Mat Zain Ibrahim: New leads requires reopening of Altantuya murder case

Mat Zain, former KL CID (Criminal Investigation Department) chief points to statements made by Dr Setev Shaaribuu that he has seen a photo of Altantuya with Najib and Razak Baginda plus that there were many witnesses means the Altantuya murder case should be reopen and further investigated.

Below his full comments courtesy of Malaysiakini’s article New leads require reopening of Altantuya murder case:

New leads require reopening of Altantuya murder case

Mat Zain Ibrahim
1:16PM Apr 11, 2012

COMMENT May I make reference to several reports on thestatements made by Dr Setev Shaaribuu who is here in Malaysia searching for justice for his murdered daughter, Altantuya.
Kindly allow me to offer my comments on the subject matter.
I reiterate my previous statements that were made public, that there has been a great deal of hanky panky, manipulation and concealment of material evidence, in the handling of the Altantuya murder trial, led by none other than Gani Patail the AG himself.
Gani Patail's refusal to put to test both P Balasubramaniam's statutory declarations (SDs) made on July 3 and 4, 2008 against his own evidence in court, and/or against Abdul Razak Baginda's very own affidavit affirmed in January 2007, and Razak's oral evidence during the trial, was clearly a deliberate act of concealment and/or suppression of material evidence from being produced before the judge in Altantuya's murder trial.
Furthermore, the presiding judge did not make any decision on anybody when Bala (right) made public his SDs.
Clearly Gani Patail's omissions required by propriety, was with the specific intention to facilitate Razak Baginda's acquittal and discharge from the abetment charge faced by Razak.
Under these circumstances, Gani Patail's refusal to file an appeal against Razak's acquittal should be viewed as an abuse of power and not within his discretionary boundary.
Gani Patail's intentional omissions can be turned into his commission of various inter-related criminal offences under the Penal Code.

Unfavourable circumstances

Over and above that, Gani's actions and/or inactions have caused both the accused in the Altantuya murder, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar, to be denied their right to a fair trial when they were put in unfavourable circumstances to state their defence after Razak was acquitted and discharged through the courtesy of the AG himself.
The world could see that both Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar were fighting a losing battle when Bala's SD was not challenged.
Only Gani Patail can pretend he did not know what was forthcoming.
The recent public statements made by Altantuya's father especially on the purpose why the late Altantuya travelled to Malaysia ,and the people she intended to meet, must be viewed not only seriously, but very seriously (my emphasis) by the police - certainly not by the AG.
The revelations by Shaaribuu must be considered as new leads that warrant the investigation into the murder case be revisited at least to establish the motive or motives behind Altantuya's murder.
Murder without motive is certainly not found in the police dictionary or in the Standing Orders that I know of.

Right to fair trail

Apart from the above comments, I still maintain and emphasise my call that Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar deserve to be retried before another judge to ensure that they be given their rights to a fair trial which they have been clearly deprived of by Gani Patail.
If the AG can swiftly act to entertain the request made by Saiful Bukhari Azlan's father for Saiful to be given justice, whatever the word means to them, then there is no reason at all not to entertain the wishes by many for the police to reopen the investigation.
At least accord Azilah Hadri (left) and Sirul Azhar the same privileges the police have given to others. An example is the Batang Kali massacre case which was reopened in 1993 after 45 years.
For your benefit, I have written a personal appeal to the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak vide my letter dated July 12, 2011 and copied to the IGP personally, providing the PM with details, arguments as well as case precedents, to support my insistence that both Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar deserved to be given a retrial.
That appeal letter of mine is exactly nine months old. It was written well before the Copgate issue surfaced or Sharizat's Cowgate or Tajuddin Ramli's out of court settlement issues and certainly nothing to do with its written judgement which was delivered only last month, nor was it to coincide with Shariibuu's visit.
If PM Najib cares for the welfare of Saiful Bukhari,Razak Baginda,Sharizat and Tajuddin only and does not have any space left for his own security details then at least Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar can be rest assured that there are still some old and haggard policemen out here who care.

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MAT ZAIN IBRAHIM is former Kuala Lumpur CID (Criminal Investigation Department) chief.

Altantuya Shaaribuu: Is Najib a liar?

 

Najib Abdul Razak swore on the Quran that he does not know Altantuya Shaaribuu. However, her father said that he has seen a photo of Altantuya together with Najib and his close confidant Abdul Razak Baginda.

Not only that, he said that Burmaa Oyunchimeg too was also a witness.

Burmaa Oyunchimeg had testified in court that she was a witness and if I remembered correctly, produced a photo as proof but unfortunately, the photo was never produced in court, I think because interested party did not want the world to see that photo.

Now who would you believe, Dr Shaaribuu Setev or Najib? Read for yourself the article below courtesy of Malaysiakini:

Altantuya's dad says he saw photo of her with PM

Susan Loone
3:23PM Apr 10, 2012

For the first time since the 2007 trial into the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, her father has revealed that he has "definitely seen a photograph" of his daughter taken with Najib Abdul Razak, who is now prime minister.

At a meeting with human rights NGO Suaram yesterday, Shaariibuu said Altantuya had shown him a photograph of her taken with two men - who he later came to know as Najib and his close ally Abdul Razak Baginda.

Shaariibuu said through his interpreter that Altantuya had told him before she left for Malaysia in October 2006 that she would be meeting Razak for payment promised to her for translating work done for "certain companies".

Razak had been charged with abetting in the murder of Altantuya, believed to be his jilted lover, but was acquitted without his defence being called.

The two police personnel charged with the murder were found guilty and sentenced to death. Their appeal is pending.

"I was not the only one who saw it... So did Burmaa Oyunchimeg, who was a witness and told the court about the matter during the murder trial ... in 2007," Shaariibuu said.

"When she showed me the picture, Burmaa was there too and my daughter told us she wanted to go to Malaysia to get her money."

Shaariibuu described the photo of the three people, "which I saw with my own eyes", as one that was taken in a cafe or restaurant setting in Paris as French words could be seen in the background.

He later saw a similar picture being circulated on the Internet, but realised that the faces of those in it had been somewhat "doctored".

He was then told that it was a "fake" photograph and was posted in a blog by PKR vice-president Tian Chua, who had been incessantly criticised by the BN parliamentarians for his "art" but that the Batu MP has refused to apologise for it.

Chua was referring to Burmaa'stestimony on the existence of the photograph, a matter that the prosecution did not pursue. The photograph was not produced in court.

Najib's press secretary Tengku Sarifuddin Tengku Ahmad had at that time conveyed the prime minister's response to the photo.

He reiterated that Najib had on several occasions, when asked by the media, said he had never met or known Altantuya and was not involved in the case involving Razak.

Altantuya was 'promised a commission'

Shaariibuu also told the meeting with Suaram that Altantuya could not recall the names of the companies involved in her translation work, but had told him that Razak promised her a commission of between "0.0003 percent and 3 percent " for each of her projects.

However, Shaariibuu said he was uncertain whether the commission was in US dollars or in Euro, but said it was "a huge" amount.

"Later, I heard that the payment was in US dollars. I have told this to lawyer Karpal Singh and we worked out the amount to be about RM100 million," he had told the Suaram activists, including its director Cynthia Gabriel.

Shaariibuu has filed an RM100 million civil suitagainst the government, Razak and the two police personnel for the sufferings he and his family continue to suffer, as a result of her untimely death.

Following Razak's acquittal, Suaram filed a case against French shipbuilder DCNS for allegedly paying kickbacks, involving millions of ringgit, to top Malaysian government officials for the purchase of the two Scorpene submarines.

The payment of commissions for business dealings is illegal in France and two investigating magistrates - Roger Le Loire and Serge Tournaire - have been appointed to investigate the matter, which will be heard by the Paris Tribunal de Grande, which handles alleged corruption cases.

It is learnt that the magistrate will be looking into contracts worth at least 36 million Euro (RM144 million) and 114 million Euro (RM457 million) involving two companies - Hong Kong-based Terarasi Ltd and Perimekar Bhd - which are allegedly linked to Razak.

In 2007, the Defence Ministry denied that commissions were paid to Perimekar, whose key shareholder then was Razak's wife, Mazlina Makhzan.

It is not certain whether Najib and Razak will testify in the French courts if summoned as witnesses. However, Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said that he is willing to testify.

KJ John says checking & cleaning voter list can be done easily

KJ John who has worked with those behind the myCard with the 64k  smart chip and their technical capabilities and weaknesses says the integrated system can easily be used to check and clean up the electoral roll.

Not only that, he has issued a challenge to his counterpart in the MyKad Project, Azizan Ayob, to brief the nation on why such checking and cleaning of the voter list can be done easily. Let us hope Azizan will have it in his conscience to do his part for the nation.

Also read why KJ John will be at the 28th April Jom Duduk Ubah sit in protest for a clean and fair election in Malaysiakini’s:

Why I'll be at the Bersih 3.0 sit-in

KJ John
11:51AM Apr 10, 2012

Prime ministers make promises. Prime ministers sell to the nation the future into which they want to lead the country. Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has in fact promised and set us on a different route, with an improved trajectory through his leadership.

Usually, if such change is begun at the centre, even if the change is just one degree, it is enough to facilitate a large change down the line. Therefore, when he made his first promise, and when I believed he was serious, I wrote, ‘Right direction, slow speed!’ in Micah Mandate of April 20, 2009.
Therefore, as part and parcel of ordinary citizens who are seeking improved governance of this democracy we call Malaysia, which my friend AB Shamsul still calls “a state but not yet a nation,” I will be at the sit-in so that the PM will fulfil the promises he made about many things, but most importantly for this general election (GE); the promise of clean and fair elections. 

I did march with Bersih 2.0, but clean elections cannot be done without a valid and above-board voter list. Bersih’s primary objection is now about a corrupted voter list; and, it is not even yet about the weighted size of different constituencies. 

Furthermore, as a public servant who has worked closely with those issuing the new identity card (MyKad) and working with the research group behind the original design, but fully aware of the technical capabilities and weaknesses of the 64k chip embedded in the new MyKad, I find their so-called inability to clean up the list absolutely unacceptable.

To prove my point I would like to name my counterpart in the MyKad project who made the MyKad into the only Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) success story to date. The media should therefore invite Azizan Ayob to give a complete briefing on why such checking and cleaning-up of the list can be done quite easily with our current sophisticated and integrated system.

At the time he was the director-general (DG), there was no integrated capability, but today even banks are connected to the National Registration Department (NRD) database. He was in fact the director-general of the NRD who made both the MyKad and the MyKid happen; a first in the world and a global success story.

I realise that I may be even embarrassing him a little, but to me it is all about truth and revealing the truth of this simple, straightforward but technical matter. It is totally unacceptable that such “backdoor gerrymandering of the list of registered voters can happen when we already have a chip-based ID card,” for which we have already spent millions to develop an almost fool-proof authentication system.

Even IRIS, the public-listed company which makes these cards, can just as easily verify such a simple and straightforward truth. I also call upon them to deny or disagree with me publicly, if needed.

Perkasa Youth chief’s indefensible thesis

Bersih 3.0 is a totally NGO-driven group of individuals and groups who can now speak with one voice and our leaders are both Ambiga Sreenevasan and A Samad Said (Pak Samad). They speak in unison and were designed to appeal to all groups without making Bersih 2.0++ an ethnic-based or partisan movement. Behind them are many more individuals and members of all shades and colours who are all Malaysians First and foremost, and quite unapologetically.

Therefore, I find it personally very offensive that the Perkasa Youth chief has uttered the words, “anti-Christ for Muslims” and a “traitor” to the nation against our leaders. For one, he cannot be much of a Muslim if he does not both understand and believe that Jesus the Christ will return for the second judgment.

Therefore, by ‘prophesying’ about Ambiga without either knowledge or substance, he makes a fool of both himself and abuses other Muslims by abusing Muslim theology appreciation.

Finally, it must be a weak person who has to resort to such theological ideas and ideals to support his false and indefensible thesis about a grassroots leadership movement.

So, let me reiterate: Bersih 3.0 is a Malaysians First movement of citizens and civil society activists to improve the performance of our democratic system in Malaysia. It may or may not have the support of particular political parties, but that simply means that they choose to be part of this movement of the people of Malaysia for improved, clean and fair elections which we believe will also lead to improved governance of this nation.

Therefore, Perkasa’s reputation of making and branding everything with a racial or ethnic overtone convoluted with a religious brush is not appreciated or supported here. Bersih 3.0, much like Himpunan Hijau, is a group of Malaysians, and, yes, supported by Malaysians overseas, and other international supporters, but with a focused goal of improving governance of this nation so that ordinary citizens of Malaysia can experience an improved quality of lived life.

Bersih 3.0 is only a means; the goal is improved governance of this nation. This time it is also a sit-in so that we can dispense with water-cannons and red trucks. Please keep them at bay, somewhere nearby if you insist, but do not use every excuse to use them all in the name of protecting citizens and consumers.

It is also designed for a Saturday afternoon so that few offices are open and most Malaysians are at home resting; other than the thousand who want to show their cry ‘enuf is enuf;’ to say that we can change the 54 years of abuse of power and much mis-governance.

Reigniting the passion of our Founding Father

Finally, the reason we want to hold it in the Dataran Merdeka is because that is how we want to “reignite the passion of our Founding Father of the nation and his call for a single united Bangsa Malaysia” born out of Merdeka being celebrated at that very spot. Yearly and regularly, this location is used for all kinds of public purposes and therefore we do not see a reason to go anywhere else.

In fact we would like to invite all ordinary Malaysians who want to see improved governance of this nation through free, clean and fair elections to join us. We are only helping Malaysia’s transition into a more mature democracy and strengthening our system of general elections which will soon go into the 13th one. Surely the 13th can be lucky for Malaysians; we can pray for this.

2012 is also a very auspicious year in many senses. Without going into the Mayan prediction, I would like to recognise that on Sept 15, 2012, Malaysia will end our 49th year of existence as a united and commonly shared vision of a nation. On the next day, or Malaysia Day, many younger Bansga Malaysians who were born on Sept 16, 1963 or later will actually turn and begin living their 50th year of existence.

If one is in the public service it means you have nine more years of full and public service, because on the last day of the 59th year you will have to compulsorily retire. Then the next day is your 60th year, and therefore the 1st day of your retirement.

May God bless Malaysia.

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KJ JOHN was in public service for 29 years. The views expressed here are his personal views and not those of any institution he is involved with. Write to him at kjjohn@ohmsi.net with any feedback or views.

Mariam Mokhtar ask moderate Malays to speak up

When Malay silence is not golden

Mariam Mokhtar
11:39AM Apr 9, 2012

The average human brain weighs about 3 lbs and is 80 percent water. When Einstein’s brain was set aside for research, people were surprised that it was not unusually large. Perhaps, we have to remind ourselves that it is not size that matters, but what we do with our brain that really counts.
If there was an opportunity to dissect Malay brains, and separate the brains of extremist Malay/Muslims from the moderate Malays, would we find any differences in the pathological specimens?
Would the extremist brains be abnormally heavy because they were weighted down by the condition known as Ketuanan Melayu? Would the moderate brains show lesions on the lobes which govern speech?
It is a simple question, but no one has been able to answer it: where are the moderate, smart Malays who should speak up about issues which affect all Malaysians?
I pose the question because extremist Malays appear to dominate the affairs of Malaysia. Are the moderates consumed by apathy? Are they afraid of drawing attention? A few may think they are not articulate, or that their views do not matter. Perhaps, the moderates are content to carry on as we have done for the past 54 years; hence their silence.
If they are as disgruntled as the rest of the nation, they must speak out now because their opinions would send a clear message to Umno, that enough is enough.
Last week, Perkasa Youth announced that Muslims should boycott the Bersih 3.0 rally for clean and fair elections on April 28. This extremist NGO insulted Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and called her the “anti-Christ for Muslims” and a “traitor” to the nation. They continued their diatribe by ridiculing the national laureate A Samad Said.
The divisive war-cry 'untuk agama, bangsa dan negara' often used by Umno and their support groups do not seem to perturb the moderate Malays.
Umno will never accept that they do not represent all Malays. Umno fears Malays with a mind of their own. The sedition law, the Internal Security Act and police reports are used against the very few Malays who dare criticise the government. Not because they are “a threat to national security” but because Umno’s existence is threatened.
Using stealth tactics, the Malay is told that his education and the democracy he lives in, are the “best in the world”. Which Malay wants to be accused of besmirching national pride?
Without Malay support, Umno is nothing. Without Umno, MCA and MIC are doomed. Their collective effort has to be to convince the Malay, that Umno is best, even if it means cheating at the 13th general election to continue the BN dictatorship.
Why so timid?

If it were possible to praise Umno, then it is for their brainwashing. Apart from our Malay minds, Umno also controls the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and makes it act in its interests.

Muslim men will recall that in the 1970s, the Friday khutbah (sermons) were apolitical and covered moral issues reminding the congregation of their religious obligations and community duty.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when the premier, changed all that. Mosques have since lost their independence and sermons rarely cover immediate community issues. Nowadays, Friday sermons have to be sanctioned by the religious authority and are a euphemism for Umno political speeches.
Will anyone dare walk out in protest? No. If they did, their Friday prayers are deemed ‘incomplete’. There is little point praying at a different mosque because all mosques will have a similar political message. If this was Indonesia, the congregation would have walked out and sought out other mosques. Why are Malays in Malaysia so timid?
If Malays are so proud to wear their religion on their sleeve, why do they not demand that the sermons cover corruption issues?
When a Florida preacher threatened to burn the Quran we demanded retribution. When we dragged the head of a cow through the streets or confiscated several thousand copies of the Bible before defacing them, we weren’t even aware of the hypocrisy.
To encourage conversion to Islam, several thousand ringgit are rewarded to the religious person who can convert and marry an Orang Asli woman. He is also given perks like a 4WD and housing. Yet, we are outraged when Malays dine with non-Malays and discuss charitable works. Umno feels insecure when Muslims socialise with non-Muslims.
Last Friday, a police study on rape in Sarawak found that over half the victims were school students. Over 70 percent of the rape victims were Malay and over 40 percent of the rapists were Malay.
The Muslims have seen a rise in religious teaching and strict adherence to faith in their day-to-day living. Foreign music groups and dance troupes face strict religious guidelines. If the results of the police study on rape are anything to go by, increased religion has not made the slightest impact on the Malay psyche.
It is alleged that in Peninsular Malaysia, the highest incidence of incest, underage sex, unmarried mothers, abandoned wives and abandoned babies are from the Malay community. Why are the moderates not questioning this?
When a Malay man takes on a trophy wife as his second, third or fourth acquisition, he quashes any criticism of his actions by saying that it is his right under Islam. He ignores the conditions imposed for polygamy, one of them being that he must have sufficient income to support all his wives equally.
The Malay woman is afraid of complaining because she fears being replaced. Her role as a wife has been reduced to a throw-away commodity. The Malay men who frown on polygamy remain silent on such issues.
When the NEP was first introduced, many Malay lives were transformed. This is no longer true. The new middle-class Malays keep quiet about the abuse of the NEP. They are trapped in their own secure world, fearing they might lose it. They are too selfish to help poorer Malays and the other non-Malays.
The backward Malay mind should stop blaming the non-Malays and other faiths of undermining their existence. If corruption was controlled and cronyism was eliminated, there would be more money for everyone.
Lives would be enhanced. Infrastructure would be improved. Education, medical and community services would be available for all. What is so difficult for the Malay mind to see that and voice it out loud, now? Before it is too late.

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

Education, Form 6 one more reason BN/UMNO should be kicked out from Putrajaya

The Malaysian education system is already down in the pits and it is all the fault of the Malaysian Education Department and the UMNO/BN regime.

However, with this Is this the death blow to the right of our children to pursue the best education overseas?, it is going to get much worst.

This stupid Education Department headed by the cow Mooohidin is going to scrap STPM (Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia), a replacement of the much respected HSC (Higher School Certificate) and A Levels, is going to be abolished to be replaced by assessments by the schools.

The likely (more like surely) result will be in the Sixth Form of our nation to be not recognized by oversea universities as qualification for admission. Thus all Malaysians aspiring for oversea education to escape the hopeless Malaysian universities will have to bring forward sending their children oversea by 1 to 2 years thus increasing the burden of parents worried for their children's future.

If this is not the final straw for you to vote ABU (Anything but UMNO) then I do not know what will make you see the light.

Hamza Kashgari: Can UMNO BN government be trusted?

Hamza Kashgari was in Malaysia en route to New Zealand to seek asylum from likely death sentence in Saudi Arabia for allegedly tweeting blasphemous messages, but was arrested and deported.

Malaysian authorities claimed that Hamza was arrested upon arrival and handed over to the Saudi to be deported.

However, Malaysiakini published some photos to showed that the Malaysian authorities had lied. The photos were taken at Taman Tasik Titiwansa and Istana Budaya and mentioned too a photo taken at KLIA arrival hall.

So had the Malaysian authorities lied and can the UMNO/BN government be trusted to tell the truth?

Well, look at the photos below and form your own conclusions.

Article NGO: Photos show gov’t ‘lied’ about deportation courtesy of Malaysiakini:

 

 

NGO: Photos show gov't 'lied' about deportation

11:57AM Mar 23, 2012

The NGO Lawyers for Liberty said photographs showing Saudi national Hamza Kashgari in the country shows that the government had lied about having arrested the journalist upon arrival.
“Lawyers for Liberty has obtained photographs that affirmatively showed Hamza Kashgari was actually in the country for a couple of days before his arrest on Feb 9, 2012,” said the group in a statement yesterday.
The group produced several photographs of Hamza taken at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa and Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur, and one at the KL International Airport (KLIA) departure hall.
They said the photographs contradict the Home Ministry’s claim that the Saudi national, wanted in his home country, had been arrested upon arrival.
“The home minister and the police had continuously maintained that Hamza was arrested upon his arrival at KLIA on Feb 9, when in fact he was stopped by the immigration at the KLIA departure hall while trying to board a plane to Auckland, New Zealand after having arrived in Malaysia on February 7,” said the group.
They cited PDRM spokesperson Ramli Yoosuf’s statement reported in AFP on February 9 that Hamza had been “detained at the airport upon arrival following a request made to us by Interpol after the Saudi authorities applied for it”.
“These photographic proof reaffirmswhat Lawyers for Liberty has maintained all along - that the home minister and police had bent over backwards to please the Saudi Arabian government and had resorted to lies and deception in order to save the embarrassment that they had allowed Hamza to enter Malaysia, and to further justify Hamza’s unlawful detention and deportation which violated domestic and international law,” they added.
Hamza (left) had earlier fled his homeland after allegedly tweeting messages held to be blasphemous to Islam, with the Saudi authorities on his tail.
Malaysian lawyers had attempted to stop his deportation from Malaysia through a court order, but had not managed to serve it before Hamza’s departure from the country.
Following this, the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) slammed the government’s move as a violation of international human rights law of which which Malaysia is a signatory.
LFL yesterday added that Hamza has since been tried in Saudi’s criminal court on March 7 where his “repentance” was recorded, and at present remains in solitary confinement at Al-Hair Prison without access to a lawyer nor any indication of his release or detention period.

Election Commission conducting massive fraud?

Anwar Ibrahim today exposed what he claimed to be the method which the Election Commission of Malaysia conducts "massive fraud" in manipulating the voters roll by giving an example.

Anwar said this was how they register an existing voter in another constituency by using the same identity card number but adds a forward slash / to the end of the IC number.

Anwar furnished a printout of a voter, Zarina binti Abu Tausi, IC. No. 81100101536 registered in the polling district Desa Rahmat in Johor.

The printout showed Zarina also registered in polling distric of Seri Mahkota in Pahang but with IC No. 811001015036/ which is the same number as above except with that forward slash / at the end of the IC number.

I did a search myself at EC's Electoral Roll Checking and verified that what Anwar claimed is correct.

Below is the screen shot of what I found and you can do the check yourself over at EC's Electoral Roll Checking. I did the check on Thursday 22 March 2011 at 3pm. If there are no changes, you should find the same result:

Mariam Mokhtar on Yen Yen’s riotous assembly

Yen Yen, Minister of tourism, claimed assemblies (demonstrations) deter people from coming to Malaysia under the Malaysia My Second Home program, but read below Mariam’s rebuttal to her below in her opinion piece, courtesy of Malaysiakini:

Yen Yen's riotous assembly

Mariam Mokhtar
11:38AM Mar 19, 2012

If the Malaysian elite do not mind investing in the UK capital despite its riots why would Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen claim that foreigners are not attracted to Malaysia's My Second Home (MM2H) programme because of our street demonstrations?
In a written reply to Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) about the MM2H scheme in Parliament recently, Yen Yen (right) said that riots gave the impression that Malaysia was not a peaceful and stable country and so prevented many foreigners from participating in the MM2H programme.
Yen Yen said: “This is the key barrier preventing foreigners from staying in Malaysia for long periods.” President Assad of Syria could not have said it any better.
It is understood that to qualify for the MM2H programme, foreigners over 50 years old must furnish proof of a minimum monthly income of RM10,000 and a minimum fixed deposit of RM350,000.
Those who are below 50 years, have to earn at least RM10,000 and have a deposit of at least RM500,000 in a local bank.
The participant will be entitled to a 10-year multiple entry social visit pass and the person’s spouse, children aged below 21 and parents are allowed into the country, as dependants.
Perhaps Yen Yen is not aware that these retirees also want a peaceful life and are frightened by the headlines that shout “Muslim model caned for glass of beer”.
The stories of the various artistes who are banned from performing in the country because of their outfits, tattoos or sexual orientation, do nothing to reassure the foreigners of the desirability of being in Malaysia.
Boys sent to boot camps
These foreigners are also fearful of the religious police breaking down doors in hotel rooms. This is precisely what happened to an elderly American couple whose yacht broke down in Langkawi.

Whilst waiting for spare parts to arrive, they had an unexpected visit by the authorities in the early hours of the morning.
There are stories of small boys who are considered too effeminate by the authorities and are therefore sent to special boot camps to “toughen them up”, of tomboys being told their hair style and choice of clothing are too masculine, and Muslims being told that yoga is against the religion.
Foreigners are also wary of the stories of Christians and non-Muslims being persecuted, of crosses and other Christian symbols being banned, of bodies snatched from graves and that Christmas carols are forbidden.
The Malay citizen will be wondering why his foreign MM2H neighbour is avoiding him, not realising that the foreigner avoids him for obvious reasons.
Anyone who has been to some of Langkawi’s tourist destinations will know of the tiered system of charges. Apartheid may have been abolished in South Africa but it thrives in Malaysia.
The lowest charge is for Malaysians with a MyKad and the highest charge is for foreigners. In the east coast, it is one price for the locals, another for Malaysians; whilst foreigners get the highest price for whatever is being sold - goods or services.
Yen Yen may travel in air-conditioned comfort with unmarked police cars clearing a path in heavy traffic for her but for the normal Malaysian and MM2H participant, it is chaos as usual.
If both the MM2H applicant and spouse are foreigners, then the couple is entitled to a duty-free car. They will need it as our public transport system is non-existent.
Nevertheless, they will be shocked by the high prices of cars in Malaysia, the traffic-jams and driving attitude of Malaysians.
Despite the chaos and clogged-up roads of Bangkok, we hear that foreigners do not mind making the city their home.
Malaysians have come to accept the litter, filth, dirty toilets and petty bureaucracy as the norm. The foreigners are disgusted by the squalor of our streets and do not like being ripped-off by taxi drivers.
The foreigner dreads the lack of transparency and is helpless when after investing in property, he finds that a rare earth separation plant, iron-ore pelleting works, incinerator or other heavy industrial facility will emerge nearby.
Malaysia’s success is also a magnet for undesirable types and one can’t help sounding like a racist and a xenophobe when one says that Malaysia has lost a lot of its charm with the influx of refugees.
Outlets manned by foreigners
Malaysia is a favourite holiday destination for Middle Eastern people, who come for cheap sex. They have plenty of money and some have more money than manners.

Many of them are arrogant and push their way around - literally and physically. They are loud and believe that money always talks.
Our coral islands are invaded by people from the Near East. Trying to go for a quiet snorkelling session in the islands of the east coast is a nightmare.

There does not seem to be a restriction on the number of people. This will result in the extinction of the coral and the life it supports.
The stalls in our cities are manned by foreigners, so that there is little chance of interaction between the MM2H foreigners and true Malaysians.

It is like going to London and being surprised that Eastern Europeans, some of whom can barely speak English, have replaced the locals.
Malaysians cannot avoid being blamed for being obnoxious. Anyone who goes to a hotel buffet will go hungry if he is late. Malaysians are greedy and pile their plates high with food, whether or not they are hungry. They also have no concept of queueing.
The worst display of lawlessness was told by a British woman who bought what she thought was a luxury flat. She said that when the second phase was ready, several Africans moved in.
They claimed to be students but drove expensive BMWs, splashed money around and picked up girls for wild parties. They were just wealthy criminals who run their scams from Kuala Lumpur because it has become too hot for them in Lagos.
So, Yen Yen, do you really think that the riots keep the MM2H foreigners away?

---

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

How votes are bought in Malaysia and the polling booth orientation (and how to spoil your vote)

Update: for those whose votes have been bought (because they badly needed the money) as explained in the article below and you are concerned at the terrible state that Malaysia is in and want to do your part, spoil the pre-marked ballot paper that had been given to you by crossing the other box or boxes as any ballot paper with more than 1 cross (mark) will be considered as spoilt and will not count. Perhaps this is why sometimes we get an unusual amount of spoilt votes?

During my training as a polling and counting agent for the 2008 elections, my trainer explained to me how votes are bought by the corrupt UMNO/BN.

It all starts with a voter going in to the polling station with a pre-marked fake polling ballot in favor of UMNO/BN candidate hidden in his pocket and putting that pre-marked voting slip into the ballot box, then taking out the unmarked voting slip out of the polling station. However, first I will explain how the much much earlier orientation of the privacy shield at the polling booth makes cheating very difficult.

Earlier orientation of privacy shield at polling booth which makes buying of votes difficult

It seemed some time in the past, the privacy shield was orientated away from the polling agent and so when the voter is at the polling booth, his back is facing the polling agent. See Figure 1 below (click to enlarge):

Figure 1: Earlier layout of privacy shield and polling station which made bying of votes difficult

So it seems that polling agents will be able to observe the back of the voter at the polling booth and while no person other than the voter himself will be able to see him marking the ballot slip, he will be unable to take out the pre-marked voting slip from his pocket and hide the real unmarked polling slip in his pocket without being observed, put the fake pre-marked ballot slip into the ballot box and take the unmarked genuine polling slip out of the polling station.

Orientation of privacy shield to facilitate cheating

In the 2008 and prior general elections, the privacy shield was deliberately reoriented to face the polling agents and the voter's back is facing away from the polling agents can see only the legs of the voter while the backside and upper body is hidden from the view of the polling agents (see figure below, click to enlarge):

Figure 2: Orientation of privacy shield 2008 and "prior" which enables cheating

Thus to start off, a cooperating voter is given a fake pre-marked (in favor of BN) polling slip to hide in his pocket, walks into the polling station and is given a genuine polling slip, take the slip to the polling booth and now his back is facing away from polling agents and only his legs are visible.

He hides the unmarked genuine polling slip into his pocket unseen by the agents, take the pre-marked false ballot slip and put it into the ballot box and walks out of the polling station unhindered.

At a secret location the first voter exchanged the unmarked genuine polling slip for a pre-arranged sum of money.

The genuine polling slip is pre-marked in favor of UMNO/BN and is given to the next voter with instruction to put that into the ballot box and take out the unmarked ballot slip in order to collect his loot.

The second bought voter goes in and is given a genuine unmarked polling slip, goes to the polling booth and again hide the unmarked polling slip in his pocket unseen, goes to the ballot box, puts in the pre-marked slip and walks out of the polling station with the unmarked polling slip (genuine) undetected.

Again at the secret location, he exchange the unmarked polling slip for money and that unmarked polling slip is pre-marked for the next voter and the whole process is repeated until the end of polling.

Thus in this way the person/party who wants to buy votes ensure that the bought voter actually vote for the selected candidate.

The "new" orientation of the privacy shield as shown in NST

I saw the new arrangement of the polling station in New Straits Times and it is shown with the original orientation of the privacy shield facing away from the polling agents with the whole of the back of the voter visible to the polling agents which must be enforced at all cost. This is as it should be and and was the orientation used in the distant past (see figure below):

Previous and "new" layout of polling booth and polling station

Actually, the diagram in NST may be slightly different from the above which is reproduced from memory, but the essential relation of the polling agents, the voter and the privacy shield is as shown. That diagram I believe is given by the Election Commission. If anyone has that diagram given by the Election Commission anywhere on the web, hope you can leave the URL in a comment below.

Thus I hope those doing the training for the upcoming 13^th General Election should inform the potential polling agents and all polling agents must ensure that this orientation of the privacy shield is adhered to.

Please spread this information to as many people as you can to reduce buying of votes.

Help invisible children and capture Joseph Kony

Joseph Kony of LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), an Ugandan guerrilla group kills children's parents and forces boys to be child soldiers and girls to be sex slaves.

Watch the video below and understand how important it is for Joseph Kony to be captured and the children to be rescued:

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

And if you want to know more about Joseph Kony, read about him and his brutality over at Wikipedia: Joseph Kony and help spread the message.

Mat Sabu joked about Lembu (cow)

This is the first time I saw Mat Sabu and from the reaction of the audience, Mat Sabu can really crack jokes and make people laugh.

However, he delivers an important and serious message - UMNO/BN must be kicked out from Putrajaya (Federal power) for real urgently needed reforms to start and not the so called reforms talked about by Najib Abdul Razak.

Wished I have the ability to transcript his jokes and message into Bahasa Malaysia or translate into English to reach a wider audience. Any volunteers>

General Election - questions to help you decide

From an email forward:

General Election - Bungkus BN

We all know that once in a few years we are given the opportunity to vote.
Why vote? It has no effect on the outcome.
One vote alone may not count but many votes together becomes a voice to be reckoned with. Let your voice be heard.
This election, more so than others is a vital election because we are at a cross roads. If we get it right we will prosper; if we get it wrong, we will suffer as we have seen in our neighboring countries.

To help you decide please ponder these issues:
Do you think our politicians in power are corrupt?
Do you think our civil service is corrupt?
Do you think they are incompetent?
Do you think the people in power sets themselves above the law?
Do you think our leadership has lost its way?
Do you think we are getting more & more divided by race & religion?
Do you think we have a questionable justice system?
Do you think that they are wasting our wealth?
Do you think our children will suffer more?
Do you want to see change?

If you say yes to 3 or more of these issues, don't you think we need change? YOU CAN MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN!!!

Just send this to 10 other relatives or friends and ask them to do the same to 10 of their friends and so on. By so doing we are enlisting the power of multilevel marketing. Yes the math works and it is awesome. By the 7th level this message would reach 1,000,000 people. Yes we can make our vote count! Better believe it!! We owe it to ourselves and to our children and to their children.

Did PMO paid for Najib’s daughter engagement do?

PKR claimed there is evidence that PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) paid for Najib’s daughter engagement reception but Najib says no?.

The said evidence came from a banquet event order from Shangrila Hotel which billed PMO a total of almost half a million ringgit.

Here is what is stated on Shangri-La Hotel Banquet Event Order printed on 6/13/2011. Note particularly red words bolded below:

BILLING

VIP Western Set Menu at RM450++ per person

Normal western set menu at RM310++ per person

Handling charges at RM81,000 nett

To be billed to PM’s office. Letter of Undertaking by 15 June 2011

Account: Pejabat Perdana Menteri

Post As: Pejabat Perdana Menteri – OCS Dinner

Function: Pejabat Perdana Menteri – OCS Dinner

Address: Bangunan Perdana Putra

               Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan

                Putrajaya, WP 62502

Auth Sig: Encik Huzairi/Cik Najbah

On site: Encik Amirul

Bkg Contact: YBHG Dato Mohd Po’ad bin Jelani

Phone: 019-3110011

Fax: 03-88880142

Read more below article 'PMO paid for engagement do of Najib's daughter' courtesy of Malaysiakini:

'PMO paid for engagement do of Najib's daughter'

Aidila Razak
4:19PM Mar 9, 2012

PKR today revealed evidence that it said shows the government footed the bill for the engagement reception for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's daughter.
Citing a banquet event order from Shangri La Hotel, which catered for the event, PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli said the Prime Minister’s Office was billed RM409,767 for the reception.
"This is not a small matter. It may be just RM409,767, but it signifies the lax attitude of the government, starting from the PM to his cabinet ministers, who use taxpayers' money for the personal luxuries," Rafizi said.

According to the copies of the document provided to the media, the event billed to the Prime Minister's Office was held on June 17, 2011 at the Perdana Putra complex.
Bernama had last year reported that Nooryana Najwa's engagement to Kazakh national Daniar Nazarbayev took place at the PM' Najib Abdul Razak's official residence Seri Perdana, Putrajaya that night.

The document, which names the PM's private secretary Mohd Po'ad Jelani as the main contact person for the booking reveals that it was done under the PMO's office account.
In the billing section, Shangri La noted that the PMO was due to furnish a letter of undertaking by June 15, 2011.

The function was categorised as a 'OCS dinner', and required setting up three days before the event and pre-function drinks for that night.
Rakyat paid for PM's taste

The dinner cost RM522 per head for 36 VIP guests, and RM359.60 per head for 862 other guests, while handling charges reached a whopping RM81,000.

The menu included lobster bisque and wagyu beef, while Shangri La also catered supper for 300 people at RM45++ per head.
"I'm not sure why they didn't use National Feedlot Centre's beef," quipped Rafizi, who is at the forefront of exposes on Cabinet Minister Shahrizat Jalil-linked project.

However, in a Twitter posting, the PMO denied the allegations by Rafizi.

"The engagement bill of PM's daughter, Nooryana Najwa, was not taken up by the Prime Minister's Office as alleged by some quarters," read the post.

It adds that the PMO will issue a statement over the matter soon.

According to Rafizi, (left) Najib needs to come clean on the matter as it is clear that the PMO was used for a private function.

"Even if he paid for the event from his own pocket (later), it is still a moral issue as he cannot pay for a private function through the PM's office," he said.
He added that while it is Najib's "personal right to have expensive tastes", it is "nauseating" that taxpayers' money was used to meet it.
"At the same time the PM pays consultants to build an image of himself as someone who eats with the people and lives moderately," he said.
He added that PKR will also raise the matter at the parliamentary sitting next week.
Malaysiakini has contacted Mohd Po'ad but he has not responded so far.

When contacted by the portal to check the veracity of the documents, Shangri La said it will be in touch once it checks its records.

View comments (53)

Dean Johns deeply suspicious of safety of Lynas

Dean Johns is deeply suspicious of the safety of Lynas’s rare earth processing plant (LAMP) in Kuantan, Pahang. His main reason – suspicion of Najib Razak’s sincerity given his numerous lies and flip-flops.

Read his take on Lynas and Najib Razak in the article Lynas and the lyin’ ass reproduced here courtesy of Malaysiakini:

Lynas and the lyin' ass

Lynas and the lyin' ass

Dean Johns
11:07AM Feb 29, 2012

As neither a nuclear scientist nor an engineer, I wouldn't have the faintest idea whether the Lynas rare earths processing plant in Gebeng, Pahang, poses a threat to the health of people in the local or even wider community.
But along with the thousands of people who rallied around Malaysia last Sunday in protest against the government's licensing of the plant, and countless others who have expressed their opposition online, I'm deeply suspicious.
For several compelling reasons, the first and most obvious was prompted by the puzzling question of why Lynas wants, or needs to, do its processing in Pahang, Malaysia, rather than back in Western Australia where it mines its raw materials.
Could this be, like the Australian government's court-thwarted attempt to connive with Malaysia's regime to export its asylum-seeker problem offshore, a case of persuading or paying the same Umno/BN whores to tolerate the exposure of Malaysians and their environment to risks from radioactive ores?
It wouldn't be the first time such an atrocity has occurred. In 1982, the then Mahathir-headed Umno/BN government approved the operation by the Japanese-Malaysian joint venture Misubishi Kasel of the Asian Rare Earth (ARE) plant in Bukit Merah, Perak.
Though it persisted for just 10 years before closure by order of the High Court in Ipoh, this gross misadventure proved incalculably costly to the health of workers, residents and their children, and the Umno/BN regime and its media have done their damndest to dim and diminish it in the public memory.

Official obfuscation
A typically disgraceful exercise in official obfuscation that brings me to my principal reason for opposing the operation of the Lynas plant in Pahang: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's assurance that it is safe.
Because Najib has shown himself to be such a persistent and indeed pathological liar that only a complete ass would believe a single word he says.
Every time he opens his mouth and sets his lips flapping, he utters such a farrago of falsehoods and asinine attempts to fly in the face of self-evident facts that he's utterly bereft of any shred of credibility.
Every single one of his pronouncements ranging from "I, for one, believe that the Malaysian media is something that we can all be proud of", to his global message that he is a "moderate Muslim leader" working towards "the world's best democracy" is a breathtaking exercise in bare-faced deceit.
For example, he initially denied that he had ever met with the accuser of Anwar Ibrahim in the latter's second trumped-up sodomy case, then later admitted that he had indeed met this person, but added the patently false disclaimer that the young man had approached him for a scholarship.
And on an altogether larger scale of lying, the very slogan on which he has pinned his prime ministership, "1Malaysia. People first, Performance now" is a veritable monstrosity of perjury and hypocrisy.
"1Malaysia", which he and his low-life Israeli and other public relations flacks intend to imply a promise of one nation unified by equality for all Malaysians under the law, is revealed as flagrantly false by Umno/BN's one-eyed news media, mono-racial staffing and stacking of the civil services, sponsorship of race-hate and religious pressure groups, and organised thuggery against opposition ceramah and rallies.
"People first" is revealed as a pack of lies by everything from denial of the truth to the populace by means of a Printing, Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) specifically designed for the purpose of press suppression, spin and censorship in favour of the Umno/BN regime, to massive and systematic plunder of the public purse by regime members and their families and cronies.
As for "Performance now", Najib keeps promising reforms of such gross inequities and injustices as intended by the PPPA, ISA and prohibitions on public assembly, only to replace such laws with fraudulent and even less people-friendly new ones.
And his latest proposed ‘reform' is an even more outrageous example of his fakes. Still attempting to simulate some semblance of credibility in his notoriously false promise of "zero tolerance for corruption", he has promised to give more independence, and thus power, to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
But only on the condition that Malaysian voters help Umno/BN regain a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the next general election.
In other words, Najib is extending his customary "you help me, I help you" bribery of the electorate (a crime that he justified after the Hulu Selangor buy-election with the statement that "we are addressing the genuine needs of the people. We are not buying votes")from the realm of cash to that of changing the constitution.
The trouble is, what Najib is actually promising, "God willing if BN is given a two-thirds mandate in the coming 13^th general election," is the formation of a commission to administer the MACC that "will enjoy the same authority given to the current Police Commission and Education Commission."

No end to fraudulence?
In other words, as I understand this to mean, if the people of Malaysia are happy to hand Umno/BN the two-thirds majority they formerly employed to pass such unconstitutional laws as the PPPA, then the MACC will officially become as politicised and thus pathetically compromised as the nation's police farce and public educational institutions are today.
Is there no end to Najib's falsehood and fraudulence? Apparently not. And there won't be any end to misleadership by this and other lying asses and their associates until the people of Malaysia seize ownership of the false 1Malaysia slogan, imbue it with genuine meaning, turn it to their own advantage and make it come true for themselves and their children.
It's time to rise up as 1Malaysian electorate; to put the people's interests first by finally electing a truly honest, intelligent, enlightened, transparent and progressive government; and to perform this feat if not now, this minute, at the very next opportunity.
In other words, witness the current NFC and MAS scandals, the still-unsolved murders of Altantuya Shaariibuu, Teoh Beng Hock and so many others, plus the high-handed approval of the Lynas plant.
It's time for the Malaysian people to get real with Najib and the entire Umno/BN gang of thieves and goons and liars, and throw them out on their lying asses.

---

DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he coaches and mentors writers and authors and practises as a writing therapist. Published books of his columns for Malaysiakini include ‘Mad about Malaysia’, ‘Even Madder about Malaysia’, ‘Missing Malaysia’ and ‘1Malaysia.con’.

AG not likely to charge NFC directors, said Mat Zain Ibrahim

Former Kuala Lumpur criminal investigation department chief said that there are only

 

the Attorney General Ghani Patil is not likely to charge the directors of the National Feedlot Corporation directors as otherwise he would also have to charge former Malacca Chief Minister Abdul Rahim Thambi Chik, former International Trade and Industry Minister, Rafidah Aziz and former MAS chairman Tajudin Ramli.

He said there are 3 main elements for someone to be charged for CBT:

• dishonest misappropriation
• conversion to own property
• dishonestly uses or disposal of the property

but only one ingredient needed to justify charges.

Read more of Shahrizat's family unlikely to be charged, says ex-top cop courtesy of Malaysiakini below:

Shahrizat's family unlikely to be charged, says ex-top cop

Hafiz Yatim
4:19PM Feb 27, 2012

A former senior police officer believes that the attorney-general chambers will not charge those linked to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) for criminal breach of trust (CBT), despite strong evidence to support the charge.
Former Kuala Lumpur criminal investigation department chief Mat Zain Ibrahim, when contacted, said that based on documents related to NFC's condominium purchases and documents pointing to NFC funds being used to fund trips, he believes that there were elements of CBT.
However, based on his experience in investigating high profile individuals in the past, Mat Zain believes that the CBT charge would not be slapped on NFC's bosses because they are the family of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
"If the attorney-general were to charge Shahrizat's family based on police recommendations, then he may also have to charge (former MAS chairperson) Tajudin Ramli, according to police recommendations.
"Then, the attorney-general may have to follow up by charging (former Malacca chief minister) Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik and (former International Trade and Industry Minister) Rafidah Aziz.

Only one ingredient needed

In 1994, Mat Zain was the investigation officer that was tasked with probing Tajudin. He was also involved in the investigations on Abdul Rahim and Rafidah.
Mat Zain explained that in his three examples, the police or Anti-Corruption Agency, as it was then known, had made recommendations that they be charged for various offences.
He said this when asked to comment on Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department director Syed Ismail Syed Azizan'srecommendation that NFC chairperson Mohd Salleh Ismail be charged with CBT.
Mat Zain, who also read law, said three main elements should be cited  in a CBT case namely dishonest misappropriation, converts to his own the property, or dishonestly uses or disposes the property in violation of any direction of the law.
“The prosecution is only required to fulfill one of the above ingredients - not all three, but one,” he stressed.

Companies don't perform umrah, people do
Explaining further, Mat Zain said the purchase of a condo using the NFC funds, and registering the condo in their own names is as good as transferring cash into personal accounts.
“If this is not converting to ones’s own use, what is?” he asked.
“Another example are the allegations against Mohamad Salleh and his son Wan Shahinur that they performed the umrah in 2010 using company funds amounting to some RM31,000 or so.
"If this can be proven than no need to argue. It’s 100 CBT. Companies are not required to perform umrah, only individuals are," he said.
Last November, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution revealed that NFC funds were used for Mohamad Salleh and his son Wan Shahinur Izran for them to perform the umrah.
Mat Zain was the investigation officer in the Rahim and Rafidah cases.
In a related development, attorney-general chambers head of prosecution Tun Abdul Majib Tun Hamzah refused comment when asked respond to Syed Ismail's statement.
He said his department have yet to receive investigation papers from the police.
Yesterday, NFC in a statement said it was shocked with Syed Ismail for going public on the matter and accused him of trying to pre-empt the attorney-general's decision over the matter.

NFC Scandal: Syed Ismail Syed Azizan is a brave man

Zaid Ibrahim has called Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department’ Syed Ismail Syed Azizan as a brave man because he dare to say that police investigations have revealed that there are sufficient reasons to charge NFCorporation’s directors with CBT (Criminal Breach of Trust, White Collar Crime in Malaysia). Many investigation papers have been submitted to the Malaysia Attorney General Ghani Patil which have been classified NFA (No Further Action) because it is politically sensitive for the ruling UMNO/BN Federal Government. Zaid Ibrahim thus opined that it is highly unlikely that Syed Ismail will ever be promoted to IGP (Inspector General of Police) as thus coming up with unprecedented pronouncement in public will not make him a favored candidate for the IGP post:

Malaysiakini’s article Yes, the AG must act to charge NFC directors courtesy of Malaysiakini:

Yes, the AG must act to charge NFC directors

Zaid Ibrahim
3:20PM Feb 27, 2012

COMMENT The director of Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department Syed Ismail Syed Azizan is a brave man. Why?
Because he has said clearly and categorically that there is enough evidence to charge the directors of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) with criminal breach of trust.
I like a brave Malaysian, especially if he or she is a civil servant. I believe that it’s only when civil servants show courage and integrity that the rakyat can hope to get justice and fair play in their dealings with the government.
Syed Ismail knows that the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission - or any enforcement agency in the country for that matter - do not have the power to lay charges regardless of the evidence.
That is the prerogative of the attorney-general. Despite this, Syed Ismail has been willing to tell the people there is in fact enough evidence to charge someone.
This is an act of courage. It is not the action of someone with an ulterior motive, as has been suggested by the family involved in the NFC.
In my years at the Bar and in government, I often heard that “such-and-such a case was presented to the Attorney-General’s Office but no action was taken”.
No one knows the actual reason for this inaction - we are told only that under the constitution, the attorney-general has absolute discretion whether or not to charge someone.
So it is possible that, in many cases, enforcement agencies such as the police have recommended prosecution but the attorney-general has refused to pursue the case.
Crown prosecution services
Our practice is entirely different from that of other Commonwealth countries, where there are crown prosecution services consisting of lawyers who act independently of the attorney-general.
Their independence is based on the trust given to them that they will work in the public’s interest.
They work in close collaboration with the police, so when the police in the United Kingdom (for example) say that they have evidence, it would be unthinkable for anyone else, even the prime minister, to suggest that the attorney-general might decide differently.
On the other hand, our Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has made remarks that cast doubt on whether the family of Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (the  Women, Family, and Community Development Minister) will ever be prosecuted. Najib has talked about the “absolute power” of the attorney-general, and not the police, to determine if the government will prefer a charge against Shahrizat’s family.
The past has shown that when political leaders speak like that, we know that no charge is forthcoming. It would indeed be disappointing if our “reformist” prime minister should prefer to pre-empt the attorney-general’s decision.
Najib should instead give full support and praise to the police for an investigation into a case involving at least one powerful politician. But somehow, Najib always seems to get the wrong end of the stick.
So to Syed Ismail, I don’t think you will ever become the inspector-general of police, but it may be a small comfort to know that your decision to make your investigation public sets a good precedent.
After this, we hope to hear more from the heads of investigating teams. We hope to see them declare their findings publicly. We can then see how far the prime minister will go to defend his attorney-general’s discretion.
Syed Ismail, I will shake your hand anywhere I see you. And there are thousands like me who will do the same.

---

ZAID IBRAHIM, a former law minister, is the Parti Kita president.

Najib, Muhyiddin should be held responsible for NFC fiasco

NFC (National Feedlot Corp.) has responded to accusations that they misused the soft loan of RM250 million loan to purchase properties with the loan by saying that there are no restrictions in how they utilized the loan.

If true, Muhyiddin as the then Minister of Agriculture and Najib who was in the cabinet when the scheme was approved are responsible for not setting any conditions in the utilization of the soft loan.

If untrue, then both those managing NFC, Najib and Muhyiddin are responsible, NFC for misuse of the loan and Najib and Muhyiddin for not monitoring the use of the funds.

Read what Lim Kit Siang has said in Malaysiakini’s article : Haul up PM, Muhyiddin for NFC 'blank cheque'

Haul up PM, Muhyiddin for NFC 'blank cheque'

3:39PM Feb 10, 2012

Describing National Feedlot Corporation's (NFC) loan as a "completely blank cheque", DAP is demanding that top cabinet members answer to the company's claim that it can spend the RM250 million loan as it sees fit.
"If true, then the 'political masters' responsible for this decision at the relevant time... should be hauled up before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for the whole truth to be told," said DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang.

In his statement today, he suggested that then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, then chairperson of the cabinet committee on high impact projects and deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak or then agriculture minister Muhyiddin Yassin testify before the PAC.
"If untrue, it is the responsibility of the PAC to get to the bottom of the matter and report to Parliament when it reconvenes on March 12," Lim  said.
He added that the PAC should convene an emergency meeting on the matter, especially since NFC's statement contradicted the Finance Ministry, which told the PAC that the loan could only be used for its intended purpose.
Lim was responding to NFC's statement yesterday that the terms of its loan did not impose any limits on how it should be used, including property investments even though the money was meant for ensuring beef self-sufficiency in the country.

NFC had been under fire for allegedly misusing the loan forunrelated expenses, such as three luxury condominiums worth about RM44.6 million in Singapore.
The condominiums were registered under the names of Women and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family members, who are also NFC’s senior management staff.
Shahrizat and her family members have denied any wrongdoing, and NFC justified the purchases as an investment to put the money to good use while its feedlot project was temporality halted for a viability study.
Lim also posed a series of questions and challenges to NFC via Twitter, which are:

• Publicise the NFC’s loan agreement;

• Specify the salary and perks drawn by Shahrizat’s family members each month;

• Respond to each allegation against NFC;

• Answer whether NFC agrees that it plunged Najib’s administration into a credibility crisis, and whether it would support a royal commission of inquiry into NFC; and,

• Answer whether NFC’s prerogative to invest in its best interests include “the right to trample on public or national interests.”

LYNAS – Malaysian public fooled again by UMNO gomen

The LYNAS rare earth refinery project in Kuantan which will produce radioactive waste with extremely life of over 14 billion years had been given a TOL (Tempory Opperating License) only 4 days after after the closing date for a public feedback period. This indecent haste with which the UMNO/BN controlled AELB granted the TOL shows that they really do not care for public opinions which are overwhelmingly against the project.

Further, there were too many restrictions for the public to view the application for the TOL plus it had not been accompanied by an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) which is mandatory and LYNAS has still not have a PDF (Permanent Disposal Facility).

If you care for your own plus your family plus future generations, vote out the uncaring UMNO/BN so that the PR promise to close the facility can be fulfilled.

Read below what the Malaysian BAR has to say about it in Bar Council questions 'express licence' for Lynas courtesy of Malaysiakini:

Bar Council questions 'express licence' for Lynas

3:39PM Feb 7, 2012

The hasty manner in which the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) approved a temporary operating licence for the Lynas rare earth refinery was improper, said Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee.
He said that the licence was issued on Jan 30, just four days after the closing date for a public feedback period.
“It beggars belief that AELB could have adequately and properly considered the 1,123 public comments within merely two working days.  
“The only natural conclusion is that the whole public consultation process is a sham and charade,” said Lim (right) in a statement today.
The public consultation period took place between Jan 3 to Jan 26, to allow the public to scrutinise Lynas’ application for a licence.
There have been complaints that the AELB applied too many restrictions during the viewing process, which includes limiting the amount of time each individual can view the document.
Meanwhile, Lim pointed out that the legality of the AELB decision on Jan 30 was also in question because the detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the Lynas plant had not yet been conducted.
‘Where is the EIA?’
Lim argued that the EIA was a prerequisite, noting that as of Feb 1, even the permanent disposal facility for the Lynas plant had yet to be identified.
“This omission alone should have constituted sufficient grounds for AELB to dismiss the application,” he said.
In view of this, Lim urged the federal government to suspend or cancel the temporary operating licence.
On the 10-month period for Lynas to submit its plans for a permanent waste storage facility, Lim said this was reckless because if the terms of the licence remain unfulfilled, a substantial amount of radioactive waste would have been produced.
“These wastes would burden Malaysia for the imaginable future, as thorium, one of the wastes produced, has an inconceivably long half-life of over 14 billion years.
“It will take that much time for half the atoms in any sample of thorium to decay,” warned Lim.
He added that should a catastrophe befall the affected area, a large amount of money would be required for remedial action, as shown in the case of the Asian Rare Earth Plant in Bukit Merah, Perak.

Rosmar Mansor spending spree & Holly's email

I had made an earlier post at Is Rosmah Mansor lying re Spending Spree. However, the picture of the email is small and the wordings are difficult to read. Below is a clearer image plus a transcript below it. Read and judge the truth of Rosmah Mansor's denial:



Transcript of the above image of the email:

Hi Patty,

I hope you are well.
Some news for you.
I thought you may be interested in one of Carl's latest fan, Malaysia's "First Lady" Rosmah Mansor. Carl received a phone call from her staff while she was shopping in Pitt St. asking if there was parking in Paddington for a limousine. They came straight over where Carl had a private appointment with Mrs. Mansor, going over styles, color and fabrics. Carl then prepared a presentation for her on New Year's Eve at the hotel Mrs. Mansor was staying out, and she chose every one of the 30 colors Carl presented. In total Mrs. Mansor ordered 61 pieces. Carl also was introduced to PM Najib Razak. All pieces she chose are to be made from Carl's signature stretch silk, and to be made bespoke after taking her measurements.

A few of the styles she ordered included the Emila skirt and long sleeve blouse below.

I would also be happy to offer you an AW12 style to run with the story, look book is attached.

Interesting, not?!

Holly

And here is a second email released over at Close encounters of the KL kind:

“Hi Patty,

I just spoke to Carl for some further information:
He visited Rosmah, and her PM husband on New Year's Eve at The Darling's Penthouse Suite in the Casino (http://www.thedarling.com.au/sydney-hotel-rooms/penthouse/) for the fitting and presentation. The pieces are for her everyday occasions, which are many. She meets some incredibly influential people, including most recently Michelle Obama so Carl is thrilled that she is such a fan. He said she was incredibly lovely, and she is flying him to Kaula Lumpar mid-February for a second round of fittings. The pieces need to be completed in a month from the second fitting. All pieces had to be altered to be with a long sleeve, with no bare ankles or wrists.
She is already asking for more pieces in addition to the 61 ordered, which is a mix of AW12 and SS11.

In addition to this, Carl has had a great season, his sales are extraordinarily 80% up post his debut Fashion Week show last year. His made-to-measure has definitely made him a favourite go-to and is his greatest point of difference - particularly against the onslaught of online stores.
Attached are the lookbook imagery, the following have already been published on Pages Digital.

Let me know of anything else you need,

Holly”

Is Rosmah Mansor lying re Spending Spree

All of you would already know about Rosmah Mansor’s alleged spending spree in Australia where it was alleged she spend some estimated AUD100,000 (RM325,000) on dresses from Carl Kapp’s exclusive designer label clothing and her denials plus claims that most of those dresses were meant for the IFF (Islamic Festival Festival) by IFF founder and chairman Raja Rezza Shah that clothing bought at a designer boutique in Sydney, Australia were for his London store, not for the Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Now all have us have heard that bare face liar Liew Tiong Lay’s denial that tear gas canisters were fired into the Tung Shin Hospital plus many other false denials by UMNO/BN and connected figures.

Now regarding whether Rosmah told the truth or lied you make the decision yourself but do read Malaysiakini’s report Rosmah spree: Blogger discloses email exchanges courtesy of Malaysiakini below did or did not lie:

Rosmah spree: Blogger discloses email exchanges

4:03PM Feb 1, 2012

Fashion journalist Patty Huntington has disclosed email exchanges to attest to her report about Prime Minister Najib Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor’s expenses on exclusive designer label clothing in Sydney, Australia.
For the first time today, Huntington (right), in a lengthy write-up on herFrockwriter blog, annotated every detail on what transpired between her and designer Carl Kapp as well as his publicist, Little Hero, before the matter was picked up by The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) on Jan 21.
Huntington said that she was pitched the story on Jan 16 by Little Hero’s staff member Holly Beer, who sent an email to the blogger on Rosmah’s purchase of 61 items from the Carl Kapp Shop.
Following up the matter, Huntington verified the premier’s visit during New Year’s eve by contacting the Malaysian High Commission and The Darling hotel, which is part of The Star casino complex in Sydney, after which she spoke to Kapp, who spoke on the 61 items purchased.
After the issue hit the local media last week, Kapp, in a statement to Malaysiakini, said the prime minister’s wife and her entourage, including Islamic Fashion Festival chairperson Raja Rezza Shah, had visited his shop and had made various separate purchases.
“In a nutshell, Kapp now claims that Rosmah Mansor came to his store not to make a large personal order of clothes for herself, but in some kind of philanthropic capacity as patron of the IFF.
“Any spending was spread evenly across the various members of her entourage, which included the head of the IFF. Who happens to be a man.

"Kapp - who only makes women’s wear - is now saying that he is definitely not being flown to Kuala Lumpur next month at Rosmah Mansor’s expense for a second round of fittings or any other nebulous purpose connected to the alleged purchase of his clothes by any number of visiting dignitaries.
“Adding, words to the effect, that he is in and out of Malaysia so many times throughout the year on business, Kuala Lumpur is practically his second home.

"And finally, Kapp implies that he has absolutely no idea how the highly sensitive information about this distinguished visit got out,” said Huntington.
The South African-born designer was responding to queries following a report that estimated Rosmah could have spent up to A$100,000 (RM323,000) at his store.
Coming to Rosmah’s defence
Raja Rezza came to Rosmah’s defence yesterday, saying that the 61 pieces purchased at Kapp’s boutique in Paddington in Sydney, were actually “stock” for his shop in London.
Huntington, however, contested Kapp’s assertion that the purchases were made by a “sizeable group”, backing this up by stating that neither Little Hero, in three emails, nor Kapp, in a 15-minute interview, had stated that any purchases or orders were made by anyone other than Rosmah.
“In fact both Little Hero and Kapp explicitly said that the orders were for Rosmah. Rosmah is not one of Kapp’s standard sizes, he told me. Kapp added that he makes to a size 14 off the rack, but to 18-20 in made to measure - which accounts for 50 percent of his business, he said.
“Additionally, all of the garments for Rosmah were in need of special customisation such as extended hemlines or long sleeves, with at least one dress due to be converted into a coat.
“Kapp said he took the client’s measurements, so as to be able to tailor the garments to her needs. He told me on the record, ‘It started out at the shop, but there was so much that she wanted, so I suggested that I prepare a presentation... She followed me into the studio and started pointing at fabrics’,” said Huntington.
The orders were processed and Kapp was paid upfront, said Huntington, stressing that neither Beer nor Kapp had made any mention of IFF or the London boutique in their press statements.
She also cornered Little Hero, who claimed that the reports had given the impression that Kapp’s establishment “is indiscreet, willing to divulge personal and private information about clients”.
Reproducing the emails related to the purchases, dated Jan 16 onwards, Huntington pointed out that it was nowhere stated that the material was off-the-record nor was there a privacy disclaimer at the end of the emails.
“I do not make a habit of publishing anyone’s emails, but am willing to make an exception in this case as I feel there is a genuine effort here to mislead the public,” she stressed.
‘He didn’t think anyone would do the math’
She also beat down Kapp’s bid to free himself of blame, saying that the latter and the publicist “volunteered, on the record - unsolicited - the unit size of the order. Sixty-one pieces. And apparently didn’t think anyone would do the math”.
“I write about fashion from a business perspective for a variety of publications, including US fashion trade paper WWD. I am frequently required to include industry-sourced information and sales estimates in stories.
“On Jan 16, I asked Little Hero for Kapp’s off-the-rack price range. In a third email that day, they informed me: A$295 for a silk T-shirt, A$330 for a boob tube, with short dresses starting at A$795 and reaching A$1,100, A$2,420 and A$2,970 for the longer styles.
“Overlooking for a moment the obvious facts that Rosmah did not order any short dresses, short-sleeved T-shirts or strapless boob tubes and that the entire order was made-to-measure, if the order was indeed 61 units, as claimed by Little Hero and Kapp (right), the absolute cheapest it could possibly have been was A$17,995 (A$295 x 61).
“And the absolute priciest: A$181,170 (A$2,970 x 61). Average it out and you don’t get much change out of A$100,000 - which is what I reported the order ‘could be approaching’,” said Huntington.
Passing the buck back to Kapp, she asked if the purpose was to be discreet, why mention the size of the order to Frockwriter and SMH.
“If (Little Hero director, Rae) Begley and Kapp had any concerns about the information in the story, it’s curious that neither sought an immediate clarification. They did not.
“On the contrary, Kapp sent me an SMS at 18.35 that day (Jan 17) saying ‘Thanks for the brilliant write-up!’,” said Huntington.