had clarified that the issue of the US$680 million did not come into the remit of its own enquiries.

There are four official task forces looking into the missing billions from 1MDB and the MACC explained that its own officers are focused only on the money related to the SRC International transactions.

Nevertheless, following a number of police roundups, interrogations and confiscations of materials from the MACC offices, this new line of enquiry appears to have been rapidly opened and completed within hours, thanks to information gleaned from an interview with the PM himself, who had explained the matter to the MACC’s apparent satisfaction.

No details have been given about the ‘donation’ or who had made it or why – leaving more questions than answers in the minds of Malaysians. Not least because, Najib has declared that it was “not for his personal use” and implied he spent it on party and election expenses.

Since it has been pointed out that this ‘donation’ amounts to roughly the entire sum raised by President Obama for his last election campaign in the United States, everyone is asking whether it was appropriate or legal for the Prime Minister to have accepted such a sum into his private account, without even his Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy Chairman (now sacked along with several members of the cabinet) being aware of it?

Few believe so.

Donation or payment?
Indeed, the well-known Malaysian financial writer, Ganesh Sahathevan, has today made another pointed observation, which has effectively torpedoed this ‘donation’ theory from below the water-line.

Sahathevan has pointed out that the banking documents detailing the dollar transfers specifically refer to the money as a “payment”:

[attachmentid=4709003][attachmentid=4709006]

As Sahathevan explains in his incisive article (http://realpolitikasia.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/on-matter-of-us-681-million-donation-to.html):

“Curiously the transfers (the sum total was paid in two amounts) are described as “Payment” and not ” Donation”.
This is not a matter of mere semantics. In these days of heightened controls on the transfer of funds, given the fear of terrorist financing, descriptions are important , even for very small sums. In this case where that large amount of money was being transferred to an individual the description becomes even more important.

Deny Al Qubaisi/ Aabar link
Under such awkward circumstances it is plainly unacceptable for the Prime Minister to be so coy about the identity and motivations of this anonymous benefactor he is now claiming paid in the money.

Malaysians are at the very least entitled to an assurance that this whopping ‘gift/payment’ described by the MACC statement as being from ‘undisclosed donors from the Middle East’ was not connected in any way to Abu Dhabi’s Aabar fund and its sacked former Chairman, Khadem al Qubaisi?

This is because Al Qubaisi linked Aabar into a total of US$6.5 billion dollars of bonds raised by 1MDB in a series of unbelievably costly power purchase and joint venture deals without Abu Dhabi in the end raising a cent.

Large chunks of 1MDB’s missing monies appear to have disappeared into buying out ‘options’ given to Aabar for no apparent good reason.

Meanwhile, Aabar has simultaneously become involved in a number of investment deals with Najib’s business friend and proxy at 1MDB, Jho Low.

These have included an attempted buy out of London’s luxury Claridge’s Hotel group in 2011 and the purchase of Coastal Energy for US$2.3 billion in 2014.

Jho Low and Khadem, who share a taste for the nightclub scene (in stark contrast with al Qubaisi’s sober official image) have also become known as fellow party animals, close socially.

This has been particularly in the United States, where Al Qubaisi’s private venture, the Haakasan night club chain has become a firm fixture for Jho Low’s champaign fuelled extravaganzas, especially in Las Vegas.

Sarawak Report has already revealed that Good Star, the Jho Low controlled company which siphoned out the lion’s share (US$1.3bn) of the money that was paid by 1MDB into its first joint venture deal with PetroSaudi, paid a handsome US$20 million into Al Qubaisi’s personal Luxembourg bank account in 2012.

We ask whether this $20 million payment related to a deal with Jho Low or with 1MDB?

And, given how plainly unhealthy it would be for this fund or its chairman to reveal such a conflict of interest by paying Najib US$680 million, could the Prime Minister put concerns at rest and deny that Aabar and its flamboyant former Chairman are connected to this donation?

Aabar deal completed two days before US$680 million transfer
If Aabar/ Al Qubaisi were involved in the ‘donation/payment’ it would plainly represent a massive conflict of interest, given 1MDB’s ruinous adventures involving that fund.

Nevertheless, we reiterate that the denial should be demanded of the Prime Minister because of the very strong coincidental circumstances relating the transfer of the enormous sum of US$680 million into Najib’s own AmBank account in KL.

As Sarawak Report has already detailed the money arrived just two days after Goldman Sachs completed a hurried bond issue for US$3 billion on behalf of 1MDB on March 19th 2013.

This bond issue had been launched by 1MDB (of which Najib is the sole shareholder and signatory) immediately after the signing of a hasty joint venture with Aabar on March 12th, which press reports explained was a 50:50 agreement to invest in the development of the Tun Razak Exchange ‘financial zone’ in KL.

This zone remains a wasteland and despite the ostentatious signing ceremony featuring Mr Al Qubaisi and his Deputy, Mohamed al-Husseiny, Aabar never contributed its half of the promised cash.

One major beneficiary of this rushed bond issue was the bank Goldman Sachs (http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2015/08/06/malaysia-mess-puts-goldman-sachs-in-the-hot-seat/) who extracted an enormous fee for the private (and secret) money raising exercise.

When questioned about its eyebrow raising commission on this deal GSI later indicated that the client had been in such a hurry that the bank had been obliged to assume greater risk by taking on the burden of the loan before finding investors.

So, why was Najib in such a hurry and is is not important that the PM absolutely dispels any possible conclusion that the signing of the joint venture (never honoured by Aabar) on 12th March; 1MDB’s hasty raising of US$3 billion towards that joint venture by 19th March and then the payment of the US$680 million into the Prime Minister’s account for supposedly ‘election purposes’ on 19th and 21st of March could in any way be events that are related to each other?

Given that the PM has firmly said that this money was “not for personal use” and he has indicated it was spent by BN on the election (far in excess of all legal limits) what are onlookers to make of the fact that he dissolved Parliament and called that election just days later again on 3rd April?

Malaysians are understandably in need of reassurance that the aborted and unnecessarily expensive Aabar joint venture deal had nothing to do with the money that dropped like a thunderbolt into Najib’s account at this time and that it was indeed some other mystery Middle Eastern who was so generous as to secretly provide it, no strings attached?

Falcon Bank is owned by Aabar
After all, there is another extremely loud connection jangling in the minds of informed Malaysians linking Aabar to the Prime Minister’s finances in this matter.

As Sarawak Report and the Wall Street Journal pointed out when they revealed the existence of Najib’s secret pre-election ‘donation’, the money was traced as having originated from a BVI company account in Falcon Bank in Singapore.

It was transferred in two payments in dollar currency via the Wells Fargo Bank in the United States into one of Najib’s many AmPrivate Banking accounts in KL.

The owner of Falcon Bank is none other than Aabar.

The original Chairman of Falcon Bank, when it was bought by Aabar in 2009 had been Khadem al Qubaisi himself. By the time of this particular transfer in 2013 the Chairman was his trusty and ubiquitous deputy Mohammed al-Husseiny (cited above as having attended the joint venture signing with 1MDB days before in KL).

So, once again we are presented with a glaring link with Aabar and another good reason for the Prime Minister to be forced to deny that this Abu Dhabi joint venture party, which has done so well out of 1MDB had nothing to do with the splendid secret donation that he personally received.

Aabar’s other Najib bail-outs
It is appropriate in this context to remind readers of other acknowledged instances when Khadem and his deputy Mohammed al-Husseiny have been known to bail out Najib with terrifically generous investments.

The first occasion was when the Prime Minister and his step-son Riza attempted to shut down the growing clamour in Hollywood over who had bankrolled Riza’s film production company Red Granite’s US$100 million investment in the film Wolf of Wall Street.

After months of refusing to disclose their investors (in the face of speculation that none other than Riza’s good friend Jho Low might have been involved) Red Granite suddenly announced that the money had come from none other than the very same Mohammed al-Husseiny, Khadem’s deputy at Aabar, who had allegedly plucked the US$100 million out of his own pocket.

Since Mr al-Husseiny is merely an executive, all be it a senior one, at Aabar, this suggestion produced astonishment, but that has remained Red Granite’s story on the matter.

Of course, given Aabar’s financial ties with 1MDB, observers like Sarawak Report have been driven to question why this investment by al-Hussieny should be considered any more appropriate in terms of conflict of interest than if the financier had indeed been Jho Low?

We have received no reply on the matter.

Undisclosed assets promised in return for 1MDB bail-out
Meanwhile, recent months have seen another even more blatant and significant intervention by Aabar to rescue Najib Razak’s reputation as Finance Minister and the sole shareholder and decision-maker at 1MDB.

In June, whilst the floundering fund was finding it impossible to pay the US$1 billion it owed in debt repayments and international banks were threatening to foreclose, Malaysia faced possible financial disaster threatened by 1MDB’s collapse.

The Cabinet refused the PM/FM’s pleas to pay the debts of this supposedly independent fund headed by Najib.

Once again it was Aabar which at the eleventh hour put its hand in its deep pocket and paid the debt.

This was despte the fact that al Qubaisi was by this stage sacked from all his posts at the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, in the wake of our exposes.

Malaysians must wonder what hold Najib has to influence Aabar in such a way. Is Abu Dhabi embarrassed about something to do with al Qubaisi’s antics with 1MDB or have they yet again exacted a very nice price for their support?

According to an agreement later published on the London Stock Exchange (providing a transparency not available on such matters in Najib’s Malaysia) it was revealed that Aabar has agreed to pick up struggling 1MDB’s debts for the next 12 months in return for undisclosed “assets” to the value of those debts.

Despite entreaties from representatives of the public interest, Najib has refused to disclose what these assets promised to the Abu Dhabi fund might be.

However, once again Aabar has turned out to be present right at the heart of Najib’s dealings over 1MDB, which now faces being cannibalised and disbanded in a sea of losses and debt.

Which is why, for starters, Najib needs to promise Malaysia that the money that came into his private account had no links whatsoever with 1MDB’s involvements with Aabar, even though it came from a bank owned by Aabar two days after the negotiation of 1MDBs ‘strategic investment deal’ with Aabar raised US$3 billion in bonds, backed by a ‘letter of comfort’ from the Malaysian Government.

[attachmentid=4709061]

[Comic] Mee Sup BN

soundsyst64 — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 15:09:32 +0800

http://imgur.com/a/Ci1Co

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

When MACC used to be 4 letter word...

soundsyst64 — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 10:56:10 +0800

http://www.malaysia-today.net/when-macc-us...ur-letter-word/

MACC used to be a four-letter word. Well, it is a four-letter word but I meant the other four-letter word…no, not Umno…the other one.

MACC or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is supposed to be the agency that keeps politicians and civil servants honest. Of course, it also has powers to investigate corruption in the private sector and corporate world but its focus has been mainly in the public sector.

When it was first set up and was called the ACA or BPR it was headed by Malaysians whose reputation and service record were beyond question. Then, somehow, the agency began to go downhill and you would hear horror stories of selective prosecution or persecution, action meant to end the careers of rivals of certain politicians, deals being made through middlemen by those under investigation, of course for a fee, and so on.

It soon became apparent that the anti-corruption agency was merely the fox in charge of the chicken run. As the Malays would say: bagai suruh kambing jaga sireh. Invariably, the kambing would eat the sireh it was supposed to guard.

There was outrage when the MACC dropped investigations into certain high-profile cases such as the one against the ex-IGP Musa Hassan who was alleged to have links with the underworld that is involved in prostitution, drug trafficking, loan sharking and gambling.

No doubt it was not entirely MACC’s fault because the decision that there was no case against Musa was made by the ex-AG, Gani Patail. And this was in spite of eight statutory declarations signed by police officers and underworld operators that Musa was definitely not only involved with the underworld but was directing things.

Then we had the murders of Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, both who died while being interrogated by the MACC. These two incidents heightened the outrage against the MACC.

The MACC was alleged to be serving its political masters and was merely a tool to remove certain obstacles standing in the way of whoever it may be. Most Malaysians no longer had confidence and trust in the agency that was supposed to be the watchdog for the public but became a running dog instead.

The lawyer Rosli Dahlan and Commercial Crime Director Ramli Yusuff case was when the MACC really demonstrated what it was.

Ramli Yusuff was at that time investigating abuse of power and corruption in Malaysia’s national airlines, MAS. He then wrote to the then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi regarding the result of the police investigation and recommended that action be taken against those involved.

Ramli was swiftly arrested for alleged corruption and when Rosli acted for him as his solicitor he, too, was arrested and assaulted in the process. The court actually threw those so-called corruption cases out the window and the judge even commented that the witnesses were liars, the ex-IGP being one of them.

Then the MACC grew too big for its shoes. With the unbridled powers it had — save for times when the AG would order certain cases to be dropped — it decided to play the role of kingmaker in Malaysian politics.

When the plot was hatched to bring down Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, the MACC decided to join the gang of conspirators and do what it does best — fabricate charges against those they want to bring down.

But this time they did not find their victim such a pushover. Their victim fought back and with one swoop the MACC hunters have now become the hunted. And they do not like being on the receiving end of the persecution. They suddenly discovered that it is not a nice feeling after all.

So now the MACC is crying victim. They made so many people their victims. They even threw a couple out the window. But when the shoe is on the other foot they cannot take it.

However, they need not worry any longer. The opposition has now rushed to their rescue. Today, the opposition leaders visited the MACC office and pledged support. What the MACC did to Teoh Beng Hock, Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, Rosli Dahlan, Ramli Yusuff, and so many more, have been forgiven. All those many cases that they dropped when the criminals should instead have been sent to jail are now forgotten.

The MACC is now the icon of virtue and the true fighters of justice and seekers of the truth. This is now MACC 2.0, which Pakatan Rakyat 2.0 and its new Islamic party member, PAS 2.0, fully support.

Too bad Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed. May you turn in your graves. The MACC are now the good guys. So you two mother-fookers must be the bad guys.

15 minutes of fun before gets shot

soundsyst64 — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 11:15:23 +0800

http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/jenayah/15...tembak-1.120660

SUBANG JAYA 4 Ogos - 15 minit sahaja. Itu mungkin tempoh kegembiraan sempat dirasai dua penjenayah yang menyamun beg tangan seorang wanita di hadapan sebuah bank di Puchong Prima sebelum mereka ditembak mati oleh polis, di sini hari ini.

Dalam kejadian itu, dua suspek menyamun seorang wanita berusia 39 tahun yang baru sahaja mengeluarkan wang tunai dari sebuah bank pada pukul 11.15 pagi.

Cermin kereta mangsa telah dipecahkan dan beg tangan berisi wang tunai dilarikan dua penjenayah yang menaiki kereta Honda City.

Kejadian itu kemudiannya segera dimaklumkan kepada polis dan anggota dari Unit Siasatan Jenayah Berat (D9) Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) yang sedang membuat rondaan di kawasan sekitar telah bergegas ke lokasi kejadian.

Selepas itu, kereta penjenayah dikesan di Persiaran Puchong Permai menghala ke Taman Puchong Tekali dan suspek diarahkan untuk memberhentikan kenderaan.
Namun, permintaan diabaikan malah mereka turut bertindak agresif.

Difahamkan, pasukan polis kemudiannya berjaya memintas kereta suspek tetapi penjenayah itu enggan bekerjasama dan bertindak lebih agresif dengan cuba menyerang anggota pasukan keselamatan.

Sementara itu, Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Selangor, Datuk Mohd. Adnan Abdullah berkata, suspek yang bersenjatakan parang memberhentikan kereta dan menyerang anggota polis yang mahu menahan mereka.

“Beberapa das tembakan telah dilepaskan kerana suspek mahu menyerang polis dan kedua-duanya meninggal dunia di lokasi kejadian,” katanya.

Mohd. Adnan memberitahu, siasatan awal mendapati kereta yang digunakan suspek itu dilaporkan disamun di Kelana Jaya pada Ahad lalu.

“Sekurang-kurangnya sembilan kes samun di sekitar Sungai Buloh, Cheras, Dengkil, Puchong, Putra Perdana, Seri Kembangan, Kampung Baru Subang dan Bandar Bukit Puchong dipercayai telah dilakukan oleh mereka pada tahun ini.  “Malah kita juga masih menjalankan siasatan terperinci mengenai kegiatan jenayah kumpulan ini terutamanya di sekitar Lembah Klang,” katanya.

Bagaimanapun, beliau memberitahu, identiti dua suspek yang ditembak itu masih belum dikenal pasti dan polis sedang giat melakukan siasatan.

Mohd. Adnan berkata, pihaknya turut menemukan sebuah beg tangan, tiga nombor pendaftaran kenderaan di dalam kereta yang dipercayai digunakan untuk melakukan aktiviti samun.
“Selain itu, tiga bilah parang iaitu dua digunakan suspek manakala sebilah lagi dijumpai dalam kereta tersebut,” katanya.

Johor MB's son poses 15 questions to Najib

soundsyst64 — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 09:44:34 +0800

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...o-najib-on-1mdb

Akmal, who is chairman of the security, law and integrity committee of Malaysia's youth Parliament, posed Najib 15 questions following the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) announcement yesterday that no funds from state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) had been put into the prime minister's personal accounts in AmBank and that the US$700 million had come from donors instead.

"What proof is there that the funds are donations and not money related to 1MDB or from any parties which has transaction related to 1MDB?"

Akmal Saufi's questions were posted in the blog Apanama today..

The questions follow a statement posted by his father Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin earlier, that Umno must not allow itself to be "used" as a party to protect the "interests of a few".

Allegations of RM2.67 billion in Najib's accounts first surfaced in a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on July 2, citing documents from Malaysian investigators.

The WSJ said the source of the funds were unknown, but had flowed through 1MDB-linked entities in various tranches, the largest of which – US$681 million – was channelled to Najib's accounts in March 2013, ahead of the general election in May that year.

The prime minister had denied taking 1MDB funds for personal use, but had not directly addressed the fund transfers.

A few of Najib's Cabinet members had previously said that there is nothing wrong in money being funnelled into Najib's personal accounts as he had the capacity to be a trustee for Umno, of which he is president.

In referring to the MACC's announcement that the funds were actually from donors, Akmal Saufi asked if Najib was aware that such a large sum of money had been deposited into his personal accounts.

He also asked if the money was donation to the government, for Umno or personal purposes.

"If the money is for Umno, does the Umno leadership, especially the supreme council, knows about the funds?

"If the Umno supreme council does not know about it, does this mean Umno will not know of its existence if Datuk Seri do not inform them?" he said in referring to Najib's honorific title.

"When do you plan to inform the supreme council if it was not exposed to them?".

If the money is a personal donation to Najib and not to the party, Akmal Saufi asked if the prime minister accepted it when he was a minister.

"Can a minister or deputy minister or prime minister receive donations when he holds a post in the government?

"Or the donation needs to be declared to the people and other Cabinet members?" he further asked.

He then queried if Bank Negara governor and other officials knew about the movement of the RM2.67 billion into the country.

He also asked if the Inland Revenue Board is aware that such a huge amount of money had been received by Najib.

"If yes, have Datuk Seri paid any taxes based on the amount?

"Can a prime minister get tax exemption?

"If Datuk Seri gets tax exemption, is it from your salary or from any donations received by you?"

He added if the donation is for the government then why is it the finance ministry does not seem to be aware of its existence. – August 4, 2015.

Statement from Clare Rewcastle-Brown

soundsyst64 — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 05:19:04 +0800

https://www.facebook.com/sarawakreport/post...137512302942238

I have been asked for response on this latest move by the Malaysian authorities to attempt to extradite me by issuing a warrant for my arrest, which they say they will pass to Interpol.

My first comment is that this action could hardly be more counter-productive on the part of a government that is seeking to assure the world that it is a sane democracy.

My action has been to publish information, which some in power do not like. Yet, the 'crime' they are accusing me of is of "an activity detrimental to democracy". It is they who are being detrimental to democracy by suppressing free speech and arresting people for questioning people in authority.

I am still unclear whether the agents of the Prime Minister are accusing me of "forging false documents" or obtaining documents through "criminal leakages", since they have simultaneously accused me of both in the past few days and have been rounding up all sorts of senior investigators to try and find out who might have passed me such leaks.

They need to make up their minds about this before they bring their charges and they really ought to produce some substantive and convincing evidence of their other accusation that I am part of some international plot intent on falsely accusing the Prime Minister of crimes for reasons unknown.

I am merely an investigative journalist who has been doing my job, by unravelling one hell of an international scandal involving people in high places and the grand larceny of public monies.

It's as simple as that - no plot and no vested interest. The interest of the public is my motivation and duty. Conversely, the public are at liberty to reach their own conclusions over what has motivated the recent actions of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, who has spent the past few days, sacking, removing and arresting just about anybody who has been officially engaged in investigating the scandal I have been reporting on - the missing billions from 1MDB. Moreover, he has not just attacked my blog and myself, but other reputable news organisations, closing down two papers in Malaysia.

If the Prime Minister had nothing to hide in this matter and if my reports were false there would be numerous more orthodox and far less disruptive methods of dealing with me than sacking his Deputy Prime Minister; sacking the AG; closing down the PAC and dismissing members of his cabinet. He could simply have issued libel proceedings or he could have produced evidence (e.g. correct bank statements and transfer documents) that would have shown my reports to be untrue.

It is time to move forward

soundsyst64 — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 10:46:00 +0800

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015...ls-new-Cabinet/

PUTRAJAYA: It’s time to get back to serving the people and regaining public confidence, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told his new Cabinet line-up.

“Now that we are done with the Cabinet reshuffle, we need to move forward.

“There is a lot to do, especially in economic matters. Our priority is to lower the cost of living for the people,” he said when addressing the monthly assembly of the Prime Minister’s Department here yesterday.

He said it was not just about helping the people put food on the table as there were also other problems that needed addressing such as affordable housing, employment and improving government service.

“These are all detailed in the National Transformation Policy.

“Under the 11th Malaysia Plan, the focus is to help double the income of those in the bottom 40% group within the next five years,” he added.

Najib also said the Government has a task to address the “confidence deficit” that is affecting it.

“On social media, the battle between perception and reality is our challenge.

“Perception always tends to be stronger than reality.

“However, I believe all of these concerns can be addressed if the Cabinet works as one strong unit. We can overcome all challenges if we work together,” said Najib.

He also thanked former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for his service and also mentioned other former Cabinet members Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, Datuk Seri Hasan Malek and Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin.

Speaking at the Finance Ministry Hari Raya gathering, Najib who is also Finance Minister, said the Government was preparing a better financial and fiscal strategy to meet the people’s aspiration.

The Prime Minister said the present world and regional economic situation poses a great challenge.

“We need to be more focused and work as a team,” he said.

Also present were his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah and Deputy Finance Ministers Datuk Chua Tee Yong and Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

Polis Evo

soundsyst64 — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 16:21:14 +0800

[YOUTUBE]1AdTm41WhlY[/YOUTUBE]