Raja Petra Kamarudin
How many of you remember KAL007. No, I am not talking about one of those James Bond movies if that is what you are thinking. Still don’t remember? I thought many of you would not.
KAL007 was the Korean Airlines flight 007 that took off from runaway 32, Merrill Field airport, in Anchorage, Alaska, at 4.30am on 31 August 1983. The Boeing 747 plane was bound for Seoul’s Kimpo airport. Aboard the flight were 240 passengers, a cabin crew of 20, a three-man flight crew, and six other Korean Airlines crew members.
Shortly after take off, the plane veered off-course into Soviet air space. At 18.62 GMT, the Russians shot the plane out of the sky and all 269 souls onboard were lost.
According to the Russians, the plane may have been a commercial flight, but it was on a clandestine military mission over Soviet territory, basically on a spying mission (maybe the '007' gave it away). Nevertheless, the Russians refused to explain what really happened and, when asked by the media, they replied that the world has a memory of only 100 days. Within 100 days, something else will happen and everyone would be distracted and forget about KAL007. So why bother to explain? Just keep quiet for 100 days and soon enough the problem would solve itself -- people would forget and stop talking about the issue.
The United States was understandably outraged over the incident, especially when it was suspected that Korean Airlines flight 007 was on a US spy mission. Anyway, after 100 days, the incident was totally forgotten and the ‘news’ no longer carried by the media.
So the Russians were right.
Then, on 3 July 1988, the Americans shot down Iran Air flight 655 over the Persian Gulf. This was of course a genuine mistake. The radar man aboard the US Navy cruiser, the USS Vincennes, mistook it for an Iranian F-14 Tomcat and sent two missiles to bring the plane down at a loss of 274 passengers and 16 crew members. At that time the Gulf was a ‘no fly zone’ so any non-commercial flights had to be shot down by the ‘policemen of the world’.
Now it was the Americans’ turn to face public outrage.
This just goes to prove one thing. Just keep quiet and the world will soon enough forget. Secondly, your ‘enemies’ eventually make the same mistake and they would have to stop criticising you when they are busy defending themselves and are trying to explain their own actions. And chances are, your enemies will not do what you did -- that is, keep quiet -- but will sing and dance in trying to wangle out of the sorry state they got themselves in.
Do I need to explain this further in relation to the present Umno crisis? If I must then you are not old enough to read this.
Malays say: Melayu mudah lupa (Malays easily forget). Well, the Russians say that the world also easily forgets, and it takes just 100 days for the world to forget. This is why, as some of you have charged, some of my articles, reports and exposes appear repetitive. I agree when you say that sometimes I repeat what I have said in the past, though maybe in a different language and against a new backdrop or scenario. But Melayu mudah lupa, so I am forced to repeat myself to constantly remind all and sundry that things are not settled yet. The issue may be old. But since the issue is still outstanding and yet to be resolved, then it stays current and I need to keep harping on the matter with no intention of trying to sound like a stuck record or giving the impression I am flogging a dead horse.
Back to Korean Airlines flight 007. If I had not related the incident above, would you have remembered it? Sad to say, only those who have lost family members aboard that flight would. And what about Iran Air flight 655? Some would remember Korean Airlines flight 007, but very few remember Iran Air flight 655. This is because the US is our friend and Russia our enemy. So we remember the wrongs our enemies did but those perpetuated by our friends are quickly forgotten.
Malaysia Today has no friends. All are enemies -- so all are game as far as Malaysia Today is concerned. Malaysia Today, as the Malays would say, tidak pileh bulu (we do not discriminate or favour). We carry anything that is of interest to the public without fear or favour.
Malaysia Today believes in a free media and freedom of the media. Under such a concept we cannot choose what to carry based on what hurts our enemies and helps our friends. We carry anything that may hurt either, as long as it is in the public interest. And that is why we try not to have any friends as one normally becomes biased when it involves one’s friends.
Many cannot understand why Malaysia Today organised a talk for ex-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday, 24 June 2006. Mahathir is the ‘enemy’. It was he who signed the papers to detain me under the Internal Security Act. And my ‘crime’ warranting my detention was opposing the powers-that-be, the head of that power elite then being Mahathir himself.
Many find it even stranger that I would host Mahathir to a Malaysia Today event considering my background as the Director of the Free Anwar Campaign (FAC). The FAC was bitterly opposed to Mahathir and we fought tooth and nail for Anwar Ibrahim’s freedom. That should make Malaysia Today bitterly anti-Mahathir and fanatically pro-Anwar.
Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that is not how a free media works. A free media means without fear or favour, and no two ways about it. And if anyone of you cannot grasp this then you are not ready yet for a free media.
Malaysia Today respects freedom of speech and will defend the right of anyone to say their piece. To quote an old cliché, we may not agree with what you say, but we will defend to the death your right to say it.
It is very easy to defend the rights of your friends as you love your friends. But it is very difficult to defend the rights of your enemies as you hate your enemies. Mahathir was named as the Top Ten Enemies of the Press when he was Prime Minister. Today, Malaysia Today offers Mahathir a place to voice out. Probably only Christians can understand this concept of love thy enemies. Malaysia Today would like to ‘teach’ Mahathir the concept of free speech, something he did not tolerate when he was in power. And, in the same process, we hope those presently in power can also understand what it means. This is more important actually.
In March 2001, I was arrested under the Sedition Act for upholding free speech. The police also raided my house and confiscated my computer. I was detained again in April 2001 under the Internal Security Act for the same ‘crime’. These were all under Mahathir’s watch.
One year ago, in June 2005, I was called in to Bukit Aman, also under the Sedition Act, for what I wrote on the Negeri Sembilan Royal Family. They again confiscated all the computers in my house. Earlier, in December 2004, the Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, made a statement on TV that I can be arrested under the Internal Security Act for my ‘crime’ of insulting Islam. Both these incidents were under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s tenure as prime minister.
Yes, Abdullah is no different from all the other prime ministers before him, down to the First Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. Dissent, free speech, criticism, opposing views, and anything at all not favourable to the government are not tolerated. And those upholding such ‘western’ values will suffer retaliation, persecution and probably prosecution as well. And if they can’t prosecute you then they will resort to detention without trial.
On Monday, all the chief editors of the mainstream media were summoned to Putrajaya to be told that there is to be a total media blackout on Mahathir. The media is to censor all statements by Mahathir criticising the government. Only statements criticising Mahathir can be featured. This makes Malaysia Today even more determined to feature Mahathir. The more they clamp down on Mahathir, the more Malaysia Today wants to cover him. And this has nothing to do with whether we support him or otherwise. It is all about a free media and freedom of the media.
Mahathir must be allowed to speak. Mahathir must be allowed to criticise the government. And those who criticise Mahathir in turn must also be given equal air time. Let it be a two-way street. However, since the mainstream media and TV stations already carry ample anti-Mahathir material, then Malaysia Today need not perform this job. But when they blackout Mahathir from the mainstream media, then Malaysia Today will have to take up the cause of that man who at one time was named Enemy of the Press.
Ironical isn’t it? Today, only your enemies want to take up your cause while your friends have become your worst critics. Yes, that is Malaysia Today. We practice a free media and freedom of the media to a fault. And will all those who do not understand or accept this concept please leave the room and go play in the corner with the small boys.
Read more...
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
To know you is to love you
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The Malays say, if you love your wife then leave her, and if you love your children then beat them. In Bahasa Malaysia this would be: kalau saying isteri ditinggal-tinggalkan dan kalau saya anak dipukul-pukulkan. Not sure whether my Malay grammar is correct or not but I am sure you catch my drift nevertheless. I suppose the English concept to this would be ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ and ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’. Yes, sometimes familiarisation does breed contempt and the occasional ‘space’ would certainly make you miss the one you love. After all, love can be suffocating at times, if you know what I mean. But make sure the ‘absence’ is not a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
Since we are reminiscing about old sayings, we might as well go all the way. They also say: to know you is to love you. Malays would say: tak kenal maka tak cinta.
Kind of contradictory isn’t it? You need to know someone to love that person. But then, if you crowd each other too much, then you get on each other’s nerves and climb the wall. So, to strengthen that love, you must endure a period of separation once in awhile. And you need to beat, chide or take to task that person you love as a sign of love.
Never mind though. These are all old sayings anyway and old in Malaysia is not relevant. Today, cars become ‘old models’ even before the warranty period expires, and it reaches ‘no value’ before you can finish paying off the monthly instalments on it. Cell phones or hand phones become obsolete as soon as you walk out from the shop and are still in your car driving home. Such is the ‘throw away’ society that we have become.
And when do politicians become old, obsolete or expired? When they touch 80? When they celebrate their 70th birthday? By the time they no longer know how to spell their own name? Well, none of the above actually. Politicians become old, obsolete or expired when they no longer hold office. When you are in office it does not matter what age you are. You can be 39 (the age when Khairy Jamaluddin ‘got into office’) or 79 (roughly the age when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad left office). As long as you hold office you are very much relevant. People bow when you walk pass. They kiss your hand. And if they are Malay, they will clasp their hands over their testicles when they address or talk to those in power. (I think it is called pegang peler in Bahasa Malaysia, the act of putting your hands over your family jewels when you are talking to someone important).
The Chinese say it is like riding a tiger. When you are astride a tiger you are very powerful and very few people dare face you unless in an act of respect. But once you get tired and decide to get off the tiger, then you are eaten alive in an instant. The bottom line is, once you are astride a tiger, you must never get off. You need to remain riding that tiger until you die. In short, you must die standing, not die sleeping. If you decide to die sleeping, then you will die with your eyes wide open. And Malays believe that those who die with their eyes open are those who have left this world with an unaccomplished mission.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, the First Prime Minister and Father of Independence (Bapa Merdeka), learnt this the hard way. So did Hussein Onn, the Third Prime Minister. Ghafar Baba too suffered this, twice in his career. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was not spared this either back in 1987. In fact, many Malaysian politicians would qualify for membership to this Hall of Un-fame. The list would certainly be endless and is not exclusive to only Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers.
Well, today, Dr Mahathir is rapidly discovering what it is like to be a political ‘has been’. Would you want to visit Dr Mahathir today and kiss his hand like you did when he was the Prime Minister? Would you declare Dr Mahathir the Father of Modern Malaysia like Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the Father of Modern Turkey? The Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) has in fact labelled Dr Mahathir as Malaysia’s Kemal Ataturk. But this was done not as a sign of respect but to suggest that Dr Mahathir has ‘destroyed’ Islam like what Ataturk did in Turkey more than 80 years ago.
Malaysians in general and Malays in particular flock to those in power and sing their praises, when they are still in power. This, as what Dr Mahathir once said about a decade ago, is the ‘herd mentality’. Cattle, or lembu in Bahasa Malaysia, do this. That is why ten cowboys can control thousands of lembu. They only need to control the head of the lembu and guide it where they want it to go and the thousands of other lembu would just follow the leader of the lembu. Tunku Abdul Rahman also said this. Just pegang kepala (control the head), said the Tunku, and the ekor (tail) would follow.
I suppose this is how the Malays became Muslims. Once the Ruler converted to Islam, the entire population followed suit, though they did not fully understand what Islam was all about; and until today many still do not. It is therefore very easy to control the herd or lembu. Just make sure the head follows you and the thousands of others would be with you.
Okay, who is the ‘head’ we are talking about here? Of course this would be the President of Umno, a.k.a the Prime Minister of Malaysia. If he is with you, then the other 190 of the 191 Ketua Bahagian (division heads) would also be with you. And if the 191 Ketua Bahagian are with you, then the Ahli Jawatankuasa Bahagian (division committee members) would be with you as well. And if all the Ahli Jawatankuasa Bahagian stand by your side, then the 3.5 million Umno members would throw their lot behind you. And if the entire Umno is solidly behind you, then the whole of Barisan Nasional would sing your praises.
Sigh.....that is how the herd mentality works. Dr Mahathir himself has told us about how it works. And today Dr Mahathir is learning how accurate he was ten years ago in describing the scenario.
Recently, in a dialogue in Penang, Anwar Ibrahim was asked why Raja Petra and Malaysia Today are so critical of him. Anwar replied, “He criticises me 1%, so that means he still supports me 99%.” So there is no harm in Malaysia Today criticising him, argued Anwar. After all, Malaysia Today is independent and we should respect the independence of the media and the right to free speech. This also demonstrates what would happen if the opposition were to come to power, explained Anwar. The opposition would allow space for criticism and dissent and would respect the right to free speech and opposing views.
I suppose if Dr Mahathir was asked that same question he would reply, “Raja Petra criticises me 99%, so that means he still supports me 1%.” And Dr Mahathir, at least today, would agree with Anwar on the right to free speech, independence of the media, etc. like what was argued by Anwar in Penang.
Yes, Anwar and Dr Mahathir must both learn that there is no such thing as 100% support. Neither will we oppose them 100%. We will disagree with them even if we support them. And we will agree with them even if we do not support them. But we will agree or disagree with them based on issues, not on personalities or for the fact that we support or do not support them.
I disagreed with Anwar when he was in government. I was one of his strongest critics and he knows this. But I supported him in 1998 when I felt an injustice had been done to him. I was one of Dr Mahathir’s opponents back in the late 1980s, ten years before Anwar was sacked and while Anwar was still ‘carrying Mahathir’s balls’. Today, Dr Mahathir is no longer Prime Minister and I do not wish to kick a deflated ball like those very brave Umno souls who will kick a person only when he is down and never while he is on top.
Do I like Dr Mahathir? Why not I put it another way? Do I need to like Dr Mahathir? Are we concerned about the singer or the song? I don’t care who the singer is as long as the song is music to my ears. Most times I do not even know who the singer is though the song that singer sings is one of my favourites.
In that same context, if Anwar sings a song I like, I will listen. But if the song is shit, then I tune off. And if Dr Mahathir sings a song I like, I will also listen. And the same goes if I don’t like what comes out of his mouth; I will close my ears. Whether I like Anwar and dislike Dr Mahathir, or vice versa, is of no consequence to me.
Well, lately, Dr Mahathir has been singing many right tunes. I really don’t want to repeat all that I have written in The Corridors of Power, The Khairy Chronicles, Loony Malaysia, and Monday Morning Blues. I am sure you know what I am talking about. What Dr Mahathir says makes sense and is music to my ears. So I listen. And if Anwar sings equally beautiful tunes, I will listen as well. But I will never listen to Anwar because I like him or close my ears to Dr Mahathir because I dislike him. It is the song, not the singer, that counts.
Read more...
The Malays say, if you love your wife then leave her, and if you love your children then beat them. In Bahasa Malaysia this would be: kalau saying isteri ditinggal-tinggalkan dan kalau saya anak dipukul-pukulkan. Not sure whether my Malay grammar is correct or not but I am sure you catch my drift nevertheless. I suppose the English concept to this would be ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ and ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’. Yes, sometimes familiarisation does breed contempt and the occasional ‘space’ would certainly make you miss the one you love. After all, love can be suffocating at times, if you know what I mean. But make sure the ‘absence’ is not a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
Since we are reminiscing about old sayings, we might as well go all the way. They also say: to know you is to love you. Malays would say: tak kenal maka tak cinta.
Kind of contradictory isn’t it? You need to know someone to love that person. But then, if you crowd each other too much, then you get on each other’s nerves and climb the wall. So, to strengthen that love, you must endure a period of separation once in awhile. And you need to beat, chide or take to task that person you love as a sign of love.
Never mind though. These are all old sayings anyway and old in Malaysia is not relevant. Today, cars become ‘old models’ even before the warranty period expires, and it reaches ‘no value’ before you can finish paying off the monthly instalments on it. Cell phones or hand phones become obsolete as soon as you walk out from the shop and are still in your car driving home. Such is the ‘throw away’ society that we have become.
And when do politicians become old, obsolete or expired? When they touch 80? When they celebrate their 70th birthday? By the time they no longer know how to spell their own name? Well, none of the above actually. Politicians become old, obsolete or expired when they no longer hold office. When you are in office it does not matter what age you are. You can be 39 (the age when Khairy Jamaluddin ‘got into office’) or 79 (roughly the age when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad left office). As long as you hold office you are very much relevant. People bow when you walk pass. They kiss your hand. And if they are Malay, they will clasp their hands over their testicles when they address or talk to those in power. (I think it is called pegang peler in Bahasa Malaysia, the act of putting your hands over your family jewels when you are talking to someone important).
The Chinese say it is like riding a tiger. When you are astride a tiger you are very powerful and very few people dare face you unless in an act of respect. But once you get tired and decide to get off the tiger, then you are eaten alive in an instant. The bottom line is, once you are astride a tiger, you must never get off. You need to remain riding that tiger until you die. In short, you must die standing, not die sleeping. If you decide to die sleeping, then you will die with your eyes wide open. And Malays believe that those who die with their eyes open are those who have left this world with an unaccomplished mission.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, the First Prime Minister and Father of Independence (Bapa Merdeka), learnt this the hard way. So did Hussein Onn, the Third Prime Minister. Ghafar Baba too suffered this, twice in his career. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was not spared this either back in 1987. In fact, many Malaysian politicians would qualify for membership to this Hall of Un-fame. The list would certainly be endless and is not exclusive to only Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers.
Well, today, Dr Mahathir is rapidly discovering what it is like to be a political ‘has been’. Would you want to visit Dr Mahathir today and kiss his hand like you did when he was the Prime Minister? Would you declare Dr Mahathir the Father of Modern Malaysia like Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the Father of Modern Turkey? The Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) has in fact labelled Dr Mahathir as Malaysia’s Kemal Ataturk. But this was done not as a sign of respect but to suggest that Dr Mahathir has ‘destroyed’ Islam like what Ataturk did in Turkey more than 80 years ago.
Malaysians in general and Malays in particular flock to those in power and sing their praises, when they are still in power. This, as what Dr Mahathir once said about a decade ago, is the ‘herd mentality’. Cattle, or lembu in Bahasa Malaysia, do this. That is why ten cowboys can control thousands of lembu. They only need to control the head of the lembu and guide it where they want it to go and the thousands of other lembu would just follow the leader of the lembu. Tunku Abdul Rahman also said this. Just pegang kepala (control the head), said the Tunku, and the ekor (tail) would follow.
I suppose this is how the Malays became Muslims. Once the Ruler converted to Islam, the entire population followed suit, though they did not fully understand what Islam was all about; and until today many still do not. It is therefore very easy to control the herd or lembu. Just make sure the head follows you and the thousands of others would be with you.
Okay, who is the ‘head’ we are talking about here? Of course this would be the President of Umno, a.k.a the Prime Minister of Malaysia. If he is with you, then the other 190 of the 191 Ketua Bahagian (division heads) would also be with you. And if the 191 Ketua Bahagian are with you, then the Ahli Jawatankuasa Bahagian (division committee members) would be with you as well. And if all the Ahli Jawatankuasa Bahagian stand by your side, then the 3.5 million Umno members would throw their lot behind you. And if the entire Umno is solidly behind you, then the whole of Barisan Nasional would sing your praises.
Sigh.....that is how the herd mentality works. Dr Mahathir himself has told us about how it works. And today Dr Mahathir is learning how accurate he was ten years ago in describing the scenario.
Recently, in a dialogue in Penang, Anwar Ibrahim was asked why Raja Petra and Malaysia Today are so critical of him. Anwar replied, “He criticises me 1%, so that means he still supports me 99%.” So there is no harm in Malaysia Today criticising him, argued Anwar. After all, Malaysia Today is independent and we should respect the independence of the media and the right to free speech. This also demonstrates what would happen if the opposition were to come to power, explained Anwar. The opposition would allow space for criticism and dissent and would respect the right to free speech and opposing views.
I suppose if Dr Mahathir was asked that same question he would reply, “Raja Petra criticises me 99%, so that means he still supports me 1%.” And Dr Mahathir, at least today, would agree with Anwar on the right to free speech, independence of the media, etc. like what was argued by Anwar in Penang.
Yes, Anwar and Dr Mahathir must both learn that there is no such thing as 100% support. Neither will we oppose them 100%. We will disagree with them even if we support them. And we will agree with them even if we do not support them. But we will agree or disagree with them based on issues, not on personalities or for the fact that we support or do not support them.
I disagreed with Anwar when he was in government. I was one of his strongest critics and he knows this. But I supported him in 1998 when I felt an injustice had been done to him. I was one of Dr Mahathir’s opponents back in the late 1980s, ten years before Anwar was sacked and while Anwar was still ‘carrying Mahathir’s balls’. Today, Dr Mahathir is no longer Prime Minister and I do not wish to kick a deflated ball like those very brave Umno souls who will kick a person only when he is down and never while he is on top.
Do I like Dr Mahathir? Why not I put it another way? Do I need to like Dr Mahathir? Are we concerned about the singer or the song? I don’t care who the singer is as long as the song is music to my ears. Most times I do not even know who the singer is though the song that singer sings is one of my favourites.
In that same context, if Anwar sings a song I like, I will listen. But if the song is shit, then I tune off. And if Dr Mahathir sings a song I like, I will also listen. And the same goes if I don’t like what comes out of his mouth; I will close my ears. Whether I like Anwar and dislike Dr Mahathir, or vice versa, is of no consequence to me.
Well, lately, Dr Mahathir has been singing many right tunes. I really don’t want to repeat all that I have written in The Corridors of Power, The Khairy Chronicles, Loony Malaysia, and Monday Morning Blues. I am sure you know what I am talking about. What Dr Mahathir says makes sense and is music to my ears. So I listen. And if Anwar sings equally beautiful tunes, I will listen as well. But I will never listen to Anwar because I like him or close my ears to Dr Mahathir because I dislike him. It is the song, not the singer, that counts.
Read more...
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Monday Morning Blues
Monday, June 12, 2006
It is not what you know but who you know
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Scomi Group Bhd is an investment holding company with subsidiaries involved in the oil and gas support services. As at 2nd March 2006, Scomi has a total of 995.2 million shares of RM0.10 each with an authorised share capital of RM300 million and paid up share capital of RM99.52 million.
Scomi Group’s core business is in the oil and gas industry, offering the following products and services:
• drilling fluids and related engineering services for drilling operations;
• provision of drilling waste management solutions;
• distribution of products & services;
• supply of industrial & production chemicals & production enhancement;
• marine vessel;
• engineering business;
Scomi’s business operations are conducted through its main subsidiary and associate companies:
• Kota Minerals & Chemicals Sdn Bhd
• KMC Oiltools Bermuda Limited
• Scomi Marine Bhd
• Scomi Engineering Bhd
Registered office:
Suite 5.03, 5th Floor
Wisma Chase Perdana
Off Jalan Semantan
Damansara Heights
50490 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Top Shareholders (with shareholding)
1) Kaspadu Sdn Bhd – Direct 209,815,055 (21.33%) and Indirect 155,121,970 (15.77%) held through Onstream Marine Sdn Bhd
2) Onstream Marine Sdn Bhd - 155,121,970 - 15.77%
3) Shah Hakim @ Shahzanim bin Zain - Direct 1,250,000 (0.13%) and Indirect 364,937,025 (37.1%) held through Kaspadu Sdn Bhd
4) Kamaludin bin Abdullah - 364,937,025 (37.1%) held through Kaspadu Sdn Bhd
5) Employee Provident Fund Board - 49,796,600 (5.06%)
Directors (shareholding)
1) Tan Sri Datuk Asmat bin Kamaludin - Chairman (400,000)
2) Tan Sri Nik Mohamed bin Nik Yaacob
3) Datuk Hamzah bin Bakar
4) Datuk Haron bin Siraj (120,000)
5) Dato’ Mohammed Azlan bin Hashim
6) Dato’ Mohamed Azman bin Yahya (400,000)
7) Foong Choong Hong (160,000)
8) Mukhnizam bin Mahmud (85,800)
9) Shah Hakim @ Shahzanim bin Zain (1,250,000)
Kaspadu Sdn Bhd (Scomi’s main shareholder)
Company number: 259131V
Date of incorporation: 9 March 1993
Authorised capital: RM100,000.00
Paid up capital: RM100,000.00
Directors:
Mukhnizam bin Mahmud
Shah Hakim @ Shahzanim bin Zain
Hilmy Zaini bin Zainal
Kamaluddin bin Abdullah
Shareholders (number of shares of RM100 each):
Nazimah binti Syed Majid (27,500)
Kamaluddin bin Abdullah (36,250)
Shah Hakim @ Shahzamin bin Zain (36,250)
Financial Highlights (as at 31 December 2002):
Fixed Assets: RM20,494,464.00
Total Investments: RM1,283,384.00
Current Assets: RM97,213,927.00
Other Assets: RM7,150,228.00
Total Assets: RM64,802,835.00
Share Premium and Reserves: RM939,307.00
Unappropriated Profits: RM6,239,009.00
Minority Interest: RM30,130,589.00
Long Term Deferred Liabilities: RM27,393,930.00
Current Liabilities: RM61,339,168.00
Operating Revenue: RM158,554,242.00
Profit Before Taxation: RM18,749,144.00
Profit Carried Forward: RM6,239,009.00
25 February 2005: Scomi earnings surge 340%
Scomi Group Bhd’s earnings surged 340% to RM61.50 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2004, with the oil and gas (O&G) division contributing 97% of the net profit. The previous year's net profit was RM14.02 million.
Announcing the results on Feb 25, the company said revenue jumped 263% to RM590.45 million, with the bulk from O&G, compared with RM162.47 million a year ago. Earnings per share was 6.95 sen.
“The O&G division had benefited from the increase in exploration, development and production activities in the oil and gas industry,” it said in a statement.
Scomi said the acquisition of a 77.7% interest in KMC Oiltools Bermuda Ltd (Oiltools) contributed positively to the revenue and profits.
“Although only two quarters of Oiltools’ results were consolidated, approximately 44% and 39% of the group’s revenue and profits, respectively, were contributed by Oiltools,” it said.
The company said the O&G division’s drilling fluids unit had secured new businesses in 2004. They were the supply of drilling fluids to Murphy Oil Sarawak and synthetic-based mud to Sarawak Shell Bhd and Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd.
For the fourth quarter, Scomi recorded a net profit of RM21.42 million, which was more than the RM14.02 million for the entire financial year of 2003. For the quarter, revenue jumped to RM213.20 million compared with RM58.11 million.
Scomi said the higher net profit was also due to certain non-taxable foreign sourced income, low tax rate for foreign subsidiaries and also credits arising from the acquisition of the remaining 50% of KMC Oiltools’ stake in Shetland Oiltools Ltd.
24 January 2006: Scomi lands RM1.5 billion contracts
Scomi Group Bhd's unit has secured contracts that are expected to generate some US$400 million (RM1.5 billion) in revenue through the provision of drilling fluids materials, equipment and services.
Its unit, Kota Minerals and Chemicals Sdn Bhd (KMC), had received the letters of awards from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, Sarawak Shell Bhd, Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc and Nippon Oil Exploration (M) Ltd.
“Based on the number of wells indicated in the joint tender document, the company estimates the revenue to be generated from the contracts to be about US$400 million (RM1.5 billion),” it said in a statement on Jan 24.
KMC received the last letter of award on Jan 19, it said. The contracts were expected to be for four years with an option to the tender parties to extend for another two years, it added.
Scomi said KMC was finalising the terms and conditions of the contracts to be signed with the tender parties.
24 February 2006: Scomi breaches RM1b revenue mark
Scomi Group Bhd's revenue crossed the RM1 billion mark in the year ended Dec 31, 2005, rising 81% to RM1.07 billion from RM590.46 million.
Its net profit soared 146% to RM151.69 million from RM61.49 million previously, on the back of strong contributions from its international commitments.
Basic earnings per share rose to 15.59 sen from 6.95 sen.
Scomi is involved in the oil and gas industry and has five core competencies: oilfield services, engineering, offshore marine, distribution, and product enhancement. Of the five areas of competencies, oilfield services was the largest contributor to turnover.
International markets contributed 73% to revenue with Asia Pacific the largest contributor. The company operates in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and North and West Africa.
Other contributors were from the disposal gain of Scomi’s manufacturing business to Scomi Engineering Bhd and a lower effective tax rate derived from certain non-taxable foreign sourced income and low tax rate for foreign subsidies.
Scomi expects to focus on organic growth and balance sheet management. It is expected to evaluate its options to increase yields from its assets like its vessels and drilling waste management equipment.
In a statement on Feb 24, Scomi Oilfield Services president Chris Pianca said: “The exponential growth of our turnover year-on-year is testimony to our strong foundation. With our global presence in 34 countries and cross selling of our products, we are well positioned to take advantage of the expected increase in drilling activities worldwide.
“Although the price of oil remains high, the impact to drilling activities is gradual. The oil and gas industry is seeing a significant increase in the infrastructure set up such as rig and vessel constructions. This will result in an increase in drilling activities at a later stage that will positively impact our business,” he added.
28 March 2006: Scomi Engineering wins another major order
Scomi Engineering Bhd's Singapore machine shop unit, OMS Oilfield Services Pte Ltd, has received another major order from Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) for the supply of large diameter casing pipes and connectors.
In a statement on March 28, Scomi Engineering said the order, which is targeted for delivery in the second and third quarters, could contribute about RM35 million to revenue.
It said this was the fourth straight successful order for the material from Saudi Aramco since OMS penetrated the market a few years ago. For the 2005 financial year, the machine shop unit contributed 73% to the turnover of Scomi Engineering.
“We will continue to aggressively market our services and to extend our market presence in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions,” said Scomi Engineering's senior vice president, Hilmy Zaini.
14 April 2006: Scomi Marine gets Tenaga coal shipments job
Scomi Marine Bhd has received a letter of intent from TNB Fuel Services Sdn Bhd for a coal shipment contract for three years from Oct 1, with an option to extend for another two years, the company said.
Scomi Marine told Bursa Malaysia on April 14 that under the contract, it would be required to transport 500,000 tonnes (with 20% variation) of coal from Australia, Indonesia and South Africa yearly.
It said TNB Fuel Services would determine the actual quantity of coal to be transported and from which country upon finalisation of the contract.
Scomi Marine is involved in the marine logistics business of the energy sector. It said the contract was in line with its plans to expand its coal transportation business, involving inter-country marine logistics services.
28 April 2006: Scomi acquires 51% of MTrans for RM30 million
Scomi Engineering Bhd is acquiring a 51% stake in MTrans Transportation Systems Sdn Bhd for RM30 million to provide it a platform to be a key player in urban transportation.
Scomi Engineering had on April 28 signed an agreement with Kiara Kilau Sdn Bhd, which owns 100% stake in MTrans, to acquire the 51% stake. MTrans owns bus manufacturer MTRans Bus Sdn Bhd and MTRans Technology Bhd, which specialises in monorail systems and technology.
Scomi Engineering senior vice president Hilmy Zaini said the strategic acquisition is in line with its focus on energy and logistics engineering.
“With its range of core competencies, MTrans will enhance Scomi Engineering’s capability in the fabrication, assembly and fittings of special-purpose vehicles, particularly buses,” he added.
Scomi Engineering is involved in the fabrication of special purpose vehicles such as petroleum tankers, ambulance, fire engine, defence vehicles.
The acquisition will enhance Scomi Engineering’s current logistics engineering capabilities by diversifying the range of products that Scomi Engineering would be able to offer.
MTrans owns a 22-acre factory in Rawang Industrial Zone. The facility will be an addition to Scomi Engineering’s current infrastructure in the logistics engineering business and increase Scomi Engineering’s overall manufacturing capacities.
“With its proven technology in cost-effective fuel emission systems, particularly in urban bus projects, MTrans has established a presence in Hong Kong and Bangladesh and is looking at other Asian and Middle Eastern markets,” Hilmy said.
He added that the acquisition of MTrans would enable Scomi Engineering to bid and secure urban bus projects anywhere in the world.
11 May 2006: Scomi secures another RM80m order from Saudi Arabia
Scomi Group Bhd subsidiary Scomi Engineering Bhd has received another major order from Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) valued at RM80 million for the supply of Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG).
In a statement on May 10, Scomi said the order was awarded to Scomi Engineering’s Singapore machine shop unit, OMS Oilfield Services Pte Ltd.
It said the order was the single largest order received todate since OMS penetrated the market in 2003.
Scomi said the expected contribution to Scomi Engineering's turnover of about RM80 million would be realised in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2007.
It said the contract value was more than doubled the previous one awarded by Saudi Aramco last March. "The total value of all contracts awarded by Saudi Aramco to OMS for this year has increased to about RM115 million."
Read more...
Scomi Group Bhd is an investment holding company with subsidiaries involved in the oil and gas support services. As at 2nd March 2006, Scomi has a total of 995.2 million shares of RM0.10 each with an authorised share capital of RM300 million and paid up share capital of RM99.52 million.
Scomi Group’s core business is in the oil and gas industry, offering the following products and services:
• drilling fluids and related engineering services for drilling operations;
• provision of drilling waste management solutions;
• distribution of products & services;
• supply of industrial & production chemicals & production enhancement;
• marine vessel;
• engineering business;
Scomi’s business operations are conducted through its main subsidiary and associate companies:
• Kota Minerals & Chemicals Sdn Bhd
• KMC Oiltools Bermuda Limited
• Scomi Marine Bhd
• Scomi Engineering Bhd
Registered office:
Suite 5.03, 5th Floor
Wisma Chase Perdana
Off Jalan Semantan
Damansara Heights
50490 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Top Shareholders (with shareholding)
1) Kaspadu Sdn Bhd – Direct 209,815,055 (21.33%) and Indirect 155,121,970 (15.77%) held through Onstream Marine Sdn Bhd
2) Onstream Marine Sdn Bhd - 155,121,970 - 15.77%
3) Shah Hakim @ Shahzanim bin Zain - Direct 1,250,000 (0.13%) and Indirect 364,937,025 (37.1%) held through Kaspadu Sdn Bhd
4) Kamaludin bin Abdullah - 364,937,025 (37.1%) held through Kaspadu Sdn Bhd
5) Employee Provident Fund Board - 49,796,600 (5.06%)
Directors (shareholding)
1) Tan Sri Datuk Asmat bin Kamaludin - Chairman (400,000)
2) Tan Sri Nik Mohamed bin Nik Yaacob
3) Datuk Hamzah bin Bakar
4) Datuk Haron bin Siraj (120,000)
5) Dato’ Mohammed Azlan bin Hashim
6) Dato’ Mohamed Azman bin Yahya (400,000)
7) Foong Choong Hong (160,000)
8) Mukhnizam bin Mahmud (85,800)
9) Shah Hakim @ Shahzanim bin Zain (1,250,000)
Kaspadu Sdn Bhd (Scomi’s main shareholder)
Company number: 259131V
Date of incorporation: 9 March 1993
Authorised capital: RM100,000.00
Paid up capital: RM100,000.00
Directors:
Mukhnizam bin Mahmud
Shah Hakim @ Shahzanim bin Zain
Hilmy Zaini bin Zainal
Kamaluddin bin Abdullah
Shareholders (number of shares of RM100 each):
Nazimah binti Syed Majid (27,500)
Kamaluddin bin Abdullah (36,250)
Shah Hakim @ Shahzamin bin Zain (36,250)
Financial Highlights (as at 31 December 2002):
Fixed Assets: RM20,494,464.00
Total Investments: RM1,283,384.00
Current Assets: RM97,213,927.00
Other Assets: RM7,150,228.00
Total Assets: RM64,802,835.00
Share Premium and Reserves: RM939,307.00
Unappropriated Profits: RM6,239,009.00
Minority Interest: RM30,130,589.00
Long Term Deferred Liabilities: RM27,393,930.00
Current Liabilities: RM61,339,168.00
Operating Revenue: RM158,554,242.00
Profit Before Taxation: RM18,749,144.00
Profit Carried Forward: RM6,239,009.00
25 February 2005: Scomi earnings surge 340%
Scomi Group Bhd’s earnings surged 340% to RM61.50 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2004, with the oil and gas (O&G) division contributing 97% of the net profit. The previous year's net profit was RM14.02 million.
Announcing the results on Feb 25, the company said revenue jumped 263% to RM590.45 million, with the bulk from O&G, compared with RM162.47 million a year ago. Earnings per share was 6.95 sen.
“The O&G division had benefited from the increase in exploration, development and production activities in the oil and gas industry,” it said in a statement.
Scomi said the acquisition of a 77.7% interest in KMC Oiltools Bermuda Ltd (Oiltools) contributed positively to the revenue and profits.
“Although only two quarters of Oiltools’ results were consolidated, approximately 44% and 39% of the group’s revenue and profits, respectively, were contributed by Oiltools,” it said.
The company said the O&G division’s drilling fluids unit had secured new businesses in 2004. They were the supply of drilling fluids to Murphy Oil Sarawak and synthetic-based mud to Sarawak Shell Bhd and Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd.
For the fourth quarter, Scomi recorded a net profit of RM21.42 million, which was more than the RM14.02 million for the entire financial year of 2003. For the quarter, revenue jumped to RM213.20 million compared with RM58.11 million.
Scomi said the higher net profit was also due to certain non-taxable foreign sourced income, low tax rate for foreign subsidiaries and also credits arising from the acquisition of the remaining 50% of KMC Oiltools’ stake in Shetland Oiltools Ltd.
24 January 2006: Scomi lands RM1.5 billion contracts
Scomi Group Bhd's unit has secured contracts that are expected to generate some US$400 million (RM1.5 billion) in revenue through the provision of drilling fluids materials, equipment and services.
Its unit, Kota Minerals and Chemicals Sdn Bhd (KMC), had received the letters of awards from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, Sarawak Shell Bhd, Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc and Nippon Oil Exploration (M) Ltd.
“Based on the number of wells indicated in the joint tender document, the company estimates the revenue to be generated from the contracts to be about US$400 million (RM1.5 billion),” it said in a statement on Jan 24.
KMC received the last letter of award on Jan 19, it said. The contracts were expected to be for four years with an option to the tender parties to extend for another two years, it added.
Scomi said KMC was finalising the terms and conditions of the contracts to be signed with the tender parties.
24 February 2006: Scomi breaches RM1b revenue mark
Scomi Group Bhd's revenue crossed the RM1 billion mark in the year ended Dec 31, 2005, rising 81% to RM1.07 billion from RM590.46 million.
Its net profit soared 146% to RM151.69 million from RM61.49 million previously, on the back of strong contributions from its international commitments.
Basic earnings per share rose to 15.59 sen from 6.95 sen.
Scomi is involved in the oil and gas industry and has five core competencies: oilfield services, engineering, offshore marine, distribution, and product enhancement. Of the five areas of competencies, oilfield services was the largest contributor to turnover.
International markets contributed 73% to revenue with Asia Pacific the largest contributor. The company operates in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and North and West Africa.
Other contributors were from the disposal gain of Scomi’s manufacturing business to Scomi Engineering Bhd and a lower effective tax rate derived from certain non-taxable foreign sourced income and low tax rate for foreign subsidies.
Scomi expects to focus on organic growth and balance sheet management. It is expected to evaluate its options to increase yields from its assets like its vessels and drilling waste management equipment.
In a statement on Feb 24, Scomi Oilfield Services president Chris Pianca said: “The exponential growth of our turnover year-on-year is testimony to our strong foundation. With our global presence in 34 countries and cross selling of our products, we are well positioned to take advantage of the expected increase in drilling activities worldwide.
“Although the price of oil remains high, the impact to drilling activities is gradual. The oil and gas industry is seeing a significant increase in the infrastructure set up such as rig and vessel constructions. This will result in an increase in drilling activities at a later stage that will positively impact our business,” he added.
28 March 2006: Scomi Engineering wins another major order
Scomi Engineering Bhd's Singapore machine shop unit, OMS Oilfield Services Pte Ltd, has received another major order from Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) for the supply of large diameter casing pipes and connectors.
In a statement on March 28, Scomi Engineering said the order, which is targeted for delivery in the second and third quarters, could contribute about RM35 million to revenue.
It said this was the fourth straight successful order for the material from Saudi Aramco since OMS penetrated the market a few years ago. For the 2005 financial year, the machine shop unit contributed 73% to the turnover of Scomi Engineering.
“We will continue to aggressively market our services and to extend our market presence in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions,” said Scomi Engineering's senior vice president, Hilmy Zaini.
14 April 2006: Scomi Marine gets Tenaga coal shipments job
Scomi Marine Bhd has received a letter of intent from TNB Fuel Services Sdn Bhd for a coal shipment contract for three years from Oct 1, with an option to extend for another two years, the company said.
Scomi Marine told Bursa Malaysia on April 14 that under the contract, it would be required to transport 500,000 tonnes (with 20% variation) of coal from Australia, Indonesia and South Africa yearly.
It said TNB Fuel Services would determine the actual quantity of coal to be transported and from which country upon finalisation of the contract.
Scomi Marine is involved in the marine logistics business of the energy sector. It said the contract was in line with its plans to expand its coal transportation business, involving inter-country marine logistics services.
28 April 2006: Scomi acquires 51% of MTrans for RM30 million
Scomi Engineering Bhd is acquiring a 51% stake in MTrans Transportation Systems Sdn Bhd for RM30 million to provide it a platform to be a key player in urban transportation.
Scomi Engineering had on April 28 signed an agreement with Kiara Kilau Sdn Bhd, which owns 100% stake in MTrans, to acquire the 51% stake. MTrans owns bus manufacturer MTRans Bus Sdn Bhd and MTRans Technology Bhd, which specialises in monorail systems and technology.
Scomi Engineering senior vice president Hilmy Zaini said the strategic acquisition is in line with its focus on energy and logistics engineering.
“With its range of core competencies, MTrans will enhance Scomi Engineering’s capability in the fabrication, assembly and fittings of special-purpose vehicles, particularly buses,” he added.
Scomi Engineering is involved in the fabrication of special purpose vehicles such as petroleum tankers, ambulance, fire engine, defence vehicles.
The acquisition will enhance Scomi Engineering’s current logistics engineering capabilities by diversifying the range of products that Scomi Engineering would be able to offer.
MTrans owns a 22-acre factory in Rawang Industrial Zone. The facility will be an addition to Scomi Engineering’s current infrastructure in the logistics engineering business and increase Scomi Engineering’s overall manufacturing capacities.
“With its proven technology in cost-effective fuel emission systems, particularly in urban bus projects, MTrans has established a presence in Hong Kong and Bangladesh and is looking at other Asian and Middle Eastern markets,” Hilmy said.
He added that the acquisition of MTrans would enable Scomi Engineering to bid and secure urban bus projects anywhere in the world.
11 May 2006: Scomi secures another RM80m order from Saudi Arabia
Scomi Group Bhd subsidiary Scomi Engineering Bhd has received another major order from Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) valued at RM80 million for the supply of Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG).
In a statement on May 10, Scomi said the order was awarded to Scomi Engineering’s Singapore machine shop unit, OMS Oilfield Services Pte Ltd.
It said the order was the single largest order received todate since OMS penetrated the market in 2003.
Scomi said the expected contribution to Scomi Engineering's turnover of about RM80 million would be realised in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2007.
It said the contract value was more than doubled the previous one awarded by Saudi Aramco last March. "The total value of all contracts awarded by Saudi Aramco to OMS for this year has increased to about RM115 million."
Read more...
Labels:
Monday Morning Blues
Monday, June 5, 2006
Tengku Razaleigh: the last Malay gentleman
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Those aligned to Anwar Ibrahim feel I am very harsh towards him. Those aligned to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also feel I am very harsh towards him. Those aligned to Najib Tun Razak feel I am very harsh towards him as well. And of course, when it comes to Khairy Jamaluddin, he himself feels I am just too brutal.
Those from the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) cringe whenever I write about their party. But they do not really make a big case out of it. They just whisper into my ear that maybe I am being a bit unfair in what I write. Some even tell me, “Fair comment and comments which our leaders should take note of!” Those from the Democratic Action (DAP) say they do not mind that I criticise their party. I do not know whether they are just being diplomatic and are trying to give an impression that they are truly democratic and respect freedom of speech, but I am inclined to take what they say at face value. The Peoples’ Justice Party (keADILan) however does not hold its punches. Its Information Chief has issued a press statement ‘disowning’ me and distancing the party from Malaysia Today. And of course we need not even mention Umno or Barisan Nasional that have been the brunt of my attacks for many long years, long before Anwar was ousted from power and in the days when he was still being touted as the next Prime Minister of Malaysia -- though in my writings in Harakah back in 1996 and 1997 I did say that this would never happen, and also gave my reasons on why I said so.
Some say I am not consistent. They do not know whether I am coming or going. One day I swing one way and, another, the other. They feel that maybe it is because I am a loose cannon -- and a loose cannon is called a loose cannon because it rolls all over the deck, shoots in all directions, and sometimes shoots its own ship as well. A loose cannon is loose only because it is not tied down and would roll in tandem with the roll of the ship.
Nevertheless, whether I am viewed as inconsistent, or a loose cannon, one thing you can be sure of, I am consistently shooting and everyone sooner or later gets shot. That is my consistency. But then there are some who have been spared my attacks -- those I have great respect for and look up to, though many others may not share my view on them.
And who are these people?
There are many -- Fadzil Noor, Hadi Awang, Nik Aziz, Mustaffa Ali, Husam Musa, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Ibrahim Ali, Shahrir Samad, Lim Guan Eng, Ronnie Liu, Dr Siti Mariah, Dr Lo’ Lo’ Ghazali, Dr Hatta Ramli, and many, many more. This list is in fact endless. However, not necessarily in order of priority, today I would just like to talk about Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah. Tengku Razaleigh is one of the few remaining Malay gentlemen as far as I am concerned. And Tengku Razaleigh, as far as I am concerned, became Prime Minister in 1987 but was prevented from taking office due to a brilliant coup launched by the Dr Mahathir Team A camp.
Many say that Tengku Razaleigh has no pendirian (principles). They say he left Umno to form the opposition Semangat 46, then closed the party and rejoined Umno when he realised he was going nowhere as an opposition leader. He rejoined Umno because all he wanted was power and this can only be acquired in Umno, not in the opposition.
Well, first of all, Tengku Razaleigh did not leave Umno. Umno left him. To be exact, Umno was deregistered or closed down and a new party was formed, also called Umno, or rather Umno Baru. It is just coincidental (or maybe intentional) that the new party was also called Umno. It could have been called anything, but the fact that it was called Umno confused many who thought that Umno Baru was still Umno. It is not.
When the new party was formed, Tengku Razaleigh and his group were not ‘invited’ to join it. They were left out in the cold, so Tengku Razaleigh had no choice but to also form another party as a platform to continue with what he was trying to achieve. And he called this party Semangat 46 or ‘the spirit of 1946’ because he still maintained the spirit of Umno which was formed in 1946. If he could not retain the party, he would at least retain the reason or spirit behind why the party was formed in 1946.
Tengku Razaleigh never intended to make it big in the opposition. But now that he was heading what was an opposition party meant he had to work with the other opposition parties. And he knew, as an opposition, he would never achieve what he set out to do. But the opposition was all he had at that moment of time so he had to make the best of it under the circumstances. Dr Mahathir did this too when he spent almost three years outside Umno soon after the 13 May 1969 race riots. And Anwar is doing this now as well. But whether it is Tengku Razaleigh, Dr Mahathir or Anwar, all their roots are in Umno and Umno would be eventually where they have to return to. Tengku Razaleigh did. Dr Mahathir did. And, come a point of time, Anwar too will have to do the same.
So Tengku Razaleigh, just like Dr Mahathir before him, after a stint in the opposition, rejoined Umno. That was what it was all about. The name ‘Semangat 46’ was a tell all. Semangat 46 was all about the spirit of Umno. In fact, the ‘Semangat 46’ name was not the first choice. This name was chosen only because the name ‘Umno Malaysia’ was rejected by the Registrar of Societies. And the Registrar rejected the name to allow Umno Baru to use the name, which was submitted for registration later, after they rejected the ‘Umno Malaysia’ name.
It would have been foolish of anyone in thinking that Tengku Razaleigh was committed to the opposition and had no aspirations to return to Umno. PAS knew this, and that is why they kept Tengku Razaleigh and Semangat 46 at arm’s length. They knew that the PAS-Semangat 46 relationship was not a marriage but a mere flirtation and a temporary affair. And that is why the relationship was merely cordial at best, and suspicious at worse, and did not last.
Did Tengku Razaleigh rejoin Umno because of the fallout with PAS? Did Tengku Razaleigh rejoin Umno because he saw he had no future in the opposition? And did Tengku Razaleigh rejoin Umno because all he wanted was power? If he did, then he could have negotiated better terms for his return to Umno.
There were already murmurings that Anwar had started to make his move on Dr Mahathir and that the Prime Minister was going to make his countermove to thwart the attempt to oust him. In fact, many thought that Dr Mahathir brought Tengku Razaleigh back to Umno so that he could remove or neutralise Anwar and replace his deputy with Tengku Razaleigh. Tengku Razaleigh could have placed himself in the position to replace Anwar as the number two once Dr Mahathir makes his move. But Tengku Razaleigh did not and instead the job went to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi -- so all the assumptions about Tengku Razaleigh were misplaced.
When Tengku Razaleigh decided to take on Abdullah for the Umno Presidency -- he in fact received enough support to qualify -- all the divisions were instructed to not give Tengku Razaleigh any nominations. Those that remained stubborn were nipped in the bud. For example, one Kelantan division chief who persisted in nominating Tengku Razaleigh for president received a bankruptcy notice at midnight on the eve of his division meeting. No court delivers a bankruptcy notice at midnight. But this time it did because there was going to be a division meeting the next morning and they wanted to disqualify the division chief from attending the meeting whereby he would nominate Tengku Razaleigh for president.
Tengku Razaleigh was robbed of his nominations to contest the Umno presidency, as he was robbed of the presidency almost two decades before that. But he did not protest. He did not kick up a fuss. He did not go into a rage and tear Umno to pieces. He took it in his stride like a gentleman. Winning or losing is not important. How you play the game is. Others can play the dirty game. But he will not bring himself down to their same level by also playing dirty.
And that is why today I wanted to talk about Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah, one of the few remaining Malay gentlemen, probably the most misunderstood Malaysian politician. Maybe another time I will talk about some of the others and why I place them on my list of people I respect. If you were to ask me today who I think should be the Prime Minister of Malaysia, I think you know what that answer will be.
Read more...
Those aligned to Anwar Ibrahim feel I am very harsh towards him. Those aligned to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also feel I am very harsh towards him. Those aligned to Najib Tun Razak feel I am very harsh towards him as well. And of course, when it comes to Khairy Jamaluddin, he himself feels I am just too brutal.
Those from the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) cringe whenever I write about their party. But they do not really make a big case out of it. They just whisper into my ear that maybe I am being a bit unfair in what I write. Some even tell me, “Fair comment and comments which our leaders should take note of!” Those from the Democratic Action (DAP) say they do not mind that I criticise their party. I do not know whether they are just being diplomatic and are trying to give an impression that they are truly democratic and respect freedom of speech, but I am inclined to take what they say at face value. The Peoples’ Justice Party (keADILan) however does not hold its punches. Its Information Chief has issued a press statement ‘disowning’ me and distancing the party from Malaysia Today. And of course we need not even mention Umno or Barisan Nasional that have been the brunt of my attacks for many long years, long before Anwar was ousted from power and in the days when he was still being touted as the next Prime Minister of Malaysia -- though in my writings in Harakah back in 1996 and 1997 I did say that this would never happen, and also gave my reasons on why I said so.
Some say I am not consistent. They do not know whether I am coming or going. One day I swing one way and, another, the other. They feel that maybe it is because I am a loose cannon -- and a loose cannon is called a loose cannon because it rolls all over the deck, shoots in all directions, and sometimes shoots its own ship as well. A loose cannon is loose only because it is not tied down and would roll in tandem with the roll of the ship.
Nevertheless, whether I am viewed as inconsistent, or a loose cannon, one thing you can be sure of, I am consistently shooting and everyone sooner or later gets shot. That is my consistency. But then there are some who have been spared my attacks -- those I have great respect for and look up to, though many others may not share my view on them.
And who are these people?
There are many -- Fadzil Noor, Hadi Awang, Nik Aziz, Mustaffa Ali, Husam Musa, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Ibrahim Ali, Shahrir Samad, Lim Guan Eng, Ronnie Liu, Dr Siti Mariah, Dr Lo’ Lo’ Ghazali, Dr Hatta Ramli, and many, many more. This list is in fact endless. However, not necessarily in order of priority, today I would just like to talk about Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah. Tengku Razaleigh is one of the few remaining Malay gentlemen as far as I am concerned. And Tengku Razaleigh, as far as I am concerned, became Prime Minister in 1987 but was prevented from taking office due to a brilliant coup launched by the Dr Mahathir Team A camp.
Many say that Tengku Razaleigh has no pendirian (principles). They say he left Umno to form the opposition Semangat 46, then closed the party and rejoined Umno when he realised he was going nowhere as an opposition leader. He rejoined Umno because all he wanted was power and this can only be acquired in Umno, not in the opposition.
Well, first of all, Tengku Razaleigh did not leave Umno. Umno left him. To be exact, Umno was deregistered or closed down and a new party was formed, also called Umno, or rather Umno Baru. It is just coincidental (or maybe intentional) that the new party was also called Umno. It could have been called anything, but the fact that it was called Umno confused many who thought that Umno Baru was still Umno. It is not.
When the new party was formed, Tengku Razaleigh and his group were not ‘invited’ to join it. They were left out in the cold, so Tengku Razaleigh had no choice but to also form another party as a platform to continue with what he was trying to achieve. And he called this party Semangat 46 or ‘the spirit of 1946’ because he still maintained the spirit of Umno which was formed in 1946. If he could not retain the party, he would at least retain the reason or spirit behind why the party was formed in 1946.
Tengku Razaleigh never intended to make it big in the opposition. But now that he was heading what was an opposition party meant he had to work with the other opposition parties. And he knew, as an opposition, he would never achieve what he set out to do. But the opposition was all he had at that moment of time so he had to make the best of it under the circumstances. Dr Mahathir did this too when he spent almost three years outside Umno soon after the 13 May 1969 race riots. And Anwar is doing this now as well. But whether it is Tengku Razaleigh, Dr Mahathir or Anwar, all their roots are in Umno and Umno would be eventually where they have to return to. Tengku Razaleigh did. Dr Mahathir did. And, come a point of time, Anwar too will have to do the same.
So Tengku Razaleigh, just like Dr Mahathir before him, after a stint in the opposition, rejoined Umno. That was what it was all about. The name ‘Semangat 46’ was a tell all. Semangat 46 was all about the spirit of Umno. In fact, the ‘Semangat 46’ name was not the first choice. This name was chosen only because the name ‘Umno Malaysia’ was rejected by the Registrar of Societies. And the Registrar rejected the name to allow Umno Baru to use the name, which was submitted for registration later, after they rejected the ‘Umno Malaysia’ name.
It would have been foolish of anyone in thinking that Tengku Razaleigh was committed to the opposition and had no aspirations to return to Umno. PAS knew this, and that is why they kept Tengku Razaleigh and Semangat 46 at arm’s length. They knew that the PAS-Semangat 46 relationship was not a marriage but a mere flirtation and a temporary affair. And that is why the relationship was merely cordial at best, and suspicious at worse, and did not last.
Did Tengku Razaleigh rejoin Umno because of the fallout with PAS? Did Tengku Razaleigh rejoin Umno because he saw he had no future in the opposition? And did Tengku Razaleigh rejoin Umno because all he wanted was power? If he did, then he could have negotiated better terms for his return to Umno.
There were already murmurings that Anwar had started to make his move on Dr Mahathir and that the Prime Minister was going to make his countermove to thwart the attempt to oust him. In fact, many thought that Dr Mahathir brought Tengku Razaleigh back to Umno so that he could remove or neutralise Anwar and replace his deputy with Tengku Razaleigh. Tengku Razaleigh could have placed himself in the position to replace Anwar as the number two once Dr Mahathir makes his move. But Tengku Razaleigh did not and instead the job went to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi -- so all the assumptions about Tengku Razaleigh were misplaced.
When Tengku Razaleigh decided to take on Abdullah for the Umno Presidency -- he in fact received enough support to qualify -- all the divisions were instructed to not give Tengku Razaleigh any nominations. Those that remained stubborn were nipped in the bud. For example, one Kelantan division chief who persisted in nominating Tengku Razaleigh for president received a bankruptcy notice at midnight on the eve of his division meeting. No court delivers a bankruptcy notice at midnight. But this time it did because there was going to be a division meeting the next morning and they wanted to disqualify the division chief from attending the meeting whereby he would nominate Tengku Razaleigh for president.
Tengku Razaleigh was robbed of his nominations to contest the Umno presidency, as he was robbed of the presidency almost two decades before that. But he did not protest. He did not kick up a fuss. He did not go into a rage and tear Umno to pieces. He took it in his stride like a gentleman. Winning or losing is not important. How you play the game is. Others can play the dirty game. But he will not bring himself down to their same level by also playing dirty.
And that is why today I wanted to talk about Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah, one of the few remaining Malay gentlemen, probably the most misunderstood Malaysian politician. Maybe another time I will talk about some of the others and why I place them on my list of people I respect. If you were to ask me today who I think should be the Prime Minister of Malaysia, I think you know what that answer will be.
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Monday Morning Blues
Monday, May 29, 2006
Selling religion for money
Raja Petra Kamarudin
One of the religious leaders (mufti) of a certain state in Malaysia has condemned men who allow their wives to become the breadwinner of the family while they, the husbands, stay home as househusbands. According to him, the accepted order of nature is that the wives should stay home as housewives while the men should go out to earn the money to support their families.
If a man allows his wife to become the breadwinner of the family while he stays home to look after the children and do the housework then the marriage is not blessed, argued this religious leader, the head honcho of religion in that state. Considering this decree (fatwah) comes from the top religious man in the state who also doubles as the adviser to the Sultan, the head of religion of any state in Malaysia, this is certainly most serious indeed.
In short, that spouses’ marriage would not be blessed by God and expect that marriage to suffer. Anything that God does not bless would certainly be headed for doom and only no good would come out of it.
In a survey done a short while ago, which was featured in Malaysia Today, it was found that many professional women do not want to get married because of the problem of finding husbands at par with them. How accurate this survey may be is not known because the methodology was not explained and we do not know how representative the respondents were of the broad cross-section of Malaysian society, or whether the respondents were from a close-knit group.
If a woman is highly qualified and is earning a sizeable salary, then she would have to seek a husband even higher qualified and in an income bracket above her. But how many men in this category are available and eligible for marriage? Those of this station in life would most likely already be married with children as well. The only unattached men available for marriage would be those younger than the woman. But then they would be juniors and in the lower rung of their careers. It would be very difficult to find one of the bosses who is still unmarried unless of course he is divorced, which means then he would be ‘second-hand’. Most men would feel intimidated of marrying above their station anyway and very few would want a wife who is more qualified than him and is the main breadwinner of the family -- while he brings in pittance that hardly supports him, let alone his entire family.
Career women would not want to marry too early in life, especially if their career comes first and they would like to focus on their career and not get bogged down by a family just yet. But once they are finished building up their career and are ready to settle down, they would have gained some years and most of those within their age group would already be married. They would then have to lower the age group to find available bachelors, but in terms of career they would all be her juniors and earning a fraction of what she is.
The option therefore would be to become somebody’s second wife, look for a divorcee or widower, marry a younger man who is beneath her station, or stay single and never get married. Not much of a choice is it?
We must remember that if the woman is a professional while her husband has no qualifications, it would be better for the woman to work while the man stays home rather than vice versa. What he earns is probably just double the cost of the maid they need to employ if both go out to work. Then there is the cost for him to go to work, which takes away the balance of his salary. In short, after paying the cost of the maid and his cost to go to work, there is no real take home pay to speak about. He spends what he earns just to earn it, with no spare. It is better he just stays home and let the wife earn the salary. At least one parent is looking after the kids and sending them to school instead of transferring this task to the maid and school bus. And one never really knows how well the maid is going to raise those kids anyway.
Saudi Arabia has an almost similar problem, but with a twist. In Saudi Arabia, the cost of a bride could run into millions so many Saudi men can’t afford to marry Saudi women. I found it most puzzling that most Saudi men have dark complexions while their wives are fair-skinned until it was explained to me that the women are not Saudis but Egyptians. Saudi men cannot afford the prohibitive cost of Saudi wives so they marry Egyptian women instead, who are much cheaper.
This of course creates a social problem as the Saudi women remain unmarried and by the time they reach 30 they are ‘over the hill’ and too old to find a husband. Which Saudi man would want to pay millions for a 30-year old woman when he can get an 18-year old fair-skinned Egyptian woman for next to nothing? So these 30-year old Saudi women have to settle for a spinster’s life. But then they have needs too, and the only way they are going to satisfy these needs is to have sex in the back seat of a stretched limousine with a man they pick up at one of the shopping centres.
The Saudi government tried arresting this problem by offering young Saudi men interest-free government loans to those who need a couple of million to finance their marriage. That was the only way Saudi men could afford a Saudi wife. If not then they would opt for Egyptian wives and the Saudi women would have to remain unmarried and seek sex in the back seat of a darkened-screen stretch-limousine.
Our Malaysian muftis should be a bit careful about coming out with decrees. If Malaysian men take them seriously and refuse to marry women (or divorce their wives) who are above their station in life, then professional and high-salaried Malaysian women would remain spinsters (or become divorcees) and have no chance of getting a husband. Men of their station or above them are hard to come by, as most would already be taken. And the available ones are all beneath their station.
Anyway, whether the men stay home and become househusbands while the wife takes over the role of breadwinner is not really that big an issue. If our religious leaders are really concerned about the state of affairs in this country there are bigger and more important issues they can address. I have yet to hear any mufti pass a decree that the Malaysian government is un-Islamic in many things that it does. For example, how many muftis have spoken out against the Internal Security Act (ISA)?
Islam is very clear about this. No one can be punished for a crime he or she has not committed yet. The ISA is a preventive law. It is used to detain people before they commit a crime. Not even God punishes you for intent until and unless the deed is actually carried out. In Islam, deed must go with intent. Deed without intent is not valid, as is intent without deed.
If you accidentally hit someone with your car and kill him or her, but there was no intent to do so, then it was purely a traffic accident. If you intentionally hit someone with your car and end up killing him or her, then it is murder. If you intended to hit someone with your car out of anger or whatever, but never actually did it in the end, then no crime has been committed. Under the rules of the ISA you can be detained just for fantasizing. Well, if you take all my fantasies as crimes, I would be under detention for the rest of my life -- and, boy, what fantasies I do have (can’t share them with you though as I am sure some of Malaysia Today’s readers are below the age of 18).
If the muftis are really concerned about Islam then they should take the government to task on the many un-Islamic things that it is perpetuating. There are many, but the one example of the ISA mentioned above is enough. That alone can be an issue they take up. The ISA is un-Islamic and we are supposed to have as our head of government an ulamak (religious scholar), Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, while Malaysia is supposed to be an Islamic country. Well, I have news for you: Malaysia is as Islamic as I am a virgin.
The trouble with muftis is that they are salaried by the government. They preach religion for money. That is their real ‘guiding light’, money, not religion. Islam says that anyone who ‘sells’ their religion for money is not to be believed or followed. Until and unless the muftis resign and preach religion for the love of God instead of for the love of money we can just cast aside whatever they say.
Two years ago, the mufti of the Federal Territory called me jahil (ignorant). But he is the one working for the government, not me. He may be more learned than me, that I do not deny, but he has sold Islam for money. If he is really for Islam, then he would speak out against the transgressions and excesses of the government even at the risk of losing his job. But he will not. He wants to protect his job and the salary that comes with it. He is not fighting for Islam. He is fighting to protect his job and the salary and comforts that come with it. To these types of so-called religious people I have only one thing to say to them: bullshit!
I challenge any one of these muftis to resign from their posts and declare they are doing so because the government is un-Islamic. The day they do that will be the day I seek them out to learn from them. And, until that day comes, I look upon these muftis as charlatans and snake oil merchants. And I will answer to God and not men for saying this.
Read more...
One of the religious leaders (mufti) of a certain state in Malaysia has condemned men who allow their wives to become the breadwinner of the family while they, the husbands, stay home as househusbands. According to him, the accepted order of nature is that the wives should stay home as housewives while the men should go out to earn the money to support their families.
If a man allows his wife to become the breadwinner of the family while he stays home to look after the children and do the housework then the marriage is not blessed, argued this religious leader, the head honcho of religion in that state. Considering this decree (fatwah) comes from the top religious man in the state who also doubles as the adviser to the Sultan, the head of religion of any state in Malaysia, this is certainly most serious indeed.
In short, that spouses’ marriage would not be blessed by God and expect that marriage to suffer. Anything that God does not bless would certainly be headed for doom and only no good would come out of it.
In a survey done a short while ago, which was featured in Malaysia Today, it was found that many professional women do not want to get married because of the problem of finding husbands at par with them. How accurate this survey may be is not known because the methodology was not explained and we do not know how representative the respondents were of the broad cross-section of Malaysian society, or whether the respondents were from a close-knit group.
If a woman is highly qualified and is earning a sizeable salary, then she would have to seek a husband even higher qualified and in an income bracket above her. But how many men in this category are available and eligible for marriage? Those of this station in life would most likely already be married with children as well. The only unattached men available for marriage would be those younger than the woman. But then they would be juniors and in the lower rung of their careers. It would be very difficult to find one of the bosses who is still unmarried unless of course he is divorced, which means then he would be ‘second-hand’. Most men would feel intimidated of marrying above their station anyway and very few would want a wife who is more qualified than him and is the main breadwinner of the family -- while he brings in pittance that hardly supports him, let alone his entire family.
Career women would not want to marry too early in life, especially if their career comes first and they would like to focus on their career and not get bogged down by a family just yet. But once they are finished building up their career and are ready to settle down, they would have gained some years and most of those within their age group would already be married. They would then have to lower the age group to find available bachelors, but in terms of career they would all be her juniors and earning a fraction of what she is.
The option therefore would be to become somebody’s second wife, look for a divorcee or widower, marry a younger man who is beneath her station, or stay single and never get married. Not much of a choice is it?
We must remember that if the woman is a professional while her husband has no qualifications, it would be better for the woman to work while the man stays home rather than vice versa. What he earns is probably just double the cost of the maid they need to employ if both go out to work. Then there is the cost for him to go to work, which takes away the balance of his salary. In short, after paying the cost of the maid and his cost to go to work, there is no real take home pay to speak about. He spends what he earns just to earn it, with no spare. It is better he just stays home and let the wife earn the salary. At least one parent is looking after the kids and sending them to school instead of transferring this task to the maid and school bus. And one never really knows how well the maid is going to raise those kids anyway.
Saudi Arabia has an almost similar problem, but with a twist. In Saudi Arabia, the cost of a bride could run into millions so many Saudi men can’t afford to marry Saudi women. I found it most puzzling that most Saudi men have dark complexions while their wives are fair-skinned until it was explained to me that the women are not Saudis but Egyptians. Saudi men cannot afford the prohibitive cost of Saudi wives so they marry Egyptian women instead, who are much cheaper.
This of course creates a social problem as the Saudi women remain unmarried and by the time they reach 30 they are ‘over the hill’ and too old to find a husband. Which Saudi man would want to pay millions for a 30-year old woman when he can get an 18-year old fair-skinned Egyptian woman for next to nothing? So these 30-year old Saudi women have to settle for a spinster’s life. But then they have needs too, and the only way they are going to satisfy these needs is to have sex in the back seat of a stretched limousine with a man they pick up at one of the shopping centres.
The Saudi government tried arresting this problem by offering young Saudi men interest-free government loans to those who need a couple of million to finance their marriage. That was the only way Saudi men could afford a Saudi wife. If not then they would opt for Egyptian wives and the Saudi women would have to remain unmarried and seek sex in the back seat of a darkened-screen stretch-limousine.
Our Malaysian muftis should be a bit careful about coming out with decrees. If Malaysian men take them seriously and refuse to marry women (or divorce their wives) who are above their station in life, then professional and high-salaried Malaysian women would remain spinsters (or become divorcees) and have no chance of getting a husband. Men of their station or above them are hard to come by, as most would already be taken. And the available ones are all beneath their station.
Anyway, whether the men stay home and become househusbands while the wife takes over the role of breadwinner is not really that big an issue. If our religious leaders are really concerned about the state of affairs in this country there are bigger and more important issues they can address. I have yet to hear any mufti pass a decree that the Malaysian government is un-Islamic in many things that it does. For example, how many muftis have spoken out against the Internal Security Act (ISA)?
Islam is very clear about this. No one can be punished for a crime he or she has not committed yet. The ISA is a preventive law. It is used to detain people before they commit a crime. Not even God punishes you for intent until and unless the deed is actually carried out. In Islam, deed must go with intent. Deed without intent is not valid, as is intent without deed.
If you accidentally hit someone with your car and kill him or her, but there was no intent to do so, then it was purely a traffic accident. If you intentionally hit someone with your car and end up killing him or her, then it is murder. If you intended to hit someone with your car out of anger or whatever, but never actually did it in the end, then no crime has been committed. Under the rules of the ISA you can be detained just for fantasizing. Well, if you take all my fantasies as crimes, I would be under detention for the rest of my life -- and, boy, what fantasies I do have (can’t share them with you though as I am sure some of Malaysia Today’s readers are below the age of 18).
If the muftis are really concerned about Islam then they should take the government to task on the many un-Islamic things that it is perpetuating. There are many, but the one example of the ISA mentioned above is enough. That alone can be an issue they take up. The ISA is un-Islamic and we are supposed to have as our head of government an ulamak (religious scholar), Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, while Malaysia is supposed to be an Islamic country. Well, I have news for you: Malaysia is as Islamic as I am a virgin.
The trouble with muftis is that they are salaried by the government. They preach religion for money. That is their real ‘guiding light’, money, not religion. Islam says that anyone who ‘sells’ their religion for money is not to be believed or followed. Until and unless the muftis resign and preach religion for the love of God instead of for the love of money we can just cast aside whatever they say.
Two years ago, the mufti of the Federal Territory called me jahil (ignorant). But he is the one working for the government, not me. He may be more learned than me, that I do not deny, but he has sold Islam for money. If he is really for Islam, then he would speak out against the transgressions and excesses of the government even at the risk of losing his job. But he will not. He wants to protect his job and the salary that comes with it. He is not fighting for Islam. He is fighting to protect his job and the salary and comforts that come with it. To these types of so-called religious people I have only one thing to say to them: bullshit!
I challenge any one of these muftis to resign from their posts and declare they are doing so because the government is un-Islamic. The day they do that will be the day I seek them out to learn from them. And, until that day comes, I look upon these muftis as charlatans and snake oil merchants. And I will answer to God and not men for saying this.
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Monday Morning Blues
Monday, May 22, 2006
Politics is about the attainment of power
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Hello.....brother.....that is not how the political game is played. Gratitude for past deeds has no place in politics. It is what you can do now and contribute to the future that counts. This is not a sign of ingratitude. It is what one would call real-politics.
Not only Keadilan, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was also frightened of ABIM. He was so frightened of ABIM that he allowed Anwar Ibrahim, its President, to join Umno. The purpose of allowing Anwar to join Umno was merely to neutralise ABIM. If Anwar could be taken out of ABIM, then the Islamic youth movement would be robbed of Anwar’s leadership and it would eventually become crippled. Furthermore, if Anwar was not allowed into Umno, then he would most definitely join PAS, which would be worse.
Dr Mahathir, being the political animal that he was, and still is, was proven right. Of course, the idea of Anwar joining Umno was not mooted by Dr Mahathir. It was Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who came up with the idea. At first Dr Mahathir was not agreeable to the idea. However, Tengku Razaleigh managed to convince Dr Mahathir on the rational of bringing Anwar into Umno and he eventually relented and agreed to it.
One overriding factor for Dr Mahathir agreeing to the idea of Anwar joining Umno was the fact that ABIM’s deputy president, who was also the PAS deputy president, was laying the ground for Anwar to take over the PAS presidency after Asri Muda’s resignation. The late Fadzil Nor could have taken over the presidency, but he preferred leaving the post vacant to enable Anwar to eventually take over. As a stopgap measure, Fadzil allowed Yusof Rawa to hold the post as a caretaker while awaiting Anwar to make up his mind when he would like to take over the presidency of the party.
But Anwar did not take over the PAS presidency as what Fadzil had hoped. Though extremely disappointed with Anwar’s decision to instead join Umno, Fadzil knew that Anwar wanted to become Prime Minister and this could never be achieved through PAS. It has to be through Umno. In that sense Fadzil forgave Anwar and still maintained a good relationship with his comrade from the enemy camp.
When Anwar was sacked from Umno and the government in September 1998, Fadzil and the ABIM crowd were amongst the first to rush to Anwar’s side. The setting up of ADIL, the forerunner to Parti Keadilan Nasional, was also initiated by ABIM and Fadzil, as what the Malaysiakini report above said.
One thing, however, that the idealistic ABIM crowd overlooked is that politics is about the attainment of power. When you are sitting on the sidelines as a conscientious objector, you can afford to be idealistic. You are after all only criticising the excesses, abuses and transgressions of the powers-that-be. However, once you are in the thick of the political game, then you have to play the game -- and all’s fair in love, war and politics. Enemies become friends and friends become enemies. An enemy of your enemy becomes your friend, even if the former is also your enemy, but as long as the latter is a bigger enemy. An enemy of your friend also becomes your enemy, even if the former is also your friend, but as long the latter can serve your political interests. That is the political game. And you must learn to treat all political friends as potential enemies and keep them close where you can watch over them -- plus keep your political enemies even closer so that you can monitor them and neutralise their every move.
That is what Dr Mahathir did to Anwar, a very clever move indeed. However, somehow, that is what Dr Mahathir did NOT do to Team B. Instead, Dr Mahathir got rid of Team B by deregistering Umno and forming a new party in February 1988 where he excluded his enemies from the new party. That was a gross mistake. He gave Tengku Razaleigh and the remnants of Team B no choice but to create a new party, Semangat 46, which eventually teamed up with PAS to knock Umno out of Kelantan. Umno never recaptured Kelantan even after Semangat 46 wound up and most of its members joined Umno -- and it would probably never again retake Kelantan far into the future.
Anwar used ABIM to frighten the daylights out of Dr Mahathir. He used it again in his climb up the Umno ladder. But once he got what he wanted, power, he neutralised ABIM so that it would no longer be a threatening force. ABIM practically became a pro-government movement and a pale comparison of its former self. That was when JIM was formed, to take over where ABIM left off. ABIM was seen as selling off and betraying the Islamic cause. JIM was going to continue the Islamic struggle started by ABIM but later abandoned once Anwar had climbed the Umno ladder.
ABIM may have been instrumental in the formation of Parti Keadilan Nasional, as claimed by Azam. It may also have been the initiator of and brains behind the Reformasi Movement. But that was in 1998. By 1999, the party had already faced its first general election and did reasonably well for a seven-month old party. But the party now needed to move on and certain structural changes were necessary. And ABIM did not fit into this new plan and, again, ABIM needed to be cast aside, like it had been many times before. ABIM was the small picture. Anwar now had to look at the bigger picture and ABIM was just one cog in the wheel, it was no longer the big wheel. This ABIM could not understand. They felt that Anwar owed the movement a lot and he should at least show some gratitude.
Hello.....brother.....that is not how the political game is played. Gratitude for past deeds has no place in politics. It is what you can do now and contribute to the future that counts. This is not a sign of ingratitude. It is what one would call real-politics.
The one-time deputy president of Keadilan, Dr Chandra Muzaffar, used to talk about politik baru (new politics). That is what the party is all about, he argued, to introduce new politics to Malaysia -- clean politics.
I disagreed with him and told him so, much to his chagrin. It is people like you we want to change, he said. It is because of people like you that Malaysian politics has become so dirty, he told me.
You cannot become a politician and try to change the way the political game is played, I told Dr Chandra. Politics is a dirty game. The best politicians are Machiavellian, I explained. That is why Dr Mahathir is a good politician and Tengku Razaleigh is a bad politician. Tengku Razaleigh is too principled. He will never become prime minister. As much as I dislike Dr Mahathir, I admire him for his political acumen. Dr Mahathir is where he is, and will remain where he is, because he is Machiavellian. Anwar too is Machiavellian, I told Dr Chandra. Maybe you have not realised it, but he is. And Anwar will have to become even more Machiavellian if he wants to make a comeback. And if ‘comeback’ to Anwar means to become Prime Minister, then it has to be in Umno, not in the opposition. And Anwar will have to use the opposition, like he did ABIM in the 1970s, to frighten Umno so that they bring him back just to neutralise the opposition, like what Dr Mahathir did with ABIM in the early 1980s.
Dr Chandra was totally disgusted with me. Anuar Tahir, the party’ secretary-general who was present in this discussion, also shook his head in disbelief. Well, I told the both of them, if you want to become politicians, then this is how the game is played. So, if you cannot stomach the game, then get out of politics. Politics is dirty. In politics you use people. There is no such thing as clean politics or politik baru. There is only the old and well-tested dirty politics -- the politics of winning, the politics of attaining power, the politics of using anything and anyone to achieve what you aspire, even money and offering positions if necessary.
Dr Chandra eventually did get out of politics, as did Anuar and many of the other ABIM activists. They realised that politics is not about idealism. Politics is about the ends justifying the means. Politics is about using anything and anyone available to get what you want. And that is why Tengku Razaleigh will never become prime minister, not until he can grasp the fundamentals of politics and is prepared to play the game; the dirty political game.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is seen as a clean man, a man of religion. But Abdullah is very rapidly learning the political game. He knows he cannot be clean or hold to his religious principles. He has Dr Mahathir gunning for him. He has Tengku Razaleigh who still aspires to become prime minister. He has Anwar hoping to make a comeback through Umno. He has Najib Tun Razak who plans to become his successor in the not too distant future. With all these threats hanging over his head, Abdullah has to be more Machiavellian than Dr Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh, Najib and Anwar combined.
And he is. Abdullah is sending out signals that he is presently thinking about who will be the candidates for the next general election expected as early as next year. He is personally signing RM2 million in ‘development expenditure’ to each and every Barisan Nasional Member of Parliament. He is paying 10% of this RM2 million in advance for the MPs to use as they wish. He is building up a sizeable and formidable war chest through his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin. Khairy is not the only front-man though. The RM5 billion PORR project is being executed through Yayasan Bumiputra Pulau Pinang Berhad, which he is heading.
By 2008, when the next party election is due, Abdullah will have in his war chest billions of Ringgit with which to fight against any onslaught from Dr Mahathir, Najib, Tengku Razaleigh or Anwar. Sure, the others have billions as well. But the others have no control over the RM200 billion RMK9 development fund. And the others cannot decide on the candidates in the next general election.
Abdullah is not as stupid as he looks. He may be a novice in the political game, but he is learning fast, and he has his very capable son-in-law to help him learn the ropes in super-speed mode. Some say that Khairy is moving too fast and this may result in his downfall. The veterans will not like a young man in a hurry. Well, Anwar was once where Khairy is today. Anwar too moved too fast and made many enemies along the way. But Anwar skilfully eliminated or bought off his enemies. As long as Anwar had the support of the prime minister he was okay. It is when he moved against the prime minister that he fell.
Khairy certainly has the support of the prime minister, so why should he not be okay as well? And I doubt Khairy will make a move against his own father-in-law as long as he can reap benefits from supporting him. But the instant Abdullah Badawi heads for a fall, Khairy would certainly move on. One must never swim near a sinking ship as one can get sucked down as well. Yes, Khairy will not betray his father-in-law as long as the man stays on top. But once he wavers or falls, then Khairy will be one of the wolves that will pick at the carcass, as is the nature of wolves.
Have no misunderstanding about this. I do not hate Khairy. I actually admire him. He is today what Anwar was more than twenty years before this. I suspect even Anwar admires Khairy as he sees much of himself in that young upstart. But I am of course opposed to Khairy because I am anti-establishment. I would oppose Anwar the same way I oppose Abdullah and Khairy, and Dr Mahathir before this, if Anwar was prime minister today.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So we must oppose those who hold absolute power to ensure they are not absolutely corrupted. That, in a nutshell, is what I am and will continue to be. And I will never become a politician. To become a politician I will have to do what good politicians do, and that is mostly bad things. So, the bottom line is, good politicians must become bad people. Good people become bad politicians.
ABIM cannot understand this. They thought they were sold out by Anwar. They thought that Anwar betrayed them. They thought that Anwar used them. But of course he did. But that is what all good politicians do. And if Anwar can continue doing this, then there is yet some hope that Anwar will become prime minister one day.
Do I support Anwar as prime minister? Of course not! I do not support Dr Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh, Khairy, Najib or Abdullah as prime minister as well. This is nothing personal against Anwar, or any of the others. I actually love Anwar, Tengku Razaleigh and Najib. I have never met Khairy or Abdullah so it is impossible to love someone you have never met. And Dr Mahathir has his good and bad points -- I just have not decided yet whether there is more good than bad in him, or the other way around.
What then is my beef? Simple! The prime minister is elected by 2,300 Umno delegates at the general assembly. Those who control the 191 Umno divisions control the 2,300 delegates. So he therefore becomes the prime minister. And only the prime minister is able to control the 191 Umno divisions and the 2,300 delegates. In short, only the prime minister has any chance of becoming prime minister. All the others can only try and fail trying.
Imagine 2,300 people deciding the fate of 26-27 million Malaysians. This is scary. There is something terribly wrong with such a system. Dr Mahathir proved this. And so is Abdullah proving it now as well. We need a system where more Malaysians can decide who becomes prime minister. This should not be left to just 2,300 Umno delegates who can be bought with a mere RM1,000 a head.
The general elections are rigged, so this system no longer works. But what system do we then change to? I really don’t know. Maybe we can limit the tenure of the prime minister to just two terms. Then the Anti-Corruption Agency should come under Parliament and the head of the ACA is appointed by Parliament. This would make the ACA independent and able to take action against the lawmakers, including the prime minister. Short of that I really don’t know what to suggest.
In the meantime, watch the ongoing power struggle in Malaysia. Much conniving and money changing hands will be seen over the next year or so. And the man left standing will be he who plays the game best. And all’s fair in love, war and politics. There will be no dirty politics, only real-politics. And the next prime minister, whoever it may be, will be he who outwits the others and outbids everyone with the best price. And the next prime minister will have to be the dirtiest player in the game; there are no two ways about it.
posted 11:39 AM
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Hello.....brother.....that is not how the political game is played. Gratitude for past deeds has no place in politics. It is what you can do now and contribute to the future that counts. This is not a sign of ingratitude. It is what one would call real-politics.
Abim faction may quit Keadilan
Malaysiakini – Friday, 23 November 2001
The Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (Abim) faction in Keadilan may quit the party if their presence is no longer welcome and are seen as ‘troublemakers’, said the movement’s president Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman today.
“They (the Abim members) have informed me of their intention to quit the party but I told them to stay put until we decide on the next course of action,” he added.
Even Abim’s alignment with Keadilan will have to be reconsidered after the ‘ferocious attacks’ levelled against the Abim faction by other factions within the party, stressed Ahmad.
The Abim and non-Abim factionalism in the party was widespread and erupted during the Keadilan annual general meeting early this month which also saw the party’s inaugural elections.
Certain factions had labelled the Abim faction as “power-hungry individuals who wanted to take control of Keadilan”.
Ahmad said Abim members were “almost totally rejected” because they did not support the proposed Keadilan-PRM merger and Abim itself was subjected to heavy criticism.
The proposed merger has been agreed in principle by delegates from both parties which had separate meetings to vote on this matter.
However, the merger is put on hold following Keadilan’s failure to obtain the required two-third majority to amend its constitution. The party is expected to call for a special meeting for a vote on this matter later next year.
“I think we should consider everything. The wall is too thick to penetrate now. And based on their (non-Abim faction) response in the media, I don’t see a future for Abim members in Keadilan,” he told malaysiakini.
According to the Abim leader, the ball is now in Keadilan’s court. “If they are still arrogant and not magnanimous, I think everyone can predict the next course of action”.
Following the AGM, four Abim-linked members were offered places in the supreme council by party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
However, the quartet - Mohd Anuar Tahir, Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty, Ruslan Kassim and Mustafa Kamil Ayub - rejected the offer.
“When the four former Abim members turned down the appointments as supreme council members, it was made in a good faith in order to give the newly elected leaders the opportunity to lead the party into a brighter future.”
“It also helps to prove that they (Abim faction) are not power greedy. And I personally support their decision,” said Ahmad.
He also revealed that he turned down an invitation to discuss the current situation with Keadilan leaders.
“I refused because the moment I am seen with Wan Azizah, it could be interpreted as interfering in Keadilan affairs. I do not want to be dragged into this mess.”
“I don’t want to influence them because I still want Abim to maintain its non-partisanship,” he said.
However, he said, a thorough analysis of the events before and after the Keadilan elections will be conducted.
“Unless and until the new party leadership is prepared to accept the reality there are factions in Keadilan, it will be difficult to mend the strained relationship between Abim members and other factions in the party,” he said.
Ahmad said Keadilan is very close to the heart of Abim members because the movement was the prime mover in the formation of the party.
“Abim was the first to organise the reformasi campaign after the dismissal of Anwar Ibrahim (jailed ex-deputy premier), the formation of Adil and eventually Keadilan, when most of the present party leaders were abroad,” he said.
Abim faction’s opposition to Keadilan-PRM merger plan triggers party split
Malaysiakini – Friday, 23 November 2001
Stiff opposition to the proposed merger with PRM is the main cause for the fissure between Keadilan’s Islamic Youth Movement (Abim)-affiliated leaders and other party leaders.
Abim president Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman said his movement’s disagreement with the merger was politicised by other ‘factions’ in Keadilan to sideline Abim-linked leaders in the recent party elections.
“The results in the elections, where almost all leaders linked to us had been defeated, makes it possible for them to ditch Abim’s opposition to the proposed merger,” Ahmad Azam told malaysiakini.
In the party’s inaugural elections held on Nov 10 and 11, almost all Abim-affiliated candidates for the top posts were defeated by other candidates who were in favour of the merger.
The non-Abim faction consists of a loose grouping of former Umno members and individuals from the NGOs including the Jemaah Islah Malaysia.
According to Ahmad Azam, the animosity between the pro-Abim faction and the rest started when negotiations on the merger between the two parties began early last year.
“Abim members felt that the opposition front (BA) component parties can continue to work together and complement each other in the present set-up.”
The opposition pact was formed by Keadilan, PAS, DAP and PRM before the 1999 general elections. However, DAP pulled out of the coalition in September over its dissatisfaction over PAS’ stand on the Islamic state.
Ahmad Azam added that, however, the other ‘factions’ in the party started politicising Abim’s opposition to the merger to gain support for the proposed plan.
“We were said to have the intentions of ‘Abimising’ Keadilan. Our people in the party were said to be interested in Islamising Keadilan. Words were spread that we saw the rest, especially the PRM members, as being lesser Muslims,” he said.
“All these are untrue. In fact, our opposition to the merger was purely on tactical reasons. It is more effective to complement each other within the BA.”
He added there will also be problems relating to the party posts if the merger took place.
“Questions of seniority will be an issue. Newcomers to Keadilan (from PRM) will be made leaders. Our members will not be happy about it. We (Abim) were involved in the formation of Keadilan from the beginning, but these people become leaders.”
Ahmad Azam also said that Abim was wary of PRM’s history as a socialist party.
He added that Keadilan had started with a clean slate and should not let the ‘red’ history of PRM be a burden.
“This can drag down Keadilan and we don’t want to see that happen,” he said.
He added that the pro-merger Keadilan leaders had failed to convince party members of the benefits of the merger.
“They are for it just because Anwar Ibrahim is in favour of the merger. Why can’t we disagree with what Anwar wants, even if we agree that he had been victimised by the government?”
“In the end, it has become Abim versus the rest. That is the problem and it is unrepairable,” said Ahmad Azam.
Meanwhile, party sources told malaysiakini that Abim opposed the merger plans to maintain its influence and control over Keadilan. According to a source, Abim was worried that the entry of PRM might dilute its clout within the party.
“The previous Abim-affiliated leaders in the party had used their positions to consolidate Abim’s influence in the party, as well as the number of Abim-backed delegates that attended party meetings,” said a highly placed Keadilan leader.
He said that it would take some time before the present leadership would call for an emergency general meeting to revisit the merger issue.
“As we see it, we still have about 42 divisions that are pending approval from the Registrar of Societies. Only after that has been done, can we call for a special meeting to vote on the constitutional aspects of the merger. This may take up to a year,” said the source.
The party held a special meeting in June where its delegates agreed in principle to the merger but narrowly failed to obtain the two-third majority needed to amend its constitution for the merger. For its part, PRM delegates had agreed for the merger in their annual congress in July.
Keadilan will need to obtain the support from at least two-thirds of its party delegates before the merger can proceed.
Not only Keadilan, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was also frightened of ABIM. He was so frightened of ABIM that he allowed Anwar Ibrahim, its President, to join Umno. The purpose of allowing Anwar to join Umno was merely to neutralise ABIM. If Anwar could be taken out of ABIM, then the Islamic youth movement would be robbed of Anwar’s leadership and it would eventually become crippled. Furthermore, if Anwar was not allowed into Umno, then he would most definitely join PAS, which would be worse.
Dr Mahathir, being the political animal that he was, and still is, was proven right. Of course, the idea of Anwar joining Umno was not mooted by Dr Mahathir. It was Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who came up with the idea. At first Dr Mahathir was not agreeable to the idea. However, Tengku Razaleigh managed to convince Dr Mahathir on the rational of bringing Anwar into Umno and he eventually relented and agreed to it.
One overriding factor for Dr Mahathir agreeing to the idea of Anwar joining Umno was the fact that ABIM’s deputy president, who was also the PAS deputy president, was laying the ground for Anwar to take over the PAS presidency after Asri Muda’s resignation. The late Fadzil Nor could have taken over the presidency, but he preferred leaving the post vacant to enable Anwar to eventually take over. As a stopgap measure, Fadzil allowed Yusof Rawa to hold the post as a caretaker while awaiting Anwar to make up his mind when he would like to take over the presidency of the party.
But Anwar did not take over the PAS presidency as what Fadzil had hoped. Though extremely disappointed with Anwar’s decision to instead join Umno, Fadzil knew that Anwar wanted to become Prime Minister and this could never be achieved through PAS. It has to be through Umno. In that sense Fadzil forgave Anwar and still maintained a good relationship with his comrade from the enemy camp.
When Anwar was sacked from Umno and the government in September 1998, Fadzil and the ABIM crowd were amongst the first to rush to Anwar’s side. The setting up of ADIL, the forerunner to Parti Keadilan Nasional, was also initiated by ABIM and Fadzil, as what the Malaysiakini report above said.
One thing, however, that the idealistic ABIM crowd overlooked is that politics is about the attainment of power. When you are sitting on the sidelines as a conscientious objector, you can afford to be idealistic. You are after all only criticising the excesses, abuses and transgressions of the powers-that-be. However, once you are in the thick of the political game, then you have to play the game -- and all’s fair in love, war and politics. Enemies become friends and friends become enemies. An enemy of your enemy becomes your friend, even if the former is also your enemy, but as long as the latter is a bigger enemy. An enemy of your friend also becomes your enemy, even if the former is also your friend, but as long the latter can serve your political interests. That is the political game. And you must learn to treat all political friends as potential enemies and keep them close where you can watch over them -- plus keep your political enemies even closer so that you can monitor them and neutralise their every move.
That is what Dr Mahathir did to Anwar, a very clever move indeed. However, somehow, that is what Dr Mahathir did NOT do to Team B. Instead, Dr Mahathir got rid of Team B by deregistering Umno and forming a new party in February 1988 where he excluded his enemies from the new party. That was a gross mistake. He gave Tengku Razaleigh and the remnants of Team B no choice but to create a new party, Semangat 46, which eventually teamed up with PAS to knock Umno out of Kelantan. Umno never recaptured Kelantan even after Semangat 46 wound up and most of its members joined Umno -- and it would probably never again retake Kelantan far into the future.
Anwar used ABIM to frighten the daylights out of Dr Mahathir. He used it again in his climb up the Umno ladder. But once he got what he wanted, power, he neutralised ABIM so that it would no longer be a threatening force. ABIM practically became a pro-government movement and a pale comparison of its former self. That was when JIM was formed, to take over where ABIM left off. ABIM was seen as selling off and betraying the Islamic cause. JIM was going to continue the Islamic struggle started by ABIM but later abandoned once Anwar had climbed the Umno ladder.
ABIM may have been instrumental in the formation of Parti Keadilan Nasional, as claimed by Azam. It may also have been the initiator of and brains behind the Reformasi Movement. But that was in 1998. By 1999, the party had already faced its first general election and did reasonably well for a seven-month old party. But the party now needed to move on and certain structural changes were necessary. And ABIM did not fit into this new plan and, again, ABIM needed to be cast aside, like it had been many times before. ABIM was the small picture. Anwar now had to look at the bigger picture and ABIM was just one cog in the wheel, it was no longer the big wheel. This ABIM could not understand. They felt that Anwar owed the movement a lot and he should at least show some gratitude.
Hello.....brother.....that is not how the political game is played. Gratitude for past deeds has no place in politics. It is what you can do now and contribute to the future that counts. This is not a sign of ingratitude. It is what one would call real-politics.
The one-time deputy president of Keadilan, Dr Chandra Muzaffar, used to talk about politik baru (new politics). That is what the party is all about, he argued, to introduce new politics to Malaysia -- clean politics.
I disagreed with him and told him so, much to his chagrin. It is people like you we want to change, he said. It is because of people like you that Malaysian politics has become so dirty, he told me.
You cannot become a politician and try to change the way the political game is played, I told Dr Chandra. Politics is a dirty game. The best politicians are Machiavellian, I explained. That is why Dr Mahathir is a good politician and Tengku Razaleigh is a bad politician. Tengku Razaleigh is too principled. He will never become prime minister. As much as I dislike Dr Mahathir, I admire him for his political acumen. Dr Mahathir is where he is, and will remain where he is, because he is Machiavellian. Anwar too is Machiavellian, I told Dr Chandra. Maybe you have not realised it, but he is. And Anwar will have to become even more Machiavellian if he wants to make a comeback. And if ‘comeback’ to Anwar means to become Prime Minister, then it has to be in Umno, not in the opposition. And Anwar will have to use the opposition, like he did ABIM in the 1970s, to frighten Umno so that they bring him back just to neutralise the opposition, like what Dr Mahathir did with ABIM in the early 1980s.
Dr Chandra was totally disgusted with me. Anuar Tahir, the party’ secretary-general who was present in this discussion, also shook his head in disbelief. Well, I told the both of them, if you want to become politicians, then this is how the game is played. So, if you cannot stomach the game, then get out of politics. Politics is dirty. In politics you use people. There is no such thing as clean politics or politik baru. There is only the old and well-tested dirty politics -- the politics of winning, the politics of attaining power, the politics of using anything and anyone to achieve what you aspire, even money and offering positions if necessary.
Dr Chandra eventually did get out of politics, as did Anuar and many of the other ABIM activists. They realised that politics is not about idealism. Politics is about the ends justifying the means. Politics is about using anything and anyone available to get what you want. And that is why Tengku Razaleigh will never become prime minister, not until he can grasp the fundamentals of politics and is prepared to play the game; the dirty political game.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is seen as a clean man, a man of religion. But Abdullah is very rapidly learning the political game. He knows he cannot be clean or hold to his religious principles. He has Dr Mahathir gunning for him. He has Tengku Razaleigh who still aspires to become prime minister. He has Anwar hoping to make a comeback through Umno. He has Najib Tun Razak who plans to become his successor in the not too distant future. With all these threats hanging over his head, Abdullah has to be more Machiavellian than Dr Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh, Najib and Anwar combined.
And he is. Abdullah is sending out signals that he is presently thinking about who will be the candidates for the next general election expected as early as next year. He is personally signing RM2 million in ‘development expenditure’ to each and every Barisan Nasional Member of Parliament. He is paying 10% of this RM2 million in advance for the MPs to use as they wish. He is building up a sizeable and formidable war chest through his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin. Khairy is not the only front-man though. The RM5 billion PORR project is being executed through Yayasan Bumiputra Pulau Pinang Berhad, which he is heading.
By 2008, when the next party election is due, Abdullah will have in his war chest billions of Ringgit with which to fight against any onslaught from Dr Mahathir, Najib, Tengku Razaleigh or Anwar. Sure, the others have billions as well. But the others have no control over the RM200 billion RMK9 development fund. And the others cannot decide on the candidates in the next general election.
Abdullah is not as stupid as he looks. He may be a novice in the political game, but he is learning fast, and he has his very capable son-in-law to help him learn the ropes in super-speed mode. Some say that Khairy is moving too fast and this may result in his downfall. The veterans will not like a young man in a hurry. Well, Anwar was once where Khairy is today. Anwar too moved too fast and made many enemies along the way. But Anwar skilfully eliminated or bought off his enemies. As long as Anwar had the support of the prime minister he was okay. It is when he moved against the prime minister that he fell.
Khairy certainly has the support of the prime minister, so why should he not be okay as well? And I doubt Khairy will make a move against his own father-in-law as long as he can reap benefits from supporting him. But the instant Abdullah Badawi heads for a fall, Khairy would certainly move on. One must never swim near a sinking ship as one can get sucked down as well. Yes, Khairy will not betray his father-in-law as long as the man stays on top. But once he wavers or falls, then Khairy will be one of the wolves that will pick at the carcass, as is the nature of wolves.
Have no misunderstanding about this. I do not hate Khairy. I actually admire him. He is today what Anwar was more than twenty years before this. I suspect even Anwar admires Khairy as he sees much of himself in that young upstart. But I am of course opposed to Khairy because I am anti-establishment. I would oppose Anwar the same way I oppose Abdullah and Khairy, and Dr Mahathir before this, if Anwar was prime minister today.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So we must oppose those who hold absolute power to ensure they are not absolutely corrupted. That, in a nutshell, is what I am and will continue to be. And I will never become a politician. To become a politician I will have to do what good politicians do, and that is mostly bad things. So, the bottom line is, good politicians must become bad people. Good people become bad politicians.
ABIM cannot understand this. They thought they were sold out by Anwar. They thought that Anwar betrayed them. They thought that Anwar used them. But of course he did. But that is what all good politicians do. And if Anwar can continue doing this, then there is yet some hope that Anwar will become prime minister one day.
Do I support Anwar as prime minister? Of course not! I do not support Dr Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh, Khairy, Najib or Abdullah as prime minister as well. This is nothing personal against Anwar, or any of the others. I actually love Anwar, Tengku Razaleigh and Najib. I have never met Khairy or Abdullah so it is impossible to love someone you have never met. And Dr Mahathir has his good and bad points -- I just have not decided yet whether there is more good than bad in him, or the other way around.
What then is my beef? Simple! The prime minister is elected by 2,300 Umno delegates at the general assembly. Those who control the 191 Umno divisions control the 2,300 delegates. So he therefore becomes the prime minister. And only the prime minister is able to control the 191 Umno divisions and the 2,300 delegates. In short, only the prime minister has any chance of becoming prime minister. All the others can only try and fail trying.
Imagine 2,300 people deciding the fate of 26-27 million Malaysians. This is scary. There is something terribly wrong with such a system. Dr Mahathir proved this. And so is Abdullah proving it now as well. We need a system where more Malaysians can decide who becomes prime minister. This should not be left to just 2,300 Umno delegates who can be bought with a mere RM1,000 a head.
The general elections are rigged, so this system no longer works. But what system do we then change to? I really don’t know. Maybe we can limit the tenure of the prime minister to just two terms. Then the Anti-Corruption Agency should come under Parliament and the head of the ACA is appointed by Parliament. This would make the ACA independent and able to take action against the lawmakers, including the prime minister. Short of that I really don’t know what to suggest.
In the meantime, watch the ongoing power struggle in Malaysia. Much conniving and money changing hands will be seen over the next year or so. And the man left standing will be he who plays the game best. And all’s fair in love, war and politics. There will be no dirty politics, only real-politics. And the next prime minister, whoever it may be, will be he who outwits the others and outbids everyone with the best price. And the next prime minister will have to be the dirtiest player in the game; there are no two ways about it.
posted 11:39 AM
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The Corridors of Power
BBC: The final line of resistance
Raja Petra Kamarudin
I remember back in the old days when there were three opposition fronts or lines of resistance. The first was of course the opposition parties. Next was Umno Youth, a party within a party. Finally we had the Back Benchers’ Club or BBC, the grouping of ruling party Parliamentarians who were not holding any cabinet or ministerial position.
The opposition then was very feisty. In the May 1969 general election, it actually gave the ruling party, the Alliance Party -- a coalition of Umno, MCA and MIC -- a run for its money. Some states fell to the opposition outright while those that the ruling party retained it did so with a simple majority and no longer had its two-thirds majority in the state assembly.
Yes, those were the good old days. Then the Second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, formed a new coalition called Barisan Nasional and the opposition parties, including the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), joined this ruling coalition. PAS of course left about three years later after it discovered it was duped and, since it had now joined the ruling government, had to without protest support government policies whether they agreed with them or not.
PAS found out the hard way it could not be part of the government yet at the same time oppose the government. It had to support government policies even if they went against the Islamic party’s principles. You could of course argue and debate behind closed doors. But publicly you had to speak as one voice and not give even the slightest hint that you disagree with what the government is doing.
PAS eventually left the ruling coalition to go back to becoming an opposition party again, where it belongs.
Nevertheless, whether the opposition is weak or strong, there was still another level of resistance within the lead partner of the ruling coalition, and that is Umno Youth. Umno Youth, for all intents and purposes, was a party within a party. Most of the Prime Ministers in fact started their rise to the top through Umno Youth. And they made it to the top because of what Umno Youth was, a pressure group within Umno and a force by itself. In fact, Umno used to be very wary of Umno Youth because, if it took the opposite view to the parent party, then there would be problems. Umno was always very careful about this and would take Umno Youth’s views in mind before doing certain things lest the youth movement voice out opposition to whatever it is that Umno or the government did.
But that eventually changed. The days when Umno Youth was feared, was a party within a party, and was a pressure group to Umno and the government came to pass. Many of the leaders of today are sons of those who led Umno Youth in its days of glory. Sadly, however, none of today’s leaders share the same qualities as their fathers before them. Umno Youth is certainly no longer a pressure group or party within a party. It does not check and balance what Umno and the government does. It just echoes whatever the government says and nods its head in silent approval.
Another potent force was the Parliament Back Benchers’ Club. Ministers and their ministries would be put before the firing squad and made to answer embarrassing questions on their ministries’ performance as well as its policies. Sometimes, the Members of Parliament from the BBC would be more vocal than the opposition MPs. All the opposition MPS had to do was just sit back, relax, and enjoy the spectacle of the government MPs in the BBC whacking the government.
In short, Malaysia once had three opposition fronts or lines of resistance. First there were the opposition parties. Next, the youth movement in the ruling party (and this included MCA and MIC Youth as well, which once upon a time were as militant as their Umno Youth counterparts). Finally, we had the BBC in Parliament which would be the watchdog for the voters who voted them into office and gave them their job.
Sad to say, that is all now in the past. Malaysia Today has already spoken about the lethargic and pathetic opposition, so we need not go into too many details about this matter. Umno Youth is not even a reflection of what it used to be. Nothing can be done about all this though as it would take a long time to strengthen the opposition or change the present lembik (limp) culture of Umno Youth. But as far as the BBC is concerned, there is still hope and it is not too late to restore it to its old self.
The recent resignation of Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad as BBC’s chairman is a bit of a setback. Shahrir has always carried the image of a maverick or loose cannon and was certainly most suited to head the third line of resistance to the government. But he did mellow slightly over the years. Whether it was because of age or he felt that as the BBC Chairman he should not be seen too much as ‘anti-government’ is not that clear. But we would have thought that the BBC would be the best platform for him to speak out like he used to in the days before he became its chairman.
I suppose the recent episode where he opposed his fellow MPs opposition to the opposition could have been the reason he mellowed and did not whack the government too much. And this was a relatively minor issue mind you. Imagine what would happen if he took on a more controversial issue? Shahrir eventually had to resign. But even if he did not they would have thrown him out anyway, according to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
MPs may not vote according to their conscience, said Umno. They must support government policy. And they must automatically oppose anything the opposition proposes. Maybe the opposition leader, Lim Kit Siang, should table a resolution in Parliament calling for Malaysia to be turned into an Islamic state. Then all the government MPs would stand up to oppose it and ask that Malaysia be retained as a Secular state. Would this not solve DAP’s problems once and for all? And any government MP who supports Lim’s call to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state would be sacked or suspended. Good isn’t it? Lim can get the government backbenchers to oppose the Islamic state just so that they can oppose DAP.
Next month, BBC will be choosing its new chairman. In the running are Deputy Chairman, Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar, Pahang MP Sarit Jusoh, and the sacked Umno Vice President, Isa Samad. All these candidates are totally unsuited for the post. We do not want a bodek (apple polisher) BBC Chairman, and certainly not one as tainted as those three. We want someone who can be the ears, eyes and voice of the voters. It will be a long time before the opposition can again be a strong force in Parliament. Umno Youth has been castrated and has become a eunuch. Our last bastion is the BBC. Let us hope they appoint a new chairman worthy of the job and someone who can restore the BBC to what it used to be, a government within a government.
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I remember back in the old days when there were three opposition fronts or lines of resistance. The first was of course the opposition parties. Next was Umno Youth, a party within a party. Finally we had the Back Benchers’ Club or BBC, the grouping of ruling party Parliamentarians who were not holding any cabinet or ministerial position.
The opposition then was very feisty. In the May 1969 general election, it actually gave the ruling party, the Alliance Party -- a coalition of Umno, MCA and MIC -- a run for its money. Some states fell to the opposition outright while those that the ruling party retained it did so with a simple majority and no longer had its two-thirds majority in the state assembly.
Yes, those were the good old days. Then the Second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, formed a new coalition called Barisan Nasional and the opposition parties, including the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), joined this ruling coalition. PAS of course left about three years later after it discovered it was duped and, since it had now joined the ruling government, had to without protest support government policies whether they agreed with them or not.
PAS found out the hard way it could not be part of the government yet at the same time oppose the government. It had to support government policies even if they went against the Islamic party’s principles. You could of course argue and debate behind closed doors. But publicly you had to speak as one voice and not give even the slightest hint that you disagree with what the government is doing.
PAS eventually left the ruling coalition to go back to becoming an opposition party again, where it belongs.
Nevertheless, whether the opposition is weak or strong, there was still another level of resistance within the lead partner of the ruling coalition, and that is Umno Youth. Umno Youth, for all intents and purposes, was a party within a party. Most of the Prime Ministers in fact started their rise to the top through Umno Youth. And they made it to the top because of what Umno Youth was, a pressure group within Umno and a force by itself. In fact, Umno used to be very wary of Umno Youth because, if it took the opposite view to the parent party, then there would be problems. Umno was always very careful about this and would take Umno Youth’s views in mind before doing certain things lest the youth movement voice out opposition to whatever it is that Umno or the government did.
But that eventually changed. The days when Umno Youth was feared, was a party within a party, and was a pressure group to Umno and the government came to pass. Many of the leaders of today are sons of those who led Umno Youth in its days of glory. Sadly, however, none of today’s leaders share the same qualities as their fathers before them. Umno Youth is certainly no longer a pressure group or party within a party. It does not check and balance what Umno and the government does. It just echoes whatever the government says and nods its head in silent approval.
Another potent force was the Parliament Back Benchers’ Club. Ministers and their ministries would be put before the firing squad and made to answer embarrassing questions on their ministries’ performance as well as its policies. Sometimes, the Members of Parliament from the BBC would be more vocal than the opposition MPs. All the opposition MPS had to do was just sit back, relax, and enjoy the spectacle of the government MPs in the BBC whacking the government.
In short, Malaysia once had three opposition fronts or lines of resistance. First there were the opposition parties. Next, the youth movement in the ruling party (and this included MCA and MIC Youth as well, which once upon a time were as militant as their Umno Youth counterparts). Finally, we had the BBC in Parliament which would be the watchdog for the voters who voted them into office and gave them their job.
Sad to say, that is all now in the past. Malaysia Today has already spoken about the lethargic and pathetic opposition, so we need not go into too many details about this matter. Umno Youth is not even a reflection of what it used to be. Nothing can be done about all this though as it would take a long time to strengthen the opposition or change the present lembik (limp) culture of Umno Youth. But as far as the BBC is concerned, there is still hope and it is not too late to restore it to its old self.
The recent resignation of Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad as BBC’s chairman is a bit of a setback. Shahrir has always carried the image of a maverick or loose cannon and was certainly most suited to head the third line of resistance to the government. But he did mellow slightly over the years. Whether it was because of age or he felt that as the BBC Chairman he should not be seen too much as ‘anti-government’ is not that clear. But we would have thought that the BBC would be the best platform for him to speak out like he used to in the days before he became its chairman.
I suppose the recent episode where he opposed his fellow MPs opposition to the opposition could have been the reason he mellowed and did not whack the government too much. And this was a relatively minor issue mind you. Imagine what would happen if he took on a more controversial issue? Shahrir eventually had to resign. But even if he did not they would have thrown him out anyway, according to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
MPs may not vote according to their conscience, said Umno. They must support government policy. And they must automatically oppose anything the opposition proposes. Maybe the opposition leader, Lim Kit Siang, should table a resolution in Parliament calling for Malaysia to be turned into an Islamic state. Then all the government MPs would stand up to oppose it and ask that Malaysia be retained as a Secular state. Would this not solve DAP’s problems once and for all? And any government MP who supports Lim’s call to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state would be sacked or suspended. Good isn’t it? Lim can get the government backbenchers to oppose the Islamic state just so that they can oppose DAP.
Next month, BBC will be choosing its new chairman. In the running are Deputy Chairman, Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar, Pahang MP Sarit Jusoh, and the sacked Umno Vice President, Isa Samad. All these candidates are totally unsuited for the post. We do not want a bodek (apple polisher) BBC Chairman, and certainly not one as tainted as those three. We want someone who can be the ears, eyes and voice of the voters. It will be a long time before the opposition can again be a strong force in Parliament. Umno Youth has been castrated and has become a eunuch. Our last bastion is the BBC. Let us hope they appoint a new chairman worthy of the job and someone who can restore the BBC to what it used to be, a government within a government.
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Monday Morning Blues
Monday, May 15, 2006
Turning over a new leaf
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Referring to Anwar Ibrahim, Zainur Zakaria (one of Anwar’s lawyers) said the ex-deputy premier had also claimed to have been helpless to make changes while in government.
“But look, you were there (in government) for 16 years. Then, what were you doing all those years? What did you actually do when you claimed you couldn’t do anything?”
“(Former deputy premier) Musa Hitam resigned on a matter of principle because he couldn’t agree with Mahathir. If Anwar doesn’t agree with Mahathir, why didn’t he resign?”
The option to quit, he said, could be taken by any member of the cabinet if they disagree with a decision.
Malaysiakini - Wednesday, 26 April 2006
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam, Wednesday, hit out at Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) for bringing up the petroleum royalty given to Sarawak as an issue in the state election, polling for which is set for May 20.
He said he could not understand why PKR was raising the issue now when its adviser, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had rejected a request for a bigger petroleum royalty for Sarawak when he was the finance minister before his expulsion from the Cabinet.
“When he (Anwar) was the finance minister, I myself asked for an increment in the petroleum royalty but he didn't give. Why is his party talking about it now?”
“I asked for more development for Sarawak because we don't have enough (development) and he also did not want to give (allocations). Why is PKR talking about it now? Why didn't he give us more when he was in power? Now he is no more in power, he can talk,” Chan told reporters after a meet-the-people session at the Krokop Market, here.
Chan, who is the BN candidate for Piasau, was responding to a statement by PKR President Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Anwar's wife, at a ceramah (talk) yesterday.
Chan, who is president of the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), said PKR had no right to manipulate and misrepresent the issue to the people as it was Anwar who had rejected Sarawak’s request for the oil royalty increment.
Bernama - Wednesday, 10 May 2006
The news reports above are just two of many examples of criticism levelled at Anwar Ibrahim. Some of course question Anwar’s sincerity and ask whether he has really reformed or turned over a new leaf. Some feel he has not really changed much from the days when he was in power and his present stance is just a charade to play to the gallery. They feel that Anwar, being the political animal that he is, is catering to the taste buds of the voters and telling them what they would like to hear. Nevertheless, this is what most good politicians do anyway and we probably should not hold this against Anwar.
One thing Anwar should not do, though, is to ignore these criticisms. This has been earlier raised in The Corridors of Power where it was pointed out that Anwar faces a credibility problem of crisis proportions. The common cold one can ignore, as it will go away by itself. But ignoring allegations such as those above, plus much more, will not go down well with the voters who have long memories plus the assistance of the Internet to constantly remind them what Anwar said and did in the days when he was in power.
For example, Anwar gave a talk at an education seminar recently and he stressed on mother-tongue education. But the Chinese educationists remember when Anwar was once Education Minister. Why did he not do everything he is saying today when he was the Minister and had the power to do so then? Anwar has no answers and his only response is to apologise for his error of judgment. Well, at least Anwar admits his mistakes and begs forgiveness. But the damage has been done. Will the Chinese voters be able to forgive him for this irreparable and irreversible damage to Chinese education?
Even if you want to argue that Anwar may have been the Education Minister but then he really did not have much power to change any government policy as this is a Cabinet decision and no one in the Cabinet is able to contradict or oppose the Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had an iron grip on the country. Well, what about when Anwar was not yet in the government and was still only a student leader? Many remember Anwar leading the University Malaya students in demonstrations to oppose the English Language in an effort to install Bahasa Malaysia as the country’s first and official language. English became the second language and, today, the present generation of Malaysians have a very poor command of English. Now, the government realises that in the era of globalisation this is a handicap in getting good jobs.
This makes it very difficult for Anwar to raise issues as invariably every issue that he raises can be pointed back to him. When he slams the government’s education policies, it is pointed out that he was once part of the problem. When he criticises the government’s economic policies, people remember when he was the Finance Minister and the damage the Ministry did with him at the helm. When he talks about corruption and cronyism, many can rattle away names of Anwar’s friends who made it big in the days he was in power.
Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone. Unfortunately, Anwar too has sinned so he should refrain from this stone throwing exercise. Anwar needs to instead come clean and admit the many mistakes he made while in government. As Zainur Zakaria said, you can’t say that you were powerless and blame it all on Mahathir. If you really did not agree with Mahathir, you should have resigned and spoken out then -- not speak now after Mahathir had thrown you out. What would happen if Mahathir had not thrown you out? Or what would happen if Mahathir had resigned and allowed you to take over as Prime Minister? Would you then speak the way you are speaking today? Or would you continue with all the bad policies that you inherited from Mahathir?
Malaysia has many laws which even Anwar does not agree with and today speaks out against. Malaysia is highly regulated and tightly controlled in every aspect. Civil liberties and fundamental rights are violated at will. Many laws in fact violate the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. But we did not hear Anwar speaking out against these laws when he was in power. Anwar in fact used some of these laws himself to curtail the opposition. What gives him the moral right to oppose these laws today?
This does not mean Anwar should therefore support these laws today. Bad laws are bad laws and should be opposed, especially if they violate the Constitution. But Anwar cannot remain silent and pretend he did not go along with all these transgressions when he was in power. He cannot criticise and act as if he has been criticising these transgressions all his life. He did not when he was in power. He is only doing that now that he is out of power.
Anwar would gain more credibility if he confesses his mistakes and repents. Everyone makes mistakes and the avenue to repentance is always open (jalan ke taubat sentiasa terbuka). But to pretend you made no mistakes while pointing out the mistakes of others will just allow people to point out what you did when you were in power, which is the same thing you are today criticising others of doing.
It is not difficult to reveal the mistakes of others. It is the big man who admits his own mistakes, which is more difficult. And you cannot repent unless you admit your mistakes. And until you do admit them, then no would believe you are repentant but that you are still the same old Anwar Ibrahim.
Read more...
Referring to Anwar Ibrahim, Zainur Zakaria (one of Anwar’s lawyers) said the ex-deputy premier had also claimed to have been helpless to make changes while in government.
“But look, you were there (in government) for 16 years. Then, what were you doing all those years? What did you actually do when you claimed you couldn’t do anything?”
“(Former deputy premier) Musa Hitam resigned on a matter of principle because he couldn’t agree with Mahathir. If Anwar doesn’t agree with Mahathir, why didn’t he resign?”
The option to quit, he said, could be taken by any member of the cabinet if they disagree with a decision.
Malaysiakini - Wednesday, 26 April 2006
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister, Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam, Wednesday, hit out at Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) for bringing up the petroleum royalty given to Sarawak as an issue in the state election, polling for which is set for May 20.
He said he could not understand why PKR was raising the issue now when its adviser, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had rejected a request for a bigger petroleum royalty for Sarawak when he was the finance minister before his expulsion from the Cabinet.
“When he (Anwar) was the finance minister, I myself asked for an increment in the petroleum royalty but he didn't give. Why is his party talking about it now?”
“I asked for more development for Sarawak because we don't have enough (development) and he also did not want to give (allocations). Why is PKR talking about it now? Why didn't he give us more when he was in power? Now he is no more in power, he can talk,” Chan told reporters after a meet-the-people session at the Krokop Market, here.
Chan, who is the BN candidate for Piasau, was responding to a statement by PKR President Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Anwar's wife, at a ceramah (talk) yesterday.
Chan, who is president of the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), said PKR had no right to manipulate and misrepresent the issue to the people as it was Anwar who had rejected Sarawak’s request for the oil royalty increment.
Bernama - Wednesday, 10 May 2006
The news reports above are just two of many examples of criticism levelled at Anwar Ibrahim. Some of course question Anwar’s sincerity and ask whether he has really reformed or turned over a new leaf. Some feel he has not really changed much from the days when he was in power and his present stance is just a charade to play to the gallery. They feel that Anwar, being the political animal that he is, is catering to the taste buds of the voters and telling them what they would like to hear. Nevertheless, this is what most good politicians do anyway and we probably should not hold this against Anwar.
One thing Anwar should not do, though, is to ignore these criticisms. This has been earlier raised in The Corridors of Power where it was pointed out that Anwar faces a credibility problem of crisis proportions. The common cold one can ignore, as it will go away by itself. But ignoring allegations such as those above, plus much more, will not go down well with the voters who have long memories plus the assistance of the Internet to constantly remind them what Anwar said and did in the days when he was in power.
For example, Anwar gave a talk at an education seminar recently and he stressed on mother-tongue education. But the Chinese educationists remember when Anwar was once Education Minister. Why did he not do everything he is saying today when he was the Minister and had the power to do so then? Anwar has no answers and his only response is to apologise for his error of judgment. Well, at least Anwar admits his mistakes and begs forgiveness. But the damage has been done. Will the Chinese voters be able to forgive him for this irreparable and irreversible damage to Chinese education?
Even if you want to argue that Anwar may have been the Education Minister but then he really did not have much power to change any government policy as this is a Cabinet decision and no one in the Cabinet is able to contradict or oppose the Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had an iron grip on the country. Well, what about when Anwar was not yet in the government and was still only a student leader? Many remember Anwar leading the University Malaya students in demonstrations to oppose the English Language in an effort to install Bahasa Malaysia as the country’s first and official language. English became the second language and, today, the present generation of Malaysians have a very poor command of English. Now, the government realises that in the era of globalisation this is a handicap in getting good jobs.
This makes it very difficult for Anwar to raise issues as invariably every issue that he raises can be pointed back to him. When he slams the government’s education policies, it is pointed out that he was once part of the problem. When he criticises the government’s economic policies, people remember when he was the Finance Minister and the damage the Ministry did with him at the helm. When he talks about corruption and cronyism, many can rattle away names of Anwar’s friends who made it big in the days he was in power.
Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone. Unfortunately, Anwar too has sinned so he should refrain from this stone throwing exercise. Anwar needs to instead come clean and admit the many mistakes he made while in government. As Zainur Zakaria said, you can’t say that you were powerless and blame it all on Mahathir. If you really did not agree with Mahathir, you should have resigned and spoken out then -- not speak now after Mahathir had thrown you out. What would happen if Mahathir had not thrown you out? Or what would happen if Mahathir had resigned and allowed you to take over as Prime Minister? Would you then speak the way you are speaking today? Or would you continue with all the bad policies that you inherited from Mahathir?
Malaysia has many laws which even Anwar does not agree with and today speaks out against. Malaysia is highly regulated and tightly controlled in every aspect. Civil liberties and fundamental rights are violated at will. Many laws in fact violate the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. But we did not hear Anwar speaking out against these laws when he was in power. Anwar in fact used some of these laws himself to curtail the opposition. What gives him the moral right to oppose these laws today?
This does not mean Anwar should therefore support these laws today. Bad laws are bad laws and should be opposed, especially if they violate the Constitution. But Anwar cannot remain silent and pretend he did not go along with all these transgressions when he was in power. He cannot criticise and act as if he has been criticising these transgressions all his life. He did not when he was in power. He is only doing that now that he is out of power.
Anwar would gain more credibility if he confesses his mistakes and repents. Everyone makes mistakes and the avenue to repentance is always open (jalan ke taubat sentiasa terbuka). But to pretend you made no mistakes while pointing out the mistakes of others will just allow people to point out what you did when you were in power, which is the same thing you are today criticising others of doing.
It is not difficult to reveal the mistakes of others. It is the big man who admits his own mistakes, which is more difficult. And you cannot repent unless you admit your mistakes. And until you do admit them, then no would believe you are repentant but that you are still the same old Anwar Ibrahim.
Read more...
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Monday Morning Blues
Monday, May 8, 2006
Umno's bullshit!
Raja Petra Kamarudin
All Umno Youth members have been urged to fly the Umno flag to mark the party’s 60th anniversary on May 11, said the news report in one of the mainstream newspapers.
First of all, Umno is not 60 years old. The Umno that was registered on 11 May 1946 ‘died’ just short of its 42nd birthday. This newly registered Umno that was registered after the court deregistered Umno on 4 February 1988, the ‘son’ of the old Umno, is therefore only 18 years old. It may share the same surname, but it is still the second generation Umno and a separate legal entity. Secondly, Umno, which is only 18 years old, should have celebrated its birthday in February, three months ago, not on 11 May.
We must remember that those who fought and struggled for the original Umno, such as many veterans including those who had become Prime Ministers of this country, refused to join Umno Baru (the name of the new Umno) and eventually all died without ever becoming members of the new party. To these people, they would not be rejoining Umno but joining a new party. These people such as Umno Youth Leader Hishammuddin’s father and Bapa Merdeka (Father of Independence) shunned Umno Baru and regarded it as an imitation or cheap copy of the original Umno that was wound out just so that certain enemies of the Prime Minister could be ousted from the party. For all intents and purposes, the deregistering of the old Umno and registration of the new party was an exercise in ‘backdoor sacking’.
We must remember, the Umno veterans, which included Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Musa Hitam, and Tunku Abdul Rahman, attempted to register Umno Malaysia as soon as the court deregistered Umno. Their application was however rejected on grounds that the ‘Umno’ name was already taken and therefore no longer available. One week after Umno Malaysia’s application was rejected the Registrar of Societies approved the registration of Umno Baru. Umno Baru’s application was submitted after Umno Malaysia was rejected, and not before. Therefore the rejection of Umno Malaysia on grounds that the name was no longer available was a farce. Umno Baru’s application was submitted later, only after Umno Malaysia had been rejected.
One important point to note here would be: Umno Baru had to submit an application to join Barisan Nasional. The Barisan Nasional meeting convened in February 1988 at the PWTC to consider Umno Baru’s application was chaired by MCA. Barisan Nasional sat to debate an application for membership from a new party. Therefore Umno Baru was considered a new party and not the same old Umno.
Next, Khairy talks about Umno’s struggle for religion, race and country, in that order. Umno struggles for bangsa, agama and negara. This means race, religion and country, in that order. Since when was Umno’s Constitution changed where religion is the first objective, followed by race and country? It is actually race first, followed by religion and country.
You may argue that this is a minor thing. It is not! This clearly spells out what the party’s struggle is all about and what its objectives are in order of priority. Umno never amended it, how is Khairy able to change it? Khairy is trying to outdo PAS in giving the impression that Umno’s first objective is religion. It is not! It is race, and that is why Umno upholds Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy a la Apartheid).
This is what Article 3 of Umno’s Constitution says:
The next thing they tell you is that Umno fought for Merdeka or independence for Malaya. This is not true. In all the meetings the Umno leaders of the 1940s and 1950s had with the British they never once pursued the issue of independence. Even when they opposed the creation of the Malayan Union in 1946 the issue of independence was never raised. It was others who fought for independence and they were all rounded up by the British and thrown into jail. Some were hanged for treason. Some disappeared and were found dead later. It was only after the British felt that keeping Malaya as a colony was proving too expensive and the danger of the country falling to the Communists was becoming too dicey that they agreed to independence. Only after the British had made up their minds to grant Malaya independence did Umno talk about it.
It was a fait accompli which Umno hijacked and claimed as its struggle. It is like someone claiming to have cooked the food after the meal has been served on the table, whereas this person never entered the kitchen even once.
Okay, let’s move on. Musa Hitam, the Deputy Prime Minister who opposed Dr Mahathir and subsequently resigned to team up with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to form ‘Team B’, once said that when a football is deflated, do not kick it. Not only will it not roll far, but you will hurt yourself as well. He was referring to the constant attacks he was subjected to after he had fallen from grace.
When Rahim Thambi Chik was forced to resign as Umno’s Youth Leader due to a sex scandal with an under-aged girl, he too was attacked by the acting Youth Leader, Zahid Hamidi. Mat Sabu, the PAS warlord, ridiculed Umno Youth. When we slam Rahim, Umno Youth comes to his defence, said Mat Sabu. Now that Rahim is out of power, Umno Youth slams him. PAS does not want to slam someone who is out of power. We will do so only when he is in power and abuses this power or commits a crime. Now that he is out of power, why bother to slam him? Only gutless Umno Youth would slam someone who is out of power but not dare say anything when he is in power.
That sums up what is going on in Malaysia today. When Dr Mahathir was in power, everyone sings his praises. Now that he is no longer in power, all the ‘brave souls’ speak up. Why did they not slam Dr Mahathir when he was Prime Minister, like how we in the opposition did? Why only now slam him when you feel he is powerless to retaliate?
Malaysia Today does not slam people out of office. Maybe once upon a time we too were critical of Dr Mahathir. You can read many of our commentaries before the emergence of Malaysia Today, which was published in the Free Anwar Campaign website. But now that he is no longer in office we do not target him for criticism. We do not kick a man when he is down. We challenge him when he is all powerful and mighty. And we do it openly, not using pseudonyms and throwing stones while hiding our hands.
Umno has chosen to go to war with Dr Mahathir. The beautiful part about this whole thing is: these same people who, today, criticise Dr Mahathir actually think that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is an idiot. They support Pak Lah and oppose Dr Mahathir not because they think great guns of the Prime Minister. It is because they know that only Pak Lah can decide who will become candidates in the next general election expected as soon as next year.
Pak Lah is buying support. He is granting every Member of Parliament RM2 million in development funds, and 10% is being paid in advance, upfront. RM2 million is nothing. There are less than 200 Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament and they have more than RM200 billion to play around with over the next five years till 2010.
Dr Mahathir is finding his support diminishing as Pak Lah buys off all the MPs and Umno warlords. And there are many who will gladly kick a deflated ball if they are assured a seat in the next general election and a couple of millions in development funds personally approved by the Prime Minister. This goes to prove only one thing, all the Umno leaders are for sale.
If Umno Youth is really as brave as it pretends to be, then lodge a police report against Dr Mahathir and drag him to court under corruption charges. Do to Dr Mahathir what was done to Anwar. And do it now, or forever hold your peace!
Read more...
All Umno Youth members have been urged to fly the Umno flag to mark the party’s 60th anniversary on May 11, said the news report in one of the mainstream newspapers.
Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin was reported to have said that the party’s youth movement was organising a campaign to encourage its members to fly the flag until May 18. “This campaign is a symbol of our unity and our love for Umno and, for the younger generation, this is a symbol of our appreciation for the party’s never ending struggle for the religion, race and the country,” he said at the launch of the campaign at Putra World Trade Centre last week.
Some states, he said, have come out with interesting ways to participate in the campaign including a proposal by Pahang Umno Youth to carry Umno flags on boats and going downstream along the Pahang River. For individuals, he said, it would be enough for them to fly the party flag at their residences and offices during the campaign period.
“In doing so, they are encouraged to be creative and to ensure that their efforts are visible,” he added. Apart from the campaign, he said, the movement was also organising a contest to name the party flag, which until today has no official name.
This competition is open to all Malaysians. The winner will be judged not only on the name suggested, but also on the rationale behind the name. Those interested in taking part in the competition can send their suggestions through SMS to 017-267 0337 or by fax at 03-4044 2199 or through e-mail at bendera_umno@pemuda.com.my . The closing date is May 18.
First of all, Umno is not 60 years old. The Umno that was registered on 11 May 1946 ‘died’ just short of its 42nd birthday. This newly registered Umno that was registered after the court deregistered Umno on 4 February 1988, the ‘son’ of the old Umno, is therefore only 18 years old. It may share the same surname, but it is still the second generation Umno and a separate legal entity. Secondly, Umno, which is only 18 years old, should have celebrated its birthday in February, three months ago, not on 11 May.
We must remember that those who fought and struggled for the original Umno, such as many veterans including those who had become Prime Ministers of this country, refused to join Umno Baru (the name of the new Umno) and eventually all died without ever becoming members of the new party. To these people, they would not be rejoining Umno but joining a new party. These people such as Umno Youth Leader Hishammuddin’s father and Bapa Merdeka (Father of Independence) shunned Umno Baru and regarded it as an imitation or cheap copy of the original Umno that was wound out just so that certain enemies of the Prime Minister could be ousted from the party. For all intents and purposes, the deregistering of the old Umno and registration of the new party was an exercise in ‘backdoor sacking’.
We must remember, the Umno veterans, which included Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Musa Hitam, and Tunku Abdul Rahman, attempted to register Umno Malaysia as soon as the court deregistered Umno. Their application was however rejected on grounds that the ‘Umno’ name was already taken and therefore no longer available. One week after Umno Malaysia’s application was rejected the Registrar of Societies approved the registration of Umno Baru. Umno Baru’s application was submitted after Umno Malaysia was rejected, and not before. Therefore the rejection of Umno Malaysia on grounds that the name was no longer available was a farce. Umno Baru’s application was submitted later, only after Umno Malaysia had been rejected.
One important point to note here would be: Umno Baru had to submit an application to join Barisan Nasional. The Barisan Nasional meeting convened in February 1988 at the PWTC to consider Umno Baru’s application was chaired by MCA. Barisan Nasional sat to debate an application for membership from a new party. Therefore Umno Baru was considered a new party and not the same old Umno.
Next, Khairy talks about Umno’s struggle for religion, race and country, in that order. Umno struggles for bangsa, agama and negara. This means race, religion and country, in that order. Since when was Umno’s Constitution changed where religion is the first objective, followed by race and country? It is actually race first, followed by religion and country.
You may argue that this is a minor thing. It is not! This clearly spells out what the party’s struggle is all about and what its objectives are in order of priority. Umno never amended it, how is Khairy able to change it? Khairy is trying to outdo PAS in giving the impression that Umno’s first objective is religion. It is not! It is race, and that is why Umno upholds Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy a la Apartheid).
This is what Article 3 of Umno’s Constitution says:
FASAL 3: ASAS DAN TUJUAN
UMNO adalah sebuah parti politik yang berjuang mendukung cita-cita kebangsaan Melayu demi mengekalkan maruh dan martabat bangsa, agama dan negara.
The next thing they tell you is that Umno fought for Merdeka or independence for Malaya. This is not true. In all the meetings the Umno leaders of the 1940s and 1950s had with the British they never once pursued the issue of independence. Even when they opposed the creation of the Malayan Union in 1946 the issue of independence was never raised. It was others who fought for independence and they were all rounded up by the British and thrown into jail. Some were hanged for treason. Some disappeared and were found dead later. It was only after the British felt that keeping Malaya as a colony was proving too expensive and the danger of the country falling to the Communists was becoming too dicey that they agreed to independence. Only after the British had made up their minds to grant Malaya independence did Umno talk about it.
It was a fait accompli which Umno hijacked and claimed as its struggle. It is like someone claiming to have cooked the food after the meal has been served on the table, whereas this person never entered the kitchen even once.
Okay, let’s move on. Musa Hitam, the Deputy Prime Minister who opposed Dr Mahathir and subsequently resigned to team up with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to form ‘Team B’, once said that when a football is deflated, do not kick it. Not only will it not roll far, but you will hurt yourself as well. He was referring to the constant attacks he was subjected to after he had fallen from grace.
When Rahim Thambi Chik was forced to resign as Umno’s Youth Leader due to a sex scandal with an under-aged girl, he too was attacked by the acting Youth Leader, Zahid Hamidi. Mat Sabu, the PAS warlord, ridiculed Umno Youth. When we slam Rahim, Umno Youth comes to his defence, said Mat Sabu. Now that Rahim is out of power, Umno Youth slams him. PAS does not want to slam someone who is out of power. We will do so only when he is in power and abuses this power or commits a crime. Now that he is out of power, why bother to slam him? Only gutless Umno Youth would slam someone who is out of power but not dare say anything when he is in power.
That sums up what is going on in Malaysia today. When Dr Mahathir was in power, everyone sings his praises. Now that he is no longer in power, all the ‘brave souls’ speak up. Why did they not slam Dr Mahathir when he was Prime Minister, like how we in the opposition did? Why only now slam him when you feel he is powerless to retaliate?
Malaysia Today does not slam people out of office. Maybe once upon a time we too were critical of Dr Mahathir. You can read many of our commentaries before the emergence of Malaysia Today, which was published in the Free Anwar Campaign website. But now that he is no longer in office we do not target him for criticism. We do not kick a man when he is down. We challenge him when he is all powerful and mighty. And we do it openly, not using pseudonyms and throwing stones while hiding our hands.
Umno has chosen to go to war with Dr Mahathir. The beautiful part about this whole thing is: these same people who, today, criticise Dr Mahathir actually think that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is an idiot. They support Pak Lah and oppose Dr Mahathir not because they think great guns of the Prime Minister. It is because they know that only Pak Lah can decide who will become candidates in the next general election expected as soon as next year.
Pak Lah is buying support. He is granting every Member of Parliament RM2 million in development funds, and 10% is being paid in advance, upfront. RM2 million is nothing. There are less than 200 Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament and they have more than RM200 billion to play around with over the next five years till 2010.
Dr Mahathir is finding his support diminishing as Pak Lah buys off all the MPs and Umno warlords. And there are many who will gladly kick a deflated ball if they are assured a seat in the next general election and a couple of millions in development funds personally approved by the Prime Minister. This goes to prove only one thing, all the Umno leaders are for sale.
If Umno Youth is really as brave as it pretends to be, then lodge a police report against Dr Mahathir and drag him to court under corruption charges. Do to Dr Mahathir what was done to Anwar. And do it now, or forever hold your peace!
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Monday Morning Blues
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