The Red Shirts Way of Preserving Power

A Kadir Jasin

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful".

WHEN the Yellow shirts had their demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur on 29 and 30 August, the purpose was to continue their demand for free and fair elections.

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Additionally they wanted to save the country from what they perceived be a bad government under Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Matti­mung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak.

Then, on Sept 16, almost out of the blue, came the Red shirts, whose purpose was purportedly to save the Malays from being “bangsat” (immigrants) in their own land.

At first Mohd Najib and his panglima Umno (Umno worriors) and srikandi (female warriors) were coy about admitting the party’s affiliation and sympathy with the protestors.

But when it became apparent that the gathering might match or even surpass that of the Yellow Shirts, they started to openly align themselves with the demonstrators. By now Mohd Najib and Umno appear to have conclusively embraced the Red shirts.

There are a few things to consider in the post-Yellow and Red Shirts demonstrations. Among them:

1. That armed with money and political support, the organisers of Red Shirts had been able to corral enough participants in a span of a few days using the Malays greatest fear – being overwhelmed by the non-Malays. They portrayed the Bersih protests as a non-Malay conspiracy to take over the county.

2. This was what Umno had done in the past, albeit more subtly, and that’s what they are likely to do at the next general election. They will use money and political power to garner votes while instilling fears among the Malays that they are in the danger of being swept away by Chinese Tsunami. The latter term was Mohd Najib’s own creation.

3. There are enough people around the Prime Minister who believe that with money and political power, they can continue to marshal enough rural votes in the name of the survival of the bangsa (race) to cling on to power.

4. Mohd Najib’s emotive use of “bangsat” is bound to find currency with many rural Malays. Mohd Najib himself believes that if he could hang on to power until the next GE to lead the Barisan Nasional to victory.

5. So those who think that Mohd Najib will be done away with soon and the BN will be gone in the next GE better think twice. For as long as he can get half of the pak cik, mak cik, the Orang Asli, the rural folk and Felda settlers to side with him, Umno would be returned to power and his position would the be unassailable. He would be vindicated.

6. All that he has to do in the interim is making sure that no criminal action is taken against him and BN legislators are kept in a tight grip to avoid defections and a vote of no confidence.

7. If the red shirt organisers could, within less than two weeks, put up such a show by bussing the people from faraway places that knew neither the rhyme nor the reason for joining the protest, there is nothing to stop them from using the same modus operandi to win the next GE.

8. Mohd Najib’s motto – money is king - sells well with the poor Malays in the villages and Felda settlements. With continued depression in commodity prices and rise in the cost of living due to the fall of the ringgit and the imposition of the GST, the power of money is even stronger among the rural poor. Impoverishing the people has its merit.

9. Mohd Najib does not need the clever Malays and the urbanites. He knows he cannot spook them with his “bangsat” slogan or threaten them into submission by spreading fear that their every move is being watched. The arrest and detention of (Datuk Paduka) Khairuddin Abu Hassan (KAH) and the expulsion of Aninah Saadudin from Umno have the effect of proving that intimidation is now a strategy.

10. But Mohd Najib, Umno and the government are losing on the media front. The mainstream media, the mainstay of their propaganda campaign, is losing grips of the audience and is in dire financial situation. Their integrity and reporting standards have fallen so badly that they lost literally every legal suit brought against them by Mohd Najib’s opponents. Their defence of Mohd Najib, Umno and the government crumbled when they lost these suits.

11. Readers, viewers and listeners are rapidly declining. Take the once mighty Utasan Malaysia newspaper as an example. The official website of Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) Malaysian puts its circulation at 173,000 copies a day when back in 2003 it was selling around 320,000 copies. It peaked in the 1990’s around 350,000 copies. Its publisher, Utusan Melayu Berhad is in dire financial position. Bernama reported that for the 2014 financial year its losses increased four-fold to RM82.64 million. The same trend is seen at Media Prima Berhad and, to a lesser degree, at the Star Publications Berhad.

12. The influence of the independent media like the Malay language Sinar Harian and the Edge is increasing so is that of the media platforms like blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Attempts by Mohd Najib and his backers to use these platforms, starting from the 2013 GE, had not been a sterling success. Instead their sites are being used by the people to pour scorn on them. 

13. Having said at that, the immediate concern remains the direction the country is heading. We have lost international respect, our economy is tittering on the brink, welfare of the rakyat is getting worst and the country is becoming less safe.

14. Akhirulkalam, if Khairuddin is a liar and the documents in his possession were fake or doctored, why should the Prime Minister fear him? Being a good friend of the US, he should have faith in the US justice system and allow Khairuddin to provide the FBI with the fake and doctored documents. Let the US arrest and prosecute him for lying. Lying to a US Government agency is a criminal misdemeanour.

Wallahuaklam.

Salam Aidil Adha Buat Semua

Moga-moga Allah Berkati Para Jemaah Kita dan Selamatkan Negara Kita. Amin

Implikasi Siasatan Juri Agung Terhadap Mohd Najib

A Kadir Jasin

AMERIKA di bawah George Bush dan anaknya, George W. Bush bencikan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad kerana beliau bercakap bagi pihak negara-negara Islam, mengkritik Israel dan membela negara-negara membangun.

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Tetapi Amerika tidak menubuhkan apa-apa badan untuk menyiasat beliau.

AMERIKA di bawah Barrack Hussein Obama amat menyayangi Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Abdul Razak (atau Mohd Najib berasa beliau disayangi) kerana beliau seorang yang bersikap sederhana (moderate).

Dua Sahabat: Mohd Najib Sanjung Obama

Tetapi Amerika menubuhkan Juri Agung (Grand Jury) untuk menyiasat dakwaan rasuah ke atas beliau dan orang-orang yang rapat dengan beliau. Demikian menurut laporan akhbar The New York Times (NYT). (Di sini)

Juri Agung adalah badan penyiasatan tertinggi di Amerika. Lazimnya ia mengandungi antara 16 hingga 23 orang ahli walaupun ada masanya lebih ramai. Ia bertindak sebagai satu pasukan untuk jangka masa yang lama atau melibatkan banyak kes. Ia diselia sama ada oleh seorang peguam persekutuan, ketua peguam negeri atau peguam daerah.

Bidang Kuasa Juri Agung Luas

 Mereka berkuasa mendengar kes atau “membicarakan” seseorang secara ex parte iaitu tanpa kehadiran orang yang disyaki atau tertuduh.

Anak Tiri PM Jadi Sasaran

Dalam kes Mohd Najib, laporan NYT itu mengatakan penyiasatan akan dikelolakan oleh sebuah unit di Jabatan Kehakiman (Justice Department) yang bertanggungjawab menyiasat rasuah antarabangsa.

Sasaran penyiasatan ialah harta di Amerika yang dibeli oleh syarikat-syarikat kosong (shell companies) dimilik anak tiri Mohd Najib serta aset-aset hartanah yang bersangkutan dengan seorang yang rapat dengan keluarga Perdana Menteri.

Anak tiri Mohd Najib yang dimaksudkan itu ialah Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, anak Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor dengan suami pertamanya, Abdul Aziz Nong Chik manakala kawan rapat keluarga Perdana Menteri itu ialah Jho Low.

The Wolves of Wall Street: Riza (kiri), Jho Low (kanan)

NYT memetik dua orang yang berpengetahuan mengenai penyiasatan itu sebagai berkata, para penyiasat juga sedang meneliti bayaran AS$681 juta yang dipercayai masuk ke dalam akaun peribadi Mohd Najib.

Dalam sejarah, banyak waran tangkap dikeluarkan terhadap warganegara asing atas perakuan Juri Agung. Sesetengah daripada mereka berjaya ditangkap, dibicarakan dan didapati bersalah.

Tugas Juri Agong bukan membicarakan orang yang disyaki tetapi memeriksa bukti dan membuat keputusan sama orang itu patut dibicarakan atau tidak. Dalam erti kata lain, Juri Agung memastikan sebab barangkali (probable cause) bukan salah atau tidak bersalah seseorang itu.

Amerika adalah negara terbaru melancarkan penyiasatan rasuah dan pengubahan wang haram (money laundering) yang melibatkan 1MDB dan orang-orang yang berkaitan dengannya, termasuk Perdana Menteri. Beliau adalah orang paling atas dalam 1MDB selaku Pengerusi Lembaga Penasihatnya.

Negara-negara lain yang telah memulakan penyiasat dan membekukan akaun berkaitan 1MBD adalah Singapura, Hong Kong, Switzerland dan United Kingdom.

Orang tua-tua di Kedah kata, nak tergelak. Lucu tapi tak cukup cucu untuk ketawa.

Sebaliknya, dalam hal 1MDB ini ia lebih menjurus kepada malu dan aib. Inilah buat kali pertama dalam sejarah negara kita, seorang Perdana Menteri menjadi orang yang disyaki di luar negara.

Wallahuaklam.

Wartawan: Antara Kebebasan, Ancaman dan Cari Makan

A Kadir Jasin

MUTAKHIR, 21 Sept – Terima kasih mahkamah. Ada harapan untuk media massa bebas di Malaysia. Waktu untuk pemerintah menyedari bahawa era kuku besi sudah berlalu.

Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini membatalkan perintah Kementerian Dalam Negeri menggantung akhbar The Edge Weekly dan The Edge Financial Daily selama tiga bulan.

Hakim (Datuk) Asmabi Mohamad dalam mebenarkan permohonan kajian semula kehakiman (judicial review) oleh pemilik dua akhbar itu berkata, pihak responden (menteri) telah melanggar Seksyen 7 (1) Akta Mesin Cetak dan Penerbitan 1984.

"Responden tidak mematuhi keseksamaan peraturan ( procedural fairness) kerana tidak memberi butir penggantungan kepada pemohon," katanya.

Hakim berkata lagi, menteri telah mengambil pertimbangan yang tidak relevan dengan mengenakan penggantungan menyeluruh selama tiga bulan.

Kementerian Dalam Negeri menggantung dua akhbar itu berikutan laporan mereka mengenai skandal 1MDB dan pembabitan Mohd Najib di dalamnya.

POSTING ASAL

 

DARIPADA nostalgia dan kenangan lama mengusik jiwa, kita terpaksa kembali ke alam nyata. Semalam sejarah dan kenangan. Hari ini hakikat dan kenyataan.

PERINGATAN: Komen guna “Anonymous” tidak akan disiarkan. Sila guna Google Account atau Name/URL. Boleh pakai nama samaran.]

Terima kasih kepada pembahas yang mendoakan keselamatan saya. Mudah cakap, saya tidaklah berani sangat tetapi saya pun tidak terlalu penakut.

Saya diajar oleh Allahyarham ayah saya, berani atau takut harus berasas dan berpada. Kenali bahaya dan kurangkan ancamannya. Paling penting, kata ayah saya, hormati sesama manusia tetapi takut hanya kepada Allah.

Masa kanak-kanak saya takut hantu. Kita ditakut-takutkan dengan cerita hantu. Macam-macam hantu. Tetapi ketika belasan tahun saya hilang takut kepada hantu. Musim hujan, bila ikan naik dari sungai ke sawah untuk bertelur, hatta tengah malam pun saya keluar rumah untuk memeriksa bubu, tuar dan pelompat.

Saya tahu ancaman ada di mana-mana dan apa saja boleh berlaku, hatta yang tak masuk akal. Selama 46 tahun menjadi wartawan saya melaporkan dan membaca banyak kejadian aneh: manusia hilang tanpa kesan, tauke India dibunuh tetapi pembunuh tidak diketahui, wanita asing diledakkan dan macam-macam lagi. Yang terbaru  Timbalan Pendakwa Raya (DPP) (Anthony Kevin Morais) diculik di tengah-tengah kemewahan Bangsar dan mayat beliau ditemui di Subang Jaya.

Mayat Morais disumbat dalam tong minyak

Takut memang takut. Macam-macam boleh berlaku. Sekarang pembunuh upahan amatur ada di mana-mana. Orang yang biasa dengan masyarakat yang memelihara anjing tentu tahu anjing kadang-kadang menyerang tanpa diarah dan tanpa provokasi. Tuan tak suruh serang tapi anjing serang. Mungkin anjing rasa tuannya terancam atau anjing nak tunjuk baik kepada tuannya. Jaga-jaga, penyakit anjing gila kembali semula. Lagi satu bala.

Anjing liar bawa penyakit anjing gila

Negara kita makin bahaya. Tetapi kalau kerana negara kita bahaya, kita takut dan tidak buat apa-apa, keadaan akan jadi lebih bahaya. Akhirnya Malaysia hanya layak didiami samseng, penyangak dan pembesar yang diiringi pengawal bersenjata.

Apakah itu yang kita kehendaki? Apakah itu Tanah Melayu dan Malaysia yang para pejuang silam idamkan apabila mereka melaungkan merdeka, merdeka, merdeka pada 31 Ogos 1957?

Negara kita menjadi begitu tidak selamat sehingga ada pengarang media massa arus perdana yang dikhabarkan membawa senjata api.

Kalau pengarang media massa arus perdana mengakui tentang betapa bahayanya negara sehingga terpaksa membawa senjata api, apakah kita hendak mempertikaikannya?

Dulu Lain

Ketika Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad jadi Perdana Menteri antara 1981 hingga 2003, beliau bebas memandu sendiri untuk meninjau buruk baik negara dan menikmati kepuasan memandu.

Masa itu pun ada ancaman. Pada awal tahun 1980-an pasukan bersenjata komunis masih cergas dan kegiatan kongsi gelap meluas.

Tetapi kini, pada saat negara kita diuar-uarkan akan menjadi negara pendapatan tinggi menjelang tahun 2020, polis menasihati Perdana Menteri, (Datuk Seri) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak jangan memandu sendiri atas alasan keselamatan. Hanya sekali beliau dibenarkan memandu sendiri ke Hotel Majestic.

Jadi jelaslah yang Malaysia makin tidak selamat atau Perdana Menteri kita sekarang menghadapi ancaman keselamatan yang tinggi sehingga menghadiri bahas umum "nothing2hide" pun ditegah polis.

Kebebasan

Terima kasih kepada anak buah dan rakan wartawan yang curi-curi berjumpa saya atau bertukar-tukar fikiran melalui SMS dan Whatsapp. Yang lebih berani seperti Ku Seman mengulas terus dalam blog ini.

Saya faham dilema mereka. Nasihat saya, kalau mereka makan gaji, mereka kenalah akur kepada majikan mereka. Alternatifnya mereka kenalah berhenti dan cari tempat yang secocok dengan pendirian mereka atau bekerja sendiri.

Sekarang bukan media arus perdana (MAP) saja dimiliki dan dikawal oleh kerajaan atau pihak-pihak prokerajaan malah banyak saluran media baru seperti portal berita dan blog turut dimiliki atau ditaja oleh kerajaan dan pihak-pihak prokerajaan.

Saya terpaksa bersetuju dengan mereka bahawa terlalu kerap MAP kena saman malu oleh pembangkang dan sering kalah dalam perbicaraan. Mereka hilang duit tetapi yang lebih teruk mereka hilang kewibawaan dan keyakinan khalayak. Duit itu lebih baik dibelanjakan untuk kebajikan kakitangan dan memperbaiki mutu pemberitaan daripada membayar saman malu.

Kesimpulannya, kejadian yang dulu dianggap luar biasa sekarang sudah tidak luar biasa lagi. Malah sudah jadi biasa. Wanita jelita dan DPP dibunuh sensasi. Pengarang media bawa senjata api. Hak menjawab dalam akhbar tidak lagi diamalkan. Manusia takut hingga cakap pun berbisik-bisik.

Pasca-skrip: Tahniah kepada (Datuk) Ahmad Rejal Arbee (gambar di atas) kerana dianugerahkan gelaran Tokoh Wartawan Negara (2014) dan kepada keluarga Allahyarham Zainon Ahmad atas anugerah Tokoh Wartawan Negara (posthumous) 10 September lalu.

Wallahuaklam.

Sekadar Nostalgia Mainan Usia

A Kadir Jasin

SEMAKIN tua kita, semakin mudah dilanda nostalgia. Kenangan lama mengusik jiwa, kata A Ramlie [boleh dengar di sini].

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Teringat bas lama yang kita tumpangi ketika remaja bersama gadis-gadis desa yang kita sangka itulah jodoh kita.

Bas Fargo tahun 1960-an banyak digunakan di Kedah

 Dan tiang telegraf yang bergayut padanya manik embun sebelum ditiup angin dan dibakar matahari; romantik dan menusuk kalbu.

Tidak jauh dari kampung saya di Kedah ada sebuah anak sungai yang namanya Sungai Tiang Gerap – the Telegraph Pole River. Hebat kan? [Boleh cari di sini]

Tiang telegraf seperti ini sudah jarang ditemui

Atau bulan yang mengekori kita di permukaan Tasik Merah ketika menaiki kereta api malam dari Butterworth ke Kuala Lumpur.

Boeing 707 klasik yang ditumpangi dari Frankfurt ke Harare, Zimbabwe tiga dekad lalu dan pesawat Lockheed Electra, Air New Zealand yang dinaiki empat dekad lalu dari Sydney ke Wellington.

Boeing 707 klasik Air Zimbabwe 1980-an

Pesawat Lockheed Elactra Air New Zealand

Dan kekasih-kekasih lama kita yang keluar masuk pintu hati kita. [Dengar lagu ini].

Demikian hebatnya nostalgia. Hidangan terakhir sebelum nyanyuk dan lupa.

Wallahuaklam.

Can DPM Lend Credibility to the Economy?

A Kadir Jasin 

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful".

LATEST, 16 Sept - Body is that of Kevin Morais, confirm police. SUBANG JAYA: The body of deputy public prosecutor Kevin Morais has been found, and seven people have been arrested, including an army medical officer. - The Star Online

SUBANG JAYA: The special CID task force investigating the abduction of DPP Anthony Kevin Morais came upon a major lead early Wednesday.

It is learnt an oil drum filled with cement said to contain a body was found in a swamp area opposite SK Chee Wen in USJ 1 in Subang Jaya. Fire and Rescue Department staff are now trying to cut open the drum.

Sources revealed that the task force has been probing the area since 6am Wednesday. – The Star Online.

ORIGINAL POST

 

Can cheery Abdul Wahid perk up the economy?

I WISH I could have the same measure of enthusiasm, joy and confidence about the economy as is so animatedly shown by economy minister, (Datuk Seri) Abdul Wahid Omar, in the above picture.

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Abdul Wahid who is the chairman of the recently established Special Economic Committee appears to be full of confidence that the economy is better than what we are saying and experiencing.

Abdul Wahid is a good man and was a good business executive before the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak brought him into the cabinet soon after the 2013 general elections.

He could have become a good economic minister had the circumstances been different – like Tun Daim Zainuddin under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah under Tun Hussein Onn.

But he isn’t that lucky. Like other well-meaning people who came forward to serve the present government, Abdul Wahid has been tainted by the 1MDB scandal and the leadership crisis that it spawned.

Today, a lot of people who are involved in the economy or who are informed about it have lost confidence in the way it is being managed or the lack of it. Official assurances have failed to assuage their concern.

As recently as Aug.8, Abdul Wahid was reported as saying that “the weakening of the ringgit does not reflect the country’s current economic fundamentals”, adding that the banking system was sound, economic activities “still” intact and country was on track to achieve a Gross Domestic Product growth of between 4.5% and 5.5%.

He went on to compare the present situation to that of the 1997/98 Asian Financial Crises. Then he said, many factors affected the country’s economic performance including a trade deficit, reserves falling below US$30 billion and a high gearing level among companies, with some exposed to foreign currency borrowings.

He Spoke Too Soon

When Abdul Wahid made that statement, the ringgit was hovering at around RM3.9220 to a dollar. Now it well above the psychological barrier of RM4 and the critical Bank Negara foreign reserves had fallen below US$100 billion – the lowest in five years. The ringgit closed at RM3.290 against the dollar on Friday.

Surely he knows that the famous RM42-billion 1MDB debt could have risen to as much as RM50 billion now due to the depreciation of the ringgit. A larger portion of 1MDB's debt is denominated in US dollar.

It takes more than Abdul Wahid’s animated enthusiasm and the formation of the SEC to fix the economy and bring back confidence.

The 1MDB crisis and Mohd Najib’s multi-billion ringgit private accounts have caused informed people to lose confidence and trust in him.

Consider the following:

1. We are in a dire need of a credible, trustworthy and trusted government. We may have that if Abdul Wahid is the Prime Minister. But sadly he is not.

2. The ringgit is in a state of freefall. It has fallen to as low as RM4.39 to a dollar. Clearly attempts of the past several months to halt its slide via foreign exchange intervention by Bank Negara had not succeeded. The ringgit continues to weaken and Bank Negara’s reserves fell drastically. As a former banker, surely Abdul Wahid knows that the lower the reserves, the weaker the ringgit becomes.

3. Abdul Wahid and his team can burn the midnight candle, but the informed public and the investors are more likely to be looking at lighthouse. Unfortunately the lighthouse is not shinning brightly either and the base is in darkness. In that state, not only our economy is in danger of floundering but also the whole country could sink.

4. I am not being an alarmist and a prophet of doom. I don’t have to. What we fear is already happening. Consumer prices have risen. Consumers confidence is falling. Businesses are cutting costs by closing down branches, letting go of staff and reducing overtime and cutting back on recruitment.

5. The June consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.5% from a year earlier due mainly to costlier food, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and health care. The falling ringgit and the GST were the culprits. On July 2, The Star reported that the Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) had lowered the projected retail sales growth rate for the current year for the third time from 4.9% to 4.0% as consumers hold back spending due to higher costs of living, a weak ringgit and higher cost of doing business.

What Is Ahmad Zahid’s Role?

This brings me to the question of what really is the role of the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister, (Datuk Seri) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

[I thank him for showing camaraderie during the Sept. 10 Tokoh Wartawan Negara award ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. But he needs more than just goodwill and charm to make his mark as the country’s new Deputy Prime Minister.]

If he was appointed to replace (Tan Sri) Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin in order to strengthen Umno and the government and not merely to prop up Mohd Najib, he must do a couple of things:

1. He must prove that he is capable of bringing back credibility and trustworthiness to the government.

2. He must show that his years as a banker and a successful business executive had earned him the stripes needed to participate in managing the economy.

3. He has to tamper his “political animal” image with a more smoothening temperament of a DPM and national leader.

4. As Home Minister, he must realise that deporting and seeking arrest of foreign journalists who write negative things about the country do not help to convince the world that we are a democratic, civilized and moderate country. It does not help convince visitors and investors that we are a safe place to be.

5. He must admit that whatever political narrative that Mohd Najib uses to justify the 1MDB's existence and his billion ringgit political funds, the company is a good example of bad corporate governance – flouting so many rules, regulations and standards.

6. Investigations by monetary authorities in Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong against 1MDB and the freezing of bank accounts associated with the company cast aspersion on our integrity and dependability as an investment destination.

What is Ahmad Zahid Priority?

I would like to assume that Ahmad Zahid acknowledges that saving the economy is as much his priority as showing undivided loyalty to Mohd Najib.

He could very well be holding the key to the survival of not only Umno, but also the entire nation. It may sound like an overstatement, but may not be far from the truth.

Who else after Mohd Najib if not him? Muhyiddin might have blown his chances by being indecisive and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah might not be going anywhere with the unity government proposal. Mohd Najib might never be toppled in a no-confidence vote in the Dewan Rakyat.

Members of the Umno inner circle, either out of altruism or selfishness, have clearly bought into the story that 1MDB is the party’s goose that lays the golden egg - the new way for Umno to raise funds.

They had been told that their President does not want Umno to depend on Malay, Chinese and Indian tycoons for donations. But it’s still okay to accept RM2.6-billion “sadakah” (donations) from some wealthy Arabs!

But that story does not find credibility with the majority of informed Malaysians and has become a favourite joke around the world.

Thus it hard to sell the story that the economy is being managed well when the principal bearer of the message – the Prime Minister - is suffering from an acute case of trust deficit.

The news has it that he will soon announce a new economic recovery package based on the recommendations of the Abdul Wahid’s committee has largely been discounted. 

FOOTNOTE: Now that Mohd Najib aka the Bugis Warrior is in a war mode, I suggest that he moves from the Bugis pinisi to a Bugis jajab – the Bugis warship.

Walahuaklam.

The Missing DPP: Another Kelembai Curse?

A Kadir Jasin

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful".

A FORMER Anti-Corruption Agency (now Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) director from 1983 to 2001 provoked my thoughts on the missing DPP Anthony Kevin Morais.

Incidentally, debater “nothing to hide” also raised the same issue, saying “getting scary. ag dismissed on the spot for being sakit. gov officers tranfered for doing a job too well. sb top brass dismissed and shunted. now a dpp goes missing. wonder whats the true story about altantuya.”

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Morais: Involved in high-profiled corruption cases

Morais, 55, has been missing since Sept 5.

These are some of the things we know about him:

1.  Morais was last seen on Friday, Sept 5 at 9am leaving his apartment at Menara Duta Kuala Lumpur in his government-issued vehicle, a grey Proton Perdana WA 6264 Q.

2.    Police were trying to establish if the discovery of a burnt car early Sunday morning at an oil palm plantation in Hutan Melintang, Perak, could be linked to his disappearance. 

3.    He was an officer in the Attorney General Office.

4.    He was seconded to the MACC. Involved in prosecuting high-profiled corruption and related cases including criminal breach of trust at Tabung Haji and Sime Darby.

5.    He was recalled to the AG’s office but was not involved in the 1MDB corruption investigations.

6.    As deputy head of the Appellate and Trial Division of the AG’s Chamber he has a hand in deciding on trials and appeals of high-profiled cases.

7.    He is and expert on corruption prosecution.

So what has happened to him and, if he is safe, where is he?

It appears that Sang Kelembai and his deadly curses continue to play amuck on us and make our beloved Malaysia look like the old lawless west of the USA. Malu!

Wallahualkam.

Kalau Nikah Eloklah Kahwin

A Kadir Jasin

MUTAKHIR – Tidak ada pemecatan oleh Majlis Tertinggi Umno dalam sidangnya hari ini. KPN pula kata, Dr Mahathir tidak akan ditangkap.

Kekal: Tidak ada tindakan ke atas Muhyiddin - Gambar Malaysian Insider

 POSTING ASAL

FAKTA mutakhir: Jam 12 tengah hari tadi, RM jatuh kepada 4.331 bagi setiap dolar Amerika. Tun Dr Mahathir kata, kalau nak tangkap beliau, tangkaplah.

TERIMA kasihlah kepada para pegawai media Jabatan Perdana Menteri (PMO) kerana terus membaca blog-blog anti-Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, termasuk blog ini.

[PERINGATAN: Komen guna “Anonymous” tidak akan disiarkan. Sila guna Google Account atau Name/URL. Boleh pakai nama samaran.]

Saya andaikan mereka baca kerana nampaknya mereka tahu yang kita, dari semasa ke semasa, menyebut nama orang yang sangat mereka gerun – (Datin Paduka Seri) Rosmah binti Mansor, dalam blog kita.

Salah seorang daripada pagawai propaganda itu berkata, blogger-blogger anti-Perdana Menteri menggunakan nama Rosmah untuk popularkan blog mereka.

Betul lah tu. Memang khalayak gemar membaca mengenai isteri Perdana Menteri. Dia telah berjaya mencipta satu pesona (watak) untuk dirinya yang menjadikan dia hampir-hampir setanding dan setaraf dengan suaminya.

Rosmah ada pesona tersendiri dan "a good read"

Sesiapapun yang belajar atau mengamalkan kewartawanan profesional tentu pernah dengar ungkapan “good read” (bacaan sedap). Rosmah adalah contoh ciri “good read.” Manakan tidak, apabila dia didakwa menghadiri taklimat rasmi kerajaan atau dilindungi anggota Cawangan Khas apabila membeli-belah.

Berkenaan taklimat rasmi, bukankah ia tertakluk kepada Akta Rahsia Rasmi (OSA)? Kalau ya, apakah isteri Perdana Menteri tidak tertakluk kepada OSA?

Bahasa dan Semantik

Apa pun, saya ucap terima kasih kepada penggilap imej  PMO itu kerana memberi gelaran “nikah kahwin” kepada saya walaupun saya kurang pasti apa yang dia maksudkan dengan label itu.

Kalau dia menyindir dan menghina sekali pun saya tak kisah. Saya orang biasa saja. Orang yang bernikah dengan selebriti atau dengan wanita berkuasa itulah yang perlu berhati-hati. Takut ada cerita sensasi.

Nikah dan kahwin adalah hukum agama dan peraturan alam. Itulah yang dikehendaki Islam. Pasangan lelaki-perempuan bukan sekadar bernikah malah mereka digalakkan berkahwin untuk mendapat zuriat.

Malah ada negeri di Malaysia yang lafaz nikahnya berbunyi “aku nikah dan kahwinkan dikau...”

Bagi yang tak berapa faham bahasa dan semantik, nikah adalah lafaz kontrak perkongsian suami-isteri untuk menghalalkan mereka bersekedudukan. Kahwin pula adalah hubungan jenis lelaki-perempuan untuk kepuasan dan zuriat.

Pernah dengar durian atau rambutan kahwin? Durian dan rambutan tak nikah, tapi kahwin melalui proses pendebungaan bila debunga (pollen) bunga jantan bercantum dengan stigma bunga betina.

Tetapi ada juga kes di mana lelaki-perempuan bernikah, buat kenduri bagai nak rak kampung, gambar majlis penuh dalam blog, Facebook dan Instagram tapi mereka tak kahwin. Orang putih kata, the marriage is not consummated.

Ada yang bernikah untuk tutup mulut dan kaburi mata masyarakat kerana yang sebenarnya mereka tidak mampu “berkahwin” atau tidak minat “berkahwin”.

Ada suami tak mampu “berkahwin” akibat mati pucuk (impotency) manakala isteri pula rendah syahwat (low libido) atau dingin terhadap seks (frigid).

Kemudian ada pula yang selera seks mereka luar tabii. Misalnya si suami suka lelaki dan si isteri suka perempuan.

Jadi alhamdulillah lah bagi pasangan yang bernikah dan berkahwin sehingga mendapat cahaya mata.

Pakar perubatan dan psikologi mengatakan semakin ramai lelaki sekarang mati pucuk (impotence) ketika masih muda manakala wanitanya pula rendah syahwat atau dingin terhadap seks.

Satu kajian di Kanada di kalangan 3,921 lelaki berusia 40 hingga 88 tahun mendapati 49.4 peratus daripada mereka mengalami masalah mati pucuk atau dalam bahasa perubatan kontemporari “erectile dysfunction”.

Jadi saya tidak hairan kalau ada lelaki di Malaysia, mungkin juga di PMO, yang bernikah tetapi tidak berkahwin kerana sebab-sebab yang disebutkan di atas.

Sebenarnya masalah mati pucuk, “erectile dysfunction” dan kedinginan seks boleh diubati dan diatasi melalui perubatan moden kecuali yang menderita “koro” yakni dikunci anunya! (Boleh dalami di sini).

Wallahuaklam.