Friday, June 29, 2018

Make State of the Nation Known to the People

A Kadir Jasin

In the name of God, the merciful and the compassionate

PREAMBLE: Views expressed herein are entirely mine. I am writing in my personal capacity as a blogger. It has nothing to do with whatever position I may hold.

Saving the country: Dr Mahathir did it twice before
COULD the Pakatan Harapan (PH) have promised too much to the people during the May 9 general elections?

The answer is yes and no. Yes after it had known the extent of the rot left behind by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government and no had the situation been better.

[Anonymous comments will not be published. Please use real or pseudonym. Thank you.]

The authors of its manifesto could be blamed for underestimating the depth of the problems generated by the BN. But then again how could they know when the whole world was being lied to.

The Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had lamented at this week’s meeting of the supreme leadership council of Parti Primbumi Bersata Malaysia (PPBM) in Petaling Jaya that the government might find it hard to fulfil all the promises it made.

Those with elementary understanding of the economy would, by now, know that the ousted kleptokratic BN government had left a much greater mess than most of us had dared to imagine.

The financial market, already spooked by the US-China trade disputes, reacted negatively to the news of the BN’s plundering.

There’s no way that the new government could or should hide these bad news from the investors.

My attitude is, let us be as truthful as we could. After all, the PH had promised transparency and accountability.

What has been discovered so far shows that the former Prime Minister, who was also Finance Minister, (Datuk Seri I Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sandrobone Sultan Abdul Jalil) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, had wantonly and systematically crippled the country’s economy.

The institutional damage his government did was systematic and systemic. Literally there wasn’t an institution, including the monarchy, that hadn’t been usurped and perverted using bribery and intimidation. Cash was truly the supreme king.

It started with the formation of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in 2009, the year he became Prime Minister, and gotten worse with every subsequent get-rich-quick scheme he launched – anything from the commercialisation of Felda assets via the Felda Global Ventures IPO to the launch of a slew of debt-funded mega projects.

Moving Forward

My feeling is the government must share the truth with the people. Let them know comprehensively the situation the country is in and what plans it has to put it back on track.

The government should use the first sitting of the Parliament, starting July 16, to address these issues. A new budget or, at the very least, a supplementary one may be necessary.

Surely the people want to hear from the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister (Lim Guan Eng) and the Minister in charge of the economy (Mohd Azmin Ali) about state that the economy.

It’s timely for the Prime Minister to make his first “state of the federation” address.

The people must be told the truth no matter how unpalatable it may be. The new government cannot perpetuate the lies and pretense of the previous administration.

It would appear that in many cases we may be forced to start all over again. So many institutions, agencies and corporations had been so badly corrupted and perverted that they are literally financially insolvent.

Dr Mahathir and his team had saved the country twice before. They did it in the mid-1980’s and during the 1997/98 Asian Financial Crises.

I am sure the people would give them a chance to do it again.

God willing.

Posted by at 21 comments:

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Tunjuk Perasaan dan Ketua GLC Yang Tidak Lagi Diperlukan


A Kadir Jasin

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

MUKHADIMAH: Pandangan yang terkandung dalam tulisan ini adalah pandangan peribadi saya. Saya menulis dalam kapasiti saya sebagai seorang blogger. Ia tiada kena mengena dengan apa-apa jawatan yang mungkin saya pegang.

Elok ketua-ketua GLC/GLIC era Najib berundur secara terhormat
NAMPAKNYA hari ini orang yang kononnya pakar propaganda pun tidak pandai lagi hendak menganjurkan tunjuk perasaan.

[Komen "Anonymous” tidak akan disiarkan. Tolong guna nama sebenar atau samaran.]

Ini membawa kembali ingatan saya kepada protes pelajar awal tahun 1970-an yang dikepalai oleh aktivis seperti (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim dan Hishamuddin Rais.

Waktu itu saya bekerja dengan Bernama dan sekali dua dikerah membuat liputan tunjuk perasaan di Universiti Malaya, ITM Jalan Othman dan Masjid Negara.

Tunjuk perasaan pun ada hukum-hakamnya. Bila seseorang anjur tunjuk perasaan tapi tidak ramai orang datang maka dia bukan saja gagal secara peribadi tapi juga merendahkan martabat perjuangannya.

Misalnya, orang itu anjur tunjuk perasaan untuk pertahankan sesuatu yang dianggapnya penting seperti permainan wau sebab dia rasa ada usaha hendak haramkan atau pinda peraturan main wau.

Dia pun tubuh NGO dan anjur tunjuk perasaan di pekan sehari. Daripada beribu orang yang datang beli-belah, hanya 40 atau 50 orang berhenti dengar jerit pekik dia.

Ketiadaan sambutan itu bukan saja memalukan dirinya sebagai penganjur – itu pun kalau dia daripada jenis yang tahu malu – tapi turut merendahkan martabat permainan wau.

Jadi sama ada kerana dia tidak ada pengaruh, tidak pandai atur tunjuk perasaan atau orang tahu niat sebenarnya, tak pasal-pasal nama permainan wau busuk.

Lagi teruk kalau ramai orang sudah tidak berapa ambil kisah mengenai permainan wau.

Kalau nak buat tunjuk perasaan untuk satu tujuan yang besar atau mulia, maka bilangan orang yang datang kenalah besar juga.

Cuba kaji dan belajar daripada orang yang berjaya buat tunjuk perasaan dan perhimpunan raksasa macam Bersih, Semarak (zaman Almarhum Tok Mat Rahmat), Selamatkan Bosnia dan baru-baru ini Selamatkan Malaysia.

Kalau setakat tumpang orang pergi pekan sehari tak payahlah. Buat malu matlamat perjuangan saja. Melainkan tujuan tersiratnya adalah untuk keuntungan peribadi dan si penganjur itu pun sebenarnya tidak berapa kisah sangat mengenai permainan wau.

Berhentilah!

Kemudian cerita penasihat taraf menteri, pengerusi GLC dan badan berkanun serta eksekutif kanan kena berhenti sejak kerajaan Pakatan Harapan ambil alih pentadbiran negara.

Patutlah mereka berhenti. Kalau mereka ada maruah dan faham hukum-hakam serta konvensyen, mereka letaklah jawatan secara sukarela.

Yang lantik mereka dan jahanamkan profesionalisme mereka adalah bekas Perdana Menteri, (Datuk Seri I Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sandrobone Sultan Abdul Jalil) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak.

Dalam pilihan raya umum (PRU) 9 Mei lalu, majoriti rakyat jelata tolak bos kesayangan mereka. Natijahnya rakyat jelata pun tidak mahu mereka lagi.

Ada yang merintih kepada saya. Ada yang merayu hendak jumpa saya setelah bertahun-tahun tidak berhubung. Apa yang boleh saya buat?

Anda boleh cerita kepada saya kata anda bawa masuk pelaburan berbilion ringgit atau dapatkan projek di sana sini untuk Malaysia. Itu tugas anda. Tapi apa yang boleh saya buat bila rakyat jelata sudah tolak kerajaan yang lantik anda?

Kerajaan anda dan bos anda kalah pilihan raya. Rakyat tolak dia dan secara langsung mereka tolak anda. Sesetengah daripada anda terpalit pula dengan skandal.

Dulu masa anda berkuasa, anda tidak ingat semua ini. Ada antara anda yang muncul TV3 maki hamun, caci dan cela kami. Orang tua yang dulu beri muka kepada anda pun anda kutuk juga.

Tapi sekarang Najib sudah kalah. Orang tua yang anda caci cela itu dibagi mandat oleh rakyat jelata untuk jadi Perdana Menteri kali kedua.

Jadi sekarang apabila anda terpelanting dan berkemungkinan disiasat pasal apa pula cari saya? Pasal apa cerita sedih kepada saya? Apa yang boleh saya buat?

Sebab itulah bila anda minta jumpa saya, saya kata tak perlu sebab saya tahu saya tidak boleh berbudi bahasa lagi dengan anda.

Bapak Kepala GLC/GLIC

Begitu juga dengan eksekutif kanan GLC, GLIC dan agensi berkanun. Yang lantikan politik itu saya fahamlah bila anda main politik, ampu Najib dan cium tangan isteri dia.

Tapi yang saya tak faham adalah eksekutif profesional yang dilantik pasal anda ada kepakaran dan kebolehan. Pasal apa anda pun main politik, berkempen macam politikus, menari macam orang mabuk todi, cium tangan Najib suami isteri?

Kalau itu tak cukup, anda guna pula duit kompeni untuk kegiatan bersabit politik Umno/BN dengan berselindung di sebalik tanggungjawab sosial korporat.

Jadi eloklah anda semua lakukan yang betul dan bermaruah. Letak jawatan. Kalau dengan takdir khidmat anda masih diperlukan kerana kepakaran anda kelas dunia, insya Allah anda mungkin dipanggil balik.

Bagilah peluang kepada kerajaan PH bersihkan najis yang Najib tinggalkan yang anda bersubahat dan bersekongkol melakukannya.

Apa yang anda semua lakukan menyebabkan kerosakan institusi secara sistematik dan sistemik – tersusun dan meluas.

Hatta institusi yang tidak perlu disogok dan diberi rasuah pun disogok dan diberi rasuah dalam bentuk perniagaan, kontrak dan peruntukan luar jangkaan.

Jadi tidak payahlah anda buat muka sedih. Anda bukan kerja percuma. Khabarnya ada yang dibagi gaji ala-rasuah sampai RM200,000 sebulan untuk jadi primadona.

Saya minta kepada Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri tolong audit semula cukai pendapatan mereka dan, di mana ada keraguan, mohon Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia siasat.

Wallahuaklam.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Multiple Charges Against Najib Possible


A Kadir Jasin

In the name of God, the merciful and the compassionate

PREAMBLE: Views expressed herein are entirely mine. I am writing in my personal capacity as a blogger. It has nothing to do with whatever position I may hold.

Najib and his wife, Rosmah had been interviewed by MACC
ALHAMDULILLAH, I have just finished giving statement to the police (at Bukit Aman) concerning two articles I wrote which touched on the constitutional monarchy. It seems that quite a number of police reports were made against me. I thank the police and all well-wishers.

Now back to business. 

The news that Malaysian authorities investigating the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal are considering charging former Prime Minister, (Datuk Seri I Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sandrobone Sultan Abdul Jalil) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak with money laundering and misappropriation of property is unsurprising.

[Anonymous comments will not be published. Please use real or pseudonym. Thank you.]

The Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was quoted as saying that Najib may face multiple charges and that the case against him is watertight.

Whatever criminal charge or charges the prosecutor may bring against him is immaterial. What the people want is justice. They want him and his co-conspirators punish and the stolen assets recovered.

And if they can, they want these done quickly. I won’t blame them. It has been at least five years that the 1MDB and, to a lesser degree, the SRC International Sdn Bhd, scandals had been made known to them.

It started quite harmlessly with the lavish spending, including the staging of a mammoth "Gangnam Style" concert and “makam besar” in Penang during the 2013 general election campaign.

Words spread that these events were bankrolled by a certain Penang born businessman by the name of Low Taek Jho or better known as Jho Low. It later turned out that Jho Low is Najib’s partner in crime.

Their crimes had been proven in trials in Singapore and the legal actions in the United States of America and Switzerland.

Only here in Malaysia that it’s business as usual until Najib’s Barisan Nasional was ousted in the May 9 polls.

Since then Najib’s Attorney-General and protector, (Tan Sri) Mohamed Apandi Ali, had been shown the door and the new AG, Tommy Thomas has made the 1MDB/SRC investigation his priority.

A Reuter report from Kuala Lumpur had quoted Thomas as saying that his office was studying possible criminal and civil action.

The international news agency quoted a source close to the investigations as telling it that Najib may be charged with dishonest misappropriation of property under the Malaysian Penal Code.

The offense, Reuter says, carries a maximum jail sentence of five years, a fine and whipping. The law, however, forbids men over the age of 50 years from being whipped. Najib is 64.

Maybe misappropriation of property and money laundering are easier to prove. Several people and banks involved in laundering stolen 1MDB money had been tried and found guilty in Singapore.

These were people used by Jho Low to launder the stolen 1MDB money though the Singapore banking system. Two foreign banks had also been shut down.

In the US, for instance, money laundering charges had been used to dismantle the Mafia empires and sent their godfathers to jail. Once the Mafia chiefs were imprisoned, their other criminal activities like murders, kidnappings and extortion could be more easily investigated and prosecuted.

The same could be done with Najib and his associates – lock them away and proceed with the investigations into all the cases relating to them – anything from the purchase of the French submarines to the murders of the Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu and the founder of the Arab-Malaysian Bank, Hussein Najadi, the suspicious death of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam and other unsolved mysteries.

Altantuya's murder will be reinvestigated
Even Jho Low could be made to sing with the promise of a lighter punishment. But he must still be made to suffer the consequences of his criminal activities.

Jho Low knew his days as the international playboy and big spender were over the moment the BN lost on May 9. Almost immediately he sent feelers to offer the olive branch to the Pakatan Harapan government.

He is said to have tried to contact the Prime Minister personally but was spurned. He then contacted an intermediary who demanded that he put his “offers” in writing.

It seemed that he had wanted to cut a deal whereby he would slaughter his former boss and his other associates in return for immunity.

But this time his audacity did not pay off. A warrant of arrest had been issued against him. He either surrenders or becomes an international fugitive.

Even his family may suffer the consequences of his action. His father is Penang businessman Tan Sri Larry Low Hock Peng.

Singapore China Spectre

Incidentally, the BN’s defeat could have also exposed the cat-and-mouse game Singapore and China played with the corrupt Najib administration with predatory intentions.

As much as we treasure the relationship with the two countries, we cannot ignore the fact that billions of ringgit of the stolen 1MDB money flowed into Singapore and, for a while, inflated the republic’s banking system while China appeared to have capitalised on Najib’s greed and penchant for railroading government decisions to its advantage.

It wasn’t until the 1MDB theft became a global scandal that the Singapore authorities started to act to protect the republic’s image as an international financial centre.

We appreciate Singapore’s cooperation but we must also investigate and understand the psychology and strategy it employed in its dealing with Najib.

These include such matters as the surrender of the Malayan Railway land in the republic, the joint development of the replacement lands by Khazanah and Temasek, and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR).

As for the US, we must make the distinction between our reservation about Trump’s White House, if any, and the hugely helpful action of the Department of Justice (DoJ) in relations to the stolen 1MDB assets.

Reuter had reported on June 12 that the US Ambassador to Malaysia, Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, told Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng, that assets seized by the US would be monetised and returned to Malaysia.

In Twitter message, Lim said: “She reassured me that assets seized from 1MDB will be monetised and returned to Malaysia as early as possible.”

The DoJ had filed both criminal and civil lawsuits to seize assets it says were bought with funds misappropriated from 1MDB. It named Jho Low and Najib’s stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz as the defendants in the suits.

Wallahuaklam.

  
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Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Buat Ayahku Jasin Ibni Tahir


A Kadir Jasin

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

MUKHADIMAH: Pandangan yang terkandung dalam tulisan ini adalah pandangan peribadi saya. Saya menulis dalam kapasiti saya sebagai seorang blogger. Ia tiada kena mengena dengan apa-apa jawatan yang mungkin saya pegang.

 
Terima kunjungan Tun Dr Mahathir sekitar 1990-an
AYAHKU sudah lama pergi
(Pada 2 Jun 2009)
Aku ingat lagi
Yang sembahyangkan jenazahnya
Ramai sekali
Dari dapur hingga serambi
Kemuliaan yang diberi
Melebihi statusnya seorang petani.

Ayahku banyak jasanya
Dialah aktivis politik desa
Dialah imam surau kampungnya
Dialah penternak dan peniaga
Home Guard pengawal desa.

[Komen "Anonymous” tidak akan disiarkan. Tolong guna nama sebenar atau samaran.]

Mengaji madrasah
Sedikit bersekolah
Tapi mindanya terasah
Surat khabar, buku dan kitab
ditelaah
Inteleknya buat cendekiawan
kalah.

Dia mengajar aku keunggulan
Mendidik aku tentang keberanian
Katanya,
Jangan takut kepada manusia
Takut kepada Tuhan saja.

Maka aku membesar berani
Walaupun tubuhku kerdil
Di sekolah dibuli
Namun aku melawan
Tidak menyerah
Walaupun akhirnya kalah
Sakit kerap sekali
Sehingga namaku ditukar
Kononnya tidak serasi
Kata ibu,
Aku hampir mati
Lelah, cacing, batuk
Tidak berhenti.

Tapi aku membesar berani
Yakin kepada diri
Tengah malam menombak ikan
Ketika guruh dan hujan
Mengayuh basikal sendirian
Setiap pagi Jumaat
Ke sekolah Kristian
Melihat tahi bintang
Yang dikatakan syaitan
Tidur di sawah menjaga padi
Takut dilarikan pencuri.

Pohon ayah mati menjadi tempat burung berhenti
Ayah dan aku
Berbahas selalu
Kami sering tidak setuju
Dia memanggilku
Pemberontak
Aku memanggilnya
Monarkis
Dia menuduh aku
Komunis dan sosialis
Aku memanggilnya
Tradisionalis dan feudalis.

Dia mengajarku ilmu
Menunjuk hala tuju
Katanya,
Jangan takutkan manusia
Takutkan Tuhan saja
Jangan mengemis meminta
Kalau bukan rezeki kita
Pakai apa yang ada
Makan apa yang tersedia
Berkongsi dengan yang tiada.

Maka aku ikutlah katanya
Aku tidak takut kepada manusia
Biar setinggi mana darjatnya
Yang baik aku sanjung
Yang buruk aku sembung
Yang mulia aku puji
Yang zalim aku caci.

Mengapa harus kita
takutkan manusia?
Kita semua sama saja
Hamba Allah belaka
Yang kaya
Yang hina
Si papa
Si raja
Sama saja
Yang mulia pekerti
Yang tinggi budi.

 
Ayah penyuluh jalan penunjuk haluan
Damailah ayah
Di alam barzakh
Dalam gelap malam
Bintangmu menyerlah
Menunjuk arah.

Terima kasih ayah.

 (Sempena Hari Bapa 2018)

Wallahuaklam.
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About Me

My photo
I was born in 1947 in Kedah. I came from a rice farming family. I have been a journalist since 1969. I am the Editor-in-Chief of magazine publishing company, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd. I was Group Editor NST Sdn Bhd and Group Editor-in-Chief of NSTP Bhd between 1988 and 2000. I write fortnightly column “Other Thots” in the Malaysian Business magazine, Kunta Kinte Original in Berita Harian and A Kadir Jasin Bercerita in Dewan Masyarakat. Books: Biar Putih Tulang (1998), Other Thots – Opinions & Observations 1992-2001 (2001), The Wings of an Eagle (2003), Mencari Dugalia Huso (2006), Damned That Thots (2006), Blogger (2006), PRU 2008-Rakyat Sahut Cabaran (2008), Komedi & Tragedi-Latest in Contemporary Malaysian Politics (2009) and Membangun Bangsa dengan Pena (2009).