Saturday, January 7, 2012

UMNO’s Institutionalized racism – a curse we all need to rid this nation of.

UMNO’s Institutionalized racism – a curse we all need to rid this nation of.

UMNO’s Institutionalized racism – a curse we all need to rid this nation of.

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 08:33 AM PST

                                           
e-poster 2 Racism as defined by Stokely Carmichael and Charles V Hamilton in their seminal book " Black Power" in 1967 is still very applicable 40 odd years on and here in Malaysia. Their definition of racism is " the predication of decisions and policies on considerations of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group and maintaining control over that group." Racism they go on to add is both overt and covert. Acts by individuals they call individual racism is overt and acts committed collectively, they call institutionalized racism is less overt, and in most instances covert.

The first type , individual racism is the sort we see in the likes of utterances of the School Heads, Senior BTN officials and the Mufti of Perlis and the most recent case of a former police PIBG head taking 6 Indian students to the police station who were interrogated for 10 long hours because they rejected the racist book "Interlok". This type of racism can be easily captured by reports, by the phone or IMG_5437 other cameras and displayed in the youtube, in blogs and such other devices and generally it is brought out by acts of commission. There is generally more public condemnation of this type of racism.

The second type, institutional racism is less overt, is subtle, but systematic and many orders of magnitude more pervasive. It is less identifiable in terms of specific individuals committing the acts. This second type originates in the operation of established and respected forces in society and is far less recognizable and it generally receives little public condemnation.

When scores of Indian youth are killed in custody, there is little uproar, for after all they are the scum of society. When there is K.Satiswari widespread statelessness among the Indian poor, too bad these stupid people do not know how to take care of themselves, that is their damned fault. When in desperation Indian individuals and families perish in suicides there is public sympathy and derision at the same time for the dead but not the acknowledgement of the impact the system has had on them. When the primary schools that Indian children go to are in shambles, well they have a choice to go the national schools don't they. This is after all the natural order of things..is it not, so argue the beneficiaries of the racist system.

Institutionalized racism manifests itself in oppression of multiple forms within every sphere of social relations – economic exploitation, political subordination, cultural devaluation, psychological violation,verbal abuse, police harassment, etc. These operate so normally and naturally and are so much part of the existing institutions of our society that the common people are barely conscious of their operation. Casual racial prejudices have over time transformed into a systematized and codified ideology and practice of racial subordination.

Najib, however in his UMNO general assembly speech on the 15th of October 2009 said, "If Malays are truly racist as alleged we would not have compromised on the one-malaysia3 cultures of other ethnic groups being practiced here……..We would also not have allowed vernacular schools to be established, …..The true meaning of racism would be like apartheid as previously practiced by South Africa..".

So, Najib the leader of the beneficiaries of the system denies the existence of anyhting like institutionalized racism?

To answer this let us take Najib's suggestion and compare with what existed in the Apartheid regime of South Africa which no one will argue was not a prime example of institutionalized racism.

189594_1836591116634_1296167163_2101179_3617484_n Here are some key features of South Africa's Apartheid (Apartness) system:

1) A central feature of the Apartheid rule was the categorization of all the South African People into Whites, Coloreds, Indian and Blacks – their Bangsa. Everything else was built on this categorization.


2) Using this racial categorization it decided where each category of people lived, who they married, who they had sex with, where they worked and how they moved about.


3) The Group Areas Act of 1950 partitioned the country into areas allocated to different racial groups. Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 created separate government structures for blacks and was the first piece of legislation established to support the government's plan of separate development in the Bantustans


4) They segregated education, medical care, and other public services on the basis of this racial categorisation .


5) They all had to carry Identity cards which indicated their "Bangsa" so to speak.


6) They had the apartheid laws – The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949, Immorality Act of 1950, The Population Registration Act of 1950 and so on. And they had SA Brave New World Beloved country since end of apartheid RW Johnson book[5]laws of repression. Laws such as Suppression of Communism Act of 1950, The Public Safety Act of 1953 and the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1953, The Riotous Assembly Act, The Terrorism Act to name a few of the notorious ones.


7) To oversee the apartheid implementation, the bureaucracy expanded, and, by 1977, there were more than half a million white state employees.


8) Blacks were not allowed to run businesses or professional practices in those areas designated as "white South Africa" without a permit.


9) Each of the 4 categories of South Africans had their own education system.


Now let us look at comparative situations in the Malaysian rgime:

1) A central feature of our system is also our categorization into Bumiputras, Chinese, Indians and Others from birth to death.Everywhere we go we have to declare Bangsa, Ugama – at birth, at school registration, in all the applications we make, at marriage, at death and in many many more situations.

2) Large areas of most cities and towns are segregated not by law, but by practice and without the need for such segregation laws. Clear example is in Penang the Island is mainly populated by Chinese, and the Malays mostly prefer to live on the Mainland. In Shah Alam it is mainly Malays. In Seremban it is mainly Chinese in locations like Seremban Garden, and Malays in Ampangan or Paroi areas. In Kuching you have South and North Kuching for the Chinese and the Malays. In practice but not in law.

3) In several housing areas State Consent is required if one wants to sell the property especially if it is in a predominantly Malay area. It is quicker to get consent for inter Bumiputra sale than it is for a sale across the Bumiputra /Non-Bumiputra divide. Again in practice but not in law.


isa 4) Malaysia has repressive laws like the Internal Security Act to put away who UMNO considers to be trouble makers without having to go through the court processes, the Official Secrets Act to blot out all decisions made by the UMNO controlled Administration from public view, The Printing Presses and Publications Act to control the print media from publishing too much anti UMNO news, The Seditions Act to shut people up from speaking up againts UMNO policies – to name a few of the repressive laws that helps maintain the current regime.


5) The bureaucracy is entirely made up of largely one ethnic group , Bumiputras – eight hundred thousands of them, all implementing UMNO Policy. The Police force is almost entirely Malay, the armed forces are almost entirely Malay. The judicial system is almost entirely Malay. The public Universitieis are almost entirely Malay. The GLC managements are entirely Malay. Again in practice but not in law.


6) Most Government and Government linked businesses are off limits to non- Bumiputras. There is a complete system of screening vendors that limits vendors to almost entirely Bumiputras.


7) Business licences are largely awarded to Bumiputras or must have mandatory minimum Bumiputra participation – Bank Licences, Educational Institutions Licences, Permits in the Transportation businesses and so many more.


8 ) Participation in all government development schemes are entirely for Bumiputras – MARA, FELDA, FELCRA, RISDA, PERDA, KESEDAR, KEJORA to name a few. In practice but not in law. j


9) Educational opportunities in Public Educational Institutions are grossly in favour of Bumiputras.
Mara_Phd_Plans[1]

10) Cross religious relationships between Non muslim Malaysians and Muslim Malaysians is a complicated affair, especially if a problem develops along the way.

If we consider these two sets of situations it is apparent that there are significant number of similarities between the apartheid system and the Malaysian system created, developed, finetuned by UMNO from 1957 to 2011. The key difference seems to be the lack of ambiguity in the South African expression in all its laws. In Malaysia a lot of the racism is in practice not in the law. To any right thinking person it is so obvious, the racism that underlies our daily life. Therefore it is really audacious for Najib to say UMNO is not racist – the party that is responsible for this terrible state of affairs. He is in a terrible state of denial still..

Allowing the practice of cultures of the Indians or the Chinese in Malaysia or allowing Chinese Medium and Tamil Medium schools in Malaysia, or of allowing the use of Chinese and Indian names does not in any way define the character of the regime in Malaysia. Allowing all this actually now becomes convenient argument for UMNO to take everything else away, it seems. It is the structure of the economic political system that defines the character of our system. And it is blatantly racist.

I do not say the Malay people are racists. I am saying that UMNO, the political party is. It is indeed a blue blooded racist party – the entire cause for the racism that is so rampant in Malaysia.

Racism is "the domination of one ethnic group over other ethnic groups on the basis of some claimed superiority". In South Africa – White Supremacy, In Hitler's Germany – the Superiority of the German race, In the British Empire – the Civilizing Burden of the White Man, in Malaysia, Ketuanan Melayu or Malay Supremacy.

Do we need to say more.

Let us all wake up and in solidarity fight this curse of institutionalized racism. We have no choice if we all Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dusuns, Muruts, Dayaks want a vibrant prosperous and robust nation in Malaysia.





Naragan
HRP.com

Decade of Resolution to Fulfill

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 08:20 AM PST

In 2008, I wrote a decade resolutions. Let's strike out things that I've done.

1. Get married. I know initially I wanted to get married to a doctor but God has better plan in store for me. I married a girl who's ambition is to become an architect, something I've always wanted to be but never had the courage to pursue. My parents thought I'd be better off as an engineer.

Who would have thought I'd marry a blogger whom I followed. I guess it's true what they say, follow your passion and the rest will fill in. I have to say, it was the best decision in 2011.

2. Have kids. Not yet. We think, the best way was to allow my wife to finish her study first. That will always be the priority, at least for now. But seeing her happy face while playing with A'zeem (my nephew) has kinda sped that up. At least after she gets her first job, inysa Allah it will be next year.

3. Financial freedom. Well, I still have a car to pay and my credit card debt is very manageable. I guess we'll have to push this in years to come.

4. Finish what I started. Not there yet. I have a problem reading a book cover to cover. I got bored halfway through. Maybe I'm meant for this. As for projects,.. hmm still many pending at the moment. Got to get it done by this year! Puhleezzz ed!

5. Do wonders to Malaysia. Nil, but I do pay tax and zakat. That sure helps a bit, though not significant.

6. Solidify Existence. Hmm, still not taking up tertiary degree. It has a lot to do with finance. I have to free up something or get a scholar to pursue this dream of mine.

7. Be a good family member. I can control my temper now, except on the road. I try not to miss any family gathering. Maybe ought to pay extra attention to my in laws. I don't talk to them often because I'm shy.. kot?

I guess that's it ;)


#BebasAnwar901 Ombak Rindu Edisi Khas

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST



Sinopsis Filem Ombak Rindu

Filem Ombak Rindu hasil karya novelis Fauziah Ashaari, Izzah, gadis yatim piatu yang kematian ibu dan ayah akibat kemalangan jalan raya. Justeru itu, ayah saudaranya, Taha, mengambil tugas memelihara Izzah. Isteri Taha cukup tidak senang dengan kehadiran Izzah dan menuduh Izzah membawa bala dalam keluarga mereka.

Pada masa sama, Pak Cik Taha banyak berhutang. Disebabkan kesempitan wang dia sanggup menjual Izzah kepada seorang tauke kelab malam. Izzah terpaksa mengikut kehendak ayah saudaranya walaupun hatinya meronta.

Di situlah dia berkenalan dengan seorang pelanggan bernama Hariz. Hariz sanggup 'membeli' Izzah dengan harga yang mahal dari tauke kelab itu dan mahu membawa dia keluar dari neraka jahanam itu.

Atas permintaan Izzah, akhirnya Hariz berkahwin dengan Izzah, tetapi dengan syarat semuanya mesti dirahsiakan.

Kehadiran Mila Amylia, anak Tan Sri Rashdan, model dan pelakon terkenal akhirnya menggugat kebahagiaan Izzah dan Hariz. Apakah mereka bermadu?

Filem arahan dan lakonan Anwar Ibrahim sebagai Hariz manakala Wan Azizah sebagai Mila. Turut berlakon Syamsidar dan Azmin.

Pisau kata "memang dia buat drama"

Project 366 - Week 1 (Jan 1 - Jan 7)

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 06:30 AM PST



January 1 - First day of the year with my Baby!


January 2 - Christmas gifts from the kids.


January 3 - Driving home after first day of work.


January 4 - Finally, I have a New Year resolution.


January 5 - What a nice word verification, just for me.


January 6 - View from my office window.


January 7 - Bangles of love

What is life

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 06:30 AM PST

 
We never get what we want,
We never want what we get,
We never have what we like,
We never like what we have.
And still we live & love.
That's life...


The best kind of friends,
Is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with,
Never say a word,
And then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.
 
 
It's true that we don't know
What we've got until it's gone,
But it's also true that we don't know
What we've been missing until it arrives..
 
 
Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back!
Don't expect love in return;
Just wait for it to grow in their heart,
But if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.
 
 
 
It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone,
An hour to like someone,And a day to love someone,
But it takes a lifetime to forget someone.
 
 
 
Don't go for looks; they can deceive.
Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.
Go for someone who makes you smile,
Because it takes only a smile to
Make a dark day seems bright.
Find the one that makes your heart smile!
 
 
 
May you have
Enough happiness to make you sweet,
Enough trials to make you strong,
Enough sorrow to keep you human,
And enough hope to make you happy.
 
 
 
Always put yourself in others' shoes.
If you feel that it hurts you,
It probably hurts the other person, too.
 
 
 
 
The happiest of people
Don't necessarily have the best of everything;
They just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
Happiness lies for
Those who cry,
Those who hurt,
Those who have searched,
And those who have tried,
For only they can appreciate the importance of people
Who have touched their lives.
 
 
 
When you were born, you were crying
And everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so that when you die,
You're the one who is smiling
And everyone around you is crying.
 
 
Please send this message
To those people who mean something to you,
To those who have touched your life in one way or another,
To those who make you smile when you really need it,
To those that make you see the brighter side of things When you are really down,
To those who you want to know
That you appreciate their friendship.
 
 
 
And if you don't, don't worry,
Nothing bad will happen to you,
You will just miss out on the opportunity
to brighten someone's life with this message...

Pegawai sembunyikan duit suapan RM700,000 dalam telekung, di dapur

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 06:01 AM PST


IPOH: Seorang pegawai Jabatan Perhutanan Perak dikesan menyembunyikan wang tunai lebih RM700,000 ($287,450) disyaki hasil suapan yang diterimanya di serata tempat di kediamannya, termasuk dalam kain telekung, selain di bilik tidur, ruang tamu dan dapur.

Suspek yang berusia dalam lingkungan 50-an dikatakan turut mengagihkan wang suapan yang keseluruhannya dipercayai melebihi RM4 juta di dalam beberapa akaun bank milik anggota keluarganya, berdasarkan buku bank yang turut ditemui di rumahnya.

Perbuatan suspek terbongkar apabila sepasukan lebih 10 pegawai Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), melakukan serbuan mengejut di kediaman anggota perkhidmatan awam itu di Gerik, awal pagi kelmarin.

Sumber berkata, suspek yang bekerja di Jabatan Perhutanan Perak, ditahan ketika berada di rumahnya bersama isteri dan anak-anaknya.


'Hasil pemeriksaan, pegawai SPRM menemui sejumlah wang yang disembunyikan suspek di dalam bilik, dapur dan ruang tamu rumahnya, selain dalam telekung,' kata sumber itu.

Serbuan dan tangkapan itu dibuat pada 2 pagi itu susulan penahanan seorang lagi pegawai kanan jabatan sama, bersama seorang 'tauke balak' berkaitan kes mencuri balak bernilai lebih setengah juta ringgit di Hutan Kuak Luar, berdekatan Pengkalan Hulu, tengah hari Rabu lalu.

Tangkapan mereka dibuat berikutan penemuan lebih 300 balak siap dipotong bernilai kira-kira RM600,000 di kawasan pembalakan Hutan Kuak Luar, berdekatan Pengkalan Hulu.

Dalam serbuan itu, SPRM turut menahan tiga lori yang sedang mengangkut balak dan merampas beberapa jentera berat di kawasan pembalakan berkenaan.

Siasatan awal SPRM juga mendapati balak itu ditebang di luar kawasan tender.

Sumber berkata, pihaknya akan menjalankan siasatan lanjut mengenai kes itu berikutan penemuan sejumlah wang tunai yang banyak, selain pelaburan saham membabitkan jutaan ringgit.

'Pegawai kanan itu dan dua lagi suspek yang ditangkap Rabu lalu masih ditahan untuk siasatan,' kata sumber itu. -- BHM, Harian Metro.

Buford, with population of only one person?

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 05:42 AM PST

Could this be true? If so, it could only happen in USA.

A modern hermit's paradise... no problems with recalcitrant encroaching neighbours!
Link

May Day For Justice – Excerpt

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 03:30 AM PST

The following excerpt from the book "May Day For Justice" gives details of the events leading to the dismissal of Tun Salleh Abas as Lord President (title for the highest position in the Malaysian judicial system until 1994), suspension of five Supreme Court judges and dismissal of two of these top judges in 1988. By [...]


'Khazanah cannot save Proton'

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 03:02 AM PST

Khazanah is too busy with other investments. Its boss Azman Mokhtar also has to focus on other GLCs and as such, he looks a bit handicapped to attend to Proton's woes.

This is what the founder of Proton Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad meant when he put Khazanah to task - that Azman and Team will not be able to save Proton and put the company back to the level it once reigned.

The former premier appeared to back a management buyout of Proton Holdings, saying the national car maker needs proper attention and 'somebody more focused' to help it recapture its share of the domestic passenger vehicle market.

He pointed out that at present, national investment arm Khazanah Nasional, which owns 42.7 per cent of Proton, could not afford to focus fully on turning around Proton's flagging finances.

"Khazanah has a lot of other investments... it cannot give focus to Proton. I think we need somebody to be focussed on Proton. Proton needs proper attention and also, Proton needs money.

"If you want to do anything in this industry, it is not about RM1,000 or RM2,000... It is RM100 million, RM200 million... it is a very expensive business and whomever comes in should have the capacity to support it financially," Dr M, who is also Proton adviser, said.

Khazanah is said to have put its entire 42.7 per cent stake in the national carmaker up for grabs, and confirmed it has received several proposals of interest. As at today, three firms have indicated an interest.

Proton chairman Nadzmi Mohd Salleh has also openly indicated his interest in purchasing Khazanah's controlling stake in the national car maker, suggesting during a recent interview that Proton needs to sell part of its stake in Lotus, slash costs and increase exports to recoup some of its losses in the industry.

He is believed to be up against business tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary for the bid.

Dr Mahathir also said the on-going discussion between Proton Holdings Bhd and US based-General Motors Corp (GM) on the former's Tanjung Malim manufacturing facility plant is expected to resolve in a 'win-win' situation, hence brings about some benefits to Proton.

Media reports said Proton is in talks to sell up to 50 per cent of its stake in its Tanjung Malim plant to GM for between RM700 million and RM800 million.

"I have not heard of any party taking over the plant, but about using the power plant, yes. What they want is to do part of their production in Malaysia," he told reporters after a gathering between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Selangor industrialists in Shah Alam today, hosted by Proton.

"We are sending our people to discuss with them next week and with a firm commitment from both sides, we will see it from there," Dr Mahathir said.

GM, a global automotive company develops, produces and markets cars, trucks and parts worldwide. It also provides automotive financing services.

GM is the home of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. If GM kicks off its production in Proton's Tanjung Malim plant, the move would support the global company to reduce their cost as well as benefit Proton, particularly in full utilisation of the plant and technology transfer.

Mahasewel SMM: Kami Bodoh,Korang Sibuk Apahal!?

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 01:38 AM PST

Presiden SMM Ahmad Syukri Abdullah mendedahkan bahawa Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia adalah sebuah pertubuhan yang dikhaskan untuk kalangan pelajar yang kurang bijak dan orang kelainan upaya (OKU).


OKU didalam SMM menurut ahlinya adalah dalam kategori Acute Anwarism Disorder atau AAD. Sindrom AAD salah satunya mempunyai ciri ciri BS atau Bodoh Sombong seperti Anwar Ibrahim,beliau juga gagal didalam univerisiti yang kemudian hanya lulus cukup makan didalam bidang sastera kemudian berlagak menjadi ahli ekonomi hingga menyebabkan negara hampir bangkrap.


Pertubuhan ini dikatakan membela dan mendidik kalangan pelajar yang berotakkan dikepala lutut agar lebih berani dan mempunyai keyakinan pada diri sendiri.Adalah tidak mengejutkan jika PKR terutamanya Anwar menggunakan budak budak ini yang bermodalkan 2-3 kupang untuk dijadikan talian hayat menyelamatkan nyawa politik beliau .

Pisau ada mendedahkan pintu kaca menjadi dalang dan berkonspirasi mencederakan para pelajar ini hingga dikatakan parah.


Pasukan peguam pakatan akan mendakwa pihak yang mencederakan pelajar MELAYU yang cedera semasa demo didepan UPSI tempoh hari.Menurut sumber pakatan penafian pihak polis terbukti bahawa polis tidak terlibat mencederakan para pelajar MELAYU ini.


Setelah disiasat dalang yang sebenarnya mencederakan pelajar yang berdemo adalah pintu kaca ini.Gambar pintu ini diambil selepas kejadian demo tersebut sebagai bukti bahawa pintu ini terlibat mencederakan pelajar.

Tindakan pintu dipersoalkan olah juak haprak pakatan,kenapa pintu boleh berada disitu dan kenapa kaca digunakan hingga mencederakan pelajar tersebut.Para peguam pakatan mempersoalkan kenapa pintu kaca ini terlibat bersekongkol dengan pihak polis mencederakan pelajar ini.


Persoalan ini sudah terjawab...pengakuan terbuka SMM

KUALA LUMPUR: The student movement Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) admits that some of its members have performed badly academically.

Due to that they will put their studies on hold first while they continue to fight for academic freedom, SMM president Ahmad Syukri Abdullah told The Mole.

He said: "It is true that some of SMM members have not performed well in their studies."

"However we feel it is a small issue that is being exaggerated by certain quarters just to bring us down," he added.

Ahmad also admitted he did not perform well academically and that he will put his studies on hold to continue with his struggle with SMM for academic freedom.

He also said he could not afford to pay his RM7000 study fees for the time being.
Pisau kata "peguam pakatan desak adakan suruhanjaya siasatan diraja "

Cops imposed strict conditions for Anwar rally reneging on earlier announcement

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 01:30 AM PST

After announcing that the "901 Free Anwar" rally can go ahead, the police quietly impose strict conditions for the rally in a posting in the police's Facebook page last night. No conditions were set earlier when PKR held a meeting with the KL police chief DCP Mohmad Salleh. These conditions include an absurd restriction on [...]


Nathaniel Tan refutes RPK's allegations against PKR

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 12:29 AM PST

Excerpt:

From past observation, I think my conclusion is: the people with the most credibility are the ones who never change sides.

In second place are the ones who change sides only once. Anyone who changes more than that is basically a joke. ...

People tend to be unforgiving of flip-flops and people who fail to stay the course. ...

After all, one cannot credibly implicate a man in a brutal murder one day and the next happily offer him advice on how to reform his party.

The simple test is to see whether someone changes their positions based on principle, or based on expediency – the latter of which comes in many forms: money, power, and perhaps most underrated of all, ego. The former demonstrates itself through consistency, objectivity and genuine independence. ...

By my reckoning though, the motivations of his most recent comments seem at best to be fueled by the ego of a man who believes he is always right, a man who likes to be seen as someone who says whatever he damn well pleases, whenever he damn well pleases.

Now, I'm all for weeding out corruption, especially in Pakatan held states. But for corruption to be weeded out, first it has to be true :P

I can't comment much right now on this Johan Taharin matter, as I have never heard of him. I'm not sure what use being Azmin Ali's brother in law would be though, since Azmin holds no official posts within the Selangor state government structure. Those familiar with PKR politics would probably also doubt his ability to exert undue influence over the current Menteri Besar. If the following accusations are anything to go by, let's just say it gives plenty of reason to doubt the credibility of the first one.

Let's start with Derek – not Derrick – Fernandez, who wrote in an SMS, quoted verbatim:

Sallam, raja petra has written in his web site today that i get legal work from mbpj in article on his blog. The statement is a lie and false. Neither I nor my firm have ever done any legal work for mbpj . This can be verified with the mayor or en mutallib the director of the legal department in mbpj. My firm has never ever been on the panel of mbpj. An examination of the list of laywers on the panel will confirm this . Furthermore the is no such firm as derrick fernandez and co . My name is also wrongly spelt. This guy must have his facts wrong . i dont know whats his grouse .frm Derek fernandez ,Cc datuk bandar, mutalib

As for Suren:

"Raja Petra Kamarudin in making that allegation is an absolute and utter liar," he told reporters at PKR headquarters. "I have never received any kind of legal work from the PJ City Council or Selangor government, or any government department.

"In fact, since I took up public activism in 1998, I have never received a single sen for any kind of legal work, political work or activist work that I've done in 13 years."

"It's very indicative of the kind of person Raja Petra is that he's capable of repeating these kinds of complete lies in a public manner," Surendran said.

Referring to one of the blogger's allegations, he said he did not receive an "intercontinental car" after becoming a PKR vice-president, but had bought one with his own money before he entered public activism.

As for Daim & Gamany?

This firm helped me out a bit after my arrest in 2007. If I recall correctly, I went to their office then, which was quite stylish (and not, to my recollection, anywhere near the Masjid India area). I've also recently seen where they've moved to currently – which RPK rightly pointed out, is not too far from MBPJ, and is very close to my favourite chicken rice shop (Satellite) on Jalan Gasing.

This is what it looks like:
Swanky?

More:

Should NFC chairman be charged for attempted bribery?

Posted: 07 Jan 2012 12:25 AM PST

PKR claims that NFC chairman Mohamad Salleh Ismail was aware of the attempts to bribe MACC and police investigators to halt probe into the NFC. PETALING JAYA: PKR wants the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to charge National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) chairman Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail for attempting to bribe those investigating NFC. Last Friday, [...]


#BebasAnwar901 PAS Lancarkan Jom Jihad Pertahankan Anwar!

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 11:40 PM PST

Fatwa yang dikeluarkan oleh Pesuruhjaya khawarij PAS Selangor Dr Rani adalah satu seruan yang harus di sambut oleh semua masyarakat berbilang kaum, lapisan umur dan agama.Memandangkan peluang ini hanya sekali seumur hidup ,ia tidak harus dilepaskan.

Peluang ini sudah lama dinanti nantikan oleh rakyat memandangkan kali terakhir seruan jihad fisabillilah dilancarkan khawarij PAS ketika PRK Bagan Pinang apabila Nasharudin Tantawi melancarkan perang jihad terhadap Umno pada ketika itu.

Kepada yang bakal turun pada 9hb nanti,percayalah setiap langkah anda ke perkarangan makhamah di Jalan Duta nanti jika gugur meninggal dunia,mati anda dalam keadaan mempertahankan Anwar maka syurgalah tempat anda.

Yang penyegan nak pi sembahyang,kaki tonggang,kaki ngentot jantan betina inilah peluang anda untuk menyucikan diri dengan berjuang mempertahankan 'Imam Mahdi' anda.



Pisau kata " comfirm nik ajis,hj hadi dan semua pemimpin pas akan turun"

Let rakyat be the judges

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 10:58 PM PST

Totally agree with Hisham, our Home Minister.

"Let the rakyat be the judges... we have learn from Bersih 2.0..."

When the authority gave them permission to stage a 'peaceful' rally, they must keep up to the promises. Peaceful means no untoward incident, no clash with the police and most of all, no kids among them.

But such promises are meant to be broken. While the government recognises their (the Opposition) rights to organise such rallies and demonstrations, the latter takes it for granted that such permitting means they can go overboard.

Tian Chua made a silly statement yesterday that Pakatan Rakyat will not stop the children from joining the 901 rally on Monday, and neither can they advice parents not to bring on their kids to the venue, the Jalan Duta High Court.

Yes, we recognise their rights but do they recognise the rights of the masses for a peaceful and uninterrupted daily life? Its their rights to fight for the cause of Anwar Ibrahim but if kids are included and should the protest turns ugly, what rights is deem to be righteous?

The city folks are already contemplating. If Anwar is guilty, trouble is imminent. When Bersih 2.0 took to the streets, business was closed and it costs a few million ringgit in losses.

And is the High Court safe enough from possible ransack?

Cutest family picture

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 08:38 PM PST

How Woman discovered shopping

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 08:33 PM PST

The man discovered COLORS and invented PAINT;

the woman discovered PAINT and invented MAKEUP.

The man discovered the WORD and invented CONVERSATION;

the woman discovered CONVERSATION and invented GOSSIP.

The man discovered AGRICULTURE and invented FOOD;

The woman discovered FOOD and invented DIET.

The man discovered FRIENDSHIP and invented LOVE;

The woman discovered LOVE and invented LOVE TRIANGLES.

The man discovered TRADING and invented MONEY;

the woman discovered MONEY and invented SHOPPING.

Thereafter man has discovered and invented a lot of things...

but the woman are still BUSY in ....... shopping

Link

Malaysia's Slowing Performance

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 06:49 PM PST

There are strong institutional reasons for the lagging performance against its regional neighbors
Image








In the 70 years since World War II ended, East Asian economies, including Malaysia, appear to have largely got performance right. Malaysia was also one of 13 countries identified by the Commission on Growth and Development in its 2008 Growth Report to have recorded average growth of more than 7 percent per year for 25 years or more. Malaysia achieved this spectacular performance from 1967 to 1997.

However, since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and1998, Malaysia's economic performance when compared to previous decades has been lackluster and most macroeconomic indicators are trending downwards. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak himself in the publication on March 30, 2010 of the New Economic Model – Part 1. This was a very brave move but a necessary one by the premier as he acknowledged publicly the failures of Malaysia's current economic model in order to demonstrate urgency for reforms.

The New Economic Model identifies domestic factors such as weak investor confidence, capability constraints (weak human capital, entrepreneurial base and innovative capacity) , productivity ceilings and institutional degradation and external factors such as a sluggish global economy caused by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the rise of neighbors in the region in contributing to the declining growth trajectory.

If we were to revisit the determinants of growth and agree that proper institutions form the overall structure that determines long-term sustainable growth, then the logical response is to reform Malaysia's institutional set-up, as it must be the deepest determinant of what is hindering economic growth.

This view is further strengthened as Malaysia's other deep determinants, geography and trade, are favorable. The country has abundant natural resources, is shielded from natural hazards and is well-located strategically both geopolitically and economically. Malaysia has also benefitted tremendously from being an open economy, especially in the merchandise sector.

The New Economic Model also reports that regional challenges from China, India and Vietnam, etc. are a cause for Malaysia's declining economic performance. What has changed about these countries? They have all undertaken institutional reforms: China since 1978, India since 1992 and Vietnam since 1986. They are reaping the benefits while Malaysia has stalled in its institutional reforms since the 1990s, regressed in some ways and is suffering from the consequences.

The above points stress the importance of institutional reforms in Malaysia, something that Najib has ironically neglected in his signature policies – 1Malaysia, Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation Programme.

According to the Growth Commission report, "…fast sustained growth is not a miracle; it is attainable for developing countries with the 'right mix of ingredients.' Countries need leaders who are committed to achieving growth and who can take advantage of opportunities from the global economy. They also need to know about the levels of incentives and public investments that are necessary for private investment to take off and ensure the long-term diversification of the economy and its integration in the global economy…"

Michael Spence, the Chairman of the Growth Commission, elaborated on his extensive experience working with developing countries on growth issues in his latest book by emphasizing two important characteristics for developing countries to ensure long term sustainable growth – the role of political leadership and democratic norms. He suggests four characteristics for governments that are necessary requirements to underpin long term growth:
  1. The government takes economic performance and growth seriously.
  2. The governing group has values that cause it to try to act in the interest of the vast majority of the people (as opposed to themselves or some subgroup, however defined)
  3. The government is competent and effective and selects a viable sustained-growth strategy that includes openness to the global economy, high levels of investment, and a strong future orientation.
  4. Economic freedom is present and is supported by the legal system and regulatory policy

Manifestations of Malay/Muslim Supremacy

Malaysia is classified as a non-democratic state by all international indexes measuring quality of democracy. This is also affirmed in academic circles. During the boom years, Malaysians accepted this tradeoff – restricted freedom for economic growth. Since 1997/98, this has changed as expected. The government has not delivered on growth, therefore the natural demand for reforms and by extension freedom.

There is consensus that Malaysia needs extensive economic, political and social reforms. This is all the more evident IF we agree that institutions are key to long term growth. Also, IF we agree with Spence, these reforms must come from a government with the four characteristics identified above.

Astute observers of Malaysia know the reasons why the present administration and the ones before were unable to make fundamental reforms. This has much to do with the ideology of Malay/Muslim Supremacy as defined by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and accepted by large swaths of Malaysians, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

From the literature we can infer that the ideology of Malay/Muslim supremacy has provided the perverse incentives that have manifested themselves in many ways. The more critical ones are:
  • Institutional degradation: The deterioration in the quality of Malaysia's institutions, particularly during former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's years, such as the lack of independence between the branches of government; the politicization of the civil service, producing a culture of risk aversion and a lack of creativity; and the expansion of the non-transparent Government Linked Corporations (GLCs):
  • Crony capitalism: Affirmative action in the name of Malays has become a smokescreen for crony capitalism. Affirmative action is the instrument for rampant elite-based (from all races, not only Malays) corruption. High levels of income inequality in Malaysia in general but more so within the Malay community prove this.
  • Race based affirmative action: Race-based affirmative action in itself is recognized as one of the important reasons for Malaysia's declining economic performance. Malaysia's focus on the ex-post equalization of outcomes across ethnicities rather than ensuring effective ex-ante equalization of access to opportunities has had important direct efficiency implications, affecting growth by distorting incentives and thereby the competitive process.
  • Excessive centralization: An interesting institutional feature is the lack of decentralization in the country, which is nominally a Federation and the top-down approach in public policymaking. This is a key disconnect in the reform rhetoric in the ETP and GTP. To strengthen public service delivery, local communities need to be empowered. Fiscal relationships between federal-state-local also demonstrates institutional failure.
  • Feedback mechanisms: Related to Malaysia's top-down approaches is an almost complete disregard for monitoring and evaluation. As a result there is little feedback from outcomes into policy design. The obsession with centralizing policy-making is also evident in lack of information sharing both within government and with the public.


The need to remove UMNO to create a new "people based ideology"

In relation to competency, the quality of the human capital base in Malaysia is suspect. This is due to the quality of education from preschool through tertiary and on-the-job training. It is linked with ethnicity issues and is exacerbated by the outflow of high-skill individuals and affected by the inflow of low-skill labor.

There are not only problems on the supply side of the market for skills, but also on the demand side, where firms may not be competitive enough to offer higher wages. The market for skills itself is also problematic in that the price mechanism does not work adequately and this is where wage-setting issues play a role.

A bigger and more important challenge than competency is the question of internal competition. This is quite distinct from external competitiveness, on which front Malaysia has scored relatively well in the merchandise sector given its stage of development and the nature of its manufacturing processes which are still dominated by competitiveness identified by low cost rather than high value.

Internal competition refers to the allocation of certain factors including labor, capital, land and product markets. Internal competition works well when there is good governance, openness and transparency. It relates to the need for deregulation, liberalization and competition policies especially in key areas such as government procurement and the activities of GLCs in the domestic economy.

All of these are also needed to produce effective competition for good ideas and good policies as well as competition in the political arena. This of course challenges the basic idea of meritocracy and affirmative action in Malaysia.

To reform these will ostensibly mean changing Malaysia's embedded incentives and institutions. This definitely means undoing the manifestations of Malay/Muslim supremacy.



Can UMNO implement these reforms?

My hypothesis is that the present leadership in Malaysia within the Barisan Nasional framework is incapable of institutionalizing reforms as the present leadership does not meet the criteria set out by Spence for a simple reason – its ideology. This ideology that overrides and at the same time influences all other norms, rules, conventions, habits and values is the ideology of Malay/Muslim Supremacy.

As the Prime Minister of Malaysia always comes from UMNO it will be impossible for him or her to undo the cornerstone ideology of his/her political party and its adherents in the Barisan Nasional, which includes Malays and non-Malays.

The logic above is discussed extensively in the political science literature. To summarize, the Malay/Muslim ideology provides psychological and material benefits to its adherents. This makes it a potent force for groups that rely on this ideology. However, since it is deeply embedded, it is also extremely difficult to counter when needed. Malaysia's present institutional equilibrium is a reflection of the strength of the adherents of Malay/Muslim supremacy, known by its Malay-language slogan Ketuanan Melayu.

There are many examples to illustrate Malay/Muslim supremacy but the one that is cited most often as holding back Malaysia's economic reforms is affirmative action, the most comprehensive in the world. It has by inference been touted as the one of the key reasons for Malaysia's declining economic performance although causality has not been explicitly demonstrated.

Supporters of affirmative action argue that Article 153 of the Federal Constitution provides the Bumiputeras the right to this extensive affirmative action. However this is factually incorrect.

Article 153 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution states that:

153. (1) It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, but subject to the provisions of Article 40 and of this Article, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall exercise his functions under this Constitutions and federal law in such manner as may be necessary to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and to ensure the reservation for Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak of such proportion as he may deem reasonable of positions in the public service (other than the public service of a State) and of scholarships, exhibitions and other similar educational or training privileges or special facilities given or accorded by the Federal Government and, when any permit or license for the operation of any trade or business is required by federal law, then, subject to the provisions of that law and this Article, of such permits and licenses.

In more simple words, the Federal Constitution limits affirmative action to placement in the civil service at the Federal level, scholarships and permits and licences for Bumiputras and only if necessary and in a reasonable manner by the Prime Minister who advises the Yang diPertuan Agung.



Does the Prime Minister have the power to revoke or reform affirmative action policies?

Yes, he does. Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch reigns but do not rule. Article 153 is subject to Article 40 and Article 40 states that the Yang diPertuan Agung must act on the advice of the Cabinet.

40. (1) In the exercise of his functions under this Constitution or federal law the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet, except as otherwise provided by this Constitution; but shall be entitled, at his request, to any information concerning the government of the Federation which is available to the Cabinet.

The decision to continue or reform affirmative action policies and the attendant institutions in Malaysia lies solely at the prerogative of the Prime Minister along with his colleagues in Cabinet as stated in Article 40.
With power centralized in the Executive (Cabinet), and with the Prime Minister already having six Ministers of 31 from the Prime Minister's Department in the Cabinet, and with the Prime Minister himself holding two portfolios (Prime Minister and Finance Minister I), and legitimised by the Constitution (Article 40), the Prime Minister should on all counts, be able to implement these reforms without much difficulty.

Yet he has been unable to do so for the simple reason that the Federal Constitution may be the law of the land but it is clearly not the supreme power/ideology in Malaysia. The supreme power/ideology is the primacy of Malays/Muslims as defined by UMNO. Hence the Prime Minister may have de jure power to reform, but he does not have de facto power. This power resides among the Malays and non-Malays who support Malay/Muslim supremacy and the current institutional set-up.

Until and unless this supreme ideology of Malay/Muslim supremacy is removed, Malaysian politicians will be constrained in making the necessary institutional reforms to move Malaysia towards long term sustainable growth.







Asia Sentinel.com
Written by Greg Lopez, a PhD candidate at the Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University.


This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Malaysia's Mahathir Defends Sarawak Chieftain

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 06:25 PM PST

Charges of looting Sarawak could just be electioneering, he says
Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has defended Sarawak's embattled chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, questioning calls by international NGOs for investigations of Taib's vast fortune.

"When an election is near, you get funny things like this coming out," Mahathir told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. "If it is just a political game to try and undermine somebody's political image then I think it is not right."

If the allegations are true, the 86-year-old Mahathir said, the authorities could be expected to take action. In May, Swiss authorities announced they were investigating accounts held in Swiss banks by the Taib family for evidence of corruption. Shortly after that, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission announced it would also investigate Taib's holdings, although observers in Kuala Lumpur said it was unlikely that the MACC would follow through, Indeed, one source told Asia Sentinel recently that the investigation had "gone cold." A Taib spokesman said the funds had been legitimately deposited and that there was no evidence of criminality.

Many political observers expect Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to call national elections in the early part of 2012, possibly in March. Sarawak, the country's largest state, is key to efforts by the Barisan Nasional, the country's ruling national coalition, to maintain a healthy majority in parliament. Both Najib and Mahathir earlier this year reportedly tried to dissuade the scandal-ridden chief minister to quit before state elections.

When Taib refused to step down, both had to criss-cross the state, campaigning for Taib's coalition. However, the coalition produced a two-thirds majority in the state assembly. Although he had publicly offered to step down, the magnitude of the victory impelled him to stay in power.

Mahathir's defense of Taib was generated by the fact that on Tuesday, NGOs from six different countries issued a joint letter demanding that Malaysia's sultan appoint a royal commission of inquiry and that authorities arrest and prosecute Taib and 13 members of his family for massive fraud, theft, corruption, illegal appropriation of land and abuse of public office. They allege that the looting of Sarawak's rich timber and other natural resources has earned Taib's family billions of US dollars through investment in as many as 400 companies in 25 countries.

They also demanded that a multi-agency task force be appointed to attempt to repatriate the vast sums from other countries to the people of Sarawak.

Research released earlier this month by the Switzerland-based Bruno Manser Fund said official documents show the Taib family stake in 14 Malaysian companies alone is worth US$1.46 billion. The fund has uploaded all of the documents onto the Internet. They can be found here. Billions more are believed to be held in other countries.

The fund said its research only covers publicly available information from Malaysia's Registry of Companies and other official documents and the total of all of the Taib family's holdings could run well in excess of that amount.

"Not counting their more hidden wealth, this puts the Taib family firmly into the category of one of the richest families in the world and makes them far richer than the Queen of England (whose assets are a mere half billion pounds)," the fund said.

In all, according to the fund, named for a Swiss environmentalist who disappeared in Sarawak in 2000 while trying to aid the Penan tribe, the family also has stakes in companies in Australia (22 companies), Bermuda (1), the British Virgin Islands (7), Brunei (1), Cambodia (1), Canada (9), the Cayman Islands (1), Fiji (3), Hong Kong (7), India (2), Indonesia (3), Jersey (1), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1), Labuan (1), New Zealand (5), the People's Republic of China (2), the Philippines (1), Singapore (2), Sri Lanka (1), Thailand (2), the United Arab Emirates (1), the United Kingdom (4), the United States of America (6) and Vietnam (1).

Allegations are that as chief minister, Taib granted timber access permits to a plethora of companies, most of them owned by ethnic Chinese, that denuded much of the state of its tropical rainforest. The two NGOs previously reported that Taib's children are the shareholders and directors of numerous companies controlling residential and commercial buildings in Canada, Australia, Britain and the United States together worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Many of the assets came into their possession when they were in their early 20s and were still college students with no visible access to legitimate resources to invest.

Taib has been chief minister, finance minister and planning and resources management minister of since 1981 and he hardly conceals his vast wealth, riding around the capital of Kuching in a cream-colored Rolls-Royce sedan.

Taib, his four children, eight siblings and his first cousin Hamed bin Sepawi have stakes in 332 companies worth several billion US dollars in Malaysia, the report says. "The Taib family's share in 14 large companies' net assets alone has been calculated at US$1.46 billion (RM4.6 billion). The three largest Taib family-linked companies are the 84 percent Taib-owned Cahya Mata Sarawak (net assets RM2.4 billion), the 25 percent Taib-owned Custodev Sdn Bhd (net assets RM1.6 billion) and the at least 35 percent Taib-owned Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (net assets: RM1.4 billion).

Cahya Mata Sarawak is a construction conglomerate listed on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange (KLSE 2852) that allegedly has benefited enormously from a cement monopoly and from untendered public contracts awarded by the Taib-led Sarawak state government. Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (KLSE 5012), which is chaired by Hamed Sepawi, is an internationally active logging company. Since its foundation in the 1980s, Ta Ann has been granted more than 675,000 hectares of logging and plantation concessions by the Taib government. Privately-held Custodev Sdn Bhd is a Sarawak-based property development company. Achi Jaya Holdings (net assets RM550 million), which is wholly owned by the Taib family, holds a monopoly over log exports from the timber-rich state.

"We consider these corporate interests of the Taib family to be illicit assets", said Bruno Manser Fund director Lukas Straumann in the prepared release. "There are many clear indications that Taib has abused his public office to build a corruption and fraud-based billion-dollar empire."

"We are shocked to see that the Taib family has so shamelessly enriched itself while the people of Sarawak have to struggle with widespread poverty and an appalling lack of infrastructure and government services."
The Bruno Manser Fund called on anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering authorities worldwide to investigate the Taib family's business activities and freeze Taib family assets in their countries.





Asia Sentinel.com

Sarawak Chief Minister's Vast Holdings Revealed

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 06:19 PM PST

A Swiss NGO says Abdul Taib Mahmud's holdings span the globe and then some...


The looting of the riches of the Malaysian state of Sarawak has earned the family of Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud billions of US dollars through investment in as many as 400 companies in 25 countries, according to allegations by an NGO that has been stalking him for months.

Research by the Switzerland-based Bruno Manser Fund said official documents show the Taib family stake in 14 Malaysian companies alone is worth US$1.46 billion. The fund has uploaded all of the documents onto the Internet. They can be found here: http://stop-timber-corruption.org/resources.

However, the fund said, its research only covers publicly available information from Malaysia's Registry of Companies and other official documents and the total of all of the Taib family's holdings could run well in excess of that amount.

"Not counting their more hidden wealth, this puts the Taib family firmly into the category of one of the richest families in the world and makes them far richer than the Queen of England (whose assets are a mere half billion pounds)," the fund said.

In all, according to the fund, named for a Swiss environmentalist who disappeared in Sarawak in 2000 while trying to aid the Penan tribe, the family also has stakes in companies in Australia (22 companies), Bermuda (1), the British Virgin Islands (7), Brunei Darussalam (1), Cambodia (1), Canada (9), the Cayman Islands (1), Fiji (3), Hong Kong (7), India (2), Indonesia (3), Jersey (1), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1), Labuan (1), New Zealand (5), the People's Republic of China (2), the Philippines (1), Singapore (2), Sri Lanka (1), Thailand (2), the United Arab Emirates (1), the United Kingdom (4), the United States of America (6) and Vietnam (1).

On May 12, in the wake of previous revelations by the Bruno Manser Fund and another reform NGO, the Sarawak Report, Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Ray announced that she was asking Swiss financial authorities to investigate the chief minister's assets held in Swiss financial institutions. In a letter to the Bruno Manser Fund, Calmy-Ray indicated that if the probe finds evidence of corruption from timber sales, Taib's Swiss assets could be frozen. There has been no indication of the progress of that probe.

At the time, a Taib spokesman said the funds had been legitimately deposited and that there was no evidence of criminality.

Allegations are that as chief minister, Taib granted timber access permits to a plethora of companies, most of them owned by ethnic Chinese, that have denuded much of the state, Malaysia's largest, of much of its tropical rainforest. The two NGOs previously reported that Taib's children are the shareholders and directors of numerous companies controlling residential and commercial buildings in Canada, Australia, Britain and the United States together worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Many of the assets came into their possession when they were in their early 20s and were still college students with no visible access to legitimate resources to invest.

Although the two NGOs have filed numerous complaints with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the anti-graft agency only reluctantly agreed to investigate Taib's holdings after the Swiss decision. A well-placed source told Asia Sentinel at the time that the MACC had no choice but to do so in the face of an international probe or face embarrassment. But, the source said after the new allegations, "that investigation has gone cold."

Taib is the linchpin to control of Sarawak by the Barisan Nasional, the national coalition that controls the government in Kuala Lumpur. Despite widespread and embarrassing publication of Taib's holdings by the Sarawak Report, both Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad campaigned energetically for Taib in April state elections, which the Barisan won, although with a sharply diminished ethnic Chinese vote. Although news media in Malaysia carried stories saying Taib had agreed to step down as chief minister after the election had concluded, he has not done so and there is little sign that he will.

Taib has been chief minister, finance minister and planning and resources management minister of since 1981. "He has been long criticized for corrupt practices and abuse of office but the Malaysian authorities have failed to take action against him, despite an ongoing investigation by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission," a fund spokesman said in a prepared release. "Taib is a key supporter of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib run Razak's ruling Barisan Nasional coalition."

Taib, his four children, eight siblings and his first cousin Hamed bin Sepawi have stakes in 332 companies worth several billion US dollars in Malaysia, the report says. "The Taib family's share in 14 large companies' net assets alone has been calculated at 1.46 billion US dollars (RM4.6 billion). The three largest Taib family-linked companies are the 84 percent Taib-owned Cahya Mata Sarawak (net assets RM2.4 billion), the 25 percent Taib-owned Custodev Sdn Bhd (net assets RM1.6 billion) and the at least 35 percent Taib-owned Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (net assets: RM1.4 billion).

Cahya Mata Sarawak is a construction conglomerate listed on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange (KLSE 2852) that has benefited massively from a cement monopoly and from untendered public contracts awarded by the Taib-led Sarawak state government. Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (KLSE 5012), which is chaired by Hamed Sepawi, is an internationally active logging company. Since its foundation in the 1980s, Ta Ann has been granted more than 675,000 hectares of logging and plantation concessions by the Taib government. Privately-held Custodev Sdn Bhd is a Sarawak-based property development company. Achi Jaya Holdings (net assets 550 million Ringgits), which is wholly owned by the Taib family, holds a monopoly over log exports from the timber-rich state.

"We consider these corporate interests of the Taib family to be illicit assets", said Bruno Manser Fund director Lukas Straumann in the prepared release. "There are many clear indications that Taib has abused his public office to build a corruption and fraud-based billion-dollar empire."

"We are shocked to see that the Taib family has so shamelessly enriched itself while the people of Sarawak have to struggle with widespread poverty and an appalling lack of infrastructure and government services."

The Bruno Manser Fund called on anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering authorities worldwide to investigate the Taib family's business activities and freeze Taib family assets in their countries.






Asia Sentinel.com

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