The Guardian On 1MDB

There were two articles in the Guardian recently, dedicated to the 1MDB fiasco:

Malaysia’s new security law, due to come into force on Monday, would be alarming at any time. Its sweeping powers permit authorities to declare national security areas which are off-limits to protests, where individuals and premises can be searched without a warrant, and where killings by security forces need not result in formal inquests.

Changes to the country’s criminal code, undermining the rights of suspects, are similarly concerning. Human rights groups warn that existing laws, including the colonial-era Sedition Act – which Prime Minister Najib Razak once vowed to repeal – have been used to detain and muzzle critics. The country’s police chief recently warned that protests by electoral reform group Bersih would be permitted only if participants avoided calling for Mr Najib’s resignation.

Read the rest here: The Guardian view on Malaysian politics: a scandal meriting the world’s attention

On another note, Sarawak Report ran a story on Xavier Justo just over a year ago that predominantly made the mainstream media headlines because of his tattoos and purported "hedonistic living". I read it and filed away in memory that it involved PetroSaudi and the 1MDB fiasco.

Now the whole story has appeared in its entirety on the Guardian. It actually sounds like it should belong in a Hollywood script (maybe it might, some day), and contains details of the brazen transactions conducted by the crooks affiliated with the slimeball called Malaysian Official 1.

Excerpts:

In January 2015, Tong, Rewcastle Brown and Justo met in a five-star Singapore hotel, the Fullerton. Tong booked a conference room, and brought a number of IT experts, as well as the editor of the Edge, Kay Tat. At the meeting, Justo laid out the 1MDB joint venture, making the same claims that the US Department of Justice would set out 18 months later: namely that hundreds of millions of dollars that were intended for economic development in Malaysia had instead been diverted into a Seychelles-based company. The man at the centre of the transaction was alleged to be Najib’s adviser and family friend, Jho Low.

It was a potentially huge scoop. Tong agreed to pay Justo $2m. Tong and Rewcastle Brown were immediately handed disk drives with the data. But the payment was never made. Justo did not want the money in cash, and he worried that a large transfer of funds into his account would look suspicious. Tong offered Justo one of his Monets as collateral – but Justo declined, and said “no, I trust you”. Rewcastle Brown finally had the documents she had been chasing for more than six months.

On 28 February 2015, Rewcastle Brown posted the first big story online – under a typically unrestrained headline: “HEIST OF THE CENTURY!” The article claimed to show how $700m had disappeared from the 1MDB joint venture and found its way into various offshore companies and Swiss bank accounts.

The impact of the article was felt around the world. In the US, law enforcement officials who had been alerted to reports that Low was spending huge amounts on New York apartments now had a fix on the possible source of his wealth.

For a thrilling mini-series-type read: 1MDB: The inside story of the world’s biggest financial scandal

Imran Khan on the Malaysian Govt at The Guardian

On being detained at Kuala Lumpur airport

Malaysia didn't want me to enter the country to gather evidence about how ethnic Indians were treated by colonial Britain

In the Hollywood film The Terminal Tom Hanks plays (with obligatory mangled foreign accent) a character who is trapped in New York's JFK airport. Last week, I had a similar experience at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Malaysia. Whereas Tom Hanks's character spends years trapped, I was only there for a few hours. The episode was both humiliating and enlightening. I had been engaged by a Malaysian lawyer, Waytha Moorthy, to look into taking action against the British government for its role in the exploitation of Indian Hindus during Malaysia's period as a colony, and its failure to protect their rights when independence was declared in 1957.

Read the rest on the web.

Will Malaysia Ever Be Colour-Blind?

Will Malaysia ever be colour-blind?
In Malaysia, a promise to continue a race-based affirmative action policy will only entrench racism

By Nazry Bahrawi

After South Africa and Rwanda's harrowing experiences, it might be expected that no country would want its citizens governed racially lest it be torn asunder. But Malaysia considers itself an exception. Its leaders just gave race-based policies a renewed stamp of approval.

Last month, prime minister Najib Razak vowed to continue an unpopular affirmative action policy that favours the nation's Malays (who make up for slightly more than half of its population) over the Chinese and Indian minorities, who account for about 26% and 8% respectively.

The New Economic Policy (NEP), as this racialised national programme is known, was introduced nearly four decades back to raise the Malays' share of the nation's wealth from a meagre 1.5% to a more equitable 30% and create a Malay middle class. To this end, the government imposed racial quotas in such spheres as education and business.

Read it all HERE.

Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award 2009

I was browsing through the Comment Is Free section of The Guardian when I stumbled across a name I recognised.

Why, I had sat only across the table from this man during one of the blogger gatherings at Blog House. I was quite impressed. I personally don't know all that many people who have had to deal with a death threat.


Malik Imtiaz Sarwar seems to take it all in his stride and for his efforts and courage, he has been awarded the Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award by Index on Censorship.

And apparently, that was the reason why he had his piece on The Guardian entitled The truth about Malaysia - it was in conjunction with the award. An excerpt:

Architects of autocracies would benefit tremendously from studying the Malaysian model. It stands as a shining example of how, given the right combination of greed, ambition, maladministration and contempt for the rule of law, any democracy can be recast into an autocracy while preserving the veneer of democratic process.

Imtiaz is a deep thinker and not all his blog entries are easy to follow but this article is a must-read, so go to the site and read it in its entirety.

Political Credibility In Malaysia

All things considered, I think our political scene is dull.

Sure, our politicians tend to serve up quite a full-course, with a menu none can surpass.

For appetizers, we had sizzling snacks of C4, SD and PI. (Abbreviations are in vogue. Get with the programme.)

Then we were treated to a new brand of instant noodles called SodoMee which was unfortunately flung around, akin to how my classmates and I used to play with food in the school canteen - back in the 80s and 90s.

For dessert, we were treated to Turkish delight, which was a rather brief and simple affair, I must admit. I won't even get into the subject of Hershey's.

What any citizen wants and needs in its political candidates is credibility. But you and I know that our Malaysian politicians have completely lost it.

So we turn to our British counterparts, to seek direction on how to make a point about principle (something sorely lacking in the Malaysian political scene), to start with.

Now there's this dude called David Davis. He's a politician in Yorkshire, which is someplace in northern England where they have strange accents. I hear translators are absolutely essential for effective communication with the rest of the world.

Yorkshire is also known as God's Own County, for reasons probably best left unknown.

Mr Davis' parents really liked the letters D, A, V, I and S, for some reason. They also had limited creativity when it came to bestowing names upon their children. That, I regretfully inform you, is discussion for another day.

Today, I want to bring your attention to a simple but life-changing by-election in Yorkshire. David Davis was the incumbent but he resigned out of principle. Long story. The short version is, he is contesting for the same seat again.

If you thought it was merely a negligible by-election, you're wrong. Unfathomably wrong.

It's a tough fight indeed.

They have such excellent, well-thought-out party manifestos, and such memorably catchy names to go with it. It is about faith, ecology, psychology, and even pathology.

You would only have to listen to their manifestos to be struck by the gravity and profundity of life itself. For instance:

"If elected our candidate would like to see Cherie Blair detained indefinitely in a convent to stop her having sex with Tony and telling us all the boring details."

- Lord Biro of the Church of the Militant Elvis Party

How could you not support a party that is all for conservative morality? One that champions religious places like convents? One which has the words 'church' and 'militant' in the same sentence??

Then we have candidates with deep, soul-searching statements:

"Vote for insanity, you know it makes sense".

- Mad Cow-Girl of Monster Raving Loony Party

I was almost moved to tears. It sounded like a mission statement that Malaysians, collectively, would nod their heads and resolutely believe in.

Finally. Deep in the inner recesses of our mind, and in the very core of our hearts, we knew someone out there would understand us. Even if her name was Mad Cow-Girl.

The small by-election in Yorkshire has even brought out the scientific and intellectually superior individuals among us earthlings. For a thorough perspective on evolution and conspiracy, we have the Green Party.

No, they're not all about recycling.

But they have an intriguing spokesman with some fascinating views:

Earth is controlled by "reptilian humanoids", such as US President George W Bush and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

- David Icke of the Green Party

He discovered in 1991 that he was the son of God. Unfortunately, there are some really nasty people out there who were skeptical of his brilliant prophesies.

His words of wisdom were sadly met with ridicule and derision. It was a trying time for him and he had to seek reclusion for a while.

If you have trouble believing in David Icke, open up your heart (not literally, please). Pick up a guitar. Sing a flower song. Refrain from having a shower for 37 days. Go live in a commune.

The truth shall set you free.

But Yorkshire, in spite of being God's Own County, has shown the finger to the son of God, the militant rock-n-roll church, and the mad-cow girl - though not necessarily in that order.

This morning, to my chagrin, the Grauniad announced that David Davis had claimed a "stunning victory".

I still hold the hope, fleeting as it is, that one day we will see the calibre of political candidates that the UK boasts.

Till then... we have sodomy.

Our Tabloid, The Star

On numerous occasions I have referred to The Star and New Straits Times as tabloids pretending to be mainstream media.

Today, it amused me to no end that The Guardian evidently agrees with me. :)