Nazir Razak has taken another dig at his elder brother and Prime Minister Najib Razak with an Instagram post saying, “we should fear god more, government less.”
Nazir, the group chairman of CIMB , posted a picture of himself at a panel discussion at the Asian Institute of Finance Symposium 2015 here yesterday with the message: “AIF Symposium panel on ethics, transparency & professionalism in banking. Concluded that we should fear God more,
Government less!”
A day earlier, Nazir posted a photo of himself with Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who is embroiled in an imbroglio over 1Malaysia Development Berhad, and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde with the note: “My moment with 2 icons of global finance”.
Three days earlier, Nazir posted a picture of Najib and former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin at his bank’s Hari Raya open house, calling it “the last supper”.
The picture was taken a day before Najib dropped Muhyiddin as his deputy in a Cabinet reshuffle on July 28.
Nazir is said to be linked to New Hope Movement (Gerakan Harapan Baru) which has been set up by disgruntled leaders of PAS.
There has also been talk that Nazir and several like-minded individuals, who are concerned over the country’s present socio-political landscape would be setting up an NGO.
This site is dedicated to discussing about this man who is the PM of Malaysia. Feel free to comment.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Monday, August 3, 2015
Muhyiddin Yassin Supposed to be Arrested?
The night after Muhyiddin Yassin was sacked as Malaysia's deputy prime minister, his wife was gripped by rumours that her husband was about to be arrested. Muhyiddin then called his successor, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, to seek confirmation. When Zahid called back at 2am, Muhyiddin asked: "So is your first job as the new deputy prime minister to catch an old one?" Recounting his post-sacking experience to a gathering of party supporters in his home state, Johor, Muhyiddin said: "He [Zahid] told me not to believe rumours, saying, 'You can sleep peacefully tonight'."
Indeed, Muhyiddin strikes a cool composure.
Despite losing his government post, he pledged his loyalty to the party. But he let it be known that he was still the elected deputy president of Umno - the main party in the country's ruling coalition - second only to Prime Minister Najib Razak, who sacked him late last month for being openly critical on the scandal involving 1MDB, a state investment fund advised by Najib. As the crisis gets more convoluted, two significant developments have emerged. The first is the growing split within Umno, with reports of a possible revolt by Muhyiddin loyalists. Three days after the bombshell sacking, there was a second shift - the admission of an Umno political fund. Top Umno leaders gradually conceded there is a party trust account held in Najib's personal account, but Umno's party constitution allows this; and finally, the funds are not from 1MDB but are "political donations".
The anti-corruption commission, with uncharacteristic speed, declared that the 2.6 billion ringgit (HK$5.1 billion) Najib received was a political donation from a secret person in the Middle East. The political fund narrative, not surprisingly, opened up a new hornet's nest. It was immediately criticised by the opposition as a tactic to deflect attention from the 1MDB issue. Najib's fiercest critic, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, however, disclosed that, in his time, there was no such thing as a personal account for party funds, but trust accounts held by three trustees. Mahathir said if the donations had funded Umno's campaigns in the 2013 general election, the huge amount could have been in breach of election rules on limits of political funding.
If true, there could also be other implications on the legitimacy of the 2013 elections. The new controversy over political funding appears to have given Najib some time as he manoeuvres to buttress his position and possibly even crush his critics. True enough, a warrant of arrest has been obtained for journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the founder of the website Sarawak Report, which triggered the 1MDB exposé.
The high-powered special task force set up in the aftermath has now been disbanded. To add to the convolution, police have arrested investigators from the anti-corruption team, provoking accusations of questionable police interventions. Indicative of what is to come, a commentary in the mainstream New Straits Times hinted at more changes afoot, "including changes in key Umno positions at the party headquarters and state liaison chiefs".
Further, it said, some "top-level reshuffle involving key government entities and government-linked companies is also being planned". Going by this commentary, Najib's next move appears to be a counter-offensive painting himself the victim of an international "conspiracy" out to "criminalise" him. While Najib appears to have strengthened his hand for now, the political crisis has only just begun. Even if Najib survives this, it is hard to imagine how he would emerge unscathed. The big question is whether the ruling coalition can retain power in the next general election. Malaysian politics is entering yet another explosive and unpredictable phase.
Despite losing his government post, he pledged his loyalty to the party. But he let it be known that he was still the elected deputy president of Umno - the main party in the country's ruling coalition - second only to Prime Minister Najib Razak, who sacked him late last month for being openly critical on the scandal involving 1MDB, a state investment fund advised by Najib. As the crisis gets more convoluted, two significant developments have emerged. The first is the growing split within Umno, with reports of a possible revolt by Muhyiddin loyalists. Three days after the bombshell sacking, there was a second shift - the admission of an Umno political fund. Top Umno leaders gradually conceded there is a party trust account held in Najib's personal account, but Umno's party constitution allows this; and finally, the funds are not from 1MDB but are "political donations".
The anti-corruption commission, with uncharacteristic speed, declared that the 2.6 billion ringgit (HK$5.1 billion) Najib received was a political donation from a secret person in the Middle East. The political fund narrative, not surprisingly, opened up a new hornet's nest. It was immediately criticised by the opposition as a tactic to deflect attention from the 1MDB issue. Najib's fiercest critic, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, however, disclosed that, in his time, there was no such thing as a personal account for party funds, but trust accounts held by three trustees. Mahathir said if the donations had funded Umno's campaigns in the 2013 general election, the huge amount could have been in breach of election rules on limits of political funding.
If true, there could also be other implications on the legitimacy of the 2013 elections. The new controversy over political funding appears to have given Najib some time as he manoeuvres to buttress his position and possibly even crush his critics. True enough, a warrant of arrest has been obtained for journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the founder of the website Sarawak Report, which triggered the 1MDB exposé.
The high-powered special task force set up in the aftermath has now been disbanded. To add to the convolution, police have arrested investigators from the anti-corruption team, provoking accusations of questionable police interventions. Indicative of what is to come, a commentary in the mainstream New Straits Times hinted at more changes afoot, "including changes in key Umno positions at the party headquarters and state liaison chiefs".
Further, it said, some "top-level reshuffle involving key government entities and government-linked companies is also being planned". Going by this commentary, Najib's next move appears to be a counter-offensive painting himself the victim of an international "conspiracy" out to "criminalise" him. While Najib appears to have strengthened his hand for now, the political crisis has only just begun. Even if Najib survives this, it is hard to imagine how he would emerge unscathed. The big question is whether the ruling coalition can retain power in the next general election. Malaysian politics is entering yet another explosive and unpredictable phase.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Najib is Now Top 50 Richest Man in Malaysia
Congratulations to Najib. Now you are the 27th richest man in Malaysia. You have just made it into Forbes Malaysia's 50 richest man in Malaysia. And this is how you got there:
US$619m (RM2.35b) - Fund Transfer from Tanore Finance 21-3-2013
US$61m (RM231m) - Fund Transfer from Tanore Finance 25-3-2013
RM27m - Fund Transfer from Ihsan Perdana 26-12-2014
RM5m - Fund Transfer from Ihsan Perdana 27-12-2014
RM10m - Fund Transfer from Ihsan Perdana 10-2-2015
TOTAL - RM2,621b
US$619m (RM2.35b) - Fund Transfer from Tanore Finance 21-3-2013
US$61m (RM231m) - Fund Transfer from Tanore Finance 25-3-2013
RM27m - Fund Transfer from Ihsan Perdana 26-12-2014
RM5m - Fund Transfer from Ihsan Perdana 27-12-2014
RM10m - Fund Transfer from Ihsan Perdana 10-2-2015
TOTAL - RM2,621b
He is so sure of himself that all these 5 transfers were made to his own name in his own account at AmBank which was subsequently closed, after photos of his checks and transfers were made public by the SarawakReport. In legal term, this is no doubt money-laundering, though the Inspector-General of Police in Malaysia would not agree for obvious reason.
Friday, July 10, 2015
'Najib & Co' pinpointed by son of slain AmBank founder
Pascal Najadi, the son of murdered Ambank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi, repeated his assertions disputing police disclosures his father’s death was not related to 1MDB. “By simply denying, that there was no link to 1MDB and the assassination of my father (Hussain Najadi), the IGP draws even more attention from us the family and the general public,” his Facebook post read.
“How come he can say this as there has been no investigation? More, this is not his field of competence, it is the duty of the Attorney-General to pursue this case as it is a criminal offence that was committed in Malaysia and the mastermind killer is known to the Malaysians and to the world through Interpol under Article 145 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia,” his post from St Petersburg Russia read, adding his call on readers to report and tweet his comment. Pascal’s comment came in the wake of yesterday’s disclosure by IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar that the 2013 fatal shooting of Hussain Ahmad was not linked to 1MDB.
“We completed our investigations following and we know the motive behind the incident.” he responded to media queries at KL Sentral yesterday. Khalid refuted Pascal’s claims saying that the son had based his claims and assertions on hearsay and blog postings. The IGP also dismissed conspiracy theories surrounding the shooting saying they were baseless and malicious.
In the wake of the IGP’s statement, Pascal called on Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail to intervene into the matter. Hussain was shot dead outside the Kuan Yin temple in Jalan Ceylon, on July 29, 2013, while his wife Cheong Mei Kuen cheated death when a lone gunman opened fire on them. The motives behind the killing was never clearly established.
Taxi driver Chew Siang Chee was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for his participation in the killing, while tow truck driver Koong Swee Kwan was identified to be the gunman and found guilty of murder last year, and sentenced to death. Koong was also sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment for attempting to murder Najadi’s wife Cheong.
Pascal Najadi also gave his opinions on the future of Malaysia...
Who could have thought that the crisp news on US$700 million that went missing in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s private bank accounts could present itself as a real chance for Malaysia and all Malaysians?
More precisely, according to the Sarawak Report and Wall Street Journal, US$681,999,976 (RM2.6 billion) was separately wire-transferred from the Singapore branch of the private bank owned by the Abu Dhabi fund Aabar into the prime minister’s private AmBank account in Kuala Lumpur, on March 2013, just in advance of the calling of the general election.
This is a tall order of an alleged now made public super heist well worth a few questions to be raised.
Where we leave now Justice to do a thorough diligent forensic on the US$700 million which allegedly, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal, were literally stolen from Malaysian coffers, one can or should take a broader look at the Malaysian state of affairs of today.
A chance for necessary renewal and multi-layered cleansing out of 58 years of Umno-grown corruption presents itself uniquely and perhaps most timely on July 3, 2015.
Malaysia today is no longer a champion of natural resources. Petronas is no longer a bulge bracket global oil company, it never really was.
Education standards in Malaysia are nearing those of established Third World countries and Vision 2020 is not an agenda but a pipe dream that will never come through.
Malaysia never offered equality to all of her citizens. My late father Hussain Najadi, the founder of AM Bank Group, Malaysia's fifth largest bank, was brutally assassinated on July 29, 2013 in Kuala Lumpur in broad daylight, the investigation and police work on finding the masterminds stopped long time ago back in 2013.
We, as a family in fear of our wellbeing, left Malaysia early 2014 for good, sold all our assets and now feel safe in Switzerland and the Russian Federation. And so on and so forth.
The list of shortcomings of Malaysia or better of a failed state, an inherently corrupt Umno and unresolved assassinations in Malaysia is far too long for this short op-ed here.
We take a look in to the core and history of Malaysian politics. The dominating Umno is exclusively run by Malays and has never allowed all Malaysians, with the Chinese Malaysians and the Indian Malaysians, to partake.
Consequently, since independence, each of Malaysia's six prime ministers has been Malay Umno members, starting with the late Tunku Abdul Rahman becoming the first chief minister of Malaya on August 1, 1955 under Queen Elizabeth II and later becoming the first prime minister on August 31, 1957, the day of independence from British rule.
Today, Najib assumes the office of the prime minister, like his good late father Tun Abdul Razak Hussein did brilliantly so as the second prime minister from 1970 to 1976.
Razak is regarded widely as been a thorough honest man, died not rich and my late father dealt with him when helping to develop post-British ruled Malaysia back then by founding the Arab-Malaysian Development Bank in 1974 – today's fifth largest bank, AmBank Group.
Ironic, epic, is the fact that my late father founded that bank with the blessings of Tun Razak in 1974. Bank Negara then being the majority shareholder with my father bringing it in the early 1980s to the public via the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange and today, the corruption money of Najib being uncovered in the media on private accounts held by him with AmBank. Karma was at heavy duty work.
This seriously corrupt Umno system has morphed from preferring the Malay race into the most unfortunate of all capital mistakes that one can do, to playing the religious card.
To get religion out of a system of government, history has taught us plenty of examples over the past centuries, blood was the ink used to protocol barbaric events now printed with black ink in our history books.
Those religion-based government system-reset-events were cataclysm spiked epic battles and armed conflicts with human casualties accounted for in large numbers.
All Malaysians are now tested not to let this happen and the government, if serious about being a responsible government, must now use this latest headline of a massive corruption as a unique chance to readjust its course.
Political systems and institutions in history never went a step backwards, they only moved and move forward. The question is the heading, more to the left, centre or to the right.
But when the carriage is in full speed and inertia races it forward too close and 90 degrees towards a concrete wall, a crash can no longer be prevented, the crash will occur. Simple laws of physics can be translated on many occasions into systemic government risks.
Risk is omnipresent for humans. We have to understand and manage risks 24 hours 7 days a week 365 days year on year, permanently perpetually.
Risk management was never in the book of the Malay-ruled Umno-dominated landscape, corruption took care of not exposing those risks, no one cared and now this risk has bitten Malaysians with a vengeance.
Too late to avert but not too late to manage, although the time is running out faster than Malaysia will be able to cope with.
Malaysia and all Malaysian passport holders of all walks of life, all religions now have the last call, the last remaining chance to take charge, to peacefully unite and to reset Malaysia, to manage the risks that become more and more visible as a serious threat to its raison d'etre its credibility its existence.
To make the system better, to learn from all the decades of mistakes and corruption that now bring Malaysia to her knees, certified now a failed state by my personal opinion. It will take many future generations to mend, to rebuild but a start is a start even when starting from the rubbles of corruption.
The US$700 million fraud allegations, theft of Najib presented to the world via Wall Street Journal, CNBC et al based on bank accounts and documents surfaced to see the light of the day by the Sarawak Report present perhaps for the first time since 1957 a serious question that is worth more than US$700 million. Can Malaysia survive this?
The answer is, maybe just, but only if it can clean the out itself from the rot that has been fermenting since the day independence. Umno must refurbish drastically, change its charter, must allow all Malaysians to participate.
One Malaysian citizen being one vote to count, regardless of race and religion. The simple answer to this most complicated question relates to common sense.
Malaysians time to lead their nation has come and it will be at a hefty cost of the Malays, them losing their preferred status through race, handouts, pocket linings, their posh London mansions, their Ferraris, Bentleys, private jets, Hermes bags and what not. This is the cost to avert a perhaps much more serious conflict. It probably is a cost well worth every penny of it.
* Pascal Najadi is the founder president of the international private Swiss merchant banking advisory firm A.S. Najadi & Partners.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of this blog.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
The Unsung Billionaire via Donations
There are more billionaires in Malaysia than you think you can count. But this is a special one. Najib said these money in his account are donations from his political fan.
Corruption is now non-existent in Malaysia, as it is now officially embraced into the culture of Malaysia or at least culture of UMNO, and the right word to use is donation, not corruption. Anyone criticizing this culture or tradition, is liable to be jailed. This is what you get when a thief become the Emperor.
Investigations into debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) have uncovered billions of ringgit being channelled to the personal accounts of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Sarawak Report reported.
Both are quoting from documents from the 1MDB probe that is being carried out by the Malaysian government, with Sarawak Report claiming that the Attorney-General was also aware of the information.
The documents show that US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) was moved among government agencies, banks and entities linked to 1MDB and finally ending up in the prime minister's personal accounts in five separate deposits, WSJ said.
It said that the largest transactions were deposits of US$620 million and another one for US$61 million in March 2013, two months before the general election was held. Look like he bought himself the Prime Minister's Office.
However, Putrajaya has denied the reports, saying Najib has not made use of any public funds.
"The prime minister has not taken any funds for personal use,” a Putrajaya spokesman said, without giving any evidence, or explaining how he got to know this.
“The prime minister’s political opponents, unwilling to accept his record or the facts, continue to try to undermine him with baseless smears and rumours for pure political gain.”
Of course, this was said before Najib came out to admit taking the money as donations. PM Najib's spokesman desperately holding on to any political credibility left.
Meanwhile, an 1MDB spokesman said, referring to the transfers into Najib’s account: “1MDB is not aware of any such transactions, nor has it seen any documents to this effect.” Given that PM Najib is also the Finance Minister, we have a pretty good idea where these documents have gone to by now.
The spokesman cautioned that doctored documents have been used in the past to discredit 1MDB and the government.
Sarawak Report said RM42 million had gone into Najib's accounts from SRC International Sdn Bhd, the Finance Ministry-owned company that had taken a RM4 billion loan from the
Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP).
"The money taken from SRC International is a particularly shocking revelation, because this was money lent by the public pension fund KWAP and never accounted for," the report said.
The Finance Ministry had said previously SRC invested the funds in Gobi Coal & Energy Ltd, a Mongolian-based company, but provided no other details than that.
A director of SRC, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, the report said, had power of attorney over Najib’s accounts, according to documents acquired from the investigation.
The latest transaction, the reports said, was in February this year. The documents show that SRC International had transferred RM10 million into an account under the name of “Dato’Sri Mohd Najib Bin Hj Abd Razak” at AmPrivate Bank in Kuala Lumpur.
WSJ also reported that SRC and the bank refused to comment on the matter.
1MDB is currently the subject of inquiries by a number of authorities, including the auditor-general, Bank Negara, police and the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee.
Najib, who is also finance minister and chairs 1MDB's advisory board, has come under severe criticism in recent months over a number of issues, including that of 1MDB which has amassed RM42 billion in debts after just six years of it being set up.
Yesterday, the prime minister admitted that he was depressed by the rumours linking him to 1MDB's controversial land deal with Tabung Haji, saying a responsible government would not use public funds to bail out a state-owned company. – July 3, 2015.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Najib caught with his pants down
Najib caught with his pants down
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today denied that there was an attempt to illegally smuggle the RM40 million donation for Sabah Umno into the country.
Moontime: The government is being irrational once again. Caught with its pants down, it tried to justify what amounted to a criminal act in ordinary circumstances.
The quick response by MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) saying that there's nothing wrong smacks of political interference and 'sandiwara', which is becoming irritatingly common in Malaysia.
For how long do we need to put up with all these? How can the government be so arrogant and dare to insult the intelligence of ordinary citizens by playing down the gravity of the issue at hand?
We are talking about allegations of money laundering here and the mystery donor, about whom PM Najib Razak curtly refused to divulge. The beleaguered PM must have forgotten that in his zeal to implicate human rights organisation Suaram, he left his back door vulnerable to attack.
Let there be more scandals uncovered and skeletons exposed so that more fence sitters can be convinced to vote for Pakatan Rakyat. BN must be taught a bitter lesson: it doesn't pay to be corrupt.
SMC77: Najib, do you think you are God? Do you think we should accept your explanation without any questions? Your credibility is in the negative territory and there is no reason to believe you.
Odin: Some of those who stumped up the money are alleged to be Andrew Lim, Freddy Lim and Admond Looh, all timber tycoons from Sabah, and Ting Pek Khiing, Ngui Ing Chuang and Simon Ling, the same from Sarawak.
Simple logic tells one that if these people had contributed the money to Umno, and if political donations are not illegal as certain Umno ministers have claimed, then there would have been no necessity for the money to have been transferred in the manner of which we now all know about - a manner that is not only highly irregular, but also one that puts the courier to great risks, such as being waylaid and murdered.
Only those in the illicit drugs trade, members of mobs and other sleazy characters involved in similarly shady dealings would do what the courier has done. Najib obviously lacks the intellect to lie convincingly.
Telestai!: Najib, I'll give you three reasons to say that the funds were smuggled.
1) The funds were in cold hard cash being carried out of Hong Kong, a financial centre which is also the playground of timber tycoons operating in Sandakan and Tawau.
2) The cash was carried by a dodgy bagman - a person who is a linkman to the timber tycoons.
3) Although caught in Hong Kong, the currency of the cash was Singapore dollars (SGD). We all know that SGD is a rather obscure currency and is seldom used in international trade and finance.
Hence, it is highly unusual for cash in Singapore dollars to be carried around anywhere, except for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Now go ask MACC to reopen the investigation files.
Fair&Just: If what have been alleged are true, then I really cannot stand having a country in this world like Bolehland that is corrupt to the core and nothing can be done when revelations upon revelations are made known to the rakyat.
You reap what you sow. The rakyat here are truly stupid if they do not take proactive action in the next GE and their children deserve to suffer under the weight of corruption.
Swipenter: If you try to defend the indefensible and justify the unjustifiable, you usually end up with more questions than an acceptable answer and open up Pandora's Box. Look at how things are turning out for Umno for playing the "foreign funding" card on Suaram.
Now all guns and eyes are trained on the smuggled RM40 million, Amangate and corruption in Umno. The talk of political contribution is not going to sidetrack the original issue of corruption, kickbacks and the links to big business and Umno bigwigs.
In the final analysis, Umno has not learned that it can never be sure of the consequences of its own actions.
Another example, if not for Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Scorpene commission of RM500 million would never see daylight and even now, unknown consequences are still fomenting here and in France.
Absalom: Why the need to carry cash? Why in Singapore currency? Where did it originate from? Who was/were the donor(s)? Why was Chia doing the carrying?
If you have nothing to hide and nothing shady about it, you should be able to answer these questions as a matter of fact. But if it is a kickback of sorts, or an advance payment for some future big 'favour' or drug money, or stolen from the kitty or anything sinister, understandably difficult to explain.
But with Najib's and BN's impeccable record on integrity, this is surely not the case. The money was probably cash collected in charity drives by Girl Guides around the world to save Sabah Umno from the evil opposition forces.
FellowMalaysian: Correction, Mr PM. Your able minister did not explain the fiasco. He just shoved it down the throats of those who attended Parliament that day.
It befuddles me how you could ever deny the facts that have been laid right in front of your eyes. Wasn't Michael Chia caught red-handed by the watchful eyes of Hong Kong's ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) trying to leave the airport with RM40 million cash?
Instead of calling it 'smuggling' or 'money laundering', you have the audacity to even call it ‘legal donation funds' for Sabah Umno?
Why don't you declare that the RM250 million NFC (National Feedlot Corporation) loan given to Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's family actually is a donation from a well-wisher - to save her from all the embarrassment?
Starr: If the RM40 million was not laundered through Hong Kong and smuggled back to the country, why was Michael Chia caught and detained by Hong Kong authorities at the airport? Clearly, the amount smuggled was illegal as it was undeclared.
The explanations of Nazri Aziz, and now Najib, on the dubious RM40 million donation to Umno Sabah is not only unacceptable to the opposition but also the general public, particularly the Sabahans who know very well that the money was timber kickbacks in return for logging rights on Yayasan Sabah concession area which rightfully belongs to the rakyat of Sabah, not Sabah Umno.
For Umno to be involved in such an elaborate scheme of laundering the money around the globe before moving it back to the state bears testimony to the dirty state of the party funding.
It's tantamount to plundering state wealth and exploiting the state resources at the expense of the rakyat. In other countries, the authorities would have nipped it in the butt, irrespective of who they are.
Abasir: Murder, assault, porn video, smuggling, money laundering, vote-buying, fornicating... the biodata is getting longer and disgustingly compelling by the day. Do Malaysians need more reasons to make the right decision?
Thursday, December 30, 2010
No cross or singing at Christmas party with Najib
KUALA LUMPUR - Catholic church officials were told to remove crucifixes and to avoid singing hymns during Prime Minister Najib Razak's attendance of a Christmas tea party hosted by the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur last Saturday.
The overzealous bid to protect the Prime Minister's credentials was described by sources familiar with what happened as "paranoid" and done without Mr Najib's knowledge.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Mr Najib's men may have been spooked by the National Fatwa Council's recent repeated announcements over Muslims at non-Muslim celebrations and had tripped over themselves to ensure his attendance at the tea party passed without a hitch.
It was the first time Mr Najib was attending a Christian function in his official capacity since taking over power in April last year.
Mr Najib has been instrumental in bringing the leaders of different faiths to the same table earlier this year to try and peacefully resolve long-standing interfaith disputes after a series of attacks against houses of worship nationwide.
The violence erupted following a controversial court ruling allowing Christians to also use the word "Allah" to refer to God beyond the Muslim context.
Sources noted that Mr Najib's aides had little to be anxious about as the party was held outdoors in several marquees where religious paraphernalia were the least likely to be fixed.
"They were overly fearful but there was nothing for them to be fearful about," a source pointed out, dismissing Mr Najib's aides as being too "paranoid".
The overzealous bid to protect the Prime Minister's credentials was described by sources familiar with what happened as "paranoid" and done without Mr Najib's knowledge.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Mr Najib's men may have been spooked by the National Fatwa Council's recent repeated announcements over Muslims at non-Muslim celebrations and had tripped over themselves to ensure his attendance at the tea party passed without a hitch.
It was the first time Mr Najib was attending a Christian function in his official capacity since taking over power in April last year.
Mr Najib has been instrumental in bringing the leaders of different faiths to the same table earlier this year to try and peacefully resolve long-standing interfaith disputes after a series of attacks against houses of worship nationwide.
The violence erupted following a controversial court ruling allowing Christians to also use the word "Allah" to refer to God beyond the Muslim context.
Sources noted that Mr Najib's aides had little to be anxious about as the party was held outdoors in several marquees where religious paraphernalia were the least likely to be fixed.
"They were overly fearful but there was nothing for them to be fearful about," a source pointed out, dismissing Mr Najib's aides as being too "paranoid".
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Dr M defends Najib over FDI
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today defended the Najib Administration over the plunging foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country last year.
Dr Mahathir echoed the explanation made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the slowdown in investments was due to external factors.
The former prime minister said that foreign investors currently do not have the funds to pour in the country.
“Today, most countries and foreign business people do not have the money to invest in their own country because their country has a lot of unemployment so we cannot expect much foreign direct investment today,” he told reporters after attending The Loaf Malaysian Premier Bakery 4th anniversary here.
Najib has come under fire from opposition parties for Malaysia’s lacklustre FDI rates, which have fallen faster than regional counterparts such as Singapore and China even while capital outflows dampened private domestic investment.
The WIR 2010 released by the United Nations showed that FDI in Malaysia plunged 81 per cent last year, trailing behind countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
The report revealed that Malaysia suffered a large 81.1 per cent drop in FDIs compared to far healthier figures in Thailand (30.4 per cent), Vietnam (44.1 per cent) and Indonesia (44.7 per cent).
In May, Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed announced that investments in the country for Q1 2010 amounted to RM5.2 billion.
FDIs made up RM3.2 billion of this total, with Singapore, Taiwan and Japan being the biggest contributors.
Mustapa said the investment amount was still relatively low against the total amount of RM32.6 billion in investments received last year.
Najib has been trying to lift Malaysia’s profile as a destination for foreign investment to help the country achieve an average GDP growth of at least 6 per cent per annum over the next five years.
Najib’s administration has insisted that the GDP growth target is still achievable despite warning that the economy may slow down in the second half of the year due to external factors.
However Najib’s brother, Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, said that wrangling over affirmative action in the proposed New Economic Model (NEM) is causing uncertainty among investors.
The CIMB Bank chief executive officer said that there was a lot of debate over what sort of affirmative action should be in the NEM, notably involving vocal Malay rights group Perkasa, and the government needed to decide quickly for the sake of giving investors a sense of direction.
Dr Mahathir refused to comment when asked whether such issues had an effect and said it was for the government to decide.
“So the government must study,” said Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir has been a staunch supporter of a race-based affirmative action and distribution policy.
The former premier had said that the country owes its racial harmony to the New Economic Policy’s (NEP) because it has helped to reduced economic disparity between the different communities, especially between the Chinese and the Malays.
Dr Mahathir echoed the explanation made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the slowdown in investments was due to external factors.
The former prime minister said that foreign investors currently do not have the funds to pour in the country.
“Today, most countries and foreign business people do not have the money to invest in their own country because their country has a lot of unemployment so we cannot expect much foreign direct investment today,” he told reporters after attending The Loaf Malaysian Premier Bakery 4th anniversary here.
Najib has come under fire from opposition parties for Malaysia’s lacklustre FDI rates, which have fallen faster than regional counterparts such as Singapore and China even while capital outflows dampened private domestic investment.
The WIR 2010 released by the United Nations showed that FDI in Malaysia plunged 81 per cent last year, trailing behind countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
The report revealed that Malaysia suffered a large 81.1 per cent drop in FDIs compared to far healthier figures in Thailand (30.4 per cent), Vietnam (44.1 per cent) and Indonesia (44.7 per cent).
In May, Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed announced that investments in the country for Q1 2010 amounted to RM5.2 billion.
FDIs made up RM3.2 billion of this total, with Singapore, Taiwan and Japan being the biggest contributors.
Mustapa said the investment amount was still relatively low against the total amount of RM32.6 billion in investments received last year.
Najib has been trying to lift Malaysia’s profile as a destination for foreign investment to help the country achieve an average GDP growth of at least 6 per cent per annum over the next five years.
Najib’s administration has insisted that the GDP growth target is still achievable despite warning that the economy may slow down in the second half of the year due to external factors.
However Najib’s brother, Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, said that wrangling over affirmative action in the proposed New Economic Model (NEM) is causing uncertainty among investors.
The CIMB Bank chief executive officer said that there was a lot of debate over what sort of affirmative action should be in the NEM, notably involving vocal Malay rights group Perkasa, and the government needed to decide quickly for the sake of giving investors a sense of direction.
Dr Mahathir refused to comment when asked whether such issues had an effect and said it was for the government to decide.
“So the government must study,” said Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir has been a staunch supporter of a race-based affirmative action and distribution policy.
The former premier had said that the country owes its racial harmony to the New Economic Policy’s (NEP) because it has helped to reduced economic disparity between the different communities, especially between the Chinese and the Malays.
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