Sending A Message

It became a catchphrase, except that coming from you-know-you, it was difficult to take seriously.

In context, he was riding a motorcycle, and casually wondering what there was to be ashamed of riding a motorcycle. Most people see that as an attempt to appeal to the Mat Rempit. It may or may not be the case.

However, if one has stolen a motorcycle, there is plenty to be ashamed of.

And if one has stolen far more then that, then it's best to just hang one's head in shame and have some self-awareness, for the love of God.

Keep the mouth shut, too.

Goldman Sachs' Criminal Charges

Goldman Sachs gets massively sucker-punched (though I suspect they were actually bracing themselves for it) as they get criminal charges filed against them.

It wasn't just Goldman Sachs International (UK) that took the hit, Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte and Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC were also charged with omission of material information and the publishing of untrue statement in the offering circulars for the bonds.

Individuals charged were: Jho Low, ex-1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and former Goldman executive Timothy Leissner.

It's amazing. Timothy Leissner has already pleaded guilty in the US to charges of misappropriating 1MDB money and bribing officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi and is awaiting sentencing.

Finance Twitter doesn't seem to think that any of the Goldman Sachs bankers would actually go to jail. I think it has a point.

The US has cultivated a reputation for saying one thing and doing another. Barack Obama has, in the past, criticised bankers for their part in the recession - and then gone on to appoint them to his administration!

Trump, at least, is not a hypocrite. His administration is full of ex-bankers who have done nothing for the country but enriched themselves. In other words, a mirror of Trump himself.

Given that Trump has made a business of bankrupting himself to avoid paying his debts, and is not above paying bribes (and not just to strippers that he has had affairs with) to get his way, I cannot believe that his administration would take this seriously.

Still, I don't think Leissner was expecting another load of bricks to be thrown in his direction. I look forward to discovering what his sentence would be.

Roger Ng (Leissner's deputy) is fighting extradition to the US to face the same charges as Leissner, and will be charged later this week. It's not looking pretty for him either. As Finance Twitter says, he is not a US citizen and he is likely to be thrown to the dogs.

These are criminal charges. I expect that a civil suit would follow, where I hope that the $5.1bil rumoured to affect Goldman Sachs would be claimed.

We do have Goldman Sachs to thank, though. Because I personally believe that if this fiasco had never happened, BN/UMNO would still be ruling the country today.

NOTHING could be worse than that.

Related: Wall Street Bankers Need To Understand What Corruption Does To The People Of Our Planet

Goldman Sachs And 1MDB

It is difficult to have any sympathy for a financial company like Goldman Sachs as they frequently screw up and get bailed by their governments/banks, but this time it looks like Goldman Sachs has bitten off more than it can chew.

Aseef Shameen rightly sets the tone on Goldman's impending doom in the Edge Singapore piece, Goldman Sachs' 1MDB cover-up is bigger than the scandal:

Malaysia wants all of the US$600 million in fees 1MDB paid to Goldman and restitution of a big chunk of the US$3.5 billion it lost. Attorney General Tommy Thomas said recently that reports of him filing a suit in New York claiming US$5.1 billion from Goldman were “premature”.

Of course, it may be premature to be discussing this as investigations are still underway but one does suspect that this Pakatan Harapan government had this task in mind when it appointed Tommy Thomas to the role of AG. Tommy Thomas works extremely quietly and efficiently. Given his very recent track record with securing the yacht Equanimity and his progress with Abu Dhabi's IPIC, this man will save Malaysia millions, if not a billion.

You may be wondering how Goldman has a hand in this 1MDB scandal. This is why it's in trouble:

It raised US$6.5 billion for 1MDB. The DOJ alleges that over US$3.5 billion was misappropriated from those funds by Jho Low, a close confidant of Najib. In pleading guilty to money laundering and bribery charges, Leissner blamed the 1MDB shenanigans on Goldman’s “culture” of working around internal legal and compliance controls, as it was highly focused on consummating deals. Jho Low has been charged in absentia with money laundering and violation of bribery laws by the DOJ. He remains on the run and is reportedly in hiding in China.

A lot of people are dying to get their hands on the Whale.

Given the excesses detailed in the book and judging by the calls to BFM over the issue, Malaysians are livid.

Predictably, Goldman Sachs have denied knowing Jho Low.

They're not the only ones.

Najib Razak now claims that he was cheated by Jho Low, and more ludicrously, claimed he was not aware that anything was wrong because he was not told about it.

Tong Kooi Ong of the Edge Media spills the beans and sets the story straight on what really happened in You didn’t know Jho Low cheated us? I showed you evidence and you showed me the door:

He put the blame solely on Goldman Sachs and 1MDB’s lawyers and auditors for allowing wrongdoings to take place.

“They should have informed me if something was not right,” Najib said. “They clearly failed in carrying out their responsibilities.”

While Najib plays the victim for the peanut gallery, it's rather intriguing how he appears to have such a close relationship with Jho Low.

Tong Kooi Ong describes it:

I then proceeded to tell Najib that Jho Low must be held accountable and be prosecuted. This upset him. He immediately stood up, walked to the door and asked me to leave.

I was taken aback that he was so sensitive about Jho Low.

While The Edge’s reporting was focused on 1MDB and Jho Low, [Paul] Stadlen [(Najib's media adviser)] made it very clear that any attack on Jho Low was an attack on Najib, and that he was conveying this message from his boss.

If you choose to read just one article this coming week, I urge you to make it Tong Kooi Ong's expose. If this piece does not go viral, Malaysians are not worth their salt.

Najib wants you think that he was cheated and that he is innocent, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Do not be fooled.

China And 1MDB

That ah pek fella, Tony Pua, has been going around calling the 1MDB scandal the great-grandmother of all scandals, and now it appears to have caught on -- even with the BBC. The bugger is now a special officer to the finance minister -- job scope: to look through the mountains of documentation related to 1MDB.

Not bad eh?

Though everyone with a minimum of two brain cells knew, even back then, that what Tony Pua was banging on about was, of course, a legitimate issue. I think what shocks people is the scale of the problem, the sheer magnitude of the actual problem.

It has spread to, and now involves a force that most Malaysians would prefer not to bother: China.

The Mahathir administration has suspended three major construction projects with Chinese firms. The mind-blowing bit is that 88% of the cost had been paid to China, even though only 13% of the work had been completed.

How can that happen, I hear you ask. Two words: Money Laundering.

Two of the contracts were pipelines. I know right, what better way to channel money away than by using a pipeline? #Ironic

Anyway, the companies involved were contacted for *ahem* comment. According to the BBC:

Emails to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau about Mr Pua's allegations went unanswered, but the Chinese embassy in London gave its response.

"We have noted the relevant report. China has all along conducted economic, trade and investment cooperation with Malaysia, as well as other countries, with the principle of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes," said a spokesman.

Pooh. These people, with their capacity for sanctimonious waffle, really do talk like the North Koreans.

According to the Malay Mail, Putrajaya is investigating whether part of a loan from a Chinese state-owned bank for projects worth US$2.3 billion (RM9.3 billion) was used to help repay dues of scandal-ridden state fund 1MDB.

What's the significance of this?

About three years ago, to quote the Business Insider, Xi Jinping Just Took His War On Corruption To A Whole New Level.

Even high level officials, like Zhou Yongkang, the former security chief and retired Politburo Standing Committee member and Communist Party General Secretary and Politburo member Sun Zhengcai, have been indicted.

Most of the people who have been rooted out have been caught plundering state resources. Clearly, personal and private enrichment hurts China.

The question is, what happens to those who have been plundering other nations? Is that acceptable by Xi's standards?

It's all about perception, at the end of the day. In China, local governments, often collude with businesses to enrich themselves at the expense of the people, evoking backlash in the form of mass protest and social unrest, and threatening the party’s power.

Corruption in foreign places like Malaysia is unlikely to solicit backlash in China.

Nevertheless, ball's in your court, China. Remember, the world is watching.

Related: Jho Low And The China Issue

Corruption, Embezzlement And Fear

If you haven't read Haris Ibrahim's piece on the deplorable waste of money via the massive 1MDB scam, I suggest you do now, because he puts things very succinctly.

Even the title was a punch in the gut for me. We pay so much toll, so much tax in way of GST, and so much in terms of effort to overcome the obstacles.

While the average joe is struggling to make ends meet, one elite group of people blow $41 million at the casino. It is sheer insanity.

Haris says:

Go to your houses of worship and pray for 3 revolutions.

First, that your heart be filled with so much love for our downtrodden, that your heart be filled with so much determination to ensure that this travesty never ever happens to our people again, and that, by this, we may overcome all fears that may come our way.

Second, that our minds be steeled enough to face whatever adversity may be thrown our way.

Third, that we will bring a tsunami of change to our land such as has never been seen before.

I couldn't agree more. On this blog alone, I have lost count of the number of protests/rallies I have covered. I have tag-teamed with fellow bloggers and reported from the ground while they uploaded photos and typed out my reports.

I have been tear-gassed. Sprayed with acid-laced water from intimidating water cannons. Pretty much done it all.

And yet, even I fear. I don't want to be arrested. But after having travelled around the world and lived in multiple countries, I see the flaws in them and grudgingly admit that I am best suited to living in Malaysia.

Barring the anathema that is BN politicians, this is the best country to live in. Do we want to sacrifice that just to live in some foreign country "for the sake of the children"?

The talented and courageous cartoonist, Zunar, says:

“We need to cross the line. This is the line of fear we call it. It is not a normal line. It is a line of fear. If you don’t cross it, we are trapped in there forever. The system will be very happy. The government will be very happy if you don’t want to cross the line.

"I hope more and more people will cross it (the line). We must break the system. If not, they (the government) will be very happy. Now Malaysia has been governed by the same party for more than 60 years. If we don’t cross the line, we will give mandate for another 60 years to them. I don’t know if I will win or lose, but if I don’t fight, I’ll definitely lose."

We need to wake up. There are so many injustices happening in our nation. Lim Guan Eng is facing legal action over something so trivial (and conjured), while Najib goes scot-free over such a ridiculously gargantuan embezzlement.

Our legal system is frayed. We have draconian laws in place, the worst of them being the National Security Act.

Sarawak Report says:

To give just a single example of the evil intent of this National Security Act, consider the clause that cancels the formal inquest into the death of anyone killed by army or police in any crackdown under its provisions.

Someone must have thought closely to insert such a sinister detail in advance. That someone must have decided that they are tired of being inconvenienced by all the paraphernalia of the law when it comes to murder cases. That person wants to be freed from questioning and investigation, when someone who gets in his way is ordered dead.

Does Malaysia want to place such a dangerous law in the hands of a desperate thief and liar like Najib, who is furthermore himself personally associated with a string of murky, half-solved murders?

And yet, the mainstream press in Malaysia has been almost as silent on this deadly law, as over the shocking revelations by America’s Department of Justice about their Prime Minister’s thefts from 1MDB. The story which has been headlines for the past two days in every other country in the world has remained virtually unreported where it is most relevant – Malaysia.

We need to lose this fear of the government. The fear of rocking the boat.

But there is also one more thing that we need. Co-operation from all facets of society. Most of the Malaysian minorities have some cohesive bond going for us. Especially those of us middle-class, educated ones. We need to rally the support of our Malay brethren.

They need to stand next to us as well, to say, "Enough is enough!"

I am not suggesting that you strike up some fake friendship with random Malay people just so that you can convert them to your cause.

I am saying that you need to find common ground, something that can overpower the indoctrination that our government has so successfully implemented. In the words borrowed from some book written a few thousand years ago, we all need to love our neighbours.

Other countries have, and are still making that same mistake. Brexit happened because poor people were sidelined, and they felt they had so little to lose, that they were willing to cut their nose to spite their face.

Donald Trump is making waves in the USA for the same reason. He talks so much crap; he contradicts himself on a regular basis, and in no way does he practise what he preaches.

But people deliberately refuse to see that.

Just like the racist and uneducated Malays will refuse to see that Riza, who is officially Muslim, should not have been gambling the money away because it is haram, to begin with.

The good news is, not all Malays are racist and uneducated. There are respectful, dignified ones out there who dislike the politics being played out, but who find no common ground with DAP stalwarts and gung-ho opposition die-hards.

We are too polarised. Really, we are.

What we need to do is come together and fight against common evil.

Come together and cast aside our fear.

Has Malaysia Become A Police State?

COMMENT: How ironic it is that many Malaysians are now being threatened for taking actions that are “detrimental to parliamentary democracy.” Actually, they are the very people who are struggling for democracy and political freedom.

As someone who follows developments in Malaysia closely, I believe that the greatest threat to parliamentary democracy in Malaysia today is Prime Minister Najib Razak, and the head of the national police force that he controls, Khalid Abu Bakar.

It is Najib and Khalid who actually should be investigated for violating Section 124B of the Penal Code.

Najib wants to stay in power, no matter what. For any politician, that is understandable.

For whatever reason, Khalid has chosen to be Najib’s lackey. He is ready to do Najib’s bidding and deploy his police force in wilful violation of the law and the fundamental guarantees of Malaysia’s constitution.

Najib as Macbeth

A good friend who also follows developments in Malaysia closely recently compared the situation in Malaysia to Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, “Macbeth.”

Macbeth, pushed by his evil wife’s ambition, would stop at nothing – even murder – to gain power. And to accomplish his ends, Macbeth would depict evil as good, and good as evil.

So it is in Malaysia today. Those who seek democracy are called the enemies of democracy.

Meanwhile, those who really are the enemies of democracy – the people who close newspapers, charge opposition politicians with sedition, round up the leaders of peaceful protests, and arrest government officials who are investigating corruption at the highest levels – call themselves the “patriots” of the nation and the defenders of parliamentary democracy.

How perverse it all has become under Najib.

Reluctantly, I have come to the conclusion that Malaysia has now become a police state.

One should not use words like “police state” carelessly. So I consulted the definitions that political scientists and academics use.

A police state is when police power is used to suppress any action that opposes the government, and to suppress any person who dares to criticise the government.

That sounds like Malaysia today. Najib is turning Malaysia into an authoritarian government and a police state. And Khalid is his willing accomplice, a law unto himself, a man who renders justice through Twitter.

Who will save Malaysia?

Because of Najib’s actions, Malaysia can no longer claim to be a democracy.

Democracy means freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly. It means that there are checks and balances – that the judiciary, the press, the parliament, and so on, can comment and criticise what the government is doing.

But today in Malaysia, none of that exists. There is no check on Najib’s power. There is no institution that can balance his power, especially when the police are so ready to arrest anyone who dares to criticise Najib, including government officials who are investigating the many allegations of corruption against him and his wife.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad already destroyed most of Malaysia’s checks and balances against the abuse of power, and Najib has now finished it off for good.

Will Najib get away with this? It seems that no one stands in Najib’s way.

Malaysia’s elder statesmen – Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Musa Hitam, and so on are curiously silent. They claim that they care about Malaysia and its people, yet they do nothing about Najib’s abuses.

Only Mahathir has spoken out. But Mahathir is the man who corrupted the entire system that Najib has used to his advantage.

And now even Mahathir has become silent.

Where are the sultans? They also are supposed to be the defenders of the nation. Yet we only know, indirectly, the views of the Sultan of Johor and his son. The others are silent as Najib destroys Malaysia’s future, the great country that the Sultans have pledged to defend.

We know what Najib wants

Najib has decided that his personal survival is more important than the fate of his country. He and his wife care only about themselves, not Malaysia.

So the stock market tumbles, and the ringgit falls to its lowest point in almost 20 years. Malaysia’s bank reserves have dropped by over US$40 billion in just one year. Foreign investors are shunning Malaysia, and Malaysians themselves are sending their money overseas. It is the worst situation for Malaysia’s economy in 20 years.

But Najib doesn’t care. His personal survival is more important than his country’s economic fate.

Najib is now a desperate man. He will continue his relentless quest to stay in power, utilising every means possible, both within and outside his party.

The leaders of Bersih 4.0 and others who think that street demonstrations will force him to resign are naive. He already has shown that he has no hesitation to turn tear gas and billy clubs on his own people. That is what they will face on Aug 29.

As things now stand, I cannot think of a good outcome. It is only going to get worse.

Cry, the beloved country. I can only weep when I think of Malaysia’s future, when one man is able to subvert the institutions of government and thwart the will of the people. And when the great majority of the Malaysian people, from former leaders to the man in the street, stand by silently, and let him do it.

JOHN R MALOTT is former United States ambassador to Malaysia.

Malaysian Leadership

I don't know how many of you are regular readers of Zaid Ibrahim's blog, called ZaidGeist (which I find to be a genuinely funny play on the word Zeitgeist), but a few days ago, there was a rather interesting and insightful piece about Najib, Muhyiddin and the Loony Tun.

Only recently, I heard the Loony Tun complain about Najib breaking his promise to build the crooked bridge. It appears that the damned crooked bridge is the bane and downfall of every Malaysian politician.

Zaid Ibrahim is convinced that UMNO president and Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak is about to be replaced by his enemies in the party.

Go here to read why.

Kangkung Saves The Day

I assumed that all the kangkung jokes had been exhausted, but after being proven wrong repeatedly, I'm not holding my breath.

To be honest, I really thought the average Malaysian had been suckered in by the Allah drama that the BN government has been peddling to the masses to distract them.

But there's hope. Ironically, the clueless Prime Minister made a gaffe by trying to convince Malaysians that the quality of their lives would improve due to the drop in price of kangkung.

It's spectacular.

The BN government has hiked up assessment rates, reduced petrol subsidy, introduced GST, implemented toll booths -- all of which are actions that cause the cost of living to skyrocket.

To even imply that the price drop of a vegetable -- and not one that is eaten everyday or in huge quantities -- could even remotely offset the burden of the above-mentioned, is plainly ludicrous.

It is evident that the tensions are simmering, but beneath the surface.

Kangkung has restored some balance to the motion of Malaysian life. People are no longer distracted by petty issues like what you call your god.

All thanks to kangkung.

No Free Lunch

No free lunch; we've gotta pay either toll or tax, Najib says.

Which is really ironic because we're also paying for him (and also his wife's diamonds and step-son's fancy apartment in New York) to drive around in his fancy new ride.

And of course, he's been jetting around in a luxurious new plane. An airplane!!

An Airbus ACJ320 leased from Comlux Aviation. That, my good Malaysian friends is not a cheap thing. Bearing in mind that it has been refurbished for a very luxurious flying experience, not what you experience on your AirAsia flight.

While you sit in your cattle class seat with your legs cramping from lack of space, you're paying for good ole Najib to flex his legs about and have a very pleasant flight. And I haven't gotten started on the fuel yet.

No free lunch, Najib says. For you and me, that is.

For him, it's all free.

Greed In Malaysia And America

Unlike what most of Malaysia thinks, this is old news.

Najib Razak's step-son had bought this apartment at least a year ago. Obviously, like his dear mother, he had saved up all his life and bought it. That family ought to give financial tips on how to save money.

Or maybe not.

They could certainly give tips on how to spend it.

Interestingly, I suspect the news got out because of the film that was released in the US on Christmas Day. "The Wolf of Wall Street".

Yes, it was produced by Najib's step-son's company.

Interestingly, it bears a striking resemblance to the issue at hand. Of stealing. Of spending money that doesn't belong to you.

Because that is precisely what this movie glorifies, and exactly what the main character in this movie does. Jordan Belfort is his name and his greed and lack of integrity is part of the reason why America was brought down to its knees.

This is a very interesting open letter to the director and main star of the film by Christina, the daughter of one of Jordan Belfort's accomplices/associates named Tom Prousalis.

It is very apt and describes what greed could do to men, be they American or Malaysian.

Read The Sarawak Report for more information on this topic.

On The Subject Of Paying Tax

Who are the true patriots?

Wise words from Zaid Ibrahim.

This is in response to the Prime Minister who first brought up the topic of patriotism HERE:

KUALA LUMPUR: Tax evasion is a treasonous act as it tantamounts to deterring the country’s development, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today.

Instead, Najib described paying taxes as patriotic since an increased government revenue would be used for infrastructural growth, for example.

Except government revenue hasn't been used for infrastructural growth. It's been used for bribing constituents into voting for BN in Sabah and Sarawak. It's been used to ferry plane loads of Bangladeshis into the country.

With such treasonous acts, he is in no position to talk about patriotism.

Dei Tamby!

OK, this isn't a Deepavali post.

But it's directed at Najib, who is superb at dealing with foreign media and politicians, but hopeless at dealing with his own countrymen, from his own party to the voters who can't wait to get him and his party out.

I mean, look at how he and Amanpour are cosied up together like BFFs. Seriously. That woman needs a social life.

To make matters worse, he claims to be protecting the marginalised. Who? The majority.

Ahem. Yes. The majority.

Obviously, the minority can take care of themselves, which is why he casts a blind eye at the Penans, who have their homes torn down and their land deforested. And their women raped.

He's too busy taking care of the marginalised majority.

Oh yeah, he sings to the gallery. He says what the western world wants to hear. He waxes lyrical about moderation and the Muslim world.

Dei tamby. The western world isn't voting for you. They really don't give two fags about you. All they want is the oil you can supply and the money you have.

Malaysians can't stand you.

You have never been able to persuade us of your sincerity, because you simply have NONE.

1Failure .....

... with endless possibilities.

What happened to 'People First, Performance Now'?

Was that proven to be unachievable, or perhaps even a contradiction to reality?

The administration of Najib Razak shows that when one fails, one must try again.

If the first slogan doesn't quite catch fire, try again. Datuk Seri Najib Razak is set to launch a new branding approach for Malaysia, aimed at galvanising Malaysians after the fractious Election 2013.

The new campaign, called "Endless Possibilities", is slated for launch on September 17, a day after Malaysia celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding, sources told The Malaysian Insider.

Read the rest here: After 1Malaysia falters, Putrajaya goes for “Endless Possibilities”

Malaysian Government Pays To Defame

Josh Treviño is an American conservative political commentator who lost his column in the Guardian newspaper after allegations that his journalism wasn't exactly above board and that he was under the payroll of the Malaysian government to defame Anwar Ibrahim.

Since then, Josh Treviño has denied being a journalist, claiming instead that he was a PR man who "ran a loose operation" -- basically in having other writers also muddy the waters when it came to issues concerning Malaysian Opposition.

He rejected accusations that his actions had broken any rules of journalism. “I’m not a journalist and never was,” Treviño wrote. “That’s a pretty key distinction. What most PR does is comment/opinion.”

Fair enough. It happens all over the world, especially in the United States of America, which is where he hails from. In fact, a lot of American foreign policy came to pass based on pressure from lobbyists (often lawyers or PR specialists who are paid to promote a particular cause).

Many Malaysians complain about the USA being very "pro-Israel". What they do not realize is that American policies have been affected in the very same way that Malaysian policies are made and the way the world views Malaysia -- via paid influence and propaganda.

Lesson to be learned: People in glass houses should not throw stones.

Especially that the RM1.2 million (or US$389,724.70) that was paid to Josh Treviño probably came from the tax payer as UMNO regularly uses national coffers as its personal piggy bank. Lucius Goon points this out as well.

However, it is apparent that Treviño was treading the fine line between PR and journalism in his shady of definitions of what exactly he does. Huffington Post, following in the Guardian's footsteps, albeit much later, has since removed most of his postings, "after it was revealed that the author violated HuffPost’s blogger guidelines by not disclosing a financial conflict of interest"

Ah yes. I would imagine that US$389,724.70 is a significant financial conflict of interest.

This amount was paid to him, presumably via FBC Media, APCO Worldwide and David All Group (which I've personally not heard or blogged of prior to this mention) from the Malaysian government and the Prime Minister’s Office.

At this point, I'm wondering how much these PR companies have been paid by UMNO. It would certainly be a darn sight more.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of Anwar Ibrahim. But it does irritate me when money is used for no good purpose other than to defame a person.

Related:
1. Paid to blog: Josh Trevino’s MR26,300 a month - Uppercaise
2. Shilling for Malaysia Is Pretty Nice Work If You Can Get It - New York Magazine
3. Friends of Malaysia - The Maddow Blog (MSNBC)

Dubious Honour Roll

Despite Malaysia's high-profile anticorruption crusade, half of the corporate executives surveyed by a global corruption watchdog believe that competitors have obtained business through bribery, underscoring the hard task ahead for Prime Minister Najib Razak's government in weeding out graft.

Transparency International said Malaysia scored worst in the 2012 Bribe Payers Survey. It asked about 3,000 executives from 30 countries whether they had lost a contract in the past year because competitors paid a bribe—and in Malaysia, 50% said yes. Second on the dubious honor roll was Mexico, at 48%.

Japan ranked as the world's least-corrupt place to do business, with just 2% of respondents saying they had lost out due to bribery; Malaysia's neighbor Singapore was second-cleanest, at 9%. Even Indonesia, with a long-standing reputation for corruption, fared better than more-developed Malaysia: Southeast Asia's largest economy came in at 47%. By comparison, 27% of respondents in China said they thought bribes had cost them business.

"It shows the attitude of private companies in Malaysia, indicating that bribery in the public sector could be systemic and in a sense institutionalized," said Paul Low, president of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International.

Since taking office in 2009, Mr. Najib has pledged to eradicate corruption and regain public confidence. Hundreds of cases have been investigated. The government has established special courts to hear corruption cases and is working to introduce harsher punishment, said Ravindran Devagunam, director of corruption prevention at government think-tank Pemandu. The body reports to the prime minister's department.

Read the rest: http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/12/11/malaysia-tops-bribery-table/

With Lynas and other issues that clearly violate the nation's best interests, is it any wonder?

The Murder of Altantuya

Written by John Berthelsen
THURSDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2012

Six years on, troubling questions remain about the Mongolian beauty's death, and who ordered it

It will be six years tomorrow since bodyguards for now-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak dragged the Mongolian translator and party girl Altantuya Shaariibuu out of a car in a patch of jungle near the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Shah Alam.

As she begged for her life and apparently that of her unborn child, they knocked her unconscious, then shot her twice in the head.

That was Oct. 19, 2006. According to court testimony, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, members of the elite Unit Tindakan Khas, both assigned to Najib’s office, then wrapped Altantuya’s body in C4 plastic explosives and blew her up, possibly to mangle her remains so badly that the fetus would be destroyed.

Sirul Azhar was interrogated by police shortly after the murder was discovered. He was informed that anything he said could be held against him, in accordance with the law. In his cautioned statement, as his confession was called in Malaysia, he told authorities he and Azilah had been offered RM100,000 to kill the woman and her two companions, who were causing highly public embarrassment for Abdul Razak Baginda, Najib’s best friend. The 28-year-old Mongolian woman, in a letter found after her death, wrote that she was sorry she had been blackmailing Razak Baginda.

If French police records are to be believed, Razak Baginda was allegedly central to a massive bribery case in which a total of nearly €150 million in payments were steered to two Razak Baginda companies, Perimekar Sdn Bhd and Terasasi Hong Kong Ltd.

As Asia Sentinel reported earlier this year, records seized by the French police show that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe were aware of the transactions. Memos obtained by Asia Sentinel show the French expected at least part of the money to be steered to the United Malays National Organization, Malaysia’s biggest ethnic political party.

Read the rest here:The Murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu

Scorpene Never Dies

It sounds like a Bond movie.

Aside, Tomorrow Never Dies starred Michelle Yeoh, and Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond.

But the truth is, no Bond movie could potentially be as scandalous and licentious as the Scorpene story of Malaysia.

The Scorpene story involves plenty of sex, sharing of women between at least two high profile men, corruption of a monumental scale, the sale of highly confidential naval information to the French, the dramatically explosive (no pun intended) murder of a Mongolian woman.

Like I said, no Bond movie could come close to that sort of filth, and Bond movies are generally not known for child-friendly scenes.

Along came SUARAM, who hired French lawyer Joseph Breham to unearth the facts. He came up with a lot of worms. Read a summary of it HERE.

Now the Malaysian officials involved, namely the BN government, are livid with rage as this will no doubt affect the way people vote when they hit the polling booths soon.

The best way to get rid of this mess is to silence SUARAM. And what better way than to harass, intimidate and bully SUARAM with bogus probes.

There was a time when Malaysians could easily be intimidated. A time when the rule was not to rock the boat as long as the economy was going fine.

Times have changed. The “Scorpene Never Dies” Action Team is determined to help SUARAM keep the Scorpene issue afloat and to get the Najib administration to stop its obviously politically-motivated investigation against SUARAM.

A candlelight vigil is on:

Date: 25 Sept 2012 (Tuesday)
Time: 8:00PM
Venue: Dataran Merdeka

As usual, the authorities will deem it illegal.

As if anyone cares. Malaysians who care about their country will be there.

Say What????

Scorpene probe not a serious matter, says foreign minister

Ahmad Fadli KC
4:09PM Jun 11, 2012

The probe by French prosecutors into the alleged corruption over the purchase of the two Scorpene submarines is not a serious issue that Malaysia should now focus on, said Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

"This is not a serious matter that we need to follow, and it is being played up by certain parties," he told reporters after attending a luncheon with representatives of Asean nations in Kuala Lumpur today.

He was asked about Malaysia's preparations to face the case currently being investigated in Paris.

Anifah said that Malaysia will make the necessary preparations to face the trial when they are needed.

"So far we have not received any information from the (French) embassy. But if necessary, we are ready to defend ourselves," Anifah added.

Local human rights NGO Suaram had filed a suit over alleged kickbacks from French defence contractor DCNS to Malaysian parties in the two submarine purchases.

Suaram's lawyer Joseph Breham recently revealed that French prosecutors found that a company closely-linked to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had sold confidential documents to DCNS for 36 million euro (RM142 million).

The company, Hong Kong-based Terasasi Ltd, belongs to Najib's associate Abdul Razak Baginda and the latter's father Abdul Malim Baginda.

Suaram had also revealed that French investigators found fax correspondence which indicate that Najib could have asked for US$1 billion for another company owned by Abdul Razak, Perimekar, for the duration of the company's stay in France.

This was allegedly in exchange for a meeting with Najib.

Najib has been silent on the matter while the Navy and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, too, had declined comment.

Najib, Abdul Razak and Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid have been named in the list of seven witnesses proposed by Suaram, which was accepted by French investigating judge Roger Le Loire.

However, this does not mean that all seven witnesses will be subpoenaed by the inquiry.

A Very Insightful Piece In TIME

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak appears determined to give himself a political black eye. On June 13, government prosecutors will haul into court 10 leaders of Bersih, a coalition of civil society groups campaigning to clean up the country's corrupt elections commission.

The government is demanding damages for destruction to public property during a clash between Bersih demonstrators and police in Kuala Lumpur on April 28.

At least 100,000 people marched for clean elections in the Malaysian capital that day, while tens of thousands more joined protests in 11 other cities across the country and 80 cities around the world.

Whether or not the government wins compensation in court, however, no amount of money will undo the damage it is inflicting upon its own reputation by pursuing the case.

Read the rest on the site:

How Malaysia’s Leader Is Damaging His Reformist Reputation

It looks like everyone but BN can see what they are doing to themselves.

Using Our Money For Their Votes

Malaysia's Najib seen delaying election, boosting spending

By Niluksi Koswanage

KUALA LUMPUR | Thu Jun 7, 2012 9:06am EDT

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia is planning a fresh round of cash handouts to poorer families in August, Deputy Prime Minister Muhiyuddin Yassin said on Thursday, a move seen aimed at shoring up support among undecided voters.

"I informed the prime minister that if we have the money, we should distribute a second time," he said according to state news agency Bernama.

Two senior officials earlier told Reuters the government is considering giving out payments to 5.2 million low-income households ahead of a Muslim festival in August. Prime Minister Najib Razak would then present a generous election budget in September before announcing an election date, they said.