Nik Faisal and Suboh: Why Did They Run Away?

A Kadir Jasin

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

PROLOGUE: The former Perak Menteri Besar, (Datuk Seri) Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has apologised to Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over a disparaging remark he made in 2012. – The Star Online.

***

THE KULAI, Johor Member of Parliament, Teo Nie Ching had described as downright “appalling” the leniency shown by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) towards two directors of SRC International.

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The two persons referred to by the DAP lawmaker are lawyer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and former top civil servant (Datuk) Suboh Md Yasin. They are wanted in the corruption probe implicating the Prime Minister.

From left: Suboh, Nik Faisal and Jho Low in MACC "wanted" poster

Among the many questions begging answers are:

1. Is it true that Mohd Najib and possibly the two “missing” persons ware on the verge of being charge for allegedly misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International when then Attorney General, (Tan Sri) Abdul Gani Patail, was abruptly relieved of his job on July 27 last?

2. Did Nik Faisal and Suboh lelf the country on their own free will or were they told to leave the country when the news of their impending arrest by the MACC leaked out?

3. It is true that Nik Faisal and Suboh are hiding in Indonesia under the protection and patronage of some very influential people there?


4. Is it true that the two fugitives are willing to meet the MACC investigators in a foreign country (not Indonesia) but “were stopped” by their “handlers” in Malaysia?

Teo also described as “ridiculous and completely unacceptable” Mohd Najib’s explanation that the two men were absence because they were “making preparations to be interviewed by MACC soonest.

It is widely believed that the Nik Faisal Suboh are under some sorts of “protective custody” in Indonesia to avoid them from talking to the MACC or being clandestinely shanghaied by the latter.

I can believe the theory that they are in the protection of some powerful Indonesia personalities but I cannot believe that the MACC would dare risk a diplomatic scandal by clandestinely apprehending and transporting the two back to Malaysia.


The Malays have a proverb that says “berani kerana benar, takut kerana salah.” Roughly translated it means you dare because you’re in the right and you fear because you’re in the wrong.

Logically, since these two men are Malays and Muslims, they should not run away if they have not done anything wrong. But the very fact that they absconded from the country suggests that they have something to hide.

If they have nothing to hide and are free to act on their own, they should clear their names and the good name of their families by presenting themselves to the MACC.

They have been missing since July. The MACC issued an appeal by the latter on August 22 requesting them to present themselves for interviews.

DAP MP Teo wants Mohd Najib to act

Speaking at a press conference at the Parliament House on Oct. 29, Teo said it was unheard of that preparations for an interview should take three months and demanded Najib take stern action against them immediately, failing which their absence would be seen as being “sanctioned” by him.


The talk about these people and others - like 1MDB’s President Arul Kanda Kandasamy and Jho Low - needing time to prepare for the MACC interviews could be a delaying tactic to give 1MDB enough time to restructure and regularize its books.
 

The fact that Nik Faisal and Suboh are wanted in connection with SRC International and absconded strengthens the assumption that it was the SRC International’s case that Abdul Gani was brining to court when he was unceremoniously booted out.

Abdul Gani Blinked

Abdul Gani could have made a tactical error by hesitating and by consulting too many people in his decision-making.

He was believed to have consulted several Malay Rulers, former law and legal officers and retired Umno/Barisan National leaders for guidance and consent.

Abdul Gani and Mohd Najib during happier days

When he was ready and rearing to go, some of these people had second thought about the timing of the action, including the Ramadhan fasting and the Hari Raya Aidifitri that followed.

Now Abdul Gani is gone and his lips are “sealed” for reasons that only he knows, the SRC International’s legal case is unlikely to see daylight anytime soon.

Abdul Gani's successor, (Tan Sri) Mohamed Apandi Ali, is unlikely to reopen the case. He has given us the preview of what is to come when he shot down Bank Negara’s recommendation to charge 1MDB for forex offences.

Apandi had already shot down Bank Negara's recommendations

His stand and stance should not surprise us if we take into account his past involvement in politics and the circumstances in which he was appointment AG.

The Economy Stalls

In the meantime, confidence in the government and thus in the economy continues to decline. The stock market – the indicator of investors’ confidence – tumbled after Mohd Najib presented his 2016 Budget on Oct. 23.

Even the mighty EPF is cautious. It is unsure about meeting its annual dividend target of inflation plus two per cent “due to volatile market movements since the middle of this year”, according to its CEO, (Datuk) Shahril Ridza Ridzuan.

Felda Global Ventures Berhad – Mohd Najib’s post- 2013 General Election corporate coup – is as good as a junk stock. In the last one year, its share price had fallen by almost 52 percent. It is now trading below RM1.80. Its 2012 IPO price was RM4.55 and it opened trading at RM5.39. FGV is the lifeblood of Felda settlers and Mohd Najib is their mentor.

EPILOGUE: – Prime Minister has filed a defamation lawsuit against former MCA president Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik. On October 5, Najib demanded that Dr Ling apologise and retract remarks reported in the press that claimed the prime minister “has taken people’s money and put it in his own personal accounts.” – The Malay Mail Online.

Wallahuaklam.

Bursa Sambut Dingin Belanjawan

A Kadir Jasin

سْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ “Dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang”

PADA hari Jumaat 23 Oktober, hari Menteri Kewangan merangkap Perdana Menteri, (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Matti­mung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak membentangkan Belanjawan 2016, Bursa Malaysia naik 0.34 peratus.

Waktu pasaran tutup, butir-butir belanjawan belum diumumkan tapi pasaran naik sebab pelabur mengharapkan sesuatu yang positif daripada Belanjawan.

Pasaran saham adalah penanda aras atau kayu ukur terawal sama ada pelabur yakin atau tidak dengan butir-butir serta janji-janji Belanjawan.

Nampaknya tidak. Apabila Bursa Malaysia diniagakan buat hari pertama selepas Belanjawan pada hari Isnin, 26 Oktober ia jatuh 0.24 peratus.

Mohd Najib peruntuk RM20 bilion kepada ValueCap

[Saya pun mahu pasaran saham naik sebab sebahagian simpanan persaraan saya adalah dalam bentuk saham. Hatta KWSP, KWAP, ASB serta banyak lagi tabung pelaburan turut melabur di pasaran saham untuk cari keuntungan. Bila saham merudum, semua menderita.]

Pasaran terus jatuh walaupun pada 14 September lalu, Mohd Najib telah memperuntukkan RM20 bilion kepada tabung permodalan ValueCap untuk membeli saham di Bursa Malaysia.

Dalam bahasa yang mudah, pelabur swasta di Bursa Malaysia tidak mendapati apa-apa yang menarik dan meyakinkan dalam Belanjawan 2016 untuk membeli saham tambahan.

Ini tidaklah memeranjatkan kerana pasaran saham Malaysia telah jatuh merudum sejak lebih setahun kerana pelabur tempatan dan asing telah hilang keyakinan.

Antara 31 Disember tahun lepas dengan 17 Oktober lalu, Bursa Malaysia merudum 20.5 peratus dalam mata wang dolar Amerika dan 4.1 peratus dalam ringgit.

Saya tahu, beberapa kerat anggota kabinet yang berakal macam (Datuk Seri) Abdul Wahid Omar, tahu betapa goyahnya kedudukan politik, ekonomi dan kewangan negara kita sejak meletusnya skandal 1MDB dan SRC International, tetapi mereka tidak berani bersuara dan bertindak kerana sudah diikat dan dikunci.

Wallahuaklam.

Mana Sedakah Arab RM2.6 Bilion?

A Kadir Jasin

سْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“Dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang”

BELANJAWAN 2016 yang dibentangkan oleh Menteri Kewangan, (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Matti­mung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak semalam dapat sambutan “banget” hangat daripada para Yang Berhormat Pembangkang.

Sebaik saja Mohd Najib, yang juga Perdana Menteri, tamatkan ucapan 90 minit beliau, para YB pembangkang itu menaikkan sepanduk berbunyi ‘Mana RM2.6 bilion’.

PAS tak tanya mana RM2.6 bilion

PAS tak tanya. Boleh jadi para ulama PAS tahu Arab mana yang bagi “sadakah” itu dan di mana duit itu atau bakinya disimpan.

[Untuk liputan Belanjawan 2016, sila baca The Star, Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times dan Berita Harian.]

Wallahuaklam.

Urus Niaga 1MDB Luar Biasa Terus Bebani Malaysia

A Kadir Jasin

سْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“Dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang”

MULA-mula mohon maaf pasal lama tak siar rencana baru. Maklumlah apabila usia masuk kategori warga kanan (senior citizen) ada saja masalahnya – kalau tak besar, kecil.

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KEMUDIAN saya minta izin bincang hal 1MDB dalam bahasa paling mudah sebab takut ada lagi orang yang tak faham.

1. 1MDB diasaskan pada tahun 2008 sebagai Terengganu Investment Agency (TIA) dengan tujuan melabur hasil minyak negeri itu. Pada tahun 2009 ia ditukar jadi 1MDB. Dalam pengumuman pada 22 Julai, 2009, Perdana Menteri, (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Matti­mung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, kata TIA diubah jadi 1MDB dengan tujuan perluaskan faedah kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia dan bukan Terengganu saja. Dengan itu, 1MDB jadi syarikat milik penuh Kementerian Kewangan di bawah kawalan lansung Perdana Menteri.

2. Low Taek Jho atau lebih dikenali sebagai Jho Low jadi agen bebas (free agent) sejak zaman TIA lagi dan tambah berpengaruh bila TIA jadi 1MDB. Dia anak kepada jutawan Cina Pulau Pinang, (Tan Sri) Larry Low Hock Peng. Larry Low adalah antara pengasas dan peneraju syarikat Malaysia Weaving Printing Dyeing Factory Limited yang sekarang dikenali sebagai WME Holdings Berhad. Nenek Jho Low, (Datuk) Low Meng Tak lahir di Guangdong, China pada tahun 1922 dan bina kekayaan di China, Thailand dan Malaysia melalui perlombongan bijih besi, pengilangan arak dan kemudiannya hartanah.

Jho Low, agen bebas 1MDB hidup mewah

3. Pada mulanya 1MDB didakwa sebagai tabung berdaulat (sovereign fund) tapi ditukar jadi syarikat pelaburan strategik (strategic investment company) setelah dihujahkan yang kita sudah pun ada tabung berdaulat, iaitu Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah).

4. Dengan modal permulaan RM1 juta, 1MDB berhutang besar-besaran dari dalam dan luar Negara. Sebahagian hutangnya dijamin oleh kerajaan. Ertinya kalau 1MDB tak mampu bayar balik atau muflis (bankrupt), pembayar cukailah yang kena tanggung bebannya. Silap-silap anak cucu kita pun kena juga. Sudah sekali ia tak mampu bayar hutang ikut masa. Terpaksa berhutang untuk bayar hutang. Siapa yang bagi hutang sampai hari ini masih samar-samar. Ada kata Arab. Ada kata Ananda Krishman. Ada kata kerajaan sendiri.

5. Cara 1MDB berniaga sangat menakjubkan. Dengan modal yang sangat kecil, ia berhutang dengan sangat besar. Laporan kewangan 1MDB tahun 2014 menunjukkan ia berhutang RM49 bilion dengan harta sebanyak RM52 bilion. [Dengan hutang sebanyak itu, kita boleh bina lima buah KLIA asal.]

6. Cara ia berhutang pun luar biasa. Contohnya pada tahun 2012/13 ia guna khidmat bank pelaburan Amerika, Goldman Sachs untuk pinjam AS$3 bilion (kira-kira RM13 bilion pada kadar tukaran sekarang). Yang anehnya 1MDB bagi komisen sampai AS$500 juta (RM2.1 bilion) kepada Goldman. Agensi berita ekonomi Amerika, Bloomberg laporkan pada 9 Mei 2013 bahawa komisen Goldman adalah kira-kira 7.7 peratus sedangkan kadar purata komisen bagi “junk bond” (bon sampah) adalah 1.32 peratus bagi tahun 2013. Adakah ini bermakna bon 1MDB lebih teruk daripada “junk bon” maka Goldman perlu dibagi komisen yang sangat tinggi? Dalam pasaran bon, lagi tinggi risiko, lagi murah harganya dan lagi tinggi komisennya sebab susah nak jual.

7. Rasanya tak ada syarikat dalam dunia yang nisbah antara modal dan hutang begitu luas macam 1MDB. Bila skandalnya mula didedahkan selepas Pilihan Raya Umum 2013, barulah 1MDB tambah modal (equity) kepada RM900 juta. Kemudian pada tahun 2014 ditambah lagi kepada RM2.4 bilion.

8. Walaupun modal RM2.4 bilion tu nampak banyak, tapi banding dengan hutang RM49 bilion, ia adalah kecil. Maksudnya 1MDB berhutang 20.4 kali ganda daripada modalnya. Ini sangat-sangatlah tinggi pasal nisbah purata hutang-kepada-modal (debt-to-equity-ratio) syarikat-syarikat yang diniagakan di Bursa Malaysia hanya satu setengah kali ganda saja.

10. Bila saya tanya pendapat seorang kawan yang bekerja sebagai penyelidik ekonomi, dia kata, ini samalah dengan seorang penjaja yang ada modal RM2,000 tapi pergi bank minta pinjam RM40,000. Tak masuk akal dan tak ada bank yang akan bagi.

Penjaja, sukar bank nak layan

11. Kemudian 1MDB beli harta di dalam dan luar negara daripada penjual swasta dengar harga tinggi. Jauh lebih mahal daripada harga pasaran. Inilah sebabnya orang yang tahu hal ehwal perniagaan syak ada urusan belakang tirai di antara pembeli dan penjual.

12. Tapi bila 1MDB beli harta kerajaan macam tanah, ia bayar harga yang sangat murah. Ada tanah kerajaan di Kuala Lumpur dibeli dengan harga RM64 sekaki persegi yang kemudiannya dijual kepada Tabung Haji dengan harga 43 kali ganda lebih tinggi. Kerajaan rugi pendapatan, 1MDB buat duit atas angin dan Tabung Haji kena kutuk sampai terpaksa buat dusta.

13. Dari segi moral, ini sudah boleh dikira salah guna kuasa dan dari segi undang-undang pula ia boleh dianggap pakatan untuk menipu kerana negara hilang peluang untuk dapat hasil yang lebih tinggi. Dalam bahasa Inggeris, perbuatan ini disebut “conspiracy to defraud”.

14. Perdana Menteri dan para pelindung serta pembela beliau boleh bagi macam-macam alasan dan guna macam-macam muslihat untuk sembunyi kebenaran, tapi satu dunia sudah tahu. Apatah lagi ramai pembela terkini Perdana Menteri kurang kredibiliti.

15. Kalau tak ada bukti dan syak wasangka yang kuat, macam mana pihak berkuasa jenayah, kewangan dan perbankan di Singapura, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Switzerland, United Kingdom dan Amerika Syarikat telah membuka siasatan ke atas 1MDB dan membekukan beberapa akaun yang bersangkut-paut dengannya?

16. Kalau semua laporan media mengenai penglibatan Mohd Najib dalam skandal 1MDB fitnah dan dusta, pasal apa Mohd Najib dan peguam-peguamnya hanya gertak nak saman tapi tak saman?

Propaganda Utusan tidak tepat, PM tak saman

17. Kalau beliau berani kerana beliau berada di pihak yang benar, pasal apa guna Kanun Keseksaan (Penal Code) ke atas (Datuk Seri) Khairuddin Abu Hassan dan peguamnya, Matthias Chang – mengapa tidak kemukakan saman malu ke atas mereka?

18. Selain kejatuhan harga minyak mentah dan kelembapan ekonomi dunia, semua orang tahu bahawa nilai ringgit merudum kerana skandal 1MDB dan kurang keyakinan kepada kerajaan pimpinan Mohd Najib.

19. Natijahnya, katalah apa nak kata berkenaan 1MDB, tapi orang yang tahu berkenaan urus niaga korporat, kewangan, perbankan dan undang-undang tak akan percaya.

20. Tak keterlaluan kalau kita ibaratkan 1MDB sebagai gajah Tok Mia yang kena penyakit EEHV (elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses) yang keluarkan bau busuk. Simbahlah dengan minyak wangi paling mahal dari Paris atau Milan baunya tak hilang juga. Hatta minyak wangi Amouage yang diuar-uarkan sebagai minyak wangi paling mahal di dunia itu tak berkesan lagi. Lapan puluh peratus gajah yang kena penyakit ini mati.

21. Serentak itu, jentera propaganda Umno, kerajaan dan 1MDB semakin hari semakin hilang kewibawaan apabila mereka disaman, khususnya oleh pembangkang, dan kalah perbicaraan, terpaksa memohon maaf dan bayar ratusan ribu ringgit ganti rugi.

Main stream media lost repeatedly

22. Malangnya bagi Malaysia dan rakyat jelatanya, apabila Mohd Najib bentangkan Belanjawan 2016 Jumaat ini, berapa ramai akan percaya. Kalau pelabur dan pengguna tak yakin, mereka tak melabur dan tak beli-belah. Bila mereka tak labur dan tak berbelanja, tak adalah “private consumption”. Private comsumption adalah penggerak ekonomi negara. Kalau kerajaan hendak berbelanja, ia terpaksa berhutang. Tapi macam mana nak berhutang apabila hutang kerajaan sudah sampai had maksimum berbanding keluaran dalam negara kasar. 

Wallahuaklam.

Beware of Rabid Dogs

A Kadir Jasin

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

UPDATE, OCT 19 - Don’t just bark like rabid dogs, sue! More reasons for Mohd Najib and his lawyers to sue Wall Street Journal. Latest report by WSJ:

“In early 2013 at the glitzy World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Malaysia’s prime minister approached the country’s longtime financial adviser Goldman Sachs with an urgent assignment.

“A government investment fund the prime minister oversaw wanted Goldman to help it raise $3 billion quickly and quietly, according to people close to the bank.

“The fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, was Prime Minister Najib Razak’s signature initiative, envisioned as helping transform Malaysia into a modern Muslim democracy fueled by new industries. It burnished his credentials as a new type of liberal, Western-friendly leader, embraced by the U.S. as a counterbalance to China.” (More here).

ORIGINAL POST
 

THE NORTHERN states of the Peninsula have been affected by an outbreak of rabies. Some 1,000 dogs had been exterminated and several persons were reported to have been bitten.

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We thought we had eradicated rabies. Maybe we had but like malaria and polio, the dreaded disease appears to be making a comeback. That’s the price we have to pay for being negligent.

If you’re bitten by a dog, including “anjing persepit” (a trapped dog), and have the following symptoms - fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, agitation, anxiety, confusion, hyperactivity, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation fear of water (hydrophobia) because of the difficulty in swallowing, hallucinations, insomnia and partial paralysis – you could have contracted rabies.

Please immediately get yourself to a hospital. Mantra, jampi and pooja are not known to cure this dreaded disease.

A rabid dog salivate excessively

But if you have not been bitten by a dog but experiences headache, anxiety and confusion, your affliction could have been caused by the extraordinary events now taking place in the country.

If your headache, anxiety and confusion continue for a long time and are not relieved by Panadol, please make a visit to your doctor.

If you nauseate, vomit and feel agitated, that could be due to being forced to watch TV3 news when you call on your friend who is a rabid supporter of Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Matti­mung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak.

[Rabid in that sense is defined as “having or proceeding from an extreme or fanatical support of or belief in something”.]

But if you continue to nauseate, vomit and feel agitated after having a good cup of teh tarik and posted a stinging critique of TV3 on Facebook, please pay a visit to your doctor.

If you are a critic of Prime Minister and you have hallucinations, insomnia and partial paralysis after reading the mainstream media reports about 1MDB and the “tindak-tanduk” of the new Attorney General, (Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali), just take two Panadol tablets and a two-hour power nap.

But if your hallucinations, insomnia and partial paralysis persist, please pay a visit to your doctor.

When I was growing up in the kampung in Kedah in the 1950’s and 60’s, rabies was very common. We called it “penyakit anjing gila” (mad dog disease) and associated it with excessive salivation and fear of water (hydrophobia).

If you’ve not been bitten by a dog and have not seen the most voluptuous “tante” from the Minangkabau highlands of Sumatra but you salivate excessively, please pay a visit to your doctor.

She should cause any healthy man to salivate

On the other hand, if you have seen the most voluptuous “tante” from Minangkabau but you do not salivate excessively, please also pay a visit to your doctor. You could be experiencing impotency brought about by a “koro” curse.

Remembering My Uncle’s Dogs

Excessive discussion about dogs and rabies brings back memories of my teenage years when I would make trips to my auntie’s house in Selama, Perak during the durian season.

Her husband, Haji Abdul Wahab was the patriarch of a large Rawa clan. He was well respected because he owned a large durian orchard and many acres of rubber plantation. He was religious and because of his wealth he performed the Haj at a reasonably young age.

He kept several dogs to guard his farm from wild boars and his domestic animals from tigers, thieves and possibly communist terrorists.

Because Haji Abdul Wahab was well respected, his dogs too enjoyed the respect of his neighbours. Nobody would dare to venture into his property without first calling out his name and they would not dare taunt his dogs.

Blessed are the dogs whose owners are respected and revered!

Those days, the Malays did not show off their piety. They were not judgmental. Those with dusun, huma and kebun kept dogs. Dogs were “najis” (dirty) but they made no big issue about it. Of course they didn’t go crazy wanting to hug dogs.

They kept dogs for a purpose. There wasn’t such a thing as a lap dog. And a dog knew its place. A respectable dog earned its keep by driving away wild boars, tigers and thieves. It did not wag its tail and stick out its tongue to beg for handouts.

The Arabs keep dogs too. The best-known Arab canine breed is the saluki. They were superb desert hunters.

An Arab gentleman with his salukis and falcon

An Arab proverb says: “He is a gentleman. He grew up with the saluki”.

POST-SCRIPT: Since no debater raised any question about the Javanese wisdom I quoted in the last posting, I assume that there are no Javanese debaters in this blog or, if there are, they do not know Javanese. For the record, “gemrincinging ringgit” means money, gebyaring wentis kuning (women) and klubuking iwak ono kedung (power). According to this old Javanese wisdon, money, women and power are the causes of the undoing of powerful men.

Wallahuaklam.

Tanda Tanya Dakwaan Ke Atas Khairuddin dan Chang

A Kadir Jasin

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“Dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang”

OLEH sebab ada pembesar kontemporari kita sangat bangga dengan asal-usul Jawanya, maka saya mulakan nukilan kali ini dengan mengemukakan tiga “hadangan” bagi orang-orang besar menurut kebijaksanaan orang Jawa.

Pertama, gemrincinging ringgit.

Kedua, gebyaring wentis kuning.

Ketiga, klubuking iwak ono kedung.

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Tiga halangan di atas amat tepat dan bermakna dalam konteks apa yang sedang berlaku di negara kita sekarang di mana wang, kuasa dan wanita memainkan peranan penting.

Oleh kerakusan kuasa, orang yang pada pandangan umum berusaha mencari kebenaran ditangkap, ditahan dan, pada 12 Oktober, dihadapkan ke mahkamah atas tuduhan “mensabotaj perkhidmatan perbankan dan kewangan negara”.

(Datuk Seri) Khairuddin Abu Hassan 53, dan peguam beliau, Matthias Chang Wen Chieh, 65, didakwa melakukan kesalahan itu di lima lokasi, iaitu pejabat Ketua Bahagian Jenayah Ekonomi dan Kewangan Peranchis di Paris, Balai Polis Charing Cross London, United Kingdom, pejabat Peguam Negara Switzerland di Bern, Balai Polis WaiChan, Hong Kong, dan ibu pejabat polis Cantoment, Singapura - antara 28 Jun hingga 26 Ogos tahun ini.

Mereka didakwa mengikut Seksyen 124L Kanun Keseksaan (Penal Code) yang jika sabit kesalahan boleh dihukum penjara sehingga 15 tahun. Hari ini, 13 Oktober, Peguam Negara (Tan Sri) Mohamed Apandi Ali, menjelaskan mereka tidak didakwa di bawa Akta Kesalahan Keselamatan (Langkah-Langkah Khas) 2012 (Sosma).

Khairuddin dan Chang Boleh Dedah Dalam Mahkamah

Mari kita sama-sama fikir, persoal dan pertimbangkan hal-hal berikut:-

1. Apakah usaha mendedahkan kemungkaran dan mencari kebenaran mengenai 1MBD dan penglibatan Perdana Menteri (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Matti­mung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak adalah mensabotaj perkhidmatan perbankan dan kewangan negara?

2. Bukankah Khairuddin terlebih dahulu membuat aduan terhadap 1MDB dan Mohd Najib kepada Polis Diraja Malaysia, Suruhanjaya Pencegah Rasuah Malaysia dan kepada Bank Negara Malaysia?

[Berkenaan PDRM, saya sengaja menyebut nama penuhnya kerana saya ingin tahu sama ada ia masih taat dan setia kepada Raja atau itu hanya pada nama saja.]

3. Yang mana lebih berunsur “sabotaj” terhadap sistem perbankan dan kewangan negara – membuat laporan rasmi kepada PDRM, SPRM dan Bank Negara atau menyembunyikan maklumat keluar masuk wang RM2.6 bilion dalam akaun peribadi seseorang dan memberi maklumat palsu kepada Bank Negara?

4. Bagi ramai rakyat jelata, Khairuddin dan Chang adalah syuhada politik (political martyrs).

5. Pendakwaan Khairuddin dan Chang berkemungkinan memperkukuhkan azam agensi-agensi penyiasatan di Singapura, Hong Kong, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Perancis dan Amerika Syarikat menyiasat laporan terhadap 1MDB dan Mohd Najib. Mungkin lebih banyak akaun bank dan aset, termasuk kediaman, akan dibekukan.

6. Malaysia akan terus menjadi bahan persendaan masyarakat antarabangsa yang seterusnya memburukkan lagi ketidakyakinan terhadap pemerintahan dan ekonomi negara.

7. Agensi-agensi nasional dan internasional telah pun menampakkan sikap tidak ambil hirau (disdain) dan tidak yakin dengan tindak-tanduk agensi-agensi Malaysia. Ini terbukti apabila pihak berkuasa mata wang mereka membekukan akaun-akaun berkaitan 1MDB dan Polis Antarabangsa (Interpol) menolak permintaan PDRM agar mengeluarkan waran tangkap ke atas Pengarang Sarawak Report, Clare Rewcastle Brown. Polis Thailand pula tidak membenarkan Ketua Polis Negara (Tan Sri) Khalid Abu Bakar menemu bual bekas eksekutif PetroSaudi International (PSI), Xavier Andre Justo.

8. Negara-negara seperti Singapura dan Switzerland serta wilayah berautonomi Hong Kong amat tegas mengenai jenayah rasuah dan pembersihan wang haram (money laundering) manakala Amerika Syarikat sangat tegas terhadap pakatan untuk menipu (conspiracy to defraud).

9. Tindakan Mohamed Apandi merestui tuduhan terhadap Khairuddin dan Chang tetapi pada masa yang sama menolak perakuan pakar (expert recommendation) Bank Negara agar mendakwa 1MDB berkemungkinan memperkukuhkan lagi iltizam pegawai-pegawai SPRM dan Bank Negara serta kakitangan awam lain yang berintegriti untuk tidak tunduk kepada intimidasi.

Keputusan Mohamed Apandi Cetus Tindak Balas

10. Alhamdulillah, kita mula melihat makin ramai petugas awam kanan seperti Gabenor Bank Negara (Tan Sri) Zeti Akhtar Aziz, bekas Timbalan Pengarah Cawangan Khas, Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador dan Timbalan Ketua Pesuruhjaya SPRM yang baru bersara, (Datuk Seri) Zakaria Jaffar mula bercakap dan bertindak kerana mereka tidak mahu dituduh bersubahat melakukan kemungkaran. Kita berdoa tiada bala menimpa penjawat awam yang berani seperti Zeti.

11. Di arena politik, Umno sudah berpecah kepada dua puak – puak Mohd Najib dan puak Muhyiddin-Shafie. Di peringkat akar umbi pula, kepemimpinan bahagian dan cawangan tidak lagi berani angkat kepala kerana malu diherdik dan dipersendakan oleh ahli-ahli sendiri.

12. Barisan Nasional hanya wujud pada nama. Ramai perwakilan ke Persidangan Agung MCA baru-baru ini secara terbuka menggesa Mohd Najib meletakkan jawatan. MIC lumpuh akibat krisis dalaman. Di Sarawak, parti-parti suku kaum yang membentuk BN negeri mula bersuara mengenai autonomi dan menjauhkan diri daripada krisis pemerintahan pusat. Umno Sabah pun telah berpecah akibat pemecatan Shafie dan penonjolan musuh-musuh politik beliau.

13. Kem Mohd Najib serba salah. Mereka mahu menyingkir atau, setidak-tidaknya pun, meminggirkan Muhyiddin dan Shafie, tetapi tidak berani kerana mereka tidak yakin dengan kekuatan mereka sendiri. Duri dalam daging sudah bernanah.

14. Secara tersirat, pendakwaan terhadap Khairuddin dan Chang adalah “amaran” bahawa sesiapa saja yang membuat laporan rasmi membabitkan 1MDB dan Perdana Menteri berkemungkinan disiasat dan didakwa sebagai pensabotaj.

15. Soalnya, kalau membuat laporan, memberi maklumat dan menyerahkan dokumen kepada PDRM dan SPRM adalah sabotaj, bagaimana pula PDRM dan SPRM hendak mendapatkan kerjasama rakyat jelata dalam usaha mencegah jenayah dan membasmi rasuah?

Natijahnya, di sebalik jargon, slogan dan retorik seperti 1Malaysia, rakyat didahulukan, keterangkuman (inclusivess) dan kesederhanaan (moderate) terselit unsur-unsur ancaman yang mendalam dan menyeluruh.

Abdul Rauf jawab surat saya, terima kasih

Nota Kaki: Terima kasih kepada Setiausaha Kerja Umno Malaysia, (Datuk) Abdul Rauf Yusoh kerana menjawab surat saya. Harap-harap saudara masih ingat rumah terbuka “power” di kediaman saudara pada tahun 2008 apabila kita - termasuk Tun Dr Mahathir, Tun Daim Zainuddin dan Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin - hadir memberi sokongan kepada Mohd Najib sebagai bakal Perdana Menteri. Sejarah sewajarnya menjadi pengajar kita dan kebenaran menjadi landasan perjuangan kita.

Wallahuaklam.

Charging of 1MDB's Whistleblower and Lawyer Condemned

A Kadir Jasin

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

A MALAYSIAN whistle-blower and his lawyer detained for their efforts to expose allegations of corruption against the prime minister were charged Monday with attempting to "sabotage" the banking sector, according to reports.

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Prime Minister Najib Razak faces mounting calls to explain massive sums of money allegedly missing from a state-owned development company he launched, as well as the revelation in July that nearly $700 million in mysterious transfers had been made to his personal bank accounts.

Khairuddin Abu Hassan, a former member of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), was arrested in September after launching an international campaign to expose the allegations. – Agence France Presse (More here).

Khairuddin and Chang in handcuffs.

 Meanwhile, Malaysiakini reported that Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad today linked arms with rival Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to condemn the use of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) against 1MDB critic Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer Matthias Chang.

In a joint statement clearly referring to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the BN big guns said it was “shameful” for someone accused of a wrongdoing not to defend himself but to persecute others instead.

(From Left) Shafie, Muhyiddin, Dr Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh, Sanusi and Ong

The statement was jointly issued by the Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh, Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal, former Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Junid and former MCA presidents Ong Tee Keat and Dr Ling Liong Sik.


However, Ling was not at the press conference the others held in Putrajaya this morning.

“To the sound mind, the (Sosma arrests) show that when someone lodges a report on a wrongdoing, all laws will be used to cover-up that wrongdoing.

“Isn’t it shameful when someone who is accused of a crime does not do anything to prove his innocence, but instead the person lodging the report on the wrongdoing is arrested,” the BN big guns said. (More here).

Wallahuaklam.

It’s SRCI And Not 1MDB

A Kadir Jasin

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

I BELIEVED many rakyat were confused and angry at the statement by the Attorney General Chamber (AGC) rejecting Bank Negara’s recommendations for action against 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) “after finding no wrongdoing”.

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My understanding is, the AGC was referring to a wrongdoing specific to Bank Negara’s complaints but its statement gave the impression that the investigations against 1MDB had been completed and no wrongdoing was established.

Also the statement was issued in the name of the AGC and not the Attorney General, (Tan Sri) Mohamed Apandi Ali, himself.

Give Mohamed Apandi benefit of the doubt

I would not speculate that the statement was in response to the instruction (titah) by the Malay Rulers on Oct 6, urging the government "to complete investigations relating to 1MDB as soon as possible and take appropriate stern action against those found to be implicated".

Indeed the ACG’s statement had confused the people forcing it to issue a follow-up statement on Oct 8 stating “that the special task force formed to investigate 1MDB has never been dissolved or disbanded.” (Read here)

Mohamed Apandi may be new in the job but I believe he knows what the Malay Rulers know about the scandal engulfing 1MDB that implicates the Prime Minister, (Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Matti­mung Karaeng Sanrobone) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak.

We should give him the benefit of the doubt that despite coming through from the Umno background, he would act without fear and favour to uphold the rule of law and justice.

It would be delusional for a public servant as import as Mohamed Apandi to assume that the Malay Rulers are uninformed about the development surrounding 1MDB and the alleged complicity of the Prime Minister.

It would be an insult to the Rulers to think they issued a baseless statement just before the formal sitting of the Rulers Council on Oct 7.

Criminal Action

As for the reported criminal action against the Prime Minister, the general understanding is it concerns not 1MDB but another Finance Ministry company called SRC International Sdn Bhd (SCRI).

According to media reports, Mohd Najib and another person linked to SCRI were supposed to have been charged last July with misusing the company’s money amounting to RM42 million but did not take place when then Attorney General, (Tan Sri) Abdul Gani Patail, was removed supposedly hours before the case was brought to court. His term was prematurely terminated on July 28 on ground of poor health.

SCRI is a wholly-owned company of the Ministry of Finance of which Mohd Najib is the minister. It started life as a subsidiary of 1MDB but was placed directly under the Finance Ministry in February 2012.

It had taken a government-backed loan of RM4-billion from the civil service pension fund, the Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen (KWAP).

The alleged corruption case has nothing to do with the 1MDB RM42-billion debt or the RM2.6-billion “donation” that went into Mohd Najib’s personal accounts at AmBank – at least not yet.

A Global Investigation 

The investigations into 1MDB affairs and the Prime Minister’s RM2.6-billion personal accounts are ongoing in Malaysia and in several sovereign jurisdictions like Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the USA and Switzerland.

As such, even if the investigations in Malaysia were to be deliberately stalled or terminated, and the recommendations by the various investigating agencies were rejected, the investigations abroad are likely to continue.

Any about turn by Malaysia authorities might even strengthen the resolve of foreign investigators to uncover 1MDB’s money trails and their links to the Prime Minister and his associates.

Already several overseas bank accounts belonging to or associating with 1MDB have been frozen. To unfreeze these accounts, 1MDB and parties linked to it have to prove to that their money is clean.

Then there is the issue of the people wanted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) who had absconded from the country. To a layperson, these people have something grave to hide that they are willing to behave like fugitives and hiding in foreign lands.

Lawyer Nik Faisal "wanted" by MACC

 If they have nothing to hide or if they are afraid of being charged, they should cooperate with the MACC and ask to become prosecution’s witnesses. But if they keep hiding and refusing to meet MACC, the impression will be created that they are hiding something or that they are guilty.

Jho Low: 1MDB's dealmaker

Three persons that MACC is interested to speak to are 1MDB’s dealmaker, Jho Low, lawyer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil bin Nik Othman Ariff Kamil and civil service retiree, (Datuk) Suboh Mohd Yassin. The latter two are said to be hiding in Indonesia.

Suboh believes to be in Indonesia

Hopefully the AG and his charges would take the royal decree seriously or risk being accused of committing an act of "derhaka" (disloyalty).

Wallahuaklam.