Ahmad Shabery Cheek: “The Malaysian Insider spin kenyataan saya, tak habis-habis buat fitnah TMI ni.”
‘Abdul Wahid Omar mangsa fitnah terbaru Malaysian Insider’ – BN Backbencher’s Club News @ http://www.bnbbc.my/?p=4474
Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Razali Ibrahim ‘bidas laporan Malaysian Insider, jangan percaya fitnah pembangkang’ – Felda Voice @ http://www.feldavoice.com/2014/12/05/razali-bidas-laporan-malaysian-insider-jangan-percaya-fitnah-pembangkang/
The Malaysian Insider fitnah Hadi Awang
‘PAS desak The Malaysian Insider mohon maaf’ – kenyataan akhbar oleh Mahfuz Omar @ http://www.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/34214-pas-desak-the-malaysian-insider-mohon-maaf
‘Pembohongan The Malaysian Insider dikecam‘ – Isma @ http://www.ismaweb.net/2015/03/pembohongan-the-malaysian-insider-dikecam/
Portal berita ‘putar-belit’ kenyataan saya di Rompin – Hasan Malek @ http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/bm/po/newspolitics.php?id=1131896
Tentunya tidak lain dan tidak bukan The Malaysian Insider portal berita itu yang didakwa telah memutar-belit kenyataan Hasan Malek.
“Kita hendaklah berhati-hati portal-portal berita tertentu” – Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (Mufti Perlis) @ http://www.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/34550-hudud-hati-hati-portal-berita-tertentu-pesan-dr-asri
Portal yang perlu kita waspada yang disebut Dr Maza tentunya tidak lain dan tidak bukan TMI.
‘The Malaysian Insider mohon maaf kepada Mukhriz Mahathir’ / (maksudnya TMI yang paling jahat itu telah memfitnah Mukhriz) @ http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/malaysian-insider-mohon-maaf-kepada-mukhriz-mahathir-24149?cp
‘Laporan TMI adalah fitnah – setiausaha politik presiden PAS’ @ http://www.amenoworld.net/2014/08/laporan-tmi-adalah-fitnah-setiausaha.html
‘Tajuk sensasi TMI adalah satu fitnah – Khairuddin’ @ http://beta.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/30615-tajuk-sensasi-tmi-adalah-satu-fitnah-khairuddin
‘Kenapa fitnah TMI terhadap Almarhum Uztaz Harun tidak boleh dimaafkan?’ @ http://www.pas.org.my/berita-kenyataan-dppp/2482-kenapa-fitnah-tmi-terhadap-almarhum-ustaz-harun-tidak-boleh-dimaafkan
‘Malaysian Insider fitnah Datuk Zaini penolong ketua pengarang Utusan’ – MyMassa @ http://mymassa.blogspot.com/2014/07/malaysian-insider-fitnah-datuk-zaini.html
‘Malaysian Insider bohong lagi‘ – Perak Today @ http://peraktoday.com.my/2013/07/malaysian-insider-bohong-lagi/
“Portal berita Malaysian Insider secara terbuka memfitnah Menteri Pelajaran (II), Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh …”, see Kunta Kinte (MyKMU) @ http://www.mykmu.net/2013/09/editor-malaysian-insider-ejen-pakatan-rakyat/
TMI are congenital liars | Helen Ang
Malah ada halaman Facebook khusus berjudul ‘Anti-Fitnah TMI‘ @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anti-Fitnah-TMI/600757636692275
Lagi satu laman Facebook bertajuk ‘Banteras Fitnah dan Spin The Malaysian Insider‘ @ https://www.facebook.com/mkinitmipemfitnah
Majlis Fatwa pun boleh jadi mangsa fitnah TMI
- TMI continues lying by giving false justification @ https://hakbersuara.wordpress.com/2014/04/20/tmi-lying-continue/
- False hate allegation against fatwa council @ https://hakbersuara.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/false-hate-allegation-against-fatwa-council/
‘Malaysian Insider fitnah MAIS dan JAIS untuk reka isu politik’ – The Unspinners @ http://theunspinners.blogspot.com/2014/02/malaysian-insider-fitnah-mais-dan-jais.html
‘Malaysian Insider medan penghasut dan pelampau agama’ – setiausaha agung Muafakat @ https://akarimomar.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/malaysianinsider-medan-penghasut-dan-pelampau-agama/
Malaysian Insider fitnah Majlis Raja-Raja – Asyraf Wajdi @ http://www.suara.tv/2015/03/25/malaysian-insider-fitnah-majlis-raja-raja-ashraf/
‘Terkini! Portal pro pembangkang, The Malaysian Insider tak serik lagi selepas fitnah Majlis Raja-Raja Melayu…’ @ http://novandri.blogspot.com/2015/03/terkini-portal-propembangkang-malaysian.html
‘Desak tindakan tegas pembohongan The Malaysian Insider‘ @ http://www.ismaweb.net/2015/03/desak-tindakan-tegas-pembohongan-the-malaysian-insider/
‘The Malaysian Insider apologises to Dr Mahathir’ @ http://mole.my/the-malaysian-insider-apologises-to-dr-mahathir/
‘The Malaysian Insider issues fourth apology in over a week’ @ http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/the-malaysian-insider-issues-fifth-apology-in-over-a-week
The above compilation of TMI‘s fitnah is not even an exhaustive list.
Tun’s blog posting in Che Det yesterday
Dr Mahathir wrote:
33. Pemberita yang melapur bahawa Majlis Raja-Raja tidak bersetuju dengan hudud PAS telah ditangkap kerana kononnya menyalahi undang-undang hasutan. Kemudian hakim melepas mereka kerana ia bukan hasutan.
34. Tindakan ke atas pemberita disyaki untuk menakutkan orang ramai dari membuat apa-apa kenyataan anti-Kerajaan.
35. Saya berasa terdapat salahguna kuasa oleh Kerajaan. Agensi-agensi Kerajaan diguna untuk ugutan.
I have to disagree with Tun on what he wrote above.
TMI‘s day of reckoning
My views:
(33a) The monarchy are protected by the Sedition Act from being brought into disrepute. The Malaysian Insider had clearly fitnah the Council of Rulers by concocting a piece of news on an event which the Rulers denied ever took place. TMI had simply fabricated a story out of thin air as they’re wont to do.
Their hideous track record is proof of their bad intentions. And how sneaky they are! Read how TMI kenakan Tan Sri Muhyiddin
(33b) The magistrate did not “melepas mereka kerana ia bukan hasutan”. What Tun wrote implies that the TMI editors were released because they were innocent. This is not true. The magistrate merely refused the police request for their remand.
(34) The action taken by police against the TMI editors was perfectly justified. It was not to scare the public from making anti-government statements, as Tun alleges. The reason TMI editors are being investigated is because of their perangai macam setan.
(35) I disagree with Tun saying that the arrest of the TMI editors was an abuse of police power and that a government agency had been misused to threaten the media.
In fact, it is way past time that the authorities took stern action against TMI. Furthermore, TMI is not what one might call a proper media outlet. Instead they are pemfitnah carrying out hatchet jobs.
Let the police investigate TMI and let the law take its course so that the rakyat can have some peace of mind.
Helen Ang 
Good review Sis… Well done with your home work… #Kipidap…
Thanks.
Please let me know if there are other cases I may have missed out. Can update.
Have you been compromised..?
Which part of this write-up do you disagree with or you think is uncharacteristic of / deviates from what I’ve written previously in my blog?
Just answer the question.., OK..!?
Why don’t you answer mine instead of barging in here and behaving like a Dapster (although I know you’re not DAP supporter)?
Is there anything that I’ve said on this page that contradicts whatever I’ve said earlier before in my blog? If yes, please point it out.
This is YOUR BLOG and you can stop me from barging in here as you wish and fancy. Do you understand..!?
Anyway.., I am definitely no DAPigster. OK..!?
As for TMI.., you may dislike them.., but they are not ALWAYS in error.
Secondly.., TDM is very consistent.., so where is he tripping..?
Finally.., have you been compromised.,, by some of those in power..? Just answer yes or no to that.., OK..!?
I can easily answer you question if I want but I do not appreciate your tone, rudeness and pushiness in MY blog. As long as you’re enable to point out anywhere on this page that is inconsistent with whatever I’ve written previously, then I don’t owe you the time of day.
I know you’re not a Dapster. I already said so.
As for TMI, I’m aware that they live up to their name (giving) “insider” (info). However due to their Raja Spin reputation, I would never swallow their reports. There’s always a mental block with me where TMI is concerned with the automatic question – what are they spinning here.
Although Malaysiakini is anti-government, I don’t feel that they spin like TMI does. Likewise Utusan. Although they’re pro-government and propagandistic, I still don’t feel that Utusan will concoct stories out of thin air like TMI does.
For Tun to bersekongkol dengan TMI and Sarawak Report [I don’t read S’wak Report and I’ve got nothing against them but the pro-establishment bloggers are against SR] indicates that he’s willing to blur the boundaries as long as his main objective – turunkan Najib – is fulfilled. That to me is tripping.
You may be too immersed in Mahathirism to realise this but more rational, neutral and objective people are beginning to think that Tun is going overboard. Tunku Aziz is one. And Tun’s response to Tunku Aziz is tetchy.
Here’s another group angry at TMI –
http://merdeka-online.com/home/bangsa-bugis-dihina-buat-laporan-polis-bangunlah-tegakkan-siri/
I am too disagreed with the three point’s that Tun has made ,that’s unlikely of his style .
Responsible and Irresponsible journalism. Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression. Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Religion. Human Rights and Rights of Constitution and Laws.
Journalists job is to report the Truth, as what is said, as what is spoken, as what is given and determining the credibility of news sources. Don’t they have sound and video recorders?
Politicians job is ensure what is written by journalists follow their political agenda. Maybe, the real reason is they do not know how to communicate well with journalists with so often of being misquoted.
When the main news media either print or electronic is controlled by political parties as is in Malaysia, the line between reporting actual news and politiking then becomes polluted and some just spew out filth and spins.
Gone are the days when Malaysians are always conditioned to be told what to listen to, what to read, what to say, what to think and even how to live their lives. The old ways of medium of communication thru newsprint and TVs which is a one way street of communicating with audience is gone. Everyone has their own views on how news should be written more so the politicians.
So what’s the problem with interactive online news media? The credibility of whatever news reported is now judged by the readers. More so when the mass of readers is huge or have a huge following.
You also have a choice of reading it or just shut it off if anyone find it not newsworthy or nauseating.
And the best part is, instead of just shutting it off, you can now decide to put forth your own views regarding what is written and reported and let all other readers decide whi is right or wrong.
Unless of course the owner or admistrator of the news decide to stop readers from commenting or start determining what views are politically correct also.
Why do most politicians, news editors or even the law enforcers underestimate the intelligence of readers?
Are Malaysians really lacking in intelligence to think rationally or to put it in simpler words “Stupid”?.
re: “Unless of course the owner or admistrator of the news decide to stop readers from commenting or start determining what views are politically correct also.”
There has been widespread complaints that TMI moderators block reader comments that effectively rebut or derail the portal’s agenda.
quote,”There has been widespread complaints that TMI moderators block reader comments that effectively rebut or derail the portal’s agenda.”unquote.
Yeah, that’s true, I can attest to that. Some of my comments in TMI that were deemed “no in line with TMI’s agenda” were not published. A few times I posted the link to your blog website in the comment section but it was never published.
re: “A few times I posted the link to your blog website in the comment section but it was never published.”
Thank you.
They wouldn’t. Even when our blogs (Datuk Kadir’s, Syed Akbar’s, Rocky’s etc) were jammed, the TMI report deliberately left out my name from the list of bloggers affected although both Syed Akbar and Rocky had mentioned me, and TMI picked up the story from them.
TMI appears to deliberately censor mention of me as a newsmaker.
Like I said, ‘they’ control the English media, set the agenda and shape the story arc. Umno-BN is hopeless and clueless. This media domination is one of the factors that will push BN to losing the next general election.
The officials are exposing this sound country to the forces of dissolution due to their personal ineptitude and greed.
That’s the quality of TMI and we just have to be wary of when reading it.
The larger issue is PM turning this into a police state.
Operasi Lalang was carried out under the Tun’s watch. It did not turn Malaysia into a police state. So far the arrests have not reached the scale of 1987 even though the agitators are much worse.
What to do with ruthless political operators like TMI? Umno is not brutal. That’s why the party is being pushed against the wall and the pro-establishment Malays feel that they’re under siege.
“It did not turn Malaysia into a police state.”
It certainly did turn many newspapers, radio, and television media into docile sheep. They were fearful of reporting government scandals and wrongdoing, and giving a voice to alternative viewpoints.
It is ironic that Tun Mahathir is now trying to portray himself as an advocate of press freedom.
Trying to squash alternative media such as The Malaysian Insider will only backfire upon the government. With numerous financial and political scandals, people will only see this act as a government fearful of being further exposed.
re: “With numerous financial and political scandals, people will only see this act as a government fearful of being further exposed.”
My list above collates TMI‘s fitnah in – for example – doctoring the banner in the demo photo to say “Undur Hadi” (a falsehood) as well as ‘spinning attacks’ on Jais, Mais, Majlis Fatwa and Majlis Raja-Raja. Nothing to do with financial scandals.
Bottomline: TMI is scum.
Re: ‘UMNO is not brutal’
With due respect, I don’t agree. Instead, seeing how the President of UMNO fought against those like TDM, the swiftness and Effectiveness that were shown to all, tells us that UMNO is still very much the political animal that it has always been.
Towards the pakatan people, may be UMNO does not see that there’s a threat, or simply couldn’t contemplate one that’s imminent.
Having said that, UMNO has come to its end, amongst other reasons:
1. It’s UMNO’s 69th anniversary; this is it,
2. UMNO has delivered most of its promises to its supporters, there’s not much else that UMNO can do now,
3. UMNO is telling its supporters to keep supporting citing past glory and past achievements, but shy to promise anything for the future (shy for various reasons);
4. Even UMNO supporters are shy to support UMNO openly now, and could not find good reasons to support, and cannot help UMNO to explain its policies (like GST) to the general public,
5. When everyone is talking about destroying UMNO or not, then really there’s no other choice but to just destroying it,
6. What was being shown by the UMNO President was an eye opener to all, because earlier everyone thought UMNO leadership was sleeping and couldn’t see what the monkeys outside were doing; now there’s really no need for bloggers like Miss Helen to try to alert them, because they know what they were doing (or not doing), it’s their choice;
7. There’s no living man inside there now , just zombies.
Operation Lalang was proper use of power and didnt turn Malaysia into poice state.
Although scale not the same now, character and motivation different.
TMI wouldn’t have become upstart if there had been any UMNO leadership at all which there hasn’t been for some time.
Threat of becoming police state real if wealth and power built on oppression.
re: “TMI wouldn’t have become upstart if there had been any UMNO leadership at all …”
Indeed. Monsters full of hubris.
Finally it took the royals to call action upon the portal’s head after they had goten away with defaming almost every institution there is and not to mention the many victims of their smear campaign.
That’s why Najib has to become a war general. If he doesn’t toughen up, BN will be kicked out of Putrajaya and will never be able to recover thereafter. Even Tun thinks that BN will not be able to pick themselves up again.
I hope the police will expedite the investigation on TMI and recommend the sternest action.
I have my great respect for TDM, but in his latest saga against Najib, I am kind of disappointed with him. He seems to be in great desperation to paint Najib in bad picture. He uses facts that are unconvincing, depending on unreliable sources like Sarawak report to attack on Najib, ridicule Najib’s family and daughter’s wedding.
It is not because we like Najib very much, but as a statesman, respectable ex-PM, he has to have solid fact if he is serious about bring Najib down.
What to say when even the venerable Tun ‘termakan’ these fitnah and hasutan? Is TMI really effective at ‘fitnah’ and ‘hasutan’…or Tun is really losing his mojo and grasping at the tiniest ‘truth’.
What to do with TMI? Apply the maximum leverage available based on the law. There’s no sterile or gentlemanly way available to deal with those who make lies and slander their main business.
re: “Is TMI really effective at ‘fitnah’ and ‘hasutan’…”
Very much so, I’m afraid. They’re preaching to the choir – a resentful segment of the population so full of hate that it’s easy for them to swallow whatever confirms their bias like the “fatwa” (no such thing) purportedly banning Muslims from wishing “RIP’ for Karpal Singh.
re: “What to do with TMI?”
Shut it down. The government shut down The J-Star during Ops Lalang. Very recently, Singapore shut down a website called The Real Singapore.
re: “Apply the maximum leverage available based on the law.”
Singapore is coming down hard on the administrators of The Real Singapore. This is what they do when it is the Chinese who are in control of the government. Beijing rolled out the tanks in Tiananmen Square. When it is Malays in charge of the government, the attitude is manyak tidak apa.
re: “There’s no sterile or gentlemanly way available to deal with those who make lies and slander their main business.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if had they pulled similar stunts in China, these people would be lined up against a wall and shot. Last year, China topped the global list for the most executions carried out.
A very good piece of work by Helen. I totally agree with you, Helen.
What is the big picture? TMI has a long record of publishing fantasies, as pointed out, but there has been minimal action in the past. What Tun sees, correctly, is that one of his few channels for putting his message across and a supporter of his campaign is being targeted. Tun may not like TMI but he recognizes that when an ally is under attack, his position is also weakened. Najib can’t go after Tun directly, no Malaysian likes to see the elderly disrespected, but news portals, bloggers and supposed-to-be UMNO warlords are all fair game. Najib will win this battle.
If you put it that way …
it would be a great service to the country if TMI is squashed, MCA kicked out of Cabinet and Khairy disposed of. I shall die happy if these three objectives are met.
And I shall be smiling in heaven to see the Najib cybertroopers getting the better of Team KJ & Regina.
Obviously you have described yourself as a pro-Mahathirist and writing for the continuation of the Mahathirism dynasty?
All those rants and sleigh of pen with charts and visual graphics thrown in to justify your rants are just gimmicks in advancing the thoughts of Mahathirism, isn’t it?
Or maybe, just maybe, it’s your frustration of being dumped by KJ like the saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” and that post being taken over by your rival Regina?
No wonder you write with full of passion but without sincerity as seen in most of your articles and comments. That passion within is so full of hate, spite, casting aspersions, jealousy etc.
What a pity! You’re such a good writter/blogger but lacking sincerity and morality.
A good cure would be chant at least 100 times a day “Heil Hitler”.
Obviously you’re a DAP School of Democracy graduand.
First, you all had said that I was dumped by Lim Guan Eng b’cos I criticise his politics (even tho’ tons of other bloggers do).
Now you’re saying I was dumped by Khairy and that’s why I’m criticising his politics (even tho’ tons of other bloggers do). Or even that I was dumped by Ramachandran Muniandy aka Mr Hannah Yeoh and hence criticising her politics.
Next you will say that I was dumped by Wee Ka Siong (or some other MCA leader). Or even that I was dumped by Najib and thus now promoting Mahathirist politics.
And you come here and preach “morality” and “sincerity”?
Do you wonder why you all are called those names by the Malays you label as right wing, ultra, racist, bigot, extremist and haters who you accuse of “spewing venom” at the meek and mild sheeple?
Well, I don’t wonder at the reception given to your ilk at all.
“Hail Mary! Queen of Scots!” . The Malaysianised version should be “Hail Helen! Queen of Mahathirists!”.
Would that be better for your big Ego?
How come all these venom spewing comes from urban and more learned people rather than the simple folks in kampongs and villages?
It seems the more educated and successful a Mahathirists is, the more egoistic they become.
Is the axiom of Ketuanan Melayu by Mahathirists ever written in the Constitution?
Is the Constitutional rights and safeguards meant for the Malays is to be interpreted as Supremacy of one Malaysian race over others in every sphere of a Malaysian life?
If all that meant yes to Mahathirists then Malaysians might as well revert to rule by Sultanate and Rajahs. It’s back to those glory days of The Malaccan Sultanate then.
Isn’t that less stressful and depressing for all Mahathirists?
Ms H. I do not understand what all these detractors of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad want of him. All sorts of allegations or copy-cat phrases without solid facts or foundation, Here is a solid fact. The Tun single-handedly created without strife or rancour 3 millions famillies of the Malay Middle Income Group which uplifted the 3 millions famillies non-Malay Middle Income Group by the purchases of the goods and the services of the latter by the former. He also created much more than what you see in present day Singapore eg. the Putrajaya, KLIA, Petronas Towers, Langkawi, Tioman, Sarawak Highlands, F1 Ciircuit 15 years before Singapore, the highways and by-ways, the private colleges, the good medical system, and goodies for the Rakyat all the time throughout the 22 year Administration. In 1971, Malay assets were 2% of the whole, Chinese had 25% of the 3rd rate assets and the British 70% of the best. There are no winners or losers in our Society provided the Government is fair and just. Where else but our beloved Malaysia ?
Uncle Ed,
Tun is singularly single-minded in doing anything/everything to remove Najib Razak. This includes propping up TMI.
Tun is losing his moral compass in allowing his obsession with ousting Najib to override all scruples.
Like I said in my copy above, the TMI editors perangai memang macam setan. By empowering entities like TMI, Tun is merely dooming BN to defeat in GE14 b’cos inasmuch as TMI is the enemy of Najib (which suits Tun’s purpose), the English media is also the enemy of the BN.
Tun is winning his battle but losing the war for the BN come 2018.
I’m not sure that agreeing with TMI on the Sultan+Hudud article can be called “losing his moral compass”. And I don’t really think that he is obsessed with ousting Najib. He wants Najib gone, yes, but I still feel his main worry is what 1MDB is all about.
He may bring other issues in but his main focus has always been 1MDB, and he should because that is going to the main opposition point for GE14 at urban centres as much as GST is going to be their focal point for the rural areas.
And as someone who was puzzled with the formation of 1MDB and its role in the development of the country, I’m hoping TDM will keep on the 1MDB issue until we get some actual answers.
re: “I’m not sure that agreeing with TMI on the Sultan+Hudud article can be called ‘losing his moral compass’.”
He misrepresented the police action as an issue of killing press freedom and that the powers-that-be were oppressing TMI as well do arresting the editors to deter the public from voicing up on matters of public interest (Tun had 1MDB in mind as The Edge group had been carrying exposes).
While it’s true that TMI was highlighting 1MDB stories but then again, so were other media like Malaysiakini and Gunting Dalam Lipatan J-Star. Police investigated TMI not because of 1MDB but specifically because the representative of the Rulers Council – unprecedentedly – lodged a police report.
Given TMI‘s track record of fitnah, it is not surprising that even the Raja-Raja Melayu are up in arms. Tun should not have misled the public that TMI was wrongly targetted as if in a dragnet against Najib’s critics.
Tun should have kept in mind TMI‘s pariah status in his side of the political divide – look at how many Umno ministers have complained about the lying portal – instead of siding with TMI just because it is a chief Najib (but also BN) critic.
I repeat, it was the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal who made the police report against TMI and this one is nothing to do with Tun’s new nemesis Najib.
re: “And I don’t really think that he is obsessed with ousting Najib. He wants Najib gone, yes, but I still feel his main worry is what 1MDB is all about.”
I believe that Tun’s deep concern over 1MDB is genuine but at the same time, it is also the most effective weapon.
Tun has thrown everything and the kitchen sink – Rosmah’s extravagance, her son’s high-end properties, her daughter’s lavish wedding, the executive jet purchase, GST, BR1M, abolishment of ISA, Sirul and Altantuya, Paul Stadlen and the British advisors, Pemandu (which he did not mention by name) as an afterthought, etc.
In short, anything that can put Najib in a bad light is added to the laundry list, like his label “Wedding of the Century” and his revelation of the 300-person entourage to Kazakhstan to attend the groom’s side of the ceremony.
re: “He may bring other issues in but his main focus has always been 1MDB, and he should because that is going to the main opposition point for GE14 at urban centres as much as GST is going to be their focal point for the rural areas.”
GST can be defended if better explained. Yes, both GST and 1MDB are costly issues that will impact adversely on the BN but the election is three years away. Tun’s attacks are very intense now. He just wants to oust Najib at any cost, ASAP.
re: “And as someone who was puzzled with the formation of 1MDB and its role in the development of the country, I’m hoping TDM will keep on the 1MDB issue until we get some actual answers.”
Agreed. Only Tun has the chutzpah to force 1MDB to come clean. In fact, only Tun possesses the gravitas to push a lot of other issues.
However, his primary obsession is still toppling Najib (that’s the motherlode) and all the other issues are the means to the end although I’m not denying that the 1MDB fiasco tipped over Tun to act.
I’m afraid Tun’s attacks have sent Najib and BN reeling down a slippery slope from which it will be very hard to recover (public confidence).
Maybe I’m looking at it differently.
Agreed TMI is the worst among the opposition media (never a doubt) and the rest just picked the cue from TMI. Agreed that his point on the Sultan+Hudud issue was way off, but he’s never had any love for the royal institution so maybe that’s why he took that stand. He respects the monarch for its position in the constitution, but definitely no love lost there. And as such, his stand with TMI on that issue was maybe understandable.
I live far from KL. At a holiday weekend it will take you about 8-10 hours to get here on the road (but still 2 hours by ETS). But I knew about the splendour of the wedding long before it was highlited by Tun. It was done in full malay ceremonial adat (check out Siti’s for comparison). The one about the flowers was just one dinner. There were others before that.
The jet purchase/refurbish was in the news when Najib went on his golfing holiday. Tun’s consistently against BR1M and GST. And even the rest that he thrown in were nothing new to the audience. Kazakhstan was a surprise to some but hey, I heard before he revealed it. And the talk that is coming up most at the kedai kopi now is how much RM someone has going in and out of her bank accounts.
You said “GST can be defended if better explained.” NO. Talk to any kampung person. It’s a resounding NO! You cannot say that the shops are the ones who increased the price since the rural shops told them that they are getting their supplies at higher prices. They will tell you in Islam there is no GST, there is only zakat. Maybe GST is allowed for darurat but we are not facing darurat since the economy is still growing. They will tell you, with RM100 before they could buy RM100 worth of goods. Now they are lucky to bring home RM94 worth of goods. Most of the time they seem to get less than RM90 worth. It’s going to be difficult to convince them when they face the reality of a reduced purchasing power on a daily basis.
“I’m afraid Tun’s attacks have sent Najib and BN reeling down a slippery slope from which it will be very hard to recover”. But it’s easier to appease the people if you have someone else at the helm.
(1) Tun’s “Wedding of the Century” is catchy. I was at the event where he said that during the open floor Q&A. I’d expected him to say “Wedding of the Year” but “century” is a witticism only Tun can pull off. He took the criticism up one notch.
(2) The large entourage to Kazakhstan may be kopitiam talk but it would have remained a rumour until Tun gave the factoid a veneer of credibility. Likewise the flowers. When Rafizi and Tony Pua queried 1MDB earlier, the issue did not take off. It’s only when Tun lent his heft that the controversy exploded to the scale it has.
Thus when Tun says it, the reception to its veracity is different (he’s believed and so he makes the talk believable and I have to admit that I too believe that the astronomical cost cited for the flowers is entirely plausible).
(3) Tun dredged up Altantuya and gave it prominence.
(4) But most of the countries of the world have GST.
(5) Be careful what you wish for. Remember that TMI was plumping for Hisham. If him, then KJ will be No.2
1. It would have come out sooner or later. There are enough pictures going around. to prove how extravagant the wedding was. Rumours have a way of finding a platform during election time.
2. The 1MDB needed to be brought to prominence before it becomes a burden to the people.
3. That was a disppointment. I couldn’t believe he brought that up.
4. The GCC (Gulf countries) which are all Islamic do not. They may have import duties or even sales tax but no VAT. And even the Firsters no. 1 god, the USA, doesn’t have VAT.
5. I’m still wishful it’s Mustapa Mohamad and Anifah Aman. Seriously, Hisham as no. 1 is difficult to see and KJ as no. 2 is my nightmare come to life.
I see the sense in this write-up –
https://jebatmustdie.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/umnos-unprincipled-leaders-and-their-followers/
(1) I too think it’s unconscionably extravagant and the timing sucked. But Tun’s “Wedding of the Century” is the caption that will stick. The Grand Olde Man is without parallel when it comes to putty in a politician’s hand (this is praise).
(2) Tabung Haji’s purchase was not all that controversial. It was 1MDB’s acquisition that raised eyebrows. The 1MDB brand name has become the kiss of death. And it had to be a Chinese hustler who becomes the face of the scandal and begging a lot of questions.
(3) To get Najib.
(4) Okay. It’s hitting the BN constituency, as Tun rightly pointed out vis-a-vis Rompin. But GST was considered even during Tun Daim’s time and the economists see the need for it. The more you consume, the more you’re taxed.
(5) Mustapa Mohamad and Anifah Aman are not VPs. Seriously though, Hisham as no. 2 is not far-fetched. KJ will stick to Hisham like a limpet.
Actually not many people know what exactly is 1MDB. http://www.1mdb.com.my/
I’ve been watching it on and off since it was formed. From what I can see it is actually a very confused entity. It has a foot in every sector of the government.
Look at the bottom of the home page – “our growing family”. They are involved in Dana Belia and Klinik Bergerak 1M and Dana PIBG. It makes one go – WTF are they doing? And if they are involved in Dana Belia, how can KJ not know about them. I believe in the first year (and till now I think) they send some imams for Haji and I remember thinking WTF?
And that’s before the B-I-G money stories come out. I don’t blame the PR guys for questioning and I welcome Tun for taking the lead in asking the tough questions on 1MDB.
Can you please have a look at 1MDB vis-a-vis Khazanah’s functions?
Ms H. It is not so much the internal events which will shape the ultimate political landscape of Malaysia but the external forces now in play. The biggest has always been Singapore with its spying and underhanded tricks. Its biggest card TPPA has been temporarily trumped in the US Senate. Without this, TPPA, Singapore faces its death’s knell in a matter of a few years. Then, you have China with its interest in us as a strategic geo-political place. Finally, the religious affinities which will be attracted here due to so much shouting about the virutal wolf which may turn up real at any time.
What can we hapless and poor Rakyat do ? We have seen how the poor and hapless Singaprean citizens got screwed up by their very own knight in shining armour with brilliant Cambridge degrees. The Singaporeans elected a do-gooder into office and when surrounded by Power and Money, he turned out to be the Devil re-incarnated ! Singapore now has 3.2 Millions real Singaporeans, 1.2 FTs and billionaires and 800,000 PRs who paid S$1.5 Millions each for each family. External events will shape our political landscape especially financial ones now that we are naked and exposed financially !
Ms H. I guess Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s concern is not so much related to the humongous money aspects of 1MDB but to the LOSS OF OUR POLITICAL FREEDOM TO PURSUE OUR NATIONAL OBJECTIVES due to the fact that if our beloved Malaysia has no money, naked and exposed, the creditors will dictate their terms. Did you see in 1997, the pic showing the IMF Chief standing with his arms akimbo behind President Suharto ? He who pays the Pied Piper calls the tune so said the Ruler !
Ms H. At the end of the day it is MONEY MONEY MONEY and it is not coming from Singapore !
The Malays have a saying ‘kaduk naik junjung’ which is something like ‘making a silk purse from a sow’s ear’.
Suddenly the Cina Bukit Speaker is making the pay as the Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar prime minister.
Ms H. There is an ancient saying, ‘ It is best to control a business without bringing out your own capital !’ True ? How apt ! The fun and games we see today is nothing new or modern. It is just the old Devil in all of us ! Whether we want to make it a small or big Devil, it is our prerogative or mandate !
re: “It is best to control a business without bringing out your own capital !’ True ?”
The 1MDB business model? Good?
Ms H. All GLCs controlled by Civil Servants without accountability or ownership. No one goes to jail even bankrupting Sime Darby twice ! One GLC pays its CEO RM 9+ Millions a year !
Najib is associated with those who would overpower this nation by first destabilizing its bureaucracy and consequently degrading its economic and social checks and balances.
Do you think his position can be safeguarded if he jettisons the consultants and advisors?
Ms Helen you might be a good writer for those who speaks better, in the actual sense not a good strategist as I can judge for look up at Tun latest blog that you apt to and what spelt by him he is not akin of BN loose as I can assume that yes he is in the midst of election and as an elder statesmen he is aware off for not supporting Najib in time that this will show up as bola tanggong in the expense of the opposition advantages despite of that BN led oppose by him lost just because of Najib come 2018 in order to say telan mati emak luah mati bapak
correction : BN lose
“Can you please have a look at 1MDB vis-a-vis Khazanah’s functions?”
Sure. Get back to you.
:) thanks
Khazanah (KN) – if you look at their website (http://www.khazanah.com/about.htm), what you see now is the revamped KN, that started when Pak Lah was PM. Here’s the KN timeline which gives a brief look into KN from its formation til now – http://tkr.khazanah.com.my/2013/images/K%20timeline%20web.pdf
KN functions as the investment arm of the government involved in every sector, while 1MDB looks like it was set up mainly for the power plants and the TRX and Bandar Malaysia development. So there’s not really an overlap there. Although it can argued that KN should have been able to handle the development within 1MDB.
KN started their community service programmes only after a few years of its formation while 1MDB got into CSR in its first year, which is amazing because how do you fund CSR when you just started out with a RM1million investment.
What is interesting if you go through the websites of KN and 1MDB is that KN is quite transparent. You can find their financial info on their site. The website for 1MDB is pure window dressing. There is no financial info at all. Just search for sukuk on their site you won’t find any info on the sukuk bonds that they have already issued. They don’t even give the current development stage of Bandar Malaysia. Bandar Malaysia is the former TUDM base in Sg Besi. TUDM is being moved to Sendayan, which is being developed right now by one of LTAT’s companies. Now if 1MDB is a transparent company and proud of its existence it should be highlighting the stages of development for this Bandar Malaysia which according to the media is one the Sukuk beneficiaries.
There is as much information on 1MDB on their website as there is innfo on PetroSaudi on PetroSaudi’s website, which is skeletal.
Hence, the many questions on 1MDB.
Thanks orang kampung for the research.
It – subcontracting government functions to consultants – started in earnest with Pak Lah’s 4th Floor boys.
KJ who did not hold any position apart from being his FiL’s Special Officer in the DPM’s office on the foruth floor of Bangunan Perdana Putra (the famous green-domed complex) got to be a very powerful and rich young man.
Should Khazanah have been allowed to become so powerfully influential and overarching in the first place? As for 1MDB and Pemandu, do we really want these kind of operations – the concept of corporate participation under government aegis and guarantee – to continue carrying on and expanding?
Khazanah expanded its role with Pak Lah’s appointment of Azman Mokhtar and group who were close to KJ. Khazanah was meant to be a government vehicle to hold stakes in companies that were involved in essential services. For example, Khazanah had a stake in Telekom which was to protect the government’s interest in the telecommunications sector, just like the way they are in involved in certain IPPs. Khazanah was also promoting new industries like the investments in wafer plants.
However since the “fourth floor” took over it became a more commercial entity with only profits in mind. It sort of forgot that as an arm of the government it has to ensure that its role will benefit the people in line with government policies.
As an aside, I find it interesting that in the timeline of Khazanah, they put up that the MAS WAU was a 2002 decision when the PM was still TDM. And yet a lot of people remember WAU as Pak Lah’s decision since one of the beneficiaries was his brother.
Aaah, Ibrahim Ahmad Badawi is executive chairman of Brahim’s Holdings Bhd. His company was given a RM6.25 billion contract with Khazanah to serve meals and carry out related services at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Penang International Airport for 25 years until 2028.
Wow! How many food businesses are fortunate enough to get 25-year contracts?
Before 1MDB, there was Khazanah for the Badawi family. Who is to say that in a post-Najib scenario, similar vehicles and Pemandu-esque capers won’t take shape? The PM may change but the game remains the same.
Pemandu, that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish entirely. I remember when I worked for one company and the normal practice was we have a year end review, normally done by the bosses. Then one year they brought in Hayes Management Consultants to conduct the review and provide their findings and advise on improvements that the company should undertake. There were a lot of unhappy employees that year and also a lot of resignations.
Pemandu is that consultant company. The one that sets ridiculous goals and then takes credit for all the good results that the company achieved and blamed the employees on all the targets that were not achieved.
Most people think that Pemandu’s job overlaps that of EPU. Not exactly. Pemandu is actually the equivalent of Hayes Management Consultant that oversees the JPA, EPU, ICU, SERU and MAMPU, which are all under the PM’s department. That is why Pemandu is huge. It takes a lot of people to oversee all that. And there’s a lot of unhappy employees in those groups.
Is it true that the Pemandu-marked 2014 report cards on KPIs are arbitrary and they niftily shift the goalposts, for example on Entry Point Project (EPP) targets met, so that the ministries can pass with flying colours?
Don’t know. I’m waiting for one of the economic or financial research group (or maybe even a consultant) to match up the Pemandu Reports against all the other government reports (Budget, Audit, government agencies) and see what conclusions they can draw on the effectiveness of Pemandu. After all this is Malaysia, someone should KPI the Pemandu as well.
A cop out by Najib.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/bu/newsbusiness.php?id=1135718
You know the thing about this whole 1MDB issue is that:
1. Najib is the Chairman of the Advisory Board for 1MDB
2. Najib is the Finance Minister in charge of 1MDB
3. Najib is the Prime Minister.
I don’t know what he does as Chairman of the Advisory Board, whether he advises or he receives advise but as the Finance Minister he has access to all information on 1MDB. He is the authority that approved the takeover of the Terengganu entity by 1MDB. He is the authority that approved the issuance of bonds or sukuk. He is the authority that 1MDB and Bank Negara reports to.
As the Prime Minister, he is THE man, the supremo who has access to any and all information in the country.
So why the fuck is he waiting for AG and PAC to explain the whole thing? He wants to hold on to his PM post? Fine. At least step down as the Finance Minister until all this is cleared up.
re: “So why the fuck is he waiting for AG and PAC to explain the whole thing?”
,D
Because the Dapsters and Mahathirists will not believe any explanation provided by Najib.
Even before the AG releases his report, there are parties already casting aspersions on his integrity.
The AG will clear him, I’m reckoning.
Postscript:
The Auditor General, like the Attorney General, is a highly independent office. They don’t answer to the government of the day. They’re answerable only to the Agong.
Well he put himself in this catch-22 situation. When the question of 1MDB investments were brought up in 2013, he brushed or let 1MDB set it aside. When more questions were asked, instead of answering he just ignored the issue. When Tun brought it up the first time, it was also disregarded. That’s how he ended up with this shit-storm.
Anyway he should still explain away. Whether the people believe or not, is a secondary issue.
The AG will clear him, my reckoning too.
re: “he brushed or let 1MDB set it aside”
Ya lor, our PM like that one.
re: “When more questions were asked, instead of answering he just ignored the issue.”
What to do? That’s Najib.
re: “When Tun brought it up the first time, it was also disregarded.”
Not only 1MDB disregarded. He did not bother to nip in the bud either the opposition’s canard of 40,000 Bangladeshi voters. And nor did he bother to defend his “Chinese tsunami” utterance (which is fact and quite correct) but allowed them to portray him as a “racist” for mentioning the Chinese vote swing.
re: “That’s how he ended up with this shit-storm.”
Uh-huh. A bigger one coming. I don’t blame the Tuns for fearing that BN will lose GE14. Najib has to be pushed into becoming a war general. There’s no other option.
Ms H. It is a desolate scene in Malaysian Politics to see the highest in the land defending nobodies who also have no locus standi. The International Community must be having a good laugh at the spectre of one group trying to assure another group that all the money is still there and not lost. The defenders include our Honourable Prime Minister himself.
Putrajay now spends much time embroiled in this fiasco with the Speaker of the Dewan Rakayt doing his own little thing too.
I have said for so many years that it is not the job of the Government to make money by directly indulging in businesses but only to rule over us. The risks should be borne by the private sector.
It is absurd to note in a supposedly elected democracy that senior elected Ministers have all joined the fray of a self-inflicted money fiasco instead of spending time to plan what is best for the Rakyat as a matter of good governance.
Singapore adopted the GLCs from the Communist System by the late Ruler (1959-2015) or Dictator after he had battened down his Power and Control over the citizens in the 1970s and the 1980s. Despite of his micro-management of the money, Singapore lost US$ 108 Billions (RM 420 billions) in October 2008 by his Apparatchiks aka Meritocrats.
They adopted an ordinary investment formula of the man-in-the street and abdicated the Sovereignty, National Interest, and Self-esteem of Singapore to the hoi-polloi of Wall Street. This Policy mystifies me to this day.
As the Singapore’s GLCs will face bigger losses in the near future, Malaysia’s GLCs which are rudderless without micro-management by the Prime Minister will face the same.
The Civil Servants who manage these GLCs and with no accoutability and ownership, will surely run aground during difficult times. No book has been written on how to make money nor to become a Prime Minister. But hundreds written on political philosophies and business management.